Description: © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Nature Communications 2 (2011): 293, doi:10.1038/ncomms1297.

Description: The relative importance of north–south migrations of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) versus El Niño-Southern Oscillation and its associated Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) variability for past hydrological change in the western tropical Pacific is unclear. Here we show that north–south ITCZ migration was not the only mechanism of tropical Pacific hydrologic variability during the last millennium, and that PWC variability profoundly influenced tropical Pacific hydrology. We present hydrological reconstructions from Cattle Pond, Dongdao Island of the South China Sea, where multi-decadal rainfall and downcore grain size variations are correlated to the Southern Oscillation Index during the instrumental era. Our downcore grain size reconstructions indicate that this site received less precipitation during relatively warm periods, AD 1000–1400 and AD 1850–2000, compared with the cool period (AD 1400–1850). Including our new reconstructions in a synthesis of tropical Pacific records results in a spatial pattern of hydrologic variability that implicates the PWC.

Description: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (40730107) and the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program) (No.2010CB428902). DWO acknowledges support from the US NSF.

Description: Background: Global warming predictions indicate that temperatures will increase by another 2-6[degree sign]C by the end of this century. High temperature is a major abiotic stress limiting plant growth and productivity in many areas of the world. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a model herbaceous bioenergy crop, due to its rapid growth rate, reliable biomass yield, minimal requirements of water and nutrients, adaptability to grow on marginal lands and widespread distribution throughout North America. The effect of high temperature on switchgrass physiology, cell wall composition and biomass yields has been reported. However, there is void in the knowledge of the molecular responses to heat stress in switchgrass. Results: We conducted long-term heat stress treatment (38o/30[degree sign]C, day/night, for 50 days) in the switchgrass cultivar Alamo. A significant decrease in the plant height and total biomass was evident in the heat stressed plants compared to controls. Total RNA from control and heat stress samples were used for transcriptome analysis with switchgrass Affymetrix genechips. Following normalization and pre-processing, 5365 probesets were identified as differentially expressed using a 2-fold cutoff. Of these, 2233 probesets (2000 switchgrass unigenes) were up-regulated, and 3132 probesets (2809 unigenes) were down-regulated. Differential expression of 42 randomly selected genes from this list was validated using RT-PCR. Rice orthologs were retrieved for 78.7% of the heat stress responsive switchgrass probesets. Gene ontology (GOs) enrichment analysis using AgriGO program showed that genes related to ATPase regulator, chaperone binding, and protein folding was significantly up-regulated. GOs associated with protein modification, transcription, phosphorus and nitrogen metabolic processes, were significantly down-regulated by heat stress. Conclusions: Plausible connections were identified between the identified GOs, physiological responses and heat response phenotype observed in switchgrass plants. Comparative transcriptome analysis in response to heat stress among four monocots -- switchgrass, rice, wheat and maize identified 16 common genes, most of which were associated with protein refolding processes. These core genes will be valuable biomarkers for identifying heat sensitive plant germplasm since they are responsive to both short duration as well as chronic heat stress treatments, and are also expressed in different plant growth stages and tissue types.

Description: Catenin-β-like protein 1 (CTNNBL1) is a highly conserved protein with multiple functions, one of which is to act as an interaction partner of the antibody-diversification enzyme activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) for its nuclear import and subnuclear trafficking. Here, the crystal structure of full-length human CTNNBL1 is reported. The protein contains six armadillo (ARM) repeats that pack into a superhelical ARM domain. This ARM domain is unique within the ARM protein family owing to the presence of several unusual structural features. Moreover, CTNNBL1 contains significant and novel non-ARM structures flanking both ends of the central ARM domain. A strong continuous hydrophobic core runs through the whole structure, indicating that the ARM and non-ARM structures fold together to form an integral structure. This structure defines a highly restrictive and discriminatory protein-binding groove that is not observed in other ARM proteins. The presence of a cluster of histidine residues in the groove implies a pH-sensitive histidine-mediated mechanism that may regulate protein binding activity. The many unique structural features of CTNNBL1 establish it as a distinct member of the ARM protein family. The structure provides critical insights into the molecular interactions between CTNNBL1 and its protein partners, especially AID.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 1728: Environmental Warning System Based on the DPSIR Model: A Practical and Concise Method for Environmental Assessment Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10061728 Authors: Wenqi Wang Yuhong Sun Jing Wu Though we are in urgent need of environmental warnings to slow environmental deterioration, currently, there is no internationally concise method for environmental warnings. In addition, the existing approaches do not combine the three aspects of ecology, resources, and environment. At the same time, the three elements of the environment (air, water, and soil) are separated in most environmental warning systems. Thus, the method this paper gives is an innovative attempt and aims to make environmental assessment more practical. This paper establishes the index system of an environmental early warning based on the Driving–Pressure–State–Influence–Response (DPSIR) model. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used to determine the weights. Next, single and integrated index methods further assess the environmental warning state, in which the weighted summation method is used to summarize the data and results. The case of Tianjin is used to confirm the applicability of this method. In conclusion, the method in this paper is more well-behaved and, therefore, more suitable to assist cities in their environmental assessment.

