Association analysis for SNPs of MSTN and IGFBP-3 genes with body size and other production traits in Liaoning Cashmere Goats.

Liaoning cashmere goat (LCG) have tall bones, high cashmere production and outstanding meat production performance. In recent years, good breeding progress has not been made in terms of body size, meat yield, milk yield and other properties in terms of production. The study focused on the correlation between the SNPs of MSTN and IGFBP-3 genes with the body size performance, cashmere production and milk performance. The MSTN and IGFBP-3 gene sequence alignment and PCR-Seq polymorphism were used to detect the potential SNPs, and the correlation with production performance was analyzed by SPSS and SHEsis software. The results showed that the TT genotype at the T1662G locus of the MSTN gene is dominant and has significant advantages in body measurements such as sacrum height, chest width, and waist height. The C allele at the C4021T locus of IGFBP-3 gene shows an advantage in the body measurement performance. Among the haplotype combinations, H2H2:TGTC is preponderant combination for body size performance, H2H2:TGTC and H1H2:TGCC are preponderant combinations for cashmere production performance, H1H3:GGCC is preponderant combination for milk production performance. It may be a molecular marker for future selection and breeding.

Synthesis of Single-Layer Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Frameworks M3 (HAT)2 (M=Ni, Fe, Co, HAT=1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene) Using an On-Surface Reaction.

1,4,5,8,9,12-Hexaazatriphenylene (HAT) is one of the smallest polyheterocyclic aromatic building blocks for forming conjugated metal-organic frameworks (cMOFs). However, the strong inter-molecular steric hindrance impedes the growth of HAT-based cMOFs. Here we employ on-surface synthesis to grow single-layer two-dimensional cMOFs of M3 (HAT)2 (M=Ni, Fe, Co). Using scanning tunnelling microscopy and density-functional theory (DFT) analysis, we resolve that the frameworks comprise a hexagonal lattice of HAT molecules and a Kagome lattice of metal atoms. The DFT analysis indicates that Ni, Co and Fe carry a magnetic moment of 1.1, 2.5, and 3.7 µB, respectively. We anticipate that the small π-conjugated core of HAT and strong bidentate chelating coordination give rise to appealing electronic and magnetic properties.

New dating of the Homo erectus cranium from Lantian (Gongwangling), China.

The Homo erectus cranium from Gongwangling, Lantian County, Shaanxi Province is the oldest fossil hominin specimen from North China. It was found in 1964 in a layer below the Jaramillo subchron and was attributed to loess (L) L15 in the Chinese loess-palaeosol sequence, with an estimated age of ca. 1.15 Ma (millions of years ago). Here, we demonstrate that there is a stratigraphical hiatus in the Gongwangling section immediately below loess 15, and the cranium in fact lies in palaeosol (S) S22 or S23, the age of which is ca. 1.54-1.65 Ma. Closely spaced palaeomagnetic sampling at two sections at Gongwangling and one at Jiacun, 10 km to the north, indicate that the fossil layer at Gongwangling and a similar fossil horizon at Jiacun were deposited shortly before a short period of normal polarity above the Olduvai subchron. This is attributed to the Gilsa Event that has been dated elsewhere to ca. 1.62 Ma. Our investigations thus demonstrate that the Gongwangling cranium is slightly older than ca. 1.62 Ma, probably ca. 1.63 Ma, and significantly older than previously supposed. This re-dating now makes Gongwangling the second oldest site outside Africa (after Dmanisi) with cranial remains, and causes substantial re-adjustment in the early fossil hominin record in Eurasia.

A p-orbital honeycomb-Kagome lattice realized in a two-dimensional metal-organic framework.

The experimental realization of p-orbital systems is desirable because p-orbital lattices have been proposed theoretically to host strongly correlated electrons that exhibit exotic quantum phases. Here, we synthesize a two-dimensional Fe-coordinated bimolecular metal-organic framework which constitutes a honeycomb lattice of 1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene molecules and a Kagome lattice of 5,15-di(4-pyridyl)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin molecules on a Au(111) substrate. Density-functional theory calculations show that the framework features multiple well-separated spin-polarized Kagome bands, namely Dirac cone bands and Chern flat bands, near the Fermi level. Using tight-binding modelling, we reveal that these bands are originated from two effects: the low-lying molecular orbitals that exhibit p-orbital characteristics and the honeycomb-Kagome lattice. This study demonstrates that p-orbital Kagome bands can be realized in metal-organic frameworks by using molecules with molecular orbitals of p-orbital like symmetry.

