Identification of two plastid transit peptides for construction of pollen-inactivation system in rice.

Hybrid seed production technology (SPT) is achieved through the utilization of a recessive nuclear male-sterile mutant transformed with a transgenic cassette comprising three essential components: the wild-type gene to restore the fertility of the male-sterile mutant, an α-amylase gene to disrupt transgenic pollen grains, and red fluorescence protein gene DsRed to distinguish the transgenic seeds from the nontransgenic male sterile seeds. In rice, we establish the pollen disruption system by introducing an amyloplast targeting signal peptide (ASP) at the N-terminus of maize α-amylase protein ZM-AA1ΔSP (ZM-AA1 with the N-terminal signal peptide removed). The ASP facilitates the transport of ZM-AA1ΔSP protein into amyloplast where it degrades starch, resulting in disruption of the pollen fertility. To obtain such signal peptides for rice, we searched the rice proteins homologous to the defined wheat amyloplast proteins followed by protein-protein interaction network predictions and targeting signal peptides prediction. These analyses enabled the identification of four candidate ASPs in rice, which were designated as ASP1, ASP2, ASP3, and ASP4, respectively. ASP1 and ASP2, when linked with ZM-AA1ΔSP, exhibited the capability to disrupt transgenic pollen grains, whereas ASP3 and ASP4 did not produce this effect. Interestingly, the localization experiments showed that ASP3 and ASP4 were able to target the proteins into chloroplast. The ASP1 and ASP2 sequences provide valuable tools for genetic engineering of the rice male-sterile system, which will contribute to the hybrid rice breeding and production. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-024-01471-y.

Scalable Swin Transformer network for brain tumor segmentation from incomplete MRI modalities.

BACKGROUND: Deep learning methods have shown great potential in processing multi-modal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data, enabling improved accuracy in brain tumor segmentation. However, the performance of these methods can suffer when dealing with incomplete modalities, which is a common issue in clinical practice. Existing solutions, such as missing modality synthesis, knowledge distillation, and architecture-based methods, suffer from drawbacks such as long training times, high model complexity, and poor scalability. METHOD: This paper proposes IMS2Trans, a novel lightweight scalable Swin Transformer network by utilizing a single encoder to extract latent feature maps from all available modalities. This unified feature extraction process enables efficient information sharing and fusion among the modalities, resulting in efficiency without compromising segmentation performance even in the presence of missing modalities. RESULTS: Two datasets, BraTS 2018 and BraTS 2020, containing incomplete modalities for brain tumor segmentation are evaluated against popular benchmarks. On the BraTS 2018 dataset, our model achieved higher average Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) scores for the whole tumor, tumor core, and enhancing tumor regions (86.57, 75.67, and 58.28, respectively), in comparison with a state-of-the-art model, i.e. mmFormer (86.45, 75.51, and 57.79, respectively). Similarly, on the BraTS 2020 dataset, our model scored higher DSC scores in these three brain tumor regions (87.33, 79.09, and 62.11, respectively) compared to mmFormer (86.17, 78.34, and 60.36, respectively). We also conducted a Wilcoxon test on the experimental results, and the generated p-value confirmed that our model's performance was statistically significant. Moreover, our model exhibits significantly reduced complexity with only 4.47 M parameters, 121.89G FLOPs, and a model size of 77.13 MB, whereas mmFormer comprises 34.96 M parameters, 265.79 G FLOPs, and a model size of 559.74 MB. These indicate our model, being light-weighted with significantly reduced parameters, is still able to achieve better performance than a state-of-the-art model. CONCLUSION: By leveraging a single encoder for processing the available modalities, IMS2Trans offers notable scalability advantages over methods that rely on multiple encoders. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for maintaining separate encoders for each modality, resulting in a lightweight and scalable network architecture. The source code of IMS2Trans and the associated weights are both publicly available at https://github.com/hudscomdz/IMS2Trans.

Study on the Equivalence Transformation between Blasting Vibration Velocity and Acceleration.

