Ensuring shaft safety is critical in the process of coal mining. During coal mining in the Guotun coal mine, Shandong Province, China, issues, such as shaft deflection, tank channel and shaft ...deformation, and tank jamming, which did not appear in the shaft before, brought huge hidden dangers to safety. In this study, a set of three-dimensional analog simulation systems for assessing the influence of mining on shaft deflection was designed by using penetration force simulations of gravity fields. In this system, electromagnetic displacement meter is used to collect surface settlement data, which verifies the feasibility of using hydraulic pillow to simulate formation disturbance caused by coal mining. the strain of the shaft is measured by optical fibers and strain gauges, and the amount that mining influenced the deflection of the shaft is obtained. The results show that there is an approximately positive linear correlation between the horizontal displacement of the shaft caused by mining and the mining thickness of the coal. The horizontal displacement of shaft caused by coal mining is inversely proportional to the moving Angle within a reasonable range. The horizontal displacement of shaft is affected by mining mode, and symmetrical mining can significantly reduce the horizontal displacement of shaft. The horizontal displacement of the shaft at different depths caused by mining decreases with increasing shaft depth, which is the main cause of shaft deflection.
Using the coda wave interferometry (CWI) method to obtain the ultrasonic coda wave characteristics of loaded concrete is an important method to evaluate the mechanical response of concrete. In this ...paper, the ultrasonic coda wave characteristics of C40–C70 concrete specimens (four strengths of concrete) under uniaxial compression were tested by laboratory experiments. Furthermore, to clarify the relationship between the internal damage process of concrete and the change rate of coda wave velocity, an ultrasonic coda wave discrete element simulation model combined with digital image processing technology was established. The results show that the coda wave is very sensitive to small changes in the compressive damage to concrete, and the change in coda wave velocity can correspond to the development process of concrete damage. This research is conducive to a better understanding of the complex material behavior of compressive concrete and proves the feasibility of ultrasonic field simulation and processing by using numerical simulation images of concrete damage.
Bacterial infection is a serious challenge for oysters, which brings various disease problems to oyster culture. To better understand the immune response to bacterial infection, we performed RNA-seq ...to profile the transcriptome of gill tissue in the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) at short-term (6 h) and long-term (48 h) stages after Vibrio alginolyticus infection. A total of 1534 and 2483 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified at short- and long-term stages after infection, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that the identified DEGs were significantly enriched in GO terms of stress response, ion transport, signal transduction and other biological processes. Notably, we observed that the immune strategy was altered in the C. gigas in response to Vibrio infection. In the short-term stage, most of the immune-related genes in C. gigas were down-regulated, and the immune response was low and may be suppressed. While in the long-term stage, large-scale immune-related genes associated with ion channels were activated and immune system was boosted. Distinct sets of immune-related genes with different functions were identified at short-term and long-term stages. Differences in these genes suggested the alteration of immune strategy in the C. gigas in response to Vibrio infection. This work provides valuable resources for better understanding of immune response to bacterial infection and will be important for disease monitoring and disease resistance breeding in the oysters.
•Transcriptome profiles of Crassostrea gigas after infection under Vibrio alginolyticus were determined at short-term and long-term stages.•A total of 1534 and 2483 differentially expressed genes were identified at short- and long-term stages after Vibrio infection, respectively.•Dynamic expression of immune-related genes during bacterial infection suggested the alteration of immune strategy in the oysters.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Metal pollution caused by deep-sea mining activities has potential detrimental effects on deep-sea ecosystems. However, our knowledge of how deep-sea organisms respond to this pollution is limited, ...given the challenges of remoteness and technology. To address this, we conducted a toxicity experiment by using deep-sea mussel Gigantidas platifrons as model animals and exposing them to different copper (Cu) concentrations (50 and 500 μg/L) for 7 days. Transcriptomics and LC-MS-based metabolomics methods were employed to characterize the profiles of transcription and metabolism in deep-sea mussels exposed to Cu. Transcriptomic results suggested that Cu toxicity significantly affected the immune response, apoptosis, and signaling processes in G. platifrons. Metabolomic results demonstrated that Cu exposure disrupted its carbohydrate metabolism, anaerobic metabolism and amino acid metabolism. By integrating both sets of results, transcriptomic and metabolomic, we find that Cu exposure significantly disrupts the metabolic pathway of protein digestion and absorption in G. platifrons. Furthermore, several key genes (e.g., heat shock protein 70 and baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein 2/3) and metabolites (e.g., alanine and succinate) were identified as potential molecular biomarkers for deep-sea mussel’s responses to Cu toxicity. This study contributes novel insight for assessing the potential effects of deep-sea mining activities on deep-sea organisms.
