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The temporal and spatial distribution of enriched source components at sites of continent–continent collision provides critical insights into mantle dynamic processes associated with subduction- and collision-related events. However, determining the origin of such enriched components remains a significant challenge. We report a comprehensive dataset of the Linzizong volcanic succession (LVS) from four locations with varying distance across-strike to the Indus–Yarlung suture in southern Tibet, which marks the exposed surface expression of the India–Asia collision zone. The LVS rocks in this study can be divided into two groups: a calc-alkaline Group 1 (69–55 Ma), mainly including basaltic–andesitic varieties, and a shoshonitic Group 2 (52–50 Ma), consisting predominantly of silicic rocks with minor mafic compositions. Group 1 samples are likely derived from the fractional crystallization of primitive basaltic melts as a result of the partial melting of a metasomatized mantle wedge. These samples are decoupled in Nd–Hf isotopic compositions, suggesting an incorporation of subducting sediment-derived melts into the mantle wedge. The influence of sediment-derived melt on the mantle source increases away from the suture zone toward Asia (i.e. from the south to the north) as indicated by the more enriched Sr, Nd, Pb, and Hf isotopic compositions, as well as elevated Th/La and La/Sm ratios. The heavy δ26Mg values, and high Ba/Th and Sr/Th ratios of samples close to the suture coincide with the dehydration of the subducting Neo-Tethyan slab. Group 2 mafic samples have depleted and coupled εNd–εHf isotopic compositions and are characterized by elevated (La/Yb)N and Dy/Yb ratios as well as low Zr/Nb ratios, indicating an origin of enriched garnet-bearing lithospheric mantle with contributions from asthenosphere-derived materials. Group 2 silicic samples are isotopically enriched both near and far away from the suture, which can be attributed to the involvement of ancient lower crust-derived melt from Tethyan Himalaya and central Lhasa subterrane basement, respectively. Our results show that the LVS are the magmatic response to late subduction (Group 1), and to initial India–Asia collision and slab breakoff (Group 2). Negative trends in the whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotopic compositions at ~51 Ma should be treated with caution for geodynamic interpretations, depending on the distance between the samples and the India–Asia suture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA interference (RNAi) techniques have emerged as powerful tools that facilitate development of novel management strategies for insect pests, such as Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), which is a major pest of solanaceous plants in Asia. In this study, the potential of oral delivery of in vitro‐synthesized and bacterially expressed double‐stranded H. vigintioctopunctata lesswright (lwr) gene (dsHvlwr) to manage of H. vigintioctopunctata was investigated. Our results showed that the gene Hvlwr had a 480‐bp open reading frame and encoded a 160‐amino acid protein. Hvlwr expression levels were greater in the fat body than other tissue types. Hvlwr silencing led to greater H. vigintioctopunctata mortality rates and appeared to be time‐ and partially dose‐dependent, likely as a result of the number of hemocytes increasing with dsRNA concentration, but decreasing with time. Bacterially expressed dsHvlwr that was applied to leaf discs caused 88%, 66%, and 36% mortality in 1st instars, 3rd instars, and adults after 10, 10, and 14 d, respectively; when applied to living plants, there was greater mortality in 1st and 3rd instars, but there was no effect on adults. Furthermore, dsHvlwr led to improved plant protection against H. vigintioctopunctata. Our study shows an effective dietary RNAi response in H. vigintioctopunctata and that Hvlwr is a promising RNAi target gene for control of this pest species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a popular bariatric procedure performed in Asia, as obesity continues to be on the rise in our population. A major problem faced is the development of de novo gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) after LSG, which can be chronic and debilitating. In this study, we aim to assess the relationship between the presence of small hiatal hernia (HH) and the development of postoperative GERD, as well as to explore the correlation between GERD symptoms after LSG and timing of meals. In doing so, we hope to gain a better understanding about the type of reflux that occurs after LSG and take a step closer towards effectively managing this difficult to treat condition. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data collected from patients who underwent LSG in our hospital from Dec 2008 to Dec 2016. All patients underwent preoperative upper GI endoscopy, during which the identification of hiatal hernia takes place. Patients' information and reflux symptoms are recorded using standardized questionnaires, which are administered preoperatively, and again during postoperative follow up visits. Results: Of the 255 patients, 125 patients (74%) developed de novo GERD within 6 months post-sleeve gastrectomy. The rate of de novo GERD was 57.1% in the group with HH, and 76.4% in the group without HH. Adjusted analysis showed no significant association between HH and GERD (RR = 0.682; 95% CI 0.419 to 1.111; P = 0.125). 88% of the patients who developed postoperative GERD reported postprandial symptoms occurring only after meals, and the remaining 12% of patients reported no correlation between the timing of GERD symptoms and meals. Conclusion: There is no direct correlation between the presence of small hiatal hernia and GERD symptoms after LSG. Hence, the presence of a small sliding hiatal hernia should not be exclusion for sleeve gastrectomy. Electing not to perform concomitant hiatal hernia repair also does not appear to result in higher rates of postoperative or de novo GERD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Congenital colour vision deficiency (CVD) has a prevalence of 8% for men and 0.4% for women. Amongst people born with normal colour vision, the acquired form of CVD can also affect them at later stages of their lives due to disease or exposure to toxin. Most CVD persons have difficulties dealing with colours in everyday life and at work, but these problems are under-reported due to a lack of its awareness in the general population. This literature review seeks to present findings of studies and reports on the impact of CVD on the affected persons chronologically through different stages of their lives and their coping measures. Methods Scientific publications and corresponding references relating to how CVD affects individuals were searched, identified and retrieved from PubMed, National University of Singapore and Cochrane electronic databases. Books that were not available electronically were manually searched. Paramedical literature was also included through online searches using Google and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria were English-based studies pertaining to effects of CVD on everyday life and respective coping measures, including experimental, observational studies, symposium proceedings and systematic review. There was no timeframe restriction for these publications. Articles using anecdotal evidence were excluded with the exception of those used to describe the effects of CVD on play age and school age. Our literature search found 136 articles, 60 of which were used in this review based on the respective selection criteria. Results CVD affects many aspects of life from childhood to adulthood. The implications extend across play, sports, driving, education, occupation, discrimination, and health and safety issues. Awareness of CVD helps to identify and develop corresponding coping strategies. Conclusions More work needs to be done in raising awareness of CVD and its implications, as well as implementing measures to overcome these difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The treatment of proximal femoral fractures in geriatric osteoporotic patients continues to be a challenge in orthopaedic trauma. Various kinds of cephalomedullary nails, such as gamma nail, InterTan and PFNA were used clinically. The latest generation PFNA II, specially designed for Asian population, is commonly used for geriatric per-/intertrochanteric fractures. The aim of this study was to determine whether the current PFNA-II proximal segment length is suitable for the greater trochanter height, as assessed by postoperative radiograph measurements. Materials and Methods: 51 consecutive patients with per-/intertrochanteric fractures treated with the PFNA-II between July 2012 and December 2012 were enrolled in this study. There were 19 males and 32 females, with an average age of 78.6 years (range 66-92 years). According to AO/OTA classification system, there were 4 cases of 31A1 fractures, 35 cases of 31A2 fractures, and 12 cases of 31A3 fractures. The nail protrusion height over the lateral greater trochanter and the Parker ratio of the helical blade tip in the femoral head were measured and compared using pelvic digital anteroposterior radiographs taken within 2 weeks postoperatively. Patients were followed up for a minimum period of 1 year to check whether they had lateral trochanter pain. Results: Postoperative digital anteroposterior (AP) films were used for assessment and any prominence was recorded as positive. Overall, nail protrusion over the greater trochanter occurred in 87.8% of cases. In 