Search

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a highly conserved pentraxin with pattern recognition receptor–like activities. However, despite being used widely as a clinical marker of inflammation, the in vivo functions of CRP and its roles in health and disease remain largely unestablished. This is, to certain extent, due to the drastically different expression patterns of CRP in mice and rats, raising concerns about whether the functions of CRP are essential and conserved across species and how these model animals should be manipulated to examine the in vivo actions of human CRP. In this review, we discuss recent advances highlighting the essential and conserved functions of CRP across species, and propose that appropriately designed animal models can be used to understand the origin-, conformation-, and localization-dependent actions of human CRP in vivo. The improved model design will contribute to establishing the pathophysiological roles of CRP and facilitate the development of novel CRP-targeting strategies.

Salidroside, a prominent active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines, is garnering increased attention because of its unique pharmacological effects against ischemic heart disease via MAPK signaling, which plays a critical role in regulating the evolution of ventricular hypertrophy. However, the function of Salidroside on myocardial hypertrophy has not yet been elucidated. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC), and treated with Salidroside (100 mg kg

SUMMARYPlants deploy intracellular receptors to counteract pathogen effectors that suppress cell-surface receptor-mediated immunity. To what extent pathogens manipulate also immunity mediated by intracellular receptors, and how plants tackle such manipulation, remains unknown.Arabidopsis thalianaencodes three very similar ADR1 class helper NLRs (ADR1, ADR1-L1 and ADR1-L2), which play key roles in plant immunity initiated by intracellular receptors. Here, we report thatPseudomonas syringaeAvrPtoB, an effector with E3 ligase activity, can suppress ADR1-L1- and ADR1-L2-mediated cell death. ADR1, however, evades such suppression by diversification of two ubiquitination sites targeted by AvrPtoB. The intracellular sensor NLR SNC1 interacts with and guards the CCRdomains of ADR1-L1 and ADR-L2. Removal of ADR1-L1 and ADR1-L2 or delivery of AvrPtoB activates SNC1, which then signals through ADR1 to trigger immunity. Our work not only uncovers the long sought-after physiological function of SNC1 in pathogen defense, but also that reveals how plants can use dual strategies, sequence diversification and a multiple layered guard-guardee system, to counteract pathogen attack on core immunity functions.

Background There was no previous meta-analysis investigating the efficacy/tolerability of psychostimulants for symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschool children. Methods Databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to March 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on therapeutic efficacy of psychostimulants against ADHD symptoms in preschool children (age ≤6 years) compared with placebos. Primary outcomes were (a) changes in ADHD symptoms evaluated by validated rating scales from parents’/teacher’s observation, or (b) post-intervention improvements in neuropsychological performance. Secondary outcomes were risks of adverse events. Results Meta-analysis of nine eligible trials including 544 preschool children (mean age=4.86 years, female=11.98%, median treatment duration=4.33 weeks) supported the efficacy of psychostimulants against global symptoms from observations of parents (Hedges’ g=0.6152, p Conclusions Our results showed that psychostimulants might be beneficial for preschool children with ADHD, especially hyperactivity/impulsivity from teachers’ observation, with tolerable side effects. Nevertheless, the true magnitude of the effect needs to be confirmed with more research due to low to very low certainty of the evidence.

To elucidate possible additive effects of electroencephalogram-based neurofeedback (EEG-NF) on medications against the core symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were retrieved from electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalKey, Cochrane CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to March 2022. The primary outcomes were changes in ADHD symptoms (i.e., global, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity) assessed with validated rating scales, while secondary outcome was all-cause discontinuation rate. Meta-analysis of five RCTs involving 305 participants [Median age = 9.285 years (range 8.6–11.05)] with a median follow-up of 12 weeks showed additive effects of EEG-NF on medications from parents’ observations against ADHD global symptoms (Hedges’ g = 0.2898, 95%CI [0.0238; 0.5557]) and inattention symptoms (Hedges’ g = 0.3274, 95%CI [0.0493; 0.6055]). However, additive effects failed to sustain six months after EEG-NF intervention. Besides, there was no difference in improvement of hyperactivity/impulsivity from parents’ observation, attentional performance, and all-cause discontinuation rate between the two groups. Our results supported additional benefits of combining EEG-NF with medications compared to medication alone in treating global symptoms and symptoms of inattention in ADHD patients. Nevertheless, given a lack of evidence showing a correlation between underlying physiological changes and small effect sizes in our preliminary results, further studies are warranted to support our findings.

