Effects of Early Adverse Life Events on Depression and Cognitive Performance from the Perspective of the Heart-Brain Axis.

Early adverse life events (EALs) increase susceptibility to depression and impair cognitive performance, but the physiological mechanisms are still unclear. The target of this article is to clarify the impact of adverse childhood experiences on emotional and cognitive performance from the perspective of the heart-brain axis. We used the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) to test cognitive function and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess adverse childhood experiences. Heart rate variability (HRV) and electroencephalograms (EEG) were acquired at rest. We observed that subjects with depression had experienced more traumatic events during their childhood. Furthermore, they exhibited lower heart rate variability and higher power in the delta, theta, and alpha frequency bands. Moreover, heart rate variability partially mediated the association between childhood trauma exposure and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggested that adverse life events in childhood could influence the development of depression in adulthood, which might be linked to cardiac autonomic dysfunction and altered brain function.

Non-invasive Assessment of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis Risk in Early Invasive Breast Cancer Adopting Automated Breast Volume Scanning-Based Radiomics Nomogram: A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the work described here was to develop a non-invasive tool based on the radiomics and ultrasound features of automated breast volume scanning (ABVS), clinicopathological factors and serological indicators to evaluate axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) in patients with early invasive breast cancer (EIBC). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 179 ABVS images of patients with EIBC at a single center from January 2016 to April 2022 and divided the patients into training and validation sets (ratio 8:2). Additionally, 97 ABVS images of patients with EIBC from a second center were enrolled as the test set. The radiomics signature was established with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. Significant ALNM predictors were screened using univariate logistic regression analysis and further combined to construct a nomogram using the multivariate logistic regression model. The receiver operating characteristic curve assessed the nomogram's predictive performance. DISCUSSION: The constructed radiomics nomogram model, including ABVS radiomics signature, ultrasound assessment of axillary lymph node (ALN) status, convergence sign and erythrocyte distribution width (standard deviation), achieved moderate predictive performance for risk probability evaluation of ALNs in patients with EIBC. Compared with ultrasound, the nomogram model was able to provide a risk probability evaluation tool not only for the ALNs with positive ultrasound features but also for micrometastatic ALNs (generally without positive ultrasound features), which benefited from the radiomics analysis of multi-sourced data of patients with EIBC. CONCLUSION: This ABVS-based radiomics nomogram model is a pre-operative, non-invasive and visualized tool that can help clinicians choose rational diagnostic and therapeutic protocols for ALNM.

Identification of yield-related genes through genome-wide association: case study of weeping forsythia, an emerging medicinal crop.

KEY MESSAGE: This study identified candidate genes related to fruit yield for an emerging medicinal crop, weeping forsythia. BACKGROUND: The genetic basis of crop yield is an agricultural research hotspot. Identifying the genes related to yield traits is the key to increase the yield. Weeping forsythia is an emerging medicinal crop that currently lacks excellent varieties. The genes related to fruit yield in weeping forsythia have not been identified. OBJECTIVE: Thus, we aimed to screen the candidate genes related to fruit yield of weeping forsythia by using genome-wide association analysis. METHODS: Here, 60 samples from the same field and source of weeping forsythia were collected to identify its yield-related candidate genes. Association analysis was performed on the variant loci and the traits related to yield, i.e., fruit length, width, thickness, and weight. RESULTS: Results from admixture, neighbor-joining, and kinship matrix analyses supported the non-significant genetic differentiation of these samples. Significant association was found between 2 variant loci and fruit length, 8 loci and fruit width, 24 loci and fruit thickness, and 13 loci and fruit weight. Further search on the 20 kb up/downstream of these variant loci revealed 1 gene related to fruit length, 16 genes related to fruit width, 12 genes related to fruit thickness, and 13 genes related to fruit weight. Among which, 4 genes, namely, WRKY transcription factor 35, salicylic acid-binding protein, auxin response factor 6, and alpha-mannosidase were highly related to the fruit development of weeping forsythia. CONCLUSION: This study identify four candidate genes related to fruit development, which will provide useful information for the subsequent molecular-assisted and genetic breeding of weeping forsythia.

Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Physical Diseases and Associated Factors: A Large-Scale Field Survey in General Hospitals in China.

Introduction: To investigate the characteristic of anxiety and depression among patients in general hospitals, and explore the degree of the clinical symptoms and correlated social economic factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey of anxiety and depression in patients with physical diseases, who were suspected of depression and anxiety based on their clinical performance by their physicians and PHQ ≧ 8, from various clinical departments of 57 general hospitals in China. Data regarding demographic characteristics and clinical characteristics were collected. Social and psychological factors and the severity of anxiety or depression were collected through self-rating scales. Finally, we used multivariate logistic regression to identify the factors associated with anxiety and depression in patients with physical diseases. Results: A total of 2,105 (84.6%) valid and completed questionnaires were returned. The proportion of anxiety, depression, combined depression and anxiety, either anxiety or depression among the patients with physical diseases from all clinical departments was 63.3, 75.1, 57.1, and 81.2% respectively. Further regression analysis indicated that gender, monthly income, specific physical diseases, personality traits, social supports and life negative events were related factors of both anxiety and depression. Conclusions: Anxiety and depression were common in patients with physical diseases, with a high proportion of co-morbidity of anxiety and depression. Females, patients with cancer, poor social support and negative life events reported more severe anxiety and depression. The results may help to understand the present situation of anxiety and depression in general hospitals in china, and identify the patients with high risk of depression and anxiety.

Transcriptomic responses to drought stress among natural populations provide insights into local adaptation of weeping forsythia.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the genetic mechanisms of local adaptation is an important emerging topic in molecular ecology and evolutionary biology. RESULTS: Here, we identify the physiological changes and differential expression of genes among different weeping forsythia populations under drought stress in common garden experiments. Physiological results showed that HBWZ might have higher drought tolerance among four populations. RNA-seq results showed that significant differential expression in the genes responding to the synthesis of flavonoids, aromatic substances, aromatic amino acids, oxidation-reduction process, and transmembrane transport occured among four populations. By further reanalysis of results of previous studies, sequence differentiation was found in the genes related to the synthesis of aromatic substances among different weeping forsythia populations. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our study supports the hypothesis that the dual differentiation in gene efficiency and expression increases among populations in response to heterogeneous environments and is an important evolutionary process of local adaptation. Here, we proposed a new working model of local adaptation of weeping forsythia populations under different intensities of drought stress, which provides new insights for understanding the genetic mechanisms of local adaptation for non-model species.

The design of hollow PdO-Co3O4 nano-dodecahedrons with moderate catalytic activity for Li-O2 batteries.

Hollow PdO-Co3O4 nano-dodecahedrons with moderate catalytic activity were designed as electrocatalysts for Li-O2 batteries, and not only reduce the overpotentials effectively but also improve the reversibility of the ORR and OER, and cycle for more than 90 cycles stably with extremely low overpotentials.

Abnormalities in P300 components in depression: an ERP-sLORETA study.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in P300 components occur in depressed patients, but the brain regions contributing to these changes remain unclear. AIMS: Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the underlying neural activation of P300 components in patients with depression to explore brain regions related to depression. METHODS: P300 components were evoked by an oddball auditory paradigm and recorded from 30 patients with current depression, as well as 30 age-, gender-, and education level-matched healthy controls. The standardized Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA) method was used to explore the source activation of P300 components. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, depressed patients tended to exhibit lower P200 and P300 amplitudes and prolonged P300 latency. In depressed patients, P200 source activations were reduced in the right insula, right precentral gyrus, left anterior cingulate, medial frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. Decreased source activations of P300 were identified in the right insula, postcentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, transverse temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and paracentral gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: Extensive dysfunction over the right hemisphere and bilateral prefrontal dysfunction may be involved in the pathophysiology of depression.

