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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most debilitating and severe mental diseases globally. Increasing evidence has shown that epigenetics is critical for understanding brain function and brain disorders, including MDD. N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10), acting on histones, mRNA and other substrates, has been reported to be involved in epigenetic events, including histone acetylation and mRNA modifications. NAT10 is highly expressed in the brain. However, the potential effects of NAT10 on MDD are still unknown. Here, we exploited chronic mild stress (CMS) to induce anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in mice and found that the expression of NAT10 in the mouse hippocampus was upregulated after CMS treatment. Inhibition of NAT10 by pharmacological methods produced anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects. Neuron-specific overexpression of NAT10 in the hippocampus resulted in anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, accompanied by higher SIRT1 protein levels, and lower dendritic spine densities. Overall, it was found that elevation of NAT10 in hippocampal neurons is involved in the occurrence of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, suggesting that NAT10 could be a potential new target for developing anxiolytics and antidepressants.

Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists have been clinically used to treat heart failure. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood.Using osteoblast MR knockout (MRMR deficiency in osteoblasts alleviates pathological ventricular remodeling after MI, likely through its regulation on OCN. Spironolactone may work through osteoblast MR/OCN axis to exert its therapeutic effects on pathological ventricular remodeling and heart failure in mice and human patients.

Mutations in RET have been found in multiple diseases including isolated and associated congenital anomalies. Here, we report a case presented with disparate phenotypes in each pregnancy but caused by the same novel mutation. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed on the proband/abortion product-parental trio and a novel missense variant in RET (chr10:43615610C G; c.2689C G; p.Arg897Gly) was identified. The mother was a low-level somatic carrier of this new mutation, with 17.3% in blood, 19.1% in oralmucous membrane, and 15.7% in urine by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (dd PCR). Our finding not only broadens the mutation spectrum of RET but also gives supportive genetic counseling and timely guidance on fertility choices.

What are the pregnancy outcomes of IVF vitrified-warmed embryo transfer (IVF-FET) carried out in a clinical setting located at an altitude of 3650 m in Tibet, China?A retrospective analysis of 238 infertility couples (n = 344 treatment cycles) who underwent FET treatment at the Xizang Fukang Hospital, Tibet. The overall clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, live birth rate, miscarriage rate and ectopic pregnancy rate were statistically analysed. Women were categorized into two groups based on age: 35 years or younger (n = 265 cycles) and over 35 years (n = 79 cycles). The general characteristics and pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups.The clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, live birth rate, miscarriage rate, and ectopic pregnancy rate of the 344 FET cycles were 43.02%, 30.90%, 35.17%, 18.24% and 1.35%, respectively. The clinical pregnancy rate (46.04% versus 32.91%), implantation rate (33.92% versus 21.01%) and live birth rate (38.11% versus 25.32%) in the group aged 35 years or younger were significantly greater than those in the group aged over 35 years (P = 0.039, P = 0.004, P = 0.037). The miscarriage rate (17.21% versus 23.08%) and ectopic pregnancy rate (0.82% versus 3.85%) were not significantly different in the two groups.A live birth rate of 35.17% can be achieved with IVF-FET in high-altitude areas (3650 m above sea level). Maternal age is still an important determinant of clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, and live birth rate of infertile patients in high-altitude areas.

In this study, the powdery solid waste fly ash cenospheres (FACs) was used to synthesize zeolite nano-ABW, which maintained the initial hollow microsphere shape of the FACs. The synthetic nano-ABW zeolite was applied to remove direct fast bordeaux (DFB) dye. The coupling effects of adsorption and photocatalysis (adsorption/photocatalysis) were investigated in the degradation process. The removal rate was effectively increased from 1.4% of FACs to 72% of ABW, which may be due to the broad pore structure of synthesized hollow zeolite ABW, providing more active adsorption sites. Moreover, nano-Co3O4 semiconductor was supported on hollow ABW to further improve degradation efficiency. The results demonstrated that the removal of DFB over 6Co3O4/ABW zeolite was 66% under dark conditions, while enhanced to 90% under sunlight. Moreover, the removal rate of DFB only dropped by 4.5% after 5 cycles. It indicated that the Co3O4/ABW catalysts have high stability, and the photocatalysis enabled to degrade the dyes adsorbed on catalysts, thereby restoring the adsorption capacity of catalysts.

