Supplementation of Mangiferin to a High-Starch Diet Alleviates Hepatic Injury and Lipid Accumulation Potentially through Modulating Cholesterol Metabolism in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

Starch is a common source of carbohydrates in aqua feed. High-starch diet can cause hepatic injury and lipid accumulation in fish. Mangiferin (MGF) can regulate lipid metabolism and protect the liver, but there is limited research on its effects in fish. In the present study, we investigated whether MGF could ameliorate high-starch-induced hepatic damage and lipid accumulation in channel catfish. The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were fed one of four experimental diets for eight weeks: a control diet (NCD), a high-starch diet (HCD), an HCD supplemented with 100 mg/kg MGF (100 MGF), and an HCD supplemented with 500 mg/kg MGF (500 MGF). The results demonstrated that the weight gain rate (WGR) (p = 0.031), specific growth rate (SGR) (p = 0.039), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) (p = 0.040) of the 500 MGF group were significantly higher than those of the NCD group. MGF supplementation alleviated liver damage and improved antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) compared to those of the HCD group (p = 0.000). In addition, dietary MGF significantly reduced plasma glucose (GLU) (p = 0.000), triglyceride (TG) (p= 0.001), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) (p = 0.000) levels. It is noteworthy that MGF significantly reduced the plasma total cholesterol (TC) levels (p = 0.000) and liver TC levels (p = 0.005) of channel catfish. Dietary MGF improves cholesterol homeostasis by decreasing the expression of genes that are involved in cholesterol synthesis and transport (hmgcr, sqle, srebf2, sp1, and ldlr) and increasing the expression of genes that are involved in cholesterol catabolism (cyp7a1). Among them, the largest fold decrease in squalene epoxidase (sqle) expression levels was observed in the 100 MGF or 500 MGF groups compared with the HCD group, with a significant decrease of 3.64-fold or 2.20-fold (p = 0.008). And the 100 MGF or 500 MGF group had significantly decreased (by 1.67-fold or 1.94-fold) Sqle protein levels compared to those of the HCD group (p = 0.000). In primary channel catfish hepatocytes, MGF significantly down-regulated the expression of sqle (p = 0.030) and reduced cholesterol levels (p = 0.000). In NCTC 1469 cells, MGF significantly down-regulated the expression of sqle (p = 0.000) and reduced cholesterol levels (p = 0.024). In conclusion, MGF effectively inhibits sqle expression and reduces cholesterol accumulation. The current study shows how MGF supplementation regulates the metabolism and accumulation of cholesterol in channel catfish, providing a theoretical basis for the use of MGF as a dietary supplement in aquaculture.

Single Atom-Dispersed Silver Incorporated in ZIF-8-Derived Porous Carbon for Enhanced Photothermal Activity and Antibacterial Activities.

Purpose: Recently, Single-atom-loaded carbon-based material is a new environmentally friendly and stable photothermal antibacterial nanomaterial. It is still a great challenge to achieve single-atom loading on carbon materials. Materials and Methods: Herein, We doped single-atom Ag into ZIF-8-derived porous carbon to obtain Ag-doped ZIF-8-derived porous carbon(AgSA-ZDPC). The as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, XPS, FESEM, EDX, TEM, and HAADF-STEM which confirmed that the single-atom Ag successfully doped into the porous carbon. Further, the photothermal properties and antimicrobial activity of AgSA-ZDPC have been tested. Results: The results showed that the temperature increased by 30 °C after near-infrared light irradiation(1 W/cm2) for 5 min which was better than ZIF-8-derived porous carbon(ZDPC). It also exhibits excellent photothermal stability after the laser was switched on and off 5 times. When the AgSA-ZDPC concentration was greater than 50 µg/mL and the near-infrared irradiation was performed for 5 min, the growth inhibition of S. aureus and E. coli was almost 100%. Conclusion: This work provides a simple method for the preparation of single-atom Ag-doped microporous carbon which has potential antibacterial application.

Development and validation of a blood routine-based extent and severity clinical decision support tool for ulcerative colitis.

