Losses of low-germinating, slow-growing species prevent grassland composition recovery from nutrient amendment.

Nutrient enrichment often alters the biomass and species composition of plant communities, but the extent to which these changes are reversible after the cessation of nutrient addition is not well-understood. Our 22-year experiment (15 years for nutrient addition and 7 years for recovery), conducted in an alpine meadow, showed that soil nitrogen concentration and pH recovered rapidly after cessation of nutrient addition. However, this was not accompanied by a full recovery of plant community composition. An incomplete recovery in plant diversity and a directional shift in species composition from grass dominance to forb dominance were observed 7 years after the nutrient addition ended. Strikingy, the historically dominant sedges with low germination rate and slow growth rate and nitrogen-fixing legumes with low germination rate were unable to re-establish after nutrient addition ceased. By contrast, rapid recovery of aboveground biomass was observed after nutrient cessation as the increase in forb biomass only partially compensated for the decline in grass biomass. These results indicate that anthropogenic nutrient input can have long-lasting effects on the structure, but not the soil chemistry and plant biomass, of grassland communities, and that the recovery of soil chemical properties and plant biomass does not necessarily guarantee the restoration of plant community structure. These findings have important implications for the management and recovery of grassland communities, many of which are experiencing alterations in resource input.

Insulin resistance and coronary inflammation in patients with coronary artery disease: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) severity. However, its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Therefore, our study aimed to explore the relationship between IR and coronary inflammation and investigate the synergistic and mediating effects of coronary inflammation on the association between IR and CAD severity. METHODS: Consecutive patients with CAD who underwent coronary angiography and coronary computed tomography angiography between April 2018 and March 2023 were enrolled. The triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index) and peri-coronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation around the proximal right coronary artery (RCA) were used to evaluate IR and coronary inflammation, respectively. The correlation between the TyG index and PCAT attenuation was analyzed using linear regression models. Logistic regression models were further used for investigating the correlation of the TyG index and PCAT attenuation with CAD severity. A mediation analysis assessed the correlation between IR and CAD severity mediated by coronary inflammation. RESULTS: A total of 569 participants (mean age, 62 ± 11 years; 67.8% men) were included in the study. PCAT attenuation was positively associated with the TyG index (r = 0.166; P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the per standard deviation increment in the TyG index was associated with a 1.791 Hounsfield unit (HU) increase (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.920-2.662 HU; P < 0.001) in the PCAT attenuation. In total, 382 (67.1%) patients had multivessel CAD. The patients in the high-TyG index/high PCAT attenuation group had approximately 3.2 times the odds of multivessel CAD compared with those in the low-TyG index/low PCAT attenuation group (odds ratio, 3.199; 95%CI, 1.826-5.607; P < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that PCAT attenuation mediated 31.66% of the correlation between the TyG index and multivessel CAD. CONCLUSIONS: The TyG index positively correlated with PCAT attenuation in patients with CAD. The TyG index and PCAT attenuation showed a synergistic correlation with multivessel CAD. Furthermore, PCAT attenuation partially mediated the relationship between the TyG index and CAD severity. Controlling inflammation in patients with high IR and coronary inflammation may provide additional benefits.

[Analysis of Key Points of Technical Review of Traditional Chinese Medicine Fumigation Treatment Device].

Traditional Chinese medicine fumigation device is the carrier of traditional Chinese medicine fumigation treatment. In recent years, with the rapid development of new technology and new materials, the development of fumigation device changes with each passing day, and a variety of new products continue to emerge. However, at present, the lack of corresponding evaluation norms, resulting in some difficulties in the registration, marketing, quality control, evaluation scale and other aspects of the product. Some products have many disadvantages in clinical use. From the perspective of technical review, this paper elaborates and analyzes the main concerns in technical review, such as product structure, main risks, performance requirements, clinical evaluation, etc., in order to provide a basis for the design, development, production, registration, use and post-marketing supervision of the devices.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Anthrenus museorum (Coleoptera: Bostrichiformia: Dermestidae) from China.

Dermestid beetles (Coleoptera: Bostrichiformia: Dermestidae) are important pests of various storage products and pose a potential threat to international trade. In this study, the whole mitogenome of Anthrenus museorum was first sequenced and annotated and was found to have the same gene order observed in known dermestid beetles. It comprised 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs and a control region. The typical ATN start codon was observed in all PCGs, except for ND3 (TTG), and all 13 PCGs showed three types of stop codons (TAA, TAG, and T-). Phylogenetic analysis based on the PCGs indicated that the relationships within Bostrichiformia were reconstructed, with the exception of one early emerging species of Bostrichidae that actually makes the group polyphyletic, as (Dermestidae + (Bostrichidae + Anobiidae)). Moreover, it revealed a close relationship between A. museorum and A. verbasci using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis.

