The species range‐size patterns for vascular plants of Seorak Mountain (Korea): Relationship between group of life forms and phytogeography affinity along the elevational gradient

Research on species richness patterns and the advanced elevational Rapoport rule (ERR) has been widespread in recent years; however, there is a lack of such research for the temperate mountainous regions in northeast Asia. Here, we collected plant species from the Seorak Mountain in northeast Asia through field surveys. The species were divided into 11 groups according to the life‐form types and phytogeography affinities of each species. The ERR was evaluated using Steven''s method and by examining the species richness patterns of each group. The species richness patterns revealed a positive multimodal pattern along the elevation gradient, but phytogeography affinities (increasing trend) and life‐form analysis (unimodal) exhibited different patterns. The elevation gradients (1,350 m for the mean elevation–range relationships), which are affected by the boundary effect and different life forms, did not consistently support the ERR. However, herbs as well as rare, endemic, and red list species showed consistent support for the ERR, which could be attributed to the influence by phytogeography affinities. Therefore, the results from Seorak Mountain showed that the ERR was not consistent for different plant life forms in the same area; however, phytogeography affinities could support and explain ERR.     

近50年京津冀气候舒适度的区域时空特征分析

受气候变化影响,区域气候舒适期势必会发生不同程度的变化。从气候舒适性的视角出发,利用京津冀地区1966—2015年的170个观测站点50年逐日气象资料,以温湿指数、风效指数、着衣指数及其综合指数为气候舒适性的评价指标,统计分析区域气候舒适期的起止日期、天数及其年际间变化规律,揭示京津冀区域气候舒适度的时空变化特征,为区域人口合理分布和气候资源评价提供科学依据。此外,以日为时间尺度进行气候舒适期分析,有利于气候变化背景下区域间横向和区域内纵向的比较研究。结果显示:(1)京津冀气候舒适度指数近50年来的变化趋势基本相同,综合指数呈显著增加趋势;但各地间变幅存在一定差异,其中天津气候舒适度指数变化幅度最为明显,北京变化相对平稳。(2)从气候舒适度综合指数来看,京津冀地区气候舒适期年内分布呈"M"型,舒适期相对集中在4—5月、9—10月,舒适和较舒适等级的月累计日数均达到28 d以上,其中5月气候最为舒适,舒适等级日数最多,达到24—26 d;北京年平均舒适天数最多(100 d),天津最少(91 d)。(3)从单一气候舒适度指数来看,京津冀舒适和较舒适等级的初始日期大多呈显著的提前趋势;终止日期和天数大多略有增加,但变化趋势不显著。而综合指数显示,1966—2015年较舒适等级的初始日期变化最为显著,大约每10年提前3—4 d;天津和河北终止日期变化也达到显著水平,大约每10年推迟1—2 d,北京增加趋势不明显。(4)京津冀气候舒适期的空间分布显示,舒适等级的日数从西北向东南地区呈减少特征,河北北部舒适等级的年平均日数最多达115—120 d,东南部最少,不足90 d。     

Increased intratumoral IL-22-producing CD4+ T cells and Th22 cells correlate with gastric cancer progression and predict poor patient survival

IL-22-producing CD4⁺ T cells (IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells) and Th22 cells (IL-22⁺IL-17^?IFN-γ^?CD4⁺ T cells) represent newly discovered T-cell subsets, but their nature, regulation, and clinical relevance in gastric cancer (GC) are presently unknown. In our study, the frequency of IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells in tumor tissues from 76 GC patients was significantly higher than that in tumor-draining lymph nodes, non-tumor, and peritumoral tissues. Most intratumoral IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells co-expressed IL-17 and IFN-γ and showed a memory phenotype. Locally enriched IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells positively correlated with increased CD14⁺ monocytes and IL-6 and IL-23 detection ex vivo, and in vitro IL-6 and IL-23 induced the polarization of IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells in a dose-dependent manner and the polarized IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells co-expressed of IL-17 and IFN-γ. Moreover, IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T-cell subsets (IL-22⁺IL-17⁺CD4⁺, IL-22⁺IL-17^?CD4⁺, IL-22⁺IFN-γ⁺CD4⁺, IL-22⁺IFN-γ^?CD4⁺, and IL-22⁺IL-17⁺IFN-γ⁺CD4⁺ T cells), and Th22 cells were also increased in tumors. Furthermore, higher intratumoral IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T-cell percentage and Th22-cell percentage were found in patients with tumor-node-metastasis stage advanced and predicted reduced overall survival. In conclusion, our data indicate that IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells and Th22 cells are likely important in establishing the tumor microenvironment for GC; increased intratumoral IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells and Th22 cells are associated with tumor progression and predict poorer patient survival, suggesting that tumor-infiltrating IL-22⁺CD4⁺ T cells and Th22 cells may be suitable therapeutic targets in patients with GC.     

Sann: solvent accessibility prediction of proteins by nearest neighbor method

We present a method to predict the solvent accessibility of proteins which is based on a nearest neighbor method applied to the sequence profiles. Using the method, continuous real-value prediction as well as two-state and three-state discrete predictions can be obtained. The method utilizes the z-score value of the distance measure in the feature vector space to estimate the relative contribution among the k-nearest neighbors for prediction of the discrete and continuous solvent accessibility. The Solvent accessibility database is constructed from 5717 proteins extracted from PISCES culling server with the cutoff of 25% sequence identities. Using optimal parameters, the prediction accuracies (for discrete predictions) of 78.38% (two-state prediction with the threshold of 25%), 65.1% (three-state prediction with the thresholds of 9 and 36%), and the Pearson correlation coefficient (between the predicted and true RSA's for continuous prediction) of 0.676 are achieved An independent benchmark test was performed with the CASP8 targets where we find that the proposed method outperforms existing methods. The prediction accuracies are 80.89% (for two state prediction with the threshold of 25%), 67.58% (three-state prediction), and the Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.727 (for continuous prediction) with mean absolute error of 0.148. We have also investigated the effect of increasing database sizes on the prediction accuracy, where additional improvement in the accuracy is observed as the database size increases. The SANN web server is available at http://lee.kias.re.kr/~newton/sann/.     

