A Meta-Analysis of the Use of Genetically Modified Cotton and Its Conventional in Agronomy Aspect and Economic Merits

Rising the area of growing Genetically Modified (GM) cotton mostly derived from the yield gain and income gain both GM cotton and conventional cotton is affected by seed cost, pesticide cost, management and labor cost. Therefore, planting GM cotton should be considering both agronomy aspect in yield gain and economic dimension in income gain. Those aspects are not only for GM cotton but also for conventional cotton. This paper is a meta-analysis as a synthesis of current research by searching literature both peer-reviewed and non peer-reviewed. A meta-analysis depicted that individual study mostly favor GM cotton in yield gain, seed cost and pesticide cost. However, in terms of pesticide cost a meta-analysis prone to favor non GM cotton. Moreover, a meta-analysis revealed that the positive impact in the differences of GM cotton and conventional cotton as the evidence of the publication is highly significant. Key Words : Genetically Modified, Cotton, Conventional, Yield, Income, Gain, Meta-Analysi

Facile synthesis of Co/Pd supported by few-walled carbon nanotubes as an efficient bidirectional catalyst for improving the low temperature hydrogen storage properties of magnesium hydride

Catalytic doping is important for enhancing the hydrogen storage performance of metal hydrides, but it is challenging to develop a single catalyst to enhance both hydrogen desorption and absorption to a certain degree. Herein, a bidirectional Co/Pd catalyst, homogeneously loaded on bamboo-shaped carbon nanotubes (Co/Pd@B-CNTs), showed superior catalytic effects, improving both the hydrogen desorption and absorption properties of MgH 2 at relatively low temperatures. The MgH 2 -Co/Pd@B-CNTs composite starts to release hydrogen at 198.9 °C, which is 132.4 °C lower than as-milled MgH 2 . The hydrogen desorption activation energy for MgH 2 is reduced from 178.00 to 76.66 kJ mol -1 by the catalytic effects of Co/Pd@B-CNTs. The MgH 2 -Co/Pd@B-CNTs composite shows dramatically improved absorption kinetics; it rapidly uptakes 6.68 wt% H 2 within 10 s at 250 °C, and quickly absorbs 1.91 wt% H 2 within 100 s, even at a temperature as low as 50 °C. More importantly, a special mechanism for the bidirectional catalyst Co/Pd is proposed for the first time and discussed in detail. During the hydrogenation process, elemental Pd plays a dominant role in accelerating the preferential diffusion of hydrogen atoms at the Pd/Mg interface, while during dehydrogenation, phase transformation between Mg 2 Co and Mg 2 CoH 5 as well as a Mg-Pd alloy becomes the crucial factor, facilitating the release of hydrogen atoms by decreasing the diffusion barrier. Moreover, novel structures of bamboo-shaped carbon nanotubes with a large diameter (\u3e100 nm) and high specific surface area (146.8 m 2 g -1 ) allow the homogenous dispersion of Co/Pd NPs and enhance the direct contact with MgH 2 particles

Light Spatial Distribution in the Canopy and Crop Development in Cotton

The partitioning of light is very difficult to assess, especially in discontinuous or irregular canopies. The aim of the present study was to analyze the spatial distribution of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in a heterogeneous cotton canopy based on a geo-statistical sampling method. Field experiments were conducted in 2011 and 2012 in Anyang, Henan, China. Field plots were arranged in a randomized block design with the main plot factor representing the plant density. There were 3 replications and 6 densities used in every replicate. The six plant density treatments were 15,000, 33,000, 51,000, 69,000, 87,000 and 105,000 plants ha(-1). The following results were observed: 1) transmission within the canopy decreased with increasing density and significantly decreased from the top to the bottom of the canopy, but the greatest decreases were observed in the middle layers of the canopy on the vertical axis and closing to the rows along the horizontal axis; 2) the transmitted PAR (TPAR) of 6 different cotton populations decreased slowly and then increased slightly as the leaves matured, the TPAR values were approximately 52.6-84.9% (2011) and 42.7-78.8% (2012) during the early cotton developmental stage, and were 33.9-60.0% (2011) and 34.5-61.8% (2012) during the flowering stage; 3) the Leaf area index (LAI) was highly significant exponentially correlated (R-2 = 0.90 in 2011, R-2 = 0.91 in 2012) with the intercepted PAR (IPAR) within the canopy; 4) and a highly significant linear correlation (R-2 = 0.92 in 2011, R-2 = 0.96 in 2012) was observed between the accumulated IPAR and the biomass. Our findings will aid researchers to improve radiation-use efficiency by optimizing the ideotype for cotton canopy architecture based on light spatial distribution characteristics

Le Peuple : organe quotidien du syndicalisme

26 avril 19361936/04/26 (A16,N5576)-1936/04/26

Study on Light Interception and Biomass Production of Different Cotton Cultivars.

