KN-93 promotes HDAC4 nucleus translocation to promote fatty acid oxidation in myocardial infarction.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a potentially fatal disease that causes a significant number of deaths worldwide. The strategy of increasing fatty acid oxidation in myocytes is considered a therapeutic avenue to accelerate metabolism to meet energy demands. We conducted the study aiming to investigate the effect of KN-93, which induces histone deacetylase (HDAC)4 shuttling to the nucleus, on fatty acid oxidation and the expression of related genes. A mouse model of myocardial infarction was induced by isoprenaline administration. Heart damage was assessed by the detection of cardiac injury markers. The level of fatty acid oxidation level was evaluated by testing the expression of related genes. Both immunofluorescence and immunoblotting in the cytosol or nucleus were utilized to observe the distribution of HDAC4. The interaction between HDAC4 and specificity protein (SP)1 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. The acetylation level of SP1 was tested after KN-93 treatment and HDAC4 inhibitor. Oxygen consumption rate and immunoblotting experiments were used to determine whether the effect of KN-93 on increasing fatty acid oxidation is through HDAC4 and SP1. Administration of KN-93 significantly reduced cardiac injury in myocardial infarction and promoted fatty acid oxidation both in vitro and in vivo. KN-93 was shown to mediate nuclear translocation of HDAC4. HDAC4 was found to interact with SP1 and reduce SP1 acetylation. HDAC4 or SP1 inhibitors attenuated the effect of KN-93 on fatty acid oxidation. In conclusion, KN-93 promotes HDAC4 translocation to the nucleus, thereby potentially enhancing fatty acid oxidation by SP1.

Biodiversity responses to agricultural practices in cropland and natural habitats.

Largely driven by agricultural pressures, biodiversity has experienced great changes globally. Exploring biodiversity responses to agricultural practices associated with agricultural intensification can benefit biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. However, the effects of agricultural practices may also extend to natural habitats. Moreover, agricultural impacts may also vary with geographical region. We analyze biodiversity responses to landscape cropland coverage, cropping frequency, fertiliser and yield, among different land-use types and across geographical regions. We find that species richness and total abundance generally respond negatively to increased landscape cropland coverage. Biodiversity reductions in human land-use types (pasture, plantation forest and cropland) were stronger in tropical than non-tropical regions, which was also true for biodiversity reductions with increasing yield in both human and natural land-use types. Our results underline substantial biodiversity responses to agricultural practices not only in cropland but also in natural habitats, highlighting the fact that biodiversity conservation demands a greater focus on optimizing agricultural management at the landscape scale.

Reconstruction of the Near-Field Electric Field by SNOM Measurement.

Scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) with nanoscale spatial resolution has been a powerful tool in studying the plasmonic properties of nano materials/structures. However, the quantification of the SNOM measurement remains a major challenge in the field due to the lack of reliable methodologies. We employed the point-dipole model to describe the tip-surface interaction upon laser illumination and theoretically derived the quantitative relationship between the measured results and the actual near-field electric field strength. Thus, we can experimentally reconstruct the near-field electric field through this theoretically calculated relationship. We also developed an experimental technique together with FEM simulation to get the above relationship experimentally and reconstruct the near-field electric field from the measurement by SNOM.

Anomalous Diffusion of Polyelectrolyte Segments on Supported Charged Lipid Bilayers.

This work provides mesoscale models for the anomalous diffusion of a polymer chain on a heterogeneous surface with rearranging randomly distributed adsorption sites. Both the "bead-spring" model and oxDNA model were simulated on supported lipid bilayer membranes with various molar fractions of charged lipids, using Brownian dynamics method. Our simulation results demonstrate that "bead-spring" chains exhibit sub-diffusion on charged lipid bilayers which agrees with previous experimental observations for short-time dynamics of DNA segments on membranes. In addition, the non-Gaussian diffusive behaviors of DNA segments have not been observed in our simulations. However, a simulated 17 base pairs double stranded DNA, using oxDNA model, performs normal diffusion on supported cationic lipid bilayers. Due to the number of positively charged lipids attracted by short DNA is small, the energy landscape that the short DNA experiences during diffusion is not as heterogeneous as that experienced by long DNA chains, which results in normal diffusion rather than sub-diffusion for short DNA.

