Reproductive toxicity of cadmium stress in male animals.

Cadmium (Cd) is a common heavy metal pollutant in the environment, and the widespread use of products containing Cd compounds in industry has led to excessive levels in the environment, which enter the animal body through the food chain, thus seriously affecting the reproductive development of animals. Related studies have reported that Cd severely affects spermatogonia development and spermatogenesis in animals. In contrast, the reproductive toxicity of Cd in males and its mechanism of action have not been clarified. Therefore, this paper reviewed the toxic effects of Cd on germ cells, spermatogonia somatic cells and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis) of male animals and its toxic action mechanisms of oxidative stress, apoptosis and autophagy from the perspectives of cytology, genetics and neuroendocrinology. The effects of Cd stress on epigenetic modification of reproductive development in male animals were also analyzed. We hope to provide a reference for the in-depth study of the toxicity of Cd on male animal reproduction.

Multi-F-Structured MOF Materials Enhance Nanogenerator Output Performance for Corrosion Protection of Metallic Materials.

MOF (metal organic framework) materials have been used as functional materials in a number of fields due to their diverse spatial tunability, which produces rich porous structures with stable and continuous pores and a high specific surface area. A triboelectric nanogenerator can convert trace mechanical energy into electrical energy, and the application of MOF materials to triboelectric nanogenerators has been intensively studied. In this work, we report on two MOFs with similar spatial structures, and the modulation of the end microstructures was achieved using the difference in F content. The output performance of friction power generation increases with the increase in F content, and the obtained polyacidic ligand materials can be used to construct self-powered corrosion protection systems, which can effectively protect metallic materials from corrosion.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Erysiphe cruciferarum on Orychophragmus violaceus in China.

Orychophragmus violaceus is an annual or perennial herb in the Brassicaceae family. It is widely planted in China and used as an ornamental and green manure plant (Luo et al. 2022). In September 2022, a survey conducted in a 600 m2 garden in Lanzhou (36°06'N, 103°43'E) found that over 70% of O. violaceus plants were infected with powdery mildew, with 80% of the leaf area on the upper surface of infected leaves was infected. The white colonies on the upper surface of the leaves gradually expanded, thickened, and spread to cover the stem surface. In severe cases, entire foliage withered and the plants died. Fungal structures were taken from the leaves with adhesive tape and placed in sterile water for microscopic observation. The conidiophores were upright, cylindrical, composed of 3 to 4 cells, and measured 92.3 ± 12.9 × 9.2 ± 0.6 µm (n=30). Conidial pedicels had 21.6 ± 3.4 µm (n=50) long cylindrical podocytes. Monoconidia were cylindrical or oval in shape, 32.9 ± 6.1 µm long and 15.1 ± 2.1 µm wide (n=80). Conidia lacked an obvious cellulose body. The bud tubes formed from the end of conidia, and papillary appressoria developed on the epiphytic mycelia. Based on these morphological characteristics, the pathogen was initially identified as Erysiphe cruciferarum (Braun et al. 2012). To validate the identity, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of an isolate EYL was amplified by PCR and sequenced using both ITS1/ITS4 and ITS5/PM6 primers (Takamatsu et al. 2001). The resulting sequences were deposited at GenBank (accession nos: OR437967 and OR437969). The ITS sequence of the isolate EYL (OR437967) is 99% (451/453) identical to E. cruciferarum (KP730001) on Brassica napus in China and that of the isolate EYL (OR437969) is 100% (509/509) identical to E. cruciferarum (KM260718) on B. juncea in Vietnam. Pathogenicity experiments were performed on six-week-old plants with an average of 10 ± 0.8 leaves. In the inoculated group, five healthy plants were inoculated by gently pressing the upper surface of diseased leaves against the upper surface of leaves of healthy plants for about 5 to 10 seconds. In the control group, the leaves of five healthy plants were treated with asymptomatic using the same method as described above. The plants were maintained in a greenhouse set at 25℃, 14-h photoperiod, and ≥ 70% humidity. After 13 days, all inoculated plants showed symptoms of powdery mildew, while the plants in the control group had no symptoms. The fungus on the inoculated plant was re-isolated and identified as E. cruciferarum based on its morphological characteristics and ITS sequence. Powdery mildew caused by E. cruciferarum has been reported on Cleome hassleriana in Italy and B. juncea in Australia (Garibaldi et al. 2009; Kaur et al. 2008). To our knowledge, this is the first time that powdery mildew caused by E. cruciferarum have been reported on O. violaceus in China. This disease poses a potential threat to the quality and yield of O. violaceus plants, which may warrant the development of preventative and management strategies in the future.

