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Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes Foot-and-mouth disease, which was listed as a reported disease by Office international des épizooties. It has caused great economic losses to the meat industry. Here, we developed a sensitive, rapid, and visible method based Reverse Transcriptase Enzyme-assisted recombinant isothermal amplification technique (RT-ERA) and CRISPR/Cpf1 for detecting FMDV. RT-ERA achieved simultaneous reverse transcription and amplification in a short time at 37 ℃. Moreover, CRISPR/Cpf1 specifically recognized the products and amplified the signals through the trans-cleavage activity, which converted the DNA signals into fluorescence signals and lateral flow assay strip. Within 30 min, the method detected FMDV as low as 10 copies·μL−1, making it 103 times more sensitive than gel electrophoresis and 10 times more sensitive than reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR. Moreover, the method had good performance in actual samples. Therefore, this method realized visual detection without the large instruments and showed significant potential for FMDV assay. [Display omitted] • RT-ERA fulfills reverse transcription and amplification in 20 min to reduce time. • The role of the primers and crRNA improves the specificity of the method. • The method has high sensitivity by the trans-cleavage activity of Cpf1 and RT-ERA. • The method achieves visual detected by LFA without large equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch and sugar properties and sweetness of storage root (SR) are vital to the economic value of sweet potato. To clarify the factors determining these properties of raw sweet potato, eleven varieties with different SR properties were selected to investigate the changes of starch and sugar-related traits, brix and amylase activities during the growth and development of SRs, and the correlation among these SR properties and the amylase activities were analyzed. Five β-amylase genes expressed in SRs were cloned, and their expression and characteristics were analyzed to reveal the involvement of amylase in these SR properties. The results showed total sugar, soluble sugar, reducing sugar content and brix varied greatly among different varieties and development periods, β-amylase activities were much higher than that of α-amylase in SRs, dynamically changed during the development of SRs, and decreased at the late stage of SR expansion. The expression of three β-amylase encoding genes were positively correlated with the total sugar content, and might play vital roles in starch and sugar metabolism in SRs. The brix of raw SRs was significantly correlated with total starch, amylose, amylopectin, total sugar content and reducing sugar content, but had no significant relationship with soluble sugar content and β-amylase activity. These results indicated that the brix of SR was determined by both starch and sugar components, and multiple β-amylases function together in starch and sugar metabolism in developing SRs. These findings provide important information for the improvement of sweetness and the quality of processed products in sweet potato. • 80-95DAP and 110-125DAP are the key periods for starch accumulation and degradation, resp. • β-amylase activities change dynamically and decrease at the late stage of SR expansion. • The brix had no significant relationship with soluble sugar content and β-amylase activity. • Multiple β-amylases function together in starch and sugar metabolism in developing SRs. • IbBAM 48829 , IbBAM 63470 , and IbBAM 87301 were positively correlated with the total sugar content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depressive disorders are widely debilitating psychiatric disease. Despite the considerable progress in the field of depression therapy, extensive research spanning many decades has failed to uncover pathogenic pathways that might aid in the creation of long-acting and rapid-acting antidepressants. Consequently, it is imperative to reconsider existing approaches and explore other targets to improve this area of study. In contemporary times, several scholarly investigations have unveiled that persons who have received a diagnosis of depression, as well as animal models employed to study depression, demonstrate a decrease in both the quantity as well as density of astrocytes, accompanied by alterations in gene expression and morphological attributes. Astrocytes rely on a diverse array of channels and receptors to facilitate their neurotransmitter transmission inside tripartite synapses. This study aimed to investigate the potential processes behind the development of depression, specifically focusing on astrocyte-associated neuroinflammation and the involvement of several molecular components such as connexin 43, potassium channel Kir4.1, aquaporin 4, glutamatergic aspartic acid transporter protein, SLC1A2 or GLT-1, glucocorticoid receptors, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2B, and autophagy, that localized on the surface of astrocytes. The study also explores novel approaches in the treatment of depression, with a focus on astrocytes, offering innovative perspectives on potential antidepressant medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global emphasis on heavy oil development and increasing water content in Chinese oilfields, the low-temperature flow of heavy oil has been widely concerned. Integrating experiments and theoretical modeling, a hydrodynamic balance model for removing adhering heavy oil from pipeline wall was proposed to determine the temperature threshold for heavy oil transportation (adhesion temperature, AT). Two forms of heavy oil removal from pipeline wall were identified in the study: slide and lift-off. At low temperatures, the abrupt increase in wall-adhesion mass is primarily due to the inability of oil droplets to be removed through lift-off, but rather only through slide. Therefore, the temperature marking the transition from lift-off to slide is suggested as the AT criterion. Predicted AT values were in effective concordance with experimental values, with a maximum deviation of 3.78 °C. ATs for oilfields were predicted, and field cooling transportation tests showed no significant pressure drop increase, indicating the model's practical applicability. Additionally, the influence factors of the model were analyzed based on considerations of adhesion force and hydrodynamic removal force. This study aims to reduce heating energy consumption and carbon emissions during transportation under the premise of ensuring safe flow of high water-content heavy oil. • A hydrodynamic balance model of heavy oil removal from pipeline wall was proposed. • Adhering heavy oil droplets exist in two forms of removal: slide and lift-off. • A criterion was suggested to determine the flow temperature threshold. • The model was validated by the experiment and field cooling transportation test. • Temperature, flow velocity, and droplet radius affect adhesion and removal force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 70 volatile compounds were identified in jasmine tea. • 7 key volatile compounds of jasmine tea were identified. • Most key volatile compounds contributed positively to jasmine tea aroma quality. • Jasmine tea that was scented with 65–78% flower was good for quality and cost. • Jasmine tea that was scented at 35–40 °C for 15–17 h was cost-effective. The aroma quality of jasmine tea refers to the strength and freshness of jasmine fragrance and its coordination with tea aroma, which is regulated by various volatile compounds. In this study, seventy volatile compounds of jasmine tea scented by different scenting technology were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). And seven compounds were identified as the key volatile compounds by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and odor activity value (OAV). According to the equation describing seven key volatile compounds and quality of jasmine tea, the optimal scenting technology was obtained, that is, the amount of flowers (AF) was 65–78%, scenting time (ST) was 15–17 h, and scenting temperature (SW) was 35–40 °C. This study lays a foundation for the study of aroma characteristics of jasmine tea, and guides enterprises to improve jasmine tea processing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]