Effects of Personalized Aerobic-Exercise and Resistance-Training Prescriptions on College Students with Anxiety During the COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously increased anxiety prevalence among the public, including Chinese college students. However, many exercises cannot be performed as usual under the stay-at-home order. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of personalized individual aerobic-exercise and resistance-training prescriptions on anxiety in college students during the COVID-19. This was a 12-week three-arm randomized control trial using the intention-to-treat principle. Sixty-six college students with anxiety were recruited and randomized into aerobic-exercise (AE), resistance-training (RT), and health-education group (HE). AE and RT groups also received health education. Measures on anxiety and physical activity included Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Chinese College Students Mental Health Scale - Anxiety Subscale (CCSMHS-AS) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). All data were collected at the baseline, 4, 8, 12 weeks and 4-week post-intervention. All participants completed the intervention and measurements. The mean (SD) of SAS, CCSMHS-AS score and physical activity was 56.36 (5.63), 19.27 (4.56), 1306.57 (1421.19) (met-min/week). After the intervention, 78.79% of anxiety participants improved from anxiety to “normal”. Participants in all groups showed a statistically and clinically significant improvement after 12-week intervention (p \u3c 0.001). Moreover, such improvement was well-maintained in RT and HE group as there were no significant differences in SAS and CCSMHS-AS at 4-week post-intervention compared to 12 weeks (p \u3e 0.05). However, the SAS score of participants in AE group showed a significant increase during the 4 weeks after intervention (p \u3c 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the effect of AE and RT on anxiety at each time-point (p \u3e 0.05). PA of participants in AE and RT group represented a significant improvement at 4-week post-intervention compared to baseline (p \u3c 0.01). Personalized individual aerobic-exercise and resistance-training combined with health-education resulted in a similar effect on reducing anxiety and improving physical activity, and the effect was better than health education alone. Furthermore, the effect of resistance-training and health-education on reducing anxiety was more stable than that of aerobic-exercise. We recommended 45- to 60-minute home-based individual exercise (including 30- to 40-minute main exercise) with progressive moderate-to-high intensity, 3 times/week for at least 12 weeks for those students with anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Engineering Scheffersomyces segobiensis for palmitoleic acid‐rich lipid production

Palmitoleic acid (POA; C16:1) is an essential high- value ω- 7- conjugated fatty acid with beneficial bioactivities and potential applications in the nu-traceutical and pharmaceutical industries. Previously, the oleaginous yeast Scheffersomyces segobiensis DSM27193 has been identified as a promis-ing production host as an alternative for POA extraction from plant or animal sources. Here, the POA-producing capacity of this host was further expanded by optimizing the fermentation process and molecular strain engineering. Specifically, a dual fermentation strategy (O-S dynamic regulation strategy) focused on the substrate and dissolved oxygen concentration was designed to eliminate ethanol and pyruvate accumulation during fermentation. Key genes influencing POA production, such as jen, dgat, ole were identified on the transcriptional level and were subsequently over-expressed. Furthermore, the phosphoketolase (Xpk)/phosphotransacetylase (Pta) pathway was intro-duced to improve the yield of the precursor acetyl-CoA from glucose. The resulting cell factory SS-12 produced 7.3 g/L of POA, corresponding to an 11-fold increase compared to the wild type, presenting the highest POA titre reported using oleaginous yeast to date. An economic evaluation based on the raw materials, utilities and facility-dependent costs showed that microbial POA production using S. segobiensis can supersede the current extraction method from plant oil and marine fish. This study reports the construction of a promising cell factory and an effective microbial fermentation strategy for commercial POA production

Alteration of E2F2 Expression in Governing Endothelial Cell Senescence

Endothelial cell senescence has a vital implication for vascular dysfunction, leading to age-related cardiovascular disease, especially hypertension and atherosclerosis. E2F transcription factor 2 (E2F2) plays a critical role in cell proliferation, differentiation, and DNA damage response. Up to date, no study has ever connected E2F2 to vascular endothelial cell senescence. Here, we demonstrate that E2F2 is involved in endothelial cellular senescence. We found that E2F2 expression is decreased during the replicative senescence of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the aortas of aged mice. The knockdown of E2F2 in young HUVECs induces premature senescence characterized by an increase in senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity, a reduction in phosphorylated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (p-eNOS) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and the upregulation of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) IL-6 and IL-8. The lack of E2F2 promoted cell cycle arrest, DNA damage, and cell proliferation inhibition. Conversely, E2F2 overexpression reversed the senescence phenotype and enhanced the cellular function in the senescent cells. Furthermore, E2F2 deficiency downregulated downstream target genes including CNNA2, CDK1, and FOXM1, and overexpression restored the expression of these genes. Our findings demonstrate that E2F2 plays an indispensable role in endothelial cell senescence

