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Hyriopsis cumingii is one of the most popular freshwater mussels for the pearl culture industry in China. Three elite strains, i.e., Shenzi No. 1 (purple inner shell, SZ1), Shenzhe No. 3 (white inner shell and rapid growth, SZ3), and Golden strain (golden inner shell, GS), exhibit advantageous characteristics in terms of pearl coloration and biomineralization, which result in a significantly higher pearl quality. To explore the genetic basis of phenotypic variation, the three populations were subjected to whole-genome resequencing. A total of 38,781,748 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified across the genomes of the three strains. The three populations exhibited high levels of genetic diversity of individuals within each population, as expressed by high heterozygosity (Ho: 0.3099–0.3170, He: 0.2969). The GS population appeared to have experienced a greater selective pressure than SZ1 and SZ3, as denoted by its higher linkage disequilibrium (LD) level. By combining the pairwise comparison of the fixation index (Fst) and nucleotide diversity ratio (θπ), we identified four critical biomineralization-related genes (CaM, CHST, CHSY, and COL6A3) and three color-related genes (TRY, FER, and BCO1) that may serve as selective signatures for the breeding of H. cumingii. In summary, the identified functional genes as well as their corresponding SNP loci provided a genetic basis for selecting traits related to inner shell color and biomineralization and may accelerate the progress of marker-assisted selection in H. cumingii.

Mozi first came to the English missionary Joseph Edkins’ attention in 1858 as a Confucian heretic. Subsequently, the Dutch missionary Johann Jakob Maria de Groot translated Mozi’s Funerary Doctrine, which has strong religious overtones. Protestantism missionaries were represented by Joseph and Groot, whose renderings of Mozi were replete with theological interpretations. Mozi was imagined as a religious canon, containing Christian doctrine, by the two missionaries who were keen to find commonalities between Mozi and Christianity. They also used Mozi’s status as a Confucian heretic to criticize Confucianism, the archenemy of Christianity. Through this religious imagination of Mozi, more missionaries and sinologists joined Mozi’s translation, and the journey of the canon’s transmission to the West started.

China leads the world in freshwater pearl production, an industry in which the triangle sail mussel (Sinohyriopsis cumingii) plays a pivotal role. In this paper, we report a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of S. cumingii with a size of 2.90 Gb—the largest yet reported among bivalves—and 89.92% anchorage onto 19 linkage groups. The assembled genome has 37,696 protein-coding genes and 50.86% repeat elements. A comparative genomic analysis revealed expansions of 752 gene families, mostly associated with biomineralization, and 237 genes under strong positive selection. Notably, the fibrillin gene family exhibited gene family expansion and positive selection simultaneously, and it also exhibited multiple high expressions after mantle implantation by transcriptome analysis. Furthermore, RNA silencing and an in vitro calcium carbonate crystallization assay highlighted the pivotal role played by one fibrillin gene in calcium carbonate deposition and aragonite transformation. This study provides a valuable genomic resource and offers new insights into the mechanism of pearl biomineralization.

Haemophilus parasuis is a commensal organism of the upper respiratory tract of pigs, but virulent strains can cause Glässer’s disease, resulting in significant economic losses to the swine industry. OmpP2 is an outer membrane protein of this organism that shows considerable heterogeneity between virulent and non-virulent strains, with classification into genotypes I and II. It also acts as a dominant antigen and is involved in the inflammatory response. In this study, 32 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against recombinant OmpP2 (rOmpP2) of different genotypes were tested for reactivity to a panel of OmpP2 peptides. Nine linear B cell epitopes were screened, including five common genotype epitopes (Pt1a, Pt7/Pt7a, Pt9a, Pt17, and Pt19/Pt19a) and two groups of genotype-specific epitopes (Pt5 and Pt5-II, Pt11/Pt11a, and Pt11a-II). In addition, we used positive sera from mice and pigs to screen for five linear B-cell epitopes (Pt4, Pt14, Pt15, Pt21, and Pt22). After porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) were stimulated with overlapping OmpP2 peptides, we found that the epitope peptides Pt1 and Pt9, and the loop peptide Pt20 which was adjacent epitopes could all significantly upregulated the mRNA expression levels of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. Additionally, we identified epitope peptides Pt7, Pt11/Pt11a, Pt17, Pt19, and Pt21 and loop peptides Pt13 and Pt18 which adjacent epitopes could also upregulate the mRNA expression levels of most proinflammatory cytokines. This suggested that these peptides may be the virulence-related sites of the OmpP2 protein, with proinflammatory activity. Further study revealed differences in the mRNA expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β and IL-6, between genotype-specific epitopes, which may be responsible for pathogenic differences between different genotype strains. Here, we profiled a linear B-cell epitope map of the OmpP2 protein and preliminarily analyzed the proinflammatory activities and effects of these epitopes on bacterial virulence, providing a reliable theoretical basis for establishing a method to distinguish strain pathogenicity and to screen candidate peptides for subunit vaccines.

