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Accessible silicate reservoirs on Earth (i.e., the depleted mantle and continental crust) are depleted in Nb relative to chondrites, as expressed by their subchondritic Nb/Ta ratios. Mixtures of continental crust and depleted mantle cannot produce chondritic Nb/Ta ratios; therefore, another geochemical reservoir with a superchondritic Nb/Ta ratio is necessary to balance the low Nb contents of the continental crust. We investigated alkaline igneous rocks with superchondritic Nb/Ta ratios (20.4–24.8). Their high Nb/Ta ratios were inherited from their lithospheric mantle source rather than being produced by magmatic differentiation. Geochemical data show that an enriched mantle domain with superchondritic Nb/Ta ratios can be produced by the interaction of subducted carbonate-rich sediment-derived melts with the lithospheric mantle, and the enriched lithospheric mantle is a potential superchondritic reservoir.

Through the thermodynamic calculation and analysis of nitrogen solubility in 1Mn18Cr18N protective ring steel， it is found that increasing the content of Cr and Mn elements in the steel can significantly improve the solubility of nitrogen. At the same time， the solubility of nitrogen increases as the molten steel temperature decreases . This paper describes the production process of 1Mn18Cr18N protective ring steel by non-vacuum induction furnace， electric furnace，AOD and LF refining， and alloying treatment with bottom blowing nitrogen， which is shorten the production time， and the composition control is quite stable. When AOD refining bottom blowing nitrogen is used for alloying， the nitrogen content in the molten steel can reach 0. 547% and the nitrogen solubility tends to be saturated. In the LF refining process， when using bottom blowing nitrogen and nitrogen-containing alloys， the nitrogen content in the steel can reach 0.68%.

The properties of nanopipettes largely rely on the materials introduced onto their inner walls, which allow for a vast extension of their sensing capabilities. The challenge of simultaneously enhancing the sensitivity and selectivity of nanopipettes for pH sensing remains, hindering their practical applications. Herein, we report insulin-modified nanopipettes with excellent pH response performances, which were prepared by introducing insulin onto their inner walls via a two-step reaction involving silanization and amidation. The pH response intensity based on ion current rectification was significantly enhanced by approximately 4.29 times when utilizing insulin-modified nanopipettes compared with bare ones, demonstrating a linear response within the pH range of 2.50 to 7.80. In addition, insulin-modified nanopipettes featured good reversibility and selectivity. The modification processes were monitored using the I-V curves, and the relevant mechanisms were discussed. The effects of solution pH and insulin concentration on the modification results were investigated to achieve optimal insulin introduction. This study showed that the pH response behavior of nanopipettes can be greatly improved by introducing versatile molecules onto the inner walls, thereby contributing to the development and utilization of pH-responsive nanopipettes.

The development of efficient methodologies for the controlled manufacture of specific stereoisomers bearing quaternary stereocenters has prompted advances in a variety of scientific disciplines including pharmaceutical chemistry, materials science, and chemical biology. However, complete control of the absolute and relative stereochemical configurations of alkyne derivatives remains an unmet synthetic challenge. Herein, a Ni/Cu dual‐catalyzed asymmetric propargylic substitution reaction is presented to produce propargylated products with all‐carbon quaternary stereocenters in high yields with significant diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities (up to >20:1 dr, >99% ee). The synthesis of all stereochemical variants of methohexital, a widely used sedative‐hypnotic drug, exemplifies the efficacy of dual‐catalyzed stereodivergent propargylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the challenge of achieving precise subtype classification of breast cancer histopathology images with limited resources, a lightweight model incorporating multi-stage information fusion and an attention mechanism is proposed for this task. Using MobileNetV3 as the backbone, a multi-stage fusion strategy captures the rich image information in breast cancer histopathology images. Additionally, the selective kernel (SK) attention mechanism is introduced in the initial stages of feature extraction, while an improved squeeze-and-excitation coordinate attention (SCA) mechanism is integrated in the later stages to enhance the extraction of both underlying and semantic features. The final feature representations for subtype classification are determined based on the attention map weights computed at each stage. The experimental results demonstrate the model's outstanding recognition performance on the BreakHis dataset, achieving subtype classification accuracies of 96.259%, 94.763%, 95.511%, and 94.015% at