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Abstract Septic cardiomyopathy is one of the most severe and common complications in patients with sepsis and poses a great threat to their prognosis. However, the potential mechanisms and effective therapeutic drugs need to be explored. The control of cardiac cell death by miRNAs has emerged as a prominent area of scientific interest in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disorders in recent times. In the present investigation, we discovered that overexpression of miR-31-5p prevented LPS-induced damage to H9C2 cells and that miR-31-5p could inhibit BAP1 production by binding to its 3’-UTR. BRCA1-Associated Protein 1 (BAP1) is a ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase. BAP1 upregulation blocked effect of miR-31-5p on H9C2 cell injury. Moreover, BAP1 inhibited the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) by deubiquitinating histone 2 A (H2Aub) on the promoter of SLC7A11. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-31-5p and downregulation of BAP1 inhibited SLC7A11 mediated ferroptosis. In addition, the downregulation of SLC7A11 reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-31-5p on the expression of myocardial injury and inflammatory factors, and cell apoptosis was reversed. In conclusion, these results indicate that miR-31-5p alleviates malignant development of LPS-induced H9C2 cell injury by targeting BAP1 and regulating SLC7A11 deubiquitination-mediated ferroptosis, which confirmed the protective effect of miR-31-5p on H9C2 cell injury and revealed potential mechanisms that may provide new targets for treatment of septic cardiomyopathy.

Abstract Mitochondria are important for the activation of endothelial cells and the process of angiogenesis. NDUFS8 (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit S8) is a protein that plays a critical role in the function of mitochondrial Complex I. We aimed to investigate the potential involvement of NDUFS8 in angiogenesis. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and other endothelial cell types, we employed viral shRNA to silence NDUFS8 or employed the CRISPR/Cas9 method to knockout (KO) it, resulting in impaired mitochondrial functions in the endothelial cells, causing reduction in mitochondrial oxygen consumption and Complex I activity, decreased ATP production, mitochondrial depolarization, increased oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and enhanced lipid oxidation. Significantly, NDUFS8 silencing or KO hindered cell proliferation, migration, and capillary tube formation in cultured endothelial cells. In addition, there was a moderate increase in apoptosis within NDUFS8-depleted endothelial cells. Conversely, ectopic overexpression of NDUFS8 demonstrated a pro-angiogenic impact, enhancing cell proliferation, migration, and capillary tube formation in HUVECs and other endothelial cells. NDUFS8 is pivotal for Akt-mTOR cascade activation in endothelial cells. Depleting NDUFS8 inhibited Akt-mTOR activation, reversible with exogenous ATP in HUVECs. Conversely, NDUFS8 overexpression boosted Akt-mTOR activation. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of NDUFS8 knockdown on cell proliferation, migration, and capillary tube formation were rescued by Akt re-activation via a constitutively-active Akt1. In vivo experiments using an endothelial-specific NDUFS8 shRNA adeno-associated virus (AAV), administered via intravitreous injection, revealed that endothelial knockdown of NDUFS8 inhibited retinal angiogenesis. ATP reduction, oxidative stress, and enhanced lipid oxidation were detected in mouse retinal tissues with endothelial knockdown of NDUFS8. Lastly, we observed an increase in NDUFS8 expression in retinal proliferative membrane tissues obtained from human patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Our findings underscore the essential role of the mitochondrial protein NDUFS8 in regulating endothelial cell activation and angiogenesis.

