The relative importance of intraspecific trait variation (rITV) for functional diversity (FD) in plant communities is increasingly apparent, but the influence of abiotic factors on the balance between intraspecific and interspecific effects in contrasting environments is uncertain. We predicted that rITV would increase with environmental harshness as a result of decreasing interspecific variation (Inter_FD) and concomitant increases in between-population ITV(Intra_FD). We empirically tested this prediction in a comparison of rITV for five traits (mature plant...

In the present study, a total of 7793 samples from 5 different types of hosts were collected and tested, with a seroprevalence of 2.4% (184/7793). Although the seroprevalence of human and animal brucellosis is relatively low, numbers of human brucellosis cases reported have increased continuously from 2004 to 2018. A total of 118 Brucella strains containing 4 biotypes were obtained, including Brucella melitensis bv.1 (n = 8) and bv.3 (n = 106), Brucella abortus bv.3...

This archive contains the data and code used by Ruppert et al. (2020) in their journal publication (DOI placeholder; "The role of cloud–infrared radiation feedback in tropical cyclone development"). It contains 1) the WRF model code and namelist files required to run the pre-processing and simulations of Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricane Maria, and 2) the forcing and circulation output from Sawyer–Eliassen equation computations. Gridded output files are in NetCDF format. Additional datasets required to conduct...

In December 2019, Wuhan, China suffered a serious outbreak of a novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID) caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV 2). To quickly identify the pathogen, we designed and screened primer sets, and established a sensitive and specific qRT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV 2; the lower limit of detection (LOD) was 14.8 (95% CI: 9.8–21) copies per reaction. We combined this qRT-PCR assay with an automatic integration system for nucleic acid...

Heterochrony describes acceleration, displacement and/or retardation of descendants’ development events compared to ancestral states and has often been cited as an important process to bring about morphological novelty. It was coined one and half centuries ago and has been discussed by both paleobiologists and biologists frequently ever since. Many types of fossil organisms preserve aspects of their development histories in their bones or shells that have been used for heterochrony analyses, with body size being...

Supplemental Material, original_data for Effectiveness of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Versus Mandibular Advancement Device in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients With Mandibular Retrognathia: A Prospective Clinical Trial by Haichun Lai, Wei Huang, Wei Chen and Desheng Wang in Ear, Nose & Throat Journal

In males, aging is accompanied by decline in serum testosterone levels due to impairment of testicular Leydig cells. The polycomb protein BMI1 has recently been identified as an anti-aging factor. In our previous study, BMI1 null mice showed decreased serum testosterone and Leydig cell population, excessive oxidative stress and p16/p19 signaling activation. However, a cause-and-effect relationship between phenotypes and pathways was not investigated. Here, we used the rescue approach to study the role of oxidative...

Long noncoding RNA GAS5 is down-regulated in cardiomyocytes in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Here, we studied the involvement of GAS5 in DCM by analyzing its expression in DCM mouse model and cardiac muscle cell line (HL-1 cells). Compared with normal mice, GAS5 was severely down-regulated in heart tissues of DCM mice. GAS5 overexpression improved cardiac function and myocardial hypertrophy in DCM mice. In addition, the expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, Pro-caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 were increased in...

Long noncoding RNA GAS5 is down-regulated in cardiomyocytes in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Here, we studied the involvement of GAS5 in DCM by analyzing its expression in DCM mouse model and cardiac muscle cell line (HL-1 cells). Compared with normal mice, GAS5 was severely down-regulated in heart tissues of DCM mice. GAS5 overexpression improved cardiac function and myocardial hypertrophy in DCM mice. In addition, the expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, Pro-caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 were increased in...

1. Inter-specific root separation is an important example of spatial niche differentiation that drives species coexistence in many ecosystems. Particularly under water-stressed conditions, it is believed to be an inevitable outcome of species interactions. However, evidence for and against this idea has been found. So far, studies aiming at reconciling the debate mainly focus on abiotic determinants. It remains unclear if and to what extent root separation depends on the type and growth form of...

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-KP) have disseminated worldwide and emerged as major threats to public health. Of epidemiological significance, the international pandemic of KPC-KP is primarily associated with CG258 isolates and blaKPC-IncF plasmids. CRISPR-Cas system is an adaptive immune system that can hinder gene expansion driven by horizontal gene transfer. Because of blaKPC-IncF plasmids are favored by CG258 K. pneumoniae, it was of interest to examine the co-distribution of CRISPR and blaKPC-IncF plasmids...

Objectives Severe or critical COVID-19 is associated with intensive care unit admission, increased secondary infection rate, and would lead to significant worsened prognosis. Risks and characteristics relating to secondary infections in severe COVID-19 have not been described. Methods Severe and critical COVID-19 patients from Shanghai were included. We collected lower respiratory, urine, catheters, and blood samples according to clinical necessity and culture and mNGS were performed. Clinical and laboratory data were archived. Results We found...

Mitophagy, the elimination of damaged mitochondria through autophagy, promotes neuronal survival in cerebral ischemia. Previous studies found deficient mitophagy in ischemic neurons, but the mechanisms are still largely unknown. We determined that BNIP3L/NIX, a mitophagy receptor, was degraded by proteasomes, which led to mitophagy deficiency in both ischemic neurons and brains. BNIP3L exists as a monomer and homodimer in mammalian cells, but the effects of homodimer and monomer on mitophagy are unclear. Site-specific mutations in...

In December 2019, Wuhan, China suffered a serious outbreak of a novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID) caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV 2). To quickly identify the pathogen, we designed and screened primer sets, and established a sensitive and specific qRT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV 2; the lower limit of detection (LOD) was 15 (95% CI: 9.8–21) copies per reaction. We combined this qRT-PCR assay with an automatic integration system for nucleic acid...

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) X inactive specific transcript (XIST) has been identified as an oncogenic lncRNA in a series of human cancers, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In this study, we aimed to further explore the underlying mechanism of XIST on ESCC progression. qRT-PCR assay was used to determine the levels of XIST and miR-129-5p. Western blot analysis was performed to assess cyclin D1 (CCND1) expression. Bioinformatic analysis was performed using starBase v2.0 software....

Episodic Neoproterozoic magmatic suites in the Altyn Tagh, NW China, are thought to be related break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent. These suites resulted from long-term extension of the lithosphere during orogenic collapse and subsequent rifting. New geochemical and U-Pb-Hf zircon data indicate that the 825 Ma Hongliugou granite displays the characteristics of A-type granites derived from a juvenile source. Gneissic granites (780–760 Ma) are characterized by high Rb (>200 × 10−6), low Zr/Hf (23.28–29.28) and...