A QTL GN1.1, encoding FT-L1, regulates grain number and yield by modulating polar auxin transport in rice.

Rice grain number is a crucial agronomic trait impacting yield. In this study, we characterized a quantitative trait locus (QTL), GRAIN NUMBER 1.1 (GN1.

Association between the atherogenic index of plasma and coronary collateral circulation in patients with chronic total occlusion.

Background: The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) is considered an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). The present study investigated whether AIP correlates with the formation of coronary collateral circulation (CCC) in CAD patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO).

Methods: This retrospective study included 1093 CAD patients with CTO confirmed by coronary angiography from January 2020 to December 2020 at Beijing Anzhen Hospital.

The impact of female sex hormones on cardiovascular disease: from mechanisms to hormone therapy.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in women, yet it has not raised the awareness from the public. The pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease differs significantly between females and males concerning the effect of sex hormones. Estrogen and progestogen impact cardiovascular system through genomic and non-genomic effects.

Dysfunction of duplicated pair rice histone acetyltransferases causes segregation distortion and an interspecific reproductive barrier.

Postzygotic reproductive isolation, which results in the irreversible divergence of species, is commonly accompanied by hybrid sterility, necrosis/weakness, or lethality in the F or other offspring generations. Here we show that the loss of function of HWS1 and HWS2, a couple of duplicated paralogs, together confer complete interspecific incompatibility between Asian and African rice. Both of these non-Mendelian determinants encode the putative Esa1-associated factor 6 (EAF6) protein, which functions as a characteristic subunit of the histone H4 acetyltransferase complex regulating transcriptional activation via genome-wide histone modification.

Effect of Body Mass Index on the Prognostic Value of Atherogenic Index of Plasma in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the prognostic value of the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) for adverse cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) varied across different BMI groups. (2) Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of a prospective registry involving 1725 ACS patients undergoing PCI. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal ischemic stroke, non-fatal spontaneous myocardial infarction (MI), and unplanned repeat revascularization.

The molecular basis of heat stress responses in plants.

Global warming impacts crop production and threatens food security. Elevated temperatures are sensed by different cell components. Temperature increases are classified as either mild warm temperatures or excessively hot temperatures, which are perceived by distinct signaling pathways in plants.

Current status and progress of the development of prostate cancer vaccines.

At present, common treatments of prostate cancer mainly include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. However, patients have high recurrence rate after treatment, and are prone to castration-resistant prostate cancer. Tumor vaccine is based on tumor specific antigen (TSA) and tumor associated antigen (TAA) to activate specific immune response of the body to cancer cells.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin for the Treatment of Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: History and Current Status.

In the past decades, the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, especially for intermediate and high-risk groups, is increasingly accepted by multiple guidelines. Currently, the front-line setting for the high-risk group is still intravesical BCG instillation. However, the BCG mechanism, usage, adverse events, and the definition of BCG failure are not yet fully understood or defined.

Neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy combined with abiraterone acetate in patients with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer: When to perform radical prostatectomy?

The surgical timing after neoadjuvant androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) plus abiraterone acetate (AA) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) is unknown. We divided patients with locally advanced or metastatic PCa into three groups according to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir after neoadjuvant ADT plus AA: group 1 (PSA ≤ 0.2 ng/ml), group 2 (0.

A genetic module at one locus in rice protects chloroplasts to enhance thermotolerance.

How the plasma membrane senses external heat-stress signals to communicate with chloroplasts to orchestrate thermotolerance remains elusive. We identified a quantitative trait locus, (), consisting of two genes, and , that interact together to enhance rice thermotolerance and reduce grain-yield losses caused by heat stress. Upon heat stress, plasma membrane-localized E3 ligase TT3.

Emerging Roles of Long Non-coding RNAs as Novel Biomarkers in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Prostate Cancer.

New biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis are important in improving the diagnosis of metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer. Recent studies have shown important roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumorigenesis. Here we provide a comprehensive review of lncRNAs implicated in prostate cancer and discuss their potential as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for prostate cancer.

TT2 controls rice thermotolerance through SCT1-dependent alteration of wax biosynthesis.

Global warming threatens crop production. G proteins mediate plant responses to multiple abiotic stresses. Here we identified a natural quantitative trait locus, TT2 (THEROMOTOLERANCE 2), encoding a Gγ subunit, that confers thermotolerance in rice during both vegetative and reproductive growth without a yield penalty.

