Search

Paeonia ostii T. Hong & J.X. Zhang, an emerging oil crop, was intercropped with 3-year-old plantations of pawpaw [Chaenomeles sinensis (Thouin.) Koehne], Chinese toon (Toona sinensis Roem.), and walnut (Juglans regia L.). In order to achieve a better production system, we studied the effects of intercropping on the photosynthesis, growth, and yield of P. ostii. The results showed that different pattern of agroforestry systems changed microclimatic and growing site conditions in comparison to the control treatment. The correlation analysis demonstrated that both similarities and differences were found in relationship between net photosynthetic rate (PN) and main ecophysiological factors at different treatments. Agroforestry systems significantly reduced transpiration rate and increased water-use efficiency (WUE), maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, chlorophyll (Chl) a and total Chl contents, whereas there were no differences between PN, intercellular CO2 concentration, photochemical efficiency of PSII in the light, and plant height in these systems. The obviously exponential relationship between PN and PAR during a day were observed in Chinese toon and walnut treatments. The highest effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, electron transport rate, and photochemical quenching coefficient were observed in walnut treatment. The higher WUE and SPAD value, the thinnest stem, the biggest crown, the lowest stomatal conductance, and Chl a/b ratio as well as the fewest pods and harvest seed yield were observed in pawpaw treatment. In addition, there was a significant correlation between SPAD value and Chl (a+b) of P. ostii in agroforestry system. This study could be an important contribution for the science of land management in oil peony and other understory crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most ordinary malignant cancers. Recent researches have proved that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as an important role in cancers. Our study aims to explore the function of lncRNA CASC15 in the tumor metastasis of PC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was utilized to detect CASC15 expression in 50 PC patients. Besides, the wound healing assay and transwell assay were performed to identify the biological behavior changes of PC cells after CASC15 was silenced in PC cells. In addition, the potential mechanism was also explored using the luciferase assay. RESULTS: CASC15 expression level was significantly higher in PC tissues and cell lines. Results of wound healing assay and transwell assay revealed that cell migrated ability and invaded ability were suppressed via silence of CASC15 in PC cells. Furthermore, the expression of miR-200a-3p was upregulated via silence of CASC15 in PC cells. Luciferase assay showed that miR-200a-3p was a direct target of CASC15 in PC. In addition, miR-200a-3p expression was negatively correlated with CASC15 expression in PC tissues. Rescue experiments also revealed that the inhibition of PC migration and invasion by silence of CASC15 could be reversed through knockdown of miR-200a-3p. CONCLUSIONS: Our study uncovers that CASC15 could enhance cell migration and invasion of PC cells by sponging miR-200a-3p, which might be applied as a novel therapeutic target for PC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed the relationships between environmental parameters and benthic macroinvertebrate faunas. Invertebrate richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity, functional-group and CCA were used to evaluate conditions of waterbodies of the Hu-lan Estuary Natural Wetland Reserve and its hinterlands. We measured 10 physicochemical variables and collected 165 species belonging to 6 functional feeding groups (FFGs) during spring, summer and autumn. Some of the physicochemical factors changed with seasons. Nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphate significantly varied with seasons (p ˂ 0.05), unlike water temperature, depth, pH, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, Ammonia nitrogen and electronic conductivity (p > 0.05). The taxa richness of benthic macroinvertebrates did not vary significantly within the sites (p = 0.508); while the Shannon-Wiener diversity showed significantly difference (p ˂ 0.01) within the sites over these three seasons. Gathering-collectors were the most abundant macroinvertebrate FFG assemblages all over the sites, though there’s no significant difference in the total abundance of 6 functional feeding groups identified among the sites during spring, summer and autumn (p = 0.677, p = 0.681, p = 0.302, respectively). Our CCA results indicated positive correlations of macroinvertebrate community compositions with environmental variables in the Hu-lan Estuary Natural Wetland Reserve and its surrounding waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Odanacatib on orthodontic recurrence in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty rats were selected to establish a planting anchorage molar movement model, and 50 g of force was used for