Generation of integration-free neural progenitor cells from cells in human urine

Human neural stem cells hold great promise for research and therapy in neural disease. We describe the generation of integration-free and expandable human neural progenitor cells (NPCs). We combined an episomal system to deliver reprogramming factors with a chemically defined culture medium to reprogram epithelial-like cells from human urine into NPCs (hUiNPCs). These transgene-free hUiNPCs can self-renew and can differentiate into multiple functional neuronal subtypes and glial cells in vitro. Although functional in vivo analysis is still needed, we report that the cells survive and differentiate upon transplant into newborn rat brain.postprin

A chromosome-level Pinellia ternata genome assembly provides insight into the evolutionary origin of ephedrine and acrid raphide formation

The tuber of Pinellia ternata is broadly used in traditional herbal medicines in Asian countries. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome sequence of P. ternata. The genome of diploid P. ternata was 2.08 Gb and assembled into 13 pseudo-chromosomes containing 34,342 genes. P. pedatisecta is the closest-related species with a full genome sequence, and their divergence began approximately 11.55 million years ago. Comparative transcriptome analysis on various tissues suggested the enrichment of genes involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and starch and sucrose metabolism in P. ternata tuber. The candidate genes of ephedrine biosynthesis in the phenylpropanoid pathway were identified. At least one gene for each synthase of ephedrine biosynthesis was predominantly expressed in the tuber. Notably, all four phenylalanine ammonia lyase genes were predominately expressed in tuber tissue. A series of genes involved in oxalate metabolism were found to be highly expressed in tubers, contributing to the high accumulation of oxalate in tubers as well as the formation of acrid raphide via reaction with calcium ions. There are 14 lectin genes in the P. ternata genome, which were all highly expressed in the tuber, explaining the acrid raphide formation. These findings provide new insight into ephedrine biosynthesis and acrid raphide formation

Association between intraoperative dexmedetomidine and all-cause mortality and recurrence after laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer: Follow-up analysis of a previous randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDexmedetomidine (DEX) has been widely applied in the anesthesia and sedation of patients with oncological diseases. However, the potential effect of DEX on tumor metastasis remains contradictory. This study follows up on patients who received intraoperative DEX during laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer as part of a previous clinical trial, examining their outcomes 5 years later.MethodsBetween June 2015 and December 2015, 60 patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal resection were randomly assigned to the DEX and control groups. The DEX group received an initial loading dose of 1μ/kg before surgery, followed by a continuous infusion of 0.3μg/kg/h during the operation and the Control group received an equivalent volume of saline. A 5-year follow-up analysis was conducted to evaluate the overall survival, disease-free survival, and tumor recurrence.ResultsThe follow-up analysis included 55 of the 60 patients. The DEX group included 28 patients, while the control group included 27 patients. Baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups, except for vascular and/or neural invasion of the tumor in the DEX group (9/28 vs. 0/27, p = 0.002). We did not observe a statistically significant benefit but rather a trend toward an increase in overall survival and disease-free survival in the DEX group, 1-year overall survival (96.4% vs. 88.9%, p = 0.282), 2-year overall survival (89.3% vs. 74.1%, p = 0.144), 3-year overall survival (89.3% vs. 70.4%, p = 0.08), and 5-year overall survival (78.6% vs. 59.3%, p = 0.121). The total rates of mortality and recurrence between the two groups were comparable (8/28 vs. 11/27, p = 0.343).ConclusionAdministration of DEX during laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer had a nonsignificant trend toward improved overall survival and disease-free survival.Clinical Trial Registrationhttp://www.chictr.org.cn/, identifier ChiCTRIOR-15006518

Enhancing Switchgrass Growth With Biochar Derived From Mushroom Residue: A Study on Regulating Physicochemical Properties of Acidic Phosphogypsum