Identifying the characteristics of light interception and utilization is of great significance for improving the potential photosynthetic activity of plants. The present research investigates the differences in absorbing and converting photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) among various cotton cultivars. Field experiments were conducted in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in Anyang, Henan, China. Ten cultivars with different maturity and plant architectures were planted at a density of 60,000 plants ha-1 in randomized blocks, with three replicates. The spatial distribution of light in canopy was measured and quantified with a geo-statistical method, according to which the cumulative amount of intercepted radiation was calculated by Simpson 3/8 rules. Finally, light interception was analyzed in association with the biomass accumulation of different cultivars. The key results were: (1) late-maturing varieties with an incompact plant architecture captured more solar radiation throughout the whole growth period than middle varieties with columnar architecture and even more than early varieties with compact architecture, and they produced more biomass; (2) the highest PAR interception ratio and the maximum biomass accumulation rate occurred during the blossoming and boll-forming stage, when leaf area index (LAI) reached its peak; (3) the distribution within the canopy presented a significant spatial heterogeneity, and at late growing stage, the PAR was mainly intercepted by upper canopies in incompact-type plant communities, but was more homogeneous in columnar-type plants; however, the majority of radiation was transmitted through the canopy in compact-type colonies; (4) there was not a consistent variation relationship between the cumulative intercepted PAR (iPAR) and biomass among these cultivars over the three years of the study. Based on these results, we attempted to clarify the distinction in light spatial distribution within different canopies and the patterns of PAR interception in diverse cotton cultivars with different hereditary characters, thereby providing a significant basis for researchers to select cultivars with appropriate growth period and optimal plant architecture for improvement of light interception and utilization

DRD4 alleviates acute kidney injury by suppressing ISG15/NOX4 axis-associated oxidative stress

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a life-threatening health condition associated with increasing morbidity and mortality. Despite extensive research on the mechanisms underlying AKI, effective clinical tools for prediction and treatment remain scarce. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage play a critical role in AKI and dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) has been confirmed to be associated with oxidative stress. In this study, we hypothesized that DRD4 could attenuate AKI through its antioxidative and antiapoptotic effects. In vivo, DRD4 was remarkably decreased in the kidneys of mice subjected to ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) or cisplatin treatment. Notably, DRD4 significantly attenuated nephrotoxicity by suppressing oxidative stress and enhancing mitochondrial bioenergetics through the downregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) expression. In vitro, DRD4 demonstrated the ability to ameliorate oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in HK-2 cells subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation- or cisplatin treatment. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that, mechanistically, DRD4 reduced the expression of its downstream target, interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), suppressing NOX4 ISGylation, enhancing the ubiquitination of NOX4, leading to its degradation, and ultimately counteracting oxidative stress-induced AKI. Altogether, these findings underscore the significance of DRD4 in AKI and elucidate DRD4 as a potential protectant against IRI or cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

Image_1_Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for adult patients with renal sarcoma: A retrospective study based on the SEER database.JPEG

BackgroundRenal sarcoma (RS) is rarely seen in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to develop a prognostic nomogram model, which could predict the probability of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in adult patients with RS.MethodsPatients diagnosed with RS were recruited from the SEER database between 2004 and 2015, and randomized to two cohorts: the training cohort and the validation cohort. Uni- and multivariate Cox regression analyses in the training cohort were used to screen independent prognostic factors for OS and CSS. Prognostic nomograms for OS and CSS were created separately for adult RS patients based on independent risk factors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to validate the nomograms.ResultsA total of 232 eligible patients were recruited, including 162 in the training cohort and 70 in the validation cohort. Sex, histological type, SEER stage, and surgery were independent prognostic factors for OS, while histological type, SEER stage, surgery, chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors for CSS. Based on the above independent prognostic factors, prognostic nomograms for OS and CSS were created respectively. In the training cohort, the AUCs of the nomograms for OS and CSS were 0.742 and 0.733, respectively. In the validation cohort, the AUCs of the nomograms for OS and CSS were 0.837 and 0.758, respectively. The calibration curves of the nomograms showed high consistencies between the predicted and actual survival rates. Finally, the DCA demonstrated that the nomograms in the wide high-risk threshold had a higher net benefit than the SEER stage.ConclusionA prognostic nomogram for renal sarcoma was created and validated for reliability and usefulness in our study, which assisted urologists in accurately assessing the prognosis of adult RS patients.</p

Table_1_Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for adult patients with renal sarcoma: A retrospective study based on the SEER database.xlsx

BackgroundRenal sarcoma (RS) is rarely seen in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to develop a prognostic nomogram model, which could predict the probability of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in adult patients with RS.MethodsPatients diagnosed with RS were recruited from the SEER database between 2004 and 2015, and randomized to two cohorts: the training cohort and the validation cohort. Uni- and multivariate Cox regression analyses in the training cohort were used to screen independent prognostic factors for OS and CSS. Prognostic nomograms for OS and CSS were created separately for adult RS patients based on independent risk factors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to validate the nomograms.ResultsA total of 232 eligible patients were recruited, including 162 in the training cohort and 70 in the validation cohort. Sex, histological type, SEER stage, and surgery were independent prognostic factors for OS, while histological type, SEER stage, surgery, chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors for CSS. Based on the above independent prognostic factors, prognostic nomograms for OS and CSS were created respectively. In the training cohort, the AUCs of the nomograms for OS and CSS were 0.742 and 0.733, respectively. In the validation cohort, the AUCs of the nomograms for OS and CSS were 0.837 and 0.758, respectively. The calibration curves of the nomograms showed high consistencies between the predicted and actual survival rates. Finally, the DCA demonstrated that the nomograms in the wide high-risk threshold had a higher net benefit than the SEER stage.ConclusionA prognostic nomogram for renal sarcoma was created and validated for reliability and usefulness in our study, which assisted urologists in accurately assessing the prognosis of adult RS patients.</p

Variations in the accumulated RLDs at different spatial positions from DSC, ScSTC and SSTC.

<p>Variations in the accumulated RLDs at different spatial positions from DSC, ScSTC and SSTC.</p

Spatial distributions of RLD under SSTC at cotton seedling stage, boll stage and boll opening stage.

<p>Note: A, B and C represented the seedling stage, boll stage and boll opening stage, respectively.</p