Effects of isorhamnetin on liver injury in heat stroke-affected rats under dry-heat environments via oxidative stress and inflammatory response.

Isorhamnetin is a natural flavonoid compound, rich in brass, alkaloids, and sterols with a high medicinal value. This study investigated the effects of isorhamnetin on liver injury and oxidative and inflammatory responses in heat-stroke-affected rats in a dry-heat environment. Fifty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal temperature control (NC, saline), dry-heat control (DHC, saline), low-dose isorhamnetin-pretreated (L-AS, 25 mg/Kg), medium-dose isorhamnetin-pretreated (M-AS, 50 mg/Kg), and high-dose isorhamnetin-pretreated (H-AS, 100 mg/Kg) group. Saline was administered to the NC and DHC groups and corresponding concentrations of isorhamnetin were administered to the remaining three groups for 1 week. Blood and liver tissue were analyzed for oxidative stress and inflammation. The liver histopathological injury score, serum liver enzyme (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and lactate dehydrogenase), liver oxidative stress index (superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT], and malondialdehyde), and inflammation index (tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α], interleukin [IL]-1ß, IL-6, and lipopolysaccharides) were significantly higher in the DHC group than in the NC group (P < 0.05). These index values in the L-AS, M-AS, and H-AS groups were significantly lower than those in the DHC group (P < 0.05). The index values decreased significantly with an increase in the concentration of isorhamnetin (P < 0.05), while the index values of CAT and SOD showed the opposite tendency (P < 0.05). The expression of liver tissue nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), caspase-3, and heat shock protein (HSP-70) was higher in the DHC group than in the NC group (P < 0.05). Comparison between the isorhamnetin and DHC groups revealed that the expression of NF-кB and caspase-3 was decreased, while that of HSP-70 continued to increase (P < 0.05). The difference was significant for HSP-70 among all the isorhamnetin groups (P < 0.05); however, the NF-кB and caspase-3 values in the L-AS and H-AS groups did not differ. In summary, isorhamnetin has protective effects against liver injury in heat-stroke-affected rats. This protective effect may be related to its activities concerning antioxidative stress, anti-inflammatory response, inhibition of NF-кB and caspase-3 expression, and enhancement of HSP-70 expression.

Broad environmental adaptation of abundant microbial taxa in Robinia pseudoacacia forests during long-term vegetation restoration.

Vegetation restoration has significant impacts on ecosystems, and a comprehensive understanding of microbial environmental adaptability could facilitate coping with ecological challenges such as environmental change and biodiversity loss. Here, abundant and rare soil bacterial and fungal communities were characterized along a 15-45-year chronosequence of forest vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau region. Phylogenetic-bin-based null model analysis (iCAMP), niche breadth index, and co-occurrence network analysis were used to assess microbial community assembly and environmental adaptation of a Robinia pseudoacacia plantation under long-term vegetation restoration. The drift process governed community assembly of abundant and rare soil fungi and bacteria. With increasing soil total phosphorus content, the relative importance of drift increased, while dispersal limitation and heterogeneous selection exhibited opposite trends for abundant and rare fungi. Rare soil fungal composition dissimilarities were dominated by species replacement processes. Abundant microbial taxa had higher ecological niche width and contribution to ecosystem multifunctionality than rare taxa. Node property values (e.g., degree and betweenness) of abundant microbial taxa were substantially higher than those of rare microbial taxa, indicating abundant species occupied a central position in the network. This study provides insights into the diversity and stability of microbial communities during vegetation restoration in Loess Plateau. The findings highlight that abundant soil fungi and bacteria have broad environmental adaptation and major implications for soil multifunctionality under long-term vegetation restoration.

Characterization of changes in the intestinal microbiome following combination therapy with zinc preparation and conventional treatment for children with rotavirus enteritis.

