Bis{2-[bis­(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl-κN 2)meth­yl]pyridine-κN}cobalt(II) dinitrate

The central CoII ion in the title complex, [Co(C16H19N5)2](NO3)2, is located on a twofold rotation axis and has a slightly distorted octa­hedral coordination sphere. It is bonded to six N atoms from two 2-[bis­(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)meth­yl]pyridine ligands. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O inter­actions

Identification of SNPs in chemerin gene and association with carcass and meat quality traits of Qinchuan Cattle

Chemerin is a novel adipokine that regulates adipogenesis and adipocyte metabolism via its own receptor. In this study, two novel SNPs (868A>G in exon 2 and 2692C>T in exon 5) of chemerin gene were identified by PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing technology. The allele frequencies of the novel SNPs were determined in the genetically diverse bovine breeds including six Chinese indigenous cattle breeds (Caoyuan red, Jiaxian red, Luxi, Nanyang, Qinchuan and Xia’nan cattle). We evaluated the potential association of the SNPs with traits measured by ultrasound measurement in 214 Qinchuan individuals. Furthermore, meat quality traits data gotten from carcass measurement in another 69 Qinchuan individuals were analyzed by the comparison between the genotypes and their phenotypic data. Results showed that SNP 868A>G had a significant association with the ultrasound loin-muscle area (P < 0.05), loin-eye area and water holding capability (P < 0.05). And also revealed significant effects of genotype on the ultrasound backfat thickness (P < 0.05), backfat thickness and water holding capability (P < 0.05) of SNP 2692C>T. It was shown that associations do exist between chemerin gene and carcass and meat quality traits. As a result of the small sample size of this study, it is proposed that further effort is required to validate these findings in larger populations. It could be concluded that ultrasound measurements are similar in accuracy to carcass measurements for predicting carcass and meat quality traits in cattle, and could be a useful predictor of retail yield in live animals.Keywords: Bos bovine, chemerin gene, PCR-SSCP, SNP, meat quality trait

Influence of the size of clonal fragment on the nitrogen turnover processes in a bamboo ecosystem

Different sizes of clonal fragments contain various number of ramets with different spacer lengths, which strongly affects the redistribution of photosynthetic assimilates. Although clonal integration significantly affects rhizosphere processes via microbial enzymes under heterogeneous conditions, the effects of clonal fragment size (ramet number and spacer length) on rhizosphere N turnover processes remain poorly understood. Here, we sampled clonal fragments of Phyllostachys bissetii with different ramet numbers and spacer lengths to determine the relative effects of clonal integration and fragment size on rhizosphere processes and resource availability. We found that clonal integration had positive effects on the C and N availability of shaded ramets in clonal fragments with different ramet numbers, owing to the large resource storage in the fragment. However, it only promoted the dissolved organic carbon of the shaded ramets in clonal fragments with different spacer lengths. Results of regression analyses indicated that the response ratios of the soil variables of the shaded ramets first increased when the spacer length was about less than 30 cm and then decreased when the spacer became longer (about >30 cm), suggesting a cost–benefit tradeoff in the fragment. The contribution of the size of clonal fragment to the soil N turnover process was higher than that of clonal integration, whereas its contribution to soil C availability had the opposite effect. These results further revealed the mechanism of the size of clonal fragment in affecting the rhizosphere processes of stressed ramets, which is critical for the adaptation of P. bissetii to stressed habitats and further bamboo ecosystem N turnover under climate change

Pelletization performance of Panzhihua ilmenite concentrate

The influences of particle size distribution and the binder on the pelletization performance of Panzhihua ilmenite concentrate were studied in this paper. The results showed that the particle size distribution of Panzhihua ilmenite concentrate has the most important on its pelletization. The particle size distribution of ilmenite concentrate was significant changed and the specific surface area increased after grinding. The particle size of 45μm should be controlled less than 55% and 74μm no more than 74% in order to acquire a better performance of pellets. While the same performance of pellets can be obtained when the specific surface area of ilmenite concentrate was 1493cm2/g. The performance of pellets added with an organic binder is better than added bentonite. The pellet’s performance could be further improved under the mixed ratio of 1.05% bentonite and 0.45% organic binder

Metagenomic insights into the abundance and composition of resistance genes in aquatic environments:Influence of stratification and geography

A global survey was performed with 122 aquatic metagenomic DNA datasets (92 lake water and 30 seawater) obtained from the Sequence Read Archive (SRA). Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and metal resistance genes (MRGs) were derived from the dataset sequences via bioinformatic analysis. The relative abundances of ARGs and MRGs in lake samples were in the ranges ND (not detected)-1.34x10(0) and 1.22x10(-3) -1.98x10(-1) copies per 16S rRNA, which were higher than those in seawater samples. Among ARGs, multidrug resistance genes and bacitracin resistance genes had high relative abundances in both lake and sea water samples. Multimetal resistance genes, mercury resistance genes and copper resistance genes had the greatest relative abundance for MRGs. No significant difference was found between epilimnion and hypolimnion in abundance or the Shannon diversity index for ARGs and MRGs. Principal coordinates analysis and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) test showed that stratification and geography had significant influence on the composition of ARGs and MRGs in lakes (p < 0.05, PERMANOVA). Coastal seawater samples had significantly greater relative abundance and a higher Shannon index for both ARGs and MRGs than deep ocean and Antarctic seawater samples (p < 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA), suggesting that human activity may exert more selective pressure on ARGs and MRGs in coastal areas than those in deep ocean and Antarctic seawater

