Bioinformatics analysis reveals TSPAN1 as a candidate biomarker of progression and prognosis in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PCC) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system that is resistant to traditional treatments and has an overall 5-year survival rate of <7%. Transcriptomics research provides reliable biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical precision treatment, as well as the identification of molecular targets for the development of drugs to improve patient survival. We sought to identify new biomarkers for PCC by combining transcriptomics and clinical data with current knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms. Consequently, we employed weighted gene co-expression network analysis and differentially expressed gene analysis to evaluate genes co-expressed in tumor versus normal tissues using pancreatic adenocarcinoma data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and dataset GSE16515 from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Twenty-one overlapping genes were identified, with enrichment of key Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, including epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, cadherin, cell adhesion, ubiquinone, and glycosphingolipid biosynthesis pathways, and retinol metabolism. Protein-protein interaction analysis highlighted 10 hub genes, according to Maximal Clique Centrality. Univariate and multivariate COX analyses indicated that TSPAN1 serves as an independent prognostic factor for PCC patients. Survival analysis distinguished TSPAN1 as an independent prognostic factor among hub genes in PCC. Finally, immunohistochemical staining results suggested that the TSPAN1 protein levels in the Human Protein Atlas were significantly higher in tumor tissue than in normal tissue. Therefore, TSPAN1 may be involved in PCC development and act as a critical biomarker for diagnosing and predicting PCC patient survival

A CMOS Active Rectifier with Efficiency-Improving and Digitally Adaptive Delay Compensation for Wireless Power Transfer Systems

A CMOS active rectifier with digitally adaptive delay compensation for power efficiency improvement is presented in this work. The power transistors are turned on and turned off in advance under the control of the regenerated compensation signals, which are generated by the proposed compensation control circuit; therefore, the reverse current is eliminated, and the efficiency is increased. Simulation results in a standard 0.18 μm CMOS process show that the turn-on and turn-off delay of the rectifier is effectively compensated. The power efficiency is up to 90.6% when the proposed rectifier works at the operation frequency of 13.56 MHz

Data from: The oldest known bryozoan: Prophyllodictya (Cryptostomata) from the lower Tremadocian (Lower Ordovician) of Liujiachang, southwestern Hubei, central China

A new cryptostome bryozoan, Prophyllodictya simplex sp. nov., is described from the Nantzinkuan Formation (Lower Ordovician, lower Tremadoc) of Liujiachang, central China. This antedates the previously oldest known bryozoan by several million years. Colony morphology and the phylogenetic position of Prophyllodictya within Cryptostomata are explored. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Cryptostomata (except Prophyllodictya) can be divided into two major groups, and that Prophyllodictya occupies a basal position in the cryptostome tree, which accords with its simple morphology and antiquity. A close relationship is evident between bryozoans from the South China palaeoplate and those from Baltica

The earliest known longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae: Prioninae) and implications for the early evolution of Chrysomeloidea

Mesozoic fossils of longhorn beetles, leaf beetles and other Chrysomeloidea are extremely rare, and little is known about the early evolutionary history of this extraordinarily diverse superfamily of beetles. Here we report the earliest known fossil cerambycid, Cretoprionus liutiaogouensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. C. liutiaogouensis bears several features characteristic of the extant subfamily Prioninae, including a large and robust body, absence of a stridulatory plate on the mesonotum, pseudotetramerous tarsi, mouthparts projecting forwards, and lateral carinae on the prothorax. It represents the only definite Mesozoic record of Cerambycidae, and extends the time of origin of the Prioninae as early as the Early Cretaceous. We incorporate two new calibration points as minimum constraints on the age of (1) Prioninae + Parandrinae and (2) Bruchinae using data from a recent molecular phylogenetic study of Chrysomeloidea, to reconstruct divergence times among the major lineages of Chrysomeloidea. Our analyses suggest that most chrysomeloid families appeared in the Jurassic and diversified over the course of the Cretaceous, a scenario consistent with the codiversification of Chrysomeloidea and their (predominantly) angiospermous hosts; however, the phylogeny of Chrysomeloidea remains incompletely resolved, and further elucidation of timing and patterns of chrysomeloid macroevolution will require additional study. © 2013 Natural History Museum

