Human Papilloma Virus Infection and Gene Subtypes Analysis in Women Undergoing Physical Examinations: A 2015-2020 Study in Wenzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is closely related to cervical cancer. The epidemiologic characteristics of cervical HPV have regional differences. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the most favorable policies according to the actual situation of each region to prevent and reduce the prevalence of cervical cancer. This retrospective cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence, gene subtypes, and temporal trends of HPV in women undergoing physical examination in Wenzhou, to provide a decision-making basis for further prevention and control of HPV. METHODS: A total of 31 131 cervical exfoliated cell specimens obtained from physical examinations in Wenzhou, a coastal city of China, from 2015 to 2020 were collected. The age distribution was analyzed using the chi-squared test, and the time change trend was analyzed using the Mann-Kendall trend test. On this basis, the distribution characteristics of the HPV subtypes were analyzed. RESULTS: The total prevalence rate was 9.55%, and the prevalence rate in different age groups ranged from 7.77% to 14.16%. The prevalence rate in different years was 8.84%-11.83%. The prevalence rate was bimodal; it was highest in the group 25 years old, followed by the group >61 years old. The top five high-risk gene subtypes were HPV52, HPV58, HPV53, HPV16, and HPV39, whereas the low-risk subtypes were HPV61, HPV81, HPV44, HPV43, and HPV55. Of all the positive samples, 76.03% were infected with a high-risk subtype. CONCLUSION: Most female HPV patients in Wenzhou are infected with high-risk gene subtypes. Therefore, physical examination and screening for HPV should be further strengthened, and the corresponding vaccination policy should focus on high-risk gene subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is closely related to the occurrence of cervical cancer. The epidemic characteristics of cervical HPV have regional differences, Therefore, it is necessary to formulate the most favorable policies according to the actual situation of each region, so as to prevent and reduce the prevalence of cervical cancer. This retrospective cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence, gene subtypes and temporal trends of HPV in women undergoing physical examination in Wenzhou. To provide decision-making basis for further prevention and control of HPV. METHODS: A total of 31,131 cervical exfoliated cell specimens obtained from physical examinations in Wenzhou, a coastal city of China from 2015 to 2020, were collected. The age distribution was analyzed by the chi-squared test, and the time change trend was analyzed by the Mann­Kendall trend test. On this basis, the distribution characteristics of HPV subtypes were analyzed. RESULTS: The total prevalence rate was 9.55%, and the prevalence rate in different age groups ranged from 7.77% to 14.16%. The prevalence rate in different years was 8.84%-11.83%. The prevalence rate was bimodal; it was highest in the group less than or equal to 25 years old, followed by the group greater than 61 years old. The top five high-risk gene subtypes were HPV52, HPV58, HPV53, HPV16 and HPV39, while for low-risk were HPV61, HPV81, HPV44, HPV43 and HPV55, respectively. Of all the positive samples, 76.03% were infected with a high-risk subtype.

Enabling Medicago truncatula forward genetics: identification of genetic crossing partner for R108 and development of mapping resources for Tnt1 mutants.

Though Medicago truncatula Tnt1 mutants are widely used by researchers in the legume community, they are mainly used for reverse genetics because of the availability of the BLAST-searchable large-scale flanking sequence tags database. However, these mutants should have also been used extensively for forward genetic screens, an effort that has been hindered due to the lack of a compatible genetic crossing partner for the M. truncatula genotype R108, from which Tnt1 mutants were generated. In this study, we selected three Medicago HapMap lines (HM017, HM018 and HM022) and performed reciprocal genetic crosses with R108. After phenotypic analyses in F1 and F2 progenies, HM017 was identified as a compatible crossing partner with R108. By comparing the assembled genomic sequences of HM017 and R108, we developed and confirmed 318 Indel markers evenly distributed across the eight chromosomes of the M. truncatula genome. To validate the effectiveness of these markers, by employing the map-based cloning approach, we cloned the causative gene in the dwarf mutant crs isolated from the Tnt1 mutant population, identifying it as gibberellin 3-ß-dioxygenase 1, using some of the confirmed Indel markers. The primer sequences and the size difference of each marker were made available for users in the web-based database. The identification of the crossing partner for R108 and the generation of Indel markers will enhance the forward genetics and the overall usage of the Tnt1 mutants.

