Effect of uniconazole and nitrogen level on lodging resistance and yield potential of maize under medium and high plant density.

Lodging in maize results in grain yield reduction. This experiment investigated the effects of different application rates of the growth retardant, uniconazole (UCZ), and nitrogen (N) on medium and high maize population densities on lodging resistance and yield. UCZ was applied to maize seeds at concentrations of 0 (U0 ) and 25 (U25 ) mg kg-1 , and three different N application rates, 0 (N0 ), 150 (N150 ) and 225 (N225 ) kg ha-1 , at plant densities of 75,000 (D1 ) and 105,000 plants ha-1 (D2 ). UCZ application, different N rates and plant population density affected the lodging resistance and yield attributes of maize. The diameter, plumpness, cortex penetration and bending strengths of the internodes were enhanced with UCZ and N application at medium and high plant density, where maximum values were obtained with U25 N150 D1 . Internode length increased in the high-density population and higher N rate, whereas UCZ reduced internode length, where maximum internode length was obtained with U0 N225 D2 . Plant height, centre of gravity height, ear and height above ear-bearing node were higher with the high N rate, while UCZ reduced it significantly. UCZ, N rate and plant density enhanced lignin accumulation in the third internode and ear-bearing internode, where maximum values were obtained with U25 N150 D1 . Yield and yield attributes were also improved by UCZ, N rate and population density. Treatment with U25 N150 D2 significantly improved grain yield of maize compared with the other treatments.

LncRNA XIST inhibits hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis via mediating miR-150-5p/Bax in acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) contributes to long-term cardiac ischemia induced by hypoxia. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) affect the development and progression of heart diseases. This study explored the role and mechanism of lncRNA X inactive specific transcript (XIST) in H9c2 cells with hypoxia-induced injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium (MTT), transwell, and flow cytometry assays were employed to analyze the survival, invasion, migration, and apoptosis of H9c2 cells under different conditions, respectively. Expression of related genes was determined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) or Western blot. RESULTS: XIST was over-expressed in H9c2 cells with hypoxia-induced injury, and the silence of XIST alleviated cell injury. Up-regulation of XIST promoted the expression of B-cell lymphoma 2-Associated X (Bax) through competitive binding to miR-150-5p. CONCLUSIONS: XIST protects cardiomyocytes from hypoxia-induced injury by mediating miR-150-5p/Bax axis, suggesting that XIST is an important target for AMI treatment.

A comprehensive understanding of ovarian carcinoma survival prognosis by novel biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths in women. Many studies show that dysregulated gene expression plays a key role in tumorigenesis and development. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma survival prognosis is needed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A large number of high-dimensional RNA-sequencing files and clinical datasets collected from the Genomic Data Commons Data Portal were utilized to identify novel potential biomarkers for determining the prognosis of patients with ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OVSC). We adopted a new strategy to identify these biomarkers by integrating co-expression network analysis and the Kaplan-Meier estimation with a non-parametric bootstrapping procedure. RESULTS: Functional enrichment analysis of gene modules of interest revealed several dysregulated genes in OVSC, suggesting a close relationship between hormones and angiogenesis. In combination with this comprehensive approach, 14 genes, including ABCA10, DCX, LRRC30, ALX4, DKK4, SGCZ, ANKS4B, FHL5, SPRR2F, CHRNG, GABRR1, STMN2, CRHBP, and GSTM5, were shown to serve as candidate biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of patients with OVSC. CONCLUSIONS: The current study identified several valuable prognostic biomarkers and several potential therapeutic targets for treating OVSC.

