In the Flora of China account of Saxifraga mengtzeana Engl. & Irmsch., eight synonyms were attributed to it and one variant, recognized as Saxifraga epiphylla Gornall & Ohba, was split from it. This ...study reevaluates the taxonomic status of some of the synonyms and of the segregated species in light of new evidence presented here. Morphological and molecular evidence demonstrate that collections from northwestern Yunnan and Sichuan are genetically differentiated from those in southeastern Yunnan and neighboring Guangxi. Observations in the field and in cultivation show that the peltate petiole attachment diagnostic of S. mengtzeana var. peltifolia Engl. & Irmsch. is developmentally labile. Similar observations combined with molecular data show that viviparous phenotypes, formerly treated as S. epiphylla, although largely under genetic control, occur sporadically throughout the ranges of both northern and southern taxa. Collections from northwestern Yunnan and Sichuan are best recognized as Saxifraga geifolia Balf.f., whereas those from southeastern Yunnan and neighboring Guangxi are S. mengtzeana. Peltate‐leaved variants of the latter are given no status and are relegated to complete synonymy. Viviparous phenotypes of S. mengtzeana and S. geifolia are recognized at the rank of forma.
Integrating morphological, geographical, and molecular evidence, we reinterpret the taxonomic and phylogenetic status of Saxifraga mengtzeana and related taxa. Our data suggest that Saxifraga epiphylla is part of a polymorphism and should be synonymized under Saxifraga mengtzeana and that Saxifraga geifolia should be distinct rather than conspecific with S. mengtzeana.
Childhood obesity is one of the most common and costly nutritional problems with high heritability. The genetic mechanism of childhood obesity remains unclear. Here, we conducted a transcriptome-wide ...association study (TWAS) to identify novel genes for childhood obesity.
By integrating the GWAS summary of childhood body mass index (BMI), we conducted TWAS analyses with pre-computed gene expression weights in 39 obesity priority tissues. The GWAS summary statistics of childhood BMI were derived from the early growth genetics consortium with 35,668 children from 20 studies.
We identified 15 candidate genes for childhood BMI after Bonferroni corrections. The most significant gene, ADCY3, was identified in 13 tissues, including adipose, brain, and blood. Interestingly, eight genes were only identified in the specific tissue, such as FAIM2 in the brain (P = 2.04 × 10
) and fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) in the muscle (P = 1.93 × 10
). Compared with the TWAS results of adult BMI, we found that one gene TUBA1B with predominant influence only on childhood BMI in the muscle (P = 1.12 × 10
). We evaluated the candidate genes by querying public databases and identified 12 genes functionally related to obesity phenotypes, including nine differentially expressed genes during the differentiation of human preadipocyte cells. The remaining genes (FAM150B, KNOP1, and LMBR1L) were regarded as novel candidate genes for childhood BMI.
Our study identified multiple candidate genes for childhood BMI, providing novel clues for understanding the genetic mechanism of childhood obesity.
Dipterocarpoideae species form the emergent layer of Asian rainforests. They are the indicator species for Asian rainforest distribution, but they are severely threatened. Here, to understand their ...adaptation and population decline, we assemble high-quality genomes of seven Dipterocarpoideae species including two autotetraploid species. We estimate the divergence time between Dipterocarpoideae and Malvaceae and within Dipterocarpoideae to be 108.2 (97.8‒118.2) and 88.4 (77.7‒102.9) million years ago, and we identify a whole genome duplication event preceding dipterocarp lineage diversification. We find several genes that showed a signature of selection, likely associated with the adaptation to Asian rainforests. By resequencing of two endangered species, we detect an expansion of effective population size after the last glacial period and a recent sharp decline coinciding with the history of local human activities. Our findings contribute to understanding the diversification and adaptation of dipterocarps and highlight anthropogenic disturbances as a major factor in their endangered status.
Background
Whether the circadian rhythms of blood pressure (BP) contribute to the presence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) remains unknown. This study aimed to assess the relationship between ...nocturnal BP and CMBs in hypertensive patients.
Methods
This prospective case‐control study recruited 51 hypertensive patients with CMBs and 51 hypertensive patients without CMBs, matched with age and gender, serving as controls. A 24‐h ambulatory BP monitoring was conducted in all subjects. Differences in ambulatory BP parameters between the two groups were compared. Logistic regression analyzes were conducted to investigate the relationship between the ambulatory BP parameters and presence of CMBs.
Results
Patients with CMBs had a significant higher nocturnal mean SBP and lower relative nocturnal SBP dipping rate. Two logistic models were constructed to explore the association between ABPM indices and the presence of CMBs, adjusted with history of ischemic stroke and smoking. In model 1, higher nocturnal mean SBP positively correlated with presence of CMBs standardized β = 0.254, odds ratio (OR) = 1.029, p = .041. In model 2, the relative nocturnal SBP dipping rate was negatively correlated with CMBs (standardized β = −.363, OR = 0.918, p = .007). Only patients with deep CMBs had significant higher nocturnal mean SBP and lower relative nocturnal SBP dipping rate in comparison with those without CMBs.
Conclusions
Higher nocturnal SBP and lower relative nocturnal SBP dipping rate may be associated with CMBs in hypertensive patients.
In this study, we set out a case‐control study to assess the relationship between the circadian rhythms in short‐term BP and CMBs in patients with hypertension. We found that higher nocturnal mean SBP and lower relative nocturnal SBP dipping rate may be associated with a higher risk of presence of CMBs, which implicates abnormal circadian rhythms may play a role in the development of CMBs
.
