Metrical Analyses on Population and Economic Growth and Urban ‘Quality Of Life’ of Metropolitan Cities in China during the 00s

In the first decade of the 21st century, along with rapid economic growth, China also experienced rapid urbanization, more specifically, the concentration of large populations from rural areas into urban areas. In 2005, the Chinese Government, in its Eleventh Five-Year Plan, had an attitude of promoting the sound development of urbanization, while also promoting cooperative development in regions. However, there has emerging some mass media reports on the shadow side of the rapid growth and the rapid concentration such as environmental problems e.g. pollution affairs since early of the 2010’s. These are the same as Japan had already suffered from the 1960's to 70's, so it suggests that the new era has come when Chinese inquire their 'Quality Of Life (QOL)'. This paper analyses 51 metropolitan cities (prefecture-level cities with over one million population in 2000). Firstly, mainly based on Population Census Reports data in 2000 and 2010, we examine the economic growth and the urban in-flow migration, and the relationship between these two kinds of the indicators in detail. We show a classification of 51 cities through cluster analysis and their geographical distributions, and then we summarize the dynamics of all over China economy and population during this decade. Based on published statistical data in 2005 and 2010 such as China City Statistical Yearbooks, we propose an indicator-system on China urban QOL of the 51 metropolitan cities. This QOL system is consisted of five groups of indicators (Education/ Daily-Life Convenience/ Urban-Life Enivironment/ Consumer-Side Sustainability/ Indstry-Side Sustainability) of 23 elemental indicators. At one time-point, QOL value is defined as an average of the group indicators, each of which is an average of each standard scores of the elemental indicators. On the other hand, ‘Change of QOL’ value is defined as an average of each standard scores of the change ratios of the elemental indicators. Using these kinds of QOL indicators, we also show a classification of the metropolitan cities through cluster analysis and their geographical distributions in China. Furthermore, we analyse correlations between the five group indicators of the QOL system and the economic level and its growth through MRA. As the results, there can be observed the negative values of correlation between GRP per capita and Consumer-Side Sustainability and so on statistical significantly

Arranging Small Molecules with Subnanometer Precision on DNA Origami Substrates for the Single‐Molecule Investigation of Protein–Ligand Interactions

DNA origami nanostructures are versatile substrates for the single‐molecule investigation of biomolecular interactions as they enable the display of molecular species in complex arrangements. Herein, the fundamental limitations of this approach are explored by displaying pairs of small‐molecule ligands of the protein trypsin on DNA origami substrates and adjusting their ligand–ligand spacing with subnanometer precision. Bidentate binding of trypsin to the ligand pairs is investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), microscale thermophoresis (MST), and molecular dynamics simulations. Bidentate trypsin binding is strongly affected by the distance of the ligand pairs and the accessibility of the protein's binding pockets. MST cannot resolve the differences in bidentate trypsin binding because of the nonspecific binding of trypsin to the DNA origami substrates, rendering the AFM‐based single‐molecule detection of binding events superior to ensemble measurements. Finally, even monodentate binding to a single ligand may be affected by subnanometer variations in its position, highlighting the importance of local microenvironments that vary even over molecular distances. While this single‐molecule approach can provide viable information on the effects of ligand arrangements on bidentate protein binding, in‐depth investigations into the nature of local microenvironments will be required to exploit its full potential

Pathway and kinetics of cyhalothrin biodegradation by Bacillus thuringiensis strain ZS-19

10.1038/srep08784Scientific Reports

The reliability of colorimetry is precise(ly) as expected.

