Comparative study on body index, nutrient composition, and digestive enzyme activity of Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Paramisgurnus dabryanus, and Paramisgurnus dabryanus ssp

The current research work was undertaken to compare and analyze the body index, nutrient composition, and digestive enzyme activity of Pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), large-scale loach (Paramisgurnus dabryanus), and Taiwan loach (Paramisgurnus dabryanus ssp). Viscerosomatic ratio (VR), condition factor, (CF), W/L and H/L were highest in Taiwan loach (P < 0.05). Muscle protein content was highest, whereas lipid content was lowest in pond loach (P < 0.05). The content of total amino acids (TAA), total essential amino acids (EAA), and delicious amino acids (DAA) in the muscle of pond loach was highest (P < 0.05). The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and linoleic acid was highest in pond loach, Taiwan loach and large-scale loach, respectively (P < 0.05). The trypsin activities and amylase activities of the pond loach were significantly higher than those of the large-scale loach and Taiwan loach in the intestine and liver (P < 0.05). These results indicate that the three kinds of loaches are of high nutritional value and have breeding prospects, among which pond loach has higher nutritional value

Comparison study of antibacterial properties of curcumin from Curcuma longa and enrofloxacin against Aeromonas hydrophila

Antibacterial properties of curcumin from turmeric (Curcuma longa) and enrofloxacin against Aeromonas hydrophila were assayed. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of curcumin and enrofloxacin against A. hydrophila were found to be 100ug/ml and 9.375ug/ml, respectively. To realize the mechanisms of action of curcumin against A. hydrophila, we researched the antibacterial activity and bacterial membrane permeability of A. hydrophila cells treated with curcumin or enrofloxacin. All results elucidated that curcumin increased membrane permeabilization and caused leakage of intracellular contents, while its role was not as good as enrofloxacin. Moreover, a synergistic effect was shown between curcumin and enrofloxacin. The present study suggests that curcumin extracted from turmeric has the potential to be used as an antimicrobial for the control of A. hydrophila

Previous Radiotherapy Increases the Efficacy of IL-2 in Malignant Pleural Effusion: Potential Evidence of a Radio-Memory Effect?

Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that prior receipt of radiotherapy enhances antitumor immune responses, a phenomenon we call the “radio-memory effect.” However, all of the evidence regarding this effect to date comes from work with PD1/PDL1 inhibitors. Here we explored whether this effect also occurs with other forms of immune therapy, specifically interleukin-2 (IL-2). We retrospectively assessed outcomes in patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) who had previously received radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) within 18 months before the intrapleural infusion of IL-2 or cisplatin. Radiotherapy sites included lungs, thoracic lymph nodes, and intracranial. All patients received intrapleural infusion of IL-2 or cisplatin, and most had had several cycles of standard chemotherapy for NSCLC. We identified 3,747 patients with MPE (median age 64 years [range 29–88)) treated at one of several institutions from August 2009 through February 2015; 642 patients had been treated with IL-2 and 1102 with cisplatin and had survived for at least 6 months afterward. Among those who received IL-2, 288 had no radiotherapy, 324 had extracranial (i.e., thoracic) radiotherapy, and 36 had intracranial radiotherapy. The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 38 months. Patients who had received extracranial radiotherapy followed by IL-2 had significantly longer PFS than patients who had not received extracranial radiotherapy (i.e., either no radiotherapy or intracranial radiotherapy). Patients who had received intracranial or extracranial radiotherapy followed by IL-2 had significantly longer OS than did other patients. No survival advantage was noted for prior radiotherapy among patients who received intrapleural cisplatin. We speculate that previous radiotherapy could enhance the efficacy of subsequent intrapleural infusion of IL-2, a “radio-memory” effect that could be beneficial in future studies

