This study analyzed the epilithic diatom community and ecological health of freshwater streams using environmental DNA (eDNA)-based metabarcoding technology. eDNA metabarcoding is a method that analyzes biological communities by performing PCR amplification followed by next-generation sequencing (NGS), offering higher sensitivity and faster results compared to traditional microscopic analyses. The study compared the eDNA metabarcoding results of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain gene (rbcL) targeting epilithic diatoms according to Taq polymerases (SuperFi II, GainBlue, EzPCR, and AccuPower). SuperFi II and GainBlue yielded the highest number of reads and zOTUs, with GainBlue showing particularly uniform read distribution, allowing for more accurate analysis for community diversity of epilithic diatoms. On the other hand, EzPCR and AccuPower exhibited lower number of reads and zOTUs, making them less suitable for the community diversity. In terms of community similarity analysis, SuperFi II and GainBlue produced highly similar results, while EzPCR and AccuPower showed significant differences. This study demonstrates that PCR Taq polymerases significantly influence community diversity and similarity analyses of epilithic diatoms, with GainBlue providing the most stable and accurate results. Our findings serve as a valuable foundation for improving the accuracy of eDNA-based metabarcoding analyses of diatoms.

When examining the characteristics of ancient local chronicles compilation, it is evident that subsequent chronicles are often compiled on the basis of their predecessors, leading to a phenomenon of imitation. Therefore, a cautious approach should be taken towards the dialectal and colloquial materials recorded within them. Indeed, from the perspective of exploring the evolution of phonetics and vocabulary, the dialectal materials provided by ancient local chronicles do have certain limitations, and researchers need to adopt an attitude of “careful caution, to remove the dross and retain the essence, to verify and correct errors.” However, from the viewpoint of modern Chinese character research, the continuation of later chronicles from earlier ones is not merely simple copying. On the contrary, there are often differences in character usage, and these variant characters actually contain rich linguistic and textual information, which is also valuable for the revision of large-scale linguistic dictionaries. However, there is currently less attention given to the value of variant characters in ancient local chronicles. This paper examines two cases of dialect vocabulary variants in the old chronicles of Zaoyang, Hubei, including the “汆壺廬” from the 1853 edition of the chronicles during the Xianfeng era and the “氼壺盧” from the 1854 edition. Additionally, it discusses the two types of chronicles from the Xianfeng era, “ 黍” and the “萄黍” from the 1923 edition of the chronicles, exploring the reasons for the emergence of these variants and seeking insights from experts in the field.

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are widely used genetic markers with applications in human disease diagnostics, animal breeding, and evolutionary studies, but existing genotyping methods can be labor-intensive and costly. The aim of this study is to develop a simple and rapid method for identification of a single nucleotide change. Methods: A modified Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification of Multiple Specific Alleles (PAMSA) and high resolution melt (HRM) analysis was performed to discriminate a bovine polymorphism in the NCAPG gene (rs109570900, 1326T > G). Results: The inclusion of tails in the primers enabled allele discrimination based on PCR product lengths, detected through agarose gel electrophoresis, successfully determining various genotypes, albeit with some time and labor intensity due to the use of relatively costly high-resolution agarose gels. Additionally, high-resolution melt (HRM) analysis with tailed primers effectively distinguished the GG genotype from the TT genotype in bovine muscle cell lines, offering a reliable way to distinguish SNP polymorphisms without the need for time-consuming AS-PCR. Conclusions: Our experiments demonstrated the importance of incorporating unique mismatched bases in the allele-specific primers to prevent cross-amplification by fragmented primers. This efficient and cost-effective method, as presented here, enables genotyping laboratories to analyze SNPs using standard real-time PCR.

This article delves into the development of Japanese Chinese character variations, and how they fit into the broader study of Chinese characters. By examining the differences between early Japanese kanji and modern Japanese writing systems, as well as the varying approaches of Chinese and Japanese scholars in studying Japanese kanji, we can propose a more fitting classification and naming method better suited to studying Chinese characters. To that end, we take the Wamyō Ruiju Shō (倭名類聚抄) as an example, exhaustively sorting out the situation of variant characters in the manuscript across different eras, and referring to other ancient Chinese dictionaries from the same period. This article introduces concepts like “inherited variants” and “Japan saved variants” to make studying these characters more comprehensive.

