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A Gram-stain-negative, oval or short rod-shaped, non-motile, aerobic bacterium, designated strain S1109L T , was isolated from a marine sediment in Weihai, PR China. Cells were oxidase positive and catalase positive. Growth of strain S1109L T occurred at 10-40 °C (optimum, 30-33 °C), pH 6.5-10.0 (optimum, 7.0-8.0) and in the presence of 1-21% (optimum, 4-6%) (w/v) NaCl. 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogeny indicated that strain S1109L T was associated with the genus Pontibaca of the family Rhodobacteraceae because it showed the highest sequence similarity to Pontibaca methylaminivorans KCTC 22497 T (97.5%). The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) scores between strain S1109L T and Pontibaca methylaminivorans KCTC 22497 T were 74.6% and 18.7%. The major cellular fatty acids of strain S1109L T were C 19:0 cyclo ω8c and C 18:1 ω7c. The polar lipids profiles of strain S1109L T were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and two unidentified lipids. Strain S1109L T contained ubiquinone-10 as the major respiratory quinone. The genomic DNA G + C content was 55.9 mol%. On the basis of the evidence presented in this study, strain S1109L T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pontibaca, for which the name Pontibaca salina sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of is S1109L T (= KCTC 82411 T  = MCCC 1H00441 T )., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) as a commercially important species is widely cultured in China. However, E. sinensis is prone to agonistic behavior, which causes physical damage and wastes energy resources, negatively impacting their growth and survival. Therefore, understanding the regulatory mechanisms that underlie the switching of such behavior is essential for ensuring the efficient and cost-effective aquaculture of E. sinensis. The 5-HT2B receptor is a key downstream target of serotonin (5-HT), which is involved in regulating animal behavior. In this study, the full-length sequence of 5-HT2B gene was cloned. The total length of the 5-HT2B gene was found to be 3127 bp with a 236 bp 5'-UTR (untranslated region), a 779 bp 3'-UTR, and a 2112 bp open reading frame encoding 703 amino acids. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the 5-HT2B amino acid sequence of E. sinensis is highly conserved with that of Cancer borealis. Using in vitro co-culture and luciferase assays, the miR-143 targets the 5-HT2B 3'-UTR and inhibits 5-HT2B expression was confirmed. Furthermore, RT-qPCR and Western blotting analyses revealed that the miR-143 mimic significantly inhibits 5-HT2B mRNA and protein expression. However, injection of miR-143 did not decrease agonistic behavior, indicating that 5-HT2B is not involved in the regulation of such behavior in E. sinensis.

Spondias pinnata (Linn. f.) Kurz (Anacardiaceae) is widely distributed in tropical Asia, where it is commonly used as a vegetable and fruit, and is attracting increasing research attention. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition and the cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities of the fruit peel essential oil of S. pinnata (EOSP), which has been consumed as a medicine and condiment in Xishuangbanna, southwest China. A total of 40 components were identified by Gas Chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC-MS), representing 95.19% of the EOSP, with furfural (17.14%), α-terpineol (13.09%), and ethyl benzoate (9.05%) as the main constituents. EOSP has moderate cytotoxic activity against five cancer cells and obvious antimicrobial activity against five pathogenic strains. In particular, EOSP (Minimal Inhibitory and Fungicidal Concentration, MIC and MFC, 16‒32 µg/mL) showed a 32-times higher inhibition effect against Aspergillus fumigatus than the positive control Tigecycline (MIC and MBC 512‒1024 µg/mL). EOSP also showed strong anti-inflammatory activity by significantly inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 cell lines at 0.08‱, with no effect on cell viability. These bioactivities of S. pinnata fruit peel validate its traditional uses and suggest that it could be a new source of natural antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents for food or medical industries.

In the study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging associated with behavioral assessment to observe the effects of venlafaxine on the modulation of human motor cortex activation and to provide preliminary data for further assessing its influence on motor functional reorganization after stroke injury. In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, 8 right-handed subjects received 75 mg of either venlafaxine or a placebo daily over a period of 7 days separated by 3 washout days. The volunteers were asked to execute motor tasks, which included the dynamometer and finger-tapping test. In addition, laboratory tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging examination, before the start of the experiment and after administration of placebo and venlafaxine, were performed. It was shown that the finger-tapping rate of each hand in the venlafaxine stage was significantly improved compared with that observed in the placebo stage (n = 8, F left hand = 57.69, F right hand = 184.48, P < 0.001). The changes in the recorded grip strengths of both hands were not significant between the stages (n = 8, F = 2.63, P > 0.05). In the venlafaxine stage, the activations of the contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex, contralateral premotor cortex, and contralateral supplementary motor area were enhanced significantly, whereas the activation of the bilateral parietal cortices was decreased when compared with the placebo stage. Meanwhile, the enhancement of contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex activation had a positive correlation with the improvement of the finger-tapping rate. It was concluded that venlafaxine could modulate the cortical excitability and improve finger dexterity and reaction speed, which greatly related to the increase of contralateral motor cortical excitability.

The release of nitrogen and phosphorus from leaf litter of six representative species, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Pinus massoniana, Schima superba, Cinnamanun camphora, Cyclobalanopsis glauca and Castanopsis eyeri, was investigated with litterbag method under ambient and reduced UV-B radiation (22.1% below ambient) treatments in subtropical region. The results showed that, the N dynamics exhibited three patterns: immobilization, mineralization-immobilization and mineralization-immobilization-mineralization. P dynamics also exhibited three different patterns: mineralization, immobilization-mineralization-immobilization and no large change. Compared with ambient treatment, the reduced treatment significantly delayed the N release from C. eyeri and P release from both C. glanca and C. eyeri (P<0.05), but significantly stimulated P release from C. camphora (P<0.05). The initial N contents and C: N ratios can not account for the N dynamics during leaf litter decomposition. The C: P ratios can partly explain the P dynamics during decomposition. The more works need to be done to better understand the role of UV-B radiation in the forest ecosystem in humid subtropical China under global environment change.

Aim: To explore the correlativity between HLA-DQ allele and primary Sjogren's syndrome(pSS) of the Han nationality in Shanxi province and to understand the pathogenesis of pSS at the gene level., Methods: Polymerase chain reaction sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) technique was used to determine the alleles of HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 of pSS patients and healthy populations, and the difference in their HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 allelic frequencies were analyzed by using chi-square test and Fisher's exact test., Results: (1) The gene frequency of HLA-DQA1*0501 in pSS patients was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(22.0% vs 12.0%, x(2);=7.087, P<0.05, RR=2.068). (2)The gene frequency of HLA-DQA1*0301/2 in pSS patients was significantly lower than that in controls(13.0% vs 24.5%, x(2);=8.681, P<0.05, RR=0.460). (3) The gene frequency of HLA-DQB1*0201 in pSS patients was significantly higher than that in controls(28.5% vs 18.5%, x(2);=5.563, P<0.05, RR=1.756)., Conclusion: In Han nationality of Shanxi province, HLA-DQA1*0501 and HLA-DQB1*0201 alleles probably are susceptible genes of pSS, while HLA-DQA1*0301/2 allele probably is a protective gene of pSS.

The litters of seven tree species representing the dominant plant species in three main successional stages in subtropical China, i.e., Pinus massoniana in early successional forests, Schima superba and Cinnamanun camphora in transitional forests, and Castanopsis eyeri, Cyclobalanopsis gracilis, Cyclobalanopsis glauca, and Michelia chapensis in late successional forests, were collected, and their decomposition rates were measured with litterbags. The results showed that M. chapensls and C. gracilis had the highest litter decomposition rate (k = 1.12 and 0.89, respectively), followed by C. camphora and S. superba (k = 0.61 and 0.55, respectively), and P. massoniana (k = 0.51), indicating that there was a trend of litter decomposition rate being increased with succession stage. Litter decomposition rate had significant correlations with the litter' s initial P, N, and lignin contents, lignin/N ratio (P < 0.01), and C/N ratio (P < 0.05), suggesting that the initial P, N, and lignin contents and lignin/N ratio of leaf litter could be the good indictors of litter decomposition rate.