Covalent Organic Frameworks: The Rising-Star Platforms for the Design of CO2 Separation Membranes.

Membrane-based carbon dioxide (CO2 ) capture and separation technologies have aroused great interest in industry and academia due to their great potential to combat current global warming, reduce energy consumption in chemical separation of raw materials, and achieve carbon neutrality. The emerging covalent organic frameworks (COFs) composed of organic linkers via reversible covalent bonds are a class of porous crystalline polymers with regular and extended structures. The inherent structure and customizable organic linkers give COFs high and permanent porosity, short transport channel, tunable functionality, and excellent stability, thereby enabling them rising-star alternatives for developing advanced CO2 separation membranes. Therefore, the promising research areas ranging from development of COF membranes to their separation applications have emerged. Herein, this review first introduces the main advantages of COFs as the state-of-the-art membranes in CO2 separation, including tunable pore size, modifiable surfaces property, adjustable surface charge, excellent stability. Then, the preparation approaches of COF-based membranes are systematically summarized, including in situ growth, layer-by-layer stacking, blending, and interface engineering. Subsequently, the key advances of COF-based membranes in separating various CO2 mixed gases, such as CO2 /CH4 , CO2 /H2 , CO2 /N2 , and CO2 /He, are comprehensively discussed. Finally, the current issues and further research expectations in this field are proposed.

A seed coat-specific ß-ketoacyl-CoA synthase, KCS12, is critical for preserving seed physical dormancy.

Physical dormancy in seeds exists widely in seed plants and plays a vital role in maintaining natural seed banks. The outermost cuticle of the seed coat forms a water-impermeable layer, which is critical for establishing seed physical dormancy. We previously set up the legume plant Medicago truncatula as an excellent model for studying seed physical dormancy, and our studies revealed that a class II KNOTTED-like homeobox, KNOX4, is a transcription factor critical for controlling hardseededness. Here we report the function of a seed coat ß-ketoacyl-CoA synthase, KCS12. The expression level of KCS12 is significantly downregulated in the knox4 mutant. The KCS12 gene is predominantly expressed in the seed coat, and seed development in the M. truncatula kcs12 mutant is altered. Further investigation demonstrated that kcs12 mutant seeds lost physical dormancy and were able to absorb water without scarification treatment. Chemical analysis revealed that concentrations of C24:0 lipid polyester monomers are significantly decreased in mutant seeds, indicating that KCS12 is an enzyme that controls the production of very long chain lipid species in the seed coat. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that the expression of KCS12 in the seed coat is directly regulated by the KNOX4 transcription factor. These findings define a molecular mechanism by which KNOX4 and KCS12 control formation of the seed coat and seed physical dormancy.

Improvement of Qilin pills on male reproductive function in tripterygium glycoside-induced oligoasthenospermia in rats.

This study established an oligoasthenospermic rat model using tripterygium glycosides (TGs) and investigated the mechanism by which Qilin pills (QLPs) ameliorate reproductive hypofunction. Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were allocated to four equal-sized groups: (1) the control group received continuous physiological levels of saline; (2) the oligoasthenospermia model group was induced with TGs by daily intragastric administration for 28 days; (3 and 4) oligoasthenospermic rats were treated intragastrically with low dose (1.62 g kg-1  d-1 ) and high dose (3.24 g kg-1  d-1 ) of QLPs once daily for 60 days. The QLP-treated rats showed a marked increase (p < .05) in testicular mass, testicular index and semen parameters compared with the untreated rats. Histopathologically, the QLP-treated groups exhibited restored seminiferous tubules in contrast to the model group. Reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels were dramatically decreased (p < .05) in the testes of the QLP-treated rats. QLP treatment partly reverted (p < .05) the circulatory levels of reproductive hormones (FSH, LH, testosterone, prolactin and SHBG) and hepatic and renal function (AST, Cr and urea). Our results showed that oral QLP treatment had a curative effect on the testicular mass, sperm quality, testicular pathomorphology, antioxidants, plasmatic hormones, and liver and renal function of rats.

