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ObjectiveTo observe the effect of mirror therapy (MT) combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES) on upper limb motor dysfunction and thenar muscle atrophy in stroke patients.MethodsA total of 120 patients with upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke in the Xingtai Third Hospital from August 2017 to August 2020 were randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 60 cases in each group. Both groups received routine drug treatment and conventional rehabilitation training. The control group received FES therapy in addition to the conventional therapy, while the observation group received MT therapy in addition to the conventional therapy. Before and after treatment, Fugl-Meyer assessment of upper extremity (FMA-UE), Wolf motor function test (WMFT) and Brunnstrom hemiplegia stage were used to evaluate the motor function of upper limbs of patients with stroke; functional independence measure (FIM) was used to evaluate the functional independence; modified Barthel index (MBI) was used to assess the activities of daily living of patients; and color ultrasound diagnostic instrument was used to measure the cross sectional area (CSA) and circumference of thenar muscles.Results(1) Motor function of upper limbs: compared with those before treatment, FMA-UE, WMFT and Brunnstrom hemiplegia stage scores of both groups after treatment significantly improved, and the differences were statistically significant (PPPPPP

The cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA4) gene, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is crucial for maintaining immune homeostasis and preventing autoimmune diseases. Studies have shown that polymorphisms in the CTLA4 gene are linked to an increased risk of brucellosis in humans, but its association with brucellosis in goats remains unexplored. In this study, the tissue expression profile of CTLA4 in goats was investigated, and the correlation between InDel polymorphisms in the CTLA4 gene and susceptibility to brucellosis in goats was examined. The findings reveal the widespread expression of CTLA4 in goat tissues, particularly in the spleen and testes. The tested goat populations presented genotypes insertion/insertion (II), insertion/deletion (ID), and deletion/deletion (DD) at both the P1 and P2 loci, and an association analysis revealed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes and allele frequencies at the P1 and P2 loci of the CTLA4 gene between the Brucella goat case and the control groups (p < 0.05). Specifically, compared with the II genotype, the P1 and P2 loci were significantly associated with an elevated risk of brucellosis development in goats under both the codominant (ID/II) and dominant (ID + DD/II) models (P1, p = 0.042, p = 0.016; P2, p = 0.011, p = 0.014). Additionally, haplotype analysis indicated that haplotypes IP1DP2, DP1IP2, and DP1DP2 were significantly associated with an increased risk of brucellosis in goats compared to the reference haplotype IP1IP2 (p = 0.029, p = 0.012, p = 0.034). Importantly, the Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation of peripheral blood monocytes and/or macrophages from goats with the II, ID, and DD genotypes resulted in increased CTLA4 expression levels in the II genotype, leading to a robust LPS-induced inflammatory response. Through bioinformatic analysis, the observed effect of the InDel locus on Brucella pathogenesis risk in goats could be attributed to the differential binding of the transcription factors nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα). These findings offer potential insights for breeding strategies against brucellosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TKTL1 is a crucial regulatory enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and plays a significant role in energy synthesis. It is expressed in various tumour tissues, with its expression level closely associated with tumour invasion, metastasis and prognosis. Recent studies utilising proteomic analysis and other methods have highlighted the noteworthy expression of the TKTL1 gene in germ cells, particularly in spermatogonia and ovarian cells. Consequently, this article reviews the molecular characteristics of TKTL1 and its expression in germ cells to provide a reference for research on TKTL1 beyond tumour cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore how to apply blockchain technology to intelligent transportation, create a hierarchical theoretical framework of intelligent transportation, and explore a sustainable application system of intelligent transportation under the blockchain. However, not only this hierarchical theoretical framework must consider unnecessary attributes and the interrelationships between the aspects and the criteria, but also the sustainable application system must be in consideration in multiple stakeholders. Hence, fuzzy set theory is used for screening out the unnecessary attributes, a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is proposed to manage the complex interrelationships among the aspects and attributes, and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to divide the hierarchy and construct a hierarchical theoretical framework. Finally, the research develops a sustainable GCU application system for intelligent transportation under the blockchain. The results show that (1) solving social problems is the primary link, (2) economic tasks are mainly focused on smart contracts and affected by the social problems, (3) the continuous improvement of environmental issues requires a solution to social problems, and (4) the application system of blockchain in intelligent transportation needs to be built from three levels including the government layer, the company layer, and the user layer. This theoretical hierarchical framework aims to guide intelligent transportation toward the application of blockchain. This study also proposes the engagement of stakeholders for establishing a sustainable application system., 1. Introduction Urban intelligent traffic aims to give full play to the carrying capacity of the road network, solve all varieties of traffic problems, and improve traffic safety and environmental [...]