The emergence and widespread of porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVADs), mainly caused by porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), threatens the Chinese swine industry. In this study, to investigate the recent prevalence of PCV2 in northern Guangdong Province of China, 573 tissue samples from 132 pig farms were collected during 2016–2021 and analyzed via PCR. Overall, 51.38% (297/573, 95%CI 47.74–55.92) samples were tested PCV2 positive. The detection rate of PCV2 was significantly lower in samples collected before 2016-2018 than after the outbreak of African Swine Fever (2019-2021), being 59.85% (158/264, 95%CI 53.94–65.76) and 41.47% (141/340, 95%CI 36.43–46.71), respectively. On the other end, the genetic characteristics of 26 PCV2 strains were further analyzed. These PCV2 strains belonged to three genotypes, including PCV2a, PCV2b, and PCV2d. Specifically, the predominant genotype prevalent during two periods (2016–2018 and 2019–2021) wasPCV2b (81.82%, 9/11) and PCV2d (80.0%, 12/15), respectively. The results above illustrated the high prevalence and the genetic evolution feature of PCV2 in Guangdong Province in recent years.

In triangle sail mussel (Hyriopsis cumingii), shell biomineralization is a complicated process that involves multiple gene products. Shell matrix proteins are involved in the formation of the organic framework and play an important role in the regulation of calcium carbonate deposition. In this study, A new shell matrix protein gene Hc-transgelin was identified in H. cumingii. The full-length cDNA of Hc-transgelin was 1200 bp, including a 501 bp open reading frame, which encoded 166 amino acids. Hc-transgelin is rich in lysine, it accounts for 11.40% of the protein. The predicted transgelin protein contained a conserved calmodulin homologous domain. A tissuespecific expression assay indicated that Hc-transgelin exhibited significantly highest expression in the mantle. Furthermore, Hc-transgelin in situ hybridization detected positive signals at the edge of the mantle outer fold, where nacre and prismatic layer biomineralization occur. An RNA interference assay showed that the shape of aragonite flakes in nacre changed and their growth was inhibited, and cracks appeared in the prismatic layer organic sheath when the expression of Hc-transgelin was suppressed. In a shell repair assay, a higher expression of Hc-transgelin appeared from day 12 to day 25 when the nacre accumulated quickly. These findings indicate that Hc-transgelin may be involved in the formation of aragonite flakes in the nacre and play a role in the formation of the organic sheath in the prismatic layer of the shell. This study provides new insights into the role of the Hctransgelin gene and also contributes to the molecular understanding of mollusk shell formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xijiao Huojiu (Xijiao), an ancient Chinese rice wine (ACRW), is produced using traditional methods, which involve biological-ageing-like process and result in distinctive sensory profiles. However, its aroma composition is still unclear. In this study, the aroma characteristics of three samples with varying ageing times were examined. Xijiao_SCT, with a short cellar time, exhibited a strong fruity and floral aroma and a less grain-like aroma. Conversely, Xijiao_LCT, which had a long cellar time, had a deep cocoa- and caramel-like aroma. A total of 27 key odorants that greatly influenced the aroma characteristics of Xijiao were identified. Comparative studies were used to identify 12 key odorants that distinguish Xijiao from modern Chinese rice wine (MCRW) and grape wines (GW). Additionally, 13 dominant latent ageing markers differentiated Xijiao_SCT from Xijiao_LCT. Our results suggested that ACRW and MCRW have overlapping but distinct volatile metabolomic profiles, highlighting the characteristics of ACRW during ageing process.

Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is an extremely rare but aggressive hematopoietic malignancy, and the prognosis has been reported to be rather unfavorable with a median overall survival of merely 6 months. We presented a 58-year-old female patient complaining of abdominal pain and fever, who was admitted to our institution in September 2021. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) scan showed enlargement of generalized multiple lymph nodes. Subsequently, laparoscopic retroperitoneal lesion biopsy and bone marrow aspiration were performed. The pathological findings indicated the diagnosis of HS concurrent with follicular lymphoma. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of the tumor lesion revealed a high expression of CD38 and PD-L1 proteins. Furthermore, KRAS gene mutation was identified by means of next-generation sequencing. The patient exhibited poor treatment response to both first- and second-line cytotoxic chemotherapies. Therefore, she underwent six cycles of Daratumumab (anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody), Pazopanib (multi-target receptor tyrosine kinases inhibitor) combined with third-line chemotherapy, followed by involved-site radiotherapy and maintenance therapy with the PD-1 inhibitor Tislelizumab. Long-term partial remission was finally achieved after multi-modality treatment. Duration of remission and overall survival reached 22 and 32 months, respectively. Our case indicated that immuno-targeted treatment coupled with chemotherapy and radiotherapy might constitute a potential therapeutic option for HS.

