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A revision of the wild species in the genus Malus Mill. (Rosaceae) is presented based on numerical analyses and specimens from herbaria around the world, while cultivated species such as Malus domestica (Suckow) Borkh. are not included because of their complicated domestication history. Infra- and interspecific morphological variation and species delimitation are clarified based on Principal Component Analyses (PCA) and Cluster Analyses (UPGMA). We found that several morphological characters traditionally used to distinguish species have limited taxonomic value because of high phenotypic variation or plasticity. There is a substantial conflict between traditional morphological and genetic taxonomic concepts, and as a result species lineages are often morphologically indistinguishable. None of the analyses supports the recognition of infraspecific categories in Malus transitoria (Batalin) C.K.Schneid. and interspecific categories between Malus doumeri (Bois) A.Chev. and Malus leiocalyca S.Z.Huang. Based on our analyses, we recognize 26 wild species in the genus, and propose seven new synonymies.

The characteristic distribution patterns of hydrocarbons have been used for fingerprinting to identify their sources. The historical air depositions of hydrocarbons recorded in natural media help to understand the evolution of the air environment. Travertine is a natural acceptor of air deposition that settles on the ground layer by layer. To reconstruct the historical air environment of hydrocarbons in the North Tibetan Plateau (NTP), a unique background region, twenty-seven travertine samples were collected systematically from a travertine column according to its precipitated year. For each sample, the precipitated year was dated while n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined. Based on source identification, the air environment of hydrocarbons in the past century was studied for the region of NTP. Before World War II, the anthropogenic sources of hydrocarbons showed little influence on the air environment. During World War II and China's War of Liberation, hydrocarbons increased significantly, mainly from the use of fossil fuels. Between 1954 and 1963, hydrocarbons in the air decreased significantly because the sources of petroleum combustion decreased. From the mid-1960s through the end of the 1990s, air hydrocarbons, which mainly originated from biomass burning, increased gradually because agriculture and animal husbandry were developing steadily in Tibet and China. From the late 1990s, hydrocarbons in the atmosphere increased rapidly due to the rapid increase of tourism activities, which might increase hydrocarbon emissions from traffic. The reconstruction of the historical air hydrocarbons in NTP clearly reflects the evolution of the region and global development.

Forty-four soil samples were collected across the central Tibetan Plateau (CTP) at altitudes between 3711 m and 5352 m, and their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contents were measured to be from 0.43 to 26.66 ng/g. The main sources of PAHs were identified for each of four sub-areas, and their concentrations in soils were determined to be mainly influenced by local sources. Along a 600 km sampling trajectory from Lhasa, which served as the biggest local source, the concentrations of PAHs decreased logarithmically with increasing distances from the source. Meanwhile, the fractional proportions of PAHs were observed to change logarithmically according to the transport distances. Conclusively, PAHs from local sources were transported within the CTP and dominated PAHs concentrations in the soils, but few of them were transported outside the CTP. In global cycling, the soils in the CTP mainly serve as background and a “sink” for PAHs.

Forty-two congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were detected for each of 27 surface-soil samples collected at an area near the Changwengluozha Glacier in the Central Tibetan Plateau (CTP), a remote background area at altitude from 5080 to 5217 m. The total concentrations of BDEs in soils ranged from 15.3 to 248.0 ng/kg, which were found to be positively correlated with the clay contents in the soil. In addition to adsorption, the clay was found to serve as a catalyst for the debromination of PBDEs in soils. Three pieces of evidence confirmed that the clay was significantly correlated with the debrominating transformation from the higher brominated congeners to the less brominated congeners. The transforming rate was found to be increased 3.5% with a 10% increase in clays. Debromination is an important way for highly brominated congeners to transform into lighter brominated congeners that are more toxic. This study first provided the direct field evidences for clays contributing to the debromination of PBDEs, and elucidated the importance of it in PBDEs' environmental fate.

Rubus huagaoxiensis and R. lingtianus , two new species of Rosaceae from Sichuan, Southwest China, are described and illustrated. Rubus huagaoxiensis is morphologically similar to R. setchuenensis , but differs from the latter by gray tomentose branchlets, thicker leaves which are usually adaxially pubescent, larger and subflabellate stipules, 0.3–0.5 cm long pedicels, sepals which are triangular to ovate and abaxially densely gray tomentose-villous, white petals which are abaxially and adaxially villous along midrib, villous styles, and spheroidal pollen grains. Rubus lingtianus is morphologically similar to R. setchuenensis and R. huagaoxiensis , but differs from R. setchuenensis by having leathery leaves, acute lobes of leaf blade, larger and subflabellate stipules, broadly ovate sepals with acute or obtuse apex, white flowers, red fruits, and subprolate pollen grains with verrucate-striate-perforate ornamentation. Rubus lingtianus differs from R. huagaoxiensis by having leathery leaves, mature leaf blade which is adaxially glabrous or soft-hairy along veins only, usually glabrous petals, styles base with few soft hairs, red fruits, and subprolate pollen grains with verrucate-striate-perforate ornamentation. Morphological comparison among these three species is given.

