Processed Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua attenuates postpartum depression in rat model by regulating monoamines and hormones.

Background: Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua is a traditional Chinese medicinal food herb which can regulate the liver and Qi, nourish the heart and blood, moisten the lungs and nourish the kidneys with the potential to treat emotional diseases. However, few studies have explored the effects of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua on postpartum depression. Therefore, we investigated whether processed Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua could improve postpartum depression in rat models by regulating monoamines and hormones. Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into normal control (0.9%Nacl), Sham operation (0.9%Nacl), postpartum depression model (0.9%Nacl), fluoxetine (2.5 mg/kg Fluoxetine), low, medium and high dose of processed Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua (2.5 g/kg, 5 g/kg, 10 g/kg) groups. Rats in these groups received drug intervention, and then subjected to Open-field test and Forced swimming test. Brain tissues and serum samples were collected and used to quantify levels of monoamines, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and serum Estradiol. The status of neuronal cells in hippocampus 1 region was examined through hematoxylin-eosin staining, whereas expression of estrogen receptor α and ß was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Rats in the model group showed decreased mobility time, the disorder of neuronal cells in hippocampus 1 area, and decreased concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine in brain tissue, norepinephrine and estradiol in serum as well as estrogen receptor α and ß expression. They also exhibited increased adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone and corticotropin releasing hormone in serum. However, the treatment with processed Polygonatum cyrtonem Hua or fluoxetine reversed the above abnormalities. Conclusion: The H group showed significant improvement in postpartum depression in rats, and processed Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua can be used as a developing drug for the prevention or treatment of depression.

Detection of Cytb Point Mutation (G143A) that Confers High-Level Resistance to Pyraclostrobin in Glomerella cingulata Using LAMP Method.

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) caused by Glomerella cingulata is a newly emerging disease that results in severe defoliation and fruit spots in apples. In China, the compound of pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole was registered to control GLS in 2018 and has achieved excellent control efficiency. In this study, we showed that the high-level resistant isolates of G. cingulata to pyraclostrobin, caused by the point mutation at codon 143 (GGT→GCT, G143A) in the cytochrome b gene, has appeared in apple orchards in Shandong Province in 2020, and the resistance frequency was 4.8%. Based on the genotype of the resistant isolates, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for detection of the pyraclostrobin resistance. The LAMP assay was demonstrated to have good specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability, and it exhibited high accuracy in detecting pyraclostrobin resistance in the field. This study reported the resistance status of GLS to pyraclostrobin in Shandong Province and developed a molecular tool for the detection of pyraclostrobin resistance, which is of practical significance for the scientific control of GLS.

[Effects of temperature on soil organic carbon mineralization rate and enzyme kinetic para-meters in temperate and subtropical forests.] / æ¸©åº¦å¯¹æ¸©å¸¦å’Œäºšçƒ­å¸¦æ£®æž—åœŸå£¤æœ‰æœºç¢³çŸ¿åŒ–é€ŸçŽ‡åŠé ¶åŠ¨åŠ›å­¦å‚æ•°çš„å½±å“.

We examined the effects of temperature on SOC mineralization rate (Cmin) and enzyme kinetic parameters in soils of two different latitudinal forests, i.e., broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain at higher latitude and evergreen broad-leaved forest in Dinghu Mountain at lower latitude. The results showed that the soil Cmin increased with temperature, and the Cmin and Q10(Cmin) of the Changbai Mountain forest soil were higher than those of the Dinghu Mountain forest soil. The maximal rates of velocity (Vmax) and the half-saturation constant (Km) of the Changbai Mountain forest soil were higher relative to the Dinghu Mountain soil for both soil ß-glucosidase (ßG) and N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), but being opposite for catalytic efficiency (Vmax/Km). Both Vmax and Vmax/Km of ßG and NAG increased with the increase of incubation temperature, while Km decreased, i.e., the affinity of enzymes to the substrate were increased. Inconsistent with the soil Q10 (Cmin), Q10(Vmax) and Q10(Km) of the soil ßG were higher in Dinghu Mountain forest soil than those in the Changbai Mountain forest soil. The mechanisms underlying the effects of temperate variation on Cmin and the enzyme kinetic parameters were different, and thus the temperature sensitivity of Cmin and enzyme kinetic parameters should be considered differentially in the models of soil biochemical process.

[Effect of agricultural application of municipal sewage sludge on plant-soil system: A review]. / 城市污泥农用对植物-土壤系统的影响.

Currently, reasonable disposal of municipal sewage sludge is one of the important issues in the field of resources and environmental science. Sludge is rich in large amounts of organic matter and available nutrients, promoting soil fertility, soil physical structure and biological properties. However, sludge contains a variety of heavy metals, organic contaminants and other hazardous substance, especially heavy metals, which are the bottlenecks of agricultural application of sludge. To improve the sewage sludge utilization efficiency and decrease the effect on soil, this essay made a summary on domestic and foreign studies on plant-soil interaction ecosystem with sewage sludge to provide a theoretical basis and scientific guidance for advancing sewage sludge utilization efficiency.