The electrode materials are traditionally loaded on the surface of the metal current collector by using of roll coating methods in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, with the increase of the mass loading, the sodium storage performance of the cathodes deteriorates dramatically in the traditional casting process. In this work, we propose a novel strategy by applying electrospinning and airbrush-spraying technique to fabricate Na0.44MnO2-based paper (NMO-BP) electrodes. The results indicate that the NMO-BP electrodes show good electrochemical performance in terms of high areal capacities and good cycling stability with the loaded Na0.44MnO2 active material increasing from 2.6 to 10.4 mg cm−2. A high areal capacities of 1.10 mAh cm−2 is obtained in the NMO-BP electrodes with high areal loading (> 10 mg cm−2) for SIBs. This research provides a new method to explore cathode materials for sodium-ion battery with higher areal capacities.

As the only genetically encodable bioluminescent system among eukaryotes to date, bioluminescent fungi can unceasingly emit green light for days. Cross-reactions among four lineages of luminescent fungi suggest that all of them share a common bioluminescent mechanism. A series of excellent experiments by Yampolsky's group have revealed the key components in fungal bioluminescence (BL) from luciferin to light emission. However, the detailed underlying mechanism and processes remain unknown. By performing multireference and (time dependent) density functional theory calculations, we clearly described the bioluminescent process at the molecular and electronic state level. The fungal BL is initiated by the cycloaddition of O2 to luciferin to form an α-pyrone endoperoxide high-energy intermediate (II). This oxygenation is not initiated by a single-electron transfer as it is in firefly BL, but it is explained by a charge transfer followed by a spin inversion mechanism. The thermolysis of II generates oxyluciferin at the first singlet excited state (S1) through a zwitterion intermediate (III). A chemical form of the S1-state oxyluciferin, E-V(3)*, has the potential to be a light emitter. The current theoretical calculation provides great detail for deeply understanding the chemical processes in fungal BL and in chemiluminescence involving α-pyrone endoperoxide.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a major acute phase protein and inflammatory marker, the expression of which is largely liver specific and highly inducible. Enhancers are regulatory elements critical for the precise activation of gene expression, yet the contributions of enhancers to the expression pattern of CRP have not been well defined. Here, we identify a constitutively active enhancer (E1) located 37.7 kb upstream of the promoter of human CRP in hepatocytes. By using chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assay, in situ genetic manipulation, CRISPRi, and CRISPRa, we show that E1 is enriched in binding sites for transcription factors STAT3 and C/EBP-β and is essential for the full induction of human CRP during the acute phase. Moreover, we demonstrate that E1 orchestrates with the promoter of CRP to determine its varied expression across tissues and species through surveying activities of E1-promoter hybrids and the associated epigenetic modifications. These results thus suggest an intriguing mode of molecular evolution wherein expression-changing mutations in distal regulatory elements initiate subsequent functional selection involving coupling among distal/proximal regulatory mutations and activity-changing coding mutations.

OBJECTIVES: Mast cells (MCs) are increased in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Endoscopic abnormalities, symptoms, and epithelial changes can persist after treatment despite a reduction of esophageal eosinophilia. It is unknown whether this could be due to persistent MC infiltration. We aimed to determine whether patients with histologically inactive (HI) EoE (defined as

Ultrafine Ru nanoparticles dispersed on 3D N-doped carbon hollow nanospheres were firstly prepared by a feasible templating strategy. Due to the synergistic effect of the unique composite and structure, the resulting nanocomposite as a HER catalyst shows extraordinary electrocatalytic performance, superior to that of commercial Pt-C and most previously reported electrocatalysts.

