[Efficacy comparison of zero-profile intervertebral fusion and stand-alone interbody cage combined with cage-titanium plate construct in treatment of two-segment skip cervical spondylosis].

Objective: To investigate the difference in clinical efficacy between zero-profile interbody fusion (ROI-C) and stand-alone interbody cage combined with cage-titanium plate construct for patient with two-segment skipped cervical spondylosis who received the anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgical strategies. Methods: The clinical data of 62 patients with two-segment skipped cervical spondylosis who underwent surgical treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2017 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, included 38 males and 24 females, aged (53.3±8.5) years. Thirty-three cases were treated with ROI-C (ROI-C group), and 29 cases with stand-alone interbody cage combined with cage-titanium plate construct (cage+titanium plate group). The following parameters, including operation time, intraoperative blood loss, dysphagia Bazaz grade, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain, neck disability index (NDI), average intervertebral height of operated segments, C2-7 Cobb angle, and related complications, were compared between the two groups. Results: The patients were followed up for (28±5) months (16-34 months). The operation time of ROI-C group was (127.6±34.2) min, which was shorter than that in cage+titanium plate group [(157.1±43.9) min, P=0.004]. The scores of JOA and VAS in both ROI-C group and cage+titanium plate group were significantly improved 3 months after operation when compared with those before operation, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (all P>0.05). The average intervertebral space height of fusion segment in ROI-C group was (6.02±1.03) mm before operation, it was improved to (8.38±1.47) mm at 3 months after operation, (8.16±1.40) mm at 12 months after operation, and it was (6.24±1.05) mm, (8.58±1.18) mm and (7.87±0.73) mm in cage+titanium plate group, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups at each time point (all P>0.05). The Cobb angle of cervical vertebrae in ROI-C group was 10.5°±6.8° before operation, improved to 19.2°±9.0° at 3 months after operation, 18.2°±5.8° at 12 months after operation, and it was 10.9°±4.6°, 18.5°±7.8°, 17.1°±5.2° in cage+titanium plate group, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups at each time point (all P>0.05). The incidence of postoperative dysphagia was 9.1%(3/33) in the ROI-C group and 37.9%(11/29) in the cage+titanium plate group, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.007). Conclusions: Both ROI-C and stand-alone interbody cage combined with cage-titanium plate construct can achieve good results for two-segment skipped cervical spondylosis. However, ROI-C is more advantageous in shortening the operation time and reducing early postoperative dysphagia.

[The imperative legislation of brain death in view of the development of organ donation in China].

With the great improvement of the education quality of Chinese citizens and the development of the medical popular science, organ donation has been developing unprecedentedly in the past decade in China. Brain death has been widely accepted as a criteria of death in the medical field, but it has not been legislated in China. Chinese experts wrote the "The Implementation and Management Brain Death Judgment (2021)". The main contents involved several issues encountered by clinicians in the process of judging brain death.This paper reports the current situation and focuses on the necessity of the legislation of brain death in China, and analyses the feasibility based on the current situation of organ donation and the public's acceptance of legislation on brain death in China, providing help to accelerate the process of legislation of brain death.

[Research progress of cirrhotic portal hypertension in diagnostic imaging methods].

Hepatic venous pressure gradient measurement via jugular vein catheterization is still currently the gold standard for evaluating portal hypertension. However, how to accurately and reproducibly assess whether there is portal hypertension has always been a concern in patients with liver cirrhosis. In recent years, imaging methods have made significant progress in the non-invasive diagnosis of portal hypertension. This paper reviews the current different diagnostic value of imaging methods and related research progress in an attempt to evaluate patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension.

