Effects of Paclobutrazol on Reproductive and Vegetative Traits of Phalaenopsis Join Grace 'TH288-4'.

Phalaenopsis is the most popular potted plant worldwide. However, its typically long stalks often lead to increased shipping costs and risks. This study investigates the effectiveness of varying the concentration, timing, and frequency of paclobutrazol (PP333) applications on shortening the stalk of Phalaenopsis Join Grace 'TH288-4'. Concurrently, it also examines the potential for producing visually appealing and single-flower potted phalaenopsis products by means of truncation. Mature phalaenopsis plants were moved to a cool room in the seventh week to induce flowering. Four experimental groups were established based on different PP333 application schedules: the control (CK) group, with reverse osmosis water application in the second week; the T2 group, with a single application in the second week; the T2T3 group, with applications in both the second and third weeks; and the T7T8 group, with applications in the seventh and eighth weeks. The PP333 concentrations used were 250, 500, 750, and 1000 mg·L-1, applied as foliar sprays. The results showed that the shortest stalks, measured from the base to the first flower, were observed in the T2 group treated with PP333 at 750 mg·L-1 and in the T2T3 group with PP333 at 500, 750, and 1000 mg·L-1. These treatments resulted in stalk lengths of 19.18-22.17 cm, which are 67.2-71.6% shorter than the controls. PP333 application had minimal effect on the stalk diameter, pedicel length, flower width, length, and length/width ratio. However, root diameter was thicker in plants treated with PP333 compared with the control plants. For producing single-flower phalaenopsis, a foliar spray of 750 mg·L-1 PP333 is recommended approximately a month before moving the plants to cooler conditions, followed by truncation, retaining only the first flower. As a result, this study establishes a PP333 treatment protocol for phalaenopsis, offering a strategy to effectively shorten the stalks.

Morphology and Inheritance of Wavy Flower Form in Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don).

Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don) is renowned for its diverse colors and resilience to harsh climates. Still, most commercial cultivars predominantly display flat petals. Using cultivars representing non-wavy, medium-wavy, and extreme-wavy flower forms, we examined morphological differences in both their mature leaves and floral organs. Phenotypes of self-pollinated (S1) and cross-pollinated (F1, F2) populations further underscored their morphological distinctions. Specifically, the extreme-wavy type displayed elliptical leaves, broader than the non-wavy type, with a pronounced acute apex and a notably wrinkled blade surface. The non-wavy type also bore intensely wavy petal margins and exhibited a smaller flower diameter, with a notable absence of a functional pistil, indicating female sterility. The insights gained allowed for early differentiation during the seedling period. This study suggests that the inheritance of these flower forms is regulated by an allele WAVY (Wv), which exhibits incomplete dominance. Concretely, the non-wavy form arises from a recessive homozygous expression (wvwv), the extreme-wavy from a dominant homozygous expression (WvWv), and the medium-wavy from a heterozygous expression (Wvwv). This study provides clarity on morphological descriptions and inheritance patterns of wavy flower forms, facilitating strategic breeding of diverse flower forms in periwinkle.

Prevention of dextran sulfate sodium-induced mouse colitis by the fungal protein Ling Zhi-8 via promoting the barrier function of intestinal epithelial cells.

The fungal immunomodulatory protein Ling Zhi-8 (LZ-8) isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (GL) regulates immune cells and inhibits tumor growth; however, the role of LZ-8 in protecting intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) is unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the functional effect of LZ-8 on IECs. LZ-8 effectively rescued the pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced loss of tight junctions (TJs) by enhancing transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), reducing permeability, and maintaining the distribution of TJ proteins, in Caco-2 cells. Mechanistically, LZ-8 blocked the upregulation of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and NF-kB activation by TLR2-mediated suppression of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 expression. Furthermore, LZ-8 pre-treatment reduced the pathological scores of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. These results indicated that LZ-8 protected the barrier function of IECs against inflammation. Thus, LZ-8 may potentially be a novel candidate for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Comparative efficacy and safety of radiotherapy/cetuximab versus radiotherapy/chemotherapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients: a systematic review of published, primarily non-randomized, data.