An electric machine emulator (EME) system plays a fundamental role in design and validation of hardware and software for power electronic converters and electric drives. In this paper, a desktop digital signal processor (DSP)-based EME is developed for power converters function test. The principle of EME is demonstrated with mathematical derivation. Since the instantaneous phase voltage is either power supply voltage or ground, high-rated voltage sensors are not suitable for DSP-based EME to obtain the average voltage in a pulse-width modulation cycle. To accurately acquiring phase voltages, a method which reconstructs the phase voltage considering the amplitude and duty cycle error is proposed. Voltage drops, dead time, propagation delay, parasitic rising and falling time delay are all considered in reconstructed voltages based on voltage-second balance theory. This is accomplished without any assistant physical circuits. Based on the reconstructed phase voltages, reference current is derived in motor model by using second order Runge-Kutta method. Factors affecting phase voltage accuracy are verified by simulations step by step. The simulation and experimental results support the validity of the proposed method.

Cardiac remodeling is a common characteristic of almost all forms of heart disease, including cardiac infarction, valvular diseases, hypertension, arrhythmia, dilated cardiomyopathy and other conditions. It is not merely a simple outcome induced by an increase in the workload of cardiomyocytes (CMs). The remodeling process is accompanied by abnormalities of cardiac structure as well as disturbance of cardiac function, and emerging evidence suggests that a wide range of cells in the heart participate in the initiation and development of cardiac remodeling. Other than CMs, there are numerous noncardiomyocytes (non-CMs) that regulate the process of cardiac remodeling, such as cardiac fibroblasts and immune cells (including macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and mast cells). In this review, we summarize recent knowledge regarding the definition and significant effects of various non-CMs in the pathogenesis of cardiac remodeling, with a particular emphasis on the involved signaling mechanisms. In addition, we discuss the properties of non-CMs, which serve as targets of many cardiovascular drugs that reduce adverse cardiac remodeling.

Doxorubicin (DOX) has limited antitumor applications owing to its association with life-threatening cardiac injury. Oxidative damage and cardiac apoptosis are crucial in DOX-induced cardiac injury. Bone morphogenetic protein 10 (BMP10) is predominantly distributed in the heart and acts as a cardioprotective factor that preserves cardiac function. However, the role of BMP10 in DOX-induced cardiac injury has not yet been explored. The current study aimed to examine the function and mechanism of action of BMP10 in DOX-induced cardiac injury. An adeno-associated viral system was used for the overexpression or silencing of cardiac-specific BMP10, and subsequently, a single dose of DOX was intraperitoneally injected to induce cardiac injury. Results showed that DOX exposure decreased BMP10 expression in the heart. Cardiac-specific overexpression of BMP10 alleviated the oxidative stress and apoptosis and improved cardiac function. Conversely, cardiac-specific silencing of BMP10 aggravated the redox disorder and apoptosis and worsened the cardiac dysfunction caused by DOX. Exogenous BMP10 supplementation amelioratesd the DOX-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction. Mechanistically, we found that phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is reduced in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, and, BMP10 activated impaired STAT3 via a non-canonical pathway. BMP10 lost its cardioprotective function in cardiomyocyte-specific STAT3 knockout (STAT3-cKO) mice. Based on our findings, we suggested that BMP10 is a potential therapeutic agent against DOX-induced cardiac injury and that the cardioprotective effects of BMP10 are dependent on the activation of STAT3.

Introduction Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is a practical and recommended non-medication intervention for children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but the mechanism in between is unclear. Aim This study proposed to examine the effectiveness of CCPT on neuropsychological deficits and behavioral symptoms in ADHD. Methods Participants with ADHD diagnosis were referred from senior child and adolescent psychiatrists, and typical developmental children (TD) were recruited from community as a control group. All participants’ executive functions were evaluated using Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. First of all, the participants were evaluated using Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) by their parents. The ADHD participants were assigned into CCPT (ADHDc) and waitlist (ADHDw) group; and the ADHDc group then received CCPT weekly for 12 sessions, while the ADHDw continuously received their regular treatment (i.e., medication treatment or other alternative treatments) as usual. Results Total 52 participants were recruited (17 with ADHD and 35 typically developed children, TD). The results showed that overall the ADHD groups had worse neuropsychological performance and more behavioural disturbance than did the TD ( ps < .05). After receiving the CCPT, the results showed that the ADHDc group had significant improvement in the cognitive flexibility ( p < .05); while the ADHDw group had no changes.

