Assessing ethical behavior and self-control in elite ultimate championships: a cross-sectional study using the spirit of the game scoring system.

Introduction: Implementing a self-refereeing system presents a unique challenge in sports education, particularly in academic and training settings where officiated sports prevail. However, Ultimate Frisbee stands out by entrusting players with both athlete and referee roles, introducing distinctive ethical complexities. This manuscript is intended to evaluate ethical behavior and self-control within the Spirit of the Game (SOTG) scoring system in Elite Ultimate. To address these, Ultimate employs the (SOTG) scoring system, integral since the sport's inception in the late 1980s. SOTG aims to enhance and evaluate athletes' ethical conduct. This study evaluates SOTG's effectiveness in elite-level Ultimate, analyzing variations across divisions and age groups in three high-level tournaments. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from five international Ultimate tournaments in 2022. Teams spanned diverse age groups (under 17 to over 50) and divisions (women's, mixed, open). Post-match, teams assessed opponents' SOTG in five domains: Rules knowledge, fouls, fairness, attitude/self-control, and communication. Ratings used a 5-point Likert scale ("poor" to "excellent"). An overall SOTG score was calculated by aggregating domain scores. Results: Our study consistently revealed high SOTG scores, reflecting strong sportsmanship. "Positive attitude and self-control" consistently ranked highest, while "Knowledge and use of the rules" scored lowest. Divisional differences in SOTG were statistically insignificant. Notably, WMUCC2022 (participants aged 30+) had significantly higher SOTG scores, possibly indicating age-related self-control improvement or evolving sport culture. Lower rules knowledge scores may stem from linguistic translation challenges. Conclusion: Self-refereeing promotes ethical behavior across divisions and age groups. SOTG underscores sportsmanship's importance and aligns with International Olympic Committee (IOC) and with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3, 4, 5 and 16 fostering a fairer, healthier, and more peaceful world.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum surface-displayed VP6 (PoRV) protein can prevent PoRV infection in piglets.

Porcine rotavirus (PoRV) poses a threat to the development of animal husbandry and human health, leading to substantial economic losses. VP6 protein is the most abundant component in virus particles and also the core structural protein of the virus. Firstly, this study developed an antibiotic-resistance-free, environmentally friendly expression vector, named asd-araC-PBAD-alr (AAPA). Then Recombinant Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) strains induced by arabinose to express VP6 and VP6-pFc fusion proteins was constructed. Subsequently, This paper discovered that NC8/Δalr-pCXa-VP6-S and NC8/Δalr-pCXa-VP6-pFc-S could enhance host immunity and prevent rotavirus infection in neonatal mice and piglets. The novel recombinant L. plantarum strains constructed in this study can serve as oral vaccines to boost host immunity, offering a new strategy to prevent PoRV infection.

Single-Cell Transcriptional Analysis of Lamina Propria Lymphocytes in the Jejunum Reveals Innate Lymphoid Cell-like Cells in Pigs.

Pigs are the most suitable model to study various therapeutic strategies and drugs for human beings, although knowledge about cell type-specific transcriptomes and heterogeneity is poorly available. Through single-cell RNA sequencing and flow cytometry analysis of the types in the jejunum of pigs, we found that innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) existed in the lamina propria lymphocytes (LPLs) of the jejunum. Then, through flow sorting of live/dead-lineage (Lin)-CD45+ cells and single-cell RNA sequencing, we found that ILCs in the porcine jejunum were mainly ILC3s, with a small number of NK cells, ILC1s, and ILC2s. ILCs coexpressed IL-7Rα, ID2, and other genes and differentially expressed RORC, GATA3, and other genes but did not express the CD3 gene. ILC3s can be divided into four subgroups, and genes such as CXCL8, CXCL2, IL-22, IL-17, and NCR2 are differentially expressed. To further detect and identify ILC3s, we verified the classification of ILCs in the porcine jejunum subgroup and the expression of related hallmark genes at the protein level by flow cytometry. For systematically characterizing ILCs in the porcine intestines, we combined our pig ILC dataset with publicly available human and mice ILC data and identified that the human and pig ILCs shared more common features than did those mouse ILCs in gene signatures and cell states. Our results showed in detail for the first time (to our knowledge) the gene expression of porcine jejunal ILCs, the subtype classification of ILCs, and the markers of various ILCs, which provide a basis for an in-depth exploration of porcine intestinal mucosal immunity.

Changes in electroencephalography microstates are associated with reduced levels of vigilance after sleep deprivation.

