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Figure S5. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrating RFS and OS for all enrolled patients stratified by their status of follow up ctDNA.

Somatic mutations identified in tissue samples and plasma samples of the enrolled patients

Purpose:Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) provides a novel approach for detecting tumor burden and predicting clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we performed a thorough evaluation of HCC circulating genetic features and further fully integrated them to build a robust strategy for HCC monitoring and prognostic outcome assessment.Experimental Design:We performed target sequencing and low-coverage whole-genome sequencing on plasma samples collected from 34 long-term follow-up patients with HCC to capture tumor somatic SNVs and CNVs, respectively. Clinical information was also obtained to evaluate the prognostic performance of ctDNA comparing with clinically applied protein biomarkers.Results:All plasma samples before surgery showed somatic genetic variations resembling corresponding tumor tissues. During follow-up, SNVs and CNVs dynamically changed correlating to patients' tumor burden. We integrated the comprehensive ctDNA mutation profiles to provide a robust strategy to accurately assess patients' tumor burden with high consistence comparing with imaging results. This strategy could discover tumor occurrence in advance of imaging for an average of 4.6 months, and showed superior performance than serum biomarkers AFP, AFP-L3%, and Des-Gamma-Carboxy Prothrombin (DCP). Furthermore, our strategy could precisely detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in advance and predict patients' prognostic outcomes for both relapse-free survival (P = 0.001) and overall survival (P = 0.001); further combining ctDNA with DCP could increase the sensitivity for MRD detection.Conclusions:We demonstrated that plasma CNV and SNV levels dynamically correlated with patients' tumor burden in HCC. Our strategy of comprehensive mutation profile integration could accurately and better evaluate patients' prognostic risk and detect tumor occurrence in advance than traditional strategies.

Figure S2. The concordance of somatic SNVs detected in preoperative plasma sample and matched tumor in enrolled patients. A. The bar plot demonstrating the R2 of Pearson correlation between the SNVs' mutant allele frequency in preoperative plasma and in corresponding tumor tissues. B. The representative scatter plots showing the correlation of somatic SNVs' mutant allele frequency in preoperative plasma between whole exome sequencing and target sequencing. Each somatic SNV is represented as a single circle.

Clinical characteristics of 34 enrolled HCC patients.

The study of moral conceptual metaphors has been an important topic in recent years. In Chinese culture, the concepts of curvature and straightness are given certain semantic contents, in which curvature refers to being sly while straightness refers to having integrity. In the present study, we used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) paradigm (Experiment 1) and the Stroop paradigm (Experiment 2) to investigate whether there are metaphorical representations of curvature and straightness in moral concepts. The results revealed that the mean reaction time in compatible trials (i.e., moral words accompanied by a straight pattern and immoral words accompanied by a curved pattern) was significantly shorter than that in incompatible trials (i.e., moral words accompanied by a curved pattern and immoral words accompanied by a straight pattern). The Stroop paradigm showed that reaction times were significantly reduced when moral words were presented in a straight font, but there was no significant difference between the presentation of immoral words in a straight font and that in a curved font. The results suggest that mental representations of moral concepts are associated with straightness and curvature in Chinese culture.

