Identification of key genes responsible for green and white colored spathes in Anthurium andraeanum (Hort.)

Modern anthuriums, Anthurium andraeanum (Hort.) are among the most popular flowering plants and widely used for interior decoration. Their popularity is largely attributed to the exotic spathes with different colors. Previous studies have reported color development in red spathe cultivars, but limited information is available on key genes regulating white and green colored spathes. This study analyzed anthocyanin, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents as well as transcript differences in spathes of eight cultivars that differed in spathe colors ranging from red to white and green. Results showed that increased expression of a transcription factor AaMYB2 was associated with elevated levels of anthocyanin in spathes, but decreased expression of AaMYB2 and increased expression of AaLAR (leucoanthocyanidin reductase) and AaANR (anthocyanidin reductase) were accompanied with the accumulation of colorless proanthocyanidin, thus the white spathe. As to the green colored spathe, chlorophyll content in the green spathe cultivar was substantially higher than the other cultivars. Correspondingly, transcripts of chlorophyll biosynthesis-related genes AaHemB (porphobilinogen synthase) and AaPor (protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase) were highly upregulated but almost undetectable in white and red spathes. The increased expression of AaHemB and AaPor was correlated with the expression of transcription factor AaMYB124. Subsequently, qRT-PCR analysis confirmed their expression levels in nine additional cultivars with red, white, and green spathes. A working model for the formation of white and green spathes was proposed. White colored spathes are likely due to the decreased expression of AaMYB2 which results in increased expression of AaLAR and AaANR, and the green spathes are attributed to AaMYB124 enhanced expression of AaHemB and AaPor. Further research is warranted to test this working model

Modification effect of changes in cardiometabolic traits in association between kidney stones and cardiovascular events

BackgroundsWhether longitudinal changes in metabolic status influence the effect of kidney stones on cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclarified. We investigated the modification effect of status changes in metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the association of kidney stones with risk of incident CVD events.MethodsWe performed a prospective association and interaction study in a nationwide cohort including 129,172 participants aged ≥ 40 years without CVDs at baseline and followed up for an average of 3.8 years. Kidney stones information was collected by using a questionnaire and validated by medical records. The repeated biochemical measurements were performed to ascertain the metabolic status at both baseline and follow-up.Results4,017 incident total CVDs, 1,413 coronary heart diseases (CHDs) and 2,682 strokes were documented and ascertained during follow-up. Kidney stones presence was significantly associated with 44%, 70% and 31% higher risk of CVDs, CHDs and stroke, respectively. The stratified analysis showed significant associations were found in the incident and sustained MetS patients, while no significant associations were found in the non-MetS at both baseline and follow-up subjects or the MetS remission ones, especially in women. For the change status of each single component of the MetS, though the trends were not always the same, the associations with CVD were consistently significant in those with sustained metabolic disorders, except for the sustained high blood glucose group, while the associations were consistently significant in those with incident metabolic disorders except for the incident blood pressure group. We also found a significant association of kidney stone and CVD or CHD risk in the remain normal glucose or triglycerides groups; while the associations were consistently significant in those with incident metabolic disorders except for the incident blood pressure group. We also found a significant association of kidney stone and CVD or CHD risk in the remain normal glucose or triglycerides groups.ConclusionsA history of kidney stones in women with newly developed MetS or long-standing MetS associated with increased risk of CVD. The mechanisms link kidney stones and CVD risk in the metabolic and non-metabolic pathways were warranted for further studies

The Relative Body Weight Gain From Early to Middle Life Adulthood Associated With Later Life Risk of Diabetes: A Nationwide Cohort Study

AimTo determine the effect of decade-based body weight gain from 20 to 50 years of age on later life diabetes risk.Methods35,611 non-diabetic participants aged ≥ 50 years from a well-defined nationwide cohort were followed up for average of 3.6 years, with cardiovascular diseases and cancers at baseline were excluded. Body weight at 20, 30, 40, and 50 years was reported. The overall 30 years and each 10-year weight gain were calculated from the early and middle life. Cox regression models were used to estimate risks of incident diabetes.ResultsAfter 127,745.26 person-years of follow-up, 2,789 incident diabetes were identified (incidence rate, 2.18%) in 25,289 women (mean weight gain 20-50 years, 7.60 kg) and 10,322 men (7.93 kg). Each 10-kg weight gain over the 30 years was significantly associated with a 39.7% increased risk of incident diabetes (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-1.47); weight gain from 20-30 years showed a more prominent effect on the risk of developing diabetes before 60 years than that of after 60 years (Hazard ratio, HR = 1.084, 95% CI [1.049-1.121], P <0.0001 vs. 1.015 [0.975-1.056], P = 0.4643; PInteraction=0.0293). It showed a stable effect of the three 10-year intervals weight gain on risk of diabetes after 60 years (HR=1.055, 1.038, 1.043, respectively, all P < 0.0036).ConclusionsThe early life weight gain showed a more prominent effect on developing diabetes before 60 years than after 60 years; however, each-decade weight gain from 20 to 50 years showed a similar effect on risk developing diabetes after 60 years