Glucose metabolism during in vitro maturation of mouse oocytes: An study using RNA interference.

In previous studies on glucose metabolism during in vitro maturation, intact cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were treated with enzyme inhibitors/activators. Because inhibitors/activators may have non-specificity and/or toxicity, and culture of COCs cannot differentiate whether glucose metabolism of cumulus cells (CCs) or that of the oocyte supports oocyte maturation, results from the previous studies must be verified by silencing genes in either CCs or cumulus-denuded oocytes (DOs). In this study, RNAi was adopted to specify the effects of glucose metabolism in CCs or DOs on oocyte maturation. Although silencing either glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) genes in CCs significantly decreased competence of the cocultured DOs, silencing G6PD impaired competence to a greater extent. While silencing G6PD or GAPDH of CCs decreased glutathione and ATP contents of cocultured DOs to similar extents, silencing G6PD increased oxidative stress as well. Analysis on metabolite contents and oxidative stress index and culture of DOs in medium conditioned with gene-silenced CCs indicated that CCs supported oocyte maturation by releasing glucose metabolites. Silencing mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1 or NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquintone) flavoprotein 1 of DOs significantly impaired their maturation. The results have unequivocally confirmed that CCs promote oocyte maturation by releasing glucose metabolites from both pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and glycolysis. Pyruvate is transferred into DOs by mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) and utilized through mitochondrial electron transport to support maturation.

[Analysis on the relationship between adolescent myopia and serum sex hormone].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the quantitative changes of the serum sex hormone levels in juvenile myopia patients. METHODS: In January 2013, investigation of Wenzhou middle school 822 adolescents, including 432 male patients and 390 female patients were involved in the study Visual acuity ≥ 5 was set as the normal value. The subjects were divided into two groups, the myopia group and the non-myopia group. Chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer was used to detect the subjects' sex hormone concentration of estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). RESULTS: The follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone of the female patients were significantly higher than those of male counterparts (P < 0.01); among the two groups consisting female myopia and non-myopia patients, a significant difference in luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone was shown (P < 0.05); the distinct differences in the level of luteinizing hormone and testosterone level showed in the male myopia group and non-myopia group were of outstanding statistics significance (P < 0.01), showing the result that the level of sex hormone in myopia group was higher than that in the non-myopia group. CONCLUSION: A close relationship perhaps between the level of sex hormone with gender differences and juvenile myopia is confirmed.

[Myopia prevalence and influencing factor analysis of primary and middle school students in our country].

OBJECTIVES: To explore the situation and the affect factors of myopia and scientificalness and effectiveness of eye exercises about primary and middle school students. METHODS: Through the random cluster sampling method, 20 000 students of 90 schools including key and non-key primary or junior or senior school in country and city of shandong, qinghai, yunnan, Shanghai and wenzhou were random selected. Primary students is 11 246 junior students is 3673 senior students is 4220.We surveyed related situation of eye exercises, myopia. a total of 19 139 valid questionnaires were received. By random sampling stratification method, freshmen were selected and retrospective surveyed. 929 freshmen have normal vision when they graduated primary school. 338 freshmen have normal vision when they graduated primary school.2 groups are considered analysis object, and Myopic students of the former in junior school stages and the latter in senior school stages are considered case group, normal vision are considered control group, and then through the Logistic multiple stepwise regression analysis, a regression analysis model is established. RESULTS: This survey show that myopia prevalence was 13.7% of primary students, 42.9% of junior students, 69.7% of senior students. According to the significant P < 0.001, Rsquare = 0.14, the result shows that the model has the significant statistical significance. Among the influence factors, whether to long-term excessive use eye is the most significant, and following by outdoor activities and gender. A chi-square test χ(2) = 0.371 and P = 0.543 show that doing eye exercises was not statistically significant to prevalence of myopia. CONCLUSION: The influence factors are changed, and the preventive methods should be adjusted with the social environment.

[Impact factor of timeliness lag for seeing a doctor about cataract patient in Wenzhou region of Zhejiang province].

