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The mechanical parameters of Cerasus humilis are the basic data for subsequent studies on fruit deformation, damage, and movement characteristics during harvesting and transportation, but these parameters are rarely reported. Relevant mechanical parameters of whole fruit compression are calculated by comparing physical tests and virtual simulations. The orthogonal rotating combined experimental design was used to arrange the simulation tests, with the elastic modulus (E), yield limit (Ey), and tangent modulus (Et) as the influence factors and compression force as the result. Response surface optimization was employed to find the closest test point to the force-deformation curve of the physical test. The parameters of the pulp test point are as follows: E = 0.923 MPa, Ey = 0.0897 MPa, and Et = 0.478 MPa. Results show that the step on the force-deformation curve was not the beginning of the pulp yield, which was substantially earlier than the strain rate at the simulation step. The region of increased stress in the pulp first appeared at the junction with the core due to stress concentration. Combining virtual and physical tests to solve the mechanical parameters of fruits is more suitable than testing the standard pulp sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sunken solar greenhouse is the original type of greenhouse in China, its soil wall thermal storage performance is better and low cost. Higher benefits of stereoscopic planting in sunken solar greenhouses, while repeated use of the substrate can produce pathogens, so high-temperature smothering is used for sterilization in the summer months of June to August. To investigate the mechanism of indoor temperature and humidity variation and fungicidal effect in a sunken solar greenhouse, a single cross-sectional test of temperature and humidity in sunken solar greenhouse during the smothering period was conducted using wireless sensors. The results showed that: The maximum value of indoor temperature at noon was 69.5°C the temperature value of all measurement points was greater than 50°C for 3h, when removing the measurement points at the upper surface of the ground, the relative humidity value of other measurement points was less than 60% for 5h. During the daytime period, when the indoor temperature is greater than 28°C in the interval 7:00-12:00, the initial relative humidity value of each measurement point is located at 70%-85%; when the weighted temperature of each measurement point starts to rise at a rate of 1.1°C/10min, the weighted humidity of each measurement point declining is 1.3%/10min; the determination of the rate of change of indoor temperature and humidity during the daytime and the starting value can provide a basis for indoor plants to take measures to sterilize at high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mammalian target of rapamycin (MTOR) is a protein kinase that plays a central role in cell growth and proliferation. It is a part of the signaling network transmitting growth factor signaling to translational control. Previous studies have shown that MTOR is involved in embryo implantation, but its expression in the uterus and its role in implantation are unclear. Here, we have investigated the expression and role of MTOR in mouse uterus during early pregnancy. RT-FQ PCR showed that the mRNA levels of Mtor in endometria of pregnant mice were higher than those of nonpregnant mice. The mRNA levels in the pregnant mice gradually increased from D3 of pregnancy, reached maximum on D5, and then declined afterward. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis showed that the mRNA and protein of MTOR were mainly located in stromal cells. The levels of the expressed MTOR protein correlate with those of mRNA. The number of implantation sites was greatly decreased by the intrauterine injection with rapamycin in the early morning of D4 of the pregnancy. These findings suggest that MTOR may play an important role in embryo implantation in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The relationship between the oral microbiota and type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the variations in the oral microbiome in T1D and identify potentially associated bacterial factors. Methods: We performed high-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 area of the 16S rRNA gene to profile the oral bacterial composition of 47 healthy children (CON group), 46 children with new-onset T1D in the acute phase (NT1D group), and 10 children with T1D in the chronic phase receiving insulin treatment (CT1D group). Multivariate statistical analysis of sequencing data was performed. Results: Compared to the CON group, the NT1D group was characterized by decreased diversity and increased abundance of genera harboring opportunistic pathogens, while this trend was partially reversed in the CT1D group. Differential genera between groups could distinguish the NT1D group from the CON group (AUC = 0.933) and CT1D group (AUC = 0.846), respectively. Moreover, T1D-enriched genera were closely correlated with HbA1c, FBG and WBCs levels. Conclusion: Our results showed that the acute phase of T1D was characterized by oral microbiota dysbiosis, which could be partially ameliorated via glycemic control. The possible role of oral microbiota dysbiosis on oral health and systemic metabolic status in T1D warrants further mechanistic investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embryo implantation is essential for normal pregnancy. Decidualization is known to facilitate embryo implantation and maintain pregnancy. Uterine stromal cells undergo transformation into decidual cells after embryo attachment to the endometrium. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is a rate limiting enzyme in the glycolysis process which catalyzes phosphoenolpyruvic acid into pyruvate. However, little is known regarding the role of PKM2 during endometrial decidualization. In this study, PKM2 was found to be mainly located in the uterine glandular epithelium and luminal epithelium on day 1 and day 4 of pregnancy and strongly expressed in the decidual zone after embryo implantation. PKM2 was dramatically increased with the onset of decidualization. Upon further exploration, PKM2 was found to be more highly expressed at the implantation sites than at the inter-implantation sites on days 5 to 7 of pregnancy. PKM2 expression was also significantly increased after artificial decidualization both in vivo and in vitro. After PKM2 expression was knocked down by siRNA, the number of embryo implantation sites in mice on day 7 of pregnancy was significantly reduced, a nd the decidualization markers BMP2 and Hoxa10 were also obviously downregulated in vivo and in vitro. Downregulated PKM2 could also compromise cell proliferation in primary endometrial stromal cells and in Ishikawa cells. The migration rate of Ishikawa cells was also obviously suppressed by si-PKM2 according to the wound healing assay. In conclusion, PKM2 might play an important role in decidualization during early pregnancy, and cell proliferation might be one pathway for PKM2 regulated decidualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on the role of insulin has focused on metabolism. This study investigated the effect of insulin on angiogenesis in endometria l decidualization. High insulin-treated mouse model was constructed by subcutaneous injection of insulin. Venous blood glucose, serum insulin, P4, E2, FSH and LH levels in the pregnant mice were detected by ELISA. Decidual markers, angiogenesis factors and decidual vascular network were detected during decidualization in the pr egnant mouse model and an artificially induced decidualization mouse model. Tube fo rmation ability and angiogenesis factors expression were also detected in high insulin-treated HUVECS cells. To confirm whether autophagy participates in hyperinsulin emia-impaired decidual angiogenesis, autophagy was detected in vivo and in vitro. During decidualization, in the condition of high insulin, serum insulin and blood glucose were significantly higher, while ovarian steroid hormones were also disordered (P < 0.05), decidual markers BMP2 and PRL were significantly lower (P < 0.05). Uterine CD34 staining showed that the size of the vascular sinus was significantly smaller than that in con trol. Endometrial VEGFA was significantly decreased after treatment with high insulin in vivo and in vitro (P < 0.05), whereas ANG-1 and TIE2 expression was significantly increased (P < 0.05). In addition, aberrant expression of autophagy markers revealed that autophagy participates in endometrial angiogenesis during decidualization (P < 0.05). After treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA in HUVEC, the originally damaged cell tube formation ability and VEGFA expression were repaired. This study suggests that en dometrial angiogenesis during decidualization was impaired by hyperinsulinemia in earl y pregnant mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 15-mer catalytic core of 10-23 DNAzyme, each residue contributes to the catalytic conformation differently. Here, the critically conserved T4 and the least conserved T8 were modified on their 5-position with hydroxyl, imidazolyl, and amino groups with a hydrogen-bonding ability. These external functional groups induced new interactions within the catalytic core, resulting in both negative and positive effects on the catalytic activity of 10-23 DNAzyme, and the different linkages could be used to modulate the effect of the functional groups. The conservation of T4 and T8 could be recognized at the level of the nucleobase, but at the level of the functional group, T4 is not completely conserved. Their 5-methyl groups could be modified for a better performance in terms of the DNAzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleoside analogues with imidazolyl and histidinyl groups were synthesized for site-specific modification on the catalytic core of 10-23 DNAzyme. The distinct position-dependent effect of imidazolyl group was observed. Positive effect at A9 position was always observed. The pH- and Mg2+-dependence of the imidazolyl-modified DNAzymes suggested that imidazolyl group in 10-23 DNAzyme probably plays a dual role, its hydrogen bonding ability and spacial occupation play the favorable influence on the catalytic conformation of the modified DNAzymes. This research demonstrated that the catalytic performance of DNAzymes could be enhanced by incorporation of additional functional groups. Chemical modification is a feasible approach toward more efficient DNAzymes for therapeutic and biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primordial follicle pool established in early life determines the ovarian reserve in the female reproductive lifespan. Premature exhaustion of primordial follicles contributes to primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), that is dependent by the initial size of the primordial follicle pool and by the rate of its activation and depletion. AAI, a powerful nephrotoxin with carcinogenic potential, is present in the Aristolochiaceae species, which can release AAI into soil as a persistent pollutant. In order to assess the potential risk of Aristolochic Acid I (AAI) exposure on mammalian oogenesis, we uncovered its adverse effect on primordial folliculogenesis in the neonatal mouse ovary and its effect on female fertility in adulthood. Pregnant mice were orally administrated with doses of AAI without hepatic or renal toxicity during late-gestation. Ovaries from offspring of administered female displayed gross aberrations during primordial folliculogenesis. Also, unenclosed oocytes in germ-cell cysts showed increased DNA damage. Furthermore, several key factors, including NANOS3, SOX9, KLF4, that govern early gonad's differentiation were abnormally expressed in the exposed ovary, while the follicle formation was partially restored by knockdown of Nanos3 or sox9. In adulthood, these aberrations evolved into a significant reduction in offspring number and impaired ovarian reserve. Together, our results show that AAI influences primordial folliculogenesis and, importantly, affected female fertility. This study shows that administration of drugs herbs or consumption of vegetables that contain AAs during pregnancy may adversely influence the fertility of offspring., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)