Probing the endosperm gene expression landscape in Brassica napus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In species with exalbuminous seeds, the endosperm is eventually consumed and its space occupied by the embryo during seed development. However, the main constituent of the early developing seed is the liquid endosperm, and a significant portion of the carbon resources for the ensuing stages of seed development arrive at the embryo through the endosperm. In contrast to the extensive study of species with persistent endosperm, little is known about the global gene expression pattern in the endosperm of exalbuminous seed species such as crucifer oilseeds.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We took a multiparallel approach that combines ESTs, protein profiling and microarray analyses to look into the gene expression landscape in the endosperm of the oilseed crop <it>Brassica napus</it>. An EST collection of over 30,000 entries allowed us to detect close to 10,000 unisequences expressed in the endosperm. A protein profile analysis of more than 800 proteins corroborated several signature pathways uncovered by abundant ESTs. Using microarray analyses, we identified genes that are differentially or highly expressed across all developmental stages. These complementary analyses provided insight on several prominent metabolic pathways in the endosperm. We also discovered that a transcription factor <it>LEAFY COTYLEDON </it>(<it>LEC1</it>) was highly expressed in the endosperm and that the regulatory cascade downstream of <it>LEC1 </it>operates in the endosperm.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The endosperm EST collection and the microarray dataset provide a basic genomic resource for dissecting metabolic and developmental events important for oilseed improvement. Our findings on the featured metabolic processes and the <it>LEC1 </it>regulatory cascade offer new angles for investigation on the integration of endosperm gene expression with embryo development and storage product deposition in seed development.</p

An AIoT-Based Assistance System for Visually Impaired People

In this work, an assistance system based on the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) framework was designed and implemented to provide convenience for visually impaired people. This system aims to be low-cost and multi-functional with object detection, obstacle distance measurement, and text recognition achieved by wearable smart glasses, heart rate detection, fall detection, body temperature measurement, and humidity-temperature monitoring offered by an intelligent walking stick. The total hardware cost is approximately $66.8, as diverse low-cost sensors and modules are embedded. Meanwhile, a voice assistant is adopted, which helps to convey detection results to users. As for the performance evaluation, the accuracies of object detection and text recognition in the wearable smart glasses experiments are 92.16% and 99.91%, respectively, and the maximum deviation rate compared to the mobile app on obstacle distance measurement is 6.32%. In addition, the intelligent walking stick experiments indicate that the maximum deviation rates compared to the commercial devices on heart rate detection, body temperature measurement, and humidity-temperature monitoring are 3.52%, 0.19%, and 3.13%, respectively, and the fall detection accuracy is 87.33%. Such results demonstrate that the proposed assistance system yields reliable performances similar to commercial devices and is impressive when considering the total cost as a primary concern. Consequently, it satisfies the fundamental requirements of daily life, benefiting the safety and well-being of visually impaired people

Plasma methylated GNB4 and Riplet as a novel dual-marker panel for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma

ABSTRACTEarly detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can greatly improve the survival rate of patients. We aimed to develop a novel marker panel based on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation for the detection of HCC. The differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCs) specific for HCC blood diagnosis were selected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, then validated by the whole genome bisulphite sequencing (WGBS) of 12 paired HCC and paracancerous tissues. The clinical performance of the panel was evaluated using tissue samples [32 HCC, chronic liver disease (CLD), and healthy individuals] and plasma cohorts (173 HCC, 199 CLD, and 98 healthy individuals). The combination of G protein subunit beta 4 (GNB4) and Riplet had the optimal area under the curve (AUC) in seven candidates through TCGA, GEO, and WGBS analyses. In tissue validation, the GNB4 and Riplet showed an AUC of 100% with a sensitivity and specificity of 100% for detecting any-stage HCC. In plasma, it demonstrated a high sensitivity of 84.39% at 91.92% specificity, with an AUC of 92.51% for detecting any-stage HCC. The dual-marker panel had a higher sensitivity of 78.26% for stage I HCC than alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) of 47.83%, and a high sensitivity of 70.27% for detecting a single tumour (size ≤3 cm). In conclusion, we developed a novel dual-marker panel that demonstrates high accuracy in detecting HCC, surpassing the performance of AFP testing

