Effects of elevated nitrogen fertilizer on the multi-level structure and thermal properties of rice starch granules and their relationship with chalkiness traits.

BACKGROUND: Chalkiness in rice reduces its market value and affects consumer acceptance. Research on the mechanism of chalkiness formation has focused primarily on the activity of key enzymes of carbon metabolism and starch accumulation. The relationship between the formation of chalkiness induced by N fertilizer and rice starch's multi-level structure and thermal properties still needs to be fully elucidated. RESULTS: In this study, the rates of chalky grains and degree of chalkiness decreased with the increase in N fertilizer dosage. This was attributed to an increased proportion of short chains, ordered structure carbon chains, small starch granules, and branched starches, and a higher degree of crystallinity and ΔHg in protein, and a decreased proportion of amylose, large starch granules, and weighted average diameter of starch granule surface area and volume. Application of N fertilizer promoted an increased proportion of short-branched chain amylopectin to develop a more ordered carbohydrate structure and crystalline lamella. These effects enhanced the normal development and compactness of starch granules in grains, and improved their arrangement morphology, thereby reducing the chalkiness in rice. CONCLUSION: These changes in starch multi-level structure and protein improve the physicochemical characteristics of starch and enhance the fullness, crystallinity and compactness of starch granules, while synergistically increasing the regularity and homogeneity of starch granules and thus optimizing the stacking pattern of starch granules, leading to a reduction in rice chalkiness under nitrogen fertilization and thus improving the appearance of rice. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Grain Chalkiness Is Decreased by Balancing the Synthesis of Protein and Starch in Hybrid Indica Rice Grains under Nitrogen Fertilization.

The important reason for the commercial value of hybrid rice suffering is due to excessive chalkiness, and the biosynthesis of starch and proteins is critical for regulating chalkiness; however, it is currently unclear how the application of N fertilizer affects grains to reduce their chalkiness and improve their quality. The 2019, 2020, and 2021 trials were conducted in a split-plot design, with high and low chalky varieties as the main plot and N fertilizer rate as the split-plot. The effects of fertilization with 75, 150, and 225 kg N ha-1 on the dynamic synthesis of starch, protein, and endogenous hormones and on the amino acid of hybrid indica rice kernels with different degrees of chalkiness were investigated. Grain physiological activity was higher in low-chalky varieties than in high-chalky varieties, and these physiological parameters were strongly associated with chalkiness formation. Higher N fertilization (150 and 225 kg N ha-1) significantly reduced the proportion of chalky grains (8.93-28.02%) and chalkiness (8.61-33.99%) compared with 75 kg N ha-1. Increased N fertilization decreased the activities of granule-bound starch synthase and starch-debranching enzyme, but significantly increased adenosine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase, soluble starch synthase, and starch-branching enzyme activities, synergistically improving glutamate synthetase and glutamine synthetase enzyme activities, which tended to support the synthesis of amylopectin, α-ketoglutarate, and 3-phosphoglyceric acid-derived amino acids in the endosperm cells of the grains; this favored starch and protein accumulation in the grains at 6-30 days after anthesis. Additionally, N application promoted the synthesis of endogenous hormones 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, gibberellins, and abscisic acid in grains. Hence, N fertilization reduced the rice chalkiness in hybrid indica rice varieties by balancing grain protein and starch composition and enhancing some endogenous hormone synthesis.

Research progress on surgical factors related to early urinary control after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Radical resection of prostate cancer is the first choice for the treatment of early localized prostate cancer, but urinary incontinence is prone to occur after the operation, especially early urinary incontinence, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. This article discusses the surgical methods, approaches, and techniques to clarify the effects of surgical-related factors on early postoperative urinary control, in order to provide the best treatment for patients with prostate cancer.

No-tillage with straw mulching promotes the utilization of soil nitrogen by rice under wheat-rice and oilseed rape-rice cropping systems.

