The FBXW7-binding sites on FAM83D are potential targets for cancer therapy

Increasing evidence shows the oncogenic function of FAM83D in human cancer, but how FAM83D exerts its oncogenic function remains largely unclear. Here, we investigated the importance of FAM83D/FBXW7 interaction in breast cancer (BC). We systematically mapped the FBXW7-binding sites on FAM83D through a comprehensive mutational analysis together with co-immunoprecipitation assay. Mutations at the FBXW7-binding sites on FAM83D led to that FAM83D lost its capability to promote the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of FBXW7; cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro; and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo, indicating that the FBXW7-binding sites on FAM83D are essential for its oncogenic functions. A meta-evaluation of FAM83D revealed that the prognostic impact of FAM83D was independent on molecular subtypes. The higher expression of FAM83D has poorer prognosis. Moreover, high expression of FAM83D confers resistance to chemotherapy in BCs, which is experimentally validated in vitro. We conclude that identification of FBXW7-binding sites on FAM83D not only reveals the importance for FAM83D oncogenic function, but also provides valuable insights for drug target.

Light Quality Effect on Internal N Retranslocation in Podocarpus macrophyllus Precultured with Exponential Nutrient Loading

Streetlamp light is inevitable in the night landscape of a city and may affect the phenology of newly planted ornamental plants, but it has rarely been fully examined. Newly transplanted ornamental plants probably suffer periodic shocks, which mainly result from the inefficient reuse of internal nutrients for new growth. Exponential nutrient loading (ENL) is well known for its ability to overcome transplant shocks by promoting retranslocation for the reuse of strengthened nutrients from internal reserves in precultured seedlings. Transplantation to urbanized lands is distinct from that of montane areas; this is mainly due to a high frequency of exposure to the artificial illumination of night lighting. It is suspected that this lighting modifies vegetative phenology and generates potential risks by increasing reliance on internal nutrient retranslocation. In this study, Podocarpus macrophyllus seedlings were cultured with ENL at low and high rates of nitrogen (N) deliveries (40 and 120 mg N seedling-1, respectively), and the high-rate treatment was identified as being able to trap seedlings within toxic states. A labeled 15N isotope was pulsed to transplanted seedlings exposed to simulated light qualities in red, green, and blue light spectra. The seedlings harvested at one month showed rare responses to the interactive spectra and preculture treatments, but most of them responded to the low-rate N preculture treatment with stronger abilities in terms of the reuse of internal N and the synthesizing of photosynthetic pigments. In conclusion, it was verified that night light enforces the effect on newly transplanted plants; the red light invoked internal N for reuse, and the blue light promoted the uptake of the current N. The internal N reserve established through preculture ENL rarely made a contribution to the night light effect, except for the enhancement of height growth in the red light. The red light spectrum was recommended for the exposure of newly transplanted seedlings due to its effect on the enhancement of the retranslocation of internal N and the induction of a steady state of uptake from the current N input.

[Infection status and Molecular types of Rhinovirus among Cases of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Luohe City, Henan Province, from 2017 to 2022]

Objective: To understand the infection status and molecular types of rhinovirus (RV) among cases of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) in Luohe City, Henan Province, from 2017 to 2022. Methods: From October 2017 to June 2022, clinical and epidemiological data were collected from 2 270 cases of ARIs at Luohe Central Hospital in Henan Province. Throat swab specimens were obtained from these cases. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to screen for RV-positive specimens. Subsequently, the positive samples were subjected to nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nested RT-PCR) to amplify the full-length VP1 region. Using the MEGA software, along with 169 RV reference strains recommended by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, a phylogenetic tree was constructed to determine RV types. Results: Among the 2 270 cases of ARIs, there were 1 283 male cases (56.52%). The median age (Q1, Q3) was 3 (1, 6) years, with the population under 5 years old accounting for 68.59% (1 557/2 270). RV was detected in 137 cases (6.04%), of which 68 cases (49.64%) showed co-detection with other viruses, with the most common being co-detection with enterovirus, accounting for 14.60% (20/137). The RV detection rates in the age groups of 0~4 years, 5~14 years, 15~59 years, and≥60 years were 6.42% (100/1 557), 4.69% (21/448), 3.80% (6/158), and 9.35% (10/107), respectively, with no statistically significant differences (χ2=5.310, P=0.150). The overall detection rates of RV before (2017-2019) and during (2020-2022) the COVID-19 pandemic showed no statistically significant difference (χ2=1.823, P=0.177). A total of 109 VP1 sequences were obtained, including 62 types. Among them, RV-A, RV-B, and RV-C had 42, 3, and 17 types respectively. Conclusion: RV is one of the predominant pathogens in ARIs cases in Luohe City, Henan Province, from 2017 to 2022. Multiple types of RV co-circulate without any apparent dominant type.

Genetic analysis of transcription factors in dopaminergic neuronal development in Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND

Genetic variants of dopaminergic transcription factor-encoding genes are suggested to be Parkinson's disease (PD) risk factors; however, no comprehensive analyses of these genes in patients with PD have been undertaken. Therefore, we aimed to genetically analyze 16 dopaminergic transcription factor genes in Chinese patients with PD.

METHODS

Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed using a Chinese cohort comprising 1917 unrelated patients with familial or sporadic early-onset PD and 1652 controls. Additionally, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed using another Chinese cohort comprising 1962 unrelated patients with sporadic late-onset PD and 1279 controls.

RESULTS

We detected 308 rare and 208 rare protein-altering variants in the WES and WGS cohorts, respectively. Gene-based association analyses of rare variants suggested that MSX1 is enriched in sporadic late-onset PD. However, the significance did not pass the Bonferroni correction. Meanwhile, 72 and 1730 common variants were found in the WES and WGS cohorts, respectively. Unfortunately, single-variant logistic association analyses did not identify significant associations between common variants and PD.

CONCLUSIONS

Variants of 16 typical dopaminergic transcription factors might not be major genetic risk factors for PD in Chinese patients. However, we highlight the complexity of PD and the need for extensive research elucidating its etiology.

GGC expansions in NOTCH2NLC contribute to Parkinson disease and dopaminergic neuron degeneration

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The role of GGC repeat expansions within NOTCH2NLC in Parkinson's disease (PD) and the substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic neuron remains unclear. Here, we profile the NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansions in a large cohort of patients with PD. We also investigate the role of GGC repeat expansions within NOTCH2NLC in the dopaminergic neurodegeneration of SN.

METHODS

A total of 2,522 patients diagnosed with PD and 1,085 health controls were analyzed for the repeat expansions of NOTCH2NLC by repeat-primed PCR and GC-rich PCR assay. Furthermore, the effects of GGC repeat expansions in NOTCH2NLC on dopaminergic neurons were investigated by using recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated overexpression of NOTCH2NLC with 98 GGC repeats in the SN of mice by stereotactic injection.

RESULTS

Four PD pedigrees (4/333, 1.2%) and three sporadic PD patients (3/2189, 0.14%) were identified with pathogenic GGC repeat expansions (larger than 60 GGC repeats) in the NOTCH2NLC gene, while eight PD patients and one healthy control were identified with intermediate GGC repeat expansions ranging from 41 to 60 repeats. No significant difference was observed in the distribution of intermediate NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansions between PD cases and controls (Fisher's exact test p-value = 0.29). Skin biopsy showed P62-positive intranuclear NOTCH2NLC-polyGlycine (polyG) inclusions in the skin nerve fibers of patient. Expanded GGC repeats in NOTCH2NLC produced widespread intranuclear and perinuclear polyG inclusions, which led to a severe loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SN. Consistently, polyG inclusions were presented in the SN of EIIa-NOTCH2NLC-(GGC)98 transgenic mice and also led to dopaminergic neuron loss in the SN.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our findings provide strong evidence that GGC repeat expansions within NOTCH2NLC contribute to the pathogenesis of PD and cause degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons.

