Fertilizer application in excess of plant nitrogen requirements, leading to nitrogen use inefficiency has become main culprit of nitrogen surplus, posing nonpoint pollution threats. Chao Lake has been recipient of nitrogen loadings, mainly coming from the agroecosystem surrounding it. This study was conducted in Chao Lake watershed to assess nitrogen use efficiency, crop yield and nitrogen loading, using reduced and conventional fertilizer rates, based on ten years field monitoring and experiment. Paddy rice - wheat rotational tillage arranged in a completely randomized design using 30m2 treatment plots was employed to study hypothesis. Three indicators namely agronomic efficiency (kgkg-1), recovery efficiency (%) and partial factor productivity (kgkg-1) were considered for nitrogen use efficiency. For nitrogen loading, nitrogen loading (kg ha-1yr-1), nitrogen runoff loss ratio (%) and net nitrogen runoff loss ratio (%) were taken. Results revealed, empirical formula of an exponential model explains the relationship. Reduced fertilizer levels produced high nitrogen use efficiency, high economic yield and less nitrogen loading. Nitrogen use efficiency was in order of: reduced > high > conventional fertilization treatments, while it decreased in ten years (2008 -2018) across all treatments. Nitrogen loading increased in ten years, both for rice and wheat growing seasons. Runoff volume influenced nitrogen loading more than other environmental factors considered. Such strategies that further reduce fertilizer levels by accounting for excessive supplies are critically important to consolidate effective nitrogen management measures.

Previously, little is known about the relationship between the PIK3R1 mutation status and the resistance to HER2-targeted therapies. Herein, we report a HER2-positive breast cancer patient with PIK3R1EY451delinsD showed resistance to HER2-targeted therapy, and adding everolimus to the treatment of trastuzumab and carboplatin achieved better effect.

Natural fallow practice has been identified as an effective way to overcome obstacles of continuous cropping. However, how the resulting soil microbial changes impact plant fitness, and how the context-specific differences diverge from those caused by continuous cropping remain largely unknown. This study used the third-year continuous tobacco cropping soil (CCS) and natural fallow soil (FS) to cultivate Nicotiana tabacum. The influences of soil microorganisms on the fitness of N. tabacum were assessed by reassembling soil microbial communities. Then, the bacterial and fungal community assembly of the bulk soil and the rhizosphere were characterized using amplicon sequencing and statistical analysis. The results indicated that soil microorganisms play more important roles for plant fitness for N. tabacum grown in FS compared with CCS. Moreover, the abiotic context of FS exerts stronger effects compared with those of CCS for the reassembly of soil microbiomes. Comparative analysis identified the context-specific microbial clades and the differential strength of rhizosphere effects. In conclusion, this paper provides context-specific microbial evidence, which may unravel the potential mechanism underlying the different response of N. tabacum to changes of soil microbiomes induced by natural fallow and continuous cropping practices.

Anthropogenic impacts from the construction and operation of high-voltage transmission lines on a land in a right-of-way (ROW) result in soil cover disturbances varying in scale, age and origin. This affects soil diversity. We found that the distribution of disturbed soil areas follows a power distribution. The following main types of anthropogenic soils were identified within the ROW: filled soil, slightly disturbed resectozem, moderately disturbed resectozem 2 and abrazem. The areas of disturbed soils are superimposed on the natural heterogeneity of the remaining forest soils. We found that soil diversity within a ROW consists of 2.2% filled soils, 3.9% resectozem 1, 11% resectozem 2 and 10.4% abrazems. The total area of anthropogenically changed soils is 27.5% of the entire study area. Soil degradation causes resectozem 2 and abrazem. An increase in a surface slope angle till 2°–4о results in the growth of moderately degraded areas, whereas, an increase of more than 10о leads to highly degraded areas. The degree of soil cover degradation in the ROW is 3 out of 5. Comparison of disturbed areas based on the types of anthropogenic soils revealing significant differences between resectozems 2 and abrazems. The form factor of disturbances occurring during construction has a modal value of 0.8–0.9, whereas, that during operation is 0.7–0.8. Currently, the soil cover contains accumulated traces of degradation. Thus, the cumulative potential for soil degradation accumulated over the past 60 years of intensive economic development must be considered.

