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We aimed to investigate the patterns and risk factors of nonfatal injuries among rural mountain-area children in southwest China.A stratified sampling method was used to recruit rural children aged 8 to 17 years (mainly 9-14 years) from 7 schools. Self-reported injuries during the past 12 months and relevant concerns were collected from June to December 2012 by using a structured questionnaire in a class interview.The mean age of the 2,854 children was 12.2 ± 1.5 years. The probability of annual injury was 16.7% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 15.3-18.1%), with slightly higher injury risk for boys than girls (17.7% vs. 16.0%; P>0.05). The top 3 causes of injuries were falls (37.3%), animal-related incidents (20.6%), and burns (14.9%). The main injury risk factors included being involved in a violent episode (odds ratio [OR] 1.34, 95% CI 1.08-1.66, P = 0.007), maltreatment by parents or guardians (1.42, 1.17-1.72, P

Digital reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) neuronal morphology from light microscopy images provides a powerful technique for analysis of neural circuits. It is time-consuming to manually perform this process. Thus, efficient computer-assisted approaches are preferable. In this paper, we present an innovative method for the tracing and reconstruction of 3D neuronal morphology from light microscopy images. The method uses a prediction and refinement strategy that is based on exploration of local neuron structural features. We extended the rayburst sampling algorithm to a marching fashion, which starts from a single or a few seed points and marches recursively forward along neurite branches to trace and reconstruct the whole tree-like structure. A local radius-related but size-independent hemispherical sampling was used to predict the neurite centerline and detect branches. Iterative rayburst sampling was performed in the orthogonal plane, to refine the centerline location and to estimate the local radius. We implemented the method in a cooperative 3D interactive visualization-assisted system named flNeuronTool. The source code in C++ and the binaries are freely available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/flneurontool/. We validated and evaluated the proposed method using synthetic data and real datasets from the Digital Reconstruction of Axonal and Dendritic Morphology (DIADEM) challenge. Then, flNeuronTool was applied to mouse brain images acquired with the Micro-Optical Sectioning Tomography (MOST) system, to reconstruct single neurons and local neural circuits. The results showed that the system achieves a reasonable balance between fast speed and acceptable accuracy, which is promising for interactive applications in neuronal image analysis.

Automated and accurate localization and morphometry of somas in 3D neuron images is essential for quantitative studies of neural networks in the brain. However, previous methods are limited in obtaining the location and surface morphology of somas with variable size and uneven staining in large-scale 3D neuron images. In this work, we proposed a method for automated soma locating in large-scale 3D neuron images that contain relatively sparse soma distributions. This method involves three steps: (i) deblocking the image with overlap between adjacent sub-stacks; (ii) locating the somas in each small sub-stack using multi-scale morphological close and adaptive thresholds; and (iii) fusion of the repeatedly located somas in all sub-stacks. We also describe a new method for the accurate detection of the surface morphology of somas containing hollowness; this was achieved by improving the classical Rayburst Sampling with a new gradient-based criteria. Three 3D neuron image stacks of different sizes were used to quantitatively validate our methods. For the soma localization algorithm, the average recall and precision were greater than 93% and 96%, respectively. For the soma surface detection algorithm, the overlap of the volumes created by automatic detection of soma surfaces and manually segmenting soma volumes was more than 84% for 89% of all correctly detected somas. Our method for locating somas can reveal the soma distributions in large-scale neural networks more efficiently. The method for soma surface detection will serve as a valuable tool for systematic studies of neuron types based on neuron structure.