Background Circulating levels of the systemic inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP) have been associated with increased risk and poor outcomes of many diseases, such as cardiovascular events and cancer. Accumulating evidence has indicated that the conformational rearrangement of human pentameric CRP (pCRP) to monomeric CRP (mCRP) is a prerequisite for participation in the pathogenesis. Therefore, determining the mechanism of the dissociation of pCRP into pro-inflammatory mCRP under physiological/pathological circumstances has been intriguing. Methods The effects of oxidative and acidic stress occurring in inflammation on pCRP were examined by electrophoresis, electron microscopy, protein fluorescence, neoepitope expression and endothelial cell responses. Results Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the copper-hydrogen peroxide system could rapidly induce the dissociation of CRP at mild acidic pH within four hours, but not at physiological pH of 7.4. Meanwhile, mannitol, a ROS scavenger, could not protect against dissociation, which implied that local ROS from accessible histidine residues may be crucially beneficial to the formation of mCRP in a redox-balanced microenvironment. Furthermore, mCRP generated by ROS could be reduced by DTT, which indicated the exposure of functional motif aa35-47, and showed potent proinflammatory actions on endothelial cells, comparable to mCRP generated by urea. Conclusion dissociation of pCRP to mCRP could be rapidly induced by ROS from copper- hydrogen peroxide system in dependence on mildly acidic stress regardless of a redox-balanced microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal histology is critical for diagnosis and surveillance of disease activity in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). A validated noninvasive biomarker has not been identified. We aimed to determine the utility of blood and urine eosinophil-associated proteins to diagnose EoE and predict esophageal eosinophilia. METHODS: Blood and urine were collected from children undergoing endoscopy with biopsy. Absolute eosinophil count (AEC), plasma eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), major basic protein-1 (MBP-1), galectin-10 (CLC/GAL-10), Eotaxin-2 and Eotaxin-3, and urine osteopontin (OPN) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were determined. Differences were assessed between EoE and control, and with treatment response. The capacity to predict EoE diagnosis and esophageal eosinophil counts was assessed. RESULTS: Of 183 specimens were collected from 56 EoE patients and 15 non-EoE controls with symptoms of esophageal dysfunction; 33 EoE patients had paired pre-and post-treatment specimens. Plasma (CLC/GAL-10, ECP, EDN, Eotaxin-3, MBP-1) and urine (OPN) biomarkers were increased in EoE compared to control. A panel comprising CLC/GAL-10, Eotaxin-3, ECP, EDN, MBP-1, and AEC was superior to AEC alone in distinguishing EoE from control. AEC, CLC/GAL-10, ECP, and MBP-1 were significantly decreased in patients with esophageal eosinophil counts

Laparoscopic gastric clipping (LGC) is a relatively novel restrictive bariatric surgery wherein a horizontal metallic clip is applied to the gastric fundus. Its intraoperative complications or the difficulties associated with the applied gastric clip (GC) during revisional procedures have seldom been mentioned. Herein, the experience of revisional procedures after initial gastric clipping is reported. A retrospective cohort review of LGC based on the Taiwan Bariatric Registry of Taiwan Society Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery was performed. Six patients with severe obesity presented for revisional surgery after initial LGC by other surgeons. Patients’ characteristics, indications, and details of revisional surgery were recorded. Between 2012 and 2019, 39 patients who underwent pure LGC and six patients with previous LGC history were referred for revisional surgery. Their mean age and the mean body mass index were 34.7 ± 9.5 years and 38.4 ± 10.5 kg/m2, respectively. Three, two, and one patient underwent revisional surgery for insufficient weight loss, weight recidivism, and intractable belching, respectively. The mean interval between initial LGC and revisional surgery was 40.5 ± 22.4 months. Laparoscopic removal of the GC with concomitant revisional surgeries were collected, including a revision to sleeve gastrectomy (n = 5) and revision to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (n = 1). Moreover, the mean operative time was 286.8 ± 78.2 min. All patients had uneventful recovery postoperatively but experienced significant adhesion around the GC and the left liver. Laparoscopic revisional surgery with concomitant GC removal for patients with severe obesity after gastric clipping could be feasibly conducted by experienced bariatric surgeons.

