[Metabolomic study on urine of chronic inflammation rats treated with Buyang Huanwu Decoction based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS].

The study investigated the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction(BYHWD) on endogenous biomarkers in the urine of rats with chronic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), aiming to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of BYHWD on chronic inflammation from a metabolomics perspective. Male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, and low-, medium-, and high-dose BYHWD groups(7.5, 15, and 30 g·kg~(-1)). The model group and BYHWD groups received tail intravenous injection of LPS(200 µg·kg~(-1)) on the first day of each week, followed by oral administration of BYHWD once a day for four consecutive weeks. Urine samples were collected at the end of the administration period, and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze the metabolic profiles of the rat urine in each group. Multivariate statistical analysis methods such as principal component analysis(PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis(PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were used to analyze the effect of BYHWD on endogenous metabolites. One-way ANOVA and variable importance for the projection(VIP) were used to screen for potential biomarkers related to chronic inflammation. The identified biomarkers were subjected to pathway and enrichment analysis using MetaboAnalyst 5.0. A total of 25 potential biomarkers were screened and identified in the rat urine in this experiment. Compared with the normal group, the model group showed significant increases in the levels of 14 substances(P<0.05) and significant decreases in the levels of 11 substances(P<0.05). BYHWD was able to effectively reverse the trend of most endogenous biomarkers. Compared with the model group, BYHWD significantly down-regulated 13 biomarkers(P<0.05) and up-regulated 10 biomarkers(P<0.05). The metabolic products were mainly related to the biosynthesis of pantothenic acid and coenzyme A, tryptophan metabolism, retinol metabolism, and propionate metabolism. BYHWD has therapeutic effect on chronic inflammation induced by LPS, which may be related to its ability to improve the levels of endogenous metabolites, enhance the body's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities, and restore normal metabolic activity.

The nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway is a master regulator of renal fibrosis.

Renal fibrosis is increasingly recognized as a global public health problem. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) both result in renal fibrosis. Oxidative stress and inflammation play central roles in progressive renal fibrosis. Oxidative stress and inflammation are closely linked and form a vicious cycle in which oxidative stress induces inflammation through various molecular mechanisms. Ample evidence has indicated that a hyperactive nuclear factor kappa B (NF-ƙB) signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in renal fibrosis. Hyperactive NF-ƙB causes the activation and recruitment of immune cells. Inflammation, in turn, triggers oxidative stress through the production of reactive oxygen species and nitrogen species by activating leukocytes and resident cells. These events mediate organ injury through apoptosis, necrosis, and fibrosis. Therefore, developing a strategy to target the NF-ƙB signaling pathway is important for the effective treatment of renal fibrosis. This Review summarizes the effect of the NF-ƙB signaling pathway on renal fibrosis in the context of AKI and CKD (immunoglobulin A nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive nephropathy, and kidney transplantation). Therapies targeting the NF-ƙB signaling pathway, including natural products, are also discussed. In addition, NF-ƙB-dependent non-coding RNAs are involved in renal inflammation and fibrosis and are crucial targets in the development of effective treatments for kidney disease. This Review provides a clear pathophysiological rationale and specific concept-driven therapeutic strategy for the treatment of renal fibrosis by targeting the NF-ƙB signaling pathway.

Regulation of wakefulness by GABAergic dorsal raphe nucleus-ventral tegmental area pathway.

