Responses of soil nematode abundance and food web to cover crops in a kiwifruit orchard.

Soil biodiversity plays an important role in both agricultural productivity and ecosystem functions. Cover crop species influence the primary productivity of the ecosystem and basal resources. However, it remains poorly understood how different cover crop treatments influence the community of soil nematodes in an orchard ecosystem. In this study, field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of cover crop treatments with different species numbers, i.e., no cover crop (CK), two cover crop species (C2), four cover crop species (C4), and eight cover crop species (C8), on weed biomass, together with composition, abundance, and metabolic footprint of soil nematode community in a kiwifruit orchard. As compared to the CK group, the groups of cover crop treatments had lower weed biomass, which decreased with the increase of the cover crop diversity. Moreover, for the abundance of total nematodes, fungivores exhibited higher levels in C4 and C8 treatments than that in CK, bacterivores had a higher abundance in C4 treatment, and plant parasites had a higher abundance in C2 and C8 treatments. Cover crop treatments also changed the structure of nematode community and enhanced the nematode interactions and complexity of nematode community network. In addition, C4 increased the Wasilewska index but decreased the plant-parasite index. The metabolic footprints of fungivores were higher in cover crop treatments compared with CK, and C4 and C8 also increased the functional metabolic footprint of nematode. Soil nematode faunal analysis based on nematode metabolic footprints showed that C8 improved the soil nutrient status and food wed stability. Mantel test and redundancy analysis showed that soil microbial biomass nitrogen and carbon, organic carbon, nitrate nitrogen, moisture content, pH, and cover crop biomass were the main factors that affect soil nematode community. In conclusion, cover crop treatments with four or eight plant species displayed a positive role in weed control, improvement of soil health, and promotion of energy flow in the soil food web through the increase in the metabolic footprints of nematodes in kiwifruit orchard.

Crop rotations increased soil ecosystem multifunctionality by improving keystone taxa and soil properties in potatoes.

Continuous cropping of the same crop leads to soil degradation and a decline in crop production, and these impacts could be mitigated through rotation cropping. Although crop rotation enhances soil fertility, microbial community diversity, and potato yield, its effects on the soil ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) remain unclear. In the present research, we comparatively examined the effects of potato continuous cropping (PP) and rotation cropping [potato-oat rotation (PO) and potato-forage maize rotation (PFM)] on the soil EMF as well as the roles of keystone taxa, microbes abundance, and chemical properties in EMF improvement. It was demonstrated that soil EMF is increased in rotation cropping (PO and PFM) than PP. Soil pH was higher in rotation cropping (PO and PFM) than in PP, while total phosphorus (TP) and available phosphorus (AP) were significantly decreased than that in PP. Rotation cropping (PO and PFM) markedly changed the bacterial and fungal community compositions, and improved the potential plant-beneficial fungi, e.g., Schizothecium and Chaetomium, while reducing the abundances of the potentially phytopathogenic fungi, e.g., Alternaria, Fusarium, Verticillium dahiae, Gibberella, Plectosphaerella, Colletotrichum, Phoma, and Lectera in comparison with PP. Also, co-occurrence patterns for bacteria and fungi were impacted by crop rotation, and keystone taxa, e.g., Nitrospira.1, Lysinibacillus, Microlunatus.1, Sphingomonas.3, Bryobacter.1, Micromonospora, and Schizothecium, were enriched in PO and PFM than PP. The structural equation model (SEM) further demonstrated that cropping systems increased soil ecosystem multifunctionality through regulating SOM and keystone taxa (Schizothecium1), and keystone taxa were mediated by soil pH. This study suggested that rotation cropping might contribute to the improvement of soil ecosystem multifunctionality as well as the development of disease-suppressive soils in comparison with potato continuous cropping.

Genome-centric view of the microbiome in a new deep-sea glass sponge species Bathydorus sp.

