Tenuifolin improves learning and memory by regulating long-term potentiation and dendritic structure of hippocampal CA1 area in healthy female mice but not male mice.

Polygala tenuifolia Wild is an ancient traditional Chinese medicine. Its main component, tenuifolin (TEN), has been proven to improve cognitive impairment caused by neurodegenerative diseases and ovariectomy. However, there was hardly any pharmacological research about TEN and its potential gender differences. Considering the reduction of TEN on learning and memory dysfunction in ovariectomized animals, therefore, we focused on the impact of TEN in different mice genders in the current study. Spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB), light-dark discrimination, and Morris water maze (MWM) tests were used to evaluate the mice's learning and memory abilities. The field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) of the hippocampal CA1 region was recorded using an electrophysiological method, and the morphology of the dendritic structure was examined using Golgi staining. In the behavioral experiments, TEN improved the correct rate in female mice in the SAB test, the correct rate in the light-dark discrimination test, and the number of crossing platforms in the MWM test. Additionally, TEN reduced the latency of female mice rather than male mice in light-dark discrimination and MWM tests. Moreover, TEN could significantly increase the slope of fEPSP in hippocampal Schaffer-CA1 and enhance the total length and the number of intersections of dendrites in the hippocampal CA1 area in female mice but not in male mice. Collectively, the results of the current study showed that TEN improved learning and memory by regulating long-term potentiation (LTP) and dendritic structure of hippocampal CA1 area in female mice but not in males. These findings would help to explore the improvement mechanism of TEN on cognition and expand the knowledge of the potential therapeutic value of TEN in the treatment of cognitive impairment.

[Mineralization Characteristics of Soil Organic Carbon and Its Relationship with Organic Carbon Components in Artificial Robinia pseudoacacia Forest in Loess Hilly Region].

In order to explore the characteristics of organic carbon mineralization and the variation law of organic carbon components of an artificial forest in a loess hilly area, an artificial Robinia pseudoacacia forest restored for 13 years and the adjacent slope farmland were selected as the research objects, and indoor culture experiments under three different temperature treatments (15, 25, and 35℃) were carried out. The results indicated that the mineralization rate of soil organic carbon decreased sharply at first and then stabilized. The cumulative release of organic carbon increased rapidly in the initial stage of culture and gradually slowed in the later stage. Soil organic carbon mineralization in sloping farmland was more sensitive to temperature change, and its temperature sensitivity coefficient Q10 was 1.52, whereas that in R. pseudoacacia forest land was only 1.38. According to the fitting of the single reservoir first-order dynamic equation, the soil mineralization potential Cp of R. pseudoacacia forest land and slope farmland was between 2.02-4.32 g·kg-1 and 1.25-3.17 g·kg-1, respectively, that is, the mineralization potential of the R. pseudoacacia forest was higher. During the cultivation period, the content of various active organic carbon components decreased with time, and that in the R. pseudoacacia forest land was greater than that in the slope land. The cumulative carbon release of soil was significantly positively correlated with the contents of MBC and DOC (P<0.05), and Q10 (15-25℃) was negatively correlated with the contents of SOC, EOC, and SWC (P<0.05). These results could provide some reference for the study of soil carbon sequestration in loess hilly regions under climate change.

[Changes in Soil Microbial Carbon-Degrading Enzymes and Their Relationships with Carbon Pool Components During the Restoration Process of Robinia pseudoacacia].

