Non-covalent complexes of lutein/zeaxanthin and whey protein isolate formed at different pH levels: Binding interactions, storage stabilities, and bioaccessibilities.

Lutein (Lut) and zeaxanthin (Zx) are promising healthy food ingredients; however, the low solubilities, stabilities, and bioavailabilities limit their applications in the food and beverage industries. A protein-based complex represents an efficient protective carrier for hydrophobic ligands, and its ligand-binding properties are influenced by the formulation conditions, particularly the pH level. This study explored the effects of various pH values (2.5-9.5) on the characteristics of whey protein isolate (WPI)-Lut/Zx complexes using multiple spectroscopic techniques, including ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), fluorescence, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies and dynamic light scattering (DLS). UV-Vis and DLS spectra revealed that Lut/Zx were present as H-aggregates in aqueous solutions, whereas WPI occurred as nanoparticles. The produced WPI-Lut/Zx complexes exhibited binding constants of 104-105 M-1, which gradually increased with increasing pH from 2.5 to 9.5. FTIR spectra demonstrated that pH variations and Lut/Zx addition caused detectable changes in the secondary WPI structure. Moreover, the WPI-Lut/Zx complexes effectively improved the physicochemical stabilities and antioxidant activities of Lut/Zx aggregates during long-term storage and achieved bioaccessibilities above 70% in a simulated gastrointestinal digestion process. The comprehensive data obtained in this study offer a basis for formulating strategies that can be potentially used in developing commercially available WPI complex-based xanthophyll-rich foods.

LncRNA KIFAP3-5:1 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of renal tubular cell through PRRX1 in diabetic nephropathy.

Long noncoding RNAs play an important role in several pathogenic processes in diabetic nephropathy, but the relationship with epithelial-mesenchymal transition in DN is unclear. Herein, we found that KIFAP3-5:1 expression was significantly down-regulated in DN plasma samples, db/db mouse kidney tissues and high glucose treated renal tubular epithelial cells compared to normal healthy samples and untreated cells. Overexpression of KIFAP3-5:1 improved renal fibrosis in db/db mice and rescued epithelial-mesenchymal transition of high glucose cultured renal tubular epithelial cells. The silence of KIFAP3-5:1 will exacerbate the progression of EMT. Mechanistically, KIFAP3-5:1 was confirmed to directly target to the -488 to -609 element of the PRRX1 promoter and negatively modulate PRRX1 mRNA and protein expressions. Furthermore, rescue assays demonstrated that the knockdown of PRRX1 counteracted the KIFAP3-5:1 low expression-mediated effects on EMT in hRPTECs cultured under high glucose. The plasma KIFAP3-5:1 of DN patients is highly correlated with the severity of renal dysfunction and plays an important role in the prediction model of DN diseases. These findings suggested that KIFAP3-5:1 plays a critical role in regulation of renal EMT and fibrosis through suppress PRRX1, and highlight the clinical potential of KIFAP3-5:1 to assist in the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.

Use of GC-IMS and Stoichiometry to Characterize Flavor Volatiles in Different Parts of Lueyang Black Chicken during Slaughtering and Cutting.