Sponges are widely distributed in the global ocean and harbor diverse symbiotic microbes with mutualistic relationships. However, sponge symbionts in the deep sea remain poorly studied at the genome level. Here, we report a new glass sponge species of the genus Bathydorus and provide a genome-centric view of its microbiome. We obtained 14 high-quality prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) affiliated with the phyla Nitrososphaerota, Pseudomonadota, Nitrospirota, Bdellovibrionota, SAR324, Bacteroidota, and Patescibacteria. In total, 13 of these MAGs probably represent new species, suggesting the high novelty of the deep-sea glass sponge microbiome. An ammonia-oxidizing Nitrososphaerota MAG B01, which accounted for up to 70% of the metagenome reads, dominated the sponge microbiomes. The B01 genome had a highly complex CRISPR array, which likely represents an advantageous evolution toward a symbiotic lifestyle and forceful ability to defend against phages. A sulfur-oxidizing Gammaproteobacteria species was the second most dominant symbiont, and a nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospirota species could also be detected, but with lower relative abundance. Bdellovibrio species represented by two MAGs, B11 and B12, were first reported as potential predatory symbionts in deep-sea glass sponges and have undergone dramatic genome reduction. Comprehensive functional analysis indicated that most of the sponge symbionts encoded CRISPR-Cas systems and eukaryotic-like proteins for symbiotic interactions with the host. Metabolic reconstruction further illustrated their essential roles in carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. In addition, diverse putative phages were identified from the sponge metagenomes. Our study expands the knowledge of microbial diversity, evolutionary adaption, and metabolic complementarity in deep-sea glass sponges.

Phylogenomic Insights into Distribution and Adaptation of Bdellovibrionota in Marine Waters.

Bdellovibrionota is composed of obligate predators that can consume some Gram-negative bacteria inhabiting various environments. However, whether genomic traits influence their distribution and marine adaptation remains to be answered. In this study, we performed phylogenomics and comparative genomics studies using 132 Bdellovibrionota genomes along with five metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from deep sea zones. Four phylogenetic groups, Oligoflexia, Bdello-group1, Bdello-group2 and Bacteriovoracia, were revealed by constructing a phylogenetic tree, of which 53.84% of Bdello-group2 and 48.94% of Bacteriovoracia were derived from the ocean. Bacteriovoracia was more prevalent in deep sea zones, whereas Bdello-group2 was largely distributed in the epipelagic zone. Metabolic reconstruction indicated that genes involved in chemotaxis, flagellar (mobility), type II secretion system, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and penicillin-binding protein were necessary for the predatory lifestyle of Bdellovibrionota. Genes involved in glycerol metabolism, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) degradation, cell wall recycling and peptide utilization were ubiquitously present in Bdellovibrionota genomes. Comparative genomics between marine and non-marine Bdellovibrionota demonstrated that betaine as an osmoprotectant is probably widely used by marine Bdellovibrionota, and all the marine genomes have a number of genes for adaptation to marine environments. The genes encoding chitinase and chitin-binding protein were identified for the first time in Oligoflexia, which implied that Oligoflexia may prey on a wider spectrum of microbes. This study expands our knowledge on adaption strategies of Bdellovibrionota inhabiting deep seas and the potential usage of Oligoflexia for biological control.

Effects of Ge-132 and GeO2 on seed germination and seedling growth of Oenothera biennis L. under NaCl stress.

To investigate the effects of ß-carboxyethyl germanium sequioxide (Ge-132) and germanium dioxide (GeO2) on improving salt tolerance of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis L.), seed germination, seedling growth, antioxidase and malondialdehyde (MDA) were observed under treatments of various concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 µM) of Ge in normal condition and in 50 mM NaCl solution. The results showed that both Ge-132 and GeO2 treatments significantly increased seed germination percentage and shoot length in dose-dependent concentrations but inhibited early root elongation growth. 5-30 µM Ge-132 and 10, 20 µM GeO2 treatments could significantly mitigate even eliminate harmful influence of salt, representing increased percentage of seed germination, root length, ratio between length of root and shoot, and decreased shoot length. These treatments also significantly decreased peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities and MDA content. The mechanism is likely that Ge scavenges reactive oxygen species - especially hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) - by its electron configuration 4S24P2 so as to reduce lipid peroxidation. This is the first report about the comparison of bioactivity effect of Ge-132 and GeO2 on seed germination and seedling growth under salt stress. We conclude that Ge-132 is better than GeO2 on promoting salt tolerance of seed and seedling.

The effects of exogenous antioxidant germanium (Ge) on seed germination and growth of Lycium ruthenicum Murr subjected to NaCl stress.

