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Low-cost genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are routinely used in animal breeding programs. Compared to SNP arrays, the use of whole-genome sequence data generated by the next-generation sequencing technologies (NGS) has great potential in livestock populations. However, sequencing a large number of animals to exploit the full potential of whole-genome sequence data is not feasible. Thus, novel strategies are required for the allocation of sequencing resources in genotyped livestock populations such that the entire population can be imputed, maximizing the efficiency of whole genome sequencing budgets. We present two applications of linear programming for the efficient allocation of sequencing resources. The first application is to identify the minimum number of animals for sequencing subject to the criterion that each haplotype in the population is contained in at least one of the animals selected for sequencing. The second application is the selection of animals whose haplotypes include the largest possible proportion of common haplotypes present in the population, assuming a limited sequencing budget. Both applications are available in an open source program LPChoose. In both applications, LPChoose has similar or better performance than some other methods suggesting that linear programming methods offer great potential for the efficient allocation of sequencing resources. The utility of these methods can be increased through the development of improved heuristics.

Objective: To develop efficient and stable artificial proteases and investigate the relationship between coordinatively unsaturated metal sites and hydrolysis activity of peptide bond. Methods: Three zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks （Zr-MOFs） with different coordinatively unsaturated sites （12-connected Zr-MOF, 6-connected Zr-MOF, and 4-connected Zr-MOF） were prepared to modulate protein hydrolase activity. The protein hydrolase activity of three Zr-MOFs was evaluated by the hydrolysis rate of bis-glycopeptide （Gly-Gly） as an indicator. Subsequently, soy protein, surimi protein and casein were hydrolyzed using the best performing protein hydrolase nanoenzymes, and the hydrolysis products were separated using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the hydrolysis efficiency of the three proteins by artificial proteases was investigated by staining the separated bands with Komas Brilliant Blue. Results: Among the three Zr-MOFs proteases, the 6-connected Zr-MOF showed the highest hydrolysis （52%） efficiency toward the Gly-Gly. The hydrolysis reaction rate was increased 2.63×103 times compared the uncatalyzed hydrolysis. In addition, the 6-connected Zr-MOF could respectively hydrolyze three commonly proteins in the food industry and had the highest catalytic effect on surimi protein. Conclusion: These results revealed that the ability of Zr-MOF to hydrolyze peptide bonds could be enhanced by tuning the coordinatively unsaturated sites. The study provided a new idea for the application of artificial proteases in food industry.

The transition metal chalcogenides represented by MoS2 are the ideal choice for non-precious metal-based hydrogen evolution catalysts. However, whether in acidic or alkaline environments, the catalytic activity of pure MoS2 is still difficult to compete with Pt. Recent studies have shown that the electronic structure of materials can be adjusted by constructing lattice-matched heterojunctions, thus optimizing the adsorption free energy of intermediates in the catalytic hydrogen production process of materials, so as to effectively improve the electrocatalytic hydrogen production activity of catalysts. However, it is still a great challenge to prepare heterojunctions with lattice-matched structures as efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen production catalysts. Herein, we developed a one-step hydrothermal method to construct Ni-MoS2@NiS2@Ni3S2 (Ni-MoS2 on behalf of Ni doping MoS2) electrocatalyst with multiple heterogeneous interfaces which possesses rich catalytic reaction sites. The Ni-MoS2@NiS2@Ni3S2 electrocatalyst produced an extremely low overpotential of 69.4 mV with 10 mA·cm−2 current density for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 1.0 M KOH. This work provides valuable enlightenment for exploring the mechanism of HER enhancement to optimize the surface electronic structure of MoS2, and provides an effective idea for constructing rare metal catalysts in HER and other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the association between leprosy and human retroviral infections, 57 leprosy patients, 39 leprosy contacts, and 500 pregnant women were investigated serologically for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) and human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) types I and II. Antibodies to Mycobacterium leprae phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I), and lipoarabinomannan (LAM) were also analyzed. A low prevalence of HIV-1 infection was observed among leprosy patients (3.5%), leprosy contacts (0), and pregnant women (3.6%). Antibodies to HTLV-I but not -II were found more often in leprosy patients (8.7%) and contacts (12.8%) than in pregnant women (0). Sera from leprosy patients and leprosy contacts were often false-positive for HIV-l by ELISA and were indeterminate by Western blot. LAM IgM and PGL-I IgM antibodies in sera from leprosy patients yielded significant cross-reactivities with HIV-1 pol and gag proteins. These data suggest that mycobacterial cell wall antigens may share common epitopes with HIV. Caution should be exercised when interpreting HIV-1 ELISA and Western blot data from regions where leprosy or other mycobacterial diseases are endemic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]