Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Flowering plants (angiosperms) are dominant components of global terrestrial ecosystems, but phylogenetic relationships at the familial level and above remain only partially resolved, greatly impeding our full understanding of their evolution and early diversification. The plastome, typically mapped as a circular genome, has been the most important molecular data source for plant phylogeny reconstruction for decades. Results Here, we assembled by far the largest plastid dataset of angiosperms, composed of 80 genes from 4792 plastomes of 4660 species in 2024 genera representing all currently recognized families. Our phylogenetic tree (PPA II) is essentially congruent with those of previous plastid phylogenomic analyses but generally provides greater clade support. In the PPA II tree, 75% of nodes at or above the ordinal level and 78% at or above the familial level were resolved with high bootstrap support (BP ≥ 90). We obtained strong support for many interordinal and interfamilial relationships that were poorly resolved previously within the core eudicots, such as Dilleniales, Saxifragales, and Vitales being resolved as successive sisters to the remaining rosids, and Santalales, Berberidopsidales, and Caryophyllales as successive sisters to the asterids. However, the placement of magnoliids, although resolved as sister to all other Mesangiospermae , is not well supported and disagrees with topologies inferred from nuclear data. Relationships among the five major clades of Mesangiospermae remain intractable despite increased sampling, probably due to an ancient rapid radiation. Conclusions We provide the most comprehensive dataset of plastomes to date and a well-resolved phylogenetic tree, which together provide a strong foundation for future evolutionary studies of flowering plants.

Although various types of drugs and therapies are available to treat atherosclerosis, it remains a major cause of mortality throughout the world. Macrophages are the major source of foam cells, which are hallmarks of atherosclerotic lesions. Consequently, the roles of macrophages in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis are increasingly investigated. Autophagy is a self-protecting cellular catabolic pathway. Since its discovery, autophagy has been found to be associated with a variety of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, malignant tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, and immune system disorders. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that autophagy plays an important role in inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis, and in promoting efferocytosis and cholesterol efflux. These facts sug- gest the induction of autophagy may be exploited as a potential strategy for the treatment of atherosclerosis. In this review we mainly discuss the relationship between macrophage autophagy and atherosclerosis and the molecular mechanisms, as well as the recent advances in targeting the process of autophagy to treat atherosclerosis.

Background The world’s herbaria contain millions of specimens, collected and named by thousands of researchers, over hundreds of years. However, this treasure has remained largely inaccessible to genetic studies, because of both generally limited success of DNA extraction and the challenges associated with PCR-amplifying highly degraded DNA. In today’s next-generation sequencing world, opportunities and prospects for historical DNA have changed dramatically, as most NGS methods are actually designed for taking short fragmented DNA molecules as templates. Results As a practical test of routine recovery of rDNA and plastid genome sequences from herbarium specimens, we sequenced 25 herbarium specimens up to 80 years old from 16 different Angiosperm families. Paired-end reads were generated, yielding successful plastid genome assemblies for 23 species and nuclear rDNAs for 24 species, respectively. These data showed that genome skimming can be used to generate genomic information from herbarium specimens as old as 80 years and using as little as 500 pg of degraded starting DNA. Conclusions The routine plastome sequencing from herbarium specimens is feasible and cost-effective (compare with Sanger sequencing or plastome-enrichment approaches), and can be performed with limited sample destruction.

As the automotive industry undergoes a major shift to electric propulsion, reliable assessment of battery health and potential safety issues is critical. This review covers advances in sensor technology, from mechanical and gas sensors to ultrasonic imaging techniques that provide insight into the complex structures and dynamics of lithium-ion batteries. In addition, we explore the integration of physics-guided machine learning methods with multi-sensor systems to improve the accuracy of battery modeling and monitoring. Challenges and opportunities in prototyping and scaling these multi-sensor systems are discussed, highlighting both current limitations and future potential. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current status, challenges, and future directions of combining sensors with physically guided methods for future vehicle battery management systems. To help the industry move towards effective, reliable, and safe battery management solutions, Xia Zeng and Maitane Berecibar present an overview of emerging sensor technologies and physics-guided methods for automotive battery management systems.

