Continuous rearing of the aster leafhopper, Macrosteles fascifrons, on a chemically defined diet

A holidic diet for feeding the aster leafhopper, Macrosteles fascifrons, was formulated. The amino acids, B-vitamins, and sucrose are less concentrated than in aphid diets. Cholesterol, at 5 mg/ml, is required for the last ecdysis. Although leafhoppers reared on this diet have poorer survival and shorter life span than those reared on plants, they produce more progeny. Leafhoppers reared on this diet have completed the ninth generation and the culture is still thriving.     

The regulation of glycerol 3-phosphate oxidase of rat brownadipose tissue mitochondria by long-chain free fatty acids

Added free fatty acids inhibit oxidation of glycerol 3-phosphate, succinate and NADH in brown-adipose tissue mitochondria from 10-day-old rats. The most pronounced is the inhibitory effect of glycerol 3-phosphate cytochrome c reductase (GP-cyto. c reductase). Contrary to other reductases, GP-cyto. c reductase activity of freshly isolated mitochondria is already inhibited by the fraction of endogenous free fatty acids. Both added and endogenous free fatty acids inhibition of GP-cyto. c reductase is fully reversible by the removal of free fatty acids by bovine serum albumine treatment. The inhibition of GP-cyto. c reductase is of strictly non-competitive type. The most inhibitory are unsaturated long-chain free fatty acids-oleic and linoleic acid. Results are discussed with regards to the regulatory importance of free fatty acids in brown-adiposetissue during intensive non-shivering thermogenesis.     

Zoogeography of Intertidal Communities in the West Indian Ocean as Determined by Ocean Circulation Systems: Patterns from the Tetraclita Barnacles

The Indian Ocean is the least known ocean in the world with the biogeography of marine species in the West Indian Ocean (WIO) understudied. The hydrography of WIO is characterized by four distinct oceanographic systems and there were few glacial refugia formations in the WIO during the Pleistocene. We used the widely distributed intertidal barnacle Tetraclita to test the hypothesis that the distribution and connectivity of intertidal animals in the WIO are determined by the major oceanographic regime but less influenced by historical events such as Pleistocene glaciations. Tetraclita were studied from 32 locations in the WIO. The diversity and distribution of Tetraclita species in the Indian Ocean were examined based on morphological examination and sequence divergence of two mitochondrial genes (12S rDNA and COI) and one nuclear gene (histone 3, H3). Divergence in DNA sequences revealed the presence of seven evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of Tetraclita in WIO, with most of them recognized as valid species. The distribution of these ESUs is closely tied to the major oceanographic circulation systems. T. rufotincta is distributed in the Monsoonal Gyre. T. ehsani is present in the Gulf of Oman and NW India. Tetraclita sp. nov. is associated with the Hydrochemical Front at 10°S latitude. T. reni is confined to southern Madagascan and Mauritian waters, influenced by the West Wind Drift. The endemic T. achituvi is restricted to the Red Sea. Tetraclita serrata consists of two ESUs (based on mtDNA analysis) along the east to west coast of South Africa. The two ESUs could not be distinguished from morphological analysis and nuclear H3 sequences. Our results support that intertidal species in the West Indian Ocean are associated with each of the major oceanographic circulation systems which determine gene flow. Geographical distribution is, however, less influenced by the geological history of the region.     

Using LiDAR Data to Measure the 3D Green Biomass of Beijing Urban Forest in China

The purpose of the paper is to find a new approach to measure 3D green biomass of urban forest and to testify its precision. In this study, the 3D green biomass could be acquired on basis of a remote sensing inversion model in which each standing wood was first scanned by Terrestrial Laser Scanner to catch its point cloud data, then the point cloud picture was opened in a digital mapping data acquisition system to get the elevation in an independent coordinate, and at last the individual volume captured was associated with the remote sensing image in SPOT5(System Probatoired''Observation dela Tarre)by means of such tools as SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions), GIS (Geographic Information System), RS (Remote Sensing) and spatial analysis software (FARO SCENE and Geomagic studio11). The results showed that the 3D green biomass of Beijing urban forest was 399.1295 million m³, of which coniferous was 28.7871 million m³ and broad-leaf was 370.3424 million m³. The accuracy of 3D green biomass was over 85%, comparison with the values from 235 field sample data in a typical sampling way. This suggested that the precision done by the 3D forest green biomass based on the image in SPOT5 could meet requirements. This represents an improvement over the conventional method because it not only provides a basis to evalue indices of Beijing urban greenings, but also introduces a new technique to assess 3D green biomass in other cities.     

Nutritional programming in fishes: insights from mammalian studies

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries - Epidemiological evidence and subsequent studies using mammalian models have established a strong correlation between suboptimal nutritional status during...     

