Microalgae possess high photosynthetic efficiency, robust adaptability, and substantial biomass, serving as excellent biological resources for large-scale cultivation. Malic enzyme (ME), a ubiquitous metabolic enzyme in living organisms, catalyzes the decarboxylation of malate to produce pyruvate, CO₂, and NAD(P)H, playing a role in multiple metabolic pathways including energy metabolism, photosynthesis, respiration, and biosynthesis. In this study, we identified the Scenedesmus quadricauda malic enzyme gene (SqME) and its biological functions, aiming to provide excellent target genes for the genetic improvement of higher plants. Based on the RNA-seq data from S. quadricauda under the biofilm cultivation mode with high CO₂ and light energy transfer efficiency and small water use, a highly expressed gene (SqME) functionally annotated as ME was cloned. The physicochemical properties of the SqME-encoded protein were systematically analyzed by bioinformatics tools. The subcellular localization of SqME was determined via transient transformation in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The biological functions of SqME were identified via genetic transformation in Nicotiana tabacum, and the potential of SqME in the genetic improvement of higher plants was evaluated. The ORF of SqME was 1 770 bp, encoding 590 amino acid residues, and the encoded protein was located in chloroplasts. SqME was a NADP-ME, with the typical structural characteristics of ME. The ME activity in the transgenic N. tabacum plant was 1.8 folds of that in the wild-type control. Heterologous expression of SqME increased the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll by 20.9%, 26.9%, and 25.2%, respectively, compared with the control. The transgenic tobacco leaves showed an increase of 54.0% in the fluorescence parameter NPQ and a decrease of 30.1% in Fo compared with the control. Moreover, the biomass, total lipids, and soluble sugars in the transgenic tobacco leaves enhanced by 20.5%, 25.7%, and 9.5%, respectively. On the contrary, the starch and protein content in the transgenic tobacco leaves decreased by 22.4% and 12.2%, respectively. Collectively, the SqME-encoded protein exhibited a strong enzymatic activity. Heterologous expressing of SqME could significantly enhance photosynthetic protection, photosynthesis, and biomass accumulation in the host. Additionally, SqME can facilitate carbon metabolism remodeling in the host, driving more carbon flux towards lipid synthesis. Therefore, SqME can be applied in the genetic improvement of higher plants for enhancing photosynthetic carbon fixation and lipid accumulation. These findings provide scientific references for mining of functional genes from S. quadricauda and application of these genes in the genetic engineering of higher plants.
Nicotiana/genetics* ; Photosynthesis/physiology* ; Malate Dehydrogenase/biosynthesis* ; Plant Leaves/genetics* ; Scenedesmus/enzymology* ; Carbon Cycle/genetics* ; Lipid Metabolism/genetics* ; Plants, Genetically Modified/metabolism*

BACKGROUND:Compared with conventional repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation,Theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation(TBS)has attracted extensive attention from scholars in various fields due to its advantages of short stimulation time,high efficiency,good safety and long-lasting effect,and the research popularity continues to rise.OBJECTIVE:Through the visual bibliometrics analysis of international TBS research in the past 20 years,to sort out the development context of TBS research,summarize the research status,reveal research hotspots and development trends,and provide reference for subsequent research.METHODS:Relevant studies on TBS from January 2005 to June 2024 were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection database.CiteSpace software was used to perform annual publication volume analysis,co-occurrence analysis of countries,institutions and authors,and co-citation analysis of references,journals and authors,keywords co-occurrence,clustering,time evolution and emergence analysis,and so on,and draw the visual knowledge map.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)After screening,a total of 1914 papers were included in the study,and the amount of TBS research has shown an overall increasing trend over the past 20 years,and it is expected to continue to be a hot topic of research in the future.(2)The top three countries in terms of number of publications are the United States,China and Italy,and the top three institutions are the University of Toronto,the University of London and Harvard Medical School.Pascual-leone Alvaro from Harvard Medical School has the most research achievements,and HUANG YZ from Chang Gung University has the most citations.NEURON is the most influential core journal.(3)Analyses of high-frequency keywords,highly cited references and clustering topics showed that the research hotspots of TBS in the past 20 years mainly focus on the mechanism of TBS on synaptic plasticity and neurophysiological activity,the effect of TBS on stimulating targets in different brain regions(including the motor cortex,dorsolateral prefrontal cortex,anterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum,etc.),and the therapeutic effect of TBS on neurological and psychiatric diseases(including depression,Parkinson's disease movement disorder,post-stroke movement disorder and cognitive impairment,and Alzheimer's disease memory disorders).(4)Keyword burst,literature emergence and keyword temporal evolution analyses showed that"major depression,application guidelines,rating scale,efficacy,disorder,refractory depression,meta-analysis,etc."are not only current research hotspots,but also future research trends.(5)In the future,TBS research should strengthen the regional cooperation of core authors and institutions,explore the clinical application in the treatment of refractory diseases,and realize the precision,personalization and optimization of TBS application by combining cutting-edge technologies and optimizing stimulus parameters,so as to solve more clinical problems.

