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Revegetation represents the primary method for restoring the ecological balance of the Loess Plateau. The assessment of revegetation efficacy on degraded lands can be facilitated through the utilization of soil microorganisms as indicators. We chose Medicago sativa L. (MX), Trifolium repens L. (BSY), Festuca arundinacea Schreb. (GYM), Elymus dahuricus Turcz. (PJC) and natural grass (CK) as the research objects, the soil microbial community composition, function and co-occurrence patterns of the five treatments were analyzed. The results showed that the microbial community composition was similar among the different vegetation types, but there were differences in abundance. Bacteria were significantly correlated with OM, BD and sand. Fungi were significantly correlated with sand and BD. Notably, BD showed highly significant correlation with microbial communities (P < 0.001). Microbial function prediction was dominated by metabolism at the bacterial level, and fungal function was predicted with eight trophic types dominated by parthenogenetic trophic types, and the microbial function prediction analyses showed that in bacteria, BSY had a high abundance of gene functions, and in fungi, PJC had a high abundance of gene functions. Network analysis revealed that the microbial community had small-world characteristics, a modular structure and a non-random co-occurrence pattern. Bacterial interactions included both competition and cooperation, further suggesting that growing raw grass increased the stability of the bacterial community. Overall, our results elucidated the changes in microbial communities and their correlations after raw grass cultivation, which could provide a more comprehensive perspective on microbial community assembly, and provide a theoretical basis for future ecological restoration on the Loess Plateau., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The mature market can effectively reflect the value of green agricultural products, but the market in developing countries is developing slowly, so how to implement administrative environmental policies while cultivating the market has become the key to the green development of agriculture. In this paper, the government and the market are discussed under the common goal of agricultural green development. Based on the provincial panel data of China, taking agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) as a breakthrough point, the relationship between environmental regulation tools, marketization processes and agricultural green development, specific applicable conditions and transmission mechanisms are explored, and further subdivided into factor and product markets to verify their correlation with AGTFP. The results show that environmental regulation and marketization processes and AGTFP are positively correlated. The former can establish a positive relationship with AGTFP through resource reallocation and technological innovation, and the latter can do so by improving the level of information and land transfer and perfecting infrastructure construction. These findings will provide new ideas for developing countries similar to China's agricultural development and enlighten developing countries pay full attention to and cultivate the market while formulating appropriate environmental regulation policies. In addition, they also need to coordinate the development of technology and organizations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To compare the improvement of joint function in female patients with early-middle-stage knee osteoarthritis (KOA) treated by oblique insertion at ashi point with long needle and oral celecoxib capsule., Methods: A total of 105 female patients with early-middle-stage KOA were randomly divided into an observation group (65 cases, 6 cases dropped out, 3 cases were discontinued) and a control group (40 cases, 6 cases dropped out, 2 cases were discontinued). Patients in the observation group were treated with oblique insertion at ashi point (hard knots of quadriceps femoris, hamstring muscle, popliteal muscle, etc.) with long needle, once every other 3 days, twice a week, for a total of 2 weeks. Patients in the control group were treated with oral celecoxib capsules, 0.2 g each time, once a day for 2 weeks. Both groups started functional exercise after 2 weeks of treatment. The joint function score of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score of the two groups were observed before and after treatment and after 6 weeks of treatment completion (follow-up), the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12) score was compared between the two groups before treatment and in follow-up, and the safety of the two groups was evaluated., Results: After treatment and during the follow-up, the joint function scores of WOMAC and VAS scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment ( P <0.05). During the follow-up, the joint function scores of WOMAC and VAS scores were lower than those after treatment ( P <0.05), and the SF-12 scores were higher than those before treatment ( P <0.05) in the two groups. After treatment, the joint function score of WOMAC of the observation group was lower and the VAS score was higher than those of the control group ( P <0.001, P <0.01). During the follow-up, the SF-12 score of the observation group was higher than that of the control group ( P <0.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred in both groups., Conclusion: The treatment of oblique insertion at ashi point with long needle can improve the knee joint function and quality of life of female patients with early-middle-staqe KOA, which is better than oral celecoxib capsule.

