[Effects of Modified Distillers' Grains Biochar on Cadmium Forms in Purple Soil and Cadmium Uptake by Rice].

Biochar and modified biochar have been widely used as remediation materials in heavy metal-contaminated agricultural soils. In order to explore economical and effective materials for the remediation of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated acidic purple soil, distillers 'grains were converted into distillers' grains biochar (DGBC) and modified using nano-titanium dioxide (Nano-TiO2) to produce two types of modified DGBCs:TiO2/DGBC and Fe-TiO2/DGBC. A rice pot experiment was used to investigate the effects of different biochar types and application rates (1%, 3%, and 5%) on soil properties, nutrient content, Cd bioavailability, Cd forms, rice growth, and Cd accumulation. The results showed that:① DGBC application significantly increased soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and nutrient content, with TiO2/DGBC and Fe-TiO2/DGBC exhibiting better effects. ② DGBC and modified DGBCs transformed Cd from soluble to insoluble forms, increasing residual Cd by 1.22% to 18.46% compared to that in the control. Cd bioavailability in soil decreased significantly, with available cadmium being reduced by 11.81% to 23.67% for DGBC, 7.64% to 43.85% for TiO2/DGBC, and 19.75% to 55.82% for Fe-TiO2/DGBC. ③ DGBC and modified DGBCs increased rice grain yield, with the highest yields observed at a 3% application rate:30.60 g·pot-1 for DGBC, 37.85 g·pot-1 for TiO2/DGBC, and 39.10 g·pot-1 for Fe-TiO2/DGBC, representing 1.13, 1.40, and 1.44 times the control yield, respectively. Cd content in rice was significantly reduced, with grain Cd content ranging from 0.24 to 0.30 mg·kg-1 for DGBC, 0.16 to 0.26 mg·kg-1 for TiO2/DGBC, and 0.14 to 0.24 mg·kg-1 for Fe-TiO2/DGBC. Notably, Cd content in rice grains fell below the food safety limit of 0.2 mg·kg-1 (GB2762-2022) at 5% for TiO2/DGBC and 3% and 5% for Fe-TiO2/DGBC. In conclusion, Nano-TiO2 modified DGBC effectively reduced the bioavailability of soil Cd through its own adsorption and influence on soil Cd forms distribution, thus reducing the absorption of Cd by rice and simultaneously promoting rice growth and improving rice yield. It is a type of Cd-contaminated soil remediation material with a potential application prospect. The results can provide scientific basis for farmland restoration and agricultural safety production of Cd-contaminated acidic purple soil.

[Effects of Modified Distiller's Lees Biochar on Nutrients and Enzyme Activities in Purple Soil].

In order to investigate the effects of distiller's lees biochar and different modified distiller's lees biochars on soil properties, pot experiments were conducted to study the effects of different soil amendments (CK:no amendment, JZ:distiller's lees biochar, TiO2/JZ:Nano-TiO2 supported by distiller's lees biochar, and Fe/TiO2/JZ:titanium dioxide supported by iron-modified distiller's lees biochar) and the application rates of different amendments (1%, 3%, and 5%) on the characteristics of soil nutrients and enzyme activities under irrigation-drought rotation. The results showed the following:①the modified distiller's lees biochar significantly increased soil pH and CEC (P<0.05). At the 5% Fe-TiO2/JZ addition level, the soil pH reached 7.95 during the rice season, an increase of 2.3 units compared with that in the CK treatment; the CEC reached 12.06 cmol·kg-1, increasing by 21.38%; the soil pH reached 5.99 during the cabbage season and increased by 1.5 units compared with that in the CK treatment; and CEC reached 8.91 cmol·kg-1 at 3% Fe-TiO2/JZ addition and increased by 13.11%. ②At the same time, the contents of soil total nitrogen and available phosphorus were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with that in the CK treatment, the soil total nitrogen of 5% JZ, 5% TiO2/JZ, and 5% Fe-TiO2/JZ increased by 20.56%, 85.04%, and 59.61% in the rice season and 12.39%, 22.68%, and 23.70% in the cabbage season, respectively. In the rice season, the increase in soil available P under 5% Fe-TiO2/JZ was the highest, reaching 10.49 mg·kg-1, which was 1.64 times that under CK treatment. In the cabbage season, the soil available phosphorus (P) reached 90.15 mg·kg-1 under 5% TiO2/JZ addition, which increased by 93.38% compared with that in the CK treatment. ③Modified distiller's lees biochar increased catalase and urease activities and decreased alkali-hydrolytic nitrogen content and acid phosphatase activity. At the 3% addition level, catalase activity increased by 12.19%, 48.17%, and 37.30% in the rice season and 5.95%, 8.34%, and 17.42% in the cabbage season, respectively. In the rice season, the soil urease activity reached the maximum under 5% Fe-TiO2/JZ addition, which was increased by 40.90% compared with that in the CK treatment. In the cabbage season, the soil urease activity reached the maximum under 5% TiO2/JZ addition, which was increased by 58.53% compared with that in the CK treatment. The activity of acid phosphatase decreased by 5.39%-24.66% in the rice season and by 54.46%-61.40% in the cabbage season. Distiller's lees biochar and modified distiller's lees biochar could effectively increase soil pH and soil nutrient content, thus affecting soil enzyme activities. The application of iron modified-titanium dioxide-loaded distiller's lees biochar of 3% to 5% in acidic purple soil is more suitable.