Monitoring extent and severity is vital in the ulcerative colitis (UC) follow-up, however, current assessment is complex and low cost-effectiveness. We aimed to develop a routine blood-based clinical decision support tool, Jin's model, to investigate the extent and severity of UC. The multicentre retrospective cohort study recruited 975 adult UC inpatients and sub-grouped into training, internal validation and external validation set. Model was developed by logistics regression for the extent via Montreal classification and for the severity via Mayo score, Truelove and Witts score (TWS), Mayo endoscopic score (MES) and Degree of Ulcerative colitis Burden of Luminal Inflammation (DUBLIN) score. In Montreal classification, left-sided and extensive versus proctitis model achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.78 and 0.81 retrospectively. For severity, Mayo score model, TWS model, MES model and DUBLIN score model achieved an AUROC of 0.81, 0.70, 0.74 and 0.70 retrospectively. The models also were evaluated with satisfactory calibration and clinical unity. Jin's model was free with open access at http://jinmodel.com:3000/ . Jin's model is a noninvasive, convenient, and efficient approach to assess the extent and severity of UC.

Resting-state network predicts the decision-making behaviors of the proposer during the ultimatum game.

Objective. The decision-making behavior of the proposer is a key factor in achieving effective and equitable maintenance of social resources, particularly in economic interactions, and thus understanding the neurocognitive basis of the proposer's decision-making is a crucial issue. Yet the neural substrate of the proposer's decision behavior, especially from the resting-state network perspective, remains unclear.Approach. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the resting-state network and decision proposals and further established a multivariable model to predict the proposers' unfair offer rates in the ultimatum game.Main results.The results indicated the unfair offer rates of proposers are significantly related to the resting-state frontal-occipital and frontal-parietal connectivity in the delta band, as well as the network properties. And compared to the conservative decision group (low unfair offer rate), the risk decision group (high unfair offer rate) exhibited stronger resting-state long-range linkages. Finally, the established multivariable model did accurately predict the unfair offer rates of the proposers, along with a correlation coefficient of 0.466 between the actual and predicted behaviors.Significance. Together, these findings demonstrated that related resting-state frontal-occipital and frontal-parietal connectivity may serve as a dispositional indicator of the risky behaviors for the proposers and subsequently predict a highly complex decision-making behavior, which contributed to the development of artificial intelligence decision-making system with biological characteristics as well.

A method of gas sensor drift compensation based on intrinsic characteristics of response curve.

Sensor drift, which is an inevitable and challenging problem in gas sensing, seriously affects the detection performance of sensor. In this study, a new sensor drift compensation method, which is based on intrinsic characteristic of sensory response, is proposed. The dataset of gas sensor for two types of gas with a period of 36 months are collected and two features (one is steady-state feature, another is transient feature) are extracted. Their relationship, which is found to be certain for different months and sensors, is explored. Then, drift compensation method is processed based on this relationship, aiming to make the drifted sensor features adjusted to that of month 1, which is considered as having no drift phenomenon. Moreover, small amount of dataset is necessary for model building and it has strong scalability. Finally, SVM is employed for proving the performance of the drift compensation method proposed in this study. The results show the efficacy of 22 month of continuous monitoring, which has been enough for most application scenario, and almost 20% of increasement of correct classification rate of SVM after drift compensation, which indicates the effect of drift compensation method.

Cyclophilin 37 maintains electron transport via the cytochrome b6/f complex under high light in Arabidopsis.

Plants have evolved multiple mechanisms to cope with diverse types of light stress, particularly the regulation of the electron transport chain (ETC). Under high light (HL) conditions, the balance of electron flux in the ETC is disturbed, which leads to the overaccumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and results in photodamage and photoinhibition. The cytochrome (Cyt) b6/f complex, which coordinates electron transfer between photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII), plays an essential role in regulating the ETC and initiating photoprotection. However, how the Cyt b6/f complex is maintained under HL conditions remains unclear. Here, we report that the activity of the Cyt b6/f complex is sustained by thylakoid-localized cyclophilin 37 (CYP37) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Compared with wild-type plants, cyp37 mutants displayed an imbalance in electron transport from Cyt b6/f to PSI under HL stress, which led to increased ROS accumulation, decreased anthocyanin biosynthesis, and increased chlorophyll degradation. Surprisingly, CYP37's role in regulating ETC balance was independent of photosynthesis control, which was indicated by a higher Y (ND), an indicator of P700 oxidation in PSI. Furthermore, the interaction between CYP37 and photosynthetic electron transfer A (PetA), a subunit of the Cyt b6/f complex, suggests that the central function of CYP37 is to maintain Cyt b6/f complex activity rather than to serve as an assembly factor. Our study provides insights into how plants balance electron flow between PSII and PSI via Cyt b6/f complex under HL.