BACKGROUND:Compared with conventional repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation,Theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation(TBS)has attracted extensive attention from scholars in various fields due to its advantages of short stimulation time,high efficiency,good safety and long-lasting effect,and the research popularity continues to rise.OBJECTIVE:Through the visual bibliometrics analysis of international TBS research in the past 20 years,to sort out the development context of TBS research,summarize the research status,reveal research hotspots and development trends,and provide reference for subsequent research.METHODS:Relevant studies on TBS from January 2005 to June 2024 were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection database.CiteSpace software was used to perform annual publication volume analysis,co-occurrence analysis of countries,institutions and authors,and co-citation analysis of references,journals and authors,keywords co-occurrence,clustering,time evolution and emergence analysis,and so on,and draw the visual knowledge map.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)After screening,a total of 1914 papers were included in the study,and the amount of TBS research has shown an overall increasing trend over the past 20 years,and it is expected to continue to be a hot topic of research in the future.(2)The top three countries in terms of number of publications are the United States,China and Italy,and the top three institutions are the University of Toronto,the University of London and Harvard Medical School.Pascual-leone Alvaro from Harvard Medical School has the most research achievements,and HUANG YZ from Chang Gung University has the most citations.NEURON is the most influential core journal.(3)Analyses of high-frequency keywords,highly cited references and clustering topics showed that the research hotspots of TBS in the past 20 years mainly focus on the mechanism of TBS on synaptic plasticity and neurophysiological activity,the effect of TBS on stimulating targets in different brain regions(including the motor cortex,dorsolateral prefrontal cortex,anterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum,etc.),and the therapeutic effect of TBS on neurological and psychiatric diseases(including depression,Parkinson's disease movement disorder,post-stroke movement disorder and cognitive impairment,and Alzheimer's disease memory disorders).(4)Keyword burst,literature emergence and keyword temporal evolution analyses showed that"major depression,application guidelines,rating scale,efficacy,disorder,refractory depression,meta-analysis,etc."are not only current research hotspots,but also future research trends.(5)In the future,TBS research should strengthen the regional cooperation of core authors and institutions,explore the clinical application in the treatment of refractory diseases,and realize the precision,personalization and optimization of TBS application by combining cutting-edge technologies and optimizing stimulus parameters,so as to solve more clinical problems.

Objective: To investigate the recessive infection rate of healthy children and guardians in different epidemic periods of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Qingdao, analyze the risk factors affecting recessive infection, so as to provide the basis for HFMD prevention and control. Methods: In the nonepidemic period of 2022, the random cluster sampling method was used to selected 546 children and guardians from 4 childcare institutions in Laoshan District and Pingdu City. In the epidemic period of 2023, 690 children and guardians were selected from 6 childcare institutions in Shibei District, Laoshan District and Pingdu District. A questionnair survey was conducted in the epidemic period. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting the recessive infection. Dominance analysis was used to explore the relative importance of the risk factors affecting recessive infection. Results: The results showed that the recessive infection rates of healthy children and guardians in the epidemic period were 18.84% and 13.62%, respectively; the recessive infection rates were 9.09% and 4.44% in the nonepidemic period, respectively. The results of multivariate Logistic analysis showed that rural areas (OR=4.71, 95%CI=2.57-8.61) and recessive infection of guardians (OR=18.62, 95%CI=7.45-46.56) were positively correlated with recessive infection of HFMD in healthy children (P<0.05). Washing hands (OR=0.09, 95%CI=0.04-0.20), using towels alone (OR=0.17, 95%CI=0.07-0.40), and EV71 vaccination (OR=0.42, 95%CI=0.20-0.87) were negatively correlated with recessive infection of HFMD in healthy children (P<0.05). Public toilets (OR=3.02, 95%CI=1.50-6.09) and drying bedding once per quarter (OR=3.89, 95%CI=1.75-8.68) were positively correlated with recessive infection of HFMD in healthy guardians. Housing with good lighting (OR=0.31, 95%CI=0.12-0.79), and tableware disinfection (OR=0.31, 95%CI=0.15-0.65) were negatively correlated with recessive infection of HFMD in healthy guardians (P<0.05). The results showed that recessive infection of guardians was relatively the most important for healthy children (41.51%), and tableware disinfection was relatively the most important for recessive infection of guardians (28.87%). Conclusions The recessive infections of HFMD are common among healthy populations in Qingdao, and the recessive infection rate among children during the epidemic period is relatively higher. Guardians play an important role in the recessive infection of healthy children. Therefore, healthy education should be strengthened for key populations, especially to enhance parents awareness of prevention and control to reduce the occurrence of recessive infections of hand, foot and mouth disease in children and guardians.

