Aestivation induces widespread transcriptional changes in the African lungfish

Aestivation is a special ability possessed by some animals to cope with hot and dry environments utilizing dormancy. At a macroscopic level, dormant animals stop moving and eating. At the microscopic level, the expression of a large number of genes in these animals is strictly controlled. However, little is known about what changes occur during aestivation, especially in fish. In this study, we used transcriptome analysis to examine what changes occur in the gills and lungs of the African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) during the maintenance phase of aestivation and speculated on their causes. We found that aestivating transcriptomes were highly similar between gills and lungs. We also found that some genes showed differential expression or alternative splicing, which may be associated with different organs. In addition, differential expression analysis revealed that the lungs maintained significantly higher bioactivity during aestivation, which suggests that the main respiratory organ in aestivating lungfish can transform. Our study provides a reference point for studying the relationship between aestivation and hibernation and further increases understanding of aestivation

Angiotensin II Type I Receptor Agonistic Autoantibody Induces Podocyte Injury via Activation of the TRPC6- Calcium/Calcineurin Pathway in Pre-Eclampsia

Background/Aims: Angiotensin II type I receptor agonistic autoantibody (AT1-AA) is closely related to pre-eclampsia, which is characterized by proteinuria and hypertension. AT1-AA has been shown to enhance the effect of AngII in pre-eclampsia, such as production of endothelin-1, activation of ROS, and vasoconstriction, which are considered to be associated with hypertension; however, whether or not AT1-AA participates in podocyte damage leading to the generation of proteinuria has not been reported. In this study we investigated the role of pre-eclamptic serum AT1-AA on podocytes and the mechanism underlying the generation of proteinuria. Methods: The levels of AT1-AA isolated from pre-eclamptic sera were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Human podocytes were cultured in vitro and treated with various concentrations of AT1-AA. Whether or not an ERK1/2 inhibitor and TRPC6 siRNA inhibit the effect of AT1-AA on podocytes was determined. Western blot was used to detect the expression of podocyte-specific proteins (nephrin, synaptopodin, and podocin) and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and TRPC6. The arrangement of F-actin was observed by immunofluorescence. A Calcineurin Cellular Activity Assay Kit was used to detect calcineurin activity. Changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration was determined by confocal laser. Results: AT1-AA induced a decrease in podocyte-specific protein expression and calcineurin activity and increased expression of p-ERK1/2 and TRPC6 protein and the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Immunofluorescence revealed rearrangement of F-actin. PD98059, an inhibitor of ERK1/2, and TRPC6 siRNA attenuated the decreased expression of podocyte-specific proteins and decreased intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The expression of TRPC6 was reduced following the addition of ERK1/2 inhibitor. Conclusion: AT1-AA induced podocyte damage in a dose-dependent manner. The underlying mechanism might involve activation of the TRPC6 –calcium/calcineurin pathway. This study provides new details regarding podocyte injury and the mechanism underlying the generation of proteinuria in pre-eclampsia

Investigation of factors enhancing droplets spreading on leaves with burrs

IntroductionSpread effect is one of the aspects on deposition quality evaluation of pesticide droplets. It could be affected by many factors such as the microstructure of the target plant leaf surface, physical features of the droplets, and the concentration of spray additives.MethodsIn this study, using a high-speed photography system, 2.3% glyphosate ammonium salt solution with different concentration of the additive was applied to investigate the impact process of single droplet deposition on the plant leaf surface with burrs. Effect of droplet sizes and velocities on spreading area and dynamic deposition procedure was analyzed using image processing programs.ResultsThe diffusion factor in the process of droplet spreading was changed over time. The occurrence of bubbles in the droplets was observed in the results. With the bubble generation, the droplet diameter expands and a better diffusion effect is obtained. As a result, better spreading effect was obtained as the droplet diameter was expanded with the generation of bubbles. The significant effects of each physical property of droplets on droplet spreading and the interaction effects between the influencing factors were analyzed. A significant correlation was found between additive concentration, droplet impact velocity, droplet diameters and droplet spreading area. All interactions of concentration:velocity, concentration:diameter, velocity:diameter, and concentration:velocity:diameter had a significant effect on the spreading area of droplets. The study of the factors influencing the process of pesticide droplet impact on the leaf surface contributes to the efficient use of pesticides. Thus, the consumption of pesticides and the resulting impact on the environment can be reduced