Total sleep deprivation (TSD) negatively affects cognitive functions, especially vigilance attention, but studies on vigilance changes in terms of electroencephalography (EEG) microstates after TSD are limited. This study investigates the impact of TSD on vigilance attention, EEG microstates and its relationship. Thirty healthy adult males completed a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) before, 24 h after, and 36 h after TSD while their EEG was recorded during rest. Microstate analysis revealed significant changes in the occurrence and contribution of microstate class B after TSD. Moreover, changes in the probability of transitioning between microstate classes A and D were observed, correlating with decreased vigilance. Specifically, a positive correlation was found between transitioning from class B to class C and vigilance, while a trend of negative correlation was observed between transitioning between classes A and D and vigilance. These findings indicate abnormal activity in the salience network and dorsal attention network following sleep deprivation. TSD impairs vigilance attention, as demonstrated by the effects on EEG microstate class B and the transitions between classes A and D. The study suggests its potential as an early warning indicator for predicting vigilance attention after sleep deprivation.

Decrease in the P2 Amplitude of Object Working Memory after 8 h-Recovery Sleep Following 36 h-Total Sleep Deprivation: An ERP Study.

The impact of sleep deprivation on working memory can only be reversed by recovery sleep (RS). However, there are limited electrophysiological studies on the effect of RS on the improvement in working memory after sleep deprivation, and the changes in the early components of event-related potentials (ERPs) before and after RS are still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effects of RS on the earlier ERP components related to object working memory following 36 h of total sleep deprivation (TSD). Twenty healthy male participants performed an object working memory task after 36 h of TSD and after 8 h of RS. Electroencephalogram data were recorded accordingly while the task was performed. Repeated ANOVA showed that P2 amplitudes related to object working memory decreased significantly after 8 h of RS compared to after a 36 h period of TSD, but there was no significant difference from baseline (BS), which indicates a trend of recovery to the baseline state. An 8 h RS can partially improve impaired object working memory caused by TSD. However, a longer period of RS is needed for the complete recovery of cognitive function after a long period of TSD.

QEEG markers of superior shooting performance in skilled marksmen: An investigation of cortical activity on psychomotor efficiency hypothesis.

For elite performers, psychomotor behavior's success or failure can be traced to differences in brain dynamics. The psychomotor efficiency hypothesis suggests refined cortical activity through 1) selective activation of task-relevant processes and 2) inhibition of non-essential processes. The use of electroencephalography (EEG) has been applied to investigate psychomotor performance's neural processes. The EEG markers that reflect an elevation of psychomotor efficiency include left temporal alpha (T3 alpha), frontal midline theta (Fm theta), sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), and the coherence between frontal and left temporal regions. However, the relationship between elite performers' task-relevant and non-essential neural processes is still not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how each task-relevant and inhibition of non-essential processes contribute to superior psychomotor behavior. Thirty-five highly skilled marksmen were recruited to perform 30 shots in the shooting task while the EEG was recorded. The marksmen were divided into two groups (superior & inferior) based on a median split of shooting performance. The superior group exhibited higher accuracy and precision, with a reduction in movement jerk. EEG measures revealed that the superior group exhibited higher SMR before the trigger pull than the inferior group. In addition, the superior group demonstrated reduced Fz-T3 coherence in their bull's eye shots than the missed shots. These results suggest that the superior group exhibited less effortful engagement of task-relevant processes and lower interference from non-essential cortical regions than the inferior group. The study's overall findings support the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis. When comparing highly skilled performers, the slight differences in brain dynamics ultimately contribute to the success or failure of psychomotor performance.

Identification of an endoplasmic reticulum stress-related prognostic risk model with excellent prognostic and clinical value in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Recently, endoplasmic reticulum stress related gene (ERS) markers have performed very well in predicting the prognosis of tumor patients. METHODS: The differentially expressed genes in Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) were obtained from TCGA and GTEx database. Three prognosis-related and differentially expressed ERSs were screened out by Least Absolute Selection and Shrinkage Operator (Lasso) regression to construct a prognostic risk model. Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC), riskplots and survival curves were used to verify the model's accuracy in predicting prognosis. Multi-omics analysis of immune infiltration, gene mutation, and stem cell characteristics were performed to explore the possible mechanism of OSCC. Finally, we discussed the model's clinical application value from the perspective of drug sensitivity. RESULTS: Three genes used in the model (IBSP, RDM1, RBP4) were identified as prognostic risk factors. Bioinformatics analysis, tissue and cell experiments have fully verified the abnormal expression of these three genes in OSCC. Multiple validation methods and internal and external datasets confirmed the model's excellent performance in predicting and discriminating prognosis. Cox regression analysis identified risk score as an independent predictor of prognosis. Multi-omics analysis found strong correlations between risk scores and immune cells, cell stemness index, and tumor mutational burden (TMB). It was also observed that the risk score was closely related to the half maximal inhibitory concentration of docetaxel, gefitinib and erlotinib. The excellent performance of the nomogram has been verified by various means. CONCLUSION: A prognostic model with high clinical application value was constructed. Immune cells, cellular stemness, and TMB may be involved in the progression of OSCC.

