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Vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes offer a compelling avenue for increasing optical communication capacity. Despite significant efforts in OAM mode (de)multiplexing, challenges persist in signal demodulation and noise monitoring of multiplexed channels. This challenge largely stems from the absence of efficient feature extraction methods capable of analyzing the OAM spectrum, which delineates mode components and intensity weights. Herein, we introduce a novel strategy for OAM mode spectrum analysis using a residual neural network incorporating interference techniques. By introducing interference between target vortex beams and a spherical wave, resulting in the mapping of OAM distributions onto the stripe features observed in the interferogram. To effectively extract spectrum details from these interferograms, we construct a residual neural network exhibiting high feature processing capabilities, which enables precise analysis of intricate OAM mode spectrum. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this OAM spectrum analysis by obtaining the intensity weights for 15 superimposed modes ranging from −10 to +10, achieving a mean-square-error of 2.3 × 10−4. To validate its practicality, we showcase an 80-channel three-dimensional multiplexing communication system including five OAM modes, two polarizations, and eight wavelengths. The 4 Tbit/s quadrature-phase-shift-keying signals are successfully demodulated with a bit-error rate below 3.34 × 10−6. Additionally, the measured optical signal-to-noise ratio reaches 11.5 dB, indicating the potential applications of this OAM spectrum analysis strategy in signal demodulation and noise monitoring. • A novel strategy for OAM mode spectrum analysis was investigated for signal demodulation and noise monitoring. • The MSE for spectral analysis of 15 superimposed modes in the mode range −10∼+10 was 2.3 × 10−4. • The QPSK signals were demodulated with a BER below 3.34 × 10−6, and the measured OSNR reached 11.5 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An LDPC coded strategy to enhances the performance of CVB multiplexing communication over few-mode fiber was proposed. • A 4-channel CVB multiplexing communication was demonstrated, and 96 Gbit/s QPSK-OFDM signals were successfully transmitted over a 5 km FMF. • After equalization using LDPC coded, the bit error rate decreased by ∼ 2.5 orders of magnitude, and the communication sensitivity improved by ∼ 8 dB. Cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) have attracted significant research interest in mode-division multiplexing communication thanks to their capacity to carry orthogonal vector modes. Because CVB modes are the eigen-solutions of few-mode fiber (FMF), they are well-suited for long-distance transmission. Nevertheless, the application of CVB multiplexing communication is impeded by mode coupling in FMF, which leads to mode crosstalk and signal fading. Herein we propose an LDPC coded strategy to provide a channel equalization solution, which enhances the performance of CVB multiplexing communication. Digital signals are encoded using a sparse parity-check matrix that establishes a specific parity-check relationship between the original data bits and the check bits. This enables the correction of error bits for channel equalization. To demonstrate the concept, we built a 4-channel CVB multiplexing communication system that transmitted 24 × 4 Gbit/s QPSK-OFDM signals over 5 km FMF. After equalization, the bit error rate decreased by ∼ 2.5 orders of magnitude, and the communication sensitivity improved by ∼ 8 dB. This proof of concept demonstrates the potential of the proposed LDPC coded strategy to enhance the performance of CVB multiplexing communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mendelian randomization study is an epidemiological research method that can be used to explore the causal relationship between exposure and outcome. • Gut microbiota has both protective and promotive effects on obstructive sleep apnea. • In the diagnosis and prevention of obstructive sleep apnea, the role of gut microbiota should be emphasized Although observational studies have identified relations between gut microbiota and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), their causal links remain elusive. Hence, we aimed to investigate this causal relation using the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Summary-level gut microbiota data were acquired using the maximum available genome-wide association study (GWAS) from the MiBioGen consortium while obtaining summary-level OSA data using publicly available GWAS from the FinnGen Consortium. A two-sample MR analysis was used for assessing gut microbiota and OSA causal effect, using the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) approach as the primary analysis method. The results were further examined for pleiotropy and heterogeneity. Moreover, the reverse MR analysis did not find a causal relationship. Four gut microbiota were found to have nominally significant association to OSA according to the IVW method. Among them, the family Peptostreptococcaceae (OR = 1.171, 95% CI: 1.027-1.334) and genus Coprococcus3 (OR = 1.163, 95% CI: 1.007-1.343), these two florae that may increase the risk of OSA. Family Acidaminococcaceae (OR = 0.843, 95% CI: 0.729-0.975) and genus Blautia (OR = 0.830, 95% CI: 0.708-0.972) may have an ameliorative effect on OSA. No evidence of pleiotropy or heterogeneity was found. MR analysis indicated that a causal relation is existed between specific gut microbiota and OSA at the genetic prediction level, offering innovative perspectives into the mechanisms underlying gut microbiota-mediated OSA development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel modifier, 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOES), was introduced for the covalent functionalization of graphene for the first time. TEM, XPS, FT-IR, Raman, AFM and TGA were employed to