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A field experiment was conducted on a clayey soil, during winter season of October 2022 to January 2023, at the experimental field of Department of Land and Water Management, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam on an area of 28m 2 , to evaluate the effects of sub-surface wick irrigation system on yield, irrigation intervals and crop water productivity (CWP) on sponge gourd ( Luffa aegyptiaca ) and Bitter Gourd ( Momordica charantia ) Crops. For burying wick attached bottles total 6 basins were prepared by cultivating the soil down to 60 cm with hand hoe; basin to basin distance was 2m. After that, wick attached bottles were buried 25-30 cm bellow the bed of the basins. The water holding capacity of each bottle was 2.25 liter, every bottle was cut from tail end for water filling purpose, and it also serves as covering lid to avoid evaporation losses. 3 basins were used for growing Sponge Gourd ( Luffa aegyptiaca ) with quality of irrigation water (1.47 dS/m) and other 3 for Bitter Gourd ( Momordica charantia ) crops with same irrigation water properties. 4 seeds of sponge gourd bitter gourd were buried at the depth of 2-5 cm around each basin. Bottles were refilled each time when they reached at a depletion level of 75%. Experimental design was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two treatments: (1) Wick irrigation system for sponge gourd from Basin1 to 3 (WS) and Wick irrigation system for bitter gourd from basin 4 to 6 (WB). The results of the experiment revealed that the base period of sponge gourd crop was 95 days with 28 irrigation intervals, while the base period of bitter gourd was 102 days with 31 irrigation intervals. Average yield was achieved 3.64 kg/basin (10.03 ton/ha -1 ) with WS, 4.16 kg/basin (11.46 ton/ha -1 ) with WB treatments, respectively. The crop water productivity (CWP) of sponge gourd under WS was 13.86 kg/m 3 and 19.66 kg/m 3 for bitter gourd under WB treatments respectively. Base period was significantly increased by 20 to 30 days for both crops with wick irrigation system as compared to conventional flood irrigation systems. The study suggests that this system in not properly adopted or well understood by users, therefore it needs further improvement so that, the farmers can take more benefits and to make it more capable for large scales farming.

Objective: We sought to examine the predictive role of thyroid hormones in the risk and severity of diabetic kidney disease (DKD).Methods: A total of 2832 participants were finally involved in this retrospective study. The diagnosis and classification of DKD were performed according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) risk categories. And the estimates of effect size were expressed as odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: After propensity score matching (PSM) on age, gender, hypertension, hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c), total cholesterol（TC）and duration of diabetes, every 0.2 pg/mL increase in serum free triiodothyronine (FT3) could significantly reduce the risk of DKD by 13-21% during the moderate-risk stage (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81-0.93, PConclusions: Our results suggest that among thyroid hormones, only serum FT3 is an independent risk factor for all stages of DKD.

Background Microwave ablation (MWA) has attracted interest as a minimally invasive treatment for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, comparisons between MWA and surgical resection (SR) in the management of T1N0M0 PTC are rare. Purpose To compare the technical effectiveness, disease progression, and complications of MWA and SR for solitary T1N0M0 PTC. Materials and Methods This retrospective study was conducted in a single center. A total of 1029 patients with T1N0M0 PTC treated with either MWA or SR from January 2015 to May 2021 were studied and divided into two groups according to treatment modality. Propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting were used to control for confounding factors. Disease progression was analyzed in T1N0M0 PTCs as well as T1a and T1b subgroups by using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results A total of 404 patients (mean age, 43 years ± 12 [SD]; 289 women; 337 with T1a PTC) underwent MWA, and 625 (mean age, 46 years ± 12; 495 women; 521 with T1a PTC) underwent SR. During the follow-up (median, 25 months; IQR, 7-61 months), there was no evidence of differences regarding disease progression in T1N0M0 (4.0% vs 4.0%

