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Objectives: To explore the relationship between sensitization points of the body surface and the expression of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptides (PACAP) in myocardial ischemia (MI) mice, so as to reveal the underlying mechanisms of acupoint sensitization from the perspective of molecular biology., Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control and model groups (28 mice/group). The MI-induced visceral pain model was established by intraperitoneal injection of isoprenaline (ISO, 160 mg/kg). The mice of the control group received intraperitoneal injection of the same dose of normal saline. Six days after modeling, the Evans blue (EB) dye was injected into the tail vein of mice to observe the distribution and quantity of the plasma extravasated EB points at the body surface. Meanwhile, the mechanical pain threshold (MPT) was measured to evaluate the level of pain sensitivity in the activated area on their body surface and left forelimb and hindlimb, respectively. Hematoxylin-eosin (H.E.) staining was used to evaluate the morphologic and pathological changes of the heart tissue in the two groups. Then, the expressions of PACAP in the thoracic (T)1-T5 dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), spinal cord and skin in the dominant area of body surface were detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining, respectively., Results: Compared with the control group, the heart tissue of the model group was hypertrophic and the myocardial tissue showed obvious inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis. In addition to these pathologic changes, the number of EB exudation points on the body surface was significantly increased ( P <0.01), and was mainly distributed in the innervated region of T1-T5 segments of the spinal cord, and the MPT of these EB exudation points was lower than that of non-exudation points ( P <0.01). At the same time, the MPTs of left forelimb and hindlimb were significantly decreased in the model group ( P <0.001). More importantly, the level of protein and positive expression of PACAP were significantly higher in the model group than those in the control group, which was observed in the innervated body surface, spinal cord and its DRG neurons of T1-T5 segments ( P <0.01, P <0.001, P <0.05)., Conclusions: ISO injection resulted in histological lesions and cardiogenic referred pain on the body surface after the formation of MI in mice. The expression of PACAP in the body surface of the sensitization points, the corresponding T1-T5 segments of spinal cord and DRG neurons were significantly increased, which may partly explain the reason for acupoint sensitization in the animal model of visceral pain.

