Investigations on gas hydrate occurrences in the Western Black Sea with the Sputnik controlled source electromagnetic system

In early 2014, a marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) experiment was conducted over gas hydrate targets in the Danube Delta off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania. The cruise (MSM35 on R/V Maria S. MERIAN, part of the German SUGAR Project) was aimed to study submarine gas hydrates as a source of methane and possible sink for CO2 sequestration. Within European waters the Black Sea is one of the most prospective hydrocarbon areas with thick sedimentary basins. The existence of an extended gas hydrate stability zone and the observation of multiple bottom simulating reflectors (BSR) in the western part indicate a huge gas hydrate potential in sandy sediments. Low pore-water salinities between 1 and 4 ppt have been observed in borehole data at depths below ~30 mbsf, and are attributed to sea level low stands in the past. Experiments were carried out in two working areas in water depths of 1400m and 600m, respectively, which are at a distance of about 60km. In both working areas temperature and pressure conditions in combination with results from seismic investigations indicated potential occurrences of gas hydrates. In workarea 1, 12 receiver (RX) stations were positioned along two parallel, NE -SW striking profiles consisting of six stations each and with spacing between stations of about 300 m and a separation of the two profiles of about 500 m. Transmissions with the Sputnik transmitter (TX) system, which has two perpendicular horizontal TX polarizations, were then conducted at 81 different locations along three profiles with lengths between 2.5-3km each. A similar experiment with 11 RXs and 49 TXs was carried out in workarea 2. The acquired data were first processed to yield transient rotational invariants for each RX-TX pair, which were then inverted in terms of 1D common-mid point (CMP) inversions. Results of workarea 1 suggest that there are two resistive layers starting at a depth of 70m and ~200m, respectively, which is well consistent with the seismic data. Since low pore-water salinities are not sufficient to explain the obsereved high resistivities, high saturations of gas or gas hydrates are the likely cause. Similar results with two resistive layers and possibly a third resistive layer at greater depth were found in the interpretation of data from workarea 2

The Simultaneous Detection of Multiple Antibiotics in Milk and Pork Based on an Antibody Chip Biosensor

In the modern farming industry, the irrational or illegal use of veterinary drugs leads to residues in animal-derived food, which can seriously threaten human health. Efficient detection of low concentrations of drug residues in animal products in a short time is a key challenge for analytical methods. This study proposes to use an antibody chip biosensor for rapid and automated analysis of cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, and sulfonamide antibiotics in pork and milk. 3D polymer slides were applied for the preparation of antibody chips. Ovalbumin (OVA) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugates of the haptens were immobilized as spots on disposable chips. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against cefalexin, ceftiofur, gentamicin, neomycin, and sulfonamides allowed the simultaneous detection of the respective analytes. Antibody binding was detected by a second antibody labeled with Cy3-generating fluorescence, which was scanned a with chip scanner. The limits of detection (LOD) for all the analytes were far below the respective maximum residue limits (MRLs) and ranged from 0.51 to 4.3 µg/kg. The average recoveries of all the analytes in each sample were in the range of 81.6–113.6%. The intra- and inter-assay CV was less than 12.9% and showed good accuracy and precision for all the antibiotics at the MRL level. The sample pretreatment method is simple, and the results are confirmed to be accurate by LC–MS/MS; therefore, this method is valuable for the quality control of animal-derived food

Candle Soot-Based Electrosprayed Superhydrophobic Coatings for Self-Cleaning, Anti-Corrosion and Oil/Water Separation

The interest in candle soot (CS)-based superhydrophobic coatings has grown rapidly in recent years. Here, a simple and low-cost process has been developed for the fabrication of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings through electrospraying of the composite cocktail solution of CS and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Results show that the superhydrophobicity of the coating closely relates to the loading amount of CS which results in coatings with different roughnesses. Specifically, increasing the CS amount (not more than 0.4 g) normally enhances the superhydrophobicity of the coating due to higher roughness being presented in the produced microspheres. Further experiments demonstrate that the superhydrophobicity induced in the electrosprayed coating results from the synergistic effect of the cocktail solution and electrospray process, indicating the importance of the coating technique and the solution used. Versatile applications of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings including self-cleaning, anti-corrosion and oil/water separation are demonstrated. The present work provides a convenient method for the fabrication of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings, which is believed to gain great interest in the future

mTOR has a developmental stage-specific role in mitochondrial fitness independent of conventional mTORC1 and mTORC2 and the kinase activity.

