APEX1 protects against oxidative damage-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis

Apurine/pyrimidine-free endonuclease 1(APEX1)is a multifunctional enzyme that contributes to oxidization-mediated DNA-cleaved base excision repair and redox activation of transcription factors.However,the role of APEX1 during cardiomyocyte oxidative stress injury is not completely understood.In the present study,whether APEX1 protects oxidative damage-induced cardiomyocytes was investigated.mRNA and protein expression levels of APEX1 were downregulated in the mouse model of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury.Furthermore,the expression of APEX1 in hydrogen peroxide(H 2 O 2)-treated neonatal mice cardiomyocytes was also decreased.APEX1 knockdown aggravated H 2 O 2-treated cardiomyocyte apoptosis indexes.By contrast,APEX1 overexpression reversed H 2 O 2-induced oxidative damage,as demonstrated by decreased caspase 3 and Bax expression levels.Moreover,homeobox A5 upregulated APEX1.The results of the present study indicated that APEX1 displayed protective effects against oxidative damage,suggesting that APEX1 may serve as a unique protective strategy for cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Soil physical properties,nutrients,and crop yield with two-year tillage rotations under a winter wheat-summer maize double cropping system

Winter wheat and summer maize were planted from 2015-2017 to study the effects of different rotational tillage patterns on soil physicochemical properties,crop yield,water content,and fertilizer utilization.The tillage treatments were designed as wheat subsoiling-maize no tillage(WS-MN),wheat rotary tillage-maize subsoiling(WR-MS),wheat subsoiling-maize subsoiling(WS-MS),and conventional wheat rotary tillage-maize no tillage(WR-MN)as a control.Among the four treatments,WS-MN and WR-MS were single-season subsoiling treatments,and WS-MS was a two-season subsoiling treatment.The average soil bulk density decreased by 7.6%in the single-and double-season subsoiling groups compared to the WR-MN group,and the total porosity and noncapillary porosity increased by 10.7%and 12.2%,respectively.Single-or double-season subsoiling treatment was not conducive to water storage in the 0-20 cm soil layer but increased the water content of the 20-140 cm soil layer,and the average soil water content of the 0-140 cm layer was increased by 11.6%in the two-growing season treatment groups compared with the WR-MN group.In WS-MS and WS-MN groups compared with the WR-MN group,the soil ammonium nitrogen content was increased by an average of 18.6%in 0-20 cm soil and 16.8%in 20-100 cm soil;soil nitrate-nitrogen content was decreased by 13.5%in 0-100 cm soil;total organic carbon and microbial carbon contents in the 15-30 cm soil were increased by 18.1%and 12.7%,respectively;and soil urease,catalase,and alkaline phosphatase activities were increased by 46.1%,15.2%,and 23.1%,respectively.Annual crop yield and water use efficiency increased by 8.9%and 15.0%,respectively,in both the single-and double-season subsoiling treatment groups.This study demonstrated the advantages of subsoiling tillage and suggested that it is suitable for crop cultivation in the Haihe Plain,China.

High-energy resolution μ-XRF analysis by position sensitive spectrometer

With a high-energy resolution micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) analysis setup, which basically consists of an X-ray microbeam formed by an X-ray focusing lens combined with an X-ray apparatus and a wavelength dispersive position sensitive spectrometer with a flat crystal (PSS), preliminary results have been obtained. The counting rate of the analyzed element linearly increased with the power of X-ray apparatus, and the energy resolution, full width of half maximum (FWHM) of Kα lines of Ti and Cr reached 16.6 and 23.6 eV, respectively. The Cr Kβ and Mn Kα lines in a sample of stainless steel could clearly be resolved. The above-mentioned results are also compared with those obtained by synchrotron radiation light microbeam combined with the PSS. The facts show that the high-energy resolution element analysis is feasible by using the setup. Moreover, problems for the setup and the ways to resolve them are discussed as well.