Draft Genome of the Leopard Gecko, \u3cem\u3eEublepharis Macularius\u3c/em\u3e

Background Geckos are among the most species-rich reptile groups and the sister clade to all other lizards and snakes. Geckos possess a suite of distinctive characteristics, including adhesive digits, nocturnal activity, hard, calcareous eggshells, and a lack of eyelids. However, one gecko clade, the Eublepharidae, appears to be the exception to most of these ‘rules’ and lacks adhesive toe pads, has eyelids, and lays eggs with soft, leathery eggshells. These differences make eublepharids an important component of any investigation into the underlying genomic innovations contributing to the distinctive phenotypes in ‘typical’ geckos. Findings We report high-depth genome sequencing, assembly, and annotation for a male leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius (Eublepharidae). Illumina sequence data were generated from seven insert libraries (ranging from 170 to 20 kb), representing a raw sequencing depth of 136X from 303 Gb of data, reduced to 84X and 187 Gb after filtering. The assembled genome of 2.02 Gb was close to the 2.23 Gb estimated by k-mer analysis. Scaffold and contig N50 sizes of 664 and 20 kb, respectively, were compble to the previously published Gekko japonicus genome. Repetitive elements accounted for 42 % of the genome. Gene annotation yielded 24,755 protein-coding genes, of which 93 % were functionally annotated. CEGMA and BUSCO assessment showed that our assembly captured 91 % (225 of 248) of the core eukaryotic genes, and 76 % of vertebrate universal single-copy orthologs. Conclusions Assembly of the leopard gecko genome provides a valuable resource for future comptive genomic studies of geckos and other squamate reptiles

Do people become more proactive at work as they grow older? Examining the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, and career aspiration

Today, there is an increasingly aging workforce. Previous studies have examined whether aged people exhibit more positive attitudes, better health, and better performance. However, the relationship between age and proactive work behavior has seldom been examined, which is unfortunate since organizations need employee proactivity to deal with uncertainty and unpredictability. Based on socioemotional selectivity theory, we propose that age might be positively related to proactive work behavior through intrinsic motivation and emotional exhaustion because older people tend to manage their emotions and obtain intrinsic enjoyment. But age might be negatively related to proactive work behavior through career aspiration because older people focus less on future development. With a sample of 393 people, we revealed intrinsic motivation and career aspiration. The findings could help us better understand how age is related to organizational outcomes and individual differences in proactive work behavior. They could also further reduce age-related discrimination and encourage organizations to manage older people in wise and better ways

Draft genome of the leopard gecko, <i>Eublepharis macularius</i>

BACKGROUND: Geckos are among the most species-rich reptile groups and the sister clade to all other lizards and snakes. Geckos possess a suite of distinctive characteristics, including adhesive digits, nocturnal activity, hard, calcareous eggshells, and a lack of eyelids. However, one gecko clade, the Eublepharidae, appears to be the exception to most of these ‘rules’ and lacks adhesive toe pads, has eyelids, and lays eggs with soft, leathery eggshells. These differences make eublepharids an important component of any investigation into the underlying genomic innovations contributing to the distinctive phenotypes in ‘typical’ geckos. FINDINGS: We report high-depth genome sequencing, assembly, and annotation for a male leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius (Eublepharidae). Illumina sequence data were generated from seven insert libraries (ranging from 170 to 20 kb), representing a raw sequencing depth of 136X from 303 Gb of data, reduced to 84X and 187 Gb after filtering. The assembled genome of 2.02 Gb was close to the 2.23 Gb estimated by k-mer analysis. Scaffold and contig N50 sizes of 664 and 20 kb, respectively, were comparable to the previously published Gekko japonicus genome. Repetitive elements accounted for 42 % of the genome. Gene annotation yielded 24,755 protein-coding genes, of which 93 % were functionally annotated. CEGMA and BUSCO assessment showed that our assembly captured 91 % (225 of 248) of the core eukaryotic genes, and 76 % of vertebrate universal single-copy orthologs. CONCLUSIONS: Assembly of the leopard gecko genome provides a valuable resource for future comparative genomic studies of geckos and other squamate reptiles. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13742-016-0151-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Surgical treatment of patellar dislocation: A network meta-analysis of randomized control trials and cohort studies

BackgroundCurrently, there are many surgical options for patellar dislocation. The purpose of this study is to perform a network meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies to determine the better treatment.MethodWe searched the Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, clinicaltrials.gov and who.int/trialsearch. Clinical outcomes included Kujala score, Lysholm score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, redislocation or recurrent instability. We conducted pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis respectively using the frequentist model to compare the clinical outcomes.ResultsThere were 10 RCTs and 2 cohort studies with a total of 774 patients included in our study. In network meta-analysis, double-bundle medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction (DB-MPFLR) achieved good results on functional scores. According to the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA), DB-MPFLR had the highest probabilities of their protective effects on outcomes of Kujala score (SUCRA 96.5 %), IKDC score (SUCRA 100.0%) and redislocation (SUCRA 67.8%). However, DB-MPFLR (SUCRA 84.6%) comes second to SB-MPFLR (SUCRA 90.4%) in Lyshlom score. It is (SUCRA 70%) also inferior to vastus medialis plasty (VM-plasty) (SUCRA 81.9%) in preventing Recurrent instability. The results of subgroup analysis were similar.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that MPFLR showed better functional scores than other surgical options

