Long-term measurements of aerosol optical depths (AODs) at 440 nm and Aangstrom exponents (AE) between 440 and 870 nm made for CARSNET were compiled into a climatology of aerosol optical properties ...for China. Quality-assured monthly mean AODs are presented for 50 sites representing remote, rural, and urban areas. AODs were 0.14, 0.34, 0.42, 0.54, and 0.74 at remote stations, rural/desert regions, the Loess Plateau, central and eastern China, and urban sites, respectively, and the corresponding AE values were 0.97, 0.55, 0.82, 1.19, and 1.05. AODs increased from north to south, with low values (< 0.20) over the Tibetan Plateau and northwestern China and high AODs (> 0.60) in central and eastern China where industrial emissions and anthropogenic activities were likely sources. AODs were 0.20-0.40 in semi-arid and arid regions and some background areas in northern and northeastern China. AEs were > 1.20 over the southern reaches of the Yangtze River and at clean sites in northeastern China. In the northwestern deserts and industrial parts of northeast China, AEs were lower (< 0.80) compared with central and eastern regions. Dust events in spring, hygroscopic particle growth during summer, and biomass burning contribute the high AODs, especially in northern and eastern China. The AODs show decreasing trends from 2006 to 2009 but increased ~ 0.03 per year from 2009 to 2013.
Aims
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of unsaturated fatty acids on clinical plasmids.
Methods and Results
Two unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid (LA) and α‐linolenic acid (ALA) ...at final concentration 0, 0·03, 0·3 and 3 mmol l−1, respectively, were used to assess the effects on conjugative transfer of a mcr‐1‐harbouring plasmid pCSZ4 (IncX4) in conjugation experiment. The inhibitory mechanisms were analysed by molecular docking and the gene expression of virB11 was quantitated by qRT‐PCR. Target plasmid diversity was carried out by TrwD/VirB11 homology protein sequence prediction analysis. Our results showed that LA and ALA inhibit plasmid pCSZ4 transfer by binding to the amino acid residues (Phe124 and Thr125) of VirB11 with dose‐dependent effects. The expression levels of virB11 gene were also significantly inhibited by LA and ALA treatment. Protein homology analysis revealed a wide distribution of TrwD/VirB11‐like genes among over 37 classes of plasmids originated from both Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates representing a diversity of plasmids that may be potentially inhibited by unsaturated fatty acids.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Our work reported here provides additional support for application of curbing the spread of multiple plasmids by unsaturated fatty acids.
The c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway represents one subgroup of MAP kinases that are activated primarily by cytokines and exposure to environmental stress. Autophagy is a protein-degradation ...system characterized by the formation of double-membrane vacuoles termed autophagosomes. Autophagy-related gene beclin 1 plays a key role in autophagosome formation. However, the relationships between activation of JNK pathway, autophagy induction and Beclin 1 expression remain elusive. In this study, we used human cancer cell lines CNE2 and Hep3B to investigate the role of JNK-mediated Beclin 1 expression in ceramide-induced autophagic cell death. Ceramide-treated cells exhibited the characteristics of autophagy (that is, acidic vesicular organelle formation and the LC3-II generation). JNK was activated in these two cell lines exposed to ceramide and the phosphorylation of c-Jun also increased. In the meantime, we found that ceramide upregulated Beclin 1 expression in cancer cells. The upregulation of Beclin 1 expression could be blocked by SP600125 (a specific inhibitor of JNK) or a small interfering RNA (siRNA) directed against JNK1/2 or c-Jun. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter analysis revealed that c-Jun was involved in the regulation of beclin 1 transcription in response to ceramide treatment. In addition, inhibition of JNK activity by SP600125 could inhibit autophagy induction by ceramide. Furthermore, Beclin 1 knockdown by siRNA also inhibited ceramide-mediated autophagic cell death. JNK-mediated Beclin 1 expression was also observed in topotecan-induced autophagy. These data suggest that activation of JNK pathway can mediate Beclin 1 expression, which plays a key role in autophagic cell death in cancer cells.
Summary
Classical swine fever (CSF) is a devastating infectious disease of pigs caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV). In China, CSF has been under control owing to extensive vaccination with ...the lapinized attenuated vaccine (C‐strain) since 1950s, despite sporadic or endemic in many regions. However, recently, CSF outbreaks occurred in a large number of swine herds in China. Here, we isolated 15 CSFV strains from diverse C‐strain‐vaccinated pig farms in China and characterized the genetic variations and antigenicity of the new isolates. The new strains showed unique variations in the E2 protein and were clustered to the subgenotype 2.1d of CSFV recently emerging in China in the phylogenetic tree. Cross‐neutralization test showed that the neutralizing titres of porcine anti‐C‐strain sera against the new isolates were substantially lower than those against both the highly virulent Shimen strain and the subgenotype 2.1b strains that were isolated in China in 2006 and 2009, respectively. In addition, experimental animal infection showed that the HLJZZ2014 strain‐infected pigs displayed lower mortality and less severe clinical signs and pathological changes compared with the Shimen strain‐infected pigs. The HLJZZ2014 strain was defined to be moderately virulent based on a previously established assessment system for CSFV virulence evaluation, and the virus shedding and the viral load in various tissues of the CSFV HLJZZ2014 strain‐infected pigs were significantly lower than those of the Shimen strain‐infected pigs. Taken together, the subgenotype 2.1d isolate of CSFV is a moderately virulent strain with molecular variations and antigenic alterations.
