Jellyfish contain diverse toxins and other bioactive components. However, large-scale identification of novel toxins and bioactive components from jellyfish has been hampered by the low efficiency of ...traditional isolation and purification methods.
We performed de novo transcriptome sequencing of the tentacle tissue of the jellyfish Cyanea capillata. A total of 51,304,108 reads were obtained and assembled into 50,536 unigenes. Of these, 21,357 unigenes had homologues in public databases, but the remaining unigenes had no significant matches due to the limited sequence information available and species-specific novel sequences. Functional annotation of the unigenes also revealed general gene expression profile characteristics in the tentacle of C. capillata. A primary goal of this study was to identify putative toxin transcripts. As expected, we screened many transcripts encoding proteins similar to several well-known toxin families including phospholipases, metalloproteases, serine proteases and serine protease inhibitors. In addition, some transcripts also resembled molecules with potential toxic activities, including cnidarian CfTX-like toxins with hemolytic activity, plancitoxin-1, venom toxin-like peptide-6, histamine-releasing factor, neprilysin, dipeptidyl peptidase 4, vascular endothelial growth factor A, angiotensin-converting enzyme-like and endothelin-converting enzyme 1-like proteins. Most of these molecules have not been previously reported in jellyfish. Interestingly, we also characterized a number of transcripts with similarities to proteins relevant to several degenerative diseases, including Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. This is the first description of degenerative disease-associated genes in jellyfish.
We obtained a well-categorized and annotated transcriptome of C. capillata tentacle that will be an important and valuable resource for further understanding of jellyfish at the molecular level and information on the underlying molecular mechanisms of jellyfish stinging. The findings of this study may also be used in comparative studies of gene expression profiling among different jellyfish species.
•Hair analysis results varied among the different laboratories•Misjudgment of some critical trace elements was observed in the hair analysis•Mineral analysis of hair is not reliable for assessing ...mineral intake in horses
The use of hair samples to assess the mineral intake of horses under practical conditions has recently been attracting increased interest. The aims of this study were to compare mineral analysis results in equine mane hair between three commercial laboratories and to determine the relationship between the mineral intake and mineral content in mane hair. Four warmblood horses (14 ± 3 years) were included in the study. Horses were fed hay ad libitum and a commercial mineral supplement to meet nutrient requirements under maintenance conditions. Mane hair from the hairline was collected with a sample length of 2 to 3 cm according to the respective laboratory guidelines to monitor the feeding period of the last 1 to 2 months. Minerals in mane hair were analyzed by three commercial laboratories using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) or inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and in feedstuffs using ICP–MS to calculate mineral intake. Hair mineral analysis showed that the results and their corresponding reference ranges widely varied among the three laboratories. The mean coefficient of variance ranged from a minimum of 10% for selenium (Se) to a maximum of 58% for iron (Fe). For example, Se supply (requirement, 1.17–1.28 mg/d; intake, 1.83 mg/d) was considered insufficient in all horses by two laboratories, whereas it was considered adequate by one laboratory. Intervariation of the same sample, as well as differences in reference ranges, was considerably high among the three laboratories. These results indicate that hair mineral analysis is not reliable for assessing mineral intake in horses.
Since the 1990s, the prevalence of mental illnesses, such as depression, has been increasing annually and has become a major burden on society. Due to the many side effects of antidepressant drugs, ...the development of a complementary therapy from natural materials is an urgent need. Therefore, this study used a complex extract of chlorella and lion's mane mushroom and evaluated its antidepressant effects. Six-month-old male senescence-accelerated mice prone-8 (SAMP8) were divided into positive control; negative control; and low, medium, and high-dose groups. All groups were treated with corticosterone (CORT) at 40 mg/Kg/day for 21- days to induce depression in the animals, and the effects of different test substances on animal behavior was observed. The positive control group was intraperitoneally injected with a tricyclic antidepressant (Fluoxetine, as tricyclic antidepressant), the control group was given ddH
2
O, and the test substance groups were administered test samples once daily for 21 days. The open field test (OFT) and forced swimming test (FST) were applied for behavior analyses of depression animal models. The OFT results showed that the mice in the positive control and the medium-, and high-dose groups demonstrated a significantly prolonged duration in the central area and a significantly increased travel distance. In the FST, the positive control and the medium, and high-dose groups displayed significantly reduced immobility times relative to the control group. The blood analysis results showed significant decreases in triglyceride and blood urea nitrogen levels relative to the positive control and the medium- and high-dose groups. Notably, in the positive control and the medium- and high-dose groups, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) increase by more than in the control group. In summary, medium and high dose of extract of chlorella and lion's mane mushroom could improve depression behavior in animals and have the potential to be antidepressant health care products.
Environmentally acceptable disposal of olive cultivation residues (e.g., olive prunings; olive pruning residues (OLPR)) and olive mill wastes is of paramount importance since they are generated in ...huge quantities within a short time. Moreover, olive mill wastewater (OMW) or sludge-like effluents (“alperujo”; two-phase olive mill waste (TPOMW)) are highly biotoxic.