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) has previously been proved to be involved in the regulation of the sleep-wake behavior. DRN contains several neuron types, such as 5-HTergic and GABAergic neurons. GABAergic neurons, which are the second largest cell subtype in the DRN, participate in a variety of neurophysiological functions. However, their role in sleep-wake regulation and the underlying neural circuitry remains unclear. Herein, we used fiber photometry and synchronous electroencephalogram (EEG)/electromyography (EMG) recording to demonstrate that DRN GABAergic neurons exhibit high activities during wakefulness and low activities during NREM sleep. Short-term optogenetic activation of DRN GABAergic neurons reduced the latency of NREM-to-wake transition and increased the probability of wakefulness, while long-term optogenetic activation of these neurons significantly increased the amount of wakefulness. Chemogenetic activation of DRN GABAergic neurons increased wakefulness for almost 2 h and maintained long-lasting arousal. In addition, inhibition of DRN GABAergic neurons with chemogenetics caused a reduction in the amount of wakefulness. Finally, similar to the effects of activating the soma of DRN GABAergic neurons, optogenetic stimulation of their terminals in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) induced instant arousal and promoted wakefulness. Taken together, our results illustrated that DRN GABAergic neurons are vital to the induction and maintenance of wakefulness, which promote wakefulness through the GABAergic DRN-VTA pathway.

Control of Behavioral Arousal and Defense by a Glutamatergic Midbrain-Amygdala Pathway in Mice.

In response to external threatening signals, animals evolve a series of defensive behaviors that depend on heightened arousal. It is believed that arousal and defensive behaviors are coordinately regulated by specific neurocircuits in the central nervous system. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a key structure located in the ventral midbrain of mice. The activity of VTA glutamatergic neurons has recently been shown to be closely related to sleep-wake behavior. However, the specific role of VTA glutamatergic neurons in sleep-wake regulation, associated physiological functions, and underlying neural circuits remain unclear. In the current study, using an optogenetic approach and synchronous polysomnographic recording, we demonstrated that selective activation of VTA glutamatergic neurons induced immediate transition from sleep to wakefulness and obviously increased the amount of wakefulness in mice. Furthermore, optogenetic activation of VTA glutamatergic neurons induced multiple defensive behaviors, including burrowing, fleeing, avoidance and hiding. Finally, viral-mediated anterograde activation revealed that projections from the VTA to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) mediated the wake- and defense-promoting effects of VTA glutamatergic neurons. Collectively, our results illustrate that the glutamatergic VTA is a key neural substrate regulating wakefulness and defensive behaviors that controls these behaviors through its projection into the CeA. We further discuss the possibility that the glutamatergic VTA-CeA pathway may be involved in psychiatric diseases featuring with excessive defense.

A Broad Learning System to Predict the 28-Day Mortality of Patients Hospitalized with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Case-Control Study.

This study was to conduct a model based on the broad learning system (BLS) for predicting the 28-day mortality of patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). A total of 1,210 eligible CAP cases from Chifeng Municipal Hospital were finally included in this retrospective case-control study. Random forest (RF) and an eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) models were used to develop the prediction models. The data features extracted from BLS are utilized in RF and XGB models to predict the 28-day mortality of CAP patients, which established two integrated models BLS-RF and BLS-XGB. Our results showed the integrated model BLS-XGB as an efficient broad learning system (BLS) for predicting the death risk of patients, which not only performed better than the two basic models but also performed better than the integrated model BLS-RF and two well-known deep learning systems-deep neural network (DNN) and convolutional neural network (CNN). In conclusion, BLS-XGB may be recommended as an efficient model for predicting the 28-day mortality of CAP patients after hospital admission.

Biodegradation of dibutyl phthalate by a novel endophytic Bacillus subtilis strain HB-T2 under in-vitro and in-vivo conditions.

The environmental prevalence and potential toxicity of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) motivate the attempt to develop feasible strategies to deal with DBP contamination. In this study, a strain of endphytic bacteria HB-T2 was isolated from sorrel roots and identified as Bacillus sp. by analysing its morphology, physiology, biochemistry and 16S rDNA sequence. The degradation efficiency of DBP by HB-T2 was almost identical under the temperature of 30∼40°C, but was significantly enhanced as the culture pH and inoculum size increases from 6.0 to 8.0, and 1% to 5% respectively. The degradation kinetics of DBP could be well described by the first-order kinetic model, with the degradation half-life ranging from 1.59 to 7.61 h when the initial concentrations of DBP were in the range of 5-20 mg/L. LC-MS analysis of the culture samples taken at varying intervals revealed monobutyl phthalate, phthalic acid and protocatechuic acid as the major metabolic intermediates during the degradation process. HB-T2 exhibited an excellent capability to degrade a wide range of phthalate esters (PAEs), especially butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dipentyl phthalate (DPP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Inoculation of HB-T2 into Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis L.) growing in DBP-contaminated soils could significantly reduce the DBP levels in plant tissues and relieve the phytotoxic effects of DBP. Results of this study highlighted the great potential of this novel endophytic Bacillus subtilis strain HB-T2 for bioremediation of PAEs contamination and improvement of agricultural product safety by reducing PAEs accumulation in edible crops.

