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Plant inflorescence architecture is determined by inflorescence meristem (IM) activity and controlled by genetic mechanisms associated with environmental factors. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) is expressed in the IM and is required to maintain indeterminate growth, whereas LEAFY (LFY) is expressed in the floral meristems (FMs) formed at the periphery of the IM and is required to activate determinate floral development. Here, we address how Arabidopsis indeterminate inflorescence growth is determined. We show that the 26S proteasome subunit REGULATORY PARTICLE AAA-ATPASE 2a (RPT2a) is required to maintain the indeterminate inflorescence architecture in Arabidopsis. rpt2a mutants display reduced TFL1 expression levels and ectopic LFY expression in the IM and develop a determinate zigzag-shaped inflorescence. We further found that RPT2a promotes DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE1 degradation, leading to DNA hypomethylation upstream of TFL1 and high TFL1 expression levels in the wild-type IM. Overall, our work reveals that proteolytic input into the epigenetic regulation of TFL1 expression directs inflorescence architecture in Arabidopsis, adding an additional layer to stem cell regulation. The proteasome subunit RPT2a promotes DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE1 degradation, causing DNA hypomethylation upstream of TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) and high TFL1 levels in the Arabidopsis inflorescence meristem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open in new tab Download slide Open in new tab Download slide OBJECTIVES Pregnancy-related aortic dissection (AoD) in Marfan syndrome is a lethal catastrophe. Due to its rarity and limited clinical experience, there is no consensus regarding the optimal management strategy. We seek to present our 21-year experience in such patients , focusing on management strategies and early and late outcomes. METHODS Between 1998 and 2019, we managed 30 pregnant women with Marfan syndrome (mean age 30.7 ± 4.3 years) who sustained AoD at a mean of 28.3 ± 8.8 weeks of gestation (GWs). AoD was acute in 21 (70%), type A (TAAD) in 24 (80%) and type B (TBAD) in 6 (20%). Fourteen TAADs (58.3%, 14/24) and 2 TBADs (33.3%, 2/6) occurred in the third trimester or postpartum. The maximal aortic size was < 45 mm in 26.7% (8/30; 3 TAADs, 5 TBADs). Management strategy was based on the types of dissection and GWs (i.e. surgical versus medical treatment, surgery or delivery first). RESULTS TAADs were treated medically in 1 and surgically in 23. The timing of delivery and surgery were caesarean first at 35.4 ± 6.1 GWs in 7 (29.2%), followed by surgery after mean 46 days; single-stage C-section and surgery at 32.0 ± 5.0 GWs in 10 (41.7%); and surgery first at 18.0 ± 5.8 GWs in 6 (25%), followed by C-section after 20 days. Maternal and foetal mortality were 28.6% (2/7) and 14.3% (1/7), 10.0% (1/10) and 20.0% (2/10) and 16.7% (1/6) and 83.3% (5/6), respectively. Five TBADs (83.3%) were managed with C-section followed by surgery in 2 and medical treatment in 3. The respective maternal and foetal mortality were 50% (1/2) and 100% (2/2) and 33.3% (1/3) and 33.3% (1/3), respectively. One TBAD was managed surgically first followed by C-section, resulting in maternal survival and foetal death. Follow-up was complete in 95.8% (23/24) at 3.7 ± 2.9 years. Four late deaths occurred and reoperation was performed in 1 patient. Maternal and foetal survival were 64.3% and 54.1% at 6 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Management of AoD in pregnant women with Marfan syndrome should be based on types of dissection (surgical versus medical) and gestational age (delivery or surgery first), which largely determine maternal and foetal survival. Aortic repair should be considered prior to conception in women with Marfan syndrome even at diameters smaller than recommended by current guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background. The prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) after curative resection is at variance. We identified the risk factors of poor postoperative prognosis and consequently developed prognostic nomograms generating individual risk of death and recurrence for this subgroup of patients with HCC. Methods. The risk factors were identified and nomograms were developed based on a retrospective study of 734 patients in the primary cohort who underwent curative resection for HCC from 2010 to 2012. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomograms were determined by concordance index (Cindex) and calibration curve and compared with traditional staging systems of HCC. The results were validated in an independent cohort of 349 patients operated at the same institution in 2007. Results. All of the independent factors for survival in multivariate analysis in the primary cohort were selected into the nomograms. The calibration curve for probability of survival showed good agreement between prediction by nomograms and actual observation. The C-indices of the nomograms for predicting overall survival and recurrence-free survival were 0.755 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.752-0.758) and 0.665 (95% CI, 0.662-0.668), respectively, which were statistically higher than the C-indices of other HCC prognostic models. The results were further confirmed in the validation cohort. Conclusion. The proposed nomograms resulted in more accurate prognostic prediction for patients with HCC without PVTT after curative resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tibetans are well adapted to the hypoxic environments at high altitude, yet the molecular mechanism of this adaptation remains elusive. We reported comprehensive genetic and functional analyses of EPAS1, a gene encoding hypoxia inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α) with the strongest signal of selection in previous genome-wide scans of Tibetans. We showed that the Tibetan-enriched EPAS1 variants down-regulate expression in human umbilical endothelial cells and placentas. Heterozygous EPAS1 knockout mice display blunted physiological responses to chronic hypoxia, mirroring the situation in Tibetans. Furthermore, we found that the Tibetan version of EPAS1 is not only associated with the relatively low hemoglobin level as a polycythemia protectant, but also is associated with a low pulmonary vasoconstriction response in Tibetans. We propose that the down-regulation of EPAS1 contributes to the molecular basis of Tibetans' adaption to high-altitude hypoxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yeast-like symbionts (YLSs) are transovarially transmitted between brown planthopper generations, but the transmission mechanism is poorly understood. In the present study, we found that YLSs do not enter the brown planthopper oocyte until it develops to late vitellogenesis. During oocyte vitellogenesis, the diversification and morphological changes of the follicular cells surrounding the oocyte are associated with the accumulation and polarization of vitellogenin (Vg) and lipids in the oocyte, indirectly affecting the entry of YLSs into the oocyte. Additionally, the posterior follicular cells, one of the diversified follicular cell populations, form the epithelial plug that is the only structure for YLSs to enter the oocyte. In addition, actin is rearranged within the follicular cells to build an actin bridge for YLSs to move from the epithelial plug to the oocyte, indicating that actin mediates the entry of YLSs into the brown planthopper oocyte during oocyte vitellogenesis. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the entry of YLSs into the brown planthopper oocyte is triggered by oocyte vitellogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade policy is formulated through a rather complex decision-making process that involves two-way interactions between actors in public and private sectors. Such interactions are of particular importance in resolving trade controversies in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Focusing on the conflicts between the EU and its trading partners in the Greater China Area regarding certain innovation policies in this high-tech industry, this Article underscores how catch-up strategies adopted by latecomer economies in East Asia may implicate the world trade order in recent years. Loosely built upon the insights of public-private network theory, this Article identifies key variables--economic, legal, and political considerations--most pertinent to the EU s strategies to manage these claims. By unpacking these underlying factors that turn on truces or peace in trade conflicts, this Article contributes to the scholarly debate by indicating possible direction in which the stream will flow inside the trade policymaking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin lightening among Eurasians is thought to have been a convergence occurring independently in Europe and East Asia as an adaptation to high latitude environments. Among Europeans, several genes responsible for such lightening have been found, but the information available for East Asians is much more limited. Here, a genome-wide comparison between dark-skinned Africans and Austro-Asiatic speaking aborigines and light-skinned northern Han Chinese identified the pigmentation gene OCA2, showing unusually deep allelic divergence between these groups. An amino acid substitution (His615Arg) of OCA2 prevalent in most East Asian populations--but absent in Africans and Europeans--was significantly associated with skin lightening among northern Han Chinese. Further transgenic and targeted gene modification analyses of zebrafish and mouse both exhibited the phenotypic effect of the OCA2 variant manifesting decreased melanin production. These results indicate that OCA2 plays an important role in the convergent skin lightening of East Asians during recent human evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)/World