Why are graminoid species more dominant? Trait-mediated plant-soil feedbacks shape community composition.

Species traits may determine plant interactions along with soil microbiome, further shaping plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs). However, how plant traits modulate PSFs and, consequently, the dominance of plant functional groups remains unclear. We used a combination of field surveys and a two-phase PSF experiment to investigate whether forbs and graminoids differed in PSFs and in their trait-PSF associations.

Short-term cervical spinal cord stimulation for central post-stroke pain: a case report and literature review.

Introduction: Post-stroke central pain is disabling yet ineffectively treated with routine medical intervention. In this study, the authors presented an alternative neuromodulation therapy and conducted a brief narrative literature review to examine current evidence of spinal cord stimulation treatment for central post-stroke pain.

Case Presentation: Here, the authors reported a case of severe post-stroke syndrome, who achieved satisfactory improvement of pain symptom, as well as muscle rigidity with a novel neuromodulation therapy of short-term implantation of cervical spinal cord stimulation.

Plasma cell-free DNA 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and whole-genome sequencing signatures for early detection of esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer is a highly incidence and deadly disease with a poor prognosis, especially in developing countries. Owing to the lack of specific symptoms and early diagnostic biomarkers, most patients are diagnosed with advanced disease, leading to a 5-year survival rate of less than 15%. Early (n = 50) and middle-advanced (n = 50) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients, as well as 71 healthy individuals, underwent 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) sequencing on their plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA).

Photic sensitization is mediated by cortico-accumbens pathway in rats with trigeminal neuropathic pain.

Exposure to light stimuli may trigger or exacerbate perception of pain, also known as a common yet debilitating symptom of photophobia in patient with chronic orofacial pain. Mechanism underlying this phenomenon of photic sensitization in neuropathic condition remains elusive. Here, we found that rats developed hypersensitivity to normal light illumination after establishment of chronic constriction injury of infraorbital nerve (ION-CCI) model, which can be attenuated by blocking the exposure of photic stimulation.

Establishing a new model of cancer neuropathic pain in rats.

To guide the treatment of malignant neuropathic pain (MNP) in clinical practice, by inoculating MADB-106 breast cancer cells into the right L4 nerve root in Sprague-Dawley rats, a rat model of MNP was established, providing basic conditions for the study of neuropathic pain and development and application of therapeutic drugs. As the tumor grew over time, it pressed the nerve roots, causing nerve damage. The spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model, which is a neuropathic pain model widely used in rats, was compared with the L4 nerve root SNL model, and histologic examination of the nerve tissue of both models was performed by electron microscopy.

A novel implantable device for sensory and affective assessment of orofacial pain in rats.

Background And Objective: Orofacial pain, in particular, chronic orofacial pain remains a great challenge in clinical practice. To better understand the underlying mechanism of disease, it is essential to apply a feasible and stable preclinical measurement of facial pain. Here, we introduced a novel electrical noxious stimulator in freely behavioral rodents and examined its validation in both naïve and chronic orofacial pain animals.

Repair Effects of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Demyelination of Trigeminal Ganglion in Rats with Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Objective: The current study investigated the effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on pain behavior in rats with trigeminal neuralgia induced by infraorbital nerve chronic constriction injury (ION-CCI), and the repair effects of BMSCs on pathological changes in trigeminal ganglion demyelination.

Methods: BMSCs or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) alone were injected around trigeminal ganglion in ION-CCI rats via a rat brain stereotaxic apparatus. Mechanical pain threshold (von Frey test) and face grooming behavior were measured in each group.

A Patient With a Foreign Body in Mediastinum That Penetrated Into the Bronchus.

We report the rare case of a patient who had a foreign body in the mediastinum and trachea caused by trauma due to epileptic seizures. A 52-year-old man had an epileptic seizure 3 months before visiting our hospital and had an injury to his neck caused by a broken glass cabinet. Computed tomography scan revealed a foreign body in the mediastinum and trachea.

A Prospective Multicenter Study of the Chinese Scoring System for Hepatitis B Liver Failure.

To evaluate the clinical utility of a Chinese scoring system for hepatitis B liver failure in a prospective and multicenter study. Clinical data for 1,143 patients with hepatitis B liver failure who had been followed up for a minimum of 6 months were collected from seven liver disease centers across China. The disease severity and prognosis for the patients were predicted using the Chinese scoring system and compared to those predicted with the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, MELD-Na score, and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score.

Climate warming promotes deterministic assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) significantly contribute to plant resource acquisition and play important roles in mediating plant interactions and soil carbon (C) dynamics. However, it remains unclear how AMF communities respond to climate change. We assessed impacts of warming and precipitation alterations (30% increase or decrease) on soil AMF communities, and examined major ecological processes shaping the AMF community assemblage in a Tibetan alpine meadow.

Clinical Outcome of Pulsed-Radiofrequency Combined With Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection for Lumbosacral Radicular Pain Caused by Distinct Etiology.

Background: Lumbosacral radicular pain (LSRP) can be caused by disc herniation, spinal stenosis, and failed back surgery syndrome. The clinical effect of pulsed-radiofrequency (PRF) combined with transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TESI) for radiating pain in different population remains unclear.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical recordings of patients with LSRP caused by different etiologies, who underwent PRF and TESI treatment.

Machine Learning Models to Predict Primary Sites of Metastatic Cervical Carcinoma From Unknown Primary.

Metastatic cervical carcinoma from unknown primary (MCCUP) accounts for 1-4% of all head and neck tumors, and identifying the primary site in MCCUP is challenging. The most common histopathological type of MCCUP is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and it remains difficult to identify the primary site pathologically. Therefore, it seems necessary and urgent to develop novel and effective methods to determine the primary site in MCCUP.

