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PD-1 blockade is highly efficacious for mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer in both metastatic and neoadjuvant settings. We aimed to explore the activity and safety of neoadjuvant therapy with PD-1 blockade plus an angiogenesis inhibitor and the feasibility of organ preservation in patients with locally advanced mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer. We initiated a single-arm, open-label, phase 2 trial (NEOCAP) at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China. Patients aged 18–75 years with untreated mismatch repair-deficient or microsatellite instability-high or POLE/POLD1 -mutated locally advanced colorectal cancer (cT3 or N+ for rectal cancer, and T3 with invasion ≥5mm or T4, with or without N+ for colon cancer) and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score of 0–1 were enrolled and given 200 mg camrelizumab intravenously on day 1 and 250 mg apatinib orally from day 1–14, every 3 weeks for 3 months followed by surgery or 6 months if patients did not have surgery. Patients who had a clinical complete response did not undergo surgery and proceeded with a watch-and-wait approach. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a pathological or clinical complete response. Eligible enrolled patients who received at least one cycle of neoadjuvant treatment and had at least one tumour response assessment following the baseline assessment were included in the activity analysis, and patients who received at least one dose of study drug were included in the safety analysis. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04715633) and is ongoing. Between Sept 29, 2020, and Dec 15, 2022, 53 patients were enrolled; one patient was excluded from the activity analysis because they were found to be mismatch repair-proficient and microsatellite-stable. 23 (44%) patients were female and 29 (56%) were male. The median follow-up was 16·4 (IQR 10·5–23·5) months. 28 (54%; 95% CI 35–68) patients had a clinical complete response and 24 of these patients were managed with a watch-and-wait approach, including 20 patients with colon cancer and multiple primary colorectal cancer. 23 (44%) of 52 patients underwent surgery for the primary tumour, and 14 (61%; 95% CI 39–80) had a pathological complete response. 38 (73%; 95% CI 59–84) of 52 patients had a complete response. Grade 3–5 adverse events occurred in 20 (38%) of 53 patients; the most common were increased aminotransferase (six [11%]), bowel obstruction (four [8%]), and hypertension (four [8%]). Drug-related serious adverse events occurred in six (11%) of 53 patients. One patient died from treatment-related immune-related hepatitis. Neoadjuvant camrelizumab plus apatinib show promising antitumour activity in patients with locally advanced mismatch repair-deficient or microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer. Immune-related adverse events should be monitored with the utmost vigilance. Organ preservation seems promising not only in patients with rectal cancer, but also in those with colon cancer who have a clinical complete response. Longer follow-up is needed to assess the oncological outcomes of the watch-and-wait approach. The National Natural Science Foundation of China, Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, and the Cancer Innovative Research Program of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces a novel stance-based network, Filter-based Stance Network (FSNet), for rumor verification on social media. Topics include modeling stance controversies in the frequency domain, extracting stance features considering both tweet sequences and reply chains, and applying frequency filtering to explore the contributions of different controversies.

The lightweight fabrication of thin-walled cabin sections is popular for advanced ships, and the dimensional tolerance generated by welding buckling significantly influences the fabrication accuracy and schedule with poststraightening. A typical thin section employed in the superstructure of a high-tech passenger ship is considered the research object. Conventional fabrication procedures and welding conditions were examined beforehand with combined thermal elastic-plastic and elastic FE computations based on the theory of welding inherent deformation, while welding buckling was represented with identical behavior compared with fabrication observation. Actually, there are usually two methods to prevent welding buckling with advanced fabrication. Stiffeners with optimized geometrical features and excellent elasticity moduli were assembled to enhance the rigidity of the ship thin section, and less welding inherent deformation with advanced welding methods can be employed to reduce mechanical loading. Computational results show that either less in-plane welding inherent strain or higher structural rigidity can reduce the magnitude of welding-induced buckling, and avoid the generation of welding-induced buckling during the lightweight fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) following surgery remains controversial. Hence, we performed the present study to systematically analyze the prognostic and clinical significance of distinct TAMs biomarkers and distributions in ESCC patients underwent surgery. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched up to March 31, 2023. The pooled analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of TAMs on overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and clinicopathological characteristics using fixed-effects or random-effect model. Results: Involving a total of 2,502 ESCC patients underwent surgery from 15 studies, the results suggested that the total count of CD68+ TAMs was inversely associated with OS and DFS in ESCC patients, which was also noticed in the relationship of CD68+ TAMs in tumor islet (TI) with OS (all P<0.05), although no association between CD68+ TAMs in tumor stroma (TS) and OS (P>0.05). Moreover, either islet or stromal CD163+ TAMs density was a prognostic factor ESCC (all P<0.05). Similarly, an elevated CD204+ TAMs density in TI predicted a poor DFS (P<0.05), although CD204+ TAMs in TI had no relationship with OS (P>0.05). Besides, a high CD68+ TAMs density was significantly associated with lymphatic vessel invasion, vascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated the prognostic and clinical significance of TAMs in ESCC patients underwent surgery. TAMs should be considered a target that could improve prognostic stratification and clinical outcomes in ESCC after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prognostic significance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in patients with lung cancer (LCa) remains controversial. We therefore conducted the present study to systematically evaluate the role of different TAMs markers and histologic locations on the prognosis of LCa. Methods: Searches of Web of Science, PubMed, and EMBASE databases were performed up to 28 February 2022. The pooled analysis was conducted in random-effect or fixed-effects model with hazard risk (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for survival data including overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) from raw or adjusted measures, according to different TAMs markers and histologic locations. Results: Including a total of 5105 patients from 30 eligible studies, the results indicated that the total count of CD68+ TAMs was negatively associated with OS and DFS, which was also observed in the relationship of CD68+ or CD204+ TAMs in tumor stroma (TS) with OS and DFS (all P<0.05). Conversely, higher CD68+ TAMs density in tumor nest (TN) or TN/TS ratio of CD68+ TAMs predicted better OS (all P<0.05). Similarly, higher HLA-DR+ TAMs density was correlated with better OS in TN and TS (all P<0.05). Besides, neither nest CD163+ TAM density nor stromal CD163+ TAM density was a prognostic factor in LCa patients (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Our study indicated that different TAMs markers and histologic locations could bring about different prognostic effects in LCa patients. Great understanding of the infiltration modes of TAMs may contribute to improve outcomes of LCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a portion of patients with DNA mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) rectal cancer, clinical complete response (cCR) could be achieved after anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) immunotherapy. However, no data are available concerning the safety of omitting surgery and adopting immunotherapy as a curative-intent treatment for these patients. We retrospectively collected a series of patients with dMMR/MSI-H rectal adenocarcinoma who had cCR after receiving anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and adopted immunotherapy as curative-intent treatment from six institutions. Survival outcomes were