Bigeye tuna fishing ground in relation to thermocline in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean using Argo data

444-451The relationship beween thermocline and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean was evaluated by Argo data and monthly CPUE (catch per unit effort). The generalized additive model indicated evidence of nonlinear relationships between CPUE and six thermocline characteristics. The results suggested that the fishing grounds distributed where the upper boundary temperature was about 26 ºC and the upper boundary depth values between 70 and 100 m. The fishing grounds located between the two high value shapes of the lower boundary depth of thermocline, if the depth was >300 or <150 m, the CPUE tended to be low. The lower boundary temperature of the thermocline in the fishing grounds was lower than 13 ºC. Conversely, if the temperature was higher than 17 ºC, the hooking rates were very low. The strongest relationship between CPUE with thermocline thickness and thermocline strength was approximately at 60 m and 0.1 ºC/m. The optimum ranges for the upper boundary thermocline temperature and depth and the lower boundary thermocline temperature and depth, thermocline thickness and thermocline strength were between 26-29 ºC, 70-110 m, 11-13 ºC, 200-280 m, and 0.01-0.15 ºC/m, 60-80 m, respectively

Complete mitochondrial genome of the glowbelly Acropoma japonicum (Perciformes: Acropomatidae) in the East China Sea

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Acropoma japonicum is first described in this article. The total length of mitogenome is16,973 bp. It contains 13 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall base composition of H-strand is 27.64% A, 29.49% C, 26.84% T, and 16.03% G, with an A＋T bias of 54.48%. The phylogenetic analysis result showed that the A. japonicum and Lutjanus peru had a close relationship

Complete mitochondrial genome of the deep pugnose ponyfish Secutor ruconius (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) in the East China Sea

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Secutor ruconius is firstly described in this article. The total length of mitogenome is16,465 bp. It contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall base composition of H-strand is 31.58% A, 28.65% C, 25.23% T, and 14.53% G, with an A + T bias of 56.81%. The phylogenetic analysis result showed that the S. ruconius, Zebrasoma flavescens, and Pristipomoides multidens were closely related

Understanding Hazardous Materials Transportation Accidents Based on Higher-Order Network Theory

In hazardous materials transportation systems, accident causation analysis is important to transportation safety. Complex network theory can be effectively used to understand the causal factors of and their relationships within accidents. In this paper, a higher-order network method is proposed to establish a hazardous materials transportation accident causation network (HMTACN), which considers the sequences and dependences of causal factors. The HMTACN is composed of 125 first- and 118 higher-order nodes that represent causes, and 545 directed edges that denote complex relationships among causes. By analyzing topological properties, the results show that the HMTACN has the characteristics of small-world networks and displays the properties of scale-free networks. Additionally, critical causal factors and key relationships of the HMTACN are discovered. Moreover, unsafe tank or valve states are important causal factors; and leakage, roll-over, collision, and fire are most likely to trigger chain reactions. Important higher-order nodes are discovered, which can represent key relationships in the HMTACN. For example, unsafe distance and improper operation usually lead to collision and roll-over. These results of higher-order nodes cannot be found by the traditional Markov network model. This study provides a practical way to extract and construct an accident causation network from numerous accident investigation reports. It also provides insights into safety management of hazardous materials transportation

Identification, Analysis and Gene Cloning of the SWEET Gene Family Provide Insights into Sugar Transport in Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

Members of the sugars will eventually be exported transporter (SWEET) family regulate the transport of different sugars through the cell membrane and control the distribution of sugars inside and outside the cell. The SWEET gene family also plays important roles in plant growth and development and physiological processes. So far, there are no reports on the SWEET family in pomegranate. Meanwhile, pomegranate is rich in sugar, and three published pomegranate genome sequences provide resources for the study of the SWEET gene family. 20 PgSWEETs from pomegranate and the known Arabidopsis and grape SWEETs were divided into four clades (&#8544;, &#8545;, &#8546; and &#8547;) according to the phylogenetic relationships. PgSWEETs of the same clade share similar gene structures, predicting their similar biological functions. RNA-Seq data suggested that PgSWEET genes have a tissue-specific expression pattern. Foliar application of tripotassium phosphate significantly increased the total soluble sugar content of pomegranate fruits and leaves and significantly affected the expression levels of PgSWEETs. The plant growth hormone regulator assay also significantly affected the PgSWEETs expression both in buds of bisexual and functional male flowers. Among them, we selected PgSWEET17a as a candidate gene that plays a role in fructose transport in leaves. The 798 bp CDS sequence of PgSWEET17a was cloned, which encodes 265 amino acids. The subcellular localization of PgSWEET17a showed that it was localized to the cell membrane, indicating its involvement in sugar transport. Transient expression results showed that tobacco fructose content was significantly increased with the up-regulation of PgSWEET17a, while both sucrose and glucose contents were significantly down-regulated. The integration of the PgSWEET phylogenetic tree, gene structure and RNA-Seq data provide a genome-wide trait and expression pattern. Our findings suggest that tripotassium phosphate and plant exogenous hormone treatments could alter PgSWEET expression patterns. These provide a reference for further functional verification and sugar metabolism pathway regulation of PgSWEETs

Chromone-based monoamine oxidase B inhibitor with potential iron-chelating activity for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractBased on the multitarget-directed ligands (MTDLs) strategy, a series of chromone-hydroxypyridinone hybrids were designed, synthesised, and evaluated as potential multimodal anti-AD ligands. Prospective iron-chelating effects and favourable monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitory activities were observed for most of the compounds. Pharmacological assays led to the identification of compound 17d, which exhibited favourable iron-chelating potential (pFe3+ = 18.52) and selective hMAO-B inhibitory activity (IC50 = 67.02 ± 4.3 nM, SI = 11). Docking simulation showed that 17d occupied both the substrate and the entrance cavity of MAO-B, and established several key interactions with the pocket residues. Moreover, 17d was determined to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), and can significantly ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in AD mice. Despite its undesired pharmacokinetic property, 17d remains a promising multifaceted agent that is worth further investigation

Climate warming suppresses abundant soil fungal taxa and reduces soil carbon efflux in a semi‐arid grassland

Abstract Soil microorganisms critically affect the ecosystem carbon (C) balance and C‐climate feedback by directly controlling organic C decomposition and indirectly regulating nutrient availability for plant C fixation. However, the effects of climate change drivers such as warming, precipitation change on soil microbial communities, and C dynamics remain poorly understood. Using a long‐term field warming and precipitation manipulation in a semi‐arid grassland on the Loess Plateau and a complementary incubation experiment, here we show that warming and rainfall reduction differentially affect the abundance and composition of bacteria and fungi, and soil C efflux. Warming significantly reduced the abundance of fungi but not bacteria, increasing the relative dominance of bacteria in the soil microbial community. In particular, warming shifted the community composition of abundant fungi in favor of oligotrophic Capnodiales and Hypocreales over potential saprotroph Archaeorhizomycetales. Also, precipitation reduction increased soil total microbial biomass but did not significantly affect the abundance or diversity of bacteria. Furthermore, the community composition of abundant, but not rare, soil fungi was significantly correlated with soil CO2 efflux. Our findings suggest that alterations in the fungal community composition, in response to changes in soil C and moisture, dominate the microbial responses to climate change and thus control soil C dynamics in semi‐arid grasslands