[Efficacy of the XEN gel stent on intraocular pressure lowering in glaucoma patients].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the XEN gel implant in the treatment of glaucoma. Methods: It was a retrospective case series study. Eight patients (8 eyes) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from January 2020 to September 2020 were included, including six males and two females, aged 29 to 74 years. The patients treated with the XEN gel implanting for glaucoma. After detailed ophthalmic examination, all the patients met the surgical indications for the XEN gel implanting. Preoperative and postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP), anterior segment and fundus examination results, medication, and surgical complications were evaluated. Results: There were seven patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and one patient with glaucomatocyclitic syndrome. Five patients had received anti-glaucoma surgeries, and the remaining three patients had not received surgical treatment. All XEN gel stents were implanted successfully. All patients were followed up for 4 to 12 months. The preoperative maximum IOP ranged from 11 to 44 mmHg (median, 28 mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), and the IOP was 10 to 18 mmHg (median, 13 mmHg) at the last follow-up. Two to 4 types of medication were used for glaucoma preoperatively (median, 3), while 0 to 2 types (median, 0) were used at the last follow-up. During the follow-up, 7 cases were completely successful and only one case failed. Intraoperative hemorrhage occurred in two patients, and after effective treatment, the IOP decreased to below 20 mmHg. One patient was found to have an increased IOP with the XEN luminal obstruction, and the XEN drainage tube was recanalized. The IOP was about 10 mmHg at the last follow-up, and no anti-glaucoma drugs were used, but the surgery was assessed as failure by standard. The remaining patients had no other serious complications. Conclusion: This preliminary study shows that the XEN gel drainage may be a safe and effective treatment for patients with glaucoma. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2021, 57: 679-684).

Objective response of first-line chemotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer translates into survival benefit: an analysis in an independent, prospective clinical trial and a real-world setting.

This study sought to assess whether the objective response (OR, including complete response and partial response) of first-line chemotherapy can predict overall survival (OS) for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) in both clinical trial and a real-world setting. The survival predictable parameters were assessed in two independent cohorts, the training cohort of 236 patients as part of a phase 3 trial (CBCSG006, Trial registration number NCT0128762) and the validation cohort of 360 patients from the real-world setting. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were applied to explore associations with progression-free survival and OS in the training cohort and then in the validation cohort. OR (OR vs non-OR, HR, 0.438, p<0.001) together with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, disease-free survival, number of metastatic organ sites and platinum-based chemotherapy used as first-line chemotherapy were observed to be independent prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS), and OR (OR vs non-OR, HR, 0.602, p=0.002) together with ECOG score, disease-free survival, number of metastatic organ sites and previous anthracycline and/or taxane treatment were observed to be independent predictive factors for OS in the training cohort. These predictors were confirmed in the validation cohort. For OR and non-OR group, median OS was 23.72 and 13.83 months in the training cohort (HR, 0.637, p=0.002), and 21.95 and 13.80 months in the validation cohort (HR, 0.608, p<0.001), respectively. By adding OR in the OS predictors, the concordance index (C-index) improved from 0.622 to 0.645 in the training cohort and 0.653 to 0.675 in the validation cohort. PFS and OS of mTNBC can be predicted by OR status with any regimen of first-line chemotherapy in an independent prospective clinical trial and a real-world setting. Therefore, TNBC, not like other subtypes of breast cancer, may be in need of combination chemotherapy or intense chemotherapy to achieve a high response rate for survival.

[Effect of risperidone on prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex and P50 deficit in patients with first-episode and chronic schizophrenia].