Classical taxonomic approaches to quantifying biodiversity can be notoriously laborious and restrictive. Instead, molecular metabarcoding is emerging as a rapid, high-throughput and cost-effective tool to catalogue biodiversity. Despite the appeal of metabarcoding however, methodological and procedural biases must be understood before robust biodiversity inferences can be made. Here, we use CO1 metabarcoding to characterize marine eukaryote communities associated with the holdfasts of Ecklonia radiata, the dominant eco-engineering kelp of temperate New Zealand and Australia. To establish a standardized and reproducible community metabarcoding protocol, we examined the influence of different sample preparation, laboratory and bioinformatic steps on inferences of species richness and composition for kelp-holdfast communities. Specifically, we examined: the effect of fractioning the community into different size classes, the replicability of results across DNA extractions, PCR reactions, and sequencing. Overall, our approach identified 18 marine eukaryote Phyla in the holdfast communities. We found that size fractioning the sample before DNA extraction enabled detection of a greater diversity of taxa, especially smaller organisms. When compared with traditional morphology-based inventories of kelp-holdfast biodiversity, we found that although the taxonomic precision of our metabarcoding approach at the species and genus level was limited by the availability of reference sequences in public repositories, we recovered a greater number of operational taxonomic units, and a greater taxonomic breadth of organisms than morphological surveys. Based on our findings, we provide methodological guidelines for the use of metabarcoding as a tool for surveying and monitoring the hyperdiverse species assemblages associated with kelp-holdfasts.

Macroinvertebrate biodiversity is routinely used to assess the ecological condition of freshwater environments. Macroinvertebrates are traditionally identified morphologically to mostly family level but using DNA metabarcoding they can be rapidly and reliably identified to species. Developing standardised, robust and cost-effective protocols would enable DNA metabarcoding to be broadly used for routine freshwater biological assessments leading to both potential cost savings as well as increased taxonomic resolution. To further reduce the cost and time it takes to process samples, we examine the feasibility of DNA metabarcoding unsorted macroinvertebrates (macroinvertebrates and debris) from sweep net samples collected from stream pool or edge habitats. We processed these unsorted samples with a standardised method and tested multiple primer sets widely used for invertebrate DNA metabarcoding. We found that currently available DNA metabarcoding primers are well suited for processing unsorted samples, though some performed better than others. However, macroinvertebrate density affected the number of species detected with DNA metabarcoding, particularly the detection of rare taxa. These findings show that DNA metabarcoding of unsorted net contents could streamline macroinvertebrate sample processing for bioassessment, but the optimal amounts of unsorted material for sub-sampling needs to be considered when assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity.

A new method for hemoglobin (Hb) deoxygenation and re-oxygenation, in suspension or within red blood cells, RBCs, is described using the commercial enzyme product, EC-Oxyrase®. This method using EC-Oxyrase has several advantages over established deoxygenation methodologies, such as avoiding side reactions that produce methemoglobin, eliminating the need of a sparging deoxygenation gas and airtight vessels, as well as easy re-oxygenation by washing and adding to a normal buffer with dissolved oxygen (DO). Spectra of deoxyHb and metHb from RBCs using three preparation methods: sodium dithionite, sodium nitrite and Oxyrase, show high purity of the deoxyHb using Oxyrase (with little to no methemoglobin or hemichrome production from side reactions). The deoxygenation action of Oxyrase follows first order reaction kinetics. Paramagnetic characteristics of intracellular hemoglobin in RBCs are compared using cell tracking velocimetry for healthy and sickle cell disease (SCD) donors and oxygen dissociation curves show that the function of healthy RBCs is unchanged after Oxyrase treatment. The results confirm that this enzymatic approach to deoxygenation produces pure deoxyhemoglobin, can be re-oxygenated easily, prepared aerobically and has similar paramagnetic mobility to the existing methods.