To reveal the change in the characteristics of soil microbial C-degrading enzyme activities and the response to the components of C during the restoration process of Robinia pseudoacacia forests in the Loess Plateau, the components of the soil C pool, C-degrading enzyme activities, and microbial metabolic entropy of R. pseudoacacia in different restoration stages were studied, and the response relationship between C-degrading enzymes and soil C components was explored. The results showed that the microbial respiration (MR) first increased and then decreased with the restored years. We found that the microbial metabolic entropy (qCO2) decreased significantly with the restored years, but the microbial entropy (qMB) increased. Soil C-degrading enzymes increased significantly in the early-stage restoration of R. pseudoacacia; however, oxidizing enzymes (PO and PER) and cellobiohydrolase (CBH) decreased in the late stage of restoration. The soil organic C and recalcitrant organic C increased significantly with the restored years; however, there was no significant difference for the labile organic C. Correlation analysis and the partial least squares-path model (PLS-PM) showed that soil C-degrading enzymes and C components were significantly correlated with microbial respiration and entropy (qCO2 and qMB), respectively. The hydrolytic enzyme (BG+CBH) was significantly positively correlated with SOC, microbial biomass C, qMB, and recalcitrant and labile organic C. The oxidizing enzyme (PO+PER) was significantly positively correlated with the soil clay and qCO2. In addition, the recalcitrant organic C was the key driver of soil microbial metabolism affected by vegetation restoration. Overall, the ecosystem of R. pseudoacacia plantations would gradually stabilize with the increase in restored years and significantly increase the sequestration effect of soil C. These results will be helpful to understand the transformation rule and regulation mechanism of the soil C pool in vulnerable habitats and provide scientific basis for the restoration and management of vegetation in the Loess Plateau.

Efficacy of the combination of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine in pulmonary fibrosis arising as a sequelae in convalescent COVID-19 patients: a randomized multicenter trial.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a significant number of mortalities worldwide. COVID-19 poses a serious threat to human life. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are diverse and severe and 20% of infected patients are reported to be in a critical condition. A loss in lung function and pulmonary fibrosis are the main manifestations of patients with the severe form of the disease. The lung function is affected, even after recovery, thereby greatly affecting the psychology and well-being of patients, and significantly reducing their quality of life. METHODS: Participants must meet the following simultaneous inclusion criteria: over 18 years of age, should have recovered from severe or critical COVID-19 cases, should exhibit pulmonary fibrosis after recovery, and should exhibit Qi-Yin deficiency syndrome as indicated in the system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The eligible candidates will be randomized into treatment or control groups. The treatment group will receive modern medicine (pirfenidone) plus TCM whereas the control group will be administered modern medicine plus TCM placebo. The lung function index will be continuously surveyed and recorded. By comparing the treatment effect between the two groups, the study intend to explore whether TCM can improve the effectiveness of modern medicine in patients with pulmonary fibrosis arising as a sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 infection. DISCUSSION: Pulmonary fibrosis is one of fatal sequelae for some severe or critical COVID-19 cases, some studies reveal that pirfenidone lead to a delay in the decline of forced expiratory vital capacity, thereby reducing the mortality partly. Additionally, although TCM has been proven to be efficacious in treating pulmonary fibrosis, its role in treating pulmonary fibrosis related COVID-19 has not been explored. Hence, a multicenter, parallel-group, randomized controlled, interventional, prospective clinical trial has been designed and will be conducted to determine if a new comprehensive treatment for pulmonary fibrosis related to COVID-19 is feasible and if it can improve the quality of life of patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This multicenter, parallel-group, randomized controlled, interventional, prospective trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000033284) on 26th May 2020 (prospective registered).

[Effects of Farmland Abandonment on Soil Enzymatic Activity and Enzymatic Stoichiometry in the Loess Hilly Region, China].