Stable and Highly Luminescent Silver Nanoclusters in the 13X Zeolite Enabled by Mg2+ Doping and Their Luminescence Tuning by Heating Temperature

Zeolite-confined silver nanoclusters (Ag-zeolite) have aroused vast interest due to their remarkable luminescence. The countercations within a zeolite play critical roles in determining the luminescent properties of the resulting Ag-zeolite. We observed, in this work, that introducing Mg2+ enabled the Ag-13X zeolite a stable and bright yellow emission with a high PLQY of 94.6%, the first report on the luminescence enhancement of the Ag-13X zeolite by Mg2+, to the best of our knowledge. The formation of specific internal electric fields inside 13X and the structural contraction of the zeolite framework due to the high charge density and the small ionic radius of Mg2+ are believed to be responsible for the enhanced stable and bright yellow emission. The stabilization effect of Mg2+ is removed by increasing the heating temperature above 700 °C, which leads to the variation of silver nanoclusters as a result of the framework collapse of the zeolite. The Ag-zeolite synthesized by us, featured with a broad emission band, a high PLQY of 94.6%, and good thermal stability, can be considered a suitable candidate to replace the traditional commercial yellow-emitting phosphor YAG:Ce3+ for light-based applications. This work contributes to a valuable reference for the rational design of silver nanoclusters confined in zeolites with promising new functionalities and stimulates potential applications as novel phosphors for near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (NUV-LEDs).

Microdeletion in distal PLP1 enhancers causes hereditary spastic paraplegia 2

OBJECTIVES

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a genetically heterogeneous disease caused by over 70 genes, with a significant number of patients still genetically unsolved. In this study, we recruited a suspected HSP family characterized by spasticity, developmental delay, ataxia and hypomyelination, and intended to reveal its molecular etiology by whole exome sequencing (WES) and long-read sequencing (LRS) analyses.

METHODS

WES was performed on 13 individuals of the family to identify the causative mutations, including analyses of SNVs (single-nucleotide variants) and CNVs (copy number variants). Accurate circular consensus (CCS) long-read sequencing (LRS) was used to verify the findings of CNV analysis from WES.

RESULTS

SNVs analysis identified a missense variant c.195G>T (p.E65D) of MORF4L2 at Xq22.2 co-segregating in this family from WES data. Further CNVs analysis revealed a microdeletion, which was adjacent to the MORF4L2 gene, also co-segregating in this family. LRS verified this microdeletion and confirmed the deletion range (chrX: 103,690,507-103,715,018, hg38) with high resolution at nucleotide level accuracy.

INTERPRETATIONS

In this study, we identified an Xq22.2 microdeletion (about 24.5 kb), which contains distal enhancers of the PLP1 gene, as a likely cause of SPG2 in this family. The lack of distal enhancers may result in transcriptional repression of PLP1 in oligodendrocytes, potentially affecting its role in the maintenance of myelin, and causing SPG2 phenotype. This study has highlighted the importance of noncoding genomic alterations in the genetic etiology of SPG2.

Mutational spectrum and clinical features of GBA1 variants in a Chinese cohort with Parkinson's disease

GBA1 variants are important risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD). Most studies assessing GBA1-related PD risk have been performed in European-derived populations. Although the coding region of the GBA1 gene in the Chinese population has been analyzed, the sample sizes were not adequate. In this study, we aimed to investigate GBA1 variants in a large Chinese cohort of patients with PD and healthy control and explore the associated clinical characteristics. GBA1 variants in 4034 patients and 2931 control participants were investigated using whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing. The clinical features of patients were evaluated using several scales. Regression analysis, chi-square, and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze GBA1 variants and the clinical symptoms of different groups. We identified 104 variants, including 8 novel variants, expanding the spectrum of GBA1 variants. The frequency of GBA1 variants in patients with PD was 7.46%, higher than that in the control (1.81%) (P < 0.001, odds ratio [OR] = 4.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.26-5.89). Among patients, 176 (4.36%) had severe variants, 34 (0.84%) carried mild variants, three (0.07%) had risk variants, and 88 (2.18%) carried unknown variants. Our study, for the first time, found that p.G241R (P = 0.007, OR = 15.3, 95% CI: 1.25-261.1) and p.S310G (P = 0.005, OR = 4.86, 95% CI: 1.52-28.04) variants increased the risk of PD. Patients with GBA1 variants exhibited an earlier onset age and higher risk of probable rapid-eye-movement sleep behavior disorder, olfactory dysfunction, depression, and autonomic dysfunction than patients without GBA1 variants.

CYP eicosanoid pathway mediates colon cancer-promoting effects of dietary linoleic acid

Human and animal studies support that consuming a high level of linoleic acid (LA, 18:2ω-6), an essential fatty acid and key component of the human diet, increases the risk of colon cancer. However, results from human studies have been inconsistent, making it challenging to establish dietary recommendations for optimal LA intake. Given the importance of LA in the human diet, it is crucial to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying its potential colon cancer-promoting effects. Using LC-MS/MS-based targeted lipidomics, we find that the cytochrome P450 (CYP) monooxygenase pathway is a major pathway for LA metabolism in vivo. Furthermore, CYP monooxygenase is required for the colon cancer-promoting effects of LA, since the LA-rich diet fails to exacerbate colon cancer in CYP monooxygenase-deficient mice. Finally, CYP monooxygenase mediates the pro-cancer effects of LA by converting LA to epoxy octadecenoic acids (EpOMEs), which have potent effects on promoting colon tumorigenesis via gut microbiota-dependent mechanisms. Overall, these results support that CYP monooxygenase-mediated conversion of LA to EpOMEs plays a crucial role in the health effects of LA, establishing a unique mechanistic link between dietary fatty acid intake and cancer risk. These results could help in developing more effective dietary guidelines for optimal LA intake and identifying subpopulations that may be especially vulnerable to LA's negative effects.

[Clinical management and prognosis for descending necrotizing mediastinitis]

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment experiences and prognostic factors for descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the data of 22 patients with DNM diagnosed and treated in Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2016 to August 2022, including 16 males and 6 females, aged 29-79 years. After admission, all patients underwent CT scanning of the maxillofacial, cervical, and thoracic regions to confirm their diagnoses. Emergency incision and drainage were performed. The neck incision was treated with continuous vacuum sealing drainage. According to the prognoses, the patients were divided into cure group and death group, and the prognostic factors were analyzed. SPSS 25.0 software was used to analyze the clinical data. Rusults: The main complaints were dysphagia (45.5%, 10/22) and dyspnea (50.0%, 11/22). Odontogenic infection accounted for 45.5% (10/22) and oropharyngeal infection accounted for 54.5% (12/22). There were 16 cases in the cured group and 6 cases in the death group, with a total mortality rate of 27.3%. The mortality rates of DNM typeⅠand typeⅡwere respectively 16.7% and 40%. Compared with the cured group, the death group had higher incidences for diabetes, coronary heart disease and septic shock (all P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences between the cure group and the death group in procalcitonin level (50.43 (137.64) ng/ml vs 2.92 (6.33) ng/ml, M(IQR), Z=3.023, P<0.05) and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ) score (16.10±2.40 vs 6.75±3.19, t=6.524, P<0.05). Conclution: DNM is rare, with high mortality, high incidence of septic shock, and the increased procalcitonin level and APACHE Ⅱ score combined diabetes and coronary heart disease are the poor prognostic factors for DNM. Early incision and drainage combined with continuous vacuum sealing drainage technique is a better way to treat DNM.

