LkARF7 and LkARF19 overexpression promote adventitious root formation in a heterologous poplar model by positively regulating LkBBM1.

Cuttage propagation involves adventitious root formation induced by auxin. In our previous study, Larix kaempferi BABY BOOM 1 (LkBBM1), which is known to regulate adventitious root formation, was affected by auxin. However, the relationship between LkBBM1 and auxin remains unclear. Auxin response factors (ARFs) are a class of important transcription factors in the auxin signaling pathway and modulate the expression of early auxin-responsive genes by binding to auxin response elements. In the present study, we identified 14 L. kaempferi ARFs (LkARFs), and found LkARF7 and LkARF19 bound to LkBBM1 promoter and enhanced its transcription using yeast one-hybrid, ChIP-qPCR, and dual-luciferase assays. In addition, the treatment with naphthalene acetic acid promoted the expression of LkARF7 and LkARF19. We also found that overexpression of these two genes in poplar promoted adventitious root formation. Furthermore, LkARF19 interacted with the DEAD-box ATP-dependent RNA helicase 53-like protein to form a heterodimer to regulate adventitious root formation. Altogether, our results reveal an additional regulatory mechanism underlying the control of adventitious root formation by auxin.

SNCA-Rep1 polymorphism correlates with susceptibility and iron deficiency in restless legs syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Brain iron disequilibrium and dopaminergic dysfunction are key pathophysiological features of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). Rep1 polymorphism in the promotor region of SNCA is associated with risk of Parkinson's disease, however its association with RLS and iron status is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate SNCA-Rep1 polymorphism in RLS and its phenotypes. METHODS: We recruited RLS patients as well as age and gender matched healthy controls. Demographic information and clinical features of RLS were recorded. Laboratory examinations were performed to exclude possible secondary causes. RESULTS: 215 RLS patients and 369 healthy controls were included. We found that the Rep1 allele 0 homozygosity significantly decreased RLS risk (OR: 0.345; P < 0.0001, and remained significant after the Bonferroni correction). Phenotypic analysis demonstrated that longer Rep1 alleles were associated with increased susceptibility to iron deficiency (53.0% vs 36.1%, P = 0.017), however had no phenotypic significant effects on age, gender, onset age, duration, RLS family history, severity, laterality, extra body involvement and seasonal fluctuation. Multivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed long Rep1 allele was associated with higher risk of iron deficiency in RLS after adjusting for potential confounding factors. In detail, Rep1 allele 2 homozygosity was prone to a higher risk of peripheral iron deficiency in RLS (OR: 4.550, P = 0.006, remained significant after the Bonferroni correction). CONCLUSION: The SNCA-Rep1 variability modified RLS risk and influenced peripheral iron deficiency in this group of Chinese RLS patients. Rep1 allele 0 homozygosity decreased the risk of RLS, while homozygous allele 2 increased the risk of nonanemic iron deficiency in RLS.

Correlates of Nonanemic Iron Deficiency in Restless Legs Syndrome.

Objective: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a well-known cause of secondary restless legs syndrome (RLS). Iron deficiency without anemia (IDNA) is insidious, and its association with RLS is less evaluated. We investigate prevalence and features of IDNA in a consecutive cohort of patients with RLS. Methods: We included sequential primary RLS patients and RLS patients with IDA. We also recruited age- and gender-matched healthy controls. RLS mimics and other comorbidities were carefully excluded. Results: One-hundred and ninety-six RLS patients without anemia, 26 RLS patients with IDA, and 63 controls were included. 42.3% of RLS patients without anemia had iron deficiency. Women were much more susceptible for IDNA with a relative risk of 5.51 (p < 0.0001). Women with IDNA and RLS had younger age both at interview and at RLS onset compared to women with RLS without iron deficiency (NID) (P < 0.01). IDNA RLS patients showed a tendency to higher risk of severe/very severe tiredness or sleepiness during the day as compared to NID RLS patients. Furthermore, IDNA RLS patients had longer duration of RLS (P < 0.01 in men, P < 0.05 in women) and younger age at onset (only in men, P < 0.05) compared to IDA RLS patients. Conclusion: IDNA is frequent in RLS and iron deficiency may be severe despite a normal hemoglobin level. Women are at much higher risk for IDNA, and IDNA in women presents some specific clinical features. Features of IDNA RLS are different from IDA RLS. Regular screening of peripheral iron parameters even in patients with normal blood counts is recommended for timely optimal management.

