Identification of key biomarkers of the glomerulus in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and their relationship with immune cell infiltration based on WGCNA and the LASSO algorithm.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to identify key biomarkers of glomeruli in focal glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and analyze their relationship with the infiltration of immune cells. METHODS: The expression profiles (GSE108109 and GSE200828) were obtained from the GEO database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were filtered and analyzed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). MCODE module was constructed. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to obtain the core gene modules. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to identify key genes. ROC curves were employed to explore their diagnostic accuracy. Transcription factor prediction of the key biomarkers was performed using the Cytoscape plugin IRegulon. The analysis of the infiltration of 28 immune cells and their correlation with the key biomarkers were performed. RESULTS: A total of 1474 DEGs were identified. Their functions were mostly related to immune-related diseases and signaling pathways. MCODE identified five modules. The turquoise module of WGCNA had significant relevance to the glomerulus in FSGS. TGFB1 and NOTCH1 were identified as potential key glomerular biomarkers in FSGS. Eighteen transcription factors were obtained from the two hub genes. Immune infiltration showed significant correlations with T cells. The results of immune cell infiltration and their relationship with key biomarkers implied that NOTCH1 and TGFB1 were enhanced in immune-related pathways. CONCLUSION: TGFB1 and NOTCH1 may be strongly correlated with the pathogenesis of the glomerulus in FSGS and are new candidate key biomarkers. T-cell infiltration plays an essential role in the FSGS lesion process.

An integrated bioinformatics approach to identify key biomarkers in the tubulointerstitium of patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and construction of mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA/circRNA networks.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify potential biomarkers in the tubulointerstitium of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and comprehensively analyze its mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA/circRNA network. METHODS: The expression data (GSE108112 and GSE200818) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/). Identification and enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were performed. the PPI networks of the DEGs were constructed and classified using the Cytoscape molecular complex detection (MCODE) plugin. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify critical gene modules. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis were used to screen for key biomarkers of the tubulointerstitium in FSGS, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine their diagnostic accuracy. The screening results were verified by quantitative real-time-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. The transcription factors (TFs) affecting the hub genes were identified by Cytoscape iRegulon. The mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA/circRNA network for identifying potential biomarkers was based on the starBase database. RESULTS: A total of 535 DEGs were identified. MCODE obtained eight modules. The green module of WGCNA had the greatest association with the tubulointerstitium in FSGS. PPARG coactivator 1 alpha (PPARGC1A) was screened as a potential tubulointerstitial biomarker for FSGS and verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The TFs FOXO4 and FOXO1 had a regulatory effect on PPARGC1A. The ceRNA network yielded 17 miRNAs, 32 lncRNAs, and 50 circRNAs. CONCLUSIONS: PPARGC1A may be a potential biomarker in the tubulointerstitium of FSGS. The ceRNA network contributes to the comprehensive elucidation of the mechanisms of tubulointerstitial lesions in FSGS.

Cough maneuver is superior to Valsalva maneuver for detecting mild-extent right-to-left shunt.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the different provocative maneuvers in detecting right-to-left shunt during contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE). Methods: We evaluated 378 patients for right-to-left shunt detection by cTTE at the quiet respiration, during Valsalva maneuver (blowing into a face mask connected to a sphygmomanometer at 40 mmHg for 10 s), and during cough maneuver, performed in random order, and the degree of right-to-left shunt as the number of microbubbles in the left atrium per frame after each provocative maneuver was recorded. Results: The detection rates of right-to-left shunt for quiet respiration, Valsalva maneuver, and cough maneuver were 16%, 33%, and 38%, respectively (p < .001). The detection rate for cough maneuver was significantly higher than that for Valsalva maneuver (p < .001). There was no significant difference between Valsalva maneuver and cough maneuver in terms of detecting moderate- or severe-extent right-to-left shunt (p > .05), but cough maneuver was significantly better than Valsalva maneuver at detecting mild-extent right-to-left shunt (p = .001). Conclusions: Cough maneuver is an effective alternative to Valsalva maneuver, with a higher detection rate for mild-extent right-to-left shunt during cTTE, maybe due to its own mechanical characteristics.

