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Semiconductor alloy materials are highly versatile due to their adjustable properties; however, exploring their structural space is a challenging task that affects the control of their properties. Traditional methods rely on ad hoc design based on the understanding of known chemistry and crystallography, which have limitations in computational efficiency and search space. In this work, we present ChecMatE (Chemical Material Explorer), a software package that automatically generates machine learning potentials (MLPs) and uses global search algorithms to screen semiconductor alloy materials. Taking advantage of MLPs, ChecMatE enables a more efficient and cost-effective exploration of the structural space of materials and predicts their energy and relative stability with ab initio accuracy. We demonstrate the efficacy of ChecMatE through a case study of the InxGa1−xN system, where it accelerates structural exploration at reduced costs. Our automatic framework offers a promising solution to the challenging task of exploring the structural space of semiconductor alloy materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objective: Sex estimation is a critical aspect of forensic expertise. Some special anatomical structures, such as the maxillary sinus, can still maintain integrity in harsh environmental conditions and may be served as a basis for sex estimation. Due to the complex nature of sex estimation, several studies have been conducted using different machine learning algorithms to improve the accuracy of sex prediction from anatomical measurements. Material & methods: In this study, linear data of the maxillary sinus in the population of northwest China by using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) were collected and utilized to develop logistic, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) models for sex estimation with R 4.3.1. CBCT images from 477 samples of Han population (75 males and 81 females, aged 5–17 years; 162 males and 159 females, aged 18–72) were used to establish and verify the model. Length (MSL), width (MSW), height (MSH) of both the left and right maxillary sinuses and distance of lateral wall between two maxillary sinuses (distance) were measured. 80% of the data were randomly picked as the training set and others were testing set. Besides, these samples were grouped by age bracket and fitted models as an attempt. Results: Overall, the accuracy of the sex estimation for individuals over 18 years old on the testing set was 77.78%, with a slightly higher accuracy rate for males at 78.12% compared to females at 77.42%. However, accuracy of sex estimation for individuals under 18 was challenging. In comparison to logistic, KNN and SVM, RF exhibited higher accuracy rates. Moreover, incorporating age as a variable improved the accuracy of sex estimation, particularly in the 18–27 age group, where the accuracy rate increased to 88.46%. Meanwhile, all variables showed a linear correlation with age. Conclusion: The linear measurements of the maxillary sinus could be a valuable tool for sex estimation in individuals aged 18 and over. A robust RF model has been developed for sex estimation within the Han population residing in the northwestern region of China. The accuracy of sex estimation could be higher when age is used as a predictive variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demyelination and failure of remyelination in the central nervous system (CNS) characterize a number of neurological disorders. Spontaneous remyelination in demyelinating diseases is limited, as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which are often present in demyelinated lesions in abundance, mostly fail to differentiate into oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells in the CNS. In addition to OPCs, the lesions are assembled numbers of activated resident microglia/infiltrated macrophages; however, the mechanisms and potential role of interactions between the microglia/macrophages and OPCs are poorly understood. Here, we generated a transcriptional profile of exosomes from activated microglia, and found that miR-615-5p was elevated. miR-615-5p bound to 3′UTR of myelin regulator factor (MYRF), a crucial myelination transcription factor expressed in oligodendrocyte lineage cells. Mechanistically, exosomes from activated microglia transferred miR-615-5p to OPCs, which directly bound to MYRF and inhibited OPC maturation. Furthermore, an effect of AAV expressing miR-615-5p sponge in microglia was tested in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and cuprizone (CPZ)-induced demyelination model, the classical mouse models of multiple sclerosis. miR-615-5p sponge effectively alleviated disease progression and promoted remyelination. This study identifies miR-615-5p/MYRF as a new target for the therapy of demyelinating diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, composting cultivation method is widely used in oyster mushroom production. In this study, we focused on the effects of composting processes on nutritional qualities and antioxidant activity of Pleurotus floridanus mushroom fruiting bodies. Three treatments of different composting time (2, 4, and 5 days) were performed with an atmospheric sterilization treatment as the