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Bald patches (BPs) are known to accelerate and simultaneously mitigate the process of desertification. However, the mechanisms of these two synchronous actions are little studied in high desert and cold systems; and the incidence of BPs on alpine meadows degradation in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China is still unavailable. This study first aims to investigate the soil properties and the erodibility of the system BPs-VPs at the Beiluhe basin in QTP. Then, we adopted dye tracer and HYDRUS-2/3D methods to interpret the water infiltration patterns from point scale to slope scale. The results show that the mattic epipedon layer on the top soil (0-20 cm) of VPs directly reduced the impact of raindrops on alpine meadow; and the adhesion of root system in VPs prevented the soil particles from stripping and washing away by runoff. The soil particles in BPs were easily eroded by rainfall, lowering the ground level of BPs relative to the ground level of VPs. The two patches therefore alternated to form an erosion interface where marginal meadow was likely detached by raindrops, and washed away through runoff. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (K s ) of surface soil (0-10 cm) was 124% higher in BPs than the VPs. Thereby, BPs caused a high spatial variation of infiltration and runoff in QTP. Moreover, this difference in K s between the two patches conducted to a lateral flow from BPs to VPs, and to soil layers with different water contents. These findings highlight that the water flow features can potentially disturb the processes of freezing-thawing, frost heaves, and thaw slump; and accelerate the alpine meadow degradation. Therefore, land cover such as crop and vegetation should be applied over the bare soil surface to prevent the degradation of alpine meadow., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are closely related to vegetation compositions, edaphic properties, and site-specific processes. However, the coevolutionary mechanisms underlying the spatial distributions in floristic and ECM fungal composition in the context of biotic adaptations and abiotic variances remain unclear. We combine a total of 25 ECM fungus-associated environmental variables to impose three types of composite scores and then quantify the environmental gradients of geographical site, soil chemical property and vegetation functional trait across 122 grids of 20 m × 20 m in a 25-hm 2 forest plot. Significant dissimilarities in vegetational and ECM fungal abundance and composition existed along the above environmental gradients. Specifically, a contrasting floristic distribution (e.g., Betula platyphylla vs. Tilia mandshurica) existed between the northeastern and southwestern areas and was closely related to the nutrient and moisture gradients (with high levels in the west and low levels in the east). Furthermore, the ECM fungal communities were more abundant in the nutrient-poor and low-moisture environments than in the nutrient-rich and high-moisture environments, and the mixed-forest in the middle-gradient sites between the northeastern and southwestern areas harbored the highest ECM fungal diversity. These findings suggest that predictable within-site vegetation succession is closely related to ECM-associated determinants and the natural spatial heterogeneity of edaphic properties at a local scale., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Single-incision laparoscopic surgery has emerged as an alternative to conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in the clinical setting. Limited information is available on the possibility of performing single-incision laparoscopic surgery as an ambulatory procedure. This study aimed to determine the feasibility and safety of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) versus conventional LC in an ambulatory setting., Methods: Ninety-one patients were randomized to SILC (n = 49) or LC (n = 42). The success rate, operative duration, blood loss, hospital stay, gallbladder perforation, drainage, delayed discharge, readmission, total cost, complications, pain score, vomiting, and cosmetic satisfaction of the two groups were then compared., Results: There were significant differences in the operative time (46.89 ± 10.03 min in SILC vs. 37.24 ± 10.23 min in LC; P < 0.001). As compared with LC, SILC was associated with lower total costs (8012.28 ± 752.67 RMB vs. 10258.91 ± 1087.63 RMB; P < 0.001) and better cosmetic satisfaction (4.94 ± 0.24 vs. 4.74 ± 0.54; P = 0.031). There were no significant differences between-group in terms of general data, success rate, blood loss, hospital stay, gallbladder perforation, drainage, delayed