CircNCX1 modulates cardiomyocyte proliferation through promoting ubiquitination of BRG1.

In mammal, the myocardium loss cannot be recovered spontaneously due to the negligible proliferation ability of mature mammalian cardiomyocyte. However, accumulated evidence has shown that terminally differentiated mammalian cardiomyocyte also has proliferation potency, which can be mediated by several mechanisms. Here, we reported that circNCX1, the most abundant circular RNA in mammalian hearts, can affect the proliferation of murine cardiomyocytes. The level of circNCX1 is significantly elevated during heart development. Forced expression of circNCX1 inhibits cardiomyocyte proliferation, while silencing of endogenous circNCX1 in cardiomyocyte shows reversed effect in vitro. Mechanistically, circNCX1 functions via negatively regulating transcription activator BRG1. It bridges BRG1 and FBXW7 to enhance the ubiquitination and degradation of BRG1, decreasing the expression of BMP10 to lead cell cycle arrest. In summary, our study first revealed that circNCX1 is a modulator of cardiomyocyte proliferation.

Site-directed mutagenesis improves the practical application of L-glutamic acid decarboxylase in Escherichia coli.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a kind of non-proteinogenic amino acid which is highly soluble in water and widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Enzymatic conversion is an efficient method to produce GABA, whereby glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is the key enzyme that catalyzes the process. The activity of wild-type GAD is usually limited by temperature, pH or biotin concentration, and hence directional modification is applied to improve its catalytic properties and practical application. GABA was produced using whole cell transformation of the recombinant strains Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)-Gad B, E. coli BL21(DE3)-Gad B-T62S and E. coli BL21(DE3)-Gad B-Q309A. The corresponding GABA concentrations in the fermentation broth were 219.09, 238.42, and 276.66 g/L, and the transformation rates were 78.02%, 85.04%, and 98.58%, respectively. The results showed that Gad B-T62S and Gad B-Q309A are two effective mutation sites. These findings may contribute to ideas for constructing potent recombinant strains for GABA production. Practical Application : Enzymatic properties of the GAD from Escherichia coli and GAD site-specific mutants were examined by analyzing their conserved sequences, substrate contacts, contact between GAD amino acid residues and mutation energy (ΔΔG) of the GAD mutants. The enzyme activity and stability of Gad B-T62S and Gad B-Q309A mutants were improved compared to Gad B. The kinetic parameters Km and Vmax of Gad B, Gad B-T62S, and Gad B-Q309A mutants were 11.3 ± 2.1 mM and 32.1 ± 2.4 U/mg, 7.3 ± 2.5 mM and 76.1 ± 3.1 U/mg, and 7.2 ± 3.8 mM and 87.3 ± 1.1 U/mg, respectively. GABA was produced using whole cell transformation of the recombinant strains E. coli BL21(DE3)-Gad B, E. coli BL21(DE3)-Gad B-T62S, and E. coli BL21(DE3)-Gad B-Q309A. The corresponding GABA concentrations in the fermentation broth were 219.09, 238.42, and 276.66 g/L, and the transformation rates were 78.02%, 85.04%, and 98.58%, respectively.

Perspectives from remote sensing to investigate the COVID-19 pandemic: A future-oriented approach.

As scientific technology and space science progress, remote sensing has emerged as an innovative solution to ease the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine the research characteristics and growth trends in using remote sensing for monitoring and managing the COVID-19 research, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on the scientific documents appearing in the Scopus database. A total of 1,509 documents on this study topic were indexed between 2020 and 2022, covering 165 countries, 577 journals, 5239 institutions, and 8,616 authors. The studies related to remote sensing and COVID-19 have a significant increase of 30% with 464 articles. The United States (429 articles, 28.42% of the global output), China (295 articles, 19.54% of the global output), and the United Kingdom (174 articles, 11.53%) appeared as the top three most contributions to the literature related to remote sensing and COVID-19 research. Sustainability, Science of the Total Environment, and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health were the three most productive journals in this research field. The utmost predominant themes were COVID-19, remote sensing, spatial analysis, coronavirus, lockdown, and air pollution. The expansion of these topics appears to be associated with cross-sectional research on remote sensing, evidence-based tools, satellite mapping, and geographic information systems (GIS). Global pandemic risks will be monitored and managed much more effectively in the coming years with the use of remote sensing technology.

