Human migration in the eastern Tianshan Mountains between the 7th and 12th centuries.

OBJECTIVE: Mid- to late-Holocene large-scale population migration profoundly impacted the interaction of ethnic groups and cultures across Eurasia, notably in Central Asia. However, due to a lack of thorough historical documents, distinctive burial items, and human remains, the process of population migration during this historical era in the area is still unclear. Using an interdisciplinary approach at the Lafuqueke (LFQK) cemetery, this study investigates the spatiotemporal processes and explores the factors that influenced human migration in the eastern Tianshan Mountains between the 7th and 12th centuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, tooth enamel from 56 human remains found in the LFQK cemetery in Hami Basin, eastern Tianshan Mountains, is examined for strontium and lead isotopes. RESULTS: The early, middle, and late phases of migration might potentially be represented by a three-phase migration model, according to the isotopic study. The highest proportion of the early phase (ca. 7th-mid 7th century) comprised non-locals (54.55%), although this percentage decreased in the middle phase (mid 7th-mid 8th centuries, 30.77%). After the 10th century, the proportion of non-locals again fell (16.13%). CONCLUSION: In this study, the interdisciplinary approach was employed to propose a new model for the diachronic changes that accompanied human migration and cultural interaction in the eastern Tianshan Mountains and identified geopolitics as a significant factor influencing the migratory behavior of LFQK population in this region between the 7th and 12th centuries.

Short Communication: Diversity of Endogenous Avian Leukosis Virus Subgroup E Elements in 11 Chicken Breeds.

Avian leukosis virus subgroup E (ALVE) as a kind of endogenous retroviruses extensively exists in chicken genome. The insertion of ALVE has some effects on chicken production traits and appearance. Most of the work on ALVEs has been done with commercial breeds. We present here an investigation of ALVE elements in seven Chinese domestic breeds and four standard breeds. Firstly, we established an ALVE insertion site dataset by using the obsERVer pipeline to identify ALVEs from whole-genome sequence data of 11 chicken breeds, 7 Chinese domestic breeds, including Beijing You (BY), Dongxiang (DX), Luxi Game (LX), Shouguang (SG), Silkie (SK), Tibetan (TB) and Wenchang (WC), 4 standard breeds, including White Leghorn (WL), White Plymouth Rock (WR), Cornish (CS), and Rhode Island Red (RIR). A total of 37 ALVE insertion sites were identified and 23 of them were novel. Most of these insertion sites were distributed in intergenic regions and introns. We then used locus-specific PCR to validate the insertion sites in an expanded population with 18~60 individuals in each breed. The results showed that all predicted integration sites in 11 breeds were verified by PCR. Some ALVE insertion sites were breeds specific, and 16 out of 23 novel ALVEs were found in only one Chinese domestic chicken breed. We randomly selected three ALVE insertions including ALVE_CAU005, ALVE_ros127, and ALVE_ros276, and obtained their insertion sequences by long-range PCR and Sanger sequencing. The insertion sequences were all 7525 bp, which were full-length ALVE insertion and all of them were highly homologous to ALVE1 with similarity of 99%. Our study identified the distribution of ALVE in 11 chicken breeds, which expands the current research on ALVE in Chinese domestic breeds.

FLNA-filaminopathy skeletal phenotypes are not due to an osteoblast autonomous loss-of-function.

Mutations in FLNA, which encodes the cytoskeletal protein FLNA, cause a spectrum of sclerosing skeletal dysplasias. Although many of these genetic variants are recurrent and cluster within the gene, the pathogenic mechanism that underpins the development of these skeletal phenotypes is unknown. To determine if the skeletal dysplasia in FLNA-related conditions is due to a cell-autonomous loss-of-function localising to osteoblasts and/or osteocytes, we utilised mouse models to conditionally remove Flna from this cellular lineage. Flna was conditionally knocked out from mature osteocytes using the Dmp1-promoter driven Cre-recombinase expressing mouse, as well as the committed osteoblast lineage using the Osx-Cre or Col1a1-Cre expressing lines. We measured skeletal parameters with µCT and histological methods, as well as gene expression in the mineralised skeleton. We found no measureable differences between the conditional Flna knockout mice, and their control littermate counterparts. Moreover, all of the conditional Flna knockout mice, developed and aged normally. From this we concluded that the skeletal dysplasia phenotype associated with pathogenic variants in FLNA is not caused by a cell-autonomous loss-of-function in the osteoblast-osteocyte lineage, adding more evidence to the hypothesis that these phenotypes are due to gain-of-function in FLNA.

