Transcriptome and metabolome reveal the effects of three canopy types on the flavonoids and phenolic acids in 'Merlot' (Vitis vinifera L.) berry pericarp.

The flavonoids and phenolic acids in grape berries greatly influence the quality of wine. Various methods are used to shape and prune grapevines, but their effects on the flavonoids and phenolic acids remain unclear. The flavonoids and phenolic acids in the berry pericarps from grapevines pruned using three types of leaf canopy, namely, V-shaped, T-shaped, and vertical shoot-positioned (VSP) canopies, were compared in this study. Results showed that the V-shaped canopy was more favorable for the accumulation of flavonoids and phenolic acids. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially regulated metabolites (DRMs) were significantly enriched in the flavonoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways. A total of 96 flavonoids and 32 phenolic acids were detected among the DRMs. Their contents were higher in the V-shaped canopy than in the T-shaped and VSP canopies. Conjoint analysis of transcriptome and metabolome showed that nine DEGs (e.g., cytochrome P450 98A9 and 98A2) were significantly correlated to nine phenolic acids (e.g., gentisic acid and neochlorogenic acid) and three genes (i.e., chalcone isomerase, UDP-glycosyltransferase 88A1, and caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase) significantly correlated to 15 flavonoids (e.g., baimaside and tricin-7-O-rutinoside). These genes may be involved in the regulation of various flavonoids and phenolic acids in grape berries, but their functions need validation. This study provides novel insights into the effects of leaf canopy on flavonoids and phenolic acids in the skin of grape berries and reveals the potential regulatory networks involved in this phenomenon.

Assessing the impact of lime on chromium migration in soil caused by basic chromium sulfate in tannery.

Chromium (Cr) pollution is the primary pollution problem of the soil in tannery. However, the effect of tanning chemicals on Cr migration in soil has not been clearly elucidated. Column leaching tests were designed in this study to reveal the transport and transformation of Cr from basic chromium sulfate (BCS) into soil and the effects of lime on Cr migration and transformation. The results showed that BCS was mainly leached out in the state of Cr(VI) after entering the soil, and the Cr concentration in leachate decreased with the increase of the bulking thickness of the BCS. Compared with the soil absent of lime, the concentration of total Cr in the leachate from soil with lime decreased by 8.80-88.1%. The proportions of Cr in the residual fraction were generally increased in the soil with lime, whereas other fractions were decreased. The presence of lime can reduce the migration and toxicity of BCS in soil to a certain extent. The analysis of soil bacterial community showed that the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increased significantly with the exposure to BCS and the Burkholderiaceae was the dominant bacteria family in the BCS contaminated soil. Understanding the mobility of BCS and lime and the bacterial community in BCS contaminated soil is conducive to the risk assessment of the tannery site.

Simulating the migration and species distribution of Cr and inorganic ions from tanneries in the vadose zone.

The pollution in soils and groundwater caused by the tannery have attracted public attention. However, few studies have been done on the migration and species distribution of Cr and coexisting ions produced by tanning in the vadose zone. In this paper, an in-production tannery and a suspended tannery were selected to compare the migration of Cr and other inorganic ions from tanneries in the vadose zone. Results showed that the sewage treatment station and the temporary waste storage site had the highest concentration of pollutants. Cr exhibited a cumulative effect in the middle soil layer (100-300 cm) in the suspended tannery. However, in the in-production tannery, the cumulative effect occurred only at the temporary waste storage site. The distribution of pollutants in the soils at different depths was fixed in the suspended tannery field. But in the in-production tannery field, it was closely related to daily production. Visual MINTEQ showed that the saturation index of a species of Cr was positive or negative simultaneously in the two sites, indicating that (1) the change of saturation index of Cr had no relationship with operation of tannery. (2) the influence of Cr precipitation or dissolution was related to the source strength, the coexisting ions, and pH. This study contributed to understanding the migration of characteristic pollutants caused by tanneries in the vadose zone under different external environments, and provided a reference for the quantification calculation of the source load of pollutants caused by industrial infiltration into the groundwater.