Phylogenetic analysis of Prophyllodictya

1) Character-taxon matrix used for phylogenetic analysis; 2) Characters for phylogenetic analysi

Phylogeny and Biogeographic History of <i>Parnassius</i> Butterflies (Papilionidae: Parnassiinae) Reveal Their Origin and Deep Diversification in West China

We studied 239 imagoes of 12 Parnassius species collected from the mountains of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) and its neighbouring areas in China. We selected three mitochondrial gene (COI, ND1, and ND5) sequences, along with the homologous gene sequences of other Parnassius species from GenBank, to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree and biogeographic history of this genus. Our results show that Parnassius comprises eight monophyletic subgenera, with subgenus Parnassius at the basal position; the genus crown group originated during the Middle Miocene (ca. 16.99 Ma), and species diversification continued during sustained cooling phases after the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum (MMCO) when the QTP and its neighbouring regions experienced rapid uplift and extensive orogeny. A phylogenetic network analysis based on transcriptomes from GenBank suggests that ancient gene introgression might have contributed to the spread of the Parnassius genus to different altitudes. Ancestral area reconstruction indicates that Parnassius most likely originated in West China (QTP and Xinjiang) and then spread to America in two dispersal events as subgenera Driopa and Parnassius, along with their host plants Papaveraceae and Crassulaceae, respectively. Our study suggests that extensive mountain-building processes led to habitat fragmentation in the QTP, leading to the early diversification of Parnassius, and climate cooling after MMCO was the driving mechanism for the dispersal of Parnassius butterflies from West China to East Asia, Europe, and North America

Determination and Environmental Implications of Aqueous-Phase Rate Constants in Radical Reactions

Interests in the kinetics of radical–induced reactions in aqueous solution have grown remarkably due to their water engineering significance (e.g., advanced oxidation processes). Although compilations of the rate constants (k) for various radicals have been documented, surprisingly a systematic review has yet to be reported on the development of reliable methods for determining k values. A knowledge gap exists to critically evaluate and screen the various methods to measure them. In this review, we summarize the direct and indirect methods under steady–state and non–steady–state conditions, followed by critical evaluations on their advantages and disadvantages. The radicals of ·OH, SO4·−, O2·−, and Cl· were chosen based on their significant aquatic environmental relevance. MS excel spreadsheets that demonstrate the determination processes were provided allowing one to reproduce the data and/or to analyze the unprocessed raw data as a “template”. We formulated a standard operation procedure for the k determination, although there is simply no “versatile” method fitting for all radical reactions. Finally, existing challenges and future research focus are discussed. This is the first review covering methodological approaches and considerations, aiming to provide a holistic and fundamental basis to choose an appropriate method for determining the k values for bimolecular reactions between target compounds and radicals in the aqueous phase

Miocene Diversification and High-Altitude Adaptation of Parnassius Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Revealed by Large-Scale Transcriptomic Data

The early evolutionary pattern and molecular adaptation mechanism of alpine Parnassius butterflies to high altitudes in Qinghai&ndash;Tibet Plateau are poorly understood up to now, due to difficulties in sampling, limited sequence data, and time calibration issues. Here, we present large-scale transcriptomic datasets of eight representative Parnassius species to reveal the phylogenetic timescale and potential genetic basis for high-altitude adaptation with multiple analytic strategies using 476 orthologous genes. Our phylogenetic results strongly supported that the subgenus Parnassius formed a well-resolved basal clade, and the subgenera Tadumia and Kailasius were closely related in the phylogenetic trees. In addition, molecular dating analyses showed that the Parnassius began to diverge at about 13.0 to 14.3 million years ago (middle Miocene), correlated with their hostplant&rsquo;s spatiotemporal distributions, as well as geological and palaeoenvironmental changes of the Qinghai&ndash;Tibet Plateau. Moreover, the accelerated evolutionary rate, candidate positively selected genes and their potentially functional changes were detected, probably contributed to the high-altitude adaptation of Parnassius species. Overall, our study provided some new insights into the spatiotemporally evolutionary pattern and high altitude adaptation of Parnassius butterflies from the extrinsic and intrinsic view, which will help to address evolution, biodiversity, and conservation questions concerning Parnassius and other butterfly species