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Since the couple of decades the demand for silk has been increasing day by day but the average silk production is not enough to meet its demand. In this study, we investigated the effect of with Maize extract in different concentration (0.5%,1.0 %,1.5 %,2.0%, 2.5 %)on the growth 5th stage silkworm larvae on the biological and commercial traits of Bombyx mori L. The silkworm larvae at 5th instar stage were taken and fed with fresh and healthy mulberry leaves coated with Maize extract in different concentration. Results of the current study revealed that the higher growth parameters of 5th stage silkworm larvae, the cocoon weight, shell weight, and shell ratio were increased, and thus improved the quality of silk as compared to the control. The commercial traits of larvae fed with Maize extract in different concentration leaves also improved significantly. The larvae fed with Maize extract in different concentration treated mulberry leaves showed the maximum cocoon weight, cocoon length, cocoon width, cocoon shell ratio and fibroin content as compared to the control group. It is evident from the results that the fed with Maize extract coated mulberry leaves have a positive effect on the commercial and biological traits of Bombyx mori (L.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community detection is a fundamental yet important task for characterizing and understanding the structure of attributed graphs. Existing methods mainly focus on the structural tightness and attribute similarity among nodes in a community. However, grouping numerous semantically homogeneous nodes will result in information cocoons and thus reduce the robustness of community structure and the efficiency of node collaboration in real-world applications, such as recommendation systems and collaboration networks. Since nodes with closer connections tend to be more similar, finding communities with dense structures and diverse attributes poses great challenges to mining latent relationships between the graph structure and attribute distribution. To our best knowledge, very little research has been conducted to address this challenge. In this article, we propose a novel three-view graph attention neural networks (TvGANN) model to formally address the attribute diversity aware community detection problem. TvGANN reveals correlations between the graph structure and attributes distribution from the perspective of node organization, attribute co-occurrence, and the node-attribute interaction. It effectively captures structural features and attributes distribution by feeding a structural network and an attribute co-occurrence network into graph attention modules through the encoder–decoder framework. It also learns heterogeneous information by feeding a network into a meta-node attention module. Then, it fuzes the three modules and clusters the embedding representations through a Student's t-distribution approach, which iteratively refines the clustering results. The experiments show that our method not only improves the quality in dense community detection but also performs efficiently for attributed graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current European Union pesticide risk assessment for soil organisms, effect endpoints from laboratory studies (Tier 1) and field studies (higher‐tier risk assessment) are compared with predicted environmental concentrations in soil, derived from the proposed use pattern. The simple but conservative initial Tier 1 risk assessment considers a range of worst‐case assumptions. In contrast, the higher‐tier assessment focuses on specific conditions tested in the corresponding field study. Effect modeling, such as toxicokinetic–toxicodynamic (TKTD) modeling, is considered a promising future tool to address uncertainties in soil risk assessment, such as extrapolation to different ecological, pedo‐climatical, or agronomical situations, or to serve as an intermediate tier for potential refinement of the risk assessment. For the implementation of TKTD modeling in soil organism risk assessment, data on earthworm growth and reproduction over time are required, which are not provided by the standard Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) 222 laboratory test. The underlying study with carbendazim presents a new earthworm cocoon test design, based on the OECD 222 test, to provide the necessary data as input for TKTD modeling. This proposed test design involves destructive samplings at days 7, 14, 21, and 28, enabling the determination of growth, cocoon number, and the number of juveniles hatched per cocoon in 7‐day intervals. The new cocoon test allowed the disentanglement of the toxic effect of carbendazim in earthworms: At the highest concentration prominent effects on growth and reproductive output were observed, and the number of cocoons was significantly reduced compared to control. The results highlighted different physiological modes of action: effect on growth via higher maintenance costs as a primary mode of action as well as a reduced number of cocoons (effect on reproduction) and a lower number of juveniles hatching from each cocoon (hazard during oogenesis) as a secondary mode of action. We provide an example of how this new test's data can be used to feed a dynamic energy budget theory–TKTD model of Eisenia fetida. We also validate it against the original OECD 222 test design, outlining its potential future use in soil risk assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–10. © 2024 The Author(s). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microstructures have been proved as crucial factors for the sensing performance of flexible pressure sensors. In this study, polypyrrole (PPy)/sunflower pollen (SFP) (P/SFP) was prepared via the in situ growth of PPy on the surface of degreased SFP with a sea urchin-like microstructure; then, these P/SFP microspheres were sprayed onto a flat silk cocoon (FSC) to prepare a sensing layer P/SFP-FSC. PPy-FSC (P-FSC) was prepared as an electrode layer through the in situ polymerization of PPy on the FSC surface. The sensing layer P/SFP-FSC was placed between two P-FSC electrode layers to assemble a P/SFP-FSC pressure sensor together with a fork finger electrode. With 6 mg/cm2 of optimized sprayed P/SFP microspheres, the prepared flexible pressure sensor has a sensitivity of up to 0.128 KPa−1 in the range of 0–13.18 KPa and up to 0.13 KPa−1 in the range of 13.18–30.65 KPa, a fast response/recovery time (90 ms/80 ms), and a minimum detection limit as low as 40 Pa. This fabricated flexible P/SFP-FSC sensor can monitor human motion and can also be used for the encrypted transmission of important information via Morse code. In conclusion, the developed flexible P/SFP-FSC pressure sensor based on microstructure modification in this study shows good application prospects in the field of human–computer interaction and wearable electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\nImpact statementThis study aimed to assess the impact of light on the reproductive performance of leeches for the first time using the Mediterranean medicinal leech Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820, which is important in medicinal leech aquaculture. Gravid leeches were subjected to three different light conditions: 24-h Light, 24-h Dark, and Daylight (14-h light and 10-h dark) for 11 weeks. Gravidity ended at the 8th week for the Dark (5.33 ± 0.38 weeks) and Daylight (5.41 ± 0.29 weeks) groups, whereas it persisted for 11 weeks in the Light group (6.75 ± 0.51 weeks) (p = 0.031). In comparison to the Daylight group (cocoons: 40, offspring: 538), the Light (cocoons: 50, offspring: 723) and Dark (cocoons: 45, offspring: 576) groups achieved a greater yield of cocoons (p = 0.312) and offspring (p = 0.323). We invite discussion on the notion that the enhanced reproductive capacity of leeches in full light and full dark conditions, as opposed to daylight, may be attributed to the disturbance of their circadian rhythms. Effects of light on reproductive performance of leeches were investigated for the first time.Gravidity lasted 3 weeks longer in the 24-hour light group.Cocoon and offspring were more abundant in 24-h light and 24-h dark groups.Findings are thought to be due to the disruption of the circadian rhythms of the leeches.Effects of light on reproductive performance of leeches were investigated for the first time.Gravidity lasted 3 weeks longer in the 24-hour light group.Cocoon and offspring were more abundant in 24-h light and 24-h dark groups.Findings are thought to be due to the disruption of the circadian rhythms of the leeches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abdominal cocoon is a very uncommon yet dangerous cause of intestinal obstruction. Case presentation: We present a case of a 62-year-old Asian male patient with a history of depression who exhibited an idiopathic abdominal cocoon complicated by necrosis. Upon laparotomy investigation, nearly the entire small intestine was enveloped in a thick membrane resembling a cocoon, and it was discovered that he lacked a greater omentum. The patient recovered well and was discharged on an oral diet on the 20th day following surgery. During the 3-month follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic, even gaining 10 kg in weight, and noted that his depression had improved. Conclusions: Small bowel obstruction presents with nonspecific symptoms, posing challenges in differential diagnosis. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography is recommended since it facilitates precise preoperative assessment, optimizing surgical planning and reducing postoperative complications. Remarkably, cessation of antidepressant medication post-surgery hints at a potential correlation between omental deficit, gut microbiota alterations, and depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to study the impact on mulberry leaf quality and silkworm growth performance by the application of growth promoter. In the irrigated mulberry field experiment was carried out in Randomized Block Design layout with four replications and five treatments. Result showed that higher quality of mulberry leaves was obtained on Effective Microorganisms (EM) treated plots compared to others because beneficial microorganism in the EM enhanced the plant growth metabolism to increase their growth. As for correlation analysis, all leaf quality traits were highly significantly positive correlated with silkworm cocoon traits. In simple linear regression analysis, the mulberry leaf quality traits were significantly influenced the silkworm cocoon traits except leaf protein with cocoon weight (Adj R² = - 0.30337) which has negative relationship between them. Highly close relationship was noticed on total carbohydrate content on larval weight (Adj R² = 0.93655) followed by total chlorophyll content on shell weight (Adj R² = 0.90569), silk gland weight (Adj R² = 0.87275), ERR (Adj R² = 0.84312) and total carbohydrate content on shell weight (Adj R² = 0.84606). Thus, the total chlorophyll and carbohydrate content might be a good trait and mostly responsible for producing good quality cocoons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was carried out at Department of Sericulture, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru to know the effect of foliar application of different volumes of nano nitrogen on growth and yield of mulberry and its subsequent effect on silkworm Bombyx mori L. (FC1 X FC2). The study resulted in significant improvement in silkworm (FC1 x FC2), when fed with mulberry leaves raised with different volumes of nano nitrogen fertilizer. Significantly shorter fifth instar larval duration (8.67 days), higher fifth instar larval weight (36.65 g/10 larvae) and better ERR (100 %) were observed from the silkworm batches fed with leaves harvested from mulberry plants raised with foliar application of 0.4% nano nitrogen fertilizer @ 225 ltr per acre on 25th day after pruning + 50% soil application of N, which was on par with silkworm batches fed with leaves harvested from mulberry plants raised with foliar application of 0.4% nano nitrogen fertilizer @ 200 ltr per acre on 25th day after pruning + 50% soil application of N showing shorter fifth instar larval duration (8.67 days), higher fifth instar larval weight (36.07 g/10 larvae) and better ERR (100 %). The cocoon parameters of silkworm (FC1 x FC2) viz., cocoon yield by weight (22.62 kg/10,000 worms), cocoon yield by number (10,000 / 10,000 worms), cocoon weight (2.26 g), cocoon shell weight (0.50 g), pupal weight (1.77 g), cocoon shell ratio (21.90 %) and reeling parameters viz., average filament length (1280.46 m) and non-breakable filament length (1251.01 m) were significantly superior in the silkworm groups fed with leaves harvested from mulberry plants raised with foliar application of 0.4% nano nitrogen fertilizer @ 225 ltr per acre on 25th day after pruning + 50% soil application of N, which was on par with the silkworm batches fed with leaves harvested from mulberry plants raised with foliar application of 0.4% nano nitrogen fertilizer @ 200 ltr per acre on 25th day after pruning + 50% soil application of N showing cocoon yield by weight (22.50 kg/10,000 worms), cocoon yield by number (10,000 / 10,000 worms), cocoon weight (2.25 g), cocoon shell weight (0.48 g), pupal weight (1.77 g), cocoon shell ratio (21.45 %) and reeling parameters viz., average filament length (1232.10 m) and non-breakable filament length (1197.60 m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The merger of two magnetized compact objects, such as neutron stars, forms a compact object which may launch a relativistic and collimated jet. Numerical simulations of the process show that a dense and highly magnetized medium surrounds the system. This study presents a semi-analytical model that models the effects that a static magnetized medium with a tangled field produces in relativistic, collimated, and non-magnetized jets. The model is a first approximation that addresses the magnetic field present in the medium and is based on pressure equilibrium principles between the jet, cocoon, and external medium. A fraction of the ambient medium field is allowed to be entrained in the cocoon. We find that the jet and cocoon properties may be affected by high magnetic fields (≳ 1015 G) and mixing. The evolution of the system may vary up to |$\sim 10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| (compared to the non-magnetized case). Low-mixing may produce a slower broader jet with a broader and more energetic cocoon would be produced. On the other hand, high-mixing could produce a faster narrower jet with a narrow and less-energetic cocoon. Two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations are used to validate the model and to constrain the mixing parameter. Although the magnetic field and mixing have a limited effect, our semi-analytic model captures the general trend consistent with numerical results. For high magnetization, the results were found to be more consistent with the low mixing case in our semi-analytic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User preference modeling is a key factor in improving the quality of personalized news recommendations. Existing researches usually model the task as click-through rate estimation tasks, starting from the user' s explicit feedback signal to construct an interest representation. However, due to the lack of explicit feedback signals and the variety of user interests, current news recommendation methods often have the problem of data sparseness and information cocoons. This paper proposes a news recommendation algorithm based on implicit feedback signals and multi-dimensional interests. By introducing implicit feedback signals such as user exposure unclicked, the data sparsity problem in modeling the recommendation model is alleviated, and a comparative attention mechanism is proposed to model the fusion of user clicked and unclicked news. Besides, this paper also proposes user dynamic interest modeling based on candidate news perception and contrast learning modeling of dynamic and static interests. Multi-dimensional user interests achieve rich and dynamic user preference accurate localization. This study conducts extensive experiments on a real dataset. Three evaluation metrics and a variety of performance tests are used to compare with other baseline methods to verify that the proposed model outperforms other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is a pathogen causing Bombyx mori larval mortality and is also called grasserie disease (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). Since this viral disease is not fully under control in sericulture, it is necessary to identify agents that can prevent or reduce the infection/proliferation of BmNPV in B. mori culture boxes. Sericultural activity is similar an agriculture, and the loss of cocoon production leads to economic losses. In this research area, we previously reported that the molecule Bm5 inhibits cathepsin activity from BmNPV (V-CATH) and protects infected B. mori larvae from liquefaction processes, limiting the spread of the disease. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of Bm5 in reducing sericultural loss due to BmNPV infection. Assays were carried out with B. mori fifth-instar hybrids immediately inoculated with BmNPV and Bm5 to prevent viral cathepsin action. The biological and productive variables relevant during larval development and cocoon productivity were analysed to verify the effectiveness of Bm5 treatment. Biological and economic parameter data showed that the larval survival rate of the BmNPV-infected and Bm5-treated groups was 35.6% higher than that of the untreated BmNPV group. In addition, the infected BmNPV and Bm5-treated groups showed surviving pupae that produced good-quality cocoons. The α- and β-esterase analysis from the midgut and fat body did not show a change in isoenzyme expression between Bm5-treated and untreated larvae infected with BmNPV. Therefore, the inhibition of viral cathepsin with the Bm5 was shown to be effective in reducing the loss of silk production from BmNPV-infected B. mori larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sericulture is the process of cultivating silkworm cocoons for the production of silks. The quality silk production requires quality seed production which in turn requires accurate classification of male and female pupa in grainage centers. The challenges in the current methods of silkworm cocoon sex classification using manual observation lie in the time-consuming nature of the process, potential human error, and difficulties in accurately discerning subtle morphological differences between male and female cocoons. FC1 and FC2 single hybrid variety breed pupa are commonly used in south India for the production of high yielding double hybrid bivoltine silkworm seeds. In this study, 1579 FC1 and 1669 FC2 variety samples were used for the classification process. To overcome the challenges of present physical observation by expert employees, camera images of FC1 and FC2 cocoons were used in this study for sex classification. The proposed model used Histogram Oriented Gradient (HOG) feature descriptor of cocoon samples. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) was applied on the feature vector to reduce the dimension and this feature matrix was given to the classical machine learning algorithms support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), and gaussian naïve bayes for classification with stratified 10-fold cross validation. The results showed that for FC1 data HOG + LDA + Naïve Bayes performed better with a mean accuracy of 95.3% and for FC2 data HOG + LDA + KNN attained a mean accuracy of 96.2%. Our results suggest that this camera imaging method can be used efficiently in the classification based on the cocoon size and shape of different breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new FPTAS for the Subset Sum Ratio problem, which, given a set of integers, asks for two disjoint subsets such that the ratio of their sums is as close to 1 as possible. Our scheme makes use of exact and approximate algorithms for Partition, and clearly showcases the close relationship between the two algorithmic problems. Depending on the relationship between the size of the input set n and the error margin ε , we improve upon the best currently known algorithm of Melissinos and Pagourtzis [COCOON 2018] of complexity O (n 4 / ε) . In particular, the exponent of n in our proposed scheme may decrease down to 2, depending on the Partition algorithm used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2020, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory registered a neutrino event with an energy of 150 TeV directed at the Cygnus Cocoon gamma-ray source. In the Carpet-2 experiment, as part of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory (BNO), a sharp increase in the flow of events with an energy above 300 TeV was recorded from the same direction within the angular accuracy of the events. This flux is 4 orders of magnitude higher than the expected intensity of gamma quanta of this energy region according to data in the region of less than 100 TeV. It was expected that such a powerful flare could be registered by the TAIGA-HiSCORE installation of the TAIGA astrophysical complex. We analyzed the events of the EAS recorded by the installation of TAIGA-HiSCORE for 18 h in October–November 2020 from the Cygnus Cocoon source. This article provides the upper limit of the expected excess flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of the short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) 050709 by the HETE-2 satellite opened the door to understanding the nature of SGRBs, offering clues about their emission mechanism and progenitors, with the crucial aid of optical follow-up observations. Here, we revisit the prompt emission of GRB 050709. Our analysis reveals an initial hard spike ∼200 ms long, followed by a subsequent soft-tail emission lasting ∼300 ms. These components could be common among other SGRBs originating from binary neutron merger events, such as GW 170817 and GRB 170817A. Detailed temporal and spectral analyses indicate that the soft-tail emission might be attributed to the cocoon formed by the relativistic jet depositing energy into the surrounding material. We find the necessary cocoon parameters at the breakout, as consistent with numerical simulation results. We compared the physical parameters of this cocoon with those of other SGRBs. The relatively higher cocoon pressure and temperature in GRB 050709 may indicate a more on-axis jet compared with GRB 170817A and GRB 150101B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mulberry trees suffer from many pest infestations. To control these pests, some natural compounds such as Techno Oil and Top 9 and some other chemicals such as Mospilan® and Chinook® were used. Mulberry trees, Morus nigra were treated with three different concentrations of each of Chinook, Techno Oil® and Top 9® to reduce infestation with Icerya sp. and Ferrisia virgate. A high reduction rate of more than 90% occurred when using these pesticides. On the other hand, the corrected mortality of mulberry silkworm larvae was 93.3%, 0.0% and 6.7% respectively after 8 days of treatment. When treating mulberry trees Morus alba with two different concentrations of each of pesticides; Mospilan and Techno Oil against whitefly, the average rate of infestation reduction was 100% and 94.94%, respectively. The corrected mortality of mulberry silkworms larvae was 100% and 0.0% after 8 days of treatment respectively. This study proved that natural compounds could be used safely instead of chemical pesticides to reduce the pest population without affecting the life of silkworm larvae or cocoon properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Cocoons have a direct impact on the quality of raw silk. Mulberry cocoons must be screened before silk reeling can begin in order to improve the quality of raw silk. For the silk product sector, the cocoons' level of categorization and sorting is crucial. Nonetheless, the majority of mulberry cocoon production facilities in use today choose the cocoons by hand. The accuracy and efficiency of mulberry cocoon plucking can be significantly improved by automatic methods. To increase efficiency, mulberry cocoons must be sorted automatically and intelligently using machine vision. We proposed an effective detection technique based on vision and terahertz spectrum characteristics data for distinguishing defective cocoons, including common and thin shelled defective cocoons. Each mulberry cocoon with a defect had its spatial coordinate and deflection angle computed so that grippers could grasp it. With 3762 photos in our dataset, our approach could detect mAP values up to 99.25% of the time. Furthermore, the GFLOPS of our suggested model was only 8.9 G, and its Parameters were only 5.3 M, making it appropriate for use in real-world application scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abdominal cocoon syndrome is a rare clinical presentation that has been associated with abdominal tuberculosis in rural India. It is also known as sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, where the small bowel becomes encapsulated by a fibrous membrane due to unclear causes, leading to obstipation. Common symptoms include