Cooperating elephants mitigate competition until the stakes get too high.

Cooperation is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom as it aims to maximize benefits through joint action. Selection, however, may also favor competitive behaviors that could violate cooperation. How animals mitigate competition is hotly debated, with particular interest in primates and little attention paid thus far to nonprimates. Using a loose-string pulling apparatus, we explored cooperative and competitive behavior, as well as mitigation of the latter, in semi-wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Our results showed that elephants first maintained a very high cooperation rate (average = 80.8% across 45 sessions). Elephants applied "block," "fight back," "leave," "move side," and "submission" as mitigation strategies and adjusted these strategies according to their affiliation and rank difference with competition initiators. They usually applied a "fight back" mitigation strategy as a sanction when competition initiators were low ranking or when they had a close affiliation, but were submissive if the initiators were high ranking or when they were not closely affiliated. However, when the food reward was limited, the costly competitive behaviors ("monopoly" and "fight") increased significantly, leading to a rapid breakdown in cooperation. The instability of elephant cooperation as a result of benefit reduction mirrors that of human society, suggesting that similar fundamental principles may underlie the evolution of cooperation across species.

Remote Fault Diagnosis for the Powertrain System of Fuel Cell Vehicles Based on Random Forest Optimized with a Genetic Algorithm.

To enhance the safety and reliability of fuel cell vehicles, a remote monitoring system based on 5th generation (5G) mobile networks and controller area networks (CANs) was designed, and a random forest (RF) algorithm for the fault diagnosis for eight typical malfunctions of its powertrain system was incorporated. Firstly, the information on the powertrain system was obtained through a 5G-based monitoring terminal, and the Alibaba Cloud IoT platform was utilized for data storage and remote monitoring. Secondly, a fault diagnosis model based on the RF algorithm was constructed for fault classification; its parameters were optimized with a genetic algorithm (GA), and it was applied on the Alibaba Cloud PAI platform. Finally, the performance of the proposed RF fault diagnosis model was evaluated by comparing it with three other classification models: random search conditioning, grid search conditioning, and Bayesian optimization. Results show that the model accuracy, F1 score, and kappa value of the optimized RF fault classification model are higher than the other three. The model achieves an F1 value of 97.77% in identifying multiple typical faults of the powertrain system, as validated by vehicle malfunction data. The method demonstrates the feasibility of remote monitoring and fault diagnosis for the powertrain system of fuel cell vehicles.

Age-Dependent Inflammatory Microenvironment Mediates Alveolar Regeneration.

Lung aging triggers the onset of various chronic lung diseases, with alveolar repair being a key focus for alleviating pulmonary conditions. The regeneration of epithelial structures, particularly the differentiation from type II alveolar epithelial (AT2) cells to type I alveolar epithelial (AT1) cells, serves as a prominent indicator of alveolar repair. Nonetheless, the precise role of aging in impeding alveolar regeneration and its underlying mechanism remain to be fully elucidated. Our study employed histological methods to examine lung aging effects on structural integrity and pathology. Lung aging led to alveolar collapse, disrupted epithelial structures, and inflammation. Additionally, a relative quantification analysis revealed age-related decline in AT1 and AT2 cells, along with reduced proliferation and differentiation capacities of AT2 cells. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying AT2 cell functional decline, we employed transcriptomic techniques and revealed a correlation between inflammatory factors and genes regulating proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, a D-galactose-induced senescence model in A549 cells corroborated our omics experiments and confirmed inflammation-induced cell cycle arrest and a >30% reduction in proliferation/differentiation. Physiological aging-induced chronic inflammation impairs AT2 cell functions, hindering tissue repair and promoting lung disease progression. This study offers novel insights into chronic inflammation's impact on stem cell-mediated alveolar regeneration.

Combining camera trap surveys and IUCN range maps to improve knowledge of species distributions.

