Effects of Thermal Shock from Coastal Nuclear Power Plant Discharges on the Survival of Four Fish Species Under Variable Temperature Rise

In this study, we simulated water temperature changes under variable frequency temperature rise conditions caused by coastal nuclear power plant discharges and conducted thermal shock tests on four fish species: Trachinotus ovatus, Nibea albiflora, Larimichthys crocea, and Acanthopagrus schlegelii at acclimated water temperatures of 25.0°C and 27.5°C during the summer. The effects of these temperature variations on the thermal shock response of the four fish species were analyzed. The results indicated that at 25.0°C, the mortality rate of N. albiflora exhibited an overall upward trend with increasing temperature and duration frequency, with an average mortality rate ranging from 10±3.3% to 38.9±3.3%. For L. crocea, mortality was observed only in the 8.5ºC-100% duration probability group, while other groups had a 0% mortality rate. At 27.5°C, A. schlegelii showed an average mortality rate of 10±3.3% at an 8.5ºC-100% duration probability, with all other groups showing 100% survival. The average mortality rate of T. ovatus at 8.5ºC-100% was 6.7±3.3%, with no mortality in the other treatment groups. The expression level of the hsp70 gene in the liver of N. albiflora increased with higher temperature rise amplitudes and longer frequency conversion durations. Similarly, the hsp70 gene expression in L. crocea and A. schlegelii increased with rising temperatures, though there were no significant differences among groups with varying frequency conversion times. In contrast, the hsp70 gene expression in T. ovatus remained relatively stable across temperature rise treatments, showing no significant differences with varying frequency conversion durations. The heat stress tolerance ranking among the four fish species was determined to be L. crocea \> N. albiflora \> T. ovatus \> A. schlegelii

Molecular phylogenetic relationships based on chloroplast genomes of Zingiberaceae species: Insights into evolution and adaptation to extreme environments

IntroductionThe Zingiberaceae family, which includes numerous economically and medicinally important species, exhibits considerable phylogenetic and genetic diversity. Chloroplast genomes are valuable resources for studying evolutionary relationships, genetic diversity, and adaptive evolution in plants. While many Zingiberaceae chloroplast genomes have been sequenced, the evolutionary mechanisms—including structural variation, codon usage bias, selection pressures, and divergence history—remain to be comprehensively investigated. Methodswe performed a comparative analysis of 11 newly identified species (Aframomum alboviolaceum, Amomum longipetiolatum, Amomum petaloideum, Amomum velutinum, Cautleya spicata, Cornukaempferia larsenii, Globba atrosanguinea, Globba variabilis, Hedychium aureum, Riedelia arfakensis, and Zingiber citriodorum) and 110 published data from the Zingiberaceae family, including their structure, codon usage, nucleotide polymorphisms, divergence time, and selection pressures.ResultsThe chloroplast genomes of Zingiberaceae species exhibited a highly conserved structure with no significant expansion or contraction during diversification. Analysis revealed four hypervariable protein-coding genes (atpH, rpl32, ndhA, and ycf1) and one intergenic region (psac-ndhE), which are proposed as potential molecular markers for future phylogeographic and population genetic studies. Codon usage bias was found to be predominantly shaped by natural selection. Phylogenetic analysis strongly supported the division of Zingiberaceae into two primary subfamilies (Alpinioideae and Zingiberoideae) and clarified key relationships, revealing that Globba is more closely related to Curcuma than to Hedychium, and Hedychium is more closely related to the Pommereschea-Rhynchanthus clade than to Cautleya. Divergence time estimation indicated two rapid diversification events within Zingiberoideae, coinciding with the rapid uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and a Late Miocene cooling event linked to declining CO₂ levels. Ancestral range reconstruction suggested an African origin during the Cretaceous period, followed by dispersal to Southeast Asia and India. Selection pressure analysis showed that most protein-coding genes are under negative selection. In contrast, the ycf2 gene was found to be under relaxed selection. Furthermore, two genes (matK and ndhB) were identified to be under positive selection in high-altitude species of Roscoea, suggesting a role in adaptation to alpine environments.DiscussionThis study provides a comprehensive genomic analysis of the Zingiberaceae family, highlighting the conserved nature of chloroplast genome structure despite extensive diversification. The identified mutation hotspots present valuable tools for developing high-resolution markers for species identification and biogeographic studies. The phylogenetic results resolve longstanding uncertainties in the relationships among key genera. The inferred divergence times and ancestral range suggest that the evolutionary history of Zingiberaceae was significantly influenced by major geological and climatic events, notably the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and global cooling in the Late Miocene. The prevalence of negative/purifying selection across most genes indicates strong evolutionary constraints to maintain core photosynthetic functions. The discovery of positively selected genes in high-altitude Roscoea species provides insights into adaptive evolution to environmental stressors. These findings offer foundational knowledge for future efforts in crop improvement, species identification, and the conservation of genetic diversity within the Zingiberaceae family

Hapten-enhanced overall survival time in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma by ultro-minimum incision personalized intratumoral chemoimmunotherapy

PURPOSE: To compare the therapeutic effects of ultra-minimum incision personalized intratumoral chemoimmunotherapy (UMIPIC) with intratumoral chemotherapy (ITCT) in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinomas and to analyze the effect of hapten as an immune booster. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinomas were treated with UMIPIC or ITCT with the same therapeutic procedure; the UMIPIC method had a proprietary regimen including an oxidant, a cytotoxic drug, and hapten, while ITCT delivered the same drug excluding hapten. Of 339 patients in total, 119 of the UMIPIC patients (n=214) had response data and 214 had survival data, and of the ITCT patients (n=125), 61 had response data and 125 had survival data. Tumor response was assessed with a computed tomography scan 6–8 weeks after the initial treatment; the survival rate was evaluated by follow-up visits. Tumor size was classified as small (<5 cm), large (5–10 cm), or very large (>10 cm); tumor sizes with liver function categorized using Child–Pugh class (A and B) were analyzed by correlation with overall survival. RESULTS: The response rates (complete response + partial response + stable disease) were 78.68% and 81.52% in the UMIPIC and ITCT groups, respectively, with no statistically significant difference; however, the median overall survival was 7 months for UMIPIC (test) and 4 months for ITCT (control), respectively (P<0.01). The 6-month and 1-year survival rates for UMIPIC and ITCT were 58.88% vs 32.3% and 30.37% vs 13.6%, respectively (P<0.01). Single and multiple UMIPIC revealed significant improvement in overall survival compared to that of ITCT. Child–Pugh class A patients had a longer duration of survival compared to Child–Pugh class B patients in UMIPIC therapy. CONCLUSION: Hapten had enhanced therapeutic effect with improvement in the survival duration in UMIPIC compared to ITCT. After reexamination, the response rate was not different due to inflammation caused by hapten. Hapten has been found to play an important role in immunotherapy to improve patient survival

Insights into the Effects of Mechanism Reduction on the Performance of <i>n</i>‑Decane and Its Ability to Act as a Single-Component Surrogate for Jet Fuels

In this study, a detailed chemical reaction mechanism of n-decane containing 1034 species and 4268 reactions has been reduced at three different reduction levels to study the effects of subsequent mechanism reductions on the performance of n-decane. The detailed and reduced mechanisms were then used to validate ignition delays, laminar flame speeds, flame species, and species in a jet-stirred reactor. The one-half reduced mechanism performed nearly the same as the detailed mechanism in most of the cases. The one-fourth and one-eighth reduced mechanisms performed fairly well as compared to the detailed mechanism in some cases. The differences were further elaborated by sensitivity analyses of ignition delays and laminar flame speeds at different conditions followed by reaction pathway analysis of the detailed and one-eighth reduced mechanisms. These analyses indicated the absence or presence of certain reaction classes in reduced mechanisms that shaped the particular behavior of the mechanisms. To evaluate the capability of n-decane as a single-component surrogate for jet fuels, the experimental data of real-life jet fuels were used to validate the ignition delays and laminar flame speeds using the reaction mechanisms. Among all of the tested fuels, the ignition delay of jet A was reproduced fairly well by the detailed mechanism followed by jet S8 and jet RP-3 fuels with a noticeable discrepancy in the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) region. The one-eight reduced mechanism performed well in the NTC region. The laminar flame speeds of jet A and jet S8 fuels were predicted quite well by the detailed mechanism with the one-fourth reduced mechanism performing well at fuel-lean conditions. This strengthened the capability of n-decane as a single-component surrogate for jet fuels