Background C-reactive protein (CRP) is a prototypical acute phase protein in humans with the function of regulating immune cells. Serum CRP levels are elevated in multiple myeloma (MM), associated with MM cell proliferation and bone destruction. However, its direct effects on T lymphocytes in MM have not been elucidated.Methods Public data sets were used to explore the correlation of CRP levels with immune cell infiltration and cytotoxicity score of CD8+ T cells in MM. In vitro, repeated freeze-thaw myeloma cell lines were taken as tumor antigens to load dendritic cells (DCs) derived from HLA-A*0201-positive healthy donors. MM-specific cytotoxic T cells (MM-CTL) were obtained from T lymphocytes of the corresponding donors pulsed with these DCs. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells were manipulated by transfecting with lentivirus encoding an anti-BCMA single-chain variable fragment. Then T cells from healthy controls, MM-CTLs and BCMA CAR-T cells were exposed to CRP and analyzed for cell proliferation, cytotoxicity, immunophenotypes. CRP binding capacity to T cells before and after Fc gamma receptors IIb (FcγRIIb) blockage, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and the downstream molecules were also detected. In vivo, both normal C57BL/6J mice and the Vk*MYC myeloma mouse models were applied to confirm the impact of CRP on T cells.Results CRP levels were negatively correlated with cell-infiltration and cytotoxicity score of CD8+ T cells in MM. In vitro experiments showed that CRP inhibited T-cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, impaired the cytotoxic activity and upregulated expression of senescent markers in CD8+ T cells. In vivo results validated the suppressive role of CRP in CD8+ T cells. CRP could bind to CD8+ T cells, mainly to the naïve T subset, while the binding was dramatically decreased by FcγRIIb blockage. Furthermore, CRP resulted in increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and oxidized glutathione in CD8+ T cells.Conclusions We found that CRP impaired immune response of CD8+ T cells via FcγRIIb-p38MAPK-ROS signaling pathway. The study casted new insights into the role of CRP in anti-myeloma immunity, providing implications for future immunotherapy in MM.

The thermal discharge of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant has a certain impact on the ecological environment of the adjacent waters. In order to understand and evaluate changes in the fish egg community structure in the adjacent waters of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and their relationship with environmental factors, four surveys were conducted to investigate fish eggs in January (winter), March (spring), August (summer) and November (autumn) of 2020. A total of 100,985 fish eggs were collected and 17 taxa were identified, belonging to five orders, 14 families and 17 genera. Among them, Perciformes and Clupeiformes were the main contributing taxa to fish egg species and abundance in the waters adjacent to Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant. The number of fish egg species ranged from high to low was summer, spring, autumn and winter; the average abundance ranged from high to low was spring, summer, winter and autumn. The results showed that except in winter, the average abundance of fish eggs was greater in northeast area than in southwest area. The Shannon-Weiner species diversity index (H’), Pielou evenness index (J’) and Margalef richness index (d) were significantly different between seasons, but none were significantly different between areas. The results of NMDS analysis showed that there were significant differences in fish egg communities between seasons. Surface seawater temperature the average abundance of fish eggs was positively correlated in the results of all four seasons. Although the entrainment effect of nuclear power plant water intake and thermal pollution of partial waters owing to thermal discharge can cause some loss of fish eggs, fish resources can still be effectively maintained.

Abstract Background Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells. Despite extensive research, molecular mechanisms in MM that drive drug sensitivity and clinic outcome remain elusive. Results Single-cell RNA sequencing was applied to study tumor heterogeneity and molecular dynamics in 10 MM individuals before and after 2 cycles of bortezomib–cyclophosphamide–dexamethasone (VCD) treatment, with 3 healthy volunteers as controls. We identified that unfolded protein response and metabolic-related program were decreased, whereas stress-associated and immune reactive programs were increased after 2 cycles of VCD treatment. Interestingly, low expression of the immune reactive program by tumor cells was associated with unfavorable drug response and poor survival in MM, which probably due to downregulation of MHC class I mediated antigen presentation and immune surveillance, and upregulation of markers related to immune escape. Furthermore, combined with immune cells profiling, we uncovered a link between tumor intrinsic immune reactive program and immunosuppressive phenotype in microenvironment, evidenced by exhausted states and expression of checkpoint molecules and suppressive genes in T cells, NK cells and monocytes. Notably, expression of YBX1 was associated with downregulation of immune activation signaling in myeloma and reduced immune cells infiltration, thereby contributed to poor prognosis. Conclusions We dissected the tumor and immune reprogramming in MM during targeted therapy at the single-cell resolution, and identified a tumor program that integrated tumoral signaling and changes in immune microenvironment, which provided insights into understanding drug sensitivity in MM.

Abstract Background Primary gastric T‐cell lymphoma (PG‐TCL) is a rare hematological malignancy with few data reported. The objective of this study is to investigate the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and survivals of PG‐TCL. Methods Totally, 164 patients with PG‐TCL from 1975 to 2016 extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database were analyzed. Kaplan–Meier method was applied to plot overall survival (OS) and cancer‐specific survival (CSS). The prognostic factors of OS and CSS were explored by Cox proportional hazard regression. Nomograms were constructed to predict survival possibilities. Results The age‐adjusted incidence rate of PG‐TCL was 0.0091 per 100,000 person‐years and increased with age. The median age at onset was 65 years old with male predominance. The major histological type was peripheral T‐cell lymphoma, NOS (63.4%). The 1‐, 2‐, and 5‐year OS were 45.5%, 34.7%, and 23.5%, respectively while the 1‐, 2‐, and 5‐year CSS were 47.4%, 37.3%, and 29.6%, respectively. Multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated that age at diagnosis, use of chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were the independent prognostic factors for OS. Chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy could significantly improve patients' OS compared with chemotherapy alone. Moreover, age at diagnosis and use of chemotherapy were also the independent prognostic factors for CSS. Nomograms for PG‐TCL were developed to predict 1‐, 2‐, and 5‐year OS possibilities. The predictability of nomograms was verified by high concordance index and good agreement with the predicted value in calibration plots. Conclusion PG‐TCL is a rare neoplasm with low incidence. Patients with PG‐TCL generally exhibited poor prognosis. Use of chemotherapy plus radiotherapy was associated with favorable OS.

