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To clarify the changes of root traits, soil biological characteristics and yield after applying fertilizers for 39 years, a long-term located fertilization experiment (1981-) was conducted. Compared to NPK (inorganic fertilizer) and M (organic fertilizer), 0.8NPKM (80% of NPK plus 80% of M) and 0.5NPKM (50% of NPK plus 50% of M) obviously improved root traits. The number of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes in 0.8NPKM and 0.5NPKM were significantly higher than that in NPK, M and CT (no fertilizer). Compared to NPK, M increased soil microbial quantity. Soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, organic carbon and total N in M were higher than that in NPK. The activities of phosphatase, dehydrogenase and urease in M were significantly higher than that in NPK. Compared to NPK and M, 0.8NPKM and 0.5NPKM enhanced above-mentioned soil enzymes activities. The differences in wheat and maize yields between 0.5NPKM and 0.8NPKM were insignificant, and the harvest index in 0.5NPKM was the highest. Soil microbial quantity, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were positively correlated with enzymes activities and root traits. Thus, appropriate combined application amount of organic and inorganic fertilizer might be an effective way to improve root traits, rhizosphere soil micro-biological environment and crop yield.AbbreviationsCT No fertilizer addedNPK Inorganic fertilizer onlyM Organic fertilizer only0.5NPKM Organic fertilizer plus inorganic fertilizer (50% of NPK plus 50% of M)0.8NPKM High application ratio of inorganic and organic fertilizers (80% of NPK plus 80% of M) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional flow reserve (FFR) has been established as a gold standard for functional coronary ischemia. At present, the FFR can be calculated from coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) images (CT-FFR). Previous studies have suggested that CT-FFR outperforms CCTA and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in determining hemodynamic significance of stenoses. Recently, a novel automatical algorithm of CT-FFR called RuiXin-FFR has been developed. The present study is designed to investigate the predictive value of this algorithm and its value in therapeutic decision making. The present study retrospectively included 166 patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent CCTA screening and diagnostic ICA examination at Peking University People's Hospital, in 73 of whom wire-derived FFR was also measured. CT-FFR analyses were performed with a dedicated software. All patients were followed up for at least 1 year. We validated the accuracy of RuiXin-FFR with invasive FFR as the standard of reference, and investigated the role of RuiXin-FFR in predicting treatment strategy and long-term prognosis. The mean age of the patients was 63.3 years with 63.9% male. The CT-FFR showed a moderate correlation with wire-derived FFR (r = 0.542, p < 0.0001) and diagnostic accuracy of 87.6% to predict myocardial ischemia (AUC: 0.839, 95% CI 0.728–0.950), which was significantly higher than CCTA and ICA. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, CT-FFR ≤ 0.80 was an independent predictor of undergoing coronary revascularization (OR: 45.54, 95% CI 12.03–172.38, p < 0.0001), whereas CT-FFR > 0.80 was an independent predictor of non-obstructive CAD (OR: 14.67, 95% CI 5.42–39.72, p < 0.0001). Reserving ICA and revascularization for vessels with positive CT-FFR could have reduced the rate of ICA by 29.6%, lowered the rate of ICA in vessels without stenosis > 50% by 11.7%, and increased the rate of revascularization in patients receiving ICA by 21.2%. The average follow-up was 23.7 months, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occurred in 11 patients. The rate of MACE was significantly lower in patients with CT-FFR > 0.80. The new algorithm of CT-FFR can be used to predict the invasive FFR. The RuiXin-FFR can also provide useful information for the screening of patients in whom further ICA is indeed needed and prognosis evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heparin, a widely used anticoagulant in cardiovascular diseases, is notorious for its inhibitory effect on qRT-PCR-based detection. Heparinase I could degrade heparin in RNA. qRT-PCR-based TaqMan Low Density Array (TLDA) technology is commonly used for circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) profiling analysis. However, the effect of heparin contamination on inhibition of miRNAs TLDA amplification, as well as the method for removing heparin during this process, are not yet well investigated. We obtained the plasma RNA samples from patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) before and after heparinization (n = 26). We found that heparin suppressed the miRNAs amplification by ∼8 cycles in the TLDA assay, which was absolutely reversed after treating the RNA samples with heparinase I using the components from TLDA reverse transcription system. We further observed that heparin inhibited the miRNAs amplification by ∼4 cycles in the qRT-PCR assay, which was also reversed by heparinase I using the similar method. Furthermore, we demonstrated that plasma miR-92a and miR-155 were differentially expressed in the patients undergoing PCI tested by TLDA assay, which was validated by qRT-PCR. In conclusion, we present a simple method for the removal of heparin with heparinase I, and for the subsequent successful miRNAs TLDA or RT-qPCR amplification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limb remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPostC) has been proved to be a safe and effective measurement of cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury. But what bridges the remote organ insult and the cardioprotective effect in heart remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to found that whether TRPV1 may mediate the cardioprotective effect from remote organ to heart and the role of CGRP and SP in this process. We found that RIPostC effectively ameliorated cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury in terms of limiting infarct size, lowering CK and cTnI release and improving cardiac function. In addition, these cardioprotective effects could be significantly abolished by inhibition