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Background Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a life-threatening complication of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy. Macrophages/ monocytes are mediators of CRS. Tripterygium glycosides is an immunomodulator which could inhibit macrophages/ monocytes in animal models. Methods Two patients with relapsed and refractory hematological malignancies developed CRS after receiving CAR-T therapy. They received short-term tripterygium glycosides orally. Results Both patients showed rapid mitigation of fever with evidently decrease in elevated inflammatory cytokines within 72 hours. The patients' monocytes diminished remarkably, while CAR-T cells were neglectably affected. Treatment of 30 ng/mL triptolide in ex vivo cultured patients' blood for 24 hours selectively deplete over half of monocytes. Single cell RNA sequencing suggested selective depletion of CD14+CD16+ monocytes with decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines. Conclusions The low-cost and orally available tripterygium glycosides could be a promising alternative for CAR-T induced CRS, as well as other diseases complicated with CRS, e.g., coronavirus disease 2019.

Background: Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma(NKTCL) is a highly aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that is prevalent in Asia and South America. However, given the high malignancy grade, rapid clinical progress and poor long‐term prognosis of NKTCL, exploring the potential mechanism of NKTCL is of great significance for the development of drugs for NKTCL. Case presentation: We presented a case of a woman who was admitted to hospital with multiple enlarged lymph nodes and high white blood cells ,and flow cytometry examination revealed CD56 bright, CD16 dim, surface CD3-, cytoplasmic CD3+, CD2+, CD7-, HLA-DR+, CD57-, TCRβ and TCRγ genes rearrangement. No further pathological diagnosis was made because the patient's condition did not meet the need for biopsy, deteriorated rapidly and died within three days after admission; NKTCL was diagnosed based on clinical manifestations. Whole exome sequencing revealed that the NOTCH4, KMT2D, and S100A16 mutations were closely related to the occurrence and progression of NKTCL. In addition, this patient was EBV-negative. Conclusions: We mainly diagnosed NKTCL by exclusion, and the pathogenesis is complex or not limited to EBV. The discovery of new mutant genes will provide potential impact on clinical diagnosis and research guidance for its pathogenesis, prognosis, drug resistance and targeted therapy.

Potentiostatic technique was used to investigate the effect of additive thiourea on the deposition mechanism of Co2+ in choline chloride–urea eutectic solvent system. The Co–Mg–Nd ternary alloy coating was prepared by linear scanning technique which was used to study the electrochemical behavior of Co2+, Mg2+ and Nd3+ in the system and the corrosion resistance of alloy coatings. The results show that Co2+ follows the growth mechanism of three-dimensional continuous nucleation in choline chloride–urea eutectic system. When the amount of thiourea added exceeds 300 mg, the nucleation mode of Co2+ approaches the three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation. The cathodic polarization curves of Co2+, Mg2+, and Nd3+ in the choline chloride–urea system shows a trend of weakening first and then increasing with the increase of thiourea content. At the addition of 100 mg, the cathodic polarization of the films was the strongest, which was conducive to deposite. According to the Ecorr and Icorr obtained by tafel curve, it is found that adding thiourea in the plating solution system could change the corrosion resistance of the coating. When the content was less than 100 mg, the corrosion resistance of the coating is the best. With the thiourea content increasing, the corrosion resistance of the coating is gradually weakening. It is found that the plating solution with 100 mg thiourea added can prepare Co–Mg–Nd ternary alloy coating with excellent coating morphology, high rare earth content and stable compound, by SEM, EDX and XRD analysis.

In this paper, the Eu-Co-Ni-B coating was successfully prepared on the surface of copper from anhydrous ethanol at low temperature (40 °C) by electroless plating. The surface morphology of the coat...

To further explore the possibility of the electrochemical reduction of NaBO2 into NaBH4, the electrochemical reduction of NaBO2 into NaBH4 was fulfilled with pulse voltage using the Eu-Co-Ni-B coat...

