Meta-analysis and systematic review of mediastinal cryobiopsy versus endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in the diagnosis of intrathoracic adenopathy.

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided mediastinal/hilar cryobiopsy (MedCryoBx) is a relatively new modality, being combined with EBUS-transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) to improve yield in the diagnosis of intrathoracic adenopathy. This meta-analysis aims to investigate the diagnostic yield of MedCryoBx versus EBUS-TBNA for intrathoracic adenopathy.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search using Google Scholar, Embase, and PubMed/MEDLINE for studies about a diagnosis of intrathoracic adenopathy using MedCryoBx and EBUS-TBNA.

[Transbronchial cryobiopsy for mediastinal lesions: a pilot study].

Objective: To describe a novel transbronchial cryobiopsy technique for mediastinal lesions after initial ultrasound assessment and EBUS-TBNA.

Material And Methods: Transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) was performed in 35 patients with suspicious mediastinal lesions between November 2020 and September 2022. Age of patients ranged from 22 to 75 years (median 50 [39; 62]).

Diffuse Lung Disease in Convalescents of COVID-19.

The most common causes of diffuse interstitial lung damage following COVID-19, often either imitate it but have a different nature or remain due to prolonged persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in the lower respiratory tract. A diagnostic algorithm is proposed to make mostly a correct diagnosis, the key element of which is study of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

Overexpression of increases maize grain yield in the field.

Increasing maize grain yield has been a major focus of both plant breeding and genetic engineering to meet the global demand for food, feed, and industrial uses. We report that increasing and extending expression of a maize MADS-box transcription factor gene, , under the control of a moderate-constitutive maize promoter, results in maize plants with increased plant growth, photosynthesis capacity, and nitrogen utilization. Molecular and biochemical characterization of transgenic plants demonstrated that their enhanced agronomic traits are associated with elevated plant carbon assimilation, nitrogen utilization, and plant growth.

First-in-human high-cumulative-dose stem cell therapy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with rapid lung function decline.

Previous phase I studies demonstrated safety and some beneficial effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in patients with mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of a high cumulative dose of bone marrow MSCs in patients with rapid progressive course of severe to moderate IPF. Twenty patients with forced ventilation capacity (FVC) ≥40% and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) ≥20% with a decline of both >10% over the previous 12 months were randomized into two groups: one group received two intravenous doses of allogeneic MSCs (2 × 10  cells) every 3 months, and the second group received a placebo.

Developmental and transcriptional responses of maize to drought stress under field conditions.

Drought is a common abiotic stress which significantly limits global crop productivity. Maize is an important staple crop and its yield is determined by successful development of the female inflorescence, the ear. We investigated drought stress responses across several developmental stages of the maize B73 inbred line under field conditions.

Over-expression of the photoperiod response regulator ZmCCT10 modifies plant architecture, flowering time and inflorescence morphology in maize.

Maize originated as a tropical plant that required short days to transition from vegetative to reproductive development. ZmCCT10 [CO, CONSTANS, CO-LIKE and TIMING OF CAB1 (CCT) transcription factor family] is a regulator of photoperiod response and was identified as a major QTL controlling photoperiod sensitivity in maize. We modulated expression of ZmCCT10 in transgenic maize using two constitutive promoters with different expression levels.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Alternative Splicing during Development and Drought Stress in Maize.

Alternative splicing plays a crucial role in plant development as well as stress responses. Although alternative splicing has been studied during development and in response to stress, the interplay between these two factors remains an open question. To assess the effects of drought stress on developmentally regulated splicing in maize (Zea mays), 94 RNA-seq libraries from ear, tassel, and leaf of the B73 public inbred line were constructed at four developmental stages under both well-watered and drought conditions.

Confocal laser endomicroscopy for diagnosis and monitoring of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

Background: The diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is based on computed tomography, histology, and antibodies to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. The role of a novel technique for imaging cells and elastin during endoscopy, probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE), has not yet been investigated in PAP patients. The aim of the present study was to estimate the value of pCLE in the PAP diagnosis and treatment in comparison with the findings of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) before and after whole-lung lavage.

Genetic perturbation of the maize methylome.

DNA methylation can play important roles in the regulation of transposable elements and genes. A collection of mutant alleles for 11 maize (Zea mays) genes predicted to play roles in controlling DNA methylation were isolated through forward- or reverse-genetic approaches. Low-coverage whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and high-coverage sequence-capture bisulfite sequencing were applied to mutant lines to determine context- and locus-specific effects of these mutations on DNA methylation profiles.

The case of diagnostics of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis by in vivo probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy of central and distal airways.

We present a case of 41-year-old patient with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in which probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) imaging of central and distal airways was first performed in vivo. pCLE imaging showed the signs of complete or partial destruction of elastin network of alveolar wall with fibrillar branching fluorescent structures in the zone with typical IPA changes on HRCT.

