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Conger myriaster has a high price on the international market and occupies an important position in aquatic product export in China, and it is widely distributed in the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea, the East China Sea, the coastal waters of Japan from southern Hokkaido to northern Okinawa, and the sea near the Korean Peninsula. The experimental aquaculture techniques of C. myriaster include pond culture, industrialized open-flowing water culture, and industrialized recirculating aquaculture. No report has been published on the morphological characteristics or the effects of various morphological traits on the body weight and net body weight of C. myriaster in an industrialized open-flowing water culture. In this study, C. myriaster was collected under this industrialized culture mode and assessed using traditional measurement methods, statistical analysis, and other means to systematically measure and analyze morphological traits. A total of 90 C. myriaster were collected equally from three aquaculture companies along the coast of the Yellow Sea. The body weight (BW), net body weight (NW), total length (TL), body length (BL), body height (BH), soma width (SW), head length (HL), head height (HH), head width (HW), proboscis length (PL), proboscis width (PW), eye diameter (ED), vertical eye diameter (VED), and distance between eyes (DE) were measured individually using an electronic balance, a ruler, and a Vernier caliper. We analyzed the relationships between morphological traits and constructed a truss network diagram of morphological traits. The effects of the morphological traits on BW and NW were studied by correlation analysis, path analysis, multiple regression analysis, and curve fitting. The correlation analysis showed that the correlations of BW with TL, BL, BH, SW, HH, and HW were extremely significant (P < 0.01), with correlation coefficient values of 0.818, 0.829, 0.611, 0.697, 0.667, and 0.642, respectively. The correlations of NW with TL, BL, BH, SW, HH, HW, and VED were extremely significant (P < 0.01), with correlation coefficients of 0.848, 0.857, 0.574, 0.591, 0.617, 0.564, and 0.519, respectively. Path analysis revealed that the path coefficients between BW and three morphological traits (namely BL, BH, and SW) were larger than those for other morphological traits, at 0.631, 0.204, and 0.374, respectively. The path coefficients between NW and these three morphological traits (BL, BH, and SW) were larger than those for other morphological traits, at 0.703, 0.213, and 0.239, respectively. Through determination coefficient analysis, it was observed that the determination coefficient for BL to BW was the largest, with a value of 0.398. The combination of SW and BL had the largest determination coefficient for BW, with a value of 0.162. This indicated that BL was a core morphological trait to determine the BW, and the SW was an important morphological trait to determine the BW. The determination coefficient of BL to NW was the largest at 0.494. The combination of SW and TL had the largest coefficient of determination for NW, with a value of 0.116. This showed that the BL was the core morphological trait to determine the NW, and SW was an important morphological trait to determine the NW. A stepwise regression method was used to establish a regression equation in which the three morphological traits were independent variables and the BW or NW was the dependent variable. The multiple regression equation of the important morphological traits for BW was BW = –642.699 + 1.086 × BL + 3.874 × BH + 7.917 × SW (P < 0.01). The multiple regression equation of the important morphological traits for NW was NW = -526.995 + 1.033 × BL + 3.438 × BH + 4.317 × SW (P < 0.01). Further curve fitting was performed for each morphological trait with BW and NW in the equation. The best fitting models of BL, BH, and SW for BW were the logarithmic function, logarithmic function, and power function, respectively, and the model equations were BW = -3, 542.357 + 608.061lnBL (R2 = 0.929), BW = 14.313BH0.941 (R2 = 0.908), and BW = -1, 028.49 + 416.452lnSW (R2 = 0.920), respectively. The best-fitting models of BL, BH, and SW for NW were the logarithmic, linear, and logarithmic functions, respectively. The model equations were NW = -2, 983.881 + 516.411lnBL (R2 = 0.930), NW = -22.252 + 11.392BH (R2 = 0.914), and NW = -774.583 + 329.017lnSW (R2 = 0.921), respectively. In summary, BL was the core morphological trait affecting the BW and NW of C. myriaster in an industrialized culture model. BH and SW were important morphological traits affecting the BW and NW of C. myriaster in the industrialized culture model. These results provide a theoretical basis for the future identification of germplasm characteristics, genetic breeding, and healthy aquaculture of C. myriaster.