characterize the morphology and structure of the PFOES-rGO. Furthermore, PVDF/PFOES-rGO composite films with different PFOES-rGO loadings were prepared by solution mixing. The dispersion of such PFOES-rGO containing fluorine ended-groups in PVDF was effectively improved compared to graphene as SEM showed. Thus, the PFOES-rGO could nucleate the PVDF crystallization and induce the formation of nearly all β phase. The dielectric, piezoelectric and dynamic mechanical properties of the PVDF/PFOES-rGO composite films were then comprehensively studied. The dielectric (at 1 kHz) and the piezoelectric constants of the PVDF/PFOES-rGO composite film at 0.3 wt% PFOES-rGO compared with the neat PVDF was greatly improved by 370% and 80.9%, respectively. The PFOES-rGO also greatly enhanced the mechanical property of PVDF composites. It is proved the modification method for graphene used in this study is very effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: No doubt a noninvasive technique for detection of cerebral ischemic extent, before the formation of the focus, is extremely valuable. This paper presents a new approach to early evaluate the degree of ischemic injury by combining bispectrum estimation of electroencephalograms (EEGs) with artificial neural network (ANN). The graded ischemic injuries in 24 Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were induced for different periods of 8, 18, 30min by infusing physiological saline along the left blood stream, based on the model for rat ischemic cerebral injury described in this paper. Four channels of EEG were collected in each rat at scheduled time of ischemia. The maximum bicoherence index and the weighted center of bispectrum (WCOB) were extracted from the EEGs and were used as input feature vector of a four-layer (12-7-2-1) ANN for prediction. Training and testing the ANN used the ‘leave one out’ strategy. The levels of ischemic injury were verified and classified by observing the ischemic area by conventional hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and the heat shock protein (HSP70) test. The proposed method was able to correctly detect ischemic extent in average accuracy of 91.67% of the cases. The results show that this scheme can be expected to diagnose ischemic cerebral injury in its earlier phases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Propofol susceptibility correlates well with pre-anesthesia dynamic frontal-parietal communication. • Robustness of the results is verified on three data sets. • Propofol administration should take pre-operative brain functional state into consideration. We investigated whether pre-anesthesia dynamic frontal-parietal functional connectivity was correlated with the observed interindividual differences in propofol susceptibility. Three resting-state EEG datasets were used in the study (N = 29, N = 21 and N = 20). We estimated the pre-anesthesia strength and fluctuations of frontal-parietal functional connectivity by using sliding-window analysis. Propofol served as the sole anesthetic drug, and it was administered by using a target-controlled infusion system. Individual susceptibility to propofol was assessed by the induction time, from infusion onset until a bispectral index value of 60 was reached, for subjects in dataset-1 and dataset-2, and susceptibility was assessed by behavioral data for subjects in the external dataset. We observed in the three datasets that subjects with high susceptibility to propofol had lower pre-anesthesia strength and lower fluctuation of frontal-parietal functional connectivity than the low-susceptibility group at alpha band. Moreover, the induction time was significantly correlated with the estimated pre-anesthesia frontal-parietal functional connectivity measures. We also validated the robustness of these findings by using different window lengths in sliding-window analysis. Subjects with weaker pre-anesthesia dynamic frontal-parietal communication are more likely to be anesthetized. These observations suggest that the titration procedure for propofol should consider the pre-anesthesia brain functional state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developed an accurate prediction system for the progression of mild cognitive impairment to AD. • Used longitudinal structural MRI data without the segmentation of regions of interest. • Applied dictionary learning to exploit the nuances between mild cognitive impairment patients. Efficient prediction of the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is important for the early intervention and management of AD. The aim of our study was to develop a longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging-based prediction system for MCI progression. A total of 164 MCI patients with longitudinal data were collected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). After preprocessing, a discriminative dictionary learning framework was applied to differentiate MCI patches, avoiding the segmentation of regions of interest. Then, the proportion of patches classified as more severe atrophy patches in a patient was calculated as his or her feature to be input into a simple support vector machine. Finally, a new subject was predicted with fourfold cross-validation (CV), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was determined. The average accuracy and AUC values after fourfold CV were 0.973 and 0.984, respectively. The effects of the data from one or two time points were also investigated. The proposed prediction system achieves desirable and reliable performance in predicting progression for MCI patients. Additionally, the prediction of MCI progression with longitudinal data was more effective and accurate. The developed scheme is expected to advance the clinical research and treatment of MCI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2A) and dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) have been extensively studied as promising candidate genes for schizophrenia. Magnetic resonance imaging studies have