The evaluation of blasting vibrations primarily hinges on two physical quantities: velocity and acceleration. A significant challenge arises when attempting to reference the two types of vibration data in relation to one another, such as different types of seismometers, noise, etc., necessitating a method for their equivalent transformation. To address this, a transformation method is discussed in detail with a case study, and equations for the ratio (Ra) of the particle peak velocity (PPV) to the particle peak acceleration (PPA) are proposed. The findings are twofold: (1) The conventional data conversion processes often suffer from low accuracy due to the presence of trend terms and noise in the signal. To mitigate this, the built-in MATLAB function is used for trend term elimination, complemented by a combined approach that integrates CEEMDAN with WD/WDP for noise reduction. These significantly enhance the accuracy of the transformation. (2) This analysis reveals a positive power function correlation between Ra and the propagation distance of the blast vibrations, contrasted by a negative correlation with the maximum charge per delay. Intriguingly, the Ra values observed in pre-splitting blasting operations are consistently lower than those in bench blasting. The established Ra equations offer a rapid, direct method for assessing the transformation between the PPV and PPA, providing valuable insights for the optimization of blasting design.

Regulation by distinct MYB transcription factors defines the roles of OsCYP86A9 in anther development and root suberin deposition.

Cytochrome P450 proteins (CYPs) play critical roles in plant development and adaptation to fluctuating environments. Previous reports have shown that CYP86A proteins are involved in the biosynthesis of suberin and cutin in Arabidopsis. However, the functions of these proteins in rice remain obscure. In this study, a rice mutant with incomplete male sterility was identified. Cytological analyses revealed that this mutant was defective in anther development. Cloning of the mutant gene indicated that the responsible mutation was on OsCYP86A9. OsMYB80 is a core transcription factor in the regulation of rice anther development. The expression of OsCYP86A9 was abolished in the anther of osmyb80 mutant. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that OsMYB80 binds to the MYB-binding motifs in OsCYP86A9 promoter region and regulates its expression. Furthermore, the oscyp86a9 mutant exhibited an impaired suberin deposition in the root, and was more susceptible to drought stress. Interestingly, genetic and biochemical analyses revealed that OsCYP86A9 expression was regulated in the root by certain MYB transcription factors other than OsMYB80. Moreover, mutations in the MYB genes that regulate OsCYP86A9 expression in the root did not impair the male fertility of the plant. Taken together, these findings revealed the critical roles of OsCYP86A9 in plant development and proposed that OsCYP86A9 functions in anther development and root suberin formation via two distinct tissue-specific regulatory pathways.

An Inulin-Type Fructan CP-A from Codonopsis pilosula Alleviated 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Intestinal Mucositis via the ERK/MLCK/MLC2 Pathway and Regulation of Gut Microbiota.

Intestinal mucositis (IM) is a common adverse effect of chemotherapy, limiting its clinical application. Codonopsis pilosula-derived CP-A (an inulin-type fructan) is an edible Chinese medicine with anti-inflammatory and gastrointestinal protective effects, which may be useful for treating IM. Here, we explored CP-A's role in ameliorating IM induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and investigated the underlying mechanism using in vitro experiments and rat models. Western blotting, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) analyses were used to assess protein expression related to the extracellular-regulated protein kinases (ERK)/myosin light chain kinase (MLCK)/myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) signaling pathway and tight junction proteins. Inflammatory factors were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was employed for cecum content analysis. The results indicated that CP-A restored body weight and food intake and reversed histopathological changes in IM rats. Further, abnormal MLCK activation induced by 5-FU was attenuated by CP-A via the ERK/MLCK/MLC2 pathway. CP-A treatment improved tight junction protein levels and reduced inflammatory factor expression. Moreover, CP-A intervention regulated the intestinal microbiota community structure, increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus and decreasing the abundance of Shigella. In conclusion, CP-A mitigates 5-FU-induced IM by inhibiting the ERK/MLCK/MLC2 pathway, reducing the expression of inflammatory factors, improving the intestinal mucosal barrier, and regulating the intestinal microbial community. This study highlights CP-A's therapeutic potential in IM treatment and provides insights for future research.