Colon cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer‐related death worldwide. Dysregulated RNA splicing factors have been reported to be associated with tumorigenesis and development in colon cancer. In this study, we interrogated clinical and RNA expression data of colon cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Genes regulating RNA splicing correlated with survival in colon cancer were identified and a risk score model was constructed using Cox regression analyses. In the risk model, RNA splicing factor peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ coactivator‐1α (PPARGC1) is correlated with a good survival outcome, whereas Cdc2‐like kinase 1(CLK1), CLK2, and A‐kinase anchor protein 8‐like (AKAP8L) with a bad survival outcome. The risk model has a good performance for clinical prognostic prediction both in the TCGA cohort and the other two validation cohorts. In the tumor microenvironment (TME) analysis, the immune score was higher in the low‐risk group, and TME‐related pathway gene expression was also higher in low‐risk group. We further verified the mRNA and protein expression levels of these four genes in the adjacent nontumor, tumor, and liver metastasis tissues of colon cancer patients, which were consistent with bioinformatics analysis. In addition, knockdown of AKAP8L can suppress the proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells. Animal studies have also shown that AKAP8L knockdown can inhibit tumor growth in colon cancer in vivo. We established a prognostic risk model for colon cancer based on genes related to RNA splicing regulation and uncovered the role of AKAP8L in promoting colon cancer progression. we interrogated transcriptome and the corresponding clinical data of colon cancer patients from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset to investigate prognosis associated splicing‐related signature.And our study established a prognostic risk model based on RNA splicing regulation related genes for colon cancer.

Objective Childhood is a critical period for brain development. However, it remains unknown whether the behaviors in a typical 24-h day are related to children’s executive function (EF). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the 24-h movement guidelines and children’s EF. Method Children aged 7–12 years ( n  = 376) were studied in 2017 in China. Physical activity (PA) was accelerometer-derived, while screen time (ST) and sleep duration were self-reported. Meeting the 24-h movement guidelines was defined as: 1) ≥ 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA; 2) ≤ 2 h/day of recreational ST; 3) 9–11 h/night of sleep. EF was assessed by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Number of completed categories (CC), shifting efficiency (SE), non-perseverative errors (NPE), and failure to maintain set (FMS) were used to measure four processes of EF, respectively represented global performance, cognitive flexibility, efficiency in rule discovery, and sustained attention. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were completed to explore the associations of meeting the PA, ST, and sleep duration recommendations with four processes of EF. Results Statistically significant positive associations were observed between the number of guidelines met, regarded as a continuous variable, with CC [ β  = 0.343 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.125, 0.561)] and SE [ β  = 4.028 (95% CI: 0.328, 7.727)], while number of guidelines met negatively related to NPE [ β  =  − 4.377 (95% CI:-7.952,-0.802)]. Participants not meeting the two recommendations for PA and sleep duration had lower scores in CC [ β  = -0.636(95% CI:-1.125,-0.147)] and SE [ β  = -10.610 (95% CI:-18.794,-2.425)] compared with those meeting the two, suggesting inferior global performance and worse efficiency in rule discovery. However, ST recommendation had no significant association with any processes of EF. Conclusion Meeting more recommendations of the 24-h movement guidelines was associated with superior EF in children. Specifically, more PA and healthy sleep duration should be encouraged to promote children’s EF.

Advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a poor prognosis, with an unfavorable response to palliative chemotherapy. Unfortunately, there are few effective therapeutic regimens. Therefore, we require novel treatment strategies with enhanced efficacy. The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor efficacy of APG-1252-M1, a dual inhibitor of BCL-2/BCL-XL, as a single agent and combined with gemcitabine. We applied various apoptotic assays and used subcutaneous transplanted NPC model to assess the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity. Moreover, phospho-tyrosine kinase array was used to investigate the combined therapy’s potential synergistic mechanism. In addition, further validation was performed using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. In vitro, we observed that APG-1252-M1 had moderate antitumor activity toward NPC cells; however, it markedly improved gemcitabine’s ability to promote NPC cell apoptosis and suppress invasion, migration, and proliferation. Specifically, APG-1252 plus gemcitabine exhibited even remarkable antitumor activity in vivo. Mechanistically, the drug combination synergistically suppressed NPC by activating caspase-dependent pathways, blocking the phospho (p)-JAK-2/STAT3/MCL-1 signaling pathway, and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In conclusion, the results indicated that the combination of APG-1252 and gemcitabine has synergistic anticancer activities against NPC, providing a promising treatment modality for patients with NPC.

