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Background: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), serves as a legume with high drought tolerance, is a major forage crop with a high biomass of production. However, the molecular mechanism of Alfalfa in response to drought stress are still unclear.Results: We constructed the first full-length transcriptome for Alfalfa root. 21.53Gb clean data were obtained by further data filtering, in which incorporate 566,076 reads of Insert (ROI), and 409,291 full length reads non-Chimeric (FLNC) sequences. Combined with second-generation sequencing (SGS), there were 2615, 6011, and 4617 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in three comparisons. KEGG pathway analysis showed enrichment of ribosome, glutathione metabolism, and biosynthesis of amino acids are among the DEGs. The majority of transcription factors (TFs) from DEGs were AP2/ERF-ERF (37), C2H2 (32), and bHLH (22) bZIP (22), followed by C3H (19), MYB (18), WRKY (18), GRAS (16), and NAC (15). 32 C2H2 genes were differentially expressed in three groups. In addition, TFs annotated as C3H (19), MYB (18), GRAS (16), and NAC (15) also changed significantly in expression in the three comparisons. We found 24 genes participate in the abscisic acid (ABA) and auxin hormone signaling pathway in response to drought stress, and monitored the expression patterns of these related genes.Conclusion: The present study enhanced our understanding of the genetic diversity and complexity, and provides greater insight into the fundamental transcriptome reprogramming of Alfalfa under drought.

When measuring the form deviation of the gear tooth flank with laser interferometry, due to the limitation of the depth of field of the lens, focused and defocused regions exist in the interferogram simultaneously. The introduced errors that were generated by these defocused regions decrease the measurement accuracy. Therefore, the evaluation of definition for interferograms is necessary for image processing. However, the gradient of gray, which performs by fringes, makes it difficult for traditional algorithms to evaluate its definition. This paper proposes a method based on nonsubsampled contourlet transformation (NSCT) combined with fringe direction as weighting coefficients to solve the problem. First, the information about the directions of these fringes in interferograms was evaluated. Then, the NSCT method was applied to interferograms so that several sub-images in different scales and directions can be achieved. Based on these sub-images and directions information, an improved function for definition evaluation was conducted. Lastly, a series of simulations and experiments was carried out to verify its feasibility and accuracy.

Background: Chemokines play a key role in post-traumatic inflammation and secondary injury after spinal cord injury (SCI). CCL28, the chemokine CC-chemokine ligand 28, is involved in the epithelial and mucosal immunity. However, whether CCL28 participates in the physiopathologic processes after SCI remains unclear. Results: CCL28 is upregulated in the spinal cord after SCI. In addition, neutralizing antibodies against IL-1β or TNF-α, or treatment of ML120B, a selective inhibitor of IKK-β, remarkably decrease CCL28 upregulation, suggesting that CCL28 upregulation relies on NF-κB pathway activated by IL-1β and TNF-α after SCI. Moreover, CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells that express CCR10, a receptor of CCL28, are enriched in the spinal cord after SCI. We further demonstrate that the spinal cord recruits Treg cells through CCL28-CCR10 axis, which in turn function to suppress immune response and promote locomotor recovery after SCI. In contrast, neutralizing CCL28 or CCR10 reduces Treg cell recruitment and delays locomotor recovery. Methods: The neutralizing antibodies and recombinant CCL28 were injected intraspinally into the mice prior to SCI, which was established via hemitransection. RT-qPCR analysis was performed to determine transcript level, and Western blot analysis and ELISA assay were used to detect protein expression. Immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and visualized by immunofluorescence. The chemotaxis was assessed by in vitro transwell migration assay. The mouse locomotor activity was assessed via the Basso Mouse Scale (BMS) system. Conclusions: These results indicate that NF-κB pathway-regulated CCL28 production plays a protective role after SCI through recruiting CCR10-expressing and immunosuppressive Treg cells, and suggest that interfering CCL28-CCR10 axis might be of potential clinical benefit in improving SCI recovery.

