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Although the deep learning recognition model has been widely used in the condition monitoring of rotating machinery. However, it is still a challenge to understand the correspondence between the structure and function of the model and the diagnosis process. Therefore, this paper discusses embedding distributed attention modules into dense connections instead of traditional dense cascading operations. It not only decouples the influence of space and channel on fault feature adaptive recalibration feature weights, but also forms a fusion attention function. The proposed dense fusion focuses on the visualization of the network diagnosis process, which increases the interpretability of model diagnosis. How to continuously and effectively integrate different functions to enhance the ability to extract fault features and the ability to resist noise is answered. Centrifugal fan and rotor fault data are used to verify this network. Experimental results show that the network has stronger diagnostic performance than other advanced fault diagnostic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goat, an early domesticated ruminant, is a reliable source of cashmere, meat and milk in global agricultural production. Despite this, the genome of cashmere-rich goats has yet to be characterized. Here, we assembled the nearly complete genome of a cashmere goat from a highly economically valuable Inner Mongolian Cashmere buck, utilizing a combination of PacBio HiFi, ONT ultra-long reads, and Hi-C technologies. The size of this genome is 2.76 Gb, with a contig N50 of 95.22 Mb. All assembled sequences were anchored onto 29 autosomes and both sex chromosomes, with only two gaps present on the X chromosome. We identified 1,333.29 Mb (48.26%) of repetitive sequences and predicted 22,480 protein-coding genes. Assembly quality assessment of the genome demonstrated that our assembled cashmere goat genome surpasses the continuity, completeness, and accuracy of other published goat genomes. Taken together, we provided the first cashmere goat assembly, bridging the gap in the genome of important economic breeds of domestic goats, and providing a valuable reference resource for goat genetics and genome research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Cu coating was introduced on the steel surface by electroplating, and the wetting and spreading behavior of Mg alloys on Cu-coated steel substrates during the laser machining process was investigated. Wetting behavior, microstructure, diffusion kinetics, and thermodynamic calculations were conducted to comprehend the role of the Cu coating in the wetting process. The contact angle decreases first followed by an increase with the increased Cu coating thickness. The interfacial reaction is enhanced by the combination of Mg atoms with Fe atoms, transitioning the primary wetting mechanism from reaction control to adsorption/desorption processes. The introduction of Cu elements promoted the creation of a loosely structured Mg + Mg2Cu phase at the solid–liquid interface between Mg and steel. It significantly increased the wetting of Mg droplets on the steel surface. The results showed that the wetting behavior in this material system was synergistically governed by reactions, surface energy, and thermodynamic driving forces. These findings provided a foundational understanding for enhancing the joining of dissimilar Mg/steel materials under non-isothermal processing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the effect of process flow on the bonding properties of carbon fiber/copper composites. The carbon fiber surface was first subjected to hot air oxidation degumming treatment, and then plasma treatment was performed after filling a vacuum environment with Ar. The magnetron sputtering process was used, and the carbon fiber/copper composite was prepared by selecting titanium as the intermediate transition layer and copper as the plating metal. The experimental results indicated that the peeling strength of copper/carbon fiber interface was highest when the plasma was treated for 30 s. As a transition layer, titanium plays a vital role in the peeling strength of copper/carbon fiber, and forming a Ti-C bond improves the peeling strength. In the range of 20-150 V, the peeling strength of carbon fiber/copper increased with the increase of titanium and copper substrate bias voltage. This is because the diffusion and adhesion of titanium and copper atoms fill the pores and improve compactness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intramuscular fat (IMF) is a central attribute of goat nutrition qualities and consumers' choice. Here, we reported potential markers of IMF deposits in goat meat. Based on IMF content that was significantly higher in longissimus dorsi (LD) than in biceps femoris (BF) (P < 0.01), goats were divided into a high-IMF (HI) group (n = 6) and a low-IMF (LI) group (n = 6). To better understand the molecular variations underlying IMF anabolism and catabolism in goats, we performed a proteomic analysis of the HI group and LI group, and 110 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. After bioinformatics analysis of GO, KEGG, and protein–protein interaction (PPI), 6 DEPs (HADHA, HADHB, ACSL1, ACADS, ACAT1, and ACAA2) have positive contributions to the regulatory machinery of IMF position. Finally, a potential mRNA–miRNA–protein regulatory network of IMF was created, and the results demonstrated that ACADS and ACSL1 were identified as candidate biomarkers for IMF deposits that are worthy to