control. The results showed that the pH value, total carbon content, and total nitrogen content of substrate were critical parameters which would significantly affect mushroom qualities and bioactivities. Fruiting bodies of the control demonstrated significantly higher crude protein content, total amino acid content, and essential amino acid content than that of composting treatments. Moreover, fruiting bodies of treatment D4 and D5 manifested significantly higher crude polysaccharide contents. Crude polysaccharide of treatment D4 represented the highest scavenging ability toward both radical 3‐ethylbenzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid (ABTS·+) and Hydroxyl radical (OH·). It suggests that composting processes is suitable for oyster mushroom cultivation based on nutritional and antioxidant qualities of fruiting bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a class of autoimmune diseases mainly caused by the immune system attacking the myelin sheath of the axons in the nervous system. Although the pathogenesis of MS is complex, studies have shown that dendritic cells (DCs) play a vital role in the pathogenesis of MS. Quercetin (QU) has a unique advantage in clinical application, especially for treating autoimmune diseases. However, the mechanism of QU in the treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) remains unclear. In this study, we explore the potential role of QU in EAE. Finally, we find that QU has anti-inflammatory activities and neural protective effects in EAE. The experimental results suggest that the cellular basis for QU's function is to inhibit the activation of DCs while modulating the Th17 cell differentiation in the co-culture system. Further, QU may target STAT4 to inhibit its activation in DCs. This work will be of great significance for the future development and utilization of QU. [Display omitted] • Quercetin alleviates EAE development and ameliorates inflammatory cell infiltration to the CNS. • Quercetin decreases the inflammatory response primarily by inhibiting the activation of DCs. • Quercetin may work by targeting STAT4 to suppress its phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirotryprostatins are representative members of medicinally interesting bioactive molecules of the spirooxindole natural products. In this communication, we present a novel enantioselective total synthesis of the spirooxindole alkaloid dihydrospirotryprostatin B. The synthesis takes advantage of copper-catalyzed tandem reaction of o-iodoanilide chiral sulfinamide derivatives with alkynone to rapidly construct the key quaternary carbon stereocenter of the natural product dihydrospirotryprostatin B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-stranded miRNAs are single-stranded RNA molecules involved in the regulation of gene expression. miRNAs are involved in a variety of cellular physiological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. miR-23b have been identified to act both as oncogenes and as tumor suppressors. In addition, miR-23b is related to inflammation resistance to various autoimmune diseases and restrained inflammatory cell migration. The characterization of the specific alterations in the patterns of miR-23b expression in cancer and autoimmune disease has great potential for identifying biomarkers for early disease diagnosis, as well as for potential therapeutic intervention in various diseases. In this review, we summarize the ever-expanding role of miR-23b and its target genes in different models and offer insight into how this multifunctional miRNA modulates tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis or inflammatory cell activation, differentiation, and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the cellular morphological characteristics and changes in corneal endotheliitis among different viruses by in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM).Methods: Corneal confocal images of 44 eyes of 44 patients with HSV, VZV, CMV and EBV corneal endotheliitis were studied retrospectively. Corneal confocal images of 44 normal eyes were used as controls.Results: The pathogens included cytomegalovirus (n = 20), herpes simplex virus (n = 8), varicella zoster virus (n = 10), and Epstein Barr virus (n = 6). There were no differences in the evaluated structures among the different viruses except for the lengths of the subbasal nerves and Langerhans cell densities. Deviations in endothelial cell layers were not significant among different viruses except for owl's eye morphology.Conclusion: ICVM can assist in diagnosing endotheliitis. The results demonstrate that changes in the cornea were not different among the various viruses except for owl's eye morphology, the lengths of the subbasal nerves and Langerhans cell densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and in vivo confocal microscopic (IVCM) findings of varicella zoster virus (VZV)-related corneal endotheliitis.Methods: Retrospectively reviewed 20 eyes with corneal edema which were diagnosed by real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results: one had VZV infection. Three had epithelial lesions. Six had mydriasis. Four had loss of iris pigment. Keratic precipitates (KPs) were mixed. Subbasal nerves had disappeared in 12 eyes. Langerhans cells were observed in seven eyes. The