Display omitted
•Cu affected the immune response, apoptosis and signaling processes in G. mussels.•Cu disrupted the carbohydrate, anaerobic and amino acid metabolism in G. mussels.•Cu interfered with the pathway of protein digestion and absorption in G. mussels.•Potential biomarkers associated with Cu toxicity were identified in G. mussels.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most harmful heavy metals due to its persistence and bioaccumulation through the food chains, posing health risks to human. Oysters can bioaccumulate and tolerate high ...concentrations of Cd, providing a great model for studying molecular mechanism of Cd detoxification. In a previous study, we identified two CYP genes, CYP17A1-like and CYP2C50, that were potentially involved in Cd detoxification in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. In this work, we performed further investigations on their physiological roles in Cd detoxification through RNA interference (RNAi). After injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into the adductor muscle of oysters followed by Cd exposure for 7 days, we observed that the expressions of CYP17A1-like and CYP2C50 in interference group were significantly suppressed on day 3 compared with control group injected with PBS. Moreover, the mortality rate and Cd content in the CYP17A1-like dsRNA interference group (dsCYP17A1-like) was significantly higher than those of the control on day 3. Furthermore, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including SOD, CAT, GST, were significantly increased in dsCYP17A1-like group, while were not changed in dsCYP2C50 group. More significant tissue damage was observed in gill and digestive gland of oysters in RNAi group than control group, demonstrating the critical role of CYP17A1-like in Cd detoxification. Dual luciferase reporter assay revealed three core regulatory elements of MTF-1 within promoter region of CYP17A1-like, suggesting the potential transcriptional regulation of CYP17A1-like by MTF-1 in oysters. This work demonstrated a critical role of CYP17A1-like in Cd detoxification in C. gigas and provided a new perspective toward unravelling detoxification mechanisms of bivalves under heavy metal stress.
Display omitted
•Knockdown of CYP17A1-like led to significant increase of mortality and Cd content.•Oxidative stress and tissue damage were observed after interference CYP17A1-like.•CYP17A1-like might play a critical role in detoxification of Cd in C. gigas.•MTF-1 is essential for transcriptional regulation of CYP17A1-like in C. gigas.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
DNA methylation, an essential epigenetic alteration, is tightly linked to a variety of biological processes, such as immune response. To identify the epigenetic regulatory mechanism in Pacific oyster ...(Crassostrea gigas), whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was conducted on C. gigas at 0 h, 6 h, and 48 h after infection with Vibrio alginolyticus. At 6 h and 48 h, a total of 11,502 and 14,196 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified (p<0.05, FDR<0.001) compared to 0 h, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that differentially methylated genes (DMGs) were significantly enriched in various biological pathways including immunity, cytoskeleton, epigenetic modification, and metabolic processes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that transcription machinery (ko03021) is one of the most important pathways. Integrated transcriptome and methylome analyses allowed the identification of 167 and 379 DMG-related DEGs at 6 h and 48 h, respectively. These genes were significantly enriched in immune-related pathways, including nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway (ko04064) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway (ko04668). Interestingly, it's observed that the NF-κB pathway could be activated jointly by TNF Receptor Associated Factor 2 (TRAF2) and Baculoviral IAP Repeat Containing 3 (BIRC3, the homolog of human BIRC2) which were regulated by DNA methylation in response to the challenge posed by V. alginolyticus infection. Through this study, we provided insightful information about the epigenetic regulation of immunity-related genes in the C. gigas, which will be valuable for the understanding of the innate immune system modulation and defense mechanism against bacterial infection in invertebrates.
•Genome-wide methylation was profiled in Crassostrea gigas after Vibrio infection at 0 h, 6 h, and 48 h.•A total of 11,502 and 14,196 DMRs were identified at 6 h and 48 h, respectively.•Integrating methylome with transcriptome identified 167 and 379 DMG-related DEGs at 6 h and 48 h, respectively.•Epigenetic regulation of key genes in the NF-κB signaling pathway is essential for immune response in the C. gigas.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Deep-sea toxicology is essential for deep-sea environmental impact assessment. Yet most toxicology experiments are conducted solely in laboratory settings, overlooking the complexities of the ...deep-sea environment. Here we carried out metal exposure experiments in both the laboratory and in situ, to compare and evaluate the response patterns of Gigantidas platifrons to metal exposure (copper Cu or cadmium Cd at 100 μg/L for 48 h). Metal concentrations, traditional biochemical parameters, and fatty acid composition were assessed in deep-sea mussel gills. The results revealed significant metal accumulation in deep-sea mussel gills in both laboratory and in situ experiments. Metal exposure could induce oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, an immune response, altered energy metabolism, and changes to fatty acid composition in mussel gills. Interestingly, the metal accumulating capability, biochemical response patterns, and fatty acid composition each varied under differing experimental systems. In the laboratory setting, Cd-exposed mussels exhibited a higher value for integrated biomarker response (IBR) while in situ the Cu-exposed mussels instead displayed a higher IBR value. This study emphasizes the importance of performing deep-sea toxicology experiments in situ and contributes valuable data to a standardized workflow for deep-sea toxicology assessment.
