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It is generally believed that excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during cardiovascular diseases impairs endothelial function. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether miR-214-3p is involved in the endothelial dysfunction induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). In cultured vascular endothelial cells (VECs), the effects of miR-214-3p on endothelial injury induced by 100 mg/L ox-LDL were evaluated by knockdown of miR-214-3p. Western blotting was used to determine the expression of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in VECs under different conditions. A luciferase reporter assay was used to identify GPX4 as the target of miR-214-3p. Our data showed that 100 mg/L ox-LDL significantly decreased the expression of GPX4 and eNOS, which was associated with increases in ROS levels and impairments of VEC viability and migration. Knockdown of miR-214-3p could partially reduce the increase in ROS, restore the decreased expression of GPX4 and eNOS, and thus rescue the impaired endothelial function caused by ox-LDL. Our data demonstrated that ox-LDL could induce upregulation of miR-214-3p and result in suppression of GPX4 in VECs. Downregulation of miR-214-3p could protect VECs from ROS-induced endothelial dysfunction by reversing its inhibitory effect on GPX4 expression.

The relationship of the genes of PAL (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase) and scopoletin was explored to reveal the key gene involved in PAL activity, PAL expression and scopoletin accumulation in noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaves and fruit. Our results display how the enzyme activity of PAL in noni fruit and leaves increases gradually with the leaves maturity, and exogenous ethephon induces PAL activity in noni leaves, which is consistent with the scopoletin accumulation law. Based on our previous transcriptome data, three PAL fragments were retrieved, and their full lengths were cloned via RACE; named as McPAL1, McPAL2 and McPAL3. The analysis of qRT-PCR showed that McPAL3 is expressed in the leaves and mature fruit, McPAL2 in the leaves only and McPAL1 mainly in the young stage of fruit. Ethephon induced the expression of McPAL2 and McPAL3 in the leaves, and McPAL1 and McPAL3 in the fruit. In noni fruit treated with ethephon, the expression pattern of McPAL3 was consistent with the trend of the scopoletin content and total PAL activity. We conclude that McPAL3 is the key gene involved in the accumulation of scopoletin, which can be induced by ethylene (ETH).

This study was to determine the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities and evaluate the effect of intercropping on soil fertility in the tea-Chinese chestnut intercropping system. The Illumina platform was used to characterize the rhizosphere bacteria in the intercropping systems. The rhizospheric soil in intercropping systems in fall was enriched in soil organic matter, available phosphorus, and available potassium, and these were positively correlated with several bacterial taxa including Chloroflexi, WPS-2, Bacteroidota, Myxococcota, Bacteroidota, and Patescibacteria. These bacteria permitted the tea plants to obtain sufficient amounts of nutrients from the soil. In spring, the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium of the intercropping system of tea and Chinese chestnut planted in the 1980s (80 T) increased, and these nutrients were positively correlated with Myxococcota, Latescibacterota, Bacteroidota, Deinococcota, Bdellovibrionota, SAR324 Clade (Marine Group B), and Patescibacerlai. In addition, several bacteria (Geobacter, Halomonas, Luteolibacter, Adhaeribacter, and Paludibaculum) contained in the 80 T sample in spring and fall were determined to be beneficial for the soil based on previous studies. The effects of intercropping and monocropping on soils were more complex in spring compared to those with fall, and Chinese chestnut tree age had a strong effect on soil. Our results highlight the need to fully consider factors such as tree age and season in the design of intercropping systems as well as collect additional data for scientific applications of intercropping systems.

It is well-known that the surface quality of the niobium microalloy profiled billet directly affects the comprehensive mechanical properties of the H-beam. The effects of chromium on the γ/α phase transformation and high-temperature mechanical properties of Nb-microalloyed steel were studied by Gleeble tensile and high-temperature in-situ observation experiments. Results indicated that the starting temperature of the γ→α phase transformation decreases with increasing Cr content. The hot ductility of Nb-microalloyed steel is improved by adding 0.12wt% Cr. Chromium atoms inhibit the diffusion of carbon atoms, which reduces the thickness of grain boundary ferrite. The number fractions of high-angle grain boundaries increase with increasing chromium content. In particular, the proportion is up to 48.7% when the Cr content is 0.12wt%. The high-angle grain boundaries hinder the crack propagation and improve the ductility of Nb-microalloyed steel.