Background: Little information is available regarding global H. pylori recurrence, recrudescence, and re-infection in pediatric patients after successful eradication, nor are their influencing factors clear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine global H. pylori recurrence status and its influencing factors in children and adolescents to improve infection management and disease prevention., Methods: Published studies on H. pylori recurrence in children and adolescents were collected from major public databases until January 2023. H. pylori recurrences were determined using randomized-effect and fixed-effect models. Stratified analysis was performed based on various regions, countries, publication time, human development indexes (HDIs), and ages., Results: A total of 3310 relevant articles were screened, and 30 articles (1915 participants) were finally enrolled for analysis. The overall H. pylori recurrence rate was 19%, and the annual recurrence rate was 13%. In stratified analysis, H. pylori annual recurrence rate in Asian children was higher than that in Europe (17% vs. 6%) and higher in developing countries than in developed countries (18% vs. 5%). In children aged ≤ 5 years, ≤ 10 years, and 11-18 years, the H. pylori recurrence rates were 30%, 14%, and 8%, respectively. H. pylori recrudescence and re-infection rates were 6% and 10%, respectively, and its recurrence was inversely correlated with HDI., Conclusions: These results provide insights into global H. pylori recurrence, annual recurrence, recrudescence, and re-infection status in pediatric population. The stratified analysis revealed the pattern and seriousness of infection, which requires further efforts to improve patient care., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Background: Patient adherence status to the newly introduced family-based Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection control and management strategy remains unclear, so are its influencing factors. We aim to investigate family members' adherence and its influencing factors during the family-based H. pylori infection management practice for related disease prevention., Materials and Methods: Based on our previously family-based H. pylori survey in 2021, 282 families including 772 individuals were followed up 2 years after the initial survey to compare if the investigation and education might improve family member's adherence. The participant's adherence to H. pylori infection awareness, retest, treatment, publicity, gastroscopy, and hygiene habits were followed up, and their influencing factors were also analyzed., Results: The overall participant's adherence to recommendations on H. pylori awareness, retest, treatment, publicity, gastroscopy, and hygiene habits were 77% (187/243), 67.3% (138/205), 60.1% (211/351), 46.5% (107/230), 45.6% (159/349), and 39.1% (213/545), respectively; and all showed improvements compared with their prior survey stages. The top reasons for rejection to treatment, retest, and gastroscopy were forgetting or unaware of H. pylori infection (30.3%), busy (32.8%), and asymptomatic (67.9%), respectively. Independent risk factor for low adherence to treatment was occupation (e.g., staff: OR 4.49, 95% CI 1.34-15.10). Independent favorable factors for treatment adherence were individuals at the ages of 18-44 years (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04-0.89) and had a large family size (e.g., four family members: OR 0.15, 95% CI 0.06-0.41); for retest adherence, it was individuals at the ages of 60-69 years (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.06-0.97); for gastroscopy adherence, it was individuals at the age of 60-69 years (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28-0.75), and with gastrointestinal symptoms (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.36-0.90)., Conclusions: Family-based H. pylori management increases individual adherence to treatment, retest, and awareness, and there are also improved adherence to gastroscopy, publicity, and personal hygiene recommendations; further efforts are required to enhance the individual adherence rate for related disease prevention., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The overall benefits of the newly introduced family-based Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection control and management (FBCM) and screen-and-treat strategies in preventing multiple upper gastrointestinal diseases at national level in China have not been explored. We investigate the cost-effectiveness of these strategies in the whole Chinese population., Materials and Methods: Decision trees and Markov models of H. pylori infection-related non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), and gastric cancer (GC) were developed to simulate the cost-effectiveness of these strategies in the whole 494 million households in China. The main outcomes include cost-effectiveness, life years (LY), quality-adjusted life year (QALY), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)., Results: When compared with no-screen strategy, both FBCM and screen-and-treat strategies reduced the number of new cases of NUD, PUD, PUD-related deaths, and the prevalence of GC, and cancer-related deaths. The costs saved by these two strategies were $1467 million and $879 million, quality-adjusted life years gained were 227 million and 267 million, and life years gained were 59 million and 69 million, respectively. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that FBCM strategy costs -$6.46/QALY and -$24.75/LY, and screen-and-treat strategy costs -$3.3/QALY and -$12.71/LY when compared with no-screen strategy. Compared to the FBCM strategy, the screen-and-treat strategy reduced the incidence of H. pylori-related diseases, added 40 million QALYs, and saved 10 million LYs, but at the increased cost of $588 million. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that screen-and-treat strategy costs $14.88/QALY and $59.5/LY when compared with FBCM strategy. The robustness of the results was also verified., Conclusions: Both FBCM and screen-and-treat strategies are highly cost-effective in preventing NUD, PUD, and GC than the no-screen strategy in Chinese families at national level. As FBCM strategy is more practical and efficient, it is expected to play a more important role in preventing familial H. pylori infection and also serves as an excellent reference for other highly infected societies., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the sensitization state of acupoints on the surface of the myocardial ischemia (MI) model mice and the changes in the electrophysiological properties of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in the corresponding spinal cord segment, and its underlying mechanism., Methods: Sixty-eight male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control and model groups (34 mice in each group). The model group received an intraperitoneal injection of 160 mg/kg isoproterenol (ISO) to establish the MI model, and the control group received an injection of the same dose of normal saline as the model group. After modeling for about 6 days, MI proportion was measured by HE staining to verify the pathological changes in the heart tissue. Evans blue (EB) dye was injected into the tail vein of mice to reflect the size, location, distribution, and number of exudates on the body surface. Then, whole-cell membrane currents, intrinsic excitability and membrane properties of different types of DRG neurons were evaluated by electrophysiological experiment in vitro ., Results: Compared with the control group, the heart size was larger, with pathological outcomes showing enlarged myocardial hypertrophy, destroyed structure of cardiomyocytes, with mononuclear cell infiltration among the cardiomyocytes in the model group. Compared with the control group, the number of EB exudation points was significantly increased ( P <0.01), which were mainly concentrated in the epidermis near the T1-T5 segment of the spinal cord, "Feishu" (BL13), "Jueyinshu" (BL14) and "Xinshu" (BL15) in the model group. Compared with the control group, the rheobase and action potential amplitude (APA) of DRG medium-sized neurons were obviously decreased ( P <0.01, P <0.05), while the whole-cell membrane currents, the spike numbers, the average instantaneous frequency, and the average discharge frequency were markedly increased ( P <0.01). There were no significant alterations in the membrane properties and intrinsic excitability induced by depolarized currents of small-sized neurons between groups. Compared with the control group, the whole-cell membrane currents, spike numbers, and the average instantaneous frequency were significantly increased in the model group( P <0.05, P <0.01) while rheobase was significantly decreased ( P <0.05) in DRG medium-sized neurons labeled with biotin and CGRP., Conclusion: After the mice were modeled by ISO, the DRG medium-size neurons in the T1-T5 segment of the spinal cord may mediate the sensitization of acupoints on the body surface through their different neuronal membrane properties and intrinsic excitabilities.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between acupoint sensitization on the body surface and neuronal intrinsic excitability of the medium- and small-size dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons from the perspective of ion channel kinetics in mice with gastric ulcer., Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control ( n =32) and model groups ( n =34). The gastric ulcer model was established by injection of 60% glacial acetic acid (0.2 mL/100 g) into the gastric wall muscle layer and submucosa near the pylorus in the minor curvature of the stomach. In contrast, the same dose of normal saline was injected in the same way in the control group. Six days after modeling, Evans blue (EB) solution was injected into the mouse's tail vein for observing the number and distribution of the exudation blue spots on the body surface. Histopathological changes of the gastric tissue were observed by H.E. staining. Then, whole-cell membrane currents and intrinsic excitability of medium- and small-size neurons in the spinal T9-T11 DRGs were measured by in vitro electrophysiology combining with biocytin-ABC method., Results: In the control group, EB exudation blue spots were not obvious, while in the model group, the blue spots on the body surface were densely distributed in the area of spinal T9-T11 segments, the epigastric region, and the skin around "Zhongwan" (CV12) and "Huaroumen" (ST24) regions, and near the surgical incision region. Compared with the control group, the model group had a high level of eosinophilic infiltrates in the submucosa of gastric tissues, severe gastric fossa structure damage, gastric fundus gland dilation and other pathological manifestations. The number of exudation blue spots was proportional to the degree of inflammatory reaction in the stomach. In comparison with the control group, the spike discharges of type II of medium-size DRG neurons in T9-T11 segments were decreased, and the current of whole-cell membrane was increased, basic intensity was decreased ( P <0.05), discharge frequency and discharge number were increased ( P <0.01, P <0.000 1); while the discharges of type I small-size DRG neurons were decreased, those of type II neurons increased, the whole-cell membrane current was decreased, and discharge frequency and discharge number were decreased ( P <0.01, P <0.000 1)., Conclusion: Both the medium- and small-size DRG neurons from the spinal T9-T11 segments involve in gastric ulcer-induced acupoint sensitization via their different spike discharge activities. And intrinsic excitability of these DRG neurons can not only dynamically encode the plasticity of acupoint sensitization, but also can help us understand the neural mechanism of acupoint sensitization induced by visceral injury.

