MXene Sediment-Based Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Sodium Alginate Aerogel Evaporator with Vertically Aligned Channels for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation from seawater is considered an effective way to alleviate the emerging freshwater crisis because of its green and environmentally friendly characteristics. However, developing an evaporator with high efficiency, stability, and salt resistance remains a key challenge. MXene, with an internal photothermal conversion efficiency of 100%, has received tremendous research interest as a photothermal material. However, the process to prepare the MXene with monolayer is inefficient and generates a large amount of "waste" MXene sediments (MS). Here, MXene sediments is selected as the photothermal material, and a three-dimensional MXene sediments/poly(vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate aerogel evaporator with vertically aligned pores by directional freezing method is innovatively designed. The vertical porous structure enables the evaporator to improve water transport, light capture, and high evaporation rate. Cotton swabs and polypropylene are used as the water channel and support, respectively, thus fabricating a self-floating evaporator. The evaporator exhibits an evaporation rate of 3.6 kg m-2 h-1 under one-sun illumination, and 18.37 kg m-2 of freshwater is collected in the condensation collection device after 7 h of outdoor sun irradiation. The evaporator also displays excellent oil and salt resistance. This research fully utilizes "waste" MS, enabling a self-floating evaporation device for freshwater collection.

Sublethal and transgenerational effects of lufenuron on biological characteristics and expression of reproductive related genes in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a notorious polyphagous pest that causes serious economic losses in crucial crops and has invaded Africa and Asia. Lufenuron is widely used for controlling S. frugiperda in China, owing to its high toxicity against this key pest, and less pollution and little impact on natural enemies. In the present study, the sublethal and transgenerational effects of lufenuron on S. frugiperda were investigated to provide in-depth information for the rational use of lufenuron. Results showed that the development time and pupae weight were not significantly affected following exposure of females to LC10 and LC25 and male S. frugiperda to the LC10 of lufenuron. However, LC25 exposure significantly reduced pupal and total development time and pupae weight of male S. frugiperda. The longevity of S. frugiperda adults was prolonged by lufenuron and the fecundity of S. frugiperda treated with LC10 of lufenuron was significantly increased by 40% compared to the control. In addition, our study demonstrated that the LC25 of lufenuron had transgenerational effects on the progeny generation. The development time of female S. frugiperda whose parents were exposed to LC25 of lufenuron was significantly decreased compared to the control. And then, the expression profiles of Vg, VgR, JHEH, JHE, JHAMT, JHBP, CYP307A1, CYP306A1, CYP302A1 and CYP314A1 genes involved in insect reproduction and development were analyzed using Quantitative Real-Time PCR (RT-qPCR). Results showed that Vg, VgR, JHE, JHAMT, and CYP306A1 were significantly upregulated at the LC10 of lufenuron, which revealed that these upregulated genes might be linked with increased fecundity of S. frugiperda. Taken together, these findings highlighted the importance of sublethal and transgenerational effects under laboratory conditions and these effects may change the population dynamics in the field. Therefore, our study provided valuable information for promoting the rational use of lufenuron for controlling S. frugiperda.

Long-term aged fibrous polypropylene microplastics promotes nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane emissions from a coastal wetland soil.