Reliable maps of species distributions are fundamental for biodiversity research and conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) range maps are widely recognized as authoritative representations of species' geographic limits, yet they might not always align with actual occurrence data. In recent area of habitat (AOH) maps, areas that are not habitat have been removed from IUCN ranges to reduce commission errors, but their concordance with actual species occurrence also remains untested. We tested concordance between occurrences recorded in camera trap surveys and predicted occurrences from the IUCN and AOH maps for 510 medium- to large-bodied mammalian species in 80 camera trap sampling areas. Across all areas, cameras detected only 39% of species expected to occur based on IUCN ranges and AOH maps; 85% of the IUCN only mismatches occurred within 200 km of range edges. Only 4% of species occurrences were detected by cameras outside IUCN ranges. The probability of mismatches between cameras and the IUCN range was significantly higher for smaller-bodied mammals and habitat specialists in the Neotropics and Indomalaya and in areas with shorter canopy forests. Our findings suggest that range and AOH maps rarely underrepresent areas where species occur, but they may more often overrepresent ranges by including areas where a species may be absent, particularly at range edges. We suggest that combining range maps with data from ground-based biodiversity sensors, such as camera traps, provides a richer knowledge base for conservation mapping and planning.

Combinación de censos con fototrampas y mapas de extensión de la UICN para incrementar el conocimiento sobre la distribución de las especies Resumen Los mapas confiables de la distribución de las especies son fundamentales para la investigación y conservación de la biodiversidad. Los mapas de distribución de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) están reconocidos como representaciones de autoridad de los límites geográficos de las especies, aunque no siempre se alinean con los datos actuales de su presencia. En los mapas recientes de área de hábitat (ADH), las áreas que no son hábitat han sido eliminadas de la distribución de la UICN para reducir los errores de comisión, pero su concordancia con la presencia actual de las especies tampoco ha sido analizada. Analizamos la concordancia entre la presencia registrada por los censos de fototrampas y pronosticamos la presencia a partir de los mapas de la UICN y de ADH de 510 especies de mamíferos de talla mediana a grande en 80 áreas de muestreo de fototrampas. Las cámaras detectaron sólo el 39% de las especies esperadas con base en la distribución de la UICN y los mapas de ADH en todas las áreas; el 85% de las disparidades con la UICN ocurrieron dentro de los 200 km a partir del borde de la distribución. Sólo el 4% de la presencia de las especies fue detectada por las cámaras ubicadas fuera de la distribución de la UICN. La probabilidad de disparidad entre las cámaras y la UICN fue significativamente mayor para los mamíferos de talla pequeña y para los especialistas de hábitat en las regiones Neotropical e Indomalaya y en áreas con doseles forestales más bajos. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que los mapas de distribución y ADH pocas veces subrepresentan las áreas con presencia de las especies, pero con frecuencia pueden sobrerrepresentar la distribución al incluir áreas en donde las especies pueden estar ausentes, en particular los bordes de la distribución. Sugerimos que la combinación de los mapas de distribución con los sensores de biodiversidad en tierra, como las fototrampas, proporciona una base más rica de conocimiento para el mapeo y la planeación de la conservación.

Asymmetric Construction of α,α-Disubstituted Piperazinones Enabled by Benzilic Amide Rearrangement.

An unprecedent asymmetric catalytic benzilic amide rearrangement for the synthesis of α,α-disubstituted piperazinones is reported. The reaction proceeds via a domino [4+1] imidazolidination/formal 1,2-nitrogen shift/1,2-aryl or alkyl migration sequence, employing readily available vicinal tricarbonyl compounds and 1,2-diamines as starting materials. This approach provides an efficient access to chiral C3-disubsituted piperazin-2-ones with high enantiocontrol, which are exceedingly difficult to access from the existing synthetic methodologies. The observed enantioselectivity was proposed to be controlled by dynamic kinetic resolution in the 1,2-aryl/alkyl migration step. The resulting densely functionalized products are versatile building blocks to bioactive natural products, drug molecules and their analogues.

Mirror image stimulation could reverse social-isolation-induced aggressiveness in the high-level subsocial lactating spider.

