Progress in plant paleogenomics.

As a new branch of genomics, plant paleogenomics reconstructs ancestral genomes from actual modern species and infers palaeohistory, evolutionary and/or speciation events that have shaped the modern species. Advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies yield accurate long reads, promote the progress of plant genome sequence assembly, and thereby offer paleogenomics a large collection of valuable reference genomes from modern species. Whole-genome duplication (WGD) and polyploidization cause rapid genomic reorganization, massive gene losses and structural variations.

[Surgical options and clinical outcomes in patients of lumbar disc herniation with Modic changes].

Objective: To retrospectively evaluate medium and long-term outcomes of conventional fenestration discectomy versus posterior lumbar interbody fusion in lumbar disc herniation with Modic changes.

Methods: From January 2002 to January 2007, a total of 486 patients of lumbar disc herniation with Modic changes were analyzed retrospectively. They were divided into fenestration group (n = 215) and fusion group (n = 271) according to the operative approaches.

[Influences of clinical symptoms on the selection of surgical options for adult degenerative scoliosis].

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the interactions between the clinical symptoms and surgical options and evaluate the surgical efficacies for adult degenerative scoliosis (DS).

Methods: A total of 35 adult DS patients underwent operations at Tianjin hospital from May 1996 to December 2008. There were 23 females and 12 males with a mean age of 59.

[Effects of drought stress on physiological and biochemical parameters of Dahlia pinnata].

Taking Dahlia pinnata 'Fenxishi' as test material, this paper studied its leaf physiological and biochemical responses to different degrees of drought stress and re-watering. With the increasing extent and duration of drought stress, the leaf relative water content, water potential, and chlorophyll content of D. pinnata 'Fenxishi' decreased significantly, leaf relative electric conductivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content had a significant increase, plasma membrane was damaged, and massive ions were leaked out.

[Surgical options and result analyses in adult degenerative lumbar scoliosis].

Objective: To investigate the clinical and radiographic outcomes for varying degrees of degenerative lumbar scoliosis using different surgical options with a minimal 5-year follow-up.

Methods: From May 1998 to November 2002, 31 patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis underwent operations at our hospital. The mean age of 19 females and 12 males was 55.