Yam Gruel alone and in combination with metformin regulates hepatic lipid metabolism disorders in a diabetic rat model by activating the AMPK/ACC/CPT-1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: As independent and correctable risk factors, disturbances in lipid metabolism are significantly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This research investigated the mechanism underlying the lipid-regulating effects of Yam Gruel in diabetic rats. METHODS: First, rats in the control group were given a normal diet, and a diabetic rat model was established via the consumption of a diet that was rich in both fat and sugar for six weeks followed by the intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). After the model was established, the rats were divided into five distinct groups: the control group, model group, Yam Gruel (SYZ) group, metformin (MET) group, and combined group; each treatment was administered for six weeks. The fasting blood glucose (FBG), body and liver weights as well as liver index of the rats were determined. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), aspartic acid transaminase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels were measured. Oil Red O staining was used to assess hepatic steatosis. In addition, the levels of Phospho-acetyl-CoA carboxylase (p-ACC), acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), Phospho-AMPK (p-AMPK), carnitine palmitoyl transferase I (CPT-1), and Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MLYCD) in liver tissues were measured by real-time PCR (q-PCR) and western blotting. RESULTS: After 6 weeks of treatment, Yam Gruel alone or in combination with metformin significantly reduced FBG level, liver weight and index. The concentrations of lipid indices (TG, TC, NEFA, and LDL-C), the levels of liver function indices (ALT and AST) and the degree of hepatic steatosis was improved in diabetic rats that were treated with Yam Gruel with or without metformin. Furthermore, Yam Gruel increased the protein levels of p-ACC/ACC, p-AMPK/AMPK, MLYCD, and CPT-1, which was consistent with the observed changes in gene expression. Additionally, the combination of these two agents was significantly more effective in upregulating the expression of AMPK pathway-related genes and proteins. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that Yam Gruel may be a potential diet therapy for improving lipid metabolism in T2DM patients and that it may exert its effects via AMPK/ACC/CPT-1 pathway activation. In some respects, the combination of Yam Gruel and metformin exerted more benefits effects than Yam Gruel alone.

Controllable Multimodal Actuation in Fully Printed Ultrathin Micro-Patterned Electrochemical Actuators.

Submillimeter or micrometer scale electrically controlled soft actuators have immense potential in microrobotics, haptics, and biomedical applications. However, the fabrication of miniaturized and micropatterned open-air soft actuators has remained challenging. In this study, we demonstrate the microfabrication of trilayer electrochemical actuators (ECAs) through aerosol jet printing (AJP), a rapid prototyping method with a 10 µm lateral resolution. We make fully printed 1000 × 5000 × 12 µm3 ultrathin ECAs, each of which comprises a Nafion electrolyte layer sandwiched between two poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrode layers. The ECAs actuate due to the electric-field-driven migration of hydrated protons. Due to the thinness that gives rise to a low proton transport length and a low flexural rigidity, the printed ECAs can operate under low voltages (∼0.5 V) and have a relatively fast response (∼seconds). We print all the components of an actuator that consists of two individually controlled submillimeter segments and demonstrate its multimodal actuation. The convenience, versatility, rapidity, and low cost of our microfabrication strategy promise future developments in integrating arrays of intricately patterned individually controlled soft microactuators on compact stretchable electronic circuits.

Pollution Effect of the Agglomeration of Thermal Power and Other Air Pollution-Intensive Industries in China.

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, air pollution is becoming increasingly serious, which greatly impacts the lives and activities of people, and the spatial agglomeration of thermal power and other air pollution-intensive industries (TPAPIs) is an important factor. The purpose of this article is to find the air pollution-intensive industries scientifically, to analyze the effects of pollution from TPAPIs in China, and to provide a basis for the planning and adjustment of TPAPIs. In this study, an air pollution index was adopted to identify TPAPIs, a location quotient was employed to measure the agglomeration of TPAPIs in China, and the global Moran's I index was determined to examine the spatial agglomeration characteristics of these industries and the spatial characteristics of air pollution. On this basis, a spatial panel Durbin model describing atmospheric pollution was constructed. The pollution effects of the agglomeration of TPAPIs were examined in regard to spatial agglomeration and spillover effects. In the study, it was found that the agglomeration of TPAPIs in different regions of China exhibited a significant positive spatial correlation, and spatial dependence becomes increasingly notable. A significant inverted U-shaped relationship was found to exist between the spatial agglomeration of TPAPIs and air pollution, and thus the spatial agglomeration of TPAPIs imposes a significant spatial spillover effect on air pollution. Specific policy suggestions are proposed, such as the formulation of science-based policies targeting TPAPIs, promotion of interregional cooperation, establishment of a regional joint prevention and control mechanism, and effective elimination of the excess capacity of outdated TPAPIs.

