[Research advances in trait-based approaches in soil animal community ecology]. / åŸºäºŽåŠŸèƒ½æ€§çŠ¶çš„åœŸå£¤åŠ¨ç‰©ç¾¤è½ç”Ÿæ€å­¦ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Functional traits are indicators of the responses and adaptation of organisms to environmental changes and cascade to a series of ecosystem functions. The functional traits of soil animals are sensitive to environmental factors and may characterize and predict the changes of ecosystem functions. Multiple dimensions of biodiversity that combing species, phylogenetic, and functional diversity improves the understanding of distribution patterns, community assembly mechanisms and ecosystem functions of soil animals. In this review, we listed the categories of soil animal functional traits and their ecological significance, and summarized current researches on the responses of soil animal communities to environmental changes and the community assembly processes based on trait-based approaches. We proposed to strengthen the study on the impacts of eco-evolution processes of biotic interactions to soil animal functional traits, establish the database of soil animal functional traits, and apply trait-based approaches in the ecological restoration in the future, which would benefit soil biodiversity conservation and sustainability of soil ecosystems.

The association between health-promoting-lifestyles, and socioeconomic, family relationships, social support, health-related quality of life among older adults in china: a cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Lifestyles, accounting for 53% in determining death, play a vital role in improving the health of older adults. Thus, this study aimed to explore the influencing factors of the health-promoting-lifestyles and interaction mechanisms among older adults. METHODS: A total of 8526 elders were selected by a three-stage stratified random cluster sampling method. Socioeconomic status, family relationships, social support, health-related quality of life (QOL), and health-promoting-lifestyles (HPLP) of older adults were assessed with the Social Support Rating Scale, the short form 36 health survey (SF-36) and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. A structural equation model (SEM) was conducted to test the direct and indirect association between influencing factors with HPLP. RESULTS: In this study, there were 4901 older adults who were empty nesters, and 3625 were non-empty nesters. Of all respondents, the average QOL score of older adults was 62.28 ± 16.51, average social support score was 78.06 ± 7.50. The HPLP score of older adults was 105.9 ± 19.6, and the average score of subscales was 2.5 ± 0.5, which was at the medium level. Social support had a positive and direct effect on HPLP of older adults (total effect, 0.34). Meanwhile, social support mediated the relationship between socioeconomic (total effect, 0.17), QOL (total effect, 0.33) and HPLP. Family relationships had a small indirect effect on HPLP via social support (0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Social support is the strongest influencing factor in the health-promoting-lifestyles among older adults, followed by socioeconomic, health-related quality of life and family support. Thus, maintaining higher social support was important to improve the HPLP of older adults.

BMI-adjusted prognosis of signet ring cell carcinoma in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Compared with other histologic types, signet ring cell gastric carcinoma (SRC) has unique oncological characteristics, and its implication on the prognosis of gastric cancer patients remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of body mass index (BMI) on SRC patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using the clinical records of 3342 patients with SRC or tubular adenocarcinoma who underwent radical gastrectomy between 2000 and 2014. Patients were divided into three groups according to histologic subtype: SRC, well-to-moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (WMD), and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (PD). We compared the survival of SRC patients with that of tubular adenocarcinoma patients according to BMI. RESULTS: The 5-year survival of SRC was significantly worse than that of WMD (P < 0.001) but superior to that of PD (P < 0.001). BMI-stratified analysis showed that in the high-BMI group, the prognosis of SRC was similar to that of WMD (P > 0.05) and better than that of PD (P < 0.001). In normal-BMI patients, SRC had a worse prognosis than WMD (P < 0.001) but a more favorable prognosis than PD (P < 0.001). SRC among low-BMI patients displayed much poorer survival than did both WMD (P < 0.001) and PD (P = 0.005). Multivariate analysis indicated that the risk of death was the lowest in SRC patients with a high BMI and highest for SRC patients with a low BMI (low-BMI hazard ratio: SRC 1 vs. WMD 0.51 and PD 0.53). CONCLUSION: SRC has worse prognostic impact as BMI decreases. BMI leads to differing prognosis of SRC compared with tubular adenocarcinoma.

