Long-term effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the performance and microbial community structures of an anaerobic granular sludge system

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) released into the sewage may cause negative and/or positive effects on the treatment system. The objective of this study was to explore over 110 days’ effect of MWCNTs on the performance of anaerobic granular sludge and microbial community structures in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The results showed that MWCNTs had no significant effect on the removal of chemical oxidation demand (COD) and ammonia in UASB reactor, but the total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiency increased by 29.34%. The biogas production of the reactor did not change. The anaerobic granular sludge tended to excrete more EPS to resist the effects of MWCNTs during the long-term impact. Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene revealed that MWCNTs did not affect the microbial diversity, but altered the composition and structure of microbial community in the reactor. In this process, Saccharibacteria replaced Proteobacteria as the highest abundant bacterial phylum. MWCNTs promoted the differentiation of methanogen structure, resulting in increase of Methanomassiliicoccus, Methanoculleus, and the uncultured WCHA1–57. These results indicated that MWCNTs impacted the performance of UASB reactor and the structures of the microbial community in anaerobic granular sludge.

     

Genome Characteristics of the Cyclophragma Undans Nucleopolyhedrovirus: A Distinct Species in Group Ⅰ of Alphabaculovirus

The Cyclophragma undans nucleopolyhedrovirus(Cyun NPV), a potential pest control agent, was isolated from Cyclophragma undans(Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), an important forest pest. In the present study, we performed detailed genome analysis of Cyun NPV and compared its genome to those of other Group Ⅰ alphabaculoviruses. Sequencing of the Cyun NPV genome using the Roche 454 sequencing system generated 142,900 bp with a G + C content of 45%. Genome analysis predicted a total of 147 hypothetical open reading frames comprising 38 baculoviral core genes, 24 lepidopteran baculovirus conserved genes, nine Group Ⅰ Alphabaculovirus conserved genes, 71 common genes, and five genes that are unique to Cyun NPV. In addition, the genome contains 13 homologous repeated sequences(hrs). Phylogenetic analysis groups Cyun NPV under a distinct branch within clade ‘‘a' of Group Ⅰ in the genus Alphabaculovirus. Unlike other members of Group Ⅰ, Cyun NPV harbors only nine of the 11 genes previously determined to be specific to Group Ⅰ viruses.Furthermore, the Cyun NPV lacks the tyrosine phosphatase gene and the ac30 gene. The Cyun NPV F-like protein contains two insertions of continuous polar amino acids, one at the conventional fusion peptide and a second insertion at the pretransmembrane domain. The insertions are likely to affect the fusion function and suggest an evolutionary process that led to inactivation of the F-like protein. The above findings imply that Cyun NPV is a distinct species under Group Ⅰ Alphabaculovirus.     

Effect of Yulangsan Polysaccharide on the Reinstatement of Morphine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Sprague–Dawley Rats

We previously reported that Yulangsan polysaccharide (YLSP), which was isolated from the root of Millettia pulchra Kurz, attenuates withdrawal symptoms of morphine dependence by regulating the nitric oxide pathway and modulating monoaminergic neurotransmitters. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of YLSP on the reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. A CPP procedure was employed to assess the behavior of rats, and indicators of serum and four brain regions (nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex) were determined to explore its underlying mechanism. YLSP inhibited priming morphine-induced reinstatement of CPP in a dose-dependent manner. YLSP markedly reduced nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase levels in the brain. Moreover, YLSP significantly decreased the dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the serum and brain. Furthermore, YLSP significantly decreased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) concentrations, inhibited the expression of dopamine D1 receptors and cAMP response element binding protein mRNA, and improved the expression of dopamine D2 receptor mRNA in the four brain regions. Our findings indicated that YLSP could inhibit the reinstatement of morphine-induced CPP possibly by modulating the NO-cGMP and D1R-cAMP signaling pathways.     

