Natural Alkaloid Waltherione F-Derived Hydrazide Compounds Evaluated in an Agricultural Fungicidal Field.

In this project, quinoline and quinolone-containing hydrazide compounds were designed and synthesized by introducing a bioactive hydrazide group into the skeleton of waltherione F. The fungicidal activity revealed that some hydrazide compounds exhibited excellent and broad-spectrum fungicidal activity; especially, compounds E8, E12, and E16 showed more than 90% or even 100% inhibition rates against most pathogens at 50 µg·mL-1. The fungicidal mechanism indicated that compound E8 may affect the normal function of the plasma membrane, further generating changes in the morphology and subcellular structure of mycelia. Simultaneously, Fusarium graminearum may resist the E8-treated stress through the metabolic pathways related to l-glutamate, l-glutamine, and glutathione. Finally, the effect of compound E8 on wheat seedling's growth and the toxicity to zebrafish were accomplished. These results will provide important guidance to discover novel fungicidal lead compounds and explore new targets, which are effective ways to alleviate the increasingly severe drug resistance.

Endoscopic Management of Recurrent Maxillary Sinus Ameloblastoma in a Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Report.

Ameloblastomas are slow-growing, aggressive odontogenic epithelial tumors that originate from the jawbone. One of the most easily relapsing maxillofacial tumors, ameloblastomas mainly occur in the mandibular molar area and ascending branch, although they can occasionally occur in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. A 14-year-old child with autism spectrum disorder underwent sinus computed tomography (CT) under anesthesia. A swollen tumor had grown in the left maxillary sinus, and the bone of the maxillary sinus was damaged. Nine months after the first operation, recurrence was observed in the left maxillary sinus. The pathological diagnosis was ameloblastoma. Due to the child's inability to communicate and cooperate with the treatment normally, he underwent endoscopic surgery again combined with low-temperature plasma treatment. No tumor recurrence was found on reexamination 6 months after surgery.

Adsorption mechanisms for cadmium from aqueous solutions by oxidant-modified biochar derived from Platanus orientalis Linn leaves.

To understand the adsorption mechanisms of Cd2+ by oxidant-modified biochar (OMB) derived from Platanus orientalis Linn (POL) leaves, batch adsorption experiments and characterization were carried out. The results showed that, KMnO4-modified biochar (MBC) could more effectively remove Cd2+ from aqueous solution than H2O-, H2O2-, and K2Cr2O7-modified biochar (WBC, HBC and PBC, respectively). The highest removal efficiency was 98.57%, which was achieved by the addition of 2 g L-1 MBC at pH 6.0. According to the Langmuir fitting parameters, the maximum adsorption capacity for MBC was 52.5 mg g-1 at 30 â„ƒ, which was twice as high as that for original biochar. MBC had the largest specific surface area with many particles distributed on the surface before and after adsorption, which were confirmed to be MnOx by XPS analysis. The complexation with MnOx was the main mechanism. Besides, O-containing groups complexation, precipitation, cation-π intraction, and ion exchange also participated in the adsorption. However, WBC, HBC and PBC did not achieve ideal removal effects, and their stability was inferior. This could be attributed to the weakening of ion exchange and precipitation. This study not only demonstrates the potential of MBC, but also provides insight into strategies for the utilization of waste resources.

Effects of iron plaque and fatty acids on the transfer of BDE-209 from soil to rice under iron mineral Fenton-like oxidation condition.