Microplastics (MPs) has been suggested that it can greatly affect soil greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions via altering soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. However, the difference in GHGs emissions, especially for those from coastal wetland soils, between varied aged MPs was rarely explored and the underlying mechanisms of GHGs emissions affected by the aged MPs were poorly understood. Therefore, the implications of fibrous polypropylene MPs (FPP-MPs) exposure on N2O, CO2, and CH4 emissions were examined by a 60-day soil incubation experiment. Compared with the control, the additions of un-aged FPP-MPs with both two rates (0.2 and 2 %) and aged FPP-MPs with a low rate (0.2 %) showed an insignificant effect on N2O emission, while the aged FPP-MPs added with a high rate (2 %) resulted in a remarkably increase in N2O emission, especially for those of the 30-day-aged FPP-MPs. A significant increase in CO2 emission was only observed in the 30-day-aged FPP-MPs treatments, compared with the control, and a higher addition rate produced a higher increase of CO2 emission. Regarding CH4 emission, it was significantly increased by adding aged FPP-MPs, and a longer aging period or/and a higher addition rate generated a higher degree of promotion of CH4 emission. However, compared with the CO2 emission, the quantity of CH4 emission was extremely low. These increased GHGs emissions can be ascribed to the improvements in soil physical structure and other chemical properties (e.g., pH and contents of soil organic matter and dissolved organic carbon) and enhancements in the abundances of denitrification- and carbon mineralization-related microorganisms. Overall, our results highlight the risk of elevated GHGs emissions from the soil polluted with 30-day-aged FPP-MPs, which should not be ignored as long-term aged FPP-MPs continue to increase in coastal wetland soils.

Superplastic Nanomolding of Aluminum Waveguides for Subwavelength Light Routing, Splitting, and Encryption.

Plasmonic nanowires (NWs) due to their polarization-dependent optics and enhanced light-matter interactions have presented vibrant capabilities in functional nanophotonic devices. However, current demonstrations have largely been based on chemically synthesized Ag NWs, which are extremely unstable and poorly functional. Here we show single-crystalline Al NWs can be fabricated by a superplastic nanomolding (SPNM) technique on a centimeter scale, which are earth-abundant and highly stable. They present robust properties of multimode waveguiding with long-term stability, high efficiency of beam splitting in response to the polarization, and durable thermal optical modulation, which can be readily applied as nanophotonic routers, splitters, and information encryptors. Moreover, this SNPM technique is extendable to other metals, which are highly exploitable for functional nanophotonic devices and integrated optical chips.

Identification and characterization of Prx5 and Prx6 in Chilo suppressalis in response to environmental stress.

The antioxidant proteins, peroxiredoxins (Prxs), function to protect insects from reactive oxygen species-induced toxicity. In this study, two Prx genes, CsPrx5, and CsPrx6, were cloned and characterized from the paddy field pest, Chilo suppressalis, containing open reading frames of 570 and 672 bp encoding 189 and 223 amino acid polypeptides, respectively. Then, we investigated the influence of various stresses on their expression levels using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The results showed expression of CsPrx5 and CsPrx6 in all developmental stages, with eggs having the highest level. CsPrx5 and CsPrx6 showed higher expression in the epidermis and fat body, and CsPrx6 also showed higher expression in midgut, fat body, and epidermis. Increasing concentrations of insecticides (chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram) and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) increased the expression levels of CsPrx5 and CsPrx6. In addition, the expression levels of CsPrx5 and CsPrx6 were almost markedly upregulated in larvae under temperature stress or fed by vetiver. Thus, CsPrx5 and CsPrx6 upregulation might increase the C. suppressalis defense response by reducing the impact of environmental stress, providing a better understanding of the relationship between environmental stresses and insect defense systems.

Mid-infrared analogue polaritonic reversed Cherenkov radiation in natural anisotropic crystals.

Cherenkov radiation (CR) excited by fast charges can serve as on-chip light sources with a nanoscale footprint and broad frequency range. The reversed CR, which usually occurs in media with the negative refractive index or negative group-velocity dispersion, is highly desired because it can effectively separate the radiated light from fast charges thanks to the obtuse radiation angle. However, reversed CR at the mid-infrared remains challenging due to the significant loss of conventional artificial structures. Here we observe mid-infrared analogue polaritonic reversed CR in a natural van der Waals (vdW) material (i.e., α-MoO3), whose hyperbolic phonon polaritons exhibit negative group velocity. Further, the real-space image results of analogue polaritonic reversed CR indicate that the radiation distributions and angles are closely related to the in-plane isofrequency contours of α-MoO3, which can be further tuned in the heterostructures based on α-MoO3. This work demonstrates that natural vdW heterostructures can be used as a promising platform of reversed CR to design on-chip mid-infrared nano-light sources.

