Phylogenetic analysis of birne shrimp (Aretemia) in China using DNA barcoding

DNA barcoding is a powerful approach for characterizing species of organisms, especially those with almost identical morphological features, thereby helping to to establish phylogenetic relationships and reveal evolutionary histories. In this study, we chose a 648-bp segment of the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI), as a standard barcode region to establish phylogenetic relationships among brine shrimp (Artemia) species from major habitats around the world and further focused on the biodiversity of Artemia species in China, especially in the Tibetan Plateau. Samples from five major salt lakes of the Tibetan Plateau located at altitudes over 4,000m showed clear differences from other Artemia populations in China. We also observed two consistent amino acid changes, 153A/V and 183L/F, in the COI gene between the high and low altitude species in China. Moreover, indels in the COI sequence were identified in cyst and adult samples unique to the Co Qen population from the Tibetan Plateau, demonstrating the need for additional investigations of the mitochondrial genome among Tibetan Artemia populations

The Impact of Whole Brain Global Functional Connectivity Density Following MECT in Major Depression: A Follow-Up Study

To explore the alteration of global functional connectivity density (gFCD) in depressive patients after modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) and analyze the relationship between gFCD and clinical outcome. Thirty-seven subjects were evaluated based on the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10), consisting of a depressive group (24 patients after follow-ups) and a healthy control group with 13 normal individuals. All participants received Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The gFCD significantly increased in the posterior-middle insula, the supra-marginal gyrus and the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) before MECT treatment compared to healthy controlled patients. The gFCD statistically expanded in the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), the orbitofrontal cortex bilaterally and the left-supra-marginal gyrus after MECT, and it decreased notably in the posterior insula. The gFCD in the pgACC and the right orbital frontal cortex of depressive group before MECT showed a positive correlation with HAMD scores with treatment. Conforming to the impact of gFCD in depressive patients after MECT, the aforementioned brain region may become an indicator of MECT effect

Gut Microbiota, Blood Metabolites, and Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Us Hispanics/Latinos

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is an important precursor of heart failure (HF), but little is known about its relationship with gut dysbiosis and microbial-related metabolites. By leveraging the multi-omics data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a study with population at high burden of LVDD, we aimed to characterize gut microbiota associated with LVDD and identify metabolite signatures of gut dysbiosis and incident LVDD. RESULTS: We included up to 1996 Hispanic/Latino adults (mean age: 59.4 years; 67.1% female) with comprehensive echocardiography assessments, gut microbiome, and blood metabolome data. LVDD was defined through a composite criterion involving tissue Doppler assessment and left atrial volume index measurements. Among 1996 participants, 916 (45.9%) had prevalent LVDD, and 212 out of 594 participants without LVDD at baseline developed incident LVDD over a median 4.3 years of follow-up. Using multivariable-adjusted analysis of compositions of microbiomes (ANCOM-II) method, we identified 7 out of 512 dominant gut bacterial species (prevalence \u3e 20%) associated with prevalent LVDD (FDR-q \u3c 0.1), with inverse associations being found for Intestinimonas_massiliensis, Clostridium_phoceensis, and Bacteroide_coprocola and positive associations for Gardnerella_vaginali, Acidaminococcus_fermentans, Pseudomonas_aeruginosa, and Necropsobacter_massiliensis. Using multivariable adjusted linear regression, 220 out of 669 circulating metabolites with detection rate \u3e 75% were associated with the identified LVDD-related bacterial species (FDR-q \u3c 0.1), with the majority being linked to Intestinimonas_massiliensis, Clostridium_phoceensis, and Acidaminococcus_fermentans. Furthermore, 46 of these bacteria-associated metabolites, mostly glycerophospholipids, secondary bile acids, and amino acids, were associated with prevalent LVDD (FDR-q \u3c 0.1), 21 of which were associated with incident LVDD (relative risk ranging from 0.81 [p = 0.001, for guanidinoacetate] to 1.25 [p = 9 × 10 CONCLUSION: In this study of US Hispanics/Latinos, we identified multiple gut bacteria and related metabolites linked to LVDD, suggesting their potential roles in this preclinical HF entity. Video Abstract

Underestimated ecosystem carbon turnover time and sequestration under the steady state assumption: a perspective from long‐term data assimilation

It is critical to accurately estimate carbon (C) turnover time as it dominates the uncertainty in ecosystem C sinks and their response to future climate change. In the absence of direct observations of ecosystem C losses, C turnover times are commonly estimated under the steady state assumption (SSA), which has been applied across a large range of temporal and spatial scales including many at which the validity of the assumption is likely to be violated. However, the errors associated with improperly applying SSA to estimate C turnover time and its covariance with climate as well as ecosystem C sequestrations have yet to be fully quantified. Here, we developed a novel model-data fusion framework and systematically analyzed the SSA-induced biases using time-series data collected from 10 permanent forest plots in the eastern China monsoon region. The results showed that (a) the SSA significantly underestimated mean turnover times (MTTs) by 29%, thereby leading to a 4.83-fold underestimation of the net ecosystem productivity (NEP) in these forest ecosystems, a major C sink globally; (b) the SSA-induced bias in MTT and NEP correlates negatively with forest age, which provides a significant caveat for applying the SSA to young-aged ecosystems; and (c) the sensitivity of MTT to temperature and precipitation was 22% and 42% lower, respectively, under the SSA. Thus, under the expected climate change, spatiotemporal changes in MTT are likely to be underestimated, thereby resulting in large errors in the variability of predicted global NEP. With the development of observation technology and the accumulation of spatiotemporal data, we suggest estimating MTTs at the disequilibrium state via long-term data assimilation, thereby effectively reducing the uncertainty in ecosystem C sequestration estimations and providing a better understanding of regional or global C cycle dynamics and C-climate feedback

Search for light dark matter from atmosphere in PandaX-4T

We report a search for light dark matter produced through the cascading decay of $\eta$ mesons, which are created as a result of inelastic collisions between cosmic rays and Earth's atmosphere. We introduce a new and general framework, publicly accessible, designed to address boosted dark matter specifically, with which a full and dedicated simulation including both elastic and quasi-elastic processes of Earth attenuation effect on the dark matter particles arriving at the detector is performed. In the PandaX-4T commissioning data of 0.63 tonne$\cdot$year exposure, no significant excess over background is observed. The first constraints on the interaction between light dark matter generated in the atmosphere and nucleus through a light scalar mediator are obtained. The lowest excluded cross-section is set at $5.9 \times 10^{-37}{\rm cm^2}$ for dark matter mass of $0.1$ MeV$/c^2$ and mediator mass of 300 MeV$/c^2$. The lowest upper limit of $\eta$ to dark matter decay branching ratio is $1.6 \times 10^{-7}$

A Search for Light Fermionic Dark Matter Absorption on Electrons in PandaX-4T

We report a search on a sub-MeV fermionic dark matter absorbed by electrons with an outgoing active neutrino using the 0.63 tonne-year exposure collected by PandaX-4T liquid xenon experiment. No significant signals are observed over the expected background. The data are interpreted into limits to the effective couplings between such dark matter and electrons. For axial-vector or vector interactions, our sensitivity is competitive in comparison to existing astrophysical bounds on the decay of such dark matter into photon final states. In particular, we present the first direct detection limits for an axial-vector (vector) interaction which are the strongest in the mass range from 25 to 45 (35 to 50) keV/c$^2$

The DNA Methylome of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Analysis across the genome of patterns of DNA methylation reveals a rich landscape of allele-specific epigenetic modification and consequent effects on allele-specific gene expression