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Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are known to be perceived by neighboring plants, resulting in induction or priming of chemical defenses. There is little information on the defense responses that are triggered by these plant-plant interactions, and the phenomenon has rarely been studied in rice. Using chemical and molecular analyses in combination with insect behavioral and performance experiments, we studied how volatiles emitted by rice plants infested by the striped stemborer (SSB) Chilo suppressalis affect defenses against this pest in conspecific plants. Compared with rice plants exposed to the volatiles from uninfested plants, plants exposed to SSB-induced volatiles showed enhanced direct and indirect resistance to SSB. When subjected to caterpillar damage, the HIPV-exposed plants showed increased expression of jasmonic acid (JA) signaling genes, resulting in JA accumulation and higher levels of defensive proteinase inhibitors. Moreover, plants exposed to SSB-induced volatiles emitted larger amounts of inducible volatiles and were more attractive to the parasitoid Cotesia chilonis. By unraveling the factors involved in HIPV-mediated defense priming in rice, we reveal a key defensive role for proteinase inhibitors. These findings pave the way for novel rice management strategies to enhance the plant's resistance to one of its most devastating pests.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Primers sequencesused for plasmid construction. Table S2. shRNAsequences used in this study. Table S3. Primersused for RT- PCR in this study. Table S4. List of LINC00853 target transcription factors byPROMO database. Fig S1. RT-PCRvalidation of AL353693.1, LINC-ISX-3, LINC00475, LINC00853, and LINC01637 in 7adjacent normal tissues, premalignant tissues and GC tissues. N: adjacentnormal tissues; P: Premalignant tissues; T: GC tissues. The tissue sampleswere collected from patients in Hospital of Chengdu University of TCM (Chengdu,China). *p

BackgroundThe NALCN encodes a sodium ion leak channel that regulates nerve-resting conductance and excitability. NALCN variants are associated with two neurodevelopmental disorders, one is CLIFAHDD (autosomal dominant congenital contractures of the limbs and face, hypotonia, and developmental delay, OMIM #616266) and another is IHPRF (infantile hypotonia with psychomotor retardation, and characteristic facies 1, OMIM #615419).Case PresentationIn the current study, a Chinese infant that manifested abnormal facial features, adducted thumbs, and neurodevelopmental retardation was diagnosed with CLIFAHDD syndrome. A trio-based whole-exome sequencing revealed that the infant harbored a de novo variant of the NALCN gene (c.4300A>G, p.I1434V).ConclusionsOur findings further enriched the variant spectrum of the NALCN gene and may expand the clinical range of NALCN-related disorders.

MS-222 (tricaine methanesulfonate) and eugenol are the two frequently used fish anesthetics. This study intends to analyze the regulation of these anesthetics in Chinese sea bass, Lateolabrax maculatus, through transcriptomic analysis. L. maculatus were exposed to MS-222 or eugenol, and those without any treatments were regarded as controls. Gills and livers were extracted for transcriptomic analysis after recovery in fresh water for 6 h. Identified genes were assigned to NR, COG, SWISS, GO, and KEGG database for predicting gene functions. A FDR ≤ 0.05 and |log2(FC)| ≥ 1 were applied to determined differentially expressed gene (DEG). A total of 45,626 unigenes were annotated using at least one database. The eugenol-treated liver group presented less DEGs compared with that treated by MS-222. Both the MS-222- and eugenol-treated liver groups presented notable DEGs that participated in human disease and metabolism pathways. The eugenol group showed more pathways related to detoxification activity and xenobiotics biodegradation, and those from the MS-222 group were related to organismal system such as reproduction. By comparing gill and liver samples using the same drug, the enriched pathways were generally consistent among the three comparisons. In conclusion, eugenol and MS-222 could change the pathways related to metabolism and immunity in L. maculatus. MS-222 may trigger more damages on the fish liver and reproduction.

Hematite is a canted antiferromagnet with reddish color that occurs widely on Earth and Mars. Identification and quantification of hematite is conveniently achieved through its magnetic and color properties. Hematite characteristics and content are indispensable ingredients in studies of the iron cycle, paleoenvironmental evolution, paleogeographic reconstructions, and comparative planetology (e.g., Mars). However, the existing magnetic and color reflectance property framework for hematite is based largely on stoichiometric hematite and tends to neglect the effects of cation substitution, which occurs widely in natural hematite and influences the physical properties of hematite. Thus, magnetic parameters for stoichiometric hematite are insufficient for complete analysis of many natural hematite occurrences and can lead to ambiguous geological interpretations. Remagnetization, which occurs pervasively in red beds, is another ticklish problem involving hematite. Understanding red bed remagnetization requires investigation of hematite's formation and remanence recording mechanisms. We elaborate on the influence of cation substitution on the magnetic and color spectral properties of hematite, and on identifying hematite and quantifying its content in soils and sediments. Studies of remagnetization mechanisms are discussed, and we summarize methods to discriminate between primary and secondary remanences carried by hematite in natural samples to aid primary remanence extraction in partially remagnetized red beds. Although there remain unknown properties and unresolved issues that require future work, recognition of the properties of cation-substituted hematite and remagnetization mechanisms for hematite will aid identification and interpretation of the magnetic signals that it carries, which is environmentally important and responsible for magnetic signals on Earth and Mars.

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Since the clinical approval of imatinib, the discovery of protein kinase downregulators entered a prosperous age. However, challenges still exist in the discovery of kinase downregulator drugs, such as the high failure rate during development, side effects, and drug-resistance problems. With the progress made through multidisciplinary efforts, an increasing number of new approaches have been applied to solve the above problems during the discovery process of kinase downregulators. In terms of in vitro and in vivo drug evaluation, progress was also made in cellular and animal model platforms for better and more clinically relevant drug assessment. Here, we review the advances in drug design strategies, drug property evaluation technologies, and efficacy evaluation models and technologies. Finally, we discuss the challenges and perspectives in the development of kinase downregulator drugs.

