Two new species of Ganoderma (Ganodermataceae, Basidiomycota) from Southwest China.

Ganoderma is a large and diverse genus containing fungi that cause white rot to infect a number of plant families. This study describes G.phyllanthicola and G.suae as new species from Southwest China, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Ganodermaphyllanthicola is characterized by dark brown to purplish black pileus surface with dense concentric furrows, pale yellow margin, irregular pileipellis cells, small pores (5-7 per mm) and ellipsoid to sub-globose basidiospores (8.5-10.0 × 6.0-7.5 µm). Ganodermasuae is characterized by reddish brown to oxblood red pileus surface and lead gray to greyish-white pore surface, heterogeneous context, wavy margin and almond-shaped to narrow ellipsoid basidiospores (8.0-10.5 × 5.0-7.0 µm). The phylogeny of Ganoderma is reconstructed with multi-gene sequences: the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), the large subunit (nrLSU), translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF-1α) and the second subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2). The results show that G.suae and G.phyllanthicola formed two distinct line-ages within Ganoderma. Descriptions, illustrations and phylogenetic analyses results of the two new species are presented.

[Characterization of Microplastic Surface Bacterial Community Structure and Prediction of Ecological Risk in Poyang Lake, China].

In recent years, the environmental pollution of microplastics in Poyang Lake has received increasing attention. Baisha Lake of Poyang Lake was selected as the study area, and samples of water and sediments of Baisha Lake and the microplastics therein were collected, and the polymer types of microplastics were identified as polyethylene (PE), polyester (PET), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) using Fourier infrared spectroscopy. We also analyzed the structural composition of bacterial communities in water, in sediments, and on microplastic surfaces using 16S high-throughput sequencing. The species richness and diversity of bacteria on the microplastic surfaces were lower than those in the surrounding water and sediments. The results of NMDS analysis showed that the bacterial community structures on the microplastic surfaces differed greatly from those in the surrounding sediments and water. The bacterial community composition in water and sediment differed from that on the microplastic surfaces, and the dominant bacterial phyla on the microplastic surfaces were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota, and their relative abundance on the microplastic surfaces was higher than that in sediment. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was higher than that in water. The relative abundances of Bacteroidota and Actinobacteriota were significantly lower than that of water. Massilia and Pseudomonas were the dominant genera on the microplastic surfaces, and their relative abundances were significantly higher than those in the surrounding water and sediments. BugBase phenotype prediction revealed that the relative abundance of contains mobile elements, biofilm formation, potential pathogenicity, and stress tolerance phenotypes of microplastic bacterial communities were significantly higher than those of the surrounding water and sediments. The results revealed that microplastics may have contributed to the spread of harmful bacteria, including pathogenic bacteria, and increased the potential pathogenicity of bacterial communities. Additionally, microplastic surface bacterial communities had higher phenotypes of mobile gene element content. Revealing the potential harm of microplastic pollution to wetland ecology at the micro level may provide a scientific reference for maintaining the ecological stability of wetlands.

Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma processing ameliorates adverse reactions of polygalae radix in zebra fish and rabbit models.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Polygala tenuifilia Willd (Polygalaceae), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used for a long time to treat various illnesses with serious adverse reactions. Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma processing is generally used to reduce the adverse reactions. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to validate the irritation caused by raw Polygalaceae (RPA), to investigate whether processed Polygalaceae (PGA) was less irritating, and to screen and validate irritant properties of virgaureagenin G (polygala acid, PA), 3,6'-disinapoylsucrose (DSS), Tenuifolia (TEN) and polygalaxanthone III (POL), which had pharmacologically active in Polygalaceae. Zebrafish model, Draize test and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) were utilized to achieve the aim. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and optical microscope were used to determine the presence of calcium oxalate needle crystal in RPA and PGA. Zebrafish egg spinning changes and zebrafish embryo behavior were used for irritation validation, irritation comparison and irritant screening. For additional evidence, the Draize test, HE staining of rabbit eyes and ELISA kit were used. Finally, changes in the composition of RPA and PGA were investigated using HPLC. RESULTS: SEM and optical microscopy revealed no calcium oxalate needle crystals in Polygalaceae. RPA, PGA, PA and DSS were able to accelerate the spinning of zebrafish eggs and the movement of embryos, while TEN and POL were not. RPA, PGA, DSS and PA may cause rabbit eyes to become hyperemic and swollen, resulting in damage to the iris, cornea and conjunctiva and increased levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Comparatively, the effects caused by PGA were less severe than those caused by RPA. In addition, compared to RPA, PGA had lower levels of DSS and PA. CONCLUSIONS: RPA, PGA, DSS, and PA were irritating. However, processing and curing could reduce the irritation by reducing the levels of DSS and PA. DSS and PA could be two potential irritants of Polygalaceae.