The Ebbinghaus illusion (EI) is an optical illusion of relative size perception that reflects the contextual integration ability in the visual modality. The current study investigated the genetic basis of two subtypes of EI, EI overestimation, and EI underestimation in humans, using quantitative genomic analyses. A total of 2825 Chinese adults were tested on their magnitudes of EI overestimation and underestimation using the method of adjustment, a standard psychophysical protocol. Heritability estimation based on common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) revealed a moderate heritability (34.3%) of EI overestimation but a nonsignificant heritability of EI underestimation. A meta-analysis of two phases (phase 1: n = 1986, phase 2: n = 839) of genome-wide association study (GWAS) discovered 1969 and 58 SNPs reaching genome-wide significance for EI overestimation and EI underestimation, respectively. Among these SNPs, 55 linkage-disequilibrium-independent SNPs were associated with EI overestimation in phase 1 with genome-wide significance and their associations could be confirmed in phase 2 cohort. Gene-based analyses found seven genes to be associated with EI overestimation at the genome-wide level, two from meta-analysis, and five from classical two-stage analysis. Overall, this study provided consistent evidence for a substantial genetic basis of the Ebbinghaus illusion.

Introduction: Taekwondo is one of the main events of the Olympic Games. It mainly uses hands and feet for fighting or confrontation and the competition is extremely fierce. Therefore, Taekwondo is more prone to muscle, bone, and joint sports injuries. Objective: To understand the characteristics of taekwondo sports injuries. Methods: Using the literature and questionnaire survey methods, mathematical statistics is used to investigate the sports injuries of young Taekwondo athletes. Results: Among 100 young Taekwondo athletes, 93individuals had different degrees of sports injuries, accounting for 93%, and 7had no sports injuries, accounting for only 7%. The total number of injuries was 160 or 1.6injuries per capita. Conclusions: Athletes should improve their ideological understanding and training level and pay attention to the timely treatment of acute injuries, which can effectively reduce sports injuries. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results. RESUMO Introdução: O Taekwondo é um dos principais esportes dos Jogos Olímpicos. As mãos e os pés são os mais usados para lutar ou confrontar e a competição é extremamente acirrada. Portanto, os praticantes são mais sujeitos a lesões musculares, ósseas e articulares. Objetivo: Entender as características das lesões esportivas do Taekwondo. Métodos: Uso da literatura e de métodos de pesquisa por questionário. A estatística foi usada para analisar as lesões esportivas de jovens atletas de Taekwondo. Resultados: Entre 100 jovens atletas de Taekwondo, 93 indivíduos tiveram diferentes graus de lesões esportivas, representando 93%, e 7 não tiveram lesões esportivas, representando apenas 7%. O número total de lesões foi de 160 ou 1,6 lesões per capita. Conclusões: Os atletas devem ter melhor compreensão da ideologia e do nível de treinamento e estar atentos ao tratamento oportuno de lesões agudas, para que possam reduzir efetivamente as lesões esportivas. Nível de Evidência II; Estudos terapêuticos - Investigação dos resultados do tratamento. RESUMEN Introducción: El Tae Kwon Do es uno de los principales deportes de los Juegos Olímpicos. Las manos y los pies son los más utilizados para luchar o enfrentarse y la competencia es extremadamente intensa. Por lo tanto, los practicantes son más propensos a las lesiones musculares, óseas y articulares. Objetivo: Conocer las características de las lesiones deportivas de este deporte. Métodos: Uso de la literatura y métodos de encuesta por cuestionario. Se utilizó la estadística para analizar las lesiones deportivas de jóvenes atletas de Tae Kwon Do. Resultados: Entre 100 jóvenes atletas de Tae Kwon Do, 93 individuos presentaron diferentes grados de lesiones deportivas, lo que representa el 93%, y 7 no presentaron lesiones deportivas, lo que representa sólo el 7%. El número total de lesiones fue de 160, es decir, 1,6 lesiones per cápita. Conclusiones: Los atletas deben conocer mejor la ideología y el nivel de entrenamiento y ser conscientes del tratamiento oportuno de lesiones agudas, para poder reducir eficazmente las lesiones deportivas. Nivel de Evidencia II; Estudios terapéuticos - Investigación de los resultados del tratamiento.

