Synthesis and application of bismuth nanoparticle-loaded longan porous carbon for simultaneous electrochemical determination of Pb(II) and cd(II) in seafoods.

The discarded longan shell-derived porous carbon material (LPC) served as a scaffold for synthesizing bismuth nanoparticle-loaded longan porous carbon nanocomposite (BiNPs@LPC) via a hydrothermal method. Then BiNPs@LPC was utilized to modify screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) for simultaneous detection of Pb(II) and Cd(II) by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The material was thoroughly characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. BiNPs@LPC exhibited abundant porous structures, high surface area, and numerous active sites, which could improve significantly response sensitivity. Under optimal conditions, the peak currents of Pb(II) and Cd(II) exhibited favorable linear relationships with the concentration within a range of 0.1-150 µg L-1, with detection limits (S/N = 3) of 0.02 µg L-1 and 0.03 µg L-1, respectively. BiNPs@LPC/SPCE demonstrated remarkable selectivity, stability and repeatability. The proposed method was successfully applied for the detection of Pb(II) and Cd(II) in seafoods achieving satisfying recovery of 97.8%-108.3% and 96.7%-106.4%. These excellent test properties were coupled with convenience for batch preparation of the modified electrodes, highlighting its potential for practical applications in heavy metal detection of real samples.

From Quaternary Carbon to Tertiary C(sp3)-Si and C(sp3)-Ge Bonds: Decyanative Coupling of Malononitriles with Chlorosilanes and Chlorogermanes Enabled by Ni/Ti Dual Catalysis.

Transition-metal-catalyzed C-Si/Ge cross-coupling offers promising avenues for the synthesis of organosilanes/organogermanes, yet it is fraught with long-standing challenges. A Ni/Ti-catalyzed strategy is reported here, allowing the use of disubstituted malononitriles as tertiary C(sp3) coupling partners to couple with chlorosilanes and chlorogermanes, respectively. This method enables the catalytic cleavage of the C(sp3)-CN bond of the quaternary carbon followed by the formation of C(sp3)-Si/C(sp3)-Ge bonds from ubiquitously available starting materials. The efficiency and generality are showcased by a broad scope for both of the coupling partners, therefore holding the potential to synthesize structurally diverse quaternary organosilanes and organogermanes that were difficult to access previously.

Analysis of the Overlength Main Noncoding Region in Metacarcinus magister (Decapoda: Brachyura) and a Phylogenetic Study of the Cancroidea Species.

Complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) can provide important information regarding the molecular evolution and phylogenetic relationships of marine invertebrates, especially in Brachyura. Only one Cancroidea species of mitogenomes has been sequenced before; in this research, the mitogenomic characteristics of Metacarcinus magister (Cancridae: Cancroidea) are newly studied. The length of the M. magister mitogenome was 48,820 bp, and it contained the typical 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. We performed a series of analyses on the characteristics of the mNCR of M. magister. The phylogenetics, life circumstances, and selective pressures were all analyzed to explain the formation of this length, which revealed the length of the M. magister mitogenome to be approximately three times greater than the normal length of Brachyuran mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analyses based on a dataset of 215 Decapodan mitogenomes indicated that all Eriphioidea crabs were clustered together as a group. Moreover, the rearrangement mechanism of the Cancroidea species was predicted to provide stronger evidence for the phylogenetic analysis. In general, the results obtained in this study will contribute to a better understanding of the cause of the unusual length of the M. magister mitogenome and provide new insights into the phylogeny of Brachyura.