Low-dimensional materials have demonstrated strong potential for use in diverse flexible strain sensors for wearable electronic device applications. However, the limited contact area in the sensing layer, caused by the low specific surface area of typical nanomaterials, hinders the pursuit of high-performance strain-sensor applications. Herein, we report an efficient method for synthesizing TiO2-based nanocomposite materials by directly using industrial raw materials with ultrahigh specific surface areas that can be used for strain sensors. A kinetic study of the self-seeded thermal hydrolysis sulfate process was conducted for the controllable synthesis of pure TiO2 and related TiO2/graphene composites. The hydrolysis readily modified the crystal form and morphology of the prepared TiO2 nanoparticles, and the prepared composite samples possessed a uniform nanoporous structure. Experiments demonstrated that the TiO2/graphene composite can be used in strain sensors with a maximum Gauge factor of 252. In addition, the TiO2/graphene composite-based strain sensor showed high stability by continuously operating over 1,000 loading cycles and aging tests over three months. It also shows that the fabricated strain sensors have the potential for human voice recognition by characterizing letters, words, and musical tones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are notorious plant pathogenic fungi with an extensive host range including Brassica crops. Glucosinolates (GSLs) are an important group of secondary metabolites characteristic of the Brassicales order, whose degradation products are proving to be increasingly important in plant protection. Enhancing the defense effect of GSL and their associated degradation products is an attractive strategy to strengthen the resistance of plants by transgenic approaches. We generated the lines of Brassica napus with three biosynthesis genes involved in GSL metabolic pathway (BnMAM1, BnCYP83A1 and BnUGT74B1), respectively. We then measured the foliar GSLs of each transgenic lines and inoculated them with S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea. Compared with the wild type control, over-expressing BnUGT74B1 in B. napus increased the aliphatic and indolic GSL levels by 1.7 and 1.5 folds in leaves respectively; while over-expressing BnMAM1 or BnCYP83A1 resulted in an approximate 1.5-fold higher only in the aliphatic GSL level in leaves. The results of plant inoculation demonstrated that BnUGT74B1-overexpressing lines showed less severe disease symptoms and tissue damage compared with the wild type control, but BnMAM1 or BnCYP83A1-overexpressing lines showed no significant difference in comparison to the controls. These results suggest that the resistance to S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea in B. napus could be enhanced through tailoring the GSL profiles by transgenic approaches or molecular breeding, which provides useful information to assist plant breeders to design improved breeding strategies.

The purple nonsulfur bacteria, Rhodospirillum rubrum, is recognized as a potential strain for PHAs bioindustrial processes since they can assimilate a broad range of carbon sources, such as syngas, to allow reduction of the production costs. In this study, we comparatively analyzed the biomass and PHA formation behaviors of R. rubrum under 100% CO and 50% CO gas atmosphere and found that pure CO promoted the PHA synthesis (PHA content up to 23.3% of the CDW). Hydrogen addition facilitated the uptake and utilization rates of CO and elevated 3-HV monomers content (molar proportion of 3-HV up to 9.2% in the presence of 50% H2). To elucidate the genetic events culminating in the CO assimilation process, we performed whole transcriptome analysis of R. rubrum grown under 100% CO or 50% CO using RNA sequencing. Transcriptomic analysis indicated different CO2 assimilation strategy was triggered by the presence of H2, where the CBB played a minor role. An increase in BCAA biosynthesis related gene abundance was observed under 50% CO condition. Furthermore, we detected the α-ketoglutarate (αKG) synthase, converting fumarate to αKG linked to the αKG-derived amino acids synthesis, and series of threonine-dependent isoleucine synthesis enzymes were significantly induced. Collectively, our results suggested that those amino acid synthesis pathways represented a key way for carbon assimilation and redox potential maintenance by R. rubrum growth under syngas condition, which could partly replace the PHA production and affect its monomer composition in copolymers. Finally, a fed-batch fermentation of the R. rubrum in a 3-l bioreactor was carried out and proved H2 addition indeed increased the PHA accumulation rate, yielding 20% ww-1 PHA production within six days.

BackgroundDose adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) should be offered in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients? Different guidelines provided the different recommendations.MethodsIn this retrospective study, a total of 140 patients were enrolled and followed for 3 years, with 24 clinical features being collected. The imaging features on the enhanced-MRI sequence were extracted by using PyRadiomics platform. The pearson correlation coefficient and the random forest was used to filter the features associated with recurrence or metastasis. A clinical-radiomics model (CRM) was constructed by the Cox multivariable analysis in training cohort, and was validated in validation cohort. All patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups through the median Rad-score of the model. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the 3-year recurrence or metastasis free rate (RMFR) of patients with or without AC in high- and low-groups.ResultsIn total, 960 imaging features were extracted. A CRM was constructed from nine features (seven imaging features and two clinical factors). In the training cohort, the area under curve (AUC) of CRM for 3-year RMFR was 0.872 (P ConclusionConsidering increasing RMFR, a prediction model for NPC based on two clinical factors and seven imaging features suggested the AC needs to be added to patients in the high-risk group and not in the low-risk group.