Genome-wide analysis of mutations induced by carbon ion beam irradiation in cotton.

Carbon ion beam (CIB) irradiation is a powerful way to create mutations in animals, plants, and microbes. Research on the mutagenic effects and molecular mechanisms of radiation is an important and multidisciplinary issue. However, the effect of carbon ion radiation on cotton is uncertain. In this study, five different upland cotton varieties and five CIB doses were used to identify the suitable irradiation dose for cotton. Three mutagenized progeny cotton lines from the wild-type Ji172 were re-sequenced. The effect of half-lethal dose on mutation induction indicated that 200 Gy with LETmax of 226.9 KeV/µm was the most effective heavy-ion dose for upland cotton and a total of 2,959-4,049 single-base substitutions (SBSs) and 610-947 insertion-deletion polymorphisms (InDels) were identified among the three mutants by resequencing. The ratio of transition to transversion in the three mutants ranged from 2.16 to 2.24. Among transversion events, G:C>C:G was significantly less common than three other types of mutations (A:T>C:G, A:T>T:A, and G:C>T:A). The proportions of six types of mutations were very similar in each mutant. The distributions of identified SBSs and InDels were similar with unevenly distributed across the genome and chromosomes. Some chromosomes had significantly more SBSs than others, and there were "hotspot" mutation regions at the ends of chromosomes. Overall, our study revealed a profile of cotton mutations caused by CIB irradiation, and these data could provide valuable information for cotton mutation breeding.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis Provides New Insights into the Molecular Basis of Thermal-Induced Parthenogenesis in Silkworm (Bombyx mori).

Artificial parthenogenetic induction via thermal stimuli in silkworm is an important technique that has been used in sericultural production. However, the molecular mechanism underlying it remains largely unknown. We have created a fully parthenogenetic line (PL) with more than 85% occurrence and 80% hatching rate via hot water treatment and genetic selection, while the parent amphigenetic line (AL) has less than 30% pigmentation rate and less than 1% hatching rate when undergoing the same treatment. Here, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based analysis were used to investigate the key proteins and pathways associated with silkworm parthenogenesis. We uncovered the unique proteomic features of unfertilized eggs in PL. In total, 274 increased abundance proteins and 211 decreased abundance proteins were identified relative to AL before thermal induction. Function analysis displayed an increased level of translation and metabolism in PL. After thermal induction, 97 increased abundance proteins and 187 decreased abundance proteins were identified. An increase in stress response-related proteins and decrease in energy metabolism suggested that PL has a more effective response to buffer the thermal stress than AL. Cell cycle-related proteins, including histones, and spindle-related proteins were decreased in PL, indicating an important role of this decrease in the process of ameiotic parthenogenesis.

Chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) VP1 antagonizes type I interferon (IFN-I) production by inhibiting TBK1 phosphorylation.

Chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) infection induces immunosuppression or subclinical immunosuppression in chickens. CIAV infection has been reported to repress type I interferon (IFN-I) expression, but the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood. Here we reported that VP1, the capsid protein of CIAV, the major immunogenic protein that triggers the production of neutralizing antibodies in chickens, inhibited type I interferon (IFN-I) expression induced by cGAS-STING signaling. We showed that VP1 inhibited TBK1 phosphorylation and down stream signal transduction, leading to the inhibition of IFN-I expression. Subsequently, we demonstrated that VP1 interacted with TBK1. Finally, we clarified that aa 120-150 in VP1 was essential for VP1 to interact with TBK1 and inhibit cGAS-STING signaling. These findings will help us further understand the pathogenesis of CIAV in chickens.

A boronate-affinity magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for luteolin recognition.

