Genome-wide chromatin accessibility analysis unveils open chromatin convergent evolution during polyploidization in cotton.

Allopolyploidization, resulting in divergent genomes in the same cell, is believed to trigger a "genome shock", leading to broad genetic and epigenetic changes. However, little is understood about chromatin and gene-expression dynamics as underlying driving forces during allopolyploidization. Here, we examined the genome-wide DNase I-hypersensitive site (DHS) and its variations in domesticated allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense, AADD) and its extant AA (Gossypium arboreum) and DD (Gossypium raimondii) progenitors. We observed distinct DHS distributions between G. arboreum and G. raimondii. In contrast, the DHSs of the two subgenomes of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense showed a convergent distribution. This convergent distribution of DHS was also present in the wild allotetraploids Gossypium darwinii and G. hirsutum var. yucatanense, but absent from a resynthesized hybrid of G. arboreum and G. raimondii, suggesting that it may be a common feature in polyploids, and not a consequence of domestication after polyploidization. We revealed that putative cis-regulatory elements (CREs) derived from polyploidization-related DHSs were dominated by several families, including Dof, ERF48, and BPC1. Strikingly, 56.6% of polyploidization-related DHSs were derived from transposable elements (TEs). Moreover, we observed positive correlations between DHS accessibility and the histone marks H3K4me3, H3K27me3, H3K36me3, H3K27ac, and H3K9ac, indicating that coordinated interplay among histone modifications, TEs, and CREs drives the DHS landscape dynamics under polyploidization. Collectively, these findings advance our understanding of the regulatory architecture in plants and underscore the complexity of regulome evolution during polyploidization.

Molecular Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of Centipedegrass [Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack.] Based on the Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequence.

Centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) is an important warm-season grass plant used as a turfgrass as well as pasture grass in tropical and subtropical regions, with wide application in land surface greening and soil conservation in South China and southern United States. In this study, the complete cp genome of E. ophiuroides was assembled using high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology. The circle pseudomolecule for E. ophiuroides cp genome is 139,107 bp in length, with a quadripartite structure consisting of a large single copyregion of 82,081 bp and a small single copy region of 12,566 bp separated by a pair of inverted repeat regions of 22,230 bp each. The overall A + T content of the whole genome is 61.60%, showing an asymmetric nucleotide composition. The genome encodes a total of 131 gene species, composed of 20 duplicated genes within the IR regions and 111 unique genes comprising 77 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes, and 4 ribosome RNA genes. The complete cp genome sequence contains 51 long repeats and 197 simple sequence repeats, and a high degree of collinearity among E. ophiuroide and other Gramineae plants was disclosed. Phylogenetic analysis showed E. ophiuroides, together with the other two Eremochloa species, is closely related to Mnesithea helferi within the subtribe Rottboelliinae. These findings will be beneficial for the classification and identification of the Eremochloa taxa, phylogenetic resolution, novel gene discovery, and functional genomic studies for the genus Eremochloa.

Immunoneoadjuvant therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors of gastric cancer: an emerging exemplification : Immunoneoadjuvant therapy of gastric cancer.

Advances in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have enabled more effective treatment for individuals with various types of solid tumors. Given the improved survival benefit and acceptable safety profile of ICIs in advanced gastric cancer, there is plenty of interest in the use of ICIs in the neoadjuvant setting with curative intent. Theoretically, immunoneoadjuvant with ICIs could boost the levels of endogenous tumor antigen present in the tumor to enhance T-cell priming and further enhance systemic immunity. This systemic immune response may improve the detection and elimination of the disseminated micrometastatic tumors beyond the resected tumor, which are sources of postsurgical relapse. Numerous clinical studies have begun to explore the application of ICIs in neoadjuvant treatment of gastric cancer. This article reviews the progress in the use of ICI monotherapy and in combination with alternative therapies for the treatment of gastric cancer to aid in the development of gastric cancer immunoneoadjuvant therapy and improve the overall therapeutic benefit.

The Isothermal Melting Kinetics of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Crystals.

