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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex disease with unclear etiology. Studies have shown that ferroptosis is also related to ASD progression, but the specific mechanism is still unclear. Valproic acid (VPA) induced neuronal ferroptosis in vitro. Mechanistic studies showed that both VPA and ferroptosis inducers promoted the expression of DDIT4 in neurons, thereby inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway. DDIT4 increased the accumulation of ROS, MDA and Fe

ObjectiveThis study examined the moderating effect of overall social support and the different types of social support on cognitive functioning in depressed older adults. We also investigated whether the moderating effect varied according to age.MethodsA total of 2,500 older adults (≥60 years old) from Shanghai, China were enrolled using a multistage cluster sampling method. Weighted linear regression and multiple linear regression was utilized to analyze the moderating effect of social support on the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function and to explore its differences in those aged 60–69, 70–79, and 80 years and above.ResultsAfter adjusting for covariates, the results indicated that overall social support (β = 0.091, p = 0.043) and support utilization (β = 0.213, p p p p ConclusionOur findings highlight the buffering effects of support utilization on cognitive decline in depressed older adults. We suggest that age-specific measures should be taken when providing social support to depressed older adults in order to reduce the deterioration of cognitive function.

XLSX file - 10K, List of epigenetic genes differentially expressed between subjects with occupational exposure and referents

XLSX file - 26K, Genes changed 1.5 fold in acute nickel exposure of PBMCs in vitro. Genes were changed for all doses of 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mM NiCl2

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XLSX file - 17K, List of DNA repair genes differentially expressed between subjects with occupational exposure and referents

Background: Occupational exposure to nickel (Ni) is associated with an increased risk of lung and nasal cancers. Ni compounds exhibit weak mutagenic activity, alter the cell's epigenetic homeostasis, and activate signaling pathways. However, changes in gene expression associated with Ni exposure have only been investigated in vitro. This study was conducted in a Chinese population to determine whether occupational exposure to Ni was associated with differential gene expression profiles in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of Ni-refinery workers when compared with referents.Methods: Eight Ni-refinery workers and ten referents were selected. PBMC RNA was extracted and gene expression profiling was conducted using Affymetrix exon arrays. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) between both groups were identified in a global analysis.Results: There were a total of 2,756 DEGs in the Ni-refinery workers relative to the referents [false discovery rate (FDR) adjusted P < 0.05] with 770 upregulated genes and 1,986 downregulated genes. DNA repair and epigenetic genes were significantly overrepresented (P < 0.0002) among the DEGs. Of 31 DNA repair genes, 29 were repressed in the Ni-refinery workers and 2 were overexpressed. Of the 16 epigenetic genes, 12 were repressed in the Ni-refinery workers and 4 were overexpressed.Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that occupational exposure to Ni is associated with alterations in gene expression profiles in PBMCs of subjects.Impact: Gene expression may be useful in identifying patterns of deregulation that precede clinical identification of Ni-induced cancers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(2); 261–9. ©2012 AACR.

XLSX file - 189K, Gene list of differentially expressed genes (DEG) (adjusted p

XLSX file - 192K, Gene list for genes associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma found in study set. All genes were differentially expressed in referent population (p

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the most serious public health problems worldwide. The OPRM1 and ALDH2 genes are important factors in the reward and alcohol metabolism pathways, and their DNA ...

The objective of this study was to estimate the joint effects of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to explore the mediating role of disability among Chinese community-dwelling older adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2525 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years and living in Shanghai, China in 2019. Participants were divided into four groups: (1) non-depressed without dementia, (2) non-depressed with probable MCI, (3) depressed without dementia and (4) depressed with probable mild cognitive impairment (MCI). HRQoL was assessed using the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were evaluated with the AD8 and the Geriatric Depression Scale respectively. Activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability and other sociodemographic variables were also assessed. The results of this study showed that controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, significant differences in a physical component score (PCS) and a mental component score (MCS) of HRQoL were found across the four groups. Compared to those who were non-depressed without dementia, older adults who were depressed with probable MCI reported the lowest level of PCS and MCS, followed by older adults who were depressed without dementia. Both ADL and IADL disabilities played mediating roles in the relationship between cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms and PCS. Based on this study, we suggest that the early detection and adequate management of depressive symptoms and cognitive status-as well as efforts to improve individuals' ability to manage their ADLs and IADLs-may help to maintain or improve their HRQoL.

IntroductionDementia has become a public health priority and is irreversible. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an intermediate state between normal cognition and dementia, is the prime time for early diagnosis and intervention. The activities of daily living of dementia patients are usually insufficient. Therefore, continuing to explore the risk factors of MCI, especially the influence of physical activity on MCI and its mechanism can enrich the relevant research fields in China.Materials and methodsFor this cross-sectional study, 2,518 adults aged 60 years or older in Xinzhuang, Minhang District, Shanghai were recruited between July 2019 and April 2019, using a multistage, cluster-sampling method. A binary unconditional logistic regression model was used with MCI status as the dependent variable. Different types of physical activity were separately included in the multifactor model to test their correlations. Sensitivity analysis was performed using BADL as a stratification factor. The mediating effect of depression between physical activity and MCI was examined using the Bootstrap method.ResultsThis research includes 271 (10.8%) MCI. Old age (odds ratio 2.967 [95%CI 2.063∼4.269]), having diabetes (1.816 [1.302∼2.534]), and depression (3.012 [2.209∼4.108]) were possible risk factors for MCI. High education level (0.722 [0.523∼0.999]), medium level of physical activity (0.459 [0.326∼0.645]), and high level of physical activity (0.396 [0.270∼0.580]) were possible protective factors. Medium (0.548 [0.396∼0.757]) and high levels (0.557 [0.366∼0.846]) of physical exercise and medium (0.433 [0.318∼0.590]) and high levels (0.487 [0.296∼0.801]) of household chores are possible protective factors of MCI and their significance remained in the mutually adjusted model. Sensitivity analysis showed that physical activity and household chores were possible protective factors in all strata (P < 0.05). Physical exercise and work-related activities showed a protective effect in fully independent older adults, but the effect disappeared in those who cannot be fully independent. Depression played a partially mediating role with an indirect effect of 6.67%.DiscussionOverall, our results highlight that physical activity is a possible protective factor for MCI. Physical exercise and household chores have strong protective effects and future interventions could be targeted from this perspective. Depression plays a partially mediating role and more attention should be paid to the mental health of older adults.