Trade Organization (WTO) is inconclusive on the issue of national security. From Nicaragua Embargo to China-Rare Earth, the key question of the security exceptions remains unanswered. The examination of Article XXl(b)(iii) in accordance with Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties confirms that the security exception is not totally self-judging. This article argues that the principle of good faith can explain how far the self-judging power can go. After taking the potential dispute on Huawei as an occasion for exploring the trade implications of security measures, this article finds that fact-finding and evidence gathering are the most troubling aspect of application of such exceptions. The responding member invoking Article XXl(b) must 'reasonably' classify cybersecurity as 'essential security interests' in the context of an 'international relations emergency', and it must 'genuinely believe' that cybersecurity regulations based solely upon where the supplier's headquarter is located in a globally connected world can contribute to the achievement of the country's national security protection. After engaging in the two-stage exercises of the 'good faith' test, this article maintains that there is a need for a WTO panel to actively intervene by seeking information from other governments or nongovernmental bodies, evaluating and weighing the evidence, carefully balancing rights and obligations constructed by the WTO Agreement, and establishing an appropriate trade regime to deal with cybersecurity threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of exophthalmos and coated aorta in Erdheim-Chester disease in a 52-year-old man. Highlights include bilateral retrobulbar intraconal masses with obliteration of normal orbital fat shown by magnetic resonance imaging of the skull, soft-tissue encasement of the thoracic and abdominal aorta and aortic arch vessels revealed by a computed tomography scan, and conservative medical treatment underwent by the patient.

The article describes the case of onychomadesis and phalanx osteolysis in congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis in a seven-year-old girl. Highlights include amputation of the digits of both hands on physical examination, complete anhidrosis revealed by a thermal sweating test, and the patient's treatment with iodophors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Rhizobia were isolated from invasive Mimosa spp. ( M. diplotricha and M. pudica) in Dehong district of the province of Yunnan in subtropical southern China. Almost all of the 98 isolates were β-rhizobia in the genera Burkholderia and Cupriavidus. These strains were analysed for their distribution characteristics together with strains from a previous study from Sishuangbanna. The proportion of nodules containing each β-rhizobial genus varied between Mimosa species, with Cupriavidus being predominant in M. diplotricha nodules (63.3% compared to 36.7% occupation with Burkholderia), but with M. pudica showing a slight preference for Burkholderia over Cupriavidus, with them occupying 56.5% and 43.5% of nodules, respectively. The symbiosis-essential genes nodA and nifH were present in all the Burkholderia and Cupriavidus strains tested, and their phylogenies indicated that these Mimosa symbionts share symbiotic genes with native South American rhizobia. The evolutionary discrepancies among 16 S r RNA genes, nodA and nifH of Mimosa spp. symbionts, suggests that the nod and nif genes of β -rhizobia evolved independently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on macrophage brought by the intervention of anti-proliferation effects of Anthodia camphorata. It says that medicinal mushrooms induces a variety of immune responses that garnered therapeutic effects in treating hepatoma. The study has tested anti-tumor effects using immunomodulation of macrophages and extracts of A. camporatha which indicate that results of anti-tumor effects wielded by modulation of macrophage activation of A. camphorata.

The article presents a study which describes the OstrinlysC, a c-type lysozomes from the Asian corn borer, and demonstrates its activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It states that the OstrinlysC gene profile was studied by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It says that OstrinlysC gene was up-regulated in immune tissues after injection of the larvae with bacteria. It suggests that OstrinlysC gene plays a role in immune responses.

The article discusses a case of an 8-year-old Uygur girl who developed typical pain in her arm and shoulder and diagnosed with Pancoast's syndrome secondary to lobar pneumonia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae. It cites the results of the physical examination and the treatment received by the patient. It also notes dramatic improvement in both clinical manifestation and radiological finding under the combination therapy of antibiotic (cefoperazone) and low-dose corticosteroid (dexamethasone).