Most protein-coding genes in eukaryotes possess at least two poly(A) sites, and alternative polyadenylation is considered a contributing factor to transcriptomic and proteomic diversity. Following ...transcription, a nascent RNA usually undergoes capping, splicing, cleavage, and polyadenylation, resulting in a mature messenger RNA (mRNA); however, increasing evidence suggests that transcription and RNA processing are coupled. Plants, which must produce rapid responses to environmental changes because of their limited mobility, exhibit such coupling. In this review, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of the coupling of transcription with RNA processing in plants, and we describe the possible spatial environment and important proteins involved. Moreover, we describe how liquid-liquid phase separation, mediated by the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II and RNA processing factors with intrinsically disordered regions, enables efficient co-transcriptional mRNA processing in plants.
Differentiating erythroblasts are exposed to an oxidative environment. The dynamics of oxidative status during terminal erythropoiesis and how they affect cell differentiation in response to ...erythropoietin (Epo) are unclear. Here, we show that Epo induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the early stages of terminal erythropoiesis. The levels of ROS correlate with CD71 surface expression and the uptake of iron and transferrin. ROS decreases in the late stages of terminal erythropoiesis, when the cells are preparing for enucleation. Consistently, treatment of erythroblasts with a low dose (5 mM) of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger, promotes enucleation. However, a high dose (20 mM) of NAC leads to significant cell death. Our study reveals an important function of Epo in regulating the dynamics of oxidative status and enucleation.
Careful soil management is important for the soil quality and productivity improvement of the reclaimed coastal tidal flat saline land in northern Jiangsu Province, China. Farmyard manure（ FYM） and ...mulch applications, which affect soil characteristics and plant significantly, are regard as an effective pattern of saline land improvement. As a conventional management in the study region, FYM and mulch are used for the amendment of the new reclaimed tidal flat regularly, but little is known about their effects on soil physical properties functioning. A study was conducted on a typical coastal tidal flat saline land, which was reclaimed in 2005, to evaluate the effects of FYM, polyethylene film mulch（PM）, straw mulch（SM）, FYM combined with PM（FYM＋PM）, FYM combined with SM（FYM＋SM）, on soil hydraulic properties and soil mechanical impedance. CK represented conventional cultivation in study area without FYM and mulch application and served as a control. The experiment, laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications, was studied in Huanghaiyuan Farm, which specialized in the agricultural utilization for coastal tidal flat. Result showed that capillary water holding capacity（CHC）, saturated water content（SWC）, saturated hydraulic conductivity（ Ks） and bulk density（BD）, cone index（CI） were affected significantly by the FYM and mulch application, especially in the 0-10 cm soil layer. FYM and mulch management increased CHC, SWC and Ks over all soil depth in the order of FYM＋SM〉FYM＋PM〉FYM〉SM〉PM〉CK. With the contrary sequence, BD and CI decreased significantly; however, FYM and mulch application affected BD and CI only in the upper soil layers. CHC, SWC and Ks decreased significantly with the increasing of soil depth, BD and CI, and a significant liner equation was found between CHC, SWC, Ks and BD, CI. With the highest CHC（38.15%）, SWC（39.55%）, Ks（6.00 mm h-1） and the lowest BD（1.26 g cm-3） and CI（2.71 MPa）, the combined management of FYM and SM was recommend to be an effective method for the melioration of reclaimed coastal tidal flat saline soil.
With the increasing prominence of resource and environmental issues, countries around the world are paying more and more attention to the concept of sustainable development. Under this concept, China ...started to implement a pilot project of "National Comprehensive Demonstration City of Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy" in 2011 to protect resources and environment through green and low-carbon development. This paper aims to investigate whether and how the pilot policy induces corporate green technology innovation. Based on the data on Chinese listed firms from 2008 to 2019 and the relevant theories of economics, management and organizational psychology, we find that the pilot policy can promote corporate green technology innovation. This indicates that the pilot policy, as an external force, will encourage firms to improve their adaptability through green technology innovation which is one type of organizational change, thus improving their organizational effectiveness. The heterogeneity analyses reveal that the promotion effect of the pilot policy on green innovation is stronger among firms in high-carbon industries, firms in the mature stage and firms that are not state-owned. The mechanism tests find that the credit allocation effect and innovation compensation effect generated by the pilot policy are the key channels to promote green technology innovation. In addition to enriching the research on the evaluation of the effects of the pilot policy, our paper also expands the literature on organizational psychology and organizational change from the perspective of corporate green innovation, offers practical implications for the low-carbon transition of manufacturing industries under the emission peak and carbon neutrality targets, and provides insights for other emerging economies to achieve better resource and environmental protection through the energy saving and emission reduction fiscal policy.
Background
The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive value of the 5-factor modified frailty index (mFI-5) for postoperative mortality, delirium and pneumonia in patients over 65 ...years of age undergoing elective lung cancer surgery.
Methods
Data were collected from a single-center retrospective cohort study conducted in a general tertiary hospital from January 2017 to August 2019. In total, the study included 1372 elderly patients aged over 65 who underwent elective lung cancer surgery. They were divided into frail group (mFI-5, 2–5), prefrail group (mFI-5, 1) and robust group (mFI-5, 0) on the basis of mFI-5 classification. The primary outcome was postoperative 1-year all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were postoperative pneumonia and postoperative delirium.
Results
Frailty group had the highest incidence of postoperative delirium (frailty 31.2% versus prefrailty 1.6% versus robust 1.5%,
p
< 0.001), postoperative pneumonia (frailty 23.5% versus prefrailty 7.2% versus robust 7.7%,
p
< 0.001), and postoperative 1-year mortality (frailty 7.0% versus prefrailty 2.2% versus robust 1.9%.
p
< 0.001). Frail patients have significantly longer length of hospitalization than those in the robust group and prefrail patients (
p
< 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed a clear link between frailty and increased risk of postoperative delirium (aOR 2.775, 95% CI 1.776–5.417,
p
< 0.001), postoperative pneumonia (aOR 3.291, 95% CI 2.169–4.993,
p
< 0.001) and postoperative 1-year mortality (aOR 3.364, 95% CI, 1.516–7.464,
p
= 0.003).
Conclusions
mFI-5 has potential clinical utility in predicting postoperative death, delirium and pneumonia incidence in elderly patients undergoing radical lung cancer surgery. Frailty screening of patients (mFI-5) may provide benefits in risk stratification, targeted intervention efforts, and assist physicians in clinical decision-making.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disease with chronic nonspecific low-grade inflammation. The imbalance of immune cells exists in PCOS. Several studies have found that heat shock protein 70 ...(HSP70) may be involved in the immunological pathogenesis of PCOS, but the relationship between HSP70 and Regulatory T cell (Treg)/T helper cell 17(Th17) ratio remains unclear. This study aims to explore the correlation between HSP70 and Treg/Th17 ratio and to provide evidence for the role of HSP70 in the immunological etiology of PCOS.
There was no significant difference in age and body mass index (BMI) between the two groups. The concentrations of basal estradiol (E
), basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) did not show a significant difference between the two groups. The concentrations of basal luteinizing hormone (LH) (P < 0.01), testosterone (T) (P < 0.01), glucose (P < 0.001) and insulin (P < 0.001) in PCOS patients were significantly higher than those in the control group. The protein levels of HSP70 were significantly higher in serum in the PCOS group (P < 0.001). The percentage of Treg cells was significantly lower (P < 0.01), while the percentage of the Th17 cells of the PCOS group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The ratio of Treg/Th17 in the PCOS group was significantly lower (P < 0.001). The concentrations of Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, and IL-23 were significantly higher, while the levels of IL-10 and Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were significantly lower in the PCOS group (P < 0.001). Spearman rank correlation analysis showed a strong negative correlation of serum HSP70 levels with Treg/Th17 ratio, IL-10, and TGF-β levels. In contrast, HSP70 levels were significantly positively correlated with IL-6, IL-17, IL-23, LH, insulin, and glucose levels.
The abnormal level of HSP70 is correlated with Treg/Th17 imbalance and corresponding cytokines, which indicates that HSP70 may play an important role in PCOS immunologic pathogenesis.
BACKGROUND:The use of tranexamic acid (TXA) in primary total hip arthroplasty is well documented. However, considering the potential side effects, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary ...embolism, the ideal method of providing TXA to patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty remains controversial. The objective of this trial was to assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous (IV) administration combined with topical administration of TXA regarding postoperative blood loss and transfusion rates in patients treated with primary unilateral total hip arthroplasty.
