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Background Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness, is a retinal neurodegenerative disease, which results from progressive apoptotic death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Although the mechanisms underlying RGC apoptosis in glaucoma are extremely complicated, an abnormal cross-talk between retinal glial cells and RGCs is generally thought to be involved. However, how interaction of Müller cells and microglia, two types of glial cells, contributes to RGC injury is largely unknown. Methods A mouse chronic ocular hypertension (COH) experimental glaucoma model was produced. Western blotting, immunofluorescence, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR), transwell co-culture of glial cells, flow cytometry assay, ELISA, Ca 2+ image, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) techniques were employed to investigate the interaction of Müller cells and microglia, and its underlying mechanisms in COH retina. Results We first showed that Müller cell activation in mice with COH induced microglia activation through the ATP/P2X7 receptor pathway. The activation of microglia resulted in a significant increase in mRNA and protein levels of pro-inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. These inflammatory factors in turn caused the up-regulation of mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory factors in Müller cells through a positive feedback manner. Conclusions These findings provide robust evidence, for the first time, that retinal inflammatory response may be aggravated by an interplay between activated two types of glial cells. These results also suggest that to reduce the interplay between Müller cells and microglia could be a potential effective strategy for preventing the loss of RGCs in glaucoma.

It has been reported that adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) accelerate wound healing. Moreover, exosomes, which serve as paracrine factors, play a vital role in wound healing. However, the mechanism remains unclear. This research aimed to determine the roles of exosomes derived from ADSCs (ADSC-Exos) in wound skin tissue repair. Flow cytometry and electron microscopy were carried out to identify ADSCs and ADSC-Exos, respectively; RT-qPCR was performed to assess the lncRNA H19 (H19), microRNA19b (miR-19b) and SRY-related high-mobility-group box 9 (SOX9) levels; Western blotting was carried out to evaluate collagen and β-catenin expression; CCK-8, scratch and transwell assays were conducted to evaluate human skin fibroblast (HSF) cell proliferation, migration and invasion, respectively; the potential binding sites between H19 and miR-19b, miR-19b and SOX9 were detected by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and RIP assay; and H&E staining was conducted to observe skin wound tissues. ADSC-Exos accelerated the proliferation, migration and invasion of HSF cells via H19. H19 acts as a molecular sponge towards miR-19b, which targets SOX9. ADSC-Exos inhibited miR-19b expression via H19, resulting in accelerated HSF proliferation, migration and invasion. ADSC-Exos upregulated SOX9 to activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, resulting in accelerated HSF cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and ADSC-Exos promoted skin wound healing via H19 in mice. The high expression of H19 in ADSC-Exos may upregulate SOX9 expression via miR-19b to accelerate wound healing of skin tissues. Our study may provide novel perspectives for therapy to accelerate skin wound healing. This study reveals that the long non-coding RNA H19 is highly expressed in exosomes derived from adipose mesenchymal stem cells and accelerates the proliferation, migration and invasion of human skin fibroblasts by upregulation of SOX9 and activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway The authors show that H19 affects SOX9 expression via the microRNA miR-19b to promote wound healing in injured skin.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK or PCK) catalyzes the first rate-limiting step in hepatic gluconeogenesis pathway to maintain blood glucose levels. Mammalian cells express two PCK genes, encoding for a cytoplasmic (PCPEK-C or PCK1) and a mitochondrial (PEPCK-M or PCK2) isoforms, respectively. Increased expressions of both PCK genes are found in cancer of several organs, including colon, lung, and skin, and linked to increased anabolic metabolism and cell proliferation. Here, we report that the expressions of both PCK1 and PCK2 genes are downregulated in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and low PCK expression was associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Forced expression of either PCK1 or PCK2 in liver cancer cell lines results in severe apoptosis under the condition of glucose deprivation and suppressed liver tumorigenesis in mice. Mechanistically, we show that the pro-apoptotic effect of PCK1 requires its catalytic activity. We demonstrate that forced PCK1 expression in glucose-starved liver cancer cells induced TCA cataplerosis, leading to energy crisis and oxidative stress. Replenishing TCA intermediate α-ketoglutarate or inhibition of reactive oxygen species production blocked the cell death caused by PCK expression. Taken together, our data reveal that PCK1 is detrimental to malignant hepatocytes and suggest activating PCK1 expression as a potential treatment strategy for patients with HCC.

