The CREB1/WNK1 axis promotes the tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer via regulating HIF-1.

The aim of this study was to explore the functions and molecular mechanisms of the WNK lysine deficient protein kinase 1 (WNK1) in the development of ovarian cancer. Firstly, loss- and gain-of-function assays were carried out and subsequently cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration were detected. Furthermore, WNK1 action on glucose uptake, lactate production and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level were assessed. The roles of WNK1 on cisplatin resistance were explored using CCK-8, colony formation, and flow cytometry in vitro. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot and qRT-PCR were conducted to determine the protein and mRNA expression. Additionally, tumor growth in vivo was also monitored. We found that the overexpression of WNK1 predicted a bad prognosis of ovarian cancer patients. WNK1 enhanced the malignant behavior and facilitated glycolysis of ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, WNK1 increased cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells. Mechanistically, we found that WNK1 expression was promoted by CREB1 at the transcriptional level. And CREB1 could facilitate ovarian cancer cells malignant behavior through target upregulating WNK1. Besides, we also showed that WNK1 facilitated the malignant behavior by accelerating HIF-1 expression. In xenograft tumor tissues, the downregulation of WNK1 significantly reduced HIF-1α expression. These data demonstrated that the CREB1/WNK1 axis could promote the tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer via accelerating HIF-1 expression, suggesting that the CREB1/WNK1 axis could be a potential target during the therapy of ovarian cancer.

A Longitudinal Study of Sleep Habits and Leukemia Incidence Among Postmenopausal Women.

We sought to assess the relationship between sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and leukemia incidence among postmenopausal women. This study included 130,343 postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years who were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) during 1993-1998. Information on self-reported typical sleep duration and sleep disturbance was obtained by questionnaire at baseline, and sleep disturbance level was defined according to the Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale (WHIIRS). WHIIRS scores of 0-4, 5-8, and 9-20 comprised 37.0%, 32.6%, and 30.4% of all women, respectively. After an average of 16.4 years (2,135,109 cumulative person-years) of follow-up, 930 of the participants were identified as having incident leukemia. Compared with women with the lowest level of sleep disturbance (WHIIRS score 0-4), women with higher sleep disturbance levels (WHIIRS scores of 5-8 and 9-20) had 22% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04, 1.43) and 18% (95% CI: 1.00, 1.40) excess risks of leukemia, respectively, after multivariable adjustment. A significant dose-response trend was found for the association between sleep disturbance and leukemia risk (P for trend = 0.048). In addition, women with the highest level of sleep disturbance had a higher risk of myeloid leukemia (for WHIIRS score 9-20 vs. WHIIRS score 0-4, hazard ratio = 1.39, CI: 1.05, 1.83). Higher sleep disturbance level was associated with increased risk of leukemia, especially for myeloid leukemia among postmenopausal women.

Indole-3-propionic acid alleviates sepsis-associated acute liver injury by activating pregnane X receptor.

BACKGROUND: The morbidity and mortality of sepsis are extremely high, which is a major problem plaguing human health. However, current drugs and measures for the prevention and treatment of sepsis have little effect. Sepsis-associated acute liver injury (SALI) is an independent risk factor for sepsis, which seriously affects the prognosis of sepsis. Studies have found that gut microbiota is closely related to SALI, and indole-3-propionic Acid (IPA) can activate Pregnane X receptor (PXR). However, the role of IPA and PXR in SALI has not been reported. METHODS: This study aimed to explore the association between IPA and SALI. The clinical data of SALI patients were collected and IPA level in feces was detected. The sepsis model was established in wild-type mice and PXR knockout mice to investigate the role of IPA and PXR signaling in SALI. RESULTS: We showed that the level of IPA in patients' feces is closely related to SALI, and the level of IPA in feces has a good ability to identify and diagnose SALI. IPA pretreatment significantly attenuated septic injury and SALI in wild-type mice, but not found in knockout PXR gene mice. CONCLUSIONS: IPA alleviates SALI by activating PXR, which reveals a new mechanism of SALI, and provides potentially effective drugs and targets for the prevention of SALI.

Bio-Inspired Electro-Thermal-Hygro Responsive Rewritable Systems with Temporal/Spatial Control for Environment-Interactive Information Display.