Huangqi Decoction, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, inhibits the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells by regulating the long noncoding RNA-C18orf26-1/microRNA-663a/transforming growth factor-ß axis.

OBJECTIVE: Huangqi Decoction (HQD), a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been used as a valid treatment for alleviating liver fibrosis; however, the underlying molecular mechanism is still unknown. Although our previous studies showed that microRNA-663a (miR-663a) suppresses the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and the transforming growth factor-ß/small mothers against decapentaplegic (TGF-ß/Smad) pathway, whether long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in HSC activation via the miR-663a/TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway has not yet reported. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of lncRNA lnc-C18orf26-1 in the activation of HSCs and the mechanism by which HQD inhibits hepatic fibrosis. METHODS: The expression levels of lnc-C18orf26-1, miR-663a and related genes were measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. HSCs were transfected with the miR-663a mimic or inhibitor and lnc-C18orf26-1 small interfering RNAs. The water-soluble tetrazolium salt-1 assay was used to assess the proliferation rate of HSCs. Changes in lncRNA expression were evaluated in miR-663a-overexpressing HSCs by using microarray to identify miR-663a-regulated lncRNAs. RNA hybrid was used to predict the potential miR-663a binding sites on lncRNAs. Luciferase reporter assays further confirmed the interaction between miR-663a and the lncRNA. The expression levels of collagen α-2(I) chain (COL1A2), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway-related proteins were determined using Western blotting. RESULTS: Lnc-C18orf26-1 was upregulated in TGF-ß1-activated HSCs and competitively bound to miR-663a. Knockdown of lnc-C18orf26-1 inhibited HSC proliferation and activation, downregulated TGF-ß1-stimulated α-SMA and COL1A2 expression, and inhibited the TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway. HQD suppressed the proliferation and activation of HSCs. HQD increased miR-663a expression and decreased lnc-C18orf26-1 expression in HSCs. Further studies showed that HQD inhibited the expression of COL1A2, α-SMA, TGF-ß1, TGF-ß type I receptor (TGF-ßRI) and phosphorylated Smad2 (p-Smad2) in HSCs, and these effects were reversed by miR-663a inhibitor treatment. CONCLUSION: Our study identified lnc-C18orf26-1 and miR-663a as promising therapeutic targets for hepatic fibrosis. HQD inhibits HSC proliferation and activation at least partially by regulating the lnc-C18orf26-1/miR-663a/TGF-ß1/TGF-ßRI/p-Smad2 axis.

[Effect of Combined Application of Biochar with Chemical Fertilizer and Organic Fertilizer on Soil Phosphatase Activity and Microbial Community].

