Mechanosignaling activation of TGFβmaintains intervertebral disc homeostasis

Intervertebral disc （IVD） degeneration is the leading cause of disability with no disease-modifying treatment. IVD degeneration is associated with instable mechanical loading in the spine, but little is known about how mechanical stress regulates nucleus notochordal （NC） cells to maintain IVD homeostasis. Here we report that mechanical stress can result in excessive integrin αvβ6-mediated activation of transforming growth factor beta （TGFβ）, decreased NC cell vacuoles, and increased matrix proteoglycan production, and results in degenerative disc disease （DDD）. Knockout of TGFβ type II receptor （TβRII） or integrin αv in the NC cells inhibited functional activity of postnatal NC cells and also resulted in DDD under mechanical loading. Administration of RGD peptide, TGFβ, and αvβ6-neutralizing antibodies attenuated IVD degeneration. Thus, integrin-mediated activation of TGFβ plays a critical role in mechanical signaling transduction to regulate IVD cell function and homeostasis. Manipulation of this signaling pathway may be a potential therapeutic target to modify DDD.

Posterior quadrantic disconnection maintains the activity of isolated temporal-parietal-occipital nerve tissue: neuroprotective measures in the surgical treatment of epilepsy

Extensive lesions involving the posterior quadrant of the cerebral hemisphere （temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes） induce intractable epilepsy. These patients are potential candidates for surgical treatmenttu. Maintenance of isolated nerve tissue activity after surgery plays a crucial role in the neuroprotective effects of neurosurgery treatment. Disconnection surgery of the posterior quadrant is used to completely isolate nerve fibers, while blood supply at the isolated lobes is maintained. Subsequently, cavities caused by cystic or necrotic nerve tissues should be reduced as much as possible,

NUMB maintains bone mass by promoting degradation of PTEN and GLI1 via ubiquitination in osteoblasts

The adaptor protein NUMB is involved in asymmetric division and cell fate determination and recognized as an antagonist of Notch.Previous studies have proved that Notch activation in osteoblasts contributes to a high bone mass. In this study, however, an osteopenic phenotype was found in 9-week-old mice using osteoblastic specific Col1a1–2.3-Cre to ablate both Numb and its homologue Numbl. The trabecular bone mass decreased dramatically while the cortical bone mass was unaffected. Here, the Notch signal was not activated,while the tensin homologue deleted on human chromosome 10(PTEN), which dephosphorylates phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases, was elevated, attenuating protein kinase B(Akt). The ubiquitination assay revealed that NUMB may physiologically promote PTEN ubiquitination in the presence of neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally downregulated protein 4–1. In addition, the deficiency of Numb/Numbl also activated the Hedgehog pathway through GLI1. This process was found to improve the ratio of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-k B ligand to osteoprotegerin, which enhanced the differentiation of osteoclasts and bone resorption. In conclusion, this study provides an insight into new functons of NUMB and NUMBL on bone homeostasis.

IEA:China maintains its position as the largest energy investment market

On August 2,the IEA,s World Energy Investment 2018 was issued in Beijing.Global energy investments totalled USD1.8 trillion in 2017,the third consecutive year of decline,and were 2% lower than those in 2016 after taking out the price factor.The declines in investment in the power generation sector were most significant,with declines in coal power,hydropower and nuclear power outpacing the increases in investment in photovoltaic power generation.

Stem cell microencapsulation maintains stemness in inflammatory microenvironment

Maintaining the stemness of the transplanted stem cell spheroids in an inflammatory microenvironment is challenging but important in regenerative medicine. Direct delivery of stem cells to repair periodontal defects may yield suboptimal effects due to the complexity of the periodontal inflammatory environment. Herein, stem cell spheroid is encapsulated by interfacial assembly of metal-phenolic network(MPN) nanofilm to form a stem cell microsphere capsule. Specifically, periodontal ligament stem cells(PDLSCs) spheroid was coated with FeⅢ/tannic acid coordination network to obtain spheroid@[FeⅢ-TA] microcapsules. The formed biodegradable MPN biointerface acted as a cytoprotective barrier and exhibited antioxidative, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, effectively remodeling the inflammatory microenvironment and maintaining the stemness of PDLSCs. The stem cell microencapsulation proposed in this study can be applied to multiple stem cells with various functional metal ion/polyphenol coordination, providing a simple yet efficient delivery strategy for stem cell stemness maintenance in an inflammatory environment toward a better therapeutic outcome.