Performance Comparison of Computational Methods for the Prediction of the Function and Pathogenicity of Non-coding Variants

Non-coding variants in the human genome significantly influence human traits and complex diseases via their regulation and modification effects. Hence, an increasing number of computational methods are developed to predict the effects of variants in human non-coding sequences. However, it is difficult for inexperienced users to select appropriate computational methods from dozens of available methods. To solve this issue, we assessed 12 performance metrics of 24 methods on four independent non-coding variant benchmark datasets: (1) rare germline variants from clinical relevant sequence variants (ClinVar), (2) rare somatic variants from Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer (COSMIC), (3) common regulatory variants from curated expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data, and (4) disease-associated common variants from curated genome-wide association studies (GWAS). All 24 tested methods performed differently under various conditions, indicating varying strengths and weaknesses under different scenarios. Importantly, the performance of existing methods was acceptable for rare germline variants from ClinVar with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.4481-0.8033 and poor for rare somatic variants from COSMIC (AUROC = 0.4984-0.7131), common regulatory variants from curated eQTL data (AUROC = 0.4837-0.6472), and disease-associated common variants from curated GWAS (AUROC = 0.4766-0.5188). We also compared the prediction performance of 24 methods for non-coding de novo mutations in autism spectrum disorder, and found that the combined annotation-dependent depletion (CADD) and context-dependent tolerance score (CDTS) methods showed better performance. Summarily, we assessed the performance of 24 computational methods under diverse scenarios, providing preliminary advice for proper tool selection and guiding the development of new techniques in interpreting non-coding variants.

Genetic analysis of dystonia-related genes in Parkinson's disease

Objective

Parkinson's disease (PD) and dystonia are two closely related movement disorders with overlaps in clinical phenotype. Variants in several dystonia-related genes were demonstrated to be associated with PD; however, genetic evidence for the involvement of dystonia-related genes in PD has not been fully studied. Here, we comprehensively investigated the association between rare variants in dystonia-related genes and PD in a large Chinese cohort.

Methods

We comprehensively analyzed the rare variants of 47 known dystonia-related genes by mining the whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 3,959 PD patients and 2,931 healthy controls. We initially identified potentially pathogenic variants of dystonia-related genes in patients with PD based on different inheritance models. Sequence kernel association tests were conducted in the next step to detect the association between the burden of rare variants and the risk for PD.

Results

We found that five patients with PD carried potentially pathogenic biallelic variants in recessive dystonia-related genes including COL6A3 and TH. Additionally, we identified 180 deleterious variants in dominant dystonia-related genes based on computational pathogenicity predictions and four of which were considered as potentially pathogenic variants (p.W591X and p.G820S in ANO3, p.R678H in ADCY5, and p.R458Q in SLC2A1). A gene-based burden analysis revealed the increased burden of variant subgroups of TH, SQSTM1, THAP1, and ADCY5 in sporadic early-onset PD, whereas COL6A3 was associated with sporadic late-onset PD. However, none of them reached statistical significance after the Bonferroni correction.

Conclusion

Our findings indicated that rare variants in several dystonia-related genes are suggestively associated with PD, and taken together, the role of COL6A3 and TH genes in PD is highlighted.

Evaluating the Genetic Role of Circadian Clock Genes in Parkinson's Disease

Increasing evidence suggests that circadian dysfunction is related to Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the role of circadian clock genes in PD is still poorly understood. This study aimed to illustrate the association between genetic variants of circadian clock genes and PD in a large Chinese population cohort. Ten circadian clock genes were included in this study. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was conducted in 1997 early-onset or familial PD patients and 1652 controls (WES cohort), and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was conducted in 1962 sporadic late-onset PD patients and 1279 controls (WGS cohort). Analyses were completed using the optimized sequence kernel association test and regression analyses. In the burden analysis of the circadian clock gene set, we found suggestive significant associations between the circadian clock genes and PD in the WES cohort when considering missense, damaging missense (Dmis), and deleterious variants. Moreover, the burden analysis of single genes revealed suggestive significant associations between PD and the loss-of-function variants of the CRY1 gene, missense, Dmis, and deleterious variants of the PER1 gene, and Dmis and deleterious variants of the PER2 gene in the WES cohort. Rare variants in the WGS cohort and all common variants in the WGS and WES cohorts were unrelated to PD. Phenotypic analysis indicated that deleterious variants of the PER1 gene were associated with dyskinesia in the WES cohort. Our study provides evidence of a potential link between circadian clock genes and PD from a genetic perspective.

Metallic and dimensional optimization of metal-organic frameworks for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have been considered as one of the most promising energy storage systems owing to their high theoretical energy density and abundant sulfuric resources. However, their commercial application is limited by rapid capacity decline and low Coulombic efficiency. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) made of metallic nodes and organic ligands can suppress polysulfide shuttling and promote redox kinetics. In this paper, the effects of crystallographic dimensions and metallic categories on chemical performance of LSBs have been meticulously explored electrochemical performance. As a result, exposed Ni active sites in a lamellar Ni-MOF was found to deliver a superior electrochemical performance. The as-assembled LSBs with 2D-Ni-MOF/CNTs cathode deliver a much superior initial discharge capacity, (820 mAh g-1 at 0.5C), and exhibit excellent cycling stability over 550 cycles than those analogues of 3D stereoscopic Ni-MOF and 2D lamellar Co-MOF. This work proposed a perspective in elevating LSBs performance through synergistic optimization of the MOFs dimensions and the metallic nuclei in the cathodes.

[Analysis of the clinical predictive value of lactate on the prognosis of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure combined with infection]

Objective: To explore the predictive value of lactic acid for the adverse prognostic outcomes in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure combined with infection. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 208 cases of ACLF combined with infection who were hospitalized from January 2014 to March 2016. Patients were divided into a survival group (n = 83) and a mortality group (n = 125) according to the results of a 90-day follow-up. The clinical data were statistically analyzed between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression with two categorical variables was used to analyze the independent risk factors for 90-day disease mortality and establish a new prediction model. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the predictive value of lactic acid, the MELD score, the MELD-Na score, lactic acid combined with the MELD score, lactic acid combined with the MELD-Na score, and the new model. Results: The 90-day mortality rate of 208 cases of ACLF combined with infection was 60.1%. There were statistically significant differences in white blood cell count, neutrophil count, total bilirubin (TBil), serum creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood ammonia, the international normalized ratio (INR), lactic acid (LAC), procalcitonin, the MELD score, the MELD-Na score, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), acute kidney injury (AKI), and bleeding between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that TBil, INR, LAC, HE, and bleeding were independent risk factors for 90-day mortality in patients with ACLF combined with infection. After the establishment of MELD-LAC, MELD-Na-LAC, and a new prediction model, the ROC curve revealed that the AUC (95% confidence interval) of MELD-LAC and MELD-Na LAC were 0.819 (0.759 ~ 0.870) and 0.838 (0.780 ~ 0.886), respectively, and was superior than the MELD score [0.766 (0.702 ~ 0.823)] and MELD-Na score [0.788 (0.726 ~ 0.843)], with P < 0.05, while the new model had an AUC of 0.924, the sensitivity of 83.9%, specificity of 89.9%, and accuracy of 87.8%, which was higher than LAC, MELD score, MELD-Na score, MELD-LAC, and MELD-Na-LAC (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Lactic acid is an independent risk factor for mortality in patients with ACLF combined with infection, and it improves the clinical predictive value of MELD and MELD-Na for the prognosis of mortality.

