Molten salt synthesis and luminescence of Dy3+‐doped Y3Al5O12 phosphors

Dy³⁺‐doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ phosphors were prepared at a relatively low temperature using molten salt synthesis. The phase of the prepared Dy³⁺‐doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ phosphors was confirmed using X‐ray powder diffraction. Results indicated that Dy³⁺ doping did not change the Y₃Al₅O₁₂ phase. Following excitation at 352 nm, emission spectra of the Dy³⁺‐doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ phosphors consisted of blue, yellow, and red emission bands. The influence of Dy³⁺ concentration and excitation wavelength on emission was investigated. The ratio of yellow light to blue light varied with change in Dy³⁺ doping concentration, due to changes in the structure around Dy³⁺. Emission intensities also changed when the excitation wavelength was changed. This variation is luminescence generated a system for tunable white light for Dy³⁺‐doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ phosphors.     

DJ‐1 inhibits autophagy activity of prostate cancer cells by repressing JNK–Bcl2–Beclin1 signaling

The regulation of DJ‐1 on AR signaling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer (PCa). DJ‐1 could alter autophagy and regulate Beclin1‐involved autophagy response through JNK‐dependent pathway. JNK is known to mediate autophagy through Bcl2–Beclin1 complex. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the significance of autophagy in DJ‐1‐modulated PCa cells. The current studies showed that DJ‐1 overexpression in LNCaP decreased LC3 transformation and autophagosome formation. However, DJ‐1 knockdown exerted the opposite effect. Moreover, DJ‐1 silencing inhibited survival and promoted death in LNCaP, which was recovered by autophagy inhibition with 3‐MA. In addition, DJ‐1 overexpression inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK and Bcl2, and the dissociation of Beclin1 and Bcl2; while the effect of silencing DJ‐1 was completely opposite. More important, JNK activated by anisimycin inhibited the proliferation and promoted death of DJ‐1‐overexpressed LNCaP while increasing LC3 transformation and LC3‐puncta formation, but these results were reversed by the decrease of Beclin1 (by spautin‐1). In contrast, when DJ‐1 was silenced, the death of LNCaP, LC3 transformation, and LC3‐puncta formation were inhibited by JNK inhibitor SP600125, which promoted cell proliferation. However, Bcl2 inhibition (by ABT737) reversed all the effects of SP600125. Our results suggested that DJ‐1 in PCa cells could promote the growth of PCa through autophagy inhibition, and JNK–Bcl2–Beclin1 signaling played an important role in it. The study provided new insights into the role of DJ‐1 in the development of PCa.     

Source apportionment and health risk quantification for heavy metal sources in soils near aluminum-plastic manufacturing facilities in northeast China

Abstract

Identifying the source effect on heavy metals to human health risk is essential for devising and implementing restoration policies for polluted soils. For this purpose, eight heavy metals (As, Cd, Hg, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in soil profile samples (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40?cm) collected in the area around aluminum-plastic manufacturing facilities (APMF) were determined. An absolute principal component score multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model supported by a health risk assessment (HRA) model was developed to determine the source apportionment of soil heavy metals and contribution rate of pollution sources to human health risk. Results showed significant accumulations of eight metals in the topsoil (0–20?cm), parent material, transportation, APMF, and agricultural practices were the four major contributing sources for heavy metals in soils, with average contribution percentages of 21.69%, 24.99%, 29.60%, and 14.25%, respectively. Carcinogenic risk factors for adults (1.23E-04) and children (1.32E-04) were found to be above the acceptable level (1E-06 to 1E-04). The health risk quantification results indicated that parent material, APMF, transportation, agricultural practices, and unidentified factors accounted for 55.76%, 14.48%, 12.09%, 10.13%, and 7.54% of the carcinogenic risk for children and adults. The adverse impacts of Cd, Zn, and Pb accumulations in soil coming from APMF activities were significant and need to receive more attention.     

When to start and when to stop: Effects of climate on breeding in a multi‐brooded songbird

Climate warming has been shown to affect the timing of the onset of breeding of many bird species across the world. However, for multi‐brooded species, climate may also affect the timing of the end of the breeding season, and hence also its duration, and these effects may have consequences for fitness. We used 28 years of field data to investigate the links between climate, timing of breeding, and breeding success in a cooperatively breeding passerine, the superb fairy‐wren (Malurus cyaneus). This multi‐brooded species from southeastern Australia has a long breeding season and high variation in phenology between individuals. By applying a “sliding window” approach, we found that higher minimum temperatures in early spring resulted in an earlier start and a longer duration of breeding, whereas less rainfall and more heatwaves (days > 29°C) in late summer resulted in an earlier end and a shorter duration of breeding. Using a hurdle model analysis, we found that earlier start dates did not predict whether or not females produced any young in a season. However, for successful females who produced at least one young, earlier start dates were associated with higher numbers of young produced in a season. Earlier end dates were associated with a higher probability of producing at least one young, presumably because unsuccessful females kept trying when others had ceased. Despite larger scale trends in climate, climate variables in the windows relevant to this species’ phenology did not change across years, and there were no temporal trends in phenology during our study period. Our results illustrate a scenario in which higher temperatures advanced both start and end dates of individuals’ breeding seasons, but did not generate an overall temporal shift in breeding times. They also suggest that the complexity of selection pressures on breeding phenology in multi‐brooded species may have been underestimated.     