Alleviating the effect of quinoa and the underlying mechanism on hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-fed rats.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic component of metabolic syndrome and has attracted widespread attention due to its increased prevalence. Daily dietary management is an effective strategy for the prevention of NAFLD. Quinoa, a nutritious pseudocereal, is abundant in antioxidative bioactive phytochemicals. In the present study, the effects of different amounts of quinoa on the progression of NAFLD and the related molecular mechanism were investigated. METHODS: Male SD rats were simultaneously administered a high fat diet (HF) and different amounts of quinoa (equivalent to 100 g/day and 300 g/day of human intake, respectively). After 12 weeks of the intervention, hepatic TG (triglyceride) and TC (total cholesterol) as well as serum antioxidative parameters were determined, and hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E) staining was used to evaluate hepatic steatosis. Differential metabolites in serum and hepatic tissue were identified using UPLC-QTOF-MSE. The mRNA expression profile was investigated using RNA-Seq and further verified using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Low amounts of quinoa (equivalent to 100 g/d of human intake) effectively controlled the weight of rats fed a high-fat diet. In addition, quinoa effectively inhibited the increase in hepatic TG and TC levels, mitigated pathological injury, promoted the increase in SOD and GSH-Px activities, and decreased MDA levels. Nontarget metabolic profile analysis showed that quinoa regulated lipid metabolites in the circulation system and liver such as LysoPC and PC. RNA-Seq and RT-PCR verification revealed that a high amount of quinoa more effectively upregulated genes related to lipid metabolism [Apoa (apolipoprotein)5, Apoa4, Apoc2] and downregulated genes related to the immune response [lrf (interferon regulatory factor)5, Tlr6 (Toll-like receptor), Tlr10, Tlr11, Tlr12]. CONCLUSION: Quinoa effectively prevented NAFLD by controlling body weight, mitigating oxidative stress, and regulating the lipid metabolic profile and the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism and the immune response.

Using Artificial Intelligence to Achieve Auxiliary Training of Table Tennis Based on Inertial Perception Data.

Compared with optical sensors, wearable inertial sensors have many advantages such as low cost, small size, more comprehensive application range, no space restrictions and occlusion, better protection of user privacy, and more suitable for sports applications. This article aims to solve irregular actions that table tennis enthusiasts do not know in actual situations. We use wearable inertial sensors to obtain human table tennis action data of professional table tennis players and non-professional table tennis players, and extract the features from them. Finally, we propose a new method based on multi-dimensional feature fusion convolutional neural network and fine-grained evaluation of human table tennis actions. Realize ping-pong action recognition and evaluation, and then achieve the purpose of auxiliary training. The experimental results prove that our proposed multi-dimensional feature fusion convolutional neural network has an average recognition rate that is 0.17 and 0.16 higher than that of CNN and Inception-CNN on the nine-axis non-professional test set, which proves that we can better distinguish different human table tennis actions and have a more robust generalization performance. Therefore, on this basis, we have better realized the enthusiast of table tennis the purpose of the action for auxiliary training.

Expression of miRNAs in plasma exosomes derived from patients with atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Studies have revealed the association between exosomes and cardiovascular diseases. However, the typical changes of plasma miRNAs in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are still controversial, the use of exosomal miRNAs to diagnose and predict the prognosis of AF has not been described. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that there were differences in the exosomal miRNAs between AF and normal sinus rhythm (SR) patients, which might be used as the novel biomarkers to reflect the progression of AF. METHODS: miRNAs were isolated from the plasma of patients, and the target genes of differential miRNAs via enrichment analysis to discover potential pathogenesis related to AF. Combined with high-throughput sequencing results, real-time PCR was used to verify the relative expression of target miRNAs in patients. RESULTS: This study confirmed that the expression of plasma-derived exosomal miRNAs between patients with AF and SR were different. Target gene enrichment analysis suggested that the target genes of 20 miRNAs, which were significantly upregulated were mainly enriched in biological processes such as gene expression process, inflammation response, enzyme modification, etc. Meanwhile, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and other pathways were highly enriched. The expressions of miR-92b-3p, miR-1306-5p, and miR-let-7b-3p had differences between patients with AF and SR. CONCLUSION: These miRNAs and target genes were involved in the process of AF through affecting biological processes such as energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, inflammation, and enzyme activity. It suggested that the exosomal miRNAs might be used as the novel biomarkers to reflect the progression of AF.

