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Novel magnetic and fluorinated porous carbons (M-FPCs) with high fluorine content, large pore volume and specific surface area were first prepared by carbonizing and further fluorinating Fe-Zr bimetal-organic frameworks. The M-FPCs exhibit excellent adsorption performance toward perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and the maximal adsorption capacity ranges from 518.1 to 919.3 mg g

Background Lingual linear lesions (LLLs) are the oral linear lesions located on the dorsum, lateral borders, and/or ventral surface of tongue. It has been suggested that LLLs might be an early clinical sign of vitamin B12 deficiency. Here, a retrospective study was conducted to further investigate and validate the association between LLL and vitamin B12 deficiency. Methods Based on the clinical examination, patients with LLLs were enrolled and analyzed retrospectively. Data regarding clinical and laboratory features were obtained. Follow-up was done at least 6 months following appropriate supplementation therapy. Results A total of 57 patients, consisting of 20 males and 37 females with a mean age of 59.12 years (range, 18-80), were enrolled in this study. The hematological examination revealed that 56 (98.25%) of the 57 patients had severe serum vitamin B12 deficiency, and the other 1 patient had a borderline low level of vitamin B12 . All the enrolled patients responded well to cobalamin replacement therapy. Conclusion LLLs might be a clinical sign strongly suggestive of severe vitamin B12 deficiency.

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is accomplished by highly conserved MutS and MutL homologs. MutS proteins recognize mismatch nucleotides and in the presence of ATP form a stable sliding clamp on the DNA. The MutS sliding clamp then promotes the cascade assembly of a MutL sliding clamp, which ultimately coordinates downstream mismatch excision. The MutS clamp-loader mechanics are unknown. Here we have examined a conserved positively charged cleft (PCC) located on the MutL N-terminal domain (NTD) proposed to mediate stable DNA binding events in several MMR models. We show that MutL does not bind DNA in physiological ionic conditions. Instead, the MutS sliding clamps and DNA together exploit the PCC to position the MutL NTD for clamp loading. Once in a sliding clamp form, the MutL PCC aids in UvrD helicase capture but not interactions with MutH during mismatch excision. The MutS-DNA clamp-loader progressions are significantly different from the replication clamp-loaders that attach polymerase processivity factors such as β-clamp and PCNA to the DNA. These studies underlining the breadth of mechanisms for stably linking crucial genome maintenance proteins to the DNA.

Research question What is the genetic aetiology of three resistant ovary syndrome (ROS) pedigrees from 13 Chinese Han families with non-syndromic premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Design The proband in each family was subjected to whole-exome sequencing. Bioinformatic and in-vitro functional analyses were performed for the functional characterization of the FSHR mutations. Results Four novel mutations, two homozygous mutations (c.419delA, c.1510C>T), and a compound heterozygous mutation (c.44G>A and deletion of exons 1 and 2) of FSHR were identified in the three non-syndromic POI-with-ROS families. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that the three novel point mutations in FSHR are deleterious and associated with POI in the three families, which was confirmed by in-vitro functional analysis, in which FSH-induced adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate production was abolished for all receptors. Conclusions The three novel point mutations in FSHR were all functional inactivating mutations, and were the genetic aetiology of the three non-syndromic POI-with-ROS families. The first FSHR frameshift mutation is reported here, and the first missense mutation in the signal peptide-encoding region of FSHR to be associated with POI. Women affected by ROS should consider undergoing mutation screening for FSHR.

To investigate the effect of down-regulation of SND1 expression on senescence of human diploid fibroblasts.Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of SND1 in young or senescent 2BS cells and aged tissues. Immunofluorescence was conducted to detect the localization of SND1 in young 2BS cells. CCK8 and EDU were performed to detect the proliferation of 2BS. Colony formation analysis was used to evaluate the capacity of colony formation of 2BS. Expression chip and RT-qPCR analysis were performed to detect the change of SASP expression level. β-galactosidase staining was employed to indicate the senescent 2BS cells.The expression of SND1 in the senescent 2BS cells was significantly down-regulated compared with in the younger 2BS cells, and in human colon adenomas, its expression was also significantly down-regulated compared with in non-lesion colon tissues. In young 2BS, knockdown ofOur data indicated that down-regulation of SND1 regulated human diploid cell senescence by up-regulating the expression of SASP components.