In order to explore the kinematics and muscle force characteristics of competitive Taijiquan arm manipulation, and solve the problems of arm trajectory and control in the process of manipulation, this study puts forward the sports biomechanical analysis of arm manipulation in competitive Taijiquan. The technical characteristics and muscle force characteristics of 15 athletes from the competitive Taijiquan team of Xi’an Institute of physical education were studied. Use Excel 2007 and SPSS17.0 to statistically analyze and process the original data. According to the actual needs, the data indicators are summarized. The combined movements of competitive Taijiquan arm manipulation are captured through high-speed photography, and the kinematic data are statistically analyzed, mainly from the two aspects of action amplitude change and action braking. The results show the action track length, relative track length, and action track length of each plane of the two combined hands. The order of the two combined action tracks is: combination 1 > combination 2, in which the action track in the sagittal plane is the longest in combination 1, and it can also be considered that the motion amplitude in the sagittal plane is the largest in combination 1. The average acceleration of group A in the first beat is 0.51 m/s2 smaller than that of group B, and the value is 0.22 m/s2 smaller. Therefore, the deceleration of group A is larger than that of group B, and the braking capacity of group A is slightly stronger than that of group B. In the second beat, the average acceleration of group B is 1.5722 m/s2 larger than that of group A, and the value is 0.210 m/s2 larger. The average acceleration of group A in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth beats is 0.9, 3.728, 0.57, and 0.837 m/s2 smaller than that of group B, and the values are 0.466, 0.174, 0.250, and 0.003 m/s2 smaller, indicating that the braking capacity of group A in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth beats is slightly stronger than that of group B. In the braking of each beat in combination 1 and combination 2 of group AB, the braking ability of arm manipulation of group A is stronger than that of group B. In competitive Taijiquan, the movement techniques of manipulation include: bouncing technology, braking technology, and control technology. For arm manipulation, athletes should have the ability of “braking” technology. In the correlation analysis of movement track length, RMS and I EMG, the score of athletes in group A is high, and there is no correlation between movement track length and RMS. There is a significant correlation between RMS and movement track length in group B, and the correlation degree is moderate. This shows that when the movement of group B athletes is completed, the muscles are in a state of tension, the movement skills are not mastered well, and the energy saving is not achieved. During training, we should pay more attention to the proprioception of muscles and form a correct way of muscle exertion.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (hnRNP A2/B1) has been identified as a nuclear DNA sensor. Upon viral infection, hnRNP A2/B1 recognizes pathogen-derived DNA as a homodimer, which is a prerequisite for its translocation to the cytoplasm to activate the interferon response. However, the DNA binding mechanism inducing hnRNP A2/B1 homodimerization is unknown. Here, we show the crystal structure of the RNA recognition motif (RRM) of hnRNP A2/B1 in complex with a U-shaped ssDNA, which mediates the formation of a newly observed protein dimer. Our biochemical assays and mutagenesis studies confirm that the hnRNP A2/B1 homodimer forms in solution by binding to pre-generated ssDNA or dsDNA with a U-shaped bulge. These results depict a potential functional state of hnRNP A2/B1 in antiviral immunity and other cellular processes.