Display omitted
•Deep-sea mussels significantly accumulated metals from their surroundings.•Metal exposure affected conventional biochemical indexes in deep-sea mussels.•Metal exposure changed fatty acid composition of deep-sea mussel gills.•Deep-sea mussels responded differently under in situ and laboratory systems.•In situ exposure approach is important for deep-sea environmental assessment.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Macrophages are considered critical in the initiation, maintenance, and resolution of inflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced inflammation is often used as a model to understand the cell ...inflammation responses. Current techniques identifying the LPS‐induced inflammation are experiencing cell destruction or cell labeling or are based on the whole cell population information with low identification degree. This limits the detection process with time‐consuming cytokine selection, low resolution of population heterogeneity, and unavailability for their next use. Direct current insulator‐based electrokinetics (DC‐iEK) is introduced to achieve an easier and noninvasive identification of inflamed cells with high resolution. A biophysical scale is also established first time for screening medicine in the treatment of inflammation. The new microfluidic design concentrates cells with applied voltages forming streamline providing more stable cell capture conditions and unique biophysical factors at different capture positions. The average electric field of the cell capture positions is recorded to characterize each cell population. The characterization value of macrophage decreases from to 1.61 × 104 V/m when treated with 0.1 mM LPS and to 1.42 × 104 V/m when treated with 1 mM LPS. By treating the inflamed macrophages with representative effective medicines, healing signals could also be detected by a newly established inflammation scale. The cells showed proliferation and functional activity after extraction. DC‐iEK has provided an easy and noninvasive approach to identify inflammation for further fundamental and clinical precision medicine use.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Background/Aims: Existing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prediction models are derived mainly from pretreatment or early on-treatment parameters. We reassessed the dynamic changes in the performance ...of 17 HCC models in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) during long-term antiviral therapy (AVT).
Methods: Among 987 CHB patients administered long-term entecavir therapy, 660 patients had 8 years of follow-up data. Model scores were calculated using on-treatment values at 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5 years of AVT to predict threeyear HCC occurrence. Model performance was assessed with the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). The original model cutoffs to distinguish different levels of HCC risk were evaluated by the log-rank test.
Results: The AUROCs of the 17 HCC models varied from 0.51 to 0.78 when using on-treatment scores from years 2.5 to 5. Models with a cirrhosis variable showed numerically higher AUROCs (pooled at 0.65-0.73 for treated, untreated, or mixed treatment models) than models without (treated or mixed models: 0.61-0.68; untreated models: 0.51-0.59). Stratification into low, intermediate, and high-risk levels using the original cutoff values could no longer reflect the true HCC incidence using scores after 3.5 years of AVT for models without cirrhosis and after 4 years of AVT for models with cirrhosis.
Conclusions: The performance of existing HCC prediction models, especially models without the cirrhosis variable, decreased in CHB patients on long-term AVT. The optimization of existing models or the development of novel models for better HCC prediction during long-term AVT is warranted. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2023;29:747-762)
Introduction & Objective: Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by insulin resistance or insufficient insulin secretion, resulting in hyperglycemia. The global prevalence of diabetes ...is on the rise, especially among younger age groups, presenting significant public health challenges. China has the most diabetes patients worldwide, with nearly 61 million new cases in the past decade. Therefore, there is an urgent need for safer, more effective, and cost-effective antidiabetic medications. This study aims to investigate the potential of Saccharum sinense Roxb. polysaccharides as a novel herbal medicine for diabetes treatment. Methods: We administered a single dose of Saccharum sinense Roxb. polysaccharides to C57BL/6 mice to assess its impact on peak blood glucose levels during oral glucose tolerance tests. Additionally, we utilized diabetic mouse models for drug screening, using metformin as the positive control, to identify Z300 as a potential component. Results: Our findings revealed that Z300 effectively improved disturbances in glucose metabolism, kidney injury, and lipid metabolism. It regulated body weight gain, prevented fatty liver, and exhibited actions such as promoting insulin secretion and inhibiting α-glucosidase activity. Cell and organoid experiments validated the beneficial effects of Z300 on insulin and GLP-1 secretion. Mechanistic studies indicated that Z300 influenced the expression of various metabolism-sensing-related proteins such as p-AMPK, p-AKT, and p-GSK3β, highlighting its broad therapeutic applications. Conclusion: This research emphasizes the potential of Saccharum sinense Roxb. polysaccharides, particularly Z300, as a promising herbal medicine for diabetes management. These results support the efficacy of Z300 in improving various aspects of glucose metabolism and insulin regulation, offering a valuable avenue for further exploration and development of novel antidiabetic therapies. Disclosure C. Xie: None. Y. Liu: None.