Nitrogenous fertilizer plays a more important role than cultivars in shaping sorghum-associated microbiomes.

The plant microbiome plays a crucial role in facilitating plant growth through enhancing nutrient cycling, acquisition and transport, as well as alleviating stresses induced by nutrient limitations. Despite its significance, the relative importance of common agronomic practices, such as nitrogenous fertilizer, in shaping the plant microbiome across different cultivars remains unclear. This study investigated the dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities in leaf, root, rhizosphere, and bulk soil in response to nitrogenous fertilizer across ten sorghum varieties, using 16S rRNA and ITS gene amplicon sequencing, respectively. Our results revealed that nitrogen addition had a greater impact on sorghum-associated microbial communities compared to cultivar. Nitrogen addition significantly reduced bacterial diversity in all compartments except for the root endophytes. However, N addition significantly increased fungal diversity in both rhizosphere and bulk soils, while significantly reducing fungal diversity in the root endophytes. Furthermore, N addition significantly altered the community composition of bacteria and fungi in all four compartments, while cultivars only affected the community composition of root endosphere bacteria and fungi. Network analysis revealed that fertilization significantly reduced microbial network complexity and increased fungal-related network complexity. Collectively, this study provides empirical evidence that sorghum-associated microbiomes are predominantly shaped by nitrogenous fertilizer rather than by cultivars, suggesting that consistent application of nitrogenous fertilizer will ultimately alter plant-associated microbiomes regardless of cultivar selection.

National-scale investigation reveals the dominant role of phyllosphere fungal pathogens in sorghum yield loss.

Fungal plant pathogens threaten crop production and sustainable agricultural development. However, the environmental factors driving their diversity and nationwide biogeographic model remain elusive, impacting our capacity to predict their changes under future climate scenarios. Here, we analyzed potential fungal plant pathogens from 563 samples collected from 57 agricultural fields across China. Over 28.0% of fungal taxa in the phyllosphere were identified as potential plant pathogens, compared to 22.3% in the rhizosphere. Dominant fungal plant pathogen groups were Cladosporium (in the phyllosphere) and Fusarium (in the rhizosphere), with higher diversity observed in the phyllosphere than in rhizosphere soil. Deterministic processes played an important role in shaping the potential fungal plant pathogen community assembly in both habitats. Mean annual precipitation and temperature were the most important factor influencing phyllosphere fungal plant pathogen richness. Significantly negative relationships were found between fungal pathogen diversity and sorghum yield. Notably, compared to the rhizosphere, the phyllosphere fungal plant pathogen diversity played a more crucial role in sorghum yield. Together, our work provides novel insights into the factors governing the spatial patterns of fungal plant pathogens in the crop microbiome, and highlights the potential significance of aboveground phyllosphere fungal plant pathogens in crop productivity.

Precipitation seasonality and soil pH drive the large-scale distribution of soil invertebrate communities in agricultural ecosystems.

Soil invertebrates contribute significantly to vital ecosystem functions such as the breakdown of organic matter and cycling of essential nutrients, but our knowledge of their large-scale distribution in agricultural systems is limited, which hinders our ability to robustly predict how they will respond to future global change scenarios. Here, we employed metabarcoding analysis of eukaryotic 18S rRNA genes to examine the diversity and community composition of invertebrates in 528 sorghum rhizosphere and bulk soils, collected from 53 experimental field sites across China. Our results revealed that Nematoda, Arthropoda and Annelida were the dominant soil invertebrate groups in agroecosystems. Among all the climatic and soil parameters we examined, precipitation seasonality (i.e. the irregular distribution of precipitation during a normal year) had the strongest relationship with the richness of soil invertebrates, with an increase in soil invertebrate richness predicted with increasing precipitation seasonality. Mean annual precipitation and soil pH were the most important predictors of soil invertebrate community structure, with numerous invertebrate phylotypes showing either significantly positive or negative relationships with these two variables. Our findings suggest that shifts in precipitation patterns and soil pH, induced by future climate change and agricultural practices, will have important consequences for the distribution of soil invertebrate communities, with implications for agricultural ecosystem sustainability.

