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AIM: To investigate the effect of conditioned medium from hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-treated rat cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) on gap junction between cardiomyocytes and determine whether its mechanism is related to matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) activity. METHODS: (1) H9c2 cells were randomly divided into five groups: control group, normal group, ARP-100 group, H/R group, and H/R+ARP-100 group. Scrape loading/dye transfer assay was used to assess the gap junction function. Western blot was used to detect the expression and phosphorylation levels of Cx43. Gelatin zymography assay was performed to measure MMP2 activity. (2) SD rats were randomly divided into control group, ARP-100 group, ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) group, and I/R+ARP-100 group, with 8 rats in each group. Micro-electrode array technology was used to record the type and duration of arrhythmia. Immunohistochemistry experiment was performed to assess expression levels and distribution of Cx43 in myocardial tissues. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the H/R group showed decreased protein expression of Cx43 (P<0. 01), narrowed distance of lucifer yellow diffusion (P<0. 01), and increased MMP2 activity (P<0. 01). ARP-100 attenuated H/R-induced gap junction dysfunction (P<0. 05). The arrhythmia score was also reduced after perfusion with ARP-100 (P<0. 01). CONCLUSION: H/R-treated rat CFs can inhibit gap junction between cardiomyocytes, and its mechanism may involve increased MMP2 activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" policy, the green and efficient wastewater treatment process has become a hotspot and has great significance for achieving carbon emission reduction. Carbonaceous functional materials stand out from all kinds of water treatment materials due to their excellent chemical stability, economic applicability, easy modification and environmental friendliness, which is expected to become a new generation of green environmental protection materials in water treatment. This review focuses on the modification principle, characteristics and application progress of carbon functional materials in the water treatment. Meanwhile, the current challenges and future development of carbonaceous functional materials was prospected, with a view to providing references for further development and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study on the genetic polymorphisms of 29 Y-STR loci in 1 532 unrelated males of Han population in Southern Jiangxi province and its genetic relationship with other ethnic groups in China was conducted. The Y-STR loci were amplified by DNATyper™ Y29 kit, and capillary electrophoresis was carried out by 3730 genetic analyzer. Y-STR typing was carried out by GeneMapper IDX 1.4 software, and genetic data such as allele frequency and haplotype frequency of 29 Y-STR loci were calculated. Mega-X was used to construct the phylogenetic trees for the selected populations. The molecular variance analysis (AMO- VA) of YHRD online tool software was used to calculate the genetic distance between Southern Jiangxi Han population and other populations, and at the same time to construct multi-dimensional scale map (MDS). After analysis, the gene diversity (GD) values of 29 Y-STR loci ranged from 0.381 5 to 0.876 6. In addition to DYS508, DYS437, DYS391 and DYS438 loci, the GD values of the other 25 gene loci were higher than 0.5. The haplotype diversity (HD) was 0.999 924, indicating that 29 Y-STR loci had high genetic polymorphism in Southern Jiangxi Han population. Compared with the Han population in other areas, the genetic distance between the Han population in Southern Jiangxi and Fujian was the closest (genetic distance Rst is 0.000 2), and that between the Han populations in Southern Jiangxi and Heilongjiang was the furthest (Rst is 0.024 9). Compared with other ethnic groups, the Han nationality in Southern Jiangxi had the closest genetic distance to the Bai nationality in Yunnan (Rst is 0.005 9), and the furthest genetic distance to the Tibetan nationality in Ganzi (Rst is 0.468 9). The results showed that the 29 Y-STR loci in this study have high genetic polymorphism in Southern Jiangxi Han population, which can meet the requirements of family investigation and forensic examination. The data obtained can provide data support for research and application of population of genetics and forensic science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In public bicycle system, bike rebalancing is crucial to meet the fluctuating demand of bikes. With the use of system, broken bike collection and maintenance also become into important activities in daily operations. This paper studies the static bike rebalancing problem with broken bike collection, which is a two-commodity (normal bikes and broken bikes) routing problem. An integer programming model is formulated for the problem. A dynamic programming based algorithm is proposed to solve the model, which includes two speed rules based on attributes of the problem. We test the model and algorithm by several random instances, comparing with CPLEX. The results verify the effectiveness of two rules and indicate that the proposed algorithm can solve the problem efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate COL1A1 gene mutation by PCR-high resolution melting (PCR-HRM) and analyze the correlation between genotype and clinical phenotype in a child (proband) with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Methods The family history of OI pedigree along with the clinical data was collected. Blood samples from the proband and his family members, as well as 50 normal controls, were collected. The mutation of COL1A1 gene was screened using PCR-HRM and validated by the gene sequence. Results The detection of PCR-HRM showed the abnormal result of COL1A1 17 exon in proband with a lower melting temperature (Tm) value than that of normal controls by 0.4°C. There were significant differences in the standardization melting curve and the different melting curve between the proband and the normal controls. The sequencing result was c.1138G>A, which meant that cDNA of 1138 base G mutation into A. The mutations transformed the amino acid glycine into a serine at amino acid 380 (P. Gly 380 Ser), which resulted in missense mutations. The proband s father and grandmother had the same mutation of COL1A1 gene. The mutation was not found in the proband s mother and normal controls. There was no report for such mutation in Chinese population. Pedigree analysis showed the family genetic characteristics of autosomal dominant inheritance. The proband was clinically diagnosed as OI type IV with more severe clinical phenotype. Conclusion PCR-HRM analysis is a new effective method for genetic screening of OI. COL1A1 mutation of c.1138G>A is a newly discovered mutation in Chinese population. Gly replaced in α helical domain may lead to a more severe clinical phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the high-value utilization of protein resources in sesame meal, the production process of protein peptide from sesame meal solid-state fermented by Monascus purpureus was optimized. On the basis of single factor experiment, the orthogonal experiment with three factors and three levels was designed to optimize the solid-state fermentation process with the fermentation time, water content and temperature as the influencing factors and the peptide yield as the investigated indicator. The results showed that the factors affecting the protein peptide yield produced from sesame meal solid-state fermented by Monascus purpureus were in order of water content, incubation time and temperature. The optimal fermentation process was the fermentation time of 6 d, water content of 50%, and temperature of 31 °C, and the yield of peptide was 14.95% after the verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysis is considered to be one of the effective methods to solve the global energy crisis and environmental pollution problems. However, the low energy conversion efficiency of photocatalyst inhibits the ap¬plication of photocatalysis. Vacancy is the most common crystal defect, because it can regulate the electronic structure and surface properties of photocatalyst without introducing external elements, and promote the light absorption, charge separation and migration of photocatalyst and surface reaction. Therefore, this review sum¬marizes the latest progress of vacancy defects in photocatalysis. Firstly, some primary methods for introducing vacancy defects in photocatalyst are discussed, including common methods such as chemical reduction and high temperature treatment, and uncommon but effective methods such as hydrolysis and ultrasound. Secondly, the current characterization techniques for identifying and quantifying vacancies are mainly introduced from the as-pects of microscopic characterization and spectral characterization. These techniques are helpful to understand the relationship between vacancy structure and photocatalytic properties. Subsequently, the key role of vacancy in photocatalytic process is introduced from three aspects, including absorption of light, separation and migration of charge and surface reaction. Finally, the prospects and challenges of vacancy defects in photocatalytic materials are proposed. The controllability of vacancy concentration, the synergism of composte modification and the stability of vacancy are urgent problems to be solved. This review summarizes the effective strategies of vacancy modification for photocatalytic, which can provide some theoretical reference for the relevant research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]