Investigation of <i>GhFAT</i> Genes Related to Seed Oil Content and Fatty Acid Composition in <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L.

Fatty Acyl-ACP thioesterase (FAT) is a key enzyme controlling oil biosynthesis in plant seeds. FATs can be divided into two subfamilies, FATA and FATB according to their amino acid sequences and substrate specificity. The Upland cotton genome contains 20 GhFAT genes, amongst which 6 genes were of the GhFATA subfamily and 14 of the GhFATB subfamily. The 20 GhFAT genes are unevenly distributed on 14 chromosomes. The GhFATA genes have 5 or 7 exons and the GhFATB genes have 6 or 7 exons. All GhFAT proteins have the conserved Acyl-ACP_TE domain and PLN02370 super family, the typical characteristics of plant thioesterases. Analyses of the expression level of GhFATs and the compositions of fatty acid in 5–60 days-post-anthesis seeds showed that the ratio of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids was consistent with the expression profile of GhFATB12, GhFATB3, and GhFATB10; the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acid to polyunsaturated fatty acids was consistent with the expression profile of GhFATA3. The oil contents of mature cottonseeds were positively correlated with the contents of palmitic acid and linolenic acid as well as seed vigor. These results provide essential information for further exploring the role(s) of the specific GhFATs in determining oil biosynthesis and cottonseed compositions.     

Could the recycled yarns substitute for the virgin cotton yarns: a comparative LCA

Purpose

Cotton yarns spun from natural fibers are widely used in the apparel industry. Most of waste cotton goods are now disposed by incineration or landfill, which brings resource and environmental challenges to the society. Using the waste cotton to spin yarns is an alternative way to forward a more sustainable future. In this research, two scenarios for the environmental impacts of yarns spun from corresponding fibers are investigated, including recycled cotton fibers and virgin cotton fibers.

Methods

The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted according to the collected data from on-site investigation of typical production factories. The life cycle for the recycled cotton yarn production is divided into five stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, breaking, mixing, and spinning. The life cycle of virgin cotton yarn production is been divided into four stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, mixing, and spinning. The functional unit is 1000 kg produced yarns which are used for weaving into the fabrics. Notable impacts on climate change, fossil depletion, water depletion, and human toxicity were observed.

Results

The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results show that environmental impacts of recycled cotton yarns are far less than those of virgin cotton yarns, except for climate change and water depletion. The reason is that the land occupation and irrigation water have great impact on environmental impacts of cotton cultivation. In spinning, the electricity is the key factor whose environmental impacts account for the most in the virgin cotton yarn scenario, while the electricity and water consumptions are the key factors for the recycled cotton yarn scenario in the life cycle of yarn production. The sensitivity analysis indicates that improving energy efficiency can significantly reduce environmental burdens for both the two scenarios. The uncertainty distribution of water depletion, human toxicity, fossil depletion, and climate change of the two scenarios were determined with a 90% confidence interval.

Conclusions

The LCIA results reveal recycled cotton yarn is a viable alternative to relieve resource and environmental pressure. About 0.5 ha of agricultural land can be saved, 6600 kg CO₂ eq can be reduced, and 2783 m³ irrigation water can be saved by using 1000 kg of the recycled cotton yarns. It can be concluded that the recycled cotton fibers can be served as a substitute for virgin cotton fibers to reduce agricultural land and avoid environmental impacts generated from the cotton planting.

     

A Brain-Computer Interface Based Cognitive Training System for Healthy Elderly: A Randomized Control Pilot Study for Usability and Preliminary Efficacy

Cognitive decline in aging is a pressing issue associated with significant healthcare costs and deterioration in quality of life. Previously, we reported the successful use of a novel brain-computer interface (BCI) training system in improving symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Here, we examine the feasibility of the BCI system with a new game that incorporates memory training in improving memory and attention in a pilot sample of healthy elderly. This study investigates the safety, usability and acceptability of our BCI system to elderly, and obtains an efficacy estimate to warrant a phase III trial. Thirty-one healthy elderly were randomized into intervention (n = 15) and waitlist control arms (n = 16). Intervention consisted of an 8-week training comprising 24 half-hour sessions. A usability and acceptability questionnaire was administered at the end of training. Safety was investigated by querying users about adverse events after every session. Efficacy of the system was measured by the change of total score from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) before and after training. Feedback on the usability and acceptability questionnaire was positive. No adverse events were reported for all participants across all sessions. Though the median difference in the RBANS change scores between arms was not statistically significant, an effect size of 0.6SD was obtained, which reflects potential clinical utility according to Simon’s randomized phase II trial design. Pooled data from both arms also showed that the median change in total scores pre and post-training was statistically significant (Mdn = 4.0; p<0.001). Specifically, there were significant improvements in immediate memory (p = 0.038), visuospatial/constructional (p = 0.014), attention (p = 0.039), and delayed memory (p<0.001) scores. Our BCI-based system shows promise in improving memory and attention in healthy elderly, and appears to be safe, user-friendly and acceptable to senior users. Given the efficacy signal, a phase III trial is warranted.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01661894","term_id":"NCT01661894"}}NCT01661894     

Characteristics of Nasal-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (NALT) and Nasal Absorption Capacity in Chicken