Clarifying the characteristic of soil enzymatic activity and stoichiometry variations as well as their influencing factors following farmland abandonment have important implications for understanding soil nutrient availability after revegetation and for illuminating the underlying mechanisms of soil nutrient cycling in ecosystems. To determine microbial nutrient limitations after farmland abandonment and to explore the driving factors of the variations in soil enzymatic activity and stoichiometry along a chronosequence of abandoned farmlands (0-, 10-, 20-, and 30-year-old) in the Loess Hilly Region, China, the potential activities of carbon (C)-, nitrogen (N)-, and phosphorus (P)-acquiring enzymes, soil physicochemical properties, and plant diversity and family composition were measured. The results showed that the activities of ß-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) increased significantly with the increasing years of land abandonment, whereas the activity of ß-1,4-glucosidase (BG) showed the opposite change trend. Additionally, the ratios of BG:(NAG+LAP) and BG:ALP had the same variation trend with BG activity, which decreased significantly with increasing time, but the ratio of (NAG+LAP):ALP showed an increasing trend and then decreased, with the highest values observed in the 20-year sites. Moreover, the vector length of soil enzymatic stoichiometry decreased significantly as the years of land abandonment inceased, suggesting a reduced microbial C limitation after farmland abandonment. The vector angles <45°were observed at farmlands (0-year sites) and 10-year sites, whereas angles >45°were detected at 20-and 30-year sites, indicating that soil microbial communities were N-limited in the first 10 years of land abandonment and thereafter were P-limited. The redundancy analysis (RDA) reveled that soil organic C content, total N content, the C:N and C:P ratios, soil pH values, and plant diversity had significant effects on soil enzymatic activity and stoichiometry. A variation partitioning analysis (VPA) further demonstrated that edaphic and vegetation factors explained 62.0% of the total variance of soil enzymatic activity and stoichiometry. It should be noted that the interaction between vegetation characteristics and soil physicochemical properties was the major factor affecting soil enzymatic activity and stoichiometry, which explained 37.1% of the variance of the soil enzyme characteristics. Collectively, the application of P fertilizer should be considered to mitigate the deficiency of available P in the ecosystem during farmland abandonment, and these findings may provide a theoretical basis for understanding the mechanisms underlying microbe-mediated biogeochemical cycles as well as guiding soil nutrient management and the sustainable development of the ecological environment.

[Leaf nutrient resorption characteristics of Robinia pseudoacacia at different ages and their response to soil nutrient availability]. / ä¸åŒæž—é¾„åˆºæ§å¶ç‰‡å »åˆ†é‡å¸æ”¶ç‰¹å¾åŠå ¶å¯¹åœŸå£¤å »åˆ†æœ‰æ•ˆæ€§çš„å“åº”.

To reveal nutrient resorption characteristics of Robinia pseudoacacia and their driving factors in hilly and gully regions, we measured the concentration of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in leaves and the concentrations and stoichiometry of organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phospho-rus, ammonium, nitrate and available phosphorus in soils of R. pseudoacacia plantations with different stand ages. We analyzed the relationship between leaf nitrogen and phosphorus resorption efficiencies and soil nutrient characteristics. The nutrients in plants and soil changed significantly with stand ages. The total and available phosphorus concentrations were low in the soil. Nitrogen resorption efficiency first increased and then decreased with the increases of stand age, with a range of 48.2%-54.0% and a mean value of 48.5%. Phosphorus resorption efficiency increased significantly with stand age, with a range of 45.2%-49.4% and a mean value of 46.9%. Nitrogen resorption efficiency showed negative response to soil nitrogen and N:P. Phosphorus resorption efficiency was significantly positively correlated to soil N:P and negatively correlated to soil available phosphorus. Our results indicated that soil nutrient availability negatively drove nutrient resorption efficiency. The strategies of leaf nutrient resorption responded strongly to soil N:P due to the N2-fixing effect and P-limitation of R. pseudoacacia.

[Population spatial patterns of grassland plant communities in different slope aspects in the loess hilly area, China.] / é»„åœŸä¸˜é™µæ²Ÿå£‘åŒºä¸åŒå¡å‘æ’‚è’è‰åœ°æ¤ç‰©ç¾¤è½ç§ç¾¤ç©ºé—´æ ¼å±€.

