Differential responses of contrasting low phosphorus tolerant cotton genotypes under low phosphorus and drought stress.

BACKGROUND: Drought is one of the main reasons for low phosphorus (P) solubility and availability. AIMS: The use of low P tolerant cotton genotypes might be a possible option to grow in drought conditions. METHODS: This study investigates the tolerance to drought stress in contrasting low P-tolerant cotton genotypes (Jimian169; strong tolerant to low P and DES926; weak tolerant to low P). In hydroponic culture, the drought was artificially induced with 10% PEG in both cotton genotypes followed by low (0.01 mM KH2PO4) and normal (1 mM KH2PO4) P application. RESULTS: The results showed that under low P, PEG-induced drought greatly inhibited growth, dry matter production, photosynthesis, P use efficiency, and led to oxidative stress from excessive malondialdehyde (MDA) and higher accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and these effects were more in DES926 than Jimian169. Moreover, Jimian169 alleviated oxidative damage by improving the antioxidant system, photosynthetic activities, and an increase in the levels of osmoprotectants like free amino acids, total soluble proteins, total soluble sugars, and proline. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that the low P-tolerant cotton genotype can tolerate drought conditions through high photosynthesis, antioxidant capacity, and osmotic adjustment.

Integrative physiological, transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals the involvement of carbon and flavonoid biosynthesis in low phosphorus tolerance in cotton.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient controlling plant growth and development through the regulation of basic metabolic processes; however, the molecular details of these pathways remain largely unknown. In this study, physiological, transcriptome, and metabolome analysis were compared for two cotton genotypes with different low P tolerance under P starvation and resupply. The results showed that the glucose, fructose, sucrose, and starch contents increased by 18.2%, 20.4%, 20.2%, and 14.3% in the roots and 18.3%, 23.3%, 11.0%, and 13.6% in the shoot of Jimian169 than DES926, respectively. Moreover, the activities of enzymes related to carbon and phosphorus metabolism were higher in the roots and shoots of Jimian169 than DES926. In addition, transcriptome analysis revealed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was higher in both roots (830) and shoots (730) under P starvation and the DEGs drastically reduced upon P resupply. The KEGG analysis indicated that DEGs were mainly enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, carbon metabolism, and photosynthesis. The metabolome analysis showed the enrichment of phenylpropanoid, organic acids and derivatives, and lipids in all the pairs at a given time point. The combined transcriptome and metabolome analysis revealed that carbon metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis are involved in the P starvation response in cotton. Moreover, co-expression network analysis identified 3 hub genes in the roots and shoots that regulate the pathways involved in the P starvation response. This study provides the foundation for understanding the mechanisms of low P tolerance and the hub genes as a potential target for the development of low P tolerant genotypes.

Phosphorus and carbohydrate metabolism contributes to low phosphorus tolerance in cotton.

Low phosphorus (P) is one of the limiting factors in sustainable cotton production. However, little is known about the performance of contrasting low P tolerant cotton genotypes that might be a possible option to grow in low P condition. In the current study, we characterized the response of two cotton genotypes, Jimian169 a strong low P tolerant, and DES926 a weak low P tolerant genotypes under low and normal P conditions. The results showed that low P greatly inhibited growth, dry matter production, photosynthesis, and enzymatic activities related to antioxidant system and carbohydrate metabolism and the inhibition was more in DES926 as compared to Jimian169. In contrast, low P improved root morphology, carbohydrate accumulation, and P metabolism, especially in Jimian169, whereas the opposite responses were observed for DES926. The strong low P tolerance in Jimian169 is linked with a better root system and enhanced P and carbohydrate metabolism, suggesting that Jimian169 is a model genotype for cotton breeding. Results thus indicate that the Jimian169, compared with DES926, tolerates low P by enhancing carbohydrate metabolism and by inducing the activity of several enzymes related to P metabolism. This apparently causes rapid P turnover and enables the Jimian169 to use P more efficiently. Moreover, the transcript level of the key genes could provide useful information to study the molecular mechanism of low P tolerance in cotton.

Genotypic variation in carbon and nitrogen metabolism in the cotton subtending leaves and seed cotton yield under various nitrogen levels.

