Two macamide extracts relieve physical fatigue by attenuating muscle damage in mice.

BACKGROUND: Macamides, the main active components contained in maca, have attracted increasing attention due to their various bioactivities. In this study, crude macamide extract (CME) and purified macamide extract (PME) were prepared by enzyme-assisted extraction and macroporous resin separation, and the anti-fatigue effects of CME and PME were evaluated in a forced swimming model. RESULTS: The composition analysis results revealed that both CME and PME mainly contain eight kinds of macamide. Based on the results of a weight-loaded forced swimming test, compared with a control group, CME and and PME groups could prolong exhaustive swimming time, increase levels of liver glycogen (LG) and muscle glycogen (MG), accelerate fatty acid oxidation in serum to provide energy, eliminate the accumulation of blood lactic acid (BLA) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and decrease the serum biomarkers for muscle damage, such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK). Histological analysis also indicated that CME and PME attenuated damage to skeletal muscle and the myocardium in mice during exercise. CONCLUSION: Two macamide extracts have a beneficial effect on relieving physical fatigue by attenuating the damage of skeletal muscle and myocardium during exercise, and a better effect was observed in the PME group. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Tissue-Specific Distribution and Maternal Transfer of Persistent Organic Halogenated Pollutants in Frogs.

Persistent organic pollutants pose a great threat to amphibian populations, but information on the bioaccumulation of contaminants in amphibians remains scarce. To examine the tissue distribution and maternal transfer of organic halogenated pollutants (OHPs) in frogs, seven types of tissues from black-spotted frog (muscle, liver, kidney, stomach, intestine, heart, and egg) were collected from an e-waste-polluted area in South China. Among the seven frog tissues, median total OHP concentrations of 2.3 to 9.7 µg/g lipid weight were found (in 31 polychlorinated biphenyl [PCB] individuals and 15 polybrominated diphenyl ether [PBDE], dechlorane plus [syn-DP and anti-DP], bexabromobenzene [HBB], polybrominated biphenyl] PBB153 and -209], and decabromodiphenyl ethane [DBDPE] individuals). Sex-specific differences in contaminant concentration and compound compositions were observed among the frog tissues, and eggs had a significantly higher contaminant burden on the whole body of female frogs. In addition, a significant sex difference in the concentration ratios of other tissues to the liver was observed in most tissues except for muscle. These results suggest that egg production may involve the mobilization of other maternal tissues besides muscle, which resulted in the sex-specific distribution. Different parental tissues had similar maternal transfer mechanisms; factors other than lipophilicity (e.g., molecular size and proteinophilic characteristics) could influence the maternal transfer of OHPs in frogs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1557-1568. © 2024 SETAC.

Clinical efficacy and complications of transurethral resection of the prostate versus plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate.

BACKGROUND: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease in elderly males, and many kinds of minimally invasive procedures can be used for the treatment of BPH. However, various procedures have caused some controversies regarding clinical outcomes, so more studies are needed to validate these controversial topics. AIMS: This study aimed to explore differences of clinical efficacy, surgical features, and complications between transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate (PKEP) for BPH. METHODS: A total of eligible 850 cases of BPH underwent TURP (the TURP group, 320 cases) or PKEP (the PKEP group, 530 cases) in the urology department of our hospital from March 2015 to 2018 were involved in this study. Then, the baseline data, surgical characteristics, IPSS, QoL, PVR, Qmax, IIEF-5, and documented complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The operative time, intraoperative irrigation volume, postoperative hemoglobin, decrease in hemoglobin, postoperative irrigation time and volume, catheterization time, and hospital stay of the PKEP group were significantly less than those of the TURP group (all P < 0.05). At 3 months, 1, 2, and 3 years after operation, no significant differences were observed in IPSS, QoL, PVR, but the results of Qmax and IIEF-5 in the PKEP group were significantly higher than those parameters in the TURP group (all P < 0.05). The incidences of massive blood loss, postoperative secondary bleeding, blood transfusion, capsular perforation, urinary tract irritation, bladder spasm, clot retention, urinary tract infection, transient incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and the incidences of II, III grade of Clavien-Dindo classification in the PKEP group were significantly lower than those of the TURP group (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The clinical efficacy of PKEP is compared favorably with TURP during midterm follow-up. Given the merits such as less blood loss and hospital stay, lower complications, PKEP should be given a priority for BPH.

Real-time quantitative PCR assay for monitoring of nervous necrosis virus infection in grouper aquaculture.

