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The optimum ultrasound-assisted extraction parameters of Vitamin C from Capsella bursa-pastoris was studied by Response Surface Methodology. The main factors of the extraction were selected by the Confounded Fractional Factorial test. The extraction process was optimized by Box-Behnken test. The results showed that the major influential factors of extraction were: ultrasonic time, ultrasonic temperature and material to solvent ratio. The optimum conditions were as follows: 1% oxalic acid, material to solvent ratio of 1∶10 (g/mL), ultrasonic time of 12 min, ultrasonic temperature of 32 ℃ and ultrasonic power of 100 W. In this condition, the extraction amount of Vitamin C from Capsella bursa-pastoris was (54.88±0.22) mg/100 g.

The increasing prevalence of drought events poses a major challenge for upcoming crop production. Melatonin is a tiny indolic tonic substance with fascinating regulatory functions in plants. While plants can respond in several ways to alleviate drought stress, the processes underpinning stress sensing and signaling are poorly understood. Hereafter, the objectives of this investigation were to explore the putative functions of melatonin in the regulation of sugar metabolism and abscisic acid biosynthesis in drought‐stressed tomato seedlings. Melatonin (100 μM) and/or water were foliar sprayed, followed by the plants being imposed to drought stress for 14 days. Drought stress significantly decreased biomass accumulation, inhibited photosynthetic activity, and stimulated senescence‐associated gene 12 (SAG12) expression. Melatonin treatment effectively reversed drought‐induced growth retardation as evidenced by increased leaf pigment and water balance and restricted abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation. Sugar accumulation, particularly sucrose content, was higher in drought‐imposed seedlings, possibly owing to higher transcription levels of sucrose non‐fermenting 1‐related protein kinase 2 (SnKR2.2) and ABA‐responsive element binding factors 2 (AREB2). Melatonin addition further uplifted the sucrose content, which coincided with increased activity of sucrose synthase (SS, 130%), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS, 137%), starch degradation encoding enzyme β‐amylase (BAM, 40%) and α‐amylase (AMY, 59%) activity and upregulated their encoding BAM1(10.3 folds) and AMY3 (8.1 folds) genes expression at day 14 relative to the control. Under water deficit conditions, melatonin supplementation decreased the ABA content (24%) and its biosynthesis gene expressions. Additionally, sugar transporter subfamily genes SUT1 and SUT4 expression were upregulated by the addition of melatonin. Collectively, our findings illustrate that melatonin enhances drought tolerance in tomato seedlings by stimulating sugar metabolism and negatively regulating ABA synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess electrocardiogram (ECG) for risk stratification in inferior ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients within 24 h. Methods: Three hundred thirty‐four patients were divided into four ECG‐based groups: Group A: R V1 <0.3 mV with ST‐segment elevation (ST↑) V7–V9, Group B: R V1 <0.3 mV without ST↑ V7–V9, Group C: R V1 ≥0.3 mV with ST↑ V7–V9, and Group D: R V1 ≥0.3 mV without ST↑ V7–V9. Results: Group A demonstrated the longest QRS duration, followed by Groups B, C, and D. ECG signs for right ventricle (RV) infarction were more common in Groups A and B (p <.01). ST elevation in V6, indicative of left ventricle (LV) lateral injury, was more higher in Group C than in Group A, while the ∑ST↑ V3R + V4R + V5R, representing RV infarction, showed the opposite trend (p <.05). The estimated LV infarct size from ECG was similar between Groups A and C, yet Group A had higher creatine kinase MB isoform (CK‐MB; p <.05). Cardiac troponin I (cTNI) was higher in Groups A and C than in B and D (p <.05 and p =.16, respectively). NT‐proBNP decreased across groups (p =.20), with the highest left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) observed in Group D (p <.05). Group A notably demonstrated more cardiac dysfunction within 4 h post‐onset. Conclusions: For inferior STEMI patients, concurrent R V1 <0.3 mV with ST↑ V7–V9 suggests prolonged ventricular activation and notable myocardial damage. RV infarction's dominance over LV lateral injury might explain these observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nematicidal activity at different concentrations of fosthiazate against soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) was evaluated in this paper. The mortality rates of second-stage juvenile (J2) reached 13.43, 48.39, 66.82, 79.77, and 86.35% at 12 hr after exposure to 2.18, 3.44, 5.45, 8.61, and 13.62 mg/l of fosthiazate, respectively, whereas cumulative hatching rates totaled 58.24, 53.88, 42.54, 24.11, and 13.69% at 18 days after exposure to concentrations. J2s dead by exposure to fosthiazate exhibited shrunk and twisted body shape, whose length of nematode body, stylet, and esophageal glands to head were significantly shorter than that of the control (p < 0.05). A pot test was also performed to count the numbers of cysts on soybean roots, showing reduction of 43.64–97.94% due to application of fosthiazate at 5.45, 13.62, 34.04, and 85.10 mg/l concentrations. This study demonstrated that fosthiazate exhibits increasing of J2 mortality, and reducing egg hatching and reproduction rates, which providing evidence to support the use fosthiazate in further studies against H. glycines.

