Hepatocytes in a normal adult liver are derived solely from the embryonic hepatocytes

In vertebrates,body weight increases many folds as a consequence of body growth from the childhood to adulthood（e.g.,～20 folds for a mouse）.Considering the fact that the liver-to-body weight ratio（LBR）stays relatively constant within species（Weglarz and Sandgren,2000;Kan et al.,2009）,the cell number in a liver must therefore keep increasing along with the growth of an individual organism. For example, during the growth of the zebrafish from 5 days post-fertilization （dpf） to 1.5 years old, the number of liver cells increased -900 folds （Figs. 1A and S1 ）.

B7-H4 as a protective shield for pancreatic islet beta cells

Auto- and alloreactive T cells are major culprits that damage β-cells in type 1 diabetes(T1D) and islet transplantation. Current immunosuppressive drugs can alleviate immune-mediated attacks on islets. T cell co-stimulation blockade has shown great promise in autoimmunity and transplantation as it solely targets activated T cells, and therefore avoids toxicity of current immunosuppressive drugs. An attractive approach is offered by the newly-identified negative T cell cosignaling molecule B7-H4 which is expressed in normal human islets, and its expression co-localizes with insulin. A concomitant decrease in B7-H4/insulin colocalization is observed in human type 1 diabetic islets. B7-H4 may play protective roles in the pancreatic islets, preserving their function and survival. In this review we outline the protective effect of B7-H4 in the contexts of T1 D, islet cell transplantation, and potentially type 2 diabetes. Current evidence offers encouraging data regarding the role of B7-H4 in reversal of autoimmune diabetes and donor-specific islet allograft tolerance. Additionally, unique expression of B7-H4 may serve as a potential biomarker for the development of T1 D. Futurestudies should continue to focus on the islet-specific effects of B7-H4 with emphasis on mechanistic pathways in order to promote B7-H4 as a potential therapy and cure for T1 D.

货币供应量问题

美国联邦储备银行奉行货币主义政策的能力或愿望被一棘手的问题搞得错综复杂,这个已经出现的问题就是给货币供应量下定义及其计算。近年来,由于一系列原因。

Buying books in London

Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and even of books--especially paper-backs, whick are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy’proper’books, too. printed on good paper and bound between hardcovers. There are many streets in London containing shops which

Xu Zhuchu’s Ingenious Puppets

MANY people considerpuppetry is solely forchildren and has no special art connected to it,but this isbelied by the works of Xu Zhuchu,a famous puppet maker in Zhang-

Shiheng Coal-fired Power Plant An example plant for digesting & assimilating imported technology Warmly welcome cooperation from abroad for its expansion project

Shiheng Coal-fired Power Plant,situated at the foot of thefamous Taishan Mountain and about 100 km southwestof Jinan,the capital of Shandong Province,is a major power plant inShandong Provincial Grid,with a total installed capacity of 735 MW,of which:Plant A 4 medium size generating units with a total capacityof 135 MW;Plant B two subcritical pressure 300 MW generating units.

女孩运动可增信心（英文）

Girls should take part in competitive sport to build confidence and resilience1,the leader of a group of girls’s chools will argue this week.Helen Fraser,chief executive of the Girls Day School Trust2,will tell the group’s conference that sport can help girls cope with failure.All girls and not just the sporty3ones should take physical exercise,Ms Fraser will say.Research that girls are far less active than boys is worrying,she argues.

逆风飞翔

在福士汽车零部件（济南）有限公司,我们相信,在中国重型载货车（HDT）行业,总体的宏观经济趋势是需求将出现反弹,因为中央政府的刺激措施提高了基础建设方面的支出并由此带来了更多的物流活动。这种大趋势会伴随着由于国Ⅳ排放标准出台而带来的提前购车潮,但由于2014年初所表现出来的提前购买行为已经逐渐消失,因此这种影响将比较有限。

Molecular cloning,characterization and expression analysis of Sox9a and Foxl2 genes in half-smooth tongue sole(Cynoglossussemilaevis)

Two transcription factors, Sox9a and Foxl2 were cloned from half-smooth tongue sole （Cynoglossus semilaevis）. Sox9a is a new duplication of C.semilaevis Sox9 gene. The complete cDNA of Sox9a gene was 1 842 bp long coding for 487 amino acids and Foxl2 gene was 1 817 bp coding for 308 amino acids. Sox9a was expressed higher in male brain, pituitary and gonad and Foxl2 were higher in female brain, pituitary and gonad. The expression of Sox9a gene in gonads of neo-males was higher than that of normal females. Sox9a and Foxl2 were expressed higher in gastrula stage than in other stages