14-3-3ζ targets ß-catenin nuclear translocation to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis and promote the balance between proliferation and apoptosis in cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury.

Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic agent that is used extensively to treat solid tumors; however, its clinical application is limited by side effects, especially nephrotoxicity. Cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is characterized by DNA damage, cell-cycle arrest, and mitochondrial oxidative stress. Recent research demonstrated that 14-3-3ζ plays an important role in cancers, nerve disease, and kidney disease, although the regulatory mechanisms underlying cisplatin-induced AKI have yet to be fully elucidated. In the present study, we found that 14-3-3ζ mRNA was upregulated in human kidney organoids (GSE145085) when treated with cisplatin; subsequently, this was confirmed in experimental mice. The application of a protein interaction inhibitor for 14-3-3 (BV02) resulted in a decline in renal function, along with apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress in cisplatin-induced AKI. Accordingly, the knockdown of 14-3-3ζ in cisplatin-treated NRK-52E cells led to increased apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and lipid dysbolism. Furthermore, the blockade of 14-3-3ζ, both in vivo and in vitro, suppressed ß-catenin and its nuclear translocation, thus downregulating expression of the downstream gene cyclin D1 in cisplatin-induced damage. In contrast, the overexpression of 14-3-3ζ alleviated the injury caused by cisplatin both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, a non-specific agonist of ß-catenin, BIO, reversed the effects of 14-3-3ζ knockdown in terms of cisplatin-induced damage in NRK-52E cells by activating ß-catenin. Next, we verified the direct interaction between 14 - 3-3ζ and ß-catenin by CO-IP and immunofluorescence. Collectively, these findings indicate that 14-3-3ζ protects against cisplatin-induced AKI by improving mitochondrial function and the balance between proliferation and apoptosis by facilitating the nuclear translocation of ß-catenin.

Urinary N-Acetyl-Beta-D-Glucosaminidase levels predict immunoglobulin a nephropathy remission status.

BACKGROUND: Tubulointerstitial lesions play a pivotal role in the progression of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Elevated N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in urine is released from damaged proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) and may serve as a biomarker of renal progression in diseases with tubulointerstitial involvement. METHODS: We evaluated the predictive value of urinary NAG (uNAG) for disease progression in 213 biopsy-proven primary IgAN patients from January 2018 to December 2019 at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University. We compared the results with those of serum cystatin C (sCysC). RESULTS: Increased uNAG and sCysC levels were associated with worse clinical and histological manifestations. Only uNAG level was independently associated with remission status after adjustment. Patients with high uNAG levels (> 22.32 U/g Cr) had a 4.32-fold greater risk of disease progression. The combination of baseline uNAG and clinical data may achieve satisfactory risk prediction in IgAN patients with relatively preserved renal function (eGFR ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m2, area under the curve [AUC] 0.760). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that uNAG is a promising biomarker for predicting IgAN remission status.

Foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] grown under nitrogen deficiency exhibits a lower folate contents.

Foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.], as a rich source of folates, has been cultivated on arid infertile lands, for which N deficiency is one of the major issues. Growing environments might have a significant influence on cereal folate levels. However, little is known whether N deficiency modulates cereal folate levels. In order to obtain enriched folate foxtail millet production in nutrient-poor soil, we conducted a study investigating the content of folate derivatives of 29 diverse foxtail millet cultivars under two N regimes (0 and 150 kg N ha-1) for 2 years to explore folate potential grown under low N. The contents of total folate and most derivatives were reduced by N deficiency. The effect on total folate content caused by N was stronger than cultivar genotype did. Folate content of enriched folate cultivars was prone to be reduced by N deficiency. Structural equation models (SEMs) revealed that N fertilization had a positive indirect effect on grain folate content through influencing plant N and K accumulation. Collectively, the results indicate much more attention should be paid to N management when foxtail millet is cultivated in infertile soil, to improve foxtail millet folate contents.

Predatory protists play predominant roles in suppressing soil-borne fungal pathogens under organic fertilization regimes.