High-performance waveguide-coupled lateral Ge/Si avalanche photodetector.

A high-performance waveguide-coupled lateral avalanche photodetector (APD) is experimentally demonstrated without silicon epitaxy and charge layer ion implantation. At the wavelength of 1550 nm, it shows a high responsivity of 48 A/W and a gain-bandwidth product (GBP) of 360 GHz. Wide-open eye diagrams at 25 Gbps can be observed at various avalanche gains. These outstanding performances indicate the proposed APD has great potential in high-speed optical transceivers for optical links.

High-speed and high-power germanium photodetector based on a trapezoidal absorber.

A compact high-power germanium photodetector (Ge PD) is experimentally demonstrated by re-engineering light distribution in the absorber. Compared with a conventional Ge PD, the proposed structure shows a DC saturation photocurrent improved by 28.9% and 3 dB bandwidth as high as 49.5 GHz at 0.1 mA. Under the same photocurrent of 10.5 mA, the proposed Ge PD shows a 3 dB bandwidth of 11.1 GHz, which is almost double the conventional Ge PD (5.6 GHz). The 25 Gb/s eye-diagram measurement verifies the improved power handling capability. The compact size and manufacturing simplicity of this structure will enable new applications for integrated silicon photonics.

Integrative Analysis of Expression Profiles of mRNA and MicroRNA Provides Insights of Cotton Response to Verticillium dahliae.

Cotton Verticillium wilt, caused by the notorious fungal phytopathogen Verticillium dahliae (V. dahliae), is a destructive soil-borne vascular disease and severely decreases cotton yield and quality worldwide. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of genes responsive to V. dahliae are crucial for V. dahliae tolerance in plants. However, the specific microRNAs (miRNAs) and the miRNA/target gene crosstalk involved in cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt remain largely limited. To investigate the roles of regulatory RNAs under V. dahliae induction in upland cotton, mRNA and small RNA libraries were constructed from mocked and infected roots of two upland cotton cultivars with the V. dahliae-sensitive cultivar Jimian 11 (J11) and the V. dahliae-tolerant cultivar Zhongzhimian 2 (Z2). A comparative transcriptome analysis revealed 8330 transcripts were differentially expressed under V. dahliae stress and associated with several specific biological processes. Moreover, small RNA sequencing identified a total of 383 miRNAs, including 330 unique conserved miRNAs and 53 novel miRNAs. Analysis of the regulatory network involved in the response to V. dahliae stress revealed 31 differentially expressed miRNA−mRNA pairs, and the up-regulation of GhmiR395 and down-regulation of GhmiR165 were possibly involved in the response to V. dahliae by regulating sulfur assimilation through the GhmiR395-APS1/3 module and the establishment of the vascular pattern and secondary cell wall formation through GhmiR165-REV module, respectively. The integrative analysis of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles from upland cotton lays the foundation for further investigation of regulatory mechanisms of resistance to Verticillium wilt in cotton and other crops.

Biochemical and Expression Analyses Revealed the Involvement of Proanthocyanidins and/or Their Derivatives in Fiber Pigmentation of Gossypium stocksii.

