Characterization of Two Mitogenomes of Hyla sanchiangensis (Anura: Hylidae), with Phylogenetic Relationships and Selection Pressure Analyses of Hylidae.

Hyla sanchiangensis (Anura: Hylidae) is endemic to China and is distributed across Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces. The mitogenomes of H. sanchiangensis from two different sites (Jinxiu, Guangxi, and Wencheng, Zhejiang) were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted, including 38 mitogenomes of Hylidae from the NCBI database, and assessed the phylogenetic relationship of H. sanchiangensis within the analyzed dataset. Two mitogenomes of H. sanchiangensis showed the typical mitochondrial gene arrangement with 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one non-coding control region (D-loop). The lengths of the 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes from both samples (Jinxiu and Wencheng) were 933 bp and 1604 bp, respectively. The genetic distance (p-distance transformed into percent) on the basis of the mitogenomes (excluding the control region) of the two samples was calculated as 4.4%. Hyla sanchiangensis showed a close phylogenetic relationship with the clade of (H. annectans + H. tsinlingensis), which was supported by ML and BI analyses. In the branch-site model, five positive selection sites were found in the clade of Hyla and Dryophytes: Cytb protein (at position 316), ND3 protein (at position 85), and ND5 protein (at position 400) have one site, respectively, and two sites in ND4 protein (at positions 47 and 200). Based on the results, we hypothesized that the positive selection of Hyla and Dryophytes was due to their experience of cold stress in historical events, but more evidence is needed to support this conclusion.

[Adsorption Mechanism for Phosphate in Aqueous Solutions of Calcium/Aluminum-rich Sludge Biochar Composite].

Excess sludge is rich in organic matter but also contains heavy metals, pathogens, and harmful substances. In this study, hydroaluminite and excess sludge were used as raw materials to reduce the risk of heavy metals leaching from sludge by coagulation and co-pyrolysis, and its phosphate adsorption characteristics were studied. The results showed that the leaching amount of Zn, Cu, Cd, and Ni in sludge biochar decreased with the increase in the hydroaluminite dosage. The sludge biochar composite (1:1HB800), prepared by co-pyrolysis of hydroaluminite and excess sludge with a mass ratio of 1:1 as well as rich in calcium and aluminum, had lowest leaching risk of heavy metals and showed the high adsorption capacity for phosphate. The process could be fitted by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm (R2=0.93), and the maximum phosphate adsorption capacity at 25℃ was 51.38 mg·g-1. The pseudo second-order kinetic model could well describe the adsorption process of 1:1HB800 for high concentration phosphate, and its adsorption rate was controlled by both surface adsorption and particle diffusion. Compared with that in the neutral solution, 1:1HB800 had better phosphate capacity in the acidic and alkaline aqueous solutions, which was related to the leaching amount of calcium/aluminum in 1:1HB800 and the existence form of aluminum under the different pH conditions. FTIR, XRD, SEM, zero potential point, and Ca2+/Al3+ leaching experiments indicated that the main adsorption mechanisms for phosphate by 1:1HB800 were co-precipitation (interaction between Ca2+/Al3+ and phosphate), ligand exchange (hydroxyl), and electrostatic interaction. Therefore, 1:1HB800 can provide a feasible alternative for the removal of phosphate in aqueous solutions and also provide a potential new method for the resource utilization and harmless treatment of excess sludge.

Investigations on structural, electronic and optical properties of ZnO in two-dimensional configurations by first-principles calculations.

The electronic structures and optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) ZnO monolayers in a series of configurations were systematically investigated by first-principles calculations with HubbardUevaluated by the linear response approach. Three types of 2D ZnO monolayers, as planer hexagonal-honeycomb (Plan), double-layer honeycomb (Dlhc), and corrugated tetragonal (Tile) structures, show a mechanical and dynamical stability, while the Dlhc-ZnO is the most energetically stable configuration and Plan-ZnO is the second one. Each 2D ZnO monolayer behaves as a semiconductor with that Plan-, Dlhc-ZnO have a direct band gap of 1.81 eV and 1.85 eV at theΓpoint, respectively, while Tile-ZnO has an indirect band gap of 2.03 eV. Interestingly, the 2D ZnO monolayers all show a typical near-free-electron character for the bottom conduction band with a small effective mass, leading to a tremendous optical absorption in the whole visible and ultraviolet window, and this origination was further confirmed by the transition dipole moment. Our investigations suggest a potential candidate in the photoelectric field and provide a theoretical guidance for the exploration of wide-band-gap 2D semiconductors.

Tumor heterogeneity and the potential role of liquid biopsy in bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease that characterized by genomic instability and a high mutation rate. Heterogeneity in tumor may partially explain the diversity of responses to targeted therapies and the various clinical outcomes. A combination of cytology and cystoscopy is the standard methodology for BC diagnosis, prognosis, and disease surveillance. However, genomics analyses of single tumor-biopsy specimens may underestimate the mutational burden of heterogeneous tumors. Liquid biopsy, as a promising technology, enables analysis of tumor components in the bodily fluids, such as blood and urine, at multiple time points and provides a minimally invasive approach that can track the evolutionary dynamics and monitor tumor heterogeneity. In this review, we describe the multiple faces of BC heterogeneity at the genomic and transcriptional levels and how they affect clinical care and outcomes. We also summarize the outcomes of liquid biopsy in BC, which plays a potential role in revealing tumor heterogeneity. Finally, we discuss the challenges that must be addressed before liquid biopsy can be widely used in clinical treatment.

Combined use of transversus abdominis plane block and laryngeal mask airway during implementing ERAS programs for patients with primary liver cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

The incidence and mortality of primary liver cancer are very high and resection of tumor is the most crucial treatment for it. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of combined use of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and laryngeal mask airway (LMA) during implementing Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs for patients with primary liver cancer. This was a prospective, evaluator-blinded, randomized, controlled parallel-arm trial. A total of 96 patients were enrolled (48 in each group). Patients in the control group received general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation, while patients in the TAP + LMA group received general anesthesia with LMA and an ultrasound-guided subcostal TAP block. The primary end-point was postoperative time of readiness for discharge. The secondary end-points were postoperative pain intensity, time to first flatus, quality of recovery (QoR), complications and overall medical cost. Postoperative time of readiness for discharge in the TAP + LMA group [7 (5-11) days] was shorter than that of the control group [8 (5-13) days, P = 0.004]. The postoperative apioid requirement and time to first flatus was lower in the TAP + LMA group [(102.8 ± 12.4) µg, (32.7 ± 5.8) h, respectively] than the control group [(135.7 ± 20.1) µg, P = 0.000; (47.2 ± 7.6) h, P = 0.000; respectively]. The QoR scores were significantly higher in the TAP + LMA group than the control group. The total cost for treatment in the TAP + LMA group [(66,608.4 ± 6,268.4) CNY] was lower than that of the control group [(84,434.0 ± 9,436.2) CNY, P = 0.000]. There was no difference in complications between these two groups. The combined usage of a TAP block and LMA is a simple, safe anesthesia method during implementing ERAS programs for patients with primary liver cancer. It can alleviate surgical stress, accelerate recovery and reduce medical cost.

Emergent electronically-controllable local-field-inducer based on a molecular break-junction with magnetic radical.

Molecular spintronics devices are receiving extensive research attention, due to their potential applications as the smallest memory and logic elements. A most fundamental issue in this field lies in generating spin polarized currents. In this communication, with the aid of the celebrated Wilson's numerical renormalization group (NRG) method, we propose theoretically a novel strategy to induce a local magnetic field that only affects the strongly correlated molecule under consideration, and could easily be manipulated through purely electronic technologies. It is also demonstrated that the device may lead to bidirectional spin polarization, where perfectly polarized spin-up and -down currents could be obtained by simply adjusting the energy level of the molecule to different regions along a single direction. Our suggested model is based on a molecular break-junction with a magnetic radical. It may provide a prospective example of a magnetoelectronics device at the molecular scale, which works without an external magnetic field.

High spin polarization in formamidinium transition metal iodides: first principles prediction of novel half-metals and spin gapless semiconductors.

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of ten formamidinium transition metal iodides in the ground state and under strain have been studied. These formamidinium transition metal iodides have a stable cubic perovskite structure. In the ground state, FAVI3 is a spin gapless semiconductor, and FAScI3, FATiI3, FACrI3, FAFeI3, FACoI3 and FANiI3 are ferromagnetic half-metals. They all have 100% spin polarization and integer total magnetic moment. Under the action of strain, the high spin polarization of some formamidinium transition metal iodides can still be well maintained, and several novel spin gapless semiconductors such as FATiI3, FAFeI3 and FACoI3 have been discovered. Magnetic studies show that these formamidinium transition metal iodides with half-metal, semiconductor and spin-gapless semiconductor properties have integral total magnetic moments under strain ranging from -10.0% to 10.0%. These newly discovered half-metallic ferromagnetic materials and spin gapless semiconductors have broad application prospects in the field of spintronics due to their high spin polarization.

Phosphorus recovery through struvite crystallisation: Recent developments in the understanding of operational factors.