Chilled and cut chicken is preferred by consumers for its safeness and readiness to cook. To evaluate the quality characteristics of various chilled chicken products, differences in volatile organic components (VOCs) of six different cut parts (breast, back, leg, heart, liver, and gizzard) of Lueyang black chicken were characterized through gas chromatography-ion mobility spectroscopy (GC-IMS) combined with stoichiometry. A total of 54 peaks in the signal of VOCs were detected by GC-IMS, and 43 VOCs were identified by qualitative analysis. There were 22 aldehydes (20.66-54.07%), 8 ketones (25.74-62.87%), 9 alcohols (4.17-14.69%), 1 ether (0.18-2.22%), 2 esters (0.43-1.54%), and 1 furan (0.13-0.52%), in which aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols were the main categories. Among the six cut parts, the relative content of aldehydes (54.07%) was the highest in the gizzard, and the relative content of ketones (62.87%) was the highest in the heart. Meanwhile, the relative content of alcohols (14.69%) was the highest in the liver. Based on a stable and reliable predictive model established by orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (monomer and dimer), acetone, 2-butanone monomer, hexanal (monomer and dimer), isopentyl alcohol monomer, and n-hexanol monomer were picked out as characteristic VOCs based on variable importance in projection (VIP value > 1.0, p < 0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) and the clustering heatmap indicated that the characteristic VOCs could effectively distinguish the six cut parts of Lueyang black chicken. The specific VOCs responsible for flavor differences among six different cut parts of Lueyang black chicken were hexanal (monomer and dimer) for the gizzard, 2-butanone monomer and hexanal dimer for the breast, hexanal monomer for the back, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone monomer for the leg, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (monomer and dimer) for the heart, and acetone and isopentyl alcohol monomer for the liver. These findings could reveal references for quality assessment and development of chilled products related to different cut parts of Lueyang black chicken in the future.

Dietary emulsifier polysorbate 80 exposure accelerates age-related cognitive decline.

Gut microbial homeostasis is crucial for the health of cognition in elderly. Previous study revealed that polysorbate 80 (P80) as a widely used emulsifier in food industries and pharmaceutical formulations could directly alter the human gut microbiota compositions. However, whether long-term exposure to P80 could accelerate age-related cognitive decline via gut-brain axis is still unknown. Accordingly, in this study, we used the senescence accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mouse model to investigate the effects of the emulsifier P80 intake (1 % P80 in drinking water for 12 weeks) on gut microbiota and cognitive function. Our results indicated that P80 intake significantly exacerbated cognitive decline in SAMP8 mice, along with increased brain pathological proteins deposition, disruption of the blood-brain barrier and activation of microglia and neurotoxic astrocytes. Besides, P80 intake could also induce gut microbiota dysbiosis, especially the increased abundance of secondary bile acids producing bacteria, such as Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Clostridium scindens. Moreover, fecal microbiota transplantation from P80 mice into 16-week-old SAMP8 mice could also exacerbated cognitive decline, microglia activation and intestinal barrier impairment. Intriguingly, the alterations of gut microbial composition significantly affected bile acid metabolism profiles after P80 exposure, with markedly elevated levels of deoxycholic acid (DCA) in serum and brain tissue. Mechanically, DCA could activate microglial and promote senescence-associated secretory phenotype production through adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) importing lysosomal cholesterol. Altogether, the emulsifier P80 accelerated cognitive decline of aging mice by inducing gut dysbiosis, bile acid metabolism alteration, intestinal barrier and blood brain barrier disruption as well as neuroinflammation. This study provides strong evidence that dietary-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis may be a risk factor for age-related cognitive decline.

miR-208a-3p regulated by circUQCRC2 suppresses ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury by inhibiting CELF2-mediated tubular epithelial cell apoptosis, inflammation and ferroptosis.

ABSTRACT: Background : Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a prevalent clinical syndrome with persistent kidney dysfunction. Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of AKI. miR-208a-3p overexpression attenuated myocardial I/R injury. This study aims to investigate the role and mechanism of miR-208a-3p in I/R-induced AKI. Methods : AKI models were established using hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-exposed tubule epithelial cell HK-2 and I/R-induced mice. The function and mechanism of miR-208a-3p were investigated by gain- or loss-of-function methods using real-time PCR, CCK-8, flow cytometry, ELISA, western blot, hematoxylin-eosin staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay, detection of Fe 2+ , reactive oxygen species, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, and luciferase reporter assay. Results : miR-208a-3p expression was suppressed, while the expression of CELF2 and circular RNA ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase core protein 2 (circUQCRC2) was increased in both AKI models. miR-208a-3p upregulation or circUQCRC2 silencing increased the viability, decreased the levels of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6), reduced apoptosis and contents of Fe 2+ and reactive oxygen species, elevated expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11, and reduced ACSL4 expression in H/R-stimulated HK-2 cells. In addition, miR-208a-3p improved kidney function by alleviating renal injury, apoptosis, inflammation, and ferroptosis in AKI mouse model. CELF2 was a target gene of miR-208a-3p, which was negatively modulated by circUQCRC2. Overexpression of CELF2 blocked the function of miR-208a-3p upregulation or circUQCRC2 silencing on H/R-treated HK-2 cells. Moreover, the effects of circUQCRC2 downregulation on H/R-injured cells were also reversed by miR-208a-3p inhibitor. Conclusions : miR-208a-3p regulated by circUQCRC2 could attenuate I/R-induced AKI by inhibiting CELF2-mediated tubular epithelial cell apoptosis, inflammation and ferroptosis. This study provides potential therapeutic targets for I/R-induced AKI.

