Four new iridium biscarbene complexes with different N⁁N ligands showing very different emission colors from deep‐blue to red are synthesized. The emission colors are mainly controlled by the N⁁N ...ligands. The electroluminescent devices using these complexes as dopant emitters exhibit extremely high efficiencies.
Situated in the southern end of the Annamite Mountain Range, Langbiang Plateau is a major biodiversity hotspot of southern Vietnam known for high species diversity and endemicity. To achieve ...effective conservation, parts of the plateau were designated as the Langbiang Biosphere Reserve, an UNESCO World Network aiming to improve relationships between inhabitants and their environments. Amongst the rich endemic flora of the plateau are three gesneriads ascribed to Primulina, a calciphilous genus with high species diversity in the vast limestone karsts stretching from southern China to northern Vietnam. However, a recent phylogenetic study questioned the generic placement of the Langbiang Primulina, corroborating with observations on the geographical distribution, habitat preference, and phyllotaxy of the three species. Based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-F DNA sequences of a comprehensive sampling covering nearly all genera of the Old World Gesneriaceae, we demonstrate that the three Langbiang Primulina species form a fully supported clade distantly related to other Primulina. As this clade is biogeographically, ecologically, morphologically, and phylogenetically distinct worthy of generic recognition, we propose to name it Langbiangia gen. nov. to highlight the rich and unique biodiversity of the Langbiang Plateau. By means of this taxonomic endeavor, we are hoping to raise the conservation awareness of this biodiversity heritage of southern Vietnam and promote the importance of Langbiang Biosphere Reserve that is crucial for achieving action-oriented global targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)-effective conservation and management of at least 30% of biodiverse terrestrial, inland water, and costal and marine areas by 2030-that has been agreed at the COP15 in Montréal in December 2022.
No studies have investigated the effects of irradiation-dose escalation intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with thoracic esophageal squamous ...cell carcinoma (TESCC).
We analyzed data from patients with TESCC who were enrolled in the Taiwan Cancer Registry database. To compare treatment outcomes, the patients were categorized into two groups according to their radiotherapy doses: group 1, who received CCRT<60Gy with IMRT, and group 2, who received CCRT≥60Gy with IMRT. Group 1 was used as the control for investigating posttreatment mortality risk.
We enrolled 2061 patients with TESCC without distant metastasis who received CCRT with IMRT. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that advanced clinical American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage (≥IIIA), alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking were significant, poor independent predictors in patients with TESCC receiving IMRT-based CCRT. IMRT-based CCRT (≥60Gy; adjusted hazard ratio aHR: 0.75; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.63–0.83) was a significant independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P<0.0001). After adjustment for confounders, the aHRs (95% CIs) for overall mortality at all clinical stages were 0.75 (0.68–0.83, P<0.0001) in group 2. In group 2, the aHRs (95% CIs) for overall mortality at early (IA–IIB) and advanced (IIIA–IIIC) AJCC clinical stages were 0.89 (0.70–1.04, P=0.1905) and 0.75 (0.67–0.83, P<0.0001), respectively.
Compared with standard-dose IMRT-based CCRT, high-dose IMRT-based CCRT yields more favorable survival outcomes in patients with advanced-stage TESCC.
Prospective randomized trials have not been used to evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant therapies after intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) resection.
We analyzed data from the Taiwan Cancer Registry ...database of ICC patients receiving resection. To compare outcomes, patients with ICC were enrolled and categorized into the following adjuvant treatment modality groups: group 1, concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT); group 2, sequential chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT); and group 3, CT alone.
We enrolled 599 patients with resectable ICC who received surgery without distant metastasis. Of these patients, 174 received adjuvant CCRT (group 1), 146 received adjuvant sequential CT and RT (group 2), and 279 received adjuvant CT alone (group 3). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that pathologic stage and positive margin were significantly poor independent predictors. After adjustment for confounders, adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for overall mortality at advanced pathologic stages III and IV were 0.55 (0.41–0.74) and 0.92 (0.70–1.33) in groups 1 and 2, respectively, compared with group 3.
Adjuvant CCRT improved survival in resected ICC with advanced pathologic stages or a positive margin in early pathologic stages compared with adjuvant CT alone or adjuvant sequential CT and RT.
Abstract
Petrocodon
and
Primulina
are two characteristic genera of Gesneriaceae that exhibit remarkable species and floral diversity, and high endemism across the Sino-Vietnamese Limestone Karsts. To ...better understand the evolution of limestone gesneriad plastomes, we report nine complete plastomes of seven
Primulina
and two
Petrocodon
which have never been assembled before. The newly generated plastomes range from 152,323 to 153,786 bp in size and display a typical quadripartite structure. To further explore the plastome evolution across Gesneriaceae, we assembled five additional plastomes from public reads data and incorporated 38 complete Gesneriaceae plastomes available online into comparative and phylogenomic analyses. The comparison of 52 Gesneriaceae plastomes reveals that not only
Primulina
and
Petrocodon
but all gesneriad genera analyzed are highly conserved in genome size, genome structure, gene contents, IR boundary configurations, and codon usage bias. Additionally, sliding window analyses were implemented across alignments of
Primulina
and
Petrocodon
for identifying highly variable regions, providing informative markers for future studies. Meanwhile, the SSRs and long repeats of Gesneriaceae plastomes were characterized, serving as useful data in studying population and repetitive sequence evolutions. The results of plastome phylogenetics represent a preliminary but highly resolved maternal backbone genealogy of
Primulina
and the Old World subtribes of Gesneriaceae.
The early-diverging eudicot family Berberidaceae is composed of a morphologically diverse assemblage of disjunctly distributed genera long praised for their great horticultural and medicinal values. ...However, despite century-long studies, generic delimitation of Berberidaceae remains controversial and its tribal classification has never been formally proposed under a rigorous phylogenetic context. Currently, the number of accepted genera in Berberidaceae ranges consecutively from 13 to 19, depending on whether to define
,
, and
broadly, or to segregate these three genera further and recognize
,
, and
,
, and
,
, and
, respectively. To resolve Berberidaceae's taxonomic disputes, we newly assembled 23 plastomes and, together with 85 plastomes from the GenBank, completed the generic sampling of the family. With 4 problematic and 14 redundant plastome sequences excluded, robust phylogenomic relationships were reconstructed based on 93 plastomes representing all 19 genera of Berberidaceae and three outgroups. Maximum likelihood phylogenomic relationships corroborated with divergence time estimation support the recognition of three subfamilies Berberidoideae, Nandinoideae, and Podophylloideae, with tribes Berberideae and Ranzanieae, Leonticeae and Nandineae, and Podophylleae, Achlydeae, Bongardieae
, Epimedieae, and Jeffersonieae
. in the former three subfamilies, respectively. By applying specifically stated criteria, our phylogenomic data also support the classification of 19 genera, recognizing
,
, and
,
, and
,
, and
that are morphologically and evolutionarily distinct from
,
, and
, respectively. Comparison of plastome structures across Berberidaceae confirms inverted repeat expansion in the tribe Berberideae and reveals substantial length variation in
gene caused by repeated sequences in Berberidoideae. Comparison of plastome tree with previous studies and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) phylogeny also reveals considerable conflicts at different phylogenetic levels, suggesting that incomplete lineage sorting and/or hybridization had occurred throughout the evolutionary history of Berberidaceae and that
and
could have resulted from reciprocal hybridization between
and
in ancient times prior to the radiations of the latter two genera.
Cinnamomum kanahirae (Cinnamomum sect. Camphora) is an ecologically and economically important tree species endemic to Taiwan best known as the sole host plant of the highly valued medicinal mushroom ...'niu-chang-chih' (Taiwanofungus camphoratus). Although C. kanahirae had been synonymized under C. micranthum, studies of fruit morphology, essential oil contents, allozyme profiles, and plastome phylogenomics have demonstrated that the two species are different. However, in a recent study that transferred all species of Cinnamomum sect. Camphora to the restored genus Camphora based on phylogenetics and macro- and micromorphology, C. kanahirae was regarded as conspecific with C. micranthum and thus was treated as a synonym of Camphora micrantha. Additionally, C. camphora var. nominale, an ecologically and genetically distinct variety long recognized in Taiwan, was also synonymized under Camphora officinarum. On the other hand, Machilus philippinensis was thought to be Cinnamomum philippinense and thus erroneously transferred to Camphora (i.e., Camphora philippinensis). To rectify these taxonomic oversights, two new combinations Camphora kanahirae comb. nov. and Camphora officinarum var. nominale comb. nov. are proposed and Camphora philippinensis is treated as a syn. nov. of Machilus philippinensis for effective conservation and sustainable utilization of these valuable tree species in Taiwan.
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment plays a central role in cancer initiation and progression. CD248 is expressed in tumor-associated stromal cells, particularly fibroblasts and pericytes. Exploring ...the function of CD248 has the potential to provide biological insights into tumor-supportive stroma and potential therapeutic targets. Here, we investigated the role of stromal CD248 in lung cancer. In orthotopic lung cancer transplantation models, tumor volume, density of vessels and pericytes, and functionality of tumor vessels were all lower in mice lacking Cd248 (Cd248LacZ/LacZ) compared with Cd248 wild-type or haploinsufficient mice. Two angiogenic factors, OPN and SERPINE1, were decreased in Cd248LacZ/LacZ pericytes, and supplementation with both factors rescued their proliferation and endothelial cell tube formation–promoting ability. Mechanistically, Wnt/β-catenin signaling induced Opn and Serpine1 expression and was suppressed in Cd248LacZ/LacZ pericytes. CD248 interacted with Wnt pathway repressors IGFBP4 and LGALS3BP, leading to increased Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Correspondingly, administration of a β-catenin inhibitor in Cd248+/LacZ mice mimicked the effect of Cd248 loss and blocked the growth of transplanted lung tumor cells that were resistant to this inhibitor in vitro. In addition, CD248+ pericytes coexpressed OPN and SERPINE1 and correlated with increased tumor size in human lung cancer. Additionally, high expression of CD248, OPN, and SERPINE1 was associated with poor survival in lung cancer patients. In summary, CD248 derepresses Wnt signaling and upregulates OPN and SERPINE1 in pericytes, resulting in enhanced angiogenesis and lung cancer growth. This novel axis of CD248–Wnt signaling–angiogenic factors in pericytes provides a potential target for lung cancer therapy.