Effect of Deltex-1 on proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into smooth muscle cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Deltex-1 on proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bMSCs) into smooth muscle cells (SMCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: bMSCs of rat were isolated from bone marrow, cultured and identified. The effect of Deltex-1 on the proliferation of bMSCs infected with adenovirus vector pAd/Deltex-1 was detected by cell count kit-8 (CCK-8). The expression of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC), that is one of the markers of SMCs in bMSCs without treatment, with Deltex-1 virus infection or empty virus infection and co-cultured with SMCs, were detected by immunofluorescence cytochemistry staining, RT-PCR and Western blotting. The same detection of bMSCs and SMCs without treatment was used as normal control, respectively. RESULTS: bMSCs of rat were isolated from bone marrow, cultured and identified. Compared with the control, the results of CCK-8 showed that the growth of bMSCs infected by Deltex-1 virus was slower, and began to appear more significant especially at 48 (p<0.05, p<0.01). The results of immunofluorescence cytochemistry, Real-time PCR and Western blot showed that bMSCs with Deltex-1 virus infection and co-cultured with SMCs significantly expressed SM-MHC, and weakly expressed Notch-1. CONCLUSIONS: The proliferation of bMSCs with Deltex-1 over-expression could be inhibited and its differentiation into smooth muscle cells could be promoted.

Massive cerebral arterial air embolism following arterial catheterization.

Microscopic cerebral arterial air embolism (CAAE) has been described in many patients undergoing cardiac surgery as well as other invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. However, massive CAAE is rare. We report a 42-year-old woman who initially presented with thalamic and basal ganglia hemorrhages. Shortly after a radial arterial catheter was inserted, the patient suffered a generalized seizure and CT demonstrated intra-arterial air in bilateral cerebral hemispheres.

Adrenomedullary function during cognitive testing in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Reported correlations between epinephrine (EPI) excretion and classroom performance, the cognition-enhancing effects of EPI infusion, increased EPI excretion with stimulants, and reports of decreased EPI excretion in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest that sympathoadrenomedullary function might be altered in ADHD. This hypothesis was tested by examining sympathetic and adrenomedullary functioning during cognitive testing in boys with diagnosed ADHD. METHOD: Urinary excretion of EPI and norepinephrine during a 3-hour cognitive test battery was assessed in 7- to 13-year-old boys. Excretion rates (nanograms per hour per square meter of body surface area) were determined in 200 individuals with ADHD (diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria), with or without co-occurring oppositional defiant/conduct disorder or learning disorder. A non-ADHD contrast group (n = 51) with similar comorbidity was also studied. RESULTS: Substantially lower (mean +/- SE) urinary EPI excretion was observed in the ADHD-inattentive subtype (n = 71) compared with the control group (200 +/- 22 versus 278 +/- 24 ng/hr/m2; F = 5.99, p = .015, critical alpha = .017). No diagnostic group differences were seen for norepinephrine excretion. Correlational analysis of both parent- and teacher-rated behaviors revealed that inattention factors consistently negatively predicted urinary EPI excretion. CONCLUSIONS: The data extend findings of lower adrenomedullary activity during cognitive challenge in individuals with ADHD and suggest that the alteration is associated with inattentive behavior.

[An investigation on acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases in some provinces with high risk of poliomyelitis of China].

In the mid Jun, 1994, a study team organized by MOPH investigated AFP cases in 10 provinces with high prevalence of poliomyelitis (polio). Twenty prefectures and ten counties were selected randomly from each of 10 provinces and relevant prefectures. The team identified 681 AFP cases under 15 years old from 45 hospitals at prefecture level and 13 hospitals at country level based on hospital records from cases occurred during 1991-1994. AFP, Polio, Non-polio AFP and GBS (Guillian-Barre Syndrome) cases aged from 0-14 years scattered around 101 counties (cities) among target population and their average incidences by year were 1.04, 0.48, 0.57 and 0.31 (per 10(5) respectively. Noticingly, the incidence of polio had reduced significantly since 1991, and its proportion among AFP was also reducing from first place yearly since 1991. In addition, over 95% of the polio cases were concentrated in the 4 year olds which indicated that the target population for surveillance and prevention should mainly be focusing on 0-4 year olds. As the incidence of non-polio AFP has been used as a current sensitive index of surveillance system, we noticed that the incidence rates had been significantly different from various regions. According to the analytic data, we recommend that "Rate of non-polio AFP in children 0-14 years of age greater than 1/10(5)" might be a better and more sensitive index for surveillance program in China.