Supplementing diet with Manitoba lingonberry juice reduces kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury.

BACKGROUND: Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) contains high levels of anthocyanins which are bioavailable in the kidney and may be protective against ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced acute kidney injury. This study investigated the effect of lingonberry juice on the IR-induced stress-activated signalling pathway and inflammatory response in the kidney. RESULTS: Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to kidney IR had significantly impaired kidney function, with increased activation of the JNK signalling pathway and increased inflammatory response, measured using a multiplex panel containing an extensive array of inflammatory biomarkers. In rats fed 1 mL lingonberry juice daily for 3 weeks prior to IR, kidney function was protected and attenuation of inflammatory response and JNK signalling was reflected in the reduction of the measured biomarkers. In vitro results in cultured HK-2 cells confirmed that lingonberry anthocyanins reduced JNK signalling and inflammatory gene expression after IR. CONCLUSION: This study shows, for the first time, that daily supplementation with lingonberry juice may protect against loss of kidney function induced by IR injury by modulating JNK signalling and inhibiting the subsequent inflammatory response. © 2017 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mechanism of Dose-Dependent Regulation of UBE1L by Polyphenols in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells.

Ubiquitin activating enzyme E1-like (UBE1L) is the activating enzyme for ISG15ylation (ISG15, interferon stimulated gene 15). UBE1L is thought to be a candidate tumor suppressor gene and has positive activity against stress responses such as viral infections. Both type I interferon and retinoic acid are known to induce UBE1L expression. However, the molecular mechanism of UBE1L regulation is unclear. Here, the effect of several chemopreventive polyphenols on UBE1L expression in human bronchial epithelial cells (Beas-2B) was investigated. Lower concentrations of curcumin, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and resveratrol upregulated UBE1L, while high concentrations of curcumin, EGCG and resveratrol downregulated UBE1L levels. Interestingly, curcumin, EGCG and resveratrol diminished intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) at lower concentrations but generated ROS at higher concentrations. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) increased UBE1L protein levels, while pro-oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) decreased UBE1L protein levels, indicating that the intracellular redox status is associated with UBE1L expression. Kinase inhibitors were used to examine the contribution of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity to the polyphenol-regulated UBE1L. Only the inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) significantly reduced UBE1L expression. Knockdown of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor-2 (Nrf2) caused a concomitant decrease in UBE1L protein levels. It is concluded from the above mentioned results that JNK/Nrf2 signal pathway is involved in the regulation of UBE1L via intracellular ROS status when cells came in contact with polyphenols.

Curcumin Reactivates Silenced Tumor Suppressor Gene RARß by Reducing DNA Methylation.

Reactivation of tumor suppressor genes by nontoxic bioactive food component represents a promising strategy for cancer chemoprevention. Retinoic acid receptor ß (RARß), one member of the RAR receptor family, is considered as a tumor suppressor. Reduced expression of RARß has been reported in lung cancer and other solid tumors. DNA hypermethylation of the promoter region of RARß is a major mechanism for its silencing in tumors. Recently, curcumin has been considered as a potential DNA methyltransferase inhibitor. Herein, we demonstrated that curcumin significantly elevate RARß expression at the mRNA and protein levels in tested cancer cells. Additionally, curcumin decreased RARß promoter methylation in lung cancer A549 and H460 cells. Mechanistic study demonstrated that curcumin was able to downregulate the mRNA levels of DNMT3b. In a lung cancer xenograft node mice model, curcumin exhibited protective effect against weight loss because of tumor burden. Tumor growth was strongly repressed by curcumin treatment. As the results from in vitro, RARß mRNA were increased and DNMT3b mRNA were decreased by curcumin treatment compared with the mice in control group. Altogether, this study reveals a novel molecular mechanism of curcumin as a chemo-preventive agent for lung cancer through reactivation of RARß.

Activation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase during high fat diet feeding.

