The origin and speciation of orchids.

Orchids constitute one of the most spectacular radiations of flowering plants. However, their origin, spread across the globe, and hotspots of speciation remain uncertain due to the lack of an up-to-date phylogeographic analysis. We present a new Orchidaceae phylogeny based on combined high-throughput and Sanger sequencing data, covering all five subfamilies, 17/22 tribes, 40/49 subtribes, 285/736 genera, and c.

Diversification Slowdown in the Alliance (, Orchidaceae): Insights From the Evolutionary Dynamics of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism.

Evolutionary slowdowns in diversification have been inferred in various plant and animal lineages. Investigation based on diversification models integrated with environmental factors and key characters could provide critical insights into this diversification trend. We evaluate diversification rates in the alliance (, Orchidaceae subfam.

Plastome Evolution in the Hyperdiverse Genus (Euphorbiaceae) Using Phylogenomic and Comparative Analyses: Large-Scale Expansion and Contraction of the Inverted Repeat Region.

With 2,000 species, is one of the largest angiosperm genera, yet a lack of chloroplast genome (plastome) resources impedes a better understanding of its evolution. In this study, we assembled and annotated 28 plastomes from Euphorbiaceae, of which 15 were newly sequenced. Phylogenomic and comparative analyses of 22 plastome sequences from all four recognized subgenera within revealed that plastome length in is labile, presenting a range of variation 42 kb.

Six new species of Begonia from Guangxi, China.

Background: With currently 1980 described species, the mega-diverse Begonia is now perhaps the 5th largest flowering plant genus, expanding rapidly from ca. 900 species in 1997 to its current size in merely two decades. In continuation of our studies of Asian Begonia, we report six additional new species from Guangxi, the region/province harboring the second richest Begonia flora of China.

Molecular phylogenetics and floral evolution of the Cirrhopetalum alliance (Bulbophyllum, Orchidaceae): Evolutionary transitions and phylogenetic signal variation.

The Cirrhopetalum alliance is a loosely circumscribed species-rich group within the mega-diverse genus Bulbophyllum (Orchidaceae). The monophyletic status of the alliance has been challenged by previous studies, although established sectional classifications have yet to be tested in a phylogenetic context. We used maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of DNA sequence data (cpDNA: matK and psbA-trnH; nrDNA: ITS and Xdh; 3509 aligned characters; 117 taxa), including all sections putatively associated with the Cirrhopetalum alliance, to reconstruct the phylogeny.

A Hybrid Information Reconciliation Method for Physical Layer Key Generation.

Physical layer key generation (PKG) has become a research focus as it solves the key distribution problem, which is difficult in traditional cryptographic mechanisms. Information reconciliation is a critical process in PKG to obtain symmetric keys. Various reconciliation schemes have been proposed, including the error detection protocol-based approach (EDPA) and error correction code-based approach (ECCA).

Physical Layer Key Generation in 5G and Beyond Wireless Communications: Challenges and Opportunities.

The fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless communications will transform many exciting applications and trigger massive data connections with private, confidential, and sensitive information. The security of wireless communications is conventionally established by cryptographic schemes and protocols in which the secret key distribution is one of the essential primitives. However, traditional cryptography-based key distribution protocols might be challenged in the 5G and beyond communications because of special features such as device-to-device and heterogeneous communications, and ultra-low latency requirements.

Protective immunity elicited by measles vaccine exerts anti-tumor effects on measles virus hemagglutinin gene-modified cancer cells in a mouse model.

Purpose: Measles vaccine is widely used in China to prevent the measles virus (MV) infection. People immunized with measles vaccine can obtain long-term protective immunity. Measles virus surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (H) can also induce MV-specific immune responses.

Preponderance of clonality triggers loss of sex in Bulbophyllum bicolor, an obligately outcrossing epiphytic orchid.

Vegetative propagation (clonal growth) conveys several evolutionary advantages that positively affect life history fitness and is a widespread phenomenon among angiosperms that also reproduce sexually. However, a bias towards clonality can interfere with sexual reproduction and lead to sexual extinction, although a dearth of effective genetic tools and mathematical models for clonal plants has hampered assessment of these impacts. Using the endangered tropical epiphytic or lithophytic orchid Bulbophyllum bicolor as a model, we integrated an examination of breeding system with 12 microsatellite loci and models valid for clonal species to test for the "loss of sex" and infer likely consequences for long-term reproductive dynamics.

Phylogenetic Analysis of a 'Jewel Orchid' Genus Goodyera (Orchidaceae) Based on DNA Sequence Data from Nuclear and Plastid Regions.

A molecular phylogeny of Asiatic species of Goodyera (Orchidaceae, Cranichideae, Goodyerinae) based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and two chloroplast loci (matK and trnL-F) was presented. Thirty-five species represented by 132 samples of Goodyera were analyzed, along with other 27 genera/48 species, using Pterostylis longifolia and Chloraea gaudichaudii as outgroups. Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods were used to reveal the intrageneric relationships of Goodyera and its intergeneric relationships to related genera.

A novel point mutation in exon 20 of EGFR showed sensitivity to erlotinib.

Mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene are good predictors of response to treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is well established that classic mutations, such as in-frame deletions in exon 19 and the point mutation L858R in exon 21, are associated with high sensitivity to EGFR TKIs. Though mutations in exon 20 are almost correlated with EGFR-TKIs resistance, the awareness that they might confer sensitivity to TKI treatment should be emphasized.

Functional connectivity and selective odor responses of excitatory local interneurons in Drosophila antennal lobe.

Local interneurons in the Drosophila antennal lobe are thought to play important roles in shaping odor responses. However, the physiological properties of excitatory local interneurons (eLNs) and their connectivity in the antennal lobe remain unclear. We first characterized the firing patterns of krasavietz-Gal4-labeled eLNs (krasavietz eLNs) in response to depolarizing currents.

A novel gene delivery system targeting Tie2 for cancer gene therapy.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to explore a novel gene vector for targeting gene therapy.

Materials And Methods: We conjugated a peptide ligand (named GA3) for endothelial TEK tyrosine kinase (Tie2) with polyethylenimine (PEI) to construct a GA3-PEI complex and used the vector to transfer reporter and therapeutic gene in vitro and in vivo respectively.

Results: The results demonstrated the vehicle was able to transfer reporter genes specifically into lung cancer SPC-A1 cells and SPC-A1 xenografts highly expressing Tie2 and epithelial cells of bronchus, but not in heart, liver, spleen, kidney, lung alveolar and vascular tissues.

Functional feedback from mushroom bodies to antennal lobes in the Drosophila olfactory pathway.

Feedback plays important roles in sensory processing. Mushroom bodies are believed to be involved in olfactory learning/memory and multisensory integration in insects. Previous cobalt-labeling studies have suggested the existence of feedback from the mushroom bodies to the antennal lobes in the honey bee.

Inhibition of evoked glutamate release by neurosteroid allopregnanolone via inhibition of L-type calcium channels in rat medial prefrontal cortex.

Allopregnanolone is one of the most important neurosteroids in the brain. We studied the effect and mechanism of allopregnanolone on spontaneous and evoked glutamate release in the medial prefrontal cortex using electrophysiological and biochemical methods combined with pharmacological approaches. The results showed that allopregnanolone had no effects on the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (mEPSCs), but inhibited the depolarizing agent veratridine-evoked increase in the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) and inhibited the first of the two responses evoked by a pair of electrical pulses more effectively than the second, resulting in increased paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) and thus suggesting a presynaptic inhibitory effect on electrical pulse-evoked glutamate release.