Soil-borne fungal pathogens pose a major threat to global agricultural production and food security. Pathogen-suppressive bacteria and plant beneficial protists are important components of soil microbiomes and essential to plant health and performance, but it remains largely unknown regarding how agricultural management practices influence the relative importance of protists and bacteria in plant disease suppression. Here, we characterized soil microbiomes (including fungi, protists, and bacteria) in bulk and sorghum rhizosphere soils with various long-term inorganic and organic fertilization regimes, and linked the changes in fungal plant pathogens with the protistan and bacterial communities. We found that the relative abundances of fungal pathogens were significantly decreased by organic fertilization regimes, and there was a significant difference in the community composition of fungal pathogens between inorganic and organic fertilization regimes. Organic fertilization significantly enhanced predatory protists but reduced the proportions of protistan phototrophs. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed more intensive connections between fungal plant pathogens with protists, especially predatory protists, than with bacterial taxa, which was further supported by stronger associations between the community structure of fungal pathogens and predatory protists. We identified more protist consumer taxa than bacterial taxa as predictors of fungal plant pathogens, and structural equation modelling revealed a more important impact of protist consumers than bacteria on fungal pathogens. Altogether, we provide new evidence that the disease inhibitory effects of long-term organic fertilization regimes could be best explained by the potential predation pressure of protists. Our findings advance the mechanistic understanding of the role of predator-prey interactions in controlling fungal diseases, and have implications for novel biocontrol strategies to mitigate the consequences of fungal infections for plant performance.

The Proportion of Memory CD8+ T Cell Predicts Infection Event in Patients with Peritoneal Dialysis.

INTRODUCTION: The immune senescence marked by the inflation of memory T cell is established in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with peritoneal dialysis (PD). These patients suffer high incidence of infectious disease, which has been relevant to immune dysfunction. However the association of immune senescence with infection in PD patients is not clear. This prospective study aimed to investigate the relationship between proportion of T cell subsets and infection event in patients on PD. METHODS: We enrolled patients on PD >6 months from January 1, 2016 to December 30, 2016 and followed them until April 30, 2020. Baseline T cell subsets from blood were collected at the time of recruitment. The primary end point was infection event including peritonitis, exit site infection, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, and other infection. RESULTS: There were 94 patients (46 male) with a mean age of 56.1 ± 14.9 years old enrolled during the follow-up period, and 26 patients suffered infection events. A higher proportion of effector memory (EM) CD8+ T cells was found in patients with infection than in those without infection. There was no difference in the distribution of EM CD8+ T cells between PD-related and non-dialysis infection. Increased level of EM CD8+ T cells was risk factor for first infection event in PD patients. CONCLUSION: High level of EM CD8+ T cells could be a significant predictor of infection event in patients on PD.

Disulfiram ameliorates ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury by suppressing the caspase-11-GSDMD pathway.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious condition with high mortality. The most common cause is kidney ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury, which is thought to be closely related to pyroptosis. Disulfiram is a well-known alcohol abuse drug, and recent studies have shown its ability to mitigate pyroptosis in mouse macrophages. This study investigated whether disulfiram could improve IR-induced AKI and elucidated the possible molecular mechanism. We generated an IR model in mouse kidneys and a hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR) injury model with murine tubular epithelial cells (MTECs). The results showed that IR caused renal dysfunction in mice and triggered pyroptosis in renal tubular epithelial cells, and disulfiram improved renal impairment after IR. The expression of proteins associated with the classical pyroptosis pathway (Nucleotide-binding oligomeric domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-related specific protein (ASC), caspase-1, N-GSDMD) and nonclassical pyroptosis pathway (caspase-11, N-GSDMD) were upregulated after IR. Disulfiram blocked the upregulation of nonclassical but not all classical pyroptosis pathway proteins (NLRP3 and ASC), suggesting that disulfiram might reduce pyroptosis by inhibiting the caspase-11-GSDMD pathway. In vitro, HR increased intracellular ROS levels, the positive rate of PI staining and LDH levels in MTECs, all of which were reversed by disulfiram pretreatment. Furthermore, we performed a computer simulation of the TIR domain of TLR4 using homology modeling and identified a small molecular binding energy between disulfiram and the TIR domain. We concluded that disulfiram might inhibit pyroptosis by antagonizing TLR4 and inhibiting the caspase-11-GSDMD pathway.

