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The Tibetan chicken (Gallus gallus) provides high quality protein and iron for humans, which shows many phenotypic adaptations to the low oxygen. Study of the genetic mechanisms of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in hypoxia adaptation has not been reported. Four embryonic heart tissue samples from Tibetan chickens and Daheng broilers were collected. Differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were identified via high-throughput sequencing. Bioinformatic analysis was used to indicate the functions and pathways of the DEcircRNAs. A total of 29 DEcircRNAs were identified between 4 Tibetan chickens and 4 Daheng broilers, including 15 upregulated and 14 downregulated DEcircRNAs in Tibetan chickens. GO analysis revealed that the DEcircRNAs were mainly involved in lung development or oxygen metabolism, such as ubiqunegative regulation of mesenchymal cell proliferation involved in lung development, oxidoreductase activity, and peroxisome. Pathway analysis showed that DEcircRNAs were mainly enriched in oxidative phosphorylation, tight junction, VEGF/MAPK/PPAR/Ras/PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. We also constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA-pathway network to visualize the regulatory relationship associated with hypoxia adaptation of the tight junction pathways. The circRNA expression profile was obtained to complement the current Tibetan chicken circRNA database and provides new information for future studies into biological adaptation to hypoxic stress in the Tibetan chicken.

Cadmium pollution is serious heavy metal pollution in environmental pollution and impacts on livestock productivity. However, the effect and mechanisms of cadmium toxicity on the broiler remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the liver oxidative damage and reveal the related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression patterns in the broiler liver with cadmium exposure. The broilers were fed with diets containing CdCl2 and detected the oxidative stress indexes in the liver tissues. Transcriptome sequencing of broiler liver was performed to identify cadmium exposure-related differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs). The functions and pathways of DElncRNAs were analyzed by GO and KEGG. The sequencing results were verified by the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cadmium exposure induced tissue structure disorder, focal hemorrhage, and irregular hepatocytes in the broiler liver, and significantly decreased GSH level and enzyme activities, and increased MDA expression in the liver. A total of 74 DElncRNAs were obtained in cadmium group compared with the control group, which were enriched in the GO terms, including intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in response to DNA damage by p53 class mediator, branched-chain amino acid biosynthetic process. The enriched KEGG pathways, including lysine biosynthesis, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, and pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, were related to oxidative stress. PCR analysis indicated that the changes in ENSGALG00000053559, ENSGALG00000053926, and ENSGALG00000054404 expression were consistent with sequencing. Our results provide novel lncRNAs involved in oxidative stress in the broiler liver with cadmium exposure.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of stocking density on productive performance, egg quality, and antioxidant capacity in laying ducks. A total of 720 20-week-old Jinding laying ducks were randomly assigned to 5 stocking densities (4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 birds/m2) with 8 replicate pens each treatment. The results showed that increasing stocking density linearly increased egg production and egg mass and linearly decreased FCR of laying ducks (P

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-imr-10.1177_03000605221106410 for Ureaplasma urealyticum induces polymorphonuclear elastase to change semen properties and reduce sperm motility: a prospective observational study by Huang Liu, Xiaoyan Song, Mulan Huang, Huashen Zhan, Shiyang Wang, Shenghui Zhu, Tao Pang, Xinzong Zhang and Qingqi Zeng in Journal of International Medical Research

Previous studies have shown that the feather growth rate of chicks is determined by two alleles located on the sex chromosome Z; however, in chicken production, feathering is usually not consistently controlled by the sex chromosome. To identify whether the feathering rate is related to autosomal inheritance, whole-genome resequencing was performed in eight chickens with slow- and fast-feathering rate. A total of 54,984 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, including 393 and 376 exonic SNPs in slow-feathering and fast-feathering chickens, respectively. Mutated genes were mainly involved in response to stimuli and growth and reproduction processes. Mutated genes related to slow-feathering rate were mainly involved in wingless-type MMTV integration site signaling pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, whereas mutated genes associated with fast-feathering rate were primarily enriched in autophagy, calcium signaling pathway, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, and Focal adhesion processes. Importantly, two SNPs, involved in feather development, were found in the exonic regions of Wnt signaling genes. These results shed new light on the relationship between genetic mutation and feather growth rate from the perspective of autosomal inheritance and may have economic significance in chicken breeding.

Backgroud Studies have shown that prebiotics could affect meat quality, but the underlying mechanism are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether prebiotics affect chicken’s meat quality through gut microbiome and metabolome. Methods The gut content were collected from chickens fed with or without prebiotics (galactooligosaccharides or xylo-oligosaccharides) and subjected to microbiome and metabolome analyses, and chicken breast was performed transcriptome sequencing. Results The prebiotics altered proportions of microbiota in gut contents at different levels, especially microbiota in the phylum of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, such as genus of Alistipes, Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium. The prebiotics also altered contents of caecal metabolites such as lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC), intramuscular fat and flavor compound (Benzaldehyde and myristic acid). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) induced by prebiotics were significantly involved in regulation of lipolysis inadipocytes and adipocytokine signaling pathway. Changes in gut microbiota and metabolites were remarkably correlated such as Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes was respectively positively and negatively correlated with lysoPC. DEGs were also interacted with caecal metabolites. Conclusion These findings integrated and incorporated link among gut microbiota, metabolites and transcriptome, which proposed prebiotics may affect meat quality and flavor of chickens.

Probiotics are expected to be an ideal alternative for antibiotics in the poultry industry. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus plantarum on growth traits, slaughter performance, serum markers and intestinal bacterial community of Daheng broilers. A total of 2400 healthy one-day-old Daheng broilers were randomly divided into 5 groups with 6 replicates per group and 40 individuals per replicate. Birds in control group were fed a basal diet, and others were fed basal diets supplemented with 105 , 106 , 107 and 108 CFU/kg Lactobacillus plantarum, respectively. It turned out that adding Lactobacillus plantarum to diet could significantly improve the serum immune performance of broilers (p 0.05), but had no significant effect on growth traits and slaughter performance. Moreover, Lactobacillus plantarum could improve the diversity of intestinal bacterial community, but with the increase of addition concentration, the diversity would gradually decrease. In conclusion, Lactobacillus plantarum can be used as feed additive in broiler production, but whether it is more effective than antibiotics needs further investigation.

