Comparison and Characterization of Phenotypic and Genomic Mutations Induced by a Carbon-Ion Beam and Gamma-ray Irradiation in Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.).

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a nutritious crop that can provide both oil and protein. A variety of mutagenesis methods have been proposed to obtain better soybean germplasm resources. Among the different types of physical mutagens, carbon-ion beams are considered to be highly efficient with high linear energy transfer (LET), and gamma rays have also been widely used for mutation breeding. However, systematic knowledge of the mutagenic effects of these two mutagens during development and on phenotypic and genomic mutations has not yet been elucidated in soybean. To this end, dry seeds of Williams 82 soybean were irradiated with a carbon-ion beam and gamma rays. The biological effects of the M1 generation included changes in survival rate, yield and fertility. Compared with gamma rays, the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the carbon-ion beams was between 2.5 and 3.0. Furthermore, the optimal dose for soybean was determined to be 101 Gy to 115 Gy when using the carbon-ion beam, and it was 263 Gy to 343 Gy when using gamma rays. A total of 325 screened mutant families were detected from out of 2000 M2 families using the carbon-ion beam, and 336 screened mutant families were found using gamma rays. Regarding the screened phenotypic M2 mutations, the proportion of low-frequency phenotypic mutations was 23.4% when using a carbon ion beam, and the proportion was 9.8% when using gamma rays. Low-frequency phenotypic mutations were easily obtained with the carbon-ion beam. After screening the mutations from the M2 generation, their stability was verified, and the genome mutation spectrum of M3 was systemically profiled. A variety of mutations, including single-base substitutions (SBSs), insertion-deletion mutations (INDELs), multinucleotide variants (MNVs) and structural variants (SVs) were detected with both carbon-ion beam irradiation and gamma-ray irradiation. Overall, 1988 homozygous mutations and 9695 homozygous + heterozygous genotype mutations were detected when using the carbon-ion beam. Additionally, 5279 homozygous mutations and 14,243 homozygous + heterozygous genotype mutations were detected when using gamma rays. The carbon-ion beam, which resulted in low levels of background mutations, has the potential to alleviate the problems caused by linkage drag in soybean mutation breeding. Regarding the genomic mutations, when using the carbon-ion beam, the proportion of homozygous-genotype SVs was 0.45%, and that of homozygous + heterozygous-genotype SVs was 6.27%; meanwhile, the proportions were 0.04% and 4.04% when using gamma rays. A higher proportion of SVs were detected when using the carbon ion beam. The gene effects of missense mutations were greater under carbon-ion beam irradiation, and the gene effects of nonsense mutations were greater under gamma-ray irradiation, which meant that the changes in the amino acid sequences were different between the carbon-ion beam and gamma rays. Taken together, our results demonstrate that both carbon-ion beam and gamma rays are effective techniques for rapid mutation breeding in soybean. If one would like to obtain mutations with a low-frequency phenotype, low levels of background genomic mutations and mutations with a higher proportion of SVs, carbon-ion beams are the best choice.

Lidocaine Inhibited Tendon Cell Proliferation and Extracellular Matrix Production by Down Regulation of Cyclin A, CDK2, Type I and Type III Collagen Expression.

Lidocaine injection is a common treatment for tendon injuries. However, the evidence suggests that lidocaine is toxic to tendon cells. This study investigated the effects of lidocaine on cultured tendon cells, focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) production. Tendon cells cultured from rat Achilles tendons were treated with 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 mg/mL lidocaine for 24 h. Cell proliferation was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK-8) assay and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) assay. Cell apoptosis was assessed by Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) stain. Cell cycle progression and cell mitosis were assessed through flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. The expression of cyclin E, cyclin A, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), p21, p27, p53, matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9), type I collagen, and type III collagen were examined through Western blotting, and the enzymatic activity of MMP-9 was determined through gelatin zymography. Lidocaine reduced cell proliferation and reduced G1/S transition and cell mitosis. Lidocaine did not have a significant negative effect on cell apoptosis. Lidocaine significantly inhibited cyclin A and CDK2 expression but promoted p21, p27, and p53 expression. Furthermore, the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 increased, whereas that of type I and type III collagen decreased. Lidocaine also increased the enzymatic activity of MMP-9. Our findings support the premise that lidocaine inhibits tendon cell proliferation by changing the expression of cell-cycle-related proteins and reduces ECM production by altering levels of MMPs and collagens.