Evaluating the effects of transgenic Bt rice cultivation on soil stability.

Insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins produced by genetically modified rice that enter the soil via pollen dispersal, plant residues, and root exudation may disturb soil health. In the present study, we assessed the influences of transgenic Bt rice (i.e., HH1 with Cry1Ab/Cry1Ac) cultivation on the dynamics of soil carbon and nutrients under field conditions during 2013-2016. Transgenic treatments (transgenic Bt rice vs. its parental line (i.e., MH63) of non-Bt rice) have no consistently significant effects on soil property, including available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus, while apparent seasonal changes were observed. Besides, the variations of soil nutrients in the paddy field of transgenic Bt rice did not exceed their resistance capacities, except total organic carbon (TOC; RS (resistance) = 1.51) and total potassium (TK; RS = 2.62) in 2013 and TK (RS = 1.94) in 2014. However, the TOC and soil nutrient of TK in the paddy field of transgenic Bt rice have recovered to the pre-perturbation status after harvest (RL (resilience) = 1.01, F = 0.01, P = 0.91; RL = 0.98, F = 0.34, P = 0.58; RL = 0.99, F = 1.26, P = 0.29). Moreover, the paddy yield of transgenic Bt rice was consistently higher than that of its parental line of non-Bt rice. These results suggested that the cultivation of transgenic Bt rice has no adverse impact on soil stability in terms of soil carbon and nutrients and paddy yield.

[Effects of environmental stresses on soil functional stability under different water management measures in a paddy field]. / 环境胁迫对不同水分管理措施下稻田土壤功能稳定性的影响.

With the increase of global environmental changes and intensive anthropogenic activities, it is important to maintain and improve soil function. Here, we evaluated the effects of environmental stress (i.e., drying, high temperature and the combination of drying and high temperature) on soil functional stability (resistance and resilience) under three kinds of water management mea-sures, which included conventional-flooded cultivation, non-flooded with uncovered cultivation and non-flooded with straw mulching. Results showed that, compared to single environmental stress (drying or high temperature), combined stress led to lower soil fungal biomass, bacterial biomass, basal respiration, and soil functional resistance, and higher contents of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and NH4+-N after one day treatment of stress. Combined stress significantly decreased soil functional resilience after 56 days treatment of stress. Results from the correlation analysis showed that bacterial and fungal biomass were significantly related to soil resistance and resilience. Different water management measures could regulate the effects of environmental stress on soil functional stability. Non-flooded with straw mulching treatment significantly increased the contents of soil DOC, NH4+-N, fungal biomass and bacterial biomass, resulting in higher soil functional resistance and resilience compared with conventional-flooded cultivation and non-flooded with uncovered cultivation under both single and combined stress. In summary, non-flooded with straw mulching could improve soil functional stability under environmental stress, and it could be a suitable agricultural management for non-continuously flooded rice cultivation under multiple stresses.

A modified subclassification to evaluate the survival of patients with N3 gastric cancer: an international database study.

BACKGROUND: The eighth TNM classification for gastric cancer categorizes N3 as N3a and N3b in the final pathologic stage. The cutoff for N3a/N3b is defined as 15 metastatic lymph nodes, but the rationale for this cutoff remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the optimal N3a/N3b cutoff and evaluate its prognostic significance. METHODS: An international database was constructed by combining data from patients with N3 gastric cancer and complete five-year follow-up data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program database (n = 1833) and the Fujian Medical University Union Hospital database (n = 920) (total n = 2753). A log-rank test was performed to determine the optimal N3a/N3b cutoff, and its prognostic significance was confirmed in a two-step multivariate analysis and compared to that of the eighth TNM. RESULTS: A cut-point analysis performed at each metastatic lymph node number identified the greatest survival difference between N3a and N3b at 13 metastatic lymph nodes (χ2 = 157.671, P = 3.65 × 10- 36). In patients with 14-15 metastatic lymph nodes, prognoses were significantly worse than those in patients with 7-13 metastatic lymph nodes (P < 0.001) but similar to those in patients with > 15 metastatic lymph nodes (P = 0.078). Therefore, patients with 14-15 metastatic lymph nodes were incorporated into a modified N3b classification. In the two-step multivariate analysis, the eighth N3 classification fell out of the model, while the modified N3 classification remained intact (HR 1.51, P < 0.001). Further analyses demonstrated that the modified TNM classification had superior homogeneity, discriminatory ability, and gradient monotonicity compared to the eighth TNM classification. CONCLUSIONS: For improved prognostic stratification, we recommend adjusting the cutoff for subclassification of N3 gastric cancer to 13 metastatic lymph nodes.