MicroRNA-149-Mediated MAPK1/ERK2 Suppression Attenuates Hair Follicle Stem Cell Differentiation.

Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are responsible for hair growth and hair follicle regeneration. MicroRNAs have been demonstrated to be involved in the differentiation of HFSCs. Thus, this study aimed to explore the potential role of miR-149 in the differentiation of HFSCs. The isolated HFSCs were identified by flow cytometric sorting. miR-149 expression was determined during differentiation of HFSCs. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches were conducted to explore the roles of miR-149, MAPK1/ERK2, and FGF2/c-MYC in colony formation and proliferation of HFSCs. Furthermore, in vivo assays were undertaken in miR-149 knockout mice to confirm their roles in HFSC differentiation. miR-149 was found to be downregulated during HFSC differentiation, and overexpressed miR-149 restricted the proliferation and differentiation of HFSCs. miR-149 was confirmed to target and inhibit MAPK1/ERK2, which was highly expressed in and positively associated with HFSC differentiation. The MAPK1/ERK2 promotion in HFSC differentiation was achieved by augmenting expression of FGF2 and c-MYC. The in vitro effects of miR-149 were validated in in vivo experiments. Taken together, upregulated miR-149 restricted HFSC differentiation and hair growth by targeting MAPK1/ERK2 to reduce expression of FGF2 and c-MYC, which sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanism of hair growth.

Amphetamine Drug Detection with Inorganic MgO Nanotube Based on the DFT Calculations.

In this study, the main challenge was to focus on the detection of amphetamine (AN) using a type of magnesium oxide nanotube (MgONT) sensor through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Nowadays, due to the adverse effects of drug abuse, governments put all their efforts into detecting and managing illegal drugs such as AN. Therefore, the detection of AN in biological specimens is of great importance. In this study, through DFT calculations, the intrinsic sensing properties of MgONT were investigated for the detection of AN. We concluded that the MgONT considerably enhances the reactivity of the MgONT toward AN. Furthermore, the sensing response for the MgONT was 392.36. The results showed that there was a considerable change in the energy levels of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and there was a drop in the band gap value (Eg). This decrease in the Eg value improved the electrical conductivity. Moreover, desorption of AN from the surface of the MgONT had a slight recovery time (~ 22.89 ms). This work illustrated that MgONT could be considered a proper candidate for electronic sensing and AN drug delivery in biological systems.

Sorghum rhizosphere effects reduced soil bacterial diversity by recruiting specific bacterial species under low nitrogen stress.

Rhizosphere microbiota play a pivotal role in promoting plant growth and defending against pathogens, but their responses to abiotic environmental stress remain largely elusive. Here, we investigated the influences of low-N stress on rhizosphere bacteria of six sorghum cultivars in a glasshouse experiment. The alpha diversity of bacteria (as revealed by Shannon diversity and Chao1 richness indices) was remarkably lower in rhizosphere soils than in bulk soils, and was significantly higher under low-N stress than under N addition. Principal coordinates analysis revealed that the bacterial community compositions in rhizosphere soils were clearly separated from bulk soils, and the rhizosphere soils under low-N stress or with N fertilization were clearly separated, indicating that both rhizosphere effects and N fertilization impacted the rhizosphere bacterial community. Notably, the relative abundances of beneficial bacteria such as Bacillaceae and Streptomycetaceae significantly increased in rhizosphere soils under low-N stress, which had significantly positive correlations with the sorghum N uptake. The relative abundance of Nitrosomonadaceae in rhizosphere soils was significantly lower than that in bulk soils, while the relative abundance of Rhizobiaceae showed an opposite pattern. Taken together, our results suggested that sorghum rhizosphere effects can reduce soil bacterial diversity possibly through recruiting specific bacterial species under low N stress.

Fertilization alters protistan consumers and parasites in crop-associated microbiomes.

