Polymorphism in Growth Hormone Gene and its Association with Growth Traits in Siniperca chuatsi

Growth hormone (GH) is a candidate gene for growth traits in fish. In this study, we assessed associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GH gene with growth traits in 357 Siniperca chuatsi individuals using high-resolution melting. Two SNPs were identified in GH gene, with one mutation in exon 5 (g.5045T>C), and one mutation in intron 5 (g.5234T>G). The corrections analysis of SNPs with the four growth traits was carried out using General Linear Model (GLM) estimation. Results showed that both of them were significantly associated with growth performance in S. chuatsi. For g.5234T>G, it was significantly associated with body weight (P＜0.01), body length (P＜0.05), body depth (P＜0.01), and body width (P＜0.01), and the individuals of genotype GG grew faster than those of genotypes TT and TG (P＜0.05). A further diplotype-trait association analysis confirmed that in fish with H3H2 (TC-GG) diplotype body weight, body length, and body width was greater than in those with other diplotypes (P＜0.05). These results demonstrated GH gene SNPs could be used as potential genetic markers in future marker assisted selection of S. chuatsi

Lipidomics analysis facilitate insight into the molecular mechanisms of urate nephropathy in a gout model induced by combination of MSU crystals injection and high-fat diet feeding

Renal injury is one of the most common clinical manifestations of patients with hyperuricaemia/gout. The precise pathophysiological mechanism(s) for the renal injury is still unknown. Furthermore, it is also unclear whether the clinical therapies (e.g., colchicine and febuxostat) could prevent its progression or not. Lipids are involved in almost all of important biological processes and play critical roles in maintaining the renal functions. Herein, shotgun lipidomics was performed for class-targeted lipid analysis of cellular lipidomes in renal tissue of a gouty model induced by combination of monosodium urate crystals injection and high-fat diet feeding with/without treatment with either colchicine or febuxostat. Serum uric acid (UA), proinflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF-α and IL-6), xanthine oxidase activity, footpad swelling, and pain threshold were determined to evaluate the gouty severity. Renal histopathological changes, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and kidney index were used to reflect renal injury. Lipidomics analysis revealed that altered triacylglycerol (TAG) profile, impaired mitochondrial function resulted by decreased tetra 18:2 cardiolipin, reduced 4-hydroxyalkenal (HNE) species, and elevated lysophospholipids were already present in the kidneys at early stage of renal injury, probably contributing to its occurrence and development. In addition to significantly reduce the UA level and relief the gouty severity, treatment with either colchicine or febuxostat could restore HNE bioavailability, thereby delaying the progression of renal injury. However, both of them could not recover the altered TAG profile and the impaired mitochondrial function, indicating that treatment with either of them could not completely prevent the development of renal injury in the gouty model

Studies on the toxicokinetics of intragastricallyadministered paracetamol, aminophenazone, caffeine and chlorphenamine maleate tablets in rats

Purpose: To study the toxicokinetics of paracetamol (PCT), aminophenazone (ACP), caffeine (CFN) and chlorphenamine maleate (CPM) tablets after a single oral gavage, and after oral gavage for 14 consecutive days in rats. Methods: Eighty Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (half male, half female) were randomly divided into 4 groups with 20 rats in each group. Half of the rats were used for the toxicokinetic test after a single oral gavage of PCT, ACP, CFN and CPM tablets, while rats in the other half were used for the toxicokinetic tests after oral gavage for 14 consecutive days. The doses of the four groups were set as 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 tablets/kg body weight, respectively. Blood was taken from the rats and the plasma concentration of paracetamol was determined. Results: There was a significant difference in AUC0-∞ between male and female rats at single oral gavage of 2 tablets/kg of each of the drugs. The exposure amount of PCT (AUC0~t, AUC0-∞ and Cmax) increased with increase in dose, and showed a good linear relationship after a single intragastric administration of each drug, and after 14 consecutive days of intragastric administration at low, medium and high doses. Conclusion: The amount of PCT to which SD rats are exposed after a single intragastric administration of PCT, ACP, CFN and CPM tablets is lower in male than in female rats. However, no significant gender difference in exposure results when these drugs are given intragastrically for 14 consecutive days

