Immunity and senescence play a crucial role in the functioning of the legume symbiotic nodules. The miss-regulation of one of these processes compromises the symbiosis leading to death of the endosymbiont and the arrest of the nodule functioning. The relationship between immunity and senescence has been extensively studied in plant organs where a synergistic response can be observed. However, the interplay between immunity and senescence in the symbiotic organ is poorly discussed in the literature and these phenomena are often mixed up. Recent studies revealed that the cooperation between immunity and senescence is not always observed in the nodule, suggesting complex interactions between these two processes within the symbiotic organ. Here, we discuss recent results on the interplay between immunity and senescence in the nodule and the specificities of this relationship during legume-rhizobium symbiosis.

The precise and effective isolation of living circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from peripheral blood, followed by their real-time monitoring, is crucial for diagnosing cancer patients. In this study, a cell-imprinted double-network (DN) hydrogel modified with circular multi-DNA (CMD), coined the CMD-imprinted hydrogel with fixed cells as templates (CMD-CIDH), was developed. The hydrogel featured a customized surface for proficient capture of viable CTCs and in situ real-time fluorescent detection without subsequent release. The customized surface, constructed using polyacrylamide/chitosan DN hydrogel as the matrix on the cell template, had a dense network structure, thereby ensuring excellent stability and a low degradation rate. Optimal capture efficiencies, recorded at 93 ± 3% for MCF-7 cells and 90 ± 2% for Hela cells, were achieved by grafting the CMD and adjusting the nodule size on the customized surface. The capture efficiency remained significantly high at 67 ± 11% in simulated breast cancer patient experiments even at a minimal concentration of 5 cells mL-1. Furthermore, CMD grafted onto the surface produced a potent fluorescence signature, enabling in situ real-time fluorescent detection of the target cell\'s growth state even in complex environments. The customized surface is highly efficient for screening CTCs in peripheral blood and has promising potential for setting up the CTCs culture.

Three bacterial strains, 1AS11T, 1AS12 and 1AS13, members of the new symbiovar salignae and isolated from root nodules of Acacia saligna grown in Tunisia, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. All three strains were assigned to the Rhizobium leguminosarum complex on the basis of rrs gene analysis. Phylogenetic analysis based on 1734 nucleotides of four concatenated housekeeping genes (recA, atpD, glnII and gyrB) showed that the three strains were distinct from known rhizobia species of the R. leguminosarum complex and clustered as a separate clade within this complex. Phylogenomic analysis of 92 up-to-date bacterial core genes confirmed the unique clade. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization and blast-based average nucleotide identity values for the three strains and phylogenetically related Rhizobium species ranged from 35.9 to 60.0% and 87.16 to 94.58 %, which were lower than the 70 and 96% species delineation thresholds, respectively. The G+C contents of the strains were 60.82-60.92 mol% and the major fatty acids (>4 %) were summed feature 8 (57.81 %; C18 : 1 ω7c) and C18 : 1 ω7c 11-methyl (13.24%). Strains 1AS11T, 1AS12 and 1AS13 could also be differentiated from their closest described species (Rhizobium indicum, Rhizobium laguerreae and Rhizobium changzhiense) by phenotypic and physiological properties as well as fatty acid content. Based on the phylogenetic, genomic, physiological, genotypic and chemotaxonomic data presented in this study, strains 1AS11T, 1AS12 and 1AS13 represent a new species within the genus Rhizobium and we propose the name Rhizobium acaciae sp. nov. The type strain is 1AS11T (=DSM 113913T=ACCC 62388T).

Drought, bringing the risks of agricultural production losses, is becoming a globally environmental stress. Previous results suggested that legumes with nodules exhibited superior drought tolerance compared with the non-nodule group. To investigate the molecular mechanism of rhizobium symbiosis impacting drought tolerance, transcriptome and sRNAome sequencing were performed to identify the potential mRNA-miRNA-ncRNA dynamic network. Our results revealed that seedlings with active nodules exhibited enhanced drought tolerance by reserving energy, synthesizing N-glycans, and medicating systemic acquired resistance due to the early effects of symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) triggered in contrast to the drought susceptible with inactive nodules. The improved drought tolerance might be involved in the decreased expression levels of miRNA such as mtr_miR169l-5p, mtr_miR398b, and mtr_miR398c and its target genes in seedlings with active nodules. Based on the negative expression pattern between miRNA and its target genes, we constructed an mRNA-miR169l-ncRNA ceRNA network. During severe drought stress, the lncRNA alternative splicings TCONS_00049507 and TCONS_00049510 competitively interacted with mtr_miR169l-5p, which upregulated the expression of NUCLEAR FACTOR-Y (NF-Y) transcription factor subfamily NF-YA genes MtNF-YA2 and MtNF-YA3 to regulate their downstream drought-response genes. Our results emphasized the importance of SNF plants affecting drought tolerance. In conclusion, our work provides insight into ceRNA involvement in rhizobium symbiosis contributing to drought tolerance and provides molecular evidence for future study.

