Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 166 in total

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  1. Fulltext Cloud Computing to Tourism Economic Data Scheduling Algorithm under the Background of Image and Video
    Zhang H, Feng Y, Wang L
    Comput Intell Neurosci, 2022;2022:3948221.
    PMID: 35909867 DOI: 10.1155/2022/3948221
    With the rapid development of image video and tourism economy, tourism economic data are gradually becoming big data. Therefore, how to schedule between data has become a hot topic. This paper first summarizes the research results on image video, cloud computing, tourism economy, and data scheduling algorithms. Secondly, the origin, structure, development, and service types of cloud computing are expounded in detail. And in order to solve the problem of tourism economic data scheduling, this paper regards the completion time and cross-node transmission delay as the constraints of tourism economic data scheduling. The constraint model of data scheduling is established, the fitness function is improved on the basis of an artificial immune algorithm combined with the constraint model, and the directional recombination of excellent antibodies is carried out by using the advantages of gene recombination so as to obtain the optimal solution to the problem more appropriately. When the resource node scale is 100, the response time of EDSA is 107.92 seconds.
  2. Use of Knowledge Transfer Theory to Improve Learning Outcomes of Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills of University Students: Evidence From Taiwan
    Peng MY, Feng Y, Zhao X, Chong W
    Front Psychol, 2021;12:583722.
    PMID: 33854458 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.583722
    Previous studies have explored a multitude of factors influencing student learning outcomes based on various theories. Knowledge transfer theory was adopted to develop the antecedents of student learning outcomes in the complete learning process. This study aims to explore the conspicuousness between various factors within the structural model, such as knowledge transfer, student orientation, and absorptive capacity, by combining marketing and management concepts with higher education studies. This study takes Taiwanese University students as its research samples, and purposive sampling is adopted. A total of 873 questionnaires are collected in this study. PLS-SEM was used to verify the structural relationship in data analysis via running of SmartPLS. The results indicate that knowledge transfer and student orientation have significant impacts on students' absorptive capacity and learning outcomes and that students' prior knowledge has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge transfer and absorptive capacities. Based on these findings, the researchers propose feasible suggestions for related issues and future research.
  3. Fulltext Complementation of ELISA and an Interdigitated Electrode Surface in Gold Nanoparticle Functionalization for Effective Detection of Human Blood Clotting Defects
    Guo S, Lakshmipriya T, Gopinath SCB, Anbu P, Feng Y
    Nanoscale Res Lett, 2019 Jul 02;14(1):222.
    PMID: 31267309 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-019-3058-z
    Developing an enhanced diagnosis using biosensors is important for the treatment of patients before disease complications arise. Improving biosensors would enable the detection of various low-abundance disease biomarkers. Efficient immobilization of probes/receptors on the sensing surface is one of the efficient ways to enhance detection. Herein, we introduced the pre-alkaline sensing surface with amine functionalization for capturing gold nanoparticle (GNP) conjugated to human blood clotting factor IX (FIX), and we demonstrated the excellent performance of the strategy. We have chosen the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the interdigitated electrode (IDE), which are widely used, to demonstrate our method. The optimal amount for silanization has been found to be 2.5%, and 15-nm-sized GNPs are ideal and characterized. The limit of FIX detection was attained with ELISA at 100 pM with the premixed GNPs and FIX, which shows 60-fold improvement in sensitivity without biofouling, as compared to the conventional ELISA. Further, FIX was detected with higher specificity in human serum at a 1:1280 dilution, which is equivalent to 120 pM FIX. These results were complemented by the analysis on IDE, where improved detection at 25 pM was achieved, and FIX was detected in human serum at the dilution of 1:640. These optimized surfaces are useful for improving the detection of different diseases on varied sensing surfaces.
  4. Fulltext First Report on Neopestalotiopsis aotearoa of Rubber Tree in China
    Li B, Liu X, Jimiao C, Feng Y, Huang G
    Plant Dis, 2020 Nov 13.