The isothermal melting behaviors of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with different entangled states (i.e., nascent and melt-crystallized samples) are studied. For two kinds of UHMWPE samples, the result shows that the relative content of survived crystals (Xs) exponentially decreases with time and reaches a constant value. It is suggested that such a melting behavior is related to the observed nonlinear growth of crystals induced by the kinetically rejected entanglements accumulated at the growth front. Additionally, the exponential decay of Xs with time provides a characteristic melting time (τ) for the melting process. Compared to the melt-crystallized UHMWPE, the τ value of nascent UHMWPE is generally longer even in a higher temperature range, which is mainly because the former has a larger entanglement density difference. Furthermore, these observations demonstrate that UHMWPEs with different entangled states have an analogous melting mechanism since they exhibit a similar melting activation energy (≈1300 kJ mol-1).

[Genetic Causation Analysis of Hyperandrogenemia Testing Indicators and Preeclampsia]. / é«˜é›„æ¿€ç´ è¡€ç—‡æ£€æµ‹æŒ‡æ ‡ä¸Žå­ç—«å‰æœŸçš„é—ä¼ å› æžœæ€§ç ”ç©¶.

Objective: Some epidemiological studies have shown that pregnant women who develop preeclampsia (PE) have elevated levels of testosterone in their maternal plasma compared to women with normal blood pressure during pregnancy, revealing a potential association between hyperandrogenism in women and PE. To explore the causal relationship between hyperandrogenism and PE, this study selected total testosterone (TT), bioavailable testosterone (BIOT), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) as exposure factors and PE and chronic hypertension with superimposed PE as disease outcomes. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were used to genetically dissect the causal relationships between the three exposure factors (TT, BIOT, and SHBG) and the outcomes of PE and chronic hypertension with superimposed PE. Methods: Two independent genome-wide association study (GWAS) databases were used for the two-sample MR analysis. In the GWAS data of female participants from the UK Biobank cohort, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with TT, BIOT, and SHBG were analyzed, involving 230454, 188507, and 188908 samples, respectively. GWAS data on PE and chronic hypertension with superimposed PE from the Finnish database were used to calculate SNP, involving 3556 PE cases and 114735 controls, as well as 38 cases of chronic hypertension with superimposed PE and 114735 controls. To meet the assumptions of instrumental relevance and independence in MR analysis, SNPs associated with exposure were identified at the genome-wide level (P<5.0×10-8), and those in linkage disequilibrium interference were excluded based on clustering thresholds of R 2<0.001 and an allele distance greater than 10000 kb. Known confounding factors, including previous PE, chronic kidney disease, chronic hypertension, diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, or antiphospholipid syndrome, were also identified and the relevant SNPs were removed. Finally, we extracted the outcome data based on the exposure-related SNPs in the outcome GWAS, integrating exposure and outcome data, and removing palindromic sequences. Five genetic causal analysis methods, including inverse variance-weighted method (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median method, simple mode method, and weighted mode method, were used to infer causal relationships. In the IVW, it was assumed that the selected SNPs satisfied the three assumptions and provided the most ideal estimate of the effect. IVW was consequently used as the primary analysis method in this study. Considering the potential heterogeneity among the instrumental variables, random-effects IVW was used for MR analysis. The results were interpreted using odds ratios (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) to explain the impact of exposure factors on PE and chronic hypertension with superimposed PE. If the CI did not include 1 and had a P value less than 0.05, the difference was considered statistically significant. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess heterogeneity and pleiotropy. Heterogeneity was examined using Cochran's Q test, and pleiotropy was assessed using MR-Egger intercept analysis. Additionally, leave-one-out analysis was conducted to examine whether individual SNPs were driving the causal associations. To further validate the findings, MR analyses were performed using the same methods and outcome variables, but with different exposure factors, including waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, with MR results for WHRadjBMI and PE serving as the positive controls and MR results for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and PE as the negative controls. Results: According to the criteria for selecting genetic instrumental variables, 186, 127, and 262 SNPs were identified as genetic instrumental variables significantly associated with testosterone indicators TT, BIOT, and SHBG. MR analysis did not find a causal relationship between the TT, BIOT, and SHBG levels and the risk of developing PE and chronic hypertension with superimposed PE. The IVW method predicted that genetically predicted TT (OR [95% CI]=1.018 [0.897-1.156], P=0.78), BIOT (OR [95% CI]=1.11 [0.874-1.408], P=0.392), and SHBG (OR [95% CI]=0.855 [0.659-1.109], P=0.239) were not associated with PE. Similarly, genetically predicted TT (OR [95% CI]=1.222 [0.548-2.722], P=0.624), BIOT (OR [95% CI]=1.066 [0.242-4.695], P=0.933), and SHBG (OR [95% CI]=0.529 [0.119-2.343], P=0.402) were not significantly associated with chronic hypertension with superimposed PE. Additionally, MR analysis using the MR-Egger method, weighted median method, simple mode method, and weighted mode method yielded consistent results, indicating no significant causal relationship between elevated testosterone levels and PE or chronic hypertension with superimposed PE. Heterogeneity was observed for SHBG in the analysis with PE (Cochran's Q test, P=0.01), and pleiotropy was detected for BIOT in the analysis with PE (MR-Egger intercept analysis, P=0.014), suggesting that the instrumental variables did not affect PE through BIOT. Other instrumental variables did not show significant heterogeneity or pleiotropy. Leave-one-out analysis confirmed that the results of the MR analysis were not driven by individual instrumental variables. Consistent with previous MR studies, the results of the control MR analyses using WHRadjBMI and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels supported the accuracy of the MR analysis approach and the methods used in this study. Conclusion: The MR analysis results suggest that current genetic evidence does not support a causal relationship between TT, BIOT, and SHBG levels and the development of PE and chronic hypertension with superimposed PE. This study suggests that elevated testosterone may be a risk factor for PE but not a direct cause.

