Optical and molecular diversity of dissolved organic matter in sediments of the Daning and Shennong tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Introduction: Damming significantly modifies the function of natural river networks and influences sediment dynamics with a reservoir’s operation. The dissolved organic matter (DOM) in reservoir sediments severely affects carbon flow from land to sea. However, the properties of DOM (e.g., quantity and quality) in reservoir sediments and their relationship with carbon cycling remain unclear as complex reservoir construction interrupts the environmental processes.Methods: This study characterizes the optical and molecular properties of sediment water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) in the Daning and Shennong tributaries of the world’s largest reservoir—the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR)—by applying optical techniques and ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS).Results and Discussion: We first assessed the link between light-absorbing components and the individual molecules in WEOM, which were significantly different than DOM in water and indicated that there might be an intrinsic variation between DOM in sediment and in water. Then, with the unique optical–molecular property linkage assessed, multiple sources (autochthonous and terrestrial) were identified, and a declining trend of terrestrial and recalcitrant WEOM was revealed from the tributaries upstream to downstream. Finally, through covariance analysis of the properties between WEOM and sediment particles, we demonstrated that the WEOM dynamic was most likely regulated by hydrologic sorting-induced particle size and mineral composition variations of sediment. Moreover, assessment between lability and WEOM molecular properties suggested that the WEOM dynamic likely contributes to carbon burial in the reservoir. This study emphasizes the influence of dam construction on organic matter accumulation and riverine carbon cycling

Evidence for an association of HLA-DRB1*15 and DRB1*09 with leprosy and the impact of DRB1*09 on disease onset in a Chinese Han population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) have been proposed to modulate the immune response to <it>Mycobacterium leprae</it>. The association of HLA-DRB1 with leprosy has been reported in several populations, but not in a Chinese population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe with Luminex100 (PCR-SSOP-Luminex) method was used to genotype HLA-DRB1 alleles in 305 leprosy patients and 527 healthy control individuals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The HLA-DRB1*15 allele was significantly more prevalent among leprosy patients than healthy controls, whereas the frequency of the HLA-DRB1*09 allele was lower among leprosy patients, especially those with early-onset disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>HLA-DRB1 alleles are associated with leprosy susceptibility in a Chinese population. The HLA-DRB1*09 allele was found to be protective exclusively in a subset of early-onset leprosy patients.</p

The Effect of Muscle-Regulatory Factor Genes and Satellite Cell Response to Recombinant Hsp70 Protein on Megalobrama amblycephala Skeletal Muscle

Hsp70 (70-kDa heat shock protein) plays a key regulatory role in muscle development. In order to evaluate whether recombinant Hsp70 protein (rMaHsp70) of M. amblycephala could affect muscle growth by inducing the expression of Myogenin (MyoG), Myogenic Differentiation Antigen (MyoD), Myogenic factor 5 (Myf5), myogenic regulatory factor 4 (MRF4) and myostatin (MSTN) in muscle, Hsp70 was injected intraperitoneally (IP) at two concentrations: 1.0 mg/mL and 3.4 mg/mL. The mRNA and protein levels of the transcription factor Pax-7 and the protein Hsp70 initially increased, then as concentration levels of injected recombinant M. amblycephala Hsp70 protein rMaHsp70 further increased, the protein Hsp70 decreased. In order to investigate the relationship between muscle hyperplasia, hypertrophy and satellite cell growth following rMaHsp70 administration, the number of satellite cells were analyzed and revealed that the numbers of satellite cells in low concentration group (1 mg/mL) was predominantly higher than in the other concentration groups in both red and white muscle. These results suggest that low concentrations of rMaHsp70 could decrease muscle-related gene expression and increase the number of satellite cells. Our research will be helpful in adapting Hsp70 as a feed additive to enhance M. amblycephala growth

The changing role of the China Three Gorges Corporation in the Yangtze River: exploration from hydropower development to comprehensive watershed management

As China’s largest clean energy group and the world’s largest hydropower development company, China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) accounts for 3/4 of hydropower installed capacity, where most of which are distributed in the Yangtze River Basin. Since 2017, CTG has formally entered the field of water pollution control, taking the “water” as the core and the sewage treatment of cities/towns along the river as an entry point. From a technical point of view, with the advantages of hydropower dispatching and operation, the integration of water resources protection, water pollution control, as well as water ecological restoration will be gradually completed to achieve the “one water” control goal. From a management point of view, through the means of government-enterprise cooperation model, the establishment of a jointly sharing mechanism by relevant stakeholders, as well as the market-oriented commercial operation, the implementation and supervision of the watershed administration will be strengthened. CTG has started a new exploration of enterprises participating in the comprehensive governance of watershed management, which will provide ecological priority and sustainable development experience for the watershed management of the world

Difference analysis of gut microbiota of golden pompano <em>Trachinotus ovatus</em> (Linnaeus, 1758) with the unsynchronized growth by feeding fermented soybean meal

