Seasonal nitrogen remobilization and the role of auxin transport in poplar trees

Seasonal nitrogen (N) cycling in Populus, involves bark storage proteins (BSPs) that accumulate in bark phloem parenchyma in the autumn and decline when shoot growth resumes in the spring. Little is known about the contribution of BSPs to growth or the signals regulating N remobilization from BSPs. Knockdown of BSP accumulation via RNAi and N sink manipulations were used to understand how BSP storage influences shoot growth. Reduced accumulation of BSPs delayed bud break and reduced shoot growth following dormancy. Further, 13N tracer studies also showed that BSP accumulation is an important factor in N partitioning from senescing leaves to bark. Thus, BSP accumulation has a role in N remobilization during N partitioning both from senescing leaves to bark and from bark to expanding shoots once growth commences following dormancy. The bark transcriptome during BSP catabolism and N remobilization was enriched in genes associated with auxin transport and signaling, and manipulation of the source of auxin or auxin transport revealed a role for auxin in regulating BSP catabolism and N remobilization. Therefore, N remobilization appears to be regulated by auxin produced in expanding buds and shoots that is transported to bark where it regulates protease gene expression and BSP catabolism

Eocene magmatic processes and crustal thickening in southern Tibet : insights from strongly fractionated ca. 43 Ma granites in the western Gangdese Batholith

This research was financially co-supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB03010301), the National Key Project for Basic Research of China (Project 2015CB452604), the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (41225006, 41472061, and 40973026), the MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources (China University of Geosciences). The first author thanks the China Scholarship Council (201306400021).This study reports zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotope, whole-rock major and trace element, and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope data for the Dajia pluton, western Gangdese Batholith, in southern Tibet. These data indicate that the pluton consists of moderately (Group 1) and strongly (Group 2) fractionated granites that were emplaced synchronously at ca. 43 Ma. The Group 1 samples have SiO2 contents of 69−72 wt.% and vary in terms of the differentiation index (DI = 84−93). These rocks are depleted in Ba, Nb, Sr, P, and Ti, with moderate negative Eu anomalies, and display low heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and Y abundances. The Group 2 samples are characterized by high SiO2 (75−78 wt.%) and DI (95−97); significantly negative Eu anomalies; marked concave-upward middle REE (Gd-Ho) patterns; and Ba, Sr, P, and Ti anomalies that are significantly more negative than those of the Group 1 samples. The Group 1 samples have whole-rock εNd(t) (-5.9 to -6.0), εHf(t) (-4.0 to -4.5), and zircon εHf(t) (-6.0 to + 5.8) values identical to those of the Group 2 samples [εNd(t) = -5.7 to -6.7, εHf(t) = -3.5 to -2.9, and zircon εHf(t) = -2.0 to + 4.2], as well as similar initial Pb isotopic compositions. These data indicate that the two groups were derived from a common source region with garnet as a residual mineral phase. The Group 1 samples were most likely derived from partial melting of garnet-bearing amphibolite (rather than eclogite) within the juvenile southern Lhasa crust and mixed with the enriched components from the subducting ancient Indian continental crust and/or the ancient central Lhasa basement. The Group 2 samples are interpreted as the products of extensive fractional crystallization (plagioclase, K-feldspar, biotite, apatite, allanite, titanite, monazite, and ilmenite) of the melts represented by the Group 1 samples. Low HREEs and Y abundances of the Dajia pluton, together with the presence of strongly fractionated granites (Group 2) identified for the first time in the Gangdese Batholith, indicate that the crust beneath the Dajia region had already been thickened by ca. 43 Ma. High whole-rock zircon saturation temperatures (815°C−869°C) of the Group 1 samples and the other ca. 43 Ma coeval magmatism documented both in the Gangdese Batholith and in the Tethyan Himalaya can be best interpreted as the final consequences of the magmatic responses to the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab breakoff.PostprintPeer reviewe

Clinical Study Replanning Criteria and Timing Definition for Parotid Protection-Based Adaptive Radiation Therapy in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

The goal of this study was to evaluate real-time volumetric and dosimetric changes of the parotid gland so as to determine replanning criteria and timing for parotid protection-based adaptive radiation therapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Fifty NPC patients were treated with helical tomotherapy; volumetric and dosimetric ( mean , 1 , and 50 ) changes of the parotid gland at the 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, 31st, and 33rd fractions were evaluated. The clinical parameters affecting these changes were studied by analyses of variance methods for repeated measures. Factors influencing the actual parotid dose were analyzed by a multivariate logistic regression model. The cut-off values predicting parotid overdose were developed from receiver operating characteristic curves and judged by combining them with a diagnostic test consistency check. The median absolute value and percentage of parotid volume reduction were 19.51 cm 3 and 35%, respectively. The interweekly parotid volume varied significantly ( < 0.05). The parotid mean , 1 , and 50 increased by 22.13%, 39.42%, and 48.45%, respectively. The actual parotid dose increased by an average of 11.38% at the end of radiation therapy. Initial parotid volume, initial parotid mean , and weight loss rate are valuable indicators for parotid protection-based replanning

Epidemiology of Schistosomiasis in the People’s Republic of China, 2004

Although the number of human infections decreased, human prevalence increased from 4.9% in 1995 to 5.1% in 2004

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

The genus Castanediella

Two new species, Castanediella brevis and C. monoseptata, are described, illustrated and compared with other Castanediella taxa. Evidence for the new species is provided by morphological comparison and sequence data analyses. Castanediella brevis can be distinguished from other Castanediella species by the short hyaline conidiophores and fusiform, aseptate hyaline conidia, while C. monoseptata differs from other Castanediella species by its unbranched conidiophores and fusiform, curved, 0–1-sepatate, hyaline conidia. Phylogenetic analysis of combined ITS and LSU sequence data was carried out to determine the phylogenetic placement of the species. A synopsis of hitherto described Castanediella species is provided. In addition, Castanediella is also compared with morphologically similar-looking genera such as Idriella, Idriellopsis, Microdochium, Neoidriella, Paraidriella and Selenodriella