Background: Rotavirus (RV) is one of the most common pathogens causing diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. Routinely, antiviral therapy, intestinal mucosa protection, and fluid supplementation are used in clinic, however this is not efficacious in some severe cases. Zinc supplementation has previously been shown to improve resolution of symptoms from infectious diarrhea. Methods: In this study differences in response rate, duration of hyperthermia, vomiting, and diarrhea, and the persistence time of cough and lung rales in groups were compared. 16SrDNA gene sequencing technology was used to analyze and compare changes in the intestinal microflora of children with RV enteritis who received the conventional treatment with or without the zinc preparation. In addition, the correlations between the differential bacterial species and the related inflammatory factors were determined. Results: Conventional therapy combined with the zinc preparation significantly shortened the duration of hyperthermia, vomiting, and diarrhea compared with the conventional treatment alone. In addition, the time to symptom relief showed that the absorption time of cough and lung rales was significantly shorter in the combination treatment group than that in the conventional treatment group in the children with pneumonia. Further, compared with the conventional treatment, the combined treatment significantly increased the diversity and abundances of florae as compared with the conventional treatment. This combination therapy containing zinc preparation markedly increased the abundances of Faecalibacterium, Bacteroidales, Ruminoccoccoccus, and Lachnospiraceae at the genus level. The LEfSe analysis suggested that Clostridiumbolteae were most significantly altered after the combination therapy. In addition, a correlation analysis revealed significantly negative correlations between the inflammatory factors especially IL-6, TNF-a, CRP and some intestinal florae such as Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Blautia, Parabacteroides, Subdoligranulum, and Flavonifractor. Conclusion: Compared with the conventional therapy alone, the combined therapy with the zinc preparation significantly improves symptoms caused by RV. The combination therapy containing the zinc preparation significantly increases the diversity and abundances of some beneficial groups of bacteria. Further, The presence of these groups was further negatively correlated with relevant inflammatory factors. More importantly, this combination therapy containing the zinc preparation provides a reference for the clinical management of children with RV enteritis.

Genetic diversity and genome-wide association study of 13 agronomic traits in 977 Beta vulgaris L. germplasms.

BACKGROUND: Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is an economically essential sugar crop worldwide. Its agronomic traits are highly diverse and phenotypically plastic, influencing taproot yield and quality. The National Beet Medium-term Gene Bank in China maintains more than 1700 beet germplasms with diverse countries of origin. However, it lacks detailed genetic background associated with morphological variability and diversity. RESULTS: Here, a comprehensive genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 13 agronomic traits was conducted in a panel of 977 sugar beet accessions. Almost all phenotypic traits exhibited wide genetic diversity and high coefficient of variation (CV). A total of 170,750 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained using the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Neighbour-joining phylogenetic analysis, principal component analysis, population structure and kinship showed no obvious relationships among these genotypes based on subgroups or regional sources. GWAS was carried out using a mixed linear model, and 159 significant associations were detected for these traits. Within the 25 kb linkage disequilibrium decay of the associated markers, NRT1/PTR FAMILY 6.3 (BVRB_5g097760); nudix hydrolase 15 (BVRB_8g182070) and TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE 1 (BVRB_8g181550); transcription factor MYB77 (BVRB_2g023500); and ethylene-responsive transcription factor ERF014 (BVRB_1g000090) were predicted to be strongly associated with the taproot traits of root groove depth (RGD); root shape (RS); crown size (CS); and flesh colour (FC), respectively. For the aboveground traits, UDP-glycosyltransferase 79B6 (BVRB_9g223780) and NAC domain-containing protein 7 (BVRB_5g097990); F-box protein At1g10780 (BVRB_6g140760); phosphate transporter PHO1 (BVRB_3g048660); F-box protein CPR1 (BVRB_8g181140); and transcription factor MYB77 (BVRB_2g023500) and alcohol acyltransferase 9 (BVRB_2g023460) might be associated with the hypocotyl colour (HC); plant type (PT); petiole length (PL); cotyledon size (C); and fascicled leaf type (FLT) of sugar beet, respectively. AP-2 complex subunit mu (BVRB_5g106130), trihelix transcription factor ASIL2 (BVRB_2g041790) and late embryogenesis abundant protein 18 (BVRB_5g106150) might be involved in pollen quantity (PQ) variation. The candidate genes extensively participated in hormone response, nitrogen and phosphorus transportation, secondary metabolism, fertilization and embryo maturation. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic basis of agronomical traits is complicated in heterozygous diploid sugar beet. The putative valuable genes found in this study will help further elucidate the molecular mechanism of each phenotypic trait for beet breeding.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Golovinomyces circumfusus on Scutellaria baicalensis in China.

