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The technology of post-larval farming is increasingly being valued by aquaculture farmers and enterprises. The objective of this study is to determine an appropriate temperature restriction mode through temperature training to achieve greater compensatory growth potential. We cultured PL whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) at either low (25℃) or high (31℃) temperature for 20 days (restriction stage) and then transferred them to a control temperature (28℃) for 20 days (compensation stage). The compensatory growth observed under low temperature restriction showed that shrimp can recover and exhibit over-compensatory growth after growth restriction. Specific growth ratio and enzyme activity analyses indicated that the shrimp required 10 days or more to adapt to temperature stress. The relative expression levels of hsp60, tor, and s6k in the low temperature group were downregulated during the early stage of the restriction period, but were continually upregulated during the compensation period. This result indicates that although short-term restrictions may lead to growth retardation, growth will resume as the temperature recovers. When shrimp were challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus E1, the damage caused by infection after low temperature restriction and compensation was delayed and not severe. This indicates that the disease resistance of shrimp was improved after low temperature restriction. In contrast, shrimp in the high temperature group showed more severe damage than those in the control group at all time points after pathogen infection, indicating that high temperature restriction made the shrimp more susceptible to pathogenic Vibrio. Transcriptome analysis revealed abundant pathways related to energy metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, protein synthesis, and cell growth in the low temperature restriction-recovery group, which highlighted the importance of optimizing the nutrient supply, especially protein and amino acid to enhance compensatory growth. In summary, after 20 days of low temperature training, PL shrimp exhibited significant compensatory growth, which not only promoted the growth, but also enhanced the body's resistance to V. parahaemolyticus. Therefore, this culture technique can be used for aquaculture practices in PL shrimp cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical behavior of Ni(II) ions at a glassy carbon electrode was studied using choline chloride–ethylene glycol (ChCl-EG) and ethylene glycol (EG) as solvents. The deposition behavior of Ni(II) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests. The results showed that the reduction of Ni(II) in both non-aqueous solvents was an irreversible process controlled by diffusion, and that the cathodic efficiency and the diffusion coefficient of Ni(II) in EG were higher. The nucleation process of Ni was investigated in detail by chronoamperometry (CA) experiments, and the results showed that the reactions of Ni in EG and ChCl-EG conformed to the three-dimensional transient nucleation mechanism and continuous nucleation mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to study the microscopic morphology and phase composition of the \nickel plating, and it was verified that different species of complex anions [NiCl3(EG)3]− and [NiCl4]2− affected the morphology and density of \nickel metal, and that the nickel plating in EG had small "needle-like" nuclei. The corrosion resistance of the nickel plating was investigated by polarization curves and AC impedance tests, and the results showed that the nickel plating obtained by electrodeposition in EG and EG-NaCl had the best corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) has significantly impacted the development of autonomous driving technology in the field of intelligent transportation. However, in mixed traffic scenarios involving both human-driven vehicles (HDVs) and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), challenges arise, particularly concerning information sharing and collaborative control among multiple intelligent agents using DRL. To address this issue, we propose a novel framework, namely Spatial-Temporal Deep Reinforcement Learning (ST-DRL), that enables collaborative control among multiple CAVs in mixed traffic scenarios. Initially, the traffic states involving multiple agents are constructed as graph-formatted data, which is then sequential created to represent continuous time intervals. With the data representation, interactive behaviors and dynamic characteristics among multiple intelligent agents are implicitly captured. Subsequently, to better represent the spatial relationships between vehicles, a graph enabling network is utilize to encode the vehicle states, which can contribute to the improvement of information sharing efficiency among multiple intelligent agents. Additionally, a spatial-temporal feature fusion network module is designed, which integrates graph convolutional networks (GCN) and gated recurrent units (GRU). It can effectively fuse independent spatial-temporal features and further enhance collaborative control performance. Through extensive experiments conducted in the SUMO traffic simulator and comparison with baseline methods, it is demonstrated that the ST-DRL framework achieves higher success rates in mixed traffic scenarios and exhibits better trade-offs between safety and efficiency. The analysis of the results indicates that ST-DRL has increased the success rate of the task by 15.6 % compared to the baseline method, while reducing model training and task completion times by 26.6 % respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a constant potential electrodeposition technique, bright Ni-Cu alloy plating coating was made directly on a purple copper substrate from choline chloride-ethylene glycol deep eutectic solvents (1:2 mol ChCl-EG Deep Eutectic Solvents, ChCl-EG DESs). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) were used to examine the electrochemical behavior and nucleation/growth mechanism of Ni/Cu ions in ChCl-EG DESs. Kinetic potential polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to examine the corrosion resistance of Ni-Cu alloy coatings before and after passivation. At 70 °C, the reduction peaks coincide, indicating that increasing temperature can bring the Ni/Cu ion's reduction potentials closer together. The Ni-Cu plating coating follows a three-dimensional continuous nucleation/growth mechanism, which leads to a "velvety" microstructure. The deposition potential had a significant effect on the microscopic morphology, composition, and corrosion resistance of Ni–Cu alloy plating coating, and a dense velvety structured plating coating with a thickness ~ 16.95 μm can be obtained at −0.85 V (vs. Ag) and exhibites a best corrosion resistance (corrosion current density icorr = 12.623 μA/cm2, charge response resistance Rt = 4.486 KΩ/cm2). The passivation film consists of CuO, Cu2O and Ni(OH)2. The passivation can further improve the corrosion resistance of the plating layer (icorr = 2.107μA/cm2, Rt = 16.91KΩ/cm2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bright silver coatings were successfully prepared in deep eutectic solvent (DES) using the additive KBr in choline chloride-ethylene glycol (ChCl-EG, molar ratio 1:2). The results show that the reductive peak potential of the silver coordination ions shifts negatively with increasing KBr concentration. Relevant electrochemical parameters were calculated, such as the transfer coefficient α = 0.258 and the diffusion coefficient D = 1.04×10−6 cm2·s−1. The effects of temperature were investigated for the electron transfer activation energy EA=23.144 KJ·mol−1 and the diffusion activation energy ED=42.281 KJ·mol−1. The adsorption of bromine ions on the electrode surface was demonstrated using the impedance potential method and the impedance frequency method to derive differential capacitance curves. Simulation results from Material Studio software confirmed that bromine ions are mainly adsorbed on the hollow (fcc) sites on the crystalline surface of the copper electrode (100). The addition of KBr causes changes in the microstructure of the silver coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the improvement effects of herbaceous (corn) and woody (oak sawdust) biochar with their calcium modification on saline alkali soil. The addition of unmodified biochar regardless of types had no significant effect on the soluble cations (Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) and the main indicators of soil salinity and alkalinity (pH, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and total alkalinity (TA)), but the addition of calcium modified biochar decreased these soluble cations and indicators, especially the addition of modified woody biochar (PBM). Compared to CK, TA decreased by 70.02% and 89.25% in PBM with 2% and 4% addition, respectively. Soil ESP and SAR showed a significantly positive correlation with pH and TA, which indicated that soil salinization and alkalization were synchronized. These results showed that the calcium modified biochar, especially the modified woody biochar, instead of the original biochar could be potential soil amendments for the improvement of saline-alkali soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical reduction behaviors of copper ions were investigated by using cyclic voltammetry method and chronoamperometry method in choline chloride–ethylene glycol (ChCl–EG) deep eutectic solvents, and the effect of electrodeposition system temperature on copper nucleation kinetics and electrodeposition process was analyzed. The phase analysis and micro-morphological analysis of the obtained copper coating were carried out by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that, in the electrodeposition system with ChCl–EG as the base solution, the equilibrium potential shifted to a more positive direction with the increase of the system temperature, and the nucleation overpotential required for copper to start nucleation on the glassy carbon electrode surface decreased sharply. The test results obtained using chronoamperometry showed that the electrodeposition of copper involved multiple processes, including the nucleation of copper ions, and the reduction of trace water on the electrode surface. The contribution of the nucleation process can be enhanced by increasing the temperature. The increase of temperature can promote the preferential growth of Cu (111) crystal plane and can get a denser coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choline chloride-ethylene glycol (ChCl-EG) deep eutectic solvents were used as the electrolytes to study the cathode reduction process. The electrochemical behaviour of nickel and copper ions in ChCl-EG, the morphology, phase composition and corrosion resistance of the coatings were characterized. The results showed that the increase in the temperature of the electrodeposition