The critical role of calcineurin/NFAT (C/N) pathways and effective antitumor prospect for colorectal cancers.

Transcription factors (TFs) like a nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and its controller calcineurin are highly expressed in primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) due to delamination, damage by tumor-associated flora and selective activation in the intestinal tract tumor are crucial in the progression and growth of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study sought to summarize the current findings concerning the dysregulated calcineurin/NFAT (C/N) signaling involved in CRC initiation and progression. These signalings include proliferation, T-cell functions, and glycolysis with high lactate production that remodels the acidosis, which genes in tumor cells provide an evolutionary advantage, or even increased their attack phenotype. Moreover, the relationship between C/N and gut microbiome in CRC, especially role of NFAT and toll-like receptor signaling in regulating intestinal microbiota are also discussed. Furthermore, this review will discuss the proteins and genes relating to C/N induced acidosis in CRC, which includes ASIC2 regulated C/N1 and TFs associated with the glycolytic by-product that affect T-cell functions and CRC cell growth. It is revealed that calcineurin or NFAT targeting to antitumor, selective calcineurin inhibition or targets in NFAT signaling may be useful for clinical treatment of CRC. This can further aid in the identification of specific targets via cancer patient-personalized approach. Future studies should be focused on targeting to C/N or TLR signaling by the combination of therapeutic agents to regulate T-cell functions and gut microbiome for activating potent anticancer property with the prospect of potentiating the antitumor therapy for CRC.

Effect of Irbesartan on AGEs-RAGE and MMPs systems in rat type 2 diabetes myocardial-fibrosis model.

IMPACT STATEMENT: There are about 425 million diabetes patients (20-79 years) in the world according to the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas - 8th Edition. The cardiovascular complication is one of the major causes of death in diabetes patients. Myocardial fibrosis is one of the serious pathological changes, so investigating the pathogenesis of myocardial fibrosis has the significant value. Our study aims to investigate the effect of Irbesartan (the angiotensin II receptor antagonist) on the changes of AGE-RAGE system and MMP family components, and analyzes the potential mechanisms in type 2 diabetes-induced myocardial fibrosis. Our results provide the theoretical base for better understanding the pathogenesis in type 2 diabetes-induced myocardial complication. It is useful for clinicians to select the effective therapeutic measures for treatment of type 2 diabetes-induced organ fibrosis.

[Evaluation of implementation effect of schistosomiasis control program in Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2015].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the actual effect of the schistosomiasis control program in Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2015. METHODS: A total of 67 schistosomiasis-endemic counties in 10 cities were selected, and a combination of retrospective investigation and on-site investigation was adopted to collect and record the epidemic data of the counties from 2010 to 2015, and a retrospective survey database of epidemic situation was established. The effects of integrated control strategies with both Oncomelania hupensis snail control and infection source control were evaluated. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2015, 2 465 911 persons who lived in endemic areas were detected for schistosomiasis, with 16 974 positive cases of blood examinations, and 8 positive cases of fecal examinations. Totally 5 145 people with advanced schistosomiasis were treated and 40 460 people with the history of schistosome cercarial-infested water contact received the expanded chemotherapy. A total of 127 636 cattle raised in the endemic areas were detected, and 51 619 cattle (head-times) with the history of cercarial-infested water contact also received the expanded chemotherapy. The area with snails control by molluscicides was 18 604.84 hm2. By the end of 2015, schistosomeinfected snails had not been found and there was no zoological schistosome infection for 5 consecutive years, and in addition, there had been no acute schistosome-infected persons for 6 consecutive years in the whole province. The area with snails dropped to 1 977.18 hm2, with a decreasing rate of 55.24% compared with that in 2010. CONCLUSIONS: After the implementation of the plan for the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in Jiangsu Province (2010-2015), the prevention and control of schistosomiasis has achieved remarkable effects and realized the goal of the plan.

