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The extent to which households can self-insure and the government can help them to do so depends on the wage risk that they face and their family structure. We study wage risk in the UK and show that the persistence and riskiness of wages depends on one's age and position in the wage distribution. We also calibrate a model of couples and singles with two alternative processes for wages: a canonical one and a flexible one that allows for the much richer dynamics that we document in the data. We use our model to show that allowing for rich wage dynamics is important to properly evaluate the effects of benefit reform: relative to the richer process, the canonical process underestimates wage persistence for women and generates a more important role for in-work benefits relative to income support. The optimal benefit configuration under the richer wage process, instead, is similar to that in place in the benchmark UK economy before the Universal Credit reform. The Universal Credit reform generates additional welfare gains by introducing an income disregard for families with children. While families with children are better off, households without children, and particularly single women, are worse off.

Aims. To explore the expression of circular RNA (circRNA) in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Background. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mainly distributed in the stomach and small intestine. Recently, it has been verified that circular RNA (circRNA) has an important function in the regulation of GIST. Nevertheless, detailed investigations of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in GIST are lacking. Objective. To analyze the gastrointestinal stromal tumor circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, assessing the effect of circle RNA in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Method. All the differential circRNAs and mRNAs were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray data (GSE131481 and GSE147303, GSE131481, and GSE13861). Furthermore, a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was established. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment were used to reveal the correlation between the functions of signaling pathways and target genes. The hub genes of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and cytoHubba were also defined. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression levels of hsa-circ-0002917 (circTBC1D4), hsa-miR-590-5p (miR-590-5p), and PLN. Results. PPI network and Cytoscape showed that ATP1A2, PLN, KCNMA1, and SCNN1B were four central DEGs. GO analysis results revealed that DEGs were involved in negative management of myocardial contraction, regulation of myocardial cell contraction, ethanol oxidation, cellular potassium ion homeostasis, and relaxation of cardiac muscle, and KEGG analysis showed that major DEGs were with cGMP-PKG signaling pathway. Moreover, we obtained two pairs of axes, namely, hsa-circ-0039216/hsa-miR-338-3p/ATP1A2 and hsa-circ-0002917/hsa-miR-590-5p/PLN. The target of TBC1D4 is miR-590-5p, and miR-590-5p increased after knocking down TBC1D4. Moreover, PLN was the target of miR-590-5p, and miR-590-5p exerts antitumor effects by reducing PLN. Conclusions. In this study, we constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA management network interrelated with GIST and researched the potential roles of circRNA. Moreover, we discovered a new molecular landmarker for the prediction, diagnosis, and therapy of patients.

Background: Arrhythmia after myocardial infarction, a common disease, has a high incidence and lethality in clinical practice, which seriously affects patients’ quality of life and survival time. Based on our previous study and available evidence, berberine plays a role in the treatment and prevention of arrhythmia after myocardial infarction. Thus, in order to clarify the specific mechanism and provide new clinical treatments, we conducted this study. Method: Firstly, we used bioinformatics analysis and system pharmacology to analyze the physicochemical properties and biological activities of berberine in the Molinspiration server. Secondly, we explored the potential molecular mechanism of arrhythmia after myocardial infarction treated with berberine by using network pharmacology technology: (1) obtaining common genes among berberine, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia through TCMSP, TTD databases, and so forth; (2) constructing protein–protein interaction by using STRING database; (3) using g:Profiler database to conduct GO enrichment analysis of hub genes and pathways; and (4) performing molecular docking and visualization by using AutoDock and Pymol software. Finally, we applied Western blotting analysis and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to validate the expression of relevant proteins in the TGF‐ β 1‐induced cell models. Results: The results of bioinformatics analysis and system pharmacology of berberine indicated that it had wonderful bioavailability and high biological activities. The results of network pharmacology showed that (1) 70 genes related to berberine against arrhythmia after myocardial infarction were obtained, (2) 31 hub genes were obtained by constructing PPI network, and (3) GO enrichment analysis showed that hub genes were associated with mechanisms such as stimulus and cell death. The analysis of KEGG pathways, Wiki pathways, and Reactome pathways showed that the HIF‐1 signaling pathway and interleukin‐4 and interleukin‐13 signaling pathways were the most likely to exert therapeutic effects. (4) The results of molecular docking indicated that berberine most likely exerted therapeutic effects through acting on NGF. Western blotting analysis and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction techniques showed that berberine could reduce the expression of NGF and α ‐SMA in TGF‐ β 1‐induced cell models, which confirmed the accuracy of the above findings. Conclusion: Berberine can reduce NGF secretion not only by inhibiting the conversion of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts but also by acting directly on myofibroblasts. Thus, the sympathetic nerve remodeling was inhibited, which can reduce the occurrence of arrhythmia after myocardial infarction. Considering its wonderful bioavailability and high biological activities, we believe that berberine can be a novel potential therapeutic agent with potential for the treatment of arrhythmia after myocardial infarction.

