A New Bioassay Platform Design for the Discovery of Small Molecules with Anticancer Immunotherapeutic Activity

Immunotherapy takes advantage of the immune system to prevent, control, and eliminate neoplastic cells. The research in the field has already led to major breakthroughs to treat cancer. In this work, we describe a platform that integrates in vitro bioassays to test the immune response and direct antitumor effects for the preclinical discovery of anticancer candidates. The platform relies on the use of dendritic cells that are professional antigen-presenting cells (APC) able to activate T cells and trigger a primary adaptive immune response. The experimental procedure is based on two phenotypic assays for the selection of chemical leads by both a panel of nine tumor cell lines and growth factor-dependent immature mouse dendritic cells (D1). The positive hits are then validated by a secondary test on human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs). The aim of this approach is the selection of potential immunotherapeutic small molecules from natural extracts or chemical libraries.     

种植年限对设施蔬菜土壤养分和环境的影响

为了给设施蔬菜地合理施肥提供依据,研究了不同种植年限设施蔬菜地土壤理化性质、微生物数量及酶活性变化,以露地土壤为对照(CK),采集种植1 a(年)、3 a、5 a、7 a、9 a、11 a、13 a、15 a、17 a、20 a以及20 a以上的0~20 cm设施蔬菜土壤样品,采用常规土壤理化性质检测方法测定了土壤理化性质和酶活性,采用平板计数法,分析土壤微生物数量。结果表明,设施菜地种植年限与土壤容重呈正相关,与土壤孔隙度呈负相关;设施菜地土壤pH值随种植年限的增加逐年降低,两者呈显著的负相关性;土壤EC值、土壤有机质和速效磷含量都随种植年限的增加而逐年增高,并与种植年限呈显著的正相关性;与CK相比,种植13 a的蔬菜样地土壤全氮和速效钾含量均显著地增加;连续种植20 a以上,设施蔬菜土壤含盐量比对照土壤显著地增加了486.49%。土壤细菌和放线菌数量、过氧化氢酶和碱性磷酸酶活性呈现出先增加后减少的趋势,且都在种植年限为11~13 a时达到最大;真菌数量随着种植年限的增加而增加,而土壤脲酶活性则随种植年限的增加呈下降趋势;转化酶活性随着种植年限的增加保持不变。土壤微生物数量与酶活性之间存在一定程度的相关关系,其中土壤真菌数量与土壤酶活性之间的相关性最为显著。综上所述,种植年限不同的设施菜地,土壤养分失衡,呈现酸化趋势,盐分含量逐年增加,土传真菌病害潜在发生,对设施蔬菜生产不利。     

松嫩草原盐碱土细菌多样性分析

以松嫩盐碱草原3种不同盐碱程度的盐碱土为材料,应用高通量测序技术,研究了3种不同程度盐碱土壤的细菌群落结构。结果表明:3种盐碱土的理化性质差异显著(P0.05),pH值、碱化度随着盐碱化程度增加而增大,而碱解氮、速效钾和有机质含量随着盐碱化程度增加而降低;3种盐碱土共获得2841个OTU,分属于39个细菌门,其中酸杆菌门、变形菌门等10个菌门是盐碱土中最主要的细菌门类;轻度盐碱土中酸杆菌门占主导地位,相对丰度为32.28%,中度盐碱土中变形菌门占主导地位,相对丰度为19.87%,重度盐碱土中放线菌门占主导地位,相对丰度为22.57%;RDA分析表明,酸杆菌门、硝化螺旋菌门、广古菌门、TM7等的相对丰度与碱解氮、有机质以及速效钾含量呈正相关,疣微菌门的相对丰度与有效磷含量呈正相关,放线菌门、浮霉菌门、拟杆菌门、芽单胞菌门、厚壁菌门的相对丰度与pH值、碱化度呈正相关。     