solution system can make the reduction potentials of nickel and copper ions approaching, making it easier to achieve co-deposition. When the temperature of the solution was 70°C, a nickel-copper alloy similar to the commercial Monel (Ni70Cu30) with good corrosion resistance can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Growing evidence suggests an association between dyslipidemia and autoimmune diseases. This study aimed to perform a preliminary analysis to investigate the role of lipid profiles in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis and to preliminarily explore the potential inflammatory effects of lipids on this disease by analyzing the association of lipid profiles with different inflammatory markers. Methods: This retrospective study consisted of 40 anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients and 74 healthy controls. Serum lipid profiles and different inflammatory markers were analyzed upon admission and at each follow-up. Lipid profiles were compared among subgroups of patients, which were divided according to clinical characteristics. Correlations between lipid profiles and different inflammatory markers were assessed. Results: The results showed that lipid profiles were abnormal and were correlated with both disease severity and prognosis in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Correlations between lipid profiles and different inflammatory markers were observed. After 12 months of treatment, inflammatory markers changed with lipid profiles, and these changes were significantly correlated. Conclusions: Lipid profiles are associated with pathogenesis and progression of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, and they are significantly correlated with different inflammatory markers, suggesting that the association of lipids with the disease might be influenced by the inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) is an emerging and important commercial species in several countries, and is also a potential biological model in crustacean biology. However, its molecular embryonic development mechanism remains largely unknown because of a lack of genomic resources and systematic research. A comprehensive and integrated transcriptomic analysis is necessary to reveal the cell biological function, gene expression profiles, and embryo patterning that occur during embryogenesis. In the present study, transcriptomic profiles of C. quadricarinatus embryos during three developmental stages were investigated by high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology, and the genes related to development were further analyzed. In total, 49,436 unigenes were assembled and clustered, in which 13,727 were annotated in the Nonredundant database, 5087 were classified based on Gene Ontology annotations, and 2735 were associated with 189 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. Furthermore, gene expression differences among the embryos stages were analyzed, and 6658 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. In total, 3300, 5211, and 1262 DEGs were identified between the eye pigments forming stage (EP) and prepare-hatching stage (PH), EP and larvae (L), as well as PH and L; meanwhile, 1595, 2540 and 680 DEGs were annotated, respectively. The fundamental developmental genes related to apoptosis, neurogenesis, and segmentation, as well as signaling pathways related to Hedgehog, MAPK, Wnt, TGF-β and Notch, showed higher expression during the EP stage than in other two stages, indicating that the EP stage has more active biological processes than the latter stages. This transcriptome studies gene expression at different stages of embryonic development and the datasets provide a basis for understanding crustacean developmental biology and guiding seedling production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The herbicide paraquat (PQ) is an exogenous toxin that allows the selective activation of dopaminergic neurons in the mesencephalon to induce injury and also causes its apoptosis in vitro. However, uptake mechanisms between PQ and neurons remain elusive. To address this issue, we undertook a study of PQ endocytosis in a dopaminergic SH-SY5Y cell line as well as explored the subsequent subcellular location and potential functional analysis of PQ. The PQ was found to bind the SH-SY5Y cell membrane and then became internalized via a clathrin-dependent pathway. PQ was internalized by many subcellular organelles in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, the taken up PQ and secretogranin III (SCG3), which became dysregulated with PQ treatment that induced SH-SY5Y apoptosis in our previous study, colocalized in cytoplasmic vesicles. Taken together, our findings indicate that PQ is endocytosed by SH-SY5Y cells and that its multiple, subcellular localizations indicate PQ may potentially be involved in subcellular-level functions. More importantly, PQ distributing preferentially into SCG3-positive vesicles demonstrates its selective targeting which may affect SCG3 and cargoes carried by SCG3-positive vesicles. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that PQ toxic insults may potentially interfere with neurotransmitter storage and transport associated with secretory granules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effect of low temperature stress on hematological parameters and HSP gene expression in the turbot ( Scophthalmus maximus), water temperature was lowered rapidly from 18 to 1°C. During the cooling process, three individuals were removed from culture tanks at 18, 13, 8, 5, 3, and 1°C. Blood samples and tissues were taken from each individual, hematological indices and HSP gene expression in tissues were measured. The red blood cell count, white blood cell count, and hemoglobin concentration decreased significantly ( P < 0.05) as temperature decreased. Enzyme activities of plasma alanine transaminase and creatine kinase increased as temperature decreased, whereas aspartic transaminase and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activities displayed no obvious changes above 1°C and lactate dehydrogenase activity increased first and then decreased. Blood urea nitrogen and uric acid levels were highest at 8°C, and creatinine concentration was highest at 3°C. The concentrations of plasma cortisol, cholesterol, and triglyceride all increased significantly ( P < 0.05) as temperature decreased. The serum glucose concentration increased first and then decreased to the initial level. The HSP70 mRNA expression showed various patterns in different tissues, whereas HSP90 mRNA expression showed the same tendency in all tissues. Overall, these results indicate that temperature decreases in the range of 8 to 5°C may induce a stress response in S. maximus and that temperature should be kept above 8°C in the aquaculture setting to avoid damage to the fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmed sea cucumbers ( Apostichopus japonicus) of the same age displayed significantly different body sizes and weights under the same farming conditions. To examine the gut bacterial diversity of sea cucumbers and whether the growth differences between them were related to intestinal microbiota, the bacterial species from intestinal samples of 30 farmed A. japonicus from the same tank (15 large sea cucumbers vs. 15 small sea cucumbers) were characterized based on 16S rRNA gene analysis by means of high throughout sequencing. The results showed that bacterial phylotypes in both sizes of sea cucumbers were closely related to Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Planctomycete, and Spirochaetes, of which Proteobacteria were predominant (>50%). There were no significant differences in the relative abundances of each bacterial phylotype between the two groups, except for Actinobacteria ( P < 0.05). In addition, different species uniquely belonging to all three tested samples in the large group and the small group were found. It was interestingly that Vibrio were absent from both groups. It is likely that the differences in the abundances of Actinobacteria and different species in the two groups may be related to their remarkable disparities in body sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodegradable N-maleyl gelatin (N-MAGEL) was synthesized with gelatin (GEL) and maleic anhydride (MAH) by acylation. With Bis-acrylamide (Bis) cross-linker, a series of cross-linked poly ( N-isopropylacrylamide-co- N-maleyl gelatin) [P(NIPAAm-co-N-MAGEL)] hydrogels were prepared, and their lower critical solution temperature (LCST), water content, swelling/deswelling kinetics, drug delivery behaviors, and enzymatic degradation properties were investigated. As weight ratios of N-MAGEL/NIPAAm in hydrogel were increasing, water content increased, and it had no significant influence on LCST of hydrogel in spite of the weight ratios reaching 30:70. In the swelling/deswelling kinetics, hydrogels with higher weight ratios of N-MAGEL/NIPAAm exhibited faster swelling rate and slower deswelling rate. Drug delivery for bovine serum albumin (BSA) research indicated that increasing weight ratios of N-MAGEL/NIPAAm in hydrogels contribute to raising release time and cumulative release ratios. Lastly, hydrogels with higher weight ratios of N-MAGEL/NIPAAm degraded rapidly in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing papain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-objective optimization of urban bus network can help improve operation efficiency of the transit system and develop strategies for reducing urban traffic congestion in China. The work used cumulative prospect theory, currently the most influential model for decision under uncertainty, to optimize urban bus network. To achieve the research objective, the work developed the theoretical framework of urban bus network optimization, including optimization principle, optimization objectives and constraints. Furthermore, optimization objectives could comprehensively reflect expectations of passengers and bus companies from the dimension of time, space and value. It is more scientific and reasonable compared with only one stakeholder or dimension alone in the previous studies. In addition, the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was used to determine the positive and negative ideal alternative. The correlations between the optimization alternatives and the ideal alternatives were estimated by grey relational analysis simultaneously. The cumulative prospect theory (CPT) was used to determine the best alternative by comparing comprehensive prospect value of every alternative, accurately describing decision-making behavior compared with expected utility theory in actual life. Finally, Case of Xi'an showed that the method can better adjust the bus network, and the optimization solution is more reasonable to meet the actual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different amounts of vitamin C were added to diets fed to juveniles (2.5 ± 0.15 g) of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonic u s (Selenka) in an attempt to reduce the stress response of specimens exposed to nitrite stress. A commercial feed was used as the control diet and three experimental diets were made by supplementing 1 000, 1 500, or 2 000 mg vitamin C/kg diet to control diet separately in a 45-day experiment. Sea cucumbers were exposed to three different levels (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/L) of nitrite stress for 4, 8, and 12 h at four time intervals (0, 15, 30, and 45 d). Growth of the animals was recorded during the experiment. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) (i.e. hydroxyl free radical (-OH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC)) and antioxidant enzyme activities (i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) were measured. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze the effect of multiple factors on ROS indices and enzyme activities. Weight gain (WG) and special growth rate (SGR) of vitamin C supplementation groups were significantly higher than those of control group ( P < 0.05). The levels of -OH and MDA increased under exposure time extending and nitrite concentration increasing, whereas T-AOC level decreased. SOD and CAT activities increased at 4 h and 8 h and decreased at 12 h. During the days in which the animal consumed experimental diets, the levels of -OH and MDA decreased and that of T-AOC increased. This result suggests that diets containing vitamin C could reduce the nitrite stress response in the animals and increase their antioxidant capacity. The multifactor regression equation of growth performance, ROS indices, and duration of feeding results suggest that vitamin C supplementation of 1 400-2 000 mg/kg diet for 29-35 days could reduce effectively the effects of nitrite exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptides derived from shrimp hemocyanin have antimicrobial properties. This is the first report of hemocyanin cDNA ( FCHc) cloned from Fenneropenaeus chinensis and recombinant expression of two C-terminal fragments. Based on sequence analysis of Fenneropenaeus chinensis hemocyanin FCHc, we subcloned two FCHc fragments by designing special primers. Two antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were derived from FCHc (FCHc-C1 and FCHc-C2). The recombinant sequence of FCHc-C1 consisted of 207 bp encoding 69 amino acids and the recombinant sequence of FCHc-C2 consisted of 120 bp encoding 40 amino acids. The results of Tricine-sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting indicated that recombinant FCHc-C1 and FCHc-C2 peptides (rFCHc-C1 and rFCHc-C2) were expressed successfully. An inhibition assay showed that FCHc-C1 and FCHc-C2 were anionic AMPs with antifungal and antibacterial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clotting protein (CP) plays important and diverse roles in crustaceans, such as coagulation and lipid transportation. A clotting protein was purified from the hemolymph of Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis (named as Fc-CP) with Q sepharose HP anion-exchange chromatography and phenyl sepharose HP hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Fc-CP was able to form stable clots in vitro in the presence of hemocyte lysate and Ca, suggesting that the clotting reaction is catalyzed by a Ca-dependent transglutaminase in shrimp hemocytes. The molecular mass of Fc-CP was 380 kDa under non-reducing conditions and 190 kDa under reducing conditions as was determined with SDS-PAGE. CP exists as disulfide-linked homodimers and oligomers. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of Fc-CP was identical to that of shrimps including Penaeus monodon, Farfantepenaeus paulensis and Litopenaeus vannamei; and similar to that of other decapods. The purified Fc-CP was digested with trypsin and verified on an ABI 4700 matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. Our results will aid to better understanding the coagulation mechanism of shrimp hemolymph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptides in shrimp hemolymph play an important role in the innate immune response. Analysis of hemolymph will help to detect and identify potential novel biomarkers of microbial infection. We used magnetic bead-based purification (ClinProt system) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to characterize shrimp hemolymph peptides. Shrimp serum and plasma were used as the source of samples for comparative analysis, and it was found that serum was more suitable for shrimp hemolymph peptidomic analysis. To screen potential specific biomarkers in serum of immune-challenged shrimps, we applied magnetic bead-based MALDI-TOF MS to serum samples from 10 immune-challenged and 10 healthy shrimps. The spectra were analyzed using FlexAnalysis 3.0 and ClinProTools 2.1 software. Thirteen peptide peaks significantly different between the two groups were selected as candidate biomarkers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-infection. The diagnostic model established by genetic algorithm using five of these peaks was able to discriminate LPS-challenged shrimps from healthy control shrimps with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 100%. Our approach in MALDITOF MS-based peptidomics is a powerful tool for screening bioactive peptides or biomarkers derived from hemolymph, and will help to enable a better understanding of the innate immune response of shrimps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis for the