Search

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized as a neurodegenerative disease; however, the mechanisms regarding its pathogenesis have not been fully explored.To explore the role of circular RNA homeodomain interacting protein kinase 3 (circHIPK3) in the progression of PD.The circHIPK3 and microRNA-124 (miR-124) expression in human serum and cerebral fluid was detected using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 92 PD patients and 95 controls. The circHIPK3 was overexpressed and/or silenced in cells to explore its molecular mechanisms and effects on neuroinflammation. The production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assessed using 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) staining. Interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production in BV2 cells after the indicated treatment was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The protein expression of microglia markers (cluster of differentiation molecule 11b (CD11b) and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1)), pyroptosis-related factors, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing C-terminal caspase recruitment domain (ASC), and caspase-1, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) were examined using western blot analysis. Furthermore, the interaction between circHIPK3, miR-124 and STAT3 was predicted with bioinformatics and examined using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), luciferase reporter assays, RNA pull-down, and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP).The expression of circHIPK3 in human serum and cerebral fluids was significantly higher than in controls, whereas miR-124 expression was drastically reduced. In addition, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated BV2 cells exhibited higher expression of circHIPK3 and lower miR-124 expression. The SH-SY5Y cells exhibited a significantly impaired viability and elevated apoptotic rate, along with an upregulation of circHIPK3 and a downregulation of miR-124 expression after being treated with supernatants collected from LPS-treated BV2 cells. The upregulation of circHIPK3 increased IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α secretion in BV2 cells. The protein expressions of microglia markers (CD11b and Iba-1), as well as pyroptosis-related factors, NLRP3, caspase-1, and ASC, were also increased following the expression of circHIPK3. All these effects were reversed by the addition of miR-124.The circHIPK3 enhances neuroinflammation by sponging miR-124 and regulating the miR-124-mediated STAT3/NALP3 pathway in PD.

ObjectiveTo profile gut microbiome-associated metabolites in serum and investigate whether these metabolites could distinguish individuals with colorectal cancer (CRC) or adenoma from normal healthy individuals.DesignIntegrated analysis of untargeted serum metabolomics by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and metagenome sequencing of paired faecal samples was applied to identify gut microbiome-associated metabolites with significantly altered abundance in patients with CRC and adenoma. The ability of these metabolites to discriminate between CRC and colorectal adenoma was tested by targeted metabolomic analysis. A model based on gut microbiome-associated metabolites was established and evaluated in an independent validation cohort.ResultsIn total, 885 serum metabolites were significantly altered in both CRC and adenoma, including eight gut microbiome-associated serum metabolites (GMSM panel) that were reproducibly detected by both targeted and untargeted metabolomics analysis and accurately discriminated CRC and adenoma from normal samples. A GMSM panel-based model to predict CRC and colorectal adenoma yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.00) in the modelling cohort and an AUC of 0.92 (83.5% sensitivity, 84.9% specificity) in the validation cohort. The GMSM model was significantly superior to the clinical marker carcinoembryonic antigen among samples within the validation cohort (AUC 0.92 vs 0.72) and also showed promising diagnostic accuracy for adenomas (AUC=0.84) and early-stage CRC (AUC=0.93).ConclusionGut microbiome reprogramming in patients with CRC is associated with alterations of the serum metabolome, and GMSMs have potential applications for CRC and adenoma detection.

Grassland converted to cropland affected soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbes. However, these parameters were often studied separately and their combined responses to grassland reclaim remain unclear. To evaluate the impacts of grassland cultivation on soil microbial communities (based on phospholipid fatty acids, PLFAs) and the links between soil microbes and physicochemical properties, we performed a paired field experiment following the conversion from native grasslands to 30-60 year-old cropland in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. The concentrations of soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total nitrogen (STN) and the soil microbial biomass consistently decreased with grassland conversion to cropland. Grassland conversion also significantly decreased the relative abundance of bacterial and fungal PLFAs and the fungal to bacterial ratio (F:B) at 0-10cm soil layer, but those parameters remained unchanged below 10cm soil layers. Grassland conversion affected the microbial biomass mainly through soil C and N content rather than soil pH, moisture and aggregation. These findings revealed that cultivation-induced soil nutrient loss may enhance soil microbe depletion and affect microbial community assembly (shifts in fungi, AMF, Act, GP, and GN bacteria). This implies that conversion of grassland to cropland should be avoided because of the risk of degradation of soil nutrient and microbes.

