Supplemental Silicon and Boron Alleviates Aluminum-Induced Oxidative Damage in Soybean Roots.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity in acidic soils is a major abiotic stress that negatively impacts plant growth and development. The toxic effects of Al manifest primarily in the root system, leading to inhibited root elongation and functionality, which impairs the above-ground organs of the plant. Recent research has greatly improved our understanding of the applications of small molecule compounds in alleviating Al toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the role of boron (B), silicon (Si), and their combination in alleviating Al toxicity in soybeans. The results revealed that the combined application significantly improved the biomass and length of soybean roots exposed to Al toxicity compared to B and Si treatments alone. Our results also indicated that Al toxicity causes programmed cell death (PCD) in soybean roots, while B, Si, and their combination all alleviated the PCD induced by Al toxicity. The oxidative damage induced by Al toxicity was noticeably alleviated, as evidenced by lower MAD and H2O2 accumulation in the soybean roots treated with the B and Si combination. Moreover, B, Si, and combined B and Si significantly enhanced plant antioxidant systems by up-regulating antioxidant enzymes including CAT, POD, APX, and SOD. Overall, supplementation with B, Si, and their combination was found to alleviate oxidative damage and reduce PCD caused by Al toxicity, which may be one of the mechanisms by which they alleviate root growth inhibition due to Al toxicity. Our results suggest that supplementation with B, Si, and their combination may be an effective strategy to improve soybean growth and productivity against Al toxicity.

Distribution, seasonal variation and ecological risk assessment of phthalates in the Yitong River, a typical urban watercourse located in Northeast China.

Phthalates (PAEs) are a typical class of endocrine disruptors (EEDs). As one of the most commonly used plasticizers, they have received widespread attention due to their wide application in various countries and high detection rates in various environmental media. To be able to clarify the contamination status of PAEs pollutants in a typical northern cold-temperate urban river, 30 water samples from Yitong River in Changchun City, northern China were collected, during the 2023 dry season (March), normal season (May) and wet season (July). Using these samples, a total of 16 target PAEs are investigated. The resulting total PAEs concentrations are: dry season 408 to 1494 ng/L, wet season 491 to 1299 ng/L, and normal season 341 to 780 ng/L. The average concentration of the 16 PAEs over the three seasons is 773 ng/L. Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) have the highest concentrations, ranging from 12 to 403 ng/L and 28-680 ng/L respectively. The ecological risks within the Yitong River Basin are evaluated based on the degree of PAEs contamination. DBP and DEHP pose higher risk assessment levels for algae, crustaceans and fish than the other target PAEs. The accurate determination of PAEs provided baseline data on PAEs for the management of the Yitong River, which is of great significance for the prediction of ecological risk assessment and the development of corresponding control measures, supported further research on PAEs in the cold-temperate zone aquatic environments, and shed light on the seasonal variations of PAEs in the Northeast region in the future. Moreover, considering the bioaccumulation and persistence of PAEs, it is necessary to continue to pay attention to the pollution status of cold-temperate zones rivers and the changes in ecological risks in the future.

Emerging Chemistry for Wide-Temperature Sodium-Ion Batteries.

The shortage of resources such as lithium and cobalt has promoted the development of novel battery systems with low cost, abundance, high performance, and efficient environmental adaptability. Due to the abundance and low cost of sodium, sodium-ion battery chemistry has drawn worldwide attention in energy storage systems. It is widely considered that wide-temperature tolerance sodium-ion batteries (WT-SIBs) can be rapidly developed due to their unique electrochemical and chemical properties. However, WT-SIBs, especially for their electrode materials and electrolyte systems, still face various challenges in harsh-temperature conditions. In this review, we focus on the achievements, failure mechanisms, fundamental chemistry, and scientific challenges of WT-SIBs. The insights of their design principles, current research, and safety issues are presented. Moreover, the possible future research directions on the battery materials for WT-SIBs are deeply discussed. Progress toward a comprehensive understanding of the emerging chemistry for WT-SIBs comprehensively discussed in this review will accelerate the practical applications of wide-temperature tolerance rechargeable batteries.

