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The sedimentary characteristics and preservation potential of lacustrine carbonates provide fundamental information on climate change. The lacustrine carbonate deposition in the Eocene Dongying Depression was investigated using a combination of mineralogical, petrological and geochemical analyses. Micritic calcite/dolomite, granular calcite, columnar calcite, calcareous shell fragments and reworked detrital calcite were identified. Varying patterns of carbonates (VPC) including lithofacies, geochemical indicators and carbonate distribution were revealed in the Dongying Depression: (i) carbonates hardly precipitate in the nearshore area (average 12 wt %); (ii) carbonate content is high (average 53 wt %) in the shallow lake and (iii) gradually decreases to reach a minimum (average 24 wt %) in the deeper part of the lake. Comparison of VPC in four Holocene lakes (the Qinghai Lake and Barkol Lake in China, Oro Lake in Canada and Montcortès Lake in Spain) with the Dongying Depression suggests that four distinct lake stages were developed, namely the terrigenous clastic/gypsum-rich, carbonate-rich, carbonate-decreasing and carbonate-poor stages. A depositional model of lacustrine carbonates influenced by detrital influx, climate, palaeoproductivity and salinity is developed. This study contributes to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms of lacustrine carbonate deposition to reconstruct environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report the first complete mitochondrial genome of the tapeworm Nippotaenia mogurndae in the order Nippotaeniidea Yamaguti, 1939. This mitogenome, which is 14,307 base pairs (bp) long with an A + T content of 72.2%, consists of 12 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two rRNA genes, and two non-coding regions. Most tRNAs have a conventional cloverleaf structure, but trnS1 and trnR lack dihydrouridine arms of tRNA. The two largest non-coding regions, NCR1 (220 bp) and NCR2 (817 bp), are located between trnY and trnS2 and between nad5 and trnG, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of mitogenomic data indicate that N. mogurndae is closely related to tapeworms in the order Cyclophyllidea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether implementation of a universal salt iodization (USI) programme has sufficient effects on pregnant women in Chongqing, the present study evaluated the iodine nutritional status of pregnant women living in Chongqing by spot urinary iodine concentration (UIC), to provide scientific suggestions to better meet the specific iodine needs of this vulnerable group.Design: Cross-sectional design.Setting: A random spot urine sample and household table salt sample were provided by each participant.Participants: A total of 2607 pregnant women from twenty-six of thirty-nine districts/counties in Chongqing participated.Results: The overall median UIC of pregnant women was 171·80 μg/l (interquartile range (IQR) = 113·85-247·00 μg/l) and 40·97 % (n 1057) of participants were iodine insufficient. The median iodine in table salt samples was 25·40 mg/kg (IQR = 23·10-28·30 mg/kg); 93·26 % (n 2406) of samples examined were found to be adequately iodized. Iodine nutritional status was not significantly different according to table salt iodization category. Trimester was identified to be statistically associated with UIC (P < 0·01). Seven districts/counties had median UIC below 150 μg/l and one district had median UIC of 277·40 μg/l.Conclusions: The USI programme in Chongqing prevents iodine deficiency generally, but does not maintain iodine status within adequate and recommended ranges throughout pregnancy. Usage of non-iodized or unqualified iodized salt and the slight change of dietary habits of iodized salt in Chongqing may present a substantial challenge to fight iodine-deficiency disorders; more efforts are needed to ensure adequate iodine intake during pregnancy besides the USI programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four isonitrogenous and isoenergetic purified diets containing free arachidonic acid (ARA) or EPA (control group), 0·30 % ARA, 0·30 % EPA and 0·30 % ARA+EPA (equivalent) were designed to feed juvenile grass carp (10·21 (sd 0·10) g) for 10 weeks. Only the EPA group presented better growth performance compared with the control group (P<0·05). Dietary ARA and EPA were incorporated into polar lipids more than non-polar lipids in hepatopancreas but not intraperitoneal fat (IPF) tissue. Fish fed ARA and EPA showed an increase of serum superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and decrease of glutathione peroxidase activity and malondialdehyde contents (P<0·05). The hepatopancreatic TAG levels decreased both in ARA and EPA groups (P<0·05), accompanied by the decrease of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in the ARA group (P<0·05). Fatty acid synthase (FAS), diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase and apoE gene expression in the hepatopancreas decreased in fish fed ARA and EPA, but only the ARA group exhibited increased mRNA level of adipose TAG lipase (ATGL) (P<0·05). Decreased IPF index and adipocyte sizes were found in the ARA group (P<0·05). Meanwhile, the ARA group showed decreased expression levels of adipogenic genes CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α, LPL and FAS, and increased levels of the lipid catabolic genes PPARα, ATGL, hormone-sensitive lipase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1) in IPF, whereas the EPA group only increased PPARα and CPT-1 mRNA expression and showed less levels than the ARA group. Overall, dietary EPA is beneficial to the growth performance, whereas ARA is more potent in inducing lipolysis and inhibiting adipogenesis, especially in IPF. Meanwhile, dietary ARA and EPA showed the similar preference in esterification and the improvement in antioxidant response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study conducted a 9-week feeding trial to investigate the effects of threonine (Thr) on the digestion capacity and hepatopancreas gene expression of juvenile blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala). For this purpose, three tanks (300 litres/tank) were randomly arranged and assigned to each experimental diet. Juvenile fish were fed with diets containing graded Thr levels (0·58, 1·08, 1·58, 2·08 or 2·58 % of the diet) to apparent satiation four times daily. At the end of the feeding trial, the results indicated that hepatopancreas weight, hepatosomatic index, hepatopancreatic protein content, intestinal weight, intestosomatic index and intestinal protein content increased with increasing dietary Thr levels up to 1·58 % and thereafter decreased (P< 0·05). The activities of chymotrypsin, trypsin, amylase and lipase elevated as dietary Thr levels increased up to 1·58 % (P< 0·05), while these activities decreased in most cases after 1·58 % dietary Thr except for chymotrypsin and trypsin in the hepatopancreas (plateau 1·58–2·08 % Thr). The relative gene expression levels of chymotrypsin, trypsin, amylase, lipase, target of rapamycin and insulin-like growth factor-I were up-regulated, and the highest values were observed with 1·58 % dietary Thr or 1·58 and 2·08 % dietary Thr, whereas the relative gene expression levels of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 2 gradually decreased (P< 0·10) as dietary Thr levels increased up to 1·58 % and thereafter significantly increased (P< 0·05), which could explain that about 1·58 % dietary Thr could improve the growth and development of digestive organs and activities of digestive enzymes of juvenile blunt snout bream. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]