Enhancing Soil Health and Plant Growth through Microbial Fertilizers: Mechanisms, Benefits, and Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in maintaining the structure and function of soil ecosystems. This study aims to explore the effects of microbial fertilizers on improving soil physicochemical properties and promoting plant growth. The results show that the application of microbial fertilizers significantly increases the richness of soil microorganisms, maintains soil microecological balance, and effectively improves the soil environment. Through various secondary metabolites, proteins, and mucilage secreted by the developing plant root system, microbial fertilizers recruit specific fungal microorganisms. These microorganisms, by binding soil particles with their extracellular polysaccharides and entwining them, fix the soil, enhance the stability of soil aggregates, and ameliorate soil compaction. Moreover, after the application of microbial fertilizers, the enriched soil microbial community not only promotes the plant’s absorption and utilization of key elements such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), thereby increasing fruit yield and quality, but also competes with pathogens and induces systemic resistance in plants, effectively warding off pathogenic invasions. This study highlights the potential and importance of microbial fertilizers in promoting sustainable agricultural development, offering new strategies and perspectives for future agricultural production

Avoiding genetic bottlenecks in broodstock selection

Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Characterization of the chloroplast genome of the family Lauraceae plant species, Cinnamomum cassia

The fruit of Cinnamomum cassia is an important spice material and its branch is a common Chinese herbal medicine as the family Lauraceae. In this study, we reported the complete chloroplast genome of C. cassia. The chloroplast genome of C. cassia with length of 152,675 bp is a characteristic quadripartite structure. The length of the inverted-repeats regions (IRs), large single-copy (LSC) region, and small single-copy (SSC) region of C. cassia was 20,068 bp, 93,663 and 18,876 bp. The chloroplast genome of C. cassia contains 124 genes, which includes 80 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 36 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) and 8 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs). The overall nucleotide content of the chloroplast genome: 30.0% A (Adenine), 30.8% T (Thymine), 19.7% C (Cytosine), 19.5% G (Guanine), and 39.2% GC content. Evolutionary relationship result showed that Cinnamomum cassia was most closely related to Cinnamomum parthenoxylon in the family Lauraceae by the Neighbor-Joining (NJ) method

Modeling and optimal operation of community integrated energy systems: A case study from China

The operation of community integrated energy systems (CIESs) is challenging because it is necessary to couple energy production, conversion and consumption on the end-user side. Multiple energy demands need to be fed simultaneously with the goal of economy and reliability. This paper formulates the optimal scheduling problem based on a real community integrated energy system in China. The system has multiple chillers (i.e. three ground source heat pumps, two conventional water-cooled chillers and two double-duty chillers) and two types of thermal storage devices (i.e. two cold water tanks and an ice-storage tank). Based on detailed device modeling, a community integrated energy system operation strategy considering unit commitment is proposed, and then is transformed into a mixed-integer linear programming model by linearization of nonlinear items. Case studies are conducted based on the data for a typical day in summer. The results show that the proposed strategy can utilize the flexibility of the energy storage devices and realize an economic and reliable operation of the community integrated energy system by coordinating various energy devices. The strategy can also reduce the startup/shutdown frequency of chillers significantly

Addition of N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst to aryl esters induces remote C-Si bond activation and benzylic carbon functionalization

Through the incorporation of a silicon atom to an aryl carboxylic ester substrate, the resulting C-Si bond can be activated via the addition of a carbene catalyst on a remote site. This strategy allows for efficient functionalization of the benzylic sp3-carbons of aryl carboxylic esters.NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore)ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore)MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore)Accepted versio

The Laser Welding with Hot Wire of 316LN Thick Plate Applied on ITER Correction Coil Case

ITER correction coil (CC) cases have characteristics of small cross section, large dimensions, and complex structure. The cases are made of heavy thick (20 mm), high strength and high toughness austenitic stainless steel 316LN. The multi-pass laser welding with hot wire technology is used for the case closure welding, due to its low heat input and deformation. In order to evaluate the reliability of this welding technology, 20 mm welding samples with the same groove structure and welding depth as the cases were welded. High purity argon was used as the shielding gas to prevent oxidation because of the narrowness and depth of the weld. In this paper investigation of, microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties of welded joints using optimized welding parameters are presented. The results show that the base metal, fusion metal, and heat affected zone (HAZ) are all have fully austenitic microstructure, and that the grain size of fusion metal was finer than that of the base metal. The welding resulted in an increase of hardness in the fusion metal and HAZ. It was confirmed that the tensile strength of fusion metal was higher than that of base metal and the impact toughness value is higher than industry standard requirement. Thus, this welding process was determined to be reliable for manufacture of the ITER CC cases manufacture