High-power, high-efficiency single-frequency DBR fiber laser at 1064†nm based on Yb3+-doped silica fiber.

A high-power, high-efficiency single-frequency fiber laser at 1064 nm was demonstrated based on a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) all-silica-fiber configuration. A single-frequency laser with an output power of 642 mW and slope efficiency of 66.4% with respect to absorbed pump power was achieved from a 1.2-cm-long commercially available Yb3+-doped silica fiber. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest single-frequency laser power and efficiency obtained from the DBR all-silica fiber laser. The work presented here paves the way for the development of high-power, robust, and cost-effective single-frequency Yb3+-doped all-silica fiber lasers.

Disease specific air quality health index (AQHI) for spatiotemporal health risk assessment of multi-air pollutants.

While significant reductions in certain air pollutant concentrations did not induce obvious mitigations of health risks, a shift from air quality management to health risk prevention and control might be necessary to protect public health. This study thus constructed an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for respiratory (Res-AQHI), cardiovascular (Car-AQHI), and allergic (Aller-AQHI) risk groups using mixed exposure under multi-air pollutants and portrayed their distribution and variation at multiple spatiotemporal scales using spatial analysis in GIS with the medical big data and air pollution remote sensing data by taking Hunan Province in China as a case. Results showed that the AQHIs constructed for specific health-risk groups could better express their risks than common AQHI and AQI. Moreover, based on the spatiotemporal association of health and environmental information, the allergic risk group in Hunan provided the highest health risk mainly affected by O3. The following cardiovascular and respiratory risk groups can be significantly attributed to NO2. Moreover, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of AQHIs within regions was also evident. On the annual scale, the population in the air health risk hotspots for respiratory and cardiovascular risk decreased, while allergic risks increased. Meanwhile, on seasonal scale, the hotspots for respiratory and cardiovascular risks expanded significantly in winter while completely disappearing for allergic risk. These findings suggest that disease specific AQHIs effectively disclose the health effects of multi-air pollutants and their subsequently varied spatiotemporal distribution patterns.

Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Promote Growth of Seedlings, Regulate Soil Microbial Community, and Alleviate Damping-Off Disease Caused by Rhizoctonia solani on Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica.

As the excessive use of chemical fertilizers harms organisms and adversely affects the soil environment, the replacement of chemical fertilizers with biological fertilizers has attracted widespread attention as an environmental protection strategy. In this study, the effects of rhizosphere bacteria inoculation on growth of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings, soil parameters, soil microbial community structure, and the biocontrol of damping-off were studied by pot experiments. The results showed that all three rhizosphere bacteria (Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Pseudomonas extremaustralis, and Acinetobacter lwoffii A07) tested exhibited growth-promoting properties, such as the production of indole-3-acetic acid, hydrolase, siderophores, and hydrogen cyanide; nitrogen fixation; and phosphorus solubilization. The application of the three bacteria increased plant biomass, root structure, and nutrient content and also increased soil nutrient content and enzyme activity. Bacterial inoculation promoted the growth of beneficial bacteria and antagonistic bacteria by adjusting the physicochemical properties of the soil, thereby improving the bacterial community structure. Among the soil features, available nitrogen, total nitrogen, available potassium, and urease activity were the main influencing factors. In addition, it was also found that bacterial inoculation significantly increased the activities of plant superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and other defense enzymes; enhanced plant disease resistance; effectively inhibited damping-off; and promoted plant growth. In summary, the application of three rhizosphere bacteria systematically affected the interaction between plants, soil parameters, and soil microbial communities. These results provide a basis for understanding how rhizosphere bacteria promote the growth of P. sylvestris var. mongolica, thereby offering a promising sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers.

Adaptation of pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus to ß-pinene stress.

