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To address the prevailing problems of high water and fertilizer input and low productivity in Isatis tinctoria L. production in the Hexi Corridor in China, the effects of different irrigation amounts and nitrogen application rates on growth characteristics, photosynthetic physiology, root yield, and quality of I. tinctoria plants were studied with the aim of obtaining the optimal irrigation level and nitrogen application rate. From 2021 to 2023, we established a two-factor split-plot experiment in the oasis irrigation area with three irrigation amounts (sufficient water, medium water, and low water are 100%, 85%, and 70% of the typical local irrigation quota) for the main zone; three nitrogen application rates (low nitrogen, 150 kg ha−1, medium nitrogen, 200 kg ha−1, and high nitrogen, 250 kg ha−1) for the secondary zone; and three irrigation amounts without nitrogen as the control to explore the response of these different water and nitrogen management patterns for I. tinctoria in terms of growth characteristics, photosynthetic physiology, root yield, and quality. The results showed the following: (1) When the irrigation amount was increased from 75% to 100% of the local typical irrigation quota and the nitrogen application rate was increased from 150 to 250 kg ha−1, while the plant’s height, leaf area index, dry matter accumulation in the stem, leaf, and root, as well as the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), the stomatal conductance (Gs), and the transpiration rate (Tr) of I. tinctoria increased gradually, and the root–shoot ratio decreased. (2) When the irrigation amount increased from 75% to 100% of the local typical irrigation quota, the yield and net proceeds of I. tinctoria increased from 43.12% to 53.43% and 55.07% to 71.61%, respectively. However, when the irrigation quota was 100% of the local typical irrigation quota, and the nitrogen application rate increased from 150 to 200 kg ha−1, the yield of I. tinctoria increased from 21.58% to 23.69%, whereas the increase in nitrogen application rate from 200 to 250 kg ha−1 resulted in a decrease in the yield of I. tinctoria from 10.66% to 18.92%. During the 3-year experiment, the maximum yield of I. tinctoria appeared when treated with sufficient water and medium nitrogen, reaching 9054.68, 8066.79, and 8806.15 kg ha−1, respectively. (3) The effect of different water and nitrogen combination treatments on the root quality of I. tinctoria was significant. Under the same irrigation level, increasing the nitrogen application rate from 150 to 250 kg ha−1 could increase the contents of indigo, indirubin, (R,S)–goitrin, total nucleoside, uridine, and adenosine in the root of I. tinctoria from 3.94% to 9.59%, 1.74% to 12.58%, 5.45% to 18.35%, 5.61% to 11.59%, 7.34% to 11.32%, and 14.98% to 54.40%, respectively, while the root quality of I. tinctoria showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing under the same nitrogen application level. (4) AHP, the entropy weight method, and the TOPSIS method were used for a comprehensive evaluation of multiple indexes of water–nitrogen coupling planting patterns for I. tinctoria, which resulted in the optimal evaluation of the W3N2 combination. Therefore, the irrigation level was 100% of the local typical irrigation quota, the nitrogen application rate should be appropriately reduced, and controlling the nitrogen application rate at the level of 190.30–218.27 kg ha−1 can improve water–nitrogen productivity yields for I. tinctoria and root quality. The results of this study can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for a more reasonable water and fertilizer management model for the I. tinctoria production industry in the Hexi Corridor in China.

miR-125b is frequently dysregulated in different diseases. Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a critical event during liver fibrogenesis. However, the function and its underlying mechanism of miR-125b in HSC activation and liver fibrosis are still unknown. Here, we showed that miR-125b was upregulated in HSCs, but not in hepatocytes, during hepatic fibrogenesis in vivo and upon culture activation in vitro. Inhibition of miR-125b suppressed the expression of profibrogenic genes in culture-activated primary HSCs and reduced the basal and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)-induced alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and cell contraction of the immortalized HSC cell line. In contrast, ectopic expression of miR-125b promoted α-SMA expression and HSC contraction. Moreover, antagonizing miR-125b in vivo significantly alleviated liver fibrosis in CCl4-treated mice. Mechanistically, overexpression of miR-125b in HSCs enhanced RhoA activity by directly targeting StAR-related lipid transfer (START) domain containing 13 (Stard13), a RhoA-specific GTPase-activating protein, whereas knockdown of miR-125b abrogated RhoA activation. Furthermore, inhibition of RhoA or its downstream molecules, Mrtf-A and Srf, attenuated the miR-125b-induced α-SMA expression and HSC contraction. Therefore, our findings identify a miR-125b-Stard13-RhoA-α-SMA signaling cascade in HSCs and highlight its importance in hepatic fibrosis. Keywords: noncoding RNA, microRNA-125b, Stard13, RhoA signaling, hepatic stellate cell, liver fibrosis

The development of transition metal electrocatalysts to replace precious metal electrocatalysts is essential for the development of sustainable water splitting technology for the mass production of clean hydrogen. FeCoNiS/NVG (N-doped vertically oriented graphene) is fabricated via single-step electrodeposition. Benefiting from the vertical structure of FeCoNiS/NVG and intrinsic catalytic activity of FeCoNiS, FeCoNiS/NVG displays excellent catalytic activities toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with overpotentials of 126 and 347 mV at 10 mA cm-2, respectively. The overpotentials of FeCoNiS/NVG are similar to those of commercial Pt/C (100 mV) and IrO2 (329 mV). The Faraday efficiency of FeCoNiS/NVG for overall water splitting is about 95%. FeCoNiS/NVG also exhibits long-term stability for HER and OER. This work demonstrates the great potential of iron-group metal sulfides for overall water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FeCoxNiyB nanoparticles with tuned cationic ratio integrated on Vertically Aligned Boron-doped Graphene Array (FeCoxNiyB@B-VG) electrocatalysts towards water splitting are successfully prepared by electroless plating. For a specific composition, FeCo66.7Ni33.3B@B-VG electrocatalyst exhibits the highest electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction, with low overpotentials of 125 and 157 mV at ?10 and small Tafel slopes of 52 and 47 mV dec-1 in 1.0 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, respectively. FeCo66.7Ni33.3B@B-VG electrocatalyst displays remarkable catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction by showing low overpotentials of 200 and 569 mV at ?10 and small Tafel slopes of 34 and 225 mV dec-1 in 1.0 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, respectively. The result of stability test exhibits that FeCo66.7Ni33.3B@B-VG electrocatalyst has long-term stability for at least 10 h towards water splitting in a wide pH range. And the faraday efficiency of FeCo66.7Ni33.3B@B-VG towards water splitting is around 90%. This study helps to explore the effect of variable cationic ratio in the fabrication of non-noble electrocatalyst to achieve enhanced electrocatalytic activity for water splitting in a wide pH range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we evaluate whether cold-pressed flaxseed oil (CFO), vitamin E-enriched hot pressed and totally refined flaxseed oils (HRFOs) characterized by different qualities of micronutrients have beneficial effects on lipid profile and antioxidant status in high-fat fed rats. Male Wistar rats were fed synthetic diets containing 10% of HRFO, CFO, low-dose (100 mg/100 g oil) vitamin E-enriched HRFO (L-HRFO) or high-dose (200 mg/100 g oil) vitamin E-enriched HRFO (H-HRFO), respectively for 4 wk. The results showed that plasma triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in CFO group decreased by 12, 21, and 18% compared with HRFO group ( p < 0.05), the total hepatic lipids, TC and TG levels in CFO group were also lower significantly than those in HRFO group, but no significant differences were observed in plasma and hepatic lipid profiles among HRFO, L-HRFO, and H-HRFO groups. T-AOC levels significantly increased by 11, 12, and 22% in CFO, L-HRFO and H-HRFO groups compared with HRFO group, which was negatively correlated with the MDA levels and similar changes were observed for GSH and vitamin E levels in plasma. The CFO had a significantly higher cholesterol secretion than HRFO, L-HRFO, and H-HRFO. These results indicated that CFO had a more beneficial effect on improving lipid status and preventing oxidative stress than HRFO, and vitamin E-enriched HRFO decreased the lipid peroxidation concentration though there was no significant effect on lipid profiles. Practical applications: The cold-pressed and vitamin E-enriched HRFOs characterized by different qualities of micronutrients reduced the risk factors of cardiovascular disease. This could provide a theoretical basis for the development of high value-added functional food ingredients based on flaxseed oil or α-linolenic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prominent phenotype of IRF8 knockout (KO) mice is the uncontrolled expansion of immature myeloid cells. The molecular mechanism underlying this myeloproliferative syndrome is still elusive. In this study, we observed that Bax expression level is low in bone marrow preginitor cells and increases dramatically in primary myeloid cells in wt mice. In contrast, Bax expression level remained at a low level in primarymyeloid cells in IRF8 KO mice. However, in vitro IRF8 KO bone marrow-differentiated myeloid cells expressed Bax at a level as high as that in wild type myeloid cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that IRF8 specifically binds to the Bax promoter region in primary myeloid cells. Functional analysis indicated that IRF8 deficiency results in increased resistance of the primary myeloid cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis. Our findings show that IRF8 directly regulates Bax transcription in vivo, but not in vitro during myeloid cell lineage differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the biological significance of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) G34A and C421A polymorphisms is largely unknown. Analysis of these two polymorphisms in 156 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients and 376 control subjects revealed an increased risk of DLBCL associated with variant BCRP 421 genotypes (CA and AA), when compared with the wild-type CC genotype [odds ratio = 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–2.17, P = 0.042]. Moreover, the increased risk was more evident in younger patients (≤50 years, odds ratio = 2.14, 95% CI 1.25–3.68, P = 0.006). Further evaluation for the association of these polymorphisms with overall survival of DLBCL showed that patients with 34AA alleles displayed worse survival compared with those carrying GG/GA genotypes [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.69, 95% CI 1.56–8.71, P = 0.001]. Significant association between 421CC genotypes and poorer survival of DLBCL was observed in patients younger at diagnosis (≤50 years, HR = 5.80, 95% CI 1.16–28.90, P = 0.015) or with bulky tumor (HR = 4.36, 95% CI 1.04–18.31, P = 0.027). Furthermore, we found the combined effects of BCRP G34A and C421A on the overall survival. Compared with patients carrying BCRP 34(GG + GA)421(AA + CA) genotype, the individual with 34AA421CC displayed the worst survival (HR = 7.55, 95% CI 2.36–24.17, P = 0.001), while those with 34(GG + GA)421CC and 34AA421(AA + CA) combinations showed the intermediate survival. These results suggest that the BCRP G34A and C421A polymorphisms are associated with the risk and survival of DLBCL. Our finding warrants further investigations on the association of BCRP polymorphisms with susceptibility and clinical outcome of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

GRN has been shown to have roles in multiple processes involved in cell growth, development and wound repair in rodents and humans. We have isolated the full-length cDNA of GRN gene encoding porcine granulin protein by in silico cloning, RT-PCR and RACE. The deduced amino acid indicated 71.5% identity with the corresponding human sequence and the seven and one-half granulins showed highly conservative between pig, human and murine. A single nucleotide substitution resulting in the amino acid change (ATG/Met → TTG/Leu) was detected within exon 5. Allele frequencies in six pig breeds showed distinctive differences between those Chinese indigenous pig breeds and European pigs. Using the IMpRH panel, we mapped the porcine GRN gene to porcine chromosome 12p11-p13. Our data provide basic molecular information useful for the further investigation on the function of GRN gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]