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Water pollution, which is caused by leakage of oily substances, has been recognized as one of the most serious global environmental pollutions endangering the ecosystem. High-quality porous materials with superwettability, which are typically constructed in the form of aerogels, hold huge potential in the field of adsorption and removal of oily substances form water. Herein, we developed a facile strategy to fabricate a novel biomass absorbent with a layered tubular/sheet structure for efficient oil/water separation. The aerogels were fabricated by assembling hollow poplar catkin fiber into chitosan sheets using a directional freeze-drying method. The obtained aerogels were further wrapped with -CH3-ended siloxane structures using CH3SiCl3. This superhydrophobic aerogel (CA ≈ 154 ± 0.4°) could rapidly trap and remove oils from water with a large sorption range of 33.06–73.22 g/g. The aerogel facilitated stable oil recovery (90.07–92.34%) by squeezing after 10 sorption-desorption cycles because of its mechanical robustness (91.76% strain remaining after 50 compress-release cycles). The novel design, low cost, and sustainability of the aerogel provide an efficient and environmentally friendly solution for handling oil spills.

Herein, the complete Gracilaria edulis mitogenome was determined and analysed. The complete G. edulis mitogenome length was 25,708 bp. The mitogenome contains 50 genes, including 24 protein-coding, two rRNA, and 23 tRNA genes and one unidentified open reading frame (ORF). Of the 24 protein-coding genes, 23 (95.83%) ended with the TAA stop codon, and one (4.17%) with TAG (rpl20). All protein-coding genes in G. edulis were concluded to use the start codon ATG. Mitogenome phylogenetic analysis revealed that G. edulis clustered together with G. changii and G. salicornia. The complete mitogenome sequence provided herein would help understand Gracilaria evolution.

Gracilaria chilensis is an economically important species of macroalgae. The plastid genome sequence of G. chilensis is 185,640 bp with a GC content of 29.34%. A total of 236 genes were determined, containing 203 protein-encoding genes, three rRNA genes, 30 tRNA genes, and one intron (with intronic ORF) inserted into the trnM gene. The gene content and structure of Gracilariaceae species were relatively well conserved. The phylogenetic analysis, based on the red algal plastid genomes, suggested that G. chilensis had a closer relationship with Gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui in Gracilaria.

Saccharina, as one of the most important brown algae (Phaeophyceae) with multicellular thallus, has a very remarkable evolutionary history, and globally accounts for most of the economic marine aquaculture production worldwide. Here, we present the 580.5 million base pairs of genome sequence of Saccharina japonica, whose current assembly contains 35,725 protein-coding genes. In a comparative analysis with Ectocarpus siliculosus, the integrated virus sequence suggested the genome evolutionary footprints, which derived from their co-ancestry and experienced genomic arrangements. Furthermore, the gene expansion was found to be an important strategy for functional evolution, especially with regard to extracelluar components, stress-related genes, and vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases, and we proposed a hypothesis that gene duplication events were the main driving force for the evolution history from multicellular filamentous algae to thallus algae. The sequenced Saccharina genome paves the way for further molecular studies and is useful for genome-assisted breeding of S. japonica and other related algae species.

Biologics have expanded the armamentarium for psoriasis, but there has been a growing concern about the risk of lymphoma in patients under tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor and methotrexate. Besides, the mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination was known to stimulate the proliferation of T-follicular helper cells. We report a case of a patient with psoriasis under adalimumab developing nodal T-follicular helper cell lymphoma, angioimmunoblastic-type following the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine. We suspect that adalimumab, methotrexate, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation, previous reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and psoriasis per se predispose our patient to a lymphoma-prone condition, and the two doses of the mRNA vaccine act as the last straw. Keywords: Adalimumab, mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, lymphoma, EBV, psoriasis, Author(s): Chang-Yu Hsieh [1]; Shan-Chi Yu [2]; Jia-Arng Lee [3]; Tsen-Fang Tsai (corresponding author) [1] Introduction Patients with psoriasis are known to have increased risks for some malignancies from the [...]