Free-range broiler production is an effective combination of ecological and economic benefits which should be further standardized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of free-range broiler production on ecosystem by measuring the changes in vegetation characteristics and soil physicochemical properties under different stocking densities. A natural meadow with rich biodiversity was created and further divided into three groups. The broilers were reared in door and provided range access around 6 to 22 weeks of age with two different densities, 600 and 1200 broilers/ha. The vegetation characteristics and soil physicochemical properties, such as total coverage, soil nutrition and pH value, were measured at the beginning and the end of stocking. The results showed that the vegetation characteristics and soil physicochemical properties changed significantly after free-range stocking. The dominant plants, total coverage, richness index, diversity and biomass above-ground of treatment groups illustrated a considerable difference comparing with those in control group, and the indicators of soil physicochemical properties in treatment groups increased remarkably except the pH value. The present study demonstrated the higher stocking density would cause a more serious destruction of vegetation characteristics and modification of soil physicochemical properties, which suggested that an even lower stocking density or an alternative management such as rotational grazing could be a better choice for free-range broiler production.

The persistence of Cry1Ac protein in the soil and its effect on soil microbial communities are a core issue in assessing the ecological risk of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton. In this study a field experiment was conducted on the cultivation of transgenic Bt cotton (Jin 26 and BtJi 668) with the immediate returning of residues to the fields, in order to quantify the Cry1Ac protein content in the fields and investigate its effects on the functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Cry1Ac protein in the residue-soil mixture was gradually degraded in the transgenic Bt cotton fields. After transgenic Bt cotton straw was returned to the fields for 30 d, 63.73% and 58.33% of the initial amounts of Cry1Ac protein were degraded in the Jin 26 and BtJi 668 fields, respectively. Before the crops were sown in the following year (180 d after returning the straw), no Cry1Ac protein was detected in the fields. After returning the cotton straw to the fields for 30 d, the Shannon-Wiener and McIntosh indices of soil microbial communities in the transgenic Bt cotton fields were significantly higher than those in the non-transgenic cotton fields. Meanwhile, the utilization of carbon sources including amino acids, amines, and carbohydrates by the soil microbial communities significantly increased. Both the McIntosh index and the utilization of carbohydrates increased until 180 d. Principal component analysis revealed that amino acids, amides, and carbohydrates were the main carbon sources distinguishing the two principal component factors. These findings indicated that Cry1Ac protein did not accumulate in the fields after transgenic Bt cotton was planted for one year and the residues were immediately returned to the fields; however, the original functional diversity of soil microbial communities was affected continuously.

Hyperspectral remote sensing technology can be used to monitor the soil nutrient changes in a rapid, real-time, and non-destructive manner, which is of great significance to promote the development of precision agriculture. In this paper, 225 soil samples were studied. The effects of different water treatments on soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and the relationship between SOC content and spectral reflectance (350–2500 nm) were studied. 17 kinds of preprocessing algorithm were performed on the original spectral (R), and the five allocation ratios of calibration to verification sets were set. Finally, the model was constructed by partial least squares regression (PLSR). The results showed that the effects of water treatment on SOC content were different in different growth stages of winter wheat. Results of correlation analysis showed that the differential transformation can refine the spectral characteristics, and improve the correlation between SOC content and spectral reflectance. Results of model construction showed that the models constructed by second-order differential transformation were not good. But the ratio of standard deviation to the standard prediction error (RPD) values of the models were constructed by simple mathematical transformation (T0–T5) and first-order differential transformation (T6–T11) can reach more than 1.4. The simple mathematical transformation (T0–T2, T4–T5) and the first-order differential transformation (T6–T10) resulted in the highest RPD in mode 5 and mode 2, respectively. Among all the models, the model of T7 in mode 2 reach the highest accuracy with a RPD value of 1.9861. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the data preprocessing algorithm and allocation ratio in the process of constructing the hyperspectral monitoring model of SOC.

The introduction of forage grass in poultry industry had double benefit on animals and the environment. In this study, three kinds of pastures were planted artificially to evaluate their roles through the determination of grass, chicken and soil-related indexes. The results showed that raising chickens under the forest could destroy vegetation and affect the chemical properties of soil negatively. Changes of soil caused by chickens can be alleviated through planting grass. Forage provided a certain food source for chickens without affecting the growth, slaughter properties, meat quality, immune indexes and other performances. Suitable pasture should have good regeneration ability, trampling resistance, good palatability, and do not cause harm to the health of chickens.

The harmless treatment of dead chickens is an important content in poultry production. This paper compared the effects of the harmless treatment of dead chickens by adding different disinfectants, including quicklime and calcium hypochlorite. The results showed that both quicklime and calcium hypochlorite could increase the total bacteria content, improve the harmless treatment capacity, and shorten the killing time of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The effect of quicklime was better than that of calcium hypochlorite. The experiment provided practical guidance for harmless treatment of scale chicken farm.

Background: The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that (1) fetuses with complete transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA) and Taussig-Bing anomaly (TBA) has decreased the left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular(RV) mechanical function compared with normal fetuses, and (2)the decreased myocardial mechanical function in fetal D-TGA and TBA was associated with the degree of transposition of the great arteries, pulmonary stenosis(PS) and ventricular septal defect(VSD). Methods: We retrospectively identified 49 cases of fetal D-TGA and 29 cases of fetal TBA and compared findings to 49 controls of comparable gestational age. Postprocessing analysis of the left ventricle and right ventricle were done using syngo Velocity Vector Imaging version 2.3. Global and regional longitudinal systolic peak velocity, strain and strain rate were generated. Results: (1) Comparing with control group, the global and regional longitudinal systolic peak velocity (GLV), strain (GLS) and strain rate (GLSR) of the LV and RV were decreased in the group of D-TGA and TBA (P Conclusion: The ventricular function of fetal D-TGA and TBA were decreased compared with control group. The PS and VSD were the independent determinant factors of the decreased LVGLS, RVGLS and RVGLSR in the fetal D-TGA and TBA.