In small-scale studies, circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels have prognostic value in patients with pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC). Therefore, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic significance of circulating EBV DNA levels in patients with pulmonary LELC.Studies that discussed the prognostic significance of circulating EBV DNA detection in pulmonary LELC were eligible for inclusion in this study. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were the primary outcomes. Pooled hazard ratio (HR), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and P-value were calculated to estimate the prognostic significance of EBV DNA levels. Additionally, we conducted a further observation using an independent cohort.The pooled HR and 95% CI of pre-treatment EBV DNA levels for OS and PFS were 3.63 (95% CI: 2.90-4.55) and 2.88 (95% CI: 1.90-4.38), respectively. The pooled HR and 95% CI for post-treatment EBV DNA levels for OS and PFS were 3.77 (95% CI: 2.96-4.80) and 3.52 (95% CI: 1.91-6.51, P0.001), respectively. The independent cohort showed similar results that patients with high pre-treatment EBV DNA or positive post-treatment EBV DNA had significantly inferior PFS.Circulating EBV DNA levels provide prognostic values of survival and treatment response in pulmonary LELC patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Introduction The objective of this study is to summarize the clinical characteristics and management of rare diseases of colorectal vascular malformation (CRVM) in children. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of CRVM patients admitted to the Children's Hospital of Fudan University from 2004 to 2019. Results A total of 23 cases (16 males, 7 females) were enrolled. The median age of symptom onset was 1.4 years. Hematochezia and anemia were cardinal symptoms. Fourteen patients (60.9%) were misdiagnosed as anal fissures (n = 4), internal hemorrhoids (n = 3), rectal polyps (n = 2), inflammatory bowel disease (n = 2), portal hypertension (n = 2), and Meckel's diverticulum (n = 1), respectively. The average time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 4.5 ± 4.4 years. Other vascular malformations were detected in eight patients (34.8%). All patients showed a positive anomalous vascular image on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The sensitivity of colonoscopy in the diagnosis of CRVM was 82.6% (19/23). A total of 21 patients underwent a modified Soave procedure. The lesions were mostly restricted to the colorectum and showed transmural diffuse distribution, with an average length of 20 ± 5.4 cm. Two patients (9.5%) experienced surgical complications. Bloody stools reappeared in two patients (9.5%), and colonoscopy showed abnormal angiogenesis at the anastomotic site, which were cured by sclerotherapy and/or electrocautery. The median follow-up time was 78 months. Bloody stools were absent at the last time of follow-up, and hemoglobin was in the normal range for all patients. Conclusion The identification of CRVM in children often is delayed. Colonoscopy, CT, and MRI are essential in making the correct diagnosis. The modified Soave procedure is safe and feasible to treat CRVM in children. Endoscopic sclerotherapy and/or electrocautery can be used for residual lesions.

In this study, we described in detail a combinatorial enzymatic synthesis approach to produce a series of unnatural long-chain β-branch pyrones. We attempted to investigate the catalytic potential of a highly promiscuous enzyme type III PKS to catalyze the non-decarboxylative condensation reaction by two molecules of fatty acyl diketide-N-acetylcysteines (diketide-NACs) units. Two non-natural long-chain (C16, C18) fatty acyl diketide-NACs were prepared successfully for testing the ability of non-decarboxylative condensation. In vitro, 12 novel naturally unavailable long-chain β-branch pyrones were generated by one-pot formation and characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and high-resolution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Interestingly, enzymatic kinetics result displays that this enzyme exhibits the remarkable compatibility to various non-natural long-chain substrates. These results would be useful to deeply understand the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme and further extend the application of enzymatic synthesis of non-natural products.

Coral-associated microorganisms are likely to play an important role in host defense by the production of antimicrobials. Six new chromanones, namely, phomalichenones H-M (5, 6, and 8-11), and ten known analogues (1-4, 7, and 12-16) were isolated from the coral-associated fungus Parengyodontium album sp. SCSIO 40430. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. In addition, the structure of 8 was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Resolution using a chiral column showed that each of the compounds 1-8 was an enantiomeric mixture with variable enantiomeric excess (ee) values. Their absolute configurations were determined by a comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD data and by a modified Mosher's method. A plausible biosynthetic scheme was proposed for the production of 1-16. Compounds 2, 3, 13, and 14 were found to be active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra with MIC values of 16-64 μg mL-1.

Purpose The aim of this work was to investigate the clinicopathological significance of fibrinogen gamma chain (FGG) and its biological roles during hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression. Methods The expression of FGG was examined by Western blot and reverse transcription quantitative PCR in two different sample sets, including 24 or 35 pairs of HCC tumor tissues and their corresponding adjacent non-tumorous tissues. Afterward, association analysis between the expression of FGG and clinicopathological characteristics was systematically analyzed in 79 HCC patients. Subsequently, the mobility and invasiveness of SK-HEP-1 cells with FGG overexpression or knockdown were evaluated by transwell assay and wound healing assay. Additionally, the expressions of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated markers were also detected in FGG overexpressed or silenced SK-HEP-1 cells. Results The expression of FGG was significantly increased in primary HCC tissues comparing with its corresponding adjacent non-tumorous tissues. Clinical pathological analysis demonstrated that upregulation of intracellular FGG was significantly associated with increased vascular invasion, more satellite nodules, and more advanced TNM stage, and HCC patients with stronger expression of FGG had a higher recurrence rate and correspondingly a shorter overall survival time. Meanwhile, the high expression of FGG was also proved to be an independent risk factor for disease-free survival after surgical resection. In vitro phenotype studies showed that overexpression of FGG could promote the migration and invasion in SK-HEP-1 cells; conversely, these phenotypes could be significantly inhibited by knocking down the expression of FGG. Mechanism studies indicated that FGG could promote the migration and invasion through EMT signaling pathway by regulating the expressions of Slug and ZEB1. Conclusion FGG played important roles in enhancing cancer cell motility and invasiveness through EMT signaling, and might serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC patients.