Proteomic comparison of 3D and 2D glioma models reveals increased HLA-E expression in 3D models is associated with resistance to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

Three-dimensional cell culture techniques can better reflect the in vivo characteristics of tumor cells compared with traditional monolayer cultures. Compared with their 2D counterparts, 3D-cultured tumor cells showed enhanced resistance to the cytotoxic T cell-mediated immune response. However, it remains unclear whether 3D-cultured tumor cells have an enhanced resistance to NK cell cytotoxicity. In this study, a total of 363 differentially expressed proteins were identified between the 2D- and 3D-cultured U251 cells by comparative proteomics, and an immune-associated protein-protein interaction (PPI) network based on these differential proteins was constructed by bioinformatics. Within the network, HLA-E, as a molecule for inhibiting NK cell activation, was significantly up-regulated in the 3D-cultured tumor cells. Then, we found that the 3D-cultured U251 cells exhibited potent resistance to NK cell cytotoxicity in vitro and were prone to tumor formation in vivo. The resistance of the 3D-cultured tumor cells to NK cell lysis was mediated by the HLA-E/NKG2A interaction because the administration of antibodies that block either HLA-E or NKG2A completely eliminated this resistance and significantly decreased tumor formation. Taken together, our findings indicate that HLA-E up-regulation in 3D-cultured cells may result in enhanced tumor resistance to NK cell-mediated immune response.

Association of urinary iodine concentration with prediabetes/diabetes in adults: Analysis of the NHANES 2005-2016.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Iodine is required for synthesizing thyroid hormones and regulating human metabolism. Iodine deficiency can lead to thyroid function abnormalities, which are closely associated with disturbances in glucose-insulin homeostasis. Research on the relationship between iodine and diabetes/prediabetes in adults was sparse and inconsistent. We assessed trends in urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and diabetes/prediabetes prevalence and focused on the association between iodine and diabetes/prediabetes among U.S. adults. METHODS: We analyzed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from the 2005-2016 cycles. Linear regression was employed to evaluate UIC and prediabetes/diabetes prevalence trends over time. Both multiple logistic regression and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were performed to evaluate the association of UIC with diabetes/prediabetes. RESULTS: A distinctly declining trend in median UIC and a significant increase in diabetes prevalence in U.S. adults from 2005 to 2016 were observed. The fourth quartile of UIC was associated with a 30% lower risk for prediabetes, compared with the first quartile (OR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.56-0.86, Ptrend=0.001). However, UIC was not significantly associated with the prevalence of diabetes. The RCS model suggested a significant nonlinear relationship between UIC and the risk of diabetes (P for nonlinearity =0.0147). Stratification analysis showed that the negative associations of UIC with the risk of prediabetes were more pronounced in participants who were men, aged 46-65, overweight, light alcohol drinkers, and nonactive smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the adults' median UIC in the U.S. population was a declining trend. However, diabetes prevalence increased significantly from 2005 to 2016. Higher UIC was associated with a lower risk of prediabetes.

The Relationship between Metal Exposure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the General US Population: NHANES 2015-2016.

