Exercise ameliorates muscular excessive mitochondrial fission, insulin resistance and inflammation in diabetic rats via irisin/AMPK activation.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of exercise on excessive mitochondrial fission, insulin resistance, and inflammation in the muscles of diabetic rats. The role of the irisin/AMPK pathway in regulating exercise effects was also determined. Thirty-two 8-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 per group): one control group (Con) and three experimental groups. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was induced in the experimental groups via a high-fat diet followed by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at a dosage of 30 mg/kg body weight. After T2DM induction, groups were assigned as sedentary (DM), subjected to 8 weeks of treadmill exercise training (Ex), or exercise training combined with 8-week cycloRGDyk treatment (ExRg). Upon completion of the last training session, all rats were euthanized and samples of fasting blood and soleus muscle were collected for analysis using ELISA, immunofluorescence, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting. Statistical differences between groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, and differences between two groups were assessed using t-tests. Our findings demonstrate that exercise training markedly ameliorated hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidaemia, and insulin resistance in diabetic rats (p < 0.05). It also mitigated the disarranged morphology and inflammation of skeletal muscle associated with T2DM (p < 0.05). Crucially, exercise training suppressed muscular excessive mitochondrial fission in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats (p < 0.05), and enhanced irisin and p-AMPK levels significantly (p < 0.05). However, exercise-induced irisin and p-AMPK expression were inhibited by cycloRGDyk treatment (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the administration of CycloRGDyk blocked the effects of exercise training in reducing excessive mitochondrial fission and inflammation in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats, as well as the positive effects of exercise training on improving hyperlipidemia and insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats (p < 0.05). These results indicate that regular exercise training effectively ameliorates insulin resistance and glucolipid metabolic dysfunction, and reduces inflammation in skeletal muscle. These benefits are partially mediated by reductions in mitochondrial fission through the irisin/AMPK signalling pathway.

The Carthamus tinctorius L. genome sequence provides insights into synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids.

Domesticated safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a widely cultivated edible oil crop. However, despite its economic importance, the genetic basis underlying key traits such as oil content, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and flowering time remains poorly understood. Here, we present the genome assembly for C. tinctorius variety Jihong01, which was obtained by integrating Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and BGI-SEQ500 sequencing results. The assembled genome was 1,061.1 Mb, and consisted of 32,379 protein-coding genes, 97.71% of which were functionally annotated. Safflower had a recent whole genome duplication (WGD) event in evolution history and diverged from sunflower approximately 37.3 million years ago. Through comparative genomic analysis at five seed development stages, we unveiled the pivotal roles of fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) and fatty acid desaturase 6 (FAD6) in linoleic acid (LA) biosynthesis. Similarly, the differential gene expression analysis further reinforced the significance of these genes in regulating LA accumulation. Moreover, our investigation of seed fatty acid composition at different seed developmental stages unveiled the crucial roles of FAD2 and FAD6 in LA biosynthesis. These findings offer important insights into enhancing breeding programs for the improvement of quality traits and provide reference resource for further research on the natural properties of safflower.

Effects of sedentary behaviour and long-term regular Tai Chi exercise on dynamic stability control during gait initiation in older women.

Background: Sedentary behaviour has been associated with an increased risk of falls among older adults. Although gait initiation (GI) is a promising tool used to assess fall risk, it has yet to be quantitatively evaluated for dynamic stability in sedentary populations. Tai Chi exercise is believed to be effective in preventing falls in older adults, but its effect on GI stability has not been quantified. This study aims to compare the stability of GI in sedentary older individuals versus those who are long-term Tai Chi exercisers by using a quantitative approach. Methods: This study included 17 sedentary older women without exercise habits (age: 65.59 ± 3.66 years, average daily sitting time: 8.735 ± 1.847 h/day) and 19 older women who regularly engage in Tai Chi exercise (age: 65.58 ± 3.63 years, years of exercise: 9.84 ± 3.48 years). Every participant underwent five trials of self-paced GI walking tests. Eight cameras and four force plates were used to obtain kinematic and kinetic parameters. The trajectory of the centre of mass (CoM) and the position of the foot placement were recorded. The anterior-posterior (A-P) and medio-lateral (M-L) dynamic stability at the onset and end moments of the single-legged support was calculated using CoM and gait spatiotemporal parameters. The stepping dynamic stability and foot placement positions of both groups were compared. Results: The Tai Chi group had greater stability in the M-L directions at the swing leg's toe-off moment and in the M-L and A-P directions at the heel-strike moment, as well as significantly larger step length, step width and step speed during locomotion than sedentary older women. However, the stability in the A-P directions at the swing leg's toe-off moment and the foot inclination angle was not statistically different between the two groups. Conclusion: Long-term regular Tai Chi exercise can enhance the dynamic stability of GI in older women, and effectively improve their foot placement strategy during GI. The findings further confirm the negative effect of sedentary on the stability control of older women and the positive role of Tai Chi in enhancing their gait stability and reducing the risk of falls.

