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Governance and regulation of the use of live animals in research and teaching is examined in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, Japan and India. A comparison of the systems in different countries will enable the determination of best practice and fit-forpurpose regulation. The most comprehensive government regulation of animal welfare in institutions covers a broad range of animals and institutions are required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, whose membership is specified in guidelines or regulations. The work of the Committees is rigorously overseen by government and facilities that use live animals are audited externally. All countries examined have legislation governing the use of live animals in research, although only Australia and Malaysia have a fully equivalent mandated oversight of teaching. Teaching that uses live animals is partly covered in the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and Thailand This paper thus aims to review the regulation of animal use in different Asian jurisdictions in order to determine best practices that are appropriate to those settings. The most comprehensive oversight is provided in Australia and Malaysia that essentially use the same regulatory framework.

This paper reports results from a "natural experiment" taking place in China on the impact of dogs on owners' health. Previous Western research has reported modest health benefits, but results have remained controversial. In China pets were banned in urban areas until 1992. Since then dog ownership has grown quite rapidly in the major cities, especially among younger women. In these quasi-experimental conditions, we hypothesise that dog ownership will show greater health benefits than in the West. Results are given from a survey of women aged 25-40 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou (N = 3031). Half the respondents owned dogs and half did not. Owners reported better health-related outcomes. They exercised more frequently, slept better, had higher self-reported fitness and health, took fewer days off sick from work and were seen less by doctors. The concluding section indicates how these results may be integrated and suggests further research on the potential economic benefits of pets.

Background: Extensive parasitic diseases epidemiology in Zhejiang province has not been carried out since the second national survey in 2004. Therefore, dynamics in prevalence and infection pattern of the major intestinal parasites should be explored.Methods: The distribution of three parasites including soil-transmitted helminths (STH), intestinal protozoa and C. sinensis in Zhejiang from 2014 to 2015 were explored. Kato-Katz technique was used for STH and C. sinensis detection, whereas transparent adhesive paper anal swab was used for pinworm detection, and iodine smear was used for protozoa detection. A questionnaire survey on alimentary habits and sanitary behaviors was conducted in half of the studied counties.Results: This study recruited 23,552 participants: 19,935 from rural and 3617 from urban area. Overall prevalence of intestinal helminth infections was 1.80%. In this study, seven helminth species were identified including A. duodenale, N. americanus, Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides, C. sinensis, Fasciolopsis buski and pinworm. The average prevalence of STH infection was 1.71%: 1.94% in rural and 0.44% in urban area. Hookworm was the most prevalent infection at 1.58%: 1.79% in rural and 0.44% in urban area. Prevalence varied considerably in the studied counties. Prevalence was highest in Yongkang county at 10.25%. Only 2.79% of children from rural area were infected with pinworm. A proportion of 0.40% of rural participants were infected with protozoa, whereas Endolimax nana was the most prevalent at 0.23%. C. sinensis showed infection only in one man. Awareness on C. sinensis was 24.47% in rural and 45.96% in urban area, respectively.Conclusions: Prevalence of STH and protozoa infections declined considerably whereas C. sinensis infections remained few in Zhejiang province compared with the prevalence reported in previous large scale surveys (19.56% for national STH infection in 2004, 18.66% and 4.57% for provincial STH and protozoa infection, respectively in 1999). The findings of this study showed that hookworm, mainly N. americanus remained a parasitic threat to population health, mainly in the central and western Zhejiang. Therefore, more health education regarding fertilization and farming habits is necessary in rural areas. The awareness concerning hookworm infection should be reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"Ecological man" is an important existing form of the "legal man" mode which generally experiences the rising of the "economic man" and the reflection on the "social man" in terms of its evolution process and Spatio-temporal trajectory, and is now striding toward the "ecological man." In China, it is necessary to implant the core value that is depended on by the "ecological man" into the legislation for the construction of ecology civilization, so as to give a response to the realistic demand on the practice governed by law. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the Local People's Congresses of China launches the revision of the laws and regulations in relation to the prohibition of eating wild animals comprehensively and stresses that prohibition of eating wild animals by legislation is a necessary requirement to guarantee the life, the health and the safety, maintain biological security and ecological safety, strengthen the construction of ecological civilization and promote the harmonious coexistence between human and nature. The Wild Animal Conservation Law that is revised by the Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial People's Congress stresses, on the one hand, the necessity of comprehensively prohibiting the eating of terrestrial wildlife according to law, and on the other hand, attaches great importance to the response to the social reality appeal and clarifies to make rational compensations to legal breeders for their actual loss. The local legislation on the wild animal conservation adopted in Shenzhen City and Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province clarifies the scope of application for the prohibition of eating terrestrial wildlife and the "white list" of edible animals, and thus stepping in the forefront for local legislation. It can be said that those local legislations above lay a solid foundation for the revision or the formulation of the legislation in connection to the ecological, environmental protection, and public health and safety at the state level and also builds a pleasant atmosphere for the rule of law. In consideration of the unexpected public health and safety issues, this paper stresses that it is essential to see both the surface problem in inadequate legal system supply and the underlying problem in lacking the "ecological man" value idea in the design of legal systems. The implication of the "ecological man" value can be teased from two dimensions that are standard (external) and idea (internal). In view of the so-called "standard" dimension, it attaches greater importance to the practical value of the "ecological man," while in view of the so-called "idea" dimension, it highlights much more on the humanity value of the "ecological man." The practical value of the "ecological man" attaches greater importance to that taking the "common interests of mankind and ecology" as the central value and also as the standard or criteria for the social activities, while the humanistic value of the "ecological man" advocates that the implication of the "ecological man" value lies in a humanistic care. Its value pursuit falls in the legal coordination for multiple interests, to relieve the contradiction and conflict between mankind and nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper exemplifies China's increasing efforts on road ecology protections. • We demonstrate a strategic approach for positioning and designing wildlife passages. • This approach is useful when high-resolution data are out of availability. • The goitered gazelle is the most dominant species in the area. • Underpasses are proposed with a minimum width of 12 m and a minimum height of 3.5 m. This paper reports on the design of wildlife crossing structures (WCSs) along a new expressway in China, which exemplifies the country's increasing efforts on wildlife protection in infrastructure projects. The line and belt transect method, the surface water survey, and the sign-tracking investigation were used to determine