Introduction: To investigate the effects of no-tillage with straw mulching on the absorption and utilization of soil nitrogen (N), fertilizer N, and straw N by rice under paddy-upland rotations. Methods: A field experiment with three cropping systems: fallow-rice rotation without straw mulching (FRN), wheat-rice rotation with wheat mulching in rice season (WRS), and oilseed rape-rice rotation with oilseed rape straw mulching in rice season (ORS) was conducted from 2015 to 2017, along with a mini-plot experiment with 15N-labeled urea and straws, which was conducted in 2017. Results: No-tillage with straw reduced rice N uptake up to 20 days after transplanting, the total amount of fertilizer N uptake of WRS and ORS rice plants was 46.33 and 61.67 kg/ha, respectively, which was 9.02 and 45.10% higher than that of FRN plants. Soil N was the main source for rice growth, followed by fertilizer N. Soil N uptake by WRS and ORS rice plants was 21.75 and 26.82% higher than that of FRN plants, accounting for 72.37 and 65.47%, respectively, of the total N accumulated in rice plants. Straw mulching increased the N utilization efficiency of tillering, panicle, and total fertilizer by 2.84-25.30%; however, base fertilizer was dependent on straw mulching. The total amount of N released from WRS and ORS straw mulching in the rice season was 34.97 and 24.82 kg/ha, respectively; however, only 3.04 and 4.82% of it was absorbed by the rice plants, accounting for only 0.62 and 0.66% of the total accumulated N. Discussion: No-tillage with straw mulching under paddy-upland rotations increased the N utilization of rice, especially for the absorption of soil N. These results provide theoretical information for the effective utilization of straw and rational N application practices in rice-based cropping systems.

Effects of postponing nitrogen topdressing on starch structural properties of superior and inferior grains in hybrid indica rice cultivars with different taste values.

Introduction: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer management, especially postponing N topdressing can affect rice eating quality by regulating starch quality of superior and inferior grains, but the details are unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of N topdressing on starch structure and properties of superior and inferior grains in hybrid indica rice with different tastes and to clarify the relationship between starch structure, properties, and taste quality. Methods: Two hybrid indica rice varieties, namely the low-taste Fyou 498 and high-taste Shuangyou 573, were used as experimental materials. Based on 150 kg·N hm-2, three N fertilizer treatments were established: zero N (N0), local farmer practice (basal fertilizer: tillering fertilizer: panicle fertilizer=7:3:0) (N1), postponing N topdressing (basal fertilizer: tillering fertilizer: panicle fertilizer=3:1:6) (N2). Results: The starch granules of superior grains were more complete, and the decrease in small granules content and the stability of starch crystals were a certain extent less than those of inferior grains. Compared with N1, under N2, low-taste and high-taste varieties large starch granules content were significantly reduced by 6.89%, 0.74% in superior grains and 4.26%, 2.71% in inferior grains, the (B2 + B3) chains was significantly reduced by 1.61%, 0.98% in superior grains, and 1.18%, 0.97% in inferior grains, both reduced the relative crystallinity and 1045/1022 cm-1, thereby decreasing the stability of the starch crystalline region and the orderliness of starch granules. N2 treatment reduced the ΔHgel of two varieties. These changes ultimately contributed to the enhancement of the taste values in superior and inferior grains in both varieties, especially the inferior grains. Correlation analysis showed that the average starch volume diameter (D[4,3]) and relative crystallinity were significantly positively correlated with the taste value of superior and inferior sgrains, suggesting their potential use as an evaluation index for the simultaneous enhancement of the taste value of rice with superior and inferior grains. Discussion: Based on 150 kg·N hm-2, postponing N topdressing (basal fertilizer: tillering fertilizer: panicle fertilizer=3:1:6) promotes the enhancement of the overall taste value and provides theoretical information for the production of rice with high quality.

Improving the yield and nitrogen use efficiency of hybrid rice through rational use of controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer and urea topdressing.