Clock genes play a pivotal role in the rhythm maturation of bony fish ovaries. To explore the role of clock genes in the rhythmic ovarian development and maturation of tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis), we used real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR technique to analyze the expression profiles of circadian locomotor output cycles Kaput 1a (Clock1a), brain and muscle Arntlike 1a (Bmal1a), Cryptochrome 1a (Cry1a), Cryptochrome 2 (Cry2), and Period 2 (Per2) at the ovarian stages Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, Ⅴ, and Ⅵ.The coding DNA sequence (CDS) of five clock genes were cloned and phylogenetically analyzed. We found that the CDS sequence length of Clock1a was 1 620 bp and encoded 539 amino acids, with the encoded amino acid sequence of Clock1a having a predicted molecular weight of 81.9 kDa. Clock1a has the functional domain PASD1 (consisting of 64 amino acids) and PAS11 (consisting of 103 amino acids). The CDS sequence length of Bmal1a was 1 881 bp and encoded 626 amino acids, with the encoded amino acid sequence of Bmal1a having a predicted molecular weight of 68.9 kDa. In the Bmal1a sequence, the functional domain PASD3 is composed of 63 amino acids, and the functional domain PAS11 is composed of 103 amino acids. The CDS sequence length of Cry1a was 1 896 bp and encoded 631 amino acids, with the encoded amino acid sequence of Cry1a having a predicted molecular weight of 71.4 kDa. Its functional domain FAD7 was composed of 199 amino acids. The CDS sequence length of Cry2 was 2 007 bp and encoded 669 amino acids, with the encoded amino acid sequence of Cry2 having a predicted molecular weight of 76.0 kDa. The Cry2 sequence contains a functional domain FAD7 consisting of 199 amino acids. The CDS sequence length of Per2 was 4 248 bp, encoding 1 415 amino acids, and the encoded amino acid sequence of Per2 has a predicted molecular weight of 154.0 kDa. In the Per2 sequence, the functional domain PeriodC consists of 295 amino acids and a functional domain PAS11 consists of 102 amino acids.The neighbor-joining method was used to analyze the Clock1a, Bmal1a, Cry1a, Cry2, and Per2 phylogenetic relationships between C. semilaevis and other bony fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. The homology of Clock1a, Bmal1a, Cry1a, Cry2, and Per2 with other bony fish was 60%–79%, 94%–100%, 85%–91%, 84%–94%, and 70%–84%, respectively. Therefore, we believe that these five amino acid sequences show strong conserved property. In addition, the homology of Cry1a and Cry2 was 62%, indicating that Cry1a and Cry2 evolved differently during the evolution of C. semilaevis. In the constructed phylogenetic tree, Clock1a, Bmal1a, Cry1a, Cry2, and Per2 of C. semilaevis were clustered together with other bony fishes, indicating a close relationship between C. semilaevis and other bony fish in the evolutionary process. Moreover, the homology of Clock1a between C. semilaevis and mammals, birds, and amphibians is low, indicating that there are evolutionary differences in the evolutionary process of Clock1a. The high homology of Bmal1a, Cry1a, Cry2, and Per2 with mammals, birds, and amphibians suggests that these four clock genes were strongly conserved during the evolution of C. semilaevis.In the present study, we found that the expression levels of five clock genes were high in stagesⅡ and Ⅲ, which were equivalent to the non-reproductive season (P < 0.05). However, the expression levels of five clock genes were low in stages Ⅳ and Ⅴ, which were equivalent to the reproductive season (P < 0.05). Therefore, the expression profiles of Clock1a, Bmal1a, Cry1a, Cry2, and Per2 in the ovaries of C. semilaevis also have seasonal characteristics. The ovarian development and maturation of C. semilaevis goes through stages Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, Ⅴ, and Ⅵ, and then reaches stage Ⅱ again and starts a new reproductive cycle. The variation patterns of seasonal factors, such as light and temperature, in fish ovaries were consistent with the annual expression patterns of the five clock genes in this study. Therefore, it can be considered that the expression of clock genes in C. semilaevis has an annual cycle. The findings presented in this study can enrich the theory of ovarian development and maturation of C. semilaevis and provide a theoretical basis for improving breeding technology and seedling efficiency.