demonstrated that schizophrenia is associated with widespread structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. Serotonin and dopamine receptors play crucial roles in the development of the human cerebral cortex and brain activity. However, how the 5-HT2A and DRD3 genes impact brain structure and function in schizophrenia remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the main effect of disease state and the interaction effect between disease state and genotype of these two genes on cortical volume, thickness, surface area and functional connectivity density (FCD) in fifty-five drug-naïve first episode schizophrenia patients and fifty-three healthy controls. We found that the differences in local FCD (lFCD) and global FCD (gFCD) between patients and healthy controls were predominantly located in brain hub regions. The significant interaction effects of disease state and 5-HT2A and DRD3 genes on brain structure and function were mainly located in the temporal cortex. Our findings may help to improve the understanding of the relationship between 5-HT2A and DRD3 genotypes and schizophrenia pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated expression and genetic aberration of IRTKS, also named as BAIAP2L1, have been observed in many tumors, especially in tumor progression. however, the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the IRTKS-enhanced tumor progression are obscure. Here we show that higher IRTKS level specifically increases histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) by promoting accumulation of the histone methyltransferase SETDB1. Furthermore, we reveal that IRTKS recruits the deubiquitinase OTUD4 to remove Lys48-linked polyubiquitination at K182/K1050 sites of SETDB1, thus blocking SETDB1 degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Interestingly, the enhanced IRTKS–OTUD4–SETDB1–H3K9me3 axis leads to a general decrease in chromatin accessibility, which inhibits transcription of CDH1 encoding E-cadherin, a key molecule essential for maintaining epithelial cell phenotype, and therefore results in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and malignant cell metastasis. Clinically, the elevated IRTKS levels in tumor specimens correlate with SETDB1 levels, but negatively associate with survival time. Our data reveal a novel mechanism for the IRTKS-enhanced tumor progression, where IRTKS cooperates with OTUD4 to enhance SETDB1-mediated H3K9 trimethylation that promotes tumor metastasis via suppressing E-cadherin expression. This study also provides a potential approach to reduce the activity and stability of the known therapeutic target SETDB1 possibly through regulating IRTKS or deubiquitinase OTUD4. • Higher levels of IRTKS increase H3K9me3 by promoting SETDB1 accuumulation. • IRTKS recruits the deubiquitinase OTUD4 to blocking SETDB1 degradation. • The enhanced IRTKS–OTUD4–SETDB1–H3K9me3 axis decreases chromatin accessibility, and inhibits E-cadherin transcription, resulting in EMT and tumor metastasis. • Clinically, elevated IRTKS levels in tumor correlate with SETDB1 levels, and negatively associate with survival time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Feeder and local connections change in AD group. • Left putamen and precuneus had significant differences in betweenness centrality. • Three connecitons showed significant difference between AD and control groups. • Classification accuracy of current feature is superior to that of common measure. The aim of this study is to identify potential biomarkers that may distinguish people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from cognitively intact elderly. We analyzed the features of rich-club hierarchical network between the AD and a control group by diffusion tensor imaging. We detected that the changes between the two groups were located mainly in the feeder and local connections. Then, we calculated the betweenness centrality of the rich nodes and the strength values of all feeder connections, and we chose the nodes and connections that showed the most significant differences as features. We found that 1) Feeder and local connections were changed in the AD group; 2) Rich nodes of the left putamen and precuneus had significant differences in betweenness centrality between the AD and control groups; 3) Three connections showed significant differences. The obtained features were fed into a linear discriminant analysis for classifying AD from cognitively intact elderly. The classification accuracy is superior to that of traditional biomarkers (hippocampal volume and clinical scores). Our results suggested that rich-club hierarchical network analysis is a viable tool for finding potential biomarkers. The obtained features can be applied as potential biomarkers for distinguishing AD patients from cognitively intact elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The RSFC of DLPFC-related pathways are increased in FES patients. • COMT val158met genotypes have significant effect on RSFC of DLPFC. • The RSFC of DLPFC have correlations with negative symptoms in FES with val/val. Abstract Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene variants have been reported to be implicated in the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia, especially in negative symptoms. These symptoms including apathy, blunted affect, social withdrawal and motor retardation. Neuroimaging studies suggested that negative symptoms appear to be associated with impaired activities of the prefrontal cortex in particular the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Given that the COMT gene is highly expressed in the DLPFC, it is poorly understood whether the disease state and COMT val158met polymorphisms have main and interactive effect on the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of DLPFC-related pathways. To this end, fifty-five first episode schizophrenia (FES) and fifty-three healthy controls were genotyped using blood samples and underwent magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Seed-based