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Eritrea at the southern Nubian shield in northeast Africa has many gold deposits, and has been an important target for exploration. In view of the arid to semi-arid nature of the terrain, there is continuous quest for new methods of mineral exploration. In this study, we highlight the importance of GIS-based weights of evidence (WofE) method in mapping the gold mineral prospectivity of the Ewanet area, southeast Asmara. For the purpose, data was gathered from geological, metallogenic, geochemical and remote sensing analyses of the study area. Seven evidence maps produced from these spatial data sets were used to calculate posterior probabilities and delineate prospectivity areas for gold deposits. The prediction-area plot provides the evaluation of posterior probabilities and indicates that 83% of the existing mineral occurrences are predicted in 19% of the study area. Two types of gold occurrences, i.e., structure-alteration type and quartz-vein type, were identified during field work. It was found that faults are the main ore-controlling factors, and Au geochemical anomaly is prominently correlated with mineralization. We suggest that the identified prospectivity areas of gold exploration in the Ewanet area are well worth carrying out further mineral exploration.

The Dabaoshan polymetallic deposit in northern Guangdong Province contains iron, copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, tungsten and sulfur mineral resources. Porphyry-type Mo(W) and skarn-type Mo-W mineralization occurs along the internal and external contact zones of the granodioritic porphyry, respectively. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of zircons from two granodioritic porphyry samples yielded a weighted mean 206 Pb/ 238 U age of 175.8 ± 1.5 Ma (MSWD = 0.037) and 175.0 ± 1.7 Ma (MSWD = 0.41). They can be pooled together to yield a combined weighted age of 175.4 ± 1.6 Ma (MSWD = 0.26), which is interpreted as the emplacement age of the granodioritic porphyry. Re–Os dating of three molybdenite samples from porphyry and skarn ores yielded consistent model ages of 163.2 ± 2.3 Ma to 165.2 ± 2.4 Ma, with a weighted mean of 163.9 ± 1.3 Ma (MSWD = 0.81), which is the age of Mo–W mineralization. These ages are consistent with the molybdenite Re–Os model age (164.7 ± 3 Ma) measured by Mao et al. (2004a) for the stratiform Cu–Pb–Zn orebody, and they can yield a weighted mean of 164.0 ± 2.5 Ma (MSWD = 0.16). This implies that Mo–W and Cu–Pb–Zn mineralization in the Dabaoshan polymetallic deposit are the products of one mineralization event. The mineralization in the deposit coincides closely with that of Mo-polymetallic mineralization (164–149 Ma) elsewhere in the Nanling region, comprising an important polymetallic metallogenic belt of south China, and corresponds to the second episode of Mesozoic metallogenesis in South China. Combined with previous studies, we suggest that the Dabaoshan polymetallic deposit is related to post-collisional lithosphere extension in the Nanling region of South China. Geological data and Pb isotopic evolution diagrams, together with stable isotopic data of fluid inclusions (δ 18 O = − 3.75–7.0‰, δD = − 50.7 to − 56.1‰) and ore sulfides (δ 34 S = − 2–3‰), suggest a genetic relationship between the Dabaoshan polymetallic deposit, the granodioritic porphyry and the dacitic porphyry. These data, combined with the Re content (64.7 to 102.4 ppm) of molybdenite, indicate that the ore-forming components were derived from mixed crustal and mantle sources.

Cenozoic economic Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag ore deposits occur in the Lanping foreland fold belt (Lanping basin) of the Eastern Indo-Asian collision zone (EIACZ), eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau. They are sediment-hosted and controlled by two Cenozoic thrust–nappe systems developed in the western and eastern segments of the Tertiary basin, respectively, where thrusting was towards the centre of the basin in an approximately E–W direction and juxtaposes Triassic–Cretaceous over Tertiary strata. In the western system, Cu deposits occur as veins in the root zone, hosted by ~ NS-striking faults in Jurassic intense folds. Zn deposits occur in its front zone, controlled by second-order faults of major thrust faults and thrust-related strike-slip faults. In the eastern system, Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag deposits are located in the front zone, controlled by an E-dipping thrust fault and its second-order faults. The giant Jinding Zn–Pb deposit is controlled by a trap structure related to regional thrusting. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions from these deposits are predominately δ 34 S CDT values ranging from − 30.4‰ to 11.2‰. H–O isotopes of fluid inclusions are similar to those of basinal brines, and C–O isotopes of hydrothermal carbonate minerals are partly close to those of carbonates and sedimentary organisms. These data suggest that the ore-forming fluids and materials mainly derive from the fluids and various rocks of the basin, respectively. The sediment-hosted Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag deposits in the Lanping foreland fold belt share some similarities with MVT-, SST-, SSC-, and SEDEX-type deposits in that there is a lack of any igneous affinity and instead must relate to activities of basinal fluids. The deposits show, however, a set of unique features: (1) they were formed in a strongly deformed foreland basin within a continent collision orogen and (2) closely related to regional thrust–nappe structure; (3) they are fault-controlled, commonly without strong selection for type of host rocks; and (4) contain a variety of metals including Zn, Pb, Cu, Ag, and minor Sr, Co, etc. It is suggested that the Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag deposits controlled by the thrust systems in the Lanping foreland belt are a new sub-type within the family of sediment-hosted base metal deposits.