The liver plays a central role in regulating cholesterol homeostasis. High fat diets have been shown to induce obesity and hyperlipidemia. Despite considerable advances in our understanding of cholesterol metabolism, the regulation of liver cholesterol biosynthesis in response to high fat diet feeding has not been fully addressed. The aim of the present study was to investigate mechanisms by which a high fat diet caused activation of liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) leading to increased cholesterol biosynthesis. Mice were fed a high fat diet (60% kcal fat) for 5weeks. High fat diet feeding induced weight gain and elevated lipid levels (total cholesterol and triglyceride) in both the liver and serum. Despite cholesterol accumulation in the liver, there was a significant increase in hepatic HMG-CoA reductase mRNA and protein expression as well as enzyme activity. The DNA binding activity of sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-2 and specific protein 1 (Sp1) were also increased in the liver of mice fed a high fat diet. To validate the in vivo findings, HepG2 cells were treated with palmitic acid. Such a treatment activated SREBP-2 as well as increased the mRNA and enzyme activity of HMG-CoA reductase leading to intracellular cholesterol accumulation. Inhibition of Sp1 by siRNA transfection abolished palmitic acid-induced SREBP-2 and HMG-CoA reductase mRNA expression. These results suggest that Sp1-mediated SREBP-2 activation contributes to high fat diet induced HMG-CoA reductase activation and increased cholesterol biosynthesis. This may play a role in liver cholesterol accumulation and hypercholesterolemia.

Short-term choroidal changes as early indicators for future myopic shift in primary school children: results of a 2-year cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To assess predictive value of short-term choroidal changes for future myopic shift in children. METHODS: 577 eyes of 289 primary school children were prospectively followed for 2 years. Cycloplegic refractions at baseline, 1 year and 2 years, and choroidal measurements by optical coherence tomography at baseline and 3 months, were used for analyses. Myopic shift was defined as refraction change of at least -0.50 dioptre/year, at 2 years compared with baseline. RESULTS: 228 participants (455 eyes) completed 2-year follow-up. Approximately 37.6% of 311 initially non-myopic eyes and 73.6% of 144 initially myopic eyes developed a myopic shift. Notably, at 3 months greater reductions were found in initially myopic eyes with myopic shift, than in those without myopic shift-in choroidal thickness (ChT), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA) and total choroidal area (TCA), but no significant differences in any choroidal parameters were observed between non-myopic eyes, with and without myopic shift. Multivariable analyses showed that in myopic eyes, each percentage increase in ChT, LA, SA and TCA was associated with reduced odds of myopic shift (all p<0.001). Similar associations were observed in non-myopic eyes, with smaller effects than in myopic eyes. Adding a 3-month percentage change of each choroidal parameter to a basic model including age, gender, parental myopia and baseline refraction significantly improved the predictive performance in myopic eyes (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves increasing from 0.650 to approximately 0.800, all p<0.05), but not in non-myopic eyes. CONCLUSION: Short-term choroidal changes could act as early indicators for future myopic shift in children.

Effects of groundwater depth on ecological stoichiometric characteristics of assimilated branches and soil of two desert plants.

Groundwater plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth in arid regions and has significant effects on plant physiological mechanisms. However, research on the influence of groundwater change on plant ecological stoichiometry is still limited. Therefore, this study was carried out to obtain the variations in assimilated branches and soil ecological stoichiometry of two dominant species in the Gurbantunggut Desert (Haloxylon ammodendron and Haloxylon persicum) at different groundwater depths to reveal the responses of desert plants to groundwater depth changes. The results showed that (1) H. persicum branches' stress tolerance indicators (C:N, C:P) are higher, while nutritional indicators (N:P) are lower. The soil nutrient of H. ammodendron is richer. (2) The ecological stoichiometry varied significantly along the groundwater gradient. With the deepening of groundwater, the branches C, N and P increased, and the variation in element ratio was inconsistent. Most of the soil properties was inversely proportional to the depth of groundwater. (3) Groundwater depth was a vital environmental factor affecting the assimilated branches ecological stoichiometry. Soil properties also had a significant influence on element accumulation in assimilated branches. (4) Regulating the allocation of branches ecological stoichiometry is an adaptation of two Haloxylon species to cope with local hydrological conditions changes. These findings provide novel insights into desert plant responses to different groundwater conditions within fragile desert ecosystems and may have implications for the implementation of effective measures related to the stability and sustainability of desert ecosystems.