vomiting, nausea, and constipation. Due to these general clinical symptoms, it can be mistaken for other gastrointestinal disorders, resulting in delayed diagnosis, which may lead to adverse outcomes or even mortality. Surgery is often used to free the entrapped bowel and remove the fibrous tissue, while supportive care and problem management are crucial. The present case involves a 55-year-old male who presented with a distended abdomen and obstipation, leading to intestinal perforation and sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, which was managed through resection and anastomosis of the small intestine. The patient was followed-up after three months with no new complaints. The present case helps in understanding the sequelae of acute intestinal perforation that can result in abdominal cocoon syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorting unreelable inferior cocoons during the reeling process is essential for obtaining high-quality silk products. At present, silk reeling enterprises mainly rely on manual sorting, which is inefficient and labor-intensive. Automated sorting based on machine vision and sorting robots is a promising alternative. However, the accuracy and computational complexity of object detection are challenges for the practical application of automatic sorting, especially for small stains of inferior cocoons in images of densely distributed cocoons. To deal with this problem, an efficient fine-grained object detection network based on attention mechanism and multi-scale feature fusion, called AMMF-Net, is proposed for inferior silkworm cocoon recognition. In this model, fine-grained object features are key considerations to improve the detection accuracy. To efficiently extract fine-grained features of silkworm cocoon images, we designed an efficient hybrid feature extraction network (HFE-Net) that combines depth-wise separable convolution and Transformer as the backbone. It captures local and global information to extract fine-grained features of inferior silkworm cocoon images, improving the representation ability of the network. An efficient multi-scale feature fusion module (EMFF) is proposed as the neck of the object detection structure. It improves the typical down-sampling method of multi-scale feature fusion to avoid the loss of key information and achieve better performance. Our method is trained and evaluated on a dataset collected from multiple inferior cocoons. Extensive experiments validated the effectiveness and generalization performance of the HFE-Net network and the EMFF module, and the proposed AMMF-Net achieved the best detection results compared to other popular deep neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted in Shebadino, Tula and Wondogenet districts of Sidama regional state of southern Ethiopia from 2018 to 2023 with the objectives of to evaluate the performance of silk production technologies at various levels of silk production with stakeholders/beneficiaries. The study also aimed to create awareness and develop confidence among silkworm producers, development agents, agricultural experts and policy makers for wider dissemination. Nine kebeles’ (the lowest administrative level), were selected from three (3) districts for the purposes of this study. Five (5) farmers from each kebele were selected, totaling 45 farmers, for technology pre-scale up and promotion. Three rounds of theoretical and practical training were given to these farmers after they were selected. Training in the third round focused on managing row silk and cocoons after harvest, with a first round that covered broad knowledge and the importance of sericulture. Of the farmers who were chosen and trained, 95.6 percent were women who began raising silk worms, producing cocoons, and processing row silk. Each farmer received 30 kilograms of castor seed and 50 disease-free adult moths for pre-scaling up and promotion of the technology. During the first year of the study period, 90%, 50%, and 40% of the disease-free moths that were disseminated laid eggs and developed into cocoons at Shebadino, Tula sub city and Wondogenet districts respectively. Sericulture is very beneficial to young people, particularly women, in terms of providing a variety of employment options and viable income without affecting their regular agricultural activities or the existing sociocultural equilibrium. Sericulture technology with its package used, knowledge and skill of the farmers (users) on the technology upgraded, continuous follow up assured by DAs and experts. This study highlights the significance of sericulture for rural development and offers insightful information for its dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sericin derived from the white cocoon of Bombyx mori has been attracting more attention for its utilization in food, cosmetics, and biomedicine. The potential health benefits of natural carotenoids for humans have also been well-established. Some rare strains of Bombyx mori (B. mori) produce yellow–red cocoons, which endow a potential of natural carotenoid-containing sericin. We hypothesized that natural carotenoid-containing sericin from yellow–red cocoons would exhibit better properties compared with white cocoon sericin. To investigate the physicochemical attributes of natural carotenoid-containing sericin, we bred two silkworm strains from one common ancestor, namely XS7 and XS8, which exhibited different cocoon colors as a result of the inconsistent distribution of lutein and β-carotene. Compared with white cocoon sericin, the interaction between carotenoids and sericin molecules in carotenoid-containing sericin resulted in a unique fluorescence emission at 530, 564 nm. The incorporation of carotenoids enhanced the antibacterial effect, anti-cancer ability, cytocompatibility, and antioxidant of sericin, suggesting potential wide-ranging applications of natural carotenoid-containing sericin as a biomass material. We also found differences in fluorescence characteristics, antimicrobial effects, anti-cancer ability, and antioxidants between XS7 and XS8 sericin. Our work for the first time suggested a better application potential of natural carotenoid-containing sericin as a biomass material than frequently used white cocoon sericin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foliar application of nano nitrogen 0.4 per cent @ 200 L/acre after 25 DAP + without inoculation (T3) has recorded lowest total larval duration (473.33 h), zero per cent disease incidence, zero per cent larval mortality, highest fifth instar larval progression (100.00%), ERR (100.00%), larval weight (35.71 g/10 larvae), cocoon weight (2.13g), pupal weight (1.67g), shell weight (0.45g), floss weight (23.09mg), cocoon shell ratio (21.35%) and denier (2.79) under healthy conditions. Among fourth instar BmNPV inoculated batch, foliar application of nano nitrogen 0.4 per cent @ 200 L/acre after 25 DAP (T1) has recorded lowest total larval duration (518.16 h), disease incidence (38.23%), larval mortality (29.31%), highest fifth instar larval progression (76.00%), ERR (62.98%), larval weight (29.38g), cocoon weight (1.73g), pupal weight (1.44g), shell weight (0.30g), floss weight (19.15mg), cocoon shell ratio (17.17%) and denier (2.53). Whereas, fifth instar BmNPV inoculated batch foliar application of nano nitrogen at 0.4 per cent at 200 L/acre after 25 DAP (T2) has recorded lowest total larval duration (484.16 h), disease incidence (27.02%), larval mortality (23.29%), highest fifth instar larval progression (84.33%), ERR (78.14%), larval weight (32.98g/10 larvae), single cocoon weight (1.90g), pupal weight (1.55g), shell weight (0.37g), floss weight (20.17mg), cocoon shell ratio (19.26%) and denier (2.65). The study evidenced that foliar application of nano nitrogen exhibited positive effects on growth and development of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. and also in managing the BmNPV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classification of silkworm cocoons is essential prior to silk reeling and serves as a key step in improving the quality of raw silk. At present, cocoon classification mainly relies on manual sorting, which is labor-intensive and inefficient. In this paper, a cocoon detection algorithm S-YOLOv8_c based on the cooperation of MobileSAM and YOLOv8 for the mountage cocoons was proposed. The MobileSAM with a designed area thresholding algorithm was used for the semantic segmentation of mountage cocoon images, which could mitigate the effect of complex backgrounds and maximize the discriminability of cocoon features. Subsequently, the BiFPN was added to the neck of YOLOv8 to improve the multiscale feature fusion capability. The loss function was replaced with the WIoU, and a dynamic non-monotonic focusing mechanism was introduced to improve the generalization ability. In addition, the GAM was incorporated into the head to focus on detailed cocoon information. Finally, the S-YOLOv8_c achieved a good detection accuracy on the test set, with a mAP of 95.8%. Furthermore, to experimentally validate the sorting ability, we deployed the proposed model onto the self-developed Cartesian coordinate automatic cocoon harvester, which indicated that it would effectively meet the requirements of accurate and efficient cocoon sorting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombyx mori was domesticated from Bombyx mandarina. The long-term domestication of the silkworm has brought about many remarkable changes to its body size and cocoon shell weight. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the improvement in the economic characteristics of this species during domestication remains unclear. In this study, we found that a transposable element (TE)—Bm1—was present in the upstream regulatory region of the Mlx (Max-like protein X) gene in wild silkworms but not in all domesticated silkworms. The absence of Bm1 caused an increase in the promoter activity and mRNA content of Mlx. Mlx and its partner Mondo belong to the bHLHZ transcription factors family and regulate nutrient metabolism. RNAi of Mlx and Mondo decreased the expression and promoter activity of glucose metabolism-related genes (trehalose transport (Tret), phosphofructokinase (PFK), and pyruvate kinase (PK)), lipogenic genes (Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS)), and glutamine synthesis gene (Glutamine synthase 2, (GS2)). Furthermore, the transgenic overexpression of Mlx and Mondo in the fat body of silkworms increased the larval body size, cocoon shell weight, and egg number, but the silencing of the two genes resulted in the opposite phenotypes. Our results reveal the molecular mechanism of Mlx selection during domestication and its successful use in the molecular breeding of Bombyx mori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixture of vitamins in the cocoon yield of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. (Chinese hybrid-9f7x) was studied. Vitamins concentrations were 2, 4, 6 and 8 mg/ml. Results showed that; the concentration was 8mg/ml. of the mixture of vitamins was the best treatment. The weights of fifth instar larvae were 2.125 g when compared to 2.000 g in the control, the weights of pupae recorded 0.800g compared to 0.711g in the control, mortality percentages of the fifth instar were 6.25% when compared to 7.50% in control, durations of the fifth instar larvae were 9.15 day comparing to 9.65 days in control, percentages of cocooning were 93.69% comparing to 90.05% in the control, the productivity of silk was 2.38 cg/day comparing to 1.89 cg/day in control, weights of cocoon were 1.186 g, comparing to 1.031 g in the control, weights of cocoon shell were 0.218 g when compared to 0.183 g in the control and ratio of cocoon shell were 18.38% compared to 17.74% in the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research was carried out to collect whitefly species infesting citrus plants in Punjab, Pakistan. A total of eight whitefly species viz., A. russellae, A. woglumi, A. spinosus, A. walayarensis, B. giffardi, D. citri, D. kirkaldyi and D. elongata were recorded from the pupal cases infesting different citrus verities. Of these, two species, A. spinosus A. walayarensis are new record for Pakistan. B. giffardi and D. elongate have been reported first time from citrus plants. Specimens of B. giffardi and D. elongata are elongate and elliptical in shape, but remaining six species are elliptical or oval in shape. These species differ in antenna, colour, size, margin, submargin, dorsal disk, transverse moulting suture, rachis, caudal furrow and vasiform orifice. Maximum whitefly population was collected from Faisalabad followed by Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Layyah and Dera Ghazi Khan respectively. Shannon-Weiner Index value is maximum 1.89 at Sargodha followed by Faisalabad, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan and Layyah respectively. A key for the whitefly species attacking citrus plants in Punjab is also prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pertussis is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in infancy. It is recommended that close contacts of the baby be vaccinated with Tdap, and this practice is called the cocoon strategy. This study aimed to investigate the applicability of the cocoon strategy and to determine the factors affecting the process. Mothers of babies who were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit were included in the study. In the first stage, a face-to-face questionnaire was given to the mothers to measure their level of knowledge about whooping cough and its vaccine. In the second stage, written and verbal information about the cocoon strategy was given, and then vaccination intentions for Tdap were learned. In the third stage, all mothers were contacted 3 weeks after and asked whether they had received a Tdap vaccination and why. Of these mothers, 68% could not answer any questions about pertussis disease and vaccines correctly. After the information, 35% (n = 78) of the mothers stated that they were considering getting vaccinated, while only 2% (n = 5) of the mothers were able to get the Tdap vaccine. The most important reasons for not getting vaccinated were a lack of time (24%) and the cost of vaccination (23%). It is predicted that Tdap vaccination rates may increase if the cost of vaccine, availability of vaccine, and the access of mothers to the vaccine application are facilitated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six parental pure lines of Iran silkworm were recorded individually, with forty males and forty females in each of these six parental lines acting as parents of selected groups. In addition, as random groups, forty males and forty females having equal average with the average community in each one of these six parental lines were chosen. With the condition on lines amplification system, silkworms grandfather and mother were cultured, and three types of commercial hybrid larvae eggs produced in the fourth generation. Each of these larvae eggs were produced in two states (parental lines and random parental lines). The performance of these two hybrids was compared and the results of the individual selection system of parental lines on the performance of these hybrids were analyzed. In this study, 27 traits were studied. Based on obtained results, it is cleared that selection increase performance in silkworm hybrids. In all hybrids, the traits of alive larvae number, produced cocoon number, single best cocoon weight, and 10000 larvae cocoon weight showed significant increase based on selection (P < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honey bees play a critical role as pollinators. However, their reproduction success and survival face severe threats due to the deterioration of their living environment. Notably, environmental conditions during their preimaginal stage inside brood cells can influence their immune capabilities and overall health after emergence. During the in-cell developmental stage, workers are in close contact with cocoons, which can become a source of stress due to accumulated metals. To investigate this potential threat, experiments were conducted to examine the impact of cocoons in brood cells used to rear different generations on the metal content and detoxification gene expression levels in Apis cerana cerana. Our findings indicated significant differences in the layers, weight, base thickness, and metal contents like Cr, Cd, Pb, Mn, Ni, and As of cocoons in multi-generation brood cells compared to single-generation brood cells. These increases led to significant elevations in metal levels and upregulations of the four CYP450 detoxification genes in both six-day-old larvae and newly emerged workers. In conclusion, this study highlights the negative impact of cocoons in multi-generation brood cells on bee health and provides evidence supporting the development of rational apiculture management strategies for ecosystem stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been proposed as plausible sites for hosting a sizable fraction of the binary black hole (BBH) mergers measured through gravitational waves (GWs) by the LIGO–Virgo–Kagra (LVK) experiment. These GWs could be accompanied by radiation feedback due to the interaction of the BBH merger remnant with the AGN disc. We present a new predicted radiation signature driven by the passage of a kicked BBH remnant throughout a thin AGN disc. We analyse the situation of a merger occurring outside the thin disc, where the merger is of second or higher generation in a merging hierarchical sequence. The coalescence produces a kicked BH remnant that eventually plunges into the disc, accretes material, and inflates jet cocoons. We consider the case of a jet cocoon propagating quasi-parallel to the disc plane and study the outflow that results when the cocoon emerges from the disc. We calculate the transient emission of the emerging cocoon using a photon diffusion model typically employed to describe the light curves of supernovae. Depending on the parameter configuration, the flare produced by the emerging cocoon could be comparable to or exceed the AGN background emission at optical, and extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. For instance, in AGNs with central engines of ∼5 × 106 M⊙, flares driven by BH remnants with masses of ∼100 M⊙ can appear in about ∼[10–100] d after the GW, lasting for few days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silkworm, Bombyx mori L. cocoon is a protective covering consisting of two important proteins, sericin and fibroin. Sericin, a water-soluble protein that represents about 30% of the cocoon weight is perse dissolved by cooking to unwind the silk filament from the cocoon during reeling. In the present study, the sericin was extracted from cut cocoons. Extraction was carried out by two methods i.e., open boiling and autoclave method at different time regimes,30, 60 and 90 min. The recovery of crude sericin powder was done by hot air drying and freeze drying. Maximum recovery (14.12 ± 0.05 %) of crude sericin powder was obtained when extraction was carried out by autoclave method and drying by lyophilization. The sericin samples were studied for qualitative, quantitative, and biological criteria. The autoclave extraction showed maximum protein content and protein purity as compared to open boiling method. The maximum gelation formation in the extracted samples was observed for 60 minutes followed by a time of 30 minutes. Differential molecular weight protein bands were observed at three-time intervals. A molecular weight of 15-25 KDa was obtained in the sample extracted for 30 min and 60 min. While reduced molecular weight ranges of 10-15 KDa were obtained when extraction was carried for 90 min. The sericin showed concentration dependent antioxidant activity to the tone of 64 ± 7 % at 40 mg/mL concentration. Sericin did not show any antibacterial and antifungal activity. Results of this study suggests sericin protein can be used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message: Abdominal cocoon syndrome and Chilaiditi syndrome are rare etiologies of bowel obstruction which have to be considered in patients with obstructive symptoms. Patients can profit from surgical management rather than non‐surgical approach. Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis or abdominal cocoon syndrome (ACS) is an uncommon cause of intestinal obstructions associated with encapsulation of the small bowel by a fibro collagenous sac. Clinical presentations of ACS are unspecific and most patients are diagnosed intraoperatively. Moreover, Chilaiditi syndrome is another rare cause of bowel obstruction defined by interposition of colon and liver. There is no reported relation between these two conditions and surgical intervention is the suggested approach for severe bowel obstruction following them individually. We present a case with both conditions and describe our approach. A 47‐year‐old male presented with complaints of colic abdominal pain and distention, nausea and several attacks of bilious and nonbilious vomiting, anorexia, and constipation in the last 10 days before his admission. Laboratory data were normal and abdominal X‐ray showed large dilation at the distal part of the bowel without air fluid level. The patient underwent explorative laparotomy and a mass‐like lesion containing necrotic bowel and a whitish spleen accompanied by a complete anterior‐rotated liver was found. The encapsulated bowel and the spleen were resected followed by the complete resolution of symptoms in the patient. The intestinal obstruction caused by ACS is mostly approached by surgery to prevent the fatal sequela of this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-TeV or TeV γ -rays have been convincingly detected in the afterglows of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The relativistic jet associated with GRBs may be surrounded by a cocoon and thus the thermal photons of the cocoon pervading the emission region of the jet can be upscattered to the very-high-energy regime (e.g., sub-TeV/TeV) by the electrons in the jet. In this scenario, the electrons in the jet cool down and thus the jet emission in the low-energy regime, e.g., the X-ray or optical, may be suppressed. In this paper, we study the effect of the cocoon's thermal photons on the jet emission in the low-energy regime. We find that the jet emission in the low-energy regime is significantly suppressed when the emission region of the jet is just encircled by a hot cocoon. Correspondingly, there is a sharp decay in the light curves of the jet emission in the low-energy regime, which can be understood to signify strong TeV emission in GRBs. Since the radius of the cocoon expands with the observer time t obs, the suppression of the jet emission in the low-energy regime may be relieved and thus the light curves of the jet emission would return to those of emission without a cocoon-external inverse-Compton cooling effect. For a long-lasting jet with power ∝ (1 + t obs / t c) α , an internal plateau followed by a sharp decay may generally appear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural places and small towns are highly valued by lifestyle migrants who wish to live close to nature (Verdich 2010) and have a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Ängsbacka is a course center and a community for alternative lifestyles, located on the outskirts of a small town in mid-Sweden. The center emphasizes community and belonging, while also being a place characterized by cosmopolitan taste patterns and constant mobility, which can be described as a cocoon community (following Korpela and Dervin 2013). The members of the cocoon community use social media platforms such as Instagram to make place for themselves, to communicate belonging. Through images, hashtags and captions, they make connections between various places, people, activities and emotions that together contribute to the user's spatial self (Schwartz and Halegoua 2015) and to the placemaking efforts of the community. Those using the hashtag ängsbacka often do so to communicate a deep connection between the place and themselves. At the same time, while the local place and nature is at the center of their activities, it is simultaneously a mere backdrop for their projects of personal development. Using Ängsbacka as a case, the article adds to research about digital placemaking beyond cities, by examining how the local place is given meaning within a community defined by privileged mobility. With reference to Carfagna et al's (2014) concept of ecological habitus, I argue that discourses on sustainability and harmony with nature can create a connection and sense of belonging that combines the (hyper)local with global alternative lifestyles, even as the cocoon community excludes the local place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation was conducted to assess the performance of new bivoltine silkworm foundation crosses viz., (B1 × B2), (B1 × B4), (B2 × B4) and (B6 × B8) under two different stress conditions i.e., high temperature treatment (36 ± 1°C) and Beauveria bassiana (Bals-Criv.) Vuill. (9.04 × 104 spores/ml @ 0.5 ml/worm) inoculation and evaluated along with commercial foundation crosses FC2 and FC1. The results from two seasons revealed that, under thermal treatment, B1 × B2 performed better for twelve out of fifteen parameters assessed [larval mortality (0.00%), ERR (100%), cocoon