6-Gingerol, a pungent ingredient of ginger, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, but the effect of 6-gingerol on pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling remains inconclusive. In this study, we investigated the effect of 6-gingerol on cardiac remodeling in in vivo and in vitro models, and to clarify the underlying mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC), and treated with 6-gingerol (20 mg/kg, ig) three times a week (1 week in advance and continued until the end of the experiment). Four weeks after TAC surgery, the mice were subjected to echocardiography, and then sacrificed to harvest the hearts for analysis. For in vitro study, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts were used to validate the protective effects of 6-gingerol in response to phenylephrine (PE) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) challenge. We showed that 6-gingerol administration protected against pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, inflammation, and dysfunction in TAC mice. In the in vitro study, we showed that treatment with 6-gingerol (20 μM) blocked PE-induced-cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and TGF-β-induced cardiac fibroblast activation. Furthermore, 6-gingerol treatment significantly decreased mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 (p38) phosphorylation in response to pressure overload in vivo and extracellular stimuli in vitro, which was upregulated in the absence of 6-gingerol treatment. Moreover, transfection with mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 6 expressing adenoviruses (Ad-MKK6), which specifically activated p38, abolished the protective effects of 6-gingerol in both in vitro and in vivo models. In conclusion, 6-gingerol improves cardiac function and alleviates cardiac remodeling induced by pressure overload in a p38-dependent manner. The present study demonstrates that 6-gingerol is a promising agent for the intervention of pathological cardiac remodeling.

Gilles de la Tourette's Syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset disease with clinical features of motor and phonic tics. Yi-Gan-san (YGS) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula that can reduce aggressiveness and agitation and inhibit dopamine function. This study investigated the effects of YGS on the psychiatric behavior of children and adolescents with TS.A double-blind, randomized, controlled preliminary study was conducted. A total of 38 patients with TS were assigned to the control group (CG, 19 patients) who received the oral administration of YGS placebo (90% starch and 10% YGS; 2.5 g thrice daily) or to a treatment group (TG, 19 patients) who received YGS for 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change in Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) overall and subscale scores.The intensity score for phonic tics before oral administration of YGS, and after 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks was not significantly different between CG and TG groups (2.94 ± 1.14 vs 2.79 ± 1.08, p = .686; 2.29 ± 1.21 vs 1.95 ± 1.08, p = .370; 2.41 ± 1.18 vs 2.05 ± 1.51, p = .435; and 2.29 ± 1.26 vs 1.84 ± 1.42, p = .323, respectively), while the intensity score for phonic tics after 1-week oral administration of YGS in the TG was 1.89 ± 1.10 lower than 3.06 ± 1.39 in the CG (p = .008).Oral administration of YGS for 1 week only reduced the intensity of phonic tics compared with oral administration of YGS placebo, suggesting that YGS can reduce their intensity for a short period, and the compliance of oral administration of YGS for 4 weeks can be accepted in children and adolescents with Tourette's Syndrome. However, because this study was preliminary, the selection of an appropriate placebo and dosage and long-term observations are crucial areas for future studies.

Background: Axon-wrapping myelin sheath is vital to nerve conduction, loss or dysfunction of it will result in some neurological diseases. Since mature oligodendrocytes (OLs) lack proliferation ability, and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) maintain slow proliferation or quiescence state, transplantation of exogenous OPCs becomes an alternative strategy for curing these diseases. Methods: OPCs were isolated from brain tissue and generated from NIH/3T3 cells via indirect lineage conversion here. Results: 0.25 % chicken serum was conducive to trypsin-mediated digestion of cerebral cortex, the modified shaking method could improve the purification efficiency of OPCs. Poly-MAG was a safer and higher efficient nanovector for delivering plasmid DNA into cells. Forced expressions of Olig 2, Nkx 6.2, and Sox 10 could attenuate the expressions of fibroblast-related genes (Col5a1 and Col1a1), up-regulate OPC-associated genes (PDGFRα, S100β, NG2, and Olig 2), and finally successfully reprogram NIH/3T3 cells into induced oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (iOPCs). 1 μM haloperidol (HAL) contributed to promoting the proliferation of iOPCs. These iOPCs had the potential to be differentiated into OLs and type Ⅱ astrocytes. Conclusions: The high-efficiency and low-cytotoxicity strategies for isolating mouse primary OPCs and generating iOPCs were established, which provided novel cell resources for disease modeling, drug screening, cell therapy, and so on.

