Plastome comparison and phylogenomics of Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae): insights into sequence differences between Fagopyrum and its related taxa.

BACKGROUND: Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae) is a small plant lineage comprised of more than fifteen economically and medicinally important species. However, the phylogenetic relationships of the genus are not well explored, and the characteristics of Fagopyrum chloroplast genomes (plastomes) remain poorly understood so far. It restricts the comprehension of species diversity in Fagopyrum. Therefore, a comparative plastome analysis and comprehensive phylogenomic analyses are required to reveal the taxonomic relationship among species of Fagopyrum. RESULTS: In the current study, 12 plastomes were sequenced and assembled from eight species and two varieties of Fagopyrum. In the comparative analysis and phylogenetic analysis, eight previously published plastomes of Fagopyrum were also included. A total of 49 plastomes of other genera in Polygonaceae were retrieved from GenBank and used for comparative analysis with Fagopyrum. The variation of the Fagopyrum plastomes is mainly reflected in the size and boundaries of inverted repeat/single copy (IR/SC) regions. Fagopyrum is a relatively basal taxon in the phylogenomic framework of Polygonaceae comprising a relatively smaller plastome size (158,768-159,985 bp) than another genus of Polygonaceae (158,851-170,232 bp). A few genera of Polygonaceae have nested distribution of the IR/SC boundary variations. Although most species of Fagopyrum show the same IRb/SC boundary with species of Polygonaceae, only a few species show different IRa/SC boundaries. The phylogenomic analyses of Fagopyrum supported the cymosum and urophyllum groups and resolved the systematic position of subclades within the urophyllum group. Moreover, the repeat sequence types and numbers were found different between groups of Fagopyrum. The plastome sequence identity showed significant differences between intra-group and inter-group. CONCLUSIONS: The deletions of intergenic regions cause a short length of Fagopyrum plastomes, which may be the main reason for plastome size diversity in Polygonaceae species. The phylogenomic reconstruction combined with the characteristics comparison of plastomes supports grouping within Fagopyrum. The outcome of these genome resources may facilitate the taxonomy, germplasm resources identification as well as plant breeding of Fagopyrum.

Discovery of 2-amino-3-amido-5-aryl-pyridines as highly potent, orally bioavailable, and efficacious PERK kinase inhibitors.

The protein kinase R (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) is one of the three endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transmembrane sensors of the unfolded protein response (UPR) that regulates protein synthesis, alleviates cellular ER stress and has been implicated in tumorigenesis and prolonged cancer cell survival. In this study, we report a series of 2-amino-3-amido-5-aryl-pyridines that we have identified as potent, selective, and orally bioavailable PERK inhibitors. Amongst the series studied herein, compound (28) a (R)-2-Amino-5-(4-(2-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-2-hydroxyacetamido)-2-ethylphenyl)-N-isopropylnicotinamide has demonstrated potent biochemical and cellular activity, robust pharmacokinetics and 70% oral bioavailability in mice. Given these data, this compound (28) was studied in the 786-O renal cell carcinoma xenograft model. We observed dose-dependent, statistically significant tumor growth inhibition, supporting the use of this tool compound in additional mechanistic studies.

Identification, isolation and expression analysis of eight stress-related R2R3-MYB genes in tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum).

KEY MESSAGE: Eight R2R3 - MYB genes in tartary buckwheat were identified, and their expression patterns were comprehensively analyzed, which reveals role in plant response to abiotic stresses. The proteins of the R2R3-MYB superfamily play key roles in the growth and development processes as well as defense responses in plants. However, their characteristics and functions have not been fully investigated in tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum), a strongly abiotic resistant coarse cereal. In this article, eight tartary buckwheat R2R3-MYB genes were isolated with full-length cDNA and DNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of the members of the R2R3-MYB superfamily between Arabidopsis and tartary buckwheat revealed that the assumed functions of the eight tartary buckwheat R2R3-MYB proteins are divided into five Arabidopsis functional subgroups that are involved in abiotic stress. Expression analysis during abiotic stress and exogenous phytohormone treatments identified that the eight R2R3-MYB genes responded to one or more treatments. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the R2R3-MYB gene family in tartary buckwheat under abiotic stress.