Diagnosis and classification of intestinal diseases with urine by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Intestinal Disease (ID) is often characterized by clinical symptoms such as malabsorption, intestinal dysfunction, and injury. If treatment is not timely, it will increase the risk of cancer. Early diagnosis of ID is the key to cure it. There are certain limitations of the conventional diagnostic methods, such as low sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, development of a highly sensitive, non-invasive diagnostic method for ID is extremely important. Urine samples are easier to collect and more sensitive to changes in biomolecules than other pathological diagnostic samples such as tissue and blood. In this paper, a diagnostic method of ID with urine by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is proposed. A classification model between ID patients and healthy controls (HC) and a classification model between different pathological types of ID (i.e., benign intestinal disease (BID) and colorectal cancer (CRC)) are established. Here, 830 urine samples, including 100 HC, 443 BID, and 287 CRC, were investigated by SERS. The ID/HC classification model was developed by analyzing the SERS spectra of 150 ID and 100 HC, while BID/CRC classification model was built with 300 BID and 150 CRC patients by principal component analysis (PCA)-support vector machines (SVM). The two established models were internally verified by leave-one-out-cross-validation (LOOCV). Finally, the BID/CRC classification model was further evaluated by 143 BID and 137 CRC patients as an external test set. It shows that the accuracy of the classification model validated by the LOOCV for ID/HC and BID/CRC is 86.4% and 85.56%, respectively. And the accuracy of the BID/CRC classification model with external test set is 82.14%. It shows that high accuracy can be achieved with these two established classification models. It indicates that ID patients in the general population can be identified and BID and CRC patients can be further classified with measuring urine by SERS. It shows that the proposed diagnostic method and established classification models provide valuable information for clinicians to early diagnose ID patients and analyze different stages of ID.

Spätzle maintains homeostasis of hemolymph microbiota in Scylla paramamosain through Toll2.

The Toll pathway is crucial for innate immune responses in organisms (including Drosophila and mammals). The Spätzle protein outside of cells acts as a ligand for Toll receptors, enabling the transfer of signals from outside the cell to the inside. However, the function of Spätzle in the immune system of mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) remains unclear. This research discovered a novel Spätzle gene (Sp-Spz) in mud crab, which showed extensive expression in all the tissues that were examined. The RNA interference exhibited the correlation between Sp-Spz and the anti-lipopolysaccharide factors (ALFs). Knockdown of Sp-Spz decreased the expression of Sp-Toll2 but not Sp-Toll1. In Drosophila Schneider 2 cells, Sp-Spz was found interacted with Sp-Toll2. Moreover, the depletion of Sp-Spz caused the separation of hepatic lobules from the basement membrane, resulting in the disruption of the structural coherence of hepatopancreatic cells. Additionally, the knockdown of Sp-Spz resulted in changes to the composition of the hemolymph microbiota, specifically affecting the proportions of different phylum and family levels. The findings indicated that Sp-Spz may promote the synthesis of ALFs via Sp-Toll2, thereby influencing the homeostasis of microbiota in the hemolymph. In this study, novel insights into mud crab immunity are provided.

Study on the radiotherapy effect and serum neutral granulocyte lymphocyte ratio and inflammatory factor expression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare target area delineation schemes in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) effect on patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: A total of 88 NPC patients received IMRT and were assigned into control group (n = 44) and observation group (n = 44) based on MRI and CT imaging. In the control group, the treatment range was determined as the clinical target volume (CTV) as the gross tumor volume (GTV) + 5 mm. In the observation group, high-risk target areas CTVp1 was GTVp + 5 mm, lymphatic drainage area CTVn1 was GTVn + 5 mm, medium-risk CTVp2 was CTVp1 + 5 mm margin + the whole nasopharyngeal area, CTVn2 was CTVn1 + 5 mm. Radiotherapy treatment course was 6-8 weeks, four times a week. Results: The observation group had higher total effective rate, with fewer complications. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels were lower after radiotherapy in both groups compared to before radiotherapy, with the observation group demonstrating lower levels than the control group. The effective group exhibited lower serum NLR, IL-6, and TNF-α compared to the non-effective group. T stage, target location, serum NLR, IL-6, and TNF-α were risk factors for the effect of radiotherapy. Conclusions: Serum NLR, IL-6, and TNF-α have predictive significance for radiotherapy effect.

Functional Connectivity Alterations and Molecular Characterization of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Tinnitus Pathology without Hearing Loss.

Compared with individuals with hearing loss, tinnitus patients without hearing loss have more psychological or emotional problems. Tinnitus is closely associated to abnormal metabolism and function of the limbic system, a key brain region for emotion experience, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. Using whole-brain microvasculature dynamics imaging, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is identified as a key brain region of limbic system involve in the onset of salicylate-induced tinnitus in mice. In the tinnitus group, there is enhanced purine metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and a distinct pattern of phosphorylation in glutamatergic synaptic pathway according to the metabolome profiles, quantitative proteomic, and phosphoproteomic data of mice ACC tissue. Electroencephalogram in tinnitus patients with normal hearing thresholds show that the functional connectivity between pregenual anterior cingulate cortex and the primary auditory cortex is significantly increased for high-gamma frequency band, which is positively correlated with the serum glutamate level. These findings indicate that ACC plays an important role in the pathophysiology of tinnitus by interacting with the primary auditory cortex and provide potential molecular targets in the ACC for tinnitus treatment.

