BACKGROUND: Biomechanical mechanisms are complex, and previous studiers focus on the stress conduction in the carpus. However, the stress distribution and characteristics of trabecula in the carpus are rarely reported.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the stress distribution and deformation characteristics of the normal lunate through a two-dimensional sagittal finite element model.METHODS: A normal cadaveric lunate sample was scanned with Micro-CT and the central sagittal image was chosen for further finite element analysis (FEA). The chosen image was processed and imported into the finite element analysis software (Ansys 14.0). A two-dimensional sagittal finite element model of the lunate bone was established. Axial pressure was applied to the model with the wrist held in different positions, and nine regions of interests (ROIs) were identified, for which stress and displacement nephograms were created. These included the first principal stress (S1, the maximum stress in a principal plane), the third principal stress (S3, the minimal stress in a principal plane), shear stress (SXY, the component of stress coplanar with a material cross section), von Mises stress (SEQV, yielding begins when the elastic energy of distortion reaches a critical value)and displacement of each ROI (UY, displacement on the vertical plane of the lunate) which were calculated and compared.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The stresses on ROIs located in the proximal and volar cortices of the lunate bone were much higher than those in the distal and dorsal cortices. At the proximal lunate, S1 was less than S3; however at the distal lunate, S1 was greater than S3. The ROIs of the distal and proximal ends of the lunate bone received much higher stress than the ROIs of the middle part. As for axial trabecular displacement,both distal and proximal ROIs were compressed by axial pressure. However, the dorsal and the volar parts of the proximal lunate moved in different directions at different wrist postures. Besides, the stress values and magnitudes of displacement were elevated in wrist flexion and extension compared to neutral position.Furthermore, the stress concentration zones (the proximal volar ROI, the proximal dorsal ROI, the distal volar ROI, and the distal dorsal ROI) had different directions of shear stress and displacement in different wrist postures. (2) These results suggest that when stress is loaded on a normal lunate model, four stress concentration zones, the proximal volar ROI, the proximal dorsal ROI, the distal volar ROI, and the distal dorsal ROI are found. The wrist postures can significantly affect the value and distribution of axial stress on the sagittal lunate.

Objective To establish the suspension cell line of Atractylodes lancea and to study the effect of two endophytic fungal elicitors on its essential oil production.Methods The essential oil was extracted by using ultrasonic wave after suspension cell was treated with endophytic fungal elicitors.Then,the determination of four compounds(atractylone,hinesol,?-eudesmol,and atractylodin) was carried out by gas chromatography.Results By testing in various conditions,the suspension cell line with a rapid growth rate was established.Its highest biomass(6.95 g/L) was obtained on day 21.?-Eudesmol was the only detection in the control suspension cell,and its highest content(17.469 ?g/g) was also reached on day 21.The effect of crude elicitors of two endophytic fungi(belong to Cunninghamella sp.and Gilmaniella sp.respectively,named AL4 and AL12) on the cell growth and the production of essentia1 oil were investigated.Overall AL4 elicitor got better effect.When suspension cell of 14-day-old cultures was exposed to AL4 elicitor(carbohydrate 20 mg/L medium) for 7 d,the biomass increased 3.31% over the control,and the four compounds(atractylone: 14.715 ?g/g,hinesol: 28.395 ?g/g,?-eudesmol: 38.794 ?g/g,and atractylodin: 8.310 ?g/g) were all detected.Among them,the content of ?-eudesmol reached 2.22 times as much as the control.Conclusion The cell growth and the accumulation of essential oil of A.lancea could also be promoted by adding crude elicitors of the endophytic fungi AL4 and AL12.