Maize is one of the most vital staple crops worldwide. G proteins modulate plentiful signaling pathways, and G protein-coupled receptor-type G proteins (GPCRs) are highly conserved membrane proteins in plants. However, researches on maize G proteins and GPCRs are scarce. In this study, we identified three novel GPCR-Type G Protein (GTG) genes from chromosome 10 (Chr 10) in maize, designated as ZmCOLD1-10A, ZmCOLD1-10B and ZmCOLD1-10C. Their amino acid sequences had high similarity to TaCOLD1 from wheat and OsCOLD1 from rice. They contained the basic characteristics of GTG/COLD1 proteins, including GPCR-like topology, the conserved hydrophilic loop (HL) domain, DUF3735 (domain of unknown function 3735) domain, GTPase-activating domain, and ATP/GTP-binding domain. Subcellular localization analyses of ZmCOLD1 proteins suggested that ZmCOLD1 proteins localized on plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Furthermore, amino acid sequence alignment verified the conservation of the key 187th amino acid T in maize and other wild maize-relative species. Evolutionary relationship among plants GTG/COLD1 proteins family displayed strong group-specificity. Expression analysis indicated that ZmCOLD1-10A was cold-induced and inhibited by light. Together, these results suggested that ZmCOLD1 genes had potential value to improve cold tolerance and to contribute crops growth and molecular breeding.

It is well established from previous cross-sectional studies that telomeres shorten with age. However, due to a considerable inter-individual variation in telomere length (TL), its relationship with biological aging is difficult to unpick. Longitudinal repeated assessments of TL changes within individuals should augment our understanding of TL dynamics in aging. This study disentangles within- and inter-individual effects of age on leukocyte telomere length (LTL) dynamics in a large population-based cohort of older adults. A total of 4053 subjects aged 50 and older from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) in Shanghai were studied. Relative LTL (T/S ratio) was measured at baseline (2009–2010) and follow-up (2017–2018) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. We used linear random slope models to analyze LTL dynamics in relation to age and sex and within-subject centering method to distinguish within- versus between-subject effects. We observed LTL shortening in 66.32%, maintenance in 11.23%, and elongation in 22.45% of the study participants. LTL declined significantly with age both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. More importantly, the longitudinal decline in LTL was much greater than the cross-sectional decline (− 0.017 (p < 0.001) versus − 0.002 (p < 0.001) per year). Furthermore, women had a lower within-subject LTL shortening rate than men (− 0.014 versus − 0.020 per year, p < 0.001). The within-individual longitudinal decline in LTL was much greater than the inter-individual cross-sectional decline, indicating that chronological age might impose a greater impact on LTL shortening than other influencing factors combined. Moreover, women showed a lower within-individual LTL shortening rate than men. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11357-020-00320-y.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is related to numerous adverse outcomes and can be operationalized in a variety of ways. However, data on which frailty scales are most suitable for estimating risk remain limited. Herein we examined and compared four validated frailty scales in predicting adverse outcomes in a large population-based cohort of older adults.METHODS: A total of 5402 subjects aged 50 and older from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) in Shanghai were studied. Frailty was measured using a 35-item frailty index (FI), the frailty phenotype (FP), FRAIL, and Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI). Logistic regression models were performed unadjusted/adjusted to evaluate the association between frailty and outcomes including 4-year disability, hospitalization, and 4- and 7-year all-cause mortality. The accuracy for predicting these outcomes was determined by assessing the area under the curve (AUC) as well as sensitivity and specificity.RESULTS: Prevalence of frailty ranged from 4.2% (FRAIL) to 16.9% (FI). Frailty, however defined, was associated with an increased risk of any outcome. The aforementioned associations, except for those of FP with disability and hospitalization, remained significant after controlling for potential covariates. FI, followed by TFI and FRAIL, showed acceptable predictive ability for disability and mortality (AUC: 0.65-0.78). While specificity estimates (85.3-97.3%) for each scale were higher and similar across all outcomes, sensitivity estimates (6.3-56.8%) varied considerably within a lower range.CONCLUSIONS: All four scales did have the potential to identify Chinese older adults at high risk of adverse outcomes; however, their predictive accuracy varied.

Background Few studies have explored patterns of physical activity (PA) and examined their relationship with depression among community-dwelling older adults. We aimed to identify the patterns of PA through a person-centered analytical approach and examine the association between quantity and patterns of PA, and depression among community-dwelling older adults. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey study in the Minhang district, Shanghai, China, in August 2019, and used a self-administered questionnaire to collect data through home visits. The total sample included 2525 older adults. This study used the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) to assess the quantity of PA in older adults. Depression was evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subpopulations by shared item response patterns. Logistic regressions were performed to estimate the relationship between PASE score, patterns of PA, and depression. An exploratory analysis of joint levels and patterns of PA effects on depression was based on sample subgroups with combinations of levels and patterns of PA. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio for combined subgroups. Results Four latent classes were identified: “domestic types,” “athletic types,” “gardening/caring types,” and “walkers.” PASE scores and patterns of PA both were associated with depression. Older adults who were the most active (PASE quartile: 75–100%) and the athletic types had the strongest significant association with depression (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06–0.65), followed by those who were the most active (PASE quartile: 75–100%) and the walkers (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.14–0.57) when compared with older adults with the least activity (PASE quartile: 0–25%) and domestic types. Conclusion This study suggests both the quantity and patterns of physical activity are associated with depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults. Population-level intervention should encourage community-dwelling older adults to increase their quantity of PA to reduce the risk of depression. Athletics and walkers are recommended. To develop individual-level tailored interventions, more attention should be paid to older adults who are highly engaged in gardening/caring for others.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the most serious public health problems worldwide. TheTo investigate whether methylation patterns ofDNA methylation of theIn the AUD group, compared with the control group, OPRM1 was hypermethylated(p.01) but there was no significant difference in the methylation level of ALDH2 (p.05). 9 CpG sites of OPRM1 (p.05) and 2 CpG sites of ALDH2 (p.01) were hypermethylated. Smoking promoted AUD-mediated hypermethylation ofOur study demonstrates that DNA hypermethylation of the

