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Cadmium contamination poses a significant risk to soil ecosystems in certain parts of the world. Using eco-friendly fertilizers alongside beneficial microorganisms offers a viable solution to mitigate Cd pollution in agricultural soil. This study used an outdoor experiment to evaluate the impact of administering a Cd-immobilizing bacterial (Bacillus) inoculant with two biologically-enriched organic fertilizers (either fermentative edible fungi residue or fermented cow dung) on wheat plants and associated microbial populations in a field contaminated with Cd. The mixed application of fermentative cow dung with the Cd-immobilizing bacterium reduced the effective Cd content of wheat root-soil by 13,0 %. Application of Cd-immobilizing Bacillus inoculant reduced the Cd enrichment of wheat roots by 0.07 mg/kg. Co-application of fermentative cow dung with the bacterial inoculant reduced the Cd enrichment of wheat seeds by 20,0 %. Co-application of the two organic fertilizers could improve some of the nutrients related to wheat and soil fertility; however, the diversity of the soil microbial community changed less and its species richness decreased. Applying the Bacillus inoculant inhibited the growth of native pathogenic bacteria, such as Proteobacteria. Whether administering it with either fermented cow manure or fermented edible fungus residue, the relative abundance of nitrate-reducing bacteria such as Rhodobacter increased, which should promote the soil nitrogen cycle. The main factors influencing soil microbial community structure of wheat plants were pH, available potassium, and available Cd content. Symbiotic network analysis revealed bacterial inoculant and organic fertilizer inoculum further altering the ecological relationships of microbial communities. According to the FAPROTAX functional prediction, Rhodanobacter may play a key role in nitrate respiration in the soil nitrogen cycle. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive, timely reference for understanding microbial changes caused by the combined application of this type of bacterial inoculant and organic soil amendments in Cd-contaminated fields.

Abstract Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is one of the most common and serious neurological diseases. Cilostazol has protective effects of anterior horn motor neurons and prevented the cell apoptosis. However, there was no literatures of Cilostazol on DCM. In this study, we established the DCM rat model to detect the effects of Cilostazol. Meanwhile, the neurobehavioral assessments, histopathology changes, inflammatory cytokines, Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), NOD‑like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) and pro-caspase-1 expressions were detected by Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan score assessment, Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunofluorescence and Western blotting, respectively. After treated with Cilostazol, the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score, inclined plane test and forelimb grip strength in DCM rats were significantly increased meanwhile the histopathology injury and inflammatory cytokines were decreased. Additionally, TXNIP, NLRP3 and pro-caspase-1 expressions levels were decreased in Cilostazol treated DCM rats. Interestingly, the using of siTXNIP significantly changed inflammatory cytokines, TXNIP, NLRP3 and pro-caspase-1 expressions, however there was no significance between siTXNIP and Cilostazol + siTXNIP group. These observations showed that Cilostazol rescues DCM injury and ameliorates neuronal destruction mediated by TXNIP/NLRP3/caspase-1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines. As a result of our study, these findings provide further evidence that Cilostazol may represent promising therapeutic candidates for DCM.

In this work, the 3D-SiCp/A356 composites with interpenetrating microstructure were prepared by pressure infiltration of A356 aluminum alloy into a porous 3D-SiC ceramic preform, which served as reinforcement. The effects of the surface oxidation treatment of the SiC particles on microstructure, thermal expansion coefficient, and bending strength of as-fabricated composites were investigated. The results revealed that the initial structure of the 3D-SiC ceramic preform could be retained after pressure infiltration, the pores of the preform were filled with A356 aluminum alloy, and the particles were uniformly distributed in the A356 matrix alloy. The thermal expansion coefficient of the SiC/A356 composite reinforced by oxidized SiC particles was lower than that of the unoxidized SiC particle-reinforced composite. It increased with increasing temperature for both, eventually reaching maxima at 420 °C and 350 °C, respectively, and decreased thereafter. However, a rapid decrease in the thermal expansion coefficient was evident at 565 °C because of the over-burning of the A356 aluminum matrix. In particular, the surface oxidation treatment of SiC particles changed the nature of bonding between SiC and Al, which reduced the strength of the composites. As a result, the bending strength of the unoxidized SiC particle-reinforced composite was approximately twice that of the oxidized SiC particle-reinforced composite. Additionally, the bending strength values of the SiC–Al showed an obvious anisotropic behavior. The bending strength measured by loading parallel to the infiltration direction was 2.5 times larger than that of a perpendicular loading.

