To identify the challenges facing burn care nurses and burn patients' family members and to explore the relationship between the above challenges.

Lipid droplets (LDs) present in land plants serve as an essential energy and carbon reserve for seed germination and seedling development. Oleosins, the most abundant structural proteins of LDs, comprise a small family involved in LD formation, stabilization and degradation. Despite their importance, our knowledge on oleosins is still poor in Euphorbiaceae, a large plant family that contains several important oil-bearing species.

The major intrinsic protein (MIP) family is a family of proteins, including aquaporins, which facilitate water and small molecule transport across plasma membranes. In plants, MIPs function in a huge variety of processes including water transport, growth, stress response, and fruit development. In this study, we characterize the structure and transcriptional regulation of the MIP family in grapevine, describing the putative genome duplication events leading to the family structure and characterizing the family's tissue and developmental specific expression patterns across numerous preexisting microarray and RNAseq datasets. Gene co-expression network (GCN) analyses were carried out across these datasets and the promoters of each family member were analyzed for cis-regulatory element structure in order to provide insight into their transcriptional regulation.

Oleosins (OLEs) are a class of small but abundant structural proteins that play essential roles in the formation and stabilization of lipid droplets (LDs) in seeds of oil crops. Despite the proposal of five oleosin clades (i.e., U, SL, SH, T, and M) in angiosperms, their evolution in eudicots has not been well-established. In this study, we employed Brassicales, an economically important order of flowering plants possessing the lineage-specific T clade, as an example to address this issue. Three to 10 members were identified from 10 species representing eight plant families, which include Caricaceae, Moringaceae, Akaniaceae, Capparaceae, and Cleomaceae. Evolutionary and reciprocal best hit-based homologous analyses assigned 98 oleosin genes into six clades (i.e., U, SL, SH, M, N, and T) and nine orthogroups (i.e., U1, U2, SL, SH1, SH2, SH3, M, N, and T). The newly identified N clade represents an ancient group that has already appeared in the basal angiosperm Amborella trichopoda, which are constitutively expressed in the tree fruit crop Carica papaya, including pulp and seeds of the fruit. Moreover, similar to Clade N, the previously defined M clade is actually not Lauraceae-specific but an ancient and widely distributed group that diverged before the radiation of angiosperm. Compared with A. trichopoda, lineage-specific expansion of the family in Brassicales was largely contributed by recent whole-genome duplications (WGDs) as well as the ancient γ event shared by all core eudicots. In contrast to the flower-preferential expression of Clade T, transcript profiling revealed an apparent seed/embryo/endosperm-predominant expression pattern of most oleosin genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and C. papaya. Moreover, the structure and expression divergence of paralogous pairs was frequently observed, and a good example is the lineage-specific gain of an intron. These findings provide insights into lineage-specific family evolution in Brassicales, which facilitates further functional studies in nonmodel plants such as C. papaya.

Rab proteins form the largest family of the Ras superfamily of small GTP-binding proteins and regulate intracellular trafficking pathways. However, the function of the Rab proteins in woody species is still an open question.

Cholestasis induces the hepatic long non-coding RNA H19, which promotes the progression of cholestatic liver fibrosis. However, microRNAs that are dysregulated by H19 during cholestasis remain elusive. Using miRNA-sequencing analysis followed by qPCR validation, we identified marked upregulation of eight members of the let-7 family in cholestatic livers by bile duct ligation (BDL) and H19 overexpression. In particular, the expression of let-7a-1/7d/7f-1 was highly induced in H19-BDL livers but decreased in H19KO-BDL livers. Interestingly, H19 decreased the nuclear let-7 precursors as well as the primary transcripts of let-7a-1/7d/7f-1 levels in BDL mouse livers. Bioinformatics, RNA pull-down, and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays revealed that the crucial RNA-binding protein polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1 (PTBP1), an H19 interaction partner, interacted with the precursors of let-7a-1 and let-7d and suppressed their maturation. Both PTBP1 and let-7 expression was differentially regulated by different bile acid species in hepatocyte and cholangiocyte cells. Further, H19 negatively regulated PTBP1's mRNA and protein levels but did not affect its subcellular distribution in BDL mouse livers. Moreover, we found that H19 restrained but PTBP1 facilitated the bioavailability of let-7 miRNAs to their targets. Taken together, this study revealed for the first time that H19 promoted let-7 expression by decreasing PTBP1's expression level and its binding to the let-7 precursors in cholestasis.

