Effects of Mn2+ and flow speed on blood and physiological indexes of larvae GIFT tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

To assess the toxicological effects of heavy metal ions on fish at different flowing speeds within aquatic environments, we investigated the impact of Mn^2+^ and flow speed on the physiological parameters of juvenile GIFT tilapia (95.2±4.3g,15.1±0.21cm). The experiment design included four different levels of Mn^2+^ concentration: control group (0mg/L), 0.1mg/L, 0.5mg/L and 1mg/L, as well as three different flow speeds: control group (0 body length/second), low speed (1 body length/second), and high-speed group (2 body lengths/second). The main research findings were as follows: Mn^2+^ had varying effects on the hematological parameters of juvenile GIFT tilapia. As the levels of Mn^2+^ increased, there was a remarkable reduction in both the red blood cell (RBC) number and hemoglobin content of the fish(*P*\0.05). Its effect on the fish antioxidant parameters also showed a certain induction, and there were significant correlations between the activity of SOD, CAT, the level of MDA, and flow speed (*P*\0.05). These findings could provide fundamental data for investigating the influence of heavy metal stress on fish ecotoxicology in aquatic environments and the artificial running water breeding of GIFT tilapia in Hebei province, China

Effects of water temperature on swimming performance of <em>Siniperca knerii</em> Garman under the Yuanshui River cascade development

We examined the swimming parameters and oxygen consumption rate at four temperature levels (15，20，25 and 30°C) of Siniperca knerii Garman (11.81 ±2.21 cm, 26.4 ± 6.28g) from Yuanshui River for 30 days to analyze the ecological adaptability of the typical fish and the conservation of fishery resources from the Dongting Lake water system. Their relationship was also analyzed, and the results showed an approximately linear increasing trend of the fish's critical swimming speed and preferred swimming speed with the change of temperature (PSiniperca knerii Garman. The changes were due to physiological and biochemical regulation with temperature and environmental changes. This experiment provided essential data support for the adaptive mechanism of sports physiology and ecology of typical fishes in the Yuanshui River

De Novo Assembly of Mud Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) Skin Transcriptome to Identify Putative Genes Involved in Immunity and Epidermal Mucus Secretion

Fish skin serves as the first line of defense against a wide variety of chemical, physical and biological stressors. Secretion of mucus is among the most prominent characteristics of fish skin and numerous innate immune factors have been identified in the epidermal mucus. However, molecular mechanisms underlying the mucus secretion and immune activities of fish skin remain largely unclear due to the lack of genomic and transcriptomic data for most economically important fish species. In this study, we characterized the skin transcriptome of mud loach using Illumia paired-end sequencing. A total of 40364 unigenes were assembled from 86.6 million (3.07 gigabases) filtered reads. The mean length, N50 size and maximum length of assembled transcripts were 387, 611 and 8670 bp, respectively. A total of 17336 (43.76%) unigenes were annotated by blast searches against the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Gene ontology mapping assigned a total of 108513 GO terms to 15369 (38.08%) unigenes. KEGG orthology mapping annotated 9337 (23.23%) unigenes. Among the identified KO categories, immune system is the largest category that contains various components of multiple immune pathways such as chemokine signaling, leukocyte transendothelial migration and T cell receptor signaling, suggesting the complexity of immune mechanisms in fish skin. As for mucin biosynthesis, 37 unigenes were mapped to 7 enzymes of the mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis pathway and 8 members of the polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase family were identified. Additionally, 38 unigenes were mapped to 23 factors of the SNARE interactions in vesicular transport pathway, indicating that the activity of this pathway is required for the processes of epidermal mucus storage and release. Moreover, 1754 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in 1564 unigenes and dinucleotide repeats represented the most abundant type. These findings have laid the foundation for further understanding the secretary processes and immune functions of loach skin mucus.Fish skin serves as the first line of defense against a wide variety of chemical, physical and biological stressors. Secretion of mucus is among the most prominent characteristics of fish skin and numerous innate immune factors have been identified in the epidermal mucus. However, molecular mechanisms underlying the mucus secretion and immune activities of fish skin remain largely unclear due to the lack of genomic and transcriptomic data for most economically important fish species. In this study, we characterized the skin transcriptome of mud loach using Illumia paired-end sequencing. A total of 40364 unigenes were assembled from 86.6 million (3.07 gigabases) filtered reads. The mean length, N50 size and maximum length of assembled transcripts were 387, 611 and 8670 bp, respectively. A total of 17336 (43.76%) unigenes were annotated by blast searches against the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Gene ontology mapping assigned a total of 108513 GO terms to 15369 (38.08%) unigenes. KEGG orthology mapping annotated 9337 (23.23%) unigenes. Among the identified KO categories, immune system is the largest category that contains various components of multiple immune pathways such as chemokine signaling, leukocyte transendothelial migration and T cell receptor signaling, suggesting the complexity of immune mechanisms in fish skin. As for mucin biosynthesis, 37 unigenes were mapped to 7 enzymes of the mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis pathway and 8 members of the polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase family were identified. Additionally, 38 unigenes were mapped to 23 factors of the SNARE interactions in vesicular transport pathway, indicating that the activity of this pathway is required for the processes of epidermal mucus storage and release. Moreover, 1754 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in 1564 unigenes and dinucleotide repeats represented the most abundant type. These findings have laid the foundation for further understanding the secretary processes and immune functions of loach skin mucus

