Using feed-forward networks to infer the activity of feedback neuronal networks

The nervous system is one of the most important organ systems in a multicellular body. Animals, including human beings perceive, learn, think and deliver motion instructions through their nervous system. The basic structural units of the nervous system are individual neurons which constitute different neuronal networks with distinct functions. In each network, constituent neurons are coupled with different connection patterns, for example, some neurons send feed-forward information to the coupling neurons while others are mutually coupled. Because it is often difficult to analyze large interconnected feedback neuronal networks, it is important to derive techniques to reduce the complexity of the analysis. My research focuses on using the information of different feed-forward neuronal networks to infer the activity of feedback networks. To accomplish this objective, I use geometric analysis combined with numerical simulations for some typical neuronal systems to determine the activity of the feedback neuronal network in the context of central pattern generating networks. In my study, I am interested in deriving reduced methods to understand the combined effect of short-term plasticity on the phase-locked activity of networks. I consider a network of two reciprocally coupled heterogenous neurons, A and B, with synaptic depression from neuron A to neuron B. Suppose we are given two pieces of feed-forward information, the effect of neuron A on the activity of neuron B in the feed-forward network of A entraining B and vice versa. Moreover, suppose these effects are not limited to the weak coupling regime. We have developed a method to combine these pieces of feed-forward information into a 2D map that predicts the activity phase of these two neurons when they are mutually coupled. The analysis of the map is based on certain geometric constructs that arise from each of the feed-forward processes. Our analysis has two parts corresponding to different intrinsic firing patterns of these two neurons. In the first part, we assume that neuron A is oscillatory, while neuron B is not. In the second part, both neurons A and B are assumed to be oscillatory. Both sets of assumptions lead to different feedback maps

No.08: IMPROVING THE PROFITABILITY OF WET MARKET FOOD VENDORS IN CHINA

■ The characteristics of individual vendors and their business operations have a more significant impact on business profits than more general socioeconomic factors. Policy interventions need to prioritize the former. ■ The profits of wet market vendors vary spatially in Nanjing, China. The average profit level in central urban districts is higher than in peri-urban districts. ■ Almost all determinants have more significant impacts on vendor profitability in peri-urban than urban areas. Measures should therefore be taken to improve the profitability of wet market vendors in peri-urban areas

The Role of Paxillin Aberrant Expression in Cancer and Its Potential as a Target for Cancer Therapy

Paxillin is a multi-domain adaptor protein. As an important member of focal adhesion (FA) and a participant in regulating cell movement, paxillin plays an important role in physiological processes such as nervous system development, embryonic development, and vascular development. However, increasing evidence suggests that paxillin is aberrantly expressed in many cancers. Many scholars have also recognized that the abnormal expression of paxillin is related to the prognosis, metastases, invasion, survival, angiogenesis, and other aspects of malignant tumors, suggesting that paxillin may be a potential cancer therapeutic target. Therefore, the study of how aberrant paxillin expression affects the process of tumorigenesis and metastasis will help to develop more efficacious antitumor drugs. Herein, we review the structure of paxillin and its function and expression in tumors, paying special attention to the multifaceted effects of paxillin on tumors, the mechanism of tumorigenesis and progression, and its potential role in tumor therapy. We also hope to provide a reference for the clinical prognosis and development of new tumor therapeutic targets

Recent Advances in Nucleic Acid Modulation for Functional Nanozyme

Nanozymes have the potential to replace natural enzymes, so they are widely used in energy conversion technologies such as biosensors and signal transduction (converting biological signals of a target into optical, electrical, or metabolic signals). The participation of nucleic acids leads nanozymes to produce richer interface effects and gives energy conversion events more attractive characteristics, creating what are called “functional nanozymes”. Since different nanozymes have different internal structures and external morphological characteristics, functional modulation needs to be compatible with these properties, and attention needs to be paid to the influence of nucleic acids on nanozyme activity. In this review, “functional nanozymes” are divided into three categories, (nanozyme precursor ion)/ (nucleic acid) self-assembly, nanozyme-nucleic acid irreversible binding, and nanozyme-nucleic acid reversible binding, and the effects of nucleic acids on modulation principles are summarized. Then, the latest developments of nucleic acid-modulated nanozymes are reviewed in terms of their use in energy conversion technology, and their conversion mechanisms are critically discussed. Finally, we outline the advantages and limitations of “functional nanozymes” and discuss the future development prospects and challenges in this field

Tracing the sources of air pollutant emissions embodied in exports in the Yangtze River Delta, China: a four-level perspective

Investigating the net effects of foreign trade on the local environment requires a multiscale perspective. Increasingly, scholars have been investing effort to establish a global–national–local system of linkages or a local–nonlocal division of linkages. However, analysis at the megaregion level has somehow been overlooked, although megaregions play a substantial role in the context of accelerating regional integration and increasing regional pollution. This study incorporated megaregions into the existing multiscale input-output model and constructed a four-level analytical framework to analyze the emissions embodied in exports (EEE) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. Since this region pioneered the economic transition in China, this study further applies structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to investigate the structural changes in EEE. The empirical results show that EEE in the YRD region was mainly affected by local and cross-border linkages, which account for 85.1% and 9.8% of the total EEE in the region. The increase in local EEE linkages needs to be reduced by local technological innovation in sectors such as light industry and energy. To prevent the YRD from becoming a pollution haven for developed countries, the cross-border EEE linkage must be reduced by adjusting the production and consumption structure of light industry. Cross-regional EEE linkage can be reduced through technology upgrades in the construction sector. The trend of a decrease in intraregional linkage and an increase in cross-regional linkage indicates that YRD exports tend to be outward rather than inward oriented. The four-level framework for examining EEE offers new detailed insights into the mitigation of regional air pollution

