Genomic selection analysis of morphological and adaptation traits in Chinese indigenous dog breeds

The significant morphological differences and abundant germplasm resources of Chinese indigenous dog breeds can be attributed to the diverse geographical environment, including plateaus, mountains, and a long history of raising dogs. The combination of both natural and artificial selection during the past several thousand years has led to hundreds of dog breeds with distinct morphological traits and environmental adaptations. China is one of the earliest countries to domesticate dogs and there are more than 50 ancient indigenous dog breeds. In this study, the run of homozygosity (ROH) and proportion of the autosomal genome covered by ROHs (FROH) were calculated for 10 dog breeds that are the most representative Chinese indigenous dogs based on 170K SNP microarray. The results of FROH showed that the Chuandong hound dogs (HCSSC) have the highest level of inbreeding among the tested breeds. The inbreeding in HCSSC occurred more recently than the Liangshan dogs (SCLSQ) dogs because of more numbers of long ROHs in HCSSC dogs, and the former also have higher inbreeding degree. In addition, there are significant differences in the inbreeding degree among different subpopulations of the same breed, such as the Thin dogs from Shaanxi and Shandong province. To explore genome-wide selection signatures among different breeds, including coat color, ear shape, and altitude adaptability, we performed genome selection analyses of FST and cross population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH). For the coat color, the FST analysis between Xiasi dogs (XSGZ) and HCSSC dogs was performed and identified multiple genes involved in coat color, hair follicle, and bone development, including MC1R, KITLG, SOX5, RSPO2, and TBX15. For the plateau adaptability, we performed FST and XP-EHH analyses between dogs from Tibet (Tibetan Mastiffs and Nyingchi dogs) and plain regions (Guangxi Biwei dogs GXBWQ and Guandong Sharpei dogs). The results showed the EPAS1 gene in dogs from Tibet undergo strong selection. Multiple genes identified for selection signals based on different usage of dogs. Furthermore, the results of ear shape analyses showed that MSRB3 was likely to be the main gene causing the drop ear of domestic dogs. Our study provides new insights into further understanding of Chinese indigenous dogs

Traumatic pseudoaneurysm of axillary artery combined with brachial plexus injury.

Traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the axillary artery combined with brachial plexus injury is extremely rare. The factors that influence the symptoms and functional recovery related to this condition are unclear. Nine patients who had sustained this trauma were surgically treated at our unit between June 1999 and November 2010. The cause of trauma, symptoms, signs and examinations of neurological and vascular deficits, and the surgical findings of the involved nerves and vessels were recorded in detail. The functional recovery of vessels and nerves, as well as the extent of pain, were evaluated, respectively. The average length of patient follow-up was 4.5 years (range, 24 months to 11.3 years). After vessel repair, whether by endovascular or operative treatment, the distending, constant, and pulsating pain was relieved in all patients. Furthermore, examination of the radial artery pulse on the repaired side appeared normal at last follow-up. All patients showed satisfactory sensory recovery, with motor recovery rated as good in five patients and fair in four patients. The symptom characteristics varied with the location of the damage to the axillary artery. Ultrasound examination and computed tomography angiography are useful to evaluate vascular injury and provide valuable information for operative planning. Surgical exploration is an effective therapy with results related to the nerve injury condition of the brachial plexus

Investigation on the Edge Chipping in Ultrasonic Assisted Sawing of Monocrystalline Silicon

Monocrystalline silicon is an important semiconductor material and occupies a large part of the market demand. However, as a hard-brittle material, monocrystalline silicon is extremely prone to happen edge chipping during sawing processing. The edge chipping seriously affects the quality and performance of silicon wafers. In this paper, both conventional and ultrasonicassisted sawing tests were carried out on monocrystalline silicon to study the formation mechanism of edge chipping. The shape and size of edge chipping after sawing process were observed and measured. The experimental results demonstrated that different sawing processes present different material removal modes and edge quality. The mode of crack propagation was continuous cracks in conventional sawing process, while the expansion mode in ultrasonic assisted sawing was blasting microcracks. This results in the cutting force of ultrasonic assisted sawing becomes much smaller than that of conventional sawing process, which can reduce the size of edge chipping and improve the quality of machined surface