夏玉米产量时空变化及气候年型分析

定量分析夏玉米同一品种产量及产量构成要素时空变化,探讨造成产量时空差异的气候年型组合变化特征。基于2004～2013年夏玉米种植区郑单958多点田间试验数据分析表明,夏玉米区域平均产量为9 055 kg/hm~2,年际差为1 635 kg/hm~2,变幅为18.1%;地点差4 258 kg/hm~2,变幅为47.1%。夏玉米区域平均千粒重为313 g,年际变幅为13.1%;地点变幅为27.8%。夏玉米区域平均穗粒数为479,年际变幅为18.0%,地点变幅为38.7%。千粒重的增加导致夏玉米产量显著增加。穗粒数显著降低和时空差异大是造成产量波动和时空差异变幅大的主要原因。夏玉米产量和产量构成要素,低产点受各气候要素变化的影响显著;平产点受温度和日最高温度大于33℃的天数影响显著;高产点受降水影响显著。     

羊肚菌营养袋制作原料的化学成分分析及配方优化

为优化羊肚菌营养袋的原料组成与配比,以食药用菌栽培基质中常用的4种秸秆及谷壳、麦粒、麦麸,通过主成分分析归纳各原料的营养组成属性,设计出9个营养袋配方进行栽培试验,比较出菇产量,得出高产营养袋原料组合为谷壳和麦粒;再以谷壳与麦粒按11种不同的重量比混合制成营养袋进行栽培试验,综合考量制作成本、出菇产量、经济效益等因素后,最终得到高产高效的羊肚菌营养袋配方(重量比)为谷壳19%、麦粒79%、石灰1%、石膏1%。     

Application to soil of disinfectants through irrigation reduces Verticillium dahliae in the soil and verticillium wilt of olive

The application of disinfectants through drip irrigation could be a feasible practice against verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae) of olive. OX-VIRIN (activated peroxide) and OX-AGUA AL25 (quaternary ammonium compounds) are two disinfectants that have shown efficacy against V. dahliae in irrigation water and potential for reducing the disease in young olive plants. In this work, various post-planting application strategies incorporating OX-VIRIN (once a month, or twice a month on alternate or successive weeks) or OX-AGUA AL25 (once a month, or twice a month on alternate weeks) were assessed for their effect on V. dahliae in soil, disease in olive trees, and olive yield, in a 2-year pot-experiment under natural environmental conditions. The disinfectants were injected via metering pumps into a drip irrigation system that irrigated olive trees planted in V. dahliae-inoculated soil. All the application strategies significantly reduced the total inoculum density in soil compared to controls with no disinfectants and noninoculated soil. The microsclerotia density was also significantly reduced in disinfested soils by 73.6–86.8%, depending on the strategy. The symptoms and infection incidence were always lower in treatments subjected to disinfestation. The treatment with OX-AGUA AL25 applied twice a month on alternate weeks most reduced the symptoms (by 53.0%) and colonization index (by 70.8%) with respect to untreated water control. This soil disinfestation also significantly strengthened the symptom remission. Tree growth and production were negatively affected by soil inoculation (reduced by 45.6% and 88.7%, respectively), but not so by disinfectants, which even relieved the reduction in inoculated soils, especially when OX-AGUA AL25 was applied.     

Response of industrial hemp to Salsola kali subsp. tragus densities under organic and conventional fertilisation

A 2-year field study was conducted to determine the effects of different nutrition systems and Salsola kali subsp. tragus densities on industrial hemp yield and its components. Experiments were conducted as a split plot in a randomised complete block design with three replicates. Factors were fertilisation (poultry manure, vermicompost and nitrogen fertiliser) as the main plot and weed density (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 plants/m²) as the subplot. Results indicated that the maximum number of racemes per plant, seeds per raceme, 1000-seed weight, biomass, grain yield and harvest index (HI) of industrial hemp were obtained using vermicompost and were reduced with nitrogen fertiliser application. All measured properties in hemp plants decreased due to increasing S. kali subsp. tragus density, especially at 15 and 20 plants/m². The most significant reduction in hemp grain yield and its components was observed by increasing weed density with the application of nitrogen fertiliser. The application of vermicompost at high weed densities resulted in greater hemp grain yield and its components compared with nitrogen fertiliser. It is recommended to apply organic fertilisers, especially vermicompost at high S. kali subsp. tragus densities.