Chromosome-level genome assemblies for two quinoa inbred lines from northern and southern highlands of Altiplano where quinoa originated.

Quinoa is emerging as a key seed crop for global food security due to its ability to grow in marginal environments and its excellent nutritional properties. Because quinoa is partially allogamous, we have developed quinoa inbred lines necessary for molecular genetic analysis. Our comprehensive genomic analysis showed that the quinoa inbred lines fall into three genetic subpopulations: northern highland, southern highland, and lowland.

Phosphate starvation response precedes abscisic acid response under progressive mild drought in plants.

Drought severely damages crop production, even under conditions so mild that the leaves show no signs of wilting. However, it is unclear how field-grown plants respond to mild drought. Here, we show through six years of field trials that ridges are a useful experimental tool to mimic mild drought stress in the field.

Genome sequencing reveals the genetic architecture of heterostyly and domestication history of common buckwheat.

Common buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum, is an orphan crop domesticated in southwest China that exhibits heterostylous self-incompatibility. Here we present chromosome-scale assemblies of a self-compatible F. esculentum accession and a self-compatible wild relative, Fagopyrum homotropicum, together with the resequencing of 104 wild and cultivated F.

Association between intrarenal venous flow from Doppler ultrasonography and acute kidney injury in patients with sepsis in critical care: a prospective, exploratory observational study.

Background: Intrarenal venous flow (IRVF) patterns assessed using Doppler renal ultrasonography are real-time bedside visualizations of renal vein hemodynamics. Although this technique has the potential to detect renal congestion during sepsis resuscitation, there have been few studies on this method. We aimed to examine the relationship between IRVF patterns, clinical parameters, and outcomes in critically ill adult patients with sepsis.

Virus-Mediated Transient Expression Techniques Enable Functional Genomics Studies and Modulations of Betalain Biosynthesis and Plant Height in Quinoa.

Quinoa (), native to the Andean region of South America, has been recognized as a potentially important crop in terms of global food and nutrition security since it can thrive in harsh environments and has an excellent nutritional profile. Even though challenges of analyzing the complex and heterogeneous allotetraploid genome of quinoa have recently been overcome, with the whole genome-sequencing of quinoa and the creation of genotyped inbred lines, the lack of technology to analyze gene function is a major limiting factor in quinoa research. Here, we demonstrate that two virus-mediated transient expression techniques, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and virus-mediated overexpression (VOX), can be used in quinoa.

Association of intranasal desmopressin therapy with overcorrection of severe hyponatremia: A retrospective, propensity score-based, single-center cohort study.

Purpose: Severe hyponatremia, defined as serum sodium concentration ([sNa]) ≤ 120 mEq/L, requires aggressive treatment to prevent potentially fatal cerebral edema, seizures, and other sequelae, but overcorrection can also result in life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage and demyelination. We compared the safety and efficacy of nasal desmopressin to conventional management for the prevention of [sNa] overcorrection.

Material And Methods: This retrospective analysis compared 47 patients treated with desmopressin to 17 patients treated conventionally at a university hospital ICU in Japan between 2013 and 2018 using propensity score-based approaches.

Occurrence and incidence rate of peripheral intravascular catheter-related phlebitis and complications in critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study (AMOR-VENUS study).

Background: The lack of precise information on the epidemiology of peripheral intravascular catheter (PIVC)-related phlebitis and complications in critically ill patients results in the absence of appropriate preventive measures. Therefore, we aimed to describe the epidemiology of the use of PIVCs and the incidence/occurrence of phlebitis and complications in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in 23 ICUs in Japan.

Two novel quantitative trait loci affecting the variation in leaf photosynthetic capacity among soybeans.

There is a large variation in CO assimilation rate per unit of leaf area (A) within or among crop species, which can be exploited to improve A by elucidating the mechanisms underlying such variation. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the genetic factors affecting the variation in leaf photosynthetic capacity among soybeans. Here, we conducted field experiments over three years, using Enrei, a leading variety in Japan, Peking, a landrace from China and the chromosome segment substitution lines derived from their progenies.

Mapping versatile QTL for soybean downy mildew resistance.

Three versatile QTL for soybean downy mildew resistance in Japan were detected using five RIL populations and confirmed using recombinant fixed pairs or a backcrossed line. Downy mildew reduces soybean seed quality and size. It is a problem in Japan, where 90% of soybean grown is used as food.

Identification and dissection of single seed weight QTLs by analysis of seed yield components in soybean.

Single seed weight (SSW), or seed size, is a seed yield components (SYC) in soybean, and it is suggested that the genetic factors regulating SSW are involved in the control of other SYCs. The quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for SSW and their effects on the other SYCs were investigated using a recombinant inbred line population derived from typical small- and large-seeded cultivars that were cultivated in two different environments. QTL analysis detected four environmentally stable QTLs for SSW, two of which coincided with the defined loci, and .

[A case of vitamin B12 deficiency with involuntary movements and bilateral basal ganglia lesions].

An 86-year-old woman with a one-year history of dementia was admitted to our hospital complaining of loss of appetite, hallucinations, and disturbance of consciousness. She gradually presented with chorea-like involuntary movements of the extremities. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed bilateral symmetrical hyperintense signals in the basal ganglia.

