Efficient CRISPR genome editing and integrative genomic analyses reveal the mosaicism of Cas-induced mutations and pleiotropic effects of gene in an emerging model system.

Despite the revolutionary impacts of CRISPR-Cas gene editing systems, the effective and widespread use of CRISPR technologies in emerging model organisms still faces significant challenges. These include the inefficiency in generating heritable mutations at the organismal level, limited knowledge about the genomic consequences of gene editing, and an inadequate understanding of the inheritance patterns of CRISPR-Cas-induced mutations. This study addresses these issues by 1) developing an efficient microinjection delivery method for CRISPR editing in the microcrustacean ; 2) assessing the editing efficiency of Cas9 and Cas12a nucleases, examining mutation inheritance patterns, and analyzing the local and global mutation spectrum in the mutants; and 3) investigating the transcriptomes of mutants to understand the pleiotropic effects of underlying their swimming behavior changes.

MXene nanosheet-derived N, S-codoped graphene quantum dots for ultrasensitive and selective detection of 3-nitro-l-tyrosine in human serum.

3-Nitro-l-tyrosine (3NT) is an oxidative stress metabolite associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, the N, S-co-doped graphene quantum dots (NSGQDs) derived from nitrogen-doped TiCT MXene nanosheet via the hydrothermal method in the presence of mercaptosuccinic acid was synthesized as an optical sensing probe to detect 3NT in human serum. Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, the nitrogen source and delamination agent, was used to prepare nitrogen-doped MXene nanosheets via one step at room temperature.

Weld Line Strength of Polyamide Fiberglass Composite at Different Processing Parameters in Injection Molding Technique.

This study examines the impact of injection parameters on the weld line strength of the polyamide 6 and 30% fiberglass (PA6 + 30% FG) composite samples. The effects of filling time, packing time, packing pressure, melt temperature, and mold temperature on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and the elongation value of the weld line are investigated. The results reveal that the filling time factor has the lowest influence rate.

High accurate and explainable multi-pill detection framework with graph neural network-assisted multimodal data fusion.

Due to the significant resemblance in visual appearance, pill misuse is prevalent and has become a critical issue, responsible for one-third of all deaths worldwide. Pill identification, thus, is a crucial concern that needs to be investigated thoroughly. Recently, several attempts have been made to exploit deep learning to tackle the pill identification problem.

Improving algal bloom detection using spectroscopic analysis and machine learning: A case study in a large artificial reservoir, South Korea.

The prediction of algal blooms using traditional water quality indicators is expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming, making it challenging to meet the critical requirement of timely monitoring for prompt management. Using optical measures for forecasting algal blooms is a feasible and useful method to overcome these problems. This study explores the potential application of optical measures to enhance algal bloom prediction in terms of prediction accuracy and workload reduction, aided by machine learning (ML) models.

The Transcriptomic Signature of Cyclical Parthenogenesis.

Cyclical parthenogenesis, where females can engage in sexual or asexual reproduction depending on environmental conditions, represents a novel reproductive phenotype that emerged during eukaryotic evolution. The fact that environmental conditions can trigger cyclical parthenogens to engage in distinct reproductive modes strongly suggests that gene expression plays a key role in the origin of cyclical parthenogenesis. However, the genetic basis underlying cyclical parthenogenesis remains understudied.

Influences of TPU Content on the Weld Line Characteristics of PP and ABS Blends.

This study aims to explore the effects of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) content on the weld line properties of Polypropylene (PP) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) blends. In PP/TPU blends, increasing the TPU content results in a significant decrease in the PP/TPU composite's ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation values. Blends with 10 wt%, 15 wt%, and 20 wt% TPU and pure PP outperform blends with 10 wt%, 15 wt%, and 20 wt% TPU and recycled PP in terms of UTS value.

Unique Genomic Epidemiology of COVID-19 in the White Mountain Apache Tribe, April to August 2020, Arizona.

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) within the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT) in Arizona was diagnosed almost 1 month after community transmission was recognized in the state. Aggressive contact tracing allowed for robust genomic epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and subsequent phylogenetic analyses implicated only two virus introductions, which resulted in the spread of two unique viral lineages on the reservation. The phylogenies of these lineages reflect the nature of the introductions, the remoteness of the community, and the extraordinarily high attack rates.

Frailty and Associated Factors among the Elderly in Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Frailty syndrome is common among older people and can lead to various adverse consequences such as falls, cognitive decline, disability, dependent living, increased mortality, excessive drug use, and prolonged hospital stays.

Objectives: This research determined the prevalence of frailty and associated factors among older adults in Vietnam.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 584 older adults across five Ho Chi Minh City wards from November 2020 to January 2021.

Erbium-Doped GQD-Embedded Coffee-Ground-Derived Porous Biochar for Highly Efficient Asymmetric Supercapacitor.

A nanocomposite with erbium-doped graphene quantum dots embedded in highly porous coffee-ground-derived biochar (Er-GQD/HPB) was synthesized as a promising electrode material for a highly efficient supercapacitor. The HPB showed high porosity, with a large surface area of 1295 m g and an average pore size of 2.8 nm.

Contamination of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in sediment of the Cau River, Vietnam.

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are recognized as emerging environmental pollutants because of their high persistence in various environmental matrices and toxic effects on humans and animals. In Vietnam, PFOA and PFOS have been detected in surface water and sediment in recent studies. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the spatial and vertical distribution, determine the factors affecting the sorption onto sediment, and assess the environmental risk of PFOS and PFOA in the sediment of the Cau River.

