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Coastline is one type of valuable non-renewable resources. From the perspective of economic theory, it can gather population, promote traffic construction, and then improve the level of international trade. The research object of this paper is the coastline resource in Dafeng area. Firstly, we have a brief summary of the existing coastline evaluation literature, then introduce the location and natural attributes of the coastline resources in Dafeng. Following that, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model is used to build the economic evaluation index system based on the characteristics of coastline in Dafeng. Specially, this index system consists of 6 factors, and a total of 41 detailed indicators were chosen including water depth, GDP, etc. On this basis, we use the assignment method to quantify the weight of each index, and calculate the comprehensive score of coastline resource by using the YAAHP software. The final conclusion is as follows: The total score of economic evaluation of coastline resource in Dafeng is 0.87. Therefore, the coastline resource in Dafeng will eventually be constructed a unique coastal economic zone, where the implemented port industrial projects will include shipbuilding, logistics, mechanical processing etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does external industry context exert an influence on the development of corporate sustainable development? In keeping with the view that environmental responsibility generates new and competitive resources for firms, we posit that three distinct industry contextual characteristics, namely munificence, dynamism, and complexity, can influence corporate environmentally responsible behaviors. Our conceptual framework is supported by empirical evidence that draws on a sample of 746 Chinese listed firms in manufacturing sectors. Our findings suggest that dynamism increases the likelihood of firms behaving in environmentally responsible ways, whereas complexity decreases this likelihood. The relationships between dynamism and environmental responsibility are stronger in firms with low levels of organizational slack. Moreover, we find that resource-abundant firms are more likely to behave responsibly toward the natural environment in a high-munificence industry context. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the accuracy of gridless method, the third-order WENO reconstruction is introduced as the substitution of traditional linear reconstruction. The stencil required for implementing WENO reconstruction in the gridless cloud is obtained by setting a local coordinate in the direction of each satellite point and introducing a virtual point. Based on the obtained stencil, the WENO reconstruction is then carried out for approximating the flow variables at the midpoint between the central and satellite points of the gridless cloud. An interpolation technique is also proposed to determine the flow variables of the virtual point, in which the existed information of the cloud is adequately utilized. The resulting WENO reconstruction method, compiling with Roe's Riemann solver for obtaining numerical flux and third-order TVD Runge-Kutta scheme for time advancing, is applied to solve Euler equations. Typical 2D cases are first simulated, and the numerical results obtained present the desired third order of accuracy. The shock tube problem and supersonic semi-cylinder flow are then simulated, and a higher resolution of shock and contact discontinuity is observed. The paper ends with numerical example of the flow field of shock wave through curved channel around double cylinders, which demonstrates the ability of the present method for treating more complicated flows involving unsteady shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taihu Lake is at the densely populated region of the eastern coast of China. Taihu Basin is one of the most developed regions of China. The frequency of flood disaster in Taihu Basin has been increasing in the recent years, resulting in more drowned areas and economic loss. It is shown that flood disaster is the most serious problems in Taihu Lake and Taihu Basin. Mitigation of flood problems and return to sustainability has now been given high attention and are prioritized in the Chinese national policies. This paper describes the state of the flood disaster in the Taihu Basin, examines the root causes for flood disaster, demonstrates by examples how these analyses known as transboundary diagnostic analysis can be used to develop policy options that can help predict and reduce the flood disaster based on past and current measures and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we obtain an existence theorem of a connected set of solutions to a nonlinear variational inequality with explicit nonlinear constraints. This result follows in a constructive way by designing a simplicial algorithm. The algorithm operates on a triangulation of the unbounded regions and generates a piecewise linear path of parametrized stationary points. Each point on the path is an approximate solution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