Hypoxia affects the physiology of cells and organisms; however, the mechanisms associated with hypoxia adaptation remain unknown in Tibetan chickens. In this study, we aimed to identify long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) involved in hypoxia adaptation in Tibetan chickens and Daheng broilers, to provide insights into the mechanisms underlying hypoxia induction. RNA sequencing results revealed that a total of 5504 lncRNAs and 16,779 microRNAs were differentially expressed in four Tibetan chickens and four Daheng broilers; 70 lncRNAs were up-regulated and 113 lncRNAs were down-regulated in the Tibetan chickens compared to the expression levels in the Daheng broilers. The differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were enriched in the following Gene ontology terms: protein complex localization, small-molecule metabolic process, and RNA splicing. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses revealed that the DElncRNAs were mainly enriched in pathways that regulate cell junctions and intercellular spaces and oxygen or energy metabolism, mainly involved in hypoxic adaption. Moreover, a predicted ceRNA network with five DElncRNAs interacted with three miRNAs that acted on 42 pathways through 19 target genes. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to verify that the expression levels of ENSGALG00000008047, ENSGALG00000050044, and ENSGALG00000053982 were significantly lower in Tibetan chickens than in the Daheng broilers, consistent with the RNA sequencing results. We obtained lncRNA expression profiles for the heart tissue of Tibetan chickens for the first time and have provided novel data that may aid research on biological adaptation to hypoxic stress. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13205-020-02272-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A random-forest (RF)-assisted artificial-neural-network (ANN) method (RF-ANN method) was developed to improve the analytical performance of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in evaluating the composition of low-alloy steel. The RF algorithm was employed to identify the weight values of spectral variables in the quantitative analysis, and the weight values were used as the criteria to select the spectral variables. The selected variables were then used as inputs to train the ANN, which was then used as the analysis model. Compared to the calibration curve method, the RF-ANN method performs well in nonlinear fitting and utilizes an abundance of spectral information; moreover, it can accommodate large amounts of plasma data via filter spectral variables, thus overcoming the problem of the ANN training speed being too slow for practical use due to the redundancy in spectral variables. The results revealed an improvement in the analytical performance of LIBS using the RF-ANN method to predict the concentrations of chromium (Cr) and vanadium (V) in low-alloy steel samples. Specifically, the root-mean-square errors of cross-validation (RMSECV) for Cr and V were reduced from 0.060 and 0.042 wt% using the calibration curve method to 0.021 and 0.007 wt%, respectively, using the RF-ANN method.

In order to evaluate the freeze stress of the winter wheat, field and pot experiments were conducted. The crop variables including plant height, above ground dry biomass (AGDB), chlorophyll content (CHLC), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), photosynthetic indexes, and canopy spectra were selected and assessed. Statistical methods of correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS), importance of variables analysis, and multiple linear regression (MLR) were implemented to establish freeze injury comprehensive evaluation index (FICEI), extract sensitive bands, and build the freeze injury predictive model. The results demonstrated that FICEI can be used to evaluate the damage degree. The major spectral regions were selected with the B-coefficient, variable importance in projection (VIP), and the frequencies of selection (FS) parameters derived from the PLS analysis. The combination of all three approaches can be utilized to reduce invalid spectral regions. According to the importance of variables analysis, the seven sensitive bands were extracted, which were 574 nm, 702 nm, 1093 nm, 1111 nm, 1210 nm, 1302 nm, and 1333 nm, respectively. The calibrated MLR model based on the selected bands demonstrated an excellent performance as the R 2 and RMSE were 0.924, 0.279 for FICEI. The model also illustrated an accurate and robust performance by using the pot validation data set since the higher value of coefficient of the determination and lower root mean squared error in validation model were confirmed. Our findings show that the estimation model for FICEI of winter wheat is reliable.

Soil aggregate stability can be used to describe soil structure quality. In contrast, the conventional determination for soil aggregate stability, relying on dry-sieving and wet-sieving methods, is too resource consuming, especially for mass soil samples covering a large-scale field. Exploring the application of hyperspectral technology will provide a rapid, efficient and alternative method for the estimation of soil aggregate characteristics. In this study, we collected 199 soil samples (0–15 cm soil depth) from the Loess Plateau regions in the south areas of Shanxi province in China. Afterwards, we analyzed the relationship between spectra in region of 350–2500 nm and seven soil aggregate characters. The quantitative models for each soil aggregate character were built and the sensitive wavebands were determined by using the method of partial least squares. The results showed there was a negative relationship between soil spectra and soil aggregate stability, and the extreme correlation coefficient could reach −0.60 and 0.62, respectively, indicating that soil spectra could produce a significant response on soil aggregate characteristic. The significant waveband regions for soil aggregate characters were 350–870, 1250–1360, 1885–2020, and 2215–2450 nm. The important wavelengths were around 427, 599, 1326, 1890, 1926, 2208, 2311, and 2336 nm, which were also confirmed by the consistent correlation between soil spectra and each aggregate character. In addition, the reliable models (R2 = 0.612–0.714; RPD = 1.584–1.796) were produced for most of the soil aggregate indicators, while percentage of aggregate destruction (PAD) led to the worst predictive model (R2 = 0.599; RPD = 1.261). Aggregate fractal dimension (D) character was proved as the perfect indicator for spectral monitoring of soil aggregate stability, mainly due to the two-fold interpretation functions to soil structure distribution and soil adhesion with organic matter and soil moisture. It indicated that hyperspectral technology provides an alternate method for soil aggregate characters, especially for a large area.

