The complex hexaploid oil‐Camellia genome traces back its phylogenomic history and multi‐omics analysis of Camellia oil biosynthesis

Summary: Oil‐Camellia (Camellia oleifera), belonging to the Theaceae family Camellia, is an important woody edible oil tree species. The Camellia oil in its mature seed kernels, mainly consists of more than 90% unsaturated fatty acids, tea polyphenols, flavonoids, squalene and other active substances, which is one of the best quality edible vegetable oils in the world. However, genetic research and molecular breeding on oil‐Camellia are challenging due to its complex genetic background. Here, we successfully report a chromosome‐scale genome assembly for a hexaploid oil‐Camellia cultivar Changlin40. This assembly contains 8.80 Gb genomic sequences with scaffold N50 of 180.0 Mb and 45 pseudochromosomes comprising 15 homologous groups with three members each, which contain 135 868 genes with an average length of 3936 bp. Referring to the diploid genome, intragenomic and intergenomic comparisons of synteny indicate homologous chromosomal similarity and changes. Moreover, comparative and evolutionary analyses reveal three rounds of whole‐genome duplication (WGD) events, as well as the possible diversification of hexaploid Changlin40 with diploid occurred approximately 9.06 million years ago (MYA). Furthermore, through the combination of genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches, a complex regulatory network was constructed and allows to identify potential key structural genes (SAD, FAD2 and FAD3) and transcription factors (AP2 and C2H2) that regulate the metabolism of Camellia oil, especially for unsaturated fatty acids biosynthesis. Overall, the genomic resource generated from this study has great potential to accelerate the research for the molecular biology and genetic improvement of hexaploid oil‐Camellia, as well as to understand polyploid genome evolution

Reliability Assessment of Space Station Based on Multi-Layer and Multi-Type Risks

A space station is a typical phased-mission system, and assessing its reliability during its configuration is an important engineering action. Traditional methods usually require extensive data to carry out a layered reliability assessment from components to the system. These methods suffer from lack of sufficient test data, and the assessment process becomes very difficult, especially in the early stage of the configuration. This paper proposes a reliability assessment method for the space station configuration mission, using multi-layer and multi-type risks. Firstly, the risk layer and the risk type for the space station configuration are defined and identified. Then, the key configuration risks are identified comprehensively, considering their occurrence likelihood and consequence severity. High load risks are identified through risk propagation feature analysis. Finally, the configuration reliability model is built and the state probabilities are computed, based on the probabilistic risk propagation assessment (PRPA) method using the assessment probability data. Two issues are addressed in this paper: (1) how to build the configuration reliability model with three layers and four types of risks in the early stage of the configuration; (2) how to quantitatively assess the configuration mission reliability using data from the existing operational database and data describing the propagation features. The proposed method could be a useful tool for the complex aerospace system reliability assessment in the early stage

Fast diagnosis of sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix globosa, Sporothrix schenckii, and Sporothrix brasiliensis based on multiplex real-time PCR.

The accurate diagnosis of sporotrichosis and identification at the species level are critical for public health and appropriate patient management. Compared with morphological identification methods, molecular diagnostic tests are rapid and have high sensitivity and standardized operating processes. Therefore, we designed a novel multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method based on the calmodulin (CAL) gene for the identification of clinically relevant Sporothrix species: S. globosa, S. schenckii s. str., and S. brasiliensis. We evaluated the assay with clinical and spiked samples and assessed its diagnostic performance by comparing the results to those of culture and species-specific PCR. Thirty-three DNA templates were used to detect assay specificity, and three plasmids were constructed to create a standard curve and determine the limits of detection (LODs). For nucleic acid detection, the sensitivity and specificity reached 100%. The LODs were 10 copies, 10 copies and 100 copies for S. globosa, S. schenckii s. str and S. brasiliensis, respectively. For the clinical samples, the positive detection rates by culture, species-specific PCR and the multiplex real-time PCR assay were 87.9% (29/33), 39.4% (13/33), and 93.9% (31/33), respectively. For the spiked samples, the positive detection rates were both 100% for S. schenckii s. str and S. brasiliensis. Based on the above results, compared with culture and other molecular diagnosis methods, the novel multiplex real-time PCR assay is effective, fast, accurate, and highly sensitive. It has a lower reaction cost and lower sample volume requirements, can detect co-infections, and allows for standardized operation and easier interpretation of results. In the future, this assay could be developed into a commercial kit for the diagnosis and identification of S. globosa, S. schenckii s. str, and S. brasiliensis

