Adopting microblogging solutions for interaction with government

Authorities in the People’s Republic of China communicate with citizens using an estimated 600,000 Sina Weibo microblogs. This study reports on a study of Chinese citizens’ adoption of microblogs to interact with the government. Adoption results from trust and peer pressure in smaller-network ties (densely knit, pervasive social networks surrounding individual citizens). Larger-network ties (trust in institutions at large, such as the Chinese Communist Party, executive organizations, the judicial system, the media, etc.) are not associated with the adoption of microblogging. Furthermore, higher levels of anxiety are correlated with lower levels of use intention, and this finding underlines the impact of the Chinese authority’s surveillance and control activities on the lives of individual Chinese citizens. Based on these findings, we outline a theory of why citizens use microblogs to interact with the government and suggest avenues for further research into microblogs, state–citizen communication patterns and technology adoption

Maternal pre-pregnancy infection with hepatitis B virus and the risk of preterm birth: a population-based cohort study

Background Preterm birth is the leading cause of child death in children younger than 5 years. Large cohort studies in developed countries have shown that maternal hepatitis B virus infection is associated with preterm birth, but there is little reliable evidence from China and other developing countries, where hepatitis B virus prevalence is intermediate or high. Hence, we designed this study to investigate the association between pre-pregnancy hepatitis B virus infection and risk of preterm and early preterm birth. Methods Between Jan 1, 2010, and Dec 31, 2012, we did a population-based cohort study using data from 489 965 rural women aged 21–49 years who had singleton livebirths from 220 counties of China who participated in the National Free Preconception Health Examination Project. Participants were divided into three groups according to their prepregnancy status of hepatitis B virus infection: women uninfected with hepatitis B virus (control group), women who were HBsAg positive and HBeAg negative (exposure group 1), and women who were both HBsAg and HBeAg positive (exposure group 2). The primary outcome was preterm birth (gestation at less than 37 weeks). We used log-binomial regression to estimate adjusted risk ratios (aRR) of preterm birth for women with pre-pregnancy hepatitis B virus infection, and risk of early preterm birth (gestation less than 34 weeks). Findings 489 965 women met inclusion criteria and were included in this study; of these, 20 827 (4·3%) were infected with hepatitis B virus. Compared with women who were not infected with hepatitis B virus, women who were HBsAg positive and HBeAg negative had a 26% higher risk of preterm birth (aRR 1·26, 95% CI 1·18–1·34) and women who were both HBsAg and HBeAg positive had a 20% higher risk of preterm birth (aRR 1·20, 1·08–1·32). Compared with women who were not infected with hepatitis B virus, women who were HBsAg positive and HBeAg negative manifested an 18% higher risk of early preterm birth (gestation less than 34 weeks; aRR 1·18, 1·04–1·34) and women who were both HBsAg and HBeAg positive had a 34% higher risk of early preterm birth (aRR 1·34, 1·10–1·61). Maternal pre-pregnancy hepatitis B virus infection was independently associated with higher risk of preterm birth and early preterm birth. These associations were similar in subgroups of participants as defined by baseline characteristics. Interpretation Besides mother-to-child transmission, the risk of preterm birth in women infected with hepatitis B virus should not be neglected. Comprehensive programmes that focus on early detection of hepatitis B virus infection before pregnancy and provide appropriate medical intervention for women infected with hepatitis B virus before and during pregnancy would be helpful in improving maternal and neonatal outcomes and reducing child mortality

Viruses mobilize plant immunity to deter nonvector insect herbivores.

