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The aim of this study was to explore the effects of aerobic exercise on learning and memory of aging brain and the underlying potential mechanism. We adopted the method of intraperitoneal administration for 6 weeks to induce aging rat model and gave rats swimming exercise intervention in the process of aging modeling. Then the Morris Water Maze test, immunofluorescence, western blotting and real time PCR technology were adopted to estimate rats’ learning and memory abilities and the expression levels of BDNF and SYP in hippocampus respectively. Compared with the aging model rats induced by D-gal administration, the rats subjected to swimming exercise in the process of aging modeling showed not only faster acquisition and better retention of the maze but also higher expression levels of BDNF and SYP in hippocampus. These findings provide evidence that aerobic exercise could ameliorate learning and memory deficits of aging rats induced by D-gal, which is related to aerobic exercise’ promoting hippocampal BNDF and SYP expression.

Objectives: We designed this study to evaluate the effect of Tai Chi exercise for hypertension patients. Methods: RCTs designed to evaluate the effect of Tai Chi exercise for hypertension patients were searched from Science Direct, EBSCO, Pub Med, CNKI and Wanfang databases. Results: The meta-analysis found that (ATC) the SBP (WMD = 13.19 mmHg; 95%CI: 11.52 to 14.87; P < 0.0001) and DBP (WMD = 8.92 mmHg; 95% CI: 7.94 to 9.90; P< 0.0001) can be significantly reduced after Tai Chi exercise compared to before Tai Chi exercise (BTC). ATC significantly improved the content of NO (WMD =−7.98mmol/L; 95%CI: −10.63 to −5.33; P < 0.0001), and decreased the content of TG (WMD =0.22mmol/ml; 95%CI: 0.06 to 0.38; P =0.006) and LDL-C (WMD =0.20mmol/ml; 95%CI: 0.13 to 0.26; P < 0.0001). There was no obvious difference between ATC and BTC on HR (WMD = 1.64; 95%CI: −0.51 to 3.97; P =0.14), TC (WMD = −0.03mmol/ml; 95%CI: −0.22 to 0.17; P =0.80) and HDL-C (WMD =−0.04 mmol/ml; 95%CI: −0.09 to 0.01; P =0.13). Conclusions: As a valid treatment for hypertension patients, Tai Chi exercise can decrease SBP, DBP, TG, LDL-C and increase NO.

Tourette's Disorder (TD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) that affects about 0.7% of the population and is one of the most heritable NDDs. Nevertheless, because of its polygenic nature and genetic heterogeneity, the genetic etiology of TD is not well understood. In this study, we combined the segregation information in 13 TD multiplex families with high-throughput sequencing and genotyping to identify genes associated with TD. Using whole-exome sequencing and genotyping array data, we identified both small and large genetic variants within the individuals. We then combined multiple types of evidence to prioritize candidate genes for TD, including variant segregation pattern, variant function prediction, candidate gene expression, protein-protein interaction network, candidate genes from previous studies, etc. From the 13 families, 71 strong candidate genes were identified, including both known genes for NDDs and novel genes, such as HtrA Serine Peptidase 3 (HTRA3), Cadherin-Related Family Member 1 (CDHR1), and Zinc Finger DHHC-Type Palmitoyltransferase 17 (ZDHHC17). The candidate genes are enriched in several Gene Ontology categories, such as dynein complex and synaptic membrane. Candidate genes and pathways identified in this study provide biological insight into TD etiology and potential targets for future studies.

Most trajectory compression methods primarily focus on geometric similarity between compressed and original trajectories, lacking explainability of compression results due to ignoring semantic information. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal semantic constrained trajectory compression method. It constructs a new trajectory distance measurement model integrating both semantic and spatio-temporal features. This model quantifies semantic features using information entropy and measures spatio-temporal features with synchronous Euclidean distance. The compression principle is to retain feature points with maximum spatio-temporal semantic distance from the original trajectory until the compression rate is satisfied. Experimental results show these methods closely resemble each other in maintaining geometric similarity of trajectories, but our method significantly outperforms DP, TD-TR, and CascadeSync methods in preserving semantic similarity of trajectories. This indicates that our method considers both geometric and semantic features during compression, resulting in the compressed trajectory becoming more interpretable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the transfer of genetic material across species boundaries and has been a driving force in prokaryotic evolution. HGT involving eukaryotes appears to be much less frequent, and the functional implications of HGT in eukaryotes are poorly understood. We test the hypothesis that parasitic plants, because of their intimate feeding contacts with host plant tissues, are especially prone to horizontal gene acquisition. We sought evidence of HGTs in transcriptomes of three parasitic members of Orobanchaceae, a plant family containing species spanning the full spectrum of parasitic capabilities, plus the free-living Lindenbergia Following initial phylogenetic detection and an extensive validation procedure, 52 high-confidence horizontal transfer events were detected, often from lineages of known host plants and with an increasing number of HGT events in species with the greatest parasitic dependence. Analyses of intron sequences in putative donor and recipient lineages provide evidence for integration of genomic fragments far more often than retro-processed RNA sequences. Purifying selection predominates in functionally transferred sequences, with a small fraction of adaptively evolving sites. HGT-acquired genes are preferentially expressed in the haustorium-the organ of parasitic plants-and are strongly biased in predicted gene functions, suggesting that expression products of horizontally acquired genes are contributing to the unique adaptive feeding structure of parasitic plants.

Abstract Background Parasitic plants, represented by several thousand species of angiosperms, use modified structures known as haustoria to tap into photosynthetic host plants and extract nutrients and water. As a result of their direct plant-plant connections with their host plant, parasitic plants have special opportunities for horizontal gene transfer, the nonsexual transmission of genetic material across species boundaries. There is increasing evidence that parasitic plants have served as recipients and donors of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), but the long-term impacts of eukaryotic HGT in parasitic plants are largely unknown. Results Here we show that a gene encoding albumin 1 KNOTTIN-like protein, closely related to the albumin 1 genes only known from papilionoid legumes, where they serve dual roles as food storage and insect toxin, was found in Phelipanche aegyptiaca and related parasitic species of family Orobanchaceae, and was likely acquired by a Phelipanche ancestor via HGT from a legume host based on phylogenetic analyses. The KNOTTINs are well known for their unique “disulfide through disulfide knot” structure and have been extensively studied in various contexts, including drug design. Genomic sequences from nine related parasite species were obtained, and 3D protein structure simulation tests and evolutionary constraint analyses were performed. The parasite gene we identified here retains the intron structure, six highly conserved cysteine residues necessary to form a KNOTTIN protein, and displays levels of purifying selection like those seen in legumes. The albumin 1 xenogene has evolved through >150 speciation events over ca. 16 million years, forming a small family of differentially expressed genes that may confer novel functions in the parasites. Moreover, further data show that a distantly related parasitic plant, Cuscuta, obtained two copies of albumin 1 KNOTTIN-like genes from legumes through a separate HGT event, suggesting that legume KNOTTIN structures have been repeatedly co-opted by parasitic plants. Conclusions The HGT-derived albumins in Phelipanche represent a novel example of how plants can acquire genes from other plants via HGT that then go on to duplicate, evolve, and retain the specialized features required to perform a unique host-derived function.