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a member of the plant family Lamiaceae and is widely cultivated in China as a medicinal plant (Wang et al. 2021). In August 2022, an investigation of a 10-hectare field of S. baicalensis in Longxi county, Gansu province, China (35°18' N, 104°57' E) found that approximately 90% of the plants were infected with 70% leaves symptomatic. Initially, the thin, radial, irregular white colonies appeared on the adaxial surface of the plant leaves. Subsequently, the white colonies expanded and thickened to cover the entire adaxial surface of the leaves, and gradually spread to the stems and abaxial surface of the leaves. Finally, infected leaves dried out and defoliated prematurely. Tissue from infected plants was collected in order to identify the pathogen. Microscopic observations showed that hyphae were septate, branched, flexuous to straight, 3 to 9 µm wide. Appressoria were solitary and slightly to distinctly nipple-shaped. Conidiophores were erect, straight or somewhat flexuous, 105 to 145 × 8 to 13 µm in size (n=30). The conidia were ellipsoid to ovoid in shape, 25 to 39 × 12 to 21 µm (n=50), without obvious fibrosin bodies. Chasmothecia were globose or oblate, scattered to gregarious, dark brown, and 85 to 140 µm in diameter. Appendages were born equatorially on the ascomata, unbranched, 0.5 to 2.5 times as long as the chasmothecial diameter, interlaced with each other, and colorless. Asci were 5 to 12 per chasmothecium (n=30), obovate or suborbicular, 40 to 68 × 20 to 35 µm (n=30), mostly containing 2-3 ascospores. Ascospores were ellipsoid-ovoid, 14 to 24 × 10 to 15 µm (n=30). The fungus was identified as Golovinomyces circumfusus based on these morphological characteristics (Braun and Cook 2012). To validate the identity, the pathogen identification was confirmed through multi-locus phylogeny using internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 28S large ribosomal subunit, intergenic spacer (IGS) and beta-tubulin (TUB2) genes amplified. (Qiu et al. 2020). The resulting sequences were registered in GenBank (OR186707 for ITS, OQ861003 for 28S rDNA, OR193383 for IGS, OR205893 for TUB2). The phylogenetic tree was obtained using maximum parsimony (MP) in PAUP 4.0b. The phylogenetic analysis of the multi-locus sequences indicated that the strain HQ1 and G. circumfusus (type) clustered together on the same branch, confirming its identification. Pathogenicity tests were performed on potted 1-year-old plants of S. baicalensis according to Koch's postulates. Three plants were inoculated by gently pressing the naturally infected leaves onto 30 healthy leaves. Three non-inoculated healthy plants served as controls. Inoculated and control plants were placed in separate growth chamber (light/dark, 14 h/10 h; humidity, 70%; temperature, 25℃). After 12 days, the inoculated plants developed typical powdery mildew symptoms, but the control leaves remained without symptoms. The fungus on inoculated leaves was re-isolated, sequenced and confirmed as G. circumfusus based on morphological characteristics and molecular identification. Powdery mildew caused by G. circumfusus has been reported affecting Eupatorium cannabinum (Asteraceae) in Germany (Qiu et al. 2020), and Bidens pilosa var. radiata and Passiflora. edulis f. flavicarpa in Taiwan (Lin et al. 2020). There is no previous report about G. circumfusus causing powdery mildew on S. baicalensis. Moreover, although powdery mildew has been reported on S. baicalensis in China, the pathogen was not further identified (Zheng et al. 2010). To our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew caused by G. circumfusus on S. baicalensis in China and worldwide.

Effects of Tai Chi Yunshou on upper-limb function and balance in stroke survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Physical rehabilitation plays an important role in the recovery of motor function after a stroke. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi Yunshou (TCY), a form of physical therapy, on upper-limb function and balance in stroke survivors. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and five Chinese databases were retrieved from inception to July 1, 2020 (updated on March 31, 2022). Randomized controlled trials of TCY versus no-treatment for stroke were included. The RoB-2 was used to evaluate the quality of included studies. Upper-limb motor impairment, balance, and activities of daily living (ADLs) were measured by Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity Scale (FMA-UE), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Barthel Index (BI), respectively. Data synthesis was performed using RevMan (v5.3), and expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Seven studies with 529 participants were included. Compared with no-treatment, TCY improved FMA-UE (MD = 7.31, 95% CI: 5.86-8.77, minimal clinically important difference [MCID]: 9-10), BBS (MD = 4.68, 95% CI: 0.28-9.07, MCID: 4), and BI (MD = 4.12, 95% CI: 3.28-4.96, MCID: 1.85) in stroke survivors. CONCLUSION: TCY may benefit balance and ADLs in rehabilitation after a stroke, but it may not improve upper-limb function clinically.

Temporal shifts in root exudates driven by vegetation restoration alter rhizosphere microbiota in Robinia pseudoacacia plantations.