analysed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Nineteen patients were included with a median age of 48 (range 19–63). One patient was diagnosed with stage I disease, four with stage II disease and fourteen with stage III disease. Sixteen patients received anti-PD-1 immunotherapy as the first line of therapy, and eleven patients were treated with single-agent anti-PD-1 antibodies. The median time from the start of treatment to cCR was 3.8 (range 0.7–6.5) months. During a median follow-up of 17.1 (range 3.1–33.5) months since achieving cCR, no local or distant relapse was observed. Two-year local recurrence-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival, disease free-survival and overall survival for the whole cohort were 100%, 100%, 100% and 100%, respectively. For patients with dMMR/MSI-H locally advanced rectal cancer who achieved cCR during anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, adopting immunotherapy as curative-intent treatment might be an alternative option. Longer follow-up and larger cohorts are warranted to verify this innovative treatment approach. • Anti-PD-1 antibody demonstrates curative efficacy in dMMR/MSI-H rectal cancer. • Anti-PD-1 monotherapy might be sufficient at locally advanced stage. • The time and cycle needed for patients to reach cCR varied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automatic scoring of English composition is an inevitable trend of the rapid development of computer technology and artificial intelligence technology. This makes the research on the automatic scoring system of the composition more theoretical and feasible. The integration of information technology and English curriculum has deepened the application of artificial intelligence in the field of teaching, creating a new opportunity for the optimization of English teaching process, and opening up a new space for the creation of intelligent and personalized English teaching environment. Based on the integration of information technology and curriculum, aiming at improving the quality and effect of English teaching in middle schools, this paper explores the application of artificial intelligence in English teaching in middle schools by using relevant theories of curriculum theory, literature analysis and field investigation. An implementation plan of College English assisted instruction system based on AI technology is proposed. Combined with English teaching, some functions of the English teaching system are improved and humanized. The application of artificial intelligence technology in English teaching is explored in order to improve the quality and effect of English teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welding-induced buckling is a special type of welding distortion occurring during thin plate butt welding and was investigated using both experimental and computational approaches for this benchmark investigation. In addition, the characteristic parameter and its magnitude for the occurrence of welding-induced buckling were also presented. Fundamental theories of the inherent deformation, finite strains, and eigenvalues of the structure stiffness matrix were considered to investigate welding-induced buckling. A series of experiments on thin plate butt welding with different heat inputs were conducted, and buckling behavior was observed from the deformed shape and the distribution of out-of-plane welding distortion. Transient nonlinear thermal elastic-plastic finite element (TEP FE) and elastic finite element (FE) analyses were conducted to predict welding-induced buckling, and the results were in good agreement with the measurement data. Criteria for the occurrence of welding-induced buckling were proposed and discussed. Inherent deformation was considered as a characteristic parameter of buckling behavior during welding, and its critical magnitude was calculated using a loading incremental method and eigenvalue analysis with good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A novel Pt(II) complex of [PtII(MPP)(OPD)]Cl⋅H 2 O (MPP-Pt) (OPD = o -phenylenediamine) with 2-(2,5-methoxy-phenyl) imidazo [4,5-f]-[1, 10] phenanthrolin (H-MPP) was synthesized and fully characterized. In MPP-Pt complex, the Pt(II) ion adopts a four-coordinated square planar geometry. MPP-Pt exhibited selective cytotoxicity against human carcinoma (A549), hepatoblastoma (Hep-G2), ovarian (SK-OV-3), cervical (HeLa) and gastric adenocarcinoma (MGC80–3) cell lines with IC 50 values in the micromolar range (0.31–9.48 μM), but low cytotoxicity toward HL-7702 normal cells. Various experiments showed that MPP-Pt complex caused cell apoptosis via mitochondrial dysfunction in HeLa cells, as shown by the up-regulation expression of p27, apaf-1, p21, cytochrome c (cyc c) and p53 levels, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the down-regulation expression of bcl-2 protein level. Graphical abstract MPP-Pt complex caused cell apoptosis via mitochondrial dysfunction in HeLa cancer cells. Unlabelled Image Highlights • Phenanthrolin MPP-Pt complex was designed. • MPP-Pt was more selective for HeLa tumor cells. • MPP-Pt also caused mitochondrial dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor is effective for colorectal cancer (CRC) with deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) or high microsatellite instability (MSI-H). We aimed to explore its effects on CRCs and colonic polyps in Lynch syndrome (LS) patients. LS patients with CRC who had evaluable tumours and received at least 2 cycles of PD-1 inhibitors were retrospectively included. PD-1 inhibitors were given as a monotherapy or in combination with other therapies, including anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 treatment, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Correlations of treatment responses with clinicopathological characteristics and genomic profiles were analysed. A total of 75 LS patients were included, with a median age of 39 years. The median duration of follow-up was 27 months (range, 3–71). The objective response rate (ORR) was 70.7%, including 28.0% (n = 21) complete responses and 42.7% (n = 32) partial responses. Four of five cases of LS CRCs displaying proficient MMR (pMMR) or microsatellite stable (MSS) were not responsive. Mucinous/signet-ring cell differentiation was associated with a lower ORR (P = 0.013). The 3-year overall survival and progression-free survival were 91.2% and 82.2%, respectively. A polyp was detected in 26 patients during surveillance. Seven adenomas disappeared after treatment, and they were all larger than 7 mm. PD-1 inhibitors are highly effective for dMMR and MSI-H LS CRCs, but not for pMMR or MSS LS CRCs or mucinous/signet-ring cell CRC. Large LS adenomas may also be eliminated by anti-PD-1 treatment. Due to the privacy of patients, the related data cannot be available for public access but can be obtained from Pei-Rong Ding (dingpr@sysucc.org.cn) upon reasonable request. The key raw data have been uploaded to the Research Data Deposit public platform (www.researchdata.org.cn). • PD-1 inhibitors are highly effective for LS dMMR/MSI-H CRC. • MSI and MMR status are crucial to tumour response to PD-1 inhibitors. • Mucinous and signet-ring cell LS CRC are less sensitive to PD-1 inhibitors. • Large (≥7 mm) adenomas of LS patients may respond to PD-1 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibration is usually caused by external disturbances, which may lead to structural damage. Vibrations can be significantly suppressed by taking disturbances into account. However, in many cases disturbances are unknown or difficult to be measured directly. In order to estimate external unknown disturbances, this article develops a proportional-integral (PI) disturbance observer with measurement noises for smart structures using multiple distributed piezoelectric sensors. For simulation purpose, a dynamic finite element model of piezoelectric bonded smart structure is presented. This disturbance observation method is validated by estimating various kinds of unknown disturbances using piezoelectric measurements. Furthermore, the measurement numbers and the position of measurements are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has previously been reported that 1,25-(OH)2D3 inhibits high glucose-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HK-2 cells. However, the mechanism of this renoprotective action remains unclear. Elocalcitol (BXL-628), a vitamin D analog, has been suggested to be effective on the RhoA/Rho associated protein kinase (ROCK) pathway, which serves a crucial role in high glucose-induced EMT. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of 1,25-(OH)2D3 and its analogue BXL-628 on high glucose-induced activation of the RhoA/ROCK pathway in human renal proximal tubular cells. HK-2 cells were co-treated with high glucose and either 1,25-(OH)2D3 or BXL-628. The RhoA expression levels and ROCK activity of the membrane were assessed via western blot analysis or immunofluorescence. α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and epithelial (E)-cadherin were detected using western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), whereas collagen I and fibronectin levels were measured by ELISA and RT-qPCR. The results demonstrated that 1,25-(OH)2D3 and BXL-628 both significantly downregulated the expression of active RhoA and ROCK activity induced by high glucose (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expressions of α-SMA, collagen I, and fibronectin were significantly downregulated at both protein and mRNA (P<0.05) levels, whereas the expression of E-cadherin was significantly increased (P<0.05) by 1,25-(OH)2D3 or BXL-628 treatment. In conclusion, the vitamin D receptor agonist 1,25-(OH)2D3 and its analogue BXL-628 were both able to attenuate high glucose-induced EMT and extracellular matrix accumulation of HK-2 cells by suppressing the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article represents the first attempt to perform a pooled analysis about remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) in reduction of acute kidney injury (AKI) of adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). A systematic search was performed using PubMed (1966-5 January 2016), the Cochrane Library (1996-5 January 2016), the Web of Science (1986-5 January 2016) and Chinese database (SinoMed) (1978-5 January 2016) to identify studies that have described the effect of RIPC on AKI in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB. The outcomes used for this analysis included the incidence of AKI and the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). Thirteen randomized controlled trials (4370 participants) were included in this analysis. RIPC significantly reduced the risk of AKI (risk ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, [0.66, 0.99]; P = 0.04; I2=46%) for adult patients compared with control group. However, there was no significant difference with respect to the incidence of RRT between the two groups. The present meta-analysis found that RIPC may reduce the incidence of AKI among adult patients following cardiac surgery with CPB. Adequately powered trials are warranted to provide further corroboration of our findings in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, multimedia event detection has been attracting extensive research attention because of the exponential increase in volume of web video data. Traditional approaches usually utilize single visual representation, which may suffer from the problem of insufficient descriptive power. How to jointly employ multiple types of visual representation to facilitate multimedia event detection (MED) in videos remains an open problem. In this work, we propose a novel system for event detection based on combination of multi-view representations and co-training algorithm. Specifically, given several types of low-level visual features (i.e., Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Fisher vector), we first train an initial classifier for each type of visual feature. Then, we use these classifiers to separately predict labels of unlabeled videos, and those with consistent prediction are merged into the training set. We alternatively repeat the processes of training the classifiers and enlarging the training set until convergence. To investigate the relationship among different types of visual features, the prediction scores of the two classifiers are fused by a linear weighted fusion method. We evaluate our MED system on the TRECVID MED11 data set, and the experimental results have demonstrated the outstanding performance of the proposed approach as compared to several other state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α,α-Difluorodiaroylmethane can be used as a nucleophilic difluoromethylation reagent for generating α-thioaryl-α,α-difluoroacetophenones (Ar¹COCF2SAr) and difluoromethylthiolated arenes (ArSCF2H) under transition-metal-free conditions. The reaction selectivity is mainly dependent on temperature. The method has also been extended to the synthesis of α-thioaryl-α-monofluoroacetophenones using α-monofluorodibenzoylmethane. Moreover, the benzoyl cation derived from α,α-difluorodibenzoylmethane can react with nucleophiles to afford the desired products in a one-pot process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor-suppressive activity of FOXP3 has been observed in tumor initiation, but the underlying mechanism still remains largely unknown. Here, we identified a FOXP3-microRNA-146 (miR-146)-NF-κB axis in vitro and in vivo in prostate cancer cells. We observed that FOXP3 dramatically induced the expression of miR-146a/b, which contributed to transcriptional inhibition of IRAK1 and TRAF6, in prostate cancer cell lines. Tissue-specific deletion of Foxp3 in mouse prostate caused a significant reduction of miR-146a and upregulation of NF-κB activation. In addition, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions were observed in miR-146a-mutant mice as well as in Foxp3-mutant mice. Notably, the NF-κB inhibitor bortezomib inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in prostate epithelial cells, attenuating prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia formation in Foxp3-mutant mice. Our data suggest that the FOXP3-miR-146-NF-κB axis has a functional role during tumor initiation in prostate cancer. Targeting the miR-146-NF-κB axis may provide a new therapeutic approach for prostate cancers with FOXP3 defects [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is characterized by advanced liver disease, hypoxemia and intrapulmonary vascular dilatation (IPVD). The pathogenesis of HPS is not completely understood. Recent findings have established the role of proliferation and phenotype differentiation of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) in IPVD of HPS; the change in cytoskeletal proteins and their molecular mechanism play an essential role in the proliferation, phenotype modulation and differentiation of PMVECs. However, little is known about the relevance of cytoskeletal protein expression and its molecular mechanism in IPVD of HPS. In addition, ANX A1 protein has been identified as a key regulator in some important signaling pathways, which influences cytoskeletal remodeling in many diseases, such as lung cancer, liver cancer, etc. Methods: PMVECs were cultured from the normal rats and then divided into three groups(Ad-ANXA1-transfected group, a non-transfected group, and an adenovirus empty vector group) and incubated by nomal rat serum or hepatopulmonary syndrome rat serum respectively. mRNA level was evaluated by real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and protein expression was detected by western blot. Cell proliferation was determined by the MTT and thymidine incorporation assay. Results: In this study, we found that the serum from a common bile duct ligation(CBDL) Rat model decreased the expression levels of the ANX A1 mRNA and protein by at least two-fold in human PMVECs. We also found the expression of cytoskeletal proteins (Destrin, a1-actin, and a1-tubulin) in PMVECs significantly increased. After stimulating ANX A1 over-expression in PMVECs by adenovirus-mediated ANX A1 (Ad-ANXA1) transfection, we found the expression levels of cytoskeletal proteins were significantly suppressed in PMVECs at all time points. Additionally, we report here that serum from a CBDL Rat model increases the proliferation of PMVECs by nearly two-fold and that over-expression of Ad-ANXA1 significantly inhibits HPS-rat-serum-induced PMVEC proliferation (p <0.05). These findings suggest that the ANX A1 down-regulation of PMVEC proliferation in the presence of HPS-rat-serum may be the major cause of aberrant dysregulation of cytoskeletal proteins (Destrin, a1-actin, and a1-tubulin) and may, therefore, play a fundamental role in the proliferation and phenotype differentiation of PMVECs in the PVD of HPS. Conclusion: Finally, the fact that transfection with Ad-ANXA1 results in inhibition of the aberrant dysregulation of cytoskeletal proteins and proliferation of PMVECs suggests a potential therapeutic effect on PVD of HPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The influence of rural-urban disparities in children's health on neonatal death in disadvantaged areas of China is poorly understood. In this study of rural and urban populations in Gansu province, a disadvantaged province of China, we describe the characteristics and mortality of newborn infants and evaluated rural-urban differences of neonatal death. Methods: We analyzed all neonatal deaths in the data from the Surveillance System of Child Death in Gansu Province, China from 2004 to 2009. We calculated all-cause neonatal mortality rates (NMR) and cause-specific death rates for infants born to rural or urban mothers during 2004-09. Rural-urban classifications were determined based on the residence registry