Therapeutic Strategies for RB1-Deficient Cancers: Intersecting Gene Regulation and Targeted Therapy.

The retinoblastoma (RB) transcriptional corepressor 1 (RB1) is a critical tumor suppressor gene, governing diverse cellular processes implicated in cancer biology. Dysregulation or deletion in RB1 contributes to the development and progression of various cancers, making it a prime target for therapeutic intervention. RB1's canonical function in cell cycle control and DNA repair mechanisms underscores its significance in restraining aberrant cell growth and maintaining genomic stability. Understanding the complex interplay between RB1 and cellular pathways is beneficial to fully elucidate its tumor-suppressive role across different cancer types and for therapeutic development. As a result, investigating vulnerabilities arising from RB1 deletion-associated mechanisms offers promising avenues for targeted therapy. Recently, several findings highlighted multiple methods as a promising strategy for combating tumor growth driven by RB1 loss, offering potential clinical benefits in various cancer types. This review summarizes the multifaceted role of RB1 in cancer biology and its implications for targeted therapy.

Exercise ameliorating myocardial injury in type 2 diabetic rats by inhibiting excessive mitochondrial fission involving increased irisin expression and AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation.

PURPOSE: Though exercise generates beneficial effects on diabetes-associated cardiac damage, the underlying mechanism is largely unclear. Therefore, we prescribed a program of 8-week treadmill training for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and determined the role of irisin signaling, via interacting with AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), in mediating the effects of exercise on myocardial injuries and mitochondrial fission. METHODS: Forty 8-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into groups of control (Con), diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetes plus exercise (Ex), and diabetes plus exercise and Cyclo RGDyk (ExRg). Ex and ExRg rats received 8 weeks of treadmill running, and the rats in the ExRg group additionally were treated with a twice weekly injection of Cyclo RGDyk, an irisin receptor-αV/ß5 antagonist. At the end of the experiment, murine blood samples and heart tissues were collected and analyzed with methods of ELISA, Western blot, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, as well as immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Exercise effectively mitigated T2DM-related hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, lipid dysmetabolism, and inflammation, which could be diminished by Cyclo RGDyk treatment. Additionally, exercise alleviated T2DM-induced myocardial injury and excessive mitochondrial fission, whereas the beneficial effects were blocked by the administration of Cyclo RGDyk. T2DM significantly decreased serum irisin concentrations and fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5)/irisin gene and protein expression levels in the rat heart, whereas exercise could rescue T2DM-reduced FNDC5/irisin expression. Blocking irisin receptor signaling diminished the exercise-alleviated mitochondrial fission protein expression and elevated AMPK phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: Exercise is effective in mitigating diabetes-related insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction, and inflammation. Irisin signaling engages in exercise-associated beneficial effects on myocardial injury and excessive mitochondrial fission in diabetes rats involving elevated AMPK phosphorylation.

Genome-Wide Identification and Comprehensive Analysis of the FtsH Gene Family in Soybean (Glycine max).