BACKGROUND: The pine wood nematode (PWN; Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) is the most damaging biological pest in pine forest ecosystems in China. However, the pathogenic mechanism remains unclear. Tracheid cavitation induced by excess metabolism of volatile terpenes is a typical characteristic of pine trees infected by B. xylophilus. ß-pinene, one of the main volatile terpenes, influences PWN colonization and reproduction, stimulating pathogenicity during the early stages of infection. To elucidate the response mechanism of PWN to ß-pinene, pathogenesis, mortality, and reproduction rate were investigated under different concentrations of ß-pinene using a transcriptomics approach. RESULTS: A low concentration of ß-pinene (BL, C < 25.74 mg/ml) inhibited PWN reproduction, whereas a high concentration (BH, C > 128.7 mg/ml) promoted reproduction. Comparison of PWN expression profiles under low (BL, 21.66 mg/ml) and high (BH, 214.5 mg/ml) ß-pinene concentrations at 48 h identified 659 and 418 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively, compared with controls. Some key DEGs are potential regulators of ß-pinene via detoxification metabolism (cytochrome P450, UDP-glucuronosyltransferases and short-chain dehydrogenases), ion channel/transporter activity (unc and ATP-binding cassette families), and nuclear receptor -related genes. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis of DEGs revealed metabolic processes as the most significant biological processes, and catalytic activity as the most significant molecular function for both BL and BH samples. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Orthology (KO) analysis showed that xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, and transport and catabolism were the dominant terms in metabolism categories. CONCLUSION: In addition to detoxification via reduction/oxidation (redox) activity, PWN responds to ß-pinene through amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and other pathways including growth regulation and epidermal protein changes to overcome ß-pinene stress. This study lays a foundation for further exploring the pathogenic mechanism of PWN.

Association of polymorphisms in the MCP-1 and CCR2 genes with the risk of Parkinson's disease.

Studies investigating the impact of polymorphisms on monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and CC chemokine receptor (CCR2) on the susceptibility of Parkinson's disease (PD) have reported inconsistent results. Owing to mixed and inconclusive results, we conducted a meta-analysis to systematically summarize and clarify the association between the two gene polymorphisms and PD risk. We performed a meta-analysis of five eligible studies to summarize the data describing the association between PD risk and polymorphisms in MCP-1 A2518G and CCR2 V64I. The association was evaluated by calculating the odds ratios (ORs) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A significant increased risk of PD was observed in the MCP-1 A2518G polymorphism in allele model (G vs. A: OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.25, p = 0.03). The dominant model of MCP-1 A2518G genotype showed no significant association with PD risk, while the risk tendency was increased (AG + GG vs. AA: OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.00-1.42, p = 0.05). In addition, CCR2 V64I polymorphism showed no significant association with PD risk (I vs. V: OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.06-1.92, p = 0.22; VI + II vs. VV: OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.83-1.21, p = 0.99). In subgroup analysis by ethnicity, no significant difference was found in both Caucasians and Asians between CCR2 V64I polymorphism and PD risk, while a significant statistical association was identified in Asians between MCP-1 A2518G polymorphism and PD risk. When the data were stratified by study area, the increased risk of PD was observed only in studies conducted in China. In summary, the present meta-analysis suggests that genetic polymorphisms of MCP-1 A2518G may influence the susceptibility of PD in Asian countries, especially in China. However, CCR2 V64I polymorphism is not correlated with PD risk. The results should be interpreted with caution due to limited sample and heterogeneity. Large scale and well-designed studies are needed to validate our findings.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of the Pinewood Nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Reveals the Molecular Mechanism Underlying Its Defense Response to Host-Derived α-pinene.

Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is fatal to the pine trees around the world. The production of the pine tree secondary metabolite gradually increases in response to a B. xylophilus infestation, via a stress reaction mechanism(s). α-pinene is needed to combat the early stages of B. xylophilus infection and colonization, and to counter its pathogenesis. Therefore, research is needed to characterize the underlying molecular response(s) of B. xylophilus to resist α-pinene. We examined the effects of different concentrations of α-pinene on the mortality and reproduction rate of B. xylophilus in vitro. The molecular response by which B. xylophilus resists α-pinene was examined via comparative transcriptomics of the nematode. Notably, B. xylophilus genes involved in detoxification, transport, and receptor activities were differentially expressed in response to two different concentrations of α-pinene compared with control. Our results contribute to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which B. xylophilus responds to monoterpenes in general, and the pathogenesis of B. xylophilus.

Association of CD14-260 (-159) C/T and Alzheimer's disease: systematic review and trial sequential analyses.

