Association between gut microbiota and postpartum depression: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

Backgrounds: Empirical investigations have shown an association between gut microbiota and postpartum depression (PPD); nevertheless, the precise cause-and-effect relationship between these two variables remains ambiguous. This research aimed to examine the possible reciprocal causal relationship between the gut microbiota and PPD.

Methods: In this work, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to analyze the relationship between the gut microbiota (n = 18,340) and PPD (n = 67,205).

The relationship of immune cells with autism spectrum disorder: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Observational studies have indicated a correlation between immunological inflammation and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the causal relationship between immunological inflammation and ASD remains uncertain.

Methods: Immunity-wide data sources were retrieved from the GWAS catalog.

Progressive meristem and single-cell transcriptomes reveal the regulatory mechanisms underlying maize inflorescence development and sex differentiation.

Maize develops separate ear and tassel inflorescences with initially similar morphology but ultimately different architecture and sexuality. The detailed regulatory mechanisms underlying these changes still remain largely unclear. In this study, through analyzing the time-course meristem transcriptomes and floret single-cell transcriptomes of ear and tassel, we revealed the regulatory dynamics and pathways underlying inflorescence development and sex differentiation.

Polystyrene microplastics enhance oxidative dissolution but suppress the aquatic acute toxicity of a commercial cadmium yellow pigment under simulated irradiation.

Commercial cadmium yellow (CdS) pigment widely coexist with microplastics (MPs) in surface water, thus it is important to understand how MPs affect CdS pigment stability and toxicity under irradiation. Herein, the dissolution of CdS pigment (k = 0.118 h) under irradiation was visibly increased to 0.

Distribution and relationship of antibiotics, heavy metals and resistance genes in the upstream of Hanjiang River Basin in Shiyan, China.

The upstream basin of Hanjiang River is an important water source for the middle route of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The quality of water and soil in the Hanjiang River have enormous biological and environmental impacts, and resistant genetic contamination has emerged, but only few studies are concerned the correlation between heavy metals and metal resistance genes (MRGs). In this study, 8 antibiotics and 19 heavy metals were analyzed, the results showed that the highest antibiotic content was tetracycline, with mean concentrations of 43.

Review and prospect of immune checkpoint blockade therapy represented by PD-1/PD-L1 in the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

As a common tumor of the urinary system, the morbidity and mortality related to renal carcinoma, are increasing annually. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) is the most common subtype of renal cell carcinoma, accounting for approximately 75% of the total number of patients with renal cell carcinoma. Currently, the clinical treatment of ccRCC involves targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and a combination of the two.

A multi-omics integrative network map of maize.

Networks are powerful tools to uncover functional roles of genes in phenotypic variation at a system-wide scale. Here, we constructed a maize network map that contains the genomic, transcriptomic, translatomic and proteomic networks across maize development. This map comprises over 2.

Polystyrene microplastics protect lettuce () from the hazardous effects of Cu(OH) nanopesticides.

Copper-based nanopesticides are released into the environment during foliar spray application, and they could, on their own or in combination with microplastics (MPs), pose threats to environmental safety and human health. In this study, Cu(OH) nanowires greatly decreased the vigor of lettuce seeds (< 0.01) and the root length of lettuce seedlings (< 0.

Lipid metabolism in ferroptosis and ferroptosis-based cancer therapy.

Ferroptosis refers to iron-dependent, specialized, and regulated-necrosis mediated by lipid peroxidation, which is closely related to a variety of diseases, including cancer. Tumor cells undergo extensive changes in lipid metabolism, including lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Changes in lipid metabolism are critical for the regulation of ferroptosis and thus have important roles in cancer therapy.

Metallic : A 3D biomimetic buckling structure made of metallic glasses.

Metallic , a three-dimensional (3D) biomimetic structure made of metallic glass, is formed via laser patterning: Blooming, closing, and reversing of the metallic can be controlled by an applied magnetic field or by manual reshaping. An array of laser-crystallized lines is written in a metallic glass ribbon. Changes in density and/or elastic modulus due to laser patterning result in an appropriate size mismatch between the shrunken crystalline regions and the glassy matrix.

Development of a Novel Sphingolipid Signaling Pathway-Related Risk Assessment Model to Predict Prognosis in Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma.

This study aimed to explore underlying mechanisms by which sphingolipid-related genes play a role in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) and construct a new prognosis-related risk model. We used a variety of bioinformatics methods and databases to complete our exploration. Based on the TCGA database, we used multiple R-based extension packages for data transformation, processing, and statistical analyses.

Glassy or Amorphous? A Demonstration Using G-Phase Copper Containing a Fivefold Twinning Structure.

The G-phase, a new metastable phase with its potential energy sitting right in the middle of the glass and crystal, was recently discovered in some simulations when the molten metallic liquid was quenched down to room temperature. In comparison with ordinary glass, the G-phase has a more ordered short-range structure but a similarly disordered long-range structure. The question is whether the G-phase can be termed a new type of glass.

Boson-peak-like anomaly caused by transverse phonon softening in strain glass.

Strain glass is a glassy state with frozen ferroelastic/martensitic nanodomains in shape memory alloys, yet its nature remains unclear. Here, we report a glassy feature in strain glass that was thought to be only present in structural glasses. An abnormal hump is observed in strain glass around 10 K upon normalizing the specific heat by cubed temperature, similar to the boson peak in metallic glass.

Aitongxiao improves pain symptoms of rats with cancer pain by reducing IL-1, TNF-α, and PGE2.

Objective: To explore the mechanism of Aitongxiao in improving pain symptoms of rats with cancer pain.

Methods: Walker 256 breast cancer cells were injected into the right tibial bone marrow cavity of normal female rats to establish a rat model of tibial cancer pain. The rats with successful model replication were randomly divided into normal group (NG), Hank solution group (HSG), cancer pain model group (CPMG), and Aitongxiao+cancer pain model group (ATX+CPMG).

3D genome architecture coordinates trans and cis regulation of differentially expressed ear and tassel genes in maize.

Background: Maize ears and tassels are two separate types of inflorescence which are initiated by similar developmental processes but gradually develop distinct architectures. However, coordinated trans and cis regulation of differentially expressed genes determining ear and tassel architecture within the 3D genome context is largely unknown.

Results: We identify 56,055 and 52,633 open chromatin regions (OCRs) in developing maize ear and tassel primordia using ATAC-seq and characterize combinatorial epigenome features around these OCRs using ChIP-seq, Bisulfite-seq, and RNA-seq datasets.

BRIF-Seq: Bisulfite-Converted Randomly Integrated Fragments Sequencing at the Single-Cell Level.

Single-cell bisulfite sequencing (scBS-seq) was developed to assess DNA methylation heterogeneity in human and mouse. However, the reads are under-represented in regions with high DNA methylation, because these regions are usually fragmented into long segments and are seldom sequenced on the Illumina platform. To reduce the read distribution bias and maximize the use of these long segments, we developed bisulfite-converted randomly integrated fragments sequencing (BRIF-seq), a method with high rates of read mapping and genome coverage.

Subsurface reconstruction and saturation of surface bonds.

Surface reconstructions and stabilization mechanisms have been great challenges for insulators. Based on accurate determination of the long-sought atomic structure of the spinel (1 1 1) surface, here we show that the surface is stabilized by an unconventional mechanism. In general, solid surfaces have unsaturated chemical bonds and are prone to atomic reconstruction to saturate them.

Cloning, molecular evolution and functional characterization of ZmbHLH16, the maize ortholog of OsTIP2 (OsbHLH142).

The transcription factor ZmbHLH16, the maize ortholog of OsTIP2 (OsbHLH142), was isolated in the present study. Tissue expression analysis showed that ZmbHLH16 is preferentially expressed in male reproductive organs. Subcellular location analysis of ZmbHLH16 via rice protoplast indicated that it is located in the nucleus.

Roles of p38 and JNK protein kinase pathways activated by compound cantharidin capsules containing serum on proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of human gastric cancer cell line.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of compound cantharides capsules (CCCs) on the viability and apoptosis of human gastric cancer cell lines, BGC-823 and SGC-7901, and to detect its regulation of gene expression levels, as well as its inhibition mechanisms. Each cell line was grouped into a control group, CCC serum group, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) group, combination therapy group (CCC serum + 5-FU) and serum control group. Growth curves were measured and flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and cell viability.