Antimicrobial polyketides from the endophytic fungus Fusarium asiaticum QA-6 derived from medicinal plant Artemisia argyi.

Seven previously undescribed polyketide derivatives, fusariumtides A-G (1-7), together with three known analogues (8-10), were isolated from the culture extract of Fusarium asiaticum QA-6, an endophytic fungus obtained from the fresh stem tissue of the medicinal plant Artemisia argyi H. Lev. & Vaniot.

Astragalus polysaccharides-induced gut microbiota play a predominant role in enhancing of intestinal barrier function of broiler chickens.

Background: The intestinal barrier is the first line of defense against intestinal invasion by pathogens and foreign antigens and is closely associated with the gut microbiota. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine owing to its protective properties against intestinal barrier function. The mechanism of APS-induced gut microbiota enhancing intestinal barrier function is urgently needed.

Numerical simulation research on thermal insulation performance of composite heat-insulation zone structure in hydrothermal high-temperature mine.

In hydrothermal high-temperature abnormal mines, the composite heat-insulation zone structure, formed through a combination of guniting and grouting, serves to mitigate heat dissipation from the surrounding rock into the airflow. To comprehensively understand the thermal insulation performance of the composite heat-insulation zone structure, this study employs numerical simulation to analyze the following aspects: the variation in the temperature field within the surrounding rock of the roadway without insulation, the influence of structural parameters of the composite heat-insulation zone on temperature distribution in the surrounding rock of the roadway, and the thermal insulation effectiveness of the composite heat-insulation zone with varying structures. The findings indicate that the temperature distribution within the surrounding rock of the roadway lacking a heat-insulation zone is relatively uniform.

A modified laser ablation-isotope ratio mass spectrometry method for in situ analysis of sulfur isotope composition of sulfides.

Rationale: A novel laser ablation-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-IRMS) method for in situ analysis of sulfur isotopes in sulfides has been developed. Instead of the in situ reaction applied by the traditional laser microprobe, the analyte gas preparation in this method is separated temporally and spatially from the LA, resulting in improved precision and accuracy.

Methods: Our LA-IRMS system combines an ultraviolet LA system, an elemental analyzer (EA), a custom-built cryogenic concentration system, a continuous-flow interface, and an IRMS.

Integration of transcriptome and whole-genome re-sequencing analyses reveal growth-related candidate genes in Procambarus clarkii.

Growth is a crucial economic trait of all aquaculture species. It is important to explore the molecular regulation on growth, which could help improve the growth rate of species. Mining the growth-related genes is the foundation for revealing its molecular regulation on growth.

Analysis of mRNA and MicroRNA Expression Profiles of Nervous Tissues and Reproductive Tissues in Male Procambarus clarkii After Silencing IAG.

The insulin-like androgenic gland hormone gene (IAG), primarily expressed in the androgenic gland (AG), plays a crucial role in controlling male sex differentiation and maintaining male secondary sexual characteristics in decapods. In this study, we investigated the mRNA and microRNA expression profiles of male Procambarus clarkii to understand the transcriptomic regulatory mechanism of IAG after the injection of an efficient siRNA (GsiRNA) designed based on IAG. The results revealed that several differentially expressed genes were enriched in reproduction-related pathways, such as the wnt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and GnRH signaling pathway.

Dietary oregano aqueous extract improves growth performance and intestinal health of broilers through modulating gut microbial compositions.

Background: Intestinal health plays a pivotal role in broiler chicken growth. Oregano aqueous extract (OAE) effectively exerts anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. However, the protective effects of OAE on intestinal health in broilers and the underlying mechanism remain unclear.

Inhibition of Wnt activity improves peri-implantation development of somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) can reprogram differentiated somatic cells into totipotency. Although pre-implantation development of SCNT embryos has greatly improved, most SCNT blastocysts are still arrested at the peri-implantation stage, and the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we develop a 3D culture system for SCNT peri-implantation embryos and discover that persistent Wnt signals block the naïve-to-primed pluripotency transition of epiblasts with aberrant H3K27me3 occupancy, which in turn leads to defects in epiblast transformation events and subsequent implantation failure.

