Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 485 in total

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  1. Revision of the genus Gryposmylus Krüger, 1913 (Neuroptera, Osmylidae) with a remarkable example of convergence in wing disruptive patterning
    Winterton SL, Wang Y
    Zookeys, 2016.
    PMID: 27667953 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.617.10165
    The charismatic lance lacewing genus Gryposmylus Krüger, 1913 (Osmylidae: Protosmylinae) from South East Asia is revised with a new species (Gryposmylus pennyi sp. n.) described from Malaysia. The genus is diagnosed and both species in the genus redescribed and figured. An extraordinary example of morphological convergence is presented, with disruptive camouflaging wing markings in Gryposmylus pennyi sp. n. being remarkably similar to the South American green lacewing Vieira leschenaulti Navás (Chrysopidae).
  2. Fulltext Novel Plasmid-Mediated Colistin Resistance Gene mcr-3 in Escherichia coli
    Yin W, Li H, Shen Y, Liu Z, Wang S, Shen Z, et al.
    mBio, 2017 06 27;8(3).
    PMID: 28655818 DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00543-17
    The mobile colistin resistance gene mcr-1 has attracted global attention, as it heralds the breach of polymyxins, one of the last-resort antibiotics for the treatment of severe clinical infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. To date, six slightly different variants of mcr-1, and a second mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-2, have been reported or annotated in the GenBank database. Here, we characterized a third mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-3 The gene coexisted with 18 additional resistance determinants in the 261-kb IncHI2-type plasmid pWJ1 from porcine Escherichia colimcr-3 showed 45.0% and 47.0% nucleotide sequence identity to mcr-1 and mcr-2, respectively, while the deduced amino acid sequence of MCR-3 showed 99.8 to 100% and 75.6 to 94.8% identity to phosphoethanolamine transferases found in other Enterobacteriaceae species and in 10 Aeromonas species, respectively. pWJ1 was mobilized to an E. coli recipient by conjugation and contained a plasmid backbone similar to those of other mcr-1-carrying plasmids, such as pHNSHP45-2 from the original mcr-1-harboring E. coli strain. Moreover, a truncated transposon element, TnAs2, which was characterized only in Aeromonas salmonicida, was located upstream of mcr-3 in pWJ1. This ΔTnAs2-mcr-3 element was also identified in a shotgun genome sequence of a porcine E. coli isolate from Malaysia, a human Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate from Thailand, and a human Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolate from the United States. These results suggest the likelihood of a wide dissemination of the novel mobile colistin resistance gene mcr-3 among Enterobacteriaceae and aeromonads; the latter may act as a potential reservoir for mcr-3IMPORTANCE The emergence of the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 has attracted substantial attention worldwide. Here, we examined a colistin-resistant Escherichia coli isolate that was negative for both mcr-1 and mcr-2 and discovered a novel mobile colistin resistance gene, mcr-3 The amino acid sequence of MCR-3 aligned closely with phosphoethanolamine transferases from Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas species originating from both clinical infections and environmental samples collected in 12 countries on four continents. Due to the ubiquitous profile of aeromonads in the environment and the potential transfer of mcr-3 between Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas species, the wide spread of mcr-3 may be largely underestimated. As colistin has been and still is widely used in veterinary medicine and used at increasing frequencies in human medicine, the continuous monitoring of mobile colistin resistance determinants in colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria is imperative for understanding and tackling the dissemination of mcr genes in both the agricultural and health care sectors.
  3. Fulltext Imaging of Subsurface Corrosion Using Gradient-Field Pulsed Eddy Current Probes with Uniform Field Excitation
    Li Y, Ren S, Yan B, Zainal Abidin IM, Wang Y
    Sensors (Basel), 2017 Jul 31;17(8).
    PMID: 28758985 DOI: 10.3390/s17081747
    A corrosive environment leaves in-service conductive structures prone to subsurface corrosion which poses a severe threat to the structural integrity. It is indispensable to detect and quantitatively evaluate subsurface corrosion via non-destructive evaluation techniques. Although the gradient-field pulsed eddy current technique (GPEC) has been found to be superior in the evaluation of corrosion in conductors, it suffers from a technical drawback resulting from the non-uniform field excited by the conventional pancake coil. In light of this, a new GPEC probe with uniform field excitation for the imaging of subsurface corrosion is proposed in this paper. The excited uniform field makes the GPEC signal correspond only to the field perturbation due to the presence of subsurface corrosion, which benefits the corrosion profiling and sizing. A 3D analytical model of GPEC is established to analyze the characteristics of the uniform field induced within a conductor. Following this, experiments regarding the imaging of subsurface corrosion via GPEC have been carried out. It has been found from the results that the proposed GPEC probe with uniform field excitation not only applies to the imaging of subsurface corrosion in conductive structures, but provides high-sensitivity imaging results regarding the corrosion profile and opening size.