Introduction: The neuropeptide-Y (NPY) is involved in the development of alcoholism through NPY receptors. A T>C mutation causes substitution of leucine to proline at codon 7 (L7P; rs16139) in the signal peptide of neuropeptide Y is known to cause a 42% increase in plasma NPY levels. Studies that analyzed the association between NPY rs16139 and alcoholism risk did not demonstrate conclusive evidence for this relationship. The present study aims to evaluate the association between NPY gene rs16139 variant and alcohol dependence.Method: An electronic search of databases including PubMed and Google Scholar was performed to retrieve studies investigating the association between NPY rs16139 and alcoholism. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated in allelic and dominant genetic models. Sensitivity analyses and publication bias were assessed in our meta-analysis. The meta-analysis was conducted using the MetaGenyo web tool.Result: Significant heterogeneity was observed across studies (p < 0.001). Our results have shown that there is no significant association between NPY rs16139 variant and the risk of alcoholism in allelic (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.70–1.38, p = 0.921) and dominant models (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.69–1.40, p = 0.919). Begg's funnel plot and Egger's test have not shown publication bias (p = 0.332).Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis that evaluates the relationship between the NPY rs16139 polymorphism and the risk of alcoholism. Our large-scale meta-analysis suggests that NPY rs16139 polymorphism is not associated with alcoholism. However, further studies are needed to increase our understanding of the relationship between NPY variants in alcoholism.

Contour integration, a key visual function to deal with occlusion and discontinuity in natural scenes, is essential to human survival. However, individuals are not equally well equipped with this ability. In particular, contour integration deficiencies are commonly detected in patients with mental disorders, especially schizophrenia. To understand the underlying sources of these individual differences, the current study investigated the genetic basis of contour integration in humans. A total of 2619 normal participants were tested on their ability to detect continuous contours embedded in a cluttered background. Quantitative genomic analysis was performed, involving heritability estimation based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and association testing at SNP, gene, and pathway levels. Heritability estimation showed that common SNPs contributed 49.5% (standard error of the mean = 15.6%) of overall phenotypic variation, indicating moderate heritability of contour integration. Two-stage genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) detected four SNPs reaching genome-wide significance in the discovery test (N = 1931) but not passing the replication test (N = 688). Gene-level analysis further revealed a significant genome-wide association of a microRNA-encoding gene MIR1178 in both the discovery and replication cohorts. Another gene poly(A)-binding protein nuclear 1 like, cytoplasmic (PABPN1L) showed suggestive significance in the discovery cohort (p

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) can be modulated by both the Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism of the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene and the menstrual-cycle-related hormone fluctuations, each of which affects the subcortical/cortical dopamine metabolism. PPI can also be modulated by attention. The attentional modulation of PPI (AMPPI) is sensitive to psychoses. Whether the Val158Met polymorphism affects the AMPPI in female adults at different menstrual-cycle phases is unknown. This study examined whether AMPPI and/or PPI are affected by the Val158Met polymorphism in 177 younger-adult females whose menstrual cycles were mutually different across the menstruation, proliferative, or secretory phases. The AMPPI was evaluated by comparing PPI under the condition of the auditory precedence-effect-induced perceptual spatial separation between the prepulse stimulus and a masking noise (PPIPSS) against that under the condition of the precedence-effect-induced perceptual spatial co-location (PPIPSC). The results showed that both the menstrual cycle and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism affected both PPIPSC and PPIPSS, but not the AMPPI (difference between PPIPSS and PPIPSC). Moreover, throughout the menstrual cycle, both PPIPSC and PPIPSS decreased monotonously in Val/Val-carrier participants. However, the decreasing pattern was not overserved in either Met/Met-carrier or Met/Val-carrier participants. Thus, in healthy younger-adult females, PPIPSC and PPIPSS, but not the AMPPI, is vulnerable to changes of ovarian hormones, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism also has a modulating effect on this menstrual-cycle-dependent PPI variation. In contrast, the AMPPI seems to be more steadily trait-based, less vulnerable to ovarian hormone fluctuations, and may be useful in assisting the diagnosis of schizophrenia in female adults.

The miR-10b-5p plays an important role in gastric cancer development but its exact effect on gastric cancer development in vivo has not been fully studied. We showed that miR-10b-5p inhibited the proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells by down-regulating Tiam1 which was up-regulated in both gastric cancer cells and tissues. Gastric cancer xenograft experiment showed that lenti-miR-10b-5p treatment and agomir-10b-5p injection could significantly retard tumor growth and reduce tumor size and induced apoptosis. Therefore, our results elucidate the tumor suppressor role of miR-10b-5p in gastric cancer in which it acts as a negative regulator of Tiam1 and also provide a molecular mechanism for agomir-10b-5p to treat gastric cancer.