Here, the complete mitogenome of Petalonia binghamiae (J. Agardh) K. L. Vinogradova was determined and analyzed. The length of the complete P. binghamiae mitogenome was determined to be 37,460 bp. The mitogenome contains a set of 68 genes, including 35 protein-coding genes, 3 rRNA genes, 24 tRNA genes, 1 tRNA pseudogene, and 5 unidentified open reading frames (ORFs). The noncoding sequence constitutes 7.03% of the P. binghamiae mtDNA. Twenty-seven of the 35 (77.14%) protein-coding genes ended with a TAA stop codon, 6 (17.14%) with TAG, and 2 (5.71%) with TGA. All protein-coding genes in P. binghamiae were inferred to use the start codon ATG, except for nad11. The mitogenome phylogenetic analysis, based on 35 protein-coding genes, reveals that P. binghamia showed that P. binghamiae was clustered together with P. fascia. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence provided here would be useful for further understanding the evolution of Petalonia.

In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitogenome of Grateloupia filicina (Lamouroux) C. Agardh. The complete G. filicina mitogenome was 29,274-bp long, containing 51 genes, including 24 protein-coding genes, 1 intron, 2 rRNA genes, 24 tRNA genes, and 1 unidentified open reading frame. Twenty-one of the 24 (87.5%) protein-coding genes ended with the stop codon TAA, whereas 3 (12.5%) ended with TAG. All the protein-coding genes in G. filicina used the start codon ATG. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that G. filicina clustered with G. taiwanensis. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence provided here would be useful for understanding the evolution of Grateloupia further.

Here, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of ‘Hainong No.1’, a hybrid Saccharina cultivar produced by crossing the cultivars ‘Zaohoucheng’ (♂) and ‘Pingbancai’ (♀). Circular mapping revealed that the mitogenome was 37,657 bp in length and had an overall AT content of 64.66%, including 35 protein-encoding genes, three ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA), 25 transfer RNA genes (tRNA) and three open reading frames (ORF). A phylogenetic tree constructed from the amino acids separated the six cultivars into two groups; ‘Hainong No.1’ had a closer evolutionary relationship with the cultivars ‘Zaohoucheng’, ‘Pingbancai’ and ‘Ailunwan’, whereas ‘Rongfu’ and ‘Fujian’ formed a distinct cluster. Further comparison between the ‘Hainong No.1’ and the parental mitogenomes displayed that ‘Pingbancai’ and ‘Zaohoucheng’ were the female and male parents, respectively.

Gracilaria chilensis is an economically important marine alga. In this study, we obtained complete mitogenome of G. chilensis by high-throughput sequencing, which was mapped as a circular molecule of 26,897 bp with 27.56% GC content and was identified 53 genes, including 25 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 26 tRNA genes, and 1 group II intron inserted into the trnI gene. In addition, a 162-bp stable stem loop was found in intergenic regions, which was most likely associated with DNA transcription and replication. The Bayesian phylogenetic tree of Gracilariaceae revealed that G. chilensis and G. salicornia and G. changii shared a closer relationship than G. vermiculophylla in the genus Gracilaria.

In this study, we fully sequenced the circular plastid genome of a brown alga, Undaria pinnatifida. The genome is 130,383 base pairs (bp) in size; it contains a large single-copy (LSC, 76,598 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC, 42,977 bp), separated by two inverted repeats (IRa and IRb: 5,404 bp). The genome contains 139 protein-coding, 28 tRNA, and 6 rRNA genes; none of these genes contains introns. Organization and gene contents of the U. pinnatifida plastid genome were similar to those of Saccharina japonica. There is a co-linear relationship between the plastid genome of U. pinnatifida and that of three previously sequenced large brown algal species. Phylogenetic analyses of 43 taxa based on 23 plastid protein-coding genes grouped all plastids into a red or green lineage. In the large brown algae branch, U. pinnatifida and S. japonica formed a sister clade with much closer relationship to Ectocarpus siliculosus than to Fucus vesiculosus. For the first time, the start codon ATT was identified in the plastid genome of large brown algae, in the atpA gene of U. pinnatifida. In addition, we found a gene-length change induced by a 3-bp repetitive DNA in ycf35 and ilvB genes of the U. pinnatifida plastid genome.

