Response of Stomatal Density and Bound Gas Exchange in Leaves of Maize to Soil Water Deficit

Stomatal behavior in response to drought has been the focus of intensive research, but less attention has been paid to stomatal density. In this study, 5-week-old maize seedlings were exposed to different soil water contents. Stomatal density and size as well as leaf gas exchange were investigated after 2-, 4- and 6-weeks of treatment, which corresponded to the jointing, trumpeting, and filling stages of maize development. Results showed that new stomata were generated continually during leaf growth. Reduced soil water content significantly stimulated stomatal generation, resulting in a significant increase in stomatal density but a decrease in stomatal size and aperture. Independent of soil water conditions, stomatal density and length in the trumpeting and filling stages were greater than in the jointing stage. Irrespective of growth stage, severe water deficit significantly reduced stomatal conductance (Gs), decreasing the leaf transpiration rate (Tr) and net photosynthetic rate (Pn). Stomatal density was significantly negatively correlated with both Pn and Tr but more strongly with Tr, so the leaf instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi) correlated positively with stomatal density. In conclusion, drought led to a significant increase in stomatal density and a reduction in stomatal size and aperture, resulting in decreased Pn and Tr. Because the negative correlation of stomatal density to Tr was stronger than that to Pn, leaf WUEi tended to increase

3D printing of silk fibroin-based hybrid scaffold treated with platelet rich plasma for bone tissue engineering

3D printing/bioprinting are promising techniques to fabricate scaffolds with well controlled and patient-specific structures and architectures for bone tissue engineering. In this study, we developed a composite bioink consisting of silk fibroin (SF), gelatin (GEL), hyaluronic acid (HA), and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and 3D bioprinted the silk fibroin-based hybrid scaffolds. The 3D bioprinted scaffolds with dual crosslinking were further treated with human platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to generate PRP coated scaffolds. Live/Dead and MTT assays demonstrated that PRP treatment could obviously promote the cell growth and proliferation of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADMSC). In addition, the treatment of PRP did not significantly affect alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and expression, but significantly upregulated the gene expression levels of late osteogenic markers. This study demonstrated that the 3D printing of silk fibroin-based hybrid scaffolds, in combination with PRP post-treatment, might be a more efficient strategy to promote osteogenic differentiation of adult stem cells and has significant potential to be used for bone tissue engineering

Dual effects of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone on testicular development in prepubertal Minxinan Black rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) is a neurohormone that not only suppresses reproduction at the brain level but also regulates steroidogenesis and gametogenesis at the gonad level. However, its function in gonadal physiology has received little attention in rabbits. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of GnIH on testicular development and function in prepubertal Minxinan Black rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In the present study, we investigated the serum reproductive hormone concentration, testicular parameters, morphology of seminiferous tubules, apoptosis of testicular cells, and expression of reproductive-related genes in male prepubertal Minxinan Black rabbits intraperitoneally administered with 0, 0.5, 5, or 50 μg quail GnIH-related peptides (qGnIH) for 10 days. Compared with the vehicle, administration with 5 μg of qGnIH downregulated the serum testosterone concentration and mRNA levels of spermatogenic genes (PCNA, FSHR, INHβA, HSF1, and AR) and upregulated the apoptosis rate of testicular cells; administration with 50 μg of qGnIH decreased the serum testosterone concentration and hypothalamic GnIH gene mRNA level and increased the serum LH concentration, pituitary LHβ gene mRNA level, testicular weight, gonadosomatic index (GSI), and spermatogenic cell layer thickness. It is concluded that GnIH could exert dual actions on testicular development depending on the male prepubertal rabbits receiving different intraperitoneal doses

Characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus strain causing severe respiratory disease in rabbits