Chemoselective Condensation of 3-Amino-2-cyclohexenones with Cinnamaldehydes: Switchable Synthesis of Dihydroquinolinones and Hexahydroacridinediones.

Herein, a chemoselective condensation of 3-amino-2-cyclohexenones and cinnamaldehydes for switchable synthesis of dihydroquinolinones and hexahydroacridinediones was developed. Mechanism analysis showed that the formation of dihydroquinolinones involved trimolecular condensation and oxidative aromatization, while the formation of hexahydroacridinediones involved acid hydrolysis of enaminone and dehydration-aromatization. This strategy provides a convenient way to switch from the same substrates to produce two different quinolinone derivatives.

Machine learning-assisted internal standard calibration label-free SERS strategy for colon cancer detection.

Liquid biopsies have significance for early colon cancer screening and improving patient survival. Recently, several researchers have applied surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for the label-free and non-invasive detection of serum. Most of these studies performed the assay using a mixture of noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) with serum. However, SERS analysis of serum remains a challenge in terms of reproducibility and stability, as NMNPs tend to aggregate when mixed with serum, resulting in a non-uniform distribution of hot spots. Here, we report on the non-invasive identification of colon cancer (CC) using an internal standard (IS)-calibrated label-free serum SERS assay in combination with machine learning. Serum SERS spectra of 50 CC patients and 50 health volunteers have been obtained using silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) colloid and mercaptopropionic acid-modified Ag NPs (Ag NPs-MPA) as the SERS substrates. Decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and principal component and linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA) algorithms were utilized to establish the diagnosis model for SERS spectra data classifying. The results show that the RF model provides a high diagnostic accuracy compared to PCA-LDA. Following calibration with IS molecules, high diagnostic accuracy of over 90% and 100% specificity can be achieved with DT, RF, and PCA-LDA algorithms to differentiate between cancer and normal groups. The results from this exploratory work demonstrate that serum SERS detection combined with multivariate statistical methods and IS calibration has great potential for the non-invasive and label-free detection of CC.

Evaluation of zinc tolerance and accumulation in eight cultivars of bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.): implications for zinc phytoremediation.

Zinc (Zn) is a vital element for plant growth and development, however, excessive Zn is toxic to plants. Common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) and hybrid bermudagrass (C. dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy) are widely used turfgrass species with strong tolerance to diverse abiotic stresses, including excessive Zn2+ stress. However, the variation of zinc tolerance and accumulation in different bermudagrass cultivars remain unclear. In this study, we systematically analyzed the growth performance, physiological index and ion concentration in eight commercial cultivars of common and hybrid bermudagrass under different concentration of Zn2+ treatments using pot experiments. The results indicated that four cultivars of common bermudagrass could tolerate 20 mM Zn2+, whereas four cultivars of hybrid bermudagrass could only tolerate 10 mM Zn2+. Among the four common bermudagrass cultivars, cultivar Guanzhong and Common showed stronger Zn tolerance and accumulation abilities than other two cultivars. Further analyses of the expression of selected Zn homeostasis-related genes indicated that bermudagrass cultivars with stronger tolerance to excessive Zn have at least one expression-elevated gene involved in Zn homeostasis. These results not only expanded our understanding of Zn tolerance and accumulation in bermudagrass but also facilitated the application of commercial bermudagrass cultivars in phytoremediation of Zn pollution.