the mesial movement of the right maxillary first molar. Forty rats were randomly divided into the observation group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Odanacatib (60 μl, 1.25 μM) was locally injected into the mucoperiosteum around the right maxillary first molar of rats in the experimental group, and an equal amount of normal saline was injected into rats in the control group. A Vernier caliper was used for measuring the recurrence movement distance and recurrence rate of rats, Micro-CT for scanning the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone volume fraction (BVF) of the alveolar bone, TRAP special staining for observing changes in osteoclasts and quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) for detecting the mRNA expressions of cathepsin K (CatK) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in periodontal tissues. RESULTS: After 3 weeks of modeling, the movement distance of the first molar of rats in the two groups was 1.16±0.19 mm. The molar movement distance and recurrence rate of rats were significantly higher in the control group than those in the observation group (p<0.05). The BMD and BVF of the alveolar bone of rats were markedly lower in the control group than those in the observation group (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the number of osteoclasts between the observation group (26.15±3.92) and the control group (27.01±2.74) (t=0.882, p=0.383). The CatK mRNA expression of rats was remarkably lower in the observation group than that in the control group (p<0.05). The IGF-1 mRNA expression of rats was significantly higher in the observation group than that in the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: By promoting the IGF-1 m RNA expression and increasing the BMD and BVF of the alveolar bone, Odanacatib inhibits orthodontic recurrence and has no effect on osteoclast activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes has been recognized as a major risk factor to cause macrovascular diseases and plays a key role in aortic wall remodeling. However, the effects of diabetes on elastic properties of aortas remain largely unknown and quantitative mechanical data are lacking. Thirty adult rabbits (1.6-2.2 kg) were collected and the type 1 diabetic rabbit model was induced by injection of alloxan. A total of 15 control and 15 diabetic rabbit (abdominal) aortas were harvested. Uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests were performed to measure ultimate tensile strength and to characterize biaxial mechanical behaviors of the aortas. A material model was fitted to the biaxial experimental data to obtain constitutive parameters. Histological and mass fraction analyses were performed to investigate the underlying microstructure and dry weight percentages of elastin and collagen in the control and the diabetic aortas. No statistically significant difference was found in ultimate tensile strength between the control and the diabetic aortas. Regarding biaxial mechanical responses, the diabetic aortas exhibited significantly lower extensibility and significantly higher tissue stiffness than the control aortas. Notably, tissue stiffening occurred in both circumferential and axial directions for the diabetic aortas; however, mechanical anisotropy does not change significantly. The material model was able to fit biaxial experimental data very well. Histology showed that a number of isolated foam cells were embedded in the diabetic aortas and hyperplasia of collagen was identified. The dry weight percentages of collagen within the diabetic aortas increased significantly as compared to the control aortas, whereas no significant change was found for that of elastin. Our data suggest that the diabetes impairs elastic properties and alters microstructure of the aortas and consequently, these changes may further contribute to complex aortic wall remodeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA SNHG16 in ovarian cancer and to further investigate its role in the development of ovarian cancer as well as its potential regulatory mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real- time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of SNHG16 in 103 ovarian cancer tissues and normal tissues; the relationship between the expression of SNHG16 and the pathological parameters of ovarian cancer and the prognosis of patients was also analyzed. qRT-PCR was used to further verify the expression of SNHG16 in the ovarian cancer cells. After establishment of SNHG16 knockdown expression model in ovarian cancer cells SKOV-3 and HO8910 using small interfering RNA, the effect of SNHG16 on biological function of ovarian cancer cells was analyzed via cell counting kit-8 (CCK8), transwell invasion and migration assay. Finally, its potential mechanism was analyzed by Western Blot. RESULTS: qRT-PCR results showed that the expression of SNHG16 in ovarian cancer was significantly higher than that in normal tissues, and the difference was statistically significant. Compared with patients with lower expression of SNHG16, patients with higher