Effects of planting density on photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaf and senescence of leaf and root under wide-width sowing condition.

To determine the optimal planting density under wide-width sowing condition, we investigated the effects of different planting densities on photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaves, senescence characteristics of flag lea-ves and roots, grain yield, and water use efficiency under four planting density levels, 90×104 plants·hm-2 (D1), 180×104 plants·hm-2 (D2), 270×104 plants·hm-2 (D3) and 360×104 plants·hm-2 (D4), in field condition set in Yanzhou, Shandong during the growing season of 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The results showed that compared with D1 and D4 treatments, D2 treatment significantly improved photosynthetic characteristics of wheat flag leaves during grain filling, increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and soluble protein content, reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and delayed the senescence of flag leaves and roots. Compared with other treatments, D2 treatment significantly increased root length, root surface area and root volume in 0-40 cm soil layer. Compared with D1, D3 and D4 treatments, the grain yield of D2 treatment was increased by 11.8%, 2.5%, 6.4% in 2018-2019 and 22.7%, 5.7%, 17.1% in 2019-2020, respectively. In addition, water use efficiency was increased by 9.2%, 8.8%, 14.2% in 2018-2019 and 21.1%, 6.2%, 21.5% in 2019-2020, respectively. The planting density at 180×104 plants·hm-2 improved photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaves and root morphology during filling stage, delayed plant senescence, increased grain number per spike and grain weight. Consequently, the highest grain yield and water use efficiency were obtained under D2 treatment, which was the optimal treatment under the experimental wide-width sowing condition.

Limonoids from the Fresh Young Leaves and Buds of Toona sinensis and Their Potential Neuroprotective Effects.

Toona sinensis, popularly known as Chinese toon or Chinese mahogany, is a perennial deciduous arbor belonging to the genus Toona in the Meliaceae family, which is widely distributed and cultivated in eastern and southeastern Asia. Its fresh young leaves and buds have been consumed as a very popular nutritious vegetable in China and confirmed to display a wide variety of biological activities. To investigate the chemical constituents and their potential health benefits from the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis, a phytochemical study on its fresh young leaves and buds was therefore undertaken. In our current investigation, 16 limonoids (1-16), including four new limonoids, toonasinenoids A-D (1-4), and a new naturally occurring limonoid, toonasinenoid E (5), were isolated and characterized from the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis. The chemical structures and absolute configurations of limonoids 1-5 were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analyses. All known limonoids (6-16) were identified via comparing their experimental spectral data containing mass spectrometry data, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance data, and optical rotation values to the data reported in the literature. All known limonoids (6-16) were isolated from T. sinensis for the first time. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effects of all isolated limonoids 1-16 against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cell death in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were assessed in vitro. Limonoids 1-16 exhibited notable neuroprotective activities, with EC50 values in the range from 0.27 ± 0.03 to 17.28 ± 0.16 µM. These results suggest that regular consumption of the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis might prevent the occurrence and development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, the isolation and characterization of these limonoids that exhibit notable neuroprotective activities from the fresh young leaves and buds of T. sinensis could be very significant for researching and developing new neuroprotective drugs used for the prevention and treatment of PD.

PAX1 Methylation Hallmarks Promising Accuracy for Cervical Cancer Screening in Asians: Results from a Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: DNA methylation has been proposed as a potential biomarker for cervical cancer detection. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic role of paired boxed gene 1 (PAX1) methylation for cervical cancer screening in Asians. METHODS: Eligible studies were retrieved by searching the electronic databases, and the quality of the enrolled studies was assessed via the quality assessment for studies of diagnostic accuracy (QUADAS) tool. The bivariate meta-analysis model was employed to generate the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve using Stata 12.0 software. Cochran's Q test and I2 statistics were applied to assess heterogeneity among studies. Publication bias was evaluated by the Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test. RESULTS: A total of 9 articles containing 15 individual studies were included. The SROC analysis showed that single PAX1 methylation allowed for the discrimination between cancer/high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) patients and normal individuals with a sensitivity (95% confidence interval) of 0.80 (0.70 - 0.87) and specificity of 0.89 (0.86 - 0.92), corresponding to an area under curve (AUC) of 0.92. Notably, our subgroup analysis suggested that combing parallel testing of PAX1 methylation and HPV DNA (AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.90, 0.82, and 0.84, respectively) seemed to harbor higher accuracy than single HPV DNA testing (AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.81, 0.86, and 0.67, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: PAX1 methylation hallmarks a potential diagnostic value for cervical cancer screening in Asians, and parallel testing of PAX1 methylation and HPV in cervical scrapings confers an improved accuracy than single HPV DNA testing.

Fasting plasma glucose at 24-28 weeks to screen for gestational diabetes mellitus: new evidence from China.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) at 24-28 weeks' gestation to screen for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The medical records and results of a 75-g 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of 24,854 pregnant women without known pre-GDM attending prenatal clinics in 15 hospitals in China were examined. RESULTS: FPG cutoff value of 5.1 mmol/L identified 3,149 (12.1%) pregnant women with GDM. FPG cutoff value of 4.4 mmol/L ruled out GDM in 15,369 (38.2%) women. With use of this cutoff point, 12.2% of patients with mild GDM will be missed. The positive predictive value is 0.322, and the negative predictive value is 0.928. CONCLUSIONS: FPG at 24-28 weeks' gestation could be used as a screening test to identify GDM patients in low-resource regions. Women with an FPG between ≥4.4 and ≤5.0 mmol/L would require a 75-g OGTT to diagnose GDM. This would help to avoid approximately one-half (50.3%) of the formal 75-g OGTTs in China.

[Treatment of proximal fracture of humerus by percutaneous antegrade Kirschner pinning].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize and analyze the clinical indication, surgical techniques and results of percutaneous antegrade Kirschner pinning in the treatment of proximal fracture of humerus. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with displaced fractures of the proximal humerus were treated with 2 to 3 Kirschner wires by percutaneous antegrade transfixation. Among 32 casas, there were 7 male and 25 female, with a mean age of 49.25 years (range, from 28 to 75 years). According to the Neer fracture classification, there were 20 cases of 2-part, 9 of 3-part, and 3 of 4-part fractures. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 8 to 34 months with an average of 13.5 months. According to Constant-Murley evaluation, the results were excellent in 21 cases, good in 9, fair in 2. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous antegrade transfixaton is a good technique for the management of displaced 2-part fractures of the proximal humerus and also alternative to 3-part or 4-part fractures.