Detailed knowledge of the bacterial growth kinetics is essential to ensure optimized biodegewater at high volume processing. A potential azo-dye degrading bacterium (Bacillus subtilis M from the sludge-waste nearby carpet-dyeing unit at Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesterial strain was used to decolorize simulated wastewater containing Congo Red dye in a batch reactor. This study primarily aimed at developing a parametric bacterial growth model to account the decelerating bac

The Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea) is a valuable commercial and medicinal bivalve that is widely distributed in East and Southeast Asia. As a natural nutrient source, the clam is high in protein, amino acids, and microelements. In China, C. fluminea plays an important role in the diversity of freshwater ecosystems. The genome of C. fluminea has not yet been characterized, therefore, genome-assisted breeding and improvements cannot yet be implemented. In this work, we present a de novo chromosome-scale genome assembly of C. fluminea using PacBio and Hi-C sequencing technologies. The assembled genome comprised 4,728 contigs, with a contig N50 of 521.06 Kb, and 1,215 scaffolds with a scaffold N50 of 70.62 Mb. More than 1.51 Gb (99.17%) of genomic sequences were anchored to 18 chromosomes, of which 1.40 Gb (92.81%) of genomic sequences were ordered and oriented. The genome contains 38,841 coding genes, 32,591 (83.91%) of which were annotated in at least one functional database. Compared with related species, C. fluminea had 851 expanded gene families and 191 contracted gene families. The expanded genes were significantly enriched in 9 terms associated with metabolite synthesis. The phylogenetic tree showed that C. fluminea diverged from the ancestors of marine bivalves ~492.00 million years ago (Mya). Additionally, we identified two MITF genes in C. fluminea and several core genes involved in vitamin B6 metabolic pathways. The high-quality and chromosomal Asian Clam genome will be a valuable resource for a range of development and breeding studies of C. fluminea in future research.

Light-regime variability is an important environmental factor which shapes a forest community. So far, none focused on the phylogenetic pattern of plant light receptors, which reflects how genes’ evolution influences the coexistence of species in a community. In this study, we analyzed community phylogenetic structure of the south subtropical forest by sequences of plant blue light receptor cryptochrome (CRY) and compared the results of DNA barcodes. Patterns of community assembly was estimated by net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI). We found that CRY showed quite different phylogenetic structure as compared to DNA barcoding results, all habitats displayed consistent phylogenetic structure patterns, suggesting a convergent evolution of light sensing system of plant in local adaptation. Also, both NRI and NTI values increased through the time, indicating that the phylogenetic structure of tree community became more overdispersion as succession proceeds; phylogenetic closely-related species tended to co-occur and environmental filtering played a more important role in the community assembly. Furthermore, phylogenetic patterns were more clustering in upper canopy layers, and NTI values of all canopy layers were above zero, suggesting that phylogenetically related species tended to coexist and adapted to similar light conditions.

Coronaviruses are important human and animal pathogens. We will show that probably antibodies don’t have essential role in immunity against COVID-19 in long term, but a type of white globules named T cells may have critical role in immunity against COVID-19. T cells have long time memory to remain in blood. The most important point for investigation of such issue is mild effection of children to COVID-19. While the milder COVID-19 disease in children is remained secretly till this paper, but its understanding will provide important information about the disease. It may also suggest important protective mechanisms and targets for future therapies. Then a main factor in producing a vaccine for COVID-19 maybe consideration of mild infection report of children by COVID-19 comparing adults’ infection that causes conclusion of higher resistance of immune system of children comparing adults. We identified this could be because immunity of children is based on innate immunity (phagocytes) while adults are based on antibodies. Our results show innate immune system including phagocytes contribute severely to the elimination of COVID-19 in both mouse model and human. Our results also show the elimination of COVID-19 required the activation of B cells by CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells play an important role in elimination of COVID-19 in primary effection. We measured IgM and IgG in human patients including adults and kids and found that IgM and IgG in kids’ patients are much higher than other adults patients.

