[Latest Findings on the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Thoracic Aortic Dissection].

Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is a cardiovascular disease entailing a high lethality between 65% and 85%. Surgery-assissed implant/interventional stenting is the prevailing treatment of TAD. However, surgical treatment can cause severe postoperative complications and patients incur a relatively higher risk of postoperative mortality. Since the pathogenic mechanism underlying TAD is not clear, effective medication therapies are still not available. In recent years, along with advances in single-cell sequencing and other molecular biological technologies, there have been prelimiary findings suggesting the special role of dysfunctional vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the pathogenesis and development of TAD. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms regulating the dysfunction of VSMCs have been initially explored. It is expected that these new findings will contribute to the development of new strategies to prevent TAD and lead to new ideas for the identifiction of potential drug therapeutic targets. Herein, we summarized the critical role of dysfunctional VSMCs in the pathogenesis and development of TAD and presented in detail the biological factors and the related molecular mechanisms that regulate the dysfunction of VSMCs. We hope this review will provide a reference for further investigation into the central role of dysfunctional VSMCs in the pathogenesis and development of TAD and exploration for effective molecular drug targets for TAD.

Thermodynamic Properties of Ammonia Production from Hydrogenation of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal Amides.

Thermodynamic properties of alkali and alkaline earth metal amides are critical for their performance in hydrogen storage as well as catalytic ammonia synthesis. In this work, the ammonia equilibrium concentrations of LiNH2 , KNH2 and Ba(NH2 )2 at ca.10 bar of hydrogen pressure and different temperatures were measured by using a high-pressure gas-solid reaction system equipped with a conductivity meter. Hydrogenation of KNH2 gives the highest ammonia equilibrium concentration, followed by Ba(NH2 )2 and LiNH2 . Based on these data, the entropy and enthalpy changes of the reaction of ANH2 +H2 →AH+NH3 (A=Li, K, and Ba) were obtained from the van't Hoff equation. These thermodynamic parameters provide important information on the understanding of metal amides in catalytic ammonia synthesis reaction.

Spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the late frost damage risk to shrubby tea trees in tea region, southwest China from 1971 to 2020.

Understanding the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the risk of late frost damage has scientific guiding significance for optimizing the regional agricultural production layout and varie-ty tuning. Based on the daily meteorological data of 65 weather stations in the southwest China tea region from 1971 to 2020, we analyzed variation characteristics of the last frost date (LFD), tea bud open date (BOD), and their relationships, constructed frost damage probability index and frost damage severity index of spring shoots of shrubby tea trees, and analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution chara-cteristics of the late frost damage risk of shrub tea trees in the southwest tea region. The results showed that both the BOD and LFD had a significant ahead of trend from 1971 to 2020 and the early rate of the LFD was relatively faster than that of the BOD in the southwest tea region. The number of days that the tea buds were exposed to late frost damage after germination showed an non-significant declining trend. The risk of late frost damage of shrubby tea trees in most parts of the southwest tea region showed a declining trend, but Guizhou tea planting region showed an insignificant increasing trend. The risk of late frost damage to shrubby tea trees was high in the western marginal mountai-nous areas of Sichuan tea region, and the junction of Guizhou and Yunnan tea region. The risk of late frost damage was at low level in Sichuan Basin, southern Yunnan tea region, and southern Guizhou tea region. The risk of late frost damage to shrubby tea trees in the northern and central-eastern parts of Yunnan tea region showed an obvious decreasing trend, but increased significantly in the central and eastern parts of Guizhou tea region.

Correlation analysis of economic traits in Liaoning new breed of cashmere goats using microsatellite DNA markers.

The economic traits of Liaoning new breed of cashmere goats, a special Chinese genetic resource, were analyzed in 150 animals by typing 11 microsatellite loci. The association between three economic traits (body weight, cashmere yield and fineness) in this new breed of goats and the marker genotypes were analyzed. The results show that: AA and BC at LSCV13, DE at IDVGA64 and BB at BMS2782 were favorable genotypes for body weight. AB at LSCV13, AD and BE at CSSM11, BD and CC at IDVGA64, BC and DE at BMS2782 were favorable genotypes for cashmere yield. AA at CSSM11, BC and DE at IDVGA64, CD at BMS2782 were favorable genotypes for cashmere fineness.

[The correlation analysis of blood protein polymorphism with economic traits in Liaoning new-breeding cashmere goat].

Polymorphism of six blood protein loci from Liaoning new-breeding cashmere goat was studied by using vertical discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(PAGE)and the relationship between blood protein loci to economic traits was analyzed. Economic traits were analyzed by PROC GLM of SAS. And the data were multiple compared. The results showed that EsBB was the favourable genotypes to body weight, and TfBB and Amy1-2 were the favourable genotypes to cashmere yield. They may be regarded as gene marker for marker assisted selection.

Identification of citrullinated peptides in the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis using LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF.

The objective of the study is to investigate potential citrullinated autoantigens as targets of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) response in synovial fluids (SFs) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). SFs from six RA patients and six osteoarthritis (OA) patients as controls were collected. The citrullinated proteins in SFs were extracted by immunoprecipitation with rabbit anti-citrulline antibodies. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry/time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry was subsequently performed to discover a characteristic neutral loss to finally determine citrullinated autoantigens. A total of 182 citrullinated peptides and 200 citrullinated sites were identified in RA SFs, while 3 citrullinated peptides and 4 citrullinated sites were identified in OA SFs. The 182 citrullinated peptides from RA SFs and the 3 citrullinated peptides from OA SFs were derived from 83 and 3 autoantigens, respectively. Eighty-three autoantigens except protein-arginine deiminase type-2 (PADI2) and protein-arginine deiminase type-2 (PADI4) were over-citrullinated compared with controls, and the citrullinated sites of PADI2 and PADI4 were different in two groups. Interestingly, citrullinated histone H3.3 (H3F3A) was found in OA controls, but not in RA groups. The differential citrullinated proteins identified in RA SFs suggested potential autoantigens were targeted for ACPAs response and might contribute to the induction and perpetuation of complement activation and joint inflammation in RA.