We investigated the species composition and diversity of four grassland communities with different slope aspects in the loess hilly area of China. The power law was used to analyze spatial heterogeneity of the community and spatial pattern of the population. The results showed that Artemisia sacrorum was the dominant species and occurred in each site. Other species had different status and contributed differently to the spatial pattern of communities. Moreover, the spatial patterns of communities responded differently to various slope aspects, with the degree of aggregation ranked as sunny > half-sunny > half-shady > shady. The spatial heterogeneity index of community was positively correlated with the Simpson diversity index, but was negatively correlated with Margalef richness, Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness. The relative spatial heterogeneity index of the dominant species (A. sacrorum), sub-dominant species (Lespedeza dahurica and Stipa bungeana), and a few associated species (Artemisia scoparia, Melica scabrosa) were larger than that of the community, which resulted in cluster distribution. However, the relative spatial heterogeneity index of most associated species (Phragmites communis, Sonchus arvensis, and Bothriochloa flaccidum) showed the similar trends with the distribution of the community. In contrast, the relative spatial heterogeneity index of Cephalanoplos segetum, Gueldenstaedtia multiflora and Artemisia giraldii was lower than that of the community. These differences reduced the aggregation degree of the community. In summary, the aggregation degree of community was determined by dominant species, sub-dominant species and occasional species. Specifically, the dominant species, sub-dominant species and some associated species could promote the aggregation of the community, but occasional species would reduce the cluster distribution.

[Variation in leaf functional traits of different-aged Robinia pseudoacacia communities and relationships with soil nutrients]. / ä¸åŒæž—é¾„åˆºæ§å¶åŠŸèƒ½æ€§çŠ¶å·®å¼‚åŠå ¶ä¸ŽåœŸå£¤å »åˆ†çš„å ³ç³».

On the basis of various leaf functional traits of different-aged Robinia pseudoacacia communities, as well as the relationships between the traits and soil nutrients, the adaptation strategy of R. pseudoacacia in relation to soil conditions was analyzed in Ansai County, the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed that specific leaf area, leaf area, leaf water content, leaf total nitrogen content and leaf organic carbon content first increased and then decreased with the increasing stand age. The peak values of specific leaf area (279.18 cm2·g-1), leaf area (12.33 cm2), leaf water content (0.09%), leaf total nitrogen content (33.01 g·kg-1) and leaf organic carbon content (523.08 g·kg-1) were obtained at 30 years old. With the increasing stand age, leaf tissue density, leaf total phosphorus content, leaf thickness and stomata density increased, and stomata length and stomata width decreased. Leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf total phosphorus content, leaf water content, leaf thicknessand stomata density were the main indexes based on principal component analysis (PCA), for R. pseudoacacia leaf functional traits responding to the increased stand age. The indexes were correlated with each other, indicating that R. pseudoacacia was capable of changing leaf morphological structure to adapt to environmental changes. Soil total nitrogen content was the main factor influencing leaf area, leaf water content, specific leaf area and stomata length, while soil organic carbon content mainly affected stomata width, leaf tissue density, leaf thickness, leaf total phosphorus content, leaf total nitrogen content and stomata density. Therefore, soil total nitrogen and organic carbon content were main factors that affected leaf functional traits of R. pseu-doacacia in different stand ages. Soil nutrients in R. pseudoacacia communities were improved with the increasing stand age, which eventually affected leaf functional traits. The flexibility of leaf functional traits indicated that R. pseudoacacia communities had great potential to adapt to environmental change in Loess Plateau hilly region.

Mitochondria-Mediated Protein Regulation Mechanism of Polymorphs-Dependent Inhibition of Nanoselenium on Cancer Cells.

The present study was (i) to prepare two types of selenium nanoparticles, namely an amorphous form of selenium quantum dots (A-SeQDs) and a crystalline form of selenium quantum dots (C-SeQDs); and (ii) to investigate the nano-bio interactions of A-SeQDs and C-SeQDs in MCF-7, HepG2, HeLa, NIH/3T3, L929 cells and BRL-3A cells. It was found that A-SeQDs could induce the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, necrosis and death of cells, while C-SeQDs had much weaker effects. This polymorphs-dependent anti-proliferative activity of nano-selenium was scarcely reported. Further investigation demonstrated that A-SeQDs could differentially regulate 61 proteins and several pathways related to stress response, protein synthesis, cell migration and cell cycle, including "p38 MAPK Signaling", "p53 Signaling", "14-3-3-mediated Signaling", "p70S6K Signaling" and "Protein Ubiquitination Pathway". This was the first report to demonstrate the involvement of protein synthesis and post-translational modification pathways in the anti-proliferative activity associated with NMs. Compared with previously fragmentary studies, this study use a nanomics approach combining bioinformatics and proteomics to systematically investigate the nano-bio interactions of selenium nanoparticles in cancer cells.