To clarify the spatial variability of soil water content at field scale, a reasonable sampling method was established to support precision irrigation in the field. Soil samples were collected from Caoxinzhuang experimental area in Yangling District, Shaanxi Province at seven different dates. The spatial variation of soil water content in different soil layers of 0-60 cm were analyzed with classical statistics and geostatistics methods. The results showed that spatial distribution of soil water content in field scale was weak and moderate. When soil water content was within the range of 11.7%-20.1%, soil water content was negatively correlated with spatial variability. Sampling interval signifi-cantly affected the calculation accuracy of the spatial variability of soil water content. The coefficient of variation of soil water content between the east-west direction spacing of 27 m and the north-south direction spacing of 9 m was about 3.3% higher than the east-west direction spacing of 9 m and the north-south direction spacing of 18 m. With increasing sampling density, the contour change of soil water content distribution increased, and the number of grids with the least spatial variability of soil water content at the field scale was 21 points. When the sampling spacing was 18 m in the east-west direction, 9 m in the north-south direction, soil water content at field scale had a high spatial distribution correlation with soil water content in the middle position being 3%-5% higher than the surrounding. Our results provided reference for reasonable sampling of soil water content in the Guanzhong Plain and could guide the precision irrigation in agriculture.为了明确田块尺度土壤含水量的空间变异特征,制定合理准确的土壤采样方法,支持田间精准灌溉,分7个日期对陕西省杨凌区曹新庄试验区土壤样品进行采集,利用经典统计学和地统计学方法,分析了0～60 cm不同土层土壤含水量的空间变异特点。结果表明: 田块尺度土壤含水量空间分布呈弱变异或中等偏弱变异;土壤含水量在11.7%～20.1%时,其值越低,空间变异性越强。采样间距显著影响土壤含水量空间变异性的计算精度,采样间距设置为东西方向间距27 m和南北方向间距9 m时的土壤含水量变异系数比采样间距设置为东西方向间距9 m和南北方向间距18 m大3.3%。随着采样密度的增大,土壤含水量分布的等值线变化增大;表征田块尺度土壤含水量空间变异性最少的网格数量为21个点。采样间距为东西方向间距18 m和南北方向间距9 m时,田块尺度土壤含水量具有较高的空间相关性,田块中间位置的土壤含水量比四周高3%～5%。本研究可为关中平原田间测定土壤含水量确定合理的采样方法,并为实现农业精准灌溉提供参考。.

Aerated irrigation (AI) is well recognized to improve yield and water use efficiency (WUE) by improving the soil root zone environment and increasing crop water and fertilizer absorption. However, the effects of AI on crop yield and WUE are variable. We conducted a meta-analysis to: 1) quantify the effect of AI on crop yield and WUE; and 2) identify soil factors and management practices that favor increased yield and WUE under AI relative to control. Results showed that AI is benefit to increase crop yields and WUE (grand mean increases of 19.3% and 17.9%, respectively). However, its effectiveness depends on the environmental and managerial factors of the studies evaluated. Larger responses were found in medium-textured soils, acidic soils (pH

To reveal the effects of coupling nitrogen (N) application and aerated irrigation on soil CO为探讨不同加气灌溉施氮模式下设施甜瓜土壤CO

Biochar amendment has many benefits for improving soil water holding capacity and plant growth particularly under reduced irrigation regimes, yet the underlying biochemical and physiological mechanisms remain largely elusive. The combined effects of biochar addition and deficit irrigation under two N fertilizer regimes on tomato plant growth and physiology were investigated. The results showed that, despite a negative effect on leaf N content, biochar amendment improved the plant water status and leaf gas exchange rates under deficit irrigation, thereby enhanced the biomass (DM) of tomato plants irrespective of N regimes. Even though biochar amendment tended to reduce instantaneous water use efficiency, it significantly enhanced plant water use efficiency (WUEp). Biochar increased soil pH and resulted in an increase in xylem pH, which however did not amplify the root-to-shoot ABA signalling inducing early stomatal closure during deficit irrigation. The principal component analysis (PCA) plot showed that plant water use (PWU) rather than WUEp contributed significantly to the enhanced DM under biochar amendment. Thus, the greater stomatal conductance and transpiration rate and consequently the higher PWU as exemplified by the lowered leaf δ13C and δ18O values might have contributed to the increased DM of the biochar treated tomato plants. It is concluded that biochar amendment could be a promising practice to enhance tomato seedling growth under reduced irrigation and N fertilization regimes.

