Spatiotemporal dynamics of phytoplankton biomass and community succession for driving factors in a meso-eutrophic lake.

Effects of climate change and nutrient load caused by human activities on lake phytoplankton blooms have attracted much attention globally. However, their roles and synergistic effects on phytoplankton biomass and community historical succession are not well understood, especially for meso-eutrophic plateau lakes. In this study, a multi-year (1997-2022) monthly dataset including hydro-chemical and meteorological indicators of the meso-eutrophic plateau lake Erhai in China, was used to explore the contributions of climate change and nutrients on phytoplankton biomass variation and community succession. Phytoplankton biomass increased from 1997 to 2006, slowly decreased from 2006 to 2015, then increased again from 2015 to 2022, according to a generalised additive model (GAM). Alongside warming, nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter are key drivers of long-term interannual variation in phytoplankton biomass and historical succession of the phytoplankton community. The extensive blooms in recent years were strongly associated with both organic matter accumulation and global warming. Phytoplankton biomass in northern and southern districts was greater than in central areas, with Cyanophyta and Pyrrophyta dominating in the north and Chlorophyta prevalent in the south. Since 2015, phytoplankton diversity has increased significantly, and biomass has declined in the southern district but increased markedly in the northern district. Spatial heterogeneity was caused by the spatial distribution of nutrients and the buoyancy regulation capacity of cyanobacteria. The results demonstrate that bloom mitigation responds strongly to nitrogen and phosphorus control in meso-eutrophic lakes, therefore preventing and controlling blooms through nitrogen and phosphorus reduction is still an effective measure. Given the accumulation of organic matter in recent years, synergistic control of organic matter and total nitrogen and phosphorus could effectively reduce the risk of cyanobacterial and dinoflagellate blooms.

Therapeutic effect and molecular mechanism of Salvia Miltiorrhiza on rats with acute brain injury after carbon monoxide poisoning based on the strategy of internet pharmacology.

The pathogenesis of brain injury caused by carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is very complex, and there is no exact and reliable treatment in clinic. In the present study, we screened the therapeutic target and related signal pathway of Salvia Miltiorrhiza for acute COP brain injury, and clarified the pharmacological mechanism of multicomponent, multitarget, and multisignal pathway in Salvia Miltiorrhiza by network pharmacology. To further verify the therapeutic effect of Salvia Miltiorrhiza on acute brain injury based on the results of network analysis, a total of 216 male healthy Sprague Dawley rats were collected in the present study and randomly assigned to a normal control group, a COP group and a Tanshinone IIA sulfonate treatment group (72 rats in each group). The rat model of acute severe COP was established by the secondary inhalation in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. We found that Salvia Miltiorrhiza had multiple active components, and played a role in treating acute brain injury induced by COP through multiple targets and multiple pathways, among them, MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway was one of the most important. COP can start apoptosis process, activate the MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway, and promote the expression of VEGF-A protein and the formation of brain edema. Tanshinone IIA can effectively inhibit apoptosis, up-regulate the expressions of VEGF-A, P-MEK1/2 and P-ERK1/2 proteins, thereby protect endothelial cells, promote angiogenesis and microcirculation, and finally alleviate brain edema.

Neuroprotective effect of targeted regulatory Nrf2 gene on rats with acute brain injury induced by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Oxidative stress has been considered as an important cause of neurocyte damage induced by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning; however, the precise mechanisms are not fully understood. The study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism and the neuroprotective effect of targeted regulatory nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) gene on acute brain injury in CO poisoning rats. An acute CO poisoning rat model was established by CO inhalation in hyperbaric oxygen chamber and followed by the administration of Nrf2 gene-loaded lentivirus. Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM), the levels of Nrf2, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and cell apoptosis were determined in brain tissue in rats. We found that CO poisoning could decrease ΔΨm of cells, slightly increase the expressions of Nrf2 and GCLC at mRNA and protein levels, reduce CAT and GSH-Px, and thus initiate apoptosis process. The Nrf2 gene treatment could obviously enhance the expressions of Nrf2 at mRNA and protein levels, and increase the concentrations of CAT and GSH-Px, maintain the ΔΨm of cells in brain tissue, significantly inhibit cell apoptosis as compared with the CO poisoning group (p < .05). These findings suggest that CO poisoning could induce oxidative stress and impair mitochondrial function of cells in brain tissue. The administration of Nrf2 gene could notably strengthen the antioxidant capacity of cells through regulating the downstream genes of Nrf2/antioxidant responsive element signal pathway, and positively protect cells against brain injury induced by acute severe CO poisoning.

Enhancing homology-directed repair efficiency with HDR-boosting modular ssDNA donor.