Environmental policies play an important role in the process of industrial low-carbon transition in developing countries. From the perspective of the impact condition and mechanisms, we discuss how to improve their effectiveness to give full play to the positive impact of environmental regulations. Based on provincial industrial data from 2003 to 2019 in China, this study uses a threshold regression model and endogenous regression to reveal the impact condition and mechanisms of environmental regulations on industrial low-carbon transition. The results suggest that (1) technological innovation capability and cost-bearing capacity are the key conditions for environmental regulations to exert a positive impact on low-carbon transition. (2) Environmental regulations have a positive impact on low-carbon transition through technological innovation (technology), resource reallocation (capital), and skill premium (labor). Research on the implementation conditions and mechanisms of environmental regulations will help policy-makers formulate appropriate and reasonable environmental regulations and eliminate the obstacles between environmental regulations and low-carbon transition, while an assessment of China's environmental policies will provide a reference for environmental governance in other developing countries., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Telomeres, at the ends of chromosomes, protect chromosomes from fusion and preserve genomic stability. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying telomere attrition-induced genome instability remain to be understood. We systematically analyzed the expression of retrotransposons and performed genomic sequencing of different cell and tissue types with telomeres of varying lengths due to telomerase deficiency. We found that critically short telomeres altered retrotransposon activity to promote genomic instability in mouse embryonic stem cells, as evidenced by elevated numbers of single nucleotide variants, indels and copy number variations (CNVs). Transpositions of retrotransposons such as LINE1 resulting from the short telomeres can also be found in these genomes with elevated number of mutations and CNVs. Retrotransposon activation is linked to increased chromatin accessibility, and reduced heterochromatin abundance correlates with short telomeres. Re-elongation of telomeres upon recovery of telomerase partly represses retrotransposons and heterochromatin accumulation. Together, our findings suggest a potential mechanism by which telomeres maintain genomic stability by suppressing chromatin accessibility and retrotransposon activity., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Myogenesis is an essential process that can affect the yield and quality of beef. Transcriptional studies have shown that histone deacetylase 11 (HDAC11) was differentially expressed in muscle tissues of 6 and 18 month old Longlin cattle, but its role in the regulation of myogenesis remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the role of HDAC11 in the proliferation and differentiation of bovine muscle stem cells (MuSCs). HDAC11 promoted MuSC proliferation by activating Notch signaling and inhibited myoblast differentiation by reducing MyoD1 transcription. In addition, overexpression of HDAC11 inhibited the repair regeneration process of muscle in mice. HDAC11 was found to be a novel key target for the control of myogenesis, and this is a theoretical basis for the development of HDAC11-specific modulators as a new strategy to regulate myogenesis.

Due to the flammability of materials and the vastness of space, flashover fires of large-space timber structures pose a huge threat to lives as well as the structures themselves. Therefore, it is necessary to study the critical conditions, control factors and prediction methods of flashover fires. To address this issue, hundreds of design conditions were simulated by Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) with variations in space size, the heat release rate (HRR) of fire source and fire growth type. A temperature-time model of the maximum temperature of the smoke layer near the ceiling ( T max ) was established, and the critical condition that uses this model to predict the occurrence of flashover was determined. Furthermore, a mathematical formula was established that can accurately predict the flashover induction time when the T max exceeds 400 °C. This research can provide a reference for the performance-based fire safety design of large-space timber structures.