Utilization of rewritable luminescent materials for secure information storage and delivery has long been envisaged to reduce the cost and environmental wastes. However, it remains challenging to realize a temporally/spatially controlled display of the written information, which is crucial for secure information encryption. Here, inspired by bioelectricity-triggered skin pattern switching in cephalopods, an ideal rewritable system consisting of conductive graphene film and carbon dots (CDs) gel with blue-to-red fluorescence-color changes via water-triggered CDs aggregation and re-dispersion is presented. Its rewritability is guaranteed by using water ink to write on the CDs-gel and employing Joule heat of graphene film to evaporate water. Due to the highly controlled electrical stimulus, temporally/spatially controlled display is achieved, enabling on-demand delivery and duration time regulation of the written information. Furthermore, new-concept environment-interactive rewritable system is obtained by integrating sensitive acoustic/optical sensors and multichannel electronic time-delay devices. This work opens unprecedented avenues of rewritable systems and expands potential uses for information encryption/delivery.

Splitting one species into 22: an unusual tripling of molecular, morphological, and geographical differentiation in the fern family Didymochlaenaceae (Polypodiales).

The pantropical fern genus Didymochlaena (Didymochlaenaceae) has long been considered to contain one species only. Recent studies have resolved this genus/family as either sister to the rest of eupolypods I or as the second branching lineage of eupolypods I, and have shown that this genus is not monospecific, but the exact species diversity is unknown. In this study, a new phylogeny is reconstructed based on an expanded taxon sampling and six molecular markers. Our major results include: (i) Didymochlaena is moderately or weakly supported as sister to the rest of eupolypods I, highlighting the difficulty in resolving the relationships of this important fern lineage in the polypods; (ii) species in Didymochlaena are resolved into a New World clade and an Old World clade, and the latter further into an African clade and an Asian-Pacific clade; (iii) an unusual tripling of molecular, morphological and geographical differentiation in Didymochlaena is detected, suggesting single vicariance or dispersal events in individual regions and no evidence for reversals at all, followed by allopatric speciation at more or less homogeneous rates; (iv) evolution of 18 morphological characters is inferred and two morphological synapomorphies defining the family are recognized-the elliptical sori and fewer than 10 sori per pinnule, the latter never having been suggested before; (v) based on morphological and molecular variation, 22 species in the genus are recognized contrasting with earlier estimates of between one and a few; and (vi) our biogeographical analysis suggests an origin for Didymochlaena in the latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous and the initial diversification of the extant lineages in the Miocene-all but one species diverged from their sisters within the last 27 Myr, in most cases associated with allopatric speciation owing to geologic and climatic events, or dispersal.

Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate ameliorates neointima by protecting endothelial progenitor cells in diabetic mice.

BACKGROUND: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) transplantation is one of the effective therapies for neointima associated with endothelial injury. Diabetes impairs the function of EPCs and cumbers neointima prevention of EPC transplantation with an ambiguous mechanism. Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate (STS) is an endothelium-protective drug but whether STS protects EPCs in diabetes is still unknown. METHODS: EPCs were treated with High Glucose (HG), STS, and Nucleotide-binding Domain-(NOD) like Receptor 3 (NLRP3), caspase-1, the Receptor of Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) (RAGE) inhibitors, Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein (TXNIP) siRNA, and EPC proliferation, differentiation functions, and senescence were detected. The treated EPCs were transplanted into db/db mice with the wire-injured Common Carotid Artery (CCA), and the CD31 expression and neointima were detected in the CCA inner wall. RESULTS: We found that STS inhibited HG-induced expression of NLRP3, the production of active caspase-1 (p20) and mature IL-1ß, the expression of catalase (CAT) cleavage, γ-H2AX, and p21 in EPCs. STS restored the expression of Ki67, CD31 and von Willebrand Factor (vWF) in EPCs; AGEs were found in the HG-treated EPCs supernatant, and RAGE blocking inhibited the expression of TXNIP and the production of p20, which was mimicked by STS. STS recovered the expression of CD31 in the wire-injured CCA inner wall and the prevention of neointima in diabetic mice with EPCs transplantation. CONCLUSION: STS inhibits the aggravated neointima hyperplasia by protecting the proliferation and differentiation functions of EPC and inhibiting EPC senescence in diabetic mice. The mechanism is related to the preservation of CAT activity by inhibiting the RAGE-TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

Role of genetics in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a large cohort study in Chinese mainland population.