Variant Hán characters (hereinafter referred to as variants) are a common phenomenon in various types of Hán-Nôm cultural materials, including Confucian documents. This article studies the variants in Confucian works through the case of the book Hồ thượng thư gia lễ/胡尚書家禮/Family rituals by Minister Hồ (printed in 1739). The author chooses this text because of the following factors: First, the content of this work, which might be described as Confucian in nature, is about Confucian rituals; Second, the text printed in 1739 is associated with clearly identified dates of production and chief commissioner, so variants found in this text have historical value; Third, this is a printed text, so its variants must have attained a degree of common usage. On that basis, the objectives of this article are: First, to provide statistics on variants, to classify their structures and to analyze some variation rules of this type of characters; Second, to provide preliminary comments (relying upon the above-mentioned data and analysis) on the flexible use of Hán characters by Vietnamese Confucian scholars in the 18th century.

The paper focuses on the using of causative markers “教 (jiao)” and “交 (jiao)” from the view of the using of word variants, which is to reveal the standardization of words in the Ming Dynasty. This paper uses Jinpingmei (two versions), Shuihuzhuan (three versions), Qingping Shan Tanghua Ben, Gujin Xiaoshuo, Zhongyi Zhiyan, Xunshi Pinghua as references. This paper finds that: Using as causative markers, the standardized writing form “教 (jiao)” and the variant writing form “交 (jiao)” are mixed more frequently in Jinpingmei Cihua Ben, Shuihuzhuan Rongyutang Ben and Tianqi Keben and Qingping Shan Tanghua Ben than in Jinpingmei Chongzhen Ben, Shuihuzhuan Guanhuatang Ben and Gujin Xiaoshuo. This reveals the standardization of words in the Ming Dynasty. Both the internal factors of language and the external factors influence the disappearing of “ 交 (jiao)”.“教 (jiao)” are completely dominant in both Zhongyi Zhiyan and Xunshi Pinghua, which is closely related to the characteristic of this two documents.

Shang Shu, the historical document in Chinese history, complied many aspects of academic problems which derived from history, geography, philology and phonology, etc. There are four main aspects: firstly, how to appraise pseudograph correctly; secondly, the contents of Jiwen and Guwen should be discriminated carefully; thirdly, explanations or interpretations of scholaships varied a lot; fourthly, textual critisim could be too complicated. Thus, from such a long academic tradition, scholars have viewed the second and third aspects as the key parts, while the philology study played the vital role. In short, as the explanations presented by scholars on 19 parts of Zhou Shu varied a lot, the paper held the case study based on 13 main parts of this book to research the variant characters.

The Dictionary of Chinese Variants Characters (《異體字字典》), compiled by Ministry of Education, has cited 62 philology books and 1242 practical literatures to collect 29892 standard characters and 76338 variant characters. There are 106230 characters in total in The Dictionary of Chinese Variants Characters (《異體字字典》). It is absolutely a large-scale work of Chinese characters. The Dictionary of Chinese Variants Characters (《異體字字典》) adopts the stratified method. All standard characters and variant characters are well-indexed by establishing links between every standard character and its variant(s). The same criteria of standard character is also adopted by The List of Commonly-used Characters ( 《常用字表》), The List of Less-commonly-used Characters (《不常用字表》) and The list of Rarely-used Characters (《疑难字表》). Meeting the criteria, 29528 characters are eligible. Furthermore, to satisfied the needs of practical use, additional 364 characters are also collected. Those “standard characters” and “variants”, in the dictionary, not created to be “standard” or “variant”. On the contrary, when a charater is defined as “the standard”, its remaining isomeric siblings would turn into “variants” spontaneously. Therefore, The definition of “variant” in the dictionary is : With the same nature and meanings, but different stracture and form to its standard counterpart. This article is about the criteria of standard character which adopted by The Dictionary of Chinese Variants Characters (《異體字字典》), and the association between a standard character and its variant(s).