Objective: To investigate the effect of antipsychotic medicine risperidone on prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (PPI) and P50 deficit in patients with first-episode and chronic. Methods: Thirty-eight patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 36 patients with chronic schizophrenia, both in acute stage, were enrolled in the study. All patients were treated with risperidone of different doses (2 to 6mg/d). All patients fulfilled the evaluation of PPI and P50 before treatment and 8 weeks after treatment. The psychotic symptoms were assessed with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the therapeutic effects were evaluated with PANSS reduction rate. Results: (1) There was no significant difference in PPI and P50 parameters between the two groups before treatment (PPI ratio: first group 43%±29%, chronic group 42%±27%, P>0.05; P50 S2/S1 ratio: first group 83%±33%, chronic group 82%±24%, P>0.05). (2) There was no significant correlation between PPI and P50 inhibition parameters and disease course, psychotic episodes and psychiatric symptoms (PANSS total score, positive symptoms score, negative symptoms score and general psychopathology symptoms score) of schizophrenia (P>0.05). (3) Except the group main effect for S2 amplitude (F=5.75, P=0.019), there was no significant change for main effect and interaction of the other P50 and PPI inhibition ratio parameters after treatment (P50 S2/S1 ratio: first group before treatment 83%±33%, after treatment 85%±49%, P>0.05; chronic group before treatment 82%±44%, after treatment 84%±35%, P>0.05. PPI ratio: first group before treatment 43%±29%, after treatment 42%±27%; chronic group before treatment 42%±27%, after treatment 41%±28%,P>0.05). The effect of risperidone on P50 and PPI parameters was not related to the therapeutic effect. Conclusion: Deficit in sensory gating inhibition exists in both first-episode schizophrenia and chronic schizophrenia, and risperidone is not effective in treating the deficit in sensory gating (PPI and P50) inhibition of schizophrenia.

Coexistence of two graphene-induced modulation effects on surface plasmons in hybrid graphene plasmonic nanostructures.

Integrating gate-tunable graphene with plasmonic nanostructures or metamaterials offers a great potential in achieving dynamic control of plasmonic response. While remarkable progress has been made in realizing efficient graphene-induced modulations of plasmon resonances, a full picture of graphene-plasmon interactions and the consequent deep understanding on graphene-enabled tuning mechanism remain largely unexplored. Here, we theoretically identify, for the first time, two distinct modulation effects that can coexist in graphene-based plasmonic nanostructure: graphene can influence the plasmon resonances by either acting as equivalent nanocircuit elements or effectively altering their excitation environment, leading to totally different tuning behaviors. A general dependency of tuning features on the graphene-induced impedance, irrespective of structure geometries, is established when graphene serves as nanocircuit elements. We demonstrate that these two modulation effects can be dynamically controlled by appropriately integrating graphene with plasmonic nanostructures, which provide an active window for efficient modulation of surface plasmons. Our findings may pave the way towards realizing dynamic control of plasmonic response, which holds great potential applications in graphene-based active nanoplasmonic devices.

Optimized mid-long term management of ketogenic diet in children with refractory epilepsy.

This study aims to explore the mid-long term management of ketogenic diet (KD) for the treatment of refractory epilepsy in children, and carry out an efficacy assessment. The data of epileptic children who received KD in our hospital from January 2011 to August 2012 (basic management plan group, n=57) were retrospectively analyzed. On this basis, epileptic children who received KD from September 2012 to April 2014 (optimized management plan group, n=52) were managed according to the mid-long term management plan. The effective rate of KD at the first, third, sixth and ninth month was 90.4%, 73.1%, 65.4% and 38.5%, respectively, in the optimized management plan group, and 63.2%, 45.6%, 38.6% and 21.1%, respectively, in the basic management plan group, and the differences were statistically significant. The compliance rate of KD at the third, sixth and ninth month was 94.2%, 78.8% and 63.5%, respectively, in the optimized management plan group, and 82.5%, 47.4% and 28.1%, respectively, in the basic management plan group, and the differences were statistically significant. Optimized mid-long term management of KD in children can improve the control rate of epileptic seizures, and the compliance of patients.

Bone turnover markers, BMD and TBS after short-term, high-dose glucocorticoid therapy in patients with Graves' orbitopathy: a small prospective pilot study.