Directional design of carboxylic acid coordination number fine-tuned space structure to improve the output performance of nanogenerators.

The emergence of nanogenerators, which provide a way to obtain mechanical energy from the environment and to collect and transmit tiny amounts of energy, has attracted a lot of attention. MOFs, because of their diverse structures as well as stable pores and large specific surface area, have very significant advantages to be used as nanogenerator materials. In this paper, two MOFs with similar spatial structures are designed to take advantage of the different coordination numbers of carboxylic acids to achieve the regulation of their microstructures. The output performance of friction power generation was found to be affected significantly by their microstructures. The friction power generation performance improved with the increase of carboxylic acids, and the obtained polyacid ligand materials can be used for light bulb illumination, which is a step forward for the practical exploration.

Oxygen-doped NiCoP derived from Ni-MOFs for high performance asymmetric supercapacitor.

Oxygen doping strategy is one of the most effective methods to improve the electrochemical properties of nickel-cobalt phosphide (NiCoP)-based capacitors by adjusting its inherent electronic structure. In this paper, O-doped NiCoP microspheres derived from porous nanostructured nickel metal-organic frameworks (Ni-MOFs) were constructed through solvothermal method followed by phosphorization treatment. The O-doping concentration has a siginificant influence on the rate performance and cycle stability. The optimized O-doped NiCoP electrode material shows a specific capacitance of 632.4 F-g-1at 1 A-g-1and a high retention rate of 56.9% at 20 A g-1. The corresponding NiCoP-based asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits a high energy density of 30.1 Wh kg-1when the power density is 800.9 W kg-1, and can still maintain 82.1% of the initial capacity after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g-1.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Golovinomyces circumfusus on Scutellaria baicalensis in China.

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a member of the plant family Lamiaceae and is widely cultivated in China as a medicinal plant (Wang et al. 2021). In August 2022, an investigation of a 10-hectare field of S. baicalensis in Longxi county, Gansu province, China (35°18' N, 104°57' E) found that approximately 90% of the plants were infected with 70% leaves symptomatic. Initially, the thin, radial, irregular white colonies appeared on the adaxial surface of the plant leaves. Subsequently, the white colonies expanded and thickened to cover the entire adaxial surface of the leaves, and gradually spread to the stems and abaxial surface of the leaves. Finally, infected leaves dried out and defoliated prematurely. Tissue from infected plants was collected in order to identify the pathogen. Microscopic observations showed that hyphae were septate, branched, flexuous to straight, 3 to 9 µm wide. Appressoria were solitary and slightly to distinctly nipple-shaped. Conidiophores were erect, straight or somewhat flexuous, 105 to 145 × 8 to 13 µm in size (n=30). The conidia were ellipsoid to ovoid in shape, 25 to 39 × 12 to 21 µm (n=50), without obvious fibrosin bodies. Chasmothecia were globose or oblate, scattered to gregarious, dark brown, and 85 to 140 µm in diameter. Appendages were born equatorially on the ascomata, unbranched, 0.5 to 2.5 times as long as the chasmothecial diameter, interlaced with each other, and colorless. Asci were 5 to 12 per chasmothecium (n=30), obovate or suborbicular, 40 to 68 × 20 to 35 µm (n=30), mostly containing 2-3 ascospores. Ascospores were ellipsoid-ovoid, 14 to 24 × 10 to 15 µm (n=30). The fungus was identified as Golovinomyces circumfusus based on these morphological characteristics (Braun and Cook 2012). To validate the identity, the pathogen identification was confirmed through multi-locus phylogeny using internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 28S large ribosomal subunit, intergenic spacer (IGS) and beta-tubulin (TUB2) genes amplified. (Qiu et al. 2020). The resulting sequences were registered in GenBank (OR186707 for ITS, OQ861003 for 28S rDNA, OR193383 for IGS, OR205893 for TUB2). The phylogenetic tree was obtained using maximum parsimony (MP) in PAUP 4.0b. The phylogenetic analysis of the multi-locus sequences indicated that the strain HQ1 and G. circumfusus (type) clustered together on the same branch, confirming its identification. Pathogenicity tests were performed on potted 1-year-old plants of S. baicalensis according to Koch's postulates. Three plants were inoculated by gently pressing the naturally infected leaves onto 30 healthy leaves. Three non-inoculated healthy plants served as controls. Inoculated and control plants were placed in separate growth chamber (light/dark, 14 h/10 h; humidity, 70%; temperature, 25℃). After 12 days, the inoculated plants developed typical powdery mildew symptoms, but the control leaves remained without symptoms. The fungus on inoculated leaves was re-isolated, sequenced and confirmed as G. circumfusus based on morphological characteristics and molecular identification. Powdery mildew caused by G. circumfusus has been reported affecting Eupatorium cannabinum (Asteraceae) in Germany (Qiu et al. 2020), and Bidens pilosa var. radiata and Passiflora. edulis f. flavicarpa in Taiwan (Lin et al. 2020). There is no previous report about G. circumfusus causing powdery mildew on S. baicalensis. Moreover, although powdery mildew has been reported on S. baicalensis in China, the pathogen was not further identified (Zheng et al. 2010). To our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew caused by G. circumfusus on S. baicalensis in China and worldwide.

