Superhalide-Anion-Motivator Reforming-Enabled Bipolar Manipulation toward Longevous Energy-Type Zn||Chalcogen Batteries.

Neutrophilic superhalide-anion-triggered chalcogen conversion-based Zn batteries, despite latent high-energy merit, usually suffer from a short lifespan caused by dendrite growth and shuttle effect. Here, a superhalide-anion-motivator reforming strategy is initiated to simultaneously manipulate the anode interface and Se conversion intermediates, realizing a bipolar regulation toward longevous energy-type Zn batteries. With ZnF2 chaotropic additives, the original large-radii superhalide zincate anion species in ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes are split into small F-containing species, boosting the formation of robust solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) for Zn dendrite inhibition. Simultaneously, ion radius reduced multiple F-containing Se conversion intermediates form, enhancing the interion interaction of charged products to suppress the shuttle effect. Consequently, Zn||Se batteries deliver a ca. 20-fold prolonged lifespan (2000 cycles) at 1 A g-1 and high energy/power density of 416.7 Wh kgSe-1/1.89 kW kgSe-1, outperforming those in F-free counterparts. Pouch cells with distinct plateaus and durable cyclability further substantiate the practicality of this design.

Blocking miR396 activity by overexpression MIM396 improved switchgrass tiller number and biomass yield.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNA396 (miR396) plays an important role in the regulation of plant growth and development by repressing the expression level of its target growth-regulating factor (GRF) family genes. In our previous study, we found that overexpression of miR396 negatively regulated both tillering and biomass yield in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). We, therefore, speculated that blocking the expression of miR396 could enhance switchgrass tillering and biomass yield. Here, we produced transgenic switchgrass plants overexpressing a target mimicry form of miR396 (MIM396) in wild type (WT) and Os-MIR319b overexpressing switchgrass plant (with higher enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency, but reduced tillering), in which the expression of miR396 was blocked. The phenotype and biological yields of these plants were analyzed. RESULTS: Blocking miR396 to improve its target PvGRFs expression in switchgrass improved the tiller number and dry weight of transgenic plants. Further morphological analysis revealed that MIM396 plants increased the number of aerial branches and basal tillers compared to those of wild-type plants. The enzymatic efficiency of MIM396 plants was reduced; however, the total sugar production per plant was still significantly higher than that of wild-type plants due to the increase in biomass. In addition, blocking miR396 in a transgenic switchgrass plant overexpressing Os-MIR319b (TG21-Ms) significantly increased the PvGRF1/3/5 expression level and tiller number and biomass yield. The miR156-target gene PvSPL4, playing a negative role in aerial and basal buds outgrowth, showed significant downregulated in MIM396 and TG21-Ms. Those results indicate that miR396-PvGRFs, through disrupting the PvSPL4 expression, are involved in miR319-PvPCFs in regulating tiller number, at least partly. CONCLUSIONS: MIM396 could be used as a molecular tool to improving tiller number and biomass yield in switchgrass wild type and miR319b transgenic plants. This finding may be applied to other graminaceous plants to regulate plant biological yield.

Dynamically Ion-Coordinated Bipolar Organodichalcogenide Cathodes Enabling High-Energy and Durable Aqueous Zn Batteries.