Plutella xylostella granulovirus (PlxyGV) biopesticide is an effective tool to control the long-term damage of Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) to cruciferous vegetables. In China, PlxyGV can be produced on a large scale using host insects, and its products have been registered in 2008. In experiments and biopesticide production, the routine enumeration method of PlxyGV virus particles is to use the Petroff-Hausser counting chamber in dark field microscope. However, the accuracy and repeatability of granulovirus (GV) counting are affected due to the small particle size of GV occlusion bodies (OBs), the limitations of optical microscope, the judgment of different operators, host impurities, the addition of biological products. This limits the convenience of its production, product quality, trading and field application. Here we use PlxyGV as an example, the method based on Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) was optimized from two aspects of sample treatment and specific primers design, which improved the repeatability and accuracy of absolute quantitative OBs of GV. This study provides basic information for accurate quantitative PlxyGV by qPCR method.

Objective As traditional techniques for microscopic identification of Chinese medicines currently lack objective and high-quality reference images, here we developed a systemic procedure to be used in microscopic identification of Chinese medicines, which would lead to more objective, effective and accurate identification process. Methods Spatholobi Caulis (Jixueteng in Chinese) was used as the specimen in the development of such procedure. Jixueteng samples were microscopically examined in bright- and dark-field microscopy. Microscopic images were obtained by regular, EDF, and image stitching techniques. Results The microscopic images of the characteristics in pulverized Jixueteng were captured, thanks to EDF imaging and image stitching techniques which allowed the detailed and full sighting of each characteristic to be obtained simultaneously. Different layers in anatomical transverse section, including cork, phelloderm, cortex, phloem, cambium, xylem and pith, were distinctively observed. Moreover, by comparing images of bright- and dark-field microscopy, birefringent and non- birefringent components could readily be distinguished. Conclusion With application of the developed procedure, high-definition, panoramic and microscopic images were acquired, which could be used as the reference images for microscopic identification of Chinese medicines.

Resource-constrained users outsource the massive image data to the cloud to reduce storage and computation overhead locally, but security and privacy concerns seriously hinder the applications of outsourced image processing services. Besides, existing image processing solutions in the encrypted domain still bring high computation overhead, and even lead to characteristic loss. To this end, we propose a Privacy-Preserving Krawtchouk Moment (PPKM) feature extraction framework over encrypted image data by utilizing the Paillier cryptosystem. First, a mathematical framework for PPKM implementation and image reconstruction is presented in the encrypted domain. Then, the detailed expanding factor and upper bound analysis shows that plaintext Krawtchouk moment and plaintext image reconstruction can be realized over encrypted image with PPKM. Furthermore, the computation complexity of PPKM can be significantly reduced with the block-based parallel algorithm. Experimental results verify that the PPKM is feasible and acceptable in practice in terms of image reconstruction capability and image recognition accuracy.

In recent years, popularity of social media and influx of international students have provided Chinese domestic students ample opportunities to contact with alien cultures both directly and indirectly. To understand impact of the new environment, the present study focused on Chinese domestic undergraduates and proposed a moderated mediation research model examining the relationships between mediated contact (through foreign TV series and movies) and the three dimensions of global competence (global attitudes, skills, and knowledge). We also explored mediation of intergroup anxiety and moderation of direct contact (with international students) underlying these relationships. Results from a multi-group structural equation modeling analysis revealed direct contact as a moderator, modifying the relationship between mediated contact and intergroup anxiety. Specifically, this negative relationship was significant at low, rather than at high levels of direct contact. Further, at low, rather than at high levels of direct contact, mediated contact had indirect relationships with all three dimensions of global competence via the mediator of intergroup anxiety.

Nanoscaled mesoporous silicas (NMS) with tunable mesostructure and morphology were successfully fabricated using a simple modified-Stober synthesis system. The Al modified NMS-x materials with highly ordered mesostructures were used as supports to prepare hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts NiMo/Al-NMS-x. The characteristics and activity test results revealed that the dispersion and morphology of NiMoS active phases were modulated on various supports, and TOF values showed dependence on the stacking degrees and dispersion of MoS2 slabs. Moreover, diffusion properties reflected that a support with larger pore size and 3D mesochannel would alleviate restrictive diffusion. Compared to other catalysts, NiMo/Al-NMS-7 with 3D cubic mesochannel and sphere-like shape exhibited the highest catalytic activity, i.e., HDS efficiency (95%, WHSV = 20 h−1), TOF (4.8 ± 0.32 h−1), rate constant (1.4 × 10-3 mol·g−1·h−1) and De (12.8 × 106 cm2·s−1), which would be derived from the preferable diffusion performance of guest-species, especially the better dispersion and suitable stacks of active phases.