Plant-soil-microbiota interactions mediated by root exudates regulate plant growth and drive rhizosphere microbial feedbacks. It remains unknown how root exudates affect rhizosphere microbiota and soil functions in the course of forest plantation restoration. The metabolic profiles of tree root exudates are expected to shift with stand age, leading to variation in rhizosphere microbiota structure, and in turn, potentially altering soil functions. To unravel the effects of root exudates, a multi-omics study was conducted using untargeted metabonomic profiling, high-throughput microbiome sequencing and functional gene array. The interactions among root exudates, rhizosphere microbiota and nutrient cycling-related functional genes were explored under 15- to 45-year-old Robinia pseudoacacia plantations in the Loess Plateau region of China. Root exudate metabolic profiles, rather than chemodiversity, markedly changed with an increase in stand age. A total of 138 age-related metabolites were extracted from a key module of root exudates. The relative contents of six biomarker metabolites, such as glucose-1-phosphate, gluconic acid and N-acetylneuraminic acid, increased distinctly over time. The biomarker taxa (16 classes) of rhizosphere microbiota varied in a time-sensitive manner, which played potential roles in nutrient cycling and plant health. Nitrospira, Alphaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria were enriched in the rhizosphere of older stands. Key root exudates influenced functional gene abundances in the rhizosphere via direct effects or indirectly through biomarker microbial taxa (e.g., Nitrososphaeria). Overall, root exudates and rhizosphere microbiota are essential for soil function maintenance in R. pseudoacacia plantation restoration.

Drought resistance evaluation of sugar beet germplasms by response of phenotypic indicators.

Sugar beet is a main sugar crop worldwide that often faces drought stress. The identification of drought tolerance of sugar beet germplasms is beneficial for breeding, but the research about it has been rarely reported. In this study, the drought tolerance of germplasms 92005-1, 94002-2 and 92021-1-1 was tested under simulated conditions. Seven days and 9% PEG treatment were the optimal conditions for evaluation, under which more phenotypic indicators showed significant difference in drought tolerance coefficient. The objective weighting and membership function method were established for evaluating the drought tolerance of different sugar beet germplasms. Drought stress decreased the biomass of leaves and roots of sugar beet germplasms. The drought-sensitive germplasm responded faster for leaf weight, root weight, plant height and root length. These indicators declined more significantly under long-term and severe stress. Increasing the root-shoot ratio and proline content were universal strategies of sugar beet germplasms to overcome drought stress. The drought-tolerant germplasms held higher peroxidase activity and better ability to scavenge reactive oxygen for preventing the damage.

Sophoridine manifests as a leading compound for anti-arrhythmia with multiple ion-channel blocking effects.

BACKGROUND: Sophoridine (SR) has shown the potential to be an antiarrhythmic agent. However, SR's electrophysiological properties and druggability research are relatively inadequate, which limits the development of SR as an antiarrhythmic candidate. PURPOSE: To facilitate the development process of SR as an antiarrhythmic candidate, we performed integrated studies on the electrophysiological properties of SR in vitro and ex vivo to gain more comprehensive insights into the multi-ion channel blocking effects of SR, which provided the foundation for the further drugability studies in antiarrhythmic and safety studies. Firstly, SR's electrophysiological properties and antiarrhythmic potentials were recorded and assessed at the cell and tissue levels by comprehensively integrating the patch clamp with the Electrical and Optical Mapping systems. Subsequently, the antiarrhythmic effects of SR were validated by aconitine and ouabain-induced arrhythmia in vivo. Finally, the safety of SR as an antiarrhythmic candidate compound was evaluated based on the guidelines of the Comprehensive in Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA). STUDY DESIGN: The antiarrhythmic effect of SR was evaluated at the in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo levels. METHODS: Isolated primary cardiomyocytes and stable cell lines were prepared to explore the electrophysiologic properties of being a multiple ion-channel blocker in vitro by whole-cell patch clamp. Using electrical and optical mapping, the negative chronotropic effect of SR was determined in langendorff-perfused rat or guinea-pig hearts.The antiarrhythmic activity of SR was assessed by the ex vivo tachyarrhythmia models induced by left coronary artery ligation (LCAL) and isoproterenol (ISO). Canonical models of aconitine and ouabain-induced arrhythmia were used to verify the antiarrhythmic effects in vivo. Finally, the pro-arrhythmic risk of SR was detected in Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes (hSCCMs) using a Microelectrode array (MEA). RESULTS: Single-cell patch assay validated the multiple ion-channel blockers of SR in transient outward current potassium currents (Ito), l-type calcium currents (ICa-l), and rapid activation delayed rectifier potassium currents (IKr). SR ex vivo depressed heart rates (HR) and ventricular conduction velocity (CV) and prolonged Q-T intervals in a concentration-dependent manner. Consistent with the changes in HRs, SR extended the active time of hearts and increased the action potential duration measured at 90% repolarization (APD90). SR could also significantly lengthen the onset time and curtail the duration of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia (VT) in the ex vivo arrhythmic model induced by LCAL. Meanwhile, SR could also significantly upregulate the programmed electrical stimulation (PES) frequency after the ISO challenge in forming electrical alternans and re-entrant excitation. Furthermore, SR exerted antiarrhythmic effects in the tachyarrhythmia models induced by aconitine and ouabain in vivo. Notably, the pro-arrhythmic risk of SR was shallow for a moderate inhibition of the human ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG) channel. Moreover, SR prolonged field potential duration (FPDc) of hSCCMs in a concentration-dependent manner without early after depolarization (EAD) and arrhythmia occurrence. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that SR manifested as a multiple ion-channel blocker in the electrophysiological properties and exerts antiarrhythmic effects ex vivo and in vivo. Meanwhile, due to the low pro-arrhythmic risk in the hERG inhibition assay and the induction of EAD, SR has great potential as a leading candidate in the treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmia.

