Gene expression profiling reveals candidate genes related to residual feed intake in duodenum of laying ducks

Feed represents two-thirds of the total costs of poultry production, especially in developing countries. Improvement in feed efficiency would reduce the amount of feed required for production (growth or laying), the production cost, and the amount of nitrogenous waste. The most commonly used measures for feed efficiency are feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI). As a more suitable indicator assessing feed efficiency, RFI is defined as the difference between observed and expected feed intake based on maintenance and growth or laying. However, the genetic and biological mechanisms regulating RFI are largely unknown. Identifying molecular mechanisms explaining divergence in RFI in laying ducks would lead to the development of early detection methods for the selection of more efficient breeding poultry. The objective of this study was to identify duodenum genes and pathways through transcriptional profiling in 2 extreme RFI phenotypes (HRFI and LRFI) of the duck population. Phenotypic aspects of feed efficiency showed that RFI was strongly positive with FCR and feed intake (FI). Transcriptomic analysis identified 35 differentially expressed genes between LRFI and HRFI ducks. These genes play an important role in metabolism, digestibility, secretion, and innate immunity including (), (), (), β (), and (). These results improve our knowledge of the biological basis underlying RFI, which would be useful for further investigations of key candidate genes for RFI and for the development of biomarkers.

Waste Fiber Powder Functionalized with Silver Nanoprism for Enhanced Raman Scattering Analysis

Biomass disks based on fine powder produced from disposed wool fibers were prepared for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The wool powders (WPs) were modified by silver nanoprisms via an assembly method and then pressed into disks using a hydraulic laboratory pellet press. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the WPs and disks before and after treatment with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The WPs retained porous structures after treatment with AgNPs. The silver nanoprisms on WPs were observed clearly and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of silver nanoprisms led to blue color of wool powder (WP). The obtained WP disks with AgNPs were confirmed to enhance greatly the Raman signal of thiram. The SERS disks are low-cost and convenient to use, with high sensitivity. The characteristic SERS bands of 10-8 M thiram can be identified from WP disks containing silver nanoparticles.

Development of stable Pickering emulsions/oil powders and Pickering HIPEs stabilized by gliadin/chitosan complex particles

In this paper, we demonstrate the use of gliadin/chitosan complex particles (GCCPs) as particulate stabilizers of oil-in-water emulsions of natural oils and water. For this purpose, we fabricated GCCPs through a facile anti-solvent procedure and demonstrated their usage in the formation of Pickering emulsions and Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The GCCPs can be used to produce surfactant-free o/w Pickering emulsions and Pickering HIPEs; unfortunately these emulsions were labile to coalescence. NaCl addition and/or pH regulation, and the combination were used to modify the surface wettability of the complex particles to achieve stable emulsions. The microstructures, e.g., interfacial frameworks, GCCP partition between the continuous phase and interfacial region, and the state of the droplets, of Pickering emulsions were visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), confirming that the inclusion of NaCl and slightly adjusting pH toward 4.0 and/or 5.0 benefited the adsorption and accumulation of colloid particles at the droplet surface to form an engineered interfacial structure, bridging droplets together through a percolating layer of colloidal particles at the oil/water interface. A schematic representation for the formation route of the emulsions is proposed to relate the physical performance and rheological property with the interfacial structures and aggregate behaviors in the Pickering system stabilized by the complex particles. Interestingly, direct freeze-drying of the emulsions transformed unstable Pickering emulsions into stable oil powders. This study opens a promising route based on Pickering HIPEs or oil powders to structure liquid oils into solid-like fats without artificial trans-fat, which outlines new directions for future fundamental research.

Catalytic Intermolecular Carboamination of Unactivated Alkenes via Directed Aminopalladation

An intermolecular 1,2-carboamination of unactivated alkenes proceeding via a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) catalytic cycle has been developed. To realize this transformation, a cleavable bidentate directing group is used to control the regioselectivity of aminopalladation and stabilize the resulting organopalladium(II) intermediate, such that oxidative addition to a carbon electrophile outcompetes potential β-hydride elimination. Under the optimized reaction conditions, a broad range of nitrogen nucleophiles and carbon electrophiles are compatible coupling partners in this reaction, affording moderate to high yields. The products of this reaction can be easily converted to free γ-amino acids and γ-lactams, both of which are common structural motifs found in drug molecules and bioactive compounds. Reaction kinetics and DFT calculations shed light on the mechanism of the reaction and explain empirically observed reactivity trends.

