Genome and population evolution and environmental adaptation of Glyptosternon maculatum on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Persistent uplift means the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)is an ideal natural laboratory to investigate genome evolution and adaptation within highland environments.However,how paleogeographic and paleoclimatic events influence the genome and population of endemic fish species remains unclear.Glyptosternon maculatum is an ancient endemic fish found on the QTP and the only critically endangered species in the Sisoridae family.Here,we found that major transposons in the G.maculatum genome showed episodic bursts,consistent with contemporaneous geological and climatic events during the QTP formation.Notably,histone genes showed significant expansion in the G.maculatum genome,which may be mediated by long interspersed nuclear elements(LINE)repetitive element duplications.Population analysis showed that ancestral G.maculatum populations experienced two significant depressions 2.6 million years ago(Mya)and 10000 years ago,exhibiting excellent synchronization with Quaternary glaciation and the Younger Dryas,respectively.Thus,we propose that paleogeography and paleoclimate were dominating driving forces for population dynamics in endemic fish on the QTP.Tectonic movements and temperature fluctuation likely destroyed the habitat and disrupted the drainage connectivity among populations.These factors may have caused severe bottlenecks and limited migration among ancestral G.maculatum populations,resulting in the low genetic diversity and endangered status of the species today.

Effect on Treatment of the Landfill Leachate with the Furrow Irrigation in Onland Planting Reed (<i>Phragmites</i>)

The furrow irrigation tests were done to estimated the efficiency of the HRT(Hydraulic Retention Time) and landfill leachat collected from Dalian Maoyimgzi Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, which contained high level of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand, 3.8 × 104 mg·L–1), TOC (total carbon, 4.8 × 103 mg·L–1), TN(total nitrogen, 2.9 × 103 mg·L–1) and SS (Suspended Solids, 6.5 × 102 mg·L–1), using the reed (phragmites) cultivated onland located in south area of Dalian Jiaotong University. The results showed that: 1) The TN concentration was decreased from 9.8 × 102 mg·L–1 in the landfill leachate to 7.6 × 102 mg·L–1 in the soil water, and the 22.4% of the removal rate;2) The TOC concentration was decreased from 4.8 × 103 mg·L–1 in the landfill leachate to 1.0 × 103 mg·L–1 in the soil water, and the 79.2% of re- moved rate;3) The water concentration in the soil was no significant difference of irrigation between the water and the landfill leachate;4) ΔHRT was 2.1 hours in irrigation 39 L of the water and landfill leachate and 1.3 hours in the 9 L.

Genomic surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variations in Tianjin Municipality, China 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019(COvID-19)pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has severely impacted public health.In 2022,the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 rapidly became the dominant circulating variant in the local COVID-19 outbreaks in Tianjin Municipality,China.To gain a deeper understanding of the genetic variations of the Omicron variant in Tianjin,specimens from indi-viduals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between December 2021 and November 2022 were used for virus whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.A total of 1,674 high-quality Omicron sequences were obtained,consisting of 1,339 sequences from local cases belonging to 20 Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak(PANGO)lineages and 335 sequences from imported cases belonging to 70 lineages.Tianjin experienced five waves of local outbreaks,accompanied by multiple substitutions among subvariants,ranging from the initial BA.1.1 lineage to the subsequent BA.2,BF.7,and BA.5.2 lineages.The evolutionary rate of local strains,estimated to be 28.999 substitutions per year,and the evolutionary rate of imported strains,estimated to be 24.946 substitutions per year,were lower than that of the strains circulating globally.The addi-tional substitutions and deletions of local strains have been used to identify and disrupt the virus transmission chains.The subvariants such as BA.5.2.48,BA.5.2.49,BF.7.14,and XBB.1 circulating in the fifth epidemic wave presented criterial immune escape mutations including S:R346T,S:L452R and S:F486V.It is essential to implement genomic surveillance strategies to investigate further the development of genomic mutation char-acteristics in the SARS-CoV-2 variant.This ongoing monitoring will contribute to a better understanding of the virus's genetic changes and aid in effective control measures.

Integrated Equivalent Model of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator Based Wind Turbine for Large-scale Offshore Wind Farm Simulation

The high-speed simulation of large-scale offshore wind farms(OWFs) preserving the internal machine information has become a huge challenge due to the large wind turbine(WT) count and microsecond-range time step. Hence, it is undoable to investigate the internal node information of the OWF in the electro-magnetic transient(EMT) programs. To fill this gap,this paper presents an equivalent modeling method for largescale OWF, whose accuracy and efficiency are guaranteed by integrating the individual devices of permanent magnet synchronous generator(PMSG) based WT. The node-elimination algorithm is used while the internal machine information is recursively updated. Unlike the existing aggregation methods, the developed EMT model can reflect the characteristics of each WT under different wind speeds and WT parameters without modifying the codes. The access to each WT controller is preserved so that the time-varying dynamics of all the WTs could be simulated. Comparisons of the proposed model with the detailed model in PSCAD/EMTDC have shown very high precision and high efficiency. The proposed modeling procedures can be used as reference for other types of WTs once the structures and parameters are given.

