Pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy induces spermatogenesis in pituitary stalk interruption syndrome: A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a rare anatomical defect of the pituitary gland falling under the spectrum of holoprosencephaly phenotypes. It is characterized by a deficiency in anterior pituitary hormones, such as growth hormone, gonadotropins, and thyroid hormones. Due to the syndrome's rarity and nonspecific manifestations, there is a lack of standardized treatment strategies. Consequently, early diagnosis through imaging and on-time intervention are crucial for improving patients' outcomes. CASE SUMMARY: A 30-year-old man presented with absent secondary sexual characteristics and azoospermia. Laboratory evaluation revealed a deficiency in gonadotropins, while thyroid function was mostly within normal ranges. Magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary gland showed pituitary stalk agenesis, hypoplasia of the anterior pituitary, and ectopic posterior pituitary, leading to the diagnosis of PSIS. Initially, the patient underwent 6 mo of gonadotropin therapy without significant changes in hormone levels and secondary sexual characteristics. Pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy was then administered, resulting in the detection of sperm in the semen analysis within 3 mo. After 6 mo, routine semen tests showed normal semen quality. The couple faced challenges in conceiving due to abstinence and underwent three cycles of artificial insemination, which was unsuccessful. They also attempted in vitro fertilization, but unfortunately, the woman experienced a miscarriage 10 wk after the embryo transfer. CONCLUSION: Early detection, accurate diagnosis, and timely treatment are crucial in improving the quality of life and fertility of PSIS patients.

The effect of AMF combined with biochar on plant growth and soil quality under saline-alkali stress: Insights from microbial community analysis.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biochar application individually can enhance plant tolerance to saline-alkali stress and promote plant growth efficiency. However, little is known about the potential synergistic effects of their combination on improving plant growth and soil quality under saline-alkali stress. This experiment adopted the potted method to explore the effects of four treatments on switchgrass growth and soil quality: biochar (BC), Rhizophagus irregularis (Ri), biochar + Ri (BR) and a control without biochar or Ri (CK). Compared to the CK treatment, the switchgrass biomass increased by 92.4 %, 148.6 %, and 177.3 % in the BC, Ri, and BR treatment groups, respectively. Similarly, the rhizosphere soil quality index increased by 29.33 %, 22.7 %, and 49.1 % in the respective treatment groups. The BR treatment significantly altered the rhizosphere soil microbial composition and diversity. Notably, compared to the other treatments, the archaeal α-diversity in the BR group showed a significant decrease. BR treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of bacteria, fungi and archaea at the genus level (e.g., Bacillus, Trichome and candidatus_methanopenens). Network analysis showed that the complexity and closeness of interactions between different microbial taxa were stronger in the BC, Ri and BR treatments than in the CK treatment, with BR being the more prominent. In summary, biochar combined with Ri has a better effect on promoting the growth of switchgrass under saline-alkali stress, improving the quality of saline-alkali soil, and increasing soil microbial diversity. This study provides a new approach for the efficient development and utilization of saline-alkali land.

Lnc-RPS6P3 Inhibits Influenza A Virus Replication and Attenuates the Inhibitory Effect of NS1 on Innate Immune Response.

Host factors play important roles in influenza A virus (IAV) replication. In order to identify novel host factors involved in IAV replication, we compared the differentially expressed genes in A549 cells after IAV infection. We found that lncRNA lnc-RPS6P3 was up-regulated upon viral infection and poly(I:C) and IFN-ß treatment, indicating it was an interferon-stimulated gene. Functional analysis demonstrated that overexpression of lnc-RPS6P3 inhibited IAV replication while knockdown of lnc-RPS6P3 promoted viral infection in A549 cells. Lnc-RPS6P3 inhibited both transcription and replication of IAV. Further study showed that lnc-RPS6P3 interacted with viral NP and interfered with NP self-oligomerization and, consequently, inhibited vRNP activity. In addition, lnc-RPS6P3 interacted with viral NS1 and reduced the interaction of NS1 and RIG-I; it also attenuated the inhibitory effect of NS1 on IFN-ß stimulation. In conclusion, we revealed that lnc-RPS6P3 is an interferon-stimulated gene that inhibits IAV replication and attenuates the inhibitory effect of NS1 on innate immune response.

Predictive models for sensory score and physicochemical composition of Yuezhou Longjing tea using near-infrared spectroscopy and data fusion.

