TCF7L2 acts as a molecular switch in midbrain to control mammal vocalization through its DNA binding domain but not transcription activation domain.

Vocalization is an essential medium for social signaling in birds and mammals. Periaqueductal gray (PAG) a conserved midbrain structure is believed to be responsible for innate vocalizations, but its molecular regulation remains largely unknown. Here, through a mouse forward genetic screening we identified one of the key Wnt/β-catenin effectors TCF7L2/TCF4 controls ultrasonic vocalization (USV) production and syllable complexity during maternal deprivation and sexual encounter.

Brain structural alterations detected by an automatic quantified tool as an indicator for MCI diagnosing in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background And Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an important risk factors for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) is an effective and widely used method to investigate brain pathomorphological injury in neural diseases. In present study, we aimed to determine the brain regional alterations that correlated to the incidence of MCI in T2DM patients.

ZIF/Co-CN with enhanced electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide activity by the photoactivation process.

Introducing the effect of light into an electrocatalytic system is an effective method to improve electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction (CORR). Here, the composite catalyst (ZIF/Co-CN) was prepared for the electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. The Faraday efficiency of the catalytic reduction of CO to CO under light could reach 90.

Carbon-Dot-Based White-Light-Emitting Diodes with Adjustable Correlated Color Temperature Guided by Machine Learning.

Here, we show the fabrication of the carbon dots (CDs) with green and orange emissions from PTCDA (perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride). Using these CDs as emitters, the orange (or green) CDs LEDs were fabricated, which show electroluminescence (EL) spectra centered at 560 nm (or 498 nm) with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.98 % (1.

Primarily Disrupted Default Subsystems Cause Impairments in Inter-system Interactions and a Higher Regulatory Burden in Alzheimer's Disease.

Intrinsically organized large-scale brain networks and their interactions support complex cognitive function. Investigations suggest that the default network (DN) is the earliest disrupted network and that the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) and dorsal attention network (DAN) are subsequently impaired in Alzheimer's disease (AD). These large-scale networks comprise different subsystems (DN: medial temporal lobe (MTL), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DM) subsystems and a Core; FPCN: FPCNA and FPCNB).

A Brain Network Constructed on an L1-Norm Regression Model Is More Sensitive in Detecting Small World Network Changes in Early AD.

Most previous imaging studies have used traditional Pearson correlation analysis to construct brain networks. This approach fails to adequately and completely account for the interaction between adjacent brain regions. In this study, we used the L1-norm linear regression model to test the small-world attributes of the brain networks of three groups of patients, namely, those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy controls (HCs); we attempted to identify the method that may detect minor differences in MCI and AD patients.

Boronic acid derivatized lanthanide-polyoxometalates with novel B-OH-Ln and B-O-Nb bridges.

Three new boronic acid derivatized lanthanide-polyoxometalates (BA-Ln-POMs) were synthesized, in which boronic acids served as bi- or tri-dentate ligands and exhibited interesting coordination ability towards POMs and LnIII. The pH was found to be crucial in controlling the coordination modes of boronic acid and the formation of B-O-Ln and B-O-Nb bridges. Compared with the boronic acid-free Ln-POM, a longer lifetime was observed for compound 2Eu due to the coordination of boronic acids to the EuIII center.

Primary Disruption of the Memory-Related Subsystems of the Default Mode Network in Alzheimer's Disease: Resting-State Functional Connectivity MRI Study.

Recent studies have indicated that the default mode network (DMN) comprises at least three subsystems: The medial temporal lobe (MTL) and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) subsystems and a core comprising the anterior MPFC (aMPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Additionally, the disruption of the DMN is related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known regarding the changes in these subsystems in AD, a progressive disease characterized by memory impairment.

Lithium and its isotopes as tracers of groundwater salinization: A study in the southern coastal plain of Laizhou Bay, China.

In the southern coastal plain of Laizhou Bay, due to intensive exploitation of groundwater since the early 1970s, the shallow aquifer has been severely influenced by saltwater intrusion, which causes the extraction to shift from shallow to deeper aquifer changing the hydrogeological condition greatly. This study was conducted to investigate the groundwater salinization using hydrochemistry and H, O and Li isotope data. Dissolved Li shows a linear correlation with Cl and Br in seawater, brine and saline groundwater indicating the marine Li source, whereas the enrichment of Li in surface water, brackish and fresh groundwater is impacted by dissolution of silicate minerals.

Groundwater vulnerability assessment using the GALDIT model and the improved DRASTIC model: a case in Weibei Plain, China.

This study employed a modified DRASTIC model (AHP-DRASTIC model) and GALDIT model to evaluate the inherent vulnerability of shallow groundwater in Weibei Plain in Shandong Province of China and its vulnerability to seawater intrusion. The AHP-DRASTIC model uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine the weight of each parameter and reduces the subjectivity of evaluation. The vulnerability map generated by the AHP-DRASTIC model shows four types of vulnerability: high (25.

Author Correction: CRISPR interference-based specific and efficient gene inactivation in the brain.

In the version of this article initially published, the affiliation for Jian Zhang and Shuangli Mi was incomplete. In addition to the Key Laboratory of Genomics and Precision Medicine, they are also affiliated with the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. In Supplementary Fig.

CRISPR interference-based specific and efficient gene inactivation in the brain.

CRISPR-Cas9 has been demonstrated to delete genes in postmitotic neurons. Compared to the establishment of proliferative cell lines or animal strains, it is more challenging to acquire a highly homogeneous consequence of gene editing in a stable neural network. Here we show that dCas9-based CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) can efficiently silence genes in neurons.

Rapid non-genomic effects of glucocorticoids on oxidative stress in a guinea pig model of asthma.

Background And Objective: Glucocorticoids (GC) may exert therapeutic effects in asthma by a rapid non-genomic mechanism. The lungs of asthmatic patients are exposed to oxidative stress, which is believed to be critical in the pathogenesis of asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate whether GC exert a rapid non-genomic effect on oxidative stress in asthmatic guinea pigs.