Bipolar organic cathode materials (OCMs) implementing cation/anion storage mechanisms are promising for high-energy aqueous Zn batteries (AZBs). However, conventional organic functional group active sites in OCMs usually fail to sufficiently unlock the high-voltage/capacity merits. Herein, we initially report dynamically ion-coordinated bipolar OCMs as cathodes with chalcogen active sites to solve this issue. Unlike conventional organic functional groups, chalcogens bonded with conjugated group undergo multielectron-involved positive-valence oxidation and negative-valence reduction, affording higher redox potentials and reversible capacities. With phenyl diselenide (PhSe-SePh, PDSe) as a proof of concept, it exhibits a conversion pathway from (PhSe)- to (PhSe-SePh)0 and then to (PhSe)+ as unveiled by characterization and theoretical simulation, where the diselenide bonds are periodically broken and healed, dynamically coordinating with ions (Zn2+ and OTF-). When confined into ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3), the dissolution of PDSe intermediates is greatly inhibited to obtain an ultralong lifespan without voltage/capacity compromise. The PDSe/CMK-3 || Zn batteries display high reversibility capacity (621.4 mAh gPDSe -1), distinct discharge plateau (up to 1.4 V), high energy density (578.3 Wh kgPDSe -1), and ultralong lifespan (12 000 cycles) at 10 A g-1, far outperforming conventional bipolar OCMs. This work sheds new light on conversion-type active site engineering for high-voltage/capacity bipolar OCMs towards high-energy AZBs.

Genome-wide identification and analysis of TCP family genes in Medicago sativa reveal their critical roles in Na+/K+ homeostasis.

BACKGROUND: Medicago sativa is the most important forage world widely, and is characterized by high quality and large biomass. While abiotic factors such as salt stress can negatively impact the growth and productivity of alfalfa. Maintaining Na+/K+ homeostasis in the cytoplasm helps reduce cell damage and nutritional deprivation, which increases a salt-tolerance of plant. Teosinte Branched1/ Cycloidea/ Proliferating cell factors (TCP) family genes, a group of plant-specific transcription factors (TFs), involved in regulating plant growth and development and abiotic stresses. Recent studies have shown TCPs control the Na+/K+ concentration of plants during salt stress. In order to improve alfalfa salt tolerance, it is important to identify alfalfa TCP genes and investigate if and how they regulate alfalfa Na+/K+ homeostasis. RESULTS: Seventy-one MsTCPs including 23 non-redundant TCP genes were identified in the database of alfalfa genome (C.V XinJiangDaYe), they were classified into class I PCF (37 members) and class II: CIN (28 members) and CYC/TB1 (9 members). Their distribution on chromosome were unequally. MsTCPs belonging to PCF were expressed specifically in different organs without regularity, which belonging to CIN class were mainly expressed in mature leaves. MsTCPs belongs to CYC/TB1 clade had the highest expression level at meristem. Cis-elements in the promoter of MsTCPs were also predicted, the results indicated that most of the MsTCPs will be induced by phytohormone and stress treatments, especially by ABA-related stimulus including salinity stress. We found 20 out of 23 MsTCPs were up-regulated in 200 mM NaCl treatment, and MsTCP3/14/15/18 were significantly induced by 10 µM KCl, a K+ deficiency treatment. Fourteen non-redundant MsTCPs contained miR319 target site, 11 of them were upregulated in MIM319 transgenic alfalfa, and among them four (MsTCP3/4/10A/B) genes were directly degraded by miR319. MIM319 transgene alfalfa plants showed a salt sensitive phenotype, which caused by a lower content of potassium in alfalfa at least partly. The expression of potassium transported related genes showed significantly higher expression in MIM319 plants. CONCLUSIONS: We systematically analyzes the MsTCP gene family at a genome-wide level and reported that miR319-TCPs model played a function in K+ up-taking and/ or transportation especially in salt stress. The study provide valuable information for future study of TCP genes in alfalfa and supplies candidate genes for salt-tolerance alfalfa molecular-assisted breeding.

Light convolutional neural network by neural architecture search and model pruning for bearing fault diagnosis and remaining useful life prediction.

Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been extensively used in bearing fault diagnosis and Remaining Useful Life (RUL) prediction. However, accompanied by CNN's increasing performance is a deeper network structure and growing parameter size. This prevents it from being deployed in industrial applications with limited computation resources. To this end, this paper proposed a two-step method to build a cell-based light CNN by Neural Architecture Search (NAS) and weights-ranking-based model pruning. In the first step, a cell-based CNN was constructed with searched optimal cells and the number of stacking cells was limited to reduce the network size after influence analysis. To search for the optimal cells, a base CNN model with stacking cells was initially built, and Differentiable Architecture Search was adopted after continuous relaxation. In the second step, the connections in the built cell-based CNN were further reduced by weights-ranking-based pruning. Experiment data from the Case Western Reserve University was used for validation under the task of fault classification. Results showed that the CNN with only two cells achieved a test accuracy of 99.969% and kept at 99.968% even if 50% connections were removed. Furthermore, compared with base CNN, the parameter size of the 2-cells CNN was reduced from 9.677MB to 0.197MB. Finally, after minor revision, the network structure was adapted to achieve bearing RUL prediction and validated with the PRONOSTIA test data. Both tasks confirmed the feasibility and superiority of constructing a light cell-based CNN with NAS and pruning, which laid the potential to realize a light CNN in embedded systems.

Enhancing alfalfa resistance to Spodoptera herbivory by sequestering microRNA396 expression.

KEY MESSAGE: Sequestering microRNA396 by overexpression of MIM396 enhanced alfalfa resistance to Spodoptera litura larvae, which may be due to increased lignin content and enhanced low-molecular weight flavonoids and glucosinolates biosynthesis. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), the most important leguminous forage crop, suffers from the outbreak of defoliator insects, especially Spodoptera litura, resulting in heavy losses in yield and forage quality. Here, we found that the expression of alfalfa microRNA396 (miR396) precursor genes and mature miR396 was significantly up-regulated in wounding treatment that simulates feeding injury by defoliator insects. To verify the function of miR396 in alfalfa resistance to insect, we generated MIM396 transgenic alfalfa plants with significantly down-regulated miR396 expression by Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. The MIM396 transgenic alfalfa plants exhibited improved resistance to Spodoptera litura larvae with increased lignin content but decreased JA accumulation. Most of the miR396 putative target GRF genes were up-regulated in MIM396 transgenic lines, and responded to the wounding treatment. By RNA sequencing analysis, we found that the differentially expressed genes related to insect resistance between WT and MIM396 transgenic plants mainly clustered in biosynthesis pathways in lignin, flavonoids and glucosinolates. In addition to the phenotype of enhanced insect resistance, MIM396 transgenic plants also displayed reduced biomass yield and forage quality. Our results broaden the function of miR396 in alfalfa and provide genetic resources for studying alfalfa insect resistance.

ED50 value of remifentanil in inhibiting coughing during extubation in children with snoring.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effective dose 50% (ED50) value of remifentanil in inhibiting coughing during extubation in children with snoring. Methods: The subjects were children who scored a grade I in the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) metric and who were undergoing tonsillectomy (with or without adenoidectomy) under general anesthesia. Using Dixon's up-and-down sequential method, the initial infusion rate of remifentanil was 0.06 µg/kg/min, and the difference between the infusion rates of the two adjacent groups was 0.01 µg/kg/min. If a child had no cough response during extubation, the infusion rate for the next child was reduced by 0.01 µg/kg/min. If that child had cough response, the infusion rate for the next child was increased by 0.01 µg/kg/min, and the test was terminated when seven pairs of children with positive-negative alternating results were obtained. The ED50 value and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by probit regression. The times for extubation, awakening, agitation, and respiratory complications after extubation were compared between the two groups. Results: 1) The ED50 value of a continuous infusion of remifentanil required to inhibit the cough response of children during extubation was 0.042 µg/kg/min, and the 95% confidence interval was 0.025-0.062 µg/kg/min. 2) The total dosage and infusion rate of remifentanil in the cough suppression group were higher than those in the cough group (p < 0.05), but the differences in the times for extubating and awakening between the two groups were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). 3) There was no correlation between the infusion rate of remifentanil and the time for extubating and awakening in the cough suppression group; the r values were 0.13 and 0.12, respectively, and p > 0.05. 4) The differences in postoperative respiratory complications between the two groups were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The ED50 value of a continuous infusion of remifentanil required to inhibit the cough response of children during extubation after tonsillectomy (with or without adenoidectomy) was 0.042 µg/kg/min, and a low-dose infusion of remifentanil does not affect the times for awakening and extubating in children.