In this study, NIR quantitative prediction model was established for sensory score and physicochemical components of different varieties and quality grades of Yuezhou Longjing tea. Firstly, L, a, b color factors and diffuse reflection spectral data are collected for each sample. Subsequently, the original spectrum is preprocessed. Three techniques for selecting variables, CARS, BOSS, and SPA, were utilized to extract optimal feature bands. Finally, the spectral data extracted from feature bands were fused with L, a and b color factors to build SVR and PLSR prediction models. enabling the rapid non-destructive discrimination of different varieties and grades of Yuezhou Longjing tea. The outcomes demonstrated that BOSS was the best variable selection technique for sensory score and the distinctive caffeine wavelengths, CARS, however, was the best variable selection technique for catechins distinctive wavelengths. Additionally, the middle-level data fusion-based non-linear prediction models greatly outperformed the linear prediction models. For the prediction models of sensory score, catechins, and caffeine, the relative percent deviation (RPD) values were 2.8, 1.6, and 2.6, respectively, suggesting the good predictive ability of the models. In conclusion, evaluating the quality of the five Yuezhou Longjing tea varieties using near-infrared spectroscopy and data fusion have proved as feasible.

Effective reduction on flame soot via plasma coupled with carbon dioxide.

This study explored the impact of non-thermal plasma and CO2 on the flame soot characteristics within the diffusion flames. We analyzed on flame structures that were diluted with either CO2 or N2, temperature distributions, and soot characteristics, both in the presence and absence of plasma. Due to the higher specific heat capacity of CO2 compared to N2, the optical observations consistently showed lower temperatures in flames diluted with CO2 as compared to those diluted with N2. The inclusion of plasma and carbon dioxide resulted in the lowest soot concentration, indicating that plasma coupled with CO2 has a synergistic inhibitory effect on soot emissions. The findings revealed that when CO2 was used to dilute the flames and the oxygen concentration was low, the soot nanostructure appeared amorphous. Raman results showed that the level of graphitization observed in soot particles from CO2 dilution flames was lower than that from N2 dilution flames. In the presence of plasma and CO2, the soot obtained exhibited the shortest fringe length and the highest fringe tortuosity. Significant correlations were observed between the nanostructure of soot and its reactivity. The combined application of plasma and CO2 proved to be effective in reducing the soot carbonization degree.

Calcium transferring from ER to mitochondria via miR-129/ITPR2 axis controls cellular senescence in vitro and in vivo.

Senescent cells are known to be accumulated in aged organisms. Although the two main characteristics, cell cycle arrest (for dividing cells) and secretion of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, have been well described, the lack of sufficient senescent markers and incomplete understanding of mechanisms have limited the progress of the anti-senescence field. Calcium transferred from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate receptor type 2 (ITPR2) to mitochondria has emerged as a key player during cellular senescence and aging. However, the internal regulatory mechanisms, particularly those of endogenous molecules, remain only partially understood. Here we identified miRNA-129 (miR-129) as a direct repressor of ITPR2. Interestingly, miR-129 controlled a cascade of intracellular calcium signaling, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage, and consequently cellular senescence through ITPR2 and mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU). In addition, miR-129 was repressed in different senescence models and delayed bleomycin-induced cellular senescence. Importantly, intraperitoneal injection of miR-129 partly postponed bleomycin-accelerated lung aging and natural aging markers as well as reduced immunosenescence markers in mice. Altogether, these findings demonstrated that miR-129 regulated cellular senescence and aging markers via intracellular calcium signaling by directly targeting ITPR2.

