Effectiveness of Low-Frequency Electrical Stimulation for Radical Hysterectomy Women: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to explore the effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) in preventing urinary retention after radical hysterectomy (RH) in women with cervical cancer. METHODS: Seven electronic bibliographic databases were searched from inception to December 25, 2021. The mean difference (MD) or risk ratio (RR) with its corresponding 95% CI was selected as effect size. The meta-analysis of all data was conducted using RevMan 5.4 and the evidence was summarized according to GRADE (the grading of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation). RESULTS: Twelve randomized control trials consisting of 1,033 women with cervical cancer who had undergone RH were included. Compared with women in the control group, women receiving LFES had improved therapeutic effect (RR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.16-0.29) and reduced residual urine volume (MD = -32.27, 95% CI: -34.10 to -30.43) and catheter retention time (MD = -4.46, 95% CI: -5.17 to -3.76) following treatment. Muscle strength scores of pelvic floor type I and type II muscle fibers in the LFES group were also higher than in the control group (MD = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.91-1.24). CONCLUSION: LFES may be an effective auxiliary treatment for women with cervical cancer after hysterectomy, which can help reduce the duration of indwelling urethral catheter and residual urine volume.

OsCYP2, a chaperone involved in degradation of auxin-responsive proteins, plays crucial roles in rice lateral root initiation.

Auxin plays a pivotal role in many facets of plant development. It acts by inducing the interaction between auxin-responsive [auxin (AUX)/indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)] proteins and the ubiquitin protein ligase SCF(TIR) to promote the degradation of the AUX/IAA proteins. Other cofactors and chaperones that participate in auxin signaling remain to be identified. Here, we characterized rice (Oryza sativa) plants with mutations in a cyclophilin gene (OsCYP2). cyp2 mutants showed defects in auxin responses and exhibited a variety of auxin-related growth defects in the root. In cyp2 mutants, lateral root initiation was blocked after nuclear migration but before the first anticlinal division of the pericycle cell. Yeast two-hybrid and in vitro pull-down results revealed an association between OsCYP2 and the co-chaperone Suppressor of G2 allele of skp1 (OsSGT1). Luciferase complementation imaging assays further supported this interaction. Similar to previous findings in an Arabidopsis thaliana SGT1 mutant (atsgt1b), degradation of AUX/IAA proteins was retarded in cyp2 mutants treated with exogenous 1-naphthylacetic acid. Our results suggest that OsCYP2 participates in auxin signal transduction by interacting with OsSGT1.

Chromosome-level genome assembly of Aquilaria yunnanensis.

Aquilaria yunnanensis is an endangered agarwood-producing tree currently listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The agarwood it produces has important medicinal and economic value, but its population has sharply declined due to human destruction and habitat reduction. Therefore, obtaining genomic information on A. yunnanensis is beneficial for its protection work. We assembled a chromosome-level reference genome of A. yunnanensis by using BGI short reads, PacBio HiFi long reads, coupled with Hi-C technology. The final genome assembly of A. yunnanensis is 847.04 Mb, with N50 size of 99.68 Mb, in which 805.49 Mb of the bases were anchored on eight pseudo-chromosomes. Two gapless pseudo-chromosomes were detected in the assembly. A total of 27,955 protein-coding genes as well as 74.65% repetitive elements were annotated. These findings may provide valuable resources in conservation, functional genomics, and molecular breeding of A. yunnanensis, as well as the molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary patterns in Aquilaria.

The complete chloroplast genome of Hedychium flavum Roxb., an ornamental, edible and medicinal plant.

Hedychium flavum Roxb. 1820 is a perennial herb mainly distributed in China, India, Myanmar and Thailand with ornamental, edible and medicinal value. It is extensively cultivated as a source of aromatic essential oils, ornamental plant, food flavorings and vegetables, and folk medicine. In this study, we sequence the complete chloroplast genome of H. flavum by de novo assembly. The assembled genome has a typical quadripartite circular structure with 163,909 bp in length, containing a large single-copy region (LSC, 88,589 bp), a small single-copy region (SSC, 15,762 bp), and two inverted repeat regions (IRs, 29,779 bp). The cp genome contains 133 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete cp genome shows a close affinity of H. flavum and H. neocarneum with 100% bootstrap support. This study will provide useful genetic resource for further phylogenetic analysis of the genus Hedychium and Zingiberaceae.

Organism and molecular-level responses of superoxide dismutase interaction with 2-pentanone.

2-Pentanone is an excellent organic solvent and extractant, which is widely used in industrial production. 2-Pentanone is harmful to soil organisms when it enters the soil. However, current studies have not clarified the response of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) to 2-Pentanone and its mechanism. In this study, the response of earthworm antioxidant enzyme SOD to 2-Pentanone and its molecular mechanism was investigated at organism molecular levels. The results showed that the SOD activity of earthworms under 2-Pentanone stress was significantly inhibited, and the inability of superoxide anion radicals (·O2-) to be scavenged in time might be one of the reasons for the increase of lipid peroxidation. Under 2-Pentanone exposure conditions, catalase (CAT), an antioxidant enzyme closely related to SOD, and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of earthworms were activated to resist oxidative damage. On the other hand, the observation of earthworm microstructure provided evidence of a direct risk of 2-Pentanone on earthworm body wall tissues. Molecular-level assays have shown that 2-pentanone altered the secondary structure of SOD, which further led to the loosening of the SOD backbone structure and the extension of the polypeptide chain. On the other hand, 2-pentanone quenched the endogenous fluorescence of SOD in the form of static quenching and formed the 2-pentanone/SOD complex. Molecular simulation results suggested that 2-pentanone tended to bind on the surface of SOD rather than close to the active site, and it is speculated that the alteration of SOD structure is the key reason for the change in its activity. This study enriches the toxicological data of 2-Pentanone on soil organisms, thus responding to the current concerns about its ecological risk.