yield by number and weight (10,000/10,000 and 19.80 kg/10,000 larvae, respectively), grownup larval weight (33.00 g/10 larvae), single cocoon weight (1.65 g), shell weight (0.33 g), pupal weight (1.26 g) shell ratio (21.55%), filament length (1156.63 m), filament weight (0.27 g) and denier (2.10)]. Under B. bassiana inoculation, B1 × B4 showed better performance for thirteen out of fifteen traits [least larval mortality (41.33%), ERR (59.33%), fifth instar larval weight (32.00 g), pupation rate (50.00%), cumulative survival index (32.61%), cocoon yield by number and weight (5933.33 and 15.90 kg/10000 larvae, respectively), single cocoon weight (1.59 g), shell weight (0.31 g), pupal weight (1.15 g), shell ratio (21.00 %), filament length (724.39 m) and weight (0.24 g) and denier (2.71)]. Combining the performance of B1×B4 under both thermal and muscardine treatments, it showed superiority in seven out of fifteen parameters evaluated (fifth instar larval weight, cocoon yield by weight, single cocoon weight, shell weight, pupal weight, shell ratio and filament length). Whereas, B1×B2 hybrid was better for three parameters (least mortality, highest cocoon yield by number and ERR). Thus, these two foundation crosses viz., (B1×B2), (B1×B4) can be used to develop double cross hybrids with dual stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seasonal effect on growth, survival, and protein content in haemolymph, fat body, and silk gland of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. hybrid races viz. PM x CSR2, CSR4 x CSR2 and CSR2 x CSR4 using mulberry variety Kanva-2/M5 during rainy, winter and summer seasons have been investigated. The protein level in the haemolymph, fat body, and silk gland was higher in PM x CSR2 during the winter season followed by CSR4 x CSR2 and CSR2 x CSR4. During the summer season, the protein content in all the tissues was low. The protein content was high in winter due to the slow rate of development and growth of the silkworms, which allowed larvae to consume more food and convert the food into protein due to extended larval duration, resulting in improved cocoon characters. The changes in the protein concentration of haemolymph, fat body, and silk gland are correlated with the degree of food absorption, and conversion and utilization during the different seasons. The season has played a significant role in increasing the activity of proteins level in haemolymph, fat body and silk gland. The growth and development of silkworms and mortality rate are also influenced by season. A significantly highest weight of 3.005±0.68 g was recorded in PM x CSR2 during the winter season when compared with other races and seasons. Results showed CSR4xCSR2 and CSR2xCSR4 breeds are more susceptible in all seasons with a high rate of mortality with 10 % and 12 % in the summer season has been recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthworms are very sensitive bio-indicators of soil pollution. The aim of present investigation was to study the effects of heavy metals toxicity on various growth parameters of earthworms and also on their bio-molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids), which are involved in several processes such as energy storage (carbohydrates), catalyzing biochemical reactions etc. Adult individuals of Eisenia fetida were collected and kept in the green house. After acclimatization they were transferred either to unpolluted slurry (treated as control) or to the heavy metals' polluted (Cu, Sn, Cu+Sn) slurry. They were kept in these treatments at 22±2°C, RH 35% for 90 days. More cocoons and juveniles appeared in unpolluted slurry as compared to polluted one. The bio-molecules of worms maintained in unpolluted slurry were unaffected whereas heavy metals' polluted worms showed reduction in bio-molecules (%). In contrast, in the Cu polluted slurry samples, high mortality of adults was recorded, body weight and length was reduced, reproduction completely inhibited and bio-molecules also reduced (%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silk fiber, recognized as a versatile bioresource, holds wide-ranging significance in agriculture and the textile industry. During the breeding of silkworms to yield new varieties, optical sensing techniques have been employed to distinguish the colors of silk cocoons, aiming to assess their improved suitability across diverse industries. Despite visual comparison retaining its primary role in differentiating colors among a range of silk fibers, the presence of uneven surface texture leads to color distortion and inconsistent color perception at varying viewing angles. As a result, these distorted and inconsistent visual assessments contribute to unnecessary fiber wastage within the textile industry. To solve these issues, we have devised an optical system employing an integrating sphere to deliver consistent and uniform illumination from all orientations. Utilizing a ColorChecker, we calibrated the RGB values of silk cocoon images taken within the integrating sphere setup. This process accurately extracts the authentic RGB values of the silk cocoons. Our study not only helps in unraveling the intricate color of silk cocoons but also presents a unique approach applicable to various specimens with uneven surface textures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly evolutionarily conserved multiprotein complexes termed Complex of Proteins Associated with Set1 (COMPASS) are required for histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation. Drosophila Set1, Trx, and Trr form the core subunits of these complexes. We show that flies deficient in any of these three subunits demonstrated high lethality at eclosion (emergence of adult flies from their pupal cases) and significantly shortened lifespans for the adults that did emerge. Silencing Set1, trx, or trr in the heart led to a reduction in H3K4 monomethylation (H3K4me1) and dimethylation (H3K4me2), reflecting their distinct roles in H3K4 methylation. Furthermore, we studied the gene expression patterns regulated by Set1, Trx, and Trr. Each of the COMPASS core subunits controls the methylation of different sets of genes, with many metabolic pathways active early in development and throughout, while muscle and heart differentiation processes were methylated during later stages of development. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the roles of COMPASS series complex core subunits Set1, Trx, and Trr in regulating histone methylation during heart development and, given their implication in congenital heart diseases, inform research on heart disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop a film dressing prepared by incorporating a complex of cannabidiol and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (CBD/HP-β-CD) into a fibroin-based film and to investigate its wound healing capabilities. The fibroin from silkworm cocoons exhibited a total protein content of 96.34 ± 0.14% w/w and a molecular weight range of 25 to 245 kDa. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the presence of characteristic amide peaks (I, II, and III) in the isolated fibroin. The CBD/HP-β-CD complex, prepared with a molar ratio of 1:2 (CBD to HP-β-CD), had 81.5 ± 1.2% w/w CBD content, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR analyses demonstrated successful encapsulation of CBD's hydrophobic aromatic rings by HP-β-CD. Blending the fibroin solution with the CBD/HP-β-CD complex produced a transparent, slightly yellowish film. Mechanical testing revealed a tensile strength of 48.67 ± 2.57 MPa and a % elongation at a break of 1.71 ± 0.21%. XRD and FTIR analyses showed distinctive crystalline and chemical structures of the film. In subsequent in vitro experiments with normal human dermal fibroblasts, the film demonstrated potential for wound healing. An increase in cell division (G2/M phase) was observed compared to the fibroin film without the CBD/HP-β-CD complex. Additionally, fibroblasts treated with the film exhibited enhanced cell migration in a scratch assay and increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor protein compared to the control group. Overall, these findings underscore the film's potential for enhancing wound healing outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The regulation of insect growth and development is intricately governed by the levels of juvenile hormone and 20-hydroxyecdysone. Juvenile hormone esterase is a key catabolic enzyme of juvenile hormone that is involved