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and its related diseases are substantial public health burden for highly infected areas. Recently, a novel family-based H. pylori infection control and management (FBCM) strategy is introduced for H. pylori infection prevention and control. However, its cost-effectiveness has not been evaluated. We conducted this health economic evaluation to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FBCM, screen-and-treat, and no-screen strategies in Chinese population., Materials and Methods: Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed using decision tree and Markov model. Parameters required for the model were from published literatures and public databases, including health state utility, screening characteristics, treatment effectiveness, and medical costs for the three strategies. Outcomes were cost, quality-adjusted life year (QALY), incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Uncertainty analysis was performed to verify the robustness of this model., Results: To prevent gastric cancer in a cohort of 1 million asymptomatic Chinese families, FBCM and screen-and-treat strategies prevented 1010 and 1201 new gastric cancer cases, reduced 2809 and 3339 gastric cancer-related death, and saved 956,971 and 1,137,549 QALYs, respectively, when compared with no-screen strategy. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that FBCM strategy cost $9.18/QALY, and screen-and-treat strategy cost $12.08/QALY for gastric cancer prevention when compared with no-screen strategy. One-way sensitivity analysis revealed that screening from younger age by both strategies are more cost-effective. When compared with FBCM strategy, screen-and-treat strategy saved 5.98% gastric cancer cases and 5.78% of gastric cancer deaths, but costed $9348 to reduce a gastric cancer case. Results are not sensitive to any variables, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis confirmed robustness of the results., Conclusions: Both FBCM and screen-and-treat strategies are cost-effective for gastric cancer prevention compared with no-screen strategy. Since FBCM is more practical and convenient, it may be an efficient and excellent cost-effective strategy for gastric cancer prevention in H. pylori and gastric cancer prevalent areas., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infects about 50% of the world population and is the major cause of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, and gastric cancer. Chronic H. pylori infection induces gastric mucosal precancerous lesions mostly in adulthood, and it is debatable whether these pathological conditions can occur in childhood and adolescents as well. Since this is a critical issue to determine if intervention should be offered for this population group, we investigated the gastric mucosal precancerous lesions in pediatric patients in an area in central China with a high prevalence of H. pylori and gastric cancer., Aim: To investigate the relationship of H. pylori infection and gastric mucosal precancerous lesions in children and adolescents in central China., Methods: We screened 4258 ward-admitted children and adolescent patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms, and finally enrolled 1015 pediatric patients with H. pylori infection and endoscopic and histological data. H. pylori infection status was determined by rapid urease test and histopathological examination. Both clinical and pathological data were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Occurrence of gastric mucosal precancerous lesions, inflammatory activity and degree of inflammatory cell infiltration between H. pylori -positive and -negative groups were compared., Results: Among the 1015 eligible children and adolescents, the overall H. pylori infection rate was 84.14% (854/1015). The infection rate increased with age. The incidence of gastric mucosal precancerous lesions in H. pylori- infected children was 4.33% (37/854), which included atrophic gastritis (17 cases), intestinal metaplasia (11 cases) and dysplasia (9 cases). In H. pylori -negative patients, only 1 atrophic gastritis case [0.62%, (1/161)] was found ( P < 0.05). Active inflammation in H. pylori -infected patients was significantly higher than that in non-infected patients, and the H. pylori -infected group showed more severe lymphocyte and neutrophil granulocyte infiltration ( P < 0.001). In addition, endoscopy revealed that the most common findings in H. pylori -positive patients were antral nodularity, but in H. pylori -negative patients only superficial gastritis was observed., Conclusion: In children and adolescents, gastric mucosal precancerous lesions occurred in 4.33% of H. pylori- infected patients in central China. These cases included atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia. The data revealed an obvious critical issue requiring future investigation and intervention for this population group., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests related to this work., (©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Antibiotic resistance emerges as a major issue for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) treatment. High-dose dual therapy has recently shown encouraging results in H. pylori eradication, but it has yet to be validated in this H. pylori highly infected area; it is also not known if this concept can be extended to antibiotics other than amoxicillin, and factors that affect the eradication. We investigate if rabeprazole plus amoxicillin or furazolidone regimens could be a first-line therapy for H. pylori eradication, and factors that affect the curing rate., Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, open-label, randomized-controlled trial. Naive patients (n=292) were randomly treated with bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (BQT), rabeprazole plus amoxicillin (RADT), or furazolidone (RFDT) groups. RADT and FADT use three times daily regimens. H. pylori diagnosis and eradication were determined and confirmed by 13 C-urea breath test., Results: In per-protocol (PP) analysis, H. pylori eradication rate was 91.2% in BQT group, 89.6% in RADT, and 51.0% in RFDT group. In intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, infection was eradicated in 86.7% of patients in BQT group, 85.8% in RADT, and 48.1% in RFDT groups, respectively. Noninferiority was confirmed between BQT and RADT groups. The incidence of side effects in BQT group was significantly higher than that in RADT group. Successful eradication was associated with lower body surface area (BSA) and low body mass index (BMI) in BQT group. Smoking and high BSA index reduced H. pylori eradication rate in RADT group., Conclusions: Rabeprazole-amoxicillin dual therapy is equally effective to the bismuth-containing quadruple therapy for H. pylori eradication with fewer side effects and saves use of one antibiotic per each treatment. Successful eradication is also associated with low BSA and non-smoking condition, which deserves future stratified analysis for refinement and optimization., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

