Community succession analysis and environmental biological processes of naturally colonized vegetation on abandoned hilly lands and implications for vegetation restoration strategy in Shanxi, China

Data were collected simultaneously at different succession stages using a space-for-time substitution, and were analyzed using the quantitative classification method (TWINSPAN) and the ordination technique (DCA). The community succession of natural colonized plants on abandoned hilly lands in Shanxi are below: Assoc. Potentilla chinensis + Setaria viridis ¨ Assoc. Artemisia sacrorum + S. viridis + Oxytropis caoraloa ¨ Assoc. A. sacrorum + Artemisia capillaries ¨ Assoc. A. capillaries + Pedivularis shansiensis + Echinops pseudosetifer ¨ Assoc. Hippophae rhamnoides. A. sacrorum + Cleistogenes squarrosa ¨ Assoc. H. rhamnoides + Ostryopsis davidiana.A. sacrorum ¨ Assoc. O. davidiana.A. sacrorum + Dendranthema chanetii ¨ Assoc. Populus davidiana.Caragana korshinskii.A. sacrorum ¨ Assoc. Larix principis-rupprechtii.H. rhamnoides.A. sacrorum. This established a recovery model of natural vegetation on abandoned hilly lands in Shanxi. The structure, composition and life-forms changed significantly during succession. Four indices of species diversity were used to analyze changes in the heterogeneity, dominance, richness and evenness of species during the succession process. The species richness and heterogeneity of plant communities increased significantly, the dominance decreased obviously and the evenness decreased slightly. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) also proved the significance of these five indices. Pioneer species of S. viridis, A. sacrorum, O. caoraloa, A. capillaries, P. shansiensis, E. pseudosetifer, C. squarrosa, H. rhamnoides, O. davidia, C. korshinskii, P. davidiana and L. principis-rupprechtii, etc. colonize successfully and play important roles on the vegetation restoration of abandoned hilly lands.Keywords: Abandoned hilly lands, vegetation community succession, environmental biological process, soil quality

Soil-water interacting use patterns driven by Ziziphus jujuba on the Chenier Island in the Yellow River Delta, China

The determination of water use patterns of plants in a coastal ecosystem is critical to our understanding of local eco-hydrological processes and predicting trends in ecological succession under the background of global climate change. The water use patterns of Ziziphus jujuba, the dominant species on the Chenier Island in the Yellow River Delta, were examined following summer rainfall events. Stable oxygen isotope analysis was employed to analyze the effects of rainfall on the stable isotopic composition in potential water sources in Z. jujuba. The IsoSource model was used to estimate the contributions of potential water sources for xylem water in Z. jujuba. The results showed heavy rainfall could recharge both soil and groundwater but contributed little to the O-18 values in deep soil water (60-100cm) and groundwater. Light rainfall had an effect only on surface soil water (0-40cm). Z. jujuba mainly absorbed deep soil water on non-rainy days. Rainwater became the predominant water source for Z. jujuba during and immediately after heavy rainfall. Switching the plant's main water source between deep soil water and rainwater provided Z. jujuba with a competitive advantage and improved the water use efficiency of Z. jujuba in this coastal ecosystem

Arsenic trioxide exerts synergistic effects with cisplatin on non-small cell lung cancer cells via apoptosis induction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite multidisciplinary treatment, lung cancer remains a highly lethal disease due to poor response to chemotherapy. The identification of therapeutic agents with synergistic effects with traditional drugs is an alternative for lung cancer therapy. In this study, the synergistic effects of arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃) with cisplatin (DDP) on A549 and H460 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells were explored.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A549 and H460 human lung cancer cells were treated with As₂O₃and/or DDP. Cell growth curves, cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of human cancer cell lines were determined by the 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) method, clonogenic assay, and flow cytometry (FCM). Apoptosis was further assessed by TUNEL staining. Cell cycle and apoptosis related protein p21, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, bax, clusterin, and caspase-3 were detected by western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MTT and clonogenic assay showed As₂O₃within 10^-2μM to 10 μM exerted inhibition on the proliferation of NSCLC cells, and 2.5 μM As₂O₃exerted synergistic inhibition on proliferation with 3 μg/ml DDP. The combination indices (CI) for A549 and H460 were 0.5 and 0.6, respectively, as confirmed by the synergism of As₂O₃with DDP. FCM showed As₂O₃did not affect the cell cycle. The G0/G1 fraction ranged from 57% to 62% for controlled A549 cells and cells treated with As₂O₃and/or DDP. The G0/G1 fraction ranged from 37% to 42% for controlled H460 cells and cells treated with As₂O₃and/or DDP. FCM and TUNEL staining illustrated that the combination of As₂O₃and DDP provoked synergistic effects on apoptosis induction based on the analysis of the apoptosis index. Western blotting revealed that the expression of cell cycle related protein p21 and cyclin D1 were not affected by the treatments, whereas apoptosis related protein bax, Bcl-2, and clusterin were significantly regulated by As₂O₃and/or DDP treatments compared with controls. The expression of caspase-3 in cells treated with the combination of As₂O₃and DDP did not differ from that in cells treated with a single agent.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As₂O₃exerted synergistic effects with DDP on NSCLC cells, and the synergistic effects were partly due to the induction of caspase-independent apoptosis.</p

Ambient vibration tests of a cross-laminated timber building

Cross-laminated timber has, in the last 6 years, been used for the first time to form shear walls and cores in multi-storey buildings of seven storeys or more. Such buildings can have low mass in comparison to conventional structural forms. This low mass means that, as cross-laminated timber is used for taller buildings still, their dynamic movement under wind load is likely to be a key design parameter. An understanding of dynamic lateral stiffness and damping, which has so far been insufficiently researched, will be vital to the effective design for wind-induced vibration. In this study, an ambient vibration method is used to identify the dynamic properties of a seven-storey cross-laminated timber building in situ. The random decrement method is used, along with the Ibrahim time domain method, to extract the modal properties of the structure from the acceleration measured under ambient conditions. The results show that this output-only modal analysis method can be used to extract modal information from such a building, and that information is compared with a simple structural model. Measurements on two occasions during construction show the effect of non-structural elements on the modal properties of the structure