Effects of Cadmium Stress on Tartary Buckwheat Seedlings.

Cadmium (Cd) is a naturally occurring toxic heavy metal that adversely affects plant germination, growth, and development. While the effects of Cd have been described on many crop species including rice, maize, wheat and barley, few studies are available on cadmium's effect on Tartary buckwheat which is a traditional grain in China. We examined nine genotypes and found that 30 µM of Cd reduced the root length in seedlings by between 4 and 44% and decreased the total biomass by 7 to 31%, compared with Cd-free controls. We identified a significant genotypic variation in sensitivity to Cd stress. Cd treatment decreased the total root length and the emergence and growth of lateral roots, and these changes were significantly greater in the Cd-sensitive genotypes than in tolerant genotypes. Cd resulted in greater wilting and discoloration in sensitive genotypes than in tolerant genotypes and caused more damage to the structure of root and leaf cells. Cd accumulated in the roots and shoots, but the concentrations in the sensitive genotypes were significantly greater than in the more tolerant genotypes. Cd treatment affected nutrient uptake, and the changes in the sensitive genotypes were greater than those in the tolerant genotypes, which could maintain their concentrations closer to the control levels. The induction of SOD, POD, and CAT activities in the roots and shoots was significantly greater in the tolerant genotypes than in the sensitive genotypes. We demonstrated that Cd stress reduced root and shoot growth, decreased plant biomass, disrupted nutrient uptake, altered cell structure, and managed Cd-induced oxidative stress differently in the sensitive and tolerant genotypes of Tartary buckwheat.

Discovery of HC-7366: An Orally Bioavailable and Efficacious GCN2 Kinase Activator.

A series of activators of GCN2 (general control nonderepressible 2) kinase have been developed, leading to HC-7366, which has entered the clinic as an antitumor therapy. Optimization resulted in improved permeability compared to that of the original indazole hinge binding scaffold, while maintaining potency at GCN2 and selectivity over PERK (protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase). The improved ADME properties of this series led to robust in vivo compound exposure in both rats and mice, allowing HC-7366 to be dosed in xenograft models, demonstrating that activation of the GCN2 pathway by this compound leads to tumor growth inhibition.

Discovery and optimization of 7-aminofuro[2,3-c]pyridine inhibitors of TAK1.

The discovery and potency optimization of a series of 7-aminofuro[2,3-c]pyridine inhibitors of TAK1 is described. Micromolar hits taken from high-throughput screening were optimized for biochemical and cellular mechanistic potency to ~10nM, as exemplified by compound 12az. Application of structure-based drug design aided by co-crystal structures of TAK1 with inhibitors significantly shortened the number of iterations required for the optimization.

Novel 6-aminofuro[3,2-c]pyridines as potent, orally efficacious inhibitors of cMET and RON kinases.

A series of novel 6-aminofuro[3,2-c]pyridines as kinase inhibitors is described, most notably, OSI-296 (6). We discuss our exploration of structure-activity relationships and optimization leading to OSI-296 and disclose its pharmacological activity against cMET and RON in cellular assays. OSI-296 is a potent and selective inhibitor of cMET and RON kinases that shows in vivo efficacy in tumor xenografts models upon oral dosing and is well tolerated.

Efficacy and safety of sacubitril/valsartan after six months in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and asymptomatic hypotension.

