The HD-Zip I transcription factor MdHB-7 negatively regulates resistance to Glomerella leaf spot in apple.

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), caused by Colletotrichum fructicola (Cf), has been one of the main fungal diseases afflicting apple-producing areas across the world for many years, and it has led to substantial reductions in apple output and quality. HD-Zip transcription factors have been identified in several species, and they are involved in the immune response of plants to various types of biotic stress. In this study, inoculation of MdHB-7 overexpressing (MdHB-7-OE) and interference (MdHB-7-RNAi) transgenic plants with Cf revealed that MdHB-7, which encodes an HD-Zip transcription factor, adversely affects GLS resistance. The SA content and the expression of SA pathway-related genes were lower in MdHB-7-OE plants than in 'GL-3' plants; the content of ABA and the expression of ABA biosynthesis genes were higher in MdHB-7-OE plants than in 'GL-3' plants. Further analysis indicated that the content of phenolics and chitinase and ß-1, 3 glucanase activities were lower and H2O2 accumulation was higher in MdHB-7-OE plants than in 'GL-3' plants. The opposite patterns were observed in MdHB-7-RNAi apple plants. Overall, our results indicate that MdHB-7 plays a negative role in regulating defense against GLS in apple, which is likely achieved by altering the content of SA, ABA, polyphenols, the activities of defense-related enzymes, and the content of H2O2.

Early Childhood Income Instability and Mental Health in Adolescence: Parenting Stress and Child Maltreatment as Mediators.

Ample research has examined how point-in-time or static measures of economic deprivation are associated with children's mental health outcomes. Less is known about the relationship between early childhood unstable income and mental health outcomes. Using the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined (1) the latent patterns of early childhood economic well-being, predicted by income level and instability (i.e., direction and frequency of income change); (2) the association of income deprivation patterns with subsequent anxiety and depression symptoms, paying particular attention to the mediating roles of parenting stress and child maltreatment risk. The latent class analysis results suggested four distinct groups representing different combinations of income level and instability. Structural equation modeling results indicated indirect links between income deprivation patterns and mental health outcomes, through parenting stress and physical and psychological abuse. Findings indicated the importance of policies and programs promoting economic stability over the long run.

CERK1 compromises Fusarium solani resistance by reducing jasmonate level and undergoes a negative feedback regulation via the MMK2-WRKY71 module in apple.

Fusarium spp., a necrotrophic soil-borne pathogen, causes root rot disease on many crops. CERK1, as a typical pattern recognition receptor, has been widely studied. However, the function of CERK1 during plant-Fusarium interaction has not been well described. We determined that MdCERK1 is a susceptibility gene in the apple-Fusarium solani (Fs) interaction, and jasmonic acid (JA) plays a crucial role in this process. MdCERK1 directly targets and phosphorylates the lipoxygenase MdLOX2.1, an enzyme initiating the JA biosynthesis, at positions Ser326 and Thr327. These phosphorylations inhibit its translocation from the cytosol to the chloroplasts, leading to a compromised JA biosynthesis. Fs upregulates MdCERK1 expression during infection. In turn, when the JA level is low, the apple MdWRKY71, a transcriptional repressor of MdCERK1, is markedly upregulated and phosphorylated at Thr99 and Thr102 residues by the MAP kinase MdMMK2. The phosphorylation of MdWRKY71 enhances its transcription inhibition on MdCERK1. Taken together, MdCERK1 plays a novel role in limiting JA biosynthesis. There seems to be an arms race between apple and Fs, in which Fs activates MdCERK1 expression to reduce the JA level, while apple senses the low JA level and activates the MdMMK2-MdWRKY71 module to elevate JA level by inhibiting MdCERK1 expression.

Valsa mali effector Vm_04797 interacts with adaptor protein MdAP-2ß to manipulate host autophagy.

