Terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) plays an essential role in the global carbon cycle as well as for climate change. However, in the past three decades, terrestrial ecosystems across mainland ...China suffered from frequent drought and, to date, the adverse impacts on NPP remain uncertain. This study explored the spatiotemporal features of NPP and discussed the influences of drought on NPP across mainland China from 1982 to 2015 using the Carnegie Ames Stanford Application (CASA) model and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The obtained results indicate that: (1) The total annual NPP across mainland China showed an non-significantly increasing trend from 1982 to 2015, with annual increase of 0.025 Pg C; the spring NPP exhibited a significant increasing trend (0.031 Pg C year−1, p < 0.05) while the summer NPP showed a higher decreasing trend (0.019 Pg C year−1). (2) Most areas of mainland China were spatially dominated by a positive correlation between annual NPP and SPEI and a significant positive correlation was mainly observed for Northern China; specific to the nine sub-regions, annual NPP and SPEI shared similar temporal patterns with a significant positive relation in Northeastern China, Huang-Huai-Hai, Inner Mongolia, and the Gan-Xin Region. (3) During the five typical drought events, more than 23% areas of mainland China experienced drought ravage; the drought events generally caused about 30% of the NPP reduction in most of the sub-regions while the NPP in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Region generally decreased by about 10%.
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fungi are soil-borne pathogens, and the pathological effects on plant photosystems remain unclear. This study aimed to deeply reveal pathological characterization in apple seedlings infected with
by ...investigating photosystems performance and interaction. Roots were immersed in conidial suspension for inoculation. Thereafter, prompt and delayed chlorophyll
fluorescence and modulated 820 nm reflection were simultaneously detected. After 30 days of infection, leaf relative water content and dry weight were remarkably decreased by 55.7 and 47.1%, suggesting that the infected seedlings were subjected to
-induced water deficit stress. PSI reaction center was more susceptible than PSII reaction center in infected seedlings due to greater decrease in the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSI than that of PSII, but PSI reaction center injury was aggravated slowly, as PSII injury could partly protect PSI by restricting electron donation. PSII donor and acceptor sides were also damaged after 20 days of infection, and the restricted electron donation induced PSII and PSI disconnection by blocking PSI re-reduction. In accordance with greater damage of PSI reaction center, PSI oxidation was also suppressed. Notably, significantly increased efficiency of electron transport from plastoquinone (PQ) to PSI acceptors (REo/ETo) after 20 days of infection suggested greater inhibition on PQ reduction than re-oxidation, and the protection for PSI acceptors might alleviate the reduction of electron transport efficiency beyond PQ upon damaged PSI reaction center. Lowered delayed fluorescence in microsecond domain verified PSII damage in infected seedlings, and elevated delayed fluorescence in sub-millisecond domain during PQ reduction process conformed to increased REo/ETo. In conclusion,
infection depressed PSII and PSI performance and destroyed their coordination by inducing pathological wilting in apple seedlings. It may be a pathogenic mechanism of
to induce plant photosystems damage.
Urogenital dysfunction after rectal cancer surgery can largely affect patients' postoperative quality of life. Whether robotic surgery can be a better option when comparing with laparoscopic surgery ...is still not well-known.
Comprehensive search in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Clinical Trials was conducted to identify relevant studies in March 2018. Studies comparing robotic surgery with laparoscopic surgery were included. Measurement of urogenital function was through the International Prostate Symptom Score and International Index of Erectile Function.
Six studies with 386 patients in robotic group and 421 patients in laparoscopic group were finally included. Pooled analysis indicated that bladder function was better at 12 months in the robotic group after the procedures (mean difference, - 0.30, 95% CI, - 0.52 to - 0.08). No significant difference was found at 3 and 6 months postoperatively (mean difference, - 0.37, 95% CI, - 1.48 to 0.73; mean difference, - 1.21, 95% CI, - 2.69 to 0.28). Sexual function was better at 3 months in the robotic group after surgery (mean difference, - 3.28, 95% CI, - 6.08 to - 0.49) and not significantly different at 6 and 12 months. (mean difference, 3.78, 95% CI, - 7.37 to 14.93; mean difference, - 2.82, 95% CI, - 8.43 to 2.80).
Robotic surgery may offer faster recovery in urogenital function compared to laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer.
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Nuclear reprogramming reinstates totipotency or pluripotency in somatic cells by changing their gene transcription profile. This technology is widely used in medicine, animal husbandry and other ...industries. However, certain deficiencies severely restrict the applications of this technology.
Using single-embryo RNA-seq, our study provides complete transcriptome blueprints of embryos generated by cumulus cell (CC) donor nuclear transfer (NT), embryos generated by mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) donor NT and in vivo embryos at each stage (zygote, 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, morula, and blastocyst). According to the results from further analyses, NT embryos exhibit RNA processing and translation initiation defects during the zygotic genome activation (ZGA) period, and protein kinase activity and protein phosphorylation are defective during blastocyst formation. Two thousand three constant genes are not able to be reprogrammed in CCs and MEFs. Among these constant genes, 136 genes are continuously mis-transcribed throughout all developmental stages. These 136 differential genes may be reprogramming barrier genes (RBGs) and more studies are needed to identify.