BACKGROUND: It is not clear whether sacubitril/valsartan is beneficial for patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and low systolic blood pressure (SBP). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of sacubitril/valsartan in HFrEF patients with SBP < 100 mmHg. METHODS & RESULTS: An observational study was conducted on 117 patients, 40.2% of whom had SBP < 100 mmHg without symptomatic hypotension, and 59.8% of whom had SBP ≥ 100 mmHg in an optimized HF follow-up management system. At the 6-month follow-up, 52.4% of patients with SBP < 100 mmHg and 70.0% of those with SBP ≥ 100 mmHg successfully reached the target dosages of sacubitril/valsartan. A reduction in the concentration of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide was similar between patients with SBP < 100 mmHg and SBP ≥ 100 mmHg (1627.5 pg/mL and 1340.1 pg/mL, respectively; P = 0.75). The effect of sacubitril/valsartan on left ventricular ejection fraction was observed in both SBP categories, with a 10.8% increase in patients with SBP < 100 mmHg (P < 0.001) and a 14.0% increase in patients with SBP ≥ 100 mmHg (P < 0.001). The effects of sacubitril/valsartan on SBP were statistically significant and inverse across both SBP categories (P = 0.001), with an increase of 7.5 mmHg in patients with SBP < 100 mmHg and a decrease of 11.5 mmHg in patients with SBP ≥ 100 mmHg. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the occurrence of symptomatic hypotension, deteriorating renal function, hyperkalemia, angioedema, or stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Within an optimized HF follow-up management system, sacubitril/valsartan exhibited excellent tolerability and prompted left ventricular reverse remodeling in patients with HFrEF who presented asymptomatic hypotension.

FtNAC31, a Tartary buckwheat NAC transcription factor, enhances salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis.

Tartary buckwheat [Fagopyrum tataricum (L.) Gaertn.] is a pseudocereal with strongly abiotic resistance. NACs, one of the largest plant-specific transcription factors (TFs), are involved in various stress responses. However, the characteristics and regulatory mechanisms of NAC TFs remain unclarified clearly in Tartary buckwheat (TB). In this study, it validated that salt, drought, and abscisic acid (ABA) stress significantly up-regulated the expression of NAC TF gene FtNAC31. Its coding protein has a C-terminal transactivated domain and localized in the nucleus, suggesting that FtNAC31 might play a transcriptional activation role in TB. Notably, overexpression of FtNAC31 lowered the seed germination rate upon ABA treatment and enhanced the tolerance to salt and drought stress in transgenetic Arabidopsis. Furthermore, under various stresses, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) in FtNAC31 overexpressed lines exhibited a sharp increase trend. Meanwhile, the expression levels of several stress-associated genes including RD29A, RD29B, RD22, DREB2B, NCED3, and POD1, were dramatically upregulated in lines overexpressing FtNAC31. Altogether, overproduction of FtNAC31 could enhance the resistance to salt and drought stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis, which most likely functioned in an ABA-dependent way.

Optimization of a Novel Mandelamide-Derived Pyrrolopyrimidine Series of PERK Inhibitors.

The protein kinase R (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) is one of three endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transmembrane sensors of the unfolded protein response (UPR) responsible for regulating protein synthesis and alleviating ER stress. PERK has been implicated in tumorigenesis, cancer cell survival as well metabolic diseases such as diabetes. The structure-based design and optimization of a novel mandelamide-derived pyrrolopyrimidine series of PERK inhibitors as described herein, resulted in the identification of compound 26, a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable compound suitable for interrogating PERK pathway biology in vitro and in vivo, with pharmacokinetics suitable for once-a-day oral dosing in mice.

Design and validation of antibacterial and pH response of cationic guar gum film by combining hydroxyethyl cellulose and red cabbage pigment.

A simple and feasible method was adopted to construct the antibacterial and pH response of cationic guar gum (CGG) composite films (CGG-HEC, RC) through using hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) as an enhancer and red cabbage (RC) as a smart active substance. The effect of different HEC content on the binary composite films (CGG-HEC) performance shows that the highest tensile strength (51.59 MPa) can be obtained by adding 10% HEC due to the good compatibility between CGG and HEC. The ternary composite film (RC3) with 10% HEC and 3% RC addition has good performance in all aspects, such as high tensile strength (65.41 MPa), appropriate water vapor transmission coefficient (1.08), and good thermodynamic stability. In addition, RC3 has good antibacterial properties against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, taking advantage of the antibacterial properties of CGG and RC. RC3 can respond to changes in environmental pH and has a significant color change, and also has a significant color change when detecting the deterioration of pork and soy milk. Therefore, the ternary composite film (RC3) has good mechanical properties, antibacterial and intelligent response characteristics, and may be used in intelligent antibacterial packaging.