Rural-urban differences on the rates and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding in Nigeria: further analysis of the Nigeria demographic and health survey, 2013

Background

This study investigates and compares the rates and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) within one hour of birth in rural and urban Nigeria.

Methods

Data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) were analyzed. The rates of EIBF were reported using frequency tabulation. Associated factors were examined using Chi-Square test and further assessed on multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Results

The rates of EIBF were 30.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 29.0, 32.6) and 41.9% (95% CI 39.6, 44.3) in rural and urban residences, respectively (p?<?0.001). The North-Central region had the highest EIBF rates both in rural (43.5%) and urban (63.5%) residences. Greater odds of EIBF in rural residence were significantly associated with higher birth order (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 1.29, 95% CI 1.10, 1.60), large birth size (AOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.10, 1.60), and health facility delivery (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.23, 1.72). Rural mothers in the rich wealth index, not working and whose husbands obtained at least a secondary school education had significantly higher odds of early initiation of breastfeeding. Regardless of residence, greater odds of EIBF were significantly associated with non-cesarean delivery (Rural AOR 3.50, 95% CI 1.84, 6.62; Urban AOR 2.48, 95% CI 1.60, 3.80) and living in North-Central (Rural AOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.34, 2.52; Urban AOR 4.40, 95% CI 3.15, 6.15) region. Also, higher odds of EIBF were significantly associated with living in North-East (Rural AOR 1.48, 95% CI 1.05, 2.08; Urban AOR 3.50, 95% CI 2.55, 4.83), South-South (Rural AOR 1.51, 95% CI 1.11, 2.10; Urban AOR 2.84, 95% CI 2.03, 3.97) and North-West (Urban residence only AOR 2.08, 95% CI 1.54, 2.80) regions.

Conclusions

Rural-urban differences in the rates and factors associated with EIBF exist in Nigeria with rural residence having significantly lower rates. Intervention efforts which address the risk factors identified in this study may contribute to improved EIBF rates. Efforts need to prioritize rural mothers generally, (particularly, those in rural North-West region) as well as mothers in urban South-West region of Nigeria.

     

Enhancement of centelloside production from cultured plants of Centella asiatica by combination of thidiazuron and methyl jasmonate

In order to produce centellosides from whole plant cultures of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, we evaluated the synergistic effects of thidiazuron (TDZ) and methyl jasmonate (MJ) on whole plant growth and centelloside production. After 4 weeks of treatment with 0.025 mg/L of TDZ coupled with 0.1 mM MJ, the production of madecassoside and asiaticoside from whole plant cultures was estimated to be 2.40- and 2.44-fold, respectively, above that of MJ elicitation alone. When whole plants were treated with a growth regulator and an elicitor, the growth of whole plants, as compared to the controls, did not differ. Additionally, total phytosyterol content in the leaves of whole plants co-treated with MJ and TDZ was 1.08-fold greater than those of MJ alone. These results demonstrate that combined treatments not only stimulate the accumulation of centellosides in the leaves but also inhibit the reduction of phytosterol levels caused by MJ elicitation.     

保护性耕作条件下小麦田甲烷吸收及影响因素

采用静态箱-气相色谱法对保护性耕作和常规耕作小麦田的CH₄排放进行了原位测量,同时测量了土壤温度、水分、无机氮等相关影响因子,以研究保护性耕作农田CH₄排放通量及相关因素的影响.结果表明：保护性耕作及常规耕作麦田CH₄的排放具有明显的季节性变化规律,且变化趋势一致;保护性耕作与常规耕作各处理的CH₄平均吸收通量、季节吸收量差异显著（P<0.05）.在小麦生长季内,各处理农田均表现为CH₄的吸收汇.各处理CH₄季节吸收通量表现为：常规耕作无秸秆还田>常规耕作秸秆还田>深松秸秆还田>耙耕秸秆还田>旋耕秸秆还田>免耕秸秆还田,与常规耕作相比,保护性耕作CH₄吸收通量减少.保护性耕作CH₄吸收通量与温度呈正相关,与水分呈负相关,常规耕作CH₄吸收通量与两因子相关不显著;各处理CH₄吸收通量与NH₄⁺-N含量呈显著负相关.     

Role of reactive oxygen species-mediated mitochondrial dysregulation in 3-bromopyruvate induced cell death in hepatoma cells

Hexokinase type II (HK II) is the key enzyme for maintaining increased glycolysis in cancer cells where it is overexpressed. 3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA), an inhibitor of HK II, induces cell death in cancer cells. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of 3-BrPA-induced cell death, we used the hepatoma cell lines SNU449 (low expression of HKII) and Hep3B (high expression of HKII). 3-BrPA induced ATP depletion-dependent necrosis and apoptosis in both cell lines. 3-BrPA increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to mitochondrial dysregulation. NAC (N-acetyl-l-cysteine), an antioxidant, blocked 3-BrPA-induced ROS production, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and cell death. 3-BrPA-mediated oxidative stress not only activated poly-ADP-ribose (PAR) but also translocated AIF from the mitochondria to the nucleus. Taken together, 3-BrPA induced ATP depletion-dependent necrosis and apoptosis and mitochondrial dysregulation due to ROS production are involved in 3-BrPA-induced cell death in hepatoma cells.