The Role of Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers in the Management of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: An Updated Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

INTRODUCTION: The use of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) in the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remains a subject of controversy. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Web of Science databases until October 2023 to identify articles investigating the effects of ARBs in patients diagnosed with HCM. Predefined criteria were utilized for selecting data on study characteristics and results. RESULTS: The study included a total of 387 patients from 6 randomized controlled trials, which were reported in 7 articles. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that the utilization of ARBs did not yield a reduction in left ventricular (LV) mass (p = 0.07) and maximum LV wall thickness (p = 0.25), nor did it demonstrate any improvement in LV fibrosis (p = 0.39). Furthermore, there was no significant impact observed on early diastolic mitral annular velocity (p = 0.19) and LV ejection fraction (p = 0.44). CONCLUSIONS: The administration of ARBs does not appear to yield improvements in cardiac structure, function, and myocardial fibrosis in patients with HCM.

A comprehensive review on botany, chemical composition and the impacts of heat processing and dehydration on the aroma formation of fresh carrot.

Carrots as a representative type of delicious and healthy vegetables has become increasingly popular due to its unique flavors and nutritional value. Vast amount of research has been completed on chemical composition and aroma profile of fresh carrot. However, the knowledge of fresh carrot is only scattered. Therefore, a more comprehensive review to fresh carrot is requisite to be reported. This review first describes the botany of carrots; then, the chemical ingredients and their various functions are discussed. The volatile constituents and the effects of terpenoids on aroma profiles of fresh carrot are also discussed. Finally, sources of variation in the formation and development of carrot aroma through heat processing and dehydration are analyzed. This information will further help researchers to solve the problem of insufficient aroma of carrot products and standardize for each type of carrot through improving the production process.

Effect of salinity on denitrification, membrane fouling and bacterial community in a fixed-bed biofilm membrane reactor.

In this study, a fixed-bed biofilm membrane bioreactor was used to assess denitrification and carbon removal performance, membrane fouling, composition, and the dynamics of microbial communities across 10 salinity levels. As salinity levels increased (from 0 to 30 g/L), the removal efficiency of total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand decreased from 98 and 86% in Phase I to 25 and 45% in Phase X, respectively. Beyond a salinity level of 10 g/L, membrane fouling accelerated considerably. The analysis of fouling resistance distribution suggested that soluble microbial products (SMPs) were the primary cause of this phenomenon. The irregularity in microbial community succession reflected the varying adaptability of different bacteria to different salinity levels. The relative abundance of Sulfuritalea, Lentimircobium, Thauera, and Pseudomonas increased from 20.2 to 47.7% as the experiments progressed. Extracellular polymeric substances-related analysis suggested that Azospirillum plays a positive role in preserving the structural integrity of the biofilm carrier. The SMP-related analysis showed a positive correlation between Lentimircobium, Thauera, Pseudomonas, and the SMP content. These results suggested that these three bacterial genera significantly promoted the release of SMP under salt stress, which in turn led to severe membrane fouling.

The effect of ß-cell dysfunction on reproductive outcomes of PCOS undergoing IVF or ICSI embryo transfer cycles: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of ß-cell dysfunction on IVF outcomes in women with PCOS. Methods: This retrospective cohort study includes 1,212 women with PCOS undergoing their first IVF cycle between September 2010 and December 2019. Beta-cell dysfunction was measured by homeostasis model assessment of ß-cell function (HOMA-ß) index. Results: In quartiles of HOMA-ß, the incidence of miscarriage dramatically increased from 10.2% (Q1) to 31.1% (Q4) (P for trend <0.001). Likewise, the incidence of miscarriage in quartiles of HOMA-ß also showed a similar trend (P for trend <0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, logistic regression analyses showed that high HOMA-IR values were independently associated with a high risk of miscarriage, with the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals for quartiles 2-4 versus quartile 1 were 1.30 (0.69-2.46), 1.82 (0.97-3.43), and 3.57 (1.86-6.85), respectively (P for trend <0.001). When analyzed jointly, women in the highest HOMA-IR and highest HOMA-ß group exhibited the highest risk for miscarriage compared with all other groups. Furthermore, higher HOMA-IR values were associated with higher risks of miscarriage among PCOS women regardless of HOMA-ß values. Conclusions: ß-cell dysfunction is independently associated with increased miscarriage rate and decreased live birth rate in women with PCOS. It also plays a synergistic role with IR in terms of the reproductive outcomes, while the influence of IR overweighs that of ß-cell dysfunction.

GLP-1(7-36) protected against oxidative damage and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampal CA region after traumatic brain injury by regulating ERK5/CREB.