Point-of-care testing for cerebral edema types based on symmetric cancellation near-field coupling phase shift and support vector machine.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral edema is an extremely common secondary disease in post-stroke. Point-of-care testing for cerebral edema types has important clinical significance for the precise management to prevent poor prognosis. Nevertheless, there has not been a fully accepted bedside testing method for that. METHODS: A symmetric cancellation near-field coupling phase shift (NFCPS) monitoring system is established based on the symmetry of the left and right hemispheres and the fact that unilateral lesions do not affect healthy hemispheres. For exploring the feasibility of this system to reflect the occurrence and development of cerebral edema, 13 rabbits divided into experimental group (n = 8) and control group (n = 5) were performed 24-h NFCPS continuous monitoring experiments. After time difference offset and feature band averaging processing, the changing trend of NFCPS at the stages dominated by cytotoxic edema (CE) and vasogenic edema (VE), respectively, was analyzed. Furthermore, the features under the different time windows were extracted. Then, a discriminative model of cerebral edema types based on support vector machines (SVM) was established and performance of multiple feature combinations was compared. RESULTS: The NFCPS monitoring outcomes of experimental group endured focal ischemia modeling by thrombin injection show a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, reaching the lowest value of - 35.05° at the 6th hour. Those of control group do not display obvious upward or downward trend and only fluctuate around the initial value with an average change of - 0.12°. Furthermore, four features under the 1-h and 2-h time windows were extracted. Based on the discriminative model of cerebral edema types, the classification accuracy of 1-h window is higher than 90% and the specificity is close to 1, which is almost the same as the performance of the 2-h window. CONCLUSION: This study proves the feasibility of NFCPS technology combined with SVM to distinguish cerebral edema types in a short time, which is promised to become a new solution for immediate and precise management of dehydration therapy after ischemic stroke.

Defunctioning stoma and anastomotic stricture in rectal cancer surgery: a propensity score matching study.

BACKGROUND: In cases of rectal cancer surgery, patients at high risk of anastomotic leakage often receive a defunctioning stoma (DS). However, its role in postoperative anastomotic strictures (AS) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between DS and AS and outcomes of transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) in treating rectal AS. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted from January 2019 to September 2021 and included patients who underwent rectal cancer surgery. A 1:1 ratio was used for propensity score matching (PSM). Univariate analyses were performed to identify statistically significant variables, and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the factors affecting AS. RESULTS: This study included 383 patients. The results of the univariate analysis suggested that surgery time (HR 4.597, 95% CI 1.563-13.525, P=0.006), postoperative anastomotic leakage (HR 11.830, 95% CI 3.773-37.094, P<0.001), and DS (HR 15.475, 95% CI 6.042-39.641, P<0.001) were significantly associated with AS. In the multivariate analysis, postoperative anastomotic leakage (HR 7.596, 95% CI 1.987-29.044, P= 0.003) and DS (HR 11.252, 95% CI 4.113-30.779, P<0.001) were identified as significant risk factors for AS. After matching, the univariate analysis revealed that postoperative anastomotic leakage (HR 8.333, 95% CI 1.541-45.052, P= 0.014) and DS (HR 9.965, 95% CI 2.200-45.142, P= 0.003) were associated with AS. The multivariate analysis indicated that postoperative anastomotic leakage (HR 14.549, 95% CI 1.765-119.913, P= 0.013) and DS (HR 12.450, 95% CI 2.418-64.108, P= 0.003) were significant risk factors for AS. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that DS is independently associated with AS, and postoperative anastomotic leakage increases the risk of AS. Furthermore, this study suggests that TEM could be a valuable treatment option for AS.

Ratiometric SERS-based assay with "sandwich" structure for detection of serotonin.