The whitespotted conger (Conger myriaster) is an important fish species with high economic value in China and Japan owing to its high nutritional content. It occupies an important position in marine-eel export in China. C. myriaster has the potential to be artificially cultured and has promising economic prospects. Thus, there is growing international interest in C. myriaster research. Indeed, to meet the demands of domestic and foreign markets, artificial culturing of C. myriaster is urgently required. However, at present, there is no report on the research of C. myriaster reared in industrial recirculating aquaculture systems. Feeding frequency has been reported to affect feed intake and growth performance in a number of fish species. Feed management in terms of optimization of feeding frequency has emerged as one of the crucial areas of research in the field of aquaculture. Overfeeding and leftover food disrupts the water quality, while inadequate food supply has direct impact on production cost. Traditional flow through systems uses large volumes of water, and intensified aquaculture has drawbacks, such as large amount of discharged waste from effluent water. Among the excreted nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus constitute the largest proportion. Sustainability with low environmental impacts is one of the concerns when developing aquaculture systems. Based on the concepts of reduced water consumption and efficient water management, recirculating aquaculture systems offer the possibility of creating a sustainable future for fish production. Thus, a 70-day experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different feeding frequencies and water quality on the growth performance and physiological and biochemical indices of C. myriaster [body weight: (150.64±5.43) g] reared in industrial recirculating aquaculture systems; physiological and ecological methods were used in this study. The experiment comprised two feeding frequency groups, feeding once (group T1) and twice (group T2) per day, and each treatment group had three replicates. The average body weight of the fish in each culture pond and the water quality indices of the culture system were measured and analyzed every 14 d. At the end of the experiment, the blood, liver, and intestine samples of C. myriaster were collected to determine and analyze growth and physiological indices. The results indicated that (1) the growth performance of group T2 was better than that of group T1. The final body weight, final body length, weight gain, and specific growth rate of group T2 was significantly higher than those of group T1 (P < 0.05). The feed coefficient of group T1 was significantly higher than that of group T2 (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in the final body height, liver body ratio, visceral body ratio, condition factor, or survival rate at different feeding frequencies (P > 0.05). (2) The serum malondialdehyde of group T1 was significantly higher than that of group T2 (P < 0.05). The hepatic alanine aminotransferase and hepatic aspartate transaminase of group T1 was significantly higher than those of group T2 (P < 0.05). The intestinal trypsin of group T2 was significantly higher than that of group T1 (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the levels of serum superoxide dismutase, serum catalase, intestinal amylase, or intestinal lipase between groups T1 and T2 (P > 0.05). (3) In the 24 h changes of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and nitrite nitrogen (NO2–-N), the change patterns of the two indices in outlet of the T1 group were similar to those of the outlet of the bio-filter; the two indices of the outlet water in T1 and T2 groups were one (24:00) and two peaks (20:00 and 08:00) respectively; the difference in NH4+-N in the outlet water of the two test groups within 24 h was significant (P < 0.05); at 04:00 and 08:00, the NO2–-N content of the outlet water of the biofilter was significantly lower than that of the other two test groups (P < 0.05); the 24 h changes range of NH4+-N and NO2–-N in T2 group were smaller than those in T1 group. (4) During the whole test period, each water quality index was maintained within the safe breeding range, and no significant differences were found in NH4+-N, NO2–-N, chemical oxygen demand, and active phosphate concentration between T1 and T2 groups (P > 0.05); at the end of the test, the total nitrogen and total phosphorus of T2 group were significantly higher than those of T1 group (P < 0.05); the biofilter has different treatment effects on various water quality indices, among which the treatment effect on NH4+-N is the most efficient, up to 54.23%. Based on the above results, the feeding frequency of twice per day was better than that of once per day in the industrial recirculating aquaculture mode for C. myriaster (body weight: 150~250 g). Without affecting the survival rate and condition factor, the twice per day group can save costs and improve economic benefits. However, due to the limitations of the test conditions, we did not explore more times of feeding, and further tests are needed in the future. The predominance, which was the high efficiency of water qualities treatment and optimal effect of culture, was demonstrated obviously in closed recirculating aquaculture systems. This study aims to provide a theoretical reference for the appropriate feeding strategy in the industrial recirculating aquaculture model of C. myriaster.

