Stochastic Processes Drive the Assembly of Planktonic Ciliates in A Trellised River Network.

The topology and connectivity of rivers can be modified by the water project operation for agriculture and civilization, as exemplified by the trellised river system in Chongming Island. Ciliates, as an exceptional indicator, are often employed for monitoring the health of aquatic ecosystems. However, the assembly and structure of planktonic microeukaryote (e.

Re-description of the type specimens of (Song & Zhu, 1992) stat. rest. (Araneae, Corinnidae) from Hubei, China.

Background: Karsch, 1880 comprises 14 species, distributed in Asia, Africa and America. Amongst Asian species, Song & Zhu, 1992 was considered as a junior synonym of (Thorell, 1877) by Deeleman-Reinhold (2001).

New Information: The species (Song & Zhu, 1992) is resurrected from its synonymy with (Thorell, 1877).

Protocol for high-resolution optical mapping of ex vivo rat heart for electrophysiological studies.

Cardiac optical mapping provides high-resolution spatiotemporal insights into cardiac electrophysiology. Here, we present a protocol for capturing electrical signals in rats using voltage-sensitive dyes and blebbistatin to inhibit muscle contractions. We describe steps for aortic cannulation, heart isolation, optical mapping, and detailed signal analysis.

Rare coding variants in Parkinson's disease risk.

Genome-wide association studies have identified as a Parkinson's disease (PD) risk locus, with a common missense variant p.Asp543Asn in the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2C (SV2C) protein significantly associated with PD. We examined if other rare variants also influence PD risk.

Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2C: a role in Parkinson's disease.

Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2C (SV2C), characterized by its selective expression in discrete brain regions such as the midbrain, has recently emerged as a promising player in Parkinson's Disease (PD) - a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions worldwide. This review aims to consolidate our current understanding of SV2C's function, its involvement in PD pathogenesis, and to evaluate its potential as a therapeutic target. Integrating previous findings of SV2C, from genetics to molecular studies, and drawing on insights from the largest East Asian genome-wide association study that highlights as a novel risk factor for PD, we explore the potential pathways through which SV2C may influence the disease.

Periostin Predicts All-Cause Mortality in Male but Not Female End-Stage Renal Disease Patients on Hemodialysis.

Introduction: Periostin is a matricellular protein. Elevated serum concentrations of periostin have been reported in patients with various cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. Patients with end-stage renal disease have a substantially increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.

Only bioactive forms of PTH (n-oxPTH and Met18(ox)-PTH) inhibit synthesis of sclerostin - evidence from in vitro and human studies.

Sclerostin (SOST) is produced by osteocytes and is known as a negative regulator of bone homeostasis. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) regulates calcium, phosphate as well as vitamin D metabolism, and is a strong inhibitor of SOST synthesis in vitro and in vivo. PTH has two methionine amino acids (positions 8 and 18) which can be oxidized.

Two new species of the genus Thorell, 1887 (Araneae, Zodariidae) from China.

Background: The spider genus Thorell, 1887 contains 34 species, almost entirely limited to Indochina, India, Sri Lanka and China, with a regional distribution. Eleven species of are currently only known from China, five of them are described only from one sex.

New Information: Two new spider species of the genus are reported from China, sp.

Impact of Angiopoietin-2 on Kidney Diseases.

Background: Angiopoietins (Ang) are essential angiogenic factors involved in angiogenesis, vascular maturation, and inflammation. The most studied angiopoietins, angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), behave antagonistically to each other in vivo to sustain vascular endothelium homeostasis. While Ang-1 typically acts as the endothelium-protective mediator, its context-dependent antagonist Ang-2 can promote endothelium permeability and vascular destabilization, hence contributing to a poor outcome in vascular diseases via endothelial injury, vascular dysfunction, and microinflammation.

GSK343 modulates macrophage M2 polarization through the EZH2/MST1/YAP1 signaling axis to mitigate neurological damage induced by hypercalcemia in CKD mice.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) often culminates in hypercalcemia, instigating severe neurological injuries that are not yet fully understood. This study unveils a mechanism, where GSK343 ameliorates CKD-induced neural damage in mice by modulating macrophage polarization through the EZH2/MST1/YAP1 signaling axis. Specifically, GSK343 downregulated the expression of histone methyltransferase EZH2 and upregulated MST1, which suppressed YAP1, promoting M2 macrophage polarization and thereby, alleviating neural injury in hypercalcemia arising from renal failure.

New genera and new species of Hahniidae (Araneae) from China, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Four new genera and 11 new species of Hahniidae Bertkau, 1878 are described. The new genera are Lin & Li, , with the type species Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Guangxi, China; Lin & Li, , with the type species Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Chin, Myanmar; Lin & Li, , with the type species Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Yunnan, China and Lin & Li, , with the type species Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Guangxi, China. Seven additional new species are described: Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Guizhou, China; Lin & Li, (♀) from Yunnan, China; Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Yunnan, China; Lin & Li, (♀) from Bolikhamxay, Laos; Lin & Li, (♀) from Guizhou, China; Lin & Li, (♂♀) from Quang Binh, Vietnam and Lin & Li, (♀) from Guizhou, China.

One new genus and four new species of Liocranidae Simon, 1897 (Arachnida, Araneae) from China and Vietnam.

Four new species of the family Liocranidae are described from China and Vietnam. The new genus , is erected to accommodate (♂♀) from China. Further new species described include (♀) from China, (♂♀) from China and (♂) from Vietnam.

Three new species of the spider genus Kishida, 1940 (Araneae, Trachelidae) from China and Vietnam.

Three new species belonging to the group of the trachelid genus Kishida, 1940 are reported from China and Vietnam: (♂♀), (♂♀), and (♂♀). Type specimens are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS) in Beijing, China and the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (VNMN) in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 is associated with the development of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Background: Besides its established impact on bone and mineral metabolism, it was suggested that fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) might play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. The impact of FGF23 on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), however, is not well understood. iFGF23 ELISAs measure the intact FGF23 molecule, whereas cFGF23 assays measure intact FGF23 as well as degradation products of FGF23.

Three new species of liocranid spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from China and Nepal.

Three new species of spiders belonging to the genera Oedignatha Thorell, 1881 and Paratus Simon, 1898 of the family Liocranidae Simon, 1897 are described from China and Nepal: Oedignatha shaanxi sp. nov. (female only; Shaanxi, China), Paratus bagmati sp.

Immune response of heterologous versus homologous prime-boost regimens with adenoviral vectored and mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised patients.

Due to rare but major adverse reactions to the AstraZeneca adenoviral ChAdOx1-S-nCoV-19 vaccine (ChAd), German health authorities recommended adults under 60 who received one dose of ChAd, to receive a second dose of the BioNTech mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine (BNT) as a booster. Studies in the general population suggest an enhanced efficacy of the heterologous (ChAd-BNT) compared to the homologous (BNT-BNT) vaccination regimen. However, an analysis of the efficacy in patient populations with a high risk of severe COVID-19 due to acquired immunodeficiency is still missing.

Two new genera and five new species of Corinnidae Karsch, 1880 (Arachnida, Araneae) from China and Vietnam.

Six species of the family Corinnidae Karsch, 1880 are described from China and Vietnam. is erected to accommodate (♂♀) from China; is erected to accommodate (Thorell, 1897), , (Yamasaki, 2017), and (Simon, 1897), , transferred from O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1895.

On two new species from Xishuangbanna, China, and the first description of the female of Mu & Zhang, 2020 (Araneae, Liocranidae).

Liocranid spiders from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden in Yunnan, China are studied. Two new species of Thorell, 1881, Lu & Li, (♂♀) and Lu & Li, (♂♀), are described, and the female of Mu & Zhang, 2020 is described for the first time. The specimens studied are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS) in Beijing, China.

25(OH)D-but not 1,25(OH)D-Is an independent risk factor predicting graft loss in stable kidney transplant recipients.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) or vitamin D insufficiency is common in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The impact of VDD on clinical outcomes in KTRs remain poorly defined and the most suitable marker for assessing vitamin D nutritional status in KTRs is unknown so far.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study including 600 stable KTRs (367 men, 233 women) and a meta-analysis to pool existing evidence to determine whether 25(OH)D or 1,25(OH)D predicted graft failure and all-cause mortality in stable KTRs.

Taxonomic notes on eleven species of the subfamily Cteninae (Araneae, Ctenidae) from Asia.

Background: The spider family Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 has a worldwide distribution with 584 species belonging to 49 genera. Amongst these, 141 species are from Asia, including 130 species assigned to Cteninae Keyserling, 1877.

New Information: Nine new species belonging to three genera of Cteninae are reported from Asia: sp.

A survey of ctenid spiders (Araneae, Ctenidae) from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan, China.

Background: Raven, Stumkat & Gray, 2001 currently contains 24 species. It is distributed in Australia, India, Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia. This genus has not been found in China.

Four new species of ctenid spiders (Araneae, Ctenidae) from Southeast Asia, with the first description of the female of Marusik, Zhang & Omelko, 2012.

Background: The spider family Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 has a worldwide distribution with 580 species belonging to 49 genera, of which 109 species of six genera are distributed in Southeast Asia.

New Information: Four new species of ctenid spiders are described from Southeast Asia: sp. n.

Head-to-Head Comparison of Oxidative Stress Biomarkers for All-Cause Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.

Oxidative stress (OS) presents even in the early chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage and is exacerbated in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). There is still a debate over the association between oxidative stress and mortality. Our study aims to compare head-to-head the prognostic value of different oxidative markers for all-cause mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Impact of hypertension on long-term humoral and cellular response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

It was shown that hypertension delays SARS CoV-2 viral clearance and exacerbates airway hyperinflammation in the respiratory tract. However, it is unknown whether hypertension determines the long-term cellular and humoral response to SARS Cov2. Health care workers (HCWs) after an outbreak of SARS Cov-2 infections were analyzed.