Integrative analysis of histomorphology, transcriptome and whole genome resequencing identified DIO2 gene as a crucial gene for the protuberant knob located on forehead in geese.

BACKGROUND: During domestication, remarkable changes in behavior, morphology, physiology and production performance have taken place in farm animals. As one of the most economically important poultry, goose owns a unique appearance characteristic called knob, which is located at the base of the upper bill. However, neither the histomorphology nor the genetic mechanism of the knob phenotype has been revealed in geese. RESULTS: In the present study, integrated radiographic, histological, transcriptomic and genomic analyses revealed the histomorphological characteristics and genetic mechanism of goose knob. The knob skin was developed, and radiographic results demonstrated that the knob bone was obviously protuberant and pneumatized. Histologically, there were major differences in structures in both the knob skin and bone between geese owing knob (namely knob-geese) and those devoid of knob (namely non-knob geese). Through transcriptome analysis, 592 and 952 genes differentially expressed in knob skin and bone, and significantly enriched in PPAR and Calcium pathways in knob skin and bone, respectively, which revealed the molecular mechanisms of histomorphological differences of the knob between knob- and non-knob geese. Furthermore, integrated transcriptomic and genomic analysis contributed to the identification of 17 and 21 candidate genes associated with the knob formation in the skin and bone, respectively. Of them, DIO2 gene could play a pivotal role in determining the knob phenotype in geese. Because a non-synonymous mutation (c.642,923 G > A, P265L) changed DIO2 protein secondary structure in knob geese, and Sanger sequencing further showed that the AA genotype was identified in the population of knob geese, and was prevalent in a crossing population which was artificially selected for 10 generations. CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first to uncover the knob histomorphological characteristics and genetic mechanism in geese, and DIO2 was identified as the crucial gene associated with the knob phenotype. These data not only expand and enrich our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of head appendages in both mammalian and avian species, but also have important theoretical and practical significance for goose breeding.

Chronic Exposure to Bioaerosols in PM2.5 from Garbage Stations Accelerates Vascular Aging via the NF-κB/NLRP3 Pathway.

The fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in air pollution is a critical risk factor influencing human health. Our study included 8144 participants and showed that the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events increases by 35% (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.14-1.60) for participants with the highest quartile to PM2.5 exposure as compared to those with lowest quartile. Bioaerosols, as an important environmental exposure in PM2.5, can induce systemic chronic inflammation leading to vascular aging. Thus, the effects of bioaerosols are investigated from household garbage stations in PM2.5 on vascular aging, and the underlying mechanisms are explored. In vivo, chronic exposure to bioaerosols upregulated senescence marker expression levels while causing vascular dysfunction and remodeling. In vitro, bioaerosol exposure induced decreased proliferation, G0/G1 arrest, and impaired migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, a single bacterium (AS22a) from the bioaerosol community was isolated and demonstrated that it upregulated inflammatory factors and accelerated cell senescence and vascular aging by activating the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway, which may serve as a primary mechanism underlying vascular aging induced by bioaerosols in PM2.5. These findings suggest that high levels of bioaerosols in household garbage stations may adversely affect cardiovascular health.

Injectable photocurable Janus hydrogel delivering hiPSC cardiomyocyte-derived exosome for post-heart surgery adhesion reduction.

Postsurgical pericardial adhesions pose increased risks of sequelae, prolonged reoperation time, and reduced visibility in the surgical field. Here, we introduce an injectable Janus hydrogel, which exhibits asymmetric adhesiveness properties after photocrosslinking, sustained delivering induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte exosomes (iCM-EXOs) for post-heart surgery adhesion reduction. Our findings reveal that iCM-EXOs effectively attenuate oxidative stress in hydrogen peroxide-treated primary cardiomyocytes by inhibiting the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2. Notably, in rat cardiac postsurgery models, the Janus hydrogels loaded with iCM-EXOs demonstrate dual functionality, acting as antioxidants and antipericardial adhesion agents. These hydrogels effectively protect iCM-EXOs from GATA6+ cavity macrophage clearance by inhibiting the recruitment of macrophages from the thoracic cavity. These results highlight the promising potential of iCM-EXO-laden Janus hydrogels for clinical safety and efficacy validation in trials involving heart surgery patients, with the ultimate goal of routine administration during open-heart surgeries.