Host protein CD63 promotes viral RNA replication by interacting with human astrovirus non-structural protein nsP1a/4.

Human astrovirus non-structural protein nsP1a/4, located at the C-terminal end of nsP1a, is thought to be involved in regulating RNA replication. Here, we show that host protein CD63 interacts with the nsP1a protein. Further research showed that the large loop (LEL) domain of CD63 also interacts with nsP1a/4. Confocal microscopy showed that nsP1a/4 protein and CD63 co-localized in the cytoplasm of co-transfected cells. Co-localization of nsP1a/4 and CD63 was also observed in HAstV-1-infected cells. Overexpression of CD63 promoted replication of HAstV-1, whereas knockdown of CD63 reduced production of HAstV-1 viral progeny. These results suggest that CD63 plays a critical role in HAstV-1 replication, and provide an avenue to further understanding the interactions between host and virus proteins during replication and pathogenesis of HAstV.

Three Methods to Purify Leukocytes and RNA Quality Assessment.

Leukocytes function as central effectors in innate immunity (such as phagocytosis) as well as adaptive immunity (e.g., antigen-dependent T cell activation), and serve as an important resource in the fields of translational medicine, precision medicine, and cell therapy. Isolation of leukocytes from whole blood is necessary for high-quality RNA and downstream research. This process is susceptible to the variability of many factors, such as blood collection, isolation reagents, and extraction methods. In this study, three methods were applied for leukocytes separation, followed by RNA extraction and quality testing to evaluate the methods. Results showed that leukocytes were purified using lymphocyte separation medium (LSM), optimized LSM method, or red blood cell lysis buffer (RBC lysis), and RNA quality met the basic requirements for downstream studies. Although considering the simplicity of the procedure and RNA quality from donated samples, the RBC lysis method should be recommended to biobanks for further research.

[Survey of schistosomiasis KAP and influencing factors of behaviors among residents in Jiangsu Province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the schistosomiasis control knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), and influencing factors of behaviors among residents in Jiangsu Province, so as to provide the evidence for making effective health education and health promotion models. METHODS: The probability proportionate to size sampling (PPS) and multi-stage sampling methods were adopted to sample the research objects. A questionnaire survey of schistosomiasis control KAP was conducted in the residents of 16 to 69 years old in schistosomiasis endemic areas of Jiangsu Province, and the results were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The total awareness rate of the participants was 95.98% for schistosomiasis control knowledge. The correct rates of attitude and practice were 89.06% and 77.43%, respectively. The awareness/correct rates of knowledge, attitude and practice reduced in turns significantly (χ2 =1 282.96, P < 0.01). The knowledge awareness rate of fishermen and boatmen was 90.98%, but their attitude correct rate was only 53.81% ( χ2 =120.52, P < 0.01). The unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that with the education level increasing, their practice correct rate rose, and the participants with the college degree or above had a higher correct rate compared to illeterate ones (OR = 6.411, 95% CI: 4.896-8.395). The practice correct rate of the fisher-men and boatmen was only 5.1% of the rate of the farmers (OR = 0.051, 95% CI: 0.029-0.091). CONCLUSIONS: The total awareness rate of basic knowledge of schistosomiasis prevention and control in the residents of Jiangsu Province has reached the requirements in the "National Schistosomiasis Control Long-term Planning Outline (2004-2015)", but the correct rate of behaviors is low. The education level, occupation and residential areas affect the health behaviors of schistosomiasis prevention and control. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out targeted health promotion activities to promote the formation of healthy lifestyle and behaviors.

Knockdown of REV7 Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion.