Background This study aimed to prepare the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement release system with different concentrations of enoxaparin sodium (ES) and to investigate the release characteristics of ES after loading into the PMMA bone cement. Methods In the experimental group, 40 g Palacos®R PMMA bone cement was loaded with various amount of ES 4000, 8000, 12,000, 16,000, 20,000, and 24,000 AXaIU, respectively. The control group was not loaded with ES. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface microstructure of the bone cement in the two groups. In the experiment group, the mold was extracted continuously with pH7.4 Tris-HCL buffer for 10 days. The extract solution was collected every day and the anti-FXa potency was measured. The experiment design and statistical analysis were conducted using a quantitative response parallel line method. Results Under the SEM, it was observed that ES was filled in the pores of PMMA bone cement polymer structure and released from the pores after extraction. There was a burst effect of the release. The release amount of ES on the first day was 0.415, 0.858, 1.110, 1.564, 1.952, and 2.513, respectively, from the six groups with various ES loading amount of 4000, 8000, 12,000, 16,000, 20,000, and 24,000 AXaIU, all reaching the peak of release on the first day. The release decreased rapidly on the next day and entered the plateau phase on the fourth day. Conclusion The prepared ES-PMMA bone cement has high application potential in orthopedic surgery. ES-PMMA bone cement shows good drug release characteristics. The released enoxaparin sodium has a local anti-coagulant effect within 24 h after application, but it will not be released for a long time, which is complementary to postoperative anti-coagulation therapy.

Additional file 5: Figure S5. The significant GO terms of genes in lightsteelblue1 module.

Additional file 3: Figure S3. The significant KEGG pathways of DEGs in F26 vs F423 at each infection stage.

Additional file 4: Figure S4. The significant GO terms of genes in darkturquoise module.

ObjectiveThis study was performed to investigate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous antegrade nailing with a reductor-T tape pin in the treatment of ipsilateral multisegmental femoral shaft fractures (IMFSFs).MethodsNineteen patients with IMFSFs underwent antegrade nailing with a reductor-T tape pin by percutaneous techniques. The operation time, reduction time, fluoroscopy time, blood loss, fracture union time, and complications were recorded.ResultsAll 19 patients (100%) achieved technical success. The mean and median operation time were 62.42±16.27 and 60 (range, 40–105) minutes, respectively; the mean and median reduction time were 11.47±3.78 and 10 (range, 8–22) minutes, respectively; the mean and median fluoroscopy time were 16.63±6.10 and 15 (range, 10–35) s, respectively; and the mean and median blood loss were 185.26±62.75 and 180 (range, 110–350) mL, respectively. Additionally, all 19 patients (100%) achieved fracture union within a mean and median time of 3.95±1.75 and 3 (range, 3–9) months, respectively; most patients [n=14 (73.7%)] achieved fracture union within 3 months. No obvious complications occurred during the study.ConclusionAntegrade nailing with a reductor-T tape pin by a percutaneous technique is effective and well tolerated in patients with IMFSFs.

To determine the output patterns of off-axis pumped solid-state lasers, we develop a small signal approximation method to obtain the relative modal weightings of Hermite Gaussian modes. The advantage of the method is that the differential rate equations are simplified to linear algebraic equations, which can be easily solved. In order to prove the validity of the method, we experimentally demonstrated an off-axis pumped laser, and measured its relative modal weightings. The experimental results are in high concordance with the calculated results. Moreover, the characteristics of the modes near the threshold are investigated. The modes exhibit the competition effect at the beginning, and then the photon number of each mode turns into linear increasing with the pump power growing. Due to this linearity, we can calculate the relative modal weightings for an actual laser by the small signal method, although it always operates far above threshold.

