From Pig Breeding Environment to Subsequently Produced Pork: Comparative Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Bacterial Community Composition

This is the author accepted manuscriptIt is well verified that pig farms are an important reservoir and supplier of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, little is known about the transmission of ARGs between the breeding environment and subsequently produced pork. This study was conducted to investigate if ARGs and associated host bacteria spread from the breeding environment onto the meat through the food production chain. We thus analyzed the occurrence and abundance of ARGs, as well as comparing both ARG and bacterial community compositions in farm soil, pig feces and pork samples from a large-scale pig farm located in Xiamen, People’s Republic of China. Among the 26 target ARGs, genes conferring resistance to sulfonamide, trimethoprim, aminoglycoside, chloramphenicol, macrolide, florfenicol, and tetracycline were observed at high frequency in both the pig breeding environment and pork. The prevalence of ARGs in pork was surprisingly consistent with breeding environments, especially between the pork and feces. The relative abundance of 10 representative ARGs conferring resistance to six classes of antibiotics ranged from 3.01 × 10−1 to 1.55 × 10−6 copies/16S rRNA copies. The ARGs conferring resistance to sulfanilamide (sulI and sulII), aminoglycoside (aadA), and tetracycline [tet(A) and tet(M)] were most highly abundant across most samples. Samples from feces and meat possessed a higher similarity in ARG compositions than samples from the farms soil. Enterobacteriaceae found on the meat samples were further identical with previously isolated multidrug-resistant bacteria from the same pig farm. Our results strongly indicate that ARGs can be potentially spreading from pig breeding environment to meat via the pork industry chain, such as feed supply, pig feeding and pork production.Medical Research Council (MRC)European Commissio

Estructura y propiedades térmicas de oleogeles a base de cera de abejas con diferentes tipos de aceites vegetales

Beeswax-based oleogels with different types of vegetable oil, including camellia oil (CO), soybean oil (SO), sunflower oil (SFO), or flaxseed oil (FO), were prepared and their structure and thermal properties were evaluated. The critical concentration of oleogel obtained from each of CO, SO, and SFO at 25 °C was 3% (w/w), and that from FO was 4%. Thermal measurements revealed similar thermodynamic curves for oleogels in different lipid phases. X-Ray diffraction showed orthorhombic perpendicular subcell packing and characteristic peaks of the β’ form. Furthermore, a morphology analysis of the crystals showed that they were needle shaped. Fourier transform-infrared spectra revealed that beeswax-based oleogels were formed via non-covalent bonds and may be stabilized with physical entanglements. The oleogels showed oil type-dependent oxidative abilities, but they were all stable and showed no obvious changes in peroxide value during 90 days of storage at 5 °C.Se prepararon oleogeles a base de cera de abejas con diferentes tipos de aceite vegetal, incluido el aceite de camelia (CO), de soja (SO), girasol (SFO) y linaza (FO), y se evaluaron la estructura y las propiedades térmicas. La concentración crítica de oleogel obtenida de cada uno de los aceites de CO, SO y SFO a 25 °C fue del 3% (p / p), y la del FO fue del 4%. Las medidas térmicas dieron curvas termodinámicas similares para los oleogeles en diferentes fases lipídicas. La difracción de rayos X mostró un empaquetamiento subcelular perpendicular ortorrómbico y picos característicos de la forma β’. Además, el análisis de la morfología de los cristales mostró que tenían forma de aguja. Los espectros infrarrojos de transformada de Fourier revelaron que los oleogeles basados en cera de abejas se formaron a través de enlaces no covalentes y pueden estabilizarse con enlaces físicos. Los oleogeles mostraron capacidades oxidativas dependientes del tipo de aceite, pero todos eran estables y no tuvieron cambios obvios en el valor del peróxido durante 90 días de almacenamiento a 5 °C

Neutrino Masses, Lepton Flavor Mixing and Leptogenesis in the Minimal Seesaw Model

