Geostatistical and geoarchaeological study of Holocene floodplains and site distributions on the Sha‐Ying River Basin, Central China

Geostatistics has become a powerful method for investigating complex spatial variations of prehistoric settlements in floodplains and other geomorphological settings. A geoarchaeological drilling program that covers most of the Sha‐Ying River Basin provides a rare opportunity with unusually detailed environmental data to contest and develop the geostatistics method, which proves to be essential, in combination with archaeological data, to understand long‐term (9000–2500 B.P.) patterns of human inhabitation and adaption to volatile floodplain environments in eastern Central China. We analysed the variography and multivariate ordination of the borehole data and explored the complexities of landform evolution, with reference to sedimentation processes and soil development in the floodplain of the Sha‐Ying River. The recurrent impact of river floods on regional landforms is manifested by spatial‐autocorrelated properties over distances up to 10 km, sometimes with directional trends. We then developed a model of landform evolution through kriging and compared the model with detailed reconstruction of archaeological settlement patterns. Our results illustrate long‐term socio‐environmental dynamics by which human communities first populated and then adapted in diverse ways to the changing floodplain environments from the early to middle Holocene. This improved method will have far‐reaching implications for future studies on similar geomorphological settings across vast floodplains of Central China and other global regions

In vitro evaluation of anticancer nanomedicines based on doxorubicin and amphiphilic Y-shaped copolymers

Four monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide)2 (mPEG-P( LA-co-GA)2) copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide and glycolide with double hydroxyl functionalized mPEG (mPEG-(OH)2) as macroinitiator and stannous octoate as catalyst. The copolymers self-assembled into nanoscale micellar/vesicular aggregations in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline anticancer drug, was loaded into the micellar/vesicular nanoparticles, yielding micellar/vesicular nanomedicines. The in vitro release behaviors could be adjusted by content of hydrophobic polyester and pH of the release medium. In vitro cell experiments showed that the intracellular DOX release could be adjusted by content of P(LA-co-GA), and the nanomedicines displayed effective proliferation inhibition against Henrietta Lacks’s cells with different culture times. Hemolysis tests indicated that the copolymers were hemocompatible, and the presence of copolymers could reduce the hemolysis ratio of DOX significantly. These results suggested that the novel anticancer nanomedicines based on DOX and amphiphilic Y-shaped copolymers were attractive candidates as tumor tissular and intracellular targeting drug delivery systems in vivo, with enhanced stability during circulation and accelerated drug release at the target sites

Correction: Hong, K. et al. Actinomycetes for Marine Drug Discovery Isolated from Mangrove Soils and Plants in China. Mar. Drugs 2009, 7, 24–44

We found an error in our paper published in Marine Drugs [1]. [...

Optimization of the seed medium of Lactobacillus casei GJ00412 isolated from soy whey

Soy whey (SW) is generated as a process waste during soy isolate protein preparation. SW has low content of soluble sugar and high content of oligosaccharide, which is suitable for the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this study, a strain of Lactobacillus casei GJ00412 (by 16S rRNA genesequencing and identification) was isolated from soy whey. In order to reduce the cost of culture medium, improve its biomass, and facilitate the next utilization, Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the composition of seed medium of Lactobacillus casei By Plackett-Burman design, sucrose, yeast power, MgSO4, Tween80 and pH value were found to have significant effects on biomass, and were further analyzed by Box-behnken design, an application of response surface. The optimized medium was as follows (w/v): 2.5% sucrose, 1.8% soy peptone, 0.4% yeast powder, 0.08% MgSO4, 0.04% MnSO4, 0.08% Tween80, pH 7.17. The results showed that the cost of the optimized medium was decreased and the biomass of Lactobacillus casei has no significant difference when compared with MRS medium

Application potential of grain and oil processing by-products in research of microbial-oriented food

Hundreds of millions of bacteria adhere to human intestinal epithelium,which are the participants of human health and physiological functions,and also an important target covered by the concept of comprehensive health.So far,the supplementation of prebiotics remainsare still one of the effective means to regulate intestinal microbiota and promote the growth of beneficial microbes.The by-productsof grain and oil processing are abundant in variety and yield,and many of them can be utilized by human intestinal microbiota,which are one of the sources of high-quality prebiotics,and also the important material basis and raw material source in the development of “microbial-oriented food”

The distribution and emission of CO2, CH4 and light hydrocarbons in an anticyclonic eddy of the Kuroshio extension

