Research progress on plant functional traits in agroecosystems.

Plant functional traits have an essential role in community formation and ecosystem function. Unlike natu-ral ecosystems, agroecosystems are affected by natural conditions and human management. Plant (i.e., crop)functional traits in the agroecosystems are thus shaped by natural and human selection. We reviewed the development of functional trait research, focusing on crop functional traits, research methods of agroecosystems based on traits, and the application of functional traits in agriculture. We then elaborated on the effect of domestication on crop trait trade-offs, the relationship between community functional structure and agroecosystem services, and the application of functional traits in weed management, cover cropping, and intercropping systems. Future research directions of crop functional traits include enriching the types of agroecosystems and crop species in studies, buil-ding up a crop functional trait database, and focusing on agroecosystem multifunctionality.

Global attitudes on and the status of enteral nutrition therapy for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Enteral nutrition (EN) is a diet-remission therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that plays a more important role in children than adults. EN includes exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN), partial enteral nutrition (PEN), and maintenance enteral nutrition (MEN). However, EEN remains an unstandardized treatment for pediatric IBD. The types and methods of EN differ around the world. The current study reviewed the EN literature on children with IBD. A total of 12 survey studies were identified that analyzed the current state of EN use, including clinical opinions, implementation methods, treatment course, EEN formula, IBD classification, progress, dietary reintroduction, and patient feedback. The findings revealed that EEN has a strong effect on mild to moderate Crohn's disease (CD). The usage rates of this treatment in different sites were ileum/colon (Paris classification L3) > ileum (L1) > upper digestive tract (L4) > colon (L2) > perianal disease (P) > ulcerative colitis (UC) > extraintestinal lesions. The polymeric formula was the most used EN formulation. New EN diets include a CD exclusion diet (CDED), a specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), and a CD treatment-with-eating (CD-TREAT) diet. Children with IBD responded similarly to EEN administered orally or using a feeding tube. Most guidelines recommended 6-8 weeks of EEN treatment to induce remission. Many clinicians preferred to combine drug medications during EEN and recommended that MEN accounts for at least 25-35% of daily caloric intake. EN remains an unstandardized therapy that requires teamwork across disciplines.

Case report: Partial cystectomy for pheochromocytoma of the urinary bladder: A case report and review of literature.

Pheochromocytomas are neuroendocrine tumors that produce catecholamines and can be difficult to diagnose. Bladder involvement is uncommon with pheochromocytoma. Hypertension (sometimes with hypertensive crisis coinciding with micturition), headache, hematuria and syncope, which are commonly associated with voiding, are the most prevalent symptoms. While transurethral resection may be performed in roughly 20% of patients, 70% require partial cystectomy and 10% require radical cystectomy. We present a case of pheochromocytoma with hypertension and syncope that was often associated with voiding, satisfactorily treated by partial cystectomy.

Retraction note: Effect of probucol on autophagy and apoptosis in the penile tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.4103/aja.aja_89_19].

Effect of probucol on autophagy and apoptosis in the penile tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Autophagy and apoptosis have been regarded as important processes in the development of diabetic erectile dysfunction (DMED). Probucol is considered to have anti-apoptotic effects, but its relationship with autophagy has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of probucol on erectile function. Thirty Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats (12 weeks old) were fasted for 12 h. Twenty SD rats were injected with a single intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg kg-1 streptozotocin (STZ). Ten rats were given vehicle only and used as a sham group. After 72 h, 20 STZ-treated rats with random blood glucose concentrations consistently greater than 16.7 mmol l-1 were used as successfully established diabetic rats. The diabetic rats were divided randomly into two groups and treated with a daily gavage of probucol at a dose of 0 or 500 mg kg-1 for 12 weeks. After treatment, the intracavernous pressure (ICP) was used to measure erectile function upon electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerve. After euthanasia, penile tissue was examined using immunohistochemistry and Western blot to assess the protein levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), BCL2-associated X (Bax), microtubule-associated protein light chain 3-II (LC3-II), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and sequestosome 1 (P62). Caspase-3 activity was measured to determine apoptosis using a caspase-3 assay kit. After 12 weeks of treatment, the erectile function of the probucol group was significantly better than that of the DM group (P < 0.05). Bax and LC3-II protein expression and caspase-3 activity were significantly lower in the probucol group than those in the DM group (all P < 0.05), while Bcl-2, mTOR, and P62 protein expression levels were significantly higher than those in the DM group (all P < 0.05). We demonstrated that probucol inhibited apoptosis and autophagy in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

MCT4 promotes cell proliferation and invasion of castration-resistant prostate cancer PC-3 cell line.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in men. Blocking androgen receptor (AR) signaling is an effective treatment strategy for the treatment of advanced metastatic disease of PCa in men. However, the method of blocking AR signaling is not suitable for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and the treatment of CRPC is still clinically difficult. It has recently been reported that MCT4 is a plasma membrane transporter that mediates the secretion of lactic acid from aerobic glycolysis by cancer cells. Its expression is up-regulated in PCa and plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of PCa, but the underlying mechanism is hardly known. The MCT4 gene of PC-3 cell line was knocked down by siRNA, then MCT4 mRNA and protein was detected by real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. CCK-8, Transwell migration assay, Flow cytometry, and TUNEL methods were used to detect the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of PC-3 cells by MCT4 knockdown, and the expression of invasion-related proteins (MCT4) was detected by western blot analysis. The treatment of PC-3 with candidate MCT4 siRNAs led to marked inhibition of MCT4 expression in both mRNA and protein level. MCT4 knockdown inhibits PC-3 cell proliferation and facilitates apoptosis. Furthermore, MCT4 promoted the invasion capabilities of PC-3 cells by regulating invasion-related genes, such as VEGF, CD147, MMP2 and MMP9. In conclusion, MCT4 promotes oncogenic process of PCa may, as least partially, by inhibiting cell apoptosis and accelerating cell proliferation as well as invasion abilities of PC-3 cells. VEGF, CD147, MMP2 and MMP9 are important downstream genes of MCT4 in facilitating cell invasion.