    PMID: 33185516 DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-09-20-1930-PDN
    Natural rubber is an important industrial raw material and an economically important perennial in China. In recent years, A new leaf fall disease, caused by Neopestalotiopsis aotearoa Maharachch., K.D. Hyde & Crous, has occurred in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other major rubber planting countries. In May and July of 2020, this disease was first found on 2-year-old rubber seedlings in two plantations located in Ledong and Baisha counties in Hainan Province, China. In the two plantations of approximately 32 ha, 15% of the rubber seedlings had the disease and the defoliation was more than 20%. The infected leaves turned yellow and watery, and dark brown and nearly round lesions of 1-2 mm in diameter were formed on the leaves. When the humidity was high, the center of the lesion was grey-white, and the lesions had many small black dots, black margins and surrounded by yellow halos. When the disease was severe, leaves fell off. To identify the pathogen, leaf tissues were collected from lesion margins after leaf samples were surface-sterilized in 75% ethanol, rinsed with sterile water for three times, and air dried. The leaf tissues were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 28°C for seven days. Fungal cultures with similar morphology were isolated from 90% of tested samples and two isolates (HNPeHNLD2001 and HNPeHNLD2002) were used in pathogenicity and molecular tests. Rubber leaves (clone PR107) were inoculated with conidial suspension (106 conidia/ml), and inoculated with PDA were used as the control, Each treatment had 3 leaves, and each leaf was inoculated with 3 spots and incubated at 28oC under high moisture conditions. Five days later, leaves inoculated with conidial suspension showed black leaf spots resembling the disease in the field, whereas the control leaves remained symptomless. The fungal cultures isolated from the inoculated tissues, had identical morphology compared with the initial isolates. Colonies on PDA were 55-60 mm in diameter after seven days at 28°C, with undulate edges, pale brown, thick mycelia on the surface with black, gregarious conidiomata; and the reverse side was similar in color. Black conidia were produced after eight days of culture on PDA. Conidia were fusoid, ellipsoid, straight to slightly curved, 4-septate, ranged from 18.35 to 27.12 μm (mean 22.34 μm) × 4.11 to 7.03 μm (mean 5.41 μm). The basal cells were conic with a truncate base, hyaline, rugose and thin-walled, 4.35 to 6.33 μm long (mean 4.72 μm). Three median cells were doliform, 12.53 to 18.97 μm long (mean 15.26 μm), hyaline, cylindrical to subcylindrical, thin- and smooth-walled, with 2-3 tubular apical appendages, arising from the apical crest, unbranched, filiform, 14.7 to 25.3 μm long (mean 19.94 μm). The basal appendages were singlar, tubular, unbranched, centric, 3.13 to 7.13 μm long (mean 5.48 μm). Morphological characteristics of the isolates were similar to the descriptions of N. aotearoa (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2014). The rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, translation elongation factor 1-αgenes (TEF), and beta-tubulin (TUB2) gene were amplified using the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4, EF1-728F/EF1-986R and T1/Bt-2b (Pornsuriya et al. 2020), respectively. The sequences of these genes were deposited in GenBank (ITS Accession Nos.: MT764947 and MT764948; TUB2: MT796262 and MT796263; TEF: MT800516 and MT800517). According to the latest classification of Neoprostalotiopsis spp. (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2014) and multilocus phylogeny, isolates HNPeHNLD2001 and HNPeHNLD2002 were clustered in the same branch with N. aotearoa. Thus, the pathogen was identified as N. aotearoa, which is different from N. cubana and N. formicarum reported in Thailand (Pornsuriya et al. 2020; Thaochan et al. 2020). The Neopestalotiopsis leaf spotdisease of rubber tree (H. brasiliensis) was one of the most serious and destructive leaf diseases in major rubber planting countries in Asia. ( Tajuddin et al. 2020) The present study of leaf fall disease on rubber tree caused byN. aotearoa is the first report in China. The finding provides the basic pathogen information for further monitoring the disease and its control.
  5. Solid encapsulation of lauric acid into "empty" V-type starch: Structural characteristics and emulsifying properties
    Huang L, Li S, Tan CP, Feng Y, Zhang B, Fu X, et al.
    Carbohydr Polym, 2021 Sep 01;267:118181.