The integration of big data analytics with effective supply chain practices based on dynamic capability theory is an emerging topic, and the relationship that exists between big data analytics and supply chain dynamic capabilities and supply chain practices, and their impact on supply chain performance, requires further research. This article examines the relationship between three supply chain practices and supply chain performance. The information provided by managers of 415 companies in China was used as a sample and the data collected was empirically tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings show that different supply chain practices have a positive impact on supply chain dynamic capability and supply chain performance, that supply chain dynamic capability has an indirect mediating effect, and that big data analysis has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between supply chain practices and supply chain performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desertification is one of the most critical environmental and socioeconomic issues in the world today. Located in the transitional region between the desert and the Loess Plateau, the Mu Us Sandy Land is one of the nine most environmentally sensitive areas in the world. Remote sensing provides an effective technical method for desertification monitoring. In order to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of desertification in the Mu Us Sandy Land from 1991 to 2021, the "MSAVI-Albedo" model was employed to extract desertification data in 1991, 2002, 2009 and 2021. The clustering characteristics of desertification were analyzed based on Moran's I statistic. Subsequently, the driving forces in desertification changes were investigated using a geographical detector to analyze the influence of soil, meteorology, and topography on desertification. Additionally, the impact of meteorological and human factors on desertification change in the Mu Us Sandy Land was assessed. From 1991 to 2021, the degree of desertification of the Mu Us Sandy Land showed an overall decreasing trend, and the percentage of land classified as undergoing extremely severe, severe, moderate and mild desertification was improved by 86.11%, 81.82%, 52.5% and 37.42%, respectively. The proportion of land classified as undergoing extremely severe desertification decreased from 29.22% to 5.62%, and the proportion of land undergoing no desertification increased from 4.16% to 18.33%. At the same time, the desertification center shifted westward, and the desertification distribution showed a clustering trend. It is known that different factors affect the formation and distribution of desertification in the Mu Us Sandy Land in the following order: soil, meteorology, and topography. Over the past 30 years, the mean annual temperature and annual precipitation increased at rates of 0.01871 °C/a and 1.0374 mm/a, respectively, while the mean annual wind speed decreased at a rate of 0.00945 m/s·a. These changes provided more favorable natural conditions for vegetation growth and sand fixation. Human factors, such as economic development, agriculture and animal husbandry practices, and the policy of returning farmland to forest (grassland) also had a significant impact on the desertification process, leading to a year-by-year improvement in the ecological environment of the Mu Us Sandy Land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding a means to extract water body information efficiently and accurately from high-resolution remote sensing images has been an important research direction in the field of water body extraction in recent years. However, shadows from buildings and other obstacles interfere with the accuracy of water body extraction. To address this problem, this paper proposes a neural network method incorporating an attention mechanism for water body extraction. This paper is based on the U-Net convolutional neural network and adds the squeeze-and-excitation module of SENet, an attention mechanism, to the downsampling process of the U-Net network. The module weights the feature maps so that the network focuses more on the features of the water body information and thus reduces attention to the shadow features from buildings and other features, thus improving the accuracy of image segmentation. The dropout and batch normalization layers are also added to improve the generalization ability and stability of the model. In this paper, a water extraction network SE-CU-Net model is presented to overcome the shadowing effect from buildings and other features. Using GF-2 images of Jiangsu province as the data source, the recognition results of this paper are compared with Dense-Net, Res-Net, Seg-Net, U-net, SVM, and RF. Through the comparison experiments, the model of this paper can not only better overcome the influence of shadows from buildings and other features, but it also has a stronger recognition ability and recognition effect. The average ASCR, Precision, mIoU, OA, F1-Score and kappa coefficients in the three tested areas reached 98.27%, 97.17%, 89.33%, 98.2%, 89.3% and 0.883, respectively, with significantly higher accuracy than the other six classical methods, verifying the effectiveness of the model in overcoming the influence of shadows from buildings and other features in water body extraction research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underground coal fires in coal fields endanger the mine surface ecological environment, endanger coal