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Background Parkinson's disease (PD) , as one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, has become a global medical problem due to the obvious adverse reaction of drug treatment and the reduced efficacy of long-term use. Guasha is one of the widely used non-drug therapies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with unique advantages in the treatment of nervous system diseases. At present, there are few studies on the treatment of idiopathic PD with Guasha combined with drug therapy. Objective To explore the short-term clinical effect of Guasha combined with drug therapy for idiopathic PD. Methods Sixteen patients with idiopathic PD in the early and middle stages selected by the purposive sampling method from March 2021 to September 2021 in outpatients of Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine and Jiangsu Province Hospital were selected as the observation group, and another 16 patients with idiopathic PD were selected as the control group according to the principle of matching gender, age, course of disease and Hoehn-Yahr stage. The observation group was treated with Guasha combined with western medicine orally for 4 weeks as a course of treatment; after 3 courses of treatment, Guasha was stopped and western medicine orally continued for 1 course of treatment as follow-up. The control group was treated with simple western medicine orally for 4 weeks as a course of treatment, and the last one of 4 courses of treatment was recorded as follow-up. After 3 months of treatment and 1 month of follow-up, the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating ScaleⅢ (MDS-UPDRSⅢ) score, Non-motor Symptom Score (NMSS) and clinical efficacy were observed. The levels of serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and nuclear transcription factor κB (NF-κB) were observed after 3 months of treatment. Results After 3 months of treatment, the scores of MDS-UPDRS Ⅲ and NMSS, and the levels of serum IL-1β and NF-κB in two groups were lower than those before treatment (P

In vitro tissue culture technologies provide novel tools for improving plant production [...]

Root and tuber crops (RTCs) are the second-most important carbohydrate commodity after cereals. Many species of the RTCs are vegetatively propagated, making their shoot tips the preferred material to be conserved for future uses. Shoot tip cryopreservation provides an important tool to support the long-term conservation of plant genetic resources. Over the past four decades, significant efforts have been undertaken to move shoot tip cryopreservation of RTCs from research projects to full-scale implementation in cryobanks. This comprehensive review focuses on the history of cryopreservation protocols developed in RTCs. The encapsulation and vitrification solution-based cryopreservation techniques followed by ultra-rapid freezing and thawing have been highly successful. Additionally, different strategies for improving the cryotolerance of shoot tips have been introduced to further increase post-cryopreservation recovery. Finally, the research conducted to explain the mechanism underlying cryoprotection and differential cryotolerance including the use of histological studies are highlighted.

In vitro micrografting is an important technique supporting the micropropagation of a range of plant species, particularly woody plant species. Over the past several decades, in vitro micrografting has become a strategy to facilitate shoot recovery and acclimatization of in vitro-grown horticultural species. This review focuses on studies on horticultural crops over the past two decades that cover the establishment of in vitro micrografting, discusses factors affecting the success of in vitro micrografting, and provides commentary on the contribution of micrografting applications to the field of micropropagation. Considering the important roles of micrografting in the restoration of vigor and rooting competence, in promotion of shoot recovery following somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis, and in facilitation of shoot regrowth after cryopreservation, the potential use of this technique in facilitation of genetic engineering and safe conservation of horticultural species are specially highlighted.

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Grapevine breeding programs require access to high-quality Vitis cultivars and wild species, which may be maintained within genebanks. Shoot tip cryopreservation is a valuable technique for the safe, long-term conservation of Vitis genetic resources that complements traditional field and in vitro germplasm collections. Vitis is highly susceptible to virus infections. Virus-free plants are required as propagation material for clonally propagated germplasm, and also for the global exchange of grapevine genetic resources. Shoot tip cryotherapy, a method based on cryopreservation, has proven to be effective in eradicating viruses from infected plants, including grapevine. This comprehensive review outlines/documents the advances in Vitis shoot tip cryopreservation and cryotherapy that have resulted in healthy plants with high regrowth levels across diverse Vitis species.

Cryopreservation is considered an ideal strategy for the long-term preservation of plant genetic resources. Significant progress was achieved over the past several decades, resulting in the successful cryopreservation of the genetic resources of diverse plant species. Cryopreservation procedures often employ in vitro culture techniques and require the precise control of several steps, such as the excision of explants, preculture, osmo- and cryoprotection, dehydration, freeze-thaw cycle, unloading, and post-culture for the recovery of plants. These processes create a stressful environment and cause reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress, which is detrimental to the growth and regeneration of tissues and plants from cryopreserved tissues. ROS-induced oxidative stresses were documented to induce (epi)genetic and somatic variations. Therefore, the development of true-to-type regenerants of the source germplasm is of primary concern in the application of plant cryopreservation technology. The present article provides a comprehensive assessment of epigenetic and genetic integrity, metabolic stability, and field performance of cryopreserved plants developed in the past decade. Potential areas and the directions of future research in plant cryopreservation are also proposed.