PURPOSE: Chronic GC administration has numerous side effects, but little is known about the side effects of their short-term use (< 3 months)-particularly, when high doses are involved, as in the treatment of Graves' orbitopathy (GO). We investigated the effects of short-term, high-dose GC on bone turnover markers, bone mineral density (BMD), and trabecular bone scores (TBS). METHODS: Eleven patients (10 females and 1 male; median age 56 years) with active GO who were candidates for treatment with intravenous (iv) methylprednisone were consecutively enrolled. All patients were pretreated with a loading dose of 300,000 units of cholecalciferol, then given a median cumulative dose of 4.5 g (range 1.5-5.25 g) iv methylprednisone. Biochemical parameters of bone metabolism (25OHD3, PTH, P1NP, CTX and bALP) were measured at the baseline, and then 1 week and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. BMD and TBS were obtained by X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the baseline and at 6 and 12 months. On DXA image, morphometric vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) was done. RESULTS: There were no significant changes in PTH, bALP or P1NP. A significant drop in CTX was seen at 1 month (down Δ49.31% from the baseline, p = 0.02), with a return to the baseline at the 3-month measurement. There was a moderate (not significant), but persistent reduction in P1NP. No changes in BMD or TBS came to light. No vertebral fractures were documented. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term, high-dose GC treatment caused a rapid, transient suppression of bone resorption, with no effects on BMD or bone micro-architecture (TBS).

[Prognosis analysis of primary breast diffuse large B cell lymphoma].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, therapy modality and prognosis of primary breast diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(PB-DLBCL). Methods: A total of 68 patients with PB-DLBCL treated in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital were enrolled between January 1, 2004 and January 31, 2017. Clinicopathological data were retrospectively analyzed. 67 patients were female and only one male. The median age was 56 years old. 46 patients had Ann Arbor clinical stageⅠ~Ⅱ disease, and the other 22 were stage Ⅲ~Ⅳ. The patients with and without B symptom were 11 and 57, respectively. Kaplan-Meier method was used for univariate analysis to calculate the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and 5-year progress-free survival (PFS) rate, compared using the log rank test. Cox regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. Results: The 1, 3, 5-year OS rate were 84.0%, 78.0% and 73.0%, and 1, 3, 5-year PFS rate were 80.0%, 71.0% and 51.0%, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated that eastern cooperative oncology group (ECOG) score, Ann Arbor clinical stage, international prognostic index (IPI) score, risk stratification, B symptom, ß2-microglobulin(ß2-MG) level, size of the tumor and cycles of chemotherapy were prognostic factors for OS (all P<0.05), and Ann Arbor clinical stage, IPI score, risk stratification and B symptom were prognostic factors for PFS (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that Ann Arbor clinical stage was independent prognostic factor for OS(P=0.029) and B symptom was independent prognostic factor for PFS(P=0.028). Conclusions: Prognosis of PB-DLBCL was relatively good. Ann Arbor clinical stage and B symptom were independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS, respectively.

[The renal protective effect and mechanism of liraglutide in diabetic mice induced by high-fat diet].

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of liraglutide on kidney of diabetic mice induced by high-fat diet and its possible mechanisms. Methods: C57BL/6J male mice were randomly divided into normal chow diet (NC) group and high-fat diet (HFD) group, which were fed with normal chow diet and HFD for 12 weeks respectively. After diet challenge, the mice were randomly divided into normal control group, normal chow diet with liraglutide treatment (NC+Lira) group, HFD group and high-fat diet with liraglutide treatment (HFD+Lira) group. The mice in NC+Lira and HFD+Lira groups were given intraperitoneal injection of liraglutide (400 µg·kg(-1)·d(-1)) for 8 weeks, while mice in NC and HFD groups were given intraperitoneal injection of same amount of normal saline. Urinary albumin and creatinine levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Renal morphology was observed by HE staining. The expression levels of silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) and thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) were determined by Western blot. Results: Compared with HFD group, liraglutide significantly lowered the body weight [(30.98±1.29) g vs (39.43±2.58) g], fasting blood glucose (FBG) [(7.21±0.15) mmol/L vs (9.55±0.29) mmol/L] and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) [(205.48±17.14) µg/mg vs (319.86±34.14) µg/mg] in HFD+Lira group (all P<0.05). HE staining showed that glomerular hypertrophy of HFD group alleviated after liraglutide treatment. The expression level of TXNIP in the kidney of HFD mice significantly decreased after liraglutide treatment (0.41±0.10 vs 3.50±0.70), while expression level of SIRT1 significantly increased (0.75±0.15 vs 0.32±0.04) (both P<0.05). Conclusion: Liraglutide could improve diabetic nephropathy by up-regulation of SIRT1 expression and down-regulation of TXNIP expression in diabetic mice induced by HFD.

