MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway mediates alcohol-induced angiogenesis in breast cancer

AIM To investigate the role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and its receptor CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) in ethanol-promoted breast cancer angiogenesis and the underlying mechanism. METH?ODS: A mouse model of transplanted breast tumor with moderate alcohol consumption was established. The correlations between the expression of MCP-1/CCR2 and the expression of angiogenesis markers [platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)] in tumor tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. In vitro, a 3D tumor-endothelial co-culture system was established to observe tumor angiogenesis and the role of MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway in alcohol-mediated angiogenesis. The cell migration ability was detected to clarify whether MCP-1/CCR2 enhanced cell mobility to form new vessels. RESULTS MCP-1 and CCR2 were both highly expressed in the breast tumor tissues of tumor-bearing mice consuming alcohol, and their expression levels were consistent with the angiogenic markers PECAM-1 and VEGF (P<0.05). The interaction between mouse breast cancer E0771 cells and endothelial cells was observed to promote angiogenesis in the 3D tumor-endothelial co-culture system with or without alcohol stimulation. MCP-1 promoted this kind of tumor angiogenesis, while CCR2 antagonist effectively inhibited the tumor angiogenesis and especially blocked alcohol-induced angiogenesis. Activation of MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway enhanced the migration ability of endothelial cells. CONCLUSION The MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway plays an important role in promoting the angiogenesis of breast cancer stimulated by alcohol. The mechanism might be that MCP-1 improves the migration of endothelial cells and then promotes angiogenesis.     

小冠开心形和细型主干形‘玉露香’梨光能截获与光合作用差异

小冠开心形和细型主干形是黄土高原梨树生产中的主要树形模式。为阐述这两种树形对冠层光能截获和叶片光合功能的影响,以山西芮城县4年生的‘玉露香’梨为试材,2017年和2018年连续两年测定了冠层截获的光合有效辐射PAR、叶片光合的光响应特性、荧光淬灭动力学特性以及光午休期间叶片的热耗散特性和光呼吸。结果表明：小冠开心形冠层不同方位和不同时刻截获的PAR均高于细型主干形,平均提高47.6%;与细型主干形相比,小冠开心形叶片光响应的最大净光合速率Pnmax,p与光饱和点LSP显著升高;光合碳同化过程的3个限制因子中,磷酸丙糖利用速率Vtpu对冠层光环境变化最敏感。正午强光胁迫下,小冠开心形叶片光呼吸速率Pr与总光合速率Pg的比例（Pr/Pg）比细型主干形叶片提高58.5%,NPQ中可恢复组分r(qE)提高了8.9%,而不可恢复组分r(qI)降低了75.0%。两种树形相比,小冠开心形梨树冠层可截获更多的光能,叶片的光合能力更强,强光胁迫时能够通过更高效的热耗散和光呼吸进行自我保护,可作为黄土高原产区梨树适宜树形。     

基于叶绿体DNA分析的楸子种质遗传多样性研究

利用4对叶绿体DNA引物扩增49份楸子[Malus prunifolia（Willd.）Borkh.]种质资源的4个叶绿体DNA基因间区trnH-psbA、trnS-trnG spacer + intron、trnT-5′trnL和5′trnL-trnF序列,基于4个叶绿体DNA基因间区的序列变异,从母系遗传的角度评价楸子的遗传多样性水平。结果显示：4个叶绿体DNA基因间区序列经测序、拼接、比对和合并之后的片段长度为3 790 bp,共有173个多态性变异位点,其中包含2个单一突变位点、20个简约信息位点和151个插入/缺失位点。在49份楸子种质中,trnH-psbA、trnS-trnG spacer + intron、trnT-5′trnL和5′trnL-trnF区域的变异位点的数量分别为26个、25个、120个和2个,单倍型数量分别为9个、7个、8个和3个,合并之后的叶绿体DNA片段的单倍型有14个。核苷酸多样性和单倍型多样性最高的区域均为trnH-psbA（Hd = 0.775,Pi = 0.02143）,最低的为5′trnL-trnF（Hd = 0.481,Pi = 0.00072）。49份楸子种质4个叶绿体DNA区域合并后的遗传多样性较高（Hd = 0.854,Pi = 0.00949）。Tajima’s D检验中,4个叶绿体DNA区域在P > 0.10水平上均不显著,楸子的4个叶绿体DNA区域在进化上遵循中性进化模型。楸子的遗传变异主要存在于群体内部,不同居群间基因交流频繁,多数居群间遗传分化较少,与地理距离不完全相关。     

基于农户视角的城郊区葡萄种植效益分析

基于陕西省西安市鄠邑区葡萄种植户的调查数据,在构建农户层面效益评价指标体系的基础上,评价了农户种植葡萄的效益状况。结果表明:第一,农户葡萄种植效益整体位于中等偏下的水平;第二,高效益农户与低效益农户在经济效益、生态效益以及就业机会上存在显著差异,而在对子女和老人的照顾上差异不大;第三,经验丰富、种植规模较大的纯农业型农户的效益较高。节水灌溉技术有助于提高农户的经济效益,而购买化肥的渠道、接受技术培训和有购买过假化肥经历对农户种植经济林的生态效益有影响。     

High-throughput screening reveals small molecule modulators inhibitory to Acidovorax citrulli