Facile synthesis of Pt/polyoxometalate/hollow carbon sphere tri-component nanoparticles via a "double gain strategy" for high-performance electrochemical sensing of adrenaline.

In this study, we designed and successfully synthesized the Pt/polyoxometalate/hollow carbon sphere (Pt/POM/HCS) tri-component nanoparticles (NPs) by a pollution-free, efficient, and convenient method. HCSs with outstanding chemical stability and conductivity are self-generated by acid etching and calcination of silica spheres synthesized by a hard template method. HCSs have a hollow internal structure that provides specific three-dimensional storage space, and can increase the surface area. The mesoporous system is beneficial to providing numerous mass transfer passageways and immobilizing NPs. In addition, we introduced a "double gain strategy", by taking advantage of POMs as reducing and bridging agents, to achieve the loading of ultrafine Pt NPs on the surface of HCSs. Pt NPs have excellent stability and unique electrocatalytic activity. As a result of the synergistic effect of HCSs and ultrafine Pt NPs, the electrochemical sensing of adrenaline exhibits high-performance catalytic activity, sensitivity, suitable linearity range (0.16 µM-1.195 mM), and low limit of detection (57.5 nM, S/N = 3), excellent stability, and reproducibility. The developed platform is a sensitive and effective adrenaline electrical sensing platform with broad practical application prospects.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Erysiphe polygoni on Trifolium repens in China.