Construction of a Female Sterility Maintaining System Based on a Novel Mutation of the MEL2 Gene.

BACKGROUND: Hybrid rice has significant yield advantage and stress tolerance compared with inbred rice. However, production of hybrid rice seeds requires extensive manual labors. Currently, hybrid rice seeds are produced by crosspollination of male sterile lines by fertile paternal lines. Because seeds from paternal lines can contaminate the hybrid seeds, mechanized production by mixed-seeding and mixed-harvesting is difficult. This problem can be solved if the paternal line is female sterile. RESULTS: Here we identified a female infertile mutant named h569 carrying a novel mutation (A1106G) in the MEL2 gene that was previously reported to regulate meiosis entry both in male and female organs. h569 mutant is female infertile but male normal, suggesting that MEL2 regulates meiosis entry in male and female organs through distinct pathways. The MEL2 gene and h569 mutant gave us tools to construct female sterility maintaining systems that can be used for propagation of female sterile lines. We connected the wild-type MEL2 gene with pollen-killer gene ZmAA1 and seed-marker gene DsRed2 in one T-DNA cassette and transformed it into ZZH1607, a widely used restorer line. Transgenic line carrying a single transgene inserted in an intergenic region was selected to cross with h569 mutant. F2 progeny carrying homozygous A1106G mutation and hemizygous transgene displayed 1:1 segregation of fertile and infertile pollen grains and 1:1 segregation of fluorescent and non-fluorescent seeds upon self-fertilization. All of the non-fluorescent seeds generated female infertile plants, while the fluorescent seeds generated fertile plants that reproduced in the way as their previous generation. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that the female sterility maintaining system constructed in the study can be used to breed and propagate paternal lines that are female infertile. The application of this system will enable mechanized production of hybrid rice seed by using the mixed-seeding and mixed harvesting approach, which will significantly reduce the cost in hybrid rice seed production.

An inulin-type fructan CP-A from Codonopsis pilosula alleviates TNBS-induced ulcerative colitis based on serum-untargeted metabolomics.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disease with abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloody stool as the main symptoms. Several studies have confirmed that polysaccharides are effective against UC. It is commonly accepted that the traditional benefits of Radix Codonopsis can be attributed to its polysaccharide contents, and inulin-type fructan CP-A is the main active monomer in the polysaccharide components. Herein, we established a 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced UC rat model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced colonic epithelial cell model (NCM460) to investigate the effect of CP-A on UC. Untargeted metabolomics studies were conducted to identify differential metabolites using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) and enrich metabolic pathways in rat serum. The in vivo assays demonstrated that CP-A reduces colonic macroscopic injury, disease activity index (DAI), histopathological score, interleukin (IL)-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, as well as the expression of intercellular adhesion molecules. On the other hand, CP-A increases IL-10 and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) levels. The in vitro experiments indicated that CP-A treatment could reduce nitric oxide (NO) and IL-1ß after LPS stimulation. The metabolomics results suggested that CP-A therapy for UC may be related to the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. The in vitro and in vivo validation of the pathway showed similar results, indicating that CP-A alleviates UC by preventing the activation of mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway. These findings offer a fresh approach to treating UC and a theoretical foundation for the future advancement of CP-A.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We report that an inulin-type fructan from Codonopsis pilosula CP-A exhibits a therapeutic effect on experimental colitis. Its mechanism may be to alleviate intestinal inflammation by preventing the activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70S6K signaling pathway. These findings offer a fresh approach to treating ulcerative colitis (UC) and a theoretical foundation for the future advancement of CP-A.

