Abstract: Peanut is an important oil and food legume crop grown in more than one hundred countries, but the yield and quality are often impaired by different pathogens and diseases, especially aflatoxins jeopardizing human health and causing global concerns. For better management of aflatoxin contamination, we report the cloning and characterization of a novel A. flavus inducible promoter of the O-methyltransferase gene ( AhOMT1 ) from peanut. The AhOMT1 gene was identified as the highest inducible gene by A. flavus infection through genome-wide microarray analysis and verified by qRT-PCR analysis. AhOMT1 gene was studied in detail, and its promoter, fussed with the GUS gene, was introduced into Arabidopsis to generate homozygous transgenic lines. Expression of GUS gene was studied in transgenic plants under the infection of A. flavus . The analysis of AhOMT1 gene characterized by in silico assay, RNAseq, and qRT-PCR revealed minute expression in different organs and tissues with trace or no response to low temperature, drought, hormones, Ca2+, and bacterial stresses, but highly induced by A. flavus infection. It contains four exons encoding 297 aa predicted to transfer the methyl group of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM). The promoter contains different cis-elements responsible for its expression characteristics. Functional characterization of AhOMT1 P in transgenic Arabidopsis plants demonstrated highly inducible behavior only under A. flavus infection. The transgenic plants did not show GUS expression in any tissue(s) without inoculation of A. flavus spores. However, GUS activity increased significantly after inoculation of A. flavus and maintained a high level of expression after 48 hours of infection. These results provided a novel way for future management of peanut aflatoxins contamination through driving resistance genes in A. flavus inducible manner.

Abstract: To observe the differences in ocular biology between premature infants who had undergone retinal laser photocoagulation (LP) for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and full-term infants and to investigate the relationships between these differences and the development of the refractive state. Methods This retrospective, cross-sectional study included 25 children (50 eyes) who had undergone laser treatment for aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (AP-ROP), ROP in zone I requiring treatment, or ROP in zone II requiring treatment in the posterior pole (laser group) and 29 full-term infants (58 eyes) who had not (control group). Basic information, spherical equivalent (SE), and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were collected from the two groups. Their mean ages were 7.32 ± 2.85 and 7.34 ± 2.57 years, respectively ( t = −0.047, P = 0.96). Ocular biology data were measured using an IOL Master 700 instrument (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG) and the data were processed using MATLAB (R2016a, Mathworks Inc.). The data markers included central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior and posterior surface corneal curvature radius (CCR), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), lens anterior surface curvature radius, lens posterior surface curvature radius, and eye axis length (AL). Optometric data were collected simultaneously and all BCVA values were converted to the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) for analysis. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software (V.23.0). Independent sample t -tests were used for the assessment of ocular biology and refractive indices in both groups of children and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the correlations between age, gestational age at birth and ocular biology structural parameters. P & lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Comparisons of ocular biomarkers, refractive status, and BCVA between children in the laser and control groups showed relationships among ocular biomarkers, including the corneal-related parameters of CCT (0.54 ± 0.04 mm and 0.56 ± 0.03 mm, t = −2.116, P & lt; 0.05), anterior surface CCR (7.53 ± 0.33 mm and 7.84 ± 0.30 mm, t = −5.063, P & lt; 0.05), posterior surface CCR (6.75 ± 0.34 mm and 7.03 ± 0.24 mm, t = −4.864, P & lt; 0.05); as well as those related to anterior chamber depth (ACD) were 3.24 ± 0.26 mm and 3.64 ± 0.26 mm, respectively ( t = −8.065, P & lt; 0.05), lens-related parameters (LT) were 3.80 ± 0.19 mm and 3.45 ± 0.16 mm, respectively ( t = 10.514, P & lt; 0.05); anterior lens surface curvature radius were 10.02 ± 0.93 mm and 10.52 ± 0.85 mm, respectively ( t = −2.962, P & lt; 0.05); posterior lens surface curvature radius were 5.55 ± 0.51 mm and 5.80 ± 0.36 mm, respectively ( t = −2.917, P & lt; 0.05), and ocular axis (AL) were 22.60 ± 1.42 mm and 23.45 ± 1.23 mm, respectively ( t = −3.332, P & lt; 0.05). Moreover, comparison of refractive status and BCVA between two groups of children showed an SE of −1.23 ± 3.38 D and −0.07 ± 2.00 D ( t = −2.206, P & lt; 0.05) and LogMAR (BCVA) of 0.12 ± 0.13 and 0.05 ± 0.11 ( t = 3.070, P & lt; 0.05). Analysis of the correlations between age and ocular biomarkers and refractive status of children in the laser and control groups showed correlations between age and ocular biomarkers in the two groups, in which age in the laser group was positively correlated with AL ( r = 0.625, P & lt; 0.05) but not with other biomarkers ( P & gt; 0.05). Age in the control group was negatively correlated with CCT, ACD, and AL ( r = 0.303, 0.468, 0.703, P & lt; 0.05), as well as with LT ( r = −0.555, P & lt; 0.05), with no correlation with other biomarkers ( P & gt; 0.05). Analysis of the correlation between age and refractive status of children in both groups showed that the age of children in both laser and control groups was negatively correlated with SE ( r = −0.528, −0.655, P & lt; 0.05) and LogMAR (BCVA) ( r = −0.538, −0.542, P & lt; 0.05). Analysis of the correlations between refractive status and ocular biomarkers in children in the laser and control groups showed that the refractive status in children in the laser group was negatively correlated with AL ( r = −0.773, P & lt; 0.05) but not with other biomarkers in this group ( P & gt; 0.05). The refractive status of children in the control group was negatively correlated with ACD and AL ( r = −0.469, −0.734, P & lt; 0.05), positively correlated with LT ( r = 0.364, P & lt; 0.05), and was not correlated with other biomarkers in this group ( P & gt; 0.05). Analysis of the correlations of gestational age at birth with ocular biomarkers and refractive status in children in the laser group showed a positive correlation between gestational age at birth and AL ( r = 0.435, P & lt; 0.05) but no other correlations with the other biomarkers ( P & gt; 0.05). Moreover, gestational age at birth was negatively correlated with SE ( r = −0.334, P & lt; 0.05) and LogMAR (BCVA) ( r = −0.307, P & lt; 0.05) in children in the laser group. Conclusions Compared to full-term infants, the development of CCT, ACD, LT, and AL was relatively delayed after ROP laser surgery, resulting in thin central corneal thickness, steep corneas, shallow anterior chambers, thicker lenses, “rounder” lens morphology, increased refractive power, and short eye axes, leading to the development of myopia. The changes in refractive status were mainly influenced by increased lens thickness. The results of this study showed that the lower the gestational age at birth, the greater the effects on emmetropization in children after ROP, and the more likely the development of myopia.