Functional Genomic Analysis of Variation on Beef Tenderness Induced by Acute Stress in Angus Cattle

Beef is one of the leading sources of protein, B vitamins, iron, and zinc in human food. Beef palatability is based on three general criteria: tenderness, juiciness, and flavor, of which tenderness is thought to be the most important factor. In this study, we found that beef tenderness, measured by the Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), was dramatically increased by acute stress. Microarray analysis and qPCR identified a variety of genes that were differentially expressed. Pathway analysis showed that these genes were involved in immune response and regulation of metabolism process as activators or repressors. Further analysis identified that these changes may be related with CpG methylation of several genes. Therefore, the results from this study provide an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms that genetic and epigenetic regulations control meat quality and beef tenderness

Multiplexed Monitoring of Neurochemicals via Electrografting- Enabled Site-Selective Functionalization of Aptamers on Field-Effect Transistors

Neurochemical corelease has received much attention in understanding brain activity and cognition. Despite many attempts, the multiplexed monitoring of coreleased neurochemicals with spatiotemporal precision and minimal crosstalk using existing methods remains challenging. Here, we report a soft neural probe for multiplexed neurochemical monitoring via the electrografting-assisted site-selective functionalization of aptamers on graphene field-effect transistors (G-FETs). The neural probes possess excellent flexibility, ultralight mass (28 mg), and a nearly cellular-scale dimension of 50 μm × 50 μm for each G-FET. As a demonstration, we show that G-FETs with electrochemically grafted molecular linkers (−COOH or −NH2) and specific aptamers can be used to monitor serotonin and dopamine with high sensitivity (limit of detection: 10 pM) and selectivity (dopamine sensor \u3e22-fold over norepinephrine; serotonin sensor \u3e17-fold over dopamine). In addition, we demonstrate the feasibility of the simultaneous monitoring of dopamine and serotonin in a single neural probe with minimal crosstalk and interferences in phosphate-buffered saline, artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and harvested mouse brain tissues. The stability studies show that multiplexed neural probes maintain the capability for simultaneously monitoring dopamine and serotonin with minimal crosstalk after incubating in rat cerebrospinal fluid for 96 h, although a reduced sensor response at high concentrations is observed. Ex vivo studies in harvested mice brains suggest potential applications in monitoring the evoked release of dopamine and serotonin. The developed multiplexed detection methodology can also be adapted for monitoring other neurochemicals, such as metabolites and neuropeptides, by simply replacing the aptamers functionalized on the G-FETs

miRNA-dysregulation associated with tenderness variation induced by acute stress in Angus cattle

miRNAs are a class of small, single-stranded, non-coding RNAs that perform post-transcriptional repression of target genes by binding to 3’ untranslated regions. Research has found that miRNAs involved in the regulation of many metabolic processes. Here we uncovered that the beef quality of Angus cattle sharply diversified after acute stress. By performing miRNA microarray analysis, 13 miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in stressed group compared to control group. Using a bioinformatics method, 135 protein-coding genes were predicted as the targets of significant differentially expressed miRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) term and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) mined that these target genes involved in some important pathways, which may have impact on meat quality and beef tenderness.https://doi.org/10.1186/2049-1891-3-1

Expression of the Androgen Receptor and its Correlation with Molecular Subtypes in 980 Chinese Breast Cancer Patients

Background Recent studies have shown that androgen displays an inhibitory effect on breast cancer cell lines that express androgen receptor (AR) but not estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR). We have previously reported that approximately 1/3 of ER negative high grade invasive ductal carcinomas express AR. Thus, AR can serve as a potential therapeutic target for this group of patients. Aim Here we investigated AR expression patterns in 980 consecutive breast carcinomas. Results We found that (1) AR was expressed more frequently (77%) than ER (61%) and PR (60%) in breast carcinomas; (2) AR expression was associated with ER and PR expression ( P < 0.0001), small tumor size ( P = 0.0324) and lower Ki-67 expression ( P = 0.0013); (3) AR expression was found in 65% of ER negative tumors; (4) AR expression was associated with PR and Ki-67 in ER negative tumors, but not in ER positive tumors; (5) AR expression was higher in ER positive subtypes (Luminal A, Luminal B and Luminal HER2 subtypes, 80%-86%) and lower in ER negative subtypes [HER2, triple negative (TN), and TN EFGR positive subtypes; 52%-66%], with over 50% of TN tumors expressing AR. Conclusion More breast carcinomas express AR than ER and PR, including significant numbers of ER negative and TN tumors, for which AR could serve as a potential therapeutic target