[Effects of different fertilizer species on carbon and nitrogen leaching in a reddish paddy soil].

Enhanced fertilization could decrease nitrogen utilization rate and increase carbon and nitrogen leaching, leading to water pollution in agricultural ecosystem. A long-term field experiment had been established on a reddish paddy soil of Qianyanzhou Ecological Experimental Station (114 degrees 53'E, 26 degrees 48'N) in Jiangxi Province in 1998. Soil solution samples were collected by clay tube and vacuum pump. Four fertilizer species treatments were selected: control with no fertilizer (CK), straw return (ST), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilizers (NPK) and pig manure (OM), aiming to evaluate the effects of different species of fertilizer on carbon and nitrogen leaching in a double rice cropping system. The results showed that: (1) ammonium nitrogen (NH4(+) -N) was the major type of N in soil leachate in reddish paddy soil. The application of NPK could significantly increase the ammonium nitrogen concentration (1.2 mg x L(-1) +/- 0.1 mg x L(-1)) compared with the CK, ST and OM treatments, and the application of OM could significantly increase the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration (27.3 mg x L(-1) +/- 1.6 mg x L(-1)) in soil leachate. The carbon and nitrogen leaching were more notable in the vegetative growth stage than the reproductive growth stage of rice (P < 0.05); (2) the long-term application of NPK and OM increased the NH4(+) -N, DOC, soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents. The NPK was best beneficial to improve TN contents and OM to improve SOC contents. (3) The DOC contents in soil leachate and SOC in paddy soil had a positive correlation (P < 0.01), while NH4(+) -N contents in soil leachate and TN contents in paddy soil had a positive correlation (P < 0.01).

Protective effect of autophagy inhibition on ischemia-reperfusion-induced injury of N2a cells.

Autophagy is a conserved and programmed catabolic process that degrades damaged proteins and organelles. But the underlying mechanism and functions of autophagy in the ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced injury are unknown. In this study, we employed simulated IR of N2a cells as an in vitro model of IR injury to the neurons and monitored autophagic processes. It was found that the levels of Beclin-1 (a key molecule of autophay complex, Beclin-1/class III PI3K) and LC-3II (an autophagy marker) were remarkably increased with time during the process of ischemia and the process of reperfusion after 90 min of ischemia, while the protein kinases p70S6K and mTOR which are involved in autophagy regulation showed delayed inactivation after reperfusion. Administration of 3-methyladenine (3MA), an inhibitor of class III PI3K, abolished autophagy during reperfusion, while employment of rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTORC1 (normally inducing autophagy), surprisingly weakened the induction of autophagy during reperfusion. Analyses of mitochondria function by relative cell viability demonstrated that autophagy inhibition by 3-MA attenuated the decline of mitochondria function during reperfusion. Our data demonstrated that there were two distinct dynamic patterns of autophagy during IR-induced N2a injury, Beclin-1/class III PI3K complex-dependent and mTORC1-dependent. Inhibition of over-autophagy improved cell survival. These suggest that targeting autophagy therapy will be a novel strategy to control IR-induced neuronal damage.

[Virulence genes and pathogenicity of Shigella flexneri Xv isolated in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the biochemical characteristics, virulence genes and pathogenicity of Shigella flexneri Xv isolated in Beijing. METHODS: 61 strains of S. flexneri Xv isolated from diarrhea patients in Beijing were systematically determined through biochemical reactions and serological tests. Application of PCR technique in detection of virulence genes on ipaH, sen, virF, ial and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to identify the related characteristics and on rat lung slices to determine its pathogenicity. RESULTS: All of the S. flexneri Xv could ferment glucose, mannitol, melibiose and arabinose. Using serum agglutination, we found that the antigen structure was (IV: 7, 8). IpaH, sen, virF and ial that carried rates of virulence genes appeared to be 100%, 81.97%, 75.41% and 80.30%, respectively. Among 61 strains of S. flexneri Xv, the PFGE typing of Shigella bacteria could be divided into 25 belt types while the results from rat lung slices showed inflammatory change of Xv. CONCLUSION: S. flexneri Xv was found that it carried high rate of Shigella virulence genes, exhibiting genetic polymorphism and highly invasive.

[Effect of UC-MSCs on inflammation and thrombosis of the rats with collagen type II induced arthritis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the immunoregulation effects of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) on the rats with collagen II induced arthritis (CIA). METHODS: The rats were first immunized by intradermal injection of chicken collagen type II emulsified with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) to monitor their swelling of foot, hair color and action state. After injected UC-MSC by caudal vein, the rats were scored with the arthritis index (AI) once a week. Then, the concentration of interleukin (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in serum and D-dimer (D-D), antithrombin-III (AT-III), thrombomodulin (TM) in plasma were detected by ELISA. RESULTS: Obvious swellings of the feet were found in the experiment group compared with normal one. ELISA analysis showed that the concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α, D-D and TM in plasma of the experiment group as of (200.48 ± 15.04) ng/L, (450.25 ± 45.39) ng/L, (274.26 ± 67.93) ng/L and (9.18 ± 0.84) µg/L, respectively were higher than of(167.62 ± 0.97) ng/L, (371.44 ± 21.26) ng/L, (193.95 ± 8.22) ng/L and (6.30 ± 0.32) µg/L respectively in normal group (P < 0.05), but the concentration of AT-III \[(89.57 ± 6.40) ng/L\] was lower than normal group \[(112.82 ± 1.74) ng/L\] (P < 0.05). The levels of cytokines through the UC-MSCs treatment were significantly different from the model group (P < 0.05). After 9 weeks, these cytokines in the UC-MSCs group were mostly the same as the normal group. CONCLUSION: The thrombophilia status of the CIA rats was caused by immune injury. The UC-MSCs reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines and regulated and repaired the balance of coagulation and anticoagulation system of the body to cure the immune-related thrombophilia.

