Relationship between age of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus and mode of delivery and neonatal Apgar score.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) refers to abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy, and it is often accompanied by obvious changes in glucose and lipid metabolism, and associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The incidence of fetal distress, polyhydramnios, puerperal infection, premature delivery, and macrosomia in pregnant women with GDM are higher than in those without GDM. AIM: To analyze the relationship between age of pregnant women with GDM and mode of delivery and neonatal Apgar score. METHODS: A total of 583 pregnant women with GDM who delivered in the Department of Obstetrics at our hospital between March 2019 and March 2022 were selected. Among them, 377 aged < 35 years were selected as the right age group and 206 aged > 35 years were selected as the older group. The clinical data of the two groups were collected, and the relationship between age of the pregnant women with GDM and mode of delivery, maternal and neonatal outcomes, and neonatal Apgar score were compared. In the older group, 159 women were classed as the adverse outcome group and 47 as the good outcome group according to whether they had adverse maternal and infant outcomes. The related factors of adverse maternal and infant outcomes were analyzed through logistic regression. RESULTS: The number of women with assisted pregnancy, ≤ 37 wk gestation, ≥ 2 pregnancies, one or more deliveries, and no pre-pregnancy blood glucose screening in the older group were all higher than those in the right age group (P < 0.05). The natural delivery rate in the right age group was 40.85%, which was higher than 22.33% in the older group (P < 0.05). The cesarean section rate in the older group was 77.67%, which was higher than 59.15% in the right age group (P < 0.05). The older group had a higher incidence of polyhydramnios and postpartum hemorrhage, and lower incidence of fetal distress than the right age group had (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in neonatal weight between the two groups (P > 0.05). The right age group had higher Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min than the older group had (P < 0.05). Significant differences existed between the poor and good outcome groups in age, education level, pregnancy mode, ≤ 37 wk gestation, number of pregnancies, and premature rupture of membranes (P < 0.05). Logistic regression showed that age, education level and premature rupture of membranes were all risk factors affecting the adverse outcomes of mothers and infants (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Delivery mode and Apgar score of pregnant women with GDM are related to age. Older age increases the adverse outcome of mothers and infants.

Genome-Wide Association Studies for Five Forage Quality-Related Traits in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.).

Understanding the genetic function of the forage quality-related traits, including crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose (HC), and cellulose (CL) contents, is essential for the identification of forage quality genes and selection of effective molecular markers in sorghum. In this study, we genotyped 245 sorghum accessions by 85,585 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and obtained the phenotypic data from four environments. The SNPs and phenotypic data were applied to multi-locus genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with the mrMLM software. A total of 42 SNPs were identified to be associated with the five forage quality-related traits. Moreover, three and two quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) were simultaneously detected among them by three and two multi-locus methods, respectively. One QTN on chromosome 5 was found to be associated simultaneously with CP, NDF, and ADF. Furthermore, 3, 2, 2, 5, and 2 candidate genes were identified to be responsible for CP, NDF, ADF, HC, and CL contents, respectively. These results provided insightful information of the forage quality-related traits and would facilitate the genetic improvement of sorghum forage quality in the future.

[Purification Effect of Submerged Macrophyte System with Different Plants Combinations and C/N Ratios].

A submerged macrophyte pond can effectively remove nitrogen and phosphorus from water, with the removal efficiencies for pollutants depending on combinations of submerged macrophytes. Moreover, the material structure of sewage also has a significant impact on the purification effect of the submerged macrophyte system. This experiment selected three submerged plants (Vallisneris spiralis, Hydrilla verticillata, and Myriophyllum spicatum) to examine the purification effect of their combinations on sewage, including nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies. In addition, the effect of influent C/N ratio on the submerged macrophyte pond was also tested and discussed. The results showed the following. ① All plant combinations can decrease concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in water, resulting from nutrient deposition along with sedimentation of suspended particles. The combinations of Vallisneris spiralis and Hydrilla verticillata showed the highest purification efficiency for total nitrogen and total phosphorus with an average removal rate of 32.71% and 22.13%, respectively. ② The purification effects of three C/N ratio (1.89, 5.93, and 12.09) for Vallisneris spiralis and Hydrilla verticillate system were different. The removal efficiency was highest when the C/N ratio was 5.93, with removal rates for total nitrogen and total phosphorus and a reduction in permanganate index of 81.34%, 68.26%, and 88.65%, respectively. The C/N ratio affected the degradation of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter by influencing the dissolved oxygen concentration of water and changing the anaerobic and aerobic environment of the water. In conclusion, different submerged macrophyte combinations showed better purification effect than a single type of plant in the submerged plant pond system. Changing the influent C/N ratio by placing carbon source materials into the water can greatly increase the removal efficiency of submerged plant pond, providing a practical reference for the use of submerged plant ponds to treat sewage.

MECAT: fast mapping, error correction, and de novo assembly for single-molecule sequencing reads.