Armet from whitefly saliva acts as an effector to suppress plant defences by targeting tobacco cystatin.

Arginine rich, mutated in early stage of tumours (Armet), is a well-characterized bifunctional protein as an unfolded protein response component intracellularly and a neurotrophic factor extracellularly in mammals. Recently, a new role of Armet as an effector protein mediating insect-plant interactions has been reported; however, its molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of plant defences remain unclear. We investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying whitefly-secreted Armet-mediated regulation of insect-plant interaction by agrobacterium-mediated transient expression, RNA interference, electrical penetration graph, protein-protein interaction studies, virus-induced gene silencing assay, phytohormone analysis and whitefly bioassays. Armet, secreted by Bemisia tabaci whitefly, is highly expressed in the primary salivary gland and is delivered into tobacco plants during feeding. Overexpression of the BtArmet gene in tobacco enhanced whitefly performance, while silencing the BtArmet gene in whitefly interrupted whitefly feeding and suppressed whitefly performance on tobacco plants. BtArmet was shown to interact with NtCYS6, a cystatin protein essential for tobacco anti-whitefly resistance, and counteract the negative effects of NtCYS6 on whitefly. These results indicate that BtArmet is a salivary effector and acts to promote whitefly performance on tobacco plants through binding to the tobacco cystatin NtCYS6. Our findings provide novel insight into whitefly-plant interactions.

Acylsugars protect Nicotiana benthamiana against insect herbivory and desiccation.

KEY MESSAGE: Nicotiana benthamiana acylsugar acyltransferase (ASAT) is required for protection against desiccation and insect herbivory. Knockout mutations provide a new resource for investigation of plant-aphid and plant-whitefly interactions. Nicotiana benthamiana is used extensively as a transient expression platform for functional analysis of genes from other species. Acylsugars, which are produced in the trichomes, are a hypothesized cause of the relatively high insect resistance that is observed in N. benthamiana. We characterized the N. benthamiana acylsugar profile, bioinformatically identified two acylsugar acyltransferase genes, ASAT1 and ASAT2, and used CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis to produce acylsugar-deficient plants for investigation of insect resistance and foliar water loss. Whereas asat1 mutations reduced accumulation, asat2 mutations caused almost complete depletion of foliar acylsucroses. Three hemipteran and three lepidopteran herbivores survived, gained weight, and/or reproduced significantly better on asat2 mutants than on wildtype N. benthamiana. Both asat1 and asat2 mutations reduced the water content and increased leaf temperature. Our results demonstrate the specific function of two ASAT proteins in N. benthamiana acylsugar biosynthesis, insect resistance, and desiccation tolerance. The improved growth of aphids and whiteflies on asat2 mutants will facilitate the use of N. benthamiana as a transient expression platform for the functional analysis of insect effectors and resistance genes from other plant species. Similarly, the absence of acylsugars in asat2 mutants will enable analysis of acylsugar biosynthesis genes from other Solanaceae by transient expression.

Introgressing the Aegilops tauschii genome into wheat as a basis for cereal improvement.

Increasing crop production is necessary to feed the world's expanding population, and crop breeders often utilize genetic variations to improve crop yield and quality. However, the narrow diversity of the wheat D genome seriously restricts its selective breeding. A practical solution is to exploit the genomic variations of Aegilops tauschii via introgression. Here, we established a rapid introgression platform for transferring the overall genetic variations of A. tauschii to elite wheats, thereby enriching the wheat germplasm pool. To accelerate the process, we assembled four new reference genomes, resequenced 278 accessions of A. tauschii and constructed the variation landscape of this wheat progenitor species. Genome comparisons highlighted diverse functional genes or novel haplotypes with potential applications in wheat improvement. We constructed the core germplasm of A. tauschii, including 85 accessions covering more than 99% of the species' overall genetic variations. This was crossed with elite wheat cultivars to generate an A. tauschii-wheat synthetic octoploid wheat (A-WSOW) pool. Laboratory and field analysis with two examples of the introgression lines confirmed its great potential for wheat breeding. Our high-quality reference genomes, genomic variation landscape of A. tauschii and the A-WSOW pool provide valuable resources to facilitate gene discovery and breeding in wheat.