Conspecific aggressiveness often increases after social isolation for species that are not entirely solitary, and this increased aggression could also be reversed after resocialization. However, literature on this aggression plasticity refers to either permanently social or low-level subsocial species in invertebrates. Examinations of conspecific aggressiveness reversibility in high-level subsocial invertebrates, in which offspring cohabitate with parents for a certain period of time after sexual maturation, would enhance the understanding of the role of conspecific-aggression plasticity in social evolution. Here, using the lactating spider Toxeus magnus, which exhibits extremely high-level subsociality, we assessed three questions. (1) Is its conspecific aggression affected by social living and/or kinship? The results indicated that conspecific aggression increased after social isolation, while kinship did not affect aggressiveness. (2) Could the social-isolation-induced higher aggression be reversed after resocialization? The results showed that the increased aggression of the spiders could be reversed 3 days after resocialization. (3) What is the proximate mechanism that caused the aggression reversibility by resocialization? A simulated resocialization experiment in which single spider was provided with mirrors demonstrated that the visual cues of conspecifics alone could reverse the aggression after 6 days. These results indicate that the high-level subsocial invertebrate showed aggressiveness reversibility without chemical cues. This is more similar to permanently social species rather than to low-level subsocial species, and visual cues could be vital to induce aggression change. These results suggest that conspecific-aggression reversibility might play a key role in social evolution and may functionally enhance species' adaptiveness under variable conditions.

Synthesis of Antimicrobial Benzo[1,2,4]triazoloazepinium Salts and Tetrahydronaphtho[1,2-e][1,2,4]triazines by Polar [3+ + 2] and [4 + 2]-Cycloaddition Reactions.

Novel annulated azaheterocycles of benzo[1,2,4]triazoloazepine and tetrahydronaphtho[1,2-e][1,2,4]triazine derivatives have been synthesized. Treatment of 2-diazenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl acetates with BF3·Et2O generates 1-aza-2-azoniaallenium cation intermediates (or azocarbenium ions), which are intercepted by nitriles via cascade polar [3+ + 2]-cycloaddition/rearrangement reactions to afford benzo[1,2,4]triazoloazepinium salts. These literature unprecedented fused tricycle compounds have been shown to exhibit antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus with in silico docking studies, suggesting that they may exhibit their antibiotic activity through inhibition of DNA gyrase. Additionally, when ethyl 2-(1-acetoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)diazene-1-carboxylate is employed, the reaction with BF3·Et2O produces 1,2-diaza-1,3-diene, which reacts with nitriles via a diaza-Diels-Alder reaction with inverse electron demand, leading to ethyl tetrahydronaphtho[1,2-e][1,2,4]triazine carboxylates. The DFT calculation has been performed to further prove the D-A reaction speculation.

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty reverse right ventricular remodelling and dysfunction in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Right ventricular (RV) function is considered the major determinant of prognosis in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate RV remodelling and function following balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in patients with inoperable CTEPH or persistent/recurrent pulmonary hypertension (PH) after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). METHODS: We reviewed all studies evaluating RV function by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and/or echocardiography pre- and post-BPA from PubMed/Medline prior to 15 December 2019. Ten (299 patients) of the 29 studies retrieved met the inclusion criteria: 5 CMR and 5 echocardiography studies. The systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines. RESULTS: Pooled data from CMR studies revealed BPA resulted in a significantly decreased RV end-diastolic volume index (weighted mean difference (WMD) - 28.33 ml/m2, p < 0.00001) and RV end-systolic volume index (WMD - 29.06 ml/m2, p < 0.00001) accompanied by an increased RV ejection fraction (RVEF, WMD 8.97%, p < 0.00001). Data from the echocardiography studies showed BPA resulted in decreased RV basal diameter (WMD - 0.37 cm, p = 0.0009) and an increase of RV fractional area change (WMD 5.97 %, p = 0.003), but improvements of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and S' were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: BPA improves RVEF and decreases RV volumes in patients with inoperable CTEPH or persistent/recurrent PH after PEA. KEY POINTS: • Balloon pulmonary angioplasty improves RVEF and decreases RV volumes in patients with inoperable CTEPH or persistent/recurrent PH after PEA.

