gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from desert biocrusts.

A pink-pigmented, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, strictly aerobic bacterial strain MIMtkB3, was isolated from moss crusts in Hunshandake desert of China. Cells grew at 15-45 °C (optimum of 28 °C), at pH of 6.0-8.

sp. nov., isolated from biological soil crusts.

A pink-pigmented, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, obligate aerobic bacterial strain, MIMD6, was isolated from biological soil crusts in PR China. Cells grew at 20-37 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6-8 (optimum, pH 7) and with 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0 %). Strain MIMD6 could use methanol or formate as a sole carbon source to grow, and carried methanol dehydrogenase genes and , supporting its methylotrophic metabolism.

[Dose-effect relationship in treatment of chronic neck pain with the direct moxibustion of small moxa cone].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness in treatment of chronic neck pain with the direct moxibustion of small moxa cone and explore the dose-effect relationship in treatment of chronic neck pain with different small moxa cones.

Methods: A total of 120 patients with chronic neck pain were randomized into a 3-moxa-cone group, a 5-moxa-cone group, a 7-moxa-cone group and a sham-moxibustion group, 30 cases in each one. Fengchi (GB 20), Tianzhu (BL 10), Jingbailao (EX-HN 15), Jianzhongshu (SI 15) and Jianjing (GB 21) were selected in each of the groups.

Rhizobium arenae sp. nov., isolated from the sand of Desert Mu Us, China.

A Gram-strain-negative, rod-shaped, motile bacterium, designated MIM27T, was isolated from the sand of the Mu Us Desert, PR China. The strain could grow at 4-45 °C (optimum, 37 °C), at pH 6.6-9.

gen. nov., sp. nov., a haloalkalitolerant bacterium of the family isolated from a haloalkaline lake.

A novel haloalkalitolerant, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain YIM 4-4, was isolated from the surface water of the Dugerno lake, a haloalkaline lake in Inner Mongolia. The taxonomy of strain YIM 4-4 was investigated by a polyphasic approach. Strain YIM 4-4 was Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile and formed red colonies.

Hymenobacter terrenus sp. nov., isolated from biological soil crusts.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming, short rod-shaped, non-motile, light-pink bacterial strain, MIMtkLc17T, was isolated from biological soil crusts collected in Liangcheng, Inner Mongolia. Growth of strain MIMtkLc17T was observed at 2-35 °C and in the presence of 1% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that sequence similarities between strain MIMtkLc17T and the type strains of species of the genus Hymenobacter ranged from 89.

Mongoliicoccus roseus gen. nov., sp. nov., an alkaliphilic bacterium isolated from a haloalkaline lake.

Two pink, non-motile, aerobic, alkaliphilic, halotolerant, Gram-negative cocci, designated MIM28(T) and MIM29, were isolated from the surface water of a haloalkaline lake on the Mongolia Plateau. The isolates grew optimally at 30-33 °C, at pH 8-9 and with 3-4 % (w/v) NaCl. The isolates were chemoheterotrophic and could assimilate carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy associated insertion/deletion polymorphisms of the prion protein gene in the four beef cattle breeds from North China.

Two insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms of the prion protein gene (PRNP), a 23-bp indel in the putative promoter region and a 12-bp indel within intron I, are associated with the susceptibility to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle. In the present study, the polymorphism frequencies of the two indels in four main beef cattle breeds (Hereford, Simmental, Black Angus, and Mongolian) from North China were studied. The results showed that the frequencies of deletion genotypes and alleles of 23- and 12-bp indels were lower, whereas the frequencies of insertion genotypes and alleles of the two indels were higher in Mongolian cattle than in the other three cattle breeds.