Researchers and water managers have turned to green stormwater infrastructure, such as bioswales, retention basins, wetlands, rain gardens, and urban green spaces to reduce flooding, augment surface water supplies, recharge groundwater, and improve water quality. It is increasingly clear that green stormwater infrastructure not only controls stormwater volume and timing, but also promotes ecosystem services, which are the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Yet there has been little synthesis focused on understanding how green stormwater management affects ecosystem services. The objectives of this paper are to review and synthesize published literature on ecosystem services and green stormwater infrastructure and identify gaps in research and understanding, establishing a foundation for research at the intersection of ecosystems services and green stormwater management. We reviewed 170 publications on stormwater management and ecosystem services, and summarized the state-of-the-science categorized by the four types of ecosystem services. Major findings show that: (1) most research was conducted at the parcel-scale and should expand to larger scales to more closely understand green stormwater infrastructure impacts, (2) nearly a third of papers developed frameworks for implementing green stormwater infrastructure and highlighted barriers, (3) papers discussed ecosystem services, but less than 40% quantified ecosystem services, (4) no geographic trends emerged, indicating interest in applying green stormwater infrastructure across different contexts, (5) studies increasingly integrate engineering, physical science, and social science approaches for holistic understanding, and (6) standardizing green stormwater infrastructure terminology would provide a more cohesive field of study than the diverse and often redundant terminology currently in use. We recommend that future research provide metrics and quantify ecosystem services, integrate disciplines to measure ecosystem services from green stormwater infrastructure, and better incorporate stormwater management into environmental policy. Our conclusions outline promising future research directions at the intersection of stormwater management and ecosystem services.

Background: Mineral deposition in the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a highly organized process initiated by matrix vesicles (MVs) released from mineralization-competent cells, such as osteoblasts. In bone pathologies, osteogenic inducers (ions, hormones, nanoparticles) are becoming increasingly vital for the repair of damaged tissue. Among these inductors, strontium ranelate (SR), first suggested for treating osteoporotic patients, stands out. The bioactive strontium ion (Sr2+) has a dual mechanism of action in bone homeostasis: it activates osteoblasts, promoting bone formation, and inhibits osteoclasts, limiting bone resorption. Recent research has focused on how Sr2+ influences osteoblast function, but its effects on the mineralization process have not been explored. For this study, we hypothesized that Sr2+ modulates mineralization-competent cells at two levels: (a) it activates the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) osteogenic signaling pathways, increasing mineral towards in the ECM, and (b) it regulates MV release and function. Advanced lipidomic analysis examined how Sr2+ affects the MV lipid profile, which is pivotal for MV biogenesis and bone formation. Methods: We performed an MTT assay to assess the cytotoxicity of CaCl2 and SR. Alizarin Red and Von Kossa staining were used to track mineral deposition towards the ECM. We assessed the phosphorylation states of ERK and CREB by western blotting and the osteogenic-related gene levels by quantitative real-time PCR. Biophysical characterization of 17A11-derived MVs was performed by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential. Mineral deposition and characterization were performed by turbidimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. MV activity was studied by alkaline phosphatase activity. We also performed a Western blot analysis to assess MV markers. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied to investigate changes in membrane fluidity and the vesicles’ conformation. We explored the changes in lipid profiles using state-of-the-art lipidomic analysis. Results: Our findings demonstrate that Sr2+ activates the Erk1/2 and CREB pathways, leading to a dose-dependent increase in ECM mineralization. Additionally, the viscoelastic properties of MVs from Sr2+-stimulated 17IIA11 cells, a preodontoblast progenitor cell line, were altered, as demonstrated by AFM and TEM, which we linked to modifications in their lipid composition, as revealed by the enrichment of ceramide (Cer) and sphingomyelin (SM), both of which play pivotal roles in bone development. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that Sr2+ affects the initiation of the mineralization process by changing the release and lipid composition of MVs, and acts, in part, through Erk1/2 and CREB signaling pathways.

Meiotic recombination is an essential biological process that generates genetic diversity and ensures proper segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. From a large USDA dairy cattle pedigree with over half a million genotyped animals, we extracted 186,927 three-generation families, identified over 8.5 million maternal and paternal recombination events, and constructed sex-specific recombination maps for 59,309 autosomal SNPs. The recombination map spans for 25.5 Morgans in males and 23.2 Morgans in females, for a total studied region of 2,516 Mb (986 kb/cM in males and 1,085 kb/cM in females). The male map is 10% longer than the female map and the sex difference is most pronounced in the subtelomeric regions. We identified 1,792 male and 1,885 female putative recombination hotspots, with 720 hotspots shared between sexes. These hotspots encompass 3% of the genome but account for 25% of the genome-wide recombination events in both sexes. During the past forty years, males showed a decreasing trend in recombination rate that coincided with the artificial selection for milk production. Sex-specific GWAS analyses identified PRDM9 and CPLX1 to have significant effects on genome-wide recombination rate in both sexes. Two novel loci, NEK9 and REC114, were associated with recombination rate in both sexes, whereas three loci, MSH4, SMC3 and CEP55, affected recombination rate in females only. Among the multiple PRDM9 paralogues on the bovine genome, our GWAS of recombination hotspot usage together with linkage analysis identified the PRDM9 paralogue on chromosome 1 to be associated in the U.S. Holstein data. Given the largest sample size ever reported for such studies, our results reveal new insights into the understanding of cattle and mammalian recombination.

