THE INFLUENCE OF WATER STRESS ON STEM AND LEAF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN GLYCINE MAX AND SPARTEUM JUNCEUM (LEGUMINOSAE)

Stem and leaf photosynthesis were measured in Glycine max var. essex (soybean) and Sparteum junceum (Spanish broom). The significance of stem photosynthesis to whole plant growth was evaluated by blocking stem photosynthesis with black straw sections. The growth of S. junceum was reduced by 18% when black straws were used in comparison to clear straws. The whole plant growth of G. max was not influenced by blocking the stem carbon contribution. Mean midday leaf photosynthesis was 12 μmol CO₂ m^–2 s^–1 and 17 μmol CO₂ m^–2 s^–1 for G. max and 5. junceum, respectively. Mean midday stem photosynthesis of S. junceum was 6.5 μmol CO₂ m^–2 s^–1; however, positive net photosynthesis did not occur in G. max stems. Water stress caused a proportionally greater decrease in leaf photosynthesis compared to that of stems during diurnal cycles of photosynthesis in S. junceum. As a result the contribution to canopy carbon gain by stem photosynthesis increased from 38% to 48% of the total plant carbon gain under reduced water availability.     

Circ_0008542 in osteoblast exosomes promotes osteoclast-induced bone resorption through m6A methylation

With an increasing aging society, China is the world’s fastest growing markets for oral implants. Compared with traditional oral implants, immediate implants cause marginal bone resorption and increase the failure rate of osseointegration, but the mechanism is still unknown. Therefore, it is important to further study mechanisms of tension stimulus on osteoblasts and osteoclasts at the early stage of osseointegration to promote rapid osseointegration around oral implants. The results showed that exosomes containing circ_0008542 from MC3T3-E1 cells with prolonged tensile stimulation promoted osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. Circ_0008542 upregulated Tnfrsf11a (RANK) gene expression by acting as a miR-185-5p sponge. Meanwhile, the circ_0008542 1916-1992 bp segment exhibited increased m6A methylation levels. Inhibiting the RNA methyltransferase METTL3 or overexpressing the RNA demethylase ALKBH5 reversed osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption induced by circ_0008542. Injection of circ_0008542 + ALKBH5 into the tail vein of mice reversed the same effects in vivo. Site-directed mutagenesis study demonstrated that 1956 bp on circ_0008542 is the m6A functional site with the abovementioned biological functions. In conclusion, the RNA methylase METTL3 acts on the m6A functional site of 1956 bp in circ_0008542, promoting competitive binding of miRNA-185-5p by circ_0008542, and leading to an increase in the target gene RANK and the initiation of osteoclast bone absorption. In contrast, the RNA demethylase ALKBH5 inhibits the binding of circ_0008542 with miRNA-185-5p to correct the bone resorption process. The potential value of this study provides methods to enhance the resistance of immediate implants through use of exosomes releasing ALKBH5.Subject terms: Epigenetics, Predictive markers     

Statures in Han populations of China

<正>Dear Editor,Shortly after initiating the"Physical Anthropological Research on Han Chinese"research project,we applied uniform sampling methods as well as methods and instruments of measurement to obtain a complete set of measurements of physical anthropological indicators among Han populations across China.Among these measurements,body stature was a key indicator.Currently,there should be reliable     

Pressure Cycling Technology Assisted Mass Spectrometric Quantification of Gingival Tissue Reveals Proteome Dynamics during the Initiation and Progression of Inflammatory Periodontal Disease

Understanding the progression of periodontal tissue destruction is at the forefront of periodontal research. The authors aimed to capture the dynamics of gingival tissue proteome during the initiation and progression of experimental (ligature‐induced) periodontitis in mice. Pressure cycling technology (PCT), a recently developed platform that uses ultra‐high pressure to disrupt tissues, is utilized to achieve efficient and reproducible protein extraction from ultra‐small amounts of gingival tissues in combination with liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (MS). The MS data are processed using Progenesis QI and the regulated proteins are subjected to METACORE, STRING, and WebGestalt for functional enrichment analysis. A total of 1614 proteins with ≥2 peptides are quantified with an estimated protein false discovery rate of 0.06%. Unsupervised clustering analysis shows that the gingival tissue protein abundance is mainly dependent on the periodontitis progression stage. Gene ontology enrichment analysis reveals an overrepresentation in innate immune regulation (e.g., neutrophil‐mediated immunity and antimicrobial peptides), signal transduction (e.g., integrin signaling), and homeostasis processes (e.g., platelet activation and aggregation). In conclusion, a PCT‐assisted label‐free quantitative proteomics workflow that allowed cataloging the deepest gingival tissue proteome on a rapid timescale and provided novel mechanistic insights into host perturbation during periodontitis progression is applied.     