γ-Butenolides are useful structural motifs in many pharmaceutically relevant compounds. In particular, halogenated γ-butenolides are attractive building blocks because the halogen handles can readily be manipulated to give various functional molecules. In this study, a catalytic synthesis of halogenated γ-butenolides from cyclopropene carboxylic acids was developed using zwitterionic catalysts and N -haloamides as the halogen sources. The catalytic protocol could also be applied to the synthesis of halogenated pyrrolones by using cyclopropene amides as the starting materials.

Background: Two critical concerns during Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication are the successful eradication and recurrence. It is debatable whether whole family-based H. pylori treatment regimen might have any advantage over single-infected patient treatment approach in increasing eradication rate and reducing recurrence rate. We conduct systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy of these two treatment regimens in order to provide clinical practice a better option for H. pylori eradication., Methods: Randomized controlled trials evaluating H. pylori eradication and recurrence in whole family-based treatment group (WFTG) versus single-infected patient treatment group (SPTG) were collected from published literature up to July 2020 from common databases. Pooled results were analyzed using either fixed-effect or random-effect model. Results were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: A total of 1751 relevant articles were identified, and 12 studies were eligible for analysis. Among them: (a) Eight articles including 1198 patients were selected to analyze H. pylori eradication rate, pooled result showed that eradication rate of WFTG was higher than that of SPTG (OR=2.93; 95% CI 1.68-5.13). Stratified analysis showed that H. pylori eradication rate in WFTG were higher over SPTG in children subgroup, but had no difference in spouse subgroup. (b) Six studies including 881 patients were analyzed for recurrence rate between the two groups, pooled analysis showed that the overall recurrence rate of WFTG was lower than that of SPTG (OR=0.3; 95% CI 0.19-0.48). Stratified analysis showed that the recurrence rate in WFTG was lower over SPTG at 6, 12, 18, and more than 24 months post-treatment subgroups., Conclusion: Whole family-based H. pylori treatment can partially increase eradication rate and reduce recurrence rate over single-infected patient treatment approach, the results provide clinical practice a novel notion for H. pylori eradication and infection prevention., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Dysregulation of long noncoding RNA (LncRNA) FENDDR has been shown to be closely related to the progression of several cancers. However, its role and upstream regulatory mechanism in endometrioid endometrial carcinoma (EEC) remains unclear. This study was conducted using the cancerous tissues of EEC patients (n = 60), EEC cell lines, and a xenograft mouse model. The expression level of LncRNA FENDRR was decreased and the N-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation levels of LncRNA FENDRR was elevated in cancerous tissues of EEC patients. In vitro experiments demonstrated that YTH domain-containing 2 (YTHDF2), an m6A reader, recognized the abundance of m6A-modified LncRNA FENDRR in EEC cells and promoted its degradation. LncRNA FENDRR overexpression suppressed cell proliferation and facilitated cell apoptosis in the EEC cell line HEC-1B by reducing the protein level of SRY-related HMG box transcription factor 4 (SOX4). Interference of LncRNA FENDRR reversed the inhibitory effect of sh-YTHDF2 on cell proliferation and the promoting effect of sh-YTHDF2 on cell apoptosis in HEC-1B cells by silencing FENDRR. Finally, in vivo experiments confirmed that overexpression of LncRNA FENDRR retarded the growth of EEC cells. In conclusion, YTHDF2-mediated LncRNA FENDRR degradation promotes cell proliferation by elevating SOX4 expression in EEC.

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of free transplantation of thoracodorsal artery perforator flap in reconstructing large scar on the facial subunit. Methods: From April 2014 to March 2018, 7 patients with large facial scar were admitted to Ningbo NO.6 Hospital, including 3 males and 4 females, aged from 31 to 49 years, 4 with frontal involvement and 3 with chin and neck. Color Doppler ultrasound was used for the positioning of the thoracodorsal artery perforating vessel, and scar resection was performed according to the principle of facial subunit repair. The wound area was 8 cm×6 cm-21 cm×8 cm, and the wound was repaired with the free thoracodorsal artery perforator flap in the area of 9 cm×7 cm-22 cm×9 cm. The donor site was closed directly by suturing. The consistency of the location of the perforating vessel explored during the operation with its preoperative positioning and the flap survival were recorded. The color, texture, and appearance of the flap and the healing condition, scar formation, and function of the donor area were observed during follow-up. Results: The locations of the perforating vessels of 7 patients explored during the operation were consistent with those positioned by color Doppler ultrasound before the operation. All the flaps of the 7 cases survived successfully after operation. Postoperative follow-up of 12-18 months showed that the flap color was similar to the surrounding skin of the recipient area, with soft texture and no obvious contracture. Slight bloated appearance was observed in the flaps of 4 cases. All the 7 patients had postoperative healing of the flap donor site without obvious scar hyperplasia or influence on shoulder joint function. Conclusions: The anatomy of the perforating vessel of the thoracodorsal artery perforator flap is relatively constant and the flap can be cut in large area with soft texture, good appearance, and concealed donor area, which is a good choice for reconstructing large scar on the facial subunit.

