Soft-sediment deformation structures related to volcanic earthquakes of the Lower Cretaceous Qingshan Group in Lingshan Island, Shandong Province, East China

Abstract The study on soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) of Lingshan Island has been one of the hot topics of sedimentology researches in China in recent years, and SSDS developed in turbidite system in the Laiyang Group are widely known by domestic researchers. However, few studies were conducted on the SSDS in fan delta system in the Qingshan Group, Lingshan Island. This study analyzes the classification and characteristics of SSDS especially their lithofacies association and lithologic characteristics through field outcrops investigation and thin section analysis as well. A conclusion was acquired that the paleoenvironment was a fan delta system with occurrence of several volcanic eruptions, where the water became gradually shallower. The SSDS types in the Qingshan Group includes load and flame structure, ball and pillow structure, water-escape structure, hydroplastic deformation structure, plastic sandstone breccia structure, volcanic drop stone and V-shaped ground fissure mainly caused by volcanic earthquakes of three types: (1) seismic waves, (2) gravity and inertia effect of pyroclastic flows, (3) instant differential air pressure; which is different from slumping and tectonic earthquakes occurred in the Laiyang Group. In addition, with the lithofacies association analysis between pyroclastic flow and SSDS beds, a distribution model of SSDS related to volcanic earthquakes can be established: SSDS types changed gradually with their distance further away from the volcanic activity core. Brittle deformation which was common in the proximal zone disappeared gradually; liquefied and plastic SSDS continued to dominate in the medial zone; and slightly liquefied SSDS were developed in the distal zone. Meanwhile, the scale and size of SSDS is negatively correlated with the distance of SSDS depositional locations from the volcanic vent

The Role of P-Glycoprotein in Transport of Danshensu across the Blood-Brain Barrier

Danshensu (3-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl) lactic acid), a water-soluble active component isolated from the root of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, is widely used for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. The present study aims to investigate the role of P-glycoprotein in transport of Danshensu across the blood-brain barrier. Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with verapamil at a dose of 20 mg kg−1 (verapamil group) or the same volume of normal saline (control group). Ninety minutes later, the animals were administrated with Danshensu (15 mg kg−1) by intravenous injection. At 15 min, 30 min, and 60 min after Danshensu administration, the levels of Danshensu in the blood and brain were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The results showed that Danshensu concentrations in the brain of the rats pretreated with verapamil were significantly increased. In addition, the brain-plasma ratios of the group pretreated with verapamil were much higher than that of the control group. There was no difference in Danshensu level in plasma between the verapamil group and control group. The findings indicated that Danshensu can pass the blood-brain barrier, and P-glycoprotein plays an important role in Danshensu transportation in brain

Plant Regeneration from Cassava Protoplasts

Cassava is an important crop for food, feed, and industrial raw materials. Given that traditional conventional breeding is restricted by various factors, biotechnology breeding has become an important breeding method. Tissue culture regeneration is the basis of biotechnology breeding. This chapter reviews the establishment and development of cassava tissue culture and regeneration systems and the technical processes of tissue culture and regeneration starting from the induction of explants of tissue-cultured cassava plantlets to embryogenic calli, isolation to protoplasts, culture to embryogenic calli followed by differentiation into embryos, and then sprouting, stemming, and rooting into complete plants. This chapter focuses on the technical processes from protoplast to complete plant and summarizes the important influencing factors of protoplast regeneration, which is the key and difficult point in the entire regeneration process of cassava protoplasts. This chapter aims to provide technical guidance for cassava protoplast regeneration, offer useful inspiration and reference for cassava tissue culture, and lay a foundation for the genetic improvement of cassava

Isospin dependence of projectile-like fragment production at intermediate energies

The cross sections of fragments produced in 140 $A$ MeV $^{40,48}$Ca + $^9$Be and $^{58,64}$Ni + $^9$Be reactions are calculated by the statistical abration-ablation(SAA) model and compared to the experimental results measured at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University. The fragment isotopic and isotonic cross section distributions of $^{40}$Ca and $^{48}$Ca, $^{58}$Ni and $^{64}$Ni, $^{40}$Ca and $^{58}$Ni, and $^{48}$Ca and $^{64}$Ni are compared and the isospin dependence of the projectile fragmentation is studied. It is found that the isospin dependence decreases and disappears in the central collisions. The shapes of the fragment isotopic and isotonic cross section distributions are found to be very similar for symmetric projectile nuclei. The shapes of the fragment isotopic and isotonic distributions of different asymmetric projectiles produced in peripheral reactions are found very similar. The similarity of the distributions are related to the similar proton and neutron density distributions inside the nucleus in framework of the SAA model.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Phys Rev

