Outcomes of surgery for patients with Behcet’s disease causing aortic pseudoaneurysm: a shift from open surgery to endovascular repair

OBJECTIVES: Behcet’s disease is a form of systematic vasculitis that affects vessels of various sizes. Aortic pseudoaneurysm is one of the most important causes of death among patients with Behcet’s disease due to its high risk of rupture and associated mortality. Our study aimed to investigate the outcomes of Behcet’s disease patients with aortic pseudoaneurysms undergoing open surgery and endovascular aortic repair. METHODS: From January 2003 to September 2014, ten consecutive patients undergoing surgery for aortic pseudoaneurysm met the diagnostic criteria for Behcet’s disease. Endovascular repair was the preferred modality and open surgery was performed as an alternative. Systemic immunosuppressive medication was administered after Behcet’s disease was definitively diagnosed. RESULTS: Eight patients initially underwent endovascular repair and two patients initially underwent open surgery. The overall success rate was 90% and the only failed case involved the use of the chimney technique to reach a suprarenal location. The median follow-up duration was 23 months. There were 7 recurrences in 5 patients. The median interval between operation and recurrence was 13 months. No significant risk factors for recurrence were identified, but a difference in recurrence between treatment and non-treatment with preoperative immunosuppressive medication preoperatively was notable. Four aneurysm-related deaths occurred within the follow-up period. The overall 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 80%, 64% and 48%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both open surgery and endovascular repair are safe and effective for treating aortic pseudoaneurysm in Behcet’s disease patients. The results from our retrospective study indicated that immunosuppressive medication was essential to defer the occurrence and development of recurrent aneurysms

Dynamic Changes on Floral Aroma Composition of the Three Species from Tilia at Different Flowering Stages

The floral aroma, sometimes known as an incorporeal gift of flowers, is one of the primary ornamental features of plants. Flowers of genus Tilia are fragrant and have great value for development and utilization. In this study, for the first time, headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with chemometrics were used to analyze the dynamic variations of scent components of the three species from Tilia at different flowering stages. 47 aroma compounds were preliminarily identified, including terpenes, alcohols, ethers, esters, aldehydes, heterocyclics and alkanes. The UpSet diagram displayed great variations in the amount of aroma components at various flowering stages for each species. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) indicated the proximity of aroma composition characteristics and the significant components that can distinguish the three species from one another. Variable importance projection values (VIP) along with the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric analysis were performed to identify 9 crucial aroma components, such as α-Farnesene, D-Limonene, Germacrene D, Linalool, etc. In the end, we discovered that, in sharp contrast to T. miqueliana Maxim., Tilia cordata Mill. may have a closely related phylogenetic relationship with Tilia tomentosa Moench. by evaluating the aroma similarity rates

Effects of Gibberellic Acid and Magnetically Treated Water on Physiological Characteristics of Tilia miqueliana M. Seeds

Cold stratification with different pretreatments of Gibberellic Acid (GA3), and/or magnetically treated water (MTW) to break the dormancy and obtain higher and more uniform germination of Tilia miqueliana M. seeds has been studied well. However, there is no complete and uniform theory explaining the effects of MTW or the interaction between MTW and GA3 on seeds germination and dormancy breaking. During cold stratification, nutrition contents of soluble sugar, protein and starch, enzyme activities of Îą-amylase and protease were evaluated and have significant changes in treated seeds. MTW-GA3 treatment got the biggest changes. For seeds treated with MTW-GA3, soluble sugar content reached the maximum value and protein and starch contents were got the largest decline after 30 days of cold stratification. The maximum values of Îą-amylase and protease activities were both observed in seeds treated with MTW-GA3 treatment, and they were 216.67% and 67.58% higher than corresponding control values. These changes in treated seeds could be triggering the fast germination and dormancy breaking.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Correction: Bao, W.; Shen, Y. Dynamic Changes on Floral Aroma Composition of the Three Species from <i>Tilia</i> at Different Flowering Stages. <i>Horticulturae</i> 2022, <i>8</i>, 719