Objective To analyze the effectiveness of a tele-diet combined exercise intervention program in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus combined with sarcopenia.Methods The selection of 80 cases of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus combined with sarcopenia was conducted from December 2022 to February 2023 in 2 communities in Urumqi City,and the 2 communities were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group,with 40 cases in each group.The experimental group carried out the intervention of dietary combined with exercise through tele-technology on the basis of the routine health education,and the control group implemented the routine health education.The scores of somatic functions,muscle strength and quality of life of patients with sarcopenia were compared between the 2 groups before and after the intervention.Results After the intervention,6-meter step speed,5 sit-to-stand tests,grip strength index,and quality of life in the experimental group were better than those in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion Tele-diet combined with exercise intervention positively affects somatic function,muscle strength,and quality of life in elderly patients with T2DM combined with sarcopenia.

In order to investigate the molecular mechanism of silk/threonine protein kinase (STK)-mediated blue light response in the algal Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, phenotype identification and transcriptome analysis were conducted for C. reinhardtii STK mutant strain crstk11 (with an AphvIII box reverse insertion in stk11 gene coding region) under blue light stress. Phenotypic examination showed that under normal light (white light), there was a slight difference in growth and pigment contents between the wild-type strain CC5325 and the mutant strain crstk11. Blue light inhibited the growth and chlorophyll synthesis in crstk11 cells, but significantly promoted the accumulation of carotenoids in crstk11. Transcriptome analysis showed that 860 differential expression genes (DEG) (559 up-regulated and 301 down-regulated) were detected in mutant (STK4) vs. wild type (WT4) upon treatment under high intensity blue light for 4 days. After being treated under high intensity blue light for 8 days, a total of 1 088 DEGs (468 upregulated and 620 downregulated) were obtained in STK8 vs. WT8. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that compared to CC5325, the crstk11 blue light responsive genes were mainly involved in catalytic activity of intracellular photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, and pigment synthesis. Among them, upregulated genes included psaA, psaB, and psaC, psbA, psbB, psbC, psbD, psbH, and L, petA, petB, and petD, as well as genes encoding ATP synthase α, β and c subunits. Downregulated genes included petF and petJ. The present study uncovered that the protein kinase CrSTK11 of C. reinhardtii may participate in the blue light response of algal cells by mediating photosynthesis as well as pigment and carbon metabolism, providing new knowledge for in-depth analysis of the mechanism of light stress resistance in the algae.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/genetics* ; Photosynthesis/genetics* ; Plants/metabolism* ; Protein Kinases ; Threonine/metabolism* ; Carbon/metabolism* ; Serine/metabolism*

Cystatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor found in many parasites, plays important roles in immune evasion. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of a cystatin from Fasciola hepatica (FhCystatin) and expressed recombinant FhCystatin (rFhcystatin) to investigate the immune modulatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation, migration, cytokine secretion, nitric oxide (NO) production, and apoptosis in mouse macrophages. The FhCystatin gene encoded 116 amino acids and contained a conserved cystatin-like domain. rFhCystatin significantly inhibited the activity of cathepsin B. rFhCystatin bound to the surface of mouse RAW264.7 cells, significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Moreover, rFhCystatin inhibited the expression of cellular nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and promoted the expression of transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10. These results showed that FhCystatin played an important role in regulating the activity of mouse macrophages. Our findings provide new insights into mechanisms underlying the immune evasion and contribute to the exploration of potential targets for the development of new drug to control F. hepatica infection.