Association between triglyceride glucose index and breast cancer in 142,184 Chinese adults: findings from the REACTION study

BackgroundThe triglyceride glucose (TyG) index has been associated with an increased risk in breast cancer. However, this association remains unclear among the Chinese population. This study aimed to investigate whether the TyG index is associated with the risk of prevalent breast cancer in Chinese women.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 142,184 women from the REACTION (Risk Evaluation of Cancers in Chinese Diabetic Individuals: A Longitudinal) Study, which recruited adults aged 40 years or older from 25 centers across mainland China between 2011 and 2012. The TyG index was calculated according to the formula: Ln (fasting triglycerides [mg/dL] × fasting glucose [mg/dL]/2). Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were used to evaluate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) regarding the associations between the TyG index and breast cancer.ResultsMultivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the lowest quartile of the TyG index, the highest quartile of the TyG index was significantly associated with an increased risk of prevalent breast cancer, with an OR (95% CI) of 1.61 (1.19–2.17). In the stratified analysis, the association of each 1 SD increase in the TyG index with risk of prevalent breast cancer was more dominant in individuals with menarche at age 13–17, those who were postmenopausal, those with a history of breastfeeding, and those who had two to four children, with the ORs (95% CIs) of 1.35 (1.09–1.68), 1.27 (1.05–1.54), 1.26 (1.05–1.52), and 1.32 (1.08–1.62), respectively. Moreover, among those without discernible insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance [HOMA-IR] ≥2.5), hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, each 1 SD increase in the TyG index was associated with a 1.36-fold increase in breast cancer risk, with an OR (95% CI) of 2.36 (1.44–3.87).ConclusionThe TyG index is significantly associated with the prevalent breast cancer risk among middle-aged and elderly Chinese women

Influential Effects of Intrinsic-Extrinsic Incentive Factors on Management Performance in New Energy Enterprises

Background: New energy has become a key trend for global energy industry development. Talent plays a very critical role in the enhancement of new energy enterprise competitiveness. As a key component of talent, managers have been attracting more and more attention. The increase in job performance relies on, to a certain extent, incentive mechanism. Based on the Two-factor Theory, differences in influences and effects of different incentives on management performance have been checked in this paper from an empirical perspective. Methods: This paper selects the middle and low level managers in new energy enterprises as research samples and classifies the managers’ performance into task performance, contextual performance and innovation performance. It uses manager performance questionnaires and intrinsic-extrinsic incentive factor questionnaires to investigate and study the effects and then uses Amos software to analyze the inner link between the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives and job performance. Results: Extrinsic incentives affect task performance and innovation performance positively. Intrinsic incentives impose active significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and innovation performance. The intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Conclusions: Both the intrinsic-extrinsic incentives affect manager performance positively and the intrinsic incentive plays a more important role than the extrinsic incentive. Several suggestions to management should be given based on these results

Policy Evolution of Government Procurement of Public Services in China: A Text-Mining Perspective

The in-depth mining of policy text of Government Procurement of Public Services (GPPS) is helpful to distinguish stage characteristics and evolution logic of the policy. Through text-mining technology, the current research analyzes the policy text of GPPS from 1995 to 2021 in China. Firstly, the GPPS policy is divided into three stages according to the key policy nodes. Secondly, the TF-IDF algorithm is adopted to obtain keywords at each stage, and the static stage characteristics are summarized by constructing the complex network of the extracted keywords. Finally, the policy is clustered into several categories with the help of K-means cluster analysis, and the characteristic of each category is achieved through secondary word segmentation, so as to figure out the dynamic evolution logic of each policy category at divided stages. Results show that the development of the GPPS policy in China presents a point-to-face change feature, manifested in the evolution logic of “government purchase—government procurement of public service—all-round supporting policy.” And policy priorities at different stages, namely, policy tools, will change according to the development of economy and variation of demands