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum profiles of prolactin and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and sexual dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia treated with conventional antipsychotic medication. MATERIAL AND METHODS A hospital-based cross-sectional study included 118 patients, age range 18-57 years (55 men, 63 women), with a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia. All patients were stable after antipsychotic treatment. Serum levels of hormones, including prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), progesterone, testosterone, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4), were detected in venous blood. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score was used to measure symptom severity of patients with schizophrenia. The Mandarin Chinese version of the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX), a 5-item scale, was used to measure sexual function. RESULTS There were 66 patients (55.9%) who had hyperprolactinemia, the prevalence of hyperprolactinemia was markedly higher in the sexual dysfunction group than the non-sexual dysfunction group (91.8% vs. 17.5%) (P

Background Cognitive leisure activity, such as reading, playing mahjong or cards and computer use, is common among older adults in China. Previous studies suggest a negative correlation between cognitive leisure activity and cognitive impairment. However, the relationship between cognitive leisure activity and all-cause mortality has rarely been reported. Objectives This study aims to explore the relationships between cognitive leisure activity and all-cause mortality in a community-based older people cohort in China. Methods The current study sample comprised 4003 community residents aged ≥60 y who were enrolled in June 2015, and were followed up every year from 2015 to 2018. Reading, playing mahjong or cards and computer use were measured by questionnaires and summed into a cognitive leisure activity index (CLAI) score. Time-Dependent Cox Regression Model and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to examine the association of cognitive leisure activity with all-cause mortality. Results During the 4-year follow-up of 4003 participants, 208 (5.2%) deaths were registered. Of all participants, 66.8, 26.7, 6.1 and 0.35% reported CLAI scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. A strong association was noted between the CLA score and all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.72, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.54–0.97, P = 0.028). Stratified analysis suggested that a higher CLAI score was significantly associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality mainly among those who were male, aged ≥80 y, cognitively impaired, and not diagnosed with cancer (P Conclusion Cognitive leisure activity was positively associated with reduced risk of death from all cause among the older people in major city of China, which helped promote a comprehensive understanding of health characteristics at advanced ages.

Background: The diagnosis of schizophrenia (SCZ) depends on the evaluation of clinical symptoms, but there is no objective biomarker. Studies have shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may be involved in the pathogenesis of SCZ. In this study, we evaluated the differential gene expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs in peripheral blood (PBL) of patients with SCZ.Methods: We profiled the transcriptome of PBL in 50 patients with SCZ and 50 controls without psychiatric diagnoses, using RNA-seq. LncRNA-mRNA interactions were predicted using “RNAplex”, a hierarchical classification-Spielman correlation coefficient approach was used to analyze the correlation between lncRNAs and protein-coding gene expression among samples, and systematic bioinformatic methods (Go/Pathway) were used to perform lncRNA functional annotation. The results were validated using qPCR. Functional sites in sequences were predicted using the PROSITE, NCBI, UCSC, and JASPAR databases.Results: We identified 94 lncRNAs and 1179 mRNAs differentially expressed in PBL, of which 46 lncRNAs were identified for the first time. Enrichment of lncRNAs involved biological processes and signaling pathways related to neutrophil activation involved in the immune response. Spearman correlation coefficient analysis showed that 81 lncRNAs and 410 mRNAs had correlated expression (p < 0.01 and |r| ≥ 0.4). qPCR performed on independent samples verified that the core node of the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network, the IL1RAP-TCONS_00138311 variable splicing transcript, was highly expressed in patients with SCZ (2△△Ct of 0.56, area under the ROC curve of 0.924). The top four ranked transcription factors were predicted to be HSF1, HSF2, HSF4, and FOXA1.Conclusions: Combined with sequence function analysis, we showed that the transcription factors FOXA1, HSF1, HSF2, and HSF4 may mediate the activation of IL1B-induced NF-kβ pathway and other inflammatory pathways through regulation of the IL1RAP alternative splicing transcript TCONS_00138311, thereby participating in the pathogenesis of SCZ. We propose that the frequency of differentially expressed lncRNAs in PBL may serve as a novel biomarker for diagnosis of SCZ.

Background Particulate matter (PM) is strongly linked to human health and has detrimental effects on the eye. Studies have, however, focused on the ocular surface, with limited research on the impact of PM2.5 on intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods To investigate the impact of PM2.5 on IOP and the associated mechanism, C57BL/6 mouse eyes were topically exposed to a PM2.5 suspension for 3 months, and human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells were subjected to various PM2.5 concentrations in vitro. Cell viability, NLRP3/caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell contractility were measured by western blot, ELISA, cell counting kit-8, ROS assay kit or a cell contractility assay. ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and caspase-1 inhibitor VX-765 were used to intervene in PM2.5-induced damages. Results The results revealed that the IOP increased gradually after PM2.5 exposure, and upregulations of the NLRP3 inflammasome, caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD protein levels were observed in outflow tissues. PM2.5 exposure decreased HTM cell viability and affected contraction. Furthermore, elevated ROS levels were observed as well as an activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and downstream inflammatory factors caspase-1 and IL-1β. NAC improved HTM cell viability, inhibited the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome axis, and HTM cell contraction by scavenging ROS. VX-765 showed similar protection against the PM2.5 induced adverse effects. Conclusion This study provides novel evidence that PM2.5 has a direct toxic effect on intraocular tissues and may contribute to the initiation and development of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. This occurs as a result of increased oxidative stress and the subsequent induction of NLRP3 inflammasome mediated pyroptosis in trabecular meshwork cells.