  4. Fulltext Is orbital floor a reliable and useful surgical landmark in endoscopic endonasal surgery?: a systematic review
    Abdullah B, Chuen CS, Husain S, Snidvongs K, Wang Y
    BMC Ear Nose Throat Disord, 2018;18:11.
    PMID: 30061792 DOI: 10.1186/s12901-018-0060-5
    Background: The orbital floor is considered as an important intraoperative reference point in endoscopic sinonasal surgery. The aim of this review is to evaluate its reliability and usefulness as a surgical landmark in endoscopic endonasal surgery.

    Methods: A literature search was performed on electronic databases, namely PUBMED. The following keywords were used either individually or in combination: orbital floor; maxillary sinus roof; endoscopic skull base surgery; endoscopic sinus surgery. Studies that used orbital floor as a landmark for endoscopic endonasal surgery were included in the analysis. In addition, relevant articles were identified from the references of articles that had been retrieved. The search was conducted over a period of 6 months between 1st June 2017 and 16th December 2017.

    Results: One thousand seven hundred forty-three articles were retrieved from the electronic databases. Only 5 articles that met the review criteria were selected. Five studies of the orbital floor (or the maxillary sinus roof) were reviewed, one was a cadaveric study while another 4 were computed tomographic study of the paranasal sinuses. All studies were of level III evidence and consists of a total number of 948 nostrils. All studies showed the orbital floor was below the anterior skull base irrespective of the populations. The orbital floor serves as a guide for safe entry into posterior ethmoids and sphenoid sinus.

    Conclusions: The orbital floor is a reliable and useful surgical landmark in endoscopic endonasal surgery. In revision cases or advanced disease, the normal landmarks can be distorted or absent and the orbital floor serves as a reference point for surgeons to avoid any unintentional injury to the skull base, the internal carotid artery and other critical structures.

  5. Effects of different types of biochar on methane and ammonia mitigation during layer manure composting
    Chen W, Liao X, Wu Y, Liang JB, Mi J, Huang J, et al.
    Waste Manag, 2017 Mar;61:506-515.
    PMID: 28117129 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.014
    Biochar, because of its unique physiochemical properties and sorption capacity, may be an ideal amendment in reducing gaseous emissions during composting process but there has been little information on the potential effects of different types of biochar on undesired gaseous emissions. The objective of this study was to examine the ability and mechanism of different types of biochar, as co-substrate, in mitigating gaseous emission from composting of layer hen manure. The study was conducted in small-scale laboratory composters with the addition of 10% of one of the following biochars: cornstalk biochar, bamboo biochar, woody biochar, layer manure biochar and coir biochar. The results showed that the cumulative NH3 production was significantly reduced by 24.8±2.9, 9.2±1.3, 20.1±2.6, 14.2±1.6, 11.8±1.7% (corrected for initial total N) in the cornstalk biochar, bamboo biochar, woody biochar, layer manure biochar and coir biochar treatments, respectively, compared to the control. Total CH4 emissions was significantly reduced by 26.1±2.3, 15.5±2.1, 22.4±3.1, 17.1±2.1% (corrected for the initial total carbon) for cornstalk biochar, bamboo biochar, woody biochar and coir biochar treatments than the control. Moreover, addition of cornstalk biochar increased the temperature and NO3(-)-N concentration and decreased the pH, NH4(+)-N and organic matter content throughout the composting process. The results suggested that total volatilization of NH3 and CH4 in cornstalk biochar treatment was lower than the other treatments; which could be due to (i) decrease of pH and higher nitrification, (ii) high sorption capacity for gases and their precursors, such as ammonium nitrogen from composting mixtures, because of the higher surface area, pore volumes, total acidic functional groups and CEC of cornstalk biochar.
  6. Immobilized Talaromyces thermophilus lipase as an efficient catalyst for the production of LML-type structured lipids
    Lian W, Wang W, Tan CP, Wang J, Wang Y
    Bioprocess Biosyst Eng, 2019 Feb;42(2):321-329.
