Abstract Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are proteins synthesized in plants and responsible for their tolerance to environmental stresses. However, little information is available on the GST gene family of sweet potato, a globally important crop. The genetic evolution of GSTs in sweet potato remains unclear. The present study investigated the GST gene family in sweet potato by transcriptomic and comparative genomic analyses. A total of 51 GSTs were identified. Gene expression analysis showed differential expression patterns of the GSTs between two investigated varieties. Some GST expression levels were either up- or downregulated under oxidative, salinity and drought stresses. The results of the investigation provided new insights on the GST gene family in sweet potato, which may further the understanding of the roles of these genes in regulating abiotic stresses.

SUMMARY: The Wnt pathway is essential for the initiation of lizard tail regeneration. The regenerated lizard tails exhibit obvious morphological differences compared to the original ones. The expression of Wnt1 and Wnt2b proteins in the regenerating tail of Scincella tsinlingensis was detected by immunohistochemistry and then comparatively analyzed for ultrastructural changes in the original and regenerated spinal cord. The ependymal layer of the original spinal cord was pseudostratified with multiciliated cells and primary monociliated cells, while the cells of the ependymal layer of the regenerated spinal cord were organized in a monolayer with a few biciliated cells. Immunolocalization indicated that Wnt1 and Wnt2b were mainly distributed in the dermis near the original tail stump, spinal cord, and clot-positive migratory cells during Stage I, 0-1 days post-amputation (dpa). Wnt1 and Wnt2b were predominantly detected in the epaxial and hypaxial musculature near the original tail stump, wound epithelium, and spinal cord in the original tail during Stage II, 1-7 dpa. Mesenchymal cells and wound epithelium showed immunostaining during Stage III and IV, 7-15 dpa. The ependymal tubes contained these signaling proteins during Stage V and VI, 20- 30 dpa. Labeling was mainly observed in nearby regenerative blood vessels, ependymal cells, epaxial and hypaxial musculature in the apical epithelial layer (AEC) after 45-160 dpa. These findings indicated that Wnt1 and Wnt2b proteins presented primarily in regenerating epidermis and nerve tissues were a critical signal for tail regeneration in S. tsinlingensis.

RESUMEN: La vía Wnt es esencial para el inicio de la regeneración de la cola del lagarto. Las colas de lagarto regeneradas exhiben diferencias morfológicas obvias en comparación con las originales. La expresión de las proteínas Wnt1 y Wnt2b en la cola en regeneración de Scincella tsinlingensis se detectó mediante inmunohistoquímica y luego se analizaron comparativamente los cambios ultraestructurales en la médula espinal original y regenerada. La capa ependimaria de la médula espinal original se pseudoestratificó con células multiciliadas y células monociliadas primarias, mientras que las células de la capa ependimaria de la médula espinal regenerada se organizaron en monocapa con algunas células bicilicadas. La inmunolocalización indicó que Wnt1 y Wnt2b se distribuyeron principalmente en la dermis cerca del muñón de la cola original, la médula espinal y las células migratorias positivas en el coágulo durante la Etapa I, 0-1 días después de la amputación (dpa). Wnt1 y Wnt2b se detectaron predominantemente en la musculatura epaxial e hipaxial cerca del muñón de la cola original, el epitelio de la herida y la médula espinal en la cola original durante la Etapa II, 1-7 dpa. Las células mesenquimales y el epitelio de la herida mostraron inmunomarcaje durante la Etapa III y IV, 7- 15 dpa. Los tubos ependimarios contenían estas proteínas de señalización durante la Etapa V y VI, 20-30 dpa. El marcaje se observó principalmente en vasos sanguíneos regenerativos cercanos, células ependimarias, musculatura epaxial e hipaxial en la capa epitelial apical (AEC) después de 45-160 dpa. Estos hallazgos indicaron que las proteínas Wnt1 y Wnt2b están presentes principalmente en la epidermis en regeneración y en los tejidos nerviosos y eran una señal crítica para la regeneración de la cola en S. tsinlingensis.