Current studies have evaluated the association between CD14-260 (also known as -159) C/T polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease (AD) susceptibility. However, the association remains inconclusive. The aim of this study was to draw an accurate conclusion of the association. The literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biological Medicine Database, and Wanfang Databases for related articles. Four case-control studies with a total of 868 cases and 766 controls were eligible to be included in this meta-analysis. The association was evaluated by calculating the odds ratios (ORs) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, there was no significant association between CD14-260C/T polymorphism and AD risk in all genetic models (the allele model T vs. C: OR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.92-1.21, p = 0.44; the homozygous model TT vs. CC: OR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.83-1.44, p = 0.53; the heterozygote model CT vs. CC: OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.75-1.22, p = 0.71; the dominant model TT + CT vs. CC: OR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.84-1.32, p = 0.66; the recessive model TT vs. CT + CC: OR = 1.14, 95% CI 0.92-1.43, p = 0.24). The sample size of 5064 was calculated by applying trial sequential analysis. Cumulative z curve does not cross trial sequential monitoring boundary. In conclusion, the present meta-analysis suggests that the CD14-260C/T polymorphism may not be associated with genetic susceptibility of AD, but the association remains indeterminate due to the insufficient evidence.

Efficacy and safety of Reduqing granules in the treatment of common cold with wind-heat syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, positive-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of Reduqing granules in patients with common cold with wind-heat syndrome (CCWHS). METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel, positive- controlled trial included 72 CCWHS patients was performed. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups, Reduqing (RDQ) group and Lianhuaqingwen (LHQW) group, in a 1:1 ratio. Patients in RDQ group received Reduqing granules and dummy Lianhuaqingwen capsules three times a day and patients in LHQW group received Lianhuaqingwen capsules and dummy Reduqing granules three times daily. The duration of treatment and follow-up were four days. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in total markedly effective rate and total effective rate between RDQ group and LHQW group after treatment. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptom score was significantly reduced after treatment in RDQ group, as well as in LHQW group. However, the difference of change in TCM symptom score between two groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences between two groups in the median time to fever relief [RDQ group (4 ± 8) h vs LHQW group (4 ± 5) h] or the median time to fever clearance (RDQ group 47 h vs LHQW 36 h). No serious adverse events were reported during the study. CONCLUSION: Compared with Lianhuaqingwen capsules, Reduqing granules achieved similar therapeutic effect in the treatment of CCWHS and no drug-related adverse events were reported during the study. Therefore, Reduqing granules might be effective and safe in the treatment of CCWHS.

[The efficiency of 810 nm diode laser photocoagulation for type1 retinopathy of prematurity].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate diode laser photocoagulation effects in type 1 prethreshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Peking University People's Hospital. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Clinical records of the premature infants treated for type 1 prethreshold ROP from the year of 2008 to 2012 were reviewed. RESULTS: We reviewed 226 infants including 146 male and 80 female. The mean birth weight and the gestational age were 1 386 grams and 30.2 weeks respectively. In all the 384 photocoagulation treated eyes, ROP regressed completely in 381 eyes (99.1%). One eye of zone I ROP progressed to stage 4A. Macula kept attaching after vitrectomy. There was no significant difference of regression rate between Zone I and Zone II of type 1 prethreshold ROP. No severe complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Diode laser photocoagulation in type 1 ROP was safe and efficient.

How does emotional abuse affect adolescents' non-suicidal self-injury urges? A moderated chain mediation model.

