Cryopreservation of Orchid Genetic Resources by Desiccation: A Case Study of Bletilla formosana

Many native orchid populations declined yearly due to economic development and climate change. This resulted in some wild orchids being threatened. In order to maintain the orchid genetic resources, development of proper methods for the long‐term preservation is urgent. Low temperature or dry storage methods for the preservation of orchid genetic resources have been implemented but are not effective in maintaining high viability of certain orchids for long periods. Cryopreservation is one of the most acceptable methods for long‐term conservation of plant germplasm. Orchid seeds and pollens are ideal materials for long‐term preservation (seed banking) in liquid nitrogen (LN) as the seeds and pollens are minute, enabling the storage of many hundreds of thousands of seeds or pollens in a small vial, and as most species germinate readily, making the technique very economical. This article describes cryopreservation of orchid genetic resources by desiccation and a case study of Bletilla formosana. We hope to provide a more practical potential cryopreservation method for future research needs

Outcomes and prognostic factors of simple partial cystectomy for localized bladder urothelial cell carcinoma

AbstractRadical cystectomy has remained the gold standard for recurrent superficial or muscle invasive bladder tumor. However, partial cystectomy still has a role in those who reject or have contraindications for radical cystectomy. In this study, we sought to identify predictors of bladder recurrence and overall survival after simple partial cystectomy. We included 27 patients with bladder tumor who received simple partial cystectomy without pelvic lymph node dissection between March 2000 and September 2013. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy was prescribed according to the pathological results. Parameters were compared on the basis of bladder recurrence and overall survival. During a mean follow-up time of 39 months, five patients (18.5%) experienced bladder recurrence. An older age, a higher pathological stage, positive surgical margins, and distant metastases were significant predictors of overall survival (p = 0.031, p = 0.001, p = 0.001, and p = 0.011, respectively). Meanwhile, previous bladder instillation and positive surgical margins were significant predictors of bladder recurrence (p = 0.026 and p = 0.027, respectively). The rate of consecutive distant metastases (33.3%) was almost twice the rate of bladder recurrence (18.5%), and six patients developed consecutive distant metastases without first experiencing bladder recurrence. In patients who received a simple partial cystectomy as an alternative treatment, previous bladder instillation and positive surgical margins were significant predictors of bladder recurrence. Patients with an older age, positive surgical margins, and consecutive distant metastases had worse overall survival. Partial cystectomy with routine lymph node dissection may be a better option for achieving favorable long-term outcomes

Look, the World is Watching How We Treat Migrants! The Making of the Anti-Trafficking Legislation during the Ma Administration

Employing the spiral model, this research analyses how anti-human trafficking legislation was promulgated during the Ma Ying-jeou (Ma Yingjiu) presidency. This research found that the gov- ernment of Taiwan was just as accountable for the violation of mi- grants’ human rights as the exploitive placement agencies and abusive employers. This research argues that, given its reliance on the United States for political and security support, Taiwan has made great ef- forts to improve its human rights records and meet US standards for protecting human rights. The reform was a result of multilevel inputs, including US pressure and collaboration between transnational and domestic advocacy groups. A major contribution of this research is to challenge the belief that human rights protection is intrinsic to dem- ocracy. In the same light, this research also cautions against Taiwan’s subscription to US norms since the reform was achieved at the cost of stereotyping trafficking victimhood, legitimising state surveillance, and further marginalising sex workers

Angiogenesis inhibitor therapies for advanced renal cell carcinoma: Toxicity and treatment patterns in clinical practice from a global medical chart review

The aim of this study was to assess the treatment patterns and safety of sunitinib, sorafenib and bevacizumab in real-world clinical settings in US, Europe and Asia. Medical records were abstracted at 18 community oncology clinics in the US and at 21 tertiary oncology centers in US, Europe and Asia for 883 patients ≥18 years who had histologically/cytologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced RCC and received sunitinib (n=631), sorafenib (n=207) or bevacizumab (n=45) as first‑line treatment. No prior treatment was permitted. Data were collected on all adverse events (AEs) and treatment modifications, including discontinuation, interruption and dose reduction. Treatment duration was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Demographics were similar across treatment groups and regions. Median treatment duration ranged from 6.1 to 10.7 months, 5.1 to 8.5 months and 7.5 to 9.8 months for sunitinib, sorafenib and bevacizumab patients, respectively. Grade 3/4 AEs were experienced by 26.0, 28.0 and 15.6% of sunitinib, sorafenib and bevacizumab patients, respectively. Treatment discontinuations occurred in 62.4 (Asia) to 63.1% (US) sunitinib, 68.8 (Asia) to 90.0% (Europe) sorafenib, and 66.7 (Asia) to 81.8% (US) bevacizumab patients. Globally, treatment modifications due to AEs occurred in 55.1, 54.2 and 50.0% sunitinib, sorafenib and bevacizumab patients, respectively. This study in a large, global cohort of advanced RCC patients found that angiogenesis inhibitors are associated with high rates of AEs and treatment modifications. Findings suggest an unmet need for more tolerable agents for RCC treatment