Description, Precipitation on the NE Tibetan Plateau was driven by combined high- and low-latitude processes during the warm Late Oligocene., Constraining monsoon variability and dynamics in the warm unipolar icehouse world of the Late Oligocene can provide important clues to future climate responses to global warming. Here, we present a ~4-thousand year (ka) resolution rubidium-to-strontium ratio and magnetic susceptibility records between 28.1 and 24.1 million years ago from a distal alluvial sedimentary sequence in the Lanzhou Basin (China) on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau margin. These Asian monsoon precipitation records exhibit prominent short (~110-ka) and long (405-ka) eccentricity cycles throughout the Late Oligocene, with a weak expression of obliquity (41-ka) and precession (19-ka and 23-ka) cycles. We conclude that a combination of eccentricity-modulated low-latitude summer insolation and glacial-interglacial Antarctic Ice Sheet fluctuations drove the eccentricity-paced precipitation variability on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau in the Late Oligocene high CO2 world by governing regional temperatures, water vapor loading in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Asian monsoon intensity and displacement.

Network address translation (NAT) is a basic functionality in cloud gateways. With the increasing traffic volume and number of flows introduced by the cloud tenants, the NAT gateway needs to be implemented on a cluster of servers. We propose to scale up the gateway servers, which could reduce the number of servers so as to reduce the capital expense and operation expense. We design HyperNAT, which leverages smartNICs to improve the server's processing capacity. In HyperNAT, the NAT functionality is distributed on multiple NICs, and the flow space is divided and assigned accordingly. HyperNAT overcomes the challenge that the packets in two directions of one connection need to be processed by the same NAT rule (named two-direction consistency, TDC) by cloning the rule to both data paths of the two directions. Our implementation and evaluation of HyperNAT show that HyperNAT could scale up cloud gateway effectively with low overhead., 6 pages, it has been accepted at Globecom 2021

Across the Miocene-Pliocene boundary (MPB; 5.3 million years ago, Ma), late Miocene cooling gave way to the early-to-middle Pliocene Warm Period. This transition, across which atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased to levels similar to present, holds potential for deciphering regional climate responses in Asia-currently home to more than half of the world's population- to global climate change. Here we find that CO2-induced MPB warming both increased summer monsoon moisture transport over East Asia, and enhanced aridification over large parts of Central Asia by increasing evaporation, based on integration of our ~1-2-thousand-year (kyr) resolution summer monsoon records from the Chinese Loess Plateau aeolian red clay with existing terrestrial records, land-sea correlations, and climate model simulations. Our results offer palaeoclimate-based support for 'wet-gets-wetter and dry-gets-drier' projections of future regional hydroclimate responses to sustained anthropogenic forcing. Moreover, our high-resolution monsoon records reveal a dynamic response to eccentricity modulation of solar insolation, with predominant 405-kyr and ~100-kyr periodicities between 8.1 and 3.4 Ma.

In some social networks, the opinion forming is based on its own and neighbors' (initial) opinions, whereas the evolution of the individual opinions is also influenced by the individual's past opinions in the real world. Unlike existing social network models, in this paper, a novel model of opinion dynamics is proposed, which describes the evolution of the individuals' opinions not only depends on its own and neighbors' current opinions, but also depends on past opinions. Memory and memoryless communication rules are simultaneously established for the proposed opinion dynamics model. Sufficient and/or necessary conditions for the equal polarization, consensus and neutralizability of the opinions are respectively presented in terms of the network topological structure and the spectral analysis. We apply our model to simulate Kahneman's seminal experiments on choices in risky and riskless contexts, which fits in with the experiment results. Simulation analysis shows that the memory capacity of the individuals is inversely proportional to the speeds of the ultimate opinions formational.

The objective of our study was to ascertain the functional results in terms of air bone gap (ABG) closure over 4 frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, 3 kHz) in patients with chronic otitis media (COM) that underwent tympanoplasty in the presence of a mobile stapes superstructure, and in particular excluding those cases in which the malleus was used in the reconstruction.A retrospective review of our database between January 1, 2006 and June 1, 2018 identified all cases that underwent one of 3 reconstructive options: the classic Type III tympanoplasty in an open-cavity setting; the "stapes augmentation" (SA) type reconstruction where the stapes superstructure is augmented to the drum by an interposing partial ossiculoplasty of either autologous bone, cartilage, or prosthetic material; and the use of a total articular replacement prosthesis (TORP) from the stapes footplate to the drum in the presence of an intact superstructure.A total of 116 procedures in 112 patients were identified with a mean ABG reduction from 27 dB to 21 dB (P.05). There was no significant difference in the mean post-operative ABG result between Type III (19.21 dB), TORP+ (24.90 dB), or SA (20.94 dB) reconstructions (P = .368). Overall, an ABG ≤ 20 dB or "surgical success" was achieved in 56% (n = 65) of cases. Only 20% (n = 23) of cases had "failure" or a post-operative ABG30 dB.Tympanoplasty with an intact stapes superstructure in COM is expected to provide acceptable levels of surgical success. We did not identify any particular risk factors associated with improved outcome.

Harmful effects of water pollutants are myriad. Sulfide from water bodies affects the aquatic animals. Intestine barrier function serves as the front-line of animals defense. Our previous study confirmed the toxic effect of sulfide on intestine immune response of Litopenaeus vannamei, but the underlying mechanisms remained elusive. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the transcriptomic and microbiota responses of the L. vannamei intestine subjected to acute sulfide exposure. Sulfide decreased bacterial richness and altered the intestine microbiota composition. Specifically, sulfide increased the abundances of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, but decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria. At the genus level, sulfide increased typical cellulolytic characteristics bacteria, such as Formosa, Sphingomonas, and Demequina. RNA-seq analysis identified differential expression of 1799 genes (701 up-regulated and 1098 down-regulated) were grouped into 267 pathways. The most enriched pathway 'amoebiasis' was related to the intestine mucus homeostasis. A number of immune-related genes associated with antimicrobial, antioxidant, pathogen attachment and recognition, and apoptosis processes in contrasting accessions; they were correlated with the abundance of intestine bacterial at the phylum level. This study provides an insight into the mechanisms associated with molecular and microbiota response and processes involved in adaptation strategies towards sulfide stress.

