The Effect of Mecp2 on Heart Failure

Background/Aims: Heart failure is the end result of various kinds of cardiovascular diseases. It has a high rate of morbidity and mortality. This article aims to determine the effect of MeCP2, a key epigenetic regulator, on heart failure. Methods: The genes associated with heart failure were selected and analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) term analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. Significantly up- or downregulated genes in a heart failure animal model were identified, and the genes that had the same or opposite alteration trends as MeCP2 were also recognized. Eighteen hub genes were picked based on topological parameters, and then aberrantly expressed genes with MeCP2 overexpression or knockout were analyzed by GO term, KEGG pathway and PPI analyses. Results: MeCP2 was downregulated in the heart failure animal model. Through comparison and alignment, 10 dysregulated genes were selected from the 18 hub genes (JAK1, SETD1B, HRC, TTN, LYZ2, TPM3, MYH11, MYH6, ALOX5AP, DECR1). These genes were mainly enriched in cytoskeletal regulation mediated by Rho GTPase and inflammation mediated by chemokine and cytokine signaling pathways. Conclusions: These dysregulated genes provide a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the effect of MeCP2 on heart failure and might be used as targets and prognostic markers of heart failure

Impact of primary and secondary air supply intensity in stove on emissions of size-segregated particulate matter and carbonaceous aerosols from apple tree wood burning

In order to assess emission factors (EF) more accurately from household biomass burning, a series of laboratory controlled apple tree wood burning tests were conducted to measure the EFs of size-segregated particulate matter (PM) and carbonaceous aerosols. The controlled burning experiments were conducted with designed primary air (PA) and secondary air (SA) supply intensity. An optimum value of 7 m(3).h(-1) was found for SA, resulting the highest modified combustion efficiency (92.4 +/- 2.5%) as well as the lowest EFs of PM2.5 (0.13 +/- 0.01 g.MJ(-1)), OC (0.04 +/- 0.03 g.MJ(-1)) and EC (0.03 +/- 0.01 g.MJ(-1)). SA values of 7 and 10 m(3).h(-1) resulted the lowest EFs for all the different PM sizes. In a test with PA of 6 m(3.)h(-1) and SA of 7 m(3).h(-1), very low EFs were observed for 0C1 (8.2%), 0C2 (11.2%) and especially OP (Pyrolyzed OC) (0%, not detected), indicating nearly complete combustion under this air supply condition. Besides SA, higher PA was proved to have positive effects on PM and carbonaceous fraction emission reduction. For example, with a fixed SA of 1.5 m(3).h(-1), EFs of PM2.5 decreased from 0.64 to 0.27 g.MJ(-1) when PA increased from 6 to 15 m(3).h(-1) (P < 0.05). Similar reductions were also observed in EFs of OC, EC and size segregated PM

Real-time monitoring for road-base quality with the aid of buried piezoelectric sensors

The road-base usually deteriorate during service time due to factors such as cyclical traffic loads and road-base fouling. Currently the monitoring method for road-base quality is quite limited. This paper proposes a real-time Monitoring method for Road-Base Quality (MRBQ) based on a soil dynamic model and piezoelectric sensors buried in road-base. The soil dynamic model was extended with a piezoelectric equation to calculate the voltage in the road-base generated by a moving traffic load. Then, a model test was conducted to measure the output voltage of the piezoelectric sensors buried in the road-base. Finally, the road-base modulus was back-calculated through the soil dynamic model with the measured voltage. The back-calculated modulus was compared with the modulus measured by resonance column test (RCT) to validate this method. The unique relationship between the peak voltage and the road-base modulus at various depths was identified for different traffic load amplitudes and speeds, and the feasibility and accuracy of the MRBQ was demonstrated. This study reveals that the sensitivity of the piezoelectric sensors can reach 2 V/MPa, and the error to measure the road-base modulus is less than 20%. The proposed MRBQ demonstrates a good application potential in health monitoring of transportation facilities

Exploring the Potential Transmission Risk of Schistosomiasis Japonica in the Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, China

Vector snails are important in the life cycle of schisosomiasis, the need to understand the ecologic factors that could enhance snails’ survival and trigger schistosomiasis transmission necessitated this study. Therefore, the potential risk of schistosomiasis transmission was explored in Zhangjiagang region, a non-endemic area in lower reaches of Yangtze River, eastern of China. The key indictors, including snail survival rate, spawn rate, hatching rate and gland development, were investigated through the designed experiments, routine snail and infectious source surveillance. The results showed that there was no significant difference in surviving rate, spawn rate, hatching rate and gland development between groups of simulated environments in laboratory, similar finding in field experiments, which suggested that snails stand a high possibility to survive in these non-endemic areas once they spread into these areas from other places. And no snails and infectious source were found either in the previous routine monitoring in the past decades and the snail surveillance we conducted from 2007 to 2013. Therefore, there is little risk in the study areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. However, the sporadic and imported cases are still seen in a few areas adjacent to the endemic or transmission interrupted areas as the important infectious source, thus become a risk of schistosomisis transmission or re-emergence in these areas where the snail exists. Hence, maintaining routine monitoring and surveillance can be one of the effective and efficient ways to prevent the re-emergence of Schistosomiasis

The development of a three-dimensional turbulent separated flow downstream of reattachment

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The Development of a Three-Dimensional Turbulent Separated Flow Downstream of Reattachment.