The genetic adaptations of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda facilitated its rapid global dispersal and invasion.

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a lepidopteran insect pest that causes huge economic losses. This notorious insect pest has rapidly spread over the world in the past few years. However, the mechanisms of rapid dispersal are not well understood. Here, we report a chromosome-level assembled genome of the fall armyworm, named the ZJ-version, using PacBio and Hi-C technology. The sequenced individual was a female collected from the Zhejiang province of China and had high heterozygosity. The assembled genome size of ZJ-version was 486 Mb, containing 361 contigs with an N50 of 1.13 Mb. Hi-C scaffolding further assembled the genome into 31 chromosomes and a portion of W chromosome, representing 97.4% of all contigs and resulted in a chromosome-level genome with scaffold N50 of 16.3 Mb. The sex chromosomes were identified by genome resequencing of a single male pupa and a single female pupa. About 28% of the genome was annotated as repeat sequences, and 22,623 protein-coding genes were identified. Comparative genomics revealed the expansion of the detoxification-associated gene families, chemoreception-associated gene families, nutrition metabolism and transport system gene families in the fall armyworm. Transcriptomic and phylogenetic analyses focused on these gene families revealed the potential roles of the genes in polyphagia and invasion of fall armyworm. The high-quality of the fall armyworm genome provides an important genomic resource for further explorations of the mechanisms of polyphagia and insecticide resistance, as well as for pest management of fall armyworm.

Multi-Infection Patterns and Co-infection Preference of 27 Human Papillomavirus Types Among 137,943 Gynecological Outpatients Across China.

Background: The epidemiological feature of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is distinctive in China. We aimed to investigate the multi-infection patterns and co-infection preference of 27 HPV types among gynecological outpatients across China. Methods: Overall 137,943 gynecological outpatients were recruited from eight tertiary hospitals located in seven regions of China, between July 1st, 2014 and December 31st, 2016. The overall, region-specific, age-specific and type-specific prevalence of HPV infection were calculated, respectively. The pattern of HPV infection was also evaluated. Furthermore, rate ratio was calculated to evaluate the co-infection preference of any two HPV genotypes. Results: The overall prevalence of 27 HPVs' [17 high-risk (hr)/10 low-risk (lr)] infection was 23.5%. The age-specific HPV prevalence showed a "U-shaped" pattern. The most prevalent hrHPV genotypes were 16, 52, and 58. Multiple infections were detected in 25.8% of the HPV-positive women, in which dual infection was more prevalent. HPV 16/18 were likely to co-infected with HPV 31 but unlikely with HPV 52/58, i.e., the co-infection of HPV 16 with HPV 31 was high (3.5-fold), but low for HPV 58 (1.8-fold), and 52 (1.2-fold), while the co-infection of HPV 18 with HPV 31 was high (4.3-fold), but low for HPV 52 (1.9-fold), and 58 (1.7-fold). Conclusions: We found age-specific prevalence of HPV infection showed a "U-shaped" pattern for high and low risk HPV, suggesting the importance of screening among younger women and the necessary of detection among older women. We found a novel co-infection preference of HPV 16/18 with 31, 52, and 58, suggesting a need of developing and marketing prophylactic HPV vaccines that protect against more genotypes in China.

Light-controlled nanoswitches: from fabrication to photoelectric switching.

