Search

Tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2) crucially suppresses Rheb activity to prevent mTORC1 activation. However, mutations in TSC genes lead to mTORC1 overactivation, thereby causing various developmental disorders and cancer. Therefore, the discovery of novel Rheb inhibitors is vital to prevent mTOR overactivation. Here, we reveals that the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37d can bind to lysosomal Rheb and suppress its activity independent of TSC2, thereby preventing mTORC1 activation. The binding of IL-37d to Rheb switch-II subregion destabilizes the Rheb-mTOR and mTOR-S6K interactions, further halting mTORC1 signaling. Unlike TSC2, IL-37d is reduced under ethanol stimulation, which results in mitigating the suppression of lysosomal Rheb-mTORC1 activity. Consequently, the recombinant human IL-37d protein (rh-IL-37d) with a TAT peptide greatly improves alcohol-induced liver disorders by hindering Rheb-mTORC1 axis overactivation in a TSC2- independent manner. Together, IL-37d emerges as a novel Rheb suppressor independent of TSC2 to terminate mTORC1 activation and improve abnormal lipid metabolism in the liver. In this study, IL-37d has been evidenced to bind lysosomal Rheb and suppress its activation in mTORC1 independent of TSC2. In hepatocyte, IL-37d is responsively decreased by ethanol and the recombinant TAT-rh-IL-37d protein improves alcohol-induced liver disorders via Rheb-mTORC1 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Noninvasive assessment of significant liver fibrosis in rabbits by spectral CT parameters and texture analysis. Materials and methods: Thirty-three rabbits were randomly divided into 27 carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis group and 6 control group. Spectral CT contrast-enhanced scan was performed in batches, and the liver fibrosis was staged according to the histopathological results. The portal venous phase spectral CT parameters [70 keV CT value, normalized iodine concentration (NIC), spectral HU curve slope (λHU)] were measured, and MaZda texture analysis was performed on 70 keV monochrome images. Three dimensionality reduction methods and four statistical methods in B11 module were used to perform discriminant analysis and calculate misclassified rate (MCR), and ten texture features under the lowest combination of MCR were statistically analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to calculate the diagnostic performance of spectral parameters and texture features for significant liver fibrosis. Finally, the binary logistic regression was used to further screen independent predictors and establish model. Results: A total of 23 experimental rabbits and 6 control rabbits were included, of which 16 had significant liver fibrosis. Three spectral CT parameters with significant liver fibrosis were significantly lower than those of non-significant liver fibrosis (p < 0.05), and the AUC ranged from 0.846 to 0.913. The combination analysis of mutual information (MI) and nonlinear discriminant analysis (NDA) had the lowest MCR, which with 0%. In the filtered texture features, four were statistically significant and AUC > 0.5, ranges from 0.764 to 0.875. The logistic regression model showed that Perc.90% and NIC could be used as independent predictors, the overall prediction accuracy of the model was 89.7% and the AUC was 0.976. Conclusion: Spectral CT parameters and texture features have high diagnostic value for predicting significant liver fibrosis in rabbits, and the combination of the two can improve its diagnostic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to evaluate how different light qualities alter the physiological and biochemical characteristics, of Dendrobium nobile. To determine the best light quality for in vitro culture of D. nobiles plantlets, the relationships between growth, antioxidant capacity, nutrient and chlorophyll contents, and chlorophyll fluorescence were evaluated. Growth under five Light-Emitting Diode (LED) light treatments, red light (R), blue light (B), 8R:2B, 7R:3B, and 5R:5B, were compared to white fluorescent light. The 8R:2B and 7R:3B mixtures of red and blue LED light were beneficial to root number, root length, root activity, fresh and dry weight, antioxidant ability, and chlorophyll content and fluorescence. The carotenoid content and ΦPSII significantly correlated with root length, while NPQ significantly correlated with root activity, length of root, fresh and dry weight and SSC. qP was significantly correlated with fresh and dry weight and the activities of FPC, POD and APX. Comprehensive scores, derived from Principal Component Analysis (PCA), of the plants grown under the 8R:2B and 7R:3B light treatments were similar to each other, while significantly higher than plants grown under the other