To study changes in phosphatase activity, we examined the diversity of phoC and phoD gene microbial communities in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil of plants under the treatment of chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizer combined with biochar. These results can provide a certain theoretical guidance for the conversion of insoluble phosphorus in the soil phosphorus pool to the inorganic phosphate ion that can be absorbed by plant roots and also provide a certain experimental basis for the improvement of the availability of phosphorus in the soil and the agricultural utilization of biochar. In this study, corn stalks and rice husk stalks were used as test materials, and the pot experimental method was adopted using the following treatments:set control (CK), traditional fertilization (F), chemical fertilizer+20 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar (FP), chemical fertilizer+10 t·hm-2rice husk biochar+10 t·hm-2 corn biochar (FPM), organic fertilizer+20 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar (PP), and fresh organic fertilizer+20 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar (NPP). We determined the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil acid phosphatase (ACP) activity and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and used T-RFLP technology to analyze the diversity of phoC and phoD genes in order to clarify the impact of biochar on the micro-ecosystem formed by the plants, soil, and microorganisms. The results showed that:① the ALP and ACP activities of each treatment in the non-rhizosphere soil were lower than that of CK. In the rhizosphere soil, the ALP activity was significantly increased after the combined application of chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizer with biochar, and the ACP activity in the rhizosphere soil was higher than that in the non-rhizosphere soil. ② The combined application of biochar with chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers significantly increased the diversity of phoC and phoD genes communities in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils (P<0.05); the diversity and richness of microbial communities in rhizosphere soil were higher than that in non-rhizosphere soils. ③ ACP activity was negatively correlated with phoC gene microbial community, and most ALP activity was positively correlated with phoD microbial community.

[Responses of Soil PhoC and PhoD Gene Microbial Communities to the Combined Application of Biochar with Chemical Fertilizers and Organic Fertilizers].

Soil microorganisms have an important influence on the transformation of soil nutrients. As functional genes encoding phosphatase, phoC and phoD provide effective means for detecting the types, abundance, and community structure of microorganisms in the environment, and studying the changes in the diversity of phoC and phoD gene microbial communities in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil of the plant rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil under the treatment of chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizer combined with biochar can provide a scientific basis for the agricultural utilization of biochar. In this study, corn stalks and rice husk stalks were used as test materials, and the pot experiment method was used to set the following treatments:control (CK), traditional fertilization (F), chemical fertilizer+20 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar (FP), chemical fertilizer+10 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar+10 t·hm-2 corn biochar (FPM), organic fertilizer+20 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar (PP), and fresh organic fertilizer+20 t·hm-2 rice husk biochar (NPP). The community structure of phoC and phoD genes in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil was analyzed by using T-RFLP and fluorescence quantitative PCR technology to clarify the response characteristics of phoC and phoD genes to the addition of biochar. The results showed that:① In rhizosphere soil and non-rhizosphere soil, the phoD gene community structure was more complicated than that of phoC, and the number of end restriction fragments of the phoC gene increased after chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizer were combined with biochar. ② The combined application of biochar with chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizer reduced the copy number of the phoC gene in non-rhizosphere soil compared with that in the CK. Compared with that in the CK, the copy number in the FP, FPM, PP, and NPP treatments decreased by 9.18%, 11.46%, 10.97%, and 13.76%, respectively. Organic fertilizer combined with biochar increased the copy number of the phoD gene in rhizosphere soil by 2.48% and 5.16% in the PP and NPP treatments, respectively, compared with that in the CK. ③ Total phosphorus in the soil was the main factor affecting the phoC gene microbial community structure in non-rhizosphere soil (P<0.01), whereas the phoC gene microbial community structure in rhizosphere soil was regulated by a variety of environmental factors. pH was the most critical factor affecting the phoD gene copy number, and the copy number of phoD gene was significantly correlated with soil nitrate nitrogen and pH. The combined application of biochar with chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers can promote the growth and reproduction of microorganisms that function in soil phosphorus conversion, which is of great significance for improving the utilization of phosphorus fertilizers.

[Response of Soil Organic Carbon Content in Different Slope Positions to Fertilization Management in Purple Soil Sloping Fields].

The purple soil sloping field is the main cultivated land type in the Three Gorges area, and the soil fertility directly determines crop yield. In order to explore the effects of different fertilization treatments on the soil organic carbon content at different slope positions, field experiments were carried out at the Three Gorges Reservoir Test Station of Chengdu Institute of Mountain and Disasters, Chinese Academy of Sciences. A total of five treatments were set up:no fertilization(CK), conventional fertilization(T1), optimum fertilization(T2), biochar combined with 85% of T2(T3), and straw combined with 85% of T2(T4), to study the differences in soil aggregate composition, soil total organic carbon, soluble organic carbon, and microbial carbon content at different slope positions under different fertilization treatments. The results showed that:①Fertilization increased the content of soil mass and improved the organic carbon content of soil, especially with T3 and T4 treatments. ②The sequence of distribution of soil organic carbon content with CK, T1, and T2 treatments in different slope positions was downslope position>middle slope position>upslope position, while the soil organic carbon content of T3 and T4 treatments was the highest at the middle slope position. ③With the decrease of slope, the soluble organic carbon content of CK, T1, T2, and T3 treated soil showed an increasing trend; the carbon content of CK, T1, T2, and T4 treated soil microorganisms increased; while the distribution of T3 treated soil microbial carbon on the slope was highest at the middle slope followed by the lower slope. In general, both biochar and straw treatments can significantly increase soil carbon content and delay the migration of soil carbon on slopes, which provides guidance for improving the soil quality and reducing water pollution of purple soil dry slopes in the Three Gorges reservoir area.

