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Background: The genus Sanicula comprises ca. 45 taxa, widely distributed from East Asia to North America, which is a taxonomically difficult genus with high medicinal value in Apiaceae. The systematic classification of the genus has been controversial for a long time due to varied characters in key morphological traits. China is one of the most important distributed centers, with ca. 18 species and two varieties. At present, chloroplast genomes are generally considered to be conservative and play an important role in evolutionary relationship study. To investigate the plastome evolution and phylogenetic relationships of Chinese Sanicula, we comprehensively analyzed the structural characteristics of 13 Chinese Sanicula chloroplasts and reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships. Results: In present study, four newly complete chloroplast genome of Sanicula taxa by using Illumina sequencing were reported, with the typical quadripartite structure and 155,396–155,757 bp in size. They encoded 126 genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 32 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Genome structure, distributions of SDRs and SSRs, gene content, among Sanicula taxa, were similar. The nineteen intergenic spacers regions, including atpH-atpI, ndhC-trnM, petB-petD, petD-rpoA, petN-psbM, psaJ-rpl33, rbcL-accD, rpoB-trnC, rps16-trnQ, trnE-psbD, trnF-ndhJ, trnH-psbA, trnN-ndhF, trnS-psbZ, trnS-trnR, trnT-trnF, trnV-rps12, ycf3-trnS and ycf4-cemA, and one coding region (ycf1 gene) were the most variable. Results of maximum likelihood analysis based on 79 unique coding genes of 13 Chinese Sanicula samples and two Eryngium (Apiaceae-Saniculoideae) species as outgroup taxa revealed that they divided into four subclades belonged to two clades, and one subclade was consistent with previously traditional Sanicula section of its system. The current classification based on morphology at sect. Sanicla and Sect. Tuberculatae in Chinese Sanicula was not supported by analysis of cp genome phylogeny. Conclusions: The chloroplast genome structure of Sanicula was similar to other angiosperms and possessed the typical quadripartite structure with the conserved genome arrangement and gene features. However, their size varied owing to expansion/contraction of IR/SC boundaries. The variation of non-coding regions was larger than coding regions of the chloroplast genome. Phylogenetic analysis within these Chinese Sanicula were determined using the 79 unique coding genes. These results could provide important data for systematic, phylogenomic and evolutionary research in the genus for the future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weiqi, also called Go or Baduk, is regarded as the most complicated board game in the world. Weiqi playing has a very long history in East Asia. Its strategic thinking in decision-making even affects militarists there. The availability of the records of almost all Weiqi games in the past decades enables us to perform quantitative studies about this sport with high statistical significance. Here, we construct the directed and undirected Elo transfer networks using over 80,000 Weiqi game records from 1941 to 2019. We investigate the distributions of network measures of the two Elo transfer networks, such as node degree, clustering coefficient, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality. We find a strong correlation between the average Elo value of a Weiqi player and a few node traits. We also find a rich-club phenomenon among high-Elo players. The two networks are unveiled to possess significant communities, which are consistent with each other and can be well interpreted by player's affiliation, gender, and Elo value. These findings are different in a large part from those of the chess Elo transfer networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Herein, we present a comprehensive list of fishes in the Red River basin. • We verify the use of two fish fauna analyses to identify characteristic taxa. • The TFFA and VFFP methods were compared; the TFFA reflected the main fish taxa. • The VFFP results indicated the taxa representative of the Red River basin. • Data from fish fauna analyses should be used as indicators to plan fish preserves. The composition of fish fauna in the Red River basin was analyzed based on 288 fish species belonging to 138 genera, 53 families (subfamilies), and 14 orders, using the Traditional Fish Fauna Analysis (TFFA) and the Value of Fish Fauna Presence (VFFP) methods. The TFFA and VFFP methods allow for a ranking of the taxa according to commonality and uniqueness of the taxa to the river basin; however, both methods provide different, complimentary results. Based on the results from the TFFA method, 15 families (subfamilies), including 85 genera and 219 species, were identified as the main fish taxa in the Red River basin. Based on the results of the VFFP method, 17 families (subfamilies), including 89 species and 52 genera, were highlighted as representative families (subfamilies) and genera in the Red River basin. Overall, Cypriniformes was the most abundant order, followed by Siluriformes and Gobiiformes. Although the Red River basin is geographically situated in Southeast Asia, it had obvious characteristics of East Asian fish fauna rather than Southeast Asian fish fauna. Therefore, the Red River fish fauna can be considered the boundary between the fish fauna of Southeast Asia and