BACKGROUND: Nitrogen (N) is the key nutrient required for high cotton production; however, its excessive use can increase the cost of production and environmental problems. Reducing the application of N while sustaining the yield is an important issue to be solved. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the genotypic variations in subtending leaf physiology and its contribution to seed cotton yield of contrasting N-efficient cotton genotypes under various N levels in pot and field conditions. RESULTS: The results showed that the application of N increased the enzymatic activities related to carbon (C) and N metabolisms. Under the same N level, the C/N metabolisms of the N-efficient genotypes were significantly higher than N-inefficient genotypes, indicating a strong N assimilation and photoassimilation ability in N-efficient genotypes, especially under low N level. Moreover, the antioxidant enzymatic activities were significantly higher, whereas malondialdehyde content was lower in N-efficient cotton genotypes than in N-inefficient ones. Therefore, N-efficient cotton genotypes showed strong resistance, higher C/N metabolisms, and provided sufficient dry matter for boll development. As a result, the yield, N use efficiency, and value cost ratio of the N-efficient cotton genotypes were higher than in the N-inefficient genotypes. CONCLUSION: It was confirmed that the higher C/N metabolisms in the cotton subtending leaves of N-efficient cotton genotypes could support higher seed cotton yield under relatively low N application. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair or Replacement: Competitive or Complementary?

Over the last two decades, transcatheter devices have been developed to repair or replace diseased mitral valves (MV). Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) devices have been proven to be efficient and safe, but many anatomical structures are not compatible with these technologies. The most significant advantage of transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) over transcatheter repair is the greater and more reliable reduction in mitral regurgitation. However, there are also potential disadvantages. This review introduces the newest TMVr and TMVR devices and presents clinical trial data to identify current challenges and directions for future research.

Genome-wide expression analysis reveals involvement of asparagine synthetase family in cotton development and nitrogen metabolism.

Asparagine synthetase (ASN) is one of the key enzymes of nitrogen (N) metabolism in plants. The product of ASN is asparagine, which is one of the key compounds involved in N transport and storage in plants. Complete genome-wide analysis and classifications of the ASN gene family have recently been reported in different plants. However, little is known about the systematic analysis and expression profiling of ASN proteins in cotton development and N metabolism. Here, various bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify ASN gene family in cotton. In the cotton genome, forty-three proteins were found that determined ASN genes, comprising of 20 genes in Gossypium hirsutum (Gh), 13 genes in Gossypium arboreum, and 10 genes in Gossypium raimondii. The ASN encoded genes unequally distributed on various chromosomes with conserved glutamine amidotransferases and ASN domains. Expression analysis indicated that the majority of GhASNs were upregulated in vegetative and reproductive organs, fiber development, and N metabolism. Overall, the results provide proof of the possible role of the ASN genes in improving cotton growth, fiber development, and especially N metabolism in cotton. The identified hub genes will help to functionally elucidate the ASN genes in cotton development and N metabolism.

Physiological Characteristics of Cotton Subtending Leaf Are Associated With Yield in Contrasting Nitrogen-Efficient Cotton Genotypes.

Nitrogen (N) plays an important role in various plant physiological processes, but studies on the photosynthetic efficiency and enzymatic activities in the cotton subtending leaves and their contribution to yield are still lacking. This study explored the influence of low, moderate, and high N levels on the growth, photosynthesis, carbon (C) and N metabolizing enzymes, and their contribution to yield in CCRI-69 (N-efficient) and XLZ-30 (N-inefficient). The results showed that moderate to high N levels had significantly improved growth, photosynthesis, and sucrose content of CCRI-69 as compared to XLZ-30. The seed cotton yield and lint yield of CCRI-69 were similar under moderate and high N levels but higher than XLZ-30. Similarly, moderate to high N levels improved the C/N metabolizing enzymatic activities in the subtending leaf of CCRI-69 than XLZ-30. A strong correlation was found between subtending leaf N concentration with C/N metabolizing enzymes, photosynthesis, sucrose contents, boll weight, and seed cotton yield of N-efficient cotton genotype. These findings suggest that subtending leaf N concentration regulates the enzymatic activities and has a key role in improving the yield. These parameters may be considered for breeding N-efficient cotton genotypes, which might help to reduce fertilizer loss and improve crop productivity.

Growth and nitrogen metabolism are associated with nitrogen-use efficiency in cotton genotypes.