Background:Ulcerative colitis (UC) patients have a high incidence of mental disorders. The microbiota-gut-brain axis dysfunction is considered as one important pathogenesis of mental diseases. At present, little is known about how gut microbiota interact with the host in UC patients with depression and anxiety.Results: This prospective observational study enrolled 240 Chinese patients in two cohorts: the discovery cohort, including 69 active UC patients, 49 non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) depression and anxiety patients, and 62 healthy people, and the replication cohort of 60 active UC patients. About half of active UC patients showed symptoms of depression or anxiety. Through 16s rRNA sequencing, it was found that these UC patients accompanied with depression and anxiety had lower fecal microbial abundance with more Sellimonas , Eubacterium ventriosum group , Enterococcus , and Peptoclostridium , but less Prevotella_9 , Erysipelotrichaceae UCG_003 , Collinsella , and Dorea , compared with non-depressed/ anxious UC patients. Serum metabolome and proteome analysed using liquid chromatography/ mass spectrometry showed significantly increased glycochenodeoxycholate, stearoyllysophosphatidylcholine, and glyceryl stearates, while decreased 2'-deoxy-D-ribose and a set of immunoglobulin protein in the serum of UC patients with depression and anxiety. Through integration of multiple statistical analyses and multi-omics correlation analyses, we revealed a highly connected and comprehensive network, centring on Prevotella_9 and 1-stearoyl-sn-glycerol, composed of these bacteria, metabolites and proteins associated with UC-specific depression and anxiety.Conclusion: This study has identified a highly connected multi-omics network, composed of a set of gut microbiota, serum metabolites and proteins, specifically related to depression and anxiety in active UC. This network might influence host's mental state through mediating the effect of gut inflammation on synapse pruning in the central nervous system.

The Ebbinghaus illusion (EI) is an optical illusion of relative size perception that reflects the contextual integration ability in the visual modality. The current study investigated the genetic basis of two subtypes of EI, EI overestimation, and EI underestimation in humans, using quantitative genomic analyses. A total of 2825 Chinese adults were tested on their magnitudes of EI overestimation and underestimation using the method of adjustment, a standard psychophysical protocol. Heritability estimation based on common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) revealed a moderate heritability (34.3%) of EI overestimation but a nonsignificant heritability of EI underestimation. A meta-analysis of two phases (phase 1: n = 1986, phase 2: n = 839) of genome-wide association study (GWAS) discovered 1969 and 58 SNPs reaching genome-wide significance for EI overestimation and EI underestimation, respectively. Among these SNPs, 55 linkage-disequilibrium-independent SNPs were associated with EI overestimation in phase 1 with genome-wide significance and their associations could be confirmed in phase 2 cohort. Gene-based analyses found seven genes to be associated with EI overestimation at the genome-wide level, two from meta-analysis, and five from classical two-stage analysis. Overall, this study provided consistent evidence for a substantial genetic basis of the Ebbinghaus illusion.

The six basic emotions (disgust, anger, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) have long been considered discrete categories that serve as the primary units of the emotion system. Yet recent evidence indicated underlying connections among them. Here we tested the underlying relationships among the six basic emotions using a perceptual learning procedure. This technique has the potential of causally changing participants' emotion detection ability. We found that training on detecting a facial expression improved the performance not only on the trained expression but also on other expressions. Such a transfer effect was consistently demonstrated between disgust and anger detection as well as between fear and surprise detection in two experiments (Experiment 1A, n = 70; Experiment 1B, n = 42). Notably, training on any of the six emotions could improve happiness detection, while sadness detection could only be improved by training on sadness itself, suggesting the uniqueness of happiness and sadness. In an emotion recognition test using a large sample of Chinese participants (n = 1748), the confusion between disgust and anger as well as between fear and surprise was further confirmed. Taken together, our study demonstrates that the "basic" emotions share some common psychological components, which might be the more basic units of the emotion system.