Genome-wide analysis of the Aquaporin gene family in reptiles.

Aquaporin (AQP) genes are widely distributed in plants, unicellular organisms, invertebrates and vertebrates. They play a critical role in the transport of water and other solutes across cell membranes. AQP genes have been identified and studied in many species but the AQPs of reptiles are unknown. Newly obtained genome assemblies provide an opportunity to identify the complete AQPs set and explore the evolutionary relationship of these genes. A total of 212 putative AQP genes were identified from 18 reptile species, including 20 partial genes and 192 intact genes. Phylogenetic results showed that 193 AQP genes could be classified into three major clades according to their subfamily. The divergence or phylogenetic distance between reptile AQP genes was closely related to traditional taxonomic groupings. Evolutionary analysis indicated the presence of positively selected sites in the AQP3 (P = 0.0104⁎⁎) and AQP7 (P = 0.0202⁎⁎) among land reptiles, suggesting their relationship to terrestrial environment adaptation.

CDK5RAP3 suppresses Wnt/ß-catenin signaling by inhibiting AKT phosphorylation in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: CDK5RAP3 was initially isolated as a binding protein of the CDK5 activator p35. Although CDK5RAP3 has been shown to negatively regulate the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in gastric cancer by repressing GSK-3ß phosphorylation, its in-depth mechanism has not been determined. METHODS: Following CDK5RAP3 overexpression or knock down, CDK5RAP3 signaling pathways were investigated in gastric cancer cells by Western Blotting. Cell growth, invasion and migration were also evaluated in gastric cancer cell lines. We analyzed CDK5RAP3, AKT, p-AKT (Ser473), GSK-3ß and p-GSK-3ß (Ser9) expression in gastric tumor samples and adjacent non-tumor tissues from 295 patients using immunohistochemistry and Western Blotting. The prognostic significance of CDK5RAP3 and p-AKT (Ser473) was confirmed by a Log-rank test. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that the expression of p-AKT (Ser473) and p-GSK-3ß (Ser9) was negatively correlated with CDK5RAP3 in stable gastric cancer cell lines. CDK5RAP3 repressed AKT phosphorylation, which promoted GSK-3ß phosphorylation, thereby suppressing ß-catenin protein expression and, consequently, gastric cancer. The protein level of CDK5RAP3 was markedly decreased in most gastric tumor tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues, and the levels of p-AKT (Ser473) and p-GSK-3ß (Ser9) were also negatively correlated with those of CDK5RAP3. The prognostic value of CDK5RAP3 for overall survival was found to be dependent on AKT phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that CDK5RAP3 negatively regulates the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway by repressing AKT phosphorylation, which leads to better survival of patients with gastric cancer.

Total glucosides of paeony suppresses experimental autoimmune uveitis in association with inhibition of Th1 and Th2 cell function in mice.

Total glucosides of paeony (TGP) are active components extracted from the roots of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. In this study, we investigated the role and mechanisms of TGP in experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) model of mice. The C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups: sham group, EAU-control group, and EAU-TGP group. Clinical score of images of the eye fundus were taken on 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after induction of EAU. The concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines in intraocular fluid were measured at 14 days after EAU induction with the use of a multiplex assay system. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the frequency of CD4+, CD8+, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and CD4+/CD8+ ratio in spleen and lymph nodes. Western blotting was used to measure expressions of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway-related proteins in retina. Clinical scores for uveitis were lower in TGP-treated EAU mice than those without TGP treatment. Importantly, the concentrations of cytokines induced by T-helper 1 (Th1) and T-helper 2 (Th2) cells in intraocular fluid were reduced in EAU mice treated with TGP. Furthermore, the frequency of CD4+, IFN-γ, and CD4+/CD8+ ratio was decreased and the frequency of CD8+ was increased in spleen and lymph nodes of mice treated with TGP. The anti-inflammatory effects of TGP were mediated by inhibiting the MAPK signaling pathways. Our results showed that TGP suppressed uveitis in mice via the inhibition of Th1 and Th2 cell function. Thus, TGP may be a promising therapeutic strategy for uveitis, as well as other ocular inflammatory diseases.

