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The widespread use of antibiotics has led to a large number of antibiotics entering the environment, to which microorganisms have become resistant. In recent years, with the intensification of human activities in the plateau region, the occurrence and migration of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in plateau wetlands have attracted considerable attention. Here, we selected the Caohai National Wetland Park, located in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, as our study area. The contents of tetracyclines, sulfonamides, quinolones, and macrolides in sediments from the upstream (the pristine habitat near the spring eye) and downstream (the sewage discharge outlet of residents) areas of the river in the park were analyzed. Among them, the detection content of tetracycline antibiotics was 103.65-2185 μg·kg -1 , which was the highest antibiotic detection content. To further investigate the occurrence characteristics and influencing factors of tetracycline resistance genes, the influence of environmental factors, bacterial community structure, and pathogenic bacteria on tetracycline ARGs under the influence of human activities were revealed via correlation analysis and network analysis. The results showed that a total of 15 tetracycline resistance genes were detected in the upstream and downstream sediments. Among them, seven resistance genes including tetPA , tetD , and tetPB were detected in the upstream, and 13 resistance genes such as tetPA , tetE , tetM , and tetX were detected in the downstream. The abundance of eight new resistance genes in the downstream accounted for 43.44% of the downstream genes. The tetracycline-like antibiotics and soil physicochemical indicators (i.e., available phosphorus, total organic carbon, nitrate nitrogen, and total phosphorus) were the main environmental factors affecting the distribution of tetracycline ARGs. Additionally, the bacteria detected in the upstream and downstream sediments belonged to 64 bacterial phyla, among which Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidota were the main phyla affecting the abundance of tetracycline ARGs; meanwhile, 27 pathogenic bacteria were detected in the upstream and downstream sediments. Network analysis showed that the correlation between the eight new resistance genes and pathogens in the downstream area accounted for 70% of the network connectivity, and Listeria monocytogenes , Enterococcus faecalis , and Bacteroides vulgatus were identified as potential hosts for the transmission of tetracycline ARGs. Compared to the pristine habitat, the discharge of domestic sewage introduced large amounts of antibiotics and also changed the microenvironment and microbial community structure of the river wetland. Additionally, it increased the species of ARGs in sediments, which promoted the spread and transmission of ARGs among microorganisms and even pathogens.

Beesia deltophylla is an endemic and rare species only distributed in Xizang, China. The chloroplast genome of B. deltophylla is 157,397 bp in length, with 112 encoded genes including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic reconstruction has confirmed the placement of B. deltophylla as sister to B. calthifolia . These two species formed a clade closely to a Japan endemic species Anemonopsis macrophylla ., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Soil microorganism was the engine of the migration and transformation of biological elements in the soil-plant system of wetland ecosystems. Exploring the relationship between plant community, soil properties, and spatial structure with soil microorganisms is the key to maintain the health and stability of wetlands. In order to examine the effects of plant community, soil properties, and spatial structure on the bacterial community in wetlands, we used two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) to classify plant communities from 35 samples collected in Bitahai Wetland. We measured microbial community composition at the surface soil of the samples using high-throughput sequencing technology, and analyzed the relationship among plant community, soil pro-perties and spatial structure with bacterial community. The results showed that plant communities could classified into three different types by TWINSPAN. The physiognomy and structure of plant communities in same community type were relatively consistent. We found that quantitative classification had good applicability in vegetation classification of plateau wetland ecosystem. Acidobacteriota (21.0%), Chloroflexi (15.5%), Proteobacteria (15.3%) and Bacteroidetes (10.1%) had higher population densities (≥10%) in Bitahai Wetland. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) showed that different plant community types differed significantly in bacterial community composition, suggesting that plant communities could affect bacterial community. Cano-nical correspondence analysis (CCA) results showed that plant diversity, soil water content (SWC), pH, iron (Fe) and spatial structure were the dominated factors that significantly affecting bacterial community. The variance partitioning analysis (VPA) results showed that bacterial community was affected by single environment factors and their interactions. Our results highlighted that bacterial community is shaped by plant community, soil properties and spatial structure, with their effects being indivisible.

Microbial translocation (MT) and altered gut microbiota have been described in acute leukemic patients and contribute to immune activation and inflammation. However, phage translocation has not been investigated in leukemia patients yet. We recruited 44 leukemic patients and 52 healthy adults and quantified the levels of 3 phages in peripheral blood, which were the most positive phages screened from fecal samples. The content of 16S rRNA in plasma was detected by qPCR to assess the intestinal mucosa of these patients. Spearman's rank correlation was used to analyze the relationship between phage load and the relevant clinical data. We found the most prevalent phages in fecal samples were λ phage, Wphi phage, and P22 phage, and λ phage had the highest detection rate in plasma (68%). Phage content was affected by chemotherapy and course of disease and correlated with the levels of CRP (r = 0.43, p = 0.003), sCD14 (r = 0.37, p = 0.014), and sCD163 (r = 0.44, p = 0.003). Our data indicate that plasma phage load is a promising marker for gut barrier damage and that gut phage translocation correlates with monocyte/macrophage activation and systemic inflammatory response in leukemic patients.