Significantly increasing crop yield is a major and worldwide challenge for food supply and security. It is well-known that rice cultivated at Taoyuan in Yunnan of China can produce the highest yield worldwide. Yet, the gene regulatory mechanism underpinning this ultrahigh yield has been a mystery. Here, we systematically collected the transcriptome data for seven key tissues at different developmental stages using rice cultivated both at Taoyuan as the case group and at another regular rice planting place Jinghong as the control group. We identified the top 24 candi-date high-yield genes with their network modules from these well-designed datasets by developing a novel computational systems biology method, i.e., dynamic cross-tissue (DCT) network analysis. We used one of the candidate genes, OsSPL4, whose function was previously unknown, for gene editing experimental validation of the high yield, and confirmed that OsSPL4 significantly affects panicle branching and increases the rice yield. This study, which included extensive field phenotyping, cross-tissue systems biology analyses, and functional validation, uncovered the key genes and gene regulatory networks underpinning the ultrahigh yield of rice. The DCT method could be applied to other plant or animal systems if different phenotypes under various environments with the common genome sequences of the examined sample. DCT can be downloaded from https://github.com/zt-pub/DCT.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on the functional status of Kupffer cells (KCs) and immune environment after liver transplantation and explore the possible mechanisms. METHODS: KCs were isolated from rats and assessed for phagocytic activity and viability using ink and Trypan blue staining. The cells were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alone or in combination with PNS treatment at 0, 10 or 20 μmol/L. The expressions of the inflammatory factors and the oxidative stress products in the cells and the supernatant were assayed with Western blotting and ELISA; the expression of CD206 was detected using immunofluorescence assay, and the expressions of NF-κB and Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway proteins were detected using Western blotting. We established an orthotopic liver transplantation (LT) model in rats and assessed the effect of 200 mg/kg PNS on the graft function, inflammatory factors, pathology of the liver tissue, hepatocyte apoptosis and survival time of the rats in comparison with those in rats receiving a sham operation or PBS treatment following LT. RESULTS: Treatment with PNS significantly lowered the levels of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress products and increased the levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and SOD in a concentration-dependent manner in the KCs ( < 0.05). Immunofluorescence assay showed that PNS treatment obviously increased the expression of CD206 in the KCs. PNS treatment also significantly reduced the expressions of IRAK4, p-IKK, p-IκB, p-p65 and Keap1 proteins and increased the expression levels of Nrf2 and ARE proteins in the KCs ( < 0.05). In the rat models of LT, PNS treatment significantly improved the liver graft function, lowered the expression of the pro-inflammatory factors, and reduced hepatocyte apoptosis as compared with PBS treatment. PNS treatment obviously alleviated pathological changes in the liver graft and significantly prolonged the survival time of the rats following LT ( < 0.05). In addition, injection of GdCl to block KC function resulted in severe acute graft rejection in the rats regardless of PNS treatment ( > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS PNS can reduce inflammatory response and oxidative stress in activated KCs by inhibiting NF-κB and Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathways and promote the polarization of KCs into M2 phenotype to prolong the survival time of rats after LT.
Animals ; Graft Rejection ; Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1 ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; Panax notoginseng ; Rats ; Saponins

Background::Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the main types of malignant tumor of the digestive system, and patient prognosis is affected by difficulties in early diagnosis, poor treatment response, and a high postoperative recurrence rate. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) has been widely used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and postoperative follow-up of PDAC patients. Nevertheless, the production mechanism and potential role of CA19-9 in PDAC progression have not yet been elucidated.Methods::We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on six samples pathologically diagnosed as PDAC (three CA19-9-positive and three CA19-9-negative PDAC samples) and two paracarcinoma samples. We also downloaded and integrated PDAC samples (each from three CA19-9-positive and CA19-9-negative patients) from an online database. The dynamics of the proportion and potential function of each cell type were verified through immunofluorescence. Moreover, we built an in vitro coculture cellular model to confirm the potential function of CA19-9. Results::Three subtypes of cancer cells with a high ability to produce CA19-9 were identified by the markers TOP2A, AQP5, and MUC5AC. CA19-9 production bypass was discovered on antigen-presenting cancer-associated fibroblasts (apCAFs). Importantly, the proportion of immature ficolin-1 positive (FCN1+) macrophages was high in the CA19-9-negative group, and the proportion of mature M2-like macrophages was high in the CA19-9-positive group. High proportions of these two macrophage subtypes were associated with an unfavourable clinical prognosis. Further experiments indicated that CA19-9 could facilitate the transformation of M0 macrophages into M2 macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. Conclusions::Our study described CA19-9 production at single-cell resolution and the dynamics of the immune atlas in CA19-9-positive and CA19-9-negative PDAC. CA19-9 could promote M2 polarization of macrophage in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment.