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The broad-leaved Paulownia species, the fastest-growing timber species in the world, typically receives fertilizer at the planting stage to ensure sustainable productivity. However, the succession pattern and the functional expression of the soil fungal community under long-term fertilization are unclear; in addition, the underlying regulatory mechanisms regarding the indirect effects of forest fertilization on the fungal community via the soil properties is poorly understood. This study focused on the direct and indirect effects of selecting different periods of fertilization on the composition of the fungal community through analysis of the properties of the soil (based on high-throughput sequencing technology) for samples collected from four chronosequences of a Paulownia plantation fertilization experiment (1, 3, 10, and 13-yr). The soil organic carbon content, the total nitrogen, the microbial biomass carbon, and the available nutrients were significantly increased as a result of fertilizer treatment, and the relative abundance of Zygomycota was significantly higher than that in a reference forest. Specifically, the short-term fertilization group (1-yr and 3-yr) and the long-term fertilization group (10-yr and 13-yr) were more effective than the reference forest in promoting an increase in dominant taxa, community diversity and richness. Correlation and linear regression analyses also showed that the microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen may be the key driving factors which affect the community diversity of the soil fungi and their composition for the different periods of fertilization. Overall, the study demonstrated that the long-term application of fertilizer increased the soil fungal diversity of the Paulownia plantation, changed the community composition, and promoted the growth of dominant taxonomy with high relative abundance. Furthermore, the results highlighted the beneficial effects and potential threats of long-term fertilization on the functional composition of the fungal community. Our findings provide powerful evidence to support extending the period of fertilization in a Paulownia plantation to 10-yr to better manage such plantations in the future.

Long-term and high-intensity application of inorganic fertilizer leads to a strong variation of soil characteristics. The changes in soil chemical and biological properties can significantly affect the yield of Eucalyptus plantation. However, the mechanism of soil chemical properties affecting wood volume mediated by biological factors is not clear. The purpose of this study was to identify which soil properties were affected by different fertilization intensities and to disentangle the dominant factors affecting Eucalyptus volume. After clear felling evergreen broad-leaved forest, a Eucalyptus plantation was established that was coppiced every 5 years and fertilized every year. Within this plantation, areas with different treatments were established. These treatments were a 5-year growth period (low); two times 5-year growth period (medium); and three times 5-year growth period (high). In each treatment area and in a nearby evergreen broad-leaved forest (EBLF Control), five sample plots per treatment were set up. Various biological and chemistry analyses (18 in total) were related to determining the most important path and index for optimizing Eucalyptus plantation. The analysis of variance of enzyme activity and microbial biomass showed that the soil biological characteristics decreased over 10 years of plantation, and the enzyme activity was close to the state of EBLF control in medium, while the microbial biomass failed to return to its original state during continuous planting. Redundancy analysis results show that there was a strong correlation in chemical indicators and biological characteristics. Partial least square structural equation model showed that total phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen, urease, catalase, and microbial biomass nitrogen and phosphorus were the most influential soil biochemical factors, and the indirect effect of chemical properties on volume was achieved by microorganisms through enzyme activity. Continuous planting and large-scale application of inorganic fertilizer would lead to a decrease in plantation yield and fertilizer utilization efficiency and would affect the microbial biomass and enzyme activity by destroying the stability of soil chemical properties.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by repetitive motor movements and vocal tics. The clinical manifestations of TS are complex and often overlap with other neuropsychiatric disorders. TS is highly heritable; however, the underlying genetic basis and molecular and neuronal mechanisms of TS remain largely unknown. We performed whole-exome sequencing of a hundred trios (probands and their parents) with detailed records of their clinical presentations and identified a risk gene, ASH1L, that was both de novo mutated and associated with TS based on a transmission disequilibrium test. As a replication, we performed follow-up targeted sequencing of ASH1L in additional 524 unrelated TS samples and replicated the association (P value = 0.001). The point mutations in ASH1L cause defects in its enzymatic activity. Therefore, we established a transgenic mouse line and performed an array of anatomical, behavioral, and functional assays to investigate ASH1L function. The Ash1l+/− mice manifested tic-like behaviors and compulsive behaviors that could be rescued by the tic-relieving drug haloperidol. We also found that Ash1l disruption leads to hyper-activation and elevated dopamine-releasing events in the dorsal striatum, all of which could explain the neural mechanisms for the behavioral abnormalities in mice. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that ASH1L is a TS risk gene.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by repetitive motor movements and vocal tics. The clinical manifestations of TS are complex and often overlap with other neuropsychiatric disorders. TS is highly heritable; however, the underlying genetic basis and molecular and neuronal mechanisms of TS remain largely unknown. We performed whole-exome sequencing of a hundred trios (probands and their parents) with detailed records of their clinical presentations and identified a risk gene, ASH1L, that was both de novo mutated and associated with TS based on a transmission disequilibrium test. As a replication, we performed follow-up targeted sequencing of ASH1L in additional 524 unrelated TS samples and replicated the association (P value = 0.001). The point mutations in ASH1L cause defects in its enzymatic activity. Therefore, we established a transgenic mouse line and performed an array of anatomical, behavioral, and functional assays to investigate ASH1L function. The Ash1l