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Investigating Seed Dormancy in Pinus bungeana Zucc. ex Endl.: Understanding the Contributions of Enclosing Tissues and Temperature on Germination

Pinus bungeana Zucc. ex Endl. is an endangered conifer tree species that is endemic to Western Central China. With the aim to confirm whether the Pinus bungeana seeds were dormant or not, an isolated embryo was cultured and seed coat interference with imbibition was examined by the water uptake test; the contribution of enclosing structures to germination inhibition and the effect of different temperatures (10 &deg;C, 15 &deg;C, 20 &deg;C, 25 &deg;C, and 30 &deg;C) on seed germination were investigated by the germination test, then total germination percentage (TGP) and mean germination time (MGT) were calculated. Results showed that the Pinus bungeana seeds were non-dormant, seeds without any prechilling treatment germinated readily and achieved high germination (approximately 90%) at favorable temperatures (15 and 20 &deg;C). At 25 &deg;C, seed germination was inhibited and intact seeds exhibited 5% germination, but an interference with imbibition was not responsible for this result. In the seed tissue removal experiment, cracking the seed coat did not improve germination effectively, removing the seed coat and leaving the nucellar membrane either intact or having a quarter of it removed both elicited greater germination (34.7% and 40%, respectively). Meanwhile, removing the seed coat and removing either half or all of the nucellar membrane both promoted higher germination (approximately 80%), with germination rates that were nearly the same as that for the isolated embryos (86%). Germination inhibition was mainly induced by the enclosing structures and the nucellar membrane played an important role in inhibiting germination

Embryo Development, Seed Germination, and the Kind of Dormancy of <i>Ginkgo biloba</i> L.

The embryos of Ginkgo biloba L. are generally reported to undergo after-ripening and be underdeveloped at the time of dispersal, which suggests that the seeds have morphological dormancy (MD) or morphological physiological dormancy (MPD). The aim of this work is to determine whether embryos of a G. biloba population are well-developed at the time of seed dispersal, and whether the seeds are dormant or not. From 8 September, which was the 140th day after flowering (140 DAF), seeds were collected separately from trees (T) and the ground (G) every 10 days until 7 December (230 DAF), resulting in a total of 10 samples. The changes in vertical diameter, transverse diameter, fresh weight, water content, and embryo length during seed development were measured. Simultaneously, the effects of different temperatures (15, 25, 30, and 35 &#176;C) on seed germination, dormancy, and germination characteristics of G. biloba seeds were studied. Results showed that the embryos of G. biloba seeds were well developed and had no morphological dormancy. On 18 September (150 DAF), embryos were visible with a length of 2.5 mm. On 7 December (230 DAF), at the time of seed dispersal, their length was 17.1 mm. The germination percentage of the isolated embryos and seeds increased as the delay in seed collection increased, but there was no significant difference between T and G (p &gt; 0.05). On 7 December (230 DAF), the germination of the isolated embryos reached 98%, indicating that the embryos were nondormant. Without pretreatment, seed germination was 82.57% within four weeks at 25 &#176;C. Furthermore, the germination test at different temperatures showed the highest germination percentage at 30 &#176;C (84.82%). Obviously, the G. biloba seeds were nondormant. The mean germination time (MGT) of the seeds at 30 and 35 &#176;C was significantly lower than that of the seeds at 15 and 25 &#176;C, and the speed of germination (SG) was significantly higher than that of the seeds at 15 and 25 &#176;C. Although there was no significant difference in the seed-germination percentage between 30 and 35 &#176;C, a portion of the seeds (9.5%) rotted at 35 &#176;C. Therefore, 30 &#176;C was the most favorable germination temperature for G. biloba seeds. This is the first study that reports G. biloba seeds with no dormancy