AbstractThere is growing evidence that product introductory information plays a crucial role in online consumer purchase behavior. However, existing researches on the effect of introductory information on individuals’ purchase intention in live-streaming were limited. In this setting, based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, we explored the relationship among introductory information, trust, purchase intention and display uniqueness. It was done by collecting questionnaire survey data from 500 consumers who have participated in live-streaming e-commerce. The results showed that the introductory information in live-streaming e-commerce has a significant positive effect on consumers’ purchase intention through trust. Additionally, the results revealed a significant moderating effect of display uniqueness on the relationship between introductory information and trust. Display uniqueness could significantly and positively moderate the predictive effect of introductory information on trust. Thus, this study will extend the applicability of S-O-R model to further understand the influence mechanism of introductory information on purchase intention and enrich the research in the live-streaming e-commerce. Also, it can enhance the understanding of consumers’ purchase behaviors to optimize the live-streaming system and online marketing tools, thereby helping companies achieve their business goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streamlines have been used for reservoir modeling and flow visualization in the petroleum industry and in computational fluid dynamics. When applied to the calculation of volumetric sweep and the identification of by-passed hydrocarbons for improved oil recovery, it is important that the velocity models that are used to trace trajectories across the cells of a grid are flux conservative. As such, the requirements on their tracing may be more stringent than in other disciplines. Flux conservation is also important at faults, at locally refined or coarsened embedded grid boundaries, and within unstructured grids, where the modeling of flow within a cell may not be consistent with the connection fluxes from adjacent cells. In such cases, additional degrees of freedom must be introduced to satisfy flux conservation. In this study, we introduce a flux conservative conforming cell face local boundary layer construction to resolve these inconsistencies. In contrast, solutions that rely upon spatial continuity of streamlines between elements are shown to not be flux conservative when these inconsistencies are present. The use of flux conservative conforming elements also allows the solution to be developed in local isoparametric coordinates, without explicit reference to cell or connection geometry. The solution has been implemented for both 3D corner point and for 2.5D PEBI grids. In all cases we utilize the lowest order Raviart–Thomas zeroth order velocity model, for which the trajectories and transit times may be obtained analytically. The results are demonstrated on a sequence of increasingly complex type, sector and full-field model applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Enhanced adsorption property of bimetallic RuNi catalyst was emphatically studied. • 100% yield of hydrocarbon products was obtained at 260 °C in guaiacol HDO. • RuNi had a good ability of hydrogen adsorption, guaiacol adsorption and activation. • An experimental and modeling study was presented and the results were consistent. • The hydrocarbon content in lignin-oil increased from 9.2% to 22.6% after upgrade. Bimetallic catalysts are usually superior to monometallic catalysts due to the synergistic effect of two metal species, and the enhanced adsorption properties by the interaction between two metal species played an important role in catalytic reaction. In this study, the promotion relationship between the adsorption properties and the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) performances of a bimetallic RuNi/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalyst were investigated based on an experimental and modeling study, by comparison to the monometallic catalysts. RuNi catalyst presented a much better performance on guaiacol HDO than Ru and Ni catalysts, with the yield of cyclohexane product close to 100%. Characterization results exhibited a strong interaction between two metal species and an electron transfer from Ru to Ni, which led to a higher spin-up d -band center value of surface atoms and thereby a different adsorption property from the monometallic catalysts. Adsorption property mainly included the adsorption of substrate and the adsorption of hydrogen. The former one is the first step, and the latter one is the second step to trigger the occurrence of HDO reaction. The good adsorption of substrate and the strong adsorption of hydrogen in RuNi catalyst were the crucial factors for its better catalytic HDO performance than the monometallic catalysts. The modeling results by DFT calculation confirmed the experimental results and revealed the promotion mechanism. Moreover, bimetallic RuNi catalyst also showed a good performance on the HDO of other phenolic compounds and raw lignin-oil. This work highlighted the promotion effect of adsorption properties on the HDO reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese and imported pig breeds differ in fat production potential, which is associated with the polymorphisms in the 5′ proximal regulating region (5′PRR) of thyroid hormone responsive gene (THRSP). In three Chinese breeds (Dingyuan, CDY; Wannanhua, CWH; and Jixi, CJX) and one introduced breed (Yorkshire, YKS), three variant sites were located at T/C-400, A/G-376, and G/A-98 in the 5′PRR. Chinese pig breeds had higher C-400 allele frequencies than YKS. The frequencies of A-376 in CDY and G-376 in CWH were about 0.8. G-98 allele frequencies in CWH and YKS were 0.8617 and 0.8149, respectively. TGG was the dominant haplotype in YKS, CGG in CWH and CJX, and CAA in CDY. According to haplotype frequency, four breeds were clustered into three types, which was consistent with the geographical distribution of the breeds. In CDY, the average backfat thickness (BFT) was the highest with the CC-400 genotype, followed by CT-400 and TT-400 genotypes. In YKS, the pigs with CC-400 or CT-400 genotypes had higher BFT and average daily weight gain, whereas those with CC-400 or TT-400 genotypes had larger lion-eye area. No significant difference was observed in carcass traits among different genotypes at the A/G-376 and G/A-98 loci. The mRNA abundance of THRSP expression for the CCAGAG genotype was significantly higher than that for CTAGAG or TTAGAG genotype. These results indicated that the polymorphisms and genotype distribution of THRSP were closely related to the potential for fat production in pig breeds, which were the result of adaptation to artificial selection and natural selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fowl adenovirus serotype-4 (FAdV-4) is highly lethal to poultry, making it one of the leading causes of economic losses in the poultry industry. However, a small proportion of poultry can survive after FAdV-4 infection. It is unclear whether there are genetic factors that protect chickens from FAdV-4 infection. Therefore, the livers from chickens uninfected with FAdV-4 (Normal), dead after FAdV-4 infection (Dead) or surviving after FAdV-4 infection (Survivor) were collected for RNA-seq, and 2,649 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Among these, many immune-related cytokines and chemokines were significantly upregulated in the Dead group compared with the Survivor group, which might indicate that death is related to an excessive inflammatory immune response (cytokine storm). Subsequently, the KEGG results for DEGs specifically expressed in each comparison group indicated that cell cycle and apoptosis-related DEGs were upregulated and metabolism-related DEGs were downregulated in the Dead group, which also validated the reliability of the samples. Furthermore, GO and KEGG results showed DEGs expressed in all three groups were mainly associated with cell cycle. Among them, BRCA1, CDK1, ODC1 , and MCM3 were screened as factors that might influence FAdV-4 infection. The qPCR results demonstrated that these 4 factors were not only upregulated in the Dead group but also significantly upregulated in the LMH cells after 24 h infection by FAdV-4. Moreover, interfering with BRCA1, CDK1, ODC1 , and MCM3 significantly attenuated viral replication of FAdV-4. And interfering of BRCA1, CDK1 , and MCM3 had more substantial hindering effects. These results provided novel insights into the molecular changes following FAdV-4 infection but also shed light on potential factors driving the survival of FAdV-4 infection in chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (PYCR) is pivotal in converting pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) to proline, the final step in proline synthesis. Three isoforms, PYCR1, PYCR2, and PYCR3, existed and played significant regulatory roles in tumor initiation and progression. In this study, we first assessed the molecular and immune characteristics of PYCRs by a pan-cancer analysis, especially focusing on their prognostic relevance. Then, a kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC)-specific prognostic model was established, incorporating pathomics features to enhance predictive capabilities. The biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of PYCR1 and PYCR2 were investigated by in vitro experiments in renal cancer cells. The PYCRs' expressions were elevated in diverse tumors, correlating with unfavorable clinical outcomes. PYCRs were enriched in cancer signaling pathways, significantly correlating with immune cell infiltration, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI). In KIRC, a prognostic model based on PYCR1 and PYCR2 was independently validated statistically. Leveraging features from H&E-stained images, a pathomics feature model reliably predicted patient prognosis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that PYCR1 and PYCR2 enhanced the proliferation and migration of renal carcinoma cells by activating the mTOR pathway, at least in part. This study underscores PYCRs' pivotal role in various tumors, positioning them as potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets, particularly in malignancies like KIRC. The findings emphasize the need for a broader exploration of PYCRs' implications in pan-cancer contexts.