etiology of schizophrenia involves various neurotransmitters, including 5-HT. Metabolic disorder of 5-HT is an important underlying neurobiochemical cause leading to the development of mental illness. Abnormality in the receptors involved in 5-HT synthesis and metabolism may affect the functioning of 5-HT in the central nervous system. There are seven types of 5-HT receptor families, with a total of 15 corresponding subtypes. HTR1A is the most abundantly expressed 5-HT receptor subtype in the mammalian brain. SNPs in HTR1A enhance or weaken the functioning of 5-HT by affecting HTR1A expression levels or ligand-binding activity, thereby placing HTR1A in an important role in the study of diseases of the nervous system. This study employed DNA sequencing to investigate HTR1A fragment lengths, including complete exons as well as 5′ FR and 3′ FR segments, for a total of 2,718 bp. Seven SNP loci (ss212928868, rs6295, rs6294, ss218178047, rs34118353, rs6449693, and rs878567) were found in 182 healthy volunteers and 161 patients. Among them, two SNP loci had not been reported in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, promoter locus ss212928868 and exon locus ss218178047, which now have been approved by the NCBI database and assigned rs numbers, rs113195492 and rs112846276, respectively. ss212928868 and rs6294 were statistically different between control and paranoid schizophrenic women ( P < 0.05), and both loci were in a state of linkage disequilibrium. However, statistical significance was lost after Bonferroni correction. Compared with the GG genotype, the GA + AA genotype had a decreased disease risk (odds ratio = 0.3529, 95 % confidence interval = 0.1319-0.9444). The data showed that changes in SNP loci of HTR1A were different between paranoid schizophrenic and control group women. Although such differences were lost after statistical correction, studies with larger sample sizes have not been conducted. Combined with the newly discovered loci, these findings can point out possible directions for future investigations in different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AMP deaminase catalyzes the conversion of AMP into IMP and ammonia. In the present study, a full-length cDNA of AMPD1 from skeletal muscle of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus was cloned and characterized. The 2 526 bp cDNA contains a 5′-UTR of 78 bp, a 3′-UTR of 237 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 2 211 bp, which encodes a protein of 736 amino acids. The predicted protein contains a highly conserved AMP deaminase motif (SLSTDDP) and an ATP-binding site sequence (EPLMEEYAIAAQVFK). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the AMPD1 and AMPD3 genes originate from the same branch, but are evolutionarily distant from the AMPD2 gene. RT-PCR showed that the flounder AMPD1 gene was expressed only in skeletal muscle. QRT-PCR analysis revealed a statistically significant 2.54 fold higher level of AMPD1 mRNA in adult muscle (750±40 g) compared with juvenile muscle (7.5±2 g) ( P<0.05). HPLC analysis showed that the IMP content in adult muscle (3.35±0.21 mg/g) was also statistically significantly higher than in juvenile muscle (1.08±0.04 mg/g) ( P<0.05). There is a direct relationship between the AMPD1 gene expression level and IMP content in the skeletal muscle of juvenile and adult flounders. These results may provide useful information for quality improvement and molecular breeding of aquatic animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-lipopolysaccharide factors (ALFs) are important antimicrobial peptides that are isolated from some aquatic species. In a previous study, we isolated ALF genes from Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. In this study, we optimized the production of a recombinant ALF by expressing E. sinensis ALF genes in Escherichia coli maintained in shake-flasks. In particular, we focused on optimization of both the medium composition and the culture condition. Various medium components were analyzed by the Plackett-Burman design, and two significant screened factors, (NH)SO and KHPO, were further optimized via the central composite design (CCD). Based on the CCD analysis, we investigated the induction start-up time, the isopropylthio-D-galactoside (IPTG) concentration, the post-induction time, and the temperature by response surface methodology. We found that the highest level of ALF fusion protein was achieved in the medium containing 1.89 g/L (NH)SO and 3.18 g/L KHPO, with a cell optical density of 0.8 at 600 nm before induction, an IPTG concentration of 0.5 mmol/L, a post-induction temperature of 32.7°C, and a post-induction time of 4 h. Applying the whole optimization strategy using all optimal factors improved the target protein content from 6.1% (without optimization) to 13.2%. We further applied the optimized medium and conditions in high cell density cultivation, and determined that the soluble target protein constituted 10.5% of the total protein. Our identification of the economic medium composition, optimal culture conditions, and details of the fermentation process should facilitate the potential application of ALF for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports existence of sequence variation in the human ABO gene. Topics discussed include observing of an unusual phenotype in the ABO blood group system during paternity testing, availability of heterozygous base substitutions in introns, and serological implications of the individual genotype.