Graphene-Enabled Electric-Field Regulation and Ionic Redistribution Around Lithiophilic Aurum Nanoparticles Toward a Dendrite-Free and 2000-Cycle-Life Lithium Metal Battery.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have attracted extensive attention owing to their high energy density. However, the uncontrolled volume changes and serious dendrite growth of the Li metal anode have hindered their commercialization. Herein, a three-dimensional Cu foam decorated with Au nanoparticles and conformal graphene layer was designed to tune the Li plating/stripping behaviors. The 3D-Cu conductive host anchored by lithiophilic Au nanoparticles can effectively alleviate the volume expansion caused by the continuous plating/stripping of Li and reduce the nucleation energy barrier. Notably, the conductive graphene not only facilitates the transfer of electrons, but also acts as an ionic rectifier, thereby avoiding the aggregation of local current density and Li+ ions around Au nanoparticles and enabling the uniform Li+ flux. As a result, the G-Au@3D-Cu/Li anode ensures the non-dendritic and homogeneous Li+ plating/stripping. Electrochemical results show that the symmetric G-Au@3D-Cu/Li cell delivers a low voltage hysteresis of 110 mV after 1000 h at 1 mA cm-2 . Matched with a layered LiNi0.6 Co0.2 Mn0.2 O2 cathode, the NCM622||G-Au@3D-Cu/Li full cell exhibits a long cycle life of 2000 cycles and an ultra-low capacity decay rate (0.01 % per cycle).

Comparison of Sound Touch Elastography, Sound Touch Quantify, and 4 Serum Fibrosis Indexes for the Diagnosis of Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this research was to compare the use of shear wave elastography (sound touch elastography [STE] and sound touch quantify [STQ]) and serum liver fibrosis indexes in the evaluation and staging of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) liver fibrosis. Sound touch elastography is a form of 2-dimensional shear wave elastography, and STQ is a form of point shear wave elastography. Between June 2018 and March 2019, 122 patients with CHB were assessed using STE and STQ. Serum liver biomarkers tests were undertaken, and liver biopsy was performed, and these were used to assign a pathological stage based on the Scheuer scoring system. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of noninvasive methods for evaluating and staging liver fibrosis. The cutoff values of STE for liver fibrosis stages S2 to S4 were 8.85, 9.97, and 10.29 kPa, respectively, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUCs) curve were 0.703, 0.821, and 0.900, respectively. The cutoff values of STQ for liver fibrosis stages S2 to S4 were 11.31, 13.81, and 20.60 kPa, respectively, and the AUCs were 0.674, 0.807, and 0.893, respectively. The AUCs of STE and STQ in diagnosing fibrosis stage were significantly higher than those of liver serum biomarkers (P < 0.05). The AUCs for the ability of the aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index, the fibrosis index based on the 4 factors, the King score, and the Forns index to diagnose S2 fibrosis were 0.502, 0.624, 0.542, and 0.616, respectively, and the AUCs for their ability to diagnose S4 fibrosis were 0.856, 0.861, 0.883, and 0.823, respectively. Both STE and STQ are noninvasive methods for the assessment of liver fibrosis in CHB patients, with better diagnostic performances than those of 4 serum fibrosis indexes.

MiR396-GRF module associates with switchgrass biomass yield and feedstock quality.