【Objective】High-quality flue-cured tobacco varieties are important guarantees for showcasing the quality characteristics of tobacco producing areas. Exploring the differences in nitrogen metabolism and carotenoid metabolism characteristics between high-quality flue-cured tobacco varieties and conventional main varieties during the field growth period in Jiangxi tobacco region, and analyzing the common physiological metabolism characteristics of high-quality flue-cured tobacco varieties can provide theoretical and technical support for in-depth exploration of variety characteristics and optimization of variety matching cultivation techniques.【Method】The Minyan 312, Minyan 12 with good sensory quality and the conventional variety of Yunyan 87 (CK) were used as materials. The changes in the contents of related substances and gene expression levels in middle leaves of different varieties during key growth periods were analyzed.【Result】In terms of carotenoid metabolism, the contents of lutein and β-carotene in Minyan 312 and Minyan 12 were 3.27-6.14 mg/g and 0.67-1.59 mg/g respectively during the budding stage to foot leaf mature period, which were significantly lower than those in Yunyan 87. However, the contents of lutein in the middle leaf maturity of the two varieties were 2.31 mg/g and 2.58 mg/g, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in Yunyan 87 (0.17 mg/g and 0.44 mg/g). The peak expression of carotenoid synthesis-related genes mainly occurred in the vigorous growing period to budding stage. The relative expression of PSY and other carotenoid synthesis-related genes in Minyan 312 and Minyan 12 were higher than those in Yunyan 87 before the maturity of waist leaf, with a maximum difference of 2.53. In terms of nitrogen metabolism, the total nitrogen content (1.58%-3.36%) and protein content (7.14%-14.81%) in Minyan 312 and Minyan 12 were significantly lower than those in Yunyan 87 during the budding stage to foot leaf mature period. The expression levels of NR, NIR1 and GS1-5 genes in Minyan 312 and Minyan 12 were higher than those in Yunyan 87 during the vigorous growing period to foot leaf mature period, while the expression levels of GS1-5 genes were lower during the waist leaf mature period. In terms of correlation analysis, there was a significant or extremely significant positive correlation between NIRI, GS1-5, PSY, CRTISO and other genes, lutein and β-carotene.【Conclusion】There was a significant correlation between nitrogen metabolism and carotenoid metabolism. Compared with Yunyan 87, the middle leaves of high-quality flue-cured tobaccos Minyan 312 and Minyan 12 exhibited stronger activity of carotenoid synthesis related genes before maturity and higher lutein content during maturity in terms of carotenoid metabolism. In addition, the Minyan 312 and Minyan 12 had higher nitrogen absorption and assimilation ability before maturity, and had lower nitrogen utilization ability at maturity in terms of nitrogen metabolism.

Resumo Fundamento: O antibiótico quimioterápico antraciclina doxorrubicina (DOX) pode induzir cardiotoxicidade cumulativa e levar à disfunção cardíaca. RNAs não codificantes longos (lncRNAs) podem funcionar como importantes reguladores na lesão miocárdica induzida por DOX. Objetivo: Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar o papel funcional e o mecanismo molecular do RNA antisense lncRNA OXCT1 1 (OXCT1-AS1) na lesão celular miocárdica induzida por DOX in vitro. Métodos: Cardiomiócitos humanos (AC16) foram estimulados com DOX para induzir um modelo de lesão celular miocárdica. A expressão de OXCT1-AS1, miR-874-3p e BDH1 em células AC16 foi determinada por RT-qPCR. A viabilidade das células AC16 foi medida pelo ensaio XTT. A citometria de fluxo foi empregada para avaliar a apoptose de células AC16. Western blotting foi utilizado para avaliar os níveis proteicos de marcadores relacionados à apoptose. O ensaio repórter de luciferase dupla foi conduzido para verificar a capacidade de ligação entre miR-874-3p e OXCT1-AS1 e entre miR-874-3p e BDH1. O valor de p