Cytoplasm affects grain weight and filled-grain ratio in indica rice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cytoplasmic effects on agronomic traits -involving cytoplasmic and nuclear genomes of either different species or different cultivars - are well documented in wheat but have seldom been demonstrated in rice (<it>Oryza sativa </it>L.). To detect cytoplasmic effects, we introgressed the nuclear genomes of three <it>indica </it>cultivars - Guichao 2, Jiangchengkugu, and Dianrui 449 - into the cytoplasms of six <it>indica </it>cultivars - Dijiaowujian, Shenglixian, Zhuzhan, Nantehao, Aizizhan, and Peta. These 18 nuclear substitution lines were evaluated during the winter season of 2005 in Sanya, Hainan, China, and during the summer season of 2006 in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The effects of 6 cytoplasm sources, 3 nucleus sources, 2 locations and their interactions were estimated for plant height, panicle length, panicle number per plant, spikelet number per panicle, grain weight, filled-grain ratio, and yield per plot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For five of the seven traits, analysis of variance showed that there were no significant cytoplasmic effects or interactions involving cytoplasmic effects. The effect of cytoplasm on 1000-grain weight was highly significant. Mean 1000-grain weight over the two locations in four of the six cytoplasms clustered close to the overall mean, whereas plants with Nantehao cytoplasm had a high, and those with Peta cytoplasm a low mean grain weight. There was a highly significant three-way interaction affecting filled-grain ratio. At Sanya, cytoplasms varied in very narrow ranges within nuclear backgrounds. Strong cytoplasmic effects were observed only at Kunming and in only two of the three nuclear backgrounds; in the Jianchenkugu nuclear background, there was no evidence of strong cytoplasmic effects at either location. In the Dianrui 449 and Guichao 2 nuclear background evaluated at Kunming, filled-grain ratios of the six cytoplasms showed striking rank shifts</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We detected cytoplasmic variation for two agronomically important traits in <it>indica </it>rice. The cytoplasm source had a significant effect on grain weight across the two experimental locations. There was also a significant cytoplasmic effect on filled-grain ratio, but only in two of three nuclear background and at one of the two locations. The results extend our previous findings with <it>japonica </it>rice, suggesting that the selection of appropriate cytoplasmic germplasm is broadly important in rice breeding, and that cytoplasmic effects on some traits, such as filled-grain ratio, cannot be generalized; effects should be evaluated in the nuclear backgrounds of interest and at multiple locations.</p

Giant Brunner’s gland adenoma of the duodenum complicated with bleeding: a case report

Brunner’s gland adenoma（BGA） of the duodenum is an extremely rare benign tumor in clinical practice. In this article， the diagnosis and treatment of one case of BGA of the duodenum were reported. The patient had a history of anemia for 4 years， but she never received tests to identify the cause. She was admitted to Department of Neurology for the first time due to dizziness， and was transferred to our department due to gastrointestinal bleeding during hospitalization. Hemorrhagic shock and transient syncope occurred during treatment， which were alleviated after drug therapy. Then， gastroscopy was immediately performed and showed protrusion lesions in the descending duodenum. The diagnosis of BGA was finally confirmed by endoscopic pathological resection. This article aiming to deepen the gastroenterologists / endoscopists’ understanding of BGA and improve the diagnostic and therapeutic levels

Examining associations of folic acid supplements administered to mothers during pre-conceptional and prenatal periods with autism spectrum disorders in their offspring: insights from a multi-center study in China

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between maternal folic acid (FA) supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods and the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring.MethodsA total of 6,049 toddlers aged 16–30 months were recruited from August 2016 to March 2017 for this cross-sectional study conducted in China. The parents of the enrolled toddlers provided information on maternal supplemental FA, socio-demographic information, and related covariates. Standard diagnostic procedures were implemented to identify toddlers with ASD.ResultsAmong the 6,049 children included in the study, consisting of 3,364 boys with an average age of 22.7 ± 4.1 months, a total of 71 children (1.2%) were diagnosed with ASD. Mothers who did not consume FA supplements during the prenatal period were found to have a significantly increased risk of having offspring with ASD, in comparison to those who were exposed to FA supplements (odds ratio [OR] = 2.47). However, we did not find a similar association during the pre-conceptional period. Compared to mothers who consistently used FA supplements from pre-conception to the prenatal period, those who never used FA supplements were statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of ASD in their offspring (OR = 2.88).ConclusionThis study indicated that providing continuous maternal FA supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods may decrease the risk of ASD in offspring. The prenatal period is considered to be the most crucial time for intervention