Efficient tumor synergistic chemoimmunotherapy by self-augmented ROS-responsive immunomodulatory polymeric nanodrug.

Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer therapy. However, the therapeutic efficacy has been distracted due to poor immunogenicity and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this study, a self-augmented reactive oxygen species (ROS) responsive nanocarrier with immunogenic inducer paclitaxel (PTX) and indoleamine 2,3-dixoygenase 1 (IDO1) blocker 1-methyl-D, L-tryptophan (1-MT) co-entrapment was developed for tumor rejection. The carrier was composed of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) as hydrophilic segments, enzyme cleavable 1-MT ester and ROS-sensitive peroxalate conjugation as hydrophobic blocks. The copolymer could self-assemble into prodrug-based nanoparticles with PTX, realizing a positive feedback loop of ROS-accelerated PTX release and PTX induced ROS generation. Our nanoparticles presented efficient immunogenic cell death (ICD) which provoked antitumor immune responses with high effector T cells infiltration. Meanwhile immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment was simultaneously modulated with reduced regulatory T cells (Tregs) and M2-tumor associated macrophages (M2-TAMs) infiltration mediated by IDO inhibition. The combination of PTX and 1-MT achieved significant primary tumor regression and reduction of lung metastasis in 4T1 tumor bearing mice. Therefore, the above results demonstrated co-delivery of immunogenic inducer and IDO inhibitor using the ROS amplifying nanoplatform with potent potential for tumor chemoimmunotherapy.

African Swine Fever Virus L83L Negatively Regulates the cGAS-STING-Mediated IFN-I Pathway by Recruiting Tollip To Promote STING Autophagic Degradation.

African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating infectious disease of pigs caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), which poses a great danger to the global pig industry. Many viral proteins can suppress with interferon signaling to evade the host's innate immune responses. Therefore, the development of an effective vaccine against ASFV has been dampened. Recent studies have suggested that the L83L gene may be integrated into the host genome, weakening the host immune system, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Our study found that L83L negatively regulates the cGAS-STING-mediated type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling pathway. Overexpression of L83L inhibited IFN-ß promoter and ISRE activity, and knockdown of L83L induced higher transcriptional levels of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and phosphorylation levels of IRF3 in primary porcine alveolar macrophages. Mechanistically, L83L interacted with cGAS and STING to promote autophagy-lysosomal degradation of STING by recruiting Tollip, thereby blocking the phosphorylation of the downstream signaling molecules TBK1, IRF3, and IκBα and reducing IFN-I production. Altogether, our study reveals a negative regulatory mechanism involving the L83L-cGAS-STING-IFN-I axis and provides insights into an evasion strategy involving autophagy and innate signaling pathways employed by ASFV. IMPORTANCE African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large double-stranded DNA virus that primarily infects porcine macrophages. The ASFV genome encodes a large number of immunosuppressive proteins. Current options for the prevention and control of this pathogen remain pretty limited. Our study showed that overexpression of L83L inhibited the cGAS-STING-mediated type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling pathway. In contrast, the knockdown of L83L during ASFV infection enhanced IFN-I production in porcine alveolar macrophages. Additional analysis revealed that L83L protein downregulated IFN-I signaling by recruiting Tollip to promote STING autophagic degradation. Although L83L deletion has been reported to have little effect on viral replication, its immune evade mechanism has not been elucidated. The present study extends our understanding of the functions of ASFV-encoded pL83L and its immune evasion strategy, which may provide a new basis for developing a live attenuated vaccine for ASF.

Both Sensorimotor Rhythm Neurofeedback and Self-Controlled Practice Enhance Motor Learning and Performance in Novice Golfers.

