Search

SUMMARY: Intertidal macroalgae are submerged in seawater at high tide and exposed to air at low tide. When they are exposed to the air, CO2 is the main inorganic carbon source. In this study, the photosynthetic performances of PSI and PSII were measured in different generations of Pyropia yezoensis (leafy thalli and filamentous thalli) that had been exposed to air containing different CO2 concentrations. Changes in photosynthesis during dehydration and salt treatment under the different CO2 concentrations were also analyzed. The results showed that in leafy thalli, the effective photochemical quantum yield of PSII (YII) was enhanced as CO2 increased, which suggested that CO2 assimilation was enhanced and that they can utilize CO2 in the air directly, even when they are subjected to moderate stress. These findings could explain why, in P. yezoensis aquaculture, moderate exposure to air does not lead to a decrease in crop yield. However, in filamentous thalli, there were no significant differences in YII at the CO2 concentrations tested. The expression of genes involved in the Calvin cycle in leafy thalli was higher than that in filamentous thalli. CO2 uptake and biomass of P. yezoensis leafy thalli is larger than filamentous thalli, which may be due to its different carbon utilization mechanism and the adaptation of intertidal environment in the evolutionary process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Heavy metal pollution in aquatic environments is a significant environmental problem. Marine macroalgae are novel materials for the removal of heavy metals from water, aided by their large biomass and the feature of easy collection. In this study, Ulva prolifera O.F.Müller was used to remove cadmium ions (Cd2+) from the aquatic environment. We examined the Cd2+ absorption capacity of the thalli in a factorial experiment using fresh thalli cultivated in seawater, freshwater, water containing domestic garbage, water containing industrial waste and elutriant of soil with additional Cd2+. In addition, changes in photosynthetic activity of thalli were investigated. A significant decrease of maximum quantum yield and effective photochemical quantum yield of PSII (YII) indicated Cd2+ was transported into the cells and seriously inhibited photosynthesis. Furthermore, the Cd2+ absorption capacity was relatively high. The results indicated the suitability of U. prolifera for removing Cd2+ from aquatic environments of different backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its highly efficient homologous recombination ability and unusual evolutionary position, the moss Physcomitrella patens has begun to attract more attention in genetic and evolutionary studies. Protonema, the filament stage of the gametophyte, is of great significance in P. patens protoplast isolation. Moreover, protonema is widely used in genetic engineering. However, difficulties in the induction and state maintenance of protonema restrict its wider application. In this work, protonema was induced efficiently in a diluted seawater medium, and the filamentous state was maintained without further cell differentiation. The developmental process of the protonema resumed, progressing to bud assembly and gametophore formation after transfer to freshwater medium. In addition, a transcriptome analysis showed that plant hormone signal transduction pathways were downregulated when protonema was grown in diluted seawater medium. Consistent with the transcriptome results, the protonema failed to respond to the addition of indole-3-acetic acid and 6-benzylaminopurine to the diluted seawater medium. Based on these results, we concluded that diluted seawater medium blocks the differentiation of protonema. This result could provide a novel insight to benefit future protonema production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect and safety of the magnetic resonance electromagnetic therapy (MREM) combined with Qianlie Beixi Capsules (QBC) in the treatment of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)., Methods: Using a prospective, two-center, randomized, open, positive drug-loading, parallel-controlled clinical design, we randomly divided 124 patients with CP/CPPS into a control and an observation group of equal number, the former treated with QBC and the latter with QBC combined with MREM for a course of 14 days. Then, we compared the NIH-CPSI scores before and after treatment, the total effectiveness rate and safety between the two groups of patients., Results: After treatment, the patients in both the observation and control groups showed significantly improved total and specific item scores on NIH-CPSI (P < 0.05), and those of the observation group achieved even more significant improvement than the controls either in the total NIH-CPSI score (16.65 ± 7.90 vs 21.95 ± 5.70, P < 0.05) or in the pain symptom score (7.34 ± 3.26 vs 9.50 ± 2.47, P < 0.05), urination symptom score (3.53 ± 2.56 vs 4.50 ± 2.35, P < 0.05) and quality of life score (5.94 ± 2.89 vs 8.03 ± 2.60, P < 0.05). The total effectiveness rate was remarkably higher in the observation than in the control group (83.87% vs 53.23%, P < 0.05). No adverse events or reactions were observed in either group of the patients during the trial., Conclusions: Magnetic resonance electromagnetic therapy combined with Qianlie Beixi Capsules can significantly relieve the clinical symptoms of CP/CPPS patients with high effectiveness and safety.

Quercetin (QE) and resveratrol (RSV) are powerful antioxidants with the potential to protect the testes against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We compared their effects in testicular torsion/detorsion (T/D) in adult rats. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham (group A), T/D (group B), T/D treated with QE (group C), and T/D treated with RSV (group D). QE (20 mg kg-1 ) and RSV (20 mg kg-1 ) were injected intra-peritoneally at 60 min of torsion. After 90 min of surgically induced torsion, the testicular cord was restored to its anatomical position. Twenty-four hour after torsion, blood and tissue samples were obtained for further examination. Testicular tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels and serum total oxidant status (TOS) were higher in group B than in group A (P < 0.05). Group A had higher serum total antioxidant status (TAS) than group B. (P < 0.05) QE and RSV significantly lowered MDA, NO, and TOS levels and TAS consumption (P < 0.05). QE reduced the MDA and TOS levels more than RSV (P < 0.05), but their effects on NO reduction and TAS consumption were similar (P > 0.05). Group A had normal testicular architecture (grade 1). Groups C (mean grade 2.60) and D (mean grade 3.00) had lower testicular injury grades than group B (mean grade 3.45) (P < 0.05). Group C had lower testicular injury grade than group D (P < 0.05). Treatment with QE and RSV protects against I/R injury after testicular T/D. QE may exhibit better function than RSV at the doses tested in this study.