Characterization and complete genome sequences of two novel variants of the family Closteroviridae from Chinese kiwifruit.

Two distinct closterovirus-like genome sequences (termed AdV-1 v1 and v2) were identified in Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa 'Miliang-1' that had no disease symptoms using high-throughput sequencing. Using overlapping reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends, the genomic sequences of AdV-1 v1 and v2 were confirmed as 17,646 and 18,578 nucleotides in length, respectively. The two complete genomes contained 9 and 15 open reading frames, respectively, coding for proteins having domains typical of Closteroviridae, such as RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), heat shock protein 70 homolog (HSP70h) and coat protein (CP). Sequence analysis showed that the amino acid sequences of RdRp, HSP70h, and CP of the two variants exhibited high similarity (> 80%), while their genomic organization was somewhat different. This suggested that the two viral genomes identified here are variants of the family Closteroviridae in a single kiwifruit host. Furthermore, phylogenetic relationship analysis revealed that the two variants had a closer relationship with the unclassified virus Persimmon virus B (PeVB) and Actinidia virus 1 (AcV-1) than with other members of the family Closteroviridae, as did their genomic organization. It is speculated that the two variants, together with PeVB and AcV-1 belong to a new subfamily of Closteroviridae.

[Clinical observation on the distribution characteristics and rules of pressing sensitive acupoints in bronchial asthma patients].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the distribution characteristics of pressing sensitive acupoints on the body surface between bronchial asthma (BA) patients and healthy subjects, and to analyze the distribution rules of pressing sensitive acupoints in BA patients. METHODS: Seventy BA patients and 70 healthy subjects were selected in this study. The pressing sensitive acupoints were checked with finger pulp and marked on human nerve segment graph. The numbers of pressing sensitive acupoints were counted and the positional relationship between distribution of pressing sensitive acupoints and the position of meridians and nerve segment was observed. RESULTS: (1) The incidence rates of pressing sensitive acupoints in BA patients group and healthy subjects group were 91.4% (64/70) and 15.7% (11/70) respectively, and the BA patients group was higher than the healthy subjects group (P<0.01). (2) The top 3 meridians with pressing sensitive acupoints occuring in BA patients were bladder meridian of foot-taiyang, lung meridian of hand-taiyin and large intestine meridian of hand-yangming, and the most frequent pressing sensitive acupoints were Feishu（BL 13）, Xinshu（BL 15）, Chize（LU 5） and Jueyinshu (BL 14). (3) The pressing sensitive acupoints in BA patients were distributed mainly on C4, C6 and T1-T6 nerve segment. CONCLUSION: Pressing sensitive acupoints have a close correlation with physical condition, and there is a close relation between pressing sensitive acupoints distribution and corresponding meridians and nerve segments in BA patients.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of actinidia valvata.

In this study, we first presented the complete chloroplast genome of Actinidia valvata by using Illumina Novaseq sequencing. Its complete chloroplast genome is 156,596 bp in length, containing a large single copy region of 88,477 bp and a small single copy region of 20,379 bp separated by a pair of inverted repeat regions of 23,870 bp. The chloroplast genome contains 112 unique genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA, and four rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on chloroplast genome sequences of ten plants from the family Actinidiaceae showed that A. valvata is more closely related to A. polygama than other members.

[Prevention and Treatment of Cancer Therapeutics-related Cardiac Dysfunction].

Cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction(CTRCD)is receiving more attention.Risk factors assessment before cancer therapy,cardiac function monitoring during and after cancer therapy,and early detection and treatment of myocardial injury are key to preventing clinical heart failure.The incidence and severity of cardiotoxicity can be reduced by measures such as reducing drug dose,adjusting administration route,and using low toxic drugs.Cardioprotective agents including anti-heart failure drugs and dexrazoxane are important for the prevention and treatment of CTRCD.Patients with advanced heart failure may also benefit from mechanical treatments including cardiac resynchronization therapy and mechanically-assisted ventricular devices.This article reviews the recent advances in the prevention and treatment of CTRCD.

Remote ischaemic preconditioning reduces myocardial injury in patients undergoing heart valve surgery: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) is cardioprotective in patients undergoing heart valve replacement. DESIGN: Single-blinded, randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Tertiary referral hospital in China. PATIENTS: Adult patients (31-72 years) undergoing mitral valve, aortic valve or tricuspid valve surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomised to either the RIPC (n=38) or control (n=35) group. After induction of anaesthesia, patients in the RIPC group underwent three 5 min cycles of right upper limb ischaemia, induced by an automated cuff-inflator placed on the upper arm and inflated to 200 mm Hg. Each cycle was interrupted by a 5 min period of reperfusion during which time the cuff was deflated. The control group had only a deflated cuff placed on the upper arm for 30 min. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum troponin I concentration was measured before surgery and at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h postoperatively. The cardiac function of all patients was followed postoperatively. RESULTS: Troponin I concentration was reduced in the RIPC group (398.7±179.3 µg/l) compared with the control group (708.4±242.5 µg/l). Mean difference was 309.7±50.8 (95% CI 210.1 to 409.3, p<0.0001). A greater improvement in postsurgical cardiac function was noted in the RIPC group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that RIPC reduces myocardial injury and improves cardiac function in patients undergoing heart valve surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01175681.

Competitive reaction kinetics of sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic bacteria in anaerobic filters.

A kinetic model for the anaerobic filter (AF) that takes into account the mass fractions of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) (fSRB) and methanogenic bacteria (MB) (fMB) and an inhibiting effect of H2S on bacterial groups is proposed. When the acetate-fed AFs were maintained at the low organic loading rate of 2.5kg COD/m3d, variations of the influent COD/SO4(2-) ratio (0.5-3.0) does not materially affect the acetate removal efficiency (all varying between 98.1% and 99.7%). With an increase in influent COD/SO4(2-) ratio, both the biofilm thickness and the specific substrate utilization rate decreased slightly but f(SRB) decreased markedly. The estimated results of fSRB and fMB showed that SRB out-competed MB for bacterial growth if the influent COD/SO4(2-) ratio was maintained at less than 1.3, whereas MB out-competed SRB for bacterial growth if the influent COD/SO4(2-) ratio was maintained at greater than 2.0. The specific substrate utilization rate of SRB (0.19-0.24mg acetate/mg VSSd) was lower than that of MB (0.31-0.59mg acetate/mg VSSd). The estimated kinetic parameters disclosed that the affinity of acetate to MB was higher and unionized H2S imposed a greater inhibiting effect on MB. The model simulation results (acetate and sulfate removal) agreed well with the experimental results.