FANCI serve as a prognostic biomarker correlated with immune infiltrates in skin cutaneous melanoma

BackgroundAs a member of tumor, Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) poses a serious threat to people’s health because of its strong malignancy. Unfortunately, effective treatment methods for SKCM remain lacking. FANCI plays a vital role in the occurrence and metastasis of various tumor types. However, its regulatory role in SKCM is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of FANCI with SKCM.MethodsThis study investigated the expression of FANCI in GSE46517, GSE15605, and GSE114445 from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-SKCM datasets using the package “limma” or “DESeq2” in R environment and also investigated the prognostic significance of FANCI by utilizing the GEPIA database. Additionally, our research made use of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining to verify FANCI expression between SKCM and normal tissues and developed the knockdown of FANCI in A375 and A875 cells to further analyze the function of FANCI. Finally, this study analyzed the correlation of FANCI and tumor-infiltrating immune cells by CIBERSORT, ESTIMATE, and ssGSEA algorithms.ResultsThe FANCI level was increasing in SKCM tissues from GSE46517, GSE15605, GSE114445, and TCGA-SKCM. However, high FANCI expression correlated with poor overall survival. The RT-qPCR and IHC confirmed the accuracy of bioinformatics. Knocking down FANCI suppresses A375 and A875 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. FANCI could be involved in the immunological milieu of SKCM by regulating immune responses and infiltrating numerous immune cells, particularly neutrophils, CD8+ T cells, and B cells. Furthermore, patients with SKCM who have a high FANCI expression level are reported to exhibit immunosuppression, whereas those with a low FANCI expression level are more likely to experience positive outcomes from immunotherapy.ConclusionsThe increased FANCI expression in SKCM can be a prognostic biomarker. Knockdown FANCI can reduce the occurrence and progression of SKCM. The FANCI expression provides a foundation for predicting the immune status and treatment of SKCM

Tong-Xie-Yao-Fang Regulates 5-HT Level in Diarrhea Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Through Gut Microbiota Modulation

Tong-Xie-Yao-Fang (TXYF) has been widely used for the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) in traditional Chinese medicine. However, its mechanism of action in the treatment of IBS-D remains to be fully understood. Recent reports have shown that Clostridium species in the gut can induce 5-HT production in the colon, which then contributes to IBS-D. Due to the wide use of TXYF in the clinical treatment of IBS-D and the close relationship between gut microbiota and IBS-D, we hypothesize that TXYF treats IBS-D by modulating gut microbiota and regulating colonic 5-HT levels. In this study, variation analysis of 16S rRNA was conducted to evaluate changes in the distribution of gut microbiota in IBS-D model rats after TXYF treatment. Moreover, we investigated whether TXYF could affect colonic 5-HT levels in IBS-D model rats. We then performed fecal transplantation experiments to confirm the effects of TXYF on gut microbiota and 5-HT levels. We found that TXYF treatment can ameliorate IBS-D and regulate 5-HT levels in colon tissue homogenates. TXYF treatment also affected the diversity of gut microbiota and altered the relative abundance of Akkermansia and Clostridium sensu stricto 1 in gut flora populations. Finally, we showed that fecal transplantation from TXYF-treated rats could relieve IBS-D and regulate 5-HT levels in colon tissue homogenates. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that TXYF treatment diminishes colonic 5-HT levels and alleviates the symptoms of IBS-D by favorably affecting microbiota levels in gut flora communities

The effect of hamstring donor-site block for functional outcomes and rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

PurposeTo determine the effect of local infiltration anesthesia (LIA) at the donor site combined with a femoral nerve block (FNB) on short-term postoperative pain, functional outcomes, and rehabilitation after arthroscopic hamstring tendon autograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).MethodsThis study was a single center, randomized controlled trial. Seventy-three subjects with ACL rupture were enrolled. Participants were randomly allocated to two groups, 47 in the experimental group (Group A) and 26 in the control group (Group B). All operations were performed under FNB. In Group A, 10 ml of 1% ropivacaine was injected precisely at the hamstring donor site. Patients in Group B were treated with the same amount of saline. Preoperatively and postoperatively, pain scores based on the numerical rating scale (NRS) and consumption of opioids were recorded. In addition, knee functions were assessed by the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC), the Lysholm score, and the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 and 3 months. In addition, we applied the KNEELAX3 arthrometer to evaluate the stability of the knee preoperatively and postoperatively so that subjective and objective knee conditions were obtained to help us assess knee recovery in a comprehensive manner.ResultsThe hamstring donor-site block reduced pain within the first 12 postoperative hours. There were no significant differences between two groups in pain intensity preoperatively and equal to or greater than 24 hours postoperatively. Furthermore, there were no differences between the groups concerning knee functions preoperatively or in the short-term follow-up at 1 and 3 months.ConclusionLIA at the donor site can effectively improve the early postoperative pain of patients after ACLR and reduce the use of opioids without affecting the functional outcomes of the surgery