evaluate in the future. Our study lays a foundation for further improving the meat quality of these animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, microstructural analyses, electrochemical measurements, and chemical immersion tests were used to investigate the effect of cold rolling on the pitting corrosion resistance of 316L and 304 austenitic stainless steels (ASSs). The results indicated that the yield and tensile strength of both ASSs were much higher after severe cold rolling at 150 °C. In addition, the microstructural analyses revealed that deformation bands were the main feature for the deformed ASSs. The pitting corrosion potentials Ep of the ASSs monotonously decreased with an increase in the degree of rolling deformation and were similar under heavy deformation. The diameter of the semicircle in the Nyquist plot decreased, and the donor density in the passive film increased with an increase in the degree of cold rolling. Moreover, several pits were observed at the deformation bands in the cold-rolled ASSs. The average diameter and depth of the pits increased with an increase in the degree of cold rolling. After the cold rolling process, the deformation bands were high-stress regions and would provide more potential sites for pitting nucleation. Finally, with an increase in the deformation degree, more deformation bands were generated, and the pits nucleated more easily, indicating that the pitting corrosion resistance of the two ASSs was poorer after the deformation. Pitting corrosion resistance decreases with an increase in the degree of cold rolling deformation, and deformation bands would be the potential sites for pitting initiation in the ASSs which is rolled at 150 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

microRNA (miRNA) is a type of endogenous short-chain non-coding RNA with regulatory function found in eukaryotes, which is involved in the regulation of a variety of cellular and biological processes. However, the research on the development of cashmere goat secondary hair follicles is still relatively scarce. In this study, small RNA libraries and mRNA libraries of 45 days, 55 days, 65 days, and 75 days of fetal skin of cashmere goats were constructed, and the constructed libraries were sequenced using Illumina Hiseq4000, and the expression profiles of miRNA and mRNA in cashmere goat fetal skin were obtained. The differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs in six control groups were identified and the qRT-PCR experiment shows that the sequencing results are accurate. Sixty-six miRNAs related to secondary hair follicle development were screened, and used TargetScan and miRanda to predict 33 highly expressed miRNA target genes. At the same time, 664 mRNAs related to the development of secondary hair follicles were screened, and GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis were performed. It was found that some miRNA target genes were consistent with the screening results of mRNAs related to secondary hair follicle development and were enriched in Notch signaling pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway. Therefore, miR-145-5p-DLL4, miR-27b-3p-DLL4, miR-30e-5p-DLL4, miR-193b-3p-TGF-β1, miR-181b-5p-NOTCH2, and miR-103-3p-NOTCH2 regulatory network related to the development of secondary hair follicles were constructed and the results of dual-luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that there is a targeted relationship between chi-miR-30e-5p and DLL4, which will provide a basis for molecular mechanism of miRNA-mRNA in the development of the hair follicles in cashmere goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductor lasers with extremely low threshold power require a combination of small volume active region with high-quality-factor cavities. For ridge lasers with highly reflective coatings, an ultra-low threshold demands significantly suppressing the diffraction loss at the facets of the laser. Here, we demonstrate that introducing a subwavelength aperture in the metallic highly reflective coating of a laser can correct the phase front, thereby counter-intuitively enhancing both its modal reflectivity and transmissivity at the same time. Theoretical and experimental results manifest a decreasing in the mirror loss by over 40% and an increasing in the transmissivity by 104. Implementing this method on a small-cavity quantum cascade laser, room-temperature continuous-wave lasing operation at 4.5 μm wavelength with an electrical consumption power of only 143 mW is achieved. Our work suggests possibilities for future portable applications and can be implemented in a broad range of optoelectronic systems. Low threshold lasing is widely required, especially for portable systems. Here the authors design a circular subwavelength metallic aperture in a QCL to shape its phase front and control diffraction losses, which in turn allows a lower threshold dissipation power, enabling the fabrication of shorter cavities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A composite TiZrNiCuBe metallic glass/NiCrAl-bentonite coating was prepared on TC4 titanium alloy. Thermal shock testing of the coating was investigated by soaking at 600 °C for 10 min then quenching in cold water. Samples were extracted after 1, 50, 100, and 150 cycles to analyze the microstructure and oxidation behavior of the coatings. Microstructure characterization was carried out by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and oxidation products were identified by x-ray diffraction analysis. The results showed that stress release in the metallic glass layer during heat treatment caused formation of cracks, around which oxidation occurred, leading to failure of the coating. The final oxidation products were TiO2, NiO, CuO, and ZrO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During our studies focused on the microorganism diversity and community structure of Populus euphratica at Ebinur lake wetland nature reserve in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, PR China, a Gram-positive, aerobic, short rod-shaped bacterium without flagellum, designated as MD2T, was isolated from a piece of resina on Populus euphratica. The isolate grew at temperature of 10–45 °C (optimum 37 °C), pH of 7.0–12.0 (optimum pH 8.0) and NaCl concentration of 1–18% (optimum 3%, w/v). Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences and the phylogenetic analysis, the strain shared the highest sequence similarities to Nesterenkonia alkaliphila JCM 19766T (96.3%), Nesterenkonia populi KCTC 29119T (95.9%), Nesterenkonia alba CCTCC AB 207011T (95.5%), and was placed within the radiation of Nesterenkonia species in the phylogenetic trees. The draft genome of the isolate was sequenced, which comprised 3,739,891 bp with G + C content of 63 mol%, and was annotated to contain 3614 protein-coding genes, 44 tRNA genes and 5 rRNA genes. Chemotaxonomic analysis indicated that the main respiratory quinones were MK-8 and MK-9, the predominant cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C17:0, anteiso-C15:0 and iso-C16:0, the major polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol andphosphatidylinositol. According to the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic features, strain MD2T is considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Nesterenkonia ebinurensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MD2T (= KCTC 52999T = MCCC 1K03343T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Among elder children/young adults who received hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination during infancy, the serological status of HBsAg-negative and anti-HBc-positive [HBsAg(–)/anti-HBc(+)] was frequently reported, indicating potential occult HBV infection (OBI). It is required to define the long-term protection of neonatal vaccination against OBI in their mature adulthood. Methods: Building upon the 1983–1990 established Qidong Hepatitis B Intervention Study, we sampled 10% of the 28–35-year-old participants, who remained in the cohort by 2012. Each participant was tested for serological markers of HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc. HBV-DNA and relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA) were determined in some HBsAg(–)/anti-HBc(+) individuals. Results: Totally, 3615 individuals from the neonatal vaccination group and 3100 individuals from the control group donated blood samples, respectively. In the vaccination group, the prevalence of HBsAg was 1.58% (57/3615), HBsAg(–)/anti-HBc(+) was 4.70% (170/3615), significantly lower than in the control group, which was 7.45% (231/3100) and 19.48% (640/3100) respectively (all p < 0.001). With aging, HBsAg(–)/anti-HBc(+) prevalence increased in the sampled participants from the control group (pfor trend < 0.001), but uncertain from the vaccination group. Of HBsAg(–)/anti-HBc(+), HBV-DNA was detected in 13.08% (17/130) from the vaccination group, and in 4.18% (12/287) from the control group. HBV rcDNA was detected in most sera that were tested positive for HBV-DNA. Conclusions: OBI occurred in some vaccinated adults. However, neonatal HBV vaccination kept the effective protection against OBI in mature adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to extend the 2D-TRC (tool radius compensation) function of 3-axis CNC milling machines to ball end mills (BEMs), a new TRC named BEM-TRC is proposed to achieve successful milling of complex surfaces without over-cut. The implementation of the BEM-TRC for complex surfaces depicted in NURBS model is divided into three steps. The first one is to search the cutting point (CP) on a NURBS surface using equi-arc length interpolation in u or v direction. The second one is to accomplish BEM-TRC at the CP through offsetting the CP to the cutter center point (CCP) of a BEM along the normal vector at CP. The third one is to compute the cutter location point (CLP) of the BEM according to the BEM-CCP. The simulation and experiment verifies that the BEM-TRC is feasible and effective, and can avoid over-cut phenomenon successfully. The BEM-TRC extends the ability of the traditional 2D-TRC function, and makes 3-axis CNC milling machines to accomplish the milling process of complex NURBS surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inner Mongolia cashmere goats, as an important part of animal husbandry production, play an important role in animal fiber industry. In recent years, scientific research has made a lot of explorations on the molecular regulation mechanism of hair follicle cycle growth, but few studies have been reported on the development of cashmere hair in fetal period. This study was based on the completion of 21 skin samples of mRNA and miRNA sequencing in 7 fetal periods (45 days, 55 days,65 days,75 days,95 days,115 days and 135 days) of the Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat. The target genes of miRNA associated with the development of secondary hair follicles in the cashmere goats were selected through the combination analysis of mRNA and miRNA data. Then the overexpression vector was constructed and the interaction between the miRNA and the target