OSI-930: a novel selective inhibitor of Kit and kinase insert domain receptor tyrosine kinases with antitumor activity in mouse xenograft models.

OSI-930 is a novel inhibitor of the receptor tyrosine kinases Kit and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR), which is currently being evaluated in clinical studies. OSI-930 selectively inhibits Kit and KDR with similar potency in intact cells and also inhibits these targets in vivo following oral dosing. We have investigated the relationships between the potency observed in cell-based assays in vitro, the plasma exposure levels achieved following oral dosing, the time course of target inhibition in vivo, and antitumor activity of OSI-930 in tumor xenograft models. In the mutant Kit-expressing HMC-1 xenograft model, prolonged inhibition of Kit was achieved at oral doses between 10 and 50 mg/kg and this dose range was associated with antitumor activity. Similarly, prolonged inhibition of wild-type Kit in the NCI-H526 xenograft model was observed at oral doses of 100 to 200 mg/kg, which was the dose level associated with significant antitumor activity in this model as well as in the majority of other xenograft models tested. The data suggest that antitumor activity of OSI-930 in mouse xenograft models is observed at dose levels that maintain a significant level of inhibition of the molecular targets of OSI-930 for a prolonged period. Furthermore, pharmacokinetic evaluation of the plasma exposure levels of OSI-930 at these effective dose levels provides an estimate of the target plasma concentrations that may be required to achieve prolonged inhibition of Kit and KDR in humans and which would therefore be expected to yield a therapeutic benefit in future clinical evaluations of OSI-930.

Application of intelligent pelvic floor ultrasound combined with multi-planar imaging in the assessment of postpartum SUI and POP / 中国医学装备

Objective:To explore the application of intelligent pelvic floor ultrasound combined with multi-planar imaging in the assessment of postpartum stress urinary incontinence(SUI)and pelvic organ prolapse(POP).Methods:A total of 516 delivery women who delivered in hospital and underwent voluntarily pelvic floor ultrasound were retrospectively selected.They were divided into SUI group(55 cases),POP group(187 cases)and normal group(274 cases)according to the results of clinical diagnosis.The resting state and a series of ultrasound parameters included bladder neck symphyseal distance(BSD),posterior urethrovesical angle(PUVA),urethral tilt angle(UTA)and bladder neck descent(BND)under the maximum Valsalva action among three groups were observed and compared.In addition,the accuracy of intelligent pelvic floor ultrasound combined with multi-planar imaging in assessing SUI and POP among three groups also were observed and compared.Results:Under the resting state,the BSD and PUVA of the SUI group were respectively lower than those of the normal group,and UTA of SUI group was higher than that of the normal group,and the differences were statistical significance(t=2.008,t=2.012,t=2.392,P<0.05).Under the maximum Valsalva action,the BSD and PUVA of the SUI group were respectively lower than those of the normal group,and UTA of the SUI group was higher than that of the normal group,and the differences were statistical significance(t=2.265,t=9.144,t=3.728,P<0.05),and the BND of the SUI group was significantly higher than that of the normal group(t=11.861,P<0.05).Under the resting state,the BSD and PUVA of the POP group were respectively lower than those of the normal group,and UTA of the POP group was significantly higher than that of the normal group(t=2.139,t=3.179,t=2.817,P<0.05),and the differences were statistical significance.Under the maximum Valsalva action,the BSD and PUVA of the POP group were respectively lower than those of the normal group,and the UTA of the POP group was significantly higher than that of the normal group,and the differences were statistical significance(t=3.748,t=12.293,t=4.396,P<0.05),and the BND of POP group was significantly higher than that of the normal group(t=20.855,P<0.05).The accuracy,sensitivity and specificity of intelligent pelvic floor ultrasound combined with multi-planar imaging were respectively 97.87%,94.44%and 98.55%in assessing SUI,and they were respectively 97.61%,97.31%and 97.82%in assessing POP.The result of Kappa consistency test indicated the consistency between the intelligent pelvic floor ultrasound combined with multi-planar imaging and the clinically diagnostic results was strong in assessing SUI and POP(Kappa=0.923,Kappa=0.950,P<0.05).Conclusion:The intelligent pelvic floor ultrasound combines with multi-planar imaging can effectively diagnose the SUI and POP of postpartum by intelligent assessing the changes of pelvic floor structure and function of delivery woman,which has favorably clinical application value.

