Investigation the effects of vitreous humor on proliferation and dedifferentiation of differentiated NTERA2 cells

Mammals have a limited capacity to regenerate their tissues and organs. One of the mechanisms associated with natural regeneration is dedifferentiation. Several small molecules such as vitamin C and growth factors could improve reprogramming efficiency. In this study, the NTERA2-D1 (NT2) cells were induced towards differentiation (NT2-RA) with 10-5 M retinoic acid (RA) for three days and then subjected to various amounts of vitreous humor (VH). Results show that the growth rate of these cells was reduced, while this rate was partly restored upon treatment with VH (NT2-RA-VH). Cell cycle analysis with PI method also showed that the numbers of cells at the S phase of the cell cycle in these cells were increased. The levels of SSEA3 and TRA-1-81 antigens in NT2-RA were dropped but they increased in NT2- RA-VH to a level similar to the NT2 cells. The level of SSEA1 had an opposite pattern. Expression of OCT4 gene dropped after RA treatment, but it was recovered in NT2-RA-VH cells. In conclusion, we suggest VH as a potent mixture for improving the cellular reprogramming leading to dedifferentiation.

Physical activity, body mass index, and blood progranulin in older adults: cross-sectional associations in the MAPT study

Physical activity (PA) has been shown to moderate the negative effects of obesity on pro-inflammatory cytokines but its relationship with the adipokine progranulin (PGRN) remains poorly investigated. This study aimed to examine the cross-sectional main and interactive associations of body mass index (BMI) and PA level with circulating PGRN in older adults. Five-hundred and twelve subjects aged 70 years and over involved in the Multidomain Alzheimer Prevention Trial (MAPT) Study who underwent plasma PGRN measurements (ng/ml) were included. Self –reported PA levels were assessed using questionnaires. People were classified into three BMI categories: normal weight, overweight or obesity. Further categorization using PA tertiles was used to define highly active, moderately active and low active individuals. Multiple linear regressions were performed in order to test the associations of BMI, PA level, and their interaction with PGRN levels. Multiple linear regressions adjusted by age, sex, diabetes mellitus status, total cholesterol, creatinine level and MAPT group demonstrated significant interactive associations of BMI status and continuous PA such that in people without obesity, higher PA levels were associated with lower PGRN concentrations, while an opposite pattern was found in individuals with obesity. In addition, continuous BMI was positively associated with circulating PGRN in highly active individuals but not in their less active peers. This cross-sectional study demonstrated reverse patterns in older adults with obesity compared to those without obesity regarding the relationships between PA and PGRN levels. Longitudinal and experimental investigations are required to understand the mechanisms that underlie the present findings.

Cellular Prion Protein Is Essential for Myocardial Regeneration but Not the Recovery of Left Ventricular Function from Apical Ballooning

This study tested the hypothesis that cellular prion protein (PrPC) played an essential role in myocardial regeneration and recovery of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from apical takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) induced by transaortic constriction (TAC). In vitro study was categorized into G1 (H9C2), G2 (H9C2-overexpression-PrPC), G3 (H9C2-overexpression-PrPC + Stelazine/1 uM), and G4 (H9C2 + siRNA-PrPC), respectively. The results showed that the protein expressions of PrPC, cell-stress signaling (p-PI3K/p-Akt/p-m-TOR) and signal transduction pathway for cell proliferation/division (RAS/c-RAF/p-MEK/p-ERK1/2) were lowest in G1, highest in G2, significantly higher in G3 than in G4 (all p < 0.001). Adult-male B6 mice (n = 30) were equally categorized in group 1 (sham-control), group 2 (TAC) for 14 days, then relieved the knot and administered BrdU (50 ug/kg/intravenously/q.6.h for two times from day-14 after TAC) and group 3 (TAC + Stelazine/20 mg/kg/day since day 7 after TAC up to day 21 + BrdU administered as group 2), and animals were euthanized at day 28. The results showed that by day 28, the LVEF was significantly higher in group 1 than in groups 2/3 and significantly higher in group 3 than in group 2, whereas the LV chamber size exhibited an opposite pattern of LVEF (all p < 0.0001). The protein expressions of PrPC/p-PI3K/p-Akt/p-m-TOR/cyclin D/cyclin E and cellular-proliferation biomarkers (Ki67/PCNA/BrdU) exhibited an opposite pattern of LVEF (all p < 0.0001) among the three groups, whereas the protein expressions of RAS/c-RAF/p-MEK/p-ERK1/2 were significantly and progressively increased from groups 1 to 3 (all p < 0.0001). In conclusion, PrPC participated in regulating the intrinsic response of cell-stress signaling and myocardial regeneration but did not offer significant benefit on recovery of the heart function in the setting of TCM.

