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Plants have evolved interconnected regulatory pathways which enable them to respond and adapt to their environments. In plants, stress memory enhances stress tolerance through the molecular retention of prior stressful experiences, fostering rapid and robust responses to subsequent challenges. Mounting evidence suggests a close link between the formation of stress memories and effective future stress responses. However, the mechanism by which environmental stressors trigger stress memory formation is poorly understood. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding the RNA-based regulation on stress memory formation in plants and discuss research challenges and future directions. Specifically, we focus on the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and alternative splicing (AS) in stress memory formation. miRNAs regulate target genes via post-transcriptional silencing, while siRNAs trigger stress memory formation through RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). lncRNAs guide protein complexes for epigenetic regulation, and AS of pre-mRNAs is crucial to plant stress memory. Unraveling the mechanisms underpinning RNA-mediated stress memory formation not only advances our knowledge of plant biology but also aids in the development of improved stress tolerance in crops, enhancing crop performance and global food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studied the numerical approximation of the stochastic differential equations driven by non-global Lipschitz drift coefficient and multiplicative noise. An efficient data-driven method, called extended continuous latent process flow, was proposed for the underlying problem. Compared with the piecewise construction of a variational posterior process used in the classical continuous latent process flow developed by Deng et al. [13], the principle idea of our method was to derive a variational lower bound by constructing a posterior latent process conditional on all information over the whole time interval to maximize the log-likelihood generated by the observations, which reduces the computational cost and, thus, provides a convenient way to approximate the considered equation. Particularly, our new method showed a better approximation to the underlying equation than the classical drift-θ discretization scheme through numerical error comparison. Numerical experiments were finally reported to demonstrate the effectiveness and generalization performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: In this study, we investigate the longitudinal measurement invariance of the Chinese version of the mini-mental state examination (CMMSE). Methods: The factor structure and longitudinal equivalence of the CMMSE were examined by confirmatory factor analysis. Four CMMSE measurements of 13,132 participants from the China Longitudinal Health and Longevity Study between 2008 and 2018 were included. The nested model of longitudinal invariance proves the existence of strict longitudinal invariance. Results: It showed that the factor structure, factor loadings, intercept error variance, and latent factor means of the CMMSE were invariant across four measurements. Conclusion: These findings indicate that the changes in CMMSE scores can be attributed to real structural change, indicating that the CMMSE is a reliable measurement tool for the study of cognitive aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of alleles into commercial crop breeding pipelines is both time consuming and costly. Two technologies that are disrupting traditional breeding processes are doubled haploid (DH) breeding and genome editing (GE). Recently, these techniques were combined into a GE trait delivery system called HI-Edit (Haploid Inducer-Edit) [1]. In HI-Edit, the pollen of a haploid inducer line is reprogrammed to deliver GE traits to any variety, obviating recurrent selection. For HI-Edit to operate at scale, an efficient transformable HI line is needed, but most maize varieties are recalcitrant to transformation, and haploid inducers are especially difficult to transform given their aberrant reproductive behaviors. Leveraging marker assisted selection and a three-tiered testing scheme, we report the development of new Iodent and Stiff Stalk maize germplasm that are transformable, have high haploid induction rates, and exhibit a robust, genetically-dominant anthocyanin native trait that may be used for rapid haploid identification. We show that transformation of these elite ‘‘HI-Edit” lines is enhanced using the BABYBOOM and WUSCHEL morphogenetic factors. Finally, we evaluate the HI-Edit performance of one of the lines against both Stiff Stalk and non-Stiff Stalk testers. The strategy and results of this study should facilitate the development of commercially scalable HI-Edit systems in diverse crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time-sequenced damage behavior of the reactive projectile impacting double-layer plates is discussed. The analytical model considering the combined effect of kinetic and chemical energy is developed to reveal the damage mechanism. The influences of impact velocity and reactive projectile chemical characteristics on the damage effect are decoupled analyzed based on this model. These analyses indicate that the high energy releasing efficiency and fast reaction propagation velocity of the reactive projectile are conducive to enhancing the damage effect. The experiments with various reactive projectiles impact velocity increasing from 702 to 1385 m/s were conducted to verify this model. The experimental results presented that, the damage hole radius of the rear-plate increases with the increase of impact velocity. At the impact velocity of 1350 m/s, the radius of damage hole formed by PTFE/Al/Bi2O3, PTFE/Al/MoO3, PTFE/Al/Fe2O3 projectile on the rear-plate become smaller in sequence. These results are consistent with the analytical model prediction, demonstrating that this model can predict the damage effect quantitatively. This work is of constructive significance to the application of reactive projectiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between serum magnesium trajectory and risk of in-hospital mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with sepsis. Methods: Adult sepsis patients who had complete data on serum magnesium at ICU admission (at 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours after ICU admission) based the 2012-2019 Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database were included in this retrospective cohort study. Serum magnesium trajectories were identified using K-means cluster analysis. The multivariable Cox proportional-hazards model was used to evaluate the association between magnesium level at different time points or magnesium trajectory and in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 2,270 patients with sepsis were enrolled, and in-hospital mortality occurred in 716 (31.54%). Three trajectories were identified: a high-level declining trajectory, normal-level stable trajectory, and low-level rising trajectory. Among the magnesium levels at different time points, a higher serum magnesium level only at ICU admission (0h) (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.23) was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality. Compared with the normal-level stable trajectory group, patients in the low-level rising trajectory group (HR = 0.82, 95%CI: 0.70-0.97) had a reduced risk of in-hospital mortality, but no association with in-hospital mortality was found in patients in the high-level declining trajectory group (p=0.812). Conclusion: Sepsis patients with a low-level, rising magnesium trajectory may have a reduced risk of in-hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Evidence regarding the association between metabolically healthy overweight or obesity (MHOO) and diabetes is controversial, and mostly ignores the dynamic change of metabolic health status and obesity. Objective: To explore the association between transitions of metabolic health status and obesity over 5 years and diabetes incidence. Methods: We examined 17 309 participants derived from the Dongfeng–Tongji cohort and followed from 2008 to 2018 (median follow-up 9.9 years). All participants were categorized into 4 