Highly Efficient and para-Selective C-H Functionalization of Polystyrene Providing a Versatile Platform for Diverse Applications.

Postpolymerization modification of polystyrene (PS) can afford numerous value-added materials with different functions and applications, but it has been hampered by the lack of efficient methods. We report herein a highly efficient and para-selective conversion of the C-H bonds of the aromatic ring of PS into diverse functional groups using a combination of thianthrenation and thio-Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. Notably, the thianthrenation efficiency of PS is as high as 99% and the degree of thianthrenation can be conveniently controlled using stoichiometric tuning of the amount of thianthrene-S-oxide added, resulting in 24-99 mol % thianthrenation. In the subsequent thio-Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction, 18 functionalized PS containing various functional groups (-CH2OH, -OMe, -SMe, -OTBS, -CH3, -NHBoc, -OCOMe, -CHO, -COMe, -Si(Me)3, etc.) were successfully prepared with a high degree of functionalization (64-99 mol %). The obtained functionalized PS can be readily converted into diverse functional materials, including solid-phase synthesis resins, aggregation-induced emission fluorophores, as well as ionomer binders and ion-exchange membranes for energy conversion devices. This method imparts diverse functionality onto PS with extremely high efficiency and selectivity, providing a versatile platform to transform existing commodity PS plastics into high-performance materials.

Association analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphism in prolactin and its receptor with productive and body conformation traits in Liaoning cashmere goats.

The results of this study showed that the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites of the PRL and PRLR genes have a certain association with the milk production performance, body size and cashmere performance of Liaoning cashmere goats (LCGs). Through our designed experiment, the potential SNPs of LCG were detected by sequence alignment, and two SNPs were found on two genes. The CC genotype of the PRL gene is the dominant genotype among the three genotypes. The GG genotype of the PRLR gene is the dominant genotype among the two genotypes. At the same time, the two genotypes also have good performance in cashmere production and body size. Through the screening of haplotype combination, the milk fat rate >  7.6 %, the milk protein rate >  5.6 %, the milk somatic cell number <  1500  × â€¯10 3  mL - 1 , the cashmere fineness <  15.75  µ m, the chest girth >  105 cm, the chest depth >  33 cm, and the waist height >  67.5 cm are considered as screening indexes for comprehensive production performance of Liaoning cashmere goats. It is concluded that the GCGC type is the dominant haplotype combination. According to our research data, we found that the biological indicators of Liaoning cashmere goat milk are higher than the national standards, so we think it is very significant to study the milk production performance of our experiment. Further research can be done on goat milk production and body conformation traits around PRL gene and PRLR gene.

Stimulus-responsive reversible thermochromism and exciplex emission of a Zn(ii) complex and selective sensing of NH3 gas.

A multifunctional smart binuclear Zn(ii) complex (1) was synthesized by a simple process. 1 contains unique water pentamers in its crystals and undergoes reversible thermochromism and exciplex emission on and off during the dehydration and rehydration processes. A thermally induced redox reaction occurred in the charge transfer of complex 1 giving rise to a persistent radical species which shows fast response and high selectivity toward gaseous NH3 as a solid-state colorimetric and fluorescent bifunctional sensor.

A new assessment method for urbanization environmental impact: urban environment entropy model and its application.

The thermodynamic law is one of the most widely used scientific principles. The comparability between the environmental impact of urbanization and the thermodynamic entropy was systematically analyzed. Consequently, the concept "Urban Environment Entropy" was brought forward and the "Urban Environment Entropy" model was established for urbanization environmental impact assessment in this study. The model was then utilized in a case study for the assessment of river water quality in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. The results indicated that the assessing results of the model are consistent to that of the equalized synthetic pollution index method. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Urban Environment Entropy model has high reliability and can be applied widely in urbanization environmental assessment research using many different environmental parameters.