The shape of the tuberous root, a very important quality trait, varies dramatically among radish cultivars. Ovate family proteins (OFPs) are plant-specific proteins that regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development. To investigate the possible role of OFPs in radish tuberous root formation, 35 putative RsOFPs were identified from radish, and their expression patterns were detected during tuberous root development in six different radish cultivars. Phylogenetically, RsOFP2.3 clustered together with AtOFP1 and other members of this family that are known to regulate organ shape. Moreover, RsOFP2.3 expression was negatively correlated with tuberous root elongation after the cortex splitting stage, which made this gene the top candidate for the involvement of tuberous root shape. To further characterize the function of RsOFP2.3, it was ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis. RsOFP2.3 overexpression in Arabidopsis led to multiple phenotypical changes, especially the decreased length and increased width of the hypocotyl. Furthermore, RsOFP2.3 expression was induced by all the five classic plant hormones except ethylene, and it was most sensitive to exogenous gibberellic acid treatment. We also found that RsOFP2.3 was localized in the cytoplasm. Taken together, our results suggested the possible involvement for RsOFP2.3 in suppressing radish tuberous root elongation and that it encodes a functional protein which mainly inhibits the elongation of Arabidopsis aerial organs.

Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) containing only a single zinc finger domain play important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development, as well as in biotic and abiotic stress responses. To date, the evolutionary history and functions of the ZFP gene family have not been identified in cotton.

The yeast Gis1 protein is a transcriptional regulator belonging to the JMJD2/KDM4 subfamily of demethylases that contain a JmjC domain, which are highly conserved from yeast to humans. They have important functions in histone methylation, cellular signaling and tumorigenesis. Besides serving as a cofactor in many proteins, heme is known to directly regulate the activities of proteins ranging from transcriptional regulators to potassium channels. Here, we report a novel mechanism governing heme regulation of Gis1 transcriptional and histone demethylase activities. We found that two Gis1 modules, the JmjN + JmjC domain and the zinc finger (ZnF), can bind to heme specifically in vitro. In vivo functional analysis showed that the ZnF, not the JmjN + JmjC domain, promotes heme activation of transcriptional activity. Likewise, measurements of the demethylase activity of purified Gis1 proteins showed that full-length Gis1 and the JmjN + JmjC domain both possess demethylase activity. However, heme potentiates the demethylase activity of full-length Gis1, but not that of the JmjN + JmjC domain, which can confer heme activation of transcriptional activity in an unrelated protein. These results demonstrate that Gis1 represents a novel class of multi-functional heme sensing and signaling proteins, and that heme binding to the ZnF stimulates Gis1 demethylase and transcriptional activities.

Members of the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) class of proteins are evolutionarily conserved molecular chaperones. They are involved in protein folding, assembly, stabilization, activation, and degradation in many normal cellular processes and under stress conditions. Unlike many other well-characterized molecular chaperones, Hsp90s play key roles in signal transduction, cell-cycle control, genomic silencing, and protein trafficking. However, no systematic analysis of genome organization, gene structure, and expression compendium has been performed in the Populus model tree genus to date.

B-box (BBX) zinc-finger transcription factors play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress response. Although these proteins have been studied in model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana or Oryza sativa, little is known about the evolutionary history or expression patterns of BBX proteins in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.).