Background Particulate matter (PM) is strongly linked to human health and has detrimental effects on the eye. Studies have, however, focused on the ocular surface, with limited research on the impact of PM2.5 on intraocular pressure (IOP).Methods To investigate the impact of PM2.5 on IOP and the associated mechanism, C57BL/6 mouse eyes were topically exposed to a PM2.5 suspension for 3 months, and human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells were subjected to various PM2.5 concentrations in vitro.Results The results revealed that the IOP increased gradually after PM2.5 exposure, and an upregulation of NLRP3 inflammasome, caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD protein levels was observed in outflow tissues. PM2.5 exposure decreased HTM cell viability and affected contraction. Further, elevated ROS levels were observed as well as an activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and downstream inflammatory factors caspase-1 and IL-1β. ROS scavenger or caspase-1 inhibitor treatment improved these PM2.5-induced changes.Conclusion This study provides novel evidence of the PM2.5-mediated development of ocular hypertension, which occurs as a result of increased oxidative stress and the subsequent induction of pyroptosis in trabecular meshwork cells.

Background: The diagnosis of schizophrenia (SCZ) depends on the evaluation of clinical symptoms, and there is no objective biomarker. Surveys have found that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) may be affected in the pathogenesis of SCZ. There are also different genes in the expression of peripheral blood (PBL) in SCZ patients.Methods: We profiled transcriptome analysis of PBL in 50 patients with schizophrenia and 50 controls without psychiatric diagnoses, reconstructed PBL transcriptome information using RNA-seq, predicted lncRNA-mRNA interaction via “RNAplex”, a hierarchical classification-Spielman correlation coefficient approach was used to analyze the correlation between lncRNA and protein-coding gene expression among samples, and used systematic bioinformatics methods (Go/Pathway) to perform lncRNA functional annotation and qPCR experimental verification. Predicting functional sites for sequences using the database PROSITE, NCBI, UCSC, JASPAR.Results: We screened 94 lncRNA and 1179 mRNA differential expressions in PBL, of which 46 new lncRNAs were identified for the first time. Enrichment into lncRNA involves biological processes and signaling pathways related to the neutrophil activation involved in immune response. According to Spearman correlation coefficient analysis, 81 lncRNA and 410 mRNA have expression correlation (p-△△Ct is 0.56, the area under the ROC curve is 0.924. The top four ranked transcription factors were predicted to be HSF1, HSF2, HSF4, and FOXA1.Conclusions: Combined with sequence function analysis, it showed that the transcription factors FOXA1, HSF1, HSF2, HSF4, etc. may mediate the activation of IL1B-induced NF-kβ pathway and other inflammatory pathways through the regulation of IL1RAP alternative splicing transcripts TCONS_00138311, thereby participating in the pathogenesis of SCZ. We propose that the frequency of Differential lncRNA in peripheral blood could be used as novel biomarker for distinguishing SCZ from health.

In the absence of an effective treatment to alter the progressive course of cognitive decline and dementia, identification of modifiable risk factors that could promote healthy cognitive aging has become a public health research priority. This study seeks to comprehensively determine the contemporaneous associations of a broad spectrum of time-varying modifiable lifestyle factors with age-related cognitive decline in a large population-based cohort of older adults. A total of 5,711 subjects aged 50 and older from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) in Shanghai were studied. Repeated measures of lifestyle factors and cognitive performance were conducted in 2009-2010 and 2014-2015. Linear random slope models were used to evaluate the contemporaneous associations between time-varying lifestyle factors and cognitive performance. Person-mean centering method was used to disaggregate the between- and within-person effects in the time-varying lifestyle factors in the random slope models. We found that higher vegetable and fruit consumption, as well as higher level of physical activity were positively associated with all cognitive domains. Body mass index (BMI) was negatively associated with all cognitive domains, whereas waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was negatively associated with verbal fluency score only. Sedentary time was negatively associated with digit span score but positively associated with verbal fluency score. The between-person effects seem to be more dominant than within-person effects. Overall, our findings suggest better management of multiple lifestyle factors may protect against cognitive decline in later life. Higher vegetable and fruit consumption and physical activity are protective, whereas obesity is detrimental to cognitive decline in older adults. This study underpins the development of multi-domain lifestyle recommendations to promote healthy cognitive aging.

Maize is one of the most vital staple crops worldwide. G proteins modulate plentiful signaling pathways, and G protein-coupled receptor-type G proteins (GPCRs) are highly conserved membrane proteins in plants. However, researches on maize G proteins and GPCRs are scarce. In this study, we identified three novel GPCR-Type G Protein (GTG) genes from chromosome 10 (Chr 10) in maize, designated as ZmCOLD1-10A, ZmCOLD1-10B and ZmCOLD1-10C. Their amino acid sequences had high similarity to TaCOLD1 from wheat and OsCOLD1 from rice. They contained the basic characteristics of GTG/COLD1 proteins, including GPCR-like topology, the conserved hydrophilic loop (HL) domain, DUF3735 (domain of unknown function 3735) domain, GTPase-activating domain, and ATP/GTP-binding domain. Subcellular localization analyses of ZmCOLD1 proteins suggested that ZmCOLD1 proteins localized on plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Furthermore, amino acid sequence alignment verified the conservation of the key 187th amino acid T in maize and other wild maize-relative species. Evolutionary relationship among plants GTG/COLD1 proteins family displayed strong group-specificity. Expression analysis indicated that ZmCOLD1-10A was cold-induced and inhibited by light. Together, these results suggested that ZmCOLD1 genes had potential value to improve cold tolerance and to contribute crops growth and molecular breeding.

