Search

'S17-2243C' (Reg. no. CV-557, PI 700003) is a semi-determinate, maturity group IV (relative maturity 4.9), non-genetically modified (non-GM) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivar developed and released by the University of Missouri-Fisher Delta Research, Extension, and Education Center. S17-2243C was developed to meet the growing demands for new non-GM soybean cultivars with high yield and elevated seed oil content. S17-2243C is resistant to stem canker and charcoal rot and has tolerance to salinity conditions. Seed of S17-2243C has averaged 232 g kg(-1) of oil concentration on a dry weight basis, which was significantly higher than all check cultivars in the 2020 USDA Uniform Soybean Tests, Southern States. S17-2243C was tested against high-yielding private and public soybean cultivars from 2018 to 2021 in 80 locations across 12 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. With high yield potential, broad adaptability, early maturity, elevated seed oil content, and non-GM traits, S17-2243C is an excellent cultivar choice for soybean growers adopting alternative growing systems and benefiting from premium prices offered for non-GM soybean products. Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council [6066-21220-014-000D]; USDA-ARS Project; [301] Published version Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, Grant/Award Number: 301; USDA-ARS Project, Grant/Award Number: 6066-21220-014-000D Public domain – authored by a U.S. government employee

Background Iontophoresis passes electrical charge through skin to deliver drugs or reduce excessive sweating. Treatments can be performed by patients at home following initial instruction. A limitation of the technique is that patients are not permitted to have metal implants. These are hypothesized to increase the risk of electric shock, cause localized heating and/or corrosion. Objectives To investigate whether metallic materials (titanium, stainless steel and copper) placed in the iontophoresis circuit would lead to an unfavourable outcome regarding corrosion or local heating of the metallic object. Methods This was carried out using mass loss and temperature change experiments, together with atomic force microscopy for stainless steel, to assess any surface roughness changes. The investigations were carried out under accelerated conditions (70 V compared with standard use 20–30 V). Results No changes in mass or clinically significant changes in temperature of any of the metallic objects (or surface roughness for stainless steel) were observed. Conclusions This study suggests that patients with these metallic implants can safely undergo iontophoresis treatment. Further work is needed to review the impact on metallic implants with repeated exposure to the iontophoresis system to represent real-world evidence.

Improving water use efficiency (WUE) for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] through selection for high carbon isotope (C13) ratio may increase drought tolerance, but increased WUE may limit growth in productive environments. An ideal genotype would be plastic for C13 ratio; that is, be able to alter C13 ratio in response to the environment. Our objective was to identify genomic regions associated with C13 ratio plasticity, C13 ratio stability, and overall C13 ratio in two panels of diverse Maturity Group IV soybean accessions. A second objective was to identify accessions that differed in their C13 ratio plasticity. Panel 1 (205 accessions) was evaluated in seven irrigated and four drought environments, and Panel 2 (373 accessions) was evaluated in four environments. Plasticity was quantified as the slope from regressing C13 ratio of individual genotypes against an environmental index calculated based on the mean within and across environments. The regression intercept was considered a measure of C13 ratio over all environments, and the root mean square error was considered a measure of stability. Combined over both panels, genome-wide association mapping (GWAM) identified 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for plasticity, 39 SNPs for C13 ratio, and 16 SNPs for stability. Among these SNPs, 71 candidate genes had annotations associated with transpiration or water conservation and transport, root development, root hair elongation, and stomatal complex morphogenesis. The genomic regions associated with plasticity and stability identified in the current study will be a useful resource for implementing genomic selection for improving drought tolerance in soybean.

The biomaterial with the highest known tensile strength is a unique composite of chitin and goethite (α-FeO(OH)) present in teeth from the Common Limpet (Patella vulgata). A biomimetic based on limpet tooth, with corresponding high-performance mechanical properties is highly desirable. Here we report on the replication of limpet tooth developmental processes ex vivo, where isolated limpet tissue and cells in culture generate new biomimetic structures. Transcriptomic analysis of each developmental stage of the radula, the organ from which limpet teeth originate, identifies sequential changes in expression of genes related to chitin and iron processing. We quantify iron and chitin metabolic processes in the radula and grow isolated radula cells in vitro. Bioinspired material can be developed with electrospun chitin mineralised by conditioned media from cultured radula cells. Our results inform molecular processes behind the generation of limpet tooth and establish a platform for development of a novel biomimetic with comparable properties.