Tung Tree(Vernicia fordii) Genome Provides A Resource for Understanding Genome Evolution and Improved Oil Production

Tung tree(Vernicia fordii) is an economically important woody oil plant that produces tung oil rich in eleostearic acid. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale genome sequence of tung tree. The genome sequence was assembled by combining Illumina short reads, Pacific Biosciences single-molecule real-time long reads, and Hi-C sequencing data. The size of tung tree genome is 1.12 Gb, with 28,422 predicted genes and over 73% repeat sequences. The V. fordii underwent an ancient genome triplication event shared by core eudicots but no further wholegenome duplication in the subsequent ca. 34.55 million years of evolutionary history of the tung tree lineage. Insertion time analysis revealed that repeat-driven genome expansion might have arisen as a result of long-standing long terminal repeat retrotransposon bursts and lack of efficient DNA deletion mechanisms. The genome harbors 88 resistance genes encoding nucleotide-binding sites;17 of these genes may be involved in early-infection stage of Fusarium wilt resistance. Further, 651 oil-related genes were identified, 88 of which are predicted to be directly involved in tung oil biosynthesis. Relatively few phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase genes, and synergistic effects between transcription factors and oil biosynthesis-related genes might contribute to the high oil content of tung seed. The tung tree genome constitutes a valuable resource for understanding genome evolution, as well as for molecular breeding and genetic improvements for oil production.

China’s Comprehensive Disaster Reduction

China is one of the countries in the world that are most affected by natural disasters. In recent years, with global climate change and rapid socioeconomic development in the country, natural disaster risks have been increasing and economic losses and the population affected have shown a growing trend;catastrophic disasters have repeatedly ravaged China, causing major socioeconomic impacts.The Chinese government attaches great importance to disaster prevention, reduction, and relief. Developments in laws and regulations on natural disaster management in the past three decades have provided an improved legal framework for disaster prevention, reduction, and relief. China’s disaster relief is guided by the principle of people-centered, government-led, multilevel management, mutual support within social networks, and self-rescue of victims. Through the years, the government has been expanding the scope of disaster relief and increasing the level of assistance, strengthening integrated coordination mechanisms, and standardizing procedures for relief work. Disaster prevention, reduction, and relief mechanisms based on China’s situation, and with Chinese characteristics, have been established. Attention has also been given to capacity-building. Much effort has been made to implement disaster reduction projects and to improve early warning systems, emergency response, science and technological support, human resource development, and community disaster relief systems. Future disaster reduction efforts of the Chinese government will focus on alleviating the impact of natural disasters, coping with catastrophic disaster risks, harmonizing the relationship between humans and nature, and attaining sustainable development.

LILRB4, an immune checkpoint on myeloid cells

Leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B4(LILRB4)is an inhibitory receptor in the LILR family mainly expressed on normal and malignant human cells of myeloid origin.By binding to ligands,LILRB4 is activated and subsequently recruits adaptors to cytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine inhibitory motifs to initiate different signaling cascades,thus playing an important role in physiological and pathological conditions,including autoimmune diseases,microbial infections,and cancers.In normal myeloid cells,LILRB4 regulates intrinsic cell activation and differentiation.In disease-associated or malignant myeloid cells,LILRB4 is significantly correlated with disease severity or patient survival and suppresses T cells,thereby participating in the pathogenesis of various diseases.In summary,LILRB4 functions as an immune checkpoint on myeloid cells and may be a promising therapeutic target for various human immune diseases,especially for cancer immunotherapy.

Pertussis toxin–induced inflammatory response exacerbates intracerebral haemorrhage and ischaemic stroke in mice

Background Stroke is a devastating disease,including intracerebral haemorrhage(ICH)and ischaemic stroke.Emerging evidences indicate that systemic inflammatory cascades after stroke contribute to brain damage.However,the direct effects and features of systemic inflammation on brain injury,especially comparing between ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke,are still obscure.Methods Pertussis toxin(PT)was used to build a pro-inflammatory milieu after ICH and ischaemic stroke in mouse model.The neurodeficits,stroke lesion,immune response and blood–brain barrier(BBB)destruction were assessed.Results In ICH mouse model,PT-induced systemic inflammation exacerbated neurological deficits,and enlarged haemorrhage lesion and perihaematomal oedema.We also found promoted leucocyte infiltration and inflammatory cytokine release into the brain after PT treatment.Moreover,the integrity of the BBB was further disrupted after receiving PT.Furthermore,we demonstrated that PT enhanced brain inflammation and aggravated stroke severity in middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model.Conclusions Our results suggest that PT increases inflammatory response that exacerbates brain injury after ICH or ischaemic stroke in mouse model.

SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Sequencing Revealed N501Y and L452R Mutants of S/A Lineage in Tianjin Municipality, China

Dear Editor,Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)outbreak caused by sever acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARSCo V-2)presents a global pandemic which has resulted in more than 4 million people death in the world.In China,the initial transmission of COVID-19 has already been blocked by strict control strategies and effective treatment for patients.All local COVID-19 outbreaks after April2020 were related to overseas importing.Up to February2021,207 imported COVID-19 cases have been reported in Tianjin,China(Tianjin Health Commission,2021).