60.8% of the cases, protrusion height was >5 mm. The average protrusion height was 6.25 ± 4.27 mm (male average 4.84 ± 4.38 mm, and female average 7.09 ± 4.70 mm). The average Parker ratio of all cases was 51.0 ± 6.9% (male average 49.8 ± 7.5% and female average 51.7 ± 6.5%). Protrusion height was positively correlated (r = 0.394, P = 0.004) with the helical blade position in the femoral head (Parker ratio). Clinically, a total of 42 patients were followed up at an average of 15.0 ± 2.6 months (range 12--24 months) they were able to walk independently or with a stick. There were 13 patients with lateral trochanter pain on the injured side. Protrusion height of these patients was 11.13 ± 3.75 mm, whereas the protrusion height of the remaining 29 patients was 3.87 ± 3.39 mm. Conclusions: There was a morphologic mismatch between the proximal segment length of the PFNA-II and the greater trochanter in the Asian population, which may be the cause of postoperative lateral trochanter pain. A modification to shorten the proximal part of the nail is proposed to avoid protrusion over the greater trochanter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) can infect pigs of all ages, especially piglets. PEDV has spread across Asia since the 1980s. The highly virulent variant PEDV broke out on a large scale and caused huge economic losses to the pig industry in late 2010 in China. Rapid detection methods with high specificity and sensitivity are urgently needed for the diagnosis and control of the disease. In this study, we divided the PEDV S1 gene into three segments and constructed the recombinant plasmids pFastBac1-S1T1 (aa 21–279), pFastBac1-S1T2 (aa 280–539) and pFastBac1-S1T3 (aa 540–788), which carry the different antigenic regions of the S1 gene. Truncated S1 proteins PEDV-S1T1/S1T2/S1T3 were obtained by a Bac-to-Bac expression system, with protein sizes of 36 kDa, 38 kDa and 38 kDa, respectively. Recombinant proteins presented high reactivity with the monoclonal antibody against PEDV and positive pig serum. Based on full-length S1 protein and these truncated proteins, we established indirect ELISA methods for the detection of PEDV IgA antibody. A total of 213 clinical serum samples were tested by the above indirect ELISA methods, and IFA was used as the gold standard. ROC curves revealed a significant correlation between S1-ELISA and S1T2-ELISA with a 0.9134 correlation coefficient and favourable sensitivity and specificity of S1-ELISA (93.24%, 95.68%) and S1T2-ELISA (89.33%, 94.16%). Our results also indicated that serum with higher neutralizing activity (SNT ≥ 40) had a higher IgA antibody level based on S1-ELISA, S1T1-ELISA and S1T2-ELISA. In conclusion, both S1-ELISA and S1T2-ELISA can be used as candidate systems for detecting anti-PEDV IgA antibody titers in serum, which can reflect the level of neutralizing activity in pigs after natural infection or vaccination. The above research results provide a basis for the prevention and control of PEDV and can be used in the detection of host anti-infective immunity and evaluation of vaccine immune effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cladrastis clade is an early‐diverged lineage within the subfamily Papilionoideae of Leguminosae. Several taxonomic uncertainties limit a robust understanding of its taxonomy: (1) Should the genus Platyosprion be resurrected? (2) How should Cladrastis be delimited to maintain the generic monophyly? (3) Is Styphnolobium best classified into two or three sections? We assessed specific/sectional/generic boundaries within this clade by integrating evidence from phylogenetic analyses, morphology, and multivariate ecological methods. With an extensive sampling of the clade, we reconstructed the phylogenies using nrDNA (ITS) and plastid DNA regions (matK, psbA‐trnH, trnL‐F). Based on environmental data for 841 occurrences, clusters of species were sought according to their environmental preferences with the principal component analysis (PCA), and explicit hypotheses on species/sectional boundaries were tested using ecological niche modeling (ENM). A new tribe, Cladrastideae, is established based on the Cladrastis clade with four monophyletic groups: the Cladrastis platycarpa complex, Cladrastis s.str., Pickeringia and Styphnolobium. The C. platycarpa complex constitutes the resurrected genus Platyosprion. The putative species C. chingii, C. parvifolia, C. scandens and C. yungchunii are suggested to be treated as synonyms of Platyosprion platycarpum. Cladrastis is recircumscribed as equal to Cladrastis s.str., with three species from eastern Asia, and one species, C. kentukea, from eastern North America. Styphnolobium is herein classified into three sections: St. sect. Oresbios, St. sect. Styphnolobium and a new section, St. sect. Affine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]