The Wanbaogou granitic plutons are exposed along with coeval volcanic rocks, and provide an opportunity to investigate Silurian tectonism in the South Kunlun belt, northwest China. This study presents new whole-rock geochemical, and zircon U–Pb geochronological and Lu–Hf isotope data for Silurian intrusive rocks of the Wanbaogou area. We analysed four samples: a porphyritic monzogranite and dioritic dike from the Wanbaogou pluton and a granodiorite and monzogranite from the Wudaogou pluton. Zircon U–Pb dating yielded...

The genetic diversity and population structures of five Chongqing local chicken populations were investigated using by 24 microsatellite markers. Results revealed that the mean number of alleles (NA) ranged from 7.08 (Daninghe chicken, DN) to 8.46 (Nanchuan chicken, NC). The highest observed heterozygosity (HO) and expected heterozygosity (HE) were observed in DN (HO = 0.7252; HE = 0.7409) and the lowest HO and HE were observed in XS (Xiushan native chicken [XS], HO = 0.5910...

Current genetic studies (e.g. gene knockout) have suggested that EsxA and EsxB function as secreted virulence factors that are essential for Mycobaterium tuberculosis (Mtb) intracellular survival, specifically in mediating phagosome rupture and translocation of Mtb to the cytosol of host cells, which further facilitates Mtb intracellular replicating and cell-to-cell spreading. The EsxA-mediated intracellular survival is presumably achieved by its pH-dependent membrane-permeabilizing activity (MPA). However, the data from other studies have generated a discrepancy regarding the...

Vip3Aa is an insecticidal protein that can effectively control certain lepidopteran pests and has been used widely in biological control. However, the mechanism of action of Vip3Aa is unclear. In the present study, we showed that Vip3Aa could cause autophagy in Sf9 cells, which was confirmed by the increased numbers of GFP-Atg8 puncta, the appearance of autophagic vacuoles, and an elevated Atg8-II protein level. Moreover, we found that the AMPK-mTOR-ULK1 pathway is involved in Vip3Aa-induced...

Natural plant-derived protein with excellent bioactivities has attracted much attention so a functional protein with molecular weight of 15.2 kDa was extracted from Millettia speciosa Champ. leaf for the first time. Under the pH of 12.0, solid-liquid ratio of 1:40 (w/v), extraction time of 2.0 h, and extraction temperature of 50 °C, the highest extracting efficiency (79.25 ± 0.78%) of the Millettia speciosa Champ. leaf protein (MLP) was achieved. The main structure of MLP contained...

The amount of total suspended solids (TSS) is the most visible indicator for evaluating water quality in reservoirs. Previous investigations paid more attention to TSS of the surface layer in reservoirs, while suspended particles are prone to settle, resuspend, and aggregate at the bottom of reservoir. There may be different patterns of the TSS in different depths. This study is to assess the TSS concentration by weight analysis, find the evidence of the existence of...

Drug-resistant pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has severely threatened human health and arouses widespread concern. Sortase A (SrtA) is an essential virulence factor of S. aureus, which is responsible for the covalent anchoring of a variety of virulence-related proteins to the cell wall. SrtA has always been regarded as an ideal pharmacological target against S. aureus infections. In this research, we have determined that orientin, a natural compound isolated from various medicinal plants, can effectively...

Oil body (OB), a subcellular organelle that stores oil in plant seeds, is considered a new transdermal drug delivery system. With the increasing understanding of the OB and its main protein (oleosin), numerous studies have been conducted on OB as “carrier” for the expression of exogenous proteins. In our previous study, oil body fused with aFGF (OLAF) was obtained using a plant oil body expression system that had been preliminarily proven to be effective in...

Oil body (OB), a subcellular organelle that stores oil in plant seeds, is considered a new transdermal drug delivery system. With the increasing understanding of the OB and its main protein (oleosin), numerous studies have been conducted on OB as “carrier” for the expression of exogenous proteins. In our previous study, oil body fused with aFGF (OLAF) was obtained using a plant oil body expression system that had been preliminarily proven to be effective in...

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-ppa-10.1177_09520767211034664 for The evolution of collaborative networks: A social network analysis of Chinese environmental protection policy by Yanwei Li and Jing Huang in Public Policy and Administration

We propose a general approach for the achievement of optical sensors, where ammonia can be rapidly identified and detected through visible fluorescence changes. Here, a tetraphenylethylene derivative with carboxyl groups named TPE-2CA (4,4ʹ-(1,2-Diphenylethene-1,2-diyl) dibenzoyl acid) was applied in the sensor. The AIE (aggregation-induced emission) property of tetraphenylethylene structure provides the samples with excellent luminescent performance in aggregated state. The reaction between carboxyl groups and ammonia causes the shifts on luminescence spectra of the samples. Consequently,...

Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is low in fat and high in nutrients; however, it also contains toxigenic factors such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA), which is poisonous to humans. Here, we aimed to determine the distribution of PHA in natural populations of snap bean by analyzing a candidate gene (PHA-E) related to PHA content. Functional genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were then scanned to identify SNPs related to PHA content. A total of 150 snap bean...