FHA2 is a plant-specific ISWI subunit responsible for stamen development and plant fertility

Imitation Switch (ISWI) chromatin remodelers are known to function in diverse multi‐subunit complexes in yeast and animals. However, the constitution and function of ISWI complexes in Arabidopsis thaliana remain unclear. In this study, we identified forkhead‐associated domain 2 (FHA2) as a plant‐specific subunit of an ISWI chromatin‐remodeling complex in Arabidopsis. By in vivo and in vitro analyses, we demonstrated that FHA2 directly binds to RLT1 and RLT2, two redundant subunits of the ISWI complex in Arabidopsis. The stamen filament is shorter in the fha2 and rlt1/2 mutants than in the wild type, whereas their pistil lengths are comparable. The shorter filament, which is due to reduced cell size, results in insufficient pollination and reduced fertility. The rlt1/2 mutant shows an early‐flowering phenotype, whereas the phenotype is not shared by the fha2 mutant. Consistent with the functional specificity of FHA2, our RNA‐seq analysis indicated that the fha2 mutant affects a subset of RLT1/2‐regulated genes that does not include genes involved in the regulation of flowering time. This study demonstrates that FHA2 functions as a previously uncharacterized subunit of the Arabidopsis ISWI complex and is exclusively involved in regulating stamen development and plant fertility.     

Synthesis and Antiproliferative Activities of Novel Substituted 5‐Anilino‐α‐Glucofuranose Derivatives

In order to find novel antitumor candidate agents with high efficiency and low toxicity, 14 novel substituted 5‐anilino‐α‐glucofuranose derivatives have been designed, synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activities in vitro. Their structures were characterized by NMR (¹H and ¹³C) and HR‐MS, and configuration (R/S) at C(5) was identified by two‐dimensional ¹H,¹H‐NOESY‐NMR spectrum. Their antiproliferative activities against human tumor cells were investigated by MTT assay. The results demonstrated that most of the synthesized compounds had antiproliferative effects comparable to the reference drugs gefitinib and lapatinib. In particular, (5R)‐5‐O‐(3‐chloro‐4‐{[5‐(4‐fluorophenyl)thiophen‐2‐yl]methyl}anilino)‐5‐deoxy‐1,2‐O‐(1‐methylethylidene)‐α‐glucofuranose ( 9da ) showed the most potent antiproliferative effects against SW480, A431 and A549 cells, with IC₅₀ values of 8.57, 5.15 and 15.24 μm , respectively. This work suggested 5‐anilino‐α‐glucofuranose as an antitumor core structure that may open a new way to develop more potent anti‐cancer agents.     

Activation of Ni Particles into Single Ni–N Atoms for Efficient Electrochemical Reduction of CO2

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to fuels and value‐added industrial chemicals is a promising strategy for keeping a healthy balance between energy supply and net carbon emissions. Here, the facile transformation of residual Ni particle catalysts in carbon nanotubes into thermally stable single Ni atoms with a possible NiN₃ moiety is reported, surrounded with a porous N‐doped carbon sheath through a one‐step nanoconfined pyrolysis strategy. These structural changes are confirmed by X‐ray absorption fine structure analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The dispersed Ni single atoms facilitate highly efficient electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction at low overpotentials to yield CO, providing a CO faradaic efficiency exceeding 90%, turnover frequency approaching 12 000 h^?1, and metal mass activity reaching about 10 600 mA mg^?1, outperforming current state‐of‐the‐art single atom catalysts for CO₂ reduction to CO. DFT calculations suggest that the Ni@N₃ (pyrrolic) site favors *COOH formation with lower free energy than Ni@N₄, in addition to exothermic CO desorption, hence enhancing electrocatalytic CO₂ conversion. This finding provides a simple, scalable, and promising route for the preparation of low‐cost, abundant, and highly active single atom catalysts, benefiting future practical CO₂ electrolysis.     

2D Metal Zn Nanostructure Electrodes for High‐Performance Zn Ion Supercapacitors

Recent supercapacitors show a high power density with long‐term cycle life time in energy‐powering applications. A supercapacitor based on a single metal electrode accompanying multivalent cations, multiple charging/discharging kinetics, and high electrical conductivity is a promising energy‐storing system that replaces conventionally used oxide and sulfide materials. Here, a hierarchically nanostructured 2D‐Zn metal electrode‐ion supercapacitor (ZIC) is reported which significantly enhances the ion diffusion ability and overall energy storage performance. Those nanostructures can also be successfully plated on various flat‐type and fiber‐type current collectors by a controlled electroplating method. The ZIC exhibits excellent pseudocapacitive performance with a high energy density of 208 W h kg^?1 and a power density from 500 W kg^?1, which are significantly higher than those of previously reported supercapacitors with oxide and sulfide materials. Furthermore, the fiber‐type ZIC also shows high energy‐storing performance, outstanding mechanical flexibility, and waterproof characteristics, without any significant capacitance degradation during bending tests. These results highlight the promising possibility of nanostructured 2D Zn metal electrodes with the controlled electroplating method for future energy storage applications.