Changes of Anti-tuberculosis Herbs Formula During Past Three Decades in Contrast to Ancient Ones.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the evolution of herbal medicine in treating tuberculosis (TB) and encourage anti-TB drug discovery and development. METHODS: In this study, 477 ancient traditional Chinese medicine formulae were collected from the Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions and 172 modern Chinese medicine formulae (from 1986 to 2016) were collected by searching 4 databases: WanFang Data Knowledge Service Platform, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP) and Chinese Bio-medical Literature and Retrieval System (SinoMed) in Chinese. We restricted the search to publications in Chinese. Further data analysis was done using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support System version 2 Software. RESULTS: There were 425 herbs in the 477 ancient formulae and 257 herbs in the 172 modern formulae. Half of the top 30 herbs were shared by both modern and ancient prescriptions. They are Radix Ophiopogonis, Astragalus membranaceus, Fritillaria cirrhosa, Dried rehmannia glutinosa, Poria cocos, Angelica sinensis, Prepared rehmannia glutinosa, Platycodon Root, Radix paeoniae alba, Schisandra chinensis, Bighead atractylodes rhizome, Rhizoma anemarrhenae, Cortex lycii radicis and Radix Scutellariae. Only two groups of herbs with a high correlation coefficient were found in both modern and ancient prescriptions, the Dried rehmannia glutinosa with Radix ophiopogonis, and Radix ophiopogonis with Prepared rehmannia glutinosa. There were 9 and 15 core herb combinations in modern and ancient prescriptions, respectively, but no one was found simutaniously in both modern and ancient prescriptions. CONCLUSIONS: Although there were wide variations in the herb groups and herb combinations in the formulae, half of the top 30 herbs were found in both modern and ancient prescriptions. The core herb combinations in modern and ancient prescriptions could help us to improve the priscription for treatment of TB.

Steaming Changes the Composition of Saponins of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen That Function in Treatment of Hyperlipidemia and Obesity.

Saponins of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen have been classified as a type of composition in functional foods for numerous diseases. However, its mild effects and other characteristics limited clinical applications in diseases. Inspired by "nine steaming and nine processing" of P. notoginseng in traditional Chinese medicine, we developed a "steaming"-mimic protocol, which significantly changed the composition of saponins of P. notoginseng from the original, R1, Rg1, Re, Rb1, and Rd (raw-PNS), to the products after steaming, 20S/R-Rh1, Rk3, Rh4, 20S/R-Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5 (N-PNS). Surprisingly, N-PNS demonstrated promising activities in improving hyperlipidemia and reducing body weight and weight of white adipose tissue and the inhibition of adipogenesis in obese mice. In accordance with the results in vivo, N-PNS remarkably blunted adipogenesis at the early stage of differentiation dose-dependently in vitro. Moreover, we demonstrated that the activity may involve the adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway by promoting phosphorylation of AMPKT172 and downregulating its downstream factors: sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, and fatty acid synthase. Taken together, the steaming-induced eight compositions of saponins showed a very promising function in improving hyperlipidemia and obesity both in vivo and in vitro, providing fundamental evidence for future study and application in treatment of hyperlipidemia, obesity, and other lipid-related metabolic syndromes.

Vanadium-basidiomycete fungi interaction and its impact on vanadium biogeochemistry.