Hericium erinaceus
is a white-rot fungus which produces choice edible mushrooms on substrates rich in lignocellulosics, and its suitability for the treatment of olive by-products was examined for the first time. Fungal growth resulted in a notable reduction of OMW’s pollution parameters (i.e., 65 % decolorization, 47 % total phenolic reduction, and 52 % phytotoxicity decrease) and correlated with laccase and manganese peroxidase activities. Solid-state fermentation of various mixtures of OLPR, TPOMW, and beech sawdust (control) by
H. erinaceus
qualified OLPR in subsequent cultivation experiments, where it exhibited high mushroom yields and biological efficiency (31 %). Analyses of proximate composition and bioactive compound content revealed that mushrooms deriving from OLPR substrates showed significantly higher crude fat, total glucan, β-glucan, total phenolics, and ferric-reducing antioxidant potential values than the control.
H. erinaceus
demonstrated the potential to detoxify OMW and bioconvert OLPR into high-quality biomass, and hence, this fungus could be successfully exploited for the treatment of such by-products.
Abstract
Research on the effect of supplementing broiler diets with Hericium erinaceus and Ganoderma lucidum was conducted from March 22, 2022, to April 18, 2022, in the poultry field at the ...Department of Animal Production, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Abu Ghraib. Productivity that really packs a punch. The experiment used 210 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks with an average starting weight of 42.38 g (10 birds/replicated). After receiving starter diet for the first 10 days, the chicks switched to growth diet for the next 11-24 days. The birds were randomly assigned to one of seven treatments for the last 25-42 days, with three replicates per treatment and 10 birds in each replication. These were the experimental procedures: (T1) A diet devoid of any modifications or supplements. (T2), the basic ration supplemented with 1g/kg of feed from the lion’s mane mushroom; (T3), the basic ration supplemented with 1.5g/kg of feed from the lion’s mane mushroom; ((T4), the basic ration supplemented with 2 g/kg of the lion’s mane mushroom; (T5), the basic diet supplemented with 1 g/kg of the fungus; (T6), the basic diet Results showed a high significant increase (p0.01) for T1 treatment birds, a highly significant decrease (p≤0.01) for T6 birds, and a highly significant decrease (p0.01) for LDL in the blood of birds receiving any additional treatments. The percentage of free fatty acids (FFA) in the frozen meat of treatment T4, followed by T3, and the percentage decreased in all addition treatments compared to the control treatment T1, and the results of oxidative stress showed a highly significant decrease (p>0.01) in the concentration of MDA and P.V of broiler meat frozen 60 days for the treatments T3, T4, and T7.
This is a case study of an alternative school that transforms the lives of children from the most underprivileged conditions who have dropped out of the formal school system and lost interest in ...education. The study explores the unique practices of the school that gives new life to the out of school children. The data were gathered through interviews of 39 stakeholders of the school that includes the founder and managing trustee, administrative staff, teachers, students, and volunteers. The data leads to the following themes: personalised curriculum, multigrade-multilevel learning, infrastructure as a learning site, assessment for learning, life skills integration, education as a social service. The farm-like school environment, personal care in a residential set up, flexible curriculum, and learner centred pedagogy enable the children not only to learn the academic subjects and develop eco consciousness but also to master many skillsets that are critical for living in the real world.
Entrevista a Juan Sebastián López M.Vocero de la MANE, estudiante de derecho y representante estudiantil al Consejo Directivo de la Universidad Externado de Colombia.
Entrevista a Juan Sebastián López M.Vocero de la MANE, estudiante de derecho y representante estudiantil al Consejo Directivo de la Universidad Externado de Colombia.
Hericium erinaceus has long been favored for its remarkable nutritional and health-promoting benefits, and erinacine A is the key component responsible for the neuroprotective properties of H. ...erinaceus. Establishing an efficient method for separating erinacine A from H. erinaceus and screening the erinacine A-enriched strains is crucial to maximizing its benefits. Herein, we first reported that high-speed counter current chromatography (HSCCC) is an effective method for separating high-purity erinacine A. Using a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (4.5:5:4.5:5, v/v/v/v), erinacine A with a purity of over 95% was separated. Then, we evaluated the content and yield of erinacine A in the liquid-fermented mycelia of Hericium germplasms. Both the content and yield of erinacine A varied greatly among the surveyed strains. The significant effect of the strain on the erinacine A content and yield was revealed by an analysis of variance. The highest erinacine A content and yield were observed in the mycelia of a wild strain HeG, reaching 42.16 mg/g and 358.78 mg/L, which is superior to the current highest outcomes achieved using submerged cultivation. The isolation method established and the strains screened in this study can be beneficial for the scaling up of erinacine A extraction and nutraceutical development to industrial levels.
A human physical asymmetry is the near 90% clockwise occipitoparietal scalp hair-whorl direction in Europeans, an incidence that approximates the left lateralization of speech and right-handedness. ...Hair-whorl direction is also asymmetric in horses, Equus ferus caballus and placement is proposed to be related to temperament and lateralized skill in equitation manoeuvres. We describe a hair-whorl asymmetry in the horse, mane direction. Of 526, 3-year-old American Quarter horses, 69% of horses had mane directed to the right and 31% had mane directed to the left. The bias was larger in females, with 74% of females vs. 65% of males having mane directed to the right. Mane direction was unrelated to coat colour. The behavioural significance of mane asymmetry was investigated using judges' scores from a reining competition requiring symmetrical maneuvers of spin, circle and roll-back to either the left or to the right. There was no relation between mane asymmetry and overall reining performance and no relation between mane direction and scores for left or right manoeuvres. The results are discussed in relation to the significance of morphological asymmetries, neural function and the influence of planar cell polarity genes, such as Frizzled, that influence epidermal hair cell patterning.
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