Independent modulation of individual genomic component transcription and a cis-acting element related to high transcriptional activity in a multipartite DNA virus

Background: The genome of Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) consists of at least six circular, single-stranded DNA components of 1kb in length. Some BBTV isolates may also carry satellite DNA molecules that are not essential for BBTV infection. The relation between multipartite DNA virus replication and their transcriptional levels and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. Results: To understand the coordinated replication and transcription of the multiple genomic components, the absolute amounts of each BBTV DNA component were measured by real-time PCR (qPCR), and their transcriptional levels were determined by RNAseq and reverse transcription-qPCR (qRT-PCR). Significant differences were found in the absolute amounts of individual BBTV genomic components. Transcriptional levels of each BBTV genomic component obtained from the RNAseq data matched closely to those obtained from qRT-PCR, but did not correspond to the absolute amount of each DNA component. The ratio of transcript over DNA copies ranged from 46.21 to 1059.44%, which was possibly regulated by the promoter region in the intergenic region of each component. To further determine this speculation, the promoter region of the DNA-S, -M or -N was constructed to the upstream of green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene for transient expression by agrobacterium-mediated transformation method. The qRT-PCR showed the highest transcriptional activity was promoted by DNA-N promoter, about 386.58% activity comparing with CaMV 35S promoter. Confocal microscopy observation showed that the intensity of green fluorescence was corresponding to that of qRT-PCR. Conclusions: Our data clearly showed that BBTV was able to control the transcriptional level of each DNA component independently by through the promoter sequences in the intergenic region. Moreover, a cis-acting element from DNA-N component had a high transcriptional activity.National Natural Science Foundation of China [31401709]; Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation [20153130]; Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund for Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences [19CXTD-33]; Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program, CSTC [CSTC-QN201704]Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Synergistic synthesis of quasi-monocrystal CdS nanoboxes with high-energy facets

Hollow nanostructures with a highly oriented lattice structure and active facets are promising for catalytic applications, while their preparation via traditional approaches contains multiple steps and is time and energy consuming. Here, we demonstrate a new one-step strategy involving two complementary reactions which promote each other; it is capable of producing unique hollow nanoparticles. Specifically, we apply synergic cooperation of cation exchange and chemical etching to attack PbS nanosized cubes (NCs) and produce CdS quasi-monocrystal nanoboxes (QMNBs) which possess the smallest dimensions reported so far, a metastable zinc-blende phase, a large specific surface area, and particularly high-energy {100} facets directly visualized by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. These properties in combination allow the nanoboxes to acquire exceptional photocatalytic activities. As an extension of the approach, we use the same strategy to prepare Co9S8 and Cu7.2S4 single-crystal hollow nanooctahedrons (SCHNOs) successfully. Hence, the synergic reaction synthesis strategy exhibits great potential in engineering unique nanostructures with superior properties

The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults

A growing number of empirical studies have revealed that diaphragmatic breathing may trigger body relaxation responses and benefit both physical and mental health. However, the specific benefits of diaphragmatic breathing on mental health remain largely unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of diaphragmatic breathing on cognition, affect, and cortisol responses to stress. Forty participants were randomly assigned to either a breathing intervention group (BIG) or a control group (CG). The BIG received intensive training for 20 sessions, implemented over 8 weeks, employing a real-time feedback device, and an average respiratory rate of 4 breaths/min, while the CG did not receive this treatment. All participants completed pre- and post-tests of sustained attention and affect. Additionally, pre-test and post-test salivary cortisol concentrations were determined in both groups. The findings suggested that the BIG showed a significant decrease in negative affect after intervention, compared to baseline. In the diaphragmatic breathing condition, there was a significant interaction effect of group by time on sustained attention, whereby the BIG showed significantly increased sustained attention after training, compared to baseline. There was a significant interaction effect of group and time in the diaphragmatic breathing condition on cortisol levels, whereby the BIG had a significantly lower cortisol level after training, while the CG showed no significant change in cortisol levels. In conclusion, diaphragmatic breathing could improve sustained attention, affect, and cortisol levels. This study provided evidence demonstrating the effect of diaphragmatic breathing, a mind-body practice, on mental function, from a health psychology approach, which has important implications for health promotion in healthy individuals

Prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis in deer in mainland China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundDeer tuberculosis is a chronic zoonotic infectious disease, despite the existence of socio-economic and zoonotic risk factors, but at present, there has been no systematic review of deer tuberculosis prevalence in mainland China. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the overall prevalence of deer TB in mainland China and to assess possible associations between potential risk factors and the prevalence of deer tuberculosis.MethodologyThis study was searched in six databases in Chinese and English, respectively (1981 to December 2023). Four authors independently reviewed the titles and abstracts of all retrieved articles to establish the inclusion exclusion criteria. Using the meta-analysis package estimated the combined effects. Cochran’s Q-statistic was used to analyze heterogeneity. Funnel plots (symmetry) and used the Egger’s test identifying publication bias. Trim-and-fill analysis methods were used for validation and sensitivity analysis. we also performed subgroup and meta-regression analyses.ResultsIn this study, we obtained 4,400 studies, 20 cross-sectional studies were screened and conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Results show: The overall prevalence of tuberculosis in deer in mainland China was 16.1% (95% confidence interval (CI):10.5 24.6; (Deer tuberculosis infected 5,367 out of 22,215 deer in mainland China) 5,367/22215; 1981 to 2023). The prevalence in Central China was the highest 17.5% (95% CI:14.0–21.9; 63/362), and among provinces, the prevalence in Heilongjiang was the highest at 26.5% (95% CI:13.2–53.0; 1557/4291). Elaphurus davidianus was the most commonly infected species, with a prevalence of 35.3% (95% CI:18.5–67.2; 6/17). We also assessed the association between geographic risk factors and the incidence of deer tuberculosis.ConclusionDeer tuberculosis is still present in some areas of China. Assessing the association between risk factors and the prevalence of deer tuberculosis showed that reasonable and scientific-based breeding methods, a suitable breeding environment, and rapid and accurate detection methods could effectively reduce the prevalence of deer tuberculosis. In addition, in the management and operation of the breeding base, improving the scientific feed nutrition standards and establishing comprehensive standards for disease prevention, immunization, quarantine, treatment, and disinfection according to the breeding varieties and scale, are suggested as ways to reduce the prevalence of deer tuberculosis

A transmembrane domain of Andrias davidianus ranavirus 13R is crucial for co-localization to endoplasmic reticulum and viromatrix

13R, a core gene of Andrias davidianus ranavirus (ADRV), encoded a protein containing a transmembrane domain (TMD) and a restriction endonuclease-like domain. However, the characterization and function of 13R and the protein it encodes remain unclear. In this study, Chinese giant salamander thymus cell (GSTC) was used to investigate the function of 13R. The results showed that the 13R transcripts were detected first at 8 h post-infection (hpi) by RT-PCR and the protein was detected first at 24 hpi by western blot, but the transcription was inhibited by cycloheximide and cytosine arabinofuranoside, indicating that 13R is a viral late gene. Subcellular localization showed that the 13R was co-localized with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the cytoplasm, while 13R deleting TMD (13R Delta TM) was distributed in cytoplasm and nucleus. During ADRV infection, 13R was observed first in the cytoplasm and nucleus, and later aggregated into the viromatrix, whereas 13R Delta TM remain dispersed in cytoplasm and nucleus. Western blot analysis suggested that 13R was a viral non-structural protein and its overexpression did not affect the viral titer in GSTC. All these indicated that the TMD of 13R is crucial for the co-localization into the ER and the viromatrix

Oblique Projection Polarization Filtering-Based Interference Suppressions for Radar Sensor Networks

<p/> <p>The interferences coming from the radar members degrade the detection and recognition performance of the radar sensor networks (RSNs) if the waveforms of the radar members are nonorthogonal. In this paper, we analyze the interferences by exploring the polarization information of the electromagnetic (EM) waves. Then, we propose the oblique projection polarization filtering- (OPPF-) based scheme to suppress the interferences while keeping the amplitude and phase of its own return in RSNs, even if the polarized states of the radar members are not orthogonal. We consider the cooperative RSNs environment where the polarization information of each radar member is known to all. The proposed method uses all radar members' polarization information to establish the corresponding filtering operator. The Doppler-shift and its uncertainty are independent of the polarization information, which contributes that the interferences can be suppressed without the utilization of the spatial, the temporal, the frequency, the time-delay and the Doppler-shift information. Theoretical analysis and the mathematical deduction show that the proposed scheme is a valid and simple implementation. Simulation results also demonstrate that this method can obtain a good filtering performance when dealing with the problem of interference suppressions for RSNs.</p

Precipitation increases the occurrence of sporadic legionnaires' disease in Taiwan.

