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This study explored the effect of commercial ripened Pu-erh tea (Y562, China Tea (Yunnan) Industry Co. Ltd.) on improving the health of populations with abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. Qualified volunteers were recruited for nutritional epidemiological and clinical intervention studies. The volunteers were asked to drink the tea for three months. Their body composition (body mass, body mass index (BMI), body fat ratio and visceral fat), body circumferences (waist circumference, hip circumference and neck circumference), glucose metabolism-related indicators (fasting blood glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glycosylated hemoglobin), lipid metabolism-related indicators (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and B), blood uric acid levels, liver fat contents, and gut microbiota were tested and compared before and after drinking the tea to explore its health benefits. The results showed that after drinking Y562 without any change in diet or exercise for three months, the body mass, BMI, body circumferences, blood lipids (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and B), and liver fat contents of the volunteers were significantly improved (P 0.05). Moreover, the gut microbiota was improved, showing increased uniformity. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Akkermansia muciniphila, Clostridium screenens and Streptococcus thermophilus was increased, while that of Streptococcus, Lactococcus, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium and Paraacteroides distasonis was decreased. This study suggests that ripened Pu-erh tea Y562 has the potential to help reduce the body mass, improve the body shape, reduce blood glucose and lipids, and alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of the intestinal microecology and the bile acid pathways by Pu-erh tea.

The effects of Nd doping on the microstructures and magnetic properties of Sm1– x Nd x (Co0.695Fe0.2Cu0.08Zr0.025)7.2 (x = 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0) permanent magnets are studied. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of the solid solution states of the magnets shows that with the increase of Nd content, the distribution of elements becomes inhomogeneous and miscellaneous phase will be generated. Positive temperature coefficient of coercivity (β) appears in each of the samples with x = 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7. The corresponding positive β temperatures are in ranges of about 70 K–170 K, 60 K–260 K, 182 K–490 K for the samples with x = 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, respectively. Thermomagnetic analysis shows that spin-reorientation-transition (SRT) of the cell boundary phase is responsible for this phenomenon. On the basis of this discovery, the Sm0.7Nd0.3 (Co0.695Fe0.2Cu0.08Zr0.025)7.2 magnet possessing thermal stability with β ≈ –0.002 %/K at the temperature in a range of 150 K–200 K is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic analysis is an important part of undergraduate genetics teaching and tetrad analysis is unique and integral for genetic analysis of fungi. The ordered tetrad in Neurospora is an important material for genetic analysis, which can not only be used to study recombination between genes and centromeres, but also between genes themselves, as well as study the fine cross patterns between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes. However, in textbooks and related professional journals, there is a lack of specific introduction to the induction methods of the seven basic class asci used in two genes analysis. In the present paper, we designed a table presenting the correlation between the three tetrad types (PD, NPD, T) and the four segregation pattern groups (Ⅰ Ⅰ, Ⅱ Ⅱ, Ⅰ Ⅱ, Ⅱ Ⅰ) to visually show the 12 possible combinations (3×4=12). Then five of them were excluded through the "×" symbol and in addition with three comments attached with the table, thus finally we obtained seven basic ascus types. We hope that this analytical method can assist the teaching of ordered tetrad analysis in Neurospora.