Objective: Heart failure (HF) is the loss of myocardial structure and function caused by various congenital or acquired heart diseases. This study explored the new target of treatment of HF by investigating the effect of Kallistatin (KS) on inflammation and apoptosis of myocardial tissue in HF rats., Materials and Methods: We used doxorubicin to induce rat HF, and determined the success rate of modeling by detecting changes in rat heart weight and body weight, cardiac function and histology. We used two different doses (1 mg/kg, 2 mg/kg) of KS intraperitoneally injected rats and detected changes in inflammation and apoptosis of rat myocardial tissue by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining. Changes in the expression of sirt1 were also detected. In addition, we cultured rat myocardial cell line, H9c2 cells, and used siRNA-sirt1 to inhibit sirt1 in H9c2 cells to clarify the mechanism of KS regulating myocardial cells., Results: The body weight of HF rats treated with KS decreased while the heart weight increased. KS has also been found to reduce the concentration of brain natriuretic polypeptide (BNP) in rat serum. The results of echocardiography showed that KS effectively relieved the cardiac function of HF rats. Inflammatory factors (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α) and pro-apoptotic molecules (caspase3/9 and Bax) in the serum and myocardial tissue of rats treated with KS were also significantly reduced. The inhibition of sirt1 in H9c2 cells significantly reduced the anti-apoptotic effect of KS on H9c2 cells., Conclusions: KS reduces the inflammation and apoptosis of myocardial tissue in HF rats by promoting the expression of sirt1, thereby alleviating HF-induced myocardial injury.

The study aims to explore how microRNA-146a/b (miR-146a/b) regulates the function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in acute ischemic stroke in mice. Eighty male SPF C57BL/6J mice were evenly divided into the model-6 h, model-12 h, model-24 h (mice suffered from middle cerebral artery occlusion [MCAO] for 6 h, 12 h and model-24 h) and normal groups. EPCs were transfected and assigned into the control, MCAO, MCAO-miR-146a, MCAO-miR-146b and MCAO-miR-146a/b groups. The qRT-PCR was used to detect miR-146a/b expression in EPCs. Expressions of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) were detected using western blotting. Cell proliferation and migration of EPCs were testified using CCK-8 assay and scratch test, respectively. Angiogenesis ability of EPCs was observed under microscope. MiR-146a and miR-146b expressions were lower in the model groups than the normal group. There were up-regulated TRAF6 and IRAK1 expressions in the model-6 h, model-12 h and model-24 h groups compared with the normal group. And there were down-regulated TRAF6 and IRAK1 expressions in the MCAO-miR-146a, MCAO-miR-146b and MCAO-miR-146a/b groups than in the MCAO group. Compared with the control group, the proliferation, migration and angiogenesis ability of EPCs were significantly lower in the MCAO group, but higher in the MCAO-miR-146a, MCAO-miR-146b and MCAO-miR-146a/b groups. Besides, the miR-146a/b group showed more enhancement than the MCAO-miR-146a and MCAO-miR-146b groups. MiR-146a/b could down-regulate the TRAF6 and IRAK1 expressions and promote proliferation, migration and angiogenesis ability of EPCs, which was important for recovery of patients with hyperacute ischemic stroke., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Taiwan.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of lumbar cistern drainage combined with intrathecal injection of antibiotics (LCD-ITI) in treating postoperative intracranial infections of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (pHIH-ICI)., Methods: Sixty pHIH-ICI patients were randomly divided into the control group and the treatment group, with 30 patients in each group. Conventional treatment was performed in the control group, while LCD-ITI was performed in the treatment group. The clinical outcomes, Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS), activities of daily living (ADL) scores, incidence rates of hydrocephalus and other indicators were compared., Results: The improvement time of clinical symptoms, infection control time and hydrocephalus incidence of the treatment group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). Also the infection control rate, GOS score and ADL score of the treatment group were significantly higher or better than the control group (P<0.05)., Conclusion: LCD-ITI could improve clinical treatment and prognosis of pHIH-ICI patients., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

By the method of physical fractionation of organic matter, this paper studied the distribution characteristics of organic carbon in different particle size aggregates in a paddy soil chronosequence on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay, East China. In the plow layers of the paddy soil chronosequence, micro-aggregates (<0. 25 mm) dominated, and the proportion of large micro-aggregates (0.053-0.25 mm) decreased with increasing rice cultivation year. In the micro-aggregates (<0. 053 mm and 0. 053-0. 25 mm), the organic carbon content increased with increasing rice cultivation time; and in the aggregates (0. 053-2 mm), the ratio of the organic carbon in different particle size fractions to the bulk soil organic carbon increased with decreasing particle size, and the organic carbon mainly distributed in large micro-aggregates (0. 053 -0. 25 mm). With increasing rice cultivation time, soil particulate organic carbon decreased, indicating that the paddy soil with a longer rice cultivation history had a stronger capability of carbon sequestration than the soil with a shorter rice cultivation history, and the early cultivated paddy soil still had great potential for carbon sequestration.