Potential for selective oxidation of aniline in soil washing effluent by active chlorine and testing its practicality.

Recovery of surfactants in the soil washing effluent (SWE) can significantly reduce the cost of the soil washing (SW) technology. This paper consists of two parts experiments. The first part constructed a selective oxidation system of active chlorine by electrochemical technology to treat SWE. Three factors, current density, NaCl concentration and TW 80 to aniline concentration ratio (T/A), were set up for a total of nine sets of experiments after orthogonal design. The results of ANOVA analysis and visual analysis showed that the NaCl concentration greatly affected the aniline removal efficiency (ARE) and the TW 80 retention efficiency (TW 80 RE), and the effects were in opposite directions. The biotoxicity of the SWE decreased as the experiment progressed, and at the end of the experiment, 30%-45% of TW 80 was still present in each set. And the oxidation group quenching experiments determined that the degradation of aniline was mainly contributed by active chlorine. Because active chlorine slowed the loss rate of TW 80, the electrochemical treatment of SWE + soil in-situ sequential batch recirculation washing method was designed, and 50% of aniline in the soil was washed out after 125h. At the end of the experiment, the less biotoxic SWE was collected where no aniline and TW 80 were present, and only small organic acids were present after the GC-MS test. The method has a great potential to be applied as it shows good results in the treatment of soil pollution incidents.

Efficient Electrochemical Oxidation of Chloramphenicol by Novel Reduced TiO2 Nanotube Array Anodes: Kinetics, Reaction Parameters, Degradation Pathway and Biotoxicity Forecast.

The key component of electrochemical advanced oxidation technology are high-efficiency anodes, and highly efficient and simple-to-prepare materials have generated a lot of interest. In this study, novel self-supported Ti3+-doped titanium dioxide nanotube arrays (R-TNTs) anodes were successfully prepared by a two-step anodic oxidation and straightforward electrochemical reduction technique. The electrochemical reduction self-doping treatment produced more Ti3+ sites with stronger absorption in the UV-vis region, a band gap reduction from 2.86 to 2.48 ev, and a significant increase in electron transport rate. The electrochemical degradation effect of R-TNTs electrode on chloramphenicol (CAP) simulated wastewater was investigated. At pH = 5, current density of 8 mA cm-2, electrolyte concentration of 0.1 M sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), initial CAP concentration of 10 mg L-1, CAP degradation efficiency exceeded 95% after 40 min. In addition, molecular probe experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) tests revealed that the active species were mainly •OH and SO4-, among which •OH played a major role. The CAP degradation intermediates were discovered using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), and three possible degradation mechanisms were postulated. In cycling experiments, the R-TNTs anode demonstrated good stability. The R-TNTs prepared in this paper were an anode electrocatalytic material with high catalytic activity and stability, which could provide a new approach for the preparation of electrochemical anode materials for difficult-to-degrade organic compounds.

One-year myopia control efficacy of cylindrical annular refractive element spectacle lenses.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the 1-year myopia control efficacy of a spectacle lens with annular cylindrical microstructures. METHODS: A total of 118 consecutive eligible children aged 8-12 years with -1.00 D to -4.00 D of spherical component myopia and <1.50 D astigmatism were enrolled between August 2020 and November 2020 at the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Participants were randomly assigned to wear cylindrical annular refractive element (CARE) (n = 61) or single-vision (n = 57) spectacle lenses. Cycloplegic autorefraction (spherical equivalent refraction [SER]) and axial length (AL) were measured at baseline and 6-month intervals. Adaptation and compliance questionnaires were administered during all visits. RESULTS: Among 118 randomized participants, 96 (81.4%) were included in the analyses (mean [SE] age, 10.4 [0.6] years; 49 [51.0%] were female; mean [SE] spherical equivalent refractive error, -2.67 [0.66] D; mean [SE] axial length, 24.75 [0.77] mm). Adjusted 1-year myopia progression was -0.56 D for CARE and -0.71 D for single-vision spectacle lenses. The difference in progression was 0.14 D (95% CI, -0.04 to 0.32) for CARE vs single vision. Adjusted 1-year eye growth was 0.27 mm for CARE and 0.35 mm for single vision. The difference in eye growth was 0.09 mm (95% CI, -0.15 to -0.02) for CARE vs single vision. All groups adapted to their lenses with no reported adverse events, complaints, or discomfort. CONCLUSIONS: Among children with myopia, treatment with cylindrical annular refractive element spectacle lenses significantly reduced the rate of axial elongation over 1 year compared with single-vision spectacle lenses.

