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Integrated examination regarding miRNA-mRNA regulating cpa networks of spud (Solanum tuberosum M.) in response to cadmium strain.
Gut microbial fermentation of soluble dietary fibers promotes general and substrate-specific health benefits. In this study, the fermentation characteristics of two soluble branched-dietary fibers, namely, agavin (a type of agave fructans) and digestion-resistant maltodextrin (RD) were investigated against cellulose, using a simulated colonic fermenter apparatus employing a mixed culture of swine fecal bacteria. After 48 h of complete fermentation period, the microbial composition was different among all groups, where Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. dominated the agavin treatment, while the members of the families Lachnospiraceae and Prevotellaceae dominated the RD treatment. Agavin treatment exhibited a clearly segregated two-phased prolonged fermentation trend compared to RD treatment as manifested by the fermentation rates. Further, the highest short-chain fatty acids production even at the end of the fermentation cycle, acidic pH, and the negligible concentration of ammonia accumulation demonstrated favorable fermentation attributes of agavin compared to RD. Therefore, agavin might be an effective and desirable substrate for the colonic microbiota than RD with reference to the expressed microbial taxa and fermentation attributes. This study revealed a notable significance of the structural differences of fermentable fibers on the subsequent fermentation characteristics.Key factors in the salting-in effects on proteins of additives are their interactions with aromatic groups. We studied the interaction of four aromatic solutes, benzyl alcohol (BA), phenol, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (4-HBA) and methyl gallate (MG), with different salting-in additives, arginine hydrochloride (ArgHCl), magnesium chloride (MgCl2), ethylene glycol (EG), and guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) using solubility measurements. We used sodium chloride (NaCl) as a control. MgCl2 decreased the solubility of the four aromatic solutes with weak solute dependence. In contrast, ArgHCl, GdnHCl, and EG increased the solubility of four aromatic solutes with a similar solute dependence. Their salting-in effects were weaker on BA and 4-HBA and stronger on phenol and MG. These results indicate that attached groups alter the aromatic properties, affecting the interactions between the benzene ring and these three additives. More importantly, the observed results demonstrate that the salting-in mechanism is different between MgCl2, EG and ArgHCl, which should play a role in their effects on protein solubility.Dual modification of cassava starch was carried out using ultrasonication and acetylation by acetic acid by altering the sequence. The results revealed that the type of modification and sequence of modification for dual modified starches significantly affected the properties of starch. The swelling decreased for all the modified starches whereas solubility decreased for ultrasonicated starches but increased for acetylated starch and dual modified starch where acetylation was done after ultrasonication. The paste viscosities of all the modified starches were found to be significantly lower compared to native starch and the lowest viscosities were observed for dual modified starch where ultrasonication was done after acetylation. The resistant starch and slowly digestible starch content of the modified starches were significantly higher than in native starch, and the type of modification and sequence of modification for dual modified starches seemed to affect the digestibility of starches.The widespread use of nanoparticles raises many serious concerns about the safety and environmental impact of nanoparticles. Therefore, risk assessments of specific nanoparticles in occupational and environmental exposure are essential before their large-scale production and applications, especially in medicine and for usage in household items. In this study, the effects of five different metal nanoparticles on the structure, stability, and function of four metabolic enzymes were evaluated using various biophysical techniques. Our results show that Cu nanoparticles exhibited the most significant adverse effects on the structures, stability, and activities of all the metabolic enzymes. Zn nanoparticles caused moderate adverse effects on these enzymes. The rest of the metal (Al, Fe, and Ni) nanoparticles had a relatively lower impact on the metabolic enzymes. Our data indicated that Cu nanoparticles promote metal-catalyzed disulfide bond formation in these proteins. In summary, some metal nanoparticles can cause adverse effects on the structure, function, and stability of metabolic enzymes. In addition, metal nanoparticles may affect protein homeostasis in the cytosol or extracellular fluids.Zika Virus (ZIKV) is an RNA virus that belongs to the Flavivirus (FV) genus. In the last years, several unique characteristics of ZIKV among FV have been revealed, as the multiple routes of transmission and its ability to reach different human tissues, including the central nervous system. Thus, one of the most intriguing features of ZIKV biology is its ability to cross diverse complex biological barriers. The main aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the still unclear mechanisms behind this viral activity. We investigated an African strain and two South American ZIKV isolates belonging to the Asian lineage, in order to characterize possible differences regarding their ability to disturb intercellular junctions. The Asian isolates correspond to an imported (Venezuelan) and an autochthonous (Argentinian) ZIKV strain for which there is still no data available. We focused on occludin and DLG1 expression as markers of tight and adherent junctions, respectively. For this, we applied a quantitative immunofluorescence assay that can