Conservation planning on China's borders with Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.

Transboundary conservation is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining ecosystem integrity and halting biodiversity loss caused by anthropogenic activities. However, lack of information on species distributions in transboundary regions and understanding of the threats in these areas impairs conservation. We developed a spatial conservation plan for the transboundary areas between Yunnan province, southwestern China, and neighboring Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. To identify priority areas for conservation and restoration, we determined species distribution patterns and recent land-use changes and examined the spatiotemporal dynamics of the connected natural forest, which supports most species. We assessed connectivity with equivalent connected area (ECA), which is the amount of reachable habitat for a species. An ECA incorporates the presence of habitat in a patch and the amount of habitat in other patches within dispersal distance. We analyzed 197,845 locality records from specimen collections and monographs for 21,004 plant and vertebrate species. The region of Yunnan immediately adjacent to the international borders had the highest species richness, with 61% of recorded species and 56% of threatened vertebrates, which suggests high conservation value. Satellite imagery showed the area of natural forest in the border zone declined by 5.2% (13,255 km2 ) from 1995 to 2018 and monoculture plantations increased 92.4%, shrubland 10.1%, and other cropland 6.2%. The resulting decline in connected natural forest reduced the amount of habitat, especially for forest specialists with limited dispersal abilities. The most severe decline in connectivity was along the Sino-Vietnamese border. Many priority areas straddle international boundaries, indicating demand and potential for establishing transboundary protected areas. Our results illustrate the importance of bi- and multilateral cooperation to protect biodiversity in this region and provide guidance for future conservation planning and practice.

Planeación de la Conservación en las Fronteras de China con Myanmar, Laos y Vietnam Resumen La conservación transfronteriza cada vez juega un papel más importante en la preservación de la integridad del ecosistema y en el freno a la pérdida local de la biodiversidad causada por las actividades antropogénicas. Sin embargo, la falta de información sobre la distribución de las especies en las regiones transfronterizas y de la comprensión de las amenazas en estas áreas obstaculiza la conservación. Desarrollamos un plan de conservación espacial para las áreas transfronterizas entre la provincia de Yunnan, al suroeste de China, y los países vecinos Myanmar, Laos y Vietnam localizadas en el punto caliente de biodiversidad Indo-Burma. Para identificar las áreas prioritarias para la conservación y la restauración, determinamos los patrones de distribución de las especies y los recientes cambios en el uso de suelo y examinamos las dinámicas espaciotemporales del bosque natural conectado, el cual mantiene a la mayoría de las especies. Evaluamos la conectividad con el área equivalente conectada (AEC), que es la cantidad de hábitat accesible para una especie. Un AEC incorpora la presencia del hábitat en un fragmento y la cantidad de hábitat en otros fragmentos dentro de la distancia de dispersión. Analizamos 197,845 registros de localidades desde colecciones de especímenes y monografías para 21,004 especies de plantas y de vertebrados. La región de Yunnan inmediatamente adyacente a las fronteras internacionales tuvo la riqueza de especies más alta con el 61% de las especies registradas y el 56% de los vertebrados amenazados, lo que sugiere un elevado valor de conservación. Las imágenes satelitales mostraron que el área del bosque natural en la zona fronteriza declinó en un 5.2% (13,255 km2 ) entre 1995 y 2018 y que los sembradíos de monocultivos incrementaron en un 92.4%, los matorrales en un 10.1% y otras tierras de cultivo en un 6.2%. La declinación resultante en el bosque natural conectado redujo la cantidad del hábitat, especialmente para los especialistas del bosque con habilidades limitadas de dispersión. La declinación más grave en la conectividad ocurrió a lo largo de la frontera entre China y Vietnam. Muchas áreas prioritarias atraviesan las fronteras internacionales, lo que indica una demanda y un potencial para el establecimiento de áreas protegidas transfronterizas. Nuestros resultados ejemplifican la importancia de la cooperación bi- y multilateral para proteger la biodiversidad en esta región y proporciona información para la planeación y práctica de la conservación en el futuro.