Response of earthworm coelomocytes and catalase to pentanone and hexanone: a revelation of the toxicity of conventional solvents at the cellular and molecular level.

Organic solvents like 2-pentanone and 2-hexanone which are widely used in industrial production make up a large proportion of the source of chemical pollution. What is worrisome is that the cellular and molecular toxicity of 2-pentanone and 2-hexanone has not been reported yet. Based on this, earthworms and catalase (CAT) were chosen as target receptors for the toxicity studies. The cytotoxicity of 2-pentanone and 2-hexanone was revealed by measuring the multiple intracellular indicators of oxidative stress. At the molecular level, changes in the structure and function of CAT were characterized in vitro by the spectroscopy and molecular docking. The results show that 2-pentanone and 2-hexanone that induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species can eventually reduce coelomocytes viability, accompanying by the regular changes of antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation level. In addition, the exposure of 2-pentanone and 2-hexanone can shrink the backbone structure of CAT, quench the fluorescence, and misfold the secondary structure. The decrease in enzyme activity should be attributed to the structural changes induced by surface binding. This study discussed the toxicological effects and mechanisms of conventional solvents at the cellular and molecular level, which creatively proposed a joint research method.

Toxic effects of acetone, 2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone on physiological indices of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germination and seedlings.

Petroleum hydrocarbons are important characteristic pollutants in the process of oil exploitation in the Yellow River Delta (China), and they cause a potential hazard to the surrounding ecological environment. The research on eco-toxicological effects of petroleum-derived products still needs to be studied in depth. This paper describes the physiological indices of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds and seedlings under independent stresses of acetone, 2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone to determine the toxicological effects of ketones derived from petroleum products on typical crops. The experimental results indicated that ketones with concentrations lower than 0.4 mg·cm-2 and 800 mg·kg-1 the germination of wheat seeds and the growth of seedlings were promoted to 113.32-127.27% and 105.41-126.39%, respectively, thus exhibiting low-dose excitatory effects. However, when the concentration was higher than 0.4 mg·cm-2 and 800 mg·kg-1, germination and seedlings' growth were significantly reduced to 7.14-2.12% and 35.09-13.33%, respectively. At the same time, acetone had a greater impact on the growth of wheat seed roots, the malondialdehyde (MDA), and chlorophyll contents in leaf tissues. The low concentration of acetone had a significant promoting effect on the activity of α-amylase in wheat seeds. 2-Pentanone reduced the electrical conductivity of wheat seed extract, and it significantly promoted the catalase (CAT) activity at low concentrations. 2-Hexanone had a strong inhibitory effect on wheat germination and growth. This study provided new research results to determine the toxic effects of petroleum-derived products and provided a basis for the environmental management of such substances.

Toxic mechanism of pyrene to catalase and protective effects of vitamin C: Studies at the molecular and cell levels.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, distributing extensively in the soil, would potentially threaten the soil organisms (Eisenia fetida) by triggering oxidative stress. As a ubiquitous antioxidant enzyme, catalase can protect organisms from oxidative damage. To reveal the potential impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pyrene (Pyr) on catalase (CAT) and the possible protective effect of Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), multi-spectral and molecular docking techniques were used to investigate the influence of structure and function of catalase by pyrene. Fluorescence and circular dichroism analysis showed that pyrene would induce the microenvironmental changes of CAT amino acid residues and increase the α-helix in the secondary structure. Molecular simulation results indicated that the main binding force of pyrene around the active center of CAT is hydrogen bonding force. Furthermore, pyrene inhibited catalase activity to 69.9% compared with the blank group, but the degree of inhibition was significantly weakened after vitamin C added into the research group. Cell level experiments showed that pyrene can increase the level of ROS in the body cavity cell of earthworms, and put the cells under the threat of potential oxidative damage. Antioxidants-vitamin C has a protective effect on catalase and maintains the stability of intracellular ROS levels to a certain extent.

Probing the Cell Apoptosis Pathway Induced by Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate at the Subcellular and Molecular Levels.

As typical perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have been detected in various environmental media and their toxic effects have been extensively studied. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how PFCs cause cell apoptosis in healthy hepatocytes by inducing oxidative stress at the subcellular and molecular levels. In this study, the apoptotic pathways induced by PFOA and PFOS were explored. Besides, the effects of PFCs on the structure and function of lysozyme (LYZ) were investigated. After PFOA and PFOS exposure, the cell membrane and mitochondrial membrane potential were damaged. Further, PFOA and PFOS increased intracellular Ca2+ levels to 174.41 ± 1.70 and 158.91 ± 5.94%, respectively. Ultimately, caspase-3 was activated, causing cell apoptosis. As an indirect antioxidant enzyme, the molecular structure of LYZ was destroyed after interacting with PFOA and PFOS. Both PFOA and PFOS bound to the active center of LYZ, leading to the decrease of LYZ activity to 91.26 ± 0.78 and 76.01 ± 4.86%, respectively. This study demonstrates that PFOA and PFOS inhibit LYZ function, which can reduce the body's ability to resist oxidative stress, and then lead to mitochondria-mediated apoptosis.