Role of herbal medicine and gut microbiota in the prevention and treatment of obesity.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Obesity is a common metabolic dysfunction disease, which is highly correlated with the homeostasis of gut microbiota (GM). The dysregulation of GM on energy metabolism, immune response, insulin resistance and endogenous metabolites (e.g., short chain fatty acids and secondary bile acids) can affect the occurrence and development of obesity. Herbal medicine (HM) has particular advantages and definite therapeutic effects in the prevention and treatment of obesity, but its underlying mechanism is not fully clear. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this review, the representative basic and clinical anti-obesity studies associated with the homeostasis of GM regulated by HM including active components, single herb and herbal formulae were summarized and discussed. We aim to provide a state of art reference for the mechanism research of HM in treating obesity and the further development of new anti-obesity drugs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The relevant information was collected by searching keywords (obesity, herbal medicine, prescriptions, mechanism, GM, short chain fatty acids, etc.) from scientific databases (CNKI, PubMed, SpringerLink, Web of Science, SciFinder, etc.). RESULTS: GM dysbiosis did occur in obese patients and mice, whiles the intervention of GM could ameliorate the condition of obesity. HM (e.g., berberine, Ephedra sinica, Rehjnannia glutinosa, and Buzhong Yiqi prescription) has been proved to possess a certain regulation on GM and an explicit effect on obesity, but the exact mechanism of HM in improving obesity by regulating GM remains superficial. CONCLUSION: GM is involved in HM against obesity, and GM can be a novel therapeutic target for treating obesity.

Tolerance and adaptation characteristics of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) to low nitrogen supply.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential element required for sugar beet growth. Sugar beets with low N (LN) tolerance and high N use efficiency are excellent materials for breeding. Here, we comprehensively evaluated the morphological and physiological responses of nine sugar beet genotypes to LN supply. It was found that 0.5 mmol·L-1 N (LN) significantly influenced the performance of leaves and the topology of roots by reducing the bioproduction of chlorophyll a (Chl a) and soluble protein (SP) and the accumulation of N in leaves and roots (LNA and RNA), thus differentially restricting the growth (hypocotyl diameter, HD; root length, RL) and biomass (leaf and root fresh weight; LFW and RFW; leaf dry weight, LDW) of these sugar beets. Principal component and cluster analyses showed that 780016B/12 superior (F) exhibited excellent tolerance to LN; it had higher SOD activity (62.70%) and APX activity (188.92%) and a higher proline content (131.82%) than 92011 (G, LN sensitive). These attributes helped 780016B/12 superior (F) to better endure LN stress, and the morphology and N distribution changed to adapt to N deficiency, such that the root length increased by 112.48%, leaf area increased by 101.23%, and leaf nitrogen accumulation reached a peak of 14.13 g/plant. It seems that LN-tolerant genotypes increased their root length and surface area by reducing the difference in biomass, thereby expanding the contact between roots and soil, which was conducive to the absorption of nutrients (N) by sugar beets and helped distribute more assimilation products to the roots.