The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism impacts victim's moral emotions following interpersonal transgression.

Immoral behaviors make individuals abominate and punish transgressors. Inspired by the associations between the Val66Met polymorphism of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) gene and emotional responses following negative events, we investigated whether this polymorphism was also associated moral emotions such as punishment and forgiveness following interpersonal transgression. To do so, we categorized 340 individuals according to the BDNF Val66Met and assessed moral emotions by using 12 hypothetic scenarios in different conditions of intention and interpersonal consequence. The results indicated that this polymorphism was significantly associated with moral aversion and punishment towards transgressors. Victims with the Val/Val genotype expressed less aversion and punishment than the Met carriers, regardless of intention and interpersonal consequence. Moreover, this polymorphism was associated with forgiveness. Victims with the Val/Val genotype expressed more forgiveness than the Met carriers. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of the BDNF Val66Met to moral emotions.

Nestin represents a potential marker of pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: Reportedly, nestin was re-expressed in proliferative synthetic-type pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and obligatory for PASMC proliferation in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Accordingly, nestin is increased in pulmonary vascular lesions of congenital heart disease (CHD)-associated PAH patients. We tested the hypothesis whether nestin was re-expressed in proliferative synthetic-type PASMCs and associated with pulmonary vascular remodeling in CHD-PAH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nestin expression was tested using lung tissues from CHD-PAH patients and monocrotaline (MCT) plus aortocaval (AV) shunt-induced PAH rats, human PASMCs (HPASMCs), and pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs) and PASMCs from MCT-AV-induced PAH rats. The role and possible mechanism of nestin on HPASMC proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle and migration were investigated by assays of CCK-8, EdU, TUNEL, flow cytometry, transwell chamber and immunoblotting assays. RESULTS: Nestin was solely expressed in proliferative synthetic-type PASMCs, but rarely detected in PAECs. Nestin was barely detected in normal pulmonary arterioles and occlusive pulmonary vascular lesions. Its expression was robustly increased in developing pulmonary vasculature, but returned to normal levels at the late stage of pulmonary vascular remodeling in lung tissues from CHD-PAH patients and MCT-AV-induced PAH rats. Besides, nestin peaks were consistent with the histological features in lung tissues of MCT-AV-induced PAH rats. Moreover, nestin overexpression effectively promoted HPASMC phenotypic transformation, proliferation, apoptosis resistance and migration via enhancing Wnt/ß-catenin activation. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicated that nestin was re-expressed in proliferative synthetic-type PASMCs and might represent a potential marker of pulmonary vascular remodeling in CHD-PAH.

Bone progeria diminished the therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on retinal degeneration.

Senescence is closely related to the occurrence of retinal degeneration. Recent studies have shown that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) have significant therapeutic effects on retinal degeneration, While BMMSCs suffer from functional decline in bone aging. Whether senescence affects BMMSCs therapy on retinal degeneration remains unknown. Here, we applied the previously established bone progeria animal model, the senescence-accelerated mice-prone 6 (SAMP6) strain, and surprisingly discovered that SAMP6 mice demonstrated retinal degeneration at 6 months old. Furthermore, BMMSCs derived from SAMP6 mice failed to prevent MNU-induced retinal degeneration in vivo. As expected, BMMSCs from SAMP6 mice exhibited impairment in the differentiation capacities, compared to those from the age-matched senescence-accelerated mice-resistant 1 (SAMR1) strain. Moreover, BMMSCs from SAMR1 mice counteracted MNU-induced retinal degeneration, with increased expression of the retina survival hallmark, N-myc downstream regulated gene 2 (NDRG2). Taken together, these findings reveal that bone progeria diminished the therapeutic effects of BMMSC on retinal degeneration.

