Jagged-1/Notch3 signaling transduction pathway is involved in apelin-13-induced vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation

The apelin/apelin receptor （APJ, apelin-angiotensin receptor-like 1） system is a newly deorphanized G protein- coupled receptor system. Both apelin and APJ that are important regulatory factors are expressed in the cardio- vascular system. Our previous studies demonstrated that apelin-13 significantly stimulated vascular smooth muscle cell （VSMC） proliferation. In this paper, our data sug- gested that the Jagged-l/Notch3 signaling transduction pathway is involved in apelin-13-induced VSMC prolifer- ation by promoting the expression of Cyclin D1. Results indicated that apelin-13 stimulates the proliferation of VSMC and the expression of Jagged-1 and Notch3 in con- centration- and time-dependent manners. The increased expression of Jagged-1 and Notch3 induced by apelin-13 could be abolished by extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase （ERK） blockade. PD98059 （ERK inhibitor） can inhibit the activation of Jagged-I/Notch3 induced by apelin- 13. Down-regulation of Notch3 using small interfering RNA inhibits the expression of Cyclin DI and prevents apelin- 13-induced VSMC proliferation. In conclusion, Jagged-I/ Notch3 signaling transduction pathway is involved in VSMC proliferation induced by apelin-13.     

Trans-Ethnical Shift of the Risk Genotype in the CETP I405V with Longevity: A Chinese Case-Control Study and Meta-Analysis

Background

The I405V polymorphism of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene (CETP) has been suggested to be a protective factor conferring longevity in Ashkenazi Jews, although findings in other races are not supportive. This paper describes a case-control study and a meta-analysis conducted to derive a more precise estimation of the association between CETP 405V and longevity.

Methods

We enrolled 1,021 ethnic Han Chinese participants (506 in the longevity group and 515 controls), then performed a meta-analysis that integrated the current study and previously published ones. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated for allele contrasts, dominant and recessive inheritance models to assess the association between CETP 405V and longevity according to the ethnic stratification.

Results

Our case-control data indicated that CETP 405V is a longevity risk allele in all genetic models (P _additive=0.008; P _dominant=0.008, OR_dominant=0.673; P _recessive=0.017, OR_recessive=0.654) after adjustment for the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele, body mass index and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. A synergy was detected between 405V and APOE ε4 (P=0.001, OR=0.530). Eight studies were eligible for meta-analysis, which confirmed 405V is the risky allele against longevity in all genetic models: allele contrasts (OR=0.81, 95%CI=0.74-0.88), dominant model (OR=0.72, 95%CI=0.64-0.82) and recessive model (OR=0.80, 95%CI=0.67-0.96). After ethnic stratification, 405V remained a risk allele in East Asians but no significant association was found in Europeans or white Americans.

Conclusion

Our case-control study suggests CETP 405V as a risk allele against longevity in Chinese. The meta-analysis suggests the involvement of CETP 405V is protective in Ashkenazi Jews but is a risk allele against longevity in the East Asian (Chinese) population.     

Sclerotial Formation of Polyporus umbellatus by Low Temperature Treatment under Artificial Conditions

Background

Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia have been used as a diuretic agent in China for over two thousand years. A shortage of the natural P. umbellatus has prompted researchers to induce sclerotial formation in the laboratory.

Methodology/Principal Finding

P. umbellatus cultivation in a sawdust-based substrate was investigated to evaluate the effect of low temperature conditions on sclerotial formation. A phenol-sulfuric acid method was employed to determine the polysaccharide content of wild P. umbellatus sclerotia and mycelia and sclerotia grown in low-temperature treatments. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, expressed as the fluorescence intensity of mycelia during sclerotial differentiation was determined. Analysis of ROS generation and sclerotial formation in mycelia after treatment with the antioxidants such as diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI), apocynin (Apo), or vitamin C were studied. Furthermore, macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of sclerotial differentiation were observed. Sclerotia were not induced by continuous cultivation at 25°C. The polysaccharide content of the artificial sclerotia is 78% of that of wild sclerotia. In the low-temperature treatment group, the fluorescent intensity of ROS was higher than that of the room temperature (25°C) group which did not induce sclerotial formation all through the cultivation. The antioxidants DPI and Apo reduced ROS levels and did not induce sclerotial formation. Although the concentration-dependent effects of vitamin C (5–15 mg mL⁻¹) also reduced ROS generation and inhibited sclerotial formation, using a low concentration of vitamin C (1 mg mL⁻¹) successfully induced sclerotial differentiation and increased ROS production.