    PMID: 34119149 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118181
    Lauric acid was introduced into "Empty" V-type starch using a solid encapsulation method. The structural characteristics and emulsifying properties of the starch-fatty acid complex (SFAC) were explored as a function of the complexing temperature. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry confirmed that SFAC was mainly composed of type-I amylose inclusion complexes. Contact angle measurements revealed that the hydrophobic properties of SFAC were closely related to the temperature-regulated complex index. The particle size range of SFAC gradually increased as the complexing temperature increased. The SFAC-stabilized Pickering emulsion at c of 5% and Φ of 40-60% possessed a small droplet size and long-term storage stability for up to 30 days, resulting from the formation of a gel-like network. This study provides new insight into the design of hydrophobic modified starch as a novel and multifunctional emulsifier and is of great help in the development of starch-based Pickering emulsion gels.
  6. Frequent loss of CD10 expression in follicular lymphoma with leukaemic presentation
    Chen SW, Chang ST, Hsieh YC, Kuo CC, Wu HC, Feng YH, et al.
    Malays J Pathol, 2020 Aug;42(2):237-243.
    PMID: 32860376
    INTRODUCTION: Follicular lymphoma (FL) is usually a nodal lymphoma expressing CD10, rarely with leukaemic presentation (FL-LP).

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched for FL-LP in our institution from 2000 to 2018 and characterised the neoplastic cells by flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Thirteen (6.1%) of 212 FL cases were FL-LP, all de novo neoplasms. The leukaemic cells were small in 12 cases and large in one. All had concurrent FL, mostly (92%; 12/13) low-grade. The single case with large leukaemic cells had a concurrent primary splenic low-grade FL and a double-hit large B-cell lymphoma in the marrow.

    RESULTS: CD10 was expressed in the leukaemic cells in 38% (5/13) cases by flow cytometry and in 77% (10/13) cases in tumours (p= 0.0471). IGH/BCL2 reciprocal translocation was identified in 85% (11/13) cases. Most patients were treated with chemotherapy. In a median follow-up time of 36 months, nine patients were in complete remission. The 2- and 5-year survival rates were at 100% and 83%, respectively. In this study, we characterised a series of de novo FL-LP in Taiwan. All patients had concurrent nodal and/or tissue tumours, which might suggest that these patients seek medical help too late.

    CONCLUSION: The lower CD10 expression rate by flow cytometry than by immunohistochemistry might be due to different epitopes for these assays. Alternatively, loss of CD10 expression might play a role in the pathogenesis of leukaemic change. The clinical course of FL-LP could be aggressive, but a significant proportion of the patients obtained complete remission with chemotherapy.

  7. Enhancing hydrogen production through anode fed-batch mode and controlled cell voltage in a microbial electrolysis cell fully catalysed by microorganisms
    Lim SS, Fontmorin JM, Ikhmal Salehmin MN, Feng Y, Scott K, Yu EH
    Chemosphere, 2022 Feb;288(Pt 2):132548.
    PMID: 34653487 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132548
    A microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) fully catalysed by microorganisms is an attractive technology because it incorporates the state-of-the-art concept of converting organic waste to hydrogen with less external energy input than conventional electrolysers. In this work, the impact of the anode feed mode on the production of hydrogen by the biocathode was studied. In the first part, three feed modes and MEC performance in terms of hydrogen production were evaluated. The results showed the highest hydrogen production under the continuous mode (14.6 ± 0.4), followed by the fed-batch (12.7 ± 0.4) and batch (0 L m-2 cathode day-1) modes. On one hand, the continuous mode only increased by 15% even though the hydraulic retention time (HRT) (2.78 h) was lower than the fed-batch mode (HRT 5 h). A total replacement (fed-batch) rather than a constant mix of existing anolyte and fresh medium (continuous) was preferable. On the other hand, no hydrogen was produced in batch mode due to the extensive HRT (24 h) and bioanode starvation. In the second part, the fed-batch mode was further evaluated using a chronoamperometry method under a range of applied cell voltages of 0.3-1.6 V. Based on the potential evolution at the electrodes, three main regions were identified depending on the applied cell voltages: the cathode activation (<0.8 V), transition (0.8-1.1 V), and anode limitation (>1.1 V) regions. The maximum hydrogen production recorded was 12.1 ± 2.1 L m-2 cathode day-1 at 1.0 V applied voltage when the oxidation and reduction reactions at the anode and cathode were optimal (2.38 ± 0.61 A m-2). Microbial community analysis of the biocathode revealed that Alpha-, and Deltaproteobacteria were dominant in the samples with >70% abundance. At the genus level, Desulfovibrio sp. was the most abundant in the samples, showing that these microbes may be responsible for hydrogen evolution.