light treatments. In conclusion, D. nobile seedlings grown under 8R:2B and 7R:3B exhibited suitable plant architecture for the controlled environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine the independent predictive role of nasal obstruction in resistant hypertension (RH) in uncontrolled hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: This prospective cohort study comprised of 236 OSA patients with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) using 1 or 2 classes of antihypertensive drugs visiting Sleep Medicine Center from April 2021 to March 2022. Information on demographic characteristics, comorbidities, BP control and classes of antihypertensive medication, sleep-related symptoms, Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale and sleep parameters was collected. RH incidence according to the BP control and classes of antihypertensive drugs data during the 5 month follow-up was collected. Results: After 5 month follow-up, 217 participants were included for final data analysis. Ninety-five subjects had nocturnal nasal obstruction with a higher proportion of RH (36.8% vs. 17.2%, p = 0.001) compared to those without nocturnal nasal obstruction. After adjustment for demographic characteristics, sleep-related symptoms and OSA severity, multinomial logistic regression models showed that nocturnal nasal obstruction (all ORs > 2.5, p < 0.05) or NOSE ≥ 8 (all ORs > 4.5, p < 0.05) was independently associated with a higher odds of RH. Nasal obstruction treatment improved NOSE score significantly, but did not reduce the incidence of RH significantly. Effective nasal obstruction treatment was associated with antihypertensive drugs reduction (OR 4.43; 95% CI 1.20–16.27). Conclusions: Nasal obstruction is an independent predictor of RH in uncontrolled hypertensive patients with OSA. In addition to the treatment of OSA, assessment and treatment of nasal obstruction should be considered in the management of uncontrolled hypertensive patients with OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the independent role of nasal obstruction on blood pressure (BP) control in patients with hypertension comorbid obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional study comprised of 326 newly diagnosed OSA comorbid hypertension patients from March 2018 to December 2021. Sixty-six patients have controlled hypertension, two hundred and nine with uncontrolled hypertension and fifty-one with resistant hypertension. Information on demographic characteristics, sleep data, hypertension status was collected. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the odds ratios (OR). Results: Patients with nocturnal nasal congestion had more difficult to control blood pressure, with more numbers of antihypertensive drugs. They tended to have more severe OSA, lower nocturnal oxygen saturation and more severe sleepiness. Univariate analysis showed that nocturnal nasal congestion and Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale scores were associated with uncontrolled BP. After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, alcohol use, OSA severity and CT90, multivariate logistic analysis models showed that nocturnal nasal congestion was independently associated with uncontrolled hypertension (OR = 2.09, p = 0.023). When analyzed more severe resistant hypertension, nocturnal nasal congestion showed a higher association (OR = 2.96, p = 0.014). Conclusion: This cross-sectional study demonstrated that the nocturnal nasal congestion was independently associated with uncontrolled BP. The use of nasal decongestants or nasal surgery may be a potential therapeutic target for resistant hypertension in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and sustainable development is the core of green mining. In this paper, natural loess (LO), fly ash (FA), gangue (GA), ordinary Portland cement (OPC), and mixing water were used to prepare gangue-cemented paste backfill (GCPB) for underground filling mining. To investigate the effect of partial replacement of FA with natural LO on GCPB performance, GCPB specimens with varying LO doses were produced. Rheological tests, slump tests, compression tests, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to examine the rheological properties, macroscopic strength, and microstructural evolution of GCPB. The results of the experiments reveal that 1) the GCPB slurries were in accordance with the H-B model at various LO doses. The yield stress increased with increasing LO dose because the content of small particles increased. Specifically, the LO doses were positively correlated with the content of fine particles and yield stress. The increase in the amount of small particles resulted in a significant increase in their ability to absorb free water, an increase in particle friction, and an increase in yield stress. Moreover, the slump (219-276 mm) of the GCPB slurry increased and subsequently decreased as the LO dose increased. 