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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide (CPP) on the motility, mitochondrial integrity, acrosome integrity rate, and antioxidant ability of sheep sperm after preservation at 4°C. Methods: Semen from healthy adult rams were collected and divided into four groups with separate addition of 0, 200, 400, and 1,000 mg/L CPP. Sperm motility was analyzed using the Computer-Assisted Semen Analysis software after preservation at 4°C for 24, 72, 120, and 168 h. Sperm acrosome integrity rate was analyzed by Giemsa staining at 24, 72, and 120 h, and mitochondrial membrane integrity was analyzed by Mito-Tracker Red CMXRos. The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of spermatozoa were measured after 120 h of preservation. Results: The sperm viability and forward-moving sperm under 200 mg/L CPP were significantly higher than that in the control group at 72 h (61.28%±3.89% vs 52.83%± 0.70%, 51.53%±4.06% vs 42.84%±1.14%), and 168 h (47.21%±0.85% vs 41.43%±0.37%, 38.68%±0.87% vs 31.68%±0.89%). The percentage of fast-moving sperm (15.03%±1.10% vs 11.39%±1.03%) and slow-moving sperm (23.63%±0.76% vs 20.29%±1.11%) in the 200 mg/L group was significantly higher than control group at 168 h. The mitochondrial membrane integrity of the sperm in the group with 200 mg/L CPP was significantly higher than those in the control group after storage at 4°C for 120 h (74.76%±2.54% vs 65.67% ±4.51%, p<0.05). The acrosome integrity rate in the group with 200 mg/L (87.66%±1.26%) and 400 mg/L (84.00%±2.95%) was significantly higher than those in the control group (80.65%±0.16%) after storage for 24 h (p<0.05). CPP also increased T-AOC and decreased the MDA concentration after preservation at 4°C (p<0.05). Conclusion: Adding CPP could improve the T-AOC of sperm, inhibit lipid peroxidation, and facilitate semen preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) modified ZnO nanorods have been applied in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells, which can show a positive effect on open circuit voltage and power conversion efficiency. The average power conversion efficiency is improved from 8.5% to 10.07% and the maximum efficiency reaches 10.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene/ZnO composites with different contents of ZnO have been successfully synthesized via a liquid phase route. The structure, morphology, and electrochemical performances of the composites are investigated by XRD, Raman, SEM, TEM, AFM, and electrochemical measurement. The results reveal that ZnO nanoparticles wedged on the surface of the graphene nanosheets. The initial capacity of graphene/ZnO (1 : 1) reached 1155.27 mAh g-1, which increased 162.87 mAh g-1 compared with the initial capacity of graphene. This could be attributed to the unique structure of the prepared composite and synergies of graphene and ZnO in the lithium ion storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a facultative anaerobic strain isolated from marine sediments and identified as Citrobacter freundii, was used to induce the precipitation of carbonate and phosphate minerals in the laboratory under anaerobic conditions. This is the first time that the ability of C. freundii ZW123 to precipitate carbonate and phosphate minerals has been demonstrated. During the experiments, carbonic anhydrase, alkaline phosphatase and ammonium released by the bacteria not only promoted an increase in pH, but also drove the supersaturation and precipitation of carbonate and phosphate minerals. The predominant bio-mediated minerals precipitated at various Mg/Ca molar ratios were calcite, vaterite, Mg-rich calcite, monohydrocalcite and struvite. A preferred orientation towards struvite was observed. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and elemental mapping showed the distribution of magnesium and calcium elements within Mg-rich calcite. Many organic functional groups, including C=O, C-O-C and C-O, were detected within the biominerals, and these functional groups were also identified in the associated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Fifteen kinds of amino acid were detected in the biotic minerals, almost identical to those of the EPS, indicating a close relationship between EPS and biominerals. Most amino acids are negatively charged and able to adsorb cations, providing an oversaturated microenvironment to facilitate mineral nucleation. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum of struvite shows the presence of organic functional groups on the mineral surface, suggesting a role of the microorganism in struvite precipitation. The ZW123 bacteria provided carbon and nitrogen for the formation of the biotic minerals through their metabolism, which further emphasizes the close relationship between biominerals and the microorganisms. Thermal studies showed the enhanced thermal stability of biotic minerals, perhaps due to the participation of the bacteria ZW123. The presence of amino acids such as Asp and Glu may explain the high magnesium content of some calcites. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the morphological change and preferred orientation were likely caused by selective adsorption of EPS onto the various struvite crystal surfaces. Thus, this study shows the significant role played by C. freundii ZW123 in the bioprecipitation of carbonate and phosphate minerals and provides some insights into the processes involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The start-up and performance of the completely autotrophic nitrogen removal via nitrite (CANON) process were examined in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with intermittent aeration. Initially, partial nitrification was established, and then the DO concentration was lowered further, surplus water in the SBR with high nitrite was replaced with tap water, and continuous aeration mode was turned into intermittent aeration mode, while the removal of total nitrogen was still weak. However, the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency and nitrogen removal loading reached 83.07% and 0.422 kgN/(m3⋅d), respectively, 14 days after inoculating 0.15 g of CANON biofilm biomass into the SBR.The aggregates formed in SBR were the mixture of activated sludge and granular sludge; the volume ratio of floc and granular sludge was 7 : 3. DNA analysis showed that Planctomycetes-like anammox bacteria and Nitrosomonas-like aerobic ammonium oxidization bacteria were dominant bacteria in the reactor. The influence of aeration strategies on CANONprocess was investigated using batch tests.Theresult showed that the strategy of alternating aeration (1 h) and nonaeration (1 h) was optimum, which can obtain almost the same TN removal efficiency as continuous aeration while reducing the energy consumption, inhibiting the activity of NOB, and enhancing the activity of AAOB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypersaline wastewater has been widely used in industrial processes in some countries short of freshwater, but calcium ions in such wastewater should be removed due to the danger of limescale being produced. In this study, calcium ions in hypersaline (sodium chloride: 5%) wastewater was biomineralized into different carbonate minerals under the action of free and immobilized Virgibacillus dokdonensis WLR1 bacteria. The results show that the calcium ion precipitation rate was much higher under the conditions of immobilized bacteria (p<0.01), and that there was a significant difference in the mineral phases, the diversity of protein secondary structures and morphologies, and chemical characteristics of the mineral surfaces between the free and the immobilized bacteria based on XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDS, and XPS analyses. TG, DTG, and DSC results show that with increasing calcium ion concentrations, the thermal stability of calcium carbonate under the conditions of free bacteria decreased due to the decline in crystallinity. The stable carbon isotope values (d13CPDB) of calcium carbonate formed by free bacteria changed from -16.80‰ to -18.17‰; the much more negative d13CPDB values suggest that the calcium carbonate minerals are biotic. From ultrathin slices analyzed by HRTEM-mapping-SAED, it was observed that calcite is formed inside the cell, thus also facilitating calcium ion removal. Research concerning intracellular calcite has rarely been reported. This study helps to further understand the mechanisms of biomineralization, and also provides an environmentally friendly method to remove calcium ions from hypersaline wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification on mammalian messenger RNA. It is installed by a writer complex and can be reversed by erasers such as the fat mass and obesity-associated protein FTO. Despite extensive research, the primary physiological substrates of FTO in mammalian tissues and development remain elusive. Here, we show that FTO mediates m6A demethylation of long-interspersed element-1 (LINE1) RNA in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), regulating LINE1 RNA abundance and the local chromatin state, which in turn modulates the transcription of LINE1-containing genes. FTO-mediated LINE1 RNA m6A demethylation also plays regulatory roles in shaping chromatin state and gene expression during mouse oocyte and embryonic development. Our results suggest broad effects of LINE1 RNA m6A demethylation by FTO in mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mutant tomato cultivar (HT10-3-2) with indeterminate growth habit was obtained from a cultivar (T10-3-2) with determinate growth habit. The character of indeterminate growth habit in HT10-3-2 could be inherited stably. Unlike other normal growth habit cultivars, which are controlled by the SELF PRUNING gene, it was shown here that HT10-3-2 has no mutation in the sp gene. Two hundred random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to screen for polymorphism between the two genotypes from genomic DNA, and a polymorphic fragment (S1681458) was obtained and subsequently sequenced. However, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool searches indicated that the sequence of this RAPD fragment shares no significant homology with known sequences in GenBank. The RAPD marker (S1681458) was converted to a sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker, SCA1681453. The SCAR marker was tested using an F2 population derived from the cross of T10-3-2 and HT10-3-2 and the results showed that this marker was closely linked with the unknown factor influencing the growth habit in HT10-3-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical method for a class of forward-backward stochastic differential equations (FBSDEs) is proposed and analyzed. The method is designed around the four step scheme [J. Douglas, Jr., J. Ma, and P. Protter, Ann. Appl. Probab., 6 (1996), pp. 940-968] but with a Hermite-spectral method to approximate the solution to the decoupling quasi-linear PDE on the whole space. A rigorous synthetic error analysis is carried out for a fully discretized scheme, namely a first-order scheme in time and a Hermite-spectral scheme in space, of the FBSDEs. Equally important, a systematical numerical comparison is made between several schemes for the resulting decoupled forward SDE, including a stochastic version of the Adams-Bashforth scheme. It is shown that the stochastic version of the Adams-Bashforth scheme coupled with the Hermite-spectral method leads to a convergence rate of 3⁄2 (in time) which is better than those in previously published work for the FBSDEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of 