Probiotics improve symptoms of patients with COVID-19 through gut-lung axis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundMulti system symptoms such as gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract exist in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. There is a lack of reliable evidence to prove that probiotics are effective in improving these symptoms. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in meta-analysis.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to February 15, 2023. Randomized controlled trials or high quality retrospective studies comparing the efficacy of probiotics as supplementation with non-probiotics in improving symptoms for patients with COVID-19 were included. This meta-analysis assessed endpoints using Review Manager 5.3.ResultTen citations comprising 1198 patients with COVID-19 were included. The results showed that probiotics could increase the number of people with overall symptom improvement (RR = 1.62, 95% CI [1.10, 2.38], P = 0.01) and shorten the duration (days) of overall symptoms (MD = −1.26, 95% CI [−2.36, −0.16], P = 0.02). For the duration (days) of specific symptoms, probiotics could improve diarrhea (MD = −2.12, 95% CI [−2.41, −1.83], P < 0.00001), cough (MD = −2.21, 95% CI [-4.56, 0.13], P = 0.06) and shortness of breath (MD = −1.37, 95% CI [-2.22, −0.53], P = 0.001). Probiotics had no obvious effect on fever, headache and weakness. For inflammation, probiotics could effectively reduce C-reactive Protein (CRP) serum level (mg/L) (MD = −4.03, 95% CI [−5.12, −2.93], P < 0.00001). Regarding hospital stay (days), probiotics group was shorter than non-probiotics group (MD = −0.98, 95% CI [−1.95, −0.01], P = 0.05).ConclusionTo some extent probiotics could improve the overall symptoms, inflammatory reaction and shorten hospital stay of patients with COVID-19. Probiotics may improve gastrointestinal symptoms (such as improving intestinal flora and reducing the duration of diarrhea) and further improve respiratory symptoms through the gut-lung axis.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=398309, identifier: CRD42023398309

Synergistic effects of Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen herbal formula and valsartan on metabolic syndrome complicated with microalbuminuria

Purpose: To study the effects of a combination of Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen formula and valsartan on metabolic syndrome (MetS) complicated with microalbuminuria.Methods: Patients with MetS (100), recruited from Department of the Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital; Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University; and Department of Endocrinology, Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Yueyang, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, were randomly divided into two sets: control group (n = 50) given valsartan treatment, and Chinese herbal medicine (CHF) group (n = 50) given Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen formula in addition to valsartan. Both therapeutic regimens were given once a day for 12 weeks. The parameters measured were conversion rate of microalbuminuria (MA), ratio of urinary albumin to creatinine (UACR), 24- h total volume of urinary protein (24hTP), urinary transferrin, urinary β2 microglobulin, constitutional index (CI), and waist-hip ratio (WHR). Other indices assessed were peak systolic and diastolic pressure (SBP and DBP), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial 2 h blood glucose (2hPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (GH), steadystate model for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol (TC), glycerin trilaurate (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).Results: All 100 subjects completed the clinical study. The outcome revealed that compared with 10.00 % in controls, the negative conversion of MA reached 28.00 % in the CHF group (p < 0.050). CHF produced reductions in MA, UACR, BMI, 24hTP and urinary β2 microglobulin (p < 0.05). It also led to marked increases in BMI, WHR, SBP, MAP, FPG, 2hPPG, HbA1c and HOMA-IR, and significant decreases in TG (p < 0.05).Conclusion: These results suggest that CHF treatment results in alleviation of microalbuminuria and multiple cardiovascular risk factors in metabolic syndrome complicated with microalbuminuria. These effects correlate with improvements in insulin sensitivity and rectification of abnormal fat distribution.Keywords: Metabolic syndrome, Microalbuminuria, Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen formula, Insulin resistance, Central obesit

Coordinated regulation of core and accessory genes in the multipartite genome of Sinorhizobium fredii

Prokaryotes benefit from having accessory genes, but it is unclear how accessory genes can be linked with the core regulatory network when developing adaptations to new niches. Here we determined hierarchical core/accessory subsets in the multipartite pangenome (composed of genes from the chromosome, chromid and plasmids) of the soybean microsymbiont Sinorhizobium fredii by comparing twelve Sinorhizobium genomes. Transcriptomes of two S. fredii strains at mid-log and stationary growth phases and in symbiotic conditions were obtained. The average level of gene expression, variation of expression between different conditions, and gene connectivity within the co-expression network were positively correlated with the gene conservation level from strain-specific accessory genes to genus core. Condition-dependent transcriptomes exhibited adaptive transcriptional changes in pangenome subsets shared by the two strains, while strain-dependent transcriptomes were enriched with accessory genes on the chromid. Proportionally more chromid genes than plasmid genes were co-expressed with chromosomal genes, while plasmid genes had a higher within-replicon connectivity in expression than chromid ones. However, key nitrogen fixation genes on the symbiosis plasmid were characterized by high connectivity in both within- and between-replicon analyses. Among those genes with host-specific upregulation patterns, chromosomal znu and mdt operons, encoding a conserved high-affinity zinc transporter and an accessory multi-drug efflux system, respectively, were experimentally demonstrated to be involved in host-specific symbiotic adaptation. These findings highlight the importance of integrative regulation of hierarchical core/accessory components in the multipartite genome of bacteria during niche adaptation and in shaping the prokaryotic pangenome in the long run

A novel FBN2 mutation in a Chinese family with congenital contractural arachnodactyly

AbstractCongenital contractural arachnodactyly (CCA, OMIM: 121050) is an autosomal dominant condition that shares skeletal features with Marfan syndrome (MFS, OMIM: 154700), including contractures, arachnodactyly, dolichostenomelia, scoliosis, crumpled ears and pectus deformities but excluding the ocular and cardiovascular complications that characterize MFS. These two similar syndromes result from mutations in two genes belonging to the fibrillin family, FBN1 and FBN2, respectively. We successfully identified a novel FBN2 mutation (C1406R) in a Chinese family with CCA for over five generations. This mutation was detected in the patients of this family but not in the seven unaffected family members or 100 normal individuals. SIFT and PolyPhen analyses suggested that the mutation was pathogenic. We identified a missense mutation in the calcium binding-epidermal growth factor (cbEGF)-like domain. Our study extends the mutation spectrum of CCA and confirms a relationship between mutations in the FBN2 gene and the clinical findings of CCA