Discovery of a new limestone karst-restricted odorous frog from northern Guangdong, China (Anura, Ranidae, Odorrana).

Karstic landscapes play an important role in biodiversity formation and often contain high levels of endemism. However, site-endemic taxa in karstic landscapes are being threatened by exploitation and weak legal protection. In this study, we describe Odorranaconcelata Wang, Zeng, & Lin, sp. nov., a limestone karst-restricted odorous frog from northern Guangdong, China. This new species shows distinctive genetic divergence and morphological differences from its congeners. Phylogenetic results suggest that the new species represents an independent lineage that is grouped with O.lipuensis and O.liboensis based on the mitochondrial 16S and 12S ribosomal RNA genes. We recommend the new species be listed as Vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN categorization as it is only known from the type locality with limited microhabitats and is threatened by habitat degradation.

Corrigendum to "Inhibition of Uncoupling Protein 2 Enhances the Radiosensitivity of Cervical Cancer Cells by Promoting the Production of Reactive Oxygen Species".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2020/5135893.].

Inhibition of Uncoupling Protein 2 Enhances the Radiosensitivity of Cervical Cancer Cells by Promoting the Production of Reactive Oxygen Species.

OBJECTIVE: The mechanism of enhanced radiosensitivity induced by mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP2 was investigated in HeLa cells to provide a theoretical basis as a novel target for cervical cancer treatment. METHODS: HeLa cells were irradiated with 4 Gy X-radiation at 1.0 Gy/min. The expression of UCP2 mRNA and protein was assayed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. UCP2 siRNA and negative control siRNA fragments were constructed and transfected into HeLa cells 24 h after irradiation. The effect of UCP2 silencing and irradiation on HeLa cells was determined by colony formation, CCK-8 cell viability, γH2AX immunofluorescence assay of DNA damage, Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis assay, and propidium iodide cell cycle assay. The effects on mitochondrial structure and function were investigated with fluorescent probes including dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay of reactive oxygen species (ROS), rhodamine 123, and MitoTracker Green assay of mitochondrial structure and function. RESULTS: Irradiation upregulated UCP2 expression, and UCP2 knockdown decreased the survival of irradiated HeLa cells. UCP2 silencing sensitized HeLa cells to irradiation-induced DNA damage and led to increased apoptosis, cell cycle arrest in G2/M, and increased mitochondrial ROS. Increased radiosensitivity was associated with an activation of P53, decreased Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, cyclin B, CDC2, Ku70, and Rad51 expression, and increased Apaf-1, cytochrome c, caspase-3, and caspase-9 expression. CONCLUSIONS: UCP2 inhibition augmented the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells, and it may be a potential target of radiotherapy of advanced cervical cancer.

[Treatment of Highly Concentrated Swine Wastewater and Its Degradation Processes Using Three Matrix Materials].

The direct discharge of wastewater from pig farms can restrict wetland plant growth meaning that constructed wetlands (CWs) have generally low treatment efficiency. The treatment of farming wastewater using pre-ecological treatment technologies can be used to ensure that effluent concentrations reach the tolerable limits of wetland plants. This study focused on the efficient use of crop straw for reducing the pollution load of swine wastewater. Using field-scale pilot tests, wheat straw, straw, and corn stalk were used as test biological matrix pool fillers to treat the farming wastewater. Continuous intake of wastewater and a hydraulic retention time of 7 days was adopted. When the average concentrations of COD, TN, NH4+-N, NO3--N, and TP in the influent were 1652.83 mg·L-1, 371.31 mg·L-1, 303.51 mg·L-1, 0.67 mg·L-1, and 65.22 mg·L-1, respectively, wheat straw had the greatest removal effect on COD, TN, and TP, achieving a removal rate of 32.1%, 40.9%, and 33.3%, respectively. The removal efficiency of straw on NH4+-N was highest, reaching 43.4%. After 180 days, the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose of the three matrix materials were not completely decomposed. The degradation rate of lignin was lower than for cellulose and hemicellulose; the degradation of lignin and cellulose in the straw was fastest; and the degradation hemicellulose in wheat straw was fastest. The results show that wheat straw and straw offer a higher efficiency treatment for swine wastewater than corn stalk, and the suggested replacement cycle period is five months. These results provide initial data to support the application of biological matrix materials in the treatment of swine wastewater.

Salt processed food and gastric cancer in a Chinese population.

To investigate the association between salt processed food and gastric cancer, a hospital based case-control study was conducted in a high risk area of China. One hundred and seven newly diagnosed cases with histological confirmation of gastric cancer and 209 controls were recruited. Information on dietary intake was collected with a validated food frequency questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was applied to estimate the odds ratios with adjustment for other potential confounders. Comparing the high intake group with never consumption of salt processed foods, salted meat, pickled vegetables and preserved vegetables were significantly associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. Meanwhile, salt taste preference in diet showed a dose-response relationship with gastric cancer. Our results suggest that consumption of salted meat, pickled and preserved vegetables, are positively associated with gastric cancer. Reduction of salt and salt processed food in diets might be one practical measure to preventing gastric cancer.

Exposure to the self-face facilitates identification of dynamic facial expressions: influences on individual differences.

A growing literature suggests that the self-face is involved in processing the facial expressions of others. The authors experimentally activated self-face representations to assess its effects on the recognition of dynamically emerging facial expressions of others. They exposed participants to videos of either their own faces (self-face prime) or faces of others (nonself-face prime) prior to a facial expression judgment task. Their results show that experimentally activating self-face representations results in earlier recognition of dynamically emerging facial expression. As a group, participants in the self-face prime condition recognized expressions earlier (when less affective perceptual information was available) compared to participants in the nonself-face prime condition. There were individual differences in performance, such that poorer expression identification was associated with higher autism traits (in this neurocognitively healthy sample). However, when randomized into the self-face prime condition, participants with high autism traits performed as well as those with low autism traits. Taken together, these data suggest that the ability to recognize facial expressions in others is linked with the internal representations of our own faces.

Seeing yourself helps you see others.

It has been proposed that self-face representations are involved in interpreting facial emotions of others. We experimentally primed participants' self-face representations. In Study 1, we assessed eye tracking patterns and performance on a facial emotion discrimination task, and in Study 2, we assessed emotion ratings between self and nonself groups. Results show that experimental priming of self-face representations increases visual exploration of faces, facilitates the speed of facial expression processing, and increases the emotional distance between expressions. These findings suggest that the ability to interpret facial expressions of others is intimately associated with the representations we have of our own faces.