Response of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) to bacterial soft rot infection by change of soil microbial community in root zone.

Chinese cabbage, scientifically known as Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis, is a highly popular vegetable in China for its delectable taste. However, the occurrence of bacterial soft rot disease poses a significant threat to its growth and overall development. Consequently, this study aimed to explore the defense mechanisms employed by Chinese cabbage against bacterial soft rot disease. Specifically, the investigation focused on understanding the relationship between the disease and the microbial communities present in the soil surrounding the roots of Chinese cabbage. Significant disparities were observed in the composition of microbial communities present in the root-zone soil of healthy Chinese cabbage plants compared to those affected by Pectobacterium brasiliense-caused soft rot disease. The analysis of 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing results revealed a lower abundance of Proteobacteria (8.39%), Acidobacteriot (0.85), Sphingomonas (3.51%), and Vicinamibacteraceae (1.48%), whereas Firmicutes (113.76%), Bacteroidota (8.71%), Chloroflexi (4.89%), Actinobacteriota (1.71%), A4b (15.52%), Vicinamibacterales (1.62%), and Gemmatimonadaceae (1.35%) were more prevalent in healthy plant soils. Similarly, the analysis of ITS gene high-throughput sequencing results indicated a reduced occurrence of Chytridiomycota (23.58%), Basidiomycota (21.80%), Plectosphaerella (86.22%), and Agaricomycetes (22.57%) in healthy soils. In comparison, Mortierellomycota (50.72%), Ascomycota (31.22%), Podospora (485.08%), and Mortierella (51.59%) were more abundant in healthy plant soils. In addition, a total of 15 bacterial strains were isolated from the root-zone soil of diseased Chinese cabbage plants. These isolated strains demonstrated the ability to fix nitrogen (with the exception of ZT20, ZT26, ZT41, ZT45, and ZT61), produce siderophores and indole acetic acid (IAA), and solubilize phosphate. Notably, ZT14 (Citrobacter freundii), ZT33 (Enterobacter cloacae), ZT41 (Myroides odoratimimus), ZT52 (Bacillus paramycoides), ZT58 (Klebsiella pasteurii), ZT45 (Klebsiella aerogenes), and ZT32 (Pseudomonas putida) exhibited significant growth-promoting effects as determined by the plant growth promotion (PGP) tests. Consequently, this investigation not only confirmed the presence of the soft rot pathogen in Chinese cabbage plants in Hangzhou, China, but also advanced our understanding of the defense mechanisms employed by Chinese cabbage to combat soft rot-induced stress. Additionally, it identified promising plant-growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs) that could be utilized in the future to enhance the Chinese cabbage industry.

The value of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in reducing ovarian injury caused by chemotherapy in mice.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian damage and follicle loss are major side effects of chemotherapy in young female patients with cancer. However, effective strategies to prevent these injuries are still lacking. The purpose of this study was to verify low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) can reduce ovarian injury caused by chemotherapy and to explore its underlying mechanisms in mice model. METHODS: The mice were randomly divided into the Control group, Cisplatin group, and Cisplatin + LIPUS group. The Cisplatin group and Cisplatin + LIPUS group were intraperitoneally injected with cisplatin every other day for a total of 10 injections, and the Control group was injected with saline. On the second day of each injection, the Cisplatin + LIPUS group received irradiation, whereas the other two groups received sham irradiation. We used a variety of biotechnologies to detect the differences in follicle count, granulosa cell apoptosis, fibrosis, transcriptome level, oxidative damage, and inflammation in differently treated mice. RESULT: LIPUS was able to reduce primordial follicle pool depletion induced by cisplatin and inhibit the apoptosis of granulosa cells. Transcriptomic results confirmed that LIPUS can reduce ovarian tissue injury. We demonstrated that LIPUS can relieve ovarian fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-ß1/Smads pathway. Meanwhile, it can reduce the oxidative damage and reduced the mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines caused by chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: LIPUS can reduce the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs on ovaries, inhibit ovarian fibrosis, reduce the inflammatory response, and redcue the oxidative damage, reduce follicle depletion and to maintain the number of follicle pools.

Differential effects of winter cold stress on soil bacterial communities, metabolites, and physicochemical properties in two varieties of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels & Gilg in reclaimed land.

Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels & Gilg (TDG) has been recently planted in reclaimed lands in Zhejiang Province, China, to increase reclaimed land use. Winter cold stress seriously limits the growth and development of TDG and has become the bottleneck limiting the TDG planting industry. To investigate the defense mechanisms of TDG toward winter cold stress when grown on reclaimed land, a combined analysis of soil bacterial communities, metabolites, and physicochemical properties was conducted in this study. Significant differences were observed in the composition of soil bacterial communities, metabolites, and properties in soils of a cold-tolerant variety (A201201) compared with a cold-intolerant variety (B201810). The fresh weight (75.8% of tubers) and dry weight (73.6%) of A201201 were significantly higher than those of B201810. The 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of soil bacteria showed that Gp5 (25.3%), Gemmatimonas (19.6%), Subdivision3 (16.7%), Lacibacterium (11.9%), Gp4 (11.8%), Gp3 (10.4%), Gp6 (7.0%), and WPS-1 (1.2%) were less common, while Chryseolinea (10.6%) were more common in A201201 soils than B201810 soils. Furthermore, linear discriminant analysis of effect size identified 35 bacterial biomarker taxa for both treatments. Co-occurrence network analyses also showed that the structures of the bacterial communities were more complex and stable in A201201 soils compared to B201810 soils. In addition, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analysis indicated the presence of significantly different metabolites in the two soil treatments, with 10 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) (8 significantly upregulated by 9.2%-391.3% and 2 significantly downregulated by 25.1%-73.4%) that belonged to lipids and lipid-like molecules, organic acids and derivatives, and benzenoids. The levels of those DEMs were significantly correlated with the relative abundances of nine bacterial genera. Also, redundancy discriminant analysis revealed that the main factors affecting changes in the bacterial community composition were available potassium (AK), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AHN), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), and soil organic matter (SOM). The main factors affecting changes in the metabolite profiles were AK, MBC, MBN, AHN, pH, SOM, TN, and AP. Overall, this study provides new insights into the TDG defense mechanisms involved in winter cold stress responses when grown on reclaimed land and practical guidelines for achieving optimal TDG production.IMPORTANCEChina has been undergoing rapid urbanization, and land reclamation is regarded as a viable option to balance occupation and compensation. In general, the quality of reclaimed land cannot meet plant or even cultivation requirements due to poor soil fertility and high gravel content. However, Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels & Gilg (TDG), extensively used in Chinese herbal medicine, can grow well in stony soils with few nutrients. So, to increase reclaimed land use, TDG has been cultivated on reclaimed lands in Zhejiang Province, China, recently. However, the artificial cultivation of TDG is often limited by winter cold stress. The aim of this study was to find out how TDG on reclaimed land deal with winter cold stress by looking at the bacterial communities, metabolites, and physicochemical properties of the soil, thereby guiding production in practice.

Inhibition of cisplatin-induced Acsl4-mediated ferroptosis alleviated ovarian injury.

Given that the severity of the chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage, effective fertility preservation is a necessary part of the treatment process. Ferroptosis is a regulated cell death triggered by excessive phospholipid peroxidation caused by iron and the role of ferroptosis in chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that cisplatin treatment caused the accumulation of iron ions which induced ferroptosis in ovarian tissue. And our results show that ferrostatin-1 was able to suppress the ovarian injury and granulosa cell death caused by cisplatin (Cis) in vivo and in vitro. At the same time, we observed significant changes in the expression levels of Acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (Acsl4) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Similarly, Rosiglitazone, an inhibitor of Acsl4, administration alleviated the ovary damage of the mice undergoing chemotherapy. Further mechanistic investigation showed that cisplatin increased the expression level of specificity protein 1 (SP1), and SP1 could bind to the promoter of Acsl4 to increased Acsl4 transcription. Overall, ferroptosis plays an important role in Cis induced ovarian injury, and inhibition of ferroptosis protects ovarian tissues from damage caused by cisplatin, and for the first time, we have identified the potential of Fer-1 and Rosi to protect ovarian function in female mice undergoing chemotherapy.

Exercise improves cardiac function and attenuates myocardial inflammation and apoptosis by regulating APJ/STAT3 in mice with stroke.