In order to determine the rational amount of biochar application and its effect on soil hydrological processes in arid area, soil column experiments were conducted in the laboratory using three biochar additions (5%, 10% and 15%) and four different biochar types (d0.25 mm bamboo charcoal, 0.25 mmd1 mm bamboo charcoal, d0.25 mm wood charcoal and 0.25 mmd1 mm wood charcoal; d is particle size) to study their impact on the phreatic water recharge, soil water-holding capacity, capillary water upward movement and soil evaporation. The results showed that the addition of biochar could change the phreatic water recharge, soil water-holding capacity, capillary water upward movement and soil evaporation obviously. But the effects were different depending on the type of biochar raw material and the size of particle. The phreatic water recharge increased with the increasing amount of biochar addition. The addition of biochar could obviously enlarge the soil water-holding capacity and promote the capillary water upward movement rate. This effect was greater when using the material of bamboo charcoal compared with using wood charcoal, while biochar with small particle size had greater impact than that with big particle size. The biochar could effectively restrain the soil evaporation at a low addition amount (5%). But it definitely promoted the soil evaporation if the addition amount was very high. In arid area, biochar addition in appropriate amount could improve soil water retention capacity.为确定干旱区生物炭的合理施用量及其对土壤水文过程的影响,采用室内土柱试验,研究了3种生物炭添加量(5%、10%和15%)和4种生物炭类型(

Rhizosphere aeration, irrigation with aerated water, and post-irrigation aeration would positively impact crop growth and yield. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of 4 post-irrigation aeration levels on plant growth, yield, irrigation-use efficiency (IUE), and fruit market and nutritional quality of greenhouse cucumber under subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and furrow irrigation (FI). The post-irrigation aeration levels were 0.00, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 times half the estimated porosity of the plot rhizosphere. The experimental design was a two-factor split-plot in randomized complete blocks with irrigation (FI and SDI) as the main treatments and 4 aeration levels as the sub-treatments. Ridge and furrow main plots (2.4 m × 2.4 m) with 4 ridges were replicated 5 times. Each of the 4 ridges (1.44 m2 in area) in the main plots was used as a sub-treatment plot. The results showed that post-irrigation aeration enhanced greenhouse cucumber plant growth, yield, IUE, and fruit market and nutritional quality. These parameters generally increased with increasing aeration levels under both FI and SDI. The aeration effect was generally higher under SDI than FI, and the IUE under SDI was almost twice that under FI. Further investigation would be required to elucidate the plant physiological mechanisms and soil processes responsible for the observed effects.

Introduction: The ‘desert people’ or Keriyans are able to maintain normal body functions whilst living in the hot, arid areas of Taklimakan Desert. However, little is known about the adaptive mechanisms in this extreme environment. We explored the relationship between polymorphism of C-344T in the promoter region of the aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2) and resting electrocardiogram (ECG) hypervoltage in this population. Materials and methods: The study recruited 503 Keriyans who were living in the Taklimakan Desert and 237 age/gendermatched controls from the Uighurs living in neighbouring villages. Parameters of physical fitness, ECGs, and biochemistry were compared between the two groups. The C-344T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of CYP11B2 was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing. Results: The incidence of ECG left ventricular hypervoltage in the Keriyans was significantly higher than that in the controls ( p < 0.001). The frequency of allele 344T was higher in this population than that in the controls (OR = 1.48; 95% CI:1.082—2.023). A higher OR for allele 344T was also seen in Keriyans with ECG left ventricular hypervoltage against those without this finding (OR = 1.557; 95% CI:1.032—2.349). Conclusion: The polymorphism of C-344T in the promoter region of the CYP11B2 gene was associated with ECG left ventricular hypervoltage in the Keriyan population.