Transcription factor ETV4 promotes the development of hepatocellular carcinoma by driving hepatic TNF-α signaling.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic inflammation is the major risk factor of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the underlying mechanism by which hepatic inflammation progresses to HCC is poorly understood. This study was designed to investigate the role of ETS translocation variant 4 (ETV4) in linking hepatic inflammation to HCC. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblotting were used to detect the expression of ETV4 in HCC tissues and cell lines. RNA sequencing and luciferase reporter assays were performed to identify the target genes of ETV4. Hepatocyte-specific ETV4-knockout (ETV4fl/fl, alb-cre ) and transgenic (ETV4Hep-TG ) mice and diethylnitrosamine-carbon tetrachloride (DEN-CCL4 ) treatment experiments were applied to investigate the function of ETV4 in vivo. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database mining and pathological analysis were carried out to determine the correlation of ETV4 with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and mitogen-activated protein kinase 11 (MAPK11). RESULTS: We revealed that ETV4 was highly expressed in HCC. High levels of ETV4 predicted a poor survival rate of HCC patients. Then we identified ETV4 as a transcription activator of TNF-α and MAPK11. ETV4 was positively correlated with TNF-α and MAPK11 in HCC patients. As expected, an increase in hepatic TNF-α secretion and macrophage accumulation were observed in the livers of ETV4Hep-TG mice. The protein levels of TNF-α, MAPK11, and CD68 were significantly higher in the livers of ETV4Hep-TG mice compared with wild type mice but lower in ETV4fl/fl, alb-cre mice compared with ETV4fl/fl mice as treated with DEN-CCL4 , indicating that ETV4 functioned as a driver of TNF-α/MAPK11 expression and macrophage accumulation during hepatic inflammation. Hepatocyte-specific knockout of ETV4 significantly prevented development of DEN-CCL4 -induced HCC, while transgenic expression of ETV4 promoted growth of HCC. CONCLUSIONS: ETV4 promoted hepatic inflammation and HCC by activating transcription of TNF-α and MAPK11. Both the ETV4/TNF-α and ETV4/MAPK11 axes represented two potential therapeutic targets for highly associated hepatic inflammation and HCC. ETV4+TNF-α were potential prognostic markers for HCC patients.

Metabolomics Reveals Distinctive Metabolic Profiles and Marker Compounds of Camellia (Camellia sinensis L.) Bee Pollen.

Camellia bee pollen (CBP) is a major kind of bee product which is collected by honeybees from tea tree (Camellia sinensis L.) flowers and agglutinated into pellets via oral secretion. Due to its special healthcare value, the authenticity of its botanical origin is of great interest. This study aimed at distinguishing CBP from other bee pollen, including rose, apricot, lotus, rape, and wuweizi bee pollen, based on a non-targeted metabolomics approach using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Among the bee pollen groups, 54 differential compounds were identified, including flavonol glycosides and flavone glycosides, catechins, amino acids, and organic acids. A clear separation between CBP and all other samples was observed in the score plots of the principal component analysis, indicating distinctive metabolic profiles of CBP. Notably, L-theanine (864.83-2204.26 mg/kg) and epicatechin gallate (94.08-401.82 mg/kg) were identified exclusively in all CBP and were proposed as marker compounds of CBP. Our study unravels the distinctive metabolic profiles of CBP and provides specific and quantified metabolite indicators for the assessment of authentic CBP.

Take a MOOC and then drop: A systematic review of MOOC engagement pattern and dropout factor.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) plays an important role in education equity and lifelong learning without entrance barriers, time limitations, and geographical constraints. However, MOOC is criticized by researchers for its high dropout rate. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the engagement patterns of MOOC learners and factors affecting dropouts in higher education in the scholarly literature, published during the period of 2008 to 2021. Twenty-one available published studies in seven major academic databases had been reviewed and presented in the systematic literature review following the PRISMA methodology. The results showed that the engagement patterns of MOOC learners could be grouped to Start, Mid, and End according to the stage of MOOC learning. The factors affecting MOOC dropout could be grouped into categories of Course Attributes, Social Status, Cognitive Ability, Emotional Factor and Learning Behavior.

HBx downregulated decorin and decorin-derived peptides inhibit the proliferation and tumorigenicity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the important risk factors in inducing the occurrence and development of liver cancer, while the mechanism has not been fully clarified. In this study, we found decorin (DCN) was significantly reduced in HBV transgenic cell line HepG2-4D14 compared to HepG2. The data from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients indicated that the level of DCN mRNA was significantly lower in tumor tissues than healthy control and positively correlated with the survival of HCC patients. We revealed that HBV HBx can inhibit the transcription of DCN by blocking p53 activity. Functional analysis demonstrated that overexpression of DCN substantially inhibits the proliferation of HCC cells, while knockdown of DCN enhances the proliferation of HCC cells. It is known that DCN could competitively bind to c-Met to inhibit HGF/c-Met signaling pathway to inhibit the development of HCC. Therefore, we screened the novel antitumor peptides derived from DCN based on the sequence of DCN and the complex structure of HGF/c-Met with virtual screening and identified a set of DCN-derived peptides (DCN-Ps) which may competitively bind to c-Met. We found that 5 of peptides can reduce the proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells significantly. Among them, DCN-P#3 can inhibit the growth of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, we discovered that HBV HBx downregulates the expression of DCN, which in turn promotes the proliferation of hepatocytes and the development of HCC. We identified DCN-derived antitumor peptides which provides the candidates for developing novel drugs against HCC.

