Hypoxia enhances autophagy level of human sperms.

The relationship between oxygen sensing and autophagy in human sperms was explored in this study. Health semen and asthenozoospermia (astheno) semen were incubated with hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) interferents, i.e., lificiguat (YC-1) or cobalt chloride (CoCl2), respectively. Label-free quantitative proteomic technology was used to identify the differentially expressed proteins in human semen under the hypoxia condition. Selected proteins were detected with ELISA. It was found that the autophagy levels of sperm in the YC-1 + health group or CoCl2 + astheno group increased while the vitality decreased. A total of 17, 34 and 35 differentially expressed proteins were observed in the Astheno group, the YC-1 + health group and the CoCl2 + astheno group, respectively. These proteins were primarily associated with protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, Th17 cell differentiation, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, HIF-1 signaling pathway, biosynthesis of amino acids, and carbon metabolism. The expression levels of protein HIF-1α, LC3B, histone H4, cathepsin L and ENO1 changed significantly in the groups. The study suggests that hypoxia can increase sperm autophagy level and reduce their vitality through HIF-1 signaling pathway and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis signaling pathway. Furthermore, proteins histone H4, cathepsin L, glutathione synthetase and ENO1 are proposed as potential biomarkers of autophagy and vitality in asthenozoospermia sperm.

Enhanced and Sustainable Removal of Indoor Formaldehyde by Naturally Porous Bamboo Activated Carbon Supported with MnOx: Synergistic Effect of Adsorption and Oxidation.

Novel bamboo activated carbon (BAC) catalysts decorated with manganese oxides (MnOx) were prepared with varying MnOx contents through a facile one-step redox reaction. Due to the physical anchoring effect of the natural macropore structure for catalyst active components, homogeneous MnOx nanoparticles (NPs), and high specific surface area over catalyst surface, the BAC@MnOx-N (N = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) catalyst shows encouraging adsorption and catalytic oxidation for indoor formaldehyde (HCHO) removal at room temperature. Dynamic adsorption and catalytic activity experiments were conducted. The higher Smicro (733 m2/g) and Vmicro/Vt (82.6%) of the BAC@MnOx-4 catalyst could facilitate its excellent saturated and breakthrough adsorption capacity (5.24 ± 0.42 mg/g, 2.43 ± 0.22 mg/g). The best performer against 2 ppm HCHO is BAC@MnOx-4 catalyst, exhibiting a maximum HCHO removal efficiency of 97% for 17 h without any deactivation as RH = 0, which is higher than those of other MnOx-based catalysts. The average oxidation state and in situ DRIFTS analysis reveal that abundant oxygen vacancies on the BAC@MnOx-4 catalyst could be identified as surface-active sites of decomposing HCHO into the intermediate species (dioxymethylene and formate). This study provides a potential approach to deposit MnOx nanoparticles onto the BAC surface, and this hybrid BAC@MnOx material is promising for indoor HCHO removal at room temperature.

Three-dimensional visualization of the vascular bundle in a branched bamboo node.

Bamboo is a natural vascular bundle (VB) reinforced composite material used in more than 10 fields such as construction and furniture. The nodes in bamboo are crucial to its mechanical properties, but understanding of its performance is limited by lack of knowledge about the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the node. This work aimed to non-destructively identify the multi-dimensional characteristics of the VB in a bamboo branched node (BN) using X-ray microtomography (µCT). The VB was segmented from the BN using deep learning combined with the Watershed algorithm. The 3D model reconstruction and characterization of the VB were also conducted. It was found that the structure of VBs showed significant changes along the height of the BN. The VBs formed a complex 3D structure, VBs of the culm are connected with those of the branch, and the connectivity of the conducting tissue and fibers was 88.91% and 99.95%, respectively. The conducting tissue and the fibers had similar shapes but varying thicknesses, which enabled VBs to perform both water transport and mechanical support functions. The volumes fraction of parenchyma, fibers, and conducting tissue in the BN were 61.3%, 35.3%, and 3.4%, respectively, but the tissue proportion of the different heights of the BN varied from each other. The nodal ridge was a mechanical weak point of the BN, with a maximum fibers proportion of 43.8%. This study contributes to understanding the relationship of VBs between the branch and the culm. It provides a structural perspective for understanding the mechanical properties of BN and a theoretical basis for optimizing bamboo utilization efficiency.

A facile synthesis of a copper(I) thiourea sulphate complex and its application for highly efficient chalcopyrite solar cells.

