[Effects of Rosa roxburghii Pomace Biochar on Yield and Quality of Chinese Cabbage and Soil Properties].

In order to explore the effect of Rosa roxburghii pomace biochar on the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage and soil properties and realize the resource utilization of R. roxburghii pomace, a pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of R. roxburghii pomace biochar on the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage and soil properties by setting five biochar application rates of 0 % (CK), 1 % (T1), 3 % (T2), 5 % (T3), and 7 % (T4). The results showed that:① The application of R. roxburghii pomace biochar could significantly improve the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage, and the effect was the best at a 5 % biochar application rate. The yield, soluble solids, soluble sugar, vitamin C, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium content of Chinese cabbage increased by 71.51 %, 40.14 %, 33.65 %, 38.08 %, 9.03 %, 28.85 %, and 35.38 %, respectively, compared with those in CK. ② The application of biochar from R. roxburghii pomace could significantly improve soil properties and increase soil nutrient content and availability. The effect was better at a 5 % biochar application rate. The soil pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium content increased by 41.06 %, 134.84 %, 157.48 %, 140.79 %, 341.75 %, and 627.13 %, respectively, compared with those in CK. The contents of available Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn and exchangeable Ca and Mg increased by 37.68 %, 61.69 %, 400.00 %, 4 648.84 %, 617.17 %, and 351.42 %, respectively, compared with those in CK. ③ The application of biochar from R. roxburghii pomace could significantly enhance soil enzyme activity. Compared with those in the CK treatment, soil urease, acid phosphatase, catalase, and sucrase increased by 51.43 %-362.86 %, 90.63 %-134.14 %, 21.40 %-85.12 %, and 82.92 %-218.43 %, respectively. ④ Redundancy analysis showed that soil AK; exchangeable Ca, SOM, and AP; and available Zn were the main factors affecting the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage, and there was a significant positive correlation between them. In summary, the application of R. roxburghii pomace biochar can significantly increase the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage and improve soil properties. The preparation of R. roxburghii pomace into biochar can provide a theoretical reference for the rational utilization of R. roxburghii pomace resources.

[Effects of Biochar Application on Yellow Soil Nutrients and Enzyme Activities].

Due to its special physical and chemical properties, biochar is widely used as a multi-beneficial amendment to improve soil quality. Soil nutrient content and enzyme activities are important chemical and biological factors indicating soil quality. Despite increased interest and studies, a knowledge gap remains regarding the ability of biochar to assess soil nutrient content and enzyme activities due to differences in biochar application amount and soil texture. In the present study, the effects of different amounts of biochar application (CK:0 t·hm-2, B5:5 t·hm-2, B10:10 t·hm-2, B20:20 t·hm-2, and B50:50 t·hm-2) on soil nutrient content and enzyme activities were studied based on a field experiment on typical yellow soil in Guizhou province, southwest China. Structural equation models (SEM) were used to quantitatively evaluate the direct or indirect effects of biochar application on soil nutrient content and enzyme activities. The results showed that soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC), alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AHN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) increased with the applied amount of biochar. With the increase in biochar application amount, the activities of soil catalase and urease showed first an increasing and then a decreasing trend, and the activities of soil sucrase and phosphatase showed an almost constant increasing trend (P<0.05). The highest activities of soil catalase, urease, and phosphatase were recorded under treatment B10. A relatively high activity of soil sucrose was also observed under treatment B10. With the same amount of biochar application, soil pH and the content of soil AHN, AP, and AK in treatments after four months of biochar application were greater than those after 12 months. After 12 months of biochar application treatment, the contents of SOC and EC were greater than those at four months. Compared to those in treatments after four months of biochar application, activities of soil urease and phosphatase increased, activities of soil catalase decreased, and activities of soil sucrose did not obviously change after 12 months of biochar application. The results of SEM showed that biochar application directly decreased activities of soil catalase and indirectly promoted activities of soil sucrase and phosphatase by increasing soil pH, EC, AHN, AK, and AP. In conclusion, the amount and duration of biochar application significantly increased soil nutrient content, directly and indirectly affecting soil enzyme activities. Based on the results of the presents study, biochar application at 10 t·hm-2 was recommended for acidic yellow soil.

