Search

For healthy development, an avian embryo needs the nutritional and functional molecules maternally deposited in avian eggs. Egg white not only provides nutritional components but also exhibits functional properties, such as defenses against microbial invasion. However, the roles of the more detailed messages in embryo development remain unclear. In this study, a tandem mass tag labeling quantitation approach was used to innovatively identify the differential proteins in the egg whites of fresh eggs produced by hens with divergent high/low hatchability and in the egg whites of embryonated eggs with healthy and dead embryos. A total of 378 proteins were quantified in egg white, which is the most complete proteome identified for egg white to date, and up to 102 differential proteins were identified. GO enrichment, pathway, and hierarchical clustering analysis revealed some of the differential proteins that are the main participants in several biological processes, including blood coagulation, intermediate filament, antibacterial activity, and neurodevelopment. A list of 11 putative protein biomarkers, such as keratin (KRT19, KRT12, KRT15, and KRT6A), which is involved in cell architecture, and fibrinogen (fibrinogen alpha chain, fibrinogen beta chain, and fibrinogen gamma chain), which is related to blood coagulation, were ultimately screened. The current study screened egg white proteins that can predict low hatchability and embryonic death and deciphered the role of these proteins in embryonic development, which is meaningful for the comprehensive understanding of embryonic growth., (© 2019 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

An electrochemical sensor for paracetamol is described that consists of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) that was modified with the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with MnO 2 nanoflowers. The hydrothermally synthesized MnO 2 nanoflowers possess a large surface area and can be doped into PEDOT through electrochemical deposition to form a conducting polymer nanocomposite. The nanoflowers are shown to be uniformly distributed within the nanocomposite as revealed by elemental mapping analysis. The nanocomposite displays excellent catalytic activity toward the electrochemical oxidation of paracetamol. The modified GCE, best operated at a working potential of around 0.37 V (vs. SCE) has a linear response in 0.06 to 435 μM paracetamol concentration range and a very low limit of detection (31 nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The sensor exhibits excellent reproducibility and stability, and satisfying accuracy for paracetamol detection in pharmaceutical samples. Graphical abstract A highly sensitive electrochemical sensor capable of detecting paracetamol with a limit of detection down to 31 nM was developed based on MnO 2 nanoflowers doped conducting polymer PEDOT.