Mariculture of bivalves (e.g., mussels, scallops, and oysters) is developing rapidly in coastal waters. This process releases shell debris that can accumulate on the seabed under farms. The ecological consequences of shell accumulation on the bioturbation of benthic macrofauna, which play a key role in the biogeochemical processes of sediment, are not yet fully understood. Thus, it is necessary to quantify the shell debris that accumulated under bivalves farms and evaluate whether the shell debris hinders the burrowing capacity of macrofauna. Oysters are common bivalve species cultured worldwide. However, no data are available on shell accumulation due to oyster farming and its possible effects on the burrowing capacity of polychaetes. Thus, we conducted a preliminary study on shells debris accumulation under an oyster farm in Daya Bay, southern China, and assessed the effects of shell accumulation on the burrowing activity of the polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis in a mesocosm experiment for 32 days. The results showed that oyster farming significantly (p < 0.05) increased the accumulation of shell debris under the farm. The amount of shell debris under oyster farm (6.0 ± 1.3 kg (dry weight (DW)) m-2 or 130.0 ± 24.7 g (DW) kg-1 dry sediment) was approximately two times that in a non-culture area (3.5 ± 0.9 kg (DW) m-2 or 74.9 ± 10.5 g (DW) kg-1 dry sediment). The presence of shell debris did not affect the survival of P. aibuhitensis in experiment, but the animals in sediment with shell added exhibited greater losses of body weight compared with those without, indicating that the presence of shell causes animals to expend more energy in burrowing. The numbers of burrowing holes were lower in sediment with shell debris added compared with those in sediment without shell addition throughout the experiment. Whereas, this does not due to the P. aibuhitensis in +Shell treatment were less active in terms of their burrowing activities. The lower numbers of holes in +Shell treatment was mainly due to P. aibuhitensis were unable to use surface areas where shells were present, the amount of area occupied by shell material physically prevented P. aibuhitensis from forming burrows in these locations. The hindering effects of shells on the burrowing activity of P. aibuhitensis would decrease as the shells degraded into debris. Therefore, we recommend using small shells when conducting “shell addition” bioremediation strategies to avoid the possible negative effects of shells on burrowing by polychaetes.

Microalgae blooms are a frequent occurrence in coastal waters worldwide. It is reasonable to assume that these blooms have various influences on bacterial communities, which in turn may affect the development and dissipation of the bloom. However, the bacterial community characteristics, particularly of attached bacteria, associated with microalgae blooms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the community profiles of bacteria using high-throughput sequencing during a Phaeocystis globosa bloom in Mirs Bay, southern China, in January 2021. Bacteria living in three habitats, i.e., bacterioplankton, particle-attached bacteria, and colony-attached bacteria, were studied from the exponential growth phase to the decline growth phase of the bloom. Distinct variations in bacterial community composition existed among the three habitats. Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria were the dominant phyla of bacterioplankton, particle–attached bacteria, and colony-attached bacteria, respectively. Richness and diversity were significantly highest (p < 0.01) in particle-attached bacteria, followed by bacterioplankton, and lowest in colony-attached bacteria. The community diversities of bacterioplankton and particle-attached bacteria decreased significantly (p < 0.05) as the bloom shifted from the exponential to the decline phase. During the decline growth phase of the bloom, Bacteroidota and Verrucomicrobiota were the dominant remarkably abundant bacteria in the bacterioplankton community, whereas Verrucomicrobiota was dominant in the particle-attached bacteria community. No significant difference was observed in the colony-attached bacterial community between the exponential and decline phases of the P. globosa bloom owing to their complex network. The results of this study suggest that P. globose bloom has a profound impact on marine bacteria, particularly species that can decompose organic matter, which could play a crucial role in the dissipation of algal blooms.

Heavy rain fell in Kyushu, Japan, in early July 2020, which caused huge life and economic losses. The present work reports that a Tibetan Plateau vortex (TPV) generated over the Tibetan Plateau transformed into a trough at the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and the trough continued to move eastward and was responsible for the heavy rainfall in Kyushu. Accordingly, the maintenance and eastward movement of the trough and the influencing mechanism of the trough on the rainfall in Kyushu are explored based on the final analysis data (FNL) from NCEP and the JRA-55 reanalysis from JMA. Diagnoses of the potential vorticity (PV) tendency equation indicate that the horizontal PV flux convergence east of the trough is the primary contributor to the eastward movement and maintenance of the trough. Furthermore, the trough is proved to have important effects on the moisture condition and the ascending motion around Kyushu. That is, the trough increases the moisture in Kyushu by intensifying the eastward moisture transportation to Kyushu; the positive vorticity and warm center, as well as the wind perturbation related to the trough, are in favor of stronger ascending motion in Kyushu. The findings in this work provide extended knowledge on the causation of rainfall in Japan, which is beneficial for further precipitation prediction.