Stroke can induce cardiac dysfunction without a primary cardiac disease. Exercise can promote the overall rehabilitation of stroke patients and be beneficial for all kinds of heart diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of exercise in stroke-induced cardiac dysfunction are poorly understood. Hence, we aimed to distinguish the different effects of acute and long-term exercise and further study the mechanism of protection against cardiomyopathy caused by stroke. Mice underwent a single acute session or long-term exercise for 30 days, followed by middle cerebral artery occlusion surgery. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins and proinflammatory factors in the heart was evaluated. Then, overexpression of apelin peptide jejunum (APJ) transfected adeno-associated virus type 9 (AAV9) and inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) by Stattic were used in stroke mice or hypoxic cardiomyocytes. ML221 were used to inhibit APJ activity in exercise mouse. Thereafter, changes in apoptotic and proinflammatory factors were evaluated. The results demonstrated that chronic exercise prevented myocardial inflammation, apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction after stroke. However, acute exercise did not have similar effects. Exercise maintained the levels of APJ expression and decreased phosphorylated-STAT3 (p-STAT3) activation to protect cardiomyocytes. Moreover, APJ overexpression promoted cardiomyocyte survival and reduced p-STAT3 levels. STAT3 inhibition also reduced apoptosis and proinflammatory factors in mice hearts. Conversely, the protective effect of exercise was eliminated by APJ inhibition. This study showed that exercise can maintain APJ expression and inhibit p-STAT3, thus, conferring protection against myocardial inflammation and apoptosis induced by stroke.

The enrichment of Arg1+ILC2s and ILCregs facilitates the progression of endometriosis: A preliminary study.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a kind of lymphocytes that reside in the tissue and have an essential function in the immune microenvironment. However, the relationship between endometriosis (EMS) and ILCs is complex and not fully understood. This study examines several groups of ILCs in the peripheral blood (PB), peritoneal fluid (PF) and endometrium of patients with EMS via flow cytometry. The study observed an increase in PB ILCs, particularly ILC2s and ILCregs subsets and Arg1+ILC2s in the EMS patients were highly activated. EMS patients had significantly higher levels of serum interleukin (IL)-10/33/25 compared to controls. We also found an elevation of Arg1+ILC2s in the PF and higher levels of ILC2s and ILCregs in ectopic endometrium compared with eutopic. Importantly, a positive correlation was observed between the enrichment of Arg1+ILC2s and ILCregs in the PB of EMS patients. The findings indicate that the involvement of Arg1+ILC2s and ILCregs fosters potentially endometriosis progression.

Effects of SMOF on soil properties, root-zone microbial community structure, metabolites, and maize (Zea mays L.) response on a reclaimed barren mountainous land.

Introduction: Maize is the largest crop produced in China. With the growing population and the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, maize has been recently cultivated in reclaimed barren mountainous lands in Zhejiang Province, China. However, the soil is usually not suitable for cultivation because of its low pH and poor nutrient conditions. To improve soil quality for crop growth, various fertilizers, including inorganic, organic, and microbial fertilizers, were used in the field. Among them, organic fertilizer-based sheep manure greatly improved the soil quality and has been widely adopted in reclaimed barren mountainous lands. But the mechanism of action was not well clear. Methods: The field experiment (SMOF, COF, CCF and the control) was carried out on a reclaimed barren mountainous land in Dayang Village, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. To systematically evaluate the effect of SMOF on reclaimed barren mountainous lands, soil properties, the root-zone microbial community structure, metabolites, and maize response were investigated. Results: Compared with the control, SMOF could not significantly affect the soil pH but caused 46.10%, 28.28%, 101.94%, 56.35%, 79.07%, and 76.07% increases in the OMC, total N, available P, available K, MBC, and MBN, respectively. Based on 16S amplicon sequencing of soil bacteria, compared with the control, SMOF caused a 11.06-334.85% increase in the RA of Ohtaekwangia, Sphingomonas, unclassified_Sphingomonadaceae, and Saccharibacteria and a 11.91-38.60% reduction in the RA of Spartobacteria, Gemmatimonas, Gp4, Flavisolibacter, Subdivision3, Gp6, and unclassified_Betaproteobacteria, respectively. Moreover, based on ITS amplicon sequencing of soil fungi, SMOF also caused a 42.52-330.86% increase in the RA of Podospora, Clitopilus, Ascobolus, Mortierella, and Sordaria and a 20.98-64.46% reduction in the RA of Knufia, Fusarium, Verticillium, and Gibberella, respectively, compared with the control. RDA of microbial communities and soil properties revealed that the main variables of bacterial and fungal communities included available K, OMC, available P, MBN, and available K, pH, and MBC, respectively. In addition, LC-MS analysis indicated that 15 significant DEMs belonged to benzenoids, lipids, organoheterocyclic compounds, organic acids, phenylpropanoids, polyketides, and organic nitrogen compounds in SMOF and the control group, among which four DEMs were significantly correlated with two genera of bacteria and 10 DEMs were significantly correlated with five genera of fungi. The results revealed complicated interactions between microbes and DEMs in the soil of the maize root zone. Furthermore, the results of field experiments demonstrated that SMOF could cause a significant increase in maize ears and plant biomass. Conclusions: Overall, the results of this study showed that the application of SMOF not only significantly modified the physical, chemical, and biological properties of reclaimed barren mountainous land but also promoted maize growth. SMOF can be used as a good amendment for maize production in reclaimed barren mountainous lands.