  8. Fulltext Effects of Applied Potential and Reactants to Hydrogen-Producing Biocathode in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell
    Lim SS, Kim BH, Li D, Feng Y, Daud WRW, Scott K, et al.
    Front Chem, 2018;6:318.
    PMID: 30159306 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00318
    Understanding the mechanism of electron transfer between the cathode and microorganisms in cathode biofilms in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) for hydrogen production is important. In this study, biocathodes of MECs were successfully re-enriched and subjected to different operating parameters: applied potential, sulfate use and inorganic carbon consumption. It was hypothesized that biocathode catalytic activity would be affected by the applied potentials that initiate electron transfer. While inorganic carbon, in the form of bicarbonate, could be a main carbon source for biocathode growth, sulfate could be a terminal electron acceptor and thus reduced to elemental sulfurs. It was found that potentials more negative than -0.8 V (vs. standard hydrogen electrode) were required for hydrogen production by the biocathode. In additional, a maximum hydrogen production was observed at sulfate and bicarbonate concentrations of 288 and 610 mg/L respectively. Organic carbons were found in the cathode effluents, suggesting that microbial interactions probably happen between acetogens and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). The hydrogen-producing biocathode was sulfate-dependent and hydrogen production could be inhibited by excessive sulfate because more energy was directed to reduce sulfate (E°


    SO


    4


    2
    -


    /H2S = -0.35 V) than proton (E° H+/H2 = -0.41 V). This resulted in a restriction to the hydrogen production when sulfate concentration was high. Domestic wastewaters contain low amounts of organic compounds and sulfate would be a better medium to enrich and maintain a hydrogen-producing biocathode dominated by SRB. Besides the risks of limited mass transport and precipitation caused by low potential, methane contamination in the hydrogen-rich environment was inevitable in the biocathode after long term operation due to methanogenic activities.
  9. Shift in algal blooms from micro- to macroalgae around China with increasing eutrophication and climate change
    Feng Y, Xiong Y, Hall-Spencer JM, Liu K, Beardall J, Gao K, et al.
    Glob Chang Biol, 2024 Jan;30(1):e17018.
    PMID: 37937464 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17018
    Blooms of microalgal red tides and macroalgae (e.g., green and golden tides caused by Ulva and Sargassum) have caused widespread problems around China in recent years, but there is uncertainty around what triggers these blooms and how they interact. Here, we use 30 years of monitoring data to help answer these questions, focusing on the four main species of microalgae Prorocentrum donghaiense, Karenia mikimotoi, Noctiluca scintillans, and Skeletonema costatum) associated with red tides in the region. The frequency of red tides increased from 1991 to 2003 and then decreased until 2020, with S. costatum red tides exhibiting the highest rate of decrease. Green tides started to occur around China in 1999 and the frequency of green tides has since been on the increase. Golden tides were first reported to occur around China in 2012. The frequency of macroalgal blooms has a negative linear relationship with the frequency and coverage of red tides around China, and a positive correlation with total nitrogen and phosphorus loads as well as with atmospheric CO2 and sea surface temperature (SST). Increased outbreaks of macroalgal blooms are very likely due to worsening levels of eutrophication, combined with rising CO2 and SST, which contribute to the reduced frequency of red tides. The increasing grazing rate of microzooplankton also results in the decline in areas affected by red tides. This study shows a clear shift of algal blooms from microalgae to macroalgae around China over the past 30 years driven by the combination of eutrophication, climate change, and grazing stress, indicating a fundamental change in coastal systems in the region.
  10. Glyphosate-resistant goosegrass. Identification of a mutation in the target enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase
    Baerson SR, Rodriguez DJ, Tran M, Feng Y, Biest NA, Dill GM
    Plant Physiol, 2002 Jul;129(3):1265-75.