discharge, readmission, complications, pain score, and vomiting (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Ambulatory SILC is safe and feasible for selected patients. The advantages of SILC as compared with LC are improved cosmetic satisfaction and lower total costs., (Copyright © 2019 First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Revegetation facilitated by legume species introduction has been used for soil erosion control on the Loess Plateau, China. However, it is still unclear how vegetation and soil resources develop during this restoration process, especially over the longer term. In this study, we investigated the changes of plant aboveground biomass, vegetation cover, species richness and density of all individuals, and soil total nitrogen, mineral nitrogen, total phosphorus and available phosphorus over 11 years from 2003 to 2013 in three treatments (natural revegetation, Medicago sativa L. introduction and Melilotus suaveolens L. introduction) on the semi-arid Loess Plateau. Medicago significantly increased aboveground biomass and vegetation cover, and soil total nitrogen and mineral nitrogen contents. The Medicago treatment had lower species richness and density of all individuals, lower soil moisture in the deep soil (i.e., 1.4-5m), and lower soil available phosphorus. Melilotus introduction significantly increased aboveground biomass in only the first two years, and it was not an effective approach to improve vegetation biomass and cover, and soil nutrients, especially in later stages of revegetation. Overall, our study suggests that M. sativa can be the preferred plant species for revegetation of degraded ecosystems on the Loess Plateau, although phosphorus fertilizer should be applied for the sustainability of the revegetation., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Extracellular ATP (eATP) induces an intracellular Ca(2+) transient by activating phospholipase C (PLC)-associated P2X4 purinergic receptors, leading to production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and subsequent Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores in mouse pancreatic beta-cells. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy, Ca(2+) indicator fluo-4 AM, and the cell permeable nuclear indicator Hoechst 33342, we examined the properties of eATP-induced Ca(2+) release in pancreatic beta-cell nuclei. eATP induced a higher nuclear Ca(2+) transient in pancreatic beta-cell nuclei than in the cytosol. After pretreatment with thapsigargin (TG), an inhibitor of sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) pumps, the amplitude of eATP-induced Ca(2+) transients in the nucleus was still much higher than those in the cytosol. This effect of eATP was not altered by inhibition of either the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase (PMCA) or the plasma membrane Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) by LaCl(3) or by replacement of Na(+) with N-Methyl-Glucosamine. eATP-induced nuclear Ca(2+) transients were abolished by a cell-permeable IP3R inhibitor, 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), but were not blocked by the ryanodine receptor (RyR) antagonist ryanodine. Immunofluorescence studies showed that IP3Rs are expressed on the nuclear envelope of pancreatic beta-cells. These results indicate that eATP triggers nuclear Ca(2+) transients by mobilizing a nuclear Ca(2+) store via nuclear IP3Rs.

The present study was designed to assess the effects of induced heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) on intestinal injury after severe burn. Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group, burn group (B group), sodium arsenite pretreatment group (SA group), and sodium arsenite+quercetin pretreatment group (SA+Qu group). Plasma endotoxin and d-lactic acid content were determined at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48h after severe burn. Samples of small intestine were obtained for histologic assessment of intestinal mucosal injury and the expression of HSP70 was assayed by Western blot. Apoptosis of the intestinal epithelial cells was examined by the TUNEL method. Results showed that SA pretreatment significantly increased expression of HSP70 in the small intestine. SA pretreatment attenuated the burn-induced increase in plasma endotoxin and d-lactic acid content, intestinal injury scores and the percentage of apoptotic intestinal epithelial cells. Co-administration of quercetin with SA abolished the SA-induced HSP70 over-expression and the beneficial effects of SA. Our findings suggest increasing expression of HSP70 induced by SA pretreatment attenuates burn-induced intestinal injury apparently by preventing apoptosis.

Extensive studies have demonstrated that the Akt/AKT1 pathway is essential for cell survival and inhibition of apoptosis; however, alterations of Akt/AKT1 in human primary tumors have not been well documented. In this report, significantly increased AKT1 kinase activity was detected in primary carcinomas of prostate (16 of 30), breast (19 of 50), and ovary (11 of 28). The results were confirmed by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining analyses with phospho-Ser473 Akt antibody. The majority of AKT1-activated tumors are high grade and stage III/lV (13 of 16 prostate, 15 of 19 breast, and 8 of 11 ovarian carcinomas). Previous studies showed that wild-type AKT1 was unable to transform NIH3T3 cells. To demonstrate the biological significance of AKT1 activation in human cancer, constitutively activated AKT1 (Myr-Akt) was introduced into NIH3T3 cells. Overexpression of Myr-Akt in the stably transfected cells resulted in malignant phenotype, as determined by growth in soft agar and tumor formation in nude mice. These data indicate that AKT1 kinase, which is frequently activated in human cancer, is a determinant in oncogenesis and a potential target for cancer intervention.

The aim of the study was to analyse the effects of early enteral feeding on the prevention of enterogenic infection in severely burned patients. A total of 22 patients with severe burns were randomly divided into an early enteral feeding group (EF) and a delayed enteral feeding group (DF). The levels of serum endotoxin and TNF-alpha were dynamically detected in the members of both groups, and two unmetabolized sugars (lactulose and mannitol) were orally administered to these patients 1, 3 and 5 days postburn. Intestinal permeability was evaluated by detecting the concentrations of lactulose and mannitol in the urine and the lactulose-mannitol ratio (L/M) ratio. The levels of serum endotoxin and TNF-alpha in severely burned patients were significantly higher than in normal subjects (P<0.01). The endotoxin level was positively related to the TNF-alpha level (rEF=0.93, P<0.01; rDF=0.80, P<0.05). The urinary lactulose levels in both groups were significantly higher than in normal (P<0.01), the urinary mannitol levels showed no obvious changes (P>0.05). The urinary L/M ratios in both groups were significantly higher than in normal subjects (P<0.01). The urinary L/M ratio was positively related to the serum endotoxin level (r=0.95, P<0.01). The urinary lactulose levels and the urinary L/M ratios in the EF group were significantly lower than in the DF group (P<0.01). The levels of serum endotoxin and TNF-alpha in the EF group were significantly lower than in the DF group (P<0.01). It is suggested that intestinal permeability was markedly higher after burns than normal, and was positively related to the gut-derived endotoxemia. Early enteral feeding may decrease intestinal permeability, preserve the intestinal mucosal barrier and have a beneficial effect on the reduction of enterogenic infection.

Background: The association between BRCA1 germ-line mutations and breast cancer prognosis is controversial. A historical cohort study was designed to determine the prognosis for women with axillary lymph node negative hereditary breast cancer., Patients and Methods: We tested pathology blocks from 118 Ashkenazi Jewish women with axillary lymph node negative breast cancer for the presence of the two common BRCA1 founder mutations, 185delAG and 5382insC. Patients were followed up for a median of 76 months. Somatic TP53 mutations were screened for by immunohistochemistry, and direct sequencing was performed in the BRCA1-positive tumours., Results: Sixteen breast cancer blocks (13.6%) carried a BRCA1 mutation. Young age of onset, high nuclear grade, negative estrogen receptor status and over-expression of p53 were highly associated with BRCA1-positive status (P-values all <0.01). BRCA1 mutation carriers had a higher mortality than non-carriers (five-year overall survival, 50% and 89.6%, respectively, P = 0.0001). Young age of onset, estrogen receptor negative status, nuclear grade 3, and over-expression of p53 also predicted a poor outcome. Cox multivariate analyses showed that only germ-line BRCA1 mutation status was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.01). Among nuclear grade 3 tumours, the BRCA1 mutation carrier status was a significant prognostic factor of death (risk ratio 5.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.5-22, P = 0.009). Sequencing of BRCA1-related breast cancers revealed one TP53 missense mutation not previously reported in breast cancer., Conclusions: Using a historical cohort approach, we have identified BRCA1 mutation status as an independent prognostic factor for node negative breast cancer among the Ashkenazi Jewish women. Those managing women carrying a BRCA1 mutation may need take these findings into consideration. Additionally, our preliminary results, taken together with the work of others suggest a different carcinogenic pathway in BRCA1-related breast cancer, compared to non-hereditary cases.