Plasmon-assisted optical growth significantly improves the controllability of polymerization on the nanoscale, which greatly facilitates the fabrication of nanodevices and their integration. Traditional approaches for nanodevices strongly rely on nanofabrication techniques, which involve complicated multi-steps and expensive instrumentation. Here, we build photoelectric nanoswitches by precisely implanting photoelectric active polymers, polypyrrole, into metallic bowtie nanogaps via charge transfer induced oxidative polymerization, which show conductivity up to 4 µS m-1 with an optical switching response time of ∼50 ms. We further demonstrate their photoelectric switchability with different laser powers, wavelengths and amounts of polypyrrole in the gaps. This plasmon-assisted optical growth strategy not only provides a facile and accurate means to control the polymerization process, but also greatly expedites the fabrication of nanodevices and their integration.

A salivary effector enables whitefly to feed on host plants by eliciting salicylic acid-signaling pathway.

Phloem-feeding insects feed on plant phloem using their stylets. While ingesting phloem sap, these insects secrete saliva to circumvent plant defenses. Previous studies have shown that, to facilitate their feeding, many phloem-feeding insects can elicit the salicylic acid- (SA-) signaling pathway and thus suppress effective jasmonic acid defenses. However, the molecular basis for the regulation of the plant's defense by phloem-feeding insects remains largely unknown. Here, we show that Bt56, a whitefly-secreted low molecular weight salivary protein, is highly expressed in the whitefly primary salivary gland and is delivered into host plants during feeding. Overexpression of the Bt56 gene in planta promotes susceptibility of tobacco to the whitefly and elicits the SA-signaling pathway. In contrast, silencing the whitefly Bt56 gene significantly decreases whitefly performance on host plants and interrupts whitefly phloem feeding with whiteflies losing the ability to activate the SA pathway. Protein-protein interaction assays show that the Bt56 protein directly interacts with a tobacco KNOTTED 1-like homeobox transcription factor that decreases whitefly performance and suppresses whitefly-induced SA accumulation. The Bt56 orthologous genes are highly conserved but differentially expressed in different species of whiteflies. In conclusion, Bt56 is a key salivary effector that promotes whitefly performance by eliciting salicylic acid-signaling pathway.

Midgut transcriptomal response of the rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) to Cry1C toxin.

Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) is one of the important insect pests in rice field. Bt agents were recommended in the C. medinalis control and Bt rice is bred as a tactic to control this insect. However, the tolerance or resistance of insect to Bt protein is a main threat to the application of Bt protein. In order to investigate the response of C. medinalis transcriptome in defending a Cry1C toxin, high-through RNA-sequencing was carried in the C. medinalis larvae treated with and without Cry1C toxin. A total of 35,586 high-quality unigenes was annotated in the transcriptome of C. medinalis midgut. The comparative analysis identified 6,966 differently expressed unigenes (DEGs) between the two treatments. GO analysis showed that these genes involved in proteolysis and extracellular region. Among these DEGs, carboxylesterase, glutathione S-transferase and P450 were differently expressed in the treated C. medinalis midgut. Furthermore, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase were identified in DEGs, and most of them up-regulated. In addition, thirteen ABC transporters were downregulated and three upregulated in Cry1C-treated C. medinalis midgut. Based on the pathway analysis, antigen processing and presentation pathway, and chronic myeloid leukemia pathway were significant in C. medinalis treated with Cry1C toxin. These results indicated that serine protease, detoxification enzymes and ABC transporter, antigen processing and presentation pathway, and chronic myeloid leukemia pathway may involved in the response of C. medinalis to Cry1C toxin. This study provides a transcriptomal foundation for the identification and functional characterization of genes involved in the toxicity of Bt Cry protein against C. medinalis, and provides potential clues to the studies on the tolerance or resistance of an agriculturally important insect pest C. medinalis to Cry1C toxin.

Direction-resolved radiation from polarization-controlled surface plasmon modes on silver nanowire antennas.

