Connexin 43 (Cx43) is one of the gap junction proteins which are compounds of transmembrane proteins and transports the small-molecular-weight chemicals up to 2 kDa. Lacking of Cx43 influences the junctional protein, induces autophagy and apoptosis in somatic cells. However, the function of Cx43 in porcine early embryos is still unknown. Aim to find out the molecular mechanism of Cx43 on the developmental competence in early porcine embryos, Cx43 dsRNA (1 ㎍/㎕) was microinjected into the parthenogenetically activated porcine zygotes. Blastocyst rate (treatment, 8.8±1.6% vs. control, 38.6±4.3%) and total cell numbers in the blastocyst (treatment, 20.7±3.5 vs. control, 39.8±4.1) were significantly reduced following Cx43 knocking down. Results from FITC-dextran and Western blot assay show that knock down (KD) of Cx43 significantly increased membrane permeability through down regulation of genes which are component of both adherence and tight junction in the porcine blastocyst. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly increased in the Cx43 KD group compared to control. In addition, KD of Cx43 activated Caspase 3 and significantly increased ATG8 expression, induced autophagy and apoptosis. Results suggest that KD of Cx43 influences preimplantation porcine embryo development via increasing membrane permeability and ROS generation, and inducing autophagy and apoptosis.

Melatonin (N-aceyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is the major hormone of the pineal gland. Melatonin and its metabolic derivatives possess extensive free-radical scavenging abilities and played critical roles in antioxidative stress, resisting apoptotic cell death. Melatonin also could enhance mitochondrial biogenesis in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis. In addition, melatonin attenuates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by reducing oxidative stress damage via activation of SIRT1 signaling in a melatonin receptor 2-dependent manner. Activation or overexpression of SIRT1 could enhance mitochondrial biogenesis and function by inducing PGC-1α expression and deacetylation. The aim of this study was to investigate if melatonin enhances mitochondrial biogenesis and function via activation of melatonin receptor 2/SIRT1/PGC1-α Pathway. The results showed that Melatonin rescued rotenone-induced impairment of porcine embryo development. Treatment with rotenone could increase oxidative stress and apoptosis. Rotenone impaired mitochondrial functions by disrupting mitochondrial membrane potential, reducing mitochondrial DNA copy number and ATP production. Melatonin could improve SIRT1 and PGC-1α expression, inducing mitochondrial biogenesis. Rotenone-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and ATP deficiency was rescued by melatonin treatment, the oxidative stress and apoptosis was significantly decreased. Inhibition of melatonin receptor 2 or Knockdown of SIRT1 abolished the protective effects of melatonin on rotenone-induced impairments. Therefore, melatonin enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis and function, protected against rotenone-induced impairments.

Thiamethoxam (TMX) is a neonicotinoid insecticide. Residues of TMX have been detected in various crops. Although it has specific high toxicity to insects and is designed to exterminate them, the toxicity has also found in mammals recently. Differ from acetylcholine toxicity, TMX has peroxide toxicity in mammals. Matured oocytes have the capacity of fertilization, but oocytes own abundant mitochondria and its maturation is vulnerable to reactive oxygen species (ROS). Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can override antioxidant defenses, produce oxidative stress and DNA damage that triggers apoptosis and necrosis in organisms. However little is known about the harm of ROS induced by TMX during oocytes maturation. Here, bovine germ-vesicle (GV) oocytes were cultured to metaphase of the second meiosis (MII) stage in vitro with or without TMX. During this process, oocytes were evaluated by various methods. Microscopic examination showed that 1.6 mM TMX significantly inhibited the maturation process in which oocytes were arrested before MI stage or between MI and MII stage. Correspond to this two periods, immunofluorescence staining and enzyme activity analysis showed that active CDC25 and CDC2 reduced in TMX group compared to control; time lapse and immunofluorescence staining gave results that Cyclin B could not be degraded, actin cap could not form, and Bub3 could not be removed from kinetochores. In addition, MII oocytes exposed to TMX showed disordered chromosomes and spindle. To study further, oocytes cultured for 24 h were analyzed. On the one hand, these oocytes in TMX group accumulated more ROS and produced significantly decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and increased apoptotic signal compared to control by methods of quantities for dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCHFDA), 5,5′,6,6′-Tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide and Annexin-V, but the level of γH2AX protein in TMX group did not decline significantly compared with control. On the another hand, these oocytes were activated to be parthenogenetic embryos and cultured. Assessment for embryo development showed decreased rates of cleavage, morula and blastocyst in TMX group compared to control in vitro. In conclusion, these results suggest that ROS induced by TMX results in dysfunction of mitochondria and apoptosis, which block bovine oocytes to MI stage, trap them at AI/TI stage and trigger disordered chromosomes and spindle at MII stage. Additionally, MII oocytes with poor qualities result from TMX lose abilities to cleavage and develop to be morulae and blastocysts.