Highly stretchable polymer semiconductor thin films with multi-modal energy dissipation and high relative stretchability.

Stretchable polymer semiconductors (PSCs) have seen great advancements alongside the development of soft electronics. But it remains a challenge to simultaneously achieve high charge carrier mobility and stretchability. Herein, we report the finding that stretchable PSC thin films (<100-nm-thick) with high stretchability tend to exhibit multi-modal energy dissipation mechanisms and have a large relative stretchability (rS) defined by the ratio of the entropic energy dissipation to the enthalpic energy dissipation under strain. They effectively recovered the original molecular ordering, as well as electrical performance, after strain was released. The highest rS value with a model polymer (P4) exhibited an average charge carrier mobility of 0.2 cm2V-1s-1 under 100% biaxial strain, while PSCs with low rS values showed irreversible morphology changes and rapid degradation of electrical performance under strain. These results suggest rS can be used as a parameter to compare the reliability and reversibility of stretchable PSC thin films.

Dbh+ catecholaminergic cardiomyocytes contribute to the structure and function of the cardiac conduction system in murine heart.

The heterogeneity of functional cardiomyocytes arises during heart development, which is essential to the complex and highly coordinated cardiac physiological function. Yet the biological and physiological identities and the origin of the specialized cardiomyocyte populations have not been fully comprehended. Here we report a previously unrecognised population of cardiomyocytes expressing Dbhgene encoding dopamine beta-hydroxylase in murine heart. We determined how these myocytes are distributed across the heart by utilising advanced single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses, genetic fate mapping and molecular imaging with computational reconstruction. We demonstrated that they form the key functional components of the cardiac conduction system by using optogenetic electrophysiology and conditional cardiomyocyte Dbh gene deletion models. We revealed their close relationship with sympathetic innervation during cardiac conduction system formation. Our study thus provides new insights into the development and heterogeneity of the mammalian cardiac conduction system by revealing a new cardiomyocyte population with potential catecholaminergic endocrine function.

Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of the Tuerkayana (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinidae) Genus Based on Whole Mitochondrial Genome Sequences.

Tuerkayana is of particular interest because it has been separated, in recent years, from Cardisoma and Discoplax but studies of its taxonomic status, especially from a whole mitochondrial genome perspective, have been lacking. In this study, the mitogenomes of four species (Tuerkayana magnum, Tuerkayana rotundum, Tuerkayana hirtipes, and Tuerkayana celeste) of Tuerkayana are sequenced and contrasted with other species in Brachyura for the first time. The phylogenetic tree of Brachyura, which includes 206 crab species (189 species of Brachyuran and 17 Anomura species) with a complete mitogenome, was constructed to evaluate the phylogenetic position of Tuerkayana and Gecarcinidae within Brachyuran, and explore the monophyly of Gecarcinidae. Furthermore, two single gene trees based on cox1 and 16SrRNA separately within interspecies of Gecarcinidae were reconstructed, providing molecular evidence for Tuerkayana and further clarifying the division of genera in Gecarcinidae. Based on the mitogenome dataset of 206 crabs, the branch-site model was utilized to explore selective pressure in individual codons with CodeML. The strong selective pressure shown in nad6 indicates that it may have played a significant role in the evolution of Gecarcinidae.

Predicting Foodborne Disease Outbreaks with Food Safety Certifications: Econometric and Machine Learning Analyses.

