Life

The structural stability of lignocellulosic fibers in crop straw presents a significant challenge to its short-term biodegradation in natural environments, particularly in the cold regions of northern China. To isolate low-temperature straw-degrading bacteria, we selectively enriched microorganisms from straw-amended soils using lignocellulose as the sole carbon source. Three strains were isolated and identified: Stenotrophomonas sp. X24, Flavobacterium sp. X26, and Erwiniaceae bacterium X27. These strains were capable of growth and maize straw degradation within a 4–20 °C range and exhibited key cellulolytic activities (CMCase, FPase, and β-glucosidase). A synthetic three-strain mixture was assembled by combining these isolates in equal proportions. Solid-state fermentation (12 °C, 45 days) was used to assess straw degradation efficacy, while separate enzyme production experiments (12 °C, 3 days) were conducted to evaluate key cellulolytic activities and subsequently optimize culture conditions. The three-strain mixture achieved a net straw degradation rate of 30.93 ± 1.05%. Furthermore, optimization of culture conditions enhanced the carboxymethyl cellulase activity (CMCase) to a maximum of 24.51 ± 0.97 U/mL. The study demonstrates that the three-strain synthetic microbial mixture effectively degrades straw at low temperatures, offering a promising microbial resource to improve straw utilization and soil fertility in cold regions.

While skin aging is inevitable, healthy habits, sun protection, skincare, and medical interventions can slow visible skin changes; estrogen is also crucial. In 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) results contributed to the subsequent trend toward fear and avoidance of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Since 2002, the WHI results have been re-evaluated and caused the US FDA to announce “the removal of the misleading FDA warnings on HRT”, stating that “estrogen is a key hormone for women’s health where every single part of a woman’s body depends on estrogen to operate at its best—including the brain, bones, heart, and muscles”. This overview explores this transformation of scientific information/perspective on HRT via (a) aging and skin health; (b) the importance and changes in estrogen in women with a focus on dermal parameters; (c) provides a brief review of the WHI result, impact, and current status of this report; (d) explores the “timing hypothesis” for HRT interventions; and (e) proposes that HRT might be considered not only for symptomatic women but also for esthetic treatment in perimenopause and menopause patients. The latest reviews support a recent large-scale systematic review and meta-analysis on skin parameters, which suggests that HRT may have a place in esthetic treatment. However, beyond esthetic benefits, the positive implications of HRT on several other health parameters in women during aging are briefly presented. Of course, hormonal and numerous other treatments require a review of the risks/benefits and their discussion among the patient and medical professionals to determine the most effective interventions for treating hormone-related skin changes, but this shift in perspective warrants further investigation and validation.

Heart failure (HF) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is driven by complex, interconnected pathophysiological processes, including maladaptive cardiac remodeling, fibrosis, hypertrophy, metabolic dysregulation, and cardiomyocyte loss. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs that act as key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, have emerged as important coordinators of these processes across cardiomyocytes and non-myocyte cardiac cell populations. In addition to altered expression patterns, accumulating evidence indicates that miRNA activity is dynamically influenced by regulated biogenesis, maturation, and context-dependent mechanisms of action. Through reversible translational repression and longer-term mRNA destabilization, miRNAs support adaptive responses to acute cardiac stress, whereas their persistent dysregulation contributes to remodeling pathways that promote HF progression. This comprehensive narrative review provides an integrative overview of current knowledge on the role of miRNA networks in shaping the molecular heterogeneity of heart failure across disease stages, phenotypes, and cardiac cell types. Drawing on a broad body of experimental and clinical literature, we discuss advances in understanding miRNA biogenesis, post-transcriptional control, and cell-specific effects, while highlighting conceptual developments rather than applying systematic selection criteria. We further examine the translational and clinical implications of miRNA biology, critically considering the progress of miRNA-based therapeutics alongside the biological and practical challenges that continue to limit their widespread clinical implementation. In parallel, we explore the emerging potential of circulating miRNAs as minimally invasive biomarkers that reflect upstream regulatory stress at the level of RNA processing and post-transcriptional regulation. Finally, we address the growing application of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches to high-dimensional miRNA datasets, which enable integrative analyses across clinical, imaging, and multi-omics domains and support biomarker discovery, patient stratification, and prediction of therapeutic response. Collectively, miRNA biology, supported by systems-level and AI-driven analytical frameworks, offers a unifying perspective for understanding, classifying, and monitoring cardiac remodeling in heart failure.