The peanut worm (Sipunculus nudus) is an important intertidal species worldwide. Species living in the same aquaculture area might suffer different environmental impacts. To increase knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the response to environmental fluctuations, we performed a transcriptome analysis of S. nudus from different intertidal zones using a combination of the SMRT platform and the Illumina sequencing platform. (1) A total of 105,259 unigenes were assembled, and 23,063 unigenes were perfectly annotated. The results of the PacBio Iso-Seq and IIIumina RNA-Seq enriched the genetic database of S. nudus. (2) A total of 830 DEGs were detected in S. nudus from the different groups. In particular, 33 DEGs had differential expression in the top nine KEGG pathways related to pathogens, protein synthesis, and cellular immune response and signaling. The results indicate that S. nudus from different zones experience different environmental stresses. (3) Several DEGs (HSPA1, NFKBIA, eEF1A, etc.) in pathways related to pathogens (influenza A, legionellosis, measles, and toxoplasmosis) had higher expression in groups M and L. HSPA1 was clearly enriched in most of the pathways, followed by NFKBIA. The results show that the peanut worms from the M and L tidal flats might have suffered more severe environmental conditions. (4) Some DEGs (MKP, MRAS, and HSPB1) were upregulated in peanut worms from the H tidal flat, and these DEGs were mainly involved in the MAPK signaling pathway. These results indicate that the MAPK pathway may play a vital role in the immune response of the peanut worm to the effects of different intertidal flats. This study provides a valuable starting point for further studies to elucidate the molecular basis of the response to different environmental stresses in S. nudus.

Managing the marine ecosystem effectively requires studying the response of plankton community metabolism to warming. Moreover, warming caused by thermal discharge is known to significantly raise the water temperatures in the nuclear power plants. However, effects of thermal discharge on planktonic community metabolic characteristics, especially net community production, in surrounding waters remain poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to analyze the characteristics of plankton community metabolism in thermal discharge area of the Daya Bay, China. The investigations were conducted in August 2016 and January 2017. Our results showed that the plankton community metabolism was promoted in moderately warm regions (29.4-30 °C), with higher gross primary production and community respiration than in high- and extremely high-temperature regions; meanwhile, plankton community metabolism was evidently inhibited in high (31.4 °C in winter) or extremely high (36°C in summer) temperature regions, thereby exhibiting heterotrophic metabolism state. Our findings indicate that warming could affect plankton community carbon metabolism in the Daya Bay, thereby declining the stability of the marine ecosystem.

Abstract Background Increasing evidence suggests that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). However, no clear consensus has been reached about the clinical features and effective treatment of HCV-associated NHL patients. We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the clinical characteristics and effectiveness of antiviral treatment or rituximab administration among NHL patients with HCV infection. Methods Eight electronic databases, including PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials, WANFANG, CNKI, and VIP, were searched for eligible studies up to July 31, 2021. The hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) corresponding to the 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to estimate the outcomes. Publication bias was assessed by Egger’s and Begg’s tests. Statistical analysis was performed with RevMan 5.4 software and Stata version 15. Results There were 27 shortlisted articles out of a total of 13,368 NHL patients included in the current meta-analysis. Our results demonstrated that NHL patients with HCV infection had a significantly shorter overall survival (OS: HR 1.89; 95% CI 1.42–2.51, P

Abstract Backgrounds Decreased cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells has been shown in multiple myeloma (MM). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, by using single‐cell RNA sequencing analysis and in vitro experiments, we aim to uncover and validate molecularly distinctive insights into identifying regulators for NK cell exhaustion and provide potential targets for novel immune therapies in MM. Methods Single‐cell RNA sequencing was conducted in the bone marrow and peripheral blood samples from 10 newly diagnosed MM patients and three healthy volunteers. Based on the cluster‐defining differentially expressed genes, we named and estimated functional states of each cluster via bioinformatics analyses. Functional significance of key findings obtained from sequencing analysis was examined in a series of in vitro experiments, including luciferase reporter assay, lentiviral expression vector construction, NK cell transfection, RT‐qPCR, flow cytometry, and cytotoxicity assay. Results We classified NK cells into seven distinct clusters and confirmed that a subset of ZNF683+ NK cells were enriched in MM patients with ‘exhausted’ transcriptomic profile, featuring as decreased expression of activating receptors and cytolytic molecules, as well as increased expression of inhibitory receptors. Next, we found a significant downregulation of SH2D1B gene that encodes EAT‐2, an adaptor protein of activating receptor SLAMF7, in ZNF683+ NK cells from MM patients versus healthy volunteers. We further proved that ZNF683 transfection in NK cells significantly downregulated SH2D1B expression via directly binding to the promoter of SH2D1B, leading to NK cell cytotoxic activity impairment and exhausted phenotypes acquisition. In contrast, ZNF683 knockout in NK cells from MM patients increased cytotoxic activity and reversed NK cell exhaustion. Conclusions In summary, our findings uncover an important mechanism of ZNF683+ NK cell exhaustion and suggest that transcriptional suppressor ZNF683 as a potential useful therapeutic target in immunotherapy of MM.

An outbreak of a macrozooplankton Creseis acicula occurred in the summer of 2020 nearby the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant located on the coast of the Daya Bay in the South China Sea. The outbreaks of C. acicula often threaten human health, the marine environment, and other human activities including the safe operation of coastal nuclear power plants. Seawater temperature has been suggested as an important factor influencing such outbreaks. However, the underlying mechanisms through which temperature influences C. acicula remains unknown. Here, we studied the effects of temperature on the ingestion and assimilation of algal food by feeding radiocarbon-labeled algae Chlorella sp. at simulated field temperatures (19–31 °C) to C. acicula collected during the outbreak in the Daya Bay. We also quantified the allocation of the food carbon to dissolved organic carbon (DOC), CO2, and fecal pellets. The results showed that the zooplankton during the same feeding time ingested doubled or tripled algal food at higher temperatures, and it produced and released significantly more DOC, CO2, and fecal pellets with more ingested food carbon. Meanwhile, the assimilation efficiency for the ingested food carbon slightly increased from 48% to 54% with rising temperature. As a result, higher assimilation rates indicating faster growth of C. acicula were observed at higher temperatures. In addition, the high activation energy of 0.908 eV indicated that the assimilation rate was very sensitive to temperature rising. Our results show that relatively rising temperature can enhance C. acicula’s ingestion and assimilation rates for algal food, benefit its growth and metabolism, and contribute to its outbreak. This study provides a mechanistic interpretation for the relationship between rising temperature and the outbreaks of C. acicula and suggests that such outbreaks may occur more frequently and widely in the warming ocean.