Apple Valsa canker, caused by the ascomycete fungus Valsa mali, employs virulence effectors to disturb host immunity and poses a substantial threat to the apple industry. However, our understanding of how V. mali effectors regulate host defense responses remains limited. Here, we identified the V. mali effector Vm_04797, which was upregulated during the early infection stage. Vm_04797, a secreted protein, suppressed Inverted formin 1 (INF1)-triggered cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana and performed virulence functions inside plant cells. Vm_04797 deletion mutants showed substantially reduced virulence toward apple. The adaptor protein MdAP-2ß positively regulated apple Valsa canker resistance and was targeted and degraded by Vm_04797 via the ubiquitination pathway. The in vitro analysis suggested that Vm_04797 possesses E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Further analysis revealed that MdAP-2ß is involved in autophagy by interacting with Malus domestica autophagy protein 16 MdATG16 and promoting its accumulation. By degrading MdAP-2ß, Vm_04797 inhibited autophagic flux, thereby disrupting the defense response mediated by autophagy. Our findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms employed by the effectors of E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in ascomycete fungi to regulate host immunity.

Elongation factor MdEF-Tu coordinates with heat shock protein MdHsp70 to enhance apple thermotolerance.

High-temperature stress results in protein misfolding/unfolding and subsequently promotes the accumulation of cytotoxic protein aggregates that can compromise cell survival. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) function as molecular chaperones that coordinate the refolding and degradation of aggregated proteins to mitigate the detrimental effects of high temperatures. However, the relationship between HSPs and protein aggregates in apples under high temperatures remains unclear. Here, we show that an apple (Malus domestica) chloroplast-localized, heat-sensitive elongation factor Tu (MdEF-Tu), positively regulates apple thermotolerance when it is overexpressed. Transgenic apple plants exhibited higher photosynthetic capacity and better integrity of chloroplasts during heat stress. Under high temperatures, MdEF-Tu formed insoluble aggregates accompanied by ubiquitination modifications. Furthermore, we identified a chaperone heat shock protein (MdHsp70), as an interacting protein of MdEF-Tu. Moreover, we observed obviously elevated MdHsp70 levels in 35S: MdEF-Tu apple plants that prevented the accumulation of ubiquitinated MdEF-Tu aggregates, which positively contributes to the thermotolerance of the transgenic plants. Overall, our results provide new insights into the molecular chaperone function of MdHsp70, which mediates the homeostasis of thermosensitive proteins under high temperatures.

What Do Child Abuse and Neglect Medical Evaluation Consultation Notes Tell Researchers and Clinicians?

Child abuse and neglect (CAN) medical experts provide specialized multidisciplinary care to children when there is concern for maltreatment. Their clinical notes contain valuable information on child- and family-level factors, clinical concerns, and service placements that may inform the needed supports for the family. We created and implemented a coding system for data abstraction from these notes. Participants were 1,397 children ages 0-17 years referred for a consultation with a CAN medical provider at an urban teaching and research hospital between March 2013 and December 2017. Coding themes were developed using an interdisciplinary team-based approach to qualitative analysis, and descriptive results are presented using a developmental-contextual framework. This study demonstrates the potential value of developing a coding system to assess characteristics and patterns from CAN medical provider notes, which could be helpful in improving quality of care and prevention and detection of child abuse.

Child Sexual Abuse Documentation in Primary Care Settings.

Primary care providers (PCPs) can play an important role in the continuity of care for children who experience sexual abuse (SA). We performed a retrospective, chart-based study of children 3 to 17 years old with SA history. Primary care medical records were reviewed for 2 years after a subspecialty SA evaluation. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to assess factors associated with documentation of SA history and mental health management by the PCP. Of 131 included patients, 43% had PCP documentation of their SA history, which was associated with care from resident providers (P < .01). There was greater mental health management and mental health referrals by PCPs for the group with documentation compared with the group without documentation (52% vs 23%, P < .001). Overall, child SA history was poorly documented in primary care settings. Identifying mechanisms to improve communication about a child's SA history with PCPs is important for the child's ongoing care.