22 nucleotide (nt) noncoding RNAs, negatively regulate mRNA posttranscriptional modification in various biological processes. Morphogenesis of skin hair follicles in cashmere goats is a dynamic process involving many key signaling molecules, but the associated cellular biological mechanisms induced by these key signaling molecules have not been reported. In this study, differential expression, bioinformatics, and Gene Ontology/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses were performed on miRNA expression profiles of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats at 45, 55, and 65 days during the fetal period, and chi-miR-370-3p was identified and investigated further. Real-time fluorescence quantification (qRT-PCR), dual luciferase reporting, and Western blotting results showed that transforming growth factor beta receptor 2 (TGF-bR2) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) were the target genes of chi-miR-370-3p. Chi-miR-370-3p also regulated the expression of TGF-bR2 and FGFR2 at mRNA and protein levels in epithelial cells and dermal fibroblasts. DNA staining, Cell Counting Kit-8, and fluorescein-labelled Annexin V results showed that chi-miR-370-3p inhibited the proliferation of epithelial cells and fibroblasts but had no effect on apoptosis. Cell scratch test results showed that chi-miR-370-3p promoted the migration of epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Chi-miR-370-3p inhibits the proliferation of epithelial cells and fibroblasts by targeting TGF-bR2 and FGFR2, thereby improving cell migration ability and ultimately regulating the fate of epithelial cells and dermal fibroblasts to develop the placode and dermal condensate, inducing hair follicle morphogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the expression of genes in cashmere goats at different periods of their fetal development. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was used to evaluate data obtained by transcriptome sequencing of fetus skin samples collected from Inner Mongolia cashmere goats on days 45, 55, and 65 of fetal age. Results: We found that FoxN1, FoxE1, and FoxI3 genes of the Fox gene family were probably involved in the growth and development of the follicle and the formation of hair, which is consistent with previous findings. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction detecting system and Western blot analysis were employed to study the relative differentially expressed genes FoxN1, FoxE1, and FoxI3 in the body skin of cashmere goat fetuses and adult individuals. Conclusion: This study provided new fundamental information for further investigation of the genes related to follicle development and exploration of their roles in hair follicle initiation, growth, and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sall4 (Splat-like 4) plays important roles in maintaining pluripotency of embryonic stem cells and in various developmental processes. Here, we find that Sall4 is highly expressed in oocytes and early embryos. To investigate the roles of SALL4 in oogenesis, we generated Sall4 maternal specific knock-out mice by using CRISPR/Cas9 system, and we find that the maternal deletion of Sall4 causes developmental arrest of oocytes at germinal vesicle stage with non-surrounded nucleus, and the subsequent meiosis resumption is prohibited. We further discover that the loss of maternal Sall4 causes failure in establishment of DNA methylation in oocytes. Furthermore, we find that Sall4 modulates H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 modifications by regulating the expression of key histone demethylases coding genes Kdm5b, Kdm6a, and Kdm6b in oocytes. Moreover, we demonstrate that the aberrant H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 cause mis-expression of genes that are critical for oocytes maturation and meiosis resumption. Taken together, our study explores a pivotal role of Sall4 in regulating epigenetic maturation of mouse oocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to optimize the preparation conditions of salidroside liposome with high encapsulation efficiency (EE) and to study the immunological enhancement activity of salidroside liposome as porcine circovirus type 2 virus (PCV-2) vaccine adjuvant. Response surface methodology (RSM) was selected to optimize the conditions for the preparation of salidroside liposome using Design-Expert V8.0.6 software. Three kinds of salidroside liposome adjuvants were prepared to study their adjuvant activity. BALB/c mice were immunized with PCV-2 encapsulated in different kinds of salidroside liposome adjuvants. The PCV-2-specific IgG in immunized mice serum was determined with ELISA. The results showed that when the concentration of ammonium sulfate was 0.26 mol⋅L-1, ethanol volume 6.5 mL, temperature 43°C, ethanol injection rate 3mL⋅min-1, and salidroside liposome could be prepared with high encapsulation efficiency of 94.527%. Salidroside liposome as adjuvant could rapidly induce the production of PCV-2-specific IgG and salidroside liposome I adjuvant proved to provide the best effect among the three kinds of salidroside liposome adjuvants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that causes the inability to produce functional pollen during anther development. Cytoplasmic male sterility is considered to be caused by mitochondrial mutation and regarded as a perfect model system for the investigation of nucleus-cytoplasmic interaction. Kenaf CMS was first found by our group, but little has been known about the molecular mechanism. To reveal the possible mechanism, a comparative proteomic analysis of kenaf anther mitochondria from a CMS line and its maintainer was conducted. Changes in the abundance of proteins were examined using two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis. Among