Scavenger receptor class A, member 5 is associated with thyroid cancer cell lines progression via epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Thyroid cancer (TC) has become one of most common endocrine malignancies in recent decades. Due to gene background polymorphism, it's outcome goes quite differently in each patient. For exploring the mechanism, we performed whole transcriptome sequencing of paired papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and adjacent thyroid tissues. As a result, scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) might be a crucial anti-oncogene associated with PTC. By RT-qPCR, we first detected the expression of SCARA5 in PTC tissue and three type of TC cell lines. Besides, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data were gathered to analysis the relationship between SCARA5 and clinical feature. A series of loss-function experiments in TC cell lines (KTC-1 and BCPAP) to investigate the function of SCARA5 in PTC. The results showed that SCARA5 expression in PTC was lower than adjacent normal tissue. And, it's consistent with the TCGA database. After analyse the correlation between SCARA5 expression and clinicopathological features in TCGA database, we discovered that downregulated SCARA5 is significantly connected age (P = .04) and tumour size (P = .032). Knockdown of SCARA5 in TC cell line could significantly increase the function of cells proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, we also proved that SCARA5 could modulate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins, which influence invasion and migration. To best of our knowledge, SCARA5 is a suppressor gene which was associated with PTC and might be a potential therapeutic target in the future. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: Thyroid cancer (TC) has become one of most common endocrine malignancies in recent decades. By whole transcriptome sequencing of paired papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and adjacent thyroid tissues, author discovered that scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) might be crucial anti-oncogene associated with PTC. Furthermore, knocking-down of SCARA5 in TC cell line can increase the function of cells proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Author also proved that SCARA5 could modulate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins.

Association Between EphA1 and Tumor Microenvironment in Gastric Carcinoma and its Clinical Significance.

BACKGROUND With the growing global burden of gastric carcinoma (GC) and the urgent need for biomolecular targeted therapies, this study aimed to elucidate the relationship between EphA1 and the tumor microenvironment (focusing primarily on the key inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and tumor angiogenic cytokine VEGF) to identify a new potential therapeutic target. MATERIAL AND METHODS IHC and qRT-PCR were performed to quantify the protein and gene expression levels of EphA1, IL-6, and VEGF in normal mucosal tissues, carcinoma tissues, and paracarcinomatous tissues from 57 GC patients. Spearman's rank correlation test was performed to determine the relationship between EphA1, IL-6, and VEGF expression levels. The relationships of EphA1 with clinicopathologic parameter and survival in GC patients were also evaluated. RESULTS The protein and gene expression levels of EphA1 were all attenuated gradually from carcinoma tissues to paracarcinomatous tissues and then to normal mucosal tissues in GC patients. Additionally, significant correlations between the overexpression of EphA1 with aggressive clinicopathological features and shorter survival time of GC patients were verified. In particular, we found a significant positive correlation between the expression of EphA1 and tumor microenvironment hallmark proteins IL-6 and VEGF in carcinoma tissues and paracarcinomatous tissues. CONCLUSIONS EphA1 can promote the occurrence and development of GC by its selective high expression in cancer tissues and its relationship with malignant clinical features and prognosis of GC patients. The underlying potential mechanism appears to involve enhancement of the tumor microenvironment, which via drives the expression of tumor microenvironment hallmark proteins IL-6 and VEGF.

Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 5 (LPAR5) Plays a Significance Role in Papillary Thyroid Cancer via Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/Akt/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) Pathway.