Background The mental activity, such as reading, playing mahjong or cards and computer use, is common among older adults in China. Previous researches suggest a protective role of mental activity against cognitive impairment. However, the relationship between mental activity and all-cause mortality has rarely been reported. Objectives This study aims to explore the effect of mental activity on all-cause mortality in a community-based elderly cohort in China. Methods The current study sample comprised 4003 community residents age ≥ 60 y who were enrolled at June 2015, and were followed up every year from 2015 to 2018. Reading, playing mahjong or cards and computer use were measured by questionnaires and summed into a mental activity index (MAI) score. Cox proportional hazards analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to examined the effect of mental activity on all-cause mortality. Results During 4 y of follow-up of 4003 participants, 208 (5.2%) deaths were registered. Of all participants, 66.8%, 26.7%, 6.1% and 0.35% reported 0, 1, 2 and 3 MAI score, respectively. There was a strong association between the MAI score and all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.72, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.54–0.96, P = 0.025). Stratified analysis suggested that higher MAI score was significantly associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality mainly among those who were male, aged ≥ 80 y, physical inactive, and diagnosed without cancer in past (P

Background Particulate matter (PM) is strongly linked to human health and has detrimental effects on the eye. Studies have, however, focused on the ocular surface, with limited research on the impact of PM2.5 on intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods To investigate the impact of PM2.5 on IOP and the associated mechanism, C57BL/6 mouse eyes were topically exposed to a PM2.5 suspension for 3 months, and human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells were subjected to various PM2.5 concentrations in vitro. Cell viability, NLRP3/caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell contractility were measured by western blot, ELISA, cell counting kit-8, ROS assay kit or a cell contractility assay. ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and caspase-1 inhibitor VX-765 were used to intervene in PM2.5-induced damages. Results The results revealed that the IOP increased gradually after PM2.5 exposure, and upregulations of the NLRP3 inflammasome, caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD protein levels were observed in outflow tissues. PM2.5 exposure decreased HTM cell viability and affected contraction. Furthermore, elevated ROS levels were observed as well as an activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and downstream inflammatory factors caspase-1 and IL-1β. NAC improved HTM cell viability, inhibited the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome axis, and HTM cell contraction by scavenging ROS. VX-765 showed similar protection against the PM2.5 induced adverse effects. Conclusion This study provides novel evidence that PM2.5 has a direct toxic effect on intraocular tissues and may contribute to the initiation and development of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. This occurs as a result of increased oxidative stress and the subsequent induction of NLRP3 inflammasome mediated pyroptosis in trabecular meshwork cells. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12989-021-00403-4.

Background It is important to clarify the transitions and related factors of frailty for prevention of frailty. We evaluated the transitions of frailty among community-dwelling older adults and examined the predictors of the transitions. Methods A cohort study was conducted among 3988 community residents aged ≥60 years during 2015 and 2017. A multiple deficits approach was used to construct the Frailty Index (FI) according to the methodology of FI construction, and sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyles were also collected in 2015. After 2-year follow-up, the transitions of frailty between baseline and were evaluated. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations between predictors and the transitions of frailty. Results The proportion of robust, prefrail, and frail was 79.5, 16.4, and 4.1% among 3988 participants at baseline, which changed to 68.2, 23.0, and 8.8% after 2 years with 127 deaths and 23 dropped out. Twelve kinds of transitions from the three frailty statuses at baseline to four outcomes at follow-up (including death) significantly differed within each of gender and age group, as well between genders and age groups. Among these, 7.8% of prefrail or frail elders improved, 70.0% retained their frailty status, and 22.2% of robust or prefrail elders worsened in frailty status. In multivariable models, age was significantly associated with changes in frailty except for in the frail group; higher educational level and working predicted a lower risk of robust worsening. Of the lifestyle predictors, no shower facilities at home predicted a higher risk of robust worsening; more frequent physical exercise predicted a lower risk of robust worsening and a higher chance of frailty improvement; more frequent neighbor interaction predicted a lower risk of robust worsening and prefrail worsening; and more frequent social participation predicted a higher chance of prefrail improvement. Conclusions The status of frailty was reversible among community-dwelling elderly, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were related to changes in frailty. These findings help health practitioners to recognize susceptible individuals in a community and provide health promotional planning to target aged populations.

To explore the separate and joint associations between frailty and long-term, all-cause mortality with health-related behaviors in older adults. We enrolled a total of 4050 community residents age ≥60 years from Songjiang District, Shanghai, China, and followed up with them every year from 2015 to 2018.Based on the standard procedure for creating an FI, we developed one containing 28 measured variables. Survival analyses were used to examine the risk ratios (RRs) between frailty and 4-year mortality; hazard ratios (HRs) were obtained and adjusted for gender and age. Over an average follow-up time of 1107.56 ± 144.43 days, 216 (5.4%) participants died. Of all participants, 71.7% were non-frail (FI = 0–0.1), 23.2% were pre-frail (FI = 0.1–0.2), and 5.1% were frail (FI ³0.2). Multivariate HRs (with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for all-cause mortality were 1.58 (1.06–2.34) and 2.63 (1.52 –4.55) for moderate (FI 0.1–0.2) and severe (FI >0.2) frailty, respectively, compared with mild frailty (

The purpose of this study is to verify the hypothesis that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) model rat is more susceptible to cold stress and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure than the healthy rat, and explore the related mechanism. COPD rat model, established with cigarette smoke and lipopolysaccharide intratracheal instillation, were exposed to cold stress (0 °C) and PM2.5 (0, 3.2, 12.8 mg/ml). After that, the levels of superoxide dismutase, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) and angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang-Ⅱ) in lung were measured, as well as the expression levels of lung 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). There were significant positive relationships between PM2.5 and lung level of iNOS, TNF-α, MCP-1 and Ang-Ⅱ, lung function and pathologic damage in COPD rats. The HO-1, NF-κB and 8-OHdG were found highly expressed in COPD rat lung, particularly at the higher PM2.5 dose of cold stress groups, while Nrf2 was found declined. Thus, COPD rats may be more susceptible to cold stress and PM2.5 exposure. Cold stress may aggravate PM2.5-induced toxic effects in the lung of COPD rats through increasing Ang-Ⅱ/NF-κB signaling pathway and suppressing Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Objective This study examined the effect of adjunctive minocycline on psychopathology and possibly relevant biomarkers in patients with schizophrenia. Method In a 16-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, subjects received either minocycline (200 mg per day) or placebo. Psychopathology was assessed using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and week 16. Plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) and nitric oxide metabolites were assessed at both time points. Results Fifty-five patients completed the study (27 in the minocycline group, 28 in the placebo group). The minocycline group had significant decreases in the SANS total sore, the PANSS total score and the PANSS negative symptoms score at week 16 compared to the placebo group. In addition, the minocycline group had a significant decrease in plasma levels of nitric oxide metabolites, but no significant difference in changes in plasma levels of IL-1β or TNF-α, compared to the placebo group at week 16. Further, the more decrease in plasma levels of nitric oxide metabolites was associated with less improvement in negative symptoms. Conclusion The beneficial effect of adjunctive minocycline treatment on negative symptoms might be through mechanisms other than the nitric oxide pathway. The implications for future studies were discussed.