Acidity limits plant growth, particularly when the growing medium has a pH below 5, a challenge that is particularly relevant for certain plants like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Although adding biochar to the growing medium has been shown to improve plant growth by modulating acidity, its specific impact on switchgrass remains largely uninvestigated. Thus, we conducted a pot experiment to assess how different biochar application rates (0%, 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20% w/w), derived from mushroom residue through muffle furnace pyrolysis at 350°C for 2 h, affect the physicochemical attributes of phosphogypsum and subsequent switchgrass growth. Our findings revealed that adding biochar to phosphogypsum significantly alleviated acidity and enhanced moisture, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, available phosphorus, and available potassium contents. Notably, the 10% biochar treatment had the most positive impacts on germination rates, while the 5% treatment had the greatest improvements in shoot length, tiller number, and total weight compared to the control. Structural equation modeling illustrated that biochar indirectly contributed to switchgrass health by altering the physicochemical properties of phosphogypsum, with pH as the pivotal regulator. Our study demonstrated the potential of mushroom residue biochar as an effective amendment for acidic substrates/matrix (e.g., soil), offering a promising strategy to improve physicochemical conditions and stimulate plant growth

Impacts of conversion of cropland to grassland on the C-N-P stoichiometric dynamics of soil, microorganisms, and enzymes across China: A synthesis

In response to escalating land degradation, the conversion of cropland to grassland has emerged as a crucial mitigation strategy. This conversion has a significant influence on the stoichiometry of soil, microorganisms, and enzymes, specifically in relation to carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). A meta-analysis was conducted with 371 observations from 122 articles investigating the impacts of cropland to grassland conversion on the C-N-P stoichiometric dynamics of soils, microorganisms, and enzymes across China. The findings revealed that conversion significantly increased soil C:P (9.0%), soil N:P (5.6%), microbial C:N (15.5%), and notably, microbial C:P by 57.9%. This substantial increase in microbial C:P indicates that microbial communities are highly responsive to land use conversion. Contrastingly, the enzyme C:P ratio decreased by 19.8%, suggesting microbial adaptation to changing nutrient availability. The duration of conversion was positively correlated with soil C:P and N:P ratios, implying that relative P availability may decrease as conversion progresses. However, duration was negatively correlated with microbial C:P. Environmental factors such as clay content, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation were positively correlated with microbial C:N and negatively correlated with microbial N:P, while soil pH was inversely correlated with microbial C:N. These results suggest the substantial influence of cropland to grassland conversion on soil, microbial, and enzyme stoichiometry, with particularly pronounced effects on microbial communities. The observed shifts in stoichiometric ratios suggest changes in nutrient cycling and availability following conversion. While these changes are primarily attributed to the land use conversion, we acknowledge that alterations in management practices, such as reduced fertilization, likely contribute to the observed stoichiometric shifts. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering both environmental factors and management practices when implementing grassland conversion initiatives

Extrapolated New Hermitian and Skew-Hermitian Splitting Method for Non-Hermitian Positive Definite Linear System

Abstract Extrapolated new Hermitian and skew-Hermitian splitting method is presented for solving non-Hermitian and normal positive definite linear systems. We theoretically prove that this method is convergent in three different ranges of the parameters α and ω. Specially, the convergence results of the NHSS method are also obtained, which generalize the conclusions in [2]. The numerical example further verifies the results.</jats:p

Therapeutic Potential of Quercetin as an Antiatherosclerotic Agent in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: A Review

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is one of the diseases with the highest morbidity and mortality globally. It causes a huge burden on families and caregivers and high costs for medicine and surgical interventions. Given expensive surgeries and failures of most conventional treatments, medical community tries to find a more cost-effective cure. Thus, attentions have been primarily focused on food or herbs. Quercetin (Qu) extracted from food, a flavonoid component, develops potentials of alternative or complementary medicine in atherosclerosis. Due to the wide range of health benefits, researchers have considered to apply Qu as a natural compound in therapy. This review is aimed to identify the antiatherosclerosis functions of Qu in treating ASCVD such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties, effects on endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and blood lipid-lowering.</jats:p