the target species in the study area and the quantity, candidate locations, size, and type of the WCSs. The intensity index and encounter rate showed that the ibex (Capra ibex), argali sheep (Ovis ammon), and goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) are the main ungulates in the study area. Among them, the goitered gazelle is the most widely distributed species. Underpass WCSs were proposed based on the expert knowledge and crossing hotspots estimated using survey results. The mean distance between estimated hotspots and their nearest proposed WCSs is around 341 m. In addition, those proposed WCSs have a width of no less than 12 m and height of no lower than 3.5 m, which is believed to be sufficient for ungulates in the area. Given the limited availability of high-resolution movement data and wildlife-vehicle collision data during the road's early design stage, the approach demonstrated in this paper facilitates the practical spatial planning and provides insights into designing WCSs in a desert landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many studies have been concerned with Changhsingian brachiopod faunas in South China, brachiopod faunas of the mixed nearshore clastic-carbonate facies have not been studied in detail. In this paper, a brachiopod fauna collected from the Changhsingian Wangjiazhai Formation and the Griesbachian Yelang Formation at the Liuzhi section (Guizhou Province, South China) is described. The Liuzhi section represents mixed clasticcarbonate facies and yields 30 species of 16 genera of brachiopod. Among the described and illustrated species, new morphological features of genera Peltichia, Prelissorhynchia and Spiriferellina are provided. Because of limited materials, four undetermined species instead of new species from these three genera are proposed. The Liuzhi brachiopod fauna from lower part of the Wangjiazhai Formation shares most genera with fauna of carbonate facies in South China, and the fauna from the upper part is similar to that from the Zhongzhai and Zhongying sections, representative shallowwater clastic facies sections in Guizhou Province. Consistent with the lithological feature of the Wangjiazhai Formation at the Liuzhi section, the Liuzhi brachiopod fauna shows similar changing pattern with fauna from sections of shallow-water clastic and carbonate facies, and all present a sudden decline of diversity prior to the Permian-Triassic boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the emergence of H7N9 influenza in March 2013, local animal and public health authorities in China have been closing live bird markets as a measure to try to control the H7N9 influenza epidemic. The role of live bird market (LBM) closure on the spread of N7N9 influenza following the closure of LBMs during March to May 2013 (the first wave) and October 2013 to March 2014 (the second wave) is described in this paper. Different provinces implemented closure actions at different times, and intensive media reports on H7N9 in different provinces started at different times. Local broiler prices dropped dramatically in places with outbreaks and more live chickens were transported to other LBMs in neighboring areas without human cases from infected areas when live bird markets were being closed. There were six clusters of human infection from March to May 2013 and October 2013 to March 2014 and there may have been intensive poultry transportation among cluster areas. These findings provide evidence that the closure of LBMs in early waves of H7N9 influenza had resulted in expansion of H7N9 infection to uninfected areas. This suggests that provincial authorities in inland provinces should be alert to the risks of sudden changes in movement patterns for live birds after LBM closure or increased publicity about LBM closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates the impact of an endemic fossorial animal, plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), on soil properties and N2O flux at the Zoige Wetland. Pika burrow and control sites without disturbance by pika were selected to measure the soil water content, bulk density, soil organic matter (SOM), NH4-N content and NO3-N content in August 2012. N2O fluxes were measured with static opaque chambers at these sites in June and August 2012. Pika burrowing altered soil aeration by transferring deeper soil to the surface and by constructing underground burrows, which significantly increased bulk density, and reduced soil water content, SOM and NH4-N content at 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil depth. N2O flux had a significant correlation with bulk density, SOM and NH4-N content. Pika burrowing significantly influenced N2O flux by increasing N2O flux at the control site from near zero to 0.063±0.011 mg m-2 h-1. Our findings described how pika burrowing influences the soil traits and significantly increases the principal greenhouse gas N2O emission. As plateau pika was commonly considered as a pest, our findings give a novel clue to effectively manage populations of plateau pika on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the perspective of greenhouse gas emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a famous fruit in south China, and it is also effective for chest tightness or chest pain, irritability, flatulence, epigastric pain and neuralgic pain, hernia pain and testicular swelling, cough, etc. It is valued because a great amount of polyphenol was found in litchi pericarp. In this paper, we got litchi pericarp pure extract by a simple purification method, then evaluated its activity to clear oxygen free radicals in vitro, and evaluated its myocardial protection effect in vivo through acute myocardial ischemia rat model. The results showed that the pure extract had protective effect on myocardial ischemia injury in a certain dose-effect relationship, which reflected in the electrocardiogram, myocardial pathological morphology and other indicators such as cardiac function enzymes, serum and myocardial antioxidant capacity, and eNOS, Bcl-2 and Bax gene expression. Furthermore, we analyzed the components of pure extract by UPLC-MS, ESI-MS and NMR. The main components of PLPE were procyanidin which were identified as procyanidin B2(1), (-)-epicatechin(2), epicatechin-(4β → 8,2β → O → 7)-epicatechin-(4β → 8)-epicatechin(3), A-type procyanidin trimer(4), B-type procyanidin dimer(5) and procyanidin A2(6).This study proved that litchi pericarp extract may have antioxidant activity and cardioprotection effect. It suggested that litchi pericarp may be good for cardiovascular disease. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between text and illustration in Chinese pharmacopeia in the bencao tradition by focusing on depictions of animals. It explores to what extent such illustrations served a practical—read medical or pharmaceutical—purpose. The first part of the paper discusses the contexts in which animal species have been depicted in traditional China leading up to the emergence of bencao literature. The second part analyses the use of illustrations in Bencao gangmu. The author questions whether such illustrations were aimed to reflect zoological, botanical, or pharmaceutical information not already present in the text and argues that, instead, their composition is best understood within the context of Ming visual culture, the print economy, and naturalist collectanea produced at the time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhalong National Nature Reserve in the northeast of China is a large wetland and a habitat of hundreds species of fauna and flora. The rare red-crowned crane is one kind of endangered birds in it. Recently, Zhalong wetland is shrinking and it encounters many problems including occasional fires, bad water quality, human activities, etc. In order to find out a proper way to protect and restore the wetland, this study, using a geographic information system, the global positioning system and remote sensing techniques, analyses the spatial characteristics of the changes in marsh landscape pattern and examines the driving factors for these changes. Data sources include 8 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images of Zhalong area in the period of 1986–2002 and the investigation information on site. Based on the analysis of changes of marsh area and annual precipitation during the 16 years, it is found that there is a close correlation between annual precipitation and marsh area. It means that climate is one of driving factors of marsh pattern changes. To understand influences of other kinds of land uses on marsh spatial distribution in Zhalong wetland, this paper analyses the relationship between marsh and different kinds of land