BACKGROUND: A large number of new causative and risk genes for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been identified mostly in patients of European ancestry. In contrast, we know relatively little regarding the genetics of ALS in other ethnic populations. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the genetics of ALS in an unprecedented large cohort of Chinese mainland population and correlate with the clinical features of rare variants carriers. METHODS: A total of 1587 patients, including 64 familial ALS (FALS) and 1523 sporadic ALS (SALS), and 1866 in-house controls were analysed by whole-exome sequencing and/or testing for G4C2 repeats in C9orf72. Forty-one ALS-associated genes were analysed. FINDINGS: 155 patients, including 26 (40.6%) FALS and 129 (8.5%) SALS, carrying rare pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants of ALS causative genes were identified. SOD1 was the most common mutated gene, followed by C9orf72, FUS, NEK1, TARDBP and TBK1. By burden analysis, rare variants in SOD1, FUS and TARDBP contributed to the collective risk for ALS (p<2.5e-6) at the gene level, but at the allelic level TARDBP p.Gly294Val and FUS p.Arg521Cys and p.Arg521His were the most important single variants causing ALS. Clinically, P/LP variants in TARDBP and C9orf72 were associated with poor prognosis, in FUS linked with younger age of onset, and C9orf72 repeats tended to affect cognition. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide essential information for understanding the genetic and clinical features of ALS in China and for optimal design of genetic testing and evaluation of disease prognosis.

Hysteresis effects of different levels of storm flooding on susceptible enteric infectious diseases in a central city of China.

BACKGROUND: Recently, attention has focused on the impact of global climate change on infectious diseases. Storm flooding is an extreme weather phenomenon that not only impacts the health of the environment but also worsens the spread of pathogens. This poses a significant challenge to public health security. However, there is still a lack of research on how different levels of storm flooding affect susceptible enteric infectious diseases over time. METHODS: Data on enteric infectious diseases, storm flooding events, and meteorology were collected for Changsha, Hunan Province, between 2016 and 2020. The Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test was used to identify the enteric infectious diseases that are susceptible to storm flooding. Then, the lagged effects of different levels of storm flooding on susceptible enteric infectious diseases were analyzed using a distributed lag nonlinear model. RESULTS: There were eleven storm flooding events in Changsha from 2016 to 2020, concentrated in June and July. 37,882 cases of enteric infectious diseases were reported. During non-flooding days, the daily incidence rates of typhoid/paratyphoid and bacillary dysentery were 0.3/100,000 and 0.1/100,000, respectively. During flooding days, the corresponding rates increased to 2.0/100,000 and 0.8/100,000, respectively. The incidence rates of both diseases showed statistically significant differences between non-flooding and flooding days. Correlation analysis shows that the best lags for typhoid/paratyphoid and bacillary dysentery relative to storm flooding events may be 1 and 3 days. The results of the distributed lag nonlinear model showed that typhoid/paratyphoid had the highest cumulative RR values of 2.86 (95% CI: 1.71-4.76) and 8.16 (95% CI: 2.93-22.67) after 4 days of general flooding and heavy flooding, respectively; and bacillary dysentery had the highest cumulative RR values of 1.82 (95% CI: 1.40-2.35) and 3.31 (95% CI: 1.97-5.55) after 5 days of general flooding and heavy flooding, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Typhoid/paratyphoid and bacillary dysentery are sensitive enteric infectious diseases related to storm flooding in Changsha. There is a lagging effect of storm flooding on the onset of typhoid/paratyphoid and bacillary dysentery, with the best lagging periods being days 1 and 3, respectively. The cumulative risk of typhoid/paratyphoid and bacillary dysentery was highest at 4/5 days lag, respectively. The higher of storm flooding, the higher the risk of disease, which suggests that the authorities should take appropriate preventive and control measures before and after storm flooding.

Plastome phylogenomic analysis reveals evolutionary divergences of Polypodiales suborder Dennstaedtiineae.