Experimental evidence suggesting that heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene or associated genes are responsible for the pathophysiology of hypertension is accumulating. In this study, we focused on five polymorphisms in three genes (HSPA1A, HSPA1B, and HSPA1L) of Hsp70 family to explore the genetic contribution, alone and in combination, of these polymorphisms to essential hypertension risk in a Uygur population. Genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP and direct sequencing techniques. Data were analyzed using haplotype and multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) methods. Genotype distributions of all the polymorphisms satisfied the Hardy-Weinberg proportions in cases and controls. Statistical significance was only observed in the genotype (P = 0.0028) and (P = 0.0146) allele distributions of -110A/C polymorphism, with the -110C allele conferring a 1.45- and 2.83-fold of relative risk, assuming the additive and recessive models, respectively, and in 1267A/G genotype distribution (P = 0.0106) with the 1267G allele conferring a 44% reduced risk. The interaction information analysis indicated that polymorphisms -110A/C and 1267A/G had a strong synergistic effect, while polymorphisms 2074G/C and 2437T/C had a moderate synergistic effect. Haplotype analyses further strengthened the interaction information. Using the haplotype H(1) as a reference, haplotype H(4) had a 40% reduced risk, while haplotypes H(5) and H(8) had a significantly 5.00- and 3.75-fold increased risk for essential hypertension, respectively. Taken together, our results supported strong genetic interaction of the studied polymorphisms with the risk of having essential hypertension in Uygur ethnicity. Functional studies are warranted to confirm or refute these findings. This is the first study to evaluate the genetic interaction information of the Hsp70 in Uygur ethnicity, which represents one of the major nationalities in China with high homogeneity and unique lifestyles. Moreover, we employed the haplotype and MDR methods to explore the potential interaction of Hsp70 genetic polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension in Uygur.

The process of vascular calcification shares numerous similarities with that of skeletal mineralization and involves the deposition of hydroxyapatite crystals in arteries and cardiac valves. However, the underlying cellular mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. Microarray analysis in the present study demonstrated that greater than 2,000 genes were upregulated during the calcification of murine vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), of which osterix (OSX) and integrin‑binding sialoprotein (IBSP) were the most significantly differentially expressed genes. Following the validation of increased OSX and IBSP expression by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction in calcifying murine VSMCs induced by aldosterone. Subsequent to transfection with siRNA‑OSX, results indicated that OSX may inhibit calcification of VSMCs via IBSP. It was suggested that the increased OSX expression in calcifying VSMCs may reflect the well‑established prenatal role of OSX. A full understanding of the importance of OSX in this pathological process would improve understanding of the pathogenesis of vascular calcification.

Background Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between apolipoprotein (Apo) E gene polymorphisms and gallbladder stone disease (GSD) across ethnic populations; however, the results are often inconsistent. This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluate the influence of a common e2/e3/e4 polymorphism in Apo E gene on the risk of gallbladder stone disease. Method Data were analyzed using the RevMan software (V5.1) and a random-effects model was applied irrespective of between-study heterogeneity. Publication bias was weighed using the fail-safe number. Results There were 17 study populations totaling 1773 cases and 2751 controls for e2/e3/e4 polymorphism of Apo E gene. Overall comparison of alleles e2 with e3 in all study populations yielded a 16% decreased risk for GSD (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.68–1.05; P = 0.31; I2 = 13%), and comparison of alleles e4 with e3 yielded a 25% increased risk (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.97–1.61; P = 0.0003; I2 = 63%). Subgroup analysis by study design indicated that the magnitude of association in hospital-based studies was largely significantly strengthened for e4 allelic model (odds ratio [OR] = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.05–2.02; p = 0.0007; I2 = 65%). Subgroup analysis by age of controls indicated a remarkably significant elevation in the magnitude of association in age >50 subgroups in e4 allelic model (OR = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.03–2.19; p = 0.0009; I2 = 72%). Moreover, subgroup analysis by cases gender indicated a reduction in the magnitude of association in male

To explore the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of C-344T in the promoter region and K173R in the exon 3 of aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2) and the incidence of essential hypertension in a northern Chinese Han population.We conducted a case-control study including 182 hypertensive patients and 189 healthy controls in Harbin newspaper office and assayed the genotypes of C-344T and K173R using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and direct sequencing technology.The distributions of C-344T and K173R genotype frequencies in men and women were in accordance with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The differences of C-344T allele and genotype as well as K173R allele frequency distributions between hypertensive patients and healthy controls were not statistically significant in men and women and pooled population (Por = 0.05). The difference of K173R genotype frequency distribution reached borderline significance (P = 0.0500) and was more pronounced in women (P = 0.0038) according to the dominant mode of inheritance. Moreover, the magnitude of this mode of inheritance was more remarkable after the confounding factors were adjusted. K173R statistically correlated with the systolic hypertension in women.The CYP11B2 K173R polymorphism correlates with the susceptibility of essential hypertension in the northern Chinese Han population.