Role of Interleukin-36 in inflammatory joint diseases / 浙江大学学报·医学版

Interleukin (IL)-36 is a family of cytokines that belongs to the larger IL-1 superfamily. IL-36 agonist/antagonist binds to the interleukin-36 receptor involving in physiological inflammation regulation and pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases. In inflammatory joint diseases, the expression of IL-36 changes, and some studies have initially explored the role of IL-36 in these diseases. In psoriatic arthritis, IL-36 signal mediates plasma cell and fibroblast-like synoviocyte crosstalk presenting IL-36 agonist/antagonist imbalance. In rheumatoid arthritis, IL-36 agonists induce fibroblast-like synoviocyte to produce pro-inflammatory factors, while IL-36 antagonist deficiency leads to lesion progression. In osteoarthritis, IL-36 agonists induce chondrocytes to produce catabolic enzymes and pro-inflammatory factors. This article reviews the expression and function of IL-36 in different inflammatory joint diseases to provide a reference for revealing their pathogenic mechanisms and discovering therapeutic targets.

Effects of oxidative stress on cognitive function following chest blast injury in mice / 中华创伤杂志

Objective:To explore the effect of oxidative stress on cognitive function following chest blast injury in mice.Methods:Sixty male C57BL/6 mice were divided into control group ( n=15) and chest blast group ( n=45) according to a random number table. The chest blast group was subgrouped at 1, 3, 7 days after injury for subsequent experiments. A self-developed blast injury device was used to prepare the mouse model of chest blast injury. Toklu score was used to evaluate the behavior changes in mice. Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the changes in spatial memory. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Tissue reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay kit was used to detect ROS expression in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Western blotting was used to assess changes of malondialdehyde (MDA) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Results:The Toklu score of the chest blast group at 1 day after injury was (6.7±2.1)points, significantly higher than that of the control group [(2.0±0.0)points], as well as those of the chest blast group at 3 and 7 days after injury [(2.7±1.2)points and (2.0±0.0)points] (all P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the Toklu score between the control group and the chest blast group at 3 and 7 days after injury (all P>0.05). The Morris water maze test showed that the latency periods at 1 and 3 days after injury were 60.1(60.1, 60.1)seconds and 60.1(56.3, 60.1)seconds, significantly longer than that of the control group [10.1(3.9, 18.3)seconds] (all P<0.01). The latency period of the chest blast group at 7 days after injury was 60.1(30.5, 60.1)seconds, with no difference from the control group ( P>0.05). No significant differences were found in the latency periods of the chest blast group at 1, 3 and 7 days after injury (all P>0.05). In the control group, the pyramidal cells in the frontal cortex and hippocampus were regular in shape, with intensely-stained and clearly visible nuclei as well as uniform cytoplasm. In the chest blast group, diflerent degree of necrosis of pyramidal cells in the frontal cortex and strong cytoplasmic eosinophilia in the hippocampus were observed at different time points after injury. The levels of ROS in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group were (10.43±0.36)RFU/mg and (2.91±0.35)RFU/mg at 3 and 7 days after injury, which were significantly higher than that of the control group [(0.70±0.01)RFU/mg] ( P<0.05 or 0.01). The level of ROS in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group at 3 days after injury was significantly higher than that at 1 day [(2.13±0.65)RFU/mg] and that at 7 days after injury (all P<0.01). There were no statistical differences in the levels of ROS in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group at 1 and 7 days after injury ( P>0.05). The levels of ROS in the hippocampus of the chest blast group were (5.39±0.79)RFU/mg and (5.65±1.17)RFU/mg at 3 and 7 days after injury, which were significantly higher than those of the control group and of the chest blast group at 1 day after injury [ (0.73±0.06)RFU/mg and (2.33±0.02)RFU/mg] (all P<0.01). No significant differences were found between the levels of ROS in the hippocampus of the chest blast group at 