[Effects of fertilization and water addition on soil acid neutralizing capacity in an old-field grassland]. / æ–½è‚¥å’Œå¢žæ°´å¯¹å¼ƒè€•è‰åœ°åœŸå£¤é ¸ä¸­å’Œå®¹é‡çš„å½±å“.

Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition results in soil acidification in grasslands. Acid buffering capacity of soil is a critical index evaluating soil acidification, the response of which to N input is regulated by precipitation and concentration of other limiting elements. To explore the responses of soil acidification to N, phosphorus (P), and water inputs, we conducted a 13-year field experiment in an old-field grassland and calculated the acid buffering capacity (ABC) and acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) at the reference of pH=5.0 (ANCpH5.0) and 4.0 (ANCpH4.0), using quadratic curve fitting model. The results showed that, without water addition, single N addition or combined with P addition significantly decreased soil pH, ANCpH5.0 and ANCpH4.0, whereas single P addition had no significant effect on soil pH, ANCpH5.0 or ANCpH4.0. With water addition, the addition of N or combined with P decreased soil pH, ANCpH5.0 and ANCpH4.0, whereas P addition decreased soil pH, increased ANCpH4.0, without effect on ANCpH5.0. In contrast with treatments without water addition, water addition had positive effects on soil pH, ANCpH5.0 and ANCpH4.0. For soils with different initial soil pH values, it was better to select ANC rather than ABC as an index to evaluate soil anti-acidification capacity.

Quality of life in adolescent patients with idiopathic scoliosis after brace treatment: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Whether brace-treated adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) have improved quality of life (QoL) is still unknown. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare the QoL of brace-treated AIS patients with untreated AIS patients. The pain, self-image/appearance, mental health, function/activity, satisfaction with management, total score without satisfaction, and total score of patients were used to measure the QoL after the intervention. METHODS: Multiple electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase were searched for all years up to June 30, 2016. Articles in English that used the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) or a modified version of the SRS-22 questionnaire to evaluate the QoL differences between brace-treated AIS patients and untreated AIS patients were included in the meta-analysis. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used in the quality of literature evaluation. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for each parameter was computed. Egger test and Begg test were used to test for publication bias. RESULTS: The SRS-22 or a modified SRS-22 questionnaire was used to evaluate the QoL after surgery. There was no significant difference in pain (SMD = 0.123, 95% CI: -0.101 to 0.347, P = .282), self-image/appearance (SMD = 0.108, 95% CI: -0.116 to 0.332, P = .334), mental health (SMD = 0.031, 95% CI: -0.130 to 0.201, P = .365), function/activity (SMD = 0.202, 95% CI: -0.022 to 0.425, P = .077), and total score without satisfaction (SMD = 0.123, 95% CI: -0.232 to 0.478, P = .497) between the untreated (observation) and brace-treated AIS patients, whereas a significant difference was observed in satisfaction with management (SMD = 0.393, 95% CI: 0.127-0.659, P = .004) and total score (SMD = 0.312, 95% CI: 0.054-0.571, P = .018) between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis indicated that brace-treated AIS patients had a higher QoL. However, further analysis could not be performed because of insufficient data, such that we were unable to make subgroup analysis of QoL for different types of AIS and the therapeutic methods chosen by brace-treated AIS patients.

[Studies on six heavy metal elements dissolution characteristics of Andrographis herb by ICP-OES].

A simple and accurate method for the simultaneous determination of As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb in andrographis herb by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was developed. The samples were digested by HNO3-HClO4. The digestion-determination method was evaluated with the relative standard deviations for all these elements between 2.1% and 4.6%, and the recoveries were between 92.0% and 103.2%. The measuring method was proved to be simple, reliable and highly sensitive. The dissolution characteristics of the 6 heavy metal elements in different solvents and with different extraction methods such as refluxing, soaking, and ultrasonic assisted extraction were studied. The experimental results showed that Ba was in the highest concentration followed by Cu and Cr, and the concentration of As, Pb and Cd was relatively lower in the herb. With the increase in ethanol concentration, the dissolution amount of Ba decreased but that of Cu and Cr increased, and the highest concentration of Cd was dissolved in acidic solution. Overall, Cd and Pb were difficult to dissolve out with 85% ethanol refluxing, but As dissolved comparatively more under the same condition. Comparing the extraction methods, the higher concentration of these 6 metals was obtained by refluxing water or alkaline water than that by 85% ethanol maceration. These differences might be related to the existent forms of these six elements in the herb. The determination and study on dissolution characteristics of these elements by using ICP-OES was important for rational using medicinal resources and ensuring the safety of drugs.

Availability of ferrocyanide and ferricyanide complexes as a nitrogen source to cyanogenic plants.

The effects of additional nitrogen on the toxicity and removal of ferrocyanide and ferricyanide by cyanogenic plants were investigated. Maize (Zea mays L. var. ZN 304) seedlings were grown in the hydroponic solutions with or without additional nitrogen, and amended with either potassium ferrocyanide or potassium ferricyanide at 25.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C for 144 h. Various physiological parameters were monitored to determine the responses of the plant seedlings to the exposure of these two chemicals. A remarkable decrease in transpiration rate, biomass, shoot length, chlorophyll contents, and soluble proteins was evident for maize seedlings grown in the N-free hydroponic solutions spiked with either ferrocyanide or ferricyanide (P < 0.01), but slight changes were observed in the selective parameters in the N-containing hydroponic solutions spiked with either of these chemicals (P > 0.05). A higher removal of ferrocyanide than ferricyanide was registered in the N-free hydroponic solutions, but more ferricyanide than ferrocyanide was removed by maize grown in the N-containing nutrient solutions (P < 0.01). Although roots of maize accumulated iron cyanides, more cyanide was recovered in plant materials of those grown in the N-containing hydroponic solutions than the N-free nutrient solutions (P < 0.05). Mass balance analysis indicated that the majority of the iron cyanides removed from solution was assimilated by maize and additional nitrogen had a significantly negative impact on the uptake of both chemicals (P < 0.01). Results of this study suggest that uptake and assimilation mechanisms for ferrocyanide and ferricyanide might be quite different in maize and the application of the external nitrogen has a substantial influence on the removal of both iron cyanides by plants. None of the iron cyanide complexes can serve as a sole nitrogen source to support maize growth.