Protective effect of L­carnitine against oxidative stress injury in human ovarian granulosa cells.

Granulosa cells (GCs) are important for supporting and nourishing oocytes during follicular development and maturation. Oxidative stress (OS) injury of GCs can lead to decreased responsiveness of follicles to follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), which will accelerate ovarian senescence and adversely affect oocyte and embryo quality. Since L-carnitine has been previously reported to exert strong antioxidant activity, the present study aimed to explore the possible effects of L-carnitine on OS injury and FSH receptor (FSHR) expression in ovarian GCs, results of which may be of significance for GCs protection. In the present study, OS was induced in vitro in KGN cells by treatment with H2O2. KGN cells were cultured and divided into the following four groups: Blank, OS, and 40 and 80 µmol/l L-carnitine pre-treatment groups. In the OS group, cells showed nuclear pyknosis, mitochondria swelled irregularly whilst featuring fractured cristae. In addition, cell viability, ROS levels, superoxide dismutase levels, glutathione levels, malondialdehyde levels, the mitochondrial membrane potential and FSHR expression, as determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), 2,7-dichloro-dihydrofluorescein diacetate, spectrophotometry, ELISA, spectrophotometry, JC-1 and western blot analyses, respectively, were all significantly different in the OS group compared with those in the control group. However, malonaldehyde levels, reactive oxygen species levels and the apoptosis rate according to flow cytometry were all significantly increased compared with those in the control. Compared with those in the OS group, the morphology of cells and mitochondria in the L-carnitine pre-treatment groups were improved, whilst cell viability and the expression of FSHR were significantly increased but oxidative stress injury was decreased. The present results suggest that L-carnitine can protect the cells from OS damage induced by H2O2, enhance antioxidant activity whilst suppressing the apoptosis of GCs, in addition to preserving FSHR expression in GCs under OS. Therefore, the present study revealed that the introduction of L-carnitine in clinical medicine or dietary supplement may protect GCs, improve follicular quality and female reproductive function.

[HBV-upregulated Lnc-HUR1 inhibits the apoptosis of liver cancer cells].

Lnc-HUR1 is an HBV-related long non-coding RNA, which can promote the proliferation of hepatoma cells and the occurrence and development of liver cancer. In this study we explored the effect of lnc-HUR1 on the apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by taking the approach of immunoblotting, quantitative real time PCR, luciferase reporter assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and flow cytometry. We found that overexpression of lnc-HUR1 significantly reduced the activity of caspase3/7 and the cleavage of PARP-1, while knocking down of lnc-HUR1 significantly increased the activity of caspase3/7 and promoted the cleavage of PARP-1 in HepG2 cells treated with TGF-ß, pentafluorouracil or staurosporine. Consistently, the data from Annexin-V/PI staining showed that overexpression of lnc-HUR1 inhibited apoptosis, while knockdown of lnc-HUR1 promoted apoptosis. Moreover, overexpression of lnc-HUR1 up-regulated the apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2 and down-regulated the pro-apoptotic factor BAX at both RNA and protein levels. In the CCL4-induced acute liver injury mice model, the expression of Bcl-2 in the liver tissue of lnc-HUR1 transgenic mice was higher than that of the control mice. The data from ChIP assay indicated that lnc-HUR1 reduced the enrichment of p53 on Bcl-2 and BAX promoters. All these results indicated that lnc-HUR1 inhibited the apoptosis by promoting the expression of apoptosis inhibitor Bcl-2 and inhibiting the expression of apoptosis promoting factor BAX. Further studies showed that lnc-HUR1 regulated the transcription of Bcl-2 and BAX in HCT116 cells, but had no effect on the expression of Bcl-2 and BAX in HCT116 p53-/- cells, indicating that lnc-HUR1 regulates the transcription of Bcl-2 and BAX dependent upon the activity of p53. In conclusion, HBV upregulated lnc-HUR1 can inhibit the apoptosis of hepatoma cells. Lnc-HUR1 inhibits apoptosis by inhibiting the transcriptional activity of p53. These results suggest that lnc-HUR1 plays an important role in the occurrence and development of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Correlation between neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease patients: A retrospective study.

