Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum), one of the oldest domesticated crops in the Americas, is the most widely grown spice crop in the world. We report whole-genome sequencing and assembly of the hot pepper (Mexican landrace of Capsicum annuum cv. CM334) at 186.6× coverage. We also report resequencing of two cultivated peppers and de novo sequencing of the wild species Capsicum chinense. The genome size of the hot pepper was approximately fourfold larger than that of its close relative tomato, and the genome showed an accumulation of Gypsy and Caulimoviridae family elements. Integrative genomic and transcriptomic analyses suggested that change in gene expression and neofunctionalization of capsaicin synthase have shaped capsaicinoid biosynthesis. We found differential molecular patterns of ripening regulators and ethylene synthesis in hot pepper and tomato. The reference genome will serve as a platform for improving the nutritional and medicinal values of Capsicum species.

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum), one of the oldest domesticated crops in the Americas, is the most widely grown spice crop in the world. We report whole-genome sequencing and assembly of the hot pepper (Mexican landrace of Capsicum annuum cv. CM334) at 186.6× coverage. We also report resequencing of two cultivated peppers and de novo sequencing of the wild species Capsicum chinense. The genome size of the hot pepper was approximately fourfold larger than that of its close relative tomato, and the genome showed an accumulation of Gypsy and Caulimoviridae family elements. Integrative genomic and transcriptomic analyses suggested that change in gene expression and neofunctionalization of capsaicin synthase have shaped capsaicinoid biosynthesis. We found differential molecular patterns of ripening regulators and ethylene synthesis in hot pepper and tomato. The reference genome will serve as a platform for improving the nutritional and medicinal values of Capsicum species.

Abstract Introduction Polysomnography, the gold standard for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, requires manual scoring by trained sleep technologists or physicians to analyze its comprehensive physiological data. However, manual scoring is cost-intensive, prone to inconsistencies among scorers, and often causes delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation, potentially compromising patient outcomes. The purpose of this study is to validate the performance of artificial intelligence (AI)-based automatic polysomnography scoring system (SOMNUM) developed to overcome these limitations using a cross-sectional experimental design on a representative subjects of data recorded in the 3 sleep laboratories of university hospitals. Methods This study utilized a retrospective dataset of 400 polysomnography (PSG) recordings from three university hospitals: Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Ajou University Hospital, and Chungnam University Hospital. Forty-eight full-night PSG studies were randomly selected from the dataset for the performance evaluation of SOMNUM, an AI-based automatic sleep scoring system. The performance of SOMNUM was assessed by comparing its scoring results with those of three human experts for four scoring functions: sleep staging, arousals, respiratory events, and periodic limb movements (PLMs). Performance metrics included positive percentage agreement, negative percentage agreement, and overall percentage agreement, calculated using R statistical software with relevant packages. Results The agreement rates between the scorer and AI-based automatic polysomnography scoring systems for each sleep stage (W, N1, N2, N3, R) were 89.96%, 77.93%, 91.13%, 84.04%, and 84.62%, respectively. The agreement rate between the scorer and AI for arousal was 82.5%, the agreement rate for respiratory events was 92.3%, and the agreement rate for periodic limb movements was 94.1%. Conclusion This study has demonstrated that SOMNUM is a valuable solution for automatic polysomnography interpretation. These results suggest that AI-based automated polysomnography scoring systems have the potential to advance the field of sleep medicine by improving diagnostic efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing the consistency of sleep disorder diagnoses. Support (if any) This work was supported by the Seoul Business Agency (2023 Bio/Medical Technology Commercialization Supporting Project, BT230157). This work was supported by the Technology development Program (RS-2023-00321754) funded by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Korea).

In frontal sinus surgery, stenosis of the frontal sinus opening after surgery remains a challenge for many surgeons. Different surgical approaches such as Lynch procedure, Draf type II, and extended modified Lothrop procedure may decrease adverse surgical results but also accompany inherent complications. The use of various kinds of stents have been also suggested to prolong the patency of the frontal sinus opening. However, no definite consensus has been reached about frontal stents use. Here we introduce the experience of using a new omega shaped silicon stent, which has shown promising results in keeping the frontal sinus opening patent.

Oxidative stress has been directly implicated in the pathogenesis of various skin disorders, making it a promising target for therapeutic intervention. <i>Bauhinia forficata</i> Link (BFL), commonly referred to as "plant insulin," is well known for its antioxidant and antihyperglycemic properties; however, its potential role in skin protection remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of BFL against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in HaCaT keratinocytes. The major phytochemical constituents of BFL were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Its antioxidant capacity was evaluated using 2,2'-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). In an H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress model, we assessed intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and apoptosis using flow cytometry. Cellular respiration was analyzed using a Seahorse XFp analyzer, while molecular mechanisms were examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting. Our results demonstrated that BFL significantly reduced intracellular ROS levels and apoptosis, primarily by activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/PINK1 pathway, which promoted mitochondrial quality control and redox homeostasis. Additionally, BFL suppressed inflammatory responses by downregulating the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway and reducing the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). These findings suggest that BFL is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, with potential as an adjunctive therapy for oxidative stress-related skin conditions.