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Postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) is a highly prevalent gastrointestinal disorder associated with immune dysregulation and depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. Through traditional medicine, the active ingredient of Paeoniae Radix called paeoniflorin (PF) was previously found to prevent the symptoms of PI-IBS. However, there is limited information on the effects of PF on intestinal function and depression- and anxiety-like symptoms in PI-IBS animal models. Here, we aimed to determine the effects of PF treatment on the symptoms of PI-IBS in a rat model. The PI-IBS rat model was established via early postnatal sibling deprivation (EPSD), trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS), and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) stimulation and then treated with different dosages of PF (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) and leptin (1 and 10 mg/kg). The fecal water content and body weight were measured to evaluate the intestinal function, while the two-bottle test for sucrose intake, open field test (OFT), and elevated plus maze test (EMT) were performed to assess behavioral changes. The serum leptin levels were also measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, the expressions of leptin and its receptor, LepRb, were detected in colonic mucosal tissues through an immunohistochemical assay. The activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were also detected via western blotting. After the experimental period, the PI-IBS rats presented decreased body weight and increased fecal water content, which coincided with elevated leptin levels and heightened depression- and anxiety-like behaviors (e.g., low sucrose intake, less frequency in the center areas during OFT, and fewer activities in the open arms during EMT). However, the PF treatment ameliorated these observed symptoms. Furthermore, PF not only inhibited leptin/LepRb expression but also reduced the PI3K/AKT phosphorylation and BDNF expression in PI-IBS rats. Notably, cotreatment with leptin (10 mg/kg) reduced the effects of PF (20 mg/kg) on colonic fibrosis, leptin/LepRb expression, and PI3K/AKT activation. Therefore, our findings suggest that leptin is targeted by PF via the leptin/LepRb pathway, consequently ameliorating the symptoms of PI-IBS. Our study also contributes novel insights for elucidating the pharmacological action of PF on gastrointestinal disorders and may be used for the clinical treatment of PI-IBS in the future.

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Air pollution in Henan province is serious and is significantly impacted by pollution transmission and interactions with surrounding areas. The emission sources in 18 cities in Henan province were labeled and applied to the WRF-CMAQ traceability model for simulation in January, April, July, and October of 2017. The pollutant distribution results showed that due to the combined influence of emissions and meteorology, the concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 in Henan province were the highest in winter and the lowest in summer. The seasonal variation in O3-8h concentration was the highest in summer, followed by spring, and the lowest in winter. There was a large difference in pollutant concentrations between different seasons. The average concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 in winter in Henan province were 4.17, 4.12, and 6.24 times those in summer, respectively, whereas the concentration of O3-8h in summer was 2.24 times that in winter. Since PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 are closely related to primary emissions and have a certain homology, the distributions of high values of these three pollutants were higher in the north and lower in the south, and the seasonal trends were more consistent. The seasonal distribution of O3-8h varied widely, with high O3-8h values mainly distributed in the northeastern region of Henan province in summer, when meteorological conditions contributed to O3 production; in winter, spring, and autumn, high O3-8h values were mainly distributed in the southern part of Henan province due to the suppression of meteorological conditions and NOx consumption. The results of the study on the transport of pollutants showed that extra-provincial transport and natural sources contributed the most to the concentrations of PM2.5, O3-8h, NO2, and SO2 in winter, with 36.20%-72.32%, 77.96%-96.08%, 49.45%-78.80%, and 59.05%-88.85%, respectively. When considering only local emissions and intra-provincial transmission, the contributions of emissions to local concentrations of the four pollutants in summer were the highest in all cities of Henan province. The contributions of intra-provincial transmission to PM2.5 and O3-8h in spring were the largest, with 25.63%-74.69% and 30.21%-80.01%, respectively, and the contributions of intra-provincial transmission to NO2 and SO2 in winter were larger, with 26.02%-76.96% and 20.30%-82.34%. The transmission paths of PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 were more similar in Henan province, with more transmission from north to south in winter, from west to east and southwest to northeast in spring, from southwest to northeast in summer, and from north to south in autumn; however, the transmission of PM2.5 was more complicated. The O3-8h transport path was more different from the others, especially in autumn when pollutants were mostly transported from north to south, but the O3-8h transport path from southwest to northeast was obvious.