In this paper, we present the results of a study on the effects of exogenous antioxidant germanium (Ge) on seed germination and seedling growth, and its role as a radical scavenger that regulates related enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), under salt stress. Seeds were incubated in 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mM NaCl to determine the salt tolerance of the Lycium ruthenicum Murr seedlings and from the results, the critical and ultimate salt concentrations were chosen for the next experiment. Subsequently, two treatments (seeds soaked in Ge and Ge added to salt) with four concentrations of GeO2 (0, 5, 10 and 20 µM) were used with the critical (150 mM) and ultimate salt concentrations (250 mM). The results demonstrated that salt alone inhibited seed germination significantly (≥150 mM) and reduced seedling growth (≥200 mM). The addition of exogenous Ge to the salt solution, as well as soaking the seeds in Ge, attenuated the salt stress effects in a manner dependent on the dose of Ge, as indicated by the increased percentage of seeds that germinated and improved seedling growth. The addition of Ge also showed a significant reversal of salt stress on the activities of antioxidant enzymes, with a decrease in SOD and POD activity, but an increase in CAT activity with 150 mM NaCl, and enhancement of SOD, POD and CAT with 250 mM NaCl. Correspondingly, the level of malondialdehyde was decreased significantly by each Ge treatment under salt stress. Further, for L. ruthenicum, adding 10 Ge and seeds soaked in 5 Ge were the most effective treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show the protective effects of exogenous Ge against salt-induced oxidative damage in L. ruthenicum seed germination and seedling growth. Thus, L. ruthenicum can be used in areas with salty soil and Ge can promote the plants' salt tolerance.

[Study on cephalosporins with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy technique].

Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz-TDS) technique has a wide range of applications in substances identification and quantitative analysis. In the present paper, we report absorption spectra and index of refraction of 14 kinds of pure cephalosporins in 0.2-2.6 THz, in which eight kinds have apparent absorption peaks, while the others have different index of refraction. Based on these results, different kinds of antibiotics can be identified. Besides, according to THz absorption spectra of both pure sample and real pills we calculated the contents of cefixime in the two pills produced by two manufacturers. Compared with the contents marked on the package, relative errors are 9.38% and 0.92%, respectively. The results manifest that THz-TDS technique is reliable and promising in medicine detection.

[Correlation study of estrogen receptor with peripheral blood cytokines and serum markers in primary biliary cirrhosis patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between ER-a in the liver and cytokines of T lymphocytes subsets and serum signatures in PBC patients. METHODS: The research is performed with cross-sectional study. 80 PBC women patients without treatment were enrolled in PBC group, 10 healthy women as baseline-matched in healthy-control group, and 20 patients with non-autoimmune liver disease in non-PBC control group. The expression of IL-6, IL-8, IL-22, TNFa, IFNgamma, AMA-M2, Sp100 and gp210 were analyzed in Peripheral Blood using ELISA in all groups, and ER-a of patients were performed on tissues from liver biopsies in PBC group and non-PBC control group with immunohistochemistry. Spearman correlation test were performed on the indices to identified the association of all Parameters. numerical data were compared with Wilcoxon rank-sum test. RESULTS: Compared with healthy-control group, expression of serum cytokines are significantly higher in PBC and non-PBC groups (P less than 0.01), while no significant difference were observed between PBC and non-PBC groups. The positive rate of ER-a in PBC patients liver tissues in PBC group is higher than that in non-PBC group (Z=4.82, P less than 0.01). Expression of ER-a is positively correlated with positive rates of AMA-M2 antibody, Sp100 and gP210 of tissues of PBC patients ( r=0.898, 0.819, 0.814, P less than 0.01). ER-a is positive correlated with the expression of cytokines, among which the coefficient of correlation of IL-22, TNFa, IFNgamma is more than 0.7 (r=0.71, 0.89, 0.82, P less than 0.01), AMA-M2, Sp100, gp210 is negative in serum of non-PBC control group. No obviously correlations were indicated between the expression of ER-a and cytokines. CONCLUSION: A high level of expression of cytokines in the serum might be one of the factors of etiopathogenesis of PBC.

Protective effects on myelosuppression mice treated by three different classic Chinese medicine formulae.

BACKGROUND: In order to observe the protective therapeutic action and mechanism of Liuwei Dihuang Decoction, Buzhong Yiqi Decoction, and Compound Danshen Decoction on Myelosuppression induced by cyclophosphamide. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mice model was established by intraperitoneal injected with 100 mg/kg cyclophosphamide by human and mice dose conversion on the 9(th), 11(th), 13(th) days during the experiment. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used for detecting the number of cells and investigating bone marrow cell cycles. Spleen was taken out and the mRNA expression level of thrombopoietin (TPO) and c-Mpl were detected by Q-PCR, and c-Mpl in spleen in order to discuss the mechanism of myelosuppression and the protective effects of traditional Chinese medicine. RESULTS: Both Liuwei Dihuang Decoction Group and Buzhong Yiqi Decoction Group can accelerate bone marrow hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs) in marrow-suppressed mice and enhance cell proliferation by promoting cell cycles from G0/G1 phase to access into S, G2/M phase. And at the same time these Chinese decoctions can increase the mRNA expression level of TPO and c-Mpl in spleen. CONCLUSION: Researched showed that Chinese formula take effect by affecting these genes on myelosuppressed mice.