    PMID: 30421172 DOI: 10.1007/s00449-018-2036-7
    LML-type structured lipids are one type of medium- and long-chain triacylglycerols. LML was synthesized using immobilized Talaromyces thermophilus lipase (TTL)-catalyzed interesterification of tricaprylin and ethyl linoleate. The resin AB-8 was chosen, and the lipase/support ratio was determined to be 60 mg/g. Subsequently, the immobilized TTL with strict sn-1,3 regiospecificity was applied to synthesize LML. Under the optimized conditions (60 °C, reaction time 6 h, enzyme loading of 6% of the total weight of substrates, substrate of molar ratio of ethyl linoleate to tricaprylin of 6:1), Triacylglycerols with two long- and one medium-chain FAs (DL-TAG) content as high as 52.86 mol% was obtained. Scale-up reaction further verified the industrial potential of the established process. The final product contained 85.24 mol% DL-TAG of which 97 mol% was LML after purification. The final product obtained with the high LML content would have substantial potential to be used as functional oils.
  7. Choline-Chloride-Based Eutectic Solvent for the Efficient Production of Docosahexaenoyl and Eicosapentaenoyl Ethanolamides via an Enzymatic Process
    Liang H, Qin X, Tan CP, Li D, Wang Y
    J Agric Food Chem, 2018 Nov 21;66(46):12361-12367.
    PMID: 30394748 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b04804
    Docosahexaenoyl and eicosapentaenoyl ethanolamides (DHEA and EPEA) have physiological functions, including immunomodulation, brain development, and anti-inflammation, but their efficient production is still unresolved. In this study, choline-chloride-based natural deep eutectic solvents are used as media to improve the production of DHEA and EPEA. The water content showed a key effect on the reactant conversion. Adding water to choline chloride-glucose (CG, molar ratio of 5:2) led to a significant increase (13.03% for EPEA and 27.95% for DHEA) in the yields after 1 h. The high yields of EPEA (96.84%) and DHEA (90.06%) were obtained under the optimized conditions [fish oil ethyl esters/ethanolamine molar ratio of 1:2, temperature of 60 °C, 1 h, enzyme loading of 2195 units, and CG containing 8.50% water of 43.30% (w/w, relative to total reactants)]. The products could be easily separated using centrifugation. In summary, the research has the potential to produce fatty acyl ethanolamides.
  8. Fulltext Using Patient Profiles To Guide The Choice Of Antihistamines In The Primary Care Setting In Malaysia: Expert Consensus And Recommendations
    Baharudin A, Abdul Latiff AH, Woo K, Yap FB, Tang IP, Leong KF, et al.
    Ther Clin Risk Manag, 2019;15:1267-1275.
    PMID: 31802877 DOI: 10.2147/TCRM.S221059
    H1-antihistamines are recognized to be effective for conditions such as allergic rhinitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria. However, management of such conditions in the real-world primary care setting may be challenging due to diverse patient-specific considerations, the wide range of antihistamines available, choice of other treatment modalities, and the complexity of interpreting specialist treatment algorithms. Despite regular updates to international guidelines, regional/national surveys of healthcare professionals show a clear gap between guidelines and real-world practice, particularly at the primary care level. This article thus presents the consensus opinion of experts from relevant specialties in Malaysia - allergology, pediatrics, otorhinolaryngology, and dermtology - on harmonizing the use and choice of antihistamines in primary care. Patient profiling is recommended as a tool to guide primary care practitioners in prescribing the appropriate antihistamine for each patient. Patient profiling is a three-step approach that involves 1) identifying the individual's needs; 2) reviewing patient-specific considerations; and 3) monitoring treatment response and referral to specialists in more severe or difficult-to-treat cases. Concurrently, guidelct 3ines should be reviewed and updated periodically to include recommendations that are easily actionable for primary care practitioners.
  9. Impact of DNA extraction methods on the observed microbial communities from the intestinal flora of the penaeid shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei
    Jiang B, Sun J, Lv A, Hu X, Shi H, Sung Y, et al.
    FEMS Microbiol Lett, 2019 05 01;366(9).
