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【Objective】Ubiquitin-binding enzyme E2（UBC）is an important transit enzyme in the ubiquitin-proteasomal pathway that transfers ubiquitin to target proteins, which is involved in plant growth and development and many stresses. The E2 gene family members were identified from the whole genome of pepper, and the expression patterns of related genes were analyzed, which provided a theoretical basis for subsequent research.【Method】Based on the genome-wide information of pepper, the E2 family was identified by bioinformatics. The basic physio-chemical properties, subcellular localization, chromosomal localization, gene structure and phylogenetic analysis, cis-acting elements, abiotic stress response, tissue and organ expression patterns, and protein-protein interaction network of the family members were systematically analyzed.【Result】There were 48 members in the E2 gene family, which were unevenly distributed on 11 chromosomes, and its encoded proteins were mainly localized in the extracellular and nucleus. After comparative evolutionary analysis of pepper, tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana, they were divided into the Group I-Group XIII subfamily, which had similar conserved protein motifs and gene structures. A total of 26 proteins were found to interact. The cis-element analysis showed that the promoter region of CaUBC gene contained a large number of lightresponsive and hormone-responsive elements, and there were a variety of cis-acting elements related to growth, development and stress resistance in the upstream 2 000 bp region. CaUBC was involved in the stress, under different abiotic stresses and hormone treatments, they were divided into three categories, among which the third type of genes were highly expressed in high temperature environment; different expressions showed in tissues and organs, among which the expression of CaUBC38 in fruits changed significantly. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the relative expression was the highest at 50 d and the lowest at 10 d.【Conclusion】The 48 members of E2（CaUBC）gene family are systematically identified from the pepper genome. The expression characteristics of CaUBC family members during its growth, development, and abiotic stress responses are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wound healing process is much more complex than just the four phases of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds made of biopolymers or ECM molecules using bioprinting can be used to promote the wound healing process, especially for complex 3D tissue lesions like chronic wounds. Here, a 3D-printed mold has been designed to produce customizable collagen type-I sheets containing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and adipose stromal cells (ASCs) for the first time. In these 3D collagen sheets, the cellular activity leads to a restructuring of the collagen matrix. The upregulation of the growth factors Serpin E1 and TIMP-1 could be demonstrated in the 3D scaffolds with ACSs and HUVECs in co-culture. Both growth factors play a key role in the wound healing process. The capillary-like tube formation of HUVECs treated with supernatant from the collagen sheets revealed the secretion of angiogenic growth factors. Altogether, this demonstrates that collagen type I combined with the co-cultivation of HUVECs and ACSs has the potential to accelerate the process of angiogenesis and, thereby, might promote wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment, 48 5-week-old mice were exposed to arsenic and riboflavin through drinking water. The control group, the arsenic treatment group (20 mg/L As2O3), the riboflavin treatment group (20 mg/L VB2), the arsenic and riboflavin combined group (20 mg/L As2O3+20 mg/L VB2) were set up to explore the alleviating effect of riboflavin on tissue injury caused by arsenic. The results showed that arsenic treatment caused the heart muscle fiber septa widening, fiber bundles bending, myocardial nucleus shedding, alveolar wall thickening and alveolar cavity shrinking compared with the control group. The number of cerebral cortex cells was significantly reduced and disordered, and the nuclei were dissolved and broken. The addition of riboflavin significantly reduced the damage of arsenic to heart, lung and brain. Therefore, this study confirmed that riboflavin intervention has a significant alleviating effect on the structural damage of heart, lung and brain caused by arsenic, it provides new ideas for the toxicological mechanism and prevention of arsenic poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wound healing process is much more complex than just the four phases of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds made of biopolymers or ECM molecules using bioprinting can be used to promote the wound healing process, especially for complex 3D tissue lesions like chronic wounds. Here, a 3D-printed mold has been designed to produce customizable collagen type-I sheets containing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and adipose stromal cells (ASCs) for the first time. In these 3D collagen sheets, the cellular activity leads to a restructuring of the collagen matrix. The upregulation of the growth factors Serpin E1 and TIMP-1 could be demonstrated in the 3D scaffolds with ACSs and HUVECs in co-culture. Both growth factors play a key role in the wound healing process. The capillary-like tube formation of HUVECs treated with supernatant from the collagen sheets revealed the secretion of angiogenic growth factors. Altogether, this demonstrates that collagen type I combined with the co-cultivation of HUVECs and ACSs has the potential to accelerate the process of angiogenesis and, thereby, might promote wound healing.

The mechanical properties of tissues are influenced by those of constituent cells in various ways. For instance, it has been theoretically demonstrated that two-dimensional confluent tissues comprising mechanically uniform cells can undergo density-independent rigidity transitions, and analysis of the dynamical behavior of tissues near the critical point revealed that the transitions are geometrically controlled by the so-called cell shape parameter. To investigate whether three-dimensional tissues behave similarly to two-dimensional ones, we herein extend the previously developed model to three dimensions both dynamically and statically, demonstrating that two mechanical states similar to those of glassy materials exist in the three-dimensional case. Scaling analysis is applied to the static model focused from the rearrangement viewpoint. The obtained results suggest that the upper critical dimension of tissues equals two and is therefore the same as that of the jamming transition.