the >1000 protein spots reproducibly detected on each gel, 50 proteins were found differentially regulated (p < 0.05, change fold >1.5). Identified by matrixassisted- laser-desorption-time-of-flight mass spectrometry MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS technology, 22 proteins were characterized. These proteins were involved in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and energy metabolism, cytoskeleton, chaperones and protein processing, transmembrane transport, transcription, and other functions. The quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results of some differential proteins showed consistency between transcripts and proteins. Confined mostly to downregulated proteins in the respiratory chain, the anther respiratory rate investigation showed it was extremely decreased in the CMS line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) that down-regulate target genes by mRNA degradation or translational repression. Numerous plant miRNAs have been identified. Evidence is increasing for their crucial roles during plant development. In the globally important crop of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the process by which grains are formed determines yield and end-use quality. However, little is known about miRNAmediated developmental regulation of grain production. Here, we applied high-throughput sRNA sequencing and genome-wide mining to identify miRNAs potentially involved in the developmental regulation of wheat grains. Results: Four sRNA libraries were generated and sequenced from developing grains sampled at 5, 15, 25, and 30 days after pollination (DAP). Through integrative analysis, we identified 605 miRNAs (representing 540 families) and found that 86 are possibly involved in the control of grain-filling. Additionally, 268 novel miRNAs (182 families) were identified, with 18 of them also potentially related to that maturation process. Our target predictions indicated that the 104 grain filling-associated miRNAs might target a set of wheat genes involved in various biological processes, including the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins, transcription, cellular transport, cell organization and biogenesis, stress responses, signal transduction, and phytohormone signaling. Together, these results demonstrate that the developmental steps by which wheat grains are filled is correlated with miRNA-mediated gene regulatory networks. Conclusions: We identified 605 conserved and 268 novel miRNAs from wheat grains. Of these, 104 are potentially involved in the regulation of grain-filling. Our dataset provides a useful resource for investigating miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms in cereal grains, and our results suggest that miRNAs contribute to this regulation during a crucial phase in determining grain yield and flour quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNAs that play significant roles in regulating the expression of the post-transcriptional skin and hair follicle gene. In recent years, extensive studies on these microRNAs have been carried out in mammals such as mice, rats, pigs and cattle. By comparison, the number of microRNAs that have been identified in goats is relatively low; and in particular, the miRNAs associated with the processes of skin and hair follicle development remain largely unknown. In this study, areas of skin where the cashmere grows in anagen were sampled. A total of 10,943,292 reads were obtained using Solexa sequencing, a high-throughput sequencing technology. From 10,644,467 reads, we identified 3,381 distinct reads and after applying the classification statistics we obtained 316 miRNAs. Among them, using conservative identification, we found that 68 miRNAs (55 of these are confirmed to match known sheep and goat miRNAs in miRBase ) are conserved in goat and have been reported in NCBI; the remaining 248 miRNA were conserved in other species but have not been reported in goat. Furthermore, we identified 22 novel miRNAs. Both the known and novel miRNAs were confirmed by a second sequencing using the same method as was used in the first. This study confirmed the authenticity of 316 known miRNAs and the discovery of 22 novel miRNAs in goat. We found that the miRNAs that were co-expressed in goat and sheep were located in the same region of the respective chromosomes and may play an essential role in skin and follicle development. Identificaton of novel miRNAs resulted in significant enrichment of the repertoire of goat miRNAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress influences cell survival and homeostasis, but the mechanisms underlying the biological effects of oxidative stress remain to be elucidated. The protein kinase MST1 (mammalian Ste20-like kinase 1) plays a major role in oxidative stress-induced cell death in primary mammalian neurons. However, the mechanisms that regulate MST1 in oxidative stress responses remain largely unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that the protein kinase c-Abl phosphorylates MST1 at Y433, which triggers the stabilization and activation of MST1. Inhibition of c-Abl promotes the degradation of MST1 through C terminus of Hsc70-interacting protein (CHIP)- mediated ubiquitination, and thereby attenuates cell death. Oxidative stress induces the c-Abl-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of MST1 and increases the interaction between MST1 and FOXO3 (Forkhead box O3), thereby activating the MST1-FOXO signaling pathway, leading to cell death in both primary culture neurons and rat hippocampal neurons. The identification of the c-Abl tyrosine kinase as a novel upstream activator of MST1 suggests that the c-Abl-MST1 signaling cascade plays an important role in cellular responses to oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]