In this study, 3-carboxyphenylboronic acid (CP)-functionalized amino-modified Fe3O4 (Fe3O4@NH2-CP, FNC) magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (FNC@MIPs) were synthesized and applied for the quick identification and selective separation of luteolin (LTL). The structure and morphology were characterized in detail by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and vibrating specimen magnetometry (VSM) methods. The FNC@MIPs had a homogeneous shape, excellent magnetic characteristics, quick binding kinetics, a high adsorption capacity, acceptable selectivity, and stable reusability. The solid-phase extraction parameters and preparation conditions were both optimized. Under optimized conditions, the maximal adsorption capacity was 14.26 mg g-1 and the imprinting factor was 3.62. Furthermore, the experimental kinetics data were best fitted with the pseudo-first-order model (R2 = 0.9877), and the Langmuir model could describe the adsorption process (R2 = 0.9979), suggesting a monolayer covering. The practical application of the sorbent for LTL detection in Lonicera japonica Thunb samples showed recoveries in the range of 84.5-108.7%. Therefore, the strategy offers a fresh avenue for the extraction and purification of LTL.

Comparative genomic analysis provides insight into the phylogeny and potential mechanisms of adaptive evolution of Sphingobacterium sp. CZ-2.

Sphingobacterium is a class of Gram-negative, non-fermentative bacilli that have received widespread attention due to their broad ecological distribution and oil degradation ability, but are rarely involved in infections. In this manuscript, a novel Sphingobacterium strain isolated from wildfire-infected tobacco leaves was named Sphingobacterium sp. CZ-2. NGS and TGS sequencing results showed a whole genome of 3.92 Mb with 40.68 mol% GC content and containing 3,462 protein-coding genes, 9 rRNA-coding genes and 50 tRNA-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis, ANI and dDDH calculations all supported that Sphingobacterium sp. CZ-2 represented a novel species of the genus Sphingobacterium. Analysis of the specific genes of Sphingobacterium sp. CZ-2 by comparative genomics revealed that metal transport proteins encoded by the troD and cusA genes could maintain the balance of heavy metal ion concentrations in the internal environment of bacteria and avoid heavy metal toxicity while meeting the needs of growth and reproduction, and transport proteins encoded by the malG gene could keep nutrients required for the survival of bacteria. Synteny and genome evolutionary analyses of Sphingobacterium strains implicated that the gene family contraction as a major process in genome evolution, with insertional sequences leading to mutations, deletions and reversals of genes that help bacteria to withstand complex environmental changes. Complete genome sequencing and systematic comparative genomic analysis will contribute new insights into the adaptive evolution of this novel species and the genus Sphingobacterium.

Flood risk assessment by using an interpretative structural modeling based Bayesian network approach (ISM-BN): An urban-level analysis of Shenzhen, China.

With increasingly uncertain environmental conditions under global change, it is rather important for water security management to evaluate the flood risk, which is influenced by the compound effect of severe weather events and strong anthropogenic activities. In this paper, a risk assessment model in the framework of Bayesian network (BN) was proposed through incorporating with the Interpretative Structural Modeling method (ISM), which would produce an integrated ISM-BN model for reliable flood assessments. The ISM is employed to identify the relations among multiple risk factors, and then helps to configure the BN structure to conduct a risk inference. The established model was further demonstrated in Shenzhen city of China to perform an urban-level risk analysis of the flood disaster, and the Enhanced Water Index (EWI) was introduced to derive model parameters for training and verification. The obtained results of risk assessment lead to an accuracy of 76% with the Area Under ROC Curve (AUC) of 0.82, and spatial distribution of risk levels also showed a satisfactory performance. In addition, it was found that the maximum daily rainfall among ten risk factors play a key part in flood occurrence, while the elevation and storm frequency are also sensitive indicators for the study area. Besides, the spatial flood risk map generated under various design rainfall scenarios would contribute to identifying potential areas that are worth paying particular attention. Thus, the developed assessment model would be a useful tool for supporting flood risk governance to achieve reliable urban water security.