BACKGROUND: Polypodiales suborder Dennstaedtiineae contain a single family Dennstaedtiaceae, eleven genera, and about 270 species, and include some groups that were previously placed in Dennstaedtiaceae, Hypolepidaceae, Monachosoraceae, and Pteridaceae. The classification and phylogenetic relationships among these eleven genera have been poorly understood. To explore the deep relationships within suborder Dennstaedtiineae and estimate the early diversification of this morphologically heterogeneous group, we analyzed complete plastomes of 57 samples representing all eleven genera of suborder Dennstaedtiineae using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. RESULTS: The phylogenetic relationships of all the lineages in the bracken fern family Dennstaedtiaceae were well resolved with strong support values. All six genera of Hypolepidoideae were recovered as forming a monophyletic group with full support, and Pteridium was fully supported as sister to all the other genera in Hypolepidoideae. Dennstaedtioideae (Dennstaedtia s.l.) fell into four clades with full support: the Microlepia clade, the northern Dennstaedtia clade, the Dennstaedtia globulifera clade, and the Dennstaedtia s.s. clade. Monachosorum was strongly resolved as sister to all the remaining genera of suborder Dennstaedtiineae. Based on the well resolved relationships among genera, the divergence between Monachosorum and other groups of suborder Dennstaedtiineae was estimated to have occurred in the Early Cretaceous, and all extant genera (and clades) in Dennstaedtiineae, were inferred to have diversified since the Late Oligocene. CONCLUSION: This study supports reinstating a previously published family Monachosoraceae as a segregate from Dennstaedtiaceae, based on unique morphological evidence, the shady habitat, and the deep evolutionary divergence from its closest relatives.

Genetic factors for survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an integrated approach combining a systematic review, pairwise and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The time of survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) varies greatly, and the genetic factors that contribute to the survival of ALS are not well studied. There is a lack of a comprehensive study to elucidate the role of genetic factors in the survival of ALS. METHODS: The published studies were systematically searched and obtained from PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library without any language restrictions from inception to Oct 27, 2021. A network meta-analysis for ALS causative/risk genes and a systematic review and pairwise meta-analysis for other genetic modifiers were conducted. The PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022311646. RESULTS: A total of 29,764 potentially relevant references were identified, and 71 papers were eligible for analysis based on pre-decided criteria, including 35 articles in network meta-analysis for 9 ALS causative/risk genes, 17 articles in pairwise meta-analysis for four genetic modifiers, and 19 articles described in the systematic review. Variants in three genes, including ATXN2 (HR: 3.6), C9orf72 (HR: 1.6), and FUS (HR:1.8), were associated with short survival of ALS, but such association was not identified in SOD1, TARDBP, TBK1, NEK1, UBQLN2, and CCNF. In addition, UNC13A rs12608932 CC genotype and ZNF521B rs2275294 C allele also caused a shorter survival of ALS; however, APOE ε4 allele and KIFAP3 rs1541160 did not be found to have any effect on the survival of ALS. CONCLUSIONS: Our study summarized and contrasted evidence for prognostic genetic factors in ALS and would help to understand ALS pathogenesis and guide clinical trials and drug development.

The mutation spectrum of Parkinson-disease-related genes in early-onset Parkinson's disease in ethnic Chinese.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent genetic progress has shown many causative/risk genes linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), mainly in patients of European ancestry. The study aimed to investigate the PD-related genes and determine the mutational spectrum of early-onset PD in ethnic Chinese. METHODS: In this study, whole-exome sequencing and/or gene dosage analysis were performed in 704 early-onset PD (EOPD) patients (onset age ≤45 years) and 1866 controls. Twenty-six PD-related genes and 20 other genes linked to neurodegenerative and lysosome diseases were analysed. RESULTS: Eighty-two (11.6%, 82/704) EOPD patients carrying rare pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in PD-related genes were identified. The mutation frequency in autosomal recessive inheritance EOPD (42.9%, 27/63) was much higher than that in autosomal dominant inheritance EOPD (0.9%, 12/110) or sporadic EOPD (8.1%, 43/531). Bi-allelic mutations in PRKN were the most frequent, accounting for 5.1% of EOPD cases. Three common pathogenic variants, p.A53V in SNCA, p.G284R in PRKN and p.P53Afs*38 in CHCHD2, occur exclusively in Asians. The putative damaging variants from GBA, PRKN, DJ1, PLA2G6 and GCH1 contributed to the collective risk for EOPD. Notably, the protein-truncating variants in CHCHD2 were enriched in EOPD, especially for p.P53Afs*38, which was also found in three patients from an independent cohort of patients with late-onset PD (n = 1300). Functional experiments confirmed that truncated CHCHD2 variants cause loss of function and are linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals that the genetic spectrum of EOPD in Chinese, which may help develop genetic scanning strategies, provided more evidence supporting CHCHD2 in PD.