Circular RNA (circRNA) can participate in various biological processes, including tumorigenesis, through their microRNA response elements. Alterations in circRNA profiles during hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and their clinical significance remain unclear. Here, we present extensive analysis of circRNA profiles in tumor and matched peritumor tissues collected from 10 HCC patients, conducted to identify circRNA related to HCC progression. A total of 42 dysregulated circRNA (38 down-regulated and 4 up-regulated) were identified in HCC tumor tissues compared with matched peritumor tissues, revealing the heterogeneity of circRNA profiles in HCC. CircADAMTS13, derived from Exon 13-14 of the ADAMTS13 gene, was significantly downregulated in HCC tumor tissues. Furthermore, clinicopathological analysis revealed that up-regulation of circADAMTS13 was negatively associated with tumor size but positively associated with prognosis. In addition, overexpression of circADAMTS13 could markedly inhibit HCC cell proliferation in vitro. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase reporter assays further revealed that circADAMTS13 directly interacts with microRNA (miR)-484. Rescue experiments showed that miR-484 mimics can reverse the tumor-suppressing roles of circADAMTS13 in HCC. Therefore, our results demonstrated that circADAMTS13 can serve as a tumor suppressor during HCC progression via the functional pathway of sponging miR-484.

Objectives: To summarize the clinical features, treatment methods, and outcomes of the rare diseases of colorectal vascular malformation (CRVM).Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of CRVM patients admitted to the Department of Pediatric Surgery of Children's Hospital of Fudan University from 2004 to 2019.Results: A total of 23 cases (16 males, 7 females) were enrolled. The median age of symptom onset was 1.4 years. Eleven patients had been misdiagnosed, and the average time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 4.5±4.4 years. Associated vascular malformations in the skin and other parts were found in eight patients. All patients showed a positive anomalous vascular image in the rectum and surrounding areas with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) / magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The sensitivity of endoscopy in the diagnosis of CRVM was 82.6%. A total of 21 patients underwent a modified Soave procedure. The lesions were mostly restricted to the rectum and sigmoid, with an average length of 20±5.4cm. The median follow-up time was 78 months. Bloody stools reappeared within 6 months in three patients, but were cured by sclerotherapy or fulguration. At the last time of follow-up, bloody stool symptoms were absent and hemoglobin was in the normal range for all patients.Conclusions: CRVM occurs more commonly in male children than in female children. Combined with enhanced MRI, CT, and colonoscopy, CRVM diagnosis can be confirmed. The lesioned intestinal segment can be safely removed through a modified transabdominal Soave procedure, effectively curing or relieving hematochezia.

Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 03032, isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample (−3412 m) from the Indian Ocean, produces several classes of bioactive compounds including α-pyridone antibiotics (piericidins), polycyclic macrolactams (heronamides) and bisindole alkaloids (spiroindimicins, indimicins and lynamicins). Here we report the complete genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 03032, which consists of a 6,287,975 bp linear chromosome. The genome analysis reveals the presence of 29 putative biosynthetic gene clusters for secondary metabolites, including those for piericidins, heronamides and spiroindimicins/indimicins/lynamicins. The genome sequence suggests that Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 03032 could be a producer for novel bioactive natural products with potential applications in drug discovery.

The dehydration of glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was catalyzed by NKC-9 (a macroporous sulfonated polystyrene ion-exchange resin) combined with metal oxides (TiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3 calcined at different temperatures). In the combined catalytic system, Al2O3 calcined at 550°C exhibited excellent catalytic activity, when the dosage of NKC-9 was kept constant. Four parameters (catalyst dosage, reaction temperature, reaction time, and initial glucose amount) were optimized by employing response surface methodology (RSM), with HMF yield as the response parameter. The maximum HMF yield of 62.09% was obtained at catalyst 0.07 g, temperature 140°C, time 20 min, and glucose 0.01 g. The catalytic activity of the binary catalyst (NKC-9 and Al2O3) for the conversion of glucose into HMF did not show significant decrease after five-times uses at 140°C for 20 min.