BackgroundThe impact of marijuana on the general population is largely unknown. The present study aimed to assess the association between marijuana use and liver steatosis and fibrosis in the general United States population utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed with data from the 2017-2018 cycle of NHANES. The target population comprised adults in the NHANES database with reliable vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE) results. The median values of the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were used to evaluate liver steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. After adjusting for relevant confounders, a logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between marijuana use and liver steatosis and fibrosis.ResultsA total of 2622 participants were included in this study. The proportions of never marijuana users, past users, and current users were 45.9%, 35.0%, and 19.1%, respectively. Compared to never marijuana users, past and current users had a lower prevalence of liver steatosis (P = 0.184 and P = 0.048, respectively). In the alcohol intake-adjusted model, current marijuana use was an independent predictor of a low prevalence of liver steatosis in people with non-heavy alcohol intake. The association between marijuana use and liver fibrosis was not significant in univariate and multivariate regression.ConclusionIn this nationally representative sample, current marijuana use is inversely associated with steatosis. The pathophysiology is unclear and needs further study. No significant association was established between marijuana use and liver fibrosis, irrespective of past or current use.

Ensuring the grain supply-demand balance and achieving grain security had been the main tasks for the government of Bangladesh. On the supply side, Bangladesh's supply of grain products has increased substantially, with an average annual growth rate of 1.99 million tons in 1998-2018. Domestic grain production, especially rice production, accounted for the largest proportion in its structure. However, under the constraints of resources and environment, imports and international aid were needed to ensure a stable and sustainable grain supply. On the demand side, Bangladesh's demand for grain products continued to grow at an average annual rate of 2.09 million tons and its structure was constantly diversified. In recent years, domestic grain production has fully met the grain demand for food use, but the overall grain supply dependence on foreign gradually increased. From the analysis of the influencing factors, the grain supply, especially the domestic production of rice and maize, had the greatest impact on the balance of grain supply-demand in Bangladesh. Moreover, multiple cropping index, chemical fertilizer application per hectare and irrigation rate were the three main factors affecting grain production. As a typical agricultural country, Bangladesh's grain security was faced with challenges, such as high population density, insufficient cultivated land resources, international grain trade and frequent natural disasters. It is suggested that its government should strengthen scientific and technological research, adjust agricultural structure, improve the efficient utilization of agricultural resources and grain circulation systems, and balance the grain demand between food use and indirect use, so as to achieve complete grain self-sufficiency and overall grain security.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis is an obligately intracellular bacterium that resides and multiplies within cytoplasmic vacuoles of phagocytes. The Ehrlichia-containing vacuole (ECV) does not fuse with lysosomes, an essential condition for Ehrlichia to survive inside phagocytes, but the mechanism of inhibiting the fusion of the phagosome with lysosomes is not clear. Understanding the ECV molecular composition may decipher the mechanism by which Ehrlichia inhibits phagosome-lysosome fusion. In this study, we obtained highly purified ECVs from E. chaffeensis-infected DH82 cells by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and analyzed their composition by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. The ECV composition was compared with that of phagolysosomes containing latex beads. Lysosomal proteins such as cathepsin D, cathepsin S, and lysosomal acid phosphatase were not detected in E. chaffeensis phagosome preparations. Some small GTPases, involved in membrane dynamics and phagocytic trafficking, were detected in ECVs. A notable finding was that Rab7, a late endosomal marker, was consistently detected in E. chaffeensis phagosomes by mass spectrometry. Confocal microscopy confirmed that E. chaffeensis phagosomes contained Rab7 and were acidified at approximately pH 5.2, suggesting that the E. chaffeensis vacuole was an acidified late endosomal compartment. Our results also demonstrated by mass spectrometry and immunofluorescence analysis that Ehrlichia morulae were not associated with the autophagic pathway. Ehrlichia chaffeensis did not inhibit phagosomes containing latex beads from fusing with lysosomes in infected cells. We concluded that the E. chaffeensis vacuole was a late endosome and E. chaffeensis might inhibit phagosome-lysosome fusion by modifying its vacuolar membrane composition, rather than by regulating the expression of host genes involved in trafficking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques in the brain may facilitate the diagnosis of cerebral β-amyloidosis, risk prediction of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and effectiveness of anti-amyloid therapies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate novel 123I-labeled pyridyl benzofuran derivatives as SPECT probes for Aβ imaging. The formation of a pyridyl benzofuran backbone was accomplished by Suzuki coupling. [123I/125I]-labeled pyridyl benzofuran derivatives were readily prepared by an iododestannylation reaction. In vitro Aβ binding assays were carried out using Aβ(1–42) aggregates and postmortem human brain sections. Biodistribution experiments were conducted in normal mice at 2, 10, 30, and 60 min postinjection. Aβ labeling in vivo was evaluated by small-animal SPECT/CT in Tg2576 transgenic mice injected with [123I]8. Ex vivo autoradiography of the brain sections was performed after SPECT/CT. Iodinated pyridyl benzofuran derivatives showed excellent affinity for Aβ(1–42) aggregates (2.4 to 10.3 nM) and intensely labeled Aβ plaques in autoradiographs of postmortem AD brain sections. In biodistribution experiments using normal mice, all these derivatives displayed high initial uptake (4.03–5.49% ID/g at 10 min). [125I]8 displayed the quickest clearance from the brain (1.30% ID/g at 60 min). SPECT/CT with [123I]8 revealed higher uptake of radioactivity in the Tg2576 mouse brain than the wild-type mouse brain. Ex vivo autoradiography showed in vivo binding of [123I]8 to Aβ plaques in the Tg2576 mouse brain. These combined results warrant further investigation of [123I]8 as a SPECT imaging agent for visualizing Aβ plaques in the AD brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary mechanism underlying pre-eclampsia (PE) remains one of the most burning problems in the obstetrics and gynecology. In this study, we performed an expression profiling screen and detected 1312 genes that were differentially expressed (p<0.05 and fold change >1.5) in PE placentas, including LEP and SH3PXD2A. After validating the microarray results, we conducted the quantitative methylation analysis of LEP and SH3PXD2A in preeclamptic (n = 16) versus normal placentas (n = 16). Our results showed that many CpG sites close to the transcriptional start site (TSS) of LEP gene were hypomethylated in placentas from pregnancies with PE compared with those of in controls, including the TSS position (p = 0.001), the binding sites of Sp1 (p = 1.57×10−4), LP1 (p = 0.023) and CEBPα (p = 0.031). Luciferase reporter analysis confirmed the aberrant methylation of LEP promoter and CEBPα co-transfection had a role in the regulation of gene expression. Our results indicated the aberrant LEP promoter methylation was involved in the development of PE. We did not find a significant methylation differences between groups in the promoter region of SH3PXD2A, however, a CGI region in the gene body (CGI34) presented a higher methylation in preeclamptic placentas (p = 1.57×10−4), which might promote the efficiency of gene transcription. We speculated that SH3PXD2A may take part in the pathogenesis of PE through its role in the regulation of trophoblast cell invasion in the period of placenta formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The barnacle Balanus amphitrite is a globally distributed marine crustacean and has been used as a model species for intertidal ecology and biofouling studies. Its life cycle consists of seven planktonic larval stages followed by a sessile juvenile/adult stage. The transitional processes between larval stages and juveniles are crucial for barnacle development and recruitment. Although some studies have been conducted on the neuroanatomy and neuroactive substances of the barnacle, a comprehensive understanding of neuropeptides and peptide hormones remains lacking. To better characterize barnacle neuropeptidome and its potential roles in larval settlement, an in silico identification of putative transcripts encoding neuropeptides/peptide hormones was performed, based on transcriptome of the barnacle B. amphitrite that has been recently sequenced. Potential cleavage sites and structure of mature peptides were predicted through homology search of known arthropod peptides. In total, 16 neuropeptide families/subfamilies were predicted from the barnacle transcriptome, and 14 of them were confirmed as genuine neuropeptides by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends. Analysis of peptide precursor structures and mature sequences showed that some neuropeptides of B. amphitrite are novel isoforms and shared similar characteristics with their homologs from insects. The expression profiling of predicted neuropeptide genes revealed that pigment dispersing hormone, SIFamide, calcitonin, and B-type allatostatin had the highest expression level in cypris stage, while tachykinin-related peptide was down regulated in both cyprids and juveniles. Furthermore, an inhibitor of proprotein convertase related to peptide maturation effectively delayed larval metamorphosis. Combination of real-time PCR results and bioassay indicated that certain neuropeptides may play an important role in cypris settlement. Overall, new insight into neuropeptides/peptide hormones characterized in this study shall provide a platform for unraveling peptidergic control of barnacle larval behavior and settlement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis. Currently, only sorafenib is approved by the FDA for advanced HCC treatment; therefore, there is an urgent need to discover candidate therapeutic drugs for HCC. We hypothesized that if a drug signature could reverse, at least in part, the gene expression signature of HCC, it might have the potential to inhibit HCC-related pathways and thereby treat HCC. To test this hypothesis, we first built an integrative platform, the "Encyclopedia of Hepatocellular Carcinoma genes Online 2", dubbed EHCO2, to systematically collect, organize and compare the publicly available data from HCC studies. The resulting collection includes a total of 4,020 genes. To systematically query the Connectivity Map (CMap), which includes 6,100 drug-mediated expression profiles, we further designed various gene signature selection and enrichment methods, including a randomization technique, majority vote, and clique analysis. Subsequently, 28 out of 50 prioritized drugs, including tanespimycin, trichostatin A, thioguanosine, and several anti-psychotic drugs with anti-tumor activities, were validated via MTT cell viability assays and clonogenic assays in HCC cell lines. To accelerate their future clinical use, possibly through drug-repurposing, we selected two well-established drugs to test in mice, chlorpromazine and trifluoperazine. Both drugs inhibited orthotopic liver tumor growth. In conclusion, we successfully discovered and validated existing drugs for potential HCC therapeutic use with the pipeline of Connectivity Map analysis and lab verification, thereby suggesting the usefulness of this procedure to accelerate drug repurposing for HCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bayesian network classifiers (BNCs) have demonstrated competitive classification performance in a variety of real-world applications. A highly scalable BNC with high expressivity is extremely desirable. This paper proposes Redundant Dependence Elimination (RDE) for improving the classification performance and expressivity of k-dependence Bayesian classifier (KDB). To demonstrate the unique characteristics of each case, RDE identifies redundant conditional dependencies and then substitute/remove them. The learned personalized k-dependence Bayesian Classifier (PKDB) can achieve high-confidence conditional probabilities, and graphically interpret the dependency relationships between attributes. Two thyroid cancer datasets and four other cancer datasets from the UCI machine learning repository are selected for our experimental study. The experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in terms of zero-one loss, bias, variance and AUC.

