Effect of Rhizobium Symbiosis on Low-Temperature Tolerance and Antioxidant Response in Alfalfa ( L.).

Low temperature-induced stress is a major environmental factor limiting the growth and development of plants. Alfalfa ( L.) is a legume well known for its tolerance of extreme environments.

Sodium-Related Adaptations to Drought: New Insights From the Xerophyte Plant .

Understanding the unusual physiological mechanisms that enable drought tolerance in xerophytes will be of considerable benefit because of the potential to identify novel and key genetic elements for future crop improvements. These plants are interesting because they are well-adapted for life in arid zones; , for example, is a typical xerophytic shrub that inhabits central Asian deserts, accumulating substantial levels of sodium (Na) in its succulent leaves while growing in soils that contain very low levels of this ion. The physiological importance of this unusual trait to drought adaptations remains poorly understood, however.

Depressive disorders among children in the transforming China: an epidemiological survey of prevalence, correlates, and service use.

Background: To date, no one-phase survey of childhood depression has been performed in China that involves both urban and rural community children. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, correlates, and mental health service utilization of depressive disorders (DDs) in a community-based sample of 6-14-year-old children in south-central China.

Methods: Children (3,582) were approached through multistage sampling and interviewed using a Chinese version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents 5.

[Distribution responses of Lespedeza davurica community on Loess Plateau to climate change].

Field survey and position monitoring were conducted from 2000 to 2009 to study the effects of climate change on the distribution and growth of Lespedeza davurica community on Loess Plateau. As affected by air temperature, the appropriate growth region of L. davurica community on the Plateau had an obvious zonal distribution from northwest to southeast.