    PMID: 12114580
    The spontaneous occurrence of resistance to the herbicide glyphosate in weed species has been an extremely infrequent event, despite over 20 years of extensive use. Recently, a glyphosate-resistant biotype of goosegrass (Eleusine indica) was identified in Malaysia exhibiting an LD(50) value approximately 2- to 4-fold greater than the sensitive biotype collected from the same region. A comparison of the inhibition of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) activity by glyphosate in extracts prepared from the resistant (R) and sensitive (S) biotypes revealed an approximately 5-fold higher IC(50)(glyphosate) for the (R) biotype. Sequence comparisons of the predicted EPSPS mature protein coding regions from both biotypes revealed four single-nucleotide differences, two of which result in amino acid changes. One of these changes, a proline to serine substitution at position 106 in the (R) biotype, corresponds to a substitution previously identified in a glyphosate-insensitive EPSPS enzyme from Salmonella typhimurium. Kinetic data generated for the recombinant enzymes suggests that the second substitution identified in the (R) EPSPS does not contribute significantly to its reduced glyphosate sensitivity. Escherichia coli aroA- (EPSPS deficient) strains expressing the mature EPSPS enzyme from the (R) biotype exhibited an approximately 3-fold increase in glyphosate tolerance relative to strains expressing the mature EPSPS from the (S) biotype. These results provide the first evidence for an altered EPSPS enzyme as an underlying component of evolved glyphosate resistance in any plant species.
  11. Fulltext Nelson Bay Reovirus Isolated from Bats and Blood-Sucking Arthropods Collected in Yunnan Province, China
    Kuang G, Xu Z, Wang J, Gao Z, Yang W, Wu W, et al.
    Microbiol Spectr, 2023 Aug 17;11(4):e0512222.
    PMID: 37306586 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.05122-22
    Nelson Bay reovirus (NBV) is an emerging zoonotic virus that can cause acute respiratory disease in humans. These viruses are mainly discovered in Oceania, Africa, and Asia, and bats have been identified as their main animal reservoir. However, despite recent expansion of diversity for NBVs, the transmission dynamics and evolutionary history of NBVs are still unclear. This study successfully isolated two NBV strains (MLBC1302 and MLBC1313) from blood-sucking bat fly specimens (Eucampsipoda sundaica) and one (WDBP1716) from the spleen specimen of a fruit bat (Rousettus leschenaultii), which were collected at the China-Myanmar border area of Yunnan Province. Syncytia cytopathic effects (CPE) were observed in BHK-21 and Vero E6 cells infected with the three strains at 48 h postinfection. Electron micrographs of ultrathin sections showed numerous spherical virions with a diameter of approximately 70 nm in the cytoplasm of infected cells. The complete genome nucleotide sequence of the viruses was determined by metatranscriptomic sequencing of infected cells. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the novel strains were closely related to Cangyuan orthoreovirus, Melaka orthoreovirus, and human-infecting Pteropine orthoreovirus HK23629/07. Simplot analysis revealed the strains originated from complex genomic reassortment among different NBVs, suggesting the viruses experienced a high reassortment rate. In addition, strains successfully isolated from bat flies also implied that blood-sucking arthropods might serve as potential transmission vectors. IMPORTANCE Bats are the reservoir of many viral pathogens with strong pathogenicity, including NBVs. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether arthropod vectors are involved in transmitting NBVs. In this study, we successfully isolated two NBV strains from bat flies collected from the body surface of bats, which implies that they may be vectors for virus transmission between bats. While the potential threat to humans remains to be determined, evolutionary analyses involving different segments revealed that the novel strains had complex reassortment histories, with S1, S2, and M1 segments highly similar to human pathogens. Further experiments are required to determine whether more NBVs are vectored by bat flies, their potential threat to humans, and transmission dynamics.
  12. Classification of optic neuritis in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD) on MRI using CNN with transfer learning and manipulation of pre-processing on augmentation
    Feng Y, Chow LS, Gowdh NM, Ramli N, Tan LK, Abdullah S
    Biomed Phys Eng Express, 2024 Aug 14.