It is well known that both environmental and genetic factors contribute to adult height variation in general population. However, heritability studies have shown that the variation in height is more affected by genetic factors. Height is a typical polygenic trait which has been studied by traditional linkage analysis and association analysis to identify common DNA sequence variation associated with height, but progress has been slow. More recently, with the development of genotyping and DNA sequencing technologies, tremendous achievements have been made in genetic research of human height. Hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with human height have been identified and validated with the application of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) methodology, which deepens our understanding of the genetics of human growth and development and also provides theoretic basis and reference for studying other complex human traits. In this review, we summarize recent progress in genetic research of human height and discuss problems and prospects in this research area which may provide some insights into future genetic studies of human height.

The Keriyan people live in an isolated village in the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang, Western China. The origin and migration of the Keriyans remains unclear. We studied paternal and maternal genetic variance through typing Y-STR loci and sequencing the complete control region of the mtDNA and compared them with other adjacent populations. Data show that the Keriyan have relatively low genetic diversity on both the paternal and maternal lineages and possess both European and Asian specific haplogroups, indicating Keriyan is an admixture population of West and East. There is a gender-bias in the extent of contribution from Europe vs. Asia to the Keriyan gene pool. Keriyans have more genetic affinity to Uyghurs than to Tibetans. The Keriyan are not the descendants of the Guge Tibetans.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Edible medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine as regimes for cancer patients. Recently anti-cancer bioactive components from some mushrooms have been isolated and their anti-cancer effects have been tested. Pleurotus ferulae, a typical edible medicinal mushroom in Xinjiang China, has also been used to treat cancer patients in folk medicine. However, little studies have been reported on the anti-cancer components of Pleurotus ferulae. This study aims to extract bioactive components from Pleurotus ferulae and to investigate the anti-cancer effects of the extracts. We used ethanol to extract anti-cancer bioactive components enriched with terpenoids from Pleurotus ferulae. We tested the anti-tumour effects of ethanol extracts on the melanoma cell line B16F10, the human gastric cancer cell line BGC 823 and the immortalized human gastric epithelial mucosa cell line GES-1 in vitro and a murine melanoma model in vivo. Cell toxicity and cell proliferation were measured by MTT assays. Cell cycle progression, apoptosis, caspase 3 activity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), migration and gene expression were studied in vitro. PFEC suppressed tumor cell growth, inhibited cell proliferation, arrested cells at G0/G1 phases and was not toxic to non-cancer cells. PFEC also induced cell apoptosis and necrosis, increased caspase 3 activity, reduced the MMP, prevented cell invasion and changed the expression of genes associated with apoptosis and the cell cycle. PFEC delayed tumor formation and reduced tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, ethanol extracted components from Pleurotus ferulae exert anti-cancer effects through direct suppression of tumor cell growth and invasion, demonstrating its therapeutic potential in cancer treatment.

Mammalian zona pellucida 3(ZP3) plays an important role in the induction of capacitating sperm acrosome reaction. In this study, we obtained the soluble mZP3 fusion protein and identified its immunoreactivity. mZP3 cDNA was cloned into plasmid pMAL-p2x, and the recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21. To get the soluble mZP3 fusion protein, we tried to optimize the expression conditions, including additives, IPTG concentrations, temperatures and induction duration. Then, Western blotting and ELISA were used to identify the immunoreactivity of the purified protein. Based on the optimization experiments, we concluded that the best soluble expression conditions for the mZP3 fusion protein involved incubation to an A600 of 0.6, addition of glucose to a final concentration of 0.02 mol/L, addition of IPTG to a final concentration of 0.6 mmol/L and then further incubation for 4 h at 25 degrees C. Western blotting and ELISA showed that the mZP3 fusion protein retained immunoreactivity. The fusion protein can be used as solubility antigens for developing the immunocontraception vaccines of mZP3 and detecting the immune effects of the vaccine.