Introduction: Controlled-release fertilizers effectively improve crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). However, their use increases the cost of crop production. Optimal management modes involving urea replacement with controlled-release N fertilizers to increase rice yield through enhanced NUE are not widely explored. Methods: Field experiments were conducted from 2017 to 2018 to determine the effects of different controlled-release N fertilizers combined with urea [urea-N (180 kg ha-1, N1)]. We used controlled-release N (150 kg ha-1, N2) as the base, and four controlled-release N and urea-N ratio treatments [(80%:0% (N3), 60%:20% (N4), 40%:40% (N5), or 20%:60% (N6) as the base with 20% urea-N as topdressing at the panicle initiation stage under 150 kg ha-1] to study their impact on the grain yield and NUE of machine-transplanted rice. Results and discussion: Grain yield and NUE were positively correlated with increases in photosynthetic production, flag leaf net photosynthetic rate (Pn), root activity, N transport, and grain-filling characteristics. The photosynthetic potential and population growth rate from the jointing to the full-heading stage, highly effective leaf area index (LAI) rate and Pn at the full-heading stage, root activity at 15 d after the full-heading stage, and N transport in the leaves from the full-heading to mature stage were significantly increased by the N4 treatment, thereby increasing both grain yield and NUE. Furthermore, compared with the other N treatments, the N4 treatment promoted the mean filling rate of inferior grains, which is closely related to increased filled grains per spikelet and filled grains rate. These effects ultimately improved the grain yield (5.03-25.75%), N agronomic efficiency (NAE, 3.96-17.58%), and N partial factor productivity (NPP, 3.98-27.13%) under the N4 treatment. Thus, the N4 treatment with controlled-release N (60%) and urea-N (20%) as a base and urea-N (20%) as topdressing at the panicle-initiation stage proved effective in improving the grain yield and NUE of machine-transplanted hybrid indica rice. These findings offer a theoretical and practical basis for enhancing rice grain yield, NUE, and saving the cost of fertilizer.

Myoglobin within graphene oxide sheets and Nafion composite films as highly sensitive biosensor.

A highly sensitive biosensor was fabricated by incorporating myoglobin (Mb) within graphene oxide (GO) sheets and Nafion composite films. The stable composite Mb-GO-Nafion films were characterized by electrochemistry, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that Mb in Mb-GO-Nafion films retained its secondary structure similar to its native states. Cyclic voltammetry of Mb-GO-Nafion films showed a pair of well defined, quasi-reversible peaks at about -0.312 V vs saturated calomel electrode (SCE) at pH 5.5, corresponding to direct electron transfer (DET) between Mb and the glassy carbon electrode. Electrochemical parameter of Mb in Mb-GO-Nafion film such as apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (ks) and formal potential (Eo') were obtained. The dependence of Eo' on solution pH indicated that the DET reaction of Mb was coupled with proton transfer. Mb in the films displayed good electrocatalytic activities towards various substrates such as hydrogen peroxide, nitrite and oxygen, indicating that the composite films have potential applications in fabricating novel biosensors without using mediators.

The Association between Immune Subgroups and Gene Modules for the Clinical, Cellular, and Molecular Characteristic of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The heterogeneity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is related to immune cell infiltration and genetic aberrations in the tumor microenvironment. This study aimed to identify the novel molecular typing of HCC according to the genetic and immune characteristics, to obtain accurate clinical management of this disease. We performed consensus clustering to divide 424 patients into different immune subgroups and assessed the reproducibility and efficiency in two independent cohorts with 921 patients. The associations between molecular typing and molecular, cellular, and clinical characteristics were investigated by a multidimensional bioinformatics approach. Furthermore, we conducted graph structure learning-based dimensionality reduction to depict the immune landscape to reveal the interrelation between the immune and gene systems in molecular typing. We revealed and validated that HCC patients could be segregated into 5 immune subgroups (IS1-5) and 7 gene modules with significantly different molecular, cellular, and clinical characteristics. IS5 had the worst prognosis and lowest enrichment of immune characteristics and was considered the immune cold type. IS4 had the longest overall survival, high immune activity, and antitumorigenesis, which were defined as the immune hot and antitumorigenesis types. In addition, immune landscape analysis further revealed significant intraclass heterogeneity within each IS, and each IS represented distinct clinical, cellular, and molecular characteristics. Our study provided 5 immune subgroups with distinct clinical, cellular, and molecular characteristics of HCC and may have clinical implications for precise therapeutic strategies and facilitate the investigation of immune mechanisms in HCC.

The prevalence and causes of pediatric uncorrected refractive error: Pooled data from population studies for Global Burden of Disease (GBD) sub-regions.

