Influence Mechanism of Osteopontin on Renal Injury in Patients with hereditary hypercalcemia by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

This study was to investigate the role and mechanism of osteopontin(OPN) in renal injury in patients with inherited hypercalciuria-bearing urinary calculi. The genetic hypercalcemia urolithiasis (GHS) rat model was established, and GHS rats were set as the experimental group (12 cases) and normal SD rats as the control group (12 cases). OPN and calcification levels in the kidney tissues of the two groups were compared by ELISA. According to calcium intervention or not, GHS rats were rolled into an intervention group (the intervention group was divided into 0.2g/L group, 0.4g/L group, and 0.7g/L group regarding the calcium injection dose, each group with 2 cases) and a normal group, each group with 6 cases. The levels of OPN and kidney injury in the two groups after 5h, 20h, and 40h were compared. Seventy patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) were rolled into a control group (injected with normal saline) and an observation group (injected with saline and OPN). The levels of OPN and calcification in kidney tissue of GHS rats in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The OPN level of GHS rats in the 0.2g/L group, 0.4g/L group, and 0.7g/L group was higher than that in the intervention group, and the OPN level at 5h, 10h, and 20h showed an upward trend (P<0.05). The incidence of renal injury in the intervention group (100%) was higher than that in the non-intervention group (16.67%) (P<0.05). Clinical verification results showed that urinary calcium excretion of IH patients in the observation group significantly decreased at 6 and 12 days, with statistical significance (P<0.05). The high probability of overactivation of OPN was one of the pathogeneses of hypercalciuria and calcium-bearing urolithiasis. The results suggested that OPN was closely related to the formation of urinary calculi and may cause certain damage to the kidney, which may be a key step in the prevention and treatment of urinary calculi.

Determinants of the embodied CO2 transfers through electricity trade within China.

There is unequal spatial distribution of resource endowment, population density, industrial structure, and economic development with diverse differences in labor, energy, and capital productivities in China. However, previous studies paid little attention to the determinants of CO2 transfers embodied in electricity trade. In this study, we use both the absolute and comparative advantage theories to reveal the determinants of embodied CO2 transfers through electricity trade within China. Results show that China's electricity sector has higher labor productivity but lower asset efficiency and energy productivity than that of mining and manufacturing sectors. The large-scale electricity trade alleviates the shortage of electricity supply in developed regions by outsourcing to the less-developed regions, reduces the unequal spatial distribution of coal and natural gas reserves, and changes CO2 flow embodied in power grid. Econometric analysis shows that coal reserve contributes to the increase of embodied CO2 emission, while natural gas reduces the embodied CO2 emission. The regional differences in the opportunity cost of labor productivity of non-electricity sector are the dominant factor of the embodied CO2 transfers through electricity trade within China, while asset efficiency and energy productivity are not significant in the regressions. Our findings could provide details about China's power grid expansion when confronting climate mitigation in the future.

miR-6315 silencing protects against spinal cord injury through the Smo and anti-ferroptosis pathway.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes permanent damage and has a high disability rate. Currently, no efficient therapeutic strategy is available for SCI. The present study investigated the mechanisms of microRNAs (miRNAs) in rats with spinal cord injury. Whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS) was used for analyzing miRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression patterns in rat spinal cord tissue at different time points after SCI. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathways were analyzed to obtain crucial functional pathways. miR-6315 was the most significantly up-regulated and differentially expressed miRNA after 24 h of SCI; the expression of miR-6315 gradually decreased after 3 and 7 days of SCI. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to predict the targeting relation of miR-6315 with Smo, and qRT-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays were conducted for verification. The miR-6315 silencing (miR-6315-si) adenovirus was successfully constructed. miR-6315 knockdown treatment significantly promoted functional behavioral recovery in rats post-SCI through using Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale and the inclined plane test. The neuronal axon regeneration and neuronal migration were promoted, and cell apoptosis was attenuated in treated SCI rats and Glu-treated neurons after miR-6315 knockdown using immunofluorescence and scratch assays. We discovered that Smo and anti-ferroptosis pathway factors, xCT, GSH, and GPX4, may be involved in miR-6315-regulated SCI repair. The expression of miR-6315 was negatively correlated with Smo, xCT, GSH, and GPX4. In conclusion, miR-6315 may be a potential target in the treatment of SCI.