BackgroundUltrasound-guided percutaneous device closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defects (PmVSD) is a minimally invasive recent treatment approach. Perventricular PmVSD device closure is an emerging radiation-free intervention, yet it comes with certain limitations. No studies compared both of these treatment approaches.MethodsWe performed a retrospective institutional data comparison of percutaneous (PCP Group, n = 138) and perventricular (PVP Group, n = 67) ultrasound-guided device closure procedures in 205 patients with PmVSD between March 2017 and December 2022.ResultsPatients of the PCP and PVP groups had a median age of 4.9 years (IQR, 3.1–14.0) and 5.3 years (IQR, 3.4–13.1) respectively. The median PmVSD diameter in the PCP Group was 4.0 mm (IQR, 3.3–5.3) and 5.2 mm (IQR, 4.0–7.0) in the PVP Group (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in success rates between the PCP and PVP Groups (intention-to-treat population, 88.4% vs. 92.5%, p = 0.36; as-treated population, 88.4% vs. 89.3%, p = 0.84). 5/8 failed percutaneous cases that were shifted to the perventricular approach were successful. Compared to the PVP Group, patients of the PCP group experienced a significant decrease in ventilation time, drainage volume, and postoperative hospital stay (p

Wearable flexible pressure sensors are a novel class of human activity detection device. However, the preparation of pressure sensors with high sensitivity and wide sensing range still faces great challenges. This study reveals an flexible heat-resistant variable density point pressure sensing array (PSA) with ultra-wide sensing range based on Ti3C2Tx-MXene. MXene containing polar oxygen-containing functional groups coated polyester fiber fabricated the pressure sensing layer while a stainless steel wire core is used as a flexible electrode for signal collection. The signal processing device rapidly converts the mechanical signal into electrical signal output to increase the transmission speed and range. Experimental results show that the PSA can effectively sense dynamic and static pressures with high sensitivity (0.14–0.87 kPa−1 over a pressure range of 7.2 Pa–2000 kPa), a wide sensing range (0–15000 kPa), fast response time (80 ms), 10,000 cycles (2000 kPa) stability and maintains a 81.25% current response. The noval fully woven structural flexible PSA exhibited larger area, of which the weave density is varied to control resolution and the pressure mapping is referenced to each pixel point to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze shape and pressure distribution. Variable density points pressure sensor with wide sensing range and spatial pressure mappinghas promising applications in healthcare.

Highlights Ti3C2T x MXene-based coaxial zinc-ion hybrid fiber supercapacitors (FSCs) were fabricated with braided structure, which can be prepared continuously and present excellent flexibility and ultrastability. A sports watch driven by the watch belts which weaved uses the obtained zinc-ion hybrid FSC and LED arrays lighted by the FSCs under embedding into textiles, demonstrating the great potential application in smart wearable textiles. Abstract Zinc-ion hybrid fiber supercapacitors (FSCs) are promising energy storages for wearable electronics owing to their high energy density, good flexibility, and weavability. However, it is still a critical challenge to optimize the structure of the designed FSC to improve energy density and realize the continuous fabrication of super-long FSCs. Herein, we propose a braided coaxial zinc-ion hybrid FSC with several meters of Ti3C2T x MXene cathode as core electrodes, and shell zinc fiber anode was braided on the surface of the Ti3C2T x MXene fibers across the solid electrolytes. According to the simulated results using ANSYS Maxwell software, the braided structures revealed a higher capacitance compared to the spring-like structures. The resulting FSCs exhibited a high areal capacitance of 214 mF cm–2, the energy density of 42.8 μWh cm−2 at 5 mV s−1, and excellent cycling stability with 83.58% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. The coaxial FSC was tied several kinds of knots, proving a shape-controllable fiber energy storage. Furthermore, the knitted FSC showed superior stability and weavability, which can be woven into watch belts or embedded into textiles to power smart watches and LED arrays for a few days.

Coal is the main energy source in China. As flat and shallow coal seams are being depleted, adverse coal seams such as inclined and steeply inclined coal seams account for larger proportion of seams that are mined. For these coal seams, instability such as slip and tipping of mining equipment due to the large inclination is a significant challenge for the productive operation of intelligent or smart mines. Therefore, this paper serves to provide some insights into improving their stability. In this paper, research on the anti-tipping and anti-slip technology of shields is carried out on an intelligent working face with a large dip angle. A mechanical model of “support-surrounding rock” was established. Through the analysis of the influence of the self-weight of the support on its stability and through theoretical analysis and field practice, it was found that the critical tipping angle of the support in the free state is 27.8, the critical slip angle is 16, and the support is more prone to slip in the free state; the shields in the middle of the working face are the key area for stability control. Suitable technical measures are taken to ensure the stability of the supports, which provides the management and practical basis for safe and efficient mining in the intelligent working face with a large dip angle.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified to be involved in half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) reproduction. However, studies of their roles in reproduction have focused mainly on the ovary, and their expression patterns and potential roles in the brain and pituitary are unclear. Thus, to explore the mRNAs and lncRNAs that are closely associated with reproduction in the brain and pituitary, we collected tongue sole brain and pituitary tissues at three stages for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), the 5,135 and 5,630 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and 378 and 532 DE lncRNAs were identified in the brain and pituitary, respectively. The RNA-seq results were verified by RT-qPCR. Moreover, enrichment analyses were performed to analyze the functions of DE mRNAs and lncRNAs. Interestingly, their involvement in pathways related to metabolism, signal transduction and endocrine signaling was revealed. LncRNA-target gene interaction networks were constructed based on antisense, cis and trans regulatory mechanisms. Moreover, we constructed competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks. In summary, this study provides mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles in the brain and pituitary to understand the molecular mechanisms regulating tongue sole reproduction.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be involved in multiple biological processes. However, the roles of lncRNAs in the reproduction of half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) are unclear, especially in the molecular regulatory mechanism driving ovarian development and ovulation. Thus, to explore the mRNA and lncRNA mechanisms regulating reproduction, we collected tongue sole ovaries in three stages for RNA sequencing. In stage IV vs. V, we identified 312 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and 58 DE lncRNAs. In stage V vs. VI, we identified 1,059 DE mRNAs and 187 DE lncRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses showed that DE mRNAs were enriched in ECM-receptor interaction, oocyte meiosis and steroid hormone biosynthesis pathways. Furthermore, we carried out gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to identify potential reproduction related-pathways additionally, such as fatty metabolism and retinol metabolism. Based on enrichment analysis, DE mRNAs with a potential role in reproduction were selected and classified into six categories, including signal transduction, cell growth and death, immune response, metabolism, transport and catabolism, and cell junction. The interactions of DE lncRNAs and mRNAs were predicted according to antisense, cis-, and trans-regulatory mechanisms. We constructed a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Several lncRNAs were predicted to regulate genes related to reproduction including cyp17a1, cyp19a1, mmp14, pgr, and hsd17b1. The functional enrichment analysis of these target genes of lncRNAs revealed that they were involved in several signaling pathways, such as the TGF-beta, Wnt signaling, and MAPK signaling pathways and reproduction related-pathways such as the progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, oocyte meiosis, and GnRH signaling pathway. RT-qPCR analysis showed that two lncRNAs (XR_522278.2 and XR_522171.2) were mainly expressed in the ovary. Dual-fluorescence in situ hybridization experiments showed that both XR_522278.2 and XR_522171.2 colocalized with their target genes cyp17a1 and cyp19a1, respectively, in the follicular cell layer. The results further demonstrated that lncRNAs might be involved in the biological processes by modulating gene expression. Taken together, this study provides lncRNA profiles in the ovary of tongue sole and further insight into the role of lncRNA involvement in regulating reproduction in tongue sole.

Four series of total 35 new pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine compounds were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Among them, compound 4e was found to be the most potent inhibitor, which decreased the production of cytokines in vitro, such as NO, IL-6 and TNF-α, with IC50 values of 2.64, 4.38 and 5.63 μM, respectively. Further studies showed that compound 4e inhibited cytokines secretion of macrophages through suppressing TLR4/p38 signaling pathway. Additionally, compound 4e showed in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-induced model of acute lung injury. These data suggested that compound 4e may be a promising lead structure for the treatment of ALI.

CircRNAs are novel endogenous non-coding small RNAs involved in the regulation of multiple biological processes. However, little is known regarding circRNAs in ovarian development and maturation of fish. Our study, for the first time, provides the genome-wide overview of the types and relative abundances of circRNAs in tongue sole tissues during three ovarian developmental stages. We detected 6790 circRNAs in the brain, 5712 in the pituitary gland, 4937 in the ovary and 4160 in the liver. Some circRNAs exhibit tissue-specific expression, and qRT-PCR largely confirmed 6 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analyses of DE mRNAs were performed. Some DE circRNA parental genes were closely associated with biological processes in key signalling pathways and may play essential roles in ovarian development and maturation. We found that the selected circRNAs were involved in 10 pathways. RNase R digestion experiment and Sanger sequencing verified that the circRNA had a ring structure and was RNase R resistant. qRT-PCR results largely confirmed differential circRNA expression patterns from the RNA-seq data. These findings indicate that circRNAs are widespread in terms of present in production-related tissues of tongue sole with potentially important regulatory roles in ovarian development and maturation.