Hydroxyethylcellulose-Directed Synthesis of Gold Microplates with Hydrogen Peroxide in an Aqueous Phase.

In this study, we successfully synthesized well-defined polygonal gold microplates for the first time in an aqueous phase using hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). HEC played a pivotal role during the synthesis, acting not only as a biotemplate but also as an in situ reduction site for the nucleation and growth of gold (Au) microplates. H2O2 played a crucial role in accelerating the growth of Au microplates from the Au nucleus. This methodology is ecofriendly and easy to operate and has potential applications in various fields, such as electronics, photonics, and biotechnology.

Deterioration of single-use biodegradable plastics in high-humidity air and freshwaters over one year: Significant disparities in surface physicochemical characteristics and degradation rates.

More single-use plastics are accumulating in the environment, and likewise biodegradable plastics (BPs), which are being vigorously promoted, cannot escape the fate. Currently, studies on the actual degradation of BPs in open-air and freshwaters are underrepresented despite they are potentially headmost leakage and contamination sites for disposable BPs. Herein, we compared the degradation behavior of six BP materials and non-degradable polypropylene (PP) plastics over a 1-year in situ suspension in the high-humidity air, a eutrophic river, and an oligotrophic lake. Moreover, a 3-months laboratory incubation was performed to detect the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from BPs. In both air and freshwaters, poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) degraded significantly while PP and polylactic acid (PLA) showed no signs of degradation. The average degradation rates of three poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)-based films varied: 100% in river, 55% in lake, and 10% in air. In addition to PLA, surface chemical groups, hydrophilicity, and thermal stability of BPs changed, and microplastics were found on their surfaces. Correspondingly, BPs with faster degradation rates released relatively higher amounts of DOC. Environmental microbial and chemical characteristics may contribute to differences in BP degradation besides polymer specificity. Altogether, our results indicate the need for appropriate monitoring of BPs.

Development of a high-performance label-free electrochemical immunosensor for early cancer diagnosis using anti-CEA/Ag-MOF/GO/GCE nanocomposite.

In order to detect carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a tumor marker in lung cancer for early cancer diagnosis, this study aimed to develop a label-free electrochemical immunosensor based on the immobilization of an Anti-CEA antibody on a metal-organic framework (MOF)-graphene oxide nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (Anti-CEA/Ag-MOF/GO/GCE). Ag-MOF/GO nanocomposite was prepared on the GCE surface using the ultrasonic irradiation method, and Anti-CEA antibody was subsequently immobilized on the surface. Analysis of the crystal structure and morphology of the modified electrode using FE-SEM and XRD revealed that the correct combination of GO nanosheets and Ag-MOF nanoparticles produced a high surface area to trap the antibodies. Electrochemical tests utilizing the CV and DPV methods revealed that the immunosensor's sensitivity, stability, and selectivity were improved by Anti-CEA/Ag-MOF/GO/GCE. Results showed that, with a detection limit of 0.005 ng/mL, the change in the reduction peak current was inversely correlated with the logarithm concentration of CEA in the range of 10-3 to 5000 ng/mL. The suggested CEA immunosensor's applicability in a human serum sample was investigated, and findings of analytical studies via standard addition technique for both ELISA and DPV assays revealed that significant agreement existed between the outcomes of the two assays. Additionally, the recoveries ranged from 99.00% to 99.25%, and all relative standard deviations (RSDs) for the sample detections were below 5.01%, indicating satisfactory accuracy in results measured with the proposed CEA immunosensor, indicating that the prepared CEA immunosensor in this study can be used in clinical applications and human fluids.

