Characteristics of the oral glucose tolerance test in women with different pre-pregnancy body mass index and the effect of gestational diabetes mellitus on twin pregnancy outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the mid-pregnancy blood glucose levels of women with singleton or twin pregnancies. METHOD: The relationship between blood glucose levels and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) was studied in women with different pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI), and the effect of GDM on twin pregnancy outcomes was analyzed. Women with twin (n = 1,985) and singleton (n = 1,985) pregnancies were categorized into underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2, n = 597), normal weight (BMI: 18.5-23.9 kg/m2, n = 2,575), and overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2, n = 798) groups. RESULTS: The incidence of GDM was 21.01% in women with twin pregnancies. Among the women with GDM in twin pregnancies, 38.37% had at least two abnormal blood glucose levels. The incidence of these parameters increased with preconception BMI, and the incidence of twin pregnancies was higher than that of singleton pregnancies (p < 0.001). In the normal weight and overweight/obese group, the oral glucose tolerance test glucose level and incidence of GDM were higher in women with twin than singleton pregnancies (p < 0.05). For twin pregnancies, the prevalence of selective fetal growth restriction was higher and anemia was lower in the GDM group than in the non-GDM group (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Therefore, a greater emphasis should be placed on BMI before conception, and well-controlled GDM does not increase adverse pregnancy outcomes for twin pregnancies.

Characterization of the soybean KRP gene family reveals a key role for GmKRP2a in root development.

Kip-related proteins (KRPs), as inhibitory proteins of cyclin-dependent kinases, are involved in the growth and development of plants by regulating the activity of the CYC-CDK complex to control cell cycle progression. The KRP gene family has been identified in several plants, and several KRP proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana have been functionally characterized. However, there is little research on KRP genes in soybean, which is an economically important crop. In this study, we identified nine GmKRP genes in the Glycine max genome using HMM modeling and BLASTP searches. Protein subcellular localization and conserved motif analysis showed soybean KRP proteins located in the nucleus, and the C-terminal protein sequence was highly conserved. By investigating the expression patterns in various tissues, we found that all GmKRPs exhibited transcript abundance, while several showed tissue-specific expression patterns. By analyzing the promoter region, we found that light, low temperature, an anaerobic environment, and hormones-related cis-elements were abundant. In addition, we performed a co-expression analysis of the GmKRP gene family, followed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) set enrichment analysis. The co-expressing genes were mainly involved in RNA synthesis and modification and energy metabolism. Furthermore, the GmKRP2a gene, a member of the soybean KRP family, was cloned for further functional analysis. GmKRP2a is located in the nucleus and participates in root development by regulating cell cycle progression. RNA-seq results indicated that GmKRP2a is involved in cell cycle regulation through ribosome regulation, cell expansion, hormone response, stress response, and plant pathogen response pathways. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify and characterize the KRP gene family in soybean.

Characteristics of the oral glucose tolerance test in women with different pre-pregnancy body mass index and the effect of gestational diabetes mellitus on twin pregnancy outcomes

Abstract Objective This study aimed to investigate the mid-pregnancy blood glucose levels of women with singleton or twin pregnancies. Method The relationship between blood glucose levels and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) was studied in women with different pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI), and the effect of GDM on twin pregnancy outcomes was analyzed. Women with twin (n= 1,985) and singleton (n= 1,985) pregnancies were categorized into underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2, n= 597), normal weight (BMI: 18.5-23.9 kg/m2, n= 2,575), and overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2, n= 798) groups. Results The incidence of GDM was 21.01% in women with twin pregnancies. Among the women with GDM in twin pregnancies, 38.37% had at least two abnormal blood glucose levels. The incidence of these parameters increased with preconception BMI, and the incidence of twin pregnancies was higher than that of singleton pregnancies (p < 0.001). In the normal weight and overweight/obese group, the oral glucose tolerance test glucose level and incidence of GDM were higher in women with twin than singleton pregnancies (p < 0.05). For twin pregnancies, the prevalence of selective fetal growth restriction was higher and anemia was lower in the GDM group than in the non-GDM group (all p < 0.05). Conclusion Therefore, a greater emphasis should be placed on BMI before conception, and well-controlled GDM does not increase adverse pregnancy outcomes for twin pregnancies.

Development of high damping acrylic rubber/sliding graft copolymer composites.