Genome-wide genetic links between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and autoimmune diseases.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological and clinical studies have suggested comorbidity between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and autoimmune disorders. However, little is known about their shared genetic architecture. METHODS: To examine the relation between ALS and 10 autoimmune diseases, including asthma, celiac disease (CeD), Crohn's disease (CD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multiple sclerosis (MS), psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type 1 diabetes (T1D), and ulcerative colitis (UC), and identify shared risk loci, we first estimated the genetic correlation using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies, and then analyzed the genetic enrichment leveraging the conditional false discovery rate statistical method. RESULTS: We identified a significant positive genetic correlation between ALS and CeD, MS, RA, and SLE, as well as a significant negative genetic correlation between ALS and IBD, UC, and CD. Robust genetic enrichment was observed between ALS and CeD and MS, and moderate enrichment was found between ALS and UC and T1D. Thirteen shared genetic loci were identified, among which five were suggestively significant in another ALS GWAS, namely rs3828599 (GPX3), rs3849943 (C9orf72), rs7154847 (G2E3), rs6571361 (SCFD1), and rs9903355 (GGNBP2). By integrating cis-expression quantitative trait loci analyses in Braineac and GTEx, we further identified GGNBP2, ATXN3, and SLC9A8 as novel ALS risk genes. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the shared risk genes were involved in four pathways including membrane trafficking, vesicle-mediated transport, ER to Golgi anterograde transport, and transport to the Golgi and subsequent modification. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate a specific genetic correlation between ALS and autoimmune diseases and identify shared risk loci, including three novel ALS risk genes. These results provide a better understanding for the pleiotropy of ALS and have implications for future therapeutic trials.

Camptocormia in patients with multiple system atrophy at different disease durations: frequency and related factors.

BACKGROUND: Camptocormia is common in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA). The current study was aimed at assessing the frequency of camptocormia and its related factors in MSA patients with different disease durations. Also, the impact of camptocormia on disability was evaluated. METHODS: A total of 716 patients were enrolled in the study. They were classified into three groups based on disease duration (≤ 3, 3-5, ≥ 5 years). Specific scales were used to evaluate the motor and non-motor symptoms. Disease severity was assessed using the Unified Multiple System Atrophy Rating Scale (UMSARS). The binary logistic regression model was used to explore the factors related to camptocormia. To analyze the impact of camptocormia on disability in patients with disease duration less than 5 years, propensity score matching (PSM) and stratified Cox regression analysis were used. RESULTS: In the current study, we found that the frequency of camptocormia was 8.9, 19.7 and 19.2% when the disease duration was ≤3, 3-5, ≥ 5 years, respectively. In the disease duration ≤3 years group, we found that MSA-parkinsonian subtype (MSA-P) (OR = 2.043, P = 0.043), higher total UMSARS score (OR = 1.063, P < 0.001), older age of onset (OR = 1.047, P = 0.042), and lower score on the frontal assessment battery (FAB) (OR = 0.899, P = 0.046) were associated with camptocormia. Only greater disease severity was associated with camptocormia in the group of patients with disease duration 3-5 years (OR = 1.494, P = 0.025) and in the group of patients with disease duration ≥5 years (OR = 1.076, P = 0.005). There was no significant impact of camptocormia on disability in patients with a disease duration of < 5 years (HR = 0.687, P = 0.463). CONCLUSION: The frequency of camptocormia increased with prolonged disease duration. Disease severity was related to camptocormia at different stages of the disease. The MSA-P subtype, older age of onset, and lower FAB score were associated with camptocormia in the early stage of the disease.

Lycorine inhibits cell proliferation and induced oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis via regulation of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in HT-3 cells.