Objective miR-199a-5p was increased during osteoblast differentiation, which may target and regulate TET2, a gene attracted a lot of attention in the osteoblast differentiation in the past few years. However, the role of miR-199a-5p in osteoblast differentiation by targeting TET2 is not established. Methods The correlation between miR-199a-5p and TET2 was verified through dual luciferase reporter assay, and their expressions in human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) during the osteoblast differentiation were detected. hBMSCs were transfected with TET2 siRNA, miR-199a-5p mimic or/and TET2 CRISPR activation plasmid., and then prepared for the induction of osteoblast differentiation, followed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alizarin red staining, qRT-PCR and Western blotting. In vivo, ovariectomized (OVX) mice were injected with agomir-miR-199a-5p, antagomiR-199a-5p or/and TET2 siRNA to calculate the BMD and BV/TV ratio of mice, as well as to measure the expressions of osteogenesis-related genes in bone tissues. Results A gradual increase of miR-199a-5p was observed in hBMSCs during the induction of osteoblast differentiation, while TET2 expression was decreased. Besides, miR-199a-5p was reduced in the bone tissue of OVX mice, while TET2 was up-regulated. In addition, overexpression of miR-199a-5p and inhibition of TET2 augmented ALP activity in hBMSCs, with the enhanced calcification and the up-regulated expressions of Runx2, OSX and OCN, which also increased the quality of bone in OVX mice accompanying the enhancement BV/TV ratio, BMD and osteogenesis-related genes. Conclusion MiR-199a-5p may promote the osteoblast differentiation and prevent OVX-induced osteoporosis by targeting TET2.

Due to the high loss density and thermal dissipation difficulty of high speed permanent magnet synchronous motor (HSPMSM), permanent magnet is prone to irreversible demagnetization at high temperature. Furthermore, overheating of the rotor will lead to the decrease of the strength and stiffness of shaft, elongation of shaft, etc, affecting the bearings suspension accuracy and stability, especially for the motor with magnetic bearings. To solve these problems, an improved radial and axial hybrid cooling system, greatly simplifying the ventilation cooling structure, is presented for a 70kW, 30000 rpm HSPMSM with magnetic bearings in this paper. The fluid field and temperature field calculation model are established by finite element software, and the fluid flow distribution in cooling system and the temperature distribution of the motor are both analyzed in detail. Finally, experiments with the prototype show that the improved hybrid cooling system has excellent cooling effect, and also show that the motor with rated speed can run stably for a long time under no-load and load conditions, whose efficiency is over 97%.

Background: This study investigates the clinical effects of sealing the femoral canal by intramedullary alignment instrumentation in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: One hundred twenty consecutive patients with knee osteoarthritis, who underwent unilateral TKA, were enrolled in the study and equally randomized into 2 groups: the sealing group and the control group. In the sealing group, the femoral canal was sealed with autogenous bone and cement using intramedullary alignment instrumentation, while the femoral hole was left open for patients in the control group. Blood loss, hemoglobin (Hb) reduction, and other parameters were recorded, as well as the duration of hospital stay and complications. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score was used to assess knee function at the final follow-up appointment. Results: The calculated blood loss, hidden blood loss, transfusion requirements, drainage volume, and Hb reduction measurements were significantly different (P .05). Conclusions: Sealing the intramedullary canal with autologous bone and a cement plug is an effective method for reducing blood loss and decreasing blood transfusion requirements during TKA procedures that have increasing complication rates.

The electrochemical oxidation of anodic Ti, Fe, Cd, Sn, and Pb (=M) into acetonitrile solutions of N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-o-phenylenediamine [SalophH2] gives the corresponding M(Saloph) complexes in high yield. The mechanism of the electrochemical reactions is discussed. SalophH2 forms complexes (1:1 molar ratio) with titanium, iron, cadmium, tin, and lead ions. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductivity measurements, and infrared and electronic spectral data. The SalophH2 complexes of iron(II) and cadmium(II) have been further identified by 1H-NMR and mass spectra.