Fish skin is a multipurpose tissue with important functions—protection, perception, and hormone metabolism—in the fish body. As a byproduct of fish processing, it can be used as a material for ...extracting collagen, making leather, and related pathological research. However, there have been few reports on the tissue structure of fish skin. This study aimed to analyze the structural characteristics of Thamnaconus septentrionalis fish skin in order to provide a reference for the utilization of its resources. Six T. septentrionalis samples were selected and their skins were observed using frozen sectioning, skeletal, hematoxylin & eosin (H & E), Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS), Masson, Van Gieson (VG) staining, and scanning electron microscopy. The images obtained by slice scanning were analyzed using SlideViewer (3DHISTECH), ImageJ, and Photoshop software. The SEM images were analyzed using ImageJ and Photoshop software. SPSS25.0 software was used to analyze the data of epidermal and squamous layers, conical bone bulge, basal layer, and dermis thicknesses. The results showed that the histological structure of the skin comprised four parts: epidermis, scale layer, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. The thickness of the epidermal layer was (26.81±7.48) μm. This layer was mainly composed of epithelial and basal cells but also contained a large number of mucus cells. The scale layer consisted of the spine of conical bone and a substrate. The thickness of this layer was (22.49±5.19) μm, and there were two to four rows of the spine of conical bone with different diameters, different bending degrees at the top, and a height of (257.13±10.41) μm unevenly distributed on the base plate. The average thickness of the dermis was (176.97±21.11) μm, and the dermis thickness of the head was lower than that of the middle part of the body, but higher than that of the tail, mainly composed of collagen fiber. The subcutaneous tissue layer was mainly comprised of collagen fibers and non-fibrous stroma. In this study, the histological pattern of the skin of T. septentrionalis was mapped according to its characteristics, providing valuable information for fish skin resource usage.
Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element for the normal physiological function of aquatic organisms, but it could become toxic to organisms when the concentration increased in water. As the first line ...of defense, the shrimp intestines are the most susceptible organ to environmental stress. In this study, the chronic toxicity of 0 (control, IC), 0.01(IL), 0.1(IM) and 1 mg/L (IH) Zn in intestines of Litopenaeus vannamei was investigated from the perspectives of biochemical, histological and transcriptional changes after exposure for 30 days. The results showed that the intestinal tissue basement membrane is swollen in the IM and IH groups and detached in the IH group. The total antioxidant capacities (T-AOC) were reduced while the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) were increased significantly in IM and IH groups. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was increased significantly in IH group. Many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in IL, IM and IH groups, respectively. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted on the DEGs to obtain the underlying biological processes and pathways. The gene modules related to the sample were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and genes in modules highly corelated with IH group were mainly enriched in immune related pathways. Nine DEGs were selected for validation by quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) and the expression profiles of these DEGs kept a well consistent with the high-throughput data, which confirmed reliability of transcriptome results. Additionally, 10 DEGs were screened to detect the changes of expression level in different groups. All these results indicated that Zn exposure could damage the intestinal barrier, provoke oxidative stress, reduce the immune function, increase the susceptibility to bacterial infections of L. vannamei and cause inflammation, ultimately result in cell apoptosis. Our study provides more perspective on the stress response of crustacean under Zn exposure.
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•Structural damage of shrimp intestines have caused by Zn exposure.•Reduced antioxidant capacity and caused oxidative damage in the intestines after Zn exposure.•Impaired intestinal immune barrier leading to inflammation.•DEGs related to immune response, metabolic pathways, and cell apoptosis have been identified.
