[Responses of water use efficiency of Chinese fir to mixed planting and meteorological factors].

Chinese fir in China are generally inefficient plantations with single species, unreasonable stand density, and low productivity. The introduction of broadleaved species is usually adopted as a strategy to improve Chinese fir plantations. Taking the pure forests and mixed forests of the Guanshan Forest Farm in Jiangxi Province as example, we quantified the intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) of trees based on the stable isotope carbon method, as well as its response to meteorological factors, and investigated the improvement of stand quality after introducing into Chinese fir plantation.

Pharmacokinetics and safety evaluation of intravenously administered phage PA_LZ7 in a mouse model.

Phage therapy is gaining traction as an alternative to antibiotics due to the rise of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. This study assessed the pharmacokinetics and safety of PA_LZ7, a phage targeting MDR , in mice. After intravenous administration, the phage showed an exponential decay in plasma and its concentration dropped significantly within 24 h for all dosage groups.

Water use sources and its influencing factors of and community in hilly region of Southern China.

The process of plant water use is complex and changeable, which is affected by various factors. Exploring the sources and influencing factors of plant water use can provide reference for clarifying the mechanisms of forest water adaptation under climate change. We chosen the typical forest communities in the hilly region of Sou-thern China, and mixed forest as the research object.

Engineered phage with cell-penetrating peptides for intracellular bacterial infections.

infection is a significant threat to global public health, and the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance exacerbates the situation. Therefore, finding new and effective ways to combat this pathogen is essential. Phages are natural predators of bacteria and can be used as an alternative to antibiotics to kill specific bacteria, including drug-resistant strains.

Visual function and biofeedback training of patients with central vision loss: a review.

Older individuals with macular diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, experience central vision loss (CVL) due to degeneration of their photoreceptors and retinal cells. Patients with CVL may experience various vision impairments, including of visual acuity, fixation stability, contrast sensitivity, and stereoacuity. After CVL, most patients develop a preferred retinal locus outside the affected macular region, which serves as a new visual reference.

Suitable stocking density of fish in paddy field contributes positively to 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline synthesis in grain and improves rice quality.

Background: Fragrant rice is increasingly popular with the public owing to its fresh aroma, and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) is the main characteristic component of the aroma in fragrant rice. Rice-fish co-culture is an environmentally friendly practice in sustainable agriculture. However, the effect of rice-fish co-culture on 2-AP in grains has received little study.

Inhibition of ultraviolet-induced sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) autolysis by maintaining coelomocyte intracellular calcium homeostasis.

Apoptosis plays a critical role in sea cucumber autolysis. To investigate the ultraviolet (UV)-induced apoptosis, sea cucumbers with and without injection of BAPTA-AM (cytosolic calcium chelator) were exposed to UV (15 W/m) for 30 min. The results showed that UV irradiation caused several changes in sea cucumber coelomocytes, including calcium imbalance, abnormal morphology of endoplasmic reticulum, upregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins CRT, CHOP, and caspases 9 and 3, and downregulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2.

[Long-term water use characteristics and patterns of typical tree species in seasonal drought regions].

In the areas with seasonal drought, water is the key factor affecting plant growth and development. Based on long-term continuous observation data, it is of great significance to explore plant water use patterns for vegetation construction in areas with seasonal drought. Taking in Beijing mountainous area as the research object, stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope technique was applied to measure the isotopic composition of water from the soil, plant branches, and precipitation from 2012 to 2017.

Effect of hydroxyl radical induced oxidation on the physicochemical and gelling properties of shrimp myofibrillar protein and its mechanism.

Protein oxidation is considered as an important factor affecting the texture quality of surimi. In this work, the myofibrillar protein (MP) from shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) was subjected to a hydroxyl radical generating system at various concentrations of HO, to simulate the oxidative environment during surimi processing. After the hydroxyl radical oxidation, it was found that the carbonyl content, surface hydrophobicity, and MP aggregation increased.

Effect of protein oxidation and degradation on texture deterioration of ready-to-eat shrimps during storage.

The impact of protein oxidation and degradation on texture deterioration of ready-to-eat (RTE) shrimps during storage was investigated. The deterioration in texture during storage was manifested by decreased instrumental hardness, elasticity, chewiness, and recoverability. The occurrence of protein oxidation was revealed by a significant increase in the contents of free radicals and carbonyls.

Effects of proteolysis and oxidation on mechanical properties of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) during thermal processing and storage and their control.

The effects of endogenous proteolysis and oxidation on mechanical properties of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) during thermal processing and storage and their control were investigated. The lactic acid (LA) + tea polyphenols (TP)-treated sea cucumbers showed relatively higher values in texture and rheological indicators than the blank control group after thermal processing. By contrast, the (LA + TP)-treated sea cucumbers also had lower values in water-soluble hydroxyproline, glycosaminoglycans and proteins, trichloroacetic acid-soluble peptide content, and more orderly secondary structure of proteins, indicating that the additives affected the mechanical properties of thermally processed sea cucumbers by preventing the proteolysis of proteins.

Inhibitory effect of natural metal ion chelators on the autolysis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) and its mechanism.

Live sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicus) were stored in a solution containing oxalic acid and tea polyphenols as natural metal ion chelators. The inhibitory effects of these chelators on the autolysis phenomenon and the underlying mechanism of action were investigated for the first time by using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and confocal laser scanning microscopy. External stimuli cause autolysis through the release of calcium ions (Ca) from cells into the extracellular connective tissue, initiating activity of the matrix metalloprotease (MMP) in the sea cucumber body wall (SCBW).