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) belongs to the Fabaceae family legume and is cultivated in China for its medicinal properties and ornamental value. White clover is grown around the world for forage, turf , green manure and soil conservation purposes (Zhang el al. 2016). In October 2021, an investigation of a 1,000 m2 plant nursery in Lanzhou, China (36°06'N, 103°83'E) found that 80% of White clover plants were infected, and powdery mildew covered 95% of the leaf area. The disease had seriously destroyed the forage quality and reduced the ornamental value. Initially, thin, radial, irregular white colonies appeared on leaves and gradually spread to stems. The white colonies then expanded and thickened to cover upper surface of the leaf, and microscopic hyphae appeared on the bottom of the leaf. In severe cases, the infection resulted in dieback of the leaf. A small area of sporulating fungus was stripped off from the leaf surface with tape and mounted in sterile water for microscopic examination (Mukhtar et al. 2017). Conidiophores were cylindrical, consisting of a foot cell followed by three to four short cells, measuring 75 to 160 × 7 to 10 µm. Conidiophores had straight, cylindric foot cells ranging from 25 to 40 µm long. Singly produced conidia were hyaline and ranged in shape from oblong to cylindrical. Conidia lacked distinct fibrotic bodies and measured 30 to 45 × 15 to 25 µm in length. Long, unbranched germ tubes formed from the ends of the conidia and nipple-shaped appressoria developed on epiphytic mycelia. Based on these morphological characteristics, the pathogen was initially identified morphologically as Erysiphe polygoni (Braun and Cook 2012). To validate the identity, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the pathogen (SY77) rDNA was amplified by PCR and sequenced using the ITS1/ITS4 primers (White et al. 1990). The resulting sequences were registered to GenBank (GenBank Accession No.OM280998). The ITS sequence of the SY77 was 100% (640/640) identical to E. polygoni (LC009892) on Polygonum aviculare in the United Kingdom and 99% (638/640) identical to E. polygoni (MK685172) on Antigonon leptopus in Taiwan. MEGA 7.0 was used to conduct the neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis using the ITS sequences from GenBank. The data indicated that the strain SY77 and E. polygoni clustered together on the same branch. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by gently pressing the infected leaves onto five healthy potted White clover plants, while five non-inoculated plants were used as controls (Michael et al. 2021). The plants were maintained in a growth chamber (25 ℃, 14 h light, and 10 h dark period, RH > 80%). After 10 days, the inoculated plants developed powdery mildew symptoms, whereas the control plants remained symptom-free. The fungus on the inoculated plants was re-isolated, re-identified, and confirmed as E. polygoni based on morphological observations and molecular identification. There is no previous report on E. polygoni causing powdery mildew on White clover in China. The powdery mildew caused by E. polygoni on Red clover has been reported in China and Bulgaria, respectively (Yuan el al.1991; Galina el al. 2017). To our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew caused by E. polygoni on White clover in China. References: 1. Zheng, L., et al. 2018. Plant Dis. 102:628. 2. Mukhtar, G., et al. 2017. Plant Dis.101:1, 246. 3. Braun, U., and Cook, R. T. A. 2012. Taxonomic Manual of the Erysiphales (Powdery Mildews), CBS Biodiversity Series No.11. CBS, Utrecht. 4. Michael, R. F., et al. 2021.Plant Dis. First look.( doi.org/ 10.1094/PDIS-09-21-2060-PDN). 5. Yuan, Q. H., el al.1991. Pratacult Sci.05:59 (in Chinese). 6. Galina, N., et al, 2017. BIOTECHNOL Anim Husb.33.127.

The HDAC2/SP1/miR-205 feedback loop contributes to tubular epithelial cell extracellular matrix production in diabetic kidney disease.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation is considered an important pathological feature of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors protect against kidney injury. However, the potential mechanisms of HDACs in DKD are still largely unknown. Here, we describe a novel feedback loop composed of HDAC2 and miR-205 that regulates ECM production in tubular epithelial cells in individuals with DKD. We found that HDAC2 mRNA expression in peripheral blood was markedly higher in patients with DKD than in patients with diabetes. Nuclear HDAC2 protein expression was increased in TGFß1-stimulated tubular epithelial cells and db/db mice. We also found that miR-205 was regulated by HDAC2 and down-regulated in TGFß1-treated HK2 cells and db/db mice. In addition, HDAC2 reduced histone H3K9 acetylation in the miR-205 promoter region to inhibit its promoter activity and subsequently suppressed miR-205 expression through an SP1-mediated pathway. Furthermore, miR-205 directly targeted HDAC2 and inhibited HDAC2 expression. Intriguingly, miR-205 also regulated its own transcription by inhibiting HDAC2 and increasing histone H3K9 acetylation in its promoter, forming a feedback regulatory loop. Additionally, the miR-205 agonist attenuated ECM production in HK2 cells and renal interstitial fibrosis in db/db mice. In conclusion, the HDAC2/SP1/miR-205 feedback loop may be crucial for the pathogenesis of DKD.

Dapagliflozin reverses the imbalance of T helper 17 and T regulatory cells by inhibiting SGK1 in a mouse model of diabetic kidney disease.

An imbalance between T helper 17 (Th17) and T regulatory (Treg) cell subsets contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms that cause this imbalance are unknown. Serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) has been suggested to affect Th17 polarization in a salt-dependent manner, and sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have been demonstrated to regulate sodium-mediated transportation in the renal tubules. This study aimed to evaluate the potential benefits of dapagliflozin (Dap) on DKD, as well as its influence on shifting renal T-cell polarization and related cytokine secretion. We treated male db/db mice with Dap or voglibose (Vog) and measured blood and kidney levels of Th17 and Treg cells using flow cytometry. We found that Th17 cells were significantly increased, while Treg cells were significantly decreased in diabetic mice. Moreover, Dap suppressed the polarization of Th17/Treg cells by inhibiting SGK1 in diabetic kidneys, and this was accompanied by attenuation of albuminuria and tubulointerstitial fibrosis independent of glycemic control. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the imbalance of Th17/Treg cells plays an important role in the progression of DKD. Moreover, Dap protects against DKD by inhibiting SGK1 and reversing the T-cell imbalance.

