The metaplastic effects of cordycepin in hippocampal CA1 area of rats.

Metaplasticity is referred to adjustment in the requirements for induction of synaptic plasticity based on the prior history of activity. Synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), has been considered to be the neural processes underlying learning and memory. Previous observations that cordycepin (an adenosine derivative) improved learning and memory seemed to be contradictory to the findings that cordycepin inhibited LTP. Therefore, we speculated that the conflicting reports of cordycepin might be related to metaplasticity. In the current study, population spike (PS) in hippocampal CA1 area of rats was recorded by using electrophysiological method in vivo. The results showed that cordycepin reduced PS amplitude in hippocampal CA1 with a concentration-dependent relationship, and high frequency stimulation (HFS) failed to induce LTP when cordycepin was intrahippocampally administrated but improved LTP magnitude when cordycepin was pre-treated. Cordycepin increased LTD induced by activating N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and subsequently facilitated LTP induced by HFS. Furthermore, we found that 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX), an adenosine A1 receptors antagonist, could block the roles of cordycepin on LTD and LTP. Collectively, cordycepin was able to modulate metaplasticity in hippocampal CA1 area of rats through adenosine A1 receptors. These findings would be helpful to reconcile the conflicting reports in the literatures and provided new insights into the mechanisms underlying cognitive function promotions with cordycepin treatment.

Haplotype-based genome-wide association studies for carcass and growth traits in chicken.

There have been several genome-wide association study (GWAS) reported for carcass, growth, and meat traits in chickens. Most of these studies have been based on single SNPs GWAS. In contrast, haplotype-based GWAS reports have been limited. In the present study, 2 Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF) and genotyped with the chicken 60K SNP chip were used to perform a haplotype-based GWAS. The lean and fat chicken lines were selected for abdominal fat content for 11 yr. Abdominal fat weight was significantly different between the 2 lines; however, there was no difference for body weight between the lean and fat lines. A total of 132 haplotype windows were significantly associated with abdominal fat weight. These significantly associated haplotype windows were primarily located on chromosomes 2, 4, 8, 10, and 26. Seven candidate genes, including SHH, LMBR1, FGF7, IL16, PLIN1, IGF1R, and SLC16A1, were located within these associated regions. These genes may play important roles in the control of abdominal fat content. Two regions on chromosomes 3 and 10 were significantly associated with testis weight. These 2 regions were previously detected by the single SNP GWAS using this same resource population. TCF21 on chromosome 3 was identified as a potentially important candidate gene for testis growth and development based on gene expression analysis and the reported function of this gene. TCF12, which was previously detected in our SNP by SNP interaction analysis, was located in a region on chromosome 10 that was significantly associated with testis weight. Six candidate genes, including TNFRSF1B, PLOD1, NPPC, MTHFR, EPHB2, and SLC35A3, on chromosome 21 may play important roles in bone development based on the known function of these genes. In addition, several regions were significantly associated with other carcass and growth traits, but no candidate genes were identified. The results of the present study may be helpful in understanding the genetic mechanisms of carcass and growth traits in chickens.

Neuroprotection of cordycepin in NMDA-induced excitotoxicity by modulating adenosine A1 receptors.

