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Background Active case finding (ACF) is a potentially promising approach for the early identification and treatment of tuberculosis patients. However, evidence on its cost-effectiveness, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, remains limited. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of a community-based ACF practice in Shenzhen, China. Methods We employed a Markov model-based decision analytic method to assess the costs and effectiveness of 3 tuberculosis detection strategies: passive case finding (PCF), basic ACF, and advanced ACF. The analysis was conducted from a societal perspective on a dynamic cohort over a 20-year horizon, focusing on active tuberculosis (ATB) prevalence and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results Compared to the PCF strategy, the basic and advanced ACF strategies effectively reduced ATB cases by 6.8 and 10.2 per 100 000 population, respectively, by the final year of this 20-year period. The ICER for the basic and advanced ACF strategies were ¥14 757 and ¥8217 per quality-adjusted life-year, respectively. Both values fell below the cost-effectiveness threshold. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the community-based ACF screening strategy, which targets individuals exhibiting tuberculosis symptoms, is cost-effective. This underscores the potential benefits of adopting similar community-based ACF strategies for symptomatic populations in tuberculosis-endemic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eucommia ulmoides has been used as a food and medicine homologue for a long time in China. We hypothesize that Eucommia ulmoides achieves its health‐promoting effects via altering gut microbiota. Here, we investigated the effects of water extract of Eucommia ulmoides bark on caecal microbiota and growth performance, antioxidant activity, and immunity in white‐feathered broilers treated for 42 days. A total of 108 one‐day‐old Cobb white‐feathered broilers were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: control diet, 0.75% Eucommia ulmoides diet (EU Ⅰ) and 1.5% Eucommia ulmoides diet (EU Ⅱ). The results showed that EU Ⅱ treatment improved average body weight (ABW), thigh muscle quality and total length of intestines, and decreased the serum total triglycerides and total cholesterol (TC) (p < 0.05). Eucommia ulmoides supplementation increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px), total antioxidant activities and content of immunoglobulins, and reduced levels of malondialdehyde and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the supplementation increased the diversity of caecal microbiota and reduced the pathogenic genera Escherichia Shigella and Helicobacter. The genera Ochrobactrum, Odoribater, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Georgenia and Bifidobacterium were positively associated with the ABW, total intestinal length, serum levels of GSH‐Px, SOD and immunoglobulins (p < 0.001) and negatively associated with the TC and TNF‐α (p < 0.01), suggesting an association of the changes of gut microbiota and improvement of broiler health. Meanwhile, Eucommia ulmoides supplementation enriched the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway of exocrine secretion from the pancreas, circadian entrainment and inhibited lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. In conclusion, Eucommia ulmoides water extract can be used as a feed additive to improve poultry industry production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There are 1.8 million lung cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for 18% of global cancer deaths, including 710,000 in China, accounting for 23.8% of all cancer deaths in China. OBJECTIVE: To explore the out-of-set association rules of lung cancer symptoms and drugs through text mining of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment of lung cancer, and form medical case analysis to analyze the experience of TCM syndrome differentiation in its treatment. METHODS: The medical records of all patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Nanjing Chest Hospital from January to December 2018 were collected, and the out-of-set association analysis was performed using the MedCase v5.2 TCM clinical scientific research auxiliary platform based on the frequent pattern growth enhanced association analysis algorithm. RESULTS: In terms of TCM treatment of lung cancer, the clinical symptoms with high correlation included cough, expectoration, chest distress, and white phlegm; and the drugs with high correlation included Pinellia ternata, licorice root, white Atractylodes rhizome, and Radix Ophiopogonis; with the prescriptions based on Erchen and Maimendong decoctions. CONCLUSION: This analytical study of the medical cases of TCM treatment for lung cancer was performed using data mining techniques, and the out-of-set association rules between clinical symptoms and drugs were analyzed, including the understanding of lung cancer in TCM. Moreover, the essence of experience in drug use was gathered, providing significant scientific guidance for the clinical treatment of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In recent years, malignant tumors have gradually become one of the main causes of death for Chinese residents, of which lung cancer ranks first in both the incidence and mortality in