Saccharina (Laminaria) is one of the most important economic seaweeds. Previously, four genetic linkage maps of Saccharina have been constructed and five QTLs have been identified. However, they were not enough for its breeding. In this work, Saccharina longissima (♀) and Saccharina japonica (♂), which showed obvious differences in morphology and genetics, were applied in hybridization to yield the F2 mapping population with 102 individuals. Using these 102 F2 hybrids, the genetic linkage map of Saccharina was constructed by MapMaker software based on 37 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), 22 sequence-related amplified polymorphisms (SRAPs) and 139 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers. Meanwhile, QTL analysis was performed for six economic traits. The linkage map constructed in this research consisted of 422 marker loci (137 AFLPs, 57 SRAPs and 228 SSRs), which formed 45 linkage groups (LGs) with an average marker space of 7.92 cM; they spanned a total length of 2233.1 cM, covering the whole estimated genome size. A total of 29 QTLs were identified for six economic traits, which explained 1.06 to 64.00% of phenotypic variation, including three QTLs for frond length (FL) and raw weight (RW), five QTLs for frond width (FW), two QTLs for frond fascia width (FFW) and frond thickness (FT), and fourteen QTLs for base shape (BS). The results of this research will improve the breeding efficiency and be beneficial for marker-assisted selection (MAS) schemes in Saccharina breeding.

Costaria costata is a commercially and industrially important brown alga. In this study, we used next-generation sequencing to determine the complete plastid genome of C. costata. The genome consists of a 129,947 bp circular DNA molecule with an A+T content of 69.13% encoding a standard set of six ribosomal RNA genes, 27 transfer RNA genes, and 137 protein-coding genes with two conserved open reading frames (ORFs). The overall genome structure of C. costata is nearly the same as those of Saccharina japonica and Undaria pinnatifida. The plastid genomes of these three algal species retain a strong conservation of the GTG start codon while infrequently using TGA as a stop codon. In this regard, they differ substantially from the plastid genomes of Ectocarpus siliculosus and Fucus vesiculosus. Analysis of the nucleic acid substitution rates of the Laminariales plastid genes revealed that the petF gene has the highest substitution rate and the petN gene contains no substitution over its complete length. The variation in plastid genes between C. costata and S. japonica is lower than that between C. costata and U. pinnatifida as well as that between U. pinnatifida and S. japonica. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that C. costata and U. pinnatifida have a closer genetic relationship. We also identified two gene length mutations caused by the insertion or deletion of repeated sequences, which suggest a mechanism of gene length mutation that may be one of the key explanations for the genetic variation in plastid genomes.

Both Calvin-Benson-Bassham (C3) and Hatch-Slack (C4) cycles are most important autotrophic CO2 fixation pathways on today's Earth. C3 cycle is believed to be originated from cyanobacterial endosymbiosis. However, studies on evolution of different biochemical variants of C4 photosynthesis are limited to tracheophytes and origins of C4-cycle genes are not clear till now. Our comprehensive analyses on bioinformatics and phylogenetics of novel transcriptomic sequencing data of 21 rhodophytes and 19 Phaeophyceae marine species and public genomic data of more algae, tracheophytes, cyanobacteria, proteobacteria and archaea revealed the origin and evolution of C4 cycle-related genes. Almost all of C4-related genes were annotated in extensive algal lineages with proteobacterial or archaeal origins, except for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) with both cyanobacterial and archaeal/proteobacterial origin. Notably, cyanobacteria may not possess complete C4 pathway because of the flawed annotation of pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) genes in public data. Most C4 cycle-related genes endured duplication and gave rise to functional differentiation and adaptation in different algal lineages. C4-related genes of NAD-ME (NAD-malic enzyme) and PCK subtypes exist in most algae and may be primitive ones, while NADP-ME (NADP-malic enzyme) subtype genes might evolve from NAD-ME subtype by gene duplication in chlorophytes and tracheophytes.

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis was sequenced (25883 bp) and mapped to a circular model. The A+T composition was 72.5%. Forty six genes and two potentially functional open reading frames were identified. They include 24 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 20 tRNA genes and 2 ORFs (orf60, orf142). There is considerable sequence synteny across the five red algal mtDNAs falling into Florideophyceae including Gr. lemaneiformis in this study and previously sequenced species. A long stem-loop and a hairpin structure were identified in intergenic regions of mt genome of Gr. lemaneiformis, which are believed to be involved with transcription and replication. In addition, the mtDNAs of two mutagenic cultivated breeds ("981" and "07-2") were also sequenced. Compared with the mtDNA of wild Gr. lemaneiformis, the genome size and gene length and order of three strains were completely identical except nine base mutations including eight in the protein-coding genes and one in the tRNA gene. None of the base mutations caused frameshift or a premature stop codon in the mtDNA genes. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial protein-coding genes and rRNA genes demonstrated Gracilariopsis andersonii had closer phylogenetic relationship with its parasite Gracilariophila oryzoides than Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis which was from the same genus of Gracilariopsis.