A detailed experimental study of three flows downstream of attachment is reported; i) a two-dimensional co-planar flow, ii) a non-coplanar spanwise invariant (swept) flow and iii) a fully three-dimensional flow. These flows were formed on a blunt thick plate where for the last case the separation line was in the shape of a downstream-facing v. A special feature of the last case was that the fully three-dimensional region was bounded on each side by a region of spanwise invariance (as investigated in ii)). Mean velocity and turbulence quantities were measured using hot-wire and pulsed-wire anemometry. The Reynolds number based on plate thickness was 8200. The development downstream of attachment is slow and non-monotonic. A dip in the mean velocity profile could be seen in all cases. The development in ii) is slightly quicker if scaled on the streamwise distance to attachment, Xr, but is similar to i) if scaled on Xr cos(theta), where theta is the sweep angle. The downstream flow in iii) is much thicker than the other two flows because of the inward-flow generated in the separated region (cross flow from each side). The height and width of this 'bulge' grow in approximately constant proportion, and this bulge-like feature persists far downstream, perhaps indefinitely. A logarithmic law of the wall, consistent with independently measured wall shear stress, is established in each case, but curiously, more quickly in the fully three-dimensional case even though the distortion in the outer layer is much stronger and the length scales of the large-scale motion are larger. For ii) the Reynolds stresses are lower than in i), but all the second moments in these two cases fall below the respective levels in the standard boundary layer before rising slowly. In iii) the Reynolds stresses are much higher than in the other two eases, and only u2 and uv fall lower than the standard levels at the last measurement station, u2 and vv are also the first two Reynolds stresses to fall below that of the standard boundary layer in the other two cases. It seems likely that the Reynolds stresses in this case will need a much longer distance before they settle to the standard levels, if ever they do. Balances of the turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress transport equations are also given for each case, at two or more streamwise stations. Low-frequency flapping is seen in each case. In ii) it is closely double that in i), indicating a modification of the entrainment mechanism. The shear-layer frequency (indicative of large-scale structures) in ii) decreases linearly with streamwise distance over the first half of the bubble (scaling on the component of free-stream velocity perpendicular to the separation line), and then becomes constant, as in i). In contrast, in Hi) the shear-layer frequency decreases continually along the bubble (at least as far as 2.1Xr)

Noncoding RNAs in Vascular Aging

Increases in age are accompanied by vascular aging, which can lead to a variety of chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis and hypertension. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have become a research hotspot in different fields of life sciences in recent years. For example, these molecules have been found to have regulatory roles in many physiological and pathological processes. Many studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) also play a regulatory role in vascular aging. Endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are important components of blood vessels, and the senescence of both cell types promotes the occurrence of vascular aging. This review provides a contemporary update on the molecular mechanisms underlying the senescence of ECs and VSMCs and the regulatory role of miRNAs and lncRNAs in this process

Synthesis and Characterization of Stimuli-Responsive Poly(2-dimethylamino-ethylmethacrylate)-Grafted Chitosan Microcapsule for Controlled Pyraclostrobin Release

Controllable pesticide release in response to environmental stimuli is highly desirable for better efficacy and fewer adverse effects. Combining the merits of natural and synthetic polymers, pH and temperature dual-responsive chitosan copolymer (CS-g-PDMAEMA) was facilely prepared through free radical graft copolymerization with 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl 2-methacrylate (DMAEMA) as the vinyl monomer. An emulsion chemical cross-linking method was used to expediently fabricate pyraclostrobin microcapsules in situ entrapping the pesticide. The loading content and encapsulation efficiency were 18.79% and 64.51%, respectively. The pyraclostrobin-loaded microcapsules showed pH-and thermo responsive release. Microcapsulation can address the inherent limitation of pyraclostrobin that is photo unstable and highly toxic on aquatic organisms. Compared to free pyraclostrobin, microcapsulation could dramatically improve its photostability under ultraviolet light irradiation. Lower acute toxicity against zebra fish on the first day and gradually similar toxicity over time with that of pyraclostrobin technical concentrate were in accordance with the release profiles of pyraclostrobin microcapsules. This stimuli-responsive pesticide delivery system may find promising application potential in sustainable plant protection

MeCP2-mediated epigenetic regulation in senescent endothelial progenitor cells

Abstract Background Cellular aging may be associated with epigenetics. Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) are two important epigenetic factors. Our former work demonstrated that MeCP2 expression increased and SIRT1 expression decreased in senescent endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). This article aims to reveal the epigenetic regulation caused by MeCP2 in EPCs and discuss its mechanism. Methods Tube formation assay and cell apoptosis detection were used to evaluate the function of senescent EPCs induced by MeCP2 overexpression. Western blot analysis was used to testify the relative protein expression changed by MeCP2. Bisulfite sequencing methylation assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay were used to assess the degree of methylation and the relation of MeCP2 and SIRT1. Results MeCP2 reduced angiogenesis of senescent EPCs, promoted apoptosis, and caused senescent EPC dysfunction through SIRT1 promoter hypermethylation and histone modification. Conclusions MeCP2 mediated senescent EPC dysfunction through epigenetic regulation