Ceftriaxone Relieves Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain Through Suppression of Spatiotemporal Synaptic Plasticity Restoration of Glutamate Transporter 1 in the Medullary Dorsal Horn.

Using a rat model of trigeminal neuropathic pain (TNP) produced by chronic compression of the infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION), we investigated the analgesic effect and the underlying mechanisms of ceftriaxone (Cef), a β-lactam antibiotic, that is thought to be a potent stimulator of glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1). First, repeated intraperitoneal (i.p.

Beyond resource limitation: an expanded test of the niche dimension hypothesis for multiple types of niche axes.

The niche dimension hypothesis predicts that more species can coexist given a greater number of niche axes along which they partition the environment. Although this hypothesis has been broadly supported by nutrient enrichment experiments, its applicability to other ecological factors, such as natural enemies and abiotic stresses, has not been vigorously tested. Here, we examined the generality of the niche dimension hypothesis by experimentally manipulating both resource and non-resource niche dimensions-nitrogen limitation, pathogens and low-temperature stress-in a Tibetan alpine meadow.

Soil acidification alters root morphology, increases root biomass but reduces root decomposition in an alpine grassland.

Soil acidification has been expanding in many areas of Asia due to increasing reactive nitrogen (N) inputs and industrial activities. While the detrimental effects of acidification on forests have been extensively studied, less attention has been paid to grasslands, particularly alpine grasslands. In a soil pH manipulation experiment in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we examined the effects of soil acidification on plant roots, which account for the major part of alpine plants.

Simulated warming enhances the responses of microbial N transformations to reactive N input in a Tibetan alpine meadow.

Alpine ecosystems worldwide are characterized with high soil organic carbon (C) and low mineral nitrogen (N). Climate warming has been predicted to stimulate microbial decomposition and N mineralization in these systems. However, experimental results are highly variable, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Combination of warming and N inputs increases the temperature sensitivity of soil NO emission in a Tibetan alpine meadow.

Many high-elevation alpine ecosystems have been experiencing significant increases in air temperature and, to a lesser extent, nitrogen (N) deposition. These changes may affect N-cycling microbes and enhance emissions of nitrous oxide (NO, a potent greenhouse gas) from soil. However, few studies have investigated whether and how the resulting changes in N-cycling microbes may affect the temperature sensitivity (Q) of NO emission and in turn feed back to NO emissions.

Chemoselective syntheses of spirodihydrofuryl and spirocyclopropyl barbiturates via cascade reactions of barbiturate-based olefins and acetylacetone.

The Michael addition initiated ring closure reaction of barbiturate-based olefins and acetylacetone with NBS has been explored. The efficient and chemoselective approach for the synthesis of barbiturate-fused spirocycles was established. Spirodihydrofuryl barbiturates and spirocyclopropyl barbiturates were synthesized selectively via cascade reactions under different basic conditions in moderate to excellent yields.

Facile chemoenzymatic synthesis of Lewis a (Le) antigen in gram-scale and sialyl Lewis a (sLe) antigens containing diverse sialic acid forms.

An efficient streamlined chemoenzymatic approach has been developed for gram-scale synthesis of Lewis a angtigen (LeβProN) and a library of sialyl Lewis a antigens (sLeβProN) containing different sialic acid forms. Intially, commercially available inexpensive N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) was converted to its N'-glycosyl p-toluenesulfonohydrazide in one step. Followed by chemical glycosylation, GlcNAcβProN was synthesized using this protecting group-free method in high yield (82%).

Reconciling multiple impacts of nitrogen enrichment on soil carbon: plant, microbial and geochemical controls.

Impacts of reactive nitrogen (N) inputs on ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics are highly variable, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we proposed a new conceptual framework that integrates plant, microbial and geochemical mechanisms to reconcile diverse and contrasting impacts of N on soil C. This framework was tested using long-term N enrichment and acid addition experiments in a Mongolian steppe grassland.

Long-term N and P additions alter the scaling of plant nitrogen to phosphorus in a Tibetan alpine meadow.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are two important nutrient elements for plants. The current paradigm suggests that the scaling of plant tissue N to P is conserved across environments and plant taxa because these two elements are coupled and coordinately change with each other following a constant allometric trajectory. However, this assumption has not been vigorously examined, particularly in changing N and P environments.

Enzymatic and Chemoenzymatic Syntheses of Disialyl Glycans and Their Necrotizing Enterocolitis Preventing Effects.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most common and devastating intestinal disorders in preterm infants. Therapies to meet the clinical needs for this special and highly vulnerable population are extremely limited. A specific human milk oligosaccharide (HMO), disialyllacto-N-tetraose (DSLNT), was shown to contribute to the beneficial effects of breastfeeding as it prevented NEC in a neonatal rat model and was associated with lower NEC risk in a human clinical cohort study.

Complete structure and variation of the chloroplast genome of Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.

Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertner, a perennial grass in the tribe Triticeae (Poaceae), is a wild relative of cereal crops that is suitable for genetic improvement. In this study, we first sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Ag.

Breakthrough Cancer Pain Is Associated with Spinal Gap Junction Activation via Regulation of Connexin 43 in a Mouse Model.

Breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) is a high-intensity, short-duration, unpredictable and uncontrollable pain. Recent studies have shown that activation of gap junction (GJ) in spinal cord plays an important role in the pathogenesis of BTcP. We examined the expressions of Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), connexin (Cx) 43 protein and phosphorylation of Cx43 (p-Cx43) in the spinal cord of mice.