Abstract: Background. The association between paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) and visual acuity in patients with retinal artery occlusion (RAO) is unknown. This study explored the clinical features and prognostic factors for visual acuity of RAO accompanied by PAMM. Methods. This retrospective study included patients with RAO who underwent FFA and OCT examinations at Shenzhen Eye Hospital from July 2015 to June 2019. The changes in vision and macular structure were observed. Results. Eighty-eight patients were included. There were 58 patients (65.9%) with central RAO (CRAO) and 30 (34.1%) with branch RAO (BRAO). Fifty-two eyes were diagnosed with PAMM, of which 33 eyes (63.5%) were from CRAO patients and 19 (36.5%) were from BRAO patients. At diagnosis, the PAMM group had significantly better logMAR BCVA values than the no-PAMM group (median (IQR), 1.35 (0.725–2) vs. 2.15 (1.47–2.3), P = 0.002 ). In addition, the PAMM group had significantly better logMAR BCVA values during follow-up than the no-PAMM group (median (IQR), 1 (0.05–2) vs. 2 (1.15–2.3), P = 0.001 ). After adjustment for age, gender, CRAO/BRAO, comorbidities, and symptom duration, PAMM was associated with good visual acuity improvement (RR = 3.29, 95% CI: 1.29–8.37, P = 0.013 ). Conclusion. PAMM was associated with good visual acuity improvement during follow-up in patients with RAO.

Abstract: Purpose . To report the clinical presentations and optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiographic features of patients with postcataract surgery endophthalmitis due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Methods . A retrospective observational study of 4 patients who developed S. maltophilia endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) was performed to control the infection. Patients were followed up for six months. Complete ophthalmological examination results were collected before and after PPV. Results . Patients’ response to PPV therapy was excellent and the infection was cured in all cases. OCTA showed that, at the one-month follow-up, the vascular density (VD) and perfusion density (PD) in the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) were significantly lower than those in healthy collateral eyes. As time went on, the SCP-VD and SCP-PD values gradually improved. Conclusions . With early PPV, the infection caused by S. maltophilia can be cured. OCTA provides a quantitative noninvasive assessment to evaluate the severity and prognosis of patients with S. maltophilia endophthalmitis.