uses, such as water surface, residential area, farmland, salina land and grass land, respectively. According to the patch analysis theory, a fragmental index and a fractal dimension of the marsh are calculated with perimeter-area method. The results indicate that the marsh pattern is affected by human activities significantly. In addition, the location alteration of marsh centroid point over the 16 years is studied. The movement trace of marsh centroid point is concerned with different hydrological situation in different areas of the wetland. In summary the characteristics of the marsh landscape pattern evolution during the 16 years are affected by multiple driving factors. The main driving factors are climate, human activities, distribution of other kinds of land uses and hydrological situation in different areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a sustainable transportation mode, high-speed railway (HSR) has become an efficient way to meet the huge travel demand. However, due to the high acquisition and maintenance cost, it is impossible to build enough infrastructure and purchase enough train-sets. Great efforts are required to improve the transport capability of HSR. The utilization efficiency of train-sets (carrying tools of HSR) is one of the most important factors of the transport capacity of HSR. In order to enhance the utilization efficiency of the train-sets, this paper proposed a train-set circulation optimization model to minimize the total connection time. An innovative two-stage approach which contains segments generation and segments combination was designed to solve this model. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach, an experiment was carried out in the Beijing-Tianjin passenger dedicated line, to fulfill a 174 trips train diagram. The model results showed that compared with the traditional Ant Colony Algorithm (ACA), the utilization efficiency of train-sets can be increased from 43.4% (ACA) to 46.9% (Two-Stage), and 1 train-set can be saved up to fulfill the same transportation tasks. The approach proposed in the study is faster and more stable than the traditional ones, by using which, the HSR staff can draw up the train-sets circulation plan more quickly and the utilization efficiency of the HSR system is also improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigs have played a major role in the economic, social and symbolic systems of China since the Early Neolithic more than 8,000 years ago. However, the interaction between the history of pig domestication and transformations in Chinese society since then, have not been fully explored. In this paper, we investigated the co-evolution from the earliest farming communities through to the new political and economic models of state-like societies, up to the Chinese Empire, using 5,000 years of archaeological records from the Xiawanggang (XWG) and Xinzhai (XZ) sites (Henan Province). To trace the changes of pig populations against husbandry practices, we combined the geometric morphometric analysis of dental traits with a study of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bone collagen. The domestication process intensified during the Neolithic Yangshao, prompted by greater selective pressure and/or better herd control against wild introgression. After that, pig farming, in XWG, relied on local livestock and a gradual change of husbandry practices overtime. This was characterized by a gentle increase in millet foddering and animal protein intake, until a complete change over to household management during the Han dynasty. The only rupture in this steady trend of husbandry occurred during the Longshan period, with the appearance of small sized and idiosyncratic pigs with specific feeding practices (relying on millet and household scraps). From three exploratory hypothesis, we explored the possibility of anti-elite pig production in XWG during the Longshan period, as a means to resist incorporation into a new economic model promoting intensified domestic production. This exploratory hypothesis is the most suitable to our dataset; however, numerous areas need to be explored further in order to adequately document the role of pigs in the rise of China’s complex societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early Chinese texts frequently link the origins of ritual, play, dance, and music to patterns of behavior observed in the nonhuman animal world. Moralizing readings of animal behavior proliferate in texts and iconography from the classical age of the Warring States and early empires (fifth century BC to first century AD), when China's masters of philosophy were drawing up the contours of their ethical theories. The animal world inspired models for human ritualized conduct that became codified in the classicist (Confucian) ritual canon. This paper examines representative examples of this and tries to identify some of the conceptual schemes used in early China to subsume the animal world into moral frameworks that were meant to guide human conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like most of the benthos, brachiopods suffered huge losses in biodiversity during the end-Permian extinction and did not fully recover until the Anisian (Middle Triassic). Anisian brachiopod faunas are thus a key clade characterizing the recovered marine ecosystems in the early Mesozoic. Of these, the brachiopod fauna from Qingyan Town in Guizhou Province, south-western China has long been one of the best-known Anisian faunas in the world. The taxonomy of the Qingyan fauna, however, was last studied half a century ago, and thus requires revision. Here we describe 34 species (and subspecies) (including seven undetermined species) assigned to 29 brachiopod genera from the Qingyan Formation from the Leidapo and Wachangpo localities in the Qingyan section. Of these, 11 species are described for the first time from this area. Two new genera: Parabrekia and Caucasorhynchella (= Crurirhynchella Xu & Liu, 1983, a nomen nudum) and seven new species (Angustothyris dagysi, Angustothyris qingyanensis, Koeveskallina bifurcata, Neocyrtina xui, Nudirostralina minuta, Parabrekia yangi and Rutorhynchia? trigonalis) are also erected. The Qingyan brachiopod fauna is characterized by abundant endemic genera (33.3%) and exhibits a weak similarity with several coeval faunas reported from the western Tethys. In addition, faunal affinity analyses of 13 Anisian brachiopod faunas indicate that at least five biogeographical provinces (western Tethys, eastern Tethys, northern Siberia, Himalayas and New Zealand) were present during the Anisian, and the eastern Tethys province included three subprovinces: Yangtze, southern Qilian–western Qinling and central Qinghai. However, most faunas mutually share rather low Jaccard similarity coefficients (<0.4), except for those in the western Tethys, implying a continuity of the multi-provincial pattern established for Early Triassic brachiopod distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Phthiracarus (Acari: Oribatida: Phthiracaridae) was represented by nine species in China prior to this work. In this paper, eight species of Phthiracarus are identified, including three new species ( Phthiracarusfujianensis Liu sp. nov., Phthiracarus sichuanensis Liu sp. nov. and Phthiracarus yunnanensis Liu sp. nov.), and two newly recorded species from China. Some remarks on known and newly recorded species from China are presented. A key to Chinese known species of Phthiracarus is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subgenus Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) (Acari: Oribatida: Phthiracaridae) was represented in China by only one known species prior to this work. In this paper, four species of Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) are identified, including two new species, Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) inflatus sp. nov. and Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) minimus sp. nov., and a newly recorded species from China, Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) vitrinus (Berlese, 1913). Some new data and remarks on known and newly recorded species from China are presented. A key to all known species of Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) in China is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Erlitou site is located at Yanshi City, Henan Province. This site is a large settlement site of Erlitou culture, and it is dated to 3800-3500 a BP. Five kinds of domestic animals, i.e., dogs, pigs, sheep, goats, and cattle were found from the site. In this paper, two problems have emerged in studies involving the estimation of local isotope levels and the distinction of migrants from locals. Tooth enamel samples from 17 domestic animals individuals were analyzed for strontium isotope ratio (Sr/Sr), by the thermal ionization mass spectrometry, including 10 pigs, 5 sheep and 2 cattle. The results show that the mean Sr/Sr ratios of 10 pigs enamel samples were 0.712078, Based on the local strontium isotopes ratio range determined by the mean Sr/Sr ratios ±2 σ of 10 pig enamel samples (0.712256-0.711900), we found that five sheep and one cattle from the Erlitou site fell well outside the local strontium isotopes ratio range and were considered to be non-local. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The Chinese government has increasingly turned to industry policy as a means of promoting rural development. These industry policies have not necessarily led to an improvement in rural incomes nor to the achievement of other social and environmental goals. This paper examines ways of designing these policies to achieve better rural development outcomes. Design/methodology/approach - The approach adopts a detailed micro-level analysis of industry policy through the window of the cattle and beef industries. Intensive fieldwork and interviews are conducted with all segments of and participants in the industry in all major beef production and consumption regions. A series of normative analyses examines issues of integration, scale of development, regionalism and specialisation. Findings - Industry policy is a powerful mechanism by which to influence regional and rural development. Improving development outcomes requires that central and local government goals converge and that regions in inland China are well integrated with other regions and sectors of the economy. Large-scale development projects must be carefully designed to avoid displacing individual households from industry development. Originality/value - By crossing institutional, geographic and industry segment lines in a comprehensive manner, the research will aid Chinese decision makers concerned with rural development in the design of their industry development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is rich in wildlife resources but no comprehensive review of the research literature in relation to the nexus between wildlife and tourism interests in China has been completed. This review considers research undertaken on both consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife tourism, and shows that wildlife tourism has gained much attention in China recently. A data set was created recording attributes including authors, article titles, publication years and sources, keywords and abstracts. A more detailed analysis of the research topics, methodologies and research regions was conducted and this was accompanied by recourse to the full texts to more fully identify key findings. The research has a predominant focus on captive, semi-captive and tourism experiences in the wild, with the giant panda and bird-watching as key subjects. Research articles have been published in a range of journals but only about 32% of these are considered as key journals in China. The analysis demonstrates a rising interest in wildlife tourism. Although topics include the development of wildlife tourism, studies of visitor attitudes, analysis of visitor impacts on destinations and aspects of environmental education for tourists, this research is in its infancy and there is scope for a comprehensive and extended wildlife tourism research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Gender has been found to influence attitudes towards animals, with women demonstrating more positive attitudes than men in some countries. As attitudes determine consumer behaviour, to a certain extent, and China (the biggest livestock producer globally) has witnessed major social changes in recent decades, we conducted a survey to investigate whether gender and age influenced attitudes towards animals. Respondents self-classified their gender as female, male, other, or they did not disclose it. We found that the attitudes were determined by a combination of gender and age, with more support for animal welfare in women aged 18–24 years than in older men (25–54 years). Those that did not disclose their gender and those declaring it as 'other' appeared to have different attitudes to those declaring it as female or male. A person's gender and age can influence their attitudes towards animal welfare, with more benign attitudes generally ascribed to women. Given that attitudes influence consumer behaviour and the rapid recent social development in China (globally the biggest livestock producer), we surveyed over 1300 individuals across China to elucidate the role of gender and age in determining attitudes towards animals. Respondents self-identified their gender as male, female, other or not revealed. There were interactions between age and gender for many of the survey items, demonstrating that the effects of gender were dependent on the respondents' age. Women aged 18–24 reported more benign attitudes towards animals than older men (aged between 25 and 54 years, depending on the survey question) and more empathetic responses were found in young respondents generally, although this did not necessarily translate into a willingness to pay more for higher-welfare animal products. We propose, drawing on Social Identity Theory, that women see animals as part of their social group, whereas men tend not to do this. Those responding as neither male nor female, i.e., as another gender, and those not revealing their gender appeared to have different relationships to animals than those responding as men or women. It is concluded that within Chinese culture, attitudes towards animals and their welfare are complex and influenced by an interaction between gender and age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatlands contain large amount of carbon stock that is vulnerable to release into the atmosphere. Mostly because of human impact, the peatlands at Zoige Wetlands face severe degradation, and the groundwater table is now lower than before, which has increased the population of the plateau zokor, a burrowing rodent. However, the impact of these changes on ecosystem carbon flows has not been studied. To investigate how the plateau zokor and the groundwater level alter the ecosystem respiration of the Zoige peatlands, we sampled the CO2 flux of hummocks shaped by the zokors and compared it with the CO2 flux of undisturbed sites with different groundwater table levels. The soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water content (SWC) and soil temperature at 5 cm (T5) were measured. SOC showed no significant difference among the four sampling sites and did not correlate with the CO2 flux, while SWC was found to partly determine the CO2 flux. A linear equation could adequately describe the relationship between the natural logarithm of the ecosystem respiration and the soil temperature. It is demonstrated that descending groundwater table might accelerate ecosystem respiration and the CO2 flux from hummocks was higher than the CO2 flux from the control site in the non-growing season. With rising temperature, the CO2 flux from the control site accelerated faster than that from the hummocks. Our results show that ecosystem respiration was significantly lower from hummocks than at the control site in the growing season. The results on the impact of zokors on greenhouse gas emissions presented in this paper provide a useful reference to help properly manage not only this, but other litter-burrowing mammals at peatland sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonhuman animals are often abandoned and killed during non-epidemic and epidemic emergencies. However, the study of public attitudes toward animals during an epidemic outbreak and their antecedents and consequences is rare. The present study aimed to determine the individual and psychological variables associated with attitudes toward animals during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Two groups of 990 adults completed an online survey: one group from the epicenter of the epidemic (Hubei Province); the other from other provinces in China. Attitudes toward animals were assessed by four scales: general attitudes toward animal protection, belief in animal mind, human–animal continuity, and psychological closeness between animals and self-concept. Results demonstrated that after the effects of demographics were controlled for, contact with companion animals positively predicted all aspects of the attitudes toward animals in both groups. The above associations tended to be weaker in the epicenter than the non-epicenter group, suggesting the potential modulating role of the localized severity of