Objective: To compare the effects of valsartan combined with amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide regimen on blood pressure variation and plasma nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin (ET) in elderly hypertensive patients., Methods: A total of 61 elderly patients with grade 2 or 3 hypertension were randomized into valsartan + amlodipine (the amlodipine group, n = 31) or valsartan + hydrochlorothiazide (the hydrochlorothiazide group, n = 30) group. Blood lipids, fasting plasma glucose and uric acid were determined before the treatment. 24-hour dynamic blood pressure, NO and ET were monitored at baseline, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment., Results: 24 hours blood pressure and daytime blood pressure were similar between two groups at all 3 time points. At 16 weeks, morning systolic blood pressure surge was significantly lower in amlodipine group than in hydrochlorothiazide group [(22.6 ± 8.8) mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) vs. (26.3 ± 13.7) mm Hg, P < 0.05]. 24 hours systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV) decreased progressively in both groups [the amlodipine group: (12.5 ± 2.8) mm Hg vs. (10.2 ± 2.2) mm Hg vs. (8.8 ± 1.6) mm Hg, P < 0.01; the hydrochlorothiazide group: (12.5 ± 2.5) mm Hg vs. (10.7 ± 2.2) mm Hg vs. (9.6 ± 2.0) mm Hg, P < 0.01]. Daytime SBPV also decreased progressively in both groups [the amlodipine group: (12.2 ± 3.0) mm Hg vs. (10.1 ± 2.3) mm Hg vs. (8.4 ± 1.9) mm Hg, P < 0.01; the hydrochlorothiazide group: (11.8 ± 2.7) mm Hg vs. (10.4 ± 1.9) mm Hg vs. (9.6 ± 2.2) mm Hg, P < 0.01]. 24 hours diastolic blood pressure variability (DBPV) was significantly reduced post therapy in the amlodipine group [(15.5 ± 3.4) mm Hg vs. (13.0 ± 3.5) mm Hg vs. (12.3 ± 2.5), P < 0.01] but not in the hydrochlorothiazide group. NO increased progressively [(27.3 ± 13.6) µmol/L vs. (47.2 ± 16.3) µmol/L vs. (69.5 ± 18.9) µmol/L in the amlodipine group, P < 0.01; (33.5 ± 13.9) µmol/L vs. (49.7 ± 21.9) µmol/L vs. (66.7 ± 24.7) µmol/L in the hydrochlorothiazide group, P < 0.01] and ET decreased progressively [(45.3 ± 8.0) ng/L vs. (37.4 ± 3.9) ng/L vs. (34.2 ± 4.4) ng/L in the amlodipine group, P < 0.01; (46.6 ± 10.4) ng/L vs. (37.0 ± 5.4) ng/L vs. (36.1 ± 8.2) ng/L in the hydrochlorothiazide group, P < 0.01] in both groups., Conclusion: Valsartan in combination with amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide can both effectively lower BPV in elderly hypertensive patients and improve the vascular endothelial function and the former regimen is more suitable for elderly hypertensive patients.

Accelerated eutrophication and nutrient loads in the lakes are of major concern for human health and environment. This study was undertaken for modeling the non-point source pollution of Taihu lake basin in eastern China. The SWAT model having an interface in ArcView GIS was employed. Model sensitive parameters related to hydrology and water quality were obtained by sensitivity analysis, and then calibrated and validated by comparing model predictions with field data. The GIS showed good potential for parameterization of hill-slopes, channels, and representative slope profiles for SWAT model simulations. In a monthly and daily time step, the model's Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient (E) and the coefficient of determination (R(2)) indicated that values of simulated runoff, NH(4)(+)-N and total phosphorus were acceptably closer to the measured data. Surface water parameters especially CN, Soil-AWC and ESCO were the most sensitive and had more recognition in the model. It is concluded that runoff carrying N and P nutrients from chemical fertilizer inputs in agricultural areas is the major contributor to NPSP in the lake basin. So, decrease in excessive use of N and P fertilizers and their synergism with organic manures is recommended that would significantly reduce nutrient pollution in the lake ecosystem.