[EN] Staphylococcus aureus is acknowledged as one of the important pathogens isolated from humans and animals. However, the S. aureus causing severe respiratory diseases in rabbits have not been well characterised. A S. aureus named FZHW001, isolated from the lungs of dead rabbits with severe respiratory disease, was characterised by artificial infection of rabbits, detection of virulence factors, multi-locus sequencing typing and antimicrobial susceptibility test. The FZHW001 infected rabbits showed identical respiratory symptoms to those of naturally infected ones, and the isolate could spread through directed contact among rabbits. The isolate was typed into clonal complex 121 and carried 7 of 13 tested virulence factors. Furthermore, the isolate was identified to be methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and was susceptible to 7 of 12 tested antibiotics. This study first describes the characteristics of S. aureus isolated from rabbits causing severe respiratory disease, which will help in further understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of S. aureus in rabbits.This work was supported by the Outstanding Youth Fund of Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JC2018-1) and National Rabbit Industry Technology System of People’s Republic of China (CARS-43-G-5).Wang, J.; Sang, L.; Chen, Y.; Sun, S.; Chen, D.; Xie, X. (2019). Characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus strain causing severe respiratory disease in rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 27(1):41-48. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2019.10454SWORD4148271Angen O., Feld L., Larsen J., Rostgaard K., Skov R., Madsen A.M., Larsen A.R. 2017. Transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to human volunteers visiting a swine farm. Appl. Environ. 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Immun., 2: 631-641. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.70.2.631-641.2002Kurt K., Rasigade J.P., Laurent F., Goering R.V., Zemlickova H., Machova I., Struelens M.J., Zautner A.E., Holtfreter S., Broker B., Ritchie S., Reaksmey S., Limmathurotaskul D., Peacock S.J., Cuny C., Layer F., Witte W., Nubel U. 2013. Subpopulations of Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 121 are associated with distinct clinical entities. PLoS One., 3:e58155. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058155Lina G., Piémont Y., Godail-Gamot F., Bes M., Peter M.O., Gauduchon V., Vandenesch F., Etienne J. 1999. Involvement of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Producing Staphylococcus aureus in Primary Skin Infections and Pneumonia. Clin. Infect. Dis., 29: 1128-1132. https://doi.org/10.1086/313461Merz A., Stephan R., Johler S. 2016. Genotyping and DNA microarray based characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from rabbit carcasses. 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Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis and close human contacts in South African dairy herds: genetic diversity and interspecieshost transmission. Front. Microbiol., 8: 511. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00511Sicot N., Khanafer N., Meyssonnier V., Dumitrescu O., Tristan A., Bes M., Lina G., Vandenesch F., Vanhems P., Etienne J., Gillet Y. 2013. Methicillin resistance is not a predictor of severity in community acquired Staphylococcus aureus necrotizing pneumonia-results of a prospectiveobservational study. Clin. Microbiol. Infect., 19: E142-148. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-0691.12022Srinivasan V., Sawant A.A., Gillespie B.E., Headrick S.J., Ceasaris L., Oliver S.P. 2006. Prevalence of enterotoxin and toxic shock syndrome toxin genes in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk of cows with mastitis. Foodborne Pathog. 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Interaction of serum vitamin B12 and folate with MTHFR genotypes on risk of ischemic stroke

ObjectiveWe evaluated the interaction of serum folate and vitamin B12 with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotypes on the risk of first ischemic stroke and on the efficacy of folic acid treatment in prevention of first ischemic stroke.MethodsA total of 20,702 hypertensive adults were randomized to a double-blind treatment of daily enalapril 10 mg and folic acid 0.8 mg or enalapril 10 mg alone. Participants were followed up every 3 months.ResultsMedian values of folate and B12 concentrations at baseline were 8.1 ng/mL and 280.2 pmol/L, respectively. Over a median of 4.5 years, among those not receiving folic acid, participants with baseline serum B12 or serum folate above the median had a significantly lower risk of first ischemic stroke (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-0.96), especially in those with MTHFR 677 CC genotype (wild-type) (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.31-0.78). Folic acid treatment significantly reduced the risk of first ischemic stroke in participants with both folate and B12 below the median (2.3% in enalapril-folic acid group vs 3.6% in enalapril-only group; HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.46-0.86), particularly in MTHFR 677 CC carriers (1.6% vs 4.9%; HR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11-0.55). However, TT homozygotes responded better with both folate and B12 levels above the median (HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.75).ConclusionsThe risk of first ischemic stroke was significantly higher in hypertensive patients with low levels of both folate and B12. Effect of folic acid treatment was greatest in patients with low folate and B12 with the CC genotype, and with high folate and B12 with the TT genotype