AUREA maintains the balance between chlorophyll synthesis and adventitious root formation in tomato

Flooding tolerance is an important trait for tomato breeding.In this study,we obtained a recessive mutant exhibiting highly enhanced submergence resistance.Phenotypical analyses showed that this resistant to flooding(rf)mutant displays slightly chlorotic leaves and spontaneous initiation of adventitious roots(ARs)on stems.The mutation was mapped to the phytochromobilin synthase gene AUREA(AU),in which a single amino acid substitution from asparagine to tyrosine occurred.In addition to the classic function of AU in phytochrome and chlorophyll biogenesis in leaves,we uncovered its novel role in mediating AR formation on stems.We further observed temporal coincidence of the two phenotypes in the rf mutant:chlorosis and spontaneous AR formation and revealed that AU functions by maintaining heme homeostasis.Interestingly,our grafting results suggest that heme might play roles in AR initiation via long-distance transport from leaves to stems.Our results present genetic evidence for the involvement of the AU–heme oxygenase-1–heme pathway in AR initiation in tomato.As fruit production and yield in the rf mutant are minimally impacted,the mutation identified in this study may provide a target for biotechnological renovation of tomato germplasm in future breeding.

Healthcare Informatization Maintains High-Speed Development

"IDC predicts that in 2014,the healthcare informatization will continue to maintain high-speed development,mobile health and clinic data center will become the two hot spots of informatization construction of hospitals,and the clinic decision-supporting system will be applied on trial.The policy of multi-sited license of physicians will enable the RHIS(Regional Healthcare Informatization System)to start another construction upsurge,and

ENHANCING BUSINESS RELATIONS BETWEEN GBA AND ASEAN The Greater Bay Area maintains intensive economic relations with ASEAN,especially Indonesia

From December 2 to 4,2022,Guangzhou hosted the 19th International Finance Forum(IFF)annual meeting,themed“The Ever-Changing World:Reshaping Our Shared Future.”The event was attended by leaders of world organizations including the United Nations,the International Monetary Fund,and the World Bank.

BrDDB1A maintains regular growth of Chinese cabbage via UV tolerance

Normal plant growth and development ensures the timely maturity and expected yield of crops.The repair mechanism of genome damage under adverse circumstances is essential for maintaining regular plant growth.Herein,two allelic growth retardation mutants of Chinese cabbage,grm1 and grm2,were obtained from EMS-mutagenized populations of wild-type'FT'isolated-cultured microspores and seeds,respectively.Both mutants stably inherited and exhibited stunted growth with smaller leafy-heads.Genetic analysis and allelism test manifested that the mutated trait was triggered by a same single recessive nuclear gene.Via BSR-Seq,Brgrm1 was mapped to a target region including 20 genes on chromosome A09.Whole-genome re-sequencing revealed that BraA09g024830.3C in grm1 had a single base(A)deletion in the 17th exon,leading to a termination codon(TAG).Genotyping showed that the mutated phenotype co-segregated with the InDel in recombinants of the closest linkage markers.In addition,cloning of BraA09g024830.3C in grm2 found that a base substitution(G-A)occurred in the last base of the 1st intron causing an additional 263-bp retention in coding sequences,which in turn led to a termination codon(TAA).BraA09g024830.3C(BrDDB1A)is a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana Damaged DNA Binding Protein 1A(DDB1A),a key gene of UV tolerance involved in DNA damage repair.The two mutants exhibited normal plant growth identical with wild-type under an extremely low UV radiation.Our results demonstrated that BrDDB1A contributes to maintaining regular plant growth in Chinese cabbage,which provide insights into elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying Chinese cabbage growth and development.

Calcium-sensitive protein MLC1 as a possible modulator of the astrocyte functional state

Astrocytes,the main population of glial cells in the central nervous system(CNS),exert essential tasks for the control of brain tissue homeostasis,supporting neuron and other glial cell activity from the developmental stage to adult life.To maintain the optimal functionality of the brain,astroglial cells are particularly committed to reacting to every change in tissue homeostatic conditions,from mild modifications of the physiological environment,a process called astrocyte activation,to the more severe alterations occurring in pathological situations causing astrocyte reactivity or reactive astrogliosis(Escartin et al.,2021).During these reactive states,astrocytes mount an active,progressive response encompassing morphological,molecular,and interactional remodeling,leading to the acquisition of new functions and the loss of others,whose intensity,duration,and reversibility are dependent on the nature of the stimulus and regulated in a context-specific manner.

