Macrophage depletion disrupts immune balance and energy homeostasis.

Increased macrophage infiltration in tissues including white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle has been recognized as a pro-inflammatory factor that impairs insulin sensitivity in obesity. However, the relationship between tissue macrophages and energy metabolism under non-obese physiological conditions is not clear. To study a homeostatic role of macrophages in energy homeostasis, we depleted tissue macrophages in adult mice through conditional expression of diphtheria toxin (DT) receptor and DT-induced apoptosis. Macrophage depletion robustly reduced body fat mass due to reduced energy intake. These phenotypes were reversed after macrophage recovery. As a potential mechanism, severe hypothalamic and systemic inflammation was induced by neutrophil (NE) infiltration in the absence of macrophages. In addition, macrophage depletion dramatically increased circulating granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) which is indispensable for NE production and tissue infiltration. Our in vitro study further revealed that macrophages directly suppress G-CSF gene expression. Therefore, our study indicates that macrophages may play a critical role in integrating immune balance and energy homeostasis under physiological conditions

Prediction and Realization of DO in Sewage Treatment Based on Machine Vision and BP Neural Network

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is one of the most important parameters describing biochemical process in wastewater treatment. It is usually measured with dissolved oxygen meters, and currently galvanic and polarographic electrodes are the predominant methods. Expensive, membrane surface inactivation, and especially need of cleaning and calibrating very frequently are common disadvantages of electrode-type measuring sensors. In our work, a novel method for Prediction and Realization dissolved oxygen based-on Machine Vision and BP Neural Network was researched. Pictures of the water-body surface in aeration basins are captured and transformed into HSI space data. These data plus the correspondent measured DO values are processed with a neural network. Using the well-trained neural network, a satisfied result for classifying dissolved oxygen according to the water-body pictures has been realized

High-fat feeding reprograms maternal energy metabolism and induces long-term postpartum obesity in mice.

BackgroundExcessive gestational weight gain (EGWG) closely associates with postpartum obesity. However, the causal role of EGWG in postpartum obesity has not been experimentally verified. The objective of this study was to determine whether and how EGWG causes long-term postpartum obesity.MethodsC57BL/6 mice were fed with high-fat diet during gestation (HFFDG) or control chow, then their body composition and energy metabolism were monitored after delivery.ResultsWe found that HFFDG significantly increased gestational weight gain. After delivery, adiposity of HFFDG-treated mice (Preg-HF) quickly recovered to the levels of controls. However, 3 months after parturition, Preg-HF mice started to gain significantly more body fat even with regular chow. The increase of body fat of Preg-HF mice was progressive with aging and by 9 months after delivery had increased 2-fold above the levels of controls. The expansion of white adipose tissue (WAT) of Preg-HF mice was manifested by hyperplasia in visceral fat and hypertrophy in subcutaneous fat. Preg-HF mice developed low energy expenditure and UCP1 expression in interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) in later life. Although blood estrogen concentrations were similar between Preg-HF and control mice, a significant decrease in estrogen receptor α (ERα) expression and hypermethylation of the ERα promoter was detected in the fat of Preg-HF mice 9 months after delivery. Interestingly, hypermethylation of ERα promoter and low ERα expression were only detected in adipocyte progenitor cells in both iBAT and WAT of Preg-HF mice at the end of gestation.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that HFFDG causes long-term postpartum obesity independent of early postpartum fat retention. This study also suggests that HFFDG adversely programs long-term postpartum energy metabolism by epigenetically reducing estrogen signaling in both BAT and WAT

Evidence of Carbon Uptake Associated with Vegetation Greening Trends in Eastern China

Persistent and widespread increase of vegetation cover, identified as greening, has been observed in areas of the planet over late 20th century and early 21st century by satellite-derived vegetation indices. It is difficult to verify whether these regions are net carbon sinks or sources by studying vegetation indices alone. In this study, we investigate greening trends in Eastern China (EC) and corresponding trends in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. We used multiple vegetation indices including NDVI and EVI to characterize changes in vegetation activity over EC from 2003 to 2016. Gap-filled time series of column-averaged CO₂ dry air mole fraction (XCO₂) from January 2003 to May 2016, based on observations from SCIAMACHY, GOSAT, and OCO-2 satellites, were used to calculate XCO₂ changes during growing season for 13 years. We derived a relationship between XCO₂ and surface net CO₂ fluxes from two inversion model simulations, CarbonTracker and Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC), and used those relationships to estimate the biospheric CO₂ flux enhancement based on satellite observed XCO₂ changes. We observed significant growing period (GP) greening trends in NDVI and EVI related to cropland intensification and forest growth in the region. After removing the influence of large urban center CO₂ emissions, we estimated an enhanced XCO₂ drawdown during the GP of −0.070 to −0.084 ppm yr⁻¹. Increased carbon uptake during the GP was estimated to be 28.41 to 46.04 Tg C, mainly from land management, which could offset about 2–3% of EC’s annual fossil fuel emissions. These results show the potential of using multi-satellite observed XCO₂ to estimate carbon fluxes from the regional biosphere, which could be used to verify natural sinks included as national contributions of greenhouse gas emissions reduction in international climate change agreements like the UNFCC Paris Accord