Differential baseline and response profile to IFN-γ gene transduction of IL-6/IL-6 receptor-α secretion discriminate primary tumors versus bone marrow metastases of nasopharyngeal carcinomas in culture

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding of immunobiology of bone marrow metastases (designated BM-NPC) <it>versus </it>primary tumors (P-NPC) of the nasopharynx is far from complete. The aim of this study was to determine if there would be differences between cultured P-NPCs and BM-NPCs with respect to (i) constitutive IL-6 and the IL-6 receptor gp80 subunit (IL-6Rα) levels in the spent media of nontransduced cells, and (ii) IL-6 and IL-6Rα levels in the spent media of cells transduced with a retroviral vector containing the <it>IFN-γ </it>gene.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A panel of NPC cell lines were transduced with the <it>IFN-γ </it>gene through a retroviral vector. Four clonal sublines were isolated <it>via </it>limiting dilution methods. Cytofluorometric analysis was performed for the detection of cell surface antigens of HLA class I, HLA class II and ICAM-1. ELISA was used to assay for IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-6Rα in the spent media of cultured cell lines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results showed that in day 3 culture supernatants, low levels of soluble IL-6 were detected in 5/5 cultured tumors derived from P-NPCs, while much higher constitutive levels of IL-6 were detected in 3/3 metastasis-derived NPC cell lines including one originated from ascites; the difference was significant (<it>p </it>= 0.025). An inverse relationship was found between IL-6Rα and IL-6 in their release levels in cultured P-NPCs and metastasis-derived NPCs. In <it>IFN-γ</it>-transduced-P-NPCs, IL-6 production increased and yet IL-6Rα decreased substantially, as compared to nontransduced counterparts. At variance with P-NPC cells, the respective ongoing IL-6 and IL-6Rα release patterns of BM-NPC cells were not impeded as much following <it>IFN-γ </it>transduction. These observations were confirmed by extended kinetic studies with representative NPC cell lines and clonal sublines. The latter observation with the clonal sublines also indicates that selection for high IL-6 or low IL-6Rα producing subpopulations did not occur as a result of <it>IFN-γ</it>-transduction process. P-NPCs, which secreted constitutively only marginal levels of IFN-γ (8.4 ~ 10.5 pg/ml), could be enhanced to produce higher levels of IFN-γ (6.8- to 10.3-fold increase) after <it>IFN-γ </it>transduction. Unlike P-NPCs, BM-NPCs spontaneously released IFN-γ at moderate levels (83.8 ~ 100.7 pg/ml), which were enhanced by 1.3- to 2.2-fold in the spent media of their <it>IFN-γ</it>-transduced counterparts.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results showed that cultured P-NPCs and BM-NPCs could be distinguished from one another on the basis of their differential baseline secretion pattern of IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-6Rα, and their differential response profiles to <it>IFN-γ </it>gene transfer of the production of these three soluble molecules. These results suggest that the IL-6 and IFN-γ pathways in a background of genetic instability be involved in the acquisition of metastatic behaviour in BM-NPCs.</p

Association analyses of East Asian individuals and trans-ancestry analyses with European individuals reveal new loci associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >175 loci associated with fasting cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). With differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure and allele frequencies between ancestry groups, studies in additional large samples may detect new associations. We conducted staged GWAS meta-analyses in up to 69,414 East Asian individuals from 24 studies with participants from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. These meta-analyses identified (P < 5 × 10-8) three novel loci associated with HDL-C near CD163-APOBEC1 (P = 7.4 × 10-9), NCOA2 (P = 1.6 × 10-8), and NID2-PTGDR (P = 4.2 × 10-8), and one novel locus associated with TG near WDR11-FGFR2 (P = 2.7 × 10-10). Conditional analyses identified a second signal near CD163-APOBEC1. We then combined results from the East Asian meta-analysis with association results from up to 187,365 European individuals from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium in a trans-ancestry meta-analysis. This analysis identified (log10Bayes Factor ≥6.1) eight additional novel lipid loci. Among the twelve total loci identified, the index variants at eight loci have demonstrated at least nominal significance with other metabolic traits in prior studies, and two loci exhibited coincident eQTLs (P < 1 × 10-5) in subcutaneous adipose tissue for BPTF and PDGFC. Taken together, these analyses identified multiple novel lipid loci, providing new potential therapeutic targets

Studies on the Bulblet Micropropagation and Growth of Lilium hybridum Hort. cv. Casa Blanca

