Characterization and water activation behavior of tourmaline nanoparticles.

Tourmaline nanoparticles were prepared by using a wet mechanochemisty method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the tourmaline grain size is in the range from tens of nanometers to several hundred nanometers. Through characterization by Fourier transform infrared spectroscope, it was found that the milled tourmaline had a better far infrared emitting performance due to the increase of radiation surface area. The structure change of liquid water clusters induced by the addition of tourmaline nanoparticles was observed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results showed that the addition of tourmaline nanoparticles reduced the 17O NMR full width at half maximum intensity (FWHM) for treated water and the volume of water molecule clusters. The feature of activated water was enhanced with decreasing tourmaline nanoparticles size due to the cooperation of strong surface electric field and high far infrared emissivity. Moreover the activation time can be maintained at 480 h suggesting the potential application of tourmaline in wastewater treatment.

[Genetic relationship among four Yunnan populations revealed by sequence of mtDNA D-loop].

mtDNA D-loop noncoding region 16048-16569 and the following 1-41 (563 bp) in 99 individuals of four Yunnan ethnic minorities (Dai, Wa, Lahu and Tibetan) were sequenced and then a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed by Neighbor-Joining method. These 99 mtDNA lineages were classified into 3 genotype groups in the tree. All lineages with 9 bp deletion in the COII/tRAN(Lys) intergenic region were clustered in group I, some individuals of Dai, Lahu, Wa and only 2 Tibetan individuals clustered in group II, individuals of all four populations were included in group III. A phylogenetic tree of the four populations was constructed by NJ method on the basis of estimate of net genetic distance among them. Our results showed, the genetic distance among Dai, Wa and Lahu is very close, but far from Tibetan, their genetic distance is similar to their geographic distance. Although both as descendants of ancient Di-Qiang tribe in history and speaking similar language, Lahu and Tibetan are not closely related. This result indicates that there are different origins of these two populations.

Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms in Yunnan nationalities in China.

Nucleotide sequences of the D-loop region of human mitochondrial DNA from four Yunnan nationalities, Dai, Wa, Lahu, and Tibetan, were analyzed. Based on a comparison of 563-bp sequences in 99 people, 66 different sequence types were observed. Of these, 64 were unique to their respective populations, whereas only 2 types were shared between the Lahu and Wa nationalities. The D-loop sequence variation and phylogenetic analysis suggested that the 99 mtDNA lineages were classified into eight clusters in the phylogenetic tree. All lineages that had a 9-bp deletion in the COII/tRNALYs intergenic region appeared in one cluster in the D-loop tree, suggesting a single event of the deletion in the Yunnan nationalities studied. Genetic distances, based on net nucleotide diversities between populations including Han Chinese and mainland Japanese, revealed that the Dai, Wa, Lahu, and Han Chinese are closely related to each other, while Tibetan and mainland Japanese formed a single cluster. The bootstrap probability of separation between the Dai-Wa-Lahu-Chinese clade and the Tibetan-Japanese clade was 99%, indicating that there are at least two different origins among minority groups in Yunnan province. Although the genetic distance between Tibetan and Japanese within the clade is rather long, the results may shed light on the origins of mainland Japanese.