Sichuan mountainous black-bone (SMB) chicken is a small-sized black-feathered chicken breed with low amount of meat, while Dahen (DH) chicken has a larger body size and a faster growth rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in various physiological processes, but their role in chicken muscle growth remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the miRNAs and pathways participating in the muscle growth of chicken. MiRNA profiles of four SMB chickens and four DH chickens were detected by small RNA sequencing. A total of 994 known miRNAs were identified, among which gga-miR-1a-3p, gga-miR-148-3p and gga-miR-133a-3p exhibited the highest enrichment in both breeds of chickens. Thirty-two miRNAs were differently expressed between SMB and DH chickens. The differently expressed miRNAs were mainly associated with fatty acid metabolism, immunity and MAPK activation-related processes. Kyoto encyclopaedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that miRNAs were involved in the immunity-related and MAPK signalling pathways. Moreover, miR-204 was downregulated in DH chicken compared with SMB chicken, and significantly inhibited the expression of MAP3K13, which is involved in the MAPK pathway. It was confirmed through luciferase reporter assays that miR-204 specifically inhibited the activity of MAP3K13. Our results helped demonstrate the potential molecular mechanisms of muscle growth in chickens and provide valuable information for chicken breeding.

Functional studies have revealed miRNAs play pivotal roles in ovulation and ovary development in mammalians, whereas little is known about the miRNA function in ducks. In this study, miRNA deep sequencing in the ovary tissues was carried out to obtain the miRNA profile from ovaries before oviposition (BO) and after oviposition (AO) in Jinding duck. Overall, an average of 23,128,075 and 26,020,523 reads were identified in the BO and AO samples, respectively, and 6739 miRNAs were identified from them through further mapping and analysis. Besides, 1570 miRNAs were identified as differentially expressed miRNAs compared with BO, including 493 miRNAs up-regulated and 1077 down-regulated in AO. Moreover, 2291 target genes were predicted from 443 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs. In addition, GO and KEGG pathway analysis indicated that target genes were enriched in some basic cell metabolism pathways as well as the productive pathways such as MAPK signaling pathway, gonadotropin-releasing hormone signaling pathway, TGF-beta signaling pathway which had been significantly changed. Our results helped to replenish the duck miRNA database and illustrate the potential mechanism of miRNA function in duck ovary development and reproduction process. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13205-019-2015-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

As a ubiquitous heavy metal, cadmium (Cd) is highly toxic to various organs. However, the effects and molecular mechanism of Cd toxicity in the chicken heart remain largely unknown. The goal of our study was to investigate the cardiac injury in chickens' exposure to Cd. We detected the levels of oxidative stress–related molecules in the Cd-induced chicken heart, and assessed the histopathological changes by hematoxylin and eosin staining. RNA sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed mRNAs between the Cd-induced group and control group. The expression of candidate genes involved in oxidative stress was certified by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Our results showed that the expression of glutathione, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase was significantly decreased and malondialdehyde was increased in the heart of chickens by Cd induction. The disorderly arranged cardiomyocytes, swelled and enlarged cells, partial cardiomyocyte necrosis, blurred morphological structure, and notable inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in the Cd-induced chicken heart. RNA sequencing identified 23 upregulated and 11 downregulated mRNAs in the heart tissues of the chicken in the Cd-induced group, and functional pathways indicated that they were associated with oxidative stress. Moreover, CREM, DUSP8, and ITGA11 expressions were significantly reduced, whereas LAMA1 expression was induced in heart tissue of chickens by Cd treatment. Overall, our findings revealed that oxidative stress and pathological changes in the chicken heart could be triggered by Cd. The mRNA transcriptional profiles identified differentially expressed genes in the chicken heart by Cd induction, revealing oxidative stress–related key genes and enhancing our understanding of Cd toxicity in the chicken heart.

The aim of the study was to compere the effects of using air energy heat pump, flue heating and water heating as brood heating system on brood production of yellow-feathered broilers. In the experiment, three heating methods were used to heat chicks, and the parameters such as heating time, temperature uniformity, concentration of poisonous and harmful gases in the house, chick weight gain, mortality rate and production benefit were compered and analyzed. The results showed as follows: 1. There was no significant difference in NH3 and H2S concentration among the three groups (P > 0.05). The CO2 concentration in the flue group was significantly higher than that in the other two groups (P < 0.01), and there was no significant difference in CO2 concentration between the other two groups (P >0.05). 2. The body weight of chickens in the flue group at 30 days of age was the lowest, which was significantly different from that in the other two groups (P < 0.01); The air energy heat pump group had significant difference with coal fired boiler group (P < 0.05), the uniformity and survival rate of flue group were the lowest, and the air energy heat pump group had the best; 3. The temperature rise of honeycomb flue was the slowest, the temperature distribution uniformity was the worst, and the cost was the highest; The heating rate of coal-fired boiler was faster than that of flue, and the temperature distribution uniformity was better, and the cost was lower. The heating rate of air energy heat pump was the fastest, and the temperature distribution uniformity was better, and the operating cost was the lowest. 4. The air energy heat pump group has higher investment in the early stage, better use effect, better production performance of brood, long service life and lower brood cost.

The free-range broiler production is an effective combination of ecological and economic benefits. However, excessive stocking will inevitably lead to a variety of negative effects, such as the destruction of vegetation, the hardening and even acidification of soil. It is very important to determine the reasonable stocking density for free-range broiler. In this paper, the outdoor feeding density of free-range broiler in different stocking ecosystems based on the nitrogen cycling was proposed combination of theoretical derivation and investigation and research, and proved the correctness of the research idea and density parameters through empirical research, which provided the key technical parameters for scientific guidance of free range chicken production.

