Simultaneously Enhancing the Fire Retardancy and Heat Resistance of Stereo-Complex-Type Polylactic Acid.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is considered to be the material with great application potential in the 21st century which has aroused wide research interest. However, PLA is a highly flammable material and exhibits low heat distortion temperature, which greatly limits its application in many fields. In this work, aluminum diethyl phosphinate (ADP) and poly (d-lactic acid) (PDLA) are used to improve fire retardancy and heat resistance of poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA). PLLA/PDLA with the presence of 15 wt % ADP exhibited the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value at 26%, and the peak heat release rate (pHRR) and total heat release decreased, respectively, by 14.03 and 24.42% from 500 to 429 kW/m2 and 86 to 65 MJ/m2. The melt dripping phenomenon was suppressed obviously. The addition of ADP realized the flame-retardant effect from both the condensed phase and gas phase. Moreover, the results showed that the addition of ADP promoted the formation of stereo crystals and increased the crystallization temperature to 175 °C. The heat distortion temperature (HDT) of the PLLA/PDLA sample with 15 wt % ADP can be as high as 170.4 °C, which marks significant improvement in the heat resistance of PLA. The mechanical property test results showed that ADP has little effect on the mechanical properties of the composites. This work opens a window to realize the heat-resistant and anti-dripping fire-retardant PLA.

Genome-Wide Phylogenetic Analysis, Expression Pattern, and Transcriptional Regulatory Network of the Pig C/EBP Gene Family.

The CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) transcription factors (TFs) regulate many important biological processes, such as energy metabolism, inflammation, cell proliferation etc. A genome-wide gene identification revealed the presence of a total of 99 C/EBP genes in pig and 19 eukaryote genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all C/EBP TFs were classified into 6 subgroups named C/EBPα, C/EBPß, C/EBPδ, C/EBPε, C/EBPγ, and C/EBPζ. Gene expression analysis showed that the C/EBPα, C/EBPß, C/EBPδ, C/EBPγ, and C/EBPζ genes were expressed ubiquitously with inconsistent expression patterns in various pig tissues. Moreover, a pig C/EBP regulatory network was constructed, including C/EBP genes, TFs and miRNAs. A total of 27 feed-forward loop (FFL) motifs were detected in the pig C/EBP regulatory network. Based on the RNA-seq data, gene expression patterns related to FFL sub-network were analyzed in 27 adult pig tissues. Certain FFL motifs may be tissue specific. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that C/EBP and its target genes are involved in many important biological pathways. These results provide valuable information that clarifies the evolutionary relationships of the C/EBP family and contributes to the understanding of the biological function of C/EBP genes.

KLF4, a Key Regulator of a Transitive Triplet, Acts on the TGF-ß Signaling Pathway and Contributes to High-Altitude Adaptation of Tibetan Pigs.

Tibetan pigs are native mammalian species on the Tibetan Plateau that have evolved distinct physiological traits that allow them to tolerate high-altitude hypoxic environments. However, the genetic mechanism underlying this adaptation remains elusive. Here, based on multitissue transcriptional data from high-altitude Tibetan pigs and low-altitude Rongchang pigs, we performed a weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) and identified key modules related to these tissues. Complex network analysis and bioinformatics analysis were integrated to identify key genes and three-node network motifs. We found that among the six tissues (muscle, liver, heart, spleen, kidneys, and lungs), lung tissue may be the key organs for Tibetan pigs to adapt to hypoxic environment. In the lung tissue of Tibetan pigs, we identified KLF4, BCL6B, EGR1, EPAS1, SMAD6, SMAD7, KDR, ATOH8, and CCN1 genes as potential regulators of hypoxia adaption. We found that KLF4 and EGR1 genes might simultaneously regulate the BCL6B gene, forming a KLF4-EGR1-BCL6B complex. This complex, dominated by KLF4, may enhance the hypoxia tolerance of Tibetan pigs by mediating the TGF-ß signaling pathway. The complex may also affect the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, which plays an important role in angiogenesis caused by hypoxia. Therefore, we postulate that the KLF4-EGR1-BCL6B complex may be beneficial for Tibetan pigs to survive better in the hypoxia environments. Although further molecular experiments and independent large-scale studies are needed to verify our findings, these findings may provide new details of the regulatory architecture of hypoxia-adaptive genes and are valuable for understanding the genetic mechanism of hypoxic adaptation in mammals.