BACKGROUND Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine system malignancy. Scientists have done considerable research into the molecular mechanisms involved, but many mechanisms remain undiscovered. MATERIAL AND METHODS We performed a comprehensive analysis of the whole-transcriptome resequencing derived from thyroid tissues and paired papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and showed that lysophosphatidic acid receptor 5 (LPAR5) is strongly overexpressed in thyroid carcinoma. Then, we used TPC-1 and KTC-1 to explore the effect of LPAR5 knockdown on colony formation, migration, proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of PTC cell line cells. AKT activator was used for the recovery test. Finally, we designed proteomic experiments to explore the role of LPAR5 in the AKT pathway and the EMT process. RESULTS Cell function experiments showed that LPAR5 knockdown can significantly induce apoptosis of KTC-1 and TPC-1 cells. Furthermore, LPAR5 can promote PTC metastasis and tumorigenesis by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway and decreasing its cancer-promoting effect when using AKT agonist. We also found that LPAR5 can regulate the expression of EMT-related proteins, which affect invasion and migration. CONCLUSIONS In summary, downregulation of LPAR5 expression can inhibit the physiological process of PTC, and this phenomenon is related to the PI3K/AKT pathway and EMT.

Macaca leonina has a wider niche breadth than sympatric M. mulatta in a fragmented tropical forest in southwest China.

Niche differentiation has long been identified as an essential stabilizing mechanism for the coexistence of sympatric species. Using camera trapping data obtained during 2012-2016, we identified Macaca leonina and M. mulatta as the dominant macaque species in the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (NRW-NNR), a tropical forest in southwestern China. In general, M. leonina exhibited a wider distribution and greater niche breadth than co-occurring M. mulatta. According to a fitted maximum entropy model (MaxEnt), M. leonina was predicted to predominantly occur in forest at higher elevation, whereas M. mulatta was predicted at lower elevation; the broadleaved evergreen forest was predicted as the most suitable vegetation for both species to inhabit, while the unsuitable area was bordered by rubber plantation, in which both food scarcity and human disturbance restricted the movement of macaques. Although the niches of these two species highly overlapped across space and time, we also found evidence for their spatiotemporal niche differentiation. When the two species inhabited independent areas with different elevations and vegetation, they maintained a similar activity pattern; however, in the zones of overlap, their activity patterns differed significantly. Further comparative field studies of these two macaques, considering other niche dimensions, are required to ensure their coexistence and long-term conservation.

Influence of Triazole Pesticides on Wine Flavor and Quality Based on Multidimensional Analysis Technology.

Triazole pesticides are widely used to control grapevine diseases. In this study, we investigated the impact of three triazole pesticides-triadimefon, tebuconazole, and paclobutrazol-on the concentrations of wine aroma compounds. All three triazole pesticides significantly affected the ester and acid aroma components. Among them, paclobutrazol exhibited the greatest negative influence on the wine aroma quality through its effect on the ester and acid aroma substances, followed by tebuconazole and triadimefon. Qualitative and quantitative analysis by solid-phase micro-extraction gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry revealed that the triazole pesticides also changed the flower and fruit flavor component contents of the wines. This was attributed to changes in the yeast fermentation activity caused by the pesticide residues. The study reveals that triazole pesticides negatively impact on the volatile composition of wines with a potential undesirable effect on wine quality, underlining the desirability of stricter control by the food industry over pesticide residues in winemaking.

Growth-associated protein 43 promotes thyroid cancer cell lines progression via epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Thyroid cancer is maintaining at a high incidence level and its carcinogenesis is mainly affected by a complex gene interaction. By analysis of the next-generation resequencing of paired papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and adjacent thyroid tissues, we found that Growth Associated Protein 43 (GAP43), a phosphoprotein activated by protein kinase C, might be novel markers associated with PTC. However, its function in thyroid carcinoma has been poorly understood. We discovered that GAP43 was significantly overexpressed in thyroid carcinoma and these results were consistent with that in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. In addition, some clinicopathological features of GAP43 in TCGA database showed that up-regulated GAP43 is significantly connected to lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001) and tumour size (P = 0.038). In vitro experiments, loss of function experiments was performed to investigate GAP43 in PTC cell lines (TPC-1 and BCPAP). The results proved that GAP43 knockdown in PTC cell significantly decreased the function of cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion and induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, we also indicated that GAP43 could modulate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins, which could influence invasion and migration. Put those results together, GAP43 is a gene which was associated with PTC and might be a potential therapeutic target.