The transcriptomic signature of obligate parthenogenesis.

Investigating the origin of parthenogenesis through interspecific hybridization can provide insight into how meiosis may be altered by genetic incompatibilities, which is fundamental for our understanding of the formation of reproductive barriers. Yet the genetic mechanisms giving rise to obligate parthenogenesis in eukaryotes remain understudied. In the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex species complex, obligately parthenogenetic (OP) isolates emerged as backcrosses of two cyclically parthenogenetic (CP) parental species, D.

Distribution of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environment in Hanoi and Metro Manila.

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) recently defined as emerging pollutants that widespread in surface water all around the world. This study investigated the distribution, and ecological risk of PPCPs in urban rivers of Hanoi, Vietnam, and Metro Manila, the Philippines. Of the 56 investigated PPCPs, 48 and 33 compounds were detected in the river water in Hanoi and in Metro Manila, respectively.

The genome-wide rate and spectrum of EMS-induced heritable mutations in the microcrustacean Daphnia: on the prospect of forward genetics.

Forward genetic screening using the alkylating mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is an effective method for identifying phenotypic mutants of interest, which can be further genetically dissected to pinpoint the causal genetic mutations. An accurate estimate of the rate of EMS-induced heritable mutations is fundamental for determining the mutant sample size of a screening experiment that aims to saturate all the genes in a genome with mutations. This study examines the genome-wide EMS-induced heritable base-substitutions in three species of the freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia to help guide screening experiments.

Divergent and self-reactive immune responses in the CNS of COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms.

Individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) frequently develop neurological symptoms, but the biological underpinnings of these phenomena are unknown. Through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and cytokine analyses of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood from individuals with COVID-19 with neurological symptoms, we find compartmentalized, CNS-specific T cell activation and B cell responses. All affected individuals had CSF anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies whose target epitopes diverged from serum antibodies.

NMDA receptors control development of somatosensory callosal axonal projections.

Callosal projections from primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are key for processing somatosensory inputs and integrating sensory-motor information. How the callosal innervation pattern in S1 is formed during early postnatal development is not clear. We found that the normal termination pattern of these callosal projections is disrupted in cortex specific NMDAR mutants.

Exploratory neuroimmune profiling identifies CNS-specific alterations in COVID-19 patients with neurological involvement.

One third of COVID-19 patients develop significant neurological symptoms, yet SARS-CoV-2 is rarely detected in central nervous system (CNS) tissue, suggesting a potential role for parainfectious processes, including neuroimmune responses. We therefore examined immune parameters in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples from a cohort of patients with COVID-19 and significant neurological complications. We found divergent immunological responses in the CNS compartment, including increased levels of IL-12 and IL-12-associated innate and adaptive immune cell activation.

Occurrence of pharmaceutical and personal care products in Cau River, Vietnam.

This study evaluated the occurrence of PPCPs in Cau River (Vietnam). Surface water and sediment samples were collected to determine PPCP concentrations. The analysis results showed the presence of 36 out of 56 investigated PPCPs in samples.

Graphite and Graphene Fairy Circles: A Bottom-Up Approach for the Formation of Nanocorrals.

A convenient covalent functionalization approach and nanopatterning method of graphite and graphene is developed. In contrast to expectations, electrochemically activated dediazotization of a mixture of two aryl diazonium compounds in aqueous media leads to a spatially inhomogeneous functionalization of graphitic surfaces, creating covalently modified surfaces with quasi-uniform spaced islands of pristine graphite or graphene, coined nanocorrals. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry approaches are compared.

Culture of Clinical Specimens Reveals Extensive Diversity of Legionella pneumophila Strains in Arizona.

Between 2000 and 2017, a total of 236 species isolates from Arizona were submitted to the CDC for reference testing. Most of these isolates were recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage specimens. Although the incidence of legionellosis in Arizona is less than the overall U.

Gene Annotation Easy Viewer (GAEV): Integrating KEGG's Gene Function Annotations and Associated Molecular Pathways.

We developed a Gene Annotation Easy Viewer (GAEV) that integrates the gene annotation data from the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) Automatic Annotation Server. GAEV generates an easy-to-read table that summarizes the query gene name, the KO (KEGG Orthology) number, name of gene orthologs, functional definition of the ortholog, and the functional pathways that query gene has been mapped to. Via links to KEGG pathway maps, users can directly examine the interaction between gene products involved in the same molecular pathway.

Single-sperm sequencing reveals the accelerated mitochondrial mutation rate in male (Crustacea, Cladocera).

Mutation rate in the nuclear genome differs between sexes, with males contributing more mutations than females to their offspring. The male-biased mutation rates in the nuclear genome is most likely to be driven by a higher number of cell divisions in spermatogenesis than in oogenesis, generating more opportunities for DNA replication errors. However, it remains unknown whether male-biased mutation rates are present in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

Characterization of a PKR inhibitor from the pathogenic ranavirus, Ambystoma tigrinum virus, using a heterologous vaccinia virus system.

Ambystoma tigrinum virus (ATV) (family Iridoviridae, genus Ranavirus) was isolated from diseased tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi) from the San Rafael Valley in southern Arizona, USA in 1996. Genomic sequencing of ATV, as well as other members of the genus, identified an open reading frame that has homology to the eukaryotic translation initiation factor, eIF2α (ATV eIF2α homologue, vIF2αH). Therefore, we asked if the ATV vIF2αH could also inhibit PKR.