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For commercial aquatic animals, hypoxia phenomenon often occurs in live transport and aquaculture. In previous studies, much interest has been focused on antioxidant enzyme activities and could not present the complexities. The multifaceted responses, especially considering physiological indexes, histological structure, cell apoptosis, and immune pathways, are still unknown. In this study, we investigated the comprehensive hypoxic responses of Marsupenaeus japonicus. The results showed that the physiological indexes showed time-dependent changes upon hypoxia stress. Hypoxia stress led to significant tissue damage and cell apoptosis in the gill and hepatopancreas. Compared with the control group, the apoptosis index (AI) of the 12 h hypoxic treatment increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the gills and hepatopancreas. Comparative transcriptome analysis identified 900 and 1400 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the gill and hepatopancreas, respectively. Several DEGs were related to the lysosome, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, citrate cycle, and apoptosis, and seven of them were validated using quantitative real-time PCR. This study provided valuable clues to understanding the mechanisms underlying the hypoxic responses of M. japonicus. • The physiological indexes showed time-dependent changes upon hypoxia stress. • Hypoxia stress led to significant tissue damage and cell apoptosis. • A total of 900 and 1400 DEGs were detected in the gill and hepatopancreas. • Glycolysis, anaerobic metabolism and TCA cycle were affected by hypoxia stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks a recognized therapeutic molecular target and has an unfavorable prognosis. (20S)-Protopanaxatriol (g-PPT, PPT) is an active metabolite extracted from ginseng. Accumulating evidence suggests that it has good anti-cancer activity in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the anti-tumor effects of PPT in TNBC cells and tumor-bearing mice, as well as the relevant molecular mechanisms of autophagy and apoptosis. In vitro , we have found that PPT is capable of inducing non-protective autophagy and apoptosis, thus exerting some anti-proliferative and anti-migration activity in TNBC cells. And in vivo , the therapeutic effects of PPT were evaluated by xenograft mouse models. The potential binding mode of PPT and Akt was predicted by molecular docking. Our findings indicated that PPT treatment induced non-protective autophagy in TNBC cells by inhibiting the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Therefore, PPT may be a potential treatment for TNBC in the future. • PPT exerted anti-cancer effect in TNBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. • PPT activates apoptosis and non-protective autophagy in TNBC cells. • PPT activates apoptosis and autophagy by inhibiting Akt/mTOR pathway in TNBC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As invertebrates, shrimp are generally thought to solely rely on their innate immune system to combat invading pathogens. Recently, an increasing number of studies have revealed that the innate immune response of invertebrates exhibits diversity and specificity based on their diverse immune molecules. Herein, a full-length transcriptome analysis of several immune-related tissues (hepatopancreas, gill, hemocytes, stomach and intestine) in the kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus) was conducted to identify immune-related molecules with a focus on transcript variations. In total, 11,222 nonredundant full-length transcripts with an N50 length of 5174 were obtained, and most of these transcripts (94.84%) were successfully annotated. In addition, a total of 147 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were also predicted. Importantly, transcript variants of several vital immune-related genes were observed, including twenty-five alpha-2-macroglobulins (α2-Ms), ten Toll-like receptors (TLRs), six C-type lectins (CTLs), five M-type lectins (MTLs) and three Down syndrome cell adhesion molecules (Dscams). Furthermore, 509 nonredundant full-length transcripts were predicted to be generated from alternative splicing (AS) events, which contribute to the diversity of immune molecules. Overall, our study provides valuable data on the full-length transcripts of M. japonicus , which will facilitate the exploration of immune molecules in this species. Moreover, numerous transcript variants of immune molecules detected in this study provide clues for further investigating the diversity and specificity of the innate immune response in shrimp. • Full-length transcriptome analysis of immune-related tissues in Marsupenaeus japonicus was conducted. • 11,222 full-length transcripts enrich the transcriptomic information of M. japonicus. • Numerous transcript variations of immune molecules provide new insights into the innate immune system of shrimp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kuruma shrimp, a major farmed shrimp species in the world, includes two cryptic or sibling species, Form I (Marsupenaeus japonicus) and Form II (Marsupenaeus pulchricaudatus). Due to the lack of genomic resources, little is known about the molecular mechanisms associated with immune defense and hypoxia tolerance. Here, we sequenced the transcriptomes of two closely related Marsupenaeus species and compared genomic divergence. This