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Preparation and Study of Multi-Heteroatom Carbon Nanotube as Excellent Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Using Polydopamine Derivative

F and other heteroatom codoped multiwalled carbon nanotubes as nonmetal electrocatalyst were developed through pyrolysis of polydopamine derivative under high temperature. The influence of the amount and type of heteroatom on the catalytic activity was investigated. Especially, N/S/F-codoped carbon nanotubes exhibit the most excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction and stability. The method afforded an excellent building block to universally design multi-heteroatom-doped or F-doped carbon materials for ORR or other energy-relevant applications

Effects of Acidulants on the Rheological Properties of Gelatin Extracted from the Skin of Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus)

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of lactic acid (LA), citric acid (CA), and malic acid (MA) varying in concentration (0.5–2.0% w/w) on the rheological properties of fish gelatin (1.5–6.67% w/w) obtained from the skin of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). The addition of LA, CA, or MA in gelatin dispersions significantly (p < 0.05) weakened their gel strengths, leading to a 14.3–62.2 reduction in gel strength. The gel strength, elastic (G′), and viscous (G″) moduli, as well as the gelling (TG) and melting (TM) temperatures of gelatin dispersions decreased with an increased level of acid added, implying the weakening effects of these acids on junction zones of the gelatin network in aqueous media. The addition of LA had less effect on these rheological properties of gelatin dispersions as compared to that of MA and CA, which were consistent with their effects on the pH of gelatin dispersions. Moreover, the reductions of TG and TM for gelatin dispersions with a higher gelatin concentration (e.g., 6.67% gelatin with 0.5% LA, TG dropped 0.4 °C) due to the addition of LA, CA, or MA were less pronounced compared to those with a lower gelatin content (e.g., 2% gelatin with 0.5% LA, TG dropped 7.1 °C), likely attributing to the stronger buffering effect of the high gelatin dispersion and less percentage reduction in the junction zones in the dispersion due to the addition of an acid. Incorporation of the effects of acids on the linear relationships (R2 = 0.9959–0.9999) between the square of gelatin concentrations and G′ or G″ could make it possible to develop a model to predict G′, G″, phase transition temperatures of gelatin dispersions containing different amounts of gelatin and acid (within the tested range) in the future

Partner Choice during Meiosis Is Regulated by Hop1-promoted Dimerization of Mek1

Meiotic recombination differs from mitotic recombination in that DSBs are repaired using homologous chromosomes, rather than sister chromatids. This change in partner choice is due in part to a barrier to sister chromatid repair (BSCR) created by the meiosis-specific kinase, Mek1, in a complex with two other meiosis-specific proteins, Hop1 and Red1. HOP1 contains two functional domains, called the N and C domains. Analysis of a point mutation that specifically inactivates the C domain (hop1-K593A) reveals that the N domain is sufficient for Hop1 localization to chromosomes and for Red1 and Hop1 interactions. The C domain is needed for spore viability, for chromosome synapsis, and for preventing DMC1-independent DSB repair, indicating it plays a role in the BSCR. All of the hop1-K593A phenotypes can be bypassed by fusion of ectopic dimerization domains to Mek1, suggesting that the function of the C domain is to promote Mek1 dimerization. Hop1 is a DSB-dependent phosphoprotein, whose phosphorylation requires the presence of the C domain, but is independent of MEK1. These results suggest a model in which Hop1 phosphorylation in response to DSBs triggers dimerization of Mek1 via the Hop1 C domain, thereby enabling Mek1 to phosphorylate target proteins that prevent repair of DSBs by sister chromatids