Whole-genome sequencing of Aminobacterium sp. strain MB27-C1, isolated from the wastewater treatment plant of a steel mill.

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Aminobacterium sp. strain MB27-C1, which was isolated from sewage sludge collected at the wastewater treatment plant of Sanming Steel Co. Ltd. in Fujian, China. The resulting genome of strain MB27-C1 is a single contig of 2,427,830 bp with 41.58% GC content.

Natural intestinal metabolite xylitol reduces BRD4 levels to mitigate renal fibrosis.

Renal fibrosis is a typical pathological change from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal failure, which presents significant challenges in prevention and treatment. The progression of renal fibrosis is closely associated with the "gut-kidney axis," therefore, although clinical intervention to modulate the "gut-kidney axis" imbalance associated with renal fibrosis brings hope for its treatment. In this study, we first identified the close relationship between renal fibrosis development and the intestinal microenvironment through fecal microtransplantation and non-absorbable antibiotics experiments. Then, we analyzed the specific connection between the intestinal microenvironment and renal fibrosis using microbiomics and metabolomics, screening for the differential intestinal metabolite. Potential metabolite action targets were initially identified through network simulation of molecular docking and further verified by molecular biology experiment. We used flow cytometry, TUNEL apoptosis staining, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting to assess renal injury and fibrosis extent, exploring the potential role of gut microbial metabolite in renal fibrosis development. We discovered that CKD-triggered alterations in the intestinal microenvironment exacerbate renal injury and fibrosis. When metabolomic analysis was combined with experiments in vivo, we found that the differential metabolite xylitol delays renal injury and fibrosis development. We further validated this hypothesis at the cellular level. Mechanically, bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) protein exhibits strong binding with xylitol, and xylitol alleviates renal fibrosis by inhibiting BRD4 and its downstream transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) pathway. In summary, our findings suggest that the natural intestinal metabolite xylitol mitigates renal fibrosis by inhibiting the BRD4-regulated TGF-ß pathway.

Dynamic event-triggered consensus control for nonlinear multi-agent systems under DoS attacks.

In this paper, we investigated leader-following consensus control for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) experiencing denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. We proposed a distributed control strategy incorporating an adaptive scheme and a state feedback control gain to eliminate the effects of system nonlinear dynamics and uncertainties. In addition, we introduced a dynamic event-triggered control (DETC) to minimize the utilization of communication resources. Finally, we provided simulation results to show the validity of the proposed approach.

Enhancing the Proton Exchange Membrane in Tubular Air-Cathode Microbial Fuel Cells through a Hydrophobic Polymer Coating on a Hydrogel.

The usage time of air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is significantly influenced by the moisture content within the proton exchange membrane (PEM). Therefore, enhancing the water retention capability of the PEM by applying a hydrophobic polymer coating to its surface has extended the PEM's usage time by three times and increased MFCs' operational duration by 66%. Moreover, the hydrophobic nature of the polymer coating reduces contamination on the PEM and prevents anode liquid from permeating into the air cathode. Towards the end of MFC operation, the internal resistance of the MFC is reduced by 45%. The polymer coating effectively maintained the oxygen reduction reaction activity in the cathode. The polymer coating's ability to restrict oxygen transmembrane diffusion is demonstrated by experimental data showing a significant decrease in oxygen diffusion coefficient due to its presence. The degradation efficiency of the chemical oxygen demand from 16% to 35% increased by a factor of one.