17-allyamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin treatment results in a magnetic resonance spectroscopy-detectable elevation in choline-containing metabolites associated with increased expression of choline transporter SLC44A1 and phospholipase A2

Abstract Introduction 17-allyamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), a small molecule inhibitor of Hsp90, is currently in clinical trials in breast cancer. However, 17-AAG treatment often results in inhibition of tumor growth rather than shrinkage, making detection of response a challenge. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) are noninvasive imaging methods than can be used to monitor metabolic biomarkers of drug-target modulation. This study set out to examine the MRS-detectable metabolic consequences of Hsp90 inhibition in a breast cancer model. Methods MCF-7 breast cancer cells were investigated, and MRS studies were performed both on live cells and on cell extracts. 31P and 1H MRS were used to determine total cellular metabolite concentrations and 13C MRS was used to probe the metabolism of [1,2-13C]-choline. To explain the MRS metabolic findings, microarray and RT-PCR were used to analyze gene expression, and in vitro activity assays were performed to determine changes in enzymatic activity following 17-AAG treatment. Results Treatment of MCF-7 cells with 17-AAG for 48 hours caused a significant increase in intracellular levels of choline (to 266 ± 18% of control, P = 0.05) and phosphocholine (PC; to 181 ± 10% of control, P = 0.001) associated with an increase in expression of choline transporter SLC44A1 and an elevation in the de novo synthesis of PC. We also detected an increase in intracellular levels of glycerophosphocholine (GPC; to 176 ± 38% of control, P = 0.03) associated with an increase in PLA2 expression and activity. Conclusions This study determined that in the MCF-7 breast cancer model inhibition of Hsp90 by 17-AAG results in a significant MRS-detectable increase in choline, PC and GPC, which is likely due to an increase in choline transport into the cell and phospholipase activation. 1H MRSI can be used in the clinical setting to detect levels of total choline-containing metabolite (t-Cho, composed of intracellular choline, PC and GPC). As Hsp90 inhibitors enter routine clinical use, t-Cho could thus provide an easily detectable, noninvasive metabolic biomarker of Hsp90 inhibition in breast cancer patients

Progress and prospects for event tourism research

This paper examines event tourism as a field of study and area of professional practice updating the previous review article published in 2008. In this substantially extended review, a deeper analysis of the field’s evolution and development is presented, charting the growth of the literature, focusing both chronologically and thematically. A framework for understanding and creating knowledge about events and tourism is presented, forming the basis which signposts established research themes and concepts and outlines future directions for research. In addition, the review article focuses on constraining and propelling forces, ontological advances, contributions from key journals, and emerging themes and issues. It also presents a roadmap for research activity in event tourism

Effect of sustained training on glycolysis and fatty acids oxidation in swimming muscles and liver in juvenile tinfoil barb Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (Bleeker, 1854)

