Search Results (5,217)

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) exhibit significant sex- and development stage-specific expression patterns in the gonads of various fish species, yet their functions and regulatory mechanisms in male reproductive development remain largely unexplored in crucian carp (Carassius auratus). In this study, we characterized the expression features and biological functions of circSPEF2, a circular RNA derived from the reproduction-related gene spef2. Our results showed that circSPEF2 expression was markedly elevated in mature testes and progressively upregulated during gonadal maturation. Functional studies suggested that circSPEF2 likely does not act through a ceRNA-dependent mechanism. Transcriptome sequencing following circSPEF2 overexpression identified 45 upregulated and 70 downregulated differentially expressed genes, with GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealing significant alterations in multiple gonadal development-related genes and signaling pathways. Subsequent siRNA-mediated knockdown of circSPEF2, combined with qRT-PCR validation, confirmed that circSPEF2 positively regulates the expression of genes associated with cell maturation and differentiation, including prdm1a, lamc2, and slc25a27, while concurrently suppressing that of proliferation- and apoptosis-related genes such as wnt8b, cpeb3, and bcl2l11. Furthermore, RNA pull-down combined with mass spectrometry identified three candidate circSPEF2-binding proteins, namely, hnRNP A/B, SRSF2, and CFAP263. Collectively, these findings indicate that circSPEF2 plays an important role in male gonadal development in fish and provide new insights into the post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms underlying vertebrate male reproduction. Full article

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) provide essential position, velocity, and time (PVT) information worldwide. Accurate evaluation of GNSS signals and receiver performance requires realistic simulation environments, particularly for the carrier-to-noise-density ratio (C/N₀), a critical indicator reflecting signal quality dependent on satellite elevation angles. This paper presents the development of a GNSS testbed specifically designed to simulate and estimate C/N₀ values, focusing on GPS L1 C/A signals. The proposed testbed comprises three main components, a satellite simulator that controls signal power accurately according to satellite elevation angles, an up-/down-converter for RF/IF band conversion, and a signal receiver that estimates C/N₀ using the Narrowband–Wideband Power Ratio (NWPR) method. The performance of the proposed testbed was evaluated under four scenarios, namely static, dynamic, jamming, and real-signal. In the static scenario, the proposed system achieved a maximum C/N₀ estimation RMSE of 0.60 dB-Hz for satellites with elevation angles above 30° and 1.63 dB-Hz for those below 30°. In the dynamic scenario, the corresponding RMSE values were 0.68 dB-Hz and 0.86 dB-Hz, whereas under jamming conditions they increased to 2.08 dB-Hz and 2.12 dB-Hz, respectively. Furthermore, in the real-signal scenario, the C/N₀ values estimated by the proposed testbed exhibited trends consistent with those reported by a commercial u-blox receiver processing the same live-sky signals, thereby confirming its reliability under actual GNSS reception conditions. These results demonstrate that the proposed GNSS testbed enables reliable C/N₀ simulation and estimation for GNSS receiver performance evaluation. Full article

During fieldwork in the western Tian Shan Mountain range, somewhat different forms of Allium fetisowii s.l. were observed in its eastern and western parts. A detailed morphological study using principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the presence of two well-separated taxa within A. fetisowii s.l. A molecular study based on nrITS and four plastid markers (trnL–trnF, rpl32–trnL, trnQ–rps16 spacers, and the rps16 intron) confirmed their status at the species level. Allium fetisowii Regel s. str. occurs in the eastern part, whereas the name A. simile Regel applies to the plants growing in the western part. Together with A. chychkanense, these species constitute section Longibidentata, which is supported by molecular data. The nomenclatural history of these three species is explained. A taxonomic conspectus is provided, the distribution is mapped, and an identification key is presented. Full article

Shoot branching, as an important architectural trait, influences the number of flower heads and the pattern of flowering in sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.). However, the main genetic factors leading to extensive branching throughout the plant were not clearly understood. In this study, we analyzed branching inheritance and identified a significant locus using an F₂ population (n = 660) from a cross between the non-branched line 150A and the highly branched line PT326. The branching phenotypes varied from having no branches to complete plant branching, with segregation fitting a 3:1 ratio (χ² = 2.916, p > 0.05), suggesting that a single major gene controls this trait, with the non-branched phenotype being dominant. Using bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and whole-genome resequencing, a strong and consistent signal was identified on chromosome 10 across three separate statistical analyses, pinpointing a primary candidate interval of approximately 3.40 Mb, named qBr10. Through the use of 10 developed Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers and recombinant screening, qBr10 was restricted to a 388.5 kb (Chr10:13,422,378–13,780,875). Analysis of this interval identified 21 genes, among which WRKY21 and MTB3 were prioritized as candidate genes for further functional validation. Our findings identified qBr10 as a strong candidate for cloning and offer closely associated markers to aid in marker-assisted improvement of branching and capitulum number in sunflower breeding. Full article

This paper presents a unified analytical and computational framework for the study of typhoid fever transmission dynamics governed by a Caputo fractional-order compartmental model of order $\kappa \in (0,1]$. The population is stratified into five epidemiological classes, namely susceptible $\left(\mathcal{S}\right)$, asymptomatic $\left(\mathcal{A}\right)$, symptomatic $\left(\mathcal{I}\right)$, hospitalised $\left(\mathcal{H}\right)$, and recovered $\left(\mathcal{R}\right)$, and the governing system explicitly incorporates asymptomatic transmission, treatment dynamics, and temporary immunity with waning. The use of the Caputo fractional derivative is motivated by the well-documented existence of chronic asymptomatic Salmonella Typhi carriers, whose heavy-tailed sojourn times in the carrier state are naturally encoded by the Mittag–Leffler waiting-time distribution arising from the fractional operator. A complete qualitative analysis of the fractional system is carried out: the basic reproduction number ${\mathcal{R}}_0$ is derived via the next-generation matrix method; local and global asymptotic stability of both the disease-free equilibrium ${\mathcal{E}}_0$ (when ${\mathcal{R}}_0\le 1$) and the endemic equilibrium ${\mathcal{E}}^{*}$ (when ${\mathcal{R}}_0>1$) are established using fractional Lyapunov theory and the LaSalle invariance principle; and the normalised sensitivity indices of ${\mathcal{R}}_0$ are computed to identify transmission-amplifying and transmission-suppressing parameters. Existence, uniqueness, and Ulam–Hyers stability of solutions are established via Banach and Leray–Schauder fixed-point arguments. To complement the analytical results, a fractional physics-informed neural network ($\mathcal{PINN}$) framework is developed to simultaneously reconstruct compartmental trajectories and identify unknown biological parameters from sparse synthetic observations. $\mathcal{PINN}$ embeds the L1-Caputo discretisation directly into the training residuals and employs a four-stage Adam–L-BFGS optimisation strategy to recover five trainable parameters $\Theta$ = $\{\varphi ,\mu ,\sigma ,\psi ,\beta \}$ across three fractional orders $\kappa \in \{1.0,0.95,0.9\}$. The estimated parameters show strong agreement with the true values at the classical limit $\kappa =1.0$ ($\mathrm{MAPE}=2.27\%$), with the natural mortality rate $\mu$ recovered with $\mathrm{APE}\le 0.51\%$ and the transmission rate $\beta$ with $\mathrm{APE}\le 3.63\%$ across all fractional orders, confirming the structural identifiability of the model. Pairwise correlation analysis of the learned parameters establishes the absence of equifinality, validating that $\beta$ can be reliably included in the trainable set. Noise robustness experiments under Gaussian perturbations of $1\%$, $3\%$, and $5\%$ demonstrate graceful degradation ($\mathrm{MAPE}$: $0.82\%\to 3.10\%\to 7.31\%$), confirming the reliability of the proposed framework under realistic observational conditions. Full article

A novel ocellatin-P1 isoform was isolated and purified from the skin secretion of the pepper frog Leptodactylus labyrinthicus. The crude skin secretion was fractionated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a C₈ column and the peptide was subsequently purified on a reversed-phase C₁₈ column. Ocellatin-LB3 (as this isoform was named) was chemically sequenced by Edman degradation. This peptide is a linear C-terminally amidated molecule composed of 25 amino acid residues: ¹GLLDTLKGAAKNVVGGLASKVMEKL²⁵-NH₂. Synthetic ocellatin-LB3 was active against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and inactive against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus faecalis. In addition, the peptide reduced the Trypanosoma cruzi infection in L6 cells. At 64 µM it did not reduce erythrocytes or polymorphonuclear leukocytes, but did reduce mononuclear leukocyte counts, as detected by flow cytometry. No hemolytic activity was observed in red blood cells even at 128 µM. The peptide exhibited limited antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 and HeLa tumor cells at 128 µM. Pre-incubation with the peptide appeared to enhance N-formylmethionine-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)-induced migration, indicating a potential additive or synergistic effect on human neutrophils. The three-dimensional structure of ocellatin-LB3 was investigated by circular dichroism (CD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), the peptide adopts an α-helical structure spanning residues Leu³–Lys²⁴, which remains largely preserved even at 95 °C. NMR Hydrogen/Deuterium (H/D) exchange experiments suggest that ocellatin-LB3 adopts a preferential orientation when interacting with SDS micelles. Based on the similarity among ocellatins, and on the physicochemical and structural properties of this peptide, a possible membrane-mediated mode of action is proposed, although this remains to be experimentally validated. Full article

Offspring of preeclamptic (PE) mothers are at increased risk of end-organ damage. Given the widespread use of NSAIDs during pregnancy and their reported ability to mitigate organ damage in PE mothers, this study examined whether prenatal naproxen modifies PE-induced lung injury in male and female offspring. PE was induced by orally administered L-nitro-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME, 50 mg/kg/day for 7 days) to mothers prior to labor, and lung tissues were excised from 3-month-old offspring. Histopathology revealed increased interstitial inflammation and fibrosis in PE versus non-PE offspring lungs. This was more prominent in male than in female PE offspring and was coupled with more pulmonary expression of Axl tyrosine kinase receptor and downstream interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and antiangiogenic Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1(sFlt1) effectors. These sex-related defects disappeared in offspring of PE dams treated prenatally with naproxen (1 mg/kg/day for 7 days). Further, PE offspring exhibited elevations in other inflammatory cytokines, IL-2 and TNFα, and apoptotic markers, caspase-3 and caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 (M-30) and total soluble cytokeratin 18 (M-65). The latter effects were evenly seen in both sexes and similarly offset by naproxen. These findings implicate Axl/IL-1α/sFlt1 signaling in the greater lung injury in male PE offspring and suggest a protective effect of gestational naproxen therapy. Full article

The cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne, is a globally important pest of stored products, and prolonged fumigant use has accelerated resistance development. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are key phase II detoxification enzymes that mediate insect tolerance to xenobiotics. In this study, we identified nine GST genes (LsGSTs) in L. serricorne and classified them into four cytosolic classes, namely epsilon, delta, theta, and sigma, based on phylogenetic analysis. Most LsGSTs were predominantly expressed during larval stages, while LsGSTs7 showed peak expression in adults. Tissue-specific profiling revealed predominant expression in metabolically active organs, including the fat body, Malpighian tubules, and midgut. Inhibition of GST activity using diethyl maleate (DEM) significantly increased larval susceptibility to three emerging fumigants: ethyl formate, benzothiazole, and methyl isothiocyanate. Exposure to LC₃₀ and LC₅₀ concentrations of these fumigants induced up-regulation of multiple LsGSTs, highlighting fumigant-specific detoxification responses. RNA interference targeting nine fumigant-inducible LsGSTs markedly elevated mortality and decreased total GST activity under fumigant stress. Furthermore, recombinant LsGSTs6 protein effectively metabolized methyl isothiocyanate, confirming their direct role in fumigant detoxification. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying GST-mediated tolerance in L. serricorne and identify specific GST isoenzymes as promising molecular targets for innovative resistance management strategies in stored-product pest control. Full article

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., also named Cactus pear, is a crop widespread in many countries with Mediterranean and subtropical climates, where it represents a valuable source of food. However, in southern Europe, this fruit market is limited to a few months, from summer to autumn. The possibility to extend the ripening period of fruit is represented by the special pruning of the first bloom flush and consequent new development of late flowers and fruits. Extending the cultivation period would allow farmers to maximize the crop’s potential, thereby extending the Cactus pear market season throughout much of the year. In this study, conducted in southern Sardinia (Italy), progressive pruning was applied with the aim of evaluating the fruit characteristics in relation to this type of cultivation, also considering the weather conditions during the experimental period. Morphological traits and physicochemical compositions of fruit picked in four harvests during two sampling seasons from August 2022 to March 2023, and from August 2023 to March 2024 were compared. According to principal component analysis (PCA), most of the observed characters showed significant differences among harvest periods but also between the two seasons of cultivation (year of cultivation: r = 0.722 on PC1), suggesting that the meteorological trend strongly modulated fruit traits. Some fruit qualities were partially lost during the winter months, such as juice acidity and total soluble solids (TSS). October was the month with the highest TSS levels (13.5 ± 0.25), followed by August, January and March. On the other hand, juiciness and fresh weight remained unchanged or even improved in fruit harvested out-of-season. As observed in the redundancy analysis (RDA) a contribution of 54% due to weather variability emerged. In Particular, TSS levels, pH and juice dry matter were associated with high temperatures, solar radiation, and wind intensity. Wind speed was also moderately linked with betalain content. Moreover, high relative humidity was associated with lower pH values, higher water content, and higher fruit fresh weight. A significant difference was found between the two years in betalains content (80.0 ± 3.7 µg·mL⁻¹ in 2022–2023 and 28.2 ± 2.5 µg·mL⁻¹ in 2023–2024). The breakdown in the 2023–2024 season was likely due to the strong heat wave of July 2023 (up to 47 °C), which caused their partial degradation. In light of seasonal variability, this work provides some useful insights for future management of Cactus pear, also considering the possibility of usefully extending the period of cultivation and harvesting. Full article

Salmonella Enteritidis is a major threat to poultry health and food safety, underscoring the need for safe alternatives to conventional antibiotics. In this study, quercetin, a natural flavonoid with antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties, was evaluated using an integrated approach combining network pharmacology, molecular docking, in vitro antibacterial assays, and preliminary in vivo validation. Potential targets of quercetin and Salmonella Enteritidis were identified from the TCMSP and GeneCards databases, followed by protein–protein interaction analysis, topological screening, and GO/KEGG enrichment analyses. Five core targets, namely IL1B, IL6, STAT1, PTGS2, and IFNG, were identified and were mainly enriched in immune- and inflammation-related pathways. Molecular docking suggested favorable interactions between quercetin and these predicted targets. In vitro, quercetin showed moderate antibacterial activity against Salmonella Enteritidis, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 256 μg/mL and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 512 μg/mL. In vivo, quercetin alleviated intestinal histopathological damage and reduced the transcriptional expression of the five target genes in infected chicks in a dose-dependent manner, with more evident effects at doses of 512 mg/kg or higher. These findings provide preliminary evidence that quercetin may exert both direct antibacterial and host-associated protective effects against Salmonella Enteritidis, although the underlying mechanisms require further validation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Our previous study demonstrated that while the third SARS-CoV-2 booster effectively enhanced immunity against the Delta subvariant, its protection declined over time. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the humoral and cellular immune responses, as well as reactogenicity, of the mRNA-1273 vaccine administered as a fourth booster in healthy Thai adults previously vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac (CV) followed by a third dose of either AZD1222 (AZ) or BNT162b2 (BNT). Methods: Participants received a single 100 µg (0.5 mL) intramuscular dose of mRNA-1273. Blood samples were collected at baseline (D0), D14, D90, and D180 to assess anti-RBD IgG, conduct a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) against the Delta and Omicron variants, and assess IFN-γ levels and reactogenicity. Results: Both 2CV/AZ- and 2CV/BNT-primed groups exhibited comparable local and systemic reactogenicity. The fourth mRNA-1273 dose markedly increased Delta variant inhibition within 14 days in both groups and remained at high levels at Days 90 and 180. sVNT inhibition against Omicron rose similarly in both groups at Day 14; it declined sharply by Days 90 and 180, with the 2CV/AZ-primed group showing significantly lower levels than the 2CV/BNT-primed group. Baseline anti-RBD IgG levels were lower in the 2CV/AZ group (p = 0.003) but surpassed those of the 2CV/BNT group by Day 14, with no significant differences at later time points. IFN-γ responses followed a similar pattern to anti-RBD IgG Conclusions: A heterologous fourth mRNA-1273 booster in both 2CV/AZ- and 2CV/BNT-primed groups effectively enhances B-cell and T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2. However, emerging variants such as Omicron may still pose challenges. The trial was registered with the Thai Clinical Trials Registry: the name of the registry: “The comparison of immune response to the 4th dose booster with mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine in individuals who had received 2 doses of CoronaVac and booster with ChAdOx-1 or BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine”, TCTR20220205002 on 5 February 2022. Full article

The identity of oregano used as a medicinal plant and culinary spice remains controversial due to frequent confusion between Origanum vulgare L., native to the spontaneous flora of Romania (mainly subsp. vulgare), and chemically distinct oregano taxa commercially marketed under the generic name “oregano”, often associated with phenolic-rich chemotypes attributed to O. vulgare subsp. hirtum (Link) A.Terracc. The present study aimed to clarify the morphological and chemotaxonomic differences between wild Romanian populations of O. vulgare and commercially available oregano-type plant material, using authenticated O. vulgare subsp. hirtum as a comparative reference. Comparative botanical analysis was performed on wild and cultivated material, followed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) screening and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation. Morphological examination revealed stable differences between wild O. vulgare subsp. vulgare and commercially sourced material in stem habit, leaf morphology, inflorescence structure, corolla coloration, and aroma. TLC screening showed the absence of phenolic derivatives in extracts from wild O. vulgare subsp. vulgare and authenticated O. vulgare subsp. hirtum, while intense thymol-related zones were detected exclusively in plants derived from commercial seeds labeled as O. vulgare. GC–MS analysis confirmed these findings, demonstrating the absence of phenolic monoterpenes in wild populations and their high abundance, particularly thymol and carvacrol, in commercial samples. These results highlight significant discrepancies between authentic wild oregano and commercially marketed plant material, emphasizing the need for rigorous botanical authentication in ethnobotanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological research. Full article

Proteases are key biocatalysts widely applied in the food, pharmaceutical, detergent, and environmental industries. One of the most costly steps in large-scale enzyme production is the preparation of the culture medium, making agro-industrial wastes attractive as low-cost nutrient sources and potential inducers. The non-conventional yeast Yarrowia lipolytica stands out in bioprocess engineering due to its high secretion capacity, GRAS status, and ability to metabolize diverse industrial residues. In this study, Brazilian agro-industrial by-products, namely Corn steep liquor (CSL), brewer’s yeast residue (BYR), and okara, were evaluated as alternative nitrogen sources for protease production by Y. lipolytica IMUFRJ 50678. Enzyme activity was quantified by the azocasein method at optimized conditions (40 °C, 40 min, pH 5 and 8). After an initial exploratory screening (n = 1), brewer’s yeast residue (BYR) and okara were identified as promising candidates for protease production. These preliminary findings guided subsequent experiments performed in biological triplicate (n = 3), which confirmed the reproducibility and comparative performance of these substrates, showing higher acid protease (AXP) activity in the BYR medium ((5.4 ± 0.3) U/mL), whereas alkaline protease (AEP) activities were comparable between the BYR ((8.4 ± 0.6) U/mL) and okara ((7.5 ± 0.9) U/mL) media. CSL was associated with higher lipase activity ((11.7 ± 0.9) × 10³ U/L), while esterase activity was higher in the BYR medium. These findings indicate that agro-industrial residues, particularly BYR and okara, can serve as effective nitrogen sources for protease production by Y. lipolytica IMUFRJ 50678, supporting their use in waste valorization and sustainable bioprocesses. Full article

