Pathogenicity of duck circovirus 1 in experimentally infected specific pathogen-free ducks.

Ducks infected with duck circovirus (DuCV) show symptoms such as feather loss, growth retardation and low body weight in the flock. The virus induces immunosuppression and increases the prevalence of infection with other pathogens. However, most studies on duck circovirus were focused on coinfection, and fewer studies had been conducted on the pathogenicity of duck circovirus alone. The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathogenesis of DuCV-1 in experimentally infected specific pathogen-free ducks. In this study, we sequenced the whole genome of a strain of duck circovirus and identified the virus genotype as DuCV-1b. This strain of duck circovirus was named SDLH(OR567883). Animal pathogenicity experiments were then conducted, wherein specific pathogen-free ducks were infected by mucosal injection and abdominal injection. Infected ducks were sampled for 4 consecutive weeks after infection and showed symptoms of dwarfism. We further examined the replication of DuCV-1 in the ducks. The highest virus titers in the 2 infection groups were found in the liver and spleen, with different results for the different routes of infection. Pathological sections of duck organs were made and it was found that organs such as the liver and spleen were damaged by DuCV-1. In conclusion, our experimental results indicate that DuCV-1 can infect ducks individually and cause widespread organ damage in infected ducks.

Tunable physical and mechanical properties of gelatin hydrogel after transglutaminase crosslinking on two gelatin types.

The crosslinking and related gel properties of 3 wt% gelatin (type-A and type-B) catalyzed by microbial transglutaminase (MTG, dose of 0-20 U/g gelatin) have been investigated. A MTG-depended increase in the molecular weight and mean diameter of both gelatins was observed, where type-A presented a higher crosslinking efficiency than type-B due to more acyl donors of the former. As MTG concentration increased, the surface hydrophobicity and thermal stability of type-A gelatin increased. Textural profile analysis (TPA) of type-A gelatin hydrogel showed a decrease in hardness and slight increase in springiness, while type-B gelatin gel was not affected generally. Rheological measurements confirmed the melting point of type-A gelatin hydrogel continually increased until the disappearance of gel thermo-reversibility at higher MTG levels (≥12 U/g gelatin), while type-B gelatin hydrogel always showed a sol-gel transition, suggesting that the gel performance was depended on the dominance of whether physical crosslinking or chemical crosslinking. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results showed that the network structure of the type-A gelatin became more irregular as MTG increasing which indicated that introducing additional covalent cross-links within or between gelatin chains had a profound influence on gel's network structure, closely associated with the gel properties mentioned above. In summary, the superiority of type-A in MTG-crosslinking efficiency than type-B, can be used to modulate the physical and mechanical properties of gelatin hydrogel, governing by the combing of weak physical crosslinking and strong covalent crosslinking, which will be suitable for numerous industrial applications.

Removal Effect of Atrazine in Co-Solution with Bisphenol A or Humic Acid by Different Activated Carbons.

Activated carbons (ACs) based on apricot shells (AS), wood (W), and walnut shells (WS) were applied to adsorb atrazine in co-solutions. To study the effect of Bisphenol A (BPA) on the adsorption behavior of atrazine, the adsorption performance of ACs for BPA in single solution was studied. The results demonstrated that the adsorption kinetics of BPA fitted the pseudo-second-order model, the adsorption isotherms of BPA followed the Langmuir model. Meanwhile, the adsorption kinetics of atrazine fitted the pseudo-second-order kinetics model and the isotherm was consistent with the Freundlich model both in single solution and co-solution. In addition, competitive adsorption was observed when atrazine coexisted with BPA or humic acid. For the adsorption capacity, the adsorption amount of ASAC, WAC, and WSAC for atrazine obviously decreased by 18.0%, 30.0%, and 30.3% in the presence of BPA, respectively, which was due to the π-π interactions, hydrophobic interactions, and H-bonds, resulting in the competitive adsorption between atrazine and BPA. This study contributes to the further understanding of the adsorption behavior for atrazine in co-solution.

The More Similar, the Healthier: The Effect of Perceived Parent-Child Facial Resemblance on Parental Physical Health.

Parent-child facial resemblance (PCFR) is one of the direct cues used to assess the genetic relationship between two individuals. Due to the inner fertilization of humans, fathers are liable to suffer from paternal uncertainty. When a father perceives low father-child facial resemblance, he would become anxious, which is detrimental to his immune system and physical health. For a mother, however, she can assure her genetic relationship to her children and does not need any external cues to verify her maternity. Thus, the mother-child facial resemblance does not influence the mothers' physical health. To test these hypotheses, we examined the moderating effect of parental gender and the mediating effect of trait anxiety on the relationship between PCFR and physical health of parents. The results showed that fathers' PCFR positively predicted their physical health, whereas the mothers' PCFR failed to show any predicting effect on mothers' physical health. Furthermore, trait anxiety mediated the relationship between fathers' PCFR and their physical health. The implications for paternal uncertainty, gender difference, and public policy were discussed.