phenotypes based on body mass index (BMI) and metabolic health status: metabolically healthy normal weight (MHNW), metabolically unhealthy normal weight (MUNW), MHOO, and metabolically unhealthy overweight or obesity (MUOO). The associations of changes in BMI–metabolic health status (2008-2013) with diabetes incidence (2018) were performed among 12 206 individuals with 2 follow-up examinations. Results: Compared with stable MHNW, stable MHOO (hazard ratio [HR] 1.76; 95% CI 1.26, 2.45) and transition from MHOO to metabolically unhealthy phenotypes were associated with higher risk for diabetes (HR 2.97; 95% CI 1.79, 4.93 in MHOO to MUNW group and HR 3.38; 95% CI 2.54, 4.49 in MHOO to MUOO group). Instead, improvements to metabolic healthy phenotypes or weight loss occurring in MUOO reduced the risk of diabetes compared with stable MUOO, changing from MUOO to MHNW, MUNW, and MHOO resulted in HRs of 0.57 (95% CI 0.37, 0.87), 0.68 (95% CI 0.50, 0.93), and 0.45 (95% CI 0.34, 0.60), respectively. Conclusion: People with MHOO, even stable MHOO, or its transition to metabolically unhealthy phenotypes were at increased risk of diabetes. Metabolic improvements and weight control may reduce the risk of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea, as a beverage, has been reputed for its health benefits and gained worldwide popularity. Tea polyphenols, especially catechins, as the main bioactive compounds in tea, exhibit diverse health benefits and have wide applications in the food industry. The development of tea polyphenol-incorporated products is dependent on the extraction, purification, and identification of tea polyphenols. Recent years, many green and novel extraction, purification, and identification techniques have been developed for the preparation of tea polyphenols. This review, therefore, introduces the classification of tea and summarizes the main conventional and novel techniques for the extraction of polyphenols from various tea products. The advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are also intensively discussed and compared. In addition, the purification and identification techniques are summarized. It is hoped that this updated review can provide a research basis for the green and efficient extraction, purification, and identification of tea polyphenols, which can facilitate their utilization in the production of various functional food products and nutraceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the penetration mechanism of reactive jet with non-uniform density distribution is studied. The simulations show that the density deficit occurs in the whole reactive jet, and the density increases from the jet tip to tail. The density of jet tip is approximately 1.5 g/cm3, which is lower than that of the reactive liner materials. The X-ray experiments show similar results with the simulations. The density decreasing effect of jet tip has a significant influence on the penetration behavior when the reactive jet impacts steel plate. According to the simulation results, this paper assumes that the density gradient in the jet section has linear distribution. Then, the deflagration pressure generated by each jet element at the bottom of crater is introduced into the Bernoulli equation. Based on the virtual origin model and Szendrei-Held equation, the analytical models for penetration depth and radial cratering of reactive jet with the density reduction are obtained. Moreover, to further prove the validity of analytical models, the penetration experiments of the reactive liner shaped charge against steel plate under different standoffs are carried out. There is a convergence between the analytical crater profiles and experimental results when reactive jets penetrate steel plates under different standoffs, especially at standoff of 1.5 and 2.0 charge diameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic formation, shock-induced inhomogeneous temperature rise and corresponding chemical reaction behaviors of PTFE/Al reactive liner shaped charge jet (RLSCJ) are investigated by the combination of mesoscale simulation, reaction kinetics and chemical energy release test. A two-dimensional granular model is developed with the randomly normal distribution of aluminum particle sizes and the particle delivery program. Then, the granular model is employed to study the shock-induced thermal behavior during the formation and extension processes of RLSCJ, as well as the temperature history curves of aluminum particles. The simulation results visualize the motion and temperature responses of the RLSCJ at the grain level, and further indicate that the aluminum particles are more likely to gather in the last two-thirds of the jet along its axis. Further analysis shows that the shock, collision, friction and deformation behaviors are all responsible for the steep temperature rise of the reactive jet. In addition, a shock-induced chemical reaction extent model of RLSCJ is built based on the combination of the Arrhenius model and the Avrami-Erofeev kinetic model, by which the chemical reaction growth behavior during the formation and extension stages is described quantitatively. The model indicates the reaction extent highly corresponds to the aluminum particle temperature history at the formation and extension stages. At last, a manometry chamber and the corresponding energy release model are used together to study the macroscopic chemical energy release characteristics of RLSCJ, by which the reaction extent model is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Impairment of immune and inflammatory homeostasis is reported to be one of the causal factors of diabetes. However, the association of complement C3 levels with incident diabetes in humans remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between C3 levels and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and further explore the potential mediating role of body mass index (BMI) in C3-T2DM associations. Methods: We determined serum C3 levels of 2662 nondiabetic middle-aged and elderly (64.62±7.25 years) individuals from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort at baseline. Cox regression was employed to examine the incidence of T2DM in relationship to C3 levels during 10 years of follow-up. Mediation analysis was further applied to assess potential effect of BMI on the C3-T2DM associations. Results: Overall, 711 (26.7%) participants developed T2DM during 23 067 person-years of follow-up. Higher serum C3 was significantly associated with higher risk of incident T2DM after full adjustment (HR [95% CI]=1.16 [1.05, 1.27]; per SD higher). Compared with the first quartile of C3 levels, the HR in the fourth quartile was 1.52 (95% CI=[1.14, 2.02]; Ptrend=0.029). Robust significant linear dose-response relationship was observed between C3 levels and BMI (Poverall <0.001, Pnonlinear=0.96). Mediation analyses indicated that BMI might mediate 41.0% of the associations between C3 and T2DM. Conclusion: The present prospective study revealed that C3 could be an early biomarker for incident T2DM, and that BMI might play a potential mediating role in the C3-T2DM associations, which provided clues for the pathogenesis of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Invasive prenatal evaluation by chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and karyotyping might represent an important option in pregnant women, but limited reports have applied CMA and karyotyping of fetuses conceived by assisted reproductive technology (ART). This study aimed to examine the value of CMA and karyotyping in prenatal diagnosis after ART. Methods. This retrospective study included all singleton fetuses conceived by ART from January 2015 to December 2021. Anomalies prenatally diagnosed based on karyotyping andCMAwere analyzed. Prevalence rates for variousCMAand karyotyping results were stratified based on specific testing indications including isolated--and non-isolated ART groups. The rates of CMA findings with clinical significance (pathogenic/likely pathogenic) and karyotype anomalies were assessed and compared to those of local control individuals with naturally conceived pregnancies and without medical indica- tions. Results. In total, 224 subjects were assessed by karyotyping and CMA. In the examined patients, chromosomal and karyotype abnormality rates were 