Background: Vascular calcification (VC), in which vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) undergo a phenotypic transformation into osteoblast-like cells, is one of the emergent risk factors for the ...accelerated atherosclerosis process characteristic of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Phosphate is an important regulator of VC. Methods: The expression of different smooth muscle cell or osteogenesis markers in response to high concentrations of phosphate or exogenous bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) was examined by qRT-PCR and western blotting in rat VSMCs. Osteocalcin secretion was measured by radioimmunoassay. Differentiation and calcification of VSMCs were examined by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay and Alizarin staining. Short hairpin RNA-mediated silencing of β-catenin was performed to examine the involvement of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in VSMC calcification and osteoblastic differentiation induced by high phosphate or BMP-2. Apoptosis was determined by TUNEL assay and immunofluorescence imaging. Results: BMP-2 serum levels were significantly higher in CKD patients than in controls. High phosphate concentrations and BMP-2 induced VSMC apoptosis and upregulated the expression of β-catenin, Msx2, Runx2 and the phosphate cotransporter Pit1, whereas a BMP-2 neutralization antibody reversed these effects. Knockdown of β-catenin abolished the effect of high phosphate and BMP-2 on VSMC apoptosis and calcification. Conclusions: BMP-2 plays a crucial role in calcium deposition in VSMCs and VC in CKD patients via a mechanism involving the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
Transposable elements (TEs) usually occupy largest fractions of plant genome and are also the most variable part of the structure. Although traditionally it is hallmarked as “junk and selfish DNA”, ...today more and more evidence points out TE’s participation in gene regulations including gene mutation, duplication, movement and novel gene creation via genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. The recently sequenced genomes of diploid cottons
Gossypium arboreum
(AA) and
Gossypium raimondii
(DD) together with their allotetraploid progeny
Gossypium hirsutum
(AtAtDtDt) provides a unique opportunity to compare genome variations in the
Gossypium
genus and to analyze the functions of TEs during its evolution. TEs accounted for 57%, 68.5% and 67.2%, respectively in DD, AA and AtAtDtDt genomes. The 1,694 Mb A-genome was found to harbor more LTR(long terminal repeat)-type retrotransposons that made cardinal contributions to the twofold increase in its genome size after evolution from the 775.2 Mb D-genome. Although the 2,173 Mb AtAtDtDt genome showed similar TE content to the A-genome, the total numbers of
LTR-gypsy
and
LTR-copia
type TEs varied significantly between these two genomes. Considering their roles on rewiring gene regulatory networks, we believe that TEs may somehow be involved in cotton fiber cell development. Indeed, the insertion or deletion of different TEs in the upstream region of two important transcription factor genes in At or Dt subgenomes resulted in qualitative differences in target gene expression. We suggest that our findings may open a window for improving cotton agronomic traits by editing TE activities.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Bamboo fiber is a natural and environmentally friendly material made from cheap and widely available resources and is commonly selected as the reinforcement material for steel-wire-mesh BFRPbar ...concrete beams. In this work, the effects of various fiber lengths and fiber volume rates on the shear properties of bamboo-fiber-reinforced steel-wire-mesh basalt fiber composite reinforcement concrete beams were studied through a combination of shear tests and numerical simulations. The findings demonstrate that the addition of bamboo fiber improves the cracking performance of the beam. The improvement effect of 45 mm bamboo fiber mixed with a 1% volume rate was the most obvious at about 31%. Additionally, the test beam's total stiffness was increased, and the deflection was decreased. However, the use of bamboo fiber was found to decrease the concrete's compressive strength, lowering the final shear capacity for the majority of beams. A method for estimating the shear capacity of the bamboo-fiber-reinforced steel-wire-mesh BFRPbar concrete beams is provided and lays the foundation for engineering practice, in accordance with the impact of bamboo fiber and steel wire mesh on beams that suffer shear breaks.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
We are honored and privileged to edit this Special Issue, “Rice Genomics Research, Gene Mining and Utilization: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Academician Yingguo Zhu” ...
Fighting lithium ion battery (LIB) fire has always been a hard work, due to the uncontrollable internal thermal runaway (TR) reactions of LIBs. In this work, a kind of inorganic phase change material ...composited commercial dry power extinguishant was studied for LIB fire. Different with the traditional dry powder extinguishants, the composite dry powers exhibited large heat absorbing capacities below the TR temperatures of LIBs. The results of LIB TR propagation suppression experiment show that the composite dry powers not only can extinguish LIB fire, but also can suppress LIB TR propagation. Moreover, the composite dry powers still keep the advantages of low cost, insulation and environment friendliness. This work delivers a novel method for designing more practical dry power extinguishants to suppress LIB fires.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Secreted peptide-mediated cell-to-cell communication plays a crucial role in the development of multicellular organisms. A large number of secreted peptides have been predicated by bioinformatic ...approaches in plants. However, only a few of them have been functionally characterized. In this study, we show that two CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-RELATED (CLE) peptides CLE16/17 are required for both stem cell differentiation and lateral root (LR) emergence in
. We further demonstrate that the CLE16/17 peptides act through the CLAVATA1-ARABIDOPSIS CRINKLY4 (CLV1-ACR4) protein kinase complex in columella stem cell (CSC) differentiation, but not in LR emergence. Furthermore, we show that CLE16/17 promote LR emergence probably
activating the expression of
/
(
/
) required for cell wall remodeling. Collectively, our results reveal a CLV1-ACR4-dependent and -independent dual-function of the CLE16/17 peptides in root development.
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•CFF reduces fat accumulation within hepatocytes.•CFF can mediate gut microbiota to regulate disorders of glucose metabolism.•CFF can regulate blood glucose levels through PI3K / AKT .../ GLUT4, AMPK-α signaling pathways.
This study was aimed at investigating the hypoglycemic effect of Chlorella pyrenoidosa functional formulations (CFF), composed of extracts of C. pyrenoudosa, Ganoderma lucidum, and Panax ginseng with chromium-enriched yeast, on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced high-glucose and high-fat diet-fed mice. In this study, CFF significantly reduced the symptoms of weight loss, liver deformation, cecum injury, and jejunal inflammation in type 2 diabetic mice. In addition to enriching gut probiotics, CFF inhibited harmful microorganisms that could affect glycolipid metabolism disorders (GLD) and enhanced production of short-chain fatty acids. In conclusion, CFF may be able to alleviate GLD symptoms. The study suggests that CFF regulates GLD and the possible mechanisms for this regulation. This provides a theoretical basis for developing nutritious and healthy foods.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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