Context.--Bone marrow (BM) samples are obtained through aspiration and trephine biopsy. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) has been largely studied in BM aspirate smears. Objective.--To investigate the histologic features of HLH in trephine biopsy. Design.--Patients with hemophagocytosis in BM aspirate smears were assigned to HLH (n = 127) and non-HLH (n = 203) groups. We quantified hematoxylin-eosin and CD68 immunohistochemical staining of their trephine biopsies. Results.--No significant correlation was noted in the hemophagocytosis count between aspirate smears and trephine biopsies. Compared with the non-HLH group, the HLH group had a higher hemophagocytosis count (13 versus 9 per tissue section, P = .046), lower percentage of the adipocytic area (36.7% versus 50.3%, P < .001), and higher percentage of the foamy area (19.1% versus 14.5%, P < .001). The HLH group had more histiocyte infiltrates (total histiocyte density, 9.2% versus 7.3%; P < .001) and more fat-infiltrating histiocytes (histiocyte density of the fat-associated part [HD-FA], 7.6% versus 6.2%; P < .001). We identified the following poor prognostic factors in the HLH group: age 50 years or older (median overall survival [mOS], 95 versus 499 days; P = .04), Epstein-Barr viruspositive T-cell lymphoproliferative diseases (EBV+TLPDs) (mOS, 51 versus 425 days; P < .001), hemophagocytosis count of 6 or higher per tissue section (mOS, 66 versus 435 days; P = .02), and HD-FA of 9% or greater (mOS, 61 versus 359 days; P = .02). Multivariate analysis revealed that age 50 years or older (hazard ratio [HR], 2.38; P < .001), EBV+TLPDs (HR, 2.07; P < .001), and hemophagocytosis count of 6 or higher per tissue section (HR, 2.07; P = .002) were independent prognostic factors for HLH. Conclusions.--The HLH group had higher hemophagocytic activity, higher cellularity, a more foamy appearance, more histiocyte infiltrates, and more fat-infiltrating histiocytes. High hemophagocytic activity and marked histiocyte infiltrates in the BM fat were associated with poorer prognosis. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2021-0381-OA, Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening systemic inflammatory syndrome. (1-3) Primary HLH is a group of inherited diseases with impaired cytotoxicity of T or natural killer (NK) cells. (1-5) Secondary [...]

CRISPR–Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats–CRISPR-associated nuclease) defense systems have been naturally coopted for guide RNA–directed transposition on multiple occasions. In all cases, cooption occurred with diverse elements related to the bacterial transposon Tn7. Tn7 tightly controls transposition; the transposase is activated only when special targets are recognized by dedicated target-site selection proteins. Tn7 and the Tn7-like elements that coopted CRISPR–Cas systems evolved complementary targeting pathways: one that recognizes a highly conserved site in the chromosome and a second pathway that targets mobile plasmids capable of cell-to-cell transfer. Tn7 and Tn7-like elements deliver a single integration into the site they recognize and also control the orientation of the integration event, providing future potential for use as programmable gene-integration tools. Early work has shown that guide RNA–directed transposition systems can be adapted to diverse hosts, even within microbial communities, suggesting great potential for engineering these systems as powerful gene-editing tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message: Primary gastric diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a rare malignancy linked to Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, in this case regressed to low‐grade lymphoma and then achieved complete remission after HP eradication (HPE), highlighting this unique interim change and the potential of HPE as an effective treatment for early‐stage cases. Primary gastric diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a rare malignancy. Like gastric mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, HP infection is implicated in lymphomagenesis and has thus emerged as a therapeutic target. Studies have demonstrated the sustained efficacy of HP eradication alone for limited‐stage primary gastric DLBCL. This report presents the case of a 53‐year‐old woman with stage IE gastric DLBCL who received triple therapy for HP eradication and experienced an interim histological transformation to MALT lymphoma, ultimately achieving complete pathologic remission. HP eradication therapy may represent a viable treatment option for patients with early‐stage primary gastric DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]