Description: Journal of the American Chemical Society DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b03517

Description: Background: Critical thinking is an essential ability for medical students. However, the relationship between parental rearing styles and medical students’ critical thinking disposition has rarely been considered. The aim of this study was to investigate whether parental rearing styles were significant predictors of critical thinking disposition among Chinese medical students. Methods: 1,075 medical students from the first year to the fifth year attending one of three medical schools in China were recruited via multistage stratified cluster sampling. The Chinese Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory(CTDI-CV) and The Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (EMBU) questionnaire were applied to collect data and to conduct descriptive analysis. Stepwise multiple linear regression was used to analyze the data. Results: The critical thinking disposition average mean score was 287.44 with 632 participants (58.79%) demonstrating positive critical thinking disposition. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the rearing styles of fathers, including “overprotection”, “emotional warmth and understanding”, “rejection” and “over-interference” were significant predictors of medical students’ critical thinking disposition that explained 79.0% of the variance in critical thinking ability. Rearing styles of mothers including “emotional warmth and understanding”, “punishing” and “rejection” were also found to be significant predictors, and explained 77.0% of the variance. Conclusions: Meaningful association has been evidenced between parental rearing styles and Chinese medical students’ critical thinking disposition. Parental rearing styles should be considered as one of the many potential determinant factors that contribute to the cultivation of medical students’ critical thinking capability. Positive parental rearing styles should be encouraged in the cultivation of children’s critical thinking skills.

Description: Background: Lauren-classification and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status are two important pathological features of gastric cancer patients. The prognostic value of HER2 in gastric cancer remains controversial. Intestinal type gastric cancer has better prognosis and higher HER2 positive proportion. What is the interaction between these two factors? We hypothesized that a combination of Lauren-classification and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status (L-H status) might be more meaningful than either factor alone. Methods: We collected 838 gastric cancer patients at all stages who had received treatment in our cancer center. This study was registered in the website of ClinicalTrials.Gov, with the number NCT01927146. We divided the patients into six groups according to their L-H status: Group A, HER2 negative and intestinal type; Group B, HER2 positive and intestinal type; Group C, HER2 negative and diffuse type; Group D, HER2 positive and diffuse type; Group E, HER2 negative and mixed type; and Group F, HER2 positive and mixed type. Results: Diffuse type and intestinal type accounted for 51.0% and 33.9%, respectively. The proportion of HER2 positive patients was 11.2%, 25.4%, 2.1% and 10.2% in the whole patient group, intestinal, diffuse and mixed type, respectively. Median overall survival was 34.0 months, 25.3 months, 27.6 months, 19.2 months, 25.9 months and 26.4 months in the six groups patients, P = 0.053. There was a significant difference in survival among the first four groups (P 〈 0.001). HER2 was an independent prognostic factor in the intestinal type and in stage I + II patients, but not in the diffuse type or stage III + IV patients. L-H status was an independent prognostic factor in patients at all stages. For the diffuse and intestinal types, the multivariate analysis showed that HER2 was not an independent prognostic factor, while Lauren classification and L-H status were. Moreover, L-H status was a better prognostic factor than the Lauren classification. Conclusions: L-H status is a prognostic factor in diffuse and intestinal type patients, but not in the mixed type. Patients with HER2 negative and intestinal type had the best survival, while patients with HER2 positive status and diffuse type had the worst survival.

Description: Background: Dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH) is an autosomal dominantly inherited skin disease associated with mutations of ADAR1, the gene that encodes a double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mutations in ADAR1 in seven Chinese families with DSH. Methods: All the coding exons including adjacent intronic as well as 5[prime] and 3[prime] untranslated region (UTR) of ADAR1 were screened by direct sequencing. Moreover, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were applied to determine the pathogenic effects associated with the mutations. Results: Molecular genetic investigations detected five novel mutations (c.556C 〉 T, c.3001C 〉 T, c.1936_1937insTG, c.1065_1068delGACA and c.1601G 〉 A resulting in p.Gln186X, p.Arg1001Cys, p.Phe646LeufsX16, p.Asp357ArgfsX47 and p.Gly471AspfsX30 protein changes, respectively) as well as two previously reported (c.2744C 〉 T and c.3463C 〉 T causing p.Ser915Phe and p.Arg1155Trp protein changes, respectively). Among them, we found that the substitution c.1601G 〉 A at the last nucleotide of exon 2 compromised the recognition of the splice donor site of intron 2, inducing an aberrant transcript with 190-bp deletion in exon 2 and causing an approximately 50% reduction of ADAR1 mRNA level in affected individual. In addition, consistent with the predicted results, the expression patterns of other novel mutations were detected by Western blot. Conclusion: We identified five novel and two recurrent mutations of the ADAR1 gene in seven Chinese families with DSH and investigated potential effects of the novel mutations in this study. Our study expands the database on mutations of ADAR1 and for the first time, demonstrates the importance of exonic nucleotides at exon-intron junctions for ADAR1 splicing.

Description: In this paper, synchronization for a class of uncertain fractional-order neural networks subject to external disturbances and disturbed system parameters is studied. Based on the fractional-order extension of the Lyapunov stability criterion, an adaptive synchronization controller is designed, and fractional-order adaptation law is proposed to update the controller parameter online. The proposed controller can guarantee that the synchronization errors between two uncertain fractional-order neural networks converge to zero asymptotically. By using some proposed lemmas, the quadratic Lyapunov functions are employed in the stability analysis. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Description: Net-Immobilization of 〈i〉β〈/i〉-glucosidase on Nonwoven Fabrics to Lower the Cost of “Cellulosic Ethanol” and Increase Cellulose Conversions Scientific Reports, Published online: 24 March 2016; doi:10.1038/srep23437