Kun Ke,1–3,* Geng Chen,2–4,* Zhixiong Cai,2–4 Yanbing Huang,1–3 Bixing Zhao,2,3 Yingchao Wang,2,3 Naishun Liao,2,3 Xiaolong Liu,2,3 Zhenli Li,2,3 Jingfeng Liu1–3,5 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350005, China; 2The United Innovation of Mengchao Hepatobiliary Technology Key Laboratory of Fujian Province, Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350025, China; 3The Liver Center of Fujian Province, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350025, China; 4School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China; 5Liver Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350005, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis faced great difficulty due to tumor heterogeneity. We aimed to identify the prognosis-associated molecular subtypes existing in HCC patients and construct an evaluation model based on identified molecular classification. Materials and methods: Non-negative matrix factorization consensus clustering was performed using 371 HCC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to identify molecular subtypes, based on the expression profile of the survival-associated genes. Signature genes for different subtypes were identified by Significance Analysis of Microarray and Prediction Analysis for Microarrays . Model for subtype discrimination and prognosis evaluation was established using binary logistic regression. The model and its clinical implications were further validated in GSE5436 cohort and Fujian cohort. Results: Based on TCGA data, we observed two molecular subtypes with distinct clinical outcomes including significantly different overall survival, tumor differentiation, TNM stage, and vascular invasion (all P

Purpose: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) provides a novel approach for detecting tumor burden and predicting clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we performed a thorough evaluation of HCC circulating genetic features and further fully integrated them to build a robust strategy for HCC monitoring and prognostic outcome assessment. Experimental Design: We performed target sequencing and low-coverage whole-genome sequencing on plasma samples collected from 34 long-term follow-up patients with HCC to capture tumor somatic SNVs and CNVs, respectively. Clinical information was also obtained to evaluate the prognostic performance of ctDNA comparing with clinically applied protein biomarkers. Results: All plasma samples before surgery showed somatic genetic variations resembling corresponding tumor tissues. During follow-up, SNVs and CNVs dynamically changed correlating to patients' tumor burden. We integrated the comprehensive ctDNA mutation profiles to provide a robust strategy to accurately assess patients' tumor burden with high consistence comparing with imaging results. This strategy could discover tumor occurrence in advance of imaging for an average of 4.6 months, and showed superior performance than serum biomarkers AFP, AFP-L3%, and Des-Gamma-Carboxy Prothrombin (DCP). Furthermore, our strategy could precisely detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in advance and predict patients' prognostic outcomes for both relapse-free survival (P = 0.001) and overall survival (P = 0.001); further combining ctDNA with DCP could increase the sensitivity for MRD detection. Conclusions: We demonstrated that plasma CNV and SNV levels dynamically correlated with patients' tumor burden in HCC. Our strategy of comprehensive mutation profile integration could accurately and better evaluate patients' prognostic risk and detect tumor occurrence in advance than traditional strategies.

MicroRNAs play an important role in various biological processes, and their aberrant expression is closely associated with various human diseases, especially cancer. Real-time monitoring of microRNAs in living cells may help us to understand their role in cellular processes, which can further provide a basis for diagnosis and treatment. In this study, polydopamine was used to assist the versatile modification of a nucleic acid probe for intracellular microRNA imaging and enhanced photothermal therapy. Polydopamine can be covalently linked with a thiol-terminated nucleic acid probe through the Michael addition reaction under slightly alkaline conditions. This modification is mild and can be performed directly in an aqueous solution, which can better resist hydrolysis than the traditional modification processes, resulting in a nanoprobe with better stability and higher loading of nucleic acids. This prepared nanoprobe can easily enter cells without transfection agents and then realize the imaging of intracellular miRNA through fluorescence restoration. Moreover, the coating of PDA can enhance the photothermal conversion efficiency of the nanoprobe, making it suitable for photothermal therapy of cancer. It is expected that the PDA-based versatile modification can help to construct a promising platform for tumor imaging and treatment.

Current antithrombotic therapeutic strategies often suffer from severe post-thrombotic syndromes (PTS), inconvenient daily subcutaneous injections for a long time and short circulation times accompanied by a dose-dependent risk of intracranial hemorrhage. Aiming at noninvasive, on-demand, and sustained antithrombotic therapy, a new thrombolysis approach based on the transgene system has been developed to remotely and precisely control the expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) by bioengineered cells for antithrombotic therapy both in vitro and in vivo. In this design, the near-infrared (NIR) light could activate the expression of the thermosensitive TRPV1 channel in response to photothermal responsive nanotransducers to trigger the synthetic signaling pathway to secret uPA. By encapsulating bioengineered cells in injectable hydrogel to ensure long-term survival and convenience for injection, the engineered cells could noninvasively and precisely control the production of uPA protein in situ via an NIR laser to significantly enhance the thrombolysis therapeutic effects by spatiotemporally controlling the local temperature, in both the microfluidic blood circulation mimic and the murine tail thrombus model. This novel thrombolysis approach could overcome some key limitations that are associated with conventional antithrombotic therapy, thus opening a new direction for developing remotely and precisely controllable continuous thrombolysis through artificially designed signaling.