Sever acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) virus, responsible for severe acute respiratory disease (COVID-19). A large number of natural compounds are under trial for screening compounds, possessing potential inhibitory effect against the viral infection. Keeping in view the importance of marine compounds in antiviral activity, we investigated the potency of some marine natural products to target SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) (PDB ID 6MO3). The crystallographic structure of Mpro in an apo form was retrieved from Protein Data Bank and marine compounds from PubChem. These structures were prepared for docking and the complex with good docking score was subjected to molecular dynamic (MD) simulations for a period of 100 ns. To measure the stability, flexibility, and average distance between the target and compounds, root mean square deviations (RMSD), root mean square fluctuation (RMSF), and the distance matrix were calculated. Among five marine compounds, C-1 (PubChem CID 11170714) exhibited good activity, interacting with the active site and surrounding residues, forming many hydrogen and hydrophobic interactions. The C-1 also attained a stable dynamic behavior, and the average distance between compound and target remains constant. In conclusion, marine natural compounds may be used as a potential inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 for better management of COVID-19.

pncB1 and pncB2 are two putative nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferases, playing a role in cofactor salvage and drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mutations have been reported in first- and second-line drug targets, causing resistance. However, pncB1 and pncB2 mutational data are not available, and neither of their mutation effects have been investigated in protein structures. The current study has been designed to investigate mutations and also their effects on pncB1 and pncB2 structures. A total of 287 whole-genome sequenced data of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan were retrieved (BioSample PRJEB32684, ERR2510337-ERR2510445, ERR2510546-ERR2510645) from NCBI. The genomic data were analyzed for pncB1 and pncB2 mutations using PhyResSE. All the samples harbored numerous synonymous and non-synonymous mutations in pncB1 and pncB2 except one. Mutations Pro447Ser, Arg286Arg, Gly127Ser, and delTCAGGCCG1499213>1499220 in pncB1 are novel and have not been reported in literature and TB databases. The most common non-synonymous mutations exhibited stabilizing effects on the pncB1 structure. Moreover, 36 out of 287 samples harbored two non-synonymous and 34 synonymous mutations in pncB2 among which the most common was Phe204Phe (TTT/TTC), present in 8 samples, which may have an important effect on the usage of specific codons that may increase the gene expression level or protein folding effect. Mutations Ser120Leu and Pro447Ser, which are present in the loop region, exhibited a gain in flexibility in the surrounding residues while Gly429Ala and Gly127Ser also demonstrated stabilizing effects on the protein structure. Inhibitors designed based on the most common pncB1 and pncB2 mutants may be a more useful strategy in high-burden countries. More studies are needed to elucidate the effect of synonymous mutations on organism phenotype.

The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway mediates various biological functions, and its dysregulation is closely related to the occurrence of malignant tumors. However, the role of TGF-β signaling in tumorigenesis and development is complex and contradictory. On the one hand, TGF-β signaling can exert antitumor effects by inhibiting proliferation or inducing apoptosis of cancer cells. On the other hand, TGF-β signaling may mediate oncogene effects by promoting metastasis, angiogenesis, and immune escape. This review summarizes the recent findings on molecular mechanisms of TGF-β signaling. Specifically, this review evaluates TGF-β′s therapeutic potential as a target by the following perspectives: ligands, receptors, and downstream signaling. We hope this review can trigger new ideas to improve the current clinical strategies to treat tumors related to the TGF-β signaling pathway.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is one of the most reliable methods for detection of drug resistance, genetic diversity in other virulence factor and also evolutionary dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). First-line anti-tuberculosis drugs are the major weapons against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). However, the emergence of drug resistance remained a major obstacle towards global tuberculosis (TB) control program 2030, especially in high burden countries including Pakistan. To overcome the resistance and design potent drugs, genomic variations in drugs targets as well as in the virulence and evolutionary factors might be useful for better understanding and designing potential inhibitors. Here we aimed to find genomic variations in the first-line drugs targets, along with other virulence and evolutionary factors among the circulating isolates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Samples were collected and drug susceptibility testing (DST) was performed as per WHO standard. The resistance samples were subjected to WGS. Among the five whole genome sequences, three samples (NCBI BioProject Accession: PRJNA629298, PRJNA629388) harbored 1997, 1162, and 2053 mutations. Some novel mutations have been detected in drugs targets. Similarly, numerous novel variants have also been detected in virulency and evolutionary factors, PE, PPE, and secretory system of MTB isolates. Exploring the genomic variations among the circulating isolates in geographical specific locations might be useful for future drug designing. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that provides useful data regarding the insight genomic variations in virulency, evolutionary factors including ESX and PE/PPE as well as drug targets, for better understanding and management of TB in a WHO declared high burden country.

