Effects of different dietary energy and protein levels and sex on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of F1 Angus × Chinese Xiangxi yellow cattle

BACKGROUND: The experiment evaluated the effect of nutrition levels and sex on the growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of F1 Angus × Chinese Xiangxi yellow cattle. METHODS: During the background period of 184 d,23 steers and 24 heifers were fed the same ration,then put into a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement under two levels of - dietary energy (TDN: 70/80% DM), protein (CP: 11.9/14.3% DM) and sex (S: male/female) during the finishing phase of 146 d. The treatments were - (1) high energy/low protein (HELP), (2) high energy/high protein (HEHP), (3) low energy/low protein (LELP) and (4) low energy/high protein (LEHP). Each treatment used 6 steers and 6 heifers, except for HELP- 5 steers and 6 heifers. RESULTS: Growth rate and final carcass weight were unaffected by dietary energy and protein levels or by sex. Compared with the LE diet group, the HE group had significantly lower dry matter intake (DMI, 6.76 vs. 7.48 kg DM/d), greater chest girth increments (46.1 vs. 36.8 cm), higher carcass fat (19.9 vs.16.3%) and intramuscular fat content (29.9 vs. 22.8% DM). The HE group also had improved yields of top and medium top grade commercial meat cuts (39.9 vs.36.5%). The dressing percentage was higher for the HP group than the LP group (53.4 vs. 54.9%). Steers had a greater length increment (9.0 vs. 8.3 cm), but lower carcass fat content (16.8 vs. 19.4%) than heifers. The meat quality traits (shear force value, drip loss, cooking loss and water holding capacity) were not affected by treatments or sex, averaging 3.14 kg, 2.5, 31.5 and 52.9%, respectively. The nutritive profiles (both fatty and amino acid composition) were not influenced by the energy or protein levels or by sex. CONCLUSIONS: The dietary energy and protein levels and sex significantly influenced the carcass characteristics and chemical composition of meat but not thegrowth performance, meat quality traits and nutritive profiles

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance for the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) Among Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

BackgroundGiven that emotion regulation counts for much in breast cancer, it is important to fully understand its construct. The cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ) is a widely applied instrument for measuring conscious cognitive coping strategies in both general and clinical samples; however, there are no data on its factor structure in women with breast cancer, not to mention evidence of measurement invariance (MI) across sociodemographic variables. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the latent factor structure and MI between different sociodemographic groups for CERQ in specific patients.MethodsThe sample consisted of 1032 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, with a mean age of 47.54 years (SD = 8.51). The latent factor structure for CERQ was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Further, MI various sociodemographic variables was evaluated by a series of multiple-group CFA process.ResultsThe nine-factor CFA model was an adequate fit for the data collected in women with breast cancer. Also, this nine-factor structure had strong factorial invariance across age, place of residence, educational levels, and employment status.ConclusionThis study firstly examined the latent factor structure for CERQ among Chinese women with malignancy and MI across various sociodemographic variables, which deepens the understanding of the construct for CERQ as a useful tool for assessing patients’ conscious cognitive component of emotion regulation based on self-report

Neurotoxicity of nanoparticles : insight from studies in zebrafish

Nanoparticles are widely used in industry and personal care, and they inevitably end up in people's bodies and the environment. The widespread use of nanoparticles has raised new concerns about their neurotoxicity, as nanoparticles can enter the nervous system by blood-brain barrier. In neurotoxicity testing, the zebrafish provides powerful tools to overcome the limitations of other models. This paper will provide a comprehensive review of the power of zebrafish in neurotoxicity tests and the neurotoxic effects of nanoparticles, including inorganic, organic, and metal-based nanoparticles, on zebrafish from different perspectives. Such information can be used to predict not only the effects of nanoparticles on other species exposed to the aquatic environment but also the neurotoxicity of nanoparticles in humans

Rho GTPase Signaling Activates Microtubule Severing to Promote Microtubule Ordering in Arabidopsis

SummaryBackgroundOrdered cortical microtubule (MT) arrays play a critical role in the spatial control of cell division and expansion and are essential for plant growth, morphogenesis, and development. Various developmental, hormonal, and mechanical signals and a large number of MT-associated proteins are known to impact cortical MT organization, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Our previous studies show that auxin signaling, which is mediated by the ROP6 Rho GTPase and its effector RIC1, promotes the ordering of cortical MTs in pavement cells, but it is unknown how RIC1 controls the organization of cortical MTs into well-ordered arrays.ResultsOur genetic screens identified the conserved MT-severing protein katanin (KTN1) as a downstream component of the ROP6-RIC1 signaling pathway leading to well-ordered arrangement of cortical MTs. KTN1 and RIC1 proteins displayed overlapping localization. In vivo and in vitro studies showed that RIC1 physically interacts with and promotes the MT-severing activity of KTN1. Live-cell imaging reveals a role for RIC1 in promoting detachment of branched MTs that is known to rely on KTN1.ConclusionWe have demonstrated that a Rho GTPase signaling pathway regulates katanin-mediated MT severing in plant cells and uncovered an explicit regulatory mechanism underpinning the alignment and ordering of cortical MTs in plants. Our findings provide new insights into regulatory mechanisms underlying growth stimuli such as auxin promote the organization of cortical MTs into parallel arrays in plants

Deep two-photon microscopic imaging through brain tissue using the second singlet state from fluorescent agent chlorophyll α in spinach leaf