Bidirectional Mendelian randomization study of psychiatric disorders and Parkinson’s disease

Introduction

Although the relationship between psychiatric disorders and Parkinson’s disease (PD) has attracted continuous research attention, the causal linkage between them has not reached a definite conclusion.

Methods

To identify the causal relationship between psychiatric disorders and PD, we used public summary-level data from the most recent and largest genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on psychiatric disorders and PD to conduct a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). We applied stringent control steps in instrumental variable selection using the Mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) method to rule out pleiotropy. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used to identify the causal relationship between psychiatric disorders and PD. Multiple MR analysis methods, including MR-Egger, weighted-median, and leave-one-out analyses, were used for sensitivity analysis, followed by heterogeneity tests. Further validation and reverse MR analyses were conducted to strengthen the results of the forward MR analysis.

Results

The lack of sufficient estimation results could suggest a causal relationship between psychiatric disorders and PD in the forward MR analysis. However, the subsequent reverse MR analysis detected a causal relationship between PD and bipolar disorder (IVW: odds ratios [OR] =1.053, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.02–1.09, p = 0.001). Further analysis demonstrated a causal relationship between genetically predicted PD and the risk of bipolar disorder subtype. No pleiotropy or heterogeneity was detected in the analyses.

Discussion

Our study suggested that while psychiatric disorders and traits might play various roles in the risk of developing PD, PD might also be involved in the risk of developing psychiatric disorders.

Active Viewing Facilitates Gaze to the Eye Region in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Previous studies have shown reduced attention to the eyes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most eye-tracking evidence regarding this impairment has been derived from passive viewing tasks. Here, we compared the passive viewing of faces with an active task involving face identification with morphing faces. While typical controls prioritized the eyes over other facial features regardless of viewing condition, autistic children exhibited reduced eye-looking in passive viewing, but displayed increased attention allocation to the eyes when instructed to identify faces. The proportional eye-looking in ASD during facial recognition was negatively related to the autism symptoms severity. These findings provide evidence regarding the specific situations in which diminished eye-looking may rise in young ASD children.

Genome-wide association study using whole-genome sequencing identifies risk loci for Parkinson's disease in Chinese population

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous susceptibility loci for Parkinson's disease (PD), but its genetic architecture remains underexplored in populations of non-European ancestry. To identify genetic variants associated with PD in the Chinese population, we performed a GWAS using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in 1,972 cases and 2,478 controls, and a replication study in a total of 8209 cases and 9454 controls. We identified one new risk variant rs61204179 (Pcombined = 1.47 × 10-9) with low allele frequency, four previously reported risk variants (NUCKS1/RAB29-rs11557080, SNCA-rs356182, FYN-rs997368, and VPS13C-rs2251086), as well as three risk variants in LRRK2 coding region (A419V, R1628P, and G2385R) with genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10-8) for PD in Chinese population. Moreover, of the reported genome-wide significant risk variants found mostly in European ancestry populations, the correlation coefficient (rb) of effect size accounting for sampling errors was 0.91 between datasets and 63.6% attained P < 0.05 in Chinese population. Accordingly, we estimated a heritability of 0.14-0.18 for PD, and a moderate genetic correlation between European ancestry and Chinese populations (rg = 0.47, se = 0.21). Polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis revealed that individuals with PRS values in the highest quartile had a 3.9-fold higher risk of developing PD than the lowest quartile. In conclusion, the present GWAS identified PD-associated variants in Chinese population, as well as genetic factors shared among distant populations. Our findings shed light on the genetic homogeneity and heterogeneity of PD in different ethnic groups and suggested WGS might continue to improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of PD.

Tunable Luminescence of Silver Nanoclusters Confined in SOD/FAU Zeolites and Selective Sensing for Organic Amine

A series of Ag-zeolite luminescent composites are prepared based on SOD and FAUY zeolites, and the effect of zeolite host particle size on their dynamic luminescent emission properties was discussed for the first time. The relationship between zeolite particle size and the nucleation of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) is revealed. With the increase of zeolite particle size from nanometers to microns, the luminescent color of both Ag-SOD and Ag-Y composites shows significant blue shift. The observed tunable luminescence can be accounted for the slower nucleation rate of AgNCs in micron-scale zeolites with longer channels, resulting in smaller nuclearity of AgNCs within large-size zeolites, through the characterization of extended X-ray absorption fine structure, implying the important roles played by the zeolite themselves in determining the luminescence properties. Moreover, the composites prepared by us feature simple signal transduction, fast response (30 s), and excellent selectivity and sensitivity for discriminative luminescence detection of triethylamine and ethylamine, and they have good reversible luminescence response after sensing HAc gas, which might imply the potential applications in the volatile organic amine detection and information encryption field.

Evaluating the association between DNM1L variants and Parkinson's disease in the Chinese population

Introduction

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of mitochondria dynamics in the pathogenesis of PD. Dynamin-1-like (DNM1L) is a gene that encodes dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), a GTPase essential for proper mitochondria fission. In the present study, we evaluated the relationship between DNM1L variants and PD in the Chinese population.

Methods

A total of 3,879 patients with PD and 2,931 healthy controls were recruited and burden genetic analysis combined with high-throughput sequencing was applied.

Results

We identified 23 rare variants in the coding region of DNM1L, while no difference in variant burden was shown between the cases and controls. We also identified 201 common variants in the coding and flanking regions and found two significant SNPs, namely, rs10844308 and rs143794289 [odds ratio (OR) = 1.220 and 0.718, p = 0.025 and 0.036, respectively]. We also performed a meta-analysis to correlate the two SNPs with PD risk. However, none of the common variants was significant using logistic regression.

Conclusion

Despite the critical role of DRP1, our study did not support the relationship between DNM1L variants and PD risk in the Chinese population.

Association between NOTCH3 gene and Parkinson's disease based on whole-exome sequencing

Objective

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary cerebral small vessel disease caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene. Previous studies have established a link between NOTCH3 variants and Parkinson's disease (PD) in terms of neuropathology and clinical characteristics. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of NOTCH3 gene in PD in a large Chinese cohort.

Methods

A total of 1,917 patients with early-onset or familial PD and 1,652 matched controls were included. All variants were divided into common or rare types by minor allele frequency (MAF) at a threshold of 0.01 (MAF > 0.01 into common variants and others into rare variants). Common variants were subjected to single-variant tests by PLINK, then gene-based analyses were used for rare variants with the optimized sequence kernel association test (SKAT-O). For genotype-phenotype correlation assessment, regression models were conducted to compare clinical features between the studied groups.

Results

Three common variants (rs1044006, rs1043997, and rs1043994) showed a nominal protective effect against PD. However, none of these SNPs survived Bonferroni correction. The results in the validation cohort revealed a significant but opposite association between these variants and PD. The gene-based analyses of rare variants showed no significant associations of NOTCH3 with PD. Although we did not find significant associations in the following genotype-phenotype analysis, the higher clinical scores of motor symptoms in NOTCH3-variant carriers were of interest.

Conclusion

Our results indicated that NOTCH3 gene may not play an important role in the early-onset or familial PD of Chinese population.