WRKY is a superfamily of plant-specific transcription factors, playing a critical regulatory role in multiple biological processes such as plant growth and development, metabolism, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Although WRKY genes have been characterized in a variety of higher plants, little is known about them in eukaryotic algae, which are close to higher plants in evolution. To fully characterize algal WRKY family members, we carried out multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and conserved domain prediction to identify the WRKY genes in the genomes of 30 algal species. A total of 24 WRKY members were identified in Chlorophyta, whereas no WRKY member was detected in Rhodophyta, Glaucophyta, or Bacillariophyta. The 24 WRKY members were classified into Ⅰ, Ⅱa, Ⅱb and R groups, with a conserved heptapeptide domain WRKYGQ(E/A/H/N)K and a zinc finger motif C-X4-5-C-X22-23-H-X-H. Haematococcus pluvialis, a high producer of natural astaxanthin, contained two WRKY members (HaeWRKY-1 and HaeWRKY-2). Furthermore, the coding sequences of HaeWRKY-1 and HaeWRKY-2 genes were cloned and then inserted into prokaryotic expression vector. The recombinant vectors were induced to express in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells and the fusion proteins were purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. HaeWRKY-1 had significantly higher expression level than HaeWRKY-2 in H. pluvialis cultured under normal conditions. High light stress significantly up-regulated the expression of HaeWRKY-1 while down-regulated that of HaeWRKY-2. The promoters of HaeWRKY genes contained multiple cis-elements responsive to light, ethylene, ABA, and stresses. Particularly, the promoter of HaeWRKY-2 contained no W-box specific for WRKY binding. However, the W-box was detected in the promoters of HaeWRKY-1 and the key enzyme genes HaeBKT (β-carotene ketolase) and HaePSY (phytoene synthase) responsible for astaxanthin biosynthesis. Considering these findings and the research progress in the related fields, we hypothesized that the low expression of HaeWRKY-2 under high light stress may lead to the up-regulation of HaeWRKY-1 expression. HaeWRKY-1 may then up-regulate the expression of the key genes (HaeBKT, HaePSY, etc.) for astaxanthin biosynthesis, consequently promoting astaxanthin enrichment in algal cells. The findings provide new insights into further analysis of the regulatory mechanism of astaxanthin biosynthesis and high light stress response of H. pluvialis.
Eukaryota ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Plants/metabolism* ; Stress, Physiological/genetics* ; Transcription Factors/metabolism*

The unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis is the best source of natural astaxanthin (AST) in the world due to its high content under stress conditions. Although high light (HL) can effectively induce AST biosynthesis, the specific mechanisms of light signal perception and transduction are unclear. In the current study, we used transcriptomic data of normal (N), high white light (W), and high blue light (B) to study the mechanisms of light inducing AST accumulation from the point of photoreceptors. The original data of 4.0 G, 3.8 G, and 3.6 G for N, W, and B were obtained, respectively, by the Illumina Hi-seq 2000 sequencing technology. Totally, 51 954 unigenes (at least 200 bp in length) were generated, of which, 20 537 unigenes were annotated into at least one database (NR, NT, KO, SwissProt, Pfam, GO, or KOG). There were 1 255 DEGs in the W vs N, 1 494 DEGs in the B vs N, and 1 008 DEGs in the both W vs N and B vs N. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that photosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, carotenoid biosynthesis, fatty acids biosynthesis, DNA replication, nitrogen metabolism, and carbon metabolism were the significantly enriched pathways. Moreover, a large number of genes encoding photoreceptors and predicted interacting proteins were predicted in Haematococcus transcriptome data. These genes showed significant differences at transcriptional expression levels. In addition, 15 related DEGs were selected and tested by qRT-PCR and the results were significantly correlated with the transcriptome data. The above results indicate that the signal transduction pathway of "light signal - photoreceptors - interaction proteins - (interaction proteins - transcription factor/transcriptional regulator) - gene expression - AST accumulation" might play important roles in the regulation process, and provide reference for further understanding the transcriptional regulation mechanisms of AST accumulation under HL stress.
Chlorophyta/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; Transcriptome/genetics* ; Xanthophylls

Objective:To investigate the clinical effects of mini-hook locking plate fixation for the treatment of avulsion intra-articular fractures of the metacarpophalangeal joint.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 13 patients with avulsion intra-articular fractures of the metacarpophalangeal joint admitted to Beijing Luhe Hospital of Capital Medical University from June 2016 to December 2017. There were nine males and four females, aged 22-61 years [(46.0±1.3)years]. All patients had closed fracture. According to Pechlaner classification, there were 5 patients with Grade A1 and 8 patients with Grade B1. All fractures were treated with open reduction and mini-hook locking plate internal fixation. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, internal fixation position and bone healing time were recorded. The target joint range of motion (ROM) and grip strength were compared with the contralateral side two months after operation. Hand function was evaluated by total active motion (ATM). Visual analogue scale (VAS) was evaluated before operation two months after operation. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded.Results:All the patients were followed up for 9-19 months [(11.3±1.1)months]. The operation lasted for 20-30 minutes [(25.5±1.3)minutes], with blood loss of 5-10 ml [(5.5±1.3)ml]. After operation, anatomical reduction was achieved in all patients and position of implant placement was suitable. Bone healing time was 4-8 weeks [(4.7±0.3)weeks] for all fractures. There were no significant differences in the target joint ROM compared with the contralateral side two months after operation ( P>0.05). ATM was excellent in 11 patients and good in 2, with excellent rate of 100%. VAS was significantly decreased from preoperative (5.9±1.1)points to (0.5±0.1)points two months after operation ( P<0.05). No internal fixation failure or wound infection occurred after operation. Conclusion:For avulsion intra-articular fractures of the metacarpophalangeal joint, mini-hook locking plate internal fixation has advantages of shortened operation time, rigid internal fixation after anatomical reduction, shortened bone healing time, fast recovery of hand function, obvious pain relief and few complications, which provides a treatment alternative for clinics.