Impact of Hepatitis B virus infection on postoperative complications and length of stay in elderly patients with hip fracture: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis and subsequent fractures are common in the chronic hepatitis B (CHB) population, especially in the elderly. This study investigated the effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on postoperative outcomes following hip fracture surgery. METHODS: The study identified elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery at three academic tertiary care centres between January 2014 and December 2020. Propensity score matching was performed to compare the outcomes of 1,046 patients with HBV infection to 1,046 controls. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of HBV among elderly patients undergoing hip surgery was 4.94%. The HBV cohort had significantly higher rates of medical complications (28.1 vs. 22.7%, p = 0.005), surgical complications (14.0 vs. 9.7%, p = 0.003), and unplanned readmissions (18.9 vs. 14.5%, p = 0.03) within 90 days of surgery. Patients with HBV infection were more likely to have increased length of stay (6.2 vs. 5.9 days, p = 0.009) and in-hospital charges (¥52,231 vs. ¥49,832, p < 0.00001). Multivariate logistic regression suggested that liver fibrosis and thrombocytopenia were independent risk factors for major complications and extended LOS. CONCLUSION: Patients with HBV infection were at greater risk of adverse postoperative outcomes. We should pay more attention to the considerable burden of perioperative management of CHB patients. Due to the high proportion of undiagnosed patients in the Chinese elderly population, universal HBV screening should be considered preoperatively.

Body composition and mortality in a cohort study of Chinese patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objective: To analyse the characteristics and mortality of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with different body compositions. Methods: In this study, 530 consecutive patients with HCM at West China Hospital were studied from November 2008 to May 2016. An equation based on body mass index (BMI) was used to obtain the Percent body fat (BF) and lean mass index (LMI). Patients were divided into five sex-specific BMI, BF and LMI quintiles. Results: The average BMI, BF and LMI were 23.1 ± 3.2 kg/m2, 28.1 ± 7.3% and 16.5 ± 2.2 kg/m2, respectively. Patients with higher BMI or BF were older and had more symptoms and adverse cardiovascular conditions; those with higher LMI were younger and had less coronary artery disease and lower serum NT-proBNP and creatine. BF correlated positively with resting left ventricular (LV) outflow tract gradient, mitral regurgitation (MR) degree and left atrial diameter but was inversely associated with septal wall thickness (SWT), posterior wall thickness (PWT), LV mass, and E/A ratio; LMI was positively correlated with SWT, LV end diastolic volume and LV mass but was negatively associated with MR degree.48 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 33.8 months. Reversed J-shape associations of BMI and LMI with mortality were observed. A lower BMI or LMI was significantly associated with high mortality, especially for low-moderate BMI and LMI. No significant difference in mortality was found across BF quintiles. Conclusions: The associations of BMI, BF and LMI with baseline characteristics and cardiac remodelling are different in HCM patients. In Chinese HCM patients, low BMI and LMI predicted mortality but not BF.

Inhibition of Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling Pathway Accelerates the Repair of Avascular Necrosis of Femoral Epiphysis through Regulating Macrophage Polarization in Perthes Disease.

BACKGROUND: Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD) is still a refractory disease in children's orthopedics. With the introduction of the concept of "osteoimmunology", the immune-inflammatory mechanisms between bone and immune system have become a research focus of LCPD. However, few studies have reported on the pathological role of inflammation-related receptors such as toll-like receptors (TLRs) as well as immune cells such as macrophages in LCPD. This study was for investigating the mechanism of TLR4 signaling pathway on the direction of macrophage polarization and the repair of avascular necrosis of femoral epiphysis in LCPD. METHODS: With GSE57614 and GSE74089, differentially expressed genes were screened. Through enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network, the functions of TLR4 were explored. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining, micro-CT, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) dyeing and western blotting were performed for determining the influences of TAK-242 (a TLR4 inhibitor) on the repair of avascular necrosis of femoral epiphysis in rat models. RESULTS: Totally 40 co-expression genes were screened as well as enriched in TLR4 signaling pathway. Immunohistochemistry and ELISA analyses certified that TLR4 facilitated macrophage polarization toward the M1 phenotype and prevented macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype. Besides, the results of H&E and TRAP staining, micro-CT, and western blotting showed that TAK-242 can inhibit osteoclastogenesis and promote osteogenesis. CONCLUSION: Inhibition of TLR4 signaling pathway accelerated the repair of avascular necrosis of femoral epiphysis by regulating macrophage polarization in LCPD.