Acupuncture Improved Neurological Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury by Activating BDNF/TrkB Pathway

How to promote neural repair following traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long been an intractable problem. Although acupuncture has been demonstrated to facilitate the neurological recovery, the underlying mechanism is elusive. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exerts substantial protective effects for neurological disorders. In this study, we found that the level of BDNF and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) was elevated spontaneously after TBI and reached up to the peak at 12 h. Nevertheless, this enhancement is quickly declined to the normal at 48 h. After combined stimulation at the acupoints of Baihui, Renzhong, Hegu, and Zusanli, we found that BDNF and TrkB were still significantly elevated at 168 h. We also observed that the downstream molecular p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 were significantly increased, suggesting that acupuncture could persistently activate the BDNF/TrkB pathway. To further verify that acupuncture improved recovery through activating BDNF/TrkB pathway, K252a (specific inhibitor of TrkB) was treated by injection stereotaxically into lateral ventricle. We observed that K252a could significantly prevent the acupuncture-induced amelioration of motor, sensation, cognition, and synaptic plasticity. These data indicated that acupuncture promoted the recovery of neurological impairment after TBI by activating BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway, providing new molecular mechanism for understanding traditional therapy of acupuncture

MODMA dataset: a Multi-modal Open Dataset for Mental-disorder Analysis

According to the World Health Organization, the number of mental disorder patients, especially depression patients, has grown rapidly and become a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. However, the present common practice of depression diagnosis is based on interviews and clinical scales carried out by doctors, which is not only labor-consuming but also time-consuming. One important reason is due to the lack of physiological indicators for mental disorders. With the rising of tools such as data mining and artificial intelligence, using physiological data to explore new possible physiological indicators of mental disorder and creating new applications for mental disorder diagnosis has become a new research hot topic. However, good quality physiological data for mental disorder patients are hard to acquire. We present a multi-modal open dataset for mental-disorder analysis. The dataset includes EEG and audio data from clinically depressed patients and matching normal controls. All our patients were carefully diagnosed and selected by professional psychiatrists in hospitals. The EEG dataset includes not only data collected using traditional 128-electrodes mounted elastic cap, but also a novel wearable 3-electrode EEG collector for pervasive applications. The 128-electrodes EEG signals of 53 subjects were recorded as both in resting state and under stimulation; the 3-electrode EEG signals of 55 subjects were recorded in resting state; the audio data of 52 subjects were recorded during interviewing, reading, and picture description. We encourage other researchers in the field to use it for testing their methods of mental-disorder analysis

Using Complementary and Alternative Medicines to Target the Host Response during Severe Influenza

It is now accepted that an overwhelming inflammatory response is the cause of human deaths from avian H5N1 influenza infection. With this in mind we sought to examine the literature for examples of complementary and alternative medicines that reduce inflammation, and to place the results of this search in the context of our own work in a mouse model of influenza disease, using a pharmaceutical agent with anti-inflammatory properties. Two Chinese herbs, Angelica sinensis (Dang Gui) and Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), have been recently shown to protect mice during lethal experimental sepsis via inhibition of the novel inflammatory cytokine High Mobility Group Box 1 protein (HMGB1). Biochanin A, a ligand of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPAR) alpha and gamma and the active isoflavone in Trifolium pratense (red clover), has anti-inflammatory properties, and thus could be used as an influenza treatment. This is of great interest since we have recently shown that gemfibrozil, a drug used to treat hyperlipidemia in humans and a synthetic ligand of PPAR alpha, significantly reduces the mortality associated with influenza infections in mice. The inflammation-modulating abilities of these natural agents should be considered in light of what is now known about the mechanisms of fatal influenza, and tested as potential candidates for influenza treatments in their own right, or as adjunct treatments to antivirals