study obtained 77049 and 84561 unigenes with N50 values of 1281bp and 1244bp for M. japonicus and M. pulchricaudatus , respectively, and 5036 pairs of putative orthologs were identified between two Marsupenaeus species. Estimation of Ka/Ks ratios indicated that 165 orthologous genes may be under positive selection (Ka/Ks > 0.5), including 49 pairs with a Ka/Ks ratio >1. According to the peak of synonymous rates, the divergence time between M. japonicus and M. pulchricaudatus was about 0.26–0.69 Mya. These positively selected orthologous genes related to the immune process mainly comprised single VWC domain protein, legumain , ras-related C3 botulinum, caspase , C-type lectin and were enriched in functions related to immune (Toll-like receptor and PI3K-Akt signaling) and hypoxia signaling (HIF-1 signaling and VEGF signaling). In this study, dozens of caspase-like unigenes were screened from two Marsupenaeus transcriptomes. Among these, the PjCaspase orthologous gene was subjected to positive selection (Ka/Ks = 1.22), which had different secondary and three-dimensional structure prediction. Based on the single copy caspase gene, eight populations of Marsupenaeus species were divided into two phylogeographic lineages from the East and South China. We characterized the transcriptomes of the two Marsupenaeus species and obtained several key orthologs associated with immune defense and hypoxia tolerance, which provides new insights into the immunity and genetic divergence of the two varieties. Moreover, this study will facilitate further comparative genomic studies of the two varieties. • This study firstly performed a de novo transcriptome comparison between two Marsupenaeus species. • Estimation of Ka/Ks ratios indicated that 165 orthologous genes may be under positive selection (ka/ks > 0.5) • These positively selected orthologous genes mainly comprised single VWC domain protein, Caspase , and C-type lectin. • This study found dozens of caspase-like unigenes from two Marsupenaeus transcriptomes. • The expression profiles of hypoxia tolerance related genes showed significant difference between the two varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotic residues pose a risk to the agricultural application of liquid digestate. In our previous study, photocatalysis was employed to degrade the antibiotics in liquid digestate and observed that the removal efficiency of TC, OTC, and CTC was up to 94.99%, 88.92%, and 95.52%, respectively, at the optimal experimental level, demonstrating the feasibility of this technology. In this study, the liquid digestate after photocatalysis was analyzed to evaluate the effect of photocatalysis on the nutrients, phytotoxicity, and bacterial community of liquid digestate. The results showed that photocatalysis had little effect on the major nutrients TN, TP, and TK in liquid digestate. However, photocatalysis could cause an increase in tryptophan substances as well as soluble microbial by-products and a decrease in humic acid substances in the liquid digestate. The toxicity of liquid digestate after photocatalysis exhibited an increasing trend followed by a decreasing trend, and the liquid digestate after photocatalysis for 2 h had a promoting effect on seed germination and root growth. The richness, diversity, and evenness of bacterial communities in liquid digestate were decreased as a result of photocatalysis. The dominant species in the liquid digestate was dramatically changed by photocatalysis, and the antibiotic concentration also had a major effect on the dominant species in the liquid digestate after photocatalysis. After photocatalysis for 2 h, the dominant species in the liquid digestate changed from Firmicutes to Proteobacteria. [Display omitted] • Photocatalysis has little effect on the main nutrient content of liquid digestate. • Photocatalysis can reduce the toxicity of liquid digestate and antibiotics. • Richness, diversity and evenness of bacterial community reduced after photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, molecular characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of S. aureus in raw eggs during production and sales in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China, and assess whether enterotoxin-A-carrying strains could grow and produce enterotoxin A (SEA) in egg contents at 3 different temperatures (10, 25, and 37 °C) and culture times (1, 3, 5, and 7 days). A total of 102 isolates of 627 fresh eggs were identified, including 100 (15.9%) isolates from eggshells and 2 (0.3%) isolates from egg contents. All isolates harbored at least one virulence gene, hemolysin genes and novel enterotoxin genes were commonly detected. 