Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 38 in total

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  1. Fulltext Assessing depression and anxiety among young adults after epidemics and pandemics: a cross-sectional study in Anyang, China
    Wang G, Sabran K
    Sci Rep, 2024 Feb 02;14(1):2759.
    PMID: 38308079 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53292-w
    It has been well established that pandemics affect mental health, yet few studies have been conducted in China regarding this issue following COVID-19's gradual decline and the recent H1N1 influenza outbreak. In response to this research gap, this investigation explores the risk factors linked to depression and anxiety symptoms among young adults in this specific setting. Data were collected via an online cross-sectional survey of 385 young adults living in Anyang city, Henan Province, China, between June 15 and July 21, 2023. Respondents were assessed for anxiety and depression symptoms using the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scales. Additionally, to examine the factors that influenced the study, we utilized an ordered logit regression model. Results revealed depression and anxiety prevalence rates of 33.3% and 21.6%, respectively. Several factors were found to increase the likelihood of depression and anxiety among young adults, including gender, age, education status, marital status, and attitudes towards epidemics. Participants' concerns about pandemics and viruses had a significant negative impact relationship on depression levels. Women report moderate to severe anxiety more frequently than men. An evident correlation can be observed between the educational attainment level and the influence of depression and anxiety.
  2. Fulltext Spatial correlation network characteristics of embodied carbon transfer in global agricultural trade
    Wang G, Guo Q, Zhou X, Zhang F
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Jan;30(1):2315-2328.
    PMID: 35930151 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-22337-w
    Agricultural carbon emission is an important cause of climate change, and the carbon transfer caused by agricultural trade is a key area related to carbon emissions of all countries. Based on the Eora database, this paper aims to constructs a multi-region input-output database of 185 countries or regions, analyzes a spatial correlation network of embodied net carbon transfer in global agricultural trade by using UCINET, selects multi-dimensional network measurement indicators, and comprehensively studies the global evolution characteristics and functional features of network plate role of embodied carbon transfer in the global agricultural trade. The result shows that the embodied net carbon transfer network of global agricultural trade is densely connected, the spatial correlation spillover effect is significant, and the edge of the network core structure is clear. On the one hand, the top four countries or regions in terms of embodied carbon outflow in agricultural trade are the USA, Australia, Vietnam, and China. On the other hand, the top four countries or regions of embodied carbon inflow are Malaysia, Central Africa, Singapore, and Serbia. From the perspective of outdegree, indegree, proximity centrality, and intermediary centrality, Cambodia, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Ghana, and South Africa, with the high frequency of the shortest path of the globally embodied net carbon transfer network, have a strong influence and linking facility in spatial correlation and have a strong control ability to the spatial correlation of other countries or regions. The embodied carbon emission network of global agricultural trade can be divided into four sectors: main spillover, two-way spillover, broker, and main benefit. The main spillover segment, constituted by the USA, India, Germany, and China, has significant embodied carbon spillover effects on the internal segment and other segments. It is the main embodied carbon spillover sector of embodied net carbon transfer of global agricultural trade. Countries should reasonably allocate the responsibility of carbon reduction according to the trading embodied carbon transfer and made efforts to optimize the export structure of agricultural products.
  3. Fulltext Multilocus Sequence Analysis and Detection of Copper Ion Resistance of Xanthomonas phaseoli pv. manihotis Causing Bacterial Blight in Cassava
    Shi T, Li C, Wang G, Huang G
    Curr Issues Mol Biol, 2023 Jun 28;45(7):5389-5402.
    PMID: 37504258 DOI: 10.3390/cimb45070342
    Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important tropical tuber crop around the world. Cassava bacterial blight, caused by Xanthomonas phaseoli pv. manihotis, is a key disease that influences cassava production worldwide. Between 2008 and 2020, 50 X. phaseoli pv. manihotis strains were isolated from diseased plant samples or acquired from China, Uganda, Cambodia, Colombia, Malaysia, and Micronesia. Using multilocus sequence analysis, the genetic diversity of X. phaseoli pv. manihotis strains was evaluated. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic dendrogram was constructed based on partial sequences of five housekeeping genes (atpD-dnaK-gyrB-efp-rpoD). The strains clustered into three groups whose clusters were consistent with atpD and RpoD gene sequences. Group I contained 46 strains from China, Uganda, Cambodia, and Micronesia, and the other two groups were comprised of strains from Colombia and Malaysia, respectively. The resistance of all these strains to copper ion (Cu2+) was determined, the minimal inhibitory concentration was between 1.3 and 1.7 mM, and there was no significant difference between strains from different geographic region. During genome annotation of the X. phaseoli pv. manihotis strain CHN01, homologous gene clusters of copLAB and xmeRSA were identified. The predicted amino acid sequences of two gene clusters were highly homologous with the copper-resistant protein from Xanthomonas strains. CopLAB and xmeRSA were amplified from all these strains, suggesting that the regulation of copper resistance is associated with two distinct metabolic pathways. CopLAB and xmeRSA were highly conserved among strains from different geographic regions, possibly associated with other conserved function.