China. OBJECTIVE: To mine the text of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical medical cases after data cleaning, analyze it, and study the experience of TCM doctors in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: The applied approach was based on the data mining methods of decentralized and hierarchical system clustering of data from a drug and prescription database. This study involved 215 patients, 287 cases, and 147 types of clinical drugs. RESULTS: The data analysis of the clinical treatment of NSCLC in TCM showed that Erchen Decoction was the main method for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in clinical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Junjian recipes were close to each other, with Banzhilian, Lobelia, Shanci Mushroom, Hedyotis diffusa to anticancer and detoxify. CONCLUSION: This study analyzed the core TCM prescription for NSCLC by collecting the empirical essence and characteristics of specific medications. It has some guiding scientific significance for the clinical treatment of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Jianchang Black goats are one of the indigenous black goat breeds in China. They are known for their crude feed tolerance but have a low growth rate and small body size. However, little is known about the genetic composition of Jianchang Black goats. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the genetic composition of this breed by conducting multiple population genetic analyses. Our results revealed that Jintang Black and Yunshang Black goats showed a close genetic relationship with a non-negligible amount of gene flows but were genetically distant from Jianchang Black goats. Jianchang Black goats generally showed moderate inbreeding levels. Importantly, we identified several putatively selected genes that may be potentially related to immunity, behavior, and reproduction in this breed. The current study provides valuable references and genomic resources for the future breeding of Jianchang Black goats. Understanding the genetic composition of indigenous goats is essential to promote the scientific conservation and sustainable utilization of these breeds. The Jianchang Black (JC) goat, a Chinese native breed, is solid black and exhibits crude feed tolerance, but is characterized by a low growth rate and small body size. Based on the whole-genome sequencing data for 30 JC, 41 Jintang Black (JT), and 40 Yunshang Black (YS) goats, and 21 Bezoar ibexes, here, we investigated the genetic composition of JC goats by conducting analyses of the population structure, runs of homozygosity (ROH), genomic inbreeding, and selection signature. Our results revealed that JT and YS showed a close genetic relationship with a non-negligible amount of gene flows but were genetically distant from JC, apart from Bezoars. An average of 2039 ROHs were present in the autosomal genome per individual. The ROH-based inbreeding estimates in JC goats generally showed moderate values ranging from 0.134 to 0.264, mainly due to rapid declines in the effective population size during recent generations. The annotated genes (e.g., IL2, IL7, and KIT) overlapping with ROH islands were significantly enriched in immune-related biological processes. Further, we found 61 genes (e.g., STIM1, MYO9A, and KHDRBS2) under positive selection in JC goats via three complementary approaches, which may underly genetic adaptations to local environmental conditions. Our findings provided references for the conservation and sustainable utilization of JC goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional construction progress tracking relies on labor-intensive activities with time lags, potential man-made errors, and inefficient progress management, which demands for an innovative and automated progress tracking approach. This paper describes a deep learning method that utilizes image segmentation to automatically evaluate the wall construction progress of an entire floor with the progress results streamlined to BIM. The approach was applied to a case study in China for assessing plastering construction activities with high segmentation accuracy (mean average precision = 96.8%). Further improvement of Mask Region-Based Convolutional Neural Networks (Mask R-CNN) and evaluation of its superiority over other models have also been discussed. This study provides both theoretical and practical references for unmanned supervision of progress tracking and intelligent schedule management. • Described an evaluation framework to recognize wall progress of an entire floor. • Proposed an image segmentation method to calculate wall construction area. • Improved Mask R-CNN algorithm to increase segmentation accuracy. • Discussed the influence of image light on segmentation accuracy. • Applied the framework to a case study with mean Average Precision of 96.