The Spin-Exchange Relaxation-Free (SERF) atomic magnetometers play an increasingly significant roles in cardiac and brain magnetometry fields, etc. For the SERF atomic magnetometer, the evolution and interaction with the magnetic field of atomic spins can be described by the Bloch equation. However, the traditional Bloch equation does not take into account the transport phenomena caused by the atomic density gradient within the vapor cell, which makes it unable to accurately reflect the polarization distribution in the vapor cell, thereby reducing the accuracy of magnetic field measurement. To achieve a more accurate representation of the evolution characteristics of the spatial distribution of the atomic ensemble, a diffusion term for the polarization strength is introduced into the Bloch equation. Furthermore, a new unsupervised Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) model with lightweight self-attention (LSA) module is proposed to solve the modified nonlinear equation. The introduction of LSA enhances the adaptive representational capability of PINN, enabling it to more effectively extract global features and consequently obtain more accurate numerical solutions of the Bloch equation. The experimental results show that LSA-PINN achieves a minimum loss value of 3.98×10-2, which is 62 % lower than the traditional PINN. This study provides new insights and methods to address the limitations of traditional Bloch equation and gain a deeper understanding of system behavior.

Hydrogels have emerged as a focal point of research in the biomedical field due to their applications in tissue repair. However, the majority of hydrogels lack the capability to release oxygen, constraining their therapeutic outcomes in environments with hypoxic tissues. In recent years, oxygen‐releasing hydrogels have garnered extensive attention in the field of tissue engineering, owing to their ability to modulate oxygen release and meet the diverse oxygenation requirements of various tissues. These hydrogels can enhance repair efficiency and promote tissue regeneration in hypoxic tissue environments. The design of oxygen‐releasing hydrogels primarily involves the utilization of diverse oxygen sources, such as algae, perfluorocarbons, and peroxides, to achieve optimal tissue oxygenation. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the design and fabrication strategies of oxygen‐releasing hydrogels, discusses deeply into their underlying oxygen‐releasing mechanisms, and their myriad applications in tissue repair along with the prospective challenges.

The vortex-induced vibration (VIV)-based piezoelectric wind energy harvester (PWEH) has a small working bandwidth and poor wind energy harvesting performance. In order to improve the output power of the PWEH and achieve sustainable power supply for microelectronic products, this study proposes a novel wavy cylinder-based PWEH with two wavy attachment rods attached to the surface of the wavy cylinder, the mathematical model of PWEH is developed. The flow-induced vibration (FIV) response mechanism and the energy harvesting characteristics of the wavy cylinder-based PWEH are numerically explored. The wavy cylinder with wavy-shaped attachments produces a three-dimensional shear layer that can increase the wavy cylinder’s aeroelastic instability range and realize the synergistic effects of VIV and galloping, which increases the wave cylinder’s vibrational amplitude and lowers the galloping critical wind speed. Compared with the typical VIV-PWEH, the novel wind energy harvester can work outside the VIV lock-in range, and its output power and voltage rise as wind speed does. The wavy attachment rods with triangular cross section have greater advantages than other rods, its output power is 6.13 mW at a wind speed of 5.7 m/s and load resistance of 100 KΩ, compared with the circular cylinder PWEH, the average power increases by approximately 166%. The study’s findings can theoretically promote the enhancement of PWEH’s energy harvesting efficiency.

Abstract Mechanical pressure overload and other stimuli often contribute to heart hypertrophy, a significant factor in the induction of heart failure. The UDP-glucose ceramide glycosyltransferase (UGCG) enzyme plays a crucial role in the metabolism of sphingolipids through the production of glucosylceramide. However, its role in heart hypertrophy remains unknown. In this study, UGCG was induced in response to pressure overload in vivo and phenylephrine stimulation in vitro. Additionally, UGCG downregulation ameliorated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, improved cardiomyocyte mitochondrial oxidative stress, and reduced the ERK signaling pathway. Conversely, UGCG overexpression in cardiomyocytes promoted heart hypertrophy development, aggravated mitochondrial oxidative stress, and stimulated ERK signaling. Furthermore, the interaction between beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase 5 (B4GalT5), which catalyses the synthesis of lactosylceramide, and UGCG was identified, which also functions as a synergistic molecule of UGCG. Notably, limiting the expression of B4GalT5 impaired the capacity of UGCG to promote myocardial hypertrophy, suggesting that B4GalT5 acts as an intermediary for UGCG. Overall, this study highlights the potential of UGCG as a modulator of heart hypertrophy, rendering it a potential target for combating heart hypertrophy.