MicroRNA Targets PAP1 to Mediate Melanization in Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) Infected by Metarhizium anisopliae.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a pivotal role in important biological processes by regulating post-transcriptional gene expression and exhibit differential expression patterns during development, immune responses, and stress challenges. The diamondback moth causes significant economic damage to crops worldwide. Despite substantial advancements in understanding the molecular biology of this pest, our knowledge regarding the role of miRNAs in regulating key immunity-related genes remains limited. In this study, we leveraged whole transcriptome resequencing data from Plutella xylostella infected with Metarhizium anisopliae to identify specific miRNAs targeting the prophenoloxidase-activating protease1 (PAP1) gene and regulate phenoloxidase (PO) cascade during melanization. Seven miRNAs (pxy-miR-375-5p, pxy-miR-4448-3p, pxy-miR-279a-3p, pxy-miR-3286-3p, pxy-miR-965-5p, pxy-miR-8799-3p, and pxy-miR-14b-5p) were screened. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that pxy-miR-279a-3p binds to the open reading frame (ORF) and pxy-miR-965-5p to the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of PAP1. Our experiments demonstrated that a pxy-miR-965-5p mimic significantly reduced PAP1 expression in P. xylostella larvae, suppressed PO activity, and increased larval mortality rate. Conversely, the injection of pxy-miR-965-5p inhibitor could increase PAP1 expression and PO activity while decreasing larval mortality rate. Furthermore, we identified four LncRNAs (MSTRG.32910.1, MSTRG.7100.1, MSTRG.6802.1, and MSTRG.22113.1) that potentially interact with pxy-miR-965-5p. Interference assays using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) revealed that silencing MSTRG.7100.1 and MSTRG.22113.1 increased the expression of pxy-miR-965-5p. These findings shed light on the potential role of pxy-miR-965-5p in the immune response of P. xylostella to M. anisopliae infection and provide a theoretical basis for biological control strategies targeting the immune system of this pest.

Nutrient-rich hydrothermal carbon production by exogenous nutrients combined with seaweed internal water.

As a product of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology, hydrothermal carbon has shown excellent application potential in soil improvement, greenhouse gas reduction and pollution remediation. Since a large amount of water and biomass are directly used as reaction media, hydrothermal carbon produced by traditional HTC possesses poor nutrient properties and accompanied by the generation of toxic and hazardous wastewater. Here, a versatile and easily scalable strategy has been demonstrated for the one-step production of industrial nutrient-rich hydrothermal carbon (NRHC) by combining the exogenous nutrients with seaweed internal water. During the reaction process, exogenous nutrients (NH4H2PO3, KNO3, CO(NH2)2) participated in the HTC reaction and were uniformly distributed on the surface of hydrothermal carbon through surface complexation precipitation, ion exchange, and electrostatic interactions. Simulations based on density functional theory revealed that NRHC produced in presence of exogenous nutrients possessed more active sites and surface charges. Moreover, the adsorbent and adsorbate were simultaneously affected by intermolecular forces, electrostatic forces, and internal energy of the system, and the thermodynamics of adsorption process was more stable. Compared with no exogenous nutrient involvement, NRHC produced by exogenous nutrients showed 2.12, 18.56, and 25.69 times increase in the N, P, and K content. The length of the seed germination root system increased by 4.3-5.9 times, which met the standards set for agricultural fertilizer. Due to increased yield per unit volume and reduced wastewater generation, the cost of NRHC production reduced by 47.83-58.23 per cent and profit enhanced by 1.56-1.68 times, as compared to traditional HTC. This low-cost streamlined process provides a new strategy for large-scale production and direct application of hydrothermal carbon.

Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin and Risk of Incident Dementia in Middle-Aged to Older Women: Results from the UK Biobank Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: The association of serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations with dementia risk remains uncertain in middle-aged to older women. We examined associations of serum SHBG levels with incidence of all-cause dementia and its subtypes in middle-aged to older women from the large population-based UK Biobank cohort study. METHODS: Serum total SHBG levels were measured by immunoassay. The incidence of all-cause dementia and its subtypes was recorded. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for main outcomes. RESULTS: Among 171,482 community-dwelling women (mean [SD] age was 59.9 [5.4] years, median follow-up of 11.8 years), 2,368 developed dementia, including 1,088 from Alzheimer's disease (AD), 451 from vascular dementia (VAD), and 1,609 from other dementia. After multivariable adjustments, higher serum SHBG levels were significantly associated with higher risks of all-cause dementia, AD, and other dementia (all p < 0.05). Compared to those in the lowest quartile of SHBG levels, participants in the highest quartile of SHBG levels had a higher risk of all-cause dementia (HR: 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16-1.53), AD (HR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.07-1.62), and other dementia (HR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.21-1.70). However, this relationship was not significant for VAD (HR: 1.16; 95% CI: 0.86-1.56). CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that higher serum SHBG concentrations were independently associated with higher risks of incident all-cause dementia, as well as AD and other dementia among middle-aged to older women. No association was found for VAD.

