[Influences of Anthropogenic Activities on the Community Structure of N-DAMO Bacteria in the North Canal].

Stream ecosystems are the primary receivers of nutrients and organic carbon exported from terrestrial ecosystems and are profoundly influenced by the land of the surrounding landscape. Anthropogenic activities increased the nutrient and organic carbon levels in both stream and benthic biofilms, which are closely related to the differences in the N-DAMO (Nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation) bacterial communities. We studied N-DAMO bacterial communities in streams flowing through anthropogenic land in the city of Beijing. The results showed that anthropogenic activities increase the nutrient and organic carbon levels both midstream and downstream; these are closely related to the difference in the N-DAMO bacterial communities. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of the cloned 16S rRNA and pmoA sequences in the North Canal were similar to those recovered from activated sludge and wastewater. The effect of nitrogen on N-DAMO bacteria in the North Canal mainly depended on the main form of available nitrogen and the source of pollutant. Moreover, N-DAMO bacteria present downstream of the North Canal, had a more connected and modular microbial network than those present midstream, where bacterial communities with tightly connected species that were shown to be more vulnerable and sensitive to various disturbances were found.

A Novel Arylurea Fatty Acid That Targets the Mitochondrion and Depletes Cardiolipin To Promote Killing of Breast Cancer Cells.

Cancer cell mitochondria are promising anticancer drug targets because they control cell death and are structurally and functionally different from normal cell mitochondria. We synthesized arylurea fatty acids and found that the analogue 16-({[4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbamoyl}amino)hexadecanoic acid (13b) decreased proliferation and activated apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. In mechanistic studies 13b emerged as the prototype of a novel class of mitochondrion-targeted agents that deplete cardiolipin and promote cancer cell death.

[Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Source Analysis of Dissolved Organic Matter in Beiyun River].

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems has gained wide concern because of its influence on the light attenuation, nutrient availability and contaminant transport. Human activities strongly influence the DOM of rivers in different ways, including increased agricultural activities and industrial and domestic emissions. However, recent socio-economic development with rapid urban development has significantly enhanced the discharge of sewage, and has caused high loads of DOM, which in turn pose a great risk to aquatic ecosystems. To effectively guide water management for protecting aquatic ecosystem health, it is very critical to investigate the distribution and source of dissolved organic matter in urban rivers. In this study, the distribution and source analysis of DOM in Beiyun River were evaluated, where covers the most populated area with a population of 14 million, representing the most urbanized watershed of Beijing. Since the main receiving source of the river is treated and untreated wastewater in Beijing City, the water quality is highly polluted by anthropogenic inputs. However, information on DOM of Beiyun river has not been reported. Therefore, this study can not only reveal the biogeochemistry of DOM in Beiyu River, but also provide useful implications of pollution control for similar urban rivers. The fingerprint features were extracted from the Excitation-Emission Matrix Spectrum of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in 23 sampling sites of Beiyun river during November 2013. Three separate fluorescent components were identified by Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model, including two humic-like components (C1: 240, 300/385 nm; C2: 255, 350/400 nm) and one protein-like component (C3: 230, 280/340 nm). The results indicated that humic-like materials were generally the dominated component of FDOM, accounting for 76.18% of the average total fluorescence intensity. Positive relationships were found between the fluorescence intensity and the concentrations of some water quality indicators, such as total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus, indicating the same sources of these components. Thus, the migration and transformation of nitrogen & phosphorus could also influence the level of FDOM. The distribution of total fluorescence intensity showed a distinctly different spatial pattern. The fluorescence intensity decreased firstly along the upstream to midstream continuum, and then increased from the midstream to downstream. The FDOM in the upstream could be attributed to the industrial effluent and agricultural runoff inputs. Among the upstream to downstream continuum, the content of FDOM in the midstream was the lowest. Limited domestic pollution was suggested as the major source. In the downstream, the sources of FDOM could be interpreted as industrial, agricultural wastewater and livestock wastewater discharge. The relative abundance of protein-like materials was markedly increased in this area, indicating the sources of DOM was highly impacted by human activities. In addition, our study also concluded that the removal efficiency of DOM in wastewater plants is not very desirable, which implied that stronger support for DOM removal in sewage system is needed to alleviate DOM pollution and improve water quality.

Reversible luminescence switch in a photochromic metal-organic framework.

Eu(III) ions have been introduced into a photoactive viologen system to yield a polyrotaxane-like metal-organic framework, which exhibits reversible photochromism and luminescence modulation with a non-destructive readout capability in the solid state.

[Multiple-deformities with congenital cleft lip, ala nasi cleft, face horizontal cleft, accessory ear and inguinal hernia: a case report].

A 10-month-old boy suffering from a rare multiple-deformities with congenital cleft lip, ala nasi cleft, face horizontal cleft, alveolar cleft, accessory ear and inguinal hernia. All of the above-mentioned multiple-deformities have been cured by surgical operations, during which the bleeding was prevented strictly. According to the principle of asepsis, the hernial sac was ligatured firstly, the accessory ears were cut off, the ala nasi cleft, cleft lip and facial transversal cleft were repaired in turn. After the operation, the wound were completely healed up in time and the deformities were corrected.

Association of bone morphogenetic protein 4 gene polymorphisms with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in Chinese children.

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (nsCL/P) is one of the most common congenital anomalies in humans. The pathogenesis of nsCL/P involves both genetic and environmental factors. On the basis of linkage data suggesting that 14q21-24 is one of the chromosomal regions that affects nsCL/P and data locating the BMP4 gene to 14q22-23, we performed a case-control study to evaluate whether BMP4 538T/C polymorphism, resulting in an amino acid change of Val/Ala (V152A) in the polypeptide, is associated with nsCL/P in a Chinese children population. Genotypes of 184 patients with nsCL/P and 205 controls were detected using a PCR-RFLP strategy. The results showed significant differences in the genotype and allele distribution of 538T/C polymorphisms of the BMP4 gene among the cases and controls. The 538C allele carriers were associated with a significantly increased risk of nsCL/P as compared with the noncarriers (odds ratio = 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.03; p = 0.005). Hence, our results support the hypothesis that this polymorphism contributes to risk of nsCL/P, which suggests that BMP4 538T/C polymorphisms could be used as genetic susceptibility markers of nsCL/P.