Intermolecular haloesterification is an important class of transformations. The resulting products are valuable building blocks. However, it is often necessary to use super-stoichiometric amount of acid in order to compensate the low reactivity. Herein, we report a zwitterion-catalyzed intermolecular bromoesterification using acid and olefin in an equimolar ratio. Mechanistic study revealed that the charge pair in the zwitterion works synergistically in activating both NBS and carboxylic acid.

A simple and practical visible-light-induced carbo-2-pyridylation of electron-deficient alkenes with readily available N-benzoylmethylpyridinium bromides is reported. More than 40 examples are presented and proceed in greater than 80 % yield (on average) with excellent regio- and diastereoselectivities., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The structure of a pectin network requires both calcium (Ca 2+ ) and boron (B). Ca 2+ is involved in crosslinking pectic polysaccharides and arbitrarily induces the formation of an "egg-box" structure among pectin molecules, while B crosslinks rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) side chain A apiosyl residues in primary cell walls to generate a borate-dimeric-rhamnogalacturonan II (dRG-II-B) complex through a boron-bridge bond, leading to the formation of a pectin network. Based on recent studies of dRG-II-B structures, a hypothesis has been proposed suggesting that Ca 2+ is a common component of the dRG-II-B complex. However, no in vivo evidence has addressed whether B affects the stability of Ca 2+ crosslinks. Here, we investigated the L-fucose-deficient dwarf mutant mur1, which was previously shown to require exogenous B treatment for phenotypic reversion. Imbibed Arabidopsis thaliana seeds release hydrated polysaccharides to form a halo of seed mucilage covering the seed surface, which consists of a water-soluble outer layer and an adherent inner layer. Our study of mur1 seed mucilage has revealed that the pectin in the outer layer of mucilage was relocated to the inner layer. Nevertheless, the mur1 inner mucilage was more vulnerable to rough shaking or ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) extraction than that of the wild type. Immunolabeling analysis suggested that dRG-II-B was severely decreased in mur1 inner mucilage. Moreover, non-methylesterified homogalacturonan (HG) exhibited obvious reassembly in the mur1 inner layer compared with the wild type, which may imply a possible connection between dRG-II-B deficiency and pectin network transformation in the seed mucilage. As expected, the concentration of B in the mur1 inner mucilage was reduced, whereas the distribution and concentration of Ca 2+ in the inner mucilage increased significantly, which could be the reason why pectin relocates from the outer mucilage to the inner mucilage. Consequently, the disruption of B bridges appears to result in the extreme sensitivity of the mur1 mucilage pectin complex to EDTA extraction, despite the reinforcement of the pectin network by excessive Ca 2+ . Therefore, we propose a hypothesis that B, in the form of dRG-II-B, works together with Ca 2+ to maintain pectin network crosslinks and ultimately the mucilage ultrastructure in seed mucilage. This work may serve to complement our current understanding of mucilage configuration.