Abstract Golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) is a commercially important marine fish and is widely cultured in the coastal area of South China. We explored the distribution difference of intestinal microflora with the same growth condition and the difference of gut microflora with different growth rates fed with fermented soybean meal (FSM) and fish meal (FM) primary protein source. After 8 weeks of the breeding experiment, select significant growth fish (Zcd, 156.04 ± 1.04 g) average growth fish (Zc, 120.01 ± 1.05 g) stagnant growth fish (Zcx, 98.03 ± 1.08 g) in FSM and select average growth fish (Dc, 158.03 ± 1.02 g) in FM. Sequencing results show that a total of 86303 sequences had been obtained in the intestine of Trachinotus ovatus. The number of OTUs that can be annotated to the database was 2315 (98.97%). At the phylum level, Proteobacteria, Tenericutes, Spirochaetes and Firmicutes were the predominant phyla. Alpha diversity and beta diversity analyses show that gut microbes' richness and diversity in the Dc group were the highest. The diversity of gut microbiota in the FSM: Zc > Zcd >Zcx. At the genus classification level, the differences between FM and FSM were mainly in Gueglia, Grimontia, Klebsiella, Alistipes, Staphylococcus, and Parasutterella (p <0.05). Alistipes and Staphylococcus were the different genera between Dc and Zcd (p <0.05). We found significant differences in the relative abundance of Ruegeria between the Zc and Zcd groups. Also, significant differences were found in the distribution of Brevinema, Ruegeria, Unidentified-Lachnospiraceae, Blautia, and Bacteroides between Zc and Zcx groups. The results showed that fermented soybean meal had an essential effect on gut microflora of T. ovatus with the unsynchronized growth

Ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes is suitable for evaluation the prognosis of gastric cancer patients with positive node metastasis.

OBJECTIVE: To date, there is no consensus to evaluate the most appropriate category of the nodal metastasis for precise predication the prognosis of gastric cancer patients with positive node metastasis after curative surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathologic characteristics and overall survival (OS) of 299 gastric cancer patients with positive node metastasis after curative surgery for evaluation the optimal category of the nodal metastasis. RESULTS: With the univariate and multivariate survival analyses, the depth of primary tumor invasion was identified as the independent predicators with the OS of 299 gastric cancer patients with nodal metastasis postoperatively, as were the number of positive lymph nodes (PLNs), the number of negative lymph nodes (NLNs), and the ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes (RNPL). The RNPL was identified to be more suitable for predication the OS of gastric cancer patients with positive node metastasis than the ratio between positive and dissected lymph nodes (RPDL) by using the stratum procedure of survival analysis. Besides, we found both PLNs and NLNs were independently correlated with OS of gastric cancer patients with nodal metastasis when RNPL, instead of RPDL, was controlled in the partial correlation model. CONCLUSIONS: RNPL, a new category of the nodal metastasis, was suitable for predication the OS of gastric cancer patients with nodal metastasis after curative resection, as were the PLNs, and NLNs

Development of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and Association Analysis with Growth Traits for Black Porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii)

Black porgy is an important marine aquaculture fish species whose production is at the fifth position in all kinds of marine-cultured fishes in China. In this study, Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology was used to sequence the total RNA of black porgy. Sixty-one candidate SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) were screened out and genotyped through GATK4 (Genome Analysis ToolKit) software and MALDI-TOF MS (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry). The experimental results showed that a total of sixty SNPs were successfully genotyped, with a success rate of 98.36%. The results of principal component analysis and correlation analysis of growth traits showed that body weight was the first principal component, with a cumulative contribution rate of 74%. There were significant correlations (p &lt; 0.05) or extremely significant correlations (p &lt; 0.01) between different growth traits. The results of genetic parameter analysis and association analysis showed that scaffold12-12716321, scaffold13-4787950, scaffold2-13687576 and scaffold290-11890 were four SNPs that met the requirement of polymorphic information content and conformed to the Hardy&ndash;Weinberg equilibrium. There were significant differences between their genotype and the phenotype of growth traits. The four SNP molecular markers developed in this research will lay a foundation for further exploration of molecular markers related to the growth traits of black porgy and will provide a scientific reference for the further study of its growth mechanisms. At the same time, these molecular markers can be applied to the production practices of black porgy, so as to realize selective breeding at the molecular level and speed up the breeding process

Genome‐wide meta‐analysis and fine‐mapping prioritize potential causal variants and genes related to leprosy

Abstract To date, genome‐wide association studies (GWASs) have discovered 35 susceptible loci of leprosy; however, the cumulative effects of these loci can only partially explain the overall risk of leprosy, and the causal variants and genes within these loci remain unknown. Here, we conducted out new GWASs in two independent cohorts of 5007 cases and 4579 controls and then a meta‐analysis in these newly generated and multiple previously published (2277 cases and 3159 controls) datasets were performed. Three novel and 15 previously reported risk loci were identified from these datasets, increasing the known leprosy risk loci of explained genetic heritability from 23.0 to 38.5%. A comprehensive fine‐mapping analysis was conducted, and 19 causal variants and 14 causal genes were identified. Specifically, manual checking of epigenomic information from the Epimap database revealed that the causal variants were mainly located within the immune‐relevant or immune‐specific regulatory elements. Furthermore, by using gene‐set, tissue, and cell‐type enrichment analyses, we highlighted the key roles of immune‐related tissues and cells and implicated the PD‐1 signaling pathways in the pathogenetic mechanism of leprosy. Collectively, our study identified candidate causal variants and elucidated the potential regulatory and coding mechanisms for genes associated with leprosy

Bivariate correlation analysis of the special correlationship between the clinicopathological variables associated with nodal metastasis and the postoperative OS of gastric cancer patients with positive nodal metastasis.

<p>Bivariate correlation analysis of the special correlationship between the clinicopathological variables associated with nodal metastasis and the postoperative OS of gastric cancer patients with positive nodal metastasis.</p