Conclusions/Significance

Exposure to low temperatures induced P. umbellatus sclerotial morphogenesis during cultivation. Low temperature treatment enhanced ROS in mycelia, which may be important in triggering sclerotial differentiation in P. umbellatus. Moreover, the application of antioxidants impaired ROS generation and inhibited sclerotial formation. Our findings may help to provide new insights into the biological mechanisms underlying sclerotial morphogenesis in P. umbellatus.     

BmPAH Catalyzes the Initial Melanin Biosynthetic Step in Bombyx mori

Pigmentation during insect development is a primal adaptive requirement. In the silkworm, melanin is the primary component of larval pigments. The rate limiting substrate in melanin synthesis is tyrosine, which is converted from phenylalanine by the rate-limiting enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). While the role of tyrosine, derived from phenylalanine, in the synthesis of fiber proteins has long been known, the role of PAH in melanin synthesis is still unknown in silkworm. To define the importance of PAH, we cloned the cDNA sequence of BmPAH and expressed its complete coding sequence using the Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system. Purified recombinant protein had high PAH activity, some tryptophan hydroxylase activity, but no tyrosine hydroxylase activity, which are typical properties of PAH in invertebrates. Because melanin synthesis is most robust during the embryonic stage and larval integument recoloring stage, we injected BmPAH dsRNA into silkworm eggs and observed that decreasing BmPAH mRNA reduced neonatal larval tyrosine and caused insect coloration to fail. In vitro cultures and injection of 4^th instar larval integuments with PAH inhibitor revealed that PAH activity was essential for larval marking coloration. These data show that BmPAH is necessary for melanin synthesis and we propose that conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine by PAH is the first step in the melanin biosynthetic pathway in the silkworm.     

Highly Efficient Materials Assembly Via Electrophoretic Deposition for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Devices

Featuring pronounced controllability, versatility, and scalability, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has been proposed as an efficient method for film assembly and electrode/solid electrolyte fabrication in various energy storage/conversion devices including rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells. High‐quality electrodes and solid electrolytes have been prepared through EPD and exhibit advantageous performances in comparison with those realized with traditional methods. Recent advances in the application of EPD materials in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices are summarized. In particular, the parameters that influence the efficiency of an EPD process from colloidal preparation to deposition are evaluated with the aim to provide insightful guidance for realizing high‐performance electrochemical energy conversion materials and devices.     

Improved production of citric acid by Yarrowia lipolytica using oleic acid as the oxygen‐vector and co‐substrate

Yarrowia lipolytica is able to secrete large amounts of citric acid (CA), which is greatly affected by the dissolved oxygen concentration (DOC) in the fermentation medium. In this study, oleic acid was selected as oxygen‐vector to improve DOC during CA fermentation. When 2% (v/v) of oleic acid was added to the culture broth, higher DOC (>42.1%) was determined throughout the CA synthesis phase. The yield of CA reached a maximum of 32.1 g/L (25.4% higher than the control) and the biomass was 8.8 g/L. The substrate uptake rate, products formation rate and key enzyme activities were also determined, and the results indicated that CA synthesis was strengthened with oleic acid addition. Furthermore, it was detected that oleic acid could be assimilated by the cells, which means that oleic acid could be served both as oxygen‐vector and co‐substrate for CA synthesis by Y. lipolytica. In a bioreactor with working volume of 3 L, the highest concentration of CA reached to 36. 4 g/L in the presence of 2% (v/v) oleic acid after 192 h of fermentation. These results confirmed that oleic acid could be applied in the large‐scale production of CA by Y. lipolytica.     

