Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) causes high mortality in goats and sheep and the disease has shown a greatly increased geographic distribution over the last 15 years. It is responsible for serious socioeconomic problems in some of the poorest developing countries. The ability to create recombinant PPRV would provide a useful tool for investigating the biology of the virus and the pathology of disease, as well as for developing new vaccines and diagnostic methods. Here we report the first successful rescue of recombinant PPRV from a full-length cDNA clone of the virus genome. Successful recovery of PPRV was achieved by using a RNA polymerase II promoter to drive transcription of the full-length virus antigenome. We have used this technique to construct a virus expressing a tracer protein (green fluorescent protein, GFP). The recombinant virus replicated as well as the parental virus and could stably express GFP during at least 10 passages. The newly established reverse genetics system for PPRV provides a novel method for constructing a vaccine using PPRV as a vector, and will also prove valuable for fundamental research on the biology of the virus. We found that our recombinant virus allowed more rapid and higher throughput assessment of PPRV neutralization antibody titer via the virus neutralization test (VNT) compared with the traditional method.

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TCP proteins are plant-specific transcription factors (TFs), and perform a variety of physiological functions in plant growth and development. In this study, 74 non-redundant TCP genes were identified in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genome. Cotton TCP family can be classified into two classes (class I and class II) that can be further divided into 11 types (groups) based on their motif composition. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that GhTCPs display different expression patterns in cotton tissues. The majority of these genes are preferentially or specifically expressed in cotton leaves, while some GhTCP genes are highly expressed in initiating fibers and/or elongating fibers of cotton. Yeast two-hybrid results indicated that GhTCPs can interact with each other to form homodimers or heterodimers. In addition, GhTCP14a and GhTCP22 can interact with some transcription factors which are involved in fiber development. These results lay solid foundation for further study on the functions of TCP genes during cotton fiber development.

In order to determine the relationship between boron and development of the spleen, especially in the promoting biological effects, we examined the effects of different levels of boron on weight, organ index, microstructure, and antioxidative activities of the spleen in rats. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were selected and treated with different concentrations of boron, and then, the organs were resected and weighed. One half of the tissue was fixed and embedded in paraffin to observe tissue structure changes. The other half of the tissue was homogenated for determining the antioxidant activities. The results showed that 40 mg/L of boron could increase weight, organ indexes, and antioxidant capacity of spleens and improve the spleen tissue structure, while the boron concentration above 80 mg/L could decrease weight, organ indexes, and antioxidant capacity of spleens and damage the spleen tissue structure. The higher the concentration, the more serious the damage was. Especially at the concentration of 640 mg/L, it could significantly inhibit the development of the spleen and even exhibit toxic effect. Hence, low boron concentration played a protective role in the development of the spleen, while high boron concentration could damage the organs and even produce toxic effect.

Descemet’s membrane (DM) helps maintain phenotype and function of corneal endothelial cells under physiological conditions, while little is known about the function of DM in corneal endothelial wound healing process. In the current study, we performed in vivo rabbit corneal endothelial cell (CEC) injury via CEC scraping, in which DM remained intact after CECs removal, or via DM stripping, in which DM was removed together with CECs. We found rabbit corneas in the CEC scraping group healed with transparency restoration, while there was posterior fibrosis tissue formation in the corneas after DM stripping on day 14. Following CEC scraping on day 3, cells that had migrated toward the central cornea underwent a transient fibrotic endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) which was reversed back to an endothelial phenotype on day 14. However, in the corneas injured via DM stripping, most of the cells in the posterior fibrosis tissue did not originate from the corneal endothelium, and they maintained fibroblastic phenotype on day 14. We concluded that corneal endothelial wound healing in rabbits has different outcomes depending upon the presence or absence of Descemet’s membrane. Descemet’s membrane supports corneal endothelial cell regeneration in rabbits after endothelial injury.

Histone demethylation is a vital process in epigenetic regulation of gene expression. A number of histone demethylases are present to control the methylated states of histone. Among these enzymes, KDM4s are one subfamily of JmjC KDMs and play important roles in both normal and cancer cells. The discovery of KDM4s inhibitors is a potential therapeutic strategy against different diseases including cancer. Here, we summarize the development of KDM4s inhibitors and some related pharmaceutical information to provide an update of recent progress in KDM4s inhibitors.

Owing to the convergence of multiple cultures coupled with the unprecedented rapid development in the decades since the late 1990s, the value creation and innovation logic of Asia-Pacific business models (BMs) has been constantly altered by cultural heterogeneity and thus, have evolved into a more complex and diverse landscape relative to Western developed-economy BMs. Given that relevant issues remain under-researched, the main purpose of our collection is to fill this gap. We provide new insights into identifying, exploring and rationalizing the indigenous innovation ecosystems and unorthodox value-creating logic of BMs emerging from the Greater China territory. Moreover, whereas the COVID-19 crisis has fundamentally changed the way people do business along with the lockdowns followed by some forms of de-globalization; it is expected to see a new wave of BM evolution. We, thus, outline three promising and nascent pathways for future efforts departing from a cultural view to explore the value logic of BMs and BM innovation within the Asia-Pacific region in the post-COVID-19 era:(1) the role of culture in BM innovation; (2) new ways of creating the knowledge and managing knowledge iceberg phenomenon and (3) using the 'Bottom of Pyramid' approach to BM innovation for incorporating social goals into value creation logic.

In a globalized and digital world, manufacturing firms have used internet technology to conduct value appropriation (VA). However, during the COVID-19 crisis, export-led manufacturing firms around the world, particularly those in developing countries, have been forced to lay off workers and cope with VA-related problems, and serious survival problems have resulted in critical corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related challenges. Whereas limited research has discussed relevant issues in nonwestern contexts, we adopt a global perspective of business model and transactional cost theory, aiming to fill this gap by investigating the mechanisms among different dimensions of CSR implementation, firm performance, and VA herein. Based on a sample of listed Chinese manufacturing firms, the results show that the CSR technique dimension is negatively related to firm performance, that the CSR content dimension is positively related to firm performance, and that VA positively moderates the relationships of all three CSR dimensions to firm performance. The main contribution here is providing a more comprehensive understanding of how different CSR dimensions reflect firms’ multiple ethical behaviors, which influence their sustainable performance, respectively, thus enriching the existing knowledge of CSR studies in a new digital era riddled with uncertainties and complexities. We also offer practical implications for other export-led manufacturing firms in developing countries facing turbulent times.