Effects of exogenous mineral silicon on physiological characteristics and arsenic uptake and transport in rice.

Soil arsenic (As) contamination poses a significant threat to food security and human health. Diatomaceous earth (DE) as a representative exogenous mineral silicon can effectively regulate the migration and transformation of As in the soil-rice system. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of DE application on As uptake, translocation, and stress regulation in rice remain unclear.

Juvenile apple snails as new biomonitors of freshwater pollution: Insight into copper and lead toxicity and underlying molecular mechanisms.

Environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals, pose significant threats to organisms across different trophic levels in the aquatic environment. Although the effects of heavy metals have been extensively studied in a limited number of model organisms, their toxicity and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood in numerous aquatic invertebrates. Here, we underscore the potential of the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata as an environmental bioindicator for freshwater heavy metal pollution, advancing biomonitoring methodologies.

The impact of spousal retirement on health-an empirical analysis based on CFPS.

Introduction: Health impacts associated with spousal retirement vary significantly across countries and datasets, underscoring the need to examine this relationship within the Chinese context. This study aims to explore how spousal retirement affects individual health in China.

Methods: Utilizing data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) for the years 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, this research applies a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach to assess the effects of spousal retirement on health outcomes.

Accelerated Water Oxidation Kinetics Induced by Oxygen Vacancies in the BiVO/CN S-Scheme Heterojunction for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO Reduction.

The solar-driven photocatalytic reduction of CO into fuels using a CN-based photocatalyst has shown great application potential in addressing challenges related to energy and CO emission. However, this process suffers from severe charge recombination and sluggish HO oxidation kinetics, resulting in low efficiency. In this study, a 2D/2D S-scheme heterojunction by combining oxygen vacancy-rich BiVO nanoflakes with CN nanosheets (denoted as O-BVO/CN) was fabricated to mitigate the aforementioned issues, where BiVO serves as a water oxidation booster and CN serves as the CO reduction center.

METTL3 regulates autophagy of hypoxia-induced cardiomyocytes by targeting ATG7.

N-methyladenosine (mA) mRNA modification is the most common mRNA internal modification in eukaryotes, which participates in a variety of biological processes. However, the role of mA methylation in regulating autophagy induced by ischemia and hypoxia remains to be widely investigated. Here, we investigated the impact of METTL3, a key mA methyltransferase, on the autophagy regulation in ischemic and hypoxic cardiomyocytes, as well as in mice following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Different effects of bio/non-degradable microplastics on sewage sludge compost performance: Focusing on antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors and key metabolic functions.

Microplastics (MP) have aroused increasing concern due to the negative environmental impact. However, the impact of bio/non-biodegradable MPs on the sludge composting process has not been thoroughly investigated. This study examined antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), virulence factors (VFs), and microbial community functions in sludge compost with the application of polylactic acid (PLA) and polypropylene (PP), using metagenomic sequencing.

ORP5 promotes cardiac hypertrophy by regulating the activation of mTORC1 on lysosome.

Introduction: Oxysterol binding protein (OSBP)-related protein 5 (ORP5) mainly functions as a lipid transfer protein at membrane contact sites (MCS). ORP5 facilitates cell proliferation through the activation of mTORC1 signaling. While the pro-hypertrophic effects of mTORC1 are well-documented, the specific role of ORP5 in the context of pathological cardiac hypertrophy remains inadequately understood.

Subcellular mass spectrometric detection unveils hyperglycemic memory in the diabetic heart.

Background: Intensive glycemic control is insufficient to reduce the risk of heart failure in patients with diabetes mellitus. While the hyperglycemic memory in the diabetic cardiomyopathy has been well documented, its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The present study tried to investigate whether the dysregulated proteins/biological pathways, which persistently altered in diabetic hearts during normoglycemia, participate in the hyperglycemic memory.

Preliminary exploration of the C-3 galloyl group and the B-5' hydroxyl group enhance the biological activity of catechins in alleviating obesity induced by high-fat diet in mice.

Catechins, among the most active components in tea, effectively alleviate obesity. Catechins are primarily classified into four types based on the presence or absence of the C-3 galloyl group and the B-5' hydroxyl group. However, the impact of conformation on the anti-obesity properties of catechins remains unclear.

Immunoglobin attenuates fulminant myocarditis by inhibiting overactivated innate immune response.

Background And Purpose: Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is a myocardial inflammatory disease that can result from either viral diseases or autoimmune diseases. In this study, we have determined the treatment effects of immunomodulatory drugs on FM.

Experimental Approach: FM was induced in A/JGpt mice by intraperitoneal administration of coxsackievirus B3, after which immunoglobins were administered daily by intraperitoneal injection.

Exogenous Melatonin Modulates Photosynthesis and Antioxidant Systems for Improving Drought Tolerance of Sorghum Seedling.

Sorghum faces significant production challenges due to drought stress. Melatonin has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in coping with stresses in plants. This study investigated the effect of exogenous melatonin on the sorghum seedling growth, photosynthetic capacity, and antioxidant system under drought stress.

Screening key sorghum germplasms for low-nitrogen tolerance at the seedling stage and identifying from the carbon and nitrogen metabolism.

