Sequence and epigenetic variations of R2R3-MYB transcription factors determine the diversity of taproot skin and flesh colors in different cultivated types of radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

KEY MESSAGE: This study found that three paralogous R2R3-MYB transcription factors exhibit functional divergence among different subspecies and cultivated types in radish. Cultivated radish taproots exhibit a wide range of color variations due to unique anthocyanin accumulation patterns in various tissues. This study investigated the universal principles of taproot color regulation that developed during domestication of different subspecies and cultivated types. The key candidate genes RsMYB1 and RsMYB2, which control anthocyanin accumulation in radish taproots, were identified using bulked segregant analysis in two genetic populations. We introduced the RsMYB1-RsF3'H-RsMYB1Met genetic model to elucidate the complex and unstable genetic regulation of taproot flesh color in Xinlimei radish. Furthermore, we analyzed the expression patterns of three R2R3-MYB transcription factors in lines with different taproot colors and investigated the relationship between RsMYB haplotypes and anthocyanin accumulation in a natural population of 56 germplasms. The results revealed that three paralogous RsMYBs underwent functional divergence during radish domestication, with RsMYB1 regulating the red flesh of Xinlimei radish, and RsMYB2 and RsMYB3 regulating the red skin of East Asian big long radish (R. sativus var. hortensis) and European small radish (R. sativus var. sativus), respectively. Moreover, RsMYB1-H1, RsMYB2-H10, and RsMYB3-H6 were identified as the primary haplotypes exerting regulatory functions on anthocyanin synthesis. These findings provide an understanding of the genetic mechanisms regulating anthocyanin synthesis in radish and offer a potential strategy for early prediction of color variations in breeding programs.

A Comparative Study on Platelet-Rich Plasma From Elderly Individuals and Young Adults to Treat Pressure Ulcers in Mice.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare the therapeutic effects of activated platelet-rich plasma (PRP) prepared from elderly individuals and young adults to treat pressure ulcers (PUs), and to accumulate a theoretical basis for allogeneic PRP treatment of PUs in elderly patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Whole blood was extracted from elderly individuals aged >65 y and young adult volunteers for PRP preparation, and platelet concentrations in whole blood and PRP were compared. Growth factors released from activated PRP were assayed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups: the control saline, elderly-PRP (Group A), and young adult-PRP (Group B). Ischemia-reperfusion injury-induced PUs were established on the backs of mice. PUs were photographed on days 0, 5, and 10 to assess their sizes. Specimens were collected on day 10 and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's staining. Immunohistochemical staining for CD31 was conducted to evaluate vascular formation, and cell invasion was assessed using a Transwell assay. The action of PRP on transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß)-dependent fibroblast activity and epithelial-mesenchymal transition was analyzed using immunofluorescence and Western blotting in vitro. RESULTS: The platelet concentrations in whole blood and PRP of young adults were significantly higher than that in elderly individuals. The two PRP treatment groups had similar platelet enrichment coefficients of PRP. After activation, PRP from young adults produced significantly higher levels of platelet-derived growth factor, TGF-ß, and vascular endothelial growth factor than PRP from elderly individuals (P < 0.05). The concentrations of platelet-derived growth factor, TGF-ß, and vascular endothelial growth factor were positively correlated with the platelet concentrations in whole blood and PRP. The effects of PRP in regulating the expressions of TGF-ß, α-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, and E-cadherin were observed in vivo and in vitro. The two PRP treatment groups exhibited better wound healing than the control group, as evidenced by more re-epithelialization, higher collagen content, skin fibrosis, and more blood vessel formation over time. Group B exhibited better wound healing than Group A (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: PRP exhibits potent wound healing ability in PU therapy, and PRP from young adults is seemingly superior to that from elderly individuals because of a higher concentration of platelets and increased production of growth factors.

How to choose kinematic or mechanical alignment individually according to preoperative characteristics of patients?

BACKGROUND: Making decisions in alignment techniques in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains controversial. This study aims to identify the potential patients who were suitable for the kinematic (KA) or mechanical alignment (MA). METHODS: We reviewed 296 consecutive patients (296 TKAs, including 114 KA-TKAs and 182 MA-TKAs) who underwent unilateral TKA using a computer-assisted navigation from 2016 to 2018 in our prospectively maintained database. The minimum followup was 1 year. Clinical outcomes including the range of motion (ROM) and knee society score (KSS) were compared between KA-TKAs and MA-TKAs. Multiple regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between alignment techniques and KSS at the 1-year followup. Interaction and stratified analyses were conducted according to gender, age, body mass index (BMI), preoperative hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle, ROM and KSS. RESULTS: ROM and KSS at the 1-year followup didn't differ between MA-TKAs and KA-TKAs (all p > 0.05). Alignment techniques did not associate with postoperative ROM (Adjusted ß = 0.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: - 0.3, 1.6; p = 0.752) or 1-year KSS (Adjusted ß = 2.2, 95%CI: - 0.7, 5.6; p = 0.107). Patients with a BMI more than 30 kg/m^2 achieved better 1-year KSS when using MA than KA (p for interaction< 0.05). Additionally, patients with preoperative HKA angle more than 10 degrees varus benefited more from KA than MA (p for interaction< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with severe varus deformity may be suitable for the KA technique, whereas MA should be used in obese patients.

Slow-sculpting graphene oxide/alginate gel loaded with platelet-rich plasma to promote wound healing in rats.