The P300 component decreases in a bimodal oddball task in individuals with depression: An event-related potentials study.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated auditory-visual stimulation-induced P300 and examined whether P300 was differentially modulated between individuals with clinical depression and healthy controls. We hypothesized that the P300 component would significantly differ between individuals with depression and healthy individuals Specifically, we predicted that the P300 component induced by the bimodal oddball task would be significantly different from that induced by the unimodal task. METHODS: Forty-five individuals with depression and forty-five healthy controls participated in this study. All participants were instructed to complete three oddball tasks-auditory (A), visual (V), and bimodal (AV)-while their electroencephalographic signals were recorded. RESULTS: Individuals with depression had a lower P300 amplitude and a longer latency than controls in the bimodal task. P300 amplitudes in the bimodal task were significantly higher than in the auditory or visual tasks in both groups. In the depression group, the P300 amplitude was negatively correlated with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) scores in the bimodal task. CONCLUSIONS: Our results, which agree with those reported previously, suggest that there is a heightened P300 amplitude sensitivity in the bimodal task in individuals with depression. Our data also suggest that P300 amplitudes in the bimodal task may reflect the severity of depression. SIGNIFICANCE: The reduced task-related ERP response in individuals with depression suggests significant impairments in these individuals in stimulus integration and response functions.

[Community structure and leaf trait diversity in a vulnerable species, Phoebe chekiangensis (Lauraceae).] / æ¸å±æ¤ç‰©æµ™æ±Ÿæ¥ ç¾¤è½ç»“æž„åŠå¶ç‰‡æ€§çŠ¶å¤šæ ·æ€§.

Phoebe chekiangensis, as one original species of 'Nanmu with golden tint', harbors limited natural distribution regions, which is recognized as a vulnerable species in China under nationwide protection. Under the background of global climate change, it is of scientific significance to study the community structure and diversity of the natural populations of P. chekiangensis. In this study, community structure, species diversity and the phenotypic variation leaf traits in the communities of thirteen residue natural populations were analyzed. A total of 235 vascular species from 162 genera and 87 families were found in 16 plots within 13 natural populations, including 221 seed plants from 151 genera and 79 families. The species diversity in tree layer of community in Kaihua, Zhejiang and Linan, Zhejiang was significantly lower than that of other communities due to severe disturbance, while intermediate disturbance promoted the species diversity of shrub layer in community in Jianning, Fujian, and slight disturbance was beneficial to natural regeneration of P. chekiangensis. Foliage phenotype was important for species identification within Phoebe genus. There existed substantial variation in foliage phenotypic diversity among and within populations. The mean coefficient of variation was 17.2%, ranging from 10.4% to 27.5%. The variation was greater among populations (53.6%) than within populations (17.0%). Mean phenotypic differentiation coefficient was 75.1% among populations, indicating that the variance among populations was the main source for the phenotypic variation of the species. Results from the cluster analysis indicated that the 13 natural populations were divided into two distinct groups based on the Euclidean distance (10 cm), with stochastic variation.