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Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that the polymerase I and transcript release factor (PTRF), a key component of the caveolae structure on the plasma membrane, plays a pivotal role in suppressing the progression of colorectal cancers. However, the role of PTRF in the development of functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders remains unclear. Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) is a common functional GI disorder that occurs after an acute GI infection. Here, we focused on the role of PTRF in the occurrence of PI-IBS and investigated the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5 µg/ml) was used to induce inflammatory injury in human primary colonic epithelial cells (HCoEpiCs). Furthermore, a rat model of PI-IBS was used to study the role of PTRF. Intestinal sensitivity was assessed based on the fecal water content. A two-bottle sucrose intake test was used to evaluate behavioral changes. Furthermore, shRNA-mediated knockdown of PTRF was performed both in vitro and in vivo. We detected the expression of PTRF in colonic mucosal tissues through immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blotting (WB), and immunofluorescence (IF) analysis. Luciferase activity was quantified using a luciferase assay. Co-localization of PTRF and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was detected using IF analysis. The activation of the signaling pathways downstream of TLR4, including the iNOs, p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways, was detected via WB. The levels of NO, IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: LPS significantly induced PTRF expression and signaling downstream of TLR4, including p38, ERK, and JNK pathways, in HCoEpiCs. Moreover, shRNA-mediated knockdown of PTRF in HCoEpiCs significantly decreased the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK, and p38 and iNOS expression. In PI-IBS rats, the lack of PTRF not only reduced fecal water content and suppressed depressive behavior but also increased the body weight. Furthermore, we found a strong co-localization pattern for PTRF and TLR4. Consistently, the lack of PTRF impaired TLR4 signaling, as shown by the decreased levels of p-JNK, p-ERK, and p-p38, which are upstream factors involved in iNOS expression. Conclusion: PTRF promoted PI-IBS and stimulated TLR4 signaling both in vitro and in vivo. The results of this study not only enlighten the pathogenesis of PI-IBS but also help us understand the biological activity of PTRF and provide an important basis for the clinical treatment of PI-IBS by targeting PTRF.

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To reduce the risks of COVID-19 on society and the health of the general public, necessary prevention and control measures were implemented throughout China in 2020. Consequently, air quality was greatly improved due to lower emissions. However, the improvement of air quality could also be closely related to meteorological conditions. During quarantine (January 27 to February, 2020), reductions were observed in the concentration of all air pollutants in Henan Province (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, and NO2 decreased by 36.89%, 34.18%, 19.43%, 29.85%, and 58.51%, respectively) relative to measurements taken from January 1 to 26, 2020. The only exception was for the concentration of O3, which increased by 69.64%. This study evaluates the importance of meteorological conditions in air pollution, through simulation with a long-and-short-term memory network (LSTM) and a machine learning algorithm. Results show that meteorological conditions play a crucial role in air pollutant formation. Given favorable meteorological factors, the concentrations of pollutants could be reduced by 15%-30%, while the reduction due to anthropogenic emission control ranges from 6%-40%. During the epidemic, meteorological conditions and human emissions accounted for 34.84% and 34.81% of the increase in O3 concentration, respectively. The results show that primary pollutant concentrations are more sensitive to the intensity of anthropogenic emissions. However, secondary pollutants are more dependent on meteorological factors. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship has been identified between O3 concentration and to emission intensity. Further investigation into the causes of the rise in O3 concentration is necessary to gain a greater understanding and better control of particulate matter and O3 pollution.