International audience; In this paper, Tm3+ doped fluorotellurite glasses are synthesized by melt-quenching technique. The thermal and spectral properties of the glasses are characterized. The effect of the 1.8 mu m emission properties for different Tm3+ concentrations are investigated. Delta T (153 celcius) of the glass indicates it has good thermal stability. Spectroscopic parameters of Tm3+ such as radiative transition probability, branching ratio, spectroscopic quality factor, integrated emission cross section and radiative lifetime are calculated on the basis of Judd-Ofelt analysis. The maximum half-height width corresponding to 1.8 mu m broadens as Tm3+ increases and reaches a maximum of 216 nm, as well as the longer lifetime (5.68 ms). For 1.8 mu m (3F4 -> 3H6) emission band, the calculated Tm3+ doped fluorotellurite glass has a high quantum efficiency of 75.93%. Furthermore, the theoretical analysis of the energy transfer mechanism between Tm3+ ions were represented. Therefore, these results demonstrate that prepared Tm3+ doped fluorotellurite glass is an ideal laser material for 1.8 mu m band solid-state laser applications.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anaesthesia effects of eugenol and MS‐222 sedatives applied on juvenile Lateolabrax maculatus during simulated transport. In experiment 1, the juveniles were divided into two groups, with seven concentrations tested on each group (eugenol [4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 mg/L] and MS‐222 [20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 mg/L]). Induction and recovery times were recorded. The time for anaesthesia was shortened, and the time for complete recovery was prolonged as the anaesthetic concentration increased. The optimal transport concentration for each anaesthetic tested was 6 mg/L of eugenol and 30 mg/L for MS‐222. In experiment 2, the 5‐hr simulated transport test showed that the survival rate of L. maculatus juveniles with anaesthesia was 100%, and without anaesthesia, survival was 60%. After 24 hr of recovery following transport, the fish showed 100% survival for the group with added anaesthetic and 40% for the group without added anaesthetic. Compared to the non‐anaesthetized groups, the anaesthetized transport groups showed significant increases in the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (p

Additional file 1: Table S1. Segregation of F2 population from the cross between ys53 and normal green leaf variety. Table S2. Putative genes within the 102.5-kb region. Table S3. The sequenced genes and corresponding PCR amplification primers in the fine mapping region. Table S4. Primers used in qRT-PCR. Table S5. Primers used in vector construction for complementation and subcellular localization. Table S6. Primers used in OsGSAM truncation experiment.

Additional file 2: Fig. S1. Internode length of ys53 and its wild type. Fig. S2. Temperature treatment of the ys53 mutant and its wild type. Fig. S3. Sequence alignment of OsGSAM and its homologues. Fig. S4. Phylogenetic analysis of OsGSAM and its homologs. Fig. S5. Tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway in higher plants.

Sulfur-bearing Fe-rich nanoparticles (SINPs) have been subject to increased levels of interest because of their catalytic properties and other features. However, with increasing interest in greener and sustainable practice, traditional engineered routes to SINP synthesis have become a concern owing to their high energy and resource demand as well as the use of potentially hazardous or environmentally harmful reagents. Here, we aim to bring attention to emerging and burgeoning research across a wide range of disciplines on the formation of both naturally occurring and synthetic SINPs. First, various SINP types are described, and their most important characteristics are outlined. Second, the natural mechanisms of SINP formation are evaluated and their environmental significance explained, predominantly in hydrothermal vents and lithogenic environments, in order to help inspire new approaches to engineered synthesis. Third, an appraisal of various synthetic approaches for SINP assembly is presented, with a focus on green synthesis methods. One exemplar is the use of nature-inspired biosynthesis, which has been increasingly explored for the fabrication of cost-effective and environmentally friendlier SINPs. Finally, potential future research directions leading to more sustainable SINP synthesis are put forward.

Interactions between plants and insect herbivores are important determinants of plant productivity in cultivated and natural agricultural fields. The rice leaf folder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) causes tremendous damage to rice production in Asian countries. However, little information is available about how rice plants defend themselves against this destructive pest at molecular and biochemical levels. Here, we observed the transcriptomic and metabolomic differences in rice leaves after 0, 1, 6, 12, and 24 h of being fed by C. medinalis using RNA sequencing and metabolome profiling. Transcriptional analyses showed that gene expression responds rapidly to leaf folder infestation, with the most significant transcriptional changes occurring within 6 h after the initiation of feeding. Metabolite abundance changed more slowly than gene expression. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses indicated that the rice transcriptional response to infestation involved genes encoding protein kinases, transcription factors, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, photosynthesis, and phytohormone signaling. Moreover, the jasmonic acid-dependent signaling pathway triggered by leaf folder herbivory played a vital role in rice defense against this pest. Taken together, our results provide comprehensive insights into the defense system of rice to this species and may inform the development of insect-resistant rice varieties. Published version

