Impact of single biochar application on maize growth and water-fertilizer productivity under different irrigation regimes.

The improvement of soil water and nutrient availability through soil management practices are crucial in promoting crop growth and obtaining high water-fertilizer productivity under limited irrigation. In this study, a 2×4 fully randomized factorial design with two drip-irrigation regimes and four biochar rates was performed during maize crop growing seasons for a semiarid region of China in 2015 and 2016. Irrigation regimes was applied on the basis of the water lower limit of -15 kPa soil matric potential as W15 and -35 kPa as W35. Maize straw-derived biochar application rate of 0 (B0), 15 (B15), 30 (B30), and 45 (B45) t ha-1 was once applied to sandy loam soil in the first growing season. Our results showed that the W15 and W35 regimes generally increased soil nutrient availability and organic matter content under all biochar treatment rates for the entire growth period. In comparison, the B45-induced increase in available P and K was higher in the W15 regime than in the W35 regime during the second growing season. Furthermore, biochar treatment improved the comprehensive fertility index (CFI), leaf area index, and yield of maize. Within the same biochar treatment, the CFI value was higher in the W15 regime than in the W35 regime during the first growing season. However, the opposite was observed in the second growing season. The average irrigation water productivity (IWP) increased by 11.6%, 8.8%, and 7.8% in the W35 regime and by 15.2%, 12.9%, and 10.2% in the W15 regime for the B15, B30, and B45 treatments, respectively. Moreover, biochar treatment enhanced maize grain yield and partial fertilizer productivity (PFP) of synthetic N, P, and K fertilizers under both irrigation regimes. The highest PFP values were observed in the B15 treatment under W15. In general, a one-time application of biochar treatment at a rate of 15 t ha-1 in the first growing season is recommended in terms of increasing the availability of N, P, K, and organic matter in sandy loam and also improve water-fertilizer productivity under irrigation water lower limit of -15 kPa soil matric potential.

Inhibition of long non-coding RNA HOXA11-AS against neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease model via targeting miR-124-3p mediated FSTL1/NF-κB axis.

BACKGROUND: Studies have revealed that lncRNA HOXA11-AS contributes to regulating inflammation, while the role of HOXA11-AS in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. METHODS: Both in vivo and in vitro PD models were induced. Gain- or loss-assays of HOXA11-AS and miR-124-3p were conducted. The neurological functions, dopaminergic neurons damage, microglia activation of PD mice were measured. Afterwards, the expressions of inflammatory factors were examined with RT-PCR. Western blot was employed to detect the level of FSTL1, NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome. Meanwhile, bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay were utilized to confirm the targeting relationships among miR-124-3p, HOXA11-AS and FSTL1. RESULTS: HOXA11-AS promoted MPTP-mediated SH-SY5Y neuronal injury and LPS-induced microglia activation, while miR-124-3p had the opposite effects. Additionally, miR-124-3p was the target of HOXA11-AS and FSTL1. HOXA11-AS overexpression enhanced the expression of inflammatory factors and FSTL1, NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome, while inhibiting NF-κB weakened HOXA11-AS-mediated neuronal damage and microglia activation. Moreover, HOXA11-AS1 downregulation ameliorated MPTP-induced neurological damages and neuroinflammation in mice. CONCLUSION: Inhibition of HOXA11-AS protects mice against PD through repressing neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis through miR-124-3p-FSTL1-NF-κB axis.

Impact of biochar on greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon sequestration in corn grown under drip irrigation with mulching.