The prognostic relevance of parapyloric lymph node metastasis in Siewert type II/III adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognosis of patients with Siewert type II/III adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) with parapyloric lymph node (No. 5 and 6 lymph nodes, PLN) metastasis and to determine the need for PLN dissection for patients with type II/III AEG. METHODS: A total of 1008 patients with type II/III AEG who underwent a transabdominal total gastrectomy were enrolled. The long-term surgical outcome of PLN-positive patients and the therapeutic value of PLN dissection were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the incidence of PLN metastasis between type II and III cancers (5.7% vs. 8.5%, P > 0.05). PLN metastasis was a significant prognostic factor for type II/III cancers (HR 1.63; P = 0.001). Among type II/III cancers, the 5-year survival of patients with PLN-positive cancers was much lower than that of patients with PLN-negative cancers (21.3% vs. 60.8%, P < 0.001). Even after radical resection, the 5-year survival of patients with stage I-III PLN-positive cancers was similar to that of patients with stage IV cancers without PLN metastasis (23.5% vs. 23.1%, P > 0.05). In the analysis of the therapeutic value of lymph node dissection in each station for type II and III cancers after radical resection, lymph nodes with the lowest therapeutic value index after No. 12a were No. 5 and 6 lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with type II/III AEG with PLN metastasis have a poor prognosis, similar to patients with stage IV disease. PLN dissection offers marginal therapeutic value for patients with type II/III AEG.

[Effects of optimized fertilization on nematode community in greenhouse soils]. / 优化施肥对设施蔬菜地土壤线虫群落的影响.

Excessive fertilization easily leads to the degradation of greenhouse vegetable fields, therefore rational fertilizations are important to maintain the production and sustainable development of vegetable. In this study, two fertilization treatments (optimized fertilization and conventional fertilization, noted as OF and CF, respectively) under continuous tomato-pepper cropping were arranged to investigate soil physicochemical properties, abundance and trophic groups of nematode and vegetable yield. The results showed that OF could maintain soil pH at the relatively higher level and increase the yield of tomato and pepper by 9.0% and 6.9% compared to CF treatment. In contrast to CF, OF increased nematode quantity and the relative abundance of bacterivores, but decreased the relative abundance of fungivores and plant-parasites, more obviously in the growth season of tomato. No obvious differences in plant parasite index, diversity, and richness were observed between CF and OF treatments across all sampling stages of tomato and pepper. Nematode channel ratio ranged from 0.39 to 0.64 in CF treatment, which was significantly lower than that in OF treatment (0.67-0.84), suggesting that the decomposition of food network was dominated by fungi in CF treatment but by bacteria in OF treatment. Based on soil physicochemical properties, nematode groups and vegetable yield, we concluded that optimized fertilization could not only increase vegetable growth but also improve soil ecological environment.

[Effects of interaction between vermicompost and probiotics on soil nronerty, yield and quality of tomato].