The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway mediates various biological functions, and its dysregulation is closely related to the occurrence of malignant tumors. However, the role of TGF-β signaling in tumorigenesis and development is complex and contradictory. On the one hand, TGF-β signaling can exert antitumor effects by inhibiting proliferation or inducing apoptosis of cancer cells. On the other hand, TGF-β signaling may mediate oncogene effects by promoting metastasis, angiogenesis, and immune escape. This review summarizes the recent findings on molecular mechanisms of TGF-β signaling. Specifically, this review evaluates TGF-β′s therapeutic potential as a target by the following perspectives: ligands, receptors, and downstream signaling. We hope this review can trigger new ideas to improve the current clinical strategies to treat tumors related to the TGF-β signaling pathway.

Anopheles sinensis is a key disease vector for human malaria and parasitic diseases such as malayan filariasis, and it is considered to be one of the most important malaria vectors in China and Southeast Asia. As high-throughput sequencing and assembly technology are widely used in An. sinensis , a lot of omics data have been generated, and abundant genome, mRNA transcriptome, miRNA transcriptome and resequencing results have been accumulated. In addition, lots of valuable morphological images and publications have been produced with the in-depth studies on An. sinensis. However, the increased quantity, variety, and structure complexity of the omics data create inconveniences for researchers to use and manage this information. We have built an An. sinensis omics database (ASDB, http://asdb.jungleran.com/ ) - a comprehensive and integrated database to promote scientific research on An. sinensis . Docker was used to deploy a development environment and Drupal to build ASDB. ASDB provides a Blast tool to do sequence alignment of genome sequence, gene sequence and protein sequence of An. sinensis. It also offers JBrowse (a next-generation genome visualization and analysis web platform) to facilitate researchers visualize the gene structure, non-coding RNA (include miRNA, snRNA, tRNA and so on) structure and genomic variation sites as desired. ASDB has integrated various latest omics data of An. Sinensis, including de novo genome and its annotation data, genome variation data (such as SNP and InDel), transcriptome and its expression value, miRNA expression value and miRNA-mRNA interaction, metagenomes . The database has also included the morphological images of different developmental stages and tissues, and important literatures associated with An. sinensis. ASDB provides a user-friendly search and displays pages. The integration of these resources will contribute to the study of basic biology and functional genome of An. sinensis.

