Light disrupts social memory via a retina-to-supraoptic nucleus circuit.

The formation of social memory between individuals of the opposite sex is crucial for expanding mating options or establishing monogamous pair bonding. A specialized neuronal circuit that regulates social memory could enhance an individuals mating opportunities and provide a parallel pathway for computing social behaviors. While the influence of light exposure on various forms of memory, such as fear and object memory, has been studied, its modulation of social recognition memory remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that acute exposure to light impairs social recognition memory (SRM) in mice. Unlike sound and touch stimuli, light inhibits oxytocin neurons in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) via M1 SON-projecting intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) and GABAergic neurons in the perinuclear zone of the SON (pSON). We further show that optogenetic activation of SON oxytocin neurons using channelrhodopsin is sufficient to enhance SRM performance, even under light conditions. Our findings unveil a dedicated neuronal circuit through which luminance affects SRM, utilizing a non-image-forming visual pathway, distinct from the canonical modulatory role of the oxytocin system

Effects of natto extract on endothelial injury in a rat model

Vascular endothelial damage has been found to be associated with thrombus formation, which is considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A diet of natto leads to a low prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of natto extract on vascular endothelia damage with exposure to laser irradiation. Endothelial damage both in vitro and in vivo was induced by irradiation of rose bengal using a DPSS green laser. Cell viability was determined by MTS assay, and the intimal thickening was verified by a histological approach. The antioxidant content of natto extract was determined for the free radical scavenging activity. Endothelial cells were injured in the presence of rose bengal irradiated in a dose-dependent manner. Natto extract exhibits high levels of antioxidant activity compared with purified natto kinase. Apoptosis of laser-injured endothelial cells was significantly reduced in the presence of natto extract. Both the natto extract and natto kinase suppressed intimal thickening in rats with endothelial injury. The present findings suggest that natto extract suppresses vessel thickening as a synergic effect attributed to its antioxidant and anti-apoptosis properties

Gravity waves over topographical bottoms: Comparison with the experiment

In this paper, the propagation of water surface waves over one-dimensional periodic and random bottoms is investigated by the transfer matrix method. For the periodic bottoms, the band structure is calculated, and the results are compared to the transmission results. When the bottoms are randomized, the Anderson localization phenomenon is observed. The theory has been applied to an existing experiment (Belzons, et al., J. Fluid Mech. {\bf 186}, 530 (1988)). In general, the results are compared favorably with the experimental observation.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

High expression FUT1 and B3GALT5 is an independent predictor of postoperative recurrence and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cancer may arise from dedifferentiation of mature cells or maturation-arrested stem cells. Previously we reported that definitive endoderm from which liver was derived, expressed Globo H, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4. In this study, we examined the expression of their biosynthetic enzymes, FUT1, FUT2, B3GALT5 and ST3GAL2, in 135 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues by qRT-PCR. High expression of either FUT1 or B3GALT5 was significantly associated with advanced stages and poor outcome. Kaplan Meier survival analysis showed significantly shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) for those with high expression of either FUT1 or B3GALT5 (P = 0.024 and 0.001, respectively) and shorter overall survival (OS) for those with high expression of B3GALT5 (P = 0.017). Combination of FUT1 and B3GALT5 revealed that high expression of both genes had poorer RFS and OS than the others (P < 0.001). Moreover, multivariable Cox regression analysis identified the combination of B3GALT5 and FUT1 as an independent predictor for RFS (HR: 2.370, 95% CI: 1.505-3.731, P < 0.001) and OS (HR: 2.153, 95% CI: 1.188-3.902, P = 0.012) in HCC. In addition, the presence of Globo H, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4 in some HCC tissues and their absence in normal liver was established by immunohistochemistry staining and mass spectrometric analysis

Genetic analysis of fish iridoviruses isolated in Taiwan during 2001–2009

To investigate the genetic relationships between field strains of iridoviruses gathered from various fish species in Taiwan, viruses that were collected from 2001 to 2009 were analyzed. Open reading frames encoding the viral major capsid protein (MCP) and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Our results indicated that iridoviruses from Taiwan aquaculture fishes could be classified into two groups: prior to 2005, the viruses were closely related to members of the genus Ranavirus; and after 2005, they were similar to members of the genus Megalocytivirus. Based on the analysis of MCP amino acid sequences, virus isolates were divided into 4 major genotypes that were related to ISKNV, RSIV, FLIV, and GIV, respectively. Pairwise comparisons of MCP genes showed that the ranavirus was an epidemic pathogen for economically important species in the major production regions and cultured marine fish, while the megalocytivirus isolates were sensitive to host range. In addition, the distribution of synonymous and non-synonymous changes in the MCP gene revealed that the iridoviruses were evolving slowly, and most of the variations were synonymous mutations. The Ka/Ks values were lower than one, and hence, the viruses were under negative selection