PCK1 expression is correlated with the plasma glucose level in the duck

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (soluble) (PCK1) is a key gene in gluconeogenesis and glyceroneogenesis. Although its functions have been extensively studied in mice, bats and humans, little is known in ducks. Here, PCK1 functions were studied using a duck domestication model and a 48-h fasting experiment. We found PCK1 expression significantly decreased in two breeds of domestic ducks (Jinyun Pockmark ducks and Cherry Valley ducks) as compared with wild ducks (Anas platyrhynchos). Simultaneously, plasma levels of glucose, triglycerides and free fatty acid in domestic ducks were lower than in wild ducks. When compared with fed ducks, the plasma triglyceride level was observed to be significantly decreased, while the glucose and free fatty acid levels remained constant in 48-h fasting ducks. The expression analysis of gluconeogenic genes revealed that fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase genes (FBP1 and FBP2) and the glucose-6-phosphatase gene (G6PC2) were not changed, whereas PCK1 was significantly upregulated. In addition, the reported regulators of PCK1, including forkhead box A2 (FOXA2) gene and orphan nuclear receptor NR4A family genes (NR4A1, NR4A2 and NR4A3), exhibited similar expression levels between 48-h fasting ducks and fed ducks, suggesting that PCK1 is not regulated by these genes in the duck under fasting conditions. In conclusion, PCK1 expression may affect plasma levels of glucose, triglycerides and free fatty acid during the duck domestication process. This work demonstrates for the first time in duck that PCK1 is a key gene in maintaining plasma glucose homeostasis during fasting and that the upregulated expression of PCK1 may be responsible for constant plasma free fatty acid level by the glyceroneogenesis process.

Overexpression of AKIP1 predicts poor prognosis of patients with breast carcinoma and promotes cancer metastasis through Akt/GSK-3β/Snail pathway

Recent evidence has demonstrated that A kinase interacting protein 1 (AKIP1), a molecular regulator of protein kinase A, was overexpressed in breast cancer. However, the prognostic and biological role of AKIP1 in breast cancer is still elusive. The purpose of our study was to elucidate the role and molecular mechanism of AKIP1 in breast cancer development. The mRNA levels of AKIP1 in breast cancer and paired normal breast tissues were examined by quantitative real-time PCR. The relationship of AKIP1 expression with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical prognosis of breast cancer patients was investigated. In vitro migration and invasion assays were performed in MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 cells to determine its role in metastasis and the possible mechanism. The result showed that AKIP1 expression was up-regulated in breast cancer tissues compared with that in normal breast tissues. High expression of AKIP1 was associated significantly with advanced tumor stage (P<0.001), tumor size (P=0.029), and lymph node metastasis (P=0.004). Moreover, overexpression of AKIP1 was significantly correlated with poor overall survival and recurrence-free survival (P=0.038 and P=0.005, respectively). Furthermore, down-regulation of AKIP1 remarkably inhibited breast cancer cell motility and invasion through inhibiting the Akt/GSK-3β/Snail pathway. Therefore, AKIP1 may represent a prospective prognostic indicator and a potential therapeutic target of breast cancer.

