Stage-dependent plasticity in biomass allocation and allometry in response to population density in Abutilon theophrasti: a step forward to understanding the nature of phenotypic plasticity

Plant Ecology - How plants respond to density via modular plasticity is obscure, probably because relevant studies using covariance analysis (ANCOVA) and allometric analysis rarely focus on...     

Advancement and properties of circular RNAs in prostate cancer: An emerging and compelling frontier for discovering

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common carcinoma among men worldwide which results in 26% of leading causes of cancer-related death. However, the ideal and effective molecular marker remains elusive. CircRNA, initially observed in plant-infected viruses and Sendai virus in 1979, is generated from pre-mRNA back-splicing and comes in to play by adequate expression. The differential expression in prostate tissues compared with the control reveals the promising capacity in modulating processes including carcinogenesis and metastasis. However, the biological mechanisms of regulatory network in PC needs to systemically concluded. In this review, we enlightened the comprehensive studies on the definite mechanisms of circRNAs affecting tumor progression and metastasis. What''s more, we validated the potential clinical application of circRNAs serving as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. The discussion and analysis in circRNAs will broaden our knowledge of the pathogenesis of PC and further optimize the current therapies against different condition.     

Breast milk contains probiotics with anti-infantile diarrhoea effects that may protect infants as they change to solid foods

Infants often experience complementary food-induced diarrhoea (CFID), which occurs when infants switch from breast milk to solid foods. The relative abundances of Prevotella and Rothia were higher in stools of infants with CFID, while the relative abundances of Enterococcus and Escherichia were higher in healthy infants. The abundance of Lactobacillus spp. normally found in breast milk fed to infants with CFID was significantly reduced, and Enterococcus spp. were less abundant when diarrhoea occurred. Furthermore, Lactobacillus and Enterococcus were present as shared bacteria in both mother and infant, and they were considered potential anti-CFID probiotics as their relative abundances in breast milk were negatively correlated to infant CFID. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) functional analysis showed that the function of amino acid metabolism differed between infants with CFID and healthy infants. Therefore, CFID might be related to the decomposition of proteins in food supplements. The screening revealed seven hydrolytic casein and five hydrolytic casein and rice protein isolates from 320 suspected Lactobacillus and Enterococcus isolates. The animal experiments demonstrated that a mixture of five isolates effectively hydrolysed the casein and rice protein and prevented diarrhoea in young rats. Thus, the occurrence of CFID was found to be closely related to the intestinal and breast milk microbiota, and bacteria that could assist in the digestion of cereal proteins were involved in CFID.     

A review of the botany,traditional uses,phytochemistry and pharmacology of Nepeta tenuifolia Briq.

Phytochemistry Reviews - Nepeta tenuifolia (N. tenuifolia) is a common aromatic herb that is widespread in East Asia. The aerial parts and spikes can be used as the traditional phytomedicines for...     

Dynamically Tunable Plasmon-induced Transparency in a T-shaped Cavity Waveguide Based on Bulk Dirac Semimetals

We propose a dynamically tunable surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) waveguide system based on bulk Dirac semimetals (BDS) containing only a side-coupled T-shaped cavity. Plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) is achieved in the terahertz band by introducing a position offset. We have analytically investigated the spectral characteristics of PIT in this system, indicating that the larger the position offset, the higher the peak of the PIT window. The spectrum responses of PIT system can be flexibly regulated via transforming the geometric parameters of the structure. At the same time, it is particularly sensitive to the refractive index of the surrounding medium, which is promising for sensing devices. In addition, the resonance frequency and peak transmission can be actively adjusted by controlling the Fermi energy of the BDS without reconstructing the geometric structure. Moreover, the optical delay time near the PIT peak reaches 11.001 ps, which has good slow-light characteristics and is a candidate in the field of slow-light equipment. The structure we designed may have potential application value in the design of SPPs light-guide devices.

     

葛根芩连汤对泄泻肠道湿热证小鼠肠道双糖酶活性的影响

目的探究葛根芩连汤对泄泻肠道湿热证小鼠肠道双糖酶活性的影响。方法采用“高糖高脂+高温高湿+白酒复合灌胃冰水”的方法制备泄泻肠道湿热证小鼠模型,并运用葛根芩连汤进行干预治疗。分别在干预的第0、2、4、6天无菌采集各组小鼠肠黏膜,运用DNS法测定蔗糖酶活性,ONPG法测定乳糖酶活性,观察葛根芩连汤对泄泻肠道湿热证小鼠肠道双糖酶活性的影响。结果经肠道湿热泄泻造模后,小鼠肠道前段和后段黏膜的乳糖酶和蔗糖酶活性均显著下降,与正常组小鼠相比差异有统计学意义(均P<0.01)。随着治疗时间的延长,治疗组小鼠肠道乳糖酶和蔗糖酶活性与正常组相比有显著的提高(均P<0.05),治疗6 d后,肠道前段黏膜蔗糖酶和乳糖酶活性恢复至正常组水平(P>0.05)。肠道后段乳糖酶活性在第4天时最高,后段黏膜蔗糖酶活性在第6天时最高,与正常组和自愈组相比差异有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。结论泄泻肠道湿热证造模使小鼠肠道黏膜蔗糖酶、乳糖酶等双糖酶的活性显著下降,葛根芩连汤能调节泄泻肠道湿热证小鼠肠道黏膜乳糖酶和蔗糖酶的活性,从而发挥治疗泄泻肠道湿热证的疗效。     

Molecular epidemiology and recombination of Enterovirus A71 in mainland China from 1987 to 2017

International Microbiology - Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is an important pathogen of severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the...