Extracellular vesicles engineering by silicates-activated endothelial progenitor cells for myocardial infarction treatment in male mice.

Extracellular vesicles have shown good potential in disease treatments including ischemic injury such as myocardial infarction. However, the efficient production of highly active extracellular vesicles is one of the critical limitations for their clinical applications. Here, we demonstrate a biomaterial-based approach to prepare high amounts of extracellular vesicles with high bioactivity from endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) by stimulation with silicate ions derived from bioactive silicate ceramics. We further show that hydrogel microspheres containing engineered extracellular vesicles are highly effective in the treatment of myocardial infarction in male mice by significantly enhancing angiogenesis. This therapeutic effect is attributed to significantly enhanced revascularization by the high content of miR-126a-3p and angiogenic factors such as VEGF and SDF-1, CXCR4 and eNOS in engineered extracellular vesicles, which not only activate endothelial cells but also recruit EPCs from the circulatory system.

Targeted heart repair by Tß4-loaded cardiac-resident macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles modified with monocyte membranes.

Recent studies have demonstrated the critical role of cardiac-resident macrophages (cMacs) in the maintenance of physiological homeostasis. However, recruitment of circulating monocyte-derived macrophages decreases cMac levels post-myocardial infarction (MI). Transplanting cMacs is not an ideal option due to their low survival rates and the risk of immunological rejection. However, extracellular vesicle therapy has the potential to provide a feasible and safe alternative for cardiac repair. In this study, cell membrane-modified extracellular vesicles (MmEVs) were developed for heart repair by modifying cMac-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) with monocyte membranes, resulting in immune evasion and sequential targeted localization to damaged regions through expression of CD47 on MmEVs and strong affinity between monocyte membrane proteins and CCL2. Additionally, to fully exploit the potential clinical application of MmEVs and achieve a better curative effect, thymosin ß4 (Tß4) was loaded into the nanoparticles, resulting in Tß4-MmEVs. In vitro experiments indicated that both the MmEVs and Tß4-MmEVs promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation and endothelial cell migration. Animal experiments suggested that MI mice treated with MmEVs and Tß4-MmEVs exhibited reduced myocardial fibrosis and increased vascular density compared to the control group. Thus, we posit that these targeted nanoparticles hold significant potential for MI adjuvant therapy and may open new avenues for cardiac repair and regeneration. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from bioactive parent cell sources involved in pathological and repair processes for cardiovascular disease have emerged as a compelling strategy for regenerative therapy. In this study, we constructed monocyte membrane-modified extracellular vesicles loaded with a drug (Tß4-MmEVs) for heart repair that exhibit extraordinary abilities of immune evasion and sequential localization to damaged regions owing to the presence of CD47 and the strong affinity between monocytes and damaged cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells. The bioactivities of Tß4-MmEVs on enhancing cardiomyocyte and endothelial cell proliferation were validated both in vitro and in vivo. Effective development and implementation of therapeutically membrane-modified nanoparticles from homologous origins can provide a reference for adjuvant therapy in clinical MI management.

Spatial Expansion of Built-Up Areas in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration Based on Nighttime Light Data: 1992-2020.

