Genome-wide identification and characterization of the WOX gene family in Brassica juncea / 生物工程学报

The WUSCHEL related-homeobox (WOX) family is one of the plant-specific transcription factor families, playing important roles in plant growth and development. In this study, 51 WOX gene family members were identified from the genome data of Brassica juncea by searching and screening with HUMMER, Smart and other software. Their protein molecular weight, amino acids numbers, and isoelectric point were analyzed by using Expasy online software. Furthermore, bioinformatics software was used to systematically analyze the evolutionary relationship, conservative region, and gene structure of the WOX gene family. The mustard WOX gene family was divided into three subfamilies: ancient clade, intermediate clade, and WUS clade/modern clade. Structural analysis showed that the type, organization form and gene structure of the conservative domain of WOX transcription factor family members in the same subfamily were highly consistent, while there was a certain diversity among different subfamilies. 51 WOX genes are distributed unevenly on 18 chromosomes of mustard. Most of the promoters of these genes contain cis acting elements related to light, hormone and abiotic stress. Using transcriptome data and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, it was found that the expression of mustard WOX gene was spatio-temporal specific, among which BjuWOX25, BjuWOX33, and BjuWOX49 might play an important role in the development of silique, and BjuWOX10, BjuWOX32, and BjuWOX11, BjuWOX23 respectively might play an important role in the response to drought and high temperature stresses. The above results may facilitate the functional study of mustard WOX gene family.

Identification and analysis of the TALE transcription factor family in radish / 生物工程学报

Three-amino acid loop extension (TALE) transcription factors play important roles in plant growth and cell differentiation. There are plenty of studies on TALE transcription factors in several model plants, but not in radish (Raphanus sativas). A genome-wide bioinformatics analysis identified 33 TALE family genes in the Xiang-Ya-Bai (XYB) radish, These genes, are distributed on nine chromosomes and all contain 4-6 exons. The 33 TALE genes in radish showed a co-linearity relationship with the 17 homologous genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, a large number of stress response cis-elements were found in the promoter regions of these genes. Expression analysis showed that four genes in the BELL subfamily were highly expressed in roots, and two genes in the KNOX subfamily were highly expressed in shoots of bolting plants and callus. All radish TALE genes contain sequences encoding the conserved HOX domain, except for the gene RSA10037940, which is homologous to Arabidopsis KNATM. The deduced 3D structures of the TALE proteins irrespective of subtypes are highly similar. All the encoded proteins were weakly acidic and hydrophilic. The radish TALE gene family is relatively evolutionarily conserved, which was consistent with results from Arabidopsis, but quite different from that of rice. This study provides important clues for studying the biological functions of TALE transcription factors in radish.

Effect of Enpagliflozin on left ventricular function, blood glucose and lipid level in T2DM patients / 国际生物医学工程杂志

Objective:To study the effects of Empagliflozin on left ventricular function and the level of blood glucose and lipid in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.Methods:A total of 120 patients with T2DM complicated with cardiac function impairment were selected from Chu Hsien-I Memorial Hospital, Tianjin Medical University from December 2020 to May 2021. The diabetic patients were randomly divided into the observation group (60 cases) and control group (60 cases) by random number table method. Patients in the observation group were treated with Empagliflozin, while the control group underwent original hypoglycemic treatment. After the treatment, 6 cases were eliminated and 114 cases were completed, with 57 cases in each group. The changes of echocardiographic left ventricular function related indexes such as E/ e', left atrial volume index (LAVI), tricuspid regurgitation speed, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and laboratory indexes in the two groups were observed before and after treatment. The laboratory indexes checked include fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and how density lipoprotein (HDL). Results:The E/ e', LAVI of the observation groups was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). There were no significant changes in tricuspid regurgitation speed, LVEF, TG, TC, LDL and HDL levels between the two groups after the treatment (all P>0.05). After the treatment, the levels of FBG and HbA1c in the two groups decreased, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Empagliflozin can effectively control the E/ e', LAVI of T2DM patients, and can early significant improvement of left ventricula diastolic function, which is very favorable for the patients. Along with good safety, Empagliflozin is suitable for clinical recommendation.

Advances in imaging diagnosis of carotid plaque / 国际生物医学工程杂志

The carotid plaque (CP) detachment can induce thrombosis, which may lead to cerebral vascular disease. In recent years,research of CP is mainly focused on qualitative and quantitative analysis of vulnerable plaque. Therefore, it is important to choose therapeutic method and opportunity according to the structure and stability of the plaque. This article reviews the progress in the diagnosis of plaque from the aspects of common ultrasound, contrast enhanced ultrasound, ultrasound real-time tissue elastography, intravascular unltrasound, digital subtraction angiography (DSA), comuted tomography angiography (CTA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Common and all kinds of new ultrasonic technology can be used to evaluate the vulnerability of CP from different aspects.