Monthly distribution of ammonia-oxidizing microbes in a tropical bay.

Ammonia oxidation, performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), plays a critical role in the cycle of nitrogen in the ocean. For now, environmental variables controlling distribution of ammonia-oxidizing microbes are still largely unknown in oceanic environments. In this study, we used real-time quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing methods to investigate the abundance and diversity of AOA and AOB from sediment and water in Zhanjiang Bay. Phylogenic analysis revealed that the majority of AOA amoA sequences in water and sediment were affiliated with the genus Nitrosopumilus, whereas the Nitrosotalea cluster was only detected with low abundance in water. Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira dominated AOB amoA sequences in water and sediment, respectively. The amoA copy numbers of both AOA and AOB varied significantly with month for both sediment and water. When water and sediment temperature dropped to 17-20°C in December and February, respectively, the copy number of AOB amoA genes increased markedly and was much higher than for AOA amoA genes. Also, AOA abundance in water peaked in December when water temperature was lowest (17-20°C). Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that temperature was the most key factor driving monthly changes of AOA or AOB abundance. It is inferred that low water temperature may inhibit growth of phytoplankton and other microbes and so reduce competition for a common substrate, ammonium.

[Effect of Biochar and Chemical Fertilizer Mixture on Ammonia Volatilization and Phosphorus Fixation].

In order to explore biochar fertilizer addition, two types of industrial wastes (YM) and lees (JZ) and agricultural waste corn stover (JG) were used as the raw materials to make biochar, and the biochar was modified to make smoke-modified biochar (M-YM). The culture test method was used to study the law of ammonia volatilization and phosphorus fixation over a certain period of time with the different fertilizer ratios of the four biochars. We aimed to provide a scientific basis for the agricultural utilization of biochar. The results show that:① The cumulative volatilization and volatilization rate of ammonia of the four kinds of biochar with different fertilizer ratios were as follows:A1 > A2 > A3 (A1:2.25 g urea; A2:2.25g urea +2.25 g chlorination potassium; A3:2.25 g urea +2.25 g potassium dihydrogen phosphate). The addition of potassium chloride and potassium dihydrogen phosphate in urea reduced ammonia volatilization, and the cumulative ammonia volatilization and volatilization rate of different biochars under all chemical fertilizer ratios was JZ > M-YM > YM > JG; ② The amount of phosphorus by biochars fixation under the B1, B2, and B3 treatments (B1:0.4 g potassium dihydrogen phosphate; B2:0.4 g potassium dihydrogen phosphate +0.3 g urea; B3:0.4 g potassium dihydrogen phosphate +0.3 g potassium chloride) all increased and then decreased. Then, the fixation amount of phosphorus not significantly changed in period from 30th to 60th day. Among four biochar, the fixation rate of phosphorus was the highest under the B1 treatment.With the ratios of B1, B2, and B3 fertilizers, the order of the fixation rate of the four biochars to phosphorus was:M-YM > YM > JG > JZ. Therefore, in order to reduce the volatilization of ammonia in nitrogen fertilizers in agricultural fertilization, potassium chloride and potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be added to urea. At the same time, in the fixation of phosphorus, increasing the particle size of biochar may weaken the phosphorous fixation ability.

Spatio-Temporal Variations in the Abundance and Community Structure of Nitrospira in a Tropical Bay.