Saliency computation via whitened frequency band selection

Many saliency computational models have been proposed to simulate bottom-up visual attention mechanism of human visual system. However, most of them only deal with certain kinds of images or aim at specific applications. In fact, human beings have the ability to correctly select attentive focuses of objects with arbitrary sizes within any scenes. This paper proposes a new bottom-up computational model from the perspective of frequency domain based on the biological discovery of non-Classical Receptive Field (nCRF) in the retina. A saliency map can be obtained according to the idea of Extended Classical Receptive Field. The model is composed of three major steps: firstly decompose the input image into several feature maps representing different frequency bands that cover the whole frequency domain by utilizing Gabor wavelet. Secondly, whiten the feature maps to highlight the embedded saliency information. Thirdly, select some optimal maps, simulating the response of receptive field especially nCRF, to generate the saliency map. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is able to work with stable effect and outstanding performance in a variety of situations as human beings do and is adaptive to both psychological patterns and natural images. Beyond that, biological plausibility of nCRF and Gabor wavelet transform make this approach reliable.     

Plant functional diversity enhances associations of soil fungal diversity with vegetation and soil in the restoration of semiarid sandy grassland

The trait‐based approach shows that plant functional diversity strongly affects ecosystem properties. However, few empirical studies show the relationship between soil fungal diversity and plant functional diversity in natural ecosystems. We investigated soil fungal diversity along a restoration gradient of sandy grassland (mobile dune, semifixed dune, fixed dune, and grassland) in Horqin Sand Land, northern China, using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 18S rRNA and gene sequencing. We also examined associations of soil fungal diversity with plant functional diversity reflected by the dominant species' traits in community (community‐weighted mean, CWM) and the dispersion of functional trait values (FD_is). We further used the structure equation model (SEM) to evaluate how plant richness, biomass, functional diversity, and soil properties affect soil fungal diversity in sandy grassland restoration. Soil fungal richness in mobile dune and semifixed dune was markedly lower than those of fixed dune and grassland (P < 0.05). Soil fungal richness was positively associated with plant richness, biomass, CWM plant height, and soil gradient aggregated from the principal component analysis, but SEM results showed that plant richness and CWM plant height determined by soil properties were the main factors exerting direct effects. Soil gradient increased fungal richness through indirect effect on vegetation rather than direct effect. The negative indirect effect of FDis on soil fungal richness was through its effect on plant biomass. Our final SEM model based on plant functional diversity explained nearly 70% variances of soil fungal richness. Strong association of soil fungal richness with the dominant species in the community supported the mass ratio hypothesis. Our results clearly highlight the role of plant functional diversity in enhancing associations of soil fungal diversity with community structure and soil properties in sandy grassland ecosystems.     

Mid- to Long-Term Outcomes of Cervical Disc Arthroplasty versus Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion for Treatment of Symptomatic Cervical Disc Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Eight Prospective Randomized Controlled Trials

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the mid- to long-term outcomes of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the treatment of 1-level or 2-level symptomatic cervical disc disease.

Methods

Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched to identify relevant randomized controlled trials that reported mid- to long-term outcomes (at least 48 months) of CDA versus ACDF. All data were analyzed by Review Manager 5.3 software. The relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for dichotomous variables. The weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95%CIs were calculated for continuous variables. A random effect model was used for heterogeneous data; otherwise, a fixed effect model was used.

Results

Eight prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were retrieved in this meta-analysis, including 1317 and 1051 patients in CDA and ACDF groups, respectively. Patients after an ACDF had a significantly lower rate of follow-up than that after CDA. Pooled analysis showed patients in CDA group achieved significantly higher rates of overall success, Neck Disability Index (NDI) success, neurological success and significantly lower rates of implant/surgery-related serious adverse events and secondary procedure compared with that in ACDF group. The long-term functional outcomes (NDI, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) neck and arm pain scores, the Short Form 36 Health Survey physical component score (SF-36 PCS)), patient satisfaction and recommendation, and the incidence of superior adjacent segment degeneration also favored patients in CDA group with statistical difference. Regarding inferior adjacent segment degeneration, patients in CDA group had a lower rate without statistical significance.

Conclusions

This meta-analysis showed that cervical disc arthroplasty was superior over anterior discectomy and fusion for the treatment of symptomatic cervical disc disease in terms of overall success, NDI success, neurological success, implant/surgery-related serious adverse events, secondary procedure, functional outcomes, patient satisfaction and recommendation, and superior adjacent segment degeneration.