•There is difference in soil property between upper and lower layer of sliding surface.•Landslide erosion intensity linearly increased with increasing main root depth.•Vegetation types have a ...significant influence on shallow loess landslides.•Promote role of plant in landslide during rainfall should be given more attention.
Vegetation is widely used for controlling landslides around the world; however, rainfall-induced shallow landslides occur frequently on vegetation-covered slopes on the Chinese Loess Plateau during the rainy season. To probe this phenomenon, we conducted on-site investigations and measurements in the Nanxiaohegou catchment on the Loess Plateau to explore the effects of soil properties and vegetation on shallow loess landslides. Most of the loess landslides on vegetation-covered slopes were small scale with depths ranging from 0.3m to 1.0m, corresponding to the topsoil being saturated due to rainfall. Majority of shallow landslides occurred on herbage-covered area, which made up 69% of total landslides. There are significant differences in soil properties between the upper layer (root-soil composite) and the lower layer (loess) of the sliding surface. Our study demonstrated that root plays a leading role in landslide erosion and that the most adverse effect of vegetation on landslides is mainly the increase in soil moisture content in the shallow soil through the root zone creating preferential infiltration flow paths. There are remarkable differences in landslide erosion depths and landslide erosion intensities among different vegetation types. The landslide erosion depth and landslide erosion intensity increased linearly with increasing main root depth, indicating that the vegetation root depth determines the landslide erosion intensity during rainfall. Therefore, the potential implications of vegetation especially the herbage to promote landslide occurrences during rainfall should be given more attention in the future.
Hydrogen is of fundamental importance for the construction of modern clean‐energy supply systems. In this context, the catalytic dehydrogenation of formic acid (FA) is a convenient method to generate ...H2 gas from an easily available liquid. One of the issues associated with current catalytic dehydrogenation systems is insufficient stability. Here, we present a robust and recyclable system for FA dehydrogenation by combining a ruthenium 1,1,1‐tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane complex and aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate (Al(OTf)3). This robust system allows steady H2 production under pressure and recycling for an additional 14 runs without any apparent loss of activity (turnover frequencies up to 1920 h−1, turnover numbers up to 20 000). Notably, the catalyst can also be used for the dehydrogenation of formates and the reverse hydrogenation of bicarbonates and CO2.
Dehydrogenation station: An efficient ruthenium 1,1,1‐tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane–aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate catalytic system is developed for formic acid dehydrogenation with an excellent robustness and activity. This robust system allows steady hydrogen production and recycling for an additional 14 runs without any apparent loss of activity at high turnover frequencies and turnover numbers.
Life molecules' distributions in live systems construct the complex dynamic reaction networks, whereas it is still challenging to demonstrate the dynamic distributions of biomolecules in live ...systems. Herein, we proposed a dynamic analysis strategy
sequence-structure bispecific RNA with state-adjustable molecules to monitor the dynamic concentration and spatiotemporal localization of these biomolecules in live cells based on the new insight of fluorescent RNA (FLRNA) interactions and their mechanism of fluorescence enhancement. Typically, computer-based nucleic acid-molecular docking simulation and molecular theoretical calculation have been proposed to provide a simple and straightforward method for guiding the custom-design of FLRNA. Impressively, a novel FLRNA with sequence and structure bispecific RNA named as a structure-switching aptamer (SSA) was introduced to monitor the real-time concentration and spatiotemporal localization of biomolecules, contributing to a deeper insight of the dynamic monitoring and visualization of biomolecules in live systems.
Rainfall can cause serious soil loss in the Loess Plateau hilly and gully region, but little focus has been placed on the extreme rainstorm effects on unpaved loess road soil erosion. A field survey ...method was used to investigate the erosional effects of the “7.26” heavy rainfall event on unpaved loess roads in the Jiuyuangou watershed of the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed that the average and maximum widths of the eroded gullies that formed on the unpaved roads were 0.65–1.48 m and 1.00–3.60 m, respectively. The average and maximum depths of the eroded gullies were 0.42–1.13 m and 0.75–4.30 m, respectively. The average width-to-depth ratio was 1.31, indicating that the widening effect was greater than the downcutting effect in the eroded gullies. In addition, the gully density ranged from 0.07 to 0.29 m m
−2
, and the road surface dissection degree ranged from 0.03 to 0.41 km
2
km
−2
. Eroded gullies generally developed at the slope toe of the cut bank side. The average eroded gully width and depth at turns in the road were 1.47–2.64 times and 1.30–3.47 times greater, respectively, than those in other road sections. The road erosion modulus increased from the upper section to the lower section of the roads. The average road erosion modulus of the study catchment was 235,000 t km
−2
. Turns in the road were associated with collapses, sinkholes and other gravitational erosion phenomena. The amount of road erosion under extreme rainfall conditions is mainly related to the interactions among road length, width, slope and soil bulk density. Our results provide a useful reference for developing further measures for preventing road erosion on the Loess Plateau.
Single-crystal planes are ideal platforms for catalytic research. In this work, rolled copper foils with predominantly (220) planes were used as the starting material. By using temperature gradient ...annealing, which caused grain recrystallization in the foils, they were transformed to those with (200) planes. In acidic solution, the overpotential of such a foil (10 mA cm
) was found to be 136 mV lower than that of a similar rolled copper foil. The calculation results show that hollow sites formed on the (200) plane have the highest hydrogen adsorption energy and are active centers for hydrogen evolution. Thus, this work clarifies the catalytic activity of specific sites on the copper surface and demonstrates the critical role of surface engineering in designing catalytic properties.
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