Experimental demonstration of high sensitivity refractive index sensing based on magnetic plasmons in a simple metallic deep nanogroove array.

A high-performance wide-angle refractive index sensor based on a simple one-dimensional (1D) metallic deep nanogroove array with a high aspect ratio is experimentally fabricated and demonstrated. The 1D deep groove array is featured by the excitation of magnetic plasmon (MP), referring to an effective coupling of incident electromagnetic waves with a strong magnetic response induced inside the deep grooves. Utilizing the MP resonances that are extremely sensitive to the surrounding dielectric medium, we successfully achieve a refractive index sensitivity (RIS) up to ∼1300 nm/RIU, which is higher than that of most experimentally designed plasmonic sensors in the infrared region. Importantly, benefiting from angle-independent MP resonances with strong confinement of the magnetic field inside the deep grooves and strong electric field localization at the groove openings, we demonstrate wide-angle sensing capability valid in a broadband infrared region with an excellent linear dependence on the change of refractive index. Such a MP-based sensor, together with its simple 1D flat nature and ease of fabrication, has great potential for the practical design of high sensitive, cost-effective and compact sensing devices.

Identification of chemokine CXCL10 in tumor microenvironment by antibody array as a prognostic marker in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Immunological microenvironment is not only composed of multiple immune cells, but also deposited various inflammation factors that regulate immune response to tumor cells. To ascertain the crucial immune factors presented in hepatocellular carcinoma microenvironment (HCM), tumor tissue culture supernatant (TCS) and the corresponding non-tumor tissue culture supernatant (NCS) from patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were analyzed by antibody array technology. Among the inflammation-associated cytokines assayed, high level of chemokines CXCL8/IL-8 (6.82-fold increase) and CXCL10/IP-10 (16.45-fold increase) in TCS than that in paired NCS were evidently identified. And low expression of IL-16 (0.14-fold decrease) and RANTES/CCL5 (0.17-fold decrease) in TCS were also uncovered. Especially, overexpression of CXCL10 in primary HCC compared with their non-tumor counterparts was significantly associated with serum AFP level (P = 0.004), tumor size (P = 0.021), tumor number (P < 0.001) and TNM stage (P = 0.027). In addition, Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated that patients with higher CXCL10 expression levels had significantly poorer overall survival (P = 0.016) and disease-free survival (P = 0.022) than those with lower CXCL10 expression levels. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the level of CXCL10 expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in HCC patients. In summary, high concentration of CXCL10 is deposited in HCM identified by antibody array, which may contribute to the prediction of clinical outcome of HCC patients.

