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The non-racemic enantiomers may exist with very small %ee values, which formed by some asymmetric factors (such as symmetry breaking) during their synthesis in the prebiotic pool in the absence of other chiral sources. We now conclude a mathematic formula by concerning the organic reaction principles. We found that the tiny %ee (%ee1) values of non-racemic enantiomers can be enhanced to a reasonable large %ee values (%ee2) after the non-racemic enantiomers react with bis-functional group reagents (such as oxalaldehyde). Theoretically, if the %ee1 is extremely small, the enhancement/amplification multiples (%ee2/%ee1) should increase greatly. The is necessary to enrich the %ee values in prebiotic pool for the chiral compounds (such as L-amino acids) with very small %ee values. Finally, about 1% of L-tryptophan methyl ester （L-TME） was used to react with CHOCHO, and the %ee2 of the L-TME remained in solution increased to 3.4%. The largest amplification multiple is 1.9 (from 6.1% of %ee1 to enrich to 11.7% (%ee2)); The largest increasement of the %ee (Δ%ee=%ee2-%ee1) is 12.3% (from 44.2% to 56.5%).

Abstract Background Ectromelia virus (ECTV) is the causative agent of mousepox in mice. In the past century, ECTV was a serious threat to laboratory mouse colonies worldwide. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), which is widely used in virus detection, is an isothermal amplification method. Results In this study, a probe-based RPA detection method was established for rapid and sensitive detection of ECTV.Primers were designed for the highly conserved region of the crmD gene, the main core protein of recessive poxvirus, and standard plasmids were constructed. The lowest detection limit of the ECTV RT- RPA assay was 100 copies of DNA mol-ecules per reaction. In addition, the method showed high specificity and did not cross-react with other common mouse viruses.Therefore, the practicability of the RPA method in the field was confirmed by the detection of 135 clinical samples. The real-time RPA assay was very similar to the ECTV real-time PCR assay, with 100% agreement. Conclusions In conclusion, this RPA assay offers a novel alternative for the simple, sensitive, and specific identification of ECTV, especially in low-resource settings.

Abstract Background Goose astrovirus (GoAstV) is an important pathogen that causes joint and visceral gout in goslings. It has been circulating in many provinces of China since 2017. Goose astrovirus genotypes 2 (GoAstV-2) is the main epidemic strain, and its high morbidity and mortality have caused huge economic losses to the goose industry. An accurate point-of-care detection for GoAstV-2 is of great significance. In this study, we developed a real-time reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) method for the on-site detection of GoAstV-2 infection. Results The real-time RT-RPA reaction was carried out at a constant temperature of 39 °C, and the entire detection time from nucleic acid preparation to the end of amplification was only 25 min using the portable device. The results of a specificity analysis showed that no cross-reaction was observed with other related pathogens. The detection limit of the assay was 100 RNA copies/μL. The low coefficient of variation value indicated excellent repeatability. We used 270 clinical samples to evaluate the performance of our established method, the positive concordance rates with RT-qPCR were 99.6%, and the linear regression analysis revealed a strong correlation. Conclusions The established real-time RT-RPA assay showed high rapidity, specificity and sensitivity, which can be widely applied in the laboratory, field and especially in the resource-limited settings for GoAstV-2 point-of-care diagnosis.

Abstract Backscatter communication relies on passive reflections of the existing radio frequency (RF) signals, making it suitable for low-power and low-complexity communication in IoT applications. However, the performance of existing systems severely degrades in real-life environments, due to irregular “on” and “off” states of ambient signals like WiFi, which are not controllable. In this paper, we propose a joint coding and framing scheme for the backscattering physical layer to fight against the off-state in the excitation signal. We first design transmission schemes including both the Reed-Solomon (RS) codes and the frame structure, to correct the burst error caused by the off states. In order to implement the codes at the resource-constrained tag, we design a look-up table for the encoding process. We prototype our system NuWa that could efficiently backscatter with uncontrolled traffics generated randomly. We demonstrate that NuWa could achieve a 1 Mbps transmission throughput when the tag is over 1 m away from the receiver in high traffic load and 150 kbps in low traffic load. Finally, we evaluate the throughput with respect to the distance change between the tag and the receiver, and 950 kbps is achieved at a distance of $$6\,m$$ 6 m .