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health issue, getting worse due to emergence of resistance. Pyrazinamide (PZA) is first-line antimicrobial drugs used against non-replicated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Data is scarce about whole genome sequencing of PZA resistance (PZA-R) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of high burden country, Pakistan. In the current study we aimed to find the most common mutations in PZA-R MTB isolates in association with other candidate genes in a whole genome sequence (WGS). Samples were collected from TB suspects and drug susceptibility testing (DST) was performed according according to the WHO standards. The resistant samples were subjected for whole genome sequencing (WGS). The sequence data was through MTBseq and Total Genotyping Solution for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TGS-TB). Metabolic model was analyzed, using RAST server. Results Among the three whole genome sequences, (NCBI BioProject Accession: PRJNA629298, PRJNA629388) 1997, 1162, and 2053 mutations including indel, was detected. Diverse variability has been detected in the membrane proteins PE and PPE, modulating the host immune response. Nine mutations in coding and promotor region have been detected in pncA with one novel (T-4C) variants. Mutations in the other drug candidate genes, KatG, rpoB have also been detected. Conclusion The metabolic model shows a distinct property. Diversity of variants has been detected in majority of MTB essential genes, functions from cell growth to cell signaling. The current study provides useful information, associated with geographic specific strains for biomarkers development and better management of drug resistance isolates.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) exist in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes and are the most popular genetic markers, but the SSRs of mosquito genomes are still not well understood. In this study, we identified and analyzed the SSRs in 23 mosquito species using Drosophila melanogaster as reference at the whole‐genome level. The results show that SSR numbers (33 076–560 175/genome) and genome sizes (574.57–1342.21 Mb) are significantly positively correlated (R 2 = 0.8992, P < 0.01), but the correlation in individual species varies in these mosquito species. In six types of SSR, mono‐ to trinucleotide SSRs are dominant with cumulative percentages of 95.14%–99.00% and densities of 195.65/Mb–787.51/Mb, whereas tetra‐ to hexanucleotide SSRs are rare with 1.12%–4.22% and 3.76/Mb–40.23/Mb. The (A/T)n, (AC/GT)n and (AGC/GCT)n are the most frequent motifs in mononucleotide, dinucleotide and trinucleotide SSRs, respectively, and the motif frequencies of tetra‐ to hexanucleotide SSRs appear to be species‐specific. The 10–20 bp length of SSRs are dominant with the number of 110 561 ± 93 482 and the frequency of 87.25% ± 5.73% on average, and the number and frequency decline with the increase of length. Most SSRs (83.34% ± 7.72%) are located in intergenic regions, followed by intron regions (11.59% ± 5.59%), exon regions (3.74% ± 1.95%), and untranslated regions (1.32% ± 1.39%). The mono‐, di‐ and trinucleotide SSRs are the main SSRs in both gene regions (98.55% ± 0.85%) and exon regions (99.27% ± 0.52%). An average of 42.52% of total genes contains SSRs, and the preference for SSR occurrence in different gene subcategories are species‐specific. The study provides useful insights into the SSR diversity, characteristics and distribution in 23 mosquito species of genomes.

BACKGROUND: Individuals who survive a cardiac arrest often sustain cognitive impairments due to ischemia-reperfusion injury. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation is used to reduce tissue damage, but exosomes are more stable and highly conserved than MSCs. This study was conducted to investigate the therapeutic effects of MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exo) on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in an in vitro model of oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R), and to explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Primary hippocampal neurons obtained from 18-day Sprague-Dawley rat embryos were subjected to OGD/R treatment, with or without MSC-Exo treatment. Exosomal integration, cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were examined. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2’-deoxyuridine 5’-triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining was performed to detect neuronal apoptosis. Moreover, mitochondrial function-associated gene expression, Nrf2 translocation, and expression of downstream antioxidant proteins were determined. RESULTS: MSC-Exo attenuated OGD/R-induced neuronal apoptosis and decreased ROS generation (P

Objective: To investigate the effects of laparoscopic surgery and open surgery on serum tumor markers, coagulation function and immune function in patients with early endometrial cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 82 cases of early endometrial carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed, and they were divided into control group (n=40) and observation group (n=42) according to the treatment plan. Patients in the control group were treated with open surgery, and the observation group received laparoscopic treatment. The levels of serum tumor markers, coagulation function and immune function indexes of the two groups were compared between before operation and 1 d after operation. Results: The levels of serum CA-125, HE4, PT, APTT, FIB, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+in the two groups before treatment were not significantly different. After treatment, the levels of CA-125, HE4, PT, APTT, CD3+, CD4+and CD4+/CD8+ in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment in the same group, and the levels of CA-125, HE4, PT and APTT in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group, the levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/ CD8+ in the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group; After treatment, the levels of FIB in the two groups were significantly higher than that before treatment, and the level of observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Conclusion: Compared with open surgery for early endometrial cancer, laparoscopic surgery can effectively reduce the level of serum tumor markers and the inhibition of immune function, however, it has great influence on coagulation function, and effective measures should be taken to prevent the formation of thrombotic diseases.