BACKGROUND: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) (7-36) amide, an endogenous active form of GLP-1, has been shown to modulate oxidative stress and neuronal cell survival in various neurological diseases. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the potential effects of GLP-1(7-36) on oxidative stress and apoptosis in neuronal cells following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and explored the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) models were established in male SD rats for in vivo experiments. The extent of cerebral oedema was assessed using wet-to-dry weight ratios following GLP-1(7-36) intervention. Neurological dysfunction and cognitive impairment were evaluated through behavioural experiments. Histopathological changes in the brain were observed using haematoxylin and eosin staining. Oxidative stress levels in hippocampal tissues were measured. TUNEL staining and Western blotting were employed to examine cell apoptosis. In vitro experiments evaluated the extent of oxidative stress and neural apoptosis following ERK5 phosphorylation activation. Immunofluorescence colocalization of p-ERK5 and NeuN was analysed using immunofluorescence cytochemistry. RESULTS: Rats with TBI exhibited neurological deterioration, increased oxidative stress, and enhanced apoptosis, which were ameliorated by GLP-1(7-36) treatment. Notably, GLP-1(7-36) induced ERK5 phosphorylation in TBI rats. However, upon ERK5 inhibition, oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis levels were elevated, even in the presence of GLP-1(7-36). CONCLUSION: In summary, this study suggested that GLP-1(7-36) suppressed oxidative damage and neuronal apoptosis after TBI by activating ERK5/CREB.

Potential effects of specific gut microbiota on periodontal disease: a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

Introduction: Periodontal disease (PD) presents a substantial global health challenge, encompassing conditions from reversible gingivitis to irreversible periodontitis, often culminating in tooth loss. The gut-oral axis has recently emerged as a focal point, with potential gut microbiota dysbiosis exacerbating PD. Methods: In this study, we employed a double-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomized (MR) approach to investigate the causal relationship between specific gut microbiota and periodontal disease (PD) and bleeding gum (BG) development, while exploring the interplay between periodontal health and the gut microenvironment. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with two cohorts, totalling 346,731 (PD and control) and 461,113 (BG and control) participants, along with data from 14,306 participants' intestinal flora GWAS, encompassing 148 traits (31 families and 117 genera). Three MR methods were used to assess causality, with the in-verse-variance-weighted (IVW) measure as the primary outcome. Cochrane's Q test, MR-Egger, and MR-PRESSO global tests were used to detect heterogeneity and pleiotropy. The leave-one-out method was used to test the stability of the MR results. An F-statistic greater than 10 was accepted for instrument exposure association. Results and conclusion: Specifically, Eubacterium xylanophilum and Lachnoclostridium were associated with reduced gum bleeding risk, whereas Anaerotruncus, Eisenbergiella, and Phascolarctobacterium were linked to reduced PD risk. Conversely, Fusicatenibacter was associated with an elevated risk of PD. No significant heterogeneity or pleiotropy was detected. In conclusion, our MR analysis pinpointed specific gut flora with causal connections to PD, offering potential avenues for oral health interventions.

Dual-controlled guest release from coordination cages.

Despite having significant applications in the construction of controlled delivery systems with high anti-interference capability, to our knowledge dual-controlled molecular release has not yet been achieved based on small molecular/supramolecular entities. Herein, we report a dual-controlled release system based on coordination cages, for which releasing the guest from the cage demands synchronously altering the coordinative metal cations and the solvent. The cages, Hg5L2 and Ag5L2, are constructed via coordination-driven self-assembly of a corannulene-based ligand. While Hg5L2 shows a solvent-independent guest encapsulation in all the studied solvents, Ag5L2 is able to encapsulate the guests in only some of the solvents, such as acetone-d6, but will liberate the encapsulated guests in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane-d2. Hg5L2 and Ag5L2 are interconvertible. Thus, the release of guests from Hg5L2 in acetone-d6 can be achieved, but requires two separate operations, including metal substitutions and a change of the solvent. Dual-controlled systems as such could be useful in complicated molecular release process to avoid those undesired stimulus-responses.

Application of Cut-and-Sew Technique in Thoracoscopic Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery and Concomitant Maze Procedure