Since the late 1990s, food safety certification has emerged as a prominent and influential regulatory mechanism in both the private and public spheres of the contemporary agri-food system. Food safety standards protect consumers from foodborne illnesses and help producers avoid the massive economic losses associated with food safety breaches. We empirically examine the relationship between foodborne disease outbreaks and certification adoption by utilizing the data on food safety certification adoption in the United States and Europe from 2015 through 2020. In our regression models, food safety certification along with select economic variables such as gross domestic product are used to explain the number of illnesses caused by foodborne disease outbreaks. For the United States at the state level, we found that certifications to SQF, PrimusGFS, BRC, or FSSC 22000 are negatively associated with the number of foodborne illnesses. For the case of Europe at the country level, certifications to ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 are negatively associated with the number of foodborne illnesses. We then proceed to use machine learning techniques to examine how well we can use food safety certification data to predict foodborne disease outbreaks. Applying several algorithms (ordinary least squares, multinomial, decision tree, and random forest) to the U.S. data, we found that our models with food safety certification adoption can predict the number of U.S. foodborne illnesses or deaths with a relatively high degree of precision (testing accuracy at around 70% or better). Feature importance analysis allows us to inspect the relative importance of each explanatory variable (or feature) for making accurate predictions of the illness or death numbers. Through ranking the importance of explanatory variables, our study reveals that certification information could be the second most important variable (after gross domestic product) contributing to explain foodborne disease outbreaks.

Transcription Factor Spo0A Regulates the Biosynthesis of Difficidin in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens WH1 produces multiple antibiotics with antimicrobial activity and can control bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Antibacterial substances produced by WH1 and the regulation mechanism are unknown. In this study, it was found that difficidin, and to a minor extent bacillibactin, exhibited antibacterial activity against R. solanacearum. Lipopeptides, macrolactin, bacillaene, and bacilysin had no antibacterial activity. Ferric iron uptake transcriptional regulator Fur bound the promoter region of the dhb gene cluster of bacillibactin biosynthesis. Mutant Δfur showed a higher bacillibactin production and its antibacterial activity increased by 27% than wild-type WH1. Difficidin inhibited R. solanacearum growth and disrupted the integrity of the cells. Lack of transcription factor Spo0A abolished difficidin biosynthesis. Spo0A bound the promoter region of the dfn gene cluster of difficidin biosynthesis. Changing phosphorylation levels of Spo0A via deletion of phosphatase gene spo0E and histidine kinases genes kinA and kinD affected the biosynthesis of difficidin. Deletion of spo0E increased the phosphorylation level of Spo0A and consequently improved the difficidin production. The antibacterial activity of mutant Δspo0E and ΔkinA increased by 12% and 19%. The antibacterial activity of mutant ΔkinD decreased by 28%. Collectively, WH1 produced difficidin to disrupt the cell of R. solanacearum and secreted siderophore bacillibactin to compete for ferric iron. Spo0A regulated difficidin biosynthesis. Spo0A regulates quorum-sensing responses and controls the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in B. amyloliquefaciens. This study has important findings in the regulation mechanism of antibiotic synthesis and helps to improve antibiotic yield in Bacillus. IMPORTANCE Pathogen R. solanacearum causes bacterial wilt disease in many crops. There is no chemical bactericide that can control bacterial wilt disease. It is vital to find antagonistic microorganisms and antibacterial substances that can efficiently control bacterial wilt disease. B. amyloliquefaciens WH1 could inhibit the growth of R. solanacearum. Via genetic mutation, it was found that difficidin and to a minor extent bacillibactin produced by WH1 acted efficiently against R. solanacearum. The transcription factor Spo0A regulated the synthesis of difficidin. Phosphorylation of Spo0A affected the production of difficidin. Increasing the phosphorylation level of Spo0A improved the difficidin production and antibacterial activity. In-depth analysis of the regulation mechanism of antibiotic difficidin is meaningful for enhancing the control efficiency of WH1. B. amyloliquefaciens WH1 and the antibacterial substances have vast application potential in controlling bacterial wilt disease.

Modules in robust but low-efficiency phyllosphere fungal networks drive saponin accumulation in leaves of different Panax species.