[Research progress on the effects of biochar application on soil fauna community]. / æ–½ç”¨ç”Ÿç‰©ç‚­å¯¹åœŸå£¤åŠ¨ç‰©ç¾¤è½çš„å½±å“ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Soil fauna is an indispensable component of soil biotic communities and an important biological driver controlling soil ecological processes. Exploring the effect of biochar on soil fauna community and their relationship, is of great significance to understand the ecological process and services of soil ecosystem. We reviewed the changes and possible mechanisms of soil fauna community to biochar application. The effect of biochar application on soil fauna was caused directly by the difference of raw material, carbonization temperature, and application amount, and indirectly by the changes of biotic factor, including changes of plant physiological characters and microbe biomass, and changes of abiotic parameters (e.g. soil physiochemical characters). The growth, reproduction and behavior of soil fauna could be promoted under low amount of biochar application (mass ratio <5%). In contrast, toxicity effect occurred with a heavy application (>10%). Meanwhile, activities of soil fauna would affect the stability of biochar, and its ecological and environmental role. A road map for future researches about biochar and soil fauna interaction must focus on long-term field studies, spatial and temporal variation, merge of multi-discipline, and comprehensive analysis and prediction.

LncRNA FGD5-AS1 acts as a competing endogenous RNA for miRNA-223 to lessen oxygen-glucose deprivation and simulated reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced neurons injury.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether FGD5-AS1 participates in oxygen-glucose deprivation and simulated reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced neurons injury and the detailed mechanism. An OGD/R model was established using the primary cortical neuron isolated from the brains of Sprague-Dawley rats. qRT-PCR and western blot were performed to de-tect the RNA and protein expression levels, respectively. Cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) and flow cytometry assays were used to evaluate the proliferation and apoptosis of neurons. The luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the interaction between lncRNA FGD5-AS1 and miRNA-223. We found that the expression of FGD5-AS1 is decreased in neurons suffering from OGD/R. Up-regulation of FGD5-AS1 could recover proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of OGD/R-injured neurons. In addition, the interaction between FGD5-AS1 and miRNA-223 were verified. The expression of miRNA-223 was negatively correlated with the level of FGD5-AS1. In turn, the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGFIR, a target gene of miR-223) was positively associated with the level of FGD5-AS1. Simultaneously down-regulating miR-223 and over-expressing FGD5-AS1 as well as IGF1R exhibited an additional effect of extenuating OGD/R damage i.e. increasing neuron proliferation and reducing neuron apoptosis. In conclusion, our findings indicated that FGD5-AS1 may protect the neuron against OGD/R injury via acting as a ceRNA for miR-223 to mediate IGF1R expression, which contributes to a deeper understanding of ischemic stroke and provide a promising therapeutic target for this disease.

Relationship between Contrast-Enhanced CT and Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the relationship between contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: A total of 198 NSCLC patients admitted to Enze Hospital from February 2009 to July 2012 underwent pre-surgical CECT to investigate parameters such as tumor size, CECT enhancement, lymph node enlargement, and lymph node size. Chi-square and log-rank tests were used to analyze associations between CECT parameters and pathological features as well as correlations of CECT parameters with prognosis. A Cox proportional hazard model and logistic regression analysis were applied to identify independent risk factors for prognosis. RESULTS: Tumor size, CECT enhancement, and lymph node enlargement and size were related to degree of differentiation, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis. Tumor size, lymph node enlargement and metastasis, lymph node size, and CECT enhancement were independent risk factors for NSCLC prognosis. Large tumors and lymph nodes, tumor enhancement, and enlarged and metastatic lymph nodes indicated a poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that CECT features can be associated with clinicopathological characteristics and can predict the prognosis of patients with NSCLC.

Establishment of a Predictive Diagnostic Model for Acute Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection in Elderly Patients with Community-acquired Pneumonia.

We established a diagnostic model to predict acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumonia) infection in elderly Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients. We divided 456 patients into acute and non-acute M. pneumoniae infection groups. Binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to establish a predictive model. The following independent factors were identified: age ⋝ 70 years; serum cTNT level ⋝ 0.05 ng/mL; lobar consolidation; mediastinal lymphadenopathy; and antibody titer in the acute phase ⋝ 1:40. The area under the ROC curve of the model was 0.923 and a score of ⋝ 7 score predicted acute M. pneumoniae infection in elderly patients with CAP. The predictive model developed in this study has high diagnostic accuracy for the identification of elderly acute M. pneumoniae infection.

[Nitrogen input altered testate amoebae community in peatland of Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China].

In the present study, an in situ control experiment was carried out to explore the response of testate amoebae to exogenous nitrogen addition in peatland of Sanjiang Plain. The results showed that nitrogen addition increased the biomass of testate amoebae at lower levels (6 g N · m(-2)), while decreased it at higher levels (> 12 g N · m(-2)). At genus level, nitrogen addition significantly increased the biomass of Arcella and Phryganella, decreased the biomass of Euglypha. Only lower nitrogen addition significantly increased the biomass of Centropyxis. At species level, nitrogen addition significantly decreased the biomass of Euglypha rotunda, while the biomass of either Centropyxis cassis or Phryganella acropodia was increased by a lower nitrogen addition treatment. This study suggested that the response of peatland testate amoebae to nitrogen addition was species specific, which could potentially be used as an indicator for the environment of peatlands.