Rice is the world's largest food crop, and its yield and quality are directly related to food security and human health. Grain size, as one of the important factors determining the rice yield, has been widely concerned by breeders and researchers for a long time. To decipher the regulatory mechanism of rice grain size, we obtained a multi-tiller, dwarf, and small-grain mutant htd1 by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutation from the Japonica rice cultivar 'Zhonghua 11' ('ZH11'). Genetic analysis indicated that the phenotype of htd1 was controlled by a single recessive gene. Using the mutation site map (Mutmap) method, we identified the candidate gene OsHTD1, which encoded a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase involved in the biosynthesis of strigolactone (SL). The SL content in htd1 was significantly lower than that in 'ZH11'. Cytological analysis showed that the grain size of the mutant decreased due to the reductions in the length and width of glume cells. The function of htd1 was further verified by the CRISPR/cas9 gene editing technology. The plants with the gene knockout exhibited similar grain size to the mutant. In addition, gene expression analysis showed that the expression levels of multiple grain size-related genes in the mutant changed significantly, suggesting that HTD1 may interact with other genes regulating grain size. This study provides a new theoretical basis for research on the regulatory mechanism of rice grain size and potential genetic resources for breeding the rice cultivars with high yields.
Oryza/growth & development* ; Mutation ; Edible Grain/growth & development* ; Alleles ; Plant Proteins/genetics* ; Dioxygenases/genetics* ; Lactones/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Genes, Plant ; Gene Editing ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Phenotype

Objective:To explore the correlation between frailty and carotid plaque stability in patients with ischemic stroke.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. From May to December 2023, convenience sampling was used to select 360 patients with ischemic stroke in the Department of Neurology of Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University and underwent carotid artery color Doppler ultrasound examination as the study subject. Patients were surveyed using the General Information Questionnaire, Barthel Index and the Edmonton Frail Scale. Carotid artery color Doppler ultrasound was used to evaluate the stability of carotid plaques in patients. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to explore the correlation between frailty and carotid plaque stability.Results:A total of 360 questionnaires were distributed, and 352 valid questionnaires were collected, with a valid response rate of 97.78%. The incidence of frailty in 352 ischemic stroke patients was 44.89% (158/352). Multivariate analysis showed that compared to stable plaques, unstable carotid plaques were an independent risk factor for frailty in patients with ischemic stroke ( OR=2.127, 95% confidence interval: 1.247-3.626) . Conclusions:Compared to stable plaques, unstable carotid plaques increase the risk of frailty in patients with ischemic stroke. Strengthening the assessment of carotid plaques in patients with ischemic stroke by nursing staff can early identify high-risk individuals for frailty, and timely carry out personalized interventions, thereby reducing the occurrence of adverse health events in patients.

Objective:To explore the factors influencing the supportive communication ability of medical undergraduates, and to propose strategies to improve supportive communication.Methods:By cluster sampling, we selected 388 medical undergraduates of grades 2017 and 2018 from Harbin Medical University for a questionnaire survey on supportive communication, general self-efficacy, and health education abilities. SPSS 22.0 was used for descriptive statistical analysis. AMOS 22.0 was used to construct a structural equation model to verify the relationship between the three variables. Mediating effects were also tested.Results:The students showed good supportive communication ability, with a total score of (74.28±10.84) points. The general self-efficacy score was (27.81±5.58) points, and the total score of health education ability was (25.50±4.76) points. General self-efficacy had direct positive effects on supportive communication and health education abilities ( β=0.75, 0.31, both P<0.001). Health education ability had a direct positive effect on supportive communication ability ( β=0.14, P<0.001). Health education ability played a significant mediating role in the influence of general self-efficacy on supportive communication ability (standardized mediating effect value=0.042, P<0.01), with the mediating effect accounting for 5.1%. Conclusions:The health education competency of medical undergraduates can mediate the effect of general self-efficacy on supportive communication ability. By strengthening medical humanities education to increase general self-efficacy and also emphasizing the cultivation of health education competency, the supportive communication ability of students can be improved.

Pheochromocytoma and paranganglioma (PPGL) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor. In recent years, the continuous development of multimodal imaging, pathonomics, genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, metabolism and proteomics have provided us with ideas to better understand the complex transfer mechanism of PPGL. This paper will review the precise typing system of PPGL, current research advances in the diagnosis and clinical prognosis.

The CRISPR-Cas9 system is composed of a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) and its associated proteins, which are widely present in bacteria and archaea, serving as a specific immune protection against viral and phage secondary infections. CRISPR-Cas9 technology is the third generation of targeted genome editing technologies following zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALENs). The CRISPR-Cas9 technology is now widely used in various fields. Firstly, this article introduces the generation, working mechanism and advantages of CRISPR-Cas9 technology; secondly, it reviews the applications of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in gene knockout, gene knock-in, gene regulation and genome in breeding and domestication of important food crops such as rice, wheat, maize, soybean and potato. Finally, the article summarizes the current problems and challenges encountered by CRISPR-Cas9 technology and prospects future development and application of CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
Gene Editing ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics* ; Plant Breeding ; Crops, Agricultural/genetics* ; Technology