BACKGROUND: Cetuximab (CTX) has been approved to be administered concurrently with radiotherapy (RT) to treat locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of concurrent CTX with RT (ExRT). METHOD: The PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE databases were systematically searched to find relevant articles. The combined hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval were calculated to assess the efficacy and safety of ExRT in contrast to concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy with RT (ChRT). RESULTS: In total, 32 articles with 4556 patients were included. The pooled HRs indicated that ExRT achieved an unfavorable overall survival (HR: 1.86, p < 0.0001), disease-specific survival (HR: 2.58, p = 0.002), locoregional control (HR: 1.94, p < 0.00001), and progression-free survival (HR: 2.04, p = 0.003) compared with ChRT for locally advanced HNSCC patients. In human papillomavirus-positive patient subgroups, ExRT showed inferior disease-specific survival (HR: 2.55, p = 0.009) and locoregional control (HR: 2.27, p < 0.0001) in contrast to ChRT. Additionally, ExRT increased the occurrence of mucositis (RR: 1.17, p < 0.005), skin toxicity (RR: 6.26, p < 0.00001), and infection (RR: 2.27, p = 0.04) compared with non-CTX groups (ChRT and RT), and was associated with lower incidence of anemia (RR: 0.35, p = 0.009), leukocytopenia (RR: 0.17, p < 0.0001), neutropenia (RR: 0.06, p < 0.0001), nausea/vomiting (RR: 0.23, p < 0.0001), and renal toxicity (RR: 0.14, p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: ChRT should remain the standard treatment for locally advanced HNSCC patients. ExRT was recognized as an effective alternative treatment for locally advanced HNSCC patients who experienced unbearable toxicities caused by non-CTX treatments.

Development of a HPLC Method for the Quantitative Determination of Capsaicin in Collagen Sponge.

Controlling the concentration of drugs in pharmaceutical products is essential to patient's safety. In this study, a simple and sensitive HPLC method is developed to quantitatively analyze capsaicin in collagen sponge. The capsaicin from sponge was extracted for 30 min with ultrasonic wave extraction technique and methanol was used as solvent. The chromatographic method was performed by using isocratic system composed of acetonitrile-water (70 : 30) with a flow rate of 1 mL/min and the detection wavelength was at 280 nm. Capsaicin can be successfully separated with good linearity (the regression equation is A = 9.7182C + 0.8547; R (2) = 1.0) and perfect recovery (99.72%). The mean capsaicin concentration in collagen sponge was 49.32 mg/g (RSD = 1.30%; n = 3). In conclusion, the ultrasonic wave extraction method is simple and the extracting efficiency is high. The HPLC assay has excellent sensitivity and specificity and is a convenient method for capsaicin detection in collagen sponge. This paper firstly discusses the quantitative analysis of capsaicin in collagen sponge.

Prevalence and severity of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema in 10- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in central Taiwan.

The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was distributed through 14 schools and was completed by 11,874 students out of which are parents of 4,167 children aged between 10 and 12 years old and 7,677 older children aged between 13 and 15 years in central Taiwan. The overall cumulative and 12-month prevalence of wheezing, rhinitis, and eczema were 7.4%, 43.0%, and 7.2%, respectively. It was shown that boys had significantly higher prevalence of wheezing and rhinitis (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001) when compared to girls in central Taiwan. The study also found that prevalence rates among younger children with symptoms of wheezing, rhinitis, and recurrent itchy rash in the past 12-month (8.2%, 44.4%, and 8.8%) were higher than that among older children (6.9%, 42.2%, and 6.3%, respectively). In conclusion, boys had significantly higher prevalence of wheezing and rhinitis than girls while younger children tend to have higher prevalence of the disorders than those that are older in age.