Similar responses in morphology,growth, biomass allocation,and photosynthesis in invasive <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wedelia trilobata</Emphasis> and native congeners to CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> enrichment

Both global change and biological invasions threaten biodiversity worldwide. However, their interactions and related mechanisms are still not well elucidated. To elucidate potential traits contributing to invasiveness and whether ongoing increase in CO₂ aggravates invasions, noxious invasive Wedelia trilobata and native Wedelia urticifolia and Wedelia chinensis were compared under ambient and doubled atmospheric CO₂ concentrations in terms of growth, biomass allocation, morphology, and physiology. The invader had consistently higher leaf mass fraction (LMF) and specific leaf area than the natives, contributing to a higher leaf area ratio, and therefore to faster growth and invasiveness. The higher LMF of the invader was due to lower root mass fraction and higher fine root percent. On the other hand, the invader allocated a higher fraction of leaf nitrogen (N) to photosynthetic apparatus, which was associated with its higher photosynthetic rate, and resource use efficiency. All these traits collectively contributed to its invasiveness. CO₂ enrichment increased growth of all studied species by increasing actual photosynthesis, although it decreased photosynthetic capacities due to decreased leaf and photosynthetic N contents. Responses of the invasive and native plants to elevated CO₂ were not significantly different, indicating that the ongoing increase in CO₂ may not aggravate biological invasions, inconsistent with the prevailing results in references. Therefore, more comparative studies of related invasive and native plants are needed to elucidate whether CO₂ enrichment facilitates invasions.     

Preparation of konjac glucomannan hydrogels as DNA-controlled release matrix

In this study, hydrogels for DNA-controlled release was prepared with konjac glucomannan (KGM), a water-soluble non-ionic polysaccharide, by means of deacetylated reaction and physically cross-linking method under mild conditions. The properties of the KGM hydrogels were analyzed by FTIR spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The integrality of the released DNA was investigated by circular dichroism (CD). The DNA release kinetics was performed using the DNA-loaded KGM gels in buffer solutions of pH 7.4 at 37+/-0.5 degrees C. Peppas model and Higuchi model were used to analysis the DNA release mechanism; the data indicated that the DNA release can be controlled by changing the preparation conditions and the structure parameters of the gels. This study suggested that the KGM hydrogels have a potential use for advanced controlled release.     

TWO NEW SPECIES OF STICK INSECTS FROM XIZANG AUTONOMOUS REGION (PHASMATODEA: PHASMATIDAE, HETEKONEMIIDAE)

Abstract  This paper deals with two new species of Phasmatodea from the Xizang Aut. Reg. belonging to Phasmatidae and Heteronemiidae. Their comparisons with close species and figures of characteristics are given.     

Alveolar mimics with periodic strain and its effect on the cell layer formation

We report on the development of a new model of alveolar air–tissue interface on a chip. The model consists of an array of suspended hexagonal monolayers of gelatin nanofibers supported by microframes and a microfluidic device for the patch integration. The suspended monolayers are deformed to a central displacement of 40–80 µm at the air–liquid interface by application of air pressure in the range of 200–1,000 Pa. With respect to the diameter of the monolayers, that is, 500 µm, this displacement corresponds to a linear strain of 2–10% in agreement with the physiological strain range in the lung alveoli. The culture of A549 cells on the monolayers for an incubation time of 1–3 days showed viability in the model. We exerted a periodic strain of 5% at a frequency of 0.2 Hz for 1 hr to the cells. We found that the cells were strongly coupled to the nanofibers, but the strain reduced the coupling and induced remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton, which led to a better tissue formation. Our model can serve as a versatile tool in lung investigations such as in inhalation toxicology and therapy.     

Synergistic interactions between Glomus mosseae and Bradyrhizobium japonicum in enhancing proton release from nodules and hyphae

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) seedlings were inoculated with Glomus mosseae (GM) and Bradyrhizobium japonicum (BJ) together or separately to study the effect of interactions on net H⁺ effluxes of nodules or extraradical hyphae by in vivo vibrating electrode techniques. GM promoted three-fold the H⁺ effluxes of nodules on mycorrhizal lateral roots and BJ increased eight-fold the net H⁺ effluxes of hyphae developing in the vicinity of nodules on lateral roots. Increments in plant P content were positively and linearly correlated with the net H⁺ efflux of nodules and hyphae. It is concluded that increased H⁺ effluxes of nodules resulted from enhanced nitrogenase activities induced by the presence of the AM fungus in lateral roots. The results point to additive effects of interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia in increasing the extent of acidification of the “nodulesphere” and the hyposphere.     

Expression of chemokine-like factor 1 is upregulated during T lymphocyte activation

Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) is a cytokine with chemotactic effects on leukocytes and a functional ligand of CCR4. This cytokine is widely expressed and the level of expression is reported to be upregulated in asthma and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), disease conditions in which T lymphocytes are over-activated. In order to determine the expression profile of CKLF1 in activated T lymphocytes, we first employed a PCR-based method on human blood fractions cDNA panels and found that CKLF1 was upregulated in activated CD4+ and CD8+ cells, with no obvious changes in CD19+ cells. We further performed kinetic analyses of CKLF1 expression in phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) at both the mRNA and protein levels. In resting PBL, the constitutive expression of CKLF1 was low at mRNA level and barely detectable at the protein level; however, both were remarkably upregulated by PHA, appearing at 8h after PHA-stimulation and persisting up to 72h. These results suggest that CKLF1 may be involved in T lymphocyte activation and further study of CKLF1 function will prove valuable.     

Pulmonary type II cell hypertrophy and pulmonary lipoproteinosis are features of chronic IL-13 exposure

Interleukin (IL)-13, a key mediator of Th2-mediated immunity, contributes to the pathogenesis of asthma and other pulmonary diseases via its ability to generate fibrosis, mucus metaplasia, eosinophilic inflammation, and airway hyperresponsiveness. In these studies, we compared surfactant accumulation in wild-type mice and mice in which IL-13 was overexpressed in the lung. When compared with littermate controls, transgenic animals showed alveolar type II cell hypertrophy under light and electron microscopy. Over time, their alveoli also filled with surfactant in a pulmonary alveolar proteinosis pattern. At the same time, prominent interstitial fibrosis occurs. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from these mice had a three- to sixfold increase in surfactant phospholipids. Surfactant proteins (SP)-A, -B, and -C showed two- to threefold increases, whereas SP-D increased 70-fold. These results indicate that IL-13 is a potent stimulator of surfactant phospholipid and surfactant accumulation in the lung. IL-13 may therefore play a central role in the broad range of chronic pulmonary conditions in which fibrosis, type II cell hypertrophy, and surfactant accumulation occur.