Nutrient supply controls the linkage between species abundance and ecological interactions in marine bacterial communities

Nutrient scarcity is pervasive for natural microbial communities, affecting species reproduction and co-existence. However, it remains unclear whether there are general rules of how microbial species abundances are shaped by biotic and abiotic factors. Here we show that the ribosomal RNA gene operon (rrn) copy number, a genomic trait related to bacterial growth rate and nutrient demand, decreases from the abundant to the rare biosphere in the nutrient-rich coastal sediment but exhibits the opposite pattern in the nutrient-scarce pelagic zone of the global ocean. Both patterns are underlain by positive correlations between community-level rrn copy number and nutrients. Furthermore, inter-species co-exclusion inferred by negative network associations is observed more in coastal sediment than in ocean water samples. Nutrient manipulation experiments yield effects of nutrient availability on rrn copy numbers and network associations that are consistent with our field observations. Based on these results, we propose a “hunger games” hypothesis to define microbial species abundance rules using the rrn copy number, ecological interaction, and nutrient availability.

Effects of stress during commercial hatching on growth, egg production and feather pecking in laying hens

Every year, billions of egg layer chicks around the world are hatched under highly stressful, industrial circumstances. Here, it is investigated how the stressful procedure in the commercial hatchery, including incubation, hatching, processing, and transport affects the chicks with regards to traits relevant for the egg production industry. These traits were compared to those of a control group hatched in a small incubator and handled gently och quietly in a quiet room without any processing and transport. The chicks were weighed at hatch and at eight additional time points: 4 days, 1 week (w), 2 w, 3 w, 5 w, 8 w, 20 w and 25 w of age. Feather pecking was studied at 15 w of age and damages to the feathers and injuries on the comb and wattle were assessed at 25 w of age. From 19 w of age, eggs were collected on three days per week, counted and weighed. Chicks from a commercial hatchery had a lower hatch weight than control chicks (p<0.001). At 20 w of age, the weight of the commercial hatched chicks was still numerically lower, although this did not reach statistical significance. Commercially hatched chicks tended to show more feather pecking behaviour at 15 w of age compared to control chicks (p<0.1), although feather condition at 25 w of age showed the opposite pattern. Regarding production, commercially hatched chickens laid fewer (p<0.05) and smaller (p<0.05) eggs than chicks hatched and handled under calm circumstances. From this experiment, it is concluded that the stressful experience in the commercial hatchery has an overall negative effect on traits relevant for the industry.

A Cross-Cultural Study on the Effects of Envy-Evoking Ads

Ads often feature celebrities or others similar to the target viewer and thereby evoke envy. Envy occurs when people make an upward social comparison, and evoked envy can be either benign or malicious. The authors propose that people with different self-construals feel different degrees of benign and malicious envy depending on who is being envied: a celebrity or a similar other. Three studies were conducted comparing Americans to Koreans (Study 1), Americans to the Chinese (Study 2), and Koreans with different self-construals (Study 3). The results showed that people with high independence showed less benign envy toward the celebrity ad than toward the similar others ad, while people with low independence showed the opposite pattern. People with high interdependence showed less malicious envy toward the celebrity ad than toward the similar others ad, while people with low interdependence showed the opposite pattern.

Foreign Language Enjoyment and Classroom Anxiety of Chinese EFL Learners With Intermediate and Low English Proficiency

Driven by Positive Psychology, research on emotions in second language acquisition has moved from The Anxiety-Prevailing Phase to Positive and Negative Emotions Phase (Dewaele & Li, 2020). A growing number of scholars begin to study learners’ emotions from a more holistic perspective. The present study investigated the levels and sources of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) of 231 Chinese EFL undergraduates with intermediate and low English proficiency. The study found moderate levels of both FLE and FLCA among participants. However, the level of FLE was much lower than the international and domestic samples, while the level of FLCA showed the opposite pattern. There was no significant gender difference emerged for FLE, while female participants reported more FLCA than their male counterparts. Moreover, no significant difference was found in the levels of both FLE and FLCA between intermediate and low English proficiency students. Qualitative data analysis confirmed that FLE was closely related to teacher factors while FLCA was more related to learners themselves. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications were provided for EFL teaching in China.