These embryonic transcriptome blueprints provide new data for further mechanistic studies of somatic nuclear reprogramming. These findings may improve the efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
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Epidemiological studies have reported a positive association between chronic inflammation and cancer risk. However, the causal association between chronic inflammation and breast cancer (BC) risk ...remains unclear. Here, we performed a Mendelian randomization study to investigate the etiological role of chronic inflammation in BC risk. We acquired data regarding C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-1a, IL-1b, and IL-6 expression and BC related to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from two larger consortia (the genome-wide association studies and the Breast Cancer Association Consortium). Next, we conducted the two-sample Mendelian randomization study to investigate the relationship of the abovementioned inflammatory factors with the incidence of BC. We found that genetically predicted CRP, IL-6, and IL-1a levels did not increase BC incidence (odds ratio (OR)
1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98-1.12, P = 0.2059, OR
1.05, 95% CI 0.95-1.16, P = 0.3297 and OR
1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.03, P = 0.2167). However, in subgroup analysis, genetically predicted IL-1b levels increased ER + BC incidence (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03-1.27, P = 0.0088). Our study suggested that genetically predicted IL-1b levels were found to increase ER + BC susceptibility. However, due to the support of only one SNP, heterogeneity and pleiotropy tests cannot be performed, which deserves further research.
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Cervical cancer is strongly associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the data of postmenopausal women who were tested for HPV in Nanjing First ...Hospital from 2019 to 2021.
We retrospectively analyzed the data of 14,608 postmenopausal women aged 45-90 years, who underwent HPV examination in Nanjing First Hospital between January 2019 and December 2021. All participants were tested for 23 HPV genotypes. We subsequently analyzed the infection rate and evaluated the distribution of HPV using the chi-square test.
Our results showed that the HPV infection rate in postmenopausal women in Nanjing, China was 22.36%. In terms of age group, the infection rate was 19.54%, 24.30%, 26.58%, and 14.99% in those aged ≤ 50, 51-60, 61-70, and ≥ 71 years, respectively. The most common HPV subtypes were HPV52 (22.1 3%), HPV58 (15.86%), HPV53 (14.17%), HPV16 (12.61%), and HPV81 (11.66%), in that order. The single-HPV infection rate was 14.23%, and the multiple-genotype infection rate was 8.14% (1189/14,608).
This study showed that in Nanjing, China, the different age groups of post-menopausal women could have different rates of HPV infection, and the most common types were HPV52, HPV58, HPV53, HPV16 and HPV81. These findings highlighted the importance of understanding the epidemiology of HPV infection in specific populations, such as postmenopausal women in Nanjing, China. The results could provide valuable information for healthcare professionals and policymakers to develop targeted prevention and screening strategies for reducing the burden of HPV-related diseases in this population.
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Ovarian cancer (OC) has the highest mortality rate among gynecological malignancies. Current treatment options are limited and ineffective, prompting the discovery of reliable biomarkers. Exosome ...lncRNAs, carrying genetic information, are promising new markers. Previous studies only focused on exosome-related genes and employed the Lasso algorithm to construct prediction models, which are not robust.
420 OC patients from the TCGA datasets were divided into training and validation datasets. The GSE102037 dataset was used for external validation. LncRNAs associated with exosome-related genes were selected using Pearson analysis. Univariate COX regression analysis was used to filter prognosis-related lncRNAs. The overlapping lncRNAs were identified as candidate lncRNAs for machine learning. Based on 10 machine learning algorithms and 117 algorithm combinations, the optimal predictor combinations were selected according to the C index. The exosome-related LncRNA Signature (ERLS) model was constructed using multivariate COX regression. Based on the median risk score of the training datasets, the patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the time-dependent ROC, immune cell infiltration, immunotherapy response, and immune checkpoints were analyzed.
64 lncRNAs were subjected to a machine-learning process. Based on the stepCox (forward) combined Ridge algorithm, 20 lncRNA were selected to construct the ERLS model. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the high-risk group had a lower survival rate. The area under the curve (AUC) in predicting OS at 1, 3, and 5 years were 0.758, 0.816, and 0.827 in the entire TCGA cohort. xCell and ssGSEA analysis showed that the low-risk group had higher immune cell infiltration, which may contribute to the activation of cytolytic activity, inflammation promotion, and T-cell co-stimulation pathways. The low-risk group had higher expression levels of PDL1, CTLA4, and higher TMB. The ERLS model can predict response to anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 therapy. Patients with low expression of PDL1 or high expression of CTLA4 and low ERLS exhibited significantly better survival prospects, whereas patients with high ERLS and low levels of PDL1 or CTLA4 exhibited the poorest outcomes.