Crops, including cotton, are sensitive to nitrogen (N) and excessive use can lead to an increase in production costs and environmental problems. We hypothesized that the use of cotton genotypes with substantial root systems and high genetic potentials for nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) would best address these problems. Therefore, the interspecific variations and traits contributing to NUE in six cotton genotypes having contrasting NUEs were studied in response to various nitrate concentrations. Large genotypic variations were observed in morphophysiological and biochemical traits, especially shoot dry weight, root traits, and N-assimilating enzyme levels. The roots of all the cotton genotypes were more sensitive to low-than high-nitrate concentrations, and the genotype CCRI-69 had the largest root system irrespective of the nitrate concentration. The root morphological traits were positively correlated with N-utilization efficiency and were more affected by genotype than nitrate concentration. Conversely, growth and N-assimilating enzyme levels were more affected by nitrate concentration and were positively correlated with N-uptake efficiency. Based on shoot dry weight, CCRI-69 and XLZ-30 were identified as N-efficient and N-inefficient genotypes, respectively, and these results were confirmed by their contrasting root systems, N metabolism, and NUEs. In the future, multi-omics techniques will be performed to identify key genes/pathways involved in N metabolism, which may have the potential to improve root architecture and increase NUE.

Untangling the molecular mechanisms and functions of nitrate to improve nitrogen use efficiency.

A huge amount of nitrogenous fertilizer is used to increase crop production. This leads to an increase in the cost of production, and to human and environmental problems. It is therefore necessary to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and to design agronomic, biotechnological and breeding strategies for better fertilizer use. Nitrogen use efficiency relies primarily on how plants extract, uptake, transport, assimilate, and remobilize nitrogen. Many plants use nitrate as a preferred nitrogen source. It acts as a signaling molecule in the various important physiological processes required for growth and development. As nitrate is the main source of nitrogen in the soil, root nitrate transporters are important subjects for study. The latest reports have also discussed how nitrate transporter and assimilation genes can be used as molecular tools to improve NUE in crops. The purpose of this review is to describe the mechanisms and functions of nitrate as a specific factor that can be addressed to increase NUE. Improving factors such as nitrate uptake, transport, assimilation, and remobilization through activation by signaling, sensing, and regulatory processes will improve plant growth and NUE. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Recovery rule of atrial contractility after Maze Ⅳ in patients with valvular atrial fibrillation / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To analyze the recovery rule of atrial contractility (AC) function after Maze Ⅳ procedure of valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods    In our hospital from March 2016 to April 2018, 103 patients who underwent cryoablation Maze Ⅳ procedure due to mitral valve lesions associated with persistent or long-term persistent AF were enrolled. There were 42 males and 61 females, with an average age of 58.5±9.1 years. Electrocardiogram and echocardiography were followed up at discharge and 1, 3, 6, 12 months after procedure. A multivariate Cox analysis of predictive factors for AC recovery was applied. Results    All the 103 patients were followed up for 1 year. The recovery rate of AC increased gradually after operation. It was not until 3 months after procedure that most of the right atrial contractility (RAC) was accompanied by synchronous recovery of the corresponding left atrial contractility (LAC, Kappa coefficient≥0.40, P<0.05). However, the coexistence of sinus rhythm (SR) and bilateral AC was not consistent well until 1 year after operation (Kappa coefficient≥0.40, P<0.05). One year after procedure, the recovery rates of SR and bilateral AC were 86.4% (89/103) and 66.0% (68/103) respectively. By Cox multivariate regression analysis, longer preoperative AF duration (P=0.040), larger preoperative left atrial diameter (LAD, P=0.003), and AC deletion 3 months after surgery (P=0.037) were predictive factors for AF recurrence in the middle and advanced stages (>3 months) after Maze surgery. At the same time, longer preoperative AF duration and larger preoperative LAD were also negative predictors of middle and late recovery of LAC and bilateral AC (All P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the best critical value of preoperative AF time and preoperative LAD for prediction of AC recovery was 37 months (sensitivity 99.6%, specificity 76.3%) and 60.5 mm (sensitivity 98.5%, specificity 78.9%), respectively. Conclusion    The recovery of AC after Maze procedure is a dynamic improvement process. Early recovery of AC is beneficial to the stable maintenance of SR in the future. Prolonged duration of AF and enlarged LAD have adverse effects on the outcome of Maze Ⅳ procedure.

