THE CREATION AND SPREAD OF TECHNOLOGY AND TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY IN CHINA'S AGRICULTURE

The studys overall goal is to create a framework for assessing the trends of China's national and international investment in agricultural research and to measure its impact on total factor productivity. The main methodological contribution is to provide more convincing measures of crop-specific technologies from China's national research program and of those imported from the international agricultural research system. Our results find that from 1980-95, China's total factor productivity for rice, wheat and maize grew rapidly and new technology accounts for most of the productivity growth.Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide are linear molecules that alter the abundance and composition of intestinal microbiota in Sprague Dawley rats

IntroductionThe macromolecular polysaccharide Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide (IOP) is composed of various monosaccharides, and it could modulate the composition and diversity of intestinal flora. However, its impact on the intestinal flora in rats of different genders remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the structural changes of IOP and its effects on the intestinal flora after administration in male and female rats.MethodsIn this study, the molecular weight and purity of IOP were analyzed by high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) and phenol sulfuric acid method, and NMR was used to confirm the chemical structure of IOP. Sex hormone [testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2)] levels and intestinal microbial changes were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and 16S rRNA, respectively, after gavage of IOP (100 mg/kg) in male and female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.ResultsHPGPC analysis showed that the average molecular weight (Mw) of IOP was 4,828  Da, and the total sugar content of the purified IOP was 96.2%, indicating that the polysaccharide is of high purity. NMR revealed that IOP is a linear macromolecule with an α-D-type glucose backbone. The results of ELISA and 16S rRNA showed that the IOP increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as Clostridia_UCG-014 and Prevotellaceae_NK3B31, and reduced that of harmful bacteria, such as Colidextribacter and Desulfobacterota in the intestine of both male and female rats, and IOP changed the levels of sex hormones in male and female rats. Further analyses revealed that the increase in alpha diversity was higher in male than female rats. α diversity and β diversity revealed a significant difference in the composition of cecal microbiota between male and female rats in the control group, but IOP intake reduced this difference. Meanwhile, α analysis revealed a change in the composition of bacterial flora was more stable in male than female rats.ConclusionsThis study enhances our comprehension of the IOP structure and elucidates the alterations in intestinal flora following IOP administration in rats of varying genders. Nonetheless, further investigation is warranted to explore the specific underlying reasons for these discrepancies

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of the Endogenous Cellulase Gene MaCel1 in Monochamus alternatus

The purpose of this study was to characterize the endogenous cellulase gene MaCel1 of Monochamus alternatus, which is an important vector of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a pine wood nematode, which causes pine wilt disease (PWD). In this study, MaCel1 was cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE), and its expression analyzed by RT-qPCR (real-time quantitative PCR detecting). A total of 1778 bp of cDNA was obtained. The encoding region of this gene was 1509 bp in length, encoding a protein containing 502 amino acids with a molecular weight of 58.66 kDa, and the isoelectric point of 5.46. Sequence similarity analysis showed that the amino acids sequence of MaCel1 had high similarity with the beta-Glucosinolate of Anoplophora glabripennis and slightly lower similarity with other insect cellulase genes (GH1). The beta-D-Glucosidase activity of MaCel1 was 256.02 +/- 43.14 U/L with no beta-Glucosinolate activity. MaCel1 gene was widely expressed in the intestine of M. alternatus. The expression level of MaCel1 gene in male (3.46) and female (3.51) adults was significantly higher than that in other developmental stages, and the lowest was in pupal stage (0.15). The results will help reveal the digestive mechanism of M. alternatus and lay the foundation for controlling PWD by controlling M. alternatus

Gut Bacterial Communities of Lymantria xylina and Their Associations with Host Development and Diet

The gut microbiota of insects has a wide range of effects on host nutrition, physiology, and behavior. The structure of gut microbiota may also be shaped by their environment, causing them to adjust to their hosts; thus, the objective of this study was to examine variations in the morphological traits and gut microbiota of Lymantria xylina in response to natural and artificial diets using high-throughput sequencing. Regarding morphology, the head widths for larvae fed on a sterilized artificial diet were smaller than for larvae fed on a non-sterilized host-plant diet in the early instars. The gut microbiota diversity of L. xylina fed on different diets varied significantly, but did not change during different development periods. This seemed to indicate that vertical inheritance occurred in L. xylina mutualistic symbionts. Acinetobacter and Enterococcus were dominant in/on eggs. In the first instar larvae, Acinetobacter accounted for 33.52% of the sterilized artificial diet treatment, while Enterococcus (67.88%) was the predominant bacteria for the non-sterilized host-plant diet treatment. Gut microbe structures were adapted to both diets through vertical inheritance and self-regulation. This study clarified the impacts of microbial symbiosis on L. xylina and might provide new possibilities for improving the control of these bacteria

Unveiling macrophage diversity in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury: identification of a distinct lipid-associated macrophage subset