The effect of precipitation timing on phylogenetic and functional community structure in a semi-arid steppe.

Changes in the amount and timing of precipitation may affect plant species coexistence. However, little is known about how these changes in precipitation structure plant communities. Here, we conducted a 6-year field precipitation manipulation experiment in the semi-arid steppe of Inner Mongolia, China, to assess the importance of species extinction and colonization in community assembly by incorporating information on phylogenetic and functional relatedness. Our results demonstrated that the decline in plant species richness under decreasing precipitation in the late and entire growing season could be attributed to a decrease in species colonization and an increase in species loss, respectively. The increase in species richness under increasing precipitation in the late growing season was mainly caused by increases in colonizing species. The loss of species that were more closely related to other residents under decreasing precipitation in the late growing season did not alter patterns of phylogenetic overdispersion, and the colonization of species that were more distantly related to residents under increasing precipitation in the late growing season shifted functional relatedness from clustering to randomness. Increasing precipitation may weaken the strength of environmental filtering induced by water stress in this semi-arid steppe and thus increase the probability of successful colonization of functionally dissimilar species relative to residents. Our study suggests that incorporating information on the functional and phylogenetic relatedness of locally lost resident species and the colonization of new species into analyses of community assembly processes can provide new insights into the general responses of plant communities to global change.

Antiviral Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis B Infection Improves Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may place patients at increased risk of postoperative adverse events. However, there is limited information on the effects of antiviral treatment (AVT) on postoperative outcomes following total hip arthroplasties (THAs). METHODS: A multicenter retrospective database query was used to identify patients infected with HBV undergoing THAs between 2012 and 2017. All eligible patients were divided into 2 cohorts on the basis of AVT before surgery: the treated group and the untreated group. The treated cohort was matched at a ratio of 1:3 to the untreated cohort by propensity score matching. Operating times, blood losses, all-type complications, surgical complications, lengths of stay, 90-day readmissions, unplanned reoperations, and implant revisions were compared between the 2 cohorts. After these patients were further stratified by liver fibrosis status, multivariate logistic analyses were performed by controlling for differences in demographics and comorbidities. In total, 918 patients chronically infected with HBV were identified. Over four-fifths of these patients (83.0%) did not receive preoperative AVT. Of interest, more than half of the untreated patients (54.1%) were previously undiagnosed. RESULTS: The untreated group had significantly longer mean operating time (82 versus 76 minutes, P = .007) and higher mean blood loss (515 versus 465 mL, P = .03) than the treated group. Moreover, they were more prone to experiencing surgical complications (25.4% versus 16.7%, P = .01), longer lengths of stay (6.2 versus 5.4 days, P = .0005), readmissions (12.4% versus 5.8%, P = .02), reoperations (16.7% versus 9.6%, P = .03), and revisions (11.1% versus 4.5%, P = .02). Multivariate regression analyses found that AVT significantly decreased all-type complications, reoperations, and revisions in patients with significant fibrosis (all P < .05). CONCLUSION: The AVT of HBV infection prior to THAs could reduce the risk of developing postoperative complications, regardless of the presence of liver fibrosis. This finding emphasizes that surgeons should recommend HBV screening and treatment integrated into preoperative medical optimization.

Study on Oil Recovery Mechanism of Polymer-Surfactant Flooding Using X-ray Microtomography and Integral Geometry.

Understanding pore-scale morphology and distribution of remaining oil in pore space are of great importance to carry out in-depth tapping of oil potential. Taking two water-wet cores from a typical clastic reservoir in China as an example, X-ray CT imaging is conducted at different experimental stages of water flooding and polymer-surfactant (P-S) flooding by using a high-resolution X-ray microtomography. Based on X-ray micro-CT image processing, 3D visualization of rock microstructure and fluid distribution at the pore scale is achieved. The integral geometry newly developed is further introduced to characterize pore-scale morphology and distribution of remaining oil in pore space. The underlying mechanism of oil recovery by P-S flooding is further explored. The results show that the average diameter of oil droplets gradually decreases, and the topological connectivity becomes worse after water flooding and P-S flooding. Due to the synergistic effect of "1 + 1 > 2" between the strong sweep efficiency of surfactant and the enlarged swept volume of the polymer, oil droplets with a diameter larger than 124.58 µm can be gradually stripped out by the polymer-surfactant system, causing a more scattered distribution of oil droplets in pore spaces of the cores. The network-like oil clusters are still dominant when water flooding is continued to 98% of water cut, but the dominant pore-scale oil morphology has evolved from network-like to porous-type and isolated-type after P-S flooding, which can provide strong support for further oil recovery in the later stage of chemical flooding.