Fungi are well known to strongly interact with metals, thereby influencing metal biogeochemistry in the terrestrial environment. To assess and quantify potential fungi-vanadium (V) interactions, Amanita muscaria, Armillaria cepistipes, Xerocomus badius and Bjerkandera adusta were cultured in media containing soluble V (VOSO4 or NaVO3) or solid-phase V of different chemical forms and oxidation state (V2O3, VO2, V2O5, or V-Ti magnetite slag). All fungi underwent physiological and structural changes, as revealed by alterations in FT-IR peak positions and intensities relative to the control, and morphological changes of mycelia, as observed by scanning electron microscopy. The diametric growth size generally decreased with decreasing oxidation state of V and with increasing concentrations of VOSO4 and NaVO3, implying that V toxicity is dependent on V speciation. The tolerance index, the ratio of treated and control mycelium (dry weight), shows different tendencies, suggesting additional factors influencing fungi weight, such as the formation of extrahyphal crystals. Vanadium accumulation from VOSO4 and NaVO3 medium in all fungi (up to 51.3 mg g-1) shows the potential of fungi to immobilise soluble V, thereby reducing its impacts on environmental and human health. Uptake and accumulation of V in slag was insignificant, reflecting the association of slag V with insoluble crystalline materials. The fungal accumulation of V in medium amended with V-oxides demonstrates the ability of fungi to solubilise solid-phase V compounds, thereby introducing previously immobile V into the V biogeochemical cycle and into the food chain where it may impact ecological and human health. A.muscaria lowered the pH of the medium substantially during cultivation, indicating acidolysis and complexolysis via excretion of organic acids (e.g. oxalic acid). Oxidation of VOSO4 was observed by a colour change of the medium to yellow during B. adusta cultivation, revealing the role of fungally-mediated redox transformation in V (im)mobilisation. The calculated removal efficiencies of soluble V were 40-90% for A. cepistipes and X. badius, but a much lower recovery (0-20%) was observed from V oxides and slag (0-20%) by all fungi. This suggests the probable application of fungi for bio-remediation of mobile/soluble V in contaminated soils but not of V incorporated in the lattice of soil minerals.

A High-Density Genetic Linkage Map and QTL Mapping for Sex in Black Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon).

The black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, is important in both fishery and aquaculture and is the second-most widely cultured shrimp species in the world. However, the current strains cannot meet the market needs in various cultural environments, and the genome resources for P. monodon are still lacking. Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) has been widely used in genetic linkage map construction and in quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. We constructed a high-density genetic linkage map with RADseq in a full-sib family. This map contained 6524 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 2208 unique loci. The total length was 3275.4 cM, and the genetic distance was estimated to be 1.1 Mb/cM. The sex trait is a dichotomous phenotype, and the same interval was detected as a QTL using QTL mapping and genome-wide association analysis. The most significant locus explained 77.4% of the phenotype variance. The sex locus was speculated to be the same in this species based on the sequence alignments in Mozambique, India, and Hawaii populations. The constructed genetic linkage map provided a valuable resource for QTL mapping, genome assembly, and genome comparison for shrimp. The demonstrated common sex locus is a step closer to locating the underlying gene.

A Fluorescent Glucose Transport Assay for Screening SGLT2 Inhibitors in Endogenous SGLT2-Expressing HK-2 Cells.

The sodium-dependent glucose transporters 2 (SGLT2) plays important role in renal reabsorption of urinal glucose back to plasma for maintaining glucose homeostasis. The approval of SGLT2 inhibitors for treatment of type 2 diabetes highlights the SGLT2 as a feasible and promising drug target in recent years. Current methods for screening SGLT2 inhibitors are complex, expensive and labor intensive. Particularly, these methods cannot directly measure nonradioactive glucose uptake in endogenous SGLT2-expressing kidney cells. In present work, human kidney cells, HK-2, was incubated with a fluorescent D-glucose derivant 2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino]-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-NBDG) and the fluorescent intensity of 2-NBDG was employed to measure the amount of glucose uptake into the cells. By optimizing the passages of HK-2 cells, 2-NBDG concentration and incubation time, and by measuring glucose uptake treated by Dapagliflozin, a clinical drug of SGLT2 inhibitors, we successfully developed a new assay for measuring glucose uptake through SGLT2. The nonradioactive microplate and microscope-based high-throughput screening assay for measuring glucose can be a new method for screening of SGLT2 inhibitors and implied for other cell assays for glucose measurement extensively.

An optimised sequential extraction scheme for the evaluation of vanadium mobility in soils.