Transdifferentiation of pancreatic stromal tumor into leiomyosarcoma with metastases to liver and peritoneum: a case report

Follow-up ultrasound and abdominal CT radiographs at 6-month (A), 10-month (B, C, D) and 13-month follow-up (E, F) examination. CT, computed tomography. (TIF 2862 kb

Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Human-Impacted Environment : A One Health Perspective

Antibiotic resistance and its environmental component are gaining more attention as part of combating the growing healthcare crisis. The One Health framework, promulgated by many global health agencies, recognizes that antimicrobial resistance is a truly inter-domain problem in which human health, animal agriculture, and the environment are the core and interrelated components. This prospectus presents the status and issues relevant to the environmental component of antibiotic resistance, namely, the needs for advancing surveillance methodology: the environmental reservoirs and sources of resistance, namely, urban wastewater treatment plants, aquaculture production systems, soil receiving manure and biosolid, and the atmosphere which includes longer range dispersal. Recently, much work has been done describing antibiotic resistance genes in various environments; now quantitative, mechanistic, and hypothesis-driven studies are needed to identify practices that reduce real risks and maintain the effectiveness of our current antibiotics as long as possible. Advanced deployable detection methods for antibiotic resistance in diverse environmental samples are needed in order to provide the surveillance information to identify risks and define barriers that can reduce risks. Also needed are practices that reduce antibiotic use and thereby reduce selection for resistance, as well as practices that limit the dispersal of or destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria or their resistance genes that are feasible for these varied environmental domains.Peer reviewe

Activation of CXCL6/CXCR1/2 Axis Promotes the Growth and Metastasis of Osteosarcoma Cells in vitro and in vivo

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant primary bone tumor with high metastatic rate. C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 6 (CXCL6) and its receptor C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 1/2 (CXCR1/2) have been found to participate in the process of carcinogenesis. In this study, we evaluated the role of CXCL6/CXCR1/2 axis in proliferation and metastasis of OS cells. According to our results, the mRNA and protein expressions of CXCL6, CXCR1, and CXCR2 in multiple OS cell lines were determined. Treatment with exogenous CXCL6 for more than 72 h significantly promoted the proliferation of OS cells. Blocking the effect of endogenous CXCL6 restrained the migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as evidenced by increased E-cadherin level, decreased N-cadherin and Snail levels in OS cells. On the contrary, exogenous CXCL6 administration enhanced the migration and invasive abilities of OS cells. Moreover, silencing of CXCR1/2 suppressed migration, invasion and EMT of OS cells with or without treatment with exogenous CXCL6. In addition, exogenous CXCL6 promoted the activation of PI3K/AKT and β-catenin signaling pathways, which could be repressed by CXCR2 knockdown. Inactivation of PI3K/AKT or β-catenin pathway by specific inhibitors effectively suppressed CXCL6-induced migration, invasion and EMT of OS cells. Finally, overexpression of CXCL6 significantly contributed to tumor growth, pulmonary metastasis and activation of PI3K/AKT and β-catenin pathways in nude mice in vivo, which were repressed by treatment with CXCR2 antagonist. Our results suggest that CXCL6/CXCR1/2 axis promotes the proliferation and metastasis of OS cells

Hydrothermal Preparation of Visible-Light-Driven N-Br-Codoped TiO

Using a facile hydrothermal method, N-Br-codoped TiO2 photocatalyst that had intense absorption in visible region was prepared at low temperature (100°C), through a direct reaction between nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 solution and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the existence of N-Ti-N, O-Ti-N-R, Ti3+ (attribute to the doped Br atoms by charge compensation), and TiOxNy species, indicating the successful codoping of N and Br atoms, which were substituted for lattice oxygen without any influence on the crystalline phase of TiO2. In contrast to the N-doped sample, the N-Br-codoped TiO2 photocatalyst could more readily photodegrade methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The visible-light catalytic activity of thus-prepared photocatalyst resulted from the synergetic effect of the doped nitrogen and bromine, which not only gave high absorbance in the visible-light range, but also reduced electron-hole recombination rate