Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding, small RNAs that regulate gene expression and function, but little is known about regulation of miRNAs in the kidneys under normal or pathologic conditions. Here, we sought to investigate the potential involvement of miRNAs in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and angiogenesis and to define some of the miRNAs possibly associated with renal angiogenesis. Methods and Results: Male Balb/c mice were subjected to a standard renal I/R. CD31 immunostaining indicated a significant increase of microvessels in the ischemic region. VEGF and VEGFR2 expression were increased in renal I/R at both the mRNA and protein levels which were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. More importantly, 76 microRNAs exhibited more than 2-fold changes using Agilent microRNA microarray, which contains downregulation of 40 miRNAs and upregulation of 36 miRNAs. Upregulation of miR-210 was confirmed by qRT-PCR with prominent changes at 4 and 24 h after reperfusion. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-210 in HUVEC-12 cells enhances VEGF and VEGFR2 expression and promotes angiogenesis on Matrigel in vitro. Conclusion: These findings suggest miR-210 may be involved in targeting the VEGF signaling pathway to regulate angiogenesis after renal I/R injury, which provides novel insights into the angiogenesis mechanism of renal I/R injury.

b-1,3-Glucanases are a group of pathogenesis related proteins that have been reported to be involved in plant defense against pathogens in many other plant pathogen systems. However, it was not clear if these genes play similar role in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) against Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the stripe rust pathogen. To investigate the role of b-1,3-glucanase (EC3.2.1.39) in the resistance response of wheat (cv. Suwon11) to stripe rust, a wheat b-1,3-glucanase gene induced by Pst, designated as TaGlu, was cloned and characterized.TaGlu was predicted to encode a basic protein of 334 amino acids. Quantitative real-time PCR analyses revealed that the transcription of TaGlu was induced during both compatible and incompatible interactions with Pst, but the transcription level was much higher in the incompatible interaction than that in the compatible interaction. TaGlu also showed noticeable induction of gene expression in young green leaf tissues treated with salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate or ethylene. Immunogold labeling assays showed that the enzyme were localized mainly in the host cell wall and over the extra haustorial matrix, and the labeling densities were found significantly higher in the incompatible interaction than those in the compatible interaction.

Summary This study is based on the three types of residential buildings with framework structures in Beijing: concrete framework construction (CFC), light‐gauge steel framework construction (SFC), and wood framework construction (WFC). The analysis of the environmental load across the life cycle of the three types of buildings is conducted using life cycle assessment (LCA) according to the protocols of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040/44. The functional unit is the three material building designs, which possess the same function and design plan, and are built in concrete, light‐gauge steel, and light frame wood, inclusive of their respective envelope materials. Throughout the investigation, the calculations of the environmental load data of materials, energy consumption, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are comprehensively assessed and compared. The study shows that over the life cycle, the energy consumption of CFC is almost the same as that of SFC, and each of them is approximately 30% higher than that of WFC. Building use, steel material production, cement production, gypsum board production, and material transport are the main construction activities related to the energy consumption; the net CO2 emission of CFC is 44% higher than that of SFC and 49% higher than that of WFC. The main source of CO2 emission is the use of electricity; its contributions to the net CO2 emissions of WFC, SFC, and CFC are 67%, 64%, and 44%, respectively. The net CO2 emissions in the transport category cannot be ignored, with proportions amounting to 8%, 12%, and 11% for WFC, SFC, and CFC, respectively.

Superhydrophilic poly(ethyleneimine)/poly(sodium-4-styrenesulfonate) (PEI/PSS)-calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) multilayered membranes (PEI/PSS) 2.0 (PEI/PSS-CSH) n on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) substrate were prepared via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly with in situ precipitation of consecutive Ca 2+integrated multilayered polyelectrolytes and sodium silicate. The surface structure and properties of these multilayered membranes (PEI/PSS) 2.0 (PEI/PSS-CSH) n were characterized by zeta potential, infrared resonance spectra, water contact angles, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, and the separation performances were evaluated by rejection of dyes, such as xylenol orange (XO) and rhodamine B (RB). The long term performance, self-cleaning and antifouling behaviors were investigated by retention of aqueous solutions of both dyes and bovine serum albumin (BSA) aqueous solution. The results indicated that the in situ incorporation of controlled CSH contents into PEI/PSS multilayers greatly improved the hydrophilicity of the multilayered membranes, resulting in the formation of a superhydrophilic (PEI/PSS-CSH) 2.0 membrane with a water contact angle of 2.1 and the highest permeate fluxes of 191.5 and 183.5 L m À2 h À1 MPa À1 accompanied by the rejection of 94.0% and 91.2% for XO and RB aqueous solutions, respectively. When the number of assembled (PEI/ PSS-CSH) n multilayers was higher than 2.0 bilayers, the rejection increased but the flux markedly decreased to XO and RB dyes, showing a characteristic trade-off phenomenon. Moreover, the superhydrophilic (PEI/PSS-CSH) 2.0 membrane possessed a higher antifouling and self-cleaning behavior than the hydrophilic polyelectrolytes (PEI/PSS) 2.0 .

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Owing to the biological compatibility and mechanical properties of polylactic acid (PLA), it presents an extensive application area (such as packaging, film, and fiber). However, the molten dripping phenomenon during combustion is still a drawback in the application of PLA. In this research, an intumescent flame retardant (A-A) was prepared based on the ionic exchange between p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid and ammonium polyphosphate. After that, A-A was molten compounded with PLA to improve its flame retardancy. It was suggested that the presence of 15% A-A could increase the limiting oxygen index value from 20.0% of neat PLA to 30.5%, enhance the UL results from none to V-0 and restrict the heat release during cone calorimeter test. Most importantly, the dripping behavior of PLA/15A-A composites while burning had been greatly minimized. On the basis of the mechanism analysis, it was suggested that A-A modified the initial degradation routine of PLA matrix, resulting to the rapid construction of protective barrier, thus endowing the antidripping property to the PLA/15A-A composites.

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