Choroidal Circulation in 8- to 30-Year-Old Chinese, Measured by SS-OCT/OCTA: Relations to Age, Axial Length, and Choroidal Thickness.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and explore the determinants of choroidal vascularity and choriocapillaris perfusion in a Chinese population aged 8 to 30 years old. Methods: Three hundred eighty eyes from 380 subjects aged 8 to 30 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Submacular choroidal thickness (ChT), total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), choroidal vascularity index (CVI), and choriocapillaris flow deficit (CcFD) were estimated using images obtained from optical coherence tomography (OCT). Results: In this population, the mean ChT was 260.4 ± 63.3 µm, TCA was 1.56 ± 0.38 mm2, LA was 0.94 ± 0.25 mm2, and SA was 0.62 ± 0.15 mm2. The mean CVI was 60.25 ± 3.21% and CcFD was 11.95 ± 1.98%. Multivariable analyses showed that higher CVI and LA was associated with older age, thicker ChT, and shorter AL; and lower CcFD was associated with shorter AL. However, the associations were not uniformly rectilinear between CcFD and age. Specifically, CcFD was positively associated with age in subjects ≤19 years old and negatively associated with age in subjects >19 years old. Conclusions: Development of the choroidal medium- and large-sized vascular layers and choriocapillaris was different across patients aged 8 to 30 years old. Greater axial length was associated with attenuated choroidal circulation. Choroidal thickness correlated well with choroidal vascularity, but not with choriocapillaris perfusion. Further comprehensive and longitudinal assessment of choroidal vasculature and choriocapillaris perfusion will help greatly to understand the physiological and pathological mechanisms responsible for myopia.

Folic acid supplementation attenuates high fat diet induced hepatic oxidative stress via regulation of NADPH oxidase.

Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol facilitate weight gain, a predisposing factor that contributes to the onset of obesity and metabolic disorders. Hepatic oxidative stress is commonly reported in various animal models of obesity and has been associated with enhanced expression of NADPH oxidase. We have previously reported several antioxidant mechanisms through which folic acid confers protection during hyperhomocysteinemia-induced oxidative stress. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether folic acid supplementation ameliorates high-fat diet induced oxidative stress in the liver, and to identify the underlying mechanisms. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a control diet, a high-fat diet, or a high-fat diet supplemented with folic acid for 12 weeks. A high-fat diet led to increased body mass, hepatic lipid peroxidation, and liver injury. There was a significant increase in hepatic NADPH oxidase activity, which was associated with enhanced expression of several NADPH-oxidase subunits. Folic acid supplementation had a protective effect against high-fat diet induced hepatic oxidative stress and liver injury. Further analysis revealed that the antioxidant effect of folic acid was attributed, in part, to transcriptional regulation of NADPH oxidase. These results suggested that folic acid supplementation may be hepatoprotective from liver injury associated with a high-fat diet.

Ti/PbO2 Electrode Efficiency in Catalytic Chloramphenicol Degradation and Its Effect on Antibiotic Resistance Genes.