Background and objectiveMacrophages play a crucial and dichotomous role cardiac repair following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion, as they can both facilitate tissue healing and contribute to injury. This duality is intricately linked to environmental factors, and the identification of macrophage subtypes within the context of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) may offer insights for the development of more precise intervention strategies.MethodsSpecific marker genes were used to identify macrophage subtypes in GSE227088 (mouse single-cell RNA sequencing dataset). Genome Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was further employed to validate the identified LAM subtypes. Trajectory analysis and single-cell regulatory network inference were executed using the R packages Monocle2 and SCENIC, respectively. The conservation of LAM was verified using human ischemic cardiomyopathy heart failure samples from the GSE145154 (human single-cell RNA sequencing dataset). Fluorescent homologous double-labeling experiments were performed to determine the spatial localization of LAM-tagged gene expression in the MIRI mouse model.ResultsIn this study, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was employed to investigate the cellular landscape in ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Macrophage subtypes, including a novel Lipid-Associated Macrophage (LAM) subtype characterized by high expression of Spp1, Trem2, and other genes, were identified. Enrichment and Progeny pathway analyses highlighted the distinctive functional role of the SPP1+ LAM subtype, particularly in lipid metabolism and the regulation of the MAPK pathway. Pseudotime analysis revealed the dynamic differentiation of macrophage subtypes during IRI, with the activation of pro-inflammatory pathways in specific clusters. Transcription factor analysis using SCENIC identified key regulators associated with macrophage differentiation. Furthermore, validation in human samples confirmed the presence of SPP1+ LAM. Co-staining experiments provided definitive evidence of LAM marker expression in the infarct zone. These findings shed light on the role of LAM in IRI and its potential as a therapeutic target.ConclusionIn conclusion, the study identifies SPP1+ LAM macrophages in ischemia-reperfusion injury and highlights their potential in cardiac remodeling

Implications of wetland degradation for the potential denitrifying activity and bacterial populations with nirS genes as found in a succession in Qinghai Tibet plateau, China

Alpine wetland in the Zoige Plateau has suffered from serious degradation during"the last 30 years due to global climate change and anthropogenic impact. Denitrification is a key nitrogen removal process which can be performed by different microorganisms, including bacteria harboring ttirS-genes. In this study, a degradation succession was used to study the effect on potential denitrification activity (PDA) and on bacterial communities harboring nirS genes. Based on the determination of the PDA, the abundance, structural diversity, and phylogenetic identity of the soil bacteria with nirS genes were further assessed by qPCR, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and DNA-sequencing, respectively. The results showed that soil PDA ranged from 8.78 to 52.77 ng N20-N g(-1) dry soil h(-1), being lowest in sandy soil and highest in swamp soil. The abundance of nirS genes (copies g(-1) soil) were also the lowest in the sandy soil while highest in the swamp soil. The average Shannon-Wiener diversity index of the nirS denitrifying bacterial structural ranged from 2.20 in the meadow soil to 3.07 in the swamp soil. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the nirS denitrifying bacterial community correlated with soil water content and available phosphorus, with water content as the major factor in shaping the nirS denitrifying bacterial community. The results of this study suggest that the wetland degradation would decrease soil PDA, and abundance and structural diversity of the denitrifying bacteria with nirS genes. These findings can contribute to support a theoretical foundation for predicting the potential influences of wetland degradation on soil denitrifying bacteria in alpine wetlands. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Environmental cadmium exposure alters the internal microbiota and metabolome of Sprague-Dawley rats

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic element that can negatively affect both humans and animals. It enters the human and animal bodies through the respiratory and digestive tracts, following which it tends to accumulate in different organs, thereby seriously affecting human and animal health, as well as hampering social and economic development. Cd exposure can alter the composition of intestinal microbiota. In addition, it can damage the peripheral organs by causing the translocation of intestinal microbiota. However, the relationship between translocation-induced changes in the composition of microbiome in the blood and metabolic changes remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Cd exposure on microbiota and serum metabolism in rats by omics analysis. The results demonstrated that Cd exposure disrupted the balance between the blood and intestinal flora in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, with a significant increase in gut microbiota (Clostridia_UCG_014, NK4A214_group) and blood microbiome (Corynebacterium, Muribaculaceae). However, Cd exposure caused the translocation of Corynebacterium and Muribaculaceae from the gut into the blood. In addition, Cd exposure was associated with the up-regulation of serum indoxyl sulfate, phenyl sulfate, and p-cresol sulfate; down-regulation of & delta;-tocopherol and L-glutamine; and changes in blood microbiome and metabolites. In conclusion, we identified novel metabolic biomarkers for Cd toxicity, which will also expand our understanding of the role of blood microbiome in Cd-induced injury

THE CREATION AND SPREAD OF TECHNOLOGY AND TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY IN CHINA'S AGRICULTURE

The study's overall goal is to create a framework for assessing the trends of China's national and international investment in agricultural research and to measure its impact on total factor productivity. The main methodological contribution is to provide more convincing measures of crop-specific technologies from China's national research program and of those imported from the international agricultural research system. Our results find that from 1980-95, China's total factor productivity for rice, wheat and maize grew rapidly and new technology accounts for most of the productivity growth

Study on boron removal performance of covalent organic skeleton membrane by hydroxyl groups

Growing demand for water desalination promoted the vigorous development of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. How to effectively remove boron from seawater is the key problem to be solved by RO membrane. It is important to select suitable membrane materials for experimental design before complicated and expensive experimental attempts. In this paper, we demonstrate that pore chemistry plays a key role in boron removal capability of RO membranes via nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. This study shows that the introduction of hydroxyl (-OH) groups into the Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) pore allows for better boron removal without changing water permeability. The optimal boron rejection of AB-COF membranes is 76.67%, and that of ATFG-COF membranes with hydroxyl groups can achieve 90%. This is caused by the hydrophilic pore of ATFG-COF that will preferentially adsorb water molecules to prevent the passage of boric acid molecules through membrane zone. Additionally, -OH groups on the pore will also adsorb a part of boric acid in the membranes, reducing the amount of boric acid entering into the permeate side. The results obtained in this paper can provide guidance for the rational design of RO membranes to achieve more efficient boron removal