DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism with the potential to regulate gene expression and affect plant phenotypes. Both hybridization and genome doubling may affect the DNA methylation status of ...newly formed allopolyploid plants. Previous studies demonstrated that changes in cytosine methylation levels and patterns were different among individual hybrid plant, therefore, studies investigating the characteristics of variation in cytosine methylation status must be conducted at the population level to avoid sampling error. In the present study, an F1 hybrid diploid population and three allotriploid populations with different heterozygosity originating from first-division restitution (FDR), second-division restitution (SDR), and post-meiotic restitution (PMR) 2n eggs of the same female parent were used to investigate cytosine methylation inheritance and variation relative to their common parents using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP). The variation in cytosine methylation in individuals in each population exhibited substantial differences, confirming the necessity of population epigenetics. The total methylation levels of the diploid population were significantly higher than in the parents, but those of the three allotriploid populations were significantly lower than in the parents, indicating that both hybridization and polyploidization contributed to cytosine methylation variation. The vast majority of methylated status could be inherited from the parents, and the average percentages of non-additive variation were 6.29, 3.27, 5.49 and 5.07% in the diploid, FDR, SDR and PMR progeny populations, respectively. This study lays a foundation for further research on population epigenetics in allopolyploids.
, an ectomycorrhizal fungus belonging to the Basidiomycetes, has significant medicinal and edible value, economic importance, and ecological benefits. However,
remains incapable of artificial ...cultivation, which is thought to be due to the presence of bacteria. Therefore, much research has focused on the relationship between
and bacteria, but rare bacteria are frequently overlooked, and symbiotic pattern and assembly mechanism of the bacterial community associated with
remain unknown. In this study, the assembly mechanism and driving factors of both abundant and rare bacterial communities of
were revealed by the null model. The symbiotic pattern of the bacterial community was examined using a co-occurrence network. Metabolic functions and phenotypes of the abundant and rare bacteria were compared using METAGENassist2, and the impacts of abiotic variables on the diversity of abundant and rare bacteria were examined using partial least squares path modeling. In the fruiting body and mycosphere of
, there was a higher proportion of specialist bacteria compared with generalist bacteria. Dispersal limitation dominated the assembly of abundant and rare bacterial communities in the fruiting body and mycosphere. However, pH, 1-octen-3-ol, and total phosphorus of the fruiting body were the main driving factors of bacterial community assembly in the fruiting body, while available nitrogen and total phosphorus of the soil affected the assembly process of the bacterial community in the mycosphere. Furthermore, bacterial co-occurrence patterns in the mycosphere may be more complex compared with those in the fruiting body. Unlike the specific potential functions of abundant bacteria, rare bacteria may provide supplementary or unique metabolic pathways (such as sulfite oxidizer and sulfur reducer) to enhance the ecological function of
. Notably, while volatile organic compounds can reduce mycosphere bacterial diversity, they can increase fruiting body bacterial diversity. Findings from this study further, our understanding of
-associated microbial ecology.
Introduction
It has been reported that environmental factors such as hypoxia could contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therapeutics like hyperbaric oxygen treatment, which ...improves tissue oxygen supply and ameliorates hypoxic conditions in the brain, may be an alternative therapy for AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The present work aims to investigate the potential therapeutic effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment for AD and aMCI.
Methods
We recruited 42 AD, 11 aMCI, and 30 control AD patients in this study. AD and aMCI patients were treated with 40 minutes of hyperbaric oxygen once a day for 20 days and assessed by neuropsychiatric assessments including Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale before and at 1‐, 3‐, and 6‐month follow‐up after treatment. Control AD patients who were not given hyperbaric oxygen treatment had similar clinical profile as hyperbaric oxygen treated AD. We examined 10 of the AD/aMCI patients with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.
Results
In self‐comparison study, one course of hyperbaric oxygen treatment significantly improved the cognitive function assessed by MMSE and MoCA in AD patients after 1‐month follow‐up; such treatment also significantly improved MMSE score at 3‐month follow‐up and MoCA score at 1‐ and 3‐month follow‐up in aMCI patients. The ADL scale was significantly improved in AD patients after 1‐ and 3‐month follow‐up. Compared to the control AD patients, the MMSE and MoCA in hyperbaric oxygen treated AD patients were significantly improved after 1‐month follow‐up. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment also ameliorated the reduced brain glucose metabolism in some of the AD and aMCI patients.
Conclusion
Based on previous studies and our recent findings, we propose that hyperbaric oxygen treatment may be a promising alternative therapy for AD and aMCI.
To quantitatively assess the blood oxygen levels of the cerebral vein using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), and to analyze the correlation between magnetic susceptibility value (MSV) and ...clinical laboratory indicators/cognitive scores in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Fifty-nine patients (21 males and 38 females) with clinically confirmed AD (AD group) and 22 control subjects (12 males, 10 females; CON group) were recruited. Clinical data and laboratory examination indexes were collected. All patients underwent Mini-mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Clock Drawing Task, and Activity of Daily Living Scale test, as well as a routine MRI and enhanced gradient echo T2 star weighted angiography (ESWAN).
Higher cerebral venous MSV was observed in AD group compared to CON group, significant differences were observed for bilateral thalamus veins and left dentate nucleus veins. The MSV of bilateral thalamus veins, bilateral internal cerebral veins, and bilateral dentate nucleus veins had significant negative correlation with Mini-mental State Examination score; the MSV of bilateral thalamus veins, bilateral dentate nucleus veins, right septal vein had a significant negative correlation with Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores; a significant negative correlation between the MSV of bilateral thalamus veins, left dentate nucleus vein, right septal vein and the Clock Drawing Task score; the MSV of bilateral thalamus veins, left dentate nucleus vein had a significant negative correlation with Activity of Daily Living Scale score. The MSV of left dentate nucleus vein was positively correlated with the course of the disease, the MSV of bilateral septal vein were positively correlated with the total cholesterol, and the MSV of left septal vein had a positive correlation with LDL.
Decreasing cerebral venous oxygen level in AD patients may affect cognitive status, and associated with the deterioration of the disease in AD patients.
In this paper, a traveling wave model is proposed to explore its influence on the aerodynamic drag of a Ahmed model, the experimental and numerical results of aerodynamic drag coefficient
C
D
for the ...Ahmed model are in good agreement. Then by defining the aerodynamic benefit coefficient Δ
C
D
as the evaluation index for the orthogonal experiment, range analysis is conducted to determine the influences of the amplitude
A
, wavelength λ and frequency
ω
of the wave and the vehicle speed
u
on Δ
C
D
. After the analysis it can been found that
λ
has the least importance among these parameters, hence
A, ω
and
u
are used to construct the 105 samples for training the BP neural network to predict Δ
CD
, results show that Δ
C
D
obtained from the neural network is significantly affected by the parameters of traveling wave. The prediction accuracy of the network is furtherly verified by another 15 samples which are also built on
A, ω
and
u
, and the corresponding data overlap rate of Δ
C
D
is 96 %, so it can be concluded that the BP neural network constructed in this paper is accurate enough to predict Δ
C
D
.
Parkinson's disease (PD) and the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P) are distinct neurodegenerative disorders that share similar clinical features of parkinsonism. The ...morphological alterations of these diseases have yet to be understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate gray matter atrophy in PD and MSA-P using regions of interest (ROI)-based measurements and voxel-based morphometry (VBM).
We studied 41 patients with PD, 20 patients with MSA-P, and 39 controls matched for age, sex, and handedness using an improved T1-weighted sequence that eased gray matter segmentation. The gray matter volumes were measured using ROI and VBM.
ROI volumetric measurements showed significantly reduced bilateral putamen volumes in MSA-P patients compared with those in PD patients and controls (p<0.05), and the volumes of the bilateral caudate nucleus were significantly reduced in both MSA-P and PD patients compared with those in the controls (p<0.05). VBM analysis revealed multifocal cortical and subcortical atrophy in both MSA-P and PD patients, and the volumes of the cerebellum and temporal lobes were remarkably reduced in MSA-P patients compared with the volumes in PD patients (p<0.05).