The precursor compound plays a crucial role in the development of low-cost chalcogenide thin-film solar cells via a solution approach. In this work, we report on the synthesis of a new complex [Cu((NH2)2CS)3]2SO4·H2O through a simple redox reaction between inexpensive Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O and thiourea (TU) in water. Using this complex as a copper source, a stable dimethylformamide solution was made and copper indium sulfoselenide CuIn(S,Se)2 thin film solar cells with a high efficiency of 12.2% have been demonstrated.

Insights into key factors affecting bioconversion efficiency of rattan biomass: The supramolecular structural variations of cellulose.

Global energy concerns urged us to search for sufficient utilization of biomass to renewable energy. Herein, rattan biomass displaying herbaceous species-like anatomy and hardwood-like chemical composition was used as model of lignocellulose to determine its recalcitrance inhibiting efficient bioconversion. Delignification and continuous mild alkaline treatments were applied for deconstruction of rattan cane (Calamus simplicifolius) followed by cellulase enzymatic hydrolysis. Cellulose supramolecular structural variations were proved to be the major reason for the enhanced hydrolysis in addition to the removal of lignin and hemicelluloses matrix. Lowered crystallinity (50-65 %) as well as swelled crystallite sizes (4.8-5.0 nm) during allomorphic transformation favored the enhanced hydrolysis, rather than the crystalline cellulose II. Moreover, well-distributed separation and fibrillation of cellulose elementary fibrils also contributed to glucose yield promotion. The study will provide new insights to the strategy to efficient bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

In-situ visualizing selective lignin dissolution of tracheids wall in reaction wood.

As a renewable biological macromolecule with aromatic structure, lignin can serve as matrix substance to maintain cell wall integrity and is regarded as the natural biomass recalcitrance. Substantial differences in the cell wall lignin topochemistry between opposite (Ow) and compression wood (Cw) trachieds in Pinus bungeana Zucc. were visualized during [Emim][OAc] pretreatment at room temperature. The ionic liqiuds treatment induced a more obvious wall swelling for highly lignified Cw tracheids than that of Ow, while dynamic Raman spectra analysis indicated the higher lignin and carbohydrates removal for Ow tracheids. Raman imaging further revealed that both lignin and carbohydrates were dissolved simultaneously within the middle lamella and secondary wall of Ow and pretreatment has little effects on Cw tracheids wall. Moreover, it was demonstrated that lignin composition was the key factor to affect the composition dissolution. In particular, lignin G-units were selectively removed from cell corner middle lamella (52.3 %) and secondary wall (62.0 %) of Ow tracheids. When cotton fiber, as a reference was treated under the same conditions, lattice conversion moving from cellulose I to II occurred. The findings confirmed the important role of lignin compostion in the dissolution behavior of carbohydrate dominant tracheids wall.

Trait/Financial Information of Potential Male Mate Eliminates Mate-Choice Copying by Women: Trade-Off Between Social Information and Personal Information in Mate Selection.

Mate-choice copying occurs when people rely on the mate choices of others (social information) to inform their own mate decisions. The present study investigated women's strategic trade-off between such social learning and using the personal information of a potential mate. We conducted two experiments to investigate how mate-choice copying was affected by the personal information (e.g., trait/financial information, negative/positive valence of this information, and attractiveness) of a potential male mate in short-/long-term mate selection. The results demonstrated that when women had no trait/financial information other than photos of potential mates, they showed mate-choice copying, but when women obtained personality trait or financial situation information (no matter negative or positive) of a potential mate, their mate-choice copying disappeared; this effect was only observed for low-attractiveness and long-term potential partners. These results demonstrated human social learning strategies in mate selection through a trade-off between social information and personal information.

The Influence of Key Facial Features on Recognition of Emotion in Cartoon Faces.

Cartoon faces are widely used in social media, animation production, and social robots because of their attractive ability to convey different emotional information. Despite their popular applications, the mechanisms of recognizing emotional expressions in cartoon faces are still unclear. Therefore, three experiments were conducted in this study to systematically explore a recognition process for emotional cartoon expressions (happy, sad, and neutral) and to examine the influence of key facial features (mouth, eyes, and eyebrows) on emotion recognition. Across the experiments, three presentation conditions were employed: (1) a full face; (2) individual feature only (with two other features concealed); and (3) one feature concealed with two other features presented. The cartoon face images used in this study were converted from a set of real faces acted by Chinese posers, and the observers were Chinese. The results show that happy cartoon expressions were recognized more accurately than neutral and sad expressions, which was consistent with the happiness recognition advantage revealed in real face studies. Compared with real facial expressions, sad cartoon expressions were perceived as sadder, and happy cartoon expressions were perceived as less happy, regardless of whether full-face or single facial features were viewed. For cartoon faces, the mouth was demonstrated to be a feature that is sufficient and necessary for the recognition of happiness, and the eyebrows were sufficient and necessary for the recognition of sadness. This study helps to clarify the perception mechanism underlying emotion recognition in cartoon faces and sheds some light on directions for future research on intelligent human-computer interactions.