four different magnifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major contributor to chronic kidney disease. This study aims to identify immune biomarkers and potential therapeutic drugs in DN. Methods: We analyzed two DN microarray datasets (GSE96804 and GSE30528) for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the Limma package, overlapping them with immune-related genes from ImmPort and InnateDB. LASSO regression, SVM-RFE, and random forest analysis identified four hub genes (EGF, PLTP, RGS2, PTGDS) as proficient predictors of DN. The model achieved an AUC of 0.995 and was validated on GSE142025. Single-cell RNA data (GSE183276) revealed increased hub gene expression in epithelial cells. CIBERSORT analysis showed differences in immune cell proportions between DN patients and controls, with the hub genes correlating positively with neutrophil infiltration. Molecular docking identified potential drugs: cysteamine, eltrombopag, and DMSO. And qPCR and western blot assays were used to confirm the expressions of the four hub genes. Results: Analysis found 95 and 88 distinctively expressed immune genes in the two DN datasets, with 14 consistently differentially expressed immune-related genes. After machine learning algorithms, EGF, PLTP, RGS2, PTGDS were identified as the immune-related hub genes associated with DN. In addition, the mRNA and protein levels of them were obviously elevated in HK-2 cells treated with glucose for 24 h, as well as their mRNA expressions in kidney tissues of mice with DN. Conclusion: This study identified 4 hub immune-related genes (EGF, PLTP, RGS2, PTGDS), as well as their expression profiles and the correlation with immune cell infiltration in DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsic plasticity, a fundamental process enabling neurons to modify their intrinsic properties, plays a crucial role in shaping neuronal input‐output function and is implicated in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite its importance, the underlying molecular mechanisms of intrinsic plasticity remain poorly understood. In this study, a new ubiquitin ligase adaptor, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type N (PTPRN), is identified as a regulator of intrinsic neuronal excitability in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy. PTPRN recruits the NEDD4 Like E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase (NEDD4L) to NaV1.2 sodium channels, facilitating NEDD4L‐mediated ubiquitination, and endocytosis of NaV1.2. Knockout of PTPRN in hippocampal granule cells leads to augmented NaV1.2‐mediated sodium currents and higher intrinsic excitability, resulting in increased seizure susceptibility in transgenic mice. Conversely, adeno‐associated virus‐mediated delivery of PTPRN in the dentate gyrus region decreases intrinsic excitability and reduces seizure susceptibility. Moreover, the present findings indicate that PTPRN exerts a selective modulation effect on voltage‐gated sodium channels. Collectively, PTPRN plays a significant role in regulating intrinsic excitability and seizure susceptibility, suggesting a potential strategy for precise modulation of NaV1.2 channels' function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic measures such as hydraulic slotting and hydraulic fracturing are commonly used in coal seam pressure relief and permeability enhancement. Two-phase flow patterns of CH4–water in pore-sized coal seams after hydraulic measures are critical to improve gas extraction efficiency. The phase field module in COMSOL Multiphysics™ 5.4 and the classical ordered porous media model were used in this paper. The characteristics of CH4–water two-phase immiscible displacement in coal seams under different capillary numbers (Ca) and viscosity ratios (M) were simulated and quantitatively analyzed. By changing the contact angle of the porous media, the flow patterns of CH4–water two-phase in coal with different wettability were simulated. Results show that wettability significantly affects the displacement efficiency of CH4. Additionally, by constructing a dual-permeability model to simulate the varying local permeability of the coal, the flow patterns of different Ca and M in dual-permeability media were further investigated. It is found that CH4 preferentially invades high-permeability regions, and the displacement efficiency in low-permeability regions increases with higher Ca and M, providing a reference for gas extraction from coal seams after hydraulic measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) is a type of non-coding small RNA that is highly expressed in mammalian testis. PiRNA has been implicated in various human diseases, but the experimental validation of piRNA-disease associations is costly and time-consuming. In this article, a novel computational method for predicting piRNA-disease associations using a multi-channel graph variational autoencoder (MC-GVAE) is proposed. This method integrates four types of similarity networks for piRNAs and diseases, which are derived from piRNA sequences, disease semantics, piRNA Gaussian Interaction Profile (GIP) kernel, and disease GIP kernel, respectively. These