In the European Union (EU), the delivery of health services is a national responsibility but there are concerted actions between member states to protect public health. Approval of pharmaceutical products is the responsibility of the European Medicines Agency, while authorising the placing on the market of medical devices is decentralised to independent ‘conformity assessment’ organisations called notified bodies. The first legal basis for an EU system of evaluating medical devices and approving their market access was the Medical Device Directive, from the 1990s. Uncertainties about clinical evidence requirements, among other reasons, led to the EU Medical Device Regulation (2017/745) that has applied since May 2021. It provides general principles for clinical investigations but few methodological details – which challenges responsible authorities to set appropriate balances between regulation and innovation, pre- and post-market studies, and clinical trials and real-world evidence. Scientific experts should advise on methods and standards for assessing and approving new high-risk devices, and safety, efficacy, and transparency of evidence should be paramount. The European Commission recently awarded a Horizon 2020 grant to a consortium led by the European Society of Cardiology and the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, that will review methodologies of clinical investigations, advise on study designs, and develop recommendations for aggregating clinical data from registries and other real-world sources. The CORE–MD project (Coordinating Research and Evidence for Medical Devices) will run until March 2024. Here, we describe how it may contribute to the development of regulatory science in Europe. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:839-849. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210081

Fibrosis contributes to ~45% of deaths in western countries. In chronic liver disease, fibrosis is a major factor determining outcomes, but efficient antifibrotic therapies are lacking. Although platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor–β constitute key fibrogenic mediators, they do not account for the well-established link between cell death and fibrosis in the liver. Here, we hypothesized that damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) may link epithelial cell death to fibrogenesis in the injured liver. DAMP receptor screening identified purinergic receptor P2Y14 among several candidates as highly enriched in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the main fibrogenic cell type of the liver. Conversely, P2Y14 ligands uridine 5′-diphosphate (UDP)–glucose and UDP-galactose were enriched in hepatocytes and were released upon different modes of cell death. Accordingly, ligand-receptor interaction analysis that combined proteomic and single-cell RNA sequencing data revealed P2Y14 ligands and P2Y14 receptor as a link between dying cells and HSCs, respectively. Treatment with P2Y14 ligands or coculture with dying hepatocytes promoted HSC activation in a P2Y14-dependent manner. P2Y14 ligands activated extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) and Yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling in HSCs, resulting in ERK-dependent HSC activation. Global and HSC-selective P2Y14 deficiency attenuated liver fibrosis in multiple mouse models of liver injury. Functional expression of P2Y14 was confirmed in healthy and diseased human liver and human HSCs. In conclusion, P2Y14 ligands and their receptor constitute a profibrogenic DAMP pathway that directly links cell death to fibrogenesis.

Soybean rust (SBR) caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi Syd. and P. Syd. is one of the most important foliar diseases of soybean. SBR has the potential to cause major economic damage to global and U.S. soybean production. Analysis of reactions of soybean genotypes to P. pachyrhizi is an important step towards breeding for resistance to SBR. Fifty-four diverse soybean genotypes with both known and unknown Rpp resistance genes were tested for their reactions to a Mississippi P. pachyrhizi isolate. PI 567102B (Rpp6) had a near-immune reaction with the lowest disease severity score and no sporulation. Among seventeen genotypes with resistant or incomplete resistant reddish-brown (RB) reactions, eight are improved breeding lines that are available to researchers through material transfer agreements (MTAs). Thirty-six genotypes had the susceptible TAN reaction. Four soybean lines (RN06-32-1(7-b, GC 00138-29, G01-PR16, and GC 84051-9-1) had RB reactions and significantly lower SBR severity and sporulation than three of the six resistant checks, PI 230970 (Rpp2), PI 462312 (Rpp3), and PI 459025B (Rpp4). G01-PR16 is a publicly released germplasm. This research provides new information about reactions of different soybean genotypes to a midsouthern USA isolate of P. pachyrhizi and thereby aids in breeding for resistance to SBR.

Charcoal rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseolina, is a major soybean disease resulting in significant yield loss and poor seed quality. Currently, no resistant soybean cultivar is available in the market and resistance mechanisms to charcoal rot are unknown, although the disease is believed to infect plants from infected soil through the roots by unknown toxin-mediated mechanisms. The objective of this research was to investigate the association between seed sugars (sucrose, raffinose, stachyose, glucose, and fructose) and their role as biomarkers in the soybean defense mechanism in the moderately resistant (MR) and susceptible (S) genotypes to charcoal rot. Seven MR and six S genotypes were grown under irrigated (IR) and non-irrigated (NIR) conditions. A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at Jackson, TN, USA. The main findings in this research were that MR genotypes generally had the ability to maintain higher seed levels of sucrose, glucose, and fructose than did S genotypes. Conversely, susceptible genotypes showed a higher level of stachyose and lower levels of sucrose, glucose, and fructose. This was observed in 6 out of 7 MR genotypes and in 4 out of 6 S genotypes in 2012; and in 5 out of 7 MR genotypes and in 5 out of 6 S genotypes in 2013. The response of S genotypes with higher levels of stachyose and lower sucrose, glucose, and fructose, compared with those of MR genotypes, may indicate the possible role of these sugars in a defense mechanism against charcoal rot. It also indicates that nutrient pathways in MR genotypes allowed for a higher influx of nutritious sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) than did S genotypes, suggesting these sugars as potential biomarkers for selecting MR soybean plants after harvest. This research provides new knowledge on seed sugars and helps in understanding the impact of charcoal rot on seed sugars in moderately resistant and susceptible genotypes.