The ENSO events affect climate and fire danger of China. It would be helpful for improving fire danger forecast to understand the impacts of ENSO events on fire weather for various ecological zones in the country. We calculated the fire weather index (FWI) using the daily climatic dataset (V3.0) of international exchange weather stations in China during 1951-2016. The burned areas in forests for each ecological zone in 2001-2016 were derived from MODIS fire products. Temperature, precipitation, FWI and burned areas in fire season were estimated for each ecological zone by ENSO events (weak, medium, strong, and super strong El Niño events and weak, medium, and strong La Niña events). The results showed that there were 19 El Niño events and 14 La Niña events during 1950-2016. The average daily maximum temperature of the spring fire season increased significantly in the northwestern region with the influence of strong or super strong El Niño event, while the temperature reduced significantly in the medium El Niño event for mid-temperate semi-arid grassland. Precipitation in fire season generally increased in El Niño events in southern and southwestern forest regions. It would be reduced in most areas affected by the low and medium intensity La Niña event, but be increased during the strong La Nina event. The fire weather indices of southern forest regions decreased due to the weak El Niño event. The FWI of the northern forest regions increased with the strong or super strong El Niño event, and reduced in the southern and southwestern forest areas. There was a significant spatial difference on the FWI for some ecological zones with the impacts of the El Niño/La Niña events. The burned areas showed a consistent change trend with seasonal severity rating (SSR) during 2001-2016 when the SSR changed significantly for the regions of deciduous broad-leaved forest in humid/semihumid areas of warm temperate zone, broad-leaved forest in the middle north subtropical humid areas, and broad-leaved forest in tropical and subtropical humid areas. The burned areas in the rest regions were not affected by the ENSO events.ENSO事件影响中国的气候和森林火险天气,研究ENSO事件对中国各植被区火险天气的影响对于提高森林火险预报准确性有科学和实践意义。利用1951—2016年中国地面国际交换站气候资料的日值数据集(V3.0)数据计算每日的森林火险天气指数(FWI),根据MODIS过火区产品计算各植被区2001—2016年的森林过火面积,分别按事件情景(弱、中、强和超强厄尔尼诺事件以及弱、中和强拉尼娜事件)统计各植被区对应的火险期气温、降水、FWI和过火面积。结果表明: 1950—2016年,共发生19次厄尔尼诺事件和14次拉尼娜事件。受强或超强厄尔尼诺事件影响,西北地区春季火险期的日均最高气温明显升高,而中温带半干旱草原区春季火险期的日均最高气温在中厄尔尼诺年显著降低。厄尔尼诺年,南方和西南林区火险期的降水量一般会增加,中、低强度的拉尼娜事件会减少大部分区域的火险期降水量,但强拉尼娜事件导致大部分林区火险期的降水量增加。弱厄尔尼诺事件导致南方林区FWI降低;强或超强厄尔尼诺事件导致南方和西南林区的FWI有所降低,而北方林区的FWI有所升高。ENSO事件对各植被区FWI的影响存在显著的空间差异性。2001—2016年,当火险期的季节火险严重程度(SSR)显著变化时,暖温带湿润/半湿润地区落叶阔叶林区、中北亚热带湿润地区阔叶林区和热带南亚热带湿润地区阔叶林区的过火面积与SSR的变化一致,其他区域的过火面积受ENSO事件的影响不明显。.

Macrophages are integral components of the mammalian heart that show extensive expansion in response to various internal or external stimuli. After the onset of sustained pressure overload (PO), the accumulation of cardiac macrophages through local macrophage proliferation and monocyte migration has profound effects on the transition to cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling. In this review, we describe the heterogeneity and diversity of cardiac macrophages and summarize the current understanding of the important roles of macrophages in PO-induced cardiac remodeling. In addition, the possible mechanisms involved in macrophage modulation are also described. Finally, considering the significant effects of cardiac macrophages, we highlight their emerging role as therapeutic targets for alleviating pathological cardiac remodeling after PO.

