The relationship between population growth and precipitation change in some regions across Vietnam: implications for urbanization effect.

According to a review of numerous publications and scientific reports, the effects of urbanization on urban climate are of greatest concern. This study aims to evaluate the impact of urbanization focusing on population growth on precipitation trends in 11 provinces across Vietnam during the period 2008-2018 by identifying the relationship between population growth and precipitation change. Regression analysis is used to determine the trends of precipitation and population growth. Precipitation maps and graphs show the overall precipitation trends, changes, and patterns in past decades. Overall, population growth tends to correlate with precipitation change trends. Furthermore, the type of region groups (countryside region, small city, or medium city) also plays a crucial role in determining the magnitude of the change in precipitation trends for each region. This further lends credibility to the notion that urbanization contributes to changes in precipitation trends.

Comparing combined laser iridoplasty and surgical iridectomy with trabeculectomy in treatment of refractory acute primary angle closure without significant cataract: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the safety and efficacy of combined laser iridoplasty followed by surgical iridectomy (LI-SI) versus trabeculectomy in the management of medically unresponsive acute primary angle closure (APAC) with minimal cataract. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial conducted among patients with medically unresponsive APAC without significant cataract. Study participants were randomized into: LI-SI or unaugmented trabeculectomy. Primary outcome of the study was the rate of post-operative surgical complications in the first 3 months after surgery. Secondary outcome assessed at 1 year was whether treatment was completely successful (IOP < 21 mmHg without IOP lowering drops), or partially successful (IOP < 21 mmHg with IOP lowering drops). Failure was defined as IOP ≥ 21 mmHg with IOP lowering drops. RESULTS: The study included 67 eyes of 67 patients (59 females/8 males = 7.4/1) who were randomized into 2 groups: LI-SI (Group 1, 37 eyes), and trabeculectomy (Group 2, 30 eyes). There was no statistical difference between the two groups at baseline. Overall, there were more post-operative complications in Group 1 versus Group 2 (45.9% versus 33.3% - p = 0.23), although all responded well to medical treatment and resolved without sequelae. Complete success was found in 97.1% (34/35 eyes) in Group 1 and 92.6% in group 2 (p = 0.19, Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSIONS: There was a higher rate of post-operative complications after LI-SI compared to trabeculectomy performed for medically unresponsive APAC with minimal cataract. Both procedures had similar surgical outcomes at 1 year.

Impact of simulated acid rain on the growth of three species Brassica integrifolia, Brassica rapa, Brassica juncea in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Over the past decade, the extent and magnitude of acid rain in Vietnam and other Asian countries have become more apparent. In this study, the effect of simulated acid rain (pH 5.0, 4.0, and 3.0) and control treatment (pH 6.0) are observed for three species Brassica integrifolia, Brassica rapa, and Brassica juncea in Hanoi. The pot experiment was conducted for 42 days and arranged according to a randomized complete block design (RCBD), replicated 3 times with acid rain exposure being supplied every 4 days. The results show that acid rain causes direct damage to leaves. Observations reveal white spots on leaves; leaves getting discolored and gradually turning yellow, curling leaf marginals, and turning dark blue, with the most severe symptoms being necrotic leaves. Parameters of the shoot and root length, leaf area, biomass, and chlorophyll content all decrease as pH drops. However, the accumulation of proline content in leaves tends to increase with greater acidity. In conclusion, Brassica rara has the highest resistance capability to acid rain compared with Brassica integrifolia and Brassica juncea, especially its proline content is the highest at pH 3.0 in three Brassicaceae species.

STAT3 promotes melanoma metastasis by CEBP-induced repression of the MITF pathway.

