Stover return and nitrogen application affect soil organic carbon and nitrogen in a double-season maize field.

Cultivation techniques have an important influence on grain yield of maize. This experiment investigated the effect of stover return (SR) and different nitrogen (N) application rate on soil organic carbon (SOC) composition, soil nutrient and maize yield. Different nitrogen application rate 100 (N100), 150 (N150), 200 (N200), 250 (N250) or 300 (N300) kg ha-1 applied to the maize field with stover return and without stover return traditional planting (TP) method. Nitrogen application rate and stover return affected the SOC, labile organic carbon (LOC), microbial biomass (MBC), NO3 - -N, NH4 + -N and maize yield. Soil N, soil carbon content and maize yield of SR were all higher than TP. The SOC content of SR and TP were 9.67 and 9.19 g kg-1 , respectively. Nitrogen application was significantly and positively correlated with soil MBC, LOC, SOC, NO3 - -N, NH4 + -N and yield. The maximum values of SOC composition, soil nutrients and maize yield were reached at SR with 250 kg ha-1 . Stover return with application of N 250 kg ha-1 significantly increased the growth attribute and maize yield in subtropical region compared with traditional planting.

[Diagnostic efficacy for predicting intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas with high grade dysplasia or invasive carcinoma based on the surgery indications in different guidelines].

Objective: To evaluate the performance of the European Evidence-based Guidelines on Pancreatic Cystic Neoplasms (EEGPCN)(2018) and International Association of Pancreatology(IAP) Guideline(Version 2017) in predicting high grade dysplasia/invasive carcinoma-intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(HGD/INV-IPMN). Methods: A retrospective analysis of 363 patients,who underwent surgical resection in Changhai Hospital affiliated to Navy Medical University from January 2012 to December 2018 and were pathologically identified as (intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, IPMN),was performed. The patients,including 230 males and 133 females,aging (61.7±10.1) years(range:19 to 83 years). The proportion of HGD/INV-IPMN who met with the absolute indication(AI) of EEGPCN and high risk stigma(HRS) of IAP were compared. The binary Logistic regression analysis was used to find the independent risk factors of HGD/INV-IPMN.Eight combinations of risk factors derived from relative indication/worrisome feature or risk factors in this study,were made to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy. The area under curve(AUC) of receiver operating characteristics was used to evaluate the the cutoff value of risk factors(①CA19-9≥37 U/ml,②diameter of main pancreatic duct 5.0-9.9 mm,③enhancing mural nodule<5 mm,④(acute) pancreatiti,⑤acyst diameter ≥40 mm,⑤bcyst diameter ≥30 mm, ⑥thickened or enhancing cyst walls,⑦neutrophile granulocyte to lymphocyte ratio(NLR)≥2, ⑧cyst located in head, uncinate or neck,⑨carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA) ≥5 µg/L) number for predicting HGD/INV-IPMN.The accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value,true positive,true negative,false positive,false negative,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio,Youden index and F1 score were calculated. Results: Ninety-two patients(49.5%) of 186 ones who met AI and 85 patients(48.3%) of 176 ones who met HRS were respectively confirmed as HGD/INV-IPMN. In those patients who were not met AI,tumor location,thickened/enhancing cyst wall,CA19-9 elevated,NLR≥2 and CEA elevated were significantly (P<0.05) correlated with HGD/INV-IPMN. And tumor location(head/uncinate/neck vs. body/tail,OR=3.284,95%CI:1.268-8.503,P=0.014),thickened/enhancement cyst wall (with vs.without,OR=2.713,95%CI:1.177-6.252,P=0.019),CA19-9(≥37 U/L vs.<37 U/L, OR=5.086,95%CI:2.05-12.62,P<0.01) and NLR(≥2 vs.<2,OR=2.380,95%CI:1.043-5.434,P=0.039) were the independent risk factors of HGD/INV-IPMN. Patients with ≥4 risk factors of 9 in combination Ⅷ(①②③④⑤b⑥⑦⑧⑨) were diagnosed as HGD/INV-IPMN with the moderate accuracy(71.0%),moderate sensitivity (62.0%) and moderate specificity (73.0%). Patients with ≥4 risk factors of 9 in Combination Ⅶ(①②③④⑤a⑥⑦⑧⑨) were diagnosed as HGD/INV-IPMN with the highest specificity(83.0%) and patients with ≥3 risk factors of 8 in combination Ⅵ(①②③④⑤b⑥⑧⑨) were diagnosed as HGD/INV-IPMN with the highest sensitivity(74.0%). The AUC for diagnosis of HGD/INV-IPMN in combination Ⅵ,Ⅶ and Ⅷ were 0.72,0.75 and 0.75,respectively. Older patients and younger patients could respectively refer to combination Ⅶ and combination Ⅵ to improve the management of IPMN. Conclusions: Patients who meet AI of EEGPCN should undertake resection, otherwise the method we explored is recommended. The method of improvement for diagnosis of HGD/INV-IPMN is relatively applicable and efficient for decision-making of surgery, especially for younger patients with decreasing of missed diagnosis and elder patients with decreasing of misdiagnosis.

