Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of Five Emberiza Species Reveals the Genomic Characteristics and Intrinsic Drivers of Adaptive Radiation.

Emberiza buntings (Aves: Emberizidae) exhibit extensive diversity and rapid diversification within the Old World, particularly in the eastern Palearctic, making them valuable models for studying rapid radiation among sympatric species. Despite their ecological and morphological diversity, there remains a significant gap in understanding the genomic underpinnings driving their rapid speciation. To fill this gap, we assembled high-quality chromosome-level genomes of five representative Emberiza species (E.

[Research progress on quantitative evaluation methods of urban ecological carrying capacity].

Quantitative evaluation of urban ecological carrying capacity is a critical foundation for measuring urban sustainable development in the new era. This review would enrich the concept and connotation of urban ecological carrying capacity by sorting out its components and characteristics. We categorized the methods for quantifying urban ecological carrying capacity into static evaluation methods, including ecological footprint method, comprehensive evaluation method, state space method, net primary productivity method, and carbon-oxygen balance method, as well as dynamic simulation prediction methods, including system dynamics models, BP neural network prediction models, and grey prediction models.

BmE2F1 regulates endoreplication of silk gland cells in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Endoreplication is particularly important in the context of silk protein synthesis within the silk gland cells of silkworms. Our previous research indicated that the BmE2F1 enhances the silk yield of silkworm cocoons, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we employed RNA-sequencing to dissect the transcriptional profiles of silk glands in the wild-type Dazao silkworm strain and the overexpression (OE) silkworm strain with specific overexpression of the BmE2F1 gene in silk glands.

Cellular and metabolic impacts of repeated sub-acute exposures to biomass-burning extracts in vitro.

The increasing exposure to biomass-burning emissions underscores the need to understand their toxicological impacts on human health. In this study, we developed a laboratory model to evaluate the effects of single and repeated sub-acute exposures to water-soluble wood tar (WT) extracts, a product of biomass burning, on human lung, liver, and immune cells. Using representative cell lines for different tissues, we examined the cytotoxic effects under conditions mimicking sub-acute environmental exposure levels relevant to humans.

Nutrient Content Prediction and Geographical Origin Identification of Bananas by Combining Hyperspectral Imaging with Chemometrics.

The nutritional quality of bananas and their geographical origin authenticity are very important for trade. There is an urgent need for rapid, non-destructive testing to improve the origin and quality assurance for importers, distributors, and consumers. In this study, 99 banana samples from a range of producing countries were collected.

BMP suppresses Wnt signaling via the Bcl11b-regulated NuRD complex to maintain intestinal stem cells.

Lgr5 intestinal stem cells (ISCs) are crucial for the intestinal epithelium renewal and regeneration after injury. However, the mechanism underlying the interplay between Wnt and BMP signaling in this process is not fully understood. Here we report that Bcl11b, which is downregulated by BMP signaling, enhances Wnt signaling to maintain Lgr5 ISCs and thus promotes the regeneration of the intestinal epithelium upon injury.

Rehabilitation Response in Tremor- and Non-Tremor-Dominant Parkinson Disease: A Task-fMRI Study.

Background: Tremor-dominant (TD) and nontremor-dominant (NTD) Parkinson's disease (PD) showed different responses to rehabilitation. However, the neural mechanism behind this remains unclear.

Methods: This cohort study explores changes in motor function, brain activation, and functional connectivity following 2 weeks of rehabilitation in TD-PD and NTD-PD patients, respectively.

QTL analysis to identify genes involved in the trade-off between silk protein synthesis and larva-pupa transition in silkworms.

Background: Insect-based food and feed are increasingly attracting attention. As a domesticated insect, the silkworm (Bombyx mori) has a highly nutritious pupa that can be easily raised in large quantities through large-scale farming, making it a highly promising source of food. The ratio of pupa to cocoon (RPC) refers to the proportion of the weight of the cocoon that is attributed to pupae, and is of significant value for edible utilization, as a higher RPC means a higher ratio of conversion of mulberry leaves to pupa.

Effects of vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength in middle-aged and elderly individuals: a retrospective, propensity score-matched study.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of vitamin D supplementation on the muscle strength of the elderly.

Methods: This retrospective, propensity score-matched study included 160 middle-aged and elderly individuals from a community in Beijing, China. The control group (n=110) received health education and lifestyle guidance, while the intervention group (n=50) was given oral vitamin D supplementation in addition to health education and lifestyle guidance.

Association between serum albumin with geriatric nutritional risk index and osteopenia in Chinese elderly men: a nested case-control study.

Background And Objectives: Malnutrition is associated with a higher risk of osteoporosis. We aim to assess the relationship between serum albumin with geriatric nutritional risk index and osteopenia in Chinese elderly men.

Methods And Study Design: This is a nested case-control study from a prospective cohort enrolled 1109 individuals who were followed for seven years.

Similarity recognition approach to identify zero-added MSG soy sauce using stable isotopes and amino acid profiles.

Seasonings such as naturally fermented soy sauce without added monosodium glutamate (MSG), are currently a growth market in China. However, fraudulent and mislabeled zero-added MSG soy sauce may cause a risk of excessive MSG intake, increasing food safety issues for consumers. This study investigates stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes and 16 amino acids in typical Chinese in-market soy sauces and uses a similarity method to establish criteria to authenticate MSG addition claims.

Variant-proof high affinity ACE2 antagonist limits SARS-CoV-2 replication in upper and lower airways.

SARS-CoV-2 has the capacity to evolve mutations that escape vaccine- and infection-acquired immunity and antiviral drugs. A variant-agnostic therapeutic agent that protects against severe disease without putting selective pressure on the virus would thus be a valuable biomedical tool that would maintain its efficacy despite the ongoing emergence of new variants. Here, we challenge male rhesus macaques with SARS-CoV-2 Delta-the most pathogenic variant in a highly susceptible animal model.

Identification of potential drug targets for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by Mendelian randomization analysis based on brain and plasma proteomics.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as a fatal neurodegenerative disease currently lacks effective therapeutic agents. Thus, finding new therapeutic targets to drive disease treatment is necessary. In this study, we utilized brain and plasma proteins as genetic instruments obtained from genome-wide association studies to conduct a Mendelian randomization analysis to identify potential drug targets for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Nonlinear causal discovery with confounders.

This article introduces a causal discovery method to learn nonlinear relationships in a directed acyclic graph with correlated Gaussian errors due to confounding. First, we derive model identifiability under the sublinear growth assumption. Then, we propose a novel method, named the Deconfounded Functional Structure Estimation (DeFuSE), consisting of a deconfounding adjustment to remove the confounding effects and a sequential procedure to estimate the causal order of variables.