Altered expression profile of long non-coding RNAs during heart aging in mice

Objective:Long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs)play an important role in regulating the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases.However,the role of lncRNAs in heart aging remains poorly understood.The objective of this study was to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs in the heart of aging mice and elucidate the relevant regulatory pathways of cardiac aging.Materials and methods:Echocardiography was used to detect the cardiac function of 18-months(aged)and 3-months(young)old C57BL/6 mice.Microarray analysis was performed to unravel the expression profiles of lncRNAs and mRNAs,and qRT-PCR to verify the highly dysregulated lncRNAs.Results:Our results demonstrated that the heart function in aged mice was impaired relative to young ones.Microarray results showed that 155 lncRNAs were upregulated and 37 were downregulated,and 170 mRNAs were significantly upregulated and 44 were remarkably downregulated in aging hearts.Gene ontology analysis indicated that differentially expressed genes are mainly related to immune function,cell proliferation,copper ion response,and cellular cation homeostasis.KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed mRNAs are related to cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction,inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels,and the NF-kappa B signaling pathway.Conclusion:These results imply that the differentially expressed lncRNAs may regulate the development of heart aging.This study provides a new perspective on the potential effects and mechanisms of lncRNAs in heart aging.

Stabilizing n-type cubic AgBiSe_(2) thermoelectric materials through alloying with PbS

Phase transition generates rapid changes of transport parameters and poor mechanical property,and thus restricts the application of thermoelectric materials.AgBiSe_(2) exhibits cubic phase at above 580 K with high-symmetry structure and low lattice thermal conductivity,indicating the potentiality of high thermoelectric performances.In this work,the cubic structure of AgBiSe_(2) was achieved at ambient conditions by alloying with PbS,enhancing the configurational entropy at both cationic and anionic sites.The cubic structure was rather stable after several measurement cycles.Nb substitution at cationic sites effectively reduced band gap,and increased both carrier concentration and effective mass.All samples exhibited relatively low lattice thermal conductivity(0.68-0.34 W/(m·K))in the temperature range of 300-773 K,due to the nanoscale inhomogeneity and the random distribution of multiple species at some atomic sites.A maximum zT of 0.65 at 773 K was obtained for(Ag_(0.99)Nb_(0.01)BiSe_(2))_(0.8)(PbS)_(0.2) sample.The entropy-driven structural stabilization is a promising strategy to achieve stable structure for practical thermoelectric applications.

Metabolic Acidosis in Critically Ill Cirrhotic Patients with Acute Kidney Injury

Background and Aims:The metabolic acid-base disorders have a high incidence of acute kidney injury(AKI)in critically ill cirrhotic patients(CICPs).The aims of our study were to ascertain the composition of metabolic acidosis of CICPs with AKI and explore its relationship with hospital mortality.Methods:Three-hundred and eighty consecutive CICPs with AKI were eligible for the cohort study.Demographic,clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded and arterial acid-base state was analyzed by the Stewart and Gilfix methodology.Results:Net metabolic acidosis,lactic acidosis,acidosis owing to unmeasured anions,acidemia,and dilutional acidosis were less frequent in the non-survival group compared to the survival group of CICPs.The presence of acidemia,acidosis owing to unmeasured anions,and lactic acidosis were independently associated with increased risk of intensive care unit 30-day mortality,with hazard ratios of 2.11(95%confidence interval(CI):1.43–3.12),3.38(95%CI:2.36–4.84),and 2.16(95%CI:1.47–3.35),respectively.After full adjustment for confounders,the relationship between acidosis owing to unmeasured anions with hospital mortality was still significant,with hazard ratio of 2.29(95%CI:1.22–4.30).Furthermore,arterial lactate concentration in combination with chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment and BEUMA had the strongest ability to differentiate 30-day mortality(area under the receiver operating characteristic curve:0.79,95%CI:0.74–0.83).

CROSS-DIFFUSION INDUCED TURING PATTERNS IN A SEX-STRUCTURED PREDATOR-PREY MODEL

In this paper, we consider a sex-structured predator prey model with strongly coupled nonlinear reaction diffusion. Using the Lyapunov functional and Leray Schauder degree theory, the existence and stability of both homogenous and heterogenous steady-states are investigated. Our results demonstrate that the unique homogenous steady-state is locally asymptotically stable for the associated ODE system and PDE system with self-diffusion. With the presence of the cross-diffusion, the homogeneous equilibrium is destabilized, and a heterogenous steady-state emerges as a consequence. In addition, the conditions guaranteeing the emergence of Turing patterns are derived.