To explore the association between Particulate Matter (PM)2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm) and lung cancer mortality rates and to estimate the potential risk of lung cancer mortality related to exposure to high PM2.5 concentrations.

The distribution patterns of total protein and protein components in different layers of wheat grain were investigated using the pearling technique, and the sources of different protein components and pearling fractions were identified using (15)N isotope tracing methods. It was found that N absorbed from jointing to anthesis (JA) and remobilized to the grain after anthesis was the principal source of grain N, especially in the outer layer. For albumin and globulin, the amount of N absorbed during different stages all showed a decreasing trend from the surface layer to the center part. Whereas, for globulin and glutenin, the N absorbed after anthesis accounted for the main part indicating that for storage protein, the utilization of N assimilated after anthesis is greater than that of the stored N assimilated before anthesis. It is concluded that manipulation of the N application rate during different growth stages could be an effective approach to modulate the distribution of protein fractions in pearled grains for specific end-uses.

The purpose of this study was to assess soil heavy metal contamination and the potential risk for local residents in Suxian county of Hunan Province, southern China. Soil, rice and vegetable samples from the areas near the mining industrial districts were sampled and analyzed. The results indicate that the anthropogenic mining activities have caused local agricultural soil contamination with As, Pb, Cu and Cd in the ranges of 8.47-341.33 mg/kg, 19.91-837.52 mg/kg, 8.41-148.73 mg/kg and 0.35-6.47 mg/kg, respectively. GIS-based mapping shows that soil heavy metal concentrations abruptly diminish with increasing distance from the polluting source. The concentrations of As, Pb, Cu and Cd found in rice were in the ranges of 0.02-1.48 mg/kg, 0.66-5.78 mg/kg, 0.09-6.75 mg/kg, and up to 1.39 mg/kg, respectively. Most of these concentrations exceed their maximum permissible levels for contaminants in foods in China. Heavy metals accumulate to significantly different levels between leafy vegetables and non-leafy vegetables. Food consumption and soil ingestion exposure are the two routes that contribute to the average daily intake dose of heavy metals for local adults. Moreover, the total hazard indices of As, Pb and Cd are greater than or close to the safety threshold of 1. Long-term As, Pb and Cd exposure through the regular consumption of the soil, rice and vegetables in the investigated area poses potential health problems to residents in the vicinity of the mining industry.

The molecular mechanism for the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains elusive. Both farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signalling and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contribute to the progression of NAFLD; however, it is not clear whether the actions of these two pathways are dependent on each other. Moreover, the pharmacological benefits and mechanism of betulinic acid (BA) in controlling metabolic syndrome and NAFLD are largely unknown.

Although yield output of maize (Zea mays L.) has improved markedly over the last century, procedures for improving the grain-filling process remain elusive. Our aim in this study was to relate grain-filling variation in maize (including kernels in apical and middle positions in the ears) to plant density and nitrogen (N) application rate using a crossed experimental design. We also investigated changes in zeatin riboside (ZR), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellic acid (GA) in the kernels during the grain-filling period. Two high-yield maize varieties cultivated extensively in China were field grown under normal (67,500 pl ha-1) and high (97,500 pl ha-1) densities, and supplied with low, normal and high (0, 180, and 360 kg N ha-1) concentrations of N. Kernel weight (KW), the maximum grain-filling rate (Gmax), the average grain-filling rate (Gave), and the kernel weight increment achieving Gmax (Wmax) were all significantly depressed under high density (HD) conditions, but increased N supply partially offset the losses. The apical kernels were more sensitive to density and N application rate than middle kernels. Correlation analysis indicated that plant density and N rate affected KW mainly by influencing the grain-filling rate. Variation in ZR, IAA, and ABA content tracked the variation in KW, but variation in GA content did not. Furthermore, the grain-filling parameters (closely related to TKW) had strong canonical correlation with the content of all hormones across the filling period and ZR content had the strongest relationship. Based on our study, high N supply is beneficial to optimize grain-filling parameters and improve KW of maize kernels under crowded condition.