AIM: To observe the clinical features of acute macular neuroretinopathy(AMN)induced by Omicron.METHODS: A retrospective study. A total of 9 patients(18 eyes)diagnosed with AMN from December 2022 to January 2023 in the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were included. Patients underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT), fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA), fundus photography, autofluorescence(AF), infrared reflectance(IR), optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)and multicolor, etc. Furthermore, they were followed up for 1～3mo and observed the prognosis.RESULTS: The initial symptom of the Omicron-induced AMN was the sudden onset of central/paracentral scotoma in the eyes with or without impaired vision and metamorphopsia, and the scotoma could persist for at least 3mo. The image features of AMN are as follows. First, the SD-OCT examination showed the rupture of outer retinal layers, scattered hyperreflective lesions, and atrophy of outer retinal layers. In severe cases, hyperreflective lesions were seen in the inner nuclear layer(INL)or with microcystic cavities under the retinal pigment epithelium(RPE). Second, the OCTA examination demonstrated the decreased blood flow density of the deep capillary plexus(DCP)of the macula. Third, the IR examination showed the weak reflection of lesion areas. Fourth, the fundus photography demonstrated the localized brown wedge-shaped lesion.CONCLUSIONS: The Omicron-induced AMN is mostly found in young females, and the characteristic manifestation of fundus is damage to the outer retinal layers. The extent of fundus lesions is related to the systemic inflammatory response and ocular microcirculatory changes after infection. The multimodal fundus image examination and a history of Omicron infection are helpful to diagnose the Omicron-induced AMN.

Straw and biochar, two commonly used soil amendments, have been shown to enhance soil fertility and the composition of microbial communities. To compare the effects of straw and biochar on soil fertility, particularly focusing on soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) components, and the physiochemical properties of soil and microbial communities, a combination of high-throughput sequencing and three-dimensional fluorescence mapping technology was employed. In our study, we set up four treatments, i.e., without biochar and straw (B0S0); biochar only (B1S0); straw returning only (B0S1); and biochar and straw (B1S1). Our results demonstrate that soil organic matter (SOM), available nitrogen (AN), and available potassium (AK) were increased by 34.71%, 22.96%, and 61.68%, respectively, under the B1S1 treatment compared to the B0S0 treatment. In addition, microbial carbon (MBC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and particulate organic carbon (POC) were significantly increased with the B1S1 treatment, by 55.13%, 15.59%, and 125.46%, respectively. The results also show an enhancement in microbial diversity, the composition of microbial communities, and the degree of soil humification with the application of biochar and straw. Moreover, by comparing the differences in soil fertility, DOM components, and other indicators under different treatments, the combined treatments of biochar and straw had a more significant positive impact on paddy soil fertility compared to biochar. In conclusion, our study revealed the combination of straw incorporation and biochar application has significant impacts and is considered an effective approach to improving soil fertility.

Abstract Background With its high nutritional value and productivity, Italian ryegrass as a biomass feedstock constantly supplies rumen degradable nitrogen and digestible fiber to ruminants. However, biofuel production is easily reduced during ensiling due to the high-moisture content of Italian ryegrass, leading to economic losses. Lactic acid bacteria inoculants could improve lignocellulosic degradation and fermentation quality and decrease dry matter loss during the bioprocessing of silage. Therefore, this study analyzed the effects of Lactobacillus buchneri TSy1-3 (HE), Lactobacillus rhamnosus BDy3-10 (HO), and the combination of HE and HO (M) on fermentation quality, bacterial community and metabolome in high-moisture Italian ryegrass silage during ensiling. Results The results showed that the pH value was significantly lower in the HO groups than in the other treatments at the end of ensiling, and the dry matter and acetic acid contents were significantly higher in the HO group than in the other inoculated groups. All inoculants decreased the diversity of the bacterial community and significantly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Inoculation with HO significantly improved the concentrations of organic acids, dipeptides, ferulic acid, apigenin, and laricitrin. Compared with Lactobacillus buchneri TSy1-3 (HE), HO significantly upregulated the flavonoid compounds in the flavone and flavonol biosynthesis pathway. Conclusions Overall, these findings suggest that inoculation with HO was beneficial for the development of Italian ryegrass as a biomass feedstock, improving fermentation quality, accelerating changes in bacterial community composition and increasing biofunctional metabolites in high-moisture Italian ryegrass silage.