Human cervical cancer is the fourth most common carcinoma in women in the world. The JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways crucially regulate cell growth and apoptosis. It is a significant target signaling pathway for the development of novel antitumor medicine. This study intended to explore whether lycorine could prevent HT-3 proliferation and induce apoptosis by targeting the JAK/STAT3 signaling cascade. The HT-3 cells were treated with various lycorine dosages and we analyzed cell growth, lipid peroxidation, antioxidants, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), DNA damage, apoptosis markers by different in vitro methodologies. Our results revealed that lycorine substantially reserved cell growth via decreased antioxidants, augmented reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation which leads to loss of ΔΨm, increased nuclear crumbling and chromatin condensation, thus resulting in representative increased apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, we analyzed that the molecular mechanical action of lycorine considerably repressed JAK1/STAT3 transactional activation and decrease its downstream molecules Bcl-2, and enhances the expressional activity of Bax, cytochrome c, caspase 3 and 9 in HT-3 cells. Finally, the fact that N-acetylcysteine inhibits lycorine-induced ROS-mediated apoptosis was confirmed in HT-3 cells. Thus, the results indicate that lycorine efficiently enhances apoptosis and inhibits HT-3 cell proliferation. These outcomes collectively proposed that lycorine could be a beneficial chemotherapeutic agent for treating and managing human cervical carcinoma.

Correlation Between High Expression of FOXA2 and Improved Overall Survival in Ovarian Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND The aim of the present work was to evaluate FOXA2 expression in ovarian cancer and to use integrated bioinformatics analysis to correlate it with patient prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS FOXA2 expression was evaluated in multiple cancers in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network relevant to FOXA2 was constructed using the Search Tool for Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRIN). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed of FOXA2 and relevant genes. Correlations between overall survival (OS), disease-free survival, and FOXA2 expression were evaluated. An immunohistochemical assay (IHC) was used to test for FOXA2 protein expression in 79 ovarian cancer specimens. RESULTS FOXA2 mRNA was upregulated in colorectal, stomach, liver, and endometrial cancers. In the PPI network, 21 protein nodes and 533 edges were constructed with a local clustering coefficient of 0.698, which indicated significant PPI enrichment (P<0.01). FOXA2 and relevant genes were mainly enriched in the signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells, cancer, and AMPK. A survival analysis indicated that OS was significantly longer in patients with higher versus lower FOXA2 protein expression (HR=0.73, P<0.01). The IHC assay showed that the FOXA2 protein was mainly positively expressed in the nucleoplasm of tumor cells with brown-yellow staining. Of the 79 ovarian cancer samples, 31 (39.2%) highly expressed FOXA2. The FOXA2 gene was correlated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging and with lymph node metastasis (both P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Upregulation of the FOXA2 gene was correlated with improved OS in patients with ovarian cancer and it can be used as a prognostic biomarker and potential treatment target.

Image reconstruction with the chaotic fiber laser in scattering media.

The reconstruction of the size, position, optical properties, and structure of the object in scattering media was realized with a chaotic fiber laser. The light from the chaotic fiber laser was split into two parts. One part was used as the detection signal to detect the object, and the other was used as the reference signal; then, the two signals were cross correlated. The attenuation of light in scattering media was attributed to scattering and absorption. The theoretical model of the peak value of cross correlation of the chaotic signals as projection data were established by the attenuation law, and the filtered back-projection algorithms were used to realize the image reconstruction. The mean squared error, the normalized mean squared error, the peak signal-to-noise ratio, and the structural similarity index of the reconstructed image were analyzed. The results show that the high resolution of the reconstructed image benefits from the high signal-to-noise ratio with the chaotic fiber laser based on a delta-like cross-correlation function.

Coding mutations in NUS1 contribute to Parkinson's disease.

Whole-exome sequencing has been successful in identifying genetic factors contributing to familial or sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). However, this approach has not been applied to explore the impact of de novo mutations on PD pathogenesis. Here, we sequenced the exomes of 39 early onset patients, their parents, and 20 unaffected siblings to investigate the effects of de novo mutations on PD. We identified 12 genes with de novo mutations (MAD1L1, NUP98, PPP2CB, PKMYT1, TRIM24, CEP131, CTTNBP2, NUS1, SMPD3, MGRN1, IFI35, and RUSC2), which could be functionally relevant to PD pathogenesis. Further analyses of two independent case-control cohorts (1,852 patients and 1,565 controls in one cohort and 3,237 patients and 2,858 controls in the other) revealed that NUS1 harbors significantly more rare nonsynonymous variants (P = 1.01E-5, odds ratio = 11.3) in PD patients than in controls. Functional studies in Drosophila demonstrated that the loss of NUS1 could reduce the climbing ability, dopamine level, and number of dopaminergic neurons in 30-day-old flies and could induce apoptosis in fly brain. Together, our data suggest that de novo mutations could contribute to early onset PD pathogenesis and identify NUS1 as a candidate gene for PD.