Background: Understanding the characteristics related to frailty transitions will allow for better future health practice and healthcare strategies. We evaluated the changes in frailty among community-dwelling older adults and to examine the predictors of the changes in frailty. Methods: A total of 4050 community residents aged ≥ 60 years were recruited in 2015 with follow-up after 2 years. At baseline, a multiple deficits approach was used to construct the Frailty Index (FI) according to the methodology of FI construction, and sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyles were also collected. The transitions in frailty between baseline and 2-year follow-up were evaluated. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations between predictors and the changes of frailty, adjusting for all of the covariates. Results: Of all of the 3988 participants at baseline, those with frailty status of robust, prefrail, and frail were 79.5%, 16.4%, and 4.1%, and these changed to 68.2%, 23.0%, and 8.8% after 2 years with 127 deceased and 23 dropped out. Twelve kinds of transitions from baseline of the three frailty statuses to four outcomes at follow-up (including death) significantly differed within each of gender and age group, as well between genders and age groups. Among these, 7.8% of prefrail or frail elders improved, 70.0% retained their frailty status, and 22.2% of robust or prefrail elders worsened in frailty status. In multivariable models, age was significantly associated with changes in frailty except for in the frail group; higher educational level and working predicted a lower risk of robust worsening. Of the lifestyle predictors, no shower facilities at home predicted a higher risk of robust worsening; more frequent physical exercise predicted a lower risk of robust worsening and a higher chance of frailty improvement; more frequent neighbor interaction predicted a lower risk of robust worsening and prefrail worsening; and more frequent social participation predicted a higher chance of prefrail improvement. Conclusions: The status of frailty was reversible among community-dwelling elderly, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were related to changes in frailty. These findings help health practitioners to recognize susceptible individuals in a community and provide health promotional planning to target aged populations.

Background Anemia and frailty contribute to poor health outcomes in older adults; however, most current research in lower income countries has concentrated on anemia or frailty alone rather than in combination. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between anemia and frailty in community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older in China. Methods The study population was sourced from the 2007/10 SAGE China Wave 1. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin less than 13 g/dL for men and less than 12 g/dL for women. A Frailty Index (FI) was compiled to assess frailty. The association between anemia and frailty was evaluated using a 2-level hierarchical logistic model. Results The prevalence of anemia was 31.0% (95%CI: 28.4, 33.8%) and frailty 14.7% (95%CI: 13.5, 16.0%). In the univariate regression model, presence of anemia was significantly associated with frailty (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.39, 1.90) and the effect remained consistent after adjusting for various potential confounding factors including age, gender, residence, education, household wealth, fruit and vegetable intake, tobacco use, alcohol comsumption and physical activity (adjusted OR = 1.31, 95% CI:1.09, 1.57). Each 1 g/dL increase in hemoglobin concentration was associated with 4% decrease in the odds of frailty after adjusting for several confounding variables (adjusted OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.99). Conclusion Anemia and low hemoglobin concentrations were significantly associated with frailty. Therefore, health care professionals caring for older adults should increase screening, assessment of causes and treatment of anemia as one method of avoiding, delaying or even reversing frailty.

Fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) have been identified from a series of fungi, especially in Ganoderma species. However, little is known about the FIPs from G. applanatum. In this study, two novel FIP genes, termed as FIP-gap1 and FIP-gap2, were cloned from G. applanatum, characterized and functionally expressed after codon optimization in Pichia pastoris GS115. Results showed that FIP-gap1 and FIP-gap2 comprised 342-bp encoding peptides of 113 amino acids, which shared a high homology with other Ganoderma FIPs. The yield of recombinant FIP-gap1 and FIP-gap2 increased significantly after codon optimization and reached 247.4 and 197.5 mg/L, respectively. Bioactivity assay in vitro revealed that both rFIP-gap1 and rFIP-gap2 could agglutinate mouse, sheep, and human red blood cells. Besides, rFIP-gap1 and rFIP-gap2 obviously stimulated the proliferation of mouse splenocytes and enhanced IL-2 and IFN-γ release. Cytotoxicity detection indicated that IC50 of rFIP-gap1 towards A549 and HeLa cancer cells were 29.89 and 8.34 μg/mL, respectively, whereas IC50 of rFIP-gap2 to the same cancer cells were 60.92 and 41.05 μg/mL, respectively. Taken together, novel FIP gaps were cloned and functionally expressed in P. pastoris, which can serve as feasible and stable resources of rFIP gaps for further studies and potential applications.

Purpose/background This study examined the effect of adjunctive minocycline on body metabolism in risperidone-treated patients with schizophrenia. Methods/procedures Each subject had a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition diagnosis of schizophrenia and had been on stable dose of risperidone for at least 4 weeks. In a 16-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, subjects received either minocycline (200 mg/d) or placebo. Various metabolic parameters, including weight, waist circumference, fasting insulin, glucose, and lipids, were measured at baseline and week 16. Findings/results A total of 63 subjects with schizophrenia were enrolled in the study. Fifty-five patients completed week-16 assessments (27 in the minocycline group, 28 in the placebo group). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in week 16 changes for body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, fasting insulin, glucose, and lipids (P's > 0.300). Implications/conclusions In the present study, adjunctive treatment of minocycline did not seem to improve body metabolism in patients with schizophrenia receiving risperidone. The implications for future studies were discussed.