To understand the effect mechanisms of iron plaque and fatty acids on the migration of PBDEs from soil to rice (Oryza sativa), pot experiments were conducted in the soil spiked with decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) under the conditions of tourmaline and nano-goethite Fenton-like treatments. The results showed that iron mineral Fenton-like oxidation could effectively remove BDE-209 from rhizosphere soil, the highest removal rate obtained 89.29% with the addition of 0.4 mmol/L H2O2 and 8 g nano-goethite (G + 3H group). Iron mineral Fenton-like oxidation could produce iron plaque (IP) on rice roots and accumulate a part of contaminants on the surface of IP, further weakening BDE-209 uptake in the plants. Additionally, the occurrence of fatty acid variation induced by BDE-209 stress, iron mineral Fenton-like oxidation at high concentrations of H2O2 with 0.4 mmol/L affected the distribution of fatty acids in plant tissues, especially for C18:0 fatty acid. While the IP on rice roots prevented the BDE-209 into plant, it was also closely related to the distribution of fatty acids in rice, altering BDE-209 accumulation in the rice. To safely use the iron mineral Fenton-like oxidation in the agricultural soil remediation, the safety of plant cells treated by mineral Fenton-like oxidation was evaluated using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and enzyme activity determination, which indicated that iron mineral Fenton-like oxidation would destroy the inner structures of plant cells, especially for G + 3H group.

H2S probe CPC inhibits autophagy and promotes apoptosis by inhibiting glutathionylation of Keap1 at Cys434.

H2S is actual an endogenous signaling gas molecule and involved in a range of cell physiological processes. However, the mechanism of endogenous H2S regulating autophagy and apoptosis has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we try to address this issue by using a H2S probe, (E)-2-(4-(4-(7-(diethylamino)-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carbonyl)-piperazin-1-yl)-styryl)-1, 3, 3-trimethyl-3H-indol-1-ium iodide (CPC), which could react with endogenous H2S. Herein, we reported that CPC inhibited autophagy and decreased the expression and activity of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), then induced cell apoptosis. CPC inhibited autophagy and promoted apoptosis by inhibiting Nrf2 activation, which was H2S dependent. Furthermore, we found that CPC inhibited Nrf2 nucleus translocation by inhibiting glutathionylation of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) at the Cys434 residue. CPC also inhibited various cancer cell growth, but had no effect on normal cell growth in vitro, and inhibited A549 cancer growth, but did not affect normal angiogenesis in vivo. Therefore, we not only found a new inhibitor of autophagy and Nrf2, but also suggested a novel mechanism that endogenous H2S could regulate autophagy, apoptosis and Nrf2 activity through regulating glutathionylation of Keap1 at the Cys434 residue.

Transcriptome analysis of Cryptococcus humicola under aluminum stress revealed the potential role of the cell wall in aluminum tolerance.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the most important limiting factors for crop yield in acidic soils. Bound Al gets converted into a toxic ionic state (Al3+) in acidic soil. Recent studies have shown that Al can act on the cell walls, cell membranes, organelles, and nuclei of microorganisms and affect substance and energy metabolism. To explore the gene expression at the transcriptional level under Al stress, we sequenced the transcriptome of Cryptococcus humicola, which is a highly Al-resistant yeast strain isolated from acidic soil and tolerates up to 200 mM Al3+. The screening conditions for genes from the control and experimental group were a false discovery rate (FDR) <0.05 and log 2|FC| > 1. A total of 4760 genes were differentially expressed, among which 3066 were upregulated and 1694 were downregulated. These genes control glycometabolism, protein synthesis, lipid metabolism and signalling pathways. Eleven selected differentially expressed genes were further validated using qRT-PCR. The results suggested that Al stress leads to complex responses in C. humicola. The effects of Al on the ß-d-glucan and mannose contents and Al accumulation in the cell wall were determined. With an increase in the Al treatment time and concentration, the contents of ß-d-glucan and mannose showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Under Al treatment, the Al content of the cell wall also showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. These results suggested that Al accumulates in the cell wall and the cell wall plays a vital role in the Al resistance of C. humicola. The differentially expressed genes provide a foundation for the further study of Al tolerance in C. humicola.

Multi-spectroscopic methods combined with molecular modeling dissect the interaction mechanisms of ractopamine and calf thymus DNA.