A sulfur autotrophic fluidized bed reactor was established to overcome mass transfer problems and shorten the co-reduction time for perchlorate and nitrate from aqueous solution. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to predict the subsequent extent of sulfur (S) disproportionation based on three variable parameters, namely the hydraulic retention time (HRT), co-existing nitrate concentration (C_〖inf 〗⁡〖〖NO〗_3^–N〗 ) and recirculation ratio (R). The extent of sulfur (S) disproportionation was determined by sulfate generation and alkalinity consumption. RSM results show that a long HRT and high R promoted whereas co-existing nitrate inhibited sulfate production from S disproportionation. For complete perchlorate and nitrate reduction (>98.45%) with relatively low sulfate generation (236.07 mg/L), the optimal HRT, C_〖inf 〗⁡〖〖NO〗_3^–N〗 and R were 0.50 h, 10 mg/L and 14, respectively. High-throughput sequencing revealed that Chlorobaculum was associated with S disproportionation while the abundance of Sulfurovum, an effective denitrification/perchlorate reducing bacteria, decreased over the height of the reactor.

Abstract Stuttering is a complex speech disorder and heritability of this trait is persuasive, with multiple afflicted families showing phenotypic segregation across generations, yet no conclusive genetic etiology could be identified. Analyzing multiplex families using exome sequencing(ES) may help in identification of putative genes and scope for understanding the mutational burden for speech implicated pathways. In this study ES was performed in six individuals from two clinically well characterized, multiple affected, south Indian families (STU-65 and STU-66) showing stuttering across five generations. From ES to variant prioritization, a sequential bioinformatics approach was implemented to search for putative gene targets. In the two multiplex families studied, ES data analysis resulted in an enriched list of 14 genes (with variants) (COL4A2,COL6A3,COL6A6,ITGAX,LAMA5,ADAMTS9,CSGALNACT1, TMOD2,HTR2B,RSC1A1,TRPV2,WNK1,ARSD and SPTBN5) involved in neural functions. Additionally, a homozygous variant in NLRP11 gene and a heterozygous variant in NAGPA gene were identified in STU-65 family that needs further confirmation. Our results support the fact that stuttering is a polygenic disorder. The putative gene targets identified in our study can drive the research prospects to understand the underlying mechanisms. We hypothesize multiple and combined mechanisms to be involved in the genesis of stuttering. Keywords: Stuttering, exome sequencing, neural pathways

Introduction: Banned and harmful medicines can affect patient’s health, safety and life. There are two medicines available in Aden community pharmacies (phenolphthalein (PP) and ketoconazole (KZ)) that are globally banned. The objective of this study was to evaluate the availability and dispensing of banned phenolphthalein and ketoconazole by community pharmacists. Methods: A preliminary cross-sectional simulated patients method was carried out. The study gathered data on dispensing behavior. Simulated patients were trained to access the availability of banned drugs existing in the community pharmacies (CP). The availability of these two banned drugs was observed and recorded. The pharmacists were asked about the availability of a PP laxative for treating constipation called in Yemen a khat laxative (Sharbat Alkhat) and KZ for fungal infections in 50 convenient samples of CPs that were selected based on ease of access by the simulated patients. Results: PP was found in 3/50 (6%) pharmacies, while 31/50 (62%) pharmacies kept KZ in the premise. Conclusion: The availability of these drugs in Yemeni pharmacies is worrisome. It can affect the safety of the public.