This paper considers a single-machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times and energy-generation and storage systems. Each job requires a sequence-dependent setup to be processed on the machine, and both setup and processing of the job require job-dependent amounts of energy. The energy consumed by the machine can be bought from an Electric Power Company (EPC) or generated by own Distributed Energy Resource (DER), such as solar photovoltaic or wind, and the energy can be...

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for the human body. Humans meet their basic Se requirements primarily through food consumption. The largest Se-rich contiguous area in China is located in the southeast of Guangxi. In this study, the Se accumulation and translocation in the Guangxi rice–soil system was assessed. Organically bound Se (O-Se) was found to be the main type of soil Se (72.5%), and had a good linear relationship with soil total Se (TSe)...

Four new cembrane diterpenes, 1,13-di-epi-13-acetoxy launine P (1), 13-oxo-thunbergol (2), isocrassumol B (3) and 7α, 8α-sarcophine (4), together with two known launine P (5) and sarcophytonin B (6), were isolated from the extract of the South China Sea soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, ECD analysis and comparison with literature data. All compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity and antiviral activity. Compounds 1, 2 and 5 were found to...

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs), and 100% fruit juices are frequently consumed and have been documented that they could lead to serious disease burden. However, inconsistent evidence on the association between SSBs, ASBs, and 100% fruit juices consumption and mortality have been presented. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PsycINFO were systematically searched. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis and dose-response meta-analysis to assess the association and calculated...

The functions of a large number of genes, including gene families with domains of unknown functions (DUF), still remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed four members of OsDUF1664 (OsDUF1664.1-OsDUF1664.4) in rice Nipponbare. By phylogenetic analysis, DUF1664 members in rice and Arabidopsis were classified into three major groups (I, II, III). Under drought conditions, the expression level of OsDUF1664.3 in rice was significantly elevated. Overexpression of OsDUF1664.3 in Escherichia coli led to a significant enhancement...

Rice straw is one of the major agricultural residues that is generated enormously in Asian countries. Thus, it is critical to develop an efficient process of converting this residue into valuable compounds in replacing fossil-based products. Herein, we developed an economically viable cement catalyst to pyrolyze the rice straw into bio-oil and fuel gas in a batch-type reactor. Under the optimized conditions, the maximum bio-oil yield of 41.07 wt.%, and gas yield of 30.53 wt.%...

It was found that bisphenol F (BPF) could be anaerobically transformed to 4,4-dihydroxybenzophenone using nitrate as an electron acceptor by Pseudomonas sp. LS. However, BPF removal was a slow process under anaerobic conditions. In the present study, effects of graphene oxide (GO) and graphene on the anaerobic transformation of BPF were studied in detail. Results showed that GO (2–10 mg/L) and graphene (2–20 mg/L) could increase the anaerobic biotransformation rate of BPF. For GO-mediated system,...

We conducted a meta-analysis to systematically review the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab for advanced NSCLC. Databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) treated with pembrolizumab till July 2021. Seven RCTs and 3988 patients were included. Our analysis suggests that pembrolizumab was more effective at improving PFS (HR, 0.59; 95% CI: 0.43–0.79; p = 0.0005), OS (HR, 0.65; 95% CI: 0.55–0.76; p ＜ 0.00001) and ORR (RR, 1.85; 95% CI: 1.64–2.09; p ＜ 0.00001)...

To obtain additional insight into the genetic factors of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). First, we performed a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) integrating human cerebellum-specific variant-expression/splicing correlations to identify ADHD susceptibility genes. Then, the associations between expression/splicing quantitative trait loci (eQTLs/sQTLs) of the transcriptome-wide significant genes and ADHD were observed in a case-control study of Han Chinese children. Furthermore, dual luciferase reporter gene assays were performed to validate the regulatory function of ADHD risk variants....

The role of prokaryotic CRISPR/Cas system proteins as a defensive shield against invasive nucleic acids has been studied extensively. Non-canonical roles in pathogenesis involving intracellular targeting of certain virulence-associated endogenous mRNA have also been reported for some Type I and Type II CRISPR/Cas proteins, but no such roles have yet been established for Type III system proteins. Here, we demonstrate that M. tuberculosis (Type III-A system) CRISPR/Cas proteins Csm1, Csm3, Csm5, Csm6, and Cas6 are...

Additional file 1. Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) 2013 checklist.

A growing body of evidence suggests the pivotal role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in influenza virus infection. Based on next-generation sequencing, we previously demonstrated that Lnc45 was distinctively stimulated by H5N1 influenza virus in mice. In this study, we systematically investigated the specific role of Lnc45 during influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Through qRT-PCR, we first demonstrated that Lnc45 is highly up-regulated by different subtypes of IAV strains, including H5N1, H7N9, and H1N1 viruses....

The analysis of spatial distributions is possible using a broad spectrum of new and existing digital data sources. Challenges can arise with respect to use of areal units that are both appropriate and compatible. In addition, regional statistics are prone to scale and aggregation effects that manifest the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). This paper introduces a web mapping system that allows users to experiment with standard and bespoke zonal schemes in the geodemographic analysis...