Comprehensive analysis of the role of cuproptosis-related genes in the prognosis and immune infiltration of adrenocortical Carcinoma

Background: Cuproptosis is a recently discovered form of nonapoptotic programmed cell death. However, no research on cuproptosis in the context of adrenocortical carcinoma has been conducted, and the prognostic value of assessing cuproptosis remains unclear. Methods: In this study, we established comprehensive models to assess gene expression changes, mutation status, and prognosis prediction and developed a prognostic nomogram for cuproptosis-related genes. Using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, an analysis of 11 cuproptosis-related genes was performed. Additionally, a risk scoring method and nomogram were used to assess the relationships among cuproptosis-associated genes, transcript expression, clinical characteristics, and prognosis. The connections among tumors, immune checkpoints, and immune infiltration were also analyzed. Results: The patterns observed in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma who were assessed using cuproptosis-associated risk scores provide useful information for understanding gene mutations, clinical outcomes, immune cell infiltration, and immune checkpoint analysis results. FDX1, LIPT1, MTF1, COX11, CYP2D6, DLAT, ATP7Band CDKN2A were differentially expressed in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma and normal controls. In addition, higher risk scores were significantly associated with poor overall survival and progression-free interval. The nomogram model subsequently developed to facilitate the clinical application of the analysis showed good predictive and calibration capabilities. GSE10927 and GSE33371 were used for independent cohort validation. Moreover, CDKN2A, FDX1, and other cuproptosis-related genes were significantly associated with immune infiltration and checkpoints. Conclusion: We confirmed that our model had excellent predictive ability in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma. Therefore, an in-depth evaluation of patients using cuproptosis-related risk scores is clinically essential and can assist in therapy in the future

Robust Stability Criteria for Uncertain Stochastic Cellular Neural Networks with Time Delays

In this paper, the global robust asymptotic stability problem is considered for stochastic cellular neural networks with time delays and parameter uncertainties. The aim of this paper is to establish easily verifiable conditions under which the stochastic cellular neural networks is globally robustly asymptotically stable in the mean square for all admissible parameter uncertainties. Base on Lyapunov- Krasovskii functional and stochastic analysis approaches, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to derive the stability criteria. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed criteria

Does precipitation keep pace with temperature in the marginal double-cropping area of northern China?

Northern China is the major grain-production region in the country. To adapt to climate change and ensure food security with a fixed area of arable land, utilizing a multiple cropping frequency each year is regarded as an efficient method of offsetting the projected negative yield impacts on staple crops. Given that climate warming prolongs the potential growing season and benefits the expansion of multi-cropping systems, this research investigated whether changes in precipitation will keep pace with temperature in the marginal double-cropping area of northern China under two scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Our results indicated that northern China will experience consistent warming, which will cause the limits of the double-cropping system to move remarkably towards the northeast and northwest in this century. However, the increased precipitation may not be sufficient to alleviate the water deficiency in the double-crop rotation and support the realisation of double-cropping benefits due to increasing heat resources. Although the potential yield will be considerable in the marginal double-cropping area after future expansion, the instability of rain-fed yields will gradually increase with the decrease in precipitation in the marginal region unless supplemental irrigation is applied. The insufficient precipitation was projected to negatively affect the potential yield in this area by 56–67 %. Moreover, the coefficient of variation of yield was great due to the large spatial distribution difference in the cumulated precipitation. After adopting limited irrigation in key wheat growth periods, this negative effect was predicted to be alleviated by approximately 10–12 %. In the entire marginal region, the northeast faces the lowest risk of precipitation deficiency during double-cropping system expansion. It was concluded that the double-cropping system is an efficient adaptation strategy worth encouraging in the context of climate change; however, this approach should be considered only after considering the local cumulative precipitation and the condition of the water supply

Asymmetric Reprogramming Capacity of Parental Pronuclei in Mouse Zygotes

It has been demonstrated that reprogramming factors are sequestered in the pronuclei of zygotes after fertilization, because zygotes enucleated at the M phase instead of interphase of the first mitosis can support the development of cloned embryos. However, the contribution of the parental pronucleus derived from either the sperm or the oocyte in reprogramming remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the parental pronuclei have asymmetric reprogramming capacities and that the reprogramming factors reside predominantly in the male pronucleus. As a result, only female pronucleus-depleted (FPD) mouse zygotes can reprogram somatic cells to a pluripotent state and support the full-term development of cloned embryos; male pronucleus-depleted (MPD) zygotes fail to support somatic cell reprogramming. We further demonstrate that fusion of an additional male pronucleus into a zygote greatly enhances reprogramming efficiency. Our data provide a clue to further identify critical reprogramming factors in the male pronucleus

Hormonal Regulation and Transcriptomic Insights into Flower Development in <i>Hydrangea paniculata</i> ‘Vanilla Strawberry’

Understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate flower growth, development, and opening is of paramount importance, yet these processes remain less explored at the genetic level. Flower development in Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanilla Strawberry’ is finely tuned through hormonal signals, yet the genetic underpinnings are not well defined. This study addresses the gap by examining the influence of gibberellic acid (GA3), salicylic acid (SA), and ethylene (ETH) on the flowering traits and underlying molecular responses. Treatment with 100 mg/L SA significantly improved chlorophyll content and bolstered the accumulation of soluble sugars and proteins, advancing the flowering onset by 6 days and lengthening the flowering period by 11 days. Concurrently, this treatment enhanced inflorescence dimensions, increasing length, width, and petal area by 22.76%, 26.74%, and 27.45%, respectively. Contrastingly, 100 mg/L GA3 expanded inflorescence size but postponed flowering initiation and decreased inflorescence count. Higher concentrations of SA and GA3, as well as any concentration of ETH, resulted in delayed flowering and inferior inflorescence attributes. A physiological analysis over 50 days revealed that these regulators variably affected sugar and protein levels and modified antioxidant enzyme activities. An RNA-seq analysis during floral development highlighted significant transcriptomic reprogramming, with SA treatment downregulating Myb transcription factors, implicating them in the modulation of flowering timing and stress adaptation. These findings illuminate the complex interplay between hormonal treatments, gene expression, and flowering phenotypes in Hydrangea paniculata, offering valuable perspectives for ornamental horticulture optimization

A new criterion for exponential stability of uncertain stochastic neural networks with mixed delays

This paper deals with the problem of exponential stability for a class of uncertain stochastic neural networks with both discrete and distributed delays (also called mixed delays). The system possesses time-varying and norm-bounded uncertainties. Based on Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and stochastic analysis approaches, new stability criteria are presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities to guarantee the delayed neural networks to be robustly exponentially stable in the mean square for all admissible parameter uncertainties. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed techniques

Variations in the diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 (DGAT1) and its association with meat tenderness in Gannan yaks (Bos grunniens)

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 (DGAT1) has been recognised as one of the functional genes during fat deposition and closely related to meat quality. It is well known that yak meat has low intramuscular fat (IMF) and poor tenderness, influencing the purchase decision for consumers. In this study, the variations of DGAT1 gene were detected using polymerase chain reaction single-stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis so as to ascertain the association of DGAT1 variation with yak carcase and meat quality traits. Two variants (A1 and B1) in intron 1 – exon 2 and another three variants (A2 to C2) in intron 15 – exon 17 were identified in the yaks investigated. Three sequence variations (c.192-117 G > A, c.1252-23 C > T and c.1339 C > T) were detected among these variants, with c.192-117 G > A located in intron 1, c.1252-23 C > T located in intron 15 and c.1339 C > T located in exon 17. The mutation c.1339 C > T resulted in an amino acid change (p. Arg 447 Cys). Variants A1 and B2 were associated with a decrease and increase in Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) (p = 0.027 and p < 0.001), respectively. Variant C2 was associated with a decrease in WBSF and hot carcase weights (HCW) (p = 0.001 and p = 0.037, respectively). The presence of haplotype H3 and absence of H5 were highly associated with a decrease in WBSF (p < 0.05). These finding suggested that the variations in DGAT1 could be potential targets for gene-assisted selection to improve meat tenderness in Gannan yak.Highlights Three SNPs were identified in the DGAT1 gene in Gannan yak. Variants (A1, B2 and C2) and haplotypes (H3 and H5) have a significant influence on Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) in Gannan yak. DGAT1 variations may have potential in selection for improving meat tenderness in Gannan yaks

A Multifunctional Acoustic Tweezer for Heterogenous Assembloids Patterning

Acoustic tweezers, capable of complicated manipulation of bioparticles by acoustic radiation forces using a noninvasive and noncontact approach, are an innovative technology for patterning assemble organoids. Hence, acoustic tweezers exhibit considerable potential for forming programmable patterning of organoids with specific spatial structures. Furthermore, heterogeneous assembloids with complex arrangement patterns can be built through sequential assembling and culturing to explore polarized tissue development or disease metastasis in multiple organs. This study focuses on the structural assembly of organoids using an ultrasonic 2D matrix array to generate real‐time switching of different acoustic fields. In addition, a local renal injured assembloid is fabricated to study and verify its application in tissue engineering and disease modeling