Direct detection of targets in complex biological media with conventional biosensors is an enormous challenge due to the nonspecific adsorption and severe biofouling. In this work, a facile strategy for sensitive and low fouling detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is developed through the construction of a mixed self-assembled biosensing interface, which was composed of zwitterionic peptide (antifouling material) and ATP aptamer (bio-recognition element). The peptide and aptamer (both containing thiol groups) were simultaneously self-assembled onto gold electrode surface electrodeposited with gold nanoparticles. The developed aptasensor possessed high selectivity and sensitivity for ATP, and it showed a wide linear response range towards ATP from 0.1pM to 5nM. Owing to the presence of peptide with excellent antifouling property in the biosensing interface, the aptasensor can detect ATP in complex biological media with remarkably reduced biofouling or nonspecific adsorption effect. Moreover, it can directly detect ATP in 1% human whole blood without suffering from any significant interference, indicating its great potential for practical assaying of ATP in biological samples., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Copper-cobalt bimetal nanoparticles (Cu-Co) have been electrochemically prepared on glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs), which were electrodeposited with conducting polymer nanocomposites of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Owing to their good conductivity, high mechanical strength, and large surface area, the PEDOT/CNTs composites offered excellent substrates for the electrochemical deposition of Cu-Co nanoparticles. As a result of their nanostructure and the synergic effect between Cu and Co, the Cu-Co/PEDOT/CNTs composites exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity towards the electrochemical oxidation of nitrite. Under optimized conditions, the nanocomposite-modified electrodes had a fast response time within 2 s and a linear range from 0.5 to 430 μm for the detection of nitrite, with a detection limit of 60 nm. Moreover, the Cu-Co/PEDOT/CNTs composites were highly stable, and the prepared nitrite sensors could retain more than 96 % of their initial response after 30 days., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Objectives: There is much evidence that shows that a substantial number of individuals with DSM-IV-defined unipolar depression (UP) manifest hypomanic sub-syndrome and bipolar diathesis. Other definitions have conceptualized the term soft bipolar spectrum (SBP) for these individuals. Little is known about the cognitive profiles of individuals with SBP. We hypothesized that they are representative of individuals with bipolar II disorder and are different from that of 'strict' UP., Methods: Consecutive referrals suffering major depressive episodes were categorically assigned to groups of either bipolar I disorder (n = 98), bipolar II disorder (n = 138), or UP (n = 300). Based on the SBP criteria by Akiskal and Pinto (17), patients with UP were subdivided into 81 SBP and 219 strict UP. We administered self- and clinician-administered scales to evaluate affective temperaments, and neuropsychological tests to assess seven cognitive domains., Results: Patients with SBP performed significantly better than strict UP patients in the domains of processing speed (p = 0.002), visual-spatial memory (p = 0.017), and verbal working memory (p = 0.017). Compared to patients with bipolar I disorder, patients with SBP were significantly better in set shifting (p < 0.001) and visual-spatial memory (p = 0.042). Patients with SBP performed similarly to patients with bipolar II disorder in all of the cognitive domains tested (p > 0.05). There was a group × cognitive domain interaction effect between bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, SBP, and strict UP groups [Pillai's F = 2.231, df = (18,1437), p = 0.002]., Conclusions: Our data suggest that patients with SBP differ from patients with UP not only in external validators (e.g., family history of bipolar disorder) and hypomanic symptoms, but also in neuropsychological performance and that the profiles of cognitive functioning were different across bipolar I disorder and 'bipolar II spectrum' that subsumes bipolar II disorder and SBP., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Considerable evidence has demonstrated that melancholic and atypical major depression have distinct biological correlates relative to undifferentiated major depression, but few studies have specifically delineated neuropsychological performance for them., Method: In a six-week prospective longitudinal study, we simultaneously compared neuropsychological performance among melancholic depression (n=142), atypical depression (n=76), undifferentiated major depression (n=91), and healthy controls (n=200) during a major depressive episode and a clinically remitted state, respectively. We administered neuropsychological tests assessing processing speed, attention, shifting, planning, verbal fluency, visual spatial memory, and verbal working memory to all participants., Results: During the depressive state, the three subtypes displayed extensive cognitive impairment, except for attention, when compared with the healthy controls. Melancholic depression significantly differed from atypical depression in processing speed and verbal fluency. In the remitted state, the three subtypes recovered their visual spatial memory and verbal working memory functions to the healthy control level. The recovery of the other domains (processing speed, set shifting, planning, and verbal fluency), however, was different across the subtypes. No predictive relationship existed between neuropsychological performance and the treatment outcome., Limitations: The drop-out rate in the six-week longitudinal study was relatively high., Conclusion: Our data provide preliminary evidence that during depressed states the three major depressive subtypes display similar cognitive deficits in some domains but differ in such domains as processing speed and verbal fluency. The recovery of the cognitive deficits following clinical remission from depression may be associated with subtypes of major depressive disorder., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Affective temperaments such as cyclothymia, which may be the fundamental substrates for bipolar disorder and bipolar II in particular, have been reported to be associated with abnormalities in the regions that are related to cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder. However, few studies have examined the effects of affective temperaments on neuropsychological performance in individuals with bipolar disorder., Method: In a six-week prospective study, we administered Chinese version of TEMPS-A (Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, San Diego-Autoquestionnair) to 93 patients with bipolar I depression, 135 patients with bipolar II depression, and 101 healthy controls. Cognitive function was assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tasks, including attention, processing speed, set shifting, planning, verbal working memory, verbal fluency, and visual spatial memory. Mixed-effects statistical models were used to assess the effects of affective temperaments on cognitive function., Results: Bipolar patients with hyperthymic temperament showed greater cognitive deficits in set shifting (p=0.05) and verbal working memory (p=0.026) than did bipolar patients with non-predominant temperaments (predominant temperament was defined as one standard deviation above the mean). The differences in estimated marginal means were -0.624 (95% CI, -1.25 to 0) and -0.429 (95% CI, -0.81 to -0.05), respectively. Significant temperament X bipolar subtype interaction effects were observed for set shifting (Wald X(2)=18.161, p<0.001), planning (Wald X(2)=7.906, p=0.048), and visual spatial memory (Wald X(2)=16.418, p=0.001)., Limitation: The anxious temperament was not evaluated., Conclusion: Our data suggest that hyperthymic temperament may be associated with cognitive deficits in some specific domains in bipolar disorder; and that the effect of temperaments may be different across subtypes of bipolar disorder., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The ghrelin (GHRL), ghrelin receptor (GHSR), and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) genes have crucial effects on body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in many species. However, few studies on associations of GHRL, GHSR, and IGF1R with BWG, FI, and FCR have been reported in chickens. In this study, 16 SNPs in GHRL, GHSR, and IGF1R genes were genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The objective of this study was to examine the associations of GHRL, GHSR, and IGF1R genes polymorphisms with BW at 49 days (BW49) and 70 days (BW70) of age, BWG, FI, and FCR in the interval in two yellow meat-type populations with a total of 724 birds. The results showed that rs15675067 of GHRL was significantly associated with BW70, BWG, and FCR (P < 0.05). For GHSR, rs16675844 had significant effects on FI and FCR (P < 0.01), and that rs14678932 showed significant association with BWG and FI (P < 0.05). Rs14011780 of IGF1R was strongly associated with BW49, BW70, and FCR (P < 0.05). Furthermore, haplotypes based on three SNPs of rs14986828, rs15675067, and rs15675065 in GHRL were significantly associated with BW70 and FCR (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, a three-SNP haplotype comprising rs14011783, rs14011780, and rs14011776 in IGF1R showed significant effects on BW49, BW70, and FCR (P < 0.05). Therefore, it was concluded that the identified SNPs and analyzed haplotypes in this study might be useful for broiler breeding programs.

