| 1. |
- Cortes, Diana, et al.
(författare)
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Intranasal Oxytocin and Response Inhibition in Young and Older Adults
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In normal aging, people are confronted with impairment in both socioemotional and cognitive abilities. Specifically, there are age-related declines in inhibitory processes that regulate attention towards irrelevant material. In last years, the intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin has mainly been related to improvements in several domains such as emotion recognition and memory, but to date the effects of oxytocin in aging remain largely unknown. In a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, within-subjects study design, we investigated whether oxytocin facilitates inhibitory processing in older adults compared to younger adults. In total, 41 older adults (51% women; age range 65-75 years) and 37 younger adults (49% women; age range 20-30 years) participated in this study two times, receiving a single intranasal dose of 40 IU of placebo and oxytocin in randomized order 45 minutes before engaging in the task. Participants were tested approximately a month apart and mostly at the same hour during both occasions. Inhibition was measured with a Go/NoGo task which included happy and neutral faces as targets (Go stimuli) and distractors (NoGo stimuli) shown on a computer screen. Participants were instructed to press a button any time they saw a target and remain passive when encountering a distractor. Preliminary results indicate effects for happy and neutral faces, but only in the distractor condition. For happy distractors, women rejected correctly happy faces more accurately than men did, both in the placebo and oxytocin conditions. A main effect of age was observed for the neutral distractors, where older adults were more successful in inhibiting responses than younger adults during oxytocin and placebo treatments. We did not observe effects of oxytocin in the different tasks. The role of oxytocin was not clear distinguished in the tasks. In sum, our findings showed that age and gender can influence inhibition but their effects depend on the displayed emotions. This suggests that the ability to inhibit interfering distractors may remain intact despite of age and that deficits in inhibition may be selective. The role of oxytocin in inhibition needs to be further investigated since it is possible that it is context dependent.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Dang, Junhua, et al.
(författare)
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Action orientation overcomes the ego depletion effect
- 2015
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 1467-9450 .- 0036-5564. ; 56:2, s. 223-227
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract in UndeterminedIt has been consistently demonstrated that initial exertion of self-control had negative influence on people's performance on subsequent self-control tasks. This phenomenon is referred to as the ego depletion effect. Based on action control theory, the current research investigated whether the ego depletion effect could be moderated by individuals' action versus state orientation. Our results showed that only state-oriented individuals exhibited ego depletion. For individuals with action orientation, however, their performance was not influenced by initial exertion of self-control. The beneficial effect of action orientation against ego depletion in our experiment results from its facilitation for adapting to the depleting task.
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| 4. |
- Dang, Junhua, et al.
(författare)
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Collectivism reduces objective mobility trends to public areas during the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers In Public Health. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-2565. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, staying at home and avoiding going outside have been either strongly recommended or stringently enforced by governments all over the globe. Previous studies found that people with more collectivist orientation were more willing to comply with governmental guidelines and engage in preventive behaviors such as social distancing. However, these studies were based on self-report data within a short period. The current study aims to overcome these limitations by using objective mobility data generated by Google users all over the world during the past two years, thus providing a stronger test for the predictive effect of collectivism on preventive measures in response to the pandemic. We found consistent results at both the US state level (n = 50) and the country/territory level (n = 133), such that people in more collectivistic regions reduced their visits to and length of stay at certain public areas such as parks during the past two years. Our findings emphasize the importance of cultural values in face of global crises.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Dang, Junhua, et al.
(författare)
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Escalate shamefully, de-escalate angrily or gratefully: The influence of discrete emotions on escalation of commitment.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 1467-9450 .- 0036-5564. ; 55:4, s. 380-388
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Decision makers often tend to escalate their commitment when faced with a dilemma of whether to continue a losing course of action. Researchers recently began to investigate the influence of discrete emotions on this decision tendency. However, this work has mainly focused on negative emotions and rarely considered positive emotions, to say nothing of comparing the effects of both of them simultaneously. The current study addresses this need by presenting the results of three experiments that examined the effects of four emotions of both positive and negative valences in escalation situations. Experiment 1 investigated the relationships of three trait emotions (hope, shame, and anger) and escalation of commitment. Experiments 2 and 3 examined the effects of three induced emotions (anger, shame, and gratitude) on escalation of commitment in a student sample and an employee sample, respectively. The results revealed that the effects of discrete emotions in escalation situations are mainly due to their associated differences on the appraisal dimension of responsibility that is related to escalation situations rather than their valence. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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| 7. |
- Dang, Junhua, et al.