Background: The prevalence of gout is increasing worldwide, and the symptoms of acute arthritis appearing in gout patients seriously affect the quality of life. The pain and functional limitation caused by acute gouty arthritis (AGA) bring great pain to patients. At present, mainstream drugs have problems such as poor efficacy and side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine has extensive clinical experience in the prevention and treatment of gout, and it also shows clear advantages in the treatment of AGA. Clinical studies have confirmed that si-miao-san decoction (SMSD), a traditional Chinese medicine decoction, can improve the clinical symptoms and signs of AGA patients. Therefore, we will conduct a systematic review to clarify the effectiveness and safety of SMSD for AGA. Methods: We will search different database from the built-in to October 2020. The electronic database includes PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM. At the same time, we will also search for clinical registration tests and gray literatures. This study only screened clinical randomized controlled trials (RCT) for SMSD for AGA. The 2 researchers independently conducted literature selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Dichotomous data are represented by relative risk (RR), continuous data are represented by mean difference (MD) or standard mean deviation (SMD), and the final data are fixed effect model (FEM) or random effect model (REM), depending on whether it exists heterogeneity. The main outcomes are clinical efficacy, including pain score, joint function, and degree of swelling. The secondary outcomes include: blood uric acid (BUA), C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Finally, a meta-analysis was conducted through Review Manager software version 5.3. Results: This study will conduct a comprehensive analysis based on the currently released Si-Miao-San data for the treatment of AGA and provide high-quality evidence of clinical efficacy and safety. Conclusion: This systematic review aims to provide new options for SMSD treatment of AGA in terms of its efficacy and safety. Ethics and dissemination: The review is based solely on a secondary study of published literatures and does not require ethics committee approval. Its conclusion will be disseminated in conference papers, magazines, or peer-reviewed journals. INPLASY registration number: INPLASY202040163.

Supplementary Materials for the manuscript entitled "Transcriptomic and metabolomic responses of rice plants to Cnaphalocrocis medinalis caterpillar infestation" submitted to "Insects". Supplementary figures Fig. S1. Design of the rice leafroller feeding experiments. The 2nd leaf of a five-week-old Minghui 63 rice plant was enclosed in a Parafilm bag. At staggered intervals, one rice leafroller C. medinalis caterpillar was added to each bag. Leaf tissue was harvested after 0 to 24 h of leafroller feeding. Harvested samples were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80 °C for further processing. Fig. S2. Phenotypes of rice leaves infested by C. medinalis at different time points. Fig. S3. Comparison of mRNA expression levels detected by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. All qRT-PCR data were normalized against that of the housekeeping gene ubiquitin 5. Values are means ± SE; n = 4 for RNA-seq and n = 3 for qRT-PCR. Specific information on these genes is provided in Table S1. Fig. S4. Heat map of the expression of calcium ion sensor genes induced by C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Asterisks indicate a significant difference in the expression of genes at different time points relative to control (0 h): * padj < 0.05, **padj < 0.01 via the Benjamini and Hochberg adjustment method. Fig. S5. Heat map of the expression of DEGs involved in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-WRKY pathways in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Asterisks indicate a significant difference of the expression of genes in different time points relative to control (0 h): * padj < 0.05, **padj < 0.01 via the Benjamini and Hochberg adjustment method. Supplementary tables Table S1. Genes and primer pairs used for quantitative real-time PCR. Table S2. Summary for the transcriptome dataset. Table S3. DEGs in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Table S4. Differentially expressed transcription factors and transcriptional regulator in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding. Table S5. GO enrichment analysis of the total DEGs of rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Table S6. KEGG enrichment analysis of the upregulated and downregulated DEGs in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Table S7. Clustering analyses of DEGs in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at least one time point. Table S8. KEGG analyses of DEGs belong to different clusters. Table S9. Orthologous Arabidopsis and rice genes used for Hormonometer analysis.

Supplementary Materials for the manuscript entitled "Transcriptomic and metabolomic responses of rice plants to Cnaphalocrocis medinalis caterpillar infestation" submitted to "Insects". Supplementary figures Fig. S1. Design of the rice leafroller feeding experiments. The 2nd leaf of a five-week-old Minghui 63 rice plant was enclosed in a Parafilm bag. At staggered intervals, one rice leafroller C. medinalis caterpillar was added to each bag. Leaf tissue was harvested after 0 to 24 h of leafroller feeding. Harvested samples were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80 °C for further processing. Fig. S2. Phenotypes of rice leaves infested by C. medinalis at different time points. Fig. S3. Comparison of mRNA expression levels detected by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. All qRT-PCR data were normalized against that of the housekeeping gene ubiquitin 5. Values are means ± SE; n = 4 for RNA-seq and n = 3 for qRT-PCR. Specific information on these genes is provided in Table S1. Fig. S4. Heat map of the expression of calcium ion sensor genes induced by C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Asterisks indicate a significant difference in the expression of genes at different time points relative to control (0 h): * padj < 0.05, **padj < 0.01 via the Benjamini and Hochberg adjustment method. Fig. S5. Heat map of the expression of DEGs involved in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-WRKY pathways in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Asterisks indicate a significant difference of the expression of genes in different time points relative to control (0 h): * padj < 0.05, **padj < 0.01 via the Benjamini and Hochberg adjustment method. Supplementary tables Table S1. Genes and primer pairs used for quantitative real-time PCR. Table S2. Summary for the transcriptome dataset. Table S3. DEGs in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Table S4. Differentially expressed transcription factors and transcriptional regulator in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding. Table S5. GO enrichment analysis of the total DEGs of rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Table S6. KEGG enrichment analysis of the upregulated and downregulated DEGs in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at different time points. Table S7. Clustering analyses of DEGs in rice leaves in response to C. medinalis feeding at least one time point. Table S8. KEGG analyses of DEGs belong to different clusters. Table S9. Orthologous Arabidopsis and rice genes used for Hormonometer analysis.