The filamentation temperature-sensitive H (FtsH) gene family is critical in regulating plant chloroplast development and photosynthesis. It plays a vital role in plant growth, development, and stress response. Although FtsH genes have been identified in a wide range of plants, there is no detailed study of the FtsH gene family in soybean (Glycine max). Here, we identified 34 GmFtsH genes, which could be categorized into eight groups, and GmFtsH genes in the same group had similar structures and conserved protein motifs. We also performed intraspecific and interspecific collinearity analysis and found that the GmFtsH family has large-scale gene duplication and is more closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana. Cis-acting elements analysis in the promoter region of the GmFtsH genes revealed that most genes contain developmental and stress response elements. Expression patterns based on transcriptome data and real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that most of the GmFtsH genes were expressed at the highest levels in leaves. Then, GO enrichment analysis indicated that GmFtsH genes might function as a protein hydrolase. In addition, the GmFtsH13 protein was confirmed to be localized in chloroplasts by a transient expression experiment in tobacco. Taken together, the results of this study lay the foundation for the functional determination of GmFtsH genes and help researchers further understand the regulatory network in soybean leaf development.

Deep Learning for Genomics: From Early Neural Nets to Modern Large Language Models.

The data explosion driven by advancements in genomic research, such as high-throughput sequencing techniques, is constantly challenging conventional methods used in genomics. In parallel with the urgent demand for robust algorithms, deep learning has succeeded in various fields such as vision, speech, and text processing. Yet genomics entails unique challenges to deep learning, since we expect a superhuman intelligence that explores beyond our knowledge to interpret the genome from deep learning. A powerful deep learning model should rely on the insightful utilization of task-specific knowledge. In this paper, we briefly discuss the strengths of different deep learning models from a genomic perspective so as to fit each particular task with proper deep learning-based architecture, and we remark on practical considerations of developing deep learning architectures for genomics. We also provide a concise review of deep learning applications in various aspects of genomic research and point out current challenges and potential research directions for future genomics applications. We believe the collaborative use of ever-growing diverse data and the fast iteration of deep learning models will continue to contribute to the future of genomics.

Can Lead-Free Double Halide Perovskites Serve as Proper Photovoltaic Absorber?

The emerging Pb-free double perovskites (DPs) are acknowledged as the most potential nontoxic alternatives to lead halide perovskites for thin-film photovoltaics, yet their photophysical properties significantly lag behind expectations. To tackle this issue, it is imperative to conduct a systematic investigation of the structure and optoelectronic properties and to sift through vast chemical space to extract new types of Pb-free DPs with exceptional optoelectronic characteristics and thermal stability. Through high-throughput first-principal calculations, we demonstrate that apart from a select few Pb-free DPs (e.g., Cs2InSbCl6 and Cs2TlBiBr6), other categories, even with suitable direct electronic bandgaps, exhibit inferior optical absorption due to the inversion symmetry-induced parity-forbidden transitions. The mismatch between the electronic and optical bandgap, thence, casts doubt on the reliability of the electronic bandgap as a criterion for Pb-free DPs in various optoelectronics. The assessed limited thermostability under operational conditions, however, hinders any Pb-free DPs from effectively serving as photovoltaic absorbers. Alongside the compositional engineering discussed above, the prospect of manipulating local-site symmetry and disrupting the parity forbidden transitions in stabilized Pb-free DPs through materials engineering should be recognized as a pivotal and rational avenue toward achieving high performance.

Effect of Mild Therapeutic Hypothermia Combined with Stereotactic Aspiration on Patients with Severe Cerebral Hemorrhage.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of mild therapeutic hypothermia combined with stereotactic aspiration of spontaneous intracerebral hematoma on neurological function, inflammatory markers, cerebral hematoma, and cerebral edema in patients with severe cerebral hemorrhage. The clinical data of 86 patients with severe cerebral hemorrhage treated at our hospital between March 2020 and January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were grouped according to their treatment plans: the control group consisted of 40 patients who underwent stereotactic aspiration of the spontaneous intracerebral hematoma, whereas the study group consisted of 46 patients who received adjuvant mild therapeutic hypothermia in addition to the aforementioned treatment. Clinical efficacy, neurological function (NIHSS score), daily living ability (BI score), cerebral hematoma, cerebral edema, cerebral hemodynamics (PI, RI, Vm, Vd), inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, hs-CRP), oxidative stress indicators (SOD, MDA, 8-iso-PGF2α), serum-related factors (MMP-9, ICAM-1, ET-1, NO), and prognosis were compared between the groups. The total efficacy rate in the study group (95.65%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (77.50%) (P < 0.05). Post-treatment NIHSS scores, intracranial hematoma volume, perihematoma edema volume, cerebral edema volume, RI, serum IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, hs-CRP, MDA, and 8-iso-PGF2α levels were significantly lower in both groups, with the study group showing even greater reductions. The BI score and PI, Vm, Vd, SOD, and NO levels were significantly higher in the study group (P < 0.05). At the 6-month follow-up, the prognosis of patients in the intervention group was significantly better than that of patients in the control group (P < 0.05). The combination of mild therapeutic hypothermia with stereotactic aspiration of a spontaneous intracerebral hematoma has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of severe cerebral hemorrhage. This approach effectively reduces cerebral hematoma and edema, improves daily living ability, alleviates neurological deficits, regulates cerebral hemodynamics, suppresses inflammatory responses and oxidative stress, modulates serum-related factor levels, and enhances patient prognosis.

The role of Vav3 expression for inflammation and cell death during experimental myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: Myocardial Infarction (MI) is the leading cause of chronic heart failure. Previous studies have suggested that Vav3, a receptor protein tyrosine kinase signal transducer, is associated with a variety of cellular signaling processes such as cell morphology regulation and cell transformation with oncogenic activity. However, the mechanism of Vav3-mediated MI development requires further investigation. METHOD: Here, The authors established an MI rat model by ligating the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery, and an MI cell model by treating cardiomyocytes with H2O2. Microarray analysis was conducted to identify genes with differential expression in heart tissues relevant to MI occurrence and development. Vav3 was thus selected for further investigation. RESULTS: Vav3 downregulation was observed in MI heart tissue and H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes. Administration of Lentiviral Vav3 (LV-VAV3) in MI rats upregulated Vav3 expression in MI heart tissue. Restoration of Vav3 expression reduced infarct area and ameliorated cardiac function in MI rats. Cardiac inflammation, apoptosis, and upregulation of NFκB signal in heart tissue of MI animals were assessed using ELISA, TUNEL staining, real-time PCR, and WB. Vav3 overexpression reduced cardiac inflammation and apoptosis and inhibited NFκB expression and activation. Betulinic Acid (BA) was then used to re-activate NFκB in Vav3-overexpressed and H2O2-induced cardiomyocytes. The expression of P50 and P65, as well as nuclear P65, was significantly increased by BA exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Vav3 might serve as a target to reduce ischemia damage by suppressing the inflammation and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes.

Gravity-driven membrane system treating heavy metals-containing secondary effluent: Improved removal of heavy metals and mechanism.

This study aimed at investigating the removal performance of the gravity-driven membrane (GDM) system in treating the heavy metals-containing secondary effluent, as well as evaluating the respective roles of Fe and Mn addition on the removal of heavy metals. GDM process with the formation of biocake layer exerted effective removals of Cr, Pb and Cd, with an average removal efficiency of 98%, 95% and 40%, respectively, however, after removing the biocake layer, the removal efficiencies of Cr, Pb and Cd reduced to 59%, 85% and 19%, respectively, indicating that the biocake layer played a fundamental role in removing heavy metals. With the assistance of Fe, the removal efficiency of heavy metals increased, and exhibited a positive response to the Fe dosage, due to the adsorption by the freshly generated iron oxides. On the contrary, the Mn involvement would result in the reduction of Cd removal due to the competitive adsorption of residual dissolved Mn2+ and Cd. Furthermore, the addition of a high dosage of Fe increased the diversity of eukaryotic communities and facilitated the elimination of heavy metals, however, the involvement of Mn would lead to a reduction in microbial diversity, resulting in a decrease of heavy metal removal efficiency. These findings are expected to develop new tactics to enhance heavy metal removal and promote widespread application of GDM technology in the fields of deep treatment of heavy metals-containing wastewater and reclamation of secondary effluent.