Our study constructed an ERLS model that can predict prognostic risk and immunotherapy response, optimizing clinical management for OC patients.
The aim of this study was to describe clinical, imaging, and laboratory features of acute pulmonary embolism (APE) in patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia. Patients with COVID-19 associated ...pneumonia who underwent a computed tomography pulmonary artery (CTPA) scan for suspected APE were retrospectively studied. Laboratory data and CTPA images were collected. Imaging characteristics were analyzed descriptively. Laboratory data were analyzed and compared between patients with and without APE. A series of 25 COVID-19 patients who underwent CTPA between January 2020 and February 2020 were enrolled. The median D-dimer level founded in these 25 patients was 6.06 μg/mL (interquartile range IQR 1.90-14.31 μg/mL). Ten (40%) patients with APE had a significantly higher level of D-dimer (median, 11.07 μg/mL; IQR, 7.12-21.66 vs median, 2.44 μg/mL; IQR, 1.68-8.34, respectively, P = .003), compared with the 15 (60%) patients without APE. No significant differences in other laboratory data were found between patients with and without APE. Among the 10 patients with APE, 6 (60%) had a bilateral pulmonary embolism, while 4 had a unilateral embolism. The thrombus-prone sites were the right lower lobe (70%), the left upper lobe (60%), both upper lobe (40%) and the right middle lobe (20%). The thrombus was partially or completely absorbed after anticoagulant therapy in 3 patients who underwent a follow-up CTPA. Patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia have a risk of developing APE during the disease. When the D-dimer level abnormally increases in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, CTPA should be performed to detect and assess the severity of APE.
Malnutrition is related to impaired oral health and function that causes poor dietary intake, declining the general health of older adults. The role of dietary intake in the association between oral ...function and nutritional status of Chinese older adults (aged 75 and above) was examined in this cross-sectional study.
Through the randomized cluster sampling method, 267 older adults living in rural areas of Qingdao, Shandong (aged 81.4 ± 4.3, 75-94 years) were chosen as the primary research participants. A Mini Nutritional Assessment - Short Form was used to determine nutritional status, and Food Frequency Questionnaire and 24-hour Food Intake Recall were used to assess dietary intake. The oral function was evaluated by analyzing the teeth, oral problems, bite force, tongue pressure, lip sealing pressure, chewing function questionnaire, whole saliva flow rate, 10-Item Eating Assessment Tool, and water swallow test.
Based on the MNA-SF score, it was divided into a well-nourished group and a malnutrition group, with the malnutrition group comprising 40.6% of participants. The participants in the malnutrition group showed a higher rate of xerostomia, lower bite force, tongue pressure, and lip sealing pressure, and higher Chewing Function Questionnaire and 10-Item Eating Assessment Tool scores. Furthermore, their plant fat, iron, cereals and potatoes, vegetables, fruits, and seafood intake were relatively low. The regression model indicated that exercise frequency, stroke, chewing and swallowing function, intake of vegetables and fruits were risk factors for nutritional status of older adults.
Malnutrition was relatively common among the Chinese older adults aged 75 and above, and it was significantly correlated with exercise frequency, stroke, chewing and swallowing function, and intake of vegetables and fruits. Therefore, nutrition management should be carried out under the understanding and guidance of the oral function and dietary intake of the older adults.
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Background
The impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) on outcomes of twin gestations is not clear. We aimed to collate data via this meta-analysis to examine how HDP alters maternal and ...neonatal outcomes of twin gestations.
Methods
Studies comparing pregnancy outcomes of twin gestations based on HDP and published on the databases of PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase between 1 January 2000 to 20 March 2023 were eligible for inclusion.
Results
Twelve studies were included. A cumulative of 355,129 twin gestations were analyzed in the current meta-analysis. The pooled analysis found that the presence of HDP increases the risk of preterm birth (OR: 1.86 95% CI: 1.36, 2.55
I
2
= 99%) and cesarean section in twin gestations (OR: 1.36 95% CI: 1.20, 1.54
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2
= 89%). Meta-analysis showed a significantly increased risk of low birth weight (OR: 1.30 95% CI: 1.10, 1.55
I
2
= 97%), small for gestational age (OR: 1.30 95% CI: 1.09, 1.55
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2
= 96%) and neonatal intensive care unit admissions (OR: 1.77 95% CI: 1.43, 2.20
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2
= 76%) with HDP in twin gestations. There was no difference in the incidence of 5-min Apgar scores <7 (OR: 1.07 95% CI: 0.87, 1.38
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2
= 79%) but a lower risk of neonatal death (OR: 0.39 95% CI: 0.25, 0.61
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2
= 62%) with HDP.
Conclusion
HDP increases the risk of preterm birth, cesarean sections, low birth weight, SGA, and NICU admission in twin gestations. Contrastingly, the risk of neonatal death is reduced with HDP. Further studies are needed to corroborate the current results.
Systematic Review Registration
PROSPERO (CRD42023407725).
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