Triptolide prevents bone loss via suppressing osteoclastogenesis through inhibiting PI3K-AKT-NFATc1 pathway

Bone loss (osteopenia) is a common complication in human solid tumour. In addition, after surgical treatment of gynaecological tumour, osteoporosis often occurs due to the withdrawal of oestrogen. The major characteristic of osteoporosis is the low bone mass with micro-architectural deteriorated bone tissue. And the main cause is the overactivation of osteoclastogenesis, which is one of the most important therapeutic targets. Inflammation could induce the interaction of RANKL/RANK, which is the promoter of osteoclastogenesis. Triptolide is derived from the traditional Chinese herb lei gong teng, presented multiple biological effects, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammation and immunosuppression. We hypothesized that triptolide could inhibits osteoclastogenesis by suppressing inflammation activation. In this study, we confirmed that triptolide could suppress RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) and RAW264.7 cells and inhibited the osteoclast bone resorption functions. PI3K-AKT-NFATc1 pathway is one of the most important downstream pathways of RANKL-induced osteogenesis. The experiments in vitro indicated that triptolide suppresses the activation of PI3K-AKT-NFATc1 pathway and the target point located at the upstream of AKT because both NFATc1 overexpression and AKT phosphorylation could ameliorate the triptolide suppression effects. The expression of MDM2 was elevated, which demonstrated the MDM-p53-induced cell death might contribute to the osteoclastogenesis suppression. Ovariectomy-induced bone loss and inflammation activation were also found to be ameliorated in the experiments in vivo. In summary, the new effect of anti-cancer drug triptolide was demonstrated to be anti-osteoclastogenesis, and we demonstrated triptolide might be a promising therapy for bone loss caused by tumour.     

Gastrodin relieves inflammation injury induced by lipopolysaccharides in MRC‐5 cells by up‐regulation of miR‐103

The beneficial function of gastrodin towards many inflammatory diseases has been identified. This study designed to see the influence of gastrodin in a cell model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MRC‐5 cells were treated by LPS, before which gastrodin was administrated. The effects of gastrodin were evaluated by conducting CCK‐8, FITC‐PI double staining, Western blot, qRT‐PCR and ELISA. Besides this, the downstream effector and signalling were studied to decode how gastrodin exerted its function. And dual‐luciferase assay was used to detect the targeting link between miR‐103 and lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 1 (LRP1). LPS induced apoptosis and the release of MCP‐1, IL‐6 and TNF‐α in MRC‐5 cells. Pre‐treating MRC‐5 cells with gastrodin attenuated LPS‐induced cell damage. Meanwhile, p38/JNK and NF‐κB pathways induced by LPS were repressed by gastrodin. miR‐103 expression was elevated by gastrodin. Further, the protective functions of gastrodin were attenuated by miR‐103 silencing. And LRP1 was a target of miR‐103 and negatively regulated by miR‐103. The in vitro data illustrated the protective function of gastrodin in LPS‐injured MRC‐5 cells. Gastrodin exerted its function possibly by up‐regulating miR‐103 and modulating p38/JNK and NF‐κB pathways.     

Enabling Deformable and Stretchable Batteries

Deformable energy storage devices are needed to power next‐generation wearable electronics that interface intimately with human skin. Currently, deformable energy storage devices demonstrate poor performance compared to their rigid lithium‐ion counterparts, forcing wearable manufacturers to design their devices around bulky battery compartments. However, technological advances to create deformable batteries at the component and device level have yielded continuous improvement in stretchable batteries over the last five years. In this Essay, the major strategies at the component and device level that have been successfully employed to create stretchable batteries are reviewed. The outstanding challenges facing deformable energy storage are also discussed, namely, energy density, packaging, delamination, device integration, and manufacturing. This Essay will give researchers who are interested in contributing to the development of deformable batteries a cursory understanding of the most successful strategies to date, and provide insights into the most important directions to pursue in the future.     

白蛋白静脉滴注联合茵栀黄颗粒治疗新生儿黄疸血清 AKP、TBA、 FFA、γ-GT、HS-CRP的影响

目的:研究白蛋白静脉滴注联合茵栀黄颗粒对新生儿黄疸血清碱性磷酸酶(alkaline phosphatase,AKP)、总胆汁酸(totalbileacids,TBA)、游离脂肪酸(free fatty acid,FFA)、γ-谷氨酰基转移酶(γ-glutamyltransferase,γ-GT)、超敏C-反应蛋白(hypersensitive C-reactive protein, HS-CRP)的影响。方法:选择2016年1月～2019年1月我院收治的95例新生儿病理性黄疸患儿,随机分为两组。对照组服用茵栀黄颗粒治疗,观察组在服用茵栀黄的基础上静脉滴注白蛋白治疗。检测两组的血清间接胆红素(indirectreacting bilirubin,,IBIL)、总胆红素(total bilirubin,TBIL)和AKP、TBA、FFA、y-GT、HS-CRP水平。结果:观察组的有效率明显高于对照组(P0.05);两组治疗后的血清IBIL、TBIL水平明显降低(P0.05),观察组的IBIL、TBIL水平明显低于对照组(P0.05);两组治疗后的血清AKP、TBA、FFA、γ-GT、HS-CRP水平明显降低(P0.05),观察组的血清AKP、TBA、FFA、γ-GT、HS-CRP水平明显低于对照组(P0.05)。结论:白蛋白静脉滴注联合茵栀黄颗粒对新生儿黄疸的治疗效果良好,有助于促进血清胆红素和其他血清学相关指标恢复正常,且安全性好。