Anthropogenic disturbance driving population decline of a dominant tree in East Asia evergreen broadleaved forests over the last 11,000 years.

Current biodiversity loss is generally considered to have been caused by anthropogenic disturbance, but it is unclear when anthropogenic activities began to affect biodiversity loss. One hypothesis suggests it began with the Industrial Revolution, whereas others propose that anthropogenic disturbance has been associated with biodiversity decline since the early Holocene. To test these hypotheses, we examined the unique vegetation of evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs) in East Asia, where humans have affected landscapes since the early Holocene. We adopted a genomic approach to infer the demographic history of a dominant tree (Litsea elongata) of EBLFs. We used Holocene temperature and anthropogenic disturbance factors to calculate the correlation between these variables and the historical effective population size of L. elongata with Spearman statistics and integrated the maximum-entropy niche model to determine the impact of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance on fluctuation in its effective population size. We identified 9 well-defined geographic clades for the populations of L. elongata. Based on the estimated historical population sizes of these clades, all the populations contracted, indicating persistent population decline over the last 11,000 years. Demographic history of L. elongata and human population change, change in cropland use, and change in irrigated rice area were significantly negatively correlated, whereas climate change in the Holocene was not correlated with demographic history. Our results support the early human impact hypothesis and provide comprehensive evidence that early anthropogenic disturbance may contribute to the current biodiversity crisis in East Asia.

Advances in mesenchymal stem cells therapy for tendinopathies / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

Tendinopathies are chronic diseases of an unknown etiology and associated with inflammation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a viable therapeutic option to combat the pathological progression of tendinopathies, not only because of their potential for multidirectional differentiation and self-renewal, but also their excellent immunomodulatory properties. The immunomodulatory effects of MSCs are increasingly being recognized as playing a crucial role in the treatment of tendinopathies, with MSCs being pivotal in regulating the inflammatory microenvironment by modulating the immune response, ultimately contributing to improved tissue repair. This review will discuss the current knowledge regarding the application of MSCs in tendinopathy treatments through the modulation of the immune response.

Two zinc finger proteins, VdZFP1 and VdZFP2, interact with VdCmr1 to promote melanized microsclerotia development and stress tolerance in Verticillium dahliae.

BACKGROUND: Melanin plays important roles in morphological development, survival, host-pathogen interactions and in the virulence of phytopathogenic fungi. In Verticillum dahliae, increases in melanin are recognized as markers of maturation of microsclerotia which ensures the long-term survival and stress tolerance, while decreases in melanin are correlated with increased hyphal growth in the host. The conserved upstream components of the VdCmr1-regulated pathway controlling melanin production in V. dahliae have been extensively identified, but the direct activators of this pathway are still unclear. RESULTS: We identified two genes encoding conserved C2H2-type zinc finger proteins VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 adjacent to VdPKS9, a gene encoding a negative regulator of both melanin biosynthesis and microsclerotia formation in V. dahliae. Both VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 were induced during microsclerotia development and were involved in melanin deposition. Their localization changed from cytoplasmic to nuclear in response to osmotic pressure. VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 act as modulators of microsclerotia melanization in V. dahliae, as confirmed by melanin biosynthesis inhibition and supplementation with the melanin pathway intermediate scytalone in albino strains. The results indicate that VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 participate in melanin biosynthesis by positively regulating VdCmr1. Based on the results obtained with yeast one- and two-hybrid (Y1H and Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) systems, we determined the melanin biosynthesis relies on the direct interactions among VdZFP1, VdZFP2 and VdCmr1, and these interactions occur on the cell walls of microsclerotia. Additionally, VdZFP1 and/or VdZFP2 mutants displayed increased sensitivity to stress factors rather than alterations in pathogenicity, reflecting the importance of melanin in stress tolerance of V. dahliae. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed that VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 positively regulate VdCmr1 to promote melanin deposition during microsclerotia development, providing novel insight into the regulation of melanin biosynthesis in V. dahliae.