deviations in endothelial cell layers consisted of guttate (n = 1), enlarged intercellular gaps (n = 11), infiltration of inflammatory cells (n = 8), loss of defined cell boundaries (n = 1) and anomalous nucleus (n = 9). The shape of KPs in IVCM included type I (n = 6), type III (n = 3) and type IV (n = 4).Conclusion: VZV-related corneal endotheliitis is remarkably difficult to detect clinically. Most cases have no typical skin lesions. The typical clinical feature is that of segmental iris atrophy and mixed KPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Importance: There is limited literature on paediatric donors in endothelial keratoplasty. Background: This study investigated the efficacy of and appropriate paediatric donor age for Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK). Design: Retrospective and observational case series. Participants: Thirty‐eight consecutive patients underwent DSEK with paediatric donor corneas. Methods: The age of the donors ranged from 32 weeks gestation (premature neonate) to 3 years old. All donor consents were obtained from the parents. The causes of donor death included traffic accident, congenital heart disease and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Main Outcome Measures: The outcome measures included best‐corrected visual acuity, endothelial cell loss and complications. Results: Best‐corrected visual acuity at last follow‐up was >20/40 in 28 of 38 eyes (73.7%). The mean preoperative endothelial cell density of donor corneas was 4682 ± 520 cells/mm2. The mean endothelial cell density of grafts was 3977 ± 556 cells/mm2 at 18 months postoperatively. Three lenticules from premature neonate donors exhibited severe contraction postoperatively. The edge of six lenticules from donors <1‐year‐old exhibited contraction in the early postoperative period and gradually flattened spontaneously. Graft detachment occurred in one patient. Conclusions and Relevance: DSEK with paediatric donor corneas can achieve good clinical outcomes. The corneal lenticules from 1‐ to 3‐year‐ old donors are suitable for DSEK while those from donors <1‐year‐old are less suitable due to the possibility of severe postoperative graft contraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • HEA@BC was successfully prepared to activate PMS in the degradation of OFX. • The non-free radicals 1O 2 supposed to be the dominate species. • Co and Cu were considered to be the main active sites. • HEA@BC showed good stability and high efficacy for typical organic pollutants. High entropy alloys (HEA) have recently emerged as a new class of single-phase solid solution materials and attracted widespread attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties. In this work, high entropy alloys/biochar (HEA@BC) were successfully prepared using alkaline lignin to derive biochar in concept of waste recycling. Benefiting from the unique multi-metallic composition and entropy-stabilized structure, HEA@BC exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the degradation of organic pollutants via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation and showed superiority compared with pure BC-600 and monometallic catalyst. With ofloxacin (OFX) as a typical antibiotic pollutant, the HEA@BC/PMS system could achieve 98.2% degradation efficiency within 90 min. Quenching experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) results revealed a radical/nonradical combined degradation pathway, in which 1O 2 may play a dominate role. XPS characterization and mechanistic study demonstrated that the five components all participated in the catalytic process with Co and Cu considered to be the main active sites. The outstanding catalytic performance of HEA@BC could be attributed to the synergistic effects between each metallic component and amorphous carbon matrix to accelerate the electron transmission. According to the analysis of oxidation products, the major degradation pathways for OFX were proposed and the quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) predictions revealed that the degradation process can reduce toxicity gradually. The study may give new insights into the design and preparation of high entropy catalysts which highlight promising applications for organic wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex estimation is very important in forensic applications as part of individual identification. Morphological sex estimation methods predominantly focus on anatomical measurements. Based on the close relationship between sex chromosome genes and facial characterization, craniofacial hard tissues morphology shows sex dimorphism. In order to establish a more labor-saving, rapid, and accurate reference for sex estimation, the study investigated a deep learning network-based artificial intelligence (AI) model using orthopantomograms (OPG) to estimate sex in northern Chinese subjects. In total, 10703 OPG images were divided into training (80%), validation (10%), and test sets (10%). At the same time, different age thresholds were selected to compare the accuracy differences between adults and minors. The accuracy of sex estimation using CNN (convolutional neural network) model was higher for adults (90.97%) compared with minors (82.64%). This work demonstrated that the proposed model trained with a large