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Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a primary hepatobiliary malignancy, is characterized by a poor prognosis and a lack of effective treatments. Therefore, the need to explore novel therapeutic approaches is urgent. While the role of Peptidylprolyl Cis/Trans Isomerase, NIMA-Interacting 1 (PIN1) has been extensively studied in various tumor types, its involvement in CCA remains poorly understood. Methods: In this study, we employed tissue microarray (TMA), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to assess the expression of PIN1. Through in vitro and in vivo functional experiments, we investigated the impact of PIN1 on the adhesion and metastasis of CCA. Additionally, we explored downstream molecular pathways using RNA-seq, western blotting, co-immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence, and mass spectrometry techniques. Results: Our findings revealed a negative correlation between PIN1 overexpression and prognosis in CCA tissues. Furthermore, high PIN1 expression promoted CCA cell proliferation and migration. Mechanistically, PIN1 functioned as an oncogene by regulating ANXA2 phosphorylation, thereby promoting CCA adhesion. Notably, the interaction between PIN1 and ANXA2 was facilitated by RACK1. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of PIN1 using the FDA-approved drug all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) effectively suppressed the metastatic potential of CCA cells in a nude mouse lung metastasis model. Conclusion: Overall, our study emphasizes the critical role of the PIN1/RACK1/ANXA2 complex in CCA growth and functionality, highlighting the potential of targeting PIN1 as a promising therapeutic strategy for CCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the research framework of ecological function zoning is complex and diverse, there are not many spatially continuous zoning results, which can be effectively applied to watershed management practices. Ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs can identify interactions among multiple ecosystem services, and achieve better social-ecosystem management when applying to ecological function zoning. Taking the Dongjiang Lake Basin, China, as research area, the study used the InVEST model to investigate the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services at township and grid scales, respectively. Then, the study conducted ecological function zoning based on the bundles and trade-off intensity among ecosystem services. The results showed that food production showed extremely significant trade-offs with other services in the two scales, in which the trade-off intensity between food production and water purification was the largest, and the water areas were the hotspots of trade-off intensity. Based on the ecosystem service bundles at the township, combined with the trade-off intensity, the watershed was finally divided into four ecological functional zones, namely, agricultural product supply area (southern part in the study area), economic forestry area (northeast regions in the study area), water supply area (western areas of the study area), and forest conservation area (northern areas in the study area), accounting for 29.27%, 14.63%, 17.07%, and 39.03%, respectively. The study contributed to the ecological function maintenance and sustainable development in Dongjiang Lake Basin and provided an important reference in ecological zoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar had been widely used to improve the activity of photocatalysts, the biochar-based photocatalysts had more potential for environmental pollution remediation, but their effect on the sediment remained unknown. To understand these, the typical photocatalyst g-C3N4 was modified by biochar to develop g-C3N4/biochar with enhanced photocatalytic ability. Riverbed sediment was exposed to g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/biochar respectively for 30 days, and Illumina sequencing was utilized to examine the changes in the bacterial community in the sediment. The results showed that in riverbed sediment, g-C3N4 exposure had a concentration-dependent effect on the diversity of bacteria, while g-C3N4/biochar exposure had a slight influence on the bacterial diversity and the diversity almost maintained stable with different g-C3N4/biochar concentration. The application of g-C3N4 exhibited an inhibition influence on the growth of Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Rokubacteria in sediment, whose relative abundance increased when g-C3N4 was 25 mg/kg, and then decreased when g-C3N4 beyond this concentration. The presence of g-C3N4/biochar increased the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria in sediment and showed no obvious impact on other dominant phyla. Both g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/biochar could alter the levels of TP, NN, and AN in the sediment, but the magnitude of the changes of these physicochemical factors caused by g-C3N4/biochar was much smaller than those caused by g-C3N4. In addition, the complexity of the bacterial community network was reduced in a high concentration of g-C3N4, while it remained stable with different concentrations of g-C3N4/biochar treatments. Totally, this study demonstrated that, compared to g-C3N4, g-C3N4/biochar was able to maintain the relative stability of the bacterial community in riverbed