3.57% (8/224) and 8.93% (20/224), respectively. This finding indicated a 5.35% (12/224)-incremental rate of abnormal CMA was obtained over karyotype analysis (p D 0:019). The risk of CMA with pathogenic findings for all pregnancies conceived by ART (5.80%, 13/224) was markedly elevated in comparison with the background value obtained in control individuals (1.47%, 9/612; pD0:001). In addition, risk of CMA with clinically pathogenic results in isolated ART groups was significant higher compared to the background risk reported in the control cohort (pD0:037). Conclusions. Prenatal diagnosis including karyotyping and CMA is recommended for fetuses conceived by ART, with or without ultrasound findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When subjected to a classical fluctuating field characterized by a Gaussian process, we examine the purity and coherence protection in a three-level quantum system. This symmetry of the three-level system is examined when the local random field is investigated further in the noiseless and noisy regimes. In particular, we consider fractional Gaussian, Gaussian, Ornstein–Uhlenbeck, and power law noisy regimes. We show that the destructive nature of the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck noise toward the symmetry of the qutrit to preserve encoded purity and coherence remains large. Our findings suggest that properly adjusting the noisy parameters to specifically provided values can facilitate optimal extended purity and coherence survival. Non-vanishing terms appear in the final density matrix of the single qutrit system, indicating that it is in a strong coherence regime. Because of all of the Gaussian noises, monotonic decay with no revivals has been observed in the single qutrit system. In terms of coherence and information preservation, we find that the current qutrit system outperforms systems with multiple qubits or qutrits using purity and von Neumann entropy. A comparison of noisy and noiseless situations shows that the fluctuating nature of the local random fields is ultimately lost when influenced using the classical Gaussian noises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage effects of fluid-filled submunition payload impacted by the kinetic kill vehicle (KKV) are investigated by simulations and ground-based experiments. Numerical simulations showed that the damage level and number of submunitions were significantly influenced by the diameter of the KKV compared with its length. Based on that, a high velocity penetrator formed by shaped charge explosion was used to simulate the direct hit experiment of a KKV impacting submunition payload. Experimental results demonstrated that the damage modes of submunitions mainly included the slight damage, perforation and total smash, showing a good agreement with the simulations. To understand the multiple damage modes of submunitions, the damage behavior of the submunitions in direct hit process were analyzed based on the AUTODYN-3D code. Numerical results presented that increased KKV diameter can increase the crater diameter and expand the damage volume, which will achieve a higher direct hit lethality. Further analysis indicated that there were other mechanical behaviors can enhance the damage to submunitions not lying in the KKV flight path, such as secondary debris kill, neighboring submunitions collision with each other, and high-speed fluid injection effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the primary value system in Chinese culture for almost 2,000 years, Confucianism has profoundly influenced the mindset of Chinese people. Cultural psychology studies have highlighted that individuals with different cultural backgrounds vary in their preferences for certain personality traits, such as self-construal, and their metacognitive characteristics, such as thinking modes. Compared with Western cultures, Chinese culture shows a preference for the interdependent self and holistic thinking. To investigate the relationship between the relational-interdependent self, holistic thinking, and traditional Chinese values (which are represented by Confucian values), we surveyed 327 Chinese adults using the Confucian Traditional Values Survey, Holistic Thinking Scale, and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal Scale. The results show that Confucian values positively influence both holistic thinking and the relational-interdependent self, the latter of which partially mediates the positive relationship between Confucian values and holistic thinking. This study deepens the understanding of the psychological features of Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the reaction characteristic and its application in shaped charge warhead of a novel reactive material, which introduced copper (Cu) and plumbum (Pb) into traditional polytetrafluoroethylene/aluminum (PTFE/Al), are studied. The thermal analysis and chemical reaction behavior of the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb mixture are investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermo-gravimetry (TG), and Xray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. Then, the shaped charge liners with PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive materials are fabricated, and the X-ray experiments show that they could form reactive jets with excellent performance under the detonation effects of the shaped charge. Based on that, the penetration experiments of shaped charge with PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive liner against steel plates are carried out, and the results demonstrate that the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive jets could produce a deeper penetration depth compared to the traditional PTFE/Al reactive jets. Meanwhile, the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive jets also show significant inner-blast effects, leading to dramatically cracking or fragmentation behavior of the penetrated steel plates. This new PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive liner shaped charge presents enhanced penetration behavior for steel targets that incorporates the penetration capability of a high-density and ductility jet, and the chemical energy release of PTFE-matrix reactive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the mitigation of damage to a ship caused by the underwater explosion attracts more and more attention from the modern ship designers. In this study, two kinds of scale tests were conducted to investigate the effects of polyurea coatings on the blast resistance of hulls subjected to underwater explosion. Firstly, small-scale model tests with different polyurea coatings were carried out. Results indicate that polyurea has a better blast resistance performance when coated on the front face, which can effectively reduce the maximum deflection of the steel plate by more than 20% and reduce the deformation energy by 35.7%e45.4%. Next, a full-scale ship (approximately 50 m × 9 m) under loadings produced by the detonation of 33 kg of spherical TNT charges was tested, where a part of the ship was coated with polyurea on the front face (8 mm þ 24 mm) and not on the contrast area. Damage characteristics on the bottom were statistically analyzed based on a 3D scanning technology, indicating that polyurea contributes to enhancing the blast protection of the ship. However, damage results of this test were different from those of the small-scale tests. Moreover, the deformation area of the bottom with polyurea was greatly increased by 40.1% to disperse explosion energy, a conclusion that cannot be drown from the small-scale tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore differentially expressed miRNAs in type 2 diabetes and their potential cellular functions. Methods: We screened plasma miRNAs by miRNA array analysis and validated them by TaqMan real-time PCR in 113 newly diagnosed, untreated type 2 diabetes cases and 113 healthy controls. Low-abundance plasma proteins encoded by miR-193b-3p target genes were explored in this study population. We further investigated the potential cellular functions of the differentially expressed miRNAs in HepG2 cells. Results: miR-193b-3p was differentially expressed in type 2 diabetes cases compared to healthy controls (fold change = 2.01, P = 0.006). Plasma levels of triosephosphate