Background. Simultaneous development of two or more primary central nervous system tumors from different cell types is rare. The literature reports about combination of glial tumors of varying ...degrees of maturity with meningiomas, neurinomas and pituitary tumors. Describe a clinical case of a combination glioblastoma and brain neuroma in one patient. Material and methods. Patient L., 72 years old, hospitalized in the neurological department by the emergency medical team. The patient had neurological and psychiatric problems. During her hospitalization, she conducted general clinical, laboratory and instrumental methods of research. The article describe in details the history of the disease, clinical manifestations, results of computer tomography and pathomorphological studies. Results. Examination of the patient led to the detection of a tumor in the left temporooccipital region. However, the serious condition of the patient did not allow for operative treatment. Developed brain edema led the patient to death. In autopsy, two tumors were found - a glioblastoma of the occipital lobe of the left hemisphere and a neuroma of the left cerebellar corner. Histogenesis of tumors is determined by the use of both histological and immunohistochemical methods. Conclusions. These data show the need to develop methods of timely diagnosis of multiple intracranial tumors.
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•Shifts of α-helix to β-sheet decreased the water-holding capacity of lean meat.•The occurrence of heat-induced protein oxidation toughened the lean meat.•Immobilized water was ...responsible for the softness of lean meat.•The rupture of perimysium structure enhanced the tenderness of lean meat.
Tenderness of lean meat in braised pork is of great importance to the consumer palatability and acceptance. The influence of water status, protein structure and histological changes on lean meat tenderness during cooking was investigated. Results indicated that lean meat began to tenderize mainly after 20 min-cooking. In the early period of cooking, the decrease of total sulfhydryl content caused the protein oxidative cross-linking, leading to the gradual unfolding of the protein structure, thus resulting in a decrease of T22 and an increase of centrifugal loss, which decreased the tenderness of lean meat. However, after cooking for 20 min, the β-sheet decreased and random coil increased, thus generating conversion between P21 and P22. The rupture of perimysium structure was observed. Changes in protein structure, water status, and tissue histology could facilitate the initiation and development of lean meat tenderness.
Yacon becomes an important plant with strong medical and dietary potential. Therefore, studies on the optimization of yacon micropropagation were undertaken. Reproduction of yacon is conducted by ...traditional methods with green seedlings or long offsets taken from the underground and aboveground rootstock. The influence of different disinfection methods, various initial explants and growth regulators, their concentrations, and combinations on the efficiency of micropropagation have been analyzed. The most effective disinfection was the use of 70% ethanol and 0.5% Tween 20. The optimal initial explants were apical and lateral buds cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 0.2 mg L–1 kinetin and 1 mg L–1 indole-3-acetic acid. The most intensive shoot regeneration occurred on MS medium with 1 mg L–1 thidiazuron and 1-naphthylacetic acid. Histological observations demonstrated the strong effect of growth substances on shoot organogenesis from callus tissue. Shoots obtained from in vitro cultures rooted easily on modified MS media with ½ or ¼ concentration of macroelements, 20 g L–1 sucrose and 3 mg L–1 1-naphthylacetic acid. All plants adapted to ex vitro conditions.
A new hypoxia-tolerant variety of blunt snout bream was obtained by successive breeding of the wild population, which markedly improved hypoxia tolerance. In this study, the hypoxia-tolerant variety ...was exposed to hypoxia (2.0 mg O2·L−1) for 4, 7 days. The contents of blood biochemical indicators including the number of red blood cells (RBC), total cholesterol (T-CHO), total protein (TP), triglyceride (TG), glucose (GLU), and lactic acid (LD) increased significantly (P < 0.05) under hypoxia. The glycogen content in the liver and muscle decreased significantly (P < 0.05) and the LD content in the brain, muscle and liver increased significantly (P < 0.05) under hypoxia. The levels of oxidative stress-related indicators i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) also changed significantly (P < 0.05) in the heart, liver, and intestine of the new variety under hypoxia. Additionally, hypoxia has caused injuries to the heart, liver, and intestine, but it shows amazing repair ability during reoxygenation. The apoptotic cells and apoptosis rate in the heart, liver, and intestine increased under hypoxia. Under hypoxia, the expression of the B-cell lymphomas 2 (Bcl-2) gene in the heart, liver, and intestine was significantly (P < 0.05) down-regulated, while the expression of the BCL2-associated agonist of cell death (Bad) gene was significantly (P < 0.05) up-regulated. These results are of great significance for enriching the basic data of blunt snout bream new variety in response to hypoxia and promoting the healthy development of its culture industry.