Previous studies showed that U1 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) was selectively enriched in the brain of individuals with familial Alzheimer's disease (AD), resulting in widespread changes in RNA splicing. Our study further reported that presenilin-1 (PSEN1) induced an increase in U1 snRNA expression, accompanied by changed amyloid precursor protein expression, β-amyloid level, and cell death in SH-SY5Y cells. However, the effect of U1 snRNA overexpression on learning and memory is still unclear. In the present study, we found that neuronal U1 snRNA overexpression could generate U1 snRNA aggregates in the nuclear, accompanied by the widespread alteration of RNA splicing, resulting in the impairments of synaptic plasticity and spatial memory. In addition, more U1 snRNAs is bound to the intron binding sites accompanied by an increased intracellular U1 snRNA level. This suggests that U1 snRNA overexpression regulates RNA splicing and gene expression in neurons by manipulating the recruitment of the U1 snRNA to the nascent transcripts. Using in situ hybridization staining of human central nervous system-type neurons, we identified nuclear aggregates of U1 snRNA in neurons by upregulating the U1 snRNA level. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed U1 snRNA accumulation in the insoluble fraction of neurons with PSEN1 mutation neurons rather than other types of U snRNAs. These results show an independent function of U1 snRNA in regulating RNA splicing, suggesting that aberrant RNA processing may mediate neurodegeneration induced by PSEN1 mutation., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) contribute to ∼10 percent of the mouse genome. They are often silenced in differentiated somatic cells but differentially expressed at various embryonic developmental stages. A minority of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), like 2-cell cleavage embryos, highly express ERV MERVL. However, the role of ERVs and mechanism of their activation in these cells are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the regulation and function of the stage-specific expressed ERVs, with a particular focus on the totipotency marker MT2/MERVL. We show that the transcription factor Zscan4c functions as an activator of MT2/MERVL and 2-cell/4-cell embryo genes. Zinc finger domains of Zscan4c play an important role in this process. In addition, Zscan4c interacts with MT2 and regulates MT2-nearby 2-cell/4-cell genes through promoting enhancer activity of MT2. Furthermore, MT2 activation is accompanied by enhanced H3K4me1, H3K27ac, and H3K14ac deposition on MT2. Zscan4c also interacts with GBAF chromatin remodelling complex through SCAN domain to further activate MT2 enhancer activity. Taken together, we delineate a previously unrecognized regulatory axis that Zscan4c interacts with and activates MT2/MERVL loci and their nearby genes through epigenetic regulation., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

Grassland afforestation strongly influences the structure and function of soil microorganisms. Yet the mechanisms of how afforestation could simultaneously alter both the soil fungal and bacterial communities and its implications for ecosystem management are poorly understood, especially in nitrogen-limited ecosystems. Using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA genes, the present study investigated the changes in soil properties and soil microorganisms after afforestation of natural grasslands with Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis) on the Loess Plateau in China. Results showed that soil bacterial diversity had no significant differences among the grassland (GL), forest-grassland transition zone (TZ), and forestland (FL), while soil fungal diversity in the GL was significantly higher than that in the FL and TZ (P < 0.05). The proportion of shared OTUs in the soil bacterial community was higher than that in the soil fungal community among the three land use types. The dominant bacterial phylum shifted from Proteobacteria to Actinobacteria, while the dominant fungal phylum shifted from Ascomycota to Basidiomycota after the GL conversion to the FL. The functional groups of ECM fungi increased significantly while biotrophic fungi decreased significantly after grassland afforestation. Both the soil bacterial and fungal communities in the TZ showed great similarity with those in the FL. In addition, among all examined soil properties, soil nitrogen (N) showed a more significant effect on the soil microbial communities. The reduction of soil N after grassland afforestation resulted in both the structure and function changes in soil microbial communities. Our results demonstrated simultaneously differential changes in the composition and diversity of both soil bacterial and fungal communities after afforestation from grasslands to planted forests., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To investigate the function of Kdm2a in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Materials & methods: Expression profile analysis after Kdm2a knockout. Analysis of Kdm2a, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 ChIP-seq data in ESCs. qPCR analysis and ChIP-qPCR analysis of epigenetic changes after Kdm2a loss. Results: Kdm2a was dispensable for pluripotency maintenance in ESCs. Kdm2a genomic binding profile was positively correlated with that of H3K4me3, Zfx and Tet1. Kdm2a directly regulated germ cell genes in primordial germ cell-like cells. Kdm2a loss led to the reduced expression of endogenous retrovirus IAPEy and resulted in the gain of H3K36me2 and loss of H3K4me3 on IAPEy. Conclusion: Kdm2a regulates germ cell genes and endogenous retroviruses in ESCs possibly through demethylating H3K36me2 and influencing H3K4me3 deposition.