Aero-Engine Blade Cryogenic Cooling Milling Deformation Simulation and Process Parameter Optimization.

For the machining of aero-engine blades, factors such as machining residual stress, milling force, and heat deformation can result in poor blade profile accuracy. To address this issue, simulations of blade milling were completed using DEFORM11.0 and ABAQUS2020 software to analyze blade deformation under heat-force fields. Process parameters such as spindle speed, feed per tooth, depth of cut, and jet temperature are used to design both a single-factor control and BBD test scheme to study the influence of jet temperature and multiple changes in process parameters on blade deformation. The multiple quadratic regression method was applied to establish a mathematical model correlating blade deformation with process parameters, and a preferred set of process parameters was obtained through the particle swarm algorithm. Results from the single-factor test indicated that blade deformation rates were reduced by more than 31.36% in low-temperature milling (-190 °C to -10 °C) compared with dry milling (10 °C to 20 °C). However, the margin of the blade profile exceeded the permissible range (±50 µm); therefore, the particle swarm optimization algorithm was used to optimize machining process parameters, resulting in a maximum deformation of 0.0396 mm when the blade temperature was -160 °C~-180 °C, meeting the allowable blade profile deformation error.

Metabarcoding reveals response of rice rhizosphere bacterial community to rice bacterial leaf blight.

Rice bacterial leaf blight (BLB) is a major disease affecting cultivated rice and caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). It is well established that rhizosphere microorganisms could help improve the adaptability of plants to biotic stresses. However, it is still unclear about the response mechanism of rice rhizosphere microbial community to BLB infection. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to explore the effect of BLB on the rice rhizosphere microbial community. The results show that the alpha diversity index of the rice rhizosphere microbial community decreased significantly at the onset of BLB and then gradually recovered to normal levels. Beta diversity analysis indicated that BLB significantly affected community composition. In addition, there were significant differences in the taxonomic composition between healthy and diseased groups. For example, ceretain genera were more abundant in diseased rhizospheres, namely Streptomyces, Sphingomonas, and Flavobacterium, among others. In addition, the size and complexity of the rhizosphere co-occurrence network increased after disease onset compared to healthy groups. Also, hub microbe Rhizobiaceae and Gemmatimonadaceae were identified in the diseased rhizosphere co-occurrence network, and these hub microbes played an important role in maintaining network stability. In conclusion, our results provide important insights into the rhizosphere microbial community response to BLB and also provide important data and ideas in using rhizosphere microbes to control BLB.

Activating α7nAChR helps post-myocardial infarction healing by regulating macrophage polarization via the STAT3 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Monocytes/macrophages play critical roles in inflammation and cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI). The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) modulates local and systemic inflammatory responses by activating α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChR) in monocytes/macrophages. We investigated the effect of α7nAChR on MI-induced monocyte/macrophage recruitment and polarization and its contribution to cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. METHODS: Adult male Sprague Dawley rats underwent coronary ligation and were intraperitoneally injected with the α7nAChR-selective agonist PNU282987 or the antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA). RAW264.7 cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) + interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and treated with PNU282987, MLA, and S3I-201 (a STAT3 inhibitor). Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography. Masson's trichrome and immunofluorescence were used to detect cardiac fibrosis, myocardial capillary density, and M1/M2 macrophages. Western blotting was used to detect protein expression, and the proportion of monocytes was measured using flow cytometry. RESULTS: Activating the CAP with PNU282987 significantly improved cardiac function and reduced cardiac fibrosis and 28-day mortality after MI. On days 3 and 7 post-MI, PNU282987 reduced the percentage of peripheral CD172a + CD43low monocytes and the infiltration of M1 macrophages in the infarcted hearts, whereas it increased the recruitment of peripheral CD172a + CD43high monocytes and M2 macrophages. Conversely, MLA exerted the opposite effects. In vitro, PNU282987 inhibited M1 macrophage polarization and promoted M2 macrophage polarization in LPS + IFN-γ-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. These PNU282987-induced changes in LPS + IFN-γ-stimulated RAW264.7 cells were reversed by administering S3I-201. CONCLUSION: Activating α7nAChR inhibits the early recruitment of pro-inflammatory monocytes/macrophages during MI and improves cardiac function and remodeling. Our findings suggest a promising therapeutic target for regulating monocyte/macrophage phenotypes and promoting healing after MI.