We present a tool that combines fast mapping, error correction, and de novo assembly (MECAT; accessible at https://github.com/xiaochuanle/MECAT) for processing single-molecule sequencing (SMS) reads. MECAT's computing efficiency is superior to that of current tools, while the results MECAT produces are comparable or improved. MECAT enables reference mapping or de novo assembly of large genomes using SMS reads on a single computer.

Preliminary evidence of nutrients release from sediment in response to oxygen across benthic oxidation layer by a long-term field trial.

In aquatic ecosystems, ecological processes such as organic matter mineralization and nutrient cycling are regulated by benthic O2 in sediments, and application of in situ techniques in field environments has the potential to better define the links between O2 dynamics and the unique biogeochemical phenomena occurring in these regions. The effects of benthic O2 on sediment nutrients release were identified on the basis of field specific observations conducted over one and a half years at Taihu Lake. Sediment dredging (SD) practices have sharply reworked the benthic boundary oxidation layer, and the oxygen penetration depth (OPD) in the SD responded as expected to the new-born surface, increasing immediately (7.5 ± 0.8 - 10.5 ± 0.6 mm) after dredging, then further increasing with an unusually high heterogeneity when a significant submersed macrophytes (SM) coverage of about 40% was implemented. Multiple correlation analysis revealed that OPD was responsible for PO43- and NH4+ release. A lower benthic oxygen flux was immediately observed in dredging-related sediments in the case of dredging compared to SM or the control (CK), which suggested that oxygen demand is low in the uppermost sediments because of the degradable fresh organic carbon removal. SD and SDSM implementation was most successful at continuously reducing the size of PO43- released from sediments over one and a half years, and a significant seasonal-dependent release was also observed. The direction of flux was consistent among SD and SDSM, suggesting the potential to reduce internal PO43- release even further with the invasion of SM communities. Our results indicated that ecological engineering practices could alleviate internal nutrient loads from the contaminated bottom sediment, which was probably in positive response to benthic oxygen changes.

Response of N2O emissions to elevated water depth regulation: comparison of rhizosphere versus non-rhizosphere of Phragmites australis in a field-scale study.

Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) from wetland ecosystems are globally significant and have recently received increased attention. However, relatively few direct studies of these emissions in response to water depth-related changes in sediment ecosystems have been conducted, despite the likely role they play as hotspots of N2O production. We investigated depth-related differential responses of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen distribution in Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. rhizosphere versus non-rhizosphere sediments to determine if they accelerated N2O emissions and the release of inorganic nitrogen. Changes in static water depth and P. australis growth both had the potential to disrupt the distribution of porewater dissolved NH4 (+), NO3 (-), and NO2 (-) in profiles, and NO3 (-) had strong surface aggregation tendency and decreased significantly with depth. Conversely, the highest NO2 (-) contents were observed in deep water and the lowest in shallow water in the P. australis rhizosphere. When compared with NO3 (-), NH4 (+), and NO2 (-), fluxes from the rhizosphere were more sensitive to the effects of water depth, and both fluxes increased significantly at a depth of more than 1 m. Similarly, N2O emissions were obviously accelerated with increasing depth, although those from the rhizosphere were more readily controlled by P. australis. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that water depth was significantly related to N2O emission and NO2 (-) fluxes, and N2O emissions were also strongly dependent on NO2 (-) fluxes (r = 0.491, p < 0.05). The results presented herein provide new insights into inorganic nitrogen biogeochemical cycles in freshwater sediment ecosystems.

[Effects of water depth on the growth of Vallisneria natans and photosynthetic system II photochemical characteristics of the leaves].

The effects of water depth on the growth of Vallisneria natans and photosynthetic system II photochemical characteristics of the leaves were investigated at three depths of 0.6, 1.3 and 2.0 m. The rapid fluorescence induction kinetics curves (OJIP) of the leaves were measured with Plant Efficiency Analyzer and analyzed with JIP-test. The results indicated that the light intensities at water depths of 0.6, 1.3 and 2.0 m were obviously different and the growth of V. natans was restricted under water depth of 2.0 m. Biomass, number of ramets, number of leaves, total root length, root surface area and other morphological indices decreased significantly with the increasing water depth, and the maximum leaf length, average leaf length, maximum leaf width changed insignificantly with the water depth. With the increasing water depth, absorption flux per reaction center (ABS/RC), trapped energy flux per RC (TR0/RC), electron transport flux per RC (ET0/RC), reduction of end acceptors at photosynthetic system I (PS I ) electron acceptor side per RC (RE0/ RC) decreased significantly. The dissipated energy flux per RC (DI0/RC) also decreased significantly, which led to no obvious difference in quantum yield for the reduction of end acceptors of PS I per photon absorbed (phiR0) and the efficiency for the trapped exciton to move an electron into the electron transport chain from QA- to the PS I end electron acceptors (deltaR0). Because the amount of active PS II RCs per CS increased significantly, photosynthesis per area of V. natans grown at 2.0 m was significantly greater than that of V. natans grown at 0.6 m. The performance index PIs, Ples, Plabs,.otal photochemistry efficiency of leaves of V. natans grown at 2.0 m was significantly in- creased, suggesting that light stress may promote a more efficient conversion of light energy to active chemical energy. V. natans leaves accommodate the low light intensity environment through activating inactive reaction centers but not through improving light utilization efficiency per reaction center, and the water depth of 1.3 m may be more suitable for the growth of V. natans.

