Descope of the ALIA mission

The present work reports on a feasibility study commissioned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences of China to explore various possible mission options to detect gravitational waves in space alternative to that of the eLISA/LISA mission concept. Based on the relative merits assigned to science and technological viability, a few representative mission options descoped from the ALIA mission are considered. A semi-analytic Monte Carlo simulation is carried out to understand the cosmic black hole merger histories starting from intermediate mass black holes at high redshift as well as the possible scientific merits of the mission options considered in probing the light seed black holes and their coevolution with galaxies in early Universe. The study indicates that, by choosing the armlength of the interferometer to be three million kilometers and shifting the sensitivity floor to around one-hundredth Hz, together with a very moderate improvement on the position noise budget, there are certain mission options capable of exploring light seed, intermediate mass black hole binaries at high redshift that are not readily accessible to eLISA/LISA, and yet the technological requirements seem to within reach in the next few decades for China

Age effect of deafening on stereotyped song maintenance in adult male bengalese finches Lonchura striata domestica

Birdsong is a complex learned vocal behavior that relies on auditory experience for development. However, it appears that among different species of close-ended songbirds, there are some variations in the necessity of auditory feedback for maintaining stereotyped adult song. In zebra finches, the deterioration of adult songs following deafness depends on the birds’ age. It is unknown whether this age effect is a general rule in other avian species as well. Therefore, we chose Bengalese finches, whose songs show more complexity and have much heavier dependency on auditory feedback than that of zebra finches, to compare the degree of song degradation after hearing loss in old (over 18 months old) and young adult birds (5–6 months old). We found that both syllable sequence and syllable phonology were much less severely affected by deafening in old adults than that in young ones. Moreover, young adults almost lost their capability to sing trills over 6 months following deafening, while old birds continued to sing plenty of trills and trilled syllables after the same period of deafening. Our results suggest that age plays an important role in affecting the dependency of adult song maintenance on auditory feedback in Bengalese finches. Furthermore, the age dependency may be a general phenomenon in different species of close-ended songbirds [Current Zoology 55(3):212–218, 2009]

Dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural by combining Lewis and Bronsted acid

In this work, glucose was transformed into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) in the presence of AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O and a Bronsted solid acid catalyst (PTSA-POM). GVL (gamma-valerolactone)-water and ethanol-water solvent systems were evaluated in the dehydration reaction of glucose into HMF and EMF, respectively. Water content and dosage of AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O were examined in the conversion of glucose into HMF, and some valuable chlorides (FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O, NiCl2 center dot 6H(2)O, CrCl3 center dot 6H(2)O etc.) were also used in contrast with AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O. Some different organic solvents were added to the ethanol-water system to explore whether it would be beneficial to the generation of EMF. A high yield of HMF (60.7%) was obtained at 140 degrees C within 60 min in GVL-water (10:1) solvent system, and total yield 42.1% of EMF and HMF (30.6% EMF, 11.5% HMF) was achieved at 150 degrees C after 30 min in an ethanol-water (9 : 1) solvent system

Development of Certified Reference Materials for the Determination of Apparent Amylose Content in Rice

Apparent amylose content (AAC) is one of the most important parameters in rice quality evaluation. In this study, four rice reference materials used to test rice AAC were developed. The AAC of rice reference materials were measured by a spectrophotometric method with a defatting procedure, calibrated from potato amylose and waxy rice amylopectin at the absorption wavelengths of 620 and 720 nm. Homogeneity test (n = 20) was judged by F-test based on the mean squares of among and within bottles, and short- and long-term stability monitoring was performed by T-test to check if there was significant degradation at the delivery temperature of under 40 °C (14 days) and at 0–4 °C storage condition (18 months), respectively. After joint evaluation by ten laboratories, Dixion and Cochran statistical analyses were presented. The expanded uncertainties were calculated based on the uncertainty of homogeneity, short- and long-term stability, and inter-laboratory validation containing factor k = 2. It found that the four reference materials were homogenous and stable, and had the AAC (g/100 g, k = 2) of 2.96 ± 1.01, 10.68 ± 0.66, 17.18 ± 1.04, and 16.09 ± 1.29, respectively, at 620 nm, and 1.46 ± 0.49, 10.44 ± 0.56, 16.82 ± 0.75, and 24.33 ± 0.52, respectively, at 720 nm. It was indicated that 720 nm was more suitable for the determination of rice AAC with lower uncertainties. The determinations of the AAC of 11 rice varieties were carried out by two methods, the method without defatting and with calibration from the four rice reference materials and the method with a defatting procedure and calibrating from potato amylose and waxy rice amylopectin. It confirmed that the undefatted rice reference materials could achieve satisfactory results to test the rice samples with the AAC ranging from 1 to 25 g/100 g. It would greatly reduce the time cost and improve testing efficiency and applicability, and provide technical support for the high-quality development of the rice industry