Straw return utilizes waste resources to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers worldwide. However, information is still lacking on the relative impact of straw return on soil fertility, the nutrient composition of different soil aggregates, and soil microbial communities. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the effects of different management practices on the crop yield, soil fertility, and soil community composition in a 14-year wheat–rice rotation system. The treatments included a control (without fertilizer and straw addition), chemical fertilization (NPK), straw return without fertilizer (S), and straw addition with chemical fertilizer (NPKS). The results showed that NPKS improved the wheat and rice yield by 185.12% and 88.02%, respectively, compared to the CK treatment. Additionally, compared to the CK treatment, the N, P, and K contents of the wheat stem were increased by 39.02%, 125%, and 20.23% under the NPKS treatment. Compared to the CK treatment, SOM, TN, TP, AN, AP, AK, CEC, AFe, AMn, ACu, and AZn were increased by 49.12%, 32.62%, 35.06%, 22.89%, 129.36%, 48.34%, 13.40%, 133.95%, 58.98%, 18.26% and 33.33% under the NPKS treatment, respectively. Moreover, straw addition promoted the creation and stabilization of macro-aggregates in crop soils. The relative abundance of macro-aggregates (0.25–2 mm) increased from 37.49% to 52.97%. Straw addition was associated with a higher proportion of aromatic and carbonyl carbon groups in the soil, which, in turn, promoted the formation of macro-aggregates. Redundancy analysis showed that straw return significantly increased the microbial community diversity. These findings demonstrate that straw addition together with chemical fertilizer could increase the crop yield by improving soil fertility, soil aggregate stability, and the diversity of fungi.

Earthworms are soil macrofauna that control soil ecosystems by strongly influencing soil nematodes, microorganisms, and nutrient cycling, as well as soil environmental factors. We have discovered an earthworm cyclic peptide that disrupts nematode DNA, affecting its lifespan, reproduction, and feeding preferences. To investigate the effects of this peptide on soil, it was added to soil, and changes in soil nematode, bacterial and fungal communities, soil nutrient contents, and basal respiration were measured on days 5 and 21. The results showed that the peptide reduced soil basal respiration on day 5 and soil NO3-N on day 21, decreased soil fungivores nematodes on day 5 and soil nematode abundance on day 21, and increased soil fungal community richness and diversity. It also altered the soil bacterial community structure between day 5 and the soil fungal community structure on days 5 and 21. The peptide regulates the soil environment by influencing the structure of soil bacterial and fungal communities through the soil nematode community, as demonstrated by partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) analyses. Earthworm cyclic peptides mediates tri-trophic interactions between earthworms, nematodes, microbes, and environmental factors, providing new insights into soil biota interactions and feedback in dynamic soil food webs.

Coastal levees play a role in protecting coastal areas from storm surges and high waves, and they provide important input information for inundation damage simulations. However, coastal levee data with uniformity and sufficient accuracy for inundation simulations are not always well developed. Against this background, this study proposed a method to extract coastal levees by inputting high spatial resolution optical satellite image products (RGB images, digital surface models (DSMs), and slope images that can be generated from DSM images), which have high data availability at the locations and times required for simulation, into a deep learning model. The model is based on U-Net, and post-processing for noise removal was introduced to further improve its accuracy. We also proposed a method to calculate levee height using a local maximum filter by giving DSM values to the extracted levee pixels. The validation was conducted in the coastal area of Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan as a test area. The levee mask images for training were manually created by combining these data with satellite images and Google Street View, because the levee GIS data created by the Ibaraki Prefectural Government were incomplete in some parts. First, the deep learning models were compared and evaluated, and it was shown that U-Net was more accurate than Pix2Pix and BBS-Net in identifying levees. Next, three cases of input images were evaluated: (Case 1) RGB image only, (Case 2) RGB and DSM images, and (Case 3) RGB, DSM, and slope images. Case 3 was found to be the most accurate, with an average Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.674. The effectiveness of noise removal post-processing was also demonstrated. In addition, an example of the calculation of levee heights was presented and evaluated for validity. In conclusion, this method was shown to be effective in extracting coastal levees. The evaluation of generalizability and use in actual inundation simulations are future tasks.