Livestock farming has led to the rapid accumulation of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. Chloramphenicol (CAP) was chosen as a model compound to investigate its degradation during electrochemical treatment. Ti/PbO2 electrodes were prepared using electrodeposition. The prepared Ti/PbO2-La electrodes had a denser surface and a more complete PbO2 crystal structure. Ti/PbO2-Co electrodes exhibited improved electrochemical catalytic activity and lifetime in practice. The impact of different conditions on the effectiveness of CAP electrochemical degradation was investigated, and the most favorable conditions were identified (current density: I = 15.0 mA/cm, electrolyte concentration: c = 0.125 mol/L, solution pH = 5). Most importantly, we investigated the effects of the different stages of treatment with CAP solutions on the abundance of resistance genes in natural river substrates (intI1, cmlA, cmle3, and cata2). When CAP was completely degraded (100% TOC removal), no effect on resistance gene abundance was observed in the river substrate; incomplete CAP degradation significantly increased the absolute abundance of resistance genes. This suggests that when treating solutions with antibiotics, they must be completely degraded (100% TOC removal) before discharge into the environment to reduce secondary pollution. This study provides insights into the deep treatment of wastewater containing antibiotics and assesses the environmental impact of the resulting treated wastewater.

The Effect of Corneal Refractive Power Area Changes on Myopia Progression during Orthokeratology.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of corneal refractive power area changes on myopia progression during orthokeratology. Methods: One hundred and sixteen children who met the inclusion criteria and insisted on wearing orthokeratology lenses for two years were retrospectively assessed. Seventy-two children with the orthokeratology lens decentration distance more than 0.5 mm but less than 1.5 mm were in the decentered group, and forty-four children with the orthokeratology lens decentration distance less than 0.5 mm were in the centric group. The orthokeratology decentration via tangential difference topography was analyzed. This study calculated the different power areas in the central 4 mm pupillary area by axial-difference corneal topography, compared the differences of the different power areas between these two groups, and evaluated the relationships between corneal positive-power area, orthokeratology decentration, and AL changes. Results: The axial length changes of the centric group presented a statistical difference with the decentered group (0.52 ± 0.37 mm vs. 0.38 ± 0.26 mm; t = 2.403, p=0.018). For all children, both the AL changes (0.43 ± 0.31 mm) and decentration distance (0.64 ± 0.33 mm) showed a significant correlation with the positive-power area (r = -0.366, p < 0.001 and r = 0.624, p < 0.001); AL changes also presented a statistical correlation with decentration distance (r = -0.343, p < 0.001), baseline age (r = -0.329, p < 0.001), and baseline spherical equivalent refractive power (r = 0.335, p < 0.001). In the centric group and decentered group, the AL changes (centric group: r = -0.319, p=0.035; decentered group: r = -0.332, p=0.04) and decentration distance (centric group: r = 0.462, p=0.002; decentered group: r = 0.524, p < 0.001) had a significant correlation with the positive-power area yet. In the multiple regression analysis, AL changes were increased with less baseline age (beta, 0.015; p < 0.001), positive-power area (beta, 0.021; p=0.002), and larger SER (beta, 0.025; p=0.018). Conclusions: The corneal positive-power area had a positive impact on affirming AL changes during orthokeratology. This area might be formed by lens decentration to provide an additional myopia-defocusing influence on the retina to achieve better myopia control.

Degradation of chloramphenicol by Ti/PbO2-La anodes and alteration in bacterial community and antibiotics resistance genes.

Antibiotics accumulation in the environment has given rise to multi-drug resistant 'superbugs' and antibiotics resistence genes (ARGs). Chloramphenicol (CAP), a kind of widely used antibiotics, was chosen as the model compound to investigate its degradation during electrochemical treatment process. The prepared Ti/PbO2-La electrodes had a denser surface and a more complete PbO2 crystal structure than Ti/PbO2 electrode. The doping of La increased the onset potential and the overpotential, increased the current value of the oxidation peak and the reduction peak, reduced the impedance, and increased the lifetime. The reactions CAP degradation and TOC removal on Ti/PbO2-La electrode was both primary kinetic reactions. CAP degradation rate increased with current density, and TOC obtained the highest removal at current density of 25 mA cm-2. The electrolyte concentration had a small effect in the range of 0.050-0.150 mol L-1. The effects under acidic and neutral conditions were better than under alkaline conditions. CAP was mainly directly oxidized at the electrode surface and indirect oxidation also took place via generated ·OH and SO4·-. 15 intermediates and 2 degradation pathways have been postulated. The entry of CAP and CAP intermediates into the environment caused the alteration in bacterial community and ARGs, while complete degradation products had little effect on them. Redundancy analysis showed that intI1 was the dominant factor affecting ARGs, and Actinobacteria and Patescibacteria were the main factors affecting the abundances of ARGs in the microbial community.