resources, threaten mine safety and workers' health, and cause geological disasters. The study of methods by which to monitor the laws that determine the way underground coal fires spread is helpful in the safe production of coal and the smooth execution of fire extinguishing projects. Based on night-time ASTER thermal infrared images of 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 in Huangbaici and Wuhushan mining areas in the Wuda coalfield, an adaptive-edge-threshold algorithm was used to extract time-series for underground coal fire areas. A method of time-series dynamic analysis for geometric centers of underground coal fire areas was proposed to study the propagation law and development trend of underground coal fires. The results indicate that, due to the effective prevention of the external influences of solar irradiance, topographic relief and land cover, the identification accuracy of coal fires via the use of a night-time ASTER thermal infrared image was higher by 7.70%, 13.19% and 14.51% than that of the daytime Landsat thermal infrared image in terms of producer accuracy, user accuracy and overall accuracy, respectively. The propagation direction of the geometric center of the time-series coal fire areas can be used to represent the propagation direction of underground coal fires. There exists a linear regression relationship between the migration distance of the geometric center of coal fire areas and the variable-area of coal fires in adjacent years, with the correlation coefficient reaching 0.705, which indicates that the migration distance of the geometric center of a coal fire area can be used to represent the intensity variation of underground coal fires. This method can be applied to the analysis of the trends of underground coal fires under both natural conditions and human intervention. The experimental results show that the Wuda underground coal fires spread to the southeast and that the area of the coal fires increased by 0.71 km2 during the period of 2002–2003. From 2003 to 2005, Wuda's underground coal fires spread to the northwest under natural conditions, and the area of coal fires decreased by 0.30 km2 due to the closure of some small coal mines. From 2005 to 2007, due to increased mining activities, underground coal fires in Wuda spread to the east, south, west and north, and the area of coal fires increased dramatically by 1.76 km2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to expand the acceptance of the AI virtual assistant model from the perspective of user cognition. Based on the 240 samples, the authors used multi-layer regression analysis to investigate the influencing factors and differential effects of user acceptance of AI virtual assistant. The results show that functional cognition and emotional cognition of users are important influencing factors for an artificial intelligence virtual assistant. This provides a new perspective for user acceptance processes of the AI virtual assistant. They also examined the moderating effect of social norms between user cognition and AI virtual assistant. At last, a new AI acceptance model of AI virtual assistant was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we developed a novel microwave‐assisted hydrothermal synthetic method for urchin‐like bimetallic manganese‐cobalt carbonate composites. Compared with the traditional process, the microwave‐assisted hydrothermal process is not only environmentally friendly, but also more convenient. The electrode of supercapacitors prepared at 120 °C for 10 min exhibited the best electrochemical performance, which could deliver a high capacitance of 839.58 F g−1 at 1 mA cm−2 and remain 82.12 % of its initial capacitance even after 8,000 successive charge‐discharge cycles at a high current density of 6 mA cm−2. We have found the possibility of using a microwave‐assisted hydrothermal process to synthesize the urchin‐like bimetallic manganese‐cobalt carbonate composites, which is of great importance for the application of bimetallic manganese‐cobalt carbonate composites in the supercapacitor field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the diffusion of blockchain technology in the smart grid, this paper studies the framework and application of the blockchain technology in the smart grid, so as to combine the blockchain with the smart grid and establish a sustainable supply chain. However, the establishment of a sustainable supply chain is based on a layered theoretical framework. Not only should the framework take into account needless attributes and the relationship among various criteria and aspects but the application should also involve a balance of multiple stakeholders. For the above reasons, this paper uses a combination of Fuzzy-DEMATEL and ISM. The results show that (1) the hierarchical path of sustainable supply chain management of the smart grid under the blockchain starts from the social level, pays attention to system construction, grasps the technical standards, and defines the development goals of the power grid. (2) The development of green energy has become a new market growth point. (3) The control of the operation level becomes the focus of the smart grid. (4) The optimization and development of the economic structure are restricted by social factors. By integrating and optimizing the blockchain and supply chain, this paper puts forward a theoretical framework, establishes a sustainable GIP application system with multistakeholder participation at the supply chain level, and indicates the significance of the blockchain in the smart grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orchitis is one of the leading causes of male animal infertility and is associated with inflammatory reactions caused by the bacterium. It has been reported that there is a mutual coupling effect between endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and