A Sensitive Response Index Selection for Rapid Assessment of Heavy Metals Toxicity to the Photosynthesis of Based on Rapid Chlorophyll Fluorescence Induction Kinetics.

Heavy metals as toxic pollutants have important impacts on the photosynthesis of microalgae, thus seriously threatening the normal material circulation and energy flow of the aquatic ecosystem. In order to rapidly and sensitively detect the toxicity of heavy metals to microalgal photosynthesis, in this study, the effects of four typical toxic heavy metals, chromium (Cr(VI)), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and copper (Cu), on nine photosynthetic fluorescence parameters (φ, Ψ, φ, δ, Ψ, φ, F/F, PI, and S) derived from the chlorophyll fluorescence rise kinetics (OJIP) curve of microalga , were investigated based on the chlorophyll fluorescence induction kinetics technique. By analyzing the change trends of each parameter with the concentrations of the four heavy metals, we found that compared with other parameters, φ (maximum photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II), F/F (photochemical parameter of photosystem II), PI (photosynthetic performance index), and S (normalized area of the OJIP curve) demonstrated the same monotonic change characteristics with an increase in concentration of each heavy metal, indicating that these four parameters could be used as response indexes to quantitatively detect the toxicity of heavy metals.

A new means of energy supply driven by terahertz photons recovers related neural activity.

Continuous and efficient energy capture represents a long-sought dream of mankind. The brain is a major energy-consuming organ; an adult brain accounts for about 2% of the body weight but consumes about 20% of the body's energy. However, it is still unclear how the brain achieves efficient use of energy.

Neuromodulation of Chemical Synaptic Transmission Driven by THz Photons.

Postsynaptic currents of chemical synapse are modulated by multitudinous neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, dopamine, glutamate, and γ-aminobutyric acid, many of which have been used in the treatment of neurological diseases. Here, based on molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculation, we propose that 30- to 45-THz photons can resonate with a variety of typical neurotransmitter molecules and make them absorb photon energy to activate the transition to high energy state, which is expected to be a new method of neural regulation. Furthermore, we verified the calculated results through experiments that THz irradiation could substantively change neuronal signal emission and enhance the frequency, amplitude, and dynamic properties of excitatory postsynaptic current and inhibitory postsynaptic current.

A survey of the sperm whale () commensal microbiome.

Background: Mammalian commensal microbiota play important roles in the health of its host. In comparison to terrestrial mammals, commensal microbiota of marine mammals is mainly focused on the composition and function of skin and gut microbiota, with less attention paid to the health impact of bacteria and viruses. Previous studies on sperm whales () have affirmed their important phylogenetic position; however, studies on their commensal microbiota have not been published, due to difficulty in sample collection.

The first chromosome-level genome for a marine mammal as a resource to study ecology and evolution.

Marine mammals are important models for studying convergent evolution and aquatic adaption, and thus reference genomes of marine mammals can provide evolutionary insights. Here, we present the first chromosome-level marine mammal genome assembly based on the data generated by the BGISEQ-500 platform, for a stranded female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Using this reference genome, we performed chromosome evolution analysis of the sperm whale, including constructing ancestral chromosomes, identifying chromosome rearrangement events and comparing with cattle chromosomes, which provides a resource for exploring marine mammal adaptation and speciation.