The gemological characteristics of yellow seawater bead-cultured pearl farming in Beihai City, southern China.

In this study, we comparatively investigated the gemological and fine-microstructural characteristics of yellow seawater pearls cultured in Pinctada fucata martensii using X-ray computed microtomography (μ-CT) analysis, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) reflectance spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Detection of the nacre thickness indicated that the average nacre thickness varied from 0.17 to 1.

Gab2 deficiency suppresses high-fat diet-induced obesity by reducing adipose tissue inflammation and increasing brown adipose function in mice.

Obesity is caused by a long-term imbalance between energy intake and consumption and is regulated by multiple signals. This study investigated the effect of signaling scaffolding protein Gab2 on obesity and its relevant regulation mechanism. Gab2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were fed with a standard diet (SD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks.

Mutations in are associated with abnormal zona pellucida and female infertility.

Background: The zona pellucida (ZP) of human oocytes plays essential protective roles in sperm-egg interactions during fertilisation and embryo development. -null female rabbits exhibit a thin and irregular ZP, which severely impairs embryo development and fertility. However, the effects of defect on human female reproduction remain unknown.