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Precipitation is the dominant factor affecting soil water content. • Evapotranspiration is the dominant factor affecting vegetation growth. • The impact of meteorologic on soil moisture and vegetation decreases from temperate to tropical. • LST/Tair negatively affects soil moisture and vegetation on a small scale. Long-term meteorological drought can cause soil moisture deficiency and hinder vegetation growth, however, the dominant driving force leading to alteration of soil water content (SWC) and vegetation growth condition is still not clearly defined due to the natural coupling between meteorological elements. Here, we decoupled the relationship between precipitation, evaporation and temperature to explore the main driver of impacting SWC and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) in China by means of binning, partial correlation analysis and structural equation modelling. We found that precipitation led to a positive change in SWC nationally (nonstandardized path coefficient (NSPC) = 0.75, P < 0.001), while its influence gradually decreased from temperate to tropical climate areas. Precipitation had a positive effect on SIF, except in tropical areas (NSPC = 0.7, P < 0.001). The results of the three research methods indicated that the primary factor influencing SIF was evaporation (NSPC = 0.69, P < 0.001), with a significant correlation between SIF and evaporation in approximately 75 % of the country's area. The binning analysis revealed that SIF initially increased and then decreased as evaporation increased. Partial correlation results showed that temperature had a negative impact on both SWC and SIF, while binning results showed that temperature had no significant impact on SWC, and structural equation modelling result showed temperature had relatively less impact on SWC (NSPC = -0.21, P < 0.05) and SIF (NSPC = -0.19, P < 0.01) than precipitation and evaporation. In addition, we found the dominant drivers' influence weakened from temperate to tropical climate areas, which revealed by the area percentage of partial correlation between evaporation and SIF, precipitation and SWC. The same distribution pattern can be seen from NSPC of evaporation and SIF, NSPC of precipitation and SWC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in tumours has attracted widespread attention. Some circRNAs have been reported to play a role in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, circRNAs have rarely been reported in terms of TNBC resistance. This study aimed to clarify that circGFRA1 affects the sensitivity of TNBC cells to paclitaxel (PTX) by the miR-361-5p/TLR4 pathway. Compared with the non-PTX-resistant TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231, the expression of circGFRA1 in the PTX-resistant TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231.PR was significantly increased. The small hairpin RNA-mediated circGFRA1 knockdown inhibited the resistance of TNBC cells to PTX. RNA pull-down assay and luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed the binding between circGFRA1 and miR-361-5p and between miR-361-5p and TLR4. It has been proven that circGFRA1 knockdown can inhibit the resistance of TNBC cells to PTX by promoting the expression of miR-361-5p, and subsequently reduce the expression of TLR4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study proposed a semimechanistic SIF-based ET0 estimation model. • The correlation of SIF with ET0 is improved by multiplying the term of VPD0.5. • SIF-based model can accurately estimate ET0 and shows a better performance than the traditional meteorological model. Accurately estimating reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) is crucial for decision-making regarding irrigation, improving farmland water use efficiency, planning water resources, and simulating the global water cycle. However, because traditional ET0 estimation models often require a large number of meteorological parameters as input variables, their application potential is limited, especially when simulating arid and semiarid regions where meteorological data are lacking. Therefore, it is still very challenging to estimate ET0 at large scales in arid and semiarid areas. In this study, we first proposed a semi-mechanistic model for estimating ET0 by deriving the relationship between canopy conductance to water vapor (g w) and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) based on Fick's law and the light use efficiency (LUE) model, combining theories on optimal stomatal behaviour. Second, the relationship between SIF × VPD0.5 (VPD0.5: 0.5-power of the vapor pressure deficit) and ET0 in the model was verified at the site scale. On this basis, the semi-mechanistic model was applied to three machine learning models to simulate ET0. Four statistical indicators, including the coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE), were used to verify the model performance and screen out the optimal model. Finally, the optimal model was compared with five traditional empirical models. The results showed that (1) the relationship between ET0 and the product of SIF and the 0.5-power vapor pressure deficit (SIF × VPD0.5) was closer than the relationship between ET0 and SIF at the site scale. (2) Compared to the case in which SIF was used as the only input variable, three machine learning models performed better when SIF was scaled using VPD0.5 as the input variable, and the random forest regression (RFR) model in which SIF × VPD0.5 was the input variable was the optimal model (ET0opt). (3) The total mean value of ET0 at 22 sites simulated by ET0opt is 15.46 mm/4 days. The total mean ET0 value for the 22 sites calculated by the five traditional empirical models vary from 10.70 mm/4 days to 20.96 mm/4 days, while our results were in this range and close to their mean value. Our study provides a valuable reference basis for large-scale ET0 estimations using