A rice QTL GS3.1 regulates grain size through metabolic-flux distribution between flavonoid and lignin metabolons without affecting stress tolerance.

Grain size is a key component trait of grain weight and yield. Numbers of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been identified in various bioprocesses, but there is still little known about how metabolism-related QTLs influence grain size and yield. The current study report GS3.

Oncolytic adenovirus carrying SPAG9-shRNA enhanced the efficacy of docetaxel for advanced prostate cancer.

Sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9) is closely related to the growth and metastasis of advanced prostate cancer. Docetaxel (DTX) is the gold standard for chemotherapy of prostate cancer, but its side effects decrease the life quality of patients. Therefore, it is urgent to develop combination therapy to increase chemotherapy efficacy for advanced prostate cancer.

[Family-centered psychological support helps improve illness cognition and quality of life in patients with advanced prostate cancer].

Objective: To explore the effect of family-centered psychological support (FCPS) on illness cognition and quality of life in patients with advanced prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: Using a randomized controlled study design, we divided 84 advanced PCa patients into an intervention group and a control group, all provided with PCa-related knowledge and answers to their questions, while the former group with FCPS in addition. Before, immediately after and at 1 and 3 months after intervention, we evaluated the effectiveness using the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy － Prostate (FACT-P).

UDP-glucosyltransferase regulates grain size and abiotic stress tolerance associated with metabolic flux redirection in rice.

Grain size is an important component trait of grain yield, which is frequently threatened by abiotic stress. However, little is known about how grain yield and abiotic stress tolerance are regulated. Here, we characterize GSA1, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) regulating grain size and abiotic stress tolerance associated with metabolic flux redirection.

Combination Therapy of Prostate Cancer by Oncolytic Adenovirus Harboring Interleukin 24 and Ionizing Radiation.

Prostate cancer is a common malignant tumor and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men. Radiation therapy is a curative treatment for localized prostate cancer and has a limited effect for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Interleukin 24 (IL-24) has a radiosensitizing effect in cancer cells.

Analysis of wintertime O variability using a random forest model and high-frequency observations in Zhangjiakou-an area with background pollution level of the North China Plain.

The short-term health effects of ozone (O) have highlighted the need for high-temporal-resolution O observations to accurately assess human exposure to O. Here, we performed 20-s resolution observations of O precursors and meteorological factors to train a random forest model capable of accurately predicting O concentrations. Our model performed well with an average validated R of 0.

Air quality co-benefits from climate mitigation for human health in South Korea.

Climate change mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have associated costs, but there are also potential benefits from improved air quality, such as public health improvements and the associated cost savings. A multidisciplinary modeling approach can better assess the co-benefits from climate mitigation for human health and provide a justifiable basis for establishment of adequate climate change mitigation policies and public health actions. An integrated research framework was adopted by combining a computable general equilibrium model, an air quality model, and a health impact assessment model, to explore the long-term economic impacts of climate change mitigation in South Korea through 2050.

The cascade of global trade to large climate forcing over the Tibetan Plateau glaciers.

Black carbon (BC) aerosols constitute unique and important anthropogenic climate forcers that potentially accelerate the retreat of glaciers over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (HTP). Here we show that a large amount of BC emissions produced in India and China-a region of BC emissions  to which the HTP is more vulnerable compared with other regions-are related to the consumption of goods and services in the USA and Europe through international trade. These processes lead to a virtual transport pathway of BC from distant regions to the HTP glaciers.

Translational Regulation of Plant Response to High Temperature by a Dual-Function tRNA Guanylyltransferase in Rice.

As sessile organisms, plants have evolved numerous strategies to acclimate to changes in environmental temperature. However, the molecular basis of this acclimation remains largely unclear. In this study we identified a tRNA guanylyltransferase, AET1, which contributes to the modification of pre-tRNA and is required for normal growth under high-temperature conditions in rice.

The contribution of the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region's iron and steel industry to local air pollution in winter.

The Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region (BTH) in China is a highly populated area that has recently experienced frequent haze episodes in winter. With high production capacities, the iron and steel industry (ISI) has long been a key source of air pollutants in BTH and is thus considered responsible for the degradation of local air quality. Here, we conducted a cross-disciplinary research combining the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) model, the multiregional input-output model (MRIO) and the health assessment model to explore the impacts of the ISI on air pollution in the BTH region in January 2012.