Lipid and carotenoid production by the Rhodosporidium toruloides mutant in cane molasses.

Cane molasses is beneficial for lipid and carotenoid production in microalgae. We made a survey for the lipid and carotenoid production profile of R. toruloides M18 (MT) with various concentrations of molasses under nitrogen-deficited conditions. The production of α-linolenate and torularhodin from MT were 1.22- and 14.68-fold higher than those of the wild-type strain. We observed that molasses at concentrations of 35 g/L and 70 g/L represented a cheap and environmentally friendly strategy for producing lipids and carotenoids. Transcriptome and WGCNA analysis demonstrated that the genes relevant to the lipid and carotenoid production, including MYB, bHLH, Δ-4 desaturase, Δ-12 desaturase and FA2H, were significantly highly expressed. The results indicated that molasses could represent an inexpensive means for achieving high lipids and carotenoids production in R. toruloides.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging features and clinical characteristics of combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma: comparison with hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively compare the clinical characteristics and imaging features on (CEUS) of combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (CHC) with those of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC). METHODS: The clinical information and CEUS features of 45 patients with CHC from 2015 to 2019 and 1-to-1-matched control subjects with HCC and CC (45 each) were compared. RESULTS: Simultaneous elevation of α-fetoprotein (AFP) and cancer antigen (CA) 19-9 was more common in CHC than in HCC and CC. In the arterial phase, hyperenhancement (homogeneous and heterogeneous) was more common in CHC (73.3%) and HCC (100%), while peripheral rimlike enhancement was more common in CC (55.6%). In the portal phase, marked washout was significantly more frequent in CHC and CC than in HCC (42.2% and 53.3% vs. 6.7%). In the delayed phase, marked washout was more common in CHC (82.2%) and CC (93.3%) than in HCC (40.0%). The washout time (WT) was much shorter in CHC and CC than in HCC (33.8±13.1 seconds and 30.1±11.6 seconds vs. 58.4±23.5 seconds). Using the combination of simultaneous elevation of AFP and CA 19-9 with marked washout in the delayed phase and a WT <38 seconds or arterial hyperenhancement to differentiate CHC from HCC or CC, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 74.4%, 93.3%, and 55.6% and 71.1%, 80.0%, and 62.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although some CEUS imaging features of CHC, HCC, and CC overlap, the combination of tumor markers and CEUS features can be helpful in differentiating CHC from HCC and CC.

Carotenoids and lipid production from Rhodosporidium toruloides cultured in tea waste hydrolysate.

BACKGROUND: In this study, renewable tea waste hydrolysate was used as a sole carbon source for carotenoids and lipid production. A novel Rhodosporidium toruloides mutant strain, RM18, was isolated through atmospheric and room-temperature plasma mutagenesis and continuous domestication in tea waste hydrolysate from R. toruloides ACCC20341. RESULTS: RM18 produced a larger biomass and more carotenoids and α-linolenic acid compared with the control strain cultured in tea waste hydrolysate. The highest yields of torularhodin (481.92 µg/g DCW) and torulene (501 µg/g DCW) from RM18 cultured in tea waste hydrolysate were 12.86- and 1.5-fold higher, respectively, than that of the control strain. In addition, α-linolenic acid production from RM18 in TWH accounted for 5.5% of total lipids, which was 1.58 times more than that of the control strain. Transcriptomic profiling indicated that enhanced central metabolism and terpene biosynthesis led to improved carotenoids production, whereas aromatic amino acid synthesis and DNA damage checkpoint and sensing were probably relevant to tea waste hydrolysate tolerance. CONCLUSION: Tea waste is suitable for the hydrolysis of microbial cell culture mediums. The R. toruloides mutant RM18 showed considerable carotenoids and lipid production cultured in tea waste hydrolysate, which makes it viable for industrial applications.

Primary biliary cirrhosis degree assessment by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging and hepatic fibrosis indicators.

AIM: To evaluate the assessment of primary biliary cirrhosis degree by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) and hepatic fibrosis indicators. METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients who developed liver cirrhosis secondary to primary biliary cirrhosis were selected as the observation group, with the degree of patient liver cirrhosis graded by Child-Pugh (CP) score. Sixty healthy individuals were selected as the control group. The four indicators of hepatic fibrosis were detected in all research objects, including hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), type III collagen (PC III), and type IV collagen (IV-C). The liver parenchyma hardness value (LS) was then measured by ARFI technique. LS and the four indicators of liver fibrosis (HA, LN, PC III, and IV-C) were observed in different grade CP scores. The diagnostic value of LS and the four indicators of liver fibrosis in determining liver cirrhosis degree with PBC, whether used alone or in combination, were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: LS and the four indicators of liver fibrosis within the three classes (A, B, and C) of CP scores in the observation group were higher than in the control group, with C class > B class > A class; the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Although AUC values of LS within the three classes of CP scores were higher than in the four indicators of liver fibrosis, sensitivity and specificity were unstable. The ROC curves of LS combined with the four indicators of liver fibrosis revealed that: AUC and sensitivity in all indicators combined in the A class of CP score were higher than in LS alone, albeit with slightly decreased specificity; AUC and specificity in all indicators combined in the B class of CP score were higher than in LS alone, with unchanged sensitivity; AUC values (0.967), sensitivity (97.4%), and specificity (90%) of all indicators combined in the C class of CP score were higher than in LS alone (0.936, 92.1%, 83.3%). CONCLUSION: The diagnostic value of PBC cirrhosis degree in liver cirrhosis degree assessment by ARFI combined with the four indicators of serum liver fibrosis is of satisfactory effectiveness and has important clinical application value.

Cascade six-level phase-mask achromatic coronagraph.

A cascade six-level phase-mask achromatic coronagraph is proposed. We show that, for the ideal aberration-free case, the average suppression of the central starlight in a three-stage six-level phase-mask achromatic coronagraph (SLPMC) can reach about 10⁻8 over a 40% bandwidth. We also do the optimization analysis of the working wavelength of each phase mask in the three-stage SLPMC. With optimization, the starlight can be stably suppressed to less than 10⁻8 (average about 10⁻¹°) over the whole 40% bandwidth.