Abstract Previous data demonstrate that traumatic brain injury (TBI) activates autophagy, and increases microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) immunostaining mainly in neurons. However, ...the role of autophagy in traumatic brain damage remains elusive. The aim of the present study was to investigate the autophagic mechanisms participating in traumatic brain injury. The autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and bafliomycin A1 (BFA) were administered with a single i.c.v. injection before TBI. We first examined the protein levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 II, which have been found to promote autophagy previously. Immunoblotting analysis showed that 3-MA pretreatment reduced post-TBI Beclin-1 and LC3-II levels, and maintained p62/SQSTM1 (p62) levels. In addition, double immunolabeling showed that the increased punctate LC3-II dots colocalizing with Propidium Iodide (PI)-stained nuclei at 24 h after injury, were partially inhibited by 3-MA pretreatment. Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy could reduce TBI-induced cell injury assessed with i.p. injection of PI and lesion volume, and attenuate behavioral outcome evaluated by motor test and Morris water maze. The neuroprotective effects were associated with an inhibition on TBI-induced up-regulation of LC3, Beclin-1, cathepsin B, caspase-3 and the Beclin-1/Bcl-2 ratio. Taken together, these data imply that the autophagy pathway is involved in the pathophysiologic responses after TBI, and inhibition of this pathway may help attenuate traumatic damage and functional outcome deficits.
► Chitosan–zeolite composite beads were useful in the removal of metal ions. ► Maximum adsorption capacity based on Langmuir isotherm was 25.88mg/g. ► The adsorption data were well described by ...pseudo-second order. ► The critical bed depth from Bed Depth Service Time (BDST) model was 3.44cm.
Chitosan–zeolite composite (CZ) adsorbent prepared from chitosan and zeolite was used to remove Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to investigate the optimum conditions for the removal of Cu(II) using CZ. The optimum conditions were later utilized in kinetic, isotherm, fixed bed column and desorption studies. The pH point of zero charge (pHzpc) of CZ was 7.76 while the optimum pH for the removal of Cu(II) was 3. The removal of Cu(II) by using CZ was best described by the pseudo-second order kinetic. The isotherm was best fitted by the Redlich–Peterson and Langmuir models. The critical bed depth was 3.44cm based on the Bed Depth Service Time (BDSR) model. The data from the fixed bed column studies was well fitted by Clark model. The percentage of Cu(II) desorption was only 47.97%, which indicated that the Cu(II) ions were strongly bonded to the CZ surface.
Sexual dimorphism is common across the animal kingdom. Knowledge of the mechanisms of sexual size dimorphism is limited although it is important in biology and aquaculture. Tilapia is the common name ...for ~ 100 species of cichlid fish. Some are important aquaculture species and males outgrow females. To gain novel insights into the mechanisms underlying sexual size dimorphism, we analyzed the differences of brain transcriptomes between males and females in Mozambique tilapia and studied the function of the
pro-opiomelanocortin
(
Pomc
)
gene
in tilapia and zebrafish. The transcriptome analysis identified 123, 55, and 2706 sex-biased genes at 5, 30, and 90 dph (days post-hatch), respectively, indicating sexual dimorphism of gene expressions in the brain. The expression of
Pomc
in the tilapia brain was a female-biased at 30, 90, and 120 dph. An analysis of the DNA sequence located upstream of the tilapia
Pomc
transcriptional start site identified two estrogenic response elements. In vitro luciferase assay of the two elements revealed that β-estradiol significantly enhanced the expression of luciferase activity, suggesting that the expression of
Pomc
is mediated by estrogen. We knocked out
Pomc
in zebrafish using Crispr/Cas-9. The
Pomc
-knockout zebrafish showed faster growth and higher sensitivity to feeding as compared to the wild-type fish. Taken together, our results indicate that
Pomc
contributes to sexual size dimorphism and suggest that the high estrogen level in females promotes the expression of
Pomc
and suppresses feeding in female tilapias, which leads to the slower growth of female tilapias.
KEY MESSAGE : A Brd2 allele suppresses heading date by altering the expression of heading date regulators such as OsMADS50 , and also negatively regulates chlorophyll biosynthesis. Heading date and ...plant height are important determinants of yield in rice (Oryza sativa L.). In this study, we characterized a late heading, dwarf mutant known as lhdd10 selected following ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)-treatment of ssp. indica cultivar 93-11. lhdd10 showed late heading, dwarfness and slightly darker-green leaves than wild-type 93-11 under long-day and short-day conditions. We isolated lhdd10 by map-based cloning; it encoded a putative FAD-linked oxidoreductase protein (a brassinosteroid biosynthetic gene) that localized to the nucleus. LHDD10 was constitutively expressed in various tissues, but more so in shoot apices and panicles. Our data showed that lhdd10 influences heading date by controlling the expression of heading date regulators, such as OsMADS50 in both LD and SD conditions. lhdd10 also negatively regulated expression of chlorophyll biosynthetic genes to reduce the chlorophyll content. Our data indicated that BRs play important roles in regulating heading date and chlorophyll biosynthesis. This work provides material that will allow study of how BRs regulate heading date in rice.
Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). To describe the pattern of serious infections in patients with SLE and to identify the ...predictors of infection-related mortality among SLE patients with serious infections, we prospectively studied all SLE patients who were hospitalized with infections in Sarawak General Hospital during 2011–2015. Demographic data, clinical features, and outcomes were collected. Cox regression analysis was carried out to determine the independent predictors of infection-related mortality. There were a total of 125 patients with 187 episodes of serious infections. Our patients were of multiethnic origins with female predominance (89.6%). Their mean age was 33.4 ± 14.2 years. The patients had a mean disease duration of 66.8 ± 74.0 months. The most common site of infection was pulmonary (37.9%), followed by septicemia (22.5%). Gram-negative organisms (38.2%) were the predominant isolates within the cohort. There were 21 deaths (11.2%) during the study period. Independent predictors of infection-related mortality among our cohort of SLE patients were flare of SLE (HR 3.98, CI 1.30–12.21) and the presence of bacteremia (HR 2.54, CI 0.98–6.59). Hydroxychloroquine was protective of mortality from serious infections (HR 9.26, CI 3.40–25.64). Pneumonia and Gram-negative organisms were the predominant pattern of infection in our SLE cohort. The presence of flare of SLE and bacteremia were independent prognostic predictors of infection-related mortality, whereas hydroxychloroquine was protective of infection-related mortality among SLE patients with serious infections.
The electronic structure, chemical bonding and mechanical properties of Ln2Zr2O7 (Ln=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) pyrochlore are investigated by local-density approximation of spin polarized scheme+U ...calculations (U is the Hubbard energy) and further verified by the experimental results. Ln2Zr2O7 compounds are wide band gap insulators, and this is consistent with the experiment results. The calculated spin polarized density of states of them indicates that they are in a ferromagnetic state and the magnetic moment is mainly attributed to the 4f shell of the Ln atoms. For the chemical bonds in the Ln2Zr2O7 crystals, the O–Zr bond is stronger than the O–Ln bond. The hardness, elastic constants, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of Ln2Zr2O7 compounds are investigated and the theoretical values are in good agreement with the experiments. The mechanical anisotropic properties are discussed using Zener’s indexes and universal elastic anisotropic index (AU). The sound velocities along 100, 110 and 111 directions are calculated for each Ln2Zr2O7 crystal. The thermal conductivities of Ln2Zr2O7 compounds are evaluated and the obtained thermal conductivity of Ln2Zr2O7 is lower than that of yttria-stabilized zirconia, indicating that they could be good low thermally conductive materials at high temperature.
Background
Plant height and leaf angle are important determinants of yield in rice (
Oryza sativa
L.). Genes involved in regulating plant height and leaf angle were identified in previous studies; ...however, there are many remaining unknown factors that affect rice architecture.
Results
In this study, we characterized a dwarf mutant named
ds1
with small grain size and decreased leaf angle,selected from an irradiated population of ssp.
japonica
variety Nanjing35. The
ds1
mutant also showed abnormal floral organs.
ds1
plants were insensitive to BL treatment and expression of genes related to BR signaling was changed. An F
2
population from a cross between
ds1
and
indica
cultivar 93–11 was used to fine map
DS1
and to map-based clone the
DS1
allele, which encoded an EMF1-like protein that acted as a transcriptional regulator.
DS1
was constitutively expressed in various tissues, and especially highly expressed in young leaves, panicles and seeds. We showed that the DS1 protein interacted with auxin response factor 11 (OsARF11), a major transcriptional regulator of plant height and leaf angle, to co-regulate
D61
/
OsBRI1
expression. These findings provide novel insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms by which
DS1
integrates auxin and brassinosteroid signaling in rice.
Conclusion
The
DS1
gene encoded an EMF1-like protein in rice. The
ds1
mutation altered the expression of genes related to BR signaling, and
ds1
was insensitive to BL treatment. DS1 interacts with OsARF11 to co-regulate
OsBRI1
expression.
Asymptomatic patients, together with those with mild symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may play an important role in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ...transmission. However, the dynamics of virus shedding during the various phases of the clinical course of COVID-19 remains unclear at this stage.
A total of 18 patients found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection by real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assay and admitted to Chongqing University Central Hospital between 29 January and 5 February 2020 were enrolled into this study. Medical data, pulmonary computed tomographic (CT) scan images and RT-PCR results were periodically collected during the patients' hospital stay. All participants were actively followed up for 2 weeks after discharge.
A total of nine (50%) asymptomatic patients and nine (50%) patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 were identified at admission. Six patients (66.7%) who were asymptomatic at admission developed subjective symptoms during hospitalization and were recategorized as being presymptomatic. The median duration of virus shedding was 11.5, 28 and 31 days for presymptomatic, asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients, separately. Seven patients (38.9%) continued to shed virus after hospital discharge. During the convalescent phase, detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and RNA were simultaneously observed in five patients (27.8%).
Long-term virus shedding was documented in patients with mild symptoms and in asymptomatic patients. Specific antibody production to SARS-CoV-2 may not guarantee virus clearance after discharge. These observations should be considered when making decisions regarding clinical and public health, and when considering strategies for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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