Virtual reality (VR) technology has made remarkable progress in recent years and will be widely used in the future. As a bridge for information exchanges between users and VR systems, the interaction interface is pivotal for providing users with a good experience and has emerged as a key research focus. In this review, we conducted a comprehensive search of the Web of Science and CNKI databases from 2011 to 2023 to identify articles dedicated to VR interaction interface design. Through a meticulous analysis of 438 articles, this paper offers a substantial contribution to the emerging field of VR interactive interface research, providing an in-depth review of the principal research advancements. This review revealed that the majority of studies are centered on practical case analyses within specific application scenarios, employing empirical evaluation methods to assess objective or subjective metrics. We then concentrated on elucidating the foundational principles of interface design and their evaluation methodologies, providing a reference for future research endeavors. Additionally, the limitations, challenges, and future directions in VR interaction interface design research were discussed, highlighting the need for further research in design evaluation to continuously refine the development of standards and guidelines for VR interactive interface design. According to the findings of this review, there is a necessity to enhance research on information design for multi-channel interactive interfaces. Furthermore, it is essential to focus on the diverse characteristics of users to propose more inclusive design solutions. Adopting interdisciplinary approaches could lead to breakthroughs in the creation of personalized and adaptive VR interaction interfaces.

Electrochromic glass has been widely employed in buildings, due to its favorable thermal performance, optical properties and adjustability, and more attention was paid to its final states of bleached and tinted on the building thermal performance. However, because of the contradiction between visual and thermal environment, there must be their suitable balance, which the certain state between bleached and tinted, not the final states. To find this certain state and thereby, improve the application efficacy of electrochromic glass, a detail and transient spectral analysis must be done during the whole coloring and fading processes. Under this condition, an optical experiment platform was designed to test the transmittance, reflectance and absorbance of the electrochromic glass under the wavelength from 380 nm to 2500 nm.The experimental results showed the visible light regulation of electrochromic glass is mainly focused on the warm light spectrum between 500 nm and 700 nm. In the near-infrared region, the regulation of electrochromic glass to light is mainly concentrated in the 780–1400 nm range, with relatively minimal adjustment observed for other wavelengths of light. For electrochromic glass, the regulation range of global transmittance, reflectivity and absorptivity are 0.3–45.4%, 3.6–5.8% and 49.5–95.3% under the visual lights from 380 nm to 780 nm, while they are 2.6–31.9%, 3.46–5.18% and 63.2–93.3% under the near infrared lights from 780 nm to 2500 nm. The transmittance of electrochromic glass is primarily altered through the adjustment of the absorbance. This test provides the corresponding curves of the optical properties of electrochromic glass in the visible and near-infrared range, as well as the fitted curves of transmittance, reflectivity and absorptivity in the near-infrared range of the optical properties with the change of visible light. The curves are not related to the direction of discoloration, but only to the state of the glass. This article provides data that may be used to support the search for the light-heat balance of electrochromic glass in architectural applications.

During the hot summer months, the significant temperature disparity between outdoor and indoor air-conditioned spaces can lead to thermal discomfort and pose a potential health risk. Transition areas such as corridors and elevator lobbies, serving as intermediary zones connecting indoors and outdoors, have been found effective in mitigating this thermal discomfort. In this study, three different temperatures (25 °C-case 1, 27 °C-case 2, and 29 °C-case 3) were employed to investigate the dynamic physiological regulation and thermal perception response of individuals when transitioning from an outdoor environment into an indoor neutral room through a transition space. The findings revealed that mT sk decreased by 0.31 °C, 0.13 °C, and 0.07 °C; TSV decreased by 1.63, 1.56, and 0.9 units; while TCV increased by 1.9, 2.16 ,and 0.81units for cases1-3 respectively indicating that an air temperature of around 27 °C is most suitable for achieving optimal comfort levels in these transition spaces. The correlation between UTCI index with MTSV was stronger compared to PET or SET* throughout the entire process; moreover, a better linear relationship was observed between ΔTSV and ΔT than ΔTCV. Furthermore, a second-order polynomial function model was established using dissatisfaction rate at initial entry moment into new environment along with operative temperature difference, resulting in acceptable temperatures ranging from 25.3 °C to 27.93 °C within current experimental conditions.