ABSTRACT Grafting is an important means to overcome the obstacles of continuous cropping of solanaceous vegetables. The objective of this subject was to evaluate the performance of different rootstocks in grafted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under coconut coir cultivation. This research was carried out on a scion ‘Ruifen 882’ grafted onto four rootstocks (‘Guangzhen 1’, ‘Zhenai 1’, ‘Ganzhen 1’, and ‘Guozhen 1’) in comparison with non-grafted and self-grafted ‘Ruifen 882’ plants. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse environment and adopted the casing grafting method with three replicates; 20 plants per replicate were employed in a randomized block design. The following variables were analyzed: graft survival rate, growth parameters (plant height, stem diameter, fresh and dry weight of above-ground part and under-ground part, root-shoot ratio and strong seedling index), physiological characteristics (chlorophyll and mineral element contents), fruit yield, and fruit quality (hardness, soluble solid, soluble sugar, titratable acid, vitamin C and lycopene). The results of growth monitoring indicated that grafting could improve the growth and development of tomato plants at the seedling stage and ‘Ruifen 882’/‘Guozhen 1’ (R/GUO) had high grafting survival rate of nearly 98%, which is close to the self-grafted plants. Physiological analysis showed that R/GUO and ‘Ruifen 882’/‘Zhenai 1’ (R/ ZA) significantly increased the chlorophyll content and absorption of K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Na, Mn and Cu. On fruit yield, grafts ‘Ruifen 882’/‘Ganzhen 1’ (R/GAN) and R/GUO had better performance. Comprehensive analysis showed that the best results for tomato scion growth, development, fruit quality and yield were observed with the graft combination R/GUO.

Resumo Objetivo: Observar os efeitos do bloqueio do gânglio estrelado na fibrilação atrial no período perioperatório em pacientes submetidos a lobectomia pulmonar. Método: Duzentos pacientes programados para lobectomia foram divididos aleatoriamente nos grupos S e C. O grupo S recebeu infusão de 4 mL de ropivacaína a 0,2% orientada por ultrassom e o grupo C não foi submetido a bloqueio do gânglio estrelado. Os pacientes foram submetidos à monitoração contínua de ECG, e as incidências de fibrilação atrial e outros tipos de arritmias foram registradas do início da cirurgia até 24 horas depois da cirurgia. Resultados: As incidências de fibrilação atrial no grupo S e no grupo C foram 3% e 10%, respectivamente (p = 0,045); as de outras arritmias atriais foram 20% e 38% (p = 0,005); e de arritmias ventriculares, 28% e 39% (p = 0,09). Conclusões: Os resultados do estudo indicaram que o bloqueio do gânglio estrelado no pré-operatório pode ser efetivo na redução da incidência de fibrilação atrial nos períodos intra- e pós-operatório.

Abstract Objective: To observe the effects of preoperative right stellate ganglion block on perioperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing lung lobectomy. Methods: Two hundred patients who underwent a scheduled lobectomy were randomly divided into the S and C groups. The S group was injected with 4 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine under ultrasound guidance, and the C group did not receive stellate ganglion block. The patients underwent continuous ECG monitoring, and the incidences of atrial fibrillation and other types of arrhythmias were recorded from the start of surgery to 24 hours after surgery. Results: The respective incidences of atrial fibrillation in the S group and the C group were 3% and 10% (p = 0.045); other atrial arrhythmias were 20% and 38% (p = 0.005); and ventricular arrhythmia were 28% and 39% (p = 0.09). Conclusions: The results of the study indicated that preoperative right stellate ganglion block can effectively reduce the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Abstract The study was designed to investigate the effects of cryopreservation on bovine, ovine, and goat sperm motility, acrosome structure, enzyme activity, and fertilization ability. Percentage of sperm with hyaluronidase enzyme (HYD) activity was detected by a modified sodium hyaluronate-gelatin membrane. The N-α-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BNPNA) method was used to assess the sperm acrosome enzyme (ACE). The mean percentage of sperm acrosome integrity dropped significantly (P < 0.01) after cryopreservation. The ACE activity of bovine sperm (100.48) was higher (P < 0.01) than that of ovine (57.88) or goat sperm (50.30), while the percentage of sperm with HYD activity of bovine (71.10%) and ovine (67.60%) sperm was higher than that of goat sperm (58.52%) after cryopreservation (P < 0.01). Sperm motility was positively correlated with the activity of the two acrosome enzymes before and after cryopreservation (P < 0.01). Cryopreservation had a negative effect on acrosomal morphology, motility, and acrosomal enzyme activity in their sperm. The fertilization ability of ovine and goat sperm decreased significantly after cryopreservation, but that of frozen bovine sperm did not differ significantly when compared with fresh sperm. There was no significant difference between ovine and goat sperm indices, except for percentage of sperm with HYD activity.

