Methane emissions from wetlands in China: effects of wetland type and climate zone

<div><p>Wetlands are the most productive natural ecosystems in the world, and methane (CH₄) emissions from wetlands are a significant source of CH₄ to the atmosphere. We estimated CH₄ emissions from wetlands in China, and analyzed the influence of wetland type and climate zone on CH₄ emission. The results indicate that CH₄ fluxes were significantly different among different types of wetlands. All types of wetlands other than coastal wetlands were found to be sources of CH₄. CH₄ fluxes from highest to lowest were as follows: rice paddies > marsh wetlands > reservoirs > riverine wetlands > lake wetlands > coastal wetlands. The interaction between the wetland type and the climate zone was also significant. CH₄ emissions from certain types of wetlands differed in different climate zones. Lake wetlands were more sensitive to climate than other types. CH₄ fluxes from marsh wetlands were similar in different climate zones, and CH₄ fluxes from rice paddies were all very large because they are consistently flooded and shallow. CH₄ fluxes were significantly related to both latitude and longitude, but to a greater degree to latitude since latitude is related to climate. In summary, both the wetland type and the climate zone should be considered when estimating CH₄ fluxes from wetlands in China as well as in other countries.</p></div

Supplementary document for Impedance Matching via Ultrathin Metatronic Layer Assisted by Smith Chart - 5916830.pdf

Supplemental Documen

Protease-Catalyzed Oligomerization of l-Lysine Ethyl Ester in Aqueous Solution

This paper describes the protease-catalyzed synthesis of oligo(l-Lys) from l-Lys ethyl ester (l-Lys-Et) in an aqueous reaction medium at controlled pH using a pH-stat. Four proteases (papain, bromelain, α-chymotrypsin, and trypsin) were studied to determine their activity for l-Lys ethyl ester oligomerization at pH values ranging from 6 to 11. Bromelain was found to be preferred relative to the other protease catalysts because it gave the highest values of oligo(l-Lys) yield and optimal average chain length (DPavg). To evaluate reaction progress and product structure, 1H NMR and HPLC–UV-MS methods were developed. A series of model oligo(l-Lys) compounds with chain lengths 2, 3, and 4 was obtained and analyzed to assign 1H NMR signals. All components of the mixture were successfully resolved and analyzed by HPLC–UV-MS by ion-pairing reversed-phase chromatography using heptafluorobutyric acid as the ion-pairing agent. The effects of medium pH, l-Lys-Et concentration, bromelain concentration, reaction time, and reaction temperature on oligo(l-Lys) synthesis was evaluated. Oligomers with chain lengths more than 10 are formed within 5 min. By 30 min, the DPavg and longest oligomer chain lengths reached maximum values of ∼3.6 and 12.0, respectively. Residual l-Lys-Et was only 2% by 40 min. Products formed by 30 min remained relatively unchanged as the reaction was continued for 2.5 h. The competitive reaction pathways during oligomer initiation, propagation and transamidation/hydrolysis pathways are presented and discussed relative to the results obtained herein

Upregulation of Programmed Death-1 and Its Ligand in Cardiac Injury Models: Interaction with GADD153 - Fig 5

<p>Panels show representative histograms for JC-1 monomers and JC-1 aggregates in cardiac cell preparations while bar graphs show the ratio of JC-1 aggregates to monomers for experimental groups. Data are means ± SEM; n = 6 hearts/group for normoxic control, IRI and IRI; Anti-PD-L1 and n = 4 for IRI; isotype matching control. IRI: Ischemia Reperfusion Injury. * p<0.05 compared to the normoxic group. ** p<0.05 compared to normoxia or IRI; Anti-PD-L1 group. # p<0.05 compared to IRI or IRI; isotype control group.</p

Influence of N_ε‑Protecting Groups on the Protease-Catalyzed Oligomerization of l‑Lysine Methyl Ester