The constancy of the holistic processing of unfamiliar faces: Evidence from the study-test consistency effect and the within-person motion and viewpoint invariance.

It has been well documented that static face processing is holistic. Faces contain variant (e.g., motion, viewpoint) and invariant (race, sex) features. However, little research has focused on whether holistic face representations are tolerant of within-person variations. The present study thus investigated whether holistic face representations of faces are tolerant of within-person motion and viewpoint variations by manipulating study-test consistency using a complete composite paradigm. Participants were shown two faces sequentially and were asked to judge whether the faces' top halves were identical or different. The first face was a static face or a dynamic face rotated in depth at 30°, 60°, and 90°. The second face was either a different front-view static face (Experiment 1a, study-test inconsistent) or identical to the first face (Experiment 1b, study-test consistent). In Experiment 2, study-test consistency was manipulated within subjects, and inverted faces were included. Our results show that study-test consistency significantly enhanced the holistic processing of upright and inverted faces; this study-test consistency effect and holistic processing were not modulated by motion and viewpoint changes via depth rotation. Interestingly, we found holistic processing for moving study-test consistent inverted faces, but not for static inverted faces. What these results tell us about the nature of holistic face representation is discussed in depth with respect to earlier and current theories on face processing.

Local Variations in Carbohydrates and Matrix Lignin in Mechanically Graded Bamboo Culms.

The mechanical performance of bamboo is highly dependent on its structural arrangement and the properties of biomacromolecules within the cell wall. The relationship between carbohydrates topochemistry and gradient micromechanics of multilayered fiber along the diametric direction was visualized by combined microscopic techniques. Along the radius of bamboo culms, the concentration of xylan within the fiber sheath increased, while that of cellulose and lignin decreased gradually. At cellular level, although the consecutive broad layer (Bl) of fiber revealed a relatively uniform cellulose orientation and concentration, the outer Bl with higher lignification level has higher elastic modulus (19.59-20.31 GPa) than that of the inner Bl close to the lumen area (17.07-19.99 GPa). Comparatively, the cell corner displayed the highest lignification level, while its hardness and modulus were lower than that of fiber Bl, indicating the cellulose skeleton is the prerequisite of cell wall mechanics. The obtained cytological information is helpful to understand the origin of the anisotropic mechanical properties of bamboo.

Configuring hierarchical Ni/NiO 3D-network assisted with bamboo cellulose nanofibers for high-performance Ni-Zn aqueous batteries.

The further application of Ni-Zn aqueous batteries is majorly restricted by nickel-based cathodes due to their low capacity and poor cycling stability, which requires the development of hierarchically nanostructured nickel and nickel oxides. Herein, we prepare a novel nickel-based electrode with hierarchical 3D networks by configuring nanostructured Ni and Ni/NiO nanoparticles onto bamboo-derived cellulose nanofibers (denoted as Ni/NiO-BCF). Owing to the high conductivity of carbonized nanofibers and enhanced Ni/NiO active sites exposed, the Ni/NiO-BCF electrode delivers a capacity of 248 mA h g-1 at 0.625 A g-1 and exhibits a good cycling stability (94.5% after 2000 cycles). The as-fabricated Ni/NiO-BCF//Zn battery shows a high capacity of 296 mA h g-1 at 0.625 A g-1 and excellent cycling stability (almost no decay after 1000 cycles). Notably, a peak energy density of 313.4 W h kg-1 is also achieved from the Ni/NiO-BCF//Zn battery. This work provides novel insights into developing elaborately-nanostructured electrodes from natural and sustainable resources for high-capacity and long-cycle energy storage systems.

Self-Construal Priming Affects Holistic Face Processing and Race Categorization, but Not Face Recognition.