gene was identified by Dual-Luciferase Reporter Gene System. The function and interaction relationship of chi-miR-199a-5p and TGF-β2 were verified by RT-qPCR and western blot at the level of the fibroblasts in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat. It provides a theoretical basis for further study of miRNA and its target genes regulating the occurrence and development of skin hair follicles. As the result shows, the expression trends of 7 genes (BAMBI, SMAD1, LTBP1, PPP2R1B, ID4, BMP8B and PITX2) and 7 miRNA (chi-miR-17-5p, chi-miR-125b-3p, chi-miR-21-5p, chi-miR-143-5p and chi-miR-106b-5p) in the skin samples for the seven stages of the fetus were shown to be consistent with the sequencing results. the results of sequencing are reliable. The correlation coefficient of TGF-β2 and chi-miR-199a-5p in fetal 45d-135d expression is −0.84, showing a strong negative correlation, The target relationship was preliminarily judged. The results of double luciferase vector report showed that chi-miR-199a-5p significantly decreased the expression of luciferase in TGF-β2 3′UTR, It is determined that there is a reciprocal relationship between them at a specific time. We transfected chi-miR199a-5p-FAM mimics into fibroblasts cultured in vitro from Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. After transfection, the cells were harvested to extract total RNA and protein. The mRNA and protein expression levels of TGF-β2 in fibroblasts were detected by RT-qPCR and western blot. It was verified that chi-miR-199a-5p inhibited TGF-β2 expression at both mRNA and protein translation levels in fibroblasts. At the same time, it was again proved that the TGF-β2 gene is a target gene of chi-miR199a-5p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new bacterial strain, designated HM134T, was isolated from a sample of soil collected from a Chinese mangrove Avicennia marina forest. Assessed by a polyphasic approach, the taxonomy of strain HM134T was found to be associated with a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with the genus Micromonospora. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16s rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain HM134T formed a distinct lineage with the most closely related species, including M. rifamycinica AM105T, M. wenchangensis CCTCC AA 2012002T and M. mangrovi 2803GPT1-18T. The ANI values between strain HM134T and the reference strains ranged from 82.6% to 95.2%, which was below the standard criteria for classifying strains as the same species (96.5%). Strain HM134T and related species shared in silico dDDH similarities values below the recommended 70% cut-off for the delineation of species (range from 25.7–62.6%). The DNA G+C content of strain HM134T was 73.2 mol%. Analysis of phylogenetic, genomic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics revealed that strain HM134T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Micromonospora, for which the name M. zhangzhouensis sp. nov. is proposed. The extract of strain HM134T was demonstrated to exhibit cytotoxic activity against the human cancer cell lines HepG2, HCT-116 and A549. Active substance presented in the fermentation broth of strain HM134T was isolated by bioassay-guided analysis and purified afterwards. A new derivative of diterpenoid was identified through electrospray ionizing mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The compound showed different cytotoxic activities against cancer cells, with the highest cytotoxicity against HCT-116, corresponding to IC50 value of 38.4 μg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The undercoat fiber of the cashmere goat, from the secondary hair follicle (HF), possesses commercial value. However, very few studies have focused on the molecular details of primary and secondary HF initiation and development in goat embryos. In this study, skin samples at embryonic day 45, 55, and 65 (E45, E55, and E65) were collected and prepared for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). We found that the HF probably initiated from E55 to E65 by analyzing the functional pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Most key genes in canonical signaling pathways, including WNT, TGF-β, FGF, Hedgehog, NOTCH, and other factors showed clear expression changes from E55 to E65. We, for the first time, explored alternative splicing (AS) alterations, which showed distinct patterns among these three stages. Functional pathways of AS-regulated genes showed connections to HF development. By comparing the published RNA-seq samples from the E60, E120, and newborn (NB) stages, we found the majority of WNT/β-catenin signaling genes were important in the initiation of HF development, while other factors including FOXN1, GATA3, and DLX3 may have a consistent influence on HF development. Our investigation supported the time points of embryonic HF initiation and identified genes that have potential functions of embryonic HF initiation and development. We further explored the potential regulatory roles of AS in HF initiation, which extended our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms of HF development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) stoichiometric ratios are considered good indicators of nutrient excess/limitation and thus of ecosystem health, few reports have discussed the trends and the reciprocal effects of C:N:P stoichiometry in plant-litter-soil systems. The present study analyzed C:N:P ratios in four age groups of Chinese pine, Pinus tabulaeformis Carr., forests in Shanxi Province, China: plantation young forests (AY, < 20 year-old); plantation middle-aged forests (AM, 21-30 year-old); natural young forests (NY, < 30 year-old); and natural middle-aged forests (NM, 31-50 year-old). The average C:N:P ratios calculated for tree, shrub, and herbaceous leaves, litter, and soil (0-100 cm) were generally higher in NY followed by NM, AM, and AY. C:N and C:P ratios were higher in litter than in leaves and soils, and reached higher values in the litter and leaves of young forests than in middle-aged forests; however, C:N and C:P ratios were higher in soils of middle-aged forests than in young forests. N:P ratios were higher in leaves than in litter and soils regardless of stand age; the consistent N:P < 14 values found in all forests indicated N limitations. With plant leaves, C:P ratios were highest in trees, followed by herbs and shrubs, indicating a higher efficiency in tree leaf formation. C:N ratios decreased with increasing soil depth, whereas there was no trend for C:P and N:P ratios. C:N:P stoichiometry of forest foliage did not exhibit a consistent variation according to stand age. Research on the relationships between N:P, and P, N nutrient limits and the characteristics of vegetation nutrient adaptation need to be continued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel, Gram-stain-positive, microaerophilic to aerobic, non-endospore-forming, no-motile and rod-shaped bacterium designated Q14T was isolated from mangrove soil samples collected on chengmai, Hainan province, China. Strain Q14T was able to grow at 10-40 °C (optimum 30 °C), pH 5.5-10.0 (optimum 6.5-8.0) and with 0.5-6% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1%). The genomic DNA G+C content was 70.1%. The chemotaxonomic analysis showed that the predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-12 and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0, iso-C17:0 and anteiso-C17:0. The major polar lipids of strain Q14T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and one glycolipid. The strain Q14T contained 2,4-diaminobutylic acid (A2bu), alanine acid, glutamic acid and glycine in the peptidoglycans. The phylogenetic analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization, along with the phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, indicate that strain Q14T as a novel species of the genus Agromyces, for which the name Agromyces mangrovi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Q14T (= MCCC 1K03191T = KCTC 39814T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast processing speeds of the current generation of supercomputers provide a great convenience to scientists dealing with extremely large data sets. The next generation of exascale supercomputers could provide accurate simulation results for the automobile industry, aerospace industry, and even nuclear fusion reactors for the very first time. However, the energy cost of super-computing is extremely high, with a total electricity bill of 9 million dollars per year. Thus, conserving energy and increasing the energy efficiency of supercomputers have become critical in recent years. Many researchers have studied this problem and are trying to conserve energy by incorporating the dynamic voltage frequency scaling technique into their methods. However, this approach is limited, especially when the workload is high. In this paper, we developed a power-aware job scheduler by applying a rule-based control method and taking into consideration real-world power and speedup profiles to improve power efficiency while adhering to predetermined power constraints. The intensive simulation results showed that our proposed method is able to achieve the maximum utilization of computing resources as compared to baseline scheduling algorithms while keeping the energy cost under the threshold. Moreover, by introducing a power performance factor based on the real-world power and speedup profiles, we are able to increase the power efficiency by up to 75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the associations between SIRT1 polymorphisms and their expression in patients with alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD).Methods: A total of 268 heavy drinkers were divided into the AFLD group (n = 176) and alcoholic control (n = 92) and 237 light-/non-drinkers into the NAFLD (non-AFLD) group (n = 117) and healthy control (n = 120). The genotyping of SIRT1 (rs33957861, rs11599176, rs12413112 and rs35689145) was detected by the Sequenom MassARRAY iPLEX test. The mRNA and protein expressions of SIRT1 were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively.Results: SIRT1 gene rs33957861 and rs11599176 polymorphisms significantly reduce the risk of NAFLD and AFLD, while rs35689145 remarkably increases the risk. Haplotypes of AAAA (rs33957861–rs11599176–rs12413112–rs35689145), AAAA, CAGA and CGAA can appreciably lower the presence of AFLD, but CAAG had an elevated AFLD risk. Besides, in the NAFLD and AFLD groups, a decreased BMI was found in the mutant genotype carriers of rs33957861, rs11599176 and rs12413112, but an increased BMI was observed in the rs35689145 mutant genotype carriers when compared to those with the wild-type homozygous genotype ones. Furthermore, rs33957861 C>T, rs11599176 A>G and BMI were independent risk factors of AFLD. There was no difference among four SNPs of SIRT1 and its mRNA and protein expressions in all groups.Conclusion: SIRT1 polymorphisms and their expression were associated with the presence of AFLD, and there was a close relationship among four SNPs and BMI in AFLD patients, but