BACKGROUND: Studying non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents has high clinical significance. Its urges have been identified as a potential predictor of NSSI behavior and may serve as a crucial intervention target. OBJECTIVE: This study uses a moderated chain mediation model to explore the relationship between emotional abuse and adolescent NSSI urges. Additionally, we examine the mediating roles of ego depletion and self-esteem and the moderating effect of resilience. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: We recruited 1129 Chinese adolescents (age M = 16.68; SD = 0.78; 49.4 % men) from secondary vocational schools in China. METHODS: We assessed emotional abuse, ego depletion, self-esteem, and NSSI urges in a longitudinal investigation across two time points (T1: March 2023, T2: June 2023). RESULTS: After controlling for age, sex, NSSI urges and self-esteem at T1, our study validates a moderated chain mediation model and finds that the mediating effect via self-esteem is 0.026 (95%CI = [0.011,0.046]), and the chain mediating effect via ego depletion and self-esteem is 0.031 (95%CI = [0.022,0.045]), whereas the direct effect of emotional abuse T1 on NSSI urges T2 is not significant (DE = 0.082, 95%CI = [-0.002, 0.167]) and the mediating effect via ego depletion is also not significant (IE = -0.003, 95%CI = [-0.022, 0.015]). Resilience moderates the impact of emotional abuse on ego depletion (ß = 0.09, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ego depletion and self-esteem are potential mechanisms related to emotional abuse and adolescents' NSSI urges, whereas resilience can play a moderating role in reducing ego depletion.

Analysis and design of antithetic proportional-integral-derivative biocontrol-systems with species dilution.

The nonlinearity and non-separability of the antithetic PID (aPID) controller have provided greater flexibility in the design of biochemical reaction networks (BCRNs), resulting in significant impacts on biocontrol-systems. Nevertheless, the dilution of control species is disregarded in designs of aPID controllers, which would lead to the failure of inhibition mechanism in the controller and loss of robust perfect adaptation (RPA)-the biological counterpart of robust steady-state tracking. Here, the impact of dilution processes on the structure of aPID is investigated in this study. It is discovered that the proportional and low-pass filters are altered when the dilution processes is present in control species, which increases the coupling between the controller parameters. Moreover, additional integrations for the reference signal and control output generated by control species dilution further leads to the loss of RPA. Subsequently, a novel aPID controller represented by BCRNs, termed quasi-aPID, has been designed to eliminate the detrimental effects of the dilution processes. In an effort to ameliorate the interdependencies among controller parameters, a degradation inhibition mechanism is employed within this controller. Furthermore, this work establishes the limiting relationship between the controller's reaction rates in order to guarantee RPA, while abstaining from the introduction of supplementary species and biochemical reactions. By using the quasi-aPID controller in both the Escherichia coli gene expression model and the whole-body cholesterol metabolism model, its effectiveness is confirmed. Simulation results demonstrate that, the quasi-aPID exhibits a smaller absolute steady-state error in both models and guarantees the RPA property.

Photodynamic therapy for male genital lichen sclerosus with urethral stricture-Case report.

Male genital lichen sclerosus (MGLSc) typically impacts the external genitalia, resulting in balanitis, erectile pain, urination symptoms, and/or urinary retention. Urethral stricture develops in up to 20 % of these patients, which is usually found in the distal part of the urethra but can, in severe instances, impact the entire urethra and cause structural changes. Patients with skin lesions limited to the foreskin and partially extending to the glans can typically be cured by circumcision, but the recurrence rate of stricture is high when the glans or urethra is extensively involved. In the following case report, we describe a 45-year-old man with a history of MGLSc for 3 years and urethral stricture for 2 years, and these conditions remained untreated after circumcision. We emphasize that treatment with 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) may further improve outcomes in such severe cases.

Learning to Double-Check Model Prediction From a Causal Perspective.

The present machine learning schema typically uses a one-pass model inference (e.g., forward propagation) to make predictions in the testing phase. It is inherently different from human students who double-check the answer during examinations especially when the confidence is low. To bridge this gap, we propose a learning to double-check (L2D) framework, which formulates double check as a learnable procedure with two core operations: recognizing unreliable predictions and revising predictions. To judge the correctness of a prediction, we resort to counterfactual faithfulness in causal theory and design a contrastive faithfulness measure. In particular, L2D generates counterfactual features by imagining: "what would the sample features be if its label was the predicted class" and judges the prediction by the faithfulness of the counterfactual features. Furthermore, we design a simple and effective revision module to revise the original model prediction according to the faithfulness. We apply the L2D framework to three classification models and conduct experiments on two public datasets for image classification, validating the effectiveness of L2D in prediction correctness judgment and revision.

Hydromassage of macular hole edges for large and persistent full-thickness macular holes.