The KDM4 histone demethylase subfamily is constituted of yeast JmjC domain-containing proteins, such as Gis1, and human Gis1 orthologues, such as KDM4A/B/C. KDM4 proteins have important functions in regulating chromatin structure and gene expression in response to metabolic and nutritional stimuli. Heme acts as a versatile signaling molecule to regulate important cellular functions in diverse organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. Here, using purified KDM4 proteins containing the JmjN/C domain, we showed that heme stimulates the histone demethylase activity of the JmjN/C domains of KDM4A and Cas well as full-length Gis1. Furthermore, we found that the C-terminal regions of KDM4 proteins, like that of Gis1, can confer heme regulation when fused to an unrelated transcriptional activator. Interestingly, biochemical pull-down of Gis1-interacting proteins followed by mass spectrometry identified 147 unique proteins associated with Gis1 under heme-sufficient and/or heme-deficient conditions. These 147 proteins included a significant number of heterocyclic compound-binding proteins, Ubl-conjugated proteins, metabolic enzymes/proteins, and acetylated proteins. These results suggested that KDM4s interact with diverse cellular proteins to form a complex network to sense metabolic and nutritional conditions like heme levels and respond by altering their interactions with other proteins and functional activities, such as histone demethylation.

Studies have reported that >91.9% of non-syndromic tooth agenesis cases are caused by seven pathogenic genes. To report novel heterozygous PAX9 variants in a Chinese family with non-syndromic oligodontia and summarize the reported genotype-phenotype relationship of PAX9 variants.

Auxin signalling plays an essential role in regulating plant development. Auxin response factors (ARFs), which are critical components of auxin signalling, modulate the expression of early auxin-responsive genes by binding to auxin response factor elements (AuxREs). However, there has been no comprehensive characterization of this gene family in cotton. Here, we identified 56 GhARF genes in the assembled Gossypium hirsutum genome. This gene family was divided into 17 subfamilies, and 44 members of them were distributed across 21 chromosomes. GhARF6 and GhARF11 subfamily genes were predominantly expressed in vegetative tissues, whereas GhARF2 and GhARF18 subfamily genes were highly expressed during seed fibre cell initiation. GhARF2-1 and GhARF18-1 were exclusively expressed in trichomes, organs similar to cotton seed fibre cells, and overexpression of these genes in Arabidopsis enhances trichome initiation. Comparative transcriptome analysis combined with AuxRE prediction revealed 11 transcription factors as potential target genes of GhARF2 and GhARF18. Six of these genes were significantly expressed during seed fibre cell initiation and were bound by GhARF2-1 and GhARF18-1 in yeast one-hybrid assays. Our results suggest that GhARF2 and GhARF18 genes may be key regulators of cotton seed fibre initiation by regulating the expression of several transcription factor genes. This study deepens our understanding of auxin-mediated initiation of cotton seed fibre cells and helps us in breeding better cotton varieties in the future.

ASR (ABA-stress-ripening) genes play important roles in regulating plant growth and stress responses. This study identified 29 ASR genes in wheat. 23 pairs of tandem duplication genes and six pairs of segmental duplication genes were found in wheat ASR (TaASR) gene family, respectively. It is speculated that gene duplication event is the main driving force of TaASR genes evolution. Using published RNA-seq data and the qRT-PCR results of 12 TaASR genes, we analyzed the expression profiles for TaASR genes under abiotic stresses. It found that most of the genes mainly responded to salt and low temperature stress. Finally, subcellular localization and self-activation experiments showed that the proteins encoded by 12 TaASR genes were all located in the nucleus and cell membrane, and the full-length proteins had self-activation activity, which supported their role as transcription factors. This study provides a scientific basis for a comprehensive understanding of the TaASR gene family.

We aimed to clarify the therapeutic effects of imperatorin (IMP) on knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Thirty 3-month-old SD male rats were randomly divided into Normal, monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) and MIA+IMP groups. Their synovial tissues were subjected to histopathological analysis. Primary synovial fibroblasts obtained from additional normal rats were treated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and then IMP. The mRNA and protein expressions of factors related to synovitis and synovial fibrosis were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The concentrations of inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-18 were measured by ELISA. IMP reduced HIF-1α, NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 inflammasome expression and IL-1β, IL-18 production in synovial fibroblasts induced by LPS. IMP also downregulated synovial fibrosis markers. In vitro study revealed that MIA-induced synovitis and synovial fibrosis were relieved by IMP. IMP relieves the inflammation associated with synovitis and synovial fibrosis. It reduces the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines and inhibits TGF-β1, TIMP-1 and VEGF expressions that promote synovial fibrosis.