Improving plant biomass yield and/or feedstock quality for highly efficient lignocellulose conversion has been the main research focus in genetic modification of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a dedicated model plant for biofuel production. Here, we proved that overexpression of miR396 (OE-miR396) leads to reduced plant height and lignin content mainly by reducing G-lignin monomer content. We identified nineteen PvGRFs in switchgrass and proved thirteen of them were cleaved by miR396. MiR396-targeted PvGRF1, PvGRF9 and PvGRF3 showed significantly higher expression in stem. By separately overexpressing rPvGRF1, 3 and 9, in which synonymous mutations abolished the miR396 target sites, and suppression of PvGRF1/3/9 activity via PvGRF1/3/9-SRDX overexpression in switchgrass, we confirmed PvGRF1 and PvGRF9 played positive roles in improving plant height and G-lignin content. Overexpression of PvGRF9 was sufficient to complement the defective phenotype of OE-miR396 plants. MiR396-PvGRF9 modulates these traits partly by interfering GA and auxin biosynthesis and signalling transduction and cell wall lignin, glucose and xylan biosynthesis pathways. Moreover, by enzymatic hydrolysis analyses, we found that overexpression of rPvGRF9 significantly enhanced per plant sugar yield. Our results suggest that PvGRF9 can be utilized as a candidate molecular tool in modifying plant biomass yield and feedstock quality.

Azithromycin combined with doxycycline in non-gonococcal urethritis.

Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases caused by chlamydia or mycoplasma. The present study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of azithromycin combined with doxycycline in patients with NGU and its effect on serum levels of inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). A total of 98 patients with non-gonococcal urethritis were prospectively selected, of which 46 patients were assigned to an azithromycin group (treated with azithromycin alone), while the rest were assigned to a combination group (treated with azithromycin and doxycycline). The conditions of the patients were evaluated and compared between the two groups. The treatment efficacy in patients in the combination group was significantly better than that in the azithromycin group, and the time to symptom relief, period of medication, recurrence rate within 1 year of withdrawal and level of serum IL-6 in the combination group were significantly lower than those in the azithromycin group. The quality of life of patients in the combination group was significantly improved compared to those in the azithromycin group. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups. Azithromycin combined with doxycycline was revealed to be more effective than azithromycin monotherapy for NGU.

Heteroexpression of Osa-miR319b improved switchgrass biomass yield and feedstock quality by repression of PvPCF5.

BACKGROUND: Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a C4 perennial grass, has been recognized as one of the most potentially important lignocellulose biofuel crops. MicroRNA319 (miR319) plays a key role in plant development, abiotic resistance, and cell wall biosynthesis by repressing expression of its target TCP genes. We hypothesized miR319-TCP pathway could play important roles in switchgrass feedstock characteristics for biofuel production, and produced switchgrass transgenic plants overexpressing miR319 (by ectopic expressing Osa-MIR319b gene), blocking miR319 (by overexpressing a target mimicry of miR319/MIM319) and repression of miR319 target gene PvPCF5. Plant phenotype, biomass yield, and feedstock quality of transgenic plants were analyzed. RESULTS: Overexpression of miR319 in switchgrass promoted leaf elongation and expansion of transgenic plants, increased plant height, stem diameter, and resulted in a significant increase in plant biomass yield. Transgenic plants overexpressing of miR319 reduced lignin content, showed significantly higher enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency compared to the wild type plant. However, opposite results were observed in the MIM319 plants. Furthermore, suppression of miR319 target gene PvPCF5 activity also reduced lignin content, increased lignin monomer S/G ratio and the proportion of ß-O-4 linkages, while significantly improving the sugar production per plant. Quantitative real-time (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that expression of PvMYB58/63B and PvHCT with predicted TCP binding sites in their promoter regions was negatively regulated by miR319-PvPCF5 module. CONCLUSIONS: MiR319-PvPCF5 module plays positive roles in regulating biomass yield and quality of switchgrass. It can be utilized as a candidate molecular tool in regulating biomass yield and feedstock quality. The finding could also be transferred to other grasses for forage quality improvement through genetic manipulation.

Apelin attenuates depressive-like behavior and neuroinflammation in rats co-treated with chronic stress and lipopolysaccharide.

