Gender Difference of Unconscious Attentional Bias in High Trait Anxiety Individuals

By combining binocular suppression technique and a probe detection paradigm, we investigated attentional bias to invisible stimuli and its gender difference in both high trait anxiety (HTA) and low trait anxiety (LTA) individuals. As an attentional cue, happy or fearful face pictures were presented to HTAs and LTAs for 800 ms either consciously or unconsciously (through binocular suppression). Participants were asked to judge the orientation of a gabor patch following the face pictures. Their performance was used to measure attentional effect induced by the cue. We found gender differences of attentional effect only in the unconscious condition with HTAs. Female HTAs exhibited difficulty in disengaging attention from the location where fearful faces were presented, while male HTAs showed attentional avoidance of it. Our results suggested that the failure to find attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli in many previous studies might be attributed to consciously presented stimuli and data analysis regardless of participants' gender. These findings also contributed to our understanding of gender difference in anxiety disorder

FBXO5 acts as a novel prognostic biomarker for patients with cervical cancer

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) remains one of the most common and deadly malignancies in women worldwide. FBXO5, a protein-coding gene, is highly expressed in a variety of primary tumors and promotes tumor progression, however, its role and prognostic value in CC remain largely unknown.Methods: A key differential gene, FBXO5, was screened according to WGCNA based on immunohistochemical assays of clinical samples, multiple analyses of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, including survival analysis, tumor mutational burden, GO, KEGG, tumor immune infiltration, and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity, to explore the expression and prognostic value of FBXO5 in CC. The migration and invasiveness of cervical cancer cells following FBXO5 knockdown and overexpression were examined using wound healing and transwell assays, and the viability of cancer cells was assessed using CCK8 and EdU assays.Results:FBXO5 was discovered to be substantially expressed in CC tissues using data from our CC cohort and the TCGA database, and a survival analysis indicated FBXO5 as a predictive factor for poor overall survival in CC patients. In vitro, CC cells were more inclined to proliferate, migrate, and invade when FBXO5 was upregulated as opposed to when it was knocked down

Holocene variations in peatland methane cycling associated with the Asian summer monsoon system

Atmospheric methane concentrations decreased during the early to middle Holocene; however, the governing mechanisms remain controversial. Although it has been suggested that the mid-Holocene minimum methane emissions are associated with hydrological change, direct evidence is lacking. Here we report a new independent approach, linking hydrological change in peat sediments from the Tibetan Plateau to changes in archaeal diether concentrations and diploptene delta C-13 values as tracers for methanogenesis and methanotrophy, respectively. A minimum in inferred methanogenesis occurred during the mid-Holocene, which, locally, corresponds with the driest conditions of the Holocene, reflecting a minimum in Asian monsoon precipitation. The close coupling between precipitation and methanogenesis is validated by climate simulations, which also suggest a regionally widespread impact. Importantly, the minimum in methanogenesis is associated with a maximum in methanotrophy. Therefore, methane emissions in the Tibetan Plateau region were apparently lower during the mid-Holocene and partially controlled by interactions of large-scale atmospheric circulation

Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of Iron Hydride Ligated with Bidentate N-Heterocyclic Silylenes for Hydroboration of Carbonyl Compounds

We report the synthesis of a novel bidentate N-heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) ligand, N-(LSi:)-N-methyl-2-pyridinamine (1) (L = PhC­(NtBu)2), and the first bischelate disilylene iron hydride, [(Si,N)­(Si,C)­Fe­(H)­(PMe3)] (2), and monosilylene iron hydride, [(Si,C)­Fe­(H)­(PMe3)3] (2′), through Csp2–H activation of the NHSi ligand. Compounds 1 and 2 were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Density functional theory calculations indicated the multiple-bond character of the Fe–Si bonds and the π back-donation from Fe­(II) to the Si­(II) center. Moreover, the strong donor character of ligand 1 enables 2 to act as an efficient catalyst for the hydroboration reaction of carbonyl compounds at room temperature. Chemoselective hydroboration is attained under these conditions. This might be the first example of hydroboration of ketones and aldehydes catalyzed by a silylene hydrido iron complex. A catalytic mechanism was suggested and partially experimentally verified

Transition from a warm and dry to a cold and wet climate in NE China across the Holocene

