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The yield of winter wheat in Shandong Province is of great significance for ensuring regional and national food security. To reduce the risk of production loss, the WOFOST model was used to simulate the winter wheat growth to obtain the quantitative and dynamic information. Based on the observational data, a moisture control experiment and the trial and error method, the applicability and drought simulation of the WOFOST model were evaluated for winter wheat growth. For the simulation of the seedling period, flowering period, and maturity period of winter wheat in Shandong Province, the R 2 were 0.95, 0.69, and 0.68 respectively. The D-index were 0.99, 0.89, and 0.86 respectively. The mean absolute error (mAE) were 1.3, 4.3, and 4.1 respectively. And the nRMSE were 0.65%, 4.3%, and 3.2%, respectively. For the yield simulation, the R 2 , D-index, mean relative error (mRE), and nRMSE were 0.48, 0.82, 10.5% and 12.8%, respectively. For the yield simulation under drought stress, the R 2 , D-index, mRE, and nRMSE were 0.77, 0.93, 7.1%, and 7.4%, respectively. An evaluation index system was built through four different degrees of drought treatment between the jointing period and the flowering period. With the aggravation of drought, the growth indicators about the total above ground production (TAGP), maximum leaf area index (MAXLAI), total dry weight of leaves (TWLV), and total dry weight of stems (TWST) decreasing by 13.6-41.0%, 37.8-56.5%, 19.4-42.1%, and 20.3-51.2%, respectively. The results showed that this model could adequately simulate the formation process of yield under both normal and drought conditions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Soil autotrophic bacteria community plays an important role in carbon (C) cycling process in soil, but there is still limited information about how the rhizosphere soil microbe that drives this process respond to combined application of tillage with crop residue incorporation managements under a double-cropping rice (Oryza sativa L.) paddy field in southern China. Therefore, the 6-years short-term tillage treatment on rhizosphere soil autotrophic bacteria community [RubisCO gene (cbbL)] under the double-cropping rice paddy field in southern China was studied using the high-throughput sequencing method in the present article. The field experiment included four tillage treatments: conventional tillage with crop residue incorporation (CT), rotary tillage with crop residue incorporation (RT), no-tillage with crop residue retention (NT) and rotary tillage with all crop residues removed as a control (RTO). The results showed that abundance, composition and activity of rhizosphere soil cbbL-carrying bacteria were obviously influenced by application of different tillage treatments. The rhizosphere soil abundant cbbL and 16S rRNA genes as well as RubisCO activity with CT, RT and NT treatments were higher than that of RTO treatment. The cbbL sequences in rhizosphere soil with CT, RT and NT treatments mainly included Azoarcus_sp._KH33C, Ralstonia_pickettii, Thermomonospora_curvata, Variovorax_paradoxus and uncultured_proteobacterium. Meanwhile, the results indicated that cbbL-carrying bacterial composition was significantly affected by soil organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon contents and soil bulk density. There had an obvious difference in characteristics of rhizosphere soil autotrophic bacteria community between CT, RT, NT treatments and RTO treatment. Therefore, it was a beneficial practice for improving rhizosphere soil autotrophic bacteria community in the double-cropping rice paddy field in southern China by combined application of tillage with crop residue incorporation practices., (© 2022 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: The potential nitrification activity (PNA), population size and community composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in paddy soil from a short-term (5 years) tillage field experiment conducted at tillering stage of late rice were investigated using the shaken slurry method and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction., Methods and Results: The experiment included four tillage treatments: conventional tillage with crop residue incorporation (CT), rotary tillage with crop residue incorporation (RT), no-tillage with crop residue returning (NT) and rotary tillage with all crop residues removed as a control (RTO). The results showed that PNA in paddy soil of CT, RT and NT treatments was higher than that of RTO treatment, and the abundance of AOA and AOB was much higher in paddy soil of CT, RT and NT treatments than RTO treatment. Meanwhile, PNA and the abundance of AOB and AOA in paddy soil were greatly enhanced by combined application of tillage and crop residue, whereas PNA and the abundance of AOB and AOA in paddy soil were decreased by combined application of no-tillage and crop residue. Moreover, PNA was closely correlated with the abundance and community structure of AOB rather than AOA. The results also showed that PNA and the population sizes of AOB and AOA in crop incorporation treatments were higher than that of crop residue removed treatment. Cluster and redundancy analyses indicated that crop residue effect played a more important role in shaping AOA community structure compared to short-term tillage management., Conclusions: The results indicated that AOB rather than AOA functionally