Diversification of freshwater crabs on the sky islands in the Hengduan Mountains Region, China.

The numerous naturally-fragmented sky islands (SIs) in the Hengduan Mountains Region (HMR) of southwestern China constitute discontinuous landscapes where montane habitats are isolated by dry-hot valleys which have fostered exceptional species diversification and endemicity. However, studies documenting the crucial role of SI on the speciation dynamics of native freshwater organisms are scarce. Here we used a novel set of comprehensive genetic markers (24 nuclear DNA sequences and complete mitogenomes), morphological characters, and biogeographical information to reveal the evolutionary history and speciation mechanisms of a group of small-bodied montane potamids in the genus Tenuipotamon. Our results provide a robustly supported phylogeny, and suggest that the vicariance events of these montane crabs correlate well with the emergence of SIs due to the uplift of the HMR during the Late Oligocene. Furthermore, ancestrally, mountain ridges provided corridors for the dispersal of these montane crabs that led to the colonization of moist montane-specific habitats, aided by past climatic conditions that were the crucial determinants of their evolutionary history. The present results illustrated that the mechanisms isolating SIs are reinforced by the harsh-dry isolating climatic features of dry-hot valleys separating SIs and continue to affect local diversification. This offers insights into the causes of the high biodiversity and endemism shown by the freshwater crabs of the HMR-SIs in southwestern China.

Characterization of genes involved in micronutrients and toxic metals detoxification in Brassica napus by genome-wide cDNA library screening.

Stresses caused by deficiency/excess of mineral nutrients or of pollution of toxic metals have already become a primary factor in limiting crop production worldwide. Genes involved in minerals and toxic metals accumulation/tolerance could be potential candidates for improving crop plants with enhanced nutritional efficiency and environmental adaptability. In this study, we first generated a high-quality yeast expression cDNA library of Brassica napus (Westar), and 46 genes mediating excess micronutrients and toxic metals detoxification were screened using the yeast genetic complementation system, including 11, 5, 6, 14, 6, and 5 genes involved in cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), boron (B), and copper (Cu) tolerance, respectively. Characterization of genes mediating excess ions stress resistance in this study is beneficial for us to further understand ions homeostasis in B. napus.

Dual-function DEFENSIN 8 mediates phloem cadmium unloading and accumulation in rice grains.

Grain cadmium (Cd) is translocated from source to sink tissues exclusively via phloem, though the phloem Cd unloading transporter has not been identified yet. Here, we isolated and functionally characterized a defensin-like gene DEFENSIN 8 (DEF8) highly expressed in rice (Oryza sativa) grains and induced by Cd exposure in seedling roots. Histochemical analysis and subcellular localization detected DEF8 expression preferentially in pericycle cells and phloem of seedling roots, as well as in phloem of grain vasculatures. Further analysis demonstrated that DEF8 is secreted into extracellular spaces possibly by vesicle trafficking. DEF8 bound to Cd in vitro, and Cd efflux from protoplasts as well as loading into xylem vessels decreased in the def8 mutant seedlings compared with the wild type. At maturity, significantly less Cd accumulation was observed in the mutant grains. These results suggest that DEF8 is a dual function protein that facilitates Cd loading into xylem and unloading from phloem, thus mediating Cd translocation from roots to shoots and further allocation to grains, representing a phloem Cd unloading regulator. Moreover, essential mineral nutrient accumulation as well as important agronomic traits were not affected in the def8 mutants, suggesting DEF8 is an ideal target for breeding low grain Cd rice.

