Characterization and Comparison of the Two Mitochondrial Genomes in the Genus Rana

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) possesses several invaluable attributes, including limited recombination, maternal inheritance, a fast evolutionary rate, compact size, and relatively conserved gene arrangement, all of which make it particularly useful for applications in phylogenetic reconstruction, population genetics, and evolutionary research. In this study, we aimed to determine the complete mitogenomes of two morphologically similar Rana species (Rana hanluica and Rana longicrus) using next-generation sequencing. The entire circular mitogenome was successfully identified, with a length of 19,395 bp for R. hanluica and 17,833 bp for R. longicrus. The mitogenomes of both species contained 37 genes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and one control region; mitogenome size varied predominantly with the length of the control region. The two synonymous codon usages in 13 PCGs showed that T and A were used more frequently than G and C. The ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions of all 13 PCGs were <1 in the Rana species, indicating that the PCGs were under purifying selection. Finally, phylogenetic relationship analyses suggested that R. hanluica and R. longicrus were classified in the R. japonica group. Our study provides valuable reference material for the taxonomy of the genus Rana.

Mitogenomes of Eight Nymphalidae Butterfly Species and Reconstructed Phylogeny of Nymphalidae (Nymphalidae: Lepidoptera)

The Nymphalidae family of cosmopolitan butterflies (Lepidoptera) comprises approximately 7200 species found on all continents and in all habitats. However, debate persists regarding the phylogenetic relationships within this family. In this study, we assembled and annotated eight mitogenomes of Nymphalidae, constituting the first report of complete mitogenomes for this family. Comparative analysis of 105 mitochondrial genomes revealed that the gene compositions and orders were identical to the ancestral insect mitogenome, except for Callerebia polyphemus trnV being before trnL and Limenitis homeyeri having two trnL genes. The results regarding length variation, AT bias, and codon usage were consistent with previous reports on butterfly mitogenomes. Our analysis indicated that the subfamilies Limenitinae, Nymphalinae, Apaturinae, Satyrinae, Charaxinae, Heliconiinae, and Danainae are monophyletic, while the subfamily the subfamily Cyrestinae is polyphyletic. Danainae is the base of the phylogenetic tree. At the tribe level, Euthaliini in Limenitinae; Melitaeini and Kallimini in Nymphalinae; Pseudergolini in Cyrestinae; Mycalesini, Coenonymphini, Ypthimini, Satyrini, and Melanitini in Satyrinae; and Charaxini in Charaxinae are regarded as monophyletic groups. However, the tribe Lethini in Satyrinae is paraphyletic, while the tribes Limenitini and Neptini in Limenitinae, Nymphalini and Hypolimni in Nymphalinae, and Danaini and Euploeini in Danainae are polyphyletic. This study is the first to report the gene features and phylogenetic relationships of the Nymphalidae family based on mitogenome analysis, providing a foundation for future studies of population genetics and phylogenetic relationships within this family.

The first complete mitochondrial DNA of the Chinese short-limbed skink (Ateuchosaurus chinensis Gray, 1845) determined by next-generation sequencing

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for the Chinese short-limbed skink (Ateuchosaurus chinensis Gray, 1845) was described by using next-generation sequencing. The total length of mtDNA was 16,840 bp, which contained 13 PCGs (COI-III, ND1-6, ND4L, ATP6, ATP8, and CYTB), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region (D-loop). The Bayesian inference tree showed that A. chinensis was a sister taxon to other scincid lizards in genera of Scincella, Isopachys, Sphenomorphus and Tropidophorus. The complete mtDNA of A. chinensis will be an important genetic resource to the studies of conservation and restoration of A. chinensis.

The complete mitochondrial DNA for the Fujian Bamboo-leaf Frog Odorrana exiliversabilis (Anura: Ranidae) by next-generation sequencing

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for Odorrana exiliversabilisLi, Ye and Fei 2001 (Anura: Ranidae) was determined in this study. The length of complete mtDNA was 17,122 bp, including 13 PCGs (COI-III, ND1-6, ND4L, ATP6, ATP8 and CYTB), 25 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, 2 non-coding regions of a L-strand replication origin and a control region. The overall base composition of the sequence is 28.27% T, 28.27% C, 28.52% A, and 14.94% G, with a total A + T content of 56.79%. The phylogenetic tree showed that O. exiliversabilis was the sister species of O. tormota, and formed a monophyletic clade with other Odorrana species. These data provide a powerful tool for evolutionary biology and population genetics of genus Odorrana.