voxel wise functional connectivity analysis was performed by placing bilateral pairs of seeds with DLPFC in area 46 defined by Brodmann's atlas. A two-ways ANCOVA model was performed with val158met genotypes and disease state as the between subjects factors. Significant disease × COMT interactive effect was found mainly in the left DLPFC with the left anterior cingulate cortex, right precuneus, right superior parietal gyrus, which were overlapped with disease main effect. And these RSFC had positive correlations with affective blunting scores in FES patients with val homozygotes, but not with met carriers. Our results showed that the disease and the genotypes in COMT gene have significant interactive effect on RSFC of DLPFC and provided evidence for a disease-dependent pattern of gene action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore an MRI-based radiomics nomogram for preoperatively predicting of pelvic lymph node (PLN) metastasis in patients with early-stage cervical cancer (ECC).Methods: Ninety-six patients with ECC were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent T2WI and DWI scans before radical hysterectomy with PLN dissection surgery. Radiomics features extracted from T2WI and DWI were selected by least absolute shrinkage and selection operation regression for further radimoics signature calculation. The discrimination of this radiomics signature for PLN metastasis was then assessed using a support vector machine (SVM) model. Subsequently, a radiomics nomogram was constructed based on the radiomics signature and clinicopathologic risk factors using a multivariable logistic regression method. The performance of the radiomics nomogram for the preoperative prediction of PLN metastasis was evaluated for discrimination and calibration.Results: The radiomics signatures demonstrated a good discrimination for PLN metastasis. A radiomics signature derived from joint T2WI and DWI yielded higher AUC than the signatures derived from T2WI or DWI alone. The radiomics nomogram integrating the radiomics signature with clinicopathologic risk factors showed a significant improvement over the nomogram based only on clinicopathologic risk factors in the primary cohort(C-index, 0.893 vs. 0.616; P = 4.311×10-5) and validation cohort(C-index, 0.922 vs. 0.799; P = 3.412 ×10-2).The calibration curves also showed good agreement.Conclusions: The radiomics nomogram based on joint T2WI and DWI demonstrated an improved prediction ability for PLN metastasis in ECC. This noninvasive and convenient tool may be used to facilitate preoperative identification of PLN metastasis in patients with ECC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Dynamic brain functional network during anesthesia is supported by 5 metastable network patterns. • The occurrence of each metastable network pattern is associated with the level of anesthesia. • An anatomical connectivity supported functional network pattern persists across conscious levels. Abstract Objective We investigated the changes of dynamic brain functional network from awaken state to the anesthesia level suitable for surgery. Methods 60-channel EEG data of 22 subjects are acquired at wakefulness, light anesthesia and deep anesthesia. The activity of 68 cortical regions are obtained by using EEG source imaging. Sliding window analysis is employed to obtain a dynamic sequence of brain functional network. K-means clustering algorithm is then employed to identify the common brain functional network patterns. Results Five common brain functional network patterns were identified across all conscious levels. The occurrence of each meta-stable network pattern was associated with the level of anesthesia. A transition functional network pattern was found to transfer to the anesthesia dominating or wakefulness dominating network pattern depending on the conscious level. Furthermore, a functional network pattern persisted during both wakefulness and anesthesia is found to be supported by the anatomical connectivity. Conclusions Dynamic changes of brain functional network exist in both awaken and anesthesia state. Significance These findings suggest that dynamic brain functional network analysis plays a critical role in decoding the mechanism of general anesthesia. The obtained five metastable network patterns may be employed for monitoring the depth of anesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • COMT val158met genotypes and disease state has significant interaction effect in cortical thickness of the left DLPFC. • The resting state functional connectivity of the triple networks is not related to individual COMT val158met genotypes. • The resting state functional connectivity between left ACC and left DLPFC is abnormal in FES patients. • The cortical thickness of the left DLPFC is abnormal in FES patients. Abstract The aberrant orchestration between the triple networks has been suggested as a backbone for some cognitive and clinical features of schizophrenia. The salience network (SN) plays a general role in switching between the central executive network (CEN) and the default mode network (DMN) mediated by dopamine activity. Whether the disease state and dopamine associated gene, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), has an interactive effect on the function and structure of the triple network has not been understood. To this end, independent component analysis was used to identify the triple network. Then, cortical thickness and inter-regional resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the triple network was investigated in 55 first episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and 53 age-, gender-, and education- matched healthy controls. Finally, we investigated if there exist interactive effect between disease and COMT gene variation on the abnormal brain structure and function. Our results show that patients with FES exhibited significantly increased RSFC between anterior cingulate cortex and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) compared