dominated ammonia oxidation in the double-cropping rice paddy soil, the activities of AOB and AOA were increased and the community structure was also changed under the combination of conventional tillage, rotary tillage and crop residue condition., Significance and Impact of Study: The activity and community structure of AOB and AOA, which were affected by the combination of tillage and crop residue managements, play an important role in cycling of nitrogen., (© 2021 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Objective: Dynamic monitoring of the concentration variation of IgM and IgG in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections and exploring their diagnostic value for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)., Methods: A total of 15 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled as the COVID-19 group, and 50 patients were enrolled as the control group. The concentrations of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies (IgM and IgG) were detected by a chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA)., Results: According to the cutoff value recommended by the manufacturer (cutoff = 10 AU/mL), the sensitivity, specificity, Youden index (YI), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of IgM were 60%, 100%, 60%, 100%, and 89.29%, respectively; and 86.67%, 100%, 86.67%, 100%, and 96.15%, respectively, for IgG. We reassessed the cutoff value of IgM. When the cutoff value for SARS-CoV-2 IgM was 1.83 AU/mL, the sensitivity, specificity, YI, PPV, and NPV were 93.33%, 98%, 91.33%, 93.33%, and 98%, respectively. During dynamic monitoring of the concentrations of IgM and IgG in COVID-19 patients, we found the shortest times before a patient became IgM and IgG seropositive after symptom onset were 1.5 and 2 days, respectively. The longest times were 7 and 8 days, respectively. The positive rates of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG both reached 100% in 8-14 days after symptom onset., Conclusion: The IgM cutoff value of 1.83 AU/mL for the diagnosis of COVID-19 was much better than the cutoff suggested by the manufacturer. SARS-CoV-2 infection can be ruled out if antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are still undetectable 14 days after symptom onset., (© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Carbon (C) plays a vital role in regulating soil nutrient cycling and increasing soil microbial community, but there is still limited information on how C source utilization characteristics responds to soil physical and chemical properties changes under double-cropping rice (Oryza sativa L.) paddy field in southern China. Therefore, the effects of different short-term manure nitrogen (N) input rate managements on C source utilization characteristics in rice rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils under double-cropping rice field in southern China were studied by using 18 O-H 2 O method. Therefore, a field experiment were established in Ningxiang city of Hunan Province, and five different fertilizer treatments were applied: (1) 100% N of chemical fertilizer (M0), (2) 30% N of organic manure and 70% N of chemical fertilizer (M30), (3) 50% N of organic manure and 50% N of chemical fertilizer (M50), (4) 100% N of organic manure (M100), and (5) without N fertilizer input as control (CK). The results showed that soil microbial biomass C content, soil microbial growth rate, and soil microbial basal respiration with application of organic manure treatments (M30, M50, M100) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of CK treatment. And the soil C utilization efficiency with M0 treatment were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of M100 treatment. Compared with CK and M0 treatments, the metabolic capacity of soil microorganisms to exogenous C sources with M30, M50 and M100 treatments were increased. The largest types of exogenous C source was carboxylic acids, followed by amino acid and carbohydrate, and complex compounds was the smallest. The RDA analysis results indicated that fertilizer treatments significantly changed the utilization characteristics of soil microorganisms to exogenous C sources. As a result, this study found that characteristics of soil C source utilization were significantly affected by different short-term manure N input rate managements.

Aim: Methotrexate (Mtx) is prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation in arthritis patients; however, improved repair and mobility of joints still are the major concerns. Magnesium oil (MO) improves joint mobility and repair; therefore, MO-assisted transdermal delivery of Mtx was aimed. Methods: MO integrated Mtx nanoemulsion (Mtx-MONE) was prepared with uniform size (175 ± 35.4 nm), pH (6.15 ± 0.3) near to skin pH, and high entrapment efficiency (65 ± 8.6%). Mtx-MONE was transformed to nanogel (Mtx-MONEG) with semisolid consistency (43,408 ± 77.72 cP) and good spreadability (3.63 ± 0.033 mJ). Results: Mtx-MONEG showed significant reduction in oedema, arthritic scores, level of inflammatory cytokines, and improved walking as compared to diseased control. MO offered additional improvements in joints, mobility, and repair. Conclusion: Transdermal delivery of Mtx has been successfully achieved by Mtx-MONEG. Tremendous recovery from inflammation, improved joints mobility and repair, and reduced pain strongly support the use of MO as an adjutant of Mtx for improved transdermal application.