Significance:
These findings demonstrate that CD248 maintains pericyte function in lung cancer through the Wnt signaling pathway and present CD248 as a potential therapeutic target.
Species of
Broussonetia
have been essential in the development of papermaking technology. In Japan and Korea, a hybrid between
B. monoica
and
B. papyrifera
(=
B.
×
kazinoki
) known as
kōzo
and
...daknamu
is still the major source of raw materials for making traditional paper
washi
and
hanji
, respectively. Despite their cultural and practical significance, however, the origin and taxonomy of
kōzo
and
daknamu
remain controversial. Additionally, the long-held generic concept of
Broussonetia s.l.
, which included Sect.
Allaeanthus
and Sect.
Broussonetia
, was challenged as phylogenetic analyses showed
Malaisia
is sister to the latter section. To re-examine the taxonomic proposition that recognizes
Allaeanthus
,
Broussonetia
, and
Malaisia
(i.e.,
Broussonetia
alliance), plastome and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) sequences of six species of the alliance were assembled. Characterized by the canonical quadripartite structure, genome alignments and contents of the six plastomes (160,121–162,594 bp) are highly conserved, except for the pseudogenization and/or loss of the
rpl22
gene. Relationships of the
Broussonetia
alliance are identical between plastome and nrDNA trees, supporting the maintenance of
Malaisia
and the resurrection of
Allaeanthus
. The phylogenomic relationships also indicate that the monoecy in
B. monoica
is a derived state, possibly resulting from hybridization between the dioecious
B. kaempferi
(♀) and
B. papyrifera
(♂). Based on the hypervariable
ndhF-rpl32
intergenic spacer selected by sliding window analysis, phylogeographic analysis indicates that
B. monoica
is the sole maternal parent of
B.
×
kazinoki
and that
daknamu
carries multiple haplotypes, while only one haplotype was detected in
kōzo
. Because hybridizations between
B. monoica
and
B. papyrifera
are unidirectional and have occurred rarely in nature, our data suggest that
daknamu
might have originated via deliberate hybrid breeding selected for making
hanji
in Korea. On the contrary,
kōzo
appears to have a single origin and the possibility of a Korean origin cannot be ruled out.
'Breadfruit' is a common tree species in Taiwan. In the indigenous Austronesian Amis culture of eastern Taiwan, 'breadfruit' is known as Pacilo, and its fruits are consumed as food. On Lanyu (Botel ...Tobago) where the indigenous Yami people live, 'breadfruit' is called Cipoho and used for constructing houses and plank-boats. Elsewhere in Taiwan, 'breadfruit' is also a common ornamental tree. As an essential component of traditional Yami culture, Cipoho has long been assumed to have been transported from the Batanes Island of the Philippines to Lanyu. As such, it represents a commensal species that potentially can be used to test the hypothesis of the northward Austronesian migration 'into' Taiwan. However, recent phylogenomic studies using target enrichment show that Taiwanese 'breadfruit' might not be the same as the Pacific breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), which was domesticated in Oceania and widely cultivated throughout the tropics. To resolve persistent misidentification of this culturally and economically important tree species of Taiwan, we sampled 36 trees of Taiwanese Artocarpus and used the Moraceae probe set to enrich 529 nuclear genes. Along with 28 archived Artocarpus sequence datasets (representing a dozen taxa from all subgenera), phylogenomic analyses showed that all Taiwanese 'breadfruit' samples, together with a cultivated ornamental tree from Hawaii, form a fully supported clade within the A. treculianus complex, which is composed only of endemic Philippine species. Morphologically, the Taiwanese 'breadfruit' matches the characters of A. treculianus. Within the Taiwanese samples of A. treculianus, Amis samples form a fully supported clade derived from within the paraphyletic grade composed of Yami samples, suggesting a Lanyu origin. Results of our target enrichment phylogenomics are consistent with the scenario that Cipoho was transported northward from the Philippines to Lanyu by Yami ancestors, though the possibility that A. treculianus is native to Lanyu cannot be ruled out completely.
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