Phosphorus is an essential element for life and is predicted to deplete within the next 100 years. Struvite crystallization is a potential phosphorus recovery technique to mitigate this problem by producing a slow release fertilizer. However, complex wastewater composition and a large number of process variables result in process uncertainties, making the process difficult to predict and control. This paper reviews the research progress on struvite crystallization fundamentals to address this challenge. The influence of manipulated variables (e.g. seed material, magnesium dosage and pH) and sources of variation on phosphorus removal efficiency (e.g. organics and heavy metal concentration) and product purity were investigated. Recently developed models to describe, control and optimize those variables were also discussed. This review helps to identify potential challenges in different wastewater streams and provide valuable information for future phosphorus recovery unit design. It therefore paves the way for commercialization of struvite crystallization in the future.

Phosphorous recovery through struvite crystallization: Challenges for future design.

Phosphorous (P) is an essential element for living organisms and is predicted to be depleted within the next 100 years. Across the world, significant phosphorous losses due to its low utilization efficiency become one of the main reasons for water pollution. Struvite crystallization has been found to be a promising recovery technique to mitigate these problems, as the recovered precipitate can be used as a slow release fertilizer or raw material for chemical industry. Although this technique has been widely investigated over the past two decades, there are currently few real applications in industry. This paper addresses this issue by reviewing key aspects relevant to process design to pave the way for future application. It will help to narrow down struvite process design options and thus reduce the voluminous calculations for a detailed analysis. Struvite process development, research trend, product application and process economics are reviewed and a conceptual process design is provided. This analysis provides comprehensive information that is essential for future industrial struvite crystallization process design.

Suppressed Kondo effect and Kosterlitz-Thouless-type phase transition induced by level difference in a triple dot device.

Quantum dot system provides an ideal platform for quantum information processing, within which to demonstrate the quantum states is one of the most important issue for quantum simulation and quantum computation. In this paper, we report a peculiar electron state in a parallel triple dot device where the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction is invalid when the level differences of the dots sweep into appropriate regime. This extraordinary tendency then results in an antiferromagnetic spin coupling between two of the dots and may lead to zero or full conductance, relying deeply on the relation of the two level spacings. e.g. when the level differences are kept equal, the Kondo effect is totally suppressed although the dots are triply occupied, since in this case a local inter-dot transport loop is found to play an important role in the transmission coefficient. By contrast, when the differences are retained symmetric, the Kondo peak reaches nearly to its unitary limit, owing to that the inter-dot transport process is significantly suppressed. To approach these problems, voltage controllable quantum phase transitions of Kosterlitz-Thouless type and first order are shown, and possible pictures related to the many-body effect and the effective Kondo model are given.

Impact of different analgesic depths and abdominal trauma of different severities on stress and recovery of rats undergoing total intravenous anesthesia.

A number of animal models have been developed to examine the pathophysiological consequences of surgical procedures, but anesthetic methods, monitoring, and management measures in these models are very different from those used in humans. This study was designed to create a rat model of abdominal surgery using anesthetic methods and perioperative treatment similar to those used in the clinic and to investigate the effects of different injury severities and depths of anesthesia and analgesia on surgical stress and postoperative recovery. Abdominal skin/muscle incision was compared with exploratory laparotomy in rats under propofol intravenous anesthesia, accompanied by perioperative measures such as oxygen inhalation, fluid infusion, warmth, blood gas analysis, and infection prevention. Stress indices (mean arterial pressure, heart rate, blood glucose, and plasma corticosterone) were monitored during anesthesia and surgery, and recovery indicators (body weight, food consumption, and pain) were measured after surgery. In addition, animals undergoing laparotomy were subjected to low and high dosages of propofol and sufentanil, in order to examine the relationship between anesthetic and analgesic depth and stress on recovery. Exploratory laparotomy induced a greater stress response and caused slower postoperative recovery as measured than somatic injury. High-dose sufentanil downregulated plasma corticosterone and improved postoperative recovery more effectively than high-dose propofol (P<0.05). Taken together, a rat model of abdominal surgery using anesthetic methods and perioperative treatment similar to those used in the clinic was successfully developed. It showed a positive correlation between severity of surgical trauma and stress response and postoperative recovery and a significant role of adequate analgesia in reducing surgical stress and improving postoperative recovery.

Effects of Roughly Focused Extracorporeal Shock Waves Therapy on the Expressions of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 and Osteoprotegerin in Osteoporotic Fracture in Rats.