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (HIR) injury, a common clinical complication of liver transplantation and resection, affects patient prognosis. Ring finger protein 5 (RNF5) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays important roles in endoplasmic reticulum stress, unfolded protein reactions, and inflammatory responses; however, its role in HIR is unclear.

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are involved in plant stress responses and osmotic regulation, and they are accumulated in the late embryonic stage. There have been no previous genome-wide analyses of the LEA gene family members in wheat and its close relatives. In this study, 281, 53, 151, 89, 99, and 99 LEA genes were identified in wheat (Triticum aestivum), Triticum urartu, Triticum dicoccoides, Aegilops tauschii, barley, and Brachypodium distachyon, respectively. The wheat LEA gene family (TaLEA genes) was divided into eight subfamilies according to the conserved domains. All TaLEA genes contain very few introns (<3) and they are unevenly distributed on the 21 chromosomes. We identified 39 pairs of tandem duplication genes and 9 pairs of segmental duplication genes in the wheat LEA gene family. This proved that the tandem duplication and segmental duplication played an important role in the expansion of the TaLEA gene family. According to published transcriptome data and qRT-PCR analysis, the TaLEA genes exhibit different tissue expression patterns and they are regulated by various abiotic stresses, especially salt and cold stress. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the wheat LEA gene family.

Background: Minimal research has examined utility of PC-PTSD-5 in family members of frontline medical workers. The aims of our study were to develop and elucidate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the PC-PTSD-5 and to determine its usefulness in screening for possible PTSD in relatives of Chinese healthcare workers during the COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional research in the relatives of medical staffs working in a general hospital during the COVID-19. Descriptive analysis was used to characterize demographic information of family members to find factors associated with PTSD symptoms. For reliability test, the internal consistency of PC-PTSD-5 was accessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. A validity test was assessed by Pearson's correlation between scales. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the optimal cutoff score with the maximum Youden Index in this study. Results: The result of demographic information indicated that gender and the type of work undertaken by medical staff in the family have a potential impact on the PTSD symptoms of medical staff's family members. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of PC-PTSD-5 was 0.83, indicating the high reliability. Good validity was also demonstrated by Pearson coefficient. By calculating the Youden index, a cutoff score of 2 was found to be optimal in our study, with sensitivity of 80.74% and specificity of 88.43%. Conclusions: Our study has demonstrated the robust psychometric strengths of the PC-PTSD-5, introducing a reliable tool for screening PTSD among vulnerable and neglected families of these medical workers.

The mammalian Transmembrane BAX Inhibitor Motif (TMBIM) protein family consists of six evolutionarily conserved hydrophobic proteins that affect programmed cell death and the regulation of intracellular calcium levels. The bacterial ortholog BsYetJ is a pH-dependent calcium channel. We here identified seven TMBIM family members in Drosophila melanogaster and describe their expression levels in diverse tissues and developmental stages. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that CG30379 represents the ortholog of human TMBIM4 although these two proteins are much less related than TMBIM5 (CG2076 and CG1287/Mics1) and TMBIM6 (CG7188/Bi-1) to their respective orthologs. For TMBIM1-3 the assignment is more dubious because the fly and the human proteins cluster together. We conducted a functional analysis based on expression levels and the availability of RNAi lines. This revealed that the ubiquitous knockdown of CG3798/Nmda1 and CG3814/Lfg had no effect on development while knockdown of CG2076/dTmbim5 resulted in death at the pupa stage and knockdown of CG7188/dTmbim6 in death at the embryonic stage. Ubiquitous knockdown of the second TMBIM5 paralog CG1287/Mics1 ensued in male sterility. Knockdown of dTmbim5 and 6 in muscle and neural tissue also greatly reduced lifespan through different mechanisms. Knockdown of the mitochondrial family member dTmbim5 resulted in reduced ATP production and a pro-apoptotic expression profile while knockdown of the ER protein dTmbim6 increased the ER calcium levels similar to findings in mammalian cells. Our data demonstrate that dTmbim5 and 6 are essential for fly development and survival but affect cell survival through different mechanisms.