Horseshoe kidney with PLA2R-positive membranous nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Horseshoe kidney (HSK) is a common congenital defect of the urinary system. The most common complications are urinary tract infection, urinary stones, and hydronephrosis. HSK can be combined with glomerular diseases, but the diagnosis rate of renal biopsy is low due to structural abnormalities. There are only a few reports on HSK with glomerular disease. Here, we have reported a case of PLA2R-positive membranous nephropathy occurring in a patient with HSK. CASE PRESENTATION: After admission to the hospital due to oedema of both the lower extremities, the patient was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome due to abnormal 24-h urine protein (7540 mg) and blood albumin (25 g/L) levels. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed HSK. The patient's brother had a history of end-stage renal disease due to nephrotic syndrome. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed with PLA2R-positive stage II membranous nephropathy through renal biopsy under abdominal ultrasonography guidance. He was administered adequate prednisone and cyclophosphamide, and after 6 months of treatment, urinary protein excretion levels significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: The risk and difficulty of renal biopsy in patients with HSK are increased due to structural abnormalities; however, renal biopsy can be accomplished through precise positioning with abdominal ultrasonography. In the literature, 20 cases of HSK with glomerular disease have been reported thus far. Because of the small number of cases, estimating the incidence rate of glomerular diseases in HSK is impossible, and the correlation between HSK and renal pathology cannot be stated. Further studies should be conducted and cases should be accumulated to elucidate this phenomenon.

A MADS-Box Gene CiMADS43 Is Involved in Citrus Flowering and Leaf Development through Interaction with CiAGL9.

MADS-box genes are involved in various developmental processes including vegetative development, flower architecture, flowering, pollen formation, seed and fruit development. However, the function of most MADS-box genes and their regulation mechanism are still unclear in woody plants compared with model plants. In this study, a MADS-box gene (CiMADS43) was identified in citrus. Phylogenetic and sequence analysis showed that CiMADS43 is a GOA-like Bsister MADS-box gene. It was localized in the nucleus and as a transcriptional activator. Overexpression of CiMADS43 promoted early flowering and leaves curling in transgenic Arabidopsis. Besides, overexpression or knockout of CiMADS43 also showed leaf curl phenotype in citrus similar to that of CiMADS43 overexpressed in Arabidopsis. Protein-protein interaction found that a SEPALLATA (SEP)-like protein (CiAGL9) interacted with CiMADS43 protein. Interestingly, CiAGL9 also can bind to the CiMADS43 promoter and promote its transcription. Expression analysis also showed that these two genes were closely related to seasonal flowering and the development of the leaf in citrus. Our findings revealed the multifunctional roles of CiMADS43 in the vegetative and reproductive development of citrus. These results will facilitate our understanding of the evolution and molecular mechanisms of MADS-box genes in citrus.