Classifying Chinese Medicine Constitution Using Multimodal Deep-Learning Model.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a multimodal deep-learning model for classifying Chinese medicine constitution, i.e., the balanced and unbalanced constitutions, based on inspection of tongue and face images, pulse waves from palpation, and health information from a total of 540 subjects. METHODS: This study data consisted of tongue and face images, pulse waves obtained by palpation, and health information, including personal information, life habits, medical history, and current symptoms, from 540 subjects (202 males and 338 females). Convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, and fully connected neural networks were used to extract deep features from the data. Feature fusion and decision fusion models were constructed for the multimodal data. RESULTS: The optimal models for tongue and face images, pulse waves and health information were ResNet18, Gate Recurrent Unit, and entity embedding, respectively. Feature fusion was superior to decision fusion. The multimodal analysis revealed that multimodal data compensated for the loss of information from a single mode, resulting in improved classification performance. CONCLUSIONS: Multimodal data fusion can supplement single model information and improve classification performance. Our research underscores the effectiveness of multimodal deep learning technology to identify body constitution for modernizing and improving the intelligent application of Chinese medicine.

Two NPF transporters mediate iron long-distance transport and homeostasis in Arabidopsis.

Iron (Fe) transport and reallocation are essential to Fe homeostasis in plants, but it is unclear how Fe homeostasis is regulated, especially under stress. Here we report that NPF5.9 and its close homolog NPF5.8 redundantly regulate Fe transport and reallocation in Arabidopsis. NPF5.9 is highly upregulated in response to Fe deficiency. NPF5.9 expresses preferentially in vasculature tissues and localizes to the trans-Golgi network, and NPF5.8 showed a similar expression pattern. Long-distance Fe transport and allocation into aerial parts was significantly increased in NPF5.9-overexpressing lines. In the double mutant npf5.8 npf5.9, Fe loading in aerial parts and plant growth were decreased, which were partially rescued by Fe supplementation. Further analysis showed that expression of PYE, the negative regulator for Fe homeostasis, and its downstream target NAS4 were significantly altered in the double mutant. NPF5.9 and NPF5.8 were shown to also mediate nitrate uptake and transport, although nitrate and Fe application did not reciprocally affect each other. Our findings uncovered the novel function of NPF5.9 and NPF5.8 in long-distance Fe transport and homeostasis, and further indicated that they possibly mediate nitrate transport and Fe homeostasis independently in Arabidopsis.

The effects of epidural/spinal opioids in labour analgesia on neonatal outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: Epidural/spinal opioids are increasingly used to relieve parturients' pain in labour. Some studies indicate that opioids can induce side effects in neonates, such as respiratory depression and neurobehavioural changes. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify the effects of opioids in labour analgesia on neonates. SOURCE: PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and EMBASE™ were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The neonatal data of Apgar scores, Neurological and Adaptive Capacity Scores (NACS), and umbilical cord pH values were extracted. Statistical analyses were carried out using Review Manager 5.2 and Stata(®) 10. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Twenty-one trials with 2,859 participants were included in our meta-analysis. No difference in the incidence of Apgar scores < 7 was shown between the opioid and control groups at one minute (risk difference [RD] 0.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -3.0 to 2.0, P = 0.78; I (2) = 0%, 95% CI: 0 to 50) and at five minutes (RD -1.0%, 95% CI: -2.0 to 1.0, P = 0.31; I(2) = 0%, 95% CI: 0 to 50). No significant differences were found in the NACS at two hours (mean difference [MD] -0.35, 95% CI: -1.70 to 1.01, P = 0.62; I(2) = 0%, 95% CI: 0 to 79) and at 24 hr (MD -0.45, 95% CI: -1.36 to 0.46, P = 0.33; I(2) = 3%, 95% CI: 0 to 26). Also, no significant differences were found in umbilical cord artery pH (MD -0.02, 95% CI: -0.06 to 0.03, P = 0.48; I(2) = 80%, 95% CI: 46 to 92) and vein pH (MD -0.03, 95% CI: -0.07 to 0.00, P = 0.08; I(2) = 77%, 95% CI: 36 to 91). No significant publication bias was found. CONCLUSION: The common doses of fentanyl and sufentanil used with an epidural/spinal technique in labour analgesia are safe for neonates up to 24 hr after delivery. In future studies, more attention should be paid to the long-term side effects in neonates.