Social conformity is fundamental to human societies and has been studied for more than six decades, but our understanding of its mechanisms remains limited. Individual differences in conformity have been attributed to social and cultural environmental influences, but not to genes. Here we demonstrate a genetic contribution to conformity after analyzing 1,140 twins and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based studies of 2,130 young adults. A two-step genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed replicable associations in 9 genomic loci, and a meta-analysis of three GWAS with a sample size of ~2,600 further confirmed one locus, corresponding to the NAV3 (Neuron Navigator 3) gene which encodes a protein important for axon outgrowth and guidance. Further multi-level (haplotype, gene, pathway) GWAS strongly associated genes including NAV3, PTPRD (protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type D), ARL10 (ADP ribosylation factor-like GTPase 10), and CTNND2 (catenin delta 2), with conformity. Magnetic resonance imaging of 64 subjects shows correlation of activation or structural features of brain regions with the SNPs of these genes, supporting their functional significance. Our results suggest potential moderate genetic influence on conformity, implicate several specific genetic elements in conformity and will facilitate further research on cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying human conformity.

The adsorption of cobalt (II) by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) modified halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was studied. The modified halloysite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry (TG). In addition, a batch method was used to study the adsorption behavior and the mechanism of removal Co (II) by modified HNTs; the effective factors influencing the adsorption process including adsorbent concentration, contact time, initial pH, temperature and the initial concentration of Co (II) have been investigated. The results showed that the APTS was successfully grafted on the HNTs surface. The modified HNTs exhibited rapid adsorption speed, which reached the adsorption equilibrium within 30 min. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent increased significantly with the increase of pH. The adsorption data of Co (II) on the modified HNTs are well consistent with the Langmuir model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

The rare earths (RE) are widely used in composites modification. In this study, the morphology, the electronic structure and the catalytic performance have been investigated by doping RE. The amorphous structure of Ni-Co-B-RE/NF (RE = Ce, Gd and Nd, NF = Ni foam) electrodes, which can be used as a catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), was prepared on Ni foam by a handy chemical deposition method. Interestingly, the synergistic effect of rare earth Gd and electronic materials (e.g. Ni, Co and B) can accelerate deposition rate and refine coated particles. The results suggest that the Ni-Co-B-Gd/NF electrode exhibits excellent catalytic performance in alkaline solutions, which shows a high electrochemical stability even with overpotential of 92 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope of 105 mV dec−1.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high incidence and mortality rate worldwide. Colitis-associated CRC (CAC) is used for describing the relationship between inflammation and CRC. No chemopreventive agents have been found to be both effective and safe in CRC. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of CAC are extremely urgent. Wu Mei Wan (WMW) has been used for the clinical treatment of enteritis with a remarkable efficacy. Here, we aim to investigate the underlying mechanism of WMW in the prevention of CAC. Methods The AOM/DSS-induced CAC mouse model was used, and the mice were divided into normal control (NC), AOM/DSS model control (MC), and AOM/DSS plus WMW (WMW). The weight of mice, the score of DAI, survival rate, number of tumors and sample collection were performed at the end of the 14th week. Histopathological examination was performed using Hematoxylin–Eosin (HE) staining. Tumor cell proliferation was indicated by the expression of PCNA, and p65 and p-STAT3 were detected by immunohistochemistry. Serum IL-6 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of p65, IL-6 and p-STAT3 in the colon was detected by Western Blot. Intestinal flora was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Results WMW improved the survival rate of mice in the MC group and also attenuated CAC symptoms such as abnormal clinical colitis and pathological changes to intestinal tissue by reducing DAI score, tumor formation, tumor volume, and grade of tumorigenesis. WMW also reduced the proliferation of tumor cells in colon tissues. WMW decreased the expression of p65, IL-6, and p-STAT3 in colon tumors of CAC mice. WMW decreased Bacteroidetes and increased Firmicutes at the phylum level, while decreasing bacteroidales_s24-7_group and increasing the number of Lachnospiraceae at the family level. Conclusion WMW attenuates CAC by regulating the balance between “tumor-promoting bacteria” and “tumor-suppressing bacteria” and the NF-kB/IL-6/STAT3 pathway. WMW has the potential to be a safe and effective chemopreventive drug but further clinical evidence is necessary.