Salvianolate injection for hypertensive nephropathy patients who were using valsartan: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The treatment of hypertensive nephropathy has remained unchanged for many years. Salvianolate is the main active component extracted from Salvia Miltiorrhiza. The current studies seem to suggest that salvianolate has a certain therapeutic effect on hypertensive nephropathy. Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the effect and safety of salvianolate on hypertensive nephropathy under the condition of standardized use of valsartan. Methods: We conducted a systematic search (unlimited initial date to 22 October 2022) in PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data knowledge service platform, China Science and Technology Journal Database, China Biomedical Literature Service System. Searching for the study of salvianolate on hypertensive nephropathy. Two reviewers independently included the study that met the inclusion criteria, and extracted data, evaluated the quality of the study. We use RevMan5.4 and stata15 software for this meta-analysis. We use GRADEprofiler 3.2.2 software for evidence quality assessment. Results: This meta-analysis included seven studies (525 patients). Compared with the use of valsartan combined with conventional treatment, salvianolate combined with valsartan and conventional treatment can further improve the efficacy (RR = 1.28, 95%CI:1.17 to 1.39), reduce blood pressure [systolic blood pressure (MD = 8.98, 95%CI:-12.38 to -5.59); diastolic blood pressure (MD = 5.74, 95%CI:-7.20 to -4.29)], serum creatinine (MD = -17.32, 95%CI:-20.55 to -14.10), blood urea nitrogen (MD = -1.89, 95%CI:-3.76 to -0.01), urine microalbumin (MD = -23.90, 95%CI:-26.54 to -21.26), and urinary protein to creatinine ratio (MD = -1.92, 95%CI:-2.15 to -1.69), cystatin C (MD = -1.04, 95%CI: -1.63 to -0.45) and increase calcitonin gene-related peptide (MD = 18.68, 95%CI:12.89 to 24.46) without increasing adverse reactions (RR = 2.20, 95%CI:0.52 to 9.40). But it has no additional effect on endothelin-1 and malondialdehyde. The quality of evidence ranged from moderate to very low. Conclusion: This meta-analysis shows that the salvianolate can further improve renal function of hypertensive nephropathy patients based on valsartan was used. Therefore, salvianolate can be used as a clinical supplement for hypertensive nephropathy. However, the quality of the evidence is not high due to the uneven quality of the included studies and the insufficient sample size, we still need a lot of large sample size studies with more perfect design to confirm these results. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022373256, identifier CRD42022373256.

Conversion mechanism of thermal plasma-enhanced CH4-CO2 reforming system to syngas under the non-catalytic conditions.

Thermal plasma activation of CH4-CO2 reforming (CRM) to syngas under non-catalytic conditions is an efficient and clean technology for the large-scale utilization of hydrocarbon resources and the conversion of greenhouse gases. This study investigates the equilibrium state and transformation mechanism of a CRM reaction system activated by thermal plasma through experimental, thermodynamic, and kinetic analyses. The experimental results illustrated that the CO2 conversion rate and H2 selectivity showed a downward trend with an increase in the CO2/CH4 molar ratio, whereas the CH4 conversion rate and CO selectivity showed the opposite trend. When CO2/CH4 molar ratio was 6/4, the selectivity for CO and H2 increased to 87.0 % and 80.8 %, respectively. Excess CO2 promotes the partial oxidation of CH4 to eliminate carbon deposition, resulting in an H2/CO molar ratio value closer to 1. Thermodynamic results show that the thermal-plasma-initiated CRM reaction can reach thermodynamic equilibrium more easily than the conventional catalyzed reactions, achieving much higher feedstock gas conversion without carbon deposition. The kinetic results obtained from the PSR model revealed that CH4 and CO2 were cleaved to form free radicals at the instant of contact with the plasma flame. O, H, and other particles generated in the form of free radicals rapidly collided with each other and transformed into CO and H2, accelerating the reaction process. The results presented in this study will help reveal the transformation mechanism of the CRM reaction activated by thermal plasma under non-catalytic conditions and provide a new perspective for studying CRM reactions.

Synthesis of a Novel Rigid Semi-Alicyclic Dianhydride and Its Copolymerized Transparent Polyimide Films' Properties.

A new series of colorless polyimides (CPIs) with outstanding thermal properties and mechanical properties were fabricated by the copolymerization of a novel dianhydride and 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) with 2,2'-bistrifluoromethyl benzidine (TFDB). The novel dianhydride, 10-oxo-9-phenyl-9-(trifluoromethyl)-9,10-dihydroanthracene-2,3,6,7-tetraacid dianhydride (3FPODA), possessed a rigid semi-alicyclic structure, -CF3 and phenyl side groups, and an active carbonyl group. Benefitting from the special structure of 3FPODA, the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the new CPIs improved from 330 °C to 377 °C, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) decreased from 46 ppm/K to 24 ppm/K, and the tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), and elongation at break (EB) increased from 84 MPa to 136 MPa, 3.2 GPa to 4.4 GPa, and 2.94% to 4.13% with the increasing amount of 3FPODA, respectively. Moreover, the active carbonyl group of the 3FPODA could enhance the CPI's adhesive properties. These results render the new dianhydride 3FPODA an ideal candidate monomer for the fabrication of high-performance CPIs.

