Land-Use Conversion Altered Topsoil Properties and Stoichiometry in a Reclaimed Coastal Agroforestry System

Reclaimed coastal areas were mostly used for agricultural purposes in the past, while land-use conversion was initiated in recent decades in eastern China. Elucidation of the effects of land-use conversion on soil properties and stoichiometry is essential for addressing climate change and ecological conservation. In this study, five land-use types in a reclaimed area were chosen to compare the differences of soil properties and stoichiometry, which comprised paddy, upland, upland-forest, forest, and vegetable garden, with a soil age of about 100 years. The results indicated that these land-use types significantly differed in soil water concentration, pH, bulk density, soil salt concentration, soil organic carbon content, total nitrogen content, and total phosphorus, as well as C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios. Positive correlations were found among soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus; and among pH, bulk density, and soil salt concentration. Total phosphorus and soil organic carbon contents were the main factors shaping the topsoil among the land-use types. Contents of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus in paddy and vegetable garden soils were higher than that in upland and upland-forest soils, while bulk density, pH, and soil salt concentration showed the opposite trends. Forest soil demonstrated intermediate values for most properties. And the highest C:N occurred in the upland and vegetable garden, the highest C:P in paddy and vegetable garden, while the lowest C:N and C:P occurred in upland-forest. The highest and lowest N:P occurred in paddy and upland, respectively. The stoichiometric characteristics presented a narrow range of the ratio, and the C:N:P averaged 48:3:1 similar to the stoichiometry of average Chinese cropland soils. Rotations including legume, the use of organic fertilizers, and appropriate fertilization strategies were suggested for improving cropland management

Land-Use Conversion Altered Topsoil Properties and Stoichiometry in a Reclaimed Coastal Agroforestry System

Reclaimed coastal areas were mostly used for agricultural purposes in the past, while land-use conversion was initiated in recent decades in eastern China. Elucidation of the effects of land-use conversion on soil properties and stoichiometry is essential for addressing climate change and ecological conservation. In this study, five land-use types in a reclaimed area were chosen to compare the differences of soil properties and stoichiometry, which comprised paddy, upland, upland-forest, forest, and vegetable garden, with a soil age of about 100 years. The results indicated that these land-use types significantly differed in soil water concentration, pH, bulk density, soil salt concentration, soil organic carbon content, total nitrogen content, and total phosphorus, as well as C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios. Positive correlations were found among soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus; and among pH, bulk density, and soil salt concentration. Total phosphorus and soil organic carbon contents were the main factors shaping the topsoil among the land-use types. Contents of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus in paddy and vegetable garden soils were higher than that in upland and upland-forest soils, while bulk density, pH, and soil salt concentration showed the opposite trends. Forest soil demonstrated intermediate values for most properties. And the highest C:N occurred in the upland and vegetable garden, the highest C:P in paddy and vegetable garden, while the lowest C:N and C:P occurred in upland-forest. The highest and lowest N:P occurred in paddy and upland, respectively. The stoichiometric characteristics presented a narrow range of the ratio, and the C:N:P averaged 48:3:1 similar to the stoichiometry of average Chinese cropland soils. Rotations including legume, the use of organic fertilizers, and appropriate fertilization strategies were suggested for improving cropland management

The CPNE Family and Their Role in Cancers

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite significant advances in cancer research and treatment, the overall prognosis of lung cancer patients remains poor. Therefore, the identification for novel therapeutic targets is critical for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. CPNEs (copines) are a family of membrane-bound proteins that are highly conserved, soluble, ubiquitous, calcium dependent in a variety of eukaryotes. Emerging evidences have also indicated CPNE family members are involved in cancer development and progression as well. However, the expression patterns and clinical roles in cancer have not yet been well understood. In this review, we summarize recent advances concerning CPNE family members and provide insights into new potential mechanism involved in cancer development

Association between Knowledge-Attitude-Practices and Control of Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, and Blood Lipids in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Shanghai, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Knowledge-attitude-practices (KAP) significantly impact the outcome of self-management in patients with diabetes, yet the association between KAP and the combined control of the levels of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids in these patients remains uncertain. This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2014 to December 2016 on 3977 patients with type 2 diabetes in Shanghai. KAP were evaluated using the modified Chinese version of the Diabetes, Hypertension and Hyperlipidemia (DHL) Knowledge Instrument, Diabetes Empowerment Scale–Short Form (DES-SF), and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). Clinical and biochemical measurements were performed at each sampling site. The association between KAP scores and achieving the combined target goal was assessed by multiple logistic regression. Patients having a higher score of knowledge were more likely to achieve the combined target goal. Furthermore, a turning point of knowledge score was found that the possibility of achieving the combined target goal presented a sharp increase when the knowledge score was more than 70. However, the scores of attitude and practices had no significant relations with achieving the combined target goal. Health intervention strategies, especially increasing integrated diabetes knowledge, should be targeted to patients with type 2 diabetes in communities

Overexpression of YAP and TAZ Is an Independent Predictor of Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer and Related to the Proliferation and Metastasis of Colon Cancer Cells