With the rapid development of the internet of things (IoT) era, IoT devices may face limitations in battery capacity and computational capability. Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) and mobile edge computing (MEC) have emerged as promising technologies to address these challenges. Due to wireless channel fading and susceptibility to obstacles, this paper introduces intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS) to enhance the spectral and energy efficiency of wireless networks. We propose a system model for IRS-assisted uplink offloading computation, downlink offloading computation results, and simultaneous energy transfer. Considering constraints such as IRS phase shifts, latency, energy harvesting, and offloading transmit power, we jointly optimize the CPU frequency of IoT devices, offloading transmit power, local computation workload, power splitting (PS) ratio, and IRS phase shifts. This establishes a multi-variate coupled nonlinear problem aimed at minimizing IoT devices energy consumption. We design an effective alternating optimization (AO) iterative algorithm based on block coordinate descent, and utilize closed-form solutions, Dinkelbach-based Lagrange dual method, and semidefinite relaxation (SDR) method to minimize IoT devices energy consumption. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves lower energy consumption compared to other resource allocation strategies.

Grain size is a primary determinant of grain weight, which is one of the three essential components of rice grain yield. Mining the genes that control grain size plays an important role in analyzing the regulation mechanism of grain size and improving grain appearance quality. In this study, two closely linked quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling grain size, were dissected and fine-mapped in a 515.6-kb region on the long arm of chromosome 10 by using six near isogenic line populations. One of them, qGS10.2, which controlled 1000 grain weight (TGW) and grain width (GW), was delimited into a 68.1-kb region containing 14 annotated genes. The Teqing allele increased TGW and GW by 0.17 g and 0.011 mm with the R2 of 12.7% and 11.8%, respectively. The other one, qGL10.2, which controlled grain length (GL), was delimited into a 137.3-kb region containing 22 annotated genes. The IRBB52 allele increased GL by 0.018 mm with the R2 of 6.8%. Identification of these two QTL provides candidate regions for cloning of grain size genes.

Abstract Lamellar graphene oxide (GO) membranes have gained substantial interest for molecular separation processes. However, GO membranes have shown inefficient separation performance levels due to their possession of sufficient functional groups that lead to swelling under applied hydraulic pressure. Herein, we demonstrate a highly stable and ultrafast filtrable graphene oxide-boron nitride (GOBN) hybrid membrane by incorporating boron nitride (BN) nanosheets into a GO membrane to restrict swelling and provide efficient hydraulic pressure separation characteristics. This new heterostructure retains the GOBN membrane microstructure and provides more nanochannels around the incorporation sites due to the small size of BN nanosheets; this phenomenon increases the permeance to 1310 Lm−2h−1bar−1, which is nearly six times higher than that of the pure GO membrane, with a high rejection reaching 99.2% for aqueous organic dyes. More importantly, the GOBN hybrid membrane shows an impressive permeance and dye molecule rejection performance characteristic across a range of organic solvents, such as methanol, ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol; the performance characteristics are better than those for the GO membrane. Our GOBN membrane with a stable microstructure opens opportunities for developing a high-performance multiple solvent nanofiltration membrane that surpasses the permeability-selectivity trade-off.

Abstract Background Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) causes acute vomiting and diarrhea in piglets, leading to significant financial losses for the pig industry. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a rapid nucleic acid amplification technology used under constant temperature conditions. The study established a real-time reverse transcription (RT)-RPA assay for early diagnosis of SADS-CoV. Results The detection limit of the real-time RT-RPA was 74 copies/µL of SADS-CoV genomic standard recombinant plasmid in 95% of cases. The assay was performed in less than 30 min and no cross-reactions were observed with eight other common viruses that affect swine, including classical swine fever virus (CSFV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), pseudo rabies virus (PRV), swine influenza virus (SIV), seneca valley virus (SVA), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV). The coefficient of variation (C.V.) values of the two standards dilutions and three positive clinical sample ranged from 2.95% to 4.71%. A total of 72 clinical fecal samples from swine with diarrheal symptoms were analyzed with the developed RT-RPA and quantitative RT-PCR. There was 98.61% agreement between the RT-RPA and the quantitative real-time PCR results. Conclusions These results indicated that the developed RT-RPA assay had good specificity, sensitivity, stability and repeatability. The study successfully established a broadly reactive RT-RPA assay for SADS-CoV detection.

Nanoparticle-assisted polymerase chain reaction (nanoPCR) is a novel method for the rapid detection of pathogens. A sensitive and specific multiple nanoPCR assay was developed for simultaneous detection of avian leucosis virus (ALV) subgroups A, B and J. In this study, three pairs of primers were designed, based on the conserved region of the gp85 gene. An exploration of the optimal primer concentration and annealing temperature were carried out, for better performance of the nanoPCR assay. According to the results, the multiple nanoPCR assay amplified 336 pb, 625 bp and 167 bp fragments of ALV-A, -B and -J, respectively, and showed no cross-reactivity with irrelevant pathogens, suggesting the excellent specificity of the assay. The constructed standard DNA templates were used to estimate the limit of detection. As shown by the results, the detection limit of the nanoPCR assay was nearly 10 copies/μL. To further evaluate the detection ability of the assay, 186 clinical samples were detected using the nanoPCR assay, among which, 14 samples were confirmed as ALV positive; the results were further confirmed by sequencing. In conclusion, a highly specific and sensitive nanoPCR assay was successfully developed, which could be a useful tool for clinical diagnosis as well as for the discrimination of ALV-A, -B and -J.