Isolation and characterization of three pairs of verrucosidin epimers from the marine sediment-derived fungus and configuration revision of penicyrone A and related analogues.

Unlabelled: Verrucosidins, a methylated α-pyrone class of polyketides rarely reported upon, have been implicated in one or more neurological diseases. Despite the significance of verrucosidins as neurotoxins, the absolute configurations of most of the derivatives have not been accurately characterized yet. In this study, three pairs of C-9 epimeric verrucosidin derivatives, including the known compounds penicyrones A and B () and 9--methylpenicyrones A and B (), the new compounds 9-ethylpenicyrones A and B (), together with the related known derivative verrucosidin (), were isolated and identified from the culture extract of SD-413, which was obtained from the marine sediment collected from the East China sea.

Bilineage embryo-like structure from EPS cells can produce live mice with tetraploid trophectoderm.

Self-organized blastoids from extended pluripotent stem (EPS) cells possess enormous potential for investigating postimplantation embryo development and related diseases. However, the limited ability of postimplantation development of EPS-blastoids hinders its further application. In this study, single-cell transcriptomic analysis indicated that the "trophectoderm (TE)-like structure" of EPS-blastoids was primarily composed of primitive endoderm (PrE)-related cells instead of TE-related cells.

Bisabolane sesquiterpene and cyclopentene derivatives from the marine algal-derived endophytic fungus Trichoderma asperellum EN-764.

Four undescribed bisabolane sesquiterpenes and one undescribed cyclopentene derivative, together with one undescribed naturally occurring cyclopentenone derivative, were isolated and identified from the culture of the endophytic fungus Trichoderma asperellum EN-764, which was obtained from the marine red alga Palisada papillosa. Their structures were determined by detailed interpretation of NMR and mass spectroscopic data, while the relative and absolute configurations were unambiguously established based on NOESY experiments, modified Mosher's method, X-ray diffraction, and quantum chemical calculations (ECD and DP4+ probability analysis). The antibacterial activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated, and they exhibited inhibitory activity against some aquatic pathogens with MIC values ranging from 4 to 64 μg/mL.

Impact of Gamification on Consumers' Favorability in Cause-Related Marketing Programs: Between-Subjects Experiments.

Background: Successful cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns can help companies stand out from their competitors; however, CRM may not have pleasant outcomes, even if it receives substantial investment.

Objective: This research aimed to investigate how gamified CRM projects influence consumers' favorability.

Methods: We introduced 3 different CRM projects in 3 different studies.

Five new verrucosidin derivatives from Penicillium polonicum, a deep-sea cold-seep sediment isolated fungus.

Five new verrucosidin derivatives, poloncosidins G-K (1-5), were isolated from the deep sea cold-seep sediment-derived fungus Penicillium polonicum CS-252. Their planar structures were elucidated by discreet analysis of the NMR spectroscopic and HRESIMS spectrometric data. The absolute configurations of compounds 1-5 were deduced from the combination of the modified Mosher's method and quantum chemical calculations of their ECD and NMR (with DP4+ probability analysis) data.

Two Short Repeats in the 5' Untranslated Region of Insulin-like Androgenic Gland Factor in () That Regulate Expression.

Insulin-like androgenic gland factor () plays an important role in sex manipulation in decapods. Understanding the molecular regulation mechanism of in () is important for realizing its sex control. In this study, the promoter and gene structure of , mRNA, and miRNA expression profiles after interfering with two siRNAs synthesized according to the two short repeats in the 5' untranslated regions (5'UTR) of were analyzed, and miRNAs of exosomes were investigated to explore the role of repeated sequences with tandem two short repeats located in the 5'UTR of isolated from the androgenic gland (AG) in the regulation of expression.

Cyclopiumolides A and B, unusual 13-membered macrolides from the deep sea-sourced fungus Penicillium cyclopium SD-413 with antiproliferative activities.