Cerebral ischemia impairs physiological form of synaptic plasticity such as long-term potentiation (LTP). Clinical symptoms of cognitive dysfunction resulting from cerebral ischemia are associated with neuron loss and synaptic function impairment in hippocampus. It has been widely reported that cordycepin displays neuroprotective effect on ameliorating cognitive dysfunction induced by cerebral ischemia. Therefore, it is necessary to study whether cordycepin recovers cognitive function after brain ischemia through improving LTP induction. However, there has been very little discussion about the effects of cordycepin on LTP of cerebral ischemia so far. In the present study, we investigated the effects of cordycepin on LTP impairment and neuron loss induced by cerebral ischemia and excitotoxicity, using electrophysiological recording and Nissl staining techniques. The models were obtained by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) and intrahippocampal NMDA microinjection. We also explored whether adenosine A1 receptors involve in the neuroprotection of cordycepin by using western blot. We found that cordycepin remarkably alleviated LTP impairment and protected pyramidal cell of hippocampal CA1 region against cerebral ischemia and excitotoxicity. Meanwhile, cordycepin prevented the reduction on adenosine A1 receptor level caused by ischemia but did not alter the adenosine A2A receptor level in hippocampal CA1 area. The improvement of LTP in the excitotoxic rats after cordycepin treatment could be blocked by DPCPX, a selective antagonist of adenosine A1 receptor. In summary, our findings provided new insights into the mechanisms of cordycepin neuroprotection in excitotoxic diseases, which is through regulating adenosine A1 receptor to improve LTP formation and neuronal survival.

Important candidate genes for abdominal fat content identified by linkage disequilibrium and fixation index information.

Selection for rapid growth in chickens has always been accompanied by increased fat deposition and excessive fat deposition, especially abdominal fat, cannot only decrease feed efficiency but also cause many diseases. Finding the candidate genes associated with abdominal fat deposition is essential for breeding. To identify these candidate genes, we applied linkage disequilibrium and selection signature analysis using chicken 60 k single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips in two broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content for 11 generations. After quality control, 46,033 SNPs were left for analysis. Using these SNPs, we found that r2 was 0.06 to 0.14 in the lean line and 0.07 to 0.13 in the fat line for all 28 chromosomes (except GGA16). Pairwise SNP distances <25 kb showed a mean r2 = 0.33 in the lean line and r2 = 0.32 in the fat line. The fixation index (FST) analysis was carried out and 46 SNPs with the top 0.1% of the FST value was detected as the loci with selection signatures. Besides FST, hapFLK was also used to detect selection signatures for abdominal fat content. A total of 11 genes, including transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 4, estrogen related receptor gamma, fibroblast growth factor 13, G-protein-signaling modulator 2, RAR related orphan receptor A, phospholipase A2 group X, mitochondrial ribosomal protein L28, metadherin, calcitonin receptor like receptor, serine/threonine kinase 39, and nuclear factor I A, were detected as the important candidate genes for abdominal fat deposition based on their basic functions. The results of the present study may benefit the understanding of genetic mechanism of abdominal fat deposition in chicken.

From Microscopy to Genomic Approach in Soil Biodiversity Assessment.

Soil biota represents a major component of the earth's biodiversity and for over 200 years, the microscopy approach was the only way to explore it. In the last decade, the DNA-based technique has been adopted in soil ecology. Due to the rapid development of cutting-edge technology, the field is transitioning from barcoding individuals to metabarcoding communities. With the advent of next-generation sequencing and a rapid decline in sequencing cost, it has become feasible to assess soil biodiversity at species level. This review article summarizes current approaches in soil biodiversity research along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Effects of cordycepin on spontaneous alternation behavior and adenosine receptors expression in hippocampus.

Cordycepin, an adenosine analogue, has been reported to improve cognitive function. Important roles on learning and memory of adenosine and its receptors, such as adenosine A1 and A2A receptors (A1R and A2AR), also have been shown. Therefore, we assume that the improvement of learning and memory induced by cordycepin is likely related to hippocampal adenosine content and adenosine receptor density. Here we investigated the effects of cordycepin on the short-term spatial memory by using a spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) test in Y-maze, and then examined hippocampal adenosine content and A1R and A2AR densities. We found that orally administrated cordycepin (at dosages of 5 and 10mg/kg twice daily for three weeks) significantly increased the percent of relative alternation of mice in SAB but not altered body weight, hippocampus weight and hippocampal adenosine content. Furthermore, cordycepin decreased A2AR density in hippocampal subareas; however, cordycepin only reduced the A1R density in DG but not CA1 or CA3 region. Our results suggest that cordycepin exerts a nootropic role possibly through modulating A2AR density of hippocampus, which further support the concept that it is mostly A2AR rather than A1R to control the adaptive processes of memory performance. These findings would be helpful to provide a new window into the pharmacological properties of cordycepin for cognitive promotion.

