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Simple Summary: Capacitation confers competency to spermatozoa to fertilize the oocyte, yet its regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Thus, we aimed to investigate the comparative proteomic profiling in ram spermatozoa under non-capacitating (NC) and capacitating (CAP) conditions in vitro using a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS) combined with tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling strategy. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the differentially abundant proteins Prune Exopolyphosphatase 1, Galactose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase, and ATP Citrate Lyase were strictly related to energy production and conversion, and Phosphoglycolate phosphatase, Glucosamine-6-Phosphate Deaminase 1 and 2 were related to metabolism, RNA processing, and vesicular transport pathways. Furthermore, the networks of protein–protein interaction indicated a strong interaction among these differential proteins in annotated pathways such as ubiquitin and transport metabolism. Together, our results provided the database for studying the differentially expressed proteins during ram sperm capacitation. Ram sperm undergo a sequence of physiological and biochemical changes collectively termed as capacitation to perform oocyte fertilization. However, the protein changes induced by capacitation remain in need of further exploration. Thus, the present study investigated the comparative proteomic profiling in ram spermatozoa under non-capacitating (NC) and capacitating (CAP) conditions in vitro using a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry combined with tandem mass tag labeling strategy. As a results, 2050 proteins were identified and quantified; 348 of them were differentially abundant, with 280 of the proteins upregulated and 68 of the proteins downregulated between the CAP and NC spermatozoa, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the differentially abundant proteins Prune Exopolyphosphatase 1, Galactose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase, and ATP Citrate Lyase were strictly related to energy production and conversion, and Phosphoglycolate phosphatase, Glucosamine-6-Phosphate Deaminase 1 and 2 were related to metabolism, RNA processing, and vesicular transport pathways. Furthermore, the networks of protein–protein interaction indicated a strong interaction among these differential proteins in annotated pathways such as ubiquitin and transport metabolism. Our findings indicate that capacitation progress might be regulated through different pathways, providing insights into mechanisms involved in ram sperm capacitation and fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Take the force feedback handle applied to the teleoperation of space robotic arm as a requirement. In order to improve users’ experience, we studied the automatic reset force of the handle. This paper proposes a springdamping model and applies it to the torque output of the motor to achieve a good reset of the handle, which is a new development of the application field of the automatic reset force model of the force feedback device. The experiment shows that the automatic reset force model has high accuracy when the handle returns to zero. In addition, through dynamic and reasonable adjustment of the stiffness coefficient and damping coefficient, it can meet the needs of different users for the automatic reset force of the force feedback handle.

In this paper, we study the processes of e+e− annihilation into two body final states, either two pseudoscalar mesons or one meson with a photon. The hadronic vacuum polarization form factors are calculated within the framework of resonance chiral theory in the energy region of E ≲ 2 GeV, with final state interactions taken into account. A joint analysis on the processes of e+e−→ π+π−, K+K−, K L 0 K S 0 , π0γ, and ηγ has been performed, and the latest experimental data are included. Based on the vacuum polarization form factors of these processes, we estimate their contributions to the lowest order of anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, (g – 2)μ. Combined with other contributions from hadronic vacuum polarization and other interactions from the standard model, the discrepancy between theoretical prediction and experimental measurement is ∆aμ = (24.1 ± 5.4) × 10−10, i.e., 4.5σ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the processes of e+e− annihilation into two body final states, either two pseudoscalar mesons or one meson with a photon. The hadronic vacuum polarization form factors are calculated within the framework of resonance chiral theory in the energy region of E ≲ 2 GeV, with final state interactions taken into account. A joint analysis on the processes of e+e−→ π+π−, K+K−, K L 0 K S 0 , π0γ, and ηγ has been performed, and the latest experimental data are included. Based on the vacuum polarization form factors of these processes, we estimate their contributions to the lowest order of anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, (g – 2)μ. Combined with other contributions from hadronic vacuum polarization and other interactions from the standard model, the discrepancy between theoretical prediction and experimental measurement is ∆aμ = (24.1 ± 5.4) × 10−10, i.e., 4.5σ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel serine protease with fibrinolytic activity named