A Single Central Pattern Generator for the Control of a Locomotor Rolling Wave in Mollusc Aplysia.

Locomotion in mollusc Aplysia is implemented by a pedal rolling wave, a type of axial locomotion. Well-studied examples of axial locomotion (pedal waves in Drosophila larvae and body waves in leech, lamprey, and fish) are generated in a segmented nervous system via activation of multiple coupled central pattern generators (CPGs). Pedal waves in molluscs, however, are generated by a single pedal ganglion, and it is unknown whether there are single or multiple CPGs that generate rhythmic activity and phase shifts between different body parts. During locomotion in intact Aplysia, bursting activity in the parapedal commissural nerve (PPCN) was found to occur during tail contraction. A cluster of 20 to 30 P1 root neurons (P1Ns) on the ventral surface of the pedal ganglion, active during the pedal wave, were identified. Computational cluster analysis revealed that there are 2 phases to the motor program: phase I (centered around 168°) and phase II (centered around 357°). PPCN activity occurs during phase II. The majority of P1Ns are motoneurons. Coactive P1Ns tend to be electrically coupled. Two classes of pedal interneurons (PIs) were characterized. Class 1 (PI1 and PI2) is active during phase I. Their axons make a loop within the pedal ganglion and contribute to locomotor pattern generation. They are electrically coupled to P1Ns that fire during phase I. Class 2 (PI3) is active during phase II and innervates the contralateral pedal ganglion. PI3 may contribute to bilateral coordination. Overall, our findings support the idea that Aplysia pedal waves are generated by a single CPG.

Electroencephalographic Network Topologies Predict Antidepressant Responses in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder.

Medication therapy seems to be an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). However, although the efficacies of various medicines are equal or similar on average, they vary widely among individuals. Therefore, an understanding of methods for the timely evaluation of short-term therapeutic response and prediction of symptom improvement after a specific course of medication at the individual level at the initial stage of treatment is very important. In our present study, we sought to identify a neurobiological signature of the response to short-term antidepressant treatment. Related brain network analysis was applied in resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) datasets from patients with MDD. The corresponding EEG networks were constructed accordingly and then quantitatively measured to predict the efficacy after eight weeks of medication, as well as to distinguish the therapeutic responders from non-responders. The results of our present study revealed that the corresponding resting-state EEG networks became significantly weaker after one week of treatment, and the eventual medication efficacy was reliably predicted using the changes in those network properties within the one-week medication regimen. Moreover, the corresponding resting-state networks at baseline were also proven to precisely distinguish those responders from other individuals with an accuracy of 96.67% when using the spatial network topologies as the discriminative features. These findings consistently provide a deeper neurobiological understanding of antidepressant treatment and a reliable and quantitative approach for personalized treatment of MDD.

CaSWC4 regulates the immunity-thermotolerance tradeoff by recruiting CabZIP63/CaWRKY40 to target genes and activating chromatin in pepper.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum) responds differently to high temperature stress (HTS) and Ralstonia solanacearum infection (RSI) but employs some shared transcription factors (TFs), such as CabZIP63 and CaWRKY40, in both cases. How the plant activates and balances these distinct responses, however, was unclear. Here, we show that the protein CaSWC4 interacts with CaRUVBL2 and CaTAF14b and they all act positively in pepper response to RSI and thermotolerance. CaSWC4 activates chromatin of immunity or thermotolerance related target genes of CaWRKY40 or CabZIP63 by promoting deposition of H2A.Z, H3K9ac and H4K5ac, simultaneously recruits CabZIP63 and CaWRKY40 through physical interaction and brings them to their targets (immunity- or thermotolerance-related genes) via binding AT-rich DNA element. The above process relies on the recruitment of CaRUVBL2 and TAF14 by CaSWC4 via physical interaction, which occurs at loci of immunity related target genes only when the plants are challenged with RSI, and at loci of thermotolerance related target genes only upon HTS. Collectively, our data suggest that CaSWC4 regulates rapid, accurate responses to both RSI and HTS by modulating chromatin of specific target genes opening and recruiting the TFs, CaRUVBL2 and CaTAF14b to the specific target genes, thereby helping achieve the balance between immunity and thermotolerance.

CaAIL1 Acts Positively in Pepper Immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum by Repressing Negative Regulators.