system of China. Chi-square tests were used to compare differences of infant characteristics and cause-specific deaths by rural-urban maternal residence. Results: Overall, NMR fell in both rural and urban populations during 2004-09. Average NMR for rural and urban populations was 17.8 and 7.5 per 1000 live births, respectively. For both rural and urban newborn infants, the four leading causes of death were birth asphyxia, preterm or low birth weight, congenital malformation, and pneumonia. Each cause-specific death rate was higher in rural infants than in urban infants. More rural than urban neonates died out of hospital or did not receive medical care before death. Conclusions: Neonatal mortality declined dramatically both in urban and rural groups in Gansu province during 2004-09. However, profound disparities persisted between rural and urban populations. Strategies that address inequalities of accessibility and quality of health care are necessary to improve neonatal health in rural settings in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S45A, a double recessive mutant at both the BnMs1 and BnMs2 loci in Brassica napus, produces no pollen in mature anthers and no seeds by self-fertilization. The BnMs1 and BnMs2 genes, which have redundant functions in the control of male fertility, are positioned on linkage groups N7 and N16, respectively, and are located at the same locus on Arabidopsis chromosome 1 based on collinearity between Arabidopsis and Brassica. Complementation tests indicated that one candidate gene, BnCYP704B1, a member of the cytochrome P450 family, can rescue male sterility. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the developing anther showed that pollen-wall formation in the mutant was severely compromised, with a lack of sporopollenin or exine. The phenotype was first evident at the tetrad stage (stage 7) of anther development, coinciding with the maximum BnCYP704B1 mRNA accumulation observed in tapetal cells at stages 7–8 (haploid stage). TEM also suggested that development of the tapetum was seriously defective due to the disturbed lipid metabolism in the S45A mutant. A TUNEL assay indicated that the pattern of programmed cell death in the tapetum of the S45A mutant was defective. Lipid analysis showed that the total fatty acid content was reduced in the S45A mutant, indicating that BnCYP704B1 is involved in lipid metabolism. These data suggest that BnCYP704B1 participates in a vital tapetum-specific metabolic pathway that is not only involved in exine formation but is also required for basic tapetal cell development and function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sclerotinia stem rot, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most devastating diseases of rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.) in China. The two major factors limiting the development of disease resistance are (1) the absence of accessions with complete resistance and (2) the lack of a single method that can be widely applied to assess tolerance—even though accessions with differential tolerance to S. sclerotiorum have been identified in China. In the study reported here, we have used one doubled haploid (DH) population consisting of 72 lines, which was derived from the F1 generation of a cross between a partially resistant line (DH821) and a susceptible line (DHBao604), to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) involved in the resistance to S. sclerotiorum. Three inoculation methods, namely, mycelial toothpick inoculation (MTI), mycelial plug inoculation (MPI), and infected petal inoculation (IPI), were used to assess resistance at the adult plant stage. A genetic linkage map with 20 linkage groups covering 1746.5 cM, with an average space of 6.93 cM, was constructed using a total of 252 molecular markers, including 91 simple sequence repeats, 72 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, 86 sequence-related amplified polymorphisms, two restriction fragment length polymorphisms, and one expressed sequence tag. Composite interval mapping identified ten, one and ten QTLs using MTI, MPI and IPI methods, respectively, at a LOD > 2.5. One QTL was detected in linkage group N12 by MTI in 2004 and 2005 and by IPI in 2005. Another QTL was detected in linkage group N3 and N4 by MPI in 2006 and 2007. There was one common QTL detected by MTI in 2005 and by MPI in 2006. These results provide information on the genetic control of resistance to S. sclerotiorum in oilseed rape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pol cytoplasmic male-sterility system has been widely used as a component for utilization of heterosis in Brassica napus and offers an attractive system for study on nuclear–mitochondrial interactions in plants. Genetic analyses have indicated that one dominant gene, Rfp, was required to achieve complete fertility restoration. As a first step toward cloning of this restorer gene, we attempted molecular mapping of the Rfp locus using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique combined with bulked segregant analysis (BSA) method. A BC1 population segregating for Rfp gene was used for tagging. From the survey of 1,024 AFLP primer combinations, 13 linked AFLP markers were obtained and five of them were successfully converted into sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. A population of 193 plants was screened using these markers and the closest AFLP markers flanking Rfp were at the distances of 2.0 and 5.3 cM away, respectively. Further the AFLP or SCAR markers linked to the Rfp gene were integrated to one doubled-haploid (DH) population derived from the cross Quantum × No.2127-17 available in our laboratory, and Rfp gene was mapped on N18, which was the same as the previous report. These molecular markers will facilitate the marker-assisted selection (MAS) of pol CMS restorer lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

7–7365AB is a recessive genic male sterile (RGMS) two-type line, which can be applied in a three-line system with the interim-maintainer, 7–7365C. Fertility of this system is controlled by two duplicate dominant epistatic genes ( Bn; Ms3 and Bn; Ms4) and one recessive epistatic inhibitor gene ( Bn; rf). Therefore an individual with the genotype of Bn; ms3ms3ms4ms4Rf_ exhibits male sterility, whereas, plant with Bn; ms3ms3ms4ms4rfrf shows fertility because homozygosity at the Bn; rf locus ( Bn; rfrf) can inhibit the expression of two recessive male sterile genes in homozygous Bn; ms3ms3ms4ms4 plant. A cross of 7–7365A ( Bn; ms3ms3ms4ms4RfRf) and 7–7365C ( Bn; ms3ms3ms4ms4rfrf) can generate a complete male sterile population served as a mother line with restorer in alternative strips for the multiplication of hybrid seeds. In the present study, molecular mapping of the Bn; Rf gene was performed in a BC1 population from the cross between 7–7365A and 7–7365C. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique was used to identify molecular markers linked to the gene of interest. From a survey of 768 primer combinations, seven AFLP markers were identified. The closest marker, XM5, was co-segregated with the Bn; Rf locus and successfully converted into a sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker, designated as XSC5. Two flanking markers, XM3 and XM2, were 0.6 cM and 2.6 cM away from the target gene, respectively. XM1 was subsequently mapped on linkage group N7 using a doubled-haploid (DH) mapping population derived from the cross Tapidor × Ningyou7, available at IMSORB, UK. To further confirm the location of the Bn; Rf gene, additional simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in linkage group N7 from the reference maps were screened in the BC1 population. Two SSR markers, CB10594 and BRMS018, showed polymorphisms in our mapping population. The molecular markers found in the present study will facilitate the selection of interim-maintainer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ytterbium perfluorooctanesulfonate [Yb(OPf)3] catalyses the highly efficient synthesis of acylals from aldehydes and acetic anhydride in a fluorous biphase system (FBS) composed of toluene and perfluorodecalin. The fluorous phase containing the fluorous catalyst is easily separated and can be reused several times without significant loss of catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recessive genic male sterility (RGMS) system, S45 AB, has been developed from spontaneous mutation in Brassica napus canola variety Oro, and is being used for hybrid cultivar development in China. The male sterility of S45 was controlled by two duplicated recessive genes, named as Bnms1 and Bnms2. In this study, a NIL (near-isogenic line) population from the sib-mating of S45 AB was developed and used for the fine mapping of the Bnms1 gene, in which the recessive allele was homozygous at the second locus. AFLP technology combined with BSA (bulked segregant analysis) was used. From a survey of 2,560 primer