The chemometrics analysis and integrated pharmacology approach to decipher the effect and mechanism between raw and processed cistanche tubulosa.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cistanche tubulosa (CT) is the dried fleshy stem with scaly leaves of Cistanche tubiflora (Schenk) Wight, which has the effects of tonifying the kidney-yang, benefiting the vital essence and blood, and moisturizing the intestines and laxatives. There are differences in the activity of CT before and after processing, but the mechanism of processing is not clear. AIM OF THE STUDY: The study aimed to compare the strength of action of CT before and after yellow-wine processing in the treatment of constipation and kidney yang deficiency and to identify the active ingredients responsible for the differences in activity before and after yellow-wine processing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study established the fingerprints of CT and PCT using HPLC to identify their shared components. Then efficacy of KYDS and FC were carried out to compare the differences between CT and PCT in terms of efficacy. Next, this study established the spectrum-effect relationship between the shared chemical components and the medical effects of CT and PCT using the gray correlation analysis and entropy methods. Ultimately, the activity of the analyzed chemical components was verified using the zebrafish model. RESULTS: CT was more effective than PCT in promoting intestinal peristalsis, regulating gastrointestinal hormone levels, and thus treating FC. PCT was more effective than CT in improving the level of hormone indexes of the hypothalamus-pituitary-target gland axis, replenishing blood, and enhancing immunity. Through the analysis of the spectrum-effect relationship, it was finally found that 5, 6, 12 (tubuloside A), and 13 (isoacteoside) might be more closely related to the activity of tonifying kidney yang, and peaks 9, 10, and 11 (acteoside) are more closely associated with the treatment of constipation, and peaks 3 (salidroside), 4, 1, 2 (geniposidic acid), and 8 (echinacoside) were associated with both kidney yang tonic and treatment of constipation. At the same time, an activity verification experiment showed that echinacoside, geniposidic acid, and salidroside were effective in the treatment of FC and KYDS, while acteoside was very effective in the treatment of FC, and tubuloside A was significant in supplementing the blood, which validated the spectrum-effect relationship analysis. CONCLUSION: This study proved that the raw CT had a better laxative effect, while the yellow-wine processed CT had a better kidney-yang tonic effect; moreover, spectrum-effect relationships were established to analyze the chemical components leading to changes in the activity of CT before and after yellow-wine processing.

Electroacupuncture ameliorates surgery-induced spatial memory deficits by promoting mitophagy in rats.

