Modification of catalase and MAPK in Vicia faba cultivated in soil with high natural radioactivity and treated with a static magnetic field

The effects of a static magnetic field (SMF) and high natural radioactivity (HR) on catalase and MAPK genes in Vicia faba were investigated. Soil samples with high natural radioactivity were collected from Ramsar in north Iran where the annual radiation absorbed dose from background radiation is higher than 20 mSv/year. The specific activity of the radionuclides of ²³²Th, ²³⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K was measured using gamma spectrometry. The seeds were planted either in the soil with high natural radioactivity or in the control soils and were then exposed to a SMF of 30 mT for 8 days; 8 h/day. Levels of expression of catalase and MAPK genes, catalase activity and H₂O₂ content were evaluated. The results demonstrated significant differences in the expression of catalase and MAPK genes in SMF- and HR-treated plants compared to the controls. An increase in catalase activity was accompanied by increased expression of its gene and accumulation of H₂O₂. Relative expression of the MAPK gene in treated plants, however, was lower than those of the controls. The results suggest that the response of V. faba plants to SMF and HR may be mediated by modification of catalase and MAPK.     

Genetic structure of Chrysanthemum genotypes from Iran assessed by AFLP markers and phenotypic traits

Chrysanthemum is popular worldwide as cut flower, potted plant and perennial garden plant. This study used amplified fragment length polymorphism and phenotypic traits to assess genetic diversity and population structure in Chrysanthemum. Results for the phenotypic traits of ray floret number, tubular floret number, flower number, pedicel length, leaflet number on pedicel and days to visible flower bud had high level (i.e., >30 %) evaluations for genotypic coefficient of variation and phenotypic coefficient of variation; thus, heritability for various phenotypic traits ranged from 45.30 to 94.55 %. Phenotypic data clustered the genotypes into four separate groups. Twenty-five primer combinations were used for molecular analysis. On average, each primer combination produced 83.96 polymorphic DNA bands, ranging from 33 to 122 bands. Polymorphic percentage (99.3 %), polymorphism information content (0.43) and Shannon’s information index (0.45) evaluated high levels of genetic variation in the tested genotypes. The Neighbor-Joining (NJ) method grouped genotypes into six clusters, which were in part confirmed by principal coordinate analysis. A Bayesian structure analysis identified four clusters, in which 30 individuals were maintained within the admixed clusters. Results from this study provide appropriate information applicable to designing effective breeding programs and other analyses associated with future studies of Chrysanthemum.     

Fibroblast state switching orchestrates dermal maturation and wound healing

Murine dermis contains functionally and spatially distinct fibroblast lineages that cease to proliferate in early postnatal life. Here, we propose a model in which a negative feedback loop between extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and fibroblast proliferation determines dermal architecture. Virtual‐tissue simulations of our model faithfully recapitulate dermal maturation, predicting a loss of spatial segregation of fibroblast lineages and dictating that fibroblast migration is only required for wound healing. To test this, we performed in vivo live imaging of dermal fibroblasts, which revealed that homeostatic tissue architecture is achieved without active cell migration. In contrast, both fibroblast proliferation and migration are key determinants of tissue repair following wounding. The results show that tissue‐scale coordination is driven by the interdependence of cell proliferation and ECM deposition, paving the way for identifying new therapeutic strategies to enhance skin regeneration.     

An automatic diagnostic system of coronary artery lesions in Kawasaki disease using intravascular optical coherence tomography imaging

Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IV‐OCT) is a light‐based imaging modality with high resolution, which employs near‐infrared light to provide tomographic intracoronary images. Morbidity caused by coronary heart disease is a substantial cause of acute coronary syndrome and sudden cardiac death. The most common intracoronay complications caused by coronary artery disease are intimal hyperplasia, calcification, fibrosis, neovascularization and macrophage accumulation, which require efficient prevention strategies. OCT can provide discriminative information of the intracoronary tissues, which can be used to train a robust fully automatic tissue characterization model based on deep learning. In this study, we aimed to design a diagnostic model of coronary artery lesions. Particularly, we trained a random forest using convolutional neural network features to distinguish between normal and diseased arterial wall structure. Then, based on the arterial wall structure, fully convolutional network is designed to extract the tissue layers in normal cases, and pathological tissues regardless of lesion type in pathological cases. Then, the type of the lesions can be characterized with high precision using our previous model. The results demonstrate the robustness of the model with the approximate overall accuracy up to 90%.      

Effectiveness of revascularization of the ulcerated foot in diabetic patients with peripheral artery disease for one year follow-up

Background

Diabetes is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis. The diabetic foot is characterized by the presence of arteriopathy and neuropathy. When ischemia is diagnosed, restoration of pulsatile blood flow by revascularization may be considered for salvaging the limb. The treatment options are angioplasty with or without stenting and surgical bypass or hybrid procedures combining the two.

Aims

To evaluate the outcomes of severe ischemic diabetic foot ulcers for which percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was considered as the first-line vascular procedure. Factors associated with successful PTA were also evaluated.

Methods

In 80 consecutive diabetic patients with foot ulcers and severe limb ischemia, PTAwas performed if feasible. All patients were followed until healing or for one year. Clinical and angiographic factors in fluencing outcomes after PTA were sought by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results

PTAwas done in 73 of the 80 (91.2%) patients, and considered clinically succe ssful in 58(79.9%). Successful PTA was significantly higher in patients with Superficial femoral artery, posterior Tibialis and dorsalis pedis arteries involvement in the univariate analysis. Seven patients were expired during the study follow up due to MI, pulmonary thromboembolism and GI bleeding.

Conclusion

PTA in diabetic patients with severe ischemic foot ulcers provided favorable. Some parameters could be used for predicting PTA successfulness.