In this study, we investigated the effects of two strains of probiotic bacteria (Bacillus megaterium BM and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BA) combined with chemical fertilizers and vermicompost on the soil property, the yield and quality of tomato. The results showed that under the same nutrient level, vermicompost significantly increased the yield, soluble sugar and protein contents of fruit, the soil pH and available phosphorus when compared with chemical fertilizers. Vermicompost combined with probiotics not only increased the tomato yield, soluble sugar, protein and vitamin C contents, sugar/acid ratio of fruit, and reduced the organic acid and nitrate nitrogen contents of fruit, also increased the soil pH and nitrate nitrogen content, and reduced soil electric conductivity when compared with vermicompost treatment. This improved efficiency was better than that by chemical fertilizers combined with probiotics. For BA and BM applied with chemical fertilizers or vermicompost, both stains had no significant effect on tomato quality. When co-applied with vermicompost, BA and BM showed significant difference in tomato yield. High soil available phosphorus content was determined when BM was combined with chemical fertilizers, while high soil available potassium content was obtained when BA was combined with vermicompost. Our results suggested that probiotics and vermicompost could be used as alternatives of chemical fertilizers in tomato production and soil fertility improvement.

[Influences of water-saved and nitrogen-reduced practice on soil microbial and microfauna assemblage in paddy field].

The resource and environmental problems caused by excessive consumption of water and fertilizer in rice production have recently aroused widespread concern. This study investigated the effects of irrigation modes (conventional irrigation and 25% water-saved irrigation) and different N application rates (conventional high-nitrogen fertilization and 40% nitrogen-reduced fertilization) on microbial and microfauna assemblages at tillering and ripening stages in paddy field. The results showed that compared with conventional irrigation (CF), water-saved irrigation (WS) decreased the soil pH at tillering stage. Soil dissolved organic matter (dissolved organic C and N) and microbial biomass C and N were significantly affected by irrigation, nitrogen fertilizer and their interactions. WS or N-reduced fertilization (LN) decreased the contents of dissolved organic matter; WS increased microbial biomass C but decreased microbial biomass N. Nitrate was significantly higher in WS than CF, while ammonium showed reverse pattern. At tillering stage, the soil microbial biomass from bacteria, fungi, actinomy and protozoa was higher in WS than in CF, but the trend was opposite at ripening stage. There was a significant interation between irrigation and fertilization on soil rotifer numbers and microbial-feeding nematodes. At tillering stage, WS increased the numbers of rotifer and nematode, and also the proportion of bacterial-feeding nematode; LN increased the abundance of rotifer but decreased the abundance of nematode. In summary, soil microbial and microfauna assemblages showed different response to water-saved and nitrogen-reduced agricultural managements, which depended on different crop growth stages, but also the complex interactions of water and nitrogen and between biological groups in food webs.

[Influences of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer on soil nematode assemblage of upland red soil].

The use of biochar as soil remediation amendment has received more and more concerns, but little attention has been paid to its effect on soil fauna. Based on the field experiment in an upland red soil, we studied the influences of different application rates of biochar (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 t · hm⁻²) and nitrogen fertilizer (60, 90, 120 kg N · hm⁻²) on soil basic properties and nematode assemblages during drought and wet periods. Our results showed that the biochar amendment significantly affect soil moisture and pH regardless of drought or wet period. With the increasing of biochar application, soil pH significantly increased, while soil moisture increased first and then decreased. Soil microbial properties (microbial biomass C, microbial biomass N, microbial biomass C/N, basal respiration) were also significantly affected by the application of biochar and N fertilizer. Low doses of biochar could stimulate the microbial activity, while high doses depressed microbial activity. For example, averaged across different N application rates, biochar amendment at less than 30 t · hm⁻² could increase microbial activity in the drought and wet periods. Besides, the effects of biochar also depended on wet or drought period. When the biochar application rate higher than 30 t · hm⁻², the microbial biomass C was significantly higher in the drought period than the control, but no differences were observed in the wet period. On the contrary, microbial biomass N showed a reverse pattern. Dissolved organic matter and mineral N were affected by biochar and N fertilizer significantly in the drought period, however, in the wet period they were only affected by N fertilizer rather than biochar. There was significant interaction between biochar and N fertilizer on soil nematode abundance and nematode trophic composition independent of sampling period. Combined high doses of both biochar and N fertilization promoted soil nematode abundance. Moreover, the biochar amendment increased the proportion of fungivores especially in the drought period, suggesting the biochar was the preferred fungal energy channel in comparison to soil without biochar addition. In summary, complex patterns occurred not only due to the application rate of biochar as well as their interactions with N fertilization but also due to the drought and wet periods. It is, therefore, necessary to consider different ecological factors when evaluating the effects of biochar in future.

