BackgroundAn emerging cavefish model, the cyprinid genus Sinocyclocheilus, is endemic to the massive southwestern karst area adjacent to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China. In order to understand whether orogeny influenced the evolution of these species, and how genomes change under isolation, especially in subterranean habitats, we performed whole-genome sequencing and comparative analyses of three species in this genus, S. grahami, S. rhinocerous and S. anshuiensis. These species are surface-dwelling, semi-cave-dwelling and cave-restricted, respectively.ResultsThe assembled genome sizes of S. grahami, S. rhinocerous and S. anshuiensis are 1.75 Gb, 1.73 Gb and 1.68 Gb, respectively. Divergence time and population history analyses of these species reveal that their speciation and population dynamics are correlated with the different stages of uplifting of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We carried out comparative analyses of these genomes and found that many genetic changes, such as gene loss (e.g. opsin genes), pseudogenes (e.g. crystallin genes), mutations (e.g. melanogenesis-related genes), deletions (e.g. scale-related genes) and down-regulation (e.g. circadian rhythm pathway genes), are possibly associated with the regressive features (such as eye degeneration, albinism, rudimentary scales and lack of circadian rhythms), and that some gene expansion (e.g. taste-related transcription factor gene) may point to the constructive features (such as enhanced taste buds) which evolved in these cave fishes.ConclusionAs the first report on cavefish genomes among distinct species in Sinocyclocheilus, our work provides not only insights into genetic mechanisms of cave adaptation, but also represents a fundamental resource for a better understanding of cavefish biology.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12915-015-0223-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Employees' positive organizational behavior (POB) is not only to promote organizational function but also improve individual and organizational performance. As an important concept in organizational research, organizational justice is thought to be a universal predictor of employee and organizational outcomes. The current set of two studies examined the effects of organizational justice (OJ) on POB of employees with two different studies, a large-sample survey and a situational experiment. In study 1, a total of 2,566 employees from 45 manufacturing enterprises completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires assessing organizational justice (OJ) and positive organizational behavior (POB) of employees. In study 2, 747 employees were randomly sampled to participate in the situational experiment with 2 × 2 between-subjects design. They were asked to read one of the four situational stories and to image that this situation happen to the person in the story or them, and then they were asked to imagine how the person in the story or they would have felt and what the person or they subsequently would have done. The results of study 1 suggested that OJ was correlated with POB of employees and OJ is a positive predictor of POB. The results of study 2 suggested that OJ had significant effects on POB and negative organizational behavior (NOB). Procedural justice accounted for significantly more variance than distributive justice in POB of employees. Distributive justice and procedural justice have different influences on POB and NOB in terms of effectiveness and direction. The effect of OJ on POB was greater than that of NOB. In addition, path analysis indicated that the direct effect of OJ on POB was smaller than its indirect effect. Thus, many intermediary effects could possibly be between them.

Purpose The carcinogenic capacity of B[a]P/B[a]PDE is supported by epidemiologic studies. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for B[a]P/B[a]PDE-caused lung cancer have not been well investigated. We evaluated here the role of novel target PHLPP2 in lung inflammation and carcinogenesis upon B[a]P/B[a]PDE exposure. Experimental Design We used the Western blotting, RT-PCR, [35S]methionine pulse and immunohistochemistry staining to determine PHLPP2 downregulation following B[a]P/B[a]PDE exposure. Both B[a]PDE-induced Beas-2B cell transformation model and B[a]P-caused mouse lung cancer model were used to elucidate the mechanisms leading to PHLPP2 downregulation and lung carcinogenesis. The important findings were also extended to in vivo human studies. Results We found that B[a]P/B[a]PDE exposure downregulated PHLPP2 expression in human lung epithelial cells in vitro and in mouse lung tissues in vivo. The ectopic expression of PHLPP2 dramatically inhibited cell transformation upon B[a]PDE exposure. Mechanistic studies showed that miR-205 induction was crucial for inhibition of PHLPP2 protein translation by targeting PHLPP2-3′-UTR. Interestingly, PHLPP2 expression was inversely associated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) expression, with low PHLPP2 and high TNFα expression in lung cancer tissues compared with the paired adjacent normal lung tissues. Additional studies revealed that PHLPP2 exhibited its antitumorigenic effect of B[a]P/B[a]PDE through the repression of inflammatory TNFα transcription. Conclusions Our studies not only first time identify PHLPP2 downregulation by lung carcinogen B[a]P/B[a]PDE, but also elucidate a novel molecular mechanisms underlying lung inflammation and carcinogenesis upon B[a]P/B[a]PDE exposure.