Associations of Serum Testosterone and Sex Hormone-binding Globulin With Incident Arrhythmias in Men From UK Biobank.

CONTEXT: Sex hormones have been identified as cardiovascular risk factors, whereas the relationship between sex hormones and the risk of arrhythmias in men has not yet been well studied in the prospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To analyze associations of serum testosterone and SHBG concentrations and calculate free testosterone (cFT) with arrhythmias in men. METHODS: Sex hormones were measured at baseline from UK Biobank. Main outcomes were incidence of atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF), ventricular arrhythmia (VA), and bradyarrhythmia (BA). RESULTS: Of 173 498 men (aged 37-73 years, followed for 11 years), 11 368 had incident AF, 1646 had incident VA, and 4788 had incident BA. Compared with the third quartiles, the lowest category of serum testosterone was associated with increased risks of AF (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06; 95% CI, 1.00-1.12) and BA (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02-1.20) after multivariable adjustment, but no VA. Likewise, similar associations were found between cFT values and AF and BA events. Furthermore, higher levels of cFT were associated with increased risks of AF (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.13) and VA (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.01-1.37). Higher SHBG concentrations were associated with increased risks of AF (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.34-1.54), VA (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07-1.52), and BA (HR, 1.17; 95% CI ,1.05-1.29). CONCLUSIONS: Lower levels of testosterone and cFT were associated with increased risk of AF and BA. Higher cFT levels were associated with increased risk of AF and VA. Higher SHBG levels were associated with increased risk of AF, VA, and BA.

Spatial distribution and migration of lead and zinc and the influence of parent materials in typical paddy soils of Hunan Province, China.

This study aimed to investigate the distribution and migration characteristics of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in paddy soils in Hunan Province, China. A total of 343 soil samples from 63 profiles were collected from typical regions. The concentration, spatial distribution, and migration behaviors of Pb and Zn in the paddy soils were examined. The results showed that (1) the concentration ranges of Pb and Zn in the surface layer were 17.62-114.07 mg/kg and 44.98-146.84 mg/kg, respectively. (2) The content was higher in the middle and lower reaches of the Xiangjiang River basin horizontally and exhibited shallow enrichment characteristics vertically. (3) Pb migration was weaker than Zn migration, and the parent material had the most significant influence on Pb and Zn content in the bottom soil layer. The research results will clarify the characteristics of Pb and Zn contents in paddy soils in Hunan Province, further understand the horizontal distribution and vertical migration and transformation characteristics of Pb and Zn contents in paddy soils, and provide basic data for scientific rice cultivation and safe food production.

A system dynamics-based synergistic model of urban production-living-ecological systems: An analytical framework and case study.