BACKGROUND: There are limited systematic reviews on the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors in children. We aimed to summarize the prevalence and causes of pediatric uncorrected refractive error (URE) from studies in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) sub-regions. METHODS: The pooled analysis used the individual participant data (ages less than 20 years old) from population-based studies around the world by regions. URE was defined as presenting VA < 6/18 and improving to ≥ 6/18 or ≥1 line on using a pinhole in either eye, with main causes of myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism. Each study provided data on any URE, myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism by age, gender, and ethnicity. Prevalence rates were directly age and gender standardized to the 2020 world population with all age groups. Estimates were calculated by study and sub-regions after pooling. Summary estimates included studies in which URE was assessed from a pinhole-corrected refraction in the better eye. RESULTS: The combined pooled data contained 302,513,219 patients including 8 963 URE cases individuals from 57 studies. Prevalence varied by age and GBD sub-regions and differed by gender. The age- and region-standardized prevalence of URE was 3.41 per 1000 (CI, 1.53~7.62) in Western Pacific region (12 studies), 2.26 per 1000 (CI, 0.85~6.01) in South-East Asia region (14 studies), 5.85 per 1000 (CI, 3.75~9.13) in Americans (11 studies) and 4.40 per 1000 (CI, 3.0~6.45) in Eastern Mediterranean region (13 studies). On the basis of these data, myopia was the first-leading cause in female children with 12~17 age group, with the prevalence rate 18.2 per 1000 (CI, 11.52~23.61). Astigmatism was detected in 27.2 per 1000 male children with 6~11 age group (CI: 19.12-30.68). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of URE available data within these sub-regions are widely disparate. Myopia and astigmatism in young age children continue as the leading cause of URE worldwide. Providing appropriate refractive correction to those individuals whose vision can be improved is an important public health endeavor with implications for safety and quality of life.

Nitrogen Application Rate Affects the Accumulation of Carbohydrates in Functional Leaves and Grains to Improve Grain Filling and Reduce the Occurrence of Chalkiness.

Chalkiness, which is highly affected by nitrogen (N) management during grain filling, is critical in determining rice appearance quality and consumer acceptability. We investigated the effects of N application rates 75 (N1), 150 (N2), and 225 (N3) kg ha-1 on the source-sink carbohydrate accumulation and grain filling characteristics of two indica hybrid rice cultivars with different chalkiness levels in 2019 and 2020. We further explored the relationship between grain filling and formation of chalkiness in superior and inferior grains. In this study, carbohydrates in the functional leaves and grains of the two varieties, and grain filling parameters, could explain 66.2%, 68.0%, 88.7%, and 91.6% of the total variation of total chalky grain rate and whole chalkiness degree, respectively. They were primarily concentrated in the inferior grains. As the N fertilizer application rate increased, the chalky grain rate and chalkiness degree of both the superior and inferior grains decreased significantly. This interfered with the increase in total chalky grain rate and chalkiness. Moreover, the carbohydrate content in the functional leaves increased significantly in N2 and N3 compared with that in N1. The transfer of soluble sugar from the leaves to the grains decreased the soluble sugar and increased total starch contents, accelerated the development of grain length and width, increased grain water content, and effectively alleviated the contradiction between source and sink. These changes promoted the carbohydrate partition in superior and inferior grains, improved their average filling rate in the middle and later stages, optimized the uniformity of inferior grain fillings, and finally led to the overall reduction in rice chalkiness.

Estimation of Rice Aboveground Biomass by Combining Canopy Spectral Reflectance and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Red Green Blue Imagery Data.

Estimating the aboveground biomass (AGB) of rice using remotely sensed data is critical for reflecting growth status, predicting grain yield, and indicating carbon stocks in agroecosystems. A combination of multisource remotely sensed data has great potential for providing complementary datasets, improving estimation accuracy, and strengthening precision agricultural insights. Here, we explored the potential to estimate rice AGB by using a combination of spectral vegetation indices and wavelet features (spectral parameters) derived from canopy spectral reflectance and texture features and texture indices (texture parameters) derived from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) RGB imagery. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the combined spectral and texture parameters and improve rice AGB estimation. Correlation analysis was performed to select the potential variables to establish the linear and quadratic regression models. Multivariate analysis (multiple stepwise regression, MSR; partial least square, PLS) and machine learning (random forest, RF) were used to evaluate the estimation performance of spectral parameters, texture parameters, and their combination for rice AGB. The results showed that spectral parameters had better linear and quadratic relationships with AGB than texture parameters. For the multivariate analysis and machine learning algorithm, the MSR, PLS, and RF regression models fitted with spectral parameters (R2 values of 0.793, 0.795, and 0.808 for MSR, PLS, and RF, respectively) were more accurate than those fitted with texture parameters (R2 values of 0.540, 0.555, and 0.485 for MSR, PLS, and RF, respectively). The MSR, PLS, and RF regression models fitted with a combination of spectral and texture parameters (R2 values of 0.809, 0.810, and 0.805, respectively) slightly improved the estimation accuracy of AGB over the use of spectral parameters or texture parameters alone. Additionally, the bior1.3 of wavelet features at 947 nm and scale 2 was used to predict the grain yield and had good accuracy for the quadratic regression model. Therefore, the combined use of canopy spectral reflectance and texture information has great potential for improving the estimation accuracy of rice AGB, which is helpful for rice productivity prediction. Combining multisource remotely sensed data from the ground and UAV technology provides new solutions and ideas for rice biomass acquisition.

