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ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the independent or synergistic effects of evening chronotype and poor sleep quality on cognitive impairment in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 249 individuals diagnosed with MDD, recruited from the Mental Health Center of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. Chronotype preference was assessed using the reduced Horne and Ostberg Morningness - Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), while sleep quality was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Cognitive function was evaluated through the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), defining impairment as a DSST score ≤ 56 (the lowest quartile of the cohort). Univariate analysis and logistic regression models were employed to explore the factors associated with cognitive impairment, focusing on the potential interactive effects of evening chronotype and poor sleep quality.ResultsOf the 249 subjects recruited, about 41% were classified as evening chronotype. These individuals exhibited poorer sleep quality and more severe depressive symptoms compared to non-evening chronotype (p < 0.01). Univariate analysis revealed that first episode status, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) scores, evening chronotype, and poor sleep quality were significantly associated with cognitive impairment (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis further demonstrated that the co-existence of evening chronotype and poor sleep quality significantly increased the likelihood of cognitive impairment (adjusted odds ratio [AdjOR] = 2.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09–6.45, p < 0.05).ConclusionOur findings suggest that evening chronotype, poor sleep quality, and their interaction are important contributors to cognitive impairment in patients with MDD, alongside the severity of depression and first episode status. These results emphasize the need for integrated approaches targeting circadian rhythm disruptions and sleep disturbances in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in MDD.

Summary: Background: Understanding the impact of CYP2D6 metabolism on paroxetine, a widely used antidepressant, is essential for precision dosing. Methods: We conducted an 8-week, multi-center, single-drug, 2-week wash period prospective cohort study in 921 Chinese Han patients with depressive or anxiety disorders (ChiCTR2000038462). We performed CYP2D6 genotyping (single nucleotide variant and copy number variant) to derive the CYP2D6 activity score and evaluated paroxetine treatment outcomes including steady-state concentration, treatment efficacy, and adverse reaction. CYP2D6 metabolizer status was categorized into poor metabolizers (PMs), intermediate metabolizers (IMs), extensive metabolizers (EMs), and ultrarapid metabolizers (UMs). The influence of CYP2D6 metabolic phenotype on paroxetine treatment outcomes was examined using multiple regression analysis and cross-ethnic meta-analysis. The therapeutic reference range of paroxetine was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Findings: After adjusting for demographic factors, the steady-state concentrations of paroxetine in PMs, IMs, and UMs were 2.50, 1.12, and 0.39 times that of EMs, with PM and UM effects being statistically significant (multiple linear regression, P = 0.03 and P = 0.04). Sex and ethnicity influenced the comparison between IMs and EMs. Moreover, poor efficacy of paroxetine was associated with UM, and a higher risk of developing adverse reactions was associated with lower CYP2D6 activity score. Lastly, cross-ethnic meta-analysis suggested dose adjustments for PMs, IMs, EMs, and UMs in the East Asian population to be 35%, 40%, 143%, and 241% of the manufacturer's recommended dose, and 62%, 68%, 131%, and 159% in the non-East Asian population. Interpretation: Our findings advocate for precision dosing based on the CYP2D6 metabolic phenotype, with sex and ethnicity being crucial considerations in this approach. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China; Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit.

【Objective】A mathematical evaluation model, D(x), was established to provide a reference for the evaluation, identification and genetic improvement of seed vitality traits in rice.【Method】Taking 25 rice seeds as materials, multiple indexes were determined through standard germination experiment, tetrazolium staining identification, field simulation experiment and Q2 technology, and these indexes were analyzed by principal component analysis combined with membership function method and multiple linear regression, to establish the mathematical evaluation model for seed vitality, D(x). And the D(x) model was used to evaluate the influence of different cultivation densities on rice seed vitality.【Result】The results showed that the average values of germination vigor, germination rate, 7-day bud length, hundred-seed fresh weight, field bud length, field root length, starting metabolism rate (SMR), increased motabolism time (IMT), relative germination time (RGT), and tetrazolium staining rate of indica rice were all higher than those of japonica rice. However, only the average values of 7-day root length, hundred-seed dry weight, and oxygen metabolism rate (OMR) of indica rice were slightly lower than those of japonica rice. In the Q2 test, japonica rice exhibited better performance in IMT value, RGT value, and other indicators. Correlation analysis of 13 rice seed vitality indexes revealed varying degrees of correlations among them. In the Q2 test, SMR value was extremely significantly correlated with IMT value, OMR value, RGT value, and hundred-seed dry weight, and significantly correlated with field bud length. OMR value was extremely significantly correlated with SMR value, IMT value, RGT value, and significantly correlated with germination vigor. A seed vitality comprehensive mathematical evaluation model Y(x) = 0.693+0.003X1-0.006X2-0.127X6-0.004X8+0.234X9 (R2=0.94) was established through stepwise regression. The predicted vitality values (Y) obtained from these five indexes were in close agreement with the order of field emergence rate among the tested materials, and they were highly correlated (r=0.83), indicating that this regression equation could effectively predict rice seed vitality.【Conclusion】Five individual indexes, namely, germination vigor, germination rate, hundred-seed dry weight, oxygen metabolism rate (OMR) and germination initiation time (IMT) could be selected as the basis for the evaluation of seed vitality.

Abstract Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been increasingly employed for fungicide applications in plant disease control. However, due to weight limitations, the fungicides sprayed through UAVs must be in low volumes with high concentrations in many instances, which may result in potential phytotoxicity. Here we evaluate the safety of low-volume spray of chemicals on rice plants. The plants were sprayed with propiconazole emulsifiable concentrate (EC) at 250 g/L mixed with various adjuvants and applied at a low volume, which contained the fungicide at concentrations equivalent to or higher than that used in UAV application. The spray adjuvants included YS-20, Biaopu adjuvant, TriTek, Yipinsongzhi, AgriSolv-C100, and Hongyuyan. Potential phytotoxicity on rice plants was examined based on surface tension and crop growth. Additives suitable for a low-volume spray of propiconazole were also assessed on three rice varieties for phytotoxicity. The results showed that after 72 h of fungicide application at 2, 4, and 8 times the recommended dose of 7500 μg/mL for UAV spray, rice leaves exhibited abnormal growth, and the dry weight of rice significantly decreased 21 days after application. Phytotoxicity was evaluated on three rice varieties 5 days after spraying propiconazole EC at 2 × recommended dose with one of the spray adjuvants. The addition of 1% YS-20, Biaopu adjuvant, TriTek, and Yipinsongzhi significantly augmented the phytotoxicity. However, both AgriSolv-C100 and Hongyuyan significantly reduced the comprehensive index of phytotoxicity and, therefore, could be used for UAV applications.

Abstract Background Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe and chronic psychiatric disorder with premature age-related physiological changes. However, numerous previous studies examined the epigenetic age acceleration in SCZ patients and yielded inconclusive results. In this study, we propose to explore the epigenetic age acceleration in drug-naive first-episode SCZ (FSCZ) patients and investigate whether epigenetic age acceleration is associated with antipsychotic treatment, psychotic symptoms, cognition, and subcortical volumes. Methods We assessed the epigenetic age in 38 drug-naive FSCZ patients and 38 healthy controls by using three independent clocks, including Horvath, Hannum and Levine algorithms. The epigenetic age measurements in SCZ patients were repeated after receiving 8 weeks risperidone monotherapy. Results Our findings showed significantly positive correlations between epigenetic ages assessed by three clocks and chronological age in both FSCZ patients and healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, drug-naive FSCZ patients have a significant epigenetic age deceleration in Horvath clock (p = 0.01), but not in Hannum clock (p = 0.07) and Levine clock (p = 0.43). The epigenetic ages of Hannum clock (p = 0.002) and Levine clock (p = 0.01) were significantly accelerated in SCZ patients after 8-week risperidone treatment. However, no significant associations between epigenetic age acceleration and psychotic symptoms, cognitive function, as well as subcortical volumes were observed in FSCZ patients. Conclusion These results demonstrate that distinct epigenetic clocks are sensitive to different aspects of aging process. Further investigations with comprehensive epigenetic clock analyses and large samples are required to confirm our findings.