In vivo testing of novel vaccine prototypes against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (A. pleuropneumoniae) is a Gram-negative bacterium that represents the main cause of porcine pleuropneumonia in pigs, causing significant economic losses to the livestock industry worldwide. A. pleuropneumoniae, as the majority of Gram-negative bacteria, excrete vesicles from its outer membrane (OM), accordingly defined as outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). Thanks to their antigenic similarity to the OM, OMVs have emerged as a promising tool in vaccinology. In this study we describe the in vivo testing of several vaccine prototypes for the prevention of infection by all known A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes. Previously identified vaccine candidates, the recombinant proteins ApfA and VacJ, administered individually or in various combinations with the OMVs, were employed as vaccination strategies. Our data show that the addition of the OMVs in the vaccine formulations significantly increased the specific IgG titer against both ApfA and VacJ in the immunized animals, confirming the previously postulated potential of the OMVs as adjuvant. Unfortunately, the antibody response raised did not translate into an effective protection against A. pleuropneumoniae infection, as none of the immunized groups following challenge showed a significantly lower degree of lesions than the controls. Interestingly, quite the opposite was true, as the animals with the highest IgG titers were also the ones bearing the most extensive lesions in their lungs. These results shed new light on A. pleuropneumoniae pathogenicity, suggesting that antibody-mediated cytotoxicity from the host immune response may play a central role in the development of the lesions typically associated with A. pleuropneumoniae infections

Entry screening to delay local transmission of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>After the WHO issued the global alert for 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1), many national health agencies began to screen travelers on entry in airports, ports and border crossings to try to delay local transmission.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We reviewed entry screening policies adopted by different nations and ascertained dates of official report of the first laboratory-confirmed imported H1N1 case and the first laboratory-confirmed untraceable or 'local' H1N1 case.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Implementation of entry screening policies was associated with on average additional 7-12 day delays in local transmission compared to nations that did not implement entry screening, with lower bounds of 95% confidence intervals consistent with no additional delays and upper bounds extending to 20-30 day additional delays.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Entry screening may lead to short-term delays in local transmission of a novel strain of influenza virus. The resources required for implementation should be balanced against the expected benefits of entry screening.</p

The chemopreventive polyphenol Curcumin prevents hematogenous breast cancer metastases in immunodeficient mice

Dissemination of metastatic cells probably occurs long before diagnosis of the primary tumor. Metastasis during early phases of carcinogenesis in high risk patients is therefore a potential prevention target. The plant polyphenol Curcumin has been proposed for dietary prevention of cancer. We therefore examined its effects on the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 in vitro and in a mouse metastasis model. Curcumin strongly induces apoptosis in MDA- MB- 231 cells in correlation with reduced activation of the survival pathway NF kappa B, as a consequence of diminished I kappa B and p65 phosphorylation. Curcumin also reduces the expression of major matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) due to reduced NF kappa B activity and transcriptional downregulation of AP-1. NF kappa B/p65 silencing is sufficient to downregulate c-jun and MMP expression. Reduced NF kappa B/AP-1 activity and MMP expression lead to diminished invasion through a reconstituted basement membrane and to a significantly lower number of lung metastases in immunodeficient mice after intercardiac injection of 231 cells (p=0.0035). 68% of Curcumin treated but only 17% of untreated animals showed no or very few lung metastases, most likely as a consequence of down-regulation of NF kappa B/AP-1 dependent MMP expression and direct apoptotic effects on circulating tumor cells but not on established metastases. Dietary chemoprevention of metastases appears therefore feasible. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Transduction of SIV-Specific TCR Genes into Rhesus Macaque CD8+ T Cells Conveys the Ability to Suppress SIV Replication

The SIV/rhesus macaque model for HIV/AIDS is a powerful system for examining the contribution of T cells in the control of AIDS viruses. To better our understanding of CD8(+) T-cell control of SIV replication in CD4(+) T cells, we asked whether TCRs isolated from rhesus macaque CD8(+) T-cell clones that exhibited varying abilities to suppress SIV replication could convey their suppressive properties to CD8(+) T cells obtained from an uninfected/unvaccinated animal.We transferred SIV-specific TCR genes isolated from rhesus macaque CD8(+) T-cell clones with varying abilities to suppress SIV replication in vitro into CD8(+) T cells obtained from an uninfected animal by retroviral transduction. After sorting and expansion, transduced CD8(+) T-cell lines were obtained that specifically bound their cognate SIV tetramer. These cell lines displayed appropriate effector function and specificity, expressing intracellular IFNγ upon peptide stimulation. Importantly, the SIV suppression properties of the transduced cell lines mirrored those of the original TCR donor clones: cell lines expressing TCRs transferred from highly suppressive clones effectively reduced wild-type SIV replication, while expression of a non-suppressing TCR failed to reduce the spread of virus. However, all TCRs were able to suppress the replication of an SIV mutant that did not downregulate MHC-I, recapitulating the properties of their donor clones.Our results show that antigen-specific SIV suppression can be transferred between allogenic T cells simply by TCR gene transfer. This advance provides a platform for examining the contributions of TCRs versus the intrinsic effector characteristics of T-cell clones in virus suppression. Additionally, this approach can be applied to develop non-human primate models to evaluate adoptive T-cell transfer therapy for AIDS and other diseases

Homozygous microdeletion of exon 5 in ZNF277 in a girl with specific language impairment

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