ascertain alterations in the cell junction proteins expression in the infected cells. Our findings indicated that the different ZIKV strains were able to reduce the levels of both polarity proteins without altering their overall cell distribution. Moreover, the grade of this effect was strain-dependent, being the DLG1 reduction higher for the African and Asian Venezuelan isolates and, on the contrary, occludin down-regulation was more noticeable for the Argentinian strain. Interestingly, among both junction proteins the viral infection caused a relative larger reduction in DLG1 expression for all viruses, suggesting DLG1 may be of particular relevance for ZIKV infections. Taken together, this study contributes to the knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in ZIKV cytopathogenesis, with a special focus on regional isolates.Noroviruses can infect humans and a wide variety of other mammalian hosts, causing varying degrees of diarrhea. In this study, two novel norovirus genomes were identified for the first time in farmed raccoon dogs, designated as raccoon dog noroviruses BUCT-K1 and BUCT-K4. Neither the farmers nor the raccoon dogs had symptoms (e.g., diarrhea) at the time of sample collection. We collected 14 stool samples from two farms, and 85.7% (12/14) of the samples were norovirus positive by RT-PCR. The two norovirus genomes have the highest identity to Dog/Z7/19/CH, suggesting that the norovirus might have been transmitted from dogs to raccoon dogs. Genomic and evolutionary analyses indicated that different directions of evolution occurred following the spread of the norovirus to the raccoon dogs. This study has increased knowledge of norovirus-infected animal species and has provided additional information on the norovirus family.In this study, a c-type lysozyme gene (BsLyzC) was identified and characterized from a marine fish, Bostrychus sinensis. The BsLyzC encodes 154 amino acids and contains a signal peptide of 17 amino acids, two catalytic residues and eight cysteine residues. click here The genomic DNA of BsLyzC consists of four exons and three introns. The BsLyzC shares high sequence similarity with c-type lysozyme from other fish species. The qPCR assays indicated that the BsLyzC exhibited a constitutive expression pattern in eleven examined tissues of healthy B. sinensis individuals. The transcripts of BsLyzC could be significantly induced after infection of Vibrio parahemolyticus in blood, spleen and head kidney. The optimal temperature and pH for recombinant BsLyzC (rBsLyzC) were found to be 50 °C and 6.0, respectively. The rBsLyzC exhibited antibacterial activities against two Gram-positive bacteria and two Gram-negative bacteria. These results indicate that the BsLyzC is involved in the antibacterial immunity of B. sinensis.Young children learn about the properties of foods, such as taste and healthiness, from others. By using selective trust tasks in which a familiar cartoon character and an unfamiliar informant provided different testimony about food safety, this study examined how an informant's familiarity affected 4- to 6-year-old children's selective social learning about food safety. In Experiment 1, when judging the safety of foods from the familiar cartoon character and the unfamiliar character, children across all age groups showed a preference for asking the familiar character for information. For endorse questions, 4- and 5-year-olds did not consistently accept or reject either character's statements, while 6-year-olds endorsed the unfamiliar cartoon character's statements more often than the familiar character's statements. In Experiment 2, when the unfamiliar informant was a real adult instead of a fictional cartoon character, children sought out information from the familiar character more often than from the adult, and they did not differentially endorse statements by either informant. Moreover, children who had less advanced theory of mind skills and who viewed cartoon characters as more real were more likely to ask the cartoon character. These results suggest that although children prefer to obtain information from familiar characters, they accept information about food safety from multiple kinds of sources and their social-cognitive skills play a role in their decisions.In May 2020, Uruguay was one of the few Latin American countries that had managed to control the outbreak of COVID-19 without mandatory curfews or quarantines. However, several social distancing measures created a major disruption in different aspects of the daily life of Uruguayan citizens. In this context, the objectives of the present work were i) to identify changes in eating habits perceived by Uruguayan citizens as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ii) to explore factors associated with different perceived changes on eating habits. A cross-sectional online study was conducted with 891 participants, recruited using an advertisement on Facebook and Instagram. Fifty-one percent of the participants indicated that their eating habits had changed since the detection of the first cases of COVID-19 in Uruguay. Large heterogeneity in the categorization of the changes existed 45% of the participants regarded the changes as positive, 32% as negative and 23% as neither positive nor negative. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to study the influence of explanatory variables in the likelihood of belonging to groups who reported different changes in eating habits (no changes, positive, negative, or neither positive nor negative changes). Household income and reliance on instrumental and emotional support increased the likelihood of reporting positive changes in eating habits, whereas negative changes were associated with a reduction in household income due to COVID-19 and the coping strategies self-distraction and self-blaming. Insights for policy making to reinforce positive effects and minimize threats to healthy eating are discussed.
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