Endemic cretinism is the most severe manifestation among the iodine deficiency-related disorders. The clinical status of the cretins may be modified subsequently by the duration and severity of the disease. We aimed to reassess the clinical status and thyroid function of 31 surviving \"neurological cretins\" after 42 years of iodine supplementation in a historically severely iodine deficiency area of China.
It was a cross-sectional study in design and we investigated all 31 surviving neurological cretins and 85 controls. A detailed neurological examination was conducted on each patients. All the participants were given a questionnaire and underwent B-mode ultrasonography of the thyroid. The serum levels of thyroid hormones, thyroid antibodies, serum iodine concentration (SIC) and urine iodine concentration (UIC) were measured.
The neurological cretins had shorter stature than that of the control. Neurological damage is still present in patients with cretinism. The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and thyroid nodule in the cretins was significantly higher (χ2 =4.766, P=0.029 and χ2 =17.077, P<0.0001, respectively) compared with the control. After adjusting for confounding factors, endemic neurocretinism was found to be an independent risk factor for subclinical hypothyroidism (OR=4.412; 95% CI: 1.358-14.334; P=0.014) and thyroid nodule (OR=6.433; 95% CI: 2.323-17.816; P<0.0001).
Iodine supplementation after birth does not reverse the neurological damage that results from maternal/foetal hypothyroidism in utero and is subsequently manifested as neurological cretinism. There is a cross-sectional association between endemic neurocretinism and subclinical hypothyroidism and thyroid nodule.

Aeschynomene indica has a distinctive symbiosis with Bradyrhizobium in which nodulation is Nod factor-independent. In this study, we characterised three Gram-negative and rod-shaped strains (83002T, 81013 and 83012) isolated from root nodules of Aeschynomene indica in Shandong Peninsula. The major cellular fatty acids of isolates were C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 ω7c 11-methyl, summed feature 3 and summed feature 8. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), aminolipids (AL) and phosphatidylcholine (PC). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA locus showed that they belonged to the Bradyrhizobium genus, and shared the highest similarity to the type strains Bradyrhizobium oligotrophicum S58T and Bradyrhizobium denitrificans LMG 8443T. As expected, analysis of concatenated sequences of six housekeeping genes (atpD, recA, glnII, dnaK, gyrB, and rpoB) and nifH gene proposed that these three strains formed a distinct clade within the genus Bradyrhizobium. The highest average nucleotide identity and DNA-DNA hybridization values of the three strains in comparison to the closest Bradyrhizobium species were 87.5% and 65.3%, respectively, which are far below the threshold of species delineation, and thus confirmed the three strains as a new species. The genome size of strain 83002T is 7.52 Mbp, and the DNA G+C content is 65.42 mol%. Strain 83002T (=KCTC 82266T=MCCC 1K04775T) was chosen as the type strain of the new species, for which the name Bradyrhizobium aeschynomenes sp. nov. was proposed.

BACKGROUND: Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is an important nitrogen source for legume plants, and highly efficient nitrogen fixation requires sufficient phosphorus (P). However, the mechanism of maintaining nitrogen fixation of the legume nodules under low P concentration remains largely unknown.
RESULTS: A nodule-localized SPX protein, GmSPX8, was discovered by transcriptome and functional analysis of its role in N2 fixation was characterized in soybean nodules. GmSPX8 was preferentially expressed in nodules and its expression was gradually increased during nodule development. And also the expression pattern was investigated using reporter gene β-glucuronidase (GUS) driven by the promoter of GmSPX8. GmSPX8 was greatly induced and the GUS activity was increased by 12.2% under P deficiency. Overexpression of GmSPX8 in transgenic plants resulted in increased nodule number, nodule fresh weight and nitrogenase activity by 15.0%, 16.0%, 42.5%, subsequently leading to increased N and P content by 17.0% and 19.0%, while suppression of GmSPX8 showed significantly impaired nodule development and nitrogen fixation efficiency under low P stress. These data indicated that GmSPX8 conferred nodule development and nitrogen fixation under low P condition. By yeast two-hybrid screening, GmPTF1 was identified as a potential interacting protein of GmSPX8, which was further confirmed by BiFC, Y2H and pull down assay. Transcript accumulation of GmPTF1 and its downstream genes such as GmEXLB1 and EXPB2 were increased in GmSPX8 overexpressed transgenic nodules, and in the presence of GmSPX8, the transcriptional activity of GmPTF1 in yeast cells and tobacco leaves was greatly enhanced.
CONCLUSIONS: In summary, these findings contribute novel insights towards the role of GmSPX8 in nodule development and nitrogen fixation partly through interacting with GmPTF1 in soybean under low P condition.

