The phytohormone salicylic acid (SA) not only is a well-known signal molecule mediating plant immunity, but also is involved in plant growth regulation. However, while its role in plant immunity has been well elucidated, its action on plant growth has not been clearly described to date. Recently, increasing evidence has shown that SA plays crucial roles in regulating cell division and cell expansion, the key processes that determines the final stature of plant. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the action and molecular mechanisms through which SA regulates plant growth via multiple pathways. It is here highlighted that SA mediates growth regulation by affecting cell division and expansion. In addition, the interactions of SA with other hormones and their role in plant growth determination were also discussed. Further understanding of the mechanism underlying SA-mediated growth will be instrumental for future crop improvement.

Background Inflammation is an established risk factor for atherosclerosis. In an inflammatory state, nuclear factor‐κ B (NF‐κB) is frequently activated as a key transcription activator for the downstream responses. Hypothesis The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of NF‐κB in the aorta of patients with coronary atherosclerosis and its association with atherosclerotic risk factors. Methods From 2004 to 2005, we collected a small piece of ascending aorta in the bypass procedure from patients (n = 31) undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The expression of NF‐κB was determined by immunohistochemistry, and its transcriptional activity was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Celiac aortic tissues from 4 subjects without known atherosclerosis through the kidney donation program were taken as control. Results NF‐κB was detectable in aortas from CABG patients with the transcriptional activities significantly increased. The relative level of aortic NF‐κB expression was elevated in patients who were smokers or with hypertension. Spearman correlation revealed that aortic NF‐κB expression had significant correlation with coronary severity scores (Gensini score, r = 0.608, P < .05). The NF‐κB expression was positively correlated with the levels of blood glucose, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), total cholesterol, and non‐high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < .05); but negatively correlated with high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < .05). Conclusions Our study demonstrates a highly activated NF‐κB in aortas from patients with coronary atherosclerosis, which may reflect overall arterial overinflammatory status. The findings of hyperactive NF‐κB in aortas may provide a diagnostic parameter for the inflammation that is associated with and may cause atherosclerosis. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The baseline International Prognostic Index (IPI) is not sufficient for the initial risk stratification of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with R‐CHOP (rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone). The aims of this study were to evaluate the prognostic relevance of early risk stratification in DLBCL and develop a new stratification system that combines an interim evaluation and IPI. This multicenter retrospective study enrolled 314 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients with baseline and interim evaluations. All patients were treated with R-CHOP or R-CHOP-like regimens as the first-line therapy. Survival differences were evaluated for different risk stratification systems including the IPI, interim evaluation, and the combined system. When stratified by IPI, the high-intermediate and high-risk groups presented overlapping survival curves with no significant differences, and the high-risk group still had &gt;50% of 3-year overall survival (OS). The interim evaluation can also stratify patients into three groups, as 3-year OS and progression-free survival (PFS) rates in patients with stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) were not significantly different. The SD and PD patients had significantly lower 3-year OS and PFS rates than complete remission and partial response patients, but the percentage of these patients was only ~10%. The IPI and interim evaluation combined risk stratification system separated the patients into low-, intermediate-, high-, and very high-risk groups. The 3-year OS rates were 96.4%, 86.7%, 46.4%, and 40%, while the 3-year PFS rates were 87.1%, 71.5%, 42.5%, and 7.2%. The OS comparison between the high-risk group and very high-risk group was marginally significant, and OS and PFS comparisons between any other two groups were significantly different. This combined risk stratification system could be a useful tool for the prognostic prediction of DLBCL patients.