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To evaluate the health benefits brought about by air environmental treatment and determine the main drivers of health risk, we calculated the health and economic benefits attributed to PM2.5 control in Eastern and Central China from 2013 to 2017 by combining PM2.5 concentrations with a human activity enhanced exposure-response model. The relative contributions of changes in four factors related to the PM2.5 health burden were also quantified, namely total population, population aging, baseline mortality rates, and ambient exposure. The results show that the population weighted PM2.5 concentration decreased by 28.73% and the proportion of the population exposed to annual PM2.5 concentrations lower than or equal to 35 µg·m-3 increased from 11.23% to 27.91% across the study area during this period. Avoided deaths were decreased to 14.43%, which equates to avoided economic losses of approximately 559 billion RMB. If PM2.5 concentration meets the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard Grade Ⅱ (35 µg·m-3) or Grade Ⅰ (15 µg·m-3), or the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) standards (10 µg·m-3), a 8.22%, 55.05%, and 79.36% reduction in the total deaths could be achieved in the base year (2017) with equivalent total economic benefits of approximately 319, 2137, and 3081 billion RMB, respectively. Total population, population aging, baseline mortality rates, and PM2.5 concentrations contributed -2.69%, -12.38%, 1.66%, and 14.57% to PM2.5-related deaths. Overall, during the study period, the reduction in PM2.5 concentrations has been the main factor contributing to the reduction in the public health burden. China has implemented significant air pollution control measures; however, the health burden associated with high PM2.5 concentrations in densely populated areas is still extremely high, requiring an aggressive air pollution control strategy.

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Background: Triptolide (TP), a naturally derived compound from Tripterygium wilfordii, has been proven effective in protecting against cardiovascular system, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its protective effects are poorly understood. In the current study, we sought to test the potential protective role of TP in the regulation of vascular calcification in a rat model and explore whether TP attenuates medial vascular calcification by upregulating miRNA-204. Methods: Vitamin D3 plus nicotine (VDN) was used to induce a vascular calcification (VC) model of rat aorta. Von Kossa and Hematoxylin-Eosin staining were applied to assess the degree of calcification of rat aortas. Calcium content and alkaline phosphatase activity were measured. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to quantify miRNA-204 expression. The localization of runt-related transcription factor-2 (RUNX2) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Results: Administration of TP greatly reduced vascular calcification in a dose-dependent manner compared with VC controls. The increase in ALP activity and calcium content was ameliorated by TP. Moreover, protein expression levels of BMP2 and RUNX2 were significantly reduced in calcified aortas. MiRNA-204 expression was increased in the TP-treated groups compared with VC controls and the effects of TP were reversed by the intravenous injection of miRNA-204-interfering lentivirus. However, the miRNA-204-overexpressing lentivirus had no additional effects on ALP activity, calcium content, BMP2 and RUNX2 expressions compared with those from TP group. Conclusion: TP inhibited BMP2 and RUNX2 expression and attenuated vascular calcification via upregulating the level of miRNA-204. TP appears to be a potential new therapeutic option for treating vascular calcification.

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Miichthys miiuy Basilewsky is a commercially important marine fish in China. To understand the relationship between body mass and morphometric traits of M. miiuy, body mass (Y, g) and other eight morphometric traits (cm), e.g., total length (X1), body length (X2), head length (X3), trunk length (X4), tail length (X5), tail handle length (X6), tail handle height (X7), and body height (X8) of 524 individuals of about 12-month-old M. miiuy were measured in this study. The methods of correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and path ana-lysis were used to analyze the data. Also, the best model reflecting the relationship between morphometric traits and body mass were obtained through model fitting screening. The results showed that the correlation coefficients between every two traits ranged from 0.834 to 0.941, and all reached significance level (P<0.01). And body length was ruled out from the multiple regression analysis by the method of multicollinearity diagnosis. We established a regression equation using the rest morphologi-cal traits as variables and body mass as dependent variable, in which direct and indirect path coefficients and determinant coefficients were calculated. Four morphometric traits achieved highly significant levels (P<0.01), and they were the main decisive morphometric traits linked to body mass. The multiple linear regression model equation was established as Y＝-444.188 +7.943X1+12.861X4 +38.254X7 + 42.722X8. Among them, the trait with the strongest direct effect on body mass was the body height (0.351), then the total length (0.335). In addition, the best model fitted for the individuals was y=0.013 x2.891 for total length, y=2.028 x2.751 for body height. The method of model fit test showed the accuracy of total length estimated body mass was higher than that of body height. This research may provide an important reference for the effective use of morphological traits for breeding of M. miiuy.

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