Impact of COVID-19 on fish and crustacean export from China with building resilient food system through China's lens

For China's fish and crustacean trade globally, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 has posed previously unprecedented challenges. This study investigates these concerns by analyzing China's fish and crustacean export activities and correlating the shift in trade throughout the pre-pandemic and pandemic phases. Despite the numerous factors for the changing trade, this research attempts to explain those related to the pandemic and coping mechanisms. The investigation is supported by and linked to a conceptual framework for the resilience of the perishable agricultural food system by China during the pandemic. The results indicated that fish and crustacean exports from China decreased as the incidence of infections increased both globally and within the country. Trade with important markets including Japan, Korea, and the United States was badly affected by the outbreak. While shipments to Korea saw the fastest growth throughout the pandemic, the monthly growth rate of fish exports to the USA was the lowest. However, China's fish and crustacean trade recovered well after the epidemic, with faster growth rates and lower instability. The pandemic even resulted in a decrease in the unit value realized for all fish and crustacean commodities. The government's long-term efforts to ensure food security and prompt policy responses during the outbreak have demonstrated that China's food system can endure and rebound from perturbations. China's “green route” for perishable agricultural goods in the domestic market and prohibition on illegal obstructions serve as examples of how to maintain supply flow during an outbreak

Topology and evolution of international trade network for fish and fish products

In this study, a complex network method was employed to quantify the changing role of countries in fish trade and the dynamic characteristics of fish globalization. Based on the United Nations Comtrade Database, the International Trade Network for Fish and Fish Products (ITN-Fish) was constructed as a series of weighted-directed networks for each year from 1990 to 2018. Almost all countries and territories worldwide have participated in the fish trade. In 2018, the network identified 229 fish traders. The share of developing countries in imports and exports has increased. Traders actively establish new trade relations, which improve network connectivity. However, these relations only account for a small part of the fish trade. The high connectivity allows risks to spread rapidly in the world through hubs such as the United States and China, which raises concerns about the robustness of these weak links in the Sino-US trade conflict and the outbreak of COVID-19. However, we have optimistic expectations on this issue. The dynamic of network topology property shows that the globalization of fish trade flourished between 1990 and 2018. Although, due to the financial crisis and its subsequent impact, the total amount of fish trade declined in 2009 and 2015, the network structure was not seriously affected, and the trend of topology property remained unchanged. Based on the construction of the international trade network, its node attribute, and its structural attribute, fish trade maintains the trend of globalization. Countries should actively adhere to trade globalization to promote the development of the fish trade

An Early Diagnosis of Oral Cancer based on Three-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks

Three-dimensional convolutional neural networks (3DCNNs), a rapidly evolving modality of deep learning, has gained popularity in many fields. For oral cancers, CT images are traditionally processed using two-dimensional input, without considering information between lesion slices. In this paper, we established a 3DCNNs-based image processing algorithm for the early diagnosis of oral cancers, which was compared with a 2DCNNs-based algorithm. The 3D and 2D CNNs were constructed using the same hierarchical structure to profile oral tumors as benign or malignant. Our results showed that 3DCNNs with dynamic characteristics of the enhancement rate image performed better than 2DCNNS with single enhancement sequence for the discrimination of oral cancer lesions. Our data indicate that spatial features and spatial dynamics extracted from 3DCNNs may inform future design of CT-assisted diagnosis system

A novel assay based on DNA melting temperature for multiplexed identification of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B viruses

IntroductionThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses can cause respiratory illnesses with similar clinical symptoms, making their differential diagnoses challenging. Additionally, in critically ill SARS-CoV-2–infected patients, co-infections with other respiratory pathogens can lead to severe cytokine storm and serious complications. Therefore, a method for simultaneous detection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A and B viruses will be clinically beneficial.MethodsWe designed an assay to detect five gene targets simultaneously via asymmetric PCR-mediated melting curve analysis in a single tube. We used specific probes that hybridize to corresponding single-stranded amplicons at low temperature and dissociate at high temperature, creating different detection peaks representing the targets. The entire reaction was conducted in a closed tube, which minimizes the risk of contamination. The limit of detection, specificity, precision, and accuracy were determined.ResultsThe assay exhibited a limit of detection of <20 copies/μL for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A and <30 copies/μL for influenza B, with high reliability as demonstrated by a coefficient of variation for melting temperature of <1.16% across three virus concentrations. The performance of our developed assay and the pre-determined assay showed excellent agreement for clinical samples, with kappa coefficients ranging from 0.98 (for influenza A) to 1.00 (for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza B). No false-positive, and no cross-reactivity was observed with six common non-influenza respiratory viruses.ConclusionThe newly developed assay offers a straightforward, cost-effective and nucleic acid contamination-free approach for simultaneous detection of the SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and influenza B viruses. The method offers high analytical sensitivity, reliability, specificity, and accuracy. Its use will streamline testing for co-infections, increase testing throughput, and improve laboratory efficacy

The notch regulator MAML1 interacts with p53 and functions as a coactivator.