The decrease of anti-inflammatory cytokine and increase of pro-inflammatory cytokine was observed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Interleukin-10 (IL-10), a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, has been demonstrated to suppress joint swelling and deformation in RA animal model. Interleukin-18 (IL-18), a widely distributed pro-inflammatory cytokine, induces the production of IFN-γ, activate NK cells, and promote inflammation. Recent studies demonstrated that the serum IL-10 and IL-18 levels may be influenced by genetics and related to susceptibility to several autoimmune diseases. In the present study, using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and DNA sequencing techniques, we analyzed the genotype and allele distributions of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) loci in the promoter region of IL-10 and IL-18 genes (IL-10-592 A/C and IL-18-607 A/C loci, respectively). Our results indicated that IL-10-592 allelic and genotypic frequencies were significantly different between the RA patients and normal subjects (P<0.05). In addition, significant differences of IL-10-592 allelic and genotypic frequencies were also detected between the patients with or without anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) (P<0.05). In contrast, allelic and genotypic frequencies of IL-18-607 did not show significant difference between RA patients and normal subjects (P>0.05) or between anti-CCP-positive and anti-CCP-negative RA patients (P>0.05). Furthermore, ELISA detection of IL-10 and IL-18 serum levels revealed that the genotype of IL-10-592 was associated with IL-10 serum level (P<0.05), but the genotype and allele frequency of IL-18-607 was not associated with IL-18 serum level (P>0.05). Taken together, our findings provide new insight for the polymorphism of IL-10 gene in the pathogenesis of RA.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of organizational psychological ownership (OPO) and organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) on positive organizational behaviors (POBs). Design/methodology/approach – Based on empirical survey, 2,566 employees from 45 production enterprises in China were surveyed by a self-designed questionnaire on OPO, OBSE and POB. Then, the methods of correlation analysis, multiple regressions, impact effect and path analysis were used to verify the research hypothesis. Findings – The results showed that POB is positively related to OPO and OBSE, and that OPO and OBSE are positive predictors of POBs. The results also demonstrated that OBSE has partial mediating effects on OPO and POB. In particular, psychological ownership has a significant impact on each sub-factor of POB, while OBSE has a remarkable effect on the behavior of devotion and interpersonal harmony. Research limitations/implications – This is a non-experimental field study and as such inferences about causality are limited, and there is a possibility that the results may be influenced by common method variance. Practical implications – The findings of the present study reveal that to strengthen employees’ POBs, manager should enhance employees’ OPO and OBSE, and therefore the organizational performance and the individual efficacy will be improved. Originality/value – This is the first research which studies the relationship among OPO, POB and OBSE under the background of China.

No abstract

A Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau fish, the Kanglang white minnow (Anabarilius grahami), is a typical “3E” (Endangered, Endemic, and Economic) species in China. Its distribution is limited to Fuxian Lake, the nation’s second deepest lake, with a significant local economic value but a drastically declining wild population. This species has been evaluated as VU (Vulnerable) in the China Species Red List. As one of the “Four Famous Fish” in Yunnan province, the artificial breeding has been achieved since 2003. It has not only re-established its wild natural populations by reintroduction of the artificial breeding stocks, but also brought a wide and popular utilization of this species to the local fish farms. A. grahami has become one of the main native aquaculture species in Yunnan province, and the artificial production has been emerging in steady growth each year. To promote the conservation and sustainable utilization of this fish, we initiated its whole genome sequencing project using an Illumina Hiseq2500 platform. The assembled genome size of A. grahami is 1.006 Gb, accounting for 98.63% of the estimated genome size (1.020 Gb), with contig N50 and scaffold N50 values of 26.4 kb and 4.41 Mb, respectively. Approximately about 50.38% of the genome was repetitive. A total of 25,520 protein-coding genes were subsequently predicted. A phylogenetic tree based on 4,580 single-copy genes from A. grahami and 18 other cyprinids revealed three well-supported subclades within the Cyprinidae. This is the first inter-subfamily relationship of cyprinids at genome level, providing a simple yet useful framework for understanding the traditional but popular subfamily classification systems. Interestingly, a further population demography of A. grahami uncovered a historical relationship between this fish and Fuxian Lake, suggesting that range expansion or shrinkage of the habitat has had a remarkable impact on the population size of endemic plateau fishes. Additionally, a total of 33,836 simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers were identified, and 11 loci were evaluated for a preliminary genetic diversity analysis in this study, thus providing another useful genetic resource for studying this “3E” species.

Introduction: The Xpert MTB/RIF is recommended by the World Health Organization as a first line rapid test for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB); however, China does not routinely use this test, partially due to the lack of a sufficient number of systematic evaluations of this assay in local patients. The aims of this study were to comprehensively assess the diagnostic performance of Xpert MTB/RIF, either alone or in combination with conventional assays for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in adult Chinese patients.Methods: Xpert MTB/RIF tests were performed in 190 adult patients with suspected pulmonary TB, using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as test specimens. In parallel, conventional tests were carried out using the same BALF samples. Using two different reference standards, the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF, conventional assays and their combinations were evaluated.Results: Using mycobacterial culture as the reference comparator, Xpert MTB/RIF was found to be superior to smear-microscopy in detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis. When final diagnosis, based on clinical criteria, was employed as the reference standard, Xpert MTB/RIF showed an even higher accuracy of 72.1%, supported by a sensitivity of 61.1% and specificity of 96.6%. Xpert MTB/RIF also demonstrated a powerful capability to identify pulmonary TB cases undetected by culture or smear-microscopy. Combining smear-microscopy and Xpert MTB/RIF was found to be the most accurate early predictor for pulmonary TB. Rifampicin resistance reported by Xpert MTB/RIF slightly deviated from that by phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility testing and requires further study with a larger sample size.Conclusion: This two-center prospective study highlights the value of Xpert MTB/RIF with BALF in diagnosing pulmonary TB in adult Chinese patients. These findings might contribute to the optimization of current diagnostic algorithms for pulmonary TB in China.