Reviewing the current state of knowledge about sequential extraction applied for soil vanadium (V) fractionation, we identified an urgent requirement of an sequential extraction (SE) specified for V. Namely, almost all previous SE extracted only 8.4%-48% of total V in soils (excluding residue). Thus, we proposed an eight-step SE for V fractionation in soils according to the knowledge gained from literature and our own dissolution experiments with model minerals. After extracting the mobilisable and adsorbed V with de-ionised water and 5mmol/L phosphate, 1mol/L pyrophosphate was applied to gather organic matter bound V which minimised the artefact dissolving Al and Fe (hydr)oxides occurred when using HNO3-H2O2 for extraction. Extraction with 0.4mol/L NH2OH⋅HCl was highly selective toward manganese oxides. Fractionation of different crystalline Al and Fe (hydr)oxides associated V with 1mol/L HCl, 0.2mol/L oxalate buffer and 4mol/L HCl at 95°C especially improved the extractability of V incorporated with crystalline phase associated V. The suitability of our new SE scheme was confirmed by its higher selectivity against the target phases and higher extraction efficiencies (55%-77% of total V) with model minerals and 6 soils of different properties than previous SE.

Prognostic significance and the role in TNM stage of extranodal metastasis within regional lymph nodes station in gastric carcinoma.

The role of extranodal metastasis (ENM) in TNM stage in gastric carcinoma (GC) is controversial. This study was aimed to make a detailed investigation of the prognostic significance and the role in TNM stage of ENM in GC. The patients with primary GC, who underwent gastrectomy with curative intention in West China Hospital from January 2005 to December 2011, were retrospectively enrolled. The prognosis and clinicopathological traits were compared between ENM positive (ENMP) and negative (ENMN) groups in all patients, TNM I-II, III and IV stages, respectively. The significance of the number and the role in TNM stage of ENM were also assessed. In our study, 1457 patients were enrolled, with 1324 (90.9%) in ENMN group and 133 (9.1%) in ENMP group. ENMP group had significantly more advanced GC and worse prognosis (all p<0.05) than ENMN group in all patients, TNM I-II stages and TNM III stage. ENM>2 subgroup had remarkably larger tumor size (p=0.002) and more advanced N stage (p=0.016) than ENM=1-2 subgroup. The number of ENM was an independent prognostic factor in ENMP group (p=0.029). The prognosis of ENM>2 in TNM I-III stages was significantly worse than ENMN patients in TNM III stage. The C-index of TNM stage plus the number of ENM was significantly higher than that of current TNM stage alone (p=0.005). In conclusion, the patients in ENMP subgroup had more advanced GC and worse prognosis than those in ENMN subgroup. It might be more reasonable to categorize ENM>2 into TNM IV stage.

Prognostic significance of preoperative serum CA125, CA19-9 and CEA in gastric carcinoma.

The prognostic significance of preoperative serum CA125, CA19-9 and CEA in gastric carcinoma (GC) has been widely reported and is still under debate. Here, we evaluated the prognostic significance of preoperative serum CA125, CA19-9 and CEA in patients with GC. 1692 patients with GC who underwent gastrectomy were divided into the training (from January 2005 to December 2011, n = 1024) and the validation (from January 2012 to December 2013, n = 668) cohorts. Positive groups of CA125 (> 13.72 U/ml), CA19-9 (> 23.36 U/ml) and CEA (> 4.28 ng/ml) were significantly associated with more advanced clinicopathological traits and worse outcomes than that of negative groups (all P < 0.01). In Cox regression analysis, tumor size (P < 0.001, P = 0.005), pTNM stage (P < 0.001, P < 0.001) and CA125 (P = 0.026, P = 0.005) were independent prognostic factors both in two cohorts. Nomograms of these two cohorts based on the number of positive serum tumor markers (NPTM) were more accurate in prognostic prediction than TNM stage alone. Our findings suggested that elevated preoperative serum CA125, CA19-9 and CEA were associated with more advanced clinicopathological traits and less favorable outcomes. In addition, CA125 as an independent prognostic factor should be further investigated. Nomogram based on NPTM could accurately predict the prognosis of GC patients.