Our previous results showed that kisspeptin-10 (Kp-10) injections via intraperitoneal (i.p.) once daily for three weeks notably promoted the egg laying rate in quails. In order to investigate the mechanism behind the effects of Kp-10 on enhancing the egg laying rate in birds, this study focused on the alternations of lipids synthesis in liver after Kp-10 injections. 75 female quails (22 d of age) were allocated to three groups randomly, and subjected to 0 (control, Con), 10 nmol (low dosage, L) and 100 nmol (high dosage, H) Kp-10 injections via i.p. once daily for three weeks, respectively. At d 52, quails were sacrificed and sampled for further analyses. Serum E2 concentration was increased by Kp-10 injections, and reached statistical significance in H group. Serum triglyceride (TG) concentrations were increased by 46.7% in L group and 36.8% in H group, respectively, but did not reach statistical significance, and TG contents in liver were significantly elevated by Kp-10 injections in a dose-dependent manner. Serum total cholesterol (Tch) concentrations significantly decreased in H group, while in H group the hepatic Tch content was markedly increased. The level of non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), apolipoprotein A1 and B (apoA1 and apoB) were not altered by Kp-10 injections. The genes expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), fatty acid synthetase (FAS), apolipoprotein VLDL-II (apoVLDL-II), cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) and vitellogenin II (VTG-II) were significantly up-regulated by high but not low dosage of Kp-10 injection compared to the control group. However, the expression of SREBP-2, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCα), malic enzyme (ME), stearoyl-CoA (Δ9) desaturase 1 (SCD1), apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), fatty acid binding protein 2 (FABP2), 3-hydroxyl-3-methyl glutaryl-coenzyme A reductases (HMGCR), estrogen receptor α, β (ERα and β) mRNA were not affected by Kp-10 treatment. In line with hepatic mRNA abundance, hepatic SREBP1 protein content was significantly higher in H group. Although the mRNA expression was not altered, the content of ERα protein in liver was also significantly increased in H group. However, SREBP-2 protein content in liver was not changed by Kp-10 treatment. In conclusion, exogenous Kp-10 consecutive injections during juvenile stage significantly advanced the tempo of egg laying in quails, which was associated with the significant elevation in hepatic lipids synthesis and transport.

The kisspeptin (Kp) signaling pathway plays an essential role in the onset of reproduction in mammals. To investigate the effects of Kp on the initiation of egg laying in birds, juvenile female quail were given daily intraperitoneal injections of 300μl saline (control, Con), or 10nmol (low dosage, L) or 100nmol (high dosage, H) kisspeptin-10 (Kp-10) dissolved in 300μl saline for 3 weeks. The ratio of egg laying of quail in the L and H groups was notably increased compared to that of the Con group (P0.01), which paralleled earlier ovarian growth and increases in circulating estrogen (E(2)) concentrations. In the hypothalamus, gonadotropin-releasing hormone-I (GnRH-I) mRNA expression was markedly up-regulated, whereas the level of gonadotropin-inhibiting hormone mRNA was down-regulated by high-dose Kp-10 (P0.05). In the pituitary gland, expression of GnRH receptor type II, but not type I mRNA was significantly up-regulated by high-dose Kp-10 administration (P0.05). Moreover, compared with the Con group, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) gene expression in the pituitary was significantly decreased in the L and H groups (P0.05), whereas luteinizing hormone (LH) mRNA expression was significantly increased in the H, but not the L group (P0.05). These results indicate that repeated peripheral Kp-10 injections can advance the sexual maturation of female quail by regulating the activities of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Our previous studies showed that kisspeptin-10 (Kp-10) injected in vivo can markedly increase lipid anabolism in liver of quails. In order to investigate the direct effect of Kp-10 on lipid metabolism of hepatocytes in birds, cells were separated from embryos livers and cultured in vitro with 0, 100 and 1,000 nM Kp-10, respectively. The results showed that after 24 h treatment, cells viability was not affected by 100 nM Kp-10, but showed a mild decrease with 1,000 nM Kp-10 compared to the control cells. Based on the results of the cell viability, 100 nM dosage of Kp-10 was selected for the further study and analysis. Compared with control cells, total cholesterol (Tch) contents in 100 nM treated cells were increased by 51.23%, but did not reach statistical significance, while the level of triglyceride (TG), high density of lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density of lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly increased. Real-time PCR results showed that ApoVLDL-II mRNA expression had a tendency to increase, genes including sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase  (ACC), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1), 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductases (HMGCR) and stearyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase-1 (SCD1) mRNA in hepatocytes were significantly down-regulated by 100 nM Kp-10. However, contrary to its gene expression, SREBP-1 protein expression was significantly up-regulated by 100 nM Kp-10. Some of the significant correlations in mRNA expression were found between genes encoding hepatic factors or enzymes involved in lipid metabolism in liver of birds. These results indicate that Kp-10 stimulates lipid synthesis directly in primary cultured hepatocytes of chickens. (Key Words: Kisspeptin-10, Lipid Metabolism, Hepatocytes, Chicken)