Action of endogenous proteases on texture deterioration of the bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) adductor muscle during cold storage and its mechanism.

Texture deterioration occurs in adductor muscle of scallop (Argopecten irradians) (AMS) after 5 d of cold storage. Principal component analysis indicated the texture deterioration resulted in significant decrease of hardness, springiness, adhesiveness and chewiness, but significantly increased cohesiveness. Endogenous proteases degraded structural proteins, among which cysteine proteases were mainly responsible for myofibrillar proteins (MPs) degradation, while serine proteases degraded both MPs and connective tissue proteins.

Effects of collagenase type I on the structural features of collagen fibres from sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) body wall.

The autolysis of sea cucumber is caused by depolymerisation of collagen fibres and unfolding of fibrils. In order to highlight the role of collagenase in sea cucumber autolysis, collagen fibres from sea cucumber were hydrolysed with collagenase type I. Electron microscopy (EM) results indicated the collagenase caused partial depolymerisation of collagen fibres into fibrils due to the fracture of proteoglycan interfibrillar bridges, as well as uncoiling of collagen fibrils.

The role of matrix metalloprotease (MMP) to the autolysis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus).

Background: Sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) is easy to autolysis in response to a variety of environmental and mechanical factors. In the current study, collagen fibres were extracted from fresh sea cucumber body wall and then incubated with endogenous matrix metalloprotease (MMP) of sea cucumber. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), chemical analysis and sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis were utilized to demonstrate the changes in collagen fibres, collagen fibrils and collagen proteins.

Water use efficiency and its influencing factors of Platycladus orientalis plantation in Beijing mountains area, China.

Water use efficiency (WUE) is an important index to evaluate plant drought resistance. Studying the dynamics of WUE and its influencing factors can provide reference for the vegetation restoration in Beijing mountainous area. We measured WUE of Platycladus orientalis in growing season and investigated the influence of meteorological factors, soil factors, and atmospheric CO concentration on WUE, based on the stable carbon isotope techniques.

[Design and exploration of genetic experiments for non-Mendelian segregation].

It has always been a challenge to combine research progress with undergraduate laboratory teaching. Herein we designed a comprehensive experiment to compare classical Mendelian segregation and non-Mendelian distorted segregation by utilizing a rice material (DSSL) containing F hybrid male sterility locus S23 constructed previously in our research project. Using the four SSR markers located on two chromosomes of rice, the genotypes of the F population and the two parents were analyzed, and the phenotypes of the pollen fertility of the two parents and their F plants were investigated.

Hydrolysis and oxidation of lipids in mussel Mytilus edulis during cold storage.

Change in quality of mussels (Mytilus edulis) meat when stored at 4 °C was evaluated by determining volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), peroxide value (POV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), total oxidation (TOTOX), lipid class, fatty acid (FA), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylcholine (PE) content, and glycerophospholipid (GP) molecular species. After 4 days of storage, the percentages of triacylglycerol and polar lipid as well as the contents of PC, PE and major GP molecular species significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while the percentages of free FA and monoacylglycerol significantly increased (P < 0.

[Water utilization characteristics of the degraded poplar shelterbelts in Zhangbei, Hebei, China.].

In Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, poplar-dominated shelterbelts are degraded to different extents. Water availability is the main limiting factor for plant survival in arid areas. The purpose of this study was to reveal the relationship between water availability and poplar degradation.

[A review of water and carbon flux partitioning and coupling in SPAC using stable isotope techniques].

Soil-vegetation-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is one of the important research objects in the field of terrestrial hydrology, ecology and global change. The process of water and carbon cycling, and their coupling mechanism are frontier issues. With characteristics of tracing, integration and indication, stable isotope techniques contribute to the estimation of the relationship between carbon sequestration and water consumption in ecosystems.

[Variations and determinants of CO concentration and δC in Platycladus orientalis plantation in Beijing mountainous area, China].

This research employed off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy technique to observe CO concentration and δC values of planted Platycladus orientalis in Beijing mountainous area. We compared the variation between CO concentration and δC values in the plantation at different heights observed by every 0.5 h to explore how the CO concentration and δC values responded to the meteorological factors.

[Water source of typical plants in rocky mountain area of Beijing, China].

Water is the key factor limiting plant growth in seasonal arid area. In order to analyze the water sources of community plant (Platycladus orientalis, Vitex negundo var. heterophylla, Broussonetia papyrifera and Lespedeza bicolor) in Beijing mountainous area, we measured hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratio (δD and δO) values of their xylem water and potential water sources.

[Tree-ring δC and water use efficiency of Platycladus orientalis in mountains of Beijing].

Water use efficiency (WUE) is different among species and regions. Few literatures have been reviewed related to long-term WUE of Platycladus orientalis in mountainous areas of Beijing, China. Tree-ring δC of P.

[Growth characteristics of different tree species in shelterbelts in the depression area of Hebei Province, China.].

This research investigated shelterbelt structure indices using the standard sampling method, to study the dynamic changes of different tree species including Ulmus pumila, Populus simonii and Pinus tabuliformis in the depression area in Xiaobazi Township of Fengning County, Hebei Province, China. The results showed that the average age of U. pumila, P.