Both PD and MSA-P are associated with gray matter atrophy, which mainly involves the bilateral putamen, caudate nucleus, cerebellum, and temporal lobes. ROI and VBM can be used to identify these morphological alterations, and VBM is more sensitive and repeatable and less time-consuming, which may have potential diagnostic value.
Dementia is a gradual and irreversible loss of higher mental function, particularly memory. Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) are one of the rare causes of a rapid decline in cognitive function, ...which can be curable. DAVFs are pathological shunts between the dural artery and the dural venous sinus, dural vein, or cortical vein. Here, we present a case that initially manifested nausea and dizziness and developed rapidly progressive dementia caused by DAVFs in the left transverse sinus-sigmoid sinus junction area and the sinus confluence area, combined with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Moreover, our case has multiple DAVFs that cause bilateral thalamic lesions and rapidly progressive dementia called thalamic dementia, which is infrequent and often misdiagnosed. His symptoms have improved after receiving endovascular embolization treatment. In addition to presenting our case, we conducted a systemic literature review to summarize how familiarity with the manifestation and early diagnosis of bilateral thalamic lesions caused by DAVFs can lead to earlier and more effective therapy.
Alzheimer's disease (AD), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were reported associated with smaller brain volumes. Nevertheless, the association of hyperglycemia with ...brain volume changes in AD patients remains unclear. To investigate this issue, structural magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare brain volumes among AD patients with different fasting glucose levels.
Eighty-five AD patients were divided into three groups based on their fasting glucose level as suggested by the American Diabetes Association: normal fasting glucose group (AD_NFG,
= 45), AD_IFG group (
= 15), and AD_T2DM group (
= 25). Sagittal 3D T1-weighted images were obtained to calculate the brain volume. Brain parenchyma and 33 brain structures were automatically segmented. Each regional volume was analyzed among groups. For regions with statistical significance, partial correlation analysis was used to evaluate their relationships with fasting glucose level, corrected for Mini-Mental State Examination score, age, education level, cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood pressure.
Compared with the AD_IFG and AD_NFG groups, the volume of pons in AD_T2DM group was significantly smaller. Fasting glucose was negatively correlated with pontine volume.
T2DM may exacerbate pontine atrophy in AD patients, and fasting glucose level is associated with pontine volume.
Main conclusion
The composition, diversity and co-occurrence patterns of the rhizosphere microbiota of
E. ulmoides
were significantly influenced by environmental factors, and which were potentially ...associated with the contents of pharmacological active ingredients.
Eucommia ulmoides
is an important perennial medicinal plant. However, little is known about the interactions among microbiota, environmental factors (EFs), and pharmacological active ingredients (PAIs) of
E. ulmoides
. Herein, we analyzed the interactions among rhizosphere microbiota–EFs–PAIs of
E. ulmoides
by amplicon sequencing and multi-analytical approach. Our results revealed variations in the dominant genera, diversity, and co-occurrence networks of the rhizosphere microbiota of
E. ulmoides
across different geographical locations. Notably, available nitrogen exerted the strongest influence on fungal dominant genera, while pH significantly impacted bacterial dominant genera. Rainfall and relative humidity exhibited pronounced effects on the α-diversity of fungal groups, whereas available phosphorus influenced the number of nodes in fungal co-occurrence networks. Altitude and total phosphorus had substantial effects on the average degree and nodes in bacterial co-occurrence networks. Furthermore, the dominant genera, diversity and co-occurrence network of rhizosphere microbiota of
E. ulmoides
were significantly correlated with the content of PAIs. Specifically, the abundance of rhizosphere dominant genera
Filobasidium
,
Hannaella
and
Nitrospira
were significantly correlated with the content of pinoresinol diglucoside (PD). Similarly, the abundance of
Vishniacozyma
and
Bradyrhizobium
correlated significantly with the content of geniposidic acid (GC), while the abundance of
Gemmatimonas
was significantly correlated with the content of aucubin. Moreover, the bacterial co-occurrence network parameters including average degree, density, and edge, were significantly correlated with the content of GC and aucubin. The α-diversity index Chao1 also displayed a significant correlation with the content of PD. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions between medicinal plants and microbes.
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