Community attitudes towards Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and their prey species in Yanbian, Jilin province, a region of northeast China where tigers are returning

Community attitudes towards large carnivores are of central importance to their conservation in human-dominated landscapes. In this study, we evaluate community attitudes and perceptions towards the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) and bears (Ursus thibetanus and Ursus arctos), as well as their prey species, namely sika deer (Cervus nippon), roe deer and wild boar (Sus scrofa), in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province, northeast China. We surveyed 139 households and found that community members' perceptions of large carnivores and their prey species were influenced by their predominant economic activities; their prior interactions with wildlife; their household income level; and whether they were either long-term residents of Yanbian or had migrated to the region from elsewhere in China. We recorded fairly neutral attitudes towards large carnivores among the communities we surveyed, but strongly negative attitudes were shown towards wild boar, particularly where respondents had lost agricultural products to crop raiding by wild boar. We recommend conservation stakeholders in northeast China utilise this finding to encourage support for large carnivore recovery and conservation by targeting messaging around the importance of the tiger as a key predator of wild boar in the ecosystem. Furthermore, our findings suggest that government provided compensation paid for cattle lost to large carnivore predation (notably, by tigers) may be helping to reduce animosity from cattle owners towards large carnivores. However, we also highlight that compensation for loss of livestock is therefore performing a useful role in mitigating human-wildlife conflict, that there are potentially unintended consequences of the current compensation program, for example it fails to dissuade livestock grazing in protected areas

Effect of salinity on the biochemical characteristics and antioxidant activity of exopolysaccharide of Porphyridium purpureum FACHB 806

Porphyridium exopolysaccharide (EPS) is a kind of high-value biopolymer with various biological activities secreted by microalgae belonging to Porphyridium genus. Salinity is one of the important environmental factors affecting the growth of microalgae. In order to study the effect of salinity, the yield, biochemical characteristics and antioxidant activity of EPS in Porphyridium purpureum FACHB 806 cultured at four salinity levels (5‰, 20‰, 35‰ and 50‰) were investigated in this study. The results demonstrated that P. purpureum FACHB 806 could grow at all salinity levels. The highest cell density and EPS yield per cell were 6.6 × 107 cells·mL-1 and 29.1 pg·cell-1, which were obtained in the 20‰ and 50‰ salinity, respectively. With the increase of salinity, the percentage of xylose and galactose decreased while the percentage of glucose increased. Among all salinity levels, the 5‰ salinity group achieved the maximum contents of total carbohydrate and uronic acid of EPS, and the 50‰ salinity obtained the highest protein content of EPS. Compared to the 20‰ and 35‰ salinity groups, EPS of the 5‰ and 50‰ salinity showed stronger hydroxyl radical scavenging ability. These results indicated that salinity could influence the yield, biochemical composition and antioxidant activity of EPS, which will provide a new strategy to improve the yield and antioxidant activity of EPS

Research Based on High-Dimensional Fused Lasso Partially Linear Model

In this paper, a partially linear model based on the fused lasso method is proposed to solve the problem of high correlation between adjacent variables, and then the idea of the two-stage estimation method is used to study the solution of this model. Firstly, the non-parametric part of the partially linear model is estimated using the kernel function method and transforming the semiparametric model into a parametric model. Secondly, the fused lasso regularization term is introduced into the model to construct the least squares parameter estimation based on the fused lasso penalty. Then, due to the non-smooth terms of the model, the subproblems may not have closed-form solutions, so the linearized alternating direction multiplier method (LADMM) is used to solve the model, and the convergence of the algorithm and the asymptotic properties of the model are analyzed. Finally, the applicability of this model was demonstrated through two types of simulation data and practical problems in predicting worker wages

Morphology, growth, biochemical composition and photosynthetic performance of Chlorella vulgaris (Trebouxiophyceae) under low and high nitrogen supplies

Storage triacylglycerol accumulated by oleaginous microalgae have been utilized as optimal feedstock for biodiesel production. Nitrogen limitation is one of the most effective approaches in inducing oil accumulation in microalgae. However, the mechanism underlying this process is not well established. The aim of the present study was to determine changes in morphology, growth, biochemical composition, and photosynthetic performance of Chlorella vulgaris JNU13 under low nitrogen supply (LN, 3.5 mM) and high nitrogen supply (HN, 17.6 mM). The results showed that LN repressed cell division and cell weight gain. C. vulgaris under HN showed higher lipid levels compared to those subjected to LN. LN showed a decrease in photosynthetic capacity [relative electron transport rate (rETR), photosynthetic oxygen evolution rate (P-n), and utilization efficiency of light energy (alpha)], ratio of PS I to PS II, dark respiration rate (R-d), and the proportion of z-scheme electron transport pathway. Inversely, LN increased the proportion of the alternative electron transport pathway and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). The damaged photosystems during limited nitrogen conditions negatively affected lipid accumulation in oleaginous C. vulgaris JNU13. It is therefore essential to maintain a balance between low nitrogen stress and high photosynthetic capacity by regulating the initial nitrogen supply to maximize lipid yield. The results of the present study may be used as a reference for regulating the initial nitrogen supply to enhance oil productivity. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V

