Continental-scale niche differentiation of dominant topsoil archaea in drylands.

Archaea represent a diverse group of microorganisms often associated with extreme environments. However, an integrated understanding of biogeographical patterns of the specialist Haloarchaea and the potential generalist ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) across large-scale environmental gradients remains limited. We hypothesize that niche differentiation determines their distinct distributions along environmental gradients. To test the hypothesis, we use a continental-scale research network including 173 dryland sites across northern China. Our results demonstrate that Haloarchaea and AOA dominate topsoil archaeal communities. As hypothesized, Haloarchaea and AOA show strong niche differentiation associated with two ecosystem types mainly found in China's drylands (i.e. deserts vs. grasslands), and they differ in the degree of habitat specialization. The relative abundance and richness of Haloarchaea are higher in deserts due to specialization to relatively high soil salinity and extreme climates, while those of AOA are greater in grassland soils. Our results further indicate a divergence in ecological processes underlying the segregated distributions of Haloarchaea and AOA. Haloarchaea are governed primarily by environmental-based processes while the more generalist AOA are assembled mostly via spatial-based processes. Our findings add to existing knowledge of large-scale biogeography of topsoil archaea, advancing our predictive understanding on changes in topsoil archaeal communities in a drier world.

Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on forest biomass fractions.

The extent to which key factors at the global scale influence plant biomass allocation patterns remains unclear. Here, we provide a theory about how biotic and abiotic factors influence plant biomass allocation and evaluate its predictions using a large global database for forested communities. Our analyses confirm theoretical predictions that temperature, precipitation, and plant height and density jointly regulate the quotient of leaf biomass and total biomass, and that they have a much weaker effect on shoot (leaf plus stem) biomass fractions at a global scale. Moreover, biotic factors have larger effects than abiotic factors. Climatic variables act equally on shoot and root growth, and differences in plant body size and age, as well as community species composition, which vary with climate in ways that drown out the variations in biomass fractions. The theory and data presented here provide mechanistic explanations of why climate has little effect on biomass fractions.

Aridity-driven shift in biodiversity-soil multifunctionality relationships.

Relationships between biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions (that is, ecosystem multifunctionality) are context-dependent. Both plant and soil microbial diversity have been reported to regulate ecosystem multifunctionality, but how their relative importance varies along environmental gradients remains poorly understood. Here, we relate plant and microbial diversity to soil multifunctionality across 130 dryland sites along a 4,000 km aridity gradient in northern China. Our results show a strong positive association between plant species richness and soil multifunctionality in less arid regions, whereas microbial diversity, in particular of fungi, is positively associated with multifunctionality in more arid regions. This shift in the relationships between plant or microbial diversity and soil multifunctionality occur at an aridity level of ∼0.8, the boundary between semiarid and arid climates, which is predicted to advance geographically ∼28% by the end of the current century. Our study highlights that biodiversity loss of plants and soil microorganisms may have especially strong consequences under low and high aridity conditions, respectively, which calls for climate-specific biodiversity conservation strategies to mitigate the effects of aridification.

Recent advances in applications of power ultrasound for petroleum industry.

Power ultrasound, as an emerging green technology has received increasing attention of the petroleum industry. The physical and chemical effects of the periodic oscillation and implosion of acoustic cavitation bubbles can be employed to perform a variety of functions. Herein, the mechanisms and effects of acoustic cavitation are presented. In addition, the applications of power ultrasound in the petroleum industry are discussed in detail, including enhanced oil recovery, oil sand extraction, demulsification, viscosity reduction, oily wastewater treatment and oily sludge treatment. From the perspective of industrial background, key issue and resolution mechanism, current applications and future development of power ultrasound are discussed. In addition, the effects of acoustic parameters on treatment efficiency, such as frequency, acoustic intensity and treatment time are analyzed. Finally, the challenges and outlook for industrial application of power ultrasound are discussed.