Effects of thermal treatment on high solid anaerobic digestion of swine manure: Enhancement assessment and kinetic analysis.

Anaerobic digestion (AD), which is a process for generating biogas, can be applied to the treatment of organic wastes. Owing to its smaller footprint, lower energy consumption, and less digestate, high solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) has attracted increasing attention. However, its biogas production is poor. In order to improve biogas production and decrease energy consumption, an improved thermal treatment process was proposed. Raw swine manure (>20% solid content) without any dilution was thermally treated at 70±1°C for different retention times, and then its effect on HSAD was investigated via batch AD experiments at 8.9% solid content. Results showed that the main organic components of swine manure hydrolyzed significantly during the thermal treatment, and HSAD's methane production rate was improved by up to 39.5%. Analysis using two kinetic models confirmed that the treatment could increase biodegradable organics (especially the readily biodegradable organics) in swine manure rather than upgrading its hydrolysis rate. It is worth noting that the superimposed first-order kinetics model was firstly applied in AD, and was a good tool to reveal the AD kinetics mechanism of substrates with complex components.

[Microbial Structure of an Enhanced Two-phase High-solid Anaerobic Digestion System Treating Sludge].

High-solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) of sludge has several advantages like smaller reactor, lower energy consumption and less digestate. However, the understanding about the mechanism especially the microbial mechanism is still limited. In this study, microbial communities of a pilot-scale sludge HSAD system at steady state were investigated with 16S rRNA clone library technology. The system employed an enhanced two-phase anaerobic digestion process, i. e. 'hyperthermophilic acidogenesis (70℃, 3 d)-thermophilic methanogenesis (55℃, 12.5 d)' to treat waste activated sludge with a solid content of about 9%. The volatile solid (VS) removal rate was 35.7% and methane yield (CH4/VSremoved) was 0.648 m3·kg-1. The bacterial compositions of the two phases were significantly different:there were plenty of proteolytic bacteria in hyperthermophilic acidogenesis phase; and the bacteria degrading polysaccharides like cellulose and the bacteria utilizing long-chain fatty acids were found in thermophilic methanogenesis phase; some bacteria degrading simple saccharides existed in both phases. In both phases, the dominant archaea were Methanothermobacter. Especially, 100% of the retrieved archaea in the thermophilic methanogenesis phase belonged to genus Methanothermobacter. This indicated that hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was the predominant methanogenesis pathway in this system since methane was only detected in the methanogenesis phase.

Changes in Plasma Lipid Levels and Antioxidant Activities in Rats after Supplementation of Obtusifolin.

Obtusifolin, an anthraquinone from Cassia obtusifolia seeds, has been reported to reduce blood lipid levels in diabetic rats induced by streptozocin. However, it remains unclear whether obtusifolin possesses a lipid-lowering effect on hyperlipidemia caused by a high-fat diet. Moreover, hyperlipidemia is known to impair the endothelial function by causing oxidative stress. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the antidyslipidemic and antioxidant effects of obtusifolin in hyperlipidemic rats induced by a high-fat diet. Rats with oral fat emulsion were used as our hyperlipidemic model. We measured the body weight of the rats, serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase. Our results showed that oral obtusifolin application significantly reversed the changes induced by hyperlipidemia in body weight, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Furthermore, obtusifolin treatment increased serum superoxide dismutase and nitric oxide, but reduced malondialdehyde. Collectively, our findings suggest that obtusifolin may improve hyperlipidemia by enhancing antioxidant activity. This study indicates a potential therapeutic importance of obtusifolin for ameliorating lipid dysfunction induced by a high-fat diet.

Size effect of anaerobic granular sludge on biogas production: A micro scale study.