in the growth, development, and metamorphosis of insects. In this study, we identified the juvenile hormone esterase genes Bmjhe1–9 in silkworm and found that Bmjhe6 was specifically expressed in the silk gland. In order to explore the function of Bmjhe6, the expression of Bmjhe6 was down-regulated in an RNA interference experiment. The results showed that the development of the silk gland was changed as well as the juvenile hormone pathway genes. Interestingly, Bmjhe6 was secreted into the silk gland lumen and cocoon silk, which may have new functions. This study provides some theoretical basis for the regulation of tissue growth and development as well as silk protein synthesis by juvenile hormone esterase, and servers as a reference for the study of juvenile hormone esterase in other insects. Juvenile hormone esterase (JHE) is the specific enzyme that degrades juvenile hormone (JH) and regulates the JH titer in insects. JH also regulates the development of the silk gland and the synthesis and secretion of silk proteins in Bombyx mori. Here, we identified nine possible JHE family members, Bmjhe1–9. Notably, Bmjhe6 is specifically expressed in the silk gland. Using semi-quantitative, quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot, it was confirmed that Bmjhe6 was specifically expressed in the middle silk gland (MSG) with high levels in the anterior region of the MSG (A-MSG). The immunofluorescence localization analysis revealed that Bmjhe6 is produced within cells, secreted into the gland lumen, and co-transported with silk proteins into the anterior silk gland (ASG). In vitro hormone induction experiments demonstrated that Bmjhe6 responds to a JH analog, increasing its expression after 12–24 h, whereas 20-hydroxyecdysone inhibited it. In addition, Bmjhe6 knockdown using dsBmjhe6 injections accelerated larval development, resulting in increased larval body and silk gland weight. This induced disordered sericin genes (Ser2, Ser3) expression, and key genes in the JH synthesis pathway (BmKr-h1 and BmMet1) were significantly upregulated along with the transcription factors (SGF-1 and Sage). These results indicate that Bmjhe6 plays an important role in silk gland growth and silk protein synthesis by modulating JH signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Cold storage has been widely used to maintain the quality of vegetables, but whether eating cold‐stored vegetables affects health remains unknown. RESULTS: This study used silkworms as an animal model to evaluate the effects of nutrient changes in cold‐stored mulberry leaves (CSML) on health. Compared with fresh mulberry leaves (FML), CSML contained lower vitamin C, soluble sugars and proteins, and higher H2O2, suggesting decreased antioxidant ability and nutrition. The CSML did not obviously affect larval survival rate, body weight or dry matter rate, cocoon shape, weight and size, or final rates of cluster and cocooning relative to the FML, suggesting CSML did not alter overall growth and development. However, the CSML increased the initial rates of cluster and cocooning and upregulated BmRpd3, suggesting CSML shortened larval lifespan and enhanced senescence. CSML upregulated BmNOX4, downregulated BmCAT, BmSOD and BmGSH‐Px and increased H2O2 in silkworms, suggesting CSML caused oxidative stress. CSML upregulated ecdysone biosynthesis and inactivation genes and elevated ecdysone concentration in silkworms, suggesting that CSML affected hormone homeostasis. CSML upregulated apoptosis‐related genes, downregulated sericin and silk fibroin genes and decreased sericin content rate in silkworms, suggesting oxidative stress and protein deficiency. CONCLUSION: Cold storage reduced nutrition and antioxidant capability of mulberry leaves. CSML did not influence growth and development of silkworm larva, but affected health by causing oxidative stress and reducing protein synthesis. The findings show that the ingredient changes in CSML had negative effects on health of silkworms. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autologous cell-based therapeutics have gained increasing attention in recent years because of their efficacy at treating diseases with limited therapeutic options. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has demonstrated clinical success in hematologic oncology indications, providing critically ill patients with a potentially curative therapy. Although engineered cell therapies such as CAR T cells provide new options for patients with unmet needs, the high cost and complexity of manufacturing may hinder clinical and commercial translation. The Cocoon Platform (Lonza, Basel, Switzerland) addresses many challenges, such as high labor demand, process consistency, contamination risks and scalability, by enabling efficient, functionally closed and automated production, whether at clinical or commercial scale. This platform is customizable and easy to use and requires minimal operator interaction, thereby decreasing process variability. We present two processes that demonstrate the Cocoon Platform's capabilities. We employed different T-cell activation methods—OKT3 and CD3/CD28 Dynabeads (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA)—to generate final cellular products that meet the critical quality attributes of a clinical autologous CAR T-cell product. This study demonstrates a manufacturing solution for addressing challenges with manual methods of production and facilitating the scale-up of autologous cell therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitin from crustaceans is used in food, pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural and environmental sectors. Edible insects' chitin is an untapped resource since edible insects have a high biodiversity and considerable amounts of chitin. Therefore, this study aimed at characterizing the functional properties and microstructure of chitin extracted from House cricket (Acheta domesticus), field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) and black soldier fly cocoons (Hermetica illucens) and compared with shrimp chitin (commercial). Chitin was chemically extracted and the functional groups were determined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Solubility, emulsion capacity, Water Holding Capacity, Fat Binding Capacity, degree of deacetylation and purity of the extracted chitin were also determined. Based on the FTIR spectra the extracted chitin showed the characteristic functional groups i.e. O–H stretch, C=O stretch, N–H bend, CH2 ending and CH3 deformation, C–N stretch and C–O–C stretch. Chitin extracted from Gryllus bimaculatus recorded the highest values in fat absorption capacity (780.14%), emulsion capacity (65.67%) and emulsion stability (65.67%). Chitin extracted from, Acheta domesticus was more soluble in water as compared to the commercial chitin. The highest level of deacetylation was reported in Hermetia illucens chitin (66.2%) while Acheta domesticus chitin had the least value (47.1%). The commercial chitin and Gryllus bimaculatus had the highest values for purity followed by Hermetia illucens. The microstructure images showed presence of pores and fibers in all the chitin samples. In conclusion, the insect chitin had characteristics similar to commercial chitin and are thus a suitable alternative in industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the brightest Galactic γ-ray sources, the Cygnus Cocoon superbubble has been observed by many detectors, such as Fermi -LAT, ARGO, HAWC, and LHAASO. However, the origin of γ-ray emission for the Cygnus Cocoon and the possible contribution to PeV cosmic rays are still under debate. The recent ultrahigh-energy γ-ray observations by LHAASO up to 1.4 PeV towards the direction of the Cygnus Cocoon, as well as the neutrino event report of IceCube-201120A coming from the same direction, suggest that the Cygnus Cocoon may be one of the sources of high-energy cosmic rays in the Galaxy. In this work, we propose a dual-zone diffusion model for the Cygnus Cocoon: the cocoon region and surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). This scenario can account for the γ-ray data from GeV to ∼50 TeV and agree with the one sub-PeV neutrino event result from IceCube so far. Moreover, it predicts a non-negligible contribution γ-ray emission at hundreds TeV from the ISM surrounding the Cygnus Cocoon. This possible diffuse TeV–PeV gamma-ray features can be resolved by the future LHAASO observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]