Acidovorax citrulli is a seed-transmitted gram-negative bacterium that can cause substantial economic yield loss in watermelon and melon production worldwide. Four small-molecule libraries containing 4,952 compounds were selected for high-throughput screening against A. citrulli wild-type strain Xu3-14 by evaluation of growth inhibition. One hundred and twenty-seven molecules (2.5% hit rate) were identified as bactericidal or bacteriostatic against A. citrulli at 100 μM. Secondary screens indicated that 27 candidate compounds were more effective against A. citrulli Group II strains than Group I strains (classified using repetitive element PCR). Several compounds were inhibitory to other pathogenic bacteria, including Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, but did not affect the growth of plant beneficial bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis. More than half of the compounds did not inhibit germination of Arabidopsis or watermelon seeds. The effect of small molecules on A. citrulli seed-to-seedling transmission was evaluated by applying each compound to inoculated watermelon seeds and assessing seedling infection. Nine compounds were chosen for further investigation based on their reduction of percentage seedling infection and compiling scores on their specificity, sensitivity, and phytotoxicity obtained in the secondary screens. The five best compounds were selected (thiamphenicol, nadifloxacin, pipemidic acid, ciclopirox, and zinc pyrithione) for greenhouse tests and were found to effectively reduce the seed-to-seedling transmission of A. citrulli in both artificially and naturally infested seeds. These top five compounds provide a basis for future development of an A. citrulli-specific bactericide.     

Evolution of spatial structure patterns of city networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the perspective of corporate pledge linkage

The pledge of stock rights is a method for measuring the external horizontal connections of enterprises, which is more suitable to represent the city network compared with the vertical connections of enterprises. Meanwhile, it is greatly significant to express the relationships of regional spaces. The paper characterizes and explores the evolution of urban spatial structure with complex network research methods to enrich the relevant works on city networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2011 to 2017. The results are as follows: First, from 2011 to 2017, the pledge of stock rights among cities was enhanced significantly, and the trend of the city networks' characteristics become strengthened and more complicated. Second, cities in the Yangtze River Delta have relatively high connection values, however, cities in the western area are holding peripheral positions within the city network. Third, due to the advantages of economic agglomeration and radiation, the provincial capital have become the core nodes in the city network. Fourth, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing have dominant positions within city networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Particularly, Shanghai, as one of the leading financial centers in China, has a growing influence on other cities and gradually evolved into a regional growth pole city and the first core city.     

Rural land reforms and villagers' preferences for urban settlement: A case study of Shandong Province,China

Based on surveys conducted in Shandong Province, China, this paper examined the interests of rural residents to move to and settle in cities, as well as the factors that motivate or discourage their potential settlement changes. Results of the binary logistic regression analysis showed that villagers' urban settlement preference was related to sociodemographic factors such as gender, age, and occupation. Overall, the separation of the “three rights” (collective ownership, land contract right, and land use right) associated with rural land has strengthened the urban settlement preference of rural residents. Nevertheless, we did not find significant association between land transfer and the preference for urban settlement. For villagers who expressed interest in urban settlement, better job opportunities, education opportunities, and higher income are the leading “pull” factors that would attract them to cities. The attachment to rural life, high living costs, and high housing prices in cities were the top concerns for villagers who did not want to move. The study also found that villagers' desired urban destinations changed with the changing land parameters, indicating that the outcomes of China's rural land reforms may not be aligned well with the policy goals laid in the country's urbanization and rural development plans.     

Effects and mechanisms of rural E-commerce clusters on households' entrepreneurship behavior in China

The vigorous development of rural E-commerce reveals a powerful pattern of economic clustering. Recently, many Taobao Villages have formed in more than 80% of the provinces in rural China, and increasingly households are using E-commerce for entrepreneurial innovation in Taobao Villages. However, the effect and mechanism of the Taobao Village model on households' entrepreneurship behavior remain unclear. Using survey data and structural equation modeling, we analyzed the factors of households' entrepreneurship behavior and investigated the mechanism of rural E-commerce clustering on the households' entrepreneurship behavior in Taobao Villages. The results show that: (1) rural E-commerce clusters stimulated entrepreneurial enthusiasm and increased entrepreneurial behavior; (2) local resource endowment, entrepreneurial atmosphere and culture, threshold for entrepreneurship, and demonstrative leadership had significant positive effects on households' entrepreneurship behavior; (3) external environmental support, including government, and external business environment support had significant positive effects on E-commerce development. All these results indicate that rural E-commerce clusters promote households' entrepreneurship behavior.     

PEG-6000模拟干旱胁迫下不同基因型 小麦品种萌发期抗旱性的综合鉴定

为了研究不同基因型小麦品种萌发期的抗旱性,以20个小麦品种为材料,采用质量分数为20%的PEG-6000溶液处理模拟干旱胁迫,测定了芽长、主胚根长、芽鲜质量、根鲜质量、发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数和萌发抗旱指数等指标,通过主成分分析和综合评价值(F值)法对供试材料的抗旱性进行综合评价,并通过测定相关生理指标对评价结果进行了验证。结果表明,PEG-6000胁迫处理后的芽长、主胚根长、芽鲜质量、根鲜质量、发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数均受到抑制,但不同品种的降幅存在显著差异。主成分分析表明,晋麦47、运旱618、长治6406、石4185和旱选10号抗旱性明显强于F值较低的京冬18、石家庄4号、石优20、郑麦366和郑麦9023。相关生理指标测定结果表明,F值较高的晋麦47、运旱618和长治6406的抗旱性要显著高于F值较低的京冬、石家庄4号和郑麦366。这说明基于形态指标的综合评价值法可以有效地对小麦萌发期抗旱性进行鉴定,供试材料中抗旱性较强的品种有:晋麦47、运旱618、长治6406、石4185和旱选10号,抗旱性较差的品种有:京冬18、石家庄4号、石优20、郑麦9023和郑麦366。