Background: This study sought to explore the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on spatial memory deficits caused by surgery. Methods: Hepatic apex resection was performed under propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to EA treatment or EA + mitochondrial division inhibitor-1 (mdivi-1) treatment once a day for three consecutive days after surgery. The Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the spatial memory of the rats after surgery. Tissue from the hippocampus of each rat was frozen and used for transcriptomic and proteomic analyses to identify potential targets for EA treatment. Western blotting was used to confirm the protein expression levels. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were detected using commercial kits. The rat mitochondria were then isolated, and the activity of mitochondrial complex V was assessed. Results: EA attenuated surgery-induced spatial memory deficits on postoperative day 3, while these effects were reversed by treatment with the mdivi-1 (P<0.05). Ribonucleic acid (RNA)-sequencing revealed that EA upregulated multiple metabolic pathways and the phosphatidylinositol 3­kinas/protein kinase B signaling pathway. The proteomic and western blotting results suggested that the EA treatment substantially downregulated coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain containing 3 (ChChd3) expression in the hippocampus. The EA treatment significantly increased the autophagy-related protein levels, including phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced kinase 1, Parkin, MAP1LC3 (LC3), and Beclin1, and inhibited the production of ROS and inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1ß in the hippocampus (P<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that EA ameliorates postoperative spatial memory deficits and protects hippocampus from oxidative stress and inflammation through enhanced autophagy in an animal model of perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs).

Childhood maltreatment influences suicidal behavior: Rumination mediates and regulatory emotional self-efficacy moderates.

To investigate the mediating role of rumination in the association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior, and the moderating role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy, university students (N = 1,458) from 5 universities in China completed questionnaires in classrooms. Path analyses showed emotional maltreatment had the greatest positive association with suicidal behavior and rumination compared with other types of childhood maltreatment. Rumination partly mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior. High regulatory emotional self-efficacy moderated the relation between ruminating childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior.

Case Report: The ectopic pancreas in the adrenal glands: It was found due to elevated blood pressure and initially diagnosed as adrenal adenoma.

Background: The ectopic pancreas is a kind of congenital malformation formed during embryonic development, which has no anatomical relationship with the normal pancreas and is a rare solid disease. The ectopic pancreas in the adrenal glands is extremely rare. Case summary: A 32-year-old man was admitted to the hospital after experiencing elevated blood pressure for 2 years as well as dizziness and blurred vision for 2 weeks. He had an elevated blood pressure of 170/110 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) on physical examination 2 years ago, without palpitations, chest pain, and chest tightness. Two weeks ago, he presented with dizziness and blurred vision. Blood renin and aldosterone levels were elevated. Plain CT and contrast-enhanced CT scan showed nodular thickening of the left adrenal and homogeneous enhancement, which was initially considered adrenal adenoma. The postoperative pathology supported the ectopic pancreas in the left adrenal. After 78 months of postoperative follow-up, no recurrence was observed, but his blood pressure remained persistently high. Conclusion: The ectopic pancreas occurring in the adrenal glands is extremely rare, has no specific clinical symptoms, and is mainly found for other reasons. It can easily be misdiagnosed as an adrenal adenoma. The final confirmation of the diagnosis still depends on the pathological biopsy. A great deal of reporting is still required for whether there is a correlation with elevated blood pressure.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0003823 promotes the Tumor Progression, Metastasis and Apatinib Resistance of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by miR-607/CRISP3 Axis.

Background: Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) have attracted a growing interest of research in cancer. The regulatory roles and mechanisms of circRNAs in progression, metastasis and drug resistance of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) needed to be clarified. Our previous study revealed the crucial role of Apatinib in ESCC therapy. However, the correlation between circRNAs and Apatinib resistance remained unclear. Methods: 3 pairs of tumor and paracancerous tissues of ESCC patients were used for RNA sequencing. Western blot analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), dual-luciferase reporter assays, apoptosis and animal assays were conducted to confirm the roles and specific mechanisms of hsa_circ_0003823 as well as the effects of it on Apatinib sensitivity in ESCC. Results: Our results revealed that hsa_circ_0003823 was highly expressed in ESCC and associated with poor prognosis. Further results indicated that hsa_circ_0003823 promoted proliferation and metastasis ability of ESCC. In the section of mechanism experiments, hsa_circ_0003823 regulated CRISP3 by targeting microRNA-607 (miR-607) to promote progression of ESCC. Besides, we found that silencing hsa_circ_0003823 improved Apatinib sensitivity. hsa_circ_0003823 resulted in Apatinib resistance by miR-607/CRISP3 axis. Conclusions: In this study, we elucidated the function of hsa_circ_0003823 and its role in promoting tumor progression, metastasis and Apatinib resistance of ESCC through miR-607/CRISP3 axis.