Apolipoprotein E elicits targetdirected miRNA degradation to maintain neuronal integrity

Apolipoprotein E has diverse functions in neurons:Apolipoprotein E(ApoE)is a glycoprotein that primarily regulates lipid metabolism and transport in the central nervous system.There are three predominant human ApoE protein isoforms with cysteine and arginine substitutions at amino acid positions 112 and 158 that impact their lipidation and related functions(Flowers and Rebeck,2020).ApoE2 is characterized by Cys112 and Cys158,ApoE3 by Cys112 and Arg158,whereas ApoE4 contains Arg112 and Arg158.

China Maintains Stable Trade Growth Despite External Headwinds

China’s foreign trade registered steady growthinthefirstfivemonthsof theyeardespitegrowingexternal uncertainties.Thecountry’sforeigntradeofgoods rose 4.1 percent year on year during that time to 12.1 trillion yuan ($1.75 trillion), data from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) showed on June 10.

Economy Maintains Good Health

China’s national economy has maintained rapid even growth in the first half of 2007, according to Xie Fuzhan, Commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics. He was referring to major economic indicators of the January-June period that reveal that

Mars Probe Maintains Deafening Silence

随着1999年12月6日最后一次同Mars Polar Lander(火星极地着陆者)联系的失败,美国宇航局科学家寻找Mars Polar Lander下落的努力宣告失败。这是美国字航局在不到3个月的时间里损失的第二个火星探测器。今年1月从美国卡纳维拉尔角发射升空的Mars Polar Lander,经过11个月的飞行按计划应于12月3日在火星着陆,并在90天的时间里对火星的气候变迁、地质状况、水和冰以及大气构成进行考察,并获取土壤样品携带回地球,为人类最终飞往火星打下基础。已在火星轨道上运行的“火星环球勘探者”一直在寻找Mars Polar Lander和两个Deep Space 2 microprobes(探空二号微型探测器),但也都毫无收获,无法向地面发回有关它们下落的信息。这说明美国宇航局已失去了耗资1.65亿美元的Mars Polar Lander和将近3000万美元的Deep Space 2 microprobes。1999年9月23日,美国宇航局的另一个火星探测器在进入火星大气层时被烧毁。这次失败必将影响到美国宇航局2001年对火星的考察计划。这一计划已进入研制和测试的最后阶段,按原计划美国宇航局将于2001年3月从加州的范登堡空军基地发射一个火星轨道器,4月从卡纳维拉尔角发射一个火星着陆器,对火星进行全面的探测。人类登上火星的道路是漫长的。

Nation’s Economy Maintains Steady and Rapid Growth in the First Three Quarters

In the first three quarters, the nation’s economy saw a good momentum of steady and rapid growth.1. The nation’s economy registered steady and rapid growth. Preliminary estimates show that, the gross domestic product(GDP) totaled 10627.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year rise of 9.4 per cent, or 0.1 percentage point decline from the growth ofa year earlier. Of this total, the primary industry registered a value-added of 1351 billion yuan, up 5.0 per cent. The value-added of secondary industry totaled 6044 billion yuan, up 11.1 per cent, and that of the tertiary industry rose 8.1 per centto 3232.5 billion yuan.

The innate immune receptor NLRP12 maintains intestinal homeostasis by regulating microbiome diversity

Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is on the rise in the western world.1 The dynamic interplay between genetic susceptibility,the gut microbiome and host inflammatory reactions underlying IBD are still unclear.Shedding light onto these complex interactions in IBD,Chen et al.2 identified a key role for the negative immune regulator NLRP12 in shaping the composition of the gut microbiome and maintaining intestinal homeostasis.This finding,published in the most recent issue of Nature Immunology,2 can advance the development of much needed microbiome-based therapies for IBD patients.

Atrial Septal Defect(ASD)associated long non-coding RNA STX18-AS1 maintains time-course of in vitro cardiomyocyte differentiation

Congenital heart disease(CHD)is the commonest birth defect,affecting approximately 9.4/1000 live births.^(1)Atrial Septal Defect(ASD)is one of the commonest CHD clinical phenotypes,which frequently requires treatment either in childhood or adulthood,and can lead to severe complications such as right heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia.Previous genome-wide association studies(GWAS)have identified a region of chromosome 4p16(Ch4p16)associated with the risk of ASD.

Omicron:Master of immune evasion maintains robust ACE2 binding

The spike(S)protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is highly mutated but the impact of these mutations on viral entry into cells and its inhibition by antibodies has been unclear.A recent study published in Science by Mannar et al.now shows that these mutations are compatible with robust ACE2 binding and allow for efficient evasion of neutralizing antibodies.The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has become a hallmark of the COVID-19 pandemic.Variants of concern(VOC)harbor mutations in the viral S protein that can increase transmissibility,potentially by promoting S protein binding to the cellular receptor ACE2.