combinations (+3/+3 selective bases), seven AFLP markers linked closely to the target gene were identified, of which four were successfully converted to sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. For further analysis, a population of 1,974 individuals was used to map the Bnms1 gene. On the fine map, Bnms1 gene was flanked by two SCAR markers, SC1 and SC7, with genetic distance of 0.1 cM and 0.3 cM, respectively. SC1 was subsequently mapped on linkage group N7 using doubled-haploid mapping populations derived from the crosses Tapidor × Ningyou7 and DH 821 × DHBao 604, available at IMSORB, UK, and our laboratory, respectively. Linkage of an SSR marker, Na12A02, with the Bnms1 gene further confirmed its location on linkage group N7. Na12A02, 2.6 cM away from Bnms1, was a co-dominant marker. These molecular markers developed from this research will facilitate the marker-assisted selection of male sterile lines and the fine map lays a solid foundation for map-based cloning of the Bnms1 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the single-band model and the nearest-neighbor approximation we investigate the effect of external noise on the current response driven by dc–ac field which has a fluctuating component. We find the external noise can destroy the current resonant peaks. When the strength of the external noise becomes enough large, all the current resonant peaks will completely disappear. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Systematic domestic water demand prediction is of great importance for social and economic sustainable development. To explain the system of domestic water demand prediction more completely, a system dynamic model based on the social-hydrology method was proposed in this paper. The key natural and socio-economic factors that affect the domestic water demand most were identified and investigated. The prediction equations of water price considering the feedback between humans and nature were deduced. The expressions of water-saving consciousness were proposed for the first time. Furthermore, the differential and difference equations for domestic water demand prediction were established to realize the future domestic water demand forecasts considering the natural and social driving forces. Finally, three scenarios were designed to investigate the impact of climate change and economic development on the domestic water demand. The upper and middle Pearl River Basin was selected as a case study. The predicted domestic water demand is consistent with the historical results, which demonstrates that the proposed model can be well used for the prediction of the domestic water demand. Under the three scenarios, the domestic water demand increased by 33, 27 and 18% in 2050 compared with that in 2017, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is well established. Lyn, a member of the nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase Src family, has been reported to modulate inflammatory signaling pathways. Methods: Lyn expression was assessed in kidney biopsies of 11 patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and in kidney tissues of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DKD mice. 102 recruited T2DM patients were divided into three groups: normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria. Twenty-one healthy volunteers were recruited as a control group. Clinical data, blood and urine samples of all individuals were collected for analysis. Results: Lyn expression was augmented in the kidneys of DKD patients and STZ-induced diabetic mice. Compared with control and normoalbuminuria groups, both mRNA and protein expression of Lyn in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the macroalbuminuria group were significantly increased (p < .05). Elevated Lyn levels were independently related to urine albumin/urine creatinine ratio and were positively associated with key inflammatory factors, namely interleukin-1β, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Additionally, Lyn exhibited a noteworthy connection with renal tubular injury indicators, specifically urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and urinary retinol binding protein. ROC curve analysis showed that Lyn could predict albuminuria in diabetic patients with an area under the curve of 0.844 (95% CI: 0.764-0.924). Conclusion: Lyn levels in PBMCs exhibited a positive correlation with the severity of albuminuria, renal tubular damage, and inflammatory responses. Hence, Lyn may be a compelling candidate for predicting albuminuria levels in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented use of CF3SO2Cl for direct bifunctional chloro-trifluoromethylthiolation of alkenes and alkynes is reported. CF3SCl, which is generated by the reduction of PPh3, undergoes electrophilic addition and then chlorination to give the bifunctionalized products without using an additional chlorine source. The method is also applicable for chloro-difluoromethylthiolation using CF2HSO2Cl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapeseed (Brassica napus), an important oil crop worldwide, provides large amounts of lipids for human requirements. Calcineurin B-like (CBL)-interacting protein kinase 9 (CIPK9) was reported to regulate seed oil content in the plant. Here, we generated gene-silenced lines through RNA interference biotechnology and loss-of-function mutant bnacipk9 using CRISPR/Cas9 to further study BnaCIPK9 functions in the seed oil metabolism of rapeseeds. We discovered that compared with wild-type (WT) lines, gene-silenced and bnacipk9 lines had substantially different oil contents and fatty acid compositions: seed oil content was improved by 3%-5% and 1%-6% in bnacipk9 lines and gene-silenced lines, respectively; both lines were with increased levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and decreased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Additionally, hormone and glucose content analyses revealed that compared with WT lines the bnacipk9 lines showed significant differences: in bnacipk9 seeds, indoleacetic acid and abscisic acid (ABA) levels were higher; glucose and sucrose contents were higher with a higher hexose-to-sucrose ratio in bnacipk9 mid-to-late maturation development seeds. Furthermore, the bnacipk9 was less sensitive to glucose and ABA than the WT according to stomatal aperture regulation assays and the expression levels of genes involved in glucose and ABA regulating pathways in rapeseeds. Notably, in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), exogenous ABA and glucose imposed on developing seeds revealed the effects of ABA and glucose signaling on seed oil accumulation. Altogether, our results strongly suggest a role of CIPK9 in mediating the interaction between glucose flux and ABA hormone signaling to regulate seed oil metabolism in rapeseed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D receptor was previously reported to be protective in acute kidney injury (AKI) with the mechanism unclear, while the role of renal localized glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3) was not illustrated. The present study aims to investigate the role of GPX3 as well as its correlation with vitamin D-vitamin D receptor (VD-VDR) in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced renal oxidative stress injury. We showed that the expression of GPX3 and VDR were consistently decreased in renal tissues of I/R-related AKI patients and mice models. VDR agonist paricalcitol could reverse GPX3 expression and inhibit oxidative stress in I/R mice or hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) insulted HK-2 cells. VDR deficiency resulted in aggregated oxidative stress and severer renal injury accompanied by further decreased renal GPX3, while tubular-specific VDR overexpression remarkably reduced I/R-induced renal injury with recovered GPX3 in mice. Neither serum selenium nor selenoprotein P was affected by paricalcitol administration nor Vdr modification in vivo. In addition, inhibiting GPX3 abrogated the protective effects of VD-VDR in HK-2 cells, while GPX3 overexpression remarkably attenuated H/R-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. Mechanistic probing revealed the GPX3 as a VDR transcriptional target. Our present work revealed that loss of renal GPX3 may be a hallmark that promotes renal oxidative stress injury and VD-VDR could protect against I/R-induced renal injury via inhibition of oxidative stress partly by trans-regulating GPX3. In addition, maintenance of renal GPX3 could be a therapeutic strategy for ischemic AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell nucleation and premature cell growth in extrusion foaming are critical to elaborate the morphology of final foams. These courses happen in the extrusion die which has been unknown for real extrusion foaming process. In this study, a novel visualization system was developed to online observe the cell