The direct oligomerization of l-lys-OMe by bromelain catalysis gave oligo­(l-lys) with DP_avg ∼ 3.6 and dispersity ∼ 1.1. Since higher chain length oligo­(l-lys) with lower dispersity values and one reactive amine for selective conjugation would be beneficial, we explored protease-catalyzed oligomerization of N_ε-protected l-lys monomers where N_ε-groups included <i>tert</i>-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) or benzyloxycarbonyl (Z) groups. By using N_ε-protected l-lys monomers, oligopeptide side-chains are hydrophobic-neutral which should dramatically alter enzyme kinetic and binding constants relative to nonprotected l-lys. Schechter and Berger’s conceptual model guided our choice of papain as the protease catalyst. Papain-catalyzed oligomerization of N_ε-Boc-l-Lys-OMe gave products with DP_avg values that were pH dependent and varied from 4.7 ± 0.2 to 7.5 ± 0.1. Similarly, oligo­(N_ε-Z-l-Lys) synthesis was pH dependent, and DP_avg values varied from 4.3 ± 0.2 to 5 ± 0.2. Oligo­(N_ε-Boc/Z-l-Lys) that precipitates from reaction media had a low dispersity (∼1.01). The relatively smaller N_ε-Boc group should increase propagating chain solubility enabling oligopeptides to reach higher DP_avg values prior to their precipitation. Since papain-catalyzed oligomerizations of N_ε-Boc/Z-l-Lys proceeded slowly at 0.54 mg/mL, higher enzyme concentrations were studied. By increasing the enzyme concentration in oligomerizations from 0.54 to 1.62 mg/mL for 3 h reactions, the %-yield and DP_avg of oligo­(N_ε-Z-l-lys) increased from 24 ± 0 to 88 ± 2 and 4.1 ± 0.7 to 5.7 ± 0.1, respectively. Furthermore, at 1.89 mg/mL papain, the %-yield of oligo­(N_ε-Z-l-lys) increased with time reaching 91% in 2 h. Acetonitrile at 20%-by-volume was a useful cosolvent that increased the oligopeptide yield and DP_avg relative to reactions run in pure buffer

Variations in Cadmium and Lead Bioaccessibility in Wheat Cultivars and Their Correlations with Nutrient Components

To reduce the health risks of exposure to Cd and Pb in wheat, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the differences in Cd and Pb bioaccessibility among the grains of 11 wheat cultivars and their relationships with the nutrient compositions of grains. The grain concentrations (Cd: 0.14–0.56 mg kg–1, Pb: 0.08–0.39 mg kg–1) and bioaccessibility (5.28–57.43% and 0.72–7.72% for Cd and Pb in the intestinal phase, respectively) of Cd and Pb differed significantly among the 11 cultivars. A safe wheat cultivar (Shannong16) with a relatively low health risk and the lowest grain Cd and Pb concentrations was selected. Ca, Mg, phytate, and methionine played key roles in affecting Cd and Pb bioaccessibility in wheat, with Ca and phytate significantly negatively correlated with Cd and Pb bioaccessibility. These findings can be used to optimize the selection strategy for safe wheat cultivars for healthy grain production in Cd-polluted farmland

Chemo-enzymatic Routes to Lipopeptides and Their Colloidal Properties

A unique chemo-enzymatic route to lipopeptides was demonstrated herein that, relative to alternative methods such as solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and microbial synthesis, is simple, efficient, and scalable. Homo- and co-oligopeptides were synthesized from amino acid ethyl esters via protease catalysis in an aqueous media, followed by chemical coupling to fatty acids to generate a library of lipopeptides. Synthesized lipopeptides were built from hydrophobic moieties with chain lengths ranging from 8 to 18 and peptides consisting of oligo­(l-Glu) or oligo­(l-Glu-<i>co</i>-l-Leu) with an average of seven to eight repeating units. The chemical structures of the lipopeptides were characterized and confirmed by NMR and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI). The colloidal and interfacial properties of these lipopeptides were characterized and compared in terms of the hydrophobic chain length, oligopeptide composition, and solution pH. The results showed correlation between the interfacial activity of the lipopeptides and the hydrophobicity of the fatty acid and oligopeptide headgroup, the effects of which have been semiquantitatively described in the manuscript. Results from these studies provide insights into design principles that can be further expanded in future work to access lipopeptides from protease-catalysis with improved control over sequence and exploring a wider range of peptide and lipid compositions to further tune lipopeptide biochemical and physical properties