Objective:To review the research progress on prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude and related markers. Literature resource and selection Relevant literatures in this field published at home and abroad. Literature quotation 　A total of 63 relevant literatures published in recent years were selected from relevant databases such as PubMed, VIP,CNKI and Wanfang Data with the keywords of "high altitude" and "cardiovascular diseases". Literature synthesis Pulmonary hypertension and long-term hypoxia are the pathogenesis of some common high altitude diseases. The common prevention and treatment strategies of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude include early screening, relieving hypoxia and treating edema. Gene, serum and imaging are the markers used for prevention and treatment strategies of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude. Conclusions:The study of the mechanism, markers and prevention strategies is of great significance to improve the theoretical level of the disease and to reduce the incidence rate and mortality of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant therapy modality can increase the operability rate and mitigate pathological risks in locally advanced cervical cancer, but treatment response varies widely. It remains unclear whether genetic alterations correlate with the response to neoadjuvant therapy and disease-free survival (DFS) in locally advanced cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 62 locally advanced cervical cancer (stage IB-IIA) patients who received neoadjuvant chemoradiation plus radical hysterectomy were retrospectively analyzed. Patients’ tumor biopsy samples were comprehensively profiled using targeted next generation sequencing. Pathologic response to neoadjuvant treatment and DFS were evaluated against the association with genomic traits. Results: Genetic alterations of PIK3CA were most frequent (37%), comparable to that of Caucasian populations from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The mutation frequency of genes including TERT, POLD1, NOS2, and FGFR3 was significantly higher in Chinese patients whereas RPTOR, EGFR, and TP53 were underrepresented in comparison to Caucasians. Germline mutations were identified in 21% (13/62) of the cohort and more than half (57%) had mutations in DNA damage repair genes, including BRCA1/2, TP53 and PALB2. Importantly, high tumor mutation burden, TP53 polymorphism (rs1042522), and KEAP1 mutations were found to be associated with poor pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation treatment. KEAP1 mutations, PIK3CA-SOX2 co-amplification, TERC copy number gain, and TYMS polymorphism correlated with an increased risk of disease relapse. Conclusion We report the genomic profile of locally advanced cervical cancer patients and the distinction between Asian and Caucasian cohorts. Our findings highlight genomic traits associated with unfavorable neoadjuvant chemoradiation response and a higher risk of early disease recurrence.

Objective:To review the research progress on prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude and related markers. Literature resource and selection Relevant literatures in this field published at home and abroad. Literature quotation 　A total of 63 relevant literatures published in recent years were selected from relevant databases such as PubMed, VIP,CNKI and Wanfang Data with the keywords of "high altitude" and "cardiovascular diseases". Literature synthesis Pulmonary hypertension and long-term hypoxia are the pathogenesis of some common high altitude diseases. The common prevention and treatment strategies of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude include early screening, relieving hypoxia and treating edema. Gene, serum and imaging are the markers used for prevention and treatment strategies of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude. Conclusions:The study of the mechanism, markers and prevention strategies is of great significance to improve the theoretical level of the disease and to reduce the incidence rate and mortality of cardiovascular diseases in high altitude.

The panoramic perception of medical equipment operation and maintenance status is the basic guarantee for the implementation of smart medical care, the machine learning algorithm-based autonomous perception and active early warning model of medical equipment operation and maintenance status is proposed. Introduce deep learning multi-dimensional perception of medical equipment multi-source heterogeneous fault data training sample characteristics to realize autonomous perception of medical equipment operation and maintenance status, introduce reinforcement learning to realize autonomous decision-making of test sample fault characteristics, and build the active early warning mechanism for medical equipment faults. Taking the equipment department of hospital as the carrier of model effectiveness verification, the effectiveness simulation of the model was carried out, the results show that the model has the advantages of comprehensive fault information perception, strong compatibility of medical equipment, high efficiency of active early warning.
Algorithms ; Computer Simulation ; Machine Learning ; Self Concept ; Surgical Equipment

Objective: To investigate the current status of professional identity among the undergraduates majoring in public affairs management and the related influence factors. Methods: A stratified cluster sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey among the 115 undergraduates majoring in public affairs management in a medical university in Harbin, China, and the contents of the questionnaires included general status and professional identity. The t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of professional identity. In-depth interviews were conducted for some students to explore the profound influencing factors for professional identity among the students majoring in public affairs management. Results: The overall level of professional identity was low among the undergraduates majoring in public affairs management in the medical university in Harbin, and the score of professional identity was 3.25±0.56. The scores of cognitive dimension, emotional dimension, behavioral dimension, and applicable dimension were 3.41±0.69, 3.21±0.78, 3.24±0.71, and 3.13±0.72, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that grade, academic performance, major selection, and children number in family had significant influence on their professional identity. The students who were at grade four, who had high academic record (b=-0.276, P<0.01), who chose this major independently (b=-0.277, P<0.01), and who were the only child (b=-0.233, P<0.05) had a high score of professional identity. As for the undergraduates at different grades, the undergraduates at grades two and three had a significantly lower score of professional identity than those at grade four (b=-0.296 and -0.369, P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between the undergraduates at grades one and four (b=-0.008, P>0.05). Furthermore, the students with a high score of professional identity had higher possibility to pursue the job related to this major than those with a low score (3.39±0.53 vs. 2.92±0.49, t=4.414, P<0.01). Conclusion Universities should strengthen the publicity of the major of public affairs management, optimize the curriculum, and add job experience, so as to enhance professional identity among students with this major and provide talent for the field of public health management.