    PMID: 39142299 DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/ad6f17
    Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), also known as Devic disease, is an autoimmune central nervous system disorder in humans that commonly causes inflammatory demyelination in the optic nerves and spinal cord. Inflammation in the optic nerves is termed optic neuritis (ON). ON is a common clinical presentation; however, it is not necessarily present in all NMOSD patients. ON in NMOSD can be relapsing and result in severe vision loss. To the best of our knowledge, no study utilises deep learning to classify ON changes on MRI among patients with NMOSD. Therefore, this study aims to deploy eight state-of-the-art CNN models (Inception-v3, Inception-ResNet-v2, ResNet-101, Xception, ShuffleNet, DenseNet-201, MobileNet-v2, and EfficientNet-B0) with transfer learning to classify NMOSD patients with and without chronic ON using optic nerve magnetic resonance imaging. This study also investigated the effects of data augmentation before and after dataset splitting on cropped and whole images. Both quantitative and qualitative assessments (with Grad-Cam) were used to evaluate the performances of the CNN models. The Inception-v3 was identified as the best CNN model for classifying ON among NMOSD patients, with accuracy of 99.5%, sensitivity of 98.9%, specificity of 93.0%, precision of 100%, NPV of 99.0%, and F1-score of 99.4%. This study also demonstrated that the application of augmentation after dataset splitting could avoid information leaking into the testing datasets, hence producing more realistic and reliable results.
  13. Effects of azide on electron transport of exoelectrogens in air-cathode microbial fuel cells
    Zhou X, Qu Y, Kim BH, Choo PY, Liu J, Du Y, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2014 Oct;169:265-70.
    PMID: 25062537 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.07.012
    The effects of azide on electron transport of exoelectrogens were investigated using air-cathode MFCs. These MFCs enriched with azide at the concentration higher than 0.5mM generated lower current and coulomb efficiency (CE) than the control reactors, but at the concentration lower than 0.2mM MFCs generated higher current and CE. Power density curves showed overshoot at higher azide concentrations, with power and current density decreasing simultaneously. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that azide at high concentration increased the charge transfer resistance. These analyses might reflect that a part of electrons were consumed by the anode microbial population rather than transferred to the anode. Bacterial population analyses showed azide-enriched anodes were dominated by Deltaproteobacteria compared with the controls. Based on these results it is hypothesized that azide can eliminate the growth of aerobic respiratory bacteria, and at the same time is used as an electron acceptor/sink.
  14. Characterization of a New HIV-1 CRF01_AE/B Recombinant Virus Form Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Shanghai, China
    Ou W, Li K, Feng Y, Huang Q, Ge Z, Sun J, et al.
    AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses, 2019 04;35(4):414-418.
    PMID: 30229664 DOI: 10.1089/AID.2018.0197
    To date, there are 16 types of CRF01_AE/B circulating recombinant forms identified, and most of them are distributed in Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Previous HIV molecular epidemiological surveys showed that CRF01_AE (27.6%) and B (9.6%) subtypes are predominant strains in mainland of China. At the same time, the HIV-1 virus spreads faster in the men who have sex with men (MSM) population than in other risk groups. In Shanghai district, ∼66.0% of newly reported cases were infected through homosexual transmission. In this study, we report a novel recombinant strain of CRF01_AE/B. The near full-length genome phylogenetic tree showed that the strain clustered with the CRF01_AE reference sequence and placed in the peripheral position within the branch of the CRF01_AE strain. Subregional evolutionary results indicated that the CRF01_AE subtype was derived from cluster 4 of CRF01_AE, which is mainly distributed in northern China. The subtype B was correlated with the U.S./Europe B, which are widely prevalent in the Chinese MSM population. In recent years, a large number of recombinant forms between CRF01_AE and B strains are continuously emerging in China. Therefore, understanding the current epidemic recombinant forms will have significant implications for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
  15. The genetic characteristics and evolution of Tembusu virus
    Lei W, Guo X, Fu S, Feng Y, Tao X, Gao X, et al.
    Vet Microbiol, 2017 Mar;201:32-41.
    PMID: 28284620 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.01.003
    BACKGROUND: Since the turn of the 21st century, there have been several epidemic outbreaks of poultry diseases caused by Tembusu virus (TMUV). Although multiple mosquito and poultry-derived strains of TMUV have been isolated, no data exist about their comparative study, origin, evolution, and dissemination.

    METHODOLOGY: Parallel virology was used to investigate the phenotypes of duck and mosquito-derived isolates of TMUV. Molecular biology and bioinformatics methods were employed to investigate the genetic characteristics and evolution of TMUV.

    PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The plaque diameter of duck-derived isolates of TMUV was larger than that of mosquito-derived isolates. The cytopathic effect (CPE) in mammalian cells occurred more rapidly induced by duck-derived isolates than by mosquito-derived isolates. Furthermore, duck-derived isolates required less time to reach maximum titer, and exhibited higher viral titer. These findings suggested that poultry-derived TMUV isolates were more invasive and had greater expansion capability than the mosquito-derived isolates in mammalian cells. Variations in amino acid loci in TMUV E gene sequence revealed two mutated amino acid loci in strains isolated from Malaysia, Thailand, and Chinese mainland compared with the prototypical strain of the virus (MM1775). Furthermore, TMUV isolates from the Chinese mainland had six common variations in the E gene loci that differed from the Southeast Asian strains. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that TMUV did not exhibit a species barrier in avian species and consisted of two lineages: the Southeast Asian and the Chinese mainland lineages. Molecular traceability studies revealed that the recent common evolutionary ancestor of TMUV might have appeared before 1934 and that Malaysia, Thailand and Shandong Province of China represent the three main sources related to TMUV spread.

    CONCLUSIONS: The current broad distribution of TMUV strains in Southeast Asia and Chinese mainland exhibited longer-range diffusion and larger-scale propagation. Therefore, in addition to China, other Asian and European countries linked to Asia have used improved measures to detect and monitor TMUV related diseases to prevent epidemics in poultry.

  16. Effect of freeze-thaw cycles pretreatment on the vacuum freeze-drying process and physicochemical properties of the dried garlic slices
    Feng Y, Ping Tan C, Zhou C, Yagoub AEA, Xu B, Sun Y, et al.
    Food Chem, 2020 Sep 15;324:126883.
    PMID: 32344350 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126883
    Freeze-thaw cycles (FTC) pretreatment was employed before the vacuum freeze-drying of garlic slices, aimed at improving the drying process and the quality of the end product. Cell viability, water status, internal structure, flavor, chemical composition and thermogravimetric of garlic samples were evaluated. The results indicated that FTC pretreatment reduced the drying time (22.22%-33.33%) and the energy consumption (14.25%-15.50%), owing to the water loss, the increase in free water, and the formation of porous structures. The FTC pretreatment improved thermal stability, flavor and chemical composition content of dried products. The antioxidant activity of polysaccharides extracted from FTC pretreated dried products was higher than that of the unpretreated dried product due to the reduction in polysaccharide molecular weight. This research could pave a route for future production of dried garlic slices having good quality by using the FTC pretreatment, with lower energy consumption and shorter drying time.
  17. How does biochar aging affect NH3 volatilization and GHGs emissions from agricultural soils?
    Feng Y, Feng Y, Liu Q, Chen S, Hou P, Poinern G, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2022 Feb 01;294:118598.
    PMID: 34861331 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118598
    Biochar has been considered as a potential tool to mitigate soil ammonia (NH3) volatilization and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions in recent years. However, the aging effect of biochar on soils remains elusive, which introduces uncertainty on the effectiveness of biochar to mitigate global warming in a long term. Here, a meta-analysis of 22 published works of literature with 217 observations was conducted to systematically explore the aging effect of biochar on soil NH3 and GHGs emissions. The results show that, in comparison with the fresh biochar, the aging makes biochar more effective to decrease soil NH3 volatilization by 7% and less risk to contribute CH4 emissions by 11%. However, the mitigation effect of biochar on soil N2O emissions is decreased by 15% due to aging. Additionally, aging leads to a promotion effect on soil CO2 emissions by 25% than fresh biochar. Our findings suggest that along with aging, particularly the effect of artificial aging, biochar could further benefit the alleviation of soil NH3 volatilization, whereas its potential role to mitigate global warming may decrease. This study provides a systematic assessment of the aging effect of biochar to mitigate soil NH3 and GHGs, which can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable green development of biochar application.
  18. Sciadonic acid attenuates high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice with alterations in the gut microbiota
    Chen L, Jiang Q, Jiang C, Lu H, Hu W, Yu S, et al.
    Food Funct, 2023 Mar 20;14(6):2870-2880.