Research on mechanism and characteristics of oil recovery from oily sludge in ultrasonic fields.

The acoustic parameters and operating conditions that determine efficiency of oil recovery from oily sludge are studied. Based on this, the mechanism of ultrasonic disintegration of oily sludge is analyzed. The results show that lower frequency ultrasound results in larger and more energetic cavitation bubbles that are more effective in the desorption of oil from solid particles. Moreover, acoustic intensity and treatment time that correspond to maximal oil recovery are found. Increasing the ratio of water to sludge and pH can reduce the slurry viscosity and facilitate the formation of HSiO3-, respectively, which improves the oil recovery efficiency. Moreover, Triton X-100 has better oil solubilizing effects than SDBS. After ultrasonic treatment, small amounts of asphaltenes are more stable on solid particles than other components. The heteroatoms such as S, N, and O in asphaltenes form hydrogen bonds with hydroxyl groups on the surface of the particles, impeding the desorption of oil. Mechanical effects such as shock waves and micro jets due to acoustic cavitation can break the hydrogen bonds between asphaltenes and solid particles, thereby facilitating oil recovery from oily sludge.

Optimization of acoustic parameters for ultrasonic separation of emulsions with different physical properties.

Ultrasound is an emerging and promising method for demulsification, which is highly affected by acoustic parameters and emulsion properties. Herein, a series of microscopic and dehydration experiments are carried out to investigate the parameter optimization of ultrasonic separation. The results show that the optimal acoustic parameters highly depend on the emulsion properties. For low frequency ultrasonic standing waves (USWs), mechanical vibrations not only facilitate droplet collision and coalescence, but also disperse the surfactant absorbed on the interface to decrease the interfacial strength. Therefore, low frequency ultrasound is suitable for separating emulsions with high viscosity and high interfacial strength. Increasing the energy density to produce moderate cavitation can increase demulsification efficiency. However, excessive cavitation results in secondary emulsification. In high frequency USWs, the droplets migrate directionally and form bandings, thereby promoting droplet coalescence. Therefore, high frequency ultrasound is favorable for separating emulsions with low dispersed phase content and small droplet size. Increasing the energy density can accelerate the aggregation of droplets, however, excessive energy density causes acoustic streaming that disturbs the aggregated droplets, resulting in reduced demulsification efficiency. This work presents rules for acoustic parameter optimization, further advancing industrial applications of ultrasonic separation.

Phase separation technology based on ultrasonic standing waves: A review.

The current understanding and developments of phase separation technology based on ultrasonic standing waves (USWs) are reviewed. Most previous reviews have focused on microscale applications of this technology in the fields of biological materials and food processing. This review covers different applications of ultrasonic separation technology, especially in petrochemical industry. The kinetic mechanism of ultrasonic, design of reactors, separation principles, and related applications are discussed in detail. We lay special stress on the motion characteristics of particles in USWs. According to the particle numbers, particle properties, and frequency characteristics, the separation principles are reasonably categorized as: (1) Bands effect; (2) Acoustophoretic coefficient; (3) Particle density; (4) Sweep frequency. Diverse separation principles improve the universality of ultrasonic separation technology. However, acoustic streaming and acoustic cavitation are two of the main challenges in the application of ultrasonic separation. Based on the current research, the future research can focus on the following aspects: (1) Explore the mechanism of ultrasonic demulsification; (2) Establish unified evaluation criteria for acoustic separation systems; (3) Develop the basis for determination of acoustic cavitation and non-cavitation.

Loss of B cell regulatory function is associated with delayed healing in patients with tibia fracture.