Abstract Purpose Patients with diabetes are vulnerable to myocardial I/R (ischaemia/reperfusion) injury, but are not responsive to IPO (ischaemic post-conditioning). We hypothesized that decreased cardiac Adiponectin (APN) is responsible for the loss of diabetic heart sensitivity to IPO cardioprotecton. Methods Diabetic rats were subjected to I/R injury (30 min of LAD occlusion followed by 120 min of reperfusion). Myocardial infarct area was determined by TTC staining. Cardiac function was monitored by a microcatheter. ANP, 15-F2t-isoprostane, nitrotyrosine and MDA were measured by assay kits. Levels of p-Akt, total-Akt and GAPDH were determined by Western Blot. Results Diabetic rats subjected to myocardial IR exhibited severe myocardial infarction and oxidative stress injury, lower APN in the plasma and cardiac p-Akt expression ( P <0.05). IPO significantly attenuated myocardial injury and up-regulated plasma APN content and cardiac p-Akt expression in non-diabetic rats but not in diabetic rats. Linear correlation analysis showed that the expression of adiponectin was positively correlated with p-Akt and negatively correlated with myocardial infarction area ( P <0.01). Conclusion Protective effect of IPO was tightly correlated with the expression of adiponectin, exacerbation of I/R injury and ineffectiveness of IPO was partially due to the decline of adiponectin and inactivation of Akt in diabetes mellitus.

ABSTRACT Expressways in China are developing rapidly, as is traffic pollution, which is one of the major sources of urban pollution. In this study, we chose the greenbelt in the idle zone near the Lin’an toll station along the Hang Rui expressway as our sampling area. Five points in the sampling area along Qianjin road were marked vertically at distances of 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 m to monitor concentrations of PM2.5 and learn the varying patterns of these concentrations and influencing factors. The results showed that in spring (March, April and May), the average PM2.5 concentrations in the greenbelt were 32.56 ± 22.51, 77.71 ± 32.11 and 64.15 ± 29.00 μg m-3, respectively. The ranking of concentrations at different monitoring points in the same period was 0 > 15 > 60 > 30 > 45 m. The average concentrations in winter (November and December 2017, and February 2018) were 33.56 ± 9.34, 60.78 ± 17.67 and 124.71 ± 43.19 μg m-3, respectively. However, the ranking of concentrations at different monitoring points in the same period revealed some differences. Except at 0 m, the concentrations of PM2.5 in the other four positions were higher in winter than in spring. The reduction rate at 45 m reached its maximum in both spring and winter. PM2.5 concentrations were significantly correlated with meteorological factors, the structure of the plant community and traffic flow. PM2.5 concentrations were negatively correlated with temperature, positively correlated with relative humidity and was not significantly correlated with wind speed. The correlations of PM2.5 concentrations with the canopy density and degree of porosity differed greatly due to different seasons, and concentrations were significantly correlated with the amount of traffic flow, especially when there were large trucks.

RESUMEN Las vías rápidas se están desarrollando con gran celeridad en China y junto con ellas la contaminación por tráfico, que es una de las mayores fuentes de contaminación urbana. En este estudio se eligió como área de muestreo el cinturón verde ubicado en la zona de amortiguamiento cercana a la estación de peaje Lin’an en la autopista Hang Rui. Se seleccionaron cinco puntos verticales a lo largo de la carretera Qianjin a distancias de 0, 15, 30, 45 y 60 m para monitorear las concentraciones de PM2.5 y conocer tanto sus patrones de variaciones como los factores que influyen en ellos. Los resultados mostraron que durante la primavera (marzo, abril y mayo) las concentraciones promedio de PM2.5 en el cinturón verde fueron de 32.56 ± 22.51, 77.71 ± 32.11 y 64.15 ± 29.00 μg m-3, respectivamente. La categorización de las concentraciones en diferentes puntos de monitoreo en el mismo periodo fue de 0 > 15 > 60 > 30 > 45 m. Las concentraciones promedio en invierno (noviembre y diciembre de 2017, y febrero de 2018) fueron de 33.56 ± 9.34, 60.78 ± 17.67 y 124.71 ± 43.19 μg m-3, respectivamente. Sin embargo, la categorización de las concentraciones en diferentes puntos de monitoreo mostró algunas diferencias. Con excepción del punto de muestreo ubicado a 0 m, las concentraciones de PM2.5 en los otros cuatro puntos fueron superiores en invierno que en primavera. La tasa de reducción a una distancia de 45 m alcanzó su máximo tanto en primavera como en invierno. Las concentraciones de PM2.5 tuvieron una correlación significativa con factores meteorológicos, la estructura de la comunidad vegetal y el flujo de tráfico; asimismo, tuvieron una correlación negativa con la temperatura, correlación positiva con la humedad relativa, y correlación no significativa con la velocidad del viento. Las correlaciones de PM2.5 con la densidad y el grado de porosidad de la cubierta vegetal difirieron de manera considerable como resultado de la estacionalidad, y las concentraciones se correlacionaron significativamente con la densidad del flujo de tráfico, especialmente en presencia de camiones pesados.