We present a review of neutrino phenomenology in the minimal seesaw model (MSM), an economical and intriguing extension of the Standard Model with only two heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos. Given current neutrino oscillation data, the MSM can predict the neutrino mass spectrum and constrain the effective masses of the tritium beta decay and the neutrinoless double-beta decay. We outline five distinct schemes to parameterize the neutrino Yukawa-coupling matrix of the MSM. The lepton flavor mixing and baryogenesis via leptogenesis are investigated in some detail by taking account of possible texture zeros of the Dirac neutrino mass matrix. We derive an upper bound on the CP-violating asymmetry in the decay of the lighter right-handed Majorana neutrino. The effects of the renormalization-group evolution on the neutrino mixing parameters are analyzed, and the correlation between the CP-violating phenomena at low and high energies is highlighted. We show that the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe can naturally be interpreted through the resonant leptogenesis mechanism at the TeV scale. The lepton-flavor-violating rare decays, such as $\mu \to e + \gamma$, are also discussed in the supersymmetric extension of the MSM.Comment: 50 pages, 22 EPS figures, macro file ws-ijmpe.cls included, accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Magnetization reversal in Kagome artificial spin ice studied by first-order reversal curves

Magnetization reversal of interconnected Kagome artificial spin ice was studied by the first-order reversal curve (FORC) technique based on the magneto-optical Kerr effect and magnetoresistance measurements. The magnetization reversal exhibits a distinct six-fold symmetry with the external field orientation. When the field is parallel to one of the nano-bar branches, the domain nucleation/propagation and annihilation processes sensitively depend on the field cycling history and the maximum field applied. When the field is nearly perpendicular to one of the branches, the FORC measurement reveals the magnetic interaction between the Dirac strings and orthogonal branches during the magnetization reversal process. Our results demonstrate that the FORC approach provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the magnetic interaction in the magnetization reversal processes of spin-frustrated systems

KDM2B/FBXL10 targets c-Fos for ubiquitylation and degradation in response to mitogenic stimulation.

KDM2B (also known as FBXL10) controls stem cell self-renewal, somatic cell reprogramming and senescence, and tumorigenesis. KDM2B contains multiple functional domains, including a JmjC domain that catalyzes H3K36 demethylation and a CxxC zinc-finger that recognizes CpG islands and recruits the polycomb repressive complex 1. Here, we report that KDM2B, via its F-box domain, functions as a subunit of the CUL1-RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL1/SCF(KDM2B)) complex. KDM2B targets c-Fos for polyubiquitylation and regulates c-Fos protein levels. Unlike the phosphorylation of other SCF (SKP1-CUL1-F-box)/CRL1 substrates that promotes substrates binding to F-box, epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced c-Fos S374 phosphorylation dissociates c-Fos from KDM2B and stabilizes c-Fos protein. Non-phosphorylatable and phosphomimetic mutations at S374 result in c-Fos protein which cannot be induced by EGF or accumulates constitutively and lead to decreased or increased cell proliferation, respectively. Multiple tumor-derived KDM2B mutations impaired the function of KDM2B to target c-Fos degradation and to suppress cell proliferation. These results reveal a novel function of KDM2B in the negative regulation of cell proliferation by assembling an E3 ligase to targeting c-Fos protein degradation that is antagonized by mitogenic stimulations

An antennae specific odorant-binding protein is involved in Bactrocera dorsalis olfaction

Insect antennae are important olfactory organs that house high concentrations of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in the sensillum lymph. Previous studies in other insects have shown that OBPs play important roles in transporting odorants and enhancing the sensitivity of the olfactory system. However, the functions of OBPs in the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, especially those specifically expressed in antennae, have not been fully elucidated. In this study, cDNA libraries were constructed from both the male and female antennal transcriptome, and twenty OBPs were identified in total. The expression profiles of these OBPs were examined in the adult antenna, head, thorax, leg, and abdomen of both sexes. Seven of the identified OBP genes had significantly higher expression in both the male and female antennae than in other tissues, while the transcript levels of the remaining OBPs varied across different tissues. Regarding the function of antenna-specific OBPs, we targeted Bdorsobp2 as a representative for further RNA interference (RNAi) and identified via electrophysiology a decrease in detection of a potential species-specific a potent attractant, methyl eugenol. Moreover, subsequent behavioral assay data showed that the behavioral response of B. dorsalis toward this odorant decreased when Bdorobp2 was silenced with injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Combined, these results support our initial hypothesis that antennae-specific OBPs are of critical importance for insect odorant detection, sensitivity, and behavior