Diagnostic accuracy and safety of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extracts used for skin prick test

Abstract. Background:. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus is a common allergen causing allergic diseases in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of D. pteronyssinus extracts produced by Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) for the skin prick test (SPT) in the diagnosis of D. pteronyssinus allergy. Methods:. A total of 910 subjects with allergic diseases were prescribed D. pteronyssinus SPT and specific sIgE (sIgE) test among the Outpatients of Department of Allergy, PUMCH from August 10, 2015 to August 30, 2017. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed according to the results of D. pteronyssinus-sIgE detection. The accuracy of D. pteronyssinus extracts used for SPT in the diagnosis of D. pteronyssinus allergy was evaluated under different cutoff values. Adverse events after SPT were recorded to evaluate safety. Results:. There were 796 and 618 subjects in the full analysis set (FAS) and the per protocol set (PPS), respectively. The areas under the curve of FAS and PPS were 0.871 and 0.873, respectively. According to the ROC of PPS, the optimal and 95% specificity diagnostic cutoff values of D. pteronyssinus SPT mean wheal diameter were 3.25 and 3.75 mm, respectively. No adverse events occurred. Conclusion:. The extracts of D. pteronyssinus for SPT were simple, highly accurate, and safe and should be considered for recommendation in the clinical diagnosis of D. pteronyssinus allergy

Prevalence of self-reported food allergy among adults in Jiangxi, China

Background: Food allergy has become an increasingly important public health problem. However, information regarding epidemiological studies of food allergy among Chinese adults is very limited. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of self-reported food allergy among adults in China. Method: A population-based cross-sectional study was administered to estimate the prevalence of self-reported food allergy on the basis of a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The participants were recruited by cluster random sampling from three prefectures in Jiangxi Province, China. Results: A total of 12 082 questionnaires were distributed, and 11 935 (98.8%) of completed ones were collected. The prevalence of self-reported food allergy was 4.0% (3.1% in men and 4.8% in women), self-reported doctor-diagnosed food allergy accounted for 1.4%. The most common allergic symptom was skin reaction showing in 63.9% of the participants with self-reported food allergy. The main allergic foods were shrimp, mollusks, and mango, accounting for the prevalence of 39.8%, 20.8%, and 18.7%, respectively. The self-reported food allergy was significantly linked with gender, age group, body height and other allergic conditions. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-reported food allergy is about 4.0% among adults in China. The three most common allergenic foods were shrimp, mollusks and mango. Gender, age, and other allergic diseases could be contributing factors associated with food allergy in adults. These findings will provide scientific basis for the further research and prevention of food allergy in adults

WAO-ARIA consensus on chronic cough - Part II: Phenotypes and mechanisms of abnormal cough presentation — Updates in COVID-19

International audienceBackground: Chronic cough can be triggered by respiratory and non-respiratory tract illnesses originating mainly from the upper and lower airways, and the GI tract (ie, reflux). Recent findings suggest it can also be a prominent feature in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), laryngeal hyperresponsiveness, and COVID-19. The classification of chronic cough is constantly updated but lacks clear definition. Epidemiological data on the prevalence of chronic cough are informative but highly variable. The underlying mechanism of chronic cough is a neurogenic inflammation of the cough reflex which becomes hypersensitive, thus the term hypersensitive cough reflex (HCR). A current challenge is to decipher how various infectious and inflammatory airway diseases and esophageal reflux, among others, modulate HCR. Objectives: The World Allergy Organization/Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (WAO/ ARIA) Joint Committee on Chronic Cough reviewed the current literature on classification, epidemiology, presenting features, and mechanistic pathways of chronic cough in airway-and reflux-related cough phenotypes, OSA, and COVID-19. The interplay of cough reflex sensitivit