A study of strong pulses detected from PSR B0656+14 using Urumqi 25-m radio telescope at 1540MHz

We report on the properties of strong pulses from PSR B0656+14 by analyzing the data obtained using Urumqi 25-m radio telescope at 1540 MHz from August 2007 to September 2010. In 44 hrs of observational data, a total of 67 pulses with signal-to-noise ratios above a 5-{\sigma} threshold were detected. The peak flux densities of these pulses are 58 to 194 times that of the average profile, and the pulse energies of them are 3 to 68 times that of the average pulse. These pulses are clustered around phases about 5 degrees ahead of the peak of the average profile. Comparing with the width of the average profile, they are relatively narrow, with the full widths at half-maximum range from 0.28 to 1.78 degrees. The distribution of pulse-energies of the pulses follows a lognormal distribution. These sporadic strong pulses detected from PSR B0656+14 are different in character from the typical giant pulses, and from its regular pulses.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Accepted by RA

Morphological differentiations of the gills of two Gymnocypris przewalskii subspecies in different habitats and their functional adaptations

Gill morphologies of two subspecies of Gymnocypris przewalskii ( Gymnocypris przewalskii przewalskii and Gymnocypris przewalskii ganzihonensis ) in different habitats were analyzed under scanning electron microscope. Results indicated that G. p. przewalskii had numerous long and dense-lined gill rakers while G. p. ganzihonensis had few short and scatter-lined gill rakers. There were no significant differences in distance between gill filaments (DBF) and distance gill lamella (DBL) between the two subspecies, but gill filaments of G. p. przewalskii were longer than in G. p. ganzihonensis. The electron microscopic study indicated that the pavement epithelium cells of G. p. przewalskii were well defined as irregular ovals, but were hexagonal in G. p. ganzihonensis. Moreover, G. p. przewalskii had more chloride cells than G. p. ganzihonensis, and mucous cells were only found on the surface of gill filaments of G. p. przewalskii. The morphological differences between the two subspecies of G. przewalskii are adaptations to their corresponding diets and habitats

Diagnostic utility of GDF15 in neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Introduction GDF15 may be a potential biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases. In this analysis, we aimed to quantitative analysis the levels of GDF15 in patients with neurological diseases and in health control, and then to determine its potential diagnostic utility. Methods Two researchers separately conducted a systematic search of the relevant studies up to January 2021 in Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science. Effect sizes were estimated to use the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated by the summary receiver operating characteristics curve (SROC) method. The sensitivity analysis was performed by the “one‐in/one‐out” approach. Considering the considerable heterogeneity among studies, random‐effects model was used for the meta‐analysis investigation. Results A total of eight articles were included in this meta‐analysis and systematic review. The pooled results of the random effect model indicated GDF15 levels were significantly higher in patients with neurodegenerative disease than healthy people (SMD = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.44–1.40, Z = 3.75, p < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity of biomarker of GDF15 were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.75–0.97), 0.77 (95% CI: 0.67–0.65), and AUC = 0.87 (95% CI: 0.84–0.90), respectively. Conclusions GDF15 levels were higher in patients with neurodegenerative disease than healthy people. And serum levels of GDF15 were a better marker for diagnostic utility of neurodegenerative disease

Cloning and expression analysis of Rubisco activase genes in Carya cathayensis

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) is a key enzyme involved in CO2 assimilation during photosynthesis. Rubisco activation depends on the activity of Rubisco activase (RCA). We performed 3′/5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to amplify the 3′ and 5′ end sequences of RCA genes from hickory. We obtained two full-length gene sequences, designated CcRCAα and CcRCAβ. The two corresponding cDNAs are divergent in both the translated and 3′ untranslated regions. The analysis of the genomic DNA sequences suggested that the corresponding mRNAs are transcripts of two different genes and not the products of a single alternatively spliced pre-mRNA. We examined the expression of CcRCAα and CcRCAβ in hickory leaves at various stages of development by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. The results suggest that RCA genes play an important role in development and environmental responses. These results provide a basis for modulating RCA gene expression to improve the photosynthetic rate and plant growth in hickory

Genome-wide association study provides insights into the genetic architecture of bone size and mass in chickens

Bone size is an important trait for chickens because of its association with osteoporosis in layers and meat production in broilers. Here, we employed high density genotyping platforms to detect candidate genes for bone traits. Estimates of the narrow heritabilities ranged from 0.37 ± 0.04 for shank length to 0.59 ± 0.04 for tibia length. The dominance heritability was 0.12 ± 0.04 for shank length. Using a linear mixed model approach, we identified a promising locus within NCAPG on chromosome 4, which was associated with tibia length and mass, femur length and area, and shank length. In addition, three other loci were associated with bone size or mass at a Bonferroni-corrected genome-wide significance threshold of 1%. One region on chicken chromosome 1 between 168.38 and 171.82 Mb harbored HTR2A, LPAR6, CAB39L, and TRPC4. A second region that accounted for 2.2% of the phenotypic variance was located around WNT9A on chromosome 2, where allele substitution was predicted to be associated with tibia length. Four candidate genes identified on chromosome 27 comprising SPOP, NGFR, GIP, and HOXB3 were associated with tibia length and mass, femur length and area, and shank length. Genome partitioning analysis indicated that the variance explained by each chromosome was proportional to its length.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Sustained growth of high mountain lakes in the headwaters of the Syr Darya River, Central Asia

The continuous rise in summer temperature and consequent glacier wastage have led to a significant loss of frozen water resources in the mountain headwaters of the major river systems in Central Asia. High mountain lakes in the headwaters of the Syr Darya River serve as sensitive indicators of climate change in the region. In this study, lakes in the headwaters of the Syr Darya River are examined using a Landsat image series. A total of 959 lakes covering a total area of 328.39 +/- 5.51 km(2) were identified in 2015, of which 91% were distributed in the larger Naryn River basin, and the remaining lakes were in the smaller Kara Darya River basin. During the period of the 1990s to 2015, a clear expansion trend in both lake area (+ 6.64 km(2)) and number of lakes (+ 205) was observed. Glacial lakes contributed 69% of the increase in the number of lakes. Among the four lake types, proglacial lakes showed the fastest area expansion with an average relative growth rate of 94% from the 1990s to 2015, 5-8 times that of the other three lake types: nonglacial lakes, unconnected-fed lakes and unconnected-nonfed lakes. Lake Petrov was the fastest growing glacial lake (+ 0.05 km(2) yr(-1)) during the past century and will continue to expand as its supply glacier continues to retreat. The continuous expansion and potential outburst risk of the Lake Petrov poses a serious threat to downstream toxic tailing ponds of the Kumtor Gold Mine. Lake Song Kol, the largest natural lake in this region, presented a steady status during 1972-2017. The warming climate-caused acceleration of glacial melt is thought to be the primary reason for the lake enlargements in this region. The lake inventory prepared here is valuable baseline dataset for the evaluation of water resources in the Syr Darya River drainage basin and for the potential risk and hazard assessments of glacial lake outburst floods