  4. Fulltext Irigenin treatment alleviates doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity by suppressing apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress via the increase of miR-425
    Guo L, Zheng X, Wang E, Jia X, Wang G, Wen J
    Biomed Pharmacother, 2020 May;125:109784.
    PMID: 32092815 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109784
    Doxorubicin (DOX) is an eff ;ective chemotherapeutic drug to suppress the progression of various types of tumors. However, its clinical application has been largely limited due to its potential cardiotoxicity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerged as critical regulators of cardiac injury. This study was aimed to explore the effects of irigenin (IR), as an isoflavonoid isolated from the rhizome of Belamcanda chinensis, on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity using the in vivo and in vitrostudies. The results indicated that DOX-induced fibrosis, cardiac dysfunction and injury were markedly attenuated by IR through reducing apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation in heart tissue samples. Importantly, DOX resulted in a remarkable decrease of miR-425 in heart tissues and cells, which was significantly rescued by IR. Receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) was discovered to be a direct target of miR-425. DOX induced over-expression of RIPK1 both in vivo and in vitro, which were greatly decreased by IR. Transfection with miR-425 mimic could inhibit RIPK1 expression, whereas reducing miR-425 increased RIPK1 expression levels. In parallel to miR-425 over-expression, RIPK1 knockdown could attenuate apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and inflammation in HL-1 cells. However, over-expression of RIPK1 markedly abolished miR-425 mimic-induced apoptosis, ROS accumulation and inflammatory response in DOX-exposed cells. Herein, miR-425 could ameliorate cardiomyocyte injury through directly targeting RIPK1. Furthermore, activation of miR-425 by IR markedly improved DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, and therefore IR could be considered as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of cardiac injury.
  5. Protective effect of daidzein against streptozotocin-induced Alzheimer's disease via improving cognitive dysfunction and oxidative stress in rat model
    Wei J, Yang F, Gong C, Shi X, Wang G
    J Biochem Mol Toxicol, 2019 Jun;33(6):e22319.
    PMID: 30897277 DOI: 10.1002/jbt.22319
    Oxidative stress is performing an essential role in developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), and age-related disorder and other neurodegenerative diseases. In existing research, we have aimed at investigating the daidzein (4',7-dihydroxyisoflavone) effect (10 and 20 mg/kg of body weight), as a free radical scavenger and antioxidant in streptozotocin (STZ) infused AD in rat model. Daidzein treatment led to significant improvement in intracerebroventricular-streptozotocin (ICV-STZ)-induced memory and learning impairments that was evaluated by Morris water maze test and spontaneous locomotor activity. It significantly restored the alterations in malondialdehyde, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and reduced glutathione levels. In addition, histopathological observations in cerebral cortex and hippocampal areas confirmed the neuroprotective effect of daidzein. These outcomes provide experimental proof showing preventive effect of daidzein on memory, learning dysfunction and oxidative stress in case of ICV-STZ rats. In conclusion, daidzein offers a potential treatment module for various neurodegenerative disorders with regard to mental deficits like AD.
  6. A review of applied research on low-carbon urban design: based on scientific knowledge mapping
    Wang G, Wan Y, Ding CJ, Liu X, Jiang Y
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Oct;30(47):103513-103533.
    PMID: 37704820 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29490-w
    The construction of low-carbon cities is an essential component of sustainable urban development. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive low-carbon city design and evaluation system that incorporates "carbon sink accounting-remote sensing monitoring-numerical modelling-design and application" in an all-around linkage, multi-scale coupling, and localized effects. This paper utilizes the Citespace tool to evaluate low-carbon city design applications by analyzing literature in the Web of Science (WOS) core collection database. The results reveal that low-carbon cities undergo four stages: "measurement-implementation-regulation - management." The research themes are divided into three core clustering evolutionary pathways: "extension of carbon sink functions," "spatialisation of carbon sink systems," and "full-cycle, full-dimensional decarbonisation." Applications include "Utility studies of multi-scale carbon sink assessments," "Correlation analysis of carbon sink influencing factors," "Predictive characterisation of multiple planning scenarios," and "Spatial planning applications of urban sink enhancement." Future low-carbon city construction should incorporate intelligent algorithm technology in real-time to provide a strong design basis for multi-scale urban spatial design with the features of "high-precision accounting, full-cycle assessment and low-energy concept."
  7. Fulltext Unlocking digital potential: Exploring the drivers of employee dynamic capability on employee digital performance in Chinese SMEs-moderation effect of competitive climate
    Wang G, Niu Y, Mansor ZD, Leong YC, Yan Z
    Heliyon, 2024 Feb 29;10(4):e25583.
    PMID: 38379974 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25583
    While dynamic capabilities have been described as crucial for achieving organizational performance in dynamic environments, there has been limited scholarly distinction between dynamic capabilities and employee dynamic capabilities (EDC), especially in the digital era. Consequently, a knowledge gap has emerged. To address this void, this paper aims to investigate the driving factors of EDC and their impact on employee digital performance (EDP). Simultaneously, incorporating the competitive climate (CC) as a moderating variable between employee dynamic capabilities and employee digital performance addresses theoretical gaps in specific regions in China, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study utilizes survey data from SMEs in four Chinese provinces: Shanghai, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Anhui. It employs CB-SEM (AMOS) to analyze the new conceptual framework. Firstly, the research uncovers that the positive relationship between digital capabilities and employee digital performance necessitates employee dynamic capabilities as a mediator. Secondly, there exists a direct and indirect relationship between organizational learning and employee digital performance. Finally, this study discerns that the competitive climate moderates the relationship between employee dynamic capabilities and employee digital performance. This finding demonstrates remarkable alignment with the competitive culture in specific regions of China. The research results encourage SMEs to seize the opportunities presented by emerging digital technologies and industry digitization trends. They should commit to embracing new digital technologies, enhancing digital capability, strengthening organizational learning, fostering a positive competitive climate, and focusing on the development of employee dynamic capability to enhance their competitive edge. The findings of this research contribute not only to academic inquiry but also furnish pertinent decision-making references for relevant departments.
  8. Subjective memory and concentration deficits in medication-free, non-elderly Asians with major depressive disorder: prevalence and their correlates
    Srisurapanont M, Bautista D, Chen CH, Wang G, Udomratn P, Eurviriyanukul K
    J Affect Disord, 2015 Jan 15;171:105-10.
    PMID: 25303026 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.09.007
    BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) in major depressive disorder (MDD) is prevalent and correlated with disability. This study aimed to examine the prevalence rates and correlates of subjective memory deficit (SMD) and subjective concentration deficit (SCD) in medication-free, non-elderly Asians with MDD.
    METHODS: The SMD and SCD were assessed by using two items of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Other measurements of interest included the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.
    RESULTS: Of 515 participants from China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, 347 (67.4%) and 377 (73.2%) had SMD and SCD, respectively. In total, 420 participants (81.6%) had SMD alone, SCD alone, and both deficits. Severe depression and poor mental health were significant correlates of SMD. Severe depression, clinically significant disability, poor physical health, and poor mental health were significantly independent correlates of SCD. Compared with young adults (18-34 years), older adults aged 50-65 years had a significantly lower risk of SCD (OR=.33, 95% CI: .19-.57).
    LIMITATIONS: Only two SCL-90-R items were used to assess the SMD and SCD. The exclusion of MDD patients treated with psychotropic medications eliminated many patients commonly seen in typical clinic settings.
    CONCLUSION: SMD and SCD are prevalent in medication-free, non-elderly Asians with MDD. Both deficits are correlated with depression and mental health status. The independent correlation between SCD and disability underscores the crucial role of SCI in MDD.
    KEYWORDS: Asian; Cognitive impairment; Depressive disorders; SCL-90-R; Subjective
  9. Fulltext Elevated CO2 improves both lipid accumulation and growth rate in the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase engineered Phaeodactylum tricornutum
    Wu S, Gu W, Huang A, Li Y, Kumar M, Lim PE, et al.
    Microb Cell Fact, 2019 Sep 23;18(1):161.
    PMID: 31547820 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-019-1214-x
    BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that stress induction and genetic engineering can effectively increase lipid accumulation, but lead to a decrease of growth in the majority of microalgae. We previously found that elevated CO2 concentration increased lipid productivity as well as growth in Phaeodactylum tricornutum, along with an enhancement of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OPPP) activity. The purpose of this work directed toward the verification of the critical role of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the OPPP, in lipid accumulation in P. tricornutum and its simultaneous rapid growth rate under high-CO2 (0.15%) cultivation.

    RESULTS: In this study, G6PDH was identified as a target for algal strain improvement, wherein G6PDH gene was successfully overexpressed and antisense knockdown in P. tricornutum, and systematic comparisons of the photosynthesis performance, algal growth, lipid content, fatty acid profiles, NADPH production, G6PDH activity and transcriptional abundance were performed. The results showed that, due to the enhanced G6PDH activity, transcriptional abundance and NAPDH production, overexpression of G6PDH accompanied by high-CO2 cultivation resulted in a much higher of both lipid content and growth in P. tricornutum, while knockdown of G6PDH greatly decreased algal growth as well as lipid accumulation. In addition, the total proportions of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid, especially the polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5, n-3), were highly increased in high-CO2 cultivated G6PDH overexpressed strains.

    CONCLUSIONS: The successful of overexpression and antisense knockdown of G6PDH well demonstrated the positive influence of G6PDH on algal growth and lipid accumulation in P. tricornutum. The improvement of algal growth, lipid content as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids in high-CO2 cultivated G6PDH overexpressed P. tricornutum suggested this G6PDH overexpression-high CO2 cultivation pattern provides an efficient and economical route for algal strain improvement to develop algal-based biodiesel production.

  10. Limonoids and triterpenoid from fruit of Swietenia macrophylla
    Sun YP, Zhu LL, Liu JS, Yu Y, Zhou ZY, Wang G, et al.
    Fitoterapia, 2018 Mar;125:141-146.
    PMID: 29325928 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2018.01.004
    Five new limonoids, swieteliacates A-E (1-5) and a tirucallane-type triterpenoid, swietesenin (6), together with four known compounds (7-10) were isolated from fruit of Swietenia macrophylla. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses. The new compounds were tested in vitro for their cytotoxic effects against five human cancer cell lines. Compound 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against SW480 and HL-60 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 30.6 and 32.9μM, respectively.
  11. Genomic evaluations of Wolbachia and mtDNA in the population of coconut hispine beetle, Brontispa longissima (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
    Ali H, Muhammad A, Bala NS, Wang G, Chen Z, Peng Z, et al.
    Mol Phylogenet Evol, 2018 10;127:1000-1009.
    PMID: 29981933 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.07.003
    Wolbachia pipientis is a diverse, ubiquitous and most prevalent intracellular bacterial group of alpha-Proteobacteria that is concerned with many biological processes in arthropods. The coconut hispine beetle (CHB), Brontispa longissima (Gestro) is an economically important pest of palm cultivation worldwide. In the present study, we comprehensively surveyed the Wolbachia-infection prevalence and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism in CHB from five different geographical locations, including China's Mainland and Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. A total of 540 sequences were screened in this study through three different genes, i.e., cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), Wolbachia outer surface protein (wsp) and multilocus sequencing type (MLST) genes. The COI genetic divergence ranges from 0.08% to 0.67%, and likewise, a significant genetic diversity (π = 0.00082; P = 0.049) was noted within and between all analyzed samples. In the meantime, ten different haplotypes (H) were characterized (haplotype diversity = 0.4379) from 21 different locations, and among them, H6 (46 individuals) have shown a maximum number of population clusters than others. Subsequently, Wolbachia-prevalence results indicated that all tested specimens of CHB were found positive (100%), which suggested that CHB was naturally infected with Wolbachia. Wolbachia sequence results (wsp gene) revealed a high level of nucleotide diversity (π = 0.00047) under Tajima's D test (P = 0.049). Meanwhile, the same trend of nucleotide diversity (π = 0.00041) was observed in Wolbachia concatenated MLST locus. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis (wsp and concatenated MLST genes) revealed that all collected samples of CHB attributed to same Wolbachia B-supergroup. Our results strongly suggest that Wolbachia bacteria and mtDNA were highly concordant with each other and Wolbachia can affect the genetic structure and diversity within the CHB populations.
  12. Fulltext Influential nodes identification method based on adaptive adjustment of voting ability
    Wang G, Alias SB, Sun Z, Wang F, Fan A, Hu H
    Heliyon, 2023 May;9(5):e16112.
    PMID: 37215850 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16112
    Influential nodes identification technology is one of the important topics which has been widely applied to logistics node location, social information dissemination, transportation network carrying, biological virus dissemination, power network anti-destruction, etc. At present, a large number of influential nodes identification methods have been studied, but the algorithms that are simple to execute, have high accuracy and can be better applied to real networks are still the focus of research. Therefore, due to the advantages of simple to execute in voting mechanism, a novel algorithm based on adaptive adjustment of voting ability (AAVA) to identify the influential nodes is presented by considering the local attributes of node and the voting contribution of its neighbor nodes, to solve the problem of low accuracy and discrimination of the existing algorithms. This proposed algorithm uses the similarity between the voting node and the voted node to dynamically adjust its voting ability without setting any parameters, so that a node can contribute different voting abilities to different neighbor nodes. To verify the performance of AAVA algorithm, the running results of 13 algorithms are analyzed and compared on 10 different networks with the SIR model as a reference. The experimental results show that the influential nodes identified by AAVA have high consistency with SIR model in Top-10 nodes and Kendall correlation, and have better infection effect of the network. Therefore, it is proved that AAV algorithm has high accuracy and effectiveness, and can be applied to real complex networks of different types and sizes.
  13. Innovative hydrolysis of corn stover biowaste by modified magnetite laccase immobilized nanoparticles
    Gou Z, Ma NL, Zhang W, Lei Z, Su Y, Sun C, et al.
    Environ Res, 2020 09;188:109829.
    PMID: 32798948 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109829
    Intensive studies have been performed on the improvement of bioethanol production by transformation of lignocellulose biomass. In this study, the digestibility of corn stover was dramatically improved by using laccase immobilized on Cu2+ modified recyclable magnetite nanoparticles, Fe3O4-NH2. After digestion, the laccase was efficiently separated from slurry. The degradation rate of lignin reached 40.76%, and the subsequent cellulose conversion rate 38.37% for 72 h at 35 °C with cellulase at 50 U g-1 of corn stover. Compared to those of free and inactivated mode, the immobilized laccase pre-treatment increased subsequent cellulose conversion rates by 23.98% and 23.34%, respectively. Moreover, the reusability of immobilized laccase activity remained 50% after 6 cycles. The storage and thermal stability of the fixed laccase enhanced by 70% and 24.1% compared to those of free laccase at 65 °C, pH 4.5, respectively. At pH 10.5, it exhibited 16.3% more activities than its free mode at 35 °C. Our study provides a new avenue for improving the production of bioethanol with immobilized laccase for delignification using corn stover as the starting material.
  14. Fulltext Detection and genetic characterization of canine astroviruses in pet dogs in Guangxi, China
    Zhou H, Liu L, Li R, Qin Y, Fang Q, Balasubramaniam VR, et al.
    Virol J, 2017 08 17;14(1):156.
    PMID: 28814340 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-017-0823-4
    BACKGROUND: Astroviruses (AstVs) have been reported to infect and cause gastroenteritis in most animal species. Human AstVs were regarded the causative agent of viral diarrhea in children. In dogs, little is known about the epidemiology and clinical significance of AstV infection.

    FINDINGS: In this study, we collected and tested 253 rectal swabs from pet dogs; of which 64 samples (25.3%) tested positive for AstVs with diarrhea and 15 more samples (5.9%) also was identified as AstVs, however without any clinical signs. Phylogenetic analysis of 39 partial ORF1b sequences from these samples revealed that they are similar to AstVs, which can be subdivided into three lineages. Interestingly, out of the 39 isolates sequenced, 16 isolates are shown to be in the Mamastrovirus 5/canine astrovirus (CAstV) lineage and the remaining 23 isolates displayed higher similarities with known porcine astrovirus (PoAstV) 5 and 2. Further, analysis of 13 capsid sequences from these isolates showed that they are closely clustered with Chinese or Italy CAstV isolates.

    CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that CAstVs commonly circulate in pet dogs, and our sequencing results have shown the genomic diversity of CAstVs leading to increasing number of clusters.

  15. Comparative transcriptomics of the chilling stress response in two Asian mangrove species, Bruguiera gymnorhiza and Rhizophora apiculata
    Short AW, Sebastian JSV, Huang J, Wang G, Dassanayake M, Finnegan PM, et al.
    Tree Physiol, 2024 Feb 11;44(3).
    PMID: 38366388 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpae019
    Low temperatures largely determine the geographic limits of plant species by reducing survival and growth. Inter-specific differences in the geographic distribution of mangrove species have been associated with cold tolerance, with exclusively tropical species being highly cold-sensitive and subtropical species being relatively cold-tolerant. To identify species-specific adaptations to low temperatures, we compared the chilling stress response of two widespread Indo-West Pacific mangrove species from Rhizophoraceae with differing latitudinal range limits-Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. ex Savigny (subtropical range limit) and Rhizophora apiculata Blume (tropical range limit). For both species, we measured the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) as a proxy for the physiological condition of the plants and examined gene expression profiles during chilling at 15 and 5 °C. At 15 °C, B. gymnorhiza maintained a significantly higher Fv/Fm than R. apiculata. However, at 5 °C, both species displayed equivalent Fv/Fm values. Thus, species-specific differences in chilling tolerance were only found at 15 °C, and both species were sensitive to chilling at 5 °C. At 15 °C, B. gymnorhiza downregulated genes related to the light reactions of photosynthesis and upregulated a gene involved in cyclic electron flow regulation, whereas R. apiculata downregulated more RuBisCo-related genes. At 5 °C, both species repressed genes related to CO2 assimilation. The downregulation of genes related to light absorption and upregulation of genes related to cyclic electron flow regulation are photoprotective mechanisms that likely contributed to the greater photosystem II photochemical efficiency of B. gymnorhiza at 15 °C. The results of this study provide evidence that the distributional range limits and potentially the expansion rates of plant species are associated with differences in the regulation of photosynthesis and photoprotective mechanisms under low temperatures.
  16. Association between painful physical symptoms and clinical outcomes in East Asian patients with major depressive disorder: a 3-month prospective observational study
    Ang QQ, Wing YK, He Y, Sulaiman AH, Chiu NY, Shen YC, et al.
    Int J Clin Pract, 2009 Jul;63(7):1041-9.
    PMID: 19570122 DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2009.02107.x
    Reports from non-Asian populations indicate that painful physical symptoms (PPS) are associated with poorer clinical and functional outcomes in major depressive disorder (MDD). The purpose of this study is to report comparative changes in disease severity, treatment patterns and quality of life observed in East Asian patients with MDD, with and without PPS, as assessed prospectively over a 3-month observation period.
  17. Enterovirus 71 from fatal and nonfatal cases of hand, foot and mouth disease epidemics in Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan in 1997-1998
    Shimizu H, Utama A, Yoshii K, Yoshida H, Yoneyama T, Sinniah M, et al.
    Jpn J Infect Dis, 1999 Feb;52(1):12-5.
    PMID: 10808253
    Enterovirus 71 (EV71), one of the major causative agents for hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), is sometimes associated with severe central nervous system diseases. In 1997, in Malaysia and Japan, and in 1998 in Taiwan, there were HFMD epidemics involving sudden deaths among young children, and EV71 was isolated from the HFMD patients, including the fatal cases. The nucleotide sequences of each EV71 isolate were determined and compared by phylogenetical analysis. EV71 strains from previously reported epidemics belonged to genotype A-1, while those from recent epidemics could be divided into two genotypes, A-2 and B. In Malaysia, genotype A-2 was more prevalent, while in Japan and Taiwan, B genotype was more prevalent. Two isolates from fatal cases in Malaysia and one isolate from a fatal case in Japan were genotype A-2. However, all isolates from three fatal cases in Taiwan belonged to genotype B. The severity of the HFMD did not link directly to certain genotypes of EV71.
  18. Rapid fabrication of oxygen defective α-Fe2O3(110) for enhanced photoelectrochemical activities
    Mohamad Noh MF, Ullah H, Arzaee NA, Ab Halim A, Abdul Rahim MAF, Mohamed NA, et al.
    Dalton Trans, 2020 Sep 14;49(34):12037-12048.