Average capacity of an underwater wireless communication link with the quasi-Airy hypergeometric-Gaussian vortex beam based on a modified channel model.

Prompted by alleviating the random perturbation of underwater channel and enhancing the performance for the orbital angular momentum (OAM) -based underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC), the quasi-Airy Hypergeometric-Gaussian (QAHyGG) vortex beam is first proposed and demonstrated. Moreover, an underwater channel model is first modified for more accurate simulated results of the propagation property of various beams. Based on the modified model, the transmission and communication performance of three different OAM-carrying beams (the Gauss vortex (GV) beam, the Hypergeometric-Gaussian (HyGG) vortex beam, and the QAHyGG vortex beam) are comparatively studied. In addition, the parameters optimization of the QAHyGG vortex beam is made for further enhancing the average capacity. The results show that the QAHyGG vortex beam exhibits higher received power and lower crosstalk probability under different channel conditions. The average capacity of the QAHyGG vortex beam has enhanced by ∼8% and ∼27% compared with the HyGG vortex beam and the GV beam at 100m, respectively. The QAHyGG vortex beam is more suitable in an OAM-based UWOC system with a limited-size receiving aperture or lower transmit power. Besides, the average capacity will improve effectively at longer distances with the optimized beam parameters. These research results can provide advances in designing the practical OAM-based UWOC system.

Morphological Characterstics of the Sensilla in a Monophagous Insect: Agasicles hygrophila Selman and Vogt (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Halticinae).

Agasicles hygrophila Selman and Vogt (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is the key natural enemy of Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb, an invasive weed worldwide. To understand the morphology of A. hygrophila and further explore the specific host localization mechanism, scanning electron microscopy was used to observe and study the morphological characteristics of sensilla on the head appendages, tarsi, and external genital segments of A. hygrophila. Twelve types and forty-six subtypes of sensilla were observed. These contain various types of head appendices, including sensilla chaetica, sensilla trichodea, sensilla basiconca, sensilla coeloconica, sensilla styloconica, Böhm bristles, sensilla campaniform, sensilla terminal, sensilla dome, sensilla digit-like, sensilla aperture, and many subtypes. A new type of sensor was reported for the first time, which may be related to host plant recognition. This sensor was located on the distal segment of the maxillary palps of A. hygrophila and was named as sensilla petal-shaped based on its morphological characteristics. Sensilla chaetica, sensilla trichodea, and sensilla basiconca are also found on the tarsi and external genital segments. In addition, sensilla basiconica 4, sensilla coeloconica 1 and 2, sensilla styloconica 2, Böhm bristles 2, and sensilla campaniform 1 were only found in females. On the contrary, sensilla styloconica 3, sensilla coeloconica 3, and sensilla dome were only found in males. Numbers and sizes of the sensilla were also different between males and females. The potential functions related to structure were discussed in comparison with previous investigations on beetles and other monophagous insects. Our results provide a microscopic morphological basis for further research on the localization and recognition mechanism of A. hygrophila and its obligate host.

Contribution of Comorbid Conditions to the Diagnosis of Insomnia: A Database Study in a Commercially Insured Population.

ABSTRACT: Insomnia is a common sleep disorder characterized as dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality resulting in distress or impairment of social, occupational, or other daily functioning. It is unknown if there are medical conditions that have strong associations with insomnia but are unrecognized in previous literature. In this cross-sectional study based on IBM Marketscan Research Databases, we measured insomnia and 78 medical conditions in patients with 2-year continuous enrollment during 2018-2019. We selected important comorbidities associated with insomnia for eight age-sex groups and built logistic regression models to measure the associations. The prevalence of diagnosed insomnia increased with age, from <0.4% in the age group 0-17 to 4%-5% in the age group ≥65. Females had a higher prevalence of insomnia than males. Anxiety and depression were two important comorbidities across all age-sex subgroups. Most odds ratios of comorbidities remained significant after adjusting for other comorbidities in regression models. We did not find any new medical conditions that had strong associations with insomnia but were unrecognized in previous literature. The findings can help physicians use comorbidities to identify patients with high risk of insomnia.

