Effect of cooling pad installation on indoor airflow distribution in a tunnel-ventilated laying-hen house

Extra cooling pads on the sidewalls are needed for larger poultry houses using tunnel ventilation system. Preliminary study showed that the airflow velocity going through different aisles varies greatly when the extra pads are installed at the end of sidewalls, making a “[”-shape air inlet. Combined with field tests, the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) technology was used to study the uniformity of airflow distribution in a tunnel-ventilated laying-hen house. The air distribution was first monitored in a layer house to find the main reason resulting in the variations of airflows in different aisles. Then CFD simulations were carried out with different distances (D=2 m, 3 m or 4 m) between the pads on end-wall and the extra pads on side walls. The field test showed that airflow streams from the different groups of cooling pads collided vertically at the house corners, mixed with each other, then flew towards the center of the house. This was the main reason that the wind speed in the middle aisle was much higher than in other aisles, leaving large zones of lower ventilation in the aisles adjacent to the sidewalls. The results of CFD simulations indicated that air distributions could be significantly improved when the extra pieces of pads were moved away for an appropriate distance from the end cooling pads. As far as conventional poultry house with a span of 12 m, the air speeds in different aisles were more uniform when this distance was about 3 m

Fuelling innovation with love: Unravelling the role of companionate love culture and Confucian work values in employees’ innovative behaviour

Purpose: Following social information processing (SIP) theory, this study enriches existing research on emotional culture and innovative behaviour by introducing the chain mediating role of perspective-taking and knowledge-sharing intentions and the moderating role of Confucian work values. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted a quantitative study using four-stage paired survey data. Data were collected from 392 employees and their corresponding supervisors in three Chinese manufacturing companies in November 2022. We chose these participants due to the significance of innovative behaviour in their roles. The surveys were anonymous and self-administered. We used SPSS20.2 and MPLUS 8.3 software to analyse the data and test our hypotheses. Findings/results: The data analysis results indicated that: (1) the companionate love culture had a positive effect on innovative behaviour, (2) perspective-taking and knowledge-sharing intentions mediated the positive impact of the companionate love culture on innovative behaviour, and (3) Confucian work values moderated the chain mediation path by weakening the positive impact of the companionate love culture on perspective-taking. Practical implications: To promote innovative behaviour in employees, a company could continuously manage the organisational companionate love culture. Originality/value: Drawing on the SIP theory, this paper developed a model clarifying how and when love can fuel innovation in the workplace. It’s interesting that employees with lower Confucian work values may benefit more from a companionate love culture, as they might need more external motivation to engage in perspective-taking and knowledge sharing

The Histone Demethylases Jhdm1a/1b Enhance Somatic Cell Reprogramming in a Vitamin-C-Dependent Manner

SummaryReprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) resets the epigenome to an embryonic-like state. Vitamin C enhances the reprogramming process, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we show that the histone demethylases Jhdm1a/1b are key effectors of somatic cell reprogramming downstream of vitamin C. We first observed that vitamin C induces H3K36me2/3 demethylation in mouse embryonic fibroblasts in culture and during reprogramming. We then identified Jhdm1a/1b, two known vitamin-C-dependent H3K36 demethylases, as potent regulators of reprogramming through gain- and loss-of-function approaches. Furthermore, we found that Jhdm1b accelerates cell cycle progression and suppresses cell senescence during reprogramming by repressing the Ink4/Arf locus. Jhdm1b also cooperates with Oct4 to activate the microRNA cluster 302/367, an integral component of the pluripotency machinery. Our results therefore reveal a role for H3K36me2/3 in cell fate determination and establish a link between histone demethylases and vitamin-C-induced reprogramming

Vitamin C Enhances the Generation of Mouse and Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

SummarySomatic cells can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by defined factors. However, the low efficiency and slow kinetics of the reprogramming process have hampered progress with this technology. Here we report that a natural compound, vitamin C (Vc), enhances iPSC generation from both mouse and human somatic cells. Vc acts at least in part by alleviating cell senescence, a recently identified roadblock for reprogramming. In addition, Vc accelerates gene expression changes and promotes the transition of pre-iPSC colonies to a fully reprogrammed state. Our results therefore highlight a straightforward method for improving the speed and efficiency of iPSC generation and provide additional insights into the mechanistic basis of the reprogramming process

Fumarylacetoacetate Hydrolase Knock-out Rabbit Model for Hereditary Tyrosinemia Type 1.

Hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 (HT1) is a severe human autosomal recessive disorder caused by the deficiency of fumarylacetoacetate hydroxylase (FAH), an enzyme catalyzing the last step in the tyrosine degradation pathway. Lack of FAH causes accumulation of toxic metabolites (fumarylacetoacetate and succinylacetone) in blood and tissues, ultimately resulting in severe liver and kidney damage with onset that ranges from infancy to adolescence. This tissue damage is lethal but can be controlled by administration of 2-(2-nitro-4-trifluoromethylbenzoyl)-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC), which inhibits tyrosine catabolism upstream of the generation of fumarylacetoacetate and succinylacetone. Notably, in animals lacking FAH, transient withdrawal of NTBC can be used to induce liver damage and a concomitant regenerative response that stimulates the growth of healthy hepatocytes. Among other things, this model has raised tremendous interest for the in vivo expansion of human primary hepatocytes inside these animals and for exploring experimental gene therapy and cell-based therapies. Here, we report the generation of FAH knock-out rabbits via pronuclear stage embryo microinjection of transcription activator-like effector nucleases. FAH-/- rabbits exhibit phenotypic features of HT1 including liver and kidney abnormalities but additionally develop frequent ocular manifestations likely caused by local accumulation of tyrosine upon NTBC administration. We also show that allogeneic transplantation of wild-type rabbit primary hepatocytes into FAH-/- rabbits enables highly efficient liver repopulation and prevents liver insufficiency and death. Because of significant advantages over rodents and their ease of breeding, maintenance, and manipulation compared with larger animals including pigs, FAH-/- rabbits are an attractive alternative for modeling the consequences of HT1.Wellcome Trus

Genome and secretome analysis of Pochonia chlamydosporia provide new insight into egg-parasitic mechanisms

Pochonia chlamydosporia infects eggs and females of economically important plant-parasitic nematodes. The fungal isolates parasitizing different nematodes are genetically distinct. To understand their intraspecific genetic differentiation, parasitic mechanisms, and adaptive evolution, we assembled seven putative chromosomes of P. chlamydosporia strain 170 isolated from root-knot nematode eggs (~44 Mb, including 7.19% of transposable elements) and compared them with the genome of the strain 123 (~41 Mb) isolated from cereal cyst nematode. We focus on secretomes of the fungus, which play important roles in pathogenicity and fungus-host/environment interactions, and identified 1,750 secreted proteins, with a high proportion of carboxypeptidases, subtilisins, and chitinases. We analyzed the phylogenies of these genes and predicted new pathogenic molecules. By comparative transcriptome analysis, we found that secreted proteins involved in responses to nutrient stress are mainly comprised of proteases and glycoside hydrolases. Moreover, 32 secreted proteins undergoing positive selection and 71 duplicated gene pairs encoding secreted proteins are identified. Two duplicated pairs encoding secreted glycosyl hydrolases (GH30), which may be related to fungal endophytic process and lost in many insect-pathogenic fungi but exist in nematophagous fungi, are putatively acquired from bacteria by horizontal gene transfer. The results help understanding genetic origins and evolution of parasitism-related genes.This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development (R&D) Plan of China (2016YFC1201100), and the Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-ASTIP-IVFCAAS)

Critical current density: Measurements vs. reality

Different experimental techniques are employed to evaluate the critical current density (Jc), namely transport current measurements and two different magnetisation measurements forming quasi-equilibrium and dynamic critical states. Our technique-dependent results for superconducting YBa 2Cu3O7 (YBCO) film and MgB2 bulk samples show an extremely high sensitivity of Jc and associated interpretations, such as irreversibility fields and Kramer plots, which lose meaning without a universal approach. We propose such approach for YBCO films based on their unique pinning features. This approach allows us to accurately recalculate the magnetic-field-dependent Jc obtained by any technique into the Jc behaviour, which would have been measured by any other method without performing the corresponding experiments. We also discovered low-frequency-dependent phenomena, governing flux dynamics, but contradicting the considered ones in the literature. The understanding of these phenomena, relevant to applications with moving superconductors, can clarify their dramatic impact on the electric-field criterion through flux diffusivity and corresponding measurements. © Copyright EPLA, 2013

Spatiotemporal transcriptomic atlas of mouse organogenesis using DNA nanoball-patterned arrays.

Spatially resolved transcriptomic technologies are promising tools to study complex biological processes such as mammalian embryogenesis. However, the imbalance between resolution, gene capture, and field of view of current methodologies precludes their systematic application to analyze relatively large and three-dimensional mid- and late-gestation embryos. Here, we combined DNA nanoball (DNB)-patterned arrays and in situ RNA capture to create spatial enhanced resolution omics-sequencing (Stereo-seq). We applied Stereo-seq to generate the mouse organogenesis spatiotemporal transcriptomic atlas (MOSTA), which maps with single-cell resolution and high sensitivity the kinetics and directionality of transcriptional variation during mouse organogenesis. We used this information to gain insight into the molecular basis of spatial cell heterogeneity and cell fate specification in developing tissues such as the dorsal midbrain. Our panoramic atlas will facilitate in-depth investigation of longstanding questions concerning normal and abnormal mammalian development.This work is part of the ‘‘SpatioTemporal Omics Consortium’’ (STOC) paper package. A list of STOC members is available at: http://sto-consortium.org. We would like to thank the MOTIC China Group, Rongqin Ke (Huaqiao University, Xiamen, China), Jiazuan Ni (Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China), Wei Huang (Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China), and Jonathan S. Weissman (Whitehead Institute, Boston, USA) for their help. This work was supported by the grant of Top Ten Foundamental Research Institutes of Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Single-Cell Omics (ZDSYS20190902093613831), and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write (2017B030301011); Longqi Liu was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900466) and Miguel A. Esteban’s laboratory at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA16030502), National Natural Science Foundation of China (92068106), and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021B1515120075).S

Cell transcriptomic atlas of the non-human primate Macaca fascicularis.