Pear (Pyrus), walnut (Juglans) and kiwifruit (Actinidia) are important cash crops in China. Recently, symptoms of branch canker or dieback have been frequently observed in many orchards in Henan Province and have resulted in high losses of fruit production. In this study, symptomatic branches were collected for aetiological isolation from three hosts during 2020 and 2021. Seven isolates from these hosts were identified as one novel species, based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated sequences of the internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA (ITS), translation elongation factor 1α (TEF), β‐tubulin (TUB), histone (HIS) and calmodulin (CAL). We proposed the name Diaporthe actinidiicola and completed Koch's postulates to confirm pathogenicity. Host range evaluation indicated that D. actinidiicola could infect all inoculated fruit trees (pear, kiwifruit, walnut, apple [Malus] and peach [Prunus]) and the isolates from different hosts were most virulent on their original host. This study characterizes a novel Diaporthe species from three different hosts in China and contributes useful data for practicable disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Ji-Gang Ren [1, 2]; Ping Xu [1, 2]; Hai-Lin Yong [1, 2]; Liang Zhang [2, 3]; Sheng-Kai Liao [1, 2]; Juan Yin [1, 2]; Wei-Yue Liu [1, 2]; Wen-Qi [...]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are generally formed by the back-splicing of precursor mRNA. Increasing evidence implicates the important role of circRNAs in cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of circ-insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (circIGF1R) in cardiomyocyte (CM) proliferation remains unclear. Here, we investigated the potential role of the circIGF1R in the proliferation of CMs. We found that circIGF1R expression in heart tissues and primary CMs from adult mice was significantly lower than that in neonatal mice at postnatal 1 day (p1). Increased circIGF1R expression was detected in the injured neonatal heart at 0.5 and 1 days post-resection. circIGF1R knockdown significantly decreased the proliferation of primary CMs. Combined prediction software, luciferase reporter gene analysis, and quantitative real time-PCR (qPCR) revealed that circIGF1R interacted with miR-362-5p. A significant increase in miR-362-5p expression was detected in the adult heart compared with that in the neonatal heart. Further, heart injury significantly decreased the expression of miR-362-5p in neonatal mice. Treatment with miR-362-5p mimics significantly suppressed the proliferation of primary CMs, whereas knockdown of miR-362-5p promoted the CMs proliferation. Meanwhile, miR-362-5p silencing can rescue the proliferation inhibition of CMs induced by circIGF1R knockdown. Target prediction and qPCR validation revealed that miR-362-5p significantly inhibited the expression of Phf3 in primary CMs. In addition, decreased Phf3 expression was detected in adult hearts compared with neonatal hearts. Consistently, increased Phf3 expression was detected in injured neonatal hearts compared with that in sham hearts. Knockdown of Phf3 markedly repressed CMs proliferation. Taken together, these findings suggest that circIGF1R might contribute to cardiomyocyte proliferation by promoting Pfh3 expression by sponging miR-362-5p and provide an important experimental basis for the regulation of heart regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the analgesic effects in patients with cervical cancer during brachytherapy. Methods: In this prospective study, 100 patients with cervical cancer who were admitted to Chongqing University Cancer Hospital between July 2021 and April 2022 were randomly divided into an analgesia group (n = 50) and a control group (n = 50). The visual analog scale (VAS) scores at applicator placement‐T1, CT‐scan‐T2, and removal ‐T3, self‐rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self‐rating depression scale (SDS) scores before brachytherapy, short‐term clinical efficacy, and patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Results: The VAS score of the analgesia group was significantly different at T1 (0 vs. 4.34±1.02, t = 67.40, p < 0.001), but not in the control group; however, there was no significant difference between the two groups at T2 (t = ‐0.49, p = 0.623) and T3 (t = ‐0.12, p = 0.912). The SAS and SDS scores first decreased and then increased in the analgesic group and increased in the control group with increasing brachytherapy time. Except for the first measurement, the differences between the two groups were statistically significant (all p < 0.001). The application of interstitial implantation (p = 0.027), local efficacy (p = 0.047), and patient satisfaction rates (p = 0.025) were higher in the analgesic group than in the control group. Conclusion: Analgesia can relieve pain, maintain physical and mental health, and improve outcomes and patient satisfaction rates for cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]