China is rich in goat breeding resources. Officially recognized local goat breeds are mainly distributed in agro-ecological regions. The population structure and matrilineal origin of native Chinese goats can be used to formulate protection and utilization strategies for these genetic resources. In this study, the genetic structure and maternal origin of native Chinese goats were investigated using mtDNA D-loop sequences. A total of 329 goat samples from 25 Chinese indigenous goat populations and five introduced goat breeds from abroad were collected; these populations were distributed in four ecogroups designated as Southwest, South-central, the North China Plain, and Foreign-ecogroup. A larger average number of nucleotide differences and richer nucleotide diversity were observed in South-central and Foreign-ecogroup, whereas these were lower in Southwest. The 216 haplotypes divided into several haplogroups, of which HapA contained 99 haplotypes distributed in Southwest, the North China Plain, and Foreign-ecogroup with high frequency (0.53-0.77), whereas the frequency of HapA in South-central was <0.09. HapB was mostly found in South-central (0.5538) and was distributed to the North China Plain (0.2667), while it was rare in Southwest (<0.08) and Foreign-ecogroup (<0.07). According to the estimation of kinship and ancestry, HapA had five ancestors (A2, A3, A5, A10, and A12), HapB had a single maternal ancestor (A8), and HapC had two maternal ancestors (A1 and A4). This study showed that native Chinese goat breeds were mainly divided into three haplogroups (HapA, HapB, and HapC) and goat populations have expanded in the ecological regions., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: To investigate risk factors for advanced melanoma over 50 years of age and to develop and validate a new line chart and classification system., Methods: The SEER database was screened for patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma from 2010 to 2019 and Cox regression analysis was applied to select variables affecting patient prognosis. The area under curve (AUC), relative operating characteristic curve (ROC), Consistency index (C-index), decision curve analysis (DCA), and survival calibration curves were used to verify the accuracy and utility of the model and to compare it with traditional AJCC tumor staging. The Kaplan-Meier curve was applied to compare the risk stratification between the model and traditional AJCC tumor staging., Results: A total of 5166 patients were included in the study. Surgery, age, gender, tumor thickness, ulceration, the number of primary melanomas, M stage and N stage were the independent prognostic factors of CSS in patients with advanced melanoma (P<0.05). The predictive nomogram model was constructed and validated. The C-index values obtained from the training and validation cohorts were 0.732 (95%CI: 0.717-0.742) and 0.741 (95%CI: 0.732-0.751). Based on the observation and analysis results of the ROC curve, survival calibration curve, NRI, and IDI, the constructed prognosis model can accurately predict the prognosis of advanced melanoma and performs well in internal verification. The DCA curve verifies the practicability of the model. Compared with the traditional AJCC staging, the risk stratification in the model has a better identification ability for patients in different risk groups., Conclusion: The nomogram of advanced melanoma and the new classification system were successfully established and verified, which can provide a practical tool for individualized clinical management of patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Xi, Lu, Zhang, Wang, Sun and Chen.)

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) is involved in neural injury, neuroinflammation, microglia activation, and polarization, while its function in spinal cord injury (SCI) remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the role of MALT1 modification on SCI recovery and its underlying mechanism. SCI surgery or sham surgery was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats. Then, MALT1 knockdown or negative control lentivirus was injected into SCI rats. Subsequently, MALT1 expression, locomotor capability, neural injury, markers for microglia activation and polarization, inflammatory cytokine expressions, and nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway were detected. SCI rats exhibited higher MALT1 expression, microglia activation and M1 polarization, neuroinflammation, and NF-κB pathway activation, while worse locomotor capacity compared to sham rats (all P < 0.05). In SCI rats, MALT1 knockdown alleviated Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan score from 10 to 28 days and attenuated HE staining reflected neural injury (all P < 0.05). Besides, MALT1 knockdown declined the number of IBA1 + cells, IBA1 + iNOS + cells, and IBA1 + CD86 + cells, while enhanced the number of IBA1 + Arg1 + cells and IBA1 + CD206 + cells in SCI rats (all P < 0.05). Meanwhile, MALT1 knockdown declined the expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in SCI (all P < 0.05), but did not affect IL-10 expression (P > 0.05). Furthermore, MALT1 knockdown suppressed NF-κB pathway activation validated by immunofluorescence staining and western blot assays (all P < 0.05). MALT1 knockdown improves functional recovery, attenuates microglia activation, M1 polarization, and neuroinflammation via inhibiting NF-κB pathway in SCI., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Inactivated vaccines are one of the most effective strategies for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the response genes for the protective effect of inactivated vaccines are still unclear. Herein, we analysed the neutralization antibody responses elicited by vaccine serum and carried out transcriptome sequencing of RNAs isolated from the PBMCs of 29 medical staff receiving two doses of the CoronaVac vaccine. The results showed that SARS-CoV-2 neutralization antibody titers varied considerably among individuals, and revealed that many innate immune pathways were activated after vaccination. Furthermore, the blue module revealed that NRAS , YWHAB , SMARCA5 , PPP1CC and CDC5L may be correlated with the protective effect of the inactivated vaccine. Additionally, MAPK1 , CDC42 , PPP2CA , EP300 , YWHAZ and NRAS were demonstrated as the hub genes having a significant association with vaccines. These findings provide a basis for understanding the molecular mechanism of the host immune response induced by inactivated vaccines., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2023 Chen et al.)

Nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 4 (NFATC4) has been implicated in keratinocyte development and several types of cancer. A well-defined role for NFATC4 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) has not yet been established. In this study, NFATC4 gene function in CSCC development was examined. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to measure the mRNA expression of NFATC4 in CSCC tissues and controls. A431 and Colo16 cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were measured by CCK-8 assay, transwell invasion, and flow cytometry, respectively, after an NFATC4 expression lentivirus infection. Animal models were applied to validate the function of the NFATC4 gene. (1) CSCC tissues showed a significant decrease in NFATC4 expression compared to controls. (2) Overexpression of NFATc4 suppresses A431 and Colo16 cell proliferation and invasion but promotes cell apoptosis. (3) Mouse models overexpressing NFATC4 showed reduced tumourigenesis. It was suggested that NFATC4 might be a tumour suppressor gene in CSCC., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Dermatology.)

Although immune response enhancement has been reported after primary and booster vaccines of CoronaVac, neutralization breadth of SARS-CoV-2 variants is still unclear. In the present study, we examined the neutralization magnitude and breadth of SARS-CoV-2 variants including Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529) in 33 convalescent COVID-19 patients and a cohort of 55 medical staff receiving primary CoronaVac vaccines and an additional homologous booster dose. Results showed that, as compared with the two-dose primary vaccination, the homologous booster dose achieved 2.24-, 3.98-, 4.58- and 2.90-fold increase in neutralization titer against wild-type, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, respectively. After booster dose, neutralization titer reduction for variants was less than that after the primary vaccine or that for convalescents. The proportion of recipients able to neutralize 2 or more variants increased from 36.36% post the primary vaccination to 87.27% after the booster. Significant increase in neutralization breadth of 1.24 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.89-1.59) variants was associated with a log 10 increase in neutralization titer against the wild-type. In addition, anti-RBD IgG level was identified as an excellent surrogate for positive neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 and neutralization breadth of variants. These findings highlight the value of an additional homologous CoronaVac dose in broadening the cross-neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants, and are critical for informing the booster dose vaccination efforts., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Chen, Yang, Zhao, Shen, He, Ye, Wang, Lou, Wang and Wu.)

Background: Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are continuous homozygous regions typically located in the DNA sequence of diploid organisms. Identifications of ROH that lead to reduced performance can provide valuable insight into the genetic architecture of complex traits. Here, we systematically investigated the population genetic structure of five Anhui indigenous pig breeds (AHIPs), and compared them to those of five Western commercial pig breeds (WECPs). Furthermore, we examined the occurrence and distribution of ROHs in the five AHIPs and estimated the inbreeding coefficients based on the ROHs (F ROH ) and homozygosity (F HOM ). Finally, we identified genomic regions with high frequencies of ROHs and annotated candidate genes contained therein., Results: The WECPs and AHIPs were clearly differentiated into two separate clades consistent with their geographical origins, as revealed by the population structure and principal component analysis. We identified 13,530 ROHs across all individuals, of which 4,555 and 8,975 ROHs were unique to AHIPs and WECPs, respectively. Most ROHs identified in our study were short (< 10 Mb) or medium (10-20 Mb) in length. WECPs had significantly higher numbers of short ROHs, and AHIPs generally had longer ROHs. F ROH values were significantly lower in AHIPs than in WECPs, indicating that breed improvement and conservation programmes were successful in AHIPs. On average, F ROH and F HOM values were highly correlated (0.952-0.991) in AHIPs and WECPs. A total of 27 regions had a high frequency of ROHs and contained 17 key candidate genes associated with economically important traits in pigs. Among these, nine candidate genes (CCNT2, EGR2, MYL3, CDH13, PROX1, FLVCR1, SETD2, FGF18, and FGF20) found in WECPs were related to muscular and skeletal development, whereas eight candidate genes (CSN1S1, SULT1E1, TJP1, ZNF366, LIPC, MCEE, STAP1, and DUSP) found in AHIPs were associated with health, reproduction, and fatness traits., Conclusion: Our findings provide a useful reference for the selection and assortative mating of pig breeds, laying the groundwork for future research on the population genetic structures of AHIPs, ultimately helping protect these local varieties., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Lung adenocarcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. The purpose of this study was to construct a stable immune gene signature for prediction of prognosis (IGSPP) and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) therapy in LUAD patients. Five genes were screened by weighted gene coexpression network analysis, Cox regression and LASSO regression analyses and were used to construct the IGSPP. The survival rate of the IGSPP low-risk group was higher than that of the IGSPP high-risk group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that IGSPP could be used as