The porcine zygotic genome activation occurs along with global epigenetic remolding at the 4-cell stage. The histone acetylation, regulating DNA transcription, replication and so on, requires adequate acetyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA produced by translocated pyruvate dehydrogenase in the nucleus of mammalian cells has been reported, which is commonly considered locating in the mitochondria. To find out whether the nuclear pyruvate dehydrogenase regulating the histone acetylation by controlling generation of acetyl-CoA, a multiple sgRNAs-CRISPR/Cas9 targeting strategy was employed to generate a pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha1 (Pdha1) knockout (KO) parthenogenetic embryo model. Results showed that the targeting efficiency of Pdha1 reached more than 90%. Hence, this model was used in the subsequent experiments. Furthermore, a translocation of Pdha1 during zygotic genome activation was found by immunofluorescent staining and was significantly inhibited by Pdha1 KO. Meanwhile, the 8-cell stage embryo rate significantly decreased after 72 h (24.19% vs 12.53%, control vs Pdha1 KO), indicating a 4-cell arrest. In addition, the nuclear histone acetylation level significantly decreased when Pdha1 was KO. To determine whether the zygotic genome transcription was affected, the qPCR was performed and showed that the mRNA level of Eif1A, Acly, Sqle and Pdha1 all dropped significantly in the Pdha1 KO group compared to the control. In conclusion, the translocated Pdha1 generates acetyl-CoA for histone acetylation inside the nucleus of porcine embryos, which promotes the zygotic genome activation of porcine embryos.

The DEEP-South (the Deep Ecliptic Patrol of the Southern Sky) photometric census of small Solar System bodies produces massive time-series data of variable, transient or moving objects as a by- product. To fully investigate unexplored variable phenomena, we present an application of multi-aperture photometry and FastBit indexing techniques for faster access to a portion of the DEEP-South year-one data. Our new pipeline is designed to perform automated point source detection, robust high-precision photometry and calibration of non-crowded fields which have overlap with previously surveyed areas. In this paper, we show some examples of catalog-based variability searches to find new variable stars and to recover targeted asteroids. We discover 21 new periodic variables with period ranging between 0.1 and 31 days, including four eclipsing binary systems (detached, over-contact, and ellipsoidal variables), one white dwarf/M dwarf pair candidate, and rotating variable stars. We also recover astrometry (< ±1–2 arcsec level accuracy) and photometry of two targeted near-earth asteroids, 2006 DZ169 and 1996 SK, along with the small- (0.12 mag) and relatively large-amplitude (0.5 mag) variations of their dominant rotational signals in R-band.

Royal jelly (RJ) is a well-known functional and medicinal food for human health promotion. Major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), which are the major protein components in RJ, exhibit antimicrobial activities. However, the identities of the MRJPs of RJ responsible for its antioxidant effects have remained unclear. Here, we report that honeybee (Apis cerana) MRJP 2 (AcMRJP2) acts as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent in RJ. Using recombinant AcMRJP2, which was produced in baculovirus-infected insect cells, we established the antimicrobial and antioxidant roles of MRJP 2. AcMRJP2 bound to the surfaces of bacteria, fungi, and yeast, which then induced structural damage in the microbial cell walls and led to a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities. AcMRJP2 protected mammalian and insect cells via the direct shielding of the cell against oxidative stress, which led to reduced levels of caspase-3 activity and oxidative stress-induced cell apoptosis, followed by increased cell viability. Moreover, AcMRJP2 exhibited DNA protection activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Our data indicate that AcMRJP2 could play a crucial role as an antimicrobial agent and antioxidant in RJ, suggesting that MRJP 2 is a component responsible for the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of RJ.