Several experimental studies have proved that activation of neuroinflammation pathways may contribute to the development of depression, a neuropsychiatric disorder disease. Our previous studies have shown the antidepressant properties of apelin, but the mechanism was unkown. This study was performed to verify whether the antidepressant effect of apelin was related to its anti-inflammation effect in the central nervous system. To achieve our aim, we selected the co-treatment of chronic stress and LPS to induced an inflammatory process in rats. The effect of this co-treatment was evaluated through the expression of inflammatory markers and glial cell activation. LPS injection co-treated with unpredictable chronic mild stress resulted in the activation of microglial cell and astrocyte, expression of inflammatory markers and depressive behaviors. Treatment with apelin significantly attenuates the deleterious effects in these rats. Our results showed that apelin improved depressive phenotype and decreased the activation of glial cells in stress co-treatment group. The down-regulations of p-NF-κB and p-IKKß suggested that the effects are possibly mediated by inhibition of the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response. These findings speculated that intracerebroventricular injection of apelin could be a therapeutic approach for the treatment of depression, and the antidepressant function of apelin may closely associated with its alleviation in neuroinflammation.

Resveratrol downregulates TNF-α-induced monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in primary rat pulmonary artery endothelial cells by P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling.

Background: To evaluate the effects of resveratrol to monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in this process in vitro. Materials and methods: Animal acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) model: rat model was established by infusion of an autologous blood clot into the pulmonary artery through a polyethylene catheter. One hundred and thirty-two rats were randomly and equally divided into ten groups: rats-control (untreated), rats-1% DMSO, rats-TNF-α, rats-TNF-α + resveratrol, rats-TNF-α +C1142, rats-TNF-α+SB203580, rats-TNF-α+resveratrol + SB203580, rats-resveratrol only, rats-C1142 only, and rats-SB203580 only. Rat pulmonary artery endothelial cells (RPAs) tests: RPAs were isolated from above animal and designated as: RPAs-control, RPAs-1% DMSO control, RPAs-TNF-α, RPAs-TNF-α + resveratrol, RPAs-TNF-α + C1142, RPAs-TNF-α + SB203580, RPAs-TNF-α + resveratrol + SB203580, RPAs-resveratrol only, RPAs-C1142 only, and RPAs-SB203580 only. Each group was further divided into 1, 4, and 8 hrs time point for evaluation (n=6 rats per time point) except RPAs-TNF-α + SB203580, RPAs-TNF-α + resveratrol + SB203580, RPAs-C1142 and RPAs-SB203580 only, which were evaluated at 8 hrs time point. At each time point, mRNA and protein expressions of RPAs of MCP-1 were measured. The phosphorylation of p38 MAPK (p-pMAPK) of RPAs was also detected. Results: We found that the RPAs-TNF-α elicited significant increases in MCP-1 expression and phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK). Furthermore, the MCP-1 expressions of RPAs-Resveratrol, RPAs-C1142, and RPAs-SB203580 were significantly down-regulated, which was associated with robustly suppressed TNF-α-induced p-p38MAPK expression. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that MCP-1 was involved in the formation of TNF-α-induced inflammatory response, and resveratrol could down-regulate the expression of MCP-1 via TNF-α- inhibition, which might contribute to the decline of acute PTE-induced PH in vivo.

MiR319 mediated salt tolerance by ethylene.

Salinity-induced accumulation of certain microRNAs accompanied by gaseous phytohormone ethylene production has been recognized as a mechanism of plant salt tolerance. MicroRNA319 (miR319) has been characterized as an important player in abiotic stress resistance in some C3 plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and rice. However, its role in the dedicated biomass plant switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a C4 plant, has not been reported. Here, we show crosstalk between miR319 and ethylene (ET) for increasing salt tolerance. By overexpressing Osa-MIR319b and a target mimicry form of miR319 (MIM319), we showed that miR319 positively regulated ET synthesis and salt tolerance in switchgrass. By experimental treatments, we demonstrated that ET-mediated salt tolerance in switchgrass was dose-dependent, and miR319 regulated the switchgrass salt response by fine-tuning ET synthesis. Further experiments showed that the repression of a miR319 target, PvPCF5, in switchgrass also led to enhanced ethylene accumulation and salt tolerance in transgenic plants. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis demonstrated that overexpression of miR319 (OE-miR319) down-regulated the expression of key genes in the methionine (Met) cycle but promoted the expression of genes in ethylene synthesis. The results enrich our understanding of the synergistic effects of the miR319-PvPCF5 module and ethylene synthesis in the salt tolerance of switchgrass, a C4 bioenergy plant.