[Effect of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion on the evaluation of ß cell function].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) on ß-cell function assessment. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) admitted to Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University treated with CSII were enrolled from May to December 2015. Blood samples were collected to measure their fasting blood glucose, haemoglobin A1c, blood lipids and plasma C peptide levels (fasting, 30 min and 120 min after a mixed meal) on the next day of their admission before CSII started. When patients achieved the target of fasting capillary glucose ≤ 7.0 mmol/L, C-peptide levels (0 min, 30 min and 120 min after a mixed meal) were measured. Then CSII were stopped at 10 pm with the same tests repeated on the next day. RESULTS: Compared with those measured before CSII [0 min: (0.35±0.20) nmol/L, 30 min: (0.57±0.31) nmol/L, 120 min: (0.84±0.54) nmol/L], C-peptide levels after stopping CSII at all time points [0 min: (0.41±0.16) nmol/L, 30 min: (0.71±0.33) nmol/L, 120 min: (1.37±0.75) nmol/L] increased (P=0.015, P=0.005, P<0.001) even glucose control was achieved, but significantly decreased immediately before CSII was stopped [0 min: (0.23±0.13)nmol/L, 30 min: (0.39±0.26) nmol/L, 120 min: (0.67± 0.50) nmol/L] (P<0.001, P<0.001, P=0.023). The C-peptide after stopping CSII increased to 141% (0 min), 127% (30 min) and 219% (120 min) respectively compared to those before stopping CSII. CONCLUSION: CSII therapy should be stopped for accurate evaluation of ß-cell function due to its"ß-cell rest"effect in T2DM.

[Temperature modifies the acute effect of particulate air pollution on mortality in Jiang'an district of Wuhan].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the temperature modification effect on acute mortality due to particulate air pollution. METHODS: Daily non-accidental mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and respiratory mortality data were obtained from Jiang'an District Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Daily meteorological data on mean temperature and relative humidity were collected from China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System. The daily concentration of particulate matter was collected from Wuhan Environmental Monitoring center. By using the stratified time-series models, we analyzed effects of particulate air pollution on mortality under different temperature zone from 2002 to 2010, meanwhile comparing the difference of age, gender and educational level, in Wuhan city of China. RESULTS: High temperature (daily average temperature > 33.4 ℃) obviously enhanced the effect of PM10 on mortality. With 10 µg/m(3) increase in PM10 concentrations, non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality increased 2.95% (95%CI: 1.68%-4.24%), 3.58% (95%CI: 1.72%-5.49%), and 5.07% (95%CI: 2.03%-9.51%) respectively. However, low temperature (daily average temperature <-0.21 ℃) enhanced PM10 effect on respiratory mortality with 3.31% (95% CI: 0.07%-6.64%) increase. At high temperature, PM10 had significantly stronger effect on non-accidental mortality of female aged over 65 and people with high educational level groups. With an increase of 10 µg/m(3), daily non-accidental mortality increased 4.27% (95% CI:2.45%-6.12%), 3.38% (95% CI:1.93%-4.86%) and 3.47% (95% CI:1.79%-5.18%), respectively. Whereas people with low educational level were more susceptible to low temperature. A 10 µg/m(3) increase in PM10 was associated with 2.11% (95% CI: 0.20%-4.04%) for non-accidental mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Temperature factor can modify the association between the PM10 level and cause-specific mortality. Moreover, the differences were apparent after considering the age, gender and education groups.

Methylation analysis of CXCR1 in mammary gland tissue of cows with mastitis induced by Staphylococcus aureus.

Mastitis is the most important disease in the global dairy industry, and causes large economic losses. Staphylococcus aureus is one of most common pathogens that cause bovine mastitis. CXCR1 has been implicated as a prospective genetic marker for mastitis resistance in dairy cows; CXCR1 expression significantly increases when cows have mastitis. To investigate the mechanisms involved in its increased expression, bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the methylation status of CXCR1 CpG island, and quantitative fluorescence PCR was used to detect CXCR1 expression in bovine mammary tissue induced with S. aureus in three Chinese Holstein cows. No CpG island was found for bovine CXCR1 in the upstream 2-kb region, whereas one CpG island that contained 13 CpG sites was found in exon 1 of CXCR1. All of the CpG sites were under hypermethylation from 90 to 100% in the mammary tissues. When the mammary gland mRNA expression of CXCR1 was 12.10-fold higher in infected cow quarters than in uninfected quarters, the methylation levels of the CpG site at position 519 were significantly lower in the infected quarters than in the uninfected quarters. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the methylation level at position 519 was significantly negatively correlated with the CXCR1 mRNA expression level (P < 0.05). These results indicate that the methylation of the CpG site at position 519 may regulate CXCR1 expression in cows with mastitis induced by S. aureus, but further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved.

