Local and regional drivers of turnover and nestedness components of species and functional beta diversity in lake macrophyte communities in China.

Beta diversity describes the variation in species composition between sites and is often influenced by both local and regional processes. Partitioning beta diversity into turnover (species replacement between sites) and nestedness (richness difference between sites) components may enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind the local and regional drivers determining species composition across spatial scales. We sampled macrophyte communities in 24 lakes in two regions (Yangtze River basin and Yunnan-Guizhou plateau) of China covering broad climate and nutrient gradients.

Opposite effects of winter day and night temperature changes on early phenophases.

Changes in day (maximum temperature, T ) and night temperature (minimum temperature, T ) in the preseason (e.g., winter and spring) may have opposite effects on early phenophases (e.

Responses of species abundance distribution patterns to spatial scaling in subtropical secondary forests.

To quantify and assess the processes underlying community assembly and driving tree species abundance distributions(SADs) with spatial scale variation in two typical subtropical secondary forests in Dashanchong state-owned forest farm, two 1-ha permanent study plots (100-m × 100-m) were established. We selected four diversity indices including species richness, Shannon-Wiener, Simpson and Pielou, and relative importance values to quantify community assembly and biodiversity. Empirical cumulative distribution and species accumulation curves were utilized to describe the SADs of two forests communities trees.

Pollution characteristics, sources, and health risk assessment of human exposure to Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb pollution in urban street dust across China between 2009 and 2018.

Since heavy metal pollution is widespread in street dust in China, the effects of heavy metals in street dust on human health cannot be ignored. However, studies estimating heavy metal pollution in street dust nationwide are limited. In this study, the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in street dust at 3877sites throughout China were obtained from the published scientific literature.

Molecular Diversity of Cyanopodoviruses in Two Coastal Wetlands in Northeast China.

Although bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities on the planet, their genetic diversity, especially in natural wetlands, is poorly understood. In this study, the genetic diversity of cyanopodoviruses in sediments of two coastal wetlands in Northeast China was investigated by targeting the DNA polymerase (pol) gene. A total of 66 DNA pol clones were obtained.

The Toxicological Effects of Mercury Exposure in Marine Fish.

Since the Minamata incident in Japan, the public have become increasingly aware of the negative health effects caused by mercury pollution in the ocean. Consequently, there has been significant interest in the health of humans eating fish exposed to mercury (Hg). However, the toxicity of mercury to the marine fish themselves has received far less attention.

Comparative and chemometric analysis of correlations between the chemical fingerprints and anti-proliferative activities of ganoderic acids from three Ganoderma species.

Introduction: Investigation on ganoderic acids (GAs) from different cultivars and origins of Ganoderma species, regarding to their composition, contents and bioactivities, will be of great importance for the development and quality control of Ganoderma-based healthcare products or drugs.

Objective: Comparative and chemometric analysis of different Ganoderma species were conducted to reveal the correlations between their chemical fingerprints and anti-proliferative activities.

Methodology: Six Ganoderma samples with different origins and parts of fruiting body (pileus and stipe) were extracted with chloroform and enriched by a SPE-C18 cartridge.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric iron reduction in the sediment of a eutrophic lake.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric iron reduction (Feammox) has been assumed to play an important role in nitrogen removal from ecosystems. This study assessed the potential role of Feammox in nitrogen transformation in eutrophic lake sediment using an isotope tracing technique in sediment slurry incubation experiments. Feammox was discovered in eutrophic lake sediment.

Membrane-mediated disorder-to-order transition of SNAP25 flexible linker facilitates its interaction with syntaxin-1 and SNARE-complex assembly.

The soluble -ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex comprises synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP25), syntaxin-1a (syx-1), and synaptobrevin 2, which is essential for many physiologic processes requiring membrane fusion. Several studies imply that the loop region of SNAP25 plays important roles in SNARE-complex assembly. However, why and how the flexible loop facilitates the complex assembly remains poorly understood because it is purposely deleted in almost all structural studies.

Structural Basis for the Inhibition of the Autophosphorylation Activity of HK853 by Luteolin.

The two-component system (TCS) is a significant signal transduction system for bacteria to adapt to complicated and variable environments, and thus has recently been regarded as a novel target for developing antibacterial agents. The natural product luteolin (Lut) can inhibit the autophosphorylation activity of the typical histidine kinase (HK) HK853 from , but the inhibition mechanism is not known. Herein, we report on the binding mechanism of a typical flavone with HK853 by using solution NMR spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and molecular docking.

Historical changes in the major and trace elements in the sedimentary records of Lake Qinghai, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: implications for anthropogenic activities.

Sediment sequences in Lake Qinghai spanning the past 100 years were explored to assess the effects of changes in local land desertification, dust input and agriculture on sediment deposition in different parts of Lake Qinghai. Three short sediment cores (QH01, QH02, QH07) were collected from the main lake and one sediment core (Z04) from a sublake (Lake Gahai) of Lake Qinghai, China, during 2012 and 2013. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, Al, Rb, Ti, Ca, and Sr were analysed to determine the effects of historical and regional anthropogenic activities in the Lake Qinghai catchment from 1910 to 2010.

A simple method to improve the adsorption properties of drinking water treatment residue by lanthanum modification.

The loading of La can substantially enhance the adsorption capability of drinking water treatment residue (DWTR) for better recycling. Normally, the modification was based on incubation of DWTR and La solution at a certain ratio, following by solid-liquid separation and drying processes. This study attempted to simplify La loading procedures by adopting high ratio of DWTR and La solution to eliminate the solid-liquid separation, aiming to promote the potential actual production.