expression of SNHG16 had higher tumor stage, high rate of distant metastasis and low overall survival rate. Compared with the negative control si-NC group, the cell proliferation, invasion and migration ability in SNHG16 knockdown group (si-SNHG16) significantly decreased. Western Blot showed that after knockdown of SNHG16, expressions of P-AKT and MMP9 decreased significantly, while there was no significant change in the total AKT level. CONCLUSIONS: SNHG16 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer, and was correlated with staging, distant metastasis and poor prognosis of ovarian cancer. SNHG16 may activate phosphorylation of AKT and upregulate the expression of MMP9 to promote cell proliferation, invasion and migration of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high cost and less variety of raw materials has greatly restricted the wide application of selective laser sintering (SLS) technology. In order to make the material cheaper and more diverse, PA6 is the most preferable material. In this work, a new PA6/SiO2 composite microsphere used for SLS was designed and fabricated. To construct the material, PA6 porous microspheres with diameters of 20-80 μm and a certain pore volume were firstly prepared by the dissolution precipitation method. Then, SiO2 was generated in situ in the PA6 porous microsphere framework, thus achieving a special structured PA6/SiO2 composite microsphere. These microspheres with much well dispersed SiO2 in PA6 matrices formed a powder with high bulk density and good electron conductivity. The particle size and weight fraction of the two components can be well controlled by adjusting the experimental conditions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data showed that the composite powder had a larger sintering window, which would be beneficial for SLS processing. The introduction of SiO2 reduced the rate of water absorption in the composite powder, which could improve the accuracy of SLS forming. This work has certain significance as a reference for the design and development of SLS polymer-based composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new bio-based elastomer, poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate-e-caprolactone) (PBFCL), has been synthesized from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, 1,4-butanediol, and e-caprolactone successfully for the first time. The obtained copolyester was characterized in terms of chemical structure, thermal and mechanical properties, and enzymatic degradability. In PBFCL elastomer, butylene-2,5-furandiacrboxylate units (hard segments) crystallize to serve as physical crosslinks while e-caprolactone polyester diol (soft segments) provide flexibility. PBFCL is a multi-blocked copolyester with randomly distributed rigid and soft segments. It possesses original feature of high strength and biodegradability stemming from the uses of aromatic and aliphatic monomers respectively. An important aspect of this new furanic-aliphatic polyester is its tailor-made properties simply achieved by changing the content of hard or soft segments. Typically, PBFCL-40 of optimal composition has Young's modulus as low as 15.4 MPa, tensile strength as high 24.8 MPa, and elongation as long as 885%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal has provided a great proportion of energy supply for the country. However, coal mining has caused lots of ecological and environmental problems. In this study, a field investigation experiment was conducted in subsided area of Zhaogu coal mine of Jiaozuo Coal Group, Henan Province, China, to explore effect of surface cracks caused by coal mining on the soil characteristics and crop growth. The results showed that during the jointing stage of wheat, the ranges within which the larger crack (C-1) and smaller crack (C-2) caused the effects on both soil water content and soil respiration were 0-60 cm and 0-30 cm from the cracks, respectively. C-1 significantly reduced the activities of soil urease and invertase within 0-60 cm from the crack but C-2 did not cause significant inhibition on soil enzymes. During the flowing stage of wheat, C-1 and C-2 significantly reduced soil water content, available nitrogen content and soil respiration within 0-60 cm and 0-30 cm from the cracks, respectively. The range within which C- 1 caused inhibition on urease activity was 0-60 cm while such range for C-2 was 0-30 cm from the crack. The ranges within which both C-1 and C-2 caused significant inhibition on invertase activity were 0-60 cm from the cracks. C-1 and C-2 caused significant inhibition on photosynthesis of wheat within 0-60 cm and 0-30cm from the cracks, respectively. C-1 and C2 significantly reduced spike number and grain yield within 0-90 and 0-60 cm from the cracks, respectively. In conclusion, surface cracks resulted in loss of water and nutrients and reduction in crop yield, which is more serious with lager cracks. Therefore, further studies are needed to address this problem and to find effective measures to resolve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]