    PMID: 36883533 DOI: 10.1039/d2fo02524h
    Obesity has been reported to be associated with dysbiosis of gut microbiota. Sciadonic acid (SC) is one of the main functional components of Torreya grandis "Merrillii" seed oil. However, the effect of SC on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity has not been elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the effects of SC on lipid metabolism and the gut flora in mice fed with a high-fat diet. The results revealed that SC activates the PPARα/SREBP-1C/FAS signaling pathway and reduces the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerols (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), but increases the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and inhibits weight gain. Among them, high-dose SC was the most effective; the TC, TG and LDL-C levels were reduced by 20.03%, 28.40% and 22.07%, respectively; the HDL-C level was increased by 8.55%. In addition, SC significantly increased glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels by 98.21% and 35.17%, respectively, decreased oxidative stress, and ameliorated the pathological damage to the liver caused by a high-fat diet. Furthermore, SC treatment altered the composition of the intestinal flora, promoting the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, while simultaneously decreasing the relative abundance of potentially harmful bacteria such as Faecalibaculum, norank_f_Desulfovibrionaceae, and Romboutsia. Spearman's correlation analysis indicated that the gut microbiota was associated with SCFAs and biochemical indicators. In summary, our results suggested that SC can improve lipid metabolism disorders and regulate the gut microbial structure.
  19. Fulltext Autochthonous bioaugmentation accelerates phenanthrene degradation in acclimated soil
    Gu H, Yan J, Liu Y, Yu X, Feng Y, Yang X, et al.
    Environ Res, 2023 May 01;224:115543.
    PMID: 36822540 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115543
    Bioaugmentation helps to obtain a microbiome capable of remediating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, acclimation of microorganisms to soil supplemented with phenanthrene (PHE) led to enrichment with PAH-degraders, including those in Actinobacteriota and in the genera Streptomyces, Rhodococcus, Nocardioides, Sphingomonas, and Mycobacterium. Aqueous (28 °C, pH 6.5) and soil cultures inoculated with PHE-acclimated soil showed a high PHE (ca. 50 mg L-1) degradation efficiency. The PHE degradation kinetics in aqueous and soil incubations fitted to the Gompertz equation and the first-order kinetic equation, respectively. Indigenous microorganisms adapted to PHE in their environment, and this increased their capacity to degrade PHE. The effect of co-contaminants and pathway intermediates on PHE degradation showed that the degradation of PHE improved in the presence of diesel while being hindered by lubricant oil, catechol, salicylic and phthalic acid. Our findings provide theoretical and practical support for bioremediationof PAHs in the environment.
  20. Improving the substrate binding of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (AccB) from Streptomyces antibioticus through computational enzyme engineering
    Ali I, Wei DQ, Khan A, Feng Y, Waseem M, Hussain Z, et al.
    Biotechnol Appl Biochem, 2024 Apr;71(2):402-413.
    PMID: 38287712 DOI: 10.1002/bab.2548
    Malonyl-CoA serves as the main building block for the biosynthesis of many important polyketides, as well as fatty acid-derived compounds, such as biofuel. Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium gultamicum, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have recently been engineered for the biosynthesis of such compounds. However, the developed processes and strains often have insufficient productivity. In the current study, we used enzyme-engineering approach to improve the binding of acetyl-CoA with ACC. We generated different mutations, and the impact was calculated, which reported that three mutations, that is, S343A, T347W, and S350W, significantly improve the substrate binding. Molecular docking investigation revealed an altered binding network compared to the wild type. In mutants, additional interactions stabilize the binding of the inner tail of acetyl-CoA. Using molecular simulation, the stability, compactness, hydrogen bonding, and protein motions were estimated, revealing different dynamic properties owned by the mutants only but not by the wild type. The findings were further validated by using the binding-free energy (BFE) method, which revealed these mutations as favorable substitutions. The total BFE was reported to be -52.66 ± 0.11 kcal/mol for the wild type, -55.87 ± 0.16 kcal/mol for the S343A mutant, -60.52 ± 0.25 kcal/mol for T347W mutant, and -59.64 ± 0.25 kcal/mol for the S350W mutant. This shows that the binding of the substrate is increased due to the induced mutations and strongly corroborates with the docking results. In sum, this study provides information regarding the essential hotspot residues for the substrate binding and can be used for application in industrial processes.
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