networks are modeled by a graph VAE framework, which can learn low-dimensional and informative feature representations for piRNAs and diseases. Then, a multi-channel method is used to fuse the feature representations from different networks. Finally, a three-layer neural network classifier is applied to predict the potential associations between piRNAs and diseases. The method was evaluated on a benchmark dataset containing 5,002 experimentally validated associations with 4,350 piRNAs and 21 diseases, constructed from the piRDisease v1.0 database. It achieved state-of-the-art performance, with an average AUC value of 0.9310 and an AUPR value of 0.9247 under five-fold cross-validation. This demonstrates the method's effectiveness and superiority in piRNA-disease association prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of nanopipettes largely rely on the materials introduced onto their inner walls, which allow for a vast extension of their sensing capabilities. The challenge of simultaneously enhancing the sensitivity and selectivity of nanopipettes for pH sensing remains, hindering their practical applications. Herein, we report insulin-modified nanopipettes with excellent pH response performances, which were prepared by introducing insulin onto their inner walls via a two-step reaction involving silanization and amidation. The pH response intensity based on ion current rectification was significantly enhanced by approximately 4.29 times when utilizing insulin-modified nanopipettes compared with bare ones, demonstrating a linear response within the pH range of 2.50 to 7.80. In addition, insulin-modified nanopipettes featured good reversibility and selectivity. The modification processes were monitored using the I-V curves, and the relevant mechanisms were discussed. The effects of solution pH and insulin concentration on the modification results were investigated to achieve optimal insulin introduction. This study showed that the pH response behavior of nanopipettes can be greatly improved by introducing versatile molecules onto the inner walls, thereby contributing to the development and utilization of pH-responsive nanopipettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance for coal mining and utilization to study the adsorption process of mixed gas in coal. In this paper, the Monte Carlo method (MC) is employed to study the competitive saturation adsorption of oxygen and water vapor inside coal particles, and then the convection, diffusion and adsorption inside and between particles are studied by lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). In addition, this study examines the impacts of porosity, average particle size, and gas concentration on the process of adsorption in coal porous media. The research results show that oxygen and water vapor present in the mixed gas experience increased permeability, diffusion rate, and saturated adsorption capacity as the porosity and average particle size of the coal porous medium increase. However, the time required to achieve saturated adsorption decreases. Under the condition of maintaining the proportion of gas components and altering the initial gas concentrations from 4.087 to 53.131 mol/m3, saturated adsorption capacity of both gases remains nearly unchanged. Yet, the effective diffusivity of gases declines with increasing initial concentration. Additionally, it is also found that water vapor diffuses more quickly than oxygen in the mixed gas and achieves adsorption saturation faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terpinen-4-ol (T-4-O) is an important component of tea tree oil and has anti-inflammatory effects. Currently, there are very few studies on the mechanisms by which T-4-O improves lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage inflammation. In this study, LPS-stimulated mouse RAW264.7 macrophages were used as a model to analyze the effects of T-4-O on macrophage inflammatory factors and related metabolic pathways in an inflammatory environment. The results showed that T-4-O significantly decreased the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines induced by LPS. Cellular metabolism results showed that T-4-O significantly decreased the ratio of the extracellular acidification rate and oxygen consumption rate. Non-targeted metabolomics results showed that T-4-O mainly affected glutamine and glutamate metabolism and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolic pathways. qPCR results showed that T-4-O increased the transcript levels of GLS and GDH and promoted glutamine catabolism. Western blotting results showed that T-4-O inhibited the mTOR and IκB, thereby decreasing NF-κB activity. The overall results showed that T-4-O inhibited mTOR phosphorylation to promote glutamine metabolism and increased cell oxidative phosphorylation levels, thereby inhibiting the expression of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design: Retrospective Cohort Study Objectives: To compare early postoperative radiological and clinical outcomes between 2-level minimally invasive (MIS) trans-psoas lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) and MIS transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods: Fifty three consecutive patients undergoing 2-level lumbar interbody fusion from L3-L5 for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis were enrolled. Twenty four patients underwent LLIF and 29 underwent TLIF. Results: Operative time and length of stay were similar between LLIF and TLIF (272.8 ± 82.4 vs 256.1 ± 59.4 minutes; 5.5 ± 2.8 vs 4.7 ± 3.3 days, P >.05), whereas blood loss was lower for LLIF (229.0 ± 125.6 vs 302.4 ± 97.1mls, P =.026). Neurological deficits were more common in LLIF (9 vs 3, P =.025), whereas persistent deficits were rare for both (1 vs 1, P = 1). For both groups, all patient reported outcomes visual analogue scale (VAS back pain, VAS leg pain, ODI, SF-36 physical) improved from preoperative to 2-years postoperative (P <.05), with both groups showing no significant differences in extent of improvement for any outcome. Lateral lumbar interbody fusion demonstrated superior restoration of disc height (L3-L4: 4.1 ± 2.4 vs 1.2 ± 1.9 mm, P <.001; L4-L5: 4.6 ± 2.4 vs.8 ± 2.8 mm, P <.001), foraminal height (FH) (L3-L4: 3.5 ± 3.6 vs 1.0 ± 3.6 mm, P =.014; L4-L5: 3.0 ± 3.5 vs -.1 ± 4.4 mm, P =.0080), segmental lordosis (4.1 ± 6.4 vs -2.1 ± 8.1°, P =.005), lumbar lordosis (LL) (4.1 ± 7.0 vs -2.3 ± 12.6°, P =.026) and pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis (PI-LL) mismatch (−4.1 ± 7.0 vs 2.3 ± 12.6°, P =.019) at 2-years follow-up. Conclusion: The superior radiological outcomes demonstrated by 2-level trans-psoas LLIF did not translate into difference in clinical outcomes compared to 2-level TLIF at the 2-years follow-up, suggesting both approaches are reasonable for 2-level lumbar interbody fusion in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine communication has attracted widespread attention in the wake of global warming and national defense awareness in recent years, where acoustic systems enabling smooth underwater communication have become a popular research topic. In this study, we proposed an underwater communication system equipped with modulators and demodulators (modems). Specifically, the wireless communication software GNU’s Not Unix Radio (GNU Radio) was adopted to develop communication formats and architectures applied to a Raspberry Pi computer, on which we developed a communication format available for signal synchronization to increase system robustness against underwater channel interferences. We also developed hardware and software modems for the system. The hardware device was developed using the XR2206 function generator and XR2211 equipment for frequency-shift keying (FSK)-based modulation and demodulation, respectively. The software FSK modem was developed using GNU Radio. To increase the robustness of the transmitted data, we added a cyclic redundancy check through the Async CRC32 block, after which the power distribution unit (PDU) to the Tagged Stream block placed a tag to the start of data combined with effective loads and CRC32, facilitating the attachment of header generators. Four experiments with different underwater scenarios were then conducted to verify the proposed system. The hardware modem had a 0 bit error rate (BER) during experiments implemented in a laboratory sink, a 20-m-long indoor swimming pool, and a 50-m-long outdoor swimming pool, compared with BERs of 2.8 × 10−3 and 6.6 × 10−3 during the breeding water tank experiment under transmission rates of 1 and 2 kbps, respectively. Similarly, the software modem delivered 0-BER performance in the laboratory sink as well as in the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, with its BERs being 2.3 × 10−4 and 2.98 × 10−4 under 1 and 2 kbps transmission rates, respectively. The proposed system comprises preambles, headers, and effective load communication formats for signal protection. In particular, its directional ultrasonic cylindrical piezoelectric transducer can mitigate multipath effects and interferences, thereby enhancing system robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Tamarixia radiata Behaviour Is Influenced by Volatiles from Both Plants and Diaphorina citri Nymphs" published in the journal Insects. The correction states that there was an error in Figure 2 of the original publication, which has now been corrected. The authors assure that this mistake does not affect the scientific conclusions of the study. The correction was approved by the Academic Editor and the original publication has been updated. [Extracted from the article]