95.1% of isolates were multi-drug resistant, with most commonly resistant to penicillin, trimethoprim, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline. CC5-ST5-t002 (78.4%) was the most predominant clone. PFGE analysis found that isolates between the eggshell and egg contents of the same egg had the same dendrogram. In the test for artificial contamination of egg contents with S. aureus , three isolates could grow and produce SEA. This study indicates eggshells are often contaminated with high levels of S. aureus , and the discovery of S. aureus in egg contents implies the risk of entering the food chain. • The eggshell is often contaminated with high levels of S. aureus during production and sale. • Most S. aureus isolates harbored at least one virulence gene and exhibited multi-drug resistance. • CC5-ST5-t002 S. aureus was the dominant type among 102 S. aureus isolates. • Close genetic relatedness of S. aureus from eggshell and egg liquid was found based on PFGE analysis. • S. aureus could grow and product SEA at 10 °C, 25 °C and 37 °C in egg contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large yellow croaker ( Larimichthys crocea ) is an economically important marine fish cultured in China and East Asian countries and is facing a serious threat from Cryptocaryon irritans , which is a protozoan ectoparasite that infects most reared marine fish species. To understand the molecular immune mechanisms underlying the response to C. irritans , we first performed a comparative gene transcription analysis using livers from C. irritans -immunized L. croceas and from a control group through RNA-Seq technology. After the removal of low-quality sequences and assembly, 51360 contigs were obtained, with an average length of 1066.93 bp. Further, a blast analysis indicates that 30747 contigs can be annotated based on homology with matches in the NT, NR, gene, and string databases. A gene ontology analysis was used to classify 21598 genes according to three major functional categories: molecular function, cellular component, and biological process. Moreover, 14470 genes were found in 303 KEGG pathways. We used RSEM and EdgeR to determine that 3841 genes were significantly differentially expressed (FDR < 0.001), including 2129 up-regulated genes and 1712 down-regulated genes. A significant enrichment analysis of these differentially expressed genes and isogenes revealed major immune-related pathways, including the toll-like receptor, complement and coagulation cascades, and chemokine signaling pathways. In addition, 28748 potential simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected from 12776 transcripts, and 62992 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the L. croceas liver transcriptome. This study characterized a gene expression pattern for normal and C. irritans -immunized L. croceas for the first time and not only sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the host- C. irritans interaction but also facilitates future studies on L. croceas gene expression and functional genomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant community is the basic landscape unit of the coastal green space. The study of the oil-contaminated coastal green space plant community has an important role in improving the landscape quality and aesthetics of the coastal green space. This article takes the oil pollution shoreline of Jiaozhou Bay as an entry point to build a plant community landscape evaluation model, analyzes and evaluates the most scenic plant community types in the coastal area of Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay in order to provide scientific basis for the plant community landscape configuration along the oil polluted coastline of Jiaozhou Bay, and provide reference for the evaluation and construction of plant community landscape in other cities. • The plant community is the basic landscape unit of the coastal green space. • Oil-contaminated coastal green space plant community has an important role in improving the landscape quality. • The configuration has significance for landscape evaluation and construction of plant communities in coastal green spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loofah-like LaMnO 3 perovskite is for the first time demonstrated to be cathode material for ZIBs with long cycle life. [Display omitted] Due to high safety and excellent rate performance, the aqueous Zn-ion battery is a promising energy storage battery for practical application. However, most manganese-based compounds suffer from poor cycling and rate performance. Herein, a new concept of Zn-ions battery is assembled with the loofah-like LaMnO 3 perovskite as a novel cathode, achieving fast ion kinetics through the co-intercalation of Zn2+ and H+ cations. In this work, the Ni-doping strategy is adopted to improve the electrochemical performance of LaMnO 3 perovskite as a cathode material for Zn-ion batteries. The resultant LaNi x Mn 1-x O 3 (x = 0.2) exhibits a superior capacity of 226 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles at 100 mA g−1 and high working voltages at 1.4 V and 1.26 V vs. Zn2+/Zn in the electrolyte of 2 M ZnSO 4 + 0.2 M MnSO 4. Even at 500 mA g−1, the new Zn/LaNi x Mn 1-x O 3 battery still delivers a discharge capacity of 113 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles. At medium current density, the electrochemical process of the LaNi x Mn 1-x O 3 (x = 0.2) electrode is co-controlled by the solid diffusive and surface-capacitive process with a fast ion diffusion rate. The lanthanum manganese perovskite is a potential cathode material for Zn-ion batteries with long cycle performance and high rate cyclability. This work significantly opens up the way of perovskite materials as new cathodes for high-rate ZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the mechanism of the biomolecular response in Exopalaemon carinicauda to starvation stress, we subjected muscle tissue RNA samples from four stress points, including 0 d(control group), 10 d, 20 d, and 30 d, to starvation stress on white ridgetail prawn with a body weight of 1.41 + 0.42 g, aquaculture water temperature of 23–25 °C, salinity of 26, dissolved oxygen ≥5 mg/L, and pH 