Background: A long-term high-fat/cholesterol (HFC) diet leads to insulin resistance (IR), which is associated with inflammation, atherosclerosis (AS), cardiac sympathovagal imbalance, and cardiac dysfunction. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and nuclear factor ĸB (NF-κB) are involved in the development of IR-AS. Thus, we elucidated the pathological molecular mechanism of IR-AS by feeding an HFC diet to Tibetan minipigs to induce IR and AS., Methods: Male Tibetan minipigs were fed either a normal diet or an HFC diet for 24 weeks. Thereafter, the minipigs were tested for physiological and biochemical blood indices, blood pressure, cardiac function, glucose tolerance, heart rate variability (HRV), and PPAR-associated gene and protein expression levels., Results: HFC-fed minipigs exhibited IR through increased body weight, fasting blood glucose levels, plasma cholesterol and its composition, and insulin and free fatty acid (FFA) levels; decreased insulin sensitivity; impaired glucose tolerance; and hypertension. Increased C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, cardiac dysfunction, depressed HRV, and the up-regulation of PPAR expression in the abdominal aorta concomitant with down-regulation in the heart tissue were observed in HFC-fed minipigs. Furthermore, the levels of NF-κBp65, IL-1β, TNF-α, MCP-1, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, MMP-9, and CRP proteins were also significantly increased., Conclusions: These data suggest that HFC-fed Tibetan minipigs develop IR and AS and that PPARs are involved in cardiovascular remodeling and impaired function.

Introduction: The value of biomarkers at the time of nephrology consultation in predicting the prognosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized patients has not been well described. This study aimed to evaluate the possibility of biomarkers at the time of nephrology consultation in predicting the prognosis of AKI., Methods: We prospectively enrolled 103 hospitalized patients who developed AKI. Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), IL-6, IL-18, N-Acetyl-β-D-Glucosaminidase (NAG), and serum Cystatin C (CysC) were measured at the time of nephrology consultation. Baseline values of serum creatinine (bScr), serum creatinine on consultation (cScr) and the peak level of serum creatinine (pScr) were recorded. All the patients were followed-up till 28 days since consultation. Serum and urinary levels of the biomarkers were compared according to the patient or kidney prognosis. Each marker was assessed for its predictive value using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves to predict AKI prognosis., Results: Patients were aged 54.28 ± 19.05. Male patients constituted 65% of the study group and baseline Scr was 93.54 ± 35.98 μmol/l. The mortality rate of the patients was 25.2% and kidney loss rate was 18.8% at 28 days after consultation. The level of urinary NGAL was significantly higher in death patients than that in survival patients [147.00 (31.59, 221.87) μg/ml vs. 22.43 (6.48, 89.77) μg/ml, p = 0.001], while the level of bScr, cScr, pScr, urinary IL-6 and NAG were similar in both these groups. The AUC of urinary NGAL for predicting patients' death was 0.723 (p = 0.001). Serum CysC and urinary IL-18 concentration was higher in the death patients with a marginal p value (p = 0.065 and 0.059 respectively). All the urinary markers, including NAG, NGAL, IL-6 and IL-18 were significantly higher in patients with kidney loss than in those with kidney survival, while no difference was found in Scr and serum CysC levels. The AUCs of these urinary biomarkers for predicting kidney survival were 0.663, 0.655, 0.705 and 0.663 respectively (p < 0.05). The concentrations of cScr, pScr, serum CysC, urinary IL-6 and NGAL were significantly higher in RRT patients (p < 0.05). The AUCs for predicting RRT were 0.628, 0.781, 0.768, 0.672 and 0.775 respectively., Conclusions: The level of biomarkers at the time of nephrology consultation might predict the prognosis of AKI in hospitalized patients. Further studies should be done to understand the role of the serum and urinary markers in the prognosis of AKI., (© 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPS-CMs) have been recently derived and are used for basic research, cardiotoxicity assessment, and phenotypic screening. However, the hiPS-CM phenotype is dependent on their derivation, age, and culture conditions, and there is disagreement as to what constitutes a functional hiPS-CM. The aim of the present study is to characterize the temporal changes in hiPS-CM phenotype by examining five determinants of cardiomyocyte function: gene expression, ion channel functionality, calcium cycling, metabolic activity, and responsiveness to cardioactive compounds. Based on both gene expression and electrophysiological properties, at day 30 of differentiation, hiPS-CMs are immature cells that, with time in culture, progressively develop a more mature phenotype without signs of dedifferentiation. This phenotype is characterized by adult-like gene expression patterns, action potentials exhibiting ventricular atrial and nodal properties, coordinated calcium cycling and beating, suggesting the formation of a functional syncytium. Pharmacological responses to pathological (endothelin-1), physiological (IGF-1), and autonomic (isoproterenol) stimuli similar to those characteristic of isolated adult cardiac myocytes are present in maturing hiPS-CMs. In addition, thyroid hormone treatment of hiPS-CMs attenuated the fetal gene expression in favor of a more adult-like pattern. Overall, hiPS-CMs progressively acquire functionality when maintained in culture for a prolonged period of time. The description of this evolving phenotype helps to identify optimal use of hiPS-CMs for a range of research applications.