sediment and mitigate the negative effects of photocatalysts to some extent, making biochar an ecological remediation agent with great potential for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysts have been widely prepared and used in wastewater treatment. Although the influence of photocatalyst application on survival and activity of organisms has been examined, its impact on composition and diversity of microbial community is not fully understood. In this study, the impact of photocatalyst g-C3N4 (Graphitic carbon nitride) on microbial communities in riverbed sediments polluted by antibiotic tetracycline (TC) was investigated. The sediment samples collected from the Xiangjiang River of China were exposed to different concentrations of TC, g-C3N4 and TC/g-C3N4 and the bacterial community were analyzed by Illumina sequencing. The results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Acidobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Chloroflexi in the study site. When compared to the control treatments, the application of TC, g-C3N4 and TC/g-C3N4 exhibited distinguishable effects on bacterial community structure in sediments. The presence of TC had greater influence on bacterial composition, while g-C3N4 and TC/g-C3N4 had less influence on bacteria. The diversity and richness of microorganisms in sediment increased under g-C3N4 application and reached the highest values when g-C3N4 was 75 mg/kg. The photocatalyst g-C3N4 restored bacterial community diversity affected by TC, reduced the TC residues in aquatic environment, and eliminated the side effects of TC application in sediments. Our study indicated that g-C3N4 was an environmentally friendly photocatalyst with lightly negative effects on microbial community in riverbed sediments, and could be used for effective remediation of TC-contaminated environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norfloxacin (NOF) is an environmentally harmful and ubiquitous aquatic pollutant with extensive production and application. In this study, a novel composition named carbon-based composite photocatalytic material of zinc oxide and zinc sulphide (ZnO/ZnS@BC) was successfully obtained by the impregnation-roasting method to remove NOF under UV-light. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer characterised the composition. ZnO/ZnS was successfully decorated on the surface of biochar (BC). The pH, the ZnSO4/PS ratio, and ions and quenchers, were investigated. High removal efficiency was obtained with a pH of 7 and a ZnSO4/PS ratio of 1:1, and the removal ratio of NOF reached 95% within three hours; the adsorption and degradation ratios reached 46% and 49%, respectively. Fe2+ promoted the degradation of NOF, whereas other ions inhibited it, with NO3− showing the strongest inhibitory effect. Three reactive species (tert-butanol, quinone, and ammonium oxala) were identified in the catalytic system. The decreasing order of the contribution of each reactive species was: O2− > ·OH− > h+. Additionally, a recycling experiment demonstrated the stability of the catalyst; the catalytic degradation ratio of NOF reached 78% after five successive runs. Therefore, ZnO/ZnS@BC possessed strong adsorption capacity and high ultraviolet photocatalysis ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Lupinus westianus, an endangered and endemic species to Florida, United States, has been assembled from Illumina pair-end sequencing. The chloroplast genome structure of L. westianus is a circular molecule of 154,270 bp in length, with a large single copy (LSC) region of 82,437 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 15,853 bp, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) regions of 27,990 bp. The total G+C content of chloroplast genome is 36.47%, and while it is 41.56% of IRs, which was higher than LSC and SSC regions. The genome contained 130 genes, including 85 protein coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes, of which 18 were duplicated in the IRs region. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that L. westianus was clustered together with other two genus of Lupinus, L. luteus and L. albus. The chloroplast genome of L. westianus laid a good foundation for genetic resoures conservation. The chloroplast genome reported provided useful genomic resources not only for the exchange of information between different species, but also for the population genetics of L. westianus and its phylogenetic and evolutionary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: JrVHAG1 is an important candidate gene for plant osmotic tolerance regulation. Abstract: Vacuolar H-ATPase (V-ATPase) is important for plant responses to abiotic stress; the G subunit is a vital part of V-ATPase. In this study, a G subunit of V-ATPase was cloned from Juglans regia ( JrVHAG1) and functionally characterized. JrVHAG1 transcription was induced by mannitol that increasing 17.88-fold in the root at 12 h and 19.16-fold in the leaf at 96 h compared to that under control conditions. JrVHAG1 was overexpressed in Arabidopsis and three lines (G2, G6, and G9) with highest expression levels were selected for analysis. The results showed that under normal conditions, the transgenic and wild-type (WT) plants displayed similar germination, biomass accumulation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, and physiological index. However, when treated with mannitol, the fresh weight, root length, water-holding