[Current prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis infection in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of clonorchiasis in Jiangmen City. METHODS: From May to December 2011, each town was randomly chosen from east, south, west, north and central area of 7 cities/districts of Jiangmen City. Four or five villages were randomly selected from each town. In each village, the residents above 3-year-old in 10% randomly sampled families were treated as research objects. Total of 14,000 fecal boxes were issued and 12,661 ones back. Eggs in stool were examined by modified Kato-Katz thick smear method (three slides per specimen). RESULTS: A total of 1316 clonorchiasis cases were found from 12,661 pepople in 140 villages with a prevalence of 10.39% (1316/12,661). The average egg density was 98.3 eggs per gram (EPG) feces. Among 7 cities/districts, the prevalence in Pengjiang District (26.68%, 402/1507) was the highest, and that of Taishan City (0.93%, 19/2049) was the lowest. The egg density in Heshan City was the highest (225.4 EPG) and the lowest one was found in Taishan City (5.13 EPG). The prevalence was negatively related with the distance to major rivers (r=-0.61, P<0.01). The prevalence and the egg density in males and females was 13.20% (807/6112) and 80.9 EPG, and 7.77% (509/6549) and 39.4 EPG, respectively. The prevalence and intensity of infection increased obviously in the groups of above 20-year-old. The people with a higher prevalence was the group of 60-69 year-old, and the people above 70 years showed heavier infection (153.8 EPG). Light, moderate and heavy infection occupied 99.91%, 0.09%, and 0. CONCLUSION: Clonorchiasis is endemic in seven districts of Jiangmen City with different epidemic degrees. There are significant differences in the prevalence and intensity of infection among different areas. The villages with higher prevalence distribute along the middle and lower sections of the two major rivers.

[Characteristics of rain season atmospheric PM2.5 concentration and its water-soluble ions contents in forest parks along an urban-rural gradient in Guangzhou City of South China].

During the rainy season (April-September) of 2012, the atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 mm (PM2.5) were sampled from the forest parks in the urban area, suburban area, and rural area of Guangzhou City. The mass concentration of PM2.5 and its water-soluble ions (SO4(2-), NO3-, NO2-, Cl-, F-, Na+, NH4+, Ca2+, K+, and Mg2+) contents were also measured. In the forest parks in the urban area, suburban area, and rural area, the diurnal variation of PM2.5 mass concentration was 21.8-161.7, 19.4-156.3, and 17.2-66.5 microg x m(-3), with an arithmetic average being 55.9, 49.8, and 44.4 microg x m(-3), respectively. SO4(2-), Na+, and NH4+ were the main components of water-soluble ions in the PM2.5, and the SO4(2-) had the highest content and decreased gradually from urban to rural forest parks. The contribution of the SO2 and NOx in the PM2.5 from coal combustion to the forest parks was larger than that from vehicle exhaust, but presented a decreasing trend from urban to rural forest parks, indicating that vehicle exhaust had a greater contribution to the atmospheric SO2 and NOx in the urban forest park. In the sampling period, the contribution of sea salt to the water soluble fractions (especially K+) of the PM2.5 was greater for the suburban forest park than for the other two parks. The equivalent concentration of the NH4+ in the PM2.5 was far less than those of the SO4(2-) and NO3-, with a neutralization ratio being much lower than 1.0, which suggested that the PM2.5 had a higher acidity. The PM2.5 acidity had an increasing trend from rural to urban forest parks.

[Pilot observation on the effect of integrated control measures against clonorchiasis in Pengjiang District of Jiangmen City].

From June to December in 2008, five villages were randomly chosen from Pengjiang District of Jiangmen city and about five hundred residents from each village were examined for clonorchiasis by Kato-Katz method (three slides per specimen). Fifty residents from each village were re-examined one month after treatment. One year later 50 treated residents were chosen from Dalin village and Sanya village for fecal examination. Questionnairing was conducted to determine the knowledge rate on clonorchiasis prevention among residents. The percentage and usage of sanitary toilets were investigated. The average infection rate of clonorchiasis from five villages was 21.5%(537/2501). 86.6%(465/537) of clonorchiasis received treatment voluntarily. One month after treatment the infection rate in four villages declined significantly. The positive rate showed no significant difference between one month and one year after treatment in Dalin and Sanya villages (P>0.05) . Questionairing indicated that 41.2%(170/413) of the clonorchiasis cases ate raw fish frequently, which was significantly higher than those non-infected people [4.2%, 8/192] (P<0.05). After health education, the knowledge awareness rate raised from 23.1% (135/584) to 84.5% (349/413) (P<0.05). The dissemination and usage of sanitary toilets were 93.2% (38 068/40 848) and 100%, respectively.