本研究使用東方型百合&quot;Casablanca&quot;(香水百合)鱗莖為材料探討鱗片組織 培養時培養基成份對鱗莖增殖的效果，以及組織培養球的休眠和肥培技術 ，以改善鱗莖的培育技術。試驗結果顯示香水百合小鱗片的繼代培養中， 以鱗片垂直插入培養基的方式，有利於鱗莖的形成與肥大，並可避免癒傷 組織的形成。在MS鹽類濃度上，全量之MS鹽類濃度較1/4 MS具有促進培殖 體的發育及鱗莖形成的作用。以全量MS培養基添加 0.1 mg/l NAA、 0.01~0.05 mg/l BA及3~8 %蔗糖時香水百合之小鱗片有較佳之發育結果。 NAA濃度高於 0.1 mg/l時促進根部及癒合組織的分化；在0.1-1 mg/l低濃 度NAA下加入高濃度BA(0.5 mg/l)會抑制小鱗莖的發育。添加1-10mg/l的 kinetin促進培殖小鱗片的增殖鱗片數，但抑制鱗莖的肥大及根的生長。 培養基內添加ancymidol 會促進鱗莖數的增加並抑制鱗莖肥大，且產生的 鱗莖均沒有休眠的現象；低濃度 ancymidol（0.5-2 mg/l）刺激葉片形成 ，高濃度(4 mg/l）反有抑制作用。蔗糖濃度影響鱗莖發育，低於 2%或高 於 8%蔗糖濃度均抑制小鱗片的分化，在 3%- 8%蔗糖濃度下，發生的葉片 數隨蔗糖濃度的增加而減少，唯高蔗糖濃度(8%)可促進鱗莖的肥大。鱗莖 休眠以田間栽培之鱗莖最深，須10週 4℃之低溫才能打破休眠，組織培養 之鱗莖次之需6-8週，鱗片繁殖之鱗莖僅需四週低溫處理即有90%的萌芽率 。栽培介質對組織培養鱗莖肥培之影響，以蛇木屑及泥碳苔加蛇木屑最佳 ，其鱗莖的肥大及葉片的發育均優於其他介質，泥碳苔次之，而以泥碳苔 加&quot;根源&quot;最差。種植深度以覆土與鱗莖平至覆土 1公分厚較佳，增加覆土 深度僅使葉片的葉柄長度增加，對鱗莖的肥大並無明顯的作用。The purpose of this study was to develop an effective method of micropropagation of Lilium oriental hybrid 〝Casablanca〞 through tissue culture. The effects of low-temperature treatment for breaking bulb dormancy and the application of planting medium for culturing bulbs obtained from tissue culture were also evaluated. Experimental results showed that full strength of MS inorganic salts promoted the development of explants and the formation of the bulbs. The addition of 0.1 mg/l NAA, 0.01-0.05 mg/l BA, and 3-8% sucrose was beneficial to the in vitro growth of the bulbs. NAA exhibited the effects of root and callus differentiation at concentrations higher than 0.1 mg/l. The growth of the bulbs was inhibited when 0.5mg/l BA was added to the medium containing NAA. Ancymidol, which possesses the characteristics of inhibiting bulb enlargement, stimulated the formation of 0.5-2.0mg.l ancymidol but exhibited a negative effect on leaf differentiation at high concentrations. The resulted bulbs showed no symptom of dormancy. The supplement of kinetin (1-10mg/l) to the medium increased the number of bulb scales produced but decreased the enlargement of the bulbs and the growth of the root. A sucrose concentration lower than 2% or higher than 8% was unfavorable to the different- iation of scales. Leaf number differentiated decreased as sucrose concentration in the medium increased within the range from 3% to 8%. However, high sucrose concentration (8%) promoted the enlargement of the bulbs. The duration of low-temperature (4℃) treatment needed to break dormancy was 10 weeks for bulbs obtained from the field, 6-8 weeks for bulbs produced from tissue culture , and only 4 weeks for bulbs originated from the scales propagation. For outdoor planting, the use of fern tree powder as culture medium was better than peatmoss and others, in terms of bulb enlargement and leaf growth

New Plant Variety and DUS Test

農業及生技產業相關之智慧財產權保護可透過專利、營業秘密、植物品種權、著作及商標等方式達成，而植物品種權直接對植物品種提供權益的保護。新品種性狀檢定（DUS test）是認定新品種時最重要的參考依據，性狀檢定的品質也同時影響法令執行的品質，本文主要參考2007年於荷蘭舉辦之植物品種保護訓練課程內，關於品種檢定的一些執行概念及趨勢，如實質衍生品種的概念、品種檢定體系、檢定計畫的規劃流程及品種檢定的認證作簡要的說明。 The protection of intellectual property relating to the agricultural and biotechnical industries could be realized through the use of patents, trade secrets, plant seedlings, copyrights, and trademarks. Particularly, the plant species and seedling method provides direct protection on the benefits of new species. The DUS test on new species is the most important reference for the approval of new species. The DUS test's quality also influences the conduct of statutory implementation. In relation to this, the current paper mainly uses the Plant Species Protection and Training Course held in Holland in 2007 as reference. Some concepts and trends for the species test are as follows: the concept of substantial derivative species, the species test system, a brief introduction on the test plan's planning procedure, and the species test's certification