Visualization of drug release in vivo is crucial for improving therapeutic efficacy and preventing inappropriate medication dosing, yet, challenging. Herein, we report a pH-activated chemo-immunotherapy nanoplatform with visualization of drug release in vivo by ratiometric 19 F magnetic resonance imaging ( 19 F MRI). This nanoplatform consists of ultra-small histamine-modified perfluoro-15-crown-5-ether (PFCE) nanodroplets loaded with doxorubicin (Dox), which are packaged in trifluoromethyl-containing metal-organic assemblies via coordination-driven self-assembly. The chemical shifts of two types of 19 F atoms in the nanoplatform are significantly different in 19 F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, which facilitates the implementation of ratiometric 19 F MRI without any signal crosstalk. In an acidic tumor microenvironment, this nanoplatform gradually degrades, which results in a sustained drug release with a real-time change in the ratiometric 19 F MRI signal. Therefore, a linear correlation between the Dox release profile and ratiometric 19 F MRI signal is established to visualize Dox release. Moreover, the pH-triggered disassembly of the nanoplatform leads to cell pyroptosis, which evokes immunogenic cell death (ICD), resulting in the regression of the primary tumor and inhibition of distal tumor growth. This study provides the proof-of-concept application of ratiometric 19 F MRI to visualize drug release in vivo ., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (VHL), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, functions as a critical regulator of the oxygen-sensing pathway for targeting hypoxia-inducible factors. Recent evidence suggests that mammalian VHL may also be critical to the NF-κB signaling pathway, although the specific molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, the roles of mandarin fish ( Siniperca chuatsi ) VHL ( sc VHL) in the NF-κB signaling pathway and mandarin fish ranavirus (MRV) replication were explored. The transcription of sc VHL was induced by immune stimulation and MRV infection, indicating a potential role in innate immunity. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assays and reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) results demonstrated that sc VHL evoked and positively regulated the NF-κB signaling pathway. Treatment with NF-κB signaling pathway inhibitors indicated that the role of sc VHL may be mediated through sc IKKα, sc IKKβ, sc IκBα, or sc p65. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) analysis identified sc IκBα as a novel target protein of sc VHL. Moreover, sc VHL targeted sc IκBα to catalyze the formation of K63-linked polyubiquitin chains to activate the NF-κB signaling pathway. Following MRV infection, NF-κB signaling remained activated, which, in turn, promoted MRV replication. These findings suggest that sc VHL not only positively regulates NF-κB but also significantly enhances MRV replication. This study reveals a novel function of sc VHL in NF-κB signaling and viral infection in fish.

Intrinsic plasticity, a fundamental process enabling neurons to modify their intrinsic properties, plays a crucial role in shaping neuronal input-output function and is implicated in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite its importance, the underlying molecular mechanisms of intrinsic plasticity remain poorly understood. In this study, a new ubiquitin ligase adaptor, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type N (PTPRN), is identified as a regulator of intrinsic neuronal excitability in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy. PTPRN recruits the NEDD4 Like E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase (NEDD4L) to Na V 1.2 sodium channels, facilitating NEDD4L-mediated ubiquitination, and endocytosis of Na V 1.2. Knockout of PTPRN in hippocampal granule cells leads to augmented Na V 1.2-mediated sodium currents and higher intrinsic excitability, resulting in increased seizure susceptibility in transgenic mice. Conversely, adeno-associated virus-mediated delivery of PTPRN in the dentate gyrus region decreases intrinsic excitability and reduces seizure susceptibility. Moreover, the present findings indicate that PTPRN exerts a selective modulation effect on voltage-gated sodium channels. Collectively, PTPRN plays a significant role in regulating intrinsic excitability and seizure susceptibility, suggesting a potential strategy for precise modulation of Na V 1.2 channels' function., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Using the quasi-classical trajectory method, we systematically studied the state-to-state vibrational relaxation process of N 2 ( v 1 ) + N 2 ( v 2 ) collisions over a wide temperature range (5000-30,000 K). Different temperature dependencies of the single- and multiquantum VV and VT events in various ( v 1 , v 2 ) collisions are captured, with the dominant channel being related to the initial vibrational energy levels ( v max = 50). At a specified relative translational energy, there is a monotonic relationship of the VT cross sections with the vibrational energy level, particularly in high-energy collisions. Additionally, we constructed well-trained neural network models ( R -values reaching 0.99) using limited quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) data sets, which can be used to predict the state-to-state cross sections and rate coefficients of the VV processes N 2 ( v 1 ) + N 2 ( v 2 ) → N 2 ( v 1 - Δ v ) + N 2 ( v 2 + Δ v ) and VT processes N 2 ( v 1 ) + N 2 ( v 2 ) → N 2 ( v 1 - Δ v ) + N 2 ( v 2 ) (Δ v = ±1, ±2, ±3) for collisions with arbitrary initial vibrational states. This work not only significantly reduces computational resources but also serves as a reference for the study of the state-to-state dynamics of all four-atom collision systems in hypersonic flows.