of either CGRP or SP receptors with corresponding antagonists (CGRP8-37 for CGRP and RP-67580 for SP) injected before reperfusion. Besides, RIPostC resulted in significantly increase in the levels of CGRP and SP in plasma and hearts, as well as the levels and mRNA expression of CGRP and SP in DRG. The increase in CGRP and SP levels in plasma and hearts were markedly inhibited by TRPV1 receptor antagonist capsazepine. These findings indicate that limb remote ischemic postconditioning could attenuate cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats, and the cardioprotective mechanism is via TRPV1-mediated upregulation of CGRP and SP, which could subsequently act on their corresponding receptors in heart tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activation of a hemostatic system plays a critical role in the incidence of acute coronary events. Hemostatic proteins may be regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). Microparticles (MPs) are the major carrier of circulating miRNAs. The aim of this study was to determine the potential role of miRNAs in regulating gene expression involved in the hemostatic system in patients with unstable angina (UA). MiRNA expression profiles in the plasma from patients with UA (UA group, n = 9) compared with individuals with clinical suspicion of coronary artery disease (CAD) but negative angiography (control group, n = 9) showed that among 36 differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-19b was the most obvious one. Using real-time PCR, 5 selected miRNA levels in plasma (UA group, n = 20; control group, n = 30) and plasma MPs (UA group n = 6; control group n = 6) were proved to be consistent with the miRNA array. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that the amounts of plasma endothelial microparticles (EMPs) were increased in UA patients (UA group, n = 4) compared to controls (control group, n = 4). In cultured endothelial cells (ECs), TNF-α increased miR-19b release and expression. Tissue factor (TF) was predicted to be the target of miR-19b by bioinformatics analysis. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR-19b binds to TF mRNA. Overexpression of miR-19b inhibited TF expression and procoagulant activity. This study indicates that in UA patients, the increase of miR-19b wrapped in EMPs due to endothelial dysfunction may partially contribute to the circulating miR-19b elevation and miR-19b may play an anti-thrombotic role by inhibiting the expression of TF in ECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder primarily affecting the sacroiliac joints and the spine. T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule 3 (TIM-3) has been established as a negative regulatory molecule that plays a critical role in controlling inflammation. Studies have shown that polymorphisms in TIM-3 gene may be associated with inflammatory diseases. The current study investigated the association between polymorphisms in the TIM-3 gene and susceptibility to AS, and it examined the effects of these polymorphisms on gene expression. Two polymorphisms in TIM-3 −574G/T and +4259T/G polymorphisms were identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 282 AS patients and 298 healthy controls. Results showed that frequency of the TIM-3 −574GT genotype was significantly increased in cases than in controls (Odd ratio [OR]=2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-4.48, p=0.002). Similarly, TIM-3 −574T allele revealed a positive association with the disease (OR=2.39, p=0.002). The TIM-3 +4259T/G polymorphism did not show any correlation with AS. We further evaluated TIM-3 mRNA and protein levels in CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and monocytes from subjects carrying different TIM-3 genotypes. Results revealed that subjects carrying polymorphic −574GT genotype had significantly lower TIM-3 mRNA and protein levels in CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and monocytes than those with wild-type GG genotype. These data suggest that TIM-3 polymorphism is associated with increased susceptibility to AS possibly by downregulating gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of wheat cultivar impact on field N 2 O emissions could provide important information for cultivar improvement and selection to meet food security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. A 2-year field experiment was carried out from 2015 to 2017 on 12 leading cultivars released in the major winter wheat cropping regions of China since the 1940s. Field N 2 O emissions, wheat growth, and plant nitrogen uptake were determined. The results showed that both the cumulative and yield-scaled N 2 O emissions differed significantly among cultivars, varying on average from 1.64 to 2.10 kg N 2 O–N ha−1 and 232.65–529.37 mg N 2 O–N kg−1, respectively. As the wheat cultivar renewal progressed, the cumulative and yield-scaled N 2 O emissions declined significantly at the relative decrease rates of 0.2% yr−1 and 0.9% yr−1, respectively. In addition to wheat grain yield and biomass, amount of plant N uptake has been enhanced significantly over the past sixty years. The spike number per unit area, leaf dry matter, net photosynthesis rate, and transpiration rate also all increased, whereas wheat plant height decreased over the decades. Our findings demonstrate that lower N 2 O emissions can primarily be attributed to the greater N uptake of the newly high-yielding wheat cultivars, suggesting a great chance of ensuring food security and GHG mitigation simultaneously through cultivar selection and improvement. [Display omitted] • Both the cumulative and yield-scaled N 2 O emissions were lower with new wheat cultivars compared to old ones. • The reduction effects of yield-scaled N 2 O emissions with the cultivar improvement overperformed the cumulative N 2 O emissions. • Wheat yield and N uptake increased significantly along with the cultivar improvement. • Lower N 2 O emissions with new cultivars was associated with higher productivity and N uptake, and lower soil N availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Aims) To clarify the mechanisms though which dense planting could alleviate the negative effect of the reducing N rate on yield, (Methods) an experiment with four nitrogen levels—0 (N0), 120 (N1), 180 (N2) and 240 (N3) kg N ha−1—and