[Effect of platelet-rich plasma on the proliferation and adipogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the proliferation and adipogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells in vitro. METHODS: Human adipose-derived stem cells were obtained by enzymatic digestion and PRP was prepared by dual centrifugal method. The ADSCS were interfused with 5%, 10%, and 20% PRP in conditioned culture media, using the untreated cells as the control group. The morphology of the cells were observed and their proliferative ability was detected using XTT colorimetric assay. The adipogenic differentiation ability of the cells was evaluated using oil Red O staining. RESULTS: The ADSCS treated with PRP showed better morphology with higher density than the control cells. XTT colorimetric assay demonstrated obviously stronger proliferative activity of PRP-treated cells than the control group (P<0.01). Interfusion with PRP caused a significant increase in adipogenic differentiation of the cells as compared to the control cells (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: PRP treatment produces obvious effects on the proliferation and adipogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells in vitro.

[An analysis of the survey data on Hangzhou community physicians' perceptions of asthma knowledge and management].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the basic knowledge of asthma, the standardization of treatment and the continuing education with community physicians in Hangzhou. METHODS: The survey investigated a total of 45 community health service centers in Hangzhou, and 2 - 4 western medicine physicians were randomly selected from each centre. A questionnaire was completed by totally 114 doctors under investigation. RESULTS: Eighty-seven percent of the physicians believed asthma was an airway inflammatory disease. Sixty-nine percent chose inhaled glucocorticoids as daily first-line drug for persistent asthma and 55% had read asthma guidelines. However, only 24% had ever heard China Asthma Alliance (CAA) and only 6% had visited its website. Moreover, no one under investigation had participated in the CAA organized talks popularizing the standardization of asthma treatment. Over the past year, 55% of the respondents did not participate in any asthma-related meetings or seminars. Ninety-six percent of those surveyed expressed the hope that higher-level hospital doctors would come to the community hospital for asthma-related seminars. Among the 45 community health service centers, only 2 collected part of the registration data for asthma patients and only one conducted health education seminars for asthma patients during the past year. CONCLUSION: Community physicians need to be provided more continuing education opportunities in order for them to provide standard asthma treatment for patients.

Effect of Astragali-Cordyceps Mixtura on TGF-beta/Smad signal pathway in the lung of asthma airway remodeling.

AIM OF THE STUDY: We try to find out the influence of traditional Chinese Medicine Astragali-Cordyceps Mixtura (ACM) on TGF-beta/Smad signal pathway in the lung of asthma airway remodeling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mice were sensitized and challenged by OVA to establish a model of asthma. To assess the effects of ACM on the mice, animals of the ACM groups were treated with ACM. Data were achieved by using techniques as follow: counting cell number of BALF, assaying the amount of collagen deposition by Masson's staining, performing RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry for mRNA and protein expression of TGF-beta1, Smad3 and Smad7. RESULTS: The depositions of collagen in airway wall greatly increased at the model group compared with that of the normal group. In contrast, these decreased at the ACM groups. As compared with the control group, TGF-beta1 expression also decreased at both mRNA and protein level at the ACM-M group versus increased both at the model group. Whereas, Smad7 significantly decreased only at the model group and partly restored at the ACM-M group. CONCLUSIONS: ACM greatly improves the symptoms of asthma airway remodeling by inhibiting the expression of TGF-beta1 and upregulating the amount of Smad7.

Development and evaluation of an immunochromatographic strip for trichinellosis detection.