Mesoscale eddies are energetic and swirling circulations that frequently occur in the open ocean. The effects of mesoscale eddies on the biogeochemical cycling of climate-relevant gases remain poorly constrained. We investigated the distribution and air-sea fluxes of CO2, methane, and five non–methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) in an anticyclone eddy of Kuroshio Extension during September 2019. Within eddy core, intense stratification hindered the replenishment of nutrients and favored the growth of small-size phytoplankton, such as Prochlorococcus. Seawater pCO2 decreased from 406.1 μatm at the eddy outside to 377.5 μatm at the eddy core, accompanied by a decrease in surface seawater temperature from 26.7 °C to 25.2 °C. The vertical distribution of methane (0.3-9.9 nmol L-1) was influenced by the eddy process, with a maximum at 80 m in the eddy core, which might be attributed to the degradation of phosphonates sustained by Prochlorococcus. The concentrations of five NMHCs (ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, and isoprene) ranged from 17.2-126.2, 36.7-168.1, 7.5-29.2, 22.6-64.1, 54.5-172.1, 3.5-27.9 pmol L-1, respectively. Isoprene correlated well with Chl-a concentrations at the eddy core, while no significant correlation was observed at the eddy outside. Air-sea fluxes of CO2 and isoprene associated with the eddy core were higher than those of the eddy outside, while the maximum ventilation of methane and other NMHCs (ethane, ethylene, propane, and propylene) was found at the eddy outside. Collectively, physical processes such as eddies impact the production and distribution of light hydrocarbons in seawater and further influence their regional emissions to the atmosphere

Bibliometric analysis of evolutionary trends and hotspots of super-enhancers in cancer

Introduction: In the past decade, super-enhancer (SE) has become a research hotspot with increasing attention on cancer occurrence, development, and prognosis. To illustrate the hotspots of SE in cancer research and its evolutionary tendency, bibliometric analysis was carried out for this topic.Methods: Literature published before Dec 31, 2022, in WOSCC, was systematically classified, and Citespace, bibliometric.com/app, and GraphPad Prism analyzed the data.Results: After screening out inappropriate documents and duplicate data, 911 publications were selected for further bibliometric analysis. The top five research areas were Oncology (257, 28.211%), Cell Biology (210, 23.052%), Biochemistry Molecular Biology (209, 22.942%), Science Technology Other Topics (138, 15.148%), and Genetics Heredity (132, 14.490%). The United States of America (United States) has the highest number of documents (462, 50.71%), followed by China (303, 33.26%). Among the most productive institutions, four of which are from the United States and one from Singapore, the National University of Singapore. Harvard Medical School (7.68%) has the highest percentage of articles. Young, Richard A, with 32 publications, ranks first in the number of articles. The top three authors came from Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research as a research team. More than two-thirds of the research are supported by the National Institutes of Health of the United States (337, 37.654%) and the United States Department of Health Human Services (337, 37.654%). And “super enhancer” (525), “cell identity” (258), “expression” (223), “cancer” (205), and “transcription factor” (193) account for the top 5 occurrence keywords.Discussion: Since 2013, SE and cancer related publications have shown a rapid growth trend. The United States continues to play a leading role in this field, as the top literature numbers, affiliations, funding agencies, and authors were all from the United States, followed by China and European countries. A high degree of active cooperation is evident among a multitude of countries. The role of SEs in cell identity, gene transcription, expression, and inhibition, as well as the relationship between SEs and TFs, and the selective inhibition of SEs, have received much attention, suggesting that they are hot issues for research

Actinomycetes for Marine Drug Discovery Isolated from Mangrove Soils and Plants in China

The mangrove ecosystem is a largely unexplored source for actinomycetes with the potential to produce biologically active secondary metabolites. Consequently, we set out to isolate, characterize and screen actinomycetes from soil and plant material collected from eight mangrove sites in China. Over 2,000 actinomycetes were isolated and of these approximately 20%, 5%, and 10% inhibited the growth of Human Colon Tumor 116 cells, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively, while 3% inhibited protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), a protein related to diabetes. In addition, nine isolates inhibited aurora kinase A, an anti-cancer related protein, and three inhibited caspase 3, a protein related to neurodegenerative diseases. Representative bioactive isolates were characterized using genotypic and phenotypic procedures and classified to thirteen genera, notably to the genera Micromonospora and Streptomyces. Actinomycetes showing cytotoxic activity were assigned to seven genera whereas only Micromonospora and Streptomyces strains showed anti-PTP1B activity. We conclude that actinomycetes isolated from mangrove habitats are a potentially rich source for the discovery of anti-infection and anti-tumor compounds, and of agents for treating neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes