Soybean ethylene response factors GmENS1 and GmENS2 promote nodule senescence.

The final phase in root nodule development is nodule senescence. The mechanism underlying the initiation of nodule senescence requires further elucidation. Here, we investigated the intrinsic signals governing soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) nodule senescence, uncovering ethylene as a key signal in this intricate mechanism. Two AP2/ERF transcription factor genes, GmENS1 and GmENS2 (Ethylene-responsive transcription factors required for Nodule Senescence), exhibit heightened expression levels in both aged nodules and nodules treated with ethylene. Overexpression of either GmENS1 or GmENS2 accelerated senescence in soybean nodules, whereas the knockout or knockdown of both genes delayed senescence and enhanced nitrogenase activity. Furthermore, our findings indicated that GmENS1 and GmENS2 directly bind to the promoters of GmNAC039, GmNAC018, and GmNAC030, encoding three NAC transcription factors essential for activating soybean nodule senescence. Notably, the nodule senescence process mediated by GmENS1 or GmENS2 overexpression was suppressed in the soybean nac039/018/030 triple mutant compared with the wild-type control. These data indicate GmENS1 and GmENS2 as pivotal transcription factors mediating ethylene-induced nodule senescence through the direct activation of GmNAC039/GmNAC018/GmNAC030 expression in soybean.

A novel strategy for the multi-components division and discovering pharmacodynamic material basis of Chinese herbal compounds: A case study of Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule.

The therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal compounds are often achieved through the synergistic interactions of multiple ingredients. However, current research predominantly focuses on individual ingredients, neglecting the holistic nature of Chinese herbal compounds. This study proposes a novel strategy to elucidate the pharmacodynamic material basis of Chinese herbal compounds based on their multi-components (components named 'ZuFen' in China, it refers to multiple ingredients with similar chemical structures) composition, using the Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao (XLGB) capsule as a case study. Cheminformatics-based components partitioning was conducted after sourcing ingredients from various databases, resulting in a total of 856 ingredients which were categorized into nine major components. Furthermore, the pharmacodynamic ingredients of XLGB capsule were determined by analyzing the ingredients that were absorbed into the bloodstream. Through a combination of these ingredients and screening for absorption, the Dipsacus asper saponin components, Psoralea corylifolia coumarin components, and Epimedium flavonoid polyglycosides components were isolated. The anti-osteoporosis efficacy of these components were evaluated in zebrafish, demonstrating their capability to reverse mineralization reduction caused by prednisolone. These findings further support the idea that these components serve as the material basis for the pharmacological efficacy of XLGB capsule. This study provides a novel systematic strategy for discovering the pharmacodynamic material basis of the efficacy of Chinese herbal compounds based on a 'multi-components' perspective.

Enhancing the Biopharmacological Characteristics of Asperosaponin VI: Unveiling Dynamic Self-Assembly Phase Transitions in the Gastrointestinal Environment.

Purpose: Asperosaponin VI (ASP VI) as an active ingredient of Dipsacus asperoides, which has a wide range of biological and pharmacological activity. However, its development and application are restricted due to the poor gastrointestinal permeability and oral bioavailability. This investigation aims to reveal the influence of the self-assembled structure by the interaction between ASP VI and endogenous components NaTC and/or DOPC in the gastrointestinal environment on its biopharmaceutical properties, and novelty elucidated the molecular mechanism for the formation of self-assembled nanomicelles. Methods: This change in phase state in gastrointestinal fluids is characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze the composition of phase components and the exposure of nanomicelles in vivo. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) was applied to preliminarily elucidate the self-assembly mechanism of ASP VI in the gastrointestinal environment. Furthermore, theS8 promoting absorption mechanism of nanomicelles were investigated through in vivo pharmacokinetic experiments, parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA), quadruple single-pass intestinal perfusion in rats, and Caco-2 cell monolayer model. Results: We demonstrated that the ASP VI could spontaneously form dynamic self-assembled structures with sodium taurocholate (NaTC) and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) during gastrointestinal solubilization, which promoted the gastrointestinal absorption and permeability of ASP VI and increased its exposure in vivo, thus improving the biopharmacological characteristics of ASP VI. Moreover, ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-self-assembled nanostructures (ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN) manifested higher cellular uptake in Caco-2 cells as evidenced by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, and this study also preliminarily revealed the mechanism of self-assembly formation of ASP VI with endogenous components NaTC and DOPC driven by electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that the dynamic self-assembled phase transition may play a key role in improving the biopharmacological characteristics of insoluble or low permeability active ingredients during the gastrointestinal dissolution of Chinese medicines.

Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensor with High Sensitivity and Wide Range Based on a Cheetah Leg Structure via 3D Printing.

Flexible pressure sensors can be used in human-computer interaction and wearable electronic devices, but one main challenge is to fabricate capacitive sensors with a wide pressure range and high sensitivity. Here, we designed a capacitive pressure sensor based on a bionic cheetah leg microstructure, validated the benefits of the bionic microstructure design, and optimized the structural feature parameters using 3D printing technology. The pressure sensor inspired by the cheetah leg shape has a high sensitivity (0.75 kPa-1), a wide linear sensing range (0-280 kPa), a fast response time of roughly 80 ms, and outstanding durability (24,000 cycles). Furthermore, the sensor can recognize a finger-operated mouse, monitor human motion, and transmit Morse code information. This work demonstrates that bionic capacitive pressure sensors hold considerable promise for use in wearable devices.

Design and test of a FBG acceleration sensor based on multi-stage flexible hinges.

High-precision and high-sensitivity vibration acceleration sensors have been a research hotspot in engineering technology, which play an important role in engineering structural health monitoring, earthquakes, tsunamis, and geological exploration. A novel, to the best of our knowledge, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) acceleration sensor incorporating a mass block and flexible hinge was proposed against the low sensitivity and poor transverse interference resistance of existing FBG acceleration sensors. The FBG accelerometer with the multi-stage flexible hinge was modeled and theoretically analyzed, the structural parameters of the sensor were optimized and actual sensors were developed, and a sensor performance test experiment was carried out in the end. The result suggested that the sensor's natural frequency was as high as 1400 Hz, and its response was flat in the frequency range of 50-800 Hz; its sensitivity was 18.4 pm/g, linearity R 2 was 0.9983, and transverse interference immunity was below 3.2%. The research findings offered a new way of thinking about high-precision and high-sensitivity vibration measurement in engineering technology.

Study on the active ingredients and mechanism of action of Jiaotai Pill in the treatment of type 2 diabetes based on network pharmacology: A review.

To explore the potential active ingredients and related mechanisms of Jiaotai Pill in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. The main active components of Jiaotai Pills were obtained by TCMSP and BATMAN-TCM database combined with literature mining, and the targets of the active components of Jiaotai Pills were predicted by reverse pharmacophore matching (PharmMapper) method. Verifying and normalizing the obtained action targets by using a Uniprot database. Obtaining T2DM related targets through GeneCards, the online mendelian inheritance in man, DrugBank, PharmGKB and therapeutic target databases, constructing a Venn diagram by using a Venny 2.1 online drawing platform to obtain the intersection action targets of Jiaotai pills and T2DM, and the protein-protein interaction network was constructed by String platform. Bioconductor platform and R language were used to analyze the function of gene ontology and the pathway enrichment of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. A total of 21 active components and 262 potential targets of Jiaotai Pill were screened by database analysis and literature mining, including 89 targets related to T2DM. Through gene ontology functional enrichment analysis, 1690 biological process entries, 106 molecular function entries and 78 cellular component entries were obtained. Seven pathways related to T2DM were identified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis. Jiaotai Pill can achieve the purpose of treating T2DM through multiple active ingredients, multiple disease targets, multiple biological pathways and multiple pathways, which provides a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of T2DM by Jiaotai Pill.

CircRNA SCMH1 regulates the miR-200a-3p/ZEB1 signaling axis to promote diabetes-induced retinal epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the common systemic complications of diabetes. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is required for DR progression. Previous studies have explored that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are crucial for DR development. Herein, we focused on the biological functions of circSCMH1 in DR. RT-qPCR determined the expression of circSCMH1, miR-200a-3p and ZEB1. EMT-related proteins were measured by Western blot. Gene combinations were validated by RIP and dual luciferase reporter assays. CCK-8, EdU, TUNEL staining and Transwell analysis were used to assess the cellular function. FISH analysis assessed the localization of circSCMH1 and miR-200a-3p. HE staining was used to detect retinal structures in a mouse DR model. High-glucose (HG) significantly increased circSCMH1 expression in ARPE-19 cells. Additionally, circSCMH1 silencing repressed proliferation, migration, and EMT in HG cells. Mechanistically, circSCMH1 positively regulated ZEB1 expression via targeting miR-200a-3p. Furthermore, circSCMH1 was observed to induce HG cell growth and EMT by regulating the miR-200a-3p/ZEB1 axis. Finally, we verified that downregulation of circSCMH1 or ZEB1 alleviated EMT in the retina of diabetic mice. These findings have implications for new therapeutic targets for DR.

Synthesis and Characterization of Porous Chitosan/Saccharomycetes Adsorption Microspheres.

Porous chitosan/saccharomycetes adsorption microspheres were successfully prepared by using silica gel as porogen. The morphology of porous chitosan/saccharomycetes microspheres was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, the interaction between molecules was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the crystallization property of the microspheres was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the adsorption sites of amino and hydroxyl groups had been provided by the porous chitosan/saccharomycetes microspheres for the removal of preservatives, pigments, and other additives in food. The surface roughness of microspheres could be improved by increasing the mass ratio of saccharomycetes. The increase in silica gels could make the microsphere structure more compact. The porous chitosan/saccharomycetes microspheres could be used as adsorbents to adsorb doxycycline in wastewater.

Temperature-Dependence of Rubber Hyperelasticity Based on the Eight-Chain Model.

Rubber-based materials are widely used in a variety of industrial applications. In these applications, rubber components withstand various loading conditions over a range of temperatures. It is of great significance to study the mechanical behavior of vulcanized rubber at different temperatures, especially in a range of high temperatures. The temperature dependence of the constitutive behavior of filled rubber is important for the performance of the rubber. However, only a few constitutive models have been reported that investigate the stress-temperature relationship. In this paper, based on an analysis of experimental data, the effects of temperature on the hyperelastic behaviors of both natural rubber and filled rubber, with different mass fractions of carbon black, were studied. The regulation of stress and strain of natural rubber and filled rubber with temperature was revealed. In addition, an eight-chain model that can reasonably characterize the experimental data at different temperatures was proved. An explicit temperature-dependent constitutive model was developed based on the Arruda-Boyce model to describe the stress-strain response of filled rubber in a relatively large temperature range. Meanwhile, it was proved that the model can predict the effect of temperature on the hyperelastic behavior of filled rubber. Finally, the improved Arruda-Boyce model was used to obtain the material parameters and was then successfully applied to finite element analysis (FEA), which showed that the model has high application value. In addition, the model had a simple form and could be conveniently applied in related performance test of actual production or finite element analysis.

Effect of soft tissue thickness on the morphology of lip in orthodontic treatment / Efecto del grosor del tejido blando en la morfología del labio en el tratamiento de ortodoncia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of soft tissue thickness of upper lip on lip retraction in orthodonticaltreated females and identify the ratio of maxillary incisor retraction to upper lip retraction. Pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalograms of 100 adults were examined to measure the lip thickness in upper lip and establish the classification standard. All subjects were treated with 4 first premolar extractions followed by upper central incisors retraction. Pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalograms of 19 patients were reviewed to determine the changes of the upper lip and incisor positions through landmarks displacement. An independent-samples t test and one-way analysis of variance were performed. The correlations between maxillary incisor retraction and upper lip retraction were explored by the Pearson correlation method. P-values<0.05 were considered statistically significant. The lip thickness of adult male patients was greater than that of adult female patients. The average ratio of maxillary incisor retraction to upper lip repositioning was 1.6:1,1.9:1 and 2.2:1 in the thin lips group, normal lips group and thick lips group, respectively. Gender differences exist in the thickness of upper lip. Horizontal changes of the maxillary incisor showed a significant correlation to horizontal changes of the upper lip (P<0.001).There were negative correlations between the thickness of upper lip and the ratio between change in maxillary incisor protrusion and change in upper lip protrusion.

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto del grosor de los tejidos blandos del labio superior, sobre la retracción del labio en mujeres tratadas con ortodoncia e identificar la proporción de retracción del diente incisivo maxilar con respecto a la retracción del labio superior. Se examinaron cefalogramas laterales, previos y posteriores al tratamiento de 100 adultos, para medir el grosor del labio superior y establecer un estándar de clasificación. Todos los sujetos fueron tratados con 4 extracciones de los primeros premolares seguidas de retracción de los incisivos centrales superiores. Se revisaron los cefalogramas laterales, previos y posteriores al tratamiento de 19 pacientes, para determinar los cambios del labio superior y las posiciones de los incisivos a través del desplazamiento de los puntos de referencia. Se realizó una prueba t de muestras independientes y un análisis de varianza de una vía. Las correlaciones entre la retracción del incisivo maxilar y la retracción del labio superior se exploraron mediante el método de correlación de Pearson. Los valores de p<0,05 fueron considerados estadísticamente significativos. El grosor de los labios de los pacientes adultos masculinos fue mayor que el de las pacientes adultas. La relación promedio de la retracción del incisivo maxilar al reposicionamiento del labio superior fue de 1,6:1,1; 9:1 y 2,2:1 en el grupo de labios delgados, grupo de labios normales y grupo de labios gruesos, respectivamente. Existen diferencias de sexo en el grosor del labio superior. Los cambios horizontales del incisivo maxilar mostraron una correlación significativa con los cambios horizontales del labio superior (P<0,001). Hubo correlaciones negativas entre el grosor del labio superior y la relación entre el cambio en la protuberancia del incisivo maxilar y el cambio en la protrusión del labio superior.

Expression of Ihh signaling pathway in condylar cartilage after bite-raising in adult rats.

Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA) is a complex inflammatory condition with multiple factors and degenerative processes co-occurring. However, its pathogenesis remains uncertain. The purpose of the study was to observe the expression of Indian hedgehog (Ihh) signal related molecules in TMJOA induced by bite-raising and to study the effect and mechanism of Ihh signaling. Our research indicated that Ihh signaling pathway can be activated in condylar cartilage induced by bite-raising. The histological analysis showed TMJOA-like structural changes of condylar cartilage in experiment groups. Ihh, Smoothened (Smo), and Gli zinc finger transcription factors-1 (Gli-1) were activated in the experimental groups, and the expression levels increased significantly over time, whereas the sham control groups showed no fluctuation. Additionally, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3) in the experiment groups increased in a time-dependent manner compared with the matched sham control groups. In conclusion, our results indicated that the Ihh signaling pathway may activate the occurrence of TMJOA by mediating the hypertrophy of chondrocytes, which may be an important regulatory mechanism and potential therapeutic target in the repair of condylar cartilage.

[Research on rhizospheric and endophytic actinomycetes in medicinal tree peony(Paeonia suffruticosa) from five producing regions].

In this study, Paeonia suffruticosa roots and rhizospheric soil in five geographic regions which were harvested in October were utilized as experimental materials, then the diversity of endophytic and rhizospheric actinomycetes were investigated by High-throughput sequencing technique. The 1 754 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from 129 954 high quality sequences, 1 311 OTUs were detected in rhizospheric actinomycetes and belonged to four classes, four orders, twenty-seven families and ninety-seven genera, thirty-three genera such as Ilumatobacter were found in the five regions rhizospheric soil while three genera such as Longispora were only detected in the Dao-di regions, the dominant genera were Mycobacterium, Nocardioides, Streptomyces. 443 OTUs were obtained in roots and distributed in three classes, three orders, twenty-four families and fifty genera, thirteen genera such as Cryptosporangium were found in the five regions roots while Planosporangium, Luteococcus were only detected in the Dao-di regions, the dominant genera were Nocardioides. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the Shannon and Chao1 index in rhizospheric actinomycetes in Bozhou, Tongling and Nanling region were higher than Heze and Luoyang. Based on principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA) analysis, the rhizospheric actinomycetes formations were similar in Tongling and Nanling region, at the same in Tongling and Luoyang endophytic actinomycetes. According to heatmap analysis, Bozhou, Tongling and Nanling region rhizospheric actinomycetes showed a close similarity in actinomycetes community structures on phylogenetic analysis, while Tongling, Luoyang and Nanling endophytic actinomycetes showed the same. Our results not only suggested that the rich and diverse actinomycetes resources in P. suffruticosa roots and rhizospheric soil but also revealed rhizospheric actinomycetes in the Dao-di regions had high similarity.

[Isolation, identification and inhibition activity of endophytes in Fengdan].

Endophytes were isolated and purified from the roots of medicinal plant Fengdan also known as Paeonia suffruticosa from Tongling region, Anhui province, China. Morphology and molecular biology methods were applied to indentify the endophyte strains. And methods of growth rate and filtering paper were also used for studying antibacterial/antifungal effects of the strains. As a result, 129 endophyte strains were isolated. Fifty-eight endophytic fungi strains were identified as 6 species in 4 genera and the dominant genus was Fusarium. Seventy-one endophytic bacteria strains were identified as 9 species in 3 genera and the dominant genus was Bacillus. Inhibitory diameter with endophytic fermenting liquid of Pseudomonas chlororaphis, F. nematophilum and B. megaterium from P. suffruticosa against Staphyloccocus aureus, Escherichia coli and B. subtilis reached 25.0,20.2,24.0 mm respectively. The inhibition rate of endophytic fermenting liquid from F. nematophilum against Penicillium sp. and Colletotrichum dematium reached 90.6% and 83.3%, respectively. The inhibition effect of P. chlororaphis against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum and Mucor sp. was good and the antifungal rate reached 80.0% and 84.9%, respectively. P. suffruticosa in Tongling region contains abundant endophytes. P. chlororaphis and F. nematophilum are valuable species as starting strain about microbicide.