Members of the evolutionarily conserved Mastermind (MAM) protein family, including the three related mammalian Mastermind-like (MAML) proteins MAML1-3, function as crucial coactivators of Notch-mediated transcriptional activation. Given the recent evidence of cross-talk between the p53 and Notch signal transduction pathways, we have investigated whether MAML1 may also be a transcriptional coactivator of p53. Indeed, we show here that MAML1 is able to interact with p53. We show that MAML1-p53 interaction involves the N-terminal region of MAML1 and the DNA-binding domain of p53, and we use a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay to show that MAML1 is part of the activator complex that binds to native p53-response elements within the promoter of the p53 target genes. Overexpression of wild-type MAML1 as well as a mutant, defective in Notch signaling, enhanced the p53-dependent gene induction in mammalian cells, whereas MAML1 knockdown reduced the p53-dependent gene expression. MAML1 increases the half-life of p53 protein and enhances its phosphorylation/acetylation upon DNA damage of cells. Finally, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of the single Caenorhabditis elegans MAML homolog, Lag-3, led to substantial abrogation of p53-mediated germ-cell apoptotic response to DNA damage and markedly reduced the expression of Ced-13 and Egl-1, downstream pro-apoptotic targets of the C. elegans p53 homolog Cep-1. Thus, we present evidence for a novel coactivator function of MAML1 for p53, independent of its function as a coactivator of Notch signaling pathway

Evaluation of Technical Efficiency in Exotic Carp Polyculture in Northern India: Conventional DEA vs. Bootstrapping Methods

The paper adopts the conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) and bootstrap procedure to analyze the technical efficiency, while tobit regression is applied to identify the factors affecting efficiencies of exotic fish polyculture in Jammu and Kashmir (India). According to the statistical analysis of the variables utilized, there was a lot of variability in the inputs being used by the farmers, with the most variation being in the lime input. The DEA estimated technical efficiency for the sample farms in Jammu and Kashmir is 0.9771 and 0.9741, respectively, with least technical inefficiency of 3%. The bias-corrected (bootstrapped) technical efficiencies found were slightly lower than the ones estimated by conventional DEA. Mean allocative and cost efficiencies for sample farms in the Jammu region were 92% and 75%, respectively, and 84% and 74%, respectively, for farmers in the Kashmir region. Farming experience, age, and education have favorable impacts on technical efficiency of farmers in the state, but family size showed negative impacts. Efficiency improvement will eventually lead to increase in the production providing better scope for marketed surplus. More fisheries extension is suggested for expanding the exotic fish culture in the state making the enterprise a more profitable venture

Evaluation of Technical Efficiency in Exotic Carp Polyculture in Northern India: Conventional DEA vs. Bootstrapping Methods

The paper adopts the conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) and bootstrap procedure to analyze the technical efficiency, while tobit regression is applied to identify the factors affecting efficiencies of exotic fish polyculture in Jammu and Kashmir (India). According to the statistical analysis of the variables utilized, there was a lot of variability in the inputs being used by the farmers, with the most variation being in the lime input. The DEA estimated technical efficiency for the sample farms in Jammu and Kashmir is 0.9771 and 0.9741, respectively, with least technical inefficiency of 3%. The bias-corrected (bootstrapped) technical efficiencies found were slightly lower than the ones estimated by conventional DEA. Mean allocative and cost efficiencies for sample farms in the Jammu region were 92% and 75%, respectively, and 84% and 74%, respectively, for farmers in the Kashmir region. Farming experience, age, and education have favorable impacts on technical efficiency of farmers in the state, but family size showed negative impacts. Efficiency improvement will eventually lead to increase in the production providing better scope for marketed surplus. More fisheries extension is suggested for expanding the exotic fish culture in the state making the enterprise a more profitable venture

The Price Difference and Trend Analysis of Yesso Scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) in Changhai County, China

This paper focuses on the difference in inter-group and intra-group price of Yesso scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) and the simulation accuracy of three different exponential smoothing models in the price. Based on the farm-gate price and wholesale price data of P. yessoensis in Changhai county from January 2017 to December 2018, this study uses the Wilcoxon rank sum test to compare the inter- and intra-group price and applies simple exponential smoothing (SES), Holt’s linear trend method, and Holt-Winters’ additive method to simulate and predict the price. The results suggest that (i) to improve economic benefits, it is necessary to formulate reasonable farming area and establish low-density ecological cultivation mode; (ii) the price’s Akaike information criterion (AIC) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values by the SES model are optimal, and the MAPE value is lower than 4%; and (iii) the result of SES analysis shows no obvious change from January to March 2019