【Objective】The study was carried out to investigate the effects of cultivation measures (transplanting density, nitrogen application rate) on the yield and quality of high-quality japonica rice variety Yunkejing 5.【Method】Yunkejing 5 was used as tested material, and the split-plot design was adopted in the field. Four nitrogen levels (0, 150, 240 and 330 kg/hm2) and four transplanting densities (240 000, 300 000, 360 000 and 420 000 seedlings/hm2) were set. The yield characters, SPAD value, brown rice rate, amylose, polished rice rate, chalky grain rate, protein content and gel consistency were determined to explore the effects of nitrogen application rate and cultivation density on yield and quality of japonica rice Yunkejing 5.【Result】In the range of 0-330 kg/hm2, with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer application rate, tillers were increased significantly, and the number of individual tillers was the highest under high nitrogen rate, reaching 18.80 per cluster; with the increase of transplanting density, tillers were gradually decreased. The yield showed a downward trend with the increase of transplanting density. Under the treatments with various nitrogen application rates, the highest yield was 13 308 kg/hm2 when the transplanting density was 240 000 seedlings/hm2. Yunkejing 5 was apt to obtain high yield at the rate of 240 kg/hm2, and the appropriate transplanting density could further improve the rice yield. With the gradual increase of the amount of nitrogen fertilizer, the chalky grain rate, chalkiness degree and gel consistency showed an increasing trend. A higher polished rice rate could be obtained with a transplanting density of 360 000 seedlings/hm2 under various nitrogen application rates, with a highest rate of 75.10%. The head rice rate was higher under high nitrogen rate and high density, the brown rice rate and protein content were higher at high nitrogen application rates of 240 kg/hm2 and 330 kg/hm2, indicating that high nitrogen fertilizer could increase the brown rice rate and protein content of rice quality.【Conclusion】Under the combination of nitrogen application rate of 240 kg/hm2 and transplanting density of 240 000 seedlings/hm2, the maximum yield of Yunkejing 5 is 13 308 kg/hm2. The comprehensive judgment of rice quality is the second grade, which is the optimal combination and can be applied to actual production.

【Objective】The study was carried out to explore the effects of different dry heat treatment conditions on seed-borne black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris) in Chinese cabbage seeds.【Method】Different heat combinations of temperature and time groups were designed. Further, different heat treatments on the inhibition effect of pathogenic bacteria, the sterilization effect of seed-borne pathogens and seed vigor were evaluated.【Result】The conditions for inactivation of black rot bacteria in vitro pathogens were selected as follows: continuous heat treatment at 45 ℃ for 4 h or above; of continuous heat treatment at 50 ℃ or 60 ℃ or 65 ℃ for 0.5 h or above. The inhibition rate of pathogenic bacteria in infected seeds was 100% and the seed vigor of the infected seeds could be improved when treated at 50 ℃ for 8 h.【Conclusion】Continuous heat treatment at 50 ℃ for 8 h was the safe and effective dry heat treatment conditions for seed-borne disease black rot in Chinese cabbage seeds, which could provide a technical reference for the control of vegetable seeds borne disease.

BackgroundEvidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of schizophrenia suggests that interindividual variation in the stationary striatal functional circuit may be correlated with antipsychotic treatment response. However, little is known about the role of the dynamic striatum-related network in predicting patients’ clinical improvement. The spontaneous coactivation pattern (CAP) technique has recently been found to be important for elucidating the non-stationary nature of functional brain networks.MethodsForty-two drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia patients underwent fMRI and T1W imaging before and after 8 weeks of risperidone monotherapy. The striatum was divided into 3 subregions, including the putamen, pallidum, and caudate. Spontaneous CAPs and CAP states were utilized to measure the dynamic characteristics of brain networks. We used DPARSF and Dynamic Brain Connectome software to analyze each subregion-related CAP and CAP state for each group and then compared the between-group differences in the neural network biomarkers. We used Pearson’s correlation analysis to determine the associations between the neuroimaging measurements with between-group differences and the improvement in patients’ psychopathological symptoms.ResultsIn the putamen-related CAPs, patients showed significantly increased intensity in the bilateral thalamus, bilateral supplementary motor areas, bilateral medial, and paracingulate gyrus, left paracentral lobule, left medial superior frontal gyrus, and left anterior cingulate gyrus compared with healthy controls. After treatment, thalamic signals in the putamen-related CAP 1 showed a significant increase, while the signals of the medial and paracingulate gyrus in the putamen-related CAP 3 revealed a significant decrease. The increase in thalamic signal intensity in the putamen-related CAP 1 was significantly and positively correlated with the percentage reduction in PANSS_P.ConclusionThis study is the first to combine striatal CAPs and fMRI to explore treatment response-related biomarkers in the early phase of schizophrenia. Our findings suggest that dynamic changes in CAP states in the putamen-thalamus circuit may be potential biomarkers for predicting patients’ variation in the short-term treatment response of positive symptoms.

BackgroundAntipsychotic treatment-related alterations of cortical thickness (CT) and clinical symptoms have been previously corroborated, but less is known about whether the changes are driven by gene expression and epigenetic modifications.MethodsUtilizing a prospective design, we recruited 42 treatment-naive first-episode schizophrenia patients (FESP) and 38 healthy controls. Patients were scanned by TI weighted imaging before and after 8-week risperidone monotherapy. CT estimation was automatically performed with the FreeSurfer software package. Participants' peripheral blood genomic DNA methylation (DNAm) status, quantified by using Infinium® Human Methylation 450K BeadChip, was examined in parallel with T1 scanning. In total, CT measures from 118 subjects and genomic DNAm status from 114 subjects were finally collected. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to detect the spatial associations between longitudinal CT variations after treatment and cortical transcriptomic data acquired from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was then performed to identify multivariate associations between DNAm of PLS1 genes and patients' clinical improvement.ResultsWe detected the significant PLS1 component (2,098 genes) related to longitudinal alterations of CT, and the PLS1 genes were significantly enriched in neurobiological processes, and dopaminergic- and cancer-related pathways. Combining Laplacian score and CCA analysis, we further linked DNAm of 33 representative genes from the 2,098 PLS1 genes with patients' reduction rate of clinical symptoms.ConclusionsThis study firstly revealed that changes of CT and clinical behaviors after treatment may be transcriptionally and epigenetically underlied. We define a “three-step” roadmap which represents a vital step toward the exploration of treatment- and treatment response-related biomarkers on the basis of multiple omics rather than a single omics type as a strategy for advancing precise care.

BackgroundVolumetric alterations of subcortical structures as predictors of antipsychotic treatment response have been previously corroborated, but less is known about whether their morphological covariance relates to treatment outcome and is driven by gene expression and epigenetic modifications.MethodsSubcortical volumetric covariance was analyzed by using baseline T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 38 healthy controls and 38 drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia patients. Patients were treated with 8-week risperidone monotherapy and divided into responder and non-responder groups according to the Remission in Schizophrenia Working Group (RSWG). We utilized partial least squares (PLS) regression to examine the spatial associations between gene expression of subcortical structures from a publicly available transcriptomic dataset and between-group variances of structural covariance. The peripheral DNA methylation (DNAm) status of a gene of interest (GOI), overlapping between genes detected in the PLS and 108 schizophrenia candidate gene loci previously reported, was examined in parallel with MRI scanning.ResultsIn the psychotic symptom dimension, non-responders had a higher baseline structural covariance in the putamen–hippocampus–pallidum–accumbens pathway compared with responders. For disorganized symptoms, significant differences in baseline structural covariant connections were found in the putamen–hippocampus–pallidum–thalamus circuit between the two subgroups. The imaging variances related to psychotic symptom response were spatially related to the expression of genes enriched in neurobiological processes and dopaminergic pathways. The DNAm of GOI demonstrated significant associations with patients’ improvement of psychotic symptoms.ConclusionBaseline subcortical structural covariance and peripheral DNAm may relate to antipsychotic treatment response. Phenotypic variations in subcortical connectome related to psychotic symptom response may be transcriptomically and epigenetically underlaid. This study defines a roadmap for future studies investigating multimodal imaging epigenetic biomarkers for treatment response in schizophrenia.