Metallic nanowires (NWs) support multiple surface plasmon (SP) modes, which lead to extraordinary SP propagation behaviors. The leaky SP modes in metallic NWs connect the guiding and radiation of light at the nanometer scale. Understanding and controlling these modes are of vital importance for various nanophotonic applications. Here, we investigate the radiation from two polarization-controlled SP modes on supported silver NWs by using leakage radiation imaging and Fourier imaging techniques. The radiation directions from these modes can be clearly resolved from the Fourier images. The radiation polarization of the SP modes is related to the polarization of the excitation light. By depositing thin Al2O3 films onto silver NWs or decreasing the excitation wavelength, the radiation angles and wave vectors of the two modes are increased, and the longitudinal mode is more sensitive to Al2O3 thickness. Moreover, the propagation length of the longitudinal mode is obtained by analyzing the leakage radiation images, which is decreased with the decrease of the excitation wavelength and the increase of the Al2O3 layer thickness. These results show that leakage radiation from different SP modes on silver NWs can be resolved directly and controlled effectively. The supported silver NWs can thus be applied to designing plasmonic circuits, nanoantennas and nanosensors.

Systemic lupus erythematosus with intestinal perforation: A case report.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease, which can affect almost all systems and organs. Gastrointestinal disorder is one of the most noteworthy complications of patients with SLE. However, gastrointestinal disorder with intestinal perforation is rare, but potentially life-threatening if not treated promptly. The present study reported a case of SLE with intestinal perforation, where surgical intervention was performed and a crevasse (~3 cm in diameter) was detected in the ileum, ~60 cm from the ileocecal valve. Following surgery, the patient suffered from difficult ventilator weaning, septic shock and intestinal obstruction. The patient was successfully treated and discharged from the hospital after ~4 months of treatment. Intestinal perforation in SLE patients is potentially life-threatening; early diagnosis and prompt treatment are crucial to the management of this rare complication of SLE.

Carcinoid tumor of the appendix: A case report.

Carcinoid tumors are the most common neoplasm of the appendix. The clinical presentation of these lesions is often similar to that of acute appendicitis, or the tumors are asymptomatic. The carcinoids are commonly found incidentally during histopathological examination of the resected appendix following appendectomy or other abdominal procedures. Appendiceal carcinoids usually behave as benign tumors and appendicectomy alone is a sufficient treatment in the majority of cases, while for larger lesions, right colectomy should be performed. The prognosis of patients with local appendiceal carcinoids is excellent. The present study reports the case of a 22-year-old female patient that presented with recurrent right lower abdominal pain of a three-year duration. The patient underwent successful appendectomy and recovered four days later. Subsequently, an appendiceal carcinoid tumor located at the tip of the appendix was diagnosed by histopathological examination. Follow-up examination one year after surgery revealed that the patient was well with no discomfort.

Transcriptional responses of invasive and indigenous whiteflies to different host plants reveal their disparate capacity of adaptation.

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci contains more than 35 cryptic species. The higher adaptability of Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) cryptic species has been recognized as one important factor for its invasion and displacement of other indigenous species worldwide. Here we compared the performance of the invasive MEAM1 and the indigenous Asia II 3 whitefly species following host plant transfer from a suitable host (cotton) to an unsuitable host (tobacco) and analyzed their transcriptional responses. After transfer to tobacco for 24 h, MEAM1 performed much better than Asia II 3. Transcriptional analysis showed that the patterns of gene regulation were very different with most of the genes up-regulated in MEAM1 but down-regulated in Asia II 3. Whereas carbohydrate and energy metabolisms were repressed in Asia II 3, the gene expression and protein metabolisms were activated in MEAM1. Compared to the constitutive high expression of detoxification genes in MEAM1, most of the detoxification genes were down-regulated in Asia II 3. Enzymatic activities of P450, GST and esterase further verified that the detoxification of MEAM1 was much higher than that of Asia II 3. These results reveal obvious differences in responses of MEAM1 and Asia II 3 to host transfer.