the epidemic. In addition, perceived continuity between humans and animals negatively predicted the prejudicial attribution to animals of causing the outbreak. The findings provide evidence for the importance of positive interactions with companion animals and people's attitudes toward animals to prevent mistreatment of other species when emergencies occur. The findings also expand the limited empirical research on human–animal relations in non-Western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As industrialized animal agriculture expanded rapidly in the last decade, the resultant pollution has generated widespread despoliation of natural resources and environmental victimization in rural China. This study examines the formulation and implementation of national environmental regulations from 2014 to 2019 and finds that the juxtaposing ministerial and provincial jurisdictions resulted in conflicting interpretations of the scale and evaluation criteria of the national policy. We argue that the regulations are more than centralized conservation programs designed to reduce environmental pollution caused by the expansion of animal husbandry. Instead, these regulations are fundamentally state-led rural development initiatives that utilize the designations of ecological protection zones to reconfigure land use and promote scale-up production in agricultural structural adjustment initiatives. The enforcement of these environmental regulations, therefore, constitutes a treadmill of law (ToL) that accelerated the geographical specialization and function intensification of the Chinese husbandry sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uppermost 5-15 m of the Douling Formation in the southern Hunan area, South China, yields a diverse fauna comprised of ammonoids, bivalves, and brachiopods. The brachiopods reported in this paper consist of 51 species in 34 genera and are dominated by the Lopingian (Late Permian) species associated with a few species persisting from the underlying Maokouan (Late Guadalupian). This fauna is of earliest Wuchiapingian in age as precisely constrained by the associated conodont Clarkina postbitteri postbitteri and the Guadalupian-type ammonoid fauna of the Roadoceras-Doulingoceras Zone in the brachiopod horizon. The discovery of the Lopingian species-dominated brachiopod fauna in the earliest Wuchiapingian in southern Hunan suggests a much less pronounced effect of the pre-Lopingian crisis (end-Guadalupian mass extinction) than the end-Changhsingian mass extinction in terms of brachiopods, a contemporaneous Onset of the Lopingian recovery/radiation during the pre-Lopingian crisis period, and taxonomic selectivity of the pre-Lopingian crisis in terms of different fossil groups. New taxa are Echinauris doulingensis n. sp., Pararigbyella quadrilobata n. gen. and n. sp. and P. doulingensis n. gen. and n. sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Brachiopod miniaturization is both the reduction in size of individuals of a species over time, and where one brachiopod fauna dominated by larger individuals was replaced by a brachiopod fauna dominated by smaller individuals over time. This paper investigates this phenomenon prior to and during the end-Permian crisis in a deep water setting in South China, based on precise measurements of brachiopod body size and on the abundance and diversity of brachiopod species. The process of miniaturization near the Permian–Triassic boundary in deep water environments is characterized by: (1) Larger species, including Martinia sp., Costatumulus dongpanensis, and Anidanthus mucronata, reduced in average body size and abundance over time towards the end-Permian brachiopod extinction event. (2) Small species, including Attenuatella mengi and Spinomarginifera semicircridge, showed a mixed response with either no size change, or a reduction in average body size, while these species increased in abundance over time, indicating they were less sensitive to the stressed environmental setting. (3) Both the total abundance and the diversity of this brachiopod fauna decreased over time towards the end-Permian crisis. Regression, an increased input of terrestrial material and productivity decline are considered to all have contributed to brachiopod miniaturization, based on the biotic replacement and changes in sea-water chemistry. Among these factors, the fall in sea level is perhaps the primary factor, and led to a decline in productivity and an increased input of terrestrial material into the marine setting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A well-preserved radiolarian fauna reported from the Changxing Formation in the Meishan D Section, Changxing, Zhejiang, China, mainly includes abundant Entactinia itsukaichiensis, Grandetortura nipponica, Copicyntra robustodentata, Lepingosphaera stauracanthus, and a few Entactinia meishanensis n. sp., Entactinia? sp., Entactinosphaera cimelia, Triaenosphaera sp., Tetragregnon sp., Paracopicyntra ziyunensis, Copicyntroides sp. cf. C. asteriformis, Copicyntroides sp., and Ishigum trifustis, with the conodont Neogondolella subcarinata Zone. One new species, Entactinia meishanensis, is described in this paper. This radiolarian fauna is characterized by low abundance and low diversity, and apparently occurred in a water depth of 150-200 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the main substance in some traditional Chinese medicines, cucurbitacins have been used to treat hepatitis for decades in China. Currently, the use of cucurbitacins against cancer and other diseases has achieved towering popularity among researchers worldwide, as detailed in this review with summarized tables. Numerous studies have reported the potential tumor-killing activities of cucurbitacins in multiple aspects of human malignancies. Continuous research on its anticancer activity mechanisms also brings a glimmer of light to the treatment of patients with lung cancer. In line with the promising roles of cucurbitacins against cancer, through various molecular signaling pathways, it is justifiable to propose the use of cucurbitacins as a potential mainline chemotherapy before the onset and after the diagnosis of lung cancers. Here, this article mainly summarized the findings about the biological functions and underlying mechanisms of cucurbitacins on lung cancer pathogenesis and treatment. In addition, we also discussed the safety and efficacy of their application for further research and even clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The richly fossiliferous succession of the Wulipo Formation in the Huangjiaba area near Meitan in northern Guizhou, SW China, represents one of the very rare records of shelly fauna across the Ordovician and Silurian transition worldwide. This area is therefore crucial for understanding the pattern and dynamics of the end‐Ordovician mass extinction (EOME). Historically, the Wulipo Formation was dated as middle Rhuddanian (early Silurian). However, its fauna shows a close affinity with Transitional Benthic Fauna 3 (TBF 3), now known to be confined within the late Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) in well‐constrained successions globally. Here we present for the first time, chemostratigraphic data from the Wulipo Formation which confirm the presence of the Hirnantian Isotope Carbon Excursion. A critical review of faunal evidence further indicates a late Hirnantian age for this formation, and thus the hitherto only known anomalous TBF 3 record documented from South China is convincingly redated. The important implication is that the substantial biotic recovery after the EOME commenced globally at the very beginning of the Silurian with an overall amelioration of physical conditions. The new findings also suggest a much wider distribution of postglacial warm‐water benthic faunas on the Yangtze Platform during the late Hirnantian than previously envisaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baoshan region of Yunnan Province, SW China, is one of the best locations to study Wenlock to Pridoli conodonts in China. Detailed analysis of conodont collections from the Silurian strata (the "Lichaiba" and Niushiping formations) of the Laojianshan section in the Baoshan region resulted in revised dating of the section. In stratigraphically ascending order, the Pterospathodus amorphognathoides amorphognathoides Zonal Group, the Pterospathodus pennatus procerus Superbiozone (probably only the Lower Pterospathodus pennatus procerus Biozone), the Ozarkodina sagitta sagitta Biozone, the Kockelella ortus absidata Biozone, the Kockelella crassa Biozone, the Polygnathoides siluricus Biozone and the "Ozarkodina" eosteinhornensis s.l. Interval Biozone are recognised. The