To study the changing of characteristics and formation mechanisms of PM

The complete mitochondrial genome of Ampittia dioscorides (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) was determined. The sequenced genome is a circular molecule of 15313 bp, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and an A + T-rich region. The gene arrangements and transcribing directions are identical to those in most of the reported lepidopteran mitogenomes. The base composition of the whole genome and genes or regions are also similar to those in other lepidopteran species. All the PCGs are initiated by typical ATN codons; the exception being COI, which begins with a CGA codon. Eight genes (ND2, ATPase8, ATPase6, COIII, ND5, ND4L, ND6, and Cytb) end with a TAA stop codon, and two genes (ND1 and ND3) end with TAG. The remaining three genes (COI and COII, which end with TA-, and ND4, which ends with T-) have incomplete stop codons. All tRNAs have the typical clover-leaf structure of mitochondrial tRNAs, with the exception of tRNASer(AGY). On the basis of the concatenated nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the 13 PCGs and wingless gene of 22 butterfly species, maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) trees were constructed, respectively. Both MP and BI trees had the same topological structure: ((((Nymphalidae + Danaidae) + Lycaenidae) + Pieridae) + Papilionidae) + Hesperiidae). The results provide support for Hesperiidae as a superfamily-level taxon.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the serum zinc levels in patients with common oral mucosal diseases by comparing these to healthy controls. Material and Methods: A total of 368 patients, which consisted of 156 recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) patients, 57 oral lichen planus (OLP) patients, 55 burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients, 54 atrophic glossitis (AG) patients, 46 xerostomia patients, and 115 sex-and age-matched healthy control subjects were enrolled in this study. Serum zinc levels were measured in all participants. Statistical analysis was performed using a one-way ANOVA, t-test, and Chi-square test. Results: The mean serum zinc level in the healthy control group was significantly higher than the levels of all other groups ( p < 0.001). No individual in the healthy control group had a serum zinc level less than the minimum normal value. However, up to 24.7% (13/54) of patients with AG presented with zinc deficiency, while 21.2% (33/156) of patients with RAS, 16.4% (9/55) of patients with BMS, 15.2% (7/46) of patients with xerostomia, and 14.0% (8/57) of patients with OLP were zinc deficient. Altogether, the zinc deficiency rate was 19.02% (70/368) in the oral mucosal diseases (OMD) group (all patients with OMD). The difference between the OMD and healthy control group was significant ( p < 0.001). Gender differences in serum zinc levels were also present, although not statistically significant. Conclusions: Zinc deficiency may be involved in the pathogenesis of common oral mucosal diseases. Zinc supplementation may be a useful treatment for oral mucosal diseases, but this requires further investigation; the optimal serum level of zinc, for the prevention and treatment of oral mucosal diseases, remains to be determined.

In this study, detailed activity level of typical sector in Chengde in 2013 was obtained through a full-coverage investigation. A comprehensive emission inventory with country-level resolution in 2013 was developed based on guide of atmospheric pollutant emission inventory and updated emission factors. Then, the emission inventory within 1 km×1 km grid was generated using source-based spastial surrogates including population, road network and landuse date. Furthemore, meteorology-air quality modeling system (WRF-CMAx) including Particulate Source Apportionment Technology (PSAT) module was established in order to evaluate the impact of topical sector (e. g., electric power, the production of construction materials, the metallurgical industry, etc.) on PM

