Evaluation of genome size and phylogenetic relationships of the Saccharum complex species.

"Saccharum complex" is a hypothetical group of species, which is supposed to be involved in the origin of modern sugarcane, and displays large genomes and complex chromosomal alterations. The utilization of restricted parents in breeding programs of modern cultivated sugarcane has resulted in a genetic blockage, which controlled its improvement because of the limited genetic diversity. The use of wild relatives is an effective way to broaden the genetic composition of cultivated sugarcane. Due to the infrequent characterization of genomes, the potential of wild relatives is diffused in improving the cultivated sugarcane. To characterize the genomes of the wild relatives, the genome size and phylogenetic relationships among eight species, including Saccharum spontaneum, Erianthus arundinaceus, E. fulvus, E. rockii, Narenga porphyrocoma, Miscanthus floridulus, Eulalia quadrinervis, and M. sinensis were evaluated based on flow cytometry, genome surveys, K-mer analysis, chloroplast genome sequencing, and whole-genome SNPs analysis. We observed highly heterozygous genomes of S. spontaneum, E. rockii, and E. arundinaceus and the highly repetitive genome of E. fulvus. The genomes of Eulalia quadrinervis, N. porphyrocoma, M. sinensis, and M. floridulus were highly complex. Phylogenetic results of the two approaches were dissimilar, however, both indicate E. fulvus displayed closer relationships to Miscanthus and Saccharum than other species of Saccharum complex. Eulalia quadrinervis was more closely related to M. floridulus than M. sinensis; E. arundinaceus differ significantly from Miscanthus, Narenga, and Saccharum, but was relatively close to Erianthus. We proved the point of E. rockii and E. fulvus should not be classified as one genus, and E. fulvus should be classified as the Saccharum genus. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03338-5.

Supramolecular solvent (SUPRASs) extraction method for detecting benzodiazepines and zolpidem in human urine and blood using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

OBJECTIVE: A high-throughput and sensitive method using supramolecular solvent (SUPRASs) for detecting 9 benzodiazepines and zolpidem in human urine and blood by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was newly established and applied to authentic human urine and blood samples in this study. METHODS: Urine and blood samples were subjected to liquid-liquid extractions with supramolecular solvent mixture which consists of tetrahydrofuran and 1-hexanol. The solvent layer was evaporated to dryness by stream of nitrogen. The residue was reconstituted with methanol, and subjected to analysis by GC-MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode; internal standard method was employed for quantifying of each targeted compound. RESULTS: The regression equation has a good linear relationship with correlation coefficients for all tested compounds were not lower than 0.9991. The lower limits of the quantification ranged from 0.20 to 5 ng/mL for tested compounds in urine; Meanwhile, the lower limits of the quantification in this method ranged from 1 to 50 ng/mL for tested compounds in blood. These results showed that excellent reproducibility and satisfactory extraction recovery rates could be obtained for the established analytical method for 10 drugs in both blood and urine samples. CONCLUSION: The established method in this study was high-throughput, simple and sufficiently sensitive for determining of benzodiazepinesand zolpidem in human urine and blood. Therefore, this newly established method could be of use for qualitative and quantitative determination of such drugs in urine and blood samples either for clinical poisoning monitoring or for forensic identification.