[Vermicomposting of different organic materials and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopic characterization of their dissolved organic matter].

In this experiment, different proportions of the cattle manure, tea-leaf, herb and mushroom residues, were used as food for earthworm (Eisenia fetida) to study the growth of the earth-worm. Then the characteristics and transformation of nutrient content and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence (3DEEM) of dissolved organic matter (DOM) during vermistabilization were investigated by means of chemical and spectroscopic methods. The result showed that the mixture of different ratios of cattle manure with herb residue, and cattle manure with tea-leaf were conducive to the growth of earthworm, while the materials compounded with mushroom residue inhibited the growth of earthworm. With the increasing time of verimcomposting, the pH in vermicompost tended to be circumneutral and weakly acidic, and there were increases in electrical conductivity, and the contents of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available nitrogen, and available phosphorus, while the total potassium and available potassium increased first and then decreased, and the organic matter content decreased. 3DEEM and fluorescence regional integration results indicated that, the fluorescence of protein-like fluorescence peaks declined significantly, while the intensity of humic-like fluorescence peak increased significantly in DOM. Vermicomposting process might change the compositions of DOM with elevated concentrations of humic acid and fulvic acid in the organics. In all, this study suggested the suitability of 3DEEM for monitoring the organics transformation and assessing the maturity in the vermicomposting.

[Responses of soil nematode communities to long-term application of inorganic fertilizers in upland red soil].

Soil biota plays a key role in ecosystem functioning of red soil. Based on the long-term inorganic fertilization field experiment (25-year) in an upland red soil, the impacts of different inorganic fertilization managements, including NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers), NPKCaS (NPK plus gypsum fertilizers), NP (nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers), NK (nitrogen and potassium fertilizers) and PK (phosphorus and potassium fertilizers), on the assemblage of soil nematodes during the growing period of peanut were investigated. Significant differences among the treatments were observed for total nematode abundance, trophic groups and ecological indices (P < 0.01). The total nematode abundance decreased in the order of PK > NPKCaS > NPK > NP > NK. The total number of nematodes was significantly higher in NPKCaS and PK than in NPK, NP and NK except in May. Plant parasitic nematodes were the dominant trophic group in all treatments excepted in NPKCaS, and their proportion ranged between 38% and 65%. The dominant trophic group in NPKCaS was bacterivores and represented 42.1%. Furthermore, the higher values of maturity index, Wasilewska index and structure index in NPKCaS indicated that the combined application of NPK and gypsum could remarkably relieve soil acidification, resulting in a more mature and stable soil food web structure. While, that of the NK had the opposite effect. In conclusion, our study suggested that the application of both gypsum and phosphate is an effective practice to improve soil quality. Moreover, the analysis of nematode assemblage is relevant to reflect the impact of different inorganic fertilizer on the red soil ecosystem.

[Effects of phytase transgenic corn planting on soil nematode community].

A healthy soil ecosystem is essential for nutrient cycling and energy conversion, and the impact of exogenous genes from genetically modified crops had aroused wide concerns. Phytase transgenic corn (i. e., the inbred line BVLA430101) was issued a bio-safety certificate on 27 September 2009 in China, which could improve the efficiency of feed utilization, reduce environmental pollution caused by animal manure. In this study, the abundance of trophic groups, community structure and ecological indices of soil nematodes were studied over the growing cycle of phytase transgenic corn (ab. transgenic corn) and control conventional parental corn (ab. control corn) in the field. Totally 29 and 26 nematode genera were isolated from transgenic corn and control corn fields, respectively. The abundances of bacterivores and omnivores-predators, the total number of soil nematodes, and the Shannon index (H) were significantly greater under transgenic corn than under control corn, while the opposite trend was found for the relative abundance of herbivores and the maturity index (Sigma MI) of soil nematodes. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) did not detect any significant effects of transgenic corn on the composition and abundance of nematode trophic groups and ecological indices of soil nematodes. Furthermore, the Student-T test showed that the abundances of bacterivores and omnivores-predators and the total number of soil nematodes during the milk-ripe stage were significant higher in the transgenic corn field than in the control corn field. The effects of transgenic corn planting on soil nematodes might be related to the increase in the nitrogen content of field soil under transgenic corn compared to control corn.