Protective effects of Salvianolic acid B on rat ferroptosis in myocardial infarction through upregulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Accumulating evidence has highlighted the role of ferroptosis, a novel type of programmed cell death involved in the pathological process of myocardial infarction (MI). However, the underlying mechanism of ferroptosis in mediating MI is complicated that needs to be further investigated. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herb Salvia miltiorrhiza possesses pharmacological function against MI, which provides us with a new direction to explore the effect of Sal B on ferroptosis after myocardial ischemic injury. In the present study, iron accumulation and expression levels of ferroptosis-related proteins in MI rats altered in a time-dependent manner. Importantly, treatment of ferroptosis inhibitors ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) or deferoxamine (DFO) reversed typical changes of ferroptosis, including iron overload, lipid peroxide accumulation, mitochondrial damage, and specific expression levels of ferroptosis-related proteins, thereby alleviating myocardial injury in rats. Similar results were observed in Sal B-treated MI rats in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, NFE2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was strongly activated by the treatment of Sal B. In vivo knockdown of Nrf2 in MI rats enhanced ferroptosis and damaged the protective effect of Sal B on MI. Furthermore, Sal B administration was unable to significantly reverse expression levels of target genes of Nrf2 that were associated with iron homeostasis and oxidative stress (e.g., HO-1, xCT, Gpx4, Fth1, and Fpn1) in MI rats after knockdown of Nrf2. Taken together, Sal B contributed to protecting MI by inhibiting ferroptosis via activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Advanced Dual-Function Hollow Copper-Sulfide-Based Polyimide Composite Window Film Combining Near-Infrared Thermal Shielding and Organic Pollutants' Photodegradation.

Window-film-integrated, near-infrared (NIR) absorption-based nanomaterials are of great interest in terms of numerous demands to reduce energy consumption, especially in buildings and vehicles. However, the question of how to effectively manage thermal energy generated from NIR harvesting in light-absorbing materials, rather than being wasted or causing negative effects, remains challenging. Herein, hollow copper sulfide (Cu2-xS) on colorless polyimide (PI) films, enabling them to be well-dispersed and robustly adhered, underwent in situ growth fabrication and were utilized as NIR-thermal-shielding and organic-pollutant-removal dual-function window films. Due to strong NIR absorbance, arising from the heavy hole-doping (copper cation deficiency), the Cu2-xS/PI composite film exhibited great promise for use in the filtration of the NIR spectrum. By monitoring Cu2-xS densities, its NIR-shielding efficiency reached 69.4%, with hundred-percent UV blocking and consistent performance within the reliability (85 °C/85%RH) tests over one week as well as 5000 bending cycles. The integration of the films into model cars and building windows exhibited excellent thermal-shielding performance upon exposure to direct sunlight. Moreover, benefiting from the distinctive distribution of Cu2-xS, the additional thermal energy (holes) generated in NIR absorption was successfully utilized. The densely surface-confined hollow structure of Cu2-xS on PI significantly endowed good formaldehyde catalytic capacity, with removal efficiency reaching approximately 72% within 60 min and a negligible decline after quartic reuse. These integration methodologies enable the promising fabrication of a high-performance, bifunctional window film combining thermal shielding and indoor organic pollutant removal.

Identifying ecosystem service value and potential loss of wilderness areas in China to support post-2020 global biodiversity conservation.

Preserving wilderness areas is one of the key goals in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework(GBF). However, far too little attention has been paid to identifying wilderness conservation priorities on the national scale. In this study, we developed a methodological framework to evaluate the ecosystem service values, potential loss and conservation priorities of wilderness areas in China, providing guidance for wilderness conservation. First, we assessed the conservation value of wilderness areas and found that wilderness areas provided more ecosystem services than non-wilderness areas per unit area in most ecoregions. Then we identified threatened wilderness areas under multiple scenarios due to land use and land cover change. We found that 5.82 % of the existing wilderness areas were projected to be lost by 2100. Finally, wilderness conservation priorities were identified considering both conservation values and potential loss, and 11.24 % of existing wilderness areas were highlighted as conservation priorities. This methodological framework could be applied to other countries to support post-2020 global biodiversity conservation.

Slurryability and Influencing Mechanism of Hydrophobic Structures in Additive-Coal-Water Ternary System.