Crop plants carry an enormous diversity of microbiota that provide massive benefits to hosts. Protists, as the main microbial consumers and a pivotal driver of biogeochemical cycling processes, remain largely understudied in the plant microbiome. Here, we characterized the diversity and composition of protists in sorghum leaf phyllosphere, and rhizosphere and bulk soils, collected from an 8-year field experiment with multiple fertilization regimes. Phyllosphere was an important habitat for protists, dominated by Rhizaria, Alveolata and Amoebozoa. Rhizosphere and bulk soils had a significantly higher diversity of protists than the phyllosphere, and the protistan community structure significantly differed among the three plant-soil compartments. Fertilization significantly altered specific functional groups of protistan consumers and parasites. Variation partitioning models revealed that soil properties, bacteria and fungi predicted a significant proportion of the variation in the protistan communities. Changes in protists may in turn significantly alter the compositions of bacterial and fungal communities from the top-down control in food webs. Altogether, we provide novel evidence that fertilization significantly affects the functional groups of protistan consumers and parasites in crop-associated microbiomes, which have implications for the potential changes in their ecological functions under intensive agricultural managements.

Salvianolate ameliorates oxidative stress and podocyte injury through modulation of NOX4 activity in db/db mice.

Podocyte injury is associated with albuminuria and the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) is the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the kidney and NOX4 is up-regulated in podocytes in response to high glucose. In the present study, the effects of Salvianolate on DN and its underlying mechanisms were investigated in diabetic db/db mice and human podocytes. We confirmed that the Salvianolate administration exhibited similar beneficial effects as the NOX1/NOX4 inhibitor GKT137831 treated diabetic mice, as reflected by attenuated albuminuria, reduced podocyte loss and mesangial matrix accumulation. We further observed that Salvianolate attenuated the increase of Nox4 protein, NOX4-based NADPH oxidase activity and restored podocyte loss in the diabetic kidney. In human podocytes, NOX4 was predominantly localized to mitochondria and Sal B treatment blocked HG-induced mitochondrial NOX4 derived superoxide generation and thereby ameliorating podocyte apoptosis, which can be abrogated by AMPK knockdown. Therefore, our results suggest that Sal B possesses the reno-protective capabilities in part through AMPK-mediated control of NOX4 expression. Taken together, our results identify that Salvianolate could prevent glucose-induced oxidative podocyte injury through modulation of NOX4 activity in DN and have a novel therapeutic potential for DN.

Wnt/ß-catenin agonist BIO alleviates cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity without compromising its efficacy of anti-proliferation in ovarian cancer.

AIMS: Cisplatin is an anticancer agent marred by nephrotoxicity. Limiting this adverse effect may allow the use of higher doses to improve its efficacy. The Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway plays a critical role in nephrogenesis and repair of renal diseases. BIO, a small molecule agonist of this pathway, exerted a protective effect in adriamycin nephropathy and promoted nephrogenesis. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate whether Wnt/ß-catenin agonist BIO could protect against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in vivo and in vitro, as well as its possible mechanism. MAIN METHODS: Male mice and human renal proximal tubular cells (HK-2) were subjected to cisplatin to study reno-protective effect of BIO. Renal function, cell viability, tubular apoptosis, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proliferative level were analyzed respectively. Additionally, xenograft model was induced to investigate if BIO would impair the antitumor effect of cisplatin. KEY FINDINGS: Cisplatin increased serum creatinine levels and promoted histological renal injury as well as oxidative stress levels. Besides, renal apoptotic level and the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins, Bax/bcl-2 and cleaved-caspase3 included, in the kidney were increased. All these features were decreased by BIO, which also activated Wnt/ß-catenin pathway in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Similarly, accompanied by the motivation of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, BIO exerted a positively protective effect on HK-2 challenged cisplatin. Last, the chemotherapeutic effects of cisplatin in xenograft mice of ovary tumor models and in lung cancer cells weren't compromised by BIO. SIGNIFICANCE: Wnt/ß-catenin agonist BIO has the potential to prevent cisplatin nephrotoxicity without compromising its anti-proliferation efficacy.