OBJECTIVE: Investigation the impact factor of timeliness lag about cataract patient of operation. METHODS: Through Opportunistic Screening , from January 2007 to January 2012, we extracted people aged 50 or above and carried out the cataract screening in 10 towns of Wenzhou region of Zhejiang province. People extracted was checked by slit lamp microscope and ophthalmoscope directly, and the people who are suit for operation were brought to a first-rate of level three eye hospital and operated by MSICS . At the same time we have made questionnaire about five aspect including basic situation, economic status, basic life status, health and medical status and health needs for the operator and this questionnaire involves twenty-three relevant indexes about the timeliness, these factors of timeliness for patients seeing a doctor are judged. RESULTS: 36 681 people are checked for five years and 10 326 people(10 326 eyes) are suitable for surgery. Through analyzing sixteen relevant indexes about the timeliness , there are ten indexes which have Statistical Significance including in transportation, the distance for nearest medical aid post , care knowledge, population of family, income of family, respondents degree , the highest degree of family members type of work, structure of building, government subsidies. The first reason that the people can't be operated in time are economic difficulties, next are older and making children trouble for seven factors of no operation in time. The people for this three reason is more than 75% for not seeing a doctor in time. CONCLUSION: The key work of blindness prevention and treatment is the cataract surgery for our country.Eye doctors pay attention to new surgical technique , at the same time we should promote MSICS which is technique of low cost and have good effect of the operation.

Efficient oil-water emulsion treatment via novel composite membranes fabricated by CaCO3-based biomineralization and TA-Ti(IV) coating strategy.

Continuous increasing discharge of industrial oily wastewater and frequent occurrence of oil spill accidents have taken heavy tolls on global environment and human health. Organic-inorganic modifications can fabricate superhydrophilic/submerged superoleophobic membranes for efficient oil-water separation/treatment though they still suffer from complex operation, non-environmental friendliness, expensive cost or uneven distribution. Herein, a new strategy regarding tannic acid (TA)-Ti(IV) coating and CaCO3-based biomineralization through simple inkjet printing processes was proposed to modify polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, endowing the membrane with high hydrophilicity (water contact angle (WCA) decreased from 86.01° to 14.94°) and underwater superoleophobicity (underwater contact angle (UOCA) > 155°). The optimized TA-Ti(IV)-CaCO3 modified membrane possessed perfect water permeation to various oil/water emulsions (e.g., 355.7 L·m-2·h-1 for gasoline emulsion) under gravity with superior separation efficiency (>98.8 %), leading the way in oil/water emulsion separation performance of PVDF membranes modified with polyphenolic surfaces to our knowledge. Moreover, the modified membrane displayed rather high flux recovery after eight cycles of filtration while maintaining the original excellent separation efficiency. The modification process proposed in this study is almost independent of the nature of the substrate, and meets the demand for simple, inexpensive, rapid preparation of highly hydrophilic antifouling membranes, showing abroad application prospect for oil-water emulsion separation/treatment.

Transcriptome Analysis of Fusarium Root-Rot-Resistant and -Susceptible Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Plants during Plant-Pathogen Interactions.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a perennial leguminous forage cultivated globally. Fusarium spp.-induced root rot is a chronic and devastating disease affecting alfalfa that occurs in most production fields. Studying the disease resistance regulatory network and investigating the key genes involved in plant-pathogen resistance can provide vital information for breeding alfalfa that are resistant to Fusarium spp. In this study, a resistant and susceptible clonal line of alfalfa was inoculated with Fusarium proliferatum L1 and sampled at 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 7 d post-inoculation for RNA-seq analysis. Among the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) detected between the two clonal lines at the four time points after inoculation, approximately 81.8% were detected at 24 h and 7 d after inoculation. Many DEGs in the two inoculated clonal lines participated in PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) mechanisms. In addition, transcription factor families such as bHLH, SBP, AP2, WRKY, and MYB were detected in response to infection. These results are an important supplement to the few existing studies on the resistance regulatory network of alfalfa against Fusarium root rot and will help to understand the evolution of host-pathogen interactions.

Transcriptome Analysis of Leaf Senescence Regulation Under Alkaline Stress in Medicago truncatula.

