Elaidic acid(EA)stimulation can lead to endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS),accompanied by a large release of Ca^(2+),and ultimately the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in Kupffer cells(KCs).Mitochondrial instability o...Elaidic acid(EA)stimulation can lead to endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS),accompanied by a large release of Ca^(2+),and ultimately the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in Kupffer cells(KCs).Mitochondrial instability or dysfunction may be the key stimulating factors to activate NLRP3 inflammasome,and sustained Ca^(2+)transfer can result in mitochondrial dysfunction.We focused on KCs to explore the damage to mitochondria by EA.After EA stimulation,cells produced an oxidative stress(OS)response with a significant increase in ROS release.Immunoprecipitation experiments and the addition of inhibitors revealed that the increase in the level of intracellular Ca^(2+)led to Ca^(2+)accumulation in the mitochondrial matrix via mitochondria-associated membranes(MAMs).This was accompanied by a significant release of m ROS,loss of MMP and ATP,and a significant increase in mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening,ultimately leading to mitochondrial instability.These findings confirmed the mechanism that EA induced mitochondrial Ca^(2+)imbalance in KCs via MAM,ultimately leading to mitochondrial dysfunction.Meanwhile,EA induced OS and the decrease of MMP and ATP in rat liver,and significant lesions were found in liver mitochondria.Swelling of the inner mitochondrial cristae and mitochondrial vacuolization occurred,with a marked increase in lipid droplets.展开更多
Underground space utilization is becoming increasingly essential for modern metropolitan cities such as Singapore.Mapping a soil/rock interface using traditional borehole investigation methods is expensive and difficu...Underground space utilization is becoming increasingly essential for modern metropolitan cities such as Singapore.Mapping a soil/rock interface using traditional borehole investigation methods is expensive and difficult,owing to the numerous physical constraints within a built-up city.Boreholes are often far apart,resulting in many unforeseen ground conditions during subsequent excavation.Geophysical methods are sometimes employed as possible alternatives for fast,economical,and efficient bedrock surveys.The goal of this study is to investigate the practical details of applying microtremor array measurement(MAM)as a non-invasive surface wave survey for mapping soil/rock interfaces in Singapore.Critical configurations in field data acquisition are examined,and practical recommendations for array construction are provided.In addition,30 in situ MAM tests are carried out for two major geological formations in Singapore.From the results,a standard shear wave velocity(V_(s))of 500 m/s is found to be suitable for interpreting the soil/rock interface,for the Bukit Timah Granite and Jurong formations.However,the method does not predict well when soft Kallang formation deposits are present.Other limitations are also discussed in the later parts of this paper.Conclusions and practical recommendations are discussed,providing constructive guidance to the industry.The proposed Vs-based method and associated guidelines and limitations can be used to create a digital geological database and are especially useful for rock profiling in an urban environment.展开更多
Climate change and variability, has embarked societies in Zanzibar to rely on horticulture (i.e. watermelon production) as an adaptive measure due to an unpromising situation of commonly used agricultural yields. Curr...Climate change and variability, has embarked societies in Zanzibar to rely on horticulture (i.e. watermelon production) as an adaptive measure due to an unpromising situation of commonly used agricultural yields. Currently, there is either no or scant information that describes the influence of climate changes and variability to watermelon production in Zanzibar. Thus, this study aimed to determine the influence of climate variability on the quantity of watermelon production in Zanzibar. The study used both primary and secondary datasets, which include the anecdotal information collected from interviewers’ responses from four districts of Unguja and Pemba, and climate parameters (rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature (Tmax and Tmin) acquired from Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) at Zanzibar offices. Pearson correlation was used for analyzing the association between watermelon production and climate parameters, while paired t-test was applied to show the significance of the mean differences of watermelon and