Awareness and management of pulmonary embolism among physicians in China: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality. We intended to evaluate the awareness and management status of PE among Chinese physicians and provide the basis for establishing Chinese clinical guidelines on PE. We designed a nationwide survey to collect data on physicians' awareness of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up on PE. The questionnaires were distributed to physicians during offline academic meetings and by the online platforms from August 2016 to October 2016. Also, results were sub-grouped by age, hospital grades, departments and trained or not. A total of 2954 valid questionnaires were collected. We observed that there were several defects in the management of PE among Chinese physicians. First, a considerable proportion of physicians chose the incorrect clinical prediction rules for acute PE. Second, a considerable percentage of hospitals could not carry out computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (22.4%) or ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy (65.2%). Third, only a few physicians knew the use of new oral anticoagulants clearly (33.4%). Fourth, only 49% of physicians achieved follow-up management in over half of their patients. Additionally, physicians in the tertiary hospitals, aged > 35 years, trained and from respiratory department have a better knowledge of the management of PE. In conclusion, our survey demonstrates the enhancement of PE-related trainings, especially for physicians in lower-level hospitals, aged ≤ 35 years and from non-respiratory department, can help to improve the management of PE in Chinese physicians. And our study also highlights the need for the establishment of national guidelines for the management of PE in China.

Renin-angiotensin system regulates pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell migration in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) migration plays a key role in vascular remodeling, which occurs during development of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) contributes to vascular remodeling observed in many diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, the role of RAS imbalance in CTEPH has not been characterized. Here, we hypothesize that RAS imbalance regulates vascular remodeling by promoting PASMC migration in CTEPH. Serum renin and angiotensin II levels in patients with CTEPH were quantified by ELISA. The pulmonary endarterectomy tissues were stained and analyzed by immunohistochemistry. PASMCs were isolated and verified by immunofluorescence staining. PASMC migration was determined by Transwell assay. Phosphorylation and protein level were detected by Western blotting. Serum levels of renin and angiotensin II were increased in patients with CTEPH {renin [median (25th percentile, 75th percentile) in pg/ml], 1,199.94 [690.85, 1,656.90] vs. 595.43 [351.48, 936.43], P < 0.001; angiotensin II [in pg/ml], 63.97 [45.97, 345.24] vs. 56.85 [11.20, 90.37], P < 0.05}. The migration of PASMCs isolated from patients with CTEPH was enhanced compared with control. Angiotensin II promoted the migration of PASMCs via activation of angiotensin II receptor 1 and phosphorylation of ERK1/2, whereas angiotensin-(1-7) counteracted this effect through activation of the Mas receptor and ERK1/2. These results demonstrate that the renin-angiotensin system regulates migration of PASMCs from patients with CTEPH via the ERK1/2 pathway. Our findings suggest that angiotensin-(1-7) or reagents targeting the renin-angiotensin system will be beneficial in the development of novel therapies for CTEPH.

Comparative chromosomal localization of 45S and 5S rDNAs and implications for genome evolution in Cucumis.

Ribosomal DNAs are useful cytogenetic markers for chromosome analysis. Studies investigating site numbers and distributions of rDNAs have provided important information for elucidating genome organization and chromosomal relationships of many species by fluorescence in situ hybridization. But relevant studies are scarce for species of the genus Cucumis, especially in wild species. In the present study, FISH was conducted to investigate the organization of 45S and 5S rDNA among 20 Cucumis accessions, including cultivars and wild accessions. Our results showed that the number of 45S rDNA sites varied from one to five pairs in different accessions, and most of these sites are located at the terminal regions of chromosomes. Interestingly, up to five pairs of 45S rDNA sites were observed in C. sativus var. sativus, the species which has the lowest chromosome number, i.e., 2n = 14. Only one pair of 5S rDNA sites was detected in all accessions, except for C. heptadactylus, C. sp, and C. spp that had two pairs of 5S rDNA sites. The distributions of 5S rDNA sites showed more variation than 45S rDNA sites. The phylogenetic analysis in this study showed that 45S and 5S rDNA have contrasting evolutionary patterns. We find that 5S rDNA has a polyploidization-related tendency towards the terminal location from an interstitial location but maintains a conserved site number, whereas the 45S rDNA showed a trend of increasing site number but a relatively conserved location.

Cinepazide maleate protects PC12 cells against oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced injury.