Valence-arousal classification of emotion evoked by Chinese ancient-style music using 1D-CNN-BiLSTM model on EEG signals for college students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people are using multimedia content more frequently to communicate with each other on Internet platforms. Among them, music, as psychological support for a lonely life in this special period, is a powerful tool for emotional self-regulation and getting rid of loneliness. More and more attention has been paid to the music recommender system based on emotion. In recent years, Chinese music has tended to be considered an independent genre. Chinese ancient-style music is one of the new folk music styles in Chinese music and is becoming more and more popular among young people. The complexity of Chinese-style music brings significant challenges to the quantitative calculation of music. To effectively solve the problem of emotion classification in music information search, emotion is often characterized by valence and arousal. This paper focuses on the valence and arousal classification of Chinese ancient-style music-evoked emotion. It proposes a hybrid one-dimensional convolutional neural network and bidirectional and unidirectional long short-term memory model (1D-CNN-BiLSTM). And a self-acquisition EEG dataset for Chinese college students was designed to classify music-induced emotion by valence-arousal based on EEG. In addition to that, the proposed 1D-CNN-BILSTM model verified the performance of public datasets DEAP and DREAMER, as well as the self-acquisition dataset DESC. The experimental results show that, compared with traditional LSTM and 1D-CNN-LSTM models, the proposed method has the highest accuracy in the valence classification task of music-induced emotion, reaching 94.85%, 98.41%, and 99.27%, respectively. The accuracy of the arousal classification task also gained 93.40%, 98.23%, and 99.20%, respectively. In addition, compared with the positive valence classification results of emotion, this method has obvious advantages in negative valence classification. This study provides a computational classification model for a music recommender system with emotion. It also provides some theoretical support for the brain-computer interactive (BCI) application products of Chinese ancient-style music which is popular among young people.

Effects of cadmium stress on the morphology, physiology, cellular ultrastructure, and BvHIPP24 gene expression of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.).

To clarify the mechanism of the response of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) to cadmium (Cd) stress, this study investigated changes in the phenotype, physiological indexes, and subcellular structure of B. vulgaris under Cd treatment and the transcriptional pattern of the BvHIPP24 gene (a heavy metal-associated isoprenylated plant protein involved in heavy metal detoxification). The plant height and shoot and root growth of B. vulgaris seedlings were inhibited to some extent under 0.5 and 1 mM Cd, with gradually wilting and yellowing of leaves and dark brown roots. When the Cd concentration was increased, malondialdehyde content and the activities of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione S-transferase increased differentially. qPCR indicated that the expression of BvHIPP24 was induced by different concentrations of Cd. Although transmission electron microscopy revealed damage to nuclei, mitochondria, and chloroplasts, B. vulgaris exhibited strong adaptability to 0.5 mM Cd according to a comprehensive analysis using the membership function. The results showed that B. vulgaris may reduce cell damage and improve its Cd tolerance by regulating functional gene expression and antioxidant enzymes. This study increases our understanding of the Cd-tolerance mechanism of B. vulgaris and provides insights into the use of B. vulgaris in Cd bioremediation.

Sugar beet is a novel energy crop with superior characteristics for both heavy metal phytoremediation and biomass energy development. This work is the first to investigate both the morphological, physiological, and ultrastructural response of sugar beet to cadmium stress and the induction of a functional metallochaperone gene by cadmium. This study explains the cadmium tolerance mechanism of sugar beet based on a comprehensive evaluation and provides an important theoretical basis for further application of beet in heavy metal bioremediation.

Acclimation of sugar beet in morphological, physiological and BvAMT1.2 expression under low and high nitrogen supply.

Understanding the response and tolerance mechanisms of nitrogen (N) stress is essential for the taproot plant of sugar beet. Hence, in this study, low (0.5 and 3 mmol/L; N0.5 and N3), moderate (5 mmol/L; N5; control) and high (10 and 12 mmol/L; N10 and N12) N were imposed to sugar beet to comparatively investigate the growth and physiological changes, and expression pattern of the gene involving ammonia transporting at different seedling stages. The results showed that, different from N5 which could induce maximum biomass of beet seedlings, low N was more likely to inhibit the growth of beet seedlings than high N treatments. Morphological differences and adverse factors increased significantly with extension of stress time, but sugar beet seedlings displayed a variety of physical responses to different N concentrations to adapt to N abnormal. At 14 d, the chlorophyll content, leaf and root surface area, total dry weight and nitrogen content of seedlings treated with N0.5 decreased 15.83%, 53.65%, 73.94%, 78.08% and 24.88% respectively, compared with N12; however, the root shoot ratio increased significantly as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), glutamine synthetase (GS) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline content, especially in root. The expression of BvAMT1.2 was also regulated in an N concentration-dependent manner, and was mainly involved in the tolerance of beet leaves to N stress, which significantly positively correlated to GS activity on the basis of its high affinity to N. It can be deduced that the stored nutrients under low N could only maintain relatively stable root growth, and faced difficulty in being transported to the shoots. Sugar beet was relatively resilient to N0.5 stress according to the mean affiliation function analysis. These results provide a theoretical basis for the extensive cultivation of sugar beet in N-stressed soil.

