Plant programmed cell death (PCD) plays an important role in plant growth and development as well as defensive response against biotic and abiotic stresses. Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a fungi toxin, which is a competitive inhibitor of ceramide synthase in de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis. FB1 can induce PCD in both animal and plant cells. To dissect this pathway, a genetic screen for fumonisin B1 resistant (fbr) mutants, and identified 11 fbr mutants was carried out. Genetic analysis showed that these 11 mutants belonged to 9 complementary groups or genetic loci. Here a detailed phenotypic analysis of fbr136 was reported. In addition to the resistance to FB1, fbr136 also showed resistance other PCD-inducing compounds, including H2O2 and paraquat. Furthermore, FB1-induced PR1 expression was reduced in fbr136, suggesting that a PCD pathway is likely impaired in the mutant. When stained with nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT), fbr136 showed a reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by FB1. The fbr136 mutation was roughly mapped onto chromosome Ⅲ, where no other fbr mutants have been previously identified. It is proposed that FBR136 may act as an important regulator in a sphingolipid-mediated PCD pathway, involved in the generation of ROS.

Objective To observe safety and efficacy of intrauterine device MYCu IUD that releases indomethacin. Methods In total, 2000 women requiring IUD for contraception were chosen from domestic multiple clinical centers according to an unified standard. MYCu IUD and TCu380A IUD were randomly inserted for 1000 women each, respectively. All women were regularly followed-up one, three, six and 12 months after insertion. Results All the women were followed-up for 11 985.9 and 11 753.6 person-months in MYCu IUD and TCu380A IUD groups, respectively, with cumulative IUD application rates of 97. 80% and 94. 70%, and cumulative pregnancy rates with IUD of 0. 10% and 0. 31%, respectively. Cumulative expulsion (or partial expulsion) rate in MYCu IUD group was 0. 10%, significantly lower than that in TCu380A IUD one (1.73%), P ＜0. 01, and cumulative removal rate due to medical reasons (bleeding or pain) was 1.51 % and 2. 94%, respectively, P ＜ 0. 05. Rate of IUD-associated termination and overall rate of termination differed significantly between the two groups, P ＜0. 01. Adverse reactions one, three, six and twelve months after IUD insertion included irregular bleeding, prolonged menstruation, increased menstrual blood volume and pain, less in indomethacin-containing MYCu IUD group than those in TCu380A IUD without containing it, P ＜ 0. 01. Conclusions MYCu IUD is a comparatively ideal IUD that should be promoted for extensive use, with extremely low expulsion rate, good contraceptive effect, convenience and safety in insertion and removal, and less adverse effects.

Objective: To improve clinical management of maternal and neonatal listeriosis through analyzing the clinical characteristics and antibiotic treatment. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 26 cases of listeriosis, including their demographic and clinical features, was conducted, involving 16 pregnant women from Civil Aviation General Hospital, Xiamen Humanity Hospital, Tongzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Beijing, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, the Fourth Hospital of Tianshui City from October, 2011 to May, 2018, and 10 newborns from the Fourth Hospital of Tianshui City, Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital from February, 2016 to April 2018. Descriptive methods were used for data analysis. Results: (1) Among the 16 gravidas, one, five and 10 developed the infection in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy, respectively, and eight had pregnancy complications. Furthermore, all of them developed fever [(38.9±0.5) ℃]. Symptoms such as cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, dizziness, headache and other flu-like symptoms were observed in six cases. Gastrointestinal symptoms and flu-like symptoms were presented in four. Fetal distress, tachycardia and decreased fetal movement occurred in 11 cases. Elevated C-reactive protein and white blood cell count were detected in 16 and 14, respectively. Eight underwent placental pathological examination which shown various degrees of pathological changes, including neutrophil infiltration, acute chorioamnionitis and inflammatory necrosis. The main empirical antibiotic treatment for the 16 patients was cephalosporins and only four covered Listeria monocytogenes. Only two delivered at term, while the others (14/16) ended in miscarriage, premature delivery or stillbirth. (2) Among the 10 newborns with listeriosis, there were eight early-onset infections and two late-onset infections. All of them were febrile [(38.6±0.6)℃]. Six had cyanosis, groaning, foaming and three concave sign; five showed shortness of breath; meningitis and skin rash were found in one, respectively. All had elevated white blood cell and C-reactive protein. Six received antibiotics covering Listeria monocytogenes during the initial empirical treatment. Four were treated with cephalosporins alone, one of which died after the treatment was withdrawn. One was cured by initial treatment with meropenem alone, while eight recovered after adjustment of treatment with ampicillin, penicillin, meropenem, vancomycin alone, or meropenem combined with ampicillin or vancomycin. (3) The isolates that were susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin and meropenem accounted for 96.1% (25/26) all together and 88.5% (23/26) were susceptible to compound sulfamethoxazole. Conclusions There is no specific clinical manifestations of maternal or neonatal listeriosis. Maternal listeriosis is often characterized by acute onset and high incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes.