Ammonia (NH
) emissions, mainly from agricultural sources, generate substantial health damage due to the adverse effects on air quality. NH
emission reduction strategies are still far from being ...effective. In particular, a growing trade network in this era of globalization offers untapped emission mitigation potential that has been overlooked. Here we show that about one-fourth of global agricultural NH
emissions in 2012 are trade-related. Globally they induce 61 thousand PM
-related premature mortalities, with 25 thousand deaths associated with crop cultivation and 36 thousand deaths with livestock production. The trade-related health damage network is regionally integrated and can be characterized by three trading communities. Thus, effective cooperation within trade-dependent communities will achieve considerable NH
emission reductions allowed by technological advancements and trade structure adjustments. Identification of regional communities from network analysis offers a new perspective on addressing NH
emissions and is also applicable to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions mitigation.
Atomically precise enantiomeric metal clusters are scarce, and copper(I) alkynyl clusters with intense circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) responses have not been reported. A pair of chiral ...alkynyl ligands, (R/S)‐2‐diphenyl‐2‐hydroxylmethylpyrrolidine‐1‐propyne (abbreviated as R/S‐DPM) we successfully prepared and single crystals were characterized of optically pure enantiomeric pair of atomically‐precise copper(I) clusters, Cu14(R/S‐DPM)8(PF6)6 (denoted as R/S‐Cu14), which feature bright red luminescence and CPL with a high luminescence anisotropy factor (glum). A dilute solution containing R/S‐Cu14 was nonluminescent and CPL inactive at room temperature. Crystallization‐ and aggregation‐induced emission (CIE and AIE, respectively) contribute to the triggering of the CPL of R/S‐Cu14 in the crystalline and aggregated states. Their AIE behavior and good biocompatibility indicated applications of these copper(I) clusters in cell imaging in HeLa and NG108‐15 cells.
Atomically precise chiral CuI alkynyl nanoclusters R/S‐Cu14 with inherent chirality were synthesized for the first time. Crystallization‐ and aggregation‐induced emission (CIE and AIE, respectively) trigger circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) with an unprecedented luminescence anisotropy factor (glum).
Herein, we prepared two novel pairs of enantiomeric gold cluster complexes,
AU
4
PL
4
/Au
4
PD
4
and (
Au
4
L
4
)
n
/(
Au
4
D
4
)
n
with atomic precision. In
Au
4
PL
4
/Au
4
PD
4
, the discrete ...chiral Au
4
-based aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogens are separated by bulky substitutes. The corresponding aggregates are cyan-emitting with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 14.4%. Upon decreasing the size of the substituents, these chiral Au
4
clusters are strung together by inter-cluster Au-Au interactions, which cause a low-energy green emission from the aggregated (
Au
4
L
4
)
n
/(Au
4
D
4
)
n
with a much higher PLQY of 41.4% and more intense circularly polarised photoluminescence (CPL) with a dissymmetry factor |
g
PL
| of 7.0 × 10
−
3
. Using (
Au
4
L
4
)
n
/
(Au
4
D
4
)
n
, circularly polarised organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) were for the first time fabricated with |
g
EL
| = |
g
PL
|. These findings signify that inter-cluster metallophilic interactions are a new and important type of driving force for AIE and crystallization-induced emission (CIE), suggesting great potential of CPL-active metal clusters in CP-OLEDs.
Designing chiral materials to manipulate the biological activities of cells has been an important area not only in chemistry and material science, but also in cell biology and biomedicine. Here, we ...introduce monolayer plasmonic chiral Au nanoparticle (NP) films modified with L- or D-penicillamine (Pen) to be developed for cell growth, differentiation, and retrieval. The monolayer films display high chiroptical activity, with circular dichroism values of 3.5 mdeg at 550 nm and 26.8 mdeg at 775 nm. The L-Pen-NP films accelerate cell proliferation, whereas the D -Pen-NP films have the opposite effect. Remote irradiation with light is chosen to noninvasively collect the cells. The results demonstrate that left circularly polarized light improves the efficiency of cell detachment up to 91.2% for L-Pen-NP films. These findings will facilitate the development of cell culture in biomedical application and help to understand natural homochirality.
Periostin is a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein involved in various inflammatory diseases and tumor metastasis; however, evidence regarding whether and how periostin actively contributes ...to inflammation-associated tumorigenesis remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that periostin deficiency significantly inhibits the occurrence of colorectal cancer in azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium-treated mice and in ApcMin/+ mice. Moreover, periostin deficiency attenuates the severity of colitis and reduces the proliferation of tumor cells. Mechanistically, stromal fibroblast-derived periostin activates FAK-Src kinases through integrin-mediated outside-in signaling, which results in the activation of YAP/TAZ and, subsequently, IL-6 expression in tumor cells. Conversely, IL-6 induces periostin expression in fibroblasts by activating STAT3, which ultimately facilitates colorectal tumor development. These findings provide the evidence that periostin promotes colorectal tumorigenesis, and identify periostin- and IL-6-mediated tumor-stroma interaction as a promising target for treating colitis-associated colorectal cancer.
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•Periostin deficiency inhibits colorectal tumor formation in mice•Periostin is mainly secreted by fibroblasts to promote tumor cell proliferation•Periostin promotes YAP/TAZ nuclear localization and IL-6 expression in tumor cells•IL-6 promotes fibroblast activation and periostin expression during tumorigenesis
Ma et al. demonstrate that fibroblast-derived periostin promotes colorectal tumorigenesis by enhancing YAP/TAZ nuclear localization and IL-6 expression in tumor cells. Conversely, IL-6 promotes periostin expression in fibroblasts via STAT3 signaling. This work identifies crosstalk between stromal cells and tumor cells via periostin and IL-6 during colorectal tumorigenesis.
Structural and functional damages to mitochondria of frozen-thawed sperm are a typical cryoinjury, with mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) formation being the hallmark change. ...Mitochondria are both a primary synthesis site and principle target for melatonin; this compound can directly inhibit MPTP formation and therefore confer protection at a mitochondrial level. The objective was to determine effects of melatonin on MPTP opening, viability, motility, and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) of frozen-thawed ram sperm. Ram semen was diluted in glucose-egg yolk buffer with 0 or 10
M melatonin (frozen and frozen + melatonin groups, respectively) and slow frozen, with fresh semen as Control. In frozen-thawed sperm, melatonin inhibited MPTP opening and lactate concentrations and improved sperm viability, motility, acetyl-CoA concentration and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. With regard to the underlying physiological mechanism, melatonin suppressed movement of citrate synthase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, and F0F1-ATP synthase permeability from mitochondrial to cytosolic fractions induced by MPTP opening; furthermore, it increased mRNA expressions of respiratory chain complex components and activities of complexes I, II, III, and IV and thereby improved oxygen consumption capacity in frozen-thawed sperm. In conclusion, melatonin improved OXPHOS of frozen-thawed ram sperm, attributed to inhibition of cryopreservation-induced MPTP opening.
Uraria Desv. belongs to the tribe Desmodieae (Fabaceae), a group of legume plants, some of which have medicinal properties. However, due to a lack of genomic information, the interspecific ...relationships, genetic diversity, population genetics, and identification of functional genes within Uraria species are still unclear.
Using RNA-Seq, a total of 66,026 Uraria lagopodioides unigenes with a total sequence content of 52,171,904 bp were obtained via de novo assembly and annotated using GO, KEGG, and KOG databases. 17,740 SSRs were identified from a set of 66,026 unigenes. Cross-species amplification showed that 54 out of 150 potential unigene-derived SSRs were transferable in Uraria, of which 19 polymorphic SSRs were developed. Cluster analysis based on polymorphisms successfully distinguished seven Uraria species and revealed their interspecific relationships. Seventeen samples of seven Uraria species were clustered into two monophyletic clades, and phylogenetic relationships of Uraria species based on unigene-derived SSRs were consistent with classifications based on morphological characteristics.
Unigenes annotated in the present study will provide new insights into the functional genomics of Uraria species. Meanwhile, the unigene-derived SSR markers developed here will be invaluable for assessing the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of Uraria and relatives.
Periostin (POSTN) is a multifunctional extracellular component that regulates cell-matrix interactions and cell-cell crosstalk. POSTN deletion significantly decreases leukemia burden in mice; ...however, the underlying mechanisms by which POSTN promotes B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) progression remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) express higher levels of POSTN when co-cultured with B-ALL cells in vitro and in vivo. POSTN deficiency in BM-MSCs significantly decreases CCL2 expression in co-cultured B-ALL cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, POSTN treatment increases expression of CCL2 in B-ALL cells by activating the integrin-ILK-NF-κB pathway. Conversely, CCL2 treatment upregulates expression of POSTN in BM-MSCs via STAT3 activation. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between POSTN expression and CCL2 level in the BM of mice and patients with B-ALL. These findings suggest that B-ALL cell-derived CCL2 contributes to the increased leukemia burden promoted by BM-MSC-derived POSTN.
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•B-ALL cells increase periostin level in co-cultured BM-MSCs in vitro and in vivo•BM-MSC-derived periostin promotes B-ALL cell proliferation via NF-κB-CCL2 pathway•B-ALL cell-derived CCL2 increases periostin level in BM-MSCs via STAT3 activation•Periostin is positively correlated with CCL2 in BM of mice and patients with B-ALL
Ma et al. show that BM-MSC-derived periostin promotes leukemia progression by activating the integrin-ILK-NF-κB-CCL2 pathway in leukemia cells and that leukemia cell-derived CCL2 increases periostin expression in BM-MSCs by activating STAT3. This work identifies critical crosstalk between leukemia cells and stromal cells via periostin and CCL2 in B-ALL progression.
Ovarian age assessment is an important indicator to evaluate the ovarian reserve function and reproductive potential of women. At present, the application of ovarian age prediction model in China ...needs further improvement and optimization to make it more suitable for the actual situation of women in China. In this study, we collected subjects and their data in three ways: firstly, we collected clinical data from a number of women go to local hospital, including healthy women and women with DOR or PCOS; secondly, we obtained data by recruited healthy women through CRO companies for a fee; thirdly, we collected data from a number of healthy women using WeChat applet. Using the data collected by CRO company and WeChat applet, we applied the generalized linear model to optimize the ovarian age prediction model. The optimized formula is: OvAge = exp (3.5254-0.0001*PRL-0.0231*AMH), where P = 0.8195 for PRL and P = 0.0003 for AMH. Applying the formula to the hospital population data set for testing, it showed that the predicted ovarian age in the healthy women was comparable to their actual age, with a root mean squared error (RMSE) = 5.6324. The prediction accuracy was high. These data suggest that our modification of the ovarian age prediction model is feasible and that the formula is currently a more appropriate model for ovarian age assessment in healthy Chinese women. This study explored a new way to collect clinical data, namely, an online ovarian age calculator developed based on a WeChat applet, which can collect data from a large number of subjects in a short period of time and is more economical, efficient, and convenient. In addition, this study introduced real data to optimize the model, which could provide insights for model localization and improvement.
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