Human-land coordination represents urbanization and is a key component of urban modernization. In this study, the theory of system dynamics was introduced, in which a "production-living-ecological" complex system was used based on the human-land coordination concept. Moreover, the characteristics of system dynamics of causal cycle, dynamic and sustainable development, man-land synergy, integrity and openness, and self-organization and adaptability were analyzed by dividing it into three subsystems: urban production, urban living, and urban ecological subsystems. Here, causal feedback and system structure flow diagrams were designed using causal loop diagrams and system structure flow diagrams to evaluate the causal relationships between variables and quantitatively analyzing their interactions between variables and predicting the future development of variables. Changsha City, China was selected as the case study area, where we constructed system dynamics practice equation model was then constructed to determine the interaction between the subsystems. Our findings indicate that by the year 2035 in the future, the overall trend of factors influencing the function of the subsystems such as population, GDP and built-up area are positively correlated with an increasing trend, and there are interactions between. Furthermore, these factors interact with each other, and a mutual correlation was found among the production-living-ecological functions system, Therefore, this study provides a novel perspective and exploratory practice for the study of the synergistic coupling of ecological, production, and living functions of cities and evaluating high-quality development of cities. Thus, the coupling and coordination of urban production, living and ecological functions reflects the coupling and coordination of the "people-land" relationship, which is the key to high-quality urban development.

Plasma exchange plus glucocorticoids in the treatment of immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced myocarditis: A case series and review.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including antiprogrammed cell-death (PD)-1/anti-PD-ligand (PDL-1) monoclonal antibodies, are effective at improving the prognosis of patients with cancer. Among immune-related adverse events, myocarditis associated with anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 antibodies is rare but lacks effective treatment and mortality is very high. In this study, the authors extracted data from the previous 8 years from electronic medical records housed in the hospital information system to identify patients hospitalized with myocarditis putatively caused by anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 tumor therapy. Clinical data from these patients are reported. Four patients who developed myocarditis after undergoing treatment with anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 antibodies for malignant tumors, all of whom responded favorably to therapy consisting of plasma exchange and glucocorticoids for myocarditis, and all patients improved and were discharged from hospital. Plasma exchange plus systemic glucocorticoids may be effective for treating anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 antibody-induced myocarditis in patients with cancer.

Associations of Oral Contraceptive Use With Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Death: Evidence From the UK Biobank Cohort Study.

Background The associations of oral contraceptive (OC) use with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause death remains unclear. We aimed to determine the associations of OC use with incident CVD and all-cause death. Methods and Results This cohort study included 161 017 women who had no CVD at baseline and reported their OC use. We divided OC use into ever use and never use. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for cardiovascular outcomes and death. Overall, 131 131 (81.4%) of 161 017 participants reported OC use at baseline. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for OC ever users versus never users were 0.92 (95% CI, 0.86-0.99) for all-cause death, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.87-0.96) for incident CVD events, 0.88 (95% CI, 0.81-0.95) for coronary heart disease, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.76-0.99) for heart failure, and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.84-0.99) for atrial fibrillation. However, no significant associations of OC use with CVD death, myocardial infarction, or stroke were observed. Furthermore, the associations of OC use with CVD events were stronger among participants with longer durations of use (P for trend<0.001). Conclusions OC use was not associated with an increased risk of CVD events and all-cause death in women and may even produce an apparent net benefit. In addition, the beneficial effects appeared to be more apparent in participants with longer durations of use.

Evaluating the value of progressive muscle relaxation therapy for patients with lumbar disc herniation after surgery based on a difference-in-differences model.

We evaluate the value of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) for patients with lumbar disc herniation after surgery based on a difference-in-differences model. A total of 128 patients with lumbar disc herniation who underwent surgery were randomly assigned to undergo either conventional intervention (conventional intervention group, n = 64) or conventional intervention combined with PMR (PMR group, n = 64). Perioperative anxiety level, stress level and lumbar function were compared between the two groups and compared pain between the two groups before and 1 week and 1 and 3 months after surgery. After 3 months, no one was lost to follow-up. At 1 day before surgery and 3 days after surgery, Self-rating Anxiety Scale score in the PMR group was significantly lower than that in the conventional intervention group (P < 0.05). At 30 min before surgery, heart rate and systolic blood pressure in the PMR group were significantly lower than those in the conventional intervention group (P < 0.05). After intervention, the scores of subjective symptoms, clinical signs and restrictions on activities of daily living were significantly higher in the PMR group than those in the conventional intervention group (all P < 0.05). Visual Analogue Scale score in the PMR group was significantly lower than that in the conventional intervention group (all P < 0.05). The amplitude of change in VAS score in the PMR group was greater than that in the conventional intervention group (P < 0.05). PMR can relieve perioperative anxiety and stress in patients with lumbar disc herniation, reduce postoperative pain and improve lumbar function.

Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Results From the UK Biobank Cohort Study.

CONTEXT: Relationships between insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the association of circulating IGF-1 concentrations with CVD from a population-based cohort study. METHODS: A total of 394 082 participants without CVD and cancer at baseline from UK Biobank were included with measurements of serum IGF-1 at baseline. Main outcomes were incidence of CVD, including CVD mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD), myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), and stroke. RESULTS: Over a median 11.6 years of follow-up, UK Biobank documented 35 803 incident CVD cases, including 4231 from CVD-related death, 27 051 from CHD, 10 014 from MI, 7661 from HF, and 6802 from stroke. Dose-response analysis showed a U-shaped relationship between IGF-1 levels and cardiovascular events. Compared with the third quintile of IGF-1, the lowest category of IGF-1 was associated with increased risk of CVD (hazard ratio 1.128; 95% CI, 1.093 to 1.164), CVD mortality (1.294; 1.181 to 1.418), CHD (1.118; 1.078 to 1.159), MI (1.071; 1.008 to 1.139), HF (1.185; 1.107 to 1.268), and stroke (1.149, 1.070 to 1.235); also, the highest category was associated with increased risk of CVD (1.056; 1.020 to 1.094), CVD mortality (1.111; 1.000 to 1.236), CHD (1.070; 1.028 to 1.114), MI (1.111; 1.041 to 1.187) and HF (1.098; 1.015 to 1.188) after multivariable adjustment. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that both low and high levels of circulating IGF-1 are associated with increased risk of CVD in general population. These results highlight the importance of monitoring IGF-1 status on cardiovascular health.

Recent Advances and Future Potential of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Insects.

Over the last decade, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have witnessed a steep rise in interest amongst the scientific community. Because of their functional significance in several biological processes, i.e., alternative splicing, epigenetics, cell cycle, dosage compensation, and gene expression regulation, lncRNAs have transformed our understanding of RNA's regulatory potential. However, most knowledge concerning lncRNAs comes from mammals, and our understanding of the potential role of lncRNAs amongst insects remains unclear. Technological advances such as RNA-seq have enabled entomologists to profile several hundred lncRNAs in insect species, although few are functionally studied. This article will review experimentally validated lncRNAs from different insects and the lncRNAs identified via bioinformatic tools. Lastly, we will discuss the existing research challenges and the future of lncRNAs in insects.

Analysis of the spatio-temporal coupling coordination mechanism supporting economic resilience and high-quality economic development in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

The coupling coordination mechanism between economic resilience and high-quality economic development is clarified not only to improve the capacity of economies to withstand external shocks but also to boost the level of sustainable economic development. However, economic resilience and economic quality research are still in their infancy. This study constructs an economic resilience indicator system based on the data of 28 prefecture-level cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR) from 2010-2019. The entropy approach was then coupled with the coupling coordination model to determine the level of coupling coordination between the two. Finally, the geographical detector was employed to reveal the coupling coordination process and driving elements. This study demonstrates that: (1) The economic resilience and high-quality economic development of the UAMRYR are on the rise; (2) The coupling coordination degree between economic resilience and high-quality economic development is improving, with the average value increasing from 0.33 in 2010 to 0.46 in 2019, exhibiting a Core-Periphery spatial distribution pattern with Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang as the core; (3) The economic resilience resistance subsystem plays a substantial role in the driving influence of the coupling coordination degree, where the total retail sales of consumer goods indicator have an explanatory power of 0.8 or higher for coupled coordination. Innovation and inclusiveness thoroughly drive the coupling coordination degree among the five subsystems of high-quality economic development, where the q-value of the number of urban basic endowment insurance participants index is at least 0.9. Additionally, the interplay of the components demonstrates a complementary enhancement impact and a two-factor enhancement effect; (4) Economic resilience and high-quality economic development are complementary and provide a powerful incentive for the sustainable development of urban economic systems to achieve higher quality, more efficient, more egalitarian, and more sustainable economic development. Overall, this study improves the analysis of mechanism between economic resilience and high-quality economic development, and it provides more targeted guidance for economic development in the UARMRYR.

