Dexmedetomidine post-treatment attenuates cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting apoptosis through HIF-1α signalling.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) plays a critical role in the apoptotic process during cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study aimed to investigate whether post-treatment with dexmedetomidine (DEX) could protect against I/R-induced cardiac apoptosis in vivo and in vitro via regulating HIF-1α signalling pathway. Rat myocardial I/R was induced by occluding the left anterior descending artery for 30 minutes followed by 6-hours reperfusion, and cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) was induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation for 6 hours followed by 3-hours reoxygenation. Dexmedetomidine administration at the beginning of reperfusion or reoxygenation attenuated I/R-induced myocardial injury or H/R-induced cell death, alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes, inhibited the activation of HIF-1α and modulated the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins including BCL-2, BAX, BNIP3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. Conversely, the HIF-1α prolyl hydroxylase-2 inhibitor IOX2 partly blocked DEX-mediated cardioprotection both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, DEX down-regulated HIF-1α expression at the post-transcriptional level and inhibited the transcriptional activation of the target gene BNIP3. Post-treatment with DEX protects against cardiac I/R injury in vivo and H/R injury in vitro. These effects are, at least in part, mediated via the inhibition of cell apoptosis by targeting HIF-1α signalling

A sustainable biogas model in China: The case study of Beijing Deqingyuan biogas project

According to the Paris Agreement, China has the ambition to develop non-fossil energy which will account for 20% of the total energy consumption in 2030. China has abundant biomass potential implying the bioenergy should be an important option of non-fossil energy. In this analysis, we present an representative biogas project (the Deqingyuan project, DQY) in Beijing and conduct a cost-benefit analysis for the whole value chain. DQY is the first large-scale biogas project in China that utilizes 100% chicken manure as a feedstock and integrates biogas production with ecological agriculture using advanced technologies. DQY uses 80,000 t of chicken manure and 100,000 t of sewage each year to produce biogas, which generates 14 million KWh of power annually, and obtains an additional revenue of RMB 8 million yuan each year through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Operating as an example of a sustainable bioenergy model, DQY accomplishes the full use of a recycled resource while showing consideration for animal welfare during the entire production, which is a fundamental component of the new rural energy strategy. The circular economy model of DQY plays a prominent role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating pollution, and increasing employment, among other benefits. This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the typical demonstration model (DQY) in utilization of agricultural waste in China, and further proposes a general development model of Chinese biogas in the future

LIN28 Is Involved in Glioma Carcinogenesis and Predicts Outcomes of Glioblastoma Multiforme Patients

LIN28, an evolutionarily conversed RNA binding protein which can bind to the terminal loops of let-7 family microRNA precursors and block their processing to maturation, is highly expressed in several subsets of tumors that carry poor prognoses, such as ovarian carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, colon carcinoma and germ cell carcinoma. However, there has been no study on the expression of LIN28 in glioma tissues or their importance as a prognostic predictor of glioma patients. This study aimed to examine the expression of LIN28 in glioma and correlate the results to patient outcome. We found that LIN28 expression was significantly higher in the group of patients with a poor prognosis compared to patients with a good prognosis by gene microarray. Log-rank analysis showed patients with higher LIN28 expression level in tumor had a shorter progression-free survival and overall survival times compared to those with lower LIN28 expression level. Similar results were also obtained from the tissue microarray analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed high LIN28 expression was an independent prognostic factor for a shorter progression-free survival and overall survival in GBM patients. Furthermore in vitro experiments showed that down-regulation of LIN28 in U251 and U373 cells caused cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase, delayed cell proliferation, increased apoptosis, and resulted in fewer colonies compared to controls. Summarily, our data provides a potential target for cancer therapy as an approach to overcome the poor options currently available for GBM patients