Decreased expression of ATP-binding cassette protein G1 promotes abnormal adipogenesis of condylar chondrocytes in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal lipid metabolism is involved in the development of osteoarthritis (OA). ATP-binding cassette protein G1 (ABCG1) is crucial in mediating the outflow of cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin and reducing intracellular lipid accumulation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate whether ABCG1 participates in the abnormal adipogenesis of chondrocytes in osteoarthritic cartilage of temporomandibular joint. METHODS: Eight-week-old female rats were subjected to unilateral anterior crossbite (UAC) to induce OA in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Histochemical staining, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, and qRT-PCR were performed. Primary condylar chondrocytes of rats were transfected with ABCG1 shRNA or overexpression lentivirus and then stimulated with fluid flow shear stress (FFSS). Cells were collected for oil red O staining, immunofluorescence staining, and qRT-PCR analysis. RESULTS: Abnormal adipogenesis, characterized by increased expression of Adiponectin, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (Cebpα), fatty acid binding protein 4 (Fabp4) and Perilipin1, was enhanced in the degenerative cartilage of TMJ OA in rats with UAC, accompanied by decreased expression of ABCG1. After FFSS stimulation, we observed lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of cultured cells with increased expression of Adiponectin, Cebpα, Fabp4 and Perilipin1 and decreased expression of ABCG1. Knockdown of Abcg1 induced abnormal adipogenesis and differentiation of condylar chondrocytes. Overexpression of ABCG1 alleviated the abnormal adipogenesis and differentiation of condylar chondrocytes induced by FFSS. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal adipogenesis of chondrocytes and decreased ABCG1 expression were observed in degenerative cartilage of TMJ OA. ABCG1 overexpression effectively inhibits the adipogenesis of chondrocytes and thus alleviates TMJ condylar cartilage degeneration.

Coupling and coordinated evolution characteristics of regional economy-energy-carbon emission multiple systems: A case study of main China's Basin.

Comprehensive analysis of the Economy-Energy-Carbon Emission (EECE) system is beneficial for promoting sustainable social development. This study analyzes the system development of major watersheds in China from 2010 to 2019. The research fully considers the system's internal and external inputs and outputs and proposes an evaluation index system for regional EECE coupling and coordinated development. Then, using the difference in system weight allocation to improve the coupling and coordination model, the study explores the dynamic system's coupling and coordination. The results show that (1) The development of the system structure is relatively stable, but the overall development status is not ideal; (2) The downstream of China's main river basins has obvious economic advantages, while the energy system fluctuates greatly. The efficiency of the carbon emission system will decrease in areas with rapid economic development. The coupling and coordination level of the EECE system is better in the Yangtze River Basin than in the Yellow River Basin; (3) From the perspective of dynamic coordinated development, the main river basins have been divided into two states since 2012, but it is relatively stable overall. Regional dynamic coordination is often at a disadvantage in regions with rapid economic and energy development; (4) The coupling coordination degree of the two river basins has significant positive spatial autocorrelation. Most provinces' significant spatial clustering characteristics of the coupling coordination degree are High-High type. Low-Low type provinces are mainly concentrated downstream. The research process has certain reference significance for the collaborative governance of complex regional systems.

Reassessment of growth-climate relations indicates the potential for decline across Eurasian boreal larch forests.

Larch, a widely distributed tree in boreal Eurasia, is experiencing rapid warming across much of its distribution. A comprehensive assessment of growth on warming is needed to comprehend the potential impact of climate change. Most studies, relying on rigid calendar-based temperature series, have detected monotonic responses at the margins of boreal Eurasia, but not across the region. Here, we developed a method for constructing temporally flexible and physiologically relevant temperature series to reassess growth-temperature relations of larch across boreal Eurasia. Our method appears more effective in assessing the impact of warming on growth than previous methods. Our approach indicates widespread and spatially heterogeneous growth-temperature responses that are driven by local climate. Models quantifying these results project that the negative responses of growth to temperature will spread northward and upward throughout this century. If true, the risks of warming to boreal Eurasia could be more widespread than conveyed from previous works.

Trends and status in resources security, ecological stability, and sustainable development research: a systematic analysis.

Resources are essential for human survival and development, and resource security occupies an important position in national security. With the increasing resource shortage problem, ecological stability is facing severe challenges. All countries are actively seeking new sustainable development ways to deal with various issues and shocks caused by the shortage of resources. This study aims to systematically and comprehensively evaluate the knowledge structure, research hotspots, and resource security evolution trends. Based on the number of 6391 articles retrieved from the Web of Science database from 1990 to 2021, this article carried out a visual analysis of global resource security research from the perspectives of scientific output characteristics, keywords, and highly cited literature scientific collaboration networks and hotspot emergence analysis. The research results show that after humans have experienced new public safety incidents, their understanding of resource security and sustainable development has risen to a new height. The number of relevant documents is increasing rapidly. At present, the research on resource security is still dominated by developed countries in Europe and America. This study finds that "food supply chain," "water availability," and "soil resources suitability" are the frontiers and hotspots in the field of resource security. Besides, "biodiversity," "mineral resource security," "medical and health resources" are important topics and directions of current research. This study provides a theoretical basis for scholars to explore the future research direction and practice of resource security, to achieve ecological stability and sustainable development.