Differences in Retinal and Choroidal Vasculature and Perfusion Related to Axial Length in Pediatric Anisomyopes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interocular differences in choroidal vasculature, choriocapillaris perfusion, and retinal microvascular network, and to explore their associations with interocular asymmetry in axial lengths (ALs) in children with anisomyopia. Methods: Refractive error, AL, and other biometric parameters were measured in 70 children with anisomyopia. Using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT-angiography, we measured the submacular choroidal thickness (ChT), total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), choroidal vascularity index (CVI), choriocapillaris flow deficit (CcFD), retinal vessel density (VD), and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area. Results: The mean interocular differences in spherical equivalent refraction and AL were -2.26 ± 0.94 diopters and 0.95 ± 0.46 mm, respectively. Submacular ChT, TCA, LA, SA, and CVI were all significantly lower in the more myopic (longer AL) eyes than in the less myopic (shorter AL) fellow eyes. In eyes with longer ALs, both the CcFD and FAZ areas were significantly greater, whereas the superficial and deep retinal VDs were significantly less. After adjusting for corneal power and intraocular pressure, interocular differences in LA (ß = -0.774), SA (ß = -0.991), and CcFD (ß = 0.040) were significantly associated with interocular asymmetry in AL (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: In pediatric anisomyopes, eyes with longer ALs tended to have lower choroidal vascularity and choriocapillaris perfusion than the contralateral eyes with shorter ALs. Longitudinal investigations would be useful follow-ups to test for a causal role of choroidal circulation in human myopia.

Osthole Attenuates Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis by Modulating NADPH Oxidase 4-Derived Oxidative Stress in Mice.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive lung disease characterized by the extensive accumulation of myofibroblasts and collagens. However, the exact mechanism that underlies this condition is unclear. Growing evidence suggests that NADPH oxidases (NOXs), especially NOX4-derived oxidative stress, play an important role in the development of lung fibrosis. Bleomycin (BLM) is a tumor chemotherapeutic agent, which has been widely employed to establish IPF animal models. Osthole (OST) is an active constituent of the fruit of Cnidium ninidium. Here, we used an in vivo mouse model and found that OST suppressed BLM-induced body weight loss, lung injury, pulmonary index increase, fibroblast differentiation, and pulmonary fibrosis. OST also significantly downregulated BLM-induced NOX4 expression and oxidative stress in the lungs. In vitro, OST could inhibit TGF-ß1-induced Smad3 phosphorylation, differentiation, proliferation, collagen synthesis, NOX4 expression, and ROS generation in human lung fibroblasts in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, NOX4 overexpression could prevent the above effects of OST. We came to the conclusion that OST could significantly attenuate BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice, via the mechanism that involved downregulating TGF-ß1/NOX4-mediated oxidative stress in lung fibroblasts.

Assessment of Choroidal Vascularity and Choriocapillaris Blood Perfusion in Anisomyopic Adults by SS-OCT/OCTA.