In order to investigate spatial variations in soil phosphorus (P) concentration and the influencing factors, one permanent plot of 1 hm 2 was established and stand structure was surveyed in Choerospondias axillaries deciduous broadleaved forest in Dashanchong Forest Park in Changsha County, Hunan Province, China. Soil samples were collected with equidistant grid point sampling method and soil P concentration and its spatial variation were analyzed by using geo-statistics and geographical information system (GIS) techniques. The results showed that the variations of total P and available P concentrations in humus layer and in the soil profile at depth of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm were moderate and the available P showed higher variability in a specific soil layer compared with total P. Concentrations of total P and available P in soil decreased, while the variations increased with the increase in soil depth. The total P and available P showed high spatial autocorrelation, primarily resulted from the structural factors. The spatial heterogeneity of available P was stronger than that of total P, and the spatial autocorrelation ranges of total P and available P varied from 92.80 to 168.90 m and from 79.43 to 106.20 m in different soil layers, respectively. At the same soil depth, fractal dimensions of total P were higher than that of available P, with more complex spatial pattern, while available P showed stronger spatial correlation with stronger spatial structure. In humus layer and soil depths of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm, the spatial variation pattern of total P and available P concentrations showed an apparent belt-shaped and spot massive gradient change. The high value appeared at low elevation and valley position, and the low value appeared in the high elevation and ridge area. The total P and available P concentrations showed significantly negative correlation with elevation and litter, but the relationship with convexity, species, numbers and soil pH was not significant. The total P and available P exhibited significant positive correlations with soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen concentration, indicating the leaching characteristics of soil P. Its spatial variability was affected by many interactive factors.

The first Pd-catalyzed allylic dearomatization of substituted indoles triggered by C-H bond activation is reported. The presence of a catalytic amount of 2,5-DMBQ is proven to be a key factor for the high yield. This one-pot tandem allylic C-H activation/dearomatization sequence provides a straightforward access to 3,3-disubstituted indolines.

Chiral phosphorus ligands have been widely used in transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions. Herein, we report a new synthesis approach of chiral biaryls containing a phosphorus moiety using P(O)R2-directed Pd-catalyzed C-H activation; the functionalized products are produced with good enantioselectivity.

A novel and efficient Pd-catalyzed C-H acetoxylation is described. The approach uses R2(O)P as a directing group to synthesize various substituted 2'-phosphorylbiphenyl-2-OAc compounds. Notably, the reaction exhibits smooth operation under mild conditions and shows good functional group tolerance. Products are obtained with high selectivity and yields.

Palladium-catalyzed arylation of (diisopropylphosphoryl)biphenyl skeleton derivatives by the P(O)R2 directed C-H functionalization was reported. The related products were obtained in high regioselectivity and good functional group tolerance was observed. This reaction provided a new and efficient pathway for the synthesis of polyaromatic monophosphorus ligands.

The first Pd(II)-catalyzed C-H addition to isatins by direct sp(2)/sp(3) C-H bond activation for the construction of 3-substituted-3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles is reported. The bidentate nitrogen ligands were found to promote this reaction. Specifically, the preliminary bioassay indicated that 3-(5-chlorobenzoxazole)-3-hydroxy-N-benzyl-2-oxindole (2w) is a new inhibitor of human kidney cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Moreover, this reaction system exhibits great functional group tolerance and requires no directing group, extra base, or additives.

The Pd(II)-catalyzed Ph2(O)P-directed C-H olefination to synthesize alkene-phosphine compounds is reported. In contrast to previous examples of various directing groups that guide selective C-H activation, the Ph2(O)P group not only acts as the directing group but also serves to construct the alkene-phosphine ligands. The monoprotected amino acid (MPAA) ligand Ac-Leu-OH is found to promote this reaction in a significant manner.

The MADS family is an ancient and best-studied transcription factor and plays fundamental roles in almost every developmental process in plants. In the plant evolutionary history, the whole genome duplication (WGD) events are important not only to the plant species evolution, but to expansion of members of the gene families. Soybean as a model legume crop has experience three rounds of WGD events. Members of some MIKC(C) subfamilies, such as SOC, AGL6, SQUA, SVP, AGL17 and DEF/GLO, were expanded after soybean three rounds of WGD events. And some MIKC(C) subfamilies, MIKC* and type I MADS families had experienced faster birth-and-death evolution and their traces before the Glycine WGD event were not found. Transposed duplication played important roles in tandem arrangements among the members of different subfamilies. According to the expression profiles of type I and MIKC paralog pair genes, the fates of MIKC paralog gene pairs were subfunctionalization, and the fates of type I MADS paralog gene pairs were nonfunctionalization. 137 out of 163 MADS genes were close to 186 loci within 2 Mb genomic regions associated with seed-relative QTLs, among which 115 genes expressed during the seed development. Although MIKC(C) genes kept the important and conserved functions of the flower development, most MIKC(C) genes showed potentially essential roles in the seed development as well as the type I MADS.

