[Effects of Spartina alterniflora Invasion on Soil Phosphorus Forms in the Jiaozhou Bay Wetland].

To investigate the effects of Spartina alterniflora invasion on soil phosphorus(P) cycling in coastal wetlands, we selected a S. alterniflora zone(SA zone) and mudflat zone(MF zone) in the Jiaozhou Bay as the target areas for the study. The variability of total phosphorus(TP), inorganic phosphorus(IP), and their component contents in wetland soils after S. alterniflora invasion and their influencing factors was evaluated. The results showed that the average contents of TP(472.70 mg·kg-1) and IP(239.00 mg·kg-1) in the soils were significantly higher than those of TP(386.19 mg·kg-1) and IP(212.68 mg·kg-1) in the pre-invasion area, with an increase of 22.40% and 12.38%, respectively. The IP fractions in the study area were dominated by calcium-phosphorus(Ca-P) and iron-phosphorus(Fe-P), accounting for 45%-61% and 31%-49% of IP, respectively. The Ca-P content of the soil in the 10-30 cm layer decreased significantly(P<0.05) after S. alterniflora invasion, which was especially significant in July. The Fe-P content increased significantly(P<0.05); in the 0-40 cm soil layer, Fe-P was higher than that in the 40-60 cm layer(P<0.05), and showed significant enrichment in the 10-40 cm soil in July. The structural equation model showed that organic matter(OM) had a significant positive effect on TP and Fe-P after S. alterniflora invasion(P<0.01), and the normalized path coefficients were 0.775 and 0.724, respectively. Fe-P had a significant negative effect on Ca-P after invasion(P<0.01) with a normalised throughput coefficient of -0.435. The study found that S. alterniflora invasion generally increased wetland soil P content, while promoting the conversion of Ca-P to Fe-P, improving wetland P bioavailability.

Berberine increases the expression of NHE3 and AQP4 in sennosideA-induced diarrhoea model.

Berberine, a compound isolated from Chinese Goldthread Rhizome, has been widely used as a non-prescription drug to treat diarrhoea in China. Previous studies have demonstrated multiple pharmacological activities for berberine, including its significant role in antimicrobial activity. However, its effect on ion exchange and water transfer remains unclear. The present study aims to explore the effect of berberine on the expression of Na(+)/H(+) exchanger3 (NHE3) and aquaporin4 (AQP4) in both diarrhoea mouse model induced by sennosideA and human intestinal epithelium cell line (HIEC). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blotting were adopted to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of NHE3 and AQP4. Furthermore, the absorption of berberine and the PKC activity were detected by HPLC and PepTag® Assay to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. It was shown that the expression levels of NHE3 and AQP4 were significantly increased in the diarrhoea mice treated with berberine compared with the untreated diarrhoea mice. Similarly, the expression levels of NHE3 and AQP4 were strikingly enhanced in HIEC co-treated with sennosideA and berberine compared with samples treated with sennosideA only. We also found the maximal absorption of berberine to be approximately 0.01%. In addition, no significant change of PKC activity was observed in the different HIEC treated groups. These results showed that berberine was able to increase the expression of NHE3 and AQP4, suggesting that berberine might exhibit its anti-diarrhoeal effect partially by enhancing the absorption of Na(+) and water.