The mitochondrion is essential for energy metabolism and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In intact cells, respiratory mitochondria exhibit spontaneous "superoxide flashes", the quantal ROS-producing events consequential to transient mitochondrial permeability transition (tMPT). Here we perform the first in vivo imaging of mitochondrial superoxide flashes and tMPT activity in living mice expressing the superoxide biosensor mt-cpYFP, and demonstrate their coupling to whole-body glucose metabolism. Robust tMPT/superoxide flash activity occurred in skeletal muscle and sciatic nerve of anesthetized transgenic mice. In skeletal muscle, imaging tMPT/superoxide flashes revealed labyrinthine three-dimensional networks of mitochondria that operate synchronously. The tMPT/superoxide flash activity surged in response to systemic glucose challenge or insulin stimulation, in an apparently frequency-modulated manner and involving also a shift in the gating mode of tMPT. Thus, in vivo imaging of tMPT-dependent mitochondrial ROS signals and the discovery of the metabolism-tMPT-superoxide flash coupling mark important technological and conceptual advances for the study of mitochondrial function and ROS signaling in health and disease.

In dividing embryos, a localized elevation in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) at the cleavage furrow has been shown to be essential for cytokinesis. However, the underlying mechanisms for generating and maintaining these [Ca2+]i gradients throughout cytokinesis are not fully understood. In the present study, we analyzed the role of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) distribution in determining the intracellular Ca2+ gradients in early zebrafish blastomeres. Application of the injected Ca2+ indicator, Indo-1, showed that during the first cell division a standing Ca2+ gradient was formed ∼35 min after fertilization, with the [Ca2+]i spatially decaying from 500–600 nmol/L at the cleavage furrow to 100–200 nmol/L around the nucleus. While the IP3R immunohistochemical fluorescence was relatively concentrated in the peri-furrow region, ER labeling was relatively enriched in both peri-furrow and peri-nuclear regions. Numeric simulation suggested that a divergence in the spatial distribution of IP3R and the locations of Ca2+ uptake within the ER was essential for the formation of a standing Ca2+ gradient, and the Ca2+ gradient could only be well-established under an optimal stoichiometry of Ca2+ uptake and release. Indeed, while inhibition of IP3R Ca2+ release blocked the generation of the Ca2+ gradient at a lower [Ca2+]i level, both Ca2+ release stimulation by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) injection and ER Ca2+ pump inhibition by cyclopiazonic acid also eliminated the Ca2+ gradients at higher [Ca2+]i levels. Our results suggest a dynamic relationship between ER-mediated Ca2+ release and uptake that underlies the maintenance of the perifurrow Ca2+ gradient and is essential for cytokinesis of zebrafish embryos.

The efficacies of current treatments for invasive aspergillus (IA) are unsatisfactory and new therapeutic targets or regimens to treat IA are urgently needed. Previous studies have indicated that the ability of conidia to invade host cells is critical in IA development and fibronectin has a hand in the conidia adherence process. In the clinical setting, many patients who receive glucocorticoid for extended periods are susceptible to Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) infection, for this reason we investigated the effect of glucocorticoid on conidia invasiveness by comparing the invasiveness of A. fumigatus conidia in the type II human alveolar cell line (A549) cultured with different concentrations of dexamethasone. We also explored the relationships between dexamethasone and fibronectin expression.Following culture with anti-fibronectin antibodies and/or dexamethasone, type II human alveolar A549 cells were infected with conidia of A. fumigatus. After 4 hours, the extracellular free conidia were washed away and the remaining immobilized conidia were released using Triton-X 100 and quantified by counting the colony-forming units. The invasiveness of conidia was measured by calculating the invasion rate (%). The transcription of the fibronectin gene in cells cultured with different concentrations of dexamethasone for 24 hours was tested by fluorogenic quantitative RT-PCR while the expression of fibronectinin cells cultured for 48 hours was tested by Western blotting and immunocytochemistry.A significant reduction in the invasiveness of conidia was seen in the cells cultured with anti-fibronectin antibody ((14.42 ± 1.68)% vs. (19.17 ± 2.53)%, P0.05), but no significant difference was observed in cells cultured with a combination of anti-fibronectin antibody and dexamethasone (6.37 ± 10(-5) mol/L). There was no correlation between the dexamethasone concentration and the invasiveness of conidia after dexamethasone pretreatment of cells for 4 hours. In contrast, after pretreated for 24 hours, the invasiveness of conidia in the presence of 6.37×10(-5) mol/L dexamethasone ((24.66 ± 2.41)%) was higher than for the control ((19.17 ± 2.53)%) and the 0.25×10(-5) mol/L group ((19.93 ± 3.06)%), and the invasiveness in the 1.27×10(-5) mol/L group ((22.47 ± 2.46)%) was also higher than in the control, P0.05. The relative transcripts of the fibronectin gene after exposure to 6.37×10(-5) mol/L dexamethasone (9.19×10(-3)±1.2×10(-3)) was higher than for the control (4.61×10(-3)± 1.54×10(-3)) and the 0.25×10(-5) mol/L group (6.20×10(-3)± 1.93×10(-3)), and expression in the 1.27×10(-5) mol/L group (7.94×10(-3)± 2.24×10(-3)) was also higher than for the control, P0.05. High concentrations of dexamethasone promoted fibronectin production after culture for 48 hours.Dexamethasone can increase invasiveness of A. fumigatus conidia by promoting fibronectin expression. This may partially explain why patients who are given large doses of glucocorticoids for extended periods are more susceptible to A. fumigatus infection.