This study investigated the influence of anaerobic granular sludge size on its bioactivity at COD concentration of 1000, 3000 and 6000 mg/L. Based on size, granules were categorized as large (3-3.5 mm), medium (1.5-2 mm) and small (0.5-1 mm). A positive relationship was obtained between granule size and biogas production rate. For instance, at COD 6000 mg/L, large granules had highest biogas production rate of 0.031 m(3)/kgVSS/d while medium and small granules had 0.016 and 0.006 m(3)/kgVSS/d respectively. The results were reaffirmed by applying modified Fick's law of diffusion. Diffusion rates of substrate for large, medium and small granules were 1.67×10(-3), 6.1×10(-4)and 1.8×10(-4) mg/s respectively at that COD. Large granules were highly bio-active due to their internal structure, i.e. big pore size, high porosity and short diffusion distance as compared to medium and small granules, thus large granules could improve the performance of reactor.

[Impact of Thermal Treatment on Biogas Production by Anaerobic Digestion of High-solid-content Swine Manure].

Livestock manure is a kind of waste with high organic content and sanitation risk. In order to investigate the impact of thermal treatment on the anaerobic digestion of high-solid-content swine manure, 70 degrees C thermal treatment was conducted to treat raw manure (solid content 27.6%) without any dilution. The results indicated that thermal treatment could reduce the organic matters and improve the performance of anaerobic digestion. When the thermal treatment time was 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, the VS removal rates were 15.1%, 15.5%, 17.8% and 20.0%, respectively. The methane production rates (CH4/VSadd) were 284.4, 296.3, 309.2 and 264.4 mL x g(-1), which was enhanced by 49.7%, 55.9%, 62.7% and 39.2%, respectively. The highest methane production rate occurred when the thermal treatment time was 3d. The thermal treatment had an efficient impact on promoting the performance of methane production rate with a suitable energy consumption. On the other hand, thermal treatment could act as pasteurization. This showed that thermal treatment would be of great practical importance.

Schizandrin ameliorates ovariectomy-induced memory impairment, potentiates neurotransmission and exhibits antioxidant properties.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Schizandrin (SCH) has been reported to prevent or reduce learning and memory defects. However, it is not known whether SCH ameliorates cognitive impairments induced by oestrogen deficiency. In the present study, we investigated the effect of SCH on memory in ovariectomized (OVX) and non-OVX rats. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: A passive avoidance test was used to evaluate the effect of SCH on memory. Field EPSPs were recorded in hippocampal slices using an electrophysiological method. In OVX rats, biochemical parameters in the bilateral hippocampus were measured; these included superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and AChE. Also, the number of NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) positive neurons was counted by NADPH-d histochemistry staining technique. KEY RESULTS: Oral SCH improved the memory and facilitated the induction of long-term potentiation in non-OVX and OVX rats; this effect was more obvious in OVX rats. Similarly, SCH perfusion enhanced synaptic transmission in hippocampal slices from both non-OVX and OVX rats. However, SCH perfusion reduced the ratio of paired-pulse facilitation only in OVX but not in non-OVX rats. In addition, SCH decreased AChE activity and MDA level and increased SOD activity and the number of NADPH-d-positive neurons in OVX rats. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: SCH improves memory in OVX rats and its potential mechanisms may include a reduction in the loss of hippocampal NADPH-d positive neurons, an increase of antioxidant properties and a potentiation of synaptic transmission that possibly involves to enhance cholinergic function. Overall, our findings indicate that SCH has potential as a therapeutic strategy for the cognitive dysfunctions associated with the menopause.

[Pilot study of thermal treatment/thermophilic anaerobic digestion process treating waste activated sludge of high solid content].