Despite the potential of small molecules and recombinant proteins to enhance the efficiency of homology-directed repair (HDR), single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) donors, as currently designed and chemically modified, remain suboptimal for precise gene editing. Here, we screen the biased ssDNA binding sequences of DNA repair-related proteins and engineer RAD51-preferred sequences into HDR-boosting modules for ssDNA donors. Donors with these modules exhibit an augmented affinity for RAD51, thereby enhancing HDR efficiency across various genomic loci and cell types when cooperated with Cas9, nCas9, and Cas12a. By combining with an inhibitor of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or the HDRobust strategy, these modular ssDNA donors achieve up to 90.03% (median 74.81%) HDR efficiency. The HDR-boosting modules targeting an endogenous protein enable a chemical modification-free strategy to improve the efficacy of ssDNA donors for precise gene editing.

Dependence of evolution of Cyanobacteria superiority on temperature and nutrient use efficiency in a meso-eutrophic plateau lake.

Algal blooms in lakes have been a challenging environmental issue globally under the dual influence of human activity and climate change. Considerable progress has been made in the study of phytoplankton dynamics in lakes; The long-term in situ evolution of dominant bloom-forming cyanobacteria in meso-eutrophic plateau lakes, however, lacks systematic research. Here, the monthly parameters from 12 sampling sites during the period of 1997-2022 were utilized to investigate the underlying mechanisms driving the superiority of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in Erhai, a representative meso-eutrophic plateau lake. The findings indicate that global warming will intensify the risk of cynaobacteria blooms, prolong Microcystis blooms in autumn to winter or even into the following year, and increase the superiority of filamentous Planktothrix and Cylindrospermum in summer and autumn. High RUETN (1.52 Biomass/TN, 0.95-3.04 times higher than other species) under N limitation (TN < 0.5 mg/L, TN/TP < 22.6) in the meso-eutrophic Lake Erhai facilitates the superiority of Dolichospermum. High RUETP (43.8 Biomass/TP, 2.1-10.2 times higher than others) in TP of 0.03-0.05 mg/L promotes the superiority of Planktothrix and Cylindrospermum. We provided a novel insight into the formation of Planktothrix and Cylindrospermum superiority in meso-eutrophic plateau lake with low TP (0.005-0.07 mg/L), which is mainly influenced by warming, high RUETP and their vertical migration characteristics. Therefore, we posit that although the obvious improvement of lake water quality is not directly proportional to the control efficacy of cyanobacterial blooms, the evolutionary shift in cyanobacteria population structure from Microcystis, which thrives under high nitrogen and phosphorus conditions, to filamentous cyanobacteria adapted to low nitrogen and phosphorus levels may serve as a significant indicator of water quality amelioration. Therefore, we suggest that the risk of filamentous cyanobacteria blooms in the meso-eutrophic plateau lake should be given attention, particularly in light of improving water quality and global warming, to ensure drinking water safety.

Corrigendum to "Clinical Characteristics of Visual Dysfunction in Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Patients".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2020/9537360.].

Feasibility analysis of external application of Xiao-Shuan-San in preventing PICC-related thrombosis.

PURPOSE: We aim to analyze the feasibility of external application of Xiao-Shuan-Santo prevent peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) -related thrombosis. METHODS: A total of 218 patients with PICC catheterization were randomly divided into a control group (n = 103) and a treatment group (n = 115). Patients in the treatment group received additional external application of Xiao-Shuan-San. The changes of coagulation index, the incidence of PICC-related thrombosis and other complications, and the maximum blood flow rate (Vmax) of axillary vein were observed at 1 day before catheterization and 30 days after PICC. RESULTS: At 30 days after PICC, the incidence of PICC-related thrombosis and other adverse events in the treatment group were obviously lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and the decreased Vmax value of axillary vein in the control group (11.75±1.91 cm/s) was more visible than that in the treatment group (14.63±3.03 cm/s), accompanied by a statistical significance (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: External application of Xiao-Shuan-San could reduce the incidence of PICC-related thrombosis and other complications.

Clinical Characteristics of Visual Dysfunction in Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of visual dysfunction in patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. METHODS: A total of 436 patients with CO poisoning were enrolled in our hospital from October 2012 to December 2018, including 193 patients with moderate poisoning (MP group), 165 with severe poisoning (SP group), and 78 with delayed encephalopathy (DE group). The clinical characteristics of visual dysfunction in patients with CO poisoning were analyzed through the collection of medical history, regular physical examination, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ophthalmological examination, the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ), and its influencing factors. RESULTS: Some patients in the three groups had visual dysfunction. The main ocular symptoms were local pain, eye movement disorder, and visual field defect. The key pathological factors were keratopathy, retinal nerve cell damage, optic nerve damage, retinal vascular disease, macular disease, and occipital visual center damage. The clinical symptoms of visual dysfunction after CO poisoning lasted for a long time (>12 months) and were not completely consistent with the positive results of the ophthalmological examination. A few sequelae of ophthalmology were still left after the help of medicine. CONCLUSION: The incidence of visual dysfunction in patients with CO poisoning was high, the clinical symptoms were rich and diverse, the duration of disease was long, and the prognosis was poor. Thus, the relevant ophthalmological examination and intervention treatment should be perfected as soon as possible.