The effect of kisspeptin-10 (Kp-10) on the secretion of progesterone (P(4)) was investigated in cultured granulosa cells from F(1) to F(3) follicles of hens. The results showed that granulosa cells were stained with clear signals for kisspeptin using immunocytochemistry with the specific antibody against Kp-10. Among 10, 100 and 1000 nM concentrations tested, 100 nM Kp-10 treated for 24h significantly increased P(4) secretion in granulosa cells from F(1) to F(3) follicles. After 24h and 48 h of treatment, 100 nM Kp-10 showed a significant increase in P(4) secretion, while after 72 h of treatment P(4) secretion was markedly decreased by Kp-10 compared to the control group (P0.05). F(1) and F(2/3) cells treated with 100 nM Kp-10 for 24h showed significantly increased viability (P0.05) and which was in parallel to a marked increase in P(4) secretion (P0.01). Real-time PCR results showed that the gene expression of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (P450scc) and the enzyme 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) in F(1) and F(2/3) granulosa cells was significantly up-regulated by 24h-100 nM Kp-10 treatment (P0.05 versus P0.01, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in StAR, P450scc and 3β-HSD protein content between control and the Kp-10 treated group (P0.05). These results indicate that Kp-10 stimulates P(4) secretion in cultured chicken granulosa cells, which was associated with an up-regulation in StAR, P450scc and 3β-HSD gene transcription.

Objective: To study the distribution of polymorphism of FXIIIVal34Leu gene in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and to explore its relationship with polycystic ovary syndrome. Methods: FXIIIVal34Leu genotype of 120 patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and 90 controls was detected, and the endocrine and metabolic conditions of PCOS patients and the control group were analyzed. Results: Body mass index (BMI) of PCOS patients (26.45±5.81) kg/m2 was higher than the control group (22.33±5.58) kg/m2, (p=0.00); the androgen level of PCOS group was (0.67±0.85) ng/mL higher than the control group (0.42±0.22) ng/mL, (p=0.02), and the luteinizing hormone (LH) (16.8±3.61 IU/L) level is higher than the control group (9.23±4.67) IU/L, (p=0.01). Frequency of Val34Leu allele in PCOS group was 1.25%, which was not statistically significant compared to the control group (P=0.56). BMI of patients with the genotype of FXIIIVal34Leu was relatively higher (with the average 34±1 kg/m2), and serum HDL level was significantly lower (0.23±0.11 mmol/L). Polymorphism of FXIIIVal34Leu gene had no correlation with susceptibility of PCOS. Conclusion: Polymorphism of FXIIIA1 gene may be related to metabolism of PCOS patients; the mutation of FXIIIAVal34Leu is not at the common site for PCOS; polymorphism of FXIIIVal34Leu gene may not have correlation with PCOS.

In this work, a motor imagery based 2-D cursor control strategy was applied to spell English character in a three-layer interface. Pinyin input method was integrated with English speller to input Chinese characters. A chatting system based on the BCI speller and instant messenger was designed and tested. The online experimental results demonstrated that three subjects all achieved good performance.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for wheelchair control have great value for those with devastating neuromuscular disorders. Although there have been many attempts to implement EEG-based wheelchair control systems by P300, steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), and motor imagery (MI) related event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS), the number of simultaneous control commands in those BCI systems is strictly limited, and those BCI control do not work for a non-negligible portion of users due to the problem of BCI Illiteracy.