CSP was purified from the culture supernatant of the fungus Cordyceps sinensis, a kind of Chinese herbal medicine. Analysis of the purified enzyme by SDS-PAGE indicated that CSP was a single polypeptide chain with an apparent molecular weight of 31 kDa, and N-terminal sequencing revealed that the first ten amino acid residues of the enzyme were Ala-Leu-Ala-Thr-Gln-His-Gly-Ala-Pro-Trp-. When casein was used as a substrate, the proteolytic activity of CSP reached its maximum at pH 7.0 and 40 °C. The effect of chemical agents on the enzyme activity indicated that CSP is a serine protease with a free cysteine residue near the active site. It hydrolysed fibrinogen, fibrin and casein with a high efficiency, while hydrolysing bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) to a lesser extent. CSP was found to be a plasmin-like protease, but not a plasminogen activator, and it preferentially cleaved the A α chain of fibrinogen and the α-chain of fibrin. Therefore, the extracellular protein CSP may represent a potential new therapeutic agent for the treatment of thrombosis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructural and textural evolution, as well as the recrystallization kinetics under different cold‐rolling methods and their influencing mechanism on the properties of the thin‐gauge 3.5%Si nonoriented silicon steel, are investigated by electron backscattering diffraction, X‐ray diffractometer, tensile, and magnetic properties test. The results indicate that compared with the primary cold‐rolling process, the reduction rate of secondary cold‐rolling process is lower (58.3%), and many shear bands are formed in the coarse cold‐rolled sheet, which leads to the formation of strong Goss and cube texture after recrystallization annealing. Owing to the high annealing temperature, the average grain size of finished annealed sheet is little different under different cold‐rolling processes, so the mechanical properties and high‐frequency iron loss are basically the same. The iron loss of the secondary cold‐rolled products decreases with an increase in frequency, and the improvement in the iron loss of the high field (1.5 T) becomes larger than that of the low field (1.0 T). Given the high anisotropy index of the Goss texture, the iron loss anisotropy of the secondary cold‐rolled sheet is higher. Considering the magnetic and mechanical properties, the optimum process is the secondary cold rolling with the intermediate annealing temperature of 900 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies revealed that vitamin K might help maintain muscle homeostasis, but this association has received little attention. We aimed to explore the associations of vitamin K intake with skeletal muscle mass and strength., Methods: We included cross-sectional data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2011-2018). Vitamin K intake was assessed via 24-h recall. Covariate-adjusted multiple linear regression and restricted cubic splines were used to evaluate the associations of dietary vitamin K intake with skeletal muscle mass and strength, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and handgrip dynamometer, respectively., Results: Dietary vitamin K intake was positively associated with skeletal muscle mass in males (β = 0.05747, p  = 0.0204) but not in females. We also revealed a positive association between dietary vitamin K intake and handgrip strength within the range of 0-59.871 μg/d ( P nonlinear  = 0.049). However, beyond this threshold, increasing vitamin K intake did not cause additional handgrip strength improvements., Conclusion: We provided evidence for a positive relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and skeletal muscle mass in males. Moreover, our study revealed a nonlinear relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and handgrip strength, highlighting an optimal intake range., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Chen, Guo, Wang, Bao, Zhang and Yu.)

Ram sperm undergo a sequence of physiological and biochemical changes collectively termed as capacitation to perform oocyte fertilization. However, the protein changes induced by capacitation remain in need of further exploration. Thus, the present study investigated the comparative proteomic profiling in ram spermatozoa under non-capacitating (NC) and capacitating (CAP) conditions in vitro using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combined with tandem mass tag labeling strategy. As a results, 2050 proteins were identified and quantified; 348 of them were differentially abundant, with 280 of the proteins upregulated and 68 of the proteins downregulated between the CAP and NC spermatozoa, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the differentially abundant proteins Prune Exopolyphosphatase 1, Galactose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase, and ATP Citrate Lyase were strictly related to energy production and conversion, and Phosphoglycolate phosphatase, Glucosamine-6-Phosphate Deaminase 1 and 2 were related to metabolism, RNA processing, and vesicular transport pathways. Furthermore, the networks of protein-protein interaction indicated a strong interaction among these differential proteins in annotated pathways such as ubiquitin and transport metabolism. Our findings indicate that capacitation progress might be regulated through different pathways, providing insights into mechanisms involved in ram sperm capacitation and fertility.

