Improving the eco-environment in the western-China by applying local tree species: Issues and implications for global arid areas

Local tree species would perform an important role in forestation, because they have more advantages than exotic species in terms of the physiological and adaptation aspects. In this article, we discussed some main factors which affect the drought resistance of trees and depict some anti-droughtcharacteristics and mechanisms of some local species. These factors include osmoregulation, antioxidant system, transpiration and the shape and structure of trees. At the same time, we also make some suggestions and discussions for the application of typical local tree species in the west-China for improving regional, national and international environmental quality

A new species of Polycelis (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Planariidae) from China

In this paper, a new species of Polycelis of the family Planariidae from China is described. Mature individuals have 80–140 eyespots; the testes are well-developed and most of them occupy the entire dorso-ventral space; the penis is a long cone with well-developed musculature; the boundary between the penis bulb and penis papilla is vague and the bulbar cavity is not observed; the bursal canal is surrounded by a well-developed coat of circular muscles, and a thin layer of longitudinal muscles. The karyotype shows a diploid complement of 38 chromosomes, with the formula 2n = 38 = 24m + 14sm

塑造核心价值观，推动医院大发展

Objective: to investigate the significance of core values in the development of the hospital. Method: to retrospectively analyze core values shaping experience and method in Taihe hospital. Results and conclusion: Core values play an important role in the development of the hospital. The hospital could improve its core competitiveness and achieve a higher goal once people-centered core values are established.目的 探讨核心价值观在医院发展中的重要作用。方法 回顾分析太和医院核心价值观的塑造经验与方法。结果与结论 核心价值观在医院建设发展中具有重要地位，只有确立以人为本的核心价值观，才能提高医院的核心竞争力，使其不断向更高目标前进

Single low-dose ketamine infusion for women with prenatal depressive symptoms undergoing cesarean delivery: A pilot randomized trial

BackgroundKetamine is approved for antidepressant therapy, but evidence regarding its use in women with perinatal depression is lacking. Herein, we investigated the effects of low-dose ketamine in women with prenatal depressive symptoms and tested the feasibility of a future large randomized trial.MethodsThis was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Sixty-six women with prenatal depressive symptoms who were scheduled for elective cesarean delivery were randomized to receive either low-dose ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or placebo (normal saline). The study drugs were intravenously infused over a 40-minute period after clamping the umbilical cord. The primary outcome was depression score assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 48 h postpartum. Among other and safety outcomes, occurrence of nausea or vomiting was observed, pain intensity was assessed with the numeric rating scale. The feasibility of implementing the protocol was also evaluated.ResultsA total of 64 parturients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The depression score at 48 h did not differ between groups: median 9 (interquartile range 6 to 13) with ketamine vs. 8 (6 to 10) with placebo; median difference 1, 95% CI −1 to 3; P = 0.608. The pain intensity at 4 h postpartum was less severe in the ketamine group (median difference −1, 95% CI −1 to 0, P = 0.002). Among safety outcomes, intraoperative nausea or vomiting was less common in patients given ketamine (0.0% [0/33] with ketamine vs. 21.2% [7/33] with placebo, P = 0.011). Recruitment was satisfactory and the protocol was acceptable to participants and clinicians.ConclusionsA single low-dose ketamine infusion did not decrease the depression score at 2 days, but reduced intraoperative nausea and vomiting and lowered pain intensity at 4 h after cesarean delivery among women with prenatal depressive symptoms. The study protocol is feasible for a large randomized trial.Clinical Trial RegistrationThe study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT03336541; 08/11/2017)

Advances in bioorganic molecules inspired degradation and surface modifications on Mg and its alloys

Mg alloys possess biodegradability, suitable mechanical properties, and biocompatibility, which make them possible to be used as biodegradable implants. However, the uncontrollable degradation of Mg alloys limits their general applications. In addition to the factors from the metallic materials themselves, like alloy compositions, heat treatment process and microstructure, some external factors, relating to the test/service environment, also affect the degradation rate of Mg alloys, such as inorganic salts, bioorganic small molecules, bioorganic macromolecules. The influence of bioorganic molecules on Mg corrosion and its protection has attracted more and more attentions. In this work, the cutting-edge advances in the influence of bioorganic molecules (i.e., protein, glucose, amino acids, vitamins and polypeptide) and their coupling effect on Mg degradation and the formation of protection coatings were reviewed. The research orientations of biomedical Mg alloys in exploring degradation mechanisms in vitro were proposed, and the impact of bioorganic molecules on the protective approaches were also explored

Paternal Programming of Liver Function and Lipid Profile Induced by a Paternal Pre-Conceptional Unhealthy Diet: Potential Association with Altered Gut Microbiome Composition