Genetic Effects of <i>Indica</i> Lineage Introgression on Amylopectin Chain Length Distribution in <i>Japonica</i> Milled Rice

The fine structure of amylopectin affects rice quality; in particular, the amylopectin chain length distribution (ACLD) in milled rice differs between subspecies of Oryza sativa L. However, the correlation between ACLD and quality trait factors, and the genetic basis of ACLD phenotypic variation, are still unknown. Here, the correlations of ACLD with cooking and eating quality and with the rapid viscosity analysis (RVA) index were studied using chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs). Clear variations in ACLD were observed in introgression lines: introgression of indica segments of chromosome 3 and 7 increased the proportion of amylopectin Fa, and another segment of chromosome 3 reduced the proportion of amylopectin Fb2. A segment of chromosome 11 decreased the proportion of amylopectin Fa but increased that of Fb3. Correlation analysis with the RVA index further showed that the breakdown viscosity (BDV) was negatively correlated with the proportion of amylopectin Fb1, Fb2, and Fb3 chains, and positively correlated with Fa. Consistency viscosity (CSV) values were negatively correlated with the proportion of amylopectin Fb1, Fb2, and Fb3 chains. We thus clarified the quality trait factors determined by variation in ACLD, and provide key information for pyramiding inter-subspecific genetic superiority in molecular design breeding for rice quality

Genetic Effects of Indica Lineage Introgression on Amylopectin Chain Length Distribution in Japonica Milled Rice

The fine structure of amylopectin affects rice quality; in particular, the amylopectin chain length distribution (ACLD) in milled rice differs between subspecies of Oryza sativa L. However, the correlation between ACLD and quality trait factors, and the genetic basis of ACLD phenotypic variation, are still unknown. Here, the correlations of ACLD with cooking and eating quality and with the rapid viscosity analysis (RVA) index were studied using chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs). Clear variations in ACLD were observed in introgression lines: introgression of indica segments of chromosome 3 and 7 increased the proportion of amylopectin Fa, and another segment of chromosome 3 reduced the proportion of amylopectin Fb2. A segment of chromosome 11 decreased the proportion of amylopectin Fa but increased that of Fb3. Correlation analysis with the RVA index further showed that the breakdown viscosity (BDV) was negatively correlated with the proportion of amylopectin Fb1, Fb2, and Fb3 chains, and positively correlated with Fa. Consistency viscosity (CSV) values were negatively correlated with the proportion of amylopectin Fb1, Fb2, and Fb3 chains. We thus clarified the quality trait factors determined by variation in ACLD, and provide key information for pyramiding inter-subspecific genetic superiority in molecular design breeding for rice quality

Engineering Scheffersomyces segobiensis for palmitoleic acid‐rich lipid production

Abstract Palmitoleic acid (POA; C16:1) is an essential high‐value ω‐7‐conjugated fatty acid with beneficial bioactivities and potential applications in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. Previously, the oleaginous yeast Scheffersomyces segobiensis DSM27193 has been identified as a promising production host as an alternative for POA extraction from plant or animal sources. Here, the POA‐producing capacity of this host was further expanded by optimizing the fermentation process and molecular strain engineering. Specifically, a dual fermentation strategy (O‐S dynamic regulation strategy) focused on the substrate and dissolved oxygen concentration was designed to eliminate ethanol and pyruvate accumulation during fermentation. Key genes influencing POA production, such as jen, dgat, ole were identified on the transcriptional level and were subsequently over‐expressed. Furthermore, the phosphoketolase (Xpk)/phosphotransacetylase (Pta) pathway was introduced to improve the yield of the precursor acetyl‐CoA from glucose. The resulting cell factory SS‐12 produced 7.3 g/L of POA, corresponding to an 11‐fold increase compared to the wild type, presenting the highest POA titre reported using oleaginous yeast to date. An economic evaluation based on the raw materials, utilities and facility‐dependent costs showed that microbial POA production using S. segobiensis can supersede the current extraction method from plant oil and marine fish. This study reports the construction of a promising cell factory and an effective microbial fermentation strategy for commercial POA production