To study the physiological characteristics and cardiac electrophysiology of the "desert people" in Taklimakan Desert, an isolated population of Uygurs.Two hundred and twenty-four out of the 1030 "desert people", 133 males aged 37.8 +/- 17.5 (15-99) and 91 females aged 34.1 +/- 12.1 (27-85), underwent measurement of height, body weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure. Twelve-lead resting electrocardiogram was obtained and Minnesota coding was conducted. 150 Kariya Uygurs, 76 males aged 50.7 +/- 15.6 (27-85) and 75 females aged 46.6 +/- 11.7 (24-69) were used as controls.The abnormal Minnesota coding rate in the "desert people" as a whole was 46.0%, significantly higher than that of the controls (35.1%, P0.05). In the "desert people", the abnormal Minnesota coding rate was 54.9% in the males, significantly higher than that in the females (33.0%, P0.05). In the control group, the abnormal coding rate was 28.0% in the females and 42.1% in the males. The ECG high left R amplitude rate (code 3-1, 3-3) of the "desert people" as a whole was 32.6%, significantly higher than that of the controls (12.6%, P0.001). Within the "desert people" group, the ECG high left R amplitude rate of the females was 19.8%, significantly lower than that of the males (41.2%, P0.005). Within the control group, the ECG high left R amplitude rate of the females was 10.7%, not significantly different from that of the males (14.5%, P0.5). The hypertension rate of the "desert people" was 7.6%, significantly lower than that of the controls (36.4%, P0.005). The hypertension rate of the "desert people" coded as with left high R amplitude was 12.2%, significantly lower than that of the controls coded as with left high R amplitude (41.6%, P0.005). The overweight and obesity rate of the "desert people" was 9.6%, significantly lower than that of the controls (23%, P0.005). The arrhythmia (8-1 - 8-8) rate of the "desert people" was 8.92%, not significantly different from that of the controls (6.62%, P0.05). The incidence of conduction block (7-1 - 7-8) of the "desert people" was 3.12%, not significantly different from that of the controls (2.64%, P0.05).The higher incidence of ECG high left R amplitudes and low prevalence of hypertension in the "desert people" suggest that the high left R amplitude in "Desert people" may be related to their thin chest wall, low BMI, and physiological left ventricular hypertrophy. The "desert people" have more physical work, and less stress and pollution. They have low incidence of congenital heart disease, rheumatic heart disease and hypertension. All these may be associated with a low incidence of arrhythmia.

To investigate the association of polymorphisms in the apolipoprotein B gene (APOB) 3'variable number of tandem repeat with natural longevity in the Xinjiang Uighur nationality people.Totally 191 healthy individuals over 90 years and 53 individuals aged 65-70 years were recruited among Xinjiang Uighur population, the nationality, gender and living area were matched. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer(PCR-SSP) and PCR-sequencing.Fourteen alleles were found in the Xinjiang Uighur nationality population. The frequency of HVE36 and HVE42 in the natural longevity group were significantly higher than that in the control group (both P0.05) and HVE44, HVE46, HVE48 and HVE58 were only found in the natural longevity group. However, the frequency of HVE26, HVE30 and HVE34 were markedly lower in the natural longevity group compared to the control group. Logistic regression analyses revealed that allele L and the genotypes LL were positively associated with age, whereas the allele S and genotype SS were negatively associated with age (both P0.05). Each allele consists of 15 bp tandem repeats with rich-AT by PCR-sequencing.These results indicate that the S allele, and SS genotype are frail factors in China Uighur natural longevity people, whereas allele L and genotypes LL are protective factors.