Viral nervous necrosis caused by nervous necrosis virus (NNV) exacts a high mortality and results in huge economic losses in grouper aquaculture in Taiwan. The present study developed a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) method for NNV monitoring. The assay showed a strong linear correlation (r(2) = 0.99) between threshold cycle (C(T)) and RNA quantities, which allowed identification of infected groupers by the C(T) value and could be exploited to warn of NNV infection prior to an outbreak in grouper fish farms. Real-time qPCR also confirmed the copious content of NNV in grouper fin, similar to that in primary tissues; the result was verified by using in situ reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). This indicated that grouper fin was a suitable sample for NNV detection, in a manner that could be relatively benign to the fish. The rapid spread of NNV infection to the entire population of affected farms was evident. The developed real-time qPCR method is rapid, highly sensitive, and applicable to routine high-throughput detection of large numbers of samples and has potential as a suitable tool for diagnostic, epidemiological, and genetic studies of grouper aquaculture.

Improved de novo chromosome-level genome assembly of the vulnerable walnut tree Juglans mandshurica reveals gene family evolution and possible genome basis of resistance to lesion nematode.

Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim.) is a synonym of J. cathayensis, a diploid, vulnerable, temperate deciduous tree valued for its wood and nut. It is also valued as a rootstock for Juglans regia because of its reported tolerance of lesion nematode. Reference genomes are available for several Juglans species, our goal was to produce a de novo, chromosome-level assembly of the J. mandshurica genome. Here, we reported an improved assembly of J. mandshurica with a contig N50 size of 6.49 Mb and a scaffold N50 size of 36.1 Mb. The total genome size was 548 Mb encoding 29,032 protein coding genes which were annotated. The collinearity analysis showed that J. mandshurica and J. regia originated from a common ancestor, with both species undergoing two WGD events. A genomic comparison showed that J. mandshurica was missing 1657 genes found in J. regia, and J. mandshurica includes 2827 genes not found in of the J. regia genome. The J. mandshurica contained 1440 unique paralogues that were highly enriched for flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and plant-pathogen interaction. Four gene families related to disease resistance notable contraction (rapidly evolving; LEA, WAK, PPR, and PR) in J. mandshurica compared to eight species. JmaPR10 and JmaPR8 contained three orthologous gene pairs with J. regia that were highly expressed in root bark. JmaPR10 is a strong candidate gene for lesion nematodes resistance in J. mandshurica. The J. mandshurica genome should be a useful resource for study of the evolution, breeding, and genetic variation in walnuts (Juglans).

Cloning of an orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides heat shock protein 90AB (HSP90AB) and characterization of its expression in response to nodavirus.

The heat shock proteins (HSPs) family which consists of HSP90, HSP70, and low molecular mass HSPs are involved in chaperone activity. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of HSP90AB gene from orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides. The full-length of grouper HSP90AB was 727 amino acids and possessed an ATPase domain as well as an evolutionarily conserved molecular chaperone. The HSP90AB-green fluorescent protein fusion protein was evenly distributed in the cytoplasm. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses indicated that the expression of grouper HSP90AB was marginally increased following nodavirus infection. Grouper E. coioides that received HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GA) showed an increase in HSP90AB expression and growth of nodavirus supporting nodavirus replication.

Genome sequence of Trichoderma virens FT-333 from tropical marine climate.

Environmental factors can cause changes in the content of the fungal genome during evolution. In this study, a fungus used as a biocontrol agent, Trichoderma virens FT-333 (from a tropical marine climate) has been isolated. The genome (38.6 Mbp; GC content, 49.43%) has a total of 12,751 proteins. Gene ontology terms (cellular component and molecular function) and KEGG analyses demonstrated the importance of the secretion function in FT-333. Compared to the other Trichoderma species, copy number of genes related to defense and nutrient utilization was variable.

Nervous necrosis virus replicates following the embryo development and dual infection with iridovirus at juvenile stage in grouper.

Infection of virus (such as nodavirus and iridovirus) and bacteria (such as Vibrio anguillarum) in farmed grouper has been widely reported and caused large economic losses to Taiwanese fish aquaculture industry since 1979. The multiplex assay was used to detect dual viral infection and showed that only nervous necrosis virus (NNV) can be detected till the end of experiments (100% mortality) once it appeared. In addition, iridovirus can be detected in a certain period of rearing. The results of real-time PCR and in situ PCR indicated that NNV, in fact, was not on the surface of the eggs but present in the embryo, which can continue to replicate during the embryo development. The virus may be vertically transmitted by packing into eggs during egg development (formation) or delivering into eggs by sperm during fertilization. The ozone treatment of eggs may fail to remove the virus, so a new strategy to prevent NNV is needed.