GmWRI1c Increases Palmitic Acid Content to Regulate Seed Oil Content and Nodulation in Soybean (Glycine max).

Soybean (Glycine max) is an important oil crop, but the regulatory mechanisms underlying seed oil accumulation remain unclear. We identified a member of the GmWRI1s transcription factor family, GmWRI1c, that is involved in regulating soybean oil content and nodulation. Overexpression of GmWRI1c in soybean hairy roots increased the expression of genes involved in glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis, the proportion of palmitic acid (16:0), and the number of root nodules. The effect of GmWRI1c in increasing the number of root nodules via regulating the proportion of palmitic acid was confirmed in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. GmWRI1c shows abundant sequence diversity and has likely undergone artificial selection during domestication. An association analysis revealed a correlation between seed oil content and five linked natural variations (Hap1/Hap2) in the GmWRI1c promoter region. Natural variations in the GmWRI1c promoter were strongly associated with the GmWRI1c transcript level, with higher GmWRI1c transcript levels in lines carrying GmWRI1cHap1 than in those carrying GmWRI1cHap2. The effects of GmWRI1c alleles on seed oil content were confirmed in natural and RIL populations. We identified a favourable GmWRI1c allele that can be used to breed new varieties with increased seed oil content and nodulation.

Methodology of network pharmacology for research on Chinese herbal medicine against COVID-19: A review.

Traditional Chinese medicine, as a complementary and alternative medicine, has been practiced for thousands of years in China and possesses remarkable clinical efficacy. Thus, systematic analysis and examination of the mechanistic links between Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and the complex human body can benefit contemporary understandings by carrying out qualitative and quantitative analysis. With increasing attention, the approach of network pharmacology has begun to unveil the mystery of CHM by constructing the heterogeneous network relationship of "herb-compound-target-pathway," which corresponds to the holistic mechanisms of CHM. By integrating computational techniques into network pharmacology, the efficiency and accuracy of active compound screening and target fishing have been improved at an unprecedented pace. This review dissects the core innovations to the network pharmacology approach that were developed in the years since 2015 and highlights how this tool has been applied to understanding the coronavirus disease 2019 and refining the clinical use of CHM to combat it.

[Effects of root exudates C:N on soil physical and chemical characteristics and soil respiration in Robinia pseudoacacia plantation]. / æ ¹ç³»åˆ†æ³Œç‰©C∶N对刺槐林地土壤理化特征和土壤呼吸的影响.

We explored the effects of C:N ratio in root exudates of Robinia pseudoacacia plantations on soil nutrient cycling and microbial activity on the Loess Plateau. We collected in-situ soil from the R. pseudoacacia plantations with essentially identical habitat conditions and growing time of 15, 25, 35, and 45 years. By adding root exudates with different C:N ratios (N only, C:N=10, C:N=50, C:N=100, C only) to the soil and using deionized water as a control, we analyzed the effects of C:N ratio of root exudates on the physicochemical properties of elements such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, soil pH, and soil respiration. The results showed that: 1) Organic carbon content was positively correlated with the C:N ratio of root exudates. Soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition was faster when root exudates C:N=10. Higher C:N ratio of root exudates (C:N=100) could inhibit SOC decomposition, but only C addition had no significant effect on SOC. 2) Different root exudate C:N produced no significant influence on the total nitrogen. The addition of carbon promoted microbial uptake of ammonium nitrogen, while the addition of nitrogen promoted the nitrification of ammonium nitrogen. As the C:N ratio of root exudates increased, soil ammonium nitrogen content decreased. 3) The addition of nitrogen would reduce soil pH and increase soil total phosphorus content. 4) Soil respiration of R. pseudoacacia plantations was positively correlated with the C:N ratio of root exudates. With the increases of C:N ratio, the promoting effect of root exudates on soil respiration at 25 and 35 years R. pseudoacacia plantations was stronger. In conclusion, higher C:N ratio of root exudates will significantly promote the effect on soil respiration of R. pseudoacacia plantations. Our results improved the understan-ding of the root-soil-microbial interactions in forests.