three plant densities—180 (D1), 240 (D2) and 300 (D3) × 104 basic seedlings ha−1—was conducted. (Results) Increasing plant density decreased the root length, root volume, root surface area and root tips of individual plant while it enhanced the aforementioned root traits in population. The chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate of the individual plants were decreased with the increase in plant density and enhanced with the increase in N level. The increasing density and N application rate enhanced the leaf area index, photosynthetic high-efficiency leaf area and canopy photosynthetically active radiation of population. N accumulation per plant was decreased with increasing density and was enhanced with an increasing N application level. Within the same N level, the N accumulation in the population, N production efficiency and N recovery efficiency were consistently D3 > D2 > D1. A high N application rate with high density was not conducive to improving the NR (nitrate reductase), GS (glutamine synthetase) and GOGAT (glutamate synthase) activities. The yield could be maintained as stable or improved if decreasing by 60 kg N ha−1 with increasing 60 × 104 basic seedlings ha−1 within the range of N application in this experiment. (Conclusions) These results indicated that the yield of wheat could be improved with less N application by adjusting the compensatory effects from the plant density in populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diazotrophs play a critical role in converting air-inactive nitrogen to bio-available nitrogen. Assessing the influences of different fertilization regimes on diazotrophs is essential for a better understanding of their maintenance of soil fertility and agricultural sustainability. In this study, we targeted the nifH gene to investigate the effects of different long-term fertilization on the diazotrophic community in a vertisol, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and MiSeq sequencing. Five fertilization regimes were tested: no fertilizer (CK), chemical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer (NPK), organic fertilizer (O), chemical NPK plus organic fertilizer with an equivalent application rate of nitrogen (NPKO), and chemical NPK plus organic fertilizer with a high application rate of nitrogen (HNPKO). Our results showed that fertilization significantly affected the diazotrophic activity, abundance and composition. NPK tended to reduce the activity, abundance, operational taxonomic units (OTU)-richness and alpha-diversity of the diazotrophs, while O had the opposite effect. The effects of inorganic and organic fertilization on the diazotrophs depended on the N application rate, showing that the diazotrophic activity, abundance, and alpha-diversity in NPKO were higher than that of HNPKO. For the diazotrophic community structure, CK, O, and NPKO were grouped and separated from NPK and HNPKO. The diazotrophic community structure strongly correlated with the soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total carbon content (TC), and total nitrogen content (TN), among which pH was the major factor shaping the diazotrophic community structure. Different network patterns were observed between the long-term organic and non-organic fertilizers, suggesting that the organic amendment resulted in a more complicated diazotrophic community than the non-organic amendments. Rhizobium was the most important hub connecting members in the community. These results indicated that organic amendments are beneficial to diazotrophic activity, abundance, OTU richness, alpha-diversity, and the diazotrophic communities' potential interactions, which may enhance biological nitrogen fixation in vertisols. Unlabelled Image • Distinct diazotrophic communities were found under different fertilization regimes by MiSeq sequencing and quantitative PCR. • The soil pH was identified as the major factor to impact the community composition. • The diazotrophic community with organic amendment co-occurred more complicated in comparison with non-organic fertilization. • Organic amendments might be beneficial for biological N fixing in vertisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1800629 (TNF-α -308) and rs361525 (TNF-α -238) of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α gene and susceptibility to osteoarthritis (OA) in the Han Chinese population.Methods: The TNF-α -308 and -238 genotypes were determined by TaqMan assay in 200 OA cases and 305 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) for OA and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from unconditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate relative risks.Results: The frequencies of the allele 'A' of rs1800629 were 16% and 8.85% in OA cases and in controls, respectively, and thus the -308A allele had a 1.9612-fold (95% CI = 1.3323-2.8869, P < 0.001) increased risk for OA as compared to the -308G allele. However, no significant differences were found in the genotype and allele frequencies for rs361525 between OA and HC groups.Conclusions: In the Han Chinese population, the allele 'A' of TNF-α -308 may increase the risk for OA, whereas TNF-α -238 polymorphisms do not play a role in OA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1800629 (TNF-α -308) and rs361525 (TNF-α -238) of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α gene and susceptibility to osteoarthritis (OA) in the Han Chinese population. Methods: The TNF-α -308 and -238 genotypes were determined by TaqMan assay in 200 OA cases and 305 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) for OA and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) from unconditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate relative risks. Results: The frequencies of the allele 'A' of rs1800629 were 16 % and 8.85 % in OA cases and in controls, respectively, and thus the -308A allele had a 1.9612-fold (95 % CI = 1.3323-2.8869, P < 0.001) increased risk for OA as compared to the -308G allele. However, no significant differences were found in the genotype and allele frequencies for rs361525 between OA and HC groups. Conclusions: In the Han Chinese population, the allele 'A' of TNF-α -308 may increase the risk for OA, whereas TNF-α -238 polymorphisms do not play a role in OA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]