Energy system optimization models play an essential role in current decision support on topics including energy security, sustainable development and environmental protection from industrial, regional, national and even global perspective. One of the key energy system optimization models applied in international energy policy is TIMES. The article establishes two basic deterministic TIMES models which cover an energy commodity (coal or gas), a three-step supply curve and an end-use energy service demand. Then we convert the deterministic TIMES models into a stochastic optimization problem with multiple scenarios, and implement the Lagrangian decomposition approach in solving the stochastic programming models. The numerical experiment shows the feasibility of the Lagrangian decomposition algorithm to solve stochastic TIMES models with a small amount of scenarios, and analyze several reasons for non-convergence cases including the choice of step length and initial values of Lagrangian multipliers.

Rice blast is arguably the most devastating fungal disease of rice. Utilization of resistance genes to breed resistant cultivars is one of the most economical and environmentally friendly approaches to combat the disease. Pi25, a major resistance gene conferring broad-spectrum resistance to both leaf and neck blast, is an ideal gene resource to improve the resistance of rice varieties to blast. Recently, several allele-specific markers were developed. However, they were deficiently efficient due to either an additional process of restriction enzyme digestion for cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers or the risk of false-positive error in identifying susceptible Tetep allele (Pi25TTP) for PCR-based markers. In this study, based on a conserved single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) between resistant and susceptible alleles, a tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR marker was developed. The new marker, namely Pi25-2687R3, could effectively distinguish the resistant Gumei 2 (GM2) allele (Pi25GM2) and the susceptible allele Pi25TTP. Moreover, a perfect consistency of genotyping was exhibited between Pi25-2687R3 and published CAPS marker CAP3/Hpy 99I. A more accurate genotyping was also displayed compared to the previous PCR-based SNP marker Pi25-2566. Our finding proved that Pi25-2687R3 could achieve the same result as CAP3/Hpy 99I with less workload and cost and could promote the accuracy in the identification of genotypes superior to Pi25-2566. This study provided a quick and reliable functional marker for discriminating Pi25 alleles, which would be a valuable tool for genotypic assay and rice molecular breeding of blast resistance.

With the development of modern industries, environmental pollution has become a serious and urgent issue [...]

BackgroundOsteoporosis (OP) and osteopenia are common bone disorders in old age, and lots of patients suffering from OP or osteopenia need to take antiplatelet agents to treat basic diseases. However, clinical data on the link between osteopenia or OP and antiplatelet agents are limited.MethodsData in this study were collected and screened from the NHANES from 2013 to 2014 and 2017 to 2018. The variables were extracted from interviews and compared between OP or osteopenia participants and normal. The relationship between OP or osteopenia and taking antiplatelet drugs was analyzed by weighted multivariate logistic regressionResultsAfter excluding individuals who were not eligible and had invalid data, we finally identified 894 participants for inclusion in the study. We found a negative association between OP or osteopenia and taking antiplatelet agents (OR = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33–0.84; p < 0.05). These results did not change on multiple imputations (OR = 0.32, 95% CI, 0.19–0.56; p

Rice is sensitive to high-temperature stress during almost all stages of growth and development. High-temperature stress has become one of the main factors restricting high yield and superior quality of rice. In this study, recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from an indica rice cross between two restorer lines were planted in two years. One sowing date was applied in 2019, and four sowing dates were set in 2020 according to the period of local high temperatures in recent years. Two traits closely related to high-temperature tolerance, heading date (HD), and spikelet fertility (SF) were measured. In each trial, the HD showed a bimodal distribution, whereas SF had a continuous and left-skewed distribution. QTL analysis was performed using a high-density bin map. For HD, a total of six QTL were detected. All of them correspond in position to the cloned genes, among which qHD8 in the DTH8/Ghd8 region showed the largest genetic effect. For SF, a total of eight QTL were detected. Five of them, qSF1, qSF2, qSF3.1, qSF3.2, and qSF8, showed high-temperature tolerance and had an important potential in rice breeding.