Rising agricultural water scarcity in China is driven by expansion of irrigated cropland in water scarce regions

Funding Information: This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 42201301 ), Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 71921003 ), Special Fund of Jiangsu Province Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral Technology Innovation ( BK2022037 ), and joint PhD student program of China Scholarship Council ( 201906190113 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Inc.Increasing agricultural water scarcity is threatening food security and ecosystem sustainability in China. Previous studies showed a deceleration in the growth of irrigation water use in China due to reducing water use intensities of irrigation. However, a finer-scale analysis at the prefecture level is urgently needed to account for the impacts of land management policies and the impact of international food trade in water stress mitigation. Here, we address these gaps and demonstrate that the scarce irrigation water use trend reversed to rising after 2011 through shifting to irrigated cropland, even if grain import reduced water stress at the national scale, and we highlight the specificity of relationships between scarce water use and irrigated cropland change at both the river-basin and prefecture scales. These results call for an urgent re-evaluation of the implementation guidelines of China's Land Requisition-Compensation Balance policy on scarce irrigation water use.Peer reviewe

Cloning and Functional Verification of CYP408A3 and CYP6CS3 Related to Chlorpyrifos Resistance in the Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)

The white-back planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera, mainly harms rice and occurs in most rice regions in China and Asia. With the use of chemical pesticides, S. furcifera has developed varying degrees of resistance to a variety of pesticides. In our study, a chlorpyrifos-resistant population (44.25-fold) was built through six generations of screening with a sublethal dose of chlorpyrifos (LD50) from a field population. The expression levels of ten selected resistance-related P450 genes were analyzed by RT-qPCR and found that CYP408A3 and CYP6CS3 were significantly more expressed in the third instar nymphs of the XY17-G5 and XY17-G6 populations, about 25-fold more than the Sus-Lab strain, respectively (p < 0.01). To elucidate their molecular function in the development of resistance towards chlorpyrifos, we cloned two P450 full lengths and predicted their tertiary protein structures. CYP408A3 and CYP6CS3 were also downregulated after injecting dsCYP408A3, dsCYP6CS3, or their mixture compared to the control group. Moreover, the mortality rates of the dsCYP6CS3 (91.7%) and the mixture injection treatment (93.3%) treated by the LC50 concentration of chlorpyrifos were significantly higher than the blank control group (51.7%) and dsCYP408A3 injection treatment (69.3%) at 72 h (p < 0.01). Meanwhile, the P450 enzyme activities in the dsRNA treatments were lower than that in the control (XY17-G6) (p < 0.01). Therefore, the P450 gene CYP6CS3 may be one of the main genes in the development of chlorpyrifos resistance in S. furcifera

Antiviral Activities of Green Tea Components against Grouper Iridovirus Infection In Vitro and In Vivo

(1) Background: Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) can cause extensive fish deaths. Therefore, developing treatments to combat virulent SGIV is of great economic importance to address this challenge to the grouper aquaculture industry. Green tea is an important medicinal and edible plant throughout the world. In this study, we evaluated the use of green tea components against SGIV infection. (2) Methods: The safe working concentrations of green tea components were identified by cell viability detection and light microscopy. Additionally, the antiviral activity of each green tea component against SGIV infection was determined with light microscopy, an aptamer (Q5c)-based fluorescent molecular probe, and reverse transcription quantitative PCR. (3) Results: The safe working concentrations of green tea components were green tea aqueous extract (GTAE) ≤ 100 μg/mL, green tea polyphenols (TP) ≤ 10 μg/mL, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) ≤ 12 μg/mL, (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) ≤ 10 μg/mL, (-)-epicatechin gallate (EGC) ≤ 5 μg/mL, and (-)-epicatechin (EC) ≤ 50 μg/mL. The relative antiviral activities of the green tea components determined in terms of MCP gene expression were TP > EGCG > GTAE > ECG > EGC > EC, with inhibition rates of 99.34%, 98.31%, 98.23%, 88.62%, 73.80%, and 44.31%, respectively. The antiviral effect of aptamer-Q5c was consistent with the results of qPCR. Also, TP had an excellent antiviral effect in vitro, wherein the mortality of fish in only the SGIV-injection group and TP + SGIV-injection group were 100% and 11.67%, respectively. (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, our results suggest that green tea components have effective antiviral properties against SGIV and may be candidate agents for the effective treatment and control of SGIV infections in grouper aquaculture

Tailoring Functional Terminals on Solution-Processable Fullerene Electron Transporting Materials for High Performance Perovskite Solar Cells

Widely known as an excellent electron transporting material (ETM), pristine fullerene C60 plays a critical role in improving the photovoltaic performance of inverted structure perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the imperfect perovskite/C60 interface significantly limits the promotion of device performance and stability due to the weak coordination interactions between bare carbon cages and perovskite. Here, we designed and synthesized three functionalized fulleropyrrolidine ETMs (abbreviated as CEP, CEPE, and CECB), each of which was modified with the same primary terminal (cyanoethyl) and various secondary terminals (phenyl, phenethyl, and chlorobutyl). The resulting CECB-based PSC has a power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 19% and exceptional photo-stability over 1800 h. This work provides significant insight into the targeted terminal design of novel fullerene ETMs for efficient and stable PSCs