As the main mucosal immune inductive site of nasal cavity, nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) plays an important role in both antigen recognition and immune activation after intranasal immunization. However, the efficiency of intranasal vaccines is commonly restricted by the insufficient intake of antigen by the nasal mucosa, resulting from the nasal mucosal barrier and the nasal mucociliary clearance. The distribution of NALT and the characteristic of nasal cavity have already been described in humans and many laboratory rodents, while data about poultry are scarce. For this purpose, histological sections of the chicken nasal cavities were used to examine the anatomical structure and histological characteristics of nasal cavity. Besides, the absorptive capacity of chicken nasal mucosa was also studied using the materials with different particle size. Results showed that the NALT of chicken was located on the bottom of nasal septum and both sides of choanal cleft, which mainly consisted of second lymphoid follicle. A large number of lymphocytes were distributed under the mucosal epithelium of inferior nasal meatus. In addition, there were also diffuse lymphoid tissues located under the epithelium of the concha nasalis media and the walls of nasal cavity. The results of absorption experiment showed that the chicken nasal mucosa was capable to absorb trypan blue, OVA, and fluorescent latex particles. Inactivated avian influenza virus (IAIV) could be taken up by chicken nasal mucosa except for the stratified squamous epithelium sites located on the forepart of nasal cavity. The intake of IAIV by NALT was greater than that of the nasal mucosa covering on non-lymphoid tissue, which could be further enhanced after intranasal inoculation combined with sodium cholate or CpG DNA. The study on NALT and nasal absorptive capacity will be benefit for further understanding of immune mechanisms after nasal vaccination and development of nasal vaccines for poultry.     

The effect of pH dependence of antibody-antigen interactions on subcellular trafficking dynamics

A drawback of targeting soluble antigens such as cytokines or toxins with long-lived antibodies is that such antibodies can prolong the half-life of the target antigen by a “buffering” effect. This has motivated the design of antibodies that bind to target with higher affinity at near neutral pH relative to acidic endosomal pH (~pH 6.0). Such antibodies are expected to release antigen within endosomes following uptake into cells, whereas antibody will be recycled and exocytosed in FcRn-expressing cells. To understand how the pH dependence of antibody-antigen interactions affects intracellular trafficking, we generated three antibodies that bind IL-6 with different pH dependencies in the range pH 6.0–7.4. The behavior of antigen in the presence of these antibodies has been characterized using a combination of fixed and live cell fluorescence microscopy. As the affinity of the antibody:IL-6 interaction at pH 6.0 decreases, an increasing amount of antigen dissociates from FcRn-bound antibody in early and late endosomes, and then enters lysosomes. Segregation of antibody and FcRn from endosomes in tubulovesicular transport carriers (TCs) into the recycling pathway can also be observed in live cells, and the extent of IL-6 association with TCs correlates with increasing affinity of the antibody:IL-6 interaction at acidic pH. These analyses result in an understanding, in spatiotemporal terms, of the effect of pH dependence of antibody-antigen interactions on subcellular trafficking and inform the design of antibodies with optimized binding properties for antigen elimination.     

In vivo effects of anacetrapib on preβ HDL: improvement in HDL remodeling without effects on cholesterol absorption

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) transfers cholesteryl ester and triglyceride between HDL and apoB-containing lipoproteins. Anacetrapib (ANA), a reversible inhibitor of CETP, raises HDL cholesterol and lowers LDL cholesterol in dyslipidemic patients. We previously demonstrated that ANA increases macrophage-to-feces reverse cholesterol transport and fecal cholesterol excretion in hamsters, and increased preβ HDL-dependent cholesterol efflux via ABCA1 in vitro. However, the effects of ANA on in vivo preβ HDL have not been characterized. In vitro, ANA inhibited the formation of preβ, however in ANA-treated dyslipidemic hamsters, preβ HDL levels (measured by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis) were increased, in contrast to in vitro findings. Because changes in plasma preβ HDL have been proposed to potentially affect markers of cholesterol absorption with other CETP inhibitors, a dual stable isotope method was used to directly measure cholesterol absorption in hamsters. ANA treatment of hamsters (on either dyslipidemic or normal diet) had no effect on cholesterol absorption, while dalcetrapib-treated hamsters displayed an increase in cholesterol absorption. Taken together, these data support the notion that ANA promotes preβ HDL functionality in vivo, with no effects on cholesterol absorption.     

Production of influenza H1N1 vaccine from MDCK cells using a novel disposable packed-bed bioreactor

A process for human influenza H1N1 virus vaccine production from Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells using a novel packed-bed bioreactor is described in this report. The mini-bioreactor was used to study the relationship between cell density and glucose consumption rate and to optimize the infection parameters of the influenza H1N1 virus (A/New Caledonia/20/99). The MDCK cell culture and virus infection were then monitored in a disposable perfusion bioreactor (AmProtein Current Perfusion Bioreactor) with proportional–integral–derivative control of pH, dissolved O₂ (DO), agitation, and temperature. During 6 days of culture, the total cell number increased from 2.0?×?10⁹ to 3.2?×?10¹⁰ cells. The maximum virus titers of 768 hemagglutinin units/100 μL and 7.8?×?10⁷ 50 % tissue culture infectious doses/mL were obtained 3 days after infection. These results demonstrate that using a disposable perfusion bioreactor for large-scale cultivation of MDCK cells, which allows for the control of DO, pH, and other conditions, is a convenient and stable platform for industrial-scale production of influenza vaccines.