Psychophysiological and cognitive effects of strawberry plants on people in isolated environments

In manned deep-space exploration,extremely isolated environments may adversely affect the mood and cognition of astronauts.Horticultural plants and activities have been proven to be effective in improving their physical,psychological,and cognitive states.To assess the effects of applying horticultural plants and activities in isolated environments,this study investigated the influence of viewing strawberry plants on the mood of people in a laboratory experiment as indicated by heart rate,salivary cortisol,and psychological scales.The results showed that heart rate and salivary cortisol were significantly decreased after viewing strawberry plants for 15 min.“Tension”and“confusion”scored using the Profile of Mood States negative mood subscales,and anxiety levels measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scale were also significantly reduced.This study further explored the impact of viewing strawberry plants on cognition.A notable reduction of the subjects’reaction time after 15-min plant viewing was observed.Based on these findings,a long-duration isolated experiment in a bioregenerative life support system—“Lunar Palace I”—was conducted.A similar trend was obtained that crew members’mood states were improved by viewing the strawberry plants,but no significant change was observed.This study provided some experimental evidence for the benefits of interacting with strawberry plants in isolated environments.

Polymorphism analysis of virulence-related genes among Candida tropicalis isolates

Background: Adhesion, biofilm formation, yeast-hyphal transition, secretion of enzymes, and hemolytic activity are all considered important factors in Candida tropicalis infection. However, DNA sequence data for this pathogen are limited. In this study, the polymorphism and heterogeneity of genes agglutinin-like sequences (ALS)2, Lipase (LIP)1, LIP4, and secretory aspartyl proteinase tropicalis (SAPT)1-4 as well as the relationship between phenotype and genotype were analyzed. Methods: This study started in August 2013, and ended in July 2017. The complete length of ALS2, LIP1, LIP4, and SAPT1-4 of 68 clinical C. tropicalis isolates was sequenced. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as well as insertions and deletions (indels) were identified within these genes. In addition, phenotypic characteristics of the virulent factors, including adhesion and the secretion of aspartyl proteinases and phospholipases, were determined. Results: There were 73, 24, 17, 16, 13, and 180 SNPs in the genes LIP1, LIP4, SAPT1, SAPT2, SAPT3, and SAPT4, respectively. Furthermore, 209 SNPs were identified in total for the gene ALS2. Interestingly, large fragment deletions and insertions were also found in ALS2. Isolate FXCT 01 obtained from blood had deletions on all 4 sites and showed the lowest adhesion ability on the polymethylpentene surface. In addition, isolates with deletions in the regions 1697 to 1925 and 2073 to 2272 bp displayed relatively low abilities for adhesion and biofilm formation, and this phenotype correlated with the deletions found in ALS2. LIP1, SAPT4, and ALS2 displayed great heterogeneity among the isolates. Large deletions found in gene ALS2 appeared to be associated with the low ability of adhesion and biofilm formation of C. tropicalis. Conclusion: This study might be useful for deeper explorations of gene function and studying the virulent mechanisms of C. tropicalis.

Development of a triple channel detection probe for hydrogen peroxide

The rapid and reliable measurement of hydrogen peroxide（H_2O_2） is imperative for many areas of technology, including pharmaceutical, clinical, food industry and environmental applications. In this work, a novel multifunctional complex, [Ru（bpy）_2（luminol-bpy）]（PF_6）_2（bpy： 2,20-bipyridine）, was designed and synthesized by incorporating a Ru（II） complex with a luminal group. In the presence of horseradish peroxidase（HRP）, reaction of [Ru（bpy）_2（luminol-bpy）]_2＋with H_2O_2 can be monitored by three sensing channels including photoluminescence（PL）, chemiluminiscence（CL） and eletrochemiluminiscence（ECL）. The quantitative assays for H_2O_2 in aqueous solutions using [Ru（bpy）_2（Luminalbpy）]（PF_6）_2as a probe were established with PL, ECL and CL signal output modes, respectively.