环境美学视域下的黔阳古城“居住”解读

环境美学的基本问题是人与自然的关系问题。然对于人具有两种意义：一是资源,二是家园。环境就其本质来说,是人的家园,是生命之本,更是居住之所。在环境美学的视域中,黔阳与人类的“居住”本质,在大地上最为原初的居住之思息息相关。黔阳作为古老的,“曾在的”居住来阐明居住如何才能够建造。“居住”比“筑造/建筑”更为本源,筑造/建筑是为了居住,但居住不是一般意义上的居住,而是“诗意地居住”,与人们的居住所依靠的一切建筑物有关。居住的本质是自然环境的完美性与人居环境的完美性是统一的。     

异型截面柱与腰桁架的制作工艺

中国国际贸易中心三期A阶段工程主楼核心筒为不规则的异型截面柱,为确保构件的整体精度,对异型截面构件进行合理节点拆分,确定合理的装配顺序及焊接顺序,提高各组件的精度控制标准,减少因多次焊接产生的变形以及由于多次装配产生的尺寸累积差对精度的影响,从而提高整体异型截面钢柱的加工精度.     

不同腌制条件下大叶麻竹笋质构特性及色泽变化规律的研究

以大叶麻竹笋为原料,研究了大叶麻竹笋腌制前后质构和色泽的变化与食盐浓度、温度的关系。研究结果表明:大叶麻竹笋经腌制后,反映其质构特性的硬度、内聚性和咀嚼性三个质地参数的数值都会降低,且腌制食盐浓度越低、温度越高,三个质地参数的数值降低的越多。同时,大叶麻竹笋经腌制后,会失去原有的色泽,腌制食盐浓度和温度越高,大叶麻竹笋失色越严重。      

Breast Cancer Vaccine Containing a Novel Toll-like Receptor 7 Agonist and an Aluminum Adjuvant Exerts Antitumor Effects

Mucin 1 (MUC1) has received increasing attention due to its high expression in breast cancer, in which MUC1 acts as a cancer antigen. Our group has been committed to the development of small-molecule TLR7 (Toll-like receptor 7) agonists, which have been widely investigated in the field of tumor immunotherapy. In the present study, we constructed a novel tumor vaccine (SZU251 + MUC1 + Al) containing MUC1 and two types of adjuvants: a TLR7 agonist (SZU251) and an aluminum adjuvant (Al). Immunostimulatory responses were first verified in vitro, where the vaccine promoted the release of cytokines and the expression of costimulatory molecules in mouse BMDCs (bone marrow dendritic cells) and spleen lymphocytes. Then, we demonstrated that SZU251 + MUC1 + Al was effective and safe against a tumor expressing the MUC1 antigen in both prophylactic and therapeutic schedules in vivo. The immune responses in vivo were attributed to the increase in specific humoral and cellular immunity, including antibody titers, CD4⁺, CD8⁺ and activated CD8⁺ T cells. Therefore, our vaccine candidate may have beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer patients.     

A Changing Light Environment Induces Significant Lateral CO2 Diffusion within Maize Leaves

A leaf structure with high porosity is beneficial for lateral CO₂ diffusion inside the leaves. However, the leaf structure of maize is compact, and it has long been considered that lateral CO₂ diffusion is restricted. Moreover, lateral CO₂ diffusion is closely related to CO₂ pressure differences (ΔCO₂). Therefore, we speculated that enlarging the ΔCO₂ between the adjacent regions inside maize leaves may result in lateral diffusion when the diffusion resistance is kept constant. Thus, the leaf structure and gas exchange of maize (C₄), cotton (C₃), and other species were explored. The results showed that maize and sorghum leaves had a lower mesophyll porosity than cotton and cucumber leaves. Similar to cotton, the local photosynthetic induction resulted in an increase in the ΔCO₂ between the local illuminated and the adjacent unilluminated regions, which significantly reduced the respiration rate of the adjacent unilluminated region. Further analysis showed that when the adjacent region in the maize leaves was maintained under a steady high light, the photosynthesis induction in the local regions not only gradually reduced the ΔCO₂ between them but also progressively increased the steady photosynthetic rate in the adjacent region. Under field conditions, the ΔCO₂, respiration, and photosynthetic rate of the adjacent region were also markedly changed by fluctuating light in local regions in the maize leaves. Consequently, we proposed that enlarging the ΔCO₂ between the adjacent regions inside the maize leaves results in the lateral CO₂ diffusion and supports photosynthesis in adjacent regions to a certain extent under fluctuating light.     

Mixture Effects of Tryptophan Intestinal Microbial Metabolites on Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activity

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) plays pivotal roles in intestinal physiology and pathophysiology. Intestinal AHR is activated by numerous dietary, endogenous, and microbial ligands. Whereas the effects of individual compounds on AHR are mostly known, the effects of real physiological mixtures occurring in the intestine have not been studied. Using reporter gene assays and RT-PCR, we evaluated the combinatorial effects (3520 combinations) of 11 microbial catabolites of tryptophan (MICTs) on AHR. We robustly (n = 30) determined the potencies and relative efficacies of single MICTs. Synergistic effects of MICT binary mixtures were observed between low- or medium-efficacy agonists, in particular for combinations of indole-3-propionate and indole-3-lactate. Combinations comprising highly efficacious agonists such as indole-3-pyruvate displayed rather antagonist effects, caused by saturation of the assay response. These synergistic effects were confirmed by RT-PCR as CYP1A1 mRNA expression. We also tested mimic multicomponent and binary mixtures of MICTs, prepared based on the metabolomic analyses of human feces and colonoscopy aspirates, respectively. In this case, AHR responsiveness did not correlate with type of diet or health status, and the indole concentrations in the mixtures were determinative of gross AHR activity. Future systematic research on the synergistic activation of AHR by microbial metabolites and other ligands is needed.     

Vitamin C Suppresses Pancreatic Carcinogenesis through the Inhibition of Both Glucose Metabolism and Wnt Signaling

Cumulative studies have indicated that high-dose vitamin C has antitumor effects against a variety of cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these inhibitory effects against tumorigenesis and metastasis, particularly in relation to pancreatic cancer, are unclear. Here, we report that vitamin C at high concentrations impairs the growth and survival of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells by inhibiting glucose metabolism. Vitamin C was also found to trigger apoptosis in a caspase-independent manner. We further demonstrate that it suppresses the invasion and metastasis of PDAC cells by inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Taken together, our results suggest that vitamin C has therapeutic effects against pancreatic cancer.