Correlation between Balthazar CT grading, CECT necrosis volume, attenuation value, and prognosis of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis.

To analyze the correlation between Balthazar CT grading and contrast-enhanced CT necrosis volume and attenuation value and prognosis of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Ninety-two patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis who were treated in the hospital were selected between June 2019 and June 2021, and they were divided into the poor prognosis group and the good prognosis group according to the clinical prognosis at 6 months of follow-up. Balthazar CT, contrast-enhanced CT necrosis volume, and attenuation value were compared between the 2 groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors. Receiver operating characteristic curve was adopted to analyze the predictive value. Among the 92 participants, there were 28 cases with good prognosis (30.43%) and 64 cases with poor prognosis (69.57%). The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, C-reactive protein, urea nitrogen, Balthazar CT, necrotic volume, and average attenuation value of the poor prognosis group were significantly higher than those of the good prognosis group (all P values <.05). The results of the multivariate logistic analysis showed that Balthazar CT grade, necrotic volume, and average attenuation value were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis (all P values <.05). The area under the curve of Balthazar CT grade, necrotic volume, average attenuation value, and the joint detection in predicting the prognosis of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis were 0.765, 0.624, 0.764, and 0.861, respectively. The Balthazar CT grading, necrosis volume, and average attenuation value are significantly higher among patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis complicated with poor prognosis, and they are also independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis, and can help clinically predict the prognosis of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis, and the combined detection has better application effects.

Chromatin accessibility dynamics dictate renal tubular epithelial cell response to injury.

Renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) can initiate an adaptive response to completely recover from mild acute kidney injury (AKI), whereas severe injury often leads to persistence of maladaptive repair and progression to kidney fibrosis. Through profiling of active DNA regulatory elements by ATAC-seq, we reveal widespread, dynamic changes in the chromatin accessibility of TECs after ischemia-reperfusion injury. We show that injury-specific domains of regulatory chromatin become accessible prior to gene activation, creating poised chromatin states to activate the consequent gene expression program and injury response. We further identify RXRα as a key transcription factor in promoting adaptive repair. Activation of RXRα by bexarotene, an FDA-approved RXRα agonist, restores the chromatin state and gene expression program to protect TECs against severe kidney injury. Together, our findings elucidate a chromatin-mediated mechanism underlying differential responses of TECs to varying injuries and identify RXRα as a therapeutic target of acute kidney injury.

White tea alleviates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by regulating energy expenditure and lipid metabolism.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the leading causes of liver disease, which lacks effective treatments. Abnormal lipid metabolism and inflammation are the most prominent pathological manifestations of NAFLD. Recently, it has been reported that white tea extract (WTE) can regulate lipid metabolism in human adipocytes and liver cancer cells in vitro. However, its beneficial effects on NAFLD and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that WTE alleviated obesity, lipid accumulation, hepatic steatosis, and liver injury in a mouse model of NAFLD. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that WTE exerted the anti-NAFLD effect by decreasing the expression of genes involved in lipid transport and synthesis processes while activating genes associated with energy expenditure. In addition, a comparison of the transcriptional responses of WTE with that of green tea extract (GTE) revealed that WTE can not only regulate lipid metabolism and stress response like GTE but also regulate antioxidant and inflammatory pathways more effectively. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that WTE inhibits the progression of NAFLD in a mouse model and indicate that WTE can be a potential dietary intervention for NAFLD.

cAMP-Induced Nuclear Condensation of CRTC2 Promotes Transcription Elongation and Cystogenesis in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Formation of biomolecular condensates by phase separation has recently emerged as a new principle for regulating gene expression in response to extracellular signaling. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the coupling of signal transduction and gene activation through condensate formation, and how dysregulation of these mechanisms contributes to disease progression, remain elusive. Here, the authors report that CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 2 (CRTC2) translocates to the nucleus and forms phase-separated condensates upon activation of cAMP signaling. They show that intranuclear CRTC2 interacts with positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) and activates P-TEFb by disrupting the inhibitory 7SK snRNP complex. Aberrantly elevated cAMP signaling plays central roles in the development of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). They find that CRTC2 localizes to the nucleus and forms condensates in cystic epithelial cells of both mouse and human ADPKD kidneys. Genetic depletion of CRTC2 suppresses cyst growth in an orthologous ADPKD mouse model. Using integrative transcriptomic and cistromic analyses, they identify CRTC2-regulated cystogenesis-associated genes, whose activation depends on CRTC2 condensate-facilitated P-TEFb recruitment and the release of paused RNA polymerase II. Together, their findings elucidate a mechanism by which CRTC2 nuclear condensation conveys cAMP signaling to transcription elongation activation and thereby promotes cystogenesis in ADPKD.