With the increasing utilization of clean energy, the development and utilization of hydrogen energy has become a research topic of great significance. Cobalt selenide (CS) is an electrocatalyst with great potential for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this paper, a nitrogen-doped biomass carbon (1NC@3)-based composite cobalt selenide (CS) heterojunction was prepared via a solvothermal method using kelp as the raw material. Structural, morphological, and electrochemical analyses were conducted to evaluate its performance. The electrochemical test results demonstrate that the overpotential of the CS/1NC@3 catalyst in the OER process was 292 mV, with a Tafel slope of 98.71 mV·dec−1 at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2. The electrochemical performance of the CS/1NC@3 catalyst was further confirmed by theoretical calculations, which revealed that the presence of the biomass carbon substrate enhanced the charge transport speed of the OER process and promoted the OER process. This study provides a promising strategy for the development of efficient electrocatalysts for OER applications.

Abstract In wireless rechargeable sensor network, the deployment of charger node directly affects the overall charging utility of sensor network. Aiming at this problem, this paper abstracts the charger deployment problem as a multi-objective optimization problem that maximizes the received power of sensor nodes and minimizes the number of charger nodes. First, a network model that maximizes the sensor node received power and minimizes the number of charger nodes is constructed. Second, an improved cuckoo search (ICS) algorithm is proposed. This algorithm is based on the traditional cuckoo search algorithm (CS) to redefine its step factor, and then use the mutation factor to change the nesting position of the host bird to update the bird’s nest position, and then use ICS to find the ones that maximize the received power of the sensor node and minimize the number of charger nodes optimal solution. Compared with the traditional cuckoo search algorithm and multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm, the simulation results show that the algorithm can effectively increase the receiving power of sensor nodes, reduce the number of charger nodes and find the optimal solution to meet the conditions, so as to maximize the network charging utility.

Abstract Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) is one of the five access behavior technologies defined in the IEEE 802.15.4e standard. Research shows that the wireless sensor network with single dynamic and static channel allocation in TSCH mode has higher performance. The clogging rate results in unnecessary energy waste. Therefore, this paper proposes an adaptive hybrid channel allocation strategy (AHCA) to measure the link quality change of wireless sensor networks in TSCH mode. The strategy estimates the part of the channel quality and determines whether the node wants to transmit on this channel and the optimal channel for node information transmission. According to the change of the amount of information transmitted, the hybrid channel allocation scheme of the dynamic and static channel ratio is adaptively adjusted to reduce the energy consumption of the information transmission process. This article performs experimental simulation on Contiki-NG. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme has shorter transmission time and lower congestion rate than the single dynamic static channel allocation wireless sensor network. The more reasonable and effective measurement, analysis and use of channel resources can fundamentally increase the amount of information transfer in wireless sensor networks per unit time, and thus extend the lifetime of wireless sensor networks.

Grain weight is one of the most important determinants of grain yield in rice. In this study, QTL analysis for grain weight, grain length, and grain width was performed using populations derived from crosses between major parental lines of three-line indica hybrid rice. A total of 27 QTL for grain weight were detected using three recombinant inbred line populations derived from the crosses Teqing/IRBB lines, Zhenshan 97/Milyang 46, and Xieqingzao/Milyang 46. Of these, 10 were found in only a single population and the other 17 in two or all three populations. Nine of the 17 common QTL were located in regions where no QTL associated with grain weight have been cloned and one was selected for fine-mapping. Eight populations segregating in an isogenic background were derived from one F7 residual heterozygote of Teqing/IRBB52. The target QTL, qTGW10-20.8 controlling grain weight, grain length, and grain width, was localized to a 70.7-kb region flanked by InDel markers Te20811 and Te20882 on the long arm of chromosome 10. The QTL region contains seven annotated genes, of which six encode proteins with known functional domains and one encodes a hypothetical protein. One of the genes, Os10g0536100 encoding the MIKC-type MADS-box protein OsMADS56, is the most likely candidate for qTGW10-20.8. These results provide a basis for cloning qTGW10-20.8, which has an important contribution to grain weight variation in rice. Keywords: Fine mapping, Grain length, Grain weight, Quantitative trait loci, Rice

Catalytic oxidation is regarded as an effective, economical, and practical approach to remove volatile organic compounds such as important air pollutants. CeO2 catalysts with different morphologies exhibit different oxygen vacancies content, which plays a vital role in oxidation reaction. Herein, three distinct morphologies of CeO2 i.e., shuttle (CeO2 (S)), nanorod (CeO2 (R)), and nanoparticle (CeO2 (P)), were successfully fabricated by the SEM and TEM results, and investigated for toluene catalytic oxidation. The various characterizations showed that the CeO2 (S) catalyst exhibited a larger surface area along with higher surface oxygen vacancies in contrast to CeO2 (R) and CeO2 (P), which is responsible for its excellent toluene catalytic oxidation. The 90% toluene conversion temperature at 225 °C over CeO2 (S) was less than that over CeO2 (R) (283 °C) and CeO2 (P) (360 °C). In addition, CeO2 (S) showed a greater reaction rate (14.37 × 10−2 μmol∙g−1∙s−1), TOFov (4.8 × 10−4∙s−1) at 190 °C and lower activation energy value (67.4 kJ/mol). Furthermore, the CeO2 (S) also displayed good recyclability, long-term activity stability, and good tolerance to water. As a result, CeO2 (S) is considered a good candidate to remove toluene.