Cardio-selective versus non-selective ß-blockers for cardiovascular events and mortality in long-term dialysis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Trials in patients receiving dialysis have demonstrated that ß-blockers reduce all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events. However, differences still exist within-class comparative effectiveness studies of the therapeutic benefits of ß-blockers in dialysis patients. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine whether cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality differed between dialysis patients receiving cardio-selective and non-selective agents. METHODS: A comprehensive search of relevant articles from the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register and ClinicalTrials.gov was performed up to September 4, 2022, we included adults receiving ß-blockers to evaluate the effects of cardio-selective versus non-selective agents on mortality and cardiovascular events in the dialysis population. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were examined for the negative outcomes of cardiovascular events and death for any reason. The risk of bias in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was assessed using Cochrane's risk of bias tool and the risk of bias in observational studies was assessed using a table designed according to the ROBINS-I tool, the evidence grade was assessed using the GRADE guideline. For all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events, the RevMan software (version 5.3) was used to calculate pooled HRs with 95% CI. The heterogeneity (I2) in statistics was used to examine the degree of heterogeneity among studies. RESULTS: Four observational studies, including 58, 652 long-term dialysis patients, were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to dialysis patients who took non-selective ß-blockers, who took cardio-selective ß-blockers was probably associated with fewer cardiovascular events (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.81, 0.89, heterogeneity [I2] = 0%, three trials, 52,077 participants, moderate-quality evidence) and may have lower all-cause mortality (HR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.99, I2 = 91%, four trials, 54,115 participants, low-quality evidence). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review showed that cardio-selective ß-blockers are probably associated with fewer cardiovascular events and may have lower all-cause mortality in long-term dialysis patients than non-selective ß-blockers. The present study results need to be replicated using randomized controlled trials with longer observation durations.

Analysis of Long Non-Coding RNA-Mediated Regulatory Networks of Plutella xylostella in Response to Metarhizium anisopliae Infection.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a diverse class of RNAs that are structurally similar to messenger RNAs (mRNAs) but do not encode proteins. Growing evidence suggests that in response to biotic and abiotic stresses, the lncRNAs play crucial regulatory roles in plants and animals. However, the potential role of lncRNAs during fungal infection has yet to be characterized in Plutella xylostella, a devastating pest of cruciferous crops. In the current study, we performed a strand-specific RNA sequencing of Metarhizium anisopliae-infected (Px36hT, Px72hT) and uninfected (Px36hCK, Px72hCK) P. xylostella fat body tissues. Comprehensive bioinformatic analysis revealed a total of 5665 and 4941 lncRNAs at 36 and 72-h post-infection (hpi), including 563 (Px36hT), 532 (Px72hT) known and 5102 (Px36hT), 4409 (Px72hT) novel lncRNA transcripts. These lncRNAs shared structural similarities with their counterparts in other species, including shorter exon and intron length, fewer exon numbers, and a lower expression profile than mRNAs. LncRNAs regulate the expression of neighboring protein-coding genes by acting in a cis and trans manner. Functional annotation and pathway analysis of cis-acting lncRNAs revealed their role in several immune-related genes, including Toll, serpin, transferrin, ßGRP etc. Furthermore, we identified multiple lncRNAs acting as microRNA (miRNA) precursors. These miRNAs can potentially regulate the expression of mRNAs involved in immunity and development, suggesting a crucial lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA complex. Our findings will provide a genetic resource for future functional studies of lncRNAs involved in P. xylostella immune responses to M. anisopliae infection and shed light on understanding insect host-pathogen interactions.