The effects of metal on pulmonary function are inconsistent, and abnormal distribution of metals can decrease lung function. However, the effects of metals exposure on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are still unclear. This study aims to explore the relationship between metal exposure and COPD risk. Cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016 was analyzed. Inductively coupled plasma dynamic reaction cell mass spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS) was used to measure the metals concentration in the blood. The multiple linear regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were used to analyze the relationship between metals exposure and COPD risk. In this study, 1399 participants were included, of which 107 participants were diagnosed with COPD using self-reported chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and COPD. The second and third tertiles of copper increased the COPD risk by 1.98-fold (95% CI: 1.08-3.62) and 2.43-fold (95% CI: 1.32-4.48) compared with the first tertile, using p = 0.005 for the trend after adjusting for the covariates. RCS showed a positive linear correlation between copper and COPD risk (p = 0.006 for overall association) in all participants. When stratified by sex, the multi-factor analysis showed that the third tertile of copper increased male's COPD risk by 3.42-fold (95% CI: 1.52-7.76), with p = 0.003 for the trend, and RCS also showed a positive linear correlation (p = 0.013 for overall association). Although RCS showed that selenium can reduce the COPD risk (p = 0.008 for overall association) in males, an association between selenium and COPD was not observed (p > 0.05). Our findings suggest that a high concentration of copper may increase COPD risk in males in the general US population, and more research is needed to explore its possible mechanism of action.

Relationship between urinary dichlorophenols and cognitive function among people over 60 years old from NHANES.

Studies have shown that exposure to dichlorophenols (DCPs) and their precursors might have potential neurotoxicity, which may be related to low cognitive function, but there are few large-scale, representative population data to explore the association between DCP exposure and cognitive function. We aimed to examine the relationship between urinary DCPs and cognitive function in the US older people. A total of 952 participants ≥ 60 years old from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in two cycles (2011-2014) were enrolled. The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease Word Learning subtest (CERAD W-L), the Animal Fluency test (AFT), and the Digit Symbol Substitution test (DSST) were used to assess cognition. Multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were used to evaluate the relationship between DCP exposure and cognitive function. A positive association between 2,5-DCP and the risk of bad performance of DSST was observed (P for trend = 0.024) after adjusting for the covariates. Compared to the lowest quartile, OR of DSST for the highest quartile of 2,5-DCP was 1.72 (95%CI:1.03-2.87, P = 0.039). There were no significant associations between DCPs and the other tests. The RCS plot showed an inverted J-shaped relationship between 2,5-DCP, 2,4-DCP, and the DSST score. The inflection points for the curves were found at 1.531 µg/L and 0.230 µg/L, respectively. On the right side of the inflection points, the DSST score dropped sharply. In subgroup analysis, those under 70 years old, smokers, and alcohol drinkers had a higher risk of bad performance in DSST when exposed to 2,5-DCP. The higher concentration of urinary DCPs is associated with a lower score of DSST in the US older people.

Association of urinary metabolites of non-persistent pesticides with serum sex hormones among the US females: NHANES 2013-2014.

BACKGROUND: Evidence indicated the possibility of non-persistent pesticides disrupting the homeostasis of sex hormones. However, few studies have focused on this relationship in females. We aimed to explore the relationship between non-persistent pesticide exposure and sex hormones among the US females from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014. METHODS: A total of 790 females, including girls (6-11 years), female adolescents (12-19 years), and adult females (>19 years), were enrolled in this study. Age stratified associations of individual non-persistent pesticide metabolites and their mixtures with sex hormones were analyzed by weighted multiple linear regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) using spot urinary non-persistent pesticide measurement, including 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCPY), para-nitrophenol (PNP) and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), and three serum sex hormones [total testosterone (TT), estradiol (E2) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)]. RESULTS: In girls, weighted multivariate linear regression indicated that both 2,4-D and PNP were negatively associated with TT, and TCPY was inversely associated with SHBG. In female adolescents, TCPY was negatively associated with TT and E2, and 3-PBA was negatively associated with SHBG; positive associations were detected both in 2,4-D with SHBG, and in PNP with TT. In adult females, a higher concentration of 3-PBA was associated with higher levels of TT. The BKMR model showed that in female adolescents, the concentrations of pesticide metabolite mixtures at or above the 55th percentile were negatively related to the levels of E2 compared with their mixtures at 50th percentile, and an inverse U-shaped exposure-response function between PNP and E2 was found. CONCLUSIONS: Associations between the four non-persistent pesticide metabolites and serum sex hormones were identified in the US females from NHANES 2013-2014 and these associations were age dependent, especially in adolescents. Large-scale cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings and elucidate the potential biological mechanisms.