Seasonal variation characteristics of water quality in the Sunxi River Watershed, Three Gorges Reservoir Area

The seasonal change characteristics of water quality in the Sunxi River watershed, which is a typical watershed in the tail area of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, must be studied to provide remediation ideas and specific measures for agricultural nonpoint source pollution in the reservoir area. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the variation characteristics of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the upstream and downstream of the Sunxi River watershed in spring, summer, and autumn of 2018–2021. With data from autumn 2018 taken as an example, path analysis was applied to study the effect degree of influencing factors on TN concentrations. The two-way repeated measures ANOVA illustrated that the COD, TN, and TP concentrations in the downstream were significantly higher than those in the upstream (P < 0.05). In addition, the COD concentrations were the highest in summer 2019, followed by spring of 2019 and 2021, and TN and TP concentrations were higher in spring and summer. The TN and TP concentrations were comparatively lower in the autumn. The path analysis showed that electrical conductance and dissolved oxygen directly affected the TN concentrations, and water temperature mainly affected the TN concentrations via the indirect effects of electrical conductance and dissolved oxygen. The water quality of upstream Sunxi River watershed was better than that of downstream, and the water quality in autumn was better than spring and summer in 2018–2021. For water quality management and ecological restoration of the Sunxi River watershed, further attention should be paid to the water quality changes in the downstream and in spring and summer and to the impact of water temperature, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen on the water quality.

Altered cerebral blood flow in patients with spinocerebellar degeneration

Objectives

Spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) comprises a multitude of disorders with sporadic and hereditary forms, including spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). Except for progressive cerebellar ataxia and structural atrophy, hemodynamic changes have also been observed in SCD. This study aimed to explore the whole-brain patterns of altered cerebral blood flow (CBF) and its correlations with disease severity and psychological abnormalities in SCD via arterial spin labeling (ASL).

Methods

Thirty SCD patients and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were prospectively recruited and underwent ASL examination on a 3.0T MR scanner. The Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) scores were used to evaluate the disease severity in SCD patients. Additionally, the status of anxiety, depression and sleep among all patients were, respectively, evaluated by the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Scale of Sleep (SRSS). We compared the whole-brain CBF value between SCD group and HC group at the voxel level. Then, the correlation analyses between CBF and disease severity, and psychological abnormalities were performed on SCD group.

Results

Compared with HC, SCD patients demonstrated decreased CBF value in two clusters (FWE corrected P < 0.05), covering bilateral dentate and fastigial nuclei, bilateral cerebellar lobules I-IV, V and IX, left lobule VI, right lobule VIIIb, lobules IX and X of the vermis in the cerebellar Cluster 1 and the dorsal part of raphe nucleus in the midbrain Cluster 2. The CBF of cerebellar Cluster 1 was negatively correlated with SARA scores (Spearman’s rho = –0.374, P = 0.042) and SDS standard scores (Spearman’s rho = –0.388, P = 0.034), respectively. And, the CBF of midbrain Cluster 2 also had negative correlations with SARA scores (Spearman’s rho = –0.370, P = 0.044) and ICARS scores (Pearson r = –0.464, P = 0.010).

Conclusion

The SCD-related whole-brain CBF changes mainly involved in the cerebellum and the midbrain of brainstem, which are partially overlapped with the related function cerebellar areas of hand, foot and tongue movement. Decreased CBF was related to disease severity and depression status in SCD. Therefore, CBF may be a promising neuroimaging biomarker to reflect the severity of SCD and suggest mental changes.

Genetic Analysis of Six Transmembrane Protein Family Genes in Parkinson’s Disease in a Large Chinese Cohort

Objectives

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with the manifestation of motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. Previous studies have indicated the role of several transmembrane (TMEM) protein family genes in PD pathogenesis.

Materials and Methods

In order to better investigate the genetic role of PD-related TMEM protein family genes in PD, including TMEM230, TMEM59, TMEM108, TMEM163, TMEM175, and TMEM229B, 1,917 sporadic early onset PD (sEOPD) or familial PD (FPD) patients and 1,652 healthy controls were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing (WES) while 1,962 sporadic late-onset PD (sLOPD) and 1,279 healthy controls were analyzed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Rare and common variants for each gene were included in the analysis.

Results

One hundred rare damaging or loss of function variants of six genes were found at the threshold of MAF < 0.1%. Three rare Dmis variants of TMEM230 were specifically identified in PD. Rare missense variants of TMEM59 were statistically significantly associated with PD in the WES cohort, indicating the role of TMEM59 in FPD and sEOPD. Rare missense variants of TMEM108 were suggestively associated with PD in the WGS cohort, indicating the potential role of TMEM108 in sLOPD. The rare variant of the other three genes and common variants of six genes were not significantly associated with PD.

Conclusion

We performed a large case-control study to systematically investigate the role of several PD-related TMEM protein family genes in PD. We identified three PD-specific variants in TMEM230, the significant association of TMEM59 with FPD, and sEOPD and the suggestive association of TMEM108 with sLOPD.

The association between LIN28A gene rare variants and Parkinson's disease in Chinese population

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by aging, environmental and genetic factors, and many susceptibility genes have been found to increase the risk for PD. Lin28a, an RNA binding protein, is expressed prominently in neural progenitor cells. The expression of Lin28a is decreased gradually with neural differentiation and is implicated in oncogenesis, glucose metabolism, neurogenesis, and neurogliogenesis. However, few genetic studies have explored the association between rare variants of the LIN28A gene and PD yet. Our study recruited 3,879 PD patients and 2,931 controls, and they were divided into two cohorts, including the EOPD & FPD cohort and the LOPD cohort, separately sequenced by whole-exome sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. We found nine rare nonsynonymous variants in the coding region of the LIN28A gene, but the rare variants of this gene were not enriched in PD patients in both cohorts. Thence, our study did not support the association between the LIN28A gene and the PD risk in the Chinese mainland population.

Profiling the Genome-Wide Landscape of Short Tandem Repeats by Long-Read Sequencing

Background: Short tandem repeats (STRs) are highly variable elements that play a pivotal role in multiple genetic diseases and the regulation of gene expression. Long-read sequencing (LRS) offers a potential solution to genome-wide STR analysis. However, characterizing STRs in human genomes using LRS on a large population scale has not been reported.

Methods: We conducted the large LRS-based STR analysis in 193 unrelated samples of the Chinese population and performed genome-wide profiling of STR variation in the human genome. The repeat dynamic index (RDI) was introduced to evaluate the variability of STR. We sourced the expression data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression to explore the tissue specificity of highly variable STRs related genes across tissues. Enrichment analyses were also conducted to identify potential functional roles of the high variable STRs.

Results: This study reports the large-scale analysis of human STR variation by LRS and offers a reference STR database based on the LRS dataset. We found that the disease-associated STRs (dSTRs) and STRs associated with the expression of nearby genes (eSTRs) were highly variable in the general population. Moreover, tissue-specific expression analysis showed that those highly variable STRs related genes presented the highest expression level in brain tissues, and enrichment pathways analysis found those STRs are involved in synaptic function-related pathways.

Conclusion: Our study profiled the genome-wide landscape of STR using LRS and highlighted the highly variable STRs in the human genome, which provide a valuable resource for studying the role of STRs in human disease and complex traits.

Multi-synergy effects-induced high electric breakdown field in polymer composites via 0D/2D design

Constructing polymer composites containing zero-dimensional (0D) nanoparticles and two-dimensional (2D) lamellae is a simple and effective strategy to obtain high energy storage performance. Although the hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) are widely used in energy storage areas, the low yield hinders their application. This work employed Al2O3 (AO) nanoparticles and thick hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) lamellae to fabricate poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based films. An expected synergy effect on the breakdown strength ( E b) is achieved as the filler content and ratio change. A high E b (450 MV/m), which is 110 MV/m higher than the pure PVDF (340 MV/m), was acquired with a small loading (4 wt.%). The analysis suggests multiple synergy effects between AO and h-BN on leakage current, crystallinity, melting point, and Young’s modulus contribute to the high E b. However, a desirable low leakage current is an indispensable part of these properties. In addition to this, the mechanisms behind these synergy effects were discussed. A comprehensive comparison indirectly proves that the AO particles can increase the dispersibility of h-BN lamellae. Besides, the dielectric behavior and energy storage performance were comprehensively examined.

Association Study of TAF1 Variants in Parkinson’s Disease

Increasing evidence reveals sex as an important factor in the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but associations between genes on the sex chromosomes and PD remain unknown. TAF1 is a gene located on the X chromosome which is known to cause X-linked syndromic mental retardation-33 (MRXS33) and X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP). In this study, we conducted whole-exome sequencing (WES) among 1,917 patients with early-onset or familial PD and 1,652 controls in a Chinese population. We detected a hemizygous frameshift variant c.29_53dupGGA(CAG)₂CTACCATCA(CTG)₂C (p.A19Dfs*50) in two unrelated male patients. Further segregation analysis showed an unaffected family member carried this variant, which suggested the penetrance of the variant may be age-related and incomplete. To verify the effects of TAF1 on PD, genetic analyses were carried separately by gender. Analysis of rare variants by optimal sequence kernel association (SKAT-O) test showed a nominally significant difference in variant burden between the male PD patients and controls (2.01 vs. 1.38%, p = 0.027). In the female group, none of the variant types showed significant association with PD in this study. In conclusion, we found rare variants in TAF1 may be implicated in PD, but further genetic and functional analyses were needed.

Evaluation of common and rare variants of Alzheimer's disease-causal genes in Parkinson's disease

INTRODUCTION

Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly. Recently, some variants of AD-causal genes (APP, PSEN1, PSEN2) have been reported in PD. In this study, we investigated the association between coding variants of AD-causal genes and PD in a large Chinese population cohort.

METHODS

We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 1,917 patients with early-onset or familial PD and 1,652 controls, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on 1,962 sporadic late-onset PD and 1,279 controls. Genetic and phenotypic data were analyzed with regression analyses and the optimized sequence kernel association test. Further validation study was performed by Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

We found that rs75733498 in the PSEN2 gene was significantly associated with early-onset or familial PD; however, no significant relationship was discovered between rs75733498 and sporadic late-onset PD. The result of the validation study still revealed a significant association between rs75733498 and PD. We observed a suggestive association with APP gene in early-onset or familial PD when considering damaging missense variants alone (p = 0.018) or combined with loss-of-function variants (p = 0.029). Further phenotypic analysis did not demonstrate any significant associations.

CONCLUSION

Our results support a possible genetic contribution of AD-causal genes to PD. These findings warrant further genetic and functional confirmation, and more powerful association studies will better decipher the mechanisms of PD.

Cerebral Blood Flow Pattern Changes in Unilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Objective

This study analyzed the differences in the cerebral blood flow (CBF) between unilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) patients and healthy controls (HCs). We also investigated CBF differences in auditory-related areas in patients with left- and right-sided SSNHL (lSSNHL and rSSNHL) and HCs. We further explore the correlation between unilateral SSNHL characteristics and changes in the CBF.

Methods

36 patients with unilateral SSNHL (15 males and 21 females, 40.39 ± 13.42 years) and 36 HCs (15 males and 21 females, 40.39 ± 14.11 years) were recruited. CBF images were collected and analyzed using arterial spin labeling (ASL). CereFlow software was used for the post-processing of the ASL data to obtain the CBF value of 246 subregions within brainnetome atlas (BNA). The Two-sample t-test was used to compare CBF differences between SSNHL patients and HCs. One-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the CBF difference of auditory-related areas among the three groups (lSSNHL, rSSNHL, and HCs). Then, the correlation between CBF changes and specific clinical characteristics were calculated.

Results

The SSNHL patients exhibited decreased CBF in the bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG, MFG_7_1 and MFG_7_3), the contralateral precentral gyrus (PrG, PrG_6_3) and the bilateral superior parietal lobule (SPL, bilateral SPL_5_1, SPL_5_2, and ipsilateral SPL_5_4), p &lt; 0.0002. Compared with HCs, unilateral SSNHL patients exhibited increased rCBF in the bilateral orbital gyrus (OrG, OrG_6_5), the bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG, contralateral ITG_7_1 and bilateral ITG_7_7), p &lt; 0.0002. lSSNHL showed abnormal CBF in left BA21 caudal (p = 0.02) and left BA37 dorsolateral (p = 0.047). We found that the CBF in ipsilateral MFG_7_1 of SSNHL patients was positively correlated with tinnitus Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score (r = 0.485, p = 0.008).

Conclusion

Our preliminary study explored CBF pattern changes in unilateral SSNHL patients in auditory-related areas and non-auditory areas, suggesting that there may exist reduced attention and some sensory compensation in patients with SSNHL. These findings could advance our understanding of the potential pathophysiology of unilateral SSNHL.

Integrated transcriptome and proteome analysis of developing embryo reveals the mechanisms underlying the high levels of oil accumulation in Carya cathayensis Sarg

Hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.) is an extraordinary nut-bearing deciduous arbor with high content of oil in its embryo. However, the molecular mechanism underlying high oil accumulation is mostly unknown. Here, we reported that the lipid droplets and oil accumulation gradually increased with the embryo development and the oil content was up to ~76% at maturity. Furthermore, transcriptome and proteome analysis of developing hickory embryo identified 32,907 genes and 9857 proteins. Time-series analysis of gene expressions showed that these genes were divided into 12 clusters and lipid metabolism-related genes were enriched in Cluster 3, with the highest expression levels at 95 days after pollination (S2). Differentially expressed genes and proteins indicated high correlation, and both were enriched in the lipid metabolism. Notably, the genes involved in biosynthesis, transport of fatty acid/lipid and lipid droplets formation had high expression levels at S2, while the expression levels of other genes required for suberin/wax/cutin biosynthesis and lipid degradation were very low at all the sampling time points, ultimately promoting the accumulation of oil. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR analysis also verified the results of RNA-seq. The co-regulatory networks of lipid metabolism were further constructed and WRINKLED1 (WRI1) was a core transcriptional factor located in the nucleus. Of note, CcWRI1A/B could directly activate the expression of some genes (CcBCCP2A, CcBCCP2B, CcFATA and CcFAD3) required for fatty acid synthesis. These results provided in-depth evidence for revealing the molecular mechanism of high oil accumulation in hickory embryo.

Liquid metal biomaterials for biomedical imaging

Liquid metals (LMs) not only retain the basic properties of metallic biomaterials, such as high thermal conductivity and high electrical conductivity, but also possess flexibility, flowability, deformability, plasticity, good adhesion, and so on. Therefore, they open many possibilities of extending soft metals into biomedical sciences including biomedical imaging. One of the special properties of LMs is that they can provide a controllable material system in which the electrical, thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties can be controlled on a large scale. This paper reviews the preparation and characteristics of LM-based biomaterials classified into four categories: LM micro/nanoparticles, surface modified LM droplets, LM composites with inorganic substances, and LM composites with organic polymers. Besides, considering the most important requirement for biomaterials is biocompatibility, the paper also analyzes the toxicity results of various LM biomaterials when used in the biomedical area, from different levels including body weight measurement, histology evaluation, and blood biochemistry tests. Next, the applications of LMs in X-ray, CT, MRI, photoacoustic imaging, and molecular imaging are introduced in detail. And finally, the challenges and opportunities of their application in medical imaging are also discussed.