Marine Organisms as a Prolific Source of Bioactive Depsipeptides

Depsipeptides, an important group of polypeptides containing residues of hydroxy acids and amino acids linked together by amide and ester bonds, have potential applications in agriculture and medicine. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that marine organisms are prolific sources of depsipeptides, such as marine cyanobacteria, sponges, mollusks, microorganisms and algae. However, these substances have not yet been comprehensively summarized. In order to enrich our knowledge about marine depsipeptides, their biological sources and structural features, as well as bioactivities, are highlighted in this review after an extensive literature search and data analysis

Histologically resolved multiomics enables precise molecular profiling of human intratumor heterogeneity.

Both the composition of cell types and their spatial distribution in a tissue play a critical role in cellular function, organ development, and disease progression. For example, intratumor heterogeneity and the distribution of transcriptional and genetic events in single cells drive the genesis and development of cancer. However, it can be challenging to fully characterize the molecular profile of cells in a tissue with high spatial resolution because microscopy has limited ability to extract comprehensive genomic information, and the spatial resolution of genomic techniques tends to be limited by dissection. There is a growing need for tools that can be used to explore the relationship between histological features, gene expression patterns, and spatially correlated genomic alterations in healthy and diseased tissue samples. Here, we present a technique that combines label-free histology with spatially resolved multiomics in unfixed and unstained tissue sections. This approach leverages stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to provide chemical contrast that reveals histological tissue architecture, allowing for high-resolution in situ laser microdissection of regions of interests. These microtissue samples are then processed for DNA and RNA sequencing to identify unique genetic profiles that correspond to distinct anatomical regions. We demonstrate the capabilities of this technique by mapping gene expression and copy number alterations to histologically defined regions in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Our approach provides complementary insights in tumorigenesis and offers an integrative tool for macroscale cancer tissues with spatial multiomics assessments

Histologically resolved multiomics enables precise molecular profiling of human intratumor heterogeneity.

Both the composition of cell types and their spatial distribution in a tissue play a critical role in cellular function, organ development, and disease progression. For example, intratumor heterogeneity and the distribution of transcriptional and genetic events in single cells drive the genesis and development of cancer. However, it can be challenging to fully characterize the molecular profile of cells in a tissue with high spatial resolution because microscopy has limited ability to extract comprehensive genomic information, and the spatial resolution of genomic techniques tends to be limited by dissection. There is a growing need for tools that can be used to explore the relationship between histological features, gene expression patterns, and spatially correlated genomic alterations in healthy and diseased tissue samples. Here, we present a technique that combines label-free histology with spatially resolved multiomics in unfixed and unstained tissue sections. This approach leverages stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to provide chemical contrast that reveals histological tissue architecture, allowing for high-resolution in situ laser microdissection of regions of interests. These microtissue samples are then processed for DNA and RNA sequencing to identify unique genetic profiles that correspond to distinct anatomical regions. We demonstrate the capabilities of this technique by mapping gene expression and copy number alterations to histologically defined regions in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Our approach provides complementary insights in tumorigenesis and offers an integrative tool for macroscale cancer tissues with spatial multiomics assessments

Influence of acetone on nanostructure and electrochemical properties of interfacial synthesized polyaniline nanofibers

The growth of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers through interfacial polymerization can be well controlled by adding a small amount of acetone in the water/chloroform system. It was found that the polymerization rate became slower in the presence of acetone, yielding PANI nanofibers with larger aspect ratios. The influences of the acetone addition on the morphology, microstructure and properties of as-prepared PANI nanofibers were studied by scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), ultraviolet–visible spectra (UV–vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravity analysis (TGA), and electrical and electrochemical measurements. The experimental results showed that PANI nanofibers prepared by using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidant with acetone exhibited slower growth, the larger ratio of length to diameter, and higher crystallinity (2θ=6°, 19°, 26°) than that without acetone, meanwhile remained larger yield of 11.23% and higher conductivity 1.8×10−2 S/cm compared with that obtained by replacing APS with FeCl3. More importantly, these PANI nanofibers exhibited better electrochemical behaviors, which benefitted from their high crystallinity and good conductivity

