Research status and prospect of ratoon rice in China under mechanically harvested condition.

The proportion and area of ratoon rice planting in China have been substantially increased, due to continuous improvement of rice breeding methods and consecutive innovation of cultivation technology, which has developed into one of rice planting modes with significant production efficiency. Combining the experience in research and practice, from the perspective of crop physiology and ecology, we reviewed the current situation and prospects of high-yielding formation and physiological mechanisms of ratoon rice. We focused on four key aspects: screening and breeding of ratoon rice cultivars and the classification; suitable stubble height for mechanically harvested ratoon rice, as well as water and fertilizer management; dry matter production and allocation in ratoon rice and the relationship with yield formation; regenerative activity and vigor of ratoon rice roots and their relationship with rhizosphere micro-ecological characteristics. As for the extending of mechanized low-cut stubbles ratoon rice technique, we should properly regulate the rhizosphere system, coordinate rhizosphere nutrient supply, germination of axillary buds, and tillering regeneration, to achieve the target of "four-high-one-low", that is high regeneration coefficient, high number of regeneration panicle, high harvest index, high yield, high quality, low-carbon and safe, aiming to improve the sustainability of ratoon rice industry.

Recent advances on cyclodepsipeptides: biologically active compounds for drug research.

Cyclodepsipeptides are a large family of peptide-related natural products consisting of hydroxy and amino acids linked by amide and ester bonds. A number of cyclodepsipeptides have been isolated and characterized from fungi and bacteria. Most of them showed antitumor, antifungal, antiviral, antimalarial, and antitrypanosomal properties. Herein, this review summarizes the recent literatures (2010-2022) on the progress of cyclodepsipeptides from fungi and bacteria except for those of marine origin, in order to enrich our knowledge about their structural features and biological sources.

Long chain triglyceride-lipid formulation promotes the oral absorption of the lipidic prodrugs through coincident intestinal behaviors.

Oral administration of chemotherapy agents, such as docetaxel (DTX), is expected to reduce side effects significantly and increase dosing frequency. However, they often suffer from poor oral bioavailability, impeding their oral application. Dietary lipids such as triglycerides favor lymphatic transport nor vein system, bypassing the first-pass metabolism. Inspired by this concept, we developed a triglyceride-like prodrug of DTX (named as OATG) and explored the effect of lipid types on the OATG oral delivery. The plasma profile in rats revealed that long chain triglyceride (LCT)-based lipid formulations (LBLF) were more promising for OATG delivery than medium chain triglyceride (MCT) ones. The OATG LBLF elicited a markedly enhanced absorption compared with oral Taxotere or DTX LBLF, resulting in relative bioavailability 6.11 or 2.47-fold higher, respectively. The coincident intestinal behaviors of lipid excipients and TG-like prodrug facilitate the oral absorption of the prodrug. The effectiveness of the prodrug formulation was also examined in beagles with absolute bioavailability up to 41.08%, in sharp contrast to that of control DTX group (8%). Besides, the OATG oral formulation could be schedule-intensively administrated with no hypersensitivity, gastrointestinal and hematological toxicity. The current strategy provides an effective lipid formulation and a promising chance for chemotherapy at home.

Perinatal stress effects on later anxiety and hormone secretion in male mandarin voles.

The estradiol (E2), estrogen receptor-α (ERα), testosterone (T), and androgen receptor (AR) can contribute to anxiety, but whether they are associated with the reversion of prenatal adverse outcomes remains unclear. Here, we tested the interactive effects of prenatal maternal restraint stress and early postnatal short-term maternal separation on adult male mandarin vole (Microtus mandarinus) behavior and changes in E2, T, and their receptors. The results showed that PS adult males (PS/NH) exhibited an increase in anxiety-like behavior in open-field and elevated plus-maze tests than the other 3 groups, including adult male offspring controls (PC/NH), adult male offspring controls with short-term maternal separation (PC/H), and PS adult males with short-term maternal separation (PS/H). The increase in anxiety-like behavior was associated with significantly lower E2 and T serum levels, had significantly more ERα immunoreactive neurons (ERα-IRs) in some brain regions, as well as significantly fewer AR immunoreactive neurons (AR-IRs) in some brain regions than the other 3 groups. We found it interesting that the PC/H and PS/H were similar to the PC/NH in that they did not produce anxiety-like behavior. However, early postnatal short-term maternal separation reversed prenatally induced changes in E2 and T serum levels and altered ERα-IRs and AR-IRs in the brain. These data suggest that changes in anxious adults may be governed by early environmental factors and their interactions because changes in E2 and T serum levels and the distribution of ERα and AR in the brain result in behavioral changes related to less anxiety into adulthood.

Effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric mucosal pathologic change and level of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase.

AIM: To investigate the level of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme and its effect on gastric mucosal pathologic change in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori (H pylori), and to study the pathogenic mechanism of H pylori. METHODS: The mucosal tissues of gastric antrum were taken by endoscopy, then their pathology, H pylori and anti-CagA-IgG were determined. Fifty H pylori positive cases and 35 H pylori negative cases were randomly chosen. Serum level of NO and NOS was detected. RESULTS: One hundred and seven cases (71.33%) were anti-CagA-IgG positive in 150 H pylori positive cases. The positive rate was higher especially in those with pre-neoplastic diseases, such as atrophy, intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia. The level of NO and NOS in positive group was higher than that in negative group, and apparently lower in active gastritis than in pre-neoplastic diseases such as atrophy, intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia. CONCLUSION: H pylori is closely related with chronic gastric diseases, and type I H pylori may be the real factor for H pylori-related gastric diseases. Infection with H pylori can induce elevation of NOS, which produces NO.