IMPORTANCE: Among all subtypes of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer has a relatively high relapse rate and poor outcome after standard treatment. Effective strategies to reduce the risk of ...relapse and death are needed. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of low-dose capecitabine maintenance after standard adjuvant chemotherapy in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized clinical trial conducted at 13 academic centers and clinical sites in China from April 2010 to December 2016 and final date of follow-up was April 30, 2020. Patients (n = 443) had early-stage triple-negative breast cancer and had completed standard adjuvant chemotherapy. INTERVENTIONS: Eligible patients were randomized 1:1 to receive capecitabine (n = 222) at a dose of 650 mg/m2 twice a day by mouth for 1 year without interruption or to observation (n = 221) after completion of standard adjuvant chemotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary end point was disease-free survival. Secondary end points included distant disease-free survival, overall survival, locoregional recurrence-free survival, and adverse events. RESULTS: Among 443 women who were randomized, 434 were included in the full analysis set (mean SD age, 46 9.9 years; T1/T2 stage, 93.1%; node-negative, 61.8%) (98.0% completed the trial). After a median follow-up of 61 months (interquartile range, 44-82), 94 events were observed, including 38 events (37 recurrences and 32 deaths) in the capecitabine group and 56 events (56 recurrences and 40 deaths) in the observation group. The estimated 5-year disease-free survival was 82.8% in the capecitabine group and 73.0% in the observation group (hazard ratio HR for risk of recurrence or death, 0.64 95% CI, 0.42-0.95; P = .03). In the capecitabine group vs the observation group, the estimated 5-year distant disease-free survival was 85.8% vs 75.8% (HR for risk of distant metastasis or death, 0.60 95% CI, 0.38-0.92; P = .02), the estimated 5-year overall survival was 85.5% vs 81.3% (HR for risk of death, 0.75 95% CI, 0.47-1.19; P = .22), and the estimated 5-year locoregional recurrence-free survival was 85.0% vs 80.8% (HR for risk of locoregional recurrence or death, 0.72 95% CI, 0.46-1.13; P = .15). The most common capecitabine-related adverse event was hand-foot syndrome (45.2%), with 7.7% of patients experiencing a grade 3 event. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer who received standard adjuvant treatment, low-dose capecitabine maintenance therapy for 1 year, compared with observation, resulted in significantly improved 5-year disease-free survival. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01112826
To systematically reveal how domestic trade impacts on China's regional energy uses, an interprovincial input–output modeling is carried out to address demand-derived energy requirements for the ...regional economies in 2007 based on the recently available data. Both the energy uses embodied in final demand and interregional trade are investigated from the regional and sectoral insights. Significant net transfers of embodied energy flows are identified from the central and western areas to the eastern area via interregional trade. Shanxi is the largest energy producer and interregional embodied energy deficit receiver, in contrast to Guangdong as the largest energy user and surplus receiver. By considering the impacts of interregional trade, the energy uses of most eastern regions increase remarkably. For instance, Shanghai, Hainan, Zhejiang, Beijing, Jiangsu and Guangdong have their embodied energy requirements 87.49, 19.97, 13.64, 12.60, 6.46 and 6.38 times of their direct energy inputs, respectively. In contrast, the embodied energy uses of some central and western regions such as Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Xinjiang, Shaanxi and Guizhou decrease largely. The results help understand the hidden network linkages of interregional embodied energy flows and provide critical insight to amend China's current end-reduction-oriented energy policies by addressing the problem of regional responsibility transfer.
•Demand-derived energy requirements for China's regional economies are addressed.•Significant interregional transfers of embodied energy flows are identified.•Energy surpluses are obtained by 19 regions and deficits by the other 11 regions.•The eastern regions should take more responsibility for reducing China's energy uses.
The endosymbiont Wolbachia is known for manipulating host reproduction in selfish ways. However, the molecular mechanisms have not yet been investigated in embryos. Here, we found that Wolbachia had ...no effect on the number of deposited eggs in Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) but caused two types of reproductive manipulation: killing uninfected female embryos via cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and increasing the hatching ratio of infected female embryos. RNA sequencing analyses showed that 145 genes were differentially expressed between Wolbachia‐infected (WI) and Wolbachia‐uninfected (WU) embryos. Wolbachia infection down‐regulated messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of glutathione S‐transferase that could buffer oxidative stress. In addition, 1613 and 294 genes were identified as CI‐specific up‐/down‐regulated genes. Compared to WU and WI embryos, embryos of CI cross strongly expressed genes involved in transcription, translation, tissue morphogenesis, DNA damage and mRNA surveillance. In contrast, most of the genes associated with energy production and metabolism were down‐regulated in the CI embryos compared to the WU and WI embryos, which provides some clues as to the cause of death of CI embryos. These results identify several genes that could be candidates for explaining Wolbachia‐induced CI. Our data form a basis to help elucidate the molecular consequences of CI in embryos.