Purpose: To explore the association of choroidal vascularity and choriocapillaris blood perfusion with myopic severity in anisomyopes. Methods: Refractive error, axial length (AL), and other biometric parameters were measured in 34 anisomyopic young adults. Macular choroidal thickness (ChT) and choroidal vascularity, including total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), and choroidal vascularity index (CVI), were determined from swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) vertical and horizontal B-scans. The percentage of choriocapillaris flow voids (FV%) was obtained from en face SS-OCT-angiography. Results: The spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was -3.35 ± 1.25 diopters in the more myopic eyes and -1.25 ± 1.17 diopters in the less myopic eyes (P < 0.001). The interocular difference in SER was highly correlated with that in AL (P < 0.001). The macular ChT, TCA, LA, and SA were smaller in the more myopic eyes than in the less myopic eyes in both vertical and horizontal scans (all P < 0.001). Importantly, the CVIs in vertical and horizontal scans were smaller and the FV% was greater in the more myopic eyes (P < 0.05). In vertical scans, the interocular difference in CVIs was correlated with that in the SER, AL, and ChT (all P < 0.05). The interocular difference in FV% was correlated with that in SER, AL, and vertical and horizontal ChTs (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: Choroidal vascularity and choriocapillaris blood perfusion were lower in the more myopic eyes of anisomyopic adults. These changes were correlated with the severity of myopia and choroidal thinning, indicating that choroidal blood flow is disturbed in human myopia.

NADPH Oxidases: The Vital Performers and Center Hubs during Plant Growth and Signaling.

NADPH oxidases (NOXs), mostly known as respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOHs), are the key producers of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants. A lot of literature has addressed ROS signaling in plant development regulation and stress responses as well as on the enzyme's structure, evolution, function, regulation and associated mechanisms, manifesting the role of NOXs/RBOHs as the vital performers and center hubs during plant growth and signaling. This review focuses on recent advances of NOXs/RBOHs on cell growth, hormone interaction, calcium signaling, abiotic stress responses, and immunity. Several primary particles, including Ca2+, CDPKs, BIK1, ROPs/RACs, CERK, FER, ANX, SnRK and SIK1-mediated regulatory mechanisms, are fully summarized to illustrate the signaling behavior of NOXs/RBOHs and their sophisticated and dexterous crosstalks. Diverse expression and activation regulation models endow NOXs/RBOHs powerful and versatile functions in plants to maintain innate immune homeostasis and development integrity. NOXs/RBOHs and their related regulatory items are the ideal targets for crop improvement in both yield and quality during agricultural practices.

Interaction between TaNOX7 and TaCDPK13 Contributes to Plant Fertility and Drought Tolerance by Regulating ROS Production.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis is critical for both physiological processes and stress responses of plants. NADPH oxidases (NOXs) are the key producers of ROS in plants. However, their functions in ROS homeostasis and plant growth regulation in wheat (Triticum aestivum) are little investigated. Here, we cloned and characterized a NOX isoform TaNOX7 in wheat. Overexpression of TaNOX7 in rice led to enhanced root length, ROS production, drought tolerance as well as bigger panicles and higher yield but shorter growth period duration. Further results indicate that TaCDPK13, a member of calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), can directly interact with TaNOX7 and enhance ROS production in plants. These results demonstrate that TaNOX7 plays crucial roles in wheat development, fertility, and drought tolerance via interaction with TaCDPK13, which may act as an upstream regulator of TaNOX7 to regulate ROS production in wheat.

Acrylamide induces HepG2 cell proliferation through upregulation of miR-21 expression.

Acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, exists in carbohydrate-rich foods cooked at a high temperature. It has been reported that acrylamide can cause DNA damage and cytotoxicity. The present study aimed to investigate the potential mechanism of human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cell proliferation induced by acrylamide and to explore the antagonistic effects of a natural polyphenol curcumin against acrylamide via miR-21. The results indicated that acrylamide (≤100 µmol/L) significantly increased HepG2 cell proliferation and miR-21 expression. In addition, acrylamide reduced the PTEN expression in protein level, while induced the expressions of p-AKT, EGFR and cyclin D1. The PI3K/AKT inhibitor decreased p-AKT protein expression and inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells. In addition, curcumin effectively reduced acrylamide-induced HepG2 cell proliferation and induced apoptosis through the expression of miR-21. In conclusion, the results showed that acrylamide increased HepG2 cell proliferation via upregulating miR-21 expression, which may be a new target for the treatment and prevention of cancer.