climate parameters for two periods of 2014-2017 and 2018-2021, respectively. Percentage changes were used to feature the extent to which the two investigated parameters affect each other. The anecdotal responses were sorted, calculated in monthly and seasonal averages, plotted and then analyzed. Results have shown a strong correlation (r = 0.8 at p ≤ 0.02, and r = 0.7) between watermelon production, Tmax and rainfall during OND, especially in Unguja, as well as Tmin during JJA (i.e. r = - 0.8 at p ≤ 0.02) in Pemba. Besides, results have shown the existence of significant differences between the means of watermelon production and climate parameter for the two stated periods, indicating that the climate parameters highly affects the watermelon production by either enhancing or declining the yields by 69% - 162% and 17% - 77%, respectively. Moreover, results have shown that respondents were aware that excess temperature intensity during dry periods can lead to high production costs due number of soil and other environmental factors. Besides the results have shown that OND seasonal rainfall and MAM Tmax had good association with watermelon production in Unguja while JJA Tmin declined the production in Pemba. Thus, the study concludes that seasonal variability of climate parameter has a significant influence on the watermelon production. The study calls for more studies on factors affecting watermelon production (e.g. soil characteristics, pest sides and manure), and recommends for climate based decision making on rain fed agricultural yields and routine monitoring of weather information.展开更多
Allopolyploid Brassica juncea is particularly enriched in sinigrin,a kind of 3C aliphatic glucosinolates(GSLs),giving rise to characteristic taste after picking.However,the molecular mechanism underlying 3C aliphatic ...Allopolyploid Brassica juncea is particularly enriched in sinigrin,a kind of 3C aliphatic glucosinolates(GSLs),giving rise to characteristic taste after picking.However,the molecular mechanism underlying 3C aliphatic GSLs biosynthesis in this species remains unknown.In this study,we genome-widely identified GSLs metabolic genes,indicating different evolutionary rate of GSLs metabolic genes between subgenomes of B.juncea.Eight methythioalkylmalate synthase(MAMs)homologs were identified from B.juncea,in which six MAM1s were located in chloroplast and the other two were not detected with any expression.Furthermore,BjMAM1-4,BjMAM1-5,and BjMAM1-6 displayed higher expression levels in leaves than other tissues.Silenced expression analysis revealed that BjMAM1-4 and BjMAM1-6 function in 3C and 4C aliphatic GSLs accumulation.The specificity of the substrate selection for the second cycle reaction is much lower than that of the first cycle,suggesting these genes may preferentially catalyze 3C aliphatic GSLs biosynthesis.Our study provides insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the accumulation of 3C aliphatic GSLs,thereby facilitating the manipulation of aliphatic GSLs content in B.juncea.展开更多
基金supported by fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32172322)。
文摘Elaidic acid(EA)stimulation can lead to endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS),accompanied by a large release of Ca^(2+),and ultimately the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in Kupffer cells(KCs).Mitochondrial instability or dysfunction may be the key stimulating factors to activate NLRP3 inflammasome,and sustained Ca^(2+)transfer can result in mitochondrial dysfunction.We focused on KCs to explore the damage to mitochondria by EA.After EA stimulation,cells produced an oxidative stress(OS)response with a significant increase in ROS release.Immunoprecipitation experiments and the addition of inhibitors revealed that the increase in the level of intracellular Ca^(2+)led to Ca^(2+)accumulation in the mitochondrial matrix via mitochondria-associated membranes(MAMs).This was accompanied by a significant release of m ROS,loss of MMP and ATP,and a significant increase in mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening,ultimately leading to mitochondrial instability.These findings confirmed the mechanism that EA induced mitochondrial Ca^(2+)imbalance in KCs via MAM,ultimately leading to mitochondrial dysfunction.Meanwhile,EA induced OS and the decrease of MMP and ATP in rat liver,and significant lesions were found in liver mitochondria.Swelling of the inner mitochondrial cristae and mitochondrial vacuolization occurred,with a marked increase in lipid droplets.
基金Land Transport Authority Singapore to fund this research project,using the land transportation innovation fund project:non-invasive geophysical study for bedrock evaluation(Award Number:R-302-000-164-490).
