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The G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor, Gpbar1 or TGR5, is characterized as a membrane receptor specifically activated by bile acids. A series of evidence shows that TGR5 induces protein kinase B (AKT), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Ras homolog family member A (RhoA), exchange protein activated by cAMP (Epac), and transient receptor potential ankyrin subtype 1 protein (TRPA1) signaling pathways, thereby regulating proliferation, inflammation, adhesion, migration, insulin release, muscle relaxation, and cancer development. TGR5 is widely distributed in the brain, lung, heart, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidney, stomach, jejunum, ileum, colon, brown adipose tissue (BAT), white adipose tissue (WAT), and skeletal muscle. Several recent studies have demonstrated that TGR5 exerts inconsistent effects in different cancer cells upon activating via TGR5 agonists, such as INT-777, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), and taurolithocholic acid (TLCA). In this review, we discuss both the 'friend' and 'foe' features of TGR5 by summarizing its tumor-suppressing and oncogenic functions and mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heavy metals of soils around coal waste pile at Taoyuan coal mine (in Anhui province, China) has exceeded provincial's background values, posing a serious threat to residents in the mine area. Quantitative evaluation on human health risks (HHR) from different sources of heavy metals can determine priority sources and help to reduce risks. Statistics, spatial distribution, and positive matrix factorization (PMF) were applied to identify contribution of sources, and HHR from different sources were quantitatively calculated by combining the HHR with PMF model. In this study, 37 samples were collected from topsoil (0–20 cm) around coal waste pile. Four sources were apportioned as follow: industrial activities (48.37%), transportation (22.44%), natural source (15.44%), and leaching from coal waste pile (13.70%). As for carcinogenic risk, industrial activities was the priority source. Moreover, the noncarcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk for children were obviously higher than adults, and the main exposure pathway for adults and children was similar, mainly from oral ingestion. The combined model was effective to assess HHR quantitatively from different sources, thereby the outcomes of the study provide a better understanding and suggestions for pollution control and human health from sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using V2O5 as raw material, oxalic acid as reducing agent, a series of nano-VO2(B) samples with different oxalic acid concentrations (c(H2C2O4)/c(V2O5) =x, 1.00 ≤x≤2.50) were prepared by hydrothermal method. The structure, micro-morphology and electrochemical performance of the prepared samples were characterized and analyzed. The results showed that the prepared samples were all pure phase VO2(B) with monoclinic structure; with the increase of the concentration of reducing agent, the morphology of the VO2(B) sample gradually changed from smaller nanoplates to larger nanorods; the structural defects of VO2 (B) samples were mainly micropores; the obtained VO2 (B) samples all had good cycle stability and reversibility. Among them, the VO2(B) sample obtained with x = 1.75 had smaller redox peak potential difference (0.111 V) and smaller resistance (0.770 Ω), and when the current density was 30 mA/g, the VO2(B) sample had the largest specific capacitance value (105. 00 F/g), showing better electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the complete chloroplast genome of Lonicera tangutica is presented and characterized for the first time. The complete chloroplast genome was 156,121 bp in length, including 23,899 bp inverted repeat (IR) regions, an 89,466 bp large single-copy (LSC) region, and an 18,851 bp small single-copy (SSC) region. A total of 129 genes, including 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes, and 84 protein-coding genes, were annotated, and the overall GC content of the chloroplast genome was 38.35%. Two introns in the ycf3 gene and a single intron in another gene were detected. Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis indicated that L. tangutica has a very close evolutionary relationship with Lonicera praeflorens, Lonicera hispida, Lonicera fragrantissima, and Lonicera stephanocarpa. These results are valuable for studying the evolution and genetic diversity of L. tangutica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed-borne endophyte Epichloë gansuensis enhance NaCl tolerance in Achnatherum inebrians and increase its biomass. However, the molecular mechanism by which E. gansuensis increases the tolerance of host grasses to NaCl stress is unclear. Hence, we firstly explored the full-length transcriptome information of A. inebrians by PacBio RS II. In this work, we obtained 738,588 full-length non-chimeric reads, 36,105 transcript sequences and 27,202 complete CDSs from A. inebrians. We identified 3558 transcription factors (TFs), 15,945 simple sequence repeats and 963 long non-coding RNAs of A. inebrians. The present results show that 2464 and 1817 genes were differentially expressed by E. gansuensis in the leaves of E+ and E− plants at 0 mM and 200 mM NaCl concentrations, respectively. In addition, NaCl stress significantly regulated 4919 DEGs and 502 DEGs in the leaves of E+ and E− plants, respectively. Transcripts associated with photosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, amino acids metabolism, flavonoid biosynthetic process and WRKY TFs were differentially expressed by E. gansuensis; importantly, E. gansuensis up-regulated biology processes (brassinosteroid biosynthesis, oxidation–reduction, cellular calcium ion homeostasis, carotene biosynthesis, positive regulation of proteasomal ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolism and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis) of host grass under NaCl stress, which indicated an increase in the ability of host grasses' adaptation to NaCl stress. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the molecular mechanism for E. gansuensis to increase the tolerance to salt stress in the host, which provides a theoretical basis for the molecular breed to create salt-tolerant forage with endophytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]