In potato breeding, it is difficult to improve the traits of interest at the tetraploid level due to the tetrasomic inheritance. A promising alternative is diploid breeding. Thus it is necessary to assess the genetic diversity of diploid potato germplasm for efficient exploration and deployment of desirable traits. In this study, we used SSR markers to evaluate the genetic diversity of diploid potato cultivars. To screen polymorphic SSR markers, 55 pairs of SSR primers were employed to amplify 39 cultivars with relatively distant genetic relationships. Among them, 12 SSR markers with high polymorphism located at 12 chromosomes were chosen to evaluate the genetic diversity of 192 diploid potato cultivars. The primers produced 6 to 18 bands with an average of 8.2 bands per primer. In total, 98 bands were amplified from 192 cultivars, and 97 of them were polymorphic. Cluster analysis using UPGMA showed the genetic relationships of all accessions tested: 186 of the 192 accessions could be distinguished by only 12 pairs of SSR primers, and the 192 diploid cultivars were divided into 11 groups, and 83.3% constituted the first group. Clustering results showed relatively low genetic diversity among 192 diploid cultivars, with closer relationship at the molecular level. The results can provide molecular basis for diploid potato breeding.

In this study, a novel RBS connection that adds “V”-type reinforcing plates to the reduced section of the upper and lower flanges of a beam is introduced. Based on validated nonlinear numerical models, the anti-progressive collapse and seismic performance of a steel frame with the novel RBS connection are discussed. When the catenary action in the beams is fully developed, adding “V”-type reinforcing plates can effectively improve the bearing capacity and corresponding displacement of the subassembly by 180.9% and 85.8%, respectively. The addition of a “V”-type reinforcing plate does not weaken the seismic performance of the RBS connection; on the contrary, it will slightly improve. Through numerical parameter analysis, the design method for the reinforcing plate and application examples against progressive collapse are given. When “V”-type reinforcing plates are applied to a plane steel frame, the maximum resistance reserve can be improved, especially when the bottom middle column fails.

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) exist widely and are involved in multiple biological processes in ducks, whereas the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs in egg laying of ducks has remained unclear. This study aims to reveal key miRNAs involved in the regulation of egg production in duck ovaries. Methods High-throughput sequencing was performed on four egg-type duck ovaries and four egg-meat-type duck ovaries at the start of the egg-laying stage. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) validation was performed on differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs). Gene network of DEmiRNA-mRNA-pathway was constructed by Cytoscape. Results A total of 251 know miRNAs and 1,972 novel miRNAs were obtained from whole clean reads. Among the known miRNAs, we identified 21 DEmiRNAs, including eight down-regulated and 13 up-regulated miRNAs in egg-type ducks compared with egg-meat-type ducks. Among the novel miRNAs, we identified 70 DEmiRNAs, including 58 down-regulated and 12 up-regulated in egg-type ducks compared with egg-meat-type ducks. The expression patterns of four miRNAs were verified by qRT-PCR. The DEmiRNAs were involved in the function of response to folic acid and the pathway of valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation. Specific target genes of DEmiRNAs enrichment was found in some egg-laying regulation pathways, such as dopaminergic synapse, ovarian steroidogenesis and oocyte meiosis. The DEmiRNA-mRNA-pathway network including three DEmiRNAs, nine mRNAs and 11 pathways. apl-miR-194-5p and apl-miR-215-5p may be potential key miRNAs in regulating egg laying. Conclusions This study provided miRNAs profiles in ducks about egg laying and establish a theoretical basis for subsequent selection or modification of duck phenotypes at the molecular level.

The Hengduan Mountains, with their strong altitudinal vegetation zonation, form a biodiversity hotspot which offers the potential for comparison between sites in order to understand how this zonation arose and how it has responded to climate change and human impacts through time. This paper presents a 22 570-year pollen record of vegetational and climatic change based on a core 320 cm in depth collected from Wenhai Lake on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, one of the highest peaks in the Hengduan Mountains region of Yunnan, Southwest China. From 22 570 to 21 140 cal yr BP, the vegetation was dominated by broad-leaved forest (comprising mainly Quercus, Betula and Castanopsis), accompanied by needle-leaved forest (mainly Pinus and Abies), indicating a rather cold and dry climate relative to the present followed by cold and wet conditions. In the period between 21 140 and 19 350 cal yr BP, the vegetation was still dominated by broad-leaved forest and needle-leaved forest as before but with a notable increase in Betula pollen and a sharp decrease in Quercus pollen, implying a relatively cold and dry climate with several fluctuations in humidity. The period 19 350 to 17 930 cal yr BP was a transition stage from broad-leaved forest to needle-leaved forest, with a dramatic decrease in Quercus pollen and a maximum reading for Abies pollen, reflecting the coldest and driest climate since 22 570 cal yr BP. The expansion in needle-leaved forest dominated by Pinus and Abies (22 570–17 930 cal yr BP) along with an increase of Betula might correspond to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; the start of the LGM perhaps occurred prior to the basal age of the core). Between 17 930 and 9250 cal yr BP, needle-leaved forest declined and broad-leaved forest began to increase at first, suggesting increases in temperature and humidity, while towards the end of the period, needle-leaved forest expanded and broad-leaved forest shrank, indicating a colder and drier climate, possibly corresponding to the Younger Dryas. From 9250 cal yr BP to the present, the vegetation has been dominated by needle-leaved forest (comprising mainly Pinus, Abies and Tsuga), interspersed with broad-leaved Quercus and Betula, reflecting a significant decline in humidity from the early to late Holocene. During this period, human activity likely increased in this region, with impacts on the vegetation such as a distinct decrease in Pinus and Quercus pollen and an increase in Polygonaceae pollen in the upper 30 cm of the core. The marked decline in Quercus pollen compared with the early stage of this period, in particular, in the Wenhai core can be correlated with that observed in the Haligu core (situated about 2 km away) between 2400 cal yr BP and the present.