Fibrosis is a life-threatening pathological condition resulting from a dysfunctional tissue repair process. There is no efficient treatment and organ transplantation is in many cases the only therapeutic option. Here we review tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) approaches to address fibrosis in the cardiovascular system, the kidney, the lung and the liver. These strategies have great potential to achieve repair or replacement of diseased organs by cell- and material-based therapies. However, paradoxically, they might also trigger fibrosis. Cases of TERM interventions with adverse outcome are also included in this review. Furthermore, we emphasize the fact that, although organ engineering is still in its infancy, the advances in the field are leading to biomedically relevant in vitro models with tremendous potential for disease recapitulation and development of therapies. These human tissue models might have increased predictive power for human drug responses thereby reducing the need for animal testing. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decades have seen great advancements in medical research into materials, both natural and synthetic, that facilitate the repair and regeneration of compromised tissues through the delivery and support of cells and/or biomolecules. Biocompatible polymeric materials have become the most heavily investigated materials used for such purposes. Naturally-occurring and synthetic polymers, including their various composites and blends, have been successful in a range of medical applications, proving to be particularly suitable for tissue engineering ( TE) approaches. The increasing advances in polymeric biomaterial research combined with the developments in manufacturing techniques have expanded capabilities in tissue engineering and other medical applications of these materials. This review will present an overview of the major classes of polymeric biomaterials, highlight their key properties, advantages, limitations and discuss their applications. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dechlorane plus (DP) is a potential persistent organic pollutant and its distribution in various tissues and organs of terrestrial organisms is currently unknown. DP concentrations in sheep tissues were determined in this study. The DP concentrations in the tissues decreased in the following order: abdominal fat > liver > stomach > heart > outer tenderloin > lung > hind leg meat > kidney > small intestine > tail fat > spleen > brain. Apart from brain and fat, anti-DP is enriched more readily than syn-DP in sheep tissues, but syn-DP is more readily enriched in brain and abdominal fat. The factors influencing DP distributions in sheep tissues were assessed by determining the DP to sheep serum albumin binding forces, binding types, and binding sites by fluorescence spectroscopy. The results indicated that anti-DP more readily binds to sheep serum albumin than does syn-DP. Therefore, sheep serum albumin will more readily transport anti-DP than syn-DP to sheep tissues, and anti-DP will be enriched more than syn-DP in the tissues. The molecular diameter of DP is the main factor affecting DP concentrations in sheep brain and fat because of the blood−brain barrier and because the main source of DP to abdominal fat is dermal contact.

The mechanical properties of tissues are influenced by those of constituent cells in various ways. For instance, it has been theoretically demonstrated that two-dimensional confluent tissues comprising mechanically uniform cells can undergo density-independent rigidity transitions, and analysis of the dynamical behavior of tissues near the critical point revealed that the transitions are geometrically controlled by the so-called cell shape parameter. To investigate whether three-dimensional tissues behave similarly to two-dimensional ones, we herein extend the previously developed model to three dimensions both dynamically and statically, demonstrating that two mechanical states similar to those of glassy materials exist in the three-dimensional case. Scaling analysis is applied to the static model focused from the rearrangement viewpoint. The obtained results suggest that the upper critical dimension of tissues equals two and is therefore the same as that of the jamming transition., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Emergent cadmium pollution can cause water quality deterioration in rivers, which destroys the aquatic eco-environment and poses threats to human health. Fish species in these aquatic systems are prone to such pollution incidents and act as important indicators of the pollution level. Because cadmium enters the systematic circulation of fish and is non-biodegradable, the investigation of cadmium accumulation in fish bodies provides insights into the detrimental effects of cadmium pollution on the aquatic biological system. This research aims to validate the eco-environmental risks associated with emergent cadmium pollution incidents based on the investigation of the different tissues and organs of diverse fish species. The investigation was conducted six times along the Longjiang River using sampling methods during which all fish species were also classified and analyzed based on the water layer they reside in and their feeding habits. The results show that the cadmium concentration in the fish tissues is significantly higher in the former three investigations compared with that of the latter three analyses. For herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous fish species, the cadmium concentration of their different tissues and organs follows the order:kidney > liver > gut > gill > egg > scale ≈ muscle. The cadmium concentration in the kidney is significantly higher ( P <0.05) than that in any other organs of the fish species. This agrees with the fact that the kidney intensively metabolizes and accumulates heavy metals. The cadmium concentration in the same tissues or organs of the fish species living in different water layers follows the trend:demersal fish species > middle lower-layer species > middle upper-layer species. The sequence of the cadmium bioaccumulation factors in the muscles of different fish species is omnivore > carnivorous > herbivorous, that is, 8.32, 6.33, and 5.15, respectively, while the bioaccumulation factors in the muscles of the fish species in different water layers decrease in the following sequence:demersal fish species (8.18) > middle bottom-layer fish species (7.70) > middle upper-layer fish species (4.99). These experimental results indicate the biomagnification effects in heavy metal-polluted aquatic environments, where the bioaccumulation of heavy metals by fish is related to both the overall pollution level and local residential environment.