Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Rice Tolerance to Salt and Drought Stress: Advances and Future Directions.

Rice, a globally important food crop, faces significant challenges due to salt and drought stress. These abiotic stresses severely impact rice growth and yield, manifesting as reduced plant height, decreased tillering, reduced biomass, and poor leaf development. Recent advances in molecular biology and genomics have uncovered key physiological and molecular mechanisms that rice employs to cope with these stresses, including osmotic regulation, ion balance, antioxidant responses, signal transduction, and gene expression regulation.

Allantoate Amidohydrolase OsAAH is Essential for Preharvest Sprouting Resistance in Rice.

Preharvest sprouting (PHS) is an undesirable trait that decreases yield and quality in rice production. Understanding the genes and regulatory mechanisms underlying PHS is of great significance for breeding PHS-resistant rice. In this study, we identified a mutant, preharvest sprouting 39 (phs39), that exhibited an obvious PHS phenotype in the field.

Identification of a key locus, qNL3.1, associated with seed germination under salt stress via a genome-wide association study in rice.

Two causal OsTTL and OsSAPK1 genes of the key locus qNL3.1 significantly associated with seed germination under salt stress were identified via a genome-wide association study, which could improve rice seed germination under salt stress. Rice is a salt-sensitive crop, and its seed germination determines subsequent seedling establishment and yields.

Endoscopic tightening of the cardia mucosa in gastroesophageal reflux disease: A case series of 120 patients up to 1-year follow-up.

Background And Aim: A technique of endoscopic tightening of the cardia mucosa for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was developed and its clinical efficacy was observed.

Methods: 120 patients with GERD who underwent endoscopic tightening surgery from December 2017 to December 2019 were included in this study. GERD-Q score and constitution type of patients were evaluated preoperatively and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery.

Endoscopic tightening of the cardia mucosa in gastroesophageal reflux disease: A case series of 120 patients up to 1-year follow-up.

Background And Aim: A technique of endoscopic tightening of the cardia mucosa for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was developed and its clinical efficacy was observed.

Methods: 120 patients with GERD who underwent endoscopic tightening surgery from December 2017 to December 2019 were included in this study. GERD-Q score and constitution type of patients were evaluated preoperatively and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery.

Gray matter volume alterations in patients with strabismus and amblyopia: voxel-based morphometry study.

This study proposes the use of the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique to investigate structural alterations of the cerebral cortex in patients with strabismus and amblyopia (SA). Sixteen patients with SA and sixteen healthy controls (HCs) underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Original whole brain images were analyzed using the VBM method.

Altered brain network centrality in patients with retinal vein occlusion: a resting-state fMRI study.

Aim: To explore the intrinsic brain activity variations in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) subjects by using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) technique.

Methods: Twenty-one subjects with RVO and twenty-one healthy controls (HCs) were enlisted and underwent the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) examination. The spontaneous cerebrum activity variations were inspected using the DC technology.

PKM2 Is a Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Target for Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a major cause of blindness that is difficult to diagnose and treat. PKM2, a subtype of pyruvate kinase, is strongly associated with oxidative stress and is expressed in photoreceptors. We investigated whether PKM2 reduces photoreceptor cell apoptosis and evaluated possible antiapoptotic mechanisms in RP.

Functional connectivity density alterations in middle-age retinal detachment patients.

Objective: Middle-age patients with retinal detachment (RD) exhibit a loss of visual information, and previous studies of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have demonstrated abnormal spontaneous activity in the RD brain. Therefore, this study assessed changes in local functional connectivity density (lFCD) and long-range functional connectivity density (longFCD) in middle-age RD patients during resting-state FC.

Methods: In total, 32 middle-age patients with RD (18 men and 14 women), and 32 age-, sex-, and education-matched normal controls (NCs) (18 men and 14 women) were recruited and underwent functional magnetic resonance examination in the resting state.

Surgical correction of recurrent epiblepharon in Chinese children using modified skin re-draping epicanthoplasty.

Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of the modified skin re-draping epicanthoplasty procedure for correction of recurrent lower lid epiblepharon in Chinese children.

Methods: From 2016 to 2018, 18 children (10 males and 8 females, average age 6.2±1.

Identification and fine mapping of qGR6.2, a novel locus controlling rice seed germination under salt stress.

Background: Rice growth is frequently affected by salinity. When exposed to high salinity, rice seed germination and seedling establishment are significantly inhibited. With the promotion of direct-seeding in Asia, improving rice seed germination under salt stress is crucial for breeding.