Building on HR system strength and signaling theories, we proposed and tested the mediating roles of employees’ individual and collective perceptions of high performance work systems (HPWS) in influencing HPWS-outcome relationships. The data were collected from 286 HR managers, 286 vice presidents, and 1916 employees of 286 companies in China. The results of this study revealed that firm HPWS influenced both individual and collective employee perceptions of HPWS, which, in turn, resulted in individual- and organizational-level employee outcomes, respectively, including affective commitment and turnover intention, and ultimately impacted organizational performance. Moreover, the findings of this study revealed that high levels of employee-oriented organizational culture and CEOs’ benevolent leadership behavior strengthened the positive relationship or promoted the consensus between firm HPWS and employees’ collective perceptions of HPWS. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Angiogenesis plays a key in the process of tissue repair and wound healing. Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADSCs) have been found to act a promotion role during angiogenesis. Moreover, miR-125a-3p in HADSCs could promote the angiogenesis of HUVECs, but their specific mechanism in wound healing needs further study. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used for detecting the protein and mRNA level, respectively. Exosomes were isolated successfully, and transmission electron microscope was used to identify exosomes. Angiogenesis, cell migration, and proliferation were detected with tube formation, wound healing, and MTT assays. The interactions of miR-125a-3p and PTEN were validated using dual-luciferase reporter assay. Animal model was used to evaluate the effect of miR-125a-3p on wound healing. HADSCs-exosome remarkably promoted the viability, migration, and angiogenesis of HUVECs. Knockdown of miR-125a-3p in HADSCs could inhibit the effect of HADSCs–exosome, while overexpression of miR-125a-3p could further promote the effect of HADSCs–exosome on HUVECs. MiR-125a-3p from HADSCs–exosome inhibited the expression of PTEN in HUVECs. Knockdown of PTEN promoted the viability, migration, and angiogenesis of HUVECs and reversed the effect of miR-125a-3p knockdown on HUVECs. Finally, miR-125a-3p from HADSCs–exosome could promote wound healing and angiogenesis in mice by inhibiting PTEN in mice wound granulation tissues. MiR-125a-3p from the HADSCs–exosome promoted the wound healing and angiogenesis, and these effects were achieved through regulating PTEN. This study may provide a new thought for the treatment and prevention of tissue repair.

The effects of diabetes mellitus include long-term damages, dysfunctions, and failures of various organs. An important complication of diabetes is the disturbance in the male reproductive system. Glucose metabolism is an important event in spermatogenesis. Moreover, glucose metabolism is also important for maintaining basic cell activity, as well as specific functions, such as motility and fertilization ability in mature sperm. Diabetic disease and experimentally induced diabetes both demonstrated that either type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes could have detrimental effects on male fertility, especially on sperm quality, such as sperm motility, sperm DNA integrity, and ingredients of seminal plasma. Epigenetic modifications are essential during spermatogenesis. The epigenetic regulation represents chromatin modifications including DNA methylation, histone modifications, remodeling of nucleosomes and the higher-order chromatin reorganization and noncoding RNAs. If spermatogenesis is affected during the critical developmental window, embryonic gonadal development, and germline differentiation, environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications may become permanent in the germ line epigenome and have a potential impact on subsequent generations through epigenetic transgenerational inheritance. Diabetes may influence the epigenetic modification during sperm spermatogenesis and that these epigenetic dysregulation may be inherited through the male germ line and passed onto more than one generation, which in turn may increase the risk of diabetes in offspring.

The real-time availability of key water quality parameters is of great importance for an advanced and optimized process control in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, due to the complex environment conditions and costly measuring instruments, it is generally difficult and time-consuming to measure certain key water quality parameters online, such as the effluent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and the effluent total nitrogen (TN). Recently, artificial neural networks have powered the online prediction tasks in several WWTPs. Hence, in this paper, an adaptive task-oriented radial basis function (ATO-RBF) network is developed to design prediction models for accurate timely acquirements of the effluent BOD and the effluent TN. The advantage of ATO-RBF network is that the architecture is not designed by human engineers; it is adaptively generated from the data to be processed. First, to enhance the learning ability and generalization performance of prediction models, an error correction-based growing strategy and a second-order learning algorithm are combined to design the ATO-RBF network. Then, RFB nodes with low significance would be pruned without sacrificing the learning accuracy, making the prediction model more compact. Additionally, the convergence of the ATO-RBF network is analyzed based on the Lyapunov criterion, which can guarantee its feasibility in practical applications. Finally, the proposed methodology is verified by benchmark simulations and real industrial data, showing superior prediction accuracy in compared with conventional methods.