Exploring General Intelligence via Gated Graph Transformer in Functional Connectivity Studies

Functional connectivity (FC) as derived from fMRI has emerged as a pivotal tool in elucidating the intricacies of various psychiatric disorders and delineating the neural pathways that underpin cognitive and behavioral dynamics inherent to the human brain. While Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) offer a structured approach to represent neuroimaging data, they are limited by their need for a predefined graph structure to depict associations between brain regions, a detail not solely provided by FCs. To bridge this gap, we introduce the Gated Graph Transformer (GGT) framework, designed to predict cognitive metrics based on FCs. Empirical validation on the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) underscores the superior predictive prowess of our model, further accentuating its potential in identifying pivotal neural connectivities that correlate with human cognitive processes

Effect of polyphenol extract from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. on endocrine hormones and monoamine oxidase activity in a mouse model of climacteric depression

Purpose: To investigate the effects of polyphenol extract from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (ZPPC) on endocrine hormones, monoamine  oxidase activity and behavior in a mouse model of climacteric depression.Methods: Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) female albino mice (n = 50) weighing 24 – 26 g (mean wt = 25.0 ± 1.0 g) were randomly assigned to five groups of ten rats each: normal control group, negative control, and ZPPC (50 mg/kg), ZPPC (100 mg/kg) and ZPPC (200 mg/kg) groups. Depression was induced in the mice via oral administration of moclobemide at a dose of 20 mg/kg, and intraperitoneal injection of imipramine (20 mg/kg) 1 h and 30 min, before treatment. Tail suspension, forced swimming and voluntary activity tests were performed on the mice. The activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in mouse brain and the levels of endocrine hormones were also determined.Results: Treatment of depressed mice with ZPPC significantly and dose-dependently increased their tail suspension and immobility time (p < 0.05). The activity of monoamine oxidase in the brains of mice in the negative control group was significantly higher than that of normal control mice, but was significantly and dose-dependently reduced by ZPPC treatment (p < 0.05). Similarly, treatment of depressed mice with ZPPC significantly and dose-dependently reduced their serum adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone levels (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that ZPPC exerts antidepressant effect via suppression of brain MAO activity. Keywords: Climacteric depression, Endocrine hormones, Menopause, Monoamine oxidase, Polyphenol

Geographic distribution of C4 species and its phylogenetic structure across China

Over the past fifty years, the distribution patterns of C4 species, across large spatial scales, are largely ignored. Here, we endeavored to examine patterns in the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of species with C4 photosynthetic pathways across the broad spatial extent of China and relate those to climatic gradients. We built a database of all plants with the C4 photosynthetic pathway in China. We analyzed the geographic distributions, taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic structure of all C4 species, as well as the three families with the most C4 species (Poaceae, Amaranthaceae and Cyperaceae), and compared their values along temperature and precipitation gradients at two scales—the level of the province and at the 100 x 100 km grid cell. We found 644 C4 plants (belonging to 23 families 165 genera) in China, with Poaceae (57%), Amaranthaceae (17%), Cyperaceae (13%) accounting for the majority of species. Standardized effect size values of phylogenetic distances were negative overall, indicating that C4 species showed a phylogenetic clustering pattern. Southern China had the highest species richness and the highest degree of phylogenetic clustering. C4 tended to be more phylogenetically over-dispersed in regions with colder and/or drier climates, but more clustered in warmer and/or wetter climates. Patterns within individual families were more nuanced. The distribution of C4 species and its phylogenetic structure across China was constrained by temperature and precipitation. C4 species showed a phylogenetic clustering pattern across China, while different families showed more nuanced responses to climate variation, suggesting a role for evolutionary history

Virtual Screening and Biomolecular Interactions of CviR-Based Quorum Sensing Inhibitors Against Chromobacterium violaceum

The rise of bacterial multi drug resistance becomes a global threat to the mankind. Therefore it is essential to find out alternate strategies to fight against these “super bugs.” Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication mechanism by which many bacteria regulate their biofilm and virulence factors expression to execute their pathogenesis. Hence, interfering the quorum sensing is an effective alternate strategy against various pathogens. In this study, we aimed to find out potential CviR-mediated quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) against Chromobacterium violaceum. Virtual screening from a natural products database, in vitro biofilm and violacein inhibition assays have been performed. Biofilm formation was investigated using confocal microscopy and gene expression studies were carried out using qRT-PCR. Further, to study the biomolecular interaction of QSIs with purified CviR Protein (a LuxR homologue), microscale thermophoresis (MST) analysis was performed. Results suggested that phytochemicals SPL, BN1, BN2, and C7X have potential GScore when compared to cognate ligand and reduced the biofilm formation and violacein production significantly. Especially, 100 μM of BN1 drastically reduced the biofilm formation about 82.61%. qRT-PCR studies revealed that cviI, cviR, vioB, vioC, vioD genes were significantly down regulated by QSIs. MST analysis confirmed the molecular interactions between QSIs and purified CviR protein which cohere with the docking results. Interestingly, we found that BN2 has better interaction with CviR (Kd = 45.07 ±1.90 nm). Overall results suggested that QSIs can potentially interact with CviR and inhibit the QS in a dose dependent manner. Since, LuxR homologs present in more than 100 bacterial species, these QSIs may be developed as broad spectrum anti-infective drugs in future

Genome-Wide Characterization of Trichome Birefringence-Like Genes Provides Insights Into Fiber Yield Improvement

Cotton is an important fiber crop. The cotton fiber is an extremely long trichome that develops from the epidermis of an ovule. The trichome is a general and multi-function plant organ, and trichome birefringence-like (TBL) genes are related to trichome development. At the genome-wide scale, we identified TBLs in four cotton species, comprising two cultivated tetraploids (Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense) and two ancestral diploids (G. arboreum and G. raimondii). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the TBL genes clustered into six groups. We focused on GH_D02G1759 in group IV because it was located in a lint percentage-related quantitative trait locus. In addition, we used transcriptome profiling to characterize the role of TBLs in group IV in fiber development. The overexpression of GH_D02G1759 in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in more trichomes on the stems, thereby confirming its function in fiber development. Moreover, the potential interaction network was constructed based on the co-expression network, and it was found that GH_D02G1759 may interact with several genes to regulate fiber development. These findings expand our knowledge of TBL family members and provide new insights for cotton molecular breeding