    PMID: 31074797 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnz099
    Two DNA extraction methods, the Zirmil-beating cell disruption method (ZBC) and the QIAamp fast DNA stool mini kit (QIA), were used to extract DNA from the intestinal flora of the penaeid shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, and their microbial communities were analyzed using 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. Results were obtained in terms of the number of reads, alpha diversity indexes, beta diversity indexes and taxonomic composition. The alpha diversity indexes of the community, according to the ZBC method, were higher than those according to the QIA method. Furthermore, results from the three samples using the ZBC method were less consistent than those where the QIA method was used. Further, using the latter method led to substantive clustering. It is suggested that the QIA method is more stable and repeatable than the ZBC method. Although the two extraction methods shared the major abundant microflora based on 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, bias associated with diversity analysis indexes and certain species was observed.
  10. Fulltext Coordination of Nanoconjugation with an Antigen/Antibody for Efficient Detection of Gynecological Tumors
    Liu X, Yang X, Shao J, Hong Y, Gopinath SCB, Chen Y, et al.
    J Anal Methods Chem, 2020;2020:6528572.
    PMID: 32309010 DOI: 10.1155/2020/6528572
    Cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers are common in the female reproductive system. Cervical cancer starts from the cervix, while ovarian cancer develops when abnormal cells grow in the ovary. Endometrial or uterine cancer starts from the lining of the womb in the endometrium. Approximately 12,000 women are affected every year by cervical cancer in the United States. Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) is a well-established biomarker in serum for diagnosing gynecological cancers, and its levels were observed to be elevated in cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancer patients. Moreover, SCC-Ag was used to identify the tumor size and progression stages. Various biosensing systems have been proposed to identify SCC-Ag; herein, enhanced interdigitated electrode sensing is presented with the use of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to conjugate an antigen/antibody. It was proved that the limit of detection is 62.5 fM in the case of antibody-GNP, which is 2-fold higher than that by SCC-Ag-GNP. Furthermore, the antibody-GNP-modified surface displays greater current increases with concomitant dose-dependent SCC-Ag levels. High analytical performance was shown by the discrimination against α-fetoprotein and CYFRA 21-1 at 1 pM. An enhanced sensing system is established for gynecological tumors, representing an advance from the earlier detection methods.
  11. Effect of diacylglycerol interfacial crystallization on the physical stability of water-in-oil emulsions
    Yang J, Qiu C, Li G, Lee WJ, Tan CP, Lai OM, et al.
    Food Chem, 2020 Oct 15;327:127014.
    PMID: 32434126 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127014
    The influence of diacylglycerol (DAG) combined with polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) on the stability of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions containing hydrogenated palm oil (HPO) was studied. Polarized light microscope revealed that DAG promoted HPO to crystallize at the water-oil interface, providing the combination of Pickering and network stabilization effects. It was proposed that the molecular compatibility of fatty acids in DAG with HPO accounted for the promotional effect. The interfacial crystallization of DAG together with the surface activity of PGPR led to the formation of emulsions with uniform small droplets and high freeze-thaw stability. Further exploration of physical properties indicated that the combination of DAG and PGPR dramatically improved the emulsion's viscoelasticity and obtained a larger deformation yield. Water droplets in DAG-based emulsions acted as active fillers to improve the network rigidity. Therefore, DAG is a promising material to be used as emulsifier to enhance the physical stability of W/O emulsions.
  12. Fulltext The epidemiological characteristics of dengue in high-risk areas of China, 2013-2016
    Sang S, Liu Q, Guo X, Wu D, Ke C, Liu-Helmersson J, et al.
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2021 12;15(12):e0009970.
    PMID: 34928951 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009970
    INTRODUCTION: Dengue has become a more serious human health concern in China, with increased incidence and expanded outbreak regions. The knowledge of the cross-sectional and longitudinal epidemiological characteristics and the evolutionary dynamics of dengue in high-risk areas of China is limited.

    METHODS: Records of dengue cases from 2013 to 2016 were obtained from the China Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. Full envelope gene sequences of dengue viruses detected from the high-risk areas of China were collected. Maximum Likelihood tree and haplotype network analyses were conducted to explore the phylogenetic relationship of viruses from high-risk areas of China.