BACKGROUND: Roughly focused extracorporeal shock waves therapy (ESWT) is characterized by a wide focal area, a large therapy zone, easy positioning, and less pain during treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of roughly focused ESWT on the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in osteoporotic fractures in rats. METHODS: Seventy-two female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, 3 months old, were divided into sham-operated group (n = 6) and an ovariectomized (OVX) group (n = 66). Sixty OVX SD rats were used as a model of double proximal tibial osteotomy and inner fixation. The osteotomy site in the left tibia was treated with roughly focused ESWT once at an energy density of 0.26 mJ/mm2, 60 doses/min, and 2000 pact quantities. The contralateral right tibia was left untreated and served as a control. Expression of OPG and BMP-2 in the callus of the osteoporotic fracture area was assessed using immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Western blotting analysis. RESULTS: Bone mineral density (BMD) at the proximal tibia, femur, and L5 spine was significantly reduced after ovariectomy. BMD of proximal tibia was 12.9% less in the OVX group than that in the sham-operated group. Meanwhile, bilateral oophorectomy resulted in a lower trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) in the proximal tibia of the sham-OVX animals. Three months after bilateral oophorectomy, BV/TV was 14.29% of baseline BV/TV in OVX legs versus 45.91% in the sham-OVX legs (P < 0.001). These data showed that the SD rats became a suitable model of osteoporosis, 3 months after they were OVX. Immunohistochemical analysis showed higher levels of BMP-2 and OPG expression in the treatment group than those in the control group. Compared with the contralateral controls, decreased expression of OPG and BMP-2 at 3 days after roughly focused ESWT, followed by a later increase at 7 days, was indicated by real-time PCR and Western blotting analysis. The OPG messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels peaked at 6 weeks after the shock wave treatment, paired with a much earlier (at 4 weeks) increase of BMP-2, and declined close to normal at 8 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Roughly focused ESWT may promote the expression of OPG and BMP-2 in the osteoporotic fracture area in rats. BMP-2 and OPG may act synergistically and may lead to a significant enhancement of bone formation and remodeling.

Slightly focused high-energy shockwave therapy: a potential adjuvant treatment for osteoporotic fracture.

Slightly focused high-energy shockwave (HESW) therapy is characterized by a wide focal area, a large therapy zone, easy positioning and less pain during treatment. The objective of this study was to perform for the first time an in vivo test of the slightly focused HESWs for osteoporotic fractures. Bilateral proximal tibial osteotomies were made in 30 ovariectomized (OVX) Sprague-Dawley rats and secured with internal fixation. The osteotomy site in the left tibia was subsequently treated with slightly focused HESWs with the energy flux density of 0.26 mj/mm(2), shock repetition frequency of 1 Hz and 2000 shocks (OVX + HESW group). The contralateral right tibia was not treated and served as the control (OVX group). Roentgenographic examination 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after osteotomy showed that HESW treatment accelerated tibia fracture healing in osteoporotic rats. Histological examination 2, 4, and 8 weeks after HESW treatment showed a greater inflammatory reaction in the OVX + HESW group, with more mature collagen and trabeculae than in the OVX group. Micro computer tomography (Micro-CT) scanning after 4 and 8 weeks showed that bone volume (BV), bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV), mean trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), and mean trabecular number (Tb.N) were about 45.0% and 33.1%, 18.4% and 20.1%, 38.2% and 20.9%, 26.7% and 28.4%, respectively, higher in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05); and the mean trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) was about 16.7% and 27.3% lower in the treatment group (P < 0.05). Four and eight weeks after HESW treatment, the maximum compressive callus endurance was about 72.3% and 25.5%, respectively, higher in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05). These results show that slightly focused HESW therapy has a beneficial effect on osteoporotic tibial fracture healing. Slightly focused HESWs could increase callus endurance, induce bone formation, and improve trabecular bone microarchitecture and biomechanical properties.

[Utilizing tabacco genomic DNA to construct nearly random peptide libraries].

We developed a novel method for constructing nearly random peptide library. Genomic DNAs extracted from tissue or cells of large genome species were digested with frequent cutter to produce short DNA fragments. These short fragments can be considered nearly random. Nearly random peptide libraries can be constructed by cloning the short fragments into appropriate expression vectors and transformation into host cells. Genomic DNA from one species can be digested with different restriction enzymes and ligated to different reading frames to produce several different libraries. In this study, we digested tobacco genomic DNA with two enzymes and cloned into three different reading frames to make totally six nearly random peptide libraries.

Finding potential ligands for PDZ domains by tailfit, a JAVA program.

OBJECTIVE: To deduce all potential ligands undiscovered experimentally by searching all the proteins containing same C-termini, which can bind a certain PDZ domain. METHODS: We developed a JAVA program for searching short exact sequence matches at C-terminus. According to the known C-termini, which PDZ domains recognized experimentally, Swissprot database has been searched by this program for all potential ligands. RESULTS: Some PDZ domains may have more potential ligand proteins, which are undiscovered yet experimentally. These bioinformatic results also provide clues for studying functions of hypothetical proteins and PDZ domains' protein interactions in many different organisms. CONCLUSION: The results may provide useful clues for discovering potential functions of hypothetical proteins and new functions of known proteins.