Introduction: Sorghum ( L.) can withstand drought and heat stress and efficiently utilize water and nutrients. However, the underlying mechanism of its tolerance to low-nitrogen (N) stress remains poorly understood.

Inhibitory Effect and Mechanism of Epigallocatechin Gallate on the Differentiation of 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes.

Green tea possesses a range of beneficial effects, including anti-obesity, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, owing to its biologically active components, primarily catechins such as epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). However, few studies have investigated the four catechin monomers simultaneously, and the molecular mechanisms of their anti-obesity effects have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effects of four catechin monomers on the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes of mice.

Engineered mouse H1 promoter mutants with superior RNA polymerase III activity.

Vectors incorporating the human H1 (hH1) promoter are being applied for RNA interference (RNAi) experiments and genome editing. Although extensive studies have been conducted on the hH1 promoter, our understanding of the mouse H1 promoter remains limited. In this study, we predicted the 163 bp mouse H1 (mH1) promoter and 84 bp mouse H1 core (mH1 core) promoter through global alignment and detected its RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and III activities through the expression of the EGFP and the abundance of artificial sequence, which were generally slightly weaker than those of the hH1 promoter.

Comparative phenotypic and transcriptomic analysis reveals genotypic differences in nitrogen use efficiency in sorghum.

Sorghum (Sorghumbicolor L.), a model for C grass and an emerging biofuel crop, is known for its robust tolerance to low input field. However, the focus on enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in sorghum under low nitrogen (N) conditions has been limited.

The Simultaneous Bilateral Surgical Procedure for Bilateral Primary Lung Cancer.

At present, the incidence of synchronous multiple primary lung cancer (SMPLC) is increasing, and the treatment is still a challenge. This study aims to investigate the appropriate surgical procedure for treating bilateral primary lung cancer simultaneously. A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data from 32 patients who underwent simultaneous bilateral lung cancer surgery in our team.

The Identification of as a Causal Agent of Northern Anthracnose of Sorghum in China and Estimation of Host Resistance.

Sorghum northern anthracnose is a leaf disease affecting sorghum, which results in plant death and substantial yield loss. This study aimed to effectively understand the disease, clarify its biological characteristics, and evaluate the resistance of germplasm resources. A field sample was collected to isolate and purify the pathogen.

Adaptive Fuzzy Integral Sliding Mode Cooperative Control Based on Time-Delay Estimation for Free-Floating Close-Chain Manipulators.

Space manipulators are expected to perform more challenging missions in on-orbit service (OOS) systems, but there are some unique characteristics that are not found on ground-based robots, such as dynamic coupling between space bases and manipulators, limited fuel supply, and working with unfixed bases. This paper focuses on trajectory-tracking control and internal force control for free-floating close-chain manipulators. First, the kinematics and dynamics of free-floating close-chain manipulators are given using the momentum conservation and spatial operator algebra (SOA) methodologies, respectively.

The HD-Zip I transcription factor MdHB-7 negatively regulates resistance to Glomerella leaf spot in apple.

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), caused by Colletotrichum fructicola (Cf), has been one of the main fungal diseases afflicting apple-producing areas across the world for many years, and it has led to substantial reductions in apple output and quality. HD-Zip transcription factors have been identified in several species, and they are involved in the immune response of plants to various types of biotic stress. In this study, inoculation of MdHB-7 overexpressing (MdHB-7-OE) and interference (MdHB-7-RNAi) transgenic plants with Cf revealed that MdHB-7, which encodes an HD-Zip transcription factor, adversely affects GLS resistance.

LncRNA DCRT Protects Against Dilated Cardiomyopathy by Preventing NDUFS2 Alternative Splicing by Binding to PTBP1.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy is characterized by left ventricular dilation and continuous systolic dysfunction. Mitochondrial impairment is critical in dilated cardiomyopathy; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we explored the cardioprotective role of a heart-enriched long noncoding RNA, the dilated cardiomyopathy repressive transcript (DCRT), in maintaining mitochondrial function.

Tryptophan regulates sorghum root growth and enhances low nitrogen tolerance.

Over evolutionary time, plants have developed sophisticated regulatory mechanisms to adapt to fluctuating nitrogen (N) environments, ensuring that their growth is balanced with their responses to N stress. This study explored the potential of L-tryptophan (Trp) in regulating sorghum root growth under conditions of N limitation. Here, two distinct sorghum genotypes (low-N tolerance 398B and low-N sensitive CS3541) were utilized for investigating effect of low-N stress on root morphology and conducting a comparative transcriptomics analysis.

Investigation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of High-Depth-to-Width-Ratio Horizontal NG-GMAW Joint for S500Q Steel.

A novel high depth-to-width ratio of 15:1 narrow-gap gas metal arc welding technique was developed for the welding of S500Q steel in a horizontal butt joint. The bead arrangement of the I groove was optimized to produce a high-quality connection with the upper sidewall of the joint. The microstructure and mechanical properties were observed and evaluated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, tensile testing, and micro-hardness and impact toughness testing at 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, and 4/5 thickness of the joint.

Association of serum five heavy metals level with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a large population-based cohort study.

The study aimed to explore the association between five heavy metals exposure (Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, Manganese, and Selenium) and mortality [all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer-related]. We integrated the data into the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2018 years. A total of 16,092 participants were recruited.