A pilot-scale experiment about the process of "thermal pretreatment at 70°C/thermophilic anaerobic digestion" of waste activated sludge of high solid content (8% -9% ) was conducted. The process employed thermal treatment of 3 days to accelerate the hydrolysis and thermophilic digestion to enhance anaerobic reaction. Thus it was good at organic removal and stabilization. When the solid retention time (SRT) was longer than 20 days, the VSS removal rate was greater than 42. 22% and it was linearly correlated to the SRT of the aerobic digestion with the R2 of 0. 915 3. It was suggested that SRT of anaerobic digestion was 25 days in practice. VSS removal rate and biogas production rate of the pilot experiment were similar to those of the run-well traditional full-scale sludge anaerobic digestion plants (solid content 3% -5% ) and the plant of high solid content using German technique.

[3-D fluorescence properties of river with great flow rate].

In the present study, the three-dimensional fluorescence spectra of River A with great flow rate were investigated. The results showed that there existed three unambiguous peaks in the excitation-emission matrix of River A at lambda(ex)/lambda(em) of around 230/340, 280/320 and 250/450 nm respectively. The fluorescence intensity varied significantly and had sharp fluctuation sometimes. But the COD(Mn) of the samples remained quite stable. This study indicated that fluorescence technique could demonstrate the pollution in the water bodies with great flow rate and furthermore make up for the deficiency of the conventional parameters related to organic pollution, i. e. invalidation to exhibit the components of pollutants. It is a good tool for the early-warning of the water quality.

[Effects of adding straw carbon source to root knot nematode diseased soil on soil microbial biomass and protozoa abundance].

A field experiment with successive planting of tomato was conducted to study the effects of adding different amounts of winter wheat straw (2.08 g x kg(-1), 1N; 4.16 g x kg(-1), 2N; and 8.32 g x kg(-1), 4N) to the soil seriously suffered from root knot nematode disease on the soil microbial biomass and protozoa abundance. Adding straw carbon source had significant effects on the contents of soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and the abundance of soil protozoa, which all decreased in the order of 4N > 2N > 1N > CK. The community structure of soil protozoa also changed significantly under straw addition. In the treatments with straw addition, the average proportion of fagellate, amoeba, and ciliates accounted for 36.0%, 59.5%, and 4.5% of the total protozoa, respectively. Under the same adding amounts of wheat straw, there was an increase in the soil MBC and MBN contents, MBC/MBN ratio, and protozoa abundance with increasing cultivation period.

[Fluorescence fingerprint--a novel tool of quality control of chemical reagents].

Product quality control is crucial for industrial production, but there is lack of simple and effective detect methods. In this study, the chromatographically pure N-hexane from different manufacturers and same manufacturers with different batches was detected with fluorescence fingerprint technology. The results showed that the fluorescence fingerprints of all samples were different from each other. The numbers of fluorescence peaks of the fingerprints of the famous international manufacturer was stable and the intensity was low. The chromatographically pure N-hexane made in China generally had more peaks, higher intensities and greater changes as compared to the imported product. This indicated that the domestic products had more impurities with high concentration and the product quality was unstable. The study showed that the fluorescence fingerprint can be used as a novel method for quality control of chemical reagents.

[Fluorescence properties of municipal wastewater with industrial wastewater as major components].

The present paper studied fluorescence fingerprint properties of the municipal wastewater with industrial wastewater as major components. There existed three typical fluorescence peaks in the excitation-emission matrix of the municipal wastewater, locating at about lambda(ex)/lambda(em) of 275/310, 230/340 and 220/310 nm respectively. The wastewater didn't display typical protein-like fluorescence as the municipal wastewater with domestic sewage as major component. The fluorescence intensity of the wastewater was quite high with remarkable difference between workday and weekend. These might relate to the high content of industrial wastewater. The advantages of the fluorescence fingerprint such as easy and fast measurement and rich information about the components of wastewater make it a novel tool in water quality monitoring and early-warning.

[Comparison of three-dimensional fluorescence characteristics of two isomers: phenanthrene and anthrancene].