In plants, the leaf is an essential photosynthetic organ, and is the primary harvest in forage crops such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Premature leaf senescence caused by environmental stress can result in significant yield loss and quality reduction. Therefore, the stay-green trait is important for improving the economic value of forage crops. Alkaline stress can severely damage leaf cells and, consequently, cause leaf senescence. To understand the molecular regulatory mechanisms and identify vital senescence-associated genes under alkaline stress, we used high-throughput sequencing to study transcriptional changes in Medicago truncatula, a model plant for forage crops. We identified 2,165 differentially expressed genes, 985 of which were identical to those in the dark-induced leaf senescence group. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses showed that the 985 genes were mainly enriched in nutrient cycling processes such as cellular amino acid metabolic processes and organic substance catabolic processes, indicating nutrient redistribution. The other 1,180 differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in the oxidoreductase complex, aerobic respiration, and ion transport. Our analysis showed the two gene sets guiding the coupled physiological and biochemical alterations play different roles under alkaline stress with a coordinated and integrated way. Many transcription factor families were identified from these differentially expressed genes, including MYB, WRKY, bHLH, and NAC which have particular preference involved in stress resistance and regulation of senescence. Our results contribute to the exploration of the molecular regulatory mechanisms of leaf senescence in M. truncatula under alkaline stress and provide new candidate genes for future breeding to improve the biomass and quality of forage crops.

Genome-wide identification of growth-regulating factor transcription factor family related to leaf and stem development in alfalfa.

Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) play crucial roles in plant growth and stress response. To date, there have been no reports of the analysis and identification of the GRF transcription factor family in alfalfa. In this study, we identified 27 GRF family members from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) "Xinjiang Daye", and analyzed their physicochemical properties. Based on phylogenetic analysis, these MsGRFs were divided into five subgroups, each with a similar gene structure and conserved motifs. MsGRFs genes are distributed on 23 chromosomes, and all contain QLQ and WRC conserved domains. The results of the collinearity analysis showed that all MsGRFs are involved in gene duplication, including multiple whole-genome duplication or segmental duplication and a set of tandem duplication, indicating that large-scale duplication is important for the expansion of the GRF family in alfalfa. Several hormone-related and stress-related cis-acting elements have been found in the promoter regions of MsGRFs. Some MsGRFs were highly expressed in young leaves and stems, and their expression decreased during development. In addition, the leaf size of different varieties was found to vary, and MsGRF1 to 4, MsGRF18 to 20, and MsGRF22 to 23 were differentially expressed in large and small leaf alfalfa varieties, suggesting that they are critical in the regulation of leaf size. The results of this study can benefit further exploration of the regulatory functions of MsGRFs in growth and development, and can identify candidate genes that control leaf size development.

Comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling reveals the differences between alfalfa sprouts germinated with or without light exposure.

Alfalfa sprouts are among the most nutritionally rich foods, and light exposure is a critical factor in determining their biomass and quality. However, detailed metabolic and molecular differences between yellow and green alfalfa sprouts remain unclear. In this study, comprehensive metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses were integrated to evaluate the nutrient composition of alfalfa sprouts during germination with or without light exposure. Differentially expressed genes and differentially accumulated metabolites in green and yellow alfalfa sprouts were significantly enriched in secondary metabolic pathways, such as the isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Green alfalfa sprouts contained a wide variety of lipids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and terpenoids, among which the top three upregulated were calycosin, methyl gallate, and epicatechin 3-gallate, whereas yellow alfalfa sprouts contained relatively more isoquercitrin. These results provide new insights into the nutritional value and composition of alfalfa sprouts under different germination regimes.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Salt Stress-Induced Leaf Senescence in Medicago truncatula.

