Association between major dietary patterns and obesity phenotypes in southwest China: baseline survey results from Hechuan.

Background: This study aimed to identify the main dietary patterns in Hechuan and clarify how they are associated with obesity phenotypes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on a baseline survey of a general population cohort study in southwest China. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to investigate the dietary habits of the participants in the past year.

Design and Implementation of Electrochromic Smart Windows with Self-Driven Thermoelectric Power Generation.

Electrochromic smart windows can achieve controllable modulation of color and transmittance under an external electric field with active light and thermal control capabilities, which helps reduce energy consumption caused by building cooling and heating. However, electrochromic smart windows often rely on external power circuits, which greatly affects the independence and portability of smart windows. Based on this, an electrochromic smart window driven by temperature-difference power generation was designed and implemented.

Differentiated adaptative genetic architecture and language-related demographical history in South China inferred from 619 genomes from 56 populations.

Background: The underrepresentation of human genomic resources from Southern Chinese populations limited their health equality in the precision medicine era and complete understanding of their genetic formation, admixture, and adaptive features. Besides, linguistical and genetic evidence supported the controversial hypothesis of their origin processes. One hotspot case was from the Chinese Guangxi Pinghua Han people (GPH), whose language was significantly similar to Southern Chinese dialects but whose uniparental gene pool was phylogenetically associated with the indigenous Tai-Kadai (TK) people.

Human Neural Progenitors Expressing GDNF Enhance Retinal Protection in a Rodent Model of Retinal Degeneration.

Stem cell therapy for retinal degenerative diseases has been extensively tested in preclinical and clinical studies. However, preclinical studies performed in animal models at the early stage of disease do not optimally translate to patients that present to the clinic at a later stage of disease. As the retina degenerates, inflammation and oxidative stress increase and trophic factor support declines.

Human iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells secreting GDNF provide protection in rodent models of ALS and retinal degeneration.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a renewable cell source that can be differentiated into neural progenitor cells (iNPCs) and transduced with glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (iNPC-GDNFs). The goal of the current study is to characterize iNPC-GDNFs and test their therapeutic potential and safety. Single-nuclei RNA-seq show iNPC-GDNFs express NPC markers.

MFN1 augmentation prevents retinal degeneration in a Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A mouse model.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A), the most common inherited peripheral axonal neuropathy, is associated with more than 100 dominant mutations, including R94Q as the most abundant mutation in the Mitofusin2 (MFN2) gene. CMT2A is characterized by progressive motor and sensory loss, color-vision defects, and progressive loss of visual acuity. We used a well-established transgenic mouse model of CMT2A with R94Q mutation on MFN2 gene ( ) to investigate the functional and morphological changes in retina.

Aquatic Bacteria New Ability for Mercury Pollution Removal.

To explore the strong tolerance of bacteria to Hg pollution, aquatic (RTS-4) was separated from industrial sewage, with a maximum Hg(II) tolerant concentration of 120 mg/L and a maximum Hg(II) removal rate of 86.72 ± 2.11%, in 48 h under optimum culture conditions.

Differential Susceptibility of Fetal Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, hiPSC- Retinal Stem Cells, and Retinal Organoids to Zika Virus Infection.

Zika virus (ZIKV) causes microcephaly and congenital eye disease. The cellular and molecular basis of congenital ZIKV infection are not well understood. Here, we utilized a biologically relevant cell-based system of human fetal retinal pigment epithelial cells (FRPEs), hiPSC-derived retinal stem cells (iRSCs), and retinal organoids to investigate ZIKV-mediated ocular cell injury processes.

AAV-CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing Preserves Long-Term Vision in the P23H Rat Model of Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) consists of a group of inherited, retinal degenerative disorders and is characterized by progressive loss of rod photoreceptors and eventual degeneration of cones in advanced stages, resulting in vision loss or blindness. Gene therapy has been effective in treating autosomal recessive RP (arRP). However, limited options are available for patients with autosomal dominant RP (adRP).

Body Mass Index: An Effective Predictor of Ejection Fraction Improvement in Heart Failure.