The management of patients with poor ovarian response (POR) remains a major challenge for fertility specialists in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of sequential transfer on pregnancy outcomes in patients with POR. A total of 3579 POR patients who underwent the first frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycle were enrolled from January 2018 to April 2021. The patients were divided into three groups according to the embryo transfer (ET) strategy adopted: a study group that included POR patients in whom a cleavage-stage embryo (day 3) and a blastocyst (day 5/6) were transferred (sequential transfer group), and two control groups in whom two cleavage-stage embryos (D3-dET group) or two blastocysts (D5/6-dET group) were transferred. The study group was matched with the control groups at a ratio of 1:4 by propensity score matching (PSM). The main pregnancy outcomes measured were the live birth rate and multiple pregnancy rate. After PSM, the live birth rate in the sequential transfer group was significantly higher than that in the D3-dET group (44.2% vs. 34.3%, P = 0.019), and was similar to that in the D5/6-dET group (44.2% vs. 45.3%; P = 0.90). In addition, there was no increase in the risk of multiple pregnancy among POR patients undergoing sequential transfer compared with both D3-dET (26.7% vs. 25.6%, P = 0.85) and D5/6-dET (26.7% vs. 28.4%, P = 0.97) groups. These findings imply that sequential transfer is an effective option for POR patients and could be utilized after careful consideration.

Sedum alfredii Hance is a cadmium (Cd)/zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulator native to China. However, its relatively low biomass restricted the large-scale application for heavy metal contamination remediation. The chromosome set doubling of S. alfredii in vitro was achieved by 0.1%-0.2% (W/V) colchicine treatment. The plant DNA ploidy was analyzed by flow cytometry and chromosome set doubling plants (CSD) were identified based on the obvious different sharp peak. A tissue culture experiment with different Cd treated levels and a field trial with natural polluted mined soil were conducted to study the effects of chromosome doubling on plant biomass and Cd accumulation in shoots. The results suggested that S. alfredii is a mixoploid. Compared with the wild type plants (WT), CSD exhibited typical "gigas" characteristics in morphology including stem thickness, root hair production, number of leaves and size of stoma guard cell. Fresh weight and dry weight of CSD were increased to 1.62-2.03-fold and 2.26-3.25-fold of WT. And Cd content of CSD showed a 17.49%-42.82% increase and 59% increase under tissue culture and field condition, accordingly. In addition, the TF and in BCF of CSD were 2.37- and 1.59-fold of WT, respectively. These results proved that it is feasible to promote phytoextraction efficiency of S. alfredii in Cd contaminated soils through chromosomal engineering, which provides a novel approach for hyperaccumulator application in phytoremediation.

In the image outsourcing system, image privacy is still an increasing concern since the cloud service provider and image owners are not in the same trusted domain. The most straightforward method for guaranteeing image privacy is to leverage cryptographic tools, but traditional cryptographic tools make feature extraction algorithms useless. To this end, we propose a privacy-preserving feature extraction scheme for Legendre circularly orthogonal moment, which is a novel global feature descriptor and can be used for image analysis. We first develop a novel feature descriptor, which is one of the circularly orthogonal moments and termed as Legendre Circularly Orthogonal Moment (LCOM). Then, we present a mathematical framework for implementing Privacy-preserving Legendre Circularly Orthogonal Moment (PLCOM) by combining LCOM and somewhat homomorphic encryption, and implement the image reconstruction in the encrypted domain based on PLCOM. Besides, the detailed theoretical analysis of message space and expanding factor generated by the quantitative technology shows that LCOM and image reconstruction in the plaintext domain can be realized with the aid of PLCOM. Finally, experimental results verify that the PLCOM’s performance in terms of image reconstruction capability and image recognition accuracy is acceptable.

