ABSTRACT Against the background of a sharp decline in soybean planting, rising imports, and natural disasters in China, finding appropriate distribution areas for soybean has become a matter of urgency so that soybean planting policies can be formulated and soybean food security ensured. Among the numerous ecological niche models, the most suitable one for predicting potential distribution areas of soybean in the frigid region must be identified. Based on 65 soybean occurrence points and nine environmental variables, three ecological niche models, MaxEnt, BIOCLIM, and DOMAIN, were applied to the prediction of potential distribution areas for soybean. According to the analytical comparison, the three models predicted the potential distribution of soybean and, specifically, MaxEnt, stood out above the other two models as regards predicting the soybean distribution (Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, AUC = 0.916, Kappa = 0.685). The potential distribution areas (from low suitability to high suitability) predicted by MaxEnt was the largest and accounted for 59.5 % of the total area. The potential suitable distribution area of soybean was mainly concentrated in relatively flat terrain. The Sanjiang Plain and the Northeast Plain accounted for 9.4 % of the total area in the frigid region and are highly suitability for soybean. At the same time, annual mean temperature, elevation and Apr solar radiation were the key determinants affecting soybeans’ habitat. On the whole, the selection of ecological niche models and the prediction of soybean potential distribution can provide an essential reference for soybean planting and planning. Moreover, it would be a reliable example for the subsequent related research on soybean habitats.

ABSTRACT Top-quality pellets can significantly increase density and durability of agricultural residues, reducing logistic costs. However, these pellets depend on numerous parameters, including feedstock properties and production conditions. To ensure high-quality pellets, a single-factor experiment and the response surface methodology were used to investigate the effects of particle size, moisture content, molding pressure, pelleting time, ultrasonic power, and interaction effects between variables on density and durability of pellets for ultrasonic vibration-assisted pelleting of corn stover. The response surface models between variables and response were established. The results showed that all variables affect the density and durability of pellets. An optimal condition for density and durability was obtained, and a further experiment was conducted to validate the values. The results suggested that desirability (0.999) under optimal conditions confirmed the validation of models. The optimal combination of process parameters included particle size of 1.5 mm, moisture content of 10 %, molding pressure of 379 kPa, pelleting time of 80 s, ultrasonic power of 250 W, with values of 1,381.14 kg m–3 and 97.58 % for density and durability of pellets, respectively.

Abstract Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) is associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR), and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Aim of this work was to investigate the mechanism of PPARα in DR. Methods: Human retinal capillary pericytes (HRCPs) were treated with high glucose (HG) to induce DR cell model. DR mouse model was established by streptozotocin injection, and then received 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine (DAC; DNA methyltransferase inhibitor) treatment. Hematoxylin–eosin staining was performed to assess retinal tissue damage. PPARα methylation was examined by Methylation-Specific PCR. Flow cytometry and DCFH-DA fluorescent probe was used to estimate apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The interaction between DNA methyltransferase-1 (DNMT1) and PPARα promoter was examined by Chromatin Immunoprecipitation. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot were performed to assess gene and protein expression. Results: HG treatment enhanced the methylation levels of PPARα, and repressed PPARα expression in HRCPs. The levels of apoptotic cells and ROS were significantly increased in HRCPs in the presence of HG. Moreover, DNMT1 was highly expressed in HG-treated HRCPs, and DNMT1 interacted with PPARα promoter. PPARα overexpression suppressed apoptosis and ROS levels of HRCPs, which was rescued by DNMT1 up-regulation. In DR mice, DAC treatment inhibited PPARα methylation and reduced damage of retinal tissues. Conclusion: DNMT1-mediated PPARα methylation promotes apoptosis and ROS levels of HRCPs and aggravates damage of retinal tissues in DR mice. Thus, this study may highlight novel insights into DR pathogenesis.