    PMID: 32869793 DOI: 10.1039/d0dt00406e
    Defect engineering is increasingly recognized as a viable strategy for boosting the performance of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using metal oxide-based photoelectrodes. However, previously developed methods for generating point defects associated with oxygen vacancies are rather time-consuming. Herein, high density oxygen deficient α-Fe2O3 with the dominant (110) crystal plane is developed in a very short timescale of 10 minutes by employing aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition and pure nitrogen as a gas carrier. The oxygen-defective film exhibits almost 8 times higher photocurrent density compared to a hematite photoanode with a low concentration of oxygen vacancies which is prepared in purified air. The existence of oxygen vacancies improves light absorption ability, accelerates charge transport in the bulk of films, and promotes charge separation at the electrolyte/semiconductor interface. DFT simulations verify that oxygen-defective hematite has a narrow bandgap, electron-hole trapped centre, and strong adsorption energy of water molecules compared to pristine hematite. This strategy might bring PEC technology another step further towards large-scale fabrication for future commercialization.
  19. Degradation of MicroRNA miR-466d-3p by Japanese Encephalitis Virus NS3 Facilitates Viral Replication and Interleukin-1β Expression
    Jiang H, Bai L, Ji L, Bai Z, Su J, Qin T, et al.
    J Virol, 2020 07 16;94(15).
    PMID: 32461319 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00294-20
    Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection alters microRNA (miRNA) expression in the central nervous system (CNS). However, the mechanism contributing to miRNA regulation in the CNS is not known. We discovered global degradation of mature miRNA in mouse brains and neuroblastoma (NA) cells after JEV infection. Integrative analysis of miRNAs and mRNAs suggested that several significantly downregulated miRNAs and their targeted mRNAs were clustered into an inflammation pathway. Transfection with miRNA 466d-3p (miR-466d-3p) decreased interleukin-1β (IL-1β) expression and inhibited JEV replication in NA cells. However, miR-466d-3p expression increased after JEV infection in the presence of cycloheximide, indicating that viral protein expression reduced miR-466d-3p expression. We generated all the JEV coding proteins and demonstrated NS3 helicase protein to be a potent miRNA suppressor. The NS3 proteins of Zika virus, West Nile virus, and dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) and DENV-2 also decreased miR-466d-3p expression. Results from helicase-blocking assays and in vitro unwinding assays demonstrated that NS3 could unwind pre-miR-466d and induce miRNA dysfunction. Computational models and an RNA immunoprecipitation assay revealed arginine-rich domains of NS3 to be crucial for pre-miRNA binding and degradation of host miRNAs. Importantly, site-directed mutagenesis of conserved residues in NS3 revealed that R226G and R202W reduced the binding affinity and degradation of pre-miR-466d. These results expand the function of flavivirus helicases beyond unwinding duplex RNA to degrade pre-miRNAs. Hence, we revealed a new mechanism for NS3 in regulating miRNA pathways and promoting neuroinflammation.IMPORTANCE Host miRNAs have been reported to regulate JEV-induced inflammation in the CNS. We found that JEV infection could reduce expression of host miRNA. The helicase region of the NS3 protein bound specifically to miRNA precursors and could lead to incorrect unwinding of miRNA precursors, thereby reducing the expression of mature miRNAs. This observation led to two major findings. First, our results suggested that JEV NS3 protein induced miR-466d-3p degradation, which promoted IL-1β expression and JEV replication. Second, arginine molecules on NS3 were the main miRNA-binding sites, because we demonstrated that miRNA degradation was abolished if arginines at R226 and R202 were mutated. Our study provides new insights into the molecular mechanism of JEV and reveals several amino acid sites that could be mutated for a JEV vaccine.
  20. Fulltext Transport and dispersion of tritium from the radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
    Zhao C, Wang G, Zhang M, Wang G, de With G, Bezhenar R, et al.
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2021 May 21;169:112515.
    PMID: 34023585 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112515
    Japan recently announced plans to discharge over 1.2 million tons of radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) into the Pacific Ocean. The contaminated water can poses a threat to marine ecosystems and human health. To estimate the impact of the plan, here, we developed a three-dimensional global model to track the transport and dispersion of tritium released from the radioactive water of the FDNPP. The pollution scenarios for four release durations (1 month, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years) were simulated. The simulation results showed that for the release in short-duration scenarios (1 month and 1 year), the peak plume with high tritium concentration shifted with the currents and finally reached the northeastern Pacific. For the long-duration scenarios (5 years and 10 years), the peak plume of the contaminated water was confined to coastal regions east of Japan.
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