Investigation of end-digit preference in blood pressure records of hospitalized chinese patients and analysis of risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: End-digit preference is common in blood pressure (BP) measurement, but there are no data available on end-digit preference in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of end-digit preference in Chinese hospitalized patients and to explore its risk factors. METHODS: We used systematic sampling to investigate the BP values and related characteristics in records from Chinese patients hospitalized at a university-affiliated hospital in Shanghai, China. Data were collected from January to December 2010. Logistic regression models were created to analyze the relationship between potential risk factors and zero end digit in recorded BP values. RESULTS: Of all 4511 patient records, 57.1% of patients were male. The mean age was 55.1 years (standard deviation [SD], 15.4 years). When admitted, the mean BP values were 124.6 mm Hg (SD, 14.3 mm Hg) for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 77.5 mm Hg (SD, 8.6 mm Hg) for diastolic blood pressure (DBP). 81.8% and 81.2% of SBP and DBP values had an end digit of zero. 7.7% and 9.6% of SBP and DBP values had an end digit of "5." In the logistic regression analyses, female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.34 for SBP, 1.24 for DBP), admission to a surgical department (OR, 2.04 for SBP, 1.88 for DBP), admission heart rate of ≥ 80 bpm (OR, 1.41 for SBP, 1.61 for DBP), and not having a history of hypertension (OR, 1.41 for SBP, 1.33 for DBP) were related to a high risk of having SBP and DBP values with a zero end digit. Patients with SBP values of ≥ 140 mm Hg had a high risk of having a zero end digit in SBP values (OR, 1.33) and a low risk of having a zero end digit in DBP values (OR, 0.67). Patients whose DBP values were ≥ 90 mm Hg had a high risk of having a zero end digit in DBP values (OR, 2.49). CONCLUSION: The zero end-digit preference in recorded BP values of hospitalized patients in China was strong. Patients' sex, admission to a surgical department, admission heart rate, history of hypertension, and SBP and DBP values were risk factors that influenced the preference for zero as the end-digit BP value.

[Treatment of thoracolumbar vertebral fractures with posterior short segmental pedicle screw fixation and pedicle screw at the fracture level].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility and clinical effects of posterior short segmental pedicle screw fixation adding pedicle screw at the fracture level in treatment of thoracolumbar vertebral fractures. METHODS: From September 2005 to September 2007, 82 patients (male 50 and female 32, the age from 18 to 63 years, at mean age of 36 years,the courses of disease from 2 hours to 7 days with an average of 2 days) with thoracolumbar fractures were treated with posterior short segmental pedicle screw fixation adding pedicle screw at the fracture level. According to the AO classification, 25 patients were type A1 fracture, 48 were type A2 and 9 were type B2. According to the ASIA neurological function grading system, 9 patients were grade C, 17 were grade D and 56 were grade E. Reduction and posterolateral fusion were achieved through fixation of the fractured vertebra and the adjacent normal vertebrae with the transpedicle screw. RESULTS: Eighty-two cases were followed up from 12 to 24 months (averaged 18.3 months). All cases achieved bone fusion, without significant lose of the vertebrae body height and implant failure. The anterior body compression and Cobb angle were significantly improved after surgery (P < 0.05). The anterior body compression and Cobb angle did not significantly lose compared with after-surgery ones (P > 0.05). The caudal intervertebral disc height (h/H) were not significantly improved after surgery (P > 0.05). Improvement of one to two grades of neurological function was observed in patients with incomplete neurological injuries. CONCLUSION: Posterior short segmental pedicle screw fixation with pedicle screw at the fracture level is a safe and effective therapeutic option to treat thoracolumbar vertebral fractures, which can help to correct the kyphosis and maintain the reduction, and avoid the over-distraction of the contiguous discs.

Suppression of tumor growth by viral vector-mediated gene transfer of N-terminal truncated platelet factor 4.

Platelet factor four (PF4), an inhibitor of endothelial cell proliferation in vitro, inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth in vivo in experimental animals. The present study was designed to determine whether gene therapy-mediated expression of a form of PF4 lacking 16 amino acids of N-terminus from tumor cells could inhibit angiogenesis and tumor growth in vivo. Two replication-defective recombinant retroviral vectors were constructed. One encodes human PF4 (rRV-PF4) and the other encodes the N-truncated peptide (rRVp17-70). These vectors were then used to transduce KB cells, a human head and neck squamous carcinoma cell line. Expression of PF4 and p17-70 transgenes was confirmed by Western blot analysis. In vitro, both rRV-PF4 and rRVp17-70 were able to inhibit selectively the proliferation of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) but not KB cells. In vivo activity was assessed by injecting 10(7) KB cells subcutaneously into nude mice and by monitoring subsequent tumor growth, xenograft vascular histochemistry, and animal survival. Viral vector-mediated cDNA transfer of PF4 and p17-70 resulted in inhibiting solid tumors through an anti-angiogenic action in vivo. Our data indicate that targeting tumor angiogenesis using viral-mediated gene transfer of full-length and N-terminal truncated PF4 represents a promising strategy for cancer gene therapy.