inflammatory response. Our studies showed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could cause testicular damages, apoptosis, ERS, and inflammatory responses in spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs); ERS‐related apoptosis proteins were activated and the expression of ERS genes was significantly upregulated; meanwhile, the expression of Toll‐like receptor 4 and inflammation factors was apparently increased with LPS treatment. Moreover, melatonin (MEL) could rescue testicular damage, and significantly inhibited the expression of ERS‐related apoptosis genes, ERS markers, and inflammatory factors in SSCs and MEL played repairing and anti‐infection roles in LPS‐induced testicular damage. Therefore, MEL may be used as a drug to prevent and control bacterial infections in male reproductive systems. However, the specific molecular mechanism of MEL to resist ERS and inflammatory response remains to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual creativity has been the focus of long-term research in creative industries. However, few studies have explored the impact on individual creativity from social factors. At the same time, the influence of individual creativity on the existence of subsequent factors in the creative industry is also worthy of further investigation. From a social standpoint, this research aims to explore how social norms affect individual creativity, and how individual creativity affects subsequent leadership. The present research takes creative entrepreneurs in creative enterprises as the research objects, and the structural equation model is used to analyze the data obtained from 202 valid questionnaires. Besides, the mediating effect of individual creativity between social norms and individual leadership is verified. The results show that social norms can effectively promote the generation of individual creativity that has a positive impact on both transactional or transformational leadership. It is revealed that social norms are effective tools for enhancing creativity, answering the question of how creative ideas are transformed into creative work and leadership. Individual creativity plays a mediating role between social norms and individual leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spermatogenesis is a complex process that originates from and depends on the spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). The number of SSCs is rare, which makes the separation and enrichment of SSCs difficult and inefficient. The transcription factor PAX7 maintains fertility in normal spermatogenesis in mice. However, for large animals, much less is known about the SSCs' self‐renewal regulation, especially in dairy goats. We isolated and enriched the CD49f‐positive and negative dairy goat testicular cells by magnetic‐activated cell sorting strategies. The RNA‐ sequencing and experimental data revealed that cells with a high CD49f and PAX7 expression are undifferentiated spermatogonia in goat testis. Our findings indicated that ZBTB16 (PLZF), PAX7, LIN28A, BMPR1B, FGFR1, and FOXO1 were expressed higher in CD49f‐positive cells as compared to negative cells and goat fibroblasts cells. The expression and distribution of PAX7 in dairy goat also have been detected, which gradually decreased in testis tissue along with the increasing age. When the PAX7 gene was overexpressed in dairy goat immortal mGSCs‐I‐SB germ cell lines, the expression of PLZF, GFRα1, ID4, and OCT4 was upregulated. Together, our data demonstrated that there is a subset of spermatogonial stem cells with a high expression of PAX7 among the CD49f+ spermatogonia, and PAX7 can maintain the self‐renewal of CD49f‐positive SSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future fertility of males with cancer may be irreversibly compromised by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Spermatogonial stem cell transplantation is believed to be a way to restore fertility in men. However, the survival efficiency of transplanted cells is still low. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit 3 and structural gene Y-linked (Eif2s3y) located on the Y chromosome of male animals is a coding gene of eIF2γ which mainly functions in translation initiation. Recently, the emerging role of Eif2s3y in spermatogenesis has been emphasized in several studies. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In addition, how Eif2s3y functions in large animals remains largely unknown. In this study, we obtained the CDS sequence of the Eif2s3y gene from the testis of dairy goats and found that this gene was highly expressed in the testis and was evolutionarily conserved among different species. Interestingly, overexpression of Eif2s3y promoted the proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells of dairy goats by activating the ERK signaling pathway. In animal experiments, overexpressing Eif2s3y promoted transplanted goat spermatogonial stem cells and produced more colonies after microinjection into the seminiferous tubules of infertile mice. In conclusion, our study highlights an undiscovered role of Eif2s3y in dairy goat reproduction. This finding may provide an important basis for future works regarding male spermatogenic cell restoration and represent a major advance toward surrogate sires becoming a tool for disseminating and regenerating germplasm in all mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the application of blockchain technology in smart healthcare, establish a hierarchical theoretical framework of smart healthcare, reveal the impact of blockchain on smart healthcare, and finally, construct a development application system of smart healthcare under the blockchain based on stakeholder theory. However, such a hierarchical theoretical framework should consider not only the necessary attributes and the interrelationship among various aspects and attributes