Comparative mitogenome analysis reveals mitochondrial genome characteristics in eight strains of Beauveria.

Despite the significant progress that has been made in the genome sequencing of Beauveria species, mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) used to examine genetic diversity within fungal populations. Complete mitogenomes of Beauveria species can be easily sequenced and assembled using various sequencing techniques. However, since mitogenome annotations are mainly derived from similar species comparison and software prediction, and are not supported by RNA-seq transcripts data, it leads to problems with the accuracy of mitochondrial annotations and the inability to understand RNA processing. In this study, we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of eight Beauveria strains using Illumina DNA and RNA sequencing data. The circular mitogenome of eight Beauveria strains ranged from 26,850 bp (B. caledonica strain ATCC 64970) to 35,999 bp (B. brongniartii strain GYU-BMZ03), with the intronic insertions accounting for most of the size variation, thus contributing to a total mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) size of 7.01% and 28.95%, respectively. Intron number variations were not directly related to the evolutionary relationship distance. Besides ribosomal protein S3 (rps3), most introns are lost too quickly and lack the stability of protein-coding genes. The short RNA-seq reads from next-generation sequencing can improve the mitochondrial annotation accuracy and help study polycistronic transcripts and RNA processing. The transcription initiation sites may be located in the control region. Most introns do not serve as taxonomic markers and also lack open reading frames (ORFs). We assumed that the poly A tail was added to the polycistronic transcript before splicing and one polycistronic transcript (trnM (1)-trnL (1)-trnA-trnF-trnK-trnL (2)-trnQ-trnH-trnM (2)-nad2-nad3-atp9-cox2-trnR (1)-nad4L-nad5-cob-trnC-cox1-trnR (2)-nad1-nad4-atp8-atp6-rns-trnY-trnD-trnS-trnN-cox3-trnG-nad6-trnV-trnI-trnS-trnW-trnP-rnl(rps3)-trnT-trnE-trnM (3)) was first processed from the mitogenome and was subsequently processed into smaller mono-, di-, or tricistronic RNAs.

The complete mitochondrial genome of small wax moth, Achroia grisella (Pyralidae: Galleriinae).

We sequenced and annotated the complete mitochondrial genome of Achroia grisella (Fabricius, 1794), which was 15,368 bp, encoding 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region; having a base composition of A (38.7%), C (12.3%), G (7.5%), T (41.5%), G + C (19.8%), and A + T (71.2%); except for the ND1, which was initiated by the GAT codon, the other 12 PCGs were initiated by the ATN (ATT, ATA, and ATG) codon. The nine PCGs terminated with the typical TAA stop codon, whereas the remaining four genes had incomplete stop codons, which were single T. In addition, the phylogenetic relationships based on nucleotide sequences of 13 PCGs using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods showed a close relationship between Achroia grisella and Galleria mellonella.

Metabolic Profiling Analysis of the Effect and Mechanism of Gushiling Capsule in Rabbits With Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head.

Gushiling capsule (GSLC) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (GIONFH). This study established the serum metabolite profiles of GSLC in rabbits and explored the metabolic mechanism and effect of GSLC on GIONFH. Seventy-five Japanese white rabbits were randomly divided into the control, model, and GSLC groups. The rabbits in the model group and the GSLC group received injection of prednisolone acetate. Meanwhile, rabbits in the GSLC group were treated by gavage at a therapeutic dose of GSLC once a day. The control group and the model group received the same volume of normal saline gavage. Three groups of serum samples were collected at different time points, and the changes in the metabolic spectrum were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The resulting data set was analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis to identify potential biomarkers related to GSLC treatment. The metabolic pathway was analyzed by MetaboAnalyst 4.0 and a heatmap was constructed using the HEML1.0.3.7 software package. In addition, histopathological and radiography studies were carried out to verify the anti-GIONFH effects of GSLC. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) score plots revealed a significant separation trend between the control group and the model group and the GSLC group (1-3 weeks), but there were no significant differences in the GSLC group (4-6 weeks). Orthogonal PLS-DA (OPLS-DA) score plots also revealed an obvious difference between the model and the GSLC groups (4-6 weeks). Ten potential metabolite biomarkers, mainly phospholipids, were identified in rabbit serum samples and demonstrated to be associated with GIONFH. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and magnetic resonance imaging indicated that the pathological changes in femoral head necrosis in the GSLC group were less than in the model group, which was consistent with the improved serum metabolite spectrum. GSLC regulated the metabolic disorder of endogenous lipid components in GIONFH rabbits. GSLC may prevent and treat GIONFH mainly by regulating phospholipid metabolism in vivo.