Pyrazinamide (PZA) is the only drug for the elimination of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates. However, due to the increased number of PZA-resistance, the chances of the success of global TB elimination seems to be more prolonged. Recently, marine natural products (MNPs) as an anti-TB agent have received much attention, where some compounds extracted from marine sponge, Haliclona sp. exhibited strong activity under aerobic and hypoxic conditions. In this study, we screened articles from 1994 to 2019 related to marine natural products (MNPs) active against latent MTB isolates. The literature was also mined for the major regulators to map them in the form of a pathway under the dormant stage. Five compounds were found to be more suitable that may be applied as an alternative to PZA for the better management of resistance under latent stage. However, the mechanism of actions behind these compounds is largely unknown. Here, we also applied synthetic biology to analyze the major regulatory pathway under latent TB that might be used for the screening of selective inhibitors among marine natural products (MNPs). We identified key regulators of MTB under latent TB through extensive literature mining and mapped them in the form of regulatory pathway, where SigH is negatively regulated by RshA. PknB, RshA, SigH, and RNA polymerase (RNA-pol) are the major regulators involved in MTB survival under latent stage. Further studies are needed to screen MNPs active against the main regulators of dormant MTB isolates. To reduce the PZA resistance burden, understanding the regulatory pathways may help in selective targets of MNPs from marine natural sources.

Stomach cancer involves hypoxia-specific microenvironments. Stoichiogenomics explores environmental resource limitation on biological macromolecules in terms of element usages. However, the patterns of oxygen usage by proteins and the ways that proteins adapt to a cancer hypoxia microenvironment are still unknown. Here we compared the oxygen and carbon contents ([C]) between proteomes of stomach cancer (hypoxia) and two stomach glandular cells (normal). Key proteins, genome locations, pathways, and functional dissection associated with stomach cancer were also studied. An association of oxygen content ([O]) and protein expression level was revealed in stomach cancer and stomach glandular cells. For differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), oxygen contents in the up regulated proteins were3.2%higherthan that in the down regulated proteins in stomach cancer. A total of 1,062 DEPs were identified; interestingly none of these proteins were coded on Y chromosome. The up regulated proteins were significantly enriched in pathways including regulation of actin cytoskeleton, cardiac muscle contraction, pathway of progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, etc. Functional dissection of the up regulated proteins with high oxygen contents showed that most of them were cytoskeleton, cytoskeleton associated proteins, cyclins and signaling proteins in cell cycle progression. Element signature of resource limitation could not be detected in stomach cancer for oxygen, just as what happened in plants and microbes. Unsaved use of oxygen by the highly expressed proteins was adapted to the rapid growth and fast division of the stomach cancer cells. In addition, oxygen usage bias, key proteins and pathways identified in this paper laid a foundation for application of stoichiogenomics in precision medicine.

Background To establish and validate an laboratory information system (LIS)‐based auto‐verification (AV) system by using large amounts of biochemical test results in cancer patients. Methods An algorithm of the AV process was designed for pre‐analysis, analysis, and post‐analysis. The limit range check was adjusted three times, while the delta check criteria were first replaced by the same patients’ historical extremum results. AV rules of 51 biochemical test items were tested by using data of 121 123 samples (6 177 273 tests) in 2016 that were manually reviewed through the simulative i‐Vertification software of Roche. The improved and optimal AV rules were programed into our LIS and validated by using 140 113 clinical specimens in 2018. Results The AV passing rate for samples tested in our laboratory increased from 15.57% to the current overall passing rate of 49.70%. The passing rate of each item for rule 3 was between 71.16% and 99.91%. Different cancer groups had different passing rate, while the disease group of liver, gallbladder, and pancreas always had the lowest passing rate. A total of 9420 reports (6.72%) were not verified by AV but could be verified by MV in 2018, while there were no reports that were verified by AV but not by MV. The TAT of March 2018 decreased with increase in sample size compared with the same time in 2017. Conclusion We have firstly established an LIS‐based AV system and implemented it in actual clinical care for cancer patients.