MicroRNA-138 Regulates Spinal Cord Development by Activating the Shh in Fetal Rats.

INTRODUCTION: Dysregulation of spinal cord development can lead to serious neuronal damage and dysfunction, causing significant health problems in newborns. MiRNA-138 appears to be crucial for proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of cells. However, the regulation of miRNA-138 and downstream molecules in embryonic spinal cord development remain elusive. The aim of this experiment is to determine whether overexpression of miRNA-138 or RNA interference (RNAi) can regulate the development of spinal cord in fetal rats. METHODS: Two plasmid vectors including pLenti-III-mico-GFP (miRNA-138 open reading frame [ORF]) and pLenti-III-miR-Off (miRNA-138 short hairpin) were constructed and injected into the tail vein of rats on the 14th day of pregnancy. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the cell morphology. QRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunostaining confirmed the regulatory relationship between miRNA-138 and downstream molecules sonic hedgehog (Shh). RESULTS: Overexpression of miRNA-138 increased neuron regeneration significantly and decreased neuronal apoptosis when compared with the control. Silencing of miRNA-138 increased neuronal apoptosis and spinal cord atrophy significantly. Furthermore, miRNA-138 ORF treatment effectively increased the expression level of miRNA-138 and also upregulated the level of Shh. Comparatively, knockdown of miRNA-138 downregulated Shh levels in myelodysplastic regions. CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that miRNA-138 overexpression could protect the spinal cord development of fetal rats, and the underlying mechanisms were associated with Shh expression. The present study provides a novel strategy to promote the molecular mechanism of embryonic spinal cord development.

Energy-related carbon emissions and structural emissions reduction of China's construction industry: the perspective of input-output analysis.

Excessive carbon emissions from energy consumption seriously restrict China's sustainable development and eco-environmental protection. Although the carbon emissions from the construction industry are less than that of the power, transportation, and manufacturing sectors, the carbon emissions released by the construction industry cannot be ignored due to its extensive development trend of high energy consumption and low efficiency. Based on this, this paper studies energy-related carbon emissions and emissions reduction of China's construction industry from 2007 to 2017 by adopting the input-output analysis method, energy consumption method, and structural decomposition model. The results show that within the sample range: (1) The optimization of the construction industry energy consumption structure has a significant reduction effect on the growth of energy carbon emissions from the construction industry in China, and the reduction effect has shown an increasing trend over time. However, it should be noted that in this sample range, the optimization of energy consumption structure in the construction industry is mainly reflected in the decrease of the proportion of high-carbon energy consumption such as raw coal, while low-carbon energy such as natural gas has not played a significant role. Therefore, the future energy optimization space of China's construction industry is still huge. (2) Energy intensity effect and input structure effect have a positive inhibitory effect on carbon emission growth of the construction industry, and the inhibitory effect of energy intensity effect is stronger than that of input structure effect. It shows that in the sample range, the generalized technological progress and energy efficiency of the construction industry have been better optimized and improved. (3) Except for 2015-2017, the final demand effect in other intervals has a positive effect on the growth of carbon emissions in the construction industry, and the secondary and tertiary industries play a major role in the final demand effect. It shows that the total demand for the construction industry in various industries still maintains a growth trend. This paper provides a theoretical analysis basis and practical guidance for China's construction industry to carry out more accurate and efficient emission reduction from the supply-side energy varieties and demand-side industry level, and further enriches the existing research on carbon emissions of the construction industry from the perspective of input-output analysis.