METHODS:In this prospective, randomized controlled trial, 150 patients were divided into three groupsthe combined group (IV administration of 15 mg/kg of TXA combined with topical administration of 1 g/100 mL of TXA), the single IV group (IV administration of 15 mg/kg of TXA), and the placebo group. The primary outcomes included blood-loss variables (total, intraoperative, and drainage blood loss; changes in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet concentration; and amount of IV transfusion fluid) and transfusion values (frequency of transfusion and number of transfused blood units). The secondary outcomes included the length of the hospital stay, range of hip motion, Harris hip score, and prevalences of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
RESULTS:The total blood loss in the combined group (mean and standard deviation, 835.49 ± 343.50 mL) was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in comparison with that in the single IV group (1002.62 ± 366.85 mL) and placebo group (1221.11 ± 386.25 mL). The combined group also had fewer transfusions in comparison with the single IV and placebo groups (1, 8, and 19, respectively; p < 0.05). There was no difference among the 3 groups with regard to the rates of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.
CONCLUSIONS:Intravenous combined with topical administration of TXA in patients undergoing a primary unilateral total hip arthroplasty significantly reduced postoperative bleeding and the transfusion rate. Studies with more patients and longer follow-up are needed to confirm whether this promising combined strategy is safe with regard to thromboembolic complications.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with substantial cardiovascular morbidity. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent arrhythmia that increases the risk of both stroke and cardiovascular ...mortality. Information about the mortality risk among patients with advanced CKD and new-onset AF (NAF) in the presence and absence of dialysis is important. However, the association between advanced CKD and NAF in patients with and without dialysis is unclear.
To investigate long-term outcomes of the association between advanced CKD and NAF in patients with and without dialysis.
We conducted a nested case-control study based on the National Health Insurance Program in Taiwan. Each participant aged 20 years and older who had CKD with dialysis from 2000 to 2013 was assigned to the dialysis group, whereas sex-, age-, CKD duration-, and index date-matched participants without dialysis were randomly selected and assigned to the non-dialysis group. We used the Cox regression model to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) with the 95% confidence interval (CI) for mortality in CKD patients with combined dialysis and NAF. Patients with neither NAF nor dialysis served as the reference group.
We identified 3,673 dialysis cases and 7,346 Non-dialysis matched controls for enrolment in the study. The crude mortality rates were 3.3 (95% CI: 3.1-3.5), 10.98 (95% CI: 9.3-13.0), 9.2 (95% CI: 8.7-10.0), and 18.0 (95% CI: 15.4-21.2) in the Non-dialysis, non-NAF, Non-dialysis, NAF, Dialysis, non-NAF, and Dialysis, NAF groups, respectively. After adjustment for age, gender, and co-morbidities, the aHRs were 2.0 (95% CI: 1.7-2.3), 2.7 (95% CI: 2.5-2.9), and 3.5 (95% CI: 2.9-4.1) in the Non-Dialysis, NAF, Dialysis, non-NAF, and Dialysis, NAF groups compared with the Non-Dialysis, non-NAF group, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed the highest mortality risk in the Dialysis, NAF group among the study groups. Patients with concurrent peritoneal dialysis and AF had the highest mortality risk: aHR = 4.3 (95% CI: 2.3-8.0). However, there was a relatively lower effect of NAF on mortality in patients on dialysis than in patients who were not.
Patients with advanced CKD and NAF had a significantly increased risk of mortality. Dialysis is not risky for patients with concurrent CKD and NAF. Dialysis offers a sufficient survival benefit to be considered as a standard treatment, as indicated by the superior physical status of patients on dialysis.
Network embedding is a technique used to learn a low-dimensional vector representation for each node in a network. This method has been proven effective in network mining tasks, especially in the ...area of recommendation systems. The real-world scenarios often contain rich attribute information that can be leveraged to enhance the performance of representation learning methods. Therefore, this article proposes an attribute network embedding recommendation method based on self-attention mechanism (AESR) that caters to the recommendation needs of users with little or no explicit feedback data. The proposed AESR method first models the attribute combination representation of items and then uses a self-attention mechanism to compactly embed the combination representation. By representing users as different anchor vectors, the method can efficiently learn their preferences and reconstruct them with few learning samples. This achieves accurate and fast recommendations and avoids data sparsity problems. Experimental results show that AESR can provide personalized recommendations even for users with little explicit feedback information. Moreover, the attribute extraction of documents can effectively improve recommendation accuracy on different datasets. Overall, the proposed AESR method provides a promising approach to recommendation systems that can leverage attribute information for better performance.
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