Association between Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Women's Infertility, NHANES 2013-2016.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widely used in consumer products. However, the role of PFAS in infertility is still poorly understood. A total of 788 women from the 2013-2016 nationally representative NHANES were included to explore the association between PFAS exposure and self-reported infertility. Six PFAS, including PFDE, PFNA, PFHxS, n-PFOA, n-PFOS, and Sm-PFOS, were detected by online SPE-HPLC-TIS-MS/MS. We used the generalized linear regression model (GLM), generalized additive models (GAM), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to assess the single effects, non-linear relationships, and mixed effects on women's infertility, respectively. The prevalence of self-reported infertility was 15.54% in this study. In GLM, n-PFOA showed a negative association with self-reported infertility in women for the Q3 (OR: 0.396, 95% CI: 0.119, 0.788) and Q4 (OR: 0.380, 95% CI: 0.172-0.842) compared with Q1 (p for trend = 0.013). A negative trend was also observed in n-PFOS and ∑PFOS (p for trend < 0.05). In GAM, a non-linear relationship was revealed in Sm-PFOS, which exhibits a U-shaped relationship. The BKMR model indicated that there might be a joint effect between PFAS and women's infertility, to which PFNA contributed the highest effect (PIP = 0.435). Moreover, age stratification analysis showed a different dose-response curve in under and above 35 years old. Women under the age of 35 have a more noticeable U-shaped relationship with infertility. Therefore, the relatively low level of mixed PFAS exposure was negatively associated with self-reported infertility in women in general, and the impact of PFAS on infertility may vary among women of different age groups. Further studies are needed to determine the etiological relationship.

The association of aldehydes exposure with diabetes mellitus in US population: NHANES 2013-2014.

BACKGROUND: The association of mixed aldehydes exposure with diabetes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore associations between serum aldehydes concentration and diabetes. METHODS: We analyzed associations between aldehydes and diabetes using data from 1795 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2013 to 2014 by multiple logistic regression models. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) was used to evaluate the combined association of serum aldehydes on prediabetes and diabetes. RESULTS: Isopentanaldehyde increased the risk of diabetes 2.09 fold (95%CI:1.05-4.16) in the highest tertile, compared to the lowest-tertile concentration after adjusting for covariates, with a p-value for trend (P-t) equal to 0.041, in females. The adjusted OR of prediabetes with a 95% CI for the highest tertile was 0.52(0.28, 0.97) for benzaldehyde in females (P-t = 0.034). We also found associations in the male group between butyraldehyde and diabetes for the second (OR:2.80, 95%CI:1.35-5.79) and third (OR:2.59, 95%CI:1.30-5.17) tertile levels (P-t = 0.010). The risk of diabetes increased 2.55 fold (95%CI: 1.26-5.16, P-t = 0.008), in subjects in the highest tertile of hexanaldehyde concentration. Other aldehydes did not show a statistically significant association with diabetes or prediabetes. The BKMR model showed a positive association of mixed aldehydes with diabetes in males, and butyraldehyde showed a significant positive trend with the highest posterior inclusion probability (PIP = 0.85). Mixed aldehydes increased female's risk from prediabetes to diabetes in which isopentanaldehyde had the highest posterior inclusion probability (PIP = 0.67). CONCLUSIONS: The mixed aldehydes might increase the risk of suffering from diabetes in males and accelerate the progression of diabetes in females, in which butyraldehyde and isopentanaldehyde play the most important roles.

Mixed effects of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure on cognitive function among people over 60 years old from NHANES.