Phosphorus (P) deficiency adversely affects nodule development as reflected by reduced nodule fresh weight in legume plants. Though mechanisms underlying nodule adaptation to P deficiency have been studied extensively, it remains largely unknown which regulator mediates nodule adaptation to P deficiency. In this study, GUS staining and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis reveal that the SPX member GmSPX5 is preferentially expressed in soybean (Glycine max) nodules. Overexpression of GmSPX5 enhanced soybean nodule development particularly under phosphate (Pi) sufficient conditions. However, the Pi concentration was not affected in soybean tissues (i.e., leaves, roots, and nodules) of GmSPX5 overexpression or suppression lines, which distinguished it from other well-known SPX members functioning in control of Pi homeostasis in plants. Furthermore, GmSPX5 was observed to interact with the transcription factor GmNF-YC4 in vivo and in vitro. Overexpression of either GmSPX5 or GmNF-YC4 significantly upregulated the expression levels of five asparagine synthetase-related genes (i.e., GmASL2-6) in soybean nodules. Meanwhile, yeast one-hybrid and luciferase activity assays strongly suggested that interactions of GmSPX5 and GmNF-YC4 activate GmASL6 expression through enhancing GmNF-YC4 binding of the GmASL6 promoter. These results not only demonstrate the GmSPX5-GmNF-YC4-GmASL6 regulatory pathway mediating soybean nodule development, but also considerably improve our understanding of SPX functions in legume crops.

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare malignancy with high predilection to involve surrounding structures such as pulmonary metastases. We analysed the chest computed tomography (CT) imaging features of patients diagnosed with primary cardiac angiosarcoma with pulmonary metastases in this study.
This study retrospectively reviewed 12 patients with confirmed primary cardiac angiosarcoma, out of which eight (all men) with pulmonary metastasis were included in the analysis. The patients\' age ranged from 17 to 74 (mean: 48) years. CT was performed in all patients with unenhanced, contrast-enhanced, and both scans were done in 1, 3 and 4 patients, respectively.
Nodular lesions were observed in 7 patients with multiple solid nodules observed in 6 out of 7 patients. A solitary solid nodule was found in the remaining patient in the upper lobe and apical segment of the right lung with a diameter of 11.7 mm. All solid nodules were distributed along with bronchovascular bundles in the lungs, and their maximum diameter ranged from 2.3 to 19.9 mm. Nodules larger than 10 mm in diameter were heterogeneously enhanced on contrast-enhanced CT images (5/8 patients), whereas those smaller than 10 mm were homogeneously enhanced (3/8 patients). Other imaging features, namely the tree-in-bud pattern, emphysema, pleural effusion, and mediastinal lymph node enlargement, were observed in 4, 3, 3, and 2 patients, respectively.
CT enhancement features of pulmonary metastasis in patients with primary cardiac angiosarcoma depend on the size of pulmonary nodules, with larger ones being heterogeneous and smaller ones homogeneous. Other signs are less noticed.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have systematically developed predictive models for clinical evaluation of the malignancy risk of solid breast nodules. We performed a retrospective review of female patients who underwent breast surgery or puncture, aiming to establish a predictive model for evaluating the clinical malignancy risk of solid breast nodules.
METHODS: Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent variables and establish a predictive model based on a model group (207 nodules). The regression model was further validated using a validation group (112 nodules).
RESULTS: We identified six independent risk factors (X3, boundary; X4, margin; X6, resistive index; X7, S/L ratio; X9, increase of maximum sectional area; and X14, microcalcification) using multivariate analysis. The combined predictive formula for our model was: Z=-5.937 + 1.435X3 + 1.820X4 + 1.760X6 + 2.312X7 + 3.018X9 + 2.494X14. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, missed diagnosis rate, misdiagnosis rate, negative likelihood ratio, and positive likelihood ratio of the model were 88.39%, 90.00%, 87.80%, 10.00%, 12.20%, 7.38, and 0.11, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: This predictive model is simple, practical, and effective for evaluation of the malignancy risk of solid breast nodules in clinical settings.