Growth and yield of maize in response to reduced fertilizer application and its impacts on population dynamics and community biodiversity of insects and soil microbes.

In the North China Plain, farmers are using excessive amounts of fertilizer for the production of high-yield crop yield, which indirectly causes pollution in agricultural production. To investigate an optimal rate of fertilizer application for summer maize, the fertilizer reduction experiments with 600 kg/ha NPK (N: PO: KO = 28: 8: 10) as normal fertilizer application (NFA), (i.e.

Development of a prognostic model for personalized prediction of colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) patient outcomes using methylation-driven genes.

The objective of this study was to identify methylation-driven genes and explore their prognostic value in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to acquire collated COAD transcriptome gene expression matrix (containing 59,427 transcripts), transcriptome gene methylation level matrix (containing 29,602 methylated modified genes), which included 517 samples containing 41 samples of normal tissue (NT) & 476 samples of COAD, and patient clinical information files (including patient survival time, survival status, age, gender and tumor stage, etc.), for all COAD samples.

Effective Removal of Fe (III) from Strongly Acidic Wastewater by Pyridine-Modified Chitosan: Synthesis, Efficiency, and Mechanism.

A novel pyridine-modified chitosan (PYCS) adsorbent was prepared in a multistep procedure including the successive grafting of 2-(chloromethyl) pyridine hydrochloride and crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. Then, the as-prepared materials were used as adsorbents for the removal of metal ions from acidic wastewater. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the impact of various factors such as solution pH value, contact time, temperature, and Fe (III) concentration.

HO modified peanut shell-derived biochar/alginate composite beads as a green adsorbent for removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution.

In this study, a novel composite bead (MPB-ALG) was prepared by encapsulating HO modified peanut shell-derived biochar (MPB) into alginate matrix through a facile method. The structure and properties of prepared materials were characterized using FTIR, BET, SEM, and XPS. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to compare the Cu(II) adsorption performance of MPB, plain alginate beads (ALG), and MPB-ALG.

Transient Liquid Phase Diffusion Bonding of NiAl Superalloy with Low-Boron Nickel-Base Powder Interlayer.

As a technology for micro-deformed solid-phase connection, transient liquid phase (TLP) diffusion bonding plays a key role in the manufacture of heating components of aero engines. However, the harmful brittle phase and high hardness limit the application of TLP diffusion bonding in nickel-based superalloys. In this paper, a new strategy in which a low-boron and high-titanium interlayer can restrain the brittle phase and reduce the hardness of the TLP-diffusion-bonded joint is proposed.

Adsorption Performance of Methylene Blue by KOH/FeCl Modified Biochar/Alginate Composite Beads Derived from Agricultural Waste.

In this study, high-performance modified biochar/alginate composite bead (MCB/ALG) adsorbents were prepared from recycled agricultural waste corncobs by a high-temperature pyrolysis and KOH/FeCl activation process. The prepared MCB/ALG beads were tested for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye from wastewater. A variety of analytical methods, such as SEM, BET, FTIR and XRD, were used to investigate the structure and properties of the as-prepared adsorbents.

Impacts of corn intercropping with soybean, peanut and millet through different planting patterns on population dynamics and community diversity of insects under fertilizer reduction.

Corn is one of the key grain crops in China and the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides seriously damages the ecological environment in fields. To explore a more scientific and reasonable way to plant corn and simultaneously reduce the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the impact of corn intercropping with soybean, peanut, and millet, respectively, through five planting patterns, including three intercropping patterns (2 corn rows to 2, 3 and 4 rows of soybean/peanut or 2, 4 and 6 millet rows, respectively) and two monoculture patterns of corn and soybean, peanut or millet under normal (600 kg/ha) and reduced (375 kg/ha) levels of NPK (N:PO:KO = 15:15:15) fertilization on the population abundance and community diversity of insects, leaf nutrients, and induced plant hormones jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) was studied in 2018 and 2019. The results showed that the insect community indexes of the species number (), the diversity index (), and the uniformity index () generally increased under intercropping and were significantly higher than those under corn monoculture.

Investigation of the Tribological Behavior and Microstructure of Plasma-Cladded Fe-Cr-Mo-Ni-B Coating.

In this study, an Fe-Cr-Mo-Ni-B coating was prepared using plasma cladding on Cr5 steel substrate. The microstructure, phase evolution and tribological performance of the Fe-Cr-Mo-Ni-B coating were investigated. The microstructure is mainly composed of MoFeB, FeB, α-Fe, γ-Fe and MoB.

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic N fixation to nitrates by 2D/2D ultrathin BiVO nanosheet/rGO nanocomposites.

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation is a promising approach owing to its environmental friendliness and cost-effectiveness. The 2D/2D BiVO/rGO hybrid developed in this study exhibits a high nitrate-production rate of 1.45 mg h g and an apparent quantum efficiency (QE) of 0.

AMF Inoculation Can Enhance Yield of Transgenic Maize and Its Control Efficiency Against Especially Under Elevated CO.

The promotion and application of transgenic crops provides an approach for the prevention and control of target lepidopteran pests and effectively relieves the environmental pressure caused by the massive usage of chemical pesticides in fields. However, studies have shown that crops will face a new risk due to a decrease in exogenous toxin content under elevated carbon dioxide (CO) concentration, thus negatively affecting the ecological sustainability of crops. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important beneficial microorganisms that can effectively improve the nutrient status of host plants and are expected to relieve the ecological risk of crops under increasing CO due to global climate change.