Relationship Between Socioeconomic Conditions and Financial Fraud Victimization Among Older Adults in China: Do Financial Literacy and Financial Attitudes Matter?

Using data from the 2015 wave of the China Household Finance Survey (N ≈ 12,100), this study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between socioeconomic conditions (i.e., educational attainments, hukou status, and household financial assets per capita) and financial fraud victimization among Chinese older adults and the mediating roles of financial literacy and financial attitudes (i.e., interest in financial matters and risk tolerance). We found that although neither educational attainment nor hukou status was directly related to financial fraud victimization, household financial assets per capita was postively associated with the risk of financial fraud victimization. In addition, higher educational attainment, urban hukou, and more financial assets per capita were associated with more risk of financial fraud victimization through higher levels of financial literacy and higher interest in financial matters. Implications for preventing and protecting Chinese older adults from financial fraud victimization are discussed.

Do children evaluated for maltreatment have higher subsequent emergency department and inpatient care utilization compared to a general pediatric sample?

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment leads to substantial adverse health outcomes, but little is known about acute health care utilization patterns after children are evaluated for a concern of maltreatment at a child abuse and neglect medical evaluation clinic. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the association of having a child maltreatment evaluation with subsequent acute health care utilization among children from birth to age three. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Children who received a maltreatment evaluation (N = 367) at a child abuse and neglect subspecialty clinic in an academic health system in the United States and the general pediatric population (N = 21,231). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study that compared acute health care utilization over 18 months between the two samples using data from electronic health records. Outcomes were time to first emergency department (ED) visit or inpatient hospitalization, maltreatment-related ED use or inpatient hospitalization, and ED use or inpatient hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Multilevel survival analyses were performed. RESULTS: Children who received a maltreatment evaluation had an increased hazard for a subsequent ED visit or inpatient hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.3, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.1, 1.5) and a maltreatment-related visit (HR: 4.4, 95 % CI: 2.3, 8.2) relative to the general pediatric population. A maltreatment evaluation was not associated with a higher hazard of health care use for ACSCs (HR: 1.0, 95 % CI: 0.7, 1.3). CONCLUSION: This work can inform targeted anticipatory guidance to aid high-risk families in preventing future harm or minimizing complications from previous maltreatment.

Exogenous application of xanthine and uric acid and nucleobase-ascorbate transporter MdNAT7 expression regulate salinity tolerance in apple.

BACKGROUND: Soil salinity is a critical threat to global agriculture. In plants, the accumulation of xanthine activates xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), which catalyses the oxidation/conversion of xanthine to uric acid to remove excess reactive oxygen species (ROS). The nucleobase-ascorbate transporter (NAT) family is also known as the nucleobase-cation symporter (NCS) or AzgA-like family. NAT is known to transport xanthine and uric acid in plants. The expression of MdNAT is influenced by salinity stress in apple. RESULTS: In this study, we discovered that exogenous application of xanthine and uric acid enhanced the resistance of apple plants to salinity stress. In addition, MdNAT7 overexpression transgenic apple plants showed enhanced xanthine and uric acid concentrations and improved tolerance to salinity stress compared with nontransgenic plants, while opposite phenotypes were observed for MdNAT7 RNAi plants. These differences were probably due to the enhancement or impairment of ROS scavenging and ion homeostasis abilities. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that xanthine and uric acid have potential uses in salt stress alleviation, and MdNAT7 can be utilized as a candidate gene to engineer resistance to salt stress in plants.

Functions of dopamine in plants: a review.