Whole-Genome Sequence Analysis of an Endophytic Fungus <i>Alternaria</i> sp. SPS-2 and Its Biosynthetic Potential of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites

As one of the commonly isolated endophytic fungi, Alternaria has been known for the production of numerous secondary metabolites (SMs). However, its detailed genomic features and SM biosynthetic potential have not been extensively studied thus far. The present work focuses on the whole-genome sequencing and assembly of an endophytic strain Alternaria sp. SPS-2 derived from Echrysantha chrysantha Lindl. and gene annotation using various bioinformatic tools. The results of this study suggested that the genome of strain SPS-2 was 33.4 Mb in size with a GC content of 51% and an N50 scaffold of 2.6 Mb, and 9789 protein-coding genes, including 644 CAZyme-encoding genes, were discovered in strain SPS-2 through KEGG enrichment analysis. The antiSMASH results indicated that strain SPS-2 harbored 22 SM biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), 14 of which are cryptic and unknown. LS–MS/MS and GNPS-based analyses suggested that this endophytic fungus is a potential producer of bioactive SMs and merits further exploration and development

Protective Effects of Sporoderm-Broken Spores of Ganderma lucidum on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Capacity and Immune Function of Broiler Chickens Exposed to Low Level of Aflatoxin B1

This study was conducted to investigate the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and evaluate the effects of sporoderm-broken spores of Ganoderma lucidum (SSGL) in relieving aflatoxicosis in broilers. A total of 300 one-day-old male Arbor Acre broiler chickens were randomly divided into four dietary treatments; the treatment diets were: Control (a basal diet containing normal peanut meal); AFB1 (the basal diet containing AFB1-contaminated peanut meal); SSGL (basal diet with 200 mg/kg of SSGL); AFB1+SSGL (supplementation of 200 mg/kg of SSGL in AFB1 diet). The contents of AFB1 in AFB1 and AFB1+SSGL diets were 25.0 μg/kg in the starter period and 22.5 μg/kg in the finisher period. The results showed that diet contaminated with a low level of AFB1 significantly decreased (p &lt; 0.05) the average daily feed intake and average daily gain during the entire experiment and reduced (p &lt; 0.05) serum contents of total protein IgA and IgG. Furthermore, a dietary low level of AFB1 not only increased (p &lt; 0.05) levels of hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation, but also decreased (p &lt; 0.05) total antioxidant capability, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and hydroxyl radical scavenger activity in the liver and spleen of broilers. Moreover, the addition of SSGL to AFB1-contaminated diet counteracted these negative effects, indicating that SSGL has a protective effect against aflatoxicosis

Effects of Dietary L-carnosine and Alpha-lipoic Acid on Growth Performance, Blood Thyroid Hormones and Lipid Profiles in Finishing Pigs

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of L-carnosine (LC) and/or alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on growth performance, blood thyroid hormones and lipid profiles in finishing pigs. A total of 40 (Landrace×Yorkshire) pigs with an initial body weight of 57.93±3.14 kg were randomly allocated to 4 experimental diets using a 2×2 factorial arrangement with 2 LC supplemental levels (0 or 0.1%) and 2 ALA supplemental levels (0 or 0.03%) in basal diets. The results showed that pigs fed LC-supplemented diets increased final live weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake compared to those of pigs fed without LC-supplemented diets (p0.05). Additionally, LC supplementation increased serum triiodothyronine, thyroxine levels, and ALA supplementation increased serum triiodothyronine levels (p<0.05). Serum total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were significantly decreased in LC and ALA supplemented groups, respectively (p<0.05). Moreover, serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower in the ALA-supplemented groups than those of pigs fed without ALA-supplemented diets (p<0.05). However, no significant LC×ALA interaction effect on growth performance, blood thyroid hormones and lipid profiles was found. This study suggested that dietary supplementation of LC resulted in better growth performance compared to that of ALA supplementation. L-carnosine and/or ALA supplementation positively modified blood lipid profiles, which may have the potential to prevent cardiovascular diseases