with healthy controls. The cortical thickness of the left DLPFC was thinner in FES patients. Significant interaction effect between COMT and disease was found in cortical thickness of the left DLPFC. Specifically, cortical thinning in this region was evident with the val homozygotes group of the COMT gene in FES. This findings suggest abnormal RSFC between CEN and SN and thinker cortical thickness in FES. And the val homozygotes of COMT may contribute to further cortical thinning in FES patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perennial grains have been proposed to stabilise fragile lands while contributing grain and grazing in mixed farming systems. Genotype by environment (GxE) interactions for grain yield were investigated in 22 perennial rice ( Oryza sativa L./ Oryza longistaminata ) derivatives over four successive growing seasons at three sites in Yunnan in southern China and one site in Lao PDR. The GxE interaction accounted for 25.7% of the total sum of squares, with environment and genotype responsible for 57.4% and 16.9%, respectively. Cluster analysis identified seven environment and six genotype groups, which accounted for 55.6% of the GxE sum of squares. Principal component axes 1, 2 and 3 accounted for 42.3%, 19.1% and 16.5% of the GxE-SS, respectively, with PCA1 indicating yield potential, PCA2 delay in phenology under environmental stress, and PCA3 ratoon percentage. Environment groups differed in mean temperature, whether dry season or wet season, and occurrence of environmental stresses, such as periods of low minimum temperature or periods of rainfall deficit. Genotype groups differed in adaptation to these diverse environments. For genotype groups, G5 (PR23) was highest-yielding and broadly adapted across environments, while G1 (line 188, both 137s, both 139s, both 147s) was low-yielding and poorly adapted. Other genotype groups showed preferential adaptation: G3 (lines 60, 251, 264, Bt69, Bt71) to Simao/Dry Season (E3 and E4), G4 (lines 75, 243, 246, 249, 255) to Menglian/Wet Season (E1 and E2), G2 (line TZ) to Jing Hong 2013 (E7), and G6 (lines 56, 59, 214) to Jing Hong 2102 and Na Pok (E6 and E5). The results imply that regrowth success and maintenance of spikelet fertility over regrowth cycles are important for adaptation of perennial rice, especially to low minimum temperature at higher altitude and rainfall deficit at lower altitude, and future breeding programmes in perennial rice should address these environmental stresses. The high yield and broad adaptation of PR23 (G5) over environments makes it a prime candidate for release to stabilise fragile lands in the humid and subhumid tropics, while contributing grain and forage in mixed-farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is the genetic risk factor with the most established evidence for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated insufficiently consistent functional and structural changes among healthy APOE ε4 carriers when compared to non-carriers. Here, in a cognitively intact elderly group (a total of 110: 45 APOE ε4 carriers, 65 non-carriers), we aimed to investigate the potential role of APOE ε4 in the modulation of grey matter activity, white matter integrity, and brain morphology before the development of clinically significant symptoms and signs, by methods of: amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity analysis based on resting state fMRI, and fiber tractography approach based on diffusion tensor imaging. Our results revealed that compared to non-carriers, APOE ε4 carriers showed: (1) an inconsistent pattern of activity change in the default mode network, including increased gray matter activity in anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex and decreased activity in precuneus; (2) lower mean diffusivity (MD) in fibers of corona radiata and corpus callosum, and lower axial diffusivity in genu of corpus callosum; and (3) significant positive correlation between the MD value of the right superior corona radiate and gross white matter volume; significant negative correlation between the MD value of the right superior corona radiate and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score. Our results suggested that APOE ε4 gene can modulate gray matter activity and white matter integrity in cognitive and memory related regions, even before any clinical or neuropsychic symtoms or signs of imminent disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin is made up of three main p-hydroxycinamyl alcohol precursors or monolignols. Lignin biosynthesis is not only important for plant growth, but also the key factor for human use of plants as biofuels. In past decades, there were numerous studies have focused on lignification in plant stems; however, little has been uncovered about lignification in petioles. In this study, a gene encoding a glycosyltransferase was identified in poplar and named UGT75L28. A relatively higher expression of UGT75L28 could be observed in petioles. Transgenic lines overexpressing UGT75L28 showed reduced lignification in petioles, while reduced expression (RE) of this gene displayed opposite phenotype. The protein of UGT75L28 fused with six His tags was expressed in E. coli and purified. In vitro enzyme reactions were conducted for a number of substrates for this fused protein. The results revealed that UGT75L28 could only glycosylate coniferyl aldehyde, which is a substrate in lignin biosynthesis in plants. The identification of the upstream regulator of UGT75L28 found that the transcription factor PdeWRKY65 could bind to the promoter of UGT75L28 and activate its expression both in vivo and in vitro by the yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assay, the coexpression of the promoters of UGT75L28 and PdeWRKY65 in tobacco, and chromatin immunoprecipitation PCR (ChIP-PCR). Overexpression (OE) and RE PdeWRKY65 transgenic lines in poplar were also generated. The phenotype assay also showed that OE and RE PdeWRKY65 could reduce