Vitamin B12 and Homocysteine Associations with Gait Speed in Older Adults: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the independent associations of serum levels of vitamin B12 and plasma concentrations of homocysteine with gait speed decline.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS

This study utilized longitudinal analysis of participants 50 years or older from The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, N=774.

MEASUREMENTS

Gait speed (m/s) was assessed using the 6-meter usual pace test. Vitamin B12 and homocysteine concentrations were collected using standard clinical protocols. Linear mixed effects regression was stratified by baseline age category (50-69, 70-79, and ≥80 years old).

RESULTS

Mean follow-up time for the total study sample was 5.4 ± 2.0 years. No association between vitamin B12 and gait speed decline over the follow-up time for any age group was found. Elevated homocysteine concentrations were associated with decline in gait speed after adjustment for covariates (50-69: β= -0.005, p=.057; 70-79: β= -0.013, p<.001, ≥80: β= -0.007, p=.054).

CONCLUSION

Homocysteine and vitamin B12 are inversely related, yet only homocysteine was associated with gait speed decline in this population of healthy older adults. Given these results, future research should be directed towards investigating the relationship in populations with greater variation in vitamin B12 concentrations and other mechanisms influencing homocysteine concentrations.

[Detection and analysis of alcohol near-infrared spectrum in vitro and vivo based on wavelet transform]

The near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signals of alcohol in vivo are always contaminated by noise. In the present study, wavelet analysis was used to eliminate noise and thereby detecting the NIRS signals of alcohol in vivo. In soft and hard threshold function, the spectral signals were de-noised by default threshold, Birge-Massart threshold and mini&max threshold respectively. Signal noise ratio (SNR) and root mean square error (RMSE) method were used to evaluate the effects of the de-noising. The results show that the default threshold de-noising has the best effects. Therefore, the default threshold de-noising was chosen to perform de-noising analysis in vivo and in vitro. Our result shows that the wavelet transform de-noising is effective in removing noise from NRS signals of alcohol in vivo. With different alcohol concentration, the de-noising spectrua can show evident absorption peaks. Wavelet analysis is an effective method in the non-invasive alcohol testing and quantitative analysis.

A pilot study using nurse education as an intervention to increase skin self-examination for melanoma

BACKGROUND

A pilot study of an intervention using nurse education for skin self-examination (SSE) was conducted in order to determine specific factors that would be important for the design of a larger intervention.

METHODS

Seventy-five subjects completed a pretest, a posttest, a thorough skin examination by a dermatologist, and an educational session by a nurse.

RESULTS

Results showed that the subjects increased the frequency of SSE to a predetermined optimal frequency of once every one to two months. Increases in optimal SSE were associated with increases in knowledge about melanoma (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

Before intensive campaigns are launched to improve SSE, models incorporating theories of behavioral change should be tested.

No improvement in survival from melanoma diagnosed from 1973 to 1984

BACKGROUND

While the incidence and mortality of melanoma has increased dramatically during the last few decades, survival rates, based on the case-fatality ratio, have apparently improved. Efforts at early detection have probably been effective in the discovery of lesions at a curable stage. However, the effects of lead-time bias need to be accounted for in order to understand the contribution of early detection to the increased incidence. This can best be done by appropriately controlling for depth of the tumour or a surrogate of depth, at diagnosis.

METHODS

A survival analysis was conducted for 3197 Connecticut residents newly diagnosed with invasive melanoma between 1973 and 1984. Five prognostic variables were evaluated: sex, age at diagnosis, anatomical site, histological type, and year of diagnosis.

RESULTS

As expected, women and the young had better survival than men and the elderly. Melanomas located on the trunk had poorer prognosis than those on other sites. The survival experience by histological type was significantly different; lentigo maligna melanoma and superficial spreading melanoma had the best survival and nodular melanomas the poorest, while 'other' and unclassifiable melanomas had intermediate survival. When survival by period of diagnosis was controlled by other variables, which included surrogates for disease stage, there was no improvement in survival over time.

CONCLUSION

These data do not imply that early diagnosis and treatment are ineffective; rather, that within stages of disease, survival improvements did not occur during the period 1973-1984.