Oxytocin is implicated in social memory deficits induced by early sensory deprivation in mice

Acknowledgements We thank Miss Jia-Yin and Miss Yu-Ling Sun for their help in breading the mice. Funding This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81200933 to N.-N. Song; 81200692 to L. Chen; 81101026 to Y. Huang; 31528011 to B. Lang; 81221001, 91232724 and 81571332 to Y-Q. Ding), Zhejiang Province Natural Science Foundation of China (LQ13C090004 to C. Zhang), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016 M591714 to C.-C. Qi), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2013KJ049).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Analysis of retinal vasculature changes in indirect traumatic optic neuropathy using optic coherence tomography angiography

AIM: To assess the retinal vasculature alterations in indirect traumatic optic neuropathy (ITON) patients following craniofacial trauma by optic coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: Patients diagnosed of monocular ITON were recruited from August 2016 to May 2020. OCTA was performed using the AngioVue OCT-A system for two cube scans centered at the optic nerve head and fovea. OCTA data included thicknesses of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular ganglion cell complex (GCC), as well as proportion of capillary perfusion and data were analyzed for correlation with post-injury timepoints: within 7, 8-30, 31-90, and 91-365d. RESULTS: A total of 73 ITON patients were studied. Significant thinning of RNFL and GCC layers and attenuation of microvascular perfusion were observed in ITON eyes as compared to contralateral unaffected eyes (for most of the analyzed sectors and quadrants, P<0.05). Without respect to surgical intervention and vision recovery, the decrease in retinal layer thicknesses and microvascular perfusion was time-dependent, and most significant within three months (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: ITON presents with time-dependent thinning of retinal layers and attenuation of microvasculature, indicating possible degeneration of retinal ganglion cells due to reduced retinal blood supply

Graphene-Based Nanocomposites for Energy Storage

Since the first report of using micromechanical cleavage method to produce graphene sheets in 2004, graphene/graphene-based nanocomposites have attracted wide attention both for fundamental aspects as well as applications in advanced energy storage and conversion systems. In comparison to other materials, graphene-based nanostructured materials have unique 2D structure, high electronic mobility, exceptional electronic and thermal conductivities, excellent optical transmittance, good mechanical strength, and ultrahigh surface area. Therefore, they are considered as attractive materials for hydrogen (H2) storage and high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors, rechargeable lithium (Li)-ion batteries, Li–sulfur batteries, Li–air batteries, sodium (Na)-ion batteries, Na–air batteries, zinc (Zn)–air batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), etc., as they can improve the efficiency, capacity, gravimetric energy/power densities, and cycle life of these energy storage devices. In this article, recent progress reported on the synthesis and fabrication of graphene nanocomposite materials for applications in these aforementioned various energy storage systems is reviewed. Importantly, the prospects and future challenges in both scalable manufacturing and more energy storage-related applications are discussed

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Health risk assessment of arsenic and some heavy metals in the edible crab (Portunus trituberculatus) collected from Hangzhou Bay, China

In 2018, 108 swimming crabs (P. trituberculatus) were collected from the local market in Zhoushan. Each crab was separated into huang (the edible lipid portion) and meat groups and prepared according to different cooking methods. In most uncooked samples the levels of seven trace metals; mercury, cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, chromium and arsenic were higher in huang than in meat. Cadmium and total arsenic concentrations exceeded the maximum safe residue levels for China. Risk assessments revealed that only the cadmium levels in huang samples posed a toxicological risk to consumers, and uncooked huang were of carcinogenic concern. Cooking methods eliminated the carcinogenic risk and reduced the toxicological risk in huang by approximately 20%. These results show that the seven trace metals identified in P. trituberculatus from Hangzhou bay do not pose a safety concern for consumption of the meat or of the complete crab, after conventional cooking

Network pharmacology-based study of the active constituents of Chinese medicinal formulae for antitumor mechanism

Objective: To investigate the network pharmacology of anti-tumor Chinese medicinal formulae and explain the synergistic mechanism of various active ingredients of Chinese medicinal formulae. Methods: We collected the anti-tumor Chinese medicinal formulae and chose several single herbs with the top frequency for further study. The chemical constituents of these herbs were downloaded from databases CNPC and Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology and were analyzed to set up the anti-tumor material basis. The genes regulated by these constituents were retrieved in Traditional Chinese Medicine integrated database and Comparative Toxicogenomics database. Results: We collected 65 anti-tumor Chinese medicinal formulae, and 4 single herbs were selected, including Licorice, Radix astragali, Panax ginseng, and Radix scutellariae, which consist of 172, 70, 293, and 92 known constituents, respectively. The constituent–gene network, protein–protein interaction network, gene–pathway enrichment network, and gene–disease network were constructed. Moreover, molecular docking was employed to clarify the interactions between active constituents and key drug targets (PTG2, epidermal growth factor receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, estrogen receptor 1, mammalian target of rapamycin, AKT1, mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 [MAPK1], peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, and MAPK8). Most of the constituents could act on multiple targets, whose structures mainly belong to alkaloids, flavonoids, and their glycosides, organic acids, or dianthrone, and their representative chemical constituents include narcissus glycosides, rutin, dauricine, scutellarin, baicalin, isoschaftoside, and leucovorin. Conclusion: The network mechanism of the effective constituents from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for anti-tumor therapy was partially uncovered by using statistical methods, network pharmacology methods, and molecular docking methods. This study will provide important information for new drug design with multiple targets for anti-tumor therapy

Amino-functionalized Cu for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO to acetate

Electrosynthesis of valuable chemicals from carbon dioxide (CO2) or carbon monoxide (CO) offers a promising strategy for the storage of renewable electricity and at the same time reduces carbon emission. However, the catalyst’s activity and selectivity need significant improvements, and the exact mechanism of the reaction is still elusive. Herein, we report selective electrochemical reduction of CO to acetate on an amino functionalized Cu surface (Cu@NH2) derived from in situ electroreduction of copper ammonia chloride complexes. At a potential of −0.75 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), the Cu@NH2 exhibits significant catalytic performance of CO electroreduction with a CO-to-acetate Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 51.5% and an acetate partial current density of around 150 mA cm-2. Based on a combination of in situ spectroscopy studies and DFT calculations, it is found that the amino groups on the Cu surface are valuable for maintaining the low valence state of Cu, and the Hδ+ in the amino groups can stabilize the oxygen-containing intermediates through hydrogen bonding, which effectively increases the coverage of *CHO on the catalyst’s surface, thereby facilitating the *CO-*CHO coupling to acetate.Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)Ministry of Education (MOE)This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFA1500500, 2019YFA0405602, 2017YFA0204904, and 2017YFA0403402), National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (21925204), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21673214, U1732149, U19A2015, U1732272, and 92045301), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20720220010), Provincial Key Research and Development Program of Anhui (202004a05020074), K. C. Wong Education (GJTD-2020-15), the DNL Cooperation Fund, CAS (DNL202003), Users with Excellence Program of Hefei Science Center CAS (2020HSC-UE001), USTC Research Funds of the Double First-Class Initiative (YD2340002002), City University of Hong Kong start up fund, Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 1: RG4/20 and RG2/21, Tier 2: MOET2EP10120-0002, and Agency for Science, Technology and Research: AME IRG A20E5c0080