Background Eukaryotic cells contain a huge variety of internally specialized subcellular compartments. Stoichiogenomics aims to reveal patterns of elements usage in biological macromolecules. However, the stoichiogenomic characteristics and how they adapt to various subcellular microenvironments are still unknown. Results Here we first updated the definition of stoichiogenomics. Then we applied it to subcellular research, and detected distinctive nitrogen content of nuclear and hydrogen, sulfur content of extracellular proteomes. Specially, we found that acidic amino acids (AAs) content of cytoskeletal proteins is the highest. The increased charged AAs are mainly caused by the eukaryotic originated cytoskeletal proteins. Functional subdivision of the cytoskeleton showed that activation, binding/association, and complexes are the three largest functional categories. Electrostatic interaction analysis showed an increased electrostatic interaction between both primary sequences and PPI interfaces of 3D structures, in the cytoskeleton. Conclusions This study creates a blueprint of subcellular stoichiogenomic characteristics, and explains that charged AAs of the cytoskeleton increased greatly in evolution, which offer material basis for the eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins to act in two ways of electrostatic interactions, and further perform their activation, binding/association and complex formation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4845-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective To study the effect of acupuncture on the TLR2/4-NF-κB signalling pathway in the cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats following traumatic brain injury (TBI), and investigate the possible mechanism underlying the effects of acupuncture on scar repair. Methods TBI was established using Feeney's free-falling epidural percussion model. In total, 108 rats were randomly divided into a normal group (n=18), untreated TBI model group (TBI group, n=36) and manual acupuncture-treated TBI group (TBI+MA, n=36). Each group of rats was subdivided into three time groups: 3-day (3d), 7-day (7d) and 14-day (14d). No treatment was given to rats in the normal and TBI groups. The TBI+MA group received manual acupuncture at GV20, GV26, GV16 through GV15, and bilateral LI4. mRNA expression of TLR2, TLR4, NF-κB and protein in the rat cortices was quantified using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot analyses. Results The modified neurological severity score (mNSS) scores of the TBI+MA group were improved compared with baseline scores 12 hours after modelling, and improved at 7d and 14d compared with the TBI group (PConclusions Acupuncture has a bidirectional regulatory effect on the TLR2/4-NF-κB signalling pathway-related genes TLR2, TLR4 and NF-κB in the TBI rat cortex, promoting their expression in the early stage and inhibiting it in the later stage.

We present a novel hierarchy of AKNS integrable couplings based on a specific semidirect sum of Lie algebras associated with sl$(2)$. By applying the variational identity, we derive a bi-Hamiltonian structure of the resulting coupling systems, thereby showing their Liouville integrability.

The paper analysis four innovation and entrepreneurship policies in Beijing, including the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission (two policies), Zhongguancun (two policies).These policies are all funded by government financial. It analyses the current situation of different kind of policy, point out the shortage, and put forward some suggestions.

This article collects information from the Japanese science and technology award website, the related reports, classified and translated the information. Then this article analyzed the Japanese science and Technology Award management level. The characteristics of Japanese science and technology awards are summarized. The characteristics embodied in both centralized and decentralized hierarchical model; it mainly rewarded scientists, it also paid special attention to young researchers.

This article analyzes an actual case that strategic planning service for a target customer, arranges the demand of scientific and technology intelligence in the stage of strategic planning, constructs the analysis framework about the purpose and significance, support object, support content, and support means or methods of science and technology policy. This article also proposes the scientific and technology intelligence methods and paths to meet the needs of customer, provides a reference for the policy makers themselves or to seek experts.

The state of small and middle-sized enterprises as the main body of innovation is constantly upgrading. However, they are still facing many difficulties during developing. It is necessary that the government continues to publish some policies to maintain small and middle-sized enterprises development, and enhance the environment. The paper focused on the policies for supporting small and middle-sized enterprises development in the past fourteen years by the state. It mainly used the method of qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results show that the number of policies of small and middle-sized enterprises is increasing year by year, and the main body of policy is diversified, it is difficult to operate and so on.