The process of bone regeneration after fracture is a complex and well-orchestrated process usually requiring 3-12 weeks. A subset of patients, however, exhibit delayed healing time and even incomplete restoration of the normal bone structure. Although the precise mechanism is unknown, studies have shown that smurf1 may play a role during the process. Here, we sought to determine the involvement of the immune system in impaired bone healing. We found that immediately after fracture, the B-cell composition was shifted toward increased frequency of plasmablasts and decreased frequency of naïve B cells, reflecting higher inflammatory status. The percentage of CD19(+) CD24(+) CD38(+) regulatory B cells was also upregulated in response to bone fracture. The production of IL-10, a pivotal cytokine in regulatory B-cell function, was upregulated in all patients. Interestingly, the increase in IL-10 production was only sustained throughout the healing course in normal healing patients but not in delayed healing patients. Rather, delayed healing patients downregulated B-cell IL-10 secretion early and had reduced level of regulatory B-cell activity. Together, these data revealed a role of regulatory B cells in the endogenous bone regeneration process and an alternation in B-cell-mediated regulation in delayed healing patients.

Molecular mechanisms of luteolin induced growth inhibition and apoptosis of human osteosarcoma cells.

Luteolin is a flavone in medicinal plants as well as some vegetables and spices. It is a natural anti-oxidant with less pro-oxidant potential but apparently with a better safety profile. The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism of luteolin-mediated apoptosis of MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells. MTT assay kit was employed to evaluate the effects of luteolin on MG-63 cells proliferation. Then, we performed Annexin V-FITC/PI to analyze the apoptotic rate of the cells. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of luteolin on the expressions of BCL-2, BAX, Caspase-3 and Survivin were detected by Western blotting. As expected, luteolin (0.5, 2.5, 12.5 µg/mL) inhibited the growth of MG-63 cells by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing cell apoptosis. Western blotting demonstrated that luteolin (0.5, 2.5, 12.5 µg/mL) inhibited the expressions of BCL-2, Caspase-3 and Survivin, and promoted the expression of BAX in MG-63 cells with a concentration dependent way. Luteolin can inhibit osteosarcoma cell proliferation and induce apoptosis effectively in a dose dependent manner through down-regulating the expression of BCL-2, Caspase-3 and Survivin proteins levels and up-regulating the expression of BAX protein level. These findings indicated that luteolin may be used as a novel herbal medicine for the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Benzochloroporphyrin derivative induced cytotoxicity and inhibition of tumor recurrence during photodynamic therapy for osteosarcoma.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment modality that uses dye-sensitized photooxidation of biologic matter in target tissue. This study explored effects of the photosensitizer BCPD-17 during PDT for osteosarcoma. LM-8 osteosarcoma cells were treated with BCPD-17 and cell viability after laser irradiation was assessed in vitro with the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The effects of BCPD-17 during PDT recurrence were then examined on tumor-bearing mice in vivo. BCPD-17 had dose- dependent cytotoxic effects on LM-8 osteosarcoma cells after laser irradiation which also had energy-dependent effects on the cells. The rate of local recurrence was reduced when marginal resection of mice tumors was followed by BCPD-17-mediated PDT. Our results indicated BCPD-17-mediated PDT in combination with marginal resection of tumors is a potentially new effective treatment for osteosarcoma.

Bushen Yisui Capsule ameliorates axonal injury in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

A preliminary clinical study by our group demonstrated Bushen Yisui Capsule (formerly called Erhuang Formula) in combination with conventional therapy is an effective prescription for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. However, its effect on axonal injury during early multiple sclerosis remains unclear. In this study, a MOG35-55-immunized C57BL/6 mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis was intragastrically administered Bushen Yisui Capsule. The results showed that Bushen Yisui Capsule effectively improved clinical symptoms and neurological function of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In addition, amyloid precursor protein expression was down-regulated and microtubule-associated protein 2 was up-regulated. Experimental findings indicate that the disease-preventive mechanism of Bushen Yisui Capsule in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis was mediated by amelioration of axonal damage and promotion of regeneration. But the effects of the high-dose Bushen Yisui Capsule group was not better than that of the medium-dose and low-dose Bushen Yisui Capsule group in preventing neurological dysfunction.