Discovery and evaluation of active compounds from Xuanfei Baidu formula against COVID-19 via SARS-CoV-2 Mpro.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is still a widespread concern. As one of the effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulae, Xuanfei Baidu formula (XFBD) shows significant efficacy for treatment of COVID-19 patients. However, its antiviral active compounds and mechanism are still unclear. PURPOSE: In this study, we explored the bioactive compounds of XFBD and its antiviral mechanism by integrating computational analysis and experimental testing. METHODS: Focusing on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), as a key target in virus transcription and replication, the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay was built to screen out satisfactory natural inhibitors in XFBD. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) were undertaken to verify the binding affinity of ligand-Mpro. Omicron BA.1.1 and BA.2.3 variants were used to evaluate the antiviral activity of the focused compounds in non-cytotoxicity concentrations. For introducing the molecular mechanism, computational modeling and NMR spectra were employed to characterize the ligand-binding modes and identify the ligand-binding site on Mpro. RESULTS: From a library of 83 natural compounds, acteoside, licochalcone B, licochalcone D, linoleic acid, and physcion showed the satisfactory inhibition effects on Mpro with IC50 ranging from 1.93 to 42.96 µM, which were further verified by SPR. Showing the excellent binding affinity, acteoside was witnessed to gain valuable insights into the thermodynamic signatures by ITC and presented antiviral activity on Omicron BA.1.1 and BA.2.3 variants in vitro. The results revealed that acteoside inhibited Mpro via forming the hydrogen bond between 7-H of acteoside and Mpro. CONCLUSION: Acteoside is regarded as a representative active natural compound in XFBD to inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2, which provides the antiviral evidence and some insights into the identification of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro natural inhibitors.

Comparison of ruminal microbiota, metabolomics, and milk performance between Montbéliarde×Holstein and Holstein cattle.

Holstein cattle are well known for their high average milk yield but are more susceptible to disease and have lower fecundity than other breeds of cattle. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between ruminal metabolites and both milk performance and ruminal microbiota composition as a means of assessing the benefits of crossbreeding Montbéliarde and Holstein cattle. This experiment crossbred Holstein with Montbéliarde cattle, aimed to act as a reference for producing high-quality dairy products and improving the overall efficiency of dairy cattle breeding. Based on similar age, parity and lactation time, 46 cows were selected and divided into two groups (n = 23 per group) for comparison experiment and fed the same formula: Montbéliarde×Holstein (MH, DIM = 33.23 ± 5.61 d), Holstein (H, DIM = 29.27 ± 4.23 d). Dairy herd improvement (DHI) data is an important basis for evaluating the genetic quality of bulls, understanding the quality level of milk, and improving feeding management. We collected the DHI data of these cows in the early lactation, middle lactation and late lactation period of 10 months. The results showed that the average milk production and protein content in Montbéliarde×Holstein were 1.76 kg (34.41 kg to 32.65 kg, p > 0.05) and 0.1% (3.54 to 3.44%, p < 0.05) higher than in Holstein cattle. Moreover, milk from Montbéliarde×Holstein cattle had lesser somatic cell score (1.66 to 2.02) than Holstein cattle (p < 0.01). A total of 10 experimental cattle in early lactation were randomly selected in the two groups (Lactation time = 92.70 ± 6.81), and ruminal fluid were collected by oral gastric tube. Using 16S rRNA microbial sequencing, we compared the ruminal microbiota composition and found that Montbéliarde×Holstein cattle had a lower abundance of Alphaproteobacteria (p < 0.05) and higher abundance of Selenomonas than Holstein cattle (p < 0.05). These bacteria play roles in protein degradation, nitrogen fixation and lactic acid degradation. The abundance of Succiniclasticum was also greater in Montbéliarde×Holstein cattle (p = 0.053). Through ruminal metabolome analysis, we found that the levels of trans-ferulic acid, pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid, and quinaldic acid were significantly increased in Montbéliarde×Holstein cattle, while that of lathosterol was significantly decreased. The changes in the levels of these metabolites could confer improved antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial activities.

GeoTransformer: Fast and Robust Point Cloud Registration With Geometric Transformer.

