Quantitative Proteomics of Chromochloris zofingiensis Reveals the Key Proteins Involved in Cell Growth and Bioactive Compound Biosynthesis

Glucose metabolism regulates cell growth and affects astaxanthin accumulation in the green algae Chromochloris zofingiensis. Hub gene functioning in this bioactive compound has been illustrated at the genome, transcriptome and metabolome level, but is rather limited from a proteome aspect. Microalgal cell produce an enhanced biomass (8-fold higher) but decreased lipid and astaxanthin content (~20% less) in the glucose condition compared to the control. Here, we investigate the proteomic response of C. zofingiensis grown with and without glucose using an LC-MS/MS-based Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) approach. The proteomic analysis demonstrated that glucose supplementation triggers the upregulation of 105 proteins and downregulation of 151 proteins. Thus, the carbon and energy flux might flow to cell growth, which increased the associated protein abundance, including DNA polymerase, translation initiation factor, 26S proteasome regulatory subunits, and the marker enzyme of the TCA cycle ribosomal protein. Moreover, the glucose supplement triggered the downregulation of proteins mainly involved in photosynthesis, chloroplasts, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, and pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis pathways. This proteomic analysis is likely to provide new insights into algal growth and lipid or astaxanthin accumulation upon glucose supplementation, providing a foundation for further development of C. zofingiensis as oleaginous microalga for bioengineering applications

Predicting Fluency With Language Proficiency, Working Memory, and Directionality in Simultaneous Interpreting

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a complex bilingual verbal activity that poses great challenges for working memory (WM) and language proficiency. Fluency is one of the crucial indicators in evaluating SI quality, the violation of which is characterized by disfluency indicators such as interruptions, hesitations, repetitions, corrections, and blanks. To uncover factors underlying fluency in SI, 22 interpreting students performed a battery of tasks to test their language proficiency and WM. Two SI tasks, both from Chinese to English and from English to Chinese, were also conducted, and fluency was evaluated according to the five indicators. Two factors (language proficiency and WM) and the five objectively measured disfluency indicators were then used as input for a regression analysis in both directions to model factors underlying fluency in SI performance. The results reveal that, with fluency measured as a whole, WM and directionality yield a significant effect on fluency, and that WM is the only variable that predicts fluency in both directions, accounting for 50 and 51% of the variation in the occurrence of disfluencies in Chinese–English and English–Chinese interpreting, respectively. The findings clarify for the first time the role of language proficiency, WM, and directionality upon fluency in SI, indicating the critical role of WM capability as compared with language skills in fluent production. The research also supports the position that, for interpreting students, interpreting performance tends to be more fluent in the non-native to native language direction

Quantifying Interpreting Types: Language Sequence Mirrors Cognitive Load Minimization in Interpreting Tasks

Most interpreting theories claim that different interpreting types should involve varied processing mechanisms and procedures. However, few studies have examined their underlying differences. Even though some previous results based on quantitative approaches show that different interpreting types yield outputs of varying lexical and syntactic features, the grammatical parsing approach is limited. Language sequences that form without relying on parsing or processing with a specific linguistic approach or grammar excel other quantitative approaches at revealing the sequential behavior of language production. As a non-grammatically-bound unit of language sequences, frequency motif can visualize the local distribution of content and function words, and can also statistically classify languages and identify text types. Thus, the current research investigates the distribution, length and position-dependent properties of frequency motifs across different interpreting outputs in pursuit of the sequential generation behaviors. It is found that the distribution, the length and certain position-dependent properties of the specific language sequences differ significantly across simultaneous interpreting and consecutive interpreting output. The features of frequency motifs manifest that both interpreting output is produced in the manner that abides by the least effort principle. The current research suggests that interpreting types can be differentiated through this type of language sequential unit and offers evidence for how the different task features mediate the sequential organization of interpreting output under different demand to achieve cognitive load minimization

Longitudinal Gut Bacterial Colonization and Its Influencing Factors of Low Birth Weight Infants During the First 3 Months of Life

