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AIM: To investigate the protective effect of total flavonoids from Patrina villosa Juss (PJF) on the lung in an experimental rat model of acute lung injury (ALI), and to elucidate the potential mechanism. METHODS: The ALI rat model was established by instilling 5 mg/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the airway. Sixty male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control, LPS, LPS+low-dose PJF (receiving 100 mg/kg PJF one hour before ALI modeling) and LPS+high-dose PJF (receiving 300 mg/kg PJF one hour before ALI modeling). Each group consisted of 15 animals. Lung tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected from all groups 24 h after modeling. For assessment of lung tissue morphology, HE staining was performed. The wet/dry weight ratio of the lung tissue was determined using the wet/dry weighing method. Evans blue staining was conducted to assess epithelial barrier permeability in lung tissues. ELISA was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the BALF, as well as oxidative stress markers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxi-dase (MPO) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the lung tissue. The expression levels of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) in the lung tissue were analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the rats in LPS group exhibited a blurred alveolar structure with a significant infiltration of inflammatory cells. The ALI score and the wet/dry weight ratio of the lung tissue were increased (P<0. 05). Concurrently, the levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in the BALF, along with MDA content and MPO activity in the lung tissue, were elevated (P<0. 05). Additionally, the protein levels of CHOP, GRP78 and XBP1 were up-regulated in the lung tissue (P<0. 05), while the SOD and GSH-Px activity was significantly decreased (P<0. 05). Compared with LPS group, PJF intervention exerted beneficial effects on the lung tissue morphology with reduced ALI score and lower lung wet/dry weight ratio (P<0. 05). Moreover, the levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in BALF, as well as MDA content, MPO activity and the protein levels of CHOP, GRP78 and XBP1 in the lung tissue were all significantly decreased (P<0. 05), while the SOD and GSH-Px activity was significantly increased (P<0. 05). The efficacy in high-dose group exceeded that in low-dose group. CONCLUSION: The PJF have protective effect on the lungs of rats with ALI, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of inflammation, oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feng, H.; Zhu, L.; Wu, J., and Squires, V.R., 2023. A review of disaster risk assessment and mitigation in vulnerable coastal communities: An example from the South China Sea coast. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(2), 328–333. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. This review examines and analyses key issues that underpin the development and successful implementation of risk assessment. The focus is on coastal areas (including the nearshore hinterlands) on the coast of the South China Sea, especially the coastal zone around the Gulf of Tonkin (also known as Beibu Gulf) that borders Vietnam. Consideration is given to aspects of the process of engaging with local communities in areas at risk of disasters and in those sites that are affected with severe consequences on peoples' income, wealth, health, and social state. Vulnerability is an important factor and its nature and implications are examined. This paper first sets out the context for this review, including some key information about the study region. Second, risk assessments and recent developments in mitigation are discussed. Third, the focus shifts to mechanisms (and benefits) of engagement with local peoples from areas that are at risk or have undergone severe damage. Finally, concluding thoughts and a synthesis of the whole paper is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the clinical effect of auxiliary comprehensive management combined with growth patch in the treatment of childhood idiopathic short stature (ISS). Methods. From September 2017 to December 2019, 120 children with ISS who met the selection criteria were collected. Random number table method divided them into 2 groups: one group was given auxiliary comprehensive management and recorded as the routine group (n = 60), and the other group was given auxiliary comprehensive management and combined growth patch treatment and recorded as the combination group (n = 60). The course of treatment was 12 months. The effects of the two methods on children's height, bone age, body weight, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 levels were compared. Results. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in baseline height, genetic height, baseline bone age, baseline body weight, and body weight before and after treatment (P > 0.05). After treatment, the heights of the two groups were higher than before for the same group, the height growth values and predicted adult height of the combination group were higher than those of the routine group, and the predicted adult height of the combination group was higher than the genetic height of the same group P < 0.001 . There was no statistical difference in IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels before treatment between the two groups (P > 0.05). The levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 after treatment in the two groups were higher than those in the same group before treatment, and the combination group was higher than that in the routine group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. On the basis of auxiliary comprehensive management, combined with growth patch for the treatment of children with ISS, it can effectively increase the height of the children, improve the levels of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, and have significant clinical effects, which is beneficial to the healthy growth of the children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Carotenoids are indispensable to plants and critical components of the human diet. The carotenoid metabolic pathway is conserved across plant species, but our understanding of the genetic basis of carotenoid variation remains limited for the seeds of most cereal crops. To address this issue, we systematically performed linkage and association mapping for eight carotenoid traits using six recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations. Single linkage mapping (SLM) and joint linkage mapping (JLM) identified 77 unique additive QTLs and 104 pairs of epistatic QTLs. Among these QTLs, we identified 22 overlapping hotspots of additive and epistatic loci, highlighting the important contributions of some QTLs to carotenoid levels through additive or epistatic mechanisms. A genome‐wide association study based on all RILs detected 244 candidate genes significantly associated with carotenoid traits, 23 of which were annotated as carotenoid pathway genes. Effect comparisons suggested that a small number of loci linked to pathway genes have substantial effects on carotenoid variation in our tested populations, but many loci not associated with pathway genes also make important contributions to carotenoid variation. We identified ZmPTOX as the causal gene for a QTL hotspot (Q10/JLM10/GWAS019); this gene encodes a putative plastid terminal oxidase that produces plastoquinone‐9 used by two enzymes in the carotenoid pathway. Natural variants in the promoter and second exon of ZmPTOX were found to alter carotenoid levels. This comprehensive assessment of the genetic mechanisms underlying carotenoid variation establishes a foundation for rewiring carotenoid metabolism and accumulation for efficient carotenoid biofortification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria are the power source of living cells and implicated in the oxidative metabolism. However, the effect of mitochondria on breeding is usually ignored in conventional research. In this study, the effect of mitochondria on Ganoderma lucidum morphology, yield, and main primary bioactive components was analyzed via structuring and comparing isonuclear alloplasmic strains. The crucial biological pathways were then explored based on the transcriptome. The results showed that isonuclear alloplasmic exhibited difference in mycelial growth rate in potato dextrose agar medium (PDA), basidiospore yield, and polysaccharide and triterpenoid content. Otherwise, mitochondria did not change colony and fruit body morphology, mushroom yield, or mycelial growth rate in solid-state fermentation cultivation material. The transcriptome data of two significant isonuclear alloplasmic strains S1 and S5 revealed that the involvement of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was mainly in pentose and glucuronate interconversions, starch and sucrose metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis. The result was further confirmed by the other isonuclear alloplasmic strains. The above results further proved that mitochondria could affect the active components of G. lucidum. Our results provide information which will contribute to understanding of mitochondria and will be helpful for breeding improved varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]