We study the problem of extracting accurate correspondences for point cloud registration. Recent keypoint-free methods have shown great potential through bypassing the detection of repeatable keypoints which is difficult to do especially in low-overlap scenarios. They seek correspondences over downsampled superpoints, which are then propagated to dense points. Superpoints are matched based on whether their neighboring patches overlap. Such sparse and loose matching requires contextual features capturing the geometric structure of the point clouds. We propose Geometric Transformer, or GeoTransformer for short, to learn geometric feature for robust superpoint matching. It encodes pair-wise distances and triplet-wise angles, making it invariant to rigid transformation and robust in low-overlap cases. The simplistic design attains surprisingly high matching accuracy such that no RANSAC is required in the estimation of alignment transformation, leading to 100 times acceleration. Extensive experiments on rich benchmarks encompassing indoor, outdoor, synthetic, multiway and non-rigid demonstrate the efficacy of GeoTransformer. Notably, our method improves the inlier ratio by 18 âˆ¼ 31 percentage points and the registration recall by over 7 points on the challenging 3DLoMatch benchmark.

Restrictions of Weathering on Phosphorus Migration and Enrichment of the Lower Cambrian Phosphorus-Bearing Rock Series in Eastern Guizhou.

Phosphorite deposits in eastern Guizhou belong to a typical type of marine sediments. Phosphorus-bearing layers are distributed at the bottom of the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation. Generally, the average content of P2O5 in phosphorite deposits is 13.01%. In this study, significant P enrichment on or near the phosphorite deposit surface was found, and the average content of P2O5 reached 24.76%. However, the migration and enrichment mechanisms of P in the supergene environment still lack in-depth research. Therefore, in this work two representative phosphorite deposits, namely, primary sedimentary and weathered phosphate ores, were analyzed. The deposits were examined by polarized light microscope observation, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscope observation, energy spectrum analysis, and NMR analysis. Major, trace, and rare earth elements in the deposits were detected by geochemical tests. The results showed that, compared with the primary phosphate ore, the porosity of the weathered phosphate ore was significantly increased. The NMR T 2 spectrum showed that the number of micropores increased, the pore size was enlarged, and more mesopores and macropores appeared in the weathered phosphate ore. The weathered phosphate ore had a lighter color than the primary phosphate ore. Under the action of aqueous acid, the primary phosphate minerals (collophosphate and apatite) and Al-bearing rocks transformed into a typical weathered mineral, sasaite. Carbonate minerals were dissolved, and pyrite was oxidized to limonite. K, Si, and Al in silicate minerals precipitated to form secondary clay minerals, such as kaolinite. The weathered phosphate ore developed recrystallized, pisolitic, and pseudomorphic textures and nodular, oriented, and metacolloidal structures, features specific to a weathered mineral. In the supergene environment, soluble components such as carbonate minerals in the primary rock were leached out, while residual P2O5 with relatively stable chemical properties was enriched in situ. Phosphorus migration and enrichment were restricted by such factors as primary rock/ore composition, primary rock/ore texture and structure, climatic conditions, topography, geological structure, and hydrogeological conditions. A three-stage enrichment model was established after mechanical crushing of the primary rock/ore, carbonate mineral dissolution, and secondary phosphate mineral formation.

Effect of Methionine Hydroxy Analog on Hu Sheep Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation, and Rumen Microbial Community In Vitro.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of a methionine hydroxy analog (MHA) on in vitro gas production, rumen fermentation parameters, and rumen microbiota. Two different MHA, 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio) butanoic acid isopropyl ester (HMBi) and the calcium salt of the hydroxy analog of methionine (MHA-Ca), were selected for in vitro experiments. The treatments were the Control group (0% of MHA), HMBi group (2%HMBi), and MHA-Ca group (2%MHA-Ca). Dry matter digestibility was measured after 12 h and 24 h of fermentation, and fermentation parameters and microbial composition were analyzed after 24 h. HMBi and MHA-Ca showed increased (p = 0.001) cumulative gas production in 3 h. The total volatile fatty acids, microbial protein (MCP) concentration, acetate, and acetate to propionate ratio in the HMBi and MHA-Ca groups were significantly higher than those in the Control group (p = 0.006, p = 0.002, p = 0.001, p = 0.004), and the NH3-N concentrations in the HMBi and MHA-Ca groups were significantly lower than those in the Control group (p = 0.004). The 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that the HMBi group had a higher (p = 0.039, p = 0.001, p = 0.027) relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Synergistetes and a lower relative abundance of Proteobacteria (p = 0.001) than the Control group. At the genus level, Prevotella abundance was higher (p = 0.001), while Ruminobacter abundance was lower (p = 0.001), in the HMBi and MHA-Ca groups than in the Control group. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that the relative abundance of Prevotella_1, Streptococcus, and Desulfovibrio was positively correlated with dry matter digestibility, MCP, and fermentation parameters. MHA, thus, significantly increased gas production and altered the rumen fermentation parameters and microbiota composition of sheep.

