Carbon Density Distribution and Carbon Storage Estimation under Different Grazing Degradation in the Typical Steppe

Carbon (C) is a crucial component of living organisms on planet earth, and C cycling is an important symbol of healthy development of the biosphere (Han et al. 1999). Human activity has adversely affected the global C cycle, and contributed to an alteration of climate that will generate discernible feedbacks to all organisms and ecosystems on earth (He et al. 2008). Grasslands are one of the most widely distributed terrestrial ecosystems on the earth and it is estimated that C storage of global grassland ecosystem was 761Gt (1Gt = 09t), which accounts for about 15.2% C storage in terrestrial ecosystem (Scurlock et al. 2002). A typical steppe consisting of Stipa grandis and Leymus chinensis was the most representative grassland to research the response mechanism of an ecosystem to human disturbance and climate change. It is of great scientific value to do research about C distribution and storage in this area

The Effect of Sulfuric Acid Treatment on Hard Seeds of \u3cem\u3eMelilotoides ruthenica\u3c/em\u3e

Melilotoides ruthenica is a perennial legume, and is characterized by cold resistence, drought resistence and high protein content (Luo 1993). It is used for hay and as a pasture plant, but because a high percentage of the seed are hard-seeded to allow reliable germination, seedling production is hindered (Du et al. 2007). The objective of this research was to study the effect of sulfuric acid treatment on hard-seeds of M. ruthenica and determine the optimal treatment concentration and treatment time

Effect of space flight factors on alfalfa seeds

To explore the effect of space flight factors on the early development of alfalfa seedling, dry seeds were placed onboard a satellite for a 15-day flight. After retrieval, the ultra structure of seed coat and the chemical content of seed were tested, followed by tests for germinate ability, seedling growth, and mitotic and chromosome aberrations. Results showed that space flight factors have both positive and negative effects on alfalfa seeds. Positive effects include: (1) A 6.2% increase in germinate potential and (2) an 80% decrease in the number of hard seed in flight seeds. Meanwhile, negative effects included a decrease of 3.0 and 33.2% in the index of germination and vigor of flight seeds, respectively, which may be partly due to the inhibition of cell mitotic (26% less than ground control) and root growth (29.0% less than ground control) after the space flight. Moreover, the DNA and Ca2+ content of alfalfa seeds increased after the space flight, while the reserve energy content of alfalfa seeds, such as saccharine and fatty acid, decreased after the space flight. Conclusively, space flight factors accelerate the germination process of alfalfa seeds but restrain the root from growing due to chromosomal damage and abnormal mitosis induced by cosmic radiation.Key words: Alfalfa, space flight factors, germination, chromosome aberration

Non-Coding Transcriptome Provides Novel Insights into the Escherichia coli F17 Susceptibility of Sheep Lamb

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Diarrhea and vomiting caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) F17 are considered significant threats to animal farming. In the present study, RNA-Seq was performed to investigate the potential circRNA and miRNA biomarkers for E. coli F17-antagonism (AN) and -sensitive (SE) lambs. The results indicated that circRNA and miRNA expression is closely associated with the susceptibility of E. coli F17 in lambs. Numbers of circRNAs and miRNAs may serve as potential biomarkers for intestinal inflammatory response against E. coli F17 infection. Our study can provide a preliminary understanding of the underlying mechanisms of intestinal immunity. ABSTRACT: It has long been recognized that enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the major pathogen responsible for vomiting and diarrhea. E. coli F17, a main subtype of ETEC, is characterized by high morbidity and mortality in young livestock. However, the transcriptomic basis underlying E. coli F17 infection has not been fully understood. In this study, RNA sequencing was performed to explore the expression profiles of circRNAs and miRNAs in the jejunum of E. coli F17-antagonism (AN) and -sensitive (SE) lambs. A total of 16,534 circRNAs and 271 miRNAs (125 novel miRNAs and 146 annotated miRNAs) were screened, and 214 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs and 53 DE miRNAs were detected between the AN and SE lambs (i.e., novel_circ_0025840, novel_circ_0022779, novel_miR_107, miR-10b). Functional enrichment analyses showed that source genes of DE circRNAs were mainly involved in metabolic-related pathways, while target genes of DE miRNAs were mainly enriched in the immune response pathways. Then, a two-step machine learning approach combining Random Forest (RF) and XGBoost (candidates were first selected by RF and further assessed by XGBoost) was performed, which identified 44 circRNAs and 39 miRNAs as potential biomarkers (i.e., novel_circ_0000180, novel_circ_0000365, novel_miR_192, oar-miR-496-3p) for E. coli infection. Furthermore, circRNA-related and lncRNA-related ceRNA networks were constructed, containing 46 circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing triplets and 630 lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing triplets, respectively. By conducting a serious of bioinformatic analyses, our results revealed important circRNAs and miRNAs that could be potentially developed as candidate biomarkers for intestinal inflammatory response against E. coli F17 infection; our study can provide novel insights into the underlying mechanisms of intestinal immunity

Gray Matter Atrophy Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Presbycusis: A Comprehensive Morphometric Study