Corrigendum to "Desflurane Attenuates Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury in Rats with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/7507314.].

Correction: Characteristic analysis of TCR ß-chain CDR3 repertoire for preand post-liver transplantation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.26138.].

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Understanding population quality and nitrogen utilization characteristics of direct seeding rice under water-nitrogen interaction could provide theoretical and practical basis for high yield and ample production of direct seeding rice. Hybrid rice F You 498 was used as the material. Three irrigation methods were set in this study: flooding irrigation (W1), dry-wet alternate irrigation (W2) and drying irrigation (W3), with different ratio of base fertilizer: tiller fertilizer: panicle fertilizer at 5:3:2 (N1), 3:3:4 (N2), 3:1:6 (N3), respectively. No nitrogen application (N0) was set as the control. We investigated the effects of water-nitrogen interaction on population quality and nitrogen utilization characteristics of direct seeding rice, with the aim to clarify the relationship between population quality construction, nitrogen utilization characteristics and yield of direct seeding rice. The results showed that irrigation and N rate significantly interacted to affect dry matter accumulation, rice harvest index, heading high-efficiency leaf (the upper three leaves) dry weight, light transmittance rate at maturity stage, total nitrogen accumulation (TNA), apparent nitrogen use efficiency (ANE), nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP), nitrogen physiology efficiency, and rice yield. Taking population quality, yield and N fertilizer utilization characteristics into consideration, suitable panicle N-fertilizer under each irrigation mode was 20%-40% (N1-N2). Panicle N-fertilizer reached 60% (N3) and W3 treatment would significantly reduce population quality, yield, nitrogen agronomy efficiency (NAE), NPFP of direct seeding rice. Yield and nitrogen utilization characteristics of direct seeding rice were significantly correlated with effective panicles, dry matter accumulation at maturity stage, other leaf (except the upper three leaves) dry weight reduction, total leaf dry weight reduction, and middle part and basel part light-receiving rate under water-nitrogen interaction. The dry-wet alternative (W2) treatment could increase the rate of production til-lers, dry matter accumulation, rice harvest index, TNA, NAE and rice yield. W2 combined with N2 could improve population quality of direct seeding rice and realized the coordination and unification of high yield and efficient utilization of nitrogen, which is the best combination in this experiment.

Endothelial progenitor cells attenuate the lung ischemia/reperfusion injury following lung transplantation via the endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) can improve endothelial integrity. This study aimed to examine the effects and the mechanism of EPCs on lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (LIRI). METHODS: Wistar rats were randomized into the sham or the left lung transplantation group. The recipients were randomized and treated with vehicle as the LIRI group, with EPC as the EPC group, or with N5-(1-iminoethyl)-l-ornithine-pretreated EPC as the EPC/L group (n = 8 per group). The ratios of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspiratory oxygen were measured. The lung wet-to-dry weight ratios, protein levels, and injury, as well as the levels of plasma cytokines, were examined. The levels of endothelin (ET)-1, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phosphorylated eNOS, inducible NOS, phosphorylated myosin light chain, nuclear factor-κBp65, Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, and myeloperoxidase in the graft lungs were detected. RESULTS: Compared with the LIRI group, EPC treatment significantly increased the ratios of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspiratory oxygen and decreased the lung wet-to-dry weight ratios and protein levels in the grafts, accompanied by increasing eNOS expression and phosphorylation, but decreasing endothelin-1, inducible NOS, phosphorylated nuclear factor-kBp65, phosphorylated myosin light chain expression, and myeloperoxidase activity. EPCs reduced lung tissue damage and apoptosis associated with decreased levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3 expression, but increased Bcl-2 expression. EPC treatment significantly reduced the levels of serum proinflammatory factors, but elevated levels of interleukin-10. In contrast, the protective effect of EPCs were mitigated and abrogated by N5-(1-iminoethyl)-l-ornithine pretreatment. CONCLUSIONS: Data indicated that EPC ameliorated LIRI by increasing eNOS expression.