dataset could be used in automatic morphological sex-related identification with favorable performance and practical significance in forensic science for adults in northern China, while also providing a reference for minors to some extent. • An automatic sex estimation model based on the CNN and a large sample of OPGs has a better effect than other algorithms. • The model has better performance for adults from Han population in northern China, with an accuracy of 90.97%. • The model could also provide a reference for sex estimation of children and adolescents, with an accuracy of 82.64%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Electrochemical oxidizing carbon cloth (CC) followed by mild acidification realizes uniformly anchoring amorphous molybdenum sulfide on CC (MoS x /CC). • Excessive oxidation will lead to the lack of highly active defect MoV sites in the quantity and nature for the as-synthesized MoS x /CC samples. • The optimal MoS x /CC samples exhibit excellent activity in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to boosting highly active defect MoV sites. • This work presents a novel strategy for enhancing the HER activity of MoS x -based materials from the catalyst-substrate effect. Simultaneously achieving abundant active sites and high intrinsic activity is a major challenge to developing highly efficient MoS x -based materials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) since there might be a contradictory relationship between loading amounts and intrinsic activity of amorphous molybdenum sulfide (MoS x). Herein, we have for the first time demonstrated a strategy for the electrochemical oxidation of carbon cloth (CC) followed by mild acidification employing (NH 4) 2 MoS 4 as the precursor to boost highly active defect MoV sites (DMSs) for MoS x toward efficient HER. In our strategy, a high potential at the anode results in a high concentration of O-containing groups on the surface of CC, which favors loading [Mo 3 S 13 ]2− clusters or MoS x on CC (MoS x /CC) for achieving abundant DMSs. Impressively, such oxidation does not disrupt the sp2 hybridized carbon of the substrate. Hence, the excellent conductivity of CC guarantees high intrinsic activity of the as-synthesized MoS x /CC samples. On the other hand, excessively high potential stimulates excessive growth and accumulation of [Mo 3 S 13 ]2− clusters for further increasing loading amounts of MoS x. Nevertheless, such loading is at the expense of DMSs, indicating a great decrease in the quantity of active sites. Furthermore, excessive oxidation leads to unsatisfactory conductivity of CC, owing to breaking the sp2-conjugated system of CC. At the same time, the theoretical prediction and experimental investigation reveal that the intrinsic activity of DMSs will significantly decrease at excessively high potential. By regulating electrochemical potential to 1.8 V, a balance between the loading amounts of MoS x and intrinsic activity of MoS x /CC is achieved to boost highly active DMSs for efficient HER. Consequently, the optimal MoS x /CC exhibit the most excellent HER activity among all counterparts, accompanied by reliable stability. This work presents a new strategy for realizing abundant active sites with high intrinsic activity for MoS x -based materials toward efficient HER from the catalyst-substrate effect. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Short-term composting for preparing oyster mushroom cultivation was performed. • Variation of physicochemical properties led to succession of microbial communities. • Composting bacteria demonstrated much higher abundance than fungi. • Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, and Proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla. • Carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the main metabolic pathways. Short-term composting of raw materials for preparing oyster mushroom cultivation media is widely used in China, and its microbial mechanism needs to be further studied. 11-days' peach sawdust-based composting was performed to evaluate material conversion and microbial succession using physicochemical analysis and 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing. Composting bacteria demonstrated much higher abundance than fungi. Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, and Proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla, while most of fungal species belonged to Ascomycota. Moisture was the key factor at the beginning, while total nitrogen, temperature, and lignin became main influencing factors for composting maturity. Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria of bacterial phyla, Eurotiomycetes and Sordariomycetes of fungal classes involved in lignocellulosic degradation. Bacterial function prediction analysis showed that carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the main metabolic pathways. These results confer a better understanding of material and microbial succession during short-term composting and also provide valuable utilization in mushroom industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anacardic acid (AA) is a phenolic acid extract found in a number of plants, crops, and fruits. It exhibits a wide range of biological activities. This study displayed that AA effectively alleviated EAE, a classical mouse model of multiple sclerosis. AA administered to the EAE greatly decreased inflammatory cell infiltration to the CNS and protected the myelin integrity in the white matter of the spinal cord. AA could block lipopolysaccharide-induced DC activation. inhibited the polarization of 2D2 mice-derived T cells by inhibiting the DCs activity. Immunoblot results indicated that the phosphorylation of NF-κB is significantly suppressed in AA-treated DCs. This work displayed that AA possessed a potential anti-inflammatory therapeutic effect for the treatment of autoimmune disease. • Anacardic acid effectively alleviated EAE. • AA greatly decreased inflammatory cell infiltration to the CNS. • Myelin integrity raised after AA treatment in the white matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancestry informative markers are genetic markers that show distinct genetic divergences among different populations. These markers can be utilized to discern population substructures and estimate the ancestral origins of unknown individuals. Previously, we developed a multiplex system of 30 ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphism (AISNP) loci to facilitate ancestral inferences in different continental populations. In the current study, we first compared the ancestry resolutions of the 30 AISNPs and the other previously reported AISNP panels for African, European, East Asian, South Asian and American populations. Next, the genetic components of the Xinjiang Hui group were further explored in comparison to these continental populations based on the 30 AISNPs. Genetic divergence analyses of the 30 AISNPs in these five continental populations revealed that most of the AISNPs showed high genetic differentiations between these populations. Ancestry analysis comparisons of the 30 AISNPs and other published AISNPs revealed that these 30 AISNPs had comparable efficiency to other AISNP panels. Genetic relationship analyses among the studied Hui group and other continental populations demonstrated that the Hui group had close genetic affinities with East Asian populations and might share the genetic ancestries with East Asian populations. Overall, the 30 AISNPs can be used to predict the bio-geographical origins of different continental populations. Moreover, the obtained genetic data of 30 AISNPs in the Hui group can further enrich the extant reference data, which can be used as reference data for ancestry analyses of the Hui group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is an essential energy and protein source for humans. Climate change brings daunting challenges to wheat yield through environmental stresses, in which phytohormones play critical roles. Nevertheless, the comprehensive understanding of wheat phytohormone responses remains elusive. Here, we investigated the transcriptome response of wheat seedlings to five phytohormones, cytokinin (6‐BA), abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA), jasmonate (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). We further selected two JA marker genes and cloned their promoters to drive the expression of 3XEGFP (tandem trimeric enhanced green fluorescent protein) in transgenic lines. The JA fluorescent reporter displayed a fast and stable response to JA treatment as an ideal tool to follow JA dynamics during fungal and cold stresses at a cellular resolution. Overall, this study provided a transcriptional landscape and facilitated generating fluorescent reporters to monitor the dynamics of phytohormones in food crops. Summary statement: This work described the transcriptome response of wheat seedlings to five phytohormones, 6‐BA, ABA, GA, JA, and SA. Originated from the above data, a JA fluorescent reporter actualized a fast and stable strategy tracking the cellular JA dynamics in environmental stresses, e.g., fungal pathogens or cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizing nodes into clusters and forwarding data to the base station (BS) in clustering routing protocols have been widely utilized to improve the energy efficiency, scalability and stability of wireless sensor networks. Making decisions on how many clusters are formed, which nodes are selected as cluster heads (CHs) and who become the relay nodes significantly impact the network performance. Therefore, a distributed clustering routing protocol combined affinity propagation (AP) with fuzzy logic called DAPFL is proposed in this paper, which considers not only energy efficiency but also energy balance to extend the network lifetime. In DAPFL, AP is firstly used to determine the number of clusters and select the best CHs simultaneously based on residual energy, distance between nodes. Then, the optimal next-hop CHs are chosen by using fuzzy logic system with residual energy, data length and distance to BS as descriptors. Simulations in different scenarios are carried out to verify the effectiveness of DAPFL, and the results show that DAPFL exhibits the promising performance in terms of network energy consumption, standard deviation of residual energy, network throughput and lifetime, compared with the up-to-date distributed clustering routing protocols EEFUC, EEFRP, LEACH-AP and APSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main pathological characteristics of demyelinating diseases are central nervous