The effect of biochar on the migration theory of nutrient ions.

As the acidification of arable soils increases, the utilization of nutrient ions such as N, P, and K decreases substantially. It causes environmental pollution and reduces crop yields. Through previous studies, acidified soil amendments have problems such as easy-retrograde and unclear mechanism. Therefore, in this study, biochar prepared by pyrolysis using peanut shells was used as a green amendment for acidified soil. Biochar with 0, 5 and 10 % biochar ratios were applied to the acidified soil, and the improvement and mechanism were investigated via experiments and software simulations. Analysis of the software simulation results revealed that biochar had the highest unit adsorption of K+ through physical adsorption at 820.38 mg/g. This was followed by PO43-, NO3-, and NH4+ as 270.51, 235.65 and 130.93 mg/g, respectively. These ions were controlled by both electrostatic and ion-exchange adsorption processes. During the improvement, the 10 % biochar ratio group performed the best with a 65.32 % reduction in the outlet volume, and the accumulated levels of nutrient ions in the leachate dropped by 48.40-68.28 % and increased by 437.80-913.87 % in the surface soil. Nutrient ion levels decreased gradually with the increase of soil depth, which agreed with the software simulation results. This study found that applying biochar to acidified soils can provide a solution to low nutrient utilization efficiency and unclear improvement mechanism of acidified soils, and provide a partial theoretical basis for the large-scale application of biochar. Future research on biochar for soil carbon sink and microbial expansion can be strengthened to contribute to environmental protection and multi-level utilization of energy.

Safety and Feasibility of Rotational Atherectomy for Retrograde Recanalization of Chronically Occluded Coronary Arteries.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of rotational atherectomy (RA) in retrograde chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO-PCI) by analyzing immediate and long-term outcomes. Background: Recent evidence supports the safety and feasibility of RA in CTO-PCI. However, few studies have focused on the use of RA in a retrograde approach to percutaneous revascularization of chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions and information on long-term outcomes is lacking. Methods: A total of 329 patients who underwent retrograde CTO-PCI, out of 1496 consecutive CTO-PCI patients from April 2017 to July 2020, were retrospectively recruited from the 2nd Cardiology Department of the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital. 16 patients underwent RA (RA group) whilst 313 did not (non-RA group). Results: Technical (87.5% vs. 87.5) and procedural (85.9% vs. 87.5) success rates were similar between both groups. There was no difference concerning major procedural complications between groups (12.5% vs. 19.2%; p > 0.75). No in-hospital MACCEs was recorded in the RA group while there were eight MACCEs in the non-RA group (p > 0.99). In the RA group, 2 cases recorded perforation (1 target vessel perforation case and 1 branch vessel perforation), and 55 cases of vessel perforations/dissections were recorded in non-RA group including 18 target vessel perforations, 2 branch vessel perforations, 35 collateral vessel perforations (one patient died from cardiac tamponade). No difference was found in terms of the perforation rate between the two groups (p > 0.99). Over a mean follow-up period of 26.47 ± 14.46 months, use of RA in retrograde CTO-PCI did not result in an increased mortality rate [hazard ratio (HR) 1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.31-8.21, p = 0.65], major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.35-2.79, p = 0.99) or overall rehospitalization rate (HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.44-3.67, p = 0.67). Adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves according to Cox regression model suggested several predictors influencing the all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, MACCEs, stroke rate, non-fatal myocardial infarction, target vessel recanalization rate and rehospitalization rate in the comparison. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the in-hospital outcomes and long-term follow up events were the same between RA and non-RA retrograde CTO-PCI patients. RA offered an option for skillful operators in difficult cases when the lesion was severely calcified in retrograde CTO-PCI.