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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]

In the shrimp challenge test the Vibrio dosage, infection route, and strain are considered as risk factors that result in mortality. Assessment of Vibrio /shrimp interactions, and disease dynamics following infection by Vibrio, are useful techniques needed for detailed studies on the control of risk factors. In this paper we used an application of the Cox proportional hazard model to assess relative survival probability, estimate mortality risk, and construct a prognostic model to assess predictions of estimated time to death. Results indicate that infection route was the most important prognostic factor contributing to mortality in the challenge test (β = 3.698, P < 0.000). The shrimp infection rate following injection was found to be 40.4 times greater than that following immersion (hazard ratio (HR) = 40.4; p = 0.000). Our results also indicated that the HR resulting in shrimp mortality following a high dose of 10 8 cfu/shrimp was significantly greater (HR = 5.9, P < 0.000), than that following a baseline dosage of 10 7 cfu/shrimp. Strain Vh was found to be more virulent than Strain Vp (HR = 4.8; P < 0.000). The prognostic index also indicated that the infection route is the most important prognostic factor contributing to mortality in the challenge test. [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 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]

By performing microstructural characterization, tensile testing and failure analysis, the effects of electrochemical H-charging on microstructure and mechanical behaviour of two as-cast Mg-8Li (in wt%) based alloys were investigated and compared. Due to the in-situ formation of I-phase, the failure elongation ratio for Mg-8Li-6Zn-1Y alloy was 31.2 % and its hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility was about 1/4 that of Mg-8Li alloy after H-charging for 24 h. Moreover, the preferential location of H-induced pores transferred from two matrix phases to I-phase/matrix eutectic pockets due to the preferential H absorption of I-phase, resulting in the higher HE resistance of Mg-8Li-6Zn-1Y alloy. • The hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of Mg-8wt.%Li-6wt.%Zn-1wt.%Y is 1/4 that of Mg-8wt%Li alloy. • I-phase weakens the hydrogen-induced microstructural damage of Mg-8wt%Li-6wt%Zn-1wt%Y alloy. • Hydrogen charging induces quasi-cleavage cracking of both Mg-8wt%Li and Mg-8wt%Li-6wt%Zn-1wt%Y alloys. • Introducing I-phase improves the hydrogen embrittlement resistance of Mg-Li alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a rapidly progressing infectious disease with a high fatality rate caused by a novel bunyavirus (SFTSV). The role of lipids in viral infections is well-documented; however, the specific alterations in lipid metabolism during SFTSV infection remain elusive. This study aims to elucidate the lipid metabolic dysregulations in the early stages of SFTS patients. Methods: This study prospectively collected peripheral blood sera from 11 critical SFTS patients, 37 mild SFTS patients, and 23 healthy controls during the early stages of infection for lipidomics analysis. A systematic bioinformatics analysis was conducted from three aspects integrating lipid differential expressions, lipid differential correlations, and lipid-clinical indices correlations to reveal the serum lipid metabolic dysregulation in SFTSV-infected individuals. Results: Our findings reveal significant lipid metabolic dysregulation in SFTS patients. Specifically, compared to healthy controls, SFTS patients exhibited three distinct modes of lipid differential expression: increased levels of lipids including phosphatidylserine (PS), hexosylceramide (HexCer), and triglycerides (TG); decreased levels of lipids including lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), acylcarnitine (AcCa), and cholesterol esters (ChE); and lipids showing "dual changes" including phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Finally, based on lipid metabolic pathways and literature analysis, we systematically elucidated the potential mechanisms underlying lipid metabolic dysregulation in the early stage of SFTSV infection. Conclusions: Our study presents the first global serum lipidome profile and reveals the lipid metabolic dysregulation patterns in the early stage of SFTSV infection. These findings provide a new basis for the diagnosis, treatment, and further investigation of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water transportation to developing tissues relies on the structure and function of plant xylem cells. Plant microtubules govern the direction of cellulose microfibrils and guide secondary cell wall formation and morphogenesis. However, the relevance of microtubule-determined xylem wall thickening patterns in plant hydraulic conductivity remains unclear. In the present study, we identified a maize (Zea mays) semi-dominant mutant, designated drought-overly-sensitive1 (ZmDos1), the upper leaves of which wilted even when exposed to well-watered conditions during growth; the wilting phenotype was aggravated by increased temperatures and decreased humidity. Protoxylem vessels in the stem and leaves of the mutant showed altered thickening patterns of the secondary cell wall (from annular to spiral), decreased inner diameters, and limited water transport efficiency. The causal mutation for this phenotype was found to be a G-to-A mutation in the maize gene α-tubulin4, resulting in a single amino acid substitution at position 196 (E196K). Ectopic expression of the mutant α-tubulin4 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) changed the orientation of microtubule arrays, suggesting a determinant role of this gene in microtubule assembly and secondary cell wall thickening. Our findings suggest that the spiral wall thickenings triggered by the α-tubulin mutation are stretched during organ elongation, causing a smaller inner diameter of the protoxylem vessels and affecting water transport in maize. This study underscores the importance of tubulin-mediated protoxylem wall thickening in regulating plant hydraulics, improves our understanding of the relationships between protoxylem structural features and functions, and offers candidate genes for the genetic enhancement of maize. The tubulin DROUGHT OVERLY SENSITIVE 1 determines maize protoxylem secondary thickening patterns to ensure efficient water movement while enabling continued organ elongation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to model a mixed traffic flow consisting of vehicles controlled by a driving automation system in the highway off-ramp system. The driving automation system includes no automation (NA), driver assistance (DA), partial automation (PA), and conditional automation (CA). Developing this model requires specifying the longitudinal and lateral driving characteristics of vehicles with different driving automation systems and then selecting appropriate car-following and lane-changing models. The proposed cooperative lane change model applied by CA considers the lane utility and car-following models of the following vehicles in adjacent lanes that can be obtained by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The impacts of the market penetrations of PA and CA on traffic flow are investigated, and it is found that both PA and CA can improve traffic capability. Compared to PA, CA is more effective in improving the highway capacity near the off-ramp. The impact of CA on the headway indicates that CA enables vehicles that require changing lanes to find suitable gaps and changing lanes in a timely manner, which improves the capacity of the off-ramp and the overall freeway. By adjusting the lane change adventure factors, the contribution of CA to capacity can be further enhanced without compromising driving comfort and safety. • A traffic flow model mixed with partial automation vehicles and conditional automation vehicles. • A proposed cooperative lane change model considering the level of the following vehicles in adjacent lanes and lane utility. • The impact of market penetrations of partial automation and conditional automation on traffic flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]