Clinical features and subtypes of restless legs syndrome in Chinese population: a study of 359 patients.

BACKGROUND: The clinical spectrum of restless legs syndrome (RLS) has not been described in a Chinese population. We aim to evaluate the detailed clinical profile in a cohort of unselected RLS patients in China. METHODS: We enrolled RLS patients continuously according to the diagnostic criteria. Laboratory examinations were performed to exclude mimics and notable comorbidities. RESULTS: A total of 359 patients with RLS were enrolled. RLS symptoms were mostly symmetrical (65.2%), and purely unilateral RLS was not common (5.6%); however, unilateral dominant RLS was relatively more common. Only 1.1% of RLS patients reported no unpleasant sensations in the legs. The largest proportion of RLS patients described their uncomfortable sensation as indescribable (43.5%) and reported soreness (40.4%). In all, 8.9% of RLS patients described their abnormal sensation as painful, and 34.5% of RLS patients reported their symptoms fluctuated with seasonal trends. This population had a higher likelihood of an RLS family history. RLS patients with summer exacerbation had a younger age at RLS onset and longer disease duration (p < 0.01). Iron deficiency without anemia was common in Chinese RLS patients. Early-onset RLS patients were more likely to have a positive family history (p < 0.01), more summer worsening of symptoms (p < 0.01) and more severely disturbed peripheral iron status (p < 0.01) when compared to late-onset RLS patients. CONCLUSION: The subjective description is somewhat different, with Chinese RLS patients reporting less pain and more soreness than patients from Western countries. Seasonal fluctuation and iron deficiency without anemia are frequently seen in Chinese RLS patients and predict some other features. Differentiating these various subtypes can facilitate optimal management.

A retrospective analysis of the treatment results for advanced synchronous head and neck and esophageal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The treatments for synchronous head and neck cancer (HNC) and esophageal cancer (ESC) are toxic and difficult to employ. The aim of this study was to identify the feasibility of a protracted, less toxic treatment course and prognostic factor of synchronous HNC and ESC. METHODS: Cancer registry data from 2004 to 2012 were reviewed. The inclusion criteria were two cancer diagnoses within 30 days, and Stage III/IV HNC or Stage II-IV ESC that chemoradiation therapy was indicated. Evident metastasis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score >2, a history of prior cancer, or palliative treatment were excluded. Survival rates and patient and treatment characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 51 eligible cases. The 2 year overall survival rate was 25.1%. Univariate analysis found that anemia, larynx/hypopharynx HNC, and no esophagectomy correlated with poor overall survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that anemia and no esophagectomy were independent poor prognostic factors. The 2 year progression-free survival rate was 14.8%. Univariate analysis found only no esophagectomy correlated with poor progression-free survival. CONCLUSION: The outcomes are poor for patients with advanced synchronous HNC and ESC. Radiotherapy with a split or protracted course does not result in inferior treatment result and can be considered when the aim is to avoid adverse events. Esophagectomy correlated with good prognosis and should be performed for patients if possible. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: The treatment results of synchronous HNC and ESC is poor. A protracted chemoradiation course for synchronous HNC and ESC did not result in inferior survival and should be applied to patients with a poor prognosis. Esophagectomy correlates with good outcomes and should be encouraged if the patient has a good prognosis.