Species of the Colletotrichum spp., the Causal Agents of Leaf Spot on European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).

European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) is widely planted in landscaping. In October 2021 and August 2022, leaf spot was observed on C. betulus in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. To identify the causal agent of anthracnose disease on C. betulus, 23 isolates were obtained from the symptomatic leaves. Based on ITS sequences and colony morphology, these isolates were divided into four Colletotrichum groups. Koch's postulates of four Colletotrichum species showed similar symptoms observed in the field. Combining the morphological characteristics and multi-gene phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene, Apn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer (ApMat) gene, the calmodulin (CAL) gene, glyceraldehyde3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene, Glutamine synthetase (GS) gene, and beta-tubulin 2 (TUB2) genes, the four Colletotrichum groups were identified as C. gloeosporioides, C. fructicola, C. aenigma, and C. siamense. This study is the first report of four Colletotrichum species causing leaf spot on European hornbeam in China, and it provides clear pathogen information for the further evaluation of the disease control strategies.

Spatiotemporal mode-locked fiber laser based on dual-resonance coupling long-period fiber grating.

Spatiotemporal mode-locked (STML) fiber lasers have become an excellent platform in nonlinear optics research due to the rich nonlinear evolution process. In order to overcome modal walk-off and realize phase locking of different transverse modes, it is usually crucial to reduce the modal group delay difference in the cavity. In this paper, we use long-period fiber grating (LPFG) to compensate the large modal dispersion and differential modal gain in the cavity, realizing the spatiotemporal mode-locking in step-index fibers cavity. The LPFG inscribed in few-mode fiber could induce strong mode coupling, which has wide operation bandwidth based on dual-resonance coupling mechanism. By using dispersive Fourier transform involved intermodal interference, we show that there is a stable phase difference between the transverse modes constituting the spatiotemporal soliton. These results would be beneficial for the study of spatiotemporal mode-locked fiber lasers.

Experimental Verification for Numerical Simulation of Thalamic Stimulation-Evoked Calcium-Sensitive Fluorescence and Electrophysiology with Self-Assembled Multifunctional Optrode.

Owing to its capacity to eliminate a long-standing methodological limitation, fiber photometry can assist research gaining novel insight into neural systems. Fiber photometry can reveal artifact-free neural activity under deep brain stimulation (DBS). Although evoking neural potential with DBS is an effective method for mediating neural activity and neural function, the relationship between DBS-evoked neural Ca2+ change and DBS-evoked neural electrophysiology remains unknown. Therefore, in this study, a self-assembled optrode was demonstrated as a DBS stimulator and an optical biosensor capable of concurrently recording Ca2+ fluorescence and electrophysiological signals. Before the in vivo experiment, the volume of tissue activated (VTA) was estimated, and the simulated Ca2+ signals were presented using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to approach the realistic in vivo environment. When VTA and the simulated Ca2+ signals were combined, the distribution of simulated Ca2+ fluorescence signals matched the VTA region. In addition, the in vivo experiment revealed a correlation between the local field potential (LFP) and the Ca2+ fluorescence signal in the evoked region, revealing the relationship between electrophysiology and the performance of neural Ca2+ concentration behavior. Concurrent with the VTA volume, simulated Ca2+ intensity, and the in vivo experiment, these data suggested that the behavior of neural electrophysiology was consistent with the phenomenon of Ca2+ influx to neurons.

Alternaria alternata, the Causal Agent of a New Needle Blight Disease on Pinus bungeana.

Pinus bungeana, an endangered and native coniferous tree species in China, has considerable timber and horticulture value. However, little is known about needle diseases in P. bungeana. A needle blight of P. bungeana has been observed in Hebei Province, China. P. bungeana inoculated with mycelial plugs of fungal isolates presented symptoms similar to those observed under field conditions. Ten virulent fungal isolates were identified as a small-spored Alternaria species based on morphological observations. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses carried out with multilocus sequence typing of eight regions (SSU, LSU, ITS, gapdh, tef1, Alt a 1, endoPG, OPA10-2) assigned the pathogen to Alternaria alternata. This is the first report of A. alternata causing needle blight on P. bungeana in China.