Efficacy of chuanxiong ding tong herbal formula granule in the treatment and prophylactic of migraine patients: a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese herbal ChuanXiong Ding Tong herbal formula granule (CXDT-HFG) for migraine patients with "the Syndrome of Liver Wind and Blood Stasis." Methods. 150 migraine patients were recruited and assigned randomly in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to receive CXDT-HFG (n = 99) plus necessary analgesics, or placebo (n = 51) plus necessary analgesics for 16 weeks (12 weeks' intervention and 4 weeks' follow up). Outcome measures included migraine days, frequency of migraine attacks, analgesics consumption for acute treatment, and the proportion of responders as well as the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and intensity for pain. Results. Compared with the placebo group, the CXDT-HFG group showed significant reduction in migraine days and attacks frequency at week 12 and follow-up period (P < 0.05) as well as in the reduction of VAS scores at follow-up period.There was significant difference in the proportion of responders between the two groups at follow-up period (P = 0.014). However there were no significant differences between the two groups in analgesics consumption (P > 0.05). Conclusion. CXDT-HFG was more effective than placebo in decreasing days of migraine attacks, frequency, VAS scores, and relieving pain intensity for migraine patients.

High-molecular-weight polyethyleneimine conjuncted pluronic for gene transfer agents.

In order to enhance the gene delivery efficiency and decrease cytotoxicity of polyplexes, copolymers consisting of branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) 25 kDa grafted with Pluronic (F127, F68, P105) were successfully synthesized using a simple two-step procedure. The copolymers were tested for cytotoxicity and DNA condensation and complexation properties. Their polyplexes with plasmid DNA were characterized in terms of DNA size and surface charge and transfection efficiency. The complex sizes were below 300 nm, which implicated their potential for intracellular delivery. The Pluronic-g-PEI exhibited better condensation and complexation properties than PEI 25 kDa. The cytotoxicity of PEI was strongly reduced after copolymerization. The Pluronic-g-PEI showed lower cytotoxicity in three different cell lines (Hela, MCF-7, and HepG2) than PEI 25 kDa. pGL3-lus was used as a reporter gene, and the transfection efficiency was in vitro measured in HeLa cells. Compared with unmodified PEI 25 kDa Pluronic-g-PEI showed much higher transfection efficiency. These results demonstrate that polyplexes prepared using a combined strategy of surface crosslinking and grafted with Pluronic seem to provide promising properties as stable, high transfection efficiency vectors.

Research on the mechanism of Zuogui Pill and Yougui Pill in promoting axonal regeneration in model rats of autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the molecular mechanism of Zuogui Pill (ZGP) and Yougui Pill (YGP) on axonal regeneration in rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). METHODS: EAE rat model was established by bilateral rear pedes subcutaneous injection of antigen made by mixing myelin basic protein (MBP) and complete Freud's adjuvant (CFA) in the volume ratio of 1:1. The pathological changes of axonal injury and regeneration in the brain and the spinal cord were observed on the 14th (the acute stage) and the 28th day (the remission stage) after modeling, with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, silver stain, and immunohistochemical staining. The rats treated with prednisone acetate were taken as controls. RESULTS: Observation under the light microscope with HE staining showed a sleeve-like change in rats' cerebrospinal parenchyma with inflammatory cell infiltration around the small vessels and neuronic denaturation, while silver staining showed excessive tumefaction and abscission of axon, and immunohistochemical analysis showed decreasing of nerve growth factor (NGF) expression at the acute stage of EAE, which was even more remarkable at the remission stage, showing significant difference as compared with the normal control (P<0.05). And the expressions of Nogo A, an axon growth inhibitor, and its receptor (Nogo-66 receptor, Ng R) were significantly higher than those in the normal control at the acute stage (P<0.01). However, after the intervention of ZGP and YGP, the pathological changes and axon damage in rats' brain and spinal cord were much more alleviated, and the NGF expression was significantly higher than that in the model group at the acute stage (P<0.05). The expression of NGF was even stronger during the remission stage, and a better effect was shown by YGP. As for Nogo A and Ng R expressions, they were significantly lower than those in the model group at the acute stage (P<0.05), but a better effect was shown by ZGP. CONCLUSIONS: ZGP and YGP can prevent axonal injury and promote the axonal regeneration in rats of EAE, and the possible mechanism is to increase the expression of NGF and reduce the expression of Nogo A and its receptor. However, some differences are observed between the two Chinese preparations in their acting times and points, which provides a certain basis for revealing the modern connotation of the Chinese medicine theory on tonifying Shen ()-yin and Shen-yang.