APETALA2 (AP2) subfamily transcription factors participate in plant growth and development, but their roles in plant immunity remain unclear. Here, we discovered that the AP2 transcription factor CaAIL1 functions in immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum infection (RSI) in pepper (Capsicum annuum). CaAIL1 expression was upregulated by RSI, and loss- and gain-of-function assays using virus-induced gene silencing and transient overexpression, respectively, revealed that CaAIL1 plays a positive role in immunity to RSI in pepper. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) uncovered a subset of transcription-factor-encoding genes, including CaRAP2-7, CaGATA17, CaGtf3a and CaTCF25, that were directly targeted by CaAIL1 via their cis-elements, such as GT or AGGCA motifs. ChIP-qPCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed these findings. These genes, encoding transcription factors with negative roles in immunity, were repressed by CaAIL1 during pepper response to RSI, whereas genes encoding positive immune regulators such as CaEAS were derepressed by CaAIL1. Importantly, we showed that the atypical EAR motif (LXXLXXLXX) in CaAIL1 is indispensable for its function in immunity. These findings indicate that CaAIL1 enhances the immunity of pepper against RSI by repressing a subset of negative immune regulators during the RSI response through its binding to several cis-elements in their promoters.

Analysis of the application value of serum antibody detection for staging of COVID-19 infection.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has now spread all over the world. The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China reported 78 439 cured and discharged cases, 4634 deaths, 83 462 confirmed cases and 760 818 close contacts as of 25 June 2020. Joint detection of nucleic acids and antibodies has become an important laboratory diagnostic for COVID-19 patients. Disease progression and infection stage can be established based on the biological characteristics of these tests. However, there have been few studies of the different infection stages of COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective analysis to explore the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients at different infection stages and to characterize the characteristics of specific serum antibodies at each stage. These pieces of data will provide a theoretical basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Analysis of the diagnostic value of serum specific antibody testing for coronavirus disease 2019.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to various regions worldwide. As of 27 April 2020, according to real-time statistics released by the World Health Organization, there have been 84 341 confirmed cases and 4643 deaths in China, with more than 2 979 484 confirmed cases and 206 450 deaths outside China. The detection of antibodies produced during the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections has become an important laboratory method for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, at present, a little research on these specific antibodies has been conducted. In this study, a retrospective analysis was used to explore the dynamic changes of serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibody and factors affecting diagnostic efficacy, so as to provide a theoretical basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Does Inside Equal Outside? Relations Between Older Adults' Implicit and Explicit Aging Attitudes and Self-Esteem.

Attitudes toward one's own aging and self-esteem are crucial variables in predicting older adults' physical and mental health and can significantly affect their will to live, cognitive judgement and acceptance of medical treatment. However, little is known about the relation between the implicit attitude toward one's own aging and implicit self-esteem. This research explored consistencies between implicit and explicit attitudes toward one's own aging and between implicit and explicit self-esteem and explored their relations in 70 older adults aged 60-91 years old using the word and picture versions of the Implicit Association Test and standardized scales. The results showed that (a) the explicit and implicit attitudes toward one's own aging represented independent structures, and the implicit and explicit self-esteem also represented independent structures; (b) subjects generally showed positive explicit attitudes toward their own aging and negative implicit attitudes toward their own aging while also showing high explicit self-esteem and relatively low implicit self-esteem; (c) subjects' implicit attitudes toward their own aging and implicit self-esteem were positively correlated, and explicit attitudes toward their own aging and explicit self-esteem were also positively correlated. The more positive the subjects' explicit attitudes toward their own aging, the higher their explicit self-esteem levels were. The more negative their implicit attitudes toward their own aging, the higher their implicit self-esteem levels were. We concluded that older adults' explicit and implicit attitudes toward their own aging and self-esteem are independent structures; older adults' explicit and implicit attitudes toward their own aging have predictive effects on their explicit and implicit self-esteem in different directions, respectively.

Effect partition of climate and catchment changes on runoff variation at the headwater region of the Yellow River based on the Budyko complementary relationship.

