Mass-ratio and complementarity effects simultaneously drive aboveground biomass in temperate Quercus forests through stand structure.

Forests play a key role in regulating the global carbon cycle, a substantial portion of which is stored in aboveground biomass (AGB). It is well understood that biodiversity can increase the biomass through complementarity and mass-ratio effects, and the contribution of environmental factors and stand structure attributes to AGB was also observed. However, the relative influence of these factors in determining the AGB of Quercus forests remains poorly understood. Using a large dataset retrieved from 523 permanent forest inventory plots across Northeast China, we examined the effects of integrated multiple tree species diversity components (i.e., species richness, functional, and phylogenetic diversity), functional traits composition, environmental factors (climate and soil), stand age, and structure attributes (stand density, tree size diversity) on AGB based on structural equation models. We found that species richness and phylogenetic diversity both were not correlated with AGB. However, functional diversity positively affected AGB via an indirect effect in line with the complementarity effect. Moreover, the community-weighted mean of specific leaf area and height increased AGB directly and indirectly, respectively; demonstrating the mass-ratio effect. Furthermore, stand age, density, and tree size diversity were more important modulators of AGB than biodiversity. Our study highlights that biodiversity-AGB interaction is dependent on the regulation of stand structure that can be even more important for maintaining high biomass than biodiversity in temperate Quercus forests.

The lncRNA CASC9 alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute kidney injury by regulating the miR-424-5p/TXNIP pathway.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to clarify the mechanism by which the long non-coding RNA cancer susceptibility candidate 9 (CASC9) alleviates sepsis-related acute kidney injury (S-AKI). METHODS: A lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced AKI model was established to simulate S-AKI. HK-2 human renal tubular epithelial cells were treated with LPS to establish an in vitro model, and mice were intraperitoneally injected with LPS to generate an in vivo model. Subsequently, the mRNA expression of inflammatory and antioxidant factors was validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was assessed using an assay kit. Apoptosis was detected by western blotting and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. RESULTS: CASC9 was significantly downregulated in the LPS-induced AKI model. CASC9 attenuated cell inflammation and apoptosis and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of cells. Regarding the mechanism, miR-424-5p was identified as the downstream target of CASC9, and the interaction between CASC9 and miR-424-5p promoted thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) expression. CONCLUSIONS: CASC9 alleviates LPS-induced AKI in vivo and in vitro, and CASC9 directly targets miR-424-5p and further promotes the expression of TXNIP. We have provided a possible reference strategy for the treatment of S-AKI.

Suspended Membrane Evaporators Integrating Environmental and Solar Evaporation for Oily Wastewater Purification.

Solar-driven evaporation is promising in oily wastewater treatment, in particular for emulsions, but conventional evaporators suffer from pore blocking by residual oil or contamination by volatile oil compounds in the condensed water. In the current research, we develop a suspended membrane evaporator integrating solar evaporation with oil-in-water emulsion separation. The heating and evaporating interface is separated from the rejecting interface to avoid oil escape and improve heat management. A temperature gradient forms on the membrane surface that can promote evaporation performance by combining both solar and environmental evaporation. Such an evaporator achieves a maximum evaporation rate of 1.645 kg/(m2·h) as well as an apparent evaporation efficiency of 111.9%. Moreover, the superhydrophilic and superoleophobic membrane shows excellent oil repellence and emulsion rejection, which can achieve an oil removal efficiency above 98.8% in oil-in-water emulsion separation, and high evaporation rate recovery in cycling tests. A scaled-up membrane evaporator array produces ∼8 kg/(m2·d) of clean water from oily wastewater in outdoor experiments, further demonstrating the strong purification performance of this evaporator in oily wastewater treatment.

Sandwich-Structured Photothermal Wood for Durable Moisture Harvesting and Pumping.

Moisture capture coupled with photothermal regeneration provides an alternative and sustainable way to acquire fresh water. Composite moisture absorbents based on hygroscopic salts are environmentally friendly, economically feasible, and of high efficiency but suffer from the unavoidable desiccant leakage during absorption and evaporation-induced salt accumulation on material surfaces during desorption. In this study, we develop a superhydrophobic-hydrophilic-hydrophobic photothermal wood embedded with CaCl2 to promote the durability of the absorbents. The sandwich structure serves as a liquid/vapor gate allowing vapor transport but forbidding liquid permeation, enabling the condensation and evaporation within the wood. Beyond moisture harvesting, the sandwich-structured photothermal wood exhibits potential in indoor dehumidification by pumping the moisture through an absorption-desorption cycle.