Our previous study showed that cinepazide maleate (CM) was as effective and safe as mildronate in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled phase II multicenter trial, but underlying mechanism(s) is not well understood. As an extending study, here we demonstrated that CM could protect neuronal cells by affecting mitochondrial functions. PC12 cells were exposed to 2.5 h oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by a 24 h reoxygenation, and then treated with different concentrations (1, 10, 100 µM) of CM. Among various concentrations, 10 µM CM exhibited most significant protection on PC12 cells against OGD injury. CM was found to suppress OGD-induced oxidative stress, as supported by its capability of reducing intracellular reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde production and enhancing superoxide dismutase activity. Importantly, our results showed that CM could preserve mitochondrial functions, as revealed by its capability of stabilizing mitochondrial membrane potential, improving OGD-induced suppression of mitochondrial respiratory complex activities and enhancing ATP production. In summary, our present study provides the first evidence that CM can protect neuronal cells against OGD injury by preserving mitochondrial functions.

[Provincial-scale Soil As Migration and Transformation and Rice Safe Planting Zoning: A Case Study of Guizhou Province].

To explore the distribution characteristics of paddy soil and rice AS content, as well as the health risks of rice consumption, and to evaluate the safe planting ability of rice, 209 paddy soil samples and 1 567 groups of paddy soil-rice samples were collected, their As content and basic soil physical and chemical properties were determined, and the single-factor pollution index method was used to evaluate the pollution degree of the samples. The results showed that:① the soil of paddy fields in Guizhou Province was mainly neutral, and its fertilizer retention capacity and organic matter content were above the medium level, and the soil was relatively fertile. The range of ω(As) in paddy soil was 0.042-91.75 mg·kg-1, the geometric mean was 10.03 mg·kg-1, and the cumulative effect of paddy soil As was lower than that of natural soil As (P<0.05) by independent sample T. Compared with the screening value (0.2 mg·kg-1) of the Soil Pollution Risk Management and Control Standard for Agricultural Land (GB 15618-2018), the excess rate of soil samples was 15.37%. ② The ω (As) range of rice grain samples was 0.001-0.937 mg·kg-1, the geometric average value was 0.108 mg·kg-1, 10.21% of the rice grain samples exceeded the limit value of "Limit of Contaminants in Food (trial)" (GB 2762-2022), and the locations where the exceedances are mainly found are in the central and northern parts of Qiannan Prefecture, as well as around industrial and mining activity zones in the southern counties and districts of Zunyi. ③ As ingested through rice posed non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk for adults and children, and the impact on children was greater than that of adults. There is no strict control area for safe rice planting in Guizhou Province, and rice can be safely planted.

Sequential operation droplet array: an automated microfluidic platform for picoliter-scale liquid handling, analysis, and screening.

This contribution describes a sequential operation droplet array (SODA) system, a fully automated droplet-based microfluidic system capable of performing picoliter-scale liquid manipulation, analysis, and screening. The SODA system was built using a tapered capillary-syringe pump module and a two-dimensional (2D) oil-covered droplet array installed on an x-y-z translation stage. With the system, we developed a novel picoliter-scale droplet depositing technique for forming a 2D picoliter-droplet array. On this basis, an automated droplet manipulation method with picoliter precision was established using the programmable combination of the capillary-based liquid aspirating-depositing and the moving of the oil-covered droplet array, the so-called "aspirating-depositing-moving" (ADM) method. Differing from the previously reported droplet systems based on microchips, microcapillaries, or digital microfluidics, this method can achieve complete and flexible droplet manipulations, including droplet assembling, generation, indexing, transferring, splitting, and fusion in the picoliter range, endowing the present system with ultralow sample/reagent consumptions and substantial versatility in analysis and screening for multiple different samples. To demonstrate its feasibility and versatility, we applied the SODA system in multiple experiments required in drug screening, including the screening of inhibitors for capases-1 from a chemical library, the measurement of IC50 values for the identified inhibitors, and the screening of the synergistic effect of multiple inhibitors. In the experiments, the consumptions of samples and reagents are only 60-180 pL for each droplet microreactor, which are commonly 3-5 orders of magnitude lower than those of conventional multiwell plate systems, and 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than other droplet-based microfluidic systems for multiple sample screening. The ability of the SODA system in performing complicated and multistep droplet manipulations was further demonstrated in the serial dilution of nanoliter-scale inhibitor droplets with concentrations spanning 6 orders of magnitude for IC50 profiling, which includes droplet generation, indexing, splitting, transferring, and fusion with picoliter precision.