ability, and V-ATPase, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase activity of G2, G6, and G9 were significantly higher than those of WT. In contrast, the ROS and cell damage levels of the transgenic seedlings were lower than those of WT. Furthermore, the transcription levels of V-ATPase subunits, ABF, DREB, and NAC transcription factors (TFs), all of which are factors of ABA signaling pathway, were much higher in JrVHAG1 transgenic plants than those in WT. The positive induction of JrVHAG1 gene under abscisic acid (ABA) treatments in root and leaf tissues indicates that overexpression of JrVHAG1 improves plant tolerance to osmotic stress relating to the ABA signaling pathway, which is transcriptionally activated by ABF, DREB, and NAC TFs, and correlated to ROS scavenging and V-ATPase activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: JrGSTTau1 is an important candidate gene for plant chilling tolerance regulation. Abstract: A tau subfamily glutathione S-transferase ( GST) gene from Juglans regia ( JrGSTTau1, GeneBank No.: KT351091) was cloned and functionally characterized. JrGSTTau1 was induced by 16, 12, 10, 8, and 6 °C stresses. The transiently transformed J. regia showed much greater GST, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activities and lower HO, malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and electrolyte leakage (EL) rate than prokII (empty vector control) and RNAi:: JrGSTTau1 under cold stress, indicating that JrGSTTau1 may be involved in chilling tolerance. To further confirm the role of JrGSTTau1, JrGSTTau1 was heterologously expressed in tobacco, transgenic Line5, Line9, and Line12 were chosen for analysis. The germinations of WT, Line5, Line9, and Line12 were similar, but the fresh weight, primary root length, and total chlorophyll content (tcc) of the transgenic lines were significantly higher than those of WT under cold stress. When cultivated in soil, the GST and SOD activities of transgenic tobacco were significantly higher than those of WT; however, the MDA and HO contents of WT were on average 1.47- and 1.96-fold higher than those of Line5, Line9, and Line12 under 16 °C. The DAB, Evans blue, and PI staining further confirmed these results. Furthermore, the abundances of NtGST, MnSOD, NtMAPK9, and CDPK15 were elevated in 35S:: JrGSTTau1 tobacco compared with WT. These results suggested that JrGSTTau1 improves the plant chilling tolerance involved in protecting enzymes, ROS scavenging, and stress-related genes, indicating that JrGSTTau1 is a candidate gene for the potential application in molecular breeding to enhance plant abiotic stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracking seasonally changing resources is regarded as a widespread proximate mechanism underpinning animal migration. Migrating herbivores, for example, are hypothesized to track seasonal foliage dynamics over large spatial scales. Previous investigations of this green wave hypothesis involved few species and limited geographical extent, and used conventional correlation that cannot disentangle alternative correlated effects. Here, we introduce stochastic simulations to test this hypothesis using 222 individual spring migration episodes of 14 populations of ten species of geese, swans and dabbling ducks throughout Europe, East Asia, and North America. We find that the green wave cannot be considered a ubiquitous driver of herbivorous waterfowl spring migration, as it explains observed migration patterns of only a few grazing populations in specific regions. We suggest that ecological barriers and particularly human disturbance likely constrain the capacity of herbivorous waterfowl to track the green wave in some regions, highlighting key challenges in conserving migratory birds. The green wave hypothesis is often considered a key driver of spring migration in avian herbivores. Here the authors employ a multispecies comparison and find that migration did not track the green wave better than simulated stochastic migrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the prognostic role of imaging features based on CT and MRI in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)., Methods: Two hundred and four patients from a single-center database who underwent radical ICC surgery from 2010 to 2019 were enrolled in the study. Cox proportional hazard model was used for survival analysis of imaging features. A meta-analysis was performed to determine imaging features that predict overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) in ICC., Results: In the CT group of the retrospective cohort, tumor multiplicity, infiltrative tumor margin, lymph node metastasis, enhancement pattern in hepatic arterial phase and tumor necrosis correlated with poorer EFS and OS; moreover, enhancing capsules, high carcinoembryonic antigen levels contributed to poor OS. In the MRI group, tumor multiplicity and enhancement pattern were prognostic factors for OS; tumor multiplicity and enhancement pattern resulted in poor EFS. A total of 13 articles containing 1822 patients with ICC were enrolled in the adjusted hazard ratios meta-analysis. The results showed that enhancement pattern and infiltrative tumor margin were predictors of OS and EFS, whereas bile duct invasion was a predictor of OS., Conclusions: Arterial enhancement patterns and tumor margin status were associated with both OS and EFS of ICC patients following resection., (© 2023. The Author(s).)