Tenebrio molitor beetles have been widely used in traditional and folklore medicines to treat various human diseases worldwide. This study was performed to determine radical scavenging activity of nine compounds that were extracted from T. molitor adults and their 64 related compounds using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. The results were compared with those of three positive controls, ascorbic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Based on IC50 values, linolenic acid (77.65 μM) was the most potent antioxidant and the antioxidant activity of this compound was higher than that of either ascorbic acid, BHT or EGCG. The antioxidant activity of protocatechuic acid (IC50, 153.68 μM) and ascorbic acid did not differ significantly. The antioxidant activity of catechin (IC50, 192.32 μM) was higher than that of either BHT or EGCG. Multiple regression analysis of the antioxidant activities of compounds was examined using their IC50 values and the values of the physical parameters (molecular weight (MW), log P, and molecular refraction (MR)) for the 41 fatty acids (R2 = 0.729 (P = 0.031)) and 29 flavonoids (R2 = 0.521 (P = 0.054)). Correlation coefficient (r) analysis showed that MW, log P, and MR may be positively correlated with IC50 of the fatty acids (MW, r = 0.743; log P, r = 0.642; and MR, r = 0.815) and IC50 of the flavonoids (MW, r = 0.642; log P, r = 0.495; and MR, r = 0.643). Further studies will warrant possible applications of T. molitor adults as an antioxidant.

Nysius Dallas, 1852, is one of the most common and widely distributed genera under the superfamily Lygaeoidae. Species under this genus are hard to identify due to similarity of the species and variability of the coloration. The Nysius species were collected with the help of aspirator and plastic vile in the perilla crop fields in RDA, Miryang, Korea. Korean species of the Nysius were identified, and three species including a newly reported species N. inconspicuus were recognized. Morphological and genetic characteristics of species were illustrated, and a key to species of Korean Nysius was provided. The DNA barcoding information of N. plebeius and N. inconspicuus were recorded.

Samples were collected from planktonic habitats of the fresh and brackish waters in Korea from August 2016 to May 2018. As a result, three genera and nine species were newly recorded in Korea. The unrecorded indigenous genera were Anathece, Chondrocystis and Geminocystis, and nine species were Anabaenopsis arnoldii, Anathece smithii, Chondrocystis dermochroa, Coelosphaerium aerugineum, Eucapsis microscopica, Geminocystis herdmanii, Microcystis panniformis, Synechococcus nidulans and Woronichinia karelica. Anathece smithii, Coelosphaerium aerugineum, Eucapsis microscopica, Microcystis panniformis and Synechococcus nidulans had been reported to inhabit freshwater, but these were found in brackish water in this study. Microcystis panniformis, which is a potential genus for causing green-tide, is taxonomically valuable in Korea.

Humic substances that can be obtained from coal resources such as leonardite in a bulk scale have been employed as crop stimulators and soil conditioners. The polymeric organics containing a variety of aromatic and aliphatic structures are known to activate plants in a multifunctional way, thus resulting in enhanced germination rate and abiotic stress resistance concomitant with induction of numerous genes and proteins. Although detailed structural-functional relationship of humic substances for plant stimulations has not been deciphered yet, cutting-edge analytical tools have unraveled critical features of humic architectures that could be linked to the action mechanisms of their plant stimulations. In this review article, we introduce key findings of humic structures and related biological functions that boost plant growth and abiotic stress resistance. Oxygen-based functional groups and plant hormone-like structures combined with labile and recalcitrant carbon backbones are believed to be critical moieties to induce plant stimulations. Some proteins such as HIGH-AFFINITY K+ TRANSPORTER 1, phospholipase A2 and H+-ATPase have been also recognized as key players that could be critically involved in humic substance-driven changes in plant physiology.