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Background Tibetan chickens living at high altitudes show specific adaptations to high-altitude conditions, but the epigenetic modifications associated with these adaptations have not been characterized. Results We investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in Tibetan chicken blood by using whole genome bisulfite sequencing. Generally, Tibetan chickens exhibited analogous methylation patterns to that of lowland chickens. A total of 3.92% of genomic cytosines were methylcytosines and 51.22% of cytosines in CG contexts were methylated, which was less than those in lowland chicken (55.69%). Moreover, the base adjacent to the methylcytosines of mCHGs in Tibetan chickens had a preference for T, which was different from that in lowland chickens. In Tibetan chickens, the methylation levels in the promoter were relatively low, while the gene body was also maintained in a hypomethylated state. DNA methylation levels in regions upstream of the transcription start site of genes were negatively correlated with the level of gene expression, and DNA methylation of gene body regions was also negatively related to gene expression. Conclusions We generated the genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in Tibetan chickens and our results will be helpful for future epigenetic studies related to adaptations to high-altitude conditions.

This paper presents an improved implicit sampling method for hierarchical Bayesian inverse problems. A widely used approach for sampling posterior distribution is based on Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). However, the samples generated by MCMC are usually strongly correlated. This may lead to a small size of effective samples from a long Markov chain and the resultant posterior estimate may be inaccurate. An implicit sampling method proposed in [11] can generate independent samples and capture some inherent non-Gaussian features of the posterior based on the weights of samples. In the implicit sampling method, the posterior samples are generated by constructing a map and distribute around the MAP point. However, the weights of implicit sampling in previous works may cause excessive concentration of samples and lead to ensemble collapse. To overcome this issue, we propose a new weight formulation and make resampling based on the new weights. In practice, some parameters in prior density are often unknown and a hierarchical Bayesian inference is necessary for posterior exploration. To this end, the hierarchical Bayesian formulation is used to estimate the MAP point and integrated in the implicit sampling framework. Compared to conventional implicit sampling, the proposed implicit sampling method can significantly improve the posterior estimator and the applicability for high dimensional inverse problems. The improved implicit sampling method is applied to the Bayesian inverse problems of multi-term time fractional diffusion models in heterogeneous media. To effectively capture the heterogeneity effect, we present a mixed generalized multiscale finite element method (mixed GMsFEM) to solve the time fractional diffusion models in a coarse grid, which can substantially speed up the Bayesian inversion., Comment: 32 pages

Trace elements in particulate matter associated with coal industries hold high risk to human health. Understanding the contents and occurrences of modes of these elements as well as their contribution to particulate toxicity is significant both environmentally and pathologically. A total of 24 PM10 samples were collected in Pingdingshan City, a coal industrial city in North China, in both winter and summer of 2008. An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) was used to determine the concentrations of 12 trace elements associated with coal industries (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Tl, Pb, and Bi) in PM10 samples. The results indicated that the trace element concentrations were higher in winter than in summer; due mainly to more coal combustion during winter and to the different meteorological conditions of these two seasons. The soluble proportions of these trace elements compared with total values of intact whole samples were higher in winter than in summer, and this difference was attributed mainly to more SO2 reacting with pre–existing particles to form soluble particles in winter. Of all the analyzed elements, Ni, Tl, Sb, Mo, and Cd occurred mainly in the soluble state (>50% in the soluble fraction), Cr, Cu, Zn, and As occurred in both the soluble and insoluble state (20% to 50% in the soluble fraction), and Sn, Pb, and Bi occurred mainly in the insoluble state (

In this paper, we present an inverse problem of identifying the reaction coefficient for time fractional diffusion equations in two dimensional spaces by using boundary Neumann data. It is proved that the forward operator is continuous with respect to the unknown parameter. Because the inverse problem is often ill-posed, regularization strategies are imposed on the least fit-to-data functional to overcome the stability issue. There may exist various kinds of functions to reconstruct. It is crucial to choose a suitable regularization method. We present a multi-parameter regularization $L^{2}+BV$ method for the inverse problem. This can extend the applicability for reconstructing the unknown functions. Rigorous analysis is carried out for the inverse problem. In particular, we analyze the existence and stability of regularized variational problem and the convergence. To reduce the dimension in the inversion for numerical simulation, the unknown coefficient is represented by a suitable set of basis functions based on a priori information. A few numerical examples are presented for the inverse problem in time fractional diffusion equations to confirm the theoretic analysis and the efficacy of the different regularization methods., 23 pages

The present article deals with the use of tree barks as a natural trap for airborne spores and pollen grains in China. The study carried out at the southern part of Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences has yielded a variety of palynomorphs mostly belonging to tree taxa. New methodologies for extraction of palynomorphs from tree barks have been suggested. Bark samples were collected from three taxa, i.e., Paulownia fortunei Hemsl. (Scrophulariaceae), Quercus dentata Thunb. (Fagaceae), and Picea meyeri Rehder & E.H. Wilson (Pinaceae) having different bark morphologies. P. fortunei with a comparatively soft and fissured bark is believed to have a greater potential for trapping airborne spores and pollen grains compared to the stiff and less fissured barks of Q. dentata and the scaly bark of P. meyeri. Old barks yield better data in terms of quantity and quality of trapped pollen and spores. The present study throws new light on the modern pollen rain, spore-pollen dispersal, and their deposition in and around Beijing Botanical Garden, and other different parts of China.

Unsafe behavior of people is the most important factor to cause coal mine accident. In coal mine production activities, the unsafe behavior of people will be affected by various factors. In order to guide safety behavior and contain unsafe behavior of people, it applied behavior based safety method in coal mine safety management. On the basis of introducing cause mechanism of behavior, BBS(behavior-based safety) management idea and ABC(activator-behavior-consequence) behavior analysis, and new understanding the meaning of safety, then put forward from the emotion, human nature and so on to strengthen the people-oriented family management, strengthen staff behavior apprenticeship training, pay attention to behavior observation and feedback, strengthen the safety responsibility system, and establish and perfect the evaluation system of safety management measures. It is extremely vital to effectively reduce accidents and improve safety production situation of coal mine.