Northeast (NE) China lies in the northernmost part of the East Asian Summer monsoon (EASM) region. Although a series of Holocene climatic records have been obtained from lakes and peats in this region, the Holocene hydrological history and its controls remain unclear. More specifically, it is currently debated whether NE China experienced a dry or wet climate during the early Holocene. Here we reconstruct changes in mean annual air temperature and peat soil moisture across the last similar to 13,000 year BP using samples from the Gushantun and Hani peat, located in NE China. Our approach is based on the distribution of bacterial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) and the abundance of the archaeal isoprenoidal (iso)GDGT crenarchaeol. Using the recently developed peat-specific MAAT(p)(eat) temperature calibration we find that NE China experienced a relatively warm early Holocene (similar to 5-7 degrees C warmer than today), followed by a cooling trend towards modern-day values during the mid- and late Holocene. Moreover, crenarchaeol concentrations, brGDGT-based pH values, and the distribution of 6-methyl brGDGTs, all indicate an increase in soil moisture content from the early to late Holocene in both peats, which is largely consistent with other data from NE China. This trend towards increasing soil moisture/wetter conditions across the Holocene in NE China records contrasts with the trends observed in other parts of the EASM region, which exhibit an early and/or mid-Holocene moisture/precipitation maximum. However, the Holocene soil moisture variations and temperature-moisture relationships (warm-dry and cold-wet) observed in NE China are similar to those observed in the core area of arid central Asia which is dominated by the westerlies. We therefore propose that an increase in the intensity of the westerlies across the Holocene, driven by increasing winter insolation, expanding Arctic sea ice extent and the enhanced Okhotsk High, caused an increase in moisture during the late Holocene in NE China. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Long-term use of antibiotics and risk of type 2 diabetes in women:a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggested that long-term antibiotic use may alter the gut microbiome, which has, in turn, been linked to type 2 diabetes. We undertook this study to investigate whether antibiotic use was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included women free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS 2008–2014) and NHS II (2009–2017). We evaluated the overall duration of antibiotics use in the past 4 years and subsequent diabetes risk with Cox proportional-hazards regression adjusting for demography, family history of diabetes and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: Pooled analyses of NHS and NHS II (2837 cases, 703 934 person-years) revealed that a longer duration of antibiotic use in the past 4 years was associated with higher risk of diabetes [Trend-coefficient = 0.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04 to 0.13]. Participants who received antibiotics treatment for a medium duration of 15 days to 2 months [hazard ratio (HR) 1.23, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.39] or long duration of >2 months (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.38) had higher risk of type 2 diabetes as compared with non-users. Subgroup analyses suggested that the associations were unlikely to be modified by age, family history of diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity and overall diet quality. CONCLUSIONS: A longer duration of antibiotic use in recent years was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Physicians should exercise caution when prescribing antibiotics, particularly for long-term use

Interface characteristics in an α+β titanium alloy

The α/β interface in Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo (Ti-6246) was investigated via center of symmetry analysis, both as-grown and after 10% cold work. Semicoherent interface steps are observed at a spacing of 4.5±1.13 atoms in the as-grown condition, in good agreement with theory. Lattice accommodation is observed, with elongation along [1210]α and contraction along [1010]α. Deformed α exhibited larger, less coherent steps with slip bands lying in {110}β. This indicates dislocation pile-up at the grain boundary, a precursor to globularization during heat treatment. Atom probe tomography measurements of secondary α plates in the fully heat-treated condition showed a Zr excess at the interface, which was localized into regular structures indicative of Zr association with interface defects, such as dislocations. Such chemo-mechanical stabilization of the interface defects would both inhibit plate growth during elevated temperature service and the interaction of interface defects with gliding dislocations during deformation

Hydroxysafflor Yellow A (HSYA) Improves Learning and Memory in Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion-Injured Rats via Recovering Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippocampus

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is the major active chemical component of the safflower plant flower, which is widely used in Chinese medicine for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease treatment. Recent studies have demonstrated that HSYA exerts neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia, such as neuronal anti-apoptosis, antioxidant activity and oxygen free radical-scavenging. However, whether and how HSYA has a protective effect on cognitive impairment induced by cerebral ischemia reperfusion remains elusive. In the present study, by using the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model, we found that 8 mg/kg and 16 mg/kg HSYA administration by common carotid artery (CCA) injection improved impaired cognitive function in Morris water maze (MWM) and passive avoidance tasks, but not 4 mg/kg HSYA treatment, suggesting that HSYA treatment in a certain concentration can improve cognitive impairment in MCAO rats. Furthermore, we found that 8 mg/kg HSYA treatment rescued the impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus of MCAO rats. Taken together, these results for the first time demonstrate that HSYA has the capacity to protect cognitive function and synaptic plasticity against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and provide a new insight that HSYA may be a promising alternative for recovery of cognitive dysfunction after brain ischemic injury

Genome-wide investigation of the AP2/ERF superfamily and their expression under salt stress in Chinese willow (Salix matsudana)

AP2/ERF transcription factors (TFs) play indispensable roles in plant growth, development, and especially in various abiotic stresses responses. The AP2/ERF TF family has been discovered and classified in more than 50 species. However, little is known about the AP2/ERF gene family of Chinese willow (Salix matsudana), which is a tetraploid ornamental tree species that is widely planted and is also considered as a species that can improve the soil salinity of coastal beaches. In this study, 364 AP2/ERF genes of Salix matsudana (SmAP2/ERF) were identified depending on the recently produced whole genome sequencing data of Salix matsudana. These genes were renamed according to the chromosomal location of the SmAP2/ERF genes. The SmAP2/ERF genes included three major subfamilies: AP2 (55 members), ERF (301 members), and RAV (six members) and two Soloist genes. Genes’ structure and conserved motifs were analyzed in SmAP2/ERF family members, and introns were not found in most genes of the ERF subfamily, some unique motifs were found to be important for the function of SmAP2/ERF genes. Syntenic relationships between the SmAP2/ERF genes and AP2/ERF genes from Populus trichocarpa and Salix purpurea showed that Salix matsudana is genetically more closely related to Populus trichocarpa than to Salix purpurea. Evolution analysis on paralog gene pairs suggested that progenitor of S. matsudana originated from hybridization between two different diploid salix germplasms and underwent genome duplication not more than 10 Mya. RNA sequencing results demonstrated the differential expression patterns of some SmAP2/ERF genes under salt stress and this information can help reveal the mechanism of salt tolerance regulation in Salix matsudana