Combined External Ventricular Drainage and Endoscope-Assisted Microsurgery Using the Middle Frontal Gyrus Approach in Severe Ventricular Hemorrhage with Casting of the Fourth Ventricle.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate combined external ventricular drainage and endoscope-assisted microsurgery using the middle frontal gyrus approach in patients with severe ventricular hemorrhage with casting of the fourth ventricle and patients' recovery after this treatment. METHODS: Patients with severe ventricular hemorrhage with casting of the fourth ventricle (n = 41) were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Modified Graeb score was used to assess 3-day hematoma clearance rate before and after surgery, drainage tube extubation time for the 2 groups was compared, and time when blood clot in the fourth ventricle was not blocked with cerebrospinal fluid was compared. Glasgow Coma Scale was used to assess consciousness after surgery; Glasgow Coma Scale scores recorded 1 and 7 days after surgery were also compared. Modified Rankin Scale was used to evaluate patients' recovery 1 and 6 months after surgery. Hydrocephalus and intracranial infections in patients after surgery were recorded for 90 days. RESULTS: The 3-day hematoma clearance rate was dramatically higher in the intervention group. Modified Graeb score showed that more hemorrhage was delimited in 3 days in the intervention group. The intervention group exhibited significantly reduced length of block of the fourth ventricle and drainage tube extubation time. High Glasgow Coma Scale and modified Rankin Scale scores and significantly low incidence of complications (e.g., hydrocephalus and intracranial infection) were observed in patients in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: Combined external ventricular drainage and endoscope-assisted microsurgery using the middle frontal gyrus approach can effectively improve severe ventricular hemorrhage with casting of the fourth ventricle and enhance patients' neurological function and recovery.

Imaging characteristics, misdiagnosis and microsurgical outcomes of patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistula: a retrospective study of 32 patients.

Background: Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is an extremely rare spinal vascular malformation. As SDAVF exhibits no specific clinical manifestations nor diverse imaging results, it is easily misdiagnosed, resulting in delayed treatment and irreversible neurological damage. Most patients were initially misdiagnosed, but there were few reports on reducing misdiagnosis. Methods: A total of 32 consecutive patients, who presented to our institution (Shanghai Deji Hospital) with SDAVF between June 2013 and January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Data were collected on demographics, clinical presentation, imaging findings, follow-up, and clinical outcomes. The Aminoff-Logue scale (ALS) was used to assess clinical outcomes. Results: Of the 32 enrolled patients (3 females, mean age 59.1±3.8 years), 23 patients (71.9%) were misdiagnosed as acute myelitis (11 patients), intramedullary tumors (6 patients), lumbar disc herniation (4 patients), and other conditions (2 patients). All patients underwent surgical procedures under electrophysiological monitoring. Fistulas were found in all 32 patients and were successfully occluded. The mean follow-up period was 19.22±8.21 months (ranging from 2 weeks to 30 months). One year later, 20 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and 14 showed no T2 edema, and the edema was relieved in 6 patients. A total of 10 patients underwent enhancement MRI and no enhancement signs were detected. Among the 27 patients with long-time follow-up, the fistula had no residual or recurrence, 21 patients showed decreased ALS scores (P<0.05). Six patients exhibited nonsignificant improvement. No aggravating patient was found. Prognosis differed significantly between patients with ALS <6 and those with ALS ≥6 (P<0.05). Conclusions: Spinal angiography should be performed with full intubation, and microcatheter angiography can reduce misdiagnosis. SDAVF must be differentiated from acute myelitis, intramedullary tumor, and other spinal vascular malformations. Microsurgical treatment is effective with a low recurrence rate.

[Investigation of Virulence Variation of Enterovirus 71 Strains during Thermal Adaptive Evolution].