The wild cotton species Gossypium stocksii produces a brown fiber that provides a valuable resource for the color improvement of naturally colored cotton (NCC) fiber. However, the biochemical basis and molecular mechanism of its fiber pigmentation remain unclear. Herein, we analyzed the dynamics of proanthocyanidins (PAs) accumulation in developing the fiber of G. stocksii, which suggested a similar role of PAs and/or their derivatives in the fiber coloration of G. stocksii. In addition, comparative transcriptomics analyses revealed that the PA biosynthetic genes were expressed at higher levels and for a longer period in developing fibers of G. stocksii than G. arboreum (white fiber), and the transcription factors, such as TT8, possibly played crucial regulatory roles in regulating the PA branch genes. Moreover, we found that the anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) was expressed at a higher level than the leucoanthocyanidin reductases (LARs) and significantly upregulated during fiber elongation, suggesting a major role of ANR in PA synthesis in G. stocksii fiber. In summary, this work revealed the accumulation of PAs and the expression enhancement of PA biosynthetic genes in developing fibers of G. stocksii. We believe this work will help our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cotton fiber coloration and further promote the future breeding of novel NCCs.

Identification and functional analysis of a pollen fertility-associated gene GhGLP4 of Gossypium hirsutum L.

KEY MESSAGE: Cotton male fertility-associated gene GhGLP4, encoding a germin-like protein, is essential for anthers development by keeping ROS homeostasis through reducing H2O2 level. Utilization of heterosis is an important way to increase cotton yield and improve fiber quality in hybrid cotton development programs. Male sterility is used in the development of cotton hybrids to reduce the cost of hybrid seed production by eliminating the process of emasculation. From the transcriptome analysis of genic male sterile mutant (ms1) and its background C312 of G. hirsutum, a gene encoding germin-like protein (GhGLP4) was found significantly down-regulated in different developmental stages of ms1 anthers. To explore the gene function in cotton fertility, GhGLP4 was further studied and interfered by virus-induced gene silencing. In the GhGLP4 interfered cotton lines, the expression level of GhGLP4 was significantly decreased in the stamens, and the down-regulation of GhGLP4 resulted in pollen sac closure, stigma exertion, filament shortening, decrease in the number of anthers and complete male sterility. The expression levels of respiratory burst oxidase homologs (Rboh, NADPH oxidase) were significantly altered. Further investigation showed that the SOD activity decreased while the H2O2 content increased in the atypical stamens. These results indicated that GhGLP4 gene affected the cotton anther development through maintenance of ROS homeostasis by H2O2 reduction.

Using low frequency and intensity ultrasound to enhance start-up and operation performance of Anammox process inoculated with the conventional sludge.

A lab-scale ultrasound enhancing Anammox reactor (R1) was established and irradiated once a week by ultrasound with the optimal parameter (frequency of 25 kHz, intensity of 0.2 W cm-2 and exposure time of 3 min) obtained by batch experiments. R1 and the controlled Anammox reactor (R2) without exposure to the ultrasound were operated in parallel. The start-up period of Anammox process (53 days) in R1 was shorter than that (61 days) in R2. The nitrogen loading-enhancing period (day 53-day 135) in R1 was also shorter than that (day 61-day 151) in R2. At the end of the nitrogen loading-enhancing period, NLR (0.76 kg N m-3 d-1) and NRR (0.68 kg N m-3 d-1) of R1 were both higher than NLR (0.66 kg N m-3 d-1) and NRR (0.56 kg N m-3 d-1) of R2. Moreover, The stability of Anammox process in R1 was better than that in R2. The results demonstrated that the periodical irradiation of ultrasound enhanced the start-up and operational performance of Anammox reactor. Microbial community analysis indicated that the ultrasound accelerated the microbial succession from some other bacteria to Anammox bacteria so that shorten the start-up period of Anammox process from the conventional activated sludge. It also indicated that the ultrasound strengthened the competitive advantage of Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis in Anammox bacteria of the mature sludge so as to enhance the nitrogen removal performance of the Anammox reactor under the operation condition of high nitrogen loading.

Downregulation of MLL3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is required for the growth and metastasis of cancer cells.

The mixed lineage leukemia 3 (MLL3), a member of the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) family, has been reported to be mutated in multiple cancer types. However, its function in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains poorly understood. Here, we found that the expression of MLL3 was downregulated in ESCC tissues. Moreover, over-expression of MLL3 in ESCC cells inhibited cell proliferation and migration, while the knockdown expression of MLL3 promoted the tumorigenicity of ESCC cells. Mechanistically, MLL3 regulated the expression of multiple growth-related and migration-related genes. Taken together, our study suggested that downregulation of MLL3 was very important in the progression of ESCC.