Dopamine (3-hydroxytyramine or 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) has many functions in animals, but also shows several other functions in plants. Since the discovery of dopamine in plants in 1968, many studies have provided insight into physiological and biochemical functions, and stress responses of this molecule. In this review, we describe the biosynthesis of dopamine, as well as its role in plant growth and development. In addition, endogenous or exogenously applied dopamine improved the tolerance against several abiotic stresses, such as drought, salt, and nutrient stress. There are also several studies that dopamine contributes to the plant immune response against plant disease. Dopamine affects the expression of many abiotic stresses related genes, which highlights its role as a multi-regulatory molecule and can coordinate many aspects of plant development. Our review emphasized the effects of dopamine against environmental stresses along with future research directions, which will help improve the yield of eco-friendly crops and ensure food security.

Sonodynamic Therapy Suppresses Neovascularization in Atherosclerotic Plaques via Macrophage Apoptosis-Induced Endothelial Cell Apoptosis.

During atherosclerosis plaque progression, pathological intraplaque angiogenesis leads to plaque rupture accompanied by thrombosis, which is probably the most important cause of arteries complications such as cerebral and myocardial infarction. Even though few treatments are available to mitigate plaque rupture, further investigation is required to develop a robust optimized therapeutic method. In this study using rabbit and mouse atherosclerotic models, sinoporphyrin sodium (DVDMS)-mediated sonodynamic therapy reduced abnormal angiogenesis and plaque rupture. Briefly, DVDMS is injected to animals, and then the plaque was locally exposed to pulse ultrasound for a few minutes. Furthermore, a small size clinical trial was conducted on patients with atherosclerosis. Notably, a significant reduction of arterial inflammation and angiogenesis was recorded following a short period of DVDMS-mediated sonodynamic therapy treatment. This beneficial outcome was almost equivalent to the therapeutic outcome after 3-month intensive statin treatment.

Familial financial stress and child internalizing behaviors: The roles of caregivers' maltreating behaviors and social services.

Based on the family stress model and the stress-buffering model, the present study examines the relationship between caregivers' financial stress and child internalizing problem behaviors, the mediating role of caregiver maltreating behaviors, and whether social services for caregivers buffer this relationship. The current study is based on data from wave two of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being dataset (N = 2670). Results indicated increased high familial financial stress was associated with child internalizing problems. Caregivers' psychological aggression, physical assault, child neglect, and sexual maltreatment emerged as mechanisms mediating this relationship. Tangible service and social network service were found to mitigate the deleterious effect of financial stress on child internalizing behaviors, but primarily for those whom financial stress was high. These findings highlight the role perceived financial stress has on potential maltreatment and child outcomes, rather than relying on objective measures of economic status. Implications for social services focused interventions for children and caregivers coping with high levels of perceived financial stress are discussed.

The time-dependent effects of St John's wort on cytochrome P450, uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase, glutathione S-transferase, and NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase in mice.

Hypericum perforatum [St. John's wort (SJW)] is known to cause a drug interaction with the substrates of cytochrome P450 (P450, CYP) isoforms, mainly CYP3A. This study aims to determine the dose response and time course of the effects of SJW extract on P450s, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase (NQO) in mice. The oral administration of SJW extract to male mice at 0.6 g/kg/d for 21 days increased hepatic oxidation activity toward a Cyp3a substrate nifedipine. By extending the SJW treatment to 28 days, hepatic nifedipine oxidation (NFO) and warfarin 7-hydroxylation (WOH) (Cyp2c) activities were increased by 95% and 34%, respectively. Immunoblot analysis of liver microsomal proteins revealed that the Cyp2c protein level was elevated by the 28-day treatment. However, the liver microsomal activities of the oxidation of the respective substrates of Cyp1a, Cyp2a, Cyp2b, Cyp2d, and Cyp2e1 remained unchanged. In the kidney, SJW increased the NFO, but not the WOH activity. The extended 28-day treatment did not alter mouse hepatic and renal UGT, GST, and NQO activities. These findings demonstrate that SJW stimulates hepatic and renal Cyp3a activity and hepatic Cyp2c activity and expression. The induction of hepatic Cyp2c requires repeated treatment for a period longer than the initial induction of Cyp3a.