Background and objective: The blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an objective and convenient parameter of systemic inflammation. Elevated NLR is associated with an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (CI) in the elderly. However, few data are available on the impact of the NLR on CI in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Methods: A total of 66 CSVD subjects with CI and 81 CSVD subjects without CI were evaluated in this study. Clinical, laboratory, radiological, and cognitive parameters were collected. The NLR was obtained with the absolute neutrophil count being divided by the absolute lymphocyte count in fasting blood samples. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the factors associated with CI. Receiver operating characteristic curves were illustrated to predict factors associated with CI in patients with CSVD. Results: The NLR of the CI group was significantly higher than that of subjects without CI (2.59 vs. 2.21, P = 0.003). In multivariate analysis, NLR was positively correlated to the CI (OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.05-1.96, P = 0.024). It was suggested that the optimum NLR cutoff point for CI was 1.89 with 69.7% sensitivity and 59.3% specificity. Subjects with NLR ≥ 1.89 showed higher possibilities of CI compared to those with NLR < 1.89 (OR: 3.38, 95% CI: 1.62-7.07). Conclusions: Correlations were found between NLR and CI. Patients with CSVD who have higher NLR might have an increased risk of CI.

Interaction of genotype-ecological type-plant spacing configuration in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in China.

Grain sorghum has been a significant contributor to global food security since the prehistoric period and may contribute even more to the security of both food and energy in the future. Globally, precise management techniques are crucial for increasing grain sorghum productivity. In China, with diverse ecological types, variety introduction occasionally occurs across ecological zones. However, few information is available on the effect of ecological type on genotype performance and how plant spacing configuration influences grain yield in various ecological zones. Hence, a series of two-year field experiments were conducted in 2020 and 2021 in four ecological zones of China, from the northeast to the southwest. The experiments included six widely adapted sorghum varieties under six plant spacing configurations (two row spacing modes: equidistant row spacing (60 cm) mode and wide (80 cm)-narrow (40 cm) row spacing mode; three in-row plant spacings: 10 cm, 15 cm, and 20 cm). Our results indicated that ecological type, variety, and plant spacing configuration had a significant effect on sorghum yield. Ecological type contributed the highest proportion to the yield variance (49.8%), followed by variety (8.3%), while plant spacing configuration contributed 1.8%. Sorghum growth duration was highly influenced by the ecological type, accounting for 87.2% of its total variance, whereas plant height was mainly affected by genotype, which contributed 81.6% of the total variance. All test varieties, developed in the south or north, can reach maturity within 94-108 d, just before fall sowing in central China. Generally, sorghum growth duration becomes longer when a variety is introduced from south to north. A late-maturing variety, developed in the spring sowing and late-maturing regions, possibly could not reach maturity in the early-maturing region. The row spacing modes had no significant affect on sorghum yield, but the equal-row spacing mode consistently caused higher yields with only one exception; this might imply that equal-row spacing mode was more advantageous for boosting sorghum yield potential. In contrast, decreasing in-row plant spacing showed significant positive linear associations with sorghum grain yield in most cases. In addition, these results demonstrated that sorghum is a widely adapted crop and enables success in variety introduction across ecological zones.

Label-free quantitative proteomics of arbuscular mycorrhizal Elaeagnus angustifolia seedlings provides insights into salt-stress tolerance mechanisms.

Introduction: Soil salinization has become one of the most serious environmental issues globally. Excessive accumulation of soluble salts will adversely affect the survival, growth, and reproduction of plants. Elaeagnus angustifolia L., commonly known as oleaster or Russian olive, has the characteristics of tolerance to drought and salt. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are considered to be bio-ameliorator of saline soils that can enhance the salt tolerance of the host plants. However, there is little information on the root proteomics of AM plants under salt stress. Methods: In this study, a label-free quantitative proteomics method was employed to identify the differentially abundant proteins in AM E. angustifolia seedlings under salt stress. Results: The results showed that a total of 170 proteins were significantly differentially regulated in E.angustifolia seedlings after AMF inoculation under salt stress. Mycorrhizal symbiosis helps the host plant E. angustifolia to respond positively to salt stress and enhances its salt tolerance by regulating the activities of some key proteins related to amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and glutathione metabolism in root tissues. Conclusion: Aspartate aminotransferase, dehydratase-enolase-phosphatase 1 (DEP1), phospholipases D, diacylglycerol kinase, glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferases, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidases may play important roles in mitigating the detrimental effect of salt stress on mycorrhizal E. angustifolia . In conclusion, these findings provide new insights into the salt-stress tolerance mechanisms of AM E. angustifolia seedlings and also clarify the role of AM fungi in the molecular regulation network of E. angustifolia under salt stress.

