Identification of stable reference genes for quantitative gene expression analysis in the duodenum of meat-type ducks

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is an important method to detect gene expression at the molecular level. The selection of appropriate housekeeping genes is the key to accurately calculating the expression level of target genes and conducting gene function studies. In this study, the expression of eight candidate reference genes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), beta-actin (β-actin), 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA), hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS), hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (HPRT1), TATA box binding protein (TBP), ribosomal protein L13 (RPL13), and tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein (YWHAZ), in the duodenal epithelial tissue of 42-day-old meat-type ducks were detected using qPCR. Furthermore, their expression stability was analyzed using the geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper programs. The results indicated that HMBS and YWHAZ were the most stably expressed genes. All three programs indicated that the expression of 18S rRNA was the least stable, making it unsuitable for the study of gene expression in meat-type duck tissues. This study provides stable reference genes for gene expression analysis and contributes to further studies on the gene function of meat-type ducks

Secondary Production of Gaseous Nitrated Phenols in Polluted Urban Environments

Nitrated phenols (NPs) are important atmospheric pollutants that affect air quality, radiation, and health. The recent development of the time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (ToF-CIMS) allows quantitative online measurements of NPs for a better understanding of their sources and environmental impacts. Herein, we deployed nitrate ions as reagent ions in the ToF-CIMS and quantified six classes of gaseous NPs in Beijing. The concentrations of NPs are in the range of 1 to 520 ng m(-3). Nitrophenol (NPh) has the greatest mean concentration. Dinitrophenol (DNP) shows the greatest haze-to-clean concentration ratio, which may be associated with aqueous production. The high concentrations and distinct diurnal profiles of NPs indicate a strong secondary formation to overweigh losses, driven by high emissions of precursors, strong oxidative capacity, and high NOx levels. The budget analysis on the basis of our measurements and box-model calculations suggest a minor role of the photolysis of NPs (Peer reviewe

Consumption behavior of eco-friendly products and applications of ICT innovation

The purchase of eco-friendly products is encouraged by the governments due to its contributions to the sustainable development of the environment. It is therefore important to examine factors influencing the purchase of eco-friendly products. Based on the attitude-behavior-context (ABC) theory, this paper constructs a conceptual model, which explores how a consumer’s perceived effectiveness affects individuals’ purchase of eco-friendly products. In details, this paper attempts to examine the mediating role of consumption attitude of eco-friendly products, as well as the moderating effect of applications of information and communication technologies (ICT) innovation. Moreover, by building a Hidden Markov Model (HMM), this paper further tests the conceptual model. More importantly, based on the HMM, the consumption probabilities of eco-friendly products of different perceived effectiveness under different applications of ICT innovation are computed. Furthermore, based on a dynamic time series, the consumption transition probability of eco-friendly products is further calculated. In addition, this paper explains and calculates the concepts continuity, dependence and inertia in consumption of eco-friendly products. Based on it, the algorithm is used to forecast the consumption behavior of the real environment to verify the reliability of the HMM and the accuracy of probability calculation. This paper contributes the extension of the existing studies and the provision of management implications and guidance for the consumption practice of eco-friendly products.peerReviewe

Impact of divergence of residual feed intake on triglyceride metabolism-related gene expression in meat-type ducks.

Triglyceride (TG) metabolism is a key factor that affects residual feed intake (RFI); however, few studies have been conducted on the related gene expression in poultry. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of genes and their associations with RFI in meat-type ducks. Weight gain and feed intake (FI) at an age 21-42 days were measured and the RFI was calculated. Quantitative PCR was used to test the expression of the six identified genes, namely peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), glycerol kinase 2 (GK2), glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1 (GPD1), glycerol kinase (GYK), lipase E (LIPE), and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in the duodenum in the high RFI (HRFI) and low RFI (LRFI) groups. The results demonstrated that daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and RFI were markedly higher in HRFI ducks than those in LRFI ducks. Moreover, the levels of expression of PPARγ, GK2, and LIPE were significantly higher in the LRFI group than those in the HRFI group. Correlation analysis showed that PPARγ, GK2, and LIPE were significantly negatively associated with FCR and RFI. Furthermore, gene expression levels were negatively associated with the measured phenotype. The association of GK2 with PPARγ, GPD1, LPL, and LIPE was positive. The relationship between the TG related gene and RFI was further verified to potentially develop pedigree poultry breeding programs. The results of this study suggested that the expression of genes correlated with TG metabolism and transport is up-regulated in the duodenum of ducks with high feed efficiency. PPARγ, GK2, and LIPE are important genes that affect RFI. The results of the present study provide information that could facilitate further explorations of the mechanism of RFI and potential markers at the molecular and cellular levels