The combination of hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score has been confirmed as an important risk biomarker in several cancers. Hence, we aimed at evaluating the prognostic value of the HALP score in patients with non-metastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). We retrospectively enrolled 533 of the 640 patients from two centers (315 and 325 patients, respectively) who underwent radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for UTUC in this study. The cutoff value of HALP was determined using the Youden index by performing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The relationship between postoperative survival outcomes and preoperative HALP level was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis. As a result, the cutoff value of HALP was 28.67 and patients were then divided into HALP

Abstract Background The risk of positive lymph nodes in patients with muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma (MIBC) can be used to guide treatment recommendations. However, little is known about the effect of age on lymph node positivity (LN+). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of age on LN+ in MIBC. Methods We analyzed patients with stage T2–T4 bladder urothelial carcinoma who had not received preoperative radiotherapy, had at least one lymph node examined, and underwent cystectomy between 1998 and 2015. The Cochran–Armitage trend test and logistic univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the effect of age on LN+ in all T stages. Results In total, 15,624 patients with MIBC were identified, including 747 patients aged ≤50 years (4.78%), 2614 patients aged 50–59 years (16.73%), 4914 patients aged 60–69 years (31.45%), 5225 patients aged 70–79 years old (33.44%), and 2124 patients aged > 80 years (13.59%). In T2–T4 staging, LN+ was negatively correlated with age. After adjustment for several covariates, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age was an independent risk factor for LN+. Conclusions In this large SEER analysis, Young patients with MIBC have a higher risk of lymph node metastasis. This finding is worthy of further study and may eventually affect the treatment decisions of young patients.

Abstract Background Bladder cancer (BCA) is the most common urinary tumor, but its pathogenesis is unclear, and the associated treatment strategy has rarely been updated. In recent years, a deeper understanding of tumor epigenetics has been gained, providing new opportunities for cancer detection and treatment. Methods We identified prognostic methylation sites based on DNA methylation profiles of BCA in the TCGA database and constructed a specific prognostic subgroup. Results Based on the consistent clustering of 402 CpGs, we identified seven subgroups that had a significant association with survival. The difference in DNA methylation levels was related to T stage, N stage, M stage, grade, sex, age, stage and prognosis. Finally, the prediction model was constructed using a Cox regression model and verified using the test dataset; the prognosis was consistent with that of the training set. Conclusions The classification based on DNA methylation is closely related to the clinicopathological characteristics of BCA and determines the prognostic value of each epigenetic subtype. Therefore, our findings provide a basis for the development of DNA methylation subtype-specific therapeutic strategies for human bladder cancer.

SYP-14288 is a fungicide as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation, which is effective in controlling fungal pathogens like Rhizoctonia solani. To determine whether R. solani can develop SYP-14288 resistance and possibly multi-drug resistance (MDR), an SYP-14288-resistant mutant of R. solani X19-7 was generated from wild-type strain X19, and the mechanism of resistance was studied through metabolic and genetic assays. From metabolites of R. solani treated with SYP-14288, three compounds including M1, M2, and M3 were identified according to UPLC-MS/MS analysis, and M1 accumulated faster than M2 and M3 in X19-7. When X19-7 was treated by glutathione-S-transferase (GST) inhibitor diethyl maleate (DEM) and SYP-14288 together, or by DEM plus one of tested fungicides that have different modes of action, a synergistic activity of resistance occurred, implying that GSTs promoted metabolic resistance against SYP-14288 and therefore led to MDR. By comparing RNA sequences between X19-7 and X19, six cytochrome P450s (P450s) and two GST genes were selected as a target, which showed a higher expression in X19-7 than X19 both before and after the exposure to SYP-14288. Furthermore, heterologous expression of P450 and GST genes in yeast was conducted to confirm genes involved in metabolic resistance. In results, the P450 gene AG1IA_05136 and GST gene AG1IA_07383 were related to fungal resistance to multiple fungicides including SYP-14288, fluazinam, chlorothalonil, and difenoconazole. It was the first report that metabolic resistance of R. solani to uncouplers was associated with P450 and GST genes.

