CircRNA DICAR as a novel endogenous regulator for diabetic cardiomyopathy and diabetic pyroptosis of cardiomyocytes

In this study,we identified that a conserved circular RNA(circRNA)DICAR,which was downregulated in diabetic mouse hearts.DICAR had an inhibitory effect on diabetic cardiomyopathy(DCM),as the spontaneous cardiac dysfunction,cardiac cell hypertrophy,and cardiac fibrosis occurred in DICAR deficiency(DICAR+/−)mice,whereas the DCM was alleviated in DICARoverexpressed DICARTg mice.At the cellular level,we found that overexpression of DICAR inhibited,but knockdown of DICAR enhanced the diabetic cardiomyocyte pyroptosis.At the molecular level,we identified that DICAR-VCP-Med12 degradation could be the underlying molecular mechanism in DICAR-mediated effects.The synthesized DICAR junction part(DICAR-JP)exhibited a similar effect to the entire DICAR.In addition,the expression of DICAR in circulating blood cells and plasma from diabetic patients was lower than that from health controls,which was consistent with the decreased DICAR expression in diabetic hearts.DICAR and the synthesized DICAR-JP may be drug candidates for DCM.

Experimental study on mechanical properties of a novel micro-steel fiber reinforced magnesium phosphate cement-based concrete

Magnesium phosphate cement(MPC)received increased attention in recent years,but MPC-based concrete is rarely reported.The micro-steel fibers(MSF)were added to MPC-based concrete to enhance its ductility due to the high brittleness in tensile and flexural strength properties of MPC.This paper investigates the effect of MSF volume fraction on the mechanical properties of a new pattern of MPC-based concrete.The temperature development curve,fluidity,cubic compressive strength,modulus of elastic,axial compressive strength,and four-point flexural strength were experimentally studied with 192 specimens,and a scanning electron microscopy(SEM)test was carried out after the specimens were failed.Based on the test results,the correlations between the cubic compressive strength and curing age,the axial and cubic compressive strength of MPC-based concrete were proposed.The results showed that with the increase of MSF volume fraction,the fluidity of fresh MPC-based concrete decreased gradually.MSF had no apparent influence on the compressive strength,while it enhanced the four-point flexural strength of MPC-based concrete.The four-point flexural strength of specimens with MSF volume fraction from 0.25%to 0.75%were 12.3%,21.1%,24.6%higher than that of the specimens without MSF,respectively.