8–8.5, Then performed de novo transcriptome assembly and gene expression analysis using BGISEQ-500 with a tag-based digital gene expression (DGE) system. By de novo assembling at the four times, we obtained 28,167, 21,115, 24,497, and 27,080 reads, respectively. The results showed that the stress at 10 d led to no significant difference in the expressed genes, while the stress at 20 d and 30 d showed a significant increase (or decrease) in the expression of 97 (276) and 143 (410) genes, respectively, which were involved in 8 different metabolic pathways. In addition, we detected 2647 unigene transcription factors. Eleven upregulated and sixteen downregulated genes from the different starvation stress groups were choose to verify the reliability of the transcriptome data, and the results showed that the expression trends of these genes were consistent with the results shown by the transcriptome. The analysis of the experimental data and our discussion of the response mechanism of white ridgetail prawn under starvation stress provides a foundation for further screening of the key genes of starvation stress and may help to elucidate their functions. • De novo transcriptome of Exopalaemon carinicauda was done under four starvation stress points, 0, 10d, 20d and 30d. • Stress at 20 d and 30 d showed a significant increase (or decrease) in gene expression, compared to control and 10 d group. • Expression trends of 11 upregulated and 16 downregulated genes were consistent with the results shown by the transcriptome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF), which belongs to the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) family, has become a relatively new weapon to combat severe infections and has been demonstrated to be active against bacteria, fungi and some viruses. In the present study, a new ALF of group D (MjALF-D; GenBank accession No. MN416688) from Marsupenaeus japonicus was detected. MjALF-D encodes a polypeptide with 124 aa, and the peptide contains a 26-residue signal peptide and a lipopolysaccharide-binding domain (LBD). The structure of MjALF-D was found to consist of three α-helices, four β-sheets and random coils. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that MjALF-D expression was primarily observed in the stomach and was universally upregulated in both the gill and stomach after challenge by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Moreover, rMjALF-D can inhibit the growth of V. parahaemolyticus. rMjALF-D could destroy the bacterial membrane and lead to cytoplasmic leakage investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which may be the mechanism by which rMjALF-D inhibits V. parahaemolyticus. Additionally, rMjALF-D showed distinct binding or antibacterial ability after direct incubation with V. parahaemolyticus or bacterial genomic DNA and a certain effect on the protein expression of it. Together, these results indicated that rMjALF-D possessed the antibacterial activity against V. parahaemolyticus and the potential involvement in the innate immune response of M. japonicus. • A group D anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) was identified in M. japonicus. • It could be upregulated after LPS and Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge. • rMjALF-D could inhibit the growth of V. parahaemolyticus and destroy the bacterial membrane, leading to cytoplasmic leakage. • rMjALF-D could bind to bacteria directly and genomic DNA. • rMjALF-D played a multiple role in the bactericidal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, several studies have indicated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play significant roles in various disease; however, little is known about the chronology of estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) deficiency and altered circRNA expression, or their relationship with osteogenesis. Herein, we show through western-blot and quantitative real-time PCR assays, that when ERβ is silenced, the expression of osteogenesis-related proteins and mRNAs were down-regulated. We then performed RNA-Seq to analyze differential circRNA expression between the control and ERβ knockdown group. This analysis revealed that, 146 circRNAs were differentially expressed by fold-change≥2.0, p ≤ 0.05, and, among this group, 68 circRNAs were down-regulated, while 78 were up-regulated. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and PANTHER pathway analyses were performed to predict the function of these differentially expressed circRNAs. Finally, co-expressed targets gene, and circRNA-microRNA network were constructed for predicted miRNA sponges. This research suggested that ERβ may through 2:27713879|27755789/2:240822115|240867796-miR-328-5p-mRNA axis to regulate osteogenic differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel VSSTFrFT method is proposed to improve the concentration of time-frequency distribution. • Using the idea of optimal rotation order in FrFT to adaptively set the number of modal decomposition in VMD. • SET is utilized to extract the coefficient of ridgeline position, improving the time-frequency concentration. • The robustness and concentration performance of the proposed method are verified by simulation signals with different components. • The effectiveness of the VSSTFrFT method is verified by the data from the cantilever hammering modal signal, bat echolocation chirp signal and bearing fault signals. To improve the