The juxtamembrane and carboxy-terminal domains of Arabidopsis PRK2 are critical for ROP-induced growth in pollen tubes.

Polarized growth of pollen tubes is a critical step for successful reproduction in angiosperms and is controlled by ROP GTPases. Spatiotemporal activation of ROP (Rho GTPases of plants) necessitates a complex and sophisticated regulatory system, in which guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RopGEFs) are key components. It was previously shown that a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase, Arabidopsis pollen receptor kinase 2 (AtPRK2), interacted with RopGEF12 for its membrane recruitment. However, the mechanisms underlying AtPRK2-mediated ROP activation in vivo are yet to be defined. It is reported here that over-expression of AtPRK2 induced tube bulging that was accompanied by the ectopic localization of ROP-GTP and the ectopic distribution of actin microfilaments. Tube depolarization was also induced by a potentially kinase-dead mutant, AtPRK2K366R, suggesting that the over-expression effect of AtPRK2 did not require its kinase activity. By contrast, deletions of non-catalytic domains in AtPRK2, i.e. the juxtamembrane (JM) and carboxy-terminal (CT) domains, abolished its ability to affect tube polarization. Notably, AtPRK2K366R retained the ability to interact with RopGEF12, whereas AtPRK2 truncations of these non-catalytic domains did not. Lastly, it has been shown that the JM and CT domains of AtPRK2 were not only critical for its interaction with RopGEF12 but also critical for its distribution at the plasma membrane. These results thus provide further insight into pollen receptor kinase-mediated ROP activation during pollen tube growth

Cultural evolution: the case of babies’ first names

In social sciences, there is currently rare consensus on the underlying mechanism for cultural evolution, partially due to lack of suitable data. The evolution of first names of newborn babies offers a remarkable example for such researches. In this paper, we employ the historical data on baby names from the United States to investigate the evolutionary process of culture, in particular focusing on how inequality among baby names changes over time. Then we propose a stochastic model where individual choice is determined by both individual preference and social influence, and show that the decrease in the strength of social influence can account for all the observed empirical features. Therefore, we claim that the weakening of social influence drives cultural evolution

Effects of duration of long-acting GnRH agonist downregulation on assisted reproductive technology outcomes in patients with adenomyosis: a retrospective cohort study

ObjectivesTo elucidate the relationship between long-acting GnRH agonist (GnRHa) downregulation and assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes and identify the optimal duration of downregulation in patients with adenomyosis.DesignRetrospective cohort study.ParticipantsThe study was designed to evaluate ART outcomes in adenomyosis patients with and without GnRHa downregulation between January 2016 and December 2020. A total of 374 patients with adenomyosis (621 cycles) were included with 281 cycles in downregulation group versus 340 cycles in non-downregulation group. After 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM), a sample size of 272 cycles in each group was matched. The matched downregulation group was further divided into 1-month (147 cycles), 2-months (72 cycles), and ≥3 months downregulation (53 cycles) subgroups. Stratification analysis was conducted on pregnancy outcomes in 239 fresh embryo transfer (ET) cycles and 305 frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles.ResultsThe downregulation group had larger mean diameter of initial uterus and higher proportion of severer dysmenorrhea compared to non-downregulation group. The pregnancy-related parameters in GnRHa downregulation group were similar to those in non-downregulation group, except for higher late miscarriage rate (MR) (13.4% vs. 3.1%, P = 0.003). The subgroup comparisons in fresh ET cycles indicated that implantation rate (75.0% vs. 39.2%, P = 0.002), biochemical pregnancy rate (91.7% vs. 56.0%, P = 0.036) and clinical pregnancy rate (83.3% vs. 47.0%, P = 0.016) could be improved by prolonged GnRHa downregulation (≥3 months), whereas late MR was difficult to be reversed (30.0% vs. 3.2%, P = 0.017). In FET cycles, higher MR (53.6% vs. 29.9%, P = 0.029; 58.8% vs. 29.9%, P = 0.026) and lower live birth rate (18.8% vs. 34.1%, P = 0.023; 17.1% vs. 34.1%, P = 0.037) were observed in the 1-month and ≥3 months downregulation group, while no differences were found in the 2-months downregulation group compared to the non-downregulation group.ConclusionIn patients with severer adenomyosis, long-acting GnRHa downregulation might be correlated with improved ART outcomes. In fresh ET cycles, prolonged downregulation (≥3 months) might be beneficial to improve live birth rate, which needed to be verified by further study with larger sample. In FET cycles, the optimal duration of downregulation was not certain and still needed further exploration