system (CNS) myelin damage, and the differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells is the therapeutic target of myelin repair. Previous studies have found that a large number of platelet-derived growth factor receptor α(PDGFRα) positive oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) accumulate in the lesion area of myelin injury, and differentiation is blocked. However, the therapeutic effects of drugs currently used clinically on OPCs differentiation and myelin repair are limited. The main reason is that it is difficult to reach the effective concentration of the drug in the lesion area. Therefore, efficiently delivering into the CNS lesion area is of great significance for the treatment of MS. Natural exosomes have good biocompatibility and are ideal drug carriers. The delivery of drugs to lesion areas can be achieved by giving the exosomes armed targeting ligand. Therefore, in this study, combining exosomes with PDGFA helps them accumulate in OPCs in vitro and in vivo. Further, load montelukast into exosomes to achieve targeted therapy for cuprizone-induced demyelination animal model. The implementation of this research will help provide effective treatments for demyelinating diseases and lay a theoretical foundation for its application in the clinical treatment of different demyelinating diseases. • OPC surface receptor PDGFRα is a potential target for drug delivery in demyelinating diseases. • The ligand-modified exosomes dramatically increased targeting efficiency to the oligodendrocyte lineages in vitro and in vivo. • EVPs-montelukast exerts the therapeutic ability in the demyelination animal and promotes myelin regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been widely employed as one tool for the studies of human migration and phylogenetic evolution owing to the characteristics of its lack of recombination and matrilineal inheritance. In this study, we analyze genetic distributions of 60 mtDNA markers in 126 unrelated individuals of Southern Shaanxi Han population and classify their haplogroups. Genetic distribution comparisons between Southern Shaanxi Han and other populations from different continents are conducted based on the same mtDNA markers. The majority of 60 mtDNA markers are polymorphic in Southern Shaanxi Han population. The most common haplogroups observed in Southern Shaanxi Han population are B5, followed by D5, A, D4e, and N9a1′3. Obtained matching probability for these 60 mtDNA markers indicates that the panel could be used as a valuable tool in forensic caseworks. Results of genetic distances (Fst) and multidimensional scaling analysis show that Southern Shaanxi Han population has relatively close genetic relationships with other Han populations in different regions. In conclusion, the panel comprising 60 mtDNA markers could be utilized for forensic applications in Southern Shaanxi Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A non-destructive massive approach to screen wheat phenolic mutants in field. • Selected mutants also presented variations in grain phenolics. • Determination of antioxidant potential to isolate healthy grains. • Phenolics in endosperm caused antioxidant retention after debranning. • BSR identified candidate genes co-segregated in lrf4 BC 1 F 2 population. Present in many plant foods, biogenic phenolic compounds are important bioactive phytonutrients with high anti-oxidant activity and thereby are praised for their health-promoting properties. However, current food nutrient improvement by high phenolic content in staples is limited by the shortage of genetic resources rich in phenolic compounds. To resolve this obstacle, we developed a non-destructive massive analytical approach to screen wheat phenolic mutants. In grains, multiple mutant lines showed significantly higher contents of flavonoids or cell wall-bound phenolic esters. Moreover, five mutants showed higher anti-oxidant potentials in wall-bound phenolic compounds ranging from 15% to 20%, with the maximal close to natural black wheat. In contrast to black wheat, two mutants accumulated higher phenolic compounds in the endosperm. lrf4 was mapped by BSR to a concentrated genomic region in the short arm of chromosome 1A. The present work represents an efficient high-throughput strategy to increase wheat anti-oxidant potential through traditional mutagenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to determine the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic repeat liver resection (LRLR) for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC).Methods: Twenty patients underwent LRLR for rHCC between 2015 and 2017. The control groups consisted of 79 open RLR (ORLR) for rHCC and 185 LLR for primary HCC. We undertook propensity score-adjusted analyses (PSA) and 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) for the comparison of LRLR versus ORLR. Comparison of LRLR versus LLR was done using multivariable regression models with adjustment for clinically relevant covariates.Results: Twenty patients underwent LRLR with three open conversions (15%). Both PSA and 1:1-PSM demonstrated that LRLR was significantly associated with a shorter stay, superior disease-free survival (DFS) but longer operation time compared to ORLR. Comparison between LRLR versus LLR demonstrated that patients undergoing LRLR were significantly older, had smaller tumors, longer operation time and decreased frequency of Pringle's maneuver applied. There was no difference in other key perioperative outcomes.