A lanthanum chelate possessing an open-channel framework with water nanotubes: properties and desalination

National Science Foundation of China [21133007]; Ministry of Science and Technology of China [2010CB732303, 2011CB808504]; PCSIRT [IRT1036]A new type of thermally stable chelate {La(H2O)(4)[La(1,3-pdta)(H2O)](3)}(n)center dot 12nH(2)O (1) [1,3-H(4)pdta=CH2[CH2N(CH2CO2H)(2)](2)] with an open-channel shows significant and unusual solvent transport properties and demonstrates a use for low-pressure desalination, which is constructed by cheap and available lanthanum salt and 1,3-propanediaminetetraacetate. The chelate could be converted reversibly to its trihydrate {La(H2O)(4)[La(1,3-pdta)(H2O)](3)}(n)center dot 3nH(2)O (1a), dehydrated product {La(H2O)(4)[La(1,3-pdta)-(H2O)](3)}(n) (1b) and ethanol adduct {La(H2O)(4)[La(1,3-pdta)(H2O)](3)}(n)center dot 3nH(2)O center dot 3nEtOH (1c). The latter nano-confined ethanol shows a remarkable downfield shift (Delta delta = 6.0 ppm) for the methylene group in the solid C-13 NMR spectrum compared with that of the free EtOH. Crystal 1 with a regular hexagonal appearance can be used directly for saline water desalination on a small-scale at an ambient temperature, demonstrating a low energy consumption and environmentally friendly method. This is attributed to the 10.0 angstrom hydrophobic open-channel containing water nanotubes (WNTs, Phi = 4.2 angstrom). The nano-confined WNTs can be removed at a low temperature (45 degrees C)

Identification, evaluation, and application of the genomic-SSR loci in ramie

To provide a theoretical and practical foundation for ramie genetic analysis, simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the ramie genome and employed in this study. From the 115 369 sequences of a specific-locus amplified fragment library, a type of reduced representation library obtained by high-throughput sequencing, we identified 4774 sequences containing 5064 SSR motifs. SSRs of ramie included repeat motifs with lengths of 1 to 6 nucleotides, and the abundance of each motif type varied greatly. We found that mononucleotide, dinucleotide, and trinucleotide repeat motifs were the most prevalent (95.91%). A total of 98 distinct motif types were detected in the genomic-SSRs of ramie. Of them, The A/T mononucleotide motif was the most abundant, accounting for 41.45% of motifs, followed by AT/TA, accounting for 20.30%. The number of alleles per locus in 31 polymorphic microsatellite loci ranged from 2 to 7, and observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.04 to 1.00 and 0.04 to 0.83, respectively. Furthermore, molecular identity cards (IDs) of the germplasms were constructed employing the ID Analysis 3.0 software. In the current study, the 26 germplasms of ramie can be distinguished by a combination of five SSR primers including Ibg5-5, Ibg3-210, Ibg1-11, Ibg6-468, and Ibg6-481. The allele polymorphisms produced by all SSR primers were used to analyze genetic relationships among the germplasms. The similarity coefficients ranged from 0.41 to 0.88. We found that these 26 germplasms were clustered into five categories using UPGMA, with poor correlation between germplasm and geographical distribution. Our study is the first large-scale SSR identification from ramie genomic sequences. We have further studied the SSR distribution pattern in the ramie genome, and proposed that it is possible to develop SSR loci from genomic data for population genetics studies, linkage mapping, quantitative trait locus mapping, cultivar fingerprinting, and as genetic diversity studies

Transcriptomic analyses of regenerating adult feathers in chicken

Transcriptome Expression Data. Table of mapped reads to Galgal4 transcripts for all 15 data sets. FPKM (Fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments mapped): normalized transcript abundance values for each gene in the indicated tissues. (CSV 1314 kb