[Effects of Emodin Derivative on Cell Cycle, Apoptosis and NF-κB Pathway in Burkitt Lymphoma Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect and mechanism of a novel emodin derivative YX-18 on Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cells. METHODS: MTT assay was used to detect the effect of YX-18 on the proliferation of BL cell lines CA46 and Raji. Annexin V-PE/7-AAD double staining assay was used for detecting the effect of YX-18 on the apoptosis of CA46 and Raji cells. PI/RNase staining was used to test the effect of YX-18 on CA46 and Raji cell cycle. JC-1 method was used to measure the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential after YX-18 treatment, and DAPI staining was used to detect the morphology of apoptotic cells. Western blot was used to analyze the distribution changes of NF-κB pathway protein (P65, P-P65, IκB, P-IκB) in the cytoplasm and cell nucleus, and also the expression changes of cyclin-related protein P21, CDK2, P-CDK2, Cycling D1, Cycling E1, and the apoptosis-related protein Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9 and the proliferation-related protein C-MYC, BCL-2 by YX-18. Real-time fluorescence-quantitative PCR was used to evaluate the effects of YX-18 on mRNA levels of C-MYC and Ki-67 genes in CA46 and Raji cells, and EBNA-1 and EBER genes of EBV in Raji (EBV+) cells. RESULTS: Novel Emodin derivative YX-18 could effectively inhibit the proliferation of BL cell lines CA46 and Raji, showing a time-dependent effect (24, 48 and 72 h: rCA46=0.89, 0.75, 0.75, rRaji=0.87, 0.73, 0.64). IC50 of CA46 cells and Raji cells treated with YX-18 for 24 h was 1.77±0.04 µmol/L and 1.97±0.22µmol/L, respectively. CA46 cells and Raji cells were treated with YX-18 at concentration of 2.0 and 4.0 µmol/L for 24 h. Compared with the control group, both strains of cells showed a very significant apoptosis at the concentration of 2.0 and 4.0 µmol/L (P<0.01), showing a concentration-dependent effect (rCA46=0.99, rRaji=0.92). Moreover, the cleavaged Caspase-3, 8 and 9 proteins were activated by YX-18 into verious degrees in both two cell lines. Both the two cell lines displayed by YX-18 cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase (P<0.01) after exposed to YX-18 for 24 hours at the concentration of 1.0, 2.0 µmol/L in CA46 cells and at 0.5 and 1 µmol/L in Raji cells, respectively. YX-18 decreased expression level of cyclin D1, cyclin E1, CDK2, p-cdk2 proteins and increased p21Waf1/Cip1 level in CA46 and Raji cells. YX-18 significantly declined mitochondrial membrane potential in both cells at the concentration of 2.0 and 4.0 µmol/l (P<0.01) with concentration-dependent manner (rCA46=-0.96, rRaji=-0.99). Western blot tests indicated that YX-18 down-regulated nucleus P65 and intracellular cytoplasm P65, P-IκB, P-P65 protein, and upregulated intracellular IκB level with dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, the expression level of the cell proliferation-related molecules C-MYC and BCL-2 was decreased significantly. YX-18 suppressed mRNA levels of C-MYC and Ki-67 in both cell lines, and EBNA-1 in EBV-positive Raji cells in a concentration-dependent way. CONCLUSION: The novel emodin derivative YX-18 can significantly inhibit the proliferation of Burkitt lymphoma cells, and induce the cell apoptosis and cycle arrest. The inhibitory effect of YX-18 on the proliferation of Burkitt lymphoma cells may be related with the effect of Caspase apoptosis pathway, the proliferation and apoptosis-related molecules, such as C-MYC and Ki-67, and also to the inhibition of NF-κB pathway.

A Parallel Algorithm Framework for Feature Extraction of EEG Signals on MPI.

In this paper, we present a parallel framework based on MPI for a large dataset to extract power spectrum features of EEG signals so as to improve the speed of brain signal processing. At present, the Welch method has been wildly used to estimate the power spectrum. However, the traditional Welch method takes a lot of time especially for the large dataset. In view of this, we added the MPI into the traditional Welch method and developed it into a reusable master-slave parallel framework. As long as the EEG data of any format are converted into the text file of a specified format, the power spectrum features can be extracted quickly by this parallel framework. In the proposed parallel framework, the EEG signals recorded by a channel are divided into N overlapping data segments. Then, the PSD of N segments are computed by some nodes in parallel. The results are collected and summarized by the master node. The final PSD results of each channel are saved in the text file, which can be read and analyzed by Microsoft Excel. This framework can be implemented not only on the clusters but also on the desktop computer. In the experiment, we deploy this framework on a desktop computer with a 4-core Intel CPU. It took only a few minutes to extract the power spectrum features from the 2.85 GB EEG dataset, seven times faster than using Python. This framework makes it easy for users, who do not have any parallel programming experience in constructing the parallel algorithms to extract the EEG power spectrum.