Although estrogen has crucial functions for endometrium growth, the specific dose and underlying molecular mechanism in intrauterine adhesion (IUA) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of estrogen on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in normal and fibrotic endometrium, and the role of estrogen and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the formation of endometrial fibrosis. CCK-8 and immunofluorescence assay were performed to access the proliferation of different concentrations of estrogen on normal human endometrial epithelial cells (hEECs). qRT-PCR and western blot assay were utilized to explore the effect of estrogen on EMT in normal and fibrotic endometrium, and main components of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in vitro. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining were used to evaluate the effect of estrogen on endometrial morphology and fibrosis in vivo. Our results indicated that the proliferation of normal hEECs was inhibited by estrogen at a concentration of 30 nM accompanied by upregulation of mesenchymal markers and downregulation of epithelial markers. Interestingly, in the model of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-induced endometrial fibrosis, the same concentration of estrogen inhibited the process of EMT, which might be partially mediated by regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In addition, relatively high doses of estrogen efficiently increased the number of endometrial glands and reduced the area of fibrosis as determined by the reduction of EMT in IUA animal models. Taken together, our results demonstrated that an appropriate concentration of estrogen may prevent the occurrence and development of IUA by inhibiting the TGF-β1-induced EMT and activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Abstract: Aged skin, featured with dryness and wrinkles, has received mounting attention due to its adverse influences on beauty. β-Sitosterol and vermicularin are two common active ingredients of Thamnolia vermicularis (Sw.) Ach., a traditional Chinese medicine, of which the anti-aging effect has been discovered. Their protective performance against skin aging was assayed by co-culturing with skin cells in this work. Results showed that β-sitosterol promoted the biosynthesis of hyaluronic acid by increasing the expression of hyaluronic acid synthases in fibroblasts and enhanced the expression of skin barrier functional proteins including aquaporin 3, loricrin, filaggrin and involucrin in keratinocytes, which conduced to the moisture retention within skin. Moreover, vermicularin might function as an anti-wrinkle agent by preventing the loss of collagen type I. Specifically, vermicularin reduced the amount of reactive oxygen species within hydrogen-peroxide-induced fibroblasts; together with suppressing the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, it could inhibit the production of matrix metalloproteinases-1. The present research will contribute to the development of the compounds as anti-aging ingredients for future applications in cosmetic formulations and functional food as well as promote further studies of raw materials containing alike compounds.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of sitagliptin compared with voglibose added to combined metformin and insulin in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2DM). METHODS: In this 12-week prospective, randomized, parallel trial, 70 newly diagnosed T2DM patients with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥9% and/or fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥11.1 mmol/L were randomized (1:1) to receive sitagliptin 100 mg per day + metformin + insulin glargine or voglibose 0.2 mg three times daily + metformin + insulin glargine. Change in HbA1c at week 12 was the primary endpoint. RESULTS: The mean baseline HbA1c was 11.0% in the patients. The changes in HbA1c from baseline were -6.00% in the sitagliptin group and -3.58% in the voglibose group, and the between-group difference was -2.42% (95% CI -1.91 to -2.93, p=0.02). The differences in FPG and homeostatic model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA-β) and the change in body weight between groups from baseline were -2.95 mmol/L (p=0.04), 43.91 (p=0.01) and -2.23 kg (p=0.01), respectively. One patient (2.9%) in the sitagliptin group and three patients (8.6%) in the voglibose group exhibited hypoglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: Sitagliptin added to combined metformin and insulin therapy showed greater efficacy and good safety regarding hypoglycemia in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM compared with voglibose.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered the best candidate in stem cells therapy due to their multipotent differentiation ability, low expression of co-stimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86, CD34 and HLA-II) and immunosuppression effects on in vivo immune responses. MSCs were now widely used in clinical trials but received no encourage results. The major problem was the fate of engrafted MSCs in vivo could not be defined. Some studies indicated that MSCs could induce immune response and result in the damage and rejection of MSCs. As toll like receptors (TLRs) are important in inducing of immune responses, in this study we study the role of TLR7 in mediating the immune status of MSCs isolated from umbilical cord. RESULTS: Our results indicated that TLR7 agonist Imiquimod could increase the proliferation of PBMC isolated from healthy human volunteers and release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in supernatant from PBMC-UCMSCs co-culture system. Flow cytometry and quantitative PCR also confirmed the regulated expression of surface co-stimulatory molecules and pro-inflammatory genes (IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, TGF-β and TNF-α). And the down-regulation expression of stem cell markers also confirmed the loss of stemness of UCMSCs. We also found that the osteo-differentiation ability of UCMSCs was enhanced in the presence of Imiquimod. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report that activation of TLR7 pathway increases the immunogenicity of UCMSCs. Extensive researches have now been conducted to study whether the change of immune status will be help in tumor rejection based on the tumor-tropism of MSCs.