The structuring role of artificial structure on fish assemblages in a dammed river of the Pearl River in China

To address the fish use patterns of artificial structures mimicking floating macrophytes deployed in a impounded tributary of the Pearl River, China, field experiments were performed from December 2014 to June 2016 using multi-mesh gillnet. The fish assemblages using artificial structures differ in terms of species richness, abundance, body size, diversity indices, and ecological traits from fish assemblages on natural barren habitats of this river. Overall, fish abundance, species richness, Shannon diversity index, and functional richness were higher at the artificial structures than at the control sites, while fish length and functional evenness was greater at the control sites in comparison to artificial structures. The introduction of artificial structures did not result in statistically significant effects on fish biomass as artificial structures attracted more individuals with smaller size. Seasonal changes of chlorophyll-a and transparency may affect the efficiency of artificial structure in harboring fishes. This study revealed that artificial structures, as synthesized habitats, are effective in acting as a “fish attractor” and an alternative tool to provide new habitats for smaller individuals in a dammed river like the Youjiang River which is a structure-less ecosystem

A Systematic RNAi Screen Reveals a Novel Role of a Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Protein BuGZ in Synaptic Transmission in C. elegans

Synaptic vesicles (SV) store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse. The molecular mechanisms of biogenesis, exocytosis, and endocytosis for SV, however, remain largely elusive. In this study, using Complex Object Parametric Analysis and Sorter (COPAS) to monitor the fluorescence of synapto-pHluorin (SpH), we performed a whole-genome RNAi screen in C. elegans to identify novel genetic modulators in SV cycling. One hundred seventy six genes that up-regulating SpH fluorescence and 96 genes that down-regulating SpH fluorescence were identified after multi-round screen. Among these genes, B0035.1 (bugz-1) encodes ortholog of mammalian C2H2 zinc-finger protein BuGZ/ZNF207, which is a spindle assembly checkpoint protein essential for mitosis in human cells. Combining electrophysiology, imaging and behavioral assays, we reveal that depletion of BuGZ-1 results in defects in locomotion. We further demonstrate that BuGZ-1 promotes SV recycling by regulating the expression levels of endocytosis-related genes such as rab11.1. Therefore, we have identified a bunch of potential genetic modulators in SV cycling, and revealed an unexpected role of BuGZ-1 in regulating synaptic transmission

Association of Food Allergy, Respiratory Allergy, and Skin Allergy with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among Children

Background: Previous studies have predominately examined associations of respiratory allergy and skin allergy with ADHD, but little is known about the association between food allergy and ADHD. Methods: We included 192,573 children aged 4&ndash;17 years from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a leading health survey in a nationally representative sample of the US population. Allergy conditions and ADHD were defined based on an affirmative response in the NHIS questionnaire. We used weighted logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of ADHD. Results: Among the 192,573 children, 15,376 reported ADHD diagnosis. The prevalence of ADHD was higher among children with allergic conditions: 12.66% vs. 7.99% among children with and without food allergy; 12.16% vs. 7.63% among children with and without respiratory allergy; and 11.46% vs. 7.83% among children with and without skin allergy. After adjusting for covariates, the OR of ADHD was 1.72 (95% CI, 1.55&ndash;1.91) comparing children with and without food allergy, 1.50 (95% CI, 1.41&ndash;1.59) comparing children with and without respiratory allergy, and 1.65 (95% CI, 1.55&ndash;1.75) comparing children with and without skin allergy. The observed associations remained significant after mutual adjustment for other allergic conditions. Conclusions: In a nationally representative sample of US children, we found a significant association of common allergic conditions (food allergy, respiratory allergy, and skin allergy) with ADHD