Biochar is widely used as a soil amendment to challenge climate change through restraining greenhouse gas production and increasing soil C sink in cropland soils, yet its effect was not studied well under drip irrigation with mulch. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of corn residue-derived biochar amendments on greenhouse gases (GHG), soil organic carbon (SOC), and global warming potential (GWP) on sandy loam soil in Inner Mongolia, China. Biochar application rates of 0 (B0, control), 15 (B15), 30 (B30), and 45 (B45) t ha-1 were broadcasted onto the soil surface, and then mixed into 30-cm soil depth at the first crop growing season to a film-mulched and drip-irrigated corn production. Soil emissions of CO2, N2O, and CH4 were measured using a closed static chamber approach. Compared to control plots, biochar amendments reduced total CO2 emission by 18-25% at the first growing season, and 19-41% at the second growing season. The highest and lowest CH4 emissions were from B45 and B15 in the first year, and B45 and B30 in the second year, respectively. Relative to the control, B15 and B30 reduced CH4 emission by 124% and 132% as averaged over 2-yr. With biochar amendments, total N2O emission was decreased by 71-110% and 39-47% in the first and second year. Among these biochar amendments, B30 was the best amendment limiting the GWP of N2O and CH4 in any of the two years. B30 and B45 significantly increased SOC sequestration in the top 15-cm depth by 19% and 37% in the first growing season, respectively, and by 12% and 15% in the second growing season. Biochar amendment B30 also significantly increased corn yields. Biochar shows the greatest potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil C sequestration. The greatest reductions with biochar application 30 t ha-1 in corn.

[Significance of soluble DLL1 in diagnosis of intracranial infectious diseases in children].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the significance of soluble DLL1 (Delta-like-1) levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum in the diagnosis of intracranial infection in children. METHODS: Fifty children with intracranial infection, including 20 cases of tuberculous meningitis (TM), 20 cases of viral meningitis (VM) and 10 cases of purulent meningitis (PM), and 20 children without intracranial infection (control group) were enrolled. The levels of soluble DLL1 in CSF and serum were measured using ELISA. RESULTS: The level of CSF soluble DLL1 in the TM group was significantly higher than that in the VM, PM and control groups (2.89 ± 1.72 ng/mL vs 0.14 ± 0.14 ng/mL, 0.27 ± 0.21 ng/mL, 0.13 ± 0.12 ng/mL; P<0.01). The level of serum soluble DLL1 in the TM group was also significantly higher than that in the VM, PM and control groups (12.61 ± 6.45 ng/mL vs 2.28 ± 2.27 ng/mL, 2.38 ± 1.79 ng/mL, 2.26 ± 2.10 ng/mL; P<0.01). The levels of soluble DLL1 in the CSF and serum in the VM and PM groups were not significantly different from those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Soluble DLL1 as a novel indicator might have potentially important value in the diagnosis of TM.

MicroRNA-9 promotes differentiation of mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells into neurons by Notch signaling.

MicroRNAs are members of the family of noncoding small RNAs that regulate gene expression either by inhibiting mRNA translation or by promoting mRNA degradation at the posttranscriptional level. They play an important role in the differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into neurons. However, the role of microRNAs in this process remains to be poorly understood. Studies have shown that Notch signaling is involved in regulating MSC differentiation. Here, we found that microRNA-9 could promote MSC neuronal differentiation. Using immunocytochemistry, western blotting, and reverse transcription-PCR analyses, we showed that the expression of the neural cell specific marker, microtubule-associated protein 2, increased during the process, while the expression of Notch-1 decreased. This study suggests that microRNA-9 might promote MSC neuronal differentiation by modulating the Notch signaling pathway.

Expression and significance of DSCAM in the cerebral cortex of APP transgenic mice.

Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM) plays important roles in the regulation of synaptogenesis, neurite outgrowth, axon guidance and synapse formation. Overexpression of DSCAM in Down syndrome (DS) may be involved in the pathogenesis of mental retardation through an inhibitory action on synaptogenesis/neurite outgrowth, and in the precocious dementia associated with an amyloid precursor protein (APP) dosage effect with enhanced plaque formation. In this report we examined the expression of DSCAM in the cerebral cortex of APP transgenic mice versus age-matched wild-type mice. We found that the level of DSCAM expression increased with increasing age in both groups of mice, up to a maximum at 3 months old. The level of DSCAM expression in APP transgenic mice was significantly higher than in the age-matched wild types. We propose that overexpression of DSCAM in the cerebral cortex might play an important role in the learning and memory defects of APP transgenic mice.