but also the role of multiple stakeholders. Therefore, the paper uses fuzzy set theory to filter unnecessary attributes, proposes a decision-making and experimental evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to manage the complex interrelationships between various aspects and attributes, and uses Interpretive Structure Modeling (ISM) to divide the hierarchy and construct a hierarchical theoretical framework. The results show that (1) the top-level design, the medical record management, and the doctor management are the root causes of system. (2) The specific application of blockchain in the field of smart healthcare is mainly carried out around the intelligent contract, which relies on the medical record management and is constrained by the system, and optimization of application is the key to system upgrading. (3) The internal and external regulation, the medical insurance, and the environmental governance play a guaranteed role for the development of the system and effectively safeguard the interests of stakeholders. (4) The application system of smart healthcare under the blockchain needs to be built based on three layers: the transaction layer, information layer, and stakeholder layer. The theoretical hierarchical framework is intended to guide smart healthcare towards blockchain applications, and stakeholders are suggested to participate in the development application systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma CO2 splitting to CO over oxygen-deficient Mo-doped CeO2 under mild conditions was investigated for the first time, showing ∼20 times higher CO2 conversion compared to pure CeO2, which can be attributed to the increased oxygen vacancies (VO) and the formation of Ce3+–VO–Mo on the catalyst surface. Importantly, VO sites showed excellent catalytic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma CO2 splitting to CO over oxygen-deficient Mo-doped CeO2 under mild conditions was investigated for the first time, showing ∼20 times higher CO2 conversion compared to pure CeO2, which can be attributed to the increased oxygen vacancies (VO) and the formation of Ce3+–VO–Mo on the catalyst surface. Importantly, VO sites showed excellent catalytic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to create a hierarchical framework for the development of a platform business model based on big data. However, this hierarchical framework must consider unnecessary attributes and the interrelationships between the aspects and the criteria. Hence, fuzzy set theory is used for screening out the unnecessary attributes, a decision-making and trial evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is proposed to manage the complex interrelationships among the aspects and attributes, and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to divide the hierarchy and finally construct a hierarchical framework. The results reveal that (1) value proposition and community building in value production are fundamental links; (2) information technology and information management in value production are technical supports; (3) customer development in value marketing is the power source; and (4) value acquisition is the last link, which is established on the basis of and influenced by value marketing and value network. This hierarchical framework aims to guide the platform toward the application of big data. This study also proposes engagement of stakeholders for promoting value creation and establishing a sound business model from multiple levels and links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In creative industries, entrepreneurs' creativity is the source of entrepreneurial activities. Meanwhile, the key to the success of entrepreneurship lies in the strategic tendency of leaders, referred to the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). This paper is aimed to explain the process from creativity to IEO and reveal the psychological process of entrepreneurs' creativity. We proposed an integrated model of "individuality–creativity–IEO" by drawing on the theories of big five personality and entrepreneurship. Using a sample of 202 creative entrepreneurs from China, the research found that entrepreneurs' creativity has a positive impact on IEO, and the individuality of neuroticism and extraversion exhibited a negative U-shaped relationship with creativity. Finally, implications for both theory and practice were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore whether entrepreneurial ethics can improve entrepreneurial performance in new ventures. The dynamic impact of entrepreneurial ethics on entrepreneurial performance (survival and sustainable growth) is investigated from an institutional perspective, and the moderating role of firm visibility between them is explored. From different regions of China, 296 valid questionnaires are obtained and analyzed. We find that entrepreneurial ethics is adverse to the survival of new ventures but conducive to their sustainable growth of new ventures. We also find that high firm visibility can help entrepreneurial ethics be more effective in improving entrepreneurial performance. This study provides a new insight to explain the theoretical controversy of entrepreneurial ethics and provides guidance for the establishment of the internal ethical structures of new ventures. Suggestions for government and industry regulators on the management of entrepreneurial ethics are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tapiscia sinensis Oliv. (Tapisciaceae) has been proven to be a functional androdioecious species with both male and hermaphroditic individuals, and the pollen viability of males is far higher than that of hermaphrodites. To better understand the causes of the low pollen viability in hermaphroditic flowers, different stages of anther development were observed. We found that hermaphroditic flowers exhibit