A taxonomic re-assessment of Oligodon cinereus (Günther, 1864) (Squamata, Serpentes, Colubridae) populations from southern Indochina

The ashy kukri snake Oligodon cinereus (Günther, 1864) is a widely distributed and morphologically variable species found throughout mainland Southeast Asia. In this paper, we re-assessed the taxonomic status of O. cinereus populations found in southern Indochina (southern Vietnam, Cambodia, and southern Laos), including the recently described Cat Tien kukri snake Oligodon cattienensis Vassilieva et al., 2013, which was previously confused with this species. Phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial DNA from the 12S–16S ribosomal subunit and cytochrome b gene revealed that O. cattienensis is embedded in a mixed clade containing samples of the subspecies O. cinereus pallidocinctus, which bears a dorsal color pattern with white crossbars and black edges. This clade forms a strongly supported sister group with a topotypic sample of O. cinereus cinereus, representing populations bearing a uniform dorsal color pattern and slight reticulate markings, however the genetic divergence between the two clades is very low. The morphological characters used to distinguish O. cattienensis from O. cinereus sensu lato broadly overlap and supposed differences in hemipenial morphology between the two taxa are due to outdated terminologies used to describe the organ. We relegate both O. cattienensis and O. cinereus pallidocinctus to the junior synonymy of O. cinereus and consider all color patterns of this species found near the type locality in Cambodia, southern Laos, and southern Vietnam to represent O. cinereus sensu stricto. Future integrative investigations across the range of O. cinereus sensu lato are needed to resolve the status of the remaining subspecies and synonyms associated with this taxon. Problems associated with hemipenial morphology and Oligodon systematics are also discussed

Non-Local Configuration of Component Interfaces by Constraint Satisfaction

© 2020 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s10601-020-09309-y.Service-oriented computing is the paradigm that utilises services as fundamental elements for developing applications. Service composition, where data consistency becomes especially important, is still a key challenge for service-oriented computing. We maintain that there is one aspect of Web service communication on the data conformance side that has so far escaped the researchers attention. Aggregation of networked services gives rise to long pipelines, or quasi-pipeline structures, where there is a profitable form of inheritance called flow inheritance. In its presence, interface reconciliation ceases to be a local procedure, and hence it requires distributed constraint satisfaction of a special kind. We propose a constraint language for this, and present a solver which implements it. In addition, our approach provides a binding between the language and C++, whereby the assignment to the variables found by the solver is automatically translated into a transformation of C++ code. This makes the C++ Web service context compliant without any further communication. Besides, it uniquely permits a very high degree of flexibility of a C++ coded Web service without making public any part of its source code.Peer reviewe

Co-regulatory expression quantitative trait loci mapping: method and application to endometrial cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies have helped identify the genetic determinants of gene expression. Understanding the potential interacting mechanisms underlying such findings, however, is challenging.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We describe a method to identify the <it>trans-</it>acting drivers of multiple gene co-expression, which reflects the action of regulatory molecules. This method-termed <it>co-regulatory expression quantitative trait locus </it>(creQTL) <it>mapping</it>-allows for evaluation of a more focused set of phenotypes within a clear biological context than conventional eQTL mapping.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Applying this method to a study of endometrial cancer revealed regulatory mechanisms supported by the literature: a creQTL between a locus upstream of STARD13/DLC2 and a group of seven IFNβ-induced genes. This suggests that the Rho-GTPase encoded by STARD13 regulates IFNβ-induced genes and the DNA damage response.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Because of the importance of IFNβ in cancer, our results suggest that creQTL may provide a finer picture of gene regulation and may reveal additional molecular targets for intervention. An open source R implementation of the method is available at <url>http://sites.google.com/site/kenkompass/</url>.</p

From obesity to hippocampal neurodegeneration : pathogenesis and non-pharmacological interventions

202105 bcvcVersion of RecordRGCEarly career scheme 25100217; General Research Fund 15100018; National Science Foundation of China, Young Investigator Scheme 81801346Publishe

Increasing adiponergic system activity as a potential treatment for depressive disorders

202002 bcrcVersion of RecordRGCECS 25100217; GRF 15100018; National Natural Science Foundation of China 81801346Publishe

Identification of a novel p73 protein binding partner, breast cancer associated 3 (BCA3), in gynecological cancer

The candidate tumor suppressor gene, p73 is a member of p53 family protein. It was predicted to encode a protein with significant similarity to p53. p73 was mapped to the minimal chromosomal region of 1p36 that is recurrently deleted in many types of cancers such as neuroblastoma, breast cancer, squamous cell carcinoma and B-cell lymphoma. Unlike p53, somatic mutation of p73 gene is extremely rare. p73 exists in two forms: the N-terminal transactivation domain containing form (TAp73) and an isoform without the transactivation domain (DNp73). TAp73 exhibits growth inhibitory, tumor suppressive and pro-apoptotic functions while DNp73 promotes oncogenic activity and abolishes the functions of TAp73. Evidence from our previous finding revealed an association between p73 expression and radiosensitivity of cervical cancers and suggested that p73 might play an important role in controlling cellular radiosensitivity. In the present study, we aimed to identify cellular proteins that interact with p73 and contribute to the development of gynecological cancer. Using yeast two hybrid screening with DNp73 as a bait, we identified a Breast Cancer Associated gene 3 (BCA3) as a novel binding partner of p73. BCA3 gene is a novel protein which plays an important role in substrate localization, transcriptional regulation as well as actin cytoskeleton remodeling. Coimmunoprecipitation experiment confirmed the interaction of DNp73 and BCA3 in HEK293 cells whereas BCA3 did not interact with p53. Interestingly, differential binding affinity with BCA3 was detected between TAp73 and DNp73 isoforms. Coexpression of DNp73 and BCA3 showed colocalization of both proteins in the perinuclear region in cervical cancer cell line (SiHa). Furthermore, with RT-PCR using specific primers performed on 7 cervical cancer cell lines, 4 normal cervix cell lines, 10 ovarian cancer cell lines, 7 normal ovary cell lines and 3 endometrial cancer cell lines, BCA3 was expressed at various expression levels in most cell lines tested. Low or no BCA3 expression was detected in 4 ovarian cancer cell lines and 3 endometrial cancer cell lines. In summary, BCA3 is a novel protein binding partner of p73. It interacts with p73 but not p53 suggesting that BCA3 particularly interacts with p73 which may ultimately influence p73 functions. The differential binding affinity of BCA3 among TAp73 and DNp73 implicating that BCA3 might play a unique role in regulating the function of p73 isoforms. Further studies on the molecular mechanism between p73 and BCA3 may give insight into tumor suppressor function of p73 in gynecological cancer

Adiponectin mediates running-Restored hippocampal neurogenesis in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes in mice

201901 bcrcVersion of RecordRGCECS 25100217Publishe

The novel perspectives of adipokines on brain health

202006 bcrcVersion of RecordRGCEarly career scheme 25100217; National Science Foundation of China 81801346Publishe