and enhance lignification in poplar petioles, respectively. The expression examination of PdeWRKY65 also showed that it was mainly expressed in petioles. Collectively, these results suggest that the gene module PdeWRKY65 - UGT75L28 negatively regulates petiole lignification by modulating the glycosylation of coniferyl aldehyde in poplar. • UGT75L28 can glycosylate a substrate in lignin biosynthesis in poplar. • PdeWRKY65 TF directly activates the expression of UGT75L28. • PdeWRKY65 - UGT75L28 negatively regulates lignin biosynthesis in poplar petioles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The face recognition ability varies across individuals. However, it remains elusive how brain anatomical structure is related to the face recognition ability in healthy subjects. In this study, we adopted voxel-based morphometry analysis and machine learning approach to investigate the neural basis of individual face recognition ability using anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. We demonstrated that the gray matter volume (GMV) of the right ventral anterior temporal lobe (vATL), an area sensitive to face identity, is significant positively correlated with the subject's face recognition ability which was measured by the Cambridge face memory test (CFMT) score. Furthermore, the predictive model established by the balanced cross-validation combined with linear regression method revealed that the right vATL GMV can predict subjects’ face ability. However, the subjects' Cambridge face memory test scores cannot be predicted by the GMV of the face processing network core brain regions including the right occipital face area (OFA) and the right face fusion area (FFA). Our results suggest that the right vATL may play an important role in face recognition and might provide insight into the neural mechanisms underlying face recognition deficits in patients with pathophysiological conditions such as prosopagnosia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD) and major depression disorder (MDD) have been regarded as highly diverged independent entities in current psychiatric diagnosis. However, ample new evidence suggests that they may have common biological traits. Neuroimaging studies showed that psychiatric disorders might associated with altered grey matter (GM) asymmetry compared to controls; however, the degree to which SZ, BD and MDD have common and/or distinct asymmetrical alterations in GM is still ambiguous. In this study, we analysed 169 voxel-based studies (including 3517 SZ patients, 1575 BD patients, 3280 MDD patients and 9733 controls) using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to systematically review the existence of similar GM atrophy and asymmetrical alteration patterns among these psychiatric disorders, and the functional association between behaviour domains and topological alterations. We found that the right parahippocampal gyrus and left superior frontal gyrus showed commonly altered GM volume across all three illnesses, but did not identify common asymmetrical alteration. The asymmetrical alteration with leftward bias appeared in SZ and bipolar disorder at different locations, but more asymmetrical alteration with rightward bias appeared in MDD. Moreover, these changes have been confirmed to be associate with several symptoms and may have roles in functional networks. Our findings support the existence of common neurobiological damnification in these psychiatric disorders and provides valuable insights for the neural commonalties among different psychiatric disorders based on a large sample size. • We found two regions showed common gray matter alteration across SZ, BD and MDD. • No common asymmetrical alteration was found across SZ, BD and MDD. • SZ may cause more severe structural alterations than those of BD and MDD. • SZ and BD showed stronger left lateralization, but MDD showed stronger right lateralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents a state of cognitive function between normal cognition and dementia. Longitudinal studies showed that some MCI patients remained in a state of MCI, and some developed AD. The reason for these different conversions from MCI remains to be investigated. 180 MCI participants were followed for eight years. 143 MCI patients maintained the MCI state (MCI_S), and the remaining thirty-seven MCI patients were re-evaluated as having AD (MCI_AD). We obtained 1,036 structural brain characteristics and 15,481 gene expression values from the 180 MCI participants and applied weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to explore the relationship between structural brain features and gene expression. Regulating mediator effect analysis was employed to explore the relationships among gene expression, brain region measurements and clinical phenotypes. We found that 60 genes from the MCI_S group and 18 genes from the MCI_AD group respectively had the most significant correlations with left paracentral lobule and sulcus (L.PTS) and right subparietal sulcus (R.SubPS) thickness; CTCF, UQCR11 and WDR5B were the mutual genes between the two groups. The expression of CTCF gene and clinical score are completely mediated by L.PTS thickness, and the UQCR11 and WDR5B gene expression levels significantly regulate the mediating effect pathway. In conclusion, the factors affecting the different conversions from MCI are closely related to L.PTS thickness and the CTCF, UQCR11 and WDR5B gene expression levels. Our results add a theoretical foundation of imaging genetics for conversion from MCI to AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Innovated perennial rice cropping system is successful for grain food security. • Regrowth over-year of perennial rice was significantly limited by high N rate. • Scheme of N2D3 had best N effects and N profit in perennial rice cropping system. • Scheme of N2D3 are recommended for sustainable production of perennial rice. • Our empirical results may also have implications for other perennial grains. Perennial grain has