Size fractions of dust and amount of associated metals on leaf surface and inner wax of 15 plant species at Beijing roadside

To provide more insight into the removal ability of urban air dust and associated metals by plant leaves, and thus guide urban green planning to improve air quality, 15 plant species leaves collected from Beijing roadside were analyzed for size fractions of leaf surface dust (SD) and inner wax dust (WD). Seven associated metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were also measured. Metal Accumulation Index (MAI) was calculated for different species leaves at various dust sizes and soluble forms, respectively. Cluster analysis was used for the plant species and correlations between dust and metal concentrations and for inter-metal concentrations were calculated for both surface and inner wax dust. Mean leaf total dust TD (SD?+?WD), SD and WD were measured as 1159, 817 and 342?mg m^?2, respectively, with the highest values observed all in Euonymus japonicus. Most species leaves collected larger ratios of SD than WD except Salix babylonica and Robinia pseudoacacia. While SD was presented at all particle size fractions for all plants, nearly all species leaves collected higher proportions of WD >10?µm. Mean metal levels of leaf TD of all species ranged from high to low as Fe?>?Cr?>?Zn?>?Pb?>?Cu?>?Mn?>?Cd, but with different orders for individual species. Metals were observed in all sizes of SD/WD, although the size distributions were various for certain metals. Intercorrelations of metal concentrations in leaf SD/WD were positively significant except Pb, which may have different emission sources. Species Prunus cerasifera f. atropurpurea, Syringa oblata, Malus micromalu, Koelreuteria paniculata and Robinia pseudoacacia may possess better overall metal collection ability due to their relatively higher MAI values, but species Euonymus japonicus, Malus micromalu, Ligustrum x vicaryi and Koelreuteria paniculata were identified as the best choices in removing air dust based on cluster analysis and suggested to be planted at heavy trafficked road site for air quality improvement.     

黑龙江马铃薯Y病毒P1基因的特点北大核心CSCD

【目的】本研究通过对不同PVY分离物基因的测序及分析,从而了解PVY株系的多样性,进而对PVY病毒的分子检测及防治提供重要的资料和参考。【方法】本研究针对黑龙江15个马铃薯Y病毒样品的P1基因进行克隆测序和进化树分析。【结果】经比对分析,样品被分成两组,有10个样品的基因类型高度同源,且相对保守,是本地区的优势群组,无论是与国内其它地区样品比较还是与国外样品比较,其亲缘关系都有一定距离;而另一组中的5个样品的P1基因与本地优势组群有较大差异,且这5个样品间也有一定的差异,并与国内其它地区和国外一些样品的P1基因序列比较接近。通过比对Gen Bank中已上传的序列提供的PVY株系的信息,得知本次试验的P1基因与PVY^(NTN-NW)株系是相似的,且这15个样品与国内其他样品一样都是由PVY^N株系演变而来。【结论】由P1基因分析表明,PVY受环境影响较大,黑龙江10个样品的PVY在长期的进化中产生了具有地方特点的变化,而后来的5个样品说明中国大部分PVY有可能是跟随国外品种资源的引进进入,同时PVY也随国内不同区域间资源交流和种薯调运而传播。     

1992-2015年鼎湖山季风常绿阔叶林群落种间关联动态

季风常绿阔叶林是我国南亚热带地区的地带性植被,有研究表明过去23年其群落结构和物种组成发生了很大变化,但对群落种间关系的动态变化还缺乏了解。该研究利用鼎湖山季风常绿阔叶林1 hm²监测样地7次群落调查数据,采用方差比率和Spearman秩相关分析的方法,对1992-2015年鼎湖山季风常绿阔叶林群落种间关系的长期动态变化进行了分析。结果表明：从1992年到2015年,群落方差比率都显著（P < 0.05）大于1,但方差比率总体呈显著下降趋势（R²=0.93,P < 0.001）,显著正联结种对数显著减少,显著负联结种对数显著增多,群落正联结关系减弱;群落各垂直层次内和垂直层次之间显著正联结种对数呈显著下降趋势（P < 0.001）,种间的正关联关系减弱;香楠（Aidia canthioides）、红枝蒲桃（Syzygium rehderianum）、光叶红豆（Ormosia glaberrima）等树种能够和大多数物种长时间稳定共存,在季风常绿阔叶林群落结构中可能具有重要地位和作用,可以作为华南地区生态恢复、林业种植的搭配树种。总的来说,1992-2015年,鼎湖山季风常绿阔叶林群落种间正联结关系减弱,负联结关系增强,导致群落种间关联愈加松散,群落稳定性下降。     