remote sensing in arid and semiarid areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new menthane-type monoterpenoid, illigerate E (1), as well as two known ones, (1R*,3R*,4S*,6R*)-6,8-dihydroxymenthol (2) and cis-4-hydroxy-5-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-2-methyl-2-cyclohexene-1-one (3), were isolated from fermented Illigera aromatica with Clonostachys rogersoniana 828H2. Their structures were identified by HRESIMS and 1D/2D NMR spectra. Their inhibitory effects of NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages were estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shuram carbon isotope excursion (CIE) is the largest negative CIE in geological history that may have recorded dramatic changes in Earth's surface environments, yet its time, duration, and global synchroneity have been debated. In South China, the Shuram CIE has been correlated with the negative CIE of the upper Doushantuo Formation (named as EN3 or DOUNCE). It is previously suggested that the Shuram CIE in South China stratigraphically consists of the upper Member 3 and Member 4, with an ending age of ca. 551 Ma. Recent studies, however, demonstrated that the EN3 or DOUNCE shifts to near zero or positive carbon isotope (δ13C) values within carbonate rocks of the Doushantuo Member 3. To better understand the duration of this CIE and its spatial variability, we have conducted a high-resolution cyclostratigraphic study using magnetic susceptibility (MS) in two sections: the Zhengjiatang section that preserves a complete EN3 in carbonate rocks of the Doushantuo Member 3 and the Wuhe-Gaojiaxi (WG) drillcore in which the EN3 does not shift to positive δ13C values until the end of the Member 4 black shales. In both sections, power spectral analyses of the MS series of the carbonate rocks reveal periodicities that match well with those of the Milankovitch cycles at 570 Ma. The duration of the Shuram CIE is estimated to be 6.1 ± 0.2 Myr by counting the interpreted 405-kyr sedimentary cycles observed in the Zhengjiatang section. Taking the newly reported Re Os age of 567.3 ± 3.0 Ma as the approximate termination age, the Shuram CIE in the best-preserved section in South China is constrained between ca. 573.4 and 567.3 Ma. Regional correlation, however, shows a ≥ 1 Myr stratigraphic hiatus or unconformity at the top of the Doushantuo Member 3 that separates the Shuram CIE from overlying post-Shuram ẟ13C "excursions". Similar phenomena may exist in the Shuram CIE documented from stratigraphic successions in Oman, Australia, and the Death Valley region of western United States. The results invoke a reevaluation of the stratigraphic range of the Shuram CIE and suggest that the geochemical records documented from the black shales of the Doushantuo Member 4 and its globally correlative intervals may record paleoceanographic conditions millions of years after the Shuram CIE. Comparison of astrochronologically calibrated δ13C profiles reveals significant difference in the shape and amplitude of the Shuram CIE among the sections in South China and globally, which may have been caused by isotopic departure in local depositional environments and/or diagenetic overprints. • The Zhengjiatang section in South China preserves a complete Shuram excursion. • Astronomically estimated duration of 6.1 ± 0.2 Myr for the Shuram excursion. • Portion of the previously defined Shuram excursion may be post-Shuram. • The shape and amplitude of the Shuram excursion differ regionally and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catharanthus roseus is a well-known traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of cancer, hypertension, scald, and sore in China. Phytochemical investigation on the twigs and leaves of this species led to the isolation of two new monoterpene indole alkaloids, catharanosines A (1) and B (2), and six known analogues (3–8). Structures of 1 and 2 were established by 1H-, 13C- and 2D-NMR, and HREIMS data. The absolute configuration of 1 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Compound 2 represented an unprecedented aspidosperma-type alkaloid with a 2-piperidinyl moiety at C-10. Compounds 6–8 exhibited remarkable Cav3.1 low voltage-gated calcium channel (LVGCC) inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 11.83 ± 1.02, 14.3 ± 1.20, and 14.54 ± 0.99 μM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The edible flowers of Caragana sinica are used in China a kind of healthpromoting vegetable. In this study, the antioxidant activities of its ethanol extract, as well as its petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water fractions, were evaluated through in vitro model systems including the DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene bleaching methods. Among the C. sinica flower extracts the ethyl acetate fraction was the most effective. Correlation analysis suggested that flavonoids might be the major contributors to the high antioxidant activity of this flower. Six flavonoids including quercetin (1), isoquercitrin (2), rutin (3), quercetin-3′-O-methyl-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), typhaneoside (5) and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1→6)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), were isolated from this flower for the first time. Their contents were determined by a HPLC method. Compounds 3 and 4 were found to be the major