Establishment and application of multiplex real-time PCR for simultaneous detection of four viruses associated with porcine reproductive failure.

Many pathogens cause reproductive failure in sows suffering a broad spectrum of sequelae, including abortions, stillbirth, mummification, embryonic death, and infertility. Although various detection methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR, have been widely used for molecular diagnosis, mainly for a single pathogen. In this study, we developed a multiplex real-time PCR method for the simultaneous detection of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3), porcine parvovirus (PPV) and pseudorabies virus (PRV) associated with porcine reproductive failure. The R 2 values for the standard curve of multiplex real-time PCR of PCV2, PCV3, PPV, and PRV reached to 0.996, 0.997, 0.996, and 0.998, respectively. Importantly, the limit of detection (LoD) of PCV2, PCV3, PPV, and PRV, were 1, 10, 10, 10 copies/reaction, respectively. Meanwhile, specificity test results indicated that multiplex real-time PCR for simultaneous detection is specific for these four target pathogens and does not react with other pathogens, such as classical swine fever virus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Besides, this method had good repeatability with coefficients of variation of intra- and inter-assay less than 2%. Finally, this approach was further evaluated by 315 clinical samples for its practicality in the field. The positive rates of PCV2, PCV3, PPV, and PRV were 66.67% (210/315), 8.57% (27/315), 8.89% (28/315), and 4.13% (13/315), respectively. The overall co-infection rates of two or more pathogens were 13.65% (43/315). Therefore, this multiplex real-time PCR provides an accurate and sensitive method for the identification of those four underlying DNA viruses among potential pathogenic agents, allowing it to be applied in diagnostics, surveillance, and epidemiology.

Epidemiology and Genetic Characteristics of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus in the Hunan and Hebei Provinces of China.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a significant threat to the pig industry in China. However, the epidemiological characteristics of PRRSV after the outbreak of African swine fever in China were not thoroughly investigated. In the present study, the serological and epidemiological investigations of PRRSV in pigs from the Hunan and Hebei provinces of China were assessed. The results showed that 73.12% (95% CI 71.74-74.49) of pigs were positive for PRRSV-special antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Out of 5799 samples, 482 (8.31%, 95% CI 7.60-9.02) samples were positive for PRRSV nucleic acids. The positive rates of PRRSV in healthy pigs from farms and slaughterhouses were 2.27% (47/2072) and 7.70% (217/2818), which were lower than that in diseased pigs (23.98%, 218/909). Furthermore, the full-length OFR5 gene sequences of 43 PRRSV strains were sequenced and analysed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 43 isolates were classified into three lineages, namely lineage 1 (n = 24), lineage 8 (n = 15), and lineage 3 (n = 4). Lineage 1 could be further divided into sublineage 1.5 (n = 2) and sublineage 1.8 (n = 22), and lineage 8 was classified into sublineage 8.1 (n = 3) and sublineage 8.7 (n = 12). Collectively, our findings revealed the severe prevalence of PRRSV in the Hunan and Hebei provinces, where sublineage 1.8 and sublineage 8.7 predominated. The present study provides the update information of the epidemiological and genetic characteristics of PRRSV in the investigated regions, which will be beneficial for PRRS control.

Effect of methionine hydroxy analog feed supplements: Significant alteration and enrichment of rumen microbiota and metabolome in Hu sheep.