Model predykcji pozostałego czasu pracy stacji kosmicznej

Space station is a very complex system, and its remaining useful life will be affected by the key equipment, cosmonauts’ maintenance activities as well as space environments. It is important for the operation management of a space station to predict its remaining useful life (RUL). A valid RUL prediction model is the key foundation for this issue, which motivates the research presented in this paper. Firstly, different types of space station life are defined. Secondly, the function and performance requirements as well as the operation mission program of the space station are analysed, which are further used to confirm the model development precondition. A life prediction model is then proposed by synthetically taking account of the safety, reliability and maintainability restrictions. Finally, the data requirement for supporting the RUL prediction is determined. Based on this work, a comprehensive procedure for RUL prediction model development is constructed for the operation management engineers of the space station. If the data of the development and operation is adequate, RUL prediction of the space station can be well implemented, and can be further leveraged to support the space station operation management.Stacja kosmiczna stanowi wysoce złożony system, którego pozostały czas pracy (ang. remaining useful time, RUL) zależy od kluczowego sprzętu, czynności konserwacyjnych przeprowadzanych przez kosmonautów, a także warunków panujących w kosmosie. Zarządzanie operacyjne stacją kosmiczną wymaga przewidywania RUL. Podstawą tego zagadnienia jest stworzenie prawidłowego modelu predykcji RUL, co jest przedmiotem niniejszej pracy. W artykule, w pierwszej kolejności, zdefiniowano różne kategorie czasu pracy stacji kosmicznej na orbicie. Następnie, przeanalizowano wymagania dotyczące funkcji i eksploatacji stacji a także program jej misji operacyjnych. Wyniki tych analiz wykorzystano do weryfikacji wstępnych warunków koniecznych do budowy modelu. W dalszej kolejności, zaproponowano model predykcji czasu pracy stacji, który w sposób syntetyczny uwzględnia ograniczenia dotyczące bezpieczeństwa, niezawodności i możliwości konserwacji. Na koniec określono rodzaje danych wspierających predykcję RUL. Na podstawie opisanych etapów prac skonstruowano kompleksową procedurę opracowywania modeli predykcji RUL dla inżynierów zarządzania operacyjnego pracujących na stacjach kosmicznych. Jeśli dane dotyczące rozwoju i operacji są prawidłowe, zaprojektowany algorytm predykcji pozostałego czasu pracy stacji kosmicznej można z powodzeniem zaimplementować, a także rozszerzyć tworząc skuteczne narzędzie wsparcia personelu zarządzającego pracą stacji kosmicznej

Efficacy and safety of cyclosporin, adalimumab and secukinumab in the treatment of nail psoriasis

Objective To assess the clinical efficacy and safety of cyclosporin, adalimumab and secukinumab in the treatment of nail psoriasis. Methods Ninety-one patients with nail psoriasis from our hospital were randomly divided into cyclosporin group (30 cases), adalimumab group (31 cases) and secukinumab group (30 cases). The nail psoriasis severity index (NAPSI) and dermatology life quality index (DLQI) in the three groups were compared before and after 12-and 24-week treatments. Clinical effectiveness and adverse reactions were observed. Results Before the treatment, there were no significant differences in NAPSI and DLQI scores among the three groups (P>0.05). After 12 weeks of the treatment, the NAPSIs in the adalimumab and the secukinumab groups were lower than that in cyclosporin group (32.16±13.82, 32.37±10.97 vs 42.20±16.66, P0.05). There were no significant differences in adverse reactions among the three groups (P=0.784). Conclusions Cyclosporin, secukinumab and adalimumab are effective and safe for nail psoriasis. Both secukinumab and adalimumab are more effective than cyclosporin, while the efficacies of secukinumab and adalimumab are comparable

Identification and Verification of Molecular Subtypes with Enhanced Immune Infiltration Based on m6A Regulators in Cutaneous Melanoma

Background. As the most aggressive type of skin cancer, cutaneous melanoma (CM) is experiencing a rapidly rising mortality in recent years. Exploring potential prognostic biomarkers or mechanisms of disease progression therefore has a great significance for CM. The purpose of this study was to identify genetic markers and prognostic performance of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulators in CM. Method. Gene expression profiles, copy number variation (CNV), and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data of patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Results. Genomic variation and association analysis of gene expressions revealed a high degree of genomic variation in the presence of m6A-regulated genes. m6A patients with high-frequency genomic variants in the regulatory gene tended to develop a worse prognosis (p<0.01). Unsupervised cluster analysis of the expression profiles of m6A-regulated genes identified three clinically distinct molecular subtypes, including degradation-enhanced subgroup and immune-enhanced subgroup, with significant prognostic differences (p=0.046). A novel prognostic signature, which was established according to m6A-related characteristic genes identified through genome-wide expression spectrum, could effectively identify samples with poor prognosis and enhanced immune infiltration, and the effectiveness was also verified in the dataset of the chip. Conclusion. We identified genetic changes in the m6A regulatory gene in CM and related survival outcomes. The findings of this study provide new insights into the epigenetic understanding of m6A in CM

Identification of genes involved in regulating the development of feathered feet in chicken embryo

ABSTRACT: The genetic and developmental factors driving the diverse distribution and morphogenesis of feathers and scales on bird feet are yet unclear. Within a single species, Guangxi domestic chickens exhibit dramatic variety in feathered feet, making them an accessible model for research into the molecular basis of variations in skin appendages. In this study, we used H&E staining to observe the morphogenesis of feathered feet, scaled feet and wings skin at different embryonic stages in Longsheng-Feng chickens and Guangxi Partridge chickens. We selected 4 periods (E6, E7, E8, and E12) that play an important role in feather development and performed transcriptome sequencing to screen for candidate genes associated with feathered feet. Through comparison and analysis of transcriptome data, we identified a set of differently expressed genes (DGEs), which were enriched in appendage organ development, hindlimb morphogenesis, activation of transcription factor binding, and binding of sequence-specific DNA in the cis-regulatory region. In addition, we identified some feathered feet-related genes by analyzing the classical signaling pathways that regulate feather development. Finally, we identified candidate genes that regulate feathered feet formation, which include TBX5, PITX1, ZIC1, FGF20, WNT11, WNT7A, WNT16, and SHH. Interestingly, we found that TBX5 was significantly overexpressed in the skin of the feathered feet and had the highest expression at E7 (P < 0.01), whereas PITX1 expression was significantly reduced at E7(P < 0.01). It is hypothesized that TBX5 and PITX1 regulate the development of hair follicles through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway at E7. Our results provide a theoretical basis for investigating the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the formation of chicken feathered feet