The mechanism of Plantaginis Semen in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the common complications of diabetes. Plantaginis Semen (PS) has a variety of therapeutic effects, however its mechanism on DN is unclear. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to find the ingredients, the key targets, and the action pathways of PS on DN from the perspective of network pharmacology. METHOD: The databases of network pharmacology, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), Pharmmapper, OMIM, DrugBank, GeneCards, TTD, Disgenet, STRING, and Cytoscape software, were used to find the main ingredients and targets. Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genome and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were used to reveal the potential pathways of the PS on DN. The GEO database was used to find the targets of DN based on valid experimental research. The molecular docking technology was used to evaluate the combination between ingredients of PS and the targets. RESULTS: A total of 9 active ingredients and 216 potential therapeutic targets were obtained for PS on DN. Hub targets were discovered by the Cytoscape software analysis. CASP3 was screened by Venn diagram by making intersection between GSE30529 and hub genes. Moreover, CASP3 was combined with one of the nine active ingredients, quercetin, by molecular docking analysis. The KEGG pathways were mainly involved in diabetic nephropathy, and were simultaneously associated with CASP3 as followed: AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, apoptosis, lipid and atherosclerosis, MAPK signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and p53 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: PS can have the treatment on DN through CASP3. Quercetin, as one of the nine active ingredients, can be bounded to CASP3 to inhibit apoptosis in DN. PS can also take action on DN probably through many pathways. The role of PS on DN through other pathways still needs to be further elaborated.

Targeting Desulfovibrio vulgaris flagellin-induced NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation in macrophages attenuates ulcerative colitis.

INTRODUCTION: The perturbations of gut microbiota could interact with excessively activated immune responses and play key roles in the etiopathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). Desulfovibrio, the most predominant sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) resided in the human gut, was observed to overgrow in patients with UC. The interactions between specific gut microbiota and drugs and their impacts on UC treatment have not been demonstrated well. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to elucidate whether Desulfovibrio vulgaris (D. vulgaris, DSV) and its flagellin could activate nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLR) family of apoptosis inhibitory proteins (NAIP) / NLR family caspase activation and recruitment domain-containing protein 4 (NLRC4) inflammasome and promote colitis, and further evaluate the efficacy of eugeniin targeting the interaction interface of D. vulgaris flagellin (DVF) and NAIP to attenuate UC. METHODS: The abundance of DSV and the occurrence of macrophage pyroptosis in human UC tissues were investigated. Colitis in mice was established by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and gavaged with DSV or its purified flagellin. NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation and macrophage pyroptosis were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. The effects of eugeniin on blocking the interaction of DVF and NAIP/NLRC4 and relieving colitis were also assessed. RESULTS: The abundance of DSV increased in the feces of patients with UC and was found to be associated with disease activity. DSV and its flagellin facilitated DSS-induced colitis in mice. Mechanistically, RNA sequencing showed that gene expression associated with inflammasome complex and pyroptosis was upregulated after DVF treatment in macrophages. DVF was further demonstrated to induce significant macrophage pyroptosis in vitro, depending on NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation. Furthermore, eugeniin was screened as an inhibitor of the interface between DVF and NAIP and successfully alleviated the proinflammatory effect of DVF in colitis. CONCLUSION: Targeting DVF-induced NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation and macrophage pyroptosis ameliorates UC. This finding is of great significance for exploring the gut microbiota-host interactions in UC development and providing new insights for precise treatment.

Tetrabutylammonium Tribromide-Induced Synthesis of Silver Nanowires with Ultrahigh Aspect Ratio for a Flexible Transparent Film.

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have gained significant attention from researchers as a promising material for producing flexible transparent conductive films, which can be utilized in touch and display screens. Thereinto, the ultrahigh aspect ratio AgNW network can theoretically decrease the contact resistance effectively while still retaining considerable mechanical and optical properties. However, fabrication of high-quality AgNWs with a fine diameter and high aspect ratio is still challenging. Herein, a simple and robust approach to synthesize ultrahigh aspect ratio AgNWs is presented. This study successfully fabricated AgNWs with the highest aspect ratio up to ∼4000 and an average length of ∼72 µm by utilizing tetrabutylammonium tribromide as an auxiliary additive. The manifestation of tetrabutylammonium tribromide was proven to be beneficial for the generation of silver seeds and the expansion of AgNWs. The obtained AgNWs were utilized to create a transparent conductive film that showed low sheet resistance of 22.4 Ω/sq and high transmittance and low haze of 87.71 and 4.15%, respectively. The transmittance and haze of the vacant poly(ethylene terephthalate) support were 90.13 and 2.05%, thereby offering great potential for application in flexible transparent electrodes.

Anti-saccades reveal impaired attention control over negative social evaluation in individuals with depressive symptoms.

Depressed individuals are excessively sensitive to negative information but blunt to positive information, which has been considered as vulnerability to depression. Here, we focused on inhibitory control over attentional bias on social evaluation in individuals with depression. We engaged individuals with and without depressive symptoms (categorized by Beck Depression Inventory-II) in a novel attention control task using positive and negative evaluative adjectives as self-referential feedback given by social others. Participants were instructed to look at sudden onset feedback targets (pro-saccade) or the mirror location of the targets (anti-saccade) when correct saccade latencies and saccade errors were collected. The two indices showed that while both groups displayed longer latencies and more errors for anti-saccade relative to pro-saccade responses depressed individuals spent more time reacting correctly and made more errors than non-depressed individuals in the anti-saccade trials and such group differences were not observed in the pro-saccade trials. Although group differences in correct anti-saccade latencies were found for both positive and negative stimuli, depressed individuals spent more time making correct anti-saccade responses to negative social feedback than to positive ones whereas non-depressed individuals featured longer correct anti-saccade latencies for positive relative to negative evaluations. Our results suggest that depressed individuals feature an impaired ability in attention control for self-referential evaluations, notably those of negative valence, shedding new light on depression-distorted self-schema and corresponding social dysfunctions.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0084054 promotes the progression of periodontitis with diabetes via the miR-508-3p/PTEN axis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Diabetes is an important risk factor for periodontitis, and circular RNA (circRNA) may play an important role in aggravating inflammation and accelerating disease progression by regulating miRNA/mRNA. This study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of the hsa_circ_0084054/miR-508-3p/PTEN axis in the progression of periodontitis with diabetes. METHODS: First, circRNA sequencing was used to screen the differentially expressed circRNAs of periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) treated with high glucose and/or Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro, and the overtly differentially expressed hsa_circ_0084054 was selected and was also verified in periodontal ligament (PDL) tissue from periodontitis patients with diabetes. Then, its ring structure was tested by Sanger sequencing, RNase R, and actinomycin D assays. The bioinformatics analysis, dual luciferase reporter assay, and RIP assay were used to explore the interaction of hsa_circ_0084054/miR-508-3p/PTEN axis, whose effects on inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis of PDLCs were evaluated through the measurement of inflammatory factors, reactive oxygen species (ROS), total superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and Annexin V/PI assay. RESULTS: By high-throughput sequencing, it was found that hsa_circ_0084054 was significantly increased in HG + LPS group compared with control group and LPS group, which was also verified in periodontal ligament (PDL) tissue from periodontitis patients with diabetes. Silencing hsa_circ_0084054 in PDLCs decreased the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α), the levels of ROS and MDA, and the proportion of apoptotic cells; conversely, SOD activity was enhanced. In addition, we found that hsa_circ_0084054 could up-regulate the expression of PTEN through sponge miR-508-3p to inhibit AKT phosphorylation, finally trigger the aggravation of oxidative stress and inflammation in periodontitis patients with diabetes. CONCLUSION: hsa_circ_0084054 can aggravate inflammation and promote the progression of periodontitis with diabetes by regulating miR-508-3p/PTEN signaling axis, which may serve as a new target for the intervention of periodontitis with diabetes.

Halide-Salt-Free Synthesis of Silver Nanowires with High Yield and Purity for Transparent Conductive Films.

To date, silver nanowires (AgNWs) are routinely synthesized. However, the controllable preparation of AgNWs without any halide salts has not reached a similar level. In particular, the halide-salt-free polyol synthesis of AgNWs commonly occurs above 413 K, and the property of AgNWs obtained is not so easy to control. In this study, a facile synthesis of AgNWs with a yield of up to ∼90% in an average length of 75 µm was successfully performed without any halide salts. The fabricated AgNW transparent conductive films (TCFs) show a transmittance of 81.7% (92.3% for the AgNW network only without substrate) at a sheet resistance of 12.25 Ω/square. In addition, the AgNW films show distinguished mechanical properties. More importantly, the reaction mechanism for AgNWs was briefly discussed, and the importance of reaction temperature, the mass ratio of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)/AgNO3, and the atmosphere was emphasized. This knowledge will help enhance the reproducibility and scalability of polyol synthesis of high-quality AgNWs.

Clinical characterization of Lamb-Shaffer syndrome: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Lamb-Shaffer syndrome (LAMSHF, MIM 616,803) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder due to haploinsufficiency of SOX5. Furthermore, studies about the clinical features of LAMSHF patients with same allele of c.1477C > T (p. R493*) are very limited. CASE PRESENTATION: We analyzed the phenotypes of one of our cases and two previously reported cases with c.1477C > T (p. R493*), and reviewed the correlating literature. A de novo heterozygous variation c.1477C > T (p. R493*) in SOX5 was identified in a 4 years and 2 months old boy with global development delay by trio-based whole exome sequencing. We compared our case and previously 2 cases reported with recurrent variation, the overlapping clinical features are global developmental delay or intellectual disability, language delay and scoliosis, but their other clinical characteristics are different. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the clinical features of LAMSHF patients with recurrent variations in the SOX5 gene are different. It is suggested that the LAMSHF-related SOX5 gene should be screened and included as one of the candidate genes for neurodevelopmental disorders of unknown etiology.

Bright side of the MAOA-uVNTR on trait and situational forgiveness.

The stress-and-coping theory of forgiveness posits that forgiveness and aggression are alternative ways of coping with stress of interpersonal offences. Inspired by the link between aggression and MAOA-uVNTR (a genetic variant involving in catabolism of monoamines), we investigated the relationship between this variant and forgiveness with two studies. Study 1 examined the relationship between the MAOA-uVNTR and trait forgiveness in students, and study 2 examined the effect of this variant on third-party forgiveness in response to situational offences in male inmates. The results showed that the MAOA-H (a high activity allele) was associated with higher trait forgiveness in male students and greater third-party forgiveness to accidentally committed harm and attempted but failed harm in male inmates than the MAOA-L. These findings highlight the bright side of MAOA-uVNTR on trait and situational forgiveness.

MALDI-TOF-MS for Rapid Screening and Typing of ß-Globin Variant and ß-Thalassemia through Direct Measurements of Intact Globin Chains.

BACKGROUND: Traditional phenotype-based screening for ß-globin variant and ß-thalassemia using hematological parameters is time-consuming with low-resolution detection. Development of a MALDI-TOF-MS assay using alternative markers is needed. METHODS: We constructed a MALDI-TOF-MS-based approach for identifying various ß-globin disorders and classifying thalassemia major (TM) and thalassemia intermedia (TI) patients using 901 training samples with known HBB/HBA genotypes. We then validated the accuracy of population screening and clinical classification in 2 separate cohorts consisting of 16 172 participants and 201 ß-thalassemia patients. Traditional methods were used as controls. Genetic tests were considered the gold standard for testing positive specimens. RESULTS: We established a prediction model for identifying different forms of ß-globin disorders in a single MALDI-TOF-MS test based on δ- to ß-globin, γ- to α-globin, γ- to ß-globin ratios, and/or the abnormal globin-chain patterns. Our validation study yielded comparable results of clinical specificity (99.89% vs 99.71%), and accuracy (99.78% vs 99.16%) between the new assay and traditional methods but higher clinical sensitivity for the new method (97.52% vs 88.01%). The new assay identified 22 additional abnormal hemoglobins in 69 individuals including 9 novel ones, and accurately screened for 9 carriers of deletional hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin or δß-thalassemia. TM and TI were well classified in 178 samples out of 201 ß-thalassemia patients. CONCLUSIONS: MALDI-TOF-MS is a highly accurate, predictive tool that could be suitable for large-scale screening and clinical classification of ß-globin disorders.

Ferric Chloride-Induced Synthesis of Silver Nanodisks with Considerable Activity for the Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol.

Silver nanodisks (AgNDs) have been successfully synthesized by using ferric chloride as an auxiliary agent in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone and N,N-dimethylformamide as both a solvent and a reducing agent. The mass ratio of reactants, temperature, and time were demonstrated to be the key factors determining the morphology of the product, and the conversion of Fe3+/Fe2+ ions played an important role in increasing the ratio of silver nanosheets (AgNSs). As the reaction prolonged, the etching effect of Cl- ions on the tips of AgNSs became more and more obvious, which made the obtained typical polygonal AgNSs turn into AgNDs eventually. In addition, the prepared AgNDs exhibited a considerable catalytic activity in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol.

The interplay between parental care and OPRM1 in reward responsiveness.

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) explains a variety of reward-motivated behaviors as the result of the activation of biologically-based systems. Inspired by the influences of parental bonding and opioid peptide on reward system, we investigated the contributions of parental bonding and mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) towards motivation systems (i.e., the BAS, BIS-anxiety, and FFFS-fear). Results indicated that (1) parental care was negatively related to FFFS-fear, but parental overprotection was positively related to both FFFS-fear and BIS-anxiety; (2) parental care significantly interacted with OPRM1 rs1799971 in reward responsiveness with diathesis-stress model. Poor parental care reduced reward responsiveness among individuals with the G allele, but not those with the AA genotype. These findings from this study demonstrate a new gene-environment interactive mechanism of the RST.

Clinical Targeted Panel Sequencing Analysis in Clinical Evaluation of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in China.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an early-onset neurodevelopmental disorder in which genetics play a major role. Molecular diagnosis may lead to a more accurate prognosis, improved clinical management, and potential treatment of the condition. Both copy number variations (CNVs) and single nucleotide variations (SNVs) have been reported to contribute to the genetic etiology of ASD. The effectiveness and validity of clinical targeted panel sequencing (CTPS) designed to analyze both CNVs and SNVs can be evaluated in different ASD cohorts. CTPS was performed on 573 patients with the diagnosis of ASD. Medical records of positive CTPS cases were further reviewed and analyzed. Additional medical examinations were performed for a group of selective cases. Positive molecular findings were confirmed by orthogonal methods. The overall positive rate was 19.16% (109/569) in our cohort. About 13.89% (79/569) and 4.40% (25/569) of cases had SNVs only and CNVs only findings, respectively, while 0.9% (5/569) of cases had both SNV and CNV findings. For cases with SNVs findings, the SHANK3 gene has the greatest number of reportable variants, followed by gene MYT1L. Patients with MYT1L variants share common and specific clinical characteristics. We found a child with compound heterozygous SLC26A4 variants had an enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome and autistic phenotype. Our results showed that CTPS is an effective molecular diagnostic tool for ASD. Thorough clinical and genetic evaluation of ASD can lead to more accurate diagnosis and better management of the condition.