(författare)
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Individual differences in dopamine level modulate the ego depletion effect
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Psychophysiology. - : Elsevier. - 0167-8760 .- 1872-7697. ; 99, s. 121-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Initial exertion of self-control impairs subsequent self-regulatory performance, which is referred to as the ego depletion effect. The current study examined how individual differences in dopamine level, as indexed by eye blink rate (EBR), would moderate ego depletion. An inverted-U-shaped relationship between EBR and subsequent self regulatory performance was found when participants initially engaged in self-control but such relationship was absent in the control condition where there was no initial exertion, suggesting individuals with a medium dopamine level may be protected from the typical ego depletion effect. These findings are consistent with a cognitive explanation which considers ego depletion as a phenomenon similar to switch costs that would be neutralized by factors promoting flexible switching.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Dang, Junhua, et al.
(författare)
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The Beauty of the Zero : Replications and Extensions of the Hidden-Zero Effect in Delay Discounting Tasks
- 2021
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Ingår i: Social Psychology and Personality Science. - : SAGE Publications. - 1948-5506 .- 1948-5514. ; 12:4, s. 544-549
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Unlike the presentation format in a typical delay discounting task (e.g., Would you prefer [A] US$4.3 today OR [B] US$7.5 in 22 days?), Magen et al. inserted a zero to each alternative (e.g., Would you prefer [A] US$4.3 today and US$0 in 22 days OR [B] US$0 today and US$7.5 in 22 days?) and found this manipulation effectively reduced delay discounting (d= .84), which was referred to as the hidden-zero effect. Study 1 was a direct replication of this effect. In Study 2, we tested whether the explicit-zero format could buffer against the detrimental effect of exposure to sexy cues on delay discounting. In Study 3, we explored the mechanism underlying the hidden-zero effect. Taken together, the hidden-zero effect was consistently found across all studies (N= 2,440) and our internal meta-analysis yielded a medium to large effect size (d= .52).
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| 11. |
- Dang, Junhua, et al.
(författare)
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When the poor excel : Poverty facilitates procedural learning
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0036-5564 .- 1467-9450. ; 57:4, s. 288-291
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent research has shown that poverty directly impeded cognitive functions because the poor could be easily distracted by monetary concerns. We argue that this effect may be limited to functions relying on working memory. For functions that rely on proceduralized processes however, monetary concerns elicited by reminding of financial demands would be conducive rather than harmful. Our results supported this hypothesis by showing that participants with lower income reached the learning criterion of the information-integration categorization task faster than their more affluent counterparts after reminding of financial demands.
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| 12. |
- Deng, Min, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association analyses in Han Chinese identify two new susceptibility loci for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 45:6, s. 697-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To identify susceptibility genes for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 506 individuals with sporadic ALS and 1,859 controls of Han Chinese ancestry. Ninety top SNPs suggested by the current GWAS and 6 SNPs identified by previous GWAS were analyzed in an independent cohort of 706 individuals with ALS and 1,777 controls of Han Chinese ancestry. We discovered two new susceptibility loci for ALS at 1q32 (CAMK1G, rs6703183, P-combined = 2.92 x 10(-8), odds ratio (OR) = 1.31) and 22p11 (CABIN1 and SUSD2, rs8141797, P-combined = 2.35 x 10(-9), OR = 1.52). These two loci explain 12.48% of the overall variance in disease risk in the Han Chinese population. We found no association evidence for the previously reported loci in the Han Chinese population, suggesting genetic heterogeneity of disease susceptibility for ALS between ancestry groups. Our study identifies two new susceptibility loci and suggests new pathogenic mechanisms of ALS.
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| 13. |
- Guo, Renjun, et al.