3 and 7 days after injury and between the ROS levels of the control group and of the chest blast group at 1 day after injury (all P>0.05). The levels of ROS in the frontal cortex and hippocampus showed significant differences between the chest blast group at 3 and 7 days after injury (all P<0.01) but no significant differences between the control group and the chest blast group at 1 day after injury (all P>0.05). Western blotting showed that the levels of MDA in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group were 0.73±0.04, 0.83±0.04 and 0.99±0.06 at 1, 3 and 7 days after injury, which were significantly higher than that of the control group (0.56±0.04) ( P<0.05 or 0.01). The level of MDA in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group was significantly higher at 7 days after injury compared with that at 1 and 3 days after injury ( P<0.05 or 0.01), but there was no statistical difference between 1 day and 3 days after injury ( P>0.05). The levels of COX2 in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group were 2.93±0.02, 4.82±0.15 and 4.76±0.06 at 1, 3 and 7 days after injury, which were significantly higher than that of the control group (1.93±0.06) (all P<0.01). There were statistical differences in the levels of COX2 in the frontal cortex of the chest blast group at 3 and 7 days after injury compared with that at 1 day after injury (all P<0.01), but no statistical significance was found between 3 and 7 days after injury ( P>0.05). The levels of MDA in the hippocampus of the chest blast group were 0.92±0.11, 0.83±0.03 and 0.68±0.03 at 1, 3 and 7 days after injury, which were significantly higher than that of the control group (0.49±0.03) (all P<0.01). There was a significant difference in the level of MDA in the hippocampus of the chest blast group at 7 days after injury compared with those at 1 and 3 days after injury ( P<0.05 or 0.01), but the difference was not statistically significant among other groups (all P>0.05). The levels of COX2 in the hippocampus of the chest blast group were 0.88±0.06, 0.87±0.06 and 0.80±0.06 at 1, 3 and 7 days after injury, which were significantly higher than that of the control group (0.37±0.04) (all P<0.01). There were significant differences in the levels of COX2 of the chest blast group among 1, 3 and 7 days after injury (all P>0.05). Statistically significant differences were found between the levels of MDA in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of the chest blast group at 1 and 7 days after injury (all P<0.01), but no statistical significant difference between the control group and the chest blast group at 1 day after injury ( P>0.05). The levels of COX2 in the frontal cortex and hippocampus were significantly different among all groups (all P<0.01). Conclusions:In the short term after chest blast injury, there will be cognitive dysfunction in mice. Oxidative stress is one of the important contributing factors, and the cognitive damage in the frontal cortex is more serious than that in the hippocampus.

Study on the construction and quality evaluation of courses for ideological and political education in the course of oral histology and pathology / 中华口腔医学杂志

To give full play to the important role of courses for ideological and political education in moral cultivation, teaching group in the course of oral histology and pathology in Zhejiang University systematically studied the teaching model of which ideological and political education integrated into the course of oral histology and pathology, and put forward a quality evaluation index system of the course. This paper emphatically introduces the general framework of the course, as well as the experience and practices in the aspects of resource mining, teaching design, curriculum evaluation, etc. The quality of the course was evaluated by using the system, which showed that the grade of the course was AAA (excellent) and 95.5% (275/288) students agreed to integrate ideological and political content into the course. The teaching group believes that the integration of the ideological and political content in the course reflects the complementary effect of "teaching" and "educating", and the ideological and political quality as well as the professional level of the teachers are the primary factor to determine the quality of the course. This paper aims at providing a reliable reference for promoting the construction of courses for ideological and political education in the area of oral medical education.