Fashion is primarily based on adoption of trends by consumers in textiles, clothing, footwear, jewelry and art, inter alia. As fashion is based on human preferences, it is characterized by dynamic changes throughout seasons and years, short life cycles, low predictability and high volatility of demand and impulse purchases. In the dynamic environment of apparel markets, fashion firms aim at successfully forecasting both the desirability of new collections and the volumes of each item produced and released to the market under terms of substantial levels of uncertainty. When demand for an item exceeds its supply, the firm is likely to lose additional profits that could have been collected had a sufficient volume of this item been present in the market. Alternatively, if the supply of an item surpassed its demand, it would remain unsold, thereby generating loss equal to its marginal production and distribution costs. The paper proposes a forecasting model that enhances the accuracy of fashion trend forecasting in the context of multiple variants of colour clothing. The model aims at maximizing profits of the firms, while minimizing the forecasting error and reducing the costs that result from excess capacity of production or, alternatively, from loss of potential revenues due to low demand.

Guillain-Barre´ syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy most commonly characterized by rapidly progressive, essentially symmetric weakness and areflexia. This study examined clinical symptoms of clinical variants of GBS through a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) study, nerve conduction (NCV) study, treatment, and prognosis. There were 16 children with GBS who visited our hospital from January 2011 to December 2013. Guillen-Barre´-like syndromes with transient synovitis were noted in three children. Clinical variants of GBS with acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis were observed in one child. Previous infections were noted in 16 children with Guillen-Barre´-like syndrome. There were ascending infections in 16 cases. Fifteen children showed symmetric infections, and one showed asymmetric infection. In NCV, slow waves were noted in two cases. We treated using intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in four cases, IVIG with steroid in two, cases and supportive care in 10 (62.5%) cases. Five children treated with IVIG and 10 with supportive care management were completely improved.Our study suggests that supportive care is effective as a treatment for clinical variants of GBS. Further study is necessary for more patients.

Myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate (InsP6), also known as phytic acid, accumulates in large quantities in plant seeds, serving as a phosphorus reservoir, but is an animal antinutrient and an important source of water pollution. Here we report that Gle1 (GLFG lethal 1) in conjunction with InsP6 functions as an activator of the ATPase/RNA helicase LOS4 (Low expression of osmotically responsive genes 4), which is involved in mRNA export in plants, supporting the Gle1-InsP6-Dbp5 (LOS4 homolog) paradigm proposed in yeast. Interestingly, plant Gle1 proteins have modifications in several key residues of the InsP6-binding pocket, which reduce the basicity of the surface charge. Arabidopsis Gle1 variants containing mutations that increase the basic charge of the InsP6-binding surface show increased sensitivity to InsP6 concentrations for the stimulation of LOS4 ATPase activity in vitro. Expression of the Gle1 variants with enhanced InsP6 sensitivity rescues the mRNA export defect of the ipk1 (inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate 2-kinase) InsP6-deficient mutant, and furthermore, significantly improves vegetative growth, seed yield, and seed performance of the mutant. These results suggest that Gle1 is an important factor responsible for mediating InsP6 functions in plant growth and reproduction, and that Gle1 variants with increased InsP6 sensitivity may be useful for engineering high-yielding low-phytate crops.

Next generation sequencing technologies provide opportunities to reveal the genetic variants and differentially expressedgenes. The genetic variants are closely relevance to understanding of genes and phenotypic differences related to agronomic characteristics among cultivars. In this study, we conducted RNA-seq using two Korean soybean accessions, including Daewon and Hwangkeum, by using next generation sequencing against Williams 82 genome as reference. A number of variants such assingle nucleotide variants (SNV), multiple nucleotide variants (MNV), insertion/deletion (InDel) and replacement, was 34,411 and 55,544 in Daewon and Hwangkeum, respectively. Among these variants, 9,611 nonsynonymous variants were detected within 4,290 genes in Daewon and 13,225 non-synonymous variants were located on 5,672 genes in Hwangkeum. The distribution of nonsynonymous variants and expression values of genes can serve as invaluable resource for genotyping and study of traits within genes for soybean improvements.