Probucol improves erectile function via Activation of Nrf2 and coordinates the HO-1 / DDAH / PPAR-γ/ eNOS pathways in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic erectile dysfunction (DMED) is mainly attributed to oxidative stress, and Nrf2 plays an important role in cellular antioxidation and regulates NO production in the vascular endothelium. Probucol maintains endothelial function through its antioxidant activity. This study investigated the efficacy and mechanism of probucol in improving erectile function in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. METHODS: In our study, thirty 12-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were fasted for 12 h. All rats received a 1-time injection of intraperitoneal streptozotocin(60 mg/kg) or vehicle. After 72 h, STZ-treated rats (with random blood glucose concentrations consistently greater than 16.7 mmol/L) were considered diabetic. The diabetic rats were randomly assigned into 2 groups and treated with daily gavage feedings of probucol at doses of 0 and 500 mg/kg for 12 weeks. A positive control group underwent intraperitoneal injection of normal saline followed by daily gavage of saline solution. Erectile function was assessed by electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerves with real-time intracavernous pressure measurement. After euthanasia, penile tissue was investigated using immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and ELISA to assess the proteins of Nrf2/HO-1/DDAH/PPAR-γ/eNOS pathways. RESULTS: After treatment, the rats in the probucol group presented significantly improved erectile function (P < 0.05) than that of the diabetic group without probucol treatment (DM). Also, protein expression of Nrf2, DDAH, PPAR-γ, HO-1 and eNOS was significantly higher than that of the DM group (P < 0.05). CGMP concentrations and SOD concentrations of probucol-treated rats were higher than those of DM group (P < 0.05). The MDA levels and ADMA levels were significantly lower than those of DM group rats (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Probucol can improve erectile function via activation of Nrf2, which coordinates the HO-1/DDAH/PPAR-γ/eNOS pathways in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

[Morphological traits of indigenous field carps maintained in traditional rice-based farming systems.] / ä¼ ç»Ÿç¨»é±¼ç³»ç»Ÿä¸­"田鲤鱼"的形态特征.

Rice-fish is an important traditional farming system. In the rice-fish system, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is the major species raised in paddy field where the environment is characterized by shadow water. Under a long-term of natural selection and artificial selection, the carp would adapt to the paddy field environment. We investigated two indigenous carps (C. carpio qingtianensis and C. carpio congjiangensis) that originated and evolved in the Globally Important Agriculture Heritage System (GIAHS) 'rice-fish system' in Qingtian, Zhejiang Province and 'rice-fish-duck system' in Congjiang, Guizhou Province. We measured the morphological traits of indigenous carps by collecting carp samples from 'rice-fish system' and 'rice-fish-duck system'. We used mitochondrial gene (D-loop) to build phylogenetic tree. We also collected data of morphological traits of other carp populations from documented databases and published papers. Both traditio-nal morphometric analysis and landmark based geometric morphometric analysis showed that Qingtian field carp and Congjiang field carp differed in body shape. Compared with Qingtian field carp, Cong-jiang field carp had a longer and more narrow tail, and lower ratio of tail length to body length. The analysis of phylogenetic tree suggested that Qingtian field carp and Congjiang field carp were genetically independent populations. However, principal component analysis basing on morphometric traits showed that the field carps (Qingtian field carp and Congjiang field carp) were morphometrically similar to each other and were both significantly different from other common carp populations, especially in the traits of caudal fin and dorsal fin. All these results suggested that carps living and evolving in paddy field environment were significantly different in genetics and morphology from the carp populations living in other water environment and that Qingtian field carp was morphologically different from Congjiang field carp.

[Effects of fish on field resource utilization and rice growth in rice-fish coculture]. / 稻鱼系统中田鱼对资源的利用及对水稻生长的影响.

Rice field can provide habitat for fish and other aquatic animals. Rice-fish coculture can increase rice yield and simultaneously reduce the use of chemicals through reducing rice pest occurrence and nutrient complementary use. However, how fish uses food sources (e.g. phytoplankton, weeds, duckweed, macro-algal and snail) from rice field, and whether the nutrients releasing from those food sources due to fish transforming can improve rice growth are still unknown. Here, we conducted two field experiments to address these questions. One was to investigate the pattern of fish activity in the field using the method of video recording. The other was to examine the utilization of field resources by fish using stable isotope technology. Rice growth and rice yield were also exa-mined. Results showed that fish tended to be more active and significantly expanded the activity range in the rice-fish coculture compared to fish monoculture (fish not living together with rice plants). The contributions of 3 potential aquatic organisms (duckweed, phytoplankton and snail) to fish dietary were 22.7%, 34.8% and 30.0% respectively under rice-fish coculture without feed. Under the treatment with feed, however, the contributions of these 3 aquatic organisms to the fish die-tary were 8.9%, 5.9% and 1.6% respectively. The feed contribution was 71.0%. Rice-fish coculture significantly increased the nitrogen concentration in rice leaves, prolonged tillering stage by 10-12 days and increased rice spike rate and yield. The results suggested that raising fish in paddy field may transform the nutrients contained in field resources to bioavailable for rice plants through fish feeding activity, which can improve rice growth and rice yield.