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Background: Anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been widely accepted as a gold standard for patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). However, there was insufficient evidence to compare the changes in the cervical alignment with different fusion devices in a long follow-up period. This meta-analysis was performed to compare the radiologic outcomes and loss of correction (LOC) in cervical alignment of Zero-profile (ZP) device versus cage-plate (CP) construct for the treatment of CSM. Methods: Retrospective and prospective studies directly comparing the outcomes between the ZP device and CP construct in ACDF were included. Data extraction was conducted and study quality was assessed independently. A meta-analysis was carried out by using fixed effects and random effects models to calculate the odds ratio and mean difference in the ZP group and the CP group. Results: Fourteen trials with a total of 1067 participants were identified. ZP group had a lower rate of postoperative dysphagia at the 2- or 3-month and 6-month follow-up than CP group, and ZP group was associated with a decreased ASD rate at the last follow-up when compared with the CP group. The pooled data of radiologic outcomes revealed that there was no significant difference in postoperative and last follow-up IDH. However, postoperative and last follow-up cervical Cobb angle was significantly smaller in the ZP group when compared with the CP group. In subgroup analyses, when the length of the last follow-up was less than 3 years, there was no difference between two groups. However, as the last follow-up time increased, cervical Cobb angle was significantly lower in the ZP group when compared with the CP group. Conclusion: Based on the results of our analysis, the application of ZP device in ACDF had a lower rate of postoperative dysphagia and ASD than CP construct. Both devices were safe in anterior cervical surgeries, and they had similar efficacy in correcting radiologic outcomes. However, as the last follow-up time increased, ZP group showed greater changes cervical alignment. In order to clarify the specific significance of LOC, additional large clinical studies with longer follow-up period are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gene and chemical therapy has become one of the rising stars in the field of molecular medicine during the last two decades. However, there are still numerous challenges in the development of efficient, targeted, and safe delivery systems that can avoid siRNA degradation and reduce the toxicity and adverse effects of chemotherapy medicine. Results: In this paper, a highly efficient AS1411 aptamer modified, dsDNA and MMP-2 cleavable peptide-fabricated gold nanocage vehicle, which could load doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and siRNAs to achieve a combination of tumor responsive genetic therapy, chemotherapy, and photothermal treatment is presented. Our results show that this combined treatment achieved targeted gene silencing and tumor inhibition. After nearly one month of treatment with DOX-loaded Au-siRNA-PAA-AS1411 nanoparticles with one dose every three days in mice, a synergistic effect promoting the eradication of long-lived tumors was observed along with an increased survival rate of mice. The combined genetic, chemotherapeutic, and photothermal treatment group exhibited more than 90% tumor inhibition ratio (tumor signal) and a ~ 67% survival rate compared with a 30% tumor inhibition ratio and a 0% survival rate in the passive genetic treatment group. Conclusions: The development of nanocarriers with double-stranded DNA and MMP-2 cleavable peptides provides a new strategy for the combined delivery of gene and chemotherapy medicine. Au-siRNA-PAA-AS1411 exerts high anticancer activities on lung cancer, indicating immense potentials for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Seeds are the economic basis of oilseed crops, especially soybeans, the most widely cultivated oilseed crop worldwide. Seed development is accompanied by a multitude of diverse cellular processes, and revealing the underlying regulatory activities is critical for seed improvement. Results: In this study, we profiled the transcriptomes of developing seeds at 20, 25, 30, and 40 days after flowering (DAF), as these stages represent critical time points of seed development from early to full development. We identified a set of highly abundant genes and highlighted the importance of these genes in supporting nutrient accumulation and transcriptional regulation for seed development. We identified 8925 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that exhibited temporal expression patterns over the course and expression specificities in distinct tissues, including seeds and nonseed tissues (roots, stems, and leaves). Genes specific to nonseed tissues might have tissue-associated roles, with relatively low transcript abundance in developing seeds, suggesting their spatially supportive roles in seed development. Coexpression network analysis identified several underexplored genes in soybeans that bridge tissue-specific gene modules. Conclusions: Our study provides a global view of gene activities and biological processes critical for seed formation in soybeans and prioritizes a set of genes for further study. The results of this study help to elucidate the mechanism controlling seed development and storage reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phosphorus (P) is essential for plant growth and development, and low-phosphorus (LP) stress is a major factor limiting the growth and yield of soybean. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been reported to be key regulators in the responses of plants to stress conditions, but the mechanism through which LP stress mediates the biogenesis of lncRNAs in soybean remains unclear. Results: In this study, to explore the response mechanisms of lncRNAs to LP stress, we used the roots of two representative soybean genotypes that present opposite responses to P deficiency, namely, a P-sensitive genotype (Bogao) and a P-tolerant genotype (NN94156), for the construction of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) libraries. In total, 4,166 novel lncRNAs, including 525 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs, were identified from the two genotypes at different P levels. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that numerous DE lncRNAs might be involved in diverse biological processes related to phosphate, such as lipid metabolic processes, catalytic activity, cell membrane formation, signal transduction, and nitrogen fixation. Moreover, lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA and lncRNA-mRNA networks were constructed, and the results identified several promising lncRNAs that might be highly valuable for further analysis of the mechanism underlying the response of soybean to LP stress. Conclusions: These results revealed that LP stress can significantly alter the genome-wide profiles of lncRNAs, particularly those of the P-sensitive genotype Bogao. Our findings increase the understanding of and provide new insights into the function of lncRNAs in the responses of soybean to P stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phosphorus (P) is an essential element in maintaining high biomass and yield in crops. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] requires a large amount of P during growth and development. Improvement of P efficiency and identification of P efficiency genes are important strategies for increasing soybean yield. Results: Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) with NJAU 355 K SoySNP array was performed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with three shoot P efficiency-related traits of a natural population of 211 cultivated soybeans and relative values of these traits under normal P (+P) condition and P deficiency (−P) condition. A total of 155 SNPs were identified significantly associated with P efficiency-related traits. SNPs that were significantly associated with shoot dry weight formed a SNP cluster on chromosome 11, while SNPs that were significantly associated with shoot P concentration formed a SNP cluster on chromosome 10. Thirteen haplotypes were identified based on 12 SNPs, and Hap9 was considered as the optimal haplotype. Four SNPs (AX-93636685, AX-93636692, AX-93932863, and AX-93932874) located on chromosome 10 were identified to be significantly associated with shoot P concentration under +P condition in two hydroponic experiments. Among these four SNPs, two of them (AX-93636685 and AX-93932874) were also significantly associated with the relative values of shoot P concentration under two P conditions. One SNP AX-93932874 was detected within 5′-untranslated region of Glyma.10 g018800, which contained SPX and RING domains and was named as GmSPX-RING1. Furthermore, the function research of GmSPX-RING1 was carried out in soybean hairy root transformation. Compared with their respective controls, P concentration in GmSPX-RING1 overexpressing transgenic hairy roots was significantly reduced by 32.75% under +P condition; In contrast, P concentration in RNA interference of GmSPX-RING1 transgenic hairy roots was increased by 38.90 and 14.51% under +P and -P conditions, respectively. Conclusions: This study shows that the candidate gene GmSPX-RING1 affects soybean phosphorus efficiency by negatively regulating soybean phosphorus concentration in soybean hairy roots. The SNPs and candidate genes identified should be potential for improvement of P efficiency in future soybean breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leaf size and shape, which affect light capture, and chlorophyll content are important factors affecting photosynthetic efficiency. Genetic variation of these components significantly affects yield potential and seed quality. Identification of the genetic basis for these traits and the relationship between them is of great practical significance for achieving ideal plant architecture and high photosynthetic efficiency for improved yield. Results: Here, we undertook a large-scale linkage mapping study using three mapping populations to determine the genetic interplay between soybean leaf-related traits and chlorophyll content across two environments. Correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between leaf size and shape, while both traits were positively correlated with chlorophyll content. This phenotypic relationship was verified across the three mapping populations as determined by principal component analysis, suggesting that these traits are under the control of complex and interrelated genetic components. The QTLs for leaf-related traits and chlorophyll are partly shared, which further supports the close genetic relationship between the two traits. The largest-effect major loci, q20, was stably identified across all population and environments and harbored the narrow leaflet gene Gm-JAG1 (Ln/ln), which is a key regulator of leaflet shape in soybean. Conclusion: Our results uncover several major QTLs (q4–1, q4–2, q11, q13, q18 and q20) and its candidate genes specific or common to leaf-related traits and chlorophyll, and also show a complex epistatic interaction between the two traits. The SNP markers closely linked to these valuable QTLs could be used for molecular design breeding with improved plant architecture, photosynthetic capacity and even yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]