Nearly 500 basidiomycetous yeast species were accepted in the latest edition of The Yeasts: A Taxonomic Study published in 2011. However, this number presents only the tip of the iceberg of yeast ...species diversity in nature. Possibly more than 99 % of yeast species, as is true for many groups of fungi, are yet unknown and await discovery. Over the past two decades nearly 200 unidentified isolates were obtained during a series of environmental surveys of yeasts in phyllosphere and soils, mainly from China. Among these isolates, 107 new species were identified based on the phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) D1/D2 domains of the large subunit (LSU), the small subunit (SSU), and the internal transcribed spacer region including the 5.8S rDNA (ITS) and protein-coding genes both subunits of DNA polymerase II (RPB1 and RPB2), the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1) and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b (CYTB), and physiological comparisons. Forty-six of these belong to 16 genera in the Tremellomycetes (Agaricomycotina). The other 61 are distributed in 26 genera in the Pucciniomycotina. Here we circumscribe eight new genera, three new families and two new orders based on the multi-locus phylogenetic analyses combined with the clustering optimisation analysis and the predicted similarity thresholds for yeasts and filamentous fungal delimitation at genus and higher ranks. Additionally, as a result of these analyses, three new combinations are proposed and 66 taxa are validated.
Summary
Background Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection leads to development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the effects of treatment in preventing HCC are not clear.
Aim To study the effects ...of interferon (IFN) or nucleoside/tide analogue (NA) on the risk of developing HCC in CHB patients.
Methods Randomized trials, case–control and cohort studies were retrieved from five electronic databases and international conferences over the past 10 years. Relative risks (RRs) of HCC with or without treatment were studied.
Results Twelve studies (n = 2742) enrolling patients treated by IFN vs. control showed that the risk of HCC after treatment was reduced by 34% (RR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.48–0.89). Benefit is more significant among patients with early cirrhosis than among those without cirrhosis. Five studies (n = 2289) compared patients treated by NA with control. The risk of HCC after treatment was reduced by 78% (RR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.10–0.50). HBeAg‐positive patients showed more significantly reduced HCC risk with treatment. Patients without cirrhosis benefited more from NA than those with cirrhosis. Resistance to NA has obviated the benefit of the treatment.
Conclusions IFN or NA treatment significantly reduces risk of HCC. While IFN benefited patients with cirrhosis, NA benefited patients with no cirrhosis and HBeAg‐positive CHB infection.
This paper presents new explorations into the use of agent technology applied to the protection coordination of power systems. The impact of distributed generators on protection coordination is first ...discussed. Then, a coordination multiagent system is proposed with the functions of the agents described. In the proposed system, communication will play an important role to provide more information for the relay coordination besides the relay settings. Communication simulation has been carried out on the Java Agent Development Framework platform. The information communication process shows that adaptive coordination can be achieved.
The corrosion behaviour of a recently developed Al-Li-Cu-Mg alloy thick plate was investigated using correlative immersion testing in 3.5% NaCl solution with analytical electron and ion microscopy. ...Intergranular corrosion was observed along grain boundaries and the particle-matrix interface of Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) and Al20Cu2Mn3 phases from 7 min of immersion. The Li-containing Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) phases are electrochemically more active and susceptible to de-alloying than the Al20Cu2Mn3 phases. Intergranular T1 (Al2CuLi) precipitates are attacked via selective dissolution of Li and Al. In contrast to previous observation, the dissolution rates of T1 precipitates and the adjacent alloy matrix are almost the same.
•Clusters of Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) phase act as preferred sites for corrosion initiation.•The Li-containing Al7Cu2(Fe, Mn) phases are more active than Al20Cu2Mn3 phases.•Corrosion along the particle-matrix interface is facilitated by galvanic coupling.•Intermetallic particles are de-alloyed via selective dissolution of Li and Al.•T1 (Al2CuLi) phases are dissolved at a similar rate as the adjacent alloy matrix.
The Cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus account for a substantial fraction of marine primary production. Here, we present quantitative niche models for these lineages that assess present ...and future global abundances and distributions. These niche models are the result of neural network, nonparametric, and parametric analyses, and they rely on >35,000 discrete observations from all major ocean regions. The models assess cell abundance based on temperature and photosynthetically active radiation, but the individual responses to these environmental variables differ for each lineage. The models estimate global biogeographic patterns and seasonal variability of cell abundance, with maxima in the warm oligotrophic gyres of the Indian and the western Pacific Oceans and minima at higher latitudes. The annual mean global abundances of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are 2.9 ± 0.1 × 10 ²⁷ and 7.0 ± 0.3 × 10 ²⁶ cells, respectively. Using projections of sea surface temperature as a result of increased concentration of greenhouse gases at the end of the 21st century, our niche models projected increases in cell numbers of 29% and 14% for Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus , respectively. The changes are geographically uneven but include an increase in area. Thus, our global niche models suggest that oceanic microbial communities will experience complex changes as a result of projected future climate conditions. Because of the high abundances and contributions to primary production of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus , these changes may have large impacts on ocean ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles.
Carbon nanotubes-reinforced aluminum matrix (CNTs/Al) composites possess wide application prospects in many fields, and how to achieve a high performance is always a research hot spot. In this study, ...a novel high-performance Al matrix nanocomposite reinforced with short CNTs and in situ Al
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nanorods was fabricated by combining ball milling and hot extrusion, and they exhibit excellent comprehensive mechanical properties. The 2 wt% CNTs/Al composite reached a tensile strength of 312 MP and an elongation of 15.8%, showing an 102% strength improvement compared with the pure aluminum prepared by the same process. The remarkable improvement of the mechanical properties originates from the synergistical enhancement of fine-grained strengthening and dispersion strengthening of in situ Al
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nanorods and short CNTs.
Pentacyclic triterpenoids including the oleanane, ursane and lupane groups are widely distributed in many medicinal plants, such as Glycyrrhiza species, Gymnema species, Centella asiatica, Camellia ...sinensis, Crataegus species and Olea europaea, which are commonly used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes and diabetic complications. A large number of bioactive pentacyclic triterpenoids, such as oleanolic acid, glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhetinic acid, ursolic acid, betulin, betulinic acid and lupeol have shown multiple biological activities with apparent effects on glucose absorption, glucose uptake, insulin secretion, diabetic vascular dysfunction, retinopathy and nephropathy. The versatility of the pentacyclic triterpenes provides a promising approach for diabetes management.
Three structural designs for ceramic membranes have been achieved for the first time through the co-extrusion of polymeric and ceramic layers. During co-extrusion, micro-channels are initiated due to ...the Rayleigh–Taylor instability and they propagate through the different layers. The polymeric layer(s) is then calcined off during the heat treatment step, which opens the micro-channels and following sintering a ceramic membrane with open micro-channels ranging from a few to a few tens of micrometres in diameter can be formed. These long, straight and non-tortuous micro-channels can be controlled to be open at any or all of the surfaces. Design 1 has open micro-channels passing through the entire membrane wall, Design 2 has a separation layer at the lumen and open micro-channels at the shell side, and Design 3 has open micro-channels from both lumen and shell sides sandwiching a separation layer of sponge-like structure. Aside from having much improved mass transfer property due to the reduced effective membrane thickness, they can be easily incorporated into hybrid systems with anticipated improvements in unit compactness and performance. The pure water permeation of Design 2 reached up to 159,000L/m2hbar with pore sizes in the micro-filtration range. The micro-channels are easily accessible from the shell/lumen side; therefore catalysts or adsorbents can be easily deposited into the micro-channels. Examples of possible applications include a high-efficiency dispersing device realised with Design 1; a gas chromatography column for gas separation with very low pressure drop realised with Design 2 and a highly compact membrane micro-reactor for consecutive reactions proposed with Design 3.
•3 new structural ceramic membrane designs were achieved.•Phase inversion hollow fibres fabricated by co-extruding polymer and ceramic layers.•Polymer layers are burnt off, membranes with open micro-channels are formed.•Large geometric surface area provided by the micro-channels is now easily accessible.
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