Preferential water flow in soil significantly affects runoff, water infiltration, storage, groundwater environment, and soil stability. Plant roots positively affect preferential flow development. This study explored the relationship between the root system of Paulownia fortunei (Seem.) Hemsl. and preferential flow using dyeing tracer test and image analysis techniques. A typical red soil hilly region on the outskirts of Guilin City (Guangxi, China) was selected as the study area. A Bright Blue solution was used to visualize the pathways followed by the infiltrated water in simulated rainfall experiments, and Image Analyzer of Plants was used to analyze the root length, surface area, and volume. The results revealed significant differences in the root surface area density of coarse roots (RSAD-CR) and length index of preferential flow (LI) among soil profiles at various distances from the tree trunk. The root volume density of coarse (RVD-CR) and total roots (RVD-TR), the root length density of coarse roots (RLD-CR), and RSAD-CR were significantly correlated with the characteristics of dyeing morphology. Conversely, the root length density and root surface area density of fine (RLD-FR and RSAD-FR, respectively) and total roots (RLD-TR and RSAD-TR, respectively), and the root volume density of fine roots (RVD-FR) were not significantly correlated with the characteristic parameters of dyeing morphology. The root systems of P. fortunei were critical for enhancing soil water infiltration and developing preferential flow in red soil hilly regions. Coarse roots had a greater impact on the development of preferential flow than fine roots, and root volume had a greater influence on preferential flow development than root length and root surface area. This study contributes to a better understanding of the hydrological cycle at the plant-soil interface in red soil hilly regions.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphism on cognitive function, neuroimaging and blood biological markers in patients with subcortical ischaemic vascular dementia (SIVD).MethodsA total of 81 patients with SIVD were included. According to their BDNF gene polymorphism, the participants were divided into the Val/Val (n = 26), Val/Met (n = 35), and Met/Met (n = 20) groups. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and multimodal brain MRI scan were performed. MRI markers for small vessel disease were visually rated or quantitatively analysed. Moreover, 52 patients were further evaluated with blood marker assays, including amyloid beta (Aβ), phosphorylated tau at threonine-181 (P-tau181), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), total tau (T-tau) and neurofilament light chain (NfL).ResultsThere were no significant differences in demographics, disease duration or MRI markers of small vessel disease between the three groups. Compared with the Val/Val and Val/Met groups, the Met/Met group showed worse performance in the verbal fluency test and higher levels of plasma NfL.ConclusionThe rs6265 polymorphism of the BDNF gene is associated with semantic language fluency in patients with SIVD. The Met genotype may be a risk factor for cognitive impairment and neuronal injury.

Abstract Background A visual, rapid, simple method was developed based on a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to detect Vibrio vulnificus in aquatic products and aquaculture waters. Results Genomic DNA was extracted from Vibrio vulnificus using the boiling method, and optimized primers were used to detect the gyrB gene using a visual LAMP method. The sensitivity of the assay was 10 fg/μL, and the obtained results were stable and reliable. Out of 655 aquatic product samples and 558 aquaculture water samples, the positive rates of Vibrio vulnificus detection were 9.01% and 8.60%, respectively, which are markedly higher than those of the traditional culture identification methods. Conclusion The relatively simple technical requirements, low equipment cost, and rapid detection make the visual LAMP method for the detection of Vibrio vulnificus a convenient choice for field detection in the aquaculture industry.