Metastatic melanoma is hallmarked by its ability of phenotype switching to more slowly proliferating, but highly invasive cells. Here, we tested the impact of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) on melanoma progression in association with melanocyte inducing transcription factor (MITF) expression levels. We established a mouse melanoma model for deleting Stat3 in melanocytes with specific expression of human hyperactive NRASQ61K in an Ink4a-deficient background, two frequent driver mutations in human melanoma. Mice devoid of Stat3 showed early disease onset with higher proliferation in primary tumors, but displayed significantly diminished lung, brain, and liver metastases. Whole-genome expression profiling of tumor-derived cells also showed a reduced invasion phenotype, which was further corroborated by 3D melanoma model analysis. Notably, loss or knockdown of STAT3 in mouse or human cells resulted in the upregulation of MITF and induction of cell proliferation. Mechanistically we show that STAT3-induced CAAT Box Enhancer Binding Protein (CEBP) expression was sufficient to suppress MITF transcription. Epigenetic analysis by ATAC-seq confirmed that CEBPa/b binding to the MITF enhancer region silenced the MITF locus. Finally, by classification of patient-derived melanoma samples, we show that STAT3 and MITF act antagonistically and hence contribute differentially to melanoma progression. We conclude that STAT3 is a driver of the metastatic process in melanoma and able to antagonize MITF via direct induction of CEBP family member transcription.

Retraction Note: Increased survival and cell cycle progression pathways are required for EWS/FLI1-induced malignant transformation.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Structural and functional consequences of the STAT5BN642H driver mutation.

Hyper-activated STAT5B variants are high value oncology targets for pharmacologic intervention. STAT5BN642H, a frequently-occurring oncogenic driver mutation, promotes aggressive T-cell leukemia/lymphoma in patient carriers, although the molecular origins remain unclear. Herein, we emphasize the aggressive nature of STAT5BN642H in driving T-cell neoplasia upon hematopoietic expression in transgenic mice, revealing evidence of multiple T-cell subset organ infiltration. Notably, we demonstrate STAT5BN642H-driven transformation of γδ T-cells in in vivo syngeneic transplant models, comparable to STAT5BN642H patient γδ T-cell entities. Importantly, we present human STAT5B and STAT5BN642H crystal structures, which propose alternative mutation-mediated SH2 domain conformations. Our biophysical data suggests STAT5BN642H can adopt a hyper-activated and hyper-inactivated state with resistance to dephosphorylation. MD simulations support sustained interchain cross-domain interactions in STAT5BN642H, conferring kinetic stability to the mutant anti-parallel dimer. This study provides a molecular explanation for the STAT5BN642H activating potential, and insights into pre-clinical models for targeted intervention of hyper-activated STAT5B.

Correction: Increased survival and cell cycle progression pathways are required for EWS/FLI1-induced malignant transformation.

Since publication of the article, the authors became aware that Figure 6(A,D) contained errors in the bands and loading controls. The newly compiled Figure 6A and 6D is given below.

Repurposing Treprostinil for Enhancing Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Transplantation.

Activation of Gs-coupled receptors enhances engraftment of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). We tested the hypothesis that treprostinil, a prostacyclin analog approved for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, can be repurposed to improve hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Murine and human HSPCs were isolated from bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, respectively. Prostanoid receptor agonists and the combination thereof with forskolin were tested for their capacity to stimulate [(3)H]cAMP accumulation in HSPCs. Three independent approaches were employed to verify the ability of agonist-activated HSPCs to reconstitute the bone marrow in lethally irradiated recipient mice. The underlying mechanism was explored in cellular migration assays and by blocking C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Among several prostanoid agonists tested in combination with forskolin, treprostinil was most efficacious in raising intracellular cAMP levels in murine and human HPSCs. Injection of murine and human HSPCs, which had been pretreated with treprostinil and forskolin, enhanced survival of lethally irradiated recipient mice. Survival was further improved if recipient mice were subcutaneously administered treprostinil (0.15 mg kg(-1) 8 h(-1)) for 10 days. This regimen also reduced the number of HSPCs required to rescue lethally irradiated mice. Enhanced survival of recipient mice was causally related to treprostinil-enhanced CXCR4-dependent migration of HSPCs. Treprostinil stimulates the engraftment of human and murine hematopoietic stem cells without impairing their capacity for self-renewal. The investigated dose range corresponds to the dose approved for human use. Hence, these findings may be readily translated into a clinical application.