Isolation and Characterization of a Phosphate-Solubilizing Halophilic Bacterium Kushneria sp. YCWA18 from Daqiao Saltern on the Coast of Yellow Sea of China

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) function in soil phosphorus cycle, increasing the bioavailability of soil phosphorus for plants. Isolation and application of salt-tolerant or halophilic PSB will facilitate the development of saline-alkali soil-based agriculture. A moderately halophilic bacterium was isolated from the sediment of Daqiao saltern on the eastern coast of China, which also performs phosphate-solubilizing ability. The bacterium was assigned to genus Kushneria according to its 16S rRNA gene sequence, and accordingly named as Kushneria sp. YCWA18. The fastest growth was observed when the culturing temperature was 28°C and the concentration of NaCl was 6% (w/v). It was founds that the bacterium can survive at a concentration of NaCl up to 20%. At the optimum condition, the bacterium solubilized 283.16 μg/mL phosphorus in 11 days after being inoculated in 200 mL Ca3(PO4)2 containing liquid medium, and 47.52 μg/mL phosphorus in 8 days after being inoculated in 200 mL lecithin-containing liquid medium. The growth of the bacterium was concomitant with a significant decrease of acidity of the medium

3,9-Dimethyl-3,9-bis­(4-nitro­phen­yl)-2,4,8,10-tetra­oxaspiro­[5.5]undeca­ne

In the title compound, C21H22N2O8, both of the nonplanar six-membered heterocycles adopt chair conformations. The dihedral angle between the terminal benzene rings is 58.22 (11)°. Weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are observed in the crystal structure

2-(2,3-Difluoro­phen­yl)ethyl toluene-4-sulfonate

In the title compound, C15H14F2O3S, the dihedral angle between the aromatic rings is 6.19 (13)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating [110] chains

Immune Efficacy of a Genetically Engineered Vaccine against Lymphocystis Disease Virus: Analysis of Different Immunization Strategies

Here, we report the construction of a vaccine against lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV) using nucleic acid vaccination technology. A fragment of the major capsid protein encoding gene from an LCDV isolated from China (LCDV-cn) was cloned into an eukaryotic expression vector pEGFP-N2, yielding a recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N2-LCDV-cn0.6 kb. This plasmid was immediately expressed after liposomal transfer into the Japanese flounder embryo cell line. The recombinant plasmid was inoculated into Japanese flounder via two routes (intramuscular injection and hypodermic injection) at three doses (0.1, 5, and 15 μg), and then T-lymphopoiesis in different tissues and antibodies raised against LCDV were evaluated. The results indicated that this recombinant plasmid induced unique humoral or cell-mediated immune responses depending on the inoculation route and conferred immune protection. Furthermore, the humoral immune responses and protective effects were significantly increased at higher vaccine doses via the two injection routes. Plasmid pEGFP-N2-LCDV0.6 kb is therefore a promising vaccine candidate against LCDV in Japanese flounder

3,9-Di-1-naphthyl-2,4,8,10-tetra­oxa­spiro­[5.5]undeca­ne

In the title compound, C27H24O4, the 1,3-dioxane rings have chair conformations. The mol­ecule has non-crystallographic twofold rotation symmetry. The dihedral angle between the naphthalene ring systems is 17.96(4)° In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions contribute to the crystal packing

3-Fluoro-12H-benzimidazo[2,1-b][1,3]benzothia­zin-12-one

In the title compound, C14H7FN2OS, prepared by the reaction of 2-bromo-4-fluoro­benzoyl choride with 2-mercaptobenzimidazole, the four-membered fused-ring system is essentially planar [maximum deviation from the mean plane = 0.035 (2) Å]. The crystal packing is stabilized by weak inter­molecular π–π [minimum ring centroid–centroid separation = 3.509 (7) Å], weak C—F⋯π [F⋯centroid = 3.4464 (17) Å, C—F⋯centroid = 97.72 (11)°] and C—O⋯π [O⋯centroid = 3.5230 (16) and 3.7296 (17) Å, C—O⋯centroid = 86.40 (10) and 86.25 (10)°] inter­actions and weak inter­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds

Rapid kidney function decline and increased risk of heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes: findings from the ACCORD cohort : Rapid kidney function decline and heart failure in T2D.

BACKGROUND Impaired kidney function and albuminuria are associated with increased risk of heart failure (HF) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We investigated whether rapid kidney function decline over time is an additional determinant of increased HF risk in patients with T2D, independent of baseline kidney function, albuminuria, and other HF predictors. METHODS Included in the study were 7,539 participants in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study with baseline urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) data, who had completed 4 years of follow-up and had ≥ 3 eGFR measurements during that period (median eGFR/year = 1.9, IQR 1.7-3.2). The association between rapid kidney function decline (eGFR loss ≥ 5 ml/min/1.73 m2/year) and odds of HF hospitalization or HF death during the first 4 years of follow-up was estimated by logistic regression. The improvement in risk discrimination provided by adding rapid kidney function decline to other HF risk factors was evaluated as the increment in the area under the Receiving Operating Characteristics curve (ROC AUC) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). RESULTS Over 4 years of follow-up, 1,573 participants (20.9%) experienced rapid kidney function decline and 255 (3.4%) experienced a HF event. Rapid kidney function decline was associated with a ~ 3.2-fold increase in HF odds (3.23, 95% CI, 2.51-4.16, p < 0.0001), independent of baseline CVD history. This estimate was not attenuated by adjustment for potential confounders, including eGFR and UACR at baseline as well as at censoring (3.74; 95% CI 2.63-5.31). Adding rapid kidney function decline during follow-up to other clinical predictors (WATCH-DM score, eGFR, and UACR at study entry and end of follow-up) improved HF risk classification (ROC AUC = + 0.02, p = 0.027; relative IDI = + 38%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS In patients with T2D, rapid kidney function decline is associated with a marked increase in HF risk, independent of starting kidney function and/or albuminuria. These findings highlight the importance of serial eGFR measurements over time to improve HF risk estimation in T2D

Identification of rhizome-specific genes by genome-wide differential expression Analysis in Oryza longistaminata

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rhizomatousness is a key component of perenniality of many grasses that contribute to competitiveness and invasiveness of many noxious grass weeds, but can potentially be used to develop perennial cereal crops for sustainable farmers in hilly areas of tropical Asia. <it>Oryza longistaminata</it>, a perennial wild rice with strong rhizomes, has been used as the model species for genetic and molecular dissection of rhizome development and in breeding efforts to transfer rhizome-related traits into annual rice species. In this study, an effort was taken to get insights into the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying the rhizomatous trait in <it>O. longistaminata </it>by comparative analysis of the genome-wide tissue-specific gene expression patterns of five different tissues of <it>O. longistaminata </it>using the Affymetrix GeneChip Rice Genome Array.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 2,566 tissue-specific genes were identified in five different tissues of <it>O. longistaminata</it>, including 58 and 61 unique genes that were specifically expressed in the rhizome tips (RT) and internodes (RI), respectively. In addition, 162 genes were up-regulated and 261 genes were down-regulated in RT compared to the shoot tips. Six distinct <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements (CGACG, GCCGCC, GAGAC, AACGG, CATGCA, and TAAAG) were found to be significantly more abundant in the promoter regions of genes differentially expressed in RT than in the promoter regions of genes uniformly expressed in all other tissues. Many of the RT and/or RI specifically or differentially expressed genes were located in the QTL regions associated with rhizome expression, rhizome abundance and rhizome growth-related traits in <it>O. longistaminata </it>and thus are good candidate genes for these QTLs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The initiation and development of the rhizomatous trait in <it>O. longistaminata </it>are controlled by very complex gene networks involving several plant hormones and regulatory genes, different members of gene families showing tissue specificity and their regulated pathways. Auxin/IAA appears to act as a negative regulator in rhizome development, while GA acts as the activator in rhizome development. Co-localization of the genes specifically expressed in rhizome tips and rhizome internodes with the QTLs for rhizome traits identified a large set of candidate genes for rhizome initiation and development in rice for further confirmation.</p

Advanced treatment of secondary effluent from wastewater treatment plant by a newly isolated microalga Desmodesmus sp. SNN1

Secondary effluents contain considerable amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous, which if dumped untreated can cause eutrophication of the receiving water bodies. Microalgae can remove these nutrients and other pollutants from the wastewater effluents and play an effective role in the secondary effluent treatment. In this study, six microalgae strains (SNN1, SNN2, SNN3, SNN4, SNS1, and SNS2) were isolated and screened from the water and mud of Yingxue Lake of Shandong Jianzhu University, and their efficiencies for the removal of COD, NH4+-N, TN, and TP in the secondary effluent were assessed. By comparing the growth performances and nutrient removal ability of algal strains in domestic sewage, we found that SNN1 (identified and named as Desmodesmus sp. SNN1) has the highest efficiency for biomass accumulation and sewage purification. Hence, the algal strain SNN1 was selected for further screening and optimization experiments. The strain showed higher biomass yield and better nutrient removal rate when the pH of secondary effluent was 9.0 and the initial inoculum concentration (optical density at 680 nm) of algal strain was 0.4. After 12 days of treatment, the concentrations of COD, NH4+-N, TN, and TP in the secondary effluent were 31.79, 0.008, 8.631, and 0.069 mg/L, respectively. Therefore, SNN1 with the removal rates of 52.69% (COD), 99.99% (NH4+-N), 89.09% (TN), and 94.64% (TP) displayed its high potential in nutrient removal. In addition, it also yielded 5.30 mg/L of chlorophyll a and 168.33 mg/L of lipids. These results demonstrated that this strain exhibited an effective treatment capacity for secondary effluent and microalgal oil production. This study is helpful to provide a strategy for the resource utilization of secondary effluent and the conservation of freshwater resources required by microalgae culture