文摘Underground space utilization is becoming increasingly essential for modern metropolitan cities such as Singapore.Mapping a soil/rock interface using traditional borehole investigation methods is expensive and difficult,owing to the numerous physical constraints within a built-up city.Boreholes are often far apart,resulting in many unforeseen ground conditions during subsequent excavation.Geophysical methods are sometimes employed as possible alternatives for fast,economical,and efficient bedrock surveys.The goal of this study is to investigate the practical details of applying microtremor array measurement(MAM)as a non-invasive surface wave survey for mapping soil/rock interfaces in Singapore.Critical configurations in field data acquisition are examined,and practical recommendations for array construction are provided.In addition,30 in situ MAM tests are carried out for two major geological formations in Singapore.From the results,a standard shear wave velocity(V_(s))of 500 m/s is found to be suitable for interpreting the soil/rock interface,for the Bukit Timah Granite and Jurong formations.However,the method does not predict well when soft Kallang formation deposits are present.Other limitations are also discussed in the later parts of this paper.Conclusions and practical recommendations are discussed,providing constructive guidance to the industry.The proposed Vs-based method and associated guidelines and limitations can be used to create a digital geological database and are especially useful for rock profiling in an urban environment.
文摘Climate change and variability, has embarked societies in Zanzibar to rely on horticulture (i.e. watermelon production) as an adaptive measure due to an unpromising situation of commonly used agricultural yields. Currently, there is either no or scant information that describes the influence of climate changes and variability to watermelon production in Zanzibar. Thus, this study aimed to determine the influence of climate variability on the quantity of watermelon production in Zanzibar. The study used both primary and secondary datasets, which include the anecdotal information collected from interviewers’ responses from four districts of Unguja and Pemba, and climate parameters (rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature (Tmax and Tmin) acquired from Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) at Zanzibar offices. Pearson correlation was used for analyzing the association between watermelon production and climate parameters, while paired t-test was applied to show the significance of the mean differences of watermelon and climate parameters for two periods of 2014-2017 and 2018-2021, respectively. Percentage changes were used to feature the extent to which the two investigated parameters affect each other. The anecdotal responses were sorted, calculated in monthly and seasonal averages, plotted and then analyzed. Results have shown a strong correlation (r = 0.8 at p ≤ 0.02, and r = 0.7) between watermelon production, Tmax and rainfall during OND, especially in Unguja, as well as Tmin during JJA (i.e. r = - 0.8 at p ≤ 0.02) in Pemba. Besides, results have shown the existence of significant differences between the means of watermelon production and climate parameter for the two stated periods, indicating that the climate parameters highly affects the watermelon production by either enhancing or declining the yields by 69% - 162% and 17% - 77%, respectively. Moreover, results have shown that respondents were aware that excess temperature intensity during dry periods can lead to high production costs due number of soil and other environmental factors. Besides the results have shown that OND seasonal rainfall and MAM Tmax had good association with watermelon production in Unguja while JJA Tmin declined the production in Pemba. Thus, the study concludes that seasonal variability of climate parameter has a significant influence on the watermelon production. The study calls for more studies on factors affecting watermelon production (e.g. soil characteristics, pest sides and manure), and recommends for climate based decision making on rain fed agricultural yields and routine monitoring of weather information.
基金The authors thank Prof.Q.Wang for GSLs analysis.This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province(Grant no.LZ20C150002)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant no.31872095).
文摘Allopolyploid Brassica juncea is particularly enriched in sinigrin,a kind of 3C aliphatic glucosinolates(GSLs),giving rise to characteristic taste after picking.However,the molecular mechanism underlying 3C aliphatic GSLs biosynthesis in this species remains unknown.In this study,we genome-widely identified GSLs metabolic genes,indicating different evolutionary rate of GSLs metabolic genes between subgenomes of B.juncea.Eight methythioalkylmalate synthase(MAMs)homologs were identified from B.juncea,in which six MAM1s were located in chloroplast and the other two were not detected with any expression.Furthermore,BjMAM1-4,BjMAM1-5,and BjMAM1-6 displayed higher expression levels in leaves than other tissues.Silenced expression analysis revealed that BjMAM1-4 and BjMAM1-6 function in 3C and 4C aliphatic GSLs accumulation.The specificity of the substrate selection for the second cycle reaction is much lower than that of the first cycle,suggesting these genes may preferentially catalyze 3C aliphatic GSLs biosynthesis.Our study provides insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the accumulation of 3C aliphatic GSLs,thereby facilitating the manipulation of aliphatic GSLs content in B.juncea.