[Mercury Pollution in Dryland Soil and Evaluation of Maize Safety Production in Guizhou Province].

Guizhou Province is the province with the largest Hg production and reserves in China, and maize is the second largest grain crop in Guizhou Province. It is necessary to identify the status of soil Hg content in Guizhou Province and evaluate the safety of maize production. A total of 990 soil-maize samples and 270 single soil samples were collected in the main maize-producing areas to determine soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and organic matter content (SOM), as well as Hg content in soil and maize. The results showed that the pH of dryland soil in Guizhou Province ranged from 3.93 to 9.82, the geometric mean of ω(SOM) was 27.5 g·kg-1, and the geometric mean of CEC was 11.7 cmol·kg-1. Soil ω(Hg) ranged from 0.005 to 686 mg·kg-1, the geometric mean was 0.632 mg·kg-1, and the over-standard rate was 7.22%. Among them, the soil Hg pollution in Tongren was the most prominent, with the exceedance rate of 21.3%. At the county level, Danzhai County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, and Tongren City Wanshan District and Bijiang District had high exceedance rates of Hg. According to the Limit of Pollutants in Food according to National Standards for Food Safety (GB 2762-2017), the exceedance rate of Hg content in maize grains was 1.11%, and the exceedance points were mainly distributed around industrial and mining activity areas such as Wanshan District in Tongren City and Xixiu District in Anshun City. According to the results, there was serious soil Hg pollution in Guizhou Province. On the whole, maize can be safely planted, but it is necessary to pay close attention to the Hg content in grains and the Hg exposure risk of residents around industrial and mining areas.

[Characteristics and Planting Safety Assessment of As Content in Dryland Soil and Maize in Guizhou Province].

In order to understand the distribution characteristics of As content in dryland soils and maize seeds in Guizhou province and to evaluate the safety of maize cultivation, 468 natural soil samples, 1260 dryland surface soil samples, and 980 corresponding maize seed samples were systematically collected to determine their As content and basic physicochemical properties. The degree of contamination of the samples was evaluated by using the single-factor contamination index method. The results showed that: ① the range of ω(As) in dryland soil was 0.35-758.53 mg·kg-1, with a geometric mean of 23.28 mg·kg-1. The independent sample T-test showed that the As content of dryland soil in Guizhou province was significantly higher than that of natural soil ω(As) 21.29 mg·kg-1 (P<0.01), indicating the existence of arsenic accumulation effects in dryland soil; compared with the screening value of the "Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Risk Management and Control Standard" (GB 15618-2018), the excess rate of soil samples was 33.81%. ② Corn seed ω(As) ranged from 0.001 to 0.868 mg·kg-1, with a mean value of 0.064 mg·kg-1, and 0.61% of the corn seed samples exceeded the limit value of "Limits of Contaminants in Foods" (GB 2762-2017), with the exceeding points distributed in Bijie City, Qianxinan Prefecture, and Tongren City. ③ When corn seeds were used as feed and grain, maize could be safely grown in dryland soils in Guizhou province. This study showed that the soil As pollution in the dryland of Guizhou province was relatively serious, and overall safe maize cultivation can be achieved; however, the cultivation of maize around the As-related non-ferrous metal mining areas is still of concern.

Multifunctional picoliter droplet manipulation platform and its application in single cell analysis.

We developed an automated and multifunctional microfluidic platform based on DropLab to perform flexible generation and complex manipulations of picoliter-scale droplets. Multiple manipulations including precise droplet generation, sequential reagent merging, and multistep solid-phase extraction for picoliter-scale droplets could be achieved in the present platform. The system precision in generating picoliter-scale droplets was significantly improved by minimizing the thermo-induced fluctuation of flow rate. A novel droplet fusion technique based on the difference of droplet interfacial tensions was developed without the need of special microchannel networks or external devices. It enabled sequential addition of reagents to droplets on demand for multistep reactions. We also developed an effective picoliter-scale droplet splitting technique with magnetic actuation. The difficulty in phase separation of magnetic beads from picoliter-scale droplets due to the high interfacial tension was overcome using ferromagnetic particles to carry the magnetic beads to pass through the phase interface. With this technique, multistep solid-phase extraction was achieved among picoliter-scale droplets. The present platform had the ability to perform complex multistep manipulations to picoliter-scale droplets, which is particularly required for single cell analysis. Its utility and potentials in single cell analysis were preliminarily demonstrated in achieving high-efficiency single-cell encapsulation, enzyme activity assay at the single cell level, and especially, single cell DNA purification based on solid-phase extraction.