Three-dimensional (3D) nanometal scaffolds have gained considerable attention recently because of their promising application in high-performance supercapacitors compared with plain metal foils. Here, a highly oriented nickel (Ni) nanowire array (NNA) film was prepared via a simple magnetic-field-driven aqueous solution deposition process and then used as the electrode scaffold for the vapor-phase polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT). Benefiting from the unique 3D open porous structure of the NNA that provided a highly conductive and oriented backbone for facile electron transfer and fast ion diffusion, the as-obtained poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) exhibited an ultra-long cycle life (95.7% retention of specific capacitance after 20 000 charge/discharge cycles at 5 A/g) and superior capacitive performance. Furthermore, two electrodes were fabricated into an aqueous symmetric supercapacitor, which delivered a high energy density (30.38 Wh/kg at 529.49 W/kg) and superior long-term cycle ability (13.8% loss of capacity after 20 000 cycles). Based on these results, the vapor-phase polymerization of EDOT on metal nanowire array current collectors has great potential for use in supercapacitors with enhanced performance.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) can deliver higher doses with less damage of healthy tissues compared with three-dimensional radiation therapy (3DCRT). However, for the scenarios with better clinical outcomes for IMRT than 3DCRT in prostate cancer, the results remain ambiguous. We performed a meta-analysis to assess whether IMRT can provide better clinical outcomes in comparison with 3DCRT in patients diagnosed with prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We conducted a meta-analysis of 23 studies (n = 9556) comparing the clinical outcomes, including gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity, genitourinary (GU) toxicity, biochemical controland overall survival (OS). RESULTS:IMRT was significantly associated with decreased 2-4 grade acute GI toxicity [risk ratio (RR) = 0.59 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.44, 0.78)], late GI toxicity [RR = 0.54, 95%CI (0.38, 0.78)], late rectal bleeding [RR = 0.48, 95%CI (0.27, 0.85)], and achieved better biochemical control[RR = 1.17, 95%CI (1.08, 1.27)] in comparison with 3DCRT. IMRT and 3DCRT remain the same in regard of grade 2-4 acute rectal toxicity [RR = 1.03, 95%CI (0.45, 2.36)], late GU toxicity [RR = 1.03, 95%CI (0.82, 1.30)] and overall survival [RR = 1.07, 95%CI (0.96, 1.19)], while IMRT slightly increased the morbidity of grade 2-4 acute GU toxicity [RR = 1.08, 95%CI (1.00, 1.17)]. CONCLUSIONS:Although some bias cannot be ignored, IMRT appears to be a better choice for the treatment of prostate cancer when compared with 3DCRT.