Comparative study of ex vivo probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy and light microscopy in lung cancer diagnostics.

Background And Objective: Probe-based confocal laser endoscopy (pCLE) allows for real-time non-invasive histological imaging via bronchoscopy. Interpreting CLE images and correlating with traditional histopathology remains challenging. We performed an ex vivo study to evaluate the correlation between light microscopy findings and pCLE imaging of primary lung carcinoma.

Genomic distribution of maize facultative heterochromatin marked by trimethylation of H3K27.

Trimethylation of histone H3 Lys-27 (H3K27me3) plays a critical role in regulating gene expression during plant and animal development. We characterized the genome-wide distribution of H3K27me3 in five developmentally distinct tissues in maize (Zea mays) plants of two genetic backgrounds, B73 and Mo17. There were more substantial differences in the genome-wide profile of H3K27me3 between different tissues than between the two genotypes.

A gene regulatory network model for floral transition of the shoot apex in maize and its dynamic modeling.

The transition from the vegetative to reproductive development is a critical event in the plant life cycle. The accurate prediction of flowering time in elite germplasm is important for decisions in maize breeding programs and best agronomic practices. The understanding of the genetic control of flowering time in maize has significantly advanced in the past decade.

Beyond flowering time: pleiotropic function of the maize flowering hormone florigen.

The transition from vegetative to reproductive development is a critical turning point in a plant’s life cycle. It is now widely accepted that a leaf-borne signal, florigen, moves via the phloem from leaves to the shoot apical meristem to trigger its reprogramming to produce flowers. In part, the florigenic signal comprises a protein that belongs to the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family that is present in all living organisms but displays diverse functions.

The FT-like ZCN8 Gene Functions as a Floral Activator and Is Involved in Photoperiod Sensitivity in Maize.

The mobile floral-promoting signal, florigen, is thought to consist of, in part, the FT protein named after the Arabidopsis thaliana gene FLOWERING LOCUS T. FT is transcribed and translated in leaves and its protein moves via the phloem to the shoot apical meristem where it promotes the transition from vegetative to reproductive development. In our search for a maize FT-like floral activator(s), seven Zea mays CENTRORADIALIS (ZCN) genes encoding FT homologous proteins were studied.

Maize global transcriptomics reveals pervasive leaf diurnal rhythms but rhythms in developing ears are largely limited to the core oscillator.

Background: Plant diurnal rhythms are vital environmental adaptations to coordinate internal physiological responses to alternating day-night cycles. A comprehensive view of diurnal biology has been lacking for maize (Zea mays), a major world crop.

Methodology: A photosynthetic tissue, the leaf, and a non-photosynthetic tissue, the developing ear, were sampled under natural field conditions.

Concerted modification of flowering time and inflorescence architecture by ectopic expression of TFL1-like genes in maize.

TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1)-like genes are highly conserved in plants and are thought to function in the maintenance of meristem indeterminacy. Recently, we described six maize (Zea mays) TFL1-related genes, named ZEA CENTRORADIALIS1 (ZCN1) to ZCN6. To gain insight into their functions, we generated transgenic maize plants overexpressing their respective cDNAs driven by a constitutive promoter.

Disruption of imprinting by mutator transposon insertions in the 5' proximal regions of the Zea mays Mez1 locus.

Imprinting is a form of epigenetic gene regulation in which alleles are differentially regulated according to the parent of origin. The Mez1 gene in maize is imprinted such that the maternal allele is expressed in the endosperm while the paternal allele is not expressed. Three novel Mez1 alleles containing Mutator transposon insertions within the promoter were identified.

Involvement of the MADS-box gene ZMM4 in floral induction and inflorescence development in maize.

The switch from vegetative to reproductive growth is marked by the termination of vegetative development and the adoption of floral identity by the shoot apical meristem (SAM). This process is called the floral transition. To elucidate the molecular determinants involved in this process, we performed genome-wide RNA expression profiling on maize (Zea mays) shoot apices at vegetative and early reproductive stages using massively parallel signature sequencing technology.

A genomic and expression compendium of the expanded PEBP gene family from maize.

The phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins (PEBPs) represent an ancient protein family found across the biosphere. In animals they are known to act as kinase and serine protease inhibitors controlling cell growth and differentiation. In plants the most extensively studied PEBP genes, the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) genes, function, respectively, as a promoter and a repressor of the floral transition.

Activation of the imprinted Polycomb Group Fie1 gene in maize endosperm requires demethylation of the maternal allele.

Imprinting refers to the epigenetic regulation of gene expression that is dependent upon gene inheritance from the maternal or paternal parent. Previously, we have identified two maize homologs of the single Arabidopsis Polycomb Group gene FIE. Here, we report on the expression pattern of these genes in individual gametes before and after fertilization, and on the role of DNA methylation in determining the maternal expression of the Fie1 gene.