conodont faunas recovered indicate that the "Lichaiba Formation" corresponds to the upper Telychian–upper Wenlock, and the Niushiping Formation to the Ludlow–Pridoli. Part of the Ireviken Event, that is, from Datum 3 to Datum 4 can be recognised from the studied section. The late Telychian conodont fauna from the Laojianshan section is characteristic of distal, open‐shelf depositional environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are found in humans and a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, and of substantial impact on human and animal health. In poultry, the genetic diversity, evolution, distribution and taxonomy of CoVs dominant in birds other than chickens remain enigmatic. In our previous study, we proposed that the CoVs dominant (i.e. mainly circulating) in ducks (DdCoVs) should represent a novel species, which was different from the one represented by the CoVs dominant in chickens (CdCoVs). In this study, we conducted a large‐scale surveillance of CoVs in chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and other birds (quails, sparrows and partridges) using a conserved RT‐PCR assay. The surveillance demonstrated that CdCoVs, DdCoVs and the CoVs dominant in pigeons (PdCoVs) belong to different lineages, and they are all prevalent in live poultry markets and the backyard flocks in some regions of China. We further sequenced seven Coronaviridae‐wide conserved domains in their replicase polyprotein pp1ab of seven PdCoVs and found that the genetic distances in these domains between PdCoVs and DdCoVs or CdCoVs are large enough to separate PdCoVs into a novel species, which were different from the ones represented by DdCoVs or CdCoVs within the genus Gammacoronavirus, per the species demarcation criterion of International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. This report shed novel insight into the genetic diversity, distribution, evolution and taxonomy of avian CoVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic has spread to over 150 countries beyond China and the Asian continent shortly after it was declared a Public Health International Emergency on January 30, 2020. Early environmental samples suggest that the index patients were either market employees, regular visitors or stall owners of a Wuhan wetmarket in China during late December 2019 and early January 2020. Prominent earlier outbreaks such as SARS Coronavirus, Ebola, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and the influenza-A virus are suspected to have some form of origin in ‗wet markets'. ‗Wet markets' create unique opportunities for zoonotic emergence as several species of wild animals frequently come into contact with humans and domestic animals which enabled rapid viral evolution and emergence. Hence, the existence of ‗wet markets' should be called into question. This research attempts to jettison the prevailing anthropocentric worldview which allows humans to see animals as only having instrumental value and underpins the existence of ‗wet markets' for the ethics of ‗anthropoholism'. This work argues that humans need to embrace the ethics of ‗anthropoholism'; which sees animals as having inherent value and humans as caretakers of the environment. Anthropoholism advocates that humans should display the ‗live and lets live' attitude towards animals, allow them live in their natural habitat and abolish the existence of ‗wet markets'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Cenozoic sediments in the Linxia Basin of China, on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, bear abundant fossils of the Hipparion fauna. From late Miocene times, these sections record a history of aridification in the Asian Interior, the evolution of the east Asian monsoon, and multiple uplifts of the Tibetan Plateau. In this paper, a new detailed magnetostratigraphic study of a sedimentary sequence from the Duikang (DK) section containing the Hipparion fauna is presented, to better understand interconnected ecologic and environmental changes. The 90-m-thick section reveals nine normal and nine reversed zones that span from chron. C5n.2n to chron. C3Ar or from chron. C4n.2n to chron. C2Ar, yielding magnetostratigraphic ages of ~8.1 Ma - 3.7 Ma for the studied section and 5.3 Ma for the Hipparion fauna-bearing bed. Combined with all the previous magnetostratigraphic ages of the fauna-bearing sediments in the Linxia Basin, Hipparion can be distinguished as mainly having lived during five periods: Phase I (11.5 Ma), Phase II (8.2 Ma), Phase III (6.3 Ma), Phase IV (~5.3 Ma) and Phase V (2.5 Ma). Based on comparison of climate records in the Linxia Basin with aridification records from surrounding regions and global cooling during the late Cenozoic, we suggest that the evolution of Hipparion from the Linxia Basin was mainly driven by continuous global cooling and tectonic uplift of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau since the late Miocene. • Depositional age of the DK section in the Linxia Basin is between 8.1 Ma and 3.7 Ma. • Hipparion lived during five different periods (11.5, 8.2, 6.3, 5.3 and 2.5 Ma). • Linxia Basin experienced the stepwise aridification since the late Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five species of torrenticolid mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia), collected in the Anzihe and Qingliangfeng national nature reserves, R. P. China, are identified. Three species are described as new to science: Torrenticola pseudosiamis Gu & Guo, sp. nov., T. anziensis Gu & Guo, sp. nov., and Monatractides sichuanensis Gu & Guo, sp. nov. The other two species, M. macrocorpis Gu & Guo, 2019, M. xiaoxiensis Gu & Guo, 2019, are newly reported from Zhejiang Province. Descriptions and illustrations of these species are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper Pennsylvanian Naqing and Narao carbonate successions were deposited in intra‐platform slope‐to‐basinal settings across the Kasimovian–Gzhelian boundary in Guizhou, South China. Conodont faunas consist of a mixture of the endemic taxa of the Idiognathodus luodianensis group and cosmopolitan species of the I. simulator group. The I. luodianensis group includes the new species I. fengtingensis, I. luodianensis, I. naqingensis and I. naraoensis. On platform landmark analysis the species of the I. luodianensis group differ in morphological features from co‐occurring species of the I. simulator group. Both groups display similar increasing asymmetry in P1 element pairs across the Kasimovian–Gzhelian boundary, as recognized on the basis of the first occurrence of I. simulator. Many Kasimovian Idiognathodus species disappear and several Gzhelian species first appear with I. simulator, including two new species of Streptognathodus: S. nemyrovskae and S. zhihaoi. Just below the base of the Gzhelian, carbonate δ13C falls from 4‰ to 2‰ in both sections. The combination of an abrupt faunal turnover immediately above the prominent negative δ13C excursion might represent an oceanic event in South China, perhaps recognizable on a global scale. One of these two South China sections may be the best location to place the GSSP for the base of the Gzhelian Stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of glomeridellid millipede is described from Guizhou Province, southern China: Tonkinomeris huzhengkuni sp. nov. This new epigean species differs very clearly in many structural details, being sufficiently distinct morphologically and disjunct geographically from T. napoensis Nguyen, Sierwald & Marek, 2019, the type and sole species of Tonkinomeris Nguyen, Sierwald & Marek, 2019, which was described recently from northern Vietnam. The genus Tonkinomeris is formally relegated from Glomeridae and assigned to the family Glomeridellidae, which has hitherto been considered strictly Euro-Mediterranean in distribution and is thus new to the diplopod faunas of China and Indochina. Tonkinomeris is re-diagnosed and shown to have perhaps the basalmost position in the family Glomeridellidae. Its relationships are discussed, both morphological and zoogeographical, within and outside the Glomeridellidae, which can now be considered as relict and basically Oriental in origin. Because of the still highly limited array of DNA-barcoding sequences of the COI mitochondrial gene available in the GenBank, the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of Glomerida attempted here shows our phylogram to be too deficient to consider meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (fenugreek) is one of the oldest applied medicinal herbs. Significant pharmacological and clinical evidence have highlighted the medicinal application of fenugreek. Explore the current knowledge regarding the bioactivity (animal aspects) and clinical application of fenugreek and its bioactive components, as well as the products, markets and patents related to fenugreek. This review highlights the phytochemicals, bioactivity (animal aspects) and clinical application of fenugreek from recent literatures and products, markets and patents from database. Until now, more than 100 phytochemicals have been isolated from fenugreek seeds, mainly including polysaccharides, saponins, alkaloids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids. Fenugreek extract and its bioactive compounds showed excellent antidiabetic activity and anti-obesity activity in animal and human study. Although the fenugreek seed has been used as TCM raw materials for a long time of period in China, China is lacking the research of fenugreek in both depth and width. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new genus and species, Micromartinia kwangsiella gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on material from the Talung Formation (upper Changhsingian), Guangxi, South China. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, the new genus is placed in a new family, Micromartiniidae He & Weldon. The genus and family are monotypic. Minutomarginifera nomen novum is proposed to replace Eileenella Racheboeuf in Wongwanich et al., 2004. Eileenella is a homonym that was first used for an insect genus. A review of the brachiopod fauna of the Talung Formation at Dongpan demonstrates that the species are highly endemic and the fauna has a strongly generic affinity with cool-water faunas outside of South China Basin. The associated fauna and facies also indicate that the Dongpan Section was deposited in a cool-water bathyal setting in the southern part (Youjiang Sub-basin) of the South China Basin. The section was linked to the open ocean in the Late Permian. Compared with the coeval faunas of Duanshan and Shaiwa in the Youjiang Sub-basin, the Dongpan brachiopod fauna was not so strongly influenced by the faunas from the adjacent carbonate platforms, because of the deeper, cool water setting which is hostile to the typical warm-water brachiopods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Human-use probiotics have recently been associated with clinical infections and antibiotic resistance transfer, raising public concern over their safety. However, despite their extensive application in aquaculture and animal husbandry, the safety of animal-use probiotics remains poorly described. Methods We evaluated the safety of 92 animal-use probiotics from China. The pattern of spread of pathogens from probiotics and the consequent public health implications were also examined by conducting in-field genomic surveillance at 2 farms. Results A total of 123 probiotic Bacillus species isolates were obtained from 92 brands of probiotics, of which 45 isolates were resistant to antibiotics. Notably, 33.7% of probiotic products were contaminated with life-threatening pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. Genomic surveillance at a chicken farm identified an anthrax toxin–positive Bacillus cereus strain in a probiotic product used as a feed supplement, which was transferred into the groundwater and to a nearby fish farm. Following up retrospective analysis of the surveillance data during 2015–2018 in 3 provinces retrieved 2 B. cereus strains from human with intestinal anthrax symptoms and confirmed the transmission of B. cereus from farm to human. Surveillance of anthrax toxin revealed that cya was detected in 8 of 31 farms. Conclusions This study provides the first national safety survey of animal-use probiotics in China and confirms the spillover effects of probiotics from the farms to human. These results suggest that the large-scale application of pathogen-containing probiotics leads to the transfer of pathogens, with worrisome implications for public health. Good Manufacturing Practice should be implemented during the production of all probiotics. Animal-use probiotic products are frequently contaminated with viable pathogenic bacteria. This study revealed that virulent probiotic organisms and contaminating pathogens were colonized with farm animals and shed into the environment, which facilitated the transfer of pathogens to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper Permian Naobaogou Formation has been the goal of recent contributions that notably increased the knowledge of its terrestrial vertebrate fauna and unravelled a hidden late Permian therocephalian diversity in China. Two very different species of therocephalians have been documented in the Naobaogou Formation and they were recovered as basal akidnognathids in cladistic analyses. In this contribution we describe Caodeyao liuyufengi gen. et sp. nov., represented by a partial skull and mandible, and a humerus. The new taxon features a short, high snout and a wide temporal opening with the coronoid process of the mandible separated by a wide space medially to the zygomatic arch. The latter feature is only recognized in the Russian therocephalian Purlovia maxima and it is also characteristic of non-mammaliaform cynodonts. Phylogenetic analysis indicates a close relationship of the new Chinese taxon with Purlovia maxima, producing a monophyletic Laurasian group in therocephalian phylogeny. With the representation of three different species, the Naobaogou Formation is now the most prolific unit documenting therocephalian late Permian diversity in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Echinococcosis is a neglected zoonotic parasitic disease caused echinococcus parasitizes, poseing a significant economic burden on both humans and animals. There are limited studies on echinococcosis in China, especially Xizang Autonomous Region, although the area is endemic area for echinococcosis. The study aimed to provide information for strategic prevention against this disease.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the residents in Xizang Autonomous Region, China to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes and practices on endemicity of echinococcosis. A face-to-face survey was conducted to collect the data using a well-designed questionnaire. The contents included basic personal information, knowledge, attitudes and practices about echinococcosis, personal hygiene and behavior habits, dog feeding and whether they had received the information on echinococcosis, and so on. We surveyed 840 persons in practice. All data analysis was performed using Epi Info 7.2.Results: Of the total particpants, 86.8% had a primary education level or below (including primary and illiterate), and even 45.0% were illiterate. Farmers and herdsmen represent the main occupations in this study. People who know all the echinococcosis-related knowledge in the questionnaire only accounted for 8.7% of the participants. However, none of the participants was aware of routes of echinococcosis infection in human or dogs. The data showed participants with higher educational background had the high awareness rate of echinococcosis-related knowledge or attitudes (chi-square for trend, χ2 = 21.23, p<0.05 & χ2 = 48.43, p<0.05). In addition, The percentage of the participant with awareness of echinococcosis-related practices was associated with their age and principle occupation (χ2 = 52.72, p<0.05 & χ2 = 20.63, p<0.05).Conclusions: Xizang Autonomous Region is an epidemic area of Echinococcosis. The prevalence of the disease has been largely due to the lack of knowledge, awareness, and poor hygiene practice in local residences. Therefore, effective disease prevention education and awareness campaigns in community will be significantly helpful in prevention and control of echinococcosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent weeks, news has spread that the current coronavirus is the result of something created in a laboratory that then escaped control. This concern also stems from news reporting that back in 2015 experiments were already being carried out in China to create a recombinant SARS-derived coronavirus. Unfortunately, such news finds fertile ground on social media and, especially in pandemic periods, fosters conspiracies and paranoia. This time, however, the news was spread by some authoritative sources. Here I explain how I found out convincing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 did not emerge from a lab but from wildlife exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common head and neck malignancy with higher incidence in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Solamargine (SM), a steroidal alkaloid glycoside, has been shown to have anticancer properties. However, the underlying mechanism involved remains undetermined. In this