Mass Spectrometry Quantification, Localization, and Discovery of Feeding-Related Neuropeptides in Cancer borealis

The crab Cancer borealis nervous system is an important model for understanding neural circuit dynamics and modulation, but the identity of neuromodulatory substances and their influence on circuit dynamics in this system remains incomplete, particularly with respect to behavioral state-dependent modulation. Therefore, we used a multifaceted mass spectrometry (MS) method to identify neuropeptides that differentiate the unfed and fed states. Duplex stable isotope labeling revealed that the abundance of 80 of 278 identified neuropeptides was distinct in ganglia and/or neurohemal tissue from fed vs unfed animals. MS imaging revealed that an additional 7 and 11 neuropeptides exhibited altered spatial distributions in the brain and the neuroendocrine pericardial organs (POs), respectively, during these two feeding states. Furthermore, de novo sequencing yielded 69 newly identified putative neuropeptides that may influence feeding state-related neuromodulation. Two of these latter neuropeptides were determined to be upregulated in PO tissue from fed crabs, and one of these two peptides influenced heartbeat in ex vivo preparations. Overall, the results presented here identify a cohort of neuropeptides that are poised to influence feeding-related behaviors, providing valuable opportunities for future functional studies

Evaluation of large language models for discovery of gene set function

Gene set analysis is a mainstay of functional genomics, but it relies on manually curated databases of gene functions that are incomplete and unaware of biological context. Here we evaluate the ability of OpenAI's GPT-4, a Large Language Model (LLM), to develop hypotheses about common gene functions from its embedded biomedical knowledge. We created a GPT-4 pipeline to label gene sets with names that summarize their consensus functions, substantiated by analysis text and citations. Benchmarking against named gene sets in the Gene Ontology, GPT-4 generated very similar names in 50% of cases, while in most remaining cases it recovered the name of a more general concept. In gene sets discovered in 'omics data, GPT-4 names were more informative than gene set enrichment, with supporting statements and citations that largely verified in human review. The ability to rapidly synthesize common gene functions positions LLMs as valuable functional genomics assistants

SARS-CoV-2: An Updated Review Highlighting Its Evolution and Treatments

Since the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, pharmaceutical companies and researchers worldwide have worked hard to develop vaccines and drugs to end the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The potential pathogen responsible for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), SARS-CoV-2, belongs to a novel lineage of beta coronaviruses in the subgenus arbovirus. Antiviral drugs, convalescent plasma, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines are effective treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and are beneficial in preventing infection. Numerous studies have already been conducted using the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with that of other SARS-like viruses, and numerous treatments/prevention measures are currently undergoing or have already undergone clinical trials. We summarize these studies in depth in the hopes of highlighting some key details that will help us to better understand the viral origin, epidemiology, and treatments of the virus

The 2022 yearbook of neurorestoratology

There was much progress in the field of Neurorestoratology in the year of 2022. It included highlighting advances in understanding the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, neurorestorative mechanisms, and clinical treatments as compiled in the 2022 yearbook of Neurorestoratology. There is still controversy about whether amyloid b-protein and tau protein deposition are the reasons for or the results of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. The fabricated images in important key articles that speculated on the reasons for AD pathogenesis were found. Cholinergic deficiency and decrease or loss in strength of glutamatergic synapse, limited or failing bidirectional cholinergic upregulation in early cognitive impairment, or progressive posterior-to-anterior cortical cholinergic denervation could result in the appearance of AD. Exploration of neurorestorative mechanisms were found in more detail ways in neuromodulation, immunomodulation, neurogenesis, neural network or circuitry reconstruction, neuroprotection, nervous structural repair, and neuroplasticity. Several kinds of cell therapies for neurological diseases showed neurorestorative effects in open-label and/or non-randomized clinical studies or trials. However, mesenchymal stromal cells and mononuclear cells did not demonstrate neurorestorative effects or improve the quality of life for patients with neurodegenerative diseases or neurotrauma including stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials (RDPCTs). Clinical treatments through neurostimulation/neuromodulati on and the brain-computer/ machine interface yielded positive results in AD, Parkinson's disease, stroke, SCI, cerebral palsy, and other diseases in RDPCTs. Neurorestorative surgery, pharmaceutical neurorestorative therapy and other interventions have demonstrated neurorestorative effects for various considered incurable neurological diseases in RDPCTs. Thus, this year, additional guidelines, assessment scales, and standards were set up or revised. These included guidelines of clinical neurorestorative treatments for brain trauma (2022 China version), clinical cell therapy guidelines for neurorestoration (IANR/CANR 2022), SCI or dysfunction quality of life rating scale (SCIDQLRS) (IANR 2022 version). Neurorestorative effects of varying therapeutic stra-tegies with higher standards of evidence-based medicine are now benefiting patients with currently incurable neurological diseases. Hopefully some of them may become routine therapeutic interventions for patients with these diseases in the near future

Wafer-Scale Growth and Transfer of Highly-Oriented Monolayer MoS₂ Continuous Films

Large scale epitaxial growth and transfer of monolayer MoS₂ has attracted great attention in recent years. Here, we report the wafer-scale epitaxial growth of highly oriented continuous and uniform monolayer MoS₂ films on single-crystalline sapphire wafers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The epitaxial film is of high quality and stitched by many 0°, 60° domains and 60°-domain boundaries. Moreover, such wafer-scale monolayer MoS₂ films can be transferred and stacked by a simple stamp-transfer process, and the substrate is reusable for subsequent growth. Our progress would facilitate the scalable fabrication of various electronic, valleytronic, and optoelectronic devices for practical applications