ABSTRACT Introduction: Atrial fibrillation is one of the common complications of mitral valve disease. Currently, in the absence of freezing equipment, it's still impossible to fully conduct a minimally invasive Cox-maze IV procedure to treat atrial fibrillation. Methods: We analyzed the clinical data of 28 patients who underwent thoracoscopic minimally invasive mitral valve full maze surgery in our hospital from October 2021 to September 2022; 13 patients were male and 15 were female, three suffered from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and 25 suffered from permanent atrial fibrillation; average age was 61.88±8.30 years, and mean preoperative left atrial diameter was 47.12±8.34 mm. Isolation of left atrial posterior wall (box lesion) was completed in all patients by cut-and-sew technique and bipolar clamp ablation. Results: For these subjects, the median cardiopulmonary bypass time was 169 (109.75-202.75) minutes, aortic cross-clamping time was 106 (77.75-125.50) minutes, and ventilator assistance time was 6.5 (0-10) hours. Among them, eight subjects had the endotracheal tubes removed immediately after surgical operation. Three subjects were in the blanking period; two subjects still had atrial fibrillation at three months after operation, one of whom resumed sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion therapy; and all the remaining 23 subjects had sinus rhythm. Conclusion: The minimally invasive cut-and-sew technique for electrical isolation of left pulmonary veins can improve sinus conversion rate of patients suffering from both mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation. In selected subjects, it is safe and has good results in the short-term postoperative period.

Physiological and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals That Melatonin Alleviates Aluminum Toxicity in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the most common factor limiting the growth of alfalfa in acidic soil conditions. Melatonin (MT), a significant pleiotropic molecule present in both plants and animals, has shown promise in mitigating Al toxicity in various plant species. This study aims to elucidate the underlying mechanism by which melatonin alleviates Al toxicity in alfalfa through a combined physiological and transcriptomic analysis. The results reveal that the addition of 5 µM melatonin significantly increased alfalfa root length by 48% and fresh weight by 45.4% compared to aluminum treatment alone. Moreover, the 5 µM melatonin application partially restored the enlarged and irregular cell shape induced by aluminum treatment, resulting in a relatively compact arrangement of alfalfa root cells. Moreover, MT application reduces Al accumulation in alfalfa roots and shoots by 28.6% and 27.6%, respectively. Additionally, MT plays a crucial role in scavenging Al-induced excess H2O2 by enhancing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), consequently reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. More interestingly, the RNA-seq results reveal that MT application significantly upregulates the expression of xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) and carbon metabolism-related genes, including those involved in the glycolysis process, as well as sucrose and starch metabolism, suggesting that MT application may mitigate Al toxicity by facilitating the binding of Al to the cell walls, thereby reducing intracellular Al accumulation, and improving respiration and the content of sucrose and trehalose. Taken together, our study demonstrates that MT alleviates Al toxicity in alfalfa by reducing Al accumulation and restoring redox homeostasis. These RNA-seq results suggest that the alleviation of Al toxicity by MT may occur through its influence on cell wall composition and carbon metabolism. This research advances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying MT's effectiveness in mitigating Al toxicity, providing a clear direction for our future investigations into the underlying mechanisms by which MT alleviates Al toxicity in alfalfa.

Effects of cooking methods on aroma formation in pork: A comprehensive review.

Pork is widely consumed and appreciated by consumers across the world, and there are various methods of cooking pork. This study aimed to summarize the effects of different heat transfer media on pork flavor and the sources of flavor compounds. The cooking methods are classified based on the heat transfer media used, which include water and steam (e.g. steaming, boiling, and stewing), heat source or hot air (e.g. baking and smoking), oil (e.g. pan-frying, stir-frying, and deep frying), and other cooking technologies. The objective is to provide a reference for researchers studying pork cooking methods and flavor components.

Application of Cut-and-Sew Technique in Thoracoscopic Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery and Concomitant Maze Procedure.

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation is one of the common complications of mitral valve disease. Currently, in the absence of freezing equipment, it's still impossible to fully conduct a minimally invasive Cox-maze IV procedure to treat atrial fibrillation. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical data of 28 patients who underwent thoracoscopic minimally invasive mitral valve full maze surgery in our hospital from October 2021 to September 2022; 13 patients were male and 15 were female, three suffered from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and 25 suffered from permanent atrial fibrillation; average age was 61.88±8.30 years, and mean preoperative left atrial diameter was 47.12±8.34 mm. Isolation of left atrial posterior wall (box lesion) was completed in all patients by cut-and-sew technique and bipolar clamp ablation. RESULTS: For these subjects, the median cardiopulmonary bypass time was 169 (109.75-202.75) minutes, aortic cross-clamping time was 106 (77.75-125.50) minutes, and ventilator assistance time was 6.5 (0-10) hours. Among them, eight subjects had the endotracheal tubes removed immediately after surgical operation. Three subjects were in the blanking period; two subjects still had atrial fibrillation at three months after operation, one of whom resumed sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion therapy; and all the remaining 23 subjects had sinus rhythm. CONCLUSION: The minimally invasive cut-and-sew technique for electrical isolation of left pulmonary veins can improve sinus conversion rate of patients suffering from both mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation. In selected subjects, it is safe and has good results in the short-term postoperative period.