<div><p>Background and Objective</p><p>Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) are nuclear effectors of the Hippo pathway. Although they are abundantly expressed in the cytoplasm and nuclei of human colorectal cancer (CRC), and related to tumor proliferation status, there have been few studies on the predictive role of YAP and TAZ expression on the overall survival of patients with CRC. This study investigated YAP and TAZ expression in both CRC patients and colon cancer cell lines, and assessed their prognostic value.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Paraffin-embedded specimens from 168 eligible patients were used to investigate YAP and TAZ expression by immunohistochemistry, and compared with experimental results in colon cancer HCT116 cell line to explore their clinical significance in CRC.</p><p>Results</p><p>Statistically significant positive correlations were found between protein expression of YAP and TAZ in CRC tissues. Patients with higher YAP or TAZ expression showed a trend of shorter survival times; more importantly, our cohort study indicated that patients with both YAP and TAZ overexpression presented the worst outcomes. This was supported by multivariate analysis. In HCT116 colon cancer cells, the capacity for proliferation, metastasis, and invasion was dramatically reduced by knockdown of YAP and TAZ expressions by siRNA.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Co-overexpression of YAP and TAZ is an independent predictor of prognosis for patients with CRC, and may account for the higher proliferation, metastasis, and poor survival outcome of these patients.</p></div

Comparative proteomics reveals the physiological differences between winter tender shoots and spring tender shoots of a novel tea (Camellia sinensis L.) cultivar evergrowing in winter

Abstract Background A recently discovered tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] cultivar can generate tender shoots in winter. We performed comparative proteomics to analyze the differentially accumulated proteins between winter and spring tender shoots of this clonal cultivar to reveal the physiological basis of its evergrowing character during winter. Results We extracted proteins from the winter and spring tender shoots (newly formed two leaves and a bud) of the evergrowing tea cultivar “Dongcha11” respectively. Thirty-three differentially accumulated high-confidence proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF / TOF MS). Among these, 24 proteins had increased abundance while nine showed were decreased abundance in winter tender shoots as compared with the spring tender shoots. We categorized the differentially accumulated proteins into eight critical biological processes based on protein function annotation including photosynthesis, cell structure, protein synthesis & destination, transporters, metabolism of sugars and polysaccharides, secondary metabolism, disease/defense and proteins with unknown functions. Proteins with increased abundance in winter tender shoots were mainly related to the processes of photosynthesis, cytoskeleton and protein synthesis, whereas those with decreased abundance were correlated to metabolism and the secondary metabolism of polyphenolic flavonoids. Biochemical analysis showed that the total contents of soluble sugar and amino acid were higher in winter tender shoots while tea polyphenols were lower as compared with spring tender shoots. Conclusions Our study suggested that the simultaneous increase in the abundance of photosynthesis-related proteins rubisco, plastocyanin, and ATP synthase delta chain, metabolism-related proteins eIF4 and protease subunits, and the cytoskeleton-structure associated proteins phosphatidylinositol transfer protein and profilin may be because of the adaptation of the evergrowing tea cultivar “Dongcha11” to low temperature and light conditions. Histone H4, Histone H2A.1, putative In2.1 protein and protein lin-28 homologs may also regulate the development of winter shoots and their response to adverse conditions

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) seed polyphenol improves osteoporosis via gut-serotonin mediated Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ovariectomized rats

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) is one of the most important industrial crops in tropical Asia and parts of east Africa. However, the arecanut industry has suffered pandemic loss caused by negative reports such as carcinogenic effect. The healthy development of arecanut industry is of great significance. Our previous study found that arecanut (Areca catechu L.) seed polyphenol (ACP) can increase bone mass in ovariectomized rats which is closely related to metabolism of tryptophan. Here, we investigated the relationship among ACP, bone metabolism and serum metabolism in ovariectomized osteoporosis rat. We observed the bone structure of femur and analyzed the LDL-receptor relater protein 5 (LRP5), 5-hydroxytryptophan initial synthetase enzyme 1 (Tph1) and gut-derived serotonin (5-HT) in the gut, bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), osteocalcin (OCN), Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor NF-κB ligand (RANKL) in serum, 5-hydroxytryptophan receptor protein (Htr1b), bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) and β-catenin expression in bone and serum metabolites. The results indicated that compared with osteoporosis rats, ACP significantly improved the damaged bone structure, increased the ratio of OPG/RANKL, Lrp5, BMP2 and β-catenin. The ACP and E2 remarkably enhanced the expression of the metabolites such as 7-Ketodeoxycholic acid, indole and 15-Deoxy-Δ12, 14-prostaglandin, which were deeply linked with 5-HT synthesis via Lrp5 and tryptophan metabolism. Altogether, these studies shown that the ACP could downregulate 5-HT, which were implicated in serum metabolism and promoted bone mass by controlling the bone resorption and formation

Kaplan-Meier analysis of overall survival (cumulative survival) of CRC patients relative to YAP and TAZ expression.

<p>(A) Correlation of YAP expression with overall survival; (B) correlation of TAZ expression with overall survival; (C) correlation of combined YAP and TAZ expression with overall survival. A statistically significant difference is shown in overall survival outcome between the different groups of patients, with those having positive co-overexpression of YAP and TAZ having the worst overall survival.</p