Heart failure patients with higher body mass index (BMI) exhibit better clinical outcomes. Therefore, we assessed whether the BMI can predict left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) improvement following heart failure. We included 184 patients newly diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and reduced EF in our center and who underwent follow-up examination of EF via echocardiography after 6 months.

Traditional Chinese medicine enhances myocardial metabolism during heart failure.

The prognosis of various cardiovascular diseases eventually leads to heart failure (HF). An energy metabolism disorder of cardiomyocytes is important in explaining the molecular basis of HF; this will aid global research regarding treatment options for HF from the perspective of myocardial metabolism. There are many drugs to improve myocardial metabolism for the treatment of HF, including angiotensin receptor blocker-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) and sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors.

Retinal Protection by Sustained Nanoparticle Delivery of Oncostatin M and Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Into Rodent Models of Retinal Degeneration.

Purpose: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is caused by mutations in more than 60 genes. Mutation-independent approaches to its treatment by exogeneous administration of neurotrophic factors that will preserve existing retinal anatomy and visual function are a rational strategy. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and oncostatin M (OSM) are two potent survival factors for neurons.

First Report of Anthracnose on Caused by in China.

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Intracranial delivery of AAV9 gene therapy partially prevents retinal degeneration and visual deficits in CLN6-Batten disease mice.

Batten disease is a family of rare, fatal, neuropediatric diseases presenting with memory/learning decline, blindness, and loss of motor function. Recently, we reported the use of an AAV9-mediated gene therapy that prevents disease progression in a mouse model of CLN6-Batten disease ( ), restoring lifespans in treated animals. Despite the success of our viral-mediated gene therapy, the dosing strategy was optimized for delivery to the brain parenchyma and may limit the therapeutic potential to other disease-relevant tissues, such as the eye.

Identification of as the causative agent of leaf spot disease in in China.

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Differential susceptibility of retinal ganglion cell subtypes in acute and chronic models of injury and disease.

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are a heterogeneous population of neurons, comprised of numerous subtypes that work synchronously to transmit visual information to the brain. In blinding disorders such as glaucoma, RGCs are the main cell type to degenerate and lead to loss of vision. Previous studies have identified and characterized a variety of RGC subtypes in animal models, although only a handful of studies demonstrate the differential loss of these RGC subtypes in response to disease or injury.

Shenmai Injection Improves Energy Metabolism in Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: In recent years, the application of Shenmai (SM) injection, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), to treat heart failure (HF) has been gradually accepted in China. However, whether SM improves energy metabolism in patients with HF has not been determined due to the lack of high-quality studies. We aimed to investigate the influence of SM on energy metabolism in patients with HF.

Pollution status of the Yellow River tributaries in middle and lower reaches.

To determine the water quality status of the primary tributaries in middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin, water collected from the confluence of the ten tributaries and some physical, chemical and biological parameters were analyzed, and then water quality index and health risk were evaluated. Of the ten main tributaries in the middle and lower reaches, only the Qingshui River had water of medium quality in the upper reaches, while all the other tributaries contributed water of poor quality. The Jindi and Dawen rivers in the lower reaches had the poorest water quality, especially the Jindi River.

A two-step mutation process in the double WS1 homologs drives the evolution of burley tobacco, a special chlorophyll-deficient mutant with abnormal chloroplast development.

The functional homologs WS1A and WS1B, identified by map-based cloning, control the burley character by affecting chloroplast development in tobacco, contributing to gene isolation and genetic improvement in polyploid crops. Burley represents a special type of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cultivar that is characterized by a white stem with a high degree of chlorophyll deficiency.

Protective mechanism of shenmai on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion through the energy metabolism pathway.

Shenmai (SM) injection has been reported to attenuate ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, but its effect on energy metabolism during I/R and the underlying mechanism remain unknown. To explore the protective mechanism of SM on ischemic cardiomyopathy, primary cardiomyocytes from SD rats were treated with SM, total saponins of Panax ginseng (TSPG), L-carnitine (LC) and trimetazidine (TMZ). Changes in glucose, free fatty acids (FFAs), pyruvic acid (PA), lactic acid (LA) and intracellular ATP capacity were observed with the appropriate assays.