Wastewater comes from various sources with remarkably different nitrate (NO 3 − )/ammonium (NH 4 + ) ratios. In order to choose coexisting plant species for treating wastewater with various compositions in constructed wetlands, it is important to know the performances of plant species under different NO 3 − /NH 4 + ratios. In this study, we investigated the growth traits and nitrogen accumulation of Coix lacryma-jobi and Reineckia carnea under five NO 3 − /NH 4 + ratios (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100) in a hydroponic system. Results showed that, the total biomass, aboveground biomass and aboveground nitrogen accumulation were the greatest under a NO 3 − /NH 4 + ratio of 50/50 for C. lacryma-jobi , but those were the highest under a ratio of 75/25 for R. carnea . Under the NH 4 + -only (0/100) treatment, C. lacryma-jobi exhibited ammonium toxicity with leaf nitrogen concentration (43 mg g −1 ) exceeding the maximum limit for plants. In contrast, R. carnea showed less sensitivity to NO 3 − /NH 4 + ratios as the coefficient of variance for biomass of R. carnea (17%) was less than half of that of C. lacryma-jobi (40%). The two plant species differed in nitrogen niche (niche overlap = 0.42).

Visual cognition in humans has traditionally been studied with cognitive behavioral methods and brain imaging, but much less with genetic methods. Perceptual rivalry, an important phenomenon in visual cognition, is the spontaneous perceptual alternation that occurs between two distinct interpretations of a physically constant visual stimulus (e.g., binocular rivalry stimuli) or a perceptually ambiguous stimulus (e.g., the Necker cube). The switching rate varies dramatically across individuals and can be voluntarily modulated by observers. Here, we adopted a genomic approach to systematically investigate the genetics underlying binocular rivalry, Necker cube rivalry and voluntary modulation of Necker cube rivalry in young Chinese adults (Homo sapiens, 81% female, 20 ± 1 years old) at multiple levels, including common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability estimation, SNP-based genome-wide association study (GWAS), gene-based analysis, and pathway analysis. We performed a pilot GWAS in 2441 individuals and replicated it in an independent cohort of 943 individuals. Common SNP-based heritability was estimated to be 25% for spontaneous perceptual rivalry. SNPs rs184765639 and rs75595941 were associated with voluntary modulation, and imaging data suggested genotypic difference of rs184765639 in the surface area of the left caudal-middle frontal cortex. Additionally, converging evidence from multilevel analyses associated genes such asPRMT1with perceptual switching rate, andMIR1178with voluntary modulation strength. In summary, this study discovered specific genetic contributions to perceptual rivalry and its voluntary modulation in human beings. These findings may promote our understanding of psychiatric disorders, as perceptual rivalry is a potential psychiatric biomarker.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTPerceptual rivalry is an important visual phenomenon in which our perception of a physically constant visual input spontaneously switches between two different states. There are individual variations in perceptual switching rate and voluntary modulation strength. Our genomic analyses reveal several loci associated with these two kinds of variation. Because perceptual rivalry is thought to be relevant to and potentially an endophenotype for psychiatric disorders, these results may help understand not only visual cognition, but also psychiatric disorders.