This study investigated the influence of hyperparameter selection within an EEMD–AR–SVM framework for bearing fault diagnosis under constant- and variable-speed operating conditions. Two preprocessing configurations, namely, Method 1, in which EEMD was applied after segmentation, and Method 2, in which EEMD preceded segmentation, were evaluated under three rotational regimes—constant speed, acceleration (Test A), and deceleration (Test B)—while number of Intrinsic Mode Functions (N), autoregressive model order (L), and segment length were systematically varied towards identifying combinations that maximized classification accuracy. The results showed the methods achieved 100% accuracy under constant-speed operation. However, Method 2 consistently outperformed Method 1 under nonstationary regimes, reaching 94.12% accuracy during acceleration and 95.00% during deceleration. The outer race remained the most challenging fault type, although its separability substantially improved when EEMD was performed prior to segmentation. The findings demonstrated, in a clear and interpretable manner, that the empirical choice of N and L directly affects classifier accuracy in stationary and nonstationary scenarios and the order of preprocessing steps plays a decisive role in diagnostic reliability. Such contributions provide a reproducible methodological basis for advancing vibration-based fault diagnosis and support the development of interpretable, high-performance predictive maintenance strategies for industrial environments. Full article

Two mineral-based solid residues, namely coal gangue (CG) and phosphorus tailings (PT), two of the largest solid waste streams in the mining industry, were used as the sole metal feedstocks to fabricate a novel MgCaFeAl layered double hydroxide (LDH-GT) via a 700 °C calcination, acid leaching and hydrothermal coprecipitation route, with simultaneous synthesis of white carbon black from the reaction byproducts. Under optimized conditions (total metal load is 150 mg kg⁻¹, LDH-GT dose is 0.09 g, pH from 6 to 7), the synthesized material achieved concurrent immobilization efficiencies of 76.28%, 99.96%, and 99.95% for Cr (VI), Cd (II) and Ni (II), respectively, within a 24 h reaction period. TCLP leachability decreased by 82 to 91% relative to the untreated soil. After three wetting, drying and freeze–thaw cycles, the leached concentrations of all three metals remained below 0.3 mg L⁻¹, confirming excellent long-term stability. Mechanistic analyses revealed that Cr (VI) was mainly sequestered through interlayer anion exchange and surface complexation, whereas Cd (II) and Ni (II) were immobilized via isomorphic substitution into the LDH lattice, precipitation as carbonates, and incorporation into Fe/Mn oxides. A 7-day mung bean bioassay showed that LDH-GT amendment increased seed germination from 50% to 73%, enhanced root and shoot biomass by 1.1- to 1.6-fold, and decreased plant Cr, Cd, and Ni contents by over 80%. The 16S rRNA sequencing further demonstrated that LDH-GT reversed the decline in microbial α diversity induced by heavy metal stress, restored aerobic chemoheterotrophic and sulfur cycling functional guilds, and reduced pathogenic signatures. This study provides the demonstration of a waste-to-resource LDH that achieves efficient, durable remediation of multi-metal-contaminated soils, offering a scalable route for coupling solid waste valorization with in situ site restoration. Full article