Efficacy and safety of sacubitril/valsartan after six months in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and asymptomatic hypotension / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

BACKGROUND@#It is not clear whether sacubitril/valsartan is beneficial for patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and low systolic blood pressure (SBP). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of sacubitril/valsartan in HFrEF patients with SBP < 100 mmHg.@*METHODS & RESULTS@#An observational study was conducted on 117 patients, 40.2% of whom had SBP < 100 mmHg without symptomatic hypotension, and 59.8% of whom had SBP ≥ 100 mmHg in an optimized HF follow-up management system. At the 6-month follow-up, 52.4% of patients with SBP < 100 mmHg and 70.0% of those with SBP ≥ 100 mmHg successfully reached the target dosages of sacubitril/valsartan. A reduction in the concentration of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide was similar between patients with SBP < 100 mmHg and SBP ≥ 100 mmHg (1627.5 pg/mL and 1340.1 pg/mL, respectively; P = 0.75). The effect of sacubitril/valsartan on left ventricular ejection fraction was observed in both SBP categories, with a 10.8% increase in patients with SBP < 100 mmHg (P < 0.001) and a 14.0% increase in patients with SBP ≥ 100 mmHg (P < 0.001). The effects of sacubitril/valsartan on SBP were statistically significant and inverse across both SBP categories (P = 0.001), with an increase of 7.5 mmHg in patients with SBP < 100 mmHg and a decrease of 11.5 mmHg in patients with SBP ≥ 100 mmHg. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the occurrence of symptomatic hypotension, deteriorating renal function, hyperkalemia, angioedema, or stroke.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Within an optimized HF follow-up management system, sacubitril/valsartan exhibited excellent tolerability and prompted left ventricular reverse remodeling in patients with HFrEF who presented asymptomatic hypotension.

[Application of hyperspectral data to the classification and identification of severity of wheat stripe rust].

Wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia strii formis f. sp. tritici, is one of pandemic diseases causing severe losses in China. Monitoring and warning of this disease is principal for its precise prediction and for implementing effective measures to control it. The hyperspectral data used for analysis were attained from 88 leaves including healthy leaves and infected leaves over a range of disease severity levels. Support vector machine (SVM) was applied to classify and identify the severity of wheat leaves infected by the pathogen. The model was built based on 44 proof-read samples to estimate 44 proof-test samples. And the identification accuracy is totally 97%. So SVM can be used in the classification and identification of severity of wheat stripe rust based on attained hyperspectral data.

Teaching design of innovation experiment for closed-loop control of optogenetics / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Combining with advances in optogenetics and feedback control of physiological function, we have utilized self-made PPDP (preview, presentation, demonstration, promotion) teaching method to clarify how various physiological functions are regulated by the nervous system and carried out physiological innovation experiment activities. The innovative experiments aim to cultivate students' self-study capability, broaden their vision, enhance their interest in physiology, and finally promote the effect of physiological theory teaching. We herein summarize our practice of closed-loop control of innovative experimental teaching in optogenetics from the following four facets: education concept, students and teacher resources, teaching design, and teaching experience. This summary is trying to explore new experiences of promoting students' participation in teaching activities and improving the teaching quality of physiology.

Characterization of Three Glucosyltransferase Genes in Tartary Buckwheat and Their Expression after Cold Stress.

Anthocyanins confer the red color in the hypocotyl of tartary buckwheat sprouts. Uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glycosyltransferase (UFGT) stabilizes anthocyanin by attaching the glucosyl moiety from UDP-glucose to the C3 hydroxyl of anthocyanin. In this study, we characterized three UFGT-like genes, designated FtUFGT1, 2, and 3 from tartary buckwheat. The results revealed that FtUFGT1, FtUFGT2, and FtUFGT3 can convert cyanidin to cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, with specific activities of 20.01 × 10(-3), 8.93 × 10(-3), and 20.24 × 10(-3) IU/mg, respectively. The active-site residues of the C-terminal domains and the N-terminal domains are important for the donor and acceptor recognition of these proteins. The expression of the three FtUFGTs paralleled the tissue-specific anthocyanin accumulation. After cold treatment, the increased content of anthocyanin was accompanied by the up-regulated expression of the three FtUFGTs. Among these three UGFT gene members, FtUFGT3 showed the highest expression level and the highest specific activity, suggesting that FtUFGT3 might be the major gene involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. These results suggested that the FtUFGT genes, FtUFGT3 in particular, might be important candidates for anthocyanin formation in tartary buckwheat sprouts.