Hypoxia stress may affect the fish intestine and thereby threaten the growth and survival of the fish. Teprenone is a clinically effective agent in protecting gastrointestinal mucosa. This study aims to assess the effect of teprenone in the intestine of Chinese sea bass Lateolabrax maculatus under intermittent hypoxic stress. L. maculatus juveniles were either raised under intermittent hypoxic condition or normal condition (NC). Part of the hypoxic-intervened fish were treated with teprenone at different concentrations (HTs), and the rest were regarded as hypoxic control (HC). Histological analysis was performed on the epithelial tissue of the fish intestine. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the diversity and composition of the microbial community in L. maculatus intestine. Reduced villi length and goblet cell, exfoliated enterocyte, and improper arrangement of villi were observed in HC compared with NC and HTs. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes represented the most abundant phyla in each sample. Significantly higher microbial diversity was detected in HC compared with NC (P

This paper is concerned with data-driven unsupervised domain adaptation, where it is unknown in advance how the joint distribution changes across domains, i.e., what factors or modules of the data distribution remain invariant or change across domains. To develop an automated way of domain adaptation with multiple source domains, we propose to use a graphical model as a compact way to encode the change property of the joint distribution, which can be learned from data, and then view domain adaptation as a problem of Bayesian inference on the graphical models. Such a graphical model distinguishes between constant and varied modules of the distribution and specifies the properties of the changes across domains, which serves as prior knowledge of the changing modules for the purpose of deriving the posterior of the target variable $Y$ in the target domain. This provides an end-to-end framework of domain adaptation, in which additional knowledge about how the joint distribution changes, if available, can be directly incorporated to improve the graphical representation. We discuss how causality-based domain adaptation can be put under this umbrella. Experimental results on both synthetic and real data demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework for domain adaptation. The code is available at https://github.com/mgong2/DA_Infer ., Comment: 19 pages; 8 figures

International audience; Global climate shifted to markedly warmer interglacial conditions across the “mid-Brunhes transition” (MBT, ~400 ka). However, a global MBT synthesis that spans marine and terrestrial evidence remains elusive, which limits our understanding of the role of the MBT in mid-Pleistocene human evolution. We synthesize Asian precipitation reconstructions within a context of global palaeoclimatic records and find that the MBT occurred in two stages. First, stronger warming of northern hemisphere continents, weaker southern hemisphere warming, and related more extensive northward displacement of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) during interglacial marine isotope stage (MIS) 13 intensified and expanded precipitation in Asian monsoon regions and in other widespread northern hemisphere regions, with accompanying carbon reservoir changes featuring globally high marine benthic δ13C values because of vegetation expansion at ~500 ka. Subdued southern hemisphere warming and northward ITCZ displacement decreased southern hemisphere precipitation simultaneously during MIS 13. Second, a shift to globally warmer interglacials at ~400 ka, with elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, smaller ice volume, and higher sea level resulted in sustained high interglacial precipitation in East Asia from MIS 11 onward and sustained high marine benthic δ13C values during MIS 11. We also synthesize palaeoanthropological data and find that the climate and ecosystem changes across the MBT coincided with the timing of human lineage diversification, including the emergence of Neanderthals and Denisovans in Eurasia and Homo sapiens in Africa, and their potential coexistence with H. heidelbergensis, H. erectus, H. floresiensis, H. naledi, and other Homo archaics. The timing of the MBT also coincided with novel hominin behavioural developments, including fire control and the transition from handaxe industries to more versatile Levallois techniques. Combined with environmental theories of human evolution, this chronological coincidence suggests a potential link between mid-Pleistocene environmental and human evolution.

The objective of this study is to establish a reliable intraoperative auditory threshold monitoring system for ossiculoplasty surgery.The chirp signal of self-designed sound field earphone (SFE) was calibrated physically and psychophysically. The interaural attenuation of the SFE was tested in patients with unilateral complete deafness and contralateral normal hearing (10 patients). Self-designed SFEs were used to measure the chirp-evoked auditory steady-state responses (Chirp-ASSR) threshold of patients (14 cases and 15 ears) with conductive hearing loss after anesthesia but before surgery.The response threshold of Chirp-ASSR under anesthesia displayed a strong correlation with the hearing threshold for pure tones: the Pearson coefficients at various frequencies (1, 2, and 4 kHz) were 0.56 (p = .03), 0.82 (p .001), and 0.90 (p .001), respectively, and the intragroup correlation coefficients were 0.70 (p = 0.02), 0.90 (p 0.001), and 0.95 (p 0.001), respectively. The average test time was 7.0 ± 0.7 min.By combining Chirp-ASSR with self-designed SFE, we obtained objective multi-frequency intraoperative auditory thresholds that correlate well with the pure tone audiometry threshold. This reliable system can be applied to future intraoperative auditory threshold monitoring for ossiculoplasty surgery.

The shrimp intestine barrier serves as the first line of the host defense against pathogen infection. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the cell wall component of gram-negative bacteria, which known as endotoxin and induce the intestine inflammation. In this study, the acute toxicity effects of LPS injection on the morphology, digestive enzymes and immunological responses of intestine from Litopenaeus vannamei was investigated. HE stain showed that LPS injection damaged the intestine connective and epithelium tissue. Specifically, a decrease in the activities of digestive enzymes including of amylase, lipase, trypsin and pepsin was observed. Moreover, LPS injection increased the content of oxidative stress parameters (O2- generation capacity, LPO, MDA and PC), and the expression of HIF-1α gene. Alternatively, the antibacterial activities (PO and T-NOS), and the expression of the antibacterial genes (proPO, ALF, Toll and Imd) and pathogen pattern recognition genes (LGBP and Lec) increased at first and then decreased. Significant variations in anitioxidant enzyme activity of T-AOC, and the expression of the anitioxidant-related genes (SOD, HSP70 and Trx). These results revealed that LPS injection harmed the intestine barrier of L. vannamei by damaging intestine mucosal structure, increasing oxidative stress, and suppressing the digestive and immune status.

Subtotal petrosectomy may be performed for refractory chronic middle ear diseases, such as massive cholesteatoma or recurrent otitis media. It involves permanent obliteration of the operative cavity, thus precluding the chance to restore conductive hearing via traditional inertial ossicular prostheses. The Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) is an alternative option for hearing rehabilitation. Vibrant energy is delivered into the inner ear via a floating mass transducer (FMT), which can be coupled with any part of the middle ear acoustic transmission structure. To restore the hearing of a young woman with cholesteatoma, we combined subtotal petrosectomy with obliteration of the cavity and VSB implantation with an FMT coupled to the stapes head. Two years of follow-up demonstrated excellent auditory rehabilitation, improved sound source localization ability, and a lower speech recognition threshold. This study showed that the FMT works well in an obliterated cavity, and the experience acquired through this successful exploration is worth disseminating.