Naru-3 Wei Pill is a traditional Mongolian Medicine (TMM) that has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antibacterial effects. The present study aimed to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of Naru-3 Wei Pill, identify the core components and key targets and determine the pharmacological basis and mechanism of its blood-borne components. The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of Naru-3 pills were studied using hot plate, tail flick, and acetic acid-induced writhing tests. The blood-borne components of Naru-3 Wei Pill were identified using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with Q-Exactive mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QE-MS), and their targets were screened using ChEMBL, TCMIO, GeneCards, and TTD databases. Network construction, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was performed. Molecular dynamics methods, PCR and western blot, were used for verification of the results. Multiple pain models results indicate that Naru-3 pills exert anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects by modulating the PI3K signaling pathways and reducing inflammation factors (interleukin [IL]-6). A total of 35 blood-borne components were identified, acting on 291 targets involving 172 pathways. The core targets included AKT1, SRC, mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), and ESR1. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations conformed strong binding affinity of the complexes formed between Rhein and AKT1, MAPK1, and SRC, and between genistein and SRC. PCR and western blot confirm the regulation of AKT/PI3K pathway of Naru-3 pills in animal models. Naru-3 pills significantly prolonged pain thresholds and reduced pain behaviors in mice. The study identified the material basis and mechanisms of its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, providing a foundation for further research.

Heat stress compromises production, fertility, and health of dairy cattle. One mitigation strategy is to select individuals that are genetically resistant to heat stress. Most of the negative effects of heat stress on animal performance are a consequence of either physiological adaptations to regulate body temperature or adverse consequences of failure to regulate body temperature. Thus, selection for regulation of body temperature during heat stress could increase thermotolerance. The objective was to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for rectal temperature (RT) during heat stress in lactating Holstein cows and identify SNPs associated with genes that have large effects on RT. Records on afternoon RT where the temperature-humidity index was ≥78.2 were obtained from 4,447 cows sired by 220 bulls, resulting in 1,440 useable genotypes from the Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip with 39,759 SNP. For GWAS, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 adjacent SNP were averaged to identify consensus genomic regions associated with RT. The largest proportion of SNP variance (0.07 to 0.44%) was explained by markers flanking the region between 28,877,547 and 28,907,154 bp on Bos taurus autosome (BTA) 24. That region is flanked by U1 (28,822,883 to 28,823,043) and NCAD (28,992,666 to 29,241,119). In addition, the SNP at 58,500,249 bp on BTA 16 explained 0.08% and 0.11% of the SNP variance for 2- and 3-SNP analyses, respectively. That contig includes SNORA19 , RFWD2 and SCARNA3 . Other SNPs associated with RT were located on BTA 16 (close to CEP170 and PLD5), BTA 5 (near SLCO1C1 and PDE3A), BTA 4 (near KBTBD2 and LSM5), and BTA 26 (located in GOT1 , a gene implicated in protection from cellular stress). In conclusion, there are QTL for RT in heat-stressed dairy cattle. These SNPs could prove useful in genetic selection and for identification of genes involved in physiological responses to heat stress.

2021年4月9日16时25分,在浙江省杭州市临安区浙江农林大学东湖校区校园内(30°15’32.02401″N,119°43’28.02399″E; 海拔60.4 m)的湖边山坡林间草地上,拍摄到2只翅膀上有白色羽毛(其中1只有偏棕色羽毛)、像乌鸫(Turdus mandarinus)的鸟类,鉴定为灰翅鸫(T.boulboul)的雄鸟和雌鸟,并确认为浙江省鸟类新纪录。灰翅鸫,属于雀形目(Passeriformes)鸫科(Turdidae),体长与乌鸫相当,为典型林鸟。雌鸟与雄鸟外形差异较大:雄鸟具黄色眼圈,覆羽有白色斑驳翼纹; 雌鸟为橄榄褐色,覆羽有灰色翼纹,雌雄鸟腹部具灰色鳞状纹。灰翅鸫在陕西南部、甘肃南部、云南东南部、四川、贵州、湖北、湖南、广东和广西有分布[1]。根据文献显示,江西省[2]2017年5月拍摄到1只灰翅鸫; 河南省[3]在2016年4月、2017年6月各有2次红外相机影像记录;