Circ_0000069 contributes to the growth, metastasis and glutamine metabolism in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) via regulating miR-125a-5p-dependent SLC1A5 expression.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as critical mediators in various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In the present research, the functions of circ_0000069 in RCC were explored. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, western blot assay and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay were performed for the expression of circ_0000069, microRNA-125a-5p (miR-125a-5p) and solute carrier family 1 member 5 (SLC1A5). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and 5'-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay were performed for cell proliferation. Flow cytometry assay was manipulated for cell apoptosis. Transwell assay and wound-healing assay were utilized for cell invasion and migration. Glutamine metabolism level was evaluated by examining glutamine consumption, α-ketoglutarate production and glutamate production. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to analyze the relationships of circ_0000069, miR-125a-5p and SLC1A5. Murine xenograft model assay was conducted to analyze the function of circ_0000069 in vivo. RESULTS: Circ_0000069 level was abnormally upregulated in RCC tissues and cells. Knockdown of circ_0000069 inhibited the proliferation, invasion, migration and glutamine metabolism and promoted the apoptosis in RCC cells in vitro and restrained tumor growth in vivo. Circ_0000069 served as the sponge for miR-125a-5p. MiR-125a-5p inhibition ameliorated the effects of circ_0000069 knockdown on RCC cell malignant behaviors. SLC1A5 was identified as the target gene of miR-125a-5p. Moreover, miR-125a-5p overexpression repressed the progression of RCC cells, while SLC1A5 elevation abrogated the effect. CONCLUSION: Circ_0000069 knockdown inhibited the carcinogenesis of RCC by regulating miR-125a-5p/SLC1A5 axis.

The role of O-GlcNAcylation in innate immunity and inflammation.

O-linked N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAcylation) is a highly dynamic and widespread post-translational modification (PTM) that regulates the activity, subcellular localization, and stability of target proteins. O-GlcNAcylation is a reversible PTM controlled by two cycling enzymes: O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). Emerging evidence indicates that O-GlcNAcylation plays critical roles in innate immunity, inflammatory signaling, and cancer development. O-GlcNAcylation usually occurs on serine/threonine residues, where it interacts with other PTMs, such as phosphorylation. Thus, it likely has a broad regulatory scope. This review discusses the recent research advances regarding the regulatory roles of O-GlcNAcylation in innate immunity and inflammation. A more comprehensive understanding of O-GlcNAcylation could help to optimize therapeutic strategies regarding inflammatory diseases and cancer.

Five-Minute Magnetic Nanoparticle Spectroscopy-Based Bioassay for Ultrafast Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein.

In this work, we report a 5-min magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS)-based bioassay strategy. In our approach, surface-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles are incubated with target analytes at 37 °C with agitation for 3 min, and the MPS reading is then taken at the fifth minute. We prove the feasibility of 5 min ultrafast detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with a detection limit below 5 nM (0.2 pmol). Our proposed 5-min bioassay strategy may be applied to reduce the assay time for other liquid-phase, volumetric biosensors such as NMR, quantum dots, fluorescent biosensors, etc.

Effect of electroacupuncture on the repair of stress ulcer injury in neurocritical patients: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Stress ulcer (SU) is one of the main causes of prolonged hospital stay, poor prognosis, and increased mortality in critically ill patients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on SU in patients with severe neurological diseases and explore its possible mechanisms. Methods: Taking patients with SU in adult neurocritical care as the research object, they were randomly divided into the EA group and the control group. Through the perioperative EA intervention, the following indicators were documented: main observation indicator (the effective rate of SU treatment), secondary observation indicators (gastric juice pH, gastric juice occult blood test, and stool occult blood test), related mechanisms [repair factors trefoil factor family 2 (TFF2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70)], complications during hospitalization, and intensive care unit (ICU) stay time. Results: Compared with the control treatment, EA increased the effective rate of SU treatment (85.4% for the EA group, 57.5% for the control group, risk difference: 27.9% (95% CI: 8.3%-45.1%); P < 0.01). EA increased the success rate of gastric juice pH treatment on days 1, 2, and 3 (P < 0.01 for day 1, P < 0.05 for days 2 and 3). EA lowered the positive rate of gastric occult blood test on days 1 and 3 (all P-values < 0.05) and the positive rate of fecal occult blood test on day 3 (P < 0.05). EA also reduced the ICU stay time (P < 0.01) and total hospitalization time (P < 0.05). Compared with day 0, all serum repair factors (VEGF, HSP70, and TFF2) of both groups significantly increased on days 1, 3, and 5 (all P-values < 0.01). Compared with the control group, VEGF in the EA group was increased on days 3 and 5 (all P-values < 0.01); HSP70 was increased on days 1, 3, and 5 (P < 0.05 for day 1, P < 0.01 for days 3 and 5); and TFF2 was increased on days 1, 3, and 5 (all P-values < 0.01). Conclusion: Electroacupuncture promoted the repair of SU damage in severe neurological disease, and its effect was related to enhancing the expression of gastric mucosal repair factors. Clinical trial registration: [https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=127012], identifier [ChiCTR2100046701].

Gold-Catalyzed Cyclization/Hydroboration of 1,6-Enynes: Synthesis of Bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane Boranes.

The gold-catalyzed cyclization/hydroboration of 1,6-enynes offers facile, versatile, and atom-economical one-step access to bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane boranes. This new protocol proceeds in moderate to good yields under mild conditions. Different from bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane borates, these products are stable in air and during chromatography. Moreover, the borane moiety of the products can readily undergo a diverse array of transformations. The kinetic isotope effect experiment indicates that the hydrogen-transfer step is a fast process, which is not involved in the rate-limiting step.

Parameter estimation for nonlinear sandwich system using instantaneous performance principle.

The vast majority of reports mainly focus on the steady-state performance of parameter estimation. Few findings are reported for the instantaneous performance of parameter estimation because the instantaneous performance is difficult to quantify by using the design algorithm, for example, in the initial stage of parameter estimation, the error of parameter estimation varies in a specific region on the basis of the user's request. With that in mind, we design an identification algorithm to address the transient performance of the parameter estimations. In this study, the parameter estimation of nonlinear sandwich system is studied by using the predefined constraint technology and high-effective filter. To achieve the above purpose, the estimation error information reflecting the transient performance of parameter estimation is procured using the developed some intermediate variables. Then, a predefined constraint function is used to prescribe the error convergence boundary, in which the convergence rate is lifted. An error equivalent conversion technique is then employed to obtain the transformed error data for establishing an parameter adaptive update law, in which the estimation error convergence and the predefined domain can be achieved. In comparison with the available estimation schemes, the good instantaneous performance is obtained on the basis of the numerical example and practical process results.

Five-Minute Magnetic Nanoparticle Spectroscopy-Based Bioassay for Ultrafast Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein.

In this work, we report a 5-min magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS)-based bioassay strategy. In our approach, surface-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles are incubated with target analytes at 37 °C with agitation for 3 min, and the MPS reading is then taken at the fifth minute. We prove the feasibility of 5 min ultrafast detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with a detection limit below 5 nM (0.2 pmol). Our proposed 5-min bioassay strategy may be applied to reduce the assay time for other liquid-phase, volumetric biosensors such as NMR, quantum dots, fluorescent biosensors, etc.

Commensal bacteria contribute to the growth of multidrug-resistant Avibacterium paragallinarum in chickens.

Avibacterium paragallinarum-associated infectious coryza (IC) is an important threat in commercial poultry. Previous studies about the characteristics of A. paragallinarum are succeeded in revealing the course of IC disease, but whether and how resident microbes contribute to the infection remains unclear. To understand the role of commensal bacteria, we isolated 467 commensal bacteria, including 38 A. paragallinarum, from the respiratory tract of IC chicken. The predominant commensal isolates were Gram-positive bacteria belonging to Staphylococcus spp. [33.19%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 28.93-37.66%], Enterococcus spp. (16.49%, 95% CI: 13.23-20.17%), and Bacillus spp. (16.27%, 95% CI: 13.04-19.94%). These isolates were closely correlated with the survival of A. paragallinarum. We examined and found that commensal bacteria aggravate A. paragallinarum-associated infections because certain commensal species (28.57%, 95% CI: 15.72-44.58%) induced hemolysis and promoted the growth of A. paragallinarum in vitro. Notably, A. paragallinarum showed high resistance to routine antibiotics such as erythromycin (84.21%, 95% CI: 68.75-93.98%), tetracycline (73.68%, 95% CI: 56.90-86.60%) and carried diverse mobile resistance gene clusters. Overall, we found commensal bacteria especially Gram-positive bacteria facilitate the survival of multidrug-resistant A. paragallinarum to exacerbate infections, suggesting that novel strategies may diminish A. paragallinarum-associated infections by modulating the population dynamics of commensal bacteria.