Nitrospira is the most diverse genus of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, and its members are widely spread in various natural and engineered ecosystems. In this study, the phylogenetic diversity of Nitrospira and monthly changes of its abundance from Zhanjiang Bay were investigated. Phylogenetic analysis showed that among 58 OTUs with high abundance, 74% were not affiliated with any previously described Nitrospira species, revealing a previously unrecognized diversity of coastal Nitrospira. The abundances of both Nitrospira and Nitrospina exhibited a significantly monthly change. During most of the months, abundance of Nitrospina was greater than that of Nitrospira. In particle-attached communities, either abundance of Nitrospina or Nitrospira was highly correlated with that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), whereas abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria was only highly correlated with that of Nitrospina. In free-living communities, either abundance of Nitrospina or Nitrospira was correlated only with that of AOA. These results suggest that both Nitrospira and Nitrospina can be involved in nitrite oxidation by coupling with AOA, but Nitrospina may play a greater role than Nitrospira in this tropical bay.

Traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of overview.

BACKGROUND: Since December 2019, there have been many cases of viral pneumonia of unknown causes in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. During the period of novel coronavirus, according to the observation of limited autopsy and biopsy pathological results, pulmonary interstitial fibrosis appeared in some pathological changes of lung. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive interstitial pneumonia with unknown etiology and pathological changes limited to the lung. At present, there is still a lack of reevaluation of systematic evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine treatment IPF. Therefore, a systematic re-evaluation of the systematic evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis may help to understand the effective treatment scheme of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis and provide more reliable evidence for the first-line clinicians to treat novel coronavirus. METHODS: We will search 3 foreign electronic databases (Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed) and 4 Chinese electronic databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], WangFang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database [CBM], and Chinese Scientific Journal Database [VIP]) to collect potential systematic reviews from their inceptions to February 2020. The language of publication is limited to Chinese or English. We will consider SRs and meta-analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Two reviewers will identify relevant studies, and then assess the methodological quality by assessment of multiple systematic reviews-2 tool. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) report checklist to assess the quality of reports included in the study. In order to better evaluate the systematic evaluation included in this research, risk of bias in systematic review tool is included in this research to evaluate the methodological quality. The quality of evidence of the included systematic reviews was assessed by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The Primary outcomes include: Clinical total effective rate, curative effect of TCM symptoms, pulmonary function and blood gas analysis. RESULTS: The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSIONS: We expect to obtain reliable evidence from systematic analysis of traditional Chinese medicine treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in an available and useful document. REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202060029.

Glycyrrhetinic Acid-Induced MiR-663a Alleviates Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation by Attenuating the TGF-ß/Smad Signaling Pathway.

Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), a hydrolysate of glycyrrhizic acid from licorice root extract, has been used to treat liver fibrotic diseases. However, the molecular mechanism involved in the antifibrotic effects of GA remains unclear. The involvement of miR-663a and its roles in TGF-ß-1-induced hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the roles of miR-663a in the activation of HSCs and the antifibrosis mechanism of GA. MiR-663a expression was downregulated in TGF-ß-treated HSCs. The overexpression of miR-663a inhibited HSC proliferation. TGF-ß-1was confirmed as a direct target gene of miR-663a. MiR-663a alleviated HSC activation, concomitant with decreased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), human α2 (I) collagen (COL1A2), TGF-ß1, TGF-ßRI, Smad4, p-Smad2, and p-Smad3. GA upregulated miR-663a expression and inhibited the TGF-ß/Smad pathway in HSCs. Further studies showed that miR-663a inhibitor treatment reversed GA-mediated downregulation of TGF-ß1, TGF-ßRI, Smad4, p-Smad2, p-Smad3, α-SMA, and CoL1A2 in TGF-ß1-treated HSCs. These results show that miR-663a suppresses HSC proliferation and activation and the TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway, highlighting that miR-663a can be utilized as a therapeutic target for hepatic fibrosis. GA inhibits, at least in part, HSC proliferation and activation via targeting the miR-663a/TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway.

A network pharmacology approach to investigating the mechanism of Tanshinone IIA for the treatment of liver fibrosis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL REVELVANCE: Tanshinone IIA (TIIA) is a major component extracted from the traditional herbal medicine salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), which activates blood circulation and treats chronic hepatitis and liver fibrosis. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of TIIA against hepatic fibrosis is still largely unknown. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study aimed to evaluate the antifibrotic effects of TIIA in liver fibrosis and investigate its underlying mechanism through network pharmacology-based prediction and experimental verification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a "TIIA-targets-liver fibrosis" network was constructed by combining the TIIA-specific and hepatic fibrosis-specific targets with protein-protein interactions (PPIS), and network pharmacology was applied to identify the potential targets and mechanisms of TIIA in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis. The antifibrotic effect of TIIA was investigated in CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats in vivo and in the human HSC line LX2 in vitro. RESULTS: We identified 75 potential targets of TIIA and 1382 targets of liver fibrosis. Subsequently, the 29 target proteins that overlapped between the potential TIIA targets and the liver fibrosis targets indicated that TIIA has potential antifibrotic effects through regulating multiple targets, including c-Jun, c-Myc, CCND1, MMP9 and P65. Pathway and functional enrichment analysis of these putative targets showed that TIIA could regulate the MAPK, PI3K/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways. Consistently, in vivo and in vitro experiments indicated that TIIA attenuated CCl4-induced liver injury and fibrosis and inhibited hepatic stellate cell (HSC) proliferation and activation; these findings were concomitant with the decreased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and human α2 (I) collagen (COL1A2). Moreover, TIIA remarkably downregulated the expression of c-Jun, c-Myc, MMP9, PI3K and P38 proteins, which were upregulated in CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in vivo. TIIA significantly downregulated the expression of c-Jun, p-c-Jun, c-Myc, CCND1, MMP9, P65, P-P65, PI3K and P38 proteins, which were upregulated during HSC activation in vitro. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that TIIA could significantly improve liver function, decrease liver injury, alleviate ECM accumulation, and attenuate HSC proliferation and activation, thus exerting an antifibrotic effect. The possible molecular mechanism involved MAPK, Wnt and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways via inhibiting c-Jun, p-c-Jun, c-Myc, CCND1, MMP9, P65, P-P65, PI3K and P38. Overall, our results suggest that TIIA could alleviate liver fibrosis through multiple targets and multiple signaling pathways and provide deep insight into the pharmacological mechanisms of TIIA in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Preventive and therapeutic role of Tanshinone â ¡A in hepatology.

Liver diseases cause serious public health problems because of their high global prevalence and poor long-term clinical outcomes. With its mild and broad therapeutic efficacy, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an important role in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases in China for hundreds of years. Tanshinone IIA (TIIA), a major component extracted from the traditional herbal medicine Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, has been broadly studied for its multiple biological activities, including antiangiogenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. In this article, we focus on the effects of TIIA on the development of liver diseases, including hepatic injury, fatty liver, hepatic fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as the mechanism underlying TIIA and its new formulations and carriers in order to provide a reference for its further study and clinical therapeutic use in liver diseases.

Dichloridobis[2-methyl-sulfanyl-4-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidine-κN,N]cobalt(II).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [CoCl(2)(C(10)H(9)N(3)S)(2)], contains one half-mol-ecule with the Co(II) atom situtated on a twofold rotational axis. The Co(II) atom, in an octa-hedral enviroment, is coordinated by four N atoms from two 2-methyl-sulfanyl-4-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidine ligands and two Cl atoms.

Tetra-µ-acetato-κO:O'-bis-{[2-methyl-sulfanyl-4-(pyridin-4-yl-κN)pyrimidine]-copper(II)}(Cu-Cu).

The binuclear title compound, [Cu(2)(CH(3)CO(2))(4)(C(10)H(9)N(3)S)(2)], comprises a Cu(2)(CH(3)CO(2))(4) paddle-wheel core axially bound by two 2-methyl-sulfanyl-4-(pyridin-4-yl)pyrimidine ligands. The complex mol-ecule has an inversion center lying at the mid-point of the Cu-Cu bond.

[A cross-sectional study on risk factors of associated type 2 diabetes mellitus among adults in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To disclose the epidemiological status of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its related risk factors in adults in Beijing. METHODS: Logistic model was applied to analyze the relationship between the risk factors and type 2 diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: A total of 22 301 people were studied, of whom 9836 were males, 12 465 females, and 2658 of them aged over 60 (accounting for 11.92%). The risk factors, which might cause diabetes, would include being male (OR = 1.453), with genetic history (OR = 2.751), people older than 40 (OR = 1.584), with hypertension (OR = 1.338), with larger waist circumference (OR = 1.741), overweight or obesity (OR = 1.098), low consumption of fruits (OR = 1.430), hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 1.767) and hypercholesterolemia (OR = 1.315). CONCLUSION: It is of great importance to carry out prevention and control of type 2 diabetes mellitus programs to eliminate the risk factors among adults in Beijing, with contents as: keeping the blood pressure and weight within the normal range, increasing fruit intake, decreasing the triglyceride and cholesterol levels.