Studying tissue composition and function in non-human primates (NHPs) is crucial to understand the nature of our own species. Here we present a large-scale cell transcriptomic atlas that encompasses over 1 million cells from 45 tissues of the adult NHP Macaca fascicularis. This dataset provides a vast annotated resource to study a species phylogenetically close to humans. To demonstrate the utility of the atlas, we have reconstructed the cell-cell interaction networks that drive Wnt signalling across the body, mapped the distribution of receptors and co-receptors for viruses causing human infectious diseases, and intersected our data with human genetic disease orthologues to establish potential clinical associations. Our M. fascicularis cell atlas constitutes an essential reference for future studies in humans and NHPs.We thank W. Liu and L. Xu from the Huazhen Laboratory Animal Breeding Centre for helping in the collection of monkey tissues, D. Zhu and H. Li from the Bioland Laboratory (Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory) for technical help, G. Guo and H. Sun from Zhejiang University for providing HCL and MCA gene expression data matrices, G. Dong and C. Liu from BGI Research, and X. Zhang, P. Li and C. Qi from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health for experimental advice or providing reagents. This work was supported by the Shenzhen Basic Research Project for Excellent Young Scholars (RCYX20200714114644191), Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Single-Cell Omics (ZDSYS20190902093613831), Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL2019062801012) and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write (2017B030301011). In addition, L.L. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900466), Y. Hou was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2018A030313379) and M.A.E. was supported by a Changbai Mountain Scholar award (419020201252), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA16030502), a Chinese Academy of Sciences–Japan Society for the Promotion of Science joint research project (GJHZ2093), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92068106, U20A2015) and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021B1515120075). M.L. was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2600200).S

Resveratrol alleviates oxidative stress induced by oxidized soybean oil and improves gut function via changing gut microbiota in weaned piglets

Abstract Background Oxidized soybean oil (OSO) has been shown to impair growth and exacerbate inflammation, leading to intestinal barrier injury in animals. Recent evidence suggests important roles for resveratrol (RES) in the promoting growth performance, antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory, and regulate intestinal barriers in animals. Therefore, The objectives of this study are to investigate the effects of dietary RES (purity 98%) supplementation on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, inflammatory state, and intestinal function of weaned piglets challenged with OSO. Methods A total of 28 castrated weaned male piglets with a similar body weight of 10.19 ± 0.10 kg were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments for 28-d feeding trial with 7 replications per treatment and 1 piglet per replicate. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with oil type [3% fresh soybean oil (FSO) vs. 3% OSO] and dietary RES (0 vs. 300 mg/kg). Results The results showed that relative to the FSO group, OSO stress tended to decrease the average daily feed intake (ADFI), and decreased the activity levels of lipase, villus/crypt ratio (VCR), the mRNA expression of FABP1, SOD2, IL-10 and ZO-1 in the jejunum, and SOD2, GPX1, occludin and ZO-1 in the colon, the levels of acetic acid in the colonic digesta, whereas up-regulated the mRNA expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in the jejunum (P < 0.05). Moreover, dietary supplementation with RES increased ether extract (EE), the activity levels of sucrase, lipase, α-amylase, villus height (VH) and VCR, the mRNA expression of FABP1, SOD2, IL-10 and occludin in the jejunum, and FABP1, PPAR-γ, GPX1, occludin and ZO-1 in the colon, and the abundance of Firmicutes, acetic and propionic acid, but decreased the levels of D-lactic acid in the plasma, the abundance of Bacteroidetes in the colonic digesta of weaned piglets compared to the non-RES group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, in the interaction effect analysis, relative to the OSO group, dietary RES supplementation in the diets supplemented with OSO increased the activity levels of trypsin, VH in the jejunum, the abundance of Actinobacteria, the levels of butyric acid of weaned piglets, but failed to influence the activity levels of trypsin and VH, Actinobacteria abundance, the levels of butyric acid when diets were supplemented with FSO (interaction, P < 0.05). Relative to the OSO group, dietary RES supplementation in the diets supplemented with OSO decreased the activity levels of DAO in the plasma of weaned piglets but failed to influence the activity levels of DAO when diets were supplemented with FSO (interaction, P < 0.05). Relative to the FSO group, dietary RES supplementation in the diets supplemented with FSO decreased the level of propionic acid, whereas RES supplementation failed to influence the level of propionic acid when the diet was supplemented with OSO (interaction, P < 0.01). Conclusions Inclusion of OSO intensified inflammatory states and impaired the intestinal health characteristics of weaned piglets. Dietary RES supplementation improved the antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory activity, and intestinal morphology. Further studies showed that the protective effects of RES on gut health could be linked to the decreased abundance of Prevotella_1, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_6, and Prevotellaceae_UCG003 and increased levels of acetic and propionic acid