EZH2-mediated inhibition of microRNA-22 promotes differentiation of hair follicle stem cells by elevating STK40 expression.

Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) contribute to the regeneration of hair follicles (HFs), thus accelerating hair growth. microRNAs (miRs) are potential regulators in various cellular processes, including HFSC proliferation and differentiation. This study proposed a potential target, enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) for facilitating hair growth, due to its function over HFSC activities by mediating the miR-22/serine/threonine kinase 40 (STK40)/myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2)/alkaline phosphatase (ALP) axis. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches were adopted to explore the roles of EZH2, miR-22, and STK40 in the proliferation and apoptosis of HFSCs, along with the functional relevance of MEF2-ALP activity. STK40 was elevated during HFSC differentiation, which was found to facilitate HFSC proliferation, but impede their apoptosis by activating MEF2-ALP. Mechanically, miR-22 targeted and inversely regulated STK40, which inhibited MEF2-ALP activity to impede HFSC proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, EZH2 elevated the STK40 expression by repressing miR-22 to promote the proliferation and differentiation of HFSCs. Furthermore, in vivo experiments further validated the roles of EZH2 and STK40 on hair follicle neogenesis and hair growth. Collectively, EZH2 elevated the STK40 expression by downregulating miR-22, consequently accelerating differentiation of HFSCs and hair growth, which sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for hair growth.

[Effect of Fertilization on Soil Respiration and Its Temperature Sensitivity in a Sorghum Field].

The characteristics of soil respiration under the condition of fertilization have not been fully understood,especially for a long-term fertilization condition. In this study we measured both soil respiration using an LI-COR-6400-09 soil chamber attached to LI-COR-6400 portable photosynthesis system, and the vegetation spectrum using an ASD FieldSpec HandHeld2, in five different fertilization treatment fields. The soil respiration (Rs) and vegetation spectrum were simultaneously measured with two samples per month in the growing season in 2016 and 2017. The soil temperature at 10 cm depth (T10) and moisture (Ws) for the surface of 10 cm were also measured simultaneously. The five different fertilization treatments included no fertilization (CK), inorganic fertilizer (INF), inorganic fertilizer+organic fertilizer (INF+M), inorganic fertilizer+organic fertilizer+straw turnover (INF+M+S) and organic fertilizer+straw turnover (M+S), and all treatments had been conducted since 2011. Based on those observation data, we made an analysis of Rs and its temperature sensitivity (Q10) in the five different fertilization treatments. The results showed that no significant temporal change in Rs among the five treatments was found. No significant difference was found in Rs between the CK and INF treatments. Compared with the values of Rs in CK and INF, the Rs values in INF+M, M+S, and INF+M+S treatments increased by 28.2%-39.1%, 47.9%-76.0%, and 46.2%-50.8%, respectively. This indicated that use of organic fertilization and straw application increased Rs. Both the Ts and Ws showed 14%-96% and 6%-37% in Rs seasonal variations, respectively. Among the treatments, the correlation coefficient of the fitted equations between Rsand Ts was higher in the INF+M, INF+M+S and M+S treatment than in CK and INF, but was not between Rsand Ws. For the relationship between Rs and vegetation indexes we found that the correlation coefficients between Rs and the difference vegetation index (DVI), ratio vegetation index (RVI), and enhanced vegetation index (EVI), respectively, were higher than that of Rs and the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI); and that the correlation coefficients between Rsand the red edge slope (Dred) and red edge area (Sred) were higher than between Rs and the red edge position (λred). This indicated that the treatments in INF+M+S increased the correlation coefficient between Rs and the spectrum characteristics index. The determination coefficient of the fitted equations including the feature spectral parameters, T10, and Wsvariables was higher than that of the equations only including both T10 and Ws variables, or a single variable of T10 or Ws. Compared with CK, the Q10 value increased by 26%, 39%, 21%, and 37% for the INF, INF+M, INF+M+S, and M+S treatments, respectively. This indicated that temperature sensitivity Q10 increased under the condition of fertilization treatments. The Shannon diversity index, bulk density, and soil organic matter were the main factors causing the difference in Rs, Q10, and R10, i.e., Rs at a temperature of 10℃, in the different treatments, which could explain the 97.6%, 78.2%, and 92.8% variations in Rs, Q10, and R10, respectively.