A major concern voiced by motor behavior scientists is to find useful practice techniques that can be effective in improving motor learning and performance. Neurofeedback and self-controlled practice are among the techniques that have recently drawn attention from specialists in this area. The present study examined the additive and individual effects of sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) neurofeedback as well as self-controlled practice on motor learning and performance in novice golfers. In this semi-empirical study, forty adults (20 females, Meanage = 26.10, SD = 5.56 years) were conveniently selected and randomly assigned to four groups: (1) neurofeedback/self-controlled practice, (2) neurofeedback/yoked practice, (3) sham/self-controlled practice, and (4) sham/yoked practice. The participants performed golf putting task in four stages, namely pretest (12 trials), intervention (one day after pretest; 6 sessions, 36 trails each), post-test (one day after intervention; 12 trials), and follow-up (two weeks after interventions; 12 trials). In addition, the participants had their EEG (SMR wave in Cz point) recorded during pretest, post-test, and follow-up. The results indicated that, although no additive effect was observed for the two practices during different stages of the experiment (p > 0.05), in acquisition and post-test stages, SMR neurofeedback and self-controlled practice independently facilitated golf putting (p ≤ 0.05). However, in the follow-up test, only the neurofeedback practice maintained its positive effects (p ≤ 0.05). The results also showed that participation in SMR neurofeedback practice can enhance the power of the SMR wave (p ≤ 0.05), regardless of the type of the self-controlled practice used. In sum, the two practice techniques seem to be independently effective in facilitating motor learning in instructional settings, particularly for golfers.

A new EEG neurofeedback training approach in sports: the effects function-specific instruction of Mu rhythm and visuomotor skill performance.

Introduction: Achieving optimal visuomotor performance in precision sports relies on maintaining an optimal psychological state during motor preparation. To uncover the optimal psychological state, extensive EEG studies have established a link between the Mu rhythm (8-13 Hz at Cz) and cognitive resource allocation during visuomotor tasks (i.e., golf or shooting). In addition, the new approach in EEG neurofeedback training (NFT), called the function-specific instruction (FSI) approach, for sports involves providing function-directed verbal instructions to assist individuals to control specific EEG parameters and align them with targeted brain activity features. While this approach was initially hypothesized to aid individuals in attaining a particular mental state during NFT, the impact of EEG-NFT involving Mu rhythm on visuomotor performance, especially when contrasting the traditional instruction (TI) approach with the FSI approach, underscores the necessity for additional exploration. Hence, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the FSI approach on modulating Mu rhythm through EEG-NFT in the context of visuomotor performance. Methods: Thirty novice participants were recruited and divided into three groups: function-specific instruction (FSI, four females, six males; mean age = 27.00 ± 7.13), traditional instruction (TI, five females, five males; mean age = 27.00 ± 3.88), and sham control (SC, five females, five males; mean age = 27.80 ± 5.34). These groups engaged in a single-session EEG-NFT and performed golf putting tasks both before and after the EEG-NFT. Results: The results showed that within the FSI group, single-session NFT with augmented Mu power led to a significant decrease in putting performance (p = 0.013). Furthermore, we noted a marginal significance indicating a slight increase in Mu power and a reduction in the subjective sensation of action control following EEG-NFT (p = 0.119). While there was a positive correlation between Mu power and mean radial error in golf putting performance (p = 0.043), it is important to interpret this relationship cautiously in the context of reduced accuracy in golf putting. Discussion: The findings emphasize the necessity for extended investigation to attain a more profound comprehension of the nuanced significance of Mu power in visuomotor performance. The study highlights the potential effectiveness of the FSI approach in EEG-NFT and in enhancing visuomotor performance, but it also emphasizes the potential impact of skill level and attentional control, particularly in complex visuomotor tasks.

African swine fever virus MGF505-7R protein interacted with IRF7and TBK1 to inhibit type I interferon production.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) employs diverse strategies to confront or evade host type I interferon (IFN-I)-induced antiviral responses. Moreover, the mechanisms of this process are largely unknown. Here, we assessed 27 ASFV proteins to determine whether any of them suppressed the cGAS-STING pathway to facilitate immune evasion. Using dual-luciferase assays, we found that ASFV MGF505-7R suppressed the activity of the IFN-ß and ISRE promoters and the expression of IFN-I and ISGs. MGF505-7R interacted with IRF7 and TBK1, degrading IRF7 by autophagy, cysteine, and proteasome pathways and TBK1 by the proteasome pathway. Moreover, TBK1 and IRF3 were phosphorylated by cGAS-STING stimulation. Finally, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based silencing of MGF505-7R enhanced IFN-I antiviral activity. Taken together, these results preliminarily clarified the immune escape mechanism of ASFV MGF505-7R, which provides a potential target for developing antiviral agents.