The influencing factors and spillover effects of interprovincial agricultural carbon emissions in China.

Agricultural carbon emissions have become the constraints of agricultural low-carbon and circular economy development in China. China's agricultural production faces severe pressures and challenges in agricultural carbon reduction. In this paper, we take observation for the 31 provinces in china from 1997 to 2017, to explore the influencing factors and spatial spillover effects of agricultural by estimating spatial panel data models. The results show that China's agricultural carbon emissions will continue to increase in the future, because the growth of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is the main driving force to accelerate the growth of agricultural carbon emissions, but the agricultural input factors will help to reduce the growth of carbon emissions. Moreover, it is proved that economic factors and agricultural input factors have direct effects and spatial spillover effects on agricultural carbon emissions except for agricultural environmental factors. In the short term, strengthening environmental protection may bring some pressure to the economic development of some places, but to achieve high-quality development, we must fundamentally solve the problem of environmental pollution. The conclusion provides important enlightenment and scientific basis for formulating effective policies to curb the growth of CO2 emissions in China.

Development and relative fitness of Cry1C resistance in Chilo suppressalis.

BACKGROUND: Chilo suppressalis is an important lepidopteran rice pest in the rice-growing areas of China, and the development of transgenic rice expressing the Cry1C insecticidal protein has provided a useful strategy for controlling this pest. However, insect resistance is a major threat to the durability of cry1C rice. Thus, evaluation of the risk of insect resistance before the commercial use of cry1C rice is crucial. RESULTS: This study investigated the development of C. suppressalis resistance to Cry1C protein and the relative fitness of Cry1C-resistant and -susceptible strains on different Bt rice lines. The LC50 value of the Cry1C-resistant strain increased 42.6-fold after 41 generations of selection, and the estimated realized heritability (h2 ) of Cry1C resistance was 0.096 in C. suppressalis. Moreover, the Cry1C-resistant strain displayed high fitness on the cry1C line, but not on the cry1Ab and cry1Ab + cry1C lines and was not cross-resistant to Cry1Ab. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that C. suppressalis has the potential to develop resistance to Cry1C, although the rate of evolution is low. The pyramiding of the cry1A and cry1C genes in Bt rice is an effective strategy for delaying the evolution of resistance in C. suppressalis and sustainably maintaining the utility of Bt rice. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Gaps within the Biomedical Literature: Initial Characterization and Assessment of Strategies for Discovery.

Within well-established fields of biomedical science, we identify "gaps", topical areas of investigation that might be expected to occur but are missing. We define a field by carrying out a topical PubMed query, and analyze Medical Subject Headings by which the set of retrieved articles are indexed. Medical Subject headings (MeSH terms) which occur in >1% of the articles are examined pairwise to see how often they are predicted to co-occur within individual articles (assuming that they are independent of each other). A pair of MeSH terms that are predicted to co-occur in at least 10 articles, yet are not observed to co-occur in any article, are "gaps" and were studied further in a corpus of 10 disease-related article sets and 10 related to biological processes. Overall, articles that filled gaps were cited more heavily than non-gap-filling articles and were 61% more likely to be published in multidisciplinary high-impact journals. Nine different features of these "gaps" were characterized and tested to learn which, if any, correlate with the appearance of one or more articles containing both MeSH terms within the next five years. Several different types of gaps were identified, each having distinct combinations of predictive features: a) those arising as a byproduct of MeSH indexing rules; b) those having little biological meaning; c) those representing "low hanging fruit" for immediate exploitation; and d) those representing gaps across disciplines or sub-disciplines that do not talk to each other or work together. We have built a free, open tool called "Mine the Gap!" that identifies and characterizes the "gaps" for any PubMed query, which can be accessed via the Anne O'Tate value-added PubMed search interface (http://arrowsmith.psych.uic.edu/cgi-bin/arrowsmith_uic/AnneOTate.cgi).