RNA-seq analysis of the differential response to low-temperature stress in two morphs of mud crabs (Scylla paramamosain).

The mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) is an economically important crab species that is distributed along the southern coast of China. Previously we reported that various morphological types of mud crabs differentially adapt to temperature changes. This study investigates the effects of temperature on morphs with one or two spines (Sp1 and Sp2, respectively) on the outer margin of the carpus of cheliped at a low temperature (8 °C) and a control temperature (20 °C). The hepatopancreas were the transcriptome source, and a total of 81,853 unigenes were obtained by sequencing, with an average length of 420 bp, and an N50 of 1460 bp. Of these, 22.33 % were known genes. Under low-temperature stress, there were 361 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two morphs; 96 and 265 were up- and down-regulated genes, respectively. There were no DEGs between the morphs at 20 °C. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs encoded abundant metallocarboxypeptidase activity, extracellular space, proteolysis, and sequence-specific DNA binding, and were further enriched in signal pathway components, including ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, MAPK signaling pathway, apoptosis, and other signaling pathways. The gene expressions of acid phosphatase (ACP), chymotrypsin (CHY), serine carboxypeptidase (SCP), and trypsin (TRY) under low-temperature stress were detected. The expressions of ACP, CHY, and SCP gradually decreased with time. The ACP, CHY, SCP, and TRY gene expression of the Sp1 morph was lower than that of the Sp2 morph; however, the ACP gene expression of the Sp1 morph was higher than that of the Sp2 morph at several time points. In conclusion, adaptability differences between the morphs to low-temperature stress were confirmed, which will enable the selection of cold-tolerant, high-quality varieties of mud crabs for breeding.

Levothyroxine treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism improves the rate of live births in pregnant women with recurrent pregnancy loss: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: This study aimed to assess whether the use of levothyroxine was beneficial in pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) or women who were positive for thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb+).Study design: This was a randomized clinical trial involving 1736 populations of pregnant women. Our study was conducted into two groups: normal pregnant group and recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) pregnant group. Both patients were divided into SCH and TPOAb+ groups, respectively; the patients of four groups were randomized into either the L-T4 treatment or control groups.Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the prevalence of SCH and TPOAb+ (p > .05); The live births rate of normal pregnant group was higher than that of the RPL pregnant Group (79.5% vs. 70.8%, p < .05); Considering normal pregnant women, whether women who were TPOAb + or SCH, there was no significant difference between the treatment and control group in the live birth rate and the pregnancy loss rate. In RPL group, whether women who were TPOAb + or SCH, L-T4 treatment can obtain higher live birth rate and lower abortion rate compared to the control.Conclusion: There was no significant difference between normal and RPL pregnant women in the prevalence of SCH and TPOAb+.Treatment with L-T4 decreased the risk of pregnancy loss and increased the live birth rate in RPL pregnant women who were positive for TPOAb or subclinical hypothyroidism. Levothyroxine therapy is recommended for SCH and TPOAb + women in pregnant women with recurrent pregnancy loss.

The diagnostic value of the combination of hemoglobin, CA199, CA125, and HE4 in endometriosis.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the differences in the peripheral blood cells and tumor biomarkers between the patients with endometriosis and healthy people, and establish a more efficient combined diagnostic model. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the differences in the peripheral blood cells and tumor biomarkers between the patients with endometriosis and healthy people. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to establish a combined diagnostic model. We plotted the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve to analyze the diagnostic efficiency of different diagnostic indexes. RESULTS: Compared with patients in the control group, patients in the endometriosis group had significantly lower eosinophil% (p = 0.045), neutrophil (p = 0.001), lymphocyte (p < 0.001), red blood cells (RBCs) (p < 0.001), and hemoglobin (HGB) (p < 0.001), and had significantly higher monocyte% (p = 0.008), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) (p = 0.001), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (p < 0.001), carbohydrate antigen (CA)-199 (p < 0.001), CA125 (p < 0.001), human epididymis protein (HE)-4 (p < 0.001), and the risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA) (p < 0.001). The combined diagnostic model of HGB, CA199, CA125, and HE4 was established by binary logistic regression analysis. The ROC curve showed that the combined diagnostic model reached a sensitivity of 85.4%, a specificity of 78.83%, and an area under the curve of 0.900, which was significantly higher than that of the individual index in endometriosis diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The combined diagnostic model of HGB, CA199, CA125, and HE4 may provide a new approach for the early non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis.

Effects of multiple N, P, and K fertilizer combinations on adzuki bean (Vigna angularis) yield in a semi-arid region of northeastern China.