The acute toxicity of nitrite on the mucosal morphology and oxidative stress response was investigated in the intestines of Litopenaeus vannamei after the exposure of 20 mg/L nitrite for 72 hr. The duration of nitrite stress influenced the shrimp survival, and the cumulative mortality rate was 36.7% at 72 hr. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stain showed that nitrite stress damaged the intestine connective and epithelium tissue. Specifically, nitrite stress increased the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (O2- generation capacity), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Meanwhile, the activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased first, then catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) increased to the highest at 24 and 12 hr, respectively. The relative expression level of antioxidant genes including heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), ferritin, and thioredoxin (Trx) increased to the highest at 6, 12, and 48 hr respectively. After exposure to nitrite stress for 72 hr, the levels of antioxidant enzymes activity and genes expression all decreased. These results revealed that nitrite stress harmed the intestine barrier of L. vannamei by damaging the mucosal structure, inducing the oxidative stress, and confusing the antioxidant status.

A special denitrifying capsule that was designed according to the theory of maldistribution of DO (dissolved oxygen) for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in an aerobic reactor was prepared by an encapsulation technique. The morphology of the denitrifying capsule and its SND performance in an aerobic reactor used for treating synthetic low C/N wastewater were systematically investigated. The spherical capsule comprised a porous membrane, denitrifying active sludge and semen litchi powder, which were cohered together by a physical method. Well-shaped pores were distributed in the membrane and the average pore diameter was approximately 0.25 µm. Circular pores were present in the cross section of the membrane, and the thickness of the membrane ranged from 95.0 µm to 120.0 µm. After 7 days of acclimation, the denitrifying capsule showed good SND performance in an aerobic reactor with a DO concentration of 5.09 mg/L. The NH4+-N concentration of 51.09 mg/L was removed completely after 8 h, the effluent dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration decreased to 6.11 mg/L, the SND ratio reached to 91.6% at 6 h, and finally decreased to 2.09 mg/L at 15 h and could also reach 98.91%. The influent of NH4+-N loading had little effect on the nitrogen removal performance. And decreased of air input induced lower hydraulic shearing force compared to reactors with higher DO had a little effect on the diffusion and mass transfer of NO3--N. With this core shell structure denitrifying capsule, it was easy to achieve SND without controlling the DO concentrations at low levels or using intermittent aeration.

The effects of sulfide stress on oxidative stress and immune response in intestine of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei were evaluated in the present study. Oxidative stress parameters, immune enzymes activity and immune gene mRNA expression level were detected in intestine of L. vannamei after the exposure of 5.0 mg/L sulfide stress 72 h. The duration of sulfide stress influenced the shrimp survival, and the cumulative mortality rate was 30.0% and 33.3% at 48 h and 72 h respectively. HE staining showed that sulfide stress caused the intestine tissue damage symptoms. Compared with the control group, after exposed to sulfide stress, the content of lipid peroxidation (LPO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and ROS production (·O2− generation capacity) increased. Total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activity increased at 6 h and decreased at 48 h. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased in the entire experiment. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity and nitric oxide (NO) content increased to the highest at 6 h and 12 h respectively, and both decreased at 48 h. The relative mRNA expression level of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) gene decreased at 6 h and increased to the highest at 48 h. The relative mRNA expression level of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) gene increased at 12 h and decreased to a lower level at 72 h. The relative mRNA expression level of Toll and immune deficiency (Imd) gene increased to the highest at 12 h and 24 h respectively, and both decreased at 48 h. These results revealed that sulfide stress could induce oxidative stress and immune response via confusion of immune enzymes activity and gene expression level in intestine of L. vannamei.

A green porous composite was prepared using two kinds of natural polysaccharides, konjac glucomannan (KGM) and semen litchi (SL) in aqueous medium under mild conditions. The effect of mass ratios of KGM : SL on structures and denitrification was systematically investigated. The intermolecular hydrogen bonds and other synergistic interactions between KGM and SL gave the composite an amorphous phase and honeycomb network structure with a wide range of macropores. Its high porosity and biocompatibility meant the composite had short acclimation time. Nitrate removal rate could reach up to 98.8% on the first day and denitrification rate could reach up to 320.2 ± 5.82 mg N (L−1 d−1). In particular, the KGM : SL = 3 : 3 composite exhibited better mechanical property and much longer lifetime during the denitrification reaction. The porous composite can be used as an economical and effective carbon source for denitrification in low C/N wastewater.

A porous solid carbon source was prepared by semen litchi (SL), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA) in aqueous. The effect of SL content on the structures and denitrification performance of the porous solid carbon source in simulated mariculture wastewater was investigated. The SL/PVA/SA beads showed a network structure with a wide range of macropores. Compared with blank beads, the SL/PVA/SA beads showed an increased rough surface and whole distribution on the surface with the increase of SL. In addition, SL/PVA/SA beads have more uniform pore size, but the porosity of SL/PVA/SA beads was decreased with the increase of SL. The porosity of the beads was 83.24%, 74.24%, 71.48% and 71.29% for blank beads and SL/PVA/SA beads contained 30%, 40% and 50% SL, when it was used as a solid carbon source for denitrification. Owing to their good porosity and biocompatibility, SL/PVA/SA beads had shorter acclimation time. Nitrate removal rate could reach up to 100% after two days of adaptation. After the exhaustion of carbon sources, nitrate removal rate less than 50% occurred at the 9th, 10th and 11th day for SL/PVA/SA beads that contained 30%, 40% and 50% SL, respectively. The beads that contained 50% SL exhibited longer lifetime during the denitrification reaction and denitrification rate could reach 243.5 ± 7.08 mg N (L d)