(författare)
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Degradation mechanisms of perovskite solar cells under vacuum and one atmosphere of nitrogen
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Energy. - : Springer Nature. - 2058-7546. ; 6:10, s. 977-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Extensive studies have focused on improving the operational stability of perovskite solar cells, but few have surveyed the fundamental degradation mechanisms. One aspect overlooked in earlier works is the effect of the atmosphere on device performance during operation. Here we investigate the degradation mechanisms of perovskite solar cells operated under vacuum and under a nitrogen atmosphere using synchrotron radiation-based operando grazing-incidence X-ray scattering methods. Unlike the observations described in previous reports, we find that light-induced phase segregation, lattice shrinkage and morphology deformation occur under vacuum. Under nitrogen, only lattice shrinkage appears during the operation of solar cells, resulting in better device stability. The different behaviour under nitrogen is attributed to a larger energy barrier for lattice distortion and phase segregation. Finally, we find that the migration of excessive PbI2 to the interface between the perovskite and the hole transport layer degrades the performance of devices under vacuum or under nitrogen. Understanding degradation mechanisms in perovskite solar cells is key to their development. Now, Guo et al. show a greater degradation of the perovskite structure and morphology for devices operated under vacuum than under nitrogen.
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| 14. |
- Lin, Qing, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanistic and therapeutic study of novel anti-tumor function of natural compound imperialine for treating non-small cell lung cancer
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Ethnopharmacology. - : Elsevier. - 0378-8741 .- 1872-7573. ; 247
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ethnopharmacological relevance: Bulbus Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don (BFC) is a Chinese traditional herbal medicine that has long been used as an indispensable component in herbal prescriptions for bronchopulmonary diseases due to its well-established strong anti-inflammation and pulmonary harmonizing effects. Interestingly, there are few case reports in traditional Chinese medicine available where they found it to contribute in anti-tumor therapies. Imperialine is one of the most favored active substances extracted from BFC and has been widely recognized as an anti-inflammatory agent. Aim of the study: The aim of the current work is to provide first-hand evidences both in vitro and in vivo showing that imperialine exerts anti-cancer effects against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to explore the molecular mechanism of this anti-tumor activity. It is also necessary to examine its systemic toxicity, and to investigate how to develop strategies for feasible clinical translation of imperialine. Materials and methods: To investigate anti-NSCLC efficacy of imperialine using both in vitro and in vivo methods where A549 cell line were chosen as in vitro model NSCLC cells and A549 tumor-bearing mouse model was constructed for in vivo study. The detailed underlying anti-cancer mechanism has been systematically explored for the first time through a comprehensive set of molecular biology methods mainly including immunohistochemistry, western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The toxicity profile of imperialine treatments were evaluated using healthy nude mice by examining hemogram and histopathology. An imperialine-loaded liposomal drug delivery system was developed using thin film hydration method to evaluate target specific delivery. Results: The results showed that imperialine could suppress both NSCLC tumor and associated inflammation through an inflammation-cancer feedback loop in which NF-kappa B activity was dramatically inhibited by imperialine. The NSCLC-targeting liposomal system was successfully developed for targeted drug delivery. The developed platform could favorably enhance imperialine cellular uptake and in vivo accumulation at tumor sites, thus improving overall anti-tumor effect. The toxicity assays revealed imperialine treatments did not significantly disturb blood cell counts in mice or exert any significant damage to the main organs. Conclusions: Imperialine exerts anti-cancer effects against NSCLC both in vitro and in vivo, and this previously unknown function is related to NF-kappa B centered inflammation-cancer feedback loop. Imperialine mediated anticancer activity is not through cytotoxicity and exhibit robust systemic safety. Furthermore, the liposome-based system we commenced would dramatically enhance therapeutic effects of imperialine while exhibiting extremely low side effects both on cellular and in NSCLC model. This work has identified imperialine as a promising novel anti-cancer compound and offered an efficient target-delivery solution that greatly facilitate practical use of imperialine.
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| 15. |
- Shanshan, Xiao, et al.
(författare)
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When More Depletion Offsets the Ego Depletion Effect
- 2014
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Ingår i: Social Psychology. - : Hogrefe Publishing Group. - 2151-2590 .- 1864-9335. ; 45:5, s. 421-425
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ego depletion effect has been consistently replicated using the typical paradigm that consists of two consecutive tasks. However, striking contradiction exists in studies employing multiple tasks. The aim of the current study is to replicate previous studies following a similar procedure and design in a sample of participants from a non-western cultural background (Chinese), while strictly controlling other confounding factors, such as task duration. Results indicated that although ego depletion occurred after performing a single initial self-control task, engaging in multiple tasks did indeed offset the depletion effect. These findings are contrary to the resource-based view of ego depletion (i.e., the strength model) but more consistent with other theoretical frameworks, such as the cognitive control theory.
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| 16. |
- Xiao, Shanshan, et al.
(författare)
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Age-dependent effects of oxytocin in brain regions enriched with oxytocin receptors
- 2024
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Ingår i: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - : Elsevier. - 0306-4530 .- 1873-3360. ; 160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although intranasal oxytocin administration to tap into central functions is the most commonly used non-invasive means for exploring oxytocin’s role in human cognition and behavior, the way by which intranasal oxytocin acts on the brain is not yet fully understood. Recent research suggests that brain regions densely populated with oxytocin receptors may play a central role in intranasal oxytocin’s action mechanisms in the brain. In particular, intranasal oxytocin may act directly on (subcortical) regions rich in oxytocin receptors via binding to these receptors while only indirectly affecting other (cortical) regions via their neural connections to oxytocin receptor-enriched regions. Aligned with this notion, the current study adopted a novel approach to test 1) whether the connections between oxytocin receptor-enriched regions (i.e., the thalamus, pallidum, caudate nucleus, putamen, and olfactory bulbs) and other regions in the brain were responsive to intranasal oxytocin administration, and 2) whether oxytocin-induced effects varied as a function of age. Forty-six young (24.96 ± 3.06 years) and 44 older (69.89 ± 2.99 years) participants were randomized, in a double-blind procedure, to self-administer either intranasal oxytocin or placebo before resting-state fMRI. Results supported age-dependency in the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on connectivity between oxytocin receptor-enriched regions and other regions in the brain. Specifically, compared to placebo, oxytocin decreased both connectivity density and connectivity strength of the thalamus for young participants while it increased connectivity density and connectivity strength of the caudate for older participants. These findings inform the mechanisms underlying the effects of exogenous oxytocin on brain function and highlight the importance of age in these processes.
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| 17. |
- Xiao, Shanshan, et al.
(författare)
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Regional differences in personalities account for substantial heterogeneity of loneliness change from before to during the COVID-19
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-1078. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ernst et al. (2022) recently reported a strictly conducted meta-analysis investigating whether people's loneliness increased during the COVID-19 pandemic relative to prepandemic times. Based on 19 longitudinal studies that tracked the change of participants' loneliness scores, their main analysis found a small effect size, Hedge's g = 0.23 (see Supplementary Table S1for a summary of the main information extracted from these articles). However, the heterogeneity between individual studies was very high, I2 = 98%, which means most differences observed between individual studies were due to real differences in effect sizes rather than random sampling errors. Although a series of factors have been considered (e.g., sample type and age) to account for the between-effects heterogeneity, none of them showed significant moderation, leaving the heterogeneity unanswered. Given the included studies were conducted in different countries, in this article we suggest that regional differences in the Big-Five personalities should be considered because loneliness has been strongly associated with personalities (Buecker et al., 2020) and people's personalities vary across countries (McCrae, 2001). Therefore, we test whether regional differences in the Big-Five personalities could account for the observed between-effects heterogeneity in Ernst et al.'s (2022) meta-analysis.
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| 18. |
- Zhao, Chao, et al.
(författare)
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miRNAs as Regulators of Antidiabetic Effects of Fucoidans
- 2020
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Ingår i: eFood. - : Atlantis Press. - 2666-3066. ; 1:1, s. 2-11
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease with a high mortality rate worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), and other small noncoding RNAs, serve as endogenous gene regulators through binding to specific sequences in RNA and modifying gene expression toward up- or down-regulation. miRNAs have become compelling therapeutic targets and play crucial roles in regulating the process of insulin resistance. Fucoidan has shown potential function as an alpha-amylase inhibitor, which may be beneficial in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In recent years, many studies on fucoidan focused on the decrease in blood glucose levels caused by ingesting low-glucose food or glucose-lowering components. However, the importance of miRNAs as regulators of antidiabetic effects was rarely recognized. Hence, this review emphasizes the antidiabetic mechanisms of fucoidan through regulation of miRNAs. Fucoidan exerts a vital antidiabetic effect by regulation of miRNA expression and thus provides a novel biological target for future research.
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| 19. |
- Zhu, Shanshan, et al.
(författare)
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Genomic insights on the contribution of balancing selection and local adaptation to the long-term survival of a widespread living fossil tree,Cercidiphyllum japonicum
- 2020
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : WILEY. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 228:5, s. 1674-1689
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 'Living fossils' are testimonies of long-term sustained ecological success, but how demographic history and natural selection contributed to their survival, resilience, and persistence in the face of Quaternary climate fluctuations remains unclear. To better understand the interplay between demographic history and selection in shaping genomic diversity and evolution of such organisms, we assembled the whole genome ofCercidiphyllum japonicum, a widespread East Asian Tertiary relict tree, and resequenced 99 individuals ofC. japonicumand its sister species,Cercidiphyllum magnificum(Central Japan). We dated this speciation event to the mid-Miocene, and the intraspecific lineage divergence ofC. japonicum(China vs Japan) to the Early Pliocene. Throughout climatic upheavals of the late Tertiary/Quaternary, population bottlenecks greatly reduced the genetic diversity ofC. japonicum. However, this polymorphism loss was likely counteracted by, first, long-term balancing selection at multiple chromosomal and heterozygous gene regions, potentially reflecting overdominance, and, second, selective sweeps at stress response and growth-related genes likely involved in local adaptation. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of how living fossils have survived climatic upheaval and maintained an extensive geographic range; that is, both types of selection could be major factors contributing to the species' survival, resilience, and persistence.
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| 20. |
- Zhu, Wanying, et al.
(författare)
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Dysfunction of vesicular storage in young-onset Parkinson's patient-derived dopaminergic neurons and organoids revealed by single cell electrochemical cytometry
- 2022
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Ingår i: Chemical Science. - 2041-6520. ; 13:21, s. 6217-6223
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrochemical cytometry based on nano-tip microelectrodes was used to quantify the vesicular storage at the single-cell level in human neurons and midbrain organoids which acted as disease models of young-onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD). Human dopaminergic (DA) neurons and midbrain organoids were derived from an induced pluripotent stem cell line from one YOPD patient. We show a significant deficiency in vesicular catecholamine storage and a slower pore forming process on the surface of the microelectrode in the DA neurons derived from the YOPD patient. The upregulation of α-synuclein in both neurons and organoids derived from the YOPD patient is associated with vesicular storage dysfunction, revealing a correlation between the pathogenesis of YOPD and vesicular chemical storage deficiency, a novel chemical insight into the potential pathology of YOPD. Notably, efficacy evaluation and drug testing were performed with our platform to demonstrate that both amantadine, a clinical drug for Parkinson's disease (PD), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, an attractive candidate, ameliorate the dysfunction of vesicular storage in DA neurons derived from the YOPD patient. Our platform offers promising avenues for new drug discovery for PD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
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| 21. |
- Zou, Yuqin, et al.
(författare)
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The Influence of CsBr on Crystal Orientation and Optoelectronic Properties of MAPbI(3)-Based Solar Cells
- 2022
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 14:2, s. 2958-2967
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Crystal orientations are closely related to the behavior of photogenerated charge carriers and are vital for controlling the optoelectronic properties of perovskite solar cells. Herein, we propose a facile approach to reveal the effect of lattice plane orientation distribution on the charge carrier kinetics via constructing CsBr-doped mixed cation perovskite phases. With grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements, we investigate the crystallographic properties of mixed perovskite films at the microscopic scale and reveal the effect of the extrinsic CsBr doping on the stacking behavior of the lattice planes. Combined with transient photocurrent, transient photovoltage, and space-charge-limited current measurements, the transport dynamics and recombination of the photogenerated charge carriers are characterized. It is demonstrated that CsBr compositional engineering can significantly affect the perovskite crystal structure in terms of the orientation distribution of crystal planes and passivation of trap-state densities, as well as simultaneously facilitate the photogenerated charge carrier transport across the absorber and its interfaces. This strategy provides unique insight into the underlying relationship between the stacking pattern of crystal planes, photogenerated charge carrier transport, and optoelectronic properties of solar cells.
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