Characteristics of Autonomic Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease: A Large Chinese Multicenter Cohort Study

Autonomic dysfunction (AutD) is one of the non-motor symptoms (NMSs) in Parkinson's disease (PD). To investigate the prevalence and clinical features of AutD in Chinese patients with PD, a large multicenter cohort of 2,556 individuals with PD were consecutively involved in the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Multicenter Database and Collaborative Network in China (PD-MDCNC) between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019. The assessment of AutD was performed using the Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease for Autonomic Symptoms (SCOPA-AUT). The evaluation of motor symptoms and other NMSs were performed using well-established scales recommended by the Movement Disorder Society. We found that out of 2,556 patients with PD, 2,333 patients with PD (91.28%) had AutD. Compared with the group of patients with PD without AutD, the group of patients with PD with AutD had older age, older age of onset, longer disease duration, more severe motor symptoms, motor complications, and more frequent NMSs. As for partial correlation analysis, the total SCOPA-AUT score was significantly and positively associated with motor severity scales [Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) total score] and some of the NMSs [Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder Questionnaire (RBD), Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale], Fatigue Severity Scale, and Parkinson's disease questionnaire. PD Sleep Scale was significantly and negatively correlated with AutD. With logistic regression analysis for potentially related factors, age, UPDRS total score, RBD, hyposmia, depression, and fatigue may be associated with PD with AutD. In conclusion, our multicenter cohort study reported the high prevalence of AutD in Chinese PD and revealed the associated factors of PD with AutD.

Genetic landscape of human mitochondrial genome using whole genome sequencing

Increasing evidences suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in diseases and aging, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is the most unbiased method in analyzing the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). However, the genetic landscape of mtDNA in the Chinese population has not been fully examined. Here, we described the genetic landscape of mtDNA using WGS data from Chinese individuals (n = 3241). We identified 3892 mtDNA variants, of which 3349 (86%) were rare variants. Interestingly, we observed a trend toward extreme heterogeneity of mtDNA variants. Our study observed a distinct purifying selection on mtDNA, which inhibits the accumulation of harmful heteroplasmies at the individual level: (1) mitochondrial dN/dS ratios were much less than 1; (2) the dN/dS ratio of heteroplasmies was higher than homoplasmies; (3) heteroplasmies had more indels and predicted deleterious variants than homoplasmies. Furthermore, we found that haplogroup M (20.27%) and D (20.15%) had the highest frequencies in the Chinese population, followed by B (18.51%) and F (16.45%). The number of variants per individual differed across haplogroup groups, with a higher number of homoplasmies for the M lineage. Meanwhile, mtDNA copy number was negatively correlated with age but positively correlated with the female sex. Finally, we developed an mtDNA variation database of Chinese populations called MTCards (http://genemed.tech/mtcards/) to facilitate the query of mtDNA variants in this study. In summary, these findings contribute to different aspects of understanding mtDNA, providing a better understanding of the genetic basis of mitochondrial-related diseases.

The Association Between Lysosomal Storage Disorder Genes and Parkinson's Disease: A Large Cohort Study in Chinese Mainland Population

Background: Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of studies indicating an essential role of the lysosomal dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease (PD) at the genetic, biochemical, and cellular pathway levels. In this study, we investigated the association between rare variants in lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) genes and Chinese mainland PD.

Methods: We explored the association between rare variants of 69 LSD genes and PD in 3,879 patients and 2,931 controls from Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Multicenter Database and Collaborative Network in China (PD-MDCNC) using next-generation sequencing, which were analyzed by using the optimized sequence kernel association test.

Results: We identified the significant burden of rare putative LSD gene variants in Chinese mainland patients with PD. This association was robust in familial or sporadic early-onset patients after excluding the GBA variants but not in sporadic late-onset patients. The burden analysis of variant sets in genes of LSD subgroups revealed a suggestive significant association between variant sets in genes of sphingolipidosis deficiency disorders and familial or sporadic early-onset patients. In contrast, variant sets in genes of sphingolipidoses, mucopolysaccharidoses, and post-translational modification defect disorders were suggestively associated with sporadic late-onset patients. Then, SMPD1 and other four novel genes (i.e., GUSB, CLN6, PPT1, and SCARB2) were suggestively associated with sporadic early-onset or familial patients, whereas GALNS and NAGA were suggestively associated with late-onset patients.

Conclusion: Our findings supported the association between LSD genes and PD and revealed several novel risk genes in Chinese mainland patients with PD, which confirmed the importance of lysosomal mechanisms in PD pathogenesis. Moreover, we identified the genetic heterogeneity in early-onset and late-onset of patients with PD, which may provide valuable suggestions for the treatment.

Comparison analysis of widely-targeted metabolomics revealed the variation of potential astringent ingredients and their dynamic accumulation in the seed coats of both Carya cathayensis and Carya illinoinensis

Pecan and hickory nuts are two of consumers' favorite ones. Pecan seeds can be eaten fresh, while hickory ones must remove astringency before eating. Here, we reported that total phenols, flavonoids and condensed tannins of hickory seeds were reduced after de-astringent treatments. They gradually increased with development, showing higher levels in hickory seed coat at mid-late periods than that in pecan's. Widely-targeted metabonomics analysis of developing testa identified 424 kinds of components, including 101, 38, 58, 27 classes of flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, organic acids and others, showing 16 different changing trends. Notably, most kinds of flavonoids, hydrolysable tannins and phenolic acids at maturity were more than that of pecan's, while oligomeric condensed tannins were opposite. Gene expression analysis provided further explanations for their dynamic accumulation. These results unraveled potential astringent components in hickory testa and preliminary molecular mechanisms of their dynamic changes, offering theoretical basis for the targeted de-astringency.

Altered Cortical-Striatal Network in Patients With Hemifacial Spasm

Objective: Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a kind of motor disorder, and the striatum plays a significant role in motor function. The purpose of this study was to explore the alterations of the cortical-striatal network in HFS using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: The fMRI data of 30 adult patients with primary unilateral HFS (15 left-side and 15 right-side) and 30 healthy controls were collected. Six subregions of the striatum in each hemisphere were selected for functional connectivity (FC) analysis. One-sample t-test was used to analyze the intragroup FC of the HFS group and the control group. Two-sample t-test was used to compare the difference of FC between the two groups. The correlation between the abnormal FC and severity of HFS was evaluated by using the Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Compared with the controls, the striatal subregions had altered FC with motor and orbitofrontal cortex in patients with HFS. The altered FC between striatal subregions and motor cortex was correlated with the spasm severity in patients with HFS. Conclusion: The FC of the cortical-striatal network was altered in primary HFS, and these alterations were correlated with the severity of HFS. This study indicated that the cortical-striatal network may play different roles in the underlying pathological mechanism of HFS.