This study investigates the effects of additive adsorption onto coal particles on surface properties, hydrophobic groups on the slurryability, and the moisture occurrence form on the performance of coal water slurry (CWS). Mechanisms related to the different hydrophobic structures of the additives are proposed. The adsorption method of sulfonated acetone formaldehyde enhances the adsorption capacity of coal surfaces but is not conducive to slurrying. Sodium lignin sulfonate has hydrophobic ends with nonpolar aromatic groups, three-dimensional macromolecular structures, and complex branched chains, which provide CWS with good stability and slurryability. Naphthalenesulfonate formaldehyde has a double benzene ring structure and provides the thick but nonuniform adsorption layers on coal surfaces. The many amorphous structures and low molecular weights of sodium humic sulfonate lead to nonuniform hydration films and poor slurryability. The results of this paper provide guidance for improving synergism in coal-water-additive systems and enhancing slurry performance.

Predicting ultrasound tongue image from lip images using sequence to sequence learning.

Understanding the dynamic system that produces speech is essential to advancing speech science, and several simultaneous sensory streams can be leveraged to describe the process. As the tongue functional deformation correlates with the lip's shapes of the speaker, this paper aims to explore the association between them. The problem is formulated as a sequence to sequence learning task and a deep neural network is trained using unlabeled lip videos to predict an upcoming ultrasound tongue image sequence. Experimental results show that the machine learning model can predict the tongue's motion with satisfactory performance, which demonstrates that the learned neural network can build the association between two imaging modalities.

Naringenin Ameliorates Renovascular Hypertensive Renal Damage by Normalizing the Balance of Renin-Angiotensin System Components in Rats.

Background: Naringenin, a member of the dihydroflavone family, has been shown to have a protective function in multiple diseases. We previously demonstrated that naringenin played a protective role in hypertensive myocardial hypertrophy by decreasing angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) expression. The kidney is a primary target organ of hypertension. The present study tested the effect of naringenin on renovascular hypertensive kidney damage and explored the underlying mechanism. Methods and Results: An animal model of renovascular hypertension was established by performing 2-kidney, 1-clip (2K1C) surgery in Sprague Dawley rats. Naringenin (200 mg/kg/day) or vehicle was administered for 10 weeks. Blood pressure and urinary protein were continuously monitored. Plasma parameters, renal pathology and gene expression of nonclipped kidneys were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, histology, immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot at the end of the study. Rats that underwent 2K1C surgery exhibited marked elevations of blood pressure and plasma Ang II levels and renal damage, including mesangial expansion, interstitial fibrosis, and arteriolar thickening in the nonclipped kidneys. Naringenin significantly ameliorated hypertensive nephropathy and retarded the rise of Ang II levels in peripheral blood but had no effect on blood pressure. 2K1C rats exhibited increases in the ACE/ACE2 protein ratio and AT1R/AT2R protein ratio in the nonclipped kidney compared with sham rats, and these increases were significantly suppressed by naringenin treatment. Conclusions: Naringenin attenuated renal damage in a rat model of renovascular hypertension by normalizing the imbalance of renin-angiotensin system activation. Our results suggest a potential treatment strategy for hypertensive nephropathy.

Involvement of B cells in the pathophysiology of ß-aminopropionitrile-induced thoracic aortic dissection in mice.

Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is a life-threatening disease that is characterized by an inflammatory response. Innate and cellular immunity has long been known to be involved in TAD, but the role of humoral immunity in the pathophysiology of TAD remains unknown. We administered the lysyl oxidase inhibitor ß-aminopropionitrile (BAPN; 1 g/kg/day) in 3-week-old male C57BL/6J mice for 4 weeks to establish an animal model of TAD. Animals that died were immediately dissected. Animals that survived were sacrificed on days 7, 14, and 28 after BAPN challenge. The incidence and rupture rates of BAPN-induced TAD were 90% (9/10) and 70% (7/10), respectively, at 28 days. Victoria blue-nuclear fast red staining of aortic tissue revealed elastic lamellae destruction and the formation of a false lumen in the BAPN group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining revealed the infiltration of both plasmacytoid mononuclear cells and polymorphonuclear inflammatory cells in TAD tissues. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry indicated that plasma immunoglobin M (IgM) and IgG were elevated at 7, 14, and 28 days, and CD19-positive B cells infiltrated into the adventitia of aortic tissue in BAPN-treated mice. The transcriptional analysis showed an increase in the expression of B cell receptor signaling-associated genes. These results indicate that B cells and immunoglobulins might participate in the pathogenesis of TAD, suggesting that humoral immunity may be a possible therapeutic target for TAD.