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Tillage is an important management tool for tackling and promoting water conservation and improving crop yield. As one of the important nutrients in plant growth, K is involved in important processes such as osmoregulation, photosynthesis and metabolite transport, and plays a particularly critical role in improving crop yield and quality. In the long-term positioning platform of the tillage method, a 2-yr field experiment was conducted in 2019-2020 in maize (Zea mays L.) Three tillage methods: conventional tillage (CT), subsoil tillage (ST), and no-tillage (NT) and two planting densities 6x104 (D1) and 9x104 plants ha-1 (D2) were set up in the experiment. The results showed that yield and K translocation efficiency (KTE) were significantly higher in NT than in CT at D1 (by 4.7% and 12.2%) and D2 (by 14.0% and 13.9%), respectively. At maturity stage in 2019, population DM accumulation after silking (DMA) was significantly higher in NT (by 11.0% and 16.9%) than in CT at D1 and D2. Correlation analysis revealed that yield was significantly positive correlated with ears (r = 0.57***) and DMA (r = 0.64***). Potassium translocation and K harvest index were positively correlated with KTE. Under spring drought year, the long-term no-tillage had a significant yield increase, mainly through the increase in 1000-kernel weight. The increase in K efficiency was mainly through the influence of DM accumulation and distribution, and K accumulation in grain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently available guidelines contain conflicting recommendations on the management of blood pressure (BP) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, it is necessary to appraise the guidelines and summarize the agreements and differences among recommendations. Methods: Four databases and the websites of guideline organizations were searched for guidelines regarding BP targets and thresholds for pharmacologic therapy in DM patients, and the included guidelines were appraised with the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. Results: In 6,498 records identified, 20 guidelines met our inclusion criteria with 64.0% AGREE II scores (interquartile range, 48.5% to 72.0%). The scores of the European and American guidelines were superior to those of the Asian guidelines (both adjusted P<0.001). Most of the guidelines advocated systolic BP targets <130 mm Hg (12 guidelines, 60%) and diastolic BP targets <80 mm Hg (14 guidelines, 70%) in DM patients. Approximately half of the guidelines supported systolic BP thresholds >140 mm Hg (10 guidelines, 50%) and diastolic BP thresholds >90 mm Hg (nine guidelines, 45%). The tiny minority of the guidelines provided the relevant recommendations regarding the lower limit of official BP targets and the ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM)/home BP monitoring (HBPM) targets and thresholds in DM patients. Conclusion: The lower official BP targets (<130/80 mm Hg) in patients with DM are advocated by most of the guidelines, but they contain conflicting recommendations on the official BP thresholds. Moreover, the gaps regarding the lower limit of official BP targets and the ABPM/HBPM targets and thresholds need to be considered by future study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) causes human hand, foot and mouth disease, but its pathogenesis is unclear. In rhesus macaques, CV-A16 infection causes characteristic vesicles in the oral mucosa and limbs as well as viremia and positive viral loads in the tissues, suggesting that these animals reflect the pathologic process of the infection. An immunologic analysis indicated a defective immune response, which included undetectable neutralizing antibodies and IFN-γ-specific memory T-cells in macaques infected with CV-A16. Furthermore, existing neutralizing antibodies in macaques immunized with the inactivated vaccine were surprisingly unable to protect against a viral challenge despite the presence of a positive T-cell memory response against viral antigens. The virus was capable of infecting pre-conventional dendritic cells and replicating within them, which may correlate with the immunological characteristics observed in the animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the phase 3 clinical trial on the efficacy and protection of a diploid-cell-based inactivated enterovirus 71 (EV71) C4 genotype vaccine against EV71-based hand, foot and mouth disease among healthy children. Topics include study methods such as vaccine preparation, safety assessment, and efficacy evaluation, and results of the study including antibody assessments, and adverse events. A table showing the efficacy of the vaccine is also presented.

Vascular endothelial cell (EC) barrier integrity is critical to vessel homeostasis whereas barrier dysfunction is a key feature of inflammatory disorders and tumor angiogenesis. We previously reported that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-mediated increases in EC barrier integrity are signaled through a dynamic complex present in lipid rafts involving its receptor, c-Met (1). We extended these observations to confirm that S1PR1 (sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1) and integrin β4 (ITGB4) are essential participants in HGF-induced EC barrier enhancement. Immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated HGF-mediated recruitment of c-Met, ITGB4 and S1PR1 to caveolin-enriched lipid rafts in human lung EC with direct interactions of c-Met with both S1PR1 and ITGB4 accompanied by c-Met-dependent S1PR1 and ITGB4 transactivation. Reduced S1PR1 expression (siRNA) attenuated both ITGB4 and Rac1 activation as well as c-Met/ITGB4 interaction and resulted in decreased transendothelial electrical resistance. Furthermore, reduced ITGB4 expression attenuated HGF-induced c-Met activation, c-Met/S1PR1 interaction, and effected decreases in S1P- and HGF-induced EC barrier enhancement. Finally, the c-Met inhibitor, XL880, suppressed HGF-induced c-Met activation as well as S1PR1 and ITGB4 transactivation. These results support a critical role for S1PR1 and ITGB4 transactivation as rate-limiting events in the transduction of HGF signals via a dynamic c-Met complex resulting in enhanced EC barrier integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]