Distinctive volcanic ash-rich lacustrine shale deposition related to chemical weathering intensity during the Late Triassic: Evidence from lithium contents and isotopes.

The Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) witnessed enormous climate change closely associated with volcanic activity. However, the coupling relationship between volcanic activity and climate change, which may be linked to chemical weathering, has not yet been fully uncovered. We used lithium contents and isotopes of volcanic ash (VA)-bearing lacustrine shale to constrain their deposition pathways and response to climate changes, i.e., weathering intensity, during the Late Triassic era. Elevated δ7Li (i.e., >2.5‰) and low Li contents (i.e., <65 microgram per gram) in shale likely document the direct depositing of volcanic lithium from airborne VA, which mainly inherited Earth's interior δ7Li signal. By contrast, shale yields markedly high lithium contents (i.e., >135 microgram per gram), alongside relatively low δ7Li (i.e., <0‰), likely implying waterborne VA dominated by intensified weathering under a super humidity climate. Hence, this study provides evidence for the differential VA-rich shale deposition model related to chemical weathering states synchronous with climate changes during the CPE period.

A novel chiral surfactant-type metallomicellar catalyst for asymmetric Michael addition in water.

A series of Schiff-based ligands consisting of both tertiary amines and lipophilic groups were designed and synthesized. Using these ligands, a new chiral surfactant-type metallomicellar catalyst was developed in water, and this was identified by SEM/TEM analyses. These metallomicelles can be empolyed in asymmetric Michael addition reactions in water, delivering the corresponding adducts with excellent yields and enantioselectivities.

Palladium-Catalyzed Three-Component Reaction: A Novel Method for the Synthesis of N-Acyl Propiolamides.

Palladium-catalyzed three-component reactions between terminal alkynes, isonitriles, and sodium carboxylates have been developed. This novel and operationally simple methodology provides an alternative for the synthesis of N-acyl propiolamide derivatives under mild conditions using isonitriles as the amine source and sodium carboxylates as the oxygen and acyl source.

Identification of a de novo ANK1 mutation in a Chinese family with hereditary spherocytosis.

OBJECTIVES: Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a genetic heterogeneous disorder characterized by sphere-shaped erythrocytes on peripheral blood smear with a few clinical manifestations. As an important red cell membrane protein, ankyrin 1 can interact with transmembrane proteins and the membrane skeleton and mutations in the ankyrin 1 (ANK1) genes affect about half of all patients with HS. The purpose of this study was to investigate a Chinese Han family with HS to find out the causative gene mutation and explore the genotype-phenotype correlation which can provide the basis for the pathogenesis and prenatal diagnosis for this disease. METHODS: Whole exome sequencing (WES) followed by Sanger sequencing was performed on subjects with HS from a Chinese family in Shandong Province. RESULTS: A de novo nonsense ANK1 mutation (c.796G > T, p.Glu266X), a single-nucleotide change from G to T which caused a substitution from glutamic acid to an immature stop codon at codon 266, was identified. DISCUSSION: Our finding suggested that a de novo nonsense mutation in ANK1 may be causative to HS which plays an important role in supplementing the mutational spectrum of the ANK1 and explaining the mechanism of HS. Our study also indicated that WES can be an effective and accurate diagnostic tool in the discovery of causative mutations in genetic heterogeneous Mendelian disorders.

Praseodymium(III)-Catalyzed Regioselective Synthesis of C3-N-Substituted Coumarins with Coumarins and Azides.

A series of C3-N-substituted coumarins were synthesized in good yields directly from coumarins and azides in the presence of Pr(OTf)3 without any additives or ligands needed. The selected compounds 3a, 3c-e, 3g, 3i, 3q, 3u, and 3v exhibited good anticancer activities against MGC-803, A549, and NCI-H460 cell lines with IC50 in the range 8.75-38.54 µmol L-1.

Effects of alfalfa saponin extract on mRNA expression of Ldlr, LXRα, and FXR in BRL cells.

We studied the effects of alfalfa saponin extract (ASE) on low density lipoprotein receptor (Ldlr), liver X receptor α (LXRα), and farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in normal and hyperlipidemic Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells. Normal and hyperlipidemic BRL cells were divided into eight groups: normal, or normal cells treated with 50, 100, and 150 mg/L ASE, hyperlipidemic, or hyperlipidemic cells treated with 50, 100, and 150 mg/L ASE. After treatment for 24 h, Ldlr, LXRα, and FXR mRNA expression levels were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Data showed that mRNA expression of Ldlr in normal BRL cells was significantly up-regulated by ASE treatment and mRNA expressions of LXRα and FXR were significantly down-regulated both in normal and hyperlipidemic BRL cells after ASE treatment. Thus, ASE might ameliorate hepatic steatosis by regulating genes involved in cholesterol metabolism, including up-regulation of Ldlr as well as down-regulation of LXRα and FXR.