HBV HBx-Downregulated lncRNA LINC01010 Attenuates Cell Proliferation by Interacting with Vimentin.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is closely related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. To investigate the mechanism of HBV causing HCC, we previously analyzed the transcription of the HBV-transgenic cell line HepG2-4D14 and parental HepG2 cells and identified a subset of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) differentially expressed between them. In this study, we focus on lncRNA LINC01010, as it is significantly downregulated in HepG2-4D14 cells and in liver tissues of HCC patients, and positively correlated with survival. We found that HBV-encoded HBx can reduce the transcription of LINC01010. Functional analysis showed that the overexpression of LINC01010 inhibits proliferation, migration and invasion of HepG2 cells while the knockdown of LINC01010 promotes these processes. By taking the approach of RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and mass spectrometry, we identified that LINC01010 can interact with vimentin. Further studies demonstrated that LINC01010 negatively affects the vimentin network extension and causes more rapid subunit exchange and lower stability of vimentin filaments. In addition, LINC01010 can reduce the amount of insoluble vimentin within cells, which suggests that LINC01010 interfers with vimentin polymerization. These data indicate that LINC01010 can inhibit the assembly of vimentin filament. Thus, we revealed that HBV HBx-downregulated LINC01010, which suppresses cell proliferation and migration by negatively regulating the formation of vimentin filament. Taken together, LINC01010 is a potential tumor suppressor that may restrain HBV-related HCC development.

Changes in leaf litter decomposition of primary Korean pine forests after degradation succession into secondary broad-leaved forests.

Forest degradation succession often leads to changes in forest ecosystem functioning. Exactly how the decomposition of leaf litter is affected in a disturbed forest remains unknown. Therefore, in our study, we selected a primary Korean pine forest (PK) and a secondary broad-leaved forest (SF) affected by clear-cutting degradation, both in Northeast China. The aim was to explore the response to changes in the leaf litter decomposition converting PK to SF. The mixed litters of PK and SF were decomposed in situ (1 year). The proportion of remaining litter mass, main chemistry, and soil biotic and abiotic factors were assessed during decomposition, and then, we made an in-depth analysis of the changes in the leaf litter decomposition. According to our results, leaf litter decomposition rate was significantly higher in the PK than that in the SF. Overall, the remaining percent mass of leaf litter's main chemical quality in SF was higher than in PK, indicating that leaf litter chemical turnover in PK was relatively faster. PK had a significantly higher amount of total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) than SF during decomposition. Based on multivariate regression trees, the forest type influenced the soil habitat factors related to leaf litter decomposition more than decomposition time. Structural equation modeling revealed that litter N was strongly and positively affecting litter decomposition, and the changes in actinomycetes PLFA biomass played a more important role among all the functional groups. Selected soil abiotic factors were indirectly driving litter decomposition through coupling with actinomycetes. This study provides evidence for the complex interactions between leaf litter substrate and soil physical-chemical properties in affecting litter decomposition via soil microorganisms.

Changes in soil ammonia oxidizers and potential nitrification after clear-cutting of boreal forests in China.

The Korean pine and broad-leaved mixed forests are the most typical and complete ecosystem among the global boreal forests, with extremely important ecological functions. However, few studies on the changes of soil ammonia oxidizers and potential nitrification after clear-cutting of forests are reported. In this study, in contrast to primary Korean pine forests, nitrate (NO3-) was significantly higher in secondary broad-leaved forests, while ammonium (NH4+) was on the contrary. The abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was greatly higher in secondary broad-leaved forests, while levels of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) were not significantly different between them. The significant differences of community structure of AOA and AOB were observed in different forest types and soil layers. Compared with AOA, community compositions of AOB was more sensitive to forest type. The dominant groups of AOA were Nitrososphaera and Nitrosotalea, and the dominant group of AOB was Nitrosospira, of which Nitrosospira cluster 2 and 4 were functional groups with highly activity. Soil potential nitrification rate (PNR) was higher in secondary broad-leaved forests. Furthermore, PNR and AOB abundance had a significant positive correlation, but no significant correlation with AOA abundance. These results provide insights into the soil nitrogen balance and effects on forest restoration after clear-cutting.