Built-up areas are one of the most intuitive and important indicators used to assess urbanization, the spatial expansion of which is of great significance in depicting the evolution of urban spatial structures. Based on the harmonized Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) nighttime light dataset, this paper extracts the spatial distribution of built-up areas and explores the spatial expansion patterns and spatiotemporal evolution regularity of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration from 1992 to 2020. The results show that the spatial comparison method, comparing the extracted area with the government's statistical area, can accurately determine the optimal threshold of nighttime light and extract urban built-up areas. According to the spatial comparison method, the built-up areas of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration are expanding rapidly from 1992 to 2020, and both expansion speed and expansion intensity have experienced an inverted "U-shaped" growth process. As the core cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, Beijing and Tianjin have been in the later stage of spatial expansion with slower expansion speed but better quality. In contrast, prefecture-level cities and other node cities have rapid expansion speed. The urban space structure of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration has changed from a "monocentric model" to a "polycentric model" to a "metropolitan model". High-tech industry parks around node cities have become important strongholds of urban space development, leading cities to evolve from monocentric structures to polycentric structures of downtown and industrial parks. The radiation range of core cities expands and spreads to surrounding districts and counties, which inevitably lead to the formation of metropolitan areas.

Grape exosome-like nanoparticles: A potential therapeutic strategy for vascular calcification.

Vascular calcification (VC) is prevalent in hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and aging and has been identified as an important predictor of adverse cardiovascular events. With the complicated mechanisms involved in VC, there is no effective therapy. Thus, a strategy for attenuating the development of VC is of clinical importance. Recent studies suggest that grape exosome-like nanoparticles (GENs) are involved in cell-cell communication as a means of regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, which are known to modulate VC development. In this review, we discuss the roles of GENs and their potential mechanisms in the development of VC.

Food insufficiency and Twitter emotions during a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic initially caused worldwide concerns about food insecurity. Tweets analyzed in real-time may help food assistance providers target food supplies to where they are most urgently needed. In this exploratory study, we use natural language processing to extract sentiments and emotions expressed in food security-related tweets early in the pandemic in U.S. states. The emotion joy dominated in these tweets nationally, but only anger, disgust, and fear were also statistically correlated with contemporaneous food insufficiency rates reported in the Household Pulse Survey; more nuanced and statistically stronger correlations are detected within states, including a negative correlation with joy.

Construction of a Band-Aid Like Cardiac Patch for Myocardial Infarction with Controllable H2 S Release.

Excessive or persistent inflammation incites cardiomyocytes necrosis by generating reactive oxygen species in myocardial infarction (MI). Hydrogen sulfide (H2 S), a gaseous signal molecule, can quickly permeate cells and tissues, growing concerned for its cardioprotective effects. However, short resident time and strong side effects greatly restrict its application. Herein, a complex scaffold (AAB) is first developed to slowly release H2 S for myocardial protection by integrating alginate modified with 2-aminopyridine-5-thiocarboxamide (H2 S donor) into albumin electrospun fibers. Next, a band-aid like patch is constructed based on AAB (center) and nanocomposite scaffold which comprises albumin scaffold and black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs). With near-infrared laser (808 nm), thermal energy generated by BPNSs can locally change the molecular structure of fibrous scaffold, thereby attaching patch to the myocardium. In this study, it is also demonstrated that AAB can enhance regenerative M2 macrophage and attenuate inflammatory polarization of macrophages via reduction in intracellular ROS. Eventually, this engineered cardiac patch can relieve inflammation and promote angiogenesis after MI, and thereby recover heart function, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for MI treatment.

Fabrication of Tß4-Exosome-releasing artificial stem cells for myocardial infarction therapy by improving coronary collateralization.

Currently, stem cell transplantations in cardiac repair are limited owing to disadvantages, such as immunological rejection and poor cell viability. Although direct injection of exosomes can have a curative effect similar to that of stem cell transplantation, high clearance hinders its application in clinical practice. Previous reports suggested that induction of coronary collateralization can be a desired method of adjunctive therapy for someone who had missed the optimal operation time to attenuate myocardial ischemia. In this study, to mimic the paracrine and biological activity of stem cells, we developed artificial stem cells that can continuously release Tß4-exosomes (Tß4-ASCs) by encapsulating specific exosomes within microspheres using microfluidics technology. The results show that Tß4-ASCs can greatly promote coronary collateralization in the periphery of the myocardial infarcted area, and its therapeutic effect is superior to that of directly injecting the exosomes. In addition, to better understand how it works, we demonstrated that the Tß4-ASC-derived exosomes can enhance the angiogenic capacity of coronary endothelial cells (CAECs) via the miR-17-5p/PHD3/Hif-1α pathway. In brief, as artificial stem cells, Tß4-ASCs can constantly release functional exosomes and stimulate the formation of collateral circulation after myocardial infarction, providing a feasible and alternative method for clinical revascularization.

A novel five-gene signature predicts overall survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common public health challenges, worldwide. Because of molecular complexity and tumor heterogeneity, there are no effective predictive models for prognosis of HCC. This underlines the unmet need for accurate prognostic models for HCC. Analysis of GSE14520 data from gene omnibus (GEO) database identified multiple differentially expressed mRNAs (DEMs) between HCC and normal tissues. After randomly stratifying the patients into the training and testing groups, we performed univariate, lasso, and multivariable Cox regression analyses to delineate the prognostic gene signature in training set. We then used Kaplan-Meier plot, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC), multivariable Cox regression analysis of clinical information, nomogram, and decision curve analysis (DCA) to evaluate the predictive and overall survival value of a novel five-gene signature (CNIH4, SOX4, SPP1, SORBS2, and CCL19) within and across sets, separately and combined. We also validated the prognostic value of the five-gene signature using The Cancer Genome Atlas-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC), GSE54236 and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) sets. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that the five-gene signature and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage were independent prognostic factors for overall survival of HCC patients in GSE14520 and TCGA-LIHC. Combining TNM stage clinical pathological parameters and nomogram greatly improved the prognosis prediction of HCC. Further gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed enrichment of KEGG pathways related to cell cycle in the high-risk group and histidine metabolism in the low-risk group. Finally, all these five mRNAs are overexpressed between 12 pairs of HCC and adjacent normal tissues by quantitative real-time PCR validation. In brief, a five-gene prognostic signature and a nomogram were identified and constructed, respectively, and further validated for their HCC prognostic value. The five-gene risk score together with TNM stage models could aid in rationalizing customized therapies in HCC patients.

[A preliminary study on the definition of resistant breakpoints of ofloxacin and levofloxacin for Mycobacterium tuberculosis].

OBJECTIVE: To test the MIC of ofloxacin and levofloxacin (MIC(F) and MIC(V)) in 101 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) isolated from patients with active tuberculosis and to analyze the relation between MIC and past history of fluoroquinolones (FQs) administration. And according to the analysis of the therapeutic effect of the regimen including FQs, we want to define the resistant breakpoints of OFLX and LVFX clinically. METHOD: All isolates from sputa or pus obtained from in-patients in our hospital from Jan 1999 to Sept 2000 were tested for MIC and susceptibility. 47 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis received regimens including FQs were observed consecutively. Chi-square test was applied for the statistical analysis. RESULT: (1) The MIC(V) of 96% clinical isolates tested were 2 times lower than MIC(F). (2) The MIC(F) < 8 microg/ml and MIC(V) < 4 microg/ml were found among 91% and 92% patients without previous FQs administration, while only the MIC(F) > or = 8 microg/ml and MIC(V) > or = 4 microg/ml were found among 54% and 57% for the patients with FQs administration history. (3) If MIC(F) > or = 8 microg/ml and MIC(V) > or = 4 microg/ml were defined as the clinical resistant breakpoints, in susceptible group, the sputum negative conversion rates were 54%, 75% and 82% respectively after receiving the regimens including FQs in 3, 6, and 12 months, while 16%, 32%, and 42% respectively in resistant group, (P < 0.01). Also, there were significant differences between these two groups for chest X-ray improvements after 12 months' treatment, (P < 0.01). There were significant differences for sputum conversion rates and chest X-ray improvement between MIC(V) < 4 microg/ml and MIC(V) > or = 4 microg/ml groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: According to the evaluation for the therapeutic effects of regimens including FQs, it is suggested that MIC(F) > or = 8 microg/ml and MIC(V) > or = 4 microg/ml be defined as resistant breakpoints clinically. The emergence of resistance to FQs in patients with tuberculosis can influence the therapeutic effects.