Abstract Background Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is an emerging circovirus species, that has been reported in major pig-raising countries including the United States, China, South Korea, Brazil, Spain, and Poland. Results A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for rapid detection of porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3). The method had a detection limit of 1 × 101 copies/μL with no cross-reactions with classical swine fever virus (CSFV) C strain, foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) LG vaccine strain, porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV), porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV), or pseudorabies virus (PRV). The PCV3 positive detection rate of 203 clinical samples for the real-time LAMP assay was 89.66% (182/203). Conclusions The real-time LAMP assay is highly sensitive, and specific for use in epidemiological investigations of PCV3.

Abstract Background Murine norovirus (MNV) is recognized as the most prevalent viral pathogen in captive mouse colonies. The rapid detection assay for MNV would be a useful tool for monitoring and preventing MNV infection. A recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assay was established in this study to provide a solution for rapid and sensitive detection of MNV. Results The detection limit of the RT-RPA assay for the detection of MNV was 1 × 102 copies of RNA molecules per reaction. The assay was specific since there was no cross-reaction with other common murine viruses. In addition, the broad reactivity of the RT-RPA assay was validated using the synthesized template carrying seven point mutations among several MNV strains. The MNV RT-RPA assay could detect as few as 1 × 102 copies of the mutant per reaction, suggesting the assay could be broadly reactive against a large diversity of MNV strains. Forty eight clinical samples including 16 gastric tissue specimens, 16 cecal tissue specimens and 16 fecal specimens were tested for the validation of the new developed RT-RPA assay. The detection results of RT-RPA and RT-qPCR for clinical samples were very similar, except that a gastric tissue sample which was positive by RT-qPCR, with a RNA titer of 27 copies, was negative by RT-RPA. Conclusions A broadly reactive RT-RPA assay was successfully established for MNV detection.

Abstract Background Chicken anemia virus (CAV), avian reovirus (ARV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), Marek’s disease virus (MDV) and reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) all cause immunosuppressive disease in birds through vertical or horizontal transmission. Mixed infections with these immunosuppressive pathogens lead to atypical clinical signs and obstruct accurate diagnoses and epidemiological investigations. Therefore, it is essential to develop a high-throughput assay for the simultaneous detection of these immunosuppressive viruses with high specificity and sensitivity. The aim of this study was to establish a novel method using a RT-PCR assay combined with fluorescence labeled polystyrene bead microarray (multiplex xTAG assay) to detect single or mixed viral infections. Results The results showed that the established xTAG assay had no nonspecific reactions with avian influenza virus (AIV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), newcastle disease virus (NDV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS). The limit of detection was 1.0 × 103 copies/μL for IBDV and 1.0 × 102copies/μL for the other four viruses. Ninety field samples were tested and the results were confirmed using conventional RT-PCR methods. The detection results of these two methods were 100% consistent. The established multiplex xTAG assay allows a high throughput and simultaneous detection of five chicken immunosuppressive viruses. Conclusion The multiplex xTAG assay has been showed to be an additional tool for molecular epidemiology studies of five chicken immunosuppressive viruses in the poultry industry.

Abstract Introduction Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested that brain functional impairment and hyperarousal occur during the daytime among patients with chronic insomnia disorder (CID); however, alterations to the brain's intrinsic functional architecture and their association with sleep quality have not yet been documented. Methods In this study, our aim was to investigate the insomnia‐related alterations to the intrinsic connectome in patients with CID (n = 27) at resting state, with a data‐driven approach based on graph theory assessment and functional connectivity density (FCD), which can be interpreted as short‐range (intraregional) or long‐range (interregional) mapping. Results Compared with healthy controls with good sleep, CID patients showed significantly decreased long‐range FCD in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and the putamen. These patients also showed decreased short‐range FCD in their multimodal‐processing regions, executive control network, and supplementary motor‐related areas. Furthermore, several regions showed increased short‐range FCD in patients with CID, implying hyper‐homogeneity of local activity. Conclusions Together, these findings suggest that insufficient sleep during chronic insomnia widely affects cortical functional activities, including disrupted FCD and increased short‐range FCD, which is associated with poor sleep quality.

