A new species of Argyromys (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the oligocene of the valley of lakes (Mongolia): its importance for palaeobiogeographical homogeneity across Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan

We describe a new species of Rodentia (Mammalia), Argyromys cicigei sp. nov. from Toglorhoi (fossil bed TGW-A/2a) in Mongolia and Ulantatal (fossil beds UTL 1 and UTL 7) in China. Its tooth morphology differs from the type species Argyromys aralensis from Akespe in Kazakhstan by smaller size and simpler structures. Argyromys has been assigned in different families of Muroidea, such as Tachyoryctoididae and Spalacidae. However, the presence of common characters indicates a closer relationship of Argyromys with the genera of Cricetidae s.l. (subfamilies Eucricetodontinae; Cricetopinae; Cricetodontinae and Gobicricetodontinae among others) from Asia than with the earliest representatives of Spalacidae or the endemic Tachyoryctoididae. Argyromys cicigei sp. nov. possesses a simple anterocone and anteroconid in the upper and lower first molars, respectively, which is characteristic for Cricetidae s.l. It has a flat occlusal surface in worn specimens; weakly-developed posterolophs; an oblique protolophule and metaloph on the upper molars and it lacks a labial anterolophid on the m1. These traits are also typical of the Oligocene genera Aralocricetodon and Plesiodipus, included in the subfamilies Cricetodontinae and Gobicricetodontinae respectively. The cladistic analysis performed here supports this hypothesis. The clade formed by Argyromys species is grouped with other cricetid taxa (s.l). Spalacids, however, form a different clade, as do the tachyoryctoids. Previous authors state that the Aral Formation (Kazakhstan) should be dated to the Oligocene instead of the Miocene, based on the presence of several taxa. The finds of Argyromys in both regions supports the statement that they are closer in age than previously thought. The occurrence of Argyromys in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China evidences the biogeographic unity of the Central Asian bioprovince during the Oligocene

Graphene plasmonics

Two rich and vibrant fields of investigation, graphene physics and plasmonics, strongly overlap. Not only does graphene possess intrinsic plasmons that are tunable and adjustable, but a combination of graphene with noble-metal nanostructures promises a variety of exciting applications for conventional plasmonics. The versatility of graphene means that graphene-based plasmonics may enable the manufacture of novel optical devices working in different frequency ranges, from terahertz to the visible, with extremely high speed, low driving voltage, low power consumption and compact sizes. Here we review the field emerging at the intersection of graphene physics and plasmonics.Comment: Review article; 12 pages, 6 figures, 99 references (final version available only at publisher's web site

Residual hepatocellular carcinoma after oxaliplatin treatment has increased metastatic potential in a nude mouse model and is attenuated by Songyou Yin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The opposite effects of chemotherapy, which enhance the malignancy of treated cancers such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), are not well understood. We investigated this phenomenon and corresponding mechanisms to develop a novel approach for improving chemotherapy efficacy in HCC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines HepG2 (with low metastatic potential) and MHCC97L (with moderate metastatic potential) were used for the in vitro study. An orthotopic nude mouse model of human HCC was developed using MHCC97L cells. We then assessed the metastatic potential of surviving tumor cells after in vitro and in vivo oxaliplatin treatment. The molecular changes in surviving tumor cells were evaluated by western blot, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. The Chinese herbal extract Songyou Yin (composed of five herbs) was investigated in vivo to explore its effect on the metastatic potential of oxaliplatin-treated cancer cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MHCC97L and HepG2 cells surviving oxaliplatin treatment showed enhanced migration and invasion in vitro. Residual HCC after in vivo oxaliplatin treatment demonstrated significantly increased metastasis to the lung (10/12 vs. 3/12) when re-inoculated into the livers of new recipient nude mice. Molecular changes consistent with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were observed in oxaliplatin-treated tumor tissues and verified by in vitro experiments. The Chinese herbal extract Songyou Yin (4.2 and 8.4 g/kg) attenuated EMT and inhibited the enhanced metastatic potential of residual HCC in nude mice (6/15 vs. 13/15 and 3/15 vs. 13/15, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The surviving HCC after oxaliplatin treatment underwent EMT and demonstrated increased metastatic potential. Attenuation of EMT by Songyou Yin may improve the efficacy of chemotherapy in HCC.</p

AMD, an Automated Motif Discovery Tool Using Stepwise Refinement of Gapped Consensuses

Motif discovery is essential for deciphering regulatory codes from high throughput genomic data, such as those from ChIP-chip/seq experiments. However, there remains a lack of effective and efficient methods for the identification of long and gapped motifs in many relevant tools reported to date. We describe here an automated tool that allows for de novo discovery of transcription factor binding sites, regardless of whether the motifs are long or short, gapped or contiguous

Multiple sex partner behavior in female undergraduate students in China: A multi-campus survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes). To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10%) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse). Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex) were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use.</p

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Laser Interactions for the Synthesis and In Situ Diagnostics of Nanomaterials

Laser interactions have traditionall been at thec center of nanomaterials science, providing highly nonequilibrium growth conditions to enable the syn- thesis of novel new nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanowires with metastable phases. Simultaneously, lasers provide unique opportunities for the remote char- acterization of nanomaterial size, structure, and composition through tunable laser spectroscopy, scattering, and imaging. Pulsed lasers offer the opportunity, there- fore, to supply the required energy and excitation to both control and understand the growth processes of nanomaterials, providing valuable views of the typically nonequilibrium growth kinetics and intermediates involved. Here we illustrate the key challenges and progress in laser interactions for the synthesis and in situ diagnostics of nanomaterials through recent examples involving primarily carbon nanomaterials, including the pulsed growth of carbon nanotubes and graphene