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is the leading vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus ( C Las), the causative agent of citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) disease. The distribution and dynamics of C Las within ACP are critical to understanding how the transmission, spread and infection of C Las occurs within its host vector in nature. In this study, the distribution and titer changes of C Las in various tissues of ACP 5 th instar nymphs and adults were examined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) techniques. Results demonstrated that 100% of ACP 5 th instar nymphs and adults were infected with C Las following feeding on infected plants, and that C Las had widespread distribution in most of the tissues of ACP. The titers of C Las within the midgut, salivary glands and hemolymph tissues were the highest in both 5 th instar nymphs and adults. When compared with adults, the titers of C Las in these three tissues of 5 th instar nymphs were significantly higher, while in the mycetome, ovary and testes they were significantly lower than those of adults. FISH visualization further confirmed these findings. Dynamic analysis of C Las demonstrated that it was present across all the developmental ages of ACP adults. There was a discernible upward trend in the presence of C Las with advancing age in most tissues of ACP adults, including the midgut, hemolymph, salivary glands, foot, head, cuticula and muscle. Our findings have significant implications for the comprehensive understanding of the transmission, dissemination and infestation of C Las, which is of much importance for developing novel strategies to halt the spread of C Las, and therefore contribute to the efficient prevention and control of HLB., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Guo, Kong, Mukangango, Hu, Liu, Sang and Qiu.)

Background: This study was designed to investigate the mechanism by which miR-30a-5p mediates cardiomyocyte apoptosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)., Methods: Differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed by RNA high-throughput sequencing in acute myocardial infarction (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) patients versus healthy individuals (controls). The H/R model was used to assess the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs in AMI. Lentivirus-associated vectors were used to overexpress or knock down miR-30a-5p in cellular models. The pathological mechanisms of miR-30a-5p regulating the development of acute myocardial infarction were serially explored by qPCR, bioinformatics, target gene prediction, dual luciferase, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and Western blotting., Results: The results showed that the expression of miR-30a-5p was significantly increased in AMI patients and H9C2 cells. Hypoxia decreased cardiomyocyte survival over time, and reoxygenation further reduced cell survival. Bax and Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)were suppressed, while Bcl-2 was upregulated. Additionally, miR-30a-5p specifically targeted the PTEN gene. According to the GO and KEGG analyses, miR-30a-5p may participate in apoptosis by interacting with PTEN. The miR-30a-5p mimic decreased the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and the levels of the proinflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α by activating the PTEN/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Conversely, anti-miR-30a-5p treatment attenuated these effects. Additionally, silencing PTEN and anti-miR-30a-5p had opposite effects on H/R-induced cell apoptosis., Conclusions: miR-30a-5p plays a crucial role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis after hypoxia-induced acute myocardial infarction. Our findings provide translational evidence that miR-30a-5p is a novel potential therapeutic target for AMI., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Quantum amplification enables the enhancement of weak signals and is of great importance for precision measurements, such as biomedical science and tests of fundamental symmetries. Here, we observe a previously unexplored magnetic amplification using dark noble-gas nuclear spins in the absence of pump light. Such dark spins exhibit remarkable coherence lasting up to 6 min and the resilience against the perturbations caused by overlapping alkali-metal gas. We demonstrate that the observed phenomenon, referred to as "dark spin amplification," significantly magnifies magnetic field signals by at least three orders of magnitude. As an immediate application, we showcase an ultrasensitive magnetometer capable of measuring subfemtotesla fields in a single 500-s measurement. Our approach is generic and can be applied to a wide range of noble-gas isotopes, and we discuss promising optimizations that could further improve the current signal amplification