[Pulmonary Arterioplasty with Autologous Pericardial Patch for Lung Cancer].

Three patients underwent left upper lobectomy with arterioplasty of left pulmonary artery trunk for lung cancer. For pulmonary arterioplasty, wide wedge resection and patch plasty with autologous pericardium was performed. No in-hospital death or no postoperative complications due to arterioplasty was encountered.

Seed yield and its components of indeterminate and determinate lines in recombinant inbred lines of soybean.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the benefits of indeterminate growth habit in breeding to improve yield potential of Japanese soybean varieties, which exclusively have determinate growth habit. Two populations of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from crosses between determinate Japanese cultivars and indeterminate US cultivars were grown in Akita and Kyoto, and seed weight per plant (SW) and its components were compared between indeterminate and determinate RILs. The difference of SW between the two growth habits in RILs varied depending on maturation time.

A major and stable QTL associated with seed weight in soybean across multiple environments and genetic backgrounds.

We detected a QTL for single seed weight in soybean that was stable across multiple environments and genetic backgrounds with the use of two recombinant inbred line populations. Single seed weight (SSW) in soybean is a key determinant of both seed yield and the quality of soy food products, and it exhibits wide variation. SSW is under genetic control, but the molecular mechanisms of such control remain unclear.

[Reduction of angialgia during peripheral administration of oxaliplatin mixed with dexamethasone].

Seven patients who had been receiving capecitabine+oxaliplatin±bevacizumab(CapeOX±BV)therapy at our hospital between February 2010 and March 2011, had complained of angialgia during oxaliplatin(L-OHP)administration. Therefore, 3. 3 mg of dexamethasone(DEX)was added to their infusion solution.

Polymorphisms in the lymphotoxin alpha gene and the risk of ischemic stroke in the Japanese population. The Fukuoka Stroke Registry and the Hisayama Study.

Background And Purpose: Lymphotoxin alpha (LTA), one of the tumor necrosis factor family proteins, is an important proinflammatory cytokine and appears to play a putative role in the inflammatory process of atherosclerosis. Recent genetic studies have suggested that variations in the gene encoding LTA, which affect its expression and biological function, may contribute to the development of vascular diseases. We conducted a case-control study to clarify the association of LTA gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke in a large Japanese population.

Stroke in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: a 22-year single-center study.

Background: Few studies have reported the detailed clinical features of stroke in patients with end-stage renal disease. We examined the frequency of the subtypes, mechanism, and outcome of stroke in patients receiving hemodialysis (HD).

Methods: We studied 151 consecutive patients who developed an acute stroke among the maintenance HD population in our kidney center during 22 years, divided into the initial 17-year (n = 61) and the more recent 5-year (n = 90) groups.

Transcranial color-coded sonography for vertebrobasilar disorders in end-stage renal disease.

Because vertebrobasilar arterial disorders seem to be common in patients with end-stage renal disease, a neuroradiological evaluation of vertebrobasilar circulation is necessary for patients with possible vertebrobasilar insufficiency. In three patients on maintenance hemodialysis, contrast-enhanced transcranial color-coded real-time sonography (TCCS) through a suboccipital window delineated occlusion of bilateral vertebral arteries with reversal of the basilar artery, reversal of the left vertebral artery mimicking left subclavian steal phenomenon, and dolichoectasia of the basilar artery and bilateral vertebral arteries with signals of turbulent flow. TCCS has several advantages over computed tomographic angiography and magnetic resonance angiography, including the direction of blood flow, handy performance even during hemodialysis, and contrast agent free from nephrotoxicity.

Free radical scavenger, edaravone, in stroke with internal carotid artery occlusion.

Background: Edaravone has potent free radical quenching and antioxidant actions. The agent has been recently in commercial use for acute ischemic stroke patients. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effect of edaravone on severe carotid-territorial stroke.

Incidence, etiology, and outcome of stroke in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Little information exists on clinical features of stroke in patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The goals of this study was to clarify features of stroke in CAPD patients, to determine factors to predict onset of stroke during chronic CAPD, and to determine whether CAPD had an advantage over hemodialysis (HD) for prevention of stroke.

Methods: We determined features of stroke in 12 patients (14 attacks including 7 parenchymal and 1 subarachnoid hemorrhage and 6 infarction) among 188 consecutive patients on CAPD, and compared them with those of 137 stroke patients among 1,681 consecutive patients on hemodialysis.

Hypertensive encephalopathy extending into the whole brainstem and deep structures.

In patients with hypertensive encephalopathy, brain edema is frequently distributed in the parieto-occipital white matter. We report a patient with high arterial blood pressure of over 300/160 mmHg on admission, who had extensive MRI-documented reversible lesions throughout the whole brain, including the brainstem, thalami, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Extraordinarily severe acceleration of hypertension may be essential for the breakdown of autoregulation in the deep structures, especially in the brainstem including medulla.

Bilateral deafness as a prodromal symptom of basilar artery occlusion.

Bilateral deafness is a rare but possible symptom for ischemia of the vertebrobasilar system, primarily derived from occlusion of anterior inferior cerebellar arteries or their branches. Patients 1 and 2 developed sudden bilateral deafness, soon followed by coma. The proximal segment of the basilar artery was occluded due to atherothrombosis in Patient 1 and arterial dissection in Patient 2.