Comparative analysis of the transcriptome, methylome, and metabolome during pollen abortion of a seedless citrus mutant.

KEY MESSAGE: Pollen abortion could be mainly attributed to abnormal meiosis in the mutant. Multiomics analysis uncovered significant epigenetic variations between the mutant and its wild type during the pollen abortion process. Male sterility caused by aborted pollen can result in seedless fruit. A seedless Ponkan mandarin mutant (bud sport) was used to compare the transcriptome, methylome, and metabolome with its progenitor to understand the mechanism of citrus pollen abortion. Cytological observations showed that the anther of the mutant could form microspore mother cells, although the microspores failed to develop fertile pollen at the anther dehiscence stage. Based on pollen phenotypic analysis, pollen abortion could be mainly attributed to abnormal meiosis in the mutant. A transcriptome analysis uncovered the molecular mechanisms underlying pollen abortion between the mutant and its wild type. A total of 5421 differentially expressed genes were identified, and some of these genes were involved in the meiosis, hormone biosynthesis and signaling, carbohydrate, and flavonoid pathways. A total of 50,845 differentially methylated regions corresponding to 15,426 differentially methylated genes in the genic region were found between the mutant and its wild type by the methylome analysis. The expression level of these genes was negatively correlated with their methylation level, especially in the promoter regions. In addition, 197 differential metabolites were identified between the mutant and its wild type based on the metabolome analysis. The transcription and metabolome analysis further indicated that the expression of genes in the flavonoid, carbohydrate, and hormone metabolic pathways was significantly modulated in the pollen of the mutant. These results indicated that demethylation may alleviate the silencing of carbohydrate genes in the mutant, resulting in excessive starch and sugar hydrolysis and thereby causing pollen abortion in the mutant.

[Effect of Nitrification on N2O Emissions and Their Environmental Factors in Saline-alkali Wetlands].

Wetlands are important sources and sinks for N2O. Exploring the role of N2O emissions in saline-alkali wetlands has great significance in understanding the nitrification mechanism of N2O production and assessing the role of saline-alkali wetlands in the greenhouse effect. The present study examined the N2O fluxes and environmental factors of a typical Zhalong reed wetland during the growing season. The results suggested that the N2O fluxes tended to decrease in volatility, with the highest value in mid-July. The mean flux of N2O was (37.49±15.75) µg·(m2·h)-1, indicating that the typical Zhalong reed wetland was a source of N2O. The N2O fluxes exhibited a significantly positive correlation with soil temperature at different depths (P<0.05), and the impact of the upper soil temperature on N2O flux was higher than that of deep soil. In the flooding period, the relationship between N2O fluxes and water table depth was negatively correlated (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the TOC and TN contents were lower, and the N2O flux was significantly positively correlated with the NH4+-N content in the 0-40 cm soil layer (P<0.05), but it was not related to NO3--N content. Nitrification was stronger than denitrification. There was a significant positive correlation between ammonia-oxidizing bacterial activity and soil temperature in 0-20 cm layer (P<0.01). Additionally, the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria also presented significantly positive linear correlation with the N2O fluxes (P<0.001), which indicated that the release of N2O in saline-alkali wetlands was greatly affected by nitrification.