Effect of Different Groundwater Levels on Seismic Dynamic Response and Failure Mode of Sandy Slope

Heavy seismic damage tends to occur in slopes when groundwater is present. The main objectives of this paper are to determine the dynamic response and failure mode of sandy slope subjected simultaneously to seismic forces and variable groundwater conditions. This paper applies the finite element method, which is a fast and efficient design tool in modern engineering analysis, to evaluate dynamic response of the slope subjected simultaneously to seismic forces and variable groundwater conditions. Shaking table test is conducted to analyze the failure mode and verify the accuracy of the finite element method results. The research results show that dynamic response values of the slope have different variation rules under near and far field earthquakes. And the damage location and pattern of the slope are different in varying groundwater conditions. The destruction starts at the top of the slope when the slope is in no groundwater, which shows that the slope appears obvious whipping effect under the earthquake. The destruction starts at the toe of the slope when the slope is in the high groundwater levels. Meanwhile, the top of the slope shows obvious seismic subsidence phenomenon after earthquake. Furthermore, the existence of the groundwater has a certain effect of damping.     

Tanshinone IIA protects against cardiac hypertrophy via inhibiting calcineurin/NFATc3 pathway

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy induced by adrenergic overactivation can subsequently develop to heart failure which remains as a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Tanshinone IIA is a lipid-soluble pharmacologically active compound extracted from the rhizome of the Chinese herb Salvia miltiorrhiza, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. However, little is know about the effect of Tanshinone IIA on cardiac hypertrophy. The present study was aimed to investigate whether Tanshinone IIA prevents cardiac hypertrophy induced by isoproterenol (ISO) and to clarify its possible mechanisms. Cardiomyocytes hypertrophy was induced by ISO 10 μM for 48 h with or without Tanshinone IIA 10, 30, 100 μM pretreatment, and evaluated by determining the cell size and the expression of ANP, BNP, β-MHC, Calcineurin, and NFATc3 by real-time PCR and western blot. We found that Tanshinone IIA pretreatment attenuated the enlargement of cell surface area induced by ISO in cultured cardiomyocytes. The mRNA level of ANP, BNP and β-MHC was obviously elevated in ISO-treated cardiac cells, which was effectively inhibited by Tanshinone IIA. Moreover, we found that Tanshinone IIA pretreatment could prevent the augment of intracellular calcium transient in ISO-treated cardiomyocytes. The further study revealed that Calcineurin, NFATc3, ANP, BNP and β-MHC proteins were upregulated by ISO in ventricular myocytes, and Tanshinone IIA pretreatment significantly attenuate the increased expression of Calcineurin, NFATc3, ANP, BNP and β-MHC proteins. In summary, Tanshinone IIA attenuated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by ISO through inhibiting Calcineurin/NFATc3 pathway, which provides new insights into the pharmacological role and therapeutic mechanism of Tanshinone IIA in heart diseases.     