flavonoids, with concentrations of 1.20 ± 0.07 and 3.94 ± 0.12 mg/g dry sample, respectively. These results demonstrated that the C. sinica flowers may be valuable natural antioxidant sources and are potentially applicable in the health food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To explore knowledge, awareness, behaviors (KAB) and control of hypertension among urban elderly population (≥60 years) in Xi''ning and Chengdu cities. Methods: A 2-stage sampling method recruited 4141 participants sampled from 20 communities. Data collection included blood pressure measurements, using a mercury sphygmomanometer, and information about KAB and other factors through face-to-face structured questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension (SBP≥140 and/or DBP≥90, and/or current treatment for hypertension) reached to 48.5%; 75.3% of hypertensive participants were aware about their disease; 32.1% in all hypertensive patients had controlled BP (BP<140/90) and 48.2% of those treated had controlled BP. A higher proportion of hypertensive participants showed adequate knowledge on complications in comparison to knowledge about HTN risk factors. Participants with controlled BP were more knowledgeable about threshold, risk factors, and complications as a result of hypertension, had increased awareness, and took medications and BP measurements on regular basis with more inclination to follow or initiate treatment. In the logistic regression model, men (odd ratio [OR]: 1.31), good knowledge of hypertension risk factors (OR: 1.19), awareness of being hypertensive (OR: 2*109), and regular medication (OR: 1.48) were associated with controlled BP. Conclusion: The control rate of hypertension was much higher in our study compared to the 2002 nation wide study and other studies performed in some developing countries. Health care providers ought to strengthen their measures by delivering appropriate knowledge to elderly patients about hypertension risk factors, raising more awareness among people about their hypertension status, and encourage more compliance towards treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Tularemia was reported in China over 50 years ago, however, many epidemical characteristics remain unclear. In the present study, the prevalence of Francisella tularensis in ticks was investigated during an epidemiological surveillance in China and then we measured their genetic diversity by conducting multiple-locus variable- number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Results: 1670 ticks from 2 endemic areas (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang Province) and 2 non-endemic areas (Jilin and Fujian Provinces) were collected and tested for evidence of tularemia by nested PCR. The prevalence of Francisella tularensis in ticks averaged 1.98%. The positive rates were significantly different among tick species, with Dermacentor silvarum and Ixodes persulatus responsible for all positive numbers. All F. tularensis that were detected in ticks belonged to F. tularensis subsp. holarctica and MLVA disclosed genetic diversity. One subtype was identified in 17 of 33 positive tick samples in three different study areas. Another subtype belonging to F. tularensis subsp. holarctica genotype was described for the first time in the current study. Conclusion: The study showed two tick species, D. silvarum and I. persulatus harboring the pathogen of tularemia in natural environment, indicating these two tick species might have a role in tularemia existence in China. MLVA results disclosed the genetic diversity F. tularensis and identified one genotype as the most prevalent among the investigated ticks in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The poultry industry faces challenges such as a shortage of protein feed and increased feed cost. Compared to soybean meal, rapeseed meal (RSM) is a cheaper protein source that can be used in poultry diets. China is both the largest RSM and geese producer in the world. Therefore, the active use of RSM for geese diets can contribute to the development of poultry production. We found that geese had a good adaptation to the diet containing 16% dietary RSM through the investigation. The use of inexpensive nonconventional feed materials, such as rapeseed meal (RSM), could help alleviate the shortage of feed materials in the poultry industry. This study was to investigate the effects of dietary double-low RSM on growth performance, carcass traits, serum parameters, and intestinal development of geese. A total of 270 healthy 35-day-old male Jiangnan White geese were randomly divided into five treatments, with six replicate pens of nine geese each. The geese were fed five isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets containing 0%, 4%, 8%, 12%, and 16% RSM replacing dietary soybean meal for 35 days. At 35, 49, and 70 d, the BW and feed intake were recorded. All Samples were collected at 70 d of age. The results showed that dietary RSM up to 16% did not affect the BW, ADFI, ADG, and feed/gain ratio (F/G) during 35 to 49 d, 49 to 70 d, and 35 to 70 d periods (p > 0.05). At 70 d, no difference was observed in carcass yield or serum biochemical parameters among groups (p > 0.05). Dietary 12% and 16% RSM significantly increased the concentration of serum GH compared with 0%, 4%, 8% groups (p < 0.01), but serum TSH, T3 and T4 were unaffected (p > 0.05). The relative