    RESULTS: A total of 56,520 cases was reported in China from 2013 to 2016. During this time, Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian provinces were the high-risk areas. Imported cases occurred almost year-round, and were mainly introduced from Southeast Asia. The first indigenous case usually occurred in June to August, and the last one occurred before December in Yunnan and Fujian provinces but in December in Guangdong Province. Seven genotypes of DENV 1-3 were detected in the high-risk areas, with DENV 1-I the main genotype and DENV 2-Cosmopolitan the secondary one. The Maximum Likelihood trees show that almost all the indigenous viruses separated into different clusters. DENV 1-I viruses were found to be clustered in Guangdong Province, but not in Fujian and Yunnan, from 2013 to 2015. The ancestors of the Guangdong viruses in the cluster in 2013 and 2014 were most closely related to strains from Thailand or Singapore, and the Guangdong virus in 2015 was most closely related to the Guangdong virus of 2014. Based on closest phylogenetic relationships, viruses from Myanmar possibly initiated further indigenous cases in Yunnan, those from Indonesia in Fujian, while viruses from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia were predominant in Guangdong Province.

    CONCLUSIONS: Dengue is still an imported disease in China, although some genotypes continued to circulate in successive years. Viral phylogenies based on the envelope gene suggested periodic introductions of dengue strains into China, primarily from Southeast Asia, with occasional sustained, multi-year transmission in some regions of China.

  13. Sodium butyrate reduces ammonia emissions through glutamate metabolic pathways in cecal microorganisms of laying hens
    Zhong Z, Wang C, Zhang H, Mi J, Liang JB, Liao X, et al.
    Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2022 Feb 14;233:113299.
    PMID: 35176673 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113299
    Ammonia emission is an important problem that needs to be solved in laying hen industries. Sodium butyrate (SB) is considered to have potential for reducing ammonia production because of its ability to improve nitrogen metabolism. In this in vitro fermentation study, we presented a correlation analysis of the metatranscriptome and metaproteome of lay hen cecal microorganisms, in order to identify important proteins and pathways involved in ammonia production reduction due to sodium butyrate supplementation. The results showed that sodium butyrate supplement decreased the production of ammonia by 26.22% as compared with the non-sodium butyrate supplementation (CK) group. The SB group exhibited a lower concentration of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and a decreased pH. Sodium butyrate promoted the uric acid concentration and lowered the uricase activity in the fermentation broth of laying hens cecal content. Notably, the 'alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism' category was more abundant in the SB group. The addition of sodium butyrate increased the expression of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) gene in cecal microbiota (e.g., Ruminococcus sp. and Bacteroides sp.) in vitro. The metaproteome analysis results showed that the expression of GDH with NADPH as coenzyme (NADPH-GDH) was up-regulated in cecal microbiota by sodium butyrate supplement. Our results indicate that sodium butyrate can affect glutamate metabolism through regulating the expression of glutamate dehydrogenase in cecal microorganisms, thereby reducing ammonia production. This study reveals that glutamate dehydrogenase-mediated glutamate metabolism play a key role in ammonia emission reduction in laying hen and provide theoretical basis for further developing ammonia production reduction approach.
  14. Highly Efficient Deacidification of High-Acid Rice Bran Oil Using Methanol as a Novel Acyl Acceptor
    Li D, Faiza M, Ali S, Wang W, Tan CP, Yang B, et al.
    Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2018 Apr;184(4):1061-1072.
    PMID: 28948493 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-017-2594-1
    A highly efficient process for reducing the fatty acid (FA) content of high-acid rice bran oil (RBO) was developed by immobilized partial glycerides-selective lipase SMG1-F278N-catalyzed esterification/transesterification using methanol as a novel acyl acceptor. Molecular docking simulation indicated that methanol was much closer to the catalytic serine (Ser-171) compared with ethanol and glycerol, which might be one of the reasons for its high efficiency in the deacidification of high-acid RBO. Additionally, the reaction parameters were optimized to minimize the FA content of high-acid RBO. Under the optimal conditions (substrate molar ratio of methanol to FAs of 1.8:1, enzyme loading of 40 U/g, and at 30 °C), FA content decreased from 25.14 to 0.03% after 6 h of reaction. Immobilized SMG1-F278N exhibited excellent methanol tolerance and retained almost 100% of its initial activity after being used for ten batches. After purification by molecular distillation, the final product contained 97.86% triacylglycerol, 2.10% diacylglycerol, and 0.04% FA. The acid value of the final product was 0.09 mg KOH/g, which reached the grade one standard of edible oil. Overall, methanol was a superior acyl acceptor for the deacidification of high-acid RBO and the high reusability of immobilized SMG1-F278N indicates an economically attractive process.
  15. Fulltext The Formation of 3-Monochloropropanediol Esters and Glycidyl Esters during Heat-Induced Processing Using an Olive-Based Edible Oil
    Ji Y, Lan D, Wang W, Goh KM, Tan CP, Wang Y
    Foods, 2022 Dec 16;11(24).