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play a critical role in the host immune response to infection by the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). In the current study, a number of HCV CTL epitopes that represent the HLA polymorphisms found in the majority of Chinese people were predicted based on genomic and bioinformatic approaches. The predicted epitopes were evaluated for validity by examining the peptide-binding affinity for MHC class I molecules, the stability of peptide-MHC complexes, and frequencies of IFN γ-positive T cells. Among the predicted epitope peptides, HLA-A2 restricted epitopes [NS4B (1793-1801) SMMAFSAAL] and HLA-B7 restricted epitopes [P7 (774-782) AAWYIKGRL] were able to induce high frequencies of IFN γ-producing T cells, and the specific CTLs for other epitopes were not detected in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with HCV. Moreover, NS4B (1793-1801) exhibited high binding affinity for HLA-A2 molecules, and its stability of peptide-MHC class I complexes was sufficient, indicating that the high binding affinity for MHC class I molecules is an important factor for immunogenicity. Primary analyses of the immunogenicity of predicted epitopes, such as in the current study, will contribute to the future design of an efficient vaccine that will be able to induce vigorous, sustainable, and broad HCV-specific CTL responses for the Chinese population., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Serum cytokines are promising biomarkers of cancer staging and outcome prediction, including response to treatment. Serum samples were collected from 200 breast carcinoma patients prior to chemotherapy treatment. Luminex liquid protein chip technology was used to analyze 25 cytokines in serum. Linear regression was used to analyze the relationship of cytokine levels and tumor size. The independent sample T-test and Chi-square test methods were used to analyze the difference of cytokine levels between two groups. IL-12p40, sIL-2R, MMP-2 levels showed linear correlation with tumor size. Eotaxin, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-7, IL-1ra, IP-10, MCP-1beta, MP-2 and MIP-1beta levels showed significant difference between different lymph node groups, but only Eotaxin, IP-10 and MCP-1 levels had an inverse correlation with the number of positive nodes. Fractalkine, G-CSF, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta levels showed significant differences between different ER+ groups. Eotaxin, Fractalkine, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, MCP-1 and VEGF levels had significant differences between different HER-2 groups. Our study resulted in the identification of a serum cytokine profile with the potential to be clinically applicable to predict disease outcome and in monitoring of efficacy of treatment.

Accurate methods that test the eye irritation potential of chemicals, which do not involve the use of animals, are needed to meet new regulatory standards. We evaluated the applicability and predictive capacity of five in vitro tests for eye irritation: the Hen's Egg Test-Chorioallantoic Membrane (HET-CAM) assay; the Chorioallantoic Membrane-Trypan Blue Staining (CAM-TBS) assay; the Fluorescein Leakage Test (FLT); the 3T3-Neutral Red Uptake (3T3-NRU) cytotoxicity assay; and the red blood cell (RBC) haemolysis assay. A panel of 16 chemicals (some at multiple concentrations) was assessed by using the five tests, and the results were compared with historical in vivo Draize test data. The results showed rank correlation and class concordance between the five alternative methods and the Draize test for the 16 chemicals. These in vitro assays had good predictive capacity, reproducibility and reliability when compared to the Draize test. The best relationship was between the HET-CAM, CAM-TBS and FLT results, and the modified maximum average score(s) (MMAS). A prediction model (PM) was developed, based on the maximum possible correlation between the MMAS and the HET-CAM, CAM-TBS and FLT results. The PM had a good predictive capacity when compared to the results of animal tests, indicating its potential value for the in vitro screening of chemicals for eye irritation effects., (2010 FRAME.)

Objective: To study the whole body bone mineral changes in normal subjects., Methods: Bone mineral was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 292 normal subjects aged 10-79 years, including 152 females and 140 males. They were divided into age-groups by decade., Results: In males, the ages with peak value of total bone mineral content (TBMC), total bone mineral density (TBMD), anteroposterior spine BMD (L2-4 BMD) were in the 30-39, 20-39, 20-29 age-groups respectively. In females, they were all in the 30-39 age-group. Peak values of TBMC, TBMD, L2-4 BMD were higher in males than those in females. Loss of bone mineral for females was more pronounced than that for males. Loss of L2-4 BMD was more pronounced than TBMD., Conclusion: This study provides the normal bone mineral data of whole body for males and females, and the characteristic of changes.

Because deuteron-induced reactions on 51V, 52Cr, 56Fe, and 57Fe have been widely used in medical radioisotope production, research on radiation damage, and activation analysis, the excitation functions were evaluated and calculated for 51V, 52Cr, 56Fe, and 57Fe (d, n), (d, p), (d, alpha), (d, 3He), (d, d'), (d, t), (d, 2n), (d, np + pn), (d, nalpha + alphan), (d, 2p) and (d, 3n) from respective threshold to 30.0 MeV.