[Identification of plant species based on DNA barcode technology].

It is crucial for the studies of taxonomy and biodiversity by using DNA barcode technology to fast and accurately make species identification in the forests across tropics and temperate zones. In this study, the 183 plant species in a 20 hm2 subtropical forest plot in Dinghushan (DHS) National Nature Reserve of South China were sampled and sequenced, and the matK, rbcL, and psbA-trnH were employed to generate multi-locus barcodes. For the plot, the psbA-trnH possessed the highest integral success rate, i. e., the product of sequencing recovery and correct species identification (75%), followed by matK (70%), and rbcL (56%). A combination of three-locus barcode (matK, rbcL and psbA-trnH) could identify greater than 87% of the total species, followed by two-locus barcode (85% for matK+psbA-trnH, 83% for rbcL+psbA-trnH, and 81% for matK+rbcL). A comparison was made with the previously published results from one subtropical forest plot (LFDP in Puerto Rico, 143 species) and two tropical forest plots (BCI in Panama, 296 species; and NRS in French Guiana, 254 species) to evaluate the universality and species identification correctness of the proposed DNA barcodes for these four forest plots. For the plots in tropics and subtropics, the sequencing success rate of rbcL, psbA-trnH and matK were 93% and 95.1%, 91.5% and 94.6%, and 68.5% and 79.7%, respectively. The combination of matK + rbcL showed a high identification capacity in geographically restricted regions in taxonomic groups, whereas the three-locus barcode had a high rate of correct species identification both in tropics (84%) and in subtropics (90%).

Recombinant immunotoxin anti-c-Met/PE38KDEL inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of gastric cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Our study aims to evaluate the anti-growth effects of recombinant immunotoxin (IT) anti-c-Met/PE38KDEL on gastric cancer cells, and its mechnisms. METHODS: Gastric cancer cells were treated with increasing doses of IT and c-Met protein was quantified by Western blotting. Cell proliferation was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK). [3H]-leucine incorporation assay was used to evaluate IT inhibition of protein synthesis. Cell apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry. Caspase activities were measured using colorimetric protease assays. RESULTS: Cell growth and protein synthesis of the gastric cancer cell lines were suppressed by IT in a dose- and time-dependent manner. IT also induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The apoptosis rates of gastric cancer cell lines MKN-45 and SGC7901 were 19.19% and 27.37%, respectively when treated with 50 ng/ml of IT. There were significant increase of caspase-3 activity at 24 hr of IT treatment (100 ng/ml) (P < 0.01) in these gastric cancer cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: IT anti-c-Met/PE38KDEL has anti-growth effects on the gastric cancer cell lines in vitro, and it provides an experimental basis for c-Met-targeted therapy towards in vivo testing.

[Cloning and expression of the gene encoding rat IgE-dependent histamine-releasing factor and effect study on the recombinant protein].

AIM: To clone and express the gene encoding rat IgE-dependent histamine-releasing factor (rHRF) and to study the effect of recombinant rHRF to induce histamine release from rat sensitized mast cells. METHODS: The complete coding region of rHRF was cloned and expressed in BL21 cells. The soluble recombinant rHRF was purified. Aliquots of the mast cells obtained from the lungs of OVA-immunized rats were separately stimulated by recombinant rHRF at different concentration. The released histamine was measured by the OPT spectrofluorometric procedure. RESULTS: The cloned DNA fragment showed 97% nucleotide sequence identity and 95% deduced amino acid sequence identity with the mRNA of rat IgE-dependent histamine-releasing factor (or translationally controlled tumor protein) in GenBank. The recombinant rHRF showed a relative molecular mass of 24 000 in SDS-PAGE. The purified rHRF which was independent of the allergen induced histamine releasing from the sensitized mast cells in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: The recombinant rHRF, which showed the effect of inducing histamine release from sensitized mast cells, would play an important role in the allergen diseases.