[Gene profiling of MAPK pathway in human osteosarcoma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the functional effects of MAPK pathway in the pathogenesis of human osteosarcoma. METHODS: Gene microarray (Human Genome U133A, Affymetrix) was used to screen the differential expression of genes involved in MAPK pathway between osteosarcoma cell lines and 3 osteoblastic cell lines. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis was performed among significantly increased or decreased genes using the MATLAB software. Immunohistochemical technique was used to detect the expressions of ERK1/2, JNK and p38 proteins among 48 osteosarcoma and benign 24 osteoblastic tumor samples. RESULTS: Using an entrance limit of > or = 2.0, 18 differentially expressed MAPK pathway-related genes were selected (10 up-regulated, 8 down-regulated) to mapped to the MAPK pathway of KEGG which are all important node genes. The positive rates of ERK1/2, JNK and p38 proteins were 83.3% (40/48), 72.9% (35/48) and 85.4% (41/48) in osteosarcomas,and 12.5% (3/24), 8.3% (2/24) and 16.7% (4/24) in the control group, respectively. The positive rates and expression intensities were statistically different between the 2 groups (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: MAPK pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma. ERK, JNK and p38 form an intercoordinating network and regulate the cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, invasion and migration in osteosarcoma.

Therapeutic effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) on irradiation or chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressive mice.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) on irradiation- or chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressive mice and cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). METHODS: In an in vivo experiment, mice were irradiated with a sublethal dose of 550 cGy X-ray or intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with carboplatin (CB) 125 mg/kg to produce severe myelosuppression. Four to 6 hours after the irradiation or injection, mice were subcutaneously (s.c.) injected with LBP (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) daily from day 0 to day 6. Blood samples were collected from the tail veins of mice at different time points, and peripheral white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), and platelet (PLT) counts were monitored. In an in vitro experiment, human PBMCs were incubated with LBP at different concentrations in combination with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and the production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was tested. RESULTS: Compared to the control, 50 mg/kg LBP (LBP-L) significantly ameliorated the decrease of peripheral WBC of irradiated myelosuppressive mice on day 13, and 100 mg/kg LBP (LBP-M) did the same on days 17 and 21. All dosages of LBP significantly ameliorated the decrease of peripheral RBC of irradiated myelosuppressive mice on days 17 and 25. Two-hundred mg/kg LBP (LBP-H) and LBP-M significantly enhanced peripheral PLT counts of irradiated myelosuppressive mice on days 10, 13, 17, and 21, as did LBP-L on days 13 and 17. All dosages of LBP increased peripheral WBC counts of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressive mice to some extent, but there was no statistic difference when compared to the control. LBP-H significantly ameliorated the decrease of peripheral RBC of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressive mice on days 13, 15, 17, and 20, and LBP-M and LBP-L did the same on days 15 and 17. All dosages of LBP significantly enhanced peripheral PLT counts of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressive mice on days 7 and 10, as did LBP-H on days 13, 15, and 17, and LBP-M on days 13 and 15. Also, LBP could obviously stimulate human PBMCs to produce G-CSF. CONCLUSIONS: LBP promoted the peripheral blood recovery of irradiation or chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressive mice, and the effects may be the result of the stimulation of PBMCs to produce G-CSF.