Establishment of low birth weight (LBW) infant gut microbiota may have lifelong implications for the health of individuals. However, no longitudinal cohort studies have been conducted to characterize the gut microbial profiles of LBW infants and their influencing factors. Our objective was to understand how the gut bacterial community structure of LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) infants varies across the first 3 months of life and assess the influencing factors. In this observational cohort study, gut bacterial composition was identified with sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in fecal samples of 69 LBW infants and 65 NBW controls at 0 day, 3 days, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months (defined as stages 1–5) after birth. Alpha-diversity of both groups displayed a decreasing trend followed by slight variations. There were significant differences on the Shannon index of the two groups at stages 1 to 3 (P = 0.041, P = 0.032, and P = 0.014, respectively). The microbiota community structure of LBW infants were significantly different from NBW infants throughout the 3 months (all P < 0.05) but not at stage 2 (P = 0.054). There was a significant increase in abundance in Firmicutes while a decrease in Proteobacteria, and at genus level the abundance of Enterococcus, Klebsiella, and Streptococcus increased while it decreased for Haemophilus in LBW group. Birth weight was the main factor explaining the observed variation at all stages, except at stage 2. Delivery mode (4.78%) and antibiotic usage (3.50%) contributed to explain the observed variation at stage 3, and pregestational BMI (4.61%) partially explained the observed variation at stage 4. In conclusion, gut microbial communities differed in NBW and LBW infants from birth to 3 months of life, and were affected by birth weight, delivery mode, antibiotic treatment, and pregestational BMI

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

The Impact of Program Participation on Rural Household Income: Evidence from China’s Whole Village Poverty Alleviation Program

Villagers&rsquo; participation in poverty alleviation programs has received considerable attention, especially with regard to the poor. However, not much is known about the welfare effect of villagers&rsquo; program participation. This paper analyzes the impact of villagers&rsquo; program participation on their incomes. We used household data from 529 villagers in China&rsquo;s Whole Village Poverty Alleviation Program. We focused on two types of program participation&mdash;discussion and voting. Using the propensity score matching approach, we estimate the impact of rural households&rsquo; program participation on their income. The results show that the education and the political career of the household head determine program participation. Households participating in discussion and voting have a positive and significant effect on household income. Richer households benefit more from the program. However, the poor receive less benefits. We conclude that broadening villager&rsquo;s participation can boost the effectiveness of China&rsquo;s poverty alleviation program

Free fatty acids esterification for biodiesel production using self-synthesized macroporous cation exchange resin as solid acid catalyst

Using high free fatty acids (FFAs) contents oil as the raw material for biodiesel production can reduce the production cost and make fully use of the bio-oil resources. Macroporous cation exchange resins contain numerous acid sites to catalyze heterogeneous esterification reactions to reduce the FFAs contents and prevent the saponification reaction. This study focuses on the synthesis and performance tests of the macroporous resin catalysts and its water deactivation mechanism. Self-synthesized macroporous cation exchange resins have a surface area of 185 m(2) g(-1) with an average pore diameter of 9.7 nm and the ion exchange capacity is 3.37 +/- 0.11 mmol g(-1). Owing to their pore structure, macroporous resin performs better than gel-type resin in low methanol concentration or high FFAs contents, but they show physical instability in reusability tests. The FFAs conversion reaches 97.8% (substrate oil with acid value of 64.9 mg KOH/g) under 100 degrees C and a methanol/FFAs molar ratio of 15:1 with 10 wt% catalyst loading. Water that originally exists in oil or that is produced in the reaction deactivates differently on the activity of the resin, but this deactivation can be decreased by increasing the reaction temperature. In this study, a linear relationship between original water content and esterified FFAs was identified and differences in deactivation models were investigated. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Quantitative Proteomics of Chromochloris zofingiensis Reveals the Key Proteins Involved in Cell Growth and Bioactive Compound Biosynthesis

Glucose metabolism regulates cell growth and affects astaxanthin accumulation in the green algae Chromochloris zofingiensis. Hub gene functioning in this bioactive compound has been illustrated at the genome, transcriptome and metabolome level, but is rather limited from a proteome aspect. Microalgal cell produce an enhanced biomass (8-fold higher) but decreased lipid and astaxanthin content (~20% less) in the glucose condition compared to the control. Here, we investigate the proteomic response of C. zofingiensis grown with and without glucose using an LC-MS/MS-based Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) approach. The proteomic analysis demonstrated that glucose supplementation triggers the upregulation of 105 proteins and downregulation of 151 proteins. Thus, the carbon and energy flux might flow to cell growth, which increased the associated protein abundance, including DNA polymerase, translation initiation factor, 26S proteasome regulatory subunits, and the marker enzyme of the TCA cycle ribosomal protein. Moreover, the glucose supplement triggered the downregulation of proteins mainly involved in photosynthesis, chloroplasts, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, and pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis pathways. This proteomic analysis is likely to provide new insights into algal growth and lipid or astaxanthin accumulation upon glucose supplementation, providing a foundation for further development of C. zofingiensis as oleaginous microalga for bioengineering applications