Bacillus simplex treatment promotes soybean defence against soybean cyst nematodes: A metabolomics study using GC-MS.

We aimed to profile the metabolism of soybean roots that were infected with soybean cyst nematodes and treated with Bacillus simplex to identify metabolic differences that may explain nematode resistance. Compared with control soybean roots, B. simplex-treated soybean roots contained lower levels of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and trehalose, which reduced the nematodes' food source. Furthermore, treatment with B. simplex led to higher levels of melibiose, gluconic acid, lactic acid, phytosphingosine, and noradrenaline in soybean roots, which promoted nematocidal activity. The levels of oxoproline, maltose, and galactose were lowered after B. simplex treatment, which improved disease resistance. Collectively, this study provides insight into the metabolic alterations induced by B. simplex treatment, which affects the interactions with soybean cyst nematodes.

Value of the Barthel scale in prognostic prediction for patients with cerebral infarction.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the ADL(activity of daily living) of patients with acute cerebral infarction through BI scoring, in order to observe its predictive value in the prognosis of these patients. METHODS: According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients with acute anterior circulation cerebral infarction were included in the present study. Then, the BI scoring was analyzed through five grades, in order to further investigate the dose-response relationship between BI scoring and mortality risk in patients with cerebral infarction. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for BI-scored patients were drawn, and the predictive authenticity of the Barthel scale in prognostic prediction for patients with cerebral infarction was estimated. RESULTS: The difference in BI scores between the survival group and death group were statistically significant (t = 10.029, P < 0.05), in which the score was lower in the death group than in the survival group. According to the linear trend ×2-test, the decrease in BI score indicates an increase in mortality risk in patients with cerebral infarction. The area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve was 0.794 with a P-value of < 0.05. CONCLUSION: BI scoring is a highly valuable scoring system for the prognostic prediction of patients with acute cerebral infarction.

A Prospective Study of Comparing the Application of Two Generation Scoring Systems in Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to compare the value of acute physiologic and chronic health evaluation scoring systems (APACHE II and APACHE III) among patients with acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: The APACHE II and APACHE III scores were determined in 399 patients with acute cerebral infarction within 24 h of admission in order to investigate their predictive value for prognosis in acute cerebral infarction. The area under the ROC curve was used to measure the ability of two scoring systems in predicting the prognosis of patients, and the area under the curve of the two scoring systems was compared. RESULTS: The APACHE II and APACHE III scoring systems demonstrated good predictive value for prognosis in acute cerebral infarction, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic were 0.808 and 0.818, respectively. There was no significant difference in the area under the curve between these two scoring systems. CONCLUSION: Both the APACHE II and APACHE III scoring systems had good predictive value for prognosis in acute cerebral infarction, and there was no obvious difference between these two systems. Preference was suggested for APACHE II.

Evaluation of the Application of APACHE II Combined With NIHSS Score in the Short-Term Prognosis of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage Patient.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of combining Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Disease Classification System II (APACHE II) scores and the NIHSS score for short-term prognosis of cerebral hemorrhage patients. Methods: APACHE II and NIHSS scores were respectively carried out for 189 acute cerebral hemorrhage patients who were admitted to the hospital for 24 h, and the area under ROC curve was used to measure the ability of these score systems to forecast the prognosis, in order to find the best dividing value. The discriminant analysis method should be used to carry out a comprehensive analysis of these two score methods and establish the mathematical model to provide a reasonable basis for accurately mastering these illness conditions, and its prognosis. Results: The areas under the ROC curve of APACHE II and NIHSS scores in forecasting cerebral hemorrhage prognosis was 0.853 and 0.845, respectively, the dividing value was 15 and 17, respectively, and the forecasting accuracy was 77.2 and 79.9%, respectively; The forecasting accuracy of the combined discrimination model was 85.96%. Conclusion: APACHE II and NIHSS scores have good forecasting value to the short-term prognosis of acute cerebral hemorrhage patients, and the combination of these two can provide a higher forecasting value.