Most polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in the human body are acquired from dietary intake. The chronic exposure of humans to PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs is a major health concern, and these compounds are strictly controlled in many areas. This study measured the levels of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) farms in Shanghai and determined potential sources. The mean concentrations of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in the studied crab samples were 264.20 ± 260.14 and 506.25 ± 226.80 pg/g ww (wet weight), respectively. The range of the toxic equivalent (TEQ) for the total PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in the crab samples was 1.20–29.04 pg TEQ/g ww. Further analysis revealed that the TEQ input to crabs in aquacultural water was 1.6 times higher than the TEQ in edible crab parts. Aquatic plants, shore plants, and feed contributed about 0.05% of the total TEQ input to crabs. The TEQ contribution from sediment was 317 times that found in edible crab parts, and sediment may be the most prevalent source of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in farm crabs. The evaluation of the Shanghai market crab revealed different levels of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs. The TEQs for the mean PCDD/F and DL-PCB levels were 1.55 ± 1.96 and 1.05 ± 0.55 pg TEQ/g ww, respectively. The tolerable daily intake (TDI) levels of adults and children were lower than the prescribed range (1–4 pg TEQ/kg (weight)·d), indicating no significant chronic or acute ingestion risk for adults and children.

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PurposeTo develop and validate a quantitative model based on gross tumor volume (GTV) of gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) corresponding to N-stage measured at multidetector computed tomography (CT) for preoperative determination of resectabilityMaterials and methods493 consecutive patients with confirmed GA undergoing contrast-enhanced CT two weeks before treatments were randomly enrolled into the training cohort (TC, n = 271), internal validation cohort (IVC, n = 107) and external validation cohort (EVC, n = 115). GTV was measured on CT by multiplying sums of all tumor areas by section thickness. In TC, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to select factors associated with resectability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was to determine if N-stage based GTV could identify resectability. In IVC and EVC, unweighted Cohen’s Kappa tests were to evaluate performances of the ROC models.ResultsAccording to univariate analysis, age, cT stage, cN stage and GTV were related to resectability in TC (all P-values < 0.05), and multivariate analysis suggested that cN stage and GTV were independent risk factors with odds ratios of 1.594 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.105–2.301) and 1.055 (95%CI: 1.035–1.076), respectively. ROC analysis in TC revealed the cutoffs of 21.81, 21.70 and 36.93 cm3 to differentiate between resectable and unresectable cancers in stages cN0-3, cN2 and cN3 with areas under the curves of more than 0.8, respectively, which was validated in IVC and EVC with average Cohen k-values of more than 0.72.ConclusionsGTV and cN stage can be independent risk factors of unresectable GA, and N-stage based GTV can help determine resectability.

As an indispensable part of immune response, inflammation plays a critical role in the occurring and advancing of many diseases. It is reported that the emergence of inflammation can be indicated by the change of intracellular viscosity and overexpression of the hydrogen sulfide (Hsub2/subS) in mitochondria. So far, elucidating the relationship between inflammation and the above parameters remains a challenge due to the lack of validated analytical tools. Herein, a novel dual-function NIR fluorescent probe CMQT with excellent biological compatibility and mitochondrial targeting ability is designed and synthesized by using 7-diethylaminocoumarin and 4-ethylphenolate quinoline acetate through twistable vinyl bonds. With the functional probe, enhanced fluorescent signals at 570 nm and 721 nm are produced in the presence of Hsub2/subS and changes of viscosity. The CMQT can be applied in living cells and zebrafish, which reveals the increases of mitochondrial Hsub2/subS and viscosity generated by inflammatory response through dual-channel fluorescence imaging mode. The in vivo dual-functional probe serves as an efficient tool for imaging analysis of Hsub2/subS and viscosity, and has profound implications for the early diagnosis of inflammatory diseases.

This work using first-principles theory proposed PdN3-doped CNT (PdN3-CNT) as a potential gas sensor for detection of NO, NO2 and O3 in the air insulated equipment, to evaluate its operation status. Results indicate that the PdN3-CNT behaves chemisorption upon three gas species, with adsorption energy (Ead) of − 2.15, − 1.91 and − 1.96 eV, and charge-transfer (QT) of − 0.141, − 0.325 and − 0.419 e, respectively. The band structure (BS) and density of state (DOS) analysis reveal that the gas adsorptions cause remarkable deformations in the electronic property of the PdN3-CNT, leading to the increase of the bandgap for the gas adsorbed systems and verifying the strong binding force of the bonded atoms from the orbital DOS. Combined with the results by frontier molecular orbital theory, we presume that PdN3-CNT is a promising sensing material to be explored as a resistance-type gas sensor for detection of NOx with higher electrical response upon NO. It is our hope that our theoretical assumption could be further studied and realized in the following experiential research, which would be meaningful to propose novel sensing candidate in the field of electrical engineering to guarantee the safe operation of the air insulation equipment.

This article presents a novel toroidal metasurface that is able to support a toroidal response at almost all incident angles for a transverse magnetic (TM) wave at the microwave range. A flat band is observed from the calculated band structure where the radiation power of the toroidal response is highest around 7.51 GHz. A high transmission at a resonant frequency is observed from the simulated and measured transmission coefficients with different incident angles, whereas the transmission is lower at the rest frequency range. The resonance frequency at a high sensitivity of 0.78 GHz/refraction index unit (RIU) is experimentally demonstrated, which is very sensitive to the thickness and the refraction index of the surrounding materials such that the proposed toroidal metasurface could be used for a tunable highly efficient filters.