Poor oral health in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Increased rates of comorbid physical illness have been commonly reported in patients with schizophrenia. However, there are fewer data on dental disease in these patients. We systematically evaluated existing data on the oral health survey of schizophrenia patients through meta-analysis. Using the available databases, we performed a systematic search to identify the studies examining the oral health in schizophrenia patients from January 1997 to June 2017, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two investigators extracted the related data independently. The meta-analysis was performed by using the RevMan 5.3 software after data extraction and quality assessment. We compared the oral health results between the schizophrenia patients and the general population, including the following measures: the mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT). Eight studies comprising 2640 patients with schizophrenia and 19,698 healthy controls were included in the meta-analysis. The patients with schizophrenia had significantly higher scores of dental caries (mean difference [MD] = 7.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.27 to 12.27), missing teeth (MD = 7.61, 95% CI = 3.44 to 11.77), and decayed teeth (MD = 3.44, 95% CI = 2.06 to 4.82) compared to controls (all p < 0.01). By contrast, the schizophrenia patients had fewer score of filled teeth (MD = -3.06, 95% CI, -4.82 to -1.30) than the controls (p < 0.01), indicating decreased access to dental care. Our systematic review suggests that patients with schizophrenia have worse oral health than the general population, but have received less dental care services. Hence, the oral health services should be taken into account in the patients with schizophrenia.

Reduction of RNA A-to-I editing in Drosophila acclimated to heat shock.

Although an increasing number of RNA adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing sites are being discovered, how the editing frequencies of these sites are modulated to fine-tune protein function in adaptive responses is not well understood. A previous study screening for heat tolerance in Drosophila mutants discovered a hypnos-2 mutant strain that was later found to be defective in dADAR, the Drosophila gene encoding the A-to-I editing enzyme. This supports the hypothesis that cells and organisms respond to stressful environments by ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA)-mediated RNA editing. Here, we investigated changes in the RNA A-to-I editing frequencies of 30 Drosophila nervous system targets in response to heat shock, a stress acclimatization that requires the dADAR function. To our surprise, most of these nervous system editing targets showed reduced editing. Our results suggest that a change in RNA editing pattern is a mechanism by which organisms acclimate to drastic environmental change. However, how RNA editing confers heat resistance is more complicated and requires further investigation.

A highly luminescent terbium-organic framework for reversible detection of mercury ions in aqueous solution.

A new organic-lanthanide framework [TbL1.5(H2O)2]·H2O (1) [H2L = 5-(3'-carboxylphenyl)nicotinic acid] was synthesized. Its structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The complex was characterized by PXRD, FT-IR, fluorescence as well as TGA, and features a 3D framework with a 1D channel and exhibits exceptionally high thermal stability up to 440 °C in air. Furthermore, it displays highly sensitive and selective luminescence quenching to Hg(2+) in aqueous solution. The result of a reversible sensing experiment showed complex 1 could be reusable at least 5 times.

Expression of Tiam1 in lung cancer and its clinical significance.

The aim of this study was to analyze T-cell lymphoma invasion and metastasis-inducing factor 1 (Tiam1) expression in lung cancer patients. A total of 204 patients with lung cancer tissue lesions were enrolled in the present study, along with 40 cases of normal lung tissue and 40 of normal fetal lung tissue. Tiam1 protein expression level was determined using intensity quantitative analysis, for comparison in lung cancer, metastatic, normal lung, and fetal lung tissue. The positive unit (PU) of Tiam1 was 13.5 ± 5.42 in lung cancer, 5.67 ± 1.56 in normal epithelial cells, and 5.89 ± 1.45 in fetal lung epithelial cells. The value in the lung cancer tissue was significantly higher than that in the normal lung tissue and the fetal lung tissue (P<0.01). The Tiam1 PU values with lymph node metastasis and without lymph node metastasis were 15.2 ± 4.34 and 12.5 ± 4.23, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The Tiam1 PU values in different tumor, nodes, metastasis (TNM) stages, III-IV period, and I-II phase were 14.7 ± 4.14 and 11.0 ± 5.34 (P <0.05). A correlation was found between Tiam1 expression and the age of patient, tumor size, tumor type, and tumor differentiation. Tiam1 protein expression in the lung tumor tissue is significantly higher than that in the normal lung tissue and fetal lung tissue. Tiam1 expression may be closely related to lung cancer development and metastasis.