The effects of microbial fertilizer based Aspergillus brunneoviolaceus HZ23 on pakchoi growth, soil properties, rhizosphere bacterial community structure, and metabolites in newly reclaimed land.

Introduction: Pakchoi is an important leafy vegetable in China. Due to industrialization and urbanization, pakchoi has been cultivated in newly reclaimed mountainous lands in Zhejiang Province, China in recent years. However, immature soil is not suitable for plant growth and needs to be modified by the application of different organic fertilizer or microbial fertilizer based plant-growth-promoting microbe. In 2021, a high efficient plant-growth-promoting fungi (PGPF; Aspergillus brunneoviolaceus HZ23) was obtained from newly reclaimed land of Zhejiang Province, China. In order to valuate microbial fertilizer based A. brunneoviolaceus HZ23 (MF-HZ23) on pakchoi growth in immature soil, we investigated the effect of MF-HZ23 on soil properties, rhizosphere bacterial community structure, and metabolites of pakchoi rhizosphere soil samples. Methods: The field experiment (four treatments, MF-HZ23, MF-ZH23 + CCF, CCF and the control) was completely randomly designed and carried out on newly reclaimed land in Yangqingmiao Village of Fuyang district, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. In order to evaluate the influence of microbial fertilizer based A. brunneoviolaceus HZ23 on pakchoi in the newly reclaimed land, the number of pakchoi leaves, total fresh and dry weight of the seedlings was counted. In addition, the soil properties, including the pH, OMC, total N, AHN, available P, the genome sequencing, and metabolomics assay were also detected. Results: The results revealed a significant difference between MF-HZ23 and the control in soil properties, bacterial community structure, and metabolites. Indeed, compared with the control, MF-HZ23 caused 30.66, 71.43, 47.31, 135.84, and 2099.90% increase in the soil pH, organic matter contents (OMC), total nitrogen (N), alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AHN), and available phosphorus (P), respectively. Meanwhile, MF-HZ23 caused 50.78, 317.47, and 34.40% increase in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Verrucomicrobiota and 75.55, 23.27, 69.25, 45.88, 53.42, and 72.44% reduction in the relative abundance of Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexi, Planctomycetota, Patescibacteria, and WPS-2, respectively, compared with the control based on 16S amplicon sequencing of soil bacteria. Furthermore, redundancy discriminant analysis (RDA) of bacterial communities and soil properties indicated that the main variables of bacterial communities included available P, AHN, pH, OMC, and total N. In addition, non-targeted metabolomics techniques (UHPLC-MS analysis) revealed that MF-HZ23 resulted in a great change in the kinds of metabolites in the rhizosphere soil. Indeed, in MF-HZ23 and the control group, there were six differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) belong to organoheterocyclic compounds, organic acids and derivatives, organic nitrogen compounds, and these six DEMs were significantly positively correlated with 23 genus of bacteria, which showed complicated interactions between bacteria and DEMs in pakchoi rhizosphere soil. Conclutions: Overall, the results of this study revealed significant modification in physical, chemical, and biological properties of pakchoi soil. Microbial fertilizer based PGPF A. brunneoviolaceus HZ23 (MF-HZ23) can be used as a good amendment for newly reclaimed land.

Comparative single-center study between modified laparoscopic radical hysterectomy and open radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: Since the release of the LACC trial results in 2018, the safety of laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) for cervical cancer has received huge attention and heated discussion. We developed modified laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (MLRH) incorporating a series of measures to prevent tumor spillage, which has been performed in our center since 2015. OBJECTIVE: Present study retrospectively analyzed relevant indicators of MLRH and evaluated disease-free survival (DFS) primarily in the treatment of early cervical cancer compared with open surgery. METHODS: Patients with 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics clinical stages 1B1 and 2A1 cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy in the gynecological department of our hospital from October 2015 to June 2018 were enrolled retrospectively in this study. Patients were divided into two groups based on the surgical procedure: open radical hysterectomy (ORH) group (n = 336) and MLRH group (n = 302). Clinical characteristics, surgical indices, and survival prognosis were analyzed, including 2.5-year overall survival (OS) rate, 2.5-year DFS rate, recurrence rate, and recurrence pattern. RESULTS: Compared to the ORH group, the MLRH group exhibited a longer operative time, longer normal bladder function recovery time, less intraoperative blood loss volume, and more harvested pelvic lymph nodes (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in postoperative complications, the 2.5-year OS, 2.5-year DFS, and recurrence rate between the two groups (P > 0.05); however, the recurrence pattern was significantly different (P < 0.05). The MLRH group mainly exhibited local single metastasis (7/11), whereas the ORH group mainly exhibited distant multiple metastases (14/16). Stratified analysis revealed that overall survival rate was higher in the MLRH group than in the ORH group in patients with stage 1B1 and middle invasion (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: MLRH does not show a survival disadvantage in the treatment of early-stage cervical cancer when compared with open surgery. In addition, MLRH shows a survival advantage in patients with stage 1B1 and middle 1/3 invasion. Considering this is a retrospective study, further prospective study is necessary for more sufficient data support. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Present research is a retrospective study. The study had retrospectively registered on Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( http://www.chictr.org.cn/ ), and the registered number is ChiCTR1900026306.