Difference of sodium currents between pediatric and adult human atrial myocytes: evidence for developmental changes of sodium channels

Voltage-gated calcium currents and potassium currents were shown to undergo developmental changes in postnatal human and animal cardiomocytes. However, so far, there is no evidence whether sodium currents also presented the developmental changes in postnatal human atrial cells. The aim of this study was to observe age-related changes of sodium currents between pediatric and adult atrial myocytes. Human atrial myocytes were acutely isolated and the whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to record sodium currents isolated from pediatric and adult atrial cardiomocytes. The peak amplitude of sodium currents recorded in adult atrial cells was significantly larger than that in pediatric atrial myocytes. However, there was no significant difference of the activation voltage for peak sodium currents between two kinds of atrial myocytes. The time constants for the activation and inactivation of sodium currents were smaller in adult atria than pediatric atria. The further study revealed that the voltage-dependent inactivation of sodium currents were more slow in adult atrial cardiomyocytes than pediatric atrial cells. A significant difference was also observed in the recovery process of sodium channel from inactivation. In summary, a few significant differences were demonstrated in sodium currents characteristics between pediatric and adult atrial myocytes, which indicates that sodium currents in human atria also undergo developmental changes.     

Structural templates predict novel protein interactions and targets from pancreas tumour gene expression data

MOTIVATION: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) eludes early detection and is characterized by its aggressiveness and resistance to current therapies. A number of gene expression screens have been carried out to identify genes differentially expressed in cancerous tissue. To identify molecular markers and suitable targets, these genes have been mapped to protein interactions to gain an understanding at systems level. RESULTS: Here, we take such a network-centric approach to pancreas cancer by re-constructing networks from known interactions and by predicting novel protein interactions from structural templates. The pathways we find to be largely affected are signal transduction, actin cytoskeleton regulation, cell growth and cell communication. Our analysis indicates that the alteration of the calcium pathway plays an important role in pancreas-specific tumorigenesis. Furthermore, our structural prediction method identifies 40 novel interactions including the tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI2) interacting with the transmembrane protease serine 4 (TMPRSS4). Since TMPRSS4 is involved in metastasis formation, we hypothesize that the upregulation of TMPRSS4 and the downregulation of its predicted inhibitor TFPI2 plays an important role in this process. Moreover, we examine the potential role of BVDU (RP101) as an inhibitor of TMPRSS4. BDVU is known to support apoptosis and prevent the acquisition of chemoresistance. Our results suggest that BVDU might bind to the active site of TMPRSS4, thus reducing its assistance in metastasis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.     

Divergent responses of fine root decomposition to removal of understory plants and overstory trees in subtropical Eucalyptus urophylla plantations

Plant and Soil - Plant fine roots play an important role in forest nutrient cycling. However, how fine root decomposition responds to plant removal is poorly understood. We aimed to examine the...     

The mechanism of μ-opioid receptor (MOR)-TRPV1 crosstalk in TRPV1 activation involves morphine anti-nociception,tolerance and dependence

Initiated by the activation of various nociceptors, pain is a reaction to specific stimulus modalities. The μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists, including morphine, remain the most potent analgesics to treat patients with moderate to severe pain. However, the utility of MOR agonists is limited by the adverse effects associated with the use of these drugs, including analgesic tolerance and physical dependence. A strong connection has been suggested between the expression of the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) ion channel and the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia. TRPV1 is important for thermal nociception induction, and is mainly expressed on sensory neurons. Recent reports suggest that opioid or TRPV1 receptor agonist exposure has contrasting consequences for anti-nociception, tolerance and dependence. Chronic morphine exposure modulates TRPV1 activation and induces the anti-nociception effects of morphine. The regulation of many downstream targets of TRPV1 plays a critical role in this process, including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP). Additional factors also include capsaicin treatment blocking the anti-nociception effects of morphine in rats, as well as opioid modulation of TRPV1 responses through the cAMP-dependent PKA pathway and MAPK signaling pathways. Here, we review new insights concerning the mechanism underlying MOR-TRPV1 crosstalk and signaling pathways and discuss the potential mechanisms of morphine-induced anti-nociception, tolerance and dependence associated with the TRPV1 signaling pathway and highlight how understanding these mechanisms might help find therapeutic targets for the treatment of morphine induced antinociception, tolerance and dependence.