time–frequency (TF) concentration performance of the short-time fractional Fourier transform (STFrFT), and solve the multi-order matching problem of multi-component signals, this paper introduces a new algorithm that is referred to as the Variational mode decomposition-short-time fractional Fourier transform- Synchroextracting transform (VSSTFrFT). This work employs the Variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm to decompose multi-component signals into single-component sets, then the STFrFT algorithm matches the optimal rotation order of each component separately to solve the multi-order matching problem. Finally, this paper utilizes the Synchroextracting transform (SET) to extract the TF coefficient of ridgeline position in STFrFT distribution, improving the concentration performance. For different types of signals, the VSSTFrFT algorithm can get a higher TF concentration than the traditional TFA methods. In the application of engineering measured data, the VSSTFrFT algorithm can extract the modalities of the signals and display the frequency curve clearly, which can be used for structural complexity and time-varying characteristics analysis in practical engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cellulose content in vegetable waste (VW) is high and cannot be directly digested by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). In this study, in order to treat VW using BSFL composting, kitchen waste (KW) is used as the only nutritional supplement for VW to analyze the effects of the different contents of crude protein (CP), crude fat (EE), carbohydrate (3C), compost thickness (CT), and treatment time on the larval weight (LW), survival rate (SR), dry matter reduction rate (DMR), bioconversion rate (BCR), physical and chemical properties of BSFL sand and changes in the microbial community. Our results showed that when the average 3C content increased by 40%, the average LW increased by 47.6%, and the SR, DMR, BCR, and organic matter (OM) content increased by 16.82%, 8.5%, 4.77%, and 3.86%, respectively. In contrast, when the average compost thickness increased by 5 cm, the average weight of BSFL decreased by 22.64%, while the SR of larvae, DMR, BCR, OM, and total nutrients (TN + P 2 O 5 + K 2 O) decreased by 5%, 5.2%, 4.42%, 9.6%, and 0.78%, respectively. Germination test showed that BSFL sand alone could not be used as soilless culture substrate. After BSFL treatment, we found that the dominant phyla in BSFL sand were Firmicutes (95.77%), Proteobacteria (2.54%), Actinobacteria (0.74%), and Chloroflexi (0.6%). Our results indicate that BSFL composting is an effective method of treating VW, and 3C content and CT have a significant effect on BSFL composting. [Display omitted] • 3C content and CT had significant effects on LW, SR, DMR, BCR and FCR. • 3C (129.34 g), CT (5 cm) and time (10 days) are suitable for BSFL composting. • BSFL sand cannot be directly used as soilless culture substrate. • Firmicutes (95.77%) was the most abundant gate in the BSFL sand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method to generate honeycomb pattern on polymer films is demonstrated. Briefly, a polymer solution in a volatile solvent containing a nonvolatile liquid solute is cast into a thin layer, with the fast evaporation of the volatile solvent, the liquid solute is enriched at the top surface of the layer. The enriched liquid solute condenses into uniform droplets after reaching its saturation state, meanwhile, the polymer precipitates at the interface of the droplets. With this method, we prepared the honeycomb-patterned polysulfone, polystyrene, and polyvinylidene fluoride films. This method provides a new approach to manipulate the surface geometry of polymer films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rabies is a fatal zoonosis which could affect all mammals. Glycoprotein (G protein) from the rabies virus plays an important role in the binding of virus to target cells. However, expression of the G protein with native conformation has been a great challenge for many years. In this study, we solved this problem by replacing the original signal peptide of rabies virus G protein with the one from the heavy chain of human IgG. The expression levels of recombinant G protein dramatically increased from a few μg/L to 50 mg/L in the culture supernatants. The identity of the recombinant G protein was confirmed by western blotting using both 6XHis mAb 6E2 and rabies G protein mAb 7G3. The correct conformation of the recombinant G protein was shown by using rabies virus neutralizing antibodies. In addition, the recombinant G protein had immune-reactivities with mice sera raised against rabies vaccines and vice versa. Taken together, our data suggested that by replacing the signal peptide, the expression level of the G protein with native conformation could be significantly improved. This would help the development of a rabies subunit vaccine, structural studies of rabies G protein, elucidation of the signal pathway of RABV infection. • A new method for improved expression of viral glycoproteins in mammalian cell system. • A stable CHO clone with several thousand folds higher RABV G protein expression at 50 mg/L. • The recombinant RABV G protein displayed ideal level of immunoreactivity and immunogenicity. • The recombinant RABV G protein is suitable for serology, vaccinology and structural studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]