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Parathlasia gen. nov., a new leafhopper genus and species of Ledrini, P. guizhouensis sp. nov., from Guizhou, China are described. Morphological differences between the new genus to other related Chinese genera are discussed. A key to distinguish Parathlasia from other similar genera is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to study the effect of hot air-microwave heating on the drying and quality characteristics of fresh tilapia fish fillets. Experimental drying curves were obtained at three microwave powers (200, 400 and 600W) after hot air drying at two air temperatures (40 and 50 °C) and a constant air velocity of 1.5 m/s. Some quality indicators such as shrinkage, rehydration and recovery properties were investigated. Results showed that an increase in microwave power resulted in a decrease in final moisture content when drying for the same period of time. The higher the hot air temperature, the higher the dehydration rate was. The shrinkage ratio and rehydration ratio increased as the microwave power and air temperature increased. However, the recovery ratio decreased as the microwave power and air temperature increased. Lower hot air temperature and microwave power are beneficial to keep the quality of tilapia fillets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herpesviruses (HVs) can cause asymptomatic, benign, or fatal infections in a variety of animal species. However, the prevalence and phylogenetic characteristics of HVs in rodents and shrews in China are poorly understood. We thus performed a molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of rat and shrew HVs in southern China between 2012 and 2014. Seventeen (6.7%) of 255 rectal swab specimens from rats and six (6.7%) of 90 rectal swab specimens from shrews tested positive for HVs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that rodent and shrew HVs detected in this study were species specific, clustering in the Betaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae clade. Novel Macavirus was detected in Rattus norvegicus (RN/13YX52/24 and RN/ 14HC50) and gammaherpesviruses in Suncus murinus (SM/14BY7/16/20/97/99/106).These findings have contributed to our understanding of the taxonomy, phylogeny, and biology of HVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several novel adenoviruses (AdVs) have recently been identified in humans and other animal species. In this study, we report the molecular detection of and phylogenetically characterize bat and human AdVs detected in fecal or rectal swab samples collected in southern China. To detect AdVs, a 252-261 bp fragment of the DNA polymerase (DPOL) gene was amplified using nested PCR. A total of 520 rectal swab samples were collected from eight bat species in four geographic regions of southern China (Guangzhou, Yunfu, Huizhou, and Haikou city). Thirty-six (6.9%) samples from the following species tested positive for AdVs: Myotis ricketti, Miniopterus schreibersii, Scotophilus kuhlii, Taphozous melanopogon, Rhinolophus blythi, and Cynopterus sphinx. Eight novel AdVs were detected in 13.3% of the samples from C. sphinx. Of 328 fecal samples from patients with diarrhea, 16 (4.9%) were positive for classical human AdVs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that human AdVs shared low similarity (57.1-69.3%) with bat AdVs in deduced amino acid sequences of the AdV DPOL region. Thus, our study indicated that bat AdVs and human AdVs are species specific. As such, there is no evidence of cross-species transmission of AdV between bats and humans based on current data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have positive effect on the regulation of plasma lipids. But the mechanism for them to modulate lipid homeostasis in macrophage is still unclear. In this study, we employed PUFA to pretreat macrophages and evaluated the variations of lipid droplet (LD) content, lipid composition, and expressions of LD-associated genes in macrophage-derived foam cells. Method: THP-1-derived macrophages or human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages were pre-treated with four non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) separately: saturated fatty acid (SFA)-palmitic acid (PA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)-oleic acid (OA), PUFAs-linoleic acid (LA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Intracellular lipid content and cholesterol efflux were analyzed in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells. Related gene expressions were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: PUFA pre-treatment reduced cholesterol content in foam cells and increased cholesterol efflux to lipid-free apoAI in conditioned medium compared with PA or OA group. Cell death-inducing DFF45 like effector (CIDE) and Perilipin-Adipophilin-TIP47 (PAT) family members, as LD-associated proteins, showed specific gene expression profiles after PUFA pre-treatment. These results may help to explain the process of lipid metabolism within foam cells. Conclusion: PUFA (LA or EPA) had a potential protective effect against cholesterol accumulation. The specific expressions of CIDE and PAT genes may provide clues to explore the protective mechanism of PUFA in foam cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid storage droplet protein 5 (LSDP5) is a lipid droplet-associated protein of the PAT (perilipin, adipophilin, and TIP47) family that is expressed in the liver in a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα)-dependent manner; however, its exact function has not been elucidated. We noticed that LSDP5 was localized to the surface of lipid droplets in hepatocytes. Overexpression of LSDP5 enhanced lipid accumulation in the hepatic cell line AML12 and in primary hepatocytes. Knock-down of LSDP5 significantly decreased the triglyceride content of lipid droplets, stimulated lipolysis, and modestly increased the mitochondrial content and level of fatty-acid β-oxidation in the mitochondria. The expression of PPARα was increased in LSDP5-deficient cells and required for the increase in the level of fatty acid β-oxidation in LSDP5- deficient cells. Using serial deletions of LSDP5, we determined that the lipid droplet-targeting domain and the domain directing lipid droplet clustering overlapped and were localized to the 188 amino acid residues at the N-terminus of LSDP5. Our findings suggest that LSDP5, a novel lipid droplet protein, may contribute to triglyceride accumulation by negatively regulating lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation in hepatocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]