Self-construal priming can affect an individual's cognitive processing. Participants who were primed with interdependent self-construal showed more holistic process bias than those who were primed with independent self-construal. The holistic processing of a face also differs across cultures. As such, the purpose of the present study was to explore whether the cultural differences in holistic face processing can be interpreted from the perspective of self-construal, as well as to investigate the relationship between self-construal and holistic face processing/face recognition/race categorization. In Experiment 1, participants were primed with control, interdependent, or independent self-construal, respectively, and then they completed a feature-space same-different task (Experiment 1A) or a composite face effect task (Experiment 1B). Results showed no priming effect in Experiment 1A, whereas independent self-construal priming resulted in less holistic processing in Experiment 1B. In Experiment 2, participants were primed with control, collective/interdependent, relational, or independent self-construal, respectively, and then they completed a Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Test and Cambridge Face Memory Test. Participants who were primed as independent showed greater congruency effect than the relational group. Self-construal priming had no effect on face recognition. In Experiment 3, we manipulated self-construal in the same way as that in Experiment 2 and monitored the eye movement of Chinese participants while they learned, recognized, and categorized their own-/other-race faces. Self-construal priming had no effect on face recognition. Compared with other groups, collective-/interdependent-self priming increased the fixation time of eyes and decreased the fixation time of nose in the race categorization task. These results indicated that the cultural differences in self-construal could not mirror the cultural differences in face processing in a simple way.

Anticancer activity of polyphyllin I in nasopharyngeal carcinoma by modulation of lncRNA ROR and P53 signalling.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common aggressive squamous cell carcinoma in head and neck cancers. Although advanced radiochemotherapy has been applied, the prognosis of NPC patients still remains poor due to the regional relapse and distant metastasis. Polyphyllin I (PP I) is extracted from natural herb Paris polyphylla that has been widely used in cancer treatment and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has been reported to play a key role in the anti-tumour activity of PP I. In this study, it has been found that PP I inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of NPC cells in a dose-dependent manner. A higher level of lncRNA regulator of reprogramming (ROR) expression was detected in NPC cell lines compared with normal nasopharyngeal cell line and PP I must significantly down-regulate the expression level of lncRNA ROR. LncRNA ROR/P53 signalling was essential for PP I-suppressed NPC progression. These data indicated that PP I suppressed tumour growth and induced apoptosis of NPC in vitro and in vivo through down-regulation of lncRNA-ROR, subsequently upregulating of P53 signalling. LncRNA ROR may be a potential therapeutic target and PP I would be a promising candidate for NPC treatment.

Imaging the dynamic deposition of cell wall polymer in xylem and phloem in Populus × euramericana.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Both G units and S units deposited in the whole lignification process of xylem fiber. The topochemical variations in newly formed xylem and phloem of Populus × euramericana were investigated by combined microscopic techniques. During xylem formation, earlier cell wall deposition in vessel and afterwards in the neighboring fiber was observed in situ. Raman images in xylem fiber emphasized that cell wall deposition was an ordered process which lignification started in cell corner following carbohydrates deposition. Higher deposition speed of carbohydrates was revealed at the beginning of the cell wall differentiation, and the syringyl (S) units deposition was more pronounced compared with guaiacyl (G) units at the earlier stage of lignification. The comparative analysis of cell wall composition in phloem fiber indicated that phloem formed earlier than xylem and the distribution of lignin monomers varied significantly with phloem fiber location. Furthermore, an interesting phenomenon was found that the outermost phloem fiber near the periderm displayed a multilayered structure with alternating broad and narrow layer, and the broad lamellae showed higher concentration of carbohydrates and S lignin. The cytological information including cell wall composition and lignin structure of xylem and phloem might be helpful to understand the wood growth progresses and facilitate utilization of woody plants.

LncRNA-MALAT1 contributes to the cisplatin-resistance of lung cancer by upregulating MRP1 and MDR1 via STAT3 activation.

Multiple drug resistance is the main reason for chemotherapeutic failure in lung cancer patients with complex molecular mechanisms. LncRNA-MALAT1 plays functional roles in the progression of carcinomas and development of drug resistance. We aimed to identify the role of MALAT1 in DDP-resistant non-small cell lung cancer as well as potential mechanisms. Human lung cancer cell line A549 and the DDP-resistant cell line A549/DDP were used. Cell transfection was performed to establish A549/MALAT1 and A549/DDP/shMALAT1 cells. The qRT-PCR analysis was performed to detect lncRNA-MALAT1 level. Cell viability, colony formation assay, apoptosis analysis, western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and animal study were carried out. MALAT1 was upregulated in DDP-resistant A549 cell line. MALAT1 decreased DDP sensitivity in vitro and in vivo by upregulating MRP1 and MDR1 via STAT3 activation. Overexpression of MALAT1 contributed to the DDP resistance and might confer a potently poor prognosis.

miR-216a-3p Inhibits the Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Human Gastric Cancer Cells via Targeting RUNX1 and Activating the NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