Objective: We investigated whether the CXCL12-801G/A polymorphism was associated with preeclampsia (PE) susceptibility in a Chinese Han population. Methods: We examined 912 PE women and 1025 controls for the CXCL12-801G/A polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and correlations with clinical characteristics were examined. Results: No significant differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies of CXCL12-G801A were found between cases and controls (genotype: χ2 = 2.095, p = 0.351; allele: χ2 = 1.713, p = 0.191). There were also no significant differences between early/late-onset or mild/severe PE and control groups. Conclusion: The results indicate that 801G/A in CXCL12 may not play a major role in pathogenesis of PE in a Chinese Han population.

Previous study indicated that COMT might play a significant role in the development of preeclampsia(PE). The purpose of our study is to investigate the association of COMT -287A/G polymorphism (rs2075507) with PE susceptibility in Chinese han population. 505 PE patients and 824 normal pregnant women were enrolled in our research. All the subjects were detected the genotype of COMT -287 loci by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. Demographics and clinical data were performed using t test or Mann-Whitney test. The frequencies of the allelic and genotypic distribution between PE patients and healthy controls were analyzed by X2 test. No significant difference in the genotypic distribution was found between the patients and controls (x2 =0.13, p=0.94), while frequency of the allele showed a unstatistical significant difference (x2=0.07, p=0.79). The COMT -287A/G polymorphism might be associated with the PE in Chinese women. Further researches are yet needed to validate the relationship between the COMT -287A/G and the PE in different ethnic groups.Read Complete Article at ijSciences: V5201603987 AND DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18483/ijSci.987

Although the allocation of brain functions across the two cerebral hemispheres has aroused public interest over the past century, asymmetric interhemispheric cooperation under attentional modulation has been scarcely investigated. An example of interhemispheric cooperation is visual spatial perception. During this process, visual information from each hemisphere is integrated because each half of the visual field predominantly projects to the contralateral visual cortex. Both egocentric and allocentric coordinates can be employed for visual spatial representation, but they activate different areas in primate cerebral hemispheres. Recent studies have determined that egocentric representation affects the reaction time of allocentric perception; furthermore, this influence is asymmetric between the two visual hemifields. The egocentric-allocentric incompatibility effect and its asymmetry between the two hemispheres can produce this phenomenon. Using an allocentric position judgment task, we found that this incompatibility effect was reduced and its asymmetry was eliminated on an attentional task rather than a neutral task. Visual attention might activate cortical areas that process conflicting information, such as the anterior cingulate cortex and balance the asymmetry between the two hemispheres. Attention may enhance and balance this interhemispheric cooperation because this imbalance may also be caused by the asymmetric cooperation of each hemisphere in spatial perception.