isomerase (TPI1, a protein involved in the glycolytic pathway) decreased in type 2 diabetes cases (fold change = 1.37, P = 0.002). The effect of miR-193b-3p on TPI1 was verified by transfection of miR-193b-3p into HepG2 cells. miR-193b-3p inhibited the expression of YWHAZ/14-3-3ζ in the PI3K-AKT pathway, subsequently altering the expression of FOXO1 and PCK1. After transfection, cells were incubated in glucose-free medium for another 4 h. Glucose levels in medium from cells with elevated miR-193b-3p levels were significantly higher than those in medium from negative control cells (P = 0.016). In addition, elevated miR-193b-3p reduced glucose uptake by inhibiting insulin receptor (IR) and GLUT2 expression. Conclusion: Plasma miR-193b-3p levels increased in type 2 diabetes cases, and TPI1 levels decreased in both plasma and HepG2 cells with increased miR-193b-3p levels, while extracellular lactate levels did not significantly changed. Moreover, miR-193b-3p may affect glucose metabolism by directly targeting YWHAZ/14-3-3ζ and upregulating the transcription factor FOXO1 downstream of the PI3K-AKT pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the hysteretic behavior of concrete-filled square carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) steel tubular (S-CF-CFRP-ST) beam-columns under different influence factors, 12 specimens were designed, and the failure mode, middle section lateral forcedeflection (P-Δ) curve, middle section bending moment-curvature (M-ϕ) curve, and middle section deflection-deformation (Δ−Δ′) curve were studied. Using the axial compression ratio and longitudinal CFRP reinforcement coefficient as influencing factors, the effects of the axial compression ratio and longitudinal CFRP reinforcement coefficient on the P-Δ skeleton curve, M-ϕ skeleton curve, strength and stiffness degradation, ductility, cumulative energy consumption, and other indexes were studied. The P-Δ curve and deformation mode of the specimens were simulated by ABAQUS, and the effects of the axial compression ratio, slenderness ratio, and other main parameters on the hysteretic performance of the members were studied. The test results show that CFRP has good lateral restraint and longitudinal reinforcement effect on concretefilled steel tubular (CFST) columns, and the local buckling of CFST is delayed. The P-Δ curve and M-ϕ curve of all specimens are full. In addition, the steel tube and CFRP have good synergy in both longitudinal and transverse directions. The change of the axial compression ratio and longitudinal CFRP reinforcement coefficient has no significant effect on the strength degradation. The increase of the axial compression ratio and longitudinal CFRP reinforcement coefficient can improve the flexural capacity and stiffness of the specimens, and slow down the stiffness degradation, but reduce the ductility and cumulative energy consumption of the specimens. The finite element software ABAQUS is used to simulate the P-Δ curve and deformation mode of the specimens. It is found that the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results. Based on the model analysis of the main parameters, it is found that the increase of steel yield strength and CFRP layers can improve the bearing capacity of the specimens, and the axial compression ratio has the most significant effect on the specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the dynamics and protection of entanglement and coherence in three non-interacting qubits that are initially prepared as mixed entangled GHZ-like state when coupled with external classical fields. A type of Gaussian noise, namely power-law (PL) noise, controls the external local fields in three different configurations with single, double, and triple noise sources. When influenced by a single PL noise source, the GHZ-class state remains partially entangled and coherent indefinitely, in contrast to the multiple PL noise sources. However, long-term non-local correlations and coherence are still possible in the presence of multiple noise sources. In classical fluctuating environments, the PL noise restricts the entanglement sudden death and birth phenomenon, thereby preventing the conversion of free states to resource states. In addition to the noise phase, parameter optimization in local fields regulates disorders, noise effects, and memory properties. Unlike the bipartite and tripartite W-type states, the GHZ-like state has shown positive traits of preserving entanglement and coherence in the presence of PL noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal additive manufacturing technology has been widely used in prototyping, parts manufacturing and repairing. Metal additive manufacturing is a multi-scale and multi-physical coupling process with complex physical phenomena of heat and mass transfer and microstructure evolution. It is hard to directly observe the dynamic behavior and microstructure evolution of molten pool during additive manufacturing. Therefore, numerical simulation of additive manufacturing process is significant since it can efficiently and pertinently predict and analyze the physical phenomena in the process of metal additive manufacturing, and provide a reference for technological parameters selection. In this review, the research progress of numerical simulation of metal additive manufacturing is discussed. Various aspects of numerical simulation models are reviewed, including: (1) Introduction of basic control method and physical description of numerical simulation models; (2) Comparison of various heat and mass transfer models based on different physical assumptions (heat conduction model; heat flux coupling model; discrete powder particle heat flux coupling model); (3) Applications of various microstructure evolution models [phase field (PF), cellular automata (CA), and Monte Carlo (MC)]. Finally, the development trend of numerical simulation of metal additive manufacturing, including the thermal-flow-solid coupling model and deep learning for numerical model, is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Force chains based mesoscale simulation is conducted to investigate the response behavior of aluminumpolytetrafluoroethylene (Al-PTFE) granular composites under a low-velocity impact. A two-dimensional model followed the randomly normal distribution of real Al particles size is developed. The dynamic compressive process of Al-PTFE composites with varied Al mass fraction is simulated and validated against the experiments. The results indicate that, force chains behavior governed by the number and the size of agglomerated Al particles, significantly affects the impact response of the material. The failure mode of the material evolves from shear failure of matrix to debonding failure of particles with increasing density. A high crack area of the material is critical mechanism to arouse the initiation reaction. The damage maintained by force chains during large plastic strain builds up more local stresses concentration to enhance a possible reaction performance. In addition, simulation is performed with identical mass fraction but various Al size distribution to explore the effects of size centralization and dispersion on the mechanical properties of materials. It is found that smaller sized Al particle of composites are more preferred than its bulky material in ultimate strength. Increasing dispersed degree is facilitated to create stable force chains in samples with comparable particle number. The simulation studies provide further insights into the plastic deformation, failure mechanism, and possible energy release capacity for Al-PTFE composites, which is helpful for further design and application of reactive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As extremely complex interactions exist in the process of economic research and development, a novel grey multivariable coupling model called CFGM(1,N) is proposed to evaluate the coordination degree between China's technology and economy with limited information. This proposed model improves the aggregation in GM(1,N) model through the Choquet integral among λ-fuzzy measure, which can reflect interactions among factor indexes. Meanwhile, it can estimate the coordinate parameters via the whale optimization algorithm and obtains the coupling coordination degree combining with grey comentropy. To