Research progress on the immune mechanism of the silkworm Bombyx mori

The silkworm Bombyx mori L., representing an important economic insect and one of the best models for studying insect immunity, possesses an efficient and sophisticated innate immune system against invasive microorganisms. The innate immune system basically includes humoural immunity and cellular immunity. The humoural immunity, which functions via molecules including humoural factors, lysozymes, phenoloxidase, hemolin, lectins and, in particular, antimicrobial peptides, plays a central role in eliminating the invading pathogens. The cellular immunity is primarily carried out and mediated by plasmatocytes and granular cells of haemocytes in the haemolymph, usually followed by melanization. Additionally, apoptosis, a primary viral defence for insects lacking adaptive immunity, comprises an important part of the silkworm immune system. Currently, there is still the lack of a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the molecular mechanisms of silkworm immunity. We review the latest research progress on silkworm immune mechanisms, including phenoloxidase‐dependent melanization and apoptosis, which is conducive to improving our understanding of the silkworm immune mechanism, clarifying the relationship of various immune mechanisms, and also providing a theoretical basis and reference for the future research of insect immunity.     

Efficacy Comparison of Six Chemotherapeutic Combinations for Osteosarcoma and Ewing's Sarcoma Treatment: A Network Meta‐Analysis

This study aimed to address the insufficiency of traditional meta‐analysis and provide improved guidelines for the clinical practice of osteosarcoma treatment. The heterogeneity of the fixed‐effect model was calculated, and when necessary, a random‐effect model was adopted. Furthermore, the direct and indirect evidence was pooled together and exhibited in the forest plot and slash table. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) value was also measured to rank each intervention. Finally, heat plot was introduced to demonstrate the contribution of each intervention and the inconsistency between direct and indirect comparisons. This network meta‐analysis included 32 trials, involving a total of 5,626 subjects reported by 28 articles. All the treatments were classified into six chemotherapeutic combinations: dual agent with or without ifosfamide (IFO), multi‐agent with or without IFO, and dual agent or multi‐agent with IFO and etoposide. For the primary outcomes, both overall survival (OS) and event‐free survival (EFS) rates were considered. The multi‐agent integrated with IFO and etoposide showed an optimal performance for 5‐year OS, 10‐year OS, 3‐year EFS, 5‐year EFS, and 10‐year EFS when compared with placebo. The SUCRA value of this treatment was also the highest of these six interventions. However, multi‐drug with IFO alone had the highest SUCRA value of 0.652 and 0.516 when it came to relapse and lung‐metastasis. It was efficient to some extent, but no significant difference was observed in both outcomes. Chemotherapy, applied as induction or adjuvant treatment with radiation therapy or surgery, is able to increase the survival rate of patients, especially by combining multi‐drug with IFO and etoposide, which demonstrated the best performance in both OS and EFS. As for relapse and the lung‐metastasis, multiple agents with IFO alone seemed to have the optimal efficiency, although no significant difference was observed here. J. Cell. Biochem. 119: 250–259, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

生态环境损害鉴定评估业务化技术研究

随着社会经济的不断发展和人类需求的不断提高,我国生态环境损害事件屡有发生,由于人类活动导致的典型生态系统结构和功能退化、生态系统服务降低等生态环境损害严重威胁到我国的生态安全。系统研究典型生态系统生态环境损害基线、因果关系及损害程度的判定技术方法对保障国家生态安全和实现可持续发展具有重要的理论和实践意义。根据国家"十三五"《典型脆弱生态修复与保护研究专项指南》的要求,中国科学院大学牵头组织6家课题牵头单位联合申报了"生态环境损害鉴定评估业务化技术研究"项目,通过了专业机构组织的评审,获准立项。本文对该项目的研究背景、总体目标、主要内容及预期产出进行了介绍。该项目的开展将对典型生态环境损害评估提供决策支持,为国家在政策层面解决环境损害追责、环境执法与管理提供科学技术和平台支撑。     

Deciphering primate retinal aging at single-cell resolution

Dear Editor, The retina is a light-sensitive highly-organized tissue,which is vulnerable to aging and age-related retinal diseases.Specifically,progressive retinal degeneration leads to visual function deterioration and vision impairment in the elderly(Lin et al.,2016).In diseases such as age-related macular degeneration(AMD),retinitis pigmentosa(RP)and diabetic retinopathy(DR),pathological process lacking effective treatments profoundly and negatively impact on the quality of life in the elderly(Lin et al.,2016;Chen et al.,2019).Thus,an in-depth molecular assessment of the mechanisms driv-ing retinal aging is of urgent scientific and medical importance.     