Introduction: Lead (Pb) is an environmental toxicant that poses severe health risks to humans and animals, especially renal disorders. Pb-induced nephrotoxicity has been attributed to oxidative stress, in which apoptosis and autophagy are core events. Objectives: Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) acts as a major contributor to counteract oxidative damage, while hyperactivation or depletion of Nrf2 pathway can cause the redox imbalance to induce tissue injury. This study was performed to clarify the function and mechanism of Nrf2 in Pb-triggered kidney injury. Methods and results: First, data showed that Pb exposure activates Nrf2 pathway in primary rat proximal tubular cells. Next, Pb-induced Nrf2 activation was effectively regulated by pharmacological modulation or siRNA-mediated knockdown in vitro and in vivo assays. Notably, Pb-triggered cytotoxicity, renal injury and concomitant apoptosis were improved by Nrf2 downregulation, confirming that Pb-induced persistent Nrf2 activation contributes to nephrotoxicity. Additionally, Pb-triggered autophagy blockage was relieved by Nrf2 downregulation. Mechanistically, we found that Pb-induced persistent Nrf2 activation is attributed to reduced Nrf2 ubiquitination and nuclear-cytoplasmic loss of Keap1 in a p62-dependent manner. Conclusions: In conclusion, these findings highlight the dark side of persistent Nrf2 activation and potential crosstalk among Pb-induced persistent Nrf2 activation, apoptosis and autophagy blockage in Pb-triggered nephrotoxicity.

Here the authors investigate a comprehensive topological phase diagram of bilayer hexagonal acoustic lattice, including ideal quantum spin Hall phase with gapless helical edge states. They realize a broadband topological slow wave.

Temperature rhythm changes in outflows after reservoir construction cause thermal pollution in downstream rivers, which is unfavorable to the ecological health of downstream rivers. Stratified water intake facilities can effectively mitigate the impact of thermal pollution. However, there is a lack of scientific guidance to ensure that stratified water intake facilities are optimized and meet downstream water temperature requirements; therefore, an efficient and accurate method of predicting outflow temperatures is urgently needed. Based on the influence mechanism of the outflow temperature and the maximal information coefficient, a new machine learning model for predicting the outflow temperature of thermally stratified reservoirs is constructed. The vertical water temperature in front of the dam, outflow quantity, stoplog gate height and submergence depth are used as inputs. Based on prototype observation data, the prediction performance of support vector regression (SVR), K-nearest neighbors (KNN) and the multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) methods is compared. The results show that the three machine learning models can predict the outflow temperature very well. Among them, the SVR model using the radial basis function (RBF) as the kernel function displays the best performance; its mean absolute error for the test set is 0.112 °C, the root mean square error is 0.143 °C, and the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient is 0.989. A test of RBF-SVR verifies that it can effectively identify the rules and relationships between the input and output in small-sample training cases and is suitable for solving the nonlinear problem of predicting reservoir outflow temperatures. In addition, RBF-SVR display universal application value. It can not only provide a 1–10 day early warning regarding outflow temperatures but also achieve a good modeling effect for Wudongde Reservoir, which is outside the study area. Overall, the outflow temperatures of thermally stratified reservoirs are efficiently and accurately predicted, and the proposed method provides an effective reference and scientific guidance for adaptive reservoir management.

Abstract. Background:. Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory syndrome induced by several infectious agents. Multiple organs are affected by sepsis, including the liver, which plays an important role in metabolism and immune homeostasis. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) participate in several biological processes, although the role of FGF5 in sepsis is unclear. Methods:. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was administrated to mice to establish a sepsis-induced liver injury. A similar in vitro study was conducted using L-02 hepatocytes. Western blot and immunohistochemistry staining were performed to evaluate the FGF5 expression level in liver tissues and cells. Inflammatory cell infiltrations, cleaved-caspase-3 expressions, reactive oxygen species and levels of inflammatory cytokines were detected by immunofluorescence, dihydroethidium staining, and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, respectively. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis level of cells. In addition, ribonucleic acid (RNA)-sequencing was applied to explore the possible mechanism by which FGF5 exerted effects. Results:. LPS administration caused FGF5 down-regulation in the mouse liver as well as in L-02 hepatocytes. Additionally, with FGF5 overexpression, liver injury and the level of hepatocyte apoptosis were ameliorated. Further, RNA sequencing performed in hepatocytes revealed the phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) pathway as a possible pathway regulated by FGF5. This was supported using an inhibitor of the PI3K/AKT pathway, which abrogated the protective effect of FGF5 in LPS-induced hepatocyte injury. Conclusion:. The anti-apoptotic effect of FGF5 on hepatocytes suffering from LPS has been demonstrated and was dependent on the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

The discharge of low-temperature water from the middle and lower layers of thermally stratified dam reservoirs leads to thermal pollution and adversely affects fish production and reproduction in downstream rivers. Selective water withdrawal using stoplog gates is an effective approach to address this issue. However, comprehensively and effectively evaluating the effects of stratified withdrawal and optimizing the scheduling of stoplog gates to provide better ecological services to downstream habitats pose significant challenges for reservoir managers. In this study, an equivalent elevation method (EEM) was developed based on in situ observation data of water temperature. The EEM calculates the equivalent withdrawal elevation (EWE) in the far dam area corresponding to the discharge-water temperature (DWT), facilitating the evaluation of stoplog-gate effects. EEM was applied to a thermally stratified dam reservoir in southwestern China (Guangzhao reservoir, GZ). The results showed a significant positive correlation (r > 0.7, p < 0.05) between DWT and the vertical-water-temperature structure in the far dam area. The average EWEs for the 5-layer, 4-layer, and 3-layer stoplog gates in GZ were 697.2 m, 690.8 m, and 689.9 m, respectively. Utilizing the EEM findings, a scheduling operation scheme was proposed to improve DWT while reducing the number of stoplog-gate operations, thereby increasing their efficiency and saving the cost of invested labor and time. This method provides a reference for reservoir managers in optimizing stoplog-gate-scheduling strategies to mitigate potential risks to aquatic ecosystems caused by abnormal water temperature.

BackgroundChronic pressure overload triggers pathological cardiac hypertrophy that eventually leads to heart failure. Effective biomarkers and therapeutic targets for heart failure remain to be defined. The aim of this study is to identify key genes associated with pathological cardiac hypertrophy by combining bioinformatics analyses with molecular biology experiments.MethodsComprehensive bioinformatics tools were used to screen genes related to pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by overlapping three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE5500, GSE1621, and GSE36074). Correlation analysis and BioGPS online tool were used to detect the genes of interest. A mouse model of cardiac remodeling induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was established to verify the expression of the interest gene during cardiac remodeling by RT-PCR and western blot. By using RNA interference technology, the effect of transcription elongation factor A3 (Tcea3) silencing on PE-induced hypertrophy of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) was detected. Next, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and the online tool ARCHS4 were used to predict the possible signaling pathways, and the fatty acid oxidation relevant pathways were enriched and then verified in NRVMs. Furthermore, the changes of long-chain fatty acid respiration in NRVMs were detected using the Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer. Finally, MitoSOX staining was used to detect the effect of Tcea3 on mitochondrial oxidative stress, and the contents of NADP(H) and GSH/GSSG were detected by relevant kits.ResultsA total of 95 DEGs were identified and Tcea3 was negatively correlated with Nppa, Nppb and Myh7. The expression level of Tcea3 was downregulated during cardiac remodeling both in vivo and in vitro. Knockdown of Tcea3 aggravated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by PE in NRVMs. GSEA and online tool ARCHS4 predict Tcea3 involved in fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Subsequently, RT-PCR results showed that knockdown of Tcea3 up-regulated Ces1d and Pla2g5 mRNA expression levels. In PE induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, Tcea3 silencing results in decreased fatty acid utilization, decreased ATP synthesis and increased mitochondrial oxidative stress.ConclusionOur study identifies Tcea3 as a novel anti-cardiac remodeling target by regulating FAO and governing mitochondrial oxidative stress.

