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Soil contamination by heavy metals represents a critical environmental challenge, demanding reliable assessment methods. While biotoxicity assays are widely employed, the selection of sensitive biomarkers for heavy-metal contamination remains poorly defined. This study systematically assessed the sensitivity of biological indicators by analyzing 17 peer-reviewed studies (2003–2024) from various databases. The results revealed significant changes in the physiological and biochemical indicators of soil organisms exposed to heavy metals. Specifically, compared to control groups, the experimental groups showed 180%, 150%, and 145% catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, respectively. Meta-regression analysis indicated that biomarker responses are shaped by metal type, concentration, exposure duration, soil organism species, and soil variables. Cadmium exposure significantly increased CAT activity (+2.26), SOD activity (+3.46), POD activity (+3.44), and MDA content (+2.80). While CAT activity exhibited significant publication bias, POD and MDA remain promising biomarkers, with applicability varying across species and environmental conditions. This study presents a decision framework for biomarker selection based on metal speciation and soil properties, aiming to standardize ecological risk assessments and strengthen regulatory monitoring of heavy-metal impacts on soil health.

Background and Objective. This study investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of azithromycin (AZM) treatment on the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) after their stimulation with TNF-α in vitro. Methods. PDLSCs were isolated from periodontal ligaments from extracted teeth, and MTS assay was used to evaluate whether AZM and TNF-α had toxic effects on PDLSCs viability and proliferation. After stimulating PDLSCs with TNF-α and AZM, we analyzed alkaline phosphatase staining, alkaline phosphatase activity, and alizarin red staining to detect osteogenic differentiation. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis was performed to detect the mRNA expression of osteogenic-related genes, including RUNX2, OCN, and BSP. Western blotting was used to measure the NF-κB signaling pathway proteins p65, phosphorylated p65, IκB-α, phosphorylated IκB-α, and β-catenin as well as the apoptosis-related proteins caspase-8 and caspase-3. Annexin V assay was used to detect PDLSCs apoptosis. Results. TNF-α stimulation of PDLSCs decreased alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red staining, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mRNA expression of RUNX2, OCN, and BSP in osteogenic-conditioned medium. AZM enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs that were stimulated with TNF-α. Western blot analysis showed that β-catenin, phosphorated p65, and phosphorylated IκB-α protein expression decreased in PDLSCs treated with AZM. In addition, pretreatment of PDLSCs with AZM (10 μg/ml, 20 μg/ml) prevented TNF-α-induced apoptosis by decreasing caspase-8 and caspase-3 expression. Conclusions. Our results showed that AZM promotes PDLSCs osteogenic differentiation in an inflammatory microenvironment by inhibiting the WNT and NF-κB signaling pathways and by suppressing TNF-α-induced apoptosis. This suggests that AZM has potential as a clinical therapeutic for periodontitis.

Acute hypotensive episodes (AHEs) are one of the hemodynamic instabilities with high mortality rate that is frequent among many groups of patients. This study presents a methodology to predict AHE for ICU patients based on big data time series. The experimental data we used is mean arterial pressure (MAP), which is transformed from arterial blood pressure (ABP) data. Then, the Hilbert-Huang transform method was used to calculate patient’s MAP time series and some features, which are the bandwidth of the amplitude modulation, the frequency modulation, and the power of intrinsic mode function (IMF), were extracted. Finally, the multiple genetic programming (Multi-GP) is used to build the classification models for detection of AHE. The methodology is applied in the datasets of the 10th PhysioNet and Computers Cardiology Challenge in 2009 and Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring for Intensive Care (MIMIC-II). We achieve the accuracy of 83.33% in the training set and 91.89% in the testing set of the 2009 challenge’s dataset and the 84.13% in the training set and 82.41% in the testing set of the MIMIC-II dataset.