New Sights Into Long Non-Coding RNA LINC01133 in Cancer.

LINC01133 is a long intergenic non-coding RNA that regulates malignancy in several cancers, including those of the digestive, female reproductive, respiratory, and urinary system. LINC01133 is an extensively studied lncRNA that is highly conserved, and its relatively stable expression is essential for its robust biological function. Its expression is highly tissue-specific with a distinct subcellular localization. It functions as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor gene in different cancers via multiple mechanisms, such as those that involve competing with endogenous RNA and binding to RNA-binding proteins or DNA. Moreover, the secretion and transportation of LINC01133 by extracellular vesicles in the tumor micro-environment is regulated by other cells in the tumor micro-environment. To date, two mechanisms, an increase in copy number and regulation of transcription elements, have been found to regulate LINC01133 expression. Clinically, LINC01133 is an ideal marker for cancer prognosis and a potential therapeutic target in cancer treatment regimes. In this review, we aimed to summarize the aforementioned information as well as posit future directions for LINC01133 research.

The complete mitochondrial genome of a Green macroalgae species: Ulva meridionalis (Ulvales: Ulvaceae).

Ulva meridionalis, a green macroalgae, is one of the causal species for green tides in Japan and spread into the coast of China. During this research, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of U. meridionalis. The mitogenome is 62,887 bp in length, including 28 encoding genes and 29 tRNA genes. Compared with the Ulva species from mitogenome, the gene order and organization of this mitogenome are similar to most of other determined Ulva mitogenomes, with the nucleotide base composition of A 33.6%, T 32.2%, C 16.2%, and G 18.0%. Phylogenetic analysis shows U. meridionalis is closely related to Ulva flexuosa.

Rapid and efficient recovery of silver with nanoscale zerovalent iron supported on high performance activated carbon derived from straw biomass.

High performance activated carbon (HPAC) supported nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) was prepared and used for recovery of silver. This composite material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The removal amount of Ag+ increased with pH values and temperature. The removal process achieved equilibrium within 40 min and the maximum removal capacity was 986.5 mg/g at 298 K. The composite material showed fast adsorption rate and high adsorption capacity because the presence of high surface area activated carbon could effectively inhibit aggregation of nanoscale zerovalent iron, thus enhancing its reactivity. The Ag+ removal followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. XPS and XRD characterizations were performed to elucidate removal mechanism. It could be concluded that both coordination adsorption and reductive precipitation contributed to removal of Ag+ on the nZVI/HPAC.

Reproductive strategy of the floating alga Ulva prolifera in blooms in the Yellow Sea based on a combination of zoid and chromosome analysis.

Green algal blooms have occurred in the Yellow Sea for 13 consecutive years since 2007. However, little is known about the reproductive strategy of the dominant species Ulva prolifera in the field. In particular, it is not clear whether the floating Ulva species are sporophytes or gametophytes, and if their life history is sexual or asexual. In this study, the life history type was determined based on the size, phototactic response, and flagella number for the zoids in at least two successive generations. In addition, chromosome observations were conducted to distinguish the gametophytes and sporophytes in the floating Ulva species. The results showed that the floating Ulva species were all sporophytes with sexual reproductive patterns, thereby indicating that this Ulva species always maintains vegetative growth from April to June during the early stage of the blooms. In addition, we found that the chromosome numbers were 18 for the diploid sporophytes and nine for the haploid male and female gametophytes. These results provide useful information to help understand the explosive growth of these green algal blooms.

Energy storage properties and relaxor behavior of lead-free Ba1-xSm2x/3Zr0.15Ti0.85O3 ceramics.

Lead-free Ba1-xSm2x/3Zr0.15Ti0.85O3 (BSZT) ceramics were synthesized by a solid state reaction route. The microstructure, dielectric relaxor behavior and energy storage properties of BSZT ceramics were studied. The growth of grain size was suppressed with the increase of Sm addition and kept in the submicrometer scale. Successive substitution of Sm3+ for Ba2+ disrupted the long-range dipole and promoted the increase of polar nano-region (PNR) size, resulting in the enhanced degree of relaxor behavior. The increasing PNR size also lead to the slimmer hysteresis loops and improved the energy storage efficiency. Furthermore, high saturated polarization (Pmax) and low remnant polarization (Pr) were obtained due to the formation of defect dipoles, which facilitated the switch of PNRs and contributed to the enhancement of energy storage density. The x = 0.003 sample was found to exhibit a higher energy storage density of 1.15 J cm-3 and an energy storage efficiency of 92%. The result revealed that the BSZT ceramics may be a good candidate for energy storage application.