HBx-upregulated MAFG-AS1 promotes cell proliferation and migration of hepatoma cells by enhancing MAFG expression and stabilizing nonmuscle myosin IIA.

To identify hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related lncRNA(s), we previously examined the transcription profiles of the HBV-transgenic cell line HepG2-4D14 and parental HepG2 cells by RNA deep sequencing and identified 38 upregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). In the present study, the lncRNA MAFG-AS1 is investigated in detail because its gene is located adjacent to the MAFG gene, which is an important transcription factor involved in cell proliferation. The level of MAFG-AS1 is significantly higher in HCC tissue than in nontumor tissues. TCGA data show that the expression level of MAFG-AS1 is negatively correlated with survival of HCC patients. GEO cohort data show that compared with healthy tissues, the expression level of MAFG-AS1 is significantly higher in HBV-infected liver tissues. Real-time PCR and luciferase reporter assay data show that HBx can enhance the transcription of MAFG-AS1. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments indicate that MAFG-AS1 promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Tumor formation assay results demonstrate that knockdown of MAFG-AS1 significantly inhibits cell proliferation in nude mice. Furthermore, MAFG-AS1 enhances the transcription of adjacent MAFG via E2F1. Additionally, MAFG-AS1 interacts with three subunits (MYH9, MYL12B, and MYL6) of nonmuscle myosin IIA (NM IIA). Knockdown of MAFG-AS1 inhibits ATPase activity of MYH9, interaction of NM IIA subunits, and cell cycle progression. Thus, the lncRNA MAFG-AS1 is upregulated by HBV and promotes proliferation and migration of HCC cells. Our findings suggest that MAFG-AS1 is a potential oncogene that may contribute to HBV-related HCC development.

Analysis of m6A RNA Methylation-Related Genes in Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Their Correlation with Survival.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification on RNA plays an important role in tumorigenesis and metastasis, which could change gene expression and even function at multiple levels such as RNA splicing, stability, translocation, and translation. In this study, we aim to conduct a comprehensive analysis on m6A RNA methylation-related genes, including m6A RNA methylation regulators and m6A RNA methylation-modified genes, in liver hepatocellular carcinoma, and their relationship with survival and clinical features. Data, which consist of the expression of widely reported m6A RNA methylation-related genes in liver hepatocellular carcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, Univariate Cox regression, a protein-protein interaction network, gene enrichment analysis, feature screening, a risk prognostic model, correlation analysis, and consensus clustering analysis. In total, 405 of the m6A RNA methylation-related genes were found based on one-way ANOVA. Among them, DNA topoisomerase 2-alpha (TOP2A), exodeoxyribonuclease 1 (EXO1), ser-ine/threonine-protein kinase Nek2 (NEK2), baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein 5 (BIRC5), hyaluronan mediated motility receptor (HMMR), structural maintenance of chromosomes protein 4 (SMC4), bloom syndrome protein (BLM), ca-sein kinase I isoform epsilon (CSNK1E), cytoskeleton-associated protein 5 (CKAP5), and inner centromere protein (INCENP), which were m6A RNA methylation-modified genes, were recognized as the hub genes based on the protein-protein interaction analysis. The risk prognostic model showed that gender, AJCC stage, grade, T, and N were significantly different between the subgroup with the high and low risk groups. The AUC, the evaluation parameter of the prediction model which was built by RandomForest, was 0.7. Furthermore, two subgroups were divided by consensus clustering analysis, in which stage, grade, and T differed. We identified the important genes expressed significantly among two clusters, including uridine-cytidine kinase 2 (UCK2), filensin (BFSP1), tubulin-specific chaperone D (TBCD), histone-lysine N-methyltransferase PRDM16 (PRDM16), phosphorylase b ki-nase regulatory subunit alpha (PHKA2), serine/threonine-protein kinase BRSK2 (BRSK2), Arf-GAP with coiled-coil (ACAP3), general transcription factor 3C polypep-tide 2 (GTF3C2), and guanine nucleotide exchange factor MSS4 (RABIF). In our study, the m6A RNA methylation-related genes in liver hepatocellular carcinoma were analyzed systematically, including the expression, interaction, function, and prognostic values, which provided an important theoretical basis for m6A RNA methylation in liver cancer. The nine important m6A-related genes could be prognostic markers in the survival time of patients.