This work aims to elucidate the effects and the potential underlying mechanisms of microRNA-216a-3p (miR-216a-3p) on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer (GC) cells. In this study, we revealed that the expression of miR-216a-3p was significantly elevated in GC tissues and cell lines. The different expression level of miR-216a-3p was firmly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics of GC patients. We next demonstrated that upregulation of miR-216a-3p could dramatically promote the ability of proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells using a series of experiments, whereas downregulation essentially inhibited these properties. Additionally, through bioinformatics analysis and biological approaches, we confirmed that runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) was a direct target of miR-216a-3p, and overexpression of RUNX1 could reverse the potential effect of miR-216a-3p on GC cells. Furthermore, mechanistic investigation using Western blot analysis showed that downregulation of RUNX1 by miR-216a-3p could stimulate the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. In summary, this work proved that miR-216a-3p can promote GC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via targeting RUNX1 and activating the NF-κB signaling pathway. Therefore, miR-216a-3p/RUNX1 could be a possible molecular target for innovative therapeutic agents against GC.

Porous nanoplatelets wrapped carbon aerogels by pyrolysis of regenerated bamboo cellulose aerogels as supercapacitor electrodes.

Herein NaOH/urea aqueous solution was assisted to dissolve bamboo cellulose fibers for the fabrication of porous nanoplatelets wrapped carbon aerogel as an economic and sustainable way in application of supercapacitor. The architecture displayed favorable features, such as a large specific surface area and a great flexibility of 86% at stress of 23kPa. The effects of the KOH activation on the morphology and porous texture of cellulose carbon aerogel were further investigated and correlated with their electrochemical behavior. In aqueous electrolyte of 6M KOH, activated carbon aerogel exhibited a high specific capacitance of 381F/g which was improved by 150% compared to unactivated sample. Notably, the reasonable micropores and mesopores contributed to an excellent retention rate of 90% at high scan rate of 200mV/s. The low equivalent series resistance and small charge transfer resistance in activated carbon aerogel also suggested an inspiring capacitor behavior.

ING4 expressing oncolytic vaccinia virus promotes anti-tumor efficiency and synergizes with gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer.

With no effective treatments available for most pancreatic cancer patients, pancreatic cancer continues to be one of the most difficult malignancies to treat. Oncolytic virus mediated-gene therapy has exhibited ubiquitous antitumor potential. In this study, we constructed a novel oncolytic vaccinia virus harboring the inhibitor of growth family member 4 gene (VV-ING4) to investigate its therapeutic efficacy alone or in combination with gemcitabine against pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. ING4 expression was determined via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot. The cytotoxicity of VV-ING4 was measured using a cell proliferation assay. Both flow cytometry and western blot were applied to analyze the cell cycle and apoptosis. Furthermore, the combination inhibitory effect of VV-ING4 and gemcitabine was assessed using Chou-Talalay analysis in vitro and a BLAB/c mice model in vivo. We found that VV-ING4 significantly increases ING4 expression, displayed greater cytotoxic efficiency, and induced pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest. Additionally, the combination of VV-ING4 and gemcitabine synergistically effect in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our data implicate VV-ING4 as a conceivable pancreatic cancer therapeutic candidate alone or in combination with gemcitabine.

Inspired by efficient cellulose-dissolving system: Facile one-pot synthesis of biomass-based hydrothermal magnetic carbonaceous materials.

The core-shell structure of carbon encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles (CEMNs) displays unique properties. Enhancing the magnetization of iron core, in parallel, improving the encapsulation of carbon shell are the two major challenges in the synthesis of CEMNs. Inspired by efficient cellulose-dissolving system, carbon encapsulated magnetic nano-Fe3O4 particles (Fe3O4@C) with ∼10.0nm Fe3O4 cores and 1.9-3.3nm carbon shell, were successfully one-pot synthesized via a novel hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process. The dissolving process in ionic liquids ([Emim]Ac and [Amim]Cl) completely cleaved the intra- and intermolecular H-bonds in cellulose, and favored the incorporation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles into the cellulose H-bonds systems during the regeneration process. Some stable linkages were formed in Fe3O4@C, taking Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a structure guiding agent. The morphology and properties of Fe3O4@C depended strongly on the type of carbon precursors and pyrolysis temperature. Well encapsulated nanostructure was obtained at HTC temperature 280°C, when [Emim]Ac-treated holocellulose was used as the carbon source. Meanwhile, the thickness of the amorphous shell and magnetization increased with HTC temperature. More importantly, a novel elements for understanding the growth mechanism for the Fe3O4@C composite under HTC conditions was proposed.