To study the correlation between tumor-associated somatic gene mutation and age in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia transformed from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS/AML).A total of 111 patients primarily diagnosed as MDS or MDS/AML were selected. Bone marrow samples from patients were collected or bone marrow smears prepared at the initial diagnosis were used for detecting the somatic gene mutations of 58 genes related with hematologic tumors by high-throughput gene sequencing. And the correlation of gene mutations with the age of patients was analyzed.The positive rate of total gene mutation was 87.39% (97/111) in 111 patients, and 231 mutations in 28 different genes were detected in the patients with positive gene mutation. The patients of mutation-positive group were significantly older than that of the mutation-negative group (P＜0.001). Among the mutation-positive patients, the mutation rate in the senile group (≥60 years) was 100% (14/14), followed by 89.04% (74/85) in the adult group (15-59 years) and 75% (9/12) in the children group (≤14 years). The average number of mutations in the children group, the adult group and the senile group were respectively 1.44, 2.47 and 2.5; the number of mutations in the adult group was greater than that in the children group (P＜0.05).The most common mutations in the children group occurred in signal transduction gene (46.15%, 6/13); The most common mutations in both the adult group (22.40%, 41/183) and the senile group (34.29%, 12/35) occurred in epigenetic regulatory gene; the mutation rate of transcription factor gene in the senile group was higher than that in the children group (50.00% vs 8.33%) (P＜0.05); the mutation rates of the splicing factor gene in the adult group and the senile group were higher than that in the children group (44.71% vs 8.33%) (P＜0.05), (47.06% vs 8.33%) (P＜0.05).The tumor-associated somatic gene mutations in patients with MDS and MDS/AML are significantly different between the different age groups, especially the children group and the adults group as well as the senile group, suggesting that the occurrence of MDS in children may involve genetic factors that are significantly different from those of adults and the senile.MDS及MDS/AML患者基因突变与年龄相关性分析.探讨骨髓增生异常综合征（myelodysplastic syndromes，MDS）及MDS转化为急性髓性白血病（acute myeloid leukemia，AML）患者血液肿瘤相关的体细胞基因突变与患者年龄的相关性.选取初诊MDS和MDS/AML患者共111例。采集患者骨髓样本或用初诊时留存的骨髓涂片，应用高通量基因测序方法检测血液肿瘤相关的58种基因的体细胞基因突变，分析基因突变与患者年龄的相关性.111例患者中总基因突变阳性率为87.39%（97/111），共检测到28种基因的231例次突变。基因突变阳性组患者年龄显著大于突变阴性组（P＜0.001）。突变阳性的患者中，老年组（≥60岁）突变率最高，为100%（14/14），成人（15-59岁）组突变率为89.04%（74/85），儿童（≤14岁）组突变率为75%（9/12）。儿童组人均突变基因数目为1.44个，成人组2.47个，老年组2.5个；成人组突变个数显著大于儿童组（P=0.02）。儿童组信号转导基因突变最常见，突变率为46.15%（6/13），老年组和成人组表观遗传调节基因突变最常见，突变率分别为34.29%（12/35）和22.40%（41/183）。转录因子基因突变率在老年人组突变率高于儿童组（50.00% vs 8.33%）（P=0.036）；剪接因子基因突变率在成人组和老年组中均高于儿童组（44.71% vs 8.33%）（P=0.024）、（47.06% vs 8.33%）（P=0.036）.不同年龄组MDS及MDS/AML基因突变有所不同，尤其儿童组与成人组及老年组差异显著，提示儿童MDS的发生可能具有与成人和老年人MDS显著不同的遗传因素.

With the animal glue binder as raw material, the optimal hydrolysis process of anhydrous sodium carbonate is determined by single factor. The results show that the optimum hydrolysis process is as following. The hydrolysis time is 30 min for a reaction temperature of 60°C, and the mass ratio of water to animal glue is 120:100. The amount of anhydrous sodium carbohydrate is 4wt.% to binder. Under these conditions, the compression strength of binder reaches 2.50MPa, and the surface tension of binder is 33.236 mN/m. The molecular weight of hydrolyzed binder is greatly reduced, and the binder contains hydrophilic molecular groups such as amino and hydroxyl, which improves the hydrophilicity and thermal stability of the animal glue binder.