Datasheet1_Application of 4-way decomposition to the analysis of placental-fetal biomarkers as intermediary variables between maternal body mass index and birthweight.docx

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a placental hormone measured in pregnancy to predict individual level risk of fetal aneuploidy and other complications; yet may be useful in understanding placental origins of child development more generally. hCG was associated with maternal body mass index (BMI) and with birthweight. The primary aim here was to evaluate hCG as a mediator of maternal BMI effects on birthweight by causal mediation analysis. Subjects were 356 women from 3 U.S. sites (2010–2013). The 4-way decomposition method using med4way (STATA) was applied to screen for 5 types of effects of first trimester maternal BMI on birthweight: the total effect, the direct effect, mediation by hCG, additive interaction of BMI and hCG, and mediation in the presence of an additive interaction. Effect modification by fetal sex was evaluated, and a sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the assumption of unmeasured confounding. Additional placental-fetal biomarkers [pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPPA), second trimester hCG, inhibin-A, estriol, alpha fetoprotein] were analyzed for comparison. For first trimester hCG, there was a 0.20 standard deviation increase in birthweight at the 75th vs. 25th percentile of maternal BMI (95% CI 0.04, 0.36). Once stratified, the direct effect association was null in women carrying females. In women carrying males, hCG did not mediate the relationship. In women carrying females, there was a mediated effect of maternal BMI on birthweight by hCG in the reverse direction (−0.06, 95% CI: −0.12, 0.01), and a mediated interaction in the positive direction (0.06, 95% CI 0.00, 0.13). In women carrying males, the maternal BMI effect on birthweight was reverse mediated by PAPPA (−0.09, 95% CI: −0.17, 0.00). Sex-specific mediation was mostly present in the first trimester. Second trimester AFP was a positive mediator of maternal BMI effects in male infants only (0.06, 95% CI: −0.01, 0.13). Effect estimates were robust to potential bias due to unmeasured confounders. These findings motivate research to consider first trimester placental biomarkers and sex-specific mechanisms when quantifying the effects of maternal adiposity on fetal growth.</p

DataSheet_1_The Immunological Role of CDK4/6 and Potential Mechanism Exploration in Ovarian Cancer.docx

BackgroundOvarian cancer (OC) is one of the most lethal gynecologic cancers. Growing evidence has proven that CDK4/6 plays a key role in tumor immunity and the prognosis of many cancers. However, the expression and function of CDK4/6 in OC remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the influence of CDK4/6 in OC, especially on immunity.MethodsWe analyzed CDK4/6 expression and prognosis using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) data. Subsequently, we used the cytoHubba plug-in of Cytoscape software and starBase to identify the noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulating CDK4/6. Finally, we verified the effect of CDK4/6 on immunity in OC cell lines and animal models.ResultsCDK4/6 expression was higher in OC tissues than in normal ovarian tissues, and the high expression levels of CDK4/6 contributed to the immunosuppressive state of OC and were thus related to the poor prognosis of OC patients. This was also in general agreement with the results of OC cell line and animal experiments. Mechanistically, the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib increased the secretion of interferon (IFN)-γ and the interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) response, thereby upregulating the expression of antigen-presenting molecules; this effect was partly dependent on the STING pathway and thus activated immunity in OC. Additionally, according to public data, the LRRC75A-AS1-hsa-miR-330-5p axis could inhibit the immune response of OC patients by upregulating CDK4/6, leading to a poor prognosis.ConclusionCDK4/6 affects the immune microenvironment of OC and correlates with the prognosis of OC patients.</p