In the present study, an immunochromatographic strip was developed for the serological detection of trichinellosis in swine. In the strip, the excretory-secretory (ES) antigens of Trichinella labelled with colloidal gold was used as the detector, and the staphylococcal protein A (SPA) and goat anti-ES antibody were blotted on the nitrocellulose membrane for the test and control lines, respectively. The evaluation of the strip was performed by comparing 60 clinical positive blood samples detected by the artificial digestion method with 46 serum samples from pigs infected with parasites other than Trichinella and 30 serum samples of parasite-free healthy pigs. The strip was shown to be of high specificity and sensitivity that were closely correlated with those of ELISA. Furthermore, the dipstick assay based on the strip is rapid (10 min) and easy to perform with no requirement of special skill, reagent or equipment. This suggests the immunochromatographic strip is an acceptable alternative to be used in clinical laboratories lacking specialized equipment as well as for field diagnosis.

Efficient recovery of the functional IP10-scFv fusion protein from inclusion bodies with an on-column refolding system.

A functional IP10-scFv fusion protein retaining the antibody specificity for acidic isoferritin and chemokine function was produced at high level in Esherichia coli (E. coli). IP10-scFv gene from the recombinant plasmid pc3IP104c9 was subcloned into pET28a fused to N-terminal His-tag sequence in frame and overexpressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). With an on-column refolding procedure based on Ni-chelating chromatography, the active fusion protein was recovered efficiently from inclusion bodies with a refolding yield of approximate 45% confirmed by spectrophotometer. The activity of refolded IP10-scFv was determined through sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed the fusion protein retains the specific binding activity to AIF with an affinity constant of 4.48x10(-8) M as well as the chemokine function of IP-10. The overall yield of IP10-scFv with bioactivity in E. coli flask culture was more than 40 mg/L.

[Study on the needling depth of lumbar Jiaji (Ex-B2) points with CT imaging location].

OBJECTIVE: To study on safe depth and angle of needling lumbar Jiaji (Ex-B2) for treatment of prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc. METHODS: CT technique was used for scanning investigation on the depth and angle of needling lumbar Jiaji (Ex-B2). RESULTS: When the acupuncture needle or puncture needle was inserted at an angle of 20-30 degrees to the sagittal plane of the human body, the tip of needle could reached to extradural posterior space of the depth of lumbar Jiaji points (being the best inserting depth), in which catgut or medicine could be placed. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture or catgut stimulating the extradural posterior space at the depth of lumbar Jiaji is superior to the traditional needling method in treatment of prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

Identification of neutralizing epitopes on the VP2 protein of infectious bursal disease virus by phage-displayed heptapeptide library screening and synthetic peptide mapping.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is the causative agent of infectious bursal disease, which is one of the most important and widespread infectious diseases in commercial chickens. Conformational epitopes have been reported in the highly variable region of the VP2 protein of IBDV. In the present study, a random heptapeptide library was screened by using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), YNW17 and YNW29, directed to the VP2 of IBDV and two peptide motifs, D-X-P-R and A-R-G, were identified. The motifs are present on the N and C terminal sequences of the highly variable region of VP2. Synthetic overlapping peptides covering the motifs on VP2 were analyzed by Dot- ELISA with the mAbs and two epitopes 197CDSSDRPRVYTIT209 and 329ARGSLAVTI337 identified. The above epitopes were also recognized by chicken anti-IBDV sera and shown to inhibit the binding of their mAbs to recombinant VP2. Both mAbs and sera from mice immunized with the conjugated epitope-peptides were able to neutralize serotype I IBDV. These results indicated that the epitopes are two neutralizing linear B-cell epitopes and would be useful for the development of peptide-based IBD vaccines.

Development of a one-step strip test for the diagnosis of chicken infectious bursal disease.

A rapid diagnostic strip for chicken infectious bursal disease (IBD) was developed based on membrane chromatography using high-affinity monoclonal antibodies directed to chicken infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). The diagnostic strip has high specificity for detection of chicken IBDV antigen and recognizes a variety of the virus isolates, including virulent and attenuated strains, with no cross-reactivity to other viruses, such as Newcastle disease virus, Marek's disease virus, infectious bronchitis virus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, and egg-drop-syndrome virus. The results showed that its specificity was highly consistent with the agar-gel precipitation test (AGP). The diagnostic strip detected as low as 800 median egg lethal dose (ELD50) viruses in the IBDV BC6/85-infected sample, which was comparable with AC-ELISA (400 ELD50) and 32 times more sensitive than the AGP test (2.56 x 10(4) ELD50). In experimental infection, IBDV was detected in the bursa as early as 36 hr postinfection with the diagnostic strip before the clinical signs and gross lesions appeared. It takes only 1-2 min to do a strip test to detect chicken IBDV antigen after the specimen is grounded in a whirl pack with finger massage.