AIM: To introduce the macular hole (MH) hydromassage technique as a potentially beneficial approach for the treatment of large or persistent MH. METHODS: This retrospective observational case series comprised 16 consecutive patients (17 eyes) diagnosed with MH. Inclusion criteria involved a hole aperture diameter larger than 600 µm or the presence of an unclosed MH larger than 600 µm following the previous vitrectomy. Standard MH repair procedures were administered in all cases, involving the manipulation and aspiration of the hole margin through the application of water flow with a soft-tip flute needle. A comprehensive assessment was conducted for each case before and after surgery, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were captured at every follow-up point. RESULTS: The mean preoperative aperture diameter was 747±156 µm (range 611-1180 µm), with a mean base diameter of 1390±435 µm (range 578-2220 µm). Following surgery, all cases achieved complete anatomical closure of MH, with 13 cases (76.5%) exhibiting type 1 closure and 4 cases (23.5%) demonstrating type 2 closure. No significant differences were observed in the preoperative OCT variables between the two closure types. Eyes with type 1 closure showed a significantly improved visual acuity (0.70±0.10, range 0.50-0.80) compared to those with type 2 closure (0.90±0.12, range 0.80-1.00, P=0.014). CONCLUSION: The MH hydromassage technique demonstrates promising results, achieving acceptable closure rates in cases of large or persistent MH. This technique may serve as an effective adjunctive maneuver during challenging MH surgery.

Effect of High Energy Low Protein Diet on Lipid Metabolism and Inflammation in the Liver and Abdominal Adipose Tissue of Laying Hens.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a high-energy low-protein (HELP) diet on lipid metabolism and inflammation in the liver and abdominal adipose tissue (AAT) of laying hens. A total of 200 Roman laying hens (120 days old) were randomly divided into two experimental groups: negative control group (NC group) and HELP group, with 100 hens per group. The chickens in the NC group were fed with a basic diet, whereas those in the HELP group were given a HELP diet. Blood, liver, and AAT samples were collected from 20 chickens per group at each experimental time point (30, 60, and 90 d). The morphological and histological changes in the liver and AAT were observed, and the level of serum biochemical indicators and the relative expression abundance of key related genes were determined. The results showed that on day 90, the chickens in the HELP group developed hepatic steatosis and inflammation. However, the diameter of the adipocytes of AAT in the HELP group was significantly larger than that of the NC group. Furthermore, the results showed that the extension of the feeding time significantly increased the lipid contents, lipid deposition, inflammatory parameters, and peroxide levels in the HELP group compared with the NC group, whereas the antioxidant parameters decreased significantly. The mRNA expression levels of genes related to lipid synthesis such as fatty acid synthase (FASN), stearoyl-coA desaturase (SCD), fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) increased significantly in the liver and AAT of the HELP group, whereas genes related to lipid catabolism decreased significantly in the liver. In addition, the expression of genes related to lipid transport and adipokine synthesis decreased significantly in the AAT, whereas in the HELP group, the expression levels of pro-inflammatory parameters such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) increased significantly in the liver and AAT. Conversely, the expression level of the anti-inflammatory parameter interleukin-10 (IL-10) decreased significantly in the liver. The results indicated that the HELP diet induced lipid peroxidation and inflammation in the liver and AAT of the laying hens. Hence, these results suggest that chicken AAT may be involved in the development of fatty liver.

TOMM40 rs2075650 polymorphism shows no association with neovascular age-related macular degeneration or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in a Chinese population.

PURPOSE: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) are age-related neurodegenerative diseases that share similar environmental risk factors, cellular pathologies, and genetic backgrounds. Recently, the rs2075650 single nucleotide polymorphism in the translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 40 homolog (TOMM40) gene was identified as a risk factor for AMD and Alzheimer disease. We aimed to examine the associations between the TOMM40 rs2075650 polymorphism and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a Chinese population. METHODS: The study consisted of 900 subjects, including 300 controls, 300 cases with nAMD, and 300 cases with PCV. Genomic DNA was extracted from venous blood leukocytes. The allelic variant of rs2075650 was determined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Differences in the observed genotypic distributions between the case and control groups were tested using chi-square tests, with age and gender adjusted using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The TOMM40 rs2075650 polymorphism was not statistically significantly associated with the nAMD or PCV phenotype (p>0.05). The difference remained insignificant after correction for age and gender differences based on the logistic regression models (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide no evidence to support an association of rs2075650 in TOMM40 with nAMD or PCV, suggesting that this gene is unlikely to be a major AMD and PCV susceptibility gene locus in the Chinese population.

