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Sleep is an essential state of decreased activity and alertness but molecular factors regulating sleep duration remain unknown. Through genome-wide association analysis in 446,118 adults of European ancestry from the UK Biobank, we identify 78 loci for self-reported habitual sleep duration ( p  < 5 × 10 −8 ; 43 loci at p  < 6 × 10 −9 ). Replication is observed for PAX8 , VRK2 , and FBXL12/UBL5/PIN1 loci in the CHARGE study ( n  = 47,180; p  < 6.3 × 10 −4 ), and 55 signals show sign-concordant effects. The 78 loci further associate with accelerometer-derived sleep duration, daytime inactivity, sleep efficiency and number of sleep bouts in secondary analysis ( n  = 85,499). Loci are enriched for pathways including striatum and subpallium development, mechanosensory response, dopamine binding, synaptic neurotransmission and plasticity, among others. Genetic correlation indicates shared links with anthropometric, cognitive, metabolic, and psychiatric traits and two-sample Mendelian randomization highlights a bidirectional causal link with schizophrenia. This work provides insights into the genetic basis for inter-individual variation in sleep duration implicating multiple biological pathways. Sleep is essential for homeostasis and insufficient or excessive sleep are associated with adverse outcomes. Here, the authors perform GWAS for self-reported habitual sleep duration in adults, supported by accelerometer-derived measures, and identify genetic correlation with psychiatric and metabolic traits

Background Tumor cells with the capability of radiation resistance can escape the fate of cell death after radiotherapy, serving as the main cause of treatment failure. Repopulation of tumors after radiotherapy is dominated by this group of residual cells, which greatly reduce the sensitivity of recurrent tumors to the therapy, resulting in poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, revealing the mechanism of radiation resistant cells participating in tumor repopulation is of vital importance for cancer patients to obtain a better prognosis. Methods Co-expressed genes were searched by using genetic data of radiation resistant cells (from GEO database) and TCGA colorectal cancer. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to define the most significant co-expressed genes for establishing prognostic indicator. Logistic analysis, WGCNA analysis, and other types of tumors were included to verify the predictive ability of the indicator. RT-qPCR was carried out to test expression level of key genes in colorectal cancer cell lines. Colongenic assay was utilized to test the radio-sensitivity and repopulation ability of key gene knockdown cells. Results Prognostic indicator based on TCGA colorectal cancer patients containing four key radiation resistance genes (LGR5, KCNN4, TNS4, CENPH) was established. The indicator was shown to be significantly correlated with the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, and also had an acceptable predictive effect in the other five types of cancer. RT-qPCR showed that expression level of key genes was basically consistent with the radiation resistance level of colorectal cancer cells. The clonogenic ability of all key gene knockdown cells decreased after radiation treatment compared with the control groups. Conclusions Our data suggest that LGR5, KCNN4, TNS4 and CENPH are correlated with radiation sensitivity of colorectal cancer cells, and the indicator composed by them can reflect the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Our data provide an evidence of radiation resistant tumor cells involved in tumor repopulation, and give patients undergoing radiotherapy an approving prognostic indicator with regard to tumor progression.

The dynamic change in the shorelines reflects an important sign to the socio-economic development of coastal areas. The Huizhou–Shanwei region of China has experienced rapid socio-economic development over the past 33 years. The study of the dynamic change in the shorelines in this region can provide basic data support for the marine environmental protection and regional development planning in this region. Based on Landsat RS (remote sensing) images from 1990 to 2023, this study obtained the length and structure data of the shorelines in eight periods by manual visual interpretation. DSAS (Digital Shoreline Analysis System) and other methods were also used to calculate indices such as EPR (End Point Rate) and fractal dimension of the shorelines The results show that, during 33 years, the length of the shorelines increased 15.83 km, with an average growth rate of 0.48 km/y; the value of the intensity of change in the shorelines was 0.08%; the average EPR was 3.66 (m/y), and the artificiality index of the shorelines increased from 0.2895 to 0.4295; the greatest intensity of change was in the estuarine shorelines, with an intensity of change of −2.69%. The overall change in the fractal dimension of the shorelines was small, both between 1.0395 and 1.0673; the shorelines became slightly more curved. As far as the influencing factors are concerned, the influence of the natural environment is a long process, and human activities are more capable of changing the length and shape of the shorelines in a short period of time, with factors such as the degree of economic development having a greater impact on the shorelines.

Opioid use disorder is a highly heterogeneous disease driven by a variety of genetic and environmental risk factors which have yet to be fully elucidated. Opioid overdose, the most severe outcome of opioid use disorder, remains the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. We interrogated the effects of opioid overdose on the brain using ChIP-seq to quantify patterns of H3K27 acetylation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortical neurons isolated from 51 opioid-overdose cases and 51 accidental death controls. Among opioid cases, we observed global hypoacetylation and identified 388 putative enhancers consistently depleted for H3K27ac. Machine learning on H3K27ac patterns predicted case-control status with high accuracy. We focused on case-specific regulatory alterations, revealing 81,399 hypoacetylation events, uncovering vast inter-patient heterogeneity. We developed a strategy to decode this heterogeneity based on convergence analysis, which leveraged promoter-capture Hi-C to identify five genes over-burdened by alterations in their regulatory network or “plexus”: ASTN2, KCNMA1, DUSP4, GABBR2, ENOX1. These convergent loci are enriched for opioid use disorder risk genes and heritability for generalized anxiety, number of sexual partners, and years of education. Overall, our multi-pronged approach uncovers neurobiological aspects of opioid use disorder and captures genetic and environmental factors perpetuating the opioid epidemic.

High-cerium NdFeB magnets represent an effective approach for balanced utilization of light rare-earth resources. However, morphology of the grains is highly susceptible to processing parameters, and improper settings can result in extremely low performance during hot-pressing and hot-deformation processes. In this paper, the influence of process parameters on the magnetic properties and microstructure of Nd Ce (CoFeGa) B magnets was clarified by adjusting the conditions of hot-pressing and hot-deformation processes, combined with performance testing and microstructural observation. It was observed that the number of coarse-grained regions within the magnets was significantly reduced, with a substantial decrease in coarse-grain size, and uniform primary phase grains were obtained by adjusting parameters to control the morphology of the grains.

In this study, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) was employed to augment the array of chiral recognition sites, thereby enhancing the affinity of GQDs/β-CD composite for imprinting molecules and realizing heightened chiral selectivity. The incorporation of GQDs/β-CD into the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), synergizing with the host-guest inclusion properties of β-CD and the abundant carboxyl groups of GQDs, enhanced the chiral recognition capacity of MIPs materials. Consequently, a novel MIPs/(GQDs/β-CD) sensor with chiral recognition capabilities tailored for D-carnitine was successfully fabricated. The binding mechanism between GQDs/β-CD and D-carnitine was elucidated via Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The variation in the response signal (ΔI) of the probe molecule exhibited a linear correlation with the logarithm of D-carnitine concentration (lgC) in the range of 1.0 × 10−12 mol/L to 1.0 × 10−9 mol/L, and the detection limit (3δ/S) was calculated as 2.35 × 10−13 mol/L. These results underscore a 7.15-fold enhancement in the selectivity of MIPs/(GQDs/β-CD) sensor for D-carnitine recognition. Moreover, the sensor presented commendable efficacy in real-world scenarios, yielding recovery rates ranging from 98.5% to 103.0% during the determination of D-carnitine content in real samples.

Surface water quality assessment is an important component of environmental protection and sustainable development. In this study, 24 sampling sites were arranged in the Wanquan River area of Hainan Island, China, in 2021, and nine water quality indicators were measured. The water quality of the Wanquan River was assessed using the single factor pollution index method and the Nemerow pollution index method; the spatial distribution characteristics of pollutants were revealed, and the sources of pollution were further analyzed using factor analysis. The results show that the overall water quality of the Wanquan River basin is good, with the average values of all indicators meeting China’s Class III water quality standards. The results of the single factor pollution index method showed that 29% of the sampling sites were in the no pollution class, 38% in the slight pollution class, 25% in the light pollution class, and 8% in the moderate pollution class. The results of the Nemerow pollution index showed that 25% of the sampling sites were in the clean category, 17% in the cleaner category, 42% in the light category, and 17% in the moderate category. The results of the factor analysis show that agricultural activities and domestic sewage discharge are the main sources of pollution, with nitrogen and phosphorus being the most important factors affecting water quality. This paper proposes several measures to reduce water pollution in the Wanquan River, including improving agricultural activities, improving wastewater treatment, and strengthening environmental monitoring. The findings have practical implications for reducing water pollution in rivers and lakes and can provide a reference for policy decisions related to water resource management and environmental protection.

Light intensity is one of the main factors determining the growth and distribution of seagrasses, but seagrasses differ in their responses to changes in the light environment, resulting in inconsistent adaptation. To investigate the effect of light reduction on Enhalus acoroides (L. f.) Steud., we simulated different light intensities by setting up in situ shade shelters with three light environments: full light (CK), moderate shading (MS) and high shading (HS), and investigated the growth response and adaptation mechanism of E. acoroides to a low-light environment. The results showed that the leaf length and leaf width of E. acoroides decreased in the low-light environment. Plant density, biomass, and chlorophyll content (Chl) decreased significantly with the prolongation of shading. In addition, the sediment carbon content of seagrass beds was significantly reduced in the shading treatments compared to the full-light treatment. After the restoration of light, the chlorophyll content of E. acoroides increased compared to that in the shading period, but its leaf morphology, plant density and biomass did not return to the level of full light treatment. Our study highlights that long-term light reduction leads to a significant reduction in seagrass biomass and its sediment carbon content, which in turn, may reduce the carbon storage capacity of seagrass beds.

As one of the typical coastal ecosystems, seagrass bed has important ecological service functions. In order to enrich the basic data of multispecies tropical seagrass beds, the main controlling factors affecting the community status of seagrass were identified. In this study, the species, distribution and community characteristics of seagrass in Wenchang were investigated at five stations in 2023, and Spearman correlation analysis and Redundancy analysis were used to investigate the relationship between seagrass and environmental characteristics. The results showed that there were 7 species of seagrass belonging to 5 genera in 2 families along Wenchang coast, including Enhalus acoroides , Thalassia hemprichii , Cymodocea rotundata , Cymodocea serrulata , Halophila ovalis , Halophila minor and Halodule uninervis . The distribution of seagrass beds in Wenchang showed an obvious trend of degradation. Except for the relatively stable of seagrass beds in the central part of Wenchang, the seagrass beds on both the north and south sides decreased significantly, and the coverage of seagrass beds decreased from 24.31% in 2016 to 21.0% in 2020, and further decreased to 20.67% in 2023. The data showed that the coverage and aboveground biomass of seagrass were significantly positively correlated with temperature, and the density of seagrass was significantly positively correlated with DO, but significantly negatively correlated with COD. In addition, increased nutrient salts in the water column could negatively affect seagrass bed. In order to promote the sustainable development of seagrass ecosystem and enhance the stability of seagrass habitat, it is suggested to rationally plan the aquaculture scale of the surrounding area; flexibly manage the rake snail, rake clam and other fishing activities, appropriately reduce the frequency of mining; and scientifically plan marine engineering to reduce the damage to seagrass bed.

The effect of artificial island on the geomorphologic processes in the coastal area under the coupled hydrodynamics, wave, and sediment transport system is a complicated and multi-scale problem. Studying these dynamic processes will suggest how coastal ecological restoration should be conducted. In this study, a unified, unstructured, gridded coupled hydrodynamics, wave, and sediment transport model and a topographic evolution model were adopted. Based on the field observations of water depth, velocity, suspended sediment concentration, bed sand, and quaternary thickness, a high-spatiotemporal-resolution numerical simulation of the offshore dynamic environment under the disturbance of artificial island was performed, and the accuracy of the calculation was verified. The research showed that the coupling system with an unstructured mesh was able to reproduce the flow and sediment transport processes with acceptable accuracy. The contracted flow zone between the artificial island and the coastline, the runoff and alongshore current from the river, as well as the tidal flow from the ocean, worked together to mold the local complex morphology around the artificial island. The coupled modeling system, supported with parallel computation, can be used to study coastal environments with small-scale wading structures.