Association of myostatin deficiency with collagen related disease-umbilical hernia and tippy toe standing in pigs

Transgenic Research - Herein, we investigate the high incidence of umbilical hernia and tippy-toe standing and their underlying changes in gene expression and proliferation in myostatin knockout...     

A Self-Biomineralized Novel Adenovirus Vectored COVID-19 Vaccine for Boosting Immunization of Mice

Virologica Sinica - SARS-CoV-2 has caused more than 3.8 million deaths worldwide, and several types of COVID-19 vaccines are urgently approved for use, including adenovirus vectored vaccines....     

Effect of volatiles emitted from wilted Populus nigra L. leaves on the mating and oviposition of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)

Wilted black poplar, Populus nigra ‘Italica’ L., leaves are very attractive to a vast number of noctuid moth species. This provides an opportunity for the development of effective trapping methods for the integrated management of pest species, such as Helicoverpa armigera, a major global and economically important insect pest.In the present study, we investigated the (1) nocturnal attraction patterns of H. armigera males and females to wilted P. nigra leaves; (2) effects of P. nigra volatiles on the mate-searching behavior of males through laboratory serial-chamber bioassays and field trapping; and (3) effects of P. nigra volatiles on the ovipositional choice and reproductive performance of females. Females and males, when tested alone, could be attracted by wilted P. nigra leaves, and the time periods of the first two attraction peaks were largely overlapped between sexes. Streams consisting of wilted P. nigra leaves and virgin females were not more attractive than virgin females alone, regardless of the stream sequence in a serial chamber. However, a stream of virgin females passed through wilted P. nigra leaves was more attractive than wilted P. nigra leaves alone. The addition of P. nigra extracts and its major aromatic components to the sex lure of H. armigera did not attract more moths than the sex lure alone. The volatiles from wilted P. nigra leaves were significantly more attractive to ovipositing females than those from cotton, tomato, and corn leaves, but equally attractive to tobacco leaves. Females exposed to volatiles from different leaves (P. nigra, cotton, and tobacco) showed similar fecundities. In summary, the attraction of moths to wilted P. nigra leaves may be attributable to multiple mechanisms, including the adsorption of sex pheromones, ovipostional attraction, and possible feeding attraction.     

Middle Jurassic radiolarians from Jinlang,Zedong, southern Xizang (Tibet), China

Moderately to well-preserved radiolarians have been extracted from nine greyish green and purplish-red bedded cherts in the mud-matrix mélange of the eastern Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) at Jinlang Section, Zedong, southern Xizang (Tibet). Forty-two species belonging to 27 genera, including Middle Jurassic characteristic species such as Laxtorum (?) jurassicum Isozaki and Matsuda, Laxtorum (?) hichisoense Isozaki and Matsuda, Stichocapsa japonica Yao, Stichocapsa robusta Matsuoka, Parahsuum (?) magnum Takemura, Sella chrafatensis (El Kadiri), and Unuma typicus Ichikawa and Yao are recognized and three assemblages, Laxtorum (?) jurassicum Assemblage (Aalenian), Quarticella ovalis Assemblage (late Bajocian), and Stichocapsa robusta Assemblage (middle Bathonian) are established in ascending order. These assemblages can be well correlated to the Middle Jurassic Unitary Association (UA) Zones (Baumgartner et al., 1995) in west Tethys and coeval biozones in Japan and provide reliable age information for the Middle Jurassic stratigraphic correlation of the pelagic sediments along the YZSZ.