an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival of LUAD patients. IGSPP genes were enriched in cell cycle pathways. IGSPP gene mutation rates were higher in the high-risk group. CD4 memory-activated T cells, M0 and M1 macrophages had higher infiltration abundance in the high-risk group, which was associated with poor overall survival. In contrast, the abundance of resting CD4 memory T cells, monocytes, resting dendritic cells and resting mast cells associated with a better prognosis was higher in the low-risk group. TIDE scores and the expressions of different immune checkpoints showed that patients in the high-risk IGSPP group benefited more from ICIs treatment. In short, an IGSPP of LUAD was constructed and characterized. It could be used to predict the prognosis and benefits of ICIs treatment in LUAD patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Recent Mendelian randomization (MR) studies derived inconsistent results of blood lipids' effect on colorectal cancer, and whether the blood lipids' effect on colon and rectal cancer is different is still unknown. Here, we sought to answer these questions., Methods: Primarily, we employed univariable MR to explore the blood lipids' effect on colon and rectal cancer, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol and triglycerides. Then, multivariable MR was also employed to reassess each blood lipid's effect on the two cancers with adjustment of the other lipids. Reverse MR analysis was adopted to determine whether colon or rectal cancer could affect the levels of blood lipids. The Cochrane's Q value was used to evaluate the heterogeneity, and MR-PRESSO was used to appraise the pleiotropy., Results: Generally, we did not find any significant result between blood lipids and the colon/rectal cancer after Bonferroni correction in the univariable MR analysis. The multivariable MR analysis also obtained the same results. However, it should be noted that higher total cholesterol level might increase the risk of colon cancer (OR = 1.15 [1.01, 1.31], IVW p value = 0.029) but not rectal cancer (OR = 1.02 [0.85, 1.21], IVW p value = 0.853). Such causal relationship turned insignificant in the multivariable MR. The reverse MR analysis suggested that either colon or rectal cancer could increase the levels of blood lipids., Conclusion: We found no association between blood lipids and risk of colon or rectal cancer, except for a positive association between total cholesterol and colon cancer risk., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

With the industrial-level panel data on total output and wastewater discharge over the period of 1997 to 2018, this paper employs GIS and ESDA methods to empirically investigate the spatial relationship between industrial total output and wastewater discharge. In this paper, we empirically examine whether and how industrial wastewater discharge in a particular province may affect the wastewater discharge in its neighboring provinces. Results suggest that provinces (municipalities) with large-scale industrial sewage discharge are located along riversides and coastal areas and these discharges then gradually distribute to coastal, central, and western areas. Results also show a strong spatial autocorrelation of industrial wastewater discharge between the observed local province and its neighboring provinces which is increasing over time. In addition, there is also a significant spatial spillover effect of industrial wastewater discharge among neighboring provinces in China's eastern and central regions, indicating a structural convergence of high-pollution industries., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The APOBEC-AID family of cytidine deaminase prefers single-stranded nucleic acids for cytidine-to-uridine deamination. Single-stranded nucleic acids are commonly involved in the DNA repair system for breaks generated by CRISPR-Cas9. Here, we show in human cells that APOBEC3 can trigger cytidine deamination of single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides, which ultimately results in base substitution mutations in genomic DNA through homology-directed repair (HDR) of Cas9-generated double-strand breaks. In addition, the APOBEC3-catalyzed deamination in genomic single-stranded DNA formed during the repair of Cas9 nickase-generated single-strand breaks in human cells can be further processed to yield mutations mainly involving insertions or deletions (indels). Both APOBEC3-mediated deamination and DNA-repair proteins play important roles in the generation of these indels. Therefore, optimizing conditions for the repair of CRISPR-Cas9-generated DNA breaks, such as using double-stranded donors in HDR or temporarily suppressing endogenous APOBEC3s, can repress these unwanted mutations in genomic DNA.

Data on reproductive traits of 670 litters of different Am genotypes Wannanhua sow under different climatic conditions were analyzed by the least square model in order to investigate the effects of the climate factors and the Am genotypes on sow's reproductivity. The results showed that the reproductive performance of sow depended on the monthly change of climate regularly. High temperature from July to September had worse effect on sow's reproductivity, especially (P < 0.05). A certain variation existed among reproductive performances of Wannanhua sows at Am loci. AmAB's was better, followed by AmAA, then AmBB and AmBC were poor. But the variance was in significant (P > 0.05). Furthermore, there was strong interactive effect between Am genotypes and the breeding season. In addition, the litter size, the number of live born and the number of weaning pig had a negative correlation with the mean air temperature and photoperiod significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).