no SNP was related to its expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To research the inherent properties of the co-expression of three types degumming-related enzymes and breed more powerful degumming strains. Results: Six tandem multimers of the pectate lyase gene, the xylanase gene, and the endo-1,4-β-mannanase gene, which are essential for degumming process, were co-expressed and evaluated in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The xyl91 gene had a synergistic effect with endo-1,4-β-mannanase and pectate lyase from DCE-01, when xyl gene was replaced with xyl91 in the multimer. The recombinant pET- pxm(91 x) was selected and transformed into the original degumming strain DCE-01, which led to an enzymatic activity improvement. Furthermore, the weight loss, reducing sugar and COD value of the sample treated with the new engineered strain pET- pxm(91 x)/DCE-01 increased to 22.5 %, 460 mg ml and 4.9, respectively. Conclusions: The co-expression of degumming-related enzyme genes may be applied in industrial tests and represents a novel direction for bio-degumming research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of spillover effect of transportation endowment on regional economic development is analyzed in this paper. We adopt the reduced form from the Solow growth model to estimate spillover effect from transportation. The panel database in use incorporates provincial gross regional product (GRP), labor and capital supply, and transportation investment information from 1985 to 2012 in China. The results confirm positive and significant spillover effect in Chinese provinces. In this paper, non-homogeneous spillover effects are captured in the empirical regression by the use of spatial weighing methods based on provincial economics and similarity as well as geographic connection. Highly positive spillovers are observed between economically similar provinces. However, for those under-developed provinces, high network connectivity often results in low or negative spillovers. The mobility and migration of production factors are believed to be the sources of the negative spillovers, while the industrial reallocation and market expansion contribute to the positive spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a large class of non-coding RNA which usually acts a fine-tuned regulation in repressing gene expression on transcriptional and post-transcriptional level during ontogenetic development, metabolism, and occurrence of disease. Due to the lateness of goat genome investigation, registered goat microRNAs are little known and the function of it is poorly understood. In this study, we identified 5 novel miRNAs express in cashmere goat skin and longissimus dorsi using comparative genomic approach combined with expression profile analysis. Further qPCR and sequencing validation demonstrated that the novel miRNAs we identified expressed in goat skin and longissimus dorsi, three of them with the highest expression in February and two in October, indicating these novel microRNAs were involved in growth and cessation of goat hair production. Subsequently, potential target genes were explored via base-pairing with complementary sequences miRNA/mRNA interaction searching. WDR12 and CSNK1A1 involved in Notch/Wnt signal transduction pathway were finally identified. Collectively, the approach of comparative genomics combining expression profile analysis is a powerful tool to identify novel miRNA in goat and the 5 identified novel miRNAs(chi-miR-2284n, chi-miR-421*, chi-miR-421, chi-miR-1839 and chi-miR-374; Accession number: JQ002550-JQ002554) play a essential role in goat hair production of cashmere goat, both in entering growth and cessation phase. This study is also a meaningful complement to the present goat miRNA database for further understanding function of miRNAs in regulation of goat cashmere production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gram-stain-negative, motile, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium with flagella, designated M3-13T, was isolated from a saline soil in Zhoushan, China. According to phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain M3-13T was assigned to the genus Marinobacter with highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.7% to Marinobacter maroccanus LMG 30466T, followed by Marinobacter sediminum R65 T (97.5%) and M. salsuginis SD-14BT (97.2%). Digital DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) were determined to evaluate the genomic relationship between strain M3-13T and M. maroccanus LMG 30466T. Digital DDH estimation (19.8%) as well as ANI (72.98%) proved the dissimilarity of strain M3-13T. Optimal growth of the strain M3-13T was at 28–30 °C and at pH 8.0–8.5, in the presence of 3–6% (w/v) NaCl. The major fatty acids detected in strain M3-13T were C16:1ω7c/C16:1ω6c, C16:0, C18:1ω7c/C18:1ω6c and C12:03-OH, and the predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-9. The major polar lipids included diphosphatidyglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified aminophosphoglycolipid and one unidentified phosphoglycolipid. The DNA G+C content was 56.6%. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain M3-13T belongs to the genus Marinobacter. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic characterization, strain M3-13T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Marinobacter, for which the name Marinobacter caseinlyticus sp. nov. is proposed (type strain M3-13T = MCCC 1K04560T = KCTC 72043T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]