Cloning of a putative extracellular Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and functional differences of superoxide dismutases in invasive and indigenous whiteflies.

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) are a group of important antioxidant defense enzymes. In this study, a putative extracellular Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (ecCuZnSOD) complementary DNA was cloned and characterized from the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the expression level of BtecCuZnSOD was more than 10-fold higher in the invasive Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) than in the native Asia II 3 species of the B. tabaci species complex. After exposure to low temperature (4 °C), the expression of Bt-ecCuZnSOD gene was significantly up-regulated in MEAM1 but not in Asia II 3. Furthermore, the expression level of B. tabaci intracellular CuZnSOD (Bt-icCuZnSOD), Bt-ecCuZnSOD and mitochondrial MnSOD (Bt-mMnSOD) was compared after transferring MEAM1 and Asia II 3 whiteflies from favorable (cotton) to unfavorable host plants (tobacco). On cotton, both CuZnSOD genes were expressed at a higher level in MEAM1 compared with Asia II 3. Interestingly, after transferring onto tobacco, the expression of Bt-ecCuZnSOD was significantly induced in Asia II 3 but not in MEAM1. On the other hand, while Bt-mMnSOD was expressed equally in both species on cotton, Bt-mMnSOD messenger RNA was up-regulated in MEAM1 on tobacco. Consistently, enzymatic activity assays of CuZnSOD and MnSOD demonstrated that CuZnSOD might play an important protective role against oxidative stress in Asia II 3, whereas MnSOD activation was critical for MEAM1 whiteflies during host adaptation. Taken together, our results suggest that the successful invasion of MEAM1 is correlated with its constitutive high activity of CuZnSOD and inducible expression of MnSOD under stress conditions.

Xiaochaihu Decoction attenuates the vicious circle between the oxidative stress and the ALP inactivation through LPS-catecholamines interactions in gut, liver and brain during CCI4+ethanol-induced mouse HCC.

BACKGROUND: Xiaochaihu Decoction (XCHD) prevents hepatocarcinogenesis in association with inhibition of oxidative stress. However, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-catecholamines (CA) interactions in gut, liver and brain may play an important role in the status of oxidative stress. This study was to assess whether XCHD attenuates the vicious circle between oxidative stress and ALP inactivation through LPS-CA interactions. METHODS: Hepatocellular carcinoma group (HCC) were induced by CCI4 + ethanol; HCC with Liver Depression and Spleen Deficiency (HCC + LDSD) were induced by squeezing tails (30 min/day), solitary breeding and intermittent fasting on the basis of HCC; XCHD was administered after 4 weeks of the HCC + LDSD. The degree of tissue injury were studied using a scoring system, and brain weights were measured. Peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)), malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid (VMA, CA metabolites), lipopolysaccharide-phosphate (LPS-P), ALP activity (ALP-A) and Concanavalin A (ConA)-binding rate of ALP (ALP-C) were determined by colorimetric method and lectin (ConA) affinity precipitation method. RESULTS: More injuries and ONOO(-), MDA, VMA, LPS-P, ALP-C were increased, ALP-A were decreased in the gut, liver and brain of HCC group, the most in HCC + LDSD group, after treatment with XCHD, all of which were improved. A positive association found between gut-liver-brain injury and ONOO(-), MDA, VMA, LPS-P, ALP-C, between ONOO(-), MDA, VMA, LPS-P and ALP-C in the gut, liver and brain, and a negative association found between gut-liver-brain injury and ALP-A, between ALP-A and ONOO(-), MDA, VMA, LPS-P, ALP-C in the gut, liver and brain. CONCLUSIONS: XCHD can attenuates the vicious circle between the oxidative stress, nitrosative stress, N-glycan deficiency and inactivation of ALP through LPS-CA interactions in gut, liver and brain.