Desflurane Attenuates Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury in Rats with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Ventilator-induced lung injury aggravates the existing lung injury. This study investigated the effect of desflurane on VILI in a rat model of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Forty-eight rats were randomized into a sham (S) group, control (C) group, lipopolysaccharide/ventilation (LV) group, lipopolysaccharide/ventilation/desflurane (LVD) group, or lipopolysaccharide/low ventilation with and without desflurane (LLV and LLVD) groups. Rats in the S group received anesthesia only. Rats in the LV and LVD groups received lipopolysaccharide and were ventilated with a high tidal volume. Rats in LLV and LLVD groups were treated as the LV and LVD groups and ventilated with a low tidal volume. PaO2/FiO2, lung wet-to-dry weight ratios, concentrations of inflammatory factors in serum and BALF, histopathologic analysis of lung tissue, and levels of nuclear factor- (NF-) κB protein in lung tissue were investigated. PaO2/FiO2 was significantly increased by desflurane. Total cell count, macrophages, and neutrophils in BALF and proinflammatory factors in BALF and serum were significantly decreased by desflurane, while IL-10 was increased. The histopathological changes and levels of NF-κB protein in lung tissue were decreased by desflurane. The results indicated that desflurane ameliorated VILI in a rat model of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Characteristic analysis of TCR ß-chain CDR3 repertoire for pre- and post-liver transplantation.

Liver cirrhosis of hepatitis B is an immune-related disease in which liver cells die during the body's immune system activation to clear the virus, and the progress is closely related to T lymphocytes. T lymphocyte cells recognise antigens, specifically by major histocompatibility complex (MHC), through a membrane protein T cell receptor (TCR). Here, we used high throughput immune repertoire sequencing technique to study the characteristics and diversity of the TCR repertoire between patients who underwent liver transplantation and healthy controls (NC). We sequenced the TCR ß-chain complementary-determining region 3 (CDR3) repertoire in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 6 liver transplantation patients before transplantation (Pre) and on the first (Post1) and seventh days (Post7) after transplantation along with 6 NC. We observed that the distributions of CDR3, VD indel, and DJ indel lengths were similar among the Pre, Post1, Post7 and NC groups. We found that the TCR repertoire diversity of transplantation groups was relatively lower compared to NC group. The Pre-group had more highly expanded T cell clones compared to Post1, Post7 and NC groups, and the diversity of the T cell repertoire of the Post7 group was significantly decreased compared to the Pre, Post1 and NC groups. In addition, we found our results also show that various TRBV expression increased and some public sequences at different time points after liver transplantation, and the expression levels of 3 TRBV segments and 2 TRBJ segments were also significantly different in Pre, Post1, Post7 and NC groups. Moreover, 1 aa sequence shared by all liver transplantation patients and 2 aa sequences shared by at least two groups, which may serve as biomarkers to monitor the immune status of liver transplant patients.

Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Ropivacaine on Ultrasound-Guided Dual Transversus Abdominis Plane Block after Gastrectomy.

OBJECTIVES: Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is an analgesic technique. Adding dexmedetomidine can enhance regional anesthesia. This study's aim was to evaluate whether dexmedetomidine prolonged analgesic time of TAP block after gastrectomy. METHODS: Patients scheduled for gastrectomy were randomly assigned to receive a TAP block with saline (group S), ropivacaine (group R), or ropivacaine and dexmedetomidine (group RD). Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) scores, sedation scores, tramadol consumption, ropivacaine concentration, and Quality of Recovery Questionnaire 40 (QoR-40) were recorded. RESULTS: Patients in group R and group RD had lower VAS scores 2, 4, 12, and 24 h after surgery compared with group S (P < 0.05). PONV scores were lower in group R and group RD compared with group S after 2, 12, 24, and 36 h (P < 0.05). Patients in group R and group RD required less tramadol and had better QoR-40 scores than those in group S (P < 0.05). The aforementioned variables and ropivacaine concentrations did not differ between group R and group RD (P > 0.05). Sedation scores were similar between three groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TAP block can provide analgesia and improve the quality of recovery. Adding dexmedetomidine does not significantly improve the quality or duration of TAP block.