Isolation of a rice endophytic bacterium, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, with ligninolytic activity and characterization of its rice straw degradation ability.

UNLABELLED: This study focused on an endophytic bacterial strain, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, which can be used to degrade lignin and rice straw. This strain was isolated from rice seeds by an optimized surface sterilization method. Pantoea sp. Sd-1 showed exceptional ability to degrade rice straw and lignin. In rice straw or kraft lignin-containing medium supplemented with 1% glucose and 0.5% peptone, Pantoea sp. Sd-1 effectively reduced the rice straw mass weight by 54.5% after 6 days of treatment. The strain was also capable of reducing the lignin colour (52.4%) and content (69.1%) after 4 days of incubation. The findings suggested that the rice endophytic bacterium Pantoea sp. Sd-1 could be applied for the degradation of lignocellulose biomass, such as rice straw. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Rice straw, an abundant agricultural by-product in China, is very difficult to degrade because of its high lignin content. Due to the immense environmental adaptability and biochemical versatility of bacteria, endophytic bacteria are useful resources for biodegradation. In this study, we screened for endophytic bacteria capable of biodegrading rice straw and lignin and obtained one strain, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, with suitable characteristics. Sd-1 could be used for degradation of rice straw and lignin, and may play an important role in biodegradation of this agricultural by-product.

Cloning and expression analysis of the Lonicera japonica Thunb. chlorogenic acid synthetase gene (LjCCoAOMT1) in rice.

Complete coding DNA sequences of a closely related chlorogenic acid synthetase gene (LjCCoAOMT1) were isolated from Lonicera japonica Thunb. by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). LjCCoAOMT1 was subsequently overexpressed in Escherichia coli and a 25-kD protein was detected by electrophoresis and western blot analysis. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that recombinant LjCCoAOMT1 methylates the caffeic acid substrate to generate ferulic acid. Further analysis showed that the chlorogenic acid content was significantly correlated with the expression level of LjCCoAOMT1 in various tissues of L. japonica Thunb. at different developmental stages. A plant expression vector containing LjCCoAOMT1 was constructed and Agrobacterium-mediated transgenic rice was successfully obtained. Light treatment analysis showed that LjCCoAOMT1 transgenic rice was more sensitive than wild-type rice in responding to the changes in lighting conditions. Although gibberellic acid (GA3) could promote the growth of both wild-type and LjCCoAOMT1 transgenic rice, LjCCoAOMT1 transgenic rice appeared to be more sensitive to GA3. Furthermore, high concentrations of GA3 significantly facilitated the growth of LjCCoAOMT1 transgenic rice.

Effect of exogenous gibberellin on reserve accumulation during the seed filling stage of oilseed rape.

Exogenous gibberellins (GAs) are widely applied to increase crop yields, with knowledge about the physiological functioning and biochemistry mechanisms of these phytohormones improving; however, information remains limited about the effect of GAs on seed filling. In this study, the siliques (containing the seeds) of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) were treated with GA3 at 3 stages of seed filling. We confirmed that GA3 regulates the deposition of storage reserves in developing seeds. The percentage of crude fat in the seeds increased during the early stage, but remained stable during the middle and late stages. In comparison, the percentage of total protein decreased during the early and middle stages, but significantly increased during the late stage. In addition, Q-PCR was employed to analyze the expression level of related genes in response to GA3. It was found that the expression of WRI and ABI3 transcription factors corresponded to crude fat content and total protein content, respectively. The expression of storage reserve related genes DGAT, MCAT, SUC2, and GPT was consistent with crude fat content, whereas the expression of Napin corresponded to total protein content. The results of this study indicate that exogenous GA3 has a different effect on storage reserve deposition in seed during different stages of seed filling, and the effect might be achieved via changing the expression of related genes.