Diagnostic value of recombinant Tp0821 protein in serodiagnosis for syphilis

Syphilis is a multistage sexually transmitted disease that remains a serious public health concern worldwide. The coexistence of Treponema pallidum with other closely related members of spirochaeta, such as Leptospira spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi, has complicated the serodiagnosis due to cross-reactive antigens. In this study, recombinant Tp0821 protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by metal affinity chromatography. Then enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on Tp0821 for the detection of specific antibodies were established. The relative positive rates of the IgM ELISA and the IgG ELISA were found to be 91·0 and 98·3%, respectively, when screening 578 syphilis specimens. The specificities were 94·3 and 100%, respectively, when cross-checking with serum samples obtained from 30 patients with Lyme disease, five patients with leptospirosis, and 52 uninfected controls. In addition, relative positive rates and specificities of Tp0821 for human sera were all 100% in Western blotting. When compared to the syphilis diagnostic tests commonly used in clinical settings, we found that the results of Tp0821-based ELISAs correlated well with the results of the treponemal tests, specifically the T. pallidum particle agglutination (TP-PA) test and the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CIA). Thus, these findings identify Tp0821 as a novel serodiagnostic candidate for syphilis.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

In this study, we expressed and purified the Treponema pallidum protein Tp0821 and developed Tp0821-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of specific antibodies. The serodiagnostic performance of the recombinant protein was then evaluated. When compared to the results of syphilis diagnostic tests commonly used in clinical settings, we found that the reactivities of syphilitic sera with the recombinant antigen correlated well with the results of the treponemal tests, specifically the T. pallidum particle agglutination (TP-PA) test and the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CIA). Thus, the recombinant protein shows promise as a new diagnostic antigen in the ELISAs.

Systematic tracking of altered modules identifies disrupted pathways in teratozoospermia

The objective of this study was to identify disrupted pathways in teratozoospermia by systematically tracking dysregulated modules in reweighted protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. We inferred and reweighted the PPI networks of normal and teratozoospermia groups based on Spearman correlation coefficients. Modules in the PPI networks were explored via a clique-merging algorithm and altered modules were identified based on maximum weight bipartite matching. Furthermore, pathway-enrichment analyses of genes in altered modules were performed by Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) to illuminate the biological pathways in teratozoospermia. A total of 20,102 genes were screened from the expression profile. We explored 2406 and 2101 modules in normal and disease PPI networks, respectively. Moreover, we obtained 875 altered modules by comparing modules in normal and teratozoospermia PPI networks. At P < 0.01, the genes involved in 2855 interactions with score changes >1 were mainly enriched in 66 pathways and the genes in altered modules were enriched in 71 pathways. The activity genes (missed and added genes in the disrupted modules) were enriched in 41 common pathways. There were 36 mutual enriched pathways under the five different conditions. Moreover, the cell cycle pathway was disrupted in the first 10 pathways of each condition. This study provides a powerful biomarker discovery platform to better understand the progression of teratozoospermia by systematically tracking dysregulated modules. This method uncovered potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets of teratozoospermia. This information might lead to improved monitoring and treatment of teratozoospermia.

Fast and large-area growth of uniform MoS2 monolayers on molybdenum foils

A controllable synthesis of two-dimensional crystal monolayers in a large area is a prerequisite for potential applications, but the growth of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers in a large area with spatial homogeneity remains a great challenge. Here we report a novel and efficient method to fabricate large-scale MoS2 monolayers by direct sulfurization of pre-annealed molybdenum foil surfaces with large grain boundaries of more than 50 μm in size at elevated temperatures. Continuous MoS2 monolayers can be formed uniformly by sulfurizing the Mo foils in sulfur vapor at 600 °C within 1 min. At a lower temperature even down to 500 °C, uniform MoS2 monolayers can still be obtained but in a much longer sulfurizing duration. It is demonstrated that the formed monolayers can be nondestructively transferred onto arbitrary substrates by removing the Mo foil using diluted ferric chloride solution and can be successfully fabricated into photodetectors. The results show a novel avenue to efficiently fabricate two-dimensional crystals in a large area in a highly controllable way and should have great potential for the development of large-scale applications of two-dimensional crystals in electrophotonic systems.

Synthesis of photoresponsive polymeric propesticide micelles based on PEG for the controlled release of a herbicide

A novel amphiphilic polymer–pesticide conjugate was synthesized which can selfassemble into photoresponsive micelles in aqueous solutions for a controlled release of the herbicide.