Aggregation-Induced Emissive Carbon Dots Gels for Octopus-Inspired Shape/Color Synergistically Adjustable Actuators.

Some living organisms such as the octopus have fantastic abilities to simultaneously swim away and alter body color/morphology for disguise and self-protection, especially when there is a threat perception. However, it is still quite challenging to construct artificial soft actuators with octopus-like synergistic shape/color change and directional locomotion behaviors, but such systems could enhance the functions of soft robotics dramatically. Herein, we proposed to utilize unique hydrophobic carbon dots (CDs) with rotatable surficial groups to construct the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) active glycol CDs polymer gel, which could be further employed to be interfacially bonded to an elastomer to produce anisotropic bilayer soft actuator. When putting the actuator on a water surface, glycol spontaneously diffused out from the gel layer to allow water intake, resulting in a color change from a blue dispersion fluorescence to red AIE and a shape deformation, as well as a large surface tension gradient that can promote its autonomous locomotion. Based on these findings, artificial soft swimming robots with octopus-like synergistic shape/color change and directional swimming motion were demonstrated. This study provides an elegant strategy to develop advanced multi-functional bio-inspired intelligent soft robotics.

A Urease-Containing Fluorescent Hydrogel for Transient Information Storage.

The improper handling of decrypted information can lead to the leakage of confidential data. Thus, there is increasing interest in the development of self-erasing decrypted data. Herein, we report a urease-containing fluorescent hydrogel for multistage information security protection. Information can be input into the fluorescent hydrogel, which is based on the protonated 4-(N,N-dimethylaminoethylene) amino-N-allyl-1,8-naphthalimide (DEAN-H+ ) and doped with urease, using metal ions, such as Zn2+ that coordinate with DEAN. Upon exposure to urea, urease produces NH3 , which reduces the fluorescence of the hydrogel. In the presence of urea, metal-coordinated hydrogel fluorescence decreases more slowly than the fluorescence of the hydrogel alone, revealing the information. The displayed information is then automatically erased within a few minutes. This work opens up a new insights in designing and fabricating information storage materials.

New insights into the evolution of the fern family Dennstaedtiaceae from an expanded molecular phylogeny and morphological analysis.

Dennstaedtiaceae has 270 species, a worldwide distribution, and an edge-colonizing habit that is unusual among ferns. Aneuploidy, polyploidy, and hybrids are common in the family. Combining morphology, anatomy, chromosome number, and geographical distributions with our newly generated molecular phylogeny, we provide new insights into the evolution of the family. We paid special attention to Hypolepis. Our molecular dataset of five cpDNA markers is the most comprehensive to date, comprising 72 species (and a total of 98 taxa), of which 33 are Hypolepis (45 taxa). We also generated divergence-time estimates through BEAST with four fossil calibrations. We recovered three sub-families in Dennstaedtiaceae: Monachosoroideae (monogeneric), Dennstaedtioideae, and Hypolepidoideae. Monachosoroideae has a chromosome base number of x = 28; Hypolepidoideae of x = 26; while in Dennstaedtioideae this is still obscure, with different numbers ranging from 30 to 47. Dennstaedtioideae genera require re-circumscriptions because Dennstaedtia is polyphyletic. In Hypolepidoideae, the six genera are monophyletic. Within Hypolepis, seven geographically distinct clades were recovered; but we found no strong morphological characters to define them. Within the family, the long-creeping rhizome evolved with a change in habit: from shade-tolerant to edge-colonizers, to thicket-formers. Short or extremely large leaves are derived conditions. Sorus shape and position, glandular hairs, and prickles are homoplastic. Hybridization/allotetraploidy in Hypolepis can be suggested by the combined data. In our phylogenetic hypothesis, Dennstaedtiaceae originated around 135 Ma, with the split of Monachosoroideae around 94 Ma, and the split between Dennstaedtioideae/Hypolepidoideae around 78 Ma. All extant genera are inferred to be relatively young. Hypolepis started to diversify around 10 Ma, and it probably originated in east Asia and/or Oceania. Hypolepis reached the Neotropics twice: through elements of the Hypolepis rugosula clade (which originated at 7 Ma), and through the ancestor of the Neotropical clade, which originated at 3.1 Ma and was prickly.