BACKGROUND: The phyllosphere mycobiome plays a crucial role in plant fitness and ecosystem functions. The complex microbial ecological networks (MEN) formed by these fungi remain poorly understood, particularly with regard to their organization strategy and their contributions to plant secondary metabolites such as saponin. RESULTS: In this study, we constructed six MENs from leaf epiphytic and endophytic mycobiomes of three Panax species distributed in the northeast and southwest ends of mainland China. Hub nodes were absent in these MENs, which were significantly more complex, robust, and less efficient compared to random graphs (P < 0.05), indicating a hub-independent high-robustness strategy to maintain structural homeostasis. The important roles of specific MEN modules in shaping leaf saponin profiles of each Panax species were proved by multiple machine learning algorithms. Positive regulation modules (PRMs) of total saponin content were further identified, which exhibited more deterministic ecological assembly and comprised of highly connected nodes as well as higher proportion of plant-associated fungal guilds compared to other network members, indicating their tight links with host plant. The significant and direct effects (P < 0.05) of PRMs on total saponin accumulation were validated by well-fitted structural equation models (χ2 < 0.3, P > 0.5). Taxonomic analysis revealed that Pleosporales and Chaetothyriales were significantly overrepresented by positive regulation taxa (PRT) of total saponin content (FDR < 0.05). Across PRT identified in three Panax species, Epicoccum and Coniothyrium were conservatively present, while species-specific taxa such as Agaricales were also found, indicating the conservatism and specificity of plant-fungi interactions associated with leaf saponin accumulation in Panax genus. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide a foundation for understanding mechanisms maintaining the steady state of phyllosphere mycobiome in healthy plant, and offer clues for engineering phyllosphere mycobiome to improve the accumulation of bioactive secondary metabolites on the basis of network modules.

[Research summary of chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Panax notoginseng and predictive analysis on its Q-markers].

Panax notoginseng contains triterpene saponins, flavonoids, amino acids, polysaccharides, volatile oil and other active components, which have the effects of promoting blood circulation, stopping bleeding, removing blood stasis, etc. This study summarized the herbal research, chemical constituents and main pharmacological activities of P. notoginseng, and based on the theory of Q-markers of traditional Chinese medicine, predicted and analyzed the Q-markers of P. notoginseng from the aspects of plant kinship, efficacy, drug properties, measurability of chemical components, etc. It was found that ginsenosides Rg_1, Re, and Rb_1 with specific content ratio, ginsenosides Rb_2, Rb_3, Rc, Rd, Rh_2, and Rg_3, notoginseng R_1, dencichine and quercetin could be used as potential Q-markers of P. notoginseng, which facilitated the formulation of quality standards reflecting the efficacy of P. notoginseng.

Occurrence of fungi and mycotoxins in herbal medicines and rapid detection of toxin-producing fungi.

Contamination from external hazardous materials may greatly influence the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. This paper aimed to evaluate the levels of contamination by mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi in herbal medicines and establish a rapid method for detecting toxin-producing fungi. Herein, 62.92%, 36.25%, and 64.17% of herbal medicines were contaminated by aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxins, and fumonisins, respectively. Aspergillus (43.77%), Fusarium (5.17%), and Cladosporium (4.46%) were the three predominant genera. Spearman's correlation results showed that Aspergillus and Fusarium were significantly and positively correlated with mycotoxin content (R > 0.5, P < 0.05). In addition, 323 fungal strains were isolated from herbal medicines, and 20 species were identified, mainly belonging to Aspergillus and Penicillium. Analysis of potential mycotoxin-producing fungi showed that Aspergillus flavus can produce AFs, and Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus niger can produce ochratoxin A (OTA). Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that A. flavus harbored AF synthesis genes (aflR), and A. ochraceus and A. niger harbored OTA synthesis genes (aoksl). With these synthesis genes, 67.07% and 37.20% of 164 herbal medicines were positive for toxigenic genes. Furthermore, an excellent correlation was found between the above gene copies and mycotoxin content (R2 = 0.99). Our results confirmed the high detection rate of mycotoxins in herbal medicines and identified pivotal AF- and OTA-producing fungi. In conclusion, this paper provided the contamination status of fungi and mycotoxins in herbal medicines and established a rapid method for detecting toxigenic fungi.

Reductive Aza-Pauson-Khand Reaction of Nitriles.

γ-Lactams are valuable heterocycles in synthetic chemistry and drug development. Here, we report a reductive aza-Pauson-Khand reaction (aza-PKR) of an alkyne, a nitrile, and Co2(CO)8. A wide array of bicyclic α,ß-unsaturated γ-lactams containing two adjacent stereocenters, including an all-carbon quaternary center, from alkyne-tethered malononitriles are efficiently accessed in high diastereoselectivity. Preliminary mechanistic investigations by experiments and DFT calculations reveal that the reaction undergoes an aza-PKR process followed by a in situ reduction. The reducing reagent generated in situ from water also provides a practical tool for deuterium incorporation into the γ-position of lactams using D2O as the deuterium source. This study represents a new mode for [2 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition that enables the direct use of nitrile in aza-heterocycle synthesis.