Objective: To use CT to identify renal damage in patients with liver cirrhosis., Methods: Sixty patients with liver cirrhosis confirmed by clinical, laboratory and imaging examinations and 20 patients without liver and kidney diseases (control group) were recruited in this study. The participants underwent double-stage enhanced scanning. The thickness of renal cortex (C) and parenchyma (P), and enhancement of renal cortex and medulla on cortical phase were measured. The association between renal damage and Child-Pugh grades, ascites capacities, liver cirrhosis types, opened portal collateral vessels, and opened collateral vessels between splenic venous and renal venous in the patients with liver cirrhosis were analysed., Results: The patients with liver cirrhosis had lower C/P and enhancement of cortex on cortical phase and greater enhancement of medulla than the controls (P < 0.05). The enhancement of cortex decreased with the increase of Child-Pugh grade, opened portal collateral vessels and opened collateral vessels between splenic venous and renal venous (P < 0.05), but the differences of enhancement of medulla and C/P had no statistical significance (P > 0.05). No differences in the measured indicators were found between patients with different capacities of ascites and patients with different types of liver cirrhosis (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: The CT findings on renal damage in patients with liver cirrhosis include decrease in C/P and enhancement of cortex on cortical phase, and increase in enhancement of medulla on cortical phase. The enhancement of cortex on cortical phase is the most important change, which is associated with Child-Pugh grades, opened portal collateral vessels and opened collateral vessels between splenic venous and renal venous.

We collected 20 checkered keelback snakes (Xenochrophis piscator) to study embryonic growth and mobilization of energy and material during incubation. Females laid eggs between late May and late June. The eggs were incubated at 27 degrees C (+/-0.3). One egg from each clutch was dissected at five-day intervals starting at oviposition. The mean incubation length at 27 degrees C was 48.9 days. We identified three phases of embryonic growth or yolk depletion in X. piscator. Phase 1, between oviposition and Day 20, was one of minimal transfer of energy and material from yolk to embryo. Phase 2, between Day 20 and Day 39-40, was characterized by increasingly rapid embryonic growth or yolk depletion. Phase 3, between Day 39-40 and hatching, was characterized by reduced embryonic growth or yolk depletion. Approximately 71% of dry mass, 53% of non-polar lipids and 66% of energy were transferred from the egg contents to the hatchling during incubation. Our data confirm that oviposition is not timed to coincide with the onset of rapid embryonic growth in oviparous squamate reptiles. The greater conversion efficiencies of energy and material from egg to hatchling in snakes can be attributed to their lower energetic costs of embryonic development and greater residual yolk sizes.

Resonance Raman spectroscopy and step-scan Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have been used to identify the ligation state of ferrous heme iron for the H93G proximal cavity mutant of myoglobin in the absence of exogenous ligand on the proximal side. Preparation of the H93G mutant of myoglobin has been previously reported for a variety of axial ligands to the heme iron (e.g., substituted pyridines and imidazoles) [DePillis, G., Decatur, S. M., Barrick, D., and Boxer, S. G. (1994) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 116, 6981-6982]. The present study examines the ligation states of heme in preparations of the H93G myoglobin with no exogenous ligand. In the deoxy form of H93G, resonance Raman spectroscopic evidence shows water to be the axial (fifth) ligand to the deoxy heme iron. Analysis of the infrared C-O and Raman Fe-C stretching frequencies for the CO adduct indicates that it is six-coordinate with a histidine trans ligand. Following photolysis of CO, a time-dependent change in ligation is evident in both step-scan FTIR and saturation resonance Raman spectra, leading to the conclusion that a conformationally driven ligand switch exists in the H93G protein. In the absence of exogenous nitrogenous ligands, the CO trans effect stabilizes endogenous histidine ligation, while conformational strain favors the dissociation of histidine following photolysis of CO. The replacement of histidine by water in the five-coordinate complex is estimated to occur in < 5 micros. The results demonstrate that the H93G myoglobin cavity mutant has potential utility as a model system for studying the conformational energetics of ligand switching in heme proteins such as those observed in nitrite reductase, guanylyl cyclase, and possibly cytochrome c oxidase.