Meniscal allograft transplantation yields good and excellent results but is limited by donor availability. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of radiated deep-frozen xenogenic meniscal tissue (RDF-X) as an alternative graft choice in meniscal transplantation. The xenogenic meniscal tissues were harvested from the inner 1/3 part of the porcine meniscus and then irradiated and deeply frozen. The medial menisci of rabbits were replaced by the RDF-X. Meniscal allograft transplantation, meniscectomy and sham operation served as controls. Only a particular kind of rabbit-anti-pig antibody (molecular ranging 60-80 kD) was detected in the blood serum at week 2. The menisci of the group RDF-X grossly resembled the native tissue and the allograft meniscus with fibrocartilage regeneration at postoperative 1 year. Cell incorporation and the extracellular matrix were mostly observed at the surface and the inner 1/3 part of the newly regenerated RDF-X, which was different from the allograft. The biomechanical properties of the group RDF-X were also approximate to those of the native meniscus except for the compressive creep. In addition, chondroprotection was achieved after the RDF-X transplantation although the joint degeneration was not completely prevented. To conclude, the RDF-X could be a promising alternative for meniscal transplantation with similar tissue regeneration capacity to allograft transplantation and superior chondroprotection. The potential minor immunological rejection should be further studied before its clinical application.

The spread of invasive species may pose great threats to the economy and ecology of a region. The codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) is one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world and is the most destructive apple pest. The economic losses caused by codling moths are immeasurable. It is essential to understand the potential distribution of codling moths to reduce the risks of codling moth establishment. In this study, we adopted the Maxent (Maximum Entropy Model), a machine learning method to predict the potential global distribution of codling moths with global accessibility data, apple yield data, elevation data and 19 bioclimatic variables, considering the ecological characteristics and the spread channels that cover the processes from growth and survival to the dispersion of the codling moth. The results show that the areas that are suitable for codling moth are mainly distributed in Europe, Asia and North America, and these results strongly conformed with the currently known occurrence regions. In addition, global accessibility, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, precipitation of the driest month, annual mean temperature and apple yield were the most important environmental predictors associated with the global distribution of codling moths.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is receiving increased attention. This study was designed to investigate the effect of selective Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, nimesulide, on the expression of Smad4 in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2.

Obesity is becoming one of the global epidemics of the 21st century. In this study, the effects of citrange (Citrus sinensis × Poncirus trifoliata) fruit extracts in high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity mice were studied. Female C57BL/6 mice were fed respectively a chow diet (control), an HF diet, HF diet supplemented with 1% w/w citrange peel extract (CPE) or 1% w/w citrange flesh and seed extract (CFSE) for 8 weeks. Our results showed that both CPE and CFSE regulated the glucose metabolic disorders of obese mice. In CPE and CFSE-treated groups, the body weight gain, blood glucose, serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels were significantly (p<0.05) reduced relative to those in the HF group. To explore the mechanisms of action of CPE and CFSE on the metabolism of glucose and lipid, related genes' expressions in liver were assayed. In liver tissue, the expression level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and its target genes were down-regulated by CPE and CFSE supplementation as revealed by qPCR tests. In addition, both CPE and CFSE decreased the expression level of liver X receptor (LXR) α and β, which are involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. Taken together, these results suggest that CPE and CFSE administration could ameliorate obesity and related metabolic disorders in HF diet-induced obesity mice probably through the inhibition of PPARγ and LXRs gene expressions.

It has been reported that monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the E1E2 glycoproteins may have the potential to prevent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The protective epitopes targeted by these MAbs have been mapped to the regions encompassing amino acids 313-327 and 432-443. In this study, we synthesized these two peptides and tested the reactivity of serum samples from 336 patients, 210 of which were from Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) patients infected with diverse HCV genotypes. The remaining 126 samples were isolated from patients who had spontaneously cleared HCV infection. In the chronic HCV-infected group (CHC group), the prevalence of human serum antibodies reactive to epitopes 313-327 and 432-443 was 24.29% (51 of 210) and 4.76% (10 of 210), respectively. In the spontaneous clearance group (SC group), the prevalence was 0.79% (1 of 126) and 12.70% (16 of 126), respectively. The positive serum samples that contained antibodies reactive to epitope 313-327 neutralized HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) bearing the envelope glycoproteins of genotypes 1a or 1b and/or 4, but genotypes 2a, 3a, 5 and 6 were not neutralized. The neutralizing activity of these serum samples could not be inhibited by peptide 313-327. Six samples (SC17, SC38, SC86, SC92, CHC75 and CHC198) containing antibodies reactive to epitope 432-443 had cross-genotype neutralizing activities. The neutralizing activity of SC38, SC86, SC92 and CHC75 was partially inhibited by peptide 432-443. However, the neutralizing activity of sample SC17 for genotype 4HCVpp and sample CHC198 for genotype 1b HCVpp were not inhibited by the peptide. This study identifies the neutralizing ability of endogenous anti-HCV antibodies and warrants the exploration of antibodies reactive to epitope 432-443 as sources for future antibody therapies.

Wax gourd is a popular vegetable in East Asia. In traditional Chinese medicine, wax gourd peel is used to prevent and treat metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. However, there is no experimental evidence to support these applications. Here, we examined the effect of the extract of wax gourd peel (EWGP) on metabolic disorders in diet-induced C57BL/6 obese mice. In the preventive experiment, EWGP blocked body weight gain and lowered serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), liver TG and TC contents, and fasting blood glucose in mice fed with a high-fat diet. In the therapeutic study, we induced obesity in the mice and treated with EWGP for two weeks. We found that EWGP treatment reduced serum and liver triglyceride (TG) contents and fasting blood glucose and improved glucose tolerance in the mice. Reporter assay and gene expression analysis showed that EWGP could inhibit peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR γ ) transactivities and could decrease mRNA levels of PPAR γ and its target genes. We also found that HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) was downregulated in the mouse liver by EWGP. Our data suggest that EWGP lowers hyperlipidemia of C57BL/6 mice induced by high-fat diet via the inhibition of PPAR γ and HMGCR signaling.

To determine the capacity of dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with single or multiple-peptide mixtures of novel hepatitis C virus (HCV) epitopes to stimulate HCV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector functions.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease that is spread to humans by the bites of infected female phlebotomine sand flies. Although this vector-borne disease has been eliminated in most parts of China, it still poses a significant public health burden in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Understanding of the spatial epidemiology of the disease remains vague in the local community. In the present study, we investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of VL in the region in order to assess the potential threat of the disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease characterized by the accumulation of triglycerides and associated with obesity, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance. Currently, there is no therapy for NAFLD. Emerging evidences suggest that the inhibition of liver X receptor (LXR) activity may be a potential therapy for hepatic steatosis. Here, we identified that sophoricoside is a selective antagonist of LXRβ. Sophoricoside protected against obesity and glucose tolerance, and inhibited lipid accumulation in the liver of high-fat diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice and methionine and choline-deficient diet-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis mice. Furthermore, sophoricoside inhibited malondialdehyde, and increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione in the liver of the mice. In HepG2 cells, pretreatment with sophoricoside rescued GSH concentration decrease induced by H2 O2 treatment. Our data suggest that sophoricoside is a novel LXRβ selective antagonist and may improve glucose and lipid dysfunction, and attenuate lipid accumulation in the liver of DIO mice via anti-oxidant properties, which may be developed as a therapy for NAFLD.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important vector-borne zoonosis caused by Leishmania spp. that has been spreading in China. It has been posing a significant risk to public health in central China due to its recurrence in recent decades. Yet, the spatiotemporal patterns and the driving factors of VL in central China remain unclear at present. The purpose of this study was to analyse spatiotemporal distribution, explore driving factors, and provide novel insight into prevention and control countermeasures of the VL spreading in central China. Based on data of human VL cases from 2006 to 2019 obtained from the Chinese Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we depicted the map showing the spatiotemporal distribution of VL in central China. We further explored the driving factors contributing to the spread of VL through the general additive model (GAM) by combining maps of environmental, meteorological, and socioeconomic correlates. Most VL cases were reported in Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, the number of which has been increasing every year in the last 14 years, from 3 new cases in 2006 to 101 new cases in 2019. The results of GAM revealed that environmental (i.e., changes in grasslands/forests), meteorological (i.e., temperature and relative humidity), and socioeconomic (i.e., population density) factors are significantly associated with the prevalence of VL in central China. Our results provide a better understanding regarding the current situation and the driving factors of VL in central China, assisting in developing the disease prevention and control strategies implemented by public health authorities.

There is much room for improvement and optimization of meniscal allograft survivorship.

Inhibited photosynthesis caused by post-anthesis high-temperature stress (HTS) leads to decreased wheat grain yield. Magnesium (Mg) plays critical roles in photosynthesis; however, its function under HTS during wheat grain filling remains poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of Mg on the impact of HTS on photosynthesis during wheat grain filling by conducting pot experiments in controlled-climate chambers. Plants were subjected to a day/night temperature cycle of 32°C/22°C for 5 days during post-anthesis; the control temperature was set at 26°C/16°C. Mg was applied at the booting stage, with untreated plants used as a control. HTS reduced the yield and net photosynthetic rate (P n ) of wheat plants. The maximum carboxylation rate (V Cmax ), which is limited by Rubisco activity, decreased earlier than the light-saturated potential electron transport rate. This decrease in V Cmax was caused by decreased Rubisco activation state under HTS. Mg application reduced yield loss by stabilizing P n . Rubisco activation was enhanced by increasing Rubisco activase activity following Mg application, thereby stabilizing P n . We conclude that Mg maintains Rubisco activation, thereby helping to stabilize P n under HTS.

Grain filling and grain development are essential biological processes in the plant's life cycle, eventually contributing to the final seed yield and quality in all cereal crops. Studies of how the different wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain components contribute to the overall development of the seed are very scarce. We performed a proteomics and metabolomics analysis in four different developing components of the wheat grain (seed coat, embryo, endosperm, and cavity fluid) to characterize molecular processes during early and late grain development. In-gel shotgun proteomics analysis at 12, 15, 20, and 26 days after anthesis (DAA) revealed 15 484 identified and quantified proteins, out of which 410 differentially expressed proteins were identified in the seed coat, 815 in the embryo, 372 in the endosperm, and 492 in the cavity fluid. The abundance of selected protein candidates revealed spatially and temporally resolved protein functions associated with development and grain filling. Multiple wheat protein isoforms involved in starch synthesis such as sucrose synthases, starch phosphorylase, granule-bound and soluble starch synthase, pyruvate phosphate dikinase, 14-3-3 proteins as well as sugar precursors undergo a major tissue-dependent change in abundance during wheat grain development suggesting an intimate interplay of starch biosynthesis control. Different isoforms of the protein disulfide isomerase family as well as glutamine levels, both involved in the glutenin macropolymer pattern, showed distinct spatial and temporal abundance, revealing their specific role as indicators of wheat gluten quality. Proteins binned into the functional category of cell growth/division and protein synthesis/degradation were more abundant in the early stages (12 and 15 DAA). At the metabolome level all tissues and especially the cavity fluid showed highly distinct metabolite profiles. The tissue-specific data are integrated with biochemical networks to generate a comprehensive map of molecular processes during grain filling and developmental processes.

Interferons (IFNs) control viral infections by inducing expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) that restrict distinct steps of viral replication. We report herein that gamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT), a lysosome-associated ISG, restricts the infectious entry of selected enveloped RNA viruses. Specifically, we demonstrated that GILT was constitutively expressed in lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts and its expression could be further induced by type II interferon. While overexpression of GILT inhibited the entry mediated by envelope glycoproteins of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Ebola virus (EBOV) and Lassa fever virus (LASV), depletion of GILT enhanced the entry mediated by these viral envelope glycoproteins. Furthermore, mutations that impaired the thiol reductase activity or disrupted the N-linked glycosylation, a posttranslational modification essential for its lysosomal localization, largely compromised GILT restriction of viral entry. We also found that the induction of GILT expression reduced the level and activity of cathepsin L, which is required for the entry of these RNA viruses in lysosomes. Our data indicate that GILT is a novel antiviral ISG that specifically inhibits the entry of selected enveloped RNA viruses in lysosomes via disruption of cathepsin L metabolism and function and may play a role in immune control and pathogenesis of these viruses.

Background: Tendon-bone healing is an important factor in determining the success of ligament reconstruction. With the development of biomaterials science, the tissue engineering scaffold plays an extremely important role in tendon-bone healing and bone tissue engineering. Materials and Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Web of Science) were systematically searched for relevant and qualitative studies published from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2019. Only original articles that met eligibility criteria and evaluated the use of issue engineering scaffold especially biomaterials in tendon bone healing in vivo were selected for analysis. Results: The search strategy identified 506 articles, and 27 studies were included for full review including two human trials and 25 animal studies. Fifteen studies only used biomaterials like PLGA, collage, PCL, PLA, and PET as scaffolds to repair the tendon-bone defect, on this basis, the rest of the 11 studies using biological interventions like cells or cell factors to enhance the healing. The adverse events hardly ever occurred, and the tendon bone healing with tissue engineering scaffold was effective and superior, which could be enhanced by biological interventions. Conclusion: Although a number of tissue engineering scaffolds have been developed and applied in tendon bone healing, the researches are mainly focused on animal models which are with limitations in clinical application. Since the efficacy and safety of tissue engineering scaffold has been proved, and can be enhanced by biological interventions, substantial clinical trials remain to be done, continued progress in overcoming current tissue engineering challenges should allow for successful clinical practice.