abnormal tapetum development, resulting in low pollen viability. To clarify the underlying molecular mechanism of abnormal tapetum development in hermaphrodites, quantitative real-time PCR analyses were performed. The results revealed that the expression levels of an important transcription factor for tapetum development and function, T. sinensis DYSFUNCTIONAL TAPETUM1 (TsDYT1), and its potential downstream regulatory genes T. sinensis DEFECTIVE in TAPETAL DEVELOPMENT and FUNCTION1 (TsTDF1), T. sinensis ABORTED MICROSPORE (TsAMS) and T. sinensis MALE STERILITY 1 (TsMS1) were all significantly downregulated in hermaphrodites compared with males at some key stages of anther development. The amino acid sequence similarity, expression pattern, gene structure and subcellular localization of these genes were analyzed, and the results indicated functional conservation between T. sinensis and homologues in Arabidopsis thaliana. Next, rapid amplification of cDNA end and thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR were employed to clone the full-length cDNA and promoter sequences of these genes, respectively. In addition, results of yeast two-hybrid analysis showed that TsDYT1 can form heterodimers with TsAMS, and yeast one-hybrid analysis demonstrated that TsDYT1 directly binds to the promoter regions of TsTDF1 and TsMS1. TsTDF1 can directly regulate expression of TsAMS , suggesting that a functionally conserved pathway exists between A. thaliana and T. sinensis to regulate tapetum development. In conclusion, the results suggest that abnormal expression of core transcription factors for tapetum development, including TsDYT1 , TsTDF1 , TsAMS and TsMS1 , plays an important role in the abnormal development of the tapetum in T. sinensis hermaphrodites. Furthermore, a hermaphroditic tapetum with abnormal function causes the low pollen viability of hermaphroditic trees. Our results provide new insight into our understanding of the underlying mechanism of why pollen viability is much higher in males than hermaphrodites of the androdioecious tree T. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LIN28A serves as a crucial marker of dairy goat male germline stem cells (GmGSCs). In our previous study, we demonstrated that LIN28A promotes proliferation, self‐renewal, and maintains the stemness of GmGSCs. Here, we found that LIN28A could activate the transcription of NANOG in a let‐7g independent manner. We cloned the 5′ upstream of two NANOG genes which were located on chromosome 15 (NANOG‐ch15) and chromosome 5 (NANOG‐ch5), respectively, and then examined their promoter activities and promoter methylation levels. Results showed that NANOG‐ch15 is a pseudogene whereas NANOG‐ch5 is active in Capra hircus. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the 5′ upstream region of NANOG‐ch5 does not have typical CpG islands but contains several CG enrichment regions and several LIN28A binding sites. Deletion analysis suggested that NANOG‐ch5 promoter can be activated by LIN28A directly binding to the site ‐210 but not by the indirect effect from the inhibition of let‐7g, which is known to be downregulated by LIN28A. Mechanistically, LIN28A recruits and interacts with 5‐methylcytosine‐dioxygenase Ten‐Eleven translocation 1 (TET1) to NANOG‐ch5 gene promoter binding sites to orchestrate 5‐methylcytosine and 5‐hydroxymethylcytosine dynamics. These results revealed the role of LIN28A in NANOG transcriptional regulation via epigenetic DNA modifications to maintain the stemness of GmGSC. In this study, we found that LIN28A in a let‐7g independent manner activating the transcription of NANOG that located on chromosome 5 via binding the −573/+210 5′ upstream region. Mechanistically, LIN28A recruits and interacts with 5‐methylcytosine‐dioxygenase Ten‐Eleven translocation 1 (TET1) to NANOG gene promoter binding sites to orchestrate 5‐methylcytosine and 5‐hydroxymethylcytosine dynamics. These results reveal the role of LIN28A in NANOG transcriptional regulation via epigenetic DNA modifications to maintain stemness of goat male germline stem cells (GmGSCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typha angustifolia L. (Typhaceae) is an emergent aquatic plant, and aerenchyma is formed through cell lysis in its leaves. The developing aerenchyma of T. angustifolia contains many CaOx crystals (raphides). Oxalate oxidase (OXO) (oxalate : oxygen oxidoreductase, EC1.2.3.4) can degrades calcium oxalate to carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). High level of H2O2 acts as a key inducer for different types of developmentally and environmentally programmed cell death (PCD) and can promote the formation of aerenchyma. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the relationship between aerenchyma formation and the degradation of CaOx crystals. Light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that CaOx crystals occurred between PCD-susceptible cells in the early phase of aerenchyma formation, and those cells and CaOx crystals were degraded at aerenchyma maturation. Cytochemical localisation was used to detect H2O2, and H2O2 was found in crystal idioblasts. In addition, the oxalate content, H2O2 content and OXO activity were determined. The results showed that the concentration of oxalate was the highest in the third cavity formation stage and the H2O2 concentration was also highest at this stage. Meanwhile, the activity of OXO was also high in the third cavity formation stage. TpOXO was highly expressed during the CaOx crystal degradation period by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. These results show that the degradation of CaOx crystals is involved in the regulation of the PCD process of aerenchyma. This study will contribute to understanding the changes in CaOx crystals during the formation of aerenchyma in T. angustifolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]