[Tracking Riverine Nitrate Sources and Transformations in the Yiluo River Basin by Nitrogen and Oxygen Isotopes].

The impacts of natural processes and anthropogenic input on riverine nitrate (NO-3) could be identified by NO-3 concentrations and nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratios (δ15N-NO-3 and δ18O-NO-3); however, the effects of variable land use on riverine NO-3 sources and transformations remain unclear. In particular, the human impacts on riverine NO-3 in mountain areas are still unknown. The Yihe River and Luohe River were used to elucidate this question due to their spatially heterogeneous land use. Hydrochemical compositions, water isotope ratios (δD-H2O and δ18O-H2O), and δ15N-NO-3 and δ18O-NO-3 values were utilized to constrain the NO-3 sources and transformations affected by different land use types. The results indicated that ① the mean nitrate concentrations in the Yihe River and Luohe River waters were 6.57 and 9.29 mg·L-1, the mean values of δ15N-NO-3 were 9.6‰ and 10.4‰, and the average δ18O-NO-3 values were -2.2‰ and -2.7‰, respectively. Based on the analysis of δ15N-NO-3 and δ18O-NO-3 values, the NO-3 in the Yihe and Luohe Rivers were derived from multiple sources, and nitrogen removal existed in the Luohe River, but the biological removal in the Yihe River was weak. ② The contributions of different nitrate sources were calculated using a Bayesian isotope mixing model (BIMM) based on δ15N-NO-3 and δ18O-NO-3 values of river water in the mainstream and tributaries with spatial locations. The results revealed that sewage and manure had major impacts on riverine nitrate in the upper reaches of both the Luohe River and Yihe River, where forest vegetation was widely distributed. However, the contributions from soil organic nitrogen and chemical fertilizer were higher in the upper reaches than in downstream ones. The contributions of sewage and manure still increased in the downstream reaches. Our results confirmed the primary impacts of point sources, e.g., sewage and manure, on riverine nitrate in the studied area, and the contributions of nonpoint sources, e.g., chemical fertilizer, had not increased as the agricultural activities elevated the downstream. Therefore, more attention should be paid to point source pollution treatment, and the high-quality development of ecological civilization in the Yellow River Basin should be maintained.

Efficacy and safety of retention enema with traditional Chinese medicine for ulcerative colitis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of retention enema with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for ulcerative colitis (UC) through a meta-analysis of published studies. METHODS: Literatures were retrieved from five electronic databases. Quality evaluation and meta-analysis were respectively conducted using the Cochrane collaboration and RevMan5.3. Overall quality of evidence was evaluated using GRADE system. Effect sizes were pooled using random effect models. RESULTS: Seventeen RCTs were included. Compared with routine pharmacotherapies (RPs), TCM enema exhibited a statistically significant difference in clinical efficacy and reduction of the recurrence rate. The results of qualitative description for other endpoints, such as improvements in anabrosis, ulcer, diarrhea, and hematochezia, suggested that TCM enema had better efficacy than RPs. Furthermore, the incidence of side effects in TCM was lower than that in RPs. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis confirmed the efficacy and safety of TCM enema for improving UC symptoms. However, further well-designed researches are needed.

Functional characterization and regulatory mechanism of wheat CPK34 kinase in response to drought stress.

BACKGROUND: Drought is one of the most adverse environmental factors limiting crop productions and it is important to identify key genetic determinants for food safety. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) are known to be involved in plant growth, development, and environmental stresses. However, biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of many plant CPKs have not been explored. In our previous study, abundance of the wheat CPK34 (TaCPK34) protein was remarkably upregulated in wheat plants suffering from drought stress, inferring that it could be involved in this stress. Therefore, here we further detected its function and mechanism in response to drought stress. RESULTS: Transcripts of the TaCPK34 gene were significantly induced after PEG-stimulated water deficiency (20% PEG6000) or 100 µM abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. The TaCPK34 gene was transiently silenced in wheat genome by using barley stripe mosaic virus-induced silencing (BSMV-VIGS) method. After 14 days of drought stress, the transiently TaCPK34-silenced wheat seedlings showed more sensitivity compared with control, and the plant biomasses and relative water contents significantly decreased, whereas soluble sugar and MDA contents increased. The iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics was employed to measure the protein expression profiles in leaves of the transiently TaCPK34-silenced wheat plants after drought stress. There were 6103 proteins identified, of these, 51 proteins exhibited significantly altered abundance, they were involved in diverse function. And sequence analysis on the promoters of genes, which encoded the above identified proteins, indicated that some promoters harbored some ABA-responsive elements. We determined the interactions between TaCPK34 and three identified proteins by using bimolecular fluorescent complementation (BiFC) method and our data indicated that TaCPK34directly interacted with the glutathione S-transferase 1 and prx113, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that the TaCPK34 gene played positive roles in wheat response to drought stress through directly or indirectly regulating the expression of ABA-dependent manner genes, which were encoding identified proteins from iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics. And it could be used as one potential gene to develop crop cultivars with improved drought tolerance.