A ratiometric nanoensemble-functionalized Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) chip is proposed and an ultrasensitive "sandwich" structure introduced for the detection of 5-HT to achieve early diagnosis of colon cancer. The SERS-based chip contains core-shell SERS active substrates coded by different Raman tags with Raman-silent region peaks (Au@EBP@Au NR arrays and Au@MBN@Ag NPs) and then identify-function molecule modification to construct the "sandwich" structure (Au@EBP@Au NR arrays/5-HT/Au@MBN@Ag NPs). Au@EBP@Au NR arrays showed excellent SERS performance, including good uniformity with an RSD of 5.53% and an enhancement factor (EF) of 2.13 × 107. The intensity ratio of the peaks in the Raman silent region was proportional to the concentration of 5-HT in the range 5 × 10-7-1 × 10-3 M, with a detection limit (LOD) of 4.9 × 10-9 M. Excellent assay accuracy was also demonstrated, with recoveries in the range 96.80% to 104.96%. Finally, we found that 5-HT expression levels in normal human sera were much lower than those in colon cancer patients by using a SERS-based chip for determination of the concentration of 5-HT in clinical colon cancer serum. This result suggested that the proposed approach has potential for detecting 5-HT by ratiometric SERS-based chips for early diagnosis of colon cancer.

Preparation of SERS base membrane with cellulose compound dopamine and determination of hypochlorite.

Flexible silver substrates were made by in situ reduction of silver nanoparticles in bacterial cellulose membranes using the unique advantage of dopamine. Subsequently, we modified the substrate with 4-mercaptophenol (4-MP), a molecule capable of specifically recognizing ClO-, and its corresponding SERS signal changes with the concentration of hypochlorite, thus allowing the quantitative detection of ClO- content. The method showed a negative linear correlation (R2 = 0.9567) with the SERS intensity at 1077 cm-1 over the concentration range 0.5-100 µM, and the detection limit was 0.15 µM. The RSD of the SERS intensity at 1077 cm-1 under five batches was 4.2%, which proved the good reproducibility of P-BCM-Ag NP-MP. Finally, the P-BCM-Ag NPs were used for the detection of hypochlorite in cell contents, artificial urine, and clinical serum samples, utilizing spike experiments in all three environments. The recoveries were in the range 90-110% indicating the accuracy of the method for the detection of hypochlorite and validating the promising application of this assay for practical detection in intricate biological samples.

A novel "on-off" SERS nanoprobe based on sulfonated cellulose nanofiber-Ag composite for selective determination of NADH in human serum.

A novel S-CNF-based nanocomposite was created using sulfonated cellulose nanofiber (S-CNF) to enable the detection of NADH in serum by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The numerous hydroxyl and sulfonic acid groups on the S-CNF surface absorbed silver ions and converted them to silver seeds, which formed the load fulcrum. After adding a reducing agent, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were firmly adhered to the S-CNF surface to form stable 1D "hot spots." The S-CNF-Ag NP substrate demonstrated outstanding SERS performance, including good uniformity with an RSD of 6.88% and an enhancement factor (EF) of 1.23 × 107. Owing to the anionic charge repulsion effect, the S-CNF-Ag NP substrate still maintains remarkable dispersion stability after 12 months of preservation. Finally, S-CNF-Ag NPs' surface was modified with 4-mercaptophenol (4-MP), a special redox Raman signal molecule, to detect reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). The results showed that the detection limit (LOD) of NADH was 0.75 µM; a good linear relationship (R2 = 0.993) was established in the concentration range 10-6 - 10-2 M. The SERS nanoprobe enabled rapid detection of NADH in human serum without any complicated sample pretreatment and provides a new potential to detect biomarkers.

Three/Four-Dimensional Printed PLA Nano/Microstructures: Crystallization Principles and Practical Applications.

Compared to traditional methods, three/four-dimensional (3D/4D) printing technologies allow rapid prototyping and mass customization, which are ideal for preparing nano/microstructures of soft polymer materials. Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) is a biopolymer material widely used in additive manufacturing (AM) because of its biocompatibility and biodegradability. Unfortunately, owing to its intrinsically poor nucleation ability, a PLA product is usually in an amorphous state after industrial processing, leading to some undesirable properties such as a barrier property and low thermal resistance. Crystallization mediation offers a most practical way to improve the properties of PLA products. Herein, we summarize and discuss 3D/4D printing technologies in the processing of PLA nano/microstructures, focusing on crystallization principles and practical applications including bio-inspired structures, flexible electronics and biomedical engineering mainly reported in the last five years. Moreover, the challenges and prospects of 3D/4D printing technologies in the fabrication of high-performance PLA materials nano/microstructures will also be discussed.