2) With increasing curing time and decreasing LO dose, the UCS improved. The UCS with a curing time of 3 d showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing (due to the obvious influence of pore size) with increasing LO doses. In addition, the UCS decreased from 4.09 MPa (LF-1) to 2.15 MPa (LF-6) when the curing time was 28 d. The strength of the mine filling material was generally 1.5 MPa-2.0 MPa, and all the formulas can meet industrial requirements. 3) XRD and SEM had been used to examine the hydration products of GCPB samples. The hydration products of GCPB with LO doses were mostly composed of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), calcium aluminate hydrate (C-A-H), calcium hydroxide (CH), ettringite (AFt), and gismondite (CaAl2·Si2O8·4H2O). These hydration products with microporous low-density materials filled large pores and cemented them with GA particles, which improved the UCS of the GCPB specimens. Studying the rheological properties, mechanical properties, hydration products, and microstructure of GCPBs is an important prerequisite for green mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3, BFO) as a prototype multiferroic has been extensively studied in past years; however, there are several key issues not to be clearly expressed. Especially, the relationship of structure and physical properties still remains obscure. In this case, the interband electronic structure of BFO was elaborately manipulated by appropriation dopants of Ni and Gd to realize the huge saturated ferroelectric polarization in the polycrystalline films. For instance, a huge saturated polarization PS of 96 μC/cm2 and remnant polarization Pr of 91 μC/cm2 were achieved in Bi0.925Gd0.075Fe0.95Ni0.05O3 film. The results and analysis show that the alteration in the interband electronic structure and the improvement of morphology derived from the ion doping effect indeed play key roles on the improved ferroelectric property of the doped BFO films. The decreased leakage current density and thereby the enhanced ferroelectric polarization in the doped BFO films should be attributed to the decrease in both Fermi level and Urbach energy closely related with the defects, as well as the improved surface uniformity and compactness of the films. Finally, the mechanism and relationship of structure and physical properties in BFO were systemically analyzed and discussed.The ferroelectric polarization for pure and doped BiFeO3 films [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical up-conversion materials of NaYF:Yb,Er microcrystals were synthesized by a hydrothermal route using different surfactants (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and citric acid (CA)) as chelating agents. The results and analysis reveal that surfactant as a shape modifier introduced into the reaction system plays an important role in altering the crystalline structures, morphologies, and up-conversion luminescence properties of target crystals. A possible growth mechanism for NaYF:Yb,Er microcrystals to confirm the influence of surfactant on morphology and size was proposed on the basis of the growth rate of different crystal facets and the difference in the type of organic ligand. The luminescence mechanisms for NaYF:Yb,Er microcrystals as well as the correlation between the grain size, defects, morphologies and up-conversion luminescence were thoroughly analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuZnSnS (CZTS) hierarchical microstructures were synthesized by using a facile and nontoxic hydrothermal route, which were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Raman spectra, and UV-Vis absorption spectra. The results and analysis show that surfactants used in the hydrothermal process have significant effect on the phase structures, morphologies, and photocatalytic activities of CZTS powders. Especially, the well-crystallized and pure kesterite CZTS hierarchical microstructures were synthesized with the addition of high-concentration tartaric acid (TA) in the hydrothermal process. A nucleation-dissolution-recrystallization mechanism was discussed, and the photocatalytic activities of CZTS hierarchical microstructures for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) were also evaluated. We argue that the crystalline structure and particle morphology have played key roles on the photocatalytic properties of CZTS crystals. A considerably high photocatalytic efficiency of 51.66% after 4 h irradiation was obtained in pure kesterite CZTS hierarchical microstructures, which suggests that CZTS would be a promising candidate of photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]