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between hematinic deficiencies and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Material and Methods 517 RAS patients and 187 healthy controls were enrolled in the present study. Hematinic deficiencies, including serum ferritin, folic acid, and vitamin B12 deficiencies were assessed for each participant. Gender and age were taken into account and the collected data were statistically analysed. Results Compared with the healthy controls, a significantly higher overall frequency of hematinic deficiencies was found in RAS patients (p

Background Blepharophimosis‐ptosis‐epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES) is a malformation of the eyelids. Forkhead Box L2 (FOXL2) is the only gene known to be associated with BPES. Methods We identified two Han Chinese BPES families with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Sanger sequencing and in vitro functional analysis were performed to identify the genetic cause. Results Sanger sequencing identified two novel mutations (c.462_468del, c.988_989insG) in FOXL2, one in each family. The in vitro functional analysis confirmed that both novel mutations were associated with impaired transactivation of downstream genes. Specifically, the single‐base insertion, c.988_989insG, led to subcellular mislocalization and aggregation of the encoded protein, which validated the hypothesis that the two novel FOXL2 mutations are deleterious and associated with POI in the two BPES families. Conclusion The novel mutations identified in the present study will enhance the present knowledge of the mutation spectrum of FOXL2. The in vitro experiments provide further insights into the molecular mechanism by which the two new variants mediate disease pathogenesis and may contribute to elucidating the genotype‐phenotype correlation between the two novel FOXL2 mutations and POI.

Resistant HCV variants carrying NS5B S282T mutation confer reduced sensitivity to sofosbuvir, the sole marketed NS5B polymerase inhibitor. On the basis of the finding that 2'-α-F-2'-β-C-methylcytidine 5'-triphosphate (8) was more potent than sofosbuvir's active metabolite on inhibition of both wild-type and S282T mutant polymerase, a dual-prodrug approach has been established. Twenty-nine phosphoramidates with N4-modified cytosine were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for anti-HCV activity. The results showed that compounds 4c-4e and 4m (EC50 = 0.19-0.25 μM) exhibited comparable potency to that of sofosbuvir (EC50 = 0.15 μM) on inhibition of wild-type replicons. Notably, 4c (EC50 = 0.366 μM) was 1.5-fold more potent than sofosbuvir (EC50 = 0.589 μM) on inhibition of S282T mutant replicons. In vitro metabolic studies disclosed the possible metabolic pathways of 4c. The toxicity study results indicated a good safety profile of 4c. Together, 4c-4e and 4m hold promise for drug development for the treatment of HCV infection, especially the resistant variants with NS5B S282T mutation.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Papilio bianor was determined in the present paper. The complete mtDNA from P. bianor was 15,358 base pairs in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a control region. The P. bianor genes were in the same order and orientation as the completely sequenced mitogenomes of other lepidopteran species. To determine the phylogentic position of P. bianor with related species within Papilionidae, the Bayesian phylogenetic tree was reconstructed with the concatenated nucleotide dataset of the 13 protein-coding genes. The phylogenetic trees confirmed that P. bianor and four species of Papilionidae clustered into a clade, and shared a close relationship with Papilio maraho. Meanwhile, the molecular phylogenetic trees also confirmed that Papilionidae is a monophyletic group, and Pieridae is closely related with Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae.

The complete sequence mitochondrial genome of Takydromus sexlineatus was determined using long PCR and conserved primers walking approaches. The genome was 18,943 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region (CR). The gene composition and order of T. sexlineatus were similar to most other squamate reptiles. All protein-coding genes begin with ATG as initiation codon except COI using GTG. Seven genes (ATP8. ND4L. ND5. Cytb. ND1. COI and ND6) ended with TAA, TAG, AGGA and AGA stop codon, the remaining 6 genes had incomplete stop codons T/TA. The overall base composition of the genome in descending order was 31.48% A, 24.67% C, 30.79% T and 13.05% G, with a slight A + T bias of 62.27%. CR is located between the tRNA-Pro and tRNA-Phe genes and is 3562 bp in length, some tandem repeat sequences, conserved elements (CSB1-3) and termination associated sequences (TAS1-3) were found in the control region.