[Microbial activity and functional diversity in rhizosphere of cucumber under different subsurface drip irrigation scheduling].

The effects of subsurface drip irrigation scheduling on microbial activity and functional diversity in rhizosphere of cucumber in solar greenhouse were studied in this paper. The results showed that the soil microbial biomass C and N, basal respiration, metabolic quotient and values of AWCD, Shannon and McIntosh indexes were increased at first and then decreased with the increase of irrigation water amount. The values of microbial C and N, basal respiration and metabolic quotient in I2 treatments were significantly higher than those in I1 treatments at the 0.8E(p) irrigation level. The numbers of bacteria, actinomyces and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and the activities of urease, phosphatase, sucrase, catalase and polyhenoloxidase were significantly higher in the 0.8E(p) treatment than in the other treatments. The numbers of bacteria and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, the activities of urease, phosphatase and sucrase in I2 treatments were significantly higher than in I1 treatment, the actinomyces number and activities of catalase and polyhenoloxidase had no significant difference between I1 and I2 treatments, however, the fungi number in I2 treatments were significantly lower than in I2 treaments at the 0.8E(p) irrigation level. The microbial activity and functional diversity in rhizosphere of cucumber were strengthened in the I20.8E(p) treatment, meanwhile, the soil microflora was improved and the soil enzymes activities were enhanced, therefore, the cucumber growth was promoted as well.

[Effects of grafting on root polyamine metabolism of cucumber seedlings under copper stress].

By the method of hydroponic culture, and taking Cucurbita ficifolia B. as rootstock, this paper studied the effects of grafting on the root polyamine metabolism of cucumber seedlings under copper stress. The results showed that under copper stress, the root activities of cucumber seedlings were inhibited, and electrolyte leakage increased, with these changes being significantly lower for grafted than for ungrafted cucumber seedlings. In addition, the contents of free spermidine and spermine, and of conjugated and bound polyamines were significantly higher in grafted than in ungrafted seedling roots, while the free putrescine content and the ratio of free putrescine to polyamines were on the contrary. Comparing with those in ungrafted cucumber seedlings, the root arginine decarboxylase (ADC), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) activities in grafted cucumber seedlings were higher, while the diamine oxidase and polyamine oxidase activities were significantly lower. All of these indicated that under copper stress, the synthesis of polyamine in grafted seedling roots was increased, while the degradation of polyamine was decreased, resulting in a higher accumulation of polyamine in the roots, and the increase of the tolerance of cucumber seedlings to copper stress.

[Effects of grafting on cucumber rhizospheric soil microbial characteristics and enzyme activities under copper stress].

A pot experiment with cucumber (taking Cucurbita ficifoblia B. as the rootstock) was conducted to study the effects of grafting on the microbial population, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in rhizospheric soil under copper stress. Under the stress of copper, the microbial biomass C and N in grafted and self-rooted cucumber rhizospheric soils all decreased significantly, while the basal respiration and metabolic quotient were in adverse. In grafted cucumber rhizospheric soil, the microbial biomass C and N were significantly higher than those in self-rooted cucumber rhiaospheric soil, whereas the basal respiration and metabolic quotient were significantly lower. Under copper stress, the quantities of actinomyces and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in rhizospheric soils decreased and that of fungi increased significantly, whereas the quantity of bacteria had less change. In grafted cucumber rhizospheric soil, the quantities of bacteria, actinomyces, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria were significantly higher than those in self-rooted cucumber rhizospheric soil, but the quantity of fungi was in opposite. The urease, phosphatase, sucrase, and catalase activities were significantly higher in grafted than in self-rooted cucumber rhizospheric soil. All the results suggested that grafting could mitigate the impact of copper stress on the microbial micro-environment and enzyme activities in cucumber rhizospheric soil, and as a result, improve the adaptability of cucumber to copper stress.