Sleep deprivation (SD) has adverse effects on physical and mental health. Recently increasing attention has been given to SD in the early-life stage. However, the effects and mechanisms of postweaning SD on cognitive function and social behaviors are still unclear. In this study, SD was conducted in mice from postnatal Day 21 (PND21) to PND42, 6 h a day. Meanwhile, changes in body weight, food and water intake were continuously monitored. Behavioral tests were carried out in adulthood of mice. The levels of serum corticosterone, the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and the anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-10 (IL-10), vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) were measured by ELISA. Golgi staining was used to calculate neural dendritic spine density in the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) CA1 region and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We found that postweaning SD increased the food intake and the weight of female mice. Behavioral results showed that postweaning SD caused cognitive impairment and lowered social dominance in adult male mice but not in female mice. ELISA results showed that SD increased the levels of serum corticosterone, VP and OT in male mice and serum OT in female mice. Golgi staining analysis showed that SD decreased neural dendritic spine density in the dHPC in male mice. These results suggest that postweaning SD has a long-term effect on social dominance and cognitive function in male mice, which may provide a new insight into the role of SD in regulating cognitive function and social behaviors.

A methionine methyl ester-modified coumarin derivative was designed and synthesized, which could discriminate Cu2+ from other metal ions in HEPES buffer (10 mM, pH 7.4)/CH3CN (40:60, V/V). The detection limit of WM toward Cu2+ was 1.84 × 10−7 M, which was lower than the concentration of Cu2+ in drinking water suggested by WHO and EPA. And the proposed coordination mode exhibiting the interaction between WM and Cu2+ was studied by UV–Vis, fluorescence spectrum, ESI-MS and FT-IR. Based on the fluorescent reversibility of WM, WM was considered as a molecular logic gate and molecular keypad lock. In addition, the test strips and the silica gel plates prepared from the solution of WM also demonstrate the favorable selectivity toward Cu2+.

Protandrous black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii) is a popular and valuable commercial marine fish in China and East Asian countries. Controlling and managing its breeding has been an imperative step towards obtaining a sustainable supply of this fish in aquaculture production systems. Therefore, study on the molecular mechanisms of sex change in black porgy has both scientific and commercial importance. Previously, we identified some candidate genes related to sex determination and differentiation from a high-quality genome assembly of the black porgy. In the present study, transcriptome sequencing of developmental gonads (including testis, ovotestis and ovary) of black porgy was performed to further investigate the sex-change mechanisms. Our results showed that the highly expressed male-related genes (dmrt1, piwi1, piwi2, sox9, sox30 and amh) at the male phase were significantly down-regulated to a substantial degree at the intersexual stage, and the female-related genes (jnk1, vasa, wnt4, figla and foxl2) were distinctly up-regulated when the fish grows into a female adult, suggesting the potential roles of these genes in sex change of the black porgy. These data also support a previous hypothesis that the femaleness will be switched on when the testis is entering the degenerated stage through the diminished dmrt1 expression. Our transcriptome data provide a very useful genomic resource for future studies on sex change and practical aquaculture in the black porgy.

Summary Aryl–heteroatom (C–X) bonds ubiquitously exist in organic, medicinal, and material chemistry, but a universal method to construct diverse C–X bonds is lacking. Here we report our discovery of a convenient and efficient approach to construct various C–X bonds using arylammonium salts as the substrate via an SNAr process. This strategy features mild reaction condition, no request of transition metal catalyst, and easy formation of various C–X bonds (C–S, C–Si, C–Sn, C–Ge, C–Se, C–N). The method was successfully applied to a late-stage functionalization of an existing antibiotic drug, to a Clickable reaction of NBD-based ammonium salt as turn-on fluorescent probe to recognize L-cysteine and homocysteine, and to the synthesis of a DNA encoded library (DEL) bearing different C–X bonds., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • An efficient approach to construct various C–heteroatom bonds • Readily accessible ammonium salts as substrates • No request of transition metal catalyst and broad functional group compatibility • Great applicability in late-stage functionalization, fluorescent probe, and DEL, Organic Chemistry; Organic Synthesis; Chemical Reaction Engineering