[Spatiotemporal variations of ecosystem service values and landscape ecological risk and their correlation in forest area of Loess Plateau, China:A case study of Ziwuling region.] / é»„åœŸé«˜åŽŸæž—åŒºç”Ÿæ€ç³»ç»ŸæœåŠ¡ä»·å€¼ä¸Žæ™¯è§‚ç”Ÿæ€é£Žé™©æ—¶ç©ºå˜åŒ–åŠå ¶å ³è”æ€§­­ä»¥å­åˆå²­åŒºä¸ºä¾‹.

Although the awareness of ecosystem services provided by natural landscape is increa-sing, few studies integrate ecosystem services value (ESV) into ecological risk management and its control. With Ziwuling region as an example, we carried out the gridding resampling of landscape pattern types in the forest area of Ziwuling region in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2017. We quantified the ESV and landscape ecological risk and their spatiotemporal variations, based on the 2.5 km×2.5 km grid. The spatial correlation between the ESV and landscape ecological risk was examined. The results showed that the ESV decreased from the center to the outside of Ziwuling region, which increased from 12.345 to 12.633 billion yuan from 1980 to 2017. The landscape ecological risk increased from the center to the outside edge of Ziwuling region, indicating that the landscape ecological risk of Ziwuling region was reduced and the overall ecological situation was improved. There was a significant negative correlation and negative spatial correlation between ESV and landscape ecological risk in this area. The high value-low risk area was mainly located in Ziwu-ling forest area, while the ESV might be maintained in the future.

Observations of linear aggregation behavior in rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus).

Linear aggregation is present in some animals, such as the coordinated movement of ants and the migration of caterpillars and spinylobsters, but none has been reported on rotifers. The rotifers were collected and clone cultured in the laboratory at 25 ± 1°C, under natural light (light intensity ~130 lx, L:D = 14:10). The culture medium(pH = 7.3) was formulated as described by Suga et al., and rotifers were fed on the micro algae Scenedesmus obliquus grown in HB-4 medium to the exponential growth stage. When density was high (150 individuals ml-1), the behavior of rotifers was observed using a stereo microscope (Motic ES-18TZLED). In this paper, linear aggregation in Brachionus calyciflorus was found for the first time, and experiments were carried out to verify the correlation between linear aggregation and culture density of B. calyciflorus. With the increase of density, the number of aggregations increase, the number of individuals in the aggregation increased, and the maintenance time of the aggregation was also increased. Therefore, we speculate that the formation of aggregates is related to density and may be a behavioral signal of density increase, which may transmit information between density increase and formation of dormant eggs.

[Potential of Accumulation and Application of Dominant Plants in Lanping Lead-zinc Mine, Yunnan Province].

A field investigation in the abandoned lead-zinc mines in Yunan Province was conducted to assess the accumulation potential of dominant plant species and six heavy metals in mine soils. Eighteen types of plants were selected for the analysis. Local plants and soil were sampled and analyzed for cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and Zn (zinc) concentrations. Bioconcentration and translocation factors were calculated. Cluster analysis was performed to calculate the accumulation potential. The results showed that all dominant plants (18 species and 13 families) were herbaceous plants. The content of heavy metals in these plants was higher than their normal content in plants. The above-ground Cd content of Corydalis yanhusuo, Carum bretschneideri, and Picris hieracioides reached 62.29, 76.49, and 85.09 mg ·kg-1. The bioconcentration factors of Cd in these three plants were 0.57, 0.58, and 0.66, and the translocation factors were 0.89, 0.45, and 1.48, respectively. These plants have a strong ability to absorb and transfer Cd in soil; hence, they have the potential to remediate the Cd-contaminated soil. The above-ground Cd content of Euphorbia fischeriana and Cynoglossum amabile were 0.46 mg ·kg-1and 0.23 mg ·kg-1, respectively, and the bioconcentration factors were less than 0.01. These two plants accumulate low levels of heavy metals and thus, are suitable for growth in high altitude areas of Southwest China. They are considered economic plants for safe use in Cd-contaminated farmlands and have high application value. To protect the ecological environment of the mining areas, the other 13 plants having good tolerance to heavy metal pollution can be used as vegetation restoration plants in mining areas.