The dissemination mode of drug-resistant genes in Enterobacter cloacae

BACKGROUND

Enterobacter cloacae (E. cloacae) infection has the highest mortality rate among Enterobacter infections. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and the transmission route of the class I integron, qnr genes, and CTX-M ESBLs genes in clinical isolates and to analyse the association between the prevalence of MDR genes and the antibiotic resistance of E. cloacae.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The antibiotic susceptibility was tested the agar dilution method. The class I integron, qnr genes, and CTX-M ESBLs genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prevalence data were analysed with the Chi-square test.

RESULTS

In the 100 clinical isolates, the class I integron-positive rate was 65%, with 12% on chromosome, 15% on plasmids and 38% on both. The positive rate of qnr genes was 37% with plasmid location. The positive rates for qnrA, qnrB and qnrS were 6%, 23% and 8%, respectively. The CTX-M ESBLs-positive rate was 34%. For CTX-M-1 ESBLs, 15% were on chromosome, 6% on plasmids and 4% on both; for CTX-M-9 ESBLs, 1% was on chromosome and 7% on plasmid; for CTX-M-25 ESBLs, 3% were on chromosome and 1% on plasmid.

CONCLUSION

Antibiotic resistance genes may be horizontally and vertically disseminated among E. cloacae, which helps multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of E. cloacae to be successful nosocomial agents.

A Petroleum Vapor Intrusion Model Involving Upward Advective Soil Gas Flow Due to Methane Generation

At petroleum vapor intrusion (PVI) sites at which there is significant methane generation, upward advective soil gas transport may be observed. To evaluate the health and explosion risks that may exist under such scenarios, a one-dimensional analytical model describing these processes is introduced in this study. This new model accounts for both advective and diffusive transport in soil gas and couples this with a piecewise first-order aerobic biodegradation model, limited by oxygen availability. The predicted results from the new model are shown to be in good agreement with the simulation results obtained from a three-dimensional numerical model. These results suggest that this analytical model is suitable for describing cases involving open ground surface beyond the foundation edge, serving as the primary oxygen source. This new analytical model indicates that the major contribution of upward advection to indoor air concentration could be limited to the increase of soil gas entry rate, since the oxygen in soil might already be depleted owing to the associated high methane source vapor concentration.

Low PBRM1 identifies tumor progression and poor prognosis in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

To investigate the expression and role of PBRM1 in breast cancer, and to evaluate the clinical and prognostic significance of PBRM1 protein in patients with breast cancer.

METHODS

The expression of PBRM1 was examined in breast cancer tissue and paired non-cancerous tissues by real-time PCR. Moreover, PBRM1 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 150 paraffin-embedded breast cancer specimens. The correlation between PBRM1 expression and clinicopathological features were statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

The status of PBRM1 protein in breast cancer tissues is much lower than that in paracarcinoma tissues. Low PBRM1 expression was positively correlated with tumor stage (P =0.003) and lymph node metastasis (P =0.013). The overall (P =0.003) and recurrent-free survival (P =0.001) of the patients with high PBRM1 expression was significantly lower than the low PBRM1 expression group. Multivariate analysis showed that the expression of PBRM1 was an independent factor of overall survival for the patients with breast cancer (P =0.030).

CONCLUSIONS

PBRM1 might involve in the development and progression of breast cancer as a tumor suppressor, and thereby may be a valuable prognostic marker for breast cancer patients.

On-column enrichment and surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection in nanoparticles functionalized porous capillary monolith

A monolithic column functionalized with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was designed to provide ultrasensitive detection with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The monolithic column based on poly (glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (GMA-co-EDMA) was served as the enrichment sorbent to concentrate GNPs and targets. We found that 60 nm GNPs-functionalized monolithic columns demonstrated the best SERS enhancement, and the lowest detectable concentration for PATP and CV could be achieved at 10(-7) and 10(-11) M, respectively. Moreover, the columns exhibit a good reproducibility in both spot-to-spot (∼10%) and batch-to-batch (∼15%). The SERS monolithic column with a high sensitivity and reproducibility has a great potential in the field-based rapid detection of targets in complex real-world samples.