Rice blast disease is one of the most destructive rice diseases worldwide. The pi21 gene confers partial and durable resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae. However, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms of resistance mediated by the loss-of-function of Pi21. In this study, comparative transcriptome profiling of the Pi21-RNAi transgenic rice line and Nipponbare with M. oryzae infection at different time points (0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hpi) were investigated using RNA sequencing. The results generated 43,222 unique genes mapped to the rice genome. In total, 1109 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the Pi21-RNAi line and Nipponbare with M. oryzae infection, with 103, 281, 209, 69, and 678 DEGs at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hpi, respectively. Functional analysis showed that most of the DEGs were involved in metabolism, transport, signaling, and defense. Among the genes assigned to plant—pathogen interaction, we identified 43 receptor kinase genes associated with pathogen-associated molecular pattern recognition and calcium ion influx. The expression levels of brassinolide-insensitive 1, flagellin sensitive 2, and elongation factor Tu receptor, ethylene (ET) biosynthesis and signaling genes, were higher in the Pi21-RNAi line than Nipponbare. This suggested that there was a more robust PTI response in Pi21-RNAi plants and that ET signaling was important to rice blast resistance. We also identified 53 transcription factor genes, including WRKY, NAC, DOF, and ERF families that show differential expression between the two genotypes. This study highlights possible candidate genes that may serve a function in the partial rice blast resistance mediated by the loss-of-function of Pi21 and increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in partial resistance against M. oryzae.

This paper describes a quantum programming environment, named Q SI⟩ a . It is a platform embedded in the .Net language that supports quantum programming using a quantum extension of the while-language. The framework of the platform includes a compiler of the quantum while-language and a suite of tools for simulating quantum computation, optimizing quantum circuits, and analyzing and verifying quantum programs. Throughout the paper, using Q SI⟩ to simulate quantum behaviors on classical platforms with a combination of components is demonstrated. The scalable framework allows the user to program customized functions on the platform. The compiler works as the core of Q SI⟩ bridging the gap from quantum hardware to quantum software. The built-in decomposition algorithms enable the universal quantum computation on the present quantum hardware.

Colitis-associated cancer (CAC), one form of colorectal cancer (CRC),is an increasing concern worldwide. Both diagnosis and current therapy are challenging and bottlenecked. The aim of this study is to investigate novel mechanisms by which the therapeutic C. butyricum regulates colitis-induced oncogenesis. Mouse models of CAC were established with 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)and azoxymethane (AOM), following by biochemical, clinical and histological analysis. The integrity of epitheliumwas examined by electron microscopy (EM). The epithelial barrier function was evaluated with Ussing chamber. Real time PCR and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed to characterize the effect of C. butyricum on miR-200c; cell proliferation assays (MTT) were performed to study the role ofC. butyricum on epithelial cell proliferation mediated by miR-200c inhibitor; finally, we quantified the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and interleukin (IL)-12 by real time PCR. C. butyricum ameliorates clinical, histological and biochemical manifestations in colitis-induced CAC models. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that C. Butyricum could lengthen epithelial microvillus and increase TER by decreasing the transepithelial permeability. We also showed that C. butyricum facilitates the expression of miR-200c, by which increase the proliferation rate. Finally, we found that C. butyricum can regulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-12 through miR-200c. C. butyricum may regulate epithelial barrier function through miR-200c, then to be involved in the process of inflammation-associated cancers.

The modified SCC was effective and feasible for early detection of BA, especially for patients with no apparent jaundice.

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A sandwich vertebra is formed after multiple osteoporotic vertebral fractures treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty, which has a risk of developing new fractures. The purpose of our study was to (i) investigate the occurrence of new fractures in sandwich vertebra after cement augmentation procedures and to (ii) evaluate the clinical outcomes after prophylactic vertebral reinforcement applied with resorbable bone cement.From June 2011 to 2014, we analysed 55 patients with at least one sandwich vertebrae and treated with percutaneous vertebroplasty. Eighteen patients were treated by prophylactic vertebroplasty with a resorbable bone cement to strengthen the sandwich vertebrae as the prevention group. The others were the non-prevention group. All patients were examined by spinal radiographs within 1 day, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months and thereafter.The incidence of sandwich vertebra is 8.25% (55/667) in our study. Most sandwich vertebrae (69.01%, 49/71) are distributed in the thoracic–lumbar junction. There are 24 sandwich vertebrae (18 patients) and 47 sandwich vertebrae (37 patients) in either prevention group or non-prevention group, respectively. No significant difference is found between age, sex, body mass index, bone mineral density, cement disk leakage, sandwich vertebrae distribution or Cobb angle in the two groups. In the follow-up, 8 out of 37 (21.6%) patients (with eight sandwich vertebrae) developed new fractures in non-prevention’ group, whereas no new fractures were detected in the prevention group. Neither Cobb angle nor vertebral compression rate showed significant change in the prevention group during the follow-up. However, in the non-prevention group, we found that Cobb angle increased and vertebral height lost significantly (P < 0.05).Prophylactic vertebroplasty procedure applied with resorbable bone cement could decrease the rate of new fractures of sandwich vertebrae.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) has been shown to release spinal pain and stabilize the vertebral body. PVP is suggested as an alternative treatment in spinal metastasis. Although cervical metastases is less prevalent than thoracic and lumbar spine, PVP procedure in cervical vertebrae remains technical challenging. We retrospectively analyzed the data from patients (n = 9) who underwent PVP using anterolateral approach to treat severe neck pain and restricted cervical mobility from metastatic disease. Patients were rated using modified Tokuhashi score and Tomita score before the procedure. Visual analog scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDI), analgesic use, and imaging (X-ray or CT) were evaluated before PVP and 3 days, 3 months, and 6 months after PVP. All patients were in late stage of cancer evaluated using modified Tokuhashi and Tomita score. The cement leakage rate was 63.6% (14 of the 22 vertebrae) with no severe complications. VAS, NDI, and analgesic use were significantly decreased 3 days after the procedure and remained at low level until 6 months of follow-up. Our result suggested PVP effectively released the pain from patients with cervical metastasis. The results warrant further clinical investigation.

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