DataSheet_1_Two new methods for severity assessment of wheat stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici.docx

Accurate severity assessment of wheat stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici is of great significance for phenotypic determination, prediction, and control of the disease. To achieve accurate severity assessment of the disease based on the actual percentages of lesion areas in the areas of the corresponding whole diseased leaves, two new methods were proposed for severity assessment of the disease. In the Adobe Photoshop 2022 software, the acquired images of single diseased leaves of each severity class of the disease were manually segmented, and the numbers of the leaf region pixels and lesion pixels of each diseased leaf were obtained by pixel statistics. After calculation of the actual percentages of lesion areas in the areas of the corresponding whole diseased leaves based on the obtained pixel numbers, the training sets and testing sets were constructed for each severity class by using the system sampling method with two sampling ratios of 4:1 and 3:2. Then the mean and standard deviation of the actual percentages of lesion areas contained in each training set were calculated, respectively. For each sampling ratio, two methods, one based on the midpoint value of the means of the actual percentages of lesion areas corresponding to two adjacent severity classes and the other based on the distribution range of most of the actual percentages of lesion areas, were used to determine the midpoint-of-two-adjacent-means-based actual percentage reference range and the 90%, 95%, and 99% reference ranges of the actual percentages of lesion areas for each severity class. According to the determined reference ranges, the severity of each diseased leaf in the training sets and testing sets was assessed. The results showed that high assessment accuracies (not lower than 85%) for the training sets and testing sets were achieved, demonstrating that the proposed methods could be used to conduct severity assessment of wheat stripe rust based on the actual percentages of lesion areas. This study provides a reference for accurate severity assessments of plant diseases.</p

Maternal, neonatal characteristics and outcomes of the study infants.

<p>BPD = bronchopulmonary dysplasia; CRIB-II = Clinical Risk Index for Babies-II score; PDA = patent ductus arteriosus; NEC = necrotizing enterocolitis; IVH = intraventricular hemorrhage; PVL = cystic periventricular leukomalacia; ROP = retinopathy of prematurity; PS = pulmonary surfactant; MV = mechanical ventilation; nCPAP = nasal continuous positive airway pressure; CNY = Chinese Yuan.</p

EPC level in infants with different severity of BPD at day 7.

<p>(A) CD34⁺KDR⁺ cells. (B) KDR⁺CD133⁺ cells. (C) CD34⁺KDR⁺CD133⁺ cells. The level of EPCs was significantly lower in infants with severe BPD compared to infants with mild BPD. Values in boxplot are expressed as median, 25th, and 75th percentiles. MNC =  mononuclear cells. *<i>P</i><0.05.</p

The levels of plasma cytokines at different time points in infants with and without BPD.

<p>VEGF = vascular endothelial growth factor; SDF-1 =  stromal cell-derived factor-1; GM-CSF = granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Data are presented as mean ± SD.</p

The percentages of cell subsets in circulating blood at different time points in infants with and without BPD.

<p>Data are presented as medians with 25–75% quartiles. MNC = mononuclear cells.</p

Plasma cytokines levels before and after iNO therapy.

<p>(A) eNOS. (B) NO₂^−/NO₃⁻. (C) VEGF. (D) SDF-1. (E) GM-CSF. Pre represents before iNO treatment, and Post represents after iNO treatment. eNOS = endothelial nitric oxide synthase; VEGF = vascular endothelial growth factor; SDF-1 =  stromal cell-derived factor-1; GM-CSF = granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. *<i>P</i><0.05.</p

Additional file 1: of Identification of two novel null variants in CLN8 by targeted next-generation sequencing: first report of a Chinese patient with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis due to CLN8 variants

The gene list of epilepsy panel. (XLSX 45 kb

Thermo-sensitive nanoparticles for triggered release of siRNA

<div><p>Efficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is crucially required for cancer gene therapy. Herein, a thermo-sensitive copolymer with a simple structure, poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate-b-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (mPEG-b-PNIPAM) was developed. A novel kind of thermo-sensitive nanoparticles (DENPs) was constructed for the cold-shock triggered release of siRNA by double emulsion–solvent evaporation method using mPEG-b-PNIPAM and a cationic lipid, 3β [N-(N′, N′-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl] cholesterol [DC-Chol]. DENPs were observed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamical light scattering before and after ‘cold shock’ treatment. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of siRNA in DENPs, which was measured by fluorescence spectrophotometer was 96.8% while it was significantly reduced to be 23.2% when DC-Chol was absent. DENPs/siRNA NPs exhibited a thermo-sensitive siRNA release character that the cumulatively released amount of siRNA from cold shock was approximately 2.2 folds higher after 7 days. <i>In vitro</i> luciferase silencing experiments indicated that DENPs showed potent gene silencing efficacy in HeLa-Luc cells (HeLa cells steadily expressed luciferase), which was further enhanced by a cold shock. Furthermore, MTT assay showed that cell viability with DENPs/siRNA up to 200 nM remained above 80%. We also observed that most of siRNA was accumulated in kidney mediated by DENPs instead of liver and spleen <i>in vivo</i> experiments. Thus, DENPs as a cold shock responsive quick release model for siRNA or hydrophilic macromolecules delivery provide a new way to nanocarrier design and clinic therapy.</p></div

Balancing Compatibility and Gelability for High-Performance Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Physical Gels

Liquid crystalline physical gels (LCPGs) have attracted increasing interest because of their mechanical properties and stimulus–response behaviors. However, due to their gelator properties such as thermal stability, gelation capability, and compatibility in liquid crystals, development of LCPGs with high performances still remains a huge challenging task. Herein, four novel gelators ((l)-PH, (d)-PH, (l)-P2H, and (d)-P2H) based on 1,4-benzenedicarboxamide phenylalanine derivatives containing one or two ethylene glycol groups have been designed and synthesized. It is found that the ethylene glycol group plays a significant role in improving the compatibility between the gelator and the liquid crystal. All of the prepared compounds can form stable LCPGs in P0616A. In particular, the storage modulus of LCPG with 9.0 wt % of (l)-PH with one ethylene glycol unit is higher than 106 Pa, which is similar to SmC gels and advantageous over previously reported nematic LCPGs. Furthermore, the prepared gels display a strong Cotton effect with hand-preferred twisted fiber networks and the self-assembled aggregates of (l)-PH can induce P0616A to form a cholesteric fingerprint structure. Thus, these low molecular weight gelators provide a strategy to construct high-performance cholesteric LCPGs for the realization of LC device applications

W287G and Y71G reduces ASIC1a glycosylation while a reduced culture temperature has an opposite effect.

<p>(<b>A & B</b>) Representative blots showing the effect of a reduced culture temperature on ASIC1a glycosylation. CHO cells were transfected with wild-type ASIC1a, W287G or Y71G mutant. Surface biotinylation was performed after culturing at 37°C (A) or 27°C (B) for 24 hrs. Lysates were treated with PNGase F or Endo H as indicated, followed by NeutrAvidin precipitation. Surface and total fraction were blotted for ASIC1a. The relative position of Endo H-resistant and -sensitive ASIC1a was indicated by arrows. Note that 27°C increased the percentage of Endo H-resistant wild-type ASIC1a in total lysate. Also note the appearance of Endo H-resistant W287G and Y71G at the cell surface at 27°C (arrows). (<b>C</b>) Quantification of Endo H-resistant wild-type ASIC1a at 37°C and 27°C. Asterisk indicates significant difference (P = 0.025); n.s. stands for not significant.</p