A Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway Is Required for Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB05 to Enhance Disease Resistance to Bacterial Soft Rot in Arabidopsis thaliana.

When a plant is infected by a pathogen, endogenous immune responses are initiated. When the initiation of these defense responses is induced by a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) of a pathogen, it is called PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Previous studies have shown that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB05 can enhance PTI signals and improve disease control of bacterial soft rot and wilt in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the context of controlling bacterial wilt disease, the involvement of a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway has been established. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether this pathway is also required for B. amyloliquefaciens PMB05 in controlling bacterial soft rot. In this study, A. thaliana ecotype Columbia (Col-0) and its mutants on a MAPK pathway-related pathway were used as a model and established that the ability of B. amyloliquefaciens PMB05 to control soft rot requires the participation of the MAPK pathway. Moreover, the enhancement of disease resistance by PMB05 is highly correlated with the activation of reactive oxygen species generation and stomata closure, rather than callose deposition. The spray inoculation method was used to illustrate that PMB05 can enhance stomatal closure, thereby restricting invasion by the soft rot bacterium. This control mechanism has also been demonstrated to require the activation of the MAPK pathway. This study demonstrates that B. amyloliquefaciens PMB05 can accelerate stomata closure via the activation of the MAPK pathway during PTI, thereby reducing pathogen invasion and achieving disease resistance against bacterial soft rot.

A Rapid Method for Screening Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern-Triggered Immunity-Intensifying Microbes.

PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) is the first layer of plant defense response that occurs on the plant plasma membrane. Recently, the application of a rhizobacterium, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain PMB05, has been demonstrated to enhance flg22Pst- or harpin-triggered PTI response such as callose deposition. This PTI intensification by PMB05 further contributes to plant disease resistance to different bacterial diseases. Under the demand for rapid and large-scale screening, it has become critical to establish a non-staining technology to identify microbial strains that can enhance PTI responses. Firstly, we confirmed that the expression of the GSL5 gene, which is required for callose synthesis, can be enhanced by PMB05 during PTI activation triggered by flg22 or PopW (a harpin from Ralstonia solanacearum). The promoter region of the GSL5 gene was further cloned and fused to the coding sequence of gfp. The constructed fragments were used to generate transgenic Arabidopsis plants through a plant transformation vector. The transgenic lines of AtGSL5-GFP were obtained. The analysis was performed by infiltrating flg22Pst or PopW in one homozygous line, and the results exhibited that the green fluorescent signals were observed until after 8 h. In addition, the PopW-induced fluorescent signal was significantly enhanced in the co-treatment with PMB05 at 4 h after inoculation. Furthermore, by using AtGSL5-GFP to analyze 13 Bacillus spp. strains, the regulation of PopW-induced fluorescent signal was observed. And, the regulation of these fluorescent signals was similar to that performed by callose staining. More importantly, the Bacillus strains that enhance PopW-induced fluorescent signals would be more effective in reducing the occurrence of bacterial wilt. Taken together, the technique by using AtGSL5-GFP would be a promising platform to screen plant immunity-intensifying microbes to control bacterial wilt.

Long-range hydrogen-bond relay catalyses the excited-state proton transfer reaction.

Solvent (e.g., water)-catalyzed proton transfer (SCPT) via the relay of hydrogen (H)-bonds plays a key role in proton migration. In this study, a new class of 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-g]quinolines (PyrQs) and their derivatives were synthesized, with sufficient separation of the pyrrolic proton donating and pyridinic proton accepting sites to probe excited-state SCPT. There was dual fluorescence for all PyrQs in methanol, i.e., normal (PyrQ) and tautomer 8H-pyrrolo[3,2-g]quinoline (8H-PyrQ) emissions. The fluorescence dynamics unveiled a precursor (PyrQ) and successor (8H-PyrQ) relationship and the correlation of an increasing overall excited-state SCPT rate (kSCPT) upon increasing the N(8)-site basicity. kSCPT can be expressed by the coupling reaction kSCPT = Keq × kPT, where kPT denotes the intrinsic proton tunneling rate in the relay and Keq denotes the pre-equilibrium between randomly and cyclically H-bonded solvated PyrQs. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation defined the cyclic PyrQs and analyzed the H-bond and molecular arrangement over time, which showed the cyclic PyrQs incorporating ≧3 methanol molecules. These cyclic H-bonded PyrQs are endowed with a relay-like proton transfer rate, kPT. MD simulation estimated an upper-limited Keq value of 0.02-0.03 for all studied PyrQs. When there was little change in Keq, the distinct kSCPT values for PyrQs were at different kPT values, which increased as the N(8) basicity increased, which was induced by the C(3)-substituent. kSCPT was subject to a deuterium isotope effect, where the kSCPT of 1.35 × 1010 s-1 for PyrQ-D in CH3OD was 1.68 times slower than that (2.27 × 1010 s-1) of PyrQ in CH3OH. MD simulation provided a similar Keq for PyrQ and PyrQ-D, leading to different proton tunneling rates (kPT) between PyrQ and PyrQ-D.