Leaves are the most critical portion of forage crops such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Leaf senescence caused by environmental stresses significantly impacts the biomass and quality of forages. To understand the molecular mechanisms and identify the key regulator of the salt stress-induced leaf senescence process, we conducted a simple and effective salt stress-induced leaf senescence assay in Medicago truncatula, which was followed by RNA-Seq analysis coupled with physiological and biochemical characterization. By comparing the observed expression data with that derived from dark-induced leaf senescence at different time points, we identified 3,001, 3,787, and 4,419 senescence-associated genes (SAGs) for salt stress-induced leaf senescence on day 2, 4, and 6, respectively. There were 1546 SAGs shared by dark and salt stress treatment across the three time points. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses showed that the 1546 SAGs were mainly related to protein and amino acids metabolism, photosynthesis, chlorophyll metabolism, and hormone signaling during leaf senescence. Strikingly, many different transcription factors (TFs) families out of the 1546 SAGs, including NAC, bHLH, MYB, and ERF, were associated with salt stress-induced leaf senescence processes. Using the transient expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana, we verified that three functional NAC TF genes from the 1546 SAGs were related to leaf senescence. These results clarify SAGs under salt stress in M. truncatula and provide new insights and additional genetic resources for further forage crop breeding.

[Analysis of correlative factors and prevalence on China's youth myopia].

OBJECTIVE: To understand and address our vision changes in primary and secondary students, in order to explore the prevention of juvenile myopia to provide a response and suggestions. METHODS: A random cluster sampling method, random sample of 90 rural and urban schools in Shandong, Qinghai, Yunnan, Shanghai and Wenzhou from May 2008 to September 2009, including 20 000 students (per province, 4000 x 5) from elementary school and junior high school of focus and non-focus, primary 11 246, junior high school students 3673, high school 4220, of which 11 177 were from the urban students, rural students in 7962, aged 6 to 19 years old, male to female ratio is basically the same. For myopia and related survey, a total of 19, 139 valid questionnaires were recovered. Using SPSS 13.0 software statistical analysis, different regions and different grades was used to compare the prevalence of myopia chi(2) test, using Logistic regression analysis on the major risk factors for myopia. RESULTS: The survey are as follows, the prevalence of myopia in primary was 13.7%; the prevalence of myopia in junior high was 42.9%, the prevalence of myopia in high school was 69.7%. The highest rate of myopia prevalence of primary school students in Shandong was 19.7%, the lowest was 11.9% in Qinghai, Shanghai, Wenzhou and Yunnan are similar; prevalence myopia of junior high in Wenzhou up to 50.6%, followed by Shanghai, and 47.2%, the lowest was 33.6% in Qinghai; the highest prevalence of myopia and high school students in Shandong, reaching 87.3%, followed by 72.0% in Wenzhou, and the lowest was 60.2% in Shanghai. CONCLUSION: This survey shows that the prevalence of myopia of China's primary and secondary schools in coastal was higher than areas of mainland, in developed regions was higher than in less developed regions, and the plateau region and the strong ultraviolet light similar to the plain areas. Provincial prevalence of myopia increased from primary to high school continued the same trend.

Effects of glucose metabolism pathways on nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of pig oocytes.

The developmental competence of IVM porcine oocytes is still low compared with that in their in vivo counterparts. Although many studies reported effects of glucose metabolism (GM) on oocyte nuclear maturation, few reported on cytoplasmic maturation. Previous studies could not differentiate whether GM of cumulus cells (CCs) or that of cumulus-denuded oocytes (DOs) supported oocyte maturation. Furthermore, species differences in oocyte GM are largely unknown. Our aim was to address these issues by using enzyme activity inhibitors, RNAi gene silencing and special media that could support nuclear but not cytoplasmic maturation when GM was inhibited. The results showed that GM in CCs promoted pig oocyte maturation by releasing metabolites from both pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis. Both pyruvate and lactate were transferred into pig DOs by monocarboxylate transporter and pyruvate was further delivered into mitochondria by mitochondrial pyruvate carrier in both pig DOs and CCs. In both pig DOs and CCs, pyruvate and lactate were utilized through mitochondrial electron transport and LDH-catalyzed oxidation to pyruvate, respectively. Pig and mouse DOs differed in their CC dependency for glucose, pyruvate and lactate utilization. While mouse DOs could not, pig DOs could use the lactate-derived pyruvate.