Opioid-free anesthesia reduces the severity of acute postoperative motion-induced pain and patient-controlled epidural analgesia-related adverse events in lung surgery: randomized clinical trial.

Background: Opioids have been used as pain relievers for thousands of years. However, they may also cause undesirable side effects. We therefore performed this study to compare the effect of opioid-free anesthesia (OFA) versus opioid-sparing anesthesia (OSA) on postoperative pain and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA)-related events. Methods: This is a single center randomized clinical trial that was recruited patients aged from 18 to 70 years who received video-assisted lung surgery between October 2021 and February 2022. Participants were 1:1 randomly assigned to OFA or OSA. Patients in the OFA group received propofol, rocuronium, esmolol, lidocaine, and magnesium sulfate intravenously with epidural ropivacaine. Patients in the OSA group received propofol, rocuronium, remifentanil, and sufentanil intravenously with epidural hydromorphone and ropivacaine. Results: A total number of 124 patients were randomly allocated to the OFA or OSA group. In the OFA group, the severity of pain during coughs on the first postoperative days (PODs; VAS score 1.88 ± 0.88 vs. 2.16 ± 1.1, p = 0.044) was significantly lower than that in the OSA group. The total ratio of PCEA-related adverse events in the OFA group [11 (19.6%) vs. 26 (47.3%), p = 0.003] was significantly lower than in the OSA group. Conclusion: OFA in patients who received video-assisted lung surgery led to lower severity of acute postoperative motion-induced pain and fewer PCEA-related adverse events on the first POD than in the patients in the OSA group. Clinical trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov, identifier (NCT05063396).

Estimation of forest canopy closure in northwest Yunnan based on multi-source remote sensing data colla-boration.

Forest canopy closure (FCC) is an important parameter to evaluate forest resources and biodiversity. Using multi-source remote sensing collaborative means to achieve regional forest canopy closure inversion with low cost and high-precision is a research hotspot. Taking ICESat-2/ATLAS data as the main information source and combined with data of 54 measured plots, we estimated FCC value by the Bayesian optimization (BO) algorithm improved random forest (RF), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT) model at footprint-scale. Combined with multi-source remote sensing image Sentinel-1/2 and terrain factors, we estimated the regional-scale FCC value of Shangri-La in the northwest Yunnan based on deep neural network (DNN) optimized by BO algorithm. The results showed that six characteristic parameters (percentage of tree canopy, standard deviation of relative height of photons at the top of the canopy, minimum canopy height, difference between 98% canopy height and median canopy height in the segment, number of top canopy photons, apparent surface reflectance) out of the 50 parameters that were extracted from ATLAS lidar footprint had higher contribution rate after RF characteristic variable optimization, which could be used as model variable for footprint-scale remote sensing estimation. Among BO-RF, BO-KNN, and BO-GBRT models, the FCC results estimated by the BO-GBRT model were the best at footprint-scale. The coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.65, the root mean square error (RMSE) was 0.10, the mean absolute residual (RS) was 0.079, and the prediction accuracy (P) was 0.792 for leave-one-out cross validation. It could be used as the FCC estimation model of 74808 ATLAS footprints for forest in the study area. We used the ATLAS footprint-scale FCC value of forest as the large sample data of the regional-scale BO-DNN model and combined with multi-source remote sensing factors to estimate FCC in the study area, the accuracy of the 10-fold cross-validation BO-DNN model was R2=0.47, RMSE=0.22, P=0.558. The mean values of FCC in the study area estimated by BO-DNN model and ordinary Kriging (OK) interpolation were 0.46 and 0.52, respectively, and the values mainly distributed in 0.3-0.6, accounting for 77.8% and 81.4%, respectively. The FCC efficiency obtained directly by the OK interpolation method was higher (R2=0.26), but the prediction accuracy was significantly lower than the BO-DNN model (R2=0.49). The FCC high value was distributed from northwest to southeast in the study area, and the northern and southeastern regions were the main distribution areas of high and low FCC values, respectively. It had certain advantages to estimate mountain area FCC based on ICESat-2/ATLAS high-density footprint, and the estimation results of small sample data at footprint-scale could be used as large sample data of deep learning model at region-scale, which would provide a reference for the low-cost and high-precision to FCC estimation on the footprint-scale up to the extrapolated regional-scale.