Presbycusis (PC) is characterized by bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at high frequencies and speech-perception difficulties in noisy environments and has a strikingly detrimental impact on cognitive function. As the neural consequences of PC may involve the whole brain, we hypothesized that patients with PC would show structural alterations not only in the auditory cortex but also in the cortexes involved in cognitive function. The purpose of this study was to use surface-based morphometry (SBM) analysis to elucidate whole-brain structural differences between patients with PC and age-matched normal hearing controls. Three-dimensional T1-weighted MR images of 26 patients with mild PC and 26 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were acquired. All participants underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests. Our results revealed gray matter atrophy in several auditory cortical areas, nodes of the default mode network (DMN), including the bilateral precuneus and inferior parietal lobule, the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and the right insula of patients with PC compared to that in the HCs. Our findings also revealed that hearing loss was associated with reduced gray matter volume in the right primary auditory cortex of patients with PC. Moreover, structural alterations in the nodes of the DMN were associated with cognitive impairments in PC patients. Additionally, this study provides evidence that a thicker right insula is associated with better speech perception in patients with PC. Based on these findings, we argue that the onset of PC seems to trigger its own cascade of conditions, including a need for increased cognitive resources during speech comprehension, which might lead to auditory and cognition-related cortical reorganization

Comparative Study Reveals Insights of Sheepgrass (Leymus chinensis) Coping With Phosphate-Deprived Stress Condition

Sheepgrass [Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel] is a valuable forage plant highly significant to the grassland productivity of Euro-Asia steppes. Growth of above-ground tissues of L. chinensis is the major component contributing to the grass yield. Although it is generally known that this species is sensitive to ecosystem disturbance and adverse environments, detailed information of how L. chinensis coping with various nutrient deficiency especially phosphate deprivation (-Pi) is still limited. Here, we investigated impact of Pi-deprivation on shoot growth and biomass accumulation as well as photosynthetic properties of L. chinensis. Growth inhibition of Pi-deprived seedlings was most obvious and reduction of biomass accumulation and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) was 55.3 and 63.3%, respectively, compared to the control plants grown under Pi-repleted condition. Also, we compared these characters with seedlings subjected to low-Pi stress condition. Pi-deprivation caused 18.5 and 12.3% more reduction of biomass and Pn relative to low-Pi-stressed seedlings, respectively. Further analysis of in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence and thylakoid membrane protein complexes using 2D-BN/SDS-PAGE combined with immunoblot detection demonstrated that among the measured photosynthetic parameters, decrease of ATP synthase activity was most pronounced in Pi-deprived plants. Together with less extent of lipid peroxidation of the thylakoid membranes and increased ROS scavenger enzyme activities in the leaves of Pi-deprived seedlings, we suggest that the decreased activity of ATP synthase in their thylakoids is the major cause of the greater reduction of photosynthetic efficiency than that of low-Pi stressed plants, leading to the least shoot growth and biomass production in L. chinensis

Combatting global grassland degradation

Grasslands are under severe threat from ongoing degradation, undermining their capacity to support biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. Yet, grasslands are largely ignored in sustainable development agendas. In this Perspective, we examine the current state of global grasslands and explore the extent and dominant drivers of their degradation. Socio-ecological solutions are needed to combat degradation and promote restoration. Important strategies include: increasing recognition of grasslands in global policy; developing standardized indicators of degradation; using scientific innovation for effective restoration at regional and landscape scales; and enhancing knowledge transfer and data sharing on restoration experiences. Stakeholder needs can be balanced through standardized assessment and shared understanding of the potential ecosystem service trade-offs in degraded and restored grasslands. The integration of these actions into sustainability policy will aid in halting degradation and enhancing restoration success, and protect the socio-economic, cultural and ecological benefits that grasslands provide

The EU and the Catalan Crisis

List of all differentially expressed proteins (n = 45) identified in the study. (XLSX 11 kb

Pre-anesthetic use of butorphanol for the prevention of emergence agitation in thoracic surgery: A multicenter, randomized controlled trial

BackgroundEmergence agitation (EA) is common in patients after general anesthesia (GA) and is associated with poor outcomes. Patients with thoracic surgery have a higher incidence of EA compared with other surgery. This study aimed to investigate the impact of pre-anesthetic butorphanol infusion on the incidence of EA in patients undergoing thoracic surgery with GA.Materials and methodsThis prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in 20 tertiary hospitals in China. A total of 668 patients undergoing elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy/segmentectomy for lung cancer were assessed for eligibility, and 620 patients were enrolled. In total, 296 patients who received butorphanol and 306 control patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Patients in the intervention group received butorphanol 0.02 mg/kg 15 min before induction of anesthesia. Patients in the control group received volume-matched normal saline in the same schedule. The primary outcome was the incidence of EA after 5 min of extubation, and EA was evaluated using the Riker Sedation-Agitation Scale (RSAS). The incidence of EA was determined by the chi-square test, with a significance of P < 0.05.ResultsIn total, 296 patients who received butorphanol and 306 control patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The incidence of EA 5 min after extubation was lower with butorphanol treatment: 9.8% (29 of 296) vs. 24.5% (75 of 306) in the control group (P = 0.0001). Patients who received butorphanol had a lower incidence of drug-related complications (including injecting propofol pain and coughing with sufentanil): 112 of 296 vs. 199 of 306 in the control group (P = 0.001) and 3 of 296 vs. 35 of 306 in the control group (P = 0.0001).ConclusionThe pre-anesthetic administration of butorphanol reduced the incidence of EA after thoracic surgery under GA.Clinical trial registration[http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=42684], identifier [ChiCTR1900025705]