Teprenone (geranylgeranylacetone) is one kind of safe and effective agent in gastrointestinal mucosa, which have been widely used in human and veterinary, but rarely used in aquaculture animals. In this study, Lateolabrax maculatus, an important economic fish species in southern China, was taken as the object of study to investigate the protective effect of teprenone on intestinal stress. The present study was designed to investigate the potential mechanism underlying the protection offered by teprenone to protect the gastrointestinal tract against hypoxia and reoxygenation injury of L. maculatus. (a) For oxidative stress parameters, SOD, CAT, and T-AOC in control group were higher than those in teprenone group. MDA content was significantly higher than that in teprenone group at N and 12h time points in intestine (P < 0.05), and at 12, 24, and 48 h time points in stomach. (b) For immune-associated proteins, LZM activity in the control group was lower than that in the teprenone group, and the difference between the two groups in stomach and intestine was significant at 12.48 h and 6.48 h time points, respectively (P < 0.05). Compared with time point N, the content of HSP70 in the control group increased at 0 h in intestine. At 0–48 h, intestine HSP70 content in the control group showed a gradually decreasing trend, which was higher than that in the teprenone group. (c) For apoptosis-related factors, the activity of Cyt-C, caspase9, and caspase3 increased first and then decreased in both groups. The content of Cyt-C in the control group was significantly higher than that in the teprenone group at N-3.6 h, and 3.48 h time points in stomach and intestine, respectively (P

pH of water environment affects the survival of aquatic animals. Intestine barrier function influences the health of animals, which is related to its mucosa structure, immune components, and microbial communities. In this study, we investigated the histological structure, digestive and metabolic capacity, immune responses, and microbial composition in the intestine of Litopenaeus vanmei under three different conditions: control (pH 8.3), low pH stress (pH 6.9), and high pH stress (pH 9.7) for 72 h. The results showed both low and high pH stress disrupted the intestine morphological structure, and induced variations in the activities of digestive (AMS, LPS, Tryp, and Pep) and metabolic (HK, PK, CCO, and LDH) enzymes. Low and high pH stress also increased oxidative stress (MDA, LPO, PC, and ·O2− generation), and decreased the antioxidant enzyme activities (T-AOC, SOD, and GST); shrimp enhanced CAT activity and HSP70, Trx, MT and Fer gene transcripts as defense mechanism. Additionally, Immune confusion was also found in the shrimp intestine in response to low and high pH stress, including the antibacterial ability (T-NOS, PO, proPO, ALF, and Lys), pathogen recognition (TLR and Lec), apoptosis (Casp, IAP and p53), and mucus homeostasis (Muc-1, Muc-2, Muc-5AC, Muc-5B, and Muc-19). pH exposure also decreased the diversity of the intestine bacterial, disturbed the composition of microbiota, and decreased the microbial metabolite SCFA contents. Our results indicated that acute pH stress can impair the intestine barrier function of white shrimp, probably via destroying mucosa structure, confusing digestion and metabolism, inducing oxidative stress, disordering immunity, and disrupting the microbial composition.

In the present study, the oxidative stress response in hepatopancreas of Marsupenaeus japonicus to desiccation stress and resubmersed in seawater were studied, such as respiratory burst, ROS production ( [Formula: see text] ), activities of antioxidant enzymes (CAT, GPx, SOD, POD and GST) and oxidative damage to lipid and protein (indexed by contents of MDA). The duration of desiccation significantly influenced shrimp survival, and the mortality rates were 37.5% and 87.5% after desiccation 5 h and 10 h, respectively. After desiccation stress 3 h, the respiratory burst, ROS production, and the activity of SOD and CAT were up-regulated significantly. The activity of GPx and POD, and the content of MDA decreased significantly at 0.5 h and 1 h, and then increased significantly at 3 h. But GST activity was no significant change after desiccation. During the resubmersion period, most of the antioxidant enzymes activities could recover to the control level at 24 h, but a small quantity of the oxidative stress still existed in tissues. HE staining showed that desiccation stress induced damage symptoms in hepatopancreas of M. japonicus. These results revealed that desiccation influenced the antioxidative status and caused oxidative stress and tissue damage via confusion of antioxidant enzymes in M. japonicus, but the oxidative stress could be eliminated within a certain range after the shrimps were resubmersed in seawater.

With respect to the problem of the low accuracy of traditional building energy prediction methods, this paper proposes a novel prediction method for building energy consumption, which is based on the seamless integration of the deep neural network and transfer reinforcement learning (DNN-TRL). The method introduces a stack denoising autoencoder to extract the deep features of the building energy consumption, and shares the hidden layer structure to transfer the common information between different building energy consumption problems. The output of the DNN model is used as the input of the Sarsa algorithm to improve the prediction performance of the target building energy consumption. To verify the performance of the DNN-TRL algorithm, based on the data recorded by American Power Balti Gas and Electric Power Company, and compared with Sarsa, ADE-BPNN, and BP-Adaboost algorithms, the experimental results show that the DNN-TRL algorithm can effectively improve the prediction accuracy of the building energy consumption.

Resistant starch (RS) is a constituent of dietary fibre that has beneficial effects on the intestine physiological function of animals. However, the roles of RS on shrimp intestine health is unknown. In this study, we investigated the the effects of dietary RS on the microbial composition, and digestive and immune-related indices in the intestine of Litopenaeus vannamei. The shrimp were fed with diets containing different levels of RS: 0 g/kg (Control), 10 g/kg (RS1), 30 g/kg (RS2) and 50 g/kg (RS3) for 56 days. The results showed that dietary RS improved the morphology of the intestine mucosa. RS also increased the activity of digestive enzymes (AMS, LPS, Tryp, and Pep) and immune enzymes (PO, T-AOC, T-NOS, and NO), and the expression levels of immune-related genes (proPO, ALF, Lys, HSP70, Trx, Muc-1, Muc-2, Muc-5AC, Muc-5B, and Muc-19). A microbiome analysis indicated that dietary RS increased the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) contents and altered the composition of the intestine microbial. Specifically, RS increased the abundances of Proteobacteria and decreased the abundance of Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, the beneficial bacteria (Lutimonas, Ruegeria, Shimia, Mesoflavibacter, and Mameliella) were enriched, which might be involved in degrading toxins and producing beneficial metabolites; while potential pathogens (Formosa and Pseudoalteromonas) were decreased in response to dietary RS. Our results revealed that dietary RS could improve the intestine health of L. vannamei, probably via modulating the intestine microbial composition and SCFAs contents, and enhancing the digestion and immunity of the shrimp.