Overexpression of OsPIL1 enhanced biomass yield and saccharification efficiency in switchgrass.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a herbaceous cellulosic biofuel plant with broad adaptability. However, the intrinsic recalcitrance of biomass and limited land for switchgrass planting hinder its utilization as feedstock for biofuel ethanol production. The OsPIL1 (PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 3-LIKE 1) gene encodes a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor. Its expression is induced by light, which facilitated the expression of cell wall-related genes, promoted cell elongation and resulted in longer internode in rice. Here, we introduced the OsPIL1 gene into switchgrass by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with the aim of improving biomass yield of transgenic switchgrass plants. The transgenic plants were verified by PCR, Southern-blotting, RT-PCR and qRT-PCR tests, respectively. The transgenic plants overexpression of OsPIL1 showed increased plant height and biomass yield. Microscopy analysis showed that the length of epidermal cells of transgenic plants was longer than that of wild type. OsPIL1 overexpressed transgenic switchgrass plants also released more soluble sugar after enzymatic hydrolysis, indicating improved saccharification efficiency. The results suggest OsPIL1 can be used as a useful molecular tool in improving plant biomass and saccharification efficiency with the purpose of plant fiber biofuel ethanol production.

Lentivirus-mediated disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 RNA interference reversed the acquired resistance to gefitinib in lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of silencing a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 (ADAM17) gene expression by lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) in the gefitinib-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells, and then to explore whether the recombinant lentivirus mediated ADAM17 RNAi reversed the acquired resistance of lung adenocarcinoma to gefitinib in vitro. METHODS: The gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 cells were established and the mutations of EGFR were detected by gene sequencing. The ADAM17 shRNA expression vectors were constructed and packaged to recombinant lentivirus. The cell proliferation viability was detected by MTT, and cellular apotosis was analyzed by flow cytometry assay. The expression levels of ADAM17, EGFR and the phosphorylated EGFR were respectively detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot. TGF-α production in the supernatant was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 cells in which mutated EGFR (exon 20) carried 790T > T/M mutation were established. When the concentrations of gefitinib were less than 10µmol/L, there were no significant changes in the apoptosis and cellular proliferation of RPC-9 with the dose-escalation of gefitinib. The cell proliferation viability of RPC-9 was significantly decreased by lentivirus mediated ADAM17 RNAi (P < 0.05). Gefitinib did not inhibit ADAM17 expression in both the gefitinib-sensitive PC-9 and gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 cells (P > 0.05). Gefitinib had no significant effects on TGF alpha production in the supernatants (P > 0.05). Gefitinib did not inhibit EGFR expression in gefitinib-sensitive PC-9 and gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 cells (P > 0.05). The phosphorylation of EGFR in gefitinib-sensitive PC-9 cells was significantly inhibited by gefitinib (P < 0.05), but that in gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 could not be inhibited by gefitinib (P > 0.05). Lentivirus mediated ADAM17 RNAi significantly inhibited the mRNA and protein expression of ADAM17 in gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 cells (P < 0.05), as well as TGF alpha production in the supernatants (P < 0.05). Also, the phosphorylation of EGFR was significantly reduced in gefitinib-resistant RPC-9 cells by lentivirus mediated ADAM17 RNAi (P < 0.05); however, the mRNA and protein expression of EGFR could not be inhibited. CONCLUSION: Lentivirus mediated ADAM17 RNAi may reverse the acquired resistance of lung adenocarcinoma to gefitinib via inhibiting the upstream of EGFR signal pathway, which may provide a new therapeutic target to solve the acquired resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in lung adenocarcinoma. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:196-205, 2018.