Effects of Two Kinds of Commercial Organic Fertilizers on Growth and Rhizosphere Soil Properties of Corn on New Reclamation Land.

Due to the development of urbanization and industrialization, a large amount of cultivated land resources has been occupied, while new reclamation land could expand the supply of usable land for food security. Organic fertilizers, such as crop residues, biosolids, sheep manure, mushroom residue, and biogas liquid, have been considered as an effective amendment in immature soil to improve its quality. Recently, two kinds of commercial organic fertilizers, pig manure and mushroom residue organic fertilizer (PMMR-OF), and sheep manure organic fertilizer (SM-OF), have been more regularly applied in agriculture production. However, the information available on effect of the two kinds of fertilizers on plant growth and rhizosphere soil properties in immature field is very limited. In order to evaluate PMMR-OF and SM-OF on immature soil, the soil quality and microbial community structure of corn rhizosphere soil samples under the two kinds of organic fertilizers at different concentrations was investigated. The results revealed a significant difference between commercial organic fertilizers (especially SM-OF) and chemical compound fertilizers (CCF) in soil properties and microbial community structure. Indeed, compared with the control based on16S and ITS amplicon sequencing of soil microflora, SM-OF caused a 10.79-19.52%, 4.33-4.39%,and 14.58-29.29% increase in Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Ascomycota, but a 5.82-20.58%, 0.53-24.06%, 10.87-16.79%, 2.69-10.50%, 44.90-59.24%, 8.88-10.98%, and 2.31-21.98% reduction in Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, and Chytridiomycota, respectively. CCF caused a 24.11%, 23.28%, 38.87%, 19.88%, 18.28%, and 13.89% reduction in Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, but a 22.77%, 41.28%, 7.88%, and 19.39% increase in Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Ascomycota, and Mortierellomycota, respectively. Furthermore, redundancy discriminant analysis of microbial communities and soil properties of PMMR-OF, SM-OF, CCF, and the control treatments indicated that the main variables of bacterial and fungal communities included organic matter content, available P, and available K. Overall, the results of this study revealed significant changes under different fertilizer conditions (PMMR-OF, SM-OF, CCF, under different concentrations) in microbiota and chemical properties of corn soil. Commercial organic fertilizers, particularly SM-OF, can be used as a good amendment for the new reclamation land.

Electroacupuncture pre-treatment alleviates sepsis-induced cardiac inflammation and dysfunction by inhibiting the calpain-2/STAT3 pathway.

Electroacupuncture (EA) has both anti-inflammatory and cardio-protective effects. Activation of calpain pathway is involved in several myocardiopathy. In sepsis, the role of calpain-2-regulated STAT3 in cardio-protective mechanism of electroacupuncture remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which electroacupuncture reduces cardiac inflammation and apoptosis and improves cardiac function during sepsis. Electroacupuncture pretreatment for 7 days was applied in septic cardiomyopathy model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis was associated with a dramatically systemic inflammation and cardiac dysfunction, which was alleviated by electroacupuncture pre-treatment. Lipopolysaccharide resulted in increases of pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α,IL1ßand IL-6) and apoptosis (TUNEL staining and BAX/Bcl2) via activation of calpain-2/STAT3 pathway.Electroacupuncture pre-treatment inhibited LPS-induced activation of cardiac calpain-2/STAT3 signalling and ameliorated inflammatory and apoptosis. Additionally, inhibition of calpain-2 expression using the corresponding siRNA decreased the Phosphorylation of STAT3,pro-inflammatory factors and apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide- treated cardiomyocytes, confirming that calpain-2 activated p-STAT3 participate in septic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, suppression of STAT3 by stattic enhanced anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects of electroacupuncture. These findings reveal mechanisms of electroacupuncture preconditioning protection against cardiac inflammation and apoptosis in sepsis mouse via calpain-2/STAT3 pathway and may provide novel targets for clinical treatments of the sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction.