East Asia. This paper further detailed the indexes and calculations of the TFFA and VFFP methods. The authors proposed using the results of the TFFA and VFFP methods as indicators for planning fish preserves as well as discussed the specific methods related to using these indicators to plan and establish fish preserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lion’s Mane Mushroom ( Hericium erinaceum ) is a traditional edible mushroom widely used in culinary applications and as an herbal medicine in East Asian countries. In the present study, two new aromatic compounds, hericerin A ( 1 ) and isohericenone J ( 5 ), along with five known compounds, isoericerin ( 2 ), hericerin ( 3 ), N -De phenylethyl isohericerin ( 4 ), hericenone J ( 6 ), and 4-[3′,7′-dimethyl-2′,6′-octadienyl]-2-formyl-3-hydroxy-5-methyoxybenzylalcohol ( 7 ), were isolated from a methanol extract of the fruiting bodies of H. erinaceum . The chemical structures of the compounds were determined from mass spectra and 1D- and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The anticancer effects of the isolated compounds were examined in HL-60 human acute promyelocytic leukaemia cells. Hericerin A ( 1 ) and hericerin ( 3 ) significantly reduced cell proliferation with IC 50 values of 3.06 and 5.47 μM, respectively. These same compounds also induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells, accompanied by time-dependent down-regulation of p-AKT and c-myc levels. These data suggest that compounds 1 and 3 from H. erinaceum are suitable for use in potential cancer treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The phylogeny of land snails genus Acusta is inferred using molecular markers. • Three major evolutionary lineages were identified. • The origin and diversification of the genus was dated to the late Miocene–Pliocene. • Taiwan functioned as a source of diversification on the East Asian islands. East Asia has highly diverse and endemic biota due to its complex geological and climatic history and its diversified topography. The continental and insular distributions of land snail genus Acusta in East Asia provide a good opportunity to compare the evolutionary processes in this group under different biogeographical conditions. In this study, we inferred the evolutionary history of the land snail genus Acusta by a molecular phylogeny and investigated how the palaeogeographic events shaped species diversity and the distribution of the Acusta genus within the island arc. A concatenated dataset generated from sequences of one nuclear (ITS2) and two mitochondrial (16S, COI) gene fragments, include most of nominal taxa of the genus, four related species and one outgroup. We constructed the phylogeny and the evolutionary history of the genus through maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, using a Bayesian molecular clock and ancestral range estimation. Our results suggested that currently recognized species in Acusta are polyphyletic. The traditionally accepted concept of the affinity of Acusta and Bradybaena is not supported. The hypothesis of colonization via land bridges during the Pleistocene glaciations for the biota of East Asian islands is not supported. Instead, the origin and diversification of the genus Acusta was dated to the late Miocene–Pliocene from an area around North and Northeast China to South China and East Asian islands Three major evolutionary lineages were identified. Two of the major lineages demonstrate distinct evolutionary histories, as sympatric speciation is the major speciation process for the continental clade, while the insular clade originated from founder events. Taiwan functioned as an important source of diversification for species on the East Asian islands possibly through passive dispersal of different mechanisms. The sea level fluctuations caused by the Pleistocene glacial cycles play a role in the subsequent dispersion and diversification of species of the continental clade, such as the more recent range expansion of A. redfieldi from South China to Taiwan and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic human prion diseases are a group of inherited encephalopathies directly associated with different mutations in PrP-encoding gene PRNP, including more than 50 different mutations worldwide. Some genotypes of mutations show ethno-correlation, and among them, genetic Creutzfeldt–Jacob disease (gCJD) with V210I mutation is frequent in European countries but rare in East Asia. Here, we comparatively analyzed the clinical and laboratory features of three Chinese patients with V210I mutant identified via the Chinese National CJD Surveillance System (CNS-CJD) in 2019. Two cases were Han Chinese and one was Hui Chinese, without blood kinship. The onset ages of three cases were 69, 64, and 59 years old, respectively. The clinical features of V210I gCJD were similar to sporadic CJD (sCJD), displaying typical clinical symptoms and signs, except that Case 3 did not show myoclonic movement. All three cases displayed sCJD-associated abnormalities on MRI and positive CSF 14-3-3, while two cases recorded typical EEG abnormalities. Only one case was positive in CSF real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC). Appearances of mutism in three cases were relatively fast, with the intervals of 30 to 50 days after onset. Family history was not reported in all three cases. Those V210I gCJD cases are rare in China, and probably the first three in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]