Abstract Based on the high-precision vector magnetic field data of Swarm A and C satellites, we perform a statistical analysis of the diurnal and longitudinal variations of the ionospheric radial current (IRC) in the F layer at the magnetic equator from 2014 to 2018. The observations are compared with the simulations based on the Thermosphere–Ionosphere Electrodynamics–General Circulation Model (TIE–GCM). It is found that the noon IRC is radially outward, whereas the dusk IRC is radially inward. The time of the change from the inward to the outward direction occurred is earlier in June than in other seasons. The TIE–GCM results show that low atmospheric tides have an important effect on the seasonal change in the reverse time. The noon IRC is weakened primarily by the polarization current from migrating tides. The dusk IRC is mainly weakened by polarization current from nonmigrating tides in the equinox and December solstice and by dynamo current from migrating tides in the June solstice. Geomagnetic field configuration is the main reason for the longitudinal variation of IRC. The noon IRC have a wave-4 zonal structure, which is mainly caused by the outward propagation of migrating and nonmigrating tides. The dusk IRC in the western hemisphere shows a larger current density than that in the eastern hemisphere, resulting mainly from the neutral wind dynamo current. The competing effect of the wind dynamo current and polarization current determined the peak location of the total current in the western hemisphere. Graphical Abstract

【Objective】The study was carried out to screen new varieties (lines) of flue-cured tobacco with high quality adapted to ecological conditions in Ji'an tobacco production area.【Method】Five flue-cured tobacco varieties (lines) including CC400, PVH2233, PVH2343, 1604 and Xiangyan 7 were introduced from the imported varieties and domestic self-bred varieties, and the main conventional varieties Yunyan 87 and K326 were used as control varieties. A community comparative trial was conducted for two consecutive years from 2019 to 2020. The growth period, agronomic traits, disease resistance, economic characters, appearance quality, chemical composition and sensory quality of each variety (line) were analyzed.【Result】The Xiangyan 7, which showed a good balance between quality and benefit, had better color and oil content. The output and yield of Xiangyan 7 were higher than those of Yunyan 87 by 305.85 kg/hm2 and 4 837.95 Yuan/hm2 respectively. The sensory quality was obviously better than the main variety Yunyan 87. However, attention should be paid to the prevention and control of common mosaic disease in field at early stage. The PVH2233 with good interannual stability and medium sensory quality had 3-4 pieces of leaves more than the control, and the vigorous growing period was 5-7 days longer than that of the control. It was necessary to strengthen the researches on supporting cultivation techniques. The 1604 had the advantages of early growth and rapid development, largest pitch and lumbar leaf area, better appearance quality and economic character, and better sensory quality than Yunyan 87. The CC400 was similar to K326 in field growth and had better leaf opening, but the occurrence of bacterial wilt was relatively severe and the economic character was not prominent. The PVH2343 had thicker leaves, but the incidence of climatic spot disease was more severe, and the sensory quality was slightly poor.【Conclusion】The comprehensive performance of Xiangyan 7, PVH2233 and 1604 was better, which could be further verified by expanding the planting area.