Construction of a High-Density Linkage Map and QTL Fine Mapping for Growth- and Sex-Related Traits in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

A high-density genetic linkage map is of particular importance in the fine mapping for important economic traits and whole genome assembly in aquaculture species. The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), a species native to North America, is one of the most important commercial freshwater fish in the world. Outside of the United States, China has become the major producer and consumer of channel catfish after experiencing rapid development in the past three decades. In this study, based on restriction site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq), a high-density genetic linkage map of channel catfish was constructed by using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a F1 family composed of 156 offspring and their two parental individuals. A total of 4,768 SNPs were assigned to 29 linkage groups (LGs), and the length of the linkage map reached 2,480.25 centiMorgans (cM) with an average distance of 0.55 cM between loci. Based on this genetic linkage map, 223 genomic scaffolds were anchored to the 29 LGs of channel catfish, and a total length of 704.66 Mb was assembled. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association analysis identified 10 QTLs of sex-related and six QTLs of growth-related traits at LG17 and LG28, respectively. Candidate genes associated with sex dimorphism, including spata2, spata5, sf3, zbtb38, and fox, were identified within QTL intervals on the LG17. A sex-linked marker with simple sequence repeats (SSR) in zbtb38 gene of the LG17 was validated for practical verification of sex in the channel catfish. Thus, the LG17 was considered as a sex-related LG. Potential growth-related genes were also identified, including important regulators such as megf9, npffr1, and gas1. In a word, we constructed the high-density genetic linkage map and developed the sex-linked marker in channel catfish, which are important genetic resources for future marker-assisted selection (MAS) of this economically important teleost

Developing new drugs from annals of Chinese medicine

Developing new pharmaceuticals requires massive amounts of time, money and efforts. The key step is how to find a safe and effective entity for a disease condition and how to develop it as new drug effectively. Unfortunately, the FDA's rate of approving new entities has declined dramatically in the last three decades. There is a strong need to review the current strategy and to optimize process in developing new drugs, both to shorten the process and increase the success rate. Chinese medicine has used natural products to treat patients for thousands of years, and Chinese medicine practitioners have chronicled the patients and treatment methods for thousands of years. There is much information that has not yet been used. The success stories of artimisinin and arsentic trioxide are wonderful examples of how the annals of Chinese medicine can provide leads for discovering new drugs. This paper argues that the annals of Chinese medicine are valuable and describes how they can be used in modern drug discovery. The major topics addressed are: (i) why Chinese medicine is a rich resource for finding new drugs; (ii) how to identify a potential valuable record from Chinese medicine annals; (iii) when a potential valuable record is identified from annals, how to proceed; and (iv) both why and how the approach used for chemical drugs should be revised for drugs based on the historical documents related to herbal medicine. In conclusion, we argue here that the annals of Chinese medicine offer not only a rich resource for new drugs, but also several centuries of patient data with regard to safety and efficacy, that in effect represent pilot studies. Acknowledging and using these data can shorten new drug discovery time and improve efficiency of the drug development process, bringing more effective, safe drugs to market much more quickly and cheaply

Enhancing Thermal Insulation of EPDM Ablators via Constructing Alternating Planar Architectures

Ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (EPDM) composites were usually enhanced with ablative additives to protect solid rocket motor (SRMs) casings. However, the poor thermal insulation caused by the high thermal conductive ablative fillers can lead to rocket motor failure. Herein, the novel EPDM composites containing alternating layers of ablative EPDM (AM) and heat-insulated EPDM (HM) were prepared through layer-multiplying extrusion. Compared with conventional EPDM ablative material, the multilayer composites showed enhanced thermal insulation and mechanical properties that could be further improved by tuning the number of layers. The ablation and thermal insulation properties possessing in AM and HM layers could be combined by forced assembly during co-extrusion, and the alternating multilayer composite was capable of showing the effect of each component. In particular, compared with AM, the maximum back-face temperature with 40 alternating layers of AM/HM decreased from 96.2 °C to 75.6 °C during oxyacetylene test, while the good ablation properties were preserved in the AM component. This significant improvement was attributed to the planar orientation and densification of ablative additives, and the interruption of conductive pathways in the through-plane direction of AM/HM alternating laminate. The anisotropic EPDM composites featuring mechanical robustness, good ablative resistance and thermal insulation suggest considerable potential application in the aerospace industry

Regulatory Effect of Astragalus Polysaccharides on Intestinal Intraepithelial γδT Cells of Tumor Bearing Mice

Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) possess multiple immunomodulatory activities. Due to its high molecular weight, orally administration of APS is not easily absorbed into the blood stream, and how APS exerts its capacity in vivo is still not well elucidated. We assume that enteric mucosal immune response might trigger the immune regulation of APS, and our previous studies demonstrated that APS had regulatory activity on intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the functions of APS on intestinal intraepithelial γδT cells, a major subset in IELs and an essential component of maintaining homeostasis and immune regulation in enteric mucosa. Results showed that APS could promote proliferation and function of intestinal intraepithelial γδT cells in vitro, the IFN-γ, FasL and GrB mRNA levels in γδT cells were all significantly increased. Moreover, APS also improved the activity of intestinal intraepithelial γδT cells in vivo, as cytokines production and cytotoxicity of γδT cells were all remarkably improved in tumor-bearing mice treated with APS. In addition, the levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ were significantly increased, whereas the levels of IL-10 and TGF-β were significantly decreased in tumor-bearing mice treated with APS. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that APS could improve proliferation and function of intestinal intraepithelial γδT cells, which might an important pathway for immunomodulation of APS in cancer therapy

Ultrabroad stimulated emission from quantum well laser

Observation of ultrabroad stimulated emission from a simplex quantum well based laser at the center wavelength of 1.06 μm is reported. With increased injection current, spectrum as broad as 38 nm and a pulsed output power of ∼50 mW have been measured. The experiments show evidence of an unexplored broad emission regime in the InGaAs/GaAs quantum well material system, which still needs theoretical modeling and further analysis