Analysis of DIAPH3 gene mutation in a boy with autism spectrum disorder / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinical manifestations and gene mutation of a 6 year old boy with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Peripheral blood of the boy and his parents were subjected to genetic testing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patient was diagnosed with typical autism. Exome sequencing has identified mutations of four candidate genes, namely TUT1, DIAPH3, REELIN and SETD2, which were confirmed with Sanger sequencing. Analysis of family members confirmed that the missense mutations of DIAPH3 and SETD2 genes were of de novo origin.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Missense mutations of DIAPH3 and SETD2 genes may have contributed to the risk of ASD. Disrupted neurogenesis associated with such mutations may have been the underlying mechanism for ASD.</p>

Clinical significance of hypersensitive C-reactive protein in patients with acute coronary syndrome / 国际检验医学杂志

Objective To study the clinical significance of hypersensitive C‐reactive protein(hs‐CRP) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) .Methods 45 patients with ACS were selected as the ACS group ,including 26 cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI group) and 19 cases of unstable angina pectoris (UAP group) ;30 patients with stable angina pectoris(SAP) were selected as the SAP group and 30 health people with healthy physical examination in the outpatient department as the control group .The latex‐en‐hanced immunoturbidimetry was adopted to detect the serum hs‐CRP levels in all selected subjects and the detection results were compared .Results The serum hs‐CRP level of ACS and SAP groups were significantly higher than that of the control group with statistical difference (P< 0 .01) .The hs‐CRP level of AMI and UAP groups was higher than that of the SAP group with statistical difference (P< 0 .05) .Conclusion hs‐CRP is an independent risk factor for ACS and one of the most powerful predictors ,able to quickly and accurately conduct early diagnosis ,risk stratification ,condition monitoring and prognosis judgment in the patients with ACS .

Effect of Electromyographic Biofeedback with Electric Stimulation Training on Dorsiflexion of Foot of Children with Spastic Diplegia / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To investigate the effect of electromyographic biofeedback with electric stimulation (Est-EMGBFT) training on dorsiflexion of foot of cerebral palsy children with spastic diplegia type.Methods 66 cerebral palsy children with spastic diplegia type were randomly divided into the treatment group and control group with 33 cases in each group. The treatment group was treated with rehabilitation training plus Est-EMGBFT, while the control group with rehabilitation training only. The manual muscle test (MMT) of tibial muscle and the ankle joint initiative range of motion (I-ROM) were performed before and after 4 courses of treatment, and the treatment group was assessed by electromyographic (EMG) apparatus additionally.Results After treatment, the muscular force of children in the treatment group was higher than those in the control group significantly ( P<0.01) and the level of integrated electromyography (iEMG) and root mean square (RMS) assessed by sEMG increased significantly ( P<0.05), the I-ROM of the treatment group was higher than the control group significantly ( P<0.05).Conclusion Est-EMGBFT training can provide a satisfactory rehabilitation effect for the dorsiflexion of foot of cerebral palsy children with spastic diplegia type.

Comparative Study on Trace Elements in Gentiana macrophlla and Gentiana officinalis from Gansu / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To determine the contents of elements Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg and Cr in Gentiana macrophlla and Gentiana officinalis. Methods The contents of elements were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Results The recovery rates obtained by standard addition method were between 88.1%～114.5%, and the RSDs were lower than 3.18%. Gentiana macrophlla is rich in the trace elements such as Fe, Ni, Cu, Ca, Mg, and Gentiana officinalis is rich in the trace elements such as Mn, Zn, Cr. Conclusion There are some difference between wild and planted Gentiana officinalis in element content, that may be related to their growing environment.

Identification by measuring internal transcribed spacer regions of rRNA gene in Radix Angelicae Sinensis / 中草药

Object To set up an identified standard on the level of molecule through measuring the internal transcribed spacer regions of the rRNA gene in Radix Angelicae Sinensis Methods To extract DNA from the seeds of Radix Angelicae Sinensis by conventional method, and use composed peculiar primer amplify with the internal transcribed spacer regions of the rRNA gene, to measure the base sequence of the amplified products Results It is proved by agar sugar gel electrophoresis that the PCR amplified products of the internal transcribed spacer regions of the rRNA gene exist The base sequence of the seeds of Radix Angelicae Sinensis internal transcribed spacer regions of the rRNA gene was measured Conclusion To measure the base sequence of internal transcribed spacer regions of the rRNA gene is another effective method to identify the vegetal traditional Chinese medicine on the molecular level