[Interactions of straw, nitrogen fertilizer and bacterivorous nematodes on soil labile carbon and nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions].

A 3 x 2 factorial design of microcosm experiment was conducted to investigate the interactive effects of straw, nitrogen fertilizer and bacterivorous nematodes on soil microbial biomass carbon (C(mic)) and nitrogen (N(mic)), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), mineral nitrogen (NH(4+)-N and NO(3-)-N), and greenhouse gas (CO2, N2O and CH4) emissions. Results showed that straw amendment remarkably increased the numbers of bacterivorous nematodes and the contents of Cmic and Nmic, but Cmic and Nmic decreased with the increasing dose of nitrogen fertilization. The effects of bacterivorous nematodes strongly depended on either straw or nitrogen fertilization. The interactions of straw, nitrogen fertilization and bacterivorous nematodes on soil DOC, DON and mineral nitrogen were strong. Straw and nitrogen fertilization increased DOC and mineral nitrogen contents, but their influences on DON depended on the bacterivorous nematodes. The DOC and mineral nitrogen were negatively and positively influenced by the bacterivorous nematodes, re- spectively. Straw significantly promoted CO2 and N2O emissions but inhibited CH4 emission, while interactions between nematodes and nitrogen fertilization on emissions of greenhouse gases were obvious. In the presence of straw, nematodes increased cumulative CO2 emissions with low nitrogen fertilization, but decreased CO2 and N2O emissions with high nitrogen fertilization on the 56th day after incubation. In summary, mechanical understanding the soil ecological process would inevitably needs to consider the roles of soil microfauna.

Piggyback implantation using Toric intraocular lens in high myopia / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

To assess the postoperative outcomes of piggyback implantation using Acrysof Toric intraocular lens ( lOL ) in high myopia combined with corneal astigmatism. ●METHODS: Sixty patients who had phacoemulsification with lOL implantation due to high myopia, cataract and corneal astigmatism from January 2010 to June 2013 were randomly divided into observation group (piggyback Toric lOL implantation, both an Acrysoft lQ Toric lOL and a minus foldable acrylic three piece lOL were implanted in the capsular bag, n= 30) and control group (foldable lOL implantation, n = 30). Postoperative follow - up went on 6mo. lnformation collected included uncorrected visual acuity ( UCVA), lOL position, residual astigmatism and complications. ● RESULTS: The UCVA increased from 3. 52 ± 0. 03 preoperatively to 4. 78±0. 01 at 6mo postoperatively in the observation group, from 3. 51±0. 03 preoperatively to 4. 30± 0. 13 at 6mo postoperatively in the control group. The observation group's postoperative UCVA was better than that of the control group. There was statistically significant difference ( t = 3. 612, P ●CONCLUSlON: Piggyback implantation using Toric lOL can help to solve the problem of no matching Toric lOL power for the high myopia combined with corneal astigmatism at the current stage. lt improves the UCVA and reduces the astigmatism after the cataract surgery.

[Effects of nitrogen fertilization and straw amendment on soil microbial biomass and soil functions after heat stress].

A 60-day incubation experiment was conducted to study the effects of nitrogen fertilization (N), rice straw amendment (R), and their combination (RN) on the changes of soil microbial biomass and soil functions (basal respiration, substrate-induced respiration, and straw decomposition) after heat stress (40 degrees C for 18 h). Heat stress tended to promote the soil microbial biomass and soil functions, but the effects were weak and transient. Either with or without heating, treatment R and especially RN could greatly stimulate soil microbial biomass, basal respiration, substrate-induced respiration and straw decomposition, as compared to no straw amendment and with nitrogen fertilization alone, but the parameters in treatment N had less change, and even, presented a decreasing trend. It was suggested that straw amendment and its combination with nitrogen fertilization could improve soil functions in natural conditions or after environmental stress.