Chemical shift assignments of the catalytic and ATP-binding domain of HK853 from Thermotoga maritime.

HK853 is a transmembrane protein from Thermotoga maritime, which belongs to HK853/RR468 two-component signal transduction system (TCS) and acts as a sensor histidine kinase. HK853 is mainly composed of a transmembrane domain, dimerization and histidine-containing phosphotransfer domain (HK853), catalytic and ATP-binding domain (HK853) and several linkers. HK853 can be completely autophosphorylated, which is the first step for signal transduction of TCS.

Characterization of the Cd-resistant fungus Aspergillus aculeatus and its potential for increasing the antioxidant activity and photosynthetic efficiency of rice.

Considerable evidence exists that microorganisms play a significant role in the remediation of soil contaminated with heavy metals. Aspergillus aculeatus (A. aculeatus) isolated from Cd-polluted soil has been shown to increase the tolerance of turfgrasses to Cd stress.

The lysine catabolite saccharopine impairs development by disrupting mitochondrial homeostasis.

Amino acid catabolism is frequently executed in mitochondria; however, it is largely unknown how aberrant amino acid metabolism affects mitochondria. Here we report the requirement for mitochondrial saccharopine degradation in mitochondrial homeostasis and animal development. In , mutations in the saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH) domain of the bi-functional enzyme α-aminoadipic semialdehyde synthase AASS-1 greatly elevate the lysine catabolic intermediate saccharopine, which causes mitochondrial damage by disrupting mitochondrial dynamics, leading to reduced adult animal growth.

Linkages between Epithelial Microbiota and Host Transcriptome in the Ileum during High-Grain Challenges: Implications for Gut Homeostasis in Goats.

A high-grain (HG) diet can result in ruminal subacute acidosis, which is detrimental to gut health and can lead to decreased productivity. This study investigated the ileal epithelial microbiota and its relationship with host epithelial function in goats fed a HG diet (concentrate/hay, 90:10) and a control diet (concentrate/hay, 55:45), aiming to elucidate the mechanisms involved in ileal adaptation to subacute acidosis. The HG challenge increased the ileal volatile fatty acid concentration ( p = 0.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of flavonoids from lotus plumule.

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action of flavonoids in lotus plumule were systematically analyzed using radical scavenging assays and ELISA kits. By this means, flavonoids displayed significant antioxidant activity by donating electron, H atom as well as capturing DPPH and ABTS free radicals, and anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the production of the inflammatory mediators (NO radicals, PGE and TNF-α) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-6). Meanwhile, the bioactive components against inflammation targeting COX-2 were also revealed using ultrafiltration coupled to LC-MS (UF-LC/MS).

Description of Neptosternus haibini sp. nov. from China (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Laccophilinae).

Neptosternus haibini sp. nov. is described from Guangdong Province, China.

A new species and a new record of Pelthydrus Orchymont, 1919 from Yunnan, China (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Hydrophilinae).

The members of the genus Pelthydrus are small-sized aquatic beetles which belong to the water scavenger beetle family Hydrophilidae. At present the lineage includes 63 valid species mainly occurring in Asia, with 21 known from China (Bian et al. 2008, 2009; Hansen 1999; Schönmann 1995).

Contamination assessment and health risk of arsenic exposure to stairway dust in the zinc smelting district, Northeast China.

Stairway dust samples were collected from residential communities in Huludao city to investigate population health risk of arsenic (As) exposure through stairway dust. ArcGIS software was used to analyze As spatial distribution in Huludao city. Hazard index was applied to assess health risk due to exposure to As in stairway dust.

[Effects of Different Levels of Irrigation with Reclaimed Water on Soil Enzyme Activity and Distribution of Thermotolerant Coliforms].

This study aimed to discern the effect of different levels of irrigation with reclaimed water on soil enzyme activities and on the distribution of thermotolerant coliforms. The effects of two irrigation water qualities (reclaimed water and tap water) and two irrigation levels (full irrigation and insufficient irrigation) on soil enzyme activity and distribution of thermotolerant coliforms were studied through indoor soil column irrigation. Results indicated that:① Reclaimed water irrigation increased soil urease and invertase activity compared with tap water under the same irrigation conditions.

A Ma10 gene encoding P-type ATPase is involved in fruit organic acid accumulation in apple.

Acidity is one of the main determinants of fruit organoleptic quality. Here, comparative transcriptome analysis was conducted between two cultivars that showed a significant difference in fruit acidity, but contained homozygous non-functional alleles at the major gene Ma1 locus controlling apple fruit acidity. A candidate gene for fruit acidity, designated M10, was identified.

Design and Implementation of a Novel Polarimetric Active Radar Calibrator for Gaofen-3 SAR.

The Chinese first fully polarimetric space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-Gaofen-3 (GF-3) was launched in August 2016, which operates at the C-band and the resolution can reach 1 m. Polarimetric SAR calibration is a procedure that corrects the polarization distortion of a measured scattering matrix by referring to the scattering matrix of a known target. The present paper describes the principle, design, manufacture, and measurement results of a novel polarimetric active radar calibrator (PARC) designed for GF-3.

Evolution of prehistoric dryland agriculture in the arid and semi-arid transition zone in northern China.

Based on chronological and archaeobotanical studies of 15 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites from the northern Chinese Loess Plateau and southern Inner Mongolia-the agro-pastoral zone of China-we document changes in the agricultural system over time. The results show that wheat and rice were not the major crops of the ancient agricultural systems in these areas, since their remains are rarely recovered, and that millet cultivation was dominant. Millet agriculture increased substantially from 3000 BC-2000 BC, and foxtail millet evidently comprised a high proportion of the cultivated crop plants during this period.