The complete sequence mitochondrial genome of Papilio polytes was determined using long PCR and conserved primers walking approaches. The genome was 15,260 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region (CR). The gene composition and order of P. polytes were similar to other lepidopteran species. All protein-coding genes begin with ATG and ATT as initiation codon except COI using CGA. 8 genes (ATP8, ATP6, ND3, ND5, ND4L, ND6, Cytb and ND1) ended with TAA and TAG stop codon, the remaining five genes had incomplete stop codon T. The overall base composition of the genome in descending order was 39.51% A, 11.86% C, 40.75% T and 7.88% G, with a A + T bias of 80.26%. CR is located between the 12S rRNA and tRNA-Met genes and is 439 bp in length, with an AT content of 83.37%.

Renewable resource industry has been recognized as a sunrise industry universally. The development of renewable resource industry has become an important factor in the 21st century economic development in every country. The use of SWOT analysis method to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of China's renewable resource industry development will enable the industry development to make full use of its advantages, overcome the disadvantages, accurately grasp the opportunities and effectively avoid the threats, and then propose effective renewable resource, industrial development strategy.

By using the method of fixed-pointed monitoring in streams of two small watersheds in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, the contents of dissolved silicon (DSi), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved phosphorus (DP) are analyzed. The seasonal variation, the content ratio of DSi, DIN and DP, and the potential environmental problems are also discussed. The results indicate that: (10 In the two rivers, DSi content ranges from 0.18 to 19.89 mg x L(-1), DIN from 0.39 to 6.85 mg x L(-1) , and both are higher in the dry period than in the wet period; (2) DP content is from 0.01 to 0.08 mg x L(-1), which shows no significant difference between the dry and wet period; (3) The contents of DSi and DIN in Quxi River are higher than in Baota River, which may relate with the local agricultural activities, land use/land cover, fertilizer and so on; (4) The contents of DSi, DIN and DP in two small watersheds are all higher than in Three Gorge Reservoir, and the content ratio of DSi, DIN, DP is about 138 : 81 : 1 in Baota River, and 500 : 350 : 1 in Quxi River, which suggests that more attention should be paid to a potential threat to water environment such as Water-bloom.

Although the traditional analogue video signal has served the information broadcasting network effectively, its drawbacks make its usage limited. With the advent of the digital video signal and the use of modern compression techniques the quality of the digital programmes was improved. Once extra programmes such as feature films became available, their providers needed to be paid, and a conditional access system had to be found of financing these programmes. Compressed digital video signal needs new scrambling methods and a key distribution system for conditional access, copyright protection and finance. This paper suggests some digital scrambling tools and the design of an efficient and realistic key distribution system for digital video information broadcasting and any other environment in which the MPEG-2 bit stream is employed. The scrambling methods and the key distribution system discussed are based on the format of the transport stream packet of the MPEG-2 transport layer.

The rangelands of China are an important resource for livestock production, and play a strategic role in maintaining ecosystems and protecting the living environment of humans. Drought, overgrazing, infrastructure development, insufficient investment and poor management of rangelands have led to the invasion and spread of poisonous weeds in these rangelands in recent years. The rapid spread of poisonous weeds over the last few decades have caused a series of ecological problems, including a decrease in biological diversity and consequent desertification, and they are seriously affecting the ecological balance of rangelands, and the sustainable livestock production. Locoweeds, which belong to the genera Oxytropis and Astragalus, are an important species of poisonous legumes in the western rangelands of China, causing large economic losses. This review summarises the species and their ecological distribution, the toxic ingredients, the poisoning mechanism of locoweeds and damage control techniques for locoweeds. It attempts to highlight certain issues relating to research on locoweeds and how they are being tackled in order to understand the significance of locoweeds in preserving ecosystem diversity and the steps that require to be taken to control the spread of locoweeds in the western natural rangeland of China.