This study aimed to screen and verify the important prognostic genes related to clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and further analyze their relationship with the immune microenvironment. Gene expression profiles from the TCGA-KIRC, GSE46699, GSE36895, and GSE16449 datasets were utilized to explore differentially co-expressed genes in ccRCC. We screened 124 differentially co-expressed genes using a weighted gene co-expression network and differential gene expression analyses. Univariate and multivariate Cox survival analyses revealed that the expressions of genes CGN, FECH, UCHL1, and WT1 were independently related to the overall survival of ccRCC patients. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was performed, and CGN was found to have the strongest correlation with the prognosis of ccRCC patients and was consequently selected for further analyses and experimental verification. The results showed that NK cell activation, resting dendritic cells, resting monocytes, and resting mast cells were positively correlated with CGN expression; CD4+ memory activated T cells, regulatory T cells, and M0 macrophages were negatively correlated with CGN expression. Finally, using western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we verified that the CGN protein level was down-regulated in ccRCC samples, which was consistent with the mRNA levels. CGN was thus identified as diagnosis and prognosis biomarker for ccRCC and is related to the immune microenvironment.

Background: Mounting evidence from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and epigenetic studies, respectively, confirmed the abnormal alterations of brain white matter integrity and DNA methylation (DNAm) in schizophrenia. However, few studies have been carried out in the same sample to simultaneously explore the WM pathology relating to clinical behaviors, as well as the DNA methylation basis underlying the WM deficits.Methods: We performed DTI scans in 42 treatment-naïve first-episode schizophrenia patients and 38 healthy controls. Voxel-based method of fractional anisotropy (FA) derived from DTI was used to assess WM integrity. Participants' peripheral blood genomic DNAm status, quantified by using Infinium® Human Methylation 450K BeadChip, was examined in parallel with DTI scanning. Participants completed Digit Span test and Trail Making test, as well as Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale measurement. We acquired genes that are differentially expressed in the brain regions with abnormal FA values according to the Allen anatomically comprehensive atlas, obtained DNAm levels of the corresponding genes, and then performed Z-test to compare the differential epigenetic-imaging associations (DEIAs) between the two groups.Results: Significant decreases of FA values in the patient group were in the right middle temporal lobe WM, right cuneus WM, right anterior cingulate WM, and right inferior parietal lobe WM, while the significant increases were in the bilateral middle cingulate WM (Ps < 0.01, GRF correction). Abnormal FA values were correlated with patients' clinical symptoms and cognitive impairments. In the DEIAs, patients showed abnormal couple patterns between altered FA and DNAm components, for which the enriched biological processes and pathways could be largely grouped into three biological procedures: the neurocognition, immune, and nervous system.Conclusion: Schizophrenia may not cause widespread neuropathological changes, but subtle alterations affecting local cingulum WM, which may play a critical role in positive symptoms and cognitive impairments. This imaging-epigenetics study revealed for the first time that DNAm of genes enriched in neuronal, immunologic, and cognitive processes may serve as the basis in the effect of WM deficits on clinical behaviors in schizophrenia.