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim was to characterize blood glucose fluctuations in patients with fulminant type 1 diabetes (FT1DM) at the stable stage using continuous blood glucose monitoring systems (CGMSs). Subjects and methods: Ten patients with FT1DM and 20 patients with classic type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) (the control group) were monitored using CGMSs for 72 hours. Results: The CGMS data showed that the mean blood glucose (MBG), the standard deviation of the blood glucose (SDBG), the mean amplitude glycemic excursions (MAGE), the blood glucose areas and the percentages of blood glucose levels below 13.9 mmol/L were similar between the two groups. However, the percentage of blood glucose levels below 3.9 mmol/L was significantly higher in the FT1DM group compared to the T1DM group (p < 0.05). The minimum (Min) blood glucose level in the FT1DM group was significantly lower than that of the T1DM group (p < 0.05). Patients with FT1DM had severe dysfunction of the islet beta cells and alpha cells compared to patients with T1DM, as indicated by lower C-peptide values and higher glucagon/C-peptide values. Conclusion: In conclusion, patients with FT1DM at the stable stage were more prone to hypoglycemic episodes as recorded by CGMSs, and they had a greater association with severe dysfunction of both the beta and alpha islet cells compared to patients with T1DM.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have gradually been recognized as regulators of embryonic development; however, relatively few miRNAs have been identified that regulate cardiac development. A series of recent papers have established an essential role for the miRNA-17-92 (miR-17-92) cluster of miRNAs in the development of the heart. Previous research has shown that the Friend of Gata-2 (FOG-2) is critical for cardiac development. To investigate the possibility that the miR-17-92 cluster regulates FOG-2 expression and inhibits proliferation in mouse embryonic cardiomyocytes we initially used bioinformatics to analyze 3’ untranslated regions (3’UTR) of FOG-2 to predict the potential of miR-17-92 to target it. We used luciferase assays to demonstrate that miR-17-5p and miR-20a of miR-17-92 interact with the predicted target sites in the 3’UTR of FOG-2. Furthermore, RT-PCR and Western blot were used to demonstrate the post-transcriptional regulation of FOG-2 by miR-17-92 in embryonic cardiomyocytes from E12.5-day pregnant C57BL/6J mice. Finally, EdU cell assays together with the FOG-2 rescue strategy were employed to evaluate the effect of proliferation on embryonic cardiomyocytes. We first found that the miR-17-5p and miR-20a of miR-17-92 directly target the 3’UTR of FOG-2 and post-transcriptionally repress the expression of FOG-2. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that over-expression of miR-17-92 may inhibit cell proliferation via post-transcriptional repression of FOG-2 in embryonic cardiomyocytes. These results indicate that the miR-17-92 cluster regulates the expression of FOG-2 protein and suggest that the miR-17-92 cluster might play an important role in heart development.

In order to compare the nutrition components of transgenic maize seeds (chitinase gene), achieved by the pollen-mediated approach, with its non-transgenic counterpart, Vitamin B1, vitamin B2, fatty acids and essential amino acids of transgenic maize seeds and their counterparts were analyzed by the Chinese national standard methods or AOAC methods. The results showed that the contents of all the six kinds of fatty acids detected in transgenic maize seeds were significantly higher than those in their non-transgenic counterpart, the content of vitamin B2 in transgenic maize was significantly lower than that in non-transgenic maize seeds, the content of total amino acids in transgenic maize seed was higher than that in non-transgenic maize seeds, while vitamin B1 and most of essential amino acid have no significant difference between transgenic maize and non-transgenic maize seeds. According to the above data, transgenic foods should be strictly analyzed to find out whether it can reach the standard of "substantial equivalence" in nutrient composition.

Con el fin de comparar los componentes nutricionales de las semillas de maíz transgénico (gen quitinasa), obtenidos por el método del polen, con respecto a un maíz no transgénico, se analizó la vitamina B1, vitamina B2, ácidos grasos y aminoácidos esenciales de semillas de maíz transgénico y sus homólogos, a través del método chino estándar nacional o métodos de la AOAC. Los resultados mostraron que el contenido de los seis tipos de ácidos grasos detectados en semillas de maíz transgénico fueron significativamente superiores a los de su contraparte no transgénico, el contenido de vitamina B2 en el maíz transgénico fue significativamente menor que en las semillas de maíz no transgénico. El contenido total de aminoácidos en las semillas de maíz transgénico fue mayor que en las semillas de maíz no transgénico, mientras que la vitamina B1, y la mayor parte de los aminoácidos esenciales, no tuvieron ninguna diferencia significativa entre el maíz y las semillas transgénicas de maíz no transgénico. De acuerdo con la información anterior, los alimentos transgénicos deben ser rigurosamente analizados, para saber si se puede alcanzar el estándar de "equivalencia sustancial" en la composición de nutrientes.