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•It provides some new insights into the hypoxia-tolerance of blunt snout bream new variety under hypoxia.•The results from this study will inspire future studies on tissue damage and repair of fish under hypoxia/reoxygenation.•The expression of Bcl-2 and Bad genes involved in apoptosis of blunt snout bream new variety under hypoxia was analyzed.•The oxidative stress, histological structure, and apoptosis of blunt snout bream under hypoxia were comprehensively analyzed.
In this work, the impact of the industrial freezing process on structure, texture and total antioxidant capacity was studied using green asparagus stems, zucchini and green beans. Samples were ...analysed as raw/uncooked, blanched, raw/boiled and industrially frozen/boiled.
A consistent damage of the vegetable tissue was revealed by the histological analysis on vegetables boiled after freezing. The cells appeared to be dehydrated, contracted and separated at different levels depending on the anatomical structure of each vegetable.
The initial textural quality was partially retained in all blanched vegetables, and enhanced in cut tested asparagus stems, in relation to the action of phenolic acids at cell wall level. Raw/boiled and industrially frozen/boiled asparagus stems exhibited comparable forces of penetration and cut tests. On the other hand, zucchini, both raw and frozen, completely softened after boiling making the texture measurement impossible. Industrially frozen/boiled green beans showed higher values of cut and penetration forces, probably due to a higher presence of swollen cell walls, in comparison to those raw/boiled.
Blanching and boiling significantly increased the ferric reducing antioxidant power values of asparagus stems and green beans compared to uncooked/raw samples, while boiling after the freezing process significantly deprived both vegetables of the initial antioxidant capacity. On the other hand, boiling the frozen zucchini proved to be detrimental to the antioxidant capacity.
In conclusion, manufacturers and researchers should join together to develop specific industrial freezing process conditions according to the matrix of each vegetable.
•The impact of the industrial freezing process on selected vegetables is presented•Frozen boiled vegetables exhibit significant cell damage•A different retention of textural quality in processed vegetables is obtained•Frozen boiled vegetables show the lowest antioxidant capacity•Development of specific process conditions according to vegetable matrix is required
Poor rooting performance of Chinese pepper (Zanthoxylum beecheyanum K. Koch) shrub is a restriction for its commercial production. This investigation was carried out to assess the effectiveness of ...the exogenous application of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on adventitious root (AR) formation and some morpho-physiological, biochemical, and histological alterations associated with rhizogenesis events. IBA, at 1500 or 2000 mg kg-1, gave comparable effects for improving the performance of rooting architecture compared to the control treatment. The AR primordia of Z. beecheyanum originated from two distinct developmental pathways: (i) direct genesis from cells in the cambial zone and nearby tissues, and (ii) indirect genesis from cells in callus tissues. Rooting process involved four phases: (i) induction at 0–10 days after planting (DAP), (ii) initiation at 10–15 DAP, (iii) formation of the root primordia (Rp) at 15–20 DAP, and (iv) root extension at 20–30 DAP. Cuttings' inductive phase correlated temporarily with intensive cell divisions, high levels of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellins (GA3). However, IBA application led to a pronounced increase in soluble sugars and phenolic content. The initiation phase was accompanied by a histological appearance of meristemoids. This phase was also stimulated by the subsequent generation of low IAA and high GA3 contents. In the development of Rp and root extension phases, prominent Rp formation in the cambium and complete differentiation with vascular tissues continued with that of the stem cuttings. In essence, the current study provides insights into the morphological, histo-physiological, and phytohormonal alterations in stem cuttings.
•IBA treatments were effective for promoting root performance of Z. beecheyanum.•Cambial zone and callus tissues were the origin of the adventitious roots primordia.•IBA treatments reduced the time needed for adventitious roots formation.•The optimum IBA treatments (1500 or 2000 mg kg-1) inhibited generation of ABA.•IBA stimulated IAA, GA3, and total phenolic in cuttings that improved rooting.