Exploring the heterogeneity of effects of corticosteroids on acute respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: The effectiveness of corticosteroid therapy on the mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains under debate. We aimed to explore the grounds for the inconsistent results in previous studies and update the evidence. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Web of Science up to December 2013. Eligible studies included randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that reported mortality and that had corticosteroid nonusers for comparison. The effect of corticosteroids on ARDS mortality was assessed by relative risk (RR) and risk difference (RD) for ICU, hospital, and 60-day mortality using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Eight RCTs and 10 cohort studies were included for analysis. In RCTs, corticosteroids had a possible but statistically insignificant effect on ICU mortality (RD, −0.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.53 to −0.03 and RR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.24 to 1.25) but no effect on 60-day mortality (RD, −0.01; 95% CI, −0.12 to 0.10 and RR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.75 to 1.26). In cohort studies, corticosteroids had no effect on ICU mortality (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.49) but non-significantly increased 60-day mortality (RR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.96 to 1.78). In the subgroup analysis by ARDS etiology, corticosteroids significantly increased mortality in influenza-related ARDS (three cohort studies, RR, 2.45, 95% CI, 1.40 to 4.27). CONCLUSIONS: The effects of corticosteroids on the mortality of ARDS differed by duration of outcome measures and etiologies. Corticosteroids did not improve longer-term outcomes and may cause harm in certain subgroups. Current data do not support routine use of corticosteroids in ARDS. More clinical trials are needed to specify the favorable and unfavorable subgroups for corticosteroid therapy

Effect of Surface Geology on Ground Motions: The Case of Station TAP056 - Chutzuhu Site

In the Tatun mountain area of northern Taiwan are two strong motion stations approximately 2.5 km apart, TAP056 and TAP066 of the TSMIP network. The accelerometer at station TAP056 is often triggered by earthquakes, but that at TAP066 station is not. Comparisons of vertical and horizontal peak ground accelerations reveal PGA in the vertical, east-west, and north-south components at TAP056 station to be 3.89, 7.57, and 5.45 times those at station TAP066, respectively. The PGA ratio does not seem to be related to earthquake source or path. Fourier spectra of earthquake records at station TAP056 always have approximately the same dominant frequency; however, those at station TAP066 are different due to different sources and paths of different events. This shows that spectra at TAP056 station are mainly controlled by local site effects. The spectral ratios of TAP056/TAP066 show the S-wave is amplified at around 8 ~ 10 Hz. The horizontal/vertical spectral ratios of station TAP056 also show a dominant frequency at about 6 and 8 ~ 10 Hz. After dense microtremor surveying and the addition of one accelerometer just 20 meters away from the original observation station, we can confirm that the top soft soil layer upon which the observation station is constructed generates the local site response at station TAP056

PALM: A Paralleled and Integrated Framework for Phylogenetic Inference with Automatic Likelihood Model Selectors

BACKGROUND: Selecting an appropriate substitution model and deriving a tree topology for a given sequence set are essential in phylogenetic analysis. However, such time consuming, computationally intensive tasks rely on knowledge of substitution model theories and related expertise to run through all possible combinations of several separate programs. To ensure a thorough and efficient analysis and avert tedious manipulations of various programs, this work presents an intuitive framework, the phylogenetic reconstruction with automatic likelihood model selectors (PALM), with convincing, updated algorithms and a best-fit model selection mechanism for seamless phylogenetic analysis. METHODOLOGY: As an integrated framework of ClustalW, PhyML, MODELTEST, ProtTest, and several in-house programs, PALM evaluates the fitness of 56 substitution models for nucleotide sequences and 112 substitution models for protein sequences with scores in various criteria. The input for PALM can be either sequences in FASTA format or a sequence alignment file in PHYLIP format. To accelerate the computing of maximum likelihood and bootstrapping, this work integrates MPICH2/PhyML, PalmMonitor and Palm job controller across several machines with multiple processors and adopts the task parallelism approach. Moreover, an intuitive and interactive web component, PalmTree, is developed for displaying and operating the output tree with options of tree rooting, branches swapping, viewing the branch length values, and viewing bootstrapping score, as well as removing nodes to restart analysis iteratively. SIGNIFICANCE: The workflow of PALM is straightforward and coherent. Via a succinct, user-friendly interface, researchers unfamiliar with phylogenetic analysis can easily use this server to submit sequences, retrieve the output, and re-submit a job based on a previous result if some sequences are to be deleted or added for phylogenetic reconstruction. PALM results in an inference of phylogenetic relationship not only by vanquishing the computation difficulty of ML methods but also providing statistic methods for model selection and bootstrapping. The proposed approach can reduce calculation time, which is particularly relevant when querying a large data set. PALM can be accessed online at http://palm.iis.sinica.edu.tw