Background and Objective. This study investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of azithromycin (AZM) treatment on the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) after their stimulation with TNF-[alpha] in vitro. Methods. PDLSCs were isolated from periodontal ligaments from extracted teeth, and MTS assay was used to evaluate whether AZM and TNF-[alpha] had toxic effects on PDLSCs viability and proliferation. After stimulating PDLSCs with TNF-[alpha] and AZM, we analyzed alkaline phosphatase staining, alkaline phosphatase activity, and alizarin red staining to detect osteogenic differentiation. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis was performed to detect the mRNA expression of osteogenic-related genes, including RUNX2, OCN, and BSP. Western blotting was used to measure the NF-[kappa]B signaling pathway proteins p65, phosphorylated p65, I[kappa]B-[alpha], phosphorylated I[kappa]B- [alpha], and [beta]-catenin as well as the apoptosis-related proteins caspase-8 and caspase-3. Annexin V assay was used to detect PDLSCs apoptosis. Results. TNF-[alpha] stimulation of PDLSCs decreased alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red staining, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mRNA expression of RUNX2, OCN, and BSP in osteogenic-conditioned medium. AZM enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs that were stimulated with TNF-[alpha]. Western blot analysis showed that [beta]-catenin, phosphorated p65, and phosphorylated I[kappa]B-[alpha] protein expression decreased in PDLSCs treated with AZM. In addition, pretreatment of PDLSCs with AZM (10 [micro]g/ml, 20 [micro]g/ml) prevented TNF-[alpha]-induced apoptosis by decreasing caspase-8 and caspase-3 expression. Conclusions. Our results showed that AZM promotes PDLSCs osteogenic differentiation in an inflammatory microenvironment by inhibiting the WNT and NF-[kappa]B signaling pathways and by suppressing TNF-[alpha]-induced apoptosis. This suggests that AZM has potential as a clinical therapeutic for periodontitis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the constituent ratio and clinical features of diffuse interstitial lung disease (DILD) in Tianjin, and to identify the existing problems of its diagnosis and treatment.MethodsData of all patients diagnosed as DILD in ten comprehensive hospitals in Tianjin from 2003 to 2009 was collected. The disease constituent ratio of DILD to all kinds of diseases in the respiration department or in the whole hospital, the clinical manifestation, lung function, the result of blood gas analysis, and biopsy were analyzed.ResultsA total of 804 DILD patients were included in the study aged (69.28±12.09) years with a male/female ratio of 1.32. The disease constituent ratios of DILD were 4.52‰ in respiratory department and 0.31‰ in the whole hospital in 2003, which increased to 35.9‰ and 1.51‰ respectively in 2009. Reticular abnormality (43.1%), ground glass (25.6%) and honeycombing (11.4%) were the predominant imaging manifestations. 26.7% patients’ lung function were tested, and 10.3% had diffusion function tests. Most patients presented with hypoxemia, and the average oxygenation index was (281±98.3) mmHg. Only 4.0% of patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage, and 3.5% had pathologic data.ConclusionThe disease constituent ratio of DILD increased progressively from 2003 to 2009. A definite diagnosis of DILD demands cooperation of physicians, radiologists and pathologists. Doctors should attach more importance on lung function test, bronchoalveolar lavage and biopsy.

OBJECTIVE Numerous microRNAs (miRNAs) are deregulated in human cancers. The experimental evidence supports that miRNAs plays a role in the initiation and progression of human malignancies.The present study was undertaken to evaluate the differential expression of 6 miRNAs as biomarker for early detection of prostate cancer, and then to determine whether the expression profiling of these miRNAs could predict the prognosis of prostate cancer. METHODS The expression profi lings of these 6 miRNAs were investigated using the method of locked nucleic acid (LNA)-modified oligonucleotide in situ hybridization (ISH). And the technology of tissue microarray (TMA) was employed using the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedd (FFPE) specimens taken from 52 patients with prostate carcinoma (PCa) and 38 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). RESULTS The rates of positive expression for 6 miRNAs(miR-15b, miR-16, let-7g, miR- 96,miR-182 and miR-183) were 26.92%, 15.38%, 15.38%, 67.31%, 61.54% and 71.15% in the specimens of prostate cancer, and 57.89%, 76.32%, 68.42%, 44.74%, 31.58%, 47.37% in the tissues of benign prostatic hyperplasia, respectively. The expressions of all 6 miRNAs between the prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues were significantly different ( P < 0.05). The positive rate of these 6 miRNAs was significantly related to the Gleason Grading of prostate cancer ( P <0.01). There was no significant correlation between the expression of these miRNAs and age and the concentration of serum PSA of the patient ( P > 0.05). We also found that the expression of miR-15b, miR-96 and miR-182 correlated with clinical stages of tumor ( P < 0.05). The expression of miR-96 correlated with lobus prostatae of tumor invasion (P < 0.01), but the expressions of the remaining five miRNAs were not correlated with that (P > 0.05). In addition, the expression of miR-15b was negatively related to that of miR-96, miR-182 and miR-183, respectively (P< 0.01, r <0.00).There was a positive correlation among the expressions of miR-96, miR-182 and miR-183 in prostate cancer ( P < 0.01, r > 0.00). The expression of miR-16 was positively related to that of miR-let-7g (P < 0.01, r > 0.00). CONCLUSION The results suggest that miRNA expression profiling could have relevance to the biological and clinical behavior of prostate cancer,and they might be important biomarkers for early detection and prognostic assessment of prostate cancer.