Comparative Evaluation of Adsorption of Major Enzymes in a Cellulase Cocktail Obtained from Trichoderma reesei onto Different Types of Lignin

Cellulase adsorption onto lignin decreases the productivity of enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Here, adsorption of enzymes onto different types of lignin was investigated, and the five major enzymes—cellobiohydrolases (CBHs), endoglucanase (Cel7B), β-glucosidase (Cel3A), xylanase (XYNIV), and mannanase (Man5A)—in a cellulase cocktail obtained from Trichoderma reesei were individually analyzed through SDS-PAGE and zymogram assay. Lignin was isolated from woody (oak and pine lignin) and herbaceous (rice straw and kenaf lignin) plants. The relative adsorption of CBHs compared to the control was in the range of 14.15–18.61%. The carbohydrate binding motif (CBM) of the CBHs contributed to higher adsorption levels in oak and kenaf lignin, compared to those in pine and rice lignin. The adsorption of endoglucanase (Cel7B) by herbaceous plant lignin was two times higher than that of woody lignin, whereas XYNIV showed the opposite pattern. β-glucosidase (Cel3A) displayed the highest and lowest adsorption ratios on rice straw and kenaf lignin, respectively. Mannanase (Man5A) was found to have the lowest adsorption ratio on pine lignin. Our results showed that the hydrophobic properties of CBM and the enzyme structures are key factors in adsorption onto lignin, whereas the properties of specific lignin types indirectly affect adsorption.

Analyzing the Value and Evolution of Land Use Functions from “Demand–Function–Value” Perspective: A Framework and Case Study from Zhangjiakou City, China

Understanding land use functions (LUFs) value is critical for implementing sustainable land resources management and optimizing territorial space in China. However, existing research insufficiently portrays the contributions of land use to economic activity and people’s well-being. To address this crucial absence, this paper attempts to clarify the connotation of LUFs’ value and the logic of LUFs’ optimization under the national territorial space planning system by applying the “demand–function–value” integrated framework. Based on this framework and taking Zhangjiakou City as a case study, we classified LUFs into economic, social, and ecological functions. Then, we assessed the monetary value of LUFs at the grid level using spatialization and environmental economics methods. Besides, we analyzed the evolutionary characteristics of LUFs and their diversity and dominance. The results showed that the total value of economic, social, and ecological LUFs increased continuously between 1990 and 2015. Spatially, the ecological function showed an opposite pattern to that of social and economic functions. Additionally, the dominant role shifted from ecological function to social function, and the dominant functional combination changed from ELP-ENS-ST to SP-ENS-ELT over this period. Lastly, this paper proposes that policymakers identify and optimize ecological–production–living space through LUFs’ value assessment and coordination. The results provide a new methodological insight into the assessment and coordination of LUFs and adaptive land use management.

Catch the star! Spatial information activates the manual motor system

Previous research demonstrated a close bidirectional relationship between spatial attention and the manual motor system. However, it is unclear whether an explicit hand movement is necessary for this relationship to appear. A novel method with high temporal resolution – bimanual grip force registration – sheds light on this issue. Participants held two grip force sensors while being presented with lateralized stimuli (exogenous attentional shifts, Experiment 1), left- or right-pointing central arrows (endogenous attentional shifts, Experiment 2), or the words "left" or "right" (endogenous attentional shifts, Experiment 3). There was an early interaction between the presentation side or arrow direction and grip force: lateralized objects and central arrows led to an increase of the ipsilateral force and a decrease of the contralateral force. Surprisingly, words led to the opposite pattern: increased force in the contralateral hand and decreased force in the ipsilateral hand. The effect was stronger and appeared earlier for lateralized objects (60 ms after stimulus presentation) than for arrows (100 ms) or words (250 ms). Thus, processing visuospatial information automatically activates the manual motor system, but the timing and direction of this effect vary depending on the type of stimulus.