Methionine hydroxy analogs (MHA) are widely used as the main sources of methionine in ruminant feed production. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of using MHA supplements such as MHA as a salt of calcium (MHA-Ca) and 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid isopropyl ester (HMBi) as sources of methionine on the rumen microbiota and metabolome in Hu sheep. Seventy-two healthy Hu sheep were randomly assigned to three dietary treatment groups: control, MHA-Ca, and HMBi groups. The results showed that the concentrations of total volatile fatty acids, acetate, and propionate were higher in the HMBi group than in the control group. The HMBi and MHA-Ca groups had higher alpha diversity values than those in control group. We compared the rumen microbiota by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. At the phylum level, the HMBi group had a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and a lower relative abundance of Synergistetes than did the control group. At the genus level, the control group had a higher relative abundance of Treponema_2 than did the HBMi group and a higher relative abundance of Prevotellaceae_UCG_004 than did the MHA-Ca group. Metabolomic analyses revealed that fatty acids, amino acids, lipids, organic acids, sugars, amines, and nucleosides were significantly altered in both MHA-Ca and HMBi groups. Metabolites with significant differences were enriched in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolisms, such as phenylalanine metabolism, biosynthesis of amino acids, tryptophan metabolism, galactose metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism. Above all, the findings presented in this study indicate that MHA alter the rumen microbiota and metabolites and that different forms of MHA have different impacts. The results of our study contribute to a better understanding of the effects of MHA.

Quantitative Analysis and Stability Study on Iridoid Glycosides from Seed Meal of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver.

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Eucommia ulmoides Oliver (E. ulmoides Oliv.) is an important medicinal plant, and its barks, male flowers, leaves, and fruits have high value of utilization. The seed meal of E. ulmoides Oliv. is the waste residue produced after oil extraction from seeds of E. ulmoides Oliv. Though the seed meal of E. ulmoides Oliv. is an ideal feed additive, its medicinal value is far from being developed and utilized. We identified six natural iridoid compounds from the seed meal of E. ulmoides Oliv., namely geniposidic acid (GPA), scyphiphin D (SD), ulmoidoside A (UA), ulmoidoside B (UB), ulmoidoside C (UC), and ulmoidoside D (UD). Six natural iridoid compounds were validated to have anti-inflammatory activities. Hence, six compounds were quantified at the optimum extracting conditions in the seed meal of E. ulmoides Oliv. by an established ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method. Some interesting conversion phenomena of six tested compounds were uncovered by a systematic study of stability performed under different temperatures and pH levels. GPA was certified to be stable. SD, UA, and UC were only hydrolyzed under strong alkaline solution. UB and UD were affected by high temperature, alkaline, and strong acid conditions. Our findings reveal the active compounds and explore the quantitative analysis of the tested compounds, contributing to rational utilization for the seeds residues of E. ulmoides Oliv.

Menisperdaurines A-W, structurally diverse isoquinoline alkaloids from Menispermum dauricum and their dopamine D1 receptor activities.

A total of 33 structurally diverse isoquinoline alkaloids were isolated from the rhizomes of Menispermum dauricum, including seventeen benzylisoquinoline analogues (menisperdaurines A-Q, 1-17), five protoberberine analogues (menisperdaurines R-V, 18-22), a quaternary phenanthrene alkaloid (menisperdaurine W, 23) and ten known compounds (24-33). Compound structures, including absolute configurations, were determined by extensive spectroscopic methods, quantum chemical calculations of chemical shifts, and calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. Compounds 1-5 were glycosidic benzylisoquinolines with glucose moieties attached at the C-12 position. Compound 8 was the first example that was isolated from the rhizomes of Menispermum dauricum, benzylisoquinoline and an aromatic unit connected by a sugar bridge. Compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on the dopamine D1 receptor. Compounds 1, 8, 21, 24 and 29 showed potent D1 antagonistic activities, with IC50 values ranging from 1.0 to 4.5 µM. Compound 1 exhibited the highest antagonistic activity with an IC50 value of 1.0 ± 0.2 µM.

Preeclampsia associated changes in volume density of fetoplacental vessels in Chinese women and mouse model of preeclampsia.