    PMID: 36553815 DOI: 10.3390/foods11244073
    With the prevalence of edible diacylglycerol (DAG) oil, which is beneficial to human, the generation of 3-monochloropropanediol esters (3-MCPDE) and glycidyl esters (GE) as well as the stability of physical properties during heat-induced processing still need to be explored. In this study, the experiment used olive-based edible oil with different contents of DAG (40, 60, and 80%) to make crackers and fry chicken. They were heated at 160 and 180 °C to determine the changes in 3-MCPDE and GE, the crackers’ hardness and gumminess, and the physical properties of the oil. During baking and frying, 3-MCPDE decreased, while the content of GE slightly increased with the prolonged heating duration. Finally, 3-MCPDE and GE were lower than 1.25 mg/kg and 1.00 mg/kg, respectively. The AV increased proportionally as duration increased and POV was below 0.30 g/100 g. In general, the changes in 3-MCPDE and GE were related to the heating temperature and duration, and not significantly (p > 0.05) related to the content of DAG.
  16. Intestinal response of mussels to nano-TiO2 and pentachlorophenol in the presence of predator
    Chen X, Huang W, Liu C, Song H, Waiho K, Lin D, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Jan 11.
    PMID: 36640886 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161456
    With the development of industry, agriculture and intensification of human activities, a large amount of nano-TiO2 dioxide and pentachlorophenol have entered aquatic environment, causing potential impacts on the health of aquatic animals and ecosystems. We investigated the effects of predators, pentachlorophenol (PCP) and nano titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2) on the gut health (microbiota and digestive enzymes) of the thick-shelled mussel Mytilus coruscus. Nano-TiO2, as the photocatalyst for PCP, enhanced to toxic effects of PCP on the intestinal health of mussels, and they made the mussels more vulnerable to the stress from predators. Nano-TiO2 particles with smaller size exerted a larger negative effect on digestive enzymes, whereas the size effect on gut bacteria was insignificant. The presence of every two of the three factors significantly affected the population richness and diversity of gut microbiota. Our findings revealed that the presence of predators, PCP, and nano-TiO2 promoted the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria and inhibited digestive enzyme activity. This research investigated the combined stress on marine mussels caused by nanoparticles and pesticides in the presence of predators and established a theoretical framework for explaining the adaptive mechanisms in gut microbes and the link between digestive enzymes and gut microbiota.
  17. Combined effect of salinity and hypoxia on digestive enzymes and intestinal microbiota in the oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis
    Xie Z, Li Y, Xiong K, Tu Z, Waiho K, Yang C, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2023 Aug 15;331(Pt 2):121921.
    PMID: 37263564 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121921
    Anthropologic activities caused frequent eutrophication in coastal and estuarine waters, resulting in diel-cycling hypoxia. Given global climate change, extreme weather events often occur, thus salinity fluctuation frequently breaks out in these waters. This study aimed to evaluate the combined effects of salinity and hypoxia on intestinal microbiota and digestive enzymes of Crassostrea hongkongensis. Specifically, we sequenced 16 S rRNA of intestinal microbiota and measured the digestive enzymes trypsin (TRS), lipase (LPS) and amylase (AMY) in oysters exposed for 28 days to three salinities (10, 25 and 35) and two dissolved oxygen conditions, normoxia (6 mg/L) and hypoxia (6 mg/L for 12 h, 2 mg/L for 12 h). Oysters in normoxia and salinity of 25 were treated as control. After 28-day exposure, for microbial components, Fusobacteriota, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota comprised the majority for all experimental groups. Compared with the control group, the diversity and structure of intestinal microbiota tended to change in all treated groups. The species richness in C. hongkongensis intestine also changed. It was the most significant that high salinity increased Proteobacteria proportion while low salinity and hypoxia increased Fusobacteriota but decreased Proteobacteria, respectively. Additionally, Actinobacteriota was sensitive and changed under environmental stressor (P 
  18. Fulltext Application of Band-Selective HSQC NMR in Species Discrimination and Adulteration Identification of Panax Linn
    Guo C, Dong J, Deng L, Cheng K, Xu Y, Zhu H, et al.
    Molecules, 2023 May 25;28(11).