Safety work of coal mine is complicated system engineering. Analyzing the safety condition of coal mines by using the theory of man-machine-environment system engineering can effectively prevent the disasters and accidents. Taking the man-machine-environment system as the foundation to establish safety assessment target system of coal mines and determine the system level structure and the safety assessment target weight of coal mines. Then the whole synthesis judgment of man-machine-environment three single factors of coal mines is done by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method separately, and get qualitative and quantitative evaluation results which is direct viewing, scientific, reasonable and reliable to know the overall safety condition of the system, has the practical application value.

Owing to the importance of excited state dynamical relaxation, the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanism for a novel compound containing dual hydrogen bond (abbreviated as “1-enol”) is studied in this work. Using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method, the experimental electronic spectra can be reproduced for 1-enol compound. We first verify the formation of dual intramolecular hydrogen bonds, and then confirm that the dual hydrogen bond should be strengthened in the first excited state. The photo-excitation process is analyzed by using frontier molecular orbital (HOMO and LUMO) for 1-enol compound. The obvious intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) provides the driving force to effectively facilitate the ESIPT process in the S1 state. Exploration of the constructed S0-state and S1-state potential energy surface (PES) reveals that only the excited state intramolecular single proton transfer occurs for 1-enol system, which makes up for the deficiencies in previous experiment.

After the thorough implementation of the power system reform, the business of incremental power distribution grid (IPDG) investment has gained great attention from the public as a key point that needs to be promoted. The power grid enterprises (PGE), therefore, urgently need to come up with new development strategies to enhance their core competitiveness and to increase the revenue of IPDG investment. According to the current development status of the IPDG and the business objectives of the PGE under the new business format, an investment decision-making scheme for IPDG, including the demand analysis forecasting, investment ability estimation and projects’ scientific assessment, was proposed, and the investment decision management mechanism for IPDG projects was also developed at the meantime, which will provide technical support for the development of PGE’s IPDG business.

The three-stage DEA model was applied to study the investment efficiency of a power grid enterprise (PGE) under the reform of electricity transmission and distribution price. This research indicates that environmental variables, including GDP Per Capita and the proportion of industrial power consumption, have a significant impact on the investment efficiency of PGE. To be specific, GDP Per Capita and the proportion of industrial power consumption have a positive influence on the investment efficiencies of PGE in this research. Without environmental variables and random errors, the main reason for the low investment efficiencies of PGE was the lack of scale efficiency. In order to improve its investment efficiency, PGE should attach great significance to economies of scale and a reasonable plan of the enterprise scale.

In a tungsten-based alloy system, the appropriate solute elements are selected to produce strong segregation effect to reduce the interfacial formation energy, which can effectively improve the mechanical property and thermal stability of the system. Based on the first principles calculation, the solute segregation model of tungsten-based alloys is constructed. The W-In alloy is taken for example to study the grain boundary segregation behavior and bonding characteristics of solute at different concentrations. The bonding of the W-In system is revealed from the electronic structure, and the variation of the interface stability of the W-In system with the solute concentration is predicted. Based on the electronic structure analysis of bond population, differential charge density and density of states, the bond transition characteristics of solute atoms in the W-In system in the segregation process are found, and the microscopic mechanism of the W-In bond transitioning from the ionic bond inside the grain to the strong covalent bond in the grain boundary region is elucidated: the difference between the grain boundary and the intragranular structure leads to a decrease in the valence state of the W atom in the grain boundary and the oxidizability is weakened, eventually leading to the W-In bond transition. The non-monotonic variation of the intrinsic segregation energy of the solute with the concentration of In in the W-In system is obtained. The mechanism of the influence of solute concentration on the intrinsic segregation energy is revealed by analyzing the bond interaction and energy: the solute concentration remarkably affects the bond strength before and after the W-In bond segregation, resulting in a significant decrease in the segregation ability when the solute concentration is close to 0.0976, and finally the variation of the segregation energy with solute concentration is obtained. Based on the analysis of the phase mechanical stability and the solute segregation in the grain boundary, without considering the vacancy concentration, the optimal solute concentration range and the range that needs to be circumvented in the W-In alloy system with high thermal stability are predicted by the calculations of the model, which are 0.106−0.125 and 0.0632−0.106, respectively. This study provides theoretical basis and quantitative guidance for designing and preparing the tungsten-based alloy materials with high thermal stability.

We did a comparative analysis of pollen and spores from five kinds of natural pollen traps at Wenbi Reservoir, northwest Yunnan, China. The natural traps were the surface soil, ground inhabiting mosses, spider webs, tree bark and moss/lichen on trees. These traps showed qualitative and quantitative variations in the pollen and spore spectra. The palynomorphs recovered from the soil samples of trees and shrubs ranged from 90.54% to 95.98% of the total counts. These counts were higher than counts from ground mosses (53.13%-81.66%), spider webs (61.71%), bark samples (53.8%) and moss/lichen on trees (50%-53.6%). The result of pollen/spore analysis showed that surface soil, ground mosses and spider webs better reflect the local vegetation compared with tree bark or moss/lichen on trees.