This study examined the status of fish resources in the Fuhe River Basin, Jiangxi Province, China, from March 2018 to February 2019. A total of 25,915 individuals, belonging to 6 orders, 18 families, 61 genera, and 85 species, were collected from nine sampling sites, with Cypriniformes accounting for 57.65% of the total number of species. Overall, the samples were dominated by mountain-stream species inhabiting middle-lower reaches, with an omnivorous feeding habit and drifting eggs. Moreover, 73 species were defined as of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, while 10 species were Data Deficient, 1 was Endangered, and 1 was Near Threatened. A total of 29 species were endemic to China. According to the relative importance index, five dominant species (Squalidus argentatus, Xenocypris macrolepis, Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus, and Pseudobrama simoni) were recorded. The Margalef richness index, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Simpson dominance index and Pielou evenness index were subsequently calculated at 8.27, 3.09, 0.70, and 0.09, respectively, while cluster analysis and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis divided the 9 sampling points into 4 clusters at a level of 17%, consistent with the results of Jaccard similarity analysis. ANOSIM further revealed significant differences among fish communities (P

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is an important prognostic factor for bladder cancer (BCA) and determines the treatment strategy. This study aimed to determine related clinicopathological factors of LNM and analyze the prognosis of BCA. A total of 10,653 eligible patients with BCA were randomly divided into training or verification sets using the 2004–2015 data of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. To identify prognostic factors for the overall survival of BCA, we utilized the Cox proportional hazard model. Independent risk factors for LNM were evaluated via logistic regression analysis. T-stage, tumor grade, patient age and tumor size were identified as independent risk factors for LNM and were used to develop the LNM nomogram. The Kaplan-Meier method and competitive risk analyses were applied to establish the influence of lymph node status on BCA prognosis. The accuracy of LNM nomogram was evaluated in the training and verification sets. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) showed an effective predictive accuracy of the nomogram in both the training (AUC: 0.690) and verification (AUC: 0.704) sets. In addition, the calibration curve indicated good consistency between the prediction of deviation correction and the ideal reference line. The decision curve analysis showed that the nomogram had a high clinical application value. In conclusion, our nomogram displayed high accuracy and reliability in predicting LNM. This could assist the selection of the optimal treatment for patients.

The dysregulation of caspase 4 (CASP4) expression is related to the occurrence, development, and outcome of many malignant tumors; however, its role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the expression of CASP4 in tumor tissues and its relationship with clinical prognosis, immune infiltration, and drug sensitivity status of ccRCC patients. Oncomine and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were used to determine CASP4 mRNA expression in ccRCC patients. The correlation between CASP4 expression and disease prognosis was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Related pathways were obtained from TCGA database via gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and gene set variation analysis (GSVA). Meanwhile, genes co-expressing with CASP4 in ccRCC were investigated. Finally, we analyzed the proportion of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) using the CIBERSORT computational method and assessed CASP4 methylation and its relationship with drug sensitivity. Immunohistochemical analysis of 30 paired ccRCC and adjacent normal tissues confirmed the in silico results. CASP4 mRNA expression in ccRCC was significantly higher than that in the normal tissues, positively correlated with clinicopathological features (clinical stage and pathological grade), and negatively correlated with patient overall survival (OS). GSEA and GSVA showed that the genes in the CASP4-high expression group were primarily enriched in immune-related activities. Moreover, CIBERSORT analysis of TIC proportions revealed that activated CD4 memory T cells were positively correlated with CASP4 expression. Notably, methylation analysis revealed that the abnormal upregulation of CASP4 might be caused by hypomethylation. Finally, we found that the abnormal expression of CASP4 may be related to tumor drug resistance. Overall, our study shows that CASP4 is overexpressed in ccRCC and is an important factor affecting disease prognosis. Hence, CASP4 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in ccRCC.

Maintaining fish diversity is essential for environmental protection. To characterize the fish composition of the tributaries and mainstream in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River, we identified seventy-five species of 15 families in 14 sampling sites. These data were analyzed using the inclusion index at the taxonomic level (TINCLi), the importance value index (IVI), the taxonomic diversity indices (Δ+ and Λ+), cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS). The results showed that the most common and dominant order was the Cypriniformes, represented most frequently by Hemiculter leucisculus among the sample sites. Most fishes were omnivorous, mountain stream or settled fish that lay sinking or viscid eggs. Most sites showed a trend of more discrete distribution from high latitude to low latitude. According to the taxonomic diversity indices, the fish taxonomic composition in the upper reaches of Ganjiang River is uneven. The Bray-Curtis resemblance matrix and nMDS showed that the habitats of the Ganjiang River were divided into four areas. The results will provide information needed for freshwater fish resource protection in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River.