Positive endoscopic and ultrasonographic findings in patients with symptom-diagnosed functional gastrointestinal disorder: Data from a Chinese cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have systematically assessed symptom-based diagnoses of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) in China. This study aimed to evaluate the positive endoscopic and ultrasonographic findings in patients with symptom-based FGID. METHODS: Adult patients with gastrointestinal symptoms but not red flag symptoms who were empirically diagnosed with FGID underwent an upper or lower gastrointestinal endoscopy. An abdominal ultrasonography was also performed to screen for potential organic diseases. Patients' data were collected and the Rome III questionnaire was used for symptom-based assessment. RESULTS: Positive endoscopic and ultrasonographic findings were detected in 31.8%, 26.2% and 9.9% of patients with esophageal, gastroduodenal and intestinal disorders, respectively. Among patients diagnosed with FGID using the questionnaire, the rates of positive endoscopic and ultrasonographic findings were higher in patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms than in those with lower gastrointestinal symptoms. Moreover, patients elder than 34.5 years with upper gastrointestinal symptoms and those elder than 47.5 years with lower gastrointestinal symptoms were more likely to have positive endoscopic and ultrasonographic findings. CONCLUSIONS: The Rome III questionnaire is a valuable diagnostic tool for screening FGID in China. However, the rates of positive endoscopic and ultrasonographic findings vary depending on the location of symptoms. Endoscopy and ultrasonography have irreplaceable value, especially for investigating upper gastrointestinal symptoms.

[Inhibitory and Inducing Effects of Emodin Derivative E11 on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Multiple Myeloma Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To screen the most strong emodin derivative inhibiting the proliferation of multiple myeloma(MM) cells and to explore the inhibitory and inducing effects of emodin derivatives on proliferation and apoptosis of MM cell lines RPMI 8226 and U266. METHODS: Sixteen emodin derivatives were designed and synthesized by using emodin as mother substance, then from which the emodin derivative E11 was screened for experiments. The MTT method and cell colony formation assay were used to observe the effect of E11 on proliferation of RPMI 8226 and U266, the fluorescent microscopy with DAFI staining was used to observed the morphological changes of MM cells treated with emodin dervative 11, the DNA fragmentation detection was used to detect the inducing apoptosis effect of E11 on RPMI 8226 and U266 cells treated with E11. RESULTS: The MTT assay showed that after the RPMI 8226 cells were treated with 16 kinds of emodin derivatives for 48 hours, the 50% inhibition concentration（IC50） of 14 emodin dervatives was between 0.83-34.68 µmol/L, except E10 and E15 because their IC50 could not be calculated. The IC50 of E11 for RPMI 8226 and U266 cells were 0.831±0.0453 µmol/L and 1.039±0.093 µmol/L, respectively. Cell colony formation assay showed that E11 could inhibit RPMI8226 and U266 cells' colony formation in dose-.and time- dependent manner (r=0.72). Cell apoptosis was observed in RPMI8226 and U266 cells by DAPI staining , and also by the detection of DNA fragmentation. CONCLUSION: In the synthesis of 16 kinds of emodin derivatives, the inhibitory effect of E11 on prolife-ration of RPMI8226 cell was the strongest. E11 can remarkably inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of RPMI8226 and U266 cells.

[Characterization of trophic position of red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) influenced by the food resource exhausting]. / é£Ÿç‰©èµ„æºçš„æž¯ç«­å¯¹ä¸¹é¡¶é¹¤è¥å »ä½çš„å½±å“.

The trophic relations of the red-crowned crane species in Zhalong Wetland, northeastern China may change significantly withrapid decrease of biological resources. In this paper, the influence of food resource exhausting on the trophic levels of this vulnerable species was determined by using stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) methods. The results indicated that the mass of δ13C and 15N in the red-crowned cranes were in the range of -17.8‰ to -18.5‰ and 6.9‰ to 8.1‰, respectively. The dominant food chain length of large water fowls in the ecosystem of Zhalong Wetland was 3.8±0.2 in average, of which the examined species, i.e., red-crowned cranes were 3.1 in average, with the range of 2.9 to 3.3. The annual fluctuation range of δ15N values in the red-crowned cranes was from 7.4‰ to 8.8‰ (with the gap of approximately 1.4, which was below the threshold 3.4 that was considered as a trophic level significant change in an ecosystem), indicating the trophic level of this vulnerable species did not change significantly with the losses of large area of their habitats and foods. Nevertheless, the rapid decrease of the target species population with the food resource exhausting indicated that the conflict of food demand of the red-crowned cranes versus resource need of local residents should be resolved for better protecting this extinguishable species.