A preliminary study of level 1A data processing of a low–low satellite to satellite tracking mission

With the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission as the prime example, an overview is given on the management and processing of Level 1A data of a low–low satellite to satellite tracking mission. To illustrate the underlying principle and algorithm, a detailed study is made on the K-band ranging (KBR) assembly, which includes the measurement principles, modeling of noises, the generation of Level 1A data from that of Level 0 as well as Level 1A to Level 1B data processing

Effects of CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3 polymorphisms on pharmacokinetics of tylerdipine hydrochloride in healthy Chinese subjects

<p></p><p>The aim of this analysis was to explore the influence of CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3 polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of tylerdipine in healthy Chinese subjects.</p><p>A total of 64 and 63 healthy Chinese subjects were included and identified as the genotypes of CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3, respectively. Plasma samples were collected for up to 120 h post-dose to characterize the pharmacokinetic profile following single oral dose of the drug (5, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg). Plasma levels were measured by a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using non-compartmental method. The maximum concentration (<i>C</i>_max) and the area under the curve (AUC_0–24 h) were all corrected by the dose given.</p><p>In the wild-type group, the mean dose-corrected AUC_0–24 h was 1.35-fold larger than in CYP3A4*1G carriers (<i>p</i> = .018). Among the three CYP3A5 genotypes, there showed significantly difference (<i>p</i> = .008) in the <i>t</i>_1/2, but no significant difference was observed for the AUC_0–24 h and <i>C</i>_max. In subjects with the CYP3A5*3/*3 genotype, the mean <i>t</i>_1/2 was 1.35-fold higher than in CYP3A5*1/*1 group (<i>p</i> = .007). And the <i>t</i>_1/2 in CYP3A5*3 carriers also was 1.32-fold higher than in the wild-type group (<i>p</i> = .004).</p><p>CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3 polymorphisms may influence tylerdipine pharmacokinetic in healthy Chinese subjects.</p><p></p> <p>The aim of this analysis was to explore the influence of CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3 polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of tylerdipine in healthy Chinese subjects.</p> <p>A total of 64 and 63 healthy Chinese subjects were included and identified as the genotypes of CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3, respectively. Plasma samples were collected for up to 120 h post-dose to characterize the pharmacokinetic profile following single oral dose of the drug (5, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg). Plasma levels were measured by a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using non-compartmental method. The maximum concentration (<i>C</i>_max) and the area under the curve (AUC_0–24 h) were all corrected by the dose given.</p> <p>In the wild-type group, the mean dose-corrected AUC_0–24 h was 1.35-fold larger than in CYP3A4*1G carriers (<i>p</i> = .018). Among the three CYP3A5 genotypes, there showed significantly difference (<i>p</i> = .008) in the <i>t</i>_1/2, but no significant difference was observed for the AUC_0–24 h and <i>C</i>_max. In subjects with the CYP3A5*3/*3 genotype, the mean <i>t</i>_1/2 was 1.35-fold higher than in CYP3A5*1/*1 group (<i>p</i> = .007). And the <i>t</i>_1/2 in CYP3A5*3 carriers also was 1.32-fold higher than in the wild-type group (<i>p</i> = .004).</p> <p>CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3 polymorphisms may influence tylerdipine pharmacokinetic in healthy Chinese subjects.</p

The Hippo effector YAP promotes resistance to RAF- and MEK-targeted cancer therapies

Resistance to RAF- and MEK-targeted therapy is a major clinical challenge(1–4). RAF and MEK inhibitors are initially but only transiently effective in some but not all patients with BRAF gene mutation and are largely ineffective in those with RAS gene mutation because of resistance(5–14). Through a genetic screen in BRAF-mutant tumor cells, we show that the Hippo pathway effector YAP (encoded by YAP1) acts as a parallel survival input to promote resistance to RAF and MEK inhibitor therapy. Combined YAP and RAF or MEK inhibition was synthetically lethal not only in several BRAF-mutant tumor types but also in RAS-mutant tumors. Increased YAP in tumors harboring BRAF V600E was a biomarker of worse initial response to RAF and MEK inhibition in patients, establishing the clinical relevance of our findings. Our data identify YAP as a new mechanism of resistance to RAF- and MEK-targeted therapy. The findings unveil the synthetic lethality of combined suppression of YAP and RAF or MEK as a promising strategy to enhance treatment response and patient survival