Many actual rental activities present online rental problems with multiple units of assets or equipment whose use can be continuous, separable, or discrete. Using online algorithms and competitive analysis, continuous multiple online rental problems have obtained the optimal risk control strategy and the optimal competitive ratio. For multiple online rental problems with discrete assets, first, we present an approximation algorithm for a risk control strategy and the upper bound of the optimal competitive ratio. Moreover, in practical applications, the approximation algorithm of the discrete online problem provides the approximate rental quantities in each period and the solution principle for the approximate competitive ratio. Second, we present the approximate optimal rental quantities and the correction algorithm to obtain a better competitive ratio based on the approximation algorithm. Finally, we compare the approximation algorithm with the correction algorithm by real data. Our findings show that when the approximate solution is used to replace the corrected solution, the resulting approximation error is usually less than the magnitude of 1ms where m is the total units of certain assets or equipment and s is the price to buy one unit in each period. Keywords: Discrete multiple online rental problem, Risk control strategy, Online algorithms, Competitive ratio

Background: Dopaminergic and serotonergic systems play crucial roles in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and modulate response to antipsychotic treatment. However, previous studies of dopaminergic and serotonergic genes expression are sparse, and their results have been inconsistent. In this longitudinal study, we aim to investigate the expressions of Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), serotonin 2A receptor (5-HTR2A), and serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) mRNA in first-episode antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia and to test if these mRNA expressions are associated with cognitive deficits and treatment outcomes or not.Method: We measured COMT, 5-HTR2A, and SLC6A4 mRNA expressions in 45 drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia patients and 38 health controls at baseline, and repeated mRNA measurements in all patients at the 8-week follow up. Furthermore, we also assessed antipsychotic response and cognitive improvement after 8 weeks of risperidone monotherapy.Results: Patients were divided into responders (N = 20) and non-responders groups (N = 25) according to the Remission criteria of the Schizophrenia Working Group. Both patient groups have significantly higher COMT mRNA expression and lower SLC6A4 mRNA expression when compared with healthy controls. Interestingly, responder patients have significantly higher levels of COMT and 5-HTR2A mRNA expressions than non-responder patients at baseline. However, antipsychotic treatment has no significant effect on the expressions of COMT, 5-HTR2A, and SLC6A4 mRNA over 8-week follow up.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that dysregulated COMT and SLC6A4 mRNA expressions may implicate in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and that COMT and 5-HTR2A mRNA may be potential biomarkers to predict antipsychotic response.

The first example of the palladium-catalyzed tandem addition/cyclization of 2-(benzylidenamino)benzonitriles with arylboronic acids has been developed. This transformation features good functional group tolerance and provides an alternative synthetic pathway to access 2,4-diarylquinazolines in moderate to good yields. A plausible mechanism for the formation of 2,4-diarylquinazolines involving sequential nucleophilic addition followed by an intramolecular cyclization is proposed.

Energy consumption and tracking accuracy are two significant issues for collaborative tracking in distributed wireless sensor networks (DWSNs). To obtain a benefit from those issues, most of the recent work tends to reduce the spatial redundancy, while ignoring utilizing the attribute of time redundancy. In this paper, a novel energy-efficient framework of collaborative signal and information fusion is proposed for acoustic target tracking. The proposed fusion algorithm is based on neural network aggregation model and Gaussian particle filtering (GPF) estimation. And the neural network based aggregation (NNBA) can reduce spatial and time redundancy. Furthermore, a fresh cluster head (CH) selection method demanding less task handover is also presented to decrease energy consumption. The analyzed framework coupled with simulations demonstrates its excellent performance in tracking accuracy and energy consumption.