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB05 Increases Resistance to Bacterial Wilt by Activating Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase and Reactive Oxygen Species Pathway Crosstalk in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum can infect many crops, causing significant losses worldwide. The use of beneficial microorganisms is considered a feasible method for controlling this disease. Our previous study showed that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB05 can control bacterial wilt through intensifying immune signals triggered by a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) from R. solanacearum. It is still uncertain whether induction of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway during PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) is responsible for enhancing disease resistance. To gain more insights on how the presence of PMB05 regulates PTI signaling, its association with the MAPK pathway was assayed. Our results showed that the activation of MPK3/6 and expression of wrky22 upon treatment with the PAMP, PopW, was increased during co-treatment with PMB05. Moreover, the disease resistance conferred by PMB05 to bacterial wilt was abolished in mekk1, mkk5, and mpk6 mutants. To determine the relationship between the MAPK pathway and plant immune signals, the assay on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and callose deposition showed that only the ROS generation was strongly reduced in these mutants. Because ROS generation is highly correlated with RbohD, the results revealed that the effects of PMB05 on both PopW-induced ROS generation and disease resistance to bacterial wilt were eliminated in the rbohD mutant, suggesting that the generation of ROS is also required for PMB05-enhanced disease resistance. Taken together, we concluded that the crosstalk between the initiation of ROS generation and further activation of the MAPK pathway is necessary when PMB05 is used to improve disease resistance to bacterial wilt. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Low-Light Enhancement Using a Plug-and-Play Retinex Model With Shrinkage Mapping for Illumination Estimation.

Low-light photography conditions degrade image quality. This study proposes a novel Retinex-based low-light enhancement method to correctly decompose an input image into reflectance and illumination. Subsequently, we can improve the viewing experience by adjusting the illumination using intensity and contrast enhancement. Because image decomposition is a highly ill-posed problem, constraints must be properly imposed on the optimization framework. To meet the criteria of ideal Retinex decomposition, we design a nonconvex Lp norm and apply shrinkage mapping to the illumination layer. In addition, edge-preserving filters are introduced using the plug-and-play technique to improve illumination. Pixel-wise weights based on variance and image gradients are adopted to suppress noise and preserve details in the reflectance layer. We choose the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to solve the problem efficiently. Experimental results on several challenging low-light datasets show that our proposed method can more effectively enhance image brightness as compared with state-of-the-art methods. In addition to subjective observations, the proposed method also achieved competitive performance in objective image quality assessments.

Factors Related to Family Caregivers' Readiness for the Hospital Discharge of Advanced Cancer Patients.

Background: Many family caregivers of advanced cancer patients worry about being unable to provide in-home care and delay the discharge. Little is known about the influencing factors of discharge readiness. Methods: This study aimed to investigate the influencing factors of family caregivers' readiness, used a cross-sectional survey, and enrolled 123 sets of advanced cancer patients and family caregivers using convenience sampling from four oncology wards in a medical centre in northern Taiwan. A self-developed five-point Likert questionnaire, the "Discharge Care Assessment Scale", surveyed the family caregivers' difficulties with providing in-home care. Results: The study showed that the discharge readiness of family caregivers affects whether patients can be discharged home. Moreover, the influencing factors of family caregivers' discharge readiness were the patient's physical activity performance status and expressed discharge willingness; the presence of someone to assist family caregivers with in-home care; and the difficulties of in-home care. The best prediction model accuracy was78.0%, and the Nagelkerke R2 was 0.52. Conclusion: Discharge planning should start at the point of admission data collection, with the influencing factors of family caregivers' discharge readiness. It is essential to help patients increase the likelihood of being discharged home.