The toxic interaction of ractopamine (RAC) with calf thymus DNA (ct DNA) was studied in vitro using multi-spectroscopic methods and molecular modeling methods. The hypochromic effect without a noticeable shift in UV-vis absorption indicated that the minor groove binding mode existed in the interaction between RAC and DNA. The fluorescence quenching of RAC was observed with the increasing addition of DNA and was proved to be the static quenching. The binding constant and the binding site sizes were 4.13 × 10(3) and 0.97, respectively. The thermodynamic calculation demonstrated that the hydrogen bond and van der Waals were main acting forces. This result further confirmed the existence of groove binding mode. Afterwards, we found another interaction mode, electrostatic binding mode through the fluorescence polarization, ionic effects and denatured DNA experiments. Circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD) was then employed to monitor the conformation changes of DNA. Molecular modeling studies illustrated the visual display of the binding mode and the detailed information of the H-bond.

[Effects of soil surface mulching on the growth and physiological characteristics of grafted and non-grafted cucumbers in solar greenhouse].

This paper studied the effects of wheat straw mulching, plastic film mulching, and wheat straw plus plastic film mulching on the growth and physiological characteristics of grafted and non-grafted Cucumis sativus in solar greenhouse. The results showed that compared with the control, the plant height, stem diameter, photosynthetic rate, and root vitality of grafted C. sativus under wheat straw plus plastic film mulching, plastic film mulching, and wheat straw mulching were increased by 91, 71 and 57 cm, 0.127, 0.086 and 0.111 cm, 2.63, 2.08 and 1.36 micromol x m(-2) x s(-1), and 0.98, 0.48 and 0.8 mg TTC x g(-1) FW, respectively, while non-grafted C. sativus had a less increment. The chlorophyll content of grafted C. sativus under wheat straw plus plastic film mulching and wheat straw mulching was 1.8% and 3.15% higher than the control, respectively, but that under plastic film mulching was 3.8% less than the control. Soil surface mulching increased the dry weight per plant, early yield, and total yield. Under wheat straw plus plastic film mulching, plastic film mulching, and wheat straw mulching, the individual yield of grafted C. sativus was 16%, 5.3% and 3.4% higher than that of non-grafted C. sativus, respectively.

[Effects of soil surface mulching on solar greenhouse grafted and own-rooted cucumber growth and soil environment].

The study on the effects of different soil surface mulching models, including wheat straw mulching (WS), plastic film mulching (PF), and wheat straw plus plastic film mulching (WP), on the growth of solar greenhouse grafted and own-rooted cucumber and on soil environment showed that soil surface mulching not only increased the individuals of pistillate flower, improved its differentiation and development, shortened fruit-developing period, increased fruit weight, reduced fruit malformation percentage, but also raised total yield. Among the test mulching models, WP was better than WS and PF, and the effects were superior on grafted than on own-rooted cucumber. Soil surface mulching also had considerable effects on soil environment, but the effects varied with different modules. For example, under field condition, the diurnal change of soil temperature was a single-peak curve, with its peak higher and appeared at 14:30 in 5 cm and 10 cm soil depth, but lower and appeared later in deeper soil layers. In this study, WS lowered the maximum soil temperature and raised the minimum soil temperature, making soil temperature quite stable, while PF raised the maximum soil temperature much higher and enhanced the minimum soil temperature less than WS and WP, making the largest variation range of soil temperature. WP played a role of raising soil temperature and kept it stable. Similar to the diurnal change of soil temperature at 5 cm and 10 cm depth, that of soil respiration rate was also a single-peak curve. The soil respiration rate in all treatmentg was significantly higher than that of CK, and WP had a higher soil respiration rate than PF and WS. There was a significant positive correlation between soil respiration rate and soil temperature at 5 cm and 10 cm depth. By the end of the experiment, soil bulk density at the depth of 0-20 cm was measured, which was significantly lower in WS and WP than in CK and PF. The difference in soil bulk density was gradually inconspicuous with soil layer deepened.