[Effect of management on imported malaria in Yangzhou City, 2012-2013].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the management on imported malaria in Yangzhou City, so as to provide a reference for formulating the strategy for the prevention and control of imported malaria. METHODS: The data about the detection rate of Plasmodium of fever people in labor-exporting services and overseas returners, the proportion of laboratory confirmed cases in the whole malaria cases, the proportion of the cases with standardized treatment in the whole falciparum malaria cases within 24 hours, and the status of establishment of labor export platform were collected and analyzed in Yangzhou City from 2012 to 2013. RESULTS: There were 82 imported malaria cases in Yangzhou City from 2012 to 2013. The monitoring of labor-exporting services and overseas returners was carried out in the seven counties and districts of Yangzhou City, and the coverage rate was 100%. There were 5 808 persons of export labor service, and among them, 5 575 persons got the medical alert service (95.99%), and 9 525 persons accepted the healthy behavior (95.13%). Totally 410 medical professional persons received the malaria microscopic examination training in 153 malaria microscopy stations or medical institutions, and the training coverage rate was 100%. The average time from attack to the first visit to a doctor of 82 falciparum malaria patients was 2.5 days; the average time from attack to diagnosis confirmation was 2.75 days. All the patients were cured. In the first visit to a doctor, 78 patients were diagnosed with blood tests, and the newly diagnosed blood test rate was 95.12%, and all of them were detected with Plasmodium. Totally 69 falciparum malaria cases were confirmed by the laboratory, and 58 patients were treated with the standard treatment within 24 hours after the first visit (84.16%). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of the imported malaria control and management in Yangzhou City is obvious. However, it is still necessary to strengthen the health education and relevant medical personnel training to prevent and control imported falciparum malaria efficiently.

[Establishment and application of imported falciparum malaria control system in Yangzhou City].

To aim at the characteristics of epidemic situation that the imported falciparum malaria cases increased year by year in Yangzhou City, an imported falciparum malaria control system was established. This control system was based on enhancing the management of returned labor service export persons from falciparum malaria endemic areas, the active medical remind service, the diagnostic capability and health education, and the cooperation of medical personnel and patients, and also avoiding diagnosis delay and misdiagnosis and promoting the treatment in time so as to decrease the serious patients and prevent them from death. After the application of the control system, there were 164 imported falciparum malaria cases from the returned persons of labor service export. The time from the attack of the disease to the diagnosis confirmed decreased from 6.8 days before the application of the system to 2.7 days after the application, and the rate of serious patients was 1.8% and there were no death cases.

[Epidemiological status of human intestinal nematodiasis in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the current epidemiological status of human intestinal nematodiasis. METHODS: Fresh feces of subjects were collected and the ova of intestinal nematodes were detected by Kato-Katz technique. Enterobius vermicularis was detected by the cellophane anal swab method. RESULTS: A total of 21 persons were ova positive among the 5666 subjects with 0.37% infection rate, and 51 persons were Enterobius vermicularis positive among 13,713 subjects with 0.37% infection rate. It was deducted that there were about 20,000 people infected with intestinal nematodes in Yangzhou City. CONCLUSION: There are some people infected with intestinal nematodes. Therefore, health education and surveillance of intestinal nematode infections still need to be strengthened

[Effect of Management Scheme on Control of Imported Falciparum malaria in Yangzhou City, 2010].

After 1-year implementation of Management Scheme on Control of Imported Falciparum Malaria in Yangzhou City, 2010, the coverage rate of health education was 100% in those returning from foreign countries, and the active treatment rate was 100%. All professional staff in medical and disease control institutions received training. 48.1% of the cases received standard treatment within 24 h, and all persons returning from foreign countries who had fever were examined for Falciparum infections. The cure rate was 100%, and the successful diagnosis of malaria in lab was 100%. It is indicated that the management scheme has an obvious effect on the control of imported falciparum malaria. However, health education among personnel of labor-exporting services and training for health staff should be further strengthened.

[Seasonal variation of bioavailable phosphorus in sediments in northeast part of Taihu Lake].

The concentrations of total phosphorus (TP), bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) and their seasonal changes in the surface sediments (0-10 cm) from three different regions of northeast of Taihu Lake were investigated. The results show that the concentrations of TP and BAP in the sediment are coincided with the corresponding trophic level of the overlying water. The concentrations of TP and BAP in the sediments varied widely not only between sampling sites but also between seasons. There is a significant correlation between BAP and TP in surface sediments, and their regression analysis equation varies with seasons. It is suggested to evaluate potential phosphorus-release risk of the sediment based on the TP concentration of the corresponding seasons.