The potential of opal for removing crystal violet (CV) dye and reuse feasibility of opal-CV sludge for binding heavy metals from aqueous solutions were investigated. The adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and the point of zero charge (pH pzc ) analysis. The thermal treatment of opal at temperatures of 300, 400, 500, 700 °C increased the pH pzc value from 6.6 to 7.4 and lead to a decrease in the adsorption of CV dye, demonstrating the significance of the functional groups spread over the surface of opal. The equilibrium adsorption data fitted well to the Freundlich model and the kinetic data conformed to the pseudo-second-order model. Intra-particle diffusion was not the sole rate-controlling factor. The maximum adsorption capacity of CV was found to be 101.13 mg g −1 at 30 °C. The activation energy ( E a ) of 13.85 kJ mol −1 indicated that the adsorption of CV onto opal was a physisorption. Thermodynamic parameters (Δ G Θ , Δ H Θ , and Δ S Θ ) were evaluated and revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. Moreover, the opal-CV sludge was reutilized after calcination at 250 °C (O-CV-250) for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution. The O-CV-250 had a maximum adsorption capacity of Pb(II) of 20.92 mg·g −1 while has almost no adsorption of Ni(II) and Cr(VI). Enrichment of Pb(II) was conducted and almost 65% of the Pb(II) was collected. This work presents an effective approach for the treatment of dye wastewater and reutilization of dye sludge to enrich heavy metals.

This paper uses pollen analysis to investigate and document the changing climate and vegetation during the Holocene based on a 400 cm core in depth obtained at a wetland site at Haligu (3,277 m a. s. l.) on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Yunnan, China. By applying the Coexistence Approach to pollen data from this core, a quantitative reconstruction of climate over the last 9,300 years was made based on each pollen zone and individual core sample, which reveals the temperature and precipitation change frequently during that time. The qualitative analyses show that from 9300 to 8700 cal. yr BP, the vegetation was dominated by needle-leaved forest (mainly Pinus and Abies), indicating a slightly cool and moderately humid climate. Between 8700 and 7000 cal. yr BP, evergreen broad-leaved forest, dominated by Quercus, became the predominant vegetation type, replacing needle-leaved forest at this elevation, implying a warmer and more humid climate. During the period 7000 to 4000 cal. yr BP, the vegetation changed to mixed needle-leaved and evergreen broad-leaved forest, indicating a warm and moderately humid climate, but somewhat cooler than the preceding stage. From 4000 to 2400 cal. yr BP, the vegetation was again dominated by evergreen broad-leaved forest, but coniferous trees (mainly Pinus) began to increase, especially relative to a decline in Quercus. This implies that the climate remained warm and humid but slight drier than previously. The evergreen Quercus phase (8700–2400 yr BP) was designated as the Holocene climatic optimum in the Haligu core sediments. It is correlated with a markedly greater abundance and diversity of pteridophytes spores than was recorded before or after this period. From 2400 cal. yr BP to present, the vegetation was dominated by needle-leaved forest, of which Pinus formed the predominant component, accompanied by Abies and Tsuga. This reflects a slightly cooler, humid climate but also correlates with a period of increasing human settlement on the lower slopes of the mountain. At this elevated site, several hundred metres above the highest present day settlements, direct palynological evidence of anthropogenic activity is uncertain but we discuss ways in which the marked decline in Quercus pollen during this period may reflect the impact of ways in which natural resources of the mountain have been utilised.

article i nfo Article history: The binding efficiency of phosphate onto the ferric sludge was investigated by batch and column experiments to control the deterioration of water quality caused by eutrophication. Several adsorption isotherm models and kinetics models including pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich mass transfer model and intra-particle diffusion model for the batch system and Thomas equation for the fixed column bed system were used to evaluate the equilibrium and kinetics data, respectively. Results showed that M-Langmuir model and pseudo-second order model were recommended to describe the adsorption equilibrium and kinetics characteristics. Moreover, the column experimental data fitted well with Thomas model with obtaining the maximum adsorption capacity of about 30 mg/g at pH 5.5, which was in conformity with a result presented in batch experiment. The insignificant effect of SO4 2− and Cl − on phosphate adsorption indicated that binding phosphate was through a kind of inner-sphere complexation. During the adsorption process, the pH changed significantly, indicating an anion/OH − exchange reaction. Further analysis of the adsorption kinetics indicated that the intra-particle diffusion was the rate limiting process. The above study implies that the ferric sludge has excellent potential in binding phosphate during wastewater treatment process.

Quantifying the elevation history of the 2000 km-wide Tibetan Plateau to an average elevation of 5 km is important for understanding key aspects of Cenozoic global climate change, collision tectonics and the evolution of the Asian monsoon, yet quantitative measures of Cenozoic surface height change across Tibet remain few and are sometimes contradictory. Here we report the first exploratory application of a modified Co-existence Approach (CoA) using previously published fossil pollen records to reconstruct quantitatively the Cenozoic minimum palaeoaltitudes of Gangdise-Nyainqentanglha Area of the Tibetan Plateau. GCM simulations were used to adjust Eocene and Miocene raw CoA values for secular climate change and changes in palaeolatitude. This modelled correction increased the CoA-derived altitudes by 895 ± 96 m to give a minimum overall Eocene altitude of 3295–3495 m. The Miocene correction factor of 481 ± 25 m gave an overall minimum altitude estimate of 3000–3150 m. For the Holocene CoA returns four equally likely elevations of 4800–4950 m, 3800–3900 m, 3000–3100 m and 2900–3000 m. The first of these is indistinguishable from the present day regional average while the others suggest significant upslope pollen transport. Both the Eocene and Miocene palynologically-derived height estimates are consistent with suggestions of significant core plateau elevation by the Eocene, but are likely to underestimate the true palaeoelevation due to pre-Himalayan upslope pollen transport.

This study concerns the palynological analysis of 19 spider webs, which were collected from the northwestern, central and southern parts of Yunnan, China. Pollen grains and spores of 20 taxa belonging to 16 families were recorded from northwestern Yunnan and 28 taxa from 23 families from central Yunnan. Spider webs from southern Yunnan yielded 28 taxa belonging to 25 families from Mengla County, 38 taxa in 34 families from Wangtianshu Garden and 11 taxa representing 10 families from Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden. The pollen grains and spores extracted from spider webs reflect the distinct characteristics of the regional vegetation which changes from north to south Yunnan. This demonstrates the potential of spider webs as a natural trap for the study of modern pollen rain.