Electrically small antennas (ESAs) are becoming one of the key components in the compact wireless devices for telecommunications, defence, and aerospace systems, especially for the spherical one whose geometric layout is more closely approaching Chu's limit, thus yielding significant bandwidth improvements relative to the linear and planar counterparts. Yet broad applications of the volumetric ESAs are still hindered since the low cost fabrication has remained a tremendous challenge. Here we report a state-of-the-art technology to transfer electrically conductive composites (ECCs) from a planar mould to a volumetric thermoplastic substrate by using pad-printing technology without pattern distortion, benefit from the excellent properties of the ECCs as well as the printing-calibration method that we developed. The antenna samples prepared in this way meet the stringent requirement of an ESA (ka is as low as 0.32 and the antenna efficiency is as high as 57%), suggesting that volumetric electronic components i.e. the antennas can be produced in such a simple, green, and cost-effective way. This work can be of interest for the development of studies on green and high performance wireless communication devices.

The gap between the growing demand for available organs and the cadaveric organs facilitates the adoption of living donor liver transplantation. We retrospectively identified and evaluated the post-operative complications as per the modified Clavien classification system in 152 living liver donors at at the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University between December, 2006 and June, 2014. Post-operative complications were observed in 61 patients (40.1%) in the present study, but no mortality was reported. Complications developed in 58 (40.0%) right, 1 (33.3%) left, and 2 (66.7%) lateral left hepatectomy donors. The prevalence of re-operation was 1.3%. Grade I and II complications were observed in 38 (25.0%) and 11 (7.2%) donors, respectively. Grade IIIa complications developed in 9 (5.9%) donors and only 3 (2.0%) patients reported grade IIIb complications. The most common complication was pleural effusion that occurred in 31 (20.4%) donors. No significant prognostic baseline factor was identified in this study. In conclusion, living donors experienced various complications, which were usually mild and had a good prognosis.

We examined whether endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced autophagy provides cytoprotection from renal tubular epithelial cell injury due to oxidants and chemical hypoxia in vitro, as well as from ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in vivo. We demonstrate that the ER stress inducer tunicamycin triggers an unfolded protein response, upregulates ER chaperone Grp78, and activates the autophagy pathway in renal tubular epithelial cells in culture. Inhibition of ER stress-induced autophagy accelerated caspase-3 activation and cell death suggesting a pro-survival role of ER stress-induced autophagy. Compared to wild-type cells, autophagy-deficient MEFs subjected to ER stress had enhanced caspase-3 activation and cell death, a finding that further supports the cytoprotective role of ER stress-induced autophagy. Induction of autophagy by ER stress markedly afforded cytoprotection from oxidants H2O2 and tert-Butyl hydroperoxide and from chemical hypoxia induced by antimycin A. In contrast, inhibition of ER stress-induced autophagy or autophagy-deficient cells markedly enhanced cell death in response to oxidant injury and chemical hypoxia. In mouse kidney, similarly to renal epithelial cells in culture, tunicamycin triggered ER stress, markedly upregulated Grp78, and activated autophagy without impairing the autophagic flux. In addition, ER stress-induced autophagy markedly ameliorated renal IR injury as evident from significant improvement in renal function and histology. Inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine markedly increased renal IR injury. These studies highlight beneficial impact of ER stress-induced autophagy in renal ischemia-reperfusion injury both in vitro and in vivo.