Physical Organohydrogels With Extreme Strength and Temperature Tolerance.

Tough gel with extreme temperature tolerance is a class of soft materials having potential applications in the specific fields that require excellent integrated properties under subzero temperature. Herein, physically crosslinked Europium (Eu)-alginate/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) organohydrogels that do not freeze at far below 0°C, while retention of high stress and stretchability is demonstrated. These organohydrogels are synthesized through displacement of water swollen in polymer networks of hydrogel to cryoprotectants (e.g., ethylene glycol, glycerol, and d-sorbitol). The organohydrogels swollen water-cryoprotectant binary systems can be recovered to their original shapes when be bent, folded and even twisted after being cooled down to a temperature as low as -20 and -45°C, due to lower vapor pressure and ice-inhibition of cryoprotectants. The physical organohydrogels exhibit the maximum stress (5.62 ± 0.41 MPa) and strain (7.63 ± 0.02), which is about 10 and 2 times of their original hydrogel, due to the synergistic effect of multiple hydrogen bonds, coordination bonds and dense polymer networks. Based on these features, such physically crosslinked organohydrogels with extreme toughness and wide temperature tolerance is a promising soft material expanding the applications of gels in more specific and harsh conditions.

Corrigendum: Physical Organohydrogels With Extreme Strength and Temperature Tolerance.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00102.].

Terretonin D1, a new meroterpenoid from marine-derived Aspergillus terreus ML-44.

A new meroterpenoid, named terretonin D1 (1), and three known ones, terretonin (2), terretonin A (3), and terretonin D (4), were isolated from marine-derived fungus Aspergillus terreus ML-44. The structure of 1 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and the absolute configuration was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The anti-inflammation activity of 1-4 was preliminarily tested, and all of them weakly inhibited the nitric oxide (NO) production of RAW264.7 macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with inhibitory rates of 22-34% at 50 µg/mL.

[Remediation Potential of Ageratum conyzoides L. on Cadmium Contaminated Farmland].

To evaluate the remediation potential of Ageratum conyzoides L. on cadmium (Cd) contaminated farmland soil, the Cd-containing plants and root were collected and analyzed by field investigation, original pot experiment, and field experiment. The enrichment factor and removal rate of Ageratum conyzoides L. was calculated. The results showed that the maximum Cd content in the leaves of Ageratum conyzoides L. growing in soil of different lead-zinc mines was 77.01 mg·kg-1. In the high-concentration Cd soil treatment (T2), Cd content of the above-ground of Ageratum conyzoides L. was 69.71mg·kg-1, and Cd enrichment coefficient was 6.09. In the low-concentration Cd soil treatment (T1), the enrichment characteristics of Cd (Ageratum conyzoides L.) are consistent with the enrichment characteristics of Cd under high concentration conditions. Ageratum conyzoides L. exhibits stable accumulation characteristics for Cd. In the field experiment, the average Cd content of Ageratum conyzoides L. was 21.13 mg·kg-1, and the enrichment coefficient was 6.93. The removal rate of the three planting Ageratum conyzoides L. per mu of soil using the Ageratum conyzoides L. to repair Cd contaminated soil was 13.2%-15.6%. The use of Ageratum conyzoides L. to repair Cd pollution in farmland has a good prospect for engineering application.

[Morphological observation on the reproductive system of adult Schistosoma japonicum under confocal laser scanning microscopy].

BALB/c mice were infected with Schistosoma japonicum cercariae (40+/-2 per mouse) through abdominal skin. Mice were sacrificed after 35 days to acquire the adult worms which were then fixed, stained, clarified, dehydrated and mounted. The specimens were observed under the confocal laser scanning microscope. The overall morphology of the adult worms was displayed distinctly, especially the testicular lobes, seminal vesicle and genital pore of the male, reproductive system, and the ovary, vitelline glands, oviduct, vitelline duct, seminal receptacle, ootype, mehlis gland, uterus, genital pore and eggs of female reproductive system. The confocal laser scanning microscopy is an alternative method to research organs, tissues and cell structure of schistosome worm.