Objective: To assess the association of neural development-related genes LIS1and TSNAX with bipolar disorder in a Chinese Han population., Methods: Three hundred and eight five patients (including 188 males and 197 females) from Guangzhou Brain Hospital with bipolar disorder meeting the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Bipolar Disorder (BDI) (Fourth Edition) criteria and 475 healthy controls from the local community were recruited. Ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the LIS1 and TSNAX genes were genotyped by GoldenGate genotyping assay on an Illumina Beadstation 500 machine. Association analyses of SNPs and haplotypes were performed with Plink 1.07 software., Results: Analysis of the total sample has failed to find any association of SNP or haplotype of the two genes with BDI (P> 0.05). When patients were divided into subgroups with or without psychotic symptom, no significant association of the two genes was found with psychotic BDI or non-psychotic BDI (P> 0.05). No significant association was found between any SNP and haplotype of two genes and female BDI or male BDI, nor were significant association found between age of onset and LIS1 and TSNAX gene polymorphisms., Conclusion: Our results indicated that LIS1 and TSNAX genes are not associated with susceptibility to bipolar I disorder in Chinese Han population.

The male hypemethylated (MHM) region, associated with sex-specific DNA methylation and histone acetylation, encodes non-coding RNAs that are expressed exclusively on Z chromosome in female chickens. The function of the MHM non-coding RNAs is unclear yet. In order to analyze the regulation effect of MHM on mRNA expression of sex-dependent genes, exogenous plasmid containing chicken MHM (cMHM) was constructed and injected into left testes of 13-week-old roosters. Comb color of the roosters in the pEGFP-N1-cMHM group became much paler, an indication of change in sex hormones, as compared with that of the negative control groups at the 10 days after injection. Real-time PCR was used to determine mRNA expression of sex-dependent genes in testes tissue. Transcription of ER alpha gene was significantly up-regulated in the pEGFP-N1-cMHM group compared with that of the pEGFP-N1 and normal saline groups (P < 0.01), while expression of DMRT1 mRNA declined severely in the pEGFP-N1-cMHM group compared with that of normal saline groups (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, expression of other candidate genes, such as AMH, FOXL2, SOX9, and P450arom did not change after injection of exogenous cMHM. In conclusion, down-regulation of DMRT1 and up-regulation of ER alpha in rooster testes treated with exogenous pEGFP-N1-cMHM plasmid might indicate a novel cMHM non-coding RNA-mediated mechanism in avian sex differentiation.

Streptomyces sp.139 produces an exopolysaccharide (EPS) designated Ebosin with remarkable anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. The ste (Streptomyces eps) gene cluster required for Ebosin biosynthesis has been identified. According to similarities with other proteins in the database, ste22 shows high homology with glycosyltransferases originated from different microorganisms. In this study, the ste22 gene was disrupted by double crossover via homologous recombination. The EPS produced by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp.139 (ste22(-)) has a different monosaccharide composition profile in comparison with that of Ebosin. This derivative of Ebosin retained the original antagonistic activity of IL-1R in vitro but lost the bioactivities of anti-inflammation and pain relief in vivo.