[Effect of A Novel Emodin Derivative on Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia K562 Cells and Imatinib-resistant K562/G01 Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of a novel emodin derivative E19 on proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction of human chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cell line K562 and imatinib-resistant CML cell line (K562/G01), and to clarify the involved mechanisms. METHODS: MTT and colony formation test were used to detect the cell proliferation. Apoptotic induction effects were examined by DAPI staining method and DNA ladder assay. Western blot was performed to detect the changes of P210(Bcr-Abl) protein. RESULTS: The emodin derivative E19 could efficiently inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in K562 and K562/G01 cells. IC50 of K562 cells and IC50 of K562/G01 cells were (1.20 ± 0.19) µmol/L and (1.22 ± 0.16) µmol/L, respectively. DNA fragmentation in K562 cells and K562/G01 cells confirmed that the E19 induced apoptosis in dose-dependent manner. Western blot showed that emodin derivative inhibited phosphorylation of P210 protein in K562 cells and K562/G01 cells and down-regulated the expression level of P210 in dose- and time-dependent manners. CONCLUSION: The emodin derivative E19 can efficiently inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of K562 cells and K562/G01 cells, while the inhibition of phosphorylation of P210 protein and down-regulation of P210 protein expression may be involved in these processes.

[Effect of Emodin Derivative E11 on T Lymphocytic Leukemia Cell Line Molt-4 and Its Possible Mechanisms].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of a new emodin derivative E11 on proliferation and apoptosis of T lymphocytic leukemia cell line Molt-4 and its possible mechanisms. METHODS: MTT method was used to plot cell growth curve. Colony culture assay was performed for studying the effect of emodin derivative E11 on colony-formation of Molt-4. The fluorescent microscopy with DAPI staining was used to examine the cell morphological changes after E11 treatment. DNA fragmentation method was used to detect the inducing effect of emodin derivative E11 on cell apoptosis. Western blot was used to determine the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins including procaspase-9, procaspase-3, PARP and PI3K/AKT, MAPK signalling pathway. RESULTS: Emodin derivative E11 could strongly inhibit the growth of Molt-4 with the IC50 in 48 h at 1.381 ± 0.1552 µmol/L in dose-dependent manner. 0.1 µmol/L of E11 could inhibit cell colony formation. The typrical apopototic morphologic changes of Molt cells treated with E11 could be observed under fluorescence microscope with DAPI staining. DNA apoptotic ladder could be observed by DNA fragmentation.The expressions of procaspase -9, procaspase-3, PARP, p-MAPK, p-AKT, mTOR, p-mTOR, p-P70 and p-4BEP1 were down-regulated, while expressions of MAPK, AKT, 4EBP1 and P70 were not changed remarkably after Molt-4 were treated with E11 for 48 h. CONCLUSION: E11 can remarkably inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of Molt-4 cells. The mechanism of apoptosis of Molt-4 cells may be related with the suppression of PI3K/AKT and MAPK signalling pathways.

[Effects of different fertilization patterns on soil enzyme activities in greenhouse vegetable field.] / ä¸åŒæ–½è‚¥æ¨¡å¼å¯¹è®¾æ–½èœç”°åœŸå£¤é ¶æ´»æ€§çš„å½±å“.