The relationship between perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and cognitive function are inconsistent, and the mixed effects of PFAS on cognitive function are still unclear. We aimed to evaluate the joint effects of PFAS on cognitive function assessed using four tests as follows: the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Immediate Recall Test (IRT), Delayed Recall Test (DRT), the Animal Fluency Test (AFT), and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) in the US elderly. A total of 777 individuals aged ≥ 60 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014 were included in this study. Multivariable logistic regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were constructed to estimate the overall and the individual effects of PFAS exposure on cognitive function. There were 21.36%, 22.65%, 21.62%, and 21.24% participants with cognitive decline in IRT, DRT, AFT, and DSST, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was inversely associated with cognitive decline in IRT, DRT, and AFT, while no significant association was observed between any other PFAS and cognitive decline. Compared with the lowest quartile, the adjusted odds ratio of cognitive decline with a 95% confidence interval (CI) for the highest quartile of PFOA was 0.33 (95% CI: 0.15-0.69) in IRT, 0.50 (0.26-0.96) in DRT, and 0.45 (0.21-0.95) in AFT. In BKMR analysis, the overall effect of mixtures was significantly protective on cognitive decline in IRT, of which PFOA made the greatest contribution. The consistent protective effect in DRT and DSST was observed when all the chemicals were at their 50th percentile or below it. No significant interaction was observed among PFAS for cognitive function. These findings suggested that PFAS mixture at a low level of current exposure of the US population may have a protective effect on cognitive function.

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and association with sex hormone concentrations: Results from the NHANES 2015-2016.

Background: There is increasing global concern regarding the health impacts of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are emerging environmental endocrine disruptors. Results from previous epidemiological studies on the associations between PFAS exposure and sex hormone levels are inconsistent. Objective: We examined the associations between serum PFAS compounds (PFDeA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFOA, PFOS) and sex hormones, including total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), estrogen (E), and serum hormone binding globulin (SHBG). Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, PFDeA, PFOS, and PFHxS exposures were significantly associated with increased serum testosterone concentrations in males. PFDeA, PFOA, and PFOS exposures were positively correlated with FT levels in 20-49 years old women while PFOS exposure was negatively associated with TT levels in 12-19 years old girls. PFAS exposure was negatively associated with estradiol levels including: PFDeA in all females, PFHxS, PFNA, PFOS, and PFOA in 12-19 years old girls, PFNA in women above 50 years old, and PFOA in 12-19 years old boys while PFDeA and PFOS exposures were positively associated with estradiol levels in these boys. n-PFOS exposure was positively associated with SHBG levels in men older than 20 and in all females. Conclusions: Using a large cohort of males and females aged from 12-80, we found that PFAS exposure appears to disrupt sex hormones in a gender-, age-, and compound-specific manner. Future work is warranted to clarify the causality and mechanisms involved.

Association of acrylamide hemoglobin biomarkers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the general population in the US: NHANES 2013-2016.

Background: Acrylamide is a well-known potential carcinogenic compound formed as an intermediate in the Maillard reaction during heat treatment, mainly from high-temperature frying, and is found in baked goods and coffee, as well as resulting from water treatment, textiles and paper processing. The effects of acrylamide on lung disease in humans remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between blood acrylamide and glycidamide and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the United States of America (U.S.) population using PROC logistic regression models. Results: 2744 participants aged 20 to 80 from the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were enrolled. After adjusting for demographic data, health factors and serum cotinine, the ratio of HbGA to HbAA (HbGA/HbAA) significantly increased the risk of COPD (P for trend = 0.022). The odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for HbGA/HbAA in the third tile was 2.45 (1.12-5.31), compared with the lowest tile. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) curve showed a positive linear correlation between the log (HbGA/HbAA) and the risk of COPD (P = 0.030). Conclusion: The ratio of glycidamide and acrylamide (HbGA/HbAA) was associated with COPD. This association was more prominent in males, obese individuals, people with a poverty income ratio (PIR) < 1.85 or people who never exercise. However, null associations were observed between HbAA, HbGA and HbAA + HbGA, and COPD.

APOBEC3B deletion polymorphism and lung cancer risk in the southern Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 80-85% of lung cancer is the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) subtype, which ranks as the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. APOBEC3B (A3B) was reported to be a key source of mutations in NSCLC. However, the role of the A3B deletion polymorphism in the etiology of NSCLC has not been well-documented. METHODS: A case-control study with 317 NSCLC patients and 334 healthy controls was conducted to explore the association between the A3B deletion polymorphism and the risk of NSCLC. The unconditional logistic regression model was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI), and the confounding factors were adjusted, including age, gender, and smoking status, to estimate the risk. An analysis of gene-environment interactions was performed using multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) software. RESULTS: We found that the del/del genotype of A3B deletion significantly increased NSCLC risk. Compared with individuals carrying the ins/ins genotype of A3B deletion, individuals with the del/del genotype had a 2.36 times increased risk of developing NSCLC after adjusting for confounding factors (OR =2.71, 95% CI: 1.67-4.42, P<0.001). A 3-factor gene-environment (A3B deletion, gender, and smoking) interaction model was found for NSCLC (OR =4.407, 95% CI: 1.174-16.549, P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: We propose that the A3B deletion polymorphism can increase the risk of developing NSCLC, and their interactions with gender and smoking may contribute to the risk of NSCLC in the southern Chinese population.

Reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal conversion of a photoreactive coordination network for rewritable optical memory storage.

Reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal photocyclization-cycloreversion reaction of a stilbene-based coordination network exhibits a conspicuous fluorescence change. The controllable fluorescence and high fatigue resistance feature of this bistable material make it a single-crystalline device for applications in rewritable optical memory storage systems.

The development of an artificial skin model and its frictional interaction with wound dressings.

Human skin interacts with various materials in our daily life. The interaction between human skin and contacting materials is very important for the development of skin contacting products. Owing to the ethic and different testing results because of the using of in vivo or ex vivo skin, it is important to develop an artificial skin model (ASM) for the study. Therefore, an ASM mimicking the deformation and friction behavior of in vivo human skin was designed based on the evaluation of in vivo human skin behavior, and its frictional interaction with wound dressings was studied. The ASM was prepared by the combination of hydrophilic network carboxyl chitosan (CC) and hydrophobic network polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The influence of ingredient ratio, including PDMS/CC and curing agent/PDMS ratio, on the mechanical property of ASM was determined firstly. By adjusting the curing agent/PDMS ratio, the water absorption swelling rate (WASR) of ASM could be controlled to mimic different hydration status of human skin. With the changing of ingredient ratio and hydration level, the elastic modulus and viscoelasticity of ASM can be tailored to be similar to that of in vivo human skin. When the PDMS/CC ratio was 7:3, and PDMS/curing agent ratio was smaller than 1:30, the elastic modulus of ASM was in the range of in vivo inner forearm, and with the increasing of indentation depth, the elastic modulus decreased. Based on the ASM, the frictional interaction between skin/wound dressing/mattress was studied. It was found that although the friction using ASM was slightly higher than that using in vivo inner forearm, but the friction decreasing trend was the same for different kinds of wound dressings. In addition, the friction tested with ASM was less fluctuation, more reliable and reproducible than that tested with in vivo skin, indicating that the ASM was suitable to be used for the studying of frictional interaction between skin and product, such as wound dressings.

SRVis: Towards Better Spatial Integration in Ranking Visualization.