Background: Anemia and frailty contribute to poor health outcomes in older adults; however, most current research in lower income countries has concentrated on anemia or frailty alone rather than in combination. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between anemia and frailty in community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older in China. Methods: The study population was sourced from the 2007/10 SAGE China Wave 1. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin less than 13g/dL for men and less than 12g/dL for women. A frailty index (FI) was compiled to assess frailty. The association between anemia and frailty was evaluated using a 2-level hierarchical logistic model. Results: The prevalence of anemia was 31.0% (95%CI: 28.4%, 33.8%) and frailty 14.7% (95%CI: 13.5%, 16.0%). In the univariate regression model, presence of anemia was significantly associated with frailty (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.39, 1.90) and the effect remained consistent after adjusting for various potential confounding factors including age, gender, residence, education, household wealth, fruit and vegetable intake, tobacco use, alcohol comsumption and physical activity (adjusted OR =1.31, 95% CI:1.09, 1.57). In the linear model, each 1 g/dL increase in hemoglobin concentration was associated with 4% decrease in the odds of frailty after adjusting for several confounding variables (adjusted OR =0.96, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.99). Conclusion: Anemia and low hemoglobin concentrations were significantly associated with frailty. Therefore, health care professionals caring for older adults should increase screening, assessment of causes and treatment of anemia as one method of avoiding, delaying or even reversing frailty.

Aim: To elucidate potential prognostic significance of MELK mRNA expression in non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients. Methods: A loop algorithm based on R software was used to select genes with the best prognostic value. Mantel–Haenszel method and functional enrichment analysis were used to perform this analysis. Results: MELK mRNA expression level in tumor tissue is significantly higher than that in normal/benign tissue (p < 0.001), and gradually increases from stage I to IV (lung adenocarcinoma: p = 0.011; lung squamous cell carcinoma: p = 0.002), and is negatively correlated with prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma patients (HR: 2.025 in univariate analysis; HR: 2.162 in multivariate analysis). However, it does not show a significant correlation in lung squamous cell carcinoma patients. Conclusion: MELK is a poor biomarker for non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients and can potentially be used as a therapeutic target.

Background Anemia and frailty contribute to poor health outcomes in older adults; however, most current research in lower income countries has concentrated on anemia or frailty alone rather than in combination. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between anemia and frailty in community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older in China. Methods The study population was sourced from the 2007/10 SAGE China Wave 1. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin less than 13g/dL for men and less than 12g/dL for women. A frailty index (FI) was compiled to assess frailty. The association between anemia and frailty was evaluated using a 2-level hierarchical logistic model. Results The prevalence of anemia was 31.0% (95%CI: 28.4%, 33.8%) and frailty 14.7% (95%CI: 13.5%, 16.0%). In the univariate regression model, presence of anemia was significantly associated with frailty (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.39, 1.90) and the effect remained consistent after adjusting for various potential confounding factors including age, sex, education, household wealth, residence, smoking, alcohol drinking (adjusted OR =1.31, 95% CI:1.09, 1.57). In the linear model, each 1 g/dL increase in hemoglobin concentration was associated with 4% decrease in the odds of frailty after adjusting for several confounding variables (adjusted OR =0.96, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.99). Conclusion Anemia and low hemoglobin concentrations were significantly associated with frailty. Therefore, health care professionals caring for older adults should increase screening, assessment of causes and treatment of anemia as one method of avoiding, delaying or even reversing frailty.

To investigate the water iodine content and distribution of drinking-water in Gansu Province, and provide scientific evidence for the implementation of strategies for prevention and treatment of iodine-related diseases.The multilevel sampling method was adopted, take the township as sampling unit at the first level, and the administrative village with the median water iodine ≥10 μg/L as the second level sampling unit, different water supply modes(centralized, partial concentration and decentralized water supply) were sampled and the water iodine were detected by recommended iodine deficiency disease test method.A total of 8976 drinking water samples were detected from 1388 towns of 14 cities. the detection range was 0. 0-84. 6 μg/L, the median water iodine was 2. 3 μg/L, and 8301 samples were10 μg/L, 663 samples were 10～50 μg/L, 12 samples were ≥50 μg/L, with a ratio of total at 92. 5%, 7. 4% and 0. 1%, respectively. Water iodine content varies between three different water supply method(χ~2=8. 923, P0. 05), decentralized water iodine was lower than partial concentration water supply(Z=-2. 891, P0. 01). 71 townships of median water iodine were ≥10 μg/L(5. 1%), the water iodine median range was 10. 1～64. 3 μg/L, 76. 1% of townships were 10-20 μg/L, 11. 3% were 20-30 μg/L, 5. 6% were 30-40 μg/L, 7. 0% were ≥40 μg/L(χ~2=13. 302, P0. 05). Water samples of 895 administrative villages were detected, the median water iodine was 10. 8 μg/L, 466 administrative villages with a median water iodine ≥10 μg/L, the water iodine range was 10. 0～113. 1 μg/L, the median water iodine was 10. 8 μg/L, Administrative villages of 10-50 μg/L, 50～100 μg/L and ≥100 μg/L accounted for 96. 6%, 2. 4% and 1. 0%, respectively.Iodine deficiency areas were exist universally in Gansu Province, but there is high iodine point-like distribution areas in the administrative villages. While pay close attention to prevention of Iodine deficiency, the iodine nutrition status monitor in different iodine areas and the iodine supplementation strategy adjusting should be concerned too.