Rationale, aims and objectives: The participation of all health professionals is essential for ensuring a quality and successful national postmarketing surveillance program. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among Yemeni community pharmacists (CPs) regarding medication safety in a poor-resource setting. Methods: A survey was conducted among CPs in Aden governorate. The tool comprised of: demographic profile, knowledge-, attitude- and practice-aspects of medication safety. The survey also studied the opinion about future and benefits of ADR reporting in Yemen. The data collected from the questionnaires was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 21.0. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and means (SD) were used in the analysis. Results: A total of 450 CPs were enrolled in the study. Most of the participants were males (75%) with a bachelor’s degree (91.9%) and between 3-6 years of experience (28%). The majority of CPs had good knowledge regarding the perception and objectives of PV as well as ADRs. Approximately 41% of participants knew the purpose of PV as an essential system for public health and safety with regard to drug use. Additionally, the Yemeni pharmacists had a positive attitude towards the reporting system. Approximately 84% of responders admitted that PV is the responsibility of the pharmacists. The majority of the participants (80%) declared that there is no reporting form available at their workplace. According to CPs, 59% said that ADR reporting in Yemen is not widely promoted by relevant authorities, and 57% replied that lack of information provided by the patient is an obstacle in the reporting system. Approximately 89% of the CPs believed that reporting ADRs would improve patient safety. Conclusions: The CPs have a positive attitude towards PV and an acceptable degree of knowledge. However, the practice level should be upraised.

Silver sillago, Sillago sihama is a member of the family Sillaginidae and found in all Chinese inshore waters. It is an emerging commercial marine aquaculture species in China. In this study, high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of S. sihama was first constructed using PacBio Sequel sequencing and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) technique. A total of 66.16 Gb clean reads were generated by PacBio sequencing platforms. The genome-scale was 521.63 Mb with 556 contigs, and 13.54 Mb of contig N50 length. Additionally, Hi-C scaffolding of the genome resulted in 24 chromosomes containing 96.93 % of the total assembled sequences. A total of 23,959 protein-coding genes were predicted in the genome, and 96.51 % of the genes were functionally annotated in public databases. A total of 71.86 Mb repetitive elements were detected, accounting for 13.78% of the genome. The phylogenetic relationships of silver sillago with other teleosts showed that silver sillago was separated from the common ancestor of S. sinica about 7.92 million years ago. Comparative genomic analysis of silver sillago with other teleosts showed that 45 unique and 100 expansion gene families were identified in silver sillago. Expansion gene families were involved in immune and olfactory receptors. In this study, the genomic resources provide valuable reference genomes for functional genomics research of silver sillago.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the oxidation of the omeprazole sulfide to (S)-omeprazole catalyzed by environmentally friendly catalyst soybean pod peroxidase (SPP) in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/isooctane/n-butyl alcohol/water water-in-oil microemulsions. With the initial concentration of SPP of 3200 U ml-1, the conversion of the omeprazole sulfide, the (S)-omeprazole yield and ee were 93.75%, 91.56% and 96.08%, respectively, under the optimal conditions: Wo of 15.85, the concentration of H2O2 of 22.44 mM and reaction temperature of 49.68 ℃, respectively. The proposed mechanism of asymmetric sulfoxidations catalyzed by SPP involves three concomitant mechanisms as follows: (1) a two-electron reduction of SPP-I, (2) a single-electron transfer to SPP-I and (3) nonenzymatic reactions, including five enzymatic and two nonenzymatic reactions, which is reasonable and can express the oxidations. With 5.44% of the average relative error, a kinetic model based on the mechanisms fitting observed data very well was established, and the SPP-catalyzed reactions including both the two-electron reduction and the single-electron transfer mechanisms obey ping-pong mechanism with substrate and product inhibition, while nonenzymatic reactions follow a power law. This study has also demonstrated the feasibility of SPP as a substitute with low cost, excellent enantioselectivity and better thermal stability.

An abundance of data indicate there are sex differences in endogenous opioid peptides and opioid receptors, leading to functional differences in sensitivity to opioid-mediated behaviors between males and females. Many of these sex differences are mediated by the effects of gonadal hormones on the endogenous opioid system. Whereas much research has examined the role of ovarian hormones on opioid-mediated endpoints, comparatively less research has examined the role of androgens. This review describes what is currently known regarding the influence of androgens on opioid-mediated endpoints and how androgens may contribute to sex differences in opioid-mediated effects. The review also addresses the clinical implications of androgenic modulation of opioid-mediated behaviors and suggests future lines of research for preclinical and clinical investigators, We conclude that further investigation into androgenic modulation of opioid-mediated effects may lead to new options for addressing conditions such as chronic pain and substance use disorders.