[Effects of spent mushroom compost on greenhouse cabbage growth under soil salt stress].

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of spent mushroom compost (SMC) in alleviating greenhouse soil secondary salinization and cabbage salt stress. With the amendment of SMC, the salinized soil after 60 day cabbage cultivation had a pH value close to 7.0, its organic matter and available phosphorous contents increased significantly, and the increment of total water-soluble salt content reduced, compared with the control. When the amendment amount of SMC was 10 g x kg(-1), the increment of soil water soluble salt content was the least, suggesting that appropriate amendment with SMC could reduce the salt accumulation in greenhouse soil. Amendment with SMC increased the cabbage seed germination rate, plant height, plant fresh mass, chlorophyll SPAD value, and vitamin C content, and decreased the proline content significantly. All the results indicated that SMC could improve the growth environment of greenhouse cabbage, and effectively alleviate the detrimental effect of salt stress.

Effects of a new nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on nitrate and potassium leaching in two soils.

In this study, soil column was used to study the new nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on nitrate (NO3(-)-N) and potassium (K) leaching in the sandy loam soil and clay loam soil. The results showed that DMPP with ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN) ((NH4)2SO4 and NH4NO3) or urea could reduce NO3(-)-N leaching significantly, whereas ammonium (NH4(+)-N) leaching increased slightly. In case of total N (NO3(-)-N+NH4(+)-N), losses by leaching during the experimental period (40 d) were 37.93 mg (urea), 31.61 mg (urea+DMPP), 108.10 mg (ASN), 60.70 mg (ASN+DMPP) in the sandy loam soil, and 30.54 mg (urea), 21.05 mg (urea+DMPP), 37.86 mg (ASN), 31.09 mg (ASN+DMPP) in the clay loam soil, respectively. DMPP-amended soil led to the maintenance of relatively high levels of NH4(+)-N and low levels of NO3(-)-N in soil, and nitrification was slower. DMPP supplementation also resulted in less potassium leached, but the difference was not significant except the treatment of ASN and ASN+DMPP in the sandy loam soil. Above results indicate that DMPP is a good nitrification inhibitor, the efficiency of DMPP seems better in the sandy loam soil than in the clay loam soil and lasts longer.

[Effects of nitrogen supply on Parthenocissus tricuspidata seedling morphology and nitrogen allocation].

With hydroponic culture, this paper studied the effects of different nitrogen (N) supply levels (0, 0.15, 0.3, 0.45, 0.6, 0.75 g N x L(-1)) on the seedling morphology and N allocation of Parthenocissus tricuspidata. The results showed that lower N supply retarded the development of P. tricuspidata seedling's branch; while higher N supply had significant effects in promoting the seedling's early branching and lowering the branching position on the main stem. Supplying higher amount of N increased the plant biomass and the N concentration in root, leaf and stem significantly. Compared with stem and root, leaf had the highest biomass, accounting for 50% of the total biomass, and the highest N accumulation, accounting for 60%-70% of the total accumulated N.

Effects of bifenthrin on Daphnia magna during chronic toxicity test and the recovery test.

The acute and chronic toxic effects of bifenthrin on Daphnia magna were studied. The results showed that 24 h-EC50, 48 h-LC50 and 96 h-LC50 of bifenthrin on D. magna were 3.24, 12.40 and 1.40 microg/L respectively. And the LOEC and NOEC of bifenthrin were 0.02 and 0.004 microg/L respectively. The recovery test of bifenthrin on Daphnia magna was presented. Daphnia magna (F0 generation) were exposed during 21 d to different bifenthrin concentrations. Offspring (animals from the first and third brood: F1 (1st) and F1 (3rd), respectively) were transferred to a free pesticide medium during a 21 d recovery period. In this recovery study, survival, growth, reproduction (mean total young per female, onset of reproduction and number broods per female) and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r) were assessed as parameters. Reproduction such as number of young per female as well as length was still reduced in F1 (1st) generation daphnids from parentals (F0) exposed to the bifenthrin. However F, (3rd) individuals from parentals exposed to pesticide concentrations were able to restore reproduction when a recovery period of 21 d was allowed, but the length of F, (3rd) from parentals exposed to the 0.5 and 0.75 microg/L bifenthrin concentration was still significantly effected (P < 0.05).