INTRODUCTION: Preeclampsia (PE) is associated with abnormal placental vascular structure. However, the volume density of fetoplacental vessels in PE remains unclear. Additionally, manually annotated CT angiography, which is widely used to analyze placental vessels, has issues regarding inaccuracy. Thus, computer-aided CT angiography for analyzing the volume density of fetoplacental vessels would facilitate the understanding of PE pathogenesis. METHODS: We performed computer-aided CT angiography to compare differences in placentas among 17 women with PE and 34 normotensive women. The contrast ratio in CT angiography was significantly enhanced using a three-dimensional (3-D) Hessian matrix algorithm. The PE-like mouse model was established by administration of 125 mg/kg/day NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) for 10 days. The presence of endothelial marker CD31 was confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The expression of angiogenic factors (PlGF, VEGFA, and sFlt1) in placentas was detected using qRT-PCR and western blotting. RESULTS: The volume density in fetoplacental vessels and CD31 expression were significantly reduced in women with PE and l-NAME-induced mice. Additionally, the downregulation of angiogenic factors (PlGF/VEGFA) and upregulation of an anti-angiogenic factor (sFlt1) were determined in a mouse model. DISCUSSION: Contrast-enhanced CT angiography with the aid of a 3-D Hessian matrix algorithm was performed. PE significantly affects the formation of vascular vessels, resulting in a lower volume density of fetoplacental vessels in humans and mice. This may be explained by the abnormal release of angiogenic factors during PE.

Structure-toxicity relationships, toxicity mechanisms and health risk assessment of food-borne modified deoxynivalenol and zearalenone: A comprehensive review.

Mycotoxin, as one of the most common pollutants in foodstuffs, poses great threat to food security and human health. Specifically, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN)-two mycotoxin contaminants with considerable toxicity widely existing in food products-have aroused broad public concerns. Adding to this picture, modified forms of DON and ZEN, have emerged as another potential environmental and health threat, owing to their higher re-transformation rate into parent mycotoxins inducing accumulation of mycotoxin in humans and animals. Given this, a better understanding of the toxicity of modified mycotoxins is urgently needed. Moreover, the lack of toxicity data means a proper risk assessment of modified mycotoxins remains challenging. To better evaluate the toxicity of modified DON and ZEN, we have reviewed the relationship between their structures and toxicities. The toxicity mechanisms behind modified DON and ZEN have also been discussed; briefly, these involve acute, subacute, chronic, and combined toxicities. In addition, this review also addresses the global occurrence of modified DON and ZEN, and summarizes novel methods-including in silico analysis and implementation of relative potency factors-for risk assessment of modified DON and ZEN. Finally, the health risk assessment of modified DON and ZEN has also been discussed comprehensively.

[Rapid detection of aflatoxin B_1 in Chinese herbal medicines by indirect and direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays: a comparative analysis].

The indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ic-ELISA) and direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(dc-ELISA) were performed for the rapid detection of aflatoxin B_1(AFB_1) in Astragali Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, Jujubae Fructus, and Nelumbinis Semen with self-made antigens and antibodies. Different extraction methods were investigated to reduce the matrix effects of different medicinal parts in Chinese herbal medicines. The sensitivity of dc-ELISA method was improved by optimizing the molar ratio of AFB_1 to horseradish peroxidase(HRP). In this study, the sensitivity(IC_(50)) of ic-ELISA and dc-ELISA was 0.046 and 0.023 ng·mL~(-1), with the limit of detection(LOD) of 0.007 and 0.004 ng·mL~(-1), respectively. The detection time was 3 h and 50 min for ic-ELISA and dc-ELISA, respectively. The recovery rates were within the range of 62.96%-104.4%, with RSDs of less than 10%. Confirmed by LC-MS/MS, three positive samples of Nelumbinis Semen were detected from 53 samples. Two ELISA methods established in this study were accurate, rapid and sensitive, and can be used for rapid screening of AFB_1 in Chinese herbal medicines such as Astragali Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, Jujubae Fructus, and Nelumbinis Semen. In addition, the advantages and limitations of the two methods were compared and discussed, which can provide a reference for the testing institutions to choose the proper method.