nucleation and evolution behavior in the extrusion die. The cell evolution and real time pressure along the flow direction could also be obtained with the system. It was found that the solution pressure P solution was influential to the critical nucleation radius R cr and the nucleation rate N 0 . The higher screw rotating speed corresponded to higher P solution , lower in die N 0 and less premature cells, while higher cell density for extrude foams. In addition, premature cells with radius over critical break radius R crb would break into several small cells under sufficient stress gradient in the extrusion flow field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe blast limb trauma (BLT) induces distant multiple-organ injuries. In the current study, the authors determined whether whole-body hypothermia (WH) and its optimal duration (if any) afford protection to the local limb damage and distant lung, liver, and kidney injuries after BLT in rats.Methods: Rats with BLT, created by using chartaceous electricity detonators, were randomly treated with WH for 30 min, 60 min, 3 h, and 6 h (n = 12/group). Rectal temperature and arterial blood pressure were monitored throughout. Blood and lung, liver, and kidney tissue samples were harvested for measuring tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10, myeloperoxidase activity, hydrogen sulfide, and biomarkers of oxidative stress at 6 h after BLT. The pathologic lung injury and the water content of the lungs, liver, and kidneys and blast limb tissue were assessed.Results: Unlike WH for 30 min, WH for 60 min reduced lung water content, lung myeloperoxidase activity, and kidney myeloperoxidase activity by 10, 39, and 28% (all P < 0.05), respectively. WH for 3 h attenuated distant vital organs and local traumatic limb damage and reduced myeloperoxidase activity, hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde concentration, and tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 levels by up to 49% (all P < 0.01). Likewise, WH for 6 h also provided protection to such injured organs but increased blood loss from traumatic limb.Conclusions: Results of this study indicated that WH may provide protection for distant organs and local traumatic limb after blast trauma, which warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes substantial damage and loss of yield in oilseed rape (Brassica napus). The molecular mechanisms of oilseed rape defense against Sclerotinia remain elusive. In this study, we found that in the early stages of B. napus infection a conserved mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade mediated by BnaA03.MKK5-BnaA06.MPK3/BnaC03.MPK3 module phosphorylates the substrate BnWRKY33, enhancing its transcriptional activity. The activated BnWRKY33 binds to its own promoter and triggers a transcriptional burst of BnWRKY33, thus helping plants effectively resist the pathogenic fungi by enhancing the expression of phytoalexin synthesis-related genes. The expression of BnWRKY33 is fine-tuned during defense. Ongoing Sclerotinia infection induces BnaA03.WRKY28 and BnaA09.VQ12 expression. BnaA09.VQ12 interacts physically with BnaA03.WRKY28 to form a protein complex, causing BnaA03.WRKY28 to outcompete BnWRKY33 and bind to the BnWRKY33 promoter. BnaA03. WRKY28 induction suppresses BnWRKY33 expression in the later stages of infection but promotes branch formation in the leaf axils by regulating the expression of branching-related genes such as BnBRC1. BnaA03. WRKY28 participates in the trade-off between defense and growth. These findings suggest that oilseed rape plants may modulate defense-response strength and develop alternative reproduction and survival strategies in the face of lethal pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers have a wide range of applications in crop genetics and genomics. Due to their polyploidy nature, many important crops, such as wheat, cotton and rapeseed contain a large amount of repeat and homoeologous sequences in their genomes, which imposes a huge challenge in high-throughput genotyping with sequencing and/or array technologies. Allotetraploid Brassica napus (AACC, 2n = 4x = 38) comprises of two highly homoeologous sub-genomes derived from its progenitor species B. rapa (AA, 2n = 2x = 20) and B. oleracea (CC, 2n = 2x = 18), and is an ideal species to exploit methods for reducing the interference of extensive interhomoeologue polymorphisms (mHemi-SNPs and Pseudo-simple SNPs) between closely related sub-genomes. Results: Based on a recent B. napus 6K SNP array, we developed a bi-filtering procedure to identify unauthentic lines in a DH population, and mHemi-SNPs and Pseudo-simple SNPs in an array data matrix. The procedure utilized both monomorphic and polymorphic SNPs in the DH population and could effectively distinguish the mHemi-SNPs and Pseudo-simple SNPs that resulted from superposition of the signals from multiple SNPs. Compared with conventional procedure for array data processing, the bi-filtering method could minimize the pseudo linkage relationship caused by the mHemi-SNPs and Pseudo-simple SNPs, thus improving the quality of SNP genetic map. Furthermore, the improved genetic map could increase the accuracies of mapping of QTLs as demonstrated by the ability to eliminate non-real QTLs in the mapping population. Conclusions: The bi-filtering analysis of the SNP array data represents a novel approach to effectively assigning the multi-loci SNP genotypes in polyploid B. napus and may find wide applications to SNP analyses in polyploid crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

miR-23b is a multifunctional microRNA that contributes to the regulation of multiple signaling pathways. It has been reported that miR-23b prevents multiple auto-immune diseases through the regulation of inflammatory cytokine pathways. In addition, the function and underlying mechanisms of miR-23b on sepsis are currently being investigated. In the present study, miR-23b inhibitor and mimics sequences were transfected into human vascular endothelial cells to inhibit and upregulate the expression of miR-23b, respectively. In addition, respective negative control (NC) sequences were transfected. The expression of miR-23b was found to be downregulated in the cells transfected with the mimics NC or inhibitor NC sequences following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; P<0.01); however, higher expression levels were maintained in the cells transfected with the mimics sequence and very low levels were observed in the cells transfected with the inhibitor sequence. In addition, the expression levels of nuclear factor (NF)-κB, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, E-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 were shown to increase following induction by LPS in the cells transfected with inhibitor/mimics NC sequences (P<0.05). However, the expression levels of these inflammatory factors decreased in the cells transfected with the mimics sequence, and increased to a greater degree in the cells transfected with the inhibitor sequence, as compared with the inhibitor NC sequences (P<0.05). Therefore, miR-23b may play a significant role in the pathogenesis and progression of sepsis by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors, including NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, ICAM-1, E-selectin and VCAM-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloroplasts are essential for plant growth and development, as they play a key role in photosynthesis. The chloroplast biogenesis process is complex and its regulatory mechanism remains elusive. We characterized a spontaneous Brassica napus (rapeseed) mutant, ytg, that showed a delayed greening phenotype in all green organs and retarded growth. We identified BnaA02.YTG1 encoding a chloroplastlocalized tetratricopeptide repeat protein widely expressed in rapeseed tissues. We speculated that the ytg phenotype was caused by the deletion of BnaA02.YTG1 based on sequence comparison of 4608 (with normal green leaves, isolated from the elite Chinese rapeseed cultivar ZS11) and ytg combined with transcriptome data and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing results. The homologous gene (BnaC02.YTG1) restored the phenotype of the mutant. BnaA02.YTG1 interacted with MORF2, MORF8, and OZ1. RNA editing of the ndhD-2, ndhF-290, petL-5, and ndhG-50 plastid transcripts was affected in ytg. These findings suggested that BnaA02.YTG1 participates in RNA editing events. We predicted 29 RNA editing sites in the chloroplast of Brassica napus by comparison with the Arabidopsis chloroplast genome. We conclude that BnaA02.YTG1 affects the posttranscriptional regulation of plastid gene expression and suggest that a tetratricopeptide repeat protein is involved in the chloroplast RNA editing in rapeseed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence shows that DNA methylation is involved in the development and progression