Figure S6. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of the differentially expressed genes between C1 and C2. (JPG 403 kb

SARS-CoV Infection in a Restaurant from Palm Civet

Contact with food animals was associated with SARS-CoV infection in the People’s Republic of China

Yersinia pestis Interacts With SIGNR1 (CD209b) for Promoting Host Dissemination and Infection

Yersinia pestis, a Gram-negative bacterium and the etiologic agent of plague, has evolved from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a cause of a mild enteric disease. However, the molecular and biological mechanisms of how Y pseudotuberculosis evolved to such a remarkably virulent pathogen, Y pestis, are not clear. The ability to initiate a rapid bacterial dissemination is a characteristic hallmark of Y pestis infection. A distinguishing characteristic between the two Yersinia species is that Y pseudotuberculosis strains possess an O-antigen of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) while Y pestis has lost the O-antigen during evolution and therefore exposes its core LPS. In this study, we showed that Y pestis utilizes its core LPS to interact with SIGNR1 (CD209b), a C-type lectin receptor on antigen presenting cells (APCs), leading to bacterial dissemination to lymph nodes, spleen and liver, and the initiation of a systemic infection. We therefore propose that the loss of O-antigen represents a critical step in the evolution of Y pseudotuberculosis into Y pestis in terms of hijacking APCs, promoting bacterial dissemination and causing the plague.Peer reviewe

Genome of the pitcher plant <i>Cephalotus </i>reveals genetic changes associated with carnivory

Carnivorous plants exploit animals as a nutritional source and have inspired long-standing questions about the origin and evolution of carnivory-related traits. To investigate the molecular bases of carnivory, we sequenced the genome of the heterophyllous pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis, in which we succeeded in regulating the developmental switch between carnivorous and non-carnivorous leaves. Transcriptome comparison of the two leaf types and gene repertoire analysis identified genetic changes associated with prey attraction, capture, digestion and nutrient absorption. Analysis of digestive fluid proteins from C. follicularis and three other carnivorous plants with independent carnivorous origins revealed repeated co-options of stress-responsive protein lineages coupled with convergent amino acid substitutions to acquire digestive physiology. These results imply constraints on the available routes to evolve plant carnivory

Purification and Characterization of a Novel Chlorpyrifos Hydrolase from Cladosporium cladosporioides Hu-01

Chlorpyrifos is of great environmental concern due to its widespread use in the past several decades and its potential toxic effects on human health. Thus, the degradation study of chlorpyrifos has become increasing important in recent years. A fungus capable of using chlorpyrifos as the sole carbon source was isolated from organophosphate-contaminated soil and characterized as Cladosporium cladosporioides Hu-01 (collection number: CCTCC M 20711). A novel chlorpyrifos hydrolase from cell extract was purified 35.6-fold to apparent homogeneity with 38.5% overall recovery by ammoniumsulfate precipitation, gel filtration chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography. It is a monomeric structure with a molecular mass of 38.3 kDa. The pI value was estimated to be 5.2. The optimal pH and temperature of the purified enzyme were 6.5 and 40°C, respectively. No cofactors were required for the chlorpyrifos-hydrolysis activity. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by Hg2+, Fe3+, DTT, β-mercaptoethanol and SDS, whereas slight inhibitory effects (5–10% inhibition) were observed in the presence of Mn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, and EDTA. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed various organophosphorus insecticides with P-O and P-S bond. Chlorpyrifos was the preferred substrate. The Km and Vmax values of the enzyme for chlorpyrifos were 6.7974 μM and 2.6473 μmol·min−1, respectively. Both NH2-terminal sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS) identified an amino acid sequence MEPDGELSALTQGANS, which shared no similarity with any reported organophosphate-hydrolyzing enzymes. These results suggested that the purified enzyme was a novel hydrolase and might conceivably be developed to fulfill the practical requirements to enable its use in situ for detoxification of chlorpyrifos. Finally, this is the first described chlorpyrifos hydrolase from fungus

An approach to the global well-posedness of a coupled 3-dimensional Navier-Stokes-Darcy model with Beavers-Joseph-Saffman-Jones interface boundary condition

This study focused on investigating the global well-posedness of a coupled Navier-Stokes-Darcy model with the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman-Jones interface boundary condition in the three-dimensional Euclidean space. By utilizing this approach, we successfully obtained the global strong solution of the system in the three-dimensional space. Furthermore, we demonstrated the exponential stability of this strong solution. The significance of such coupled systems lies in their pivotal role in the analysis of subsurface flow problems, particularly in the context of karst aquifers