Background/Aims: Paternal exposure to adverse environmental conditions can act on offspring’s phenotype and influence offspring’s later life disease risk. Our study was designed to examine the effect of feeding male rats before mating a high-fat, high-sucrose and high-salt diet (HFSSD) over two generations (F0 and F1) on their offspring’s (F2) liver function and gut microbiome composition. Methods: Male F0 rats and male F1 rats were fed either control diet or HFSSD before mating. Liver function of F2 offspring was investigated, and their gut microbiome composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in the F2 offspring of rats whose fathers and grandfathers were fed with control diet (CD) (F0CD+F1CD-F2 group) or HFSSD prior to mating (F0HD+F1HD-F2 group). Results: F2 offspring had higher serum aspartate aminotransferase activity (female, p < 0.05 and male, p < 0.01 respectively) compared with control. Shannon indexes of gut microbiota indicated a significantly higher diversity in the female F0HD+F1HD-F2 as compared to F0CD+F1CD-F2 female offspring (p < 0.01). The dominant phyla of all the groups were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. There were significant differences in gut bacterial community composition at phyla and genus level between the F0CD+F1CD-F2 and F0HD+F1HD-F2. Furthermore, the variation in the relative abundance (percentage) of bacterial genus in the F2 offspring was associated with liver function alterations induced by a paternal pre-conceptional unhealthy diet. Male F0HD+F1HD-F2 offspring had higher serum cholesterol, high density lipoproteins as well as low density lipoproteins concentrations compared to the corresponding male control rats. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings suggested that a paternal pre-conceptional unhealthy diet predisposes the offspring to mild liver function alterations and alterations of gut microbiota in later life. Effects on lipids were sex-specific and only seen in male offspring

Development and validation of a prokaryotically expressed foot-and-mouth disease virus non-structural protein 2C'3AB-based immunochromatographic strip to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an extremely contagious viral disease of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and many cloven-hoofed wild animals. FMDV serotypes O and Asia 1 have circulated separately in China during the last fifty years, and eliminating infected animals and vaccination are the main policies to prevent and control FMD. Antibodies to NSPs exist in infected animals, and were utilized to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals. The reliability of detection of 3AB or 3ABC antibodies is higher than that of other NSPs. The test of 3AB is still credible because 3C protein's immunogenicity is the weakest. The 2C protein, immediately N-terminal of 3AB, was used to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals. The use of the immunochromatographic strip is facile for clinical laboratories lacking specialized equipment and for rapid field diagnosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, an immunochromatographic strip with non-structural protein (NSP) 2C'3AB was developed and validated to differentiate foot-and-mouth disease infected from vaccinated animals. A part of N-terminal of 2C protein gene and whole 3AB gene were connected and prokaryotically expressed as the antigens labeled with colloidal gold was used as the detector, the 2C'3AB protein and rabbits anti-2C'3AB antibodies were blotted on the nitrocellulose(NC) membrane for the test and control lines, respectively. 387 serum samples were collected to evaluate the characteristics of the strip in comparison with existing commercial 3ABC antibody ELISA kit. The coincidence rate of pigs negative serum, pigs vaccinated serum, pigs infected serum was 100%, 97.2%, 95.0%, respectively. The coincidence rate of cattle negative serum, cattle vaccinated serum, cattle infected serum was 100%, 96.7%, 98.0%, respectively. The <b>c</b>oincidence rate of sheep negative serum, sheep infected <b>s</b>erum was 97.6%, 96.3%, respectively. The strip was shown to be of high specificity and sensitivity, good repeatability and stability.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that the immunochromatographic strip is a useful tool for rapid on-site diagnosing animals infected foot-and-mouth disease virus.</p

Topological Hall Effect Driven by Short-Range Magnetic Orders in EuZn2_2As2_2

Short-range (SR) magnetic orders such as magnetic glass orders or fluctuations in a quantum system usually host exotic states or critical behaviors. As the long-range (LR) magnetic orders, SR magnetic orders can also break time-reversal symmetry and drive the non-zero Berry curvature leading to novel transport properties. In this work, we report that in EuZn$_2$As$_2$ compound, besides the LR A-type antiferromagnetic (AF) order, the SR magnetic order is observed in a wide temperature region. The magnetization measurements and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements reveal the ferromagnetic (FM) correlations for this SR magnetic order which results in an obvious anomalous Hall effect above the AF transition. Moreover the ESR results reveal that this FM SR order coexists with LR AF order exhibiting anisotropic magnetic correlations below the AF transition. The interactions of LR and SR magnetism evolving with temperature and field can host non-zero spin charility and berry curvature leading the additional topological Hall contribution even in a centrosymmetric simple AF system. Our results indicate that EuZn$_2$As$_2$ is a fertile platform to investigate exotic magnetic and electronic states.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure