Pregnancy is characterized by increased appetitive drive beginning early in gestation, yet the central mechanisms underlying this adaptation are poorly understood in humans. To elucidate central mechanisms underlying appetite regulation in early pregnancy, we examine plasma and CSF leptin and AgRP as well as CSF POMC as surrogates for brain melanocortin activity. Plasma leptin, Ob-Re, AgRP, and CSF leptin, POMC, and AgRP were collected from pregnant women prior to cerclage placement (16.6±1.1wks; N=24), scheduled cesarean section (39.2±0.2wks; N=24), and from non-pregnant controls (N=24), matched for age and BMI. Plasma leptin was 1.5 times higher in pregnancy vs. controls (P=0.01), but CSF leptin did not differ. CSF/plasma leptin percentage was lower in early pregnancy vs. controls (0.8±0.1 vs. 1.7±0.2; P<0.0001) and remained unchanged at term (0.9 ±0.1), supporting a decrease in leptin transport into CSF in pregnancy. Plasma AgRP, a peripheral biomarker of the orexigenic hypothalamic neuropeptide, was higher in early pregnancy vs. controls (95.0±7.8 vs. 67.5±5.3; P = 0.005). In early gestation, CSF AgRP did not differ from controls, but CSF POMC was 25% lower (P=0.006). In contrast, at term, CSF AgRP was 42% higher vs. controls (P=0.0001), but CSF POMC no longer differed. Overall, the CSF AgRP/POMC ratio was 1.5-fold higher in early pregnancy vs. controls, reflecting a decrease in melanocortin tone favoring appetitive drive. Pregnancy-specific adaptions in the central regulation of energy balance occur early in human gestation and are consistent with decreased leptin transport into brain and resistance to the effects of leptin on target melanocortin neuropeptides.Pregnancy-specific adaptions in the central regulation of energy balance occur early in human gestation and are consistent with decreased leptin transport into brain and resistance to the effects of leptin on target melanocortin neuropeptides. In acute aortic dissection type A various components of the diagnostic and logistic pathways may affect the time to definitive treatment. This study aimed to characterize these components and to identify factors delaying the optimal management within our institutional referral network. Between January 2017 and January 2020, 96 consecutive patients with classical aortic dissection type A were admitted (28%) or referred (72%) to our tertiary care centre and analysed retrospectively. Data are presented as medians (25th-75th quartile). Median age was 66 years (56-74), 63% were male. Most of the patients were primarily admitted to a cardiology department (40%), whereas about a fourth were admitted to departments for internal medicine (26%) and general surgery (27%). The median interval from the onset of symptoms to hospital admission was 2.1 (1-4.4) h. From admission to confirmed diagnosis it took 2.1 (0.6-9.5) h and the median interval from confirmed diagnosis to admission at our specialized tertiary care aortic centre was 1.5 (0.9-2.4) h. Following admission to our centre, 1.1 (0.5-1.9) h passed until the induction of anaesthesia and 0.8 (0.0-1.1) h until the start of surgery. The total interval from the onset of symptoms to the start of surgery was 7.6 h (5.1-12.3). The marked variability of the time from symptoms to diagnosis at any medical facility demonstrates the importance of awareness in the optimization of the treatment of acute aortic dissection type A.The marked variability of the time from symptoms to diagnosis at any medical facility demonstrates the importance of awareness in the optimization of the treatment of acute aortic dissection type A.The endangered Aral barbel Luciobarbus brachycephalus is endemic to the water systems of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea. Given the scarcity of genetic data for the species, we present a draft assembly based on PacBio long-read sequencing technology. Approximate 299.4 Gb of long reads representing 166× of the estimated genome size were generated, and the final assembly was composed of 653 contigs totaling approximately 1,698.3 Mb, with a contig N50 length of 4.5 Mb. A total of 807.6 Mb represented approximately 47.6% of the assembly and were identified as repeats. Fifty-four thousand and six hundred possible protein genes were predicted, among which 50,727, representing approximately 92.9%, could be annotated by at least one database. Evolutionary analysis showed that L. brachycephalus and Labeo rohita diverged by approximately 42.6 Ma, and the obvious expansion of gene families residing in the L. brachycephalus genome may be attributed to the specific whole-genome duplication of the species. The first genome assembly of L. brachycephalus can not only provide a foundation for genetic conservation and molecular breeding of this species but also contribute to comparative analyses of genome biology and evolution within Cyprinidae.Increasing studies have indicated the critical roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the tumorigenesis of cancers. Panobinostat mouse LncRNA AGAP2 antisense RNA 1 (AGAP2-AS1) can serve as an oncogenic role in some cancers, including prostate cancer (PCa). However, the underling mechanism of such lncRNA in PCa has not been fully studied. Therefore, it's meaningful to investigate the role and underlying mechanism of AGAP2-AS1 in PCa. AGAP2-AS1 was confirmed to be highly expressed in PCa cells. Functionally, AGAP2-AS1 silencing inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT process, and induced apoptosis. According to mechanism assays, AGAP2-AS1 sponged miR-628-5p, which was found to restrain PCa cell growth. Besides, FOXP2 was identified as a target gene of miR-628-5p, and its expression was negatively regulated by miR-628-5p and positively modulated by AGAP2-AS1. Importantly, we found that FOXP2 could function as the upstream gene of AGAP2-AS1. Through rescue experiments, we discovered that FOXP2 up-regulation countered AGAP2-AS1 knockdown-mediated inhibition on PCa cell growth. Finally, it was found that AGAP2-AS1 could activate WNT pathway, and LiCl could reverse the influence of AGAP2-AS1 on PCa biological behaviors. To conclude, AGAP2-AS1/miR-628-5p/FOXP2 feedback loop facilitated PCa cell growth via activating WNT pathway.