Effects of law enforcement and community outreach on mammal diversity in a biodiversity hotspot.

Management activities such as law enforcement and community outreach are thought to affect conservation outcomes in protected areas, but their importance relative to intrinsic environmental characteristics of the parks and extrinsic human pressures surrounding the parks have not been explored. Furthermore, it is not clear which is more related to conservation outcomes-the management itself or local people's perceptions of the management. We measured objective (reports by park staff) and subjective (reports by local people) levels of community outreach and law enforcement based on responses to 374 questionnaires. We estimated mammal abundance and diversity of 6 protected areas based on data from 115 camera traps in Xishuangbanna, southwest China, a biodiversity hotspot with high hunting and land-conversion pressures. We then examined correlations among them and found that local people's perception of law enforcement was positively related to the local abundance of 2 large, hunted species, wild boar (Sus scrofa) (ß = 15.22) and muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis) (ß = 14.82), but not related to the abundance of smaller mammals or to objective levels of enforcement. The subjective frequency of outreach by park staff to local communities (ß = 3.42) and park size (ß = 3.28) were significantly and positively related to mammal species richness, whereas elevation, human population density, and subjective frequency of law enforcement were not. We could not conclude that community outreach and law enforcement were directly causing increased mammal abundance and diversity. Nevertheless, the patterns we detected are some of the first empirical evidence consistent with the idea that biodiversity in protected areas may be more positively and strongly related to local perceptions of the intensity of park management than to either intrinsic (e.g., elevation, park size) or extrinsic (e.g., human population density) environmental factors.

Efectos de la Aplicación de la Ley y la Participación de la Comunidad sobre la Diversidad de Mamíferos en un Punto Caliente de Biodiversidad Resumen Las actividades de manejo como la aplicación de la ley y la participación de la comunidad afectan los resultados de conservación dentro de las áreas protegidas, pero su importancia en relación con las características ambientales intrínsecas de los parques y las presiones humanas extrínsecas que rodean a los parques no han sido exploradas. Además, no está claro cuál está más relacionado con los resultados de conservación - el manejo en sí o las percepciones que las personas locales tienen sobre el manejo. Medimos los niveles objetivos (reportes dados por el personal del parque) y subjetivos (reportes dados por los locales) de la participación de la comunidad y la aplicación de la ley con base en las respuestas a 347 cuestionarios. Estimamos la abundancia y diversidad de mamíferos de seis áreas protegidas con base en datos de 115 cámaras trampa en Xishuangbann, al suroeste de China, un punto caliente de biodiversidad con altas presiones causadas por la caza y la conversión del uso de suelo. Después examinamos la correlación entre ellos y encontramos que la percepción que los locales tienen sobre la aplicación de la ley estuvo relacionada positivamente con la abundancia local de dos grandes especies que son cazadas, el jabalí (Sus scrofa) (ß = 15.22) y el muntíaco (Muntiacus vaginalis) (ß = 14.82), pero no estuvo relacionada con la abundancia de mamíferos más pequeños o con los niveles objetivos de la aplicación de la ley. La frecuencia subjetiva del alcance del personal del parque hacia las comunidades locales (ß = 3.42) y el tamaño del parque and (ß = 3.28) estuvieron relacionadas significativa y positivamente con la riqueza de las especies de mamíferos, mientras que la elevación, la densidad de la población humana, y la frecuencia subjetiva de la aplicación de la ley no lo estuvieron. No pudimos concluir que la participación de la comunidad y la aplicación de la ley estuvieran causando directamente una abundancia y diversidad aumentada de mamíferos. Sin embargo, los patrones que detectamos son de las primeras evidencias empíricas consistentes con la idea de que la biodiversidad en las áreas protegidas podría estar relacionada positiva y fuertemente con la percepción que tienen los locales de la intensidad del manejo del parque y no con los factores ambientales intrínsecos (p. ej.: elevación, tamaño del parque) o extrínsecos (p.ej.: densidad de la población humana).