The headwater region of the Yellow River (HRYR) is one of the most important water supply areas of the whole river basin, which has suffered a serious water shortage problem for recent years. A better understanding of impacts of climate and catchment changes on runoff variation will help to determine efficient measures to deal with the runoff reduction in the Yellow River. The Budyko complementary relationship between the partial elasticity of runoff (R) with respect to precipitation (P) and that with potential evapotranspiration (E0) was used in this study to partition the effects of climate and catchment changes on runoff variation at the HRYR. The upper and lower bounds of the contributions of climate and catchment changes to runoff variation were determined for every five years during 1961-2010. Results show that the complementary relation method based on the Budyko hypothesis can partition the contributions of climate and catchment changes to runoff variation effectively. And the climate changes are the main reasons (account for 60%-70% of the runoff variation) for runoff reduction at the HRYR. The sensitivity coefficient of R with respect to P has a significant decreasing trend at the 0.05 level with arid ratio (E0/P) and that with respect to E0 has a significant increasing trend at the 0.05 level with E0/P, indicating that with drying climate, R becomes more insensitive to climate changes. More precipitation is consumed by evapotranspiration returning to the atmosphere, leading to the runoff reduction at the HRYR.

A clarifying method that improves imaging of Aplysia ganglia.

Improvements in the imaging of neural circuits are essential for studies of network function in both invertebrates and vertebrates. Therefore, CLARITY, a new imaging enhancement technique developed for mouse brains has attracted broad interest from researchers working on other species. We studied the potential of a modified version of CLARITY to enhance the imaging of ganglia in an invertebrate Aplysia. For example, we have modified the hydrogel solution and designed a small container for the Aplysia ganglia. The ganglia were first processed for immunohistochemistry, and then for CLARITY. We examined the compatibility of these techniques and the extent to which the imaging of fluorescence improved using confocal microscopy. We found that CLARITY did indeed enhance the imaging of CP2 immunopositive neurons in Aplysia ganglia. For example, it improved visualization of small, weak immunoreactive neurons deep in the ganglia. Our modifications of CLARITY make this new method suitable for future use in Aplysia experiments. Furthermore, our techniques are likely to facilitate imaging in other invertebrate ganglia.

Correlation between electric potential and peristaltic behavior in Physarum polycephalum.

Plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is a model species of eukaryotic microorganisms for studying amoeboid movement. Plasmodium's natural movements are characterized by the rhythmic back-and-forth streaming of cytoplasm peristalsis, which results in the directed locomotion of plasmodium, and the periodic change of the electric potential on the surface of plasmodium. Although it was suggested the causal connection between the cytoplasmic streaming and the electric potential in P. polycephalum, the relationship between its plasmodium peristaltic behavior and the surface electric potential had not been statistically proven. In this study, based on the modern microscopic observation and the new electric potential measurement, we proved the consistence between the frequency spectrums of the electric potential wave and the peristaltic wave during the growth of plasmodium and the synchronization of their waveforms through cross-correlational analysis. And we concluded that the correlation exists between the peristaltic wave and the electric potential wave. This study added new evidence to the hypothesis of the sharing inner biological mechanism between plasmodium's peristaltic behavior and electric potential as previous studies indicated, and brought a new perspective towards the future research on amoeboid movement.

Complementary interactions between command-like interneurons that function to activate and specify motor programs.

Motor activity is often initiated by a population of command-like interneurons. Command-like interneurons that reliably drive programs have received the most attention, so little is known about how less reliable command-like interneurons may contribute to program generation. We study two electrically coupled interneurons, cerebral-buccal interneuron-2 (CBI-2) and CBI-11, which activate feeding motor programs in the mollusk Aplysia californica. Earlier work indicated that, in rested preparations, CBI-2, a powerful activator of programs, can trigger ingestive and egestive programs. CBI-2 reliably generated ingestive patterns only when it was repeatedly stimulated. The ability of CBI-2 to trigger motor activity has been attributed to the two program-promoting peptides it contains, FCAP and CP2. Here, we show that CBI-11 differs from CBI-2 in that it contains FCAP but not CP2. Furthermore, it is weak in its ability to drive programs. On its own, CBI-11 is therefore less effective as a program activator. When it is successful, however, CBI-11 is an effective specifier of motor activity; that is, it drives mostly ingestive programs. Importantly, we found that CBI-2 and CBI-11 complement each other's actions. First, prestimulation of CBI-2 enhanced the ability of CBI-11 to drive programs. This effect appears to be partly mediated by CP2. Second, coactivation of CBI-11 with CBI-2 makes CBI-2 programs immediately ingestive. This effect may be mediated by specific actions that CBI-11 exerts on pattern-generating interneurons. Therefore, different classes of command-like neurons in a motor network may make distinct, but potentially complementary, contributions as either activators or specifiers of motor activity.