By using venting method incubation experiment, we studied the ammonia volatilization and kinetics characteristics of uncoated slowed release compound fertilizer (SRF) under different soil water conditions and the growth and nitrogen utilization efficiency of rice in pot experiment. Results indicated that the ammonia volatilization of SRF under waterflooding reached the peak ahead of 3-4 days compared to the moist treatment. The peak and accumulation of ammonia volatilization in the waterflooding treatments were higher than those under the moist condition. SRF could significantly reduce total ammonia volatilization compared to the common compound fertilizer (CCF), reduced by 50.6% and 22.8% in the moist treatment and reduced by 24.2% and 10.4% in the waterflooding treatment,but the loss of ammonia volatilization of SRF was higher significantly than that of the coated fertilizer (CRF). Ammonia volatilization increased with the increasing of fertilizer application. The dynamics of ammonia volatilization of SRF could be quantitatively described with three equations: the first order kinetics equation, Elovich equation and parabola equation. Compared to moist condition, the biomass of rice plant in SRF, CCF and SRF treatments increased by 67.86%, 78.25% and 48.75%, and nitrogen utilization efficiency increased by 57.73%, 80.70% and 12.06% under waterflooding condition, respectively. Comparing with CCF, nitrogen utilization efficiency in SRF treatment improved by 59.10% and 10.40% under two soil moisture conditions. SRF could reduce ammonia volatilization and improve biomass and nitrogen utilization efficiency.

Recent advances with iron oxide/gold (Fe3O4/Au) composite nanoparticles (CNPs) in dual-modality magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) imaging applications are reviewed. The synthesis and assembly of "dumbbelllike" and "core/shell" Fe3O4/Au CNPs is introduced. Potential applications of some developed Fe3O4/Au CNPs as contrast agents for dual-mode MR/CT imaging applications are described in detail.

Since the finding of Ca2+ sparks (and its equivalents), optical recording has become the most important tool to study intracellular Ca2+-permeable channels in situ, which are inaccessible otherwise by electrophysiological means. Due to the mixture of in-focus and out-of-focus events, spontaneous sparks do not quantitatively reflect the ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+ release flux (iRyR). To quantify the iRyR, we activated and recorded in-focus Ca2+ sparks under the loose-seal patch-clamp condition, and calibrate iRyR with Ca2+ sparklets from a single L-type Ca2+ channel (LCC). Using this analytical tool, we studied the role of FKBP12.6 in regulating RyR gating behavior in intact cardiomyocytes, which has been highly controversial over the last decade. We found that, in wild-type mouse ventricular myocytes, iRyR exhibited a distribution with periodic quantal peaks, with each quantum of 1.05 pA representing the iRyR of a single RyR. By contrast, in heart cells from FKBP12.6 knockout (FKO) mice, the quantal property of iRyR was eliminated, indicating that synchronized activation of multiple (2∼4) RyRs basically depends on the existence of FKBP12.6. Notably, FKO cells displayed fractional iRyR of 0.3–0.8 pA. This finding provided direct evidence for the partial opening of a single RyR in situ in the absence of FKBP12.6. The suppression of fractional iRyR events in wild-type cells demonstrated that FKBP12.6 played a key role in coordinating the allosterism among RyR subunits. Taken together, our study demonstrated for the first time that FKBP12.6 mediates both inter- and intra-molecular coordination of RyR gating in intact heart cells.