High-order mode erbium-doped fiber laser based on cavity LPFG converters.

We experimentally investigate high-order mode (HOM) generation at a wavelength of 1.5 µm in an all-fiber erbium-doped laser based on a long-period fiber grating (LPFG). The CW laser emission is achieved when the pump power is above the threshold of 10 mW. An LPFG with a 15 dB bandwidth of 147.76 nm from 1502.76 nm to 1650.52 nm is used as a mode converter inside the cavity. The generation of the broadband L P 11 mode is ultimately obtained. By using a few-mode output coupler, we can obtain the intracavity conversion of the linear polarization mode. Single-, dual-, triple-, and quadruple-wavelength operations can be achieved by changing the polarization state of the polarization controllers in the cavity. The tunable range of the output wavelengths is up to ∼23.20n m. The output power and slope efficiency of the HOMs are presented and discussed. We believe our work might benefit the investigation of HOM fiber lasers, and might be further applied to the intracavity conversion of the linear polarization mode or orbital angular momentum beams.

GSPT1 Functions as a Tumor Promoter in Human Liver Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the role of G1 to S phase transition 1 protein (GSPT1) in promoting progression of liver cancer cells. METHODS: A bioinformatics database was used to analyze the expression levels of GSPT1 in liver cancer tissues and the prognosis of patients. Subsequently, Western blotting and quantitative PCR were used to verify the expression levels of GSPT1 between normal hepatocytes and hepatoma cells. We used a CRISPR/Cas9 system to construct knockouts of GSPT1 in HepG2 and HCCLM9 liver cancer cells. The effect of GSPT1 on liver cancer cell migration and invasion was analyzed using flow cytometry, migration, and tumor formation assays. RESULTS: The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma dataset indicated that GSPT1 expression was upregulated in liver cancer cell lines, and patients with liver cancer had poor prognosis. Knockout of GSPT1 in cells significantly inhibited tumor proliferation, cell migration, and growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found that GSPT1 promotes the migration and invasion of liver cancer cells.

Major royal jelly proteins influence the neurobiological regulation of the division of labor among honey bee workers.

Age-based division of labor among workers is a fundamental life-history trait of many social insects, including the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Extensive studies of the causation of the most pronounced transition from performing tasks in the nest to outside foraging indicate hormonal regulation of complex physiological changes. However, the proximate neurobiological mechanisms that cause the behavioral repertoire to change are still not understood and require novel approaches to be fully characterized. Thus, we established the first comprehensive monoclonal antibody microarray in honey bees with 16,320 antibodies to directly identify proteins in the brain that regulate the transition to foraging. Major royal jelly protein (MRJP) 1 and MRJP3 were identified as potential protein effectors and further investigated. A series of experimental manipulations of the workers' behavioral transition led to changes in MRJP1 and MRJP3 quantities in accordance with their presumed functional role. Injection of MRJPs into the brain resulted in increased task-reversal from foraging to nursing and decreased task-progression from nursing to foraging, while the latter was increased by injection with MRJP antibodies. Finally, down-regulation of MRJP1 and MRJP3 expression via RNAi injection into the brain increased the transition from in-hive nursing to outside foraging, confirming a causal role of these two proteins in the proximate regulation of behavior and life-history of honey bee workers. Interaction partners of MRJP1 and MRJP3 in the honey bee brain included other regulators of honey bee behavior and life history. Thus, our transformative methodological advancement of proteome analysis in honey bees reveals novel regulators of honey bee behavior, extends our understanding of the functional pleiotropy of MRJPs, and supports a general nutrition-based model of the regulation of the age-based division of labor in honey bees.

Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma / 中华肝脏病杂志

Objective: To investigate the features of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) in order to improve the preoperative diagnosis rate. Methods: CEUS images of 32 pathologically-proven cases of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma from January 2004 to August 2021 were collected. Lesions were analyzed to observe the features of enhancement mode, enhancement intensity, and distinct enhancement phases. Results: Among the 32 cases, one had a solitary lesion, 29 had multiple lesions, and two had diffuse-type lesions. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound revealed a total of 42 lesions in 32 cases. In terms of arterial phase enhancement, 18 lesions had overall enhancement, six lesions had uneven dendritic enhancement, 16 lesions had rim-like enhancement, and two lesions had just slight peripheral spot enhancement around the lesions. Among the three cases, there were multiple lesions that had overall enhancement and ring enhancement. In terms of the enhancement phase, 20 lesions showed "fast progression", 20 lesions showed "same progression", and two lesions showed "slow progression". During the late arterial or early portal venous phases with rapid washout, all lesions manifested as hypoechoic. With peaked enhanced intensity, 11 lesions had a lower enhancement intensity than the surrounding normal liver parenchyma; 11 lesions had the same enhancement degree as the surrounding normal liver parenchyma; and 20 lesions had a higher enhancement degree than the surrounding normal liver parenchyma. All 16 ring-enhancing lesions had marked hyperenhancement. In the typical enhancing lesions, four showed hyperenhancement, five showed low enhancement, and nine showed isoenhancement. In the dendrite-enhancing lesions, there were two isoenhancing and four hypoenhancing. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound delineated the boundaries of all lesions more clearly than two-dimensional ultrasound. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound has certain value in the diagnosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

High-efficiency broadband third-order OAM mode converter based on a multi-period preset-twist long-period fiber grating.

All-fiber mode converters for generating orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams have many applications in optical communications, optical sensing and lasers. Currently, it is a great challenge to use a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) to broadband excite high-order OAM modes above the second-order. Here, we demonstrate a preset-twist LPFG fabrication method, which introduces asymmetry in the refractive index modulation area, for efficient generation of third-order modes. Through optimization, the generation of third-order OAM modes with 99.55% conversion efficiency, 0.81 dB insertion loss, and over 99% purity is achieved with only 40 pitch number. In addition, a multi-period preset-twist LPFG is proposed and demonstrated to achieve the excitation of broadband third-order mode with conversion efficiency of more than 99%, insertion loss of less than 1 dB, and mode purity of more than 90%. The 15 dB bandwidth (96.8% conversion efficiency) of the LPFG is 109 nm in the wavelength range from 1475 nm to 1584 nm, and the 20 dB bandwidth (99% conversion efficiency) of the LPFG is 92 nm from 1488 nm to 1580 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to generate efficient and broadband third-order mode using a long-period fiber grating.

Blood-brain barrier and brain structural changes in lung cancer patients with non-brain metastases.

Purpose: To explore the relationship between blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage and brain structure in non-brain metastasis lung cancer (LC) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as to indicate the possibility of brain metastasis (BM) occurrence. Patients and methods: MRI were performed in 75 LC patients and 29 counterpart healthy peoples (HCs). We used the Patlak pharmacokinetic model to calculate the average leakage in each brain region according to the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) atlas. The thickness of the cortex and the volumes of subcortical structures were calculated using the FreeSurfer base on Destrieux atlas. We compared the thickness of the cerebral cortex, the volumes of subcortical structures, and the leakage rates of BBB, and evaluated the relationships between these parameters. Results: Compared with HCs, the leakage rates of seven brain regions were higher in patients with advanced LC (aLC). In contrast to patients with early LC (eLC), the cortical thickness of two regions was decreased in aLCs. The volumes of twelve regions were also reduced in aLCs. Brain regions with increased BBB penetration showed negative correlations with thinner cortices and reduced subcortical structure volumes (P<0.05, R=-0.2 to -0.50). BBB penetration was positively correlated with tumor size and with levels of the tumor marker CYFRA21-1 (P<0.05, R=0.2-0.70). Conclusion: We found an increase in BBB permeability in non-BM aLCs that corresponded to a thinner cortical thickness and smaller subcortical structure volumes. With progression in LC staging, BBB shows higher permeability and may be more likely to develop into BM.

Structural Analysis of Oxidized Sucrose and Its Application as a Crease-Resistant Crosslinking Agent.

Oxidized sucrose is a non-formaldehyde crosslinking agent with many applications in polymer crosslinking and modification, such as in the preparation of starch films and protein films. However, research on the structure of oxidized sucrose is lacking. In this paper, oxidized sucrose was synthesized through selective oxidation of sodium periodate. By LC-MS, FTIR, TGA, NMR, and HRMS analyses, it was shown that oxidized sucrose existed in the form of a hydrate, and the tetraaldehyde oxidized sucrose could isomerize into the form of two six-membered hemiacetal rings. The structure of oxidized sucrose was also verified by theoretical calculations. Furthermore, the diffusional properties of oxidized sucrose were investigated by the rolling-film method. Finally, it was found that oxidized sucrose used as a crosslinking agent could effectively improve the wrinkle recovery performance of cotton fabrics.

Cyclocarya paliurus Reprograms the Flavonoid Biosynthesis Pathway Against Colletotrichum fructicola.

Cyclocarya paliurus is an endemic Chinese tree species with considerable medicinal, timber, and horticultural value. The anthracnose disease of C. paliurus is caused by the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum fructicola, which results in great losses in yield and quality. Here, resistance evaluation of six cultivars of C. paliurus exhibited varying degrees of resistance to C. fructicola infection, where Wufeng was the most resistant and Jinggangshan was the most susceptive. Physiological measurements and histochemical staining assays showed that the Wufeng cultivar exhibits intense reactive oxygen species accumulation and defense capabilities. A multiomics approach using RNA sequencing and metabolome analyses showed that resistance in C. paliurus (Wufeng) is related to early induction of reprogramming of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. In vitro antifungal assays revealed that the flavonoid extracts from resistant cultivars strongly inhibited C. fructicola hyphal growth than susceptible cultivars. Relative gene expression analysis further demonstrated the pivotal antifungal role of C. paliurus flavonoids in targeting Colletotrichum appressorium formation. Together, these results represent a novel resistance mechanism of C. paliurus against anthracnose through the reprogramming of flavonoids, which will lay a foundation for breeding anthracnose-resistant varieties and the application of flavonoid extraction of C. paliurus as a natural antifungal treatment.

Larval Exposure to Parasitic Varroa destructor Mites Triggers Specific Immune Responses in Different Honey Bee Castes and Species.

Innate immune systems are key defenses of animals and particularly important in species that lack the sophisticated adaptive immune systems as found in vertebrates. Here, we were interested to quantify variation in innate immune responses of insects in hosts that differ in their parasite susceptibility. To do this, we studied immune responses in honey bees, which can host a remarkable number of different parasites, which are major contributors of declining bee health and colony losses. The most significant parasite of honey bees is the mite Varroa destructor, which has infested the majority of global honey bee populations, and its control remains a major challenge for beekeepers. However, a number of nonmanaged honey bees seem able to control Varroa infections, for example, the Eastern honey bee Apis ceranacerana or the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata. These bees therefore make interesting study subjects to identify underlaying resistance traits, for example, by comparing them to more susceptible bee genotypes such as Western honey bees (A. melliferaligustica). We conducted a series of interlinked experiments and started with behavioral assays to compare the attractiveness of bee larvae to mites using different honey bee genotypes and castes. We found that 6-day-old larvae are always most attractive to mites, independently of genotype or castes. In a next step, we compared volatile profiles of the most attractive larvae to test whether they could be used by mites for host selection. We found that the abundance of volatile compounds differed between larval ages, but we also found significant differences between genotypes and castes. To further study the expected underlaying physiological differences between potentially resistant and susceptible host larvae, we compared the larval hemolymph proteomes of the three honey bee genotypes and two castes in response to mite exposure. We identified consistent upregulation of immune and stress-related genes in Varroa-exposed larvae, which differed between genotypes and castes. Tolerant honey bee castes and genotypes were characterized by stronger or more distinct immune esponses. In summary, we provide first insights into the complex involvement of the innate immune system of tolerant honey bees against mite infestations, which could be used for future breeding purposes.

A polyketide synthase from Verticillium dahliae modulates melanin biosynthesis and hyphal growth to promote virulence.

BACKGROUND: During the disease cycle, plant pathogenic fungi exhibit a morphological transition between hyphal growth (the phase of active infection) and the production of long-term survival structures that remain dormant during "overwintering." Verticillium dahliae is a major plant pathogen that produces heavily melanized microsclerotia (MS) that survive in the soil for 14 or more years. These MS are multicellular structures produced during the necrotrophic phase of the disease cycle. Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are responsible for catalyzing production of many secondary metabolites including melanin. While MS contribute to long-term survival, hyphal growth is key for infection and virulence, but the signaling mechanisms by which the pathogen maintains hyphal growth are unclear. RESULTS: We analyzed the VdPKSs that contain at least one conserved domain potentially involved in secondary metabolism (SM), and screened the effect of VdPKS deletions in the virulent strain AT13. Among the five VdPKSs whose deletion affected virulence on cotton, we found that VdPKS9 acted epistatically to the VdPKS1-associated melanin pathway to promote hyphal growth. The decreased hyphal growth in VdPKS9 mutants was accompanied by the up-regulation of melanin biosynthesis and MS formation. Overexpression of VdPKS9 transformed melanized hyphal-type (MH-type) into the albinistic hyaline hyphal-type (AH-type), and VdPKS9 was upregulated in the AH-type population, which also exhibited higher virulence than the MH-type. CONCLUSIONS: We show that VdPKS9 is a powerful negative regulator of both melanin biosynthesis and MS formation in V. dahliae. These findings provide insight into the mechanism of how plant pathogens promote their virulence by the maintenance of vegetative hyphal growth during infection and colonization of plant hosts, and may provide novel targets for the control of melanin-producing filamentous fungi.

Bioinformatics Analysis and Identification of Potential Genes Associated with Pathogenesis and Prognosis of Gastric Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (GC) is a deadly cancer and a challenging public health problem globally. This study aimed to analyze potential genes associated with pathogenesis and prognosis of gastric cancer. METHODS: This work selected the overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GC from four datasets, the GSE29272, GSE29998, GSE54129 and GSE118916 Gene Expression Omnibus databases. These DEGs were used to carry out comprehensive bioinformatic analysis to analyze the related functions and pathways enriched, the relative expression levels and immune infiltrates, the prognostic characteristics and the interaction network. RESULTS: In total, 55 DEGs increased while 98 decreased in their expression levels. For those DEGs with increased expression, they were mostly concentrated on "focal adhesion" and "ECM-receptor interaction", whereas DEGs with decreased expression were mostly associated with "gastric acid secretion" and "drug metabolism cytochrome P450". MCODE and ClueGO results were then integrated to screen 10 hub genes, which were FN1, COL1A1, COL3A1, BGN, TIMP1, COL1A2, LUM, VCAN, COL5A2 and SPP1. Survival analysis revealed that higher expression of the ten hub genes significantly predicted lower overall survival of GC patients. TIMP1 was most significantly related to neutrophils, CD8+ T cells, as well as dendritic cells, while LUM was most significantly related to macrophages. CONCLUSION: Immunohistochemistry results and functional testing showed that the expression of COL5A2 was elevated in GC and that it might be a key gene in GC tumorigenesis.