A new luminescent terbium 4-methylsalicylate complex as a novel sensor for detecting the purity of methanol.

A new dinuclear terbium complex [Tb(2)(4-msal)(6)(H(2)O)(4)]·6H(2)O (1) (4-msal = 4-methylsalcylate) was synthesized. Its structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, and the complex was characterized by PXRD, FT-IR, fluorescence, TGA and DTA. Complex 1 exists as discrete molecules that are linked by extensive O-H … O hydrogen bonds into a 3D network. The luminescence lifetimes of 3 µM methanol solution and solid sample of 1 are 1.321 and 1.009 ms, respectively. The quantum yield of solid sample is 6.0%. The luminescence quenched more than 50% when 3% (vol/vol) different impurities (acetone, acetonitrile, chloroform, dichloromethane, dioxane, DMF, DMSO, ethanol, ether, ethyl acetate, glycol, H(2)O, hexane, TEA, THF and toluene or their mixture) were added. The inverse linear relationship between the Lg value of fluorescence intensity and the volume ratio of the minor component (to a maximum of 20%) is interpreted in terms of LgI = a-bX (I: luminescence intensity; X: volume ratio of impurities in methanol; a, b are constants). So 1 is a potential luminescent sensor for analyzing the purity of methanol.

Honokiol inhibits hypoxia-inducible factor-1 pathway.

PURPOSE: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) plays a pivotal role in the reaction of a tumour to hypoxia. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effect of a natural compound, honokiol, on HIF-1α activity and tumour growth in combination with radiation. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of honokiol on hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) controlled luciferase activity and HIF-1α accumulations stimulated by CoCl(2), or hypoxia was examined. Effect of honokiol on HIF-1α levels within hypoxic tumour microenvironment was investigated by immunohistochemical and in vivo bioluminescent studies. The in vivo radiosensitising activity of honokiol was evaluated with subcutaneous murine colon carcinoma, CT26, xenografts of BALB/c mice treated with honokiol, radiation, or both. RESULTS: Suppression of luciferase (luc) activity in HRE-luc stable cells by honokiol was in agreement with the results of decreased HIF-1α accumulation. In CT26-HRE-luc tumour-bearing mice, the inhibitory effect of intraperitoneally injected honokiol on HIF-1α-regulated luciferase activities induced by either CoCl(2) or radiation could be monitored non-invasively. Lastly, honokiol in combination with irradiation produced synergistic delay of CT26 tumour growth. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that honokiol can exert its anticancer activity as a HIF-1α inhibitor by reducing HIF-1α protein level and suppressing the hypoxia-related signaling pathway. The animal experiment indicates that honokiol improves the therapeutic efficacy of radiation.

Internal consistency of the traditional Chinese character version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck (FACT-H&N).

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the internal consistency of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck (FACT-H&N) translated version in traditional Chinese characters (TChi). The FACT-H&N quality of life instrument is composed of the FACT-General (FACT-G) assessing four primary areas of well-being (physical, social/family, emotional, and functional) and 11 additional items specific to H&N cancer patients. METHODS: Two hundred and three patients with H&N cancer were recruited at a medical center in northwestern Taiwan. All completed the TChi FACT-H&N along with demographic and clinical questionnaires written in traditional Chinese characters. Several psychometric properties of the TChi FACT-H&N were examined, including Cronbach's alpha coefficients. RESULTS: Most of the 203 enrolled patients were men (78%). The median age was 52.5 years (range 23-81 years) and the median number of years of education was 9. All patients had a Karnofsky score of 70 or higher. The results showed that the TChi FACT-H&N scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Translation of the physical and functional concepts was most straightforward. Translation of emotional items, however, posed some difficulties. The social/family well-being subscale was problematic, as expected, based upon observations of cultural differences in social values and functioning. We also noted that concerns about hearing were different between patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and those with other H&N cancers. CONCLUSION: The TChi FACT-H&N is reliable. Items related to problems with hearing should be added to better evaluate the quality of life in patients with NPC.