Human sacum is regulatory adaptor protein involved in cellular signaling network of colorectal cancer. Molecular evidences suggest that the protein is integrated into oncogenic signaling network by binding to SH3-containing proteins through its proline-rich motifs. In this study, we have performed a transcriptome-wide analysis and identification of sacum-binding partners in the genome profile of human colorectal cancer. The sacum-binding potency of SH3-containing proteins found in colorectal cancer was investigated by using bioinformatics modeling and intermolecular binding analysis. With the protocol we were able to predict those high-affinity domain binders of the proline-rich peptides of human sacum in a high-throughput manner, and to analyze sequence-specific interaction in the domain-peptide recognition at molecular level. Consequently, a number of putative domain binders with both high affinity and specificity were identified, from which the Src SH3 domain was selected as a case study and tested for its binding activity towards the sacum peptides. We also designed two peptide variants that may have potent capability to competitively disrupt sacum interaction with its partners., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Human sacum is regulatory adaptor protein involved in cellular signaling network of colorectal cancer. Molecular evidence suggests that the protein is integrated into oncogenic signaling network by binding to SH3-containing proteins through its proline-rich motifs. In this study, we have performed a transcriptome-wide analysis and identification of sacum-binding partners in the genome profile of human colorectal cancer. The sacum-binding potency of SH3-containing proteins found in colorectal cancer was investigated by using bioinformatics modeling and intermolecular binding analysis. With the protocol we were able to predict those high-affinity domain binders of the proline-rich peptides of human sacum in a high-throughput manner, and to analyze sequence-specific interaction in the domain-peptide recognition at molecular level. Consequently, a number of putative domain binders with both high affinity and specificity were identified, from which the Src SH3 domain was selected as a case study and tested for its binding activity towards the sacum peptides. We also designed two peptide variants that may have potent capability to competitively disrupt sacum interaction with its partners., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Human securin is regulatory protein involved in control of the metaphase-anaphase transition and anaphase onset of colorectal cancer. Molecular evidences suggest that the protein is integrated into oncogenic signaling network by binding to SH3-containing proteins through its proline-rich peptides. In this study, we have performed a genome-wide analysis and identification of securin-binding partners in the gene diversity space of human colorectal cancer. The securin-binding potency of SH3-containing proteins found in colorectal cancer was investigated by using bioinformatics modeling and intermolecular assay. With the protocol we were able to predict those high-affinity domain binders of the proline-rich peptides of human securin in a high-throughput manner, and to analyze sequence-specific interaction in the domain-peptide recognition at molecular level. Consequently, a number of putative domain binders with both high affinity and specificity were identified, from which the Src SH3 domain was selected as a case study and tested for its binding activity towards the securin peptides using fluorescence-based analysis. We also designed two peptide mutants that may have potent capability to competitively disrupt securin interaction with its partners. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved., (This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.)

Background: Heritable factors contribute to the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). We investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in phospholipase C epsilon 1 (PLCE1) and CRC susceptibility., Methods: We selected eight tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) and investigated whether they were associated with CRC in Chinese Han population. In this study, we used Sequenom MassARRAY technology and genotyped 276 CRC cases and 385 controls. The effects of the polymorphisms on the risk of CRC were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), evaluated by different genetic models using unconditional logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and gender. We also analyzed the risk of the eight PLCE1 tSNPs in different histology of CRC., Results: Based on x(2) tests, rs753724 (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.10-2.03, P = 0.010) and rs10882424 (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.02-1.70, P = 0.037) in PLCE1 were associated with CRC. In genetic model analyses, we found that rs753724 in PLCE1 may increase CRC risk (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.09-2.03, P = 0.013) in the log-additive model, and rs11187842 in PLCE1 may increase CRC risk (OR = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.17-8.14, P = 0.018) in the recessive model. Rs753724 TT (OR = 4.31, P = 0.010), rs11187842 TT (OR = 5.78, P = 0.003), and rs10882424 GG (OR = 2.64, P = 0.022) in PLCE1 may increase rectal cancer in a recessive model., Conclusions: Our results suggest that PLCE1 may be associated with CRC in Han Chinese population.