The effect of urea with 1% 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on inorganic nitrogen runoff loss from agriculture field was determined in an undisturbed vegetable soil by using the simulated artificial rainfall method. The results show that, during the three simulated artificial rainfall period, the ammonium nitrogen content in the runoff water is increased 1.42, 2.82 and 1.95 times with the DMPP application treatment compared to regular urea treatment, respectively. In the urea with DMPP addition treatment, the nitrate nitrogen content is decreased 70.2%, 59.7% and 52.1% in the three simulated artificial rainfall runoff water, respectively. The nitrite nitrogen content is also decreased 98.7%, 90.6% and 85.6% in the three simulated artificial rainfall runoff water, respectively. The nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen runoff loss are greatly declined with the DMPP addition in the urea. Especially the nitrite nitrogen is in a significant low level and is near to the treatment with no fertilizer application. The inorganic nitrogen runoff loss is declined by 39.0% to 44.8% in the urea with DMPP addition treatment. So DMPP could be used as an effective nitrification inhibitor to control the soil ammonium oxidation, decline the nitrogen runoff loss, lower the nitrogen transformation risk to the waterbody and be beneficial for the ecological environment.

The application of nitrogen fertilizers leads to various ecological problems such as nitrate leaching. The use of nitrification inhibitors as nitrate leaching retardants is a proposal that has been suggested for inclusion in regulations in many countries. In this study, using a multi-layer soil column device, the influence of new nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate) was studied for understanding the nitrogen vertical transformation and lowering the nitrate leaching at different soil profile depths. The results indicated that, within 60 d of experiment, the regular urea added 1.0% DMPP can effectively inhibit the ammonium oxidation in the soil, and improve the ammonium concentration in soil solution over the 20cm depths of soil profile, while decline the concentrations of nitrate and nitrite. No obvious difference was found on ammonium concentrations in soil solution collected from deep profile under 20cm depths between regular urea and the urea added 1.0% DMPP. There was also no significant difference for the nitrate, ammonium and nitrite concentrations in the soil solution under 40cm depths of soil profile with the increasing nitrogen application level, among the treatments of urea added 1.0% DMPP within 60 d. It is proposed that DMPP could be used as an effective nitrification inhibitor in some region to control ammonium oxidation and decline the ion-nitrogen leaching, minimizing the shallow groundwater pollution risk and being beneficial for the ecological environment.

With the effective control of point source pollution, the non-point source pollution (NPSP) of water environment has been paid more and more attention, and NPSP models are thriving with the development of 3S technology. This paper made a brief introduction about the classification and evolution of NPSP models. Ten NPSP models commonly used abroad were selected and compared, with their software developers and providers, data input and output, pollutant- and sediment types, time scale, simulation progress and characteristics, and model types illustrated. Based on the model applications and related literature reports, a qualitative evaluation was made from the viewpoint of the suitability of NPSP models to different watershed situation. Finally, the existing research insufficiency was analyzed, and the future development trend of non-point research was discussed, which would be helpful to the development of NPSP models and their applications in water management in China.

Using a multi-layer soil column device, the effect of new nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate) on nitrogen leaching was studied for understanding the nitrogen vertical transformation and lowering the nitrogen leaching losses. The results indicate that, within 60 days of experiment, the regular urea added with 1% of DMPP can effectively inhibit the ammonium oxidation in the soil, and improve the concentration of NH4(+) -N in soil solution over the 20 cm tilth profile, while decline the concentrations of NO3(-) -N and N2(-) -N. No obvious difference is found on NH4(+) -N concentrations collected from deep layer soil solution under 20 cm between regular urea and the urea added with 1% of DMPP. There is also no significant difference for the NH4(+) -N and NO3(-) -N in the soil solution of deep layer under 40 cm among the treatments of urea by adding with 1% of DMPP within 60 days. So DMPP could be used as an effective nitrification inhibitor to control ammonium oxidation, decline the nitrate leaching losses, minimize the underground water pollution risk and be beneficial for the ecological environment.

A herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) type-specific monoclonal antibody (MAb), CH-A9, precipitated a glycoprotein with an M(r) of approximately 30,000 (g30K) from extracts of HSV-2-infected BHK cells labelled with [3H]leucine, [14C]fructose or [3H]glucosamine. The M(r) of this glycoprotein is lower than those of other HSV glycoproteins. Immunoassays of BHK cells infected with HSV-1-HSV-2 intertypic recombinants localized the gene encoding the target antigen of MAb CH-A9 to the unique long (UL) region at map units 0.490 to 0.564. Tunicamycin effectively inhibits N-linked glycosylation of g30K, which suggests that g30K may be modified by addition of N-linked oligosaccharides and that the amino acid sequence may contain Asn-X-Ser or Asn-X-Thr. The g30K was also purified on an immunoadsorbent column consisting of MAb CH-A9 linked to Sepharose 4B and was shown to be an HSV-2 type-specific antigen by indirect ELISA. The glycoprotein could induce HSV-2 type-specific neutralizing antibody in BALB/c mice. This evidence suggests that g30K may be a novel glycoprotein of HSV-2.