In recent years, three-dimensional fluorescence spectrometry has been widely used to study the transportation and transformation of the environment pollutants. But little understanding about the relationship between fluorescence characteristics and molecular structure restricts its application. In the present paper, the excitation-emission matrix (EEM) of the typical aromatic pollutants and isomers, phenanthrene and anthracene were studied. The result showed that there existed a peak locating at lambda ex/lambdaem = 225/340 nm in the EEM of both phenanthrene and anthracene. Furthermore, the peaks at 275/360 nm of phenanthrene located quite close to the peak of anthracene at 285/360 nm. However, the difference between the EEM of phenanthrene and anthracene was significant. There existed the third fluorescence peak at 275/340 nm and the most intensive peak at 225/340 nm in the EEM of phenanthrene. The EEM of anthracene was more complicated. The most intensive peaks located at lambda ex,/lambdaem = 250/ 380, 250/400 and 250/425 nm respectiveoy. In addition, the fluorescence intensity of anthracene at 225/340 nm was about 1. 63 times that of phenanthrene when their concentrations were about 0. 058 1 mg L-1. The orbital energy gap of the frontier molecules of phenanthrene and anthracene were 4. 779 and 3. 621 eV respectively according to the density functional theory. Owe to the smaller energy gap and better symmetry of electron cloud, anthracene was easier to be excited under the excitation of longer wavelength with higher fluorescence intensity. The density functional theory is a good tool to estimate the luminous capability of organic matters.

[Fluorescence fingerprint properties of refinery wastewater].

Fluorescence organic matters contain the information about total amount and components of organic substances and could be treated as a novel water quality parameter to make up the ambiguity of COD and BOD about the pollutant composition. Refinery wastewater is a type of nonbiodegradable industrial wastewater containing a large number of toxic pollutants. The investigation on the excitation-emission matrixes of the wastewater from a large-scale refinery plant indicated that the matrix was unique for each sample; the fluorescence was intensive and was derived from the overlaps of fluorescence related to peaks at around lambda(ex)/lambda(em) = 270/300 nm, 220/300 nm and 230/350 nm. The intensity of 270/300 nm was the highest and that of 220/300 nm was the secondly highest. The location and intensities of peaks varied within small ranges. The fluorescence of the refinery wastewater contains information about products and raw materials. Phenol significantly contributed to the fluorescence intensity of 270/300 nm and 220/300 nm, and other compounds with one benzene ring such as dichlorobenzene and benzene contributed to the two peaks too. The fluorescence of 230/350 nm would be closely related to alkane and benzene. The location and intensity of peaks would be used to diagnose if the performance of the manufacturing processes and influent of treatment plant is proper.

[3-D fluorescence properties of petrochemical wastewater].

Petrochemical wastewater is one of major types of industrial wastewater in China. It is of huge quantity and causes serious pollution. Wastewater contains lots of fluorescence matters. Its fluorescence spectrum could exhibit organic components and unique for each sample like fingerprint. Thus it is referred to as fluorescence fingerprint of water quality, in brief aqueous fingerprint. This paper presented that there were almost 10 peaks in the aqueous fingerprint of petrochemical wastewater from a large-scale petrochemical plant, including the peak at the excitation/emission wavelengths (lambda(ex)/lambda(em)) of around 230/340 nm. That peak exists in the fluorescence spectra of various petroleum materials. The aqueous fingerprint was divided into 3 zones according to the relationship of fluorescence intensity of peaks: the linear relation between the peaks from different zones was not significant while that between the peaks from same zone was significant with coefficients of above 0.85. The zone around lambda(ex)/lambda(em) = 230/305 nm might relate to benzene compounds and the zone around lambda(ex)/lambda(em) = 220-320/230-440 nm (excluding the zone around lambda(ex)/lambda(em) = 230/305 nm) showed close relation with the raw materials (petroleum materials). The intensity of each peak had a fixed range. That range and relationships between peaks could be the evidences for diagnosing if the performance of the production processes is proper.