Improving the Reaction Kinetics by Annealing MoS2/PVP Nanoflowers for Sodium-Ion Storage.

Under the ever-growing demand for electrochemical energy storage devices, developing anode materials with low cost and high performance is crucial. This study established a multiscale design of MoS2/carbon composites with a hollow nanoflower structure (MoS2/C NFs) for use in sodium-ion batteries as anode materials. The NF structure consists of several MoS2 nanosheets embedded with carbon layers, considerably increasing the interlayer distance. Compared with pristine MoS2 crystals, the carbon matrix and hollow-hierarchical structure of MoS2/C exhibit higher electronic conductivity and optimized thermodynamic/kinetic potential for the migration of sodium ions. Hence, the synthesized MoS2/C NFs exhibited an excellent capacity of 1300 mA h g-1 after 50 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g-1 and 630 mA h g-1 at 2 A g-1 and high-capacity retention at large charge/discharge current density (80% after 600 cycles 2 A g-1). The suggested approach can be adopted to optimize layered materials by embedding layered carbon matrixes. Such optimized materials can be used as electrodes in sodium-ion batteries, among other electrochemical applications.

Reference gene selection for quantitative RT-PCR in Miscanthus sacchariflorus under abiotic stress conditions.

BACKGROUND: Reference genes are necessary for quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis and their stability can directly influence the accuracy of gene expression result. Miscanthus sacchariflorus, a perennial C4 grass that serves as promising biofuel plant for temperate climates, has not been explored for the identification of stable reference genes yet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine potential reference genes (ACT, EF1a, FBOX, GAPDH, PP2A, SAND, TIP41, TUB and UBC) of M. sacchariflorus under different abiotic (salinity, drought and cadmium) stresses, as well as in two tissues (roots and leaves) were evaluated. The expression stability of these genes were analyzed by four commonly used software programs (geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, ΔCt method and RefFinder). RESULTS: Our results found that FBOX and SAND are the most stable genes among all tested samples. FBOX and EF1a are suitable for gene expression normalization of cadmium-treated samples and salinity-treated leaves. FBOX and PP2A are appropriate reference genes for salt-stressed roots and PEG-treated leaves. The traditional reference gene ACT and GAPDH exhibited the most variable pattern, which would not be recommended for qRT-PCR analysis under different abiotic stresses. Furthermore, the expression levels of PIP2, NHX1 and MT2a under drought, salt and cadmium treatment were detected with above reference genes. CONCLUSIONS: This work identified the appropriate reference genes for qRT-PCR in M. sacchariflorus and FBOX was recommended to be effective internal control for gene expression normalization in M. sacchariflorus in response to different abiotic stresses.

Early assessment of acute ischemic stroke in rabbits based on multi-parameter near-field coupling sensing.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and continuous monitoring are the key to emergency treatment and intensive care of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Nevertheless, there has not been a fully accepted method targeting continuous assessment of AIS in clinical. METHODS: Near-field coupling (NFC) sensing can obtain the conductivity related to the volume of intracranial components with advantages of non-invasiveness, strong penetrability and real-time monitoring. In this work, we built a multi-parameter monitoring system that is able to measure changes of phase and amplitude in the process of electromagnetic wave (EW) reflection and transmission. For investigating its feasibility in AIS detection, 16 rabbits were chosen to establish AIS models by bilateral common carotid artery ligation and then were enrolled for monitoring experiments. RESULTS: During the 6 h after AIS, the reflection amplitude (RA) shows a decline trend with a range of 0.69 dB and reflection phase (RP) has an increased variation of 6.48° . Meanwhile, transmission amplitude (TA) and transmission phase (TP) decrease 2.14 dB and 24.29° , respectively. The statistical analysis illustrates that before ligation, 3 h after ligation and 6 h after ligation can be effectively distinguished by the four parameters individually. When all those parameters are regarded as recognition features in back propagation (BP) network, the classification accuracy of the three different periods reaches almost 100%. CONCLUSION: These results prove the feasibility of multi-parameter NFC sensing to assess AIS, which is promised to become an outstanding point-of-care testing method in the future.