This study investigated an efficient approach for extracting saponins from using deep eutectic solvents (DES) coupled with ultrasound-assisted (UA) extraction, and compared its performance with the methanol extraction method. Twenty-six DES were screened, and choline chloride-urea was selected as the optimal solvent. The total extraction yield was evaluated based on the sum of the yields of chikusetsusaponin IVa (CS-IVa) and ginsenoside Ro (G-Ro). The extraction process was optimized using single-factor experiments combined with an orthogonal array design. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was applied to reveal the extraction mechanism at the molecular level. The results showed that the optimal conditions were as follows: a choline chloride-to-urea molar ratio of 1:3, a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:50, a water content of 60%, an ultrasonic temperature of 40 °C, and an ultrasonic time of 60 min. Under these conditions, the total extraction yield of saponins reached 7.4%, which was 13% higher than that obtained with the pharmacopeia methanol extraction method. MD simulation demonstrated that DES weakens intermolecular interactions among saponins through hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces, promoting the dispersion of saponin aggregates and enabling efficient dissolution. Compared with CS-IVa, G-Ro displayed a more pronounced solvation effect, which was likely attributed to the difference in the number of polar sites in their molecular structures. The UA-DES extraction method established herein is green and efficient. It provides a practical reference for the industrial extraction of saponins and a theoretical foundation for mechanistic studies on natural product extraction using DES.

Developmental disabilities prevalence seem to be high in countries around the world. It’s worth understanding the most recent prevalence and trends of developmental disabilities. The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence and trends of developmental disabilities of US children and adolescents. A total of 26,422 individuals aged 3–17 years were included. Annual data were examined from the National Health Interview Survey (2018–2021). Weighted prevalence for each of the selected developmental disabilities were calculated. The prevalence of any developmental disabilities in individuals was 16.65% (95% CI 16.03–17.26%), prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disability (LD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and other developmental delay were 9.57% (95% CI 9.09–10.06%), 7.45% (95% CI 7.00–7.89%), 2.94% (95% CI 2.67–3.21%), 1.72% (95% CI 1.51–1.93%), and 5.24% (95% CI 4.89–5.59%), respectively. Significant increases were observed for other developmental delay (4.02–6.05%) and co-occurring LD & ID (1.03–1.82%). Findings form this study highlight a high prevalence of any developmental disabilities, although no significant increase was observed. The prevalence of other developmental delay and co-occurring LD & ID were significantly increased. Further investigation is warranted to assess potentially modifiable risk factors and causes of developmental disabilities.

Understanding the genetic basis of rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis ) domestication is crucial for further improving natural rubber production to meet its increasing demand worldwide. Here we provide a high-quality H. brasiliensis genome assembly (1.58 Gb, contig N50 of 11.21 megabases), present a map of genome variations by resequencing 335 accessions and reveal domestication-related molecular signals and a major domestication trait, the higher number of laticifer rings. We further show that HbPSK5 , encoding the small-peptide hormone phytosulfokine (PSK), is a key domestication gene and closely correlated with the major domestication trait. The transcriptional activation of HbPSK5 by myelocytomatosis (MYC) members links PSK signaling to jasmonates in regulating the laticifer differentiation in rubber tree. Heterologous overexpression of HbPSK5 in Russian dandelion ( Taraxacum kok-saghyz ) can increase rubber content by promoting laticifer formation. Our results provide an insight into target genes for improving rubber tree and accelerating the domestication of other rubber-producing plants. Understanding the genetic basis of rubber tree domestication is critical for improving natural rubber production. Here, the authors assemble the genome of the rubber tree clone CATAS8-79 and conduct population and genetic association analyses to reveal the function of phytosulfokine in regulating number of laticifer rings.