A fixed-site greenhouse vegetable fertilization experiment was carried out to study effects of 6 fertilization patterns on soil enzyme activities in Tianjin City, Northern China. The results showed that during the growing stages of tomato, activities of soil α-glucosidase, ß-xylosidase, ß-glucosidase, ß-cellobiosidase, chitinase and phosphatase in different treatments all increased first and then decreased, while soil urease activities increased first and then became flat. Compared with the chemical nitrogen fertilizer treatment, soil enzyme activities were much higher in treatments of combined application of organic materials with chemical fertilizers, and rose with the increasing input of pig manure and especially the application of straw. A significant positive correlation was found between soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) contents at different growing stages of tomato. Under the condition of same nutrient input, the combined application of inorganic fertilizers with organic materials, especially a certain amount of corn straw, was capable of increasing soil enzyme activities and keeping soil fertility and sustainability in greenhouse vegetable production.

Nationwide prevalence of human papillomavirus infection and viral genotype distribution in 37 cities in China.

BACKGROUND: Type-specific high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection is related to cervical carcinogenesis. The prevalence of hrHPV infection varies geographically, which might reflect the epidemiological characteristics of cervical cancer among different populations. To establish a foundation for HPV-based screening and vaccination programs in China, we investigated the most recent HPV prevalence and genotypic distributions in different female age groups and geographical regions in China. METHODS: In 2012, a total of 120,772 liquid-based cytological samples from women enrolled for population- or employee-based cervical screening in 37 Chinese cities were obtained by the Laboratory of Molecular Infectious Diseases of Guangzhou KingMed. A total of 111,131 samples were tested by Hybrid Capture II and the other 9,641 were genotyped using the Tellgenplex™ HPV DNA Assay. RESULTS: The total positive rate for hrHPV was 21.07 %, which ranged from 18.42 % (Nanchang) to 31.94 % (Haikou) and varied by region. The regions of Nanchang, Changsha, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Guangdong, and Guiyang could be considered the low prevalence regions. Age-specific prevalence showed a "two-peak" pattern, with the youngest age group (15-19 years) presenting the highest hrHPV infection rate (30.55 %), followed by a second peak for the 50-60-year-old group. Overall, the most prevalent genotypes were HPV16 (4.82 %) and HPV52 (4.52 %), followed by HPV58 (2.74 %). Two genotypes HPV6 (4.01 %) and HPV11 (2.29 %) were predominant in the low-risk HPV (lrHPV) type, while the mixed genotypes HPV16 + 52 and HPV52 + 58 were most common in women with multiple infections. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that HPV infection in China has increased to the level of an "HPV-heavy-burden" zone in certain regions, with prevalence varying significantly among different ages and regions. Data from this study represent the most current survey of the nationwide prevalence of HPV infection in China, and can serve as valuable reference to guide nationwide cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination programs.

Chemical and material communication between the optic nerves in rats.

BACKGROUND: To examine interactions between optic nerves. METHODS: A total of 24 Sprague-Dawley rats received unilateral intravitreal injections. The rats were equally divided into four groups: group A was administered an adeno-associated virus (AAV) carrying an exogenous gene (ND4; rAAV-ND4); group B, AAV carrying a green fluorescent protein (GFP; rAAV-GFP); group C, fluorogold (FG) nerve tracer dye; and group D, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control. Two weeks later, GFP expression was evaluated in both retinas and optic nerves of group B rats after frozen sectioning. The presence of FG was also evaluated in group C optic nerves by fluorescent microscopy after frozen sectioning. Four weeks after injection, ND4 expression was evaluated in both eyes of groups A and D using western blotting and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: FG was observed in the optic chiasm posterior segment along the optic nerve of injected eyes. Some FG reached the anterior optic nerve of the non-injected eye. GFP fluorescence was observed only in the retina of the injected eye but not in the contralateral retina or either optic nerve. ND4 expression was significantly different between injected and non-injected eyes but not between the non-injected eyes in groups A and D. CONCLUSION: Unilaterally injected material can reach the contralateral optic nerve through axoplasmic transport. It is possible that this the only mechanism by which the optic nerves directly communicate.