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that in highly selected patients; LRLR for rHCC is feasible and safe. LRLR was associated with a shorter hospitalization but longer operation time compared to ORLR. Moreover, other than a longer operation time, LRLR was associated with similar perioperative outcomes compared to LLR for primary HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The Xibe population is one of China’s officially recognised populations and is now distributed separately from west to east in the northern part of China. X-chromosomal short tandem repeats have a special inheritance pattern, and could be used as complements in forensic application, especially for complex or deficiency cases. Subjects and methods:This study obtained the allelic and haplotypic frequencies of 19 X-STR loci in the Xibe population from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, and studied the genetic differentiations between the Xibe and other populations. Results:The combined power of discrimination in females and males and mean exclusion chances in deficiency cases, normal trios and duo cases was at least 0.999 999 994. In the haplotypic study, the Xibe population showed a more similar pattern of haplotype distribution with Asian populations than populations from other continents, while allelic study also indicated a closer relationship between the Xibe and Asian populations. Conclusions:The 19 X-STR loci would be useful in forensic application in the studied population. The Xibe population showed a closer genetic relationship with Asian populations in the study, and more population data would be necessary for more detailed genetic relationship studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

X-chromosomal short tandem repeats (X-STRs) have been widely used in forensic practices involving complicated ties of kinship over the past years, and also play an increasingly important role in population genetics. To study the genetic polymorphisms of 19 STR loci on X chromosome in Chinese Kazak ethnic group, we investigated the allelic and haplotypic frequencies of the 19 loci in 300 (149 males and 151 females) unrelated healthy individuals from Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region of China after having evaluated the forensic application value of these loci in forensic sciences, and then compared the population distinctions between the Kazak group and other reference groups. We observed a total of 240 alleles at these X-STR loci with the corresponding allelic frequencies ranging from 0.0017 to 0.5917. In the study, the highest polymorphism was found at DXS10135 locus. The combined power of discrimination in females was 0.999999999999999999999985 and in males 0.999999999999968. The present study indicates that the 19 X-STR loci are very useful for both forensic identification cases and kinship analyses involving a female offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Laurani Au–Ag–Cu deposit is a typical high-sulfidation (HS) epithermal deposit genetically related to volcanic rocks in the Bolivian Altiplano polymetallic belt (BAPB), yet few studies have been carried out on these volcanic rocks. Detailed petrographic observations show that the Laurani volcanic rocks comprise monzogranite porphyries, dacites, dacitic porphyries and tuffs. Zircon U–Pb dating demonstrates that they formed at 7.44 ± 0.15 Ma ∼7.65 ± 0.09 Ma in the late Miocene during the rapid uplift of the Altiplano. Geochemical features indicate these volcanic rocks belong to high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonite series, enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and light rare earth elements (LREE) and depleted in high field strength elements (HFSE) and heavy rare earth elements (HREE), with no Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.80–1.11, mean = 0.95). We suggest that the magma sources of the Laurani volcanic rocks are primarily generated from the partial melting of the thickened lower crust, for: (1) No Eu anomalies indicate that plagioclase is absent in the residue, and the extensively depleted HREE and positively correlated high (Gd/Yb) N , (Dy/Yb) N , and (La/Yb) N ratios indicate that garnet is a dominant residual mineral in their source, which are consistent with the thickened lower crust; (2) 176Hf/177Hf ratios (0.282409–0.282544) and negative ε Hf (t) values (−13.15 to −8.37) confirm that the magmas are mainly evolved from the partial melting of the old lower crust; (3) Inherited zircons ages of 1.87–1.62 Ga are consistent with the basement ages of the Arequipa Massif between 1.9 Ga and 1.8 Ga, indicating that the magma sources are mainly generated from the partial melting of the Paleoproterozoic crust. These observations coincide with the thickened (60–80 km) felsic to intermediate lower crust beneath the Altiplano. Combined with the geodynamic process of rapid uplift of the Altiplano, we propose that the removal of the lower crust and/or mantle lithosphere and/or its interaction with the asthenosphere provide heat to contribute to the partial melting of the thickened lower crust to generate parental