We examined the effects of freeze-thaw cycles (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 15 cycles) on the activities of urease, invertase, and proteinase in the different layers of the soil under the four typical stands in the cold temperate zone, i.e ., Pinus pumila stand, Rhododendron-Betula platyphylla stand, Rhododendron-Larix gmelinii stand, Ledum-Larix gmelinii stand, with the indoor freeze-thaw simulation culture method being used. The relationship between soil enzyme activity and multiple physicochemical variables was analyzed during freeze-thaw alternation. The results showed that the activity of soil urease was firstly increased and then inhibited during freeze-thaw alternation. After freeze-thaw, urease activity did not differ from that without freeze-thaw. Invertase activity was firstly inhibited and then increased during freeze-thaw alternation, and was significantly increased by 8.5%-40.3% after freeze-thaw. Proteinase activity was firstly increased and then inhibited during freeze-thaw alternation, and was significantly decreased by 13.8%-68.9% after freeze-thaw. After freezing and thawing, there was significant positive correlation between urease activity and ammonium nitrogen and soil water content in Ledum-L. gmelinii stand and P. pumila stand, respectively, and proteinase activity had significant negative correlation with inorganic nitrogen concentration in P. pumila stand, Rhododendron-B. platyphylla stand, and Ledum-L. gmelinii stand. Invertase activity had significant positive correlation with organic matter in Rhododendron-L. gmelinii stand and Ledum-L. gmelinii stand.

Aim: To investigate the effect of interleukin (IL)-22 on hepatic fibrosis in mice and the possible mechanism involved., Methods: Liver fibrosis was induced in male BALB/c mice by CCl₄. Recombinant IL-22 (rmIL-22) was administered intraperitoneally in CCl₄-treated mice. Fibrosis was assessed by histology and Masson staining. The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) was investigated by analysis of α-smooth muscle actin expression. The frequencies of T helper (Th) 22 cells, Th17 cells and Th1 cells, the expression of inflammatory cytokines [IL-22, IL-17A, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-6, IL-1β] and transcription factors [aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), RAR-related orphan receptor (RORγt), T-bet] mRNA in the liver were investigated. In addition, the plasma levels of IL-22, IL-17A, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were evaluated., Results: Significant elevations in circulating Th22 cells, Th17 cells, Th1 cells, IL-22, IL-17A, and IFN-γ were observed in the hepatic fibrosis group compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Treatment with rmIL-22 in mice with hepatic fibrosis ameliorated the severity of hepatic fibrosis, which was confirmed by lower hepatic fibrosis pathological scores (P < 0.01). RmIL-22 decreased the frequencies of Th22 cells (6.71% ± 0.97% vs 8.09% ± 0.74%, P < 0.01), Th17 cells (4.34% ± 0.37% vs 5.71% ± 0.24%, P < 0.01), Th1 cells (3.09% ± 0.49% vs 4.91% ± 0.73%, P < 0.01), and the levels of IL-22 (56.23 ± 3.08 vs 70.29 ± 3.01, P < 0.01), IL-17A (30.74 ± 2.77 vs 45.68 ± 2.71, P < 0.01), and IFN-γ (74.78 ± 2.61 vs 124.89 ± 2.82, P < 0.01). Down-regulation of IL-22, IL-17A, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, AHR RORγt, and T-bet gene expression in the liver was observed in the rmIL-22 group (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: The frequencies of Th22, Th17 and Th1 cells are elevated in hepatic fibrosis. RmIL-22 can attenuate HSC activation and down-regulate the levels of inflammatory cytokines, thereby ameliorating liver fibrogenesis.