The Effecting Mechanisms of 100 nm Sized Polystyrene Nanoplastics on the Typical Coastal Alexandrium tamarense.

Due to the increase in nanoplastics (NPs) abundance in aquatic environments, their effects on phytoplankton have aroused large research attention. In this study, 100 nm sized polystyrene NPs were chosen to investigate their effecting performance and mechanisms on a typical dinoflagellates Alexandrium tamarense. The results indicated the population growth and photosynthetic efficiencies of A. tamarense were significantly inhibited by NPs exposure, as well as the increase in cellular total carotenoids and paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). Meanwhile, the cellar ROS levels increased, corresponding to the increased activities or contents of multiple antioxidant components, including SOD, CAT, GPX, GR, GSH and GSSG. The transcriptional results support the physiological-biochemical results and further revealed the down-regulation of genes encoding the light reaction centers (PSI and PSII) and up-regulation of genes encoding the antioxidant components. Up-regulation of genes encoding key enzymes of the Calvin cycle and glycolytic pathway together with the TCA cycle could accelerate organic carbon and ATP production for A. tamarense cells resistant to NPs stress. Finally, more Glu and acetyl-CoA produced by the enhanced GSH cycle and the glycolytic pathway, respectively, accompanied by the up-regulation of Glu and Arg biosynthesis genes supported the increase in the PST contents under NPs exposure. This study established a data set involving physiological-biochemical changes and gene information about marine dinoflagellates responding to NPs, providing a data basis for further evaluating the ecological risk of NPs in marine environments.

Defining Genetic Privacy in the Context of Sports Genetic Testing in athletes / Definición de privacidad genética en el contexto de las pruebas genéticas deportivas en deportistas

The safeguarding of genetic information is essential, particularly within the domain of sports genetics testing. This research delves into the nuanced definition of genetic privacy under the backdrop of genetic testing in sports. While many scholars regard genetic information as an inherent component of the right to privacy, it is crucial to recognize that not all genetic information falls squarely within the realm of privacy. Due to the distinctive nature of genetic data, only specific segments can be considered under the umbrella of privacy rights. Additionally, genetic information that pertains to family or group dynamics transcends the boundaries of individual privacy rights. In cases where genetic information is shared among multiple parties, the owners do not possess unilateral control over these shared genetic segments. As a novel facet of privacy rights, gene privacy introduces unique dimensions that differ from conventional privacy rights. It encompasses the fifth right—the right not to know specific genetic information. To establish a robust framework for judicial protection of genetic privacy, it is imperative to undertake comprehensive research on the right to genetic information privacy. Such research forms the bedrock upon which a scientifically informed path to judicial protection of genetic privacy in the sports context can be developed.(AU)

Cloud-based adaptive exon prediction for DNA analysis.

Cloud computing offers significant research and economic benefits to healthcare organisations. Cloud services provide a safe place for storing and managing large amounts of such sensitive data. Under conventional flow of gene information, gene sequence laboratories send out raw and inferred information via Internet to several sequence libraries. DNA sequencing storage costs will be minimised by use of cloud service. In this study, the authors put forward a novel genomic informatics system using Amazon Cloud Services, where genomic sequence information is stored and accessed for processing. True identification of exon regions in a DNA sequence is a key task in bioinformatics, which helps in disease identification and design drugs. Three base periodicity property of exons forms the basis of all exon identification techniques. Adaptive signal processing techniques found to be promising in comparison with several other methods. Several adaptive exon predictors (AEPs) are developed using variable normalised least mean square and its maximum normalised variants to reduce computational complexity. Finally, performance evaluation of various AEPs is done based on measures such as sensitivity, specificity and precision using various standard genomic datasets taken from National Center for Biotechnology Information genomic sequence database.

Research Progress on the Notice of Informed Consent Ethical Review Involved Gene Information Detection / 中国医学伦理学

Objective:To summarize the notice of informed consent about gene information detection,and to provide a reference for ethical review of informed consent in clinical research involved gene information detection.Methods:We researched domestic and foreign literatures about gene information detection involved informed consent and comprehensively analyzed them.Results:Gene information detection caused the individual,family,and social aspects of privacy issues,and the right not to know gene information detection had been widely recognized.Informed consent was adopted in informed consent,which not only was respect for personal dignity and autonomy,but also was conducive to the effective use of gene resources.It should construct reasonable procedural system in le gal protection,guarantee the voluntary and authenticity of consent,and put it into practice.Based on the establishment of the right not to know,the Chinese law should also prohibit the implementation of gene detection or provision of gene information put forward by employers and insurance companies.In addition,it is strictly prohibited to detect infant incurable disease genes.Conclusion:In the ethical review of clinical research,when the conflict arises,it is necessary to design informed consent to resolve the conflict between the individuals' rights not to know and their personal health benefits,and to establish reasonable procedures in legislation to ensure the implementation of informed consent.

Applications of DNA Technologies in Agriculture.

With the development of molecular biology, some DNA-based technologies have showed great potentiality in promoting the efficiency of crop breeding program, protecting germplasm resources, improving the quality and outputs of agricultural products, and protecting the eco-environment etc., making their roles in modern agriculture more and more important. To better understand the application of DNA technologies in agriculture, and achieve the goals to promote their utilities in modern agriculture, this paper describes, in some different way, the applications of molecular markers, transgenic engineering and gene's information in agriculture. Some corresponding anticipations for their development prospects are also made.

miRAFinder and GeneAFinder scripts: large-scale searching for miRNA and related information in indexed literature abstracts.

UNLABELLED: In recent times, information on miRNAs and their binding sites is gaining momentum. Therefore, there is interest in the development of tools extracting miRNA related information from known literature. Hence, we describe GeneAFinder and miRAFinder scripts (open source) developed using python programming for the semi-automatic extraction and arrangement of updated information on miRNAs, genes and additional data from published article abstracts in PubMed. The scripts are suitable for custom modification as per requirement. AVAILABILITY: miRAFinder and GeneAFinder scripts are free and available for download at http://sites.google.com /site/malaheenee/software.