Development of high-throughput genotyping platforms provides an opportunity to identify new genetic elements related to complex cognitive functions. Taking advantage of multi-level genomic analysis, here we studied the genetic basis of human short-term (STM, n = 1623) and long-term (LTM, n = 1522) memory functions. Heritability estimation based on single nucleotide polymorphism showed moderate (61%, standard error 35%) heritability of short-term memory but almost zero heritability of long-term memory. We further performed a two-step genome-wide association study, but failed to find any SNPs that could pass genome-wide significance and survive replication at the same time. However, suggestive significance for rs7011450 was found in the shared component of the two STM tasks. Further inspections on its nearby gene zinc finger and at-hook domain containing and SNPs around this gene showed suggestive association with STM. In LTM, a polymorphism within branched chain amino acid transaminase 2 showed suggestive significance in the discovery cohort and has been replicated in another independent population of 1862. Furthermore, we performed a pathway analysis based on the current genomic data and found pathways including mTOR signaling and axon guidance significantly associated with STM capacity. These findings warrant further replication in other larger populations.

Previous studies have shown that the neuregulin 1 (NRG1)-ErbB4 signaling pathway may regulate the excitability of fast-spiking neurons in the frontal cortex and participate in primary epilepsy pathogenesis. However, the exact roles and mechanism for NRG1/ErbB4 in human symptomatic epilepsy are still unclear. Using fresh human symptomatic epilepsy tissues, we found that the protein levels of NRG1 and ErbB4 were significantly increased in the temporal cortex. In addition, NRG1-ErbB4 signaling suppressed phosphorylation of GluN2B at position 1472 by Src kinase, and decreased levels of phosphorylation level of GluN2B and Src were detected in human symptomatic epilepsy tissues. Our study revealed a critical role of the NRG1-ErbB4 signaling pathway in symptomatic epilepsy, which is different from that in primary epilepsy, and we propose that the NRG1-ErbB4 signaling may act as a homeostasis modulator that protects the brain from aggravation of epileptiform activity.

Memory is a dynamic process. While memory becomes increasingly resistant to interference after consolidation, a brief reactivation renders it unstable again. Previous studies have shown that interference, when applied upon reactivation, impairs the consolidated memory, presumably by disrupting the reconsolidation of the memory. However, attempts have failed in disrupting human declarative memory, raising a question about whether declarative memory becomes unstable upon reactivation. Here, we used a double-cue/one-target paradigm, which associated the same target with two different cues in initial memory formation. Only one cue/target association was later reactivated and treated with behavioral interference. Our results showed, for the first time, that reactivation-coupled interference caused cue-independent memory impairment that generalized to other cues associated with the memory. Critically, such memory impairment appeared immediately after interference, before the reconsolidation process was completed, suggesting that common manipulations of reactivation-coupled interference procedures might disrupt other processes in addition to the reconsolidation process in human declarative memory.

A novel manganese complex, C16H26MnN4O12, was synthesized by the reaction of nicotinoyl-glycine and NaOH in an ethanol/water solution and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, UV-vis spectrum, IR spectrum and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystal of the complex belongs to the triclinic space group P1 with a = 7.8192(16) Å, b = 8.8800(18) Å, c = 9.0142(18) Å, α = 83.14(3)°, β = 65.27(3)°, γ = 81.67(3)°, V = 516.3(2) Å3, Z = 1, Dx = 1.542 mg·m−3, μ = 0.66 mm−1, F(000) = 271, and final R1 = 0.0381, ωR2 = 0.0964. The nicotinoyl-glycine ligand acts as a bridging ligand to connect the manganese ions by the hydrogen interactions; thus, the complex expands into a 3D supramolecular net structure.

Metabolic networks are complex and highly interconnected, thus systems-level computational approaches are required to elucidate and to understand metabolic genotype-phenotype relationships. This paper has manually reconstructed the local human metabolic network based on DNA sequence data of human chromosome nine. Herein the paper describes the reconstruction process and discusses how the resulting chromosome-scale (or local) network differs from genome-scale ones. The underestimated results have revealed many gaps in the current understanding of human metabolism that require future experimental investigation. They also suggest possible problems arising from local reconstruction based on partial genome data. The study suggests further applications enabled by reconstruction of human metabolic network. The establishment of this network represents a step toward genome-scale human systems biology.