up to [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]Ne, [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]Xe, and [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]He. This work unlocks opportunities in precision measurements, including searches for ultralight dark matter with sensitivity well beyond the supernova-observation constraints., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Efficient clearance and degradation of apoptotic cardiomyocytes by macrophages (collectively termed efferocytosis) is critical for inflammation resolution and restoration of cardiac function after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Here, we define secreted and transmembrane protein 1a (Sectm1a), a cardiac macrophage-enriched gene, as a modulator of macrophage efferocytosis in I/R-injured hearts. Upon myocardial I/R, Sectm1a-KO mice exhibited impaired macrophage efferocytosis, leading to massive accumulation of apoptotic cardiomyocytes, cardiac inflammation, fibrosis, and consequently, exaggerated cardiac dysfunction. By contrast, therapeutic administration of recombinant SECTM1A protein significantly enhanced macrophage efferocytosis and improved cardiac function. Mechanistically, SECTM1A could elicit autocrine effects on the activation of glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor (GITR) at the surface of macrophages, leading to the upregulation of liver X receptor α (LXRα) and its downstream efferocytosis-related genes and lysosomal enzyme genes. Our study suggests that Sectm1a-mediated activation of the Gitr/LXRα axis could be a promising approach to enhance macrophage efferocytosis for the treatment of myocardial I/R injury.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution severely affects plant growth and development, posing risks to human health throughout the food chain. Improved iron (Fe) nutrients could mitigate Cd toxicity in plants, but the regulatory network involving Cd and Fe interplay remains unresolved. Here, a transcription factor gene of alfalfa, MsbHLH115 was verified to respond to iron deficiency and Cd stress. Overexpression of MsbHLH115 enhanced tolerance to Cd stress, showing better growth and less ROS accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana . Overexpression of MsbHLH115 significantly enhanced Fe and Zn accumulation and did not affect Cd, Mn, and Cu concentration in Arabidopsis. Further investigations revealed that MsbHLH115 up-regulated iron homeostasis regulation genes, ROS-related genes, and metal chelation and detoxification genes, contributing to attenuating Cd toxicity. Y1H, EMSA, and LUC assays confirmed the physical interaction between MsbHLH115 and E-box, which is present in the promoter regions of most of the above-mentioned iron homeostasis regulatory genes. The transient expression experiment showed that MsbHLH115 interacted with MsbHLH121pro . The results suggest that MsbHLH115 may directly regulate the iron-deficiency response system and indirectly regulate the metal detoxification response mechanism, thereby enhancing plant Cd tolerance. In summary, enhancing iron accumulation through transcription factor regulation holds promise for improving plant tolerance to Cd toxicity, and MsbHLH115 is a potential candidate for addressing Cd toxicity issues., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Gao, Dong, Chang, Zhu, Guo, Guo and Bi.)

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that plays important roles in many biological processes and major cancer diagnosis and treatment, thus becoming a hot research topic. This study aims to provide an in-depth review of computational piRNA-related research, including databases and computational models. Herein, we perform literature analysis and use comparative evaluation methods to summarize and analyze three aspects of computational piRNA-related research: (i) computational models for piRNA-related molecular identification tasks, (ii) computational models for piRNA-disease association prediction tasks, and (iii) computational resources and evaluation metrics for these tasks. This study shows that computational piRNA-related research has significantly progressed, exhibiting promising performance in recent years, whereas they also suffer from the emerging challenges of inconsistent naming systems and the lack of data. Different from other reviews on piRNA-related identification tasks that focus on the organization of datasets and computational methods, we pay more attention to the analysis of computational models, algorithms, and performances that aim to provide valuable references for computational piRNA-related identification tasks. This study will benefit the theoretical development and practical application of piRNAs by better understanding computational models and resources to investigate the biological functions and clinical implications of piRNA., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)