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is an acute form of pneumonia, and changing weather is considered a plausible risk factor. Yet, the relationship between weather and LD has rarely been investigated, especially using long-term daily data. In this study, daily data was used to evaluate the impacts of precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity on LD occurrence in Taiwan from 1995-2011. A time-stratified 2:1 matched-period case-crossover design was used to compare each case with self-controlled data using a conditional logistic regression analysis, and odds ratios (ORs) for LD occurrence was estimated. The city, gender and age were defined as a stratum for each matched set to modify the effects. For lag day- 0 to 15, the precipitation at lag day-11 significantly affected LD occurrence (p<0.05), and a 2.5% (95% CIs = 0.3-4.7%) increased risk of LD occurrence was associated with every 5-mm increase in precipitation. In addition, stratified analyses further showed that positive associations of precipitation with LD incidence were only significant in male and elderly groups and during the warm season ORs = 1.023-1.029). However, such an effect was not completely linear. Only precipitations at 21-40 (OR = 1.643 (95% CIs = 1.074-2.513)) and 61-80 mm (OR = 2.572 (1.106-5.978)) significantly increased the risk of LD occurrence. Moreover, a negative correlation between mean temperature at an 11-day lag and LD occurrence was also found (OR = 0.975 (0.953-0.996)). No significant association between relative humidity and LD occurrence was identified (p>0.05). In conclusion, in warm, humid regions, an increase of daily precipitation is likely to be a critical weather factor triggering LD occurrence where the risk is found particularly significant at an 11-day lag. Additionally, precipitation at 21-40 and 61-80 mm might make LD occurrence more likely

Evaluation of the Potential Entomopathogenic Fungi <i>Purpureocillium lilacinum</i> and <i>Fusarium verticillioides</i> for Biological Control of <i>Forcipomyia taiwana</i> (Shiraki)

Forcipomyia taiwana (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is a nuisance blood-sucking pest to humans in Taiwan. An F. taiwana bite causes itching and redness and usually causes serious harassment to human outdoor activity. In terms of F. taiwana control, chemical pesticides are ineffective. Therefore, other efforts are needed. Fungal mycosis in the larvae, pupae, and emerging F. taiwana adults was found during the rearing of F. taiwana. In this study, six fungal isolates were isolated from infected cadavers and subjected to molecular identification. In addition, their biocontrol potential was evaluated against different life stages of F. taiwana. Based on the pathogenicity screening, two fungal isolates, NCHU-NPUST-175 and -178, which caused higher mortality on the fourth instar larvae of F. taiwana, were selected for virulence tests against different life stages of F. taiwana larvae. The results of the phylogenetic analysis indicated that the NCHU-NPUST-175 and -178 belonged to Purpureocillium lilacinum and Fusarium verticillioides, respectively. Bioassay against different life stages of F. taiwana with different spore concentrations (5 × 105 to 5 × 107 conidia/mL) revealed a dose-dependent effect on larvae for both fungal isolates, while only 38% and 50% mortality was found in highest concentration (5 × 107 conidia/mL) at fourth instar larvae by Pl-NCHU-NPUST-175 and Fv-NCHU-NPUST-178, respectively. Moreover, reductions in egg-hatching rate and adult emergence rate were found, when the last stage of F. taiwana was inoculated with both fungal isolates, indicating the ovicidal potential and the impact of entomopathogenic fungi on the development of F. taiwana. In conclusion, Pl-NCHU-NPUST-175 and Fv-NCHU-NPUST-178 showed larvicidal activity, ovicidal activity, and impact on adult emergence on F. taiwana

A Cross-Sectional Study of Endogenous Antioxidants and Patterns of Dental Visits of Periodontitis Patients

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease, wherein endogenous antioxidants help to balance the inflammatory status. Oral health behaviors are related to the periodontal disease status. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between oral health behaviors and endogenous antioxidants in periodontitis patients. In total, 225 subjects diagnosed with periodontitis were enrolled in the study. Information obtained from the initial interview included socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and oral health-related behaviors. The clinical periodontal parameters evaluated included bleeding on probing (BOP), the plaque index (PI), and probing depth (PD). Stimulated saliva was collected before periodontal therapy to determine five endogenous antioxidants (copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), manganese SOD (MnSOD), thioredoxin 1 (Trx1), peroxiredoxin 2 (Prx2), and catalase (CAT)). When these five factors were adjusted for in patients whose last previous dental visit was &gt;1 year, the patients’ PI, BOP, and PD showed significant decreases because of an elevation in the Cu/Zn SOD level. Associations of endogenous antioxidants with levels of clinical periodontal parameters were much higher in subjects whose last previous dental visit was &gt;1 year, compared to subjects whose last previous dental visit was &lt;1 year. This study provides a better understanding of dental visit patterns and the salivary endogenous antioxidants that may underlie the symptomatic development of preclinical periodontitis