Increasing plant density is one of the most efficient ways of increasing wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain production. However, overly dense plant populations have an increased risk of lodging. We examined lignin deposition during wheat stem development and the regulatory effects of plant density using the wheat cultivars shannong23 and weimai8. Plants were cultivated at densities of 75, 225 and 375 plants per m2 during two growing seasons. Our results showed that decreasing plant density enhanced culm quality, as revealed by increased culm diameter, wall thickness and dry weight per unit length, and improved the structure of sclerenchyma and vascular bundles by increasing lignification. In addition, more lignins were deposited in the secondary cell walls, resulting in strong lodging resistance. The guaiacyl unit was the major component of lignin and there was a higher content of the syringyl unit than that of the hydroxybenzyl unit. Furthermore, we hypothesised that the syringyl unit may correlate with stem stiffness. We describe here, to the best of our knowledge, the systematic study of the mechanism involved in the regulation of stem breaking strength by plant density, particularly the effect of plant density on lignin biosynthesis and its relationship with lodging resistance in wheat.

To what extent could alcohol consumption affects female fertility is still unclear. The aim of this study was to quantitatively summarize the dose-response relation between total and specific types of alcohol beverage (beer, wine, and spirits) consumption in female and the fecundability. Four electronic databases were searched. Observational studies (cohort and case-control) that provided female alcohol consumption and fecundity were eligible. Nineteen studies, involving 98657 women, were included in this study. Compared to non-drinkers, the combined estimate (with relative risk, RR) of alcohol consumers on fecundability was 0.87 (95% CI 0.78–0.95) for overall 19 studies. Compared to non-drinkers, the pooled estimates were 0.89 (95% CI 0.82–0.97) for light drinkers (≤12.5 g/day of ethanol) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.61–0.94) for moderate-heavy drinkers (>12.5 g/day of ethanol). Moreover, compared to non-drinkers, the corresponding estimates on fecundability were 0.98 (95% CI 0.85–1.11), 1.02 (95% CI 0.99–1.05), and 0.92 (95% CI 0.83–1.01) for studies focused on wine, beer and spirits, respectively. Dose-response meta-analysis suggested a linear association between decreased fecundability and every 12.5 g/d increasing in alcohol consumption with a RR 0.98 (95% CI 0.97–0.99). This first systematic review and meta-analysis suggested that female alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced fecundability.

The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for avascular necrosis (AVN) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid, and Science Direct) were searched for. The search was performed to identify the articles as to SLE with AVN before September 2013. The clinical and laboratory data were extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for AVN in patients with SLE. Publication bias was assessed with funnel plot and Egger's test. A total of 995 papers were found from the four databases; 16 studies were finally included. Pooled analysis showed the following result. The result showed that arthritis (odds ratio (OR)=2.448, 95 % confidence interval (CI)=1.617-3.707), cushingoid (OR=3.890, 95 % CI=1.591-9.510), gastrointestinal involvement (OR=2.054, 95 % CI=1.283-3.290), hypertension (OR=1.482, 95 % CI=1.093-2.008), oral ulcers (OR=1.877, 95 % CI=1.182-2.979), pleuritis (OR=2.302, 95 % CI=1.325-4.001), renal disease (OR=1.475, 95 % CI=1.124-1.936), and vasculitis (OR=2.591, 95 % CI=1.358-4.944) were relevant with AVN in SLE patients. Cytotoxic drug (OR=1.834, 95 % CI=1.065-3.156, P=0.029), the total cumulative dose (Standard Mean Difference (SMD) = 1.104, 95 % CI = 0.118-2.090, P = 0.028), maximum daily dose (SMD = 0.484, 95 % CI = 0.288-0.678, P < 0.001), and mean daily dose (SMD=1.305, 95 % CI=0.061-2.549, P=0.040) were significantly higher in AVN group. There were no significantly laboratory features that appeared in this pooled analysis. We conclude that arthritic, cushingoid, gastrointestinal involvement, hypertension, oral ulcers, pleuritis, renal disease, vasculitis, cytotoxic drug, and steroid treatment may contribute to AVN in SLE patients.

The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of eligible studies to derive precise estimation of the association of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a polymorphisms with Behcet's disease (BD). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association. A total of 4003 cases and 4748 controls in 19 eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. We examined the relationship between seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the above-mentioned three cytokine genes and susceptibility to BD. Meta-analysis indicated the association between the cytokine gene polymorphisms in all study subjects in the allelic model (TNF-a -308A/G: OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.61-0.88, P = 0.001; IL-10 -819C/T: OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.66-0.78, P < 0.001; IL-10 -592C/A: OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.64-0.86, P < 0.001); the dominant model (TNF-a -308A/G: OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.64-0.92, P = 0.004; IL-10 -1082G/A: OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.10-2.44, P = 0.014); the recessive model (TNF-a -308A/G: OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.12-0.65, P = 0.003; IL-10 -819C/T: OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.57-0.90, P = 0.004). However, no significant evidence for the associations of IL-1a -889C/T, IL-1b -551C/T, IL-1b -3962C/T polymorphisms with BD susceptibility was detected. The present study might suggest that TNF-a -308A/G, IL-10 -1082G/A, -819C/T, -592C/A polymorphisms are associated with BD susceptibility.

Taken together, our study suggested that the CT60 polymorphism (rs3087243) in CTLA-4 gene might confer susceptibility to the AITDs (GD/HT).