Effects of ovarian stimulation protocols on outcomes of assisted reproductive technology in adenomyosis women: a retrospective cohort study

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of different ovarian stimulation protocols on in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) outcomes in infertile women with adenomyosis.MethodsWe carried out a retrospective cohort study among infertile women with adenomyosis receiving IVF/ICSI treatment, including 257 fresh embryo transfer (ET) cycles and 305 frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles. In fresh ET cycles, ultra-long, long, short, and antagonist protocols were adopted. In FET cycles, patients received long-acting GnRH agonist (GnRHa) pretreatment or not. The primary outcome was clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), and the secondary outcomes included implantation rate (IR), miscarriage rate (MR), and live birth rate (LBR).ResultsIn fresh ET cycles, compared with ultra-long and long protocols, IR (49.7%, 52.1% versus 28.2%, P=0.001) and CPR (64.3%, 57.4% versus 35.6%, P=0.004) significantly decreased in the short protocol. Similarly, compared with ultra-long and long protocols, a decreased inclination of IR (49.7%, 52.1% versus 33.3%) and CPR (57.4%, 64.3% versus 38.2%) existed in the antagonist protocol, although no statistical significance was detected because of strict P adjustment of Bonferroni method (Padj=0.008). Compared with long protocol, LBR in short protocol decreased obviously (48.2% versus 20.3%, P<0.001). In FET cycles, no matter which origin of embryos, there were no statistical differences in IR, CPR, and LBR. For women ≥35 years receiving fresh ET, CPR was higher in ultra-long and long protocols (52.1%, 50.0% versus 20.0%, 27.5%, P=0.031) compared to antagonist and short protocols. For women ≥35 years receiving FET, compared with ultra-long and antagonist protocols, cycles with embryos originating from long and short protocols had higher proportions of long-acting GnRHa pretreatment (30.4%,30.00 versus 63.9%, 51.4%, P=0.009). IR (61.1%, 48.6% versus 32.6%, 25.0%, P=0.020) and CPR (58.3%, 48.6% versus 30.4%, 25.0%, P=0.024) in long and short protocols were higher than rates of ultra-long and antagonist protocols, but no statistical differences were supported because of strict Bonferroni method (Padj=0.008).ConclusionIn infertile women with adenomyosis, if a fresh embryo was planned for transfer, an ultra-long or long protocol might be beneficial. If antagonist and short protocols were used, whole embryos frozen followed by FET was recommended. In FET cycles, embryos derived from different protocols had no impact on pregnancy outcomes

Molecular identification of Trichinella spiralis nudix hydrolase and its induced protective immunity against trichinellosis in BALB/c mice

Background: Nudix hydrolases (Nd) is a widespread superfamily, which is found in all classes of organism, hydrolyse a wide range of organic pyrophosphates and has a ‘housecleaning’ function. The previous study showed that Trichinella spiralis Nd (TsNd) bound to intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), and the vaccination of mice with T7 phage-displayed TsNd polypeptides produced protective immunity. The aim of this study was to clone, express and identify the full-length TsNd and to investigate its immune protection against T. spiralis infection. Methods: The full-length cDNA sequence of TsNd gene encoding a 46 kDa protein from T. spiralis intestinal infective larvae (IIL) was cloned and identified. The antigenicity of rTsNd was analyzed by Western blot. Transcription and expression of TsNd at T. spiralis different stages were observed by RT-PCR and IFT. The levels of the specific total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies to rTsNd were determined by ELISA. The immune protection of rTsNd against T. spiralis infection was investigated. Results: Sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed that TsNd had a nudix motif located at 226-244aa, which had high homology and the closest evolutionary status with T. pseudospiralis. The rTsNd was obtained after expression and purification. Western blot analysis showed that anti-rTsNd serum recognized the native TsNd protein in crude antigens of muscle larvae (ML), IIL, adult worms (AW) and newborn larvae (NBL), and ES antigens of ML. Transcription and expression of TsNd gene was observed in all developmental stages of T. spiralis (ML, IIL, AW and NBL), with high level expression in IIL. An immunolocalization analysis identified TsNd in the cuticle, stichocytes and reproductive organs of the parasite. Following immunization, anti-rTsNd IgG levels were increased, and the levels of IgG1 were more significantly higher than that of IgG2a. After a challenge infection with T. spiralis, mice immunized with the rTsNd displayed a 57.7% reduction in adult worms and a 56.9% reduction in muscle larval burden. Conclusions: TsNd induced a partial protective immunity in mice and could be considered as a novel candidate vaccine antigen against trichinellosis