Clinical and prognostic significance of MYH11 in lung cancer.

Myosin heavy chain 11 (MYH11), encoded by the MYH11 gene, is a protein that participates in muscle contraction through the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate. Although previous studies have demonstrated that MYH11 gene expression levels are downregulated in several types of cancer, its expression levels have rarely been investigated in lung cancer. The present study aimed to explore the clinical significance and prognostic value of MYH11 expression levels in lung cancer and to further study the underlying molecular mechanisms of the function of this gene. The Oncomine database showed that the MYH11 expression levels were decreased in lung cancer compared with those noted in the normal lung tissue (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier plotter results revealed that the decreased MYH11 expression levels were correlated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients. Among the lung cancer cases with gene alteration of MYH11, mutation was the most common of all alteration types. Coexpedia and Metascape analyses revealed that the target genes were primarily enriched in 'muscle contraction', 'contractile fiber part', 'actin cytoskeleton' and the 'adherens junction'. These results indicated that MYH11 is a potential novel drug target and prognostic indicator of lung cancer.

Significant elevation of serum caspase-3 levels in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Caspase-3 is a potential marker of apoptosis. We investigated whether serum caspase-3 concentrations were increased and its association with severity and prognosis after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). METHODS: This prospective clinical study recruited 112 ICH patients and 112 healthy individuals. Serum was assayed for caspase-3 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Stroke severity was quantified by National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and hematoma volume. Six-month outcome was measured by modified Rankin Scale. Analyses were performed using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Patients had significantly higher serum caspase-3 concentrations than controls. Capase-3 concentrations correlated with NIHSS score and hematoma volume. Serum caspase-3 emerged as an independent predictor for 6-month mortality and bad prognosis (modified Rankin scale score>2). Based on receiver operating characteristic curve, caspase-3 concentrations showed similar prognostic value when compared with NIHSS score and hematoma volume. CONCLUSION: Serum caspase-3 concentrations are increased in ICH patients as well as correlate with clinical severity and prognosis.

[Signifiance of brush sign on susceptibility-weighted imaging predicts hemorrhagic transformation after intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke].

OBJECTIVE: To assess brush sign (BS) on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in prediction of hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) after intravenous thrombolysis(IVT). METHODS: Patients with acute cerebral ischemic stroke, who had major cerebral artery occlusion (internal carotid artery, middle cerebral artery M1 and M2), treated with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) from August 2009 to October 2014 in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent SWI scanning. The asymmetry index (AI) was defined as the difference of intensity between ischemic and normal hemispheres on the SWI phase map; according to AI values patients were divided into 3 groups: BS=0(n=9), BS=1 (n=39) and BS=2 (n=18). The relationships between BS and HT and the clinical outcome among the 3 groups were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients aged 68 ± 13 years were included in the study, including 44 males (67%) and 22 females (33%), and 44 (67%) with acute ischemic stroke. The mean pre-treatment National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 13 (6-17), and the onset to needle time was (252 ± 88) min. Twenty-six (39.4%) patients had HT, including 18 cases (27.3%) with HI and 8 cases (12.1%) with PH; BS was observed more frequently in HT group than non-HT group. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that BS was independently associated with HT of patients with acute ischemic stroke following IVT (OR=2.589, 95% CI: 1.080-6.210, P=0.033). In those without reperfusion after IVT, patients with higher BS grade had higher HT rate (P=0.023). CONCLUSION: Brush sign on SWI can be used for predicting hemorrhagic transformation after intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

[Older age is not related to hemorrhagic transformation and favorable outcomes in patients with wake-up ischemic stroke undergoing intravenous thrombolytic therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors related to hemorrhagic transformation and favorable outcomes in wake-up ischemic stroke (WUIS) patients undergoing intravenous thrombolytic therapy. METHODS: Clinical data of 600 patients undergoing multimodal image-guided intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) therapy in Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine center from May 2009 to May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Among 600 patients, 68 were diagnosed as WUIS including 17 cases aged 80 or older. Hemorrhagic transformation within the first 24 h after thrombolysis was assessed according to ECASS II criteria. Favorable outcome was defined as three-month modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0-3. Univariate and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors of hemorrhagic transformation and poor clinical outcomes in WUIS patients. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that WUIS patients aged ≥ 80 years had a lower rate in males (41.2% vs 76.5%, P=0.007), smokers (11.8% vs 43.1%, P=0.019) and favorable outcome (52.9% vs 78.4%, P=0.043); and a higher rate of cardiac embolism (64.7% vs 35.3%, P=0.034) compared with those aged <80 years. Binary logistic regression showed that age was not an independent risk factor for favorable outcome (OR=0.524, 95% CI:0.141-1.953, P=0.336) or hemorrhagic transformation (OR=1.039, 95% CI: 0.972-1.111, P=0.262). CONCLUSION: Older age is not related to the favorable outcome or hemorrhagic transformation in WUIS patients undergoing multimodal image-guided intravenous thrombolytic therapy.