The intestine barrier serves as the front-line defense in shrimp. Clostridium butyricum (CB) can produce butyric acid that provides energy for the intestine epithelial cells of the host. However, the effects of dietary CB on the intestine microbiome and the digestion and immunity of the host is not clear. In this study, we therefore investigated the composition and metabolic activity of the intestine microbiome, and digestive and immune-related gene expression in Litopenaeus vannamei fed with diets containing different levels of CB: basal diet (control), 2.5 × 109 CFU kg-1 diet (CB1), 5.0 × 109 CFU kg-1 diet (CB2), and 1.0 × 1010 CFU kg-1 diet (CB3) for 56 days. Dietary CB altered the composition of the intestine microbiome. Specifically, the dominant bacterial phylum Proteobacteria was enriched in the CB3 group and weakened in the CB1 and CB2 groups. The Bacteroidetes was enriched in the CB1 and CB2 groups and weakened in the CB3 group. The Firmicutes was enriched in all three CB groups. At the genus level, the potential pathogen (Desulfovibrio and Desulfobulbus) were weakened, and beneficial bacteria (Bacillus, Clostridium, Lachmoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae, and Lactobacillus) were enriched in response to dietary CB; these might contribute to the expression of the host digestive genes (α-amylase, lipase, trypsin, fatty acid-binding protein, and fatty acid synthase) and immune-related genes (prophenoloxidase, lipopolysaccharide and β-1,3-glucan binding protein, lysozyme, crustin, and superoxide dismutase). Additionally, CB enhanced the bacterial metabolism, especially that of carbohydrates, polymers, amino acids, carboxylic acids, and amines. These results revealed that dietary CB had a beneficial effect on the intestine health of L. vannamei by modulating the composition of the intestine microbiome, enhancing the microbial metabolism activity, and promoting the digestion and immunity of the host. The optimal dietary supplementation dosage was found to be 5.0 × 109 CFU kg-1 in the diet.

Sulfide is a harmful environmental pollutant that affects the survival and immunity of shrimps. The gill is important for shrimp respiratory and osmotic adjustment, the physiological and immune homeostasis of the organ can be influenced by sulfide. In this study, we investigated the acute toxicity of sulfide (5 mg/L) on the morphology, physiological and immune response in the gills of Litopenaeus vannamei. HE the contents of free amino acid including of Gly, Pro, Ser, Thr and Ala were decreased at 72 h. Respiratory metabolic enzymes, such as cytochrome c oxidase and succcinate dehydrogenase activity was decreased at 12 h-72 h, while fumarate reductase and lactate dehydrogenase activity kept a higher level at 12 h-72 h. Significant variations in the activities of immune enzymes (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, total antioxidant capacity and lysozyme). The expression of immune-related genes (heat shock protein 70, thioredoxin and caspase-3) was increased at first and then decreased, while hypoxia inducible factor 1α kept a higher level at 6 h-72 h. These results revealed that sulfide stress influenced the L. vannamei gills physiological and immune function by damaging histological structure, and confusing osmoregulation, respiratory metabolic and immune capacity.

Intestine barrier serves as the front-line of shrimp defense, which rely on its structural integrity, microbial composition, and mucus immune compounds. Mucins are the major organic components of the intestine mucus layer that contribute to the immunity of intestine mucus. In this study, we examined the histological structure, microbial composition, and mucin genes expression in the intestines of Litopenaeus vanmei under three different conditions: control, ammonia stress, and nitrite stress for 72 h. HE stain showed that ammonia and nitrite stress exposure both damaged the intestine mucosal tissue. High-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing revealed that two stresses exposure decreased the bacterial diversity, and altered the composition of intestine microbial. Specifically, the dominant bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes abundance was increased, while Proteobacteria and Planctomycetes were decreased; at the genus level, Formosa abundance was increased and Photobacterium was decreased, opportunistic pathogens including Nautella and Pseudoalteromonas was also increased. Intestine mucus immune genes including mucin-2 and mucin-19 were up-regulated, while mucin-1, mucin-5AC, and mucin-5B were down-regulated in two stress exposure groups. These results revealed that ammonia and nitrite stress harmed the intestine barrier function of L. vannamei by damaging the mucosal tissue, disrupting the composition of intestine microbial, and suppressing the immune function.

Paleogeographic reconstructions based on paleomagnetic data rely on the reliability of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) as a primary geomagnetic signal. Remagnetizations, however, can be common in many rock types, including late Paleozoic and Mesozoic red beds, and they complicate paleogeographic interpretations. Extracting the primary NRM from partially remagnetized rocks, and understanding the remagnetization mechanism are important in these contexts. We carried out a systematic paleomagnetic study of red bed samples from the Triassic Huangmaqing Formation, Nanjing (32.0°N, 118.9°E), South China. Two NRM components carried by secondary and primary hematite are isolated in 47 of the 94 samples studied, where the latter component has a direction in stratigraphic coordinates of D=29.2°, I=34.6° (α95=10.9°, 47 samples from 6 sites) that yields a paleopole of λ=60.8°N, ϕ=228.1°E, dp/dm=12.5/7.2, which is consistent with Triassic pole positions for the South China Block. A secondary chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) (D=227.1°, I=80.8°, α95=7.3°) is documented in all 94 samples from 10 sites and is carried by pigmentary hematite that is inferred to have been generated by magnetite oxidation during orogenic activity. This secondary component has steep inclinations and is interpreted to have been influenced by a combination of the remanence carried by original parent magnetite, the orogenic stress field, and the prevailing geomagnetic field direction during deformation. This CRM direction is recorded commonly by red beds from the South China Block, and is significant for regional tectonic studies in the area.