Non-monotonic compositional dependence of isothermal bulk modulus of the (Mg1–xMnx)Cr2O4 spinel solid solutions, and its origin and implication

AbstractThe compressibility of the spinel solid solutions, (Mg1−xMnx)Cr2O4 with x = 0.00 (0), 0.20 (0), 0.44 (2), 0.61 (2), 0.77 (2) and 1.00 (0), has been investigated by using a diamond-anvil cell coupled with synchrotron X-ray radiation up to ∼10 GPa (ambient T). The second-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state was used to fit the PV data, yielding the following values for the isothermal bulk moduli (KT), 198.2 (36), 187.8 (87), 176.1 (32), 168.7 (52), 192.9 (61) and 199.2 (61) GPa, for the spinel solid solutions with x = 0.00 (0), 0.20 (0), 0.44 (2), 0.61 (2), 0.77 (2) and 1.00 (0), respectively (KT′ fixed as 4). The KT value of the MgCr2O4 spinel is in good agreement with existing experimental determinations and theoretical calculations. The correlation between the KT and x is not monotonic, with the KT values similar at both ends of the binary MgCr2O4MnCr2O4, but decreasing towards the middle. This non-monotonic correlation can be described by two equations, KT = −49.2 (11)x + 198.0 (4) (x ≤ ∼0.6) and KT = 92 (41)x + 115 (30) (x ≥ ∼0.6), and can be explained by the evolution of the average bond lengths of the tetrahedra and octahedra of the spinel solid solutions. Additionally, the relationship between the thermal expansion coefficient and composition is correspondingly reinterpreted, the continuous deformation of the oxygen array is demonstrated, and the evolution of the component polyhedra is discussed for this series of spinel solid solutions. Our results suggest that the correlation between the KT and composition of a solid solution series may be complicated, and great care should be paid while estimating the KT of some intermediate compositions from the KT of the end-members

Relationship between Adiponectin Gene Polymorphisms and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

In recent years, researchers have found that adiponectin (ANP) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and low serum concentrations of ANP are associated with AD. Higher plasma ANP level have a protective effect against the development of cognitive decline, suggesting that ANP may affect AD onset. Meanwhile, accumulating evidence supports the crucial role of ANP in the pathogenesis of AD. To study the relationship between ANP gene polymorphisms (rs266729, -11377C>G and rs1501299, G276T) and late-onset AD (LOAD), we carried out a case-control study that included 201 LOAD patients and 257 healthy control subjects. Statistically significant differences were detected in the genotype and allelotype frequency distributions of rs266729 and rs1501299 between the LOAD group and the control group, with a noticeable increase in the G and T allelotype frequency distributions in the LOAD group (P 0.05) between the LOAD group and control group, whereas the CG and GT haplotypes were significantly different (P < 0.05), suggesting a negative correlation between the CG haplotype and LOAD onset (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57-0.96, P = 0.022), and a positive correlation between the GT haplotype and LOAD onset (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.42-3.68, P = 0.005). Therefore, we speculated that the rs266729 and rs1501299 of ANP gene polymorphisms and the GT and CG haplotypes were associated with LOAD

An Efficient Modular Gateway Recombinase-Based Gene Stacking System for Generating Multi-Trait Transgenic Plants

Transgenic technology can transfer favorable traits regardless of reproductive isolation and is an important method in plant synthetic biology and genetic improvement. Complex metabolic pathway modification and pyramiding breeding strategies often require the introduction of multiple genes at once, but the current vector assembly systems for constructing multigene expression cassettes are not completely satisfactory. In this study, a new in vitro gene stacking system, GuanNan Stacking (GNS), was developed. Through the introduction of Type IIS restriction enzyme-mediated Golden Gate cloning, GNS allows the modular, standardized assembly of target gene expression cassettes. Because of the introduction of Gateway recombination, GNS facilitates the cloning of superlarge transgene expression cassettes, allows multiple expression cassettes to be efficiently assembled in a binary vector simultaneously, and is compatible with the Cre enzyme-mediated marker deletion mechanism. The linked dual positive-negative marker selection strategy ensures the efficient acquisition of target recombinant plasmids without prokaryotic selection markers in the T-DNA region. The host-independent negative selection marker combined with the TAC backbone ensures the cloning and transfer of large T-DNAs (>100 kb). Using the GNS system, we constructed a binary vector containing five foreign gene expression cassettes and obtained transgenic rice carrying the target traits, proving that the method developed in this research is a powerful tool for plant metabolic engineering and compound trait transgenic breeding

Spectrometric peak chart of rs266729.

<p>(A) <i>ANP</i> gene rs266729 (-11377C>G) CC genotype. (B) <i>ANP</i> gene rs266729 (-11377C>G) CG genotype. (C) <i>ANP</i> gene rs266729 (-11377C>G) GG genotype.</p

Spectrometric peak chart of rs1501299.

<p>(A) <i>ANP</i> gene rs1501299 (G276T) GG genotype. (B) <i>ANP</i> gene rs1501299 (G276T) GT genotype. (C) <i>ANP</i> gene rs1501299 (G276T) TT genotype.</p

Comparison of clinical characteristics between the AD and control groups.

<p>* <i>P</i> < 0.05. ≤ primary school, illiterate or educated to primary school level;> primary school, educated above primary school level; BMI, body mass index;TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.</p><p>Comparison of clinical characteristics between the AD and control groups.</p

Correlation analysis between <i>ANP</i> gene haplotypes and AD.

<p>* <i>P</i> < 0.05 indicates statistically significant differences.</p><p>Correlation analysis between <i>ANP</i> gene haplotypes and AD.</p