Apolipoprotein A1 and Low-Density Lipoprotein as Risk Factors for Intraocular Metastases in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer.

Background: The outcomes of patients with postmenopausal breast cancer(PBC) can be improved through the early detection of intraocular metastases(IOMs). In this study, we investigated patients with PBC, and compared those with IOMs with those with non-intraocular metastases(NIOMs) in terms of blood lipid levels, and then differentiated the risk factors associated with IOMs.

Methods: Student's t-test and a chi-square test were used to discriminate between the IOMs and NIOMs groups.

The Prognostic Significance of Combined Pretreatment Fibrinogen and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in Various Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: The prognostic value of a new scoring system, termed F-NLR, that combines pretreatment fibrinogen level with neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio has been evaluated in various cancers. However, the results are controversial. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively analyze the prognostic value of F-NLR score in patients with cancers.

Altered regional homogeneity in patients with diabetic vitreous hemorrhage.

Background: Diabetic vitreous hemorrhage (DVH) is a common complication of diabetes. While the diagnostic methods nowadays only concentrate on the eye injury in DVH patients, whether DVH leads to abnormalities of other visual systems, including the eye, the visual cortex, and other brain regions, remains unknown.

Aim: To explore the potential changes of brain activity in DVH using regional homogeneity (ReHo) and their relationships with clinical features.

Resting-State Functional MRI Study Demonstrates That the Density of Functional Connectivity Density Mapping Changes in Patients with Acute Eye Pain.

Purpose: Brain function in patients with acute eye pain (EP) has not been extensively studied. An understanding of the alterations in short-range functional connectivity density (shortFCD) and long-range functional connectivity density (longFCD) in patients with EP remains elusive. The aim of the present study was to compare the functional connectivity density (FCD) between patients with EP and healthy controls (HCs) using resting-state functional connectivity.

Altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in diabetic patients with vitreous hemorrhage using amplitude of low‑frequency fluctuation: A resting‑state fMRI study.

The aim of the present study was to assess the local character of spontaneous brain activity in type‑2 diabetic patients with vitreous hemorrhage (VH) and its relationship with clinical features via the amplitude of low‑frequency fluctuations (ALFF) method. A total of 31 subjects (15 females and 16 males) with type‑2 diabetic VH and 31 normal controls (NCs) with similar characteristics (sex, age and educational level) were recruited in the present study. All subjects underwent resting‑state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans.

Carbohydrate antigen-125, calcium, and hemoglobin as predictive clinical indicator for ocular metastasis in male liver cancer patients.

Background Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common type of cancer among men worldwide. Little is known regarding the relationship of liver cancer with ocular metastasis (OM). Drinking has been also reported to be related not only to the occurrence of liver cancer but also to the causes of some ocular lesions.

Altered spontaneous brain activity pattern in patients with ophthalmectomy: an resting-state fMRI study.

Aim: To use the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method to explore the underlying functional network brain-activity in patients with ophthalmectomy.

Methods: A total of 32 ophthalmic surgery patients (10 women and 22 men), and 32 healthy subjects (10 women and 22 men) highly matched in gender, age, and the same operation method. Everyone experienced a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan.

Netrin-1 promotes epithelium repair in corneal injury.

Aim: To explore netrin-1 functions on corneal epithelium and .

Methods: the human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells were treated with serum free DMEM-F12 basic media containing 0, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 800, and 1000 ng/mL of netrin-1, respectively. The cells viability was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8).

Altered Intrinsic Functional Connectivity of the Primary Visual Cortex in Patients with Neovascular Glaucoma: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Purpose: The purpose was to investigate the differences in spontaneous functional connectivity (FC) of the primary visual cortex (V1) between patients with neovascular glaucoma (NVG) and healthy controls (HCs) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data.

Methods: A total of 18 patients with NVG (nine males and nine females) and 18 HCs with similar age and sex background were enrolled in the study and inspected using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The differences in FC of the V1 between the two groups were compared using the independent samples -test.

CEA as a risk factor in predicting ocular metastasis from colorectal cancer.

Objective: Colorectal, closely following pulmonary and breast, is the third predilection site of cancer that lead to death all over the world. Ocular metastasis (OM) of colorectal cancer (CRC) is becoming increasingly common and presents a poor prognosis. In this study, we detected some recognized tumor biomarkers and tried to differentiate the discrepancy between CRC patients with and without OM in order to clarify the risk factor for OM in patients with colorectal cancer.