been proposed to provide an effective means of ensuring both food and ecological security. The newly released cultivar of perennial rice 23 (PR23) represents a new rice production system that is based on no-tillage. Nevertheless, how perennial rice responds to this new system remains unclear. Two field experiments were conducted over four successive seasons from 2016 to 2017 in Jinghong, Yunnan Province, Southern China. Field experiment 1 showed perennial rice is an economically viable and environmentally safe cropping system compared to annual rice, and could obtain a stable and sustainable grain yield economically for successive seasons across years. In the perennial rice cropping system, N fertilizer had some negative effects on the regrowth of perennial rice. Field experiment 2 with four N rates N0, N1, N2 and N3 with 0, 120, 180 and 240 kg N ha−1, respectively and three planting densities D1, D2 and D3 with 10, 16.7 and 22.6 plants m-2, respectively on perennial rice was conducted to assess and ameliorate these negative effects of N fertilizer on the regrowth of perennial rice. The results showed that: (1) the N2D3 treatment (180 kg N ha−1 integrated with 22.6 plants m−2) resulted in a stable and high grain yield across three successive regrowth seasons (6.93 t ha−1) and optimized yield components (panicle no. m-2, spikelet no. panicle−1, grain weight) and root activity (10.81 g h−1 m-2); (2) the regrowth of perennial rice 23 was significantly limited by N fertilizer (P <0.05), and the N0D2 treatment had the best regrowth ability (97.8 %) across the three regrowth seasons; (3) additionally, the N2D3 treatment had the best N net productivity (27 kg N kg−1), profit (79 CNY kg−1) and sustainable production capacity (0.59), and could obtain more economic profit in successive perennial rice production. Perennial rice was able to be sustainably and economically produced for successive regrowth seasons across years, and the N2D3 treatment provided optimal conditions, which enhanced the regrowth rate, N productivity, economic benefit and yield potential. The use of less chemical N fertilizer and a higher planting density could enhance the sustainability of the grain yield and reduce fertilizer loss via a novel crop management scheme for perennial rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SZ patients carrying risk a allele have reduced functional connectivity strength;. • All groups show small-world properties regardless of the genotype;. • The PCUN.R and mTPO.L of SZ patients between different genotypes have significant difference in efficiency;. • There are correlation among functional connectivity, functional network and behavioral performances in SZ patients. Schizophrenia has often been viewed as a disorder of connectivity. The single nucleotide polymorphism rs1059004 in the oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 gene locus has been reported to be associated with schizophrenia. We measured the functional connectivity and functional brain network topology properties in 49 schizophrenic patients and 47 healthy controls. We compared the strength and diversity of the functional connectivity and topological properties of functional networks between different genotypes. The correlations among functional connectivity, topological properties and behavioral performances were also investigated in this study. We found that the connectivity strength of schizophrenic patients carrying the risk A allele was generally decreased whereas connectivity diversity was increased. Regarding topological properties, all groups showed small-world properties, the nodal efficiency showed significant differences in the right precuneus and left middle temporal pole between different genotypes in schizophrenic patients. Moreover, the nodal efficiency in the left middle temporal pole was positively correlated with the neuropsychological assessment battery results of the schizophrenic patients who were homozygous for the C allele. Our results elucidate the contribution of rs1059004 to the functional brain network, and may help enhance the present understanding of the role of risk gene in the functional dysconnectivity of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Abnormal effective connectivity between SN and CEN. • Abnormal FA in CEN. • Abnormal FA in bilateral anterior corona radiate, which correlated with the severity of positive symptoms. Disorganized communication among large-scale brain networks, especially in the salience network, default mode network and central executive network, have been consistently reported in schizophrenia (SZ) patients. However, abnormal patterns of the effective connectivity and abnormalities in the white matter of these networks remains unclear in patients with SZ. Fifty-six SZ patients and fifty-five healthy controls were enrolled in the present study and underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging. Twelve main nodes within the triple networks were defined by independent components analysis. Effective connectivity between these main nodes was computed using Granger causality analysis. Voxel-based analysis of the diffusion tensor imaging data was conducted to explore white matter changes. The SZ patients showed abnormal effective connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The abnormal white matter showed decreased fractional anisotropy localized in the bilateral anterior corona radiate and left superior long fasciculus in patients with SZ. These findings shed light on the importance of the triple network in the pathogenesis of SZ, which may facilitate the understanding of SZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Risk A allele carriers have reduced FC in both SZ patients and HCs. • There is a positive correlation between FC and verbal fluency in SZ patients. • There is a negative correlation between FC and verbal fluency in HCs. • The rs1059004 polymorphism and SZ have synergistic effects on brain connections. The rs1059004 in the oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) gene