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) exert various effects on adzuki bean yields. Our research was conducted in a semi-arid area, and four test sites were established in environments that have chernozem or sandy loam soils. During a five-year period, the effects of N, P, and K fertilizers on yield were comprehensively investigated in field trials (2014-2016) and for model-implementation trials (2017-2018), with models established prior to the latter. In the field trials, 23 treatments comprising different N, P, and K combinations significantly affected both yield and yield components, and regression analysis indicated that the experimental results were suitable for model establishment. The model subsequently demonstrated that the yield and the yield components were more sensitive to N and K fertilizer than to P fertilizer. Moreover, the yield and yield components increased. These yield increases were intense in response to the 0.5 to 1.34 levels in terms of the single effects; interaction effects; and the effects of combinations of N, P, and K fertilizers. Moreover, the effects of combinations of N, P, and K fertilizers were more significant on yield than were the single or interaction effects of N, P, and K fertilizers. The optimal fertilizer combination that resulted in high yields (≥1941.53 kg ha-1) comprised 57.23-68.43 kg ha-1 N, 36.04-47.32 kg ha-1 P2O5 and 50.29-61.27 kg ha-1 K2O. The fertilizer combination that resulted in the maximum yield was 62.98 kg ha-1 N, 47.04 kg ha-1 P2O5 and 59.95 kg ha-1 K2O (N:P2O5:K2O = 1:0.75:0.95), which produced the model-expected yield in trials at multiple sites. An economical fertilizer combination was determined on the basis of the best fertilizer measures in consideration of the cost of fertilizer and seed; this combination achieved yields of 2236.17 kg ha-1, the profit was 15,653.16 Yuan ha-1, and the corresponding rates were 57.60 kg ha-1 N, 47.03 kg ha-1 P2O5, and 31.64 kg ha-1 K2O (N:P2O5:K2O = 1:0.82:0.55).

Sustainable production of highly conductive multilayer graphene ink for wireless connectivity and IoT applications.

Printed electronics offer a breakthrough in the penetration of information technology into everyday life. The possibility of printing electronic circuits will further promote the spread of the Internet of Things applications. Inks based on graphene have a chance to dominate this technology, as they potentially can be low cost and applied directly on materials like textile and paper. Here we report the environmentally sustainable route of production of graphene ink suitable for screen-printing technology. The use of non-toxic solvent Dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene) significantly speeds up and reduces the cost of the liquid phase exfoliation of graphite. Printing with our ink results in very high conductivity (7.13 × 104 S m-1) devices, which allows us to produce wireless connectivity antenna operational from MHz to tens of GHz, which can be used for wireless data communication and energy harvesting, which brings us very close to the ubiquitous use of printed graphene technology for such applications.

Graphene Oxide Dielectric Permittivity at GHz and Its Applications for Wireless Humidity Sensing.

In this work, the relative dielectric permittivity of graphene oxide (GO), both its real and imaginary parts, have been measured under various humidity conditions at GHz. It is demonstrated that the relative dielectric permittivity increases with increasing humidity due to water uptake. This finding is very different to that at a couple of MHz or lower frequency, where the relative dielectric permittivity increases with decreasing humidity. This GO electrical property was used to create a battery-free wireless radio-frequency identification (RFID) humidity sensor by coating printed graphene antenna with the GO layer. The resonance frequency as well as the backscattering phase of such GO/graphene antenna become sensitive to the surrounding humidity and can be detected by the RFID reader. This enables battery-free wireless monitoring of the local humidity with digital identification attached to any location or item and paves the way for low-cost efficient sensors for Internet of Things (IoTs) applications.

Highly Flexible and Conductive Printed Graphene for Wireless Wearable Communications Applications.

In this paper, we report highly conductive, highly flexible, light weight and low cost printed graphene for wireless wearable communications applications. As a proof of concept, printed graphene enabled transmission lines and antennas on paper substrates were designed, fabricated and characterized. To explore its potentials in wearable communications applications, mechanically flexible transmission lines and antennas under various bended cases were experimentally studied. The measurement results demonstrate that the printed graphene can be used for RF signal transmitting, radiating and receiving, which represents some of the essential functionalities of RF signal processing in wireless wearable communications systems. Furthermore, the printed graphene can be processed at low temperature so that it is compatible with heat-sensitive flexible materials like papers and textiles. This work brings a step closer to the prospect to implement graphene enabled low cost and environmentally friendly wireless wearable communications systems in the near future.

Two IFNGR1 homologues in Tetraodon nigroviridis: Origin, expression analysis and ligand-binding preference.

In the present study, the divergent properties of IFNGR1 isoforms (IFNGR1-1 and IFNGR1-2) were characterized in Tetraodon nigroviridis. Despite the structural similarities between these proteins, two T. nigroviridis IFNGR1 homologues differ from each other not only in their primary nucleotide and amino acid sequences but also in their syntenic structure. Genomic analysis demonstrates the conservation of synteny between the fish IFNGR1-2s and IFNGR1s in higher vertebrates; conversely, the IFNGR1-1 has no corresponding conservation of synteny with Gallus gallus and Homo sapiens, suggesting that the two genes were derived from two different origins. Additionally, their different sensitivities to mitogens and recombinant T. nigroviridis IFN-γs were observed. Furthermore, ligand-binding analysis strongly supported the model proposed in Danio rerio, which suggests that IFNGR1-1 is the major component of the IFN-γrel receptor complex; IFN-γ most likely binds to both IFNGR1-2 and IFNGR1-1. This study is a further step towards elucidating the teleostean IFN-γ system, which is different from that in mammals.