Objective: To study the virulence variation of enterovirus 71 (EV71) during thermal adaptive evolution, providing references for the prevention and control of the EV71-related hand, foot and mouth disease. Methods: Parental strains and thermal-adapted strains originating from EV71 sibling strains (lineage #100 and #101) were used for plaque assay validation, CCK-8 cytotoxicity experiment, and host proteomics studies after Vero cell infection. Plaque morphology and cell inhibition rate of the viral strains were obtained. Mass spectrometry was used to examine and analyze the functions of proteins that were differential expressed in the host cells. Results: Plaque morphology variation was found only in the heat-adapted strain of lineage #101. Increase in cell inhibition rate was observed in all the thermal-adapted strains, but the amount of increase varied in different strains. According to the results of clustering analysis and principal component analysis, after infection of Vero cells, the host cell protein profile of the heat-adapted strains was similar to that of the parental strains and the host cell protein profile of cold-adapted strains was similar to that of cell-adapted strains. It showed that 500 kinds of proteins presented inter-group difference in their expression, with 239 kinds being up-regulated proteins and 261 being down-regulated. The function of the up-regulated proteins were related to post-translational protein modification, while the functions of the down-regulated proteins were related to SRP-dependent cotranslational protein translocation/targeting to membrane and retrograde protein transport. Conclusion: Virulence variations of enterovirus 71 may accompany thermal adaptive evolution, but its mechanism of action still awaits further investigation.

[Microbial Community Structure on Microplastic Surface in the Grus leucogeranus Reserve of Poyang Lake].

As a new type of pollutant, microplastics have attracted increasing attention. Microplastics in aquatic ecosystems are accumulating at an unprecedented scale, causing significant environmental and economic impacts. In this study, sediments and different types of microplastic samples were collected from the Grus leucogeranus Reserve of Wuxing Reclamation Farm of Poyang Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in China. The main types of microplastics were film (PE), debris (PP1), fiber (PP2), and foam (PS), and the polymers were identified as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene in the study area. The structures of microbial communities (fungi and bacteria) were identified using 16S high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the Ace and Chao of bacteria between the surface of PE and PP1 and that of the surrounding sediments (P>0.05), whereas PP2 and PS were significantly lower than those in surrounding sediments (P<0.05). Ace and Chao of fungi showed that PE and PS had no significant differences with the sediment (P>0.05), and PP1 and PP2 were significantly lower than those in surrounding sediments (P<0.05). The species diversity Shannon and Simpson index of bacteria and fungi on different types of microplastic surfaces were lower than that of sediment. The bacterial communities on the sediment and microplastic surface mainly included Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. In the fungal community, Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Chytridiomycota were the dominant bacteria. Through KEGG functional prediction, it was found that most of the metabolic pathways with a significant difference between bacteria and sediments on the surface of microplastics and with an abundance ratio higher than 1% were related to metabolism. Compared with that of sediment, the metabolic pathways of PE and PP2 on microplastic surfaces were down-regulated mainly in cell motility, signal transduction, and carbohydrate metabolism, whereas the energy metabolism, general and global metabolism pathways, and cofactor metabolism were up-regulated. Compared with that of sediment, the bacterial metabolic pathways of PS and PP1 on microplastic surfaces were down-regulated, mainly including general and global metabolic pathways, translation, and exogenous biodegradation, and cell motility and signal transduction were up-regulated. However, the abundance of other functional genes in sediments and microplastic samples showed little difference. The results indicated that microplastics can change the structure of microbial communities, and the microbial community on the surface of microplastics could catalyze metabolic reactions and promote the decomposition of microplastics. The study of microplastic surface microbial structure in Poyang Lake can support management decisions to protect the ecological integrity of the lake.

Investigating the Effects of Intrinsic Motivation and Emotional Appeals Into the Link Between Organic Appeals Advertisement and Purchase Intention Toward Organic Milk.