Wolbachia induced incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in spider mites.
The CI embryos up‐regulated more genes associated with transcription, translation, and DNA damage compared with Wolbachia‐infected (WI) and Wolbachia‐uninfected (WU) embryos.
The CI embryos developed more slowly during hatching and expressed fewer energy production and metabolism genes compared with WI and WU embryos.
•The flow boiling experiment are conducted in porous-wall (PW) microchannels.•The effect of mass flux, heat flux and vapor quality on microchannels are studied.•PW microchannels reduce the wall ...superheat for ONB and improve the CHF.•PW microchannels exhibit obvious heat transfer enhancement with pressure drop reduction.•The uniformity and stability of wall temperature are analyzed in PW microchannels.
In this work, we proposed a porous-wall (PW) microchannel heat sink, in which micro pin fin arrays were fabricated on sidewalls of rectangular microchannels by MEMS (Microelectrical Mechanical System) technique. High speed flow visualizations were performed simultaneously with heat transfer and pressure drop measurements to investigate the flow boiling characteristics of PW microchannel heat sink. Conventional rectangular (Rec) microchannel heat sink was also explored together as a comparison. Experiments were carried out with pure acetone liquid at inlet temperature of 30 °C, mass flux from 255 kg/(m2·s) to 843 kg/(m2·s), heat flux from 4 W/cm2 to 110 W/cm2 and the maximum vapor quality at the outlet of the channel was 0.88. Experimental results demonstrated that the PW microchannels reduce wall superheat of onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) and improve critical heat flux (CHF) compared to the Rec microchannels. Moreover, the PW microchannels show significant heat transfer enhancement, pressure drop reduction and mitigation of two-phase flow instability. The porous walls provide numerous nucleation sites and the intensive pin fins arrangements introduce significant wicking effect to maintain the liquid rewetting, which contribute to the above notable flow boiling enhancement.
Summary
Background
Pemphigus is a group of rare life‐threatening mucocutaneous autoimmune diseases, presenting mainly as two subtypes: pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF). Inherited ...predispositions to pemphigus have long been speculated but they remain poorly understood.
Objectives
To identify common and specific nongenetic and genetic factors associated with pemphigus and its subtypes in the Chinese population.
Methods
A genome‐wide association study (GWAS) was performed in 496 unrelated patients with pemphigus (including 365 with PV and 104 with PF) and 1105 controls without pemphigus.
Results
A sex preference was observed only in PV (57·5% female) and not in PF (47·1% female). For male patients only, the mean age at diagnosis was significantly lower for PV than for PF (P < 0·001). The strongest associated single‐nucleotide polymorphisms are in the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) region: rs70993900 (PV; P = 1·5 × 10−45) and rs9469220 (PF; P = 1·1 × 10−8). HLA‐DQB1*05:03 ranks at the top (P = 4·7 × 10−40; odds ratio 12·4) in both subtypes, with significantly different risk allele frequency (RAFPV = 34·2% vs. RAFPF = 18·8% vs. RAFcontrol = 4·4%), whereas HLA‐DRB1*14:01 and HLA‐DRB1*04:06 are PV specific. HLA‐DQB1*03:03 and HLA‐DQB1*03:02 show significant subtype specificity in opposite directions. All of these associations were validated in the replication series with 147 cases of pemphigus and 604 controls. Multiple novel non‐HLA susceptibility loci were also identified in the GWAS.
Conclusions
This study represents the largest GWAS on pemphigus in the Chinese population published to date, and has allowed us to identify HLA haplotypes significantly shared between or specific to the two main subtypes of pemphigus.
What's already known about this topic?
Pemphigus is a group of autoimmune mucocutaneous diseases.
It has multiple subtypes associated with certain human leucocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes in an ethnicity‐specific manner.
What does this study add?
This is the largest genome‐wide association study published on pemphigus to date.
We identified, for the first time, more than 100 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; six independent) at the HLA locus, with associations reaching genome‐wide significance.
Some of these SNPs are strongly associated with specific subtypes of pemphigus.
What is the translational message?
The identified new haplotypes can potentially serve as genetic markers to improve investigation of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of pemphigus and its specific subtypes.
Linked Comment: Geller. Br J Dermatol 2019; 180:713–714.
Respond to this article
The ability to advance our understanding of multiple exciton generation (MEG) in organic materials has been restricted by the limited number of materials capable of singlet fission. A particular ...challenge is the development of materials that undergo efficient intramolecular fission, such that local order and strong nearest-neighbour coupling is no longer a design constraint. Here we address these challenges by demonstrating that strong intrachain donor-acceptor interactions are a key design feature for organic materials capable of intramolecular singlet fission. By conjugating strong-acceptor and strong-donor building blocks, small molecules and polymers with charge-transfer states that mediate population transfer between singlet excitons and triplet excitons are synthesized. Using transient optical techniques, we show that triplet populations can be generated with yields up to 170%. These guidelines are widely applicable to similar families of polymers and small molecules, and can lead to the development of new fission-capable materials with tunable electronic structure, as well as a deeper fundamental understanding of MEG.
PDF