[Effects of substrate nitrogen and phosphorus contents on Potamogeton crispus growth and reproduction].

Six nutritional levels were designed to study the effects of different nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents in sediment on the growth and reproduction of Potamogeton crispus. The results revealed that the germination rate of P. crispus was not affected by the N and P contents in sediment, and all reached 100%. With the increasing N and P contents in sediment, the N content in plant tissues increased first and approached to a stationary level then, while the P content presented a slow increasing trend. In the meantime, the initial fluorescence (Fo) declined rapidly, while the potential maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) increased first followed by a slight decrease, indicating that the photosynthetic efficiency was enhanced by the increasing N and P contents in sediment but decreased at excessively high N and P contents. The rapid light curves showed that P. crispus could effectively use weak light and was more susceptible to photoinhibition under intense light, but its resistance capability against intense light could be improved by the high N and P contents in sediment. The high N and P contents in sediment could also promote the total biomass of P. crispus, but reduce the root: shoot ratio of the plant. Under the increasing N and P contents in sediment, the asexual reproduction of P. crispus was improved, reproductive strategy was optimized, and also, the sexual reproduction occurred but the seed setting rate was low, only 19.6% on average.

Differences of percutaneous retrograde screw fixation of anterior column acetabular fractures between male and female: a study of 164 virtual three-dimensional models.

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous retrograde screw fixation of the anterior column has been recommended for the treatment of minimally displaced acetabular fractures. However, proper placement of the screw in anterior column is challenging because of its unique anatomy. There are few anatomic studies on this technique, and the differences between male and female have never been reported. METHODS: We created virtual three-dimensional reconstruction models of the pelvis from CT scan data obtained from 82 adult patients without any bony problems. Virtual cylindrical implants were placed intraosseously both in left and right anterior column. The maximum diameter, length and optimal direction of the virtual cylindrical implant were determined for the screw. The perpendicular distance from the insertion point (P) of virtual cylindrical implant to the pubic symphysis (A) and the rim of superior ramus of pubis (B) were measured respectively. In the same model, cross-sections of the anterior column were created and the diameters of them were measured. RESULTS: 164 (80 males and 84 females) hemipelvis models were obtained. The mean maximum diameter and length of virtual cylindrical implant were 8.16+/-1.21 mm (range: 5.60-10.80 mm) and 109.39+/-8.95 mm respectively. The angles of the virtual cylindrical implant to transverse, coronal and sagittal planes were 39.66+/-3.92 degrees , 20.81+/-4.58 degrees and 42.66+/-3.23 degrees respectively. The distance of PA and PB were 18.42+/-4.82 mm and 17.76+/-2.63 mm. Both the differences of the diameter and length of the virtual cylindrical implant, and the distance of PA between the male and female were of statistical significance (p<0.00001). The mean minimum cross-sectional diameter of anterior column was larger than the mean diameter of the virtual cylindrical implant. CONCLUSIONS: The anterior column of a male will accommodate a 6.5mm lag screw very well, but it does not fit all the females. The same direction of screw can be used in both male and female, but the insertion points of the screw are different. In addition, the determination of the size of the screw used for the anterior column cannot be based solely on the measurement of cross-sectional diameter and the virtual three-dimensional reconstruction model might be useful in preoperative planning.

[Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria community composition at the root zones of aquatic plants after ecological restoration].

To investigate the effects of aquatic plants on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) at their root zones, four species of aquatic plants were selected, Phragmites communis, Typha angustifolia L., Potamogeton crispus L., and Limnanthemun nymphoides, which were widely used in ecological restorations. AOB in the samples were enumerated by most-probable-number (MPN) method. Nested polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) procedures were performed with ammonia oxidizer-selective primers. Main DGGE bands were excised from the gel and sequenced for phylogenetic affiliation. Results indicate that AOB densities are always higher at the root zones of emergent plants (Phragmites communis 2.8 x 10(5) cells/g and Typha angustifolia L.4.3 x 10(5) cells/g) than those of submerged and floating-leaved plant (Potamogeton crispus L. 9.3 x 10(4) cells/g and Limnanthemun nymphoides 7.7 x 10(4) cells/g). At the root zones, the oxidation-reduction potential is above zero and NH4+ concentration is lower than it in the bare surface sediment. Fourteen major bands were recovered from the DGGE gel, re-amplified and sequenced. Although the identified bands have their respective similar sequences in GenBank, most of them are related to Nitrosomonas-like. This type of bacteria would play an important role of nitrogen cycle in lake sediment after ecological restoration.