The complete mitochondrial genomic sequence of Yellowtail Kingfish Seriola aureovittata was determined in this study. The circular mitogenome contains 16,609 bp, encoding 37 typical animal mitochondrial genes and containing a putative D-loop region. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial genomes of S. aureovittata indicated that S. aureovittata and Seriola lalandi are the most closely related species and may be the different geographical populations of one species.

This paper extends the conventional Model Reference Adaptive Control systems to fractional ones based on the theory of fractional calculus. A control law and an incommensurate fractional adaptation law are designed for the fractional plant and the fractional reference model. The stability and tracking convergence are analyzed using the frequency distributed fractional integrator model and Lyapunov theory. Moreover, numerical simulations of both linear and nonlinear systems are performed to exhibit the viability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

This paper deals with the problem of pseudo-state sliding mode control of fractional SISO nonlinear systems with model inaccuracies. Firstly, a stable fractional sliding mode surface is constructed based on the Routh-Hurwitz conditions for fractional differential equations. Secondly, a sliding mode control law is designed using the theory of Mittag-Leffler stability. Further, we utilize the control methodology to synchronize two fractional chaotic systems, which serves as an example of verifying the viability and effectiveness of the proposed technique.

This paper deals with robust synchronization of the fractional-order unified chaotic systems. Firstly, control design for synchronization of nominal systems is proposed via fractional sliding mode technique. Then, systematic uncertainties and external disturbances are considered in the fractional-order unified chaotic systems, and adaptive sliding mode control is designed for the synchronization issue. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the two proposed control techniques.

Recently, control and synchronization of fractional chaotic systems have increasingly attracted much attention in the fractional control community. In this paper we introduce a novel class of fractional chaotic systems in the pseudo state space and propose an adaptive sliding mode control scheme to stabilize the chaotic systems in the presence of uncertainties and external disturbances whose bounds are unknown. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive sliding mode control technique, numerical simulations of control design of fractional Lorenz's system and Chen's system are presented.

A class of BAM neural networks with variable coefficients and neutral delays are investigated. By employing fixed-point theorem, the exponential dichotomy, and differential inequality techniques, we obtain some sufficient conditions to insure the existence and globally exponential stability of almost periodic solution. This is the first time to investigate the almost periodic solution of the BAM neutral neural network and the results of this paper are new, and they extend previously known results.

Based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method and stochastic analysis theory, we obtain some new delay-dependent criteria ensuring mean square stability of a class of impulsive stochastic equations. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

A mathematical model for growth of tumors with two discrete delays is studied. The delays, respectively, represent the time taken for cells to undergo mitosis and the time taken for the cell to modify the rate of cell loss due to apoptosis and kill of cells by the inhibitor. We show the influence of time delays on the Hopf bifurcation when one of delays is used as a bifurcation parameter.

This paper deals with the second-order nonlinear systems of difference equations, we obtain the existence theorems of periodic solutions. The theorems are proved by using critical point theory.

By means of Riccati transformation technique, we establish some new oscillation criteria for the second-order nonlinear delay dynamic equations (p(t)(xΔ(t))γ)Δ+q(t)f(x(Ä(t)))=0 on a time scale T, here γ≥1 is a quotient of odd positive integers with p and q real-valued positive rd-continuous functions defined on T.

Abstract Background Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important food legume crop, grown for human consumption globally including in China, Turkey, Egypt and Ethiopia. Although genetic gain has been made through conventional selection and breeding efforts, this could be substantially improved through the application of molecular methods. For this, a set of reliable molecular markers representative of the entire genome is required. Results A library with 125,559 putative SSR sequences was constructed and characterized for repeat type and length from a mixed genome of 247 spring and winter sown faba bean genotypes using 454 sequencing. A suit of 28,503 primer pair sequences were designed and 150 were randomly selected for validation. Of these, 94 produced reproducible amplicons that were polymorphic among 32 faba bean genotypes selected from diverse geographical locations. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 8, the expected heterozygocities ranged from 0.0000 to 1.0000, and the observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.0908 to 0.8410. The validation by UPGMA cluster analysis of 32 genotypes based on Nei's genetic distance, showed high quality and effectiveness of those novel SSR markers developed via next generation sequencing technology. Conclusions Large scale SSR marker development was successfully achieved using next generation sequencing of the V. faba genome. These novel markers are valuable for constructing genetic linkage maps, future QTL mapping, and marker-assisted trait selection in faba bean breeding efforts.

We consider the Green's functions and the existence of positive solutions for a second-order functional difference equation with four-point boundary conditions.