SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Dislocation nucleation facilitated by atomic segregation DOI: 10.1038/NMAT5034

This is a set of supplementary data and information supporting the Journal Publication 'Dislocation nucleation facilitated by atomic segregation', DOI: 10.1038/NMAT5034, and available at Journal article in Nature Materials

Plasmid DNA could be delivered into Eimeria maxima unsporulated oocyst with gene gun system

Eimerian coccidia are the most common parasitic organisms infecting chickens. The feasibility of genetic manipulation of these parasites via electroporation is proven, but this method is cumbersome and time consuming. Here we report our endeavour to develop a rapid and simple transfection method by gene gun. Tungsten particles coated with plasmid DNA encoding enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) were used for the bombardment of Eimeria maxima unsporulated oocysts. Seven Mpa (1015 psi) helium pressure, 65 mm target distance and −0.098 Mpa (24.8″ Hg) chamber vacuum were the optimised parameters for bombardment. After sporulation, the bombarded oocysts were inoculated into chickens, and the progeny oocysts were checked under fluorescent microscope and subjected to genomic DNA extraction, which was used either for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification or plasmid rescue assay. Although the expression of EYFP was not observed, the gene was amplified from both genomic DNA and the rescued plasmid, suggesting that the plasmid DNA existed in the form of episome. These results are encouraging for the genetic processing of the sporogony stage of eimerian parasites

Characterization a Novel Butyric Acid-Producing Bacterium Collinsella aerofaciens Subsp. Shenzhenensis Subsp. Nov.

Butyrate-producing bacteria can biosynthesize butyrate and alleviate inflammatory diseases. However, few studies have reported that the genus Collinsella has the ability to produce butyric acid. Here, our study depicts a Collinsella strain, which is a rod-shaped obligate anaerobe that is able to produce butyric acid. This microorganism was isolated from a human gut, and the optimal growth conditions were found to be 37 °C on PYG medium with pH 6.5. The 16S rRNA gene sequence demonstrated that this microorganism shared 99.93% similarity with C. aerofaciens ATCC 25986T, which was higher than the threshold (98.65%) for differentiating two species. Digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values also supported that this microorganism belonged to the species C. aerofaciens. Distinct phenotypic characteristics between TF06-26 and the type strain of C. aerofaciens, such as the fermentation of D-lactose, D-fructose and D-maltose, positive growth under pH 5 and 0.2% (w/v) cholate, suggested this strain was a novel subspecies. Comparative genome analysis revealed that butyric acid kinase and phosphate butyryltransferase enzymes were coded exclusively by this strain, indicating a specific butyric acid-producing function of this C. aerofaciens subspecies within the genus Collinsella. Thus, Collinsella aerofaciens subsp. shenzhenensis subsp. nov. was proposed, with set strain TF06-26T (=CGMCC 1.5216T = DSM 105138T) as the type strain

[Application of 3D FIESTA sequence in magnetic resonance sialography for obstructive salivary diseases].

To investigate the value of 3D FIESTA sequence in magnetic resonance sialography (MRS) in the diagnosis of obstructive salivary diseases. Eleven patients with obstructive salivary diseases underwent MRS, and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and virtual endoscopic images of the salivary gland ducts were obtained after MRS data post-processing for comparison with those of sialoendoscopy. The diagnostic accuracy of MRS was 72.7% for obstructive salivary diseases. The virtual endoscopy provided a visual field highly consistent with that by sialoendoscopy. MRS is capable of visualizing the tracts of salivary glands. MR virtual endoscopy can provide sufficient morphological and pathological data for preoperative assessment of salivary operations with sialoendoscopy.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Lignite upgrading by multi-stage fluidized bed pyrolysis

This study is devoted to demonstrating experimentally the technical advantages of the multi-stage fluidized bed pyrolysis for upgrading lignite. A Chinese lignite was pyrolyzed and partially gasified in a three-stage laboratory-scale fluidized bed, with an overflow standpipe between its neighboring stages, to clarify the improvement on the pyrolysis product quality by increasing the number of the stages. While the bottom stage had the highest temperature of about 900 degrees C for fuel gasification, the upper stage had temperatures of 550-650 degrees C for coal pyrolysis. The multi-stage fluidized bed was operated with a continuous feed in the modes with one to three stages. The resulting yields of gas and tar were higher, whereas the yield of char was lower for the operations with multiple stages. The produced CO, H-2 and CH4 in the two- and three-stage modes were more than that in the single-stage mode, having thus the higher gas heating value as well. The tar from the three-stage fluidized bed pyrolysis contained more light oil, and it plus phenol oil reached 99.5 wt.% of the tar. The char produced in the multi-stage pyrolysis showed the higher thermal stability in terms of its higher ignition temperature and suppressed spontaneous combustion propensity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Molecular identification of natural hybridization between Melastoma malabathricum and Melastoama beccarianum in Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract Hybridization is very common in flowering plants and it plays a significant role in plant evolution and adaptation. Melastoma L. (Melastomataceae) comprises about 80–90 species in tropical Asia and Oceania, among which 41 species occur in Borneo. Natural hybridization is frequently reported in Melastoma in China, but so far there have been no confirmed cases of hybridization in Southeast Asia (including Borneo), where most species occur. Here, we identified a case of natural hybridization between Melastoma malabathricum L. and Melastoma beccarianum Cogn. in Sarawak, Malaysia, by using sequence data of three nuclear genes and one chloroplast intergenic spacer. Melastoma malabathricum is the most widespread species of this genus, occurring in almost the whole range of this genus, while M. beccarianum is a local species endemic to northern Borneo. Our results showed that natural hybridization and introgression occur between M. malabathricum and M. beccarianum, and the introgression was asymmetrical, mainly from M. malabathricum to M. beccarianum. As adaptive traits can be transferred by introgression, our study suggests that natural hybridization should be a significant mechanism for the evolution and adaptation of Melastoma in Southeast Asia. However, introgression from the common species M. malabathricum to the relatively rare species M. beccarianum may cause the decline of M. beccarianum, incurring conservation concern. With a large number of species of Melastoma and almost year‐around flowering in Southeast Asia, more cases of natural hybridization are expected to be found and identified in near future