Neurosyphilis Mimicking Connective Tissue Disease.

A male in his 60s developed a pruritic, maculopapular rash on his torso and arms, sparing his palms and soles. He tested positive for ANA and an initial skin biopsy identified "bullous lupus," supporting the diagnosis of a connective tissue disease. Additional symptoms included headaches, facial nerve palsy and hearing loss, which partially responded to oral corticosteroids. He subsequently developed a steroid-dependent left eye scotoma, neuroretinitis and optic nerve papillitis. Mycophenolate mofetil was added but an attempted oral steroid taper led to a worsening rash, progressive retinitis and papillitis. Neurosyphilis was confirmed by serum positive rapid plasma reagin test, reactive treponema pallidum antibodies, positive cerebrospinal fluid venereal disease research laboratory and positive spirochete immunostain of skin biopsy of lesional (rash) tissue. Treatment with intravenous ceftriaxone resolved his rash and visual symptoms. It is important to consider syphilis as a mimicker of connective tissue diseases.

Knockdown of long non-coding RNA LINC00941 suppressed cell proliferation, colony-formation, and migration of human glioblastoma cell lines.

INTRODUCTION: Glioblastoma (GBM) represents the most common and lethal type of primary brain tumour in adults, and due to its high invasiveness, treatment of GBM remains challenging. This work is aimed to elucidate the role of LINC00941 in GBM. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Expression of LINC00941 in two GBM cell lines U251 and U87-MG was knocked down using siRNA. Cell proliferation and colony-formation ability of LINC00941 knockdown were examined. Apoptosis of the knockdown was evaluated using flow cytometry, with the levels of Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, and phosphorylation of ERK and Akt to be examined using western blotting. Migration and invasion of the knockdown was studied using transwell assays. RESULTS: Expression of LINC00941 was significantly elevated in GBM compared to non-tumour tissues ( p < 0.01). Statistical analysis on the expression data further revealed the negative correlation between LINC00941 and miR-526b-5p ( r = 0.7494, p < 0.001). LINC00941 was successfully knocked down with RNA interference in U251 and U87-MG. The knockdown significantly suppressed cell proliferation and the ability to form colonies. Percentage of apoptotic cells was elevated by the knockdown in both cell lines as evidenced by flow cytometric analysis, which was accompanied by a significant decrease in Bcl-2 and substantial increases in Bax and cleaved caspase-3. Phosphorylation of ERK and Akt was also enhanced in both cell lines by the knockdown. In addition, knockdown of LINC00941 suppressed migration of both cell lines across transwell membrane and matrigel. CONCLUSIONS: LINC00941 is overexpressed in GBM, exhibiting important roles in cell proliferation and survival, migration and invasion.

Effects of targeted lung cancer drugs on cardiomyocytes studied by atomic force microscopy.

The epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKIs) has become one of the important targeted drugs for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). But the cardiac adverse events (AEs) related to the EGFR-TKI treatment occur frequently. And the cases of TKI-associated cardiac AEs remain poorly understood. In order to study the effects of EGFR-TKIs on cardiomyocytes, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure and analyze the physical properties of cardiomyocytes under the actions of three drugs (gefitinib, afatinib and osimertinib) with different concentrations. By comparing the height, adhesion, Young's modulus, the amplitude and the time of the contraction and relaxation process, it was found that the changes of the mechanical properties of cells were well correlated with the symptoms of AEs, such as cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, QT prolongation, atrial fibrillation, ejection fraction reductions, and cardiac failure. In addition, osimertinib has the most obvious effect on cardiomyocytes at a low concentration, and gefitinib has the greatest effect with the increase of concentration, while afatinib has the least effect on cardiomyocytes. This provides a new method for screening drugs and exploring the principle of action in the process of cancer treatment at the cellular level.

The Role of Light Quality in Regulating Early Seedling Development.

It is well-established that plants are sessile and photoautotrophic organisms that rely on light throughout their entire life cycle. Light quality (spectral composition) is especially important as it provides energy for photosynthesis and influences signaling pathways that regulate plant development in the complex process of photomorphogenesis. During previous years, significant progress has been made in light quality's physiological and biochemical effects on crops. However, understanding how light quality modulates plant growth and development remains a complex challenge. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of light quality in regulating the early development of plants, encompassing processes such as seed germination, seedling de-etiolation, and seedling establishment. These insights can be harnessed to improve production planning and crop quality by producing high-quality seedlings in plant factories and improving the theoretical framework for modern agriculture.