Enhanced Cold Tolerance and Tillering in Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) by Heterologous Expression of Osa-miR393a.

The microRNA393 (miR393) family is one of the conserved miRNA families in the plant kingdom. MiR393 was reported to regulate rice tillering and abiotic stress resistance positively through an auxin signaling pathway. However, little is known about the function of miR393 in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), an important bioenergy C4 grass plant. We tested the expression level of miR393 and its four putative target genes (PvAFB1, PvAFB2, PvAFB3 and PvTIR1) in switchgrass, and found that these genes all responded to cold stress and exogenous 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) treatment. To investigate the function of miR393 in switchgrass, we enhanced miR393 expression by introducing an Osa-miR393a gene into switchgrass. The results showed that cold tolerance of the transgenic T0 and T1 generation plants was highly improved. Cold tolerance-related genes PvCOR47, PvICE1 and PvRAV1 were negatively regulated by exogenous NAA, and the expression of these genes was significantly higher in transgenic plants than in wild-type plants. The transgenic T1 seedlings were more tolerant to exogenous NAA treatment, accumulating less H2O2 after cold treatments. It was also observed that the miR393/target module regulates cold tolerance responses in Arabidopsis. In addition, transgenic plants overexpressing miR393 had significantly more tillers and higher biomass yield per plant in greenhouse and field tests. Forage quality analyses revealed that the soluble sugar contents of transgenic plants were increased markedly. Overall, the results suggested that overexpression of miR393 improved cold tolerance and tillering of switchgrass through regulation of auxin signaling transduction.

LncRNA­mediated SIRT1/FoxO3a and SIRT1/p53 signaling pathways regulate type II alveolar epithelial cell senescence in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The loss of alveolar structure and airspace enlargement are major pathological changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECII) are involved in maintaining lung tissue repair and alveolar homeostasis. Long non­coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in multi­regulating gene transcription, affecting processes including embryonic development, cell differentiation and cellular senescence. The primary aim of the present study was to explore the mechanisms of AECII senescence regulated by lncRNA­mediated sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and forkhead box O 3a (FoxO3a) signaling pathways in patients with COPD. Lung tissues from patients with COPD exhibited pathological characteristics and significantly increased senescence­associated ß­galactosidase activity. Furthermore, the expression levels of senescence­associated lncRNA1 (SAL­RNA1), SIRT1 and FoxO3a were reduced, but SAL­RNA2, SAL­RNA3, p53 and p21 were upregulated in the lung tissues of patients with COPD compared with control. The results of the present study indicated that lncRNA­mediated SIRT1/p53 and FoxO3a signaling pathways may regulate AECII senescence in the pathogenesis of COPD, which may provide a novel experimental basis for the treatment of COPD.

Genetic polymorphism of heme oxygenase 1 promoter in the occurrence and severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis.

Heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) plays an important role in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the association of HMOX1 length polymorphism in promoter region to the risk and severity of COPD has not been well studied. In this study, we searched the databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and extracted the information from related articles. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to study the effect of HMOX1 polymorphism on the risk and severity of COPD. As a result, nine studies were included for this meta-analysis. Higher frequencies of L allele and type I genotype (containing at least one L allele) were found in patients with COPD (for L allele, OR 2.02, 95% CI: 1.32-3.11, P = 0.001; for type I genotype, OR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.28-2.61, P = 0.001), especially in Asian population (for L allele, OR 2.23, 95% CI: 1.68-2.95, P < 0.001; for type I genotype, OR 2.02, 95% CI: 1.51-2.70, P < 0.001). Genotyping method, source of control subjects, literature quality and language also affected the results to some extent. However, there was little difference in HMOX1 genotypes distribution in patients with COPD with different severity. Our study indicated L allele and type I genotype were related to the susceptibility but not the severity of COPD.