A dynamics model of neuron-astrocyte network accounting for febrile seizures.

Febrile seizure (FS) is a full-body convulsion caused by a high body temperature that affect young kids, however, how these most common of human seizures are generated by fever has not been known. One common observation is that cortical neurons become overexcited with abnormal running of sodium and potassium ions cross membrane in raised body temperature condition, Considering that astrocyte Kir4.1 channel play a critical role in maintaining extracellular homeostasis of ionic concentrations and electrochemical potentials of neurons by fast depletion of extracellular potassium ions, we examined here the potential role of temperature-dependent Kir4.1 channel in astrocytes in causing FS. We first built up a temperature-dependent computational model of the Kir4.1 channel in astrocytes and validated with experiments. We have then built up a neuron-astrocyte network and examine the role of the Kir4.1 channel in modulating neuronal firing dynamics as temperature increase. The numerical experiment demonstrated that the Kir4.1 channel function optimally in the body temperature around 37 °C in cleaning 'excessive' extracellular potassium ions during neuronal firing process, however, higher temperature deteriorates its cleaning function, while lower temperature slows down its cleaning efficiency. With the increase of temperature, neurons go through different stages of spiking dynamics from spontaneous slow oscillations, to tonic spiking, fast bursting oscillations, and eventually epileptic bursting. Thus, our study may provide a potential new mechanism that febrile seizures may be happened due to temperature-dependent functional disorders of Kir4.1 channel in astrocytes. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-021-09706-w.

Efficacy and Safety of "Three Chinese Patent Medicines and Three TCM Prescriptions" for COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the efficacy, safety, and precision of TMTP for COVID-19. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies were searched in 11 electronic databases. This network meta-analysis included trials using TMTP to treat patients with COVID-19. The traditional pairwise meta-analysis was done by using Stata 15, and Bayesian network meta-analysis was done with WinBUGS. RESULTS: 18 trials were included with 2036 participants and 7 drugs. The results showed that LHQW had the most significant effects on improving expectoration, shortness of breath, sore throat, nausea, emesis, inappetence, muscle soreness, and headache, and it could produce the least adverse reactions. XBJ was the best drug for fever, fatigue, and diarrhea, which showed great advantages in lowering WBC levels. XFBD was the most effective drug for cough and chest distress, which had the least exacerbation rate. JHQG was the most effective for rhinobyon and rhinorrhea, while QFPD was the best drug in decreasing CRP levels. CONCLUSION: This study was the first most large-scale and comprehensive research of TMTP for COVID-19. The results showed that LHQW had good efficacy without obvious adverse reactions. Therefore, we believe that it should be firstly recommended for COVID-19 treatment. In addition, XBJ is recommended for patients with a severe fever, fatigue, and diarrhea, and JHQG is recommended for patients with obvious rhinobyon and rhinorrhea; then, XFBD is recommended for patients with cough and chest tightness as the main manifestation. Our findings will help experts develop new COVID-19 treatment guidelines to better guide clinical medication for protecting the health of COVID-19 patients.

Natural deep eutectic solvent-ultrasound assisted extraction: A green approach for ellagic acid extraction from Geum japonicum.

Introduction: In China and other Asian nations, Geum japonicum (GJ) is used as functional vegetables or as a type of folk medicine. Ellagic acid (EA) is one of the main active ingredients in GJ and has been utilized in food, cosmetics, and medicinal goods worldwide. Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) have gradually replaced organic solvents for efficient extraction of plant-derived active compounds due to its environmental protection, low toxicity, low solubility, reusability, etc. Methods: NADES with the highest EA yield was selected and the extraction conditions were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), the antioxidant activity of NADES extract was determined, and finally Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to explain the mechanism for the increase of EA yield in GJ. Results: In this work, several NADESs were tailored for the ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) of EA from GJ, among which choline chloride-oxalic acid (ChCl:Oa) was the most effective. In optimal conditions, ChCl:Oa extract produced higher EA yields than common organic solvents including methanol, ethanol, and acetone. In vitro antioxidant experiments showed that ChCl:Oa extract had stronger DPPH radical scavenging ability than other solvent extracts. Mechanically, FT-IR results indicated that ChCl:Oa could form a hydrogen bonding with EA, which enhanced the stability of EA. Meanwhile, ChCl:Oa-UAE treatment could destroy the tissue structure of GJ, thereby improving EA yield. Discussion: In conclusion, these results imply that the ChCl:Oa-UAE method might be an environmentally friendly approach for extracting EA from GJ.