Linking lipid accumulation and photosynthetic efficiency inNannochloropsissp. under nutrient limitation and replenishment

Oleaginous microalgae can accumulate large amounts of storage lipids that have many potential applications such as in the production of biodiesel and health products. All of the energy for the synthesis of lipids in microalgae is derived from photosynthesis. To date, however, the quantitative relationship between photosynthesis and lipid accumulation rate in microalgae is still unclear. In this study,Nannochloropsissp. was selected to explore this relationship by investigating changes in lipid accumulation, photosynthetic efficiency, and the electron transport chain under nutrients limitation and replenishment. The results of the study demonstrated that lipids were the main form of storage of carbon and energy for this microalga. The alternative electron transport chain played an important role in photo-protection and lipid accumulation. The photosynthetic efficiency of this microalga showed a strong correlation with lipid accumulation rate (R-2 = 0.959), with higher photosynthetic efficiency translating to higher lipid accumulation rates during the lipid accumulation stage of the growth cycle. The results of the present study indicated that nutrient depletion might not be the best signal to understand when microalgae begin to accumulate oil, as it appears that photosynthetic efficiency also has a large role in the rate of oil accumulation. Additionally, the study shows that excessive light might not be needed in later stages of growth for lipid accumulation, which in turn would alleviate the damage to microalgae caused by strong light making large-scale cultivation more cost-effective

Integrated analyses of multi-omics reveal global patterns of methylation and hydroxymethylation and screen the tumor suppressive roles of HADHB in colorectal cancer

Abstract Background DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification, associated with gene expression. 5-Methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine are two epigenetic hallmarks that maintain the equilibrium of epigenetic reprogramming. Disequilibrium in genomic methylation leads to carcinogenesis. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer. Methods Genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in six paired colorectal tumor tissues and corresponding normal tissues were determined using immunoprecipitation and sequencing. Transcriptional expression was determined by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Groupwise differential methylation regions (DMR), differential hydroxymethylation regions (DhMR), and differentially expressed gene (DEG) regions were identified. Epigenetic biomarkers were screened by integrating DMR, DhMR, and DEGs and confirmed using functional analysis. Results We identified a genome-wide distinct hydroxymethylation pattern that could be used as an epigenetic biomarker for clearly differentiating colorectal tumor tissues from normal tissues. We identified 59,249 DMRs, 187,172 DhMRs, and 948 DEGs by comparing between tumors and normal tissues. After cross-matching genes containing DMRs or DhMRs with DEGs, we screened seven genes that were aberrantly regulated by DNA methylation in tumors. Furthermore, hypermethylation of the HADHB gene was persistently found to be correlated with downregulation of its transcription in colorectal cancer (CRC). These findings were confirmed in other patients of colorectal cancer. Tumor functional analysis indicated that HADHB reduced cancer cell migration and invasiveness. These findings suggested its possible role as a tumor suppressor gene (TSG). Conclusion This study reveals the global patterns of methylation and hydroxymethylation in CRC. Several CRC-associated genes were screened with multi-omic analysis. Aberrant methylation and hydroxymethylation were found to be in the carcinogenesis of CRC

Production, Characterization, and Antioxidant Activity of Fucoxanthin from the Marine Diatom Odontella aurita

The production, characterization, and antioxidant capacity of the carotenoid fucoxanthin from the marine diatom Odontella aurita were investigated. The results showed that low light and nitrogen-replete culture medium enhanced the biosynthesis of fucoxanthin. The maximum biomass concentration of 6.36 g L−1 and maximum fucoxanthin concentration of 18.47 mg g−1 were obtained in cultures grown in a bubble column photobioreactor (Ø 3.0 cm inner diameter), resulting in a fucoxanthin volumetric productivity of 7.96 mg L−1 day−1. A slight reduction in biomass production was observed in the scaling up of O. aurita culture in a flat plate photobioreactor, yet yielded a comparable fucoxanthin volumetric productivity. A rapid method was developed for extraction and purification of fucoxanthin. The purified fucoxanthin was identified as all-trans-fucoxanthin, which exhibited strong antioxidant properties, with the effective concentration for 50% scavenging (EC50) of 1,1-dihpenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical being 0.14 and 0.03 mg mL−1, respectively. Our results suggested that O. aurita can be a natural source of fucoxanthin for human health and nutrition

Additional file 7: of Integrated analyses of multi-omics reveal global patterns of methylation and hydroxymethylation and screen the tumor suppressive roles of HADHB in colorectal cancer

Figure S6. Distribution of DMRs and DhMRs in different types of genomic elements. (PDF 162 kb