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Information about effects of conversion from rice fields to vegetable fields on denitrification process is still limited. In this study, denitrification rate and product ratio (i.e., N 2 O/(N 2 O + N 2) ratio) were investigated by soil-core incubation based N 2 /Ar technique in one rice paddy field (RP) and two vegetable fields (VF4 and VF7, 4 and 7 years vegetable cultivating after conversion from rice fields, respectively). Genes related to denitrification and bacterial community composition were quantified to investigate the microbial mechanisms behind the effects of land-use conversion. The results showed that conversion of rice fields to vegetable fields did not significantly change denitrification rate although the abundance of denitrification related genes was significantly reduced by 79.22%–99.84% in the vegetable soils. Whereas, compared with the RP soil, N 2 O emission rate was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by 53.5 and 1.6 times in the VF4 and VF7 soils, respectively. Correspondingly, the N 2 O/(N 2 O + N 2) ratio increased from 0.18% (RP soil) to 5.65% and 0.65% in the VF4 and VF7 soils, respectively. These changes were mainly attributed to the lower pH, higher nitrate content, and the altered bacterial community composition in the vegetable soils. Overall, our results showed that conversion of rice fields to vegetable fields increased the N 2 O emission rate and altered the product ratio of denitrification. This may increase the contribution of land-use conversion to global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It has been well characterized that flavonoids possess pronounced anticancer potentials including anti-angiogenesis, anti-metastasis, and pro-apoptosis. Herein, we report, for the first time, that VI-14, a novel flavonoid derivative, possesses anti-cancer properties. The purpose of this study is to investigate the anti-migration and anti-invasion activities of VI-14 in breast cancer cells. Our data indicate that VI-14 inhibits adhesion, migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 cells treated with VI-14 display reduced activities and expressions of ECM degradation-associated proteins including matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and 9 (MMP-9) at both the protein and mRNA levels. Meanwhile, VI-14 treatment induces an up-regulated expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) and 2 (TIMP-2) in MDA-MB-231 cells. Western blotting results show that phosphorylation levels of critical components of the MAPK signaling pathway, including ERK, JNK and P38, are dramatically decreased in VI-14-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, treatment of VI-14 significantly decreases the nuclear levels and the binding ability of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1). Taken together, our data suggest that VI-14 treatment suppresses migration and motility of breast cancer cells, and VI-14 may be a potential compound for cancer therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Parents of children with epilepsy have poor sleep quality and a low level of caregiver burden. • Caregiver burden of parents is directly correlated with sleep quality. • Individual resilience is indirectly related to sleep quality via caregiver burden. Parents caring for children with epilepsy have poor sleep quality and experience a certain level of caregiving burden. Individual resilience is a crucial psychological variable that contributes to health during extraordinary challenges. This study aimed to determine the relationships among individual resilience, caregiver burden, and sleep quality. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with a convenience sample, following the STROBE guidelines. One hundred and ninety-one parents of children with epilepsy were invited to participate in the study. Of these, 173 participants completed measures of sleep quality, caregiver burden, and individual resilience. Path analysis was performed to probe the indirect relationship between individual resilience and sleep quality via caregiver burden. Correlation analysis revealed that individual resilience total scores were significantly and marginally negatively correlated with caregiver burden and sleep quality total scores (r = −0.215, P <.01; r = −0.250, P <.01). Moreover, there was a significant moderate positive correlation between the total caregiver burden scores and total sleep quality scores (r = 0.389, P <.001). The path model showed that individual resilience is indirectly associated with sleep quality via caregiver burden. The higher the level of individual resilience, the less the caregiver burden and the better the sleep quality for parents of children with epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]