Preservation of the left colic artery in modified laparoscopic anterior rectal resections without auxiliary abdominal incisions for transanal specimen retrieval.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic low anterior rectal resection is the most widely used surgical procedure for middle and low rectal cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and safety of the extracorporeal placement of the anvil in preserving the left colic artery in laparoscopic low anterior rectal resection without auxiliary incisions for transanal specimen retrieval in this research. METHODS: Clinical data and follow-up data of patients undergoing laparoscopic low anterior rectal resection from January 2017 to October 2020 were collected. The resections were modified such that the resisting nail holder was extracorporeally placed for the transanal exenteration of the specimen without using auxiliary abdominal incisions while preserving the left colic artery. By analyzing the data of anastomotic stenosis, anastomotic bleeding and anastomotic fistulas after surgery, the advantages and disadvantages of this surgical method for patients were clarified. RESULTS: A total of 22 patients were enrolled. Five of 22 patients simultaneously underwent double-barrel terminal ileostomy. The postoperative exhaust time was 2-7 (median, 3) days. Postoperative anastomotic bleeding occurred in one patient, postoperative anastomotic fistula occurred in four patients, and postoperative anastomotic stenosis occurred in six patients. There were four patients with postoperative distant metastasis, of which three had concomitant local recurrence. Seventeen patients had no obvious symptoms or signs of recurrent metastases during follow-up appointments, and one died of liver failure. CONCLUSIONS: Modified laparoscopic low anterior rectal resection, which resects the specimen through anus eversion by inserting the anvil extracorporeally while preserving the left colic artery, is safe and feasible for patients with low rectal cancer.

Transcriptome Analyses Reveal the Role of Light in Releasing the Morphological Dormancy of Celery Seed by Integrating Plant Hormones, Sugar Metabolism and Endosperm Weakening.

Celery seed is known to be difficult to germinate due to its morphological dormancy. Light is the key signal to release morphological dormancy and promote seed germination. However, this mechanism has rarely been studied. We performed physiological, transcriptome analyses on celery seed exposed to light and dark to decipher the mechanism by which light promotes germination of celery seed. The results showed that light significantly enhanced the expression of gibberellin synthesis genes and abscisic acid degradation genes and inhibited the expression of abscisic acid synthesis genes and gibberellin degradation genes. Moreover, gibberellin synthesis inhibitor could completely inhibit the germination capacity of celery seed, indicating that gibberellin is indispensable in the process of celery seed germination. Compared with dark, light also increased the activity of α-amylase and ß-amylase and the expression of related coding genes and promoted the degradation of starch and the increase of soluble sugar content, suggesting that light enhanced the sugar metabolism of celery seed. In addition, transcriptome analysis revealed that many genes related to endosperm weakening (cell wall remodeling enzymes, extension proteins) were up-regulated under light. It was also found that light promoted the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the radicle, which promoted the endosperm weakening process of celery seed. Our results thus indicated that light signal may promote the release of morphological dormancy through the simultaneous action of multiple factors.

Analysis of the therapeutic effect of transanal endoscopic microsurgery on large rectal adenoma.

Purpose: Rectal adenoma, a pre-cancerous lesion, is one of the indications for transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM). TEM has its unique advantages in the treatment of rectal adenomas. However, there are few reports on the therapeutic effects of large rectal adenoma (LRA). The objective of this study was to investigate the value of TEM in the treatment of LRA. Materials and Methods: We collected data from patients who underwent surgery at our center from 2007 to 2017. The postoperative pathology of all patients was rectal adenoma and the diameter of the adenoma was 3 cm or greater. Moreover, all patients underwent TEM. We followed up to observe the incidence of no wound healing, rectal stenosis and recurrence rate of rectal adenoma. The risk factors of adenoma recurrence and wound healing were analysed using single- and multiple-factor analysis. Results: The clinicopathological data of 85 patients with LRA were collected through a pre-set table. During the follow-up period, eight patients were lost to follow-up, and three (3.90%) patients developed rectal stenosis. After 2 years of post-operative follow-up, 20 (25.97%) patients had recurrence and 57 (74.03%) patients had no recurrence. Multivariate analysis showed that positive margin was an independent risk factor for recurrence of adenoma. Conclusions: TEM is feasible in the treatment of large rectal tumours in Centers of Expertise with the technique.