Low threshold optically pumped lasing from MEH-PPV quasi-periodic photonic crystal microcavity.

An optically pumped two-dimensional organic quasi-crystal microcavity laser is demonstrated based on conjugated polymer poly(2-methoxy, 5-(2'-3ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV). The optical resonator consists of the octagonal quasi-crystal for light localization in-plane by the bandgap effect and the distributed Bragg reflector introduced between the slab-substrate interface by inhibiting the scattering and absorption of light in the substrate to achieve vertical confinement of the light. A modified point-defect traps and localizes photons into the microcavity, forcing the wave oscillation along the vertical waveguide. The experimental results show that the single-mode lasing action by optical pumping is observed at 602.2 nm with an FWHM of 0.7 nm. The threshold of lasing is lowered to 6.9 µJ/pulse.

Serum Concentration of Indoxyl Sulfate in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients and Low-Flux Hemodialysis Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To compare the serum concentration of Indoxyl sulfate (IS) in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and low-flux hemodialysis (HD), and analyze the risk factors associated with IS. METHODS: We performed a single-center, cross-sectional observational study including 169 patients on CAPD and 115 patients on low-flux HD. Patients were divided into the anuric HD group, anuric peritoneal dialysis (PD) group, and non-anuric PD group on the basis of dialysis modality and residual urinary output. Serum concentration of IS was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: After matching the urinary volume and dialysis vintage, 58 anuric patients on PD and 58 anuric patients on HD were enrolled. The serum level of IS was significantly lower in patients on PD than that in those on HD (28.05 ± 13.98 vs. 39.64 ± 18.25 µg/mL; p < 0.001). This result persisted even after adjustment for confounding risk factors including nutritional status (ß = 0.338, p < 0.001). In addition, the serum level of IS was significantly lower in non-anuric PD patients than that anuric PD patients (18.70 ± 11.21 vs. 28.05 ± 13.98 µg/mL; p < 0.001). After the adjustment for risk factors such as dialysis vintage, IS serum concentration in patients on PD was still significantly correlated with residual renal function (RRF; ß = -0.355, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Dialysis modality is the independent risk factor of IS serum concentration and it is substantially lower in patients on CAPD than that in those on low-flux HD. Additionally, RRF was independently associated with IS serum concentration in CAPD patients, and the better the RRF is, the lower IS serum concentration.

Kidney injury molecule-1 expression predicts structural damage and outcome in histological acute tubular injury.

BACKGROUND: A few studies have shown that urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (uKIM-1) levels are increased in acute kidney injury (AKI); however, the correlation between uKIM-1 and histological tubular injury, which is considered to be the gold standard for evaluating renal damage and predicting prognosis, is still unclear. We performed this study to determine whether the predicted value of uKIM-1 is correlated with renal KIM-1 (tKIM-1) expression and tissue damage in AKI patients. METHODS: This retrospective study recruited 14 healthy individuals and 27 biopsy-proven acute tubular injury (ATI) patients. uKIM-1 and plasma KIM-1 (sKIM-1) levels were measured by ELISA, and tKIM-1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Elevated levels of urinary, plasma, and renal KIM-1 were found in ATI patients. The uKIM-1 concentration was positively correlated with tKIM-1 expression and reflected the severity of renal histological injury. The outcome of ATI was associated with uKIM-1 expression: the ATI patients with higher uKIM-1 levels had an increased potential for an incomplete recovery of renal function during follow-up. Additionally, the level of KIM-1, regardless of source, was negatively related to the eGFR, and ROC curve analysis revealed that the ROC-AUC was 0.923 (p = 0.000) for the diagnosis of ATI based on a combination of high uKIM-1 and sKIM-1 levels. CONCLUSION: The uKIM-1 level corresponds with the severity of renal histological damage and can be a potential reliable predictor of adverse renal outcomes in ATI patients. Moreover, combining uKIM-1 and sKIM-1 can increase the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis of severe ATI.