Chinese bahaba (Bahaba taipingensis) is a critically endangered fish species, which can produce sounds like other Sciaenidae species. In this study, sounds produced by sexually mature Chinese bahaba were recorded during the reproduction season for the first time. Two distinct types of sounds were observed during the reproduction season, termed as single drum and fast drum trains calls. Single drum callings occurred as a series of trains with rapid pulses, while fast drum trains callings were mainly made of a single signal. The single drum and fast drum trains had a peak frequency of 77.8 ± 16.2 Hz and 79.1 ± 8.7 Hz, respectively. Statistical analysis suggested significant differences in −3 dB bandwidth, signal duration, and root-mean-square sound pressure levels, except for peak frequency (p < 0.05) between single drum and fast drum trains sounds. Single drum occurred mainly before dawn (period range from 0:00 to 6:00 am) and less frequently after dusk (18:00–24:00 pm), and the fast drum trains occurred after dawn (6:00 am to 12:00 pm) and dusk (18:00 pm to 24:00 pm). Considering the abundance of Chinese bahaba has significantly declined, passive acoustic monitoring provides a non-invasive and low-cost effective tool to monitor sound production during reproduction season, which may help to facilitate aquaculture management and fishery population conservation in the future.

Temperature has a great impact on underwater environment. In this study, a grid-based scheme of underwater ultrasound tomography was proposed to reconstruct temperature spatial distribution. Computer simulations showed that ultrasound tomography reconstructed the distributed temperature pattern of Daya Bay seawater. The water pool experiment showed that the reconstructed temperature was consistent with in situ temperature. The ultrasound tomography had advantages in reducing measurements to extract the temperature spatial pattern over the in-situ method, and in increasing measurement accuracy over low frequency acoustic scheme. The results suggest that underwater ultrasound tomography may provide a valuable approach to reconstruct high spatial resolution temperature distribution at small-scale coastal, estuary, and sea-land interface regions.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one type of highly heterogeneous lymphoid malignancy with 30%~40% of patients experiencing treatment failure. Novel risk stratification and therapeutic approaches for DLBCL are urgently needed. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), which contributes to tumor angiogenesis, metastasis, drug resistance, and cancer-associated fibroblast generation, has been detected in the microenvironment of many types of cancers. However, the existence of EndMT in the hematological malignancies microenvironment remains unknown. Here, we identified the existence of EndMT in DLBCL-associated endothelial cells and the clinical relevance of EndMT markers in DLBCL, which was associated with advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis. In vitro experiments confirmed that DLBCL cells stimulated angiogenesis and EndMT of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). We further unveiled the molecular mechanisms underlying this process. We demonstrated that WNT10A, a WNT family member overexpressed in DLBCL tissues and correlated with clinical features in DLBCL, promoted EndMT through glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β)/β-catenin/snail signaling. WNT10A inhibited the binding of GSK3β to β-catenin/snail, resulting in β-catenin and snail nuclear accumulation and target gene transcription. Silencing β-catenin and snail respectively attenuated WNT10A-induced angiogenesis and EndMT. The interplay between β-catenin-dependent and snail-dependent signaling was also confirmed in this study. Collectively, these findings identified that WNT10A/GSK3β/β-catenin/snail pathway performed vital roles in DLBCL-induced EndMT and indicated that EndMT markers and WNT10A may serve as novel predictors of clinical outcome.

Creseis acicula is a swimming shelled pteropod species, widely distributed in the world’s oceans. In 2020, an unprecedented bloom of C. acicula was observed in Daya Bay, and lasted from June to July. To date, there is very limited information on the physiological characteristics of this species, which is essential to understand bloom dynamics. In the present study, the physiological performances of C. acicula in response to temperature (17–35°C) and salinity (18–38 ppt) were investigated. The oxygen consumption (OCR) and calcification rates (CR) of C. acicula peaked at 32 and 26°C, respectively, while ammonia excretion rate (AER) significantly increased with increasing temperature. The thermal coefficient Q10 (respiration) of C. acicula dropped to a minimum value between 32 and 35°C, suggesting that they were in a stressful status. The O:N ratio ranged from 3.24 to 5.13, indicating that protein was the major catabolism substrate. Temperature exerted a stronger effect on the OCR and AER of C. acicula. Salinity has a more influence on CR. The preferable temperature for C. acicula ranges from 29 to 32°C, and the preferable salinity ranges from 28 to 33 ppt. Based on a comprehensive consideration, we presumed that the warmer seawater temperature around the thermal discharge area of Daya Bay nuclear power plant is a possible cause for the bloom of C. acicula.