The present study examines the effect of sustained exercise on glycolysis and fatty acids oxidation in the swimming muscles and liver in juvenile tinfoil barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii). The subjects were divided into one control group (water current speed of 0.0 bl s(-1), body length per second) and two training groups (1.0 and 2.0 bl s(-1)), respectively. Results showed that the glycolysis was stimulated by high-speed training in the white muscle, accompanied by significantly increased activities of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, and reduction in glycogen contents in training groups (P < 0.05). On the contrary, the extreme fatty acids oxidation was observed in the red muscle in high-speed training group, showed significant reduction in crude lipid content with a significant increase in the activities of hormone-sensitive lipase, beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and cytochrome C oxidase in 2.0 bl s(-1) group (P < 0.05). In addition, the saturated fatty acids in the red muscle and monounsaturated fatty acids in the white muscle were used preferentially during sustained training, respectively. Furthermore, the glycogen content within the liver was also significantly reduced with increasing training intensities (P < 0.05). These results suggested that glycogen and fatty acids were all used as a fuel to support sustained swimming in two functional muscles in B. schwanenfeldii, but higher glycolysis and fatty acids oxidation were seen in white and red muscles during high-speed swimming, respectively. Furthermore, the hepatic glycogen played an important role in the supply of energy in sustained training periods in B. schwanenfeldii

Plant silicon content in forests of north China and its implications for phytolith carbon sequestration

In plants, silicon (Si) accumulates in phytoliths, which can contain 0.1-6.0 % occluded organic carbon (phytolith-occluded organic carbon, PhytOC). Globally, phytolith formation has implications for the long-term terrestrial carbon balance, and thus, global climate change. In this study, we analyzed the Si contents of 108 species of plants from Inner Mongolia and Hebei, China, to demonstrate the relationships between plant Si content and various phylogenetic and ecological characteristics, and to estimate PhytOC production in the forests of north China. Variations in Si content were related to the plant&apos;s higher-level phylogenetic position, according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III classification. In angiosperms, the commelinoid monocot orders accumulated substantially more Si than did the other monocot orders, and the asteroid dicot orders accumulated more Si than did the other dicot orders. In an ecological context, herbs had the highest Si content (0.47 +/- A 0.26 % dry weight), followed by trees (0.33 +/- A 0.13 % dry weight) and shrubs (0.24 +/- A 0.09 % dry weight). The total PhytOC production rate in the forests of north China corresponded to 0.48 +/- A 0.20 x 10(6) t CO2 year(-1), approximately 44 % of which was contributed by the understory vegetation comprising herbs and shrubs. This finding indicates that the phytolith carbon sequestration potential of the forests may be further enhanced by afforestation/reforestation, preserving the understory vegetation, and maximizing the aboveground net primary productivity of all forest layers, especially herbs that accumulate high Si contents.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000351545400014&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701EcologySCI(E)[email protected]

Development of a Mucus Gland Bioreactor in Loach Paramisgurnus dabryanus

Most currently available bioreactors have some defects in the expression, activity, or purification of target protein and peptide molecules, whereas the mucus gland of fish can overcome these defects to become a novel bioreactor for the biopharmaceutical industry. In this study, we have evaluated the practicability of developing a mucus gland bioreactor in loach (Paramisgurnus dabryanus). A transgenic construct pT2-krt8-IFN1 was obtained by subcloning the promoter of zebrafish keratin 8 gene and the type I interferon (IFN1) cDNA of grass carp into the SB transposon. The IFN1 expressed in CIK cells exhibited an antiviral activity against the replication of GCRV873 and activated two genes downstream of JAK-STAT signaling pathway. A transgenic loach line was then generated by microinjection of the pT2-krt8-IFN1 plasmids and in vitro synthesized capped SB11 mRNA. Southern blots indicated that a single copy of IFN1 gene was stably integrated into the genome of transgenic loach. The expression of grass carp IFN1 in transgenic loaches was detected with RT-PCR and Western blots. About 0.0825 &micro;g of grass carp IFN1 was detected in 20 &micro;L mucus from transgenic loaches. At a viral titer of 1 &times; 103 PFU/mL, plaque numbers on plates containing mucus from transgenic loaches reduced by 18% in comparison with those of the control, indicating that mucus of IFN1-transgenic loaches exhibited an antiviral activity. Thus, we have successfully created a mucus gland bioreactor that has great potential for the production of various proteins and peptides