Distinct genomic traits of acral and mucosal melanomas revealed by targeted mutational profiling

The incidence of melanoma is rising globally including China. Comparing to Caucasians, the incidence of non‐cutaneous melanomas is significantly higher in Chinese. Herein, we performed genomic profiling of 89 Chinese surgically resected primary melanomas, including acral (n = 54), cutaneous (n = 22), and mucosal (n = 13), by hybrid capture‐based next‐generation sequencing. We show that mucosal melanomas tended to harbor more pathogenic mutations than other types of melanoma, though the biological significance of this finding remains uncertain. Chromosomal arm‐level alterations including 6q, 9p, and 10p/q loss were highly recurrent in all subtypes, but mucosal melanoma was significantly associated with increased genomic instability. Importantly, 7p gain significantly correlated with unfavorable clinical outcomes in non‐cutaneous melanomas, representing an intriguing prognostic biomarker of those subtypes. Furthermore, focal amplification of 4q12 (KIT, KDR, and PDGFRα) and RAD51 deletion were more abundant in mucosal melanoma, while NOTCH2 amplification was enriched in acral melanoma. Additionally, cutaneous melanomas had higher mutation load than acral melanomas, while mucosal melanomas did not differ from other subtypes in mutation burden. Together, our data revealed important features of acral and mucosal melanomas in Chinese including distinctive driver mutation pattern and increased genomic instability. These findings highlight the possibilities of combination therapies in the clinical management of melanoma.     

The Chimonanthus salicifolius genome provides insight into magnoliid evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis

Chimonanthus salicifolius, a member of the Calycanthaceae of magnoliids, is one of the most famous medicinal plants in Eastern China. Here, we report a chromosome‐level genome assembly of C. salicifolius, comprising 820.1 Mb of genomic sequence with a contig N50 of 2.3 Mb and containing 36 651 annotated protein‐coding genes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that magnoliids were sister to the eudicots. Two rounds of ancient whole‐genome duplication were inferred in the C. salicifolious genome. One is shared by Calycanthaceae after its divergence with Lauraceae, and the other is in the ancestry of Magnoliales and Laurales. Notably, long genes with > 20 kb in length were much more prevalent in the magnoliid genomes compared with other angiosperms, which could be caused by the length expansion of introns inserted by transposon elements. Homologous genes within the flavonoid pathway for C. salicifolius were identified, and correlation of the gene expression and the contents of flavonoid metabolites revealed potential critical genes involved in flavonoids biosynthesis. This study not only provides an additional whole‐genome sequence from the magnoliids, but also opens the door to functional genomic research and molecular breeding of C. salicifolius.     

气候变化和经济发展对肾综合征出血热发生的影响

肾综合征出血热(hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, HFRS)是一种啮齿动物传播的自然疫源性疾病, 危害严重, 已成为全球重要的公共卫生问题。本研究采用数理统计模型及小波分析方法, 对陕西省西安市鄠邑区1984-2016年HFRS的发生与鼠类、气候和经济因素的关系进行分析, 探讨气候和经济因素对HFRS发生的影响。小波分析结果表明, 该地区的HFRS暴发史可能分为两个时期, 推测每个时期具有不同的主要宿主, 在2002年褐家鼠(Rattus norvegicus)可能取代黑线姬鼠(Apodemus agrarius)成为HFRS疫源地的主要宿主。广义可加模型模拟结果表明, HFRS的发生与1984-2001年黑线姬鼠密度间存在极显著非线性效应(F_2.06,9.02 = 102.415, P < 0.01), 两者间显现为正相关; 与2002-2016年的褐家鼠密度间呈正相关(F_1.67,9.02 = 73.929, P < 0.01); HFRS主要宿主的这种变化可能与当地气候变化和经济发展有关: HFRS的发生与年平均温度存在极显著的非线性效应(F_2.93,9.02 = 12.164, P < 0.01), 两者间呈负相关; 同样, HFRS的发生与上一年的国内生产总值(GDP)也存在显著非线性效应(F_1.70,9.02 = 2.917, P < 0.05), 两者间也呈负相关。结构方程模型通过直接和间接的影响途径证明了这种转移机制, 发现温度对HFRS发生有显著的直接负向影响以及通过褐家鼠的间接正向影响; GDP对HFRS发生有直接的负向影响。本研究表明HFRS的发生与气候变化和经济发展相关, 两者均能影响HFRS的暴发, 该结论有助于今后更好地对HFRS疾病进行预防和控制。     

三峡水库消落区不同生活史类型植物群落的空间分布格局

为探究三峡水库消落区不同生活史植物群落随海拔梯度及水库干流沿程的空间分布规律,于2017年8月至2017年9月对三峡水库干流消落区植被进行了调查。研究结果表明:(1)三峡水库消落区植被的植物物种丰富度随距大坝里程距离的缩短而呈现逐渐减小的趋势。(2)三峡水库消落区不同生活史类型植被群落盖度对水淹梯度胁迫的响应呈现相反的变化规律:随着消落区高程的升高,一年生植物对消落区植被覆盖度的贡献逐渐增加,而多年生植物对植被群落覆盖度的贡献逐渐降低。但是,在消落区的任一高程区域,多年生植物物种盖度均要大于一年生植物物种盖度。(3)采用TWINSPAN植被分类方法可对9个样地607个样方的三峡水库消落区植被划分为25个组,其中苍耳+狗牙根群落Ass.Xanthiumsibiricum+Cynodon dactylon(含213个样方)、狗牙根群落Ass.Cynodon dactylon(包含137个样方)、狗牙根+香附子群落Ass.Cynodon dactylon+Cyperus rotundus(含55个样方)、狗牙根+酸模叶蓼群落Ass.Cynodon dactylon+Polygonum lapathifolium(40个样方)、苍耳+藿香蓟群落Ass.Xanthiumsibiricum+Ageratum conyzoides(38个样方)等为消落区的优势植物群落,群落特征明显表现出对水位涨落及小生境差异的适应。