Root-associated fungal communities are influenced more by soils than by plant-host root traits in a Chinese tropical forest.

Forest fungal communities are shaped by the interactions between host tree root systems and the associated soil conditions. We investigated how the soil environment, root morphological traits, and root chemistry influence root-inhabiting fungal communities in three tropical forest sites of varying successional status in Xishuangbanna, China. For 150 trees of 66 species, we measured root morphology and tissue chemistry.

No Effect on Tumorigenesis in MG63 Cells Induced by Co-Cultured Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Osteosarcoma is a kind of bone tumor with an extremely high malignant degree and often occurs in adolescents. Mesenchymal stem cells are believed to play an important role in the microenvironment of osteosarcoma, but whether they promote or inhibit the development of osteosarcoma is controversial. In this study, the coexpression of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with osteosarcoma cell MG63 was used to explore the effect of MSCs on MG63.

Increases in Height among Chinese Children and Adolescents by Gender: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis.

Objective: To examine increases in average height among Chinese children and adolescents.

Methods: The data were obtained from the China Health and Nutrition Survey conducted during the period 1989-2015. A stratified multistage cluster sampling method was utilized to select participants aged 2-22 years in each province.

Efficient and stable metabarcoding sequencing data using a DNBSEQ-G400 sequencer validated by comprehensive community analyses.

Metabarcoding is a widely used method for fast characterization of microbial communities in complex environmental samples. However, the selction of sequencing platform can have a noticeable effect on the estimated community composition. Here, we evaluated the metabarcoding performance of a DNBSEQ-G400 sequencer developed by MGI Tech using 16S and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) markers to investigate bacterial and fungal mock communities, as well as the ITS2 marker to investigate the fungal community of 1144 soil samples, with additional technical replicates.

Na , K -ATPase participates in the protective mechanism of rat cerebral ischemia-reperfusion through the interaction with glutamate transporter-1.

Glutamate excitotoxicity in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion is an important cause of neurological damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) involved in l ow concentration of ouabain (Oua, activating NKA)-induced protection of rat cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. The 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and neurological deficit scores (NDS) were performed to evaluate rat cerebral injury degree respectively at 2 h, 6 h, 1 d and 3 d after reperfusion of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) 2 h in rats.

Survival and Growth of Epiphytic Ferns Depend on Resource Sharing.

Locally available resources can be shared within clonal plant systems through physiological integration, thus enhancing their survival and growth. Most epiphytes exhibit clonal growth habit, but few studies have tested effects of physiological integration (resource sharing) on survival and growth of epiphytes and whether such effects vary with species. We conducted two experiments, one on individuals (single ramets) and another on groups (several ramets within a plot), with severed and intact rhizome treatments (without and with physiological integration) on two dominant epiphytic ferns (Polypodiodes subamoena and Lepisorus scolopendrium) in a subtropical montane moist forest in Southwest China.

Size-class effect contributes to tree species assembly through influencing dispersal in tropical forests.

We have investigated the processes of community assembly using size classes of trees. Specifically our work examined (1) whether point process models incorporating an effect of size-class produce more realistic summary outcomes than do models without this effect; (2) which of three selected models incorporating, respectively environmental effects, dispersal and the joint-effect of both of these, is most useful in explaining species-area relationships (SARs) and point dispersion patterns. For this evaluation we used tree species data from the 50-ha forest dynamics plot in Barro Colorado Island, Panama and the comparable 20 ha plot at Bubeng, Southwest China.

Intestinal obstruction due to migration of a thermometer from bladder to abdominal cavity: a case report.

Intraperitoneal foreign bodies such as retained surgical instruments can cause intestinal obstruction. However, intestinal obstruction due to transmural migration of foreign bodies has rarely been reported. Here, we report a case of intestinal obstruction due to a clinical thermometer which migrated from the bladder into the abdominal cavity.

The environment, not space, dominantly structures the landscape patterns of the richness and composition of the tropical understory vegetation.

The mechanisms driving the spatial patterns of species richness and composition are essential to the understanding of biodiversity. Numerous studies separately identify the contributions of the environment (niche process) and space (neutral process) to the species richness or composition at different scales, but few studies have investigated the contributions of both types of processes in the two types of data at the landscape scale. In this study, we partitioned the spatial variations in all, exotic and native understory plant species richness and composition constrained by environmental variables and space in 134 plots that were spread across 10 counties in Hainan Island in southern China.