High expression of miR-22-3p in chicken hierarchical follicles promotes granulosa cell proliferation, steroidogenesis, and lipid metabolism via PTEN/PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of RNA macromolecules that play regulatory roles in follicle development by inhibiting protein translation through binding to the 3'UTR of its target genes. Granulosa cell (GC) proliferation, steroidogenesis, and lipid metabolism have indispensable effect during folliculogenesis. In this study, we found that miR-22-3p was highly expressed in the hierarchical follicles of the chickens, which indicated that it may be involved in follicle development. The results obtained suggested that miR-22-3p promoted proliferation, hormone secretion (progesterone and estrogen), and the content of lipid droplets (LDs) in the chicken primary GC. The results from the bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting, confirmed that PTEN was directly targeted to miR-22-3p. Subsequently, it was revealed that PTEN inhibited proliferation, hormone secretion, and the content of LDs in GC. Therefore, this study showed that miR-22-3p could activate PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway via targeting PTEN. Taken together, the findings from this study indicated that miR-22-3p was highly expressed in the hierarchical follicles of chickens, which promotes GC proliferation, steroidogenesis, and lipid metabolism by repressing PTEN to activate PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

miR-128-3p regulates chicken granulosa cell function via 14-3-3ß/FoxO and PPAR-γ/LPL signaling pathways.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are class of 22 nt short RNA sequences which inhibit protein translation through binding to the 3'UTR of its target genes. The continuous ovulatory property of chicken follicle makes it a perfect model for studying granulosa cell (GC) functions. In this study, we found that large number of miRNAs including miR-128-3p, were differentially expressed in the GCs of F1 and F5 follicles of chicken. Subsequently, the results revealed that miR-128-3p inhibited proliferation, the formation of lipid droplets, and hormone secretion in chicken primary GCs through directly targeting YWHAB and PPAR-γ genes. To determine the effects of 14-3-3ß (encoded by YWHAB) protein on GCs functions, we overexpressed or inhibited the expression of YWHAB, and the results showed that YWHAB inhibited the function of FoxO proteins. Collectively, we found that miR-128-3p was highly expressed in the chicken F1 follicles compared to the F5 follicles. In addition, the results indicated that miR-128-3p promoted GC apoptosis through 14-3-3ß/FoxO pathway via repressing YWHAB, and inhibited lipid synthesis by impeding the PPAR-γ/LPL pathway, as well as reduced the secretion of progesterone and estrogen. Taken together, the results showed that miR-128-3p plays a regulatory role in chicken granulosa cell function via 14-3-3ß/FoxO and PPAR-γ/LPL signaling pathways.

[Effect of pH perturbation on rainwater dissolved organic matter fluorescence characteristics].

The influence of pH variation on the fluorescence characteristics of rainwater dissolved organic matter (DOM) was studied via excitation emission-matrix spectroscopy. A rainwater sample (pH 5.7) collected in Xiamen (China) in the summer of 2009 was adjusted to different pH values ranging from 3.2 to 10.7. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) decomposed the fluorescence matrices into four humic-like components (C1, C3, C4, and C5), one protein-like component (C2) and an unknown component (C6). As pH values of the sample increased from the initial value of 5.7 to 10.7, the fluorescence intensities of C1, C3, and C5 also increased, while those of C4 and C6 decreased gradually, resulting in an increasing contribution of humic-like components to total fluorescence. The opposite trend was observed when pH decreased to more acidic conditions and the unknown component (< 250, 330/386 nm) became dominant. The relative contribution of the protein-like component to the total fluorescence remained more or less constant as pH varied. In addition, the fluorescence index (FI), humification index (HIX) and the index of recent autochthonous contribution (BIX) were also affected by pH perturbation. It is therefore recommended that the pH of rainwater samples should be measured and reported in future studies to effectively evaluate such "pH effects" on rainwater DOM fluorescence characteristics.