This paper defines two basic concepts—intelligence and think tank, analyzing and explaining research objects, the theory system and their methods, probing into the difference and relation between the two from these aspects. By comparison we find the former pays more attention to information and information activities, and the latter mainly to how to play a role in policy making, but they also depend on with each other. It’s useful to better understand them and promote learning from each other and cooperation between the two.

The onion maggot Delia antiqua is a major insect pest of cultivated vegetables, especially the onion, and a good model to investigate the molecular mechanisms of diapause. To better understand the biology and diapause mechanism of the insect pest species, D. antiqua, the transcriptome was sequenced using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. Approximately 54 million reads were obtained, trimmed, and assembled into 29,659 unigenes, with an average length of 607 bp and an N50 of 818 bp. Among these unigenes, 21,605 (72.8%) were annotated in the public databases. All unigenes were then compared against Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae. Codon usage bias was analyzed and 332 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in this organism. These data represent the most comprehensive transcriptomic resource currently available for D. antiqua and will facilitate the study of genetics, genomics, diapause, and further pest control of D. antiqua.

Charged amino acids (AAs) are targets for selective forces in protein evolution. To fully explore the trend of charged AA frequencies evolution in macroevolutionary process from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, we extend the analysis of five charged AAs separately and total basic and acidic AAs in protein sequences of 158 prokaryotic and 63 eukaryotic predicted proteomes and 456 clusters of orthologous groups (COGs). Also, we eliminate the biases that may caused by extreme organisms in both predicted proteomes and COGs analyses. More basic AAs, His,Lysand Glu were found in eukaryotic proteins compared with prokaryotic proteins by predicted proteomes analysis. By COGs analysis, we found that basic AAs andLysfrequencies are higher in eukaryotic orthologous proteins than their prokaryotic companions, while the trend of Arg frequency is the opposite. We discussed the agreements and disagreements of two analyses and gained a more credible trend of charged AAs evolution in macroevolutionary time scale.

Biological thiols (biothiols), an important kind of functional biomolecules, such as cysteine (Cys) and glutathione (GSH), play vital roles in maintaining the stability of the intracellular environment. In past decades, studies have demonstrated that metabolic disorder of biothiols is related to many serious disease processes and will lead to extreme damage in human and numerous animals. We carried out a series of experiments to detect biothiols in biosamples, including bovine plasma and cell lysates of seven different cell lines based on a simple colorimetric method. In a typical test, the color of the test solution could gradually change from blue to colorless after the addition of biothiols. Based on the color change displayed, experimental results reveal that the percentage of biothiols in the embryonic fibroblast cell line is significantly higher than those in the other six cell lines, which provides the basis for the following biothiols-related study.

Robinia pseudoacacia is the main arbor species in the coastal saline–alkali area of the Yellow River Delta. Because most studies focus on the aboveground parts, detailed information regarding root functioning under salinity is scare. Root traits of seedlings of R. pseudoacacia including morphological, physiological and growth properties under four salinity levels (CK, 1‰, 3‰ and 5‰ NaCl) were studied by the pot experiments to better understand their functions and relationships with the shoots. The results showed that seedling biomass decreased by the reduction of root, stem and leaf biomass with the increase of salinity levels. With increasing salinity levels, total root length (TRL) and total root surface area (TRSA) decreased, whereas specific root length (SRL) and specific root area (SRA) increased. Salt stress decreased root activity (RA) and the maximum net photosynthetic rate (Amax) and increased the water saturation deficit (WSD) significantly in the body. Correlation analyses showed significantly correlations between root morphological and physiological parameters and seedling biomass and shoot physiological indexes. R. pseudoacacia seedlings could adapt to 1‰ salinity by regulating the root morphology and physiology, but failed in 5‰ salinity. How to adjust the water status in the body with decreasing water uptake by roots was an important way for R. pseudoacacia seedlings to adapt to the salt stress.