Changes in Seed Germination Ability, Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Ginkgo biloba Seed during Desiccation

With the aim of investigating the antioxidant system and germinability in response to the desiccation of Ginkgo biloba seeds, they were put in a drying room (25 ± 2% relative humidity, 25 °C) for 67 days. Results showed that the germination rate remained constant when seed moisture content (MC) decreased from 48% (fresh seeds) to 45.1%. However, when MC reached 40.1%, the germination percentage decreased from 92% to 50%. A significant positive correlation was observed between the MC and seed germination percentage (r = 0.910). The electrical conductivity was significantly increased during the initial desiccation (48–45.1%). Furthermore, both the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activity first reduced, then elevated to peak values before they declined again. POD activity rose earlier than SOD activity, indicating that the POD reaction was more desiccation-sensitive than the SOD. Significant negative correlations were observed between the MC and malondialdehyde (MDA) content (r = −0.619) and electrical conductivity (r = −0.745). Our collective results suggest that G. biloba seeds are highly sensitive to desiccation. Excessive desiccation could reduce the antioxidant enzyme activity of G. biloba seeds and intensify membrane lipid peroxidation, which causes the consequent reduction—or even the complete loss—of seed germinability

Study on Desiccation Tolerance and Biochemical Changes of <i>Sassafras tzumu</i> (Hemsl.) Hemsl. Seeds

The deciduous tree species Sassafras tzumu (Hemsl.) Hemsl., unique to China, holds significant economic and ecological value. However, its seeds exhibit poor storage tolerance and rapid decline in seed vigor. This study primarily investigates the desiccation tolerance of S. tzumu seeds. The results show that S. tzumu seeds have recalcitrant seed characteristics, with a semi-inactivation water content (at which point half of the seeds lose viability) of 20.7%. As desiccation progresses, seed viability decreases significantly; at a reduced water content of 11.93%, only 18.3% of the seeds remain viable, while most lose their viability completely. Relative electrolytic leakage (REC) and H2O2 content gradually increase during this process, while MDA content initially decreases before increasing again, exhibiting distinct trends compared to antioxidant enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT). SOD and POD activities exhibit an initial increase followed by a rapid decrease, whereas CAT activity shows a decline followed by a rapid increase. Dehydration to 15% water content in seeds is a key turning point in the process of seed desiccation in S. tzumu, and CAT is an enzyme key to maintaining seed viability. Both the accumulation of toxins and the decline in the activity of the antioxidant system contribute to the susceptibility of S. tzumu seeds to drought stress, a characteristic common to all recalcitrant seeds. To maintain high seed viability above 70% during storage, it is crucial to ensure water content above 23.58%

Characterization of new microsatellite markers based on the transcriptome sequencing of Clematis finetiana

Abstract Background Clematis is the biggest genus in the family Ranunculaceae with about 300 species. Clematis is also a globally important commercial group of flowers, especially in the United States and European countries. Their petals with different colors and shapes make the genus the “Queen of the Vines”. However, the genomic information and phylogeny of Clematis based on existing molecular studies are limited. In this paper, new microsatellites (SSR) markers were identified from the transcriptome data of C. finetiana obtained using the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. Results Sequences on a total of 71,900 high-quality unigenes with the mean length of 865 bp were produced in this study. There were 6192unigenes annotated and classified into 49 functional sub-groups in three main ontology categories in GO (Gen Ontology) database,14,022 unigenes mapped to COGs (Clusters of Orthologous Groups) database and classified into 25 functional categories, and 21,494 unigenes obtained and divided into 128 pathways of KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes) Database. A total of 7532 SSRs were discovered from 6337 unigenes. We randomly tested 210 primer pairs, of which 52 primer pairs were able to generate specific products, and 19 possessed polymorphism in the 13 wild populations of six species from Clematis, which were used as a test material. Conclusions The dataset of C. finetiana transcriptome and the identified new SSR markers will promote genetic research and breeding effort in Clematis