Effects of Higher Minimum Quality Standards on Food Safety: Evidence From Criminal Cases Found in China's Court Documents.

Food safety is a credence good that is hard for consumers to assess even after consumption. Government have used minimum quality standards (MQSs) to prevent producers from selling products below a predetermined quality threshold, thereby improving the overall quality in the market. This study is the first to empirically examine the impact of MQSs on food safety in China. We constructed the number of mutton criminal cases (per billion people) as a proxy for food safety in a province, based on the data obtained from China Judgments Online, we evaluated the effect for the period of 2013 through 2019. Using the generalized difference-in-difference econometric method, we found that a higher minimum quality standard led to an increase in mutton criminal cases related to the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy products. Such results highlight a potential unintended consequence of a higher MQS and call for a higher penalty cost to mitigate the unintended consequence.

Meet the Meatless: Demand for New Generation Plant-Based Meat Alternatives.

With the unique mimicry of the sensory experiences of meats, the plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) appeal to consumers outside the traditional vegetarian demographics. This study analyzes market expenditure data from 2017 to 2020 to evaluate the demand for PBMA in relation to meats. Results show that PBMA is a complement for beef and pork while a substitute for chicken, turkey, and fish. Although the current market demand for PBMA is still incomparable with meats, the growth of PBMA sales is significant. This study sheds light on marketing strategies and policies towards the future of PBMA and the fresh meat sector.

Taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationship of Anomura (Crustacea: Decapoda) based on mitochondrial sequences and gene order rearrangements.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) contributed crucial information, which could improve the better understanding of molecular phylogenetic analysis, evolution, and gene rearrangements. However, only a few Coenobitidae and Albuneidae mitogenomes have been described, and controversies about the Anomuran phylogeny remain. Here, we determined three Coenobitidae species (Coenobita perlatus, Coenobita rugosus, Coenobita clypeatus) and one Albuneidae species (Emerita talpoida). As the representative species of genera or families, and even the first species of the genus, supplementing these four species is essential to study the phylogenetic relationships within Anomura. Most of the four novel mitogenomes have the typical 37 genes, except for E. talpoida, which lacked trnF. Through combining these new data with 31 Anomuran mitogenomes from Genbank, different gene rearrangement patterns and internal phylogenetic relationships of Anomura were investigated. In our phylogeny analysis, all the Anomuran species were clustered into one group, and the polyphyly of Paguroidea was well supported. Moreover, various peculiar mitochondrial gene orders (MGOs) were summarized among Anomura and preliminary determined their rearrangement mechanisms through CREx. Twenty different MGOs were suggested in our research, and we were focused seven MGO patterns (Pattern A-J) in the process of discussing the gene rearrangement mechanism. Currently making full use of the large taxon sampling, our results provide valuable information on the evolutionary status of Anomuran species and are available for systematic rearrangement and phylogenetic analyses.

Dual-Dye Optical Mapping of Hearts from RyR2 R2474S Knock-In Mice of Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia.

The pro-arrhythmic cardiac disorder catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) manifests as polymorphic ventricular tachycardia episodes following physical activity, stress, or catecholamine challenge, which can deteriorate into potentially fatal ventricular fibrillation. The mouse heart is a widespread species for modeling inherited cardiac arrhythmic diseases, including CPVT. Simultaneous optical mapping of transmembrane potential (Vm) and calcium transients (CaT) from Langendorff-perfused mouse hearts has the potential to elucidate mechanisms underlying arrhythmogenesis. Compared with the cellular level investigation, the optical mapping technique can test some electrophysiological parameters, such as the determination of activation, conduction velocity, action potential duration, and CaT duration. This paper presents the instrumentation setup and experimental procedure for high-throughput optical mapping of CaT and Vm in murine wild-type and heterozygous RyR2-R2474S/+ hearts, combined with programmed electrical pacing before and during the isoproterenol challenge. This approach has demonstrated a feasible and reliable method for mechanistically studying CPVT disease in an ex vivo mouse heart preparation.