Interactive ranking techniques have substantially promoted analysts' ability in making judicious and informed decisions effectively based on multiple criteria. However, the existing techniques cannot satisfactorily support the analysis tasks involved in ranking large-scale spatial alternatives, such as selecting optimal locations for chain stores, where the complex spatial contexts involved are essential to the decision-making process. Limitations observed in the prior attempts of integrating rankings with spatial contexts motivate us to develop a context-integrated visual ranking technique. Based on a set of generic design requirements we summarized by collaborating with domain experts, we propose SRVis, a novel spatial ranking visualization technique that supports efficient spatial multi-criteria decision-making processes by addressing three major challenges in the aforementioned context integration, namely, a) the presentation of spatial rankings and contexts, b) the scalability of rankings' visual representations, and c) the analysis of context-integrated spatial rankings. Specifically, we encode massive rankings and their cause with scalable matrix-based visualizations and stacked bar charts based on a novel two-phase optimization framework that minimizes the information loss, and the flexible spatial filtering and intuitive comparative analysis are adopted to enable the in-depth evaluation of the rankings and assist users in selecting the best spatial alternative. The effectiveness of the proposed technique has been evaluated and demonstrated with an empirical study of optimization methods, two case studies, and expert interviews.

Electron tomographic analysis reveals ultrastructural features of mitochondrial cristae architecture which reflect energetic state and aging.

Within mitochondria, the ability to produce energy relies upon the architectural hallmarks of double membranes and cristae invaginations. Herein, we describe novel features of mitochondrial cristae structure, which correspond to the energetic state of the organelle. In concordance with high-energy demand, mitochondria of Drosophila indirect flight muscle exhibited extensive intra-mitochondrial membrane switches between densely packed lamellar cristae that resulted in a spiral-like cristae network and allowed for bidirectional matrix confluency. This highly interconnected architecture is expected to allow rapid equilibration of membrane potential and biomolecules across integrated regions. In addition, mutant flies with mtDNA replication defect and an accelerated aging phenotype accumulated mitochondria that contained subsections of swirling membrane alongside normal cristae. The swirling membrane had impaired energy production capacity as measured by protein composition and function. Furthermore, mitochondrial fusion and fission dynamics were affected in the prematurely aged flies. Interestingly, the normal cristae that remained in the mitochondria with swirling membranes maintained acceptable function that camouflaged them from quality control elimination. Overall, structural features of mitochondrial cristae were described in three-dimension from serial section electron tomographic analysis which reflect energetic state and mtDNA-mediated aging.

UV-induced single-crystal-to-single-crystal conversion from a coordination ladder to a two-dimensional network through an intermolecular carbon-carbon coupling reaction.

UV irradiation of a ladder-like coordination polymer induces a stereospecific [2 + 2] photocycloaddition reaction of each pair of adjacent olefinic ligands from neighboring coordination ladders and thus affords a unique two-dimensional coordination network in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal manner. The conversion exhibits photocontrolled fluorescence.

Mangiferin attenuates blast-induced traumatic brain injury via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome.

There is growing evidence that Mangiferin possess therapeutic benefit during neuroinflammation on various brain injury models due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It is reported that inflammatory plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of secondary injury induced by the blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI). However, the role of mangiferin in bTBI is yet to be studied. In our study, the potential effect of mangiferin in the duration of bTBI was examined first. Fortunately, the amelioration of cerebral cortex damage was found in rats suffering bTBI after mangiferin administration. Furthermore, the detail mechanism of mangiferin's beneficial actions in bTBI was also studied. The results revealed that mangiferin might alleviate brain damage in rats with bTBI by inhibiting the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, which was accompanied by mangiferin's inhibition of oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Therefore, this research allows us to speculate that, for first time, NLRP3 is involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of mangiferin in the cerebral cortex, and mangiferin could be a potential therapy drug for bTBI.

[Effect of Jinyingzi on experimental passive-Heymann nephritis in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the pharmacological actions of Jinyingzi on experimental Passive-Heymann Nephritis (PHN) model rats. METHODS: The rat model of PHN was induced by injecting anti-rabbit serum through caudal vein. The renal function about urinary protein, serum total protein, creatinine and urinary nitrogen on PHN rat were studied through op. Jinyingzi for 4 wk. RESULTS: Jinyingzi can remarkably reduce urinary protein, serum levels of serum creatinine and serum urinary nitrogen, increase serum total protein content, alleviate the pathological injury in PHN rats. CONCLUSION: Jinyingzi can lessen pathological changes of glomerulus in PHN rats, ameliorate their renal function.