Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrient elements and maintaining soil health. We aimed to investigate the response of bacteria communities to organic farming over different crops (rice, tea and vegetable) along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River of China. Compared with conventional farming, organic farming significantly increased soil nutrients, soil enzyme activities, and bacterial richness and diversity. A Venn diagram and principal component analysis revealed that the soils with 3 different crops under organic farming have more number and percent of shared OTUs (operational taxonomic units), and shared a highly similar microbial community structure. Under organic farming, several predominant guilds and major bacterial lineages (Rhizobiales, Thiotrichaceae, Micromonosporaceae, Desulfurellaceae and Myxococcales) contributing to nutrient (C, N, S and P) cycling were enriched, whereas the relative abundances of acid and alkali resistant microorganisms (Acidobacteriaceae and Sporolactobacillaceae) were increased under conventional farming practices. Our results indicated that, for all three crops, organic farming have a more stable microflora and the uniformity of the bacterial community structure. Organic agriculture significantly increased the abundance of some nutrition-related bacteria, while reducing some of the abundance of acid and alkali resistant bacteria.

Nucleosome positioning and histone modification play a critical role in gene regulation, but their role during reprogramming has not been fully elucidated. Here, we determined the genome-wide nucleosome coverage and histone methylation occupancy in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and pre-iPSCs. We found that nucleosome occupancy increases in promoter regions and decreases in intergenic regions in pre-iPSCs, then recovers to an intermediate level in iPSCs. We also found that nucleosomes in pre-iPSCs are much more phased than those in MEFs and iPSCs. During reprogramming, nucleosome reorganization and histone methylation around transcription start sites (TSSs) are highly coordinated with distinctively transcriptional activities. Bivalent promoters gradually increase, while repressive promoters gradually decrease. High CpG (HCG) promoters of active genes are characterized by nucleosome depletion at TSSs, while low CpG (LCG) promoters exhibit the opposite characteristics. In addition, we show that vitamin C (VC) promotes reorganizations of canonical, H3K4me3- and H3K27me3-modified nucleosomes on specific genes during transition from pre-iPSCs to iPSCs. These data demonstrate that pre-iPSCs have a more open and phased chromatin architecture than that of MEFs and iPSCs. Finally, this study reveals the dynamics and critical roles of nucleosome positioning and chromatin organization in gene regulation during reprogramming.

The sustentaculum tali are tightly bound to the talus by the interosseous and deltoid ligament complex and have been considered a ''constant fragment". Yet there is a dearth of study on the anatomical patterns of the sustentacular segment. Consequently, this study is designated with the purpose of defining the prevalence and displacement of sustentacular fractures in intra-articular calcaneal fractures (ICFs) applying computed tomography (CT) mapping in both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) conditions. From January 2019 to December 2020, the CT images of sixty-seven patients with eighty-one ICFs were retrospectively evaluated, besides, basic patient demographics and mechanisms of injury were documented. And the prevalence of sustentacular fractures was characterized in the sagittal or coronal CT planes. The subluxation, angulation, and translation of the portion of the sustentacular bone were noted. By decreasing rebuilt fracture fragments to suit a model of the sustentaculum tali, a 3D map was generated. Overall, the sustentacular fracture in 21 (25.9%) of the 81 ICFs, 15 (71.4%) were nondisplaced, 6 (28.6%) were displaced, and mean coronal angulation was 21.9°, and no comminuted. The relationship between sustentaculum tali and the talus was anatomically aligned in 71 (87.7%), and subluxation in 10 (12.3%). According to the research, 3D mapping demonstrated that most fracture lines start from the anterior of the sustentaculum tali, extending obliquely to the sulcus of the flexor halluces longus tendon. Moreover, this study provides a detailed description (displacement or articular dislocation) of the frequency of sustentacular fragments in ICFs. The finding disproves the ''constant'' theory of the sustentacular fragments, due to the fact that comminuted fracture of sustentaculum tali was rare. And the expertise of these fracture patterns may affect the progress of fixation concepts and surgical approaches. Moreover, we further speculated that the displacement of the sustentacular fragment was considerably more probable to emerge in the higher-order Sanders classification. Nevertheless, bigger sample size is required to further validate this position.

We compared the relationship between sedentary activity (SA) and physical activity (PA) with bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage in the United States and found a negative association between SA and BMD and a positive association with body fat percentage. A positive association between PA and BMD and a negative association with body fat percentage. SA and PA are associated with changes in skeletal parameters and body fat percentage, and we aimed to investigate and compare the relationship between SA, PA and bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat percentage in men and women. We assessed the relationship between SA, PA and BMD and body fat percentage in 9787 Americans aged 20-59 years (mean age 38.28 ± 11.39 years) from NHANES 2011-2018. BMD and body fat percentage were measured by dual-energy X-ray bone densitometry (DXA). We used multiple linear regression models to examine the relationships between SA, PA and lumbar spine BMD and total body fat percentage, adjusted for a large number of confounding factors. After adjusting for race/ethnicity, age, alcohol and smoking behavior, body mass index (BMI), total protein, blood calcium, blood uric acid, cholesterol, blood phosphorus, vitamin D, and blood urea nitrogen, SA was negatively associated with lumbar spine BMD (β = - 0.0011 95% CI - 0.0020 to - 0.0002, P = 0.022), and SA was positively associated with total fat percentage (β = PA was positively associated with lumbar BMD (β = 0.0046 95% CI 0.0010 to 0.0082, P = 0.012) and there was a negative association between PA and body fat percentage (β = - 1.177 95% CI - 1.326 to -1.027, P < 0.001). Our results show that physical activity is a key component of maintaining bone health in both men and women and is strongly associated with lower body fat percentages. Sedentary activity is negatively correlated with bone density and is strongly associated with an increase in body fat percentage. Healthcare policy makers should consider reducing sedentary activity and increasing physical activity when preventing osteoporosis and obesity.

To determine the pattern of intra-articular calcaneal fractures (ICFs) by a three-dimensional (3D) mapping and determine whether there were consistent fracture patterns and comminution zones. In this study, 67 patients with ICFS by CT scan were included. The calcaneal fractures fragments in CT were multiplanar reconstructed and virtual reduced. 3D heat mapping was subsequently created by graphically superimposing all fracture lines onto a standard calcaneal template. The cohort included 26 (38.8%) left calcaneal fractures, 27 (40.30%) right calcaneal fractures, and 14 (20.9%) cases with bilateral fractures. Comminuted fractures accounted for 92.5%. Sagittal 3D mapping shows that the fracture line is mainly concentrated at the critical angle of Gissane and extending rear to the posterior of the tuberosity of the lateral wall and the anterior of the medial process of the calcaneus tuberosity but with more significant variation in the medial wall. The average angle of fracture lines concerning the long calcaneal axis (LCA) was 29.1° and 19.2° in the lateral and medial walls. Axial 3D mapping shows that fracture lines were primarily concentrated in the anterior area to the posterior joint facet and extending along the rear joint facet and calcaneus sulcus to the posteriorly of the tuberosity. The mean angle of fracture lines concerning the LAC was 11° in the axial wall. Our data provided elucidated that ICFs have consistent characteristic fracture patterns and comminution zones. This study provides visual guidelines for understanding fracture morphology, which may assist with fracture classification, preoperative planning, development of fixation concepts.

Activation of telomerase or alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is necessary for tumours to escape from dysfunctional telomere-mediated senescence. Anti-telomerase drugs might be effective in suppressing tumour growth in approximately 85-90% of telomerase-positive cancer cells. However, there are still chances for these cells to bypass drug treatment after switching to the ALT mechanism to maintain their telomere integrity. But the mechanism underlying this switch is unknown. In this study, we used telomerase-positive cancer cells (HTC75) to discover the mechanism of the telomerase-ALT switch by inducing telomere-specific DNA damage, alpha-thalassemia X-linked syndrome protein (ATRX) knockdown and deletion of death associated protein (DAXX). Surprisingly, two important ALT hallmarks in the ALT-like HTC75 cells were observed after treatments: ALT-associated promyelocytic leukaemia bodies (APBs) and extrachromosomal circular DNA of telomeric repeats. Moreover, knocking out hTERT by utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 technique led to telomere elongation in a telomerase-independent manner in ALT-like HTC75 cells. In summary, this is the first report to show that inducing telomeric DNA damage, disrupting the ATRX/DAXX complex and inhibiting telomerase activity in telomerase-positive cancer cells lead to the ALT switch.

Respiratory diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis, silicosis, and allergic pneumonia, can be caused by long-term exposure to dental prosthesis grinding dust. The extent of the toxicity and pathogenicity of exposure to PMMA dust, Vitallium dust, and dentin porcelain dust differs. The dust from grinding dental prosthesis made of these three materials was characterized in terms of morphology, particle size, and elemental composition. The adverse effects of different concentrations of grinding dust (50, 150, 300, 450, and 600 μg ml-l) on RAW264.7 macrophages were evaluated, including changes in cell morphology and the production of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The dust particles released by grinding dental prosthesis made of these materials had different morphologies, particle sizes, and elemental compositions. They also induced varying degrees of cytotoxicity in RAW264.7 macrophages. A possible cytotoxicity mechanism is the induction of lipid peroxidation and plasma membrane damage as the dust particles penetrate cells. Therefore, clinicians who regularly work with these materials should wear the appropriate personal protection equipment to minimize exposure and reduce the health risks caused by these particulates.