Gender Differences in the Nonspecific and Health-Specific Use of Social Media Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Trend Analysis Using HINTS 2017-2020 Data.

The use of social media has changed since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, little is known about the gender disparity in social media use for nonspecific and health-specific issues before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a gender difference perspective, this study aimed to examine how the nonspecific and health-specific uses of social media changed in 2017-2020. The data came from the Health Information National Trends Survey Wave 5 Cycle 1-4. This study included 10,426 participants with complete data. Compared to 2017, there were higher levels of general use in 2019 and 2020, and an increased likelihood of health-related use in 2020 was reported among the general population. Female participants were more likely to be nonspecific and health-specific users than males. Moreover, the relationship of gender with general use increased in 2019 and 2020; however, concerning health-related use, it expanded in 2019 but narrowed in 2020. The COVID-19 global pandemic led to increased use of social media, especially for health-related issues among males. These findings further our understanding of the gender gap in health communication through social media, and contribute to targeted messaging to promote health and reduce disparities between different groups during the pandemic.

NPInter v5.0: ncRNA interaction database in a new era.

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) play key regulatory roles in biological processes by interacting with other biomolecules. With the development of high-throughput sequencing and experimental technologies, extensive ncRNA interactions have been accumulated. Therefore, we updated the NPInter database to a fifth version to document these interactions. ncRNA interaction entries were doubled from 1 100 618 to 2 596 695 by manual literature mining and high-throughput data processing. We integrated global RNA-DNA interactions from iMARGI, ChAR-seq and GRID-seq, greatly expanding the number of RNA-DNA interactions (from 888 915 to 8 329 382). In addition, we collected different types of RNA interaction between SARS-CoV-2 virus and its host from recently published studies. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression specificity in different cell types from tumor single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data were also integrated to provide a cell-type level view of interactions. A new module named RBP was built to display the interactions of RNA-binding proteins with annotations of localization, binding domains and functions. In conclusion, NPInter v5.0 (http://bigdata.ibp.ac.cn/npinter5/) provides informative and valuable ncRNA interactions for biological researchers.

Influence of operation modes on gravity-driven membrane process in treating the secondary effluent: Flux improvement and biocake layer property.

A low flux level of the gravity-driven membrane (GDM) process constrained its extensive application in treating the secondary effluent. In this study, different operation modes were introduced to the GDM process without aeration, backwashing, and chemical cleanings, hoping to develop simple and economic flux regulating strategies, and their influences on the filtration performances and biocake layer characteristics were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the stable fluxs in the intermittent GDM systems elevated by 40%-100% relative to the continuous GDM case, attributing to the synergetic effects of forming more permeable, mushroom-like structures and reducing the concentrations of EPS and SMP within biocake layers. The quantitative analysis of biocake layer properties suggested that the structural parameters of porosity and absolute roughness were closely related to the flux variation compared to the thickness and relative roughness. Besides, the intermittent GDM system generated an apparent detachment of the biocake layer from the membrane surface along with a persistent flux increase than in the continuous GDM case during long-term filtration, achieving its self-sustained operation in a higher flux level without any interferences. The periodical flux recovery and decline occurred daily in each intermittent GDM system since the biocake layer attached to the membrane surface was mainly reversible. Although there were no significant differences in removing dissolved organic pollutants under different operation modes, the manganese removals decreased by 0%-25% in the intermittent GDM filtrations compared to the continuous GDM scenario. The optimized daily operation mode was 16 h on / 8 h off (operation of 16 h, interruption of 8 h), considering the trade-off effects between membrane flux level and water production. These findings provide a new simply-feasible optimized GDM process operation strategy and benefit promoting the application of the GDM system in the reclamation of wastewater.

Irisin Regulates Cardiac Responses to Exercise in Health and Diseases: a Narrative Review.