Aiming at fabricating high damping rubber composites, the acrylic rubber ACM was incorporated with sliding graft copolymer (SGC) materials. SGC is a novel supramolecular material with sliding crosslink junctions, and it acts as a high damping phase in ACM/SGC composites. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveals the presence of two types of hydrogen bonds in ACM/SGC composites. Micro-structure analysis shows a clear sea-island phase structure. SGC particles disperse fairly uniformly in the ACM matrix. A wide interphase region exists between these two phases, indicating the good blend compatibility between ACM and SGC. The damping performance of ACM/SGC composites under dynamic shear strain and frequency condition significantly improved with the increase in SGC content. Specifically, the loss factor (tan δ) value of ACM/SGC (100/40) composite increased by 120% compared with that of neat ACM, according to the RPA results. The significantly improved damping property can be ascribed to the interfacial hydrogen bonds and the pulley effect of SGC molecules.

The endophytic bacteria isolated from elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) promote plant growth and enhance salt tolerance of Hybrid Pennisetum.

BACKGROUND: Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) and Hybrid Pennisetum (Pennisetum americanum × P. purpureum Schumach) are tall, fast-growing perennial C4 bunchgrasses that have been in recent developed as the most appropriate biomass feedstock in many countries for exploring various biofuel products. However, the challenges of increasing plant biomass yield and enhancing their stress tolerance, especially on marginal lands, have been existed for a long while. In the past several years, bacterial endophytes used as bio-fertilizers for improving crop production have offered an opportunity to facilitate high biomass yield of energy crops in a more sustainable manner. RESULTS: A total of 16 endophytic bacteria strains were isolated and purified from the roots of elephant grass, which were classified into four bacterial genera: Sphingomonas, Pantoea, Bacillus, and Enterobacter. Four strains, pp01, pp02, pp04, and pp06, represented four different genera, were then selected and tested in vitro for their plant growth promoting properties, effects on plant growth and salt stress tolerance of Hybrid Pennisetum. The inoculation with these four bacterial mixture demonstrated a significant plant growth promotion for Hybrid Pennisetum from the normal to salt stress conditions at 0, 50, 100, and 200 mM NaCl, respectively. The highest promotion rate for biomass yield was 116.01 and 81.72 % for shoot fresh weight and dry weight, respectively. The bacterial strains tested were shown to solubilize insoluble phosphate, fix nitrogen, produce indole acetic acid and ammonia, but only strains from Sphingomonas, Bacillus, and Enterobacter can produce siderophore. In addition, the endophyte strains tested were all able to successfully colonize the roots of Hybrid Pennisetum, reaching upto 12.12 ± 0.98 CFU/g fresh roots at the 3rd day of inoculation. CONCLUSION: The four endophytic bacteria from elephant grass significantly promoted plant growth and biomass yield, alleviated the harmful effects of salt stress on Hybrid Pennisetum. These bacteria have indicated some unique properties that are very valuable for exploiting bio-inoculants aiding in the efforts to establish a sustainable and large-scale feedstock production system for Hybrid Pennisetum, particularly, on the saline marginal lands.

[The relationship between changes in ideal cardiovascular health score and the carotid intima-media thickness among the middle age and elderly population].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between changes in ideal cardiovascular health score(ΔICHS) and the carotid intima-media thickness(CIMT) among the middle age and elderly population. METHODS: A total of 5 852 cases were enrolled from 101 510 Kailuan Group employees who participated in the health examination in 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 through stratified random sampling. A total of 5 440 individuals met the inclusion criteria (≥40 years old; no history of stroke, transient ischemic attack, or myocardial infarction). CIMT was measured by ultrasound during 2010-2011 examination. Excluding individuals with incomplete data, 4 367 cases were included for the final analysis. According to the AHA definition of ideal cardiovascular health metric, individual ΔICHS was evaluated and the subjects were divided into 3 groups: group reduced (ΔICHS<0, n=1 355), invariant group (ΔICHS=0, n=1 451) and elevated group (ΔICHS>0, n=1 561). ΔICHS was derived from the difference between 2010-2011 and 2006-2007. Multivariate linear regression and logistic regression analysis were used to analysis the relationship between ΔICHS and CIMT. RESULTS: The ICHS was 3.03 ± 1.27 in 2006-2007 study population and 3.09 ± 1.40 (P<0.01) in 2010-2011 study population. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that ΔICHS was inversely related to CIMT. For every 1 score increase in ΔICHS, CIMT decreased by 0.009 mm(B=-0.009, P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for multiple confounding factors, the risk of CIMT wall thickening was lower in the ΔICHS invariant group (OR=0.73, 95%CI: 0.59-0.91) and in ΔICHS elevated group(OR=0.66, 95%CI: 0.52-0.82) compared to the ΔICHS reduce group. CONCLUSION: Elevated ΔICHS is an independent protective factors of CIMT increase in the middle age and elderly population.