of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. Previous studies conducted by our group have indicated that high glucose levels may induce the demethylation process of the connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) gene promoter and increase the expression of CTGF in human glomerular mesangial cells. Based on these findings, the aim of the present study was to investigate the methylation level of genomic DNA and the CTGF promoter in patients with type 2 DM and to analyze its possible correlation with CTGF expression. Methylation levels of the whole genomic DNA were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography in a non-diabetes control (NDM) group (n=29), a diabetes without nephropathy (NDN) group (n=37) and a diabetes with nephropathy (DN) group (n=38). CTGF promoter methylation levels were detected by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction and bisulfite sequencing. The levels of serum CTGF were assessed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The methylation levels of the whole genomic DNA were not significantly different among the three groups. However, the CTGF methylation levels in the two diabetes groups were significantly lower than those in the NDM group (P<0.05), with the lowest methylation level in the DN group (P<0.05). The CTGF protein levels in the DN group were significantly higher than those in the NDM and NDN groups (P<0.05). Levels of CTGF were negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the methylation level of the promoter, while they were positively correlated with age, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, fasting blood sugar and postprandial blood glucose. Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that CTGF expression was associated with the UACR, CTGF methylation level and eGFR. DNA methylation is a regulatory mechanism of CTGF expression, which is decreased in patients with DM, particularly in those with DN, and may contribute to the pathogenesis of nephropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Polima (pol) system of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and its fertility restoration gene Rfp have been used in hybrid breeding in Brassica napus, which has greatly improved the yield of rapeseed. However, the mechanism of the male sterility transition in pol CMS remains to be determined. Results To investigate the transcriptome during the male sterility transition in pol CMS, a nearisogenic line (NIL) of pol CMS was constructed. The phenotypic features and sterility stage were confirmed by anatomical analysis. Subsequently, we compared the genomic expression profiles of fertile and sterile young flower buds by RNA-Seq. A total of 105,481,136 sequences were successfully obtained. These reads were assembled into 112,770 unigenes, which composed the transcriptome of the bud. Among these unigenes, 72,408 (64.21%) were annotated using public protein databases and classified into functional clusters. In addition, we investigated the changes in expression of the fertile and sterile buds; 1,148 unigenes showed significant changes in expression and were mainly distributed in metabolic and protein synthesis pathways. Additionally, some unigenes controlling anther development were dramatically down-regulated in sterile buds. Conclusions These results suggested that an energy deficiency caused by orf224/atp6 may inhibit a series of genes that regulate pollen development through nuclear-mitochondrial interaction. This results in the sterility of pol CMS by leading to the failure of sporogenous cell differentiation. This study may provide assistance for detailed molecular analysis and a better understanding of pol CMS in B. napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gout is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease that affects the life of tens of millions of people worldwide, and it typically presents as gout arthritis, gout stone, or even kidney damage. Research has revealed its connection with the gut microbiome, although exact mechanism is still unclear. Studies have shown the decline of microbiome diversity in gout patients and change of microbiome compositions between the gout patients and healthy controls. Nevertheless, how diversity changes across host individuals at a cohort (population) level has not been investigated to the best of our knowledge. Here we apply the diversity-area relationship (DAR), which is an extension to the classic SAR (species-area relationship) and establishes the power-function model between microbiome diversity and the number of individuals within cohort, to comparatively investigate diversity scaling (changes) of gut microbiome in gout patients and healthy controls. The DAR modeling with a study involving 83 subjects (41 gout patients) revealed that the potential number of microbial species in gout patients is only 70% of that in the healthy control (2790 vs 3900) although the difference may not be statistically significant. The other DAR parameters including diversity scaling and similarity parameters did not show statistically significant differences. We postulate that the high resilience of gut microbiome may explain the lack of significant gout-disease effects on gut microbial diversity at the population level. The lack of statistically significant difference between the gout patients and healthy controls at host population (cohort) level is different from the previous findings at individual level in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-yielding, ligand-free, palladium-catalyzed isocy-anide insertion reaction for the synthesis of phthalazino[1,2-6]quin-azolinones from the readily obtainable quinazolinones has been developed. Easily handled and relatively low-cost palladium(II) ac-etate was used as the catalyst, without an additional ligand. Prepa-ration of the quinazolinones involved the cascade reaction of isatoic anhydrides, phenylhydrazines and 2-bromobenzaldehyde catalyzed by p-toluenesulfonic acid in one pot. This novel protocol may be ap-plicable for the synthesis of other important ring-fused heterocyclic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient copper-free protocol for the synthesis of 5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-modified peptidomimetics through the combination of Ugi four-component reaction with a three-component cycloaddition, has been developed. The copper-free straightforward process is suitable tor drug discovery. The chemoselective preparation of 1,4-disubstributed triazol-modified peptidomimetics by using alkynyl substituted amines may have potential biological and synthetic application. Art last, a "Lapinski type" analysis of the physical properties was performed, which is expected to help drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study retrospectively compared different therapy modalities in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated by bile duct thrombi (BDT). A total of 184 patients with BDT were selected from a pool of 12,114 patients with HCC, and their cases were reviewed in this study. The occurrence rate of BDT was 1.84% (223/12,114) in our study. The radical resection rate in types I, II, III, and IV was 70% (7/10), 38.46% (10/26), 20.4% (29/142), 33.3% (2/6), respectively. The mean survival time in patients who underwent radical hepatic resection and BDT removal (group A), palliative hepatectomy and BDT removal (group B), palliative hepatectomy and BDT removal plus unilateral liver artery ligation or postoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE; group C), TACE (group D), drainage to relieve the jaundice by ERCP or PTCD (group E), and conservative treatment (group F) was 37, 6, 16, 11, 3.0, 3.0 months, respectively. The survival rate of patients in group A was significantly greater than in other group ( P < 0.0001); the rate in groups C and D was significantly higher than that in groups B, E, and F ( P < 0.001). In group A, 1-year recurrence rate was 20.8% (10/48). One patient with severe jaundice suffered chronic liver failure after right lobe resection and died 2 months after operation. In groups B, C, D, E, and F, in ten cases, cholangitis occurred, in eight cases, hemobilia occurred, and 72 of 136 patients suffered liver failure and died within 6 months. Five patients underwent orthotopic liver transplantation; at the time of writing, three patients are still alive, and the longest survivor has now survived for 37 months since undergoing transplantation. Radical hepatic resection and removal of BDT, combined with TACE, are the best approach for treating HCC patients with BDT. Biliary drainage to relieve the jaundice is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Latinas are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the United States and have an incidence of breast cancer that is rising three times faster than that of non-Latino white women, yet their mammography use is lower than that of non-Latino