外源钙对干旱胁迫下桔梗幼苗生理特性和桔梗品质的影响

【目的】干旱胁迫抑制药用植物光合色素合成,降低植株光合活性、光合碳同化效率,阻碍养分运输,严重影响药材的产量和品质。钙是植物生理活动中多种酶的活化剂,同时Ca2+作为细胞内第二信使与植物非生物胁迫密切相关。揭示外源钙缓解桔梗干旱胁迫伤害的潜在生理机制,对利用外源钙提高干旱、半干旱地区桔梗耐旱性和药用品质具有重要意义。【方法】以桔梗幼苗为材料,采用盆栽试验在干旱条件下叶面喷施10 mmol/L CaCl2,研究外源钙对桔梗幼苗生长、光合气体交换参数、抗氧化酶活性及药用部位品质等的影响。【结果】（1）外源钙处理能促进干旱胁迫下桔梗根长和干鲜生物量显著增加。（2）外源钙使干旱胁迫下桔梗叶片气孔开度、叶绿素a含量、总叶绿素含量、类胡萝卜素含量、净光合速率（Pn）、气孔导度（Gs）和蒸腾速率（Tr）分别显著增加30.28%、57.67%、44.44%、100.33%、89.53%、60.00%和83.11%。（3）外源钙使干旱胁迫下桔梗叶片丙二醛（MDA）、过氧化氢（H2O2）含量分别显著降低13.82%和18.66%,同时使干旱胁迫下桔梗叶片中过氧化物酶（POD）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性分别增加了25.43%、7.90%和33.92%。（4）外源钙不仅促进桔梗根中药用成分皂苷D、多糖、总黄酮、游离氨基酸在正常条件下分别显著增加35.34%,34.87%,4.19%和6.52%,还使它们在干旱胁迫处理下分别显著增加10.94%、7.53%、6.07%和5.78%。（5）外源钙提高了干旱胁迫下桔梗根中可溶性蛋白含量,以及地上部和地下部矿质元素含量。【结论】喷施10 mmol/L CaCl2能进一步激发干旱环境中桔梗叶片抗氧化系统的保护作用,通过渗透调节提高光合色素含量和光合性能,协同促进次生代谢产物和矿质元素累积,改善药用部位品质,从而缓解干旱对桔梗幼苗的伤害。     

花生幼苗对重复干旱胁迫的生理响应

防雨棚内设盆栽试验,设置对照(Control,75%田间持水量)、干旱胁迫(D,35%)、重复干旱胁迫(D_D,35%)3个处理,探讨花生幼苗对预干旱胁迫的适应和记忆响应,分析预干旱对缓解重复干旱胁迫危害的生理作用。结果表明,与干旱胁迫处理相比,重复干旱胁迫提高了叶片的相对含水量,减少脯氨酸的积累,降低MDA和O·_2~-含量;抗氧化酶SOD、CAT活性降低,其中POD活性降低最为明显,并在复水后恢复到与对照相同水平或低于对照。与正常水分的对照相比,干旱胁迫显著降低叶片光合速率(P_N)、最大光合势能(P_C)、最大光量子产量(Y_Q),但重复干旱处理在重复干旱胁迫时期和复水后P_N、P_C和Y_Q均高于干旱处理。预干旱胁迫导致光合和气孔导度滞后面积、滞后率(H_P和H_g)增加,经过预干旱胁迫后,重复干旱显著降低光合和气孔导度滞后面积和滞后率。预干旱胁迫提高植株在重复干旱胁迫下叶片含水量,减轻重复干旱对植株造成的生理伤害,在光合作用上提高对重复干旱的抵御能力,并在复水后快速恢复到正常水分条件下植株生长水平,减少干旱对植株的不利影响。因此,预干旱胁迫促使花生幼苗具备适应或可记忆初始胁迫的能力,重复干旱胁迫时表现更为迅速和强烈的生理防御和快速的生理恢复机制。