Cyclopiumolides A (1) and B (2), first representatives of two novel biosynthetic related 13-membered macrolides featuring an uncommon verrucosidinol unit condensed with a spiculisporic acidic moiety, were identified from the fungus Penicillium cyclopium SD-413, which was obtained from the deep-sea sediments collected in the East China Sea. The structures of cyclopiumolides A (1) and B (2) were identified on the basis of extensive NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data analysis. Their relative and absolute configurations were determined by quantum mechanical calculations of ECD spectra comparing with that of experimental curves and by DP4 + NMR data calculations.

A Single-Center Treatment Experience of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Optic Pathway Glioma.

Objectives: To determine the independent prognostic factors that will influence the local tumor control/visual acuity (VA) preservation of optic pathway glioma (OPG) after Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS) and to optimize the treatment strategy.

Methods: A cohort of 52 consecutive OPG patients who underwent GKS in our center between August 1997 and September 2020 was studied retrospectively. Risk factors such as age at GKS, gender, tumor subtype, tumor site, tumor volume, intratumoral cyst formation, and marginal dose were selected for the univariate and multivariate analysis.

Consumer Online Knowledge-Sharing: Motivations and Outcome.

As a new form of online reviews, Q&A reviews have been recently used by many e-commerce platforms to compensate for the weaknesses and problems related to trust and helpfulness found in traditional online reviews. This research documents what motivates people to share products or purchasing knowledge with others through Q&A reviews and why e-commerce platforms should place an emphasis on Q&A reviews. Importantly, our results provide evidence that, when receiving feedback (i.

Verrucosidin Derivatives from the Deep Sea Cold-Seep-Derived Fungus CS-252.

Six novel verrucosidin derivatives, namely, poloncosidins A-F (-), together with one known analogue (), were isolated and identified from the deep-sea-derived fungus CS-252, which was obtained from cold-seep sediments collected in the South China Sea at a depth of 1183 m. Their structures were mainly established on the basis of a detailed interpretation of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. The relative and absolute configurations of compounds - were determined by ECD calculations and a DP4+ probability analysis.

N-methyladenosine regulates maternal RNA maintenance in oocytes and timely RNA decay during mouse maternal-to-zygotic transition.

N-methyladenosine (mA) and its regulatory components play critical roles in various developmental processes in mammals. However, the landscape and function of mA in early embryos remain unclear owing to limited materials. Here we developed a method of ultralow-input mA RNA immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing to reveal the transcriptome-wide mA landscape in mouse oocytes and early embryos and found unique enrichment and dynamics of mA RNA modifications on maternal and zygotic RNAs, including the transcripts of transposable elements MTA and MERVL.

FTO mediates LINE1 mA demethylation and chromatin regulation in mESCs and mouse development.

-methyladenosine (mA) is the most abundant internal modification on mammalian messenger RNA. It is installed by a writer complex and can be reversed by erasers such as the fat mass and obesity-associated protein FTO. Despite extensive research, the primary physiological substrates of FTO in mammalian tissues and development remain elusive.

Allele-specific H3K9me3 and DNA methylation co-marked CpG-rich regions serve as potential imprinting control regions in pre-implantation embryo.

Parental DNA methylation and histone modifications undergo distinct global reprogramming in mammalian pre-implantation embryos, but the landscape of epigenetic crosstalk and its effects on embryogenesis are largely unknown. Here we comprehensively analyse the association between DNA methylation and H3K9me3 reprogramming in mouse pre-implantation embryos and reveal that CpG-rich genomic loci with high H3K9me3 signal and DNA methylation level (CHM) are hotspots of DNA methylation maintenance during pre-implantation embryogenesis. We further profile the allele-specific epigenetic map with unprecedented resolution in gynogenetic and androgenetic embryos, respectively, and identify 1,279 allele-specific CHMs, including 19 known imprinting control regions (ICRs).

Exploration of an XX/XY Sex Determination System and Development of PCR-Based Sex-specific Markers in Based on Next-Generation Sequencing Data.

Many economic crustacean species have sex dimorphisms during their growth. Exploring the sex determination system and developing sex-specific molecular marker(s) are very helpful for carrying out sex control breeding, and next-generation sequencing has been used as an efficient way to explore them in recent years. In this study, first, the genetic sex determination system of was explored as an XX/XY system by analyzing the 2b-RAD sequencing data.