Abstract Background A serological method to simultaneously detect antibodies against infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is imperative for the differential diagnosis and evaluation of antibodies titers after vaccination. Method The microspheres coated with purified recombinant glycoprotein D (gD) of ILTV or nucleocapsid (N) protein of IBV were incubated with serum samples. The simultaneous quantification of ILTV and IBV antibodies were achieved through the interrogation of microspheres by Luminex 200 detection system. . Results This xMAP detection demonstrated no nonspecific reactions with avian influenza virus (AIV), avian leukosis virus (ALV), newcastle disease virus (NDV), and Marek’s disease virus (MDV). The results also demonstrated that the xMAP assay was four times more sensitive than the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for ILTV detection and two times more sensitive for IBV detection. A total of 90 chicken serum samples from a chicken farm were tested by xMAP and ELISA assays. The results showed that the coincidence rates were 84.44 and 100% for ILTV and IBV detection, respectively. Conclusion This study exhibited an opportunity for the differential diagnosis through simultaneous detection of multiplex antibodies in serum and can be used for the multiplex antibodies evaluation after vaccination.

Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) having small effects on heading date (HD) is important for fine-tuning flowering time in rice (Oryza sativa L.). In this study, minor-effect QTL for HD were identified using five segregating rice populations, including a recombinant inbred line population derived from crosses between indica cultivar Teqing and near isogenic lines of IR24, and four populations derived from residual heterozygotes identified in the original population. HD data from these populations were obtained in multiple years or at two locations with different photoperiods. A total of 11 QTL were detected; they had small additive effects ranging from 0.21 to 1.63 days. The QTL were all detected in different populations, locations and/or years, having consistent allelic effects across experiments and a stable magnitude across years at the same location. These QTL, and other minor-effect QTL that have been cloned or fine-mapped, generally do not have strong photoperiod sensitivity, and thus can be used in a wide range of eco-geographical conditions. Seven of the 11 QTL were different from those that have been cloned or fine-mapped, providing new candidates for gene cloning and marker-assisted breeding. Allelic effects of QTL corresponding to those that had been cloned or fine-mapped, were much smaller in this study than previously reported. The results supported the assumption that qualitative and quantitative genes may be different alleles at the same loci, suggesting that it may be promising to identify minor-effect QTL from major heading date genes/QTL that have been cloned. Keywords: Growth rate, Oryza sativa, Quantitative trait locus, Residual heterozygosity

Abstract Background Domestic rabbits especially New Zealand white rabbits play an important role in biological research. The disease surveillance and quality control are essential to guarantee the results of animal experiments performed on rabbits. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus, rabbit rotavirus and Sendai virus are the important pathogens that needed to be eliminated. Rapid and sensitive method focus on these three viruses should be established for routine monitoring. The Luminex x-TAG assay based on multiplex PCR and fluorescent microsphere is a fast developing technology applied in high throughput detection. Specific primers modified with oligonucleotide sequence/biotin were used to amplify target fragments. The conjugation between oligonucleotide sequence of the PCR products and the MagPlex-TAG microspheres was specific without any cross-reaction, and the hybridization products could be analyzed using the Luminex 200 analyzer instrument. Recombinant plasmids were constructed to estimate the detection limit of the viruses. Furthermore, 40 clinical samples were used to evaluate the efficiency of this multiplex PCR based Luminex x-TAG assay. Results According to the results, this new method showed high specificity and good stability. Assessed by the recombinant plasmids, the detection limit of three viruses was 100copies/μl. Among 40 clinical specimens, 18 specimens were found positive, which was completely concordant with the conventional PCR method. Conclusions The new developed Luminex x-TAG assay is an accurate, high throughput method for rapid detection of three important viruses of rabbits.

Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world. However, stable rice production is constrained by various diseases, in particular rice blast, sheath blight, bacterial blight, and virus diseases. Breeding and cultivation of resistant rice varieties is the most effective method to control the infection of pathogens. Exploitation and utilization of the genetic determinants of broad-spectrum resistance represent a desired way to improve the resistance of susceptible rice varieties. Recently, researchers have focused on the identification of rice broad-spectrum disease resistance genes, which include R genes, defense-regulator genes, and quantitative trait loci (QTL) against two or more pathogen species or many isolates of the same pathogen species. The cloning of broad-spectrum disease resistance genes and understanding their underlying mechanisms not only provide new genetic resources for breeding broad-spectrum rice varieties, but also promote the development of new disease resistance breeding strategies, such as editing susceptibility and executor R genes. In this review, the most recent advances in the identification of broad-spectrum disease resistance genes in rice and their application in crop improvement through biotechnology approaches during the past 10 years are summarized.