Consumers care about healthy food. Thus, several firms use organic appeals advertising to change consumer attitudes and persuade them to purchase organic food. Organic appeals advertisement often presents content that provides information and knowledge about organic elements of a food product (e.g., health, safety, a lack of chemicals, and rich nutrition). In contrast, non-organic appeals advertisement does not present information about organic elements of a food product. This study aims to clarify the effect of organic appeals advertisement on consumer motivations and behavior. It uses the stimuli-organism-response model and self-determination motivation theory to investigate the relationship between organic appeals advertisement and purchase intention toward organic milk considering the mediating role of intrinsic motivation and the moderating role of emotional appeals. Two experimental designs are used to test the hypotheses. Results show that consumers receiving organic appeals advertisement have a higher intention to purchase organic milk than those receiving non-organic appeals advertisement. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is found to have a mediating role in the link between organic appeals advertisement and purchase intention. In other words, when consumers receive advertisements of an organic milk product, they have higher intrinsic motivation and hold higher intention to purchase organic milk products. Furthermore, emotional appeals have a moderating effect on the relationship between organic appeals advertisement and intrinsic motivation. The influence of organic appeals advertisement on intrinsic motivation is stronger when emotional appeals are positive and weaker when emotional appeals are negative.

Colchicine for Coronary Heart Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of colchicine administration for coronary heart disease remains controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the influence of colchicine administration versus placebo on treatment efficacy for coronary heart disease. METHODS: We have searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library databases through May 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of colchicine administration versus placebo in patients with coronary heart disease. This meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model. RESULTS: Six RCTs involving 6,321 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with control groups for coronary heart disease, colchicine intervention can significantly reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (odds ratio [OR] 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59 to 0.92; P = .006), but revealed no obvious impact on mortality (OR=0.93; 95% CI=0.63 to 1.36; P = .69), serious adverse events (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.31 to 1.61; P = .41), or restenosis (OR 1.02; 95% CI 0.63 to 1.64; P = .95). CONCLUSIONS: Colchicine treatment may be effective to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with coronary heart disease.

Multimodal sleep, an innovation for treating chronic insomnia: case report and literature review.

The authors present the clinical case of a 67-year-old man with severe insomnia for 5 years with an exacerbation about 1 year before consultation. He did not have enough concentration and energy for his daily work and developed depression and anxiety because of his excessive daytime sleepiness. During his insomniac state, a drug treatment provided partial relief, but the effects were not long-lasting. Consequently, the drug dosage increased, and major side effects gradually manifested. We decided to use a completely new therapeutic strategy for this patient to improve his sleep quality and mental symptoms. In time, the patient could stop oral medications and that is multimodal sleep. After the end of multimodal sleep, the patient typically experiences improvement in sleep quality and architecture. Additionally, the dosage of hypnotics used before multimodal sleep is discontinued without severe withdrawal symptoms. CITATION: Zhang J-F, Williams JP, Zhao Q-N, et al. Multimodal sleep, an innovation for treating chronic insomnia: case report and literature review. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(8):1737-1742.

The mitogenome of Ophidascaris wangi isolated from snakes in China.

Different species of the genus Ophidascaris (Baylis, 1921; Nematoda: Ascaridida, Ascaridoidea) are intestinal parasites of various snake species. More than 30 Ophidascaris species have been reported worldwide; however, few molecular genetic studies have been conducted on this genus. We sequenced the complete mitogenome of Ophidascaris wangi parasitizing two snake species of the family Colubridae, i.e., Elaphe carinata (Günther, 1864) and Dinodon rufozonatum. The mitogenome sequence of O. wangi was approximately 14,660 base pairs (bp) long and encoded 36 genes, including 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. Gene arrangement, genome content, and transcription direction were in line with those in Toxascaris leonina (Linstow, 1902; Ascaridida: Ascarididae). Phylogenetics of O. wangi and other ascaridoids were reconstructed based on the concatenated amino acid sequences of 12 PCGs, and on nucleotide sequences of 12 PCGs and two rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, and the results suggested that O. wangi constitutes a sister clade of Ascaris, Parascaris, Baylisascaris, and Toxascaris within the family Ascarididae, which is a sister clade of Toxocaridae. The mitogenome sequence of O. wangi obtained from the present study will be useful for future identification of the nematode worms in the genus Ophidascaris and will increase the understanding of population genetics, molecular epidemiology, and phylogenetics of ascaridoid nematodes in snakes.