Effects of Different Microbial Fertilizers on Growth and Rhizosphere Soil Properties of Corn in Newly Reclaimed Land.

Land reclamation may expand the supply of usable land for food security. Soil microorganisms have been considered as an amendment in immature soil to improve its quality. However, different microbial fertilizers' effects on plant growth in immature soil have largely been unexplored. In order to evaluate the effects of different microbial fertilizers on immature soil, the soil quality and microbial community structure of corn rhizosphere soil samples under different microbial fertilizers were investigated. The results revealed a significant difference between microbial fertilizers (especially seaweed microbial fertilizer, SMF) and commercial chemical compound fertilizers in the soil properties and microbial community structure. Indeed, SMF caused a 486.21%, 23.17%, 21.08%, 38.33%, and 482.39% increase in Flavobacteriaceae, Planctomycetaceae, Chitinophagaceae, Acidobacteria_Gp3, and Mortierellaceae but a 23.82%, 18.66%, 42.36%, 29.12%, 81.97%, 42.19%, and 99.33% reduction in Cytophagales, Comamonadaceae, Rhodospirillaceae, Sinobacteaceae, Aspergillaceae, Myrmecridiaceae, and Typhulaceae, respectively; while CCF caused an 85.68% and 183.22% increase in Xanthomonadaceae and Mortierellaceae but a 31.29%, 36.02%, and 65.74% reduction in Cytophagales, Spartobacteria, and Cyphellophoraceae compared with the control based on 16S and ITS amplicon sequencing of soil microflora. Furthermore, redundancy discriminant analysis of the microbial communities and soil properties indicated that the main variables of the bacterial and fungal communities included exchangeable Ca, organic matter content, total N, and available P. Overall, the results of this study revealed significant changes under different fertilizer conditions in the microbiota and chemical properties of corn soil. Microbial fertilizers, particularly SMF and SM, can be used as a good amendment for newly reclaimed land.

Electroacupuncture Alleviates Neuropathic Pain through Regulating miR-206-3p Targeting BDNF after CCI.

Background: Electroacupuncture (EA) has benefits for neuropathic pain. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. The current study explores the underlying mechanisms of EA in neuropathic pain of chronic constriction injury (CCI) rats. Material/Methods. Overall, 126 Sprague-Dawley (200-250 g) rats were divided into nine groups randomly: the sham-operated, CCI, CCI+EA, CCI+sham EA, CCI+NS, CCI+AAV-NC, CCI+AAV-miR-206-3p, CCI+EA+NS, and CCI+EA+AAV-miR-206-3p groups. The animals were sacrificed 14 days postsurgery. Mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) tests were used to determine differences in neurobehavioral manifestations. qPCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence (IF) were carried out to detect the expression levels of miR-206-3p, BDNF, BAX/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and IL-6. Nissl staining was measured to observe morphological changes in neurons. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to evaluate microscopic changes in dorsal horn synapses. Results: Hyperalgesia was reduced markedly by EA in the CCI model. The expression level of miR-206-3p was elevated, whereas the expression levels of BDNF, BAX/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 were decreased in EA-treated CCI rats. However, a miR-206-3p inhibitor partially abrogated the analgesic effect of EA and resulted in poor behavioral performance and the BDNF, BAX/Bcl-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 expression was elevated as well. Conclusions: EA can relieve neuropathic pain by regulating the miR-206-3p/BDNF pathway, thus exerting anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effect.

Water Treadmill Training Ameliorates Neurite Outgrowth Inhibition Associated with NGR/RhoA/ROCK by Inhibiting Astrocyte Activation following Spinal Cord Injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in damage to or degeneration of axons. Crosstalk between astrocytes and neurons plays a pivotal role in neurite outgrowth following SCI. Rehabilitative training is a recognized method for the treatment of SCI, but the specific mechanism underlying its effect on axonal outgrowth in the central nervous system (CNS) has not yet been determined. A total of 190 adult male SD rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into eight groups for use as animal models of SCI. Rats were subjected to water treadmill training (TT) for 7 or 14 d. The Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) motor function scale, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, Nissl staining, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence were used to measure tissue morphology and the degree of neurological deficit and to determine quantitative expression and accurate localization of the corresponding proteins. We found that TT decreased tissue structure damage and improved functional recovery. TT also promoted the regeneration of neurons and reduced SCI-induced apoptosis SCI around the lesion, as well as significantly increasing the expression of GAP43 and NF200 after SCI. In addition, TT significantly inhibited the injury-induced increase in the expression of proinflammatory factors. Moreover, TT reduced the activation of astrocytes and microglia, accompanied by the reduced expression of C3d and increased expression of S100A10. Finally, TT effectively reduced the level of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) surrounding the lesion and inhibited the NGR/RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway in neurons after SCI. Overall, we found that TT played a novel role in recovery from SCI by promoting axonal outgrowth associated with NGR/RhoA/ROCK signaling by inhibiting astrocyte activation after SCI.