weights of heart, liver, spleen, proventriculus, gizzard, and small intestine were similar among groups (p > 0.05). However, the geese fed dietary 16% RSM had greater bursa of Fabricius than geese in the 8% group (p < 0.05). Intestinal morphology was unaffected by treatments (p > 0.05). According to the findings, dietary RSM up to 16% can be used in geese diets without impact on production performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 420 rodents in China were examined for Francisella tularensis by polymerase chain reaction. The infection rates were 4.76% in total, and 11.65%, 10.00%, 6.56%, 1.77%, and 0% in Jilin, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Zhejiang, respectively. Sequence analysis showed that all the detected agents belonged to F. tularensis subsp. holarctica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marked negative carbon excursion from the upper part of the Member 3 of the Doushantuo Formation (DST3) in South China is generally considered as equivalent of the Shuram excursion. This negative carbon excursion has been identified in numerous sections globally. Due to the lack of chronologic constraints, however, its duration and global synchronicity are obscure and thus much debate still exists regarding to its origin.In order to constrain the duration of the negative carbon excursion from the upper part of DST3, a cyclostratigraphic study has been conducted on two sections around the Huangling Granite (HG), in the eastern Three Gorges region. One section is a segment of the Wuhe-Gaojiaxi (WG) core that was jointly collected by Northwest University and Tokyo Institute of Technology. The WG core is located on the southeast to the HG. The other section is located on the northwest to the HG, named the Zhengjiatang (ZJT) section. The DST3 of the WG core contains two parts in lithology. The upper part is ribbon grey dolomite and the lower is thick-bedded grey dolomite. The DST3 of the ZJT section is more complex in lithology, the top ~5-meter interval is predominated by light grey and pale red dolomite and intervals downward are thin-bedded grey calcite (~9-meter in thickness), thin-bedded purple calcite (18.5-meter in thickness), thin-bedded pink dolomite (~6-meter in thickness) and thick-bedded grey dolomite.The magnetic susceptibility (MS) sequences were achieved from the WG core at 1 cm interval and from the ZJT section at ~5 cm interval. These two MS sequences were comparable. After linear interpolation at 4 cm interval and detrending by subtracting 10% weighted averages, both the MS sequences were ready for cyclostratigraphic analyses, including power spectral analysis, Evolutionary Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrograms, and Gaussian bandpass filtering.The spectral peaks of the MS sequence of the WG core revealed cycle periods of 588-243 cm, 108-78.1 cm, 37.9-24.3 cm, 20.6-15.5 cm and cycle periods of the ZJT section were 325-245 cm, 81.3-60.6 cm, 30.1-19.2 cm, 18.8-14.1 cm. They were consistent and interpreted to correspond to the Milankovitch cycles at ~570 Ma, i.e. eccentricity periods (E, 405 k.y. and e, 100 k.y.), obliquity period (O, 31.7 k.y.) and precession periods (P1, 20.2 k.y., P2, 19.2 k.y. and P3, 16.6 k.y.). The E-filter-output results suggested that duration of the entire negative carbon excursion from the upper part of DST3 in the region was ~6.1 m.y. (~15.2 E). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanjiang Yellow goat (Capra hircus) is the first cultured mutton breed in China. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Nanjiang Yellow goat has been identified for the first time. The total length of the mitochondrial genome was 16,639 bp, with the base composition of 33.54% A, 26.05% C, 13.11% G and 27.30% T. It contained 37 genes (22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 13 protein-coding genes) and a major non-coding control region (D-loop). Most of the genes have ATG initiation codons, whereasND2, ND3andND5start with ATA. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Nanjiang Yellow goat provides an important data set for further estimation on the phylogeographic structure of domestic goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan goat (Capra hircus), a breed native to China, is adapted to cold and hypoxia. Here, we describe the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Tibetan goat. The mitochondrial genome is 16,640 bp in length, with a base composition of 33.6% A, 26.0% C, 13.1% G and 27.3% T. It has a typical mitogenome structure, containing 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes and a non-coding control region (D-loop region). Most of the genes have ATG initiation codons, whereasND2, ND3andND5start with ATA. This genomic data provides a strating point for future phylogenetics studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study of tick-borne diseases using actively questing and feeding ticks collected from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China in the summers of 2007 and 2008. Researchers found that the isolates had the same phenotypic and biochemical characteristics, similar to those of previously reported Roseomonas spp. (1), but required a lower salt concentration and a higher temperature for optimal growth compared to other species. The isolates were susceptible to several aminoglycosides but resistant to cephalosporins and sulfamethoxazole.