Description: The development of stable barium (Ba) isotope measurements provides a novel tool to investigate the geochemical cycling of Ba in the ocean and its sediments. In sediment pore waters, gradients of dissolved Ba concentrations result from various diagenetic processes. The distribution and fractionation of Ba isotopes in the pore waters are expected to further improve our understanding of these early diagenetic control mechanisms. Here, we present pore water profiles of dissolved stable Ba isotopic signatures (δ138Bapw) from shallow water sediments covering the entire Pearl River Estuary (PRE) in Southern China. We find pronounced depth-dependent Ba isotope variations generally showing a shift from heavy to light δ138Bapw signatures from the sediment surface down to 15 cm depth. These gradients are well reproduced by a diffusion-reaction model, which generates an apparent fractionation factor (138ε) of −0.60 ± 0.10‰ pointing to preferential removal of low-mass Ba isotopes from the pore water during solution-solid phase interactions. Consequently, the combined diagenetic processes induce the highest δ138Bapw values of +0.5 to +0.7‰ in the pore waters of the topmost sediment layer. Although the detrital fraction dominates the Ba content in the PRE surface sediments, the determined gradients of pore water Ba isotopes, together with concentration variations of Ba and other redox-sensitive elements such as manganese (Mn), show that non-detrital excess Ba carriers including Mn oxides and authigenic barite clearly affect the post-depositional Ba dynamics. Stable Ba isotopes are thus a potentially powerful tracer of Ba geochemistry during early sediment diagenesis in estuarine depositional environments. Key Points We present a data set of dissolved stable Ba isotopic compositions in surface sediment pore waters of a large river estuary Pore water Ba isotope values generally decrease with increasing sediment depth, reflecting post-depositional Ba isotope fractionation A diffusion-reaction model predicts the distribution and fractionation of stable Ba isotopes in the sediment pore waters well

Description: Background: Tangzhiqing fomula (TZQ-F), the mixture of Red Paeony root, Mulberry leaf, Lotus leaf, Danshen root and Hawthorn leaf, regulates the abnormal glucose and lipids in prediabetic patients. In this study, we focus on the mechanism of TZQ-F and its fractions on glucose metabolism. Methods: After orally administration of TZQ-F for 4 weeks in KK-Ay mice, we dissected out the liver and muscle, and employed PCR and western blotting to screening the PI3K/AKT pathway. The following PI3K/AKT signaling pathway were performed in L-6 myotube and HepG2 cells. Results: In the liver of KK-Ay mice, no significance was observed on PI3K, AKT and their phosphorylation between TZQ-F and controls , while, in the muscle, up-regulation of PI3K, AKT, Glycogen synthase (GYS) and their phosphorylation type, as well as GluT4, was deteced in TZQ-F. In HepG2 cells, TZQ-F increased IRS-2 by 10 folds, without interrupting AKT, IRS-1 and GluT4. In L-6 myotube cells, TZQ-F and its fractions treatment significantly increased IRS-1 and AKT at mRNA level. Conclusion: TZQ-F prevents pre-diabetes through increasing effect on IRS-1-dependent PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in muscle.

Description: Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an acquired autoimmune disorder, and loss of immune tolerance has been implicated in ITP pathogenesis. CD8 + CD28 − suppressor (Ts) cells have an immunosuppression function and are involved in several autoimmune disorders. However, the role of Ts cells in ITP is currently not clear. Here, flow cytometry was used to detect the CD8 + CD28 − CD127 − proportion, which was decreased in active ITP patients compared with that of controls. Function analysis showed that immunosuppression of CD8 + CD28 − Ts cells in ITP patients was impaired. Mechanistic studies have shown that CD8 + CD28 − Ts cells from controls can downregulate CD80 and upregulate LILRB4 (ITL3) and LILRB2 (ILT4) expression on CD14 + monocytes, whereas these abilities were not found in Ts cells from ITP patients. Furthermore, Inducible T-cell costimulatory (ICOS) expression on the Ts cell surface after activation was decreased whereas programmed death 1 and interleukin 10 expression was not changed in ITP patients compared with those of controls. In summary, the down-regulated quantity and function of Ts cells in active patients indicated that a Ts defect was involved in ITP. Moreover, decreased ICOS expression and the loss of the ability to regulate co-stimulator expression on antigen-presenting cells partly explained the defective Ts-mediated suppression.