Effects of the Zbtb1 Gene on Chromatin Spatial Structure and Lymphatic Development: Combined Analysis of Hi-C, ATAC-Seq and RNA-Seq.

Zbtb1 (zinc finger and BTB domain containing 1) is a member of mammalian zbtb gene family. A series of bioinformatics analysis was carried out for the EL4 cell and the Zbtb1-deficient EL4 cell by Hi-C, ATAC-seq and RNA-seq techniques. Finally, Hi-C results showed that the intensity of chromatin interaction in the deletion group decreased with distance, the degree of chromosome interaction decreased significantly, the AB division region changed significantly, and the compactness of TAD structure decreased; The results of ATAC-seq showed that the open area and degree of chromatin in the deletion group decreased; 7778 differentially expressed mRNAs were found by RNA-seq. Our experimental results for the first time expounded the significance of Zbtb1 gene for T cell development, lymphocyte production and apoptosis from the aspects of chromosome spatial structure and chromatin opening degree, and provided relevant theoretical basis and data support for the in-depth study of related Zbtb1 genes in the future.

A Preliminary Investigation of Embedding In Vitro HepaRG Spheroids into Recombinant Human Collagen Type I for the Promotion of Liver Differentiation.

BACKGROUND: In vitro three-dimensional (3D) hepatic spheroid culture has shown great promise in toxicity testing because it better mimics the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions found in in vivo conditions than that of the traditional two-dimensional (2D) culture. Despite embedding HepaRG spheroids with collagen type I (collagen I) extracellular matrix (ECM) revealed a much better differentiation capability, almost all the collagen utilized in in vitro hepatocytes cultures is animal-derived collagen that may limit its use in human toxicity testing. METHOD: Here, a preliminary investigation of HepaRG cells cultured in different dimensionalities and with the addition of ECM was performed. Comparisons of conventional 2D culture with 3D spheroid culture were performed based on their functional or structural differences over 7 days. Rat tail collagen (rtCollagen) I and recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) I were investigated for their ability in promoting HepaRG spheroid differentiation. RESULTS: An immunofluorescence analysis of the hepatocyte-specific functional protein albumin suggested that HepaRG spheroids demonstrated better hepatic function than spheroids from 2D culture, and the function of HepaRG spheroids improved in a time-dependent manner. The fluorescence intensities per unit area of spheroids formed by 1000 cells on days 7 and 10 were 25.41 and 45.38, respectively, whereas almost undetectable fluorescence was obtained with 2D cells. In addition, the embedding of HepaRG spheroids into rtCollagen and rhCollagen I showed that HepaRG differentiation can be accelerated relative to the differentiation of spheroids grown in suspension, demonstrating the great promise of HepaRG spheroids. CONCLUSIONS: The culture conditions established in this study provide a potentially novel alternative for promoting the differentiation of HepaRG spheroids into mature hepatocytes through a collagen-embedded in vitro liver spheroid model. This culture method is envisioned to provide insights for future drug toxicology.

SP1-Mediated Upregulation of circFAM126A Promotes Proliferation and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma via Regulation of RAB41.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs have major roles in the progression of human cancers. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanism and effects of circFAM126A in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect expression levels of circFAM126A in OSCC tumor tissues and cell lines; the effects of circFAM126A small hairpin RNA (shRNA) on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OSCC cells were detected by MTT, colony formation, and transwell assays; xenograft mouse models were used to determine the effects of circFAM126A shRNA on the growth of OSCC tumors in vivo; the expression of miR-186 and RAB41 in OSCC tissues and cells was examined by qRT-PCR; the targeting relationship between circFAM126A and miR-186 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays; and the relationship between miR-186 and RAB41 was explored. RESULTS: The expression of circFAM126A was significantly upregulated in OSCC tissues and cells. The transcription factor SP1 transcriptionally activated circFAM126A. However, knockdown of circFAM126A markedly suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OSCC cells in vitro and inhibited tumor growth and distant metastasis in vivo. Moreover, circFAM126A increased the expression of RAB41 and promoted its mRNA stability via binding to miR-186 and RNA-binding protein FUS. Overexpression of RAB41 antagonized the effects of circFAM126A knockdown and induced an aggressive phenotype of OSCC cells. CONCLUSION: SP1 transcriptionally activated circFAM126A modulated the growth, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of OSCC cells via targeting the miR-186/FUS/RAB41 axis, suggesting that circFAM126A is a potential biomarker for the treatment of OSCC.