verify the proposed model, a case study using a dataset from China's technology and the economic system is conducted. The CFGM(1,N) model has a better performance in the convergence and interpretability, as compared to the three heuristic algorithm and two classical approaches. Our finding suggests that China's technology and the economic system is still relatively coordinated. Results also reveal that there exists strong negative cooperation between the comprehensive human input and the comprehensive capital investment in this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circulating white blood cell (WBC) counts have been related to lung function impairment, but causal relationship was not established. We aimed to evaluate independent effects and causal relationships of WBC subtypes with lung function. Methods: The 19,159 participants from NHANES 2011-2012 (n=3570), coke-oven workers (COW, n=1762) and Dongfeng-Tongji (DFTJ, n=13,827) cohorts were included in the observational studies. The associations between circulating counts of WBC subtypes and prebronchodilator lung function were evaluated by linear regression models and LASSO regression was used to select effective WBC subtypes. Summary statistics for WBC-associated SNPs were extracted from literature, and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis with inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was applied to estimate the causal effects of total WBC and subtypes on lung function among 4012 subjects from COW (n=1126) and DFTJ cohorts (n=2886). Results: Total WBC counts were negatively associated with lung function among three populations and their pooled analysis indicated that per 1-109 cells/L increase in total WBC was associated with 36.13 (95% CI: 30.35, 41.91) mL and 25.23 (95% CI: 19.97, 30.50) mL decrease in FVC and FEV1, respectively. Independent associations with lung function were found for neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils (all p<.05), except lymphocytes. Besides, IVW MR analysis showed that genetically predicted total WBC and neutrophil counts were associated with reduced FVC (p<.017 and .021, respectively) and FEV1 (p<.048 and .043, respectively). Conclusions: WBC subtypes were independently associated with lower lung function except lymphocytes. Our findings suggest that circulating neutrophils may be causal factors in lung function impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To appraise effective predictors for COVID-19 mortality in a retrospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 1270 COVID-19 patients, including 984 admitted in Sino French New City Branch (training and internal validation sets randomly split at 7:3 ratio) and 286 admitted in Optical Valley Branch (external validation set) of Wuhan Tongji hospital, were included in this study. Forty-eight clinical and laboratory features were screened with LASSO method. Further multi-tree extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) machine learning-based model was used to rank importance of features selected from LASSO and subsequently constructed death risk prediction model with simple-tree XGBoost model. Performances of models were evaluated by AUC, prediction accuracy, precision, and F1 scores. Results: Six features, including disease severity, age, levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin, and interleukin-10 (IL-10), were selected as predictors for COVID-19 mortality. Simple-tree XGBoost model conducted by these features can predict death risk accurately with >90% precision and >85% sensitivity, as well as F1 scores >0.90 in training and validation sets. Conclusion: We proposed the disease severity, age, serum levels of hs-CRP, LDH, ferritin, and IL-10 as significant predictors for death risk of COVID-19, which may help to identify the highrisk COVID-19 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Radiation exposure of the thorax is associated with a greatly increased risk of cardiac morbidity and mortality even after several decades of advancement in the field. Although many studies have demonstrated the damaging influence of ionizing radiation on cardiac fibroblast (CF) structure and function, myocardial fibrosis, the molecular mechanism behind this damage is not well understood. miR-21, a small microRNA, promotes the activation of CFs, leading to cardiac fibrosis. miR-21 is overexpressed after irradiation; however, the relationship between increased miR-21 and myocardial fibrosis after irradiation is unclear. This study was conducted to investigate gene expression after radiation-induced CF damage and the role of miR-21 in this process in rats. Methods. We sequenced irradiated rat CFs and performed weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) combined with differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis to observe the effect on the expression profile of CF genes after radiation. Results. DEG analysis showed that the degree of gene changes increased with the radiation dose. WGCNA revealed three module eigengenes (MEs) associated with 8.5-Gy-radiation--the Yellow, Brown, Blue modules. The three module eigengenes were related to apoptosis, G2/M phase, and cell death and S phase, respectively. By blocking with the cardiac fibrosis miRNA miR-21, we found that miR-21 was associated with G2/M blockade in the cell cycle and was mainly involved in regulating extracellular matrix-related genes, including Grem1, Clu, Gdf15, Ccl7, and Cxcl1. Stem-loop quantitative real-time PCR was performed to verify the expression of these genes. Five genes showed higher expression after 8.5 Gy-radiation in CFs. The target genes of miR-21 predicted online were Gdf15 and Rsad2, which showed much higher expression after treatment with antagomir-miR-21 in 8.5-Gy-irradiated CFs. Thus, miR-21 may play the role of fibrosis and G2/M blockade in regulating Grem1, Clu, Gdf15, Ccl7, Cxcl1, and Rsad2 post-irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteins have evolved to be foldable, and yet determinants of foldability may be inapparent once the native state is reached. Insight has emerged from studies of diseases of protein misfolding, exemplified by monogenic diabetes mellitus due to mutations in proinsulin leading to endoplasmic reticulum stress and β-cell death. Cellular foldability of human proinsulin requires an invariant Phe within a conserved crevice at the receptor-binding surface (position B24). Any substitution, even related aromatic residue TyrB24, impairs insulin biosynthesis and secretion. As a seeming paradox, a monomeric TyrB24 insulin analog exhibits a native-like structure in solution with only a modest decrement in stability. Packing of TyrB24 is similar to that of PheB24, adjoining core cystine B19-A20 to seal the core; the analog also exhibits native self-assembly. Although affinity for the insulin receptor is decreased ~20-fold, biological activities in cells and rats were within the range of natural variation. Together, our findings suggest that the invariance of PheB24 among vertebrate insulins and insulin-like growth factors reflects an essential role in enabling efficient protein folding, trafficking, and secretion, a function that is inapparent in native structures. In particular, we envision that the para-hydroxyl group of TyrB24 hinders pairing of cystine B19-A20 in an obligatory on-pathway folding intermediate. The absence of genetic variation at B24 and other conserved sites near this disulfide bridge--excluded due to β-cell dysfunction--suggests that insulin has evolved to the edge of foldability. Nonrobustness of a protein's fitness landscape underlies both a rare monogenic syndrome and "diabesity" as a pandemic disease of civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the effect of the sintering and cooling process on geometry distortion and mechanical properties of PTFE/Al reactive material is investigated. Six particularly selected sintering temperatures, three different cooling modes (annealing cooling, normalizing cooling and rapid cooling), three different initial cooling temperatures, as well as six different final cooling temperatures were designed to compare the effects of sintering temperature, cooling rate, initial cooling temperature and final cooling temperature on the properties of reactive materials. Geometry distortion was quantitatively analyzed by a statistic on the dimensional changes of the specimens and microscopic morphology. A mechanical response properties transition from brittle to ductile was found and analyzed. By combining the thermodynamic properties of PTFE and unsteady heat conduction theory, mechanisms of cooling induced morphology change, temperature induced distortion and strength decrease were obtained. The results showed that the cooling rate has the most significant effect on the morphology transformation, while initial cooling temperature has more significant effect on the dimensional distortion than final cooling temperature. As to the mechanical properties transition from brittle to plastic, a more prominent effect of initial cooling temperature than cooling rate and final temperature was revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study conducted on interaction of RARB variant with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on lung function. Topics of discussion includes studies suggest that genetic variants may imapct the association of air pollutants with respiratory results. Epidemiological studies also presents the relation between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in air pollution on the altered lung function.