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), present in mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2, is a serine/threonine kinase that integrates nutrients, growth factors, and cellular energy status to control protein synthesis, cell growth, survival and metabolism. However, it remains elusive whether mTOR plays a developmental stage-specific role in tissue development and whether mTOR can function independent of its complexes and kinase activity. In this study, by inducible genetic manipulation approach, we investigated the role of mTOR and its dependence on mTOR complexes and kinase activity in mitochondrial fitness of early, progenitor stage (lineage-negative; Lin-) versus later, lineage-committed stage (lineage-positive; Lin+) of hematopoietic cells. We found that oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), ATP production and mitochondrial DNA synthesis were decreased in mTOR-/- Lin- cells but increased in mTOR-/- Lin+ cells, suggesting that mTOR plays a developmental stage-specific role in OXPHOS, ATP production and mitochondrial DNA synthesis. In contrast to mTOR deletion, simultaneous deletion of Raptor, a key component of mTORC1, and Rictor, a key component of mTORC2, led to increased mitochondrial DNA in Lin- cells and decreased mitochondrial DNA and ATP production in Lin+ cells, suggesting that mTOR regulates mitochondrial DNA synthesis in Lin- and Lin+ cells and ATP production in Lin+ cells independent of mTORC1 and mTORC2. Similar to mTOR deletion, deletion of Raptor alone attenuated glycolysis and increased mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial membrane potential in Lin- cells and increased mitochondrial mass and OXPHOS in Lin+ cells, whereas deletion of Rictor alone had no effect on these mitochondrial parameters in Lin- and Lin+ cells, suggesting that mTOR regulates glycolysis and mitochondrial membrane potential in Lin- cells, OXPHOS in Lin+ cells, and mitochondrial mass in both Lin- and Lin+ cells dependent on mTORC1, but not mTORC2. Either Raptor deficiency or Rictor deficiency recapitulated mTOR deletion in decreasing OXPHOS in Lin- cells and glycolysis in Lin+ cells, suggesting that mTOR regulates OXPHOS in Lin- cells and glycolysis in Lin+ cells dependent on both mTORC1 and mTORC2. Finally, mice harboring a mTOR kinase dead D2338A knock-in mutant showed decreased glycolysis in Lin+ cells, as seen in mTOR-/- Lin+ cells, but no change in glycolysis in Lin- cells, in contrast to the decreased glycolysis in mTOR-/- Lin- cells, suggesting that mTOR regulates glycolysis in Lin+ cells dependent on its kinase activity, whereas mTOR regulates glycolysis in Lin- cells independent of its kinase activity

Health-Related Quality of Life and Posttraumatic Growth in Low-Grade Gliomas in China: A Prospective Study

Objective: The present study aimed to describe the quality of life (QoL) changes of survivors of low-grade gliomas (LGGs) 1 year after surgery and to identify determinants of QoL with an emphasis on the role of perceived posttraumatic growth (PTG). We also tried to examine the linear and quadratic relationship between QoL and PTG. Methods: Two hundred sixty participants were included in the final data analysis. The Chinese version of posttraumatic growth inventory and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Brain scale were used to measure PTG and QoL. Hierarchical linear models were fitted to explore the individual time trajectories in change of QoL and examine the relationship between demographics, clinical features, PTG, and QoL. Results: All dimensions of QoL and PTG increased over time except physical well-being, social well-being in QoL, and new possibilities in PTG. Time, PTG score, insurance, socioeconomic status, and right hemisphere tumor position were positive predictors of QoL. Seizure and depression negatively predicted QoL. The quadratic of PTG predicted QoL; however, the coefficient of quadratic PTG approached zero. Conclusions: In general, PTG and QoL increased over time. Perceived PTG could significantly predict QoL of LGGs survivors 1 year after surgery. A quadratic relation between PTG and QoL was not found. Although our data suggested that the growth of QoL may vary across different patients, there were only 2 time points in this study. Future studies should set more time points to examine this relationship

Preparation of Monoclonal Antibody against Pyrene and Benzo [a]pyrene and Development of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Fish, Shrimp and Crab Samples

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are significant environmental and food pollutants that can cause cancer. In this work, a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) to identify pyrene (PYR) and benzo [a]pyrene (BaP) was prepared, and an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay (ic-ELISA) was established to detect PYR and BaP residues in living aquatic products for the first time. The effects of complete antigens with different coupling ratios on the production of high-sensitivity mAb was explored. Under the optimal conditions, the IC50 value was 3.73 ± 0.43 µg/L (n = 5). The limits of detection (LODs) for PYR and BaP in fish, shrimp, and crab ranged from 0.43 to 0.98 µg/L. The average recoveries of the spiked samples ranged from 81.5–101.9%, and the coefficient of variation (CV) was less than 11.7%. The validation of the HPLC-FLD method indicated that the ELISA method set up in this experiment provided a trustworthy tool for PAHs residues detection in aquatic products

Physicochemical, Nutritional Properties and Metabolomics Analysis Fat Deposition Mechanism of Chahua Chicken No. 2 and Yao Chicken

Poultry is an important dietary source of animal protein, accounting for approximately 30% of global meat consumption. Because of its low price, low fat and cholesterol content, and no religious restrictions, chicken is considered a widely available healthy meat. Chahua chicken No. 2 is a synthetic breed of Chahua chicken derived from five generations of specialized strain breeding. In this study, Chahua chicken No. 2 (CH) and Yao chicken (Y) were used as the research objects to compare the differences in physicochemical and nutritional indicators of meat quality between the two chicken breeds, and metabolomics was used to analyze the differences in metabolites and lipid metabolism pathways and to explore the expression of genes involved in adipogenesis. The physical index and nutritional value of CH are better than that of Y, and the chemical index of Y is better than that of CH. However, the chemical index results of CH are also within the normal theoretical value range. Comprehensive comparison shows that the meat quality of CH is relatively good. Metabolomics analysis showed that CH and Y had 85 different metabolites, and the differential metabolites were mainly classified into eight categories. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed 13 different metabolic pathways. The screened PPARG, FABP3, ACSL5, FASN, UCP3 and SC5D were negatively correlated with muscle fat deposition, while PPARα, ACACA and ACOX1 were positively correlated with muscle fat deposition. The meat quality of CH was better than Y. The metabolites and metabolic pathways obtained by metabonomics analysis mainly involved the metabolism of amino acids and fatty acids, which were consistent with the differences in meat quality between the two breeds and the contents of precursors affecting flavor. The screened genes were associated with fatty deposition in poultry