Influence Analysis of Sustainability Perceptions on Sense of Community and Support for Sustainable Community Development in Relocated Communities.

This study aims to examine a theoretical model using sustainability perceptions, including environmental; sociocultural; economic; and life satisfaction, sense of community, and support for sustainable community development among the indigenous people of two relocated communities in Taiwan. A total of 747 usable questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The analytical results indicated that sense of community is an antecedent of support for sustainable community development in both relocated communities. Life satisfaction perceptions can influence the sense of community in Rinari. Additionally, environmental and economic perceptions are antecedents of the sense of community in New Laiyi. Finally, this study provides theoretical implications to fill the gaps in previous research, and offers valuable insights for promoting residents' support for sustainable community development in aboriginal communities; thus, this study has significant contributions, theoretically and practically.

Acquired Resistance to Isoniazid During Isoniazid Monotherapy in a Subject with Latent Infection Following Household Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis Contact: A Case Report.

Appropriate treatment is the key element in eliminating tuberculosis (TB), and requires prompt diagnosis. We presented a case of a household contact of rifampicin-resistant TB revealing reactive IFN-gamma release assay with unsuspicious clinical and radiologic examinations. She was diagnosed with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and treated with isoniazid monotherapy. On the ninth month, she developed a progressive cough and was found to harbor active TB disease with added resistance to isoniazid. An individualized anti-TB regimen consisting of moxifloxacin, kanamycin, prothionamide, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide was prescribed for 20 months, leading to sputum culture conversion and improvement of the reported symptom. No recurrence was observed on one-year follow-up. Assuming high compliance to therapy, we propose that the patient may have been underdiagnosed and received sub-optimal treatment leading to acquired-drug resistance. Conventional diagnosis methods based on immunological assay and radiographical findings may be insufficient to distinguish the incipient and subclinical states of TB from LTBI.

Effects of Vigiis 101-LAB on a healthy population's gut microflora, peristalsis, immunity, and anti-oxidative capacity: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study.

Vigiis 101-LAB capsules are produced from the fermentation of Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101. We tested effects of Vigiis 101-LAB capsules I or II (5 or 10 billion CFU/day, respectively) on gut microflora in clinical trial I, and on peristalsis, immunity, and anti-oxidative capacity in clinical trial II, during a 4-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive-design study. In trial I, 36 subjects were divided into capsule I and placebo groups. After 4 weeks, Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. counts were significantly higher in the feces of treatment subjects, with increases of 4.01- and 4.25-fold, respectively. In trial II, 52 subjects were divided into capsule II and placebo groups. After 4 weeks, the treatment group was found to have improved motility, decreased food transit time, and significantly increased immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, and antioxidant activity. Thus, daily administration of Vigiis 101 capsule II can improve peristalsis, immunity, and anti-oxidative capacity.

Toxicity assessment of electrochemical advanced oxidation process-treated groundwater from a gas station with petrochemical contamination.

Electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP) is known for its efficient and fast degradation of organic pollutants in polluted water treatment. In this study, the EAOP using a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode was applied to treat two-season groundwater samples collected from four sampling wells (GS1 to GS4) with petrochemical contaminants including methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, total organic compounds (TOC), and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) at a gas station in southern Taiwan. Moreover, toxicity tests (ATP, p53, and NF-κB bioassays) were performed to evaluate the biological responses of raw and EAOP-treated groundwater. Results show that the concentrations of chlorobenzene before and after EAOP treatment were all below its method detection limit. High degradation efficiencies were observed for MTBE (100%), benzene (100%), toluene (100%, except that of GS2 in the first season), TPH (94-97%, except that of GS4 in the first season), and TOC (85-99%). Cell viability for both the raw groundwater (81.2 ± 13.5%) and EAOP-treated samples (84.7 ± 11.7%) as detected using the ATP bioassay showed no significant difference (p = 0.715). A mean reduction in the DNA damage (739 to 165 ng DOX-equivalency L-1 (ng DOX-EQ. L-1)) and inflammatory response levels (460 to 157 ng TNFα-equivalency L-1 (ng TNFα-EQ. L-1)) were observed for EAOP-treated samples subjected to p53 and NF-κB bioassays. Overall, the significances of the average degradation efficiency, DNA damage, and inflammatory response before and after groundwater with EAOP treatment was observed to be significant (p < 0.05). p53 and NF-κB bioassays might be applied to assess ecotoxic risk in the environment.