Biodiversity increased both productivity and its spatial stability in temperate forests in northeastern China.

Although the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has been extensively studied, it remains unclear if the relationships of biodiversity with productivity and its spatial stability vary along productivity gradients in natural ecosystems. Based on a large dataset from 2324 permanent forest inventory plots across northeastern China, we examined the intensity of species richness (SR) and tree size diversity (Hd) effects on aboveground wood productivity (AWP) and its spatial stability among different productivity levels. Structural equation modeling was applied, integrating abiotic (climate and soil) and biotic (stand density) factors. Our results demonstrated that both SR and Hd positively affected AWP and its spatial stability, and the intensity of these positive effects decreased with increasing productivity. At low productivity levels, SR and Hd increased spatial stability by reducing spatial variability and increasing mean AWP. At high productivity levels, stability increased only through mean AWP increase. Moreover, temperature and stand density affected the AWP directly and indirectly via biodiversity, and the strength and direction of these effects varied among different productivity levels. We concluded that biodiversity could simultaneously enhance productivity and its spatial stability in temperate forests, and that the effect intensity was uniform along productivity gradients, which provided a new perspective on relationships within biodiversity-ecosystem functioning.

[CHENG Dan-an's experience and practice in treatment of stroke].

CHENG Dan-an is the famous acupuncture scholar in modern times and he emphasizes the importance of moxibustion in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. According to the different stages and types of stroke, the full-period moxibustion treatment is dominant, i.e. the moxibustion therapy for pacifying yang is used for stroke prevention, the moxibustion therapy for rescuing yang is for the emergency and the moxibustion therapy for warming and promoting meridian circulation is for the rehabilitation. Moxibustion is applicable in the full-period treatment of stroke. The corresponding treatment regimen and manipulation should be selected in terms of the individual stage and type of stroke.

The expression of IL-1ß can deteriorate the prognosis of nervous system after spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: We used Anakinra to inhibit the expression of IL-1ß based on the model of spinal cord injury in the rat stomach and explored whether it had a certain neuroprotective effect after spinal cord injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The spinal cord injury model of four segments (T5-T8) was prepared by using vascular clamp. Thirty rats were randomized to the control group and the experimental group, and the control group used normal saline, while the experimental group used Anakinra after spinal cord injury. The spinal cord tissue was extracted at 6 h and 24 h after the operation to carry out the histopathological evaluation and to analyze the contents of IL-1ß and malondialdehyde and the activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. RESULTS: Edema and inflammatory cell infiltration were obviously seen after spinal cord injury, the IL-1ß level in serum was significantly increased, but the activity of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase was decreased in the control group compared with the experimental group. The experimental group could increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes, but had no significant effect on malondialdehyde. CONCLUSIONS: Anakinra had a certain protective effect through the inhibition of IL-1ß on spinal cord injury.

Coralline hydroxyapatite for ridge preservation in the maxillary anterior zone:A cone beam CT analysis / 医学研究生学报

Objective Coralline hydroxyapatite (CHA),in comparison with Bio-Oss bone meal,is a material with extensive resources but no immunogenicity or risk of disease-transmission. The aim of this article was to study the clinical application of CHA in ridge preservation in the maxillary anterior zone. Methods Twenty-six patients underwent extraction of maxillary anterior teeth (n=26) for chronic periodontitis or periapical periodontitis. The patients were randomly assigned into a CHA and a control group of equal number to receive ridge preservation with CHA and Bio-Oss bone meal respectively. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was performed immediately and at 4 months after ridge preservation to compare the vertical and horizontal alterations of the alveolar ridge be-tween the two groups of patients. Results After ridge preservation,both the CHA and control groups showed a reduction in the width ([1.1±0.7] vs [1.3±1.9] mm) and height of the alveolar ridge ([1.3±1.6] vs [1.2±1.4] mm),but with no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion For ridge preservation in the maxillary anterior zone,CHA has a similar effect to that of Bio-Oss bone meal and therefore is an ideal material for bone graft.

