Search

The largemouth bass (LMB) is a significant aquaculture species widely cultivated in China. High-density culture has led to an increased susceptibility of LMB to infection by the opportunistic bacterium Aeromonas. This study investigates a case of natural co-infection with the Largemouth bass ranavirus (LMBV), Aeromonas veronii, and Aeromonas hydrophila in Sichuan Province, China. To identify the causative agents of the infection, two bacterial strains were isolated from diseased LMB specimens and identified through 16S rRNA sequencing as Aeromonas vickert and Aeromonas hydrophila, both of which are gram-negative bacteria. The infection of LMBV was confirmed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of tissue samples from the infected fish. After two blind passes of the virus fluid, the typical cytopathological effect (CPE) can be observed. Phylogenetic analysis of the virus sequences showed the highest similarity with LMBV isolates (ON418985 and MW630113) from Guangdong Province, China. This study offers important insights into diagnosing mixed infections in LMB and provides a reference for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on a quantitative multi-source uncertainty analysis of multi-model predictions. Three widely used hydrological models, i.e., Xinanjiang (XAJ), hybrid rainfall-runoff (HYB), and HYMOD (HYM), were calibrated by two parameter optimization algorithms, namely, shuffled complex evolution (SCE-UA) method and shuffled complex evolution metropolis (SCEM-UA) method on the Mishui basin, south China. The input uncertainty was quantified by utilizing a normally distributed error multiplier. The ensemble simulation sets calculated from the three models were combined using the Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method. Results indicate the following. (1) Both SCE-UA and SCEM-UA resulted in good and comparable streamflow simulations. Specifically, the SCEM-UA implied parameter uncertainty and provided the posterior distribution of the parameters. (2) In terms of the precipitation input uncertainty, precision of streamflow simulations did not improve remarkably. (3) The BMA combination not only improved the precision of streamflow prediction, but also quantified the uncertainty bounds of the simulation. (4) The prediction interval calculated using the SCEM-UA-based BMA combination approach appears superior to that calculated using the SCEUA- based BMA combination for both high flows and low flows. Results suggest that the comprehensive uncertainty analysis by using the SCEM-UA algorithm and BMA method is superior for streamflow predictions and flood forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mouse bitter taste receptors Tas2r143, Tas2r135, and Tas2r126 are encoded by genes that cluster on chromosome 6 and have been suggested to be expressed under common regulatory elements. Previous studies indicated that the Tas2r143/Tas2r135/Tas2r126 cluster is expressed in the heart, but other organs had not been systematically analyzed. In order to investigate the expression of this bitter taste receptor gene cluster in non-gustatory tissues, we generated a BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome) based transgenic mouse line, expressing CreERT2 under the control of the Tas2r143 promoter. After crossing this line with a mouse line expressing EGFP after Cre-mediated recombination, we were able to validate the Tas2r143-CreERT2 transgenic mouse line and monitor the expression of Tas2r143. EGFP-positive cells, indicating expression of members of the cluster, were found in about 47% of taste buds, and could also be found in several other organs. A population of EGFP-positive cells was identified in thymic epithelial cells, in the lamina propria of the intestine and in vascular smooth muscle cells of cardiac blood vessels. EGFP-positive cells were also identified in the epithelium of organs readily exposed to pathogens including lower airways, the gastrointestinal tract, urethra, vagina, and cervix.With respect to the function of cells expressing this bitter taste receptor cluster, RNA-seq analysis in EGFP-positive cells isolated from the epithelium of trachea and stomach showed expression of genes related to innate immunity. These data further support the concept that bitter taste receptors serve functions outside the gustatory system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we associate a plane graph G with an oriented link by replacing each vertex of G with a special oriented n-tangle diagram. It is shown that such an oriented link has the minimum genus over all orientations of its unoriented version if its associated plane graph G is 2-connected. As a result, the genera of a large family of unoriented links are determined by an explicit formula in terms of their component numbers and the degree sum of their associated plane graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]