REV7 (also known as MAD2L2) is a multifunctional protein involved in DNA damage tolerance, cell cycle regulation, gene expression, and carcinogenesis. Although its expression is reportedly associated with poor prognosis in several kinds of human cancers, the significance of REV7 expression in breast malignancies is unclear. In this study, REV7 was found to be increased in breast cancer. We found that knockdown of REV7 inhibited the migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of breast cancer cells. Meanwhile, overexpression of REV7 promoted the migration, invasion, and EMT of breast cancer cells. As shown by Western blot, knockdown of REV7 can promote TGF-ß1 expression. Western blot analysis indicated that TGF-ß1 may play a role as a downstream factor of REV7. Moreover, interference of TGF-ß1 can also inhibit the cell's ability for migration, invasion, and EMT, as well as in a cell line whose REV7 is overexpressed. Taken together, these results contributed to a recognition of the oncogene functions of REV7 in breast cancer cells and provided a novel direction to treat breast cancer.

Hemifacial spasm and recurrent stroke due to vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia coexisting with saccular aneurysm of the basilar artery: a case report.

We describe a patient presented with sequential events of hemifacial spasm, cerebral infarction and fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage. All of them are seemingly separate entities. Radiological examination revealed that the cause was vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) coexisting with a giant saccular aneurysm of basilar artery. VBD is a dilatation and elongation of vertebral artery (VA) and basilar artery (BA) which is of different mechanism from saccular aneurysm. The condition is very rare and its progression may result in compression of brainstem and cranial nerves, ischemic and/or hemorrhagic stroke. The treatment of such condition is difficult and further research on the risk stratification of VBD for predicting stroke. Close monitoring and aggressive surgical interventions might be needed for high-risk patients.

Surgical excision of extensive sacrococcygeal chordomas assisted by occlusion of the abdominal aorta.

OBJECT: An extensive sacrococcygeal chordoma is considered a challenge for neurosurgeons. Because of the complex anatomy of the sacral region, the risk of uncontrollable intraoperative hemorrhage, and the typically large tumor size at presentation, complete resections are technically difficult and the tumor recurrence rate is high. The aim of this study was to assess the value of using occlusion of the abdominal aorta by means of a balloon dilation catheter and electrophysiological monitoring when an extensive sacrococcygeal chordoma is removed. METHODS: Between 2004 and 2008, 9 patients underwent resection of extensive sacrococcygeal chordomas in the authors' department with the aid of occlusion of the abdominal aorta and electrophysiological monitoring. All of these operations were performed via the posterior approach. The records of the 9 patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Wide resections were performed in 6 cases and marginal excisions in the other 3. Five patients underwent postoperative radiotherapy. Intraoperative hemorrhage was controlled at 100-400 ml. Postoperatively, none of the patients had any new neurological dysfunction, and 2 patients regained normal urinary and bowel function. The mean follow-up period was 31.4 months (range 10-57 months). No patient developed local recurrence or had metastatic spread of tumor during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Occlusion of the abdominal aorta and electrophysiological monitoring are useful methods for assisting in resection of sacrococcygeal chordoma. They can reduce intraoperative hemorrhage and entail little chance of tumor cell contamination. They can also help surgeons to protect the organs in the pelvic cavity and neurological function. Use of these methods could give patients better quality of life.

Where is the road to bio-water-saving for the globe?

The First International Conference on the Theory and Practices in Bio-water-saving (ICTPB) was held from May 21 to 25, 2006 in Beijing, China. This indicated that the work related to this hot topic on the globe has been paid more attention to. Most progress in this field has been presented from near 300 participating people worldwide, who were meeting together to discuss about the theory and practices of water-saving biology and how to serve global agricultural and ecological sustainable development. The work related to bio-water-saving has been involved in different scales and soil-plant root biointerfaces. On the basis of this background and in combination with the work from our laboratory and the center, we provided some ideas for global bio-water-saving in this paper, sharing the achievement in this field and advocating true bio-water-saving for the world and promoting the pace of global bio-water-saving.