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The invasion mechanism of Solidago canadensis L., been extensively investigated as its one of the most destructive exotic invasive plants. The present study showed that allelopathy is beneficial to the successful invasion of invasive alien species (IAS). However, the main allelopathic part of S. canadensis L. is less known to the researchers. Therefore, we experimented with the allelopathic effects of extracts obtained from various parts of S. canadensis L. (root, litter, aboveground parts) at concentrations of 50 g L -1 and 150 g L-1 on seed germination and seedling growth of Zoysia japonica Steud. The results showed that the extract from the S. canadensis L. aboveground parts had prominent inhibition effects on Zoysiagrass seed germination rate, germination potential, vigour value, root length and plant height, and the suppression increased significantly at high concentrations. With the treatment of aqueous extract from the aboveground parts of S. canadensis L. (50 g L-1 ), the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and peroxidase (POD) activity increased significantly. The root extract at the concentration of 50 g L-1 did not affect the parameters except POD activity, but the concentration of 150 g L-1 inhibited all the parameters significantly except catalase (CAT) activity. Litter aqueous extracts did not show any significant effect on any parameters of Zoysia japonica Steud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/cddis.2014.82.

Perinatal asphyxia is one of the major causes of cerebral injury in neonates. It may be due to the increased endogenous opioid-like substances (OLS) in the body. The levels of three OLS, namely leucine-enkephalin (LEK), beta-endorphin (beta-EP) and dynorphin A1-13 (DynoA1-13) of 44 cases with neonatal asphyxia were studied by radioimmunoassay. The OLS level in plasma and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) were higher in asphyxiated group than those in the control group, especially in asphyxiated cases with fetal distress. The OLS levels of CSF were also higher in cases with cerebral injury than in those without cerebral injury, while the levels of OLS in plasma had no difference in these two groups. The relationship between OLS levels and asphyxia and cerebral injury is also discussed.