Thyroid Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetic Nephropathy: A Single Center Study

Background. Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease and the prevalence is increasing rapidly. Thyroid disorders including subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and low triiodothyronine (T3) syndrome are frequently observed in diabetic patients. We conducted a study to explore thyroid function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods. We included 103 healthy volunteers, 100 T2DM patients without DN, and 139 with DN. Physical examinations including body mass index and blood pressure and laboratory measurements including renal function, thyroid function, and glycosylated hemoglobin were conducted. Results. Patients with DN had higher thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and lower free T3 (FT3) levels than those without DN (p < 0.01). The prevalence of SCH and low FT3 syndrome in patients with DN was 10.8% and 20.9%, respectively, higher than that of controls and patients without DN (p < 0.05). Through Pearson correlation or Spearman rank correlation analysis, in patients with DN, there were positive correlations in TSH with serum creatinine (r = 0.363, p = 0.013) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (r = 0.337, p = 0.004), and in FT3 with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with statistical significance (r = 0.560, p < 0.001). Conclusions. High level of TSH and low level of FT3 were observed in T2DM patients with DN. Routine monitoring of thyroid function in patients with DN is necessary, and management of thyroid dysfunction may be a potential therapeutic strategy of DN

Environmental Regulation Effect on Green Total Factor Productivity: Mediating Role of Foreign Direct Investment Quantity and Quality

Green total factor productivity (GTFP) is an excellent index for green development. The objective of this study was to check whether environmental regulation (ER) can affect GTFP through the mediating role of foreign direct investment (FDI) quantity and quality. Using the super-efficiency Epsilon-based measure (EBM) model and a Malmquist–Luenberger (ML) index, China’s GTFP growth was measured during 1998–2018. On this basis, we adopted a Systematic Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) to analyze the effect of ER on GTFP. The findings show that China’s GTFP declined first and rose again during the sample period. GTFP in the coastland was greater than that in the inland region. ER positively affected China’s GTFP growth. FDI quantity and quality mediated the nexus between ER and GTFP growth in the whole nation. Specifically, this mediation role of FDI quantity and quality was only significant in coastal China. Additionally, financial development can also boost GTFP growth in China. Given the importance of developing a green economy, the government should improve the FDI quality and attract green FDI

Environmental regulation and green total factor productivity in China: A perspective of Porter’s and Compliance Hypothesis

Green total factor productivity (GTFP) growth is an essential route to realize the target of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Chinese government has implemented several environmental regulations (ER) to accelerate GTFP growth. However, the influencing path of ER on China’s GTFP growth is still puzzled. This paper based on Porter’s and the Compliant Hypotheses, employs super-efficiency Epsilon-based measure (EBM) model and Malmquist-Lunberger (ML) index under meta-frontier to estimate the provincial GTFP growth from 1998 to 2018. A Systematic Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) model was applied to probe the nexus between ER and GTFP growth from the perspective of industrial structure upgrading and technological innovation. The results reveal that the average ML index is 0.955, while efficiency change (EC) and technology change (TC) index are 1.003 and 0.953. The Porter’s hypothesis was confirmed refuting the Compliance Cost Hypothesis. Environmental regulation directly promotes China’s GTFP growth. ER can also facilitate industrial structure rationalization (ISR) and industrial structure advancement (ISA), which further promote China’s GTFP growth. Green technological innovation (GTI) and production technological innovation (PTI) mediates between ER and GTFP growth in China. Hence, the Chinese government should strengthen the ER for industrial structure upgrading, technological innovation, and GTFP growth in China

A Transmission and Distribution Cooperative Congestion Scheduling Strategy Based on Flexible Load Dynamic Compensation Prices

With the demand response and the massive access of distributed energy to the distribution network, it is possible to solve the transmission congestion problem by coordinating the controllable resources in a transmission network and distribution network. Aiming at resolving the problems of scattered side response resources and difficult-to-negotiate compensation prices, a bi-level optimal congestion scheduling strategy based on flexible load dynamic compensation prices is proposed. Under this strategy, the transmission network layer aims at minimizing the congestion cost and optimizes the adjustment scheme of the generator set and the node price. The active distribution network layer obtains the dynamic compensation price of the flexible load of the distribution network through the load characteristics and the node price. Through the interaction and coordination between the two layers, an optimal congestion scheduling scheme is obtained, and the transmission and distribution jointly solve the congestion problem. Based on the modified IEEE-39 experimental system, the effectiveness of the proposed strategy is verified via a simulation