Acute myocardial infarction after a local anesthetic procedure in a middle-aged patient.

We report a case of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occurring after a local injection of lidocaine. The patient presented with symptoms of myocardial ischemia, dynamic changes in the ST segment of the electrocardiogram, and significantly elevated levels of cardiac troponin; however, coronary angiography findings were normal. According to the clinical definition of AMI, these features indicated the presence of acute myocardial injury, reflected by abnormal cardiac biomarkers and supported by evidence of acute myocardial ischemia. Coronary artery spasm is an important cause of AMI and can be induced by drug effects. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic and antiarrhythmic drug widely used in clinics. The potential mechanism in this case may be lidocaine-induced coronary artery spasm. The possible serious side effects of lidocaine require the attention and vigilance of clinicians. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe coronary artery spasm possibly induced directly by lidocaine.

Erratum: PRMT4 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by activating AKT/mTOR signaling and indicates poor prognosis: Erratum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/ijms.62467.].

The role of mitochondria-associated membranes mediated ROS on NLRP3 inflammasome in cardiovascular diseases.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism is essential for the homeostasis of cells. Appropriate production of ROS is an important signaling molecule, but excessive ROS production can damage cells. ROS and ROS-associated proteins can act as damage associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs) to activate the NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies have shown that there are connected sites, termed mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs), between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. In cardiovascular disease progression, MAMs play multiple roles, the most important of which is the ability to mediate ROS generation, which further activates the NLPR3 inflammasome, exacerbating the progression of disease. In this review, the following topics will be covered: 1. Molecular structures on MAMs that can mediate ROS generation; 2. Specific mechanisms of molecule-mediated ROS generation and the molecules' roles in cardiovascular disease, 3. The effects of MAMs-mediated ROS on the NLRP3 inflammasome in cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this review is to provide a basis for subsequent clinical treatment development.

Asymmetric effects between tree and understorey litters on mixed litter decomposition in temperate Quercus variabilis forest.

Litter decomposition is a critical process of biogeochemical cycles of ecosystem. While growing evidences have shown the decomposition rates of litter mixture are different from those of single-species litters, the mutual effects between different functional type species in the mixture remain inconclusive. A field litterbag experiment was conducted to determine the mutual effects of three functional type plants [tree (Quercus variabilis), shrub (Lindera glauca), and herb (Lygodium japonicum)] during the decomposition in a temperate oak forest. After 400 days of in situ incubation, the mass loss rate of each species-specific in the mixture was greater than that decomposed as monoculture, showing the greatest mass loss in the three-species litter mixture. In addition, the decomposition constant for each species was stimulated while mixed with other species. The presence of L. glauca leaf litter significantly elevated total N (15.0%) and C loss (8.92%) of Q. variabilis leaf litter, and the existence of Q. variabilis leaf litter also led to enhanced total N (10.4%) and C (9.1%) release of L. glauca leaf litter. The addition of L. japonicum in the mixed litters showed substantially positive effects on total N (16.5% and 10.8%) and C (10.6% and 14.2%) release of both L. glauca and Q. variabilis litters. In contrast, neither Q. variabilis nor L. glauca litter exhibited effects on the total N and C loss of L. japonicum litter. Our results indicate that the mutual effects between different functional types on nutrient release were asymmetric in the mixed litters. The role of species-specific in the mixture should be highlighted while evaluated the nonadditive effects in the leaf litter mixing experiments.

Regulatory function of the trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene TPS3 on chitin metabolism in brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens.

Brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) is one of the important pests that damage rice. Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) is a key enzyme responsible for catalysing the biosynthesis of trehalose, which is the energy substance of insects. In this study, combined with the reported N. lugens TPS1, TPS2 and newly discovered TPS3, we studied the regulation of TPS in chitin metabolism by RNA interference. Firstly, we found that the relative expression levels of TRE1-1, TRE1-2 and TRE2 increased significantly after 48 h of dsTPS3 injection, and the activity of TRE1 enhanced significantly. Secondly, abnormal and lethal phenotypes were observed after dsTPS3 and dsTPSs injection. The relative expression levels of PGM2, G6PI2, Cht1-4, Cht6-10 and IDGF decreased significantly after 48 h of dsTPS3 injection. At 72 h after injection of dsTPS3, the relative expression levels of CHS1, Cht2, Cht4, Cht7 and Cht8 reduced significantly, but the expression levels of G6PI1, Cht5 and ENGase increased significantly. The relative expression levels of GFAT, UAP, PGM2, G6PI2, CHS1, CHS1a, CHS1b, Cht2, Cht4, Cht8, Cht9 and Cht10 decreased significantly after 48 h of dsTPSs injection. However, at 72 h after the injection of dsTPSs, the expression levels of GNPNA, UAP, PGM1, G6PI1, HK, CHS1, CHS1a, CHS1b, Cht3, Cht5, Cht7 and ENGase increased significantly. Finally, the chitin content decreased in dsTPS1, dsTPS2 and dsTPSs treatments. In conclusion, the inhibition of TPS expression affected the metabolism of trehalose and chitin in N. lugens. The related research results provide a theoretical basis for pest control.

Nitrogen and phosphorus addition differentially enhance seed production of dominant species in a temperate steppe.

Previous studies have demonstrated changes in plant growth and reproduction in response to nutrient availability, but responses of plant growth and reproduction to multiple levels of nutrient enrichment remain unclear. In this study, a factorial field experiment was performed with manipulation of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability to examine seed production of the dominant species, Stipa krylovii, in response to N and P addition in a temperate steppe. There were three levels of N and P addition in this experiment, including no N addition (0 g N m-2 year-1), low N addition (10 g N m-2 year-1), and high N addition (40 g N m-2 year-1) for N addition treatment, and no P addition (0 g P m-2 year-1), low P addition (5 g P m-2 year-1), and high P addition (10 g P m-2 year-1) for P addition treatment. Low N addition enhanced seed production by 814%, 1371%, and 1321% under ambient, low, and high P addition levels, respectively. High N addition increased seed production by 2136%, 3560%, and 3550% under ambient, low, and high P addition levels, respectively. However, P addition did not affect seed production in the absence of N addition, but enhanced it under N addition. N addition enhanced seed production mainly by increasing the tiller number and inflorescence abundance per plant, whereas P addition stimulated it by decreasing the plant density yet stimulating height of plants and their seed number per inflorescence. Our results indicate seed production is not limited by P availability but rather by N availability in the temperate steppe, whereas seed production will be increased by P addition when N availability is improved. These findings enable a better understanding of plant reproduction dynamics in the temperate steppe under intensified nutrient enrichment and can inform their improved management in the future.

The incidence and predictors of high-degree atrioventricular block in patients with bicuspid aortic valve receiving self-expandable transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

BACKGROUND: The high-degree atrioventricular block (HAVB) in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) remains high. The study aims to explore this poorly understood subject of mechanisms and predictors for HAVB in BAV self-expandable TAVI patients. METHODS: We retrospectively included 181 BAV patients for analysis. Using computed tomography data, the curvature of ascending aorta (AAo) was quantified by the angle (AAo angle) between annulus and the cross-section at 35 mm above annulus (where the stent interacts with AAo the most). The valvular anatomy and leaflet calcification were also characterized. RESULTS: The 30-day HAVB rate was 16.0% (median time to HAVB was three days). Type-1 morphology was found in 79 patients (43.6%) (left- and right-coronary cusps fusion comprised 79.7%). Besides implantation below membrane septum, large AAo angle [odds ratio (OR) = 1.08, P = 0.016] and type-1 morphology (OR = 4.97, P = 0.001) were found as the independent predictors for HAVB. Together with baseline right bundle branch block, these predictors showed strong predictability for HAVB with area under the cure of 0.84 (sensitivity = 62.1%, specificity = 92.8%). Bent AAo and calcified raphe had a synergistic effect in facilitating high implantation, though the former is associated with at-risk deployment (device implanted above annulus + prothesis pop-out, versus straight AAo: 9.9% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: AAo curvature and type-1 morphology are novel predictors for HAVB in BAV patients following self-expandable TAVI. For patients with bent AAo or calcified raphe, a progressive approach to implant the device above the lower edge of membrane septum is favored, though should be done cautiously to avoid pop-out.