The quality of dissolved organic matter extracted at different times from pig compost and its copper binding capacity based on EEM-PARAFAC.

Dissolved organic matter extracted from compost tea, can be regarded as alternatives to inorganic fertilizers as well to be used as a washing agent for heavy metal polluted soil. However, the composition and quality of compost tea produced under different extraction time are still unknown. The objective of the current study was set to explore the influence of different extraction time (i.e., 6, 12, and 24 h) on the composition, quality, and copper binding capacity of compost tea originated from pig manure compost. The results indicated that the extraction time obviously influenced the phenolic, aromatic carboxylic, and polycyclic aromatic groups of compost tea. In addition, the compost tea undergo the shorter extraction time (i.e., 6 and 12 h) contained more protein and humic-like compositions. Among the all treatments tested herein, the compost tea produced from 12 h extraction time obviously exhibited higher aromaticity, molecular weight, and humification degree than other two treatments. The highest stability constant value (log KM) was observed for the shortest extraction time, i.e., 6.08. According to the quality measures and copper binding capability, shorter extraction times (i.e., 6 and 12 h) would be suggested for compost tea production from pig manure compost.

[Economical nitrogen application rate of winter wheat under rice-wheat rotation in the Yangtze River basin of China]. / 长江流域稻麦轮作条件下冬小麦适宜施氮量.

To promote the rational application of nitrogen fertilizer for winter wheat under rice-wheat rotation in the Yangtze River Basin, we examined the effects of nitrogen application rates (0, 120, 210, 300 kg·hm-2, expressed as N0, N1, N2, and N3 respectively) on soil nitrate content, nitrogen balance of soil-plant system and yield. The results showed that soil nitrate content increased with increasing nitrogen application rates. Under different nitrogen application treatments, all the nitrate was significantly transfered to the 60 cm soil layer till jointing stage. After jointing stage, topdressing nitrogen significantly increased nitrate content in 0-40 cm soil layer under N1 and N2 treatments and that in the 0-60 cm soil layer under N3 treatment. Soil nitrate mainly accumulated in the 0-40 cm soil layer in the mature stage. Results from nitrogen balance analysis showed that nitrogen absorption, residue and loss varied across different growth stages of wheat, with the period from overwintering to jointing being the principal time of apparent nitrogen loss. The amount of plant nitrogen accumulation, inorganic nitrogen residue and soil nitrogen apparent loss all positively correlated with the nitrogen application rate. Based on the comprehensive analysis through Coase principle and marginal revenue of environmental economics, the optimum nitrogen application rate for production, ecology and economic benefits of winter wheat under rice-wheat rotation was 250 kg·hm-2, and the ratio of base fertilizer to jointing fertilizer was 5:5, while the corresponding grain yield was 6840 kg·hm-2.

[Characteristics of uptake, residual and loss of nitrogen fertilizer in winter wheat after rice stubble]. / 稻茬冬小麦氮肥吸收、残留和损失特性.

To promote the rational application of nitrogen fertilizer in winter wheat after rice stubble, the effects of nitrogen application rate (0, 150, 225, 300 kg·hm-2, expressed as N0, N150, N225, N300) on nitrogen recovery, residue, loss and grain yield were examined using field 15N tracer technology. The results showed that with the increases of application rate, nitrogen accumulation from different sources significantly increased while nitrogen recovery significantly decreased. The accumulation of basal nitrogen in plants reached the peak during overwintering stage to jointing stage, while the accumulation of topdressing nitrogen peaked between jointing to flowering stage. At maturity, nitrogen accumulation of the top fertilizer was higher than that of the base fertilizer. Plant nitrogen accumulation from soil under N150 was higher than that from nitrogen fertilizer, but with an opposite tendency under N225 and N300. With the increases of nitrogen application rate, the residual nitrogen in the 0-100 cm soil layer in the maturing stage significantly increased, while the residual nitrogen ratio in the 60-100 cm soil layer gradually increased. In the whole growth period of wheat, both nitrogen loss and loss ratio were positively correlated with nitrogen application rate. The nitrogen loss of base fertilizer reached the highest during sowing to overwintering stage, while the nitrogen loss of top fertilizer was at the peak from jointing to flowering period. Taking grain yield into consideration, N225 treatment was the proper application rate for winter wheat after rice stubble, with grain yield being 6735 kg·hm-2, and the nitrogen fertilizer recovery rate, soil residue rate and loss rate being 42.6%, 34.0% and 23.3%, respectively.