Benthic sediment bacteria are important drivers for material circulation and energy flow in aquatic ecosystem, and they are sensitive to environmental changes. Large scale suspended mariculture in coastal waters induces high organic loading to the sediment through biodeposition, and causes changes in sediment biogeochemical features. However, the impacts of mariculture on sediment bacterial communities are not fully understood. In the present study, sediment samples were collected from three coastal semi-enclosed bays of China, i.e., Sanggou Bay, Daya Bay, and Maniao Bay, where large scale mariculture were carried out since the 1980s. High-throughput sequencing was used to examine the spatial and seasonal variations of bacterial communities. The results indicated that the dominant phyla of three bays were Proteobacteria (39.18–47.21%), Bacteroidetes (9.91–19.25%), and Planctomycetes (7.12–13.88%). Spatial variations played a greater role in shaping the bacterial communities than seasonal variation. The bacterial diversity indices (Chao1, Pielou’s evenness, and Shannon-Wiener index) of Sanggou Bay were significantly lower than those of Daya Bay and Maniao Bay. For seasonal variation, bacterial diversity indices in spring were significantly lower than that in autumn. Five keystone taxa belonging to Planctomycetes, Alphaproteobacteria, and Acidobacteria were identified in Sanggou Bay. Temperature, particulate organic carbon, pH, and salinity were the most important environmental factors shaping the spatial and seasonal variations of bacterial communities in the studied areas. The abundances of bacteria, particularly Bacteroidetes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Deltaproteobacteria, were significantly correlated with the mariculture-driven chemical properties of the sediment. These results indicated that intensive mariculture could induce profound and diverse impacts on the bacterial communities, and therefore modify their role in marine ecosystem. The interactions between mariculture and sediment bacterial communities should be considered in regard to mariculture management and carrying capacity.

Daya Bay, especially in the northwestern region, which is a nature reserve with larval economic fish and shrimp populations, is no longer an unpolluted marine environment due to the recent increases in anthropogenic activities. This study collected seasonal surface sediment samples from 20 sites in northwestern Daya Bay to evaluate pollution and ecological risks and to identify possible sources and transport pathways of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Hg, As). The results showed that all the heavy metal concentrations were below the established primary standard criteria, except for concentrations of Cr in spring, as well as Cu and Zn in autumn at several sampling stations, which had excess rates of 35, 4.76, and 4.76%, respectively. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) values of heavy metals indicated that all sites had unpolluted to moderate pollution levels. In comparison to the samples collected in autumn, those in spring experienced a higher degree of pollution, particularly Cr and As. The ecological risk indices of heavy metals in sediments ranged from 225.86 to 734.20 in spring and from 196.69 to 567.52 in autumn, suggesting that most sites had a moderate ecological risk or a considerable ecological risk, and very few a had high ecological risk. Moreover, ArcGIS10.2 software was used to visualize their spatial distribution, and the results were similar in both spring and autumn. The results of the Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis showed that Cu, Hg, and Pb might be affected by anthropogenic activities, and As might be derived from natural sources such as atmospheric inputs. A cluster analysis showed that heavy metals were mainly affected by the negative impacts of human beings on the environment.

The biological trait analysis (BTA) is regarded as a promising approach to unravel how ecosystem functions respond to human-induced disturbances. This study considered the four sampling locations associated with different human activities in Daya Bay, that is, the domestic and industrial sewage discharge area (SED), mariculture area (MRC), nuclear power plants thermal discharge area (NTD), and an area with relatively low human disturbance as a reference (REF). Thirty modalities of nine traits were selected in BTA. Our results showed a clear shift in the functional structure of macrobenthic communities between the sampling locations, except for the case between NTD and REF. The trait composition in the communities did not highlight any seasonal patterns. Bioturbation, longevity, tolerance, body size, feeding habit, and environmental position were the key traits to characterize the functional structure of macrobenthic communities and demonstrated predictable responses along the environmental gradients. Water depth, DO, Chl-a, NH4+, and petroleum contaminants in sediments were the main variables influencing the trait composition. In addition, the taxonomic index (H′) and functional diversity index (Rao’s Q) showed clear differences among the sampling locations. Although there were no significant differences between NTD and REF in terms of the trait composition and functional diversity, a potential function loss in NTD still can be detected through the integrated analysis with taxonomic diversity. We suggest that the traits (except for fragility, larval development, and living habits) selected and the diversity indices (H′ and Rao’s Q) could serve as promising indicators of ecological conditions in Daya Bay.

After more than ten years of offshore wind farm (OWF) construction, the total installed capacity of China ranks first in the world. The effect of OWF on fish communities—to attract or banish—differs among fish species and wind farms. Studies on the effects of OWFs are limited in China and results from other regions may not be transferable due to different environmental and biological conditions. In October 2019, an acoustic survey was conducted in Jinwan OWF, outside the Pearl River Estuary, northern South China Sea, China, to assess the fish resources (biomass and abundance), community diversity, and distribution information of this area. According to the Index of Relative Importance (IRI), Harpadon nehereus and Brionobutis koilomatodon were the dominant fish species in the study area. The mean Shannon–Weiner diversity index was 1.74. The mean Margalef richness index and Pielou uniformity index were 2.51 and 0.84, respectively. The ABC curve indicated that the fish community was undisturbed. The mean acoustically-derived biomass and abundance densities were 195.40 ± 254.32 kg/km2 and 6506.83 ± 11,098.96 individuals/km2, respectively. The fishery resources had evident aggregate distribution patterns, and the southern part of the study area had more biomass than the northern part. Seven environmental factors were selected by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) analysis to reveal the correlation between fish assemblages and environmental factors, including nitrate (NO3−), ammonium (NH4+), dissolved oxygen (DO), water depth, pH, Chlorophyll a (Chl a), and phosphate (PO4+). However, the CCA only accounted for 45.49% of the total variation, indicating that other unexplained stresses affect the fish assemblage in Jinwan OWF. This is the first study to examine the fish distribution patterns and community structures of the Jinwan OWF area. In addition, it will help all sectors of society to more scientifically and objectively understand offshore wind farm projects. In future studies, control areas with more trawl samples can be set up to explore the long-term impact of OWF facilities on local fish communities.