    PMID: 37298809 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28114332
    The quality of Panax Linn products available in the market is threatened by adulteration with different Panax species, such as Panax quinquefolium (PQ), Panax ginseng (PG), and Panax notoginseng (PN). In this paper, we established a 2D band-selective heteronuclear single quantum coherence (bs-HSQC) NMR method to discriminate species and detect adulteration of Panax Linn. The method involves selective excitation of the anomeric carbon resonance region of saponins and non-uniform sampling (NUS) to obtain high-resolution spectra in less than 10 min. The combined strategy overcomes the signal overlap limitation in 1H NMR and the long acquisition time in traditional HSQC. The present results showed that twelve well-separated resonance peaks can be assigned in the bs-HSQC spectra, which are of high resolution, good repeatability, and precision. Notably, the identification accuracy of species was found to be 100% for all tests conducted in the present study. Furthermore, in combination with multivariate statistical methods, the proposed method can effectively determine the composition proportion of adulterants (from 10% to 90%). Based on the PLS-DA models, the identification accuracy was greater than 80% when composition proportion of adulterants was 10%. Thus, the proposed method may provide a fast, practical, and effective analysis technique for food quality control or authenticity identification.
  19. Nano-TiO2 aggravates the adverse effect of pentachlorophenol on antioxidant and immune response in anti-predatory mussels
    Wei S, Sun B, Liu C, Sokolova I, Waiho K, Fang JKH, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Oct 01;893:164836.
    PMID: 37321498 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164836
    Nano-TiO2 can act as a vector to organic compounds, such as pentachlorophenol (PCP) posing a potential threat to the marine ecosystems. Studies showed that nano pollutant toxicity can be modulated by abiotic factors, but little is known about the potential influence of biotic stressors (such as predators) on the physiological responses to pollutants in marine organisms. We explored the effects of n-TiO2 and PCP on the mussel Mytilus coruscus in the presence of its natural predator, the swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus. Exposure to n-TiO2, PCP, and predation risk showed interactive effects on antioxidant and immune parameters of the mussels. Elevated activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP), suppressed activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), lower levels of glutathione (GSH) and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels indicated dysregulation of the antioxidant system and immune stress induced by single PCP or n-TiO2 exposure. Integrated biomarker (IBR) response values showed the effect of PCP was concentration dependent. Of the two used n-TiO2 sizes (25 and 100 nm), larger particles induced higher antioxidant and immune disturbances indicating higher toxicity possibly due to higher bioavailability. Compared to single PCP exposure, the combination of n-TiO2 and PCP enhanced the imbalance of SOD/CAT and GSH/GPX and led to elevated oxidative lesions and activation of immune-related enzymes. Overall, the combined impacts of pollutants and biotic stress exhibited a greater magnitude of adverse effects on antioxidant defense and immune parameters in mussels. The toxicological effects of PCP were exacerbated in the presence of n-TiO2, and the deleterious impact of these stressors was further amplified under predator-induced risk after prolonged (28 days) exposure. However, the underlying physiological regulatory mechanisms governing the interplay of these stressors and predatory cues on mussels remain elusive, warranting further investigation.
  20. Microbe, climate change and marine environment: Linking trends and research hotspots
    Segaran TC, Azra MN, Lananan F, Wang Y
    Mar Environ Res, 2023 Jul;189:106015.
    PMID: 37291004 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106015
    Microbes, or microorganisms, have been the foundation of the biosphere for over 3 billion years and have played an essential role in shaping our planet. The available knowledge on the topic of microbes associated with climate change has the potential to reshape upcoming research trends globally. As climate change impacts the ocean or marine ecosystem, the responses of these "unseen life" will heavily influence the achievement of a sustainable evolutionary environment. The present study aims to identify microbial-related research under changing climate within the marine environment through the mapping of visualized graphs of the available literature. We used scientometric methods to retrieve documents from the Web of Science platform in the Core Collection (WOSCC) database, analyzing a total of 2767 documents based on scientometric indicators. Our findings show that this research area is growing exponentially, with the most influential keywords being "microbial diversity," "bacteria," and "ocean acidification," and the most cited being "microorganism" and "diversity." The identification of influential clusters in the field of marine science provides insight into the hot spots and frontiers of research in this area. Prominent clusters include "coral microbiome," "hypoxic zone," "novel Thermoplasmatota clade," "marine dinoflagellate bloom," and "human health." Analyzing emerging trends and transformative changes in this field can inform the creation of special issues or research topics in selected journals, thus increasing visibility and engagement among the scientific community.
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