[Clinical value of cupping spot effect].

The cupping spot is considered as one kind of skin change due to cupping treatment. With literature regarding cupping spot, the influencing factors and value of cupping spot in clinical diagnosis and treatment were analyzed, which could make a further exploration on the action mechanism of cupping treatment. The literature showed that the formation of cupping spot was related with cupping temperature, pressure, cup-retaining time, cupping area, individual difference and health condition, etc; cupping spot had the ability to assist diagnosis, prevent disease, cure disease and evaluate clinical efficacy. Previous studies on cupping spot have already made some progress, and played a positive significance on finding cupping rule and studying its mechanism. However, the research for this area is still in the primary stage, which needed deeper study to reveal scientific connotations of cupping spot.

Acute and subacute toxicity of the extract of Aristolochiae fructus and honey-fried Aristolochiae fructus in rodents.

Aristolochiae Fructus (AF) and honey-fried Aristolochiae Fructus (HAF) have been used in China for thousands of years as an anti-tussive and expectorant drug. Few clinical cases were reported associated with the toxicity of AF and HAF, although relatively high contents of aristolochic acids (AAs) were found in them. This work was designed to compare the acute and subacute toxicity of AF and HAF in order to provide references for safe clinical use and to evaluate the possibility of reducing toxicity of AF by honey-processing. The extracts of the herb were fed to mice or rats via gastric tube. Various toxic signs and symptoms, body weights, serum biochemical assay, organ weights and histopathology were used to evaluate the toxic effects. The median lethal dose (LD50) of AF and HAF are 34.1±7.2 g/kg/d and 62.6±8.0 g/kg/d with a 95% average trustable probability (p=0.95), respectively. The subacute results showed a dose-dependant relationship of the toxicity of AF and HAF. Even in the high dose groups, only moderate toxicity was observed. Honey-frying and decoction with water can decrease the contents of AAs, and attenuate the toxic effects of AF. But sufficient attention should be still paid to the safety of AF and HAF due to the existence of AAs.

[Litter decomposition of dominant plantations in Guangxi and its effects on leachate quality].

To understand the decomposition characteristics of the litters in different forest plantations and the effects of released substances during litter decomposition on the leachate quality, litter samples (leaf, shoot, and cortices) were collected from five forest plantations (1 year-old Eucalyptus urophylla x E. grandis, EU1; 4 year-old Eucalyptus urophylla x E. grandis, EU4; 7 year-old Acacia mangium x A. auriculaef, AM; 13 year-old Pinus massoniana Lamb, PL; and mixed broad-leaved softwood, BL), and incubated at 28 degrees C, using water leached for 255 days. In the first 105 days, the litter leachates of EU1 and EU4 had significantly higher coloration and N and P contents and lower pH than those of AM, PL, and BL. On the 255th day, the cumulative chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the leaf litters leachates of EU1 and EU4 was 193.9 and 212.8 g x kg(-1), being 4.2, 4.0, and 4.3 times and 5.3, 4.4, and 4.7 times higher than that of AM, PL, and BL, respectively. The mass loss rate and the N and P leaching rate of the leaf litter of EU1 were significantly higher than those of AM, PL, and BL. The mass loss rate of cortices of EU1 was significantly higher than that of PL. No significant difference was observed for the leaching rate of the shoot litters between AM, PL, and BL. Among the litter samples, leaf litter was easiest to be decomposed, while shoot litter was most difficult to be decomposed. The pH value of the litter leachates of Eucalyptus plantations was significantly negatively correlated with leachate chroma and COD, and the COD had significant positive correlations with the concentrations of total N and P in the leachates.