It is well documented that high temperature (HT) severely affects the development of soybean male reproductive organs. However, the molecular mechanism of thermo-tolerance in soybean remains unclear. To explore the candidate genes and regulatory mechanism of soybean response to HT stress and flower development, here, the anthers of two previously identified HT-tolerant (JD21) and HT-sensitive (HD14) varieties were analyzed by RNA-seq. In total, 219 (172 upregulated and 47 downregulated), 660 (405 upregulated and 255 downregulated), and 4,854 (2,662 upregulated and 2,192 downregulated) differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between JD21 anthers treated with HT stress vs. JD21 anthers in the natural field conditions (TJA vs. CJA), HD14 anthers treated with HT stress vs. HD14 anthers in the natural field conditions (THA vs. CHA), and JD21 vs. HD14 anthers treated with HT stress (TJA vs. THA), respectively. The results showed that there were more DEGs upregulated in JD21; this might be the reason why JD21 was more HT-resistant than the HT-sensitive variety HD14. GO annotation and KEGG enriched analysis showed that many DEGs are mainly involved in defense response, response to biological stimuli, auxin-activated signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, MAPK signaling pathway-plant, starch and sucrose metabolism, etc. The conjoint analysis of RNA-seq and previous iTRAQ results found that there were 1, 24, and 54 common DEGs/DAPs showing the same expression pattern and 1, 2, and 13 common DEGs/DAPs showing the opposite pattern between TJA vs. CJA, THA vs. CHA, and TJA vs. THA at the protein and gene level, respectively, among which HSPs, transcription factor, GSTU, and other DEGs/DAPs participated in the response to HT stress and flower development. Notably, the qRT-PCR analysis and physiological index change results coincided with the sequencing results of RNA-seq and iTRAQ. In conclusion, the HT-tolerant cultivar performed better under stress than the HT-sensitive cultivar through modulation of HSP family proteins and transcription factors, and by keeping key metabolic pathways such as plant hormone signal transduction normal. This study provided important data and some key candidate genes to better study the effect and molecular basis of HT on anther in soybean at a transcription and translation level.

Abstract Textured hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) matrix composite ceramics were prepared by hot-pressing using different contents of 3Y2O3−5Al2O3 (molar ratio of 3:5) as the sintering additive. During hot-pressing, the liquid Y3Al5O12 (YAG) phase showing good wettability to h-BN grains was in situ formed through the reaction between Y2O3 and Al2O3, and a coherent relationship between h-BN and YAG was observed with $${\left[ {010} \right]_{{\rm{h}} - {\rm{BN}}}}{\rm{//}}{\left[ {111} \right]_{{\rm{YAG}}}}$$ [ 010 ] h − BN // [ 111 ] YAG and (002)h-BN//(321)YAG. In the YAG liquid phase environment formed during hot-pressing, plate-like h-BN grains were rotated under the uniaxial sintering pressure and preferentially oriented with their basal surfaces perpendicular to the sintering pressure direction, forming textured microstructures with the c-axis of h-BN grains oriented parallel to the sintering pressure direction, which give these composite ceramics anisotropy in their mechanical and thermal properties. The highest texture degree was found in the specimen with 30 wt% YAG, which also possesses the highest anisotropy degree in thermal conductivity. The aggregation of YAG phase was observed in the specimen with 40 wt% YAG, which resulted in the buckling of h-BN plates and significantly reduced the texture degree.

Panax ginseng, renowned for its medicinal properties, relies on adventitious roots and hairy roots as crucial sources for the production of ginsenosides. Despite the widespread utilization of ginseng, investigations into its miRNAs have remained scarce. To address this gap, two samples of ginseng adventitious roots and ginseng hairy roots were collected, and subsequent construction and sequencing of small RNA libraries of ginseng adventitious roots and hairy roots were performed using the Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform. The analysis of the sequencing data unveiled total miRNAs 2432. The miR166 and miR396 were the most highly expressed miRNA families in ginseng. The miRNA expression analysis results were used to validate the qRT-PCR. Target genes of miRNA were predicted and GO function annotation and KEGG pathway analysis were performed on target genes. It was found that miRNAs are mainly involved in synthetic pathways and biological processes in plants, which include metabolic and bioregulatory processes. The plant miRNAs enriched KEGG pathways are associated with some metabolism, especially amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. These results provide valuable insights miRNAs and their roles in metabolic processes in ginseng.

Objective To establish a digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for hepatitis A virus (HAV) in shellfish and berry foods. Methods After sample enrichment by proteinase K digestion polyethylene glycol method, RNA was extracted by high purity virus nucleic acid kit, and then digital PCR was used to detect HAV. Results This method had typical amplification, good repeatability and stability for HAV. The sensitivity of HAV in strawberry, raspberry and shellfish samples was 25.30 CCID50/20 g, 6.32 CCID50/20 g and 12.54 CCID50/2 g respectively, which means that the detection sensitivity of HAV was high. Conclusion This method is rapid, accurate, sensitive, and is suitable for the determination of HAV in shellfish and berry foods.

In this paper, using Si₃N₄, Al₂O₃ and AlN particles as raw materials, β-SiAlON ceramics with different main crystal phases were designed. The green body of the β-SiAlON-matrix ceramic samples were obtained by using stereolithography (SLA) additive manufacturing. After degreasing, dense β-SiAlON ceramics with different SiAlON phases were fabricated through gas pressure sintering at 1800°C for 1hour at GPa. The effects of the different Al₂O₃ contents on the shrinkage, phase composition, relative density, microstructure, mechanical property and hardness were studied. The results indicate that the main phase of the ceramics was β-SiAlON and the specific chemical compositions of it were Si₅AlON₇, Si3.1Al2.9O2.9N5.1 and Si₂Al₄O₄N₄. The intergranular phases that exists were mainly Y₃Al₅O12, YAlO₃ and Al₂O₃. With a relative density of 90.03 %, the Vickers hardness (Hv5), bending strength and fracture toughness of the fabricated β-Si₅AlON₇ ceramics were 16.8 GPa, 465 MPa and 4.84 MPa.m1/2, respectively. Meanwhile, the shrinkage of the materials was 28.7 %.

Schisandra chinensis is a deciduous woody vine plant that has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years in China. In this study, we researched the complete chloroplast genome of S. chinensis. The complete chloroplast genome length is 147,779 bp, containing a large single-copy region (LSC) of 97,352bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 20,313 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 15,057 bp. The overall nucleotide composition is: A of 29.8%, T of 30.8%, C of 20.2%, and G of 19.2%, with a total GC-content of the chloroplast genome 39.4% and AT of 60.6%. Whole chloroplast genome of S. chinensis contains 126 genes, including 83 protein-coding genes (PCG), 35 transfer RNA (tRNAs) genes, and 8 ribosome RNA (rRNAs) genes. Phylogenetic and genetic analysis based on 30 herbal species confirmed the position of S. chinensis closely related to S. sphenanthera. The complete chloroplast genome of S. chinensis provides more molecular data for the genetic diversity and genetic evolutionary relationship of this species in China.

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a highly valued woody herb medicinal plant belonging to the family Araliaceae, which is also the popular edible plant in China. In this paper, the chloroplast genome of E. senticosus was completed. The complete chloroplast genome of E. senticosus was 156,768 bp in length as a circle. It contained a large single-copy (LSC) region of 86,756 bp, a small single- copy (SSC) region of 18,154 bp and separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,929 bp. The base compositions of chloroplast genome is uneven and the overall nucleotide composition is: A (30.7%), T (31.4%), C (19.3%) and G (18.6%), with a total G + C content (39.4%). It comprised 134 genes, including 89 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. 8 PCG genes species, 7 tRNA genes species and 4 rRNA species were found duplicated in the IR regions. The phylogenetic analysis result shown that the chloroplast genome of E. senticosus is closest to Eleutherococcus sessiliflorus of the family Araliaceae in this study by the maximum-likelihood (ML) method. The complete chloroplast genome of E. senticosus can provide more genomics information for further research on the species in China.