Ischemic stroke induces cardiac dysfunction and alters transcriptome profile in mice.

BACKGROUND: Stroke can induce cardiac dysfunction in the absence of primary cardiac disease; however, the mechanisms underlying the interaction between the neurological deficits and the heart are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of stroke on cardiac function and to identify the transcriptome characteristics of the heart. RESULTS: Stroke significantly decreased heart weight/tibia length ratio and cardiomyocyte cross-sectional areas and increased atrogin-1 and the E3 ubiquitin ligase MuRF-1, indicating myocardial atrophy in MCAO-induced mouse hearts. RNA sequencing of mRNA revealed 383 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in MCAO myocardium, of which 221 were downregulated and 162 upregulated. Grouping of DEGs based on biological function and quantitative PCR validation indicated that suppressed immune response and collagen synthesis and altered activity of oxidoreductase, peptidase, and endopeptidase may be involved in MCAO-induced cardiomyopathy. The DEGs were mainly distributed in the membrane or extracellular region of cardiomyocytes and acted as potential mediators of stroke-induced cardiac dysregulation involved in cardiac atrophy. CONCLUSION: Stroke induced a unique transcriptome response in the myocardium and resulted in immediate cardiac atrophy and dysfunction.

Density dependence of daily activity in three ungulate species.

Daily activity in herbivores reflects a balance between finding food and safety. The safety-in-numbers theory predicts that living in higher population densities increases safety, which should affect this balance. High-density populations are thus expected to show a more even distribution of activity-that is, spread-and higher activity levels across the day. We tested these predictions for three ungulate species; red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). We used camera traps to measure the level and spread of activity across ten forest sites at the Veluwe, the Netherlands, that widely range in ungulate density. Food availability and hunting levels were included as covariates. Daily activity was more evenly distributed when population density was higher for all three species. Both deer species showed relatively more feeding activity in broad daylight and wild boar during dusk. Activity level increased with population density only for wild boar. Food availability and hunting showed no correlation with activity patterns. These findings indicate that ungulate activity is to some degree density dependent. However, while these patterns might result from larger populations feeling safer as the safety-in-numbers theory states, we cannot rule out that they are the outcome of greater intraspecific competition for food, forcing animals to forage during suboptimal times of the day. Overall, this study demonstrates that wild ungulates adjust their activity spread and level based on their population size.

Development of Aptamer-Based Molecular Tools for Rapid Intraoperative Diagnosis and In Vivo Imaging of Serous Ovarian Cancer.

Diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer are based on intraoperative pathology and debulking surgery. The development of a novel molecular tool is significant for rapid intraoperative pathologic diagnosis, which instructs the decision-making on excision surgery and effective chemotherapy. In this work, we represent a DNA aptamer named mApoc46, which is generated from cell-SELEX by targeting patient-derived primary serous ovarian cancer (pSOC) cells. An average dissociation constant (Kd) was determined to be 0.15 ± 0.05 µM by flow cytometry. The mApoc46 aptamer displays a robust specificity to pSOC cells. Labeled with FAM, mApoc46 can selectively stain living pSOC cells in 30 min without staining commercial OC cell lines and cell lines associated with other cancers. Interestingly, FAM-mApoc46 displayed superb selectivity toward high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HG-SOC) tissues in frozen sections against low-grade SOC, ovarian borderline tumor, other nonepithelial ovarian tumors, and healthy ovarian tissue. These results lead to a potential application in the identification of OCs' histological subtypes during operation. In the patient-derived tumor xenograft NCG mice model, Cy5-labeled mApoc46 was found to accumulate at the tumor area and served as an in vivo imaging probe. The mApoc46 probe shows a robust and stable performance to visualize SOC tumors in the body. Therefore, aptamer mApoc46 holds great potential in rapid intraoperative detection, pathological diagnosis, fluorescence image-guided cancer surgery, and targeted drug delivery and therapy.