Determinants of Individual Knowledge Innovation Behavior

With the upsurge of "emotional storm" in the field of organizational behavior, the studies on individual emotions in organizational context are rising. Especially the relationship between emotions and knowledge innovation has attracted much attention by scholars. In particular, individual emotions may exert great effect on knowledge innovation whereas the mechanism is still unclear. Based on the emotional event theory, this paper constructs a model which explores the interaction of positive and negative emotions with individual knowledge innovation. Based on questionnaire data analysis, the results show that knowledge sharing partly mediate the relationship between positive emotion and knowledge innovation as well as the relationship between negative emotion and knowledge innovation; team trust accentuates the relationship between positive emotion and knowledge innovation as well as the relationship between negative emotion and knowledge innovation. The above findings are helpful to clarify the impact mechanism of emotions on knowledge innovation.peerReviewe

When more is less : the other side of artificial intelligence recommendation

Based on consumers' preferences, AI (artificial intelligence) recommendation automatically filters information, which provokes scholars' debate. Supporters believe that by analyzing the consumers' preferences, AI recommendation enables consumers to choose products more quickly and with lower cost. Critics deem that consumers are more easily trapped in information cocoons because of the use of AI recommendation. This reduces the possibility of consumers contacting with a variety of commodities, thus lowering the consumer decision quality. Based on experiments, this paper discusses the moderating role of AI recommendation on the relationship of consumers' preferences and information cocoons. Moreover, it examines the relationship between information cocoons and consumer decision quality. The findings are: AI recommendation strengthens consumers' preferences; consumers' preferences are positively correlated with information cocoons and further leads to the decline of consumers’ decision quality. In the AI era, this paper contributes to revealing the dark sides of AI recommendation and provides empirical evidence for the regulation of AI behaviors.peerReviewe

Combined transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation of uterine myomas: an effective monitoring technique

AbstractObjective This study compared the feasibility and efficacy of transabdominal ultrasound (TAU) and combined transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound (TA/TV US)-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (PMWA) for uterine myoma (UM).Method This study enrolled 73 patients with UM who underwent PMWA via the transabdominal ultrasound-guided (TA group) or the combined transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound-guided (TA/TV group) approaches. The intraoperative supplementary ablation rates, postoperative immediate ablation rates, lesion reduction rates and other indicators three months postoperatively were compared between the groups. The display of the needle tip, endometrium, uterine serosa, rectum and myoma feeding vessels under the guidance of TAU, transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) and TA/TV US were evaluated in the TA/TV group.Results In the TA/TV group, the real-time position of the needle tip and the endometrium complete display rate of the same lesions with TVU guidance were significantly higher than those using TAU. TA/TV US guidance significantly improved the complete display rate of each indicator. The intraoperative supplementary ablation rate in the TA/TV group was lower than that in the TA group. Similarly, the postoperative immediate ablation and volume reduction rates of the lesions three months postoperatively were higher than those in the TA group, especially for lesions with a maximum diameter ≥6 cm.Conclusion TA/TV US is an effective monitoring method that can be used to improve imaging display. Its use is recommended in patients with obesity, poor transabdominal ultrasound image quality and large myoma volumes

Fatigue performance of basalt fibre-reinforced polymer bar-reinforced sea sand concrete slabs

Combining both Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) and sea sand concrete (SSC), the new composite structure of FRP bar-reinforced SSC can not only solve the issue related to reinforcement corrosion but also alleviate the problem of river sand shortage. Here, four-point bending tests were performed to investigate the fatigue performance of basalt FRP (BFRP) bar-reinforced SSC slabs. Results revealed that fatigue life decreased significantly with the increasing load levels. The average reduction of fatigue life was about 28% when the load levels increased by 0.05. The main fatigue failure mode of BFRP bar-reinforced SSC slabs was the BFRP bar rupture, which occurred at the mid-span or loading point. The load levels had no evident effect on the attenuation rate of bending rigidity. The critical value for the fatigue deflection growth rate could be set at 35%. An equation for the mid-span deflection at upper loads was established. Herein, considering the growth rate of fatigue deflection, insights to detect the deflection of BFRP bar-reinforced SCC slabs were presented. Meanwhile, based on the S–N curve, Miner rule, and axle load frequency spectrum, a fatigue life prediction method was proposed