The Emerging Epigenetic Role of CD8+T Cells in Autoimmune Diseases: A Systematic Review

Autoimmune diseases are usually complex and multifactorial, characterized by aberrant production of autoreactive immune cells and/or autoantibodies against healthy cells and tissues. However, the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases has not been clearly elucidated. The activation, differentiation, and development of CD8+ T cells can be affected by numerous inflammatory cytokines, transcription factors, and chemokines. In recent years, epigenetic modifications have been shown to play an important role in the fate of CD8+ T cells. The discovery of these modifications that contribute to the activation or suppression of CD8+ cells has been concurrent with the increasing evidence that CD8+ T cells play a role in autoimmunity. These relationships have been studied in various autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), systemic sclerosis (SSc), type 1 diabetes (T1D), Grave's disease (GD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), aplastic anemia (AA), and vitiligo. In each of these diseases, genes that play a role in the proliferation or activation of CD8+ T cells have been found to be affected by epigenetic modifications. Various cytokines, transcription factors, and other regulatory molecules have been found to be differentially methylated in CD8+ T cells in autoimmune diseases. These genes are involved in T cell regulation, including interferons, interleukin (IL),tumor necrosis factor (TNF), as well as linker for activation of T cells (LAT), cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA4), and adapter proteins. MiRNAs also play a role in the pathogenesis of these diseases and several known miRNAs that are involved in these diseases have also been shown to play a role in CD8+ regulation

Effect of Land Use/Cover Change on Soil Wind Erosion in the Yellow River Basin since the 1990s

“Ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin” is one of the fundamental national strategies related to national food security and ecological security in China. Evaluating the impact of land use/cover change (LUCC) on soil erosion is valuable to improving regional ecological environments and sustainable development. This study focused on the Yellow River Basin and used remote sensing data, the soil wind erosion modulus (SWEM) calculated with the revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ), to analyze the impact of regional scale LUCC from 1990 to 2018 on soil wind erosion. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The total area of cultivated land, grass land, and unused land decreased, with a total reduction of 11,038.86 km²; total areas of forest land and built-up areas increased, increased by 2746.61 and 8356.77 km2, respectively, with differences within the region in these LUCC trends at different periods. From 1990 to 2000, the area of cultivated land increased by 1958.36 km2 and built-up land area increased by 1331.90 km2. The areas of forestland, grass land, water area, and unused land decreased. From 2000 to 2010, the area of cultivated land and grass land decreased by 4553.77 and 2351.39 km², respectively, whereas the areas of forestland and built-up land significantly increased. From 2010 to 2018, the area of cultivated land and grass land continued to decrease, and the area of built-up land continued to increase. (2) Since the 1990s, the SWEM has generally declined (Slope1990–2018 = −0.38 t/(ha·a)). Total amount of wind erosion in 2018 decreased by more than 50% compared with the amount in 1990. During this period, the intensity of wind erosion first increased and then decreased. In terms of the SWEM, 90.63% of the study area showed a decrease. (3) From 1990 to 2018, LUCC reduced the total amount of soil wind erosion by 15.57 million tons. From 1990 to 2000, the conversion of grass land/forest land to cultivated land and the expansion of desert resulted in a significant increase in soil wind erosion. From 2000 to 2018, the amount of soil wind erosion decreased at a rate of about 1.22 million tons/year, and the total amount of soil wind erosion decreased by 17.8921 million tons. During this period, the contribution rate of ecological programs (e.g., conversion of cultivated land to forest land and grass land, ecological engineering construction projects, etc.) to reduction of regional soil wind erosion was 59.13%, indicating that ecological programs have a positive role in reducing soil wind erosion intensity. The sustainable development of the ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin should be continued through strengthening ecological restoration and protection, to further consolidate gains made in this fragile ecosystem. This study provides scientific and technological support and relevant policy recommendations for the sustainable development of the Yellow River ecosystem under global change

Effect of Land Use/Cover Change on Soil Wind Erosion in the Yellow River Basin since the 1990s

“Ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin” is one of the fundamental national strategies related to national food security and ecological security in China. Evaluating the impact of land use/cover change (LUCC) on soil erosion is valuable to improving regional ecological environments and sustainable development. This study focused on the Yellow River Basin and used remote sensing data, the soil wind erosion modulus (SWEM) calculated with the revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ), to analyze the impact of regional scale LUCC from 1990 to 2018 on soil wind erosion. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The total area of cultivated land, grass land, and unused land decreased, with a total reduction of 11,038.86 km²; total areas of forest land and built-up areas increased, increased by 2746.61 and 8356.77 km2, respectively, with differences within the region in these LUCC trends at different periods. From 1990 to 2000, the area of cultivated land increased by 1958.36 km2 and built-up land area increased by 1331.90 km2. The areas of forestland, grass land, water area, and unused land decreased. From 2000 to 2010, the area of cultivated land and grass land decreased by 4553.77 and 2351.39 km², respectively, whereas the areas of forestland and built-up land significantly increased. From 2010 to 2018, the area of cultivated land and grass land continued to decrease, and the area of built-up land continued to increase. (2) Since the 1990s, the SWEM has generally declined (Slope1990–2018 = −0.38 t/(ha·a)). Total amount of wind erosion in 2018 decreased by more than 50% compared with the amount in 1990. During this period, the intensity of wind erosion first increased and then decreased. In terms of the SWEM, 90.63% of the study area showed a decrease. (3) From 1990 to 2018, LUCC reduced the total amount of soil wind erosion by 15.57 million tons. From 1990 to 2000, the conversion of grass land/forest land to cultivated land and the expansion of desert resulted in a significant increase in soil wind erosion. From 2000 to 2018, the amount of soil wind erosion decreased at a rate of about 1.22 million tons/year, and the total amount of soil wind erosion decreased by 17.8921 million tons. During this period, the contribution rate of ecological programs (e.g., conversion of cultivated land to forest land and grass land, ecological engineering construction projects, etc.) to reduction of regional soil wind erosion was 59.13%, indicating that ecological programs have a positive role in reducing soil wind erosion intensity. The sustainable development of the ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin should be continued through strengthening ecological restoration and protection, to further consolidate gains made in this fragile ecosystem. This study provides scientific and technological support and relevant policy recommendations for the sustainable development of the Yellow River ecosystem under global change