Application Values of Six Scoring Systems in the Prognosis of Stroke Patients.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE; II and III), Chinese Stroke Scale (CSS), National Institutes of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS), activities of daily living (ADL) (Barthel index, BI), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores for stroke patients. Methods: A total of 352 stroke patients were evaluated using APACHE II, APACHE III, CSS, NIHSS, ADL, and GCS scores within 24 h after admission. And these patients were consecutive admissions to the hospital. The endpoint was in-hospital death. The scores of these scales were compared between the survival group and death group, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn. The ability of each scoring system to predict the prognosis of patients was evaluated using the area under the ROC curve, and the areas under the curves (AUCs) of these six scales were compared. Results: The AUCs of the APACHE II, APACHE III, CSS, NIHSS, ADL, and GCS scores were 0.882, 0.867, 0.832, 0.859, 0.838, and 0.819, respectively. Conclusion: APACHE II, APACHE III, CSS, NIHSS, ADL, and GCS scores have good predictive values in the prognosis of stroke patients. APACHE II is superior among the other five scales.

Predictive values of CSS and NIHSS in the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction: A comparative analysis.

This study aims to investigate the predictive values of the Chinese Stroke Scale (CSS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) in the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction.A total of 399 patients with acute cerebral infarction were assessed using CSS and NIHSS within 1 day after admission. Then, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were established, and the area under the curves of these 2 scoring systems was compared.The area under the curve of CSS and NIHSS was 0.796 and 0.794, respectively.CSS and NIHSS have good predictive values for the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction.

High wall shear stress beyond a certain range in the parent artery could predict the risk of anterior communicating artery aneurysm rupture at follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Among clinical and morphological criteria, hemodynamics is the main predictor of aneurysm growth and rupture. This study aimed to identify which hemodynamic parameter in the parent artery could independently predict the rupture of anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms by using multivariate logistic regression and two-piecewise linear regression models. An additional objective was to look for a more simplified and convenient alternative to the widely used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques to detect wall shear stress (WSS) as a screening tool for predicting the risk of aneurysm rupture during the follow-up of patients who did not undergo embolization or surgery. METHODS: One hundred sixty-two patients harboring ACoA aneurysms (130 ruptured and 32 unruptured) confirmed by 3D digital subtraction angiography at three centers were selected for this study. Morphological and hemodynamic parameters were evaluated for significance with respect to aneurysm rupture. Local hemodynamic parameters were obtained by MR angiography and transcranial color-coded duplex sonography to calculate WSS magnitude. Multivariate logistic regression and a two-piecewise linear regression analysis were performed to identify which hemodynamic parameter independently characterizes the rupture status of ACoA aneurysms. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that WSS (p < 0.001), circumferential wall tension (p = 0.005), age (p < 0.001), the angle between the A1 and A2 segments of the anterior cerebral artery (p < 0.001), size ratio (p = 0.023), aneurysm angle (p < 0.001), irregular shape (p = 0.005), and hypertension (grade II) (p = 0.006) were significant parameters. Multivariate analyses showed significant association between WSS in the parent artery and ACoA aneurysm rupture (p = 0.0001). WSS magnitude, evaluated by a two-piecewise linear regression model, was significantly correlated with the rupture of the ACoA aneurysm when the magnitude was higher than 12.3 dyne/cm2 (HR 7.2, 95% CI 1.5-33.6, p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: WSS in the parent artery may be one of the reliable hemodynamic parameters characterizing the rupture status of ACoA aneurysms when the WSS magnitude is higher than 12.3 dyne/cm2. Analysis showed that with each additional unit of WSS (even with a 1-unit increase of WSS), there was a 6.2-fold increase in the risk of rupture for ACoA aneurysms.

Transarterial chemoembolization extends long-term survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

The long-term survival benefit of treating unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) rather than conservative treatment remains controversial. This retrospective case-control study evaluated the survival of patients with unresectable HCC treated with TACE, relative to that of patients who received best supportive care.From January 2002 to December 2010, 522 of 2386 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC were enrolled. Patients were treated with TACE (n = 347) or best supportive care (non-TACE; n = 175). A survival analysis compared the survival of the 2 groups, as well as only those at Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Classification (BCLC)-C and Child-Pugh-B (39 TACE, 61 non-TACE).The median follow-up was 5 months (0.15-106 months).The overall median survival of the TACE group (8.0 months) was significantly longer than that of the non-TACE (2.0 months; P ≤ .01). Of the patients at BCLC-C and Child-Pugh-B, the overall median survivals of the TACE and non-TACE patients were 6.0 and 2.0 months, respectively (P ≤ .01); and the 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8-year overall survival rates were significantly superior in the TACE group (P ≤ .01). For all the patients, the independent predictors of survival were treatment modalities, portal vein tumor thrombosis, alpha-fetoprotein, and BCLC stage. Regarding the TACE patients, contributors to prognosis were portal vein tumor thrombosis, alpha-fetoprotein level, and the number of TACE procedures.TACE for unresectable HCC was associated with longer survival compared with best supportive care, especially for patients at BCLC-C and Child-Pugh-B.