Bayesian network (BN) is a powerful reasoning and knowledge expression tool combining the graph theory and the probability theory. Establishing an accurate Bayesian network for alarm systems plays a critical part of alarm root cause analyses in industrial processes. Bayesian networks are hard to learn, because current states of alarm variables are influenced not only by other variables but also by the history states of themselves. In order to handle this problem, a novel scoring function named Family Transfer Entropy Tests (FTET) for Bayesian networks learning is proposed. In the proposed FTET scoring function, the family score (FC) of each family in a Bayesian network is defined using Family Transfer Entropy (FTE). FTE is used to quantify the degree of the interaction between variables. Moreover, in the proposed FTET, FTE with penalty is considered to avoid overfitting in Bayesian network learning. In order to validate the performance of the proposed FTET scoring function, case studies based on a stochastic process and the Tennessee Eastman (TE) process are carried out. Simulation results show that the errors brought by the impact of the history states of the variable itself are reduced. The Bayesian network structure learnt from the proposed FTEF scoring function is simpler and more accurate compared with that learnt from the well-known scoring functions of Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and Bayesian Dirichlet (BDe).

Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) and Suxiao Jiuxin Pill (SJP) are traditional Chinese medicines used to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China. However, the mechanism of their therapeutic effect on CVD has not been clearly elucidated yet.The aim of this study is to investigate the cardioprotective effect of SBP and SJP in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) model rats by applying serum proteomic approach.The rat model of AMI was generated by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. 42 rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham-operating (Sham, n = 10) group, model (Mod, n = 8) group, Shexiang Baoxin pills pretreatment (SBP, n = 12) group and Suxiao Jiuxin pills pretreatment (SJP, n = 12) group. Data Independent Acquisition (DIA) proteomic approach was utilized to investigate the serum proteome from the rat individuals. The differentially expressed proteins were subsequently obtained with bioinformatic analysis.DIA-MS identified 415 proteins within 42 samples, and 84 differentially expressed proteins may contribute to the therapeutic effects of SBP and SJP. GOBP and KEGG pathway analysis of 84 differentially expressed proteins revealed that the proteins were mainly involved in platelet activation and adhesion processes. All 84 differentially expressed proteins presented the same changing tendency in the SBP and SJP groups when compared with the Mod group. Among these 84 proteins, 25 proteins were found to be related to CVD. Among these 25 proteins, ACTB, ACTG1, FGA, FGB, FGG, PF4 and VWF were found to be involved in platelet aggregation and activation. FN1, HSPA5 and YWHAZ were associated with adhesion.The results of our study suggest that the cardioprotective effects of SBP and SJP are achieved through the modulation of focal adhesion, platelet activation pathways.

Targeting the protein-protein interactions involving CXCR4, a member of chemokine receptor family and G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily, has become an attractive therapeutic strategy for HIV-1 infection, hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, and cancer metastasis. As such, new small molecule CXCR4 antagonists are needed to offer therapeutic alternatives with enhanced clinical outcomes. Here, employing a fragment integrational approach we designed and synthesized a new and potent small molecule CXCR4 antagonist (named as HF51116), as well as a fluorescent (FITC)-labeled HF51116 (FITC-HF51116). HF51116 exhibited very high CXCR4 binding affinity with IC

Thermogenesis is a promising approach to limit weight gain in response to excess nutrition. In contrast to cold-induced thermogenesis, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) have not been fully characterized. Here, we explored the response of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (sWAT) to high fat diet (HFD) using proteome and phosphoproteome analysis. We observed that after HFD, Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and its phosphorylation were only increased in BAT. Furthermore, proteins involved in fatty acid oxidation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation were also upregulated in BAT. Nevertheless, most metabolic related proteins were downregulated in sWAT. We found that these metabolic changes accompanied with different variation of mitochondrial proteins between BAT and sWAT. After HFD, most mitochondrial proteins were decreased in sWAT, but not in BAT. This effect was correlated with decreased mitochondrial ribosomal proteins in sWAT. Finally, through phosphoproteomic analysis, we predicted the activities of kinases in HFD mice and observed that there were more kinases inactivated in sWAT. Finally, this dataset provides a valuable resource for molecular researchers in the fields of obesity and obesity-related disease. SIGNIFICANCE: Thermogenesis is a promising approach to combat obesity in response to excess energy. Nevertheless, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of DIT have not been fully characterized. Herein, we employed mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics and phosphoproteomics to identify differentially regulated proteins and phosphosites in BAT and sWAT of mice fed with HFD. This study unveils the differential regulatory networks of HFD in BAT and sWAT, which provides reference omics data to future researchers.