African swine fever virus MGF360-11L negatively regulates cGAS-STING-mediated inhibition of type I interferon production.

The type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling pathway is an important part of the innate immune response and plays a vital role in controlling and eliminating pathogens. African swine fever virus (ASFV) encodes various proteins to evade the host's natural immunity. However, the molecular mechanism by which the ASFV-encoded proteins inhibit interferon production remains poorly understood. In the present study, ASFV MGF360-11L inhibited cGAS, STING, TBK1, IKKε, IRF7 and IRF3-5D mediated activation of the IFN-ß and ISRE promoters, accompanied by decreases in IFN-ß, ISG15 and ISG56 mRNA expression. ASFV MGF360-11L interacted with TBK1 and IRF7, degrading TBK1 and IRF7 through the cysteine, ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy pathways. Moreover, ASFV MGF360-11L also inhibited the phosphorylation of TBK1 and IRF3 stimulated by cGAS-STING overexpression. Truncation mutation analysis revealed that aa 167-353 of ASFV MGF360-11L could inhibit cGAS-STING-mediated activation of the IFN-ß and ISRE promoters. Finally, the results indicated that ASFV MGF360-11L plays a significant role in inhibiting IL-1ß, IL-6 and IFN-ß production in PAM cells (PAMs) infected with ASFV. In short, these results demonstrated that ASFV MGF360-11L was involved in regulating IFN-I expression by negatively regulating the cGAS signaling pathway. In summary, this study preliminarily clarified the molecular mechanism by which the ASFV MGF360-11L protein antagonizes IFN-I-mediated antiviral activity, which will help to provide new strategies for the treatment and prevention of ASF.

Combined oxidization and liquid ammonia pretreatment of bamboo of various ages and species for maximizing fermentable sugar release.

To determine the potential for improving biomass enzymolysis, a combined oxidization and liquid ammonia pretreatment (OD-LAT) was employed for bamboo. The effects of oxidant, bamboo ages, and species on the pretreatment effectiveness and subsequent enzymolysis were studied. Under the optimal OD-LAT pretreatment and enzymolysis of the B-NA bamboo Neosinocalamus affinis, the glucan and xylan conversion reached 83.85% and 78.66%, respectively, and approximately 59.7-68.5 g of fermentable sugars can be produced per 100 g of dry bamboo, which was an approximately 5-8 fold increase compared with untreated sample. The H2O2 loading of 1.0 was the optimal oxidant dosage for the OD-LAT process. The OD-LAT pretreatment was only suitable for bamboo under three-year-old, and it significantly improved the enzymolysis of B-NA and B-BM, while it was limited to B-DO and B-PP. The pretreatment effects of bamboo were not only related to composition but also to the bamboo age, species, macro-structures and micro-structures.

Rapid genetic divergence and mitonuclear discordance in the Taliang knobby newt ( Liangshantriton taliangensis, Salamandridae, Caudata) and their driving forces.

The Hengduan Mountains Region (HMR) is the largest "evolutionary frontier" of the northern temperate zone, and the origin and maintenance of species in this area is a research hotspot. Exploring species-specific responses to historical and contemporary environmental changes will improve our understanding of the role of this region in maintaining biodiversity. In this study, mitochondrial and microsatellite diversities were used to assess the contributions of paleogeological events, Pleistocene climatic oscillations, and contemporary landscape characteristics to the rapid intraspecific diversification of Liangshantriton taliangensis, a vulnerable amphibian species endemic to several sky-island mountains in the southeastern HMR. Divergence date estimations suggested that the East Asian monsoon, local uplifting events (Xigeda Formation strata), and Early-Middle Pleistocene transition (EMPT) promoted rapid divergence of L. taliangensis during the Pleistocene, yielding eight mitochondrial lineages and six nuclear genetic lineages. Moreover, population genetic structures were mainly fixed through isolation by resistance. Multiple in situ refugia were identified by ecological niche models and high genetic diversity, which played crucial roles in the persistence and divergence of L. taliangensis during glacial-interglacial cycles. Dramatic climatic fluctuations further promoted recurrent isolation and admixing of populations in scattered glacial refugia. The apparent mitonuclear discordance was likely the result of introgression by secondary contact and/or female-biased dispersal. Postglacial expansion generated two major secondary contact zones (Ganluo (GL) and Chuhongjue (CHJ)). Identification of conservation management units and dispersal corridors offers important recommendations for the conservation of this species.