study, we showed that SM inhibited the growth of NPC cells. Mechanistically, we found that solamargine decreased lncRNA colon cancer-associated transcript-1 (CCAT1) and increased miR7-5p expression. There was a reciprocal interaction of CCAT1 and miR7-5p. In addition, SM inhibited the expression of SP1 protein and promoter activity, which was strengthened by miR7-5p mimics and inhibited by overexpressed CCAT1. MiR7-5p could bind to 3'-UTR of SP1 and attenuated SP1 gene expression. Exogenously expressed SP1 feedback resisted SM-increased miR7-5p expression and more importantly reversed SM-inhibited growth of NPC cells. Finally, SM inhibited NPC tumor growth in vivo. Collectively, our results show that SM inhibits the growth of NPC cells through reciprocal regulation of CCAT1 and miR7-5p, followed by inhibition of SP1 gene expression in vitro and in vivo. The interregulation and correlation among CCAT1, miR7-5p and SP1, and the feedback regulatory loop unveil the novel molecular mechanism underlying the overall responses of SM in anti-NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known regarding characteristics and evolution of radiolarian fossils in the early Cambrian due to its rarity and poor preservation. Here we report a new radiolarian fauna from the Cambrian Shuijingtuo Formation corresponding to the Chiungchussuan Stage (Cambrian Series 2) in western Hubei, China. It contains over 300 radiolarian tests and these fossils belong to 4 morphotypes, including Paraantygopora porosa gen.et sp. nov., Braunosphaera sinensis gen.et sp. nov., Tetrasphaera? sp. and incertae spherical radiolarians. In taxonomy, Spumellaria predominates in the fauna and comprises 92% of the total. In shell structure, about 73% of all specimens are similar to the early Ordovician radiolarian fossils, with the shell walls characterized by perforated plate structures. The spherical radiolarians with latticed shells constitute another feature of the early Cambrian radiolarian fauna. The radiolarian fauna reported here contains many fossil specimens and covers different taxonomical taxa. These specimens usually consist of distinctive concentric multi-layers with complex structure. These characteristics indicate that Radiolaria had already thrived during the Cambrian Chiungchussuan Stage (Series 2, Stage 3), which may have occurred synchronously with the explosion and prosperity of macrobiota recorded in the strata deposited in shallower water condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huai River, the third longest river in China, runs parallel with and between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. It is the passageway for cultural communication between Northern and Southern China as well as an important distribution range of rice and millet mixed farming. Along the upper Huai River Valley, domestic pigs were discovered about 9,000 years ago at Jiahu. Nevertheless, chronological changes regarding strategies of pig utilization and husbandry in subsequent periods along the whole Huai River Valley are still ambiguous. Thus, this current study integrating zooarchaeological and stable isotopic approaches on faunal assemblage from Neolithic Houjiazhai(7,300–5,200 cal BP) along the middle Huai River Valley was performed to discuss related issues. Our results indicate that (1) hunting and fishing activities contributed almost equally to human meat sources as the domestic pig and (2) domestic pigs were most likely kept in a free‐range manner and foraged around human residences as their wild counterparts did. Dietary differences of ancient Sus populations among sites from the Central Plain area and the Huai River Valley were observed, which were closely linked to crop cultivation and abundance of wild animal resources. This stimulated us to consider the diversities in terms of pig husbandry strategy in ancient China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schistosoma japonicum is a parasitic flatworm that causes human schistosomiasis, which is a significant cause of morbidity in China and the Philippines. A single draft genome was available for S. japonicum, yet this assembly is very fragmented and only covers 90% of the genome, which make it difficult to be applied as a reference in functional genome analysis and genes discovery. Findings: In this study, we present a high-quality assembly of the fluke S. japonicum genome by combining 20 G (~53X) long single molecule real time sequencing reads with 80 G (~ 213X) Illumina paired-end reads. This improved genome assembly is approximately 370.5 Mb, with contig and scaffold N50 length of 871.9 kb and 1.09 Mb, representing 142.4-fold and 6.2-fold improvement over the released WGS-based assembly, respectively. Additionally, our assembly captured 85.2% complete and 4.6% partial eukaryotic Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs. Repetitive elements account for 46.80% of the genome, and 10,089 of the protein-coding genes were predicted from the improved genome, of which 96.5% have been functionally annotated. Lastly, using the improved assembly, we identified 20 significantly expanded gene families in S. japonicum, and those genes were primarily enriched in functions of proteolysis and protein glycosylation. Conclusions: Using the combination of PacBio and Illumina Sequencing technologies, we provided an improved high-quality genome of S. japonicum. This improved genome assembly, as well as the annotation, will be useful for the comparative genomics of the flukes and more importantly facilitate the molecular studies of this important parasite in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A time series of satellite data on Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) that used ocean color was studied to determine mechanisms of phytoplankton variation in recent decade in the Yellow Sea, China during 2003–2015. The variability patterns on seasonal and inter-annual oscillation periods were confirmed using the Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF), and Morlet wavelet transform analyses, respectively. The first EOF mode for Chl-a was dominated by obvious spring and fall blooms in a spatial pattern that was related to the strong mixing of the water masses from the Yellow Sea Cold Warm Mass (YSCWM) and the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) in winter. The second EOF mode for Chl-a showed an opposite spatial pattern between the northern and southern regions. The temporal coefficient showed differences in the timing of blooms. On an inter-annual scale, Chl-a indicated variation at periods of 2–4 years during 2003–2015. Chl-a showed a significantly negative correlation with the sea surface temperature (r = -0.21, p<0.01), with time lags of 4 months (Chl-a ahead). Chl-a was coupled with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, with a positive correlation (r = 0.46, p<0.01) at a lag of 3–5 months (ENSO ahead). The present study demonstrated that the variation in phytoplankton biomass was controlled primarily by water mass seasonally, and it was influenced by ENSO events on an inter-annual scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reasons and processes that led hunter-gatherers to transition into a sedentary and agricultural way of life are a fundamental unresolved question of human history. Here we present results of excavations of two single-occupation early Neolithic sites (dated to 7.9 and 7.4 ka) and two high-resolution archaeological surveys in northeast China, which capture the earliest stages of sedentism and millet cultivation in the second oldest center of domestication in the Old World. The transition to sedentism coincided with a significant transition to wetter conditions in north China, at 8.1–7.9 ka. We suggest that these wetter conditions were an empirical precondition that facilitated the complex transitional process to sedentism and eventually millet domestication in north China. Interestingly, sedentism and plant domestication followed different trajectories. The sedentary way of life and cultural norms evolved rapidly, within a few hundred years, we find complex sedentary villages inhabiting the landscape. However, the process of plant domestication, progressed slowly over several millennia. Our earliest evidence for the beginning of the domestication process appear in the context of an already complex sedentary village (late Xinglongwa culture), a half millennia after the onset of cultivation, and even in this phase domesticated plants and animals were rare, suggesting that the transition to domesticated (sensu stricto) plants in affluent areas might have not played a substantial role in the transition to sedentary societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]