[Inhibitory effect of 3-bromopyruvate on the proliferation, migration and invasive ability of prostate cancer PC-3 cells].

Objective: To observe the effects of the glycolysis inhibitor 3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA) on the proliferation, migration and invasive ability of prostate cancer PC-3 cells in vitro and explore the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: We cultured prostate cancer PC-3 cells in vitro and treated them with 3-BrPA at different concentrations for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Then we observed the morphological changes of the PC-3 cells under the inverted microscope.

Evaluating the effects of transgenic Bt rice cultivation on soil stability.

Insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins produced by genetically modified rice that enter the soil via pollen dispersal, plant residues, and root exudation may disturb soil health. In the present study, we assessed the influences of transgenic Bt rice (i.e.

Effects of elevated CO on foliar soluble nutrients and functional components of tea, and population dynamics of tea aphid, Toxoptera aurantii.

The rising atmospheric CO concentration has shown to affect plant physiology and chemistry by altering plant primary and secondary metabolisms. Nevertheless, the impacts of elevated CO on plant nutrients and functional components of tea remain largely unknown, which will likely affect tea quality and taste under climate change scenario. Being sources of nutrients and secondary chemicals/metabolites for herbivorous insects, the variation in foliar soluble nutrients and functional components of tea plants resulting from CO enrichment will further affect the herbivorous insects' occurrence and feeding ecology.

PARP Inhibition Suppresses GR-MYCN-CDK5-RB1-E2F1 Signaling and Neuroendocrine Differentiation in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: In this study, we addressed the underlying mechanisms for the association between enzalutamide (ENZ) treatment and neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), and the critical involvement of MYCN, and loss of RB1 function in neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) of prostatic epithelial cells, and the development of NEPC. We further sought to determine whether PARP inhibition could suppress NEPC, and to identify molecular determinants of this therapeutic activity.

Experimental Design: We used a novel prostate cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) treatment model, prostatic adenocarcinoma and NEPC cell lines, an NEPC organoid line, and NEPC xenograft models to address the mechanistic basis of ENZ-induced NED, and to analyze suppression of NED and NEPC growth by PARP inhibition.

Enzalutamide and CXCR7 inhibitor combination treatment suppresses cell growth and angiogenic signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer models.

Previous studies have shown that increased levels of chemokine receptor CXCR7 are associated with the increased invasiveness of prostate cancer cells. We now show that CXCR7 expression is upregulated in VCaP and C4-2B cells after enzalutamide (ENZ) treatment. ENZ treatment induced apoptosis (sub-G1) in VCaP and C4-2B cells, and this effect was further increased after combination treatment with ENZ and CCX771, a specific CXCR7 inhibitor.

Targeting the MYCN-PARP-DNA Damage Response Pathway in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

We investigated MYCN-regulated molecular pathways in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) classified by morphologic criteria as adenocarcinoma or neuroendocrine to extend the molecular phenotype, establish driver pathways, and identify novel approaches to combination therapy for neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Using comparative bioinformatics analyses of CRPC-Adeno and CRPC-Neuro RNA sequence data from public data sets and a panel of 28 PDX models, we identified a MYCN-PARP-DNA damage response (DDR) pathway that is enriched in CRPC with neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) and CRPC-Neuro. ChIP-PCR assay revealed that N-MYC transcriptionally activates PARP1, PARP2, BRCA1, RMI2, and TOPBP1 through binding to the promoters of these genes.

Connecting androgen receptor signaling and the DNA damage response: Development of new therapies for advanced prostate cancer.

Androgen receptor-mediated cell signaling involves complex molecular pathways that are interconnected with DNA damage response, including replication stress-driven DNA repair. Understanding the relationships between androgen receptor signaling and DNA damage response at the molecular level will likely lead to novel and effective combination therapy for advanced prostate cancer.

Androgen receptor inhibitor-induced "BRCAness" and PARP inhibition are synthetically lethal for castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Cancers with loss-of-function mutations in or are deficient in the DNA damage repair pathway called homologous recombination (HR), rendering these cancers exquisitely vulnerable to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. This functional state and therapeutic sensitivity is referred to as "BRCAness" and is most commonly associated with some breast cancer types. Pharmaceutical induction of BRCAness could expand the use of PARP inhibitors to other tumor types.

Targeting DNA Damage Response in Prostate Cancer by Inhibiting Androgen Receptor-CDC6-ATR-Chk1 Signaling.

Cell division cycle 6 (CDC6), an androgen receptor (AR) target gene, is implicated in regulating DNA replication and checkpoint mechanisms. CDC6 expression is increased during prostate cancer (PCa) progression and positively correlates with AR in PCa tissues. AR or CDC6 knockdown, together with AZD7762, a Chk1/2 inhibitor, results in decreased TopBP1-ATR-Chk1 signaling and markedly increased ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) phosphorylation, a biomarker of DNA damage, and synergistically increases treatment efficacy.

Combination Platinum-based and DNA Damage Response-targeting Cancer Therapy: Evolution and Future Directions.

Maintenance of genomic stability is a critical determinant of cell survival and is necessary for growth and progression of malignant cells. Interstrand crosslinking (ICL) agents, including platinum-based agents, are first-line chemotherapy treatment for many solid human cancers. In malignant cells, ICL triggers the DNA damage response (DDR).