The Bone-Protecting Efficiency of Chinese Medicines Compared With Western Medicines in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease leading to joint destruction. The prevention of bone and cartilage destruction has received increased attention in recent years.Objective: To evaluate the current evidences regarding the bone-protecting efficacy of Chinese medicine or the combination of Chinese medicine and Western medicine for RA.Methods: We comprehensively searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library (www.thecochranelibrary.com), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP), and SinoMed. We then performed a systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the two therapy methods.Results: Sixteen studies including 1,171 patients were included in the final analysis. The results showed that Chinese medicine could significantly improve the bone mineral density (BMD) (mean difference [MD] = 0.05 /g·cm−2, 95% CI [0.03, 0.08], P < 0.00001), and decrease the serum matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3) ([SMD] = −2.84, 95% CI [−4.22, −1.47], P < 0.0001).Conclusions: Chinese medicine may provide an efficiently alternative choice for the treatment of RA in terms of the bone-protecting efficiency. Given the inherent limitations of the included studies, future well-designed RCTs are required to confirm and update the findings of this analysis

A simulation study on the measurement of D0-D0bar mixing parameter y at BES-III

We established a method on measuring the \dzdzb mixing parameter $y$ for BESIII experiment at the BEPCII $e^+e^-$ collider. In this method, the doubly tagged $\psi(3770) \to D^0 \overline{D^0}$ events, with one $D$ decays to CP-eigenstates and the other $D$ decays semileptonically, are used to reconstruct the signals. Since this analysis requires good $e/\pi$ separation, a likelihood approach, which combines the $dE/dx$, time of flight and the electromagnetic shower detectors information, is used for particle identification. We estimate the sensitivity of the measurement of $y$ to be 0.007 based on a $20fb^{-1}$ fully simulated MC sample.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Systems Chemical Genetics-Based Drug Discovery: Prioritizing Agents Targeting Multiple/Reliable Disease-Associated Genes as Drug Candidates

Genetic disease genes are considered a promising source of drug targets. Most diseases are caused by more than one pathogenic factor; thus, it is reasonable to consider that chemical agents targeting multiple disease genes are more likely to have desired activities. This is supported by a comprehensive analysis on the relationships between agent activity/druggability and target genetic characteristics. The therapeutic potential of agents increases steadily with increasing number of targeted disease genes, and can be further enhanced by strengthened genetic links between targets and diseases. By using the multi-label classification models for genetics-based drug activity prediction, we provide universal tools for prioritizing drug candidates. All of the documented data and the machine-learning prediction service are available at SCG-Drug (http://zhanglab.hzau.edu.cn/scgdrug)

Joint analysis of three genome-wide association studies of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Chinese populations

We conducted a joint (pooled) analysis of three genome-wide association studies (GWAS) 1-3 of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in ethnic Chinese (5,337 ESCC cases and 5,787 controls) with 9,654 ESCC cases and 10,058 controls for follow-up. In a logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, study, and two eigenvectors, two new loci achieved genome-wide significance, marked by rs7447927 at 5q31.2 (per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 0.85, 95% CI 0.82-0.88; P=7.72x10−20) and rs1642764 at 17p13.1 (per-allele OR= 0.88, 95% CI 0.85-0.91; P=3.10x10−13). rs7447927 is a synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TMEM173 and rs1642764 is an intronic SNP in ATP1B2, near TP53. Furthermore, a locus in the HLA class II region at 6p21.32 (rs35597309) achieved genome-wide significance in the two populations at highest risk for ESSC (OR=1.33, 95% CI 1.22-1.46; P=1.99x10−10). Our joint analysis identified new ESCC susceptibility loci overall as well as a new locus unique to the ESCC high risk Taihang Mountain region

A new genus and species of Cicadellini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from China

Meng, Ze-Hong, Yang, Mao-Fa (2015): A new genus and species of Cicadellini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from China. Zootaxa 4039 (3): 489-494, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4039.3.1

FIGURES 1 – 13 in A new genus and species of Cicadellini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from China

FIGURES 1 – 13. Biprocessa jiaoi (Yang & Li, 2005) gen. nov. & comb. nov. 1, body, dorsal view. 2 – 7, male genitalia. 2, pygofer, lateral view. 3, subgenital plate, ventral view. 4, aedeagus and paraphysis, lateral view. 5, aedeagus and paraphysis, ventral view. 6, connective, ventral view. 7, style, ventral view. 8 – 13, female genitalia. 8, sternite VII, ventral view. 9, valvifer I and valvula I, lateral view. 10, dorsal sculptured area of median portion of valvula I, lateral view. 11, valvula II, lateral view. 12, teeth of median portion of valvula II, lateral view. 13, apical portion of valvula II, lateral view. Scale bars in millimeters