Comparisons in temperature and photoperiodic-dependent diapause induction between domestic and wild mulberry silkworms

The bivoltine strain of the domestic silkworm, Bombyx mori, has two generations per year. It shows a facultative diapause phenotype determined by environmental conditions, including photoperiod and temperature, and nutrient conditions during embryonic and larval development of the mother. However, it remains unclear how the environmental signals received during development are selectively utilized as cues to determine alternative diapause phenotypes. We performed a comparative analysis between the Kosetsu strain of B. mori and a Japanese population of the wild mulberry silkworm B. mandarina concerning the hierarchical molecular mechanisms in diapause induction. Our results showed that for the Kosetsu, temperature signals during the mother's embryonic development predominantly affected diapause determination through the thermosensitive transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and diapause hormone (DH) signaling pathways. However, embryonic diapause in B. mandarina was photoperiod-dependent, although the DH signaling pathway and thermal sensitivity of TRPA1 were conserved within both species. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that TRPA1-activated signals are strongly linked to the signaling pathway participating in diapause induction in Kosetsu to selectively utilize the temperature information as the cue because temperature-dependent induction was replaced by photoperiodic induction in the TRPA1 knockout mutant.ArticleScientific Report 11(1) : 8052-(2021)journal articl

Bevacizumab increases the sensitivity of olaparib to homologous recombination-proficient ovarian cancer by suppressing CRY1 via PI3K/AKT pathway

PARP inhibitors have changed the management of advanced high-grade epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), especially homologous recombinant (HR)-deficient advanced high-grade EOC. However, the effect of PARP inhibitors on HR-proficient (HRP) EOC is limited. Thus, new therapeutic strategy for HRP EOC is desired. In recent clinical study, the combination of PARP inhibitors with anti-angiogenic agents improved therapeutic efficacy, even in HRP cases. These data suggested that anti-angiogenic agents might potentiate the response to PARP inhibitors in EOC cells. Here, we demonstrated that anti-angiogenic agents, bevacizumab and cediranib, increased the sensitivity of olaparib in HRP EOC cells by suppressing HR activity. Most of the γ-H2AX foci were co-localized with RAD51 foci in control cells. However, most of the RAD51 were decreased in the bevacizumab-treated cells. RNA sequencing showed that bevacizumab decreased the expression of CRY1 under DNA damage stress. CRY1 is one of the transcriptional coregulators associated with circadian rhythm and has recently been reported to regulate the expression of genes required for HR in cancer cells. We found that the anti-angiogenic agents suppressed the increase of CRY1 expression by inhibiting VEGF/VEGFR/PI3K pathway. The suppression of CRY1 expression resulted in decrease of HR activity. In addition, CRY1 inhibition also sensitized EOC cells to olaparib. These data suggested that anti-angiogenic agents and CRY1 inhibitors will be the promising candidate in the combination therapy with PARP inhibitors in HR-proficient EOC

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

The Effect of the Presence of An Observer on Prefrontal Cortex during a Driving Video Game: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

It has been reported that the presence of others facilitates or inhibits an individual's performance. To investigate the neural bases of the effect of the presence of others, using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), we measured bilateral prefrontal activation (BA 10) in humans while they performed a simulated driving task. Participants were divided into four groups according to the combination of the presence of others (Single vs. Paired) and the game experience (High vs. Low): S-H, S-L, P-H, and P-L groups. The participant's task was to drive from start to goal using a route map either driving alone without a paired partner (single condition) or driving with a paired partner as an observer (paired condition). The results revealed that the single groups (S-H, S-L) yielded more errors than the paired groups (P-H, P-L) regardless of the game experience. However, the NIRS data demonstrated an interaction between the presence of others (S, P) and the game experience (H, L): The P-H showed higher brain activity than the S-H, whereas the P-L showed lower brain activity than the S-L. These results suggest that the presence of others functions distinctively in the prefrontal cortex in participants according to their prior experience in the relevant task

The neural correlates of biomechanical constraints in hand laterality judgment task performed from other person’s perspective: A near-infrared spectroscopy study - Fig 6

<p>Coxy-Hb changes (M ± SEM) of the 1PP and 3PP conditions (a) left PFC and (b) right PFC in the hand task at 90° and 270°.</p

The neural correlates of biomechanical constraints in hand laterality judgment task performed from other person’s perspective: A near-infrared spectroscopy study - Fig 8

<p>Coxy-Hb changes (M ± SEM) of the 1PP and 3PP conditions (a) left PFC and (b) right PFC in the Character task at 90° and 270°.</p

The multiple stages required for performing the HLJ task from 3PP.

<p>The multiple stages required for performing the HLJ task from 3PP.</p