Strong neutral spatial effects shape tree species distributions across life stages at multiple scales.

Traditionally, ecologists use lattice (regional summary) count data to simulate tree species distributions to explore species coexistence. However, no previous study has explicitly compared the difference between using lattice count and basal area data and analyzed species distributions at both individual species and community levels while simultaneously considering the combined scenarios of life stage and scale. In this study, we hypothesized that basal area data are more closely related to environmental variables than are count data because of strong environmental filtering effects.

Electroacupuncture treatment of chronic insomniacs.

Background: Due to the quick rhythm of life and work pressure, more and more people suffer from sleep quality problems. In this study, we investigated the effect of electroacupuncture on sleep quality of chronic insomniacs and the safety of electroacupuncture therapy.

Methods: Four courses of electroacupuncture treatment were applied to 47 patients.

[Analysis on adverse effects of acupuncture in clinical practices].

Aiming at raising awareness of preventing adverse effects of acupuncture in clinical practices, such cases were studied from the angle of therapy methods, the factors of patients constitution and practitioners. The findings showed that adverse physical and chemical effects of acupuncture increased in modern times because of multifactorial reasons, for instance, the introduction of modern medicine, the differences of individual constitution and the practitioners. This suggests that to decrease adverse cases acupuncture practitioners should be an expert not only in traditional Chinese medicine, but also in western medicine, such as anatomy, and pharmacology.

[Analysis of promoter sequence and its activity of homologues gene rad25 of eukaryotes from halophilic archaea].

The transcriptional product in Halobacterium halobium R1 similar to eukaryotic gene rad25 was analyzed by RT-PCR. Using bgaH as the reporter genes, the promoter function of eukaryotic rad25-like DNA fragment in halophilic archaea was investigated by promoter probe analysis. The important functional regions, which could influence the promoter activity of rad25-like gene, were identified by deletion analysis of the promoter sequence in Haloferax volcanii.

[Effects of the degrees of anxiety and depression on the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in the patient of insomnia].

Objective: To probe factors of influencing therapeutic effects of acupuncture in the patient of insomnia.

Methods: According to scores of degrees of anxiety and depression, 52 cases of insomnia were divided into 3 groups, group I (mild or less degree) and group II (moderate degree) and group II (serious degree). The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were compared before and after treatment in the 3 groups, and between two groups after treatment.

[Molecular diversity of the gene encoding Fe(II)-oxidizing enzyme in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans].

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A.f) is a Gram-negative chemolithotrophic bacterium able to oxidize ferrous iron, elemental sulfur and inorganic sulfur compounds. Fe(II)-oxidizing enzyme plays key role in Fe(II)-oxidizing system.

Preliminary proteomic analysis of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans growing on elemental sulphur and Fe2+ separately.

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is one of the most important bacterium used in bioleaching, and can utilize Fe2+ or sulphide as energy source. Growth curves for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans have been tested, which show lag, logarithmic, stationary and aging phases as seen in other bacteria. The logarithmic phases were from 10 to 32 hours for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated with Fe2+ and from 4 to 12 days for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated with elemental sulphur.

[Studies of polymorphisms of Thiobacillus Ferrooxidans using RAPD].

Random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) was used in analyzing the polymorphisms of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans from seven different places. Of the 20 primers, four could generate reproducible RAPD profiles, and each one produced 1 approximately 9 bands. The similarity coefficients obtained from profiles generated by four primers among Thiobacillus Ferrooxidans were about 44% approximately 83%.

Novel topological index for research on structure-property relationships of complex organic compounds.

Based on bonding parameters such as Yang's Electronegative Force Gauge Y(i), electronic number of valence layer Z(i), number of combined hydrogen atoms h(i), number of bonding electron b(i), and quantum number such as the highest main quantum number of valence layer n(i), a novel atomic valence delta(i) (Y) is defined and a novel topological index (1)chi(Y) is derived from the atomic valence. The atomic valence is defined as delta(i) (Y) = (Z(i) - h(i))b(i)/n(i) (2)Y(i), while the topological index is expressed as (1)chi(Y) summation operator (i,j=1) (m) (delta(i) (Y)delta(j) (Y))(-1/2). Subsequently, the index (1)chi(Y) is utilized to study the structure-property relationships of complex organic compounds.