has been reported to be a candidate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for schizophrenia (SZ). A variety of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed disconnection in SZ. We aimed to investigate the association of rs1059004 polymorphism with whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) and to further explore the correlation between altered FC and cognitive behavioral scales. Fifty-five SZ patients and fifty-three matched healthy controls were included in this study. The general linear model was used to test the role of rs1059004 polymorphism in whole-brain FC based on resting-state fMRI. Spearman's rank correlation test was used to calculate the correlation coefficient between FC strength and behavior score. In the whole-brain FC analysis, we found that the FC pattern in SZ patients differs from healthy controls. Furthermore, compared to homozygous C carriers, risk A allele carriers have reduced FC strength in both SZ patients and healthy controls. For the correlation analysis in risk A allele carriers, we found a positive correlation between FC strength and verbal fluency score in SZ patients, while healthy controls appeared to have the opposite result. Our results revealed that participants carrying the risk A allele show FC patterns differing from those of homozygous C carriers. This result suggests that rs1059004 polymorphism and SZ have synergistic effects on brain connections. The correlation analysis result suggests that special attention should be paid to SZ patients who carry the risk A allele because the patients perform worse in verbal fluency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Risk allele dosage on brain structure were mainly located in frontal-temporal areas;. • Risk allele dosage on whole-brain FC overlapped with those of structure;. • Harboring one risk allele are associated with FC in cortical regions;. • Harboring two risk alleles are associated with FC in subcortical regions. The rs6994992 polymorphism has been reported as a candidate variant associated with schizophrenia (SZ). Neuroimaging studies have revealed that SZ is associated with widespread structural and functional alterations in brain. However, whether the allele dosage of rs6994992 is associated with brain structural or functional features is unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between the risk allele dosage of rs6994992 and whole-brain structural and functional characteristics and to further explore the relationship between these characteristics and cognition. Magnetic resonance images and the rs6994992 genotype were obtained from 53 healthy participants. A general linear model was used to determine the effects of risk allele dosage of rs6994992 on brain characteristics. Spearman correlation analysis was employed to calculate the correlation between altered brain characteristics and cognitive scores. Our results demonstrated that regions with significant differences in structural characteristics between groups with different dosages of rs6994992 were mainly located in the frontal and temporal lobes, hippocampus and angular gyrus. Moreover, significant regions of functional connectivity (FC) partly overlapped with the structural results. Measurements in those significant regions and FCs were correlated with the cognition scales. This association can inform our understanding of the mechanisms through which rs6994992 variants increase the risk for SZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GxE interaction was large, accounting for 37.7% of T-SS, with E 25.7% and G 33.8%. • PCA1 indicated yield potential, PCA2 yield over ratoon cycles, PCA3 ratoon percent. • Environments differed in yield potential and in performance over ratoon cycles. • Genotypes differed in yield, maturity, regrowth and performance in later ratoon cycles. • PR23 performed similarly to seasonally-replanted BN21, over up to six growth cycles. Genotype by environment (GxE) interactions for performance of 5 perennial rice genotypes (Oryza sativa L./ Oryza longistaminata) were examined relative to 1 mutant and 3 annual rice genotypes over 2–6 growth cycles at 7 locations in southern China between 2014 and 2017. Environment main effects accounted for 25.7% of the total sum of squares (SS), with genotype 33.8% and GxE 37.7%. Cluster analysis identified 6 genotype x 6 environment groups, which accounted for 77.9% of the GxE-SS. Principal component axes 1, 2 and 3 accounted for 54.7%, 25.1% and 9.4% of the GxE-SS, respectively, with PCA1 indicating yield potential, PCA2 performance over ratoon cycles, and PCA3 ratoon percentage. Environment groups differed in yield potential, which related to site favourability and whether it was low or high in the ratoon cycle. Genotype groups differed in yield potential and how well they performed in higher ratoon cycles. The medium-maturity (125 days) seasonally-replanted annual rice check BN21 was highest yielding (6.13 t ha−1). Perennial rice PR23 was high yielding and stable (5.25 t ha−1), with earlier maturity (119 days) and strong regrowth (82%). Ratooned annual rice RD23 was high yielding in original crops but poor yielding in ratoon crops, with a low ratoon percentage (16.5%). Similarly, perennial Bt71 and ratooned BN21 were high yielding in original crops and low-cycle ratoons under favourable conditions, but yielded poorly in high-cycle ratoons and less favourable conditions, with moderate regrowth (59.6%). Despite strong regrowth (77.5%), perennials 264 and Bt69 had low yield, as did perennial 139A and mutant TZ, and both these groups were late maturity. A combination of high yield potential, strong regrowth and earlier maturity resulted in higher performance of perennial rice over environments and regrowth cycles, with PR23 outstanding, and able to perform similarly to the seasonally-replanted annual check, BN21, over up to six growth cycles. Ratoon performance and trade-offs need to be examined further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]