Transported by wind and water, the relatively old sediments can deposit in the terminal lake of an inland drainage basin. The reworking effect can affect the lake sediments 14C dating and explanations for proxies. The Zhuye Lake is the terminal lake of the Shiyang River Basin. Previous studies indicated that sediments in different locations of the lake basin showed different climatic change patterns. And then, some radiocarbon dates were inverted for some Late Pleistocene sections. Whether this phenomenon is related with the reworking effect？ The pollen concentrates 14C dating can avoid the reservoir effect, which is an ideal method for studying the reworking effect. In this study, we used the pollen concentrates as dating materials and dated five Holocene sections in the Zhuye Lake Basin. Based on the 14C dates comparison between the pollen concentrates, organic mat- ter, and shells, the pollen concentrates dates are relatively older than other dating materials. Based on the result, the reworking effect worked in the Zhuye Lake Basin during the Holocene; however, in different locations of the lake basin the reworking effects were in different levels. Furthermore, the Holocene lacustrine deposits were formed mostly during the early and middle Holocene. This study provided clues for reworking effect studies of other lakes in arid China.

The deep tank aeration process has attracted attention because of its unique characteristics: effective land use and high oxygen transfer efficiency. One operating problem being reported to be associated with this system is the flotation of sludge in final settling tanks. Unlike sludge bulking occurring in conventional activated sludge processes, which is usually a pure biological phenomena, supersaturation of dissolved gas in the mixed liquor in the deep aeration tank is believed to be a prime factor causing sludge flotation. Presently, efforts to understand these phenomena are mainly experimental, and no theoretical models have been proposed. Because of the complexity of the system that involved a combination of biological and physical processes, and the fact that the relationships among the process parameters are not clearly defined it is difficult to use traditional deterministic approach to study the phenomena of sludge flotation. Therefore, a stochastic time-series approach is selected to build a forecasting model for process operation and control. This dissertation uses the most popular time-series forecasting process--univariate Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Multivariate Transfer Function (TF) methods to study the cause-effect relationship between sludge flotation and system operating parameters, and to develop forecasting models for plant operation control. The results demonstrated that the time series analysis technique is a powerful tool which provides an adequate description of the dynamic behavior of the deep tank aeration system. Both univariate ARIMA method and multivariate TF models can adequately simulate and forecast the dynamic behaviors of the system. While the ARIMA model outperformed the multi-TF models over the period with low output variability, however, the multi-TF models with the added explanatory power, is more accurate during the period with high fluctuations.

Abstract Microbiomes are important for crop performance. However, a deeper knowledge of crop-associated microbial communities is needed to harness beneficial host-microbe interactions. Here, by assessing the assembly and functions of maize microbiomes across soil types, climate zones, and genotypes, we found that the stem xylem selectively recruits highly conserved microbes dominated by Gammaproteobacteria. We showed that the proportion of bacterial taxa carrying the nitrogenase gene ( nifH ) was larger in stem xylem than in other organs such as root and leaf endosphere. Of the 25 core bacterial taxa identified in xylem sap, several isolated strains were confirmed to be active nitrogen-fixers or to assist with biological nitrogen fixation. On this basis, we established synthetic communities (SynComs) consisting of two core diazotrophs and two helpers. GFP-tagged strains and 15 N isotopic dilution method demonstrated that these SynComs do thrive and contribute, through biological nitrogen fixation, 11.8% of the total N accumulated in maize stems. These core taxa in xylem sap represent an untapped resource that can be exploited to increase crop productivity.

Photoperiod sensitivity is a key factor in plant adaptation and crop production. In the short-day plant soybean, adaptation to low latitude environments is provided by mutations at the J locus, which confer extended flowering phase and thereby improve yield. The identity of J as an ortholog of Arabidopsis ELF3, a component of the circadian evening complex (EC), implies that orthologs of other EC components may have similar roles. Here we show that the two soybean homeologs of LUX ARRYTHMO interact with J to form a soybean EC. Characterization of mutants reveals that these genes are highly redundant in function but together are critical for flowering under short day, where the lux1 lux2 double mutant shows extremely late flowering and a massively extended flowering phase. This phenotype exceeds that of any soybean flowering mutant reported to date, and is strongly reminiscent of the “Maryland Mammoth” tobacco mutant that featured in the seminal 1920 study of plant photoperiodism by Garner and Allard [W. W. Garner, H. A. Allard, J. Agric. Res. 18, 553–606 (1920)]. We further demonstrate that the J–LUX complex suppresses transcription of the key flowering repressor E1 and its two homologs via LUX binding sites in their promoters. These results indicate that the EC–E1 interaction has a central role in soybean photoperiod sensitivity, a phenomenon also first described by Garner and Allard. EC and E1 family genes may therefore constitute key targets for customized breeding of soybean varieties with precise flowering time adaptation, either by introgression of natural variation or generation of new mutants by gene editing.