Grains number is one of the most important agronomic traits in the determination of rice productivity. To explore the underlying genetic basis of grain number in rice, quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed using three recombinant inbred line populations derived from indica rice crosses of Teqing/IRBB lines, Zhenshan 97/Milyang 46, and Xieqingzao/Milyang 46, respectively. A total of 58 QTLs distributed on all 12 rice chromosomes were identified, including 22 for number of grains per panicle (NGP), 17 for number of spikelets per panicle, and 19 for spikelet fertility. The individual QTL counted for 1.5 to 22.1% of phenotypic variation. Among them, 15 QTLs shared by two or three populations and eight QTLs showed large effects with R2 larger than 10%. Furthermore, three QTLs with minor effects for NGP, qNGP5.5, qNGP9.1, and qNGP12.1, were detected and validated by eliminating the segregation of major-effect QTL using four residual heterozygote-derived populations. These results not only enrich our understanding of the mechanism of grain number, but also provide a foundation for cloning and selecting candidate for marker-assisted selection breeding in rice.

More and more dogs have been used as a disease model for medical research and drug safety evaluation. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the dogs and their living houses are special pathogen free. In this study, the development and evaluation of a Luminex xTAG assay for simultaneous detection of five canine viruses was carried out, including canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, canine parainfluenza virus, canine adenovirus, and rabies virus. Assay specificity was accomplished by targeting conserved genomic regions for each virus. Hybridization between multiplexed PCR products and the labeled fluorescence microspheres was detected in a high throughput format using a Luminex fluorescence reader. The Luminex xTAG assay showed high sensitivity with limits of detection for the five viruses was 100 copies/μL. Specificity of the xTAG assay showed no amplification of canine coronavirus, pseudorabies virus and canine influenza virus indicating that the xTAG assay was specific. Seventy-five clinical samples were tested to evaluate the xTAG assay. The results showed 100% coincidence with the conventional PCR method. This is the first report of a specific and sensitive multiplex Luminex xTAG assay for simultaneous detection of five major canine viral pathogens. This assay will be a useful tool for quality control and environmental monitoring for dogs used as laboratory animals, may even be applied in laboratory epidemiological investigations.

The bimetal catalyst Pt-Cu/SiO2 was prepared by the impregnation method. Its catalytic performance was investigated by the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde. Pt-Cu/SiO2 exhibited much higher selectivity (64.1%) to cinnamyl alcohol than Pt/SiO2 (3.7%), while they showed similar conversion of cinnamaldehyde. This enhancement was attributed to the increase in the amount of the Pt0 species on the Pt-Cu/SiO2 surface, which is derived from the interaction between Pt and Cu revealed by XRD and XPS.

Selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL) to cinnamyl alcohol (COL) is of both fundamental and industrial interest. It is of great significance to evaluate the possible differences between different supports arising from metal dispersion and electronic effects, in terms of activity and selectivity. Herein, Pt catalysts on different carbon supports including carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and reduced graphene oxides (RGO) were developed by a simple wet impregnation method. The resultant catalysts were well characterized by XRD, Raman, N2 physisorption, TEM, and XPS analysis. Applied in the hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde, 3.5 wt% Pt/CNT shows much higher selectivity towards cinnamyl alcohol (62%) than 3.5 wt% Pt/RGO@SiO2 (48%). The enhanced activity can be ascribed to the high graphitization degree of CNTs and high density of dispersed Pt electron cloud.

A series of Pd-Ni bimetallic catalysts supported on SBA-15 (0.2%Pd-x%Ni/SBA-15, x = 0.4, 0.7, and 1.2) were prepared through the impregnation method combined with the NaBH4 reduction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. All the synthesized catalysts were evaluated for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL). The addition of Ni obviously enhanced the CAL conversion and selectivity of C=C hydrogenation to hydrocinnamaldehyde (HALD) over the 0.2%Pd-x%Ni/SBA-15 catalysts. Meanwhile, 0.2%Pd-1.2%Ni/SBA-15 showed the best performance with 96.3% conversion and 87.8% selectivity toward HALD. This improvement was attributed to the synergistic effect between the Pd and Ni nanoparticles, enhancing the dispersion of Pd metal particles and increasing the content of surface Pd0 species. In addition, the influences of a few reaction factors including H2 pressure, reaction temperature, and reaction time were studied over 0.2%Pd-1.2%Ni/SBA-15.