Jiang Li,1 Jiajia Cui,2 Xiuhai Wang,3 Jianhua Ma,4 Haitao Niu,4 Xu Ma,5–7 Xinhua Zhang,2,4 Shiguo Liu8 1Physiatry Department, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 2Department of Psychiatry, 3Department of Genetics, Medical College, Qingdao University, 4The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 5Graduate School, Peking Union Medical College, 6National Research Institute for Family Planning, 7World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research in Human Reproduction, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 8Prenatal Diagnosis Center, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’sRepublic of China Background: A recent genome-wide association study indicated that the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs11081062 in DLGAP1 and rs26728 in EFNA5 were associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) in Caucasians. The present case–control association study assessed the global relevance of these two SNPs with respect to OCD subtypes in a Chinese Han population. Methods: We recruited 320 OCD patients and 431 age- and sex-matched controls from a Chinese Han population. rs11081062 and rs26728 SNPs were genotyped by real-time TaqMan polymerase chain reaction, and the chi-squared test was used to compare allele and genotype frequencies of variants between the two groups. Results: No significant differences were found in allele or genotype frequencies of DLGAP1 rs11081062 and EFNA5 rs26728 between the OCD and control groups. Moreover, consistently negative results were observed when classifying by sex, onset age, and comorbidity. However, on analyzing OCD subphenotypes, significant associations were observed between rs11081062 and the presence of contamination obsessions and cleaning compulsions (χ2=7.724, P=0.021 by genotype; χ2=3.745, P=0.053 by allele; and χ2=0.821, P=0.365 by genotype, χ2=27.809, P=0.000 by allele, respectively), and rs26728 with the presence of repeating compulsions (χ2=8.285, P=0.004 by genotype; χ2=7.512, P=0.006 by allele). Conclusion: Although we found no association between DLGAP1 rs11081062 and EFNA5 rs26728 SNPs with OCD in a Chinese Han population, obvious associations were observed with OCD subphenotypes. Therefore, it appears to be useful to divide OCD into more homogeneous subphenotypes to help understand the complex genetic basis of this disorder. Further investigations are needed to replicate these findings using larger sample sizes, different populations, and other polymorphisms. Keywords: DLGAP1, EFNA5, obsessive-compulsive disorder, polymorphism

This paper discusses a reinforcement method for pouring high-pressure non-dispersive mortar into underwater piers of riprap, and an integrated detection method for the effectiveness of the reinforcement. For verifying the high-pressure grouting enforcement quality, we apply comprehensive non-destructive geophysical methods including ground penetrating radar (GPR) and elastic wave tomography, incorporating with wave velocity test and point loading strength test for core samples. Elastic wave tomographic results show that the velocity of high-quality pouring region increases and that of the low-quality pouring region is low. GPR profiles indicate that the reflection strength from the interface between solid and hollow concrete layers becomes weak after pouring. Core samples verify these phenomena.

The estuarine wetland of Panjin, Liaoning, China is an alluvial-marine plain of 5, 200 km2 in area, which was originated from a series of rivers, including Liaohe River, Shuangtaizi River, Dalinghe River, Xiaolinghe River and Daqinghe River. With the warming up of the climate and the decreasing of runoff from the upper reaches, degeneration plagues gradually arose in the Phragmites community. From the edge zone of Phragmites population, there successively arose four stripped plant populations, namely, Phragmites-Typha population, Limonium population, Suaeda population and mudflat nudation. In the community succession process, coevolution occurred in soil nutrients. Studies were carried out on variations of soil nutrients at different succession stages and different levels of the same succession stage. Results show that contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and soluble salts in surface soil were all higher than those in bottom stratum; Soluble salt content in surface soil increased from Phragmites population to mudflat nudation.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant enzyme, and cancerization are related to each other. To investigate whether these factors are involved in the mechanism by which phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) suppresses tumors. Fluorescent probes and molecular hybridizations were performed to measure ROS and antioxidant enzyme levels in cells lacking PTEN. After induction of oxidative stress by PTEN deletion, we observed an increase in the expression of the antioxidant enzyme Cu/Zn-SOD. In addition, the overall antioxidative capability of the cells was attenuated. These results suggest that negative regulation occurs through interactions among ROS, Cu/Zn-SOD, and PTEN, and such a disequilibrium between oxidation and antioxidation could contribute to the reduced antioxidative capacity in PTEN null cells. These studies will guide further investigations into the biological function of PTEN.

Little has been learnt in the last 30 years about detection of HBV genome as well as its mutation analysis between hepatitis B fathers (HBF) and their children. In this study, we used nest polymerase chain reaction (PCR), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and DNA sequencing analysis, to examine the integrated HBV genome in paraffin-embedded testis tissues, which were taken as samples from HBF, and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 74 cases of HBFs and their children who were born after their fathers' HBV infection (caHBF). We found that HBV DNA existed in testis tissues, mainly in the basilar parts of the seminiferous tubules, and also in PBMC of HBF. It was also documented that there were point mutations of poly-loci, insertions and deletions of nucleotides in integrated HBV genomes, and the types of gene mutations in the HBFs were similar to those in caHBF. This study addresses the major types of gene mutations in integrated HBV genome in human patients and also presents reliable evidence of possible genetic transmission of hepatitis B.