Molecular characterization, expression analysis and heterologous expression of two translationally controlled tumor protein genes from Cucumis sativus.

The translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is a family of abundant and ubiquitous proteins involved in several important primary functions. Cucumbers harbor two TCTP genes, CsTCTP1 and CsTCTP2; however, their functional roles remain unclear. In this study, we isolated CsTCTP1 and CsTCTP2 (XP-004134215 and XP-004135602, respectively) promoters, full-length cDNA and genomic sequences from Cucumis sativus. Bioinformatics analysis, containing cis-acting elements, structural domains, phylogenetic tree and conserved motifs, suggested the conservation and divergence of CsTCTP1 and CsTCTP2, thus providing knowledge regarding their functions. Expression analysis indicated that CsTCTP1 and CsTCTP2 exhibited tissue-specific expression and were regulated by biotic or abiotic stresses in C. sativus. Furthermore, CsTCTP1 and CsTCTP2 were regulated by ABA and may be associated with the TOR (target of rapamycin) signaling pathway. In a prokaryotic expression analysis, CsTCTP1 and CsTCTP2 showed positive responses to salt and heat stresses and a negative response to drought and HgCl2 stresses. TCTP may exert multiple functions in various cellular processes.

Inhibition of c-Myc by 10058-F4 induces growth arrest and chemosensitivity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a formidable medical challenge due to its malignancies and the absence of effective treatment. c-Myc, as an important transcription factor, plays crucial roles in cell cycle progression, apoptosis and cellular transformation. The c-Myc inhibitor, 10058-F4, has been reported act as a tumor suppressor in several different tumors. In current study, the tumor-suppressive roles of 10058-F4 was observed in human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro as demonstrated by decreased cell viability, cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition and increased caspase3/7 activity. And tumor responses to gemcitabine were also significantly enhanced by 10058-F4 in PANC-1 and SW1990 cells. In a subcutaneous xenograft model, however, 10058-F4 showed no significant influence on pancreatic tumorigenesis. When combined with gemcitabine, tumorigenesis was drastically attenuated compared with gemcitabine group or 10058-F4 group; this synergistic effect was accompanied with decreased PCNA-positive cells and reduced TUNEL-positive cells in the combined treated group. Subsequent studies revealed that decreased glycolysis may be involved in the inhibitory effect of 10058-F4 on PDAC. Taken together, this study demonstrates the roles of 10058-F4 in PDAC and provides evidence that 10058-F4 in combination with gemcitabine showed significant clinical benefit over the usage of gemcitabine alone.

Effects of waterlogging on amyloplasts and programmed cell death in endosperm cells of Triticum aestivum L.

The effects of waterlogging on amyloplasts and programmed cell death (PCD) in endosperm cells in Chinese wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; cv: Hua mai 8) are here discussed. Four water treatments were established from anthesis to maturity: they were 3 days of waterlogging treatment (DWT), 7 DWT, 12 DWT, and moderate water supply (the control). Lugol staining and scanning electron microscopy showed decreases in the number of amyloplasts and partially filled circular cavities under the waterlogging treatments. These resulted in serious deformities in the endosperm cells. Evans blue staining analysis and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated fluorescein deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling assays indicated that the PCD progression of endosperm cells occurred earlier under waterlogging treatments than in the control, so did the internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, which accompanies PCD in endosperm cells. Electron transmission microscopy analysis showed similar results. Under waterlogging treatments, the following PCD characteristics appeared earlier and were more pronounced than in normal endosperm cells: chromatin condensation, degradation of the nuclear envelope, swelling, and degradation of the mitochondrial cristae. Our study concluded that under waterlogging conditions, the number of amyloplasts tended to decrease and PCD was likely to appear ahead of time.

[Determination of metacycline in mixture sample by synchronous-derivative fluorimetry].

A new synchronous-derivative fluorimetric method for the determination of metacycline (MTC) in the presence of oxytetracycline (OTC) is proposed. The degradation products of MTC in 0.1 mol x L(-1) NaOH are strongly fluorescent. The addition of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) enhances the fluorescence intensity 2-fold. The synchronous fluorescence spectra of MTC and OTC degradation products do not interfere with each other under the condition that deltalambda = 100 nm. MTC can be determined in the presence of OTC in the range of OTC+MTC ratio of 1+116-1+1. The recoveries of MTC in the mixture sample are in the range of 94%-102%.