magma, then parental magma emplaces along the strike-slip Eucaliptus fault to form the Laurani volcanic rocks. Furthermore, numerous inherited zircon ages with a weighted mean of 1189 ± 30 Ma reflect the intense Grenvillian metamorphism in the Mesoproterozoic and the two ages 259.9 ± 5.11 and 231.7 ± 2.2 Ma indicate the Permian magmatic events in northern Bolivia. From this study, we infer that partial melting of the thickened lower crust during the rapid uplift of the orogenic belt may be an important magma formation mechanism. [Display omitted] • Zircon U–Pb dating demonstrates the Laurani volcanic rocks formed at ∼7.5 Ma. • The parental magma of the Laurani volcanic rocks generated from the partial melting of the thickened lower crust. • Inherited zircon ages indicate the existence of the Arequipa Massif and the Grenvillian metamorphism in the Central Andes. • Partial melting of the thickened lower crust is an important magma formation mechanism during uplift of orogenic belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic profiles of 14 killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor ( KIR ) genes and 2 pseudogenes of 124 individuals from Tujia ethnic minority residing in Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture of Hubei province of China and investigate the genetic relationships between the Tujia ethnic minority and other reported groups for the first time. Sequence specific primer amplification (PCR-SSP) methods were used to genotype the 14 KIR genes and 2 pseudogenes. The observed carrier frequencies (OF) and the gene frequencies (GF) of the KIR genes were measured. Neighbor-joining (N-J) tree and the principal component analysis (PCA) plot were constructed. All individuals were typed positive for the three framework loci KIR3DL3 , 2DL4 and 3DL2 , as well as for pseudogene KIR3DP1 . The gene frequencies of the other KIR genes ranged from 9% in KIR2DS2 to 98% in KIR2DP1 and KIR3DL1 . The present study of the KIR genes may be a powerful tool for enriching the Chinese ethnical gene information resources of the KIR gene pool, as well as for the anthropological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Uigur ethnic minority is the largest ethnic group in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, and valuable resource for the study of ethnogeny. The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic diversities and forensic parameters of 30 insertion-deletion loci in Uigur ethnic group from Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region of China and to analyze the genetic relationships between Xinjiang Uigur group and other previously published groups based on population data of these loci. Results: All the tested loci were conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.3750 to 0.5515; and 0.4057 to 0.5037, respectively. The combined power of discrimination and probability of exclusion in the group were 0.99999999999940 and 0.9963, respectively. We analyzed the D distance, interpopulation differentiations and population structure, conducted principal component analysis and neighbor-joining tree based on our studied group and 21 reference groups. The present results indicated that the studied Xinjiang Uigur group (represented our samples from the whole territory of Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region) had a close relationships with Urumchi Uigur (represented previously reported samples from Urumchi of Xinjiang) and Kazak groups. Conclusions: The present study may provide novel biological information for the study of population genetics, and can also increase our understanding of the genetic relationships between Xinjiang Uigur group and other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Different allele distributions of 27 Y-STRs were observed in Zhanjiang four surnames. • A decision tree was developed to predict surname origins of Zhanjiang four surnames. • 27 Y-STRs were useful for forensic male identifications in Zhanjiang four surnames. Co-separation studies between surnames and Y chromosome genetic markers are beneficial to revealing population migrations, surname origins, population formation histories and forensic familial searching. Genetic distributions of 27 Y-STRs in Chinese four surnames (Li, Lin, Chen and Huang) from Zhanjiang Han population were investigated. Meanwhile, we tried to develop a decision tree model for surname predictions based on Y-STR haplotypes. Allelic frequencies of 27 Y-STRs showed that unique alleles were only observed in a certain surname; besides, some alleles displayed higher frequencies in a certain surname than those in other surnames, implying these alleles might be employed as the useful indicators for surname predictions. Haplotype match probability values of 27 Y-STRs in these surnames revealed that the system could be used as a valuable tool for forensic male identification. The developed decision tree model performed well for the training set with the accuracy of 0.9860 and obtained the relatively high accuracy (>0.70) for surname predictions of the testing set. To sum up, we explored the power of the machine learning to the surname predictions based on obtained Y-STR haplotypes, which showed promising application values in forensic familial searching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]