A parasite-infected host may promote performance of associated insect vectors; but possible parasite effects on nonvector insects have been largely unexplored. Here, we show that Begomovirus, the largest genus of plant viruses and transmitted exclusively by whitefly, reprogram plant immunity to promote the fitness of the vector and suppress performance of nonvector insects (i.e., cotton bollworm and aphid). Infected plants accumulated begomoviral βC1 proteins in the phloem where they were bound to the plant transcription factor WRKY20. This viral hijacking of WRKY20 spatiotemporally redeployed plant chemical immunity within the leaf and had the asymmetrical benefiting effects on the begomoviruses and its whitefly vectors while negatively affecting two nonvector competitors. This type of interaction between a parasite and two types of herbivores, i.e., vectors and nonvectors, occurs widely in various natural and agricultural ecosystems; thus, our results have broad implications for the ecological significance of parasite-vector-host tripartite interactions

Seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus and Associated Factors Among Preconception Women: A Cross-Sectional Nationwide Study in China

Background: Cytomegalovirus seroconversion during pregnancy is common and has a substantial risk of congenital infection with longterm sequale. Screening during pregnancy or vaccination have not been shown to be effective for eliminating congenital infections. Preconception screening policy has not been evaluated adequately in a large scale. This nationwide study aimed to investigate epidemiological features of cytomegalovirus seropositivity and its geographic variation among Chinese women planning a pregnancy to gather epidemiological evidence as an essential for developing novel prevention strategies. Method: This cross-sectional sero-epidemiological survey enrolled women intending to become pregnant within 6 months in mainland China during 2010–2012. The primary outcomes in this study were cytomegalovirus Immunoglobulin G and M seropositivity. Secondary outcomes were the associations between Immunoglobulin G and Immunoglobulin M, with socio-demographic characteristics, including age, occupation, education level, place of residence, and ethnicity. The overall seropositivity and regional disparity was analyzed on the individual and regional level, respectively. Results: This study included data from 1,564,649 women from 31 provinces in mainland China. Among participants, 38.6% (n = 603,511) were cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G+, 0.4% (n = 6,747) were immunoglobulin M+, and 0.2% (n = 2,879) were immunoglobulin M+ and immunoglobulin G+. On individual level, participant's age, ethnicity, and residing region were significantly associated with IgG+, IgM+, and IgM+IgG+ (P 0.05). On regional level, cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M seropositivity was highest in the eastern region (49.5 and 0.5%, respectively), and lowest in the western region (26.9 and 0.4%, respectively). This geographic variation was also noted at the provincial level, characterized by higher provincial immunoglobulin M+ and immunoglobulin G+ rates associated with higher immunoglobulin G seropositivity. In the subgroup analysis of immunoglobulin G seropositivity, areas of higher immunoglobulin G positivity had a higher rate of immunoglobulin M+, indicating an expected increased risk of reinfection and primary infection. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of women (>60%) were susceptible to cytomegalovirus in preconception period in China, and immunoglobulin G seropositivity was seen at a low-medium level with substantial geographic variation. Integration of cytomegalovirus antibody testing in preconception screening program based on regional immunoglobulin G seropositivity, should be considered to promote strategies directed toward preventing sero-conversion during pregnancy to reduce the risk of this congenital infection

Reprocessable Thermoset Soft Actuators.

Widely used traditional thermosets are good candidates for construction of 3D soft actuators because of their excellent stability; however, it is generally acknowledged that they cannot be reprocessed. The time-temperature equivalence principle enables reprocessing of traditional liquid crystalline epoxy thermosets (LCETs) into 3D soft actuators. Even though the transesterification reaction of LCETs is extremely slow, it is fast enough to induce a topology rearrangement and subsequent reprocessing when prolonging the transesterification time according to aforementioned principle. Therefore, LCETs can be aligned by a simple procedure. The alignment is quite stable at high temperature and remains after more than 1000 heating-cooling actuation cycles. The resulting 3D soft actuators are remouldable, reprogrammable, reconfigurable, weldable, self-healable, recyclable, and stable, which is impossible for any traditional thermosets and is therefore a compelling advance in terms of the applications open to 3D soft actuators

The involvement of jasmonates and ethylene in Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici toxin-induced tomato cell death

Previous studies have shown that an ethylene (ET)-dependent pathway is involved in the cell death signalling triggered by Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici (AAL) toxin in detached tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) leaves. In this study, the role of jasmonic acid (JA) signalling in programmed cell death (PCD) induced by AAL toxin was analysed using a 35S::prosystemin transgenic line (35S::prosys), a JA-deficient mutant spr2, and a JA-insensitive mutant jai1. The results indicated that JA biosynthesis and signalling play a positive role in the AAL toxin-induced PCD process. In addition, treatment with the exogenous ET action inhibitor silver thiosulphate (STS) greatly suppressed necrotic lesions in 35S::prosys leaves, although 35S::prosys leaflets co-treated with AAL toxin and STS still have a significant high relative conductivity. Application of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) markedly enhanced the sensitivity of spr2 and jai1 mutants to the toxin. However, compared with AAL toxin treatment alone, exogenous application of JA to the ET-insensitive mutant Never ripe (Nr) did not alter AAL toxin-induced cell death. In addition, the reduced ET-mediated gene expression in jai1 leaves was restored by co-treatment with ACC and AAL toxin. Furthermore, JA treatment restored the decreased expression of ET biosynthetic genes but not ET-responsive genes in the Nr mutant compared with the toxin treatment alone. Based on these results, it is proposed that both JA and ET promote the AAL toxin-induced cell death alone, and the JAI1 receptor-dependent JA pathway also acts upstream of ET biosynthesis in AAL toxin-triggered PCD

Proteomics study of changes in soybean lines resistant and sensitive to Phytophthora sojae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Phytophthora sojae </it>causes soybean root and stem rot, resulting in an annual loss of 1-2 billion US dollars in soybean production worldwide. A proteomic technique was used to determine the effects on soybean hypocotyls of infection with <it>P. sojae</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study, 46 differentially expressed proteins were identified in soybean hypocotyls infected with <it>P. sojae</it>, using two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time of flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF). The expression levels of 26 proteins were significantly affected at various time points in the tolerant soybean line, Yudou25, (12 up-regulated and 14 down-regulated). In contrast, in the sensitive soybean line, NG6255, only 20 proteins were significantly affected (11 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated). Among these proteins, 26% were related to energy regulation, 15% to protein destination and storage, 11% to defense against disease, 11% to metabolism, 9% to protein synthesis, 4% to secondary metabolism, and 24% were of unknown function.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study provides important information on the use of proteomic methods for studying protein regulation during plant-oomycete interactions.</p

Inhibitors of Phosphatidylinositol 3′-Kinases Promote Mitotic Cell Death in HeLa Cells

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway plays an important role in many biological processes, including cell cycle progression, cell growth, survival, actin rearrangement and migration, and intracellular vesicular transport. However, the involvement of the PI3K pathway in the regulation of mitotic cell death remains unclear. In this study, we treated HeLa cells with the PI3K inhibitors, 3-methyladenine (3-MA, as well as a widely used autophagy inhibitor) and wortmannin to examine their effects on cell fates using live cell imaging. Treatment with 3-MA decreased cell viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner and was associated with caspase-3 activation. Interestingly, 3-MA-induced cell death was not affected by RNA interference-mediated knockdown (KD) of beclin1 (an essential protein for autophagy) in HeLa cells, or by deletion of atg5 (an essential autophagy gene) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). These data indicate that cell death induced by 3-MA occurs independently of its ability to inhibit autophagy. The results from live cell imaging studies showed that the inhibition of PI3Ks increased the occurrence of lagging chromosomes and cell cycle arrest and cell death in prometaphase. Furthermore, PI3K inhibitors promoted nocodazole-induced mitotic cell death and reduced mitotic slippage. Overexpression of Akt (the downstream target of PI3K) antagonized PI3K inhibitor-induced mitotic cell death and promoted nocodazole-induced mitotic slippage. These results suggest a novel role for the PI3K pathway in regulating mitotic progression and preventing mitotic cell death and provide justification for the use of PI3K inhibitors in combination with anti-mitotic drugs to combat cancer