Separating sexual dimorphism from other morphological variation in a specimen complex of fossil marine reptiles (Reptilia, Ichthyosauriformes, Chaohusaurus).

The Early Triassic Chaohu Fauna from Anhui Province, China, contains the oldest record of Mesozoic marine reptiles, such as Cartorhynchus and Sclerocormus. Most specimens from the fauna belong to the ichthyosauriform Chaohusaurus, more specifically resembling C. chaoxianensis. However, a wide range of morphological variation exists within about 40 skeletons that have been prepared, likely reflecting mixed signals from both sexual and taxonomic differences. We test whether the sexual and taxonomic signals are separable based on quantification, aided by the knowledge of sexual dimorphism in extant marine tetrapods. There are two different suites of dimorphism that divide the specimens differently from each other yet consistently within each suite, resulting in four morphotypes in combination, likely representing two sexes of two taxa. Presumed males have larger organ of prehension sensu Darwin, specifically limbs in the present case, for a given body length. This sexing criterion is supported by the only specimen of a gravid female, which belongs to the morphotype with short limbs. Males also have larger skulls for the trunk length compared to females. This study demonstrates that sexual and taxonomic signals are separable in fossil reptiles, with a sufficient sample size and careful analyses

Performance of Water Desalination and Modern Irrigation Systems for Improving Water Productivity

Desalination is the process that is performed to remove excess salts from water to become potable or agriculture. This applied science is now concerned by many countries suffering from water shortage. Over the next ten years, this science is expected to grow significantly due to the expected water crises in many countries. The consumption of energy in the desalination process is one of the important problems and difficult obstacles that need to be overcome. The Egyptian water strategy should include increasing amount of desalinated water to more than 50%, especially since Egypt is in a very rich location in saltwater sources and they can be utilized to the maximum extent possible. The researchers have attempted to develop varieties of some traditional crops such as wheat, saline resistant to salinity using local selective ecotourism techniques and using genetic engineering through which saline-tolerant genes are added, but it can be said that so far these efforts have not resulted in the production of candidate seawater breeds The maximum salinity of irrigation water in the long term, even for the most salt-tolerant crops such as date palm, is still less than 5 mmol

Successful thoracoscopic management of iatrogenic left subclavian arterial injury: a case report.

The subclavian artery at the thoracic outlet is in the deepest position of the thoracic cavity and is difficult to repair in this narrow space once injured, even if the surgery is converted to a thoracotomy. This article presents a successful left subclavian artery repair procedure at the thoracic outlet using a thoracoscopic approach, with a video demonstration, and describes its technical characteristics. The patient was planned for a left upper lobectomy through three-port thoracoscopic approach. Severe adhesions were found intraoperatively and an accidental left subclavian arterial injury occurred when dissecting the adhesions. We first clamped the proximal portion of the subclavian artery and then directly clamped the rupture site. Our first suture failed due to the limited suture angle and the mutual restriction between the needle holder and atraumatic vascular clamp. To freely control the needle holder, another assistant port was made in the seventh intercostal space (ICS). The arterial injury was finally successfully repaired using pledgetted suture. The operation time was 235 minutes and intraoperative blood loss was 800 mL. The pulsation of the left radial artery was normal postoperatively, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 6. Appropriate strategies allow attempts to manage intraoperative hyperbaric arterial bleeding from the systemic circulation, such as bleeding caused by subclavian arterial injuries, by means of a thoracoscopic approach without conversion to thoracotomy

Synthesis of novel substituted N-aryl benzamides as hA3G stabilizers and their inhibitory activities against hepatitis C virus replication

AbstractA series of novel amino-substituted N-aryl benzamide analogs were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in acutely infected Huh7.5 cells. Most of the substituted N-aryl benzamide compounds showed convincing anti-HCV activities. Compounds 1f, 1g and 4c exhibited potent anti-replicative activity at low micromolar levels (IC50=1.0–2.0μM) with selective indices (SI) greater than 40. Mechanistic analysis indicated that the active compounds increased intracellular hA3G protein levels and inhibited HCV replication in a dose-dependent manner. The results demonstrate that this series of substituted N-aryl benzamide compounds warrant further investigation as inhibitors of HCV replication

Phosphorus addition increases stability and complexity of co-occurrence network of soil microbes in an artificial Leymus chinensis grassland

IntroductionUnderstanding the response of cross-domain co-occurrence networks of soil microorganisms to phosphorus stability and the resulting impacts is critical in ecosystems, but the underlying mechanism is unclear in artificial grassland ecosystems.MethodsIn this study, the effects of four phosphorus concentrations, P0 (0 kg P ha−1), P1 (15.3 kg P ha−1), P2 (30.6 kg P ha−1), and P3 (45.9 kg P ha−1), on the cross-domain co-occurrence network of bacteria and fungi were investigated in an artificial Leymus chinensis grassland in an arid region.Results and discussionThe results of the present study showed that phosphorus addition significantly altered the stem number, biomass and plant height of the Leymus chinensis but had no significant effect on the soil bacterial or fungal alpha (ACE) diversity or beta diversity. The phosphorus treatments all increased the cross-domain co-occurrence network edge, node, proportion of positively correlated edges, edge density, average degree, proximity to centrality, and robustness and increased the complexity and stability of the bacterial-fungal cross-domain co-occurrence network after 3 years of continuous phosphorus addition. Among them, fungi (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota and Glomeromycota) play important roles as keystone species in the co-occurrence network, and they are significantly associated with soil AN, AK and EC. Finally, the growth of Leymus chinensis was mainly due to the influence of the soil phosphorus content and AN. This study revealed the factors affecting the growth of Leymus chinense in artificial grasslands in arid areas and provided a theoretical basis for the construction of artificial grasslands

Post-Domestication Selection in the Maize Starch Pathway

Modern crops have usually experienced domestication selection and subsequent genetic improvement (post-domestication selection). Chinese waxy maize, which originated from non-glutinous domesticated maize (Zea mays ssp. mays), provides a unique model for investigating the post-domestication selection of maize. In this study, the genetic diversity of six key genes in the starch pathway was investigated in a glutinous population that included 55 Chinese waxy accessions, and a selective bottleneck that resulted in apparent reductions in diversity in Chinese waxy maize was observed. Significant positive selection in waxy (wx) but not amylose extender1 (ae1) was detected in the glutinous population, in complete contrast to the findings in non-glutinous maize, which indicated a shift in the selection target from ae1 to wx during the improvement of Chinese waxy maize. Our results suggest that an agronomic trait can be quickly improved into a target trait with changes in the selection target among genes in a crop pathway

Phase transition mechanism and bandgap engineering of Sb2S3 at gigapascal pressures

Earth-abundant antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3), or simply antimonite, is a promising material for capturing natural energies like solar power and heat flux. The layered structure, held up by weak van-der Waals forces, induces anisotropic behaviors in carrier transportation and thermal expansion. Here, we used stress as mechanical stimuli to destabilize the layered structure and observed the structural phase transition to a three-dimensional (3D) structure. We combined in situ x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations to study the evolution of structure and bandgap width up to 20.1 GPa. The optical band gap energy of Sb2S3 followed a two-step hierarchical sequence at approximately 4 and 11 GPa. We also revealed that the first step of change is mainly caused by the redistribution of band states near the conduction band maximum. The second transition is controlled by an isostructural phase transition, with collapsed layers and the formation of a higher coordinated bulky structure. The band gap reduced from 1.73 eV at ambient to 0.68 eV at 15 GPa, making it a promising thermoelectric material under high pressure