Abstract. Two-photon (2P) excitation of the second singlet (S2) state was studied to achieve deep optical microscopic imaging in brain tissue when both the excitation (800 nm) and emission (685 nm) wavelengths lie in the “tissue optical window” (650 to 950 nm). S2 state technique was used to investigate chlorophyll α (Chl α) fluorescence inside a spinach leaf under a thick layer of freshly sliced rat brain tissue in combination with 2P microscopic imaging. Strong emission at the peak wavelength of 685 nm under the 2P S2 state of Chl α enabled the imaging depth up to 450 μm through rat brain tissue

Light effects on seedling growth in simulated forest canopy gaps vary across species from different successional stages

Tropical forests continue to suffer from various kinds of disturbances in the Anthropocene. An immediate impact of disturbances on forest ecosystems is the creation of numerous large and small canopy gaps, which dramatically affect forest structure and function. Yet, we know little about the effect of canopy gaps on forest successional trajectory. More specifically, the responses of seedlings from different successional stages to increased light intensity under large and small canopy gaps in understory remain unclear. In this study, dominant tree seedlings from early-, mid-, and late-successional stages were selected, respectively from a tropical montane forest in Hainan Island, China to study their growth rate, biomass and traits. Our results showed that the light condition under small canopy gaps (SG, 10–15% of full sunlight) and large canopy gaps (LG, 40–50% of full sunlight) induced greater increment of relative growth rates for seedlings from early- and mid-successional stages relative to that in late-successional stage. Both SG and LG also significantly increased photosynthesis rate, leaf area (LA), light saturation point (LSP), root mass ratio (RMR) and root: shoot ratio, but decreased specific leaf area (SLA) of seedlings across successional stages. Tree seedlings from the earlysuccessional stage displayed the greatest decrease in leaf mass ratio, increase in LA, LSP, and RMR, in comparison to those from mid- and late- successional stages. Light condition and SLA were the most important factors for seedlings’ relative growth rate across successional stages. SLA connected the interaction between the light condition and successional stage on seedlings’ growth, thereby jointly explaining the 93% variation of seedlings’ growth, combining with area-based light saturated rate of CO2 assimilation. Our study highlights the distinct effect of disturbance-induced canopy gaps on seedling regeneration in the understory in tropical forest due to the variation of light intensity. We suspect that the seedlings from late-successional stage will recover relatively slow after disturbances causing canopy losses, which can have detrimental impacts on structure feature an

Numerical investigation on stress corrosion cracking behavior of dissimilar weld joints in pressurized water reactor plants

There have been incidents recently where stress corrosion cracking (SCC) observed in the dissimilar metal weld (DMW) joints connecting the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) nozzle with the hot leg pipe. Due to the complex microstructure and mechanical heterogeneity in the weld region, dissimilar metal weld joints are more susceptible to SCC than the bulk steels in the simulated high temperature water environment of pressurized water reactor (PWR). Tensile residual stress (RS), in addition to operating loads, has a great contribution to SCC crack growth. Limited experimental conditions, varied influence factors and diverging experimental data make it difficult to accurately predict the SCC behavior of DMW joints with complex geometry, material configuration, operating loads and crack shape. Based on the film slip/dissolution oxidation model and elastic-plastic finite element method (EPFEM), an approach is developed to quantitatively predict the SCC growth rate of a RPV outlet nozzle DMW joint. Moreover, this approach is expected to be a pre-analytical tool for SCC experiment of DMW joints in PWR primary water environment

Mechanisms of TGFβ inhibition of LUNG endodermal morphogenesis: The role of TβRII, Smads, Nkx2.1 and Pten

AbstractTransforming growth factor-beta is a multifunctional growth factor with roles in normal development and disease pathogenesis. One such role is in inhibition of lung branching morphogenesis, although the precise mechanism remains unknown. In an explant model, all three TGFβ isoforms inhibited FGF10-induced morphogenesis of mesenchyme-free embryonic lung endoderm. Inhibition of budding by TGFβ was partially abrogated in endodermal explants from Smad3−/− or conditional endodermal-specific Smad4Δ/Δ embryonic lungs. Endodermal explants from conditional TGFβ receptor II knockout lungs were entirely refractive to TGFβ-induced inhibition. Inhibition of morphogenesis was associated with dedifferentiation of endodermal cells as documented by a decrease in key transcriptional factor, NKX2.1 protein, and its downstream target, surfactant protein C (SpC). TGFβ reduced the proliferation of wild-type endodermal cells within the explants as assessed by BrdU labeling. Gene expression analysis showed increased levels of mRNA for Pten, a key regulator of cell proliferation. Conditional, endodermal-specific deletion of Pten overcame TGFβ's inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, but did not restore morphogenesis. Thus, the mechanisms by which TGFβ inhibits FGF10-induced lung endodermal morphogenesis may entail both inhibition of cell proliferation, through increased Pten, as well as inhibition or interference with morphogenetic mediators such as Nkx2.1. Both of the latter are dependent on signaling through TβRII

Connexin Hemichannels in Astrocytes: Role in CNS Disorders

In the central nervous system (CNS), astrocytes form networks interconnected by gap junctions made from connexins of the subtypes Cx30 and Cx43. When unopposed by an adjoining hemichannel, astrocytic connexins can act as hemichannels to control the release of small molecules such as ATP and glutamate into the extracellular space. Accruing evidence indicates that astrocytic connexins are crucial for the coordination and maintenance of physiologic CNS activity. Here we provide an update on the role of astrocytic connexins in neurodegenerative disorders, glioma, and ischemia. In addition, we address the regulation of Cx43 in chronic pain