Ru is considered as an effective active species for N2O decomposition; however, there is disagreement about which ruthenium species is key for catalytic activity. In order to understand the role of Ru species in N2O decomposition, Ru/Al2O3 (Ru/Al2O3-H2, Ru/Al2O3-NaBH4, Ru/Al2O3-air) catalysts with different ratios of metallic Ru were prepared and evaluated for their catalytic activities. Various characterizations, especially in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), were applied to investigate the relationship between activity and different Ru species. The results indicate that the N2O conversion displayed a linear relationship with the amount of metallic Ru. The DRIFTS results of adsorption for N2O show that metallic Ru was the active site. The catalytic processes are put forward based on metallic Ru species. The deactivation with increasing times used is due to the decrease in the amount of metallic Ru and agglomerates of Ru particles on the surface of catalysts.

The vanadium oxide/reduced graphene oxide (VOx/RGO) composites have been prepared by a simple solvothermal method with the assistance of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The microstructure and morphology of the resultant VOx/RGO composites have been well characterized. The VOx nanoparticles are highly dispersed on the RGO sheets with a particle size of about 25 nm. When used as hydroxylation catalysts, the VOx/RGO composites are more efficient than individual RGO and vanadium oxide catalysts. The enhanced catalytic performance may be related to not only the well dispersed VOx active species, but also the hydrophobic surface and huge π-electron system of RGO for the adsorption and activation of benzene. In addition, the effects of calcination conditions on the microstructure and catalytic properties of VOx/RGO composites have also been investigated. The uniform VOx nanoparticles on the separated RGO sheets show highly efficient catalytic performance, while the formation of aggregated HxV2O5 and bulk V2O5 species along with the destruction of RGO sheets are poor for the hydroxylation of benzene. Up to 17.4% yield of phenol is achieved under the optimized catalytic reaction conditions.

AimIt was the aim of this study to assess static postural control characteristics in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) of different ages using a force platform. A relationship was also established between static postural control parameters and age in this study.MethodsA total of 706 participants with T2D were included in this study. The participants were stratified into three age groups: Group 1 (70 years old). Static postural control assessment during two-leg stance was performed on a force platform by all participants. The center of pressure (CoP)-related parameters were measured under two stance conditions (eyes open and closed). Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied to explore the difference among the different age groups. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the relation between age and static postural control parameters.ResultsGroup 1 (70 years old). Group 1 (70 years old). There was a significantly positive correlation between age and the most static postural parameters such as CoP TTL, SA, MSL-X, MSL-Y, and V-Y. There was a significantly negative correlation between age and TTL/SA.ConclusionThis study suggested that older T2D participants had worse static postural control ability than younger ones. Most static postural parameters presented a significant correlation with age; the higher the age, the worse the static postural control.

The Huayangchuan uranium deposit, located in the west of the Xiaoqinling belt on the southern margin of the North China Craton, is a large U–Nb–Pb deposit accompanied with rare–earth elements. The Huayangchuan uranium deposit, discovered in the 1950s, has long been known as a carbonatite–type uranium deposit. Recently, new geological work has found uranium mineralization in many granitic pegmatite veins in the Huayangchuan deposit and adjacent areas. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the petrography, whole–rock geochemistry, zircon U–Pb ages, and in situ Lu–Hf isotopic characteristics of newly discovered U–rich granitic pegmatite veins in the west of Huayangchuan deposit. The petrological results showed that the lithology of the samples is granite pegmatite. The U–Pb ages of zircon were 1826.3 ± 7.9 and 1829 ± 11 Ma. Microscopically, the paragenetic characteristics of zircon, betafite, and uraninite exist in the intergranular fissures of K–feldspar and quartz, reflecting metallogenic phenomena in the rock formation process. Almost all whole–rock samples were rich in SiO2 (64.37−70.69 wt.%), total alkalis (K2O + Na2O = 8.50–10.30 wt.%), and Al2O3 (12.20–14.41 wt.%) but poor in TiO2 (0.23–0.73 wt.%), MgO (0.38–0.90 wt.%), CaO (1.23–2.22 wt.%), P2O5 (0.14–0.83 wt.%), and MnO (0.04–0.57 wt.%). Additionally, they showed enrichment of LILEs (such as Rb, Ba, Th, U, and K), depletion of HFSEs (such as Ta, P, Ti, and Hf), and no alkaline dark minerals, and the characteristics are intraplate A1–type granite. The A1–type granite displayed low zircon εHf(t) values (−19.42–−15.02) with zircon two–stage Hf model aged 3.10–2.76 Ga, indicating that the U–rich granitic pegmatite was derived predominantly from partial melting of the ancient continental crust (such as the early Taihua group formed in Archean–Neoarchean). Combined with the above results and regional geological data, the U–rich granitic pegmatite discovered in the Huayangchuan deposit was formed in a post–collisional regime after the Luliang movement in the late Paleoproterozoic. This study suggests that future uranium prospecting work in this area should focus on late Paleoproterozoic U–rich granitic pegmatites.