Introduction Current research investigated whether emotionality of content would facilitate the possibility to share information on social media by using event-related potentials. Theoretical development Emotionality is an excitatory state which evokes autonomic nervous system. Previous studies suggested that stimuli with high emotionality elicited increased P100/P200 amplitudes relative to stimuli with low emotionality (Huang & Luo, 2006). Research design We tested the purpose in an affective priming paradigm in which participants were exposed to online content (i.e. the "prime" stimulus) followed by a stimulus (i.e. the "target" stimuli) from International Affective Picture System. Participants were required to judge whether the target was neutral white picture. Next, a nine-point Likert scale was followed to assess the level of emotionality for online content. Result and conclusion We observed a congruency effect in the priming effect. More importantly, early brain potentials P100/P200 were higher when participants were exposed to online content with more possibility to share than online content with less possibility to share. This finding could be explained by the "response level account" theory (Fazio, 2001). This study provides an insight to neural mechanism underlying emotionality of online content.

Since the late 1980s, information communication and technology (ICT) have reshaped the landscape of the tourism industry (Buhalis & Law, 2008). Thanks to the Web 2.0 technology, tourism practitioners have never been this close to their customers over social media platforms. According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), social media refers to “a group of Internet-based applications which build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (p. 61). In line with this definition, electronic social networks, user-generated content aggregators, as well as location-based applications are all typical social media platforms, across which enable customers to create, edit, and share content. The increasingly growing social media platforms have greatly facilitated implementations of customer engagement strategies for organizations. As a psychological state, customer engagement is featured by interactive customer experiences with an organization, which encourage psychological, emotional, and physical investment a customer has in the organization (Harrigan, Evers, Miles, & Daly, 2017). In the tourism and hospitality context, customer engagement strategies are as critical in strengthening customer loyalty, trust, and brand evaluations (So, King, & Sparks, 2016). Useful insights have been gained relating to conceptualization and measurement scale of customer engagement, organizational and cultural obstacles to consumer engagement within hotel organizations (Chathoth et al., 2014), customer engagement in a social media context alongside the process of recognition (Cabiddu et al., 2014). Underlying the practical and theoretical significance of customer engagement lies the subjective nature of views on the social media platforms. Goh, Heng, and Lin (2014) recognized that engagement in social media brand communities positively lead to enhanced purchase expenditures through embedded information and persuasion. Quantitively, the persuasive effect of user generated information is at least 22 times more than that of marketer’s in terms of marginal effect. Although previous research has examined consequences of consumer engagement, there has been less attention paid to its causes. Meanwhile, as far as Brodie et al. (2011) were concerned, the persistency of consumer-brand engagement is contingent on an assessment of tangible and intangible costs against possible benefits such as product news and offers. Therefore, identification of these benefits can offer supplementary insights into current literature of consumer engagement. The current study utilizes the self-determination theory to uncover how engagement in social media activities is facilitated by consumers’ intrinsic motivators and what psychological benefits can consumer obtain from such engagement, as either psychological state or process (Brodie et al., 2011). Research subjects in this study are Chinese social media users. According to eMarketer’s (2017) estimated that more than 80 percent of Internet users in China (i.e., around 626 million people) accessed social networks regularly in 2017. The importance of tapping this massive market can never be overestimated.

Understanding why individuals behave unethically is an important topic for both theory and practice, especially in the current environment where people experience much more stressful events. The current research aims to examine the relationship between peoples’ experienced stress and their attitude towards unethical consumption behavior, as well as the underlying mechanism. Empirical findings from a survey of 451 participants suggest perceived stress serves as an important indicator of people’s tolerance of unethical activities, and that this relationship is mediated by chronic construal level and materialism value. Specifically, stressed individuals tend to develop low-construal mindsets and more materialism values, both of which further increase their tolerance of ethically questionable behaviors. The present research highlights the importance of stress on consumer ethics and contributes to prior literature in three ways. Firstly, the current study adds to the literature on consumer ethics by examining a new predictor of consumers’ ethical beliefs, which enriches the understanding of why some consumers act more ethically than others do. Secondly, to the best of our knowledge, little prior literature has examined the effect stress on ethical beliefs. The current research for the first time examines the effect and the mechanism and reveals the mediating roles of construal level and materialism value. Thirdly, the present research finds that stress increases low-level construal, leading to unethical beliefs. This finding broadens the scope in construal level theory by suggesting that chronic construal level predicts individual ethical judgments.