Wave shaper effect on formation behavior and penetration performance of reactive liner shaped charge (RLSC) are investigated by experiments and simulations. The reactive materials liner with a density of 2.3 g/cm³ is fabricated by cold pressing at a pressure of 300MPa and sintering at a temperature of 380 °C. Experiments of the RLSC with and without wave shaper against steel plates are carried out at standoffs of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 CD (charge diameter), respectively. The experimental results show that the penetration depths and structural damage effects of steel plates decrease with increasing the standoff, while the penetration depths and the damage effects of RLSC without wave shaper are much greater than that with wave shaper at the same standoff. To understand the unusual experimental results, numerical simulations based on AUTODYN-2D code are conducted to discuss the wave shaper effect, including the propagation behavior of detonation wave, the velocity and temperature distribution of reactive jet, and penetration depth of reactive jet. The simulations indicate that, compared with RLSC without wave shaper, there is a higher temperature produced inside reactive jet with wave shaper. This unusual temperature rise effects are likely to be an important mechanism to cause the initiation delay time of reactive jet to decline, which results in significantly decreasing its penetration performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and aim: It is indicated that high levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are associated with increased incident type 2 diabetes risk. However, whether serum ALT levels could improve the discrimination of type 2 diabetes remains unclear. Methods: The data was derived from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort study, which was established in 2008 and followed until October 2013. A total of 17,173 participants free of type 2 diabetes at baseline were included and 1159 participants developed diabetes after 4.51 (0.61) years of follow-up. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) for the association between ALT and AST levels with incident diabetes risk. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis was used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of models incorporating traditional risk factors with and without ALT. Results: Compared with the lowest quartile of ALT and AST levels, the highest quartile had a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (HR: 2.17 [95% CI: 1.78-2.65] and 1.29 [1.08-1.54], respectively) after adjustment for potential confounders. The addition of ALT levels into the traditional risk factors did not improve the predictive ability of type 2 diabetes, with AUC increase from 0.772 to 0.774; P = 0.86. Conclusions: Although elevated ALT or AST levels increased incident type 2diabetes risk, addition of ALT levels into the prediction model did not improve the discrimination of type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust emission is initiated when surface wind velocities exceed the threshold of wind erosion. Most dust models used constant threshold values globally. Here we use satellite products to characterize the frequency of dust events and surface properties. By matching this frequency derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue aerosol products with surface winds, we are able to retrieve a climatological monthly global distribution of wind erosion threshold (Vthreshold) over dry and sparsely-vegetated surface. This monthly two-dimensional threshold velocity is then implemented into the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory coupled land-atmosphere model (AM4.0/LM4.0). It is found that the climatology of dust optical depth (DOD) and total aerosol optical depth, surface PM10 dust concentrations, and seasonal cycle of DOD are better captured over the dust belt (i.e. North Africa and the Middle East) by simulations with the new wind erosion threshold than those using the default globally constant threshold. The most significant improvement is the frequency distribution of dust events, which is generally ignored in model evaluation. By using monthly rather than annual mean Vthreshold, all comparisons with observations are further improved. The monthly global threshold of wind erosion can be retrieved under different spatial resolutions to match the resolution of dust models and thus can help improve the simulations of dust climatology and seasonal cycle as well as dust forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-glucans have been considered the major bioactive components in Qingke (Tibetan hulless barley). However, the structure–function relationships of β-glucans from Qingke have seldom been investigated. Whether the bioactivities of Qingke β-glucans are closely correlated to their molecular weights remains unknown. Therefore, in order to explore Qingke β-glucans as functional/healthy food ingredients for industrial applications, and to better understand their structure–function relationships, correlations of molecular weights of Qingke β-glucans to their in vitro binding properties, inhibitory activities on digestive enzymes (α-amylase and pancreatic lipase), anti-inflammatory activities, and anticancer activities were systematically investigated. Results showed that the in vitro binding properties and the inhibitory activities on α-amylase and pancreatic lipase of Qingke β-glucans were positively correlated to their molecular weights. However, the anti-inflammatory activities of Qingke β-glucans increased as their molecular weights decreased. Furthermore, Qingke β-glucans exhibited selectively anti-cancer activities in vitro. Positive and negative correlations of molecular weights to inhibitory effects against A549 cells and MDA-MB-231 cells were observed, respectively. However, the inhibitory effects of Qingke β-glucans against HCT116 cells were not associated with their molecular weights. Results suggested that the molecular weights of Qingke β-glucans significantly affected their bioactivities, which was beneficial for a better understanding of their structure–function relationships. Moreover, results showed that Qingke β-glucans could be further explored as functional/healthy food ingredients for industrial applications due to their multiple health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Aging is related to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality and is affected by environmental factors. Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with adverse health outcomes; but the association of such exposure with DNA methylation aging, a novel aging marker, is unclear. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to investigate the association of PAH exposure with methylation aging. METHODS: We trained and validated a methylation age predictor suitable for Chinese populations using whole blood methylation data in 989 Chinese and 160 Caucasians. We defined two aging indicators: Aage, as methylation age minus chronological age; and aging rate, the ratio of methylation to chronological age. The association of PAH exposure with aging indicators was evaluated using linear regressions in three panels of healthy Chinese participants (N = 539, among the aforementioned 989 Chinese participants) whose exposure levels were assessed by 10 urinary monohydroxy-PAH metabolites. RESULTS: We developed a methylation age predictor providing accurate predictions in both Chinese individuals and Caucasian persons (R = 0.94-0.96, RMSE = 3.8-4.3). Among the 10 urinary metabolites that we measured, 1-hydroxypyrene and 9-hydroxyphenanthrene were associated with methylation aging independently of other OH-PAHs and risk factors; 1-unit increase in 1-hydroxypyrene was associated with a 0.53-y increase in Δage [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.18,0.88; false discovery rate (FDR) FDR = 0.004] and 1.17% increase in aging rate (95% CI: 0.36,1.98; FDR = 0.02), whereas for 9- hydroxyphenanthrene, the increase was 0.54-y for Δage (95% CI: 0.17, 0.91; FDR = 0.004), and 1.15% for aging rate (95% CI: 0.31, 1.99; FDR = 0.02). The association direction was consistent across the three Chinese panels with the association magnitude correlating with the panels' exposure levels; the association was validated by methylation data of purified leukocytes. Several cytosine-phosphoguanines, including those located on FHL2 and ELOVL2, were found associated with both aging indicators and monohydroxy-PAH levels. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a methylation age predictor specific for Chinese populations but also accurate for Caucasian populations. Our findings suggest that exposure to PAHs may be associated with an adverse impact on human aging and epigenetic alterations in Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Genetic variations in key DNA repair genes may influence DNA repair capacity, DNA damage and breast carcinogenesis. The current study aimed to estimate the association of APEX1 and OGG1 polymorphisms with the risk of breast cancer development. Methods: A total of 518 patients with histopathologically confirmed breast cancer and 921 region- and age-matched cancer-free controls were genotyped for the APEX1 polymorphisms rs3136817 and rs1130409 and the OGG1 polymorphisms rs1052133 and rs2072668 using a QuantStudio™ 12 K Flex Real-Time PCR System. Results: The rs3136817 heterozygous TC genotype along with the rs3136817 dominant model (TC + CC) was strongly associated with breast cancer susceptibility (odds ratio [OR] = 0.670, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.513 - 0.873, P = 0.003; OR = 0.682, 95% CI: 0.526 - 0.883, P = 0.004, respectively). No significant associations were observed among rs1130409, rs1052133, rs2072668 and breast cancer risk. Furthermore, an allele combination analysis revealed that APEX1 haplotypes containing C-T (alleles rs3136817 and rs1130409) conferred a significantly lower risk (corrected P < 0.001). Conclusion: This research is the latest report showing that an APEX1 rs3136817 heterozygous genotype may have a positive influence on DNA repair capacity in patients with breast cancer and thus may have a potential protective effect for Chinese Han women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delisheng is a widely used antineoplastic agent in China. Although previous studies revealed that Delisheng exhibits numerous pharmacological effects including the inhibition of cancer cell differentiation and enhancement of immune function with the lowest toxicity, the precise anticancer mechanisms of Delisheng in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remains largely unknown. The present study investigated the potential mechanisms underlying the anticancer properties of Delisheng on Hep3B cells. Delisheng demonstrated a strong anti‑proliferation effect on Hep3B cells compared with normal liver HL‑7702 cells, as detected by MTT assays. In addition, Delisheng arrested the cells in G/G1 phase. Furthermore, it exhibited a pro‑apoptotic effect on Hep3B cells, as detected by flow cytometry. When exposed to Delisheng, Hep3B cells demonstrated decreased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and osteopontin (OPN) and increased endostatin (ES) protein expressions, as detected using immunocytochemistry staining and western blotting. These data suggest that Delisheng induces antiproliferation and apoptosis of Hep3B cells via modulation of VEGF, OPN and ES protein expression. It is hypothesized that Delisheng may be used as a novel anticancer therapeutic in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: What are the features of FAM71D (Family with sequence similarity 71, member D) expression and is there an association between FAM71D expression and sperm motility?Summary Answer: FAM71D, a novel protein exclusively expressed in the testis, is located in sperm flagella and is functionally involved in sperm motility.What Is Known Already: Some testis-specific proteins have been reported as potential diagnostic biomarkers to evaluate the spermatogenesis process and sperm quality. We have identified a novel testis-specific protein, FAM71D, through microarray data analysis, yet little is known about its expression and function.Study Design, Size, Duration: FAM71D mRNA and protein expression was quantified during mouse testis development. Its localization in germ cells was detected by dual-labeled immunostaining in testis sections and sperm smears. The clinical significance was assessed by comparing FAM71D expression in spermatozoa from normozoospermic controls and asthenozoospermic patients.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Testes were dissected from C57BL/6 J male mice at postnatal ages of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 weeks and 6 months, and sperm was collected from cauda epididymides of adult mice by the swim-up method. Human spermatozoa were isolated from 100 human semen samples by density gradient Percoll centrifugation. RT-qPCR and western blot were performed to semi-quantify the expression of FAM71D in mouse testis, and in the ejaculated spermatozoa of normozoospermic controls and asthenozoospermic patients. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the localization of FAM71D. Co-immunoprecipitation assay was performed to evaluate the interaction between FAM71D and calmodulin. An antibody blocking assay was employed to assess the role of FAM71D in sperm motility.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: Our results showed that FAM71D was exclusively expressed in the testis in an age-dependent manner. FAM71D expression exhibited dynamic change in the cytoplasm of spermatids during spermiogenesis and was finally retained in sperm flagella. FAM71D could interact with calmodulin. Use of anti-FAM71D antibody on sperm significantly decreased sperm motility. Expression level of FAM71D was markedly reduced in the ejaculated spermataozoa of asthenozoospermic patients (P < 0.05), and this was correlated with sperm progressive motility (r = 0.7435, P < 0.0001).Large Scale Data: N/A.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: The sample size was limited and it is necessary to verify the correlation of FAM71D expression with sperm motility in larger cohorts. Furthermore, our results were descriptive and follow-up studies would be needed to elucidate the detailed role of FAM71D in sperm motility.Wider Implications Of the Findings: This is the first systematic study to document the expression of endogenous FAM71D and a function for FAM71D in sperm motility. It provides new insights into our understanding of sperm motility regulation and causes of male infertility.Study Funding/competing Interests: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Guangdong Natural Science Foundation and the Shenzhen Project of Science and Technology. The authors have no competing interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently studies have demonstrated that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) may participate in the development and progression of lung cancer. In this study, we hypothesized that genetic variant of this lncRNA may affect the prognosis of lung cancer patients.Methods: We conducted a follow-up study for 538 patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), including 140 early-staged (stage I and II) and 398 advanced staged (stage III and IV) patients. The genetic variant rs3200401 in MALAT1 was then genotyped among this population by using TaqMan assay. The association of this variant with overall survival of these patients was further analyzed.Results: It was shown that among the advanced lung adenoma patients, subjects carrying rs3200401 CT and CT + TT genotypes had significantly longer median survival time (MST = 29.9, 28.9 vs. 19.3 month, Long-rank P = 0.019 and 0.024, respectively) and decreased death risks [crude HR (95% CI) = 0.65 (0.43-0.98) and 0.64 (0.44-0.95), P = 0.040 and 0.025, respectively], when compared to subjects wtih the MALAT1 rs3200401 CC genotype. However, the beneficial effect of rs3200401 was not seen among early NSCLC and advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma patients. We further tested the TCGA data, and found that a higher expression of MALAT1 was associated with metastatic of advanced lung adenocarcinoma but not with lung squamous cell carcinoma.Conclusions: The rs3200401 T allele located on the lncRNA MALAT1 was associated with a better survival for advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients, which may offer a novel prognostic biomarker for this patient subgroup. However, these results need to be validated in larger populations of lung cancer and the biological function of this variant still warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utility of the QTAIM/stress tensor analysis method for characterizing the photoisomerization of light driven molecular rotary machines is investigated on the example of the torsion path in fluorene molecular motor. The scalar and vector descriptors of QTAIM/stress tensor reveal additional information on the bonding interactions between the rotating units of the motor, which cannot be obtained from the analysis of the ground and excited state potential energy surfaces. The topological features of the fluorene motor molecular graph display that, upon the photoexcitation a certain increase in the torsional stiffness of the rotating bond can be attributed to the increasing topological stability of the rotor carbon atom attached to the rotation axle. The established variations in the torsional stiffness of the rotating bond may cause transfer of certain fraction of the torsional energy to other internal degrees of freedom, such as the pyramidalization distortion. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distinguishing the testes-specific genes in different species may disclose key genes associated with testes-specific functions and provide sufficient information for the study and treatment of male infertility. A testes-specific gene, coiled-coil domain containing 38 (Ccdc38), was identified by screening UniGene libraries. Systematic bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that the CCDC38 protein was conserved in various mammalian species. It was determined that CCDC38 was exclusively expressed in testes and its expression increased from 2-8 weeks of age. Additional immunohistochemical analysis indicated that CCDC38 was mainly expressed in spermatogonia and spermatocytes. It is of note that, immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that CCDC38 interacted with ubiquitinated histone H2A in mouse testes. Therefore, these results suggest that Ccdc38 is a testes-specific gene, which may be important for mouse spermatogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a risk factor for many human diseases. DNA methylation has been related to smoking, but genome-wide methylation data for smoking in Chinese populations is limited. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate epigenome-wide methylation in relation to smoking in a Chinese population. METHODS: We measured the methylation levels at > 485,000 CpG sites (CpGs) in DNA from leukocytes using a methylation array and conducted a genome-wide meta-analysis of DNA methylation and smoking in a total of 596 Chinese participants. We further evaluated the associations of smoking-related CpGs with internal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) biomarkers and their correlations with the expression of corresponding genes. RESULTS: We identified 318 CpGs whose methylation levels were associated with smoking at a genome-wide significance level (false discovery rate < 0.05), among which 161 CpGs annotated to 123 genes were not associated with smoking in recent studies of Europeans and African Americans. Of these smoking-related CpGs, methylation levels at 80 CpGs showed significant correlations with the expression of corresponding genes (including RUNX3, IL6R, PTAFR, ANKRD11, CEP135 and CDH23), and methylation at 15 CpGs was significantly associated with urinary 2-hydroxynaphthalene, the most representative internal monohydroxy-PAH biomarker for smoking. CONCLUSION: We identified DNA methylation markers associated with smoking in a Chinese population, including some markers that were also correlated with gene expression. Exposure to naphthalene, a byproduct of tobacco smoke, may contribute to smoking-related methylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atriplex canescens (fourwing saltbush) is a C4 perennial fodder shrub with excellent resistance to salinity. However, the mechanisms underlying the salt tolerance in A. canescens are poorly understood. In this study, 5-weeks-old A. canescens seedlings were treated with various concentrations of external NaCl (0-400 mM). The results showed that the growth of A. canescens seedlings was significantly stimulated by moderate salinity (100 mM NaCl) and unaffected by high salinity (200 or 400 mM NaCl). Furthermore, A. canescens seedlings showed higher photosynthetic capacity under NaCl treatments (except for 100 mM NaCl treatment) with significant increases in net photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency. Under saline conditions, the A. canescens seedlings accumulated more Na+ in either plant tissues or salt bladders, and also retained relatively constant K+ in leaf tissues and bladders by enhancing the selective transport capacity for K+ over Na+ (ST value) from stem to leaf and from leaf to bladder. External NaCl treatments on A. canescens seedlings had no adverse impact on leaf relative water content, and this resulted from lower leaf osmotic potential under the salinity conditions. The contribution of Na+ to the leaf osmotic potential (9s) was sharply enhanced from 2% in control plants to 49% in plants subjected to 400 mM NaCl. However, the contribution of K+ to 9s showed a significant decrease from 34% (control) to 9% under 400 mM NaCl. Interestingly, concentrations of betaine and free proline showed significant increase in the leaves of A. canescens seedlings, these compatible solutes presented up to 12% of contribution to 9s under high salinity. These findings suggest that, under saline environments, A. canescens is able to enhance photosynthetic capacity, increase Na+ accumulation in tissues and salt bladders, maintain relative K+ homeostasis in leaves, and use inorganic ions and compatible solutes for osmotic adjustment which may contribute to the improvement of water status in plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) are of great importance to spermatogenesis and male fertility. AR knockout (ARKO) mice display a complete insensitivity to androgens and male infertility; however, the exact molecular mechanism for this effect remains unclear. In this study, we found that the expression levels of Prmt6 mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated in the testes of ARKO mice compared to wild type (WT) mice. PRMT6 was principally localized to the nucleus of spermatogonia and spermatocytes by immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, luciferase assay data showed that AR together with testosterone treatment suppressed Prmt6 transcription via binding to the androgen-responsive element (ARE) of the Prmt6 promoter. Moreover, knockdown of Prmt6 suppressed germ cells migration and promoted apoptosis. In addition, both of these cellular activities could not be enhanced by testosterone treatment. Taken together, these data indicate that PRMT6, which was down-regulated by AR and influenced cell migration and apoptosis of germ cells, could play a potentially important role in spermatogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]