Wounds, especially chronic wounds, have become an important problem that endangers human health. At present, there are many repair methods, and among them combines materials science and biology is one of the important repair methods. This study explored the preparation method, physicochemical properties, biological activity and safety of Platelet-Rich plasma (PRP)-loaded slow-sculpting graphene oxide (GO)/alginate gel, and applied it to acute full-thickness skin defect wounds in rats to observe its role in wound healing. The results show that the slow-sculpting GO/alginate gel has excellent plasticity and is suitable for a variety of irregularly shaped wounds. At the same time, its porous structure and water content can maintain the activity of platelets and their released growth factors in PRP, thereby promoting wound collagen synthesis and angiogenesis to accelerate wound healing. This indicates that the slow-sculpting GO/alginate gel is an excellent loading material for PRP, and the combination of the two may become one of the methods to promote wound repair.

[Clinical observations of negative pressure wound therapy and basic fibroblast growth factor in the treatment of intractable pressure ulcer].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacies and costs of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the treatment of stage III or IV pressure ulcer (PU). METHODS: From July 2008 to December 2011, 48 patients fulfilling the study inclusion or exclusion criteria at Weihai Municipal Hospital were divided randomly into experiment and control groups (n=24 each). On the basis of routine treatment and NPWT of each inpatient, the patients in the experiment group were treated with bFGF. The changes of healing rate of PU were measured at Days 7 and 14 post-treatment in each group. Meanwhile, the granulation duration, preoperative time and total preoperative cost were compared. RESULTS: The granulation duration, healing rate of Days 7 and 14, preoperative time and total preoperative cost in the experiment group was (10.8±2.7) days, 10.1%±2.9%, 22.3%±3.1%, (18.2±2.6) days and (7946±245) yuan RMB versus (16.3±3.9) days, 6.9%±1.9%, 13.4%±2.8%, (27.1±3.3) days and (10,951±285) yuan RMB in the control group respectively. The differences between two groups were statistically significant (all P<0.01). CONCLUSION: As a preoperative therapeutic modality of intractable PU, NPWT and bFGF offer better therapeutic efficacies and lower therapeutic costs as compared with NPWT alone.

A 9 mRNAs-based diagnostic signature for rheumatoid arthritis by integrating bioinformatic analysis and machine-learning.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease that carries a substantial burden for both patients and society. Early diagnosis of RA is essential to prevent disease progression and select an optimal therapeutic strategy. However, RA diagnosis is challenging, partly due to a lack of reliable biomarkers. Here, we aimed to explore the diagnostic signature and establish a predictive model of RA. METHODS: The mRNA expression profiling data of GSE17755, containing blood samples of 112 RA patients and 53 healthy control patients, were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, followed by differential expression, GO (Gene Ontology), and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) enrichment analysis. A PPI network was constructed to select candidate hub genes, then logistic regression and random forest models were established based on the identified genes. RESULTS: Significantly, we identified 52 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 16 upregulated genes and 36 downregulated genes in RA samples compared with control samples. GO and KEGG analysis showed that several immune-related cellular processes were particularly enriched. We identified nine hub genes in the PPI network, including CFL1, COTL1, ACTG1, PFN1, LCP1, LCK, HLA-E, FYN, and HLA-DRA. The logistic regression and random forest models based on the nine identified genes reliably distinguished the RA samples from the healthy samples with substantially high AUC. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic logistic regression and random forest models based on nine hub genes reliably predicted the occurrence of RA. Our findings could provide new insights into RA diagnostics.

[Experimental study of the effects of time-phased cryopreservation and resuscitation on biological characters of osteoblasts].

This is an in vitro study to explore the effects of cryopreservation and resuscitation on the biological characteristics of osteoblasts at different times. Osteoblasts taken from the crania of newly born SD rats were cultured. Comparative studies were made on the cells' proliferation, the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the number of live cells among fresh cultured osteoblasts and cells after the inception of cryopreservation and resuscitation at time-periods of one, three, six months respectively. The results showed that there were no significant differences among four groups in cell proliferation and in activity of ALP (P > 0.05). Yet, after cryopreservation and resuscitation, there were significant differences between the six-month group and the other three groups (P < 0.05). The results also showed, after cryopreservation and resuscitation, there were no significant differences between the control group and the one-month and three-month groups, respectively (P > 0.05). These findings indicated that the live cells might decrease in number after the osteoblasts were cryopreserved for too long a period, but after cryopreservation and resuscitation, the cells still retained the original biological characteristics of osteoblasts.

Evaluation of clinical curative effects of disposable stitching instrument in redundant prepuce patients.

The present study aimed to investigate the clinical curative effect of disposable stitching instrument operation in patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis. A total of 102 cases of patients with circumcision were randomly selected (from June 2013 to December 2014) from the department of plastic and aesthetic surgery of our hospital and were randomly divided into control and observation groups (n=51). Patients in the control group were treated by traditional circumcision operation, while patients in the observation group were treated by novel disposable circumcision stitching instrument. Operation time, bleeding volume, incision healing time, postoperative complications and incision aesthetic satisfaction in the groups were observed. As a result, intraoperative bleeding volume of patients in the observation group was significantly less in comparison to the control group. Operation time and incision healing time of patients in the observation group was shorter than that of the control group. Additionally, the incidence of postoperative complications of patients in the observation group was noted to be lower than that of the control group. On the other hand, the incision aesthetic satisfaction of patients in the observation group was higher than that of the control group. Blood vessel counting and nerve fiber counting of tissue specimen in the observation group were more than those of the control group. Postoperative VAS scores of patients in the observation group were significantly lower than that of the control group. Each rating scale scores of EPQ of patients in the observation group improved significantly compared with that of the control group. In conclusion, the present findings show that disposable circumcision stitching instrument operation is more advantageous in comparison to the traditional procedure along with minimal compilations and better post surgery health condition of patients.