Ribosome biogenesis is a fundamental activity in cells. Ribosomal dysfunction underlies a category of diseases called ribosomopathies in humans. The symptomatic characteristics of ribosomopathies often include abnormalities in craniofacial skeletons, digestive organs, and hematopoiesis. Consistently, disruptions of ribosome biogenesis in animals are deleterious to embryonic development with hypoplasia of digestive organs and/or impaired hematopoiesis. In this study, ltv1, a gene involved in the small ribosomal subunit assembly, was knocked out in zebrafish by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs)/CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology. The recessive lethal mutation resulted in disrupted ribosome biogenesis, and ltv1Δ14/Δ14 embryos displayed hypoplastic craniofacial cartilage, digestive organs, and hematopoiesis. In addition, we showed that the impaired cell proliferation, instead of apoptosis, led to the defects in exocrine pancreas and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in ltv1Δ14/Δ14 embryos. It was reported that loss of function of genes associated with ribosome biogenesis often caused phenotypes in a P53-dependent manner. In ltv1Δ14/Δ14 embryos, both P53 protein level and the expression of p53 target genes, Δ113p53 and p21, were upregulated. However, knockdown of p53 failed to rescue the phenotypes in ltv1Δ14/Δ14 larvae. Taken together, our data demonstrate that LTV1 ribosome biogenesis factor (Ltv1) plays an essential role in digestive organs and hematopoiesis development in zebrafish in a P53-independent manner.

Ciliates are abundant microplankton that are widely distributed in the ocean. In this paper, the distribution patterns of ciliate diversity in the South China Sea (SCS) were analyzed by compiling community data from previous publications. Based on morphological identification, a total of 592 ciliate species have been recorded in the SCS. The ciliate communities in intertidal, neritic and oceanic water areas were compared in terms of taxonomy, motility and feeding habit composition, respectively. Significant community variation was revealed among the three areas, but the difference between the intertidal area and the other two areas was more significant than that between neritic and oceanic areas. The distributions of ciliates within each of the three areas were also analyzed. In the intertidal water, the community was not significantly different among sites but did differ among habitat types. In neritic and oceanic areas, the spatial variation of communities among different sites was clearly observed. Comparison of communities by taxonomic and ecological traits (motility and feeding habit) indicated that these traits similarly revealed the geographical pattern of ciliates on a large scale in the SCS, but to distinguish the community variation on a local scale, taxonomic traits has higher resolution than ecological traits. In addition, we assessed the relative influences of environmental and spatial factors on assembly of ciliate communities in the SCS and found that environmental selection is the major process structuring the taxonomic composition in intertidal water, while spatial processes played significant roles in influencing the taxonomic composition in neritic and oceanic water. Among ecological traits, environmental selection had the most important impact on distributions.

Summary: The seasonal patterns of the denitrifiers (denitrifying bacteria) in the sediment of Daya Bay, southern China, were examined using quantitative PCR and high-throughput MiSeq sequencing methods in spring, summer and winter. The abundance and diversity of nirS-encoding denitrifiers were much higher than that of nirK-encoding denitrifiers, indicating that the former probably dominated the denitrification processes in sediments of Daya Bay. The average abundance and diversity of nirS-encoding denitrifiers were much higher in spring than that in summer and winter, on the other hand, the abundance of nirK-encoding denitrifiers showed the opposite pattern. The species composition of nirS-encoding denitrifiers community in spring differed significantly from that in summer and winter, whereas, no significant difference existed between summer and winter. The dominant environmental drivers for the diversity of community species were NO2−, NO3− and DO concentrations. The abundances of dominant genera of nirS- encoding denitrifiers, Accumulibacter sp. and Cuprizvidus sp., were significantly higher in summer and winter than that in spring, and were negatively correlated with NO2−, NO3−, and DO concentrations (p

Abstract Background Significant attention has been directed toward the high incidence of malignant tumours that occur post-transplantation. However, there are few reports of myeloid sarcomas (MSs) following renal transplantation. Case presentation This case report describes a 26-year-old male patient who presented with repeatedly high creatinine levels and hydronephrosis six months post-renal transplantation. Surgical pathology revealed ureteral MS; however, the tumour recurred following resection. Bone marrow biopsy indicated that the patient also had acute promyelocytic leukaemia. The tumour was treated with local radiotherapy, and the leukaemia was treated with systemic chemotherapy. The patient’s conditions were satisfactory at the one-year follow-up. Conclusions This report is the first to describe a ureteral MS post-renal transplantation. Our findings suggest that surgical resection combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy can help control the status of patients with this condition.