Exercise has been recognized as an important non-pharmacological approach for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases, but the mechanisms of exercise in promoting cardiovascular health remain unclear. Exercise generates cardiac benefits via stimulating muscle to secret hundreds of myokines that directly enter circulation and target heart tissue. Therefore, inter-organ communication between skeletal muscle and heart may be one important regulating pattern, and such communication can occur through secretion of molecules, frequently known as myokines. Irisin, a newly identified myokine, is cleaved from fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5) and secreted by the stimulation of exercise. Recently, accumulating evidence focusing on the interaction between irisin and cardiac function has been reported. This review highlights the molecular signaling by which irisin regulates the benefits of exercise on cardiac function both in physiological and pathological process, and discusses the clinical potential of irisin in treating heart diseases. Exercise generates various cardiovascular benefits through stimulating skeletal muscle to secrete irisin. The exercise "hormone" irisin, both produced by exercise or recombinant form, exerts therapeutic effects in a group of cardiovascular disorders including heart failure, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis and hypertension. However, the molecular mechanisms involved remain ambiguous.This review highlights the most up-to-date findings to bridge the gap between exercise, irisin and cardiovascular diseases, and discusses the potential clinical prospect of irisin.

The effect of complex cognitive context on the dynamic stability during gait initiation in older women.

Background: Changes in cognitive control are considered potential factors affecting voluntary motor movements during gait initiation (GI). Simulating environments with higher cognitive resource demands have an effect on the stability of GI task performance, which is of significant importance for assessing fall risk in the older adults and devising fall risk management measures in multiple environments. This study aims to reveal the influence of complex cognitive competitive environment with increased cognitive demands on the dynamic stability during GI in the older women. Methods: Twenty-three older females and twenty-three younger females performed walking tests under three conditions: voluntary initiation (SI), visual light reaction time task (LRT), and cognitive interference + visual light reaction time task (C + LRT). Eight cameras (Qualisys, Sweden, model: Oqus 600) and three force plates (Kistler, Switzerland, model: 9287C) are used to obtain kinematic and kinetic data. To recorde the trajectory of center of pressure (CoP) and the position of the foot placement, and compute the anterior-posterior (A-P) and medio-lateral (M-L) dynamic stability at the onset and end moments of the single-leg support by means of center of mass (CoM) and gait spatiotemporal parameters. Results: Older women responded to the effect of complex environments involving cognitive competition on body stability by prolonging the lateral displacement time of the CoP during the anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) phase, reducing step length and velocity, and increasing step width and foot inclination angle. Conclusion: Complex initiation environments lead to competition for cognitive resources in the brain, resulting in decreased stability of GI motor control in older adults. The higher the complexity of the cognitive resource demands environment, the lower the stability of GI in older adults, and the greater the effect on their M-L stability at the onset of stepping.

The role of Vav3 expression for inflammation and cell death during experimental myocardial infarction

Abstract Objectives Myocardial Infarction (MI) is the leading cause of chronic heart failure. Previous studies have suggested that Vav3, a receptor protein tyrosine kinase signal transducer, is associated with a variety of cellular signaling processes such as cell morphology regulation and cell transformation with oncogenic activity. However, the mechanism of Vav3-mediated MI development requires further investigation. Method Here, The authors established an MI rat model by ligating the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery, and an MI cell model by treating cardiomyocytes with H2O2. Microarray analysis was conducted to identify genes with differential expression in heart tissues relevant to MI occurrence and development. Vav3 was thus selected for further investigation. Results Vav3 downregulation was observed in MI heart tissue and H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes. Administration of Lentiviral Vav3 (LV-VAV3) in MI rats upregulated Vav3 expression in MI heart tissue. Restoration of Vav3 expression reduced infarct area and ameliorated cardiac function in MI rats. Cardiac inflammation, apoptosis, and upregulation of NFκB signal in heart tissue of MI animals were assessed using ELISA, TUNEL staining, real-time PCR, and WB. Vav3 overexpression reduced cardiac inflammation and apoptosis and inhibited NFκB expression and activation. Betulinic Acid (BA) was then used to re-activate NFκB in Vav3-overexpressed and H2O2-induced cardiomyocytes. The expression of P50 and P65, as well as nuclear P65, was significantly increased by BA exposure. Conclusions Vav3 might serve as a target to reduce ischemia damage by suppressing the inflammation and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes.