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Objective To explore the impact of the sialic acid binding lectin-E (Siglec-E) on the inhibitory properties of parthenolide(PTL) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced M1 polarization of microglia(BV2). Methods ① Single cell sequencing data of Siglece related mouse brain tissue was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and divided into the WT group (n=3) and the Siglece-/- group (n=4). The microglia cells were screened, and the enrichment analysis was performed to analyze related differential genes and pathways. BV2 cells were constructed by the shRNA interference technique and were divided into NC-shRNA and Siglece-shRNA to detect the expression level of Siglec-E (Siglece). ② NC-shRNA and Siglece-shRNA cells were respectively divided into the Control group, LPS group, PTL group and PTL+LPS group (n=3). The mRNA levels of markers of M1 polarization in microglia, iNOS, IL-1β and IL-6, were detected by RT-qPCR. Siglecefl/fl and Cx3cr1cre mice were mated to obtain microglia-specific Siglece deletion (Siglecefl/fl×Cx3cr1cre) mice, and LPS-induced neuroinflammation model was established. ③ Nine WT and Siglecefl/fl×Cx3cr1cre male mice were assigned to the Control group, LPS group and PTL+LPS group (n=3). RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence assay and Western blotting were used to verify the knock-out effect and polarization-related pathways, and to investigate the mechanism of Siglec-E affecting PTL inhibition of M1 polarization of microglia. Results Compared with the NC-shRNA group, the expression of Siglec-E in the Siglece-shRNA group was significantly decreased (P < 0.01), indicating that the Siglec-E knock-down cell model was successfully established. With the stimulation of LPS, mRNA levels of iNOS, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly up-regulated compared with the Control group both in shRNA cells and Siglece -shRNA cells (P < 0.01). With the influence of PTL and LPS, the markers of M1 polarization in NC-shRNA cells mentioned before were significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while for Siglice-shRNA cells, there were no significant changes in the markers of M1 polarization. PTL inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK and IκB protein (P < 0.01) and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in BV2 cells, down-regulated Siglec-E, and weakened the inhibitory effect. Compared with mice in the WT group, the expression of Siglec-E in microglia of Siglecefl/fl×Cx3cr1cre mice was decreased significantly (P < 0.01), and the inhibitory effect of PTL on the phosphorylation of NF-κB in microglia of Siglecefl/fl×Cx3cr1cre mice was also decreased. Conclusion The absence of Siglec-E in microglia attenuates the inhibition of M1 polarization by the MAPK/NF-κB pathway targeted by PTL.

Developing artificial intelligence (AI) is a priority on China’s state agenda, yet the constitutive state roles in AI development are understudied. Against the background of the coexistence of authoritarianism and market liberalism in the governance of the Chinese economy, state rescaling is a useful lens to understand how China is developing this new strategic sector. This paper proposes an analytical framework reifying vertical and horizontal scalar relations via the rescaling lens and three state roles (owner, promoter, and supervisor) to explore how government-business relationships are made. More than 100 Chinese AI policy documents have been collected from central, provincial, and city levels for a systematic multi-scalar policy analysis. As a result, this paper captures both downscaling/upscaling within the state hierarchy and statization/destatization between state and non-state actors in China’s AI development. A series of intertwined state rescaling practices manifest themselves in the state roles figuring in three functionalities of government-business relationships (sponsorship, cultivation, and disciplining). It is argued that the state roles are not pre-given modalities in a setting of a specific industry. The restructuring and even revolutionizing effects of AI in the socio-economic systems prompt non-state actors to respond proactively, which shapes the variegated functionalities of government-business relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Regeneration of injuries occurring in the central nervous system is extremely difficult. Studies have shown that the developing cerebellum can be repopulated by a group of Nestin-expressing progenitors (NEPs) after irradiation injury, suggesting that modulating the mobilization of NEPs is beneficial to promoting nerve regeneration. To date, however, effect of exogenous pharmaceutical agonist on NEPs mobilization remains unknown. Parthenolide (PTL), a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from shoots of feverfew. Although it has been shown to possess several pharmacological activities and is considered to have potential therapeutic effects on the regeneration of peripheral nerve injury, its efficacy in promoting central nervous system (CNS) regeneration is unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role and possible mechanism of PTL on regeneration in injured CNS after irradiation using a developing cerebellum model.Methods: We investigated the radioprotective effects of PTL on the developing cerebellum by immunoblotting as well as immunofluorescence staining and ROS detection in vivo and in vitro experiments, and then determined the effects of PTL on NEPs in Nestin CFP and Nestin GFP fluorescent mice. Inducible lineage tracing analysis was used in Nestin-CreERT2×ROSA26-LSL YFP mice to label and track the fate of NEPs in the cerebellum after irradiation. Combined with cell biology and molecular biology techniques to determine changes in various cellular components in the cerebellum and possible mechanisms of PTL on NEPs mobilization in the injured developing cerebellum.Results: We found that PTL could attenuate radiation-induced acute injury of granule neuron progenitors (GNPs) in irradiated cerebellar external granule layer (EGL) by alleviating apoptosis through regulation of the cells’ redox state. Moreover, PTL increased cerebellar Shh production and secretion by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway, thus promoting expansion of NEPs, which is the compensatory replenishment of granule neurons after radiation damage.Conclusion: Collectively, our results indicate that activation and expansion of NEPs are critical for regeneration of the injured cerebellum, and that PTL is a promising drug candidate to influence this process.

Light hydrocarbon separation is a crucial process associated with high energy expenditure in the petrochemical industry. The utilization of porous organic materials as solid porous adsorbents for light hydrocarbon separation has found widespread attention because of the advantages of low cost, excellent stability, and good recyclability. Here, we present the facile synthesis of a porous organic material, constructed from pyridine-triphenylborane by using a Friedel-Crafts alkylation coupling reaction, affording the hyper-cross-linked polymer, HCP-B. HCP-B features significant thermal stability, and high surface area. Gas adsorption experiments show that this material adsorbs much larger amounts of ethane, ethylene, and acetylene than that of methane. Ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) calculations also predict that HCP-B selectively adsorbs ethane, ethylene, and acetylene over methane. Both are indicative of the great potential of HCP-B in light hydrocarbon separation. KEYWORDS adsorption, light hydrocarbon, porous organic material, separation, 1 | INTRODUCTION Gas separation plays an increasingly important role in the industrial separation and purification filed. For petrochemical industry, light hydrocarbon separation is essential, and offers a variety of [...]

To offer a fresh angle on the state capacity to advance decarbonization, this article brings into dialog political economies of scale and the Mannian notion of state infrastructural power, animating this conceptual cross-fertilization with an analysis of China's evolving policy framework for decarbonization. This article begins with building the conceptual construct of scalar practice as a source of state infrastructural power and categorizing three key scalar practices, namely, interscalar rearranging, interregional reshuffling, and urban‒rural scalar mixing. Building upon this, the article critically evaluates China's policy framework and state actions against the notion of infrastructural power: the Chinese state applies noncoercive means to elicit support, extract resources, and coordinate actions while transitioning to decarbonization-driven accumulation regimes, and these noncoercive means are mobilized together with coercive means through the art of scalar structuration that (re)defines central–local, urban‒rural, and interregional relations. Overall, this study elucidates how state-orchestrated processes of (re)territorialization for the decarbonization agenda give rise to the expansion of the state's autonomous power in relation to civil society, albeit in a manner that manifests contested power struggle and conflicting internal logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the strategic coupling between regions and global lead firms has largely assumed that the regional assets for coupling are ready made and are largely unchanging throughout the coupling process. This article takes this assumption as its critical point of departure and presents a new framework that considers how regional assets are actively (re)configured across multiple scales in ways that could redefine the prevailing mode of strategic coupling. The empirical basis of this framework is derived from a long-term case study on the formation and evolution of Sino-German production networks in environmental goods and services (EGS) in Jieyang, a relatively peripheral city in Guangdong province in China. The analysis draws from thirty-three interviews and seven focus group discussions, conducted between 2014 and 2020, with nonstate and state actors in Jieyang. Findings highlight how Zhongde, a coalition of Jieyang-based firms, transcended the limitations of structural coupling, which exemplifies uneven power relations between regions and lead firms, and attained more balanced coupling relations with German-led EGS global production networks (GPNs) through realigning interests with those of national-level institutions. Responding positively to the structural constraints and opportunities within a Chinese state structure based on experimental governance, Zhongde connected German EGS lead firms to the highly profitable but protected EGS market in China. This ability to jump between scales underscores the cross-scalar and dynamic aspects of strategic coupling: Zhongde was able to meet German-led EGS GPNs' demand for market access and enhanced localization economies through reconfiguring regional assets. Abstracting from these findings, the article enhances the explanation of the evolution of strategic coupling by conceptualizing its intrinsic dynamism and incorporating state structural effects. Finally, it presents two directions for further research on GPN reconfigurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]