women.Objectives: We explored factors that predict satisfaction with health-care relationships and examined the effect of satisfaction with health-care relationships on mammography adherence in Latinas.Design and Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 166 Latinas who were >or=40 years old. Women were recruited from Latino-serving clinics and a Latino health radio program.Measurements: Mammography adherence was based on self-reported receipt of a mammogram within the past 2 years. The main independent variable was overall satisfaction with one's health-care relationship. Other variables included: self report of patient-provider communication, level of trust in providers, primary language, country of origin, discrimination experiences, and perceptions of racism.Results: Forty-three percent of women reported very high satisfaction in their health-care relationships. Women with high trust in providers and those who did not experience discrimination were more satisfied with their health-care relationships compared to women with lower trust and who experienced discrimination (p < .01). Satisfaction with the health-care relationship was, in turn, significantly associated with mammography adherence (OR: 3.34, 95% CI: 1.47-7.58), controlling for other factors.Conclusions: Understanding the factors that impact Latinas' mammography adherence may inform intervention strategies. Efforts to improve Latina's satisfaction with physicians by building trust may lead to increased use of necessary mammography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new nanomaterial or nano-filler in the form of multiwalled carbon nanotube-zinc oxide (MWCNT-ZnO) was synthesized for the purpose of modifying poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and its derivative (modified PBAT or MPBAT) through a melt-blending method (MPBAT was obtained by introducing maleic anhydride groups into PBAT). The effect of the new nano-filler on the properties of resultant nanocomposites was determined from the characterization of mechanical properties, morphology, crystallinity, thermal stability, barrier properties, hydrophilicity, conductivity, antibacterial property, and biodegradability. The results showed that MPBAT nanocomposites had stronger mechanical properties, better barrier properties, and higher electrical conductivity than PBAT nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy illustrated that MWCNT-ZnO had better compatibility with MPBAT than with PBAT. At 0.2% MWCNT-ZnO, the MPBAT/MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposite film exhibited the greatest mechanical properties (17.74% increase in tensile strength, 22.17% in yield strength, and 14.29% in elongation at break). When the MWCNT-ZnO content was 0.4%, the nanocomposite film demonstrated the best water vapor barrier ability (an increase of 30.4%). The MPBAT/MWCNT-ZnO film with 0.6% MWCNT-ZnO turned out to have the best oxygen barrier performance (an increase of 130% relative to pure PBAT). It was shown from the results of antibacterial evaluation that the new nanomaterial could impart PBAT and MPBAT with antibacterial activity. The biodegradability tests indicated that an MWCNT-ZnO content of 0.2% could slightly reduce the biodegradability, and when the content was higher than 0.2%, the weight loss rate would increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapeseed is a globally cultivated commercial crop, primarily grown for its oil. High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays are widely used as a standard genotyping tool for rapeseed research, including for gene mapping, genome-wide association studies, germplasm resource analysis, and cluster analysis. Although considerable rapeseed genome sequencing data have been released, DNA arrays are still an attractive choice for providing additional genetic data in an era of high-throughput whole-genome sequencing. Here, we integrated re-sequencing DNA array data (32,216, 304 SNPs) from 505 inbred rapeseed lines, allowing us to develop a sensitive and effi- cient genotyping DNA array, Bnapus50K, with a more consistent genetic and physical distribution of probes. A total of 42,090 high-quality probes were filtered and synthesized, with an average distance between adjacent SNPs of 8 kb. To improve the practical application potential of this array in rapeseed breeding, we also added 1,618 functional probes related to important agronomic traits such as oil content, disease resistance, male sterility, and flowering time. The additional probes also included those specifically for detecting genetically modified material. These probes show a good detection efficiency and are therefore useful for gene mapping, along with crop variety improvement and identification. The novel Bnapus50K DNA array developed in this study could prove to be a quick and versatile genotyping tool for B. napus genomic breeding and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S45AB, a recessive genic male sterile (RGMS) line, originated as a spontaneous mutant in Brassica napus cv. Oro. The genotypes of sterile (S45A) and fertile plants (S45B) are Bnms1ms1ms2ms2 and BnMs1ms1ms2ms2, respectively. In our previous studies, Yi et al. (Theor Appl Genet 113:643–650, 2006) mapped the BnMs1 locus to a region of 0.4 cM, candidates of which have been identified and genetic transformation is in progress. We describe the fine mapping of BnMs2 exploiting amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and amplified consensus genetic marker (ACGM) methodologies, and the identification of a collinear region probably containing BnMs2 orthologue in Arabidopsis thaliana. A near isogenic line (NIL) population S4516AB which segregated for BnMs2 locus was generated by crossing, allelism testing and repeated full-sib mating. From the survey of 1,024 AFLP primer combinations, 12 tightly linked AFLP markers were obtained and five of them were successfully converted into co-dominant or dominant sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. A population of 2,650 sterile plants was screened using these markers and a high-resolution map surrounding BnMs2 was constructed. The closest AFLP markers flanking BnMs2 were 0.038 and 0.075 cM away, respectively. Subsequently, an ACGM marker was developed to delimit the BnMs2 locus at an interval of 0.075 cM. We extended marker sequences to perform BlastN searches against the Arabidopsis genome and identified a collinear region containing 68 Arabidopsis genes, in which the orthologue of BnMs2 might be included. We further integrated BnMs2 linked AFLP or SCAR markers to two doubled-haploid (DH) populations derived from the crosses Tapidor × Ningyou7 (Qiu et al., Theor Appl Genet 114:67–80, 2006) and Quantum × No.2127-17 (available in our laboratory), and BnMs2 was mapped on N16. Molecular markers developed from these investigations will facilitate the marker-assisted selection (MAS) of RGMS lines, and the fine map and syntenic region identified will greatly hasten the process of positional cloning of BnMs2 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brassica napus oilseed rape line, 7-7365AB, is a recessive epistatic genic male sterile (RGMS) two-type line system. The sterility is controlled by two pairs of recessive duplicate genes ( Bnms3 and Bnms4) and one pair of recessive epistatic inhibitor gene ( Bnrf). Homozygosity at the Bnrf locus ( Bnrfrf) inhibits the expression of the two recessive male sterility genes in homozygous Bnms3ms3ms4ms4 plants and produces a male fertile phenotype. This line has a good potential for heterosis utilization but it is difficult to breed heterotic hybrids without molecular markers. To develop markers linked to the BnMs3 gene, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technology was applied to screen the bulks of sterile and fertile individuals selected randomly from a population of near-isogenic lines (NIL) consisting of 2,000 plants. From a survey of 1,024 primer combinations, we identified 17 AFLP markers linked to the BnMs3 gene. By integrating the previous markers linked to the BnMs3 gene into the genetic map of the NIL population, two markers, EA01MC12 and EA09P06, were located on either side of the BnMs3 gene at a distance of 0.1 and 0.3 cM, respectively. In order to use the markers for male sterile line breeding, five AFLP markers, P05MG05, P03MG04, P11MG02, P05MC11250, and EA09P06, were successfully converted into sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. Two of these, P06MG04 and sR12384, were subsequently mapped on to linkage group N19 using two doubled-haploid mapping populations available at our laboratory derived from the crosses Tapidor × Ningyou7 and Quantum × No2127-17. The markers found in the present study should improve our knowledge of recessive genic male sterility (RGMS), and accelerate the development of male sterile line breeding and map-based cloning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]