Dexamethasone attenuates development of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Immunity and inflammation are well established factors in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We aimed to investigate whether dexamethasone (Dex), a potent immunosuppressant, could prevent the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH in rats as compared with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and its effect on the immune mechanism. PAH in rats (n = 66) was induced by MCT (50 mg/kg) injected intraperitoneally. Two days after MCT treatment, Dex (1.0 mg/kg) and PDTC (100 mg/kg) were administered once daily for 21 days. Samples were collected at 7, 14, and 21 days. Dex effectively inhibited MCT-induced PAH and reduced the T-helper (Th) 1 dominant cytokine response (interferon-γ) but up-regulated the Th2 one (interleukin 4). It increased the number of CD4+ T cells and decreased the number of CD8+ T cells around pulmonary arteries, upregulated the mRNA expression of fractalkine and downregulated that of CX3CR1 in the lung. Serum levels of interferon γ and interleukin 4 did not significantly differ from that of controls. Dex attenuated the process of MCT-induced PAH through its immunomodulatory property. Dex could be an appropriate therapy for PAH, although more studies are needed to define the appropriate treatment regimen.

[Clinical study on electroacupuncture combined with manual acupuncture for treatment of simple obesity].

OBJECTIVE: To compare therapeutic effects of electroacupuncture combined with manual acupuncture and simple electroacupuncture on simple obesity. METHODS: One hundred and twenty cases were randomly divided into an electroacupuncture plus manual acupuncture group (observation group, n = 63) and a simple electroacupuncture group (electroacupuncture group, n = 57). Their clinical therapeutic effects and the time starting the therapeutic effect were compared. RESULTS: In the observation group 57 cases (90.5%) were cured and the total effective rate was 100.0%, and in the electroacupuncture group 42 cases (73.7%) were cured and the total effective rate was 96.5%, with significant difference in the cured rate between the two groups (P < 0.05); and the time starting the therapeutic effect in the observation group was superior to the electroacupuncture group. CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture combined with manual acupuncture is superior to the simple electroacupuncture in the cured rate and the time starting the effect in treatment of simple obesity.

[Magnetic resonance imaging findings in children with cerebral palsy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical and neurological abnormalities in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to attempt to correlate the types of CP and the gestational age at birth with radiological abnormalities detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. METHODS: This is a hospital-based study, the subjects included 104 children with cerebral palsy who were hospitalized in the Qingdao Rehibilitation Center For Disabled Children. All the 104 hospitalized CP cases (47 with spastic diplegia, 9 with tetraplegia, 15 with hemiplegia, 22 with athetosis, and 11 with ataxia) were examined neurologically and their perinatal history was reviewed. Their cranial MRI findings were studied. The association between the gestational ages, CP types, and the radiological findings were studied. RESULTS: The type distribution was significantly different between term- and preterm- infants. Spastic diplegia was the main type in preterm infants while hemiplegia and ataxia were mainly seen in term infants. MRI abnormalities were found in 88 of the 104 cases and abnormal rates of spastic diplegia, tetraplegia, hemiplegia, athetosis, and ataxia were 89.4%, 100%, 100%, 54.5% and 90.9%, respectively. There was no significant difference in abnormal rates between term and preterm groups. Thirty-one of 42 (73.8%) children with spastic diplegia had significant periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), which was more common among preterm-born children (90%). Of the 15 children with hemiplegia, 13 had unilateral lesions on neuroimaging. Spastic tetraplegia was associated with extensive, bilateral, diffuse brain damage. The abnormalities in term-born infants with athetoid cerebral palsy were mainly located in the basal ganglia region whereas the major abnormality in premature infants was PVL. Of the 11 children with ataxic cerebral palsy, 8 cases showed congenital cerebellum dysplasia on brain imaging. CONCLUSIONS: Radiological abnormalities of the brain were correlated with CP types and the gestational age at birth; MRI scan was useful in revealing underlying brain abnormalities and speculating on the etiology of cerebral palsy.