Silencing Folylpolyglutamate Synthetase1 (FPGS1) in Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) Improves Lignocellulosic Biofuel Production.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a lignocellulosic perennial grass with great potential in bioenergy field. Lignocellulosic bioenergy crops are mostly resistant to cell wall deconstruction, and therefore yield suboptimal levels of biofuel. The one-carbon pathway (also known as C1 metabolism) is critical for polymer methylation, including that of lignin and hemicelluloses in cell walls. Folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) catalyzes a biochemical reaction that leads to the formation of folylpolyglutamate, an important cofactor for many enzymes in the C1 pathway. In this study, the putatively novel switchgrass PvFPGS1 gene was identified and its functional role in cell wall composition and biofuel production was examined by RNAi knockdown analysis. The PvFPGS1-downregulated plants were analyzed in the field over three growing seasons. Transgenic plants with the highest reduction in PvFPGS1 expression grew slower and produced lower end-of-season biomass. Transgenic plants with low-to-moderate reduction in PvFPGS1 transcript levels produced equivalent biomass as controls. There were no significant differences observed for lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl lignin monomer ratio in the low-to-moderately reduced PvFPGS1 transgenic lines compared with the controls. Similarly, sugar release efficiency was also not significantly different in these transgenic lines compared with the control lines. However, transgenic plants produced up to 18% more ethanol while maintaining congruent growth and biomass as non-transgenic controls. Severity of rust disease among transgenic and control lines were not different during the time course of the field experiments. Altogether, the unchanged lignin content and composition in the low-to-moderate PvFPGS1-downregulated lines may suggest that partial downregulation of PvFPGS1 expression did not impact lignin biosynthesis in switchgrass. In conclusion, the manipulation of PvFPGS1 expression in bioenergy crops may be useful to increase biofuel potential with no growth penalty or increased susceptibility to rust in feedstock.

[The evaluation of tendency of cataract prevalence from 1987 to 2006 in Zhejiang province].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term trend of cataract prevalence and the effect of prevention and treatment blindness in Zhejiang Province. METHODS: The data were obtained from handicapped sampling investigation in 1987 and 2006 in Zhejiang Province, and from a database of prevention and treatment blindness of the Zhejiang Province Disabled Persons' Federation. RESULTS: In 2006, a random sampling investigation were carried out on both eyes blind and the low vision in Zhejiang Province. Sample size were 95,392, the prevalence rate of blindness and low vision were 2.67% per hundred and 5.94% per hundred, respectively. The prevalence rate of cataract was 7.35% per hundred, the female was higher than the male (chi2 = 81.66, P < 0.01). Among the blind, 58.86% was caused by cataract, and the low vision caused by cataract was 63.79%. Comparing with the first disabled person' investigation in 1987, the result showed that the prevalence of blindness had reduces slightly, but no significantly difference (chi2 = 0.384, P = 0.535), and that the prevalence of low vision appeared significantly increase (chi2 = 32.434, P < 0.01). Together with two investigations results indicated that cataract is the first cause for the vision disability. CONCLUSION: Cataract is still the first cause for blindness and low vision. Though the effort to prevention and treatment blindness during 20 years obtains some certain results, prevent and treat blindness will still be an arduous work in Zhejiang province, because of accelerated aging population problem, which will induce an increase on number of cataract patient.

Essential regulators of iron chemical speciation distributions in anaerobic digestion of pretreated food waste: Organic volatile fatty acids or inorganic acid radicals?

In this work, a 30-days batched mesophilic assay on pretreated food waste (PFW) under different inoculum/substrate (I/S) ratios (1:5, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 4:1 and 1:0) was carried out, to target the most important parameters in AD matrix on regulating iron (Fe) chemical speciation. Correlation coefficients were calculated within four Fe chemical forms and AD parameters of pH, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), inorganic acid radicals (IARs), and alkalinity. Results showed that IARs were not key factors on regulating Fe speciation. Without acidification, IARs showed weak correlations (coefficients < 0.40) with Fe chemical dynamics while other parameters showed stronger correlations (coefficients ≥ 0.60). Under acidification, VFAs initiated the conversion of exchangeable Fe into water soluble fraction. Residual fraction might play important role in regulating Fe shifting to more bioavailable states.