A Novel Signaling Pathway Required for Arabidopsis Endodermal Root Organization Shapes the Rhizosphere Microbiome.

The Casparian strip (CS) constitutes a physical diffusion barrier to water and nutrients in plant roots, which is formed by the polar deposition of lignin polymer in the endodermis tissue. The precise pattern of lignin deposition is determined by the scaffolding activity of membrane-bound Casparian Strip domain proteins (CASPs), but little is known of the mechanism(s) directing this process. Here, we demonstrate that Endodermis-specific Receptor-like Kinase 1 (ERK1) and, to a lesser extent, ROP Binding Kinase1 (RBK1) are also involved in regulating CS formation, with the former playing an essential role in lignin deposition as well as in the localization of CASP1. We show that ERK1 is localized to the cytoplasm and nucleus of the endodermis and that together with the circadian clock regulator, Time for Coffee (TIC), forms part of a novel signaling pathway necessary for correct CS organization and suberization of the endodermis, with their single or combined loss of function resulting in altered root microbiome composition. In addition, we found that other mutants displaying defects in suberin deposition at the CS also display altered root exudates and microbiome composition. Thus, our work reveals a complex network of signaling factors operating within the root endodermis that establish both the CS diffusion barrier and influence the microbial composition of the rhizosphere.

Characterization and hypoglycemic effects of sulfated polysaccharides derived from brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida.

The brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida polysaccharides show various biological activities, but their hypoglycemic activity and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. Here, three fractions of sulfated polysaccharides Up-3, Up-4, and Up-5 were prepared by microwave-assisted extraction from U. pinnatifida. In vitro assays demonstrated that Up-3 and Up-4 had strong α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and Up-3, Up-4, and Up-5 could improve the glucose uptake in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells without affecting their viability. In vivo studies indicated Up-3 and Up-4 markedly reduced postprandial blood glucose levels. Up-U (a mixture of Up-3, Up-4, and Up-5), reduced fasting blood glucose levels, increased glucose tolerance and alleviated insulin resistance in HFD/STZ-induced hyperglycemic mice. Histopathological observation and hepatic glycogen measurement showed that Up-U alleviated the damage of the pancreas islet cell, reduced hepatic steatosis, and promoted hepatic glycogen synthesis. These findings suggest that Up-U could alleviate postprandial and HFD/STZ-induced hyperglycemia and was a potential agent for diabetes treatment.

Manipulating Extracellular Matrix Organizations and Parameters to Control Local Cancer Invasion.

Metastasis contributes to over 90 percent of cancer mortalities and may be influenced by the extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM microenvironments differ in matrix organization, cell-matrix adhesions, and fiber rigidity, which may affect cancer migration and, thus, should be investigated. To understand the interactions between cancer cells and the ECM, we simulate local invasion through ECM organizations of varying determinants. Randomly curved organizations of normal ovarian stroma exhibit minimal local invasion. In contrast, wave-like and parallel linear structures in reorganized ECM organizations provide contact guidance, which increases cancer invasiveness. ECM organizations with strong cell-matrix attachments generate cell pseudopodia, which aid in increasing invasion rate, while weaker attachments prevent the cells from attaching to the fibers and forming pseudopodia, limiting local invasion. ECM organizations with rigid fibers elongate the cell body, allowing them to form cell protrusions and spread rapidly. Conversely, soft fibers stimulate cell rounding and limit migration. Optimizing cell-matrix adhesions and fiber rigidity results in below 10 percent local invasion and reinforces the importance of using computational modeling to discover novel approaches to restricting cancer movement.