Field Investigations of Underwater Mounds Formed by Hopper Dredge Discharges in a Coastal Environment

In a coastal environment, this paper investigated the formation process and the cumulative shape of subaqueous mounds formed by hopper dredged discharges. Hydrological observations and field tests were performed to examine the flow features and ultimately generated morphology characteristics. A high-precision digital elevation model (DEM) was established by multi-beam depth sweeping (MBDS) in the experiment. Particular attention was paid to the formation of the mounds, the three-dimensional shape and the influence factors. The field measurements showed that the mounds were roughly symmetrical in space, and the tidal current, though of weak strength, played a certain role in shaping the profiles. Cone and volcanic cone mound tops were observed, featuring the main top shapes. The height and covered area of the mounds were proportional to the amount of dumped sediment, and they were also affected a lot by the water depth. The results of superimposed tests showed that the second placement over the existing mound resulted in a similar overall shape, but there was pronounced movement around the mound; additional discharged volumes at the same location mainly increased the mound height. The field tests provided a reference for understanding the sediment dumping in other similar coastal areas.Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-07-09 (johcin)</p

Understanding the Settling Processes of Dredged Sediment Disposed in Open Waters through Experimental Tests and Numerical Simulations

Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-02-15 (hanlid);Funder: China National Key Research and Development project (2019YFB1600700); Macau Science and Technology Development Fund (0089/2020/A); Swedish StandUp for Energy project</p

Optimum duration of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: protocol for a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Introduction The type of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy is not clear, nor is the optimum duration of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with early breast cancer. Our study aims to satisfy the requirements for systematically identifying and synthesising the available evidence on the clinical safety and efficacy of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.Methods and analysis A comprehensive electronic literature database search will be performed using three electronic databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase (Ovid interface). Our main outcomes of interest were overall survival, disease-free survival, relapse-free survival, invasive contralateral breast cancer, acceptability and grades 3 and 4 non-haematological toxicities in this study. We will assess the risk of bias and overall quality of evidence using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool and Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation, respectively. We will perform subgroup and sensitivity analyses in the selected trials. We will assess the three key assumptions of network meta-analysis: transitivity, consistency and homogeneity.Ethics and dissemination The protocol was preregistered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database. Ethics approval and patient consent are not required for the network meta-analysis. The final results of this network meta-analysis will be disseminated through national and international conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021278271

Exosomes from MiR-126-Overexpressing Adscs Are Therapeutic in Relieving Acute Myocardial Ischaemic Injury

Background/Aims: Recent studies have indicated that exosomes play an important role in adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) transplant-mediated ischaemic heart disease therapy. However, the treatment effect is not obvious. The aim of this study is to investigate whether ADSC-derived exosomes enriched with microRNA (miR)-126 have a more protective effect on acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: Exosomes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, and the exosome particles were further examined using nanoparticle tracking analyses. A rat model of myocardial infarction and in vitro model of hypoxia-induced H9c2 myocardial cell injury were established to study the protective mechanism of exosomes from miR-126-overexpressing ADSCs. Results: The in vitro results showed that exosomes derived from miR-126-overexpressing ADSCs decreased H9c2 myocardial cell injury by reducing inflammation factor expression during hypoxia induction. The miR-126-enriched exosomes also decreased the expression of fibrosis-related proteins of H9c2 cells under hypoxic conditions. Matrigel® and Transwell® assays showed that miR-126-enriched exosomes significantly promoted microvascular generation and migration, respectively. In vivo studies confirmed that exosomes derived from ADSCs significantly decreased the myocardial injury area of infarction, especially after miR-126-enriched exosome treatment. Cardiac fibrosis and inflammatory cytokine expression were also decreased after treatment with miR-126-enriched exosomes. However, blood vessel formation was promoted in the infarction region of AMI rats. Conclusions: The results suggested that the expression of miR-126-enhanced ADSC-derived exosomes prevented myocardial damage by protecting myocardial cells from apoptosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and increased angiogenesis

Effects of rare earth elements addition on mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of GCr15 bearing steel under different heat treatment conditions

In this work, effects of rare earth addition on mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of GCr15 bearing steel under hot rolled, annealed, and quenched-tempered conditions were investigated via mechanical tests, electrochemical measurements, and immersion tests. Results show that rare earth elements can refine grains, improve hardness, tensile strength, and impact absorption energy of GCr15 bearing steel under different heat treatment conditions. Besides, it has been found that rare earth elements are beneficial to corrosion resistance of GCr15 bearing steel in 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution by electrochemical and immersion measurements