Lanzhou, an ex-heavily polluted city, was awarded “The Award for Today’s Transformative Step” in 2015 World Climate Conference at Paris for its great efforts on air quality improvement since 2012. However, the health benefits from this improvement remain unclear. Therefore, we collected time-series data covering deaths, weather variables and air pollutants during the two periods (2004–2009, 2014–2017) and fitted single-pollutant models using the generalized additive models to evaluate the change of mortality risks associated with air pollutants in Lanzhou. Results showed that the annual average concentrations of respirable particulate matter (PM10) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) dropped by 19.28% and 66.29%, while the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) increased by 16.61% in 2014–2017 compared to 2004–2009. During the period 2004–2009, we found a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10 (lag 2), SO2 (lag 0–5) and NO2 (lag 0–5) were associated with mortality increments of 0.12% (95% CI: 0.01, 0.22), 0.86% (95% CI: 0.42, 1.31) and 1.29% (95% CI: 0.70, 1.90), respectively. During the period 2014–2017, the association between PM10 and daily deaths was not significant, but we observed a 10-μg/m3 increase in SO2 (lag 0–5) and NO2 (lag 4) were related to mortality increments of 4.23% (95% CI: 1.82, 6.70) and 0.85% (95% CI: 0.19, 1.52), respectively. From 2004–2009 to 2014–2017, we observed markedly decline of mortality risk due to PM10, but not SO2 or NO2. In conclusion, the mortality risk of PM10 in Lanzhou has declined obviously after the substantially improved air quality due to the enforcement of air pollution controlling policies.

Homology between different Ganoderma FIPs based on their peptide sequence alignment using a DNAman software (Version 8.0). FIP-gap1 and FIP-gap2, FIP-gat, FIP-gbo, FIP-gja, FIP-gmi, FIP-gsi, FIP-gts, LZ-8 and LZ-9 represented FIPs from G. applanatum, G. atrum, G. boninense, G. japonicum, G. microsporum, G. sinense, G. tsugae and G. lucidum, respectively. (DOCX 411 kb)

Schematic map of synthetic Ganoderma FIP genes. Four codon-optimized FIP genes were synthesized (in green) by Sango (Shanghai, China), in which His-tag sequences (in yellow) were also inserted before stop codons. (DOCX 74 kb)

Codon adaptation indexes (CAI) for Ganoderma FIP genes in P. pastoris. FIP-gap1, FIP-gap2, LZ-8, and FIP-gsi represent FIP genes from G. applanatum, G. lucidum and G. sinense. (DOCX 13 kb)

Haemagglutination examination of four recombinant Ganoderma FIPs including rFIP-gap1, rFIP-gap2, rLZ-8 and rFIP-gsi (all final concentration at 5 μg mL− 1) towards human (hRBCs), sheep (sRBCs) and mouse (mRBCs) red blood cells, respectively. PBS and PHA (5 μg mL− 1) served as negative and positive controls. All results were from biological duplicate tests. (DOCX 1042 kb)

The purpose of this study is to verify the hypothesis that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) model rat is more susceptible to cold stress and fine particulate matter (PM

Two members of type II IFNs have been identified in fish, i.e. an IFN-γ gene as in other vertebrates and a unique IFN-γ related (IFN-γ rel) gene being solely present in fish. However, the signalling pathways involved in the down-stream signalling of type II IFNs in fish remains poorly described. In this study, the type II IFNs mediated IRF1 was investigated in zebrafish, and the true homologous gene of mammalian IRF1 in fish was revealed despite the report of so-called IRF1a and IRF1b in zebrafish. As revealed in overexpression analysis, zebrafish IFN-γ had a higher induction ability than IFN-γ rel in relation with the expression of IRF1. IFN-γ stimulated the expression level of STAT1a and also STAT1b, but they had opposite trends with the increase of time; enhancement of STAT1a waned after 12 h post injection of plasmids; whereas STAT1b expression increased continuously. Zebrafish IRF1 gene promoter contained several putative transcription factor binding sites, including GAS and NF-κB motifs. Luciferase assay revealed that the GAS site was essential in the IFN-γ triggered IRF1 expression. In contrast, IRF11 contained neither GAS nor NF-κB elements, and did not respond to IFN-γ induction. It is considered that STAT1a and STAT1b are structurally and functionally similar to STAT1α and STAT1β in mammal respectively, and that IRF11, although used to be nominated as IRF1a, is not the orthologue of mammalian IRF1, but IRF1b in zebrafish should be the orthologue.

Background: In recent decades, the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in depression has received intensive attention. However, the relationship between proBDNF and depression has not been clearly elucidated. Conclusion: The balance between the proBDNF/p75NTR/sortilin and mBDNF/TrkB signaling pathways appears dysregulated in major depression and both pathways should be considered as biomarkers for the major depression Limitations: More cases on both genders should be enrolled in our study. And further works on the mechanisms of how BDNF and its receptors are regulated in depression should also be carried out. Methods: Forty drug-free women patients diagnosed with major depression and 50 healthy female controls were enrolled in our study. Peripheral blood was sampled from all the subjects. With the blood samples, we assessed the relationship between BDNF and major depression from following aspects: the levels of BDNF, proBDNF and their receptors in the sera and lymphocytes. The mRNA levels of these factors in lymphocytes were also examined. Furthermore, the correlations between each factor and the severity of major depression were tested. Results: It was found that: (a) the protein and serum levels of proBDNF, sortilin and p75NTR were higher in major depressive patients than in healthy controls while mature BDNF and TrkB levels were lower; (b) the BDNF, TrkB, sortilin and p75NTR mRNA levels changed in line with their protein levels; (c) The levels of mature BDNF and TrkB had negative correlations with the major depression severity, and the levels of proBDNF, p75NTR and sortilin were positively correlated with the scores of HRSD-21; (d) the ratio of proBDNF and mBDNF was imbalanced in major depressive patients. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

A multi-terminal voltage-source-converter (VSC) based high voltage direct current (HVDC) system is concerned for its flexibility and reliability. In this study, a control strategy for multiple VSCs is proposed to auto-share the real power variation without changing control mode, which is based on “dc voltage droop” power regulation functions. With the proposed power regulation design, the multiple VSCs automatically share the real power change and the VSC-HVDC system is stable even under loss of any one converter while there is no overloading for any individual converter. Simulation results show that it is effective to balance real power for power disturbance and thus improves operation reliability for the multi-terminal VSC-HVDC system by the proposed control strategy.