Acute Angle of Multilobulated Contours Improves the Risk Classification of Thymomas

Background: Computed tomography plays an important role in the identification and characterization of thymomas. It has been mainly used during preoperative evaluation for clinical staging. However, the reliable prediction of histological risk types of thymomas based on CT imaging features requires further study. In this study, we developed and validated a nomogram based on CT imaging and included new indices for individualized preoperative prediction of the risk classification of thymomas.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multicenter study that included 229 patients from two Chinese medical centers. All the patients underwent cross-sectional CT imaging within 2 weeks before surgery. The results of pathological assessments were retrieved from existing reports of the excised lesions. The tumor perimeter that contacted the lung (TPCL) was evaluated and a new quantitative indicator, the acute angle (AA) formed by adjacent lobulations, was measured. Two predictive models of risk classification were created using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method in a training cohort for features selection. The model with a smaller Akaike information criterion was then used to create an individualized imaging nomogram, which we evaluated regarding its prediction ability and clinical utility.

Results: A new CT imaging-based model incorporating AA was developed and validated, which had improved predictive performance during risk classification of thymomas when compared with a model using traditional imaging predictors. The new imaging nomogram with AA demonstrated its clinical utility by decision curve analysis.

Conclusions: Acute angle can improve the performance of a CT-based predictive model during the preoperative risk classification of thymomas and should be considered a new imaging marker for the evaluation and treatment of patients with thymomas. On the contrary, TPCL is not useful as a predictor for the risk classification of thymomas in this study.

USP35 mitigates endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis by stabilizing RRBP1 in non-small cell lung cancer

Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) serve to maintain cellular homeostasis via protein ubiquitination and exert diverse regulatory functions in cancers and other diseases. Much progress has been made in characterizing biological roles of DUBs over the decades, yet the specific functions of many subclass members remain largely unexplored. It was not until recent years that the role of ubiquitin‐specific‐processing protease 35 (USP35) in cancers began to be understood. Here, we focus on delineating the roles and underlying mechanisms of USP35 in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) comparative proteomic approach were employed to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in H1299 cells induced by USP35 overexpression or silencing. Among the potential interactome of USP35, ribosome‐binding protein 1 (RRBP1), a membrane‐bound protein in endoplasmic reticulum (ER), captured our attentions. RRBP1 expression was found to positively correlate with USP35 levels in both genetically modified cells and human NSCLC tissues. Concordantly, both RRBP1 expression and USP35 expression were found to positively correlate with poor prognoses in lung adenocarcinoma patients. At the molecular level, USP35 was verified to directly interact with RRBP1 to prevent it from proteasomal‐dependent degradation. Functionally, USP35 alleviated ER stress‐induced cell apoptosis by stabilizing RRBP1 in NSCLC cells. Collectively, these findings indicate that USP35 plays a critical role in resisting ER stress‐induced cell death through deubiquitinating RRBP1, hence providing a rationale to target the USP35‐RRBP1 axis as an alternative therapeutic option for NSCLC.

Analysis of lipidomics profile of Carya cathayensis nuts and lipid dynamic changes during embryonic development

Hickory (Carya cathayensis) nuts contain higher amount of lipids, and possess high nutritional value and substantial health benefits. However, their lipid composition and dynamic changes during embryogenesis have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, lipidomics profile and lipid dynamic changes during embryonic development were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Totally, 544 kinds of lipids were identified in mature hickory nuts with higher proportions of glycerolipids (59.94%) and glycerophospholipids (38.66%). Notably, diacylglycerols showed gradual uptrends, which corresponded with total glycerolipid and glycerophospholipid at middle and late stage of embryogenesis, suggesting the pivotal role of diacylglycerols in the accumulation of glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids. Moreover, triacylglycerols, diacylglycerols, phosphatidylethanolamines and phosphatidylcholines had high relative content with abundance of unsaturated fatty acids, specifically oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, localized mainly at sn-2 lipid position. Together, our study provides innovative perspectives for studying the nutritional benefits of hickory nut lipids.

[Bilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy attenuates cardiac remodeling and improves cardiac function in pressure-overloaded heart failure mice]

Objective: To investigate the effect of bilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy on cardiac remodeling and function in pressure-overloaded heart failure (HF) mice. Methods: Pressure-overloaded HF mouse model was produced by severe thoracic aorta banding (sTAB). Bilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy (SCGx) was performed 2 weeks after sTAB. Twenty four 6-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomized divided into 4 groups (n=6 each): control group: sham sTAB+sham SCGx; denervated group: sham sTAB+SCGx; HF group: sTAB+sham SCGx; denervated HF group: sTAB+SCGx. Cardiac function was measured by echocardiography at week 0, 1, 2, and 4 after sTAB, respectively. All mice were sacrificed at the end of week 4 and heart tissues were harvested. HE and Masson staining were performed. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), adrenergic receptor β1 (AR-β1) and CD68 was performed. Western blot was used to determine the protein expression level of TH, B type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and AR-β1. Results: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) declined continuously in HF group. LVEF was similar between denervated HF group and control group at various time points (P>0.05). LVEF was significantly higher in denervated HF group than in HF group at the end of week 4 (P<0.05). HE staining showed that cross sectional cardiomyocyte area was significantly larger in HF group than in control group and denervated HF group (P<0.05), which was similar between denervated HF group and control group (P>0.05). Masson staining showed that fibrosis level was significantly lower in denervated HF group than in HF group (P<0.05). IHC showed that TH+nerves and CD68⁺ macrophages were significantly increased in HF mice as compared to control mice (P<0.05), whereas this change was abolished in denervated HF group. AR-β1 was significantly down-regulated in HF group compared with control group (P<0.05), which was not affected by denervation (P>0.05). Western blot demonstrated that the expression level of TH and BNP was significantly higher in HF group compared with the control group (P<0.05), whereas this difference was diminished in denervated HF group (P>0.05). Conclusion: Bilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy can reduce sympathetic innervation and macrophage infiltration in pressure overloaded failure heart, thus attenuate cardiac remodeling and improve cardiac function.

3D IFPN: Improved Feature Pyramid Network for Automatic Segmentation of Gastric Tumor

Automatic segmentation of gastric tumor not only provides image-guided clinical diagnosis but also assists radiologists to read images and improve the diagnostic accuracy. However, due to the inhomogeneous intensity distribution of gastric tumors in CT scans, the ambiguous/missing boundaries, and the highly variable shapes of gastric tumors, it is quite challenging to develop an automatic solution. This study designs a novel 3D improved feature pyramidal network (3D IFPN) to automatically segment gastric tumors in computed tomography (CT) images. To meet the challenges of this extremely difficult task, the proposed 3D IFPN makes full use of the complementary information within the low and high layers of deep convolutional neural networks, which is equipped with three types of feature enhancement modules: 3D adaptive spatial feature fusion (ASFF) module, single-level feature refinement (SLFR) module, and multi-level feature refinement (MLFR) module. The 3D ASFF module adaptively suppresses the feature inconsistency in different levels and hence obtains the multi-level features with high feature invariance. Then, the SLFR module combines the adaptive features and previous multi-level features at each level to generate the multi-level refined features by skip connection and attention mechanism. The MLFR module adaptively recalibrates the channel-wise and spatial-wise responses by adding the attention operation, which improves the prediction capability of the network. Furthermore, a stage-wise deep supervision (SDS) mechanism and a hybrid loss function are also embedded to enhance the feature learning ability of the network. CT volumes dataset collected in three Chinese medical centers was used to evaluate the segmentation performance of the proposed 3D IFPN model. Experimental results indicate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art segmentation networks in gastric tumor segmentation. Moreover, to explore the generalization for other segmentation tasks, we also extend the proposed network to liver tumor segmentation in CT images of the MICCAI 2017 Liver Tumor Segmentation Challenge.