A single nucleotide distinguishes the SARS-CoV-2 in the Wuhan outbreak in December 2019 from that in Beijing-Xinfadi in June 2020, China.

Two major locally transmitted outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 occurred in China, one in Wuhan from December 2019 to April 2020, another in Beijing-Xinfadi in June 2020. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 isolated from these two outbreaks can be distinguished by a conserved pyrimidine nucleotide located at nucleotide position 241 in the 5'-untranslated region of the virus genome.

[Prognostic value of important driver gene mutations in patients with radical resection of pancreatic cancer].

Objective: To examine the prognostic value of four important driver gene mutations in patients with radical resection of pancreatic cancer. Methods: The clinical data and follow-up data of pancreatic cancer patients undergoing radical pancreatectomy and targeted sequencing from January 2016 to March 2018 at Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Changhai Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.There were 159 males and 88 females,aged of (60.8±8.7)years(range:33-83 years) and preoperative CA19-9 of (492.4±496.6)kU/L(range: 2-1 200 kU/L). One hundred and fifty nine cases of tumors were located in the head and 88 cases in the body and tail of the pancreas. After univariate analysis of clinical pathological factors (including gender, age, preoperative CA19-9, tumor location, tumor differentiation, pathological T and N stage, Micr. perineural invasion, Micr. lympho-vascular invasion, resection margin), the variable whose P<0.1 was included in COX regression model with four important driver gene mutations to find which mutation was related to prognosis independently. The number of gene mutations and KRAS subgroups were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier curve. Results: Among 247 patients,the number of KRAS,TP53, SMAD4 and CDKN2A mutations was 212 cases(85.8%), 160 cases(64.8%), 66 cases(26.7%) and 44 cases(17.8%),respectively.KRAS mutation was correlated with the tumor differentiation and pathological T stage (χ(2)=24.570/6.690, P=0.000/0.035), TP53 mutation was correlated with the tumor differentiation and the resected margin(χ(2)=5.500/4.620, P=0.019/0.032), and CDKN2A mutation was correlated with gender(χ(2)=16.574, P=0.000).COX regression model analysis showed that only KRAS mutation was an independent risk factor for disease free survival and overall survival(HR=1.776, 95%CI: 1.079-2.923, P=0.024; HR=1.923, 95%CI: 1.016-3.639, P=0.045); KRAS(G12D) mutation was associated with shorter OS(P=0.007). Conclusion: KRAS and its subgroup KRAS(G12D) mutation can be used as a prognostic index for patients with radical resection of pancreatic cancer.

Effect of miR-21/TLR4/NF-κB pathway on myocardial apoptosis in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the influences of micro ribonucleic acid (miR)-21 and downstream Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) pathway on myocardial apoptosis induced by myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Recombinant adeno-associated virus rAAV9-ZsGreen-pre-miR-21 and blank control virus were constructed. A total of 48 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into S1 group (open chest only), S2 group (transfection with blank virus + open chest), I/R1 group (transfection with blank virus + 6 d of myocardial I/R), and I/R2 group (transfection with miR-21 + 6 d of myocardial I/R). The cardiac function and myocardial infarct size of rats were evaluated in each group. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was applied to measure the expression level of miR-21 in the myocardium. The level of myocardial apoptosis in each group was detected through terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Western blotting was performed to determine the protein expression levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)/Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), Caspase-3, TLR4, and NF-κB in the myocardium. The content of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-10 was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. RESULTS: The cardiac function of rats in I/R1 and I/R2 groups was significantly lower than that in S1 and S2 groups (p<0.01). Rats in I/R2 group had better cardiac function than those in I/R1 group (p<0.01). In I/R1 group, the level of myocardial apoptosis of rats was overtly increased compared with that in S1, S2, and I/R2 groups (p<0.01), while the expression level of miR-21 in myocardium was evidently lower than that in S1, S2, and I/R2 groups (p<0.01). Compared with S1, S2, and I/R2 groups, I/R1 group had markedly decreased Bcl-2/Bax expression level and IL-10 content and overtly elevated expression levels of Caspase-3, p-TLR4, p-NF-κB, and IL-6 content in the myocardium (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial I/R injury in rats leads to decreased expression of miR-21. The overexpression of miR-21 is able to effectively inhibit the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and reduce the level of myocardial apoptosis of rats and the release of inflammatory factors.

Decreased expression of ING2 gene and its clinicopathological significance in Chinese NSCLC patients.

The inhibitor of growth 2 (ING2) is a member of lNG family, involved in cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, apoptosis and senescence, and participating in chromatin remodeling and transcriptional regulation by histone modification. Recent researches suggest ING2 plays roles in carcinogenesis both as tumor suppressor gene and ongocene depending on tumor types and cell status. Here, we investigated the status of ING2 in a series of 64 Chinese non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)patients using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and confirmed the results with Western blotting. RT-PCR results revealed the expression level of ING2 was consistent with mRNA level. The IHC results showed that ING2 protein expression was significantly decreased in NSCLC samples compared with normal lung tissues (P

Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation variations caused by chronic glucolipotoxicity in beta-cells.

There is a growing body of literature suggesting the role of interactions between genes and the environment in development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the interplay between environment and genetic in developing and progressing T2MD is not fully understood. To determine the effects of high-glucose-lipid on the status of DNA methylation in beta cells, and clarify the mechanism of glucolipotoxicity on beta-cell deterioration, the DNA methylation profile was detected in beta-cells cultured with high-glucose-lipid medium.We utilized a high throughput NimbleGen RN34 CpG Island & Promoter Microarray to investigate the DNA methylation profile in beta-cells cultured with high-glucose-lipid medium. To validate the results of microarray, the immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) PCR was used to test the methylation status of some selected genes. The mRNA and protein expression of insulin and Tcf7l2 in these cells were quantified by RT-PCR and western blot, respectively.We have identified a lot of loci which experienced aberrant DNA methylation in beta-cells cultured with high-glucose-lipid medium. The results of MeDIP PCR were consistency to the microarray. An opposite regulation in transcription and translation of Tcf7l2 gene was found. Furthermore, the insulin mRNA and protein expression in beta-cells also decreased after cultured with high-glucose-lipid medium compared with the control cells.We conclude that chronic glucolipotoxicity could induce aberrant DNA methylation of some genes and may affect these genes expression in beta-cells, which might contribute to beta-cell function failure in T2DM and be helpful to explain, at least partially, the mechanism of glucolipotoxicity on beta-cells deterioration.

VNTR polymorphism of human IL1RN in Chinese Han and She ethnic populations.

Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is an important anti-inflammatory molecule encoded by the IL1RN gene. The polymorphism of IL1RN characterized by variable numbers of an 86 bp tandem repeat (VNTR) sequence in intron 2 has been described. Moreover, frequencies of the IL1RN alleles vary among different ethnics. In the present study, we analysed the IL1RN polymorphism in intron 2 in 256 Chinese Han and 252 Chinese She individuals. Four alleles including IL1RN*1, *2, *3 and IL1RN*4 were identified in this study. Data revealed that the distribution of the IL-1RN genotypes and allele was significantly different between the two Chinese populations (P < 0.001). Among them, 66.8% (171/256) and 86.5% (218/252) were homozygous for the allele IL-1RN*1 in Chinese Han and She individuals respectively. Homozygosity for allele IL-1RN*2 was only observed in Chinese Han with the percentage of 0.8% (2/256). Heterozygosity for IL-1RN*1/2, IL1RN*1/3 and IL1RN*1/4 was 30.9% (79/256), 0.4% (1/256) and 1.2% (3/256) in Chinese Han, whereas only heterozygosity for IL-1RN*1/2 was found in Chinese She (13.5%, 34/252). Frequencies of the most common allele IL-1RN*1 and IL-1RN*2 were 83.0% and 16.2% for Chinese Han and 93.3% and 6.7% for Chinese She respectively. The rare allele IL-1RN*3 and IL-1RN*4 was only observed in the Chinese Han population with the frequency of 0.2% and 0.6% respectively. Our findings suggested that the ethnic background plays an important role in IL-1Ra gene variation in different populations.

IL-1 receptor antagonist gene polymorphism in idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortion in a Chinese Han population.

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) has been supposed to play important roles in pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between the polymorphisms of IL-1Ra gene (IL1RN) variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in intron 2 with idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Ninety-two RSA patients and hundred normal women with at least one live birth and no history of miscarriage were included in the study. Frequencies of the IL1RN alleles and genotypes were determined. Data revealed that the prevalence of IL1RN allele and genotype was not significant between the RSA and control group (all P > 0.05). Our finding indicated that the polymorphism VNTR of IL1RN gene in intron 2 may not be a risk factor for RSA in the Chinese Han population.

Polymorphism of human CD1a, CD1d, and CD1e in exon 2 in Chinese Han and She ethnic populations.

CD1 molecules are the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-like glycoproteins specialized in capturing and presenting a variety of glycolipid to antigen-specific T-cells. There are five closely linked CD1 genes termed as CD1a, CD1b, CD1c, CD1d, and CD1e. CD1 gene features limited the polymorphism in exon 2 which encodes for the alpha1 domain. Few investigations on the allele frequencies of the CD1 genes have been reported to date; however, variation of CD1 allele frequency in different ethnics has been observed. In the current study, the CD1a, CD1d, and CD1e gene polymorphisms in exon 2 (alleles 01 and 02) in a group of normal Chinese Han and She individuals were analyzed. Similar allele prevalence was observed between the two populations. The CD1e allele frequency was 37.1% (allele 01); 62.9% (allele 02) and 39.3% (allele 01); 60.7% (allele 02) for Han and She populations, respectively. CD1e was the only polymorphic gene with a genotype frequency for Chinese Han (01/01, 11.0%; 01/02, 52.2%; 02/02, 36.8%) and She (01/01, 13.2%; 01/02, 52.1%; 02/02, 34.7%) individuals, respectively. No CD1a allele 01 and CD1d allele 02 were observed in either population. Our findings indicate that the polymorphism of CD1a, CD1d, and CD1e genes in exon 2 is very limited in the Chinese Han and She ethnics.

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal bladder and cloacal exstrophy by ultrasound. A report of three cases.

BACKGROUND: Bladder and cloacal exstrophy can be diagnosed with prenatal ultrasound. CASES: Three cases of bladder and cloacal exstrophy were diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound and confirmed at birth. The ultrasound findings were a soft tissue mass in the lower abdominal wall (which appeared larger and more heterogeneous in cloacal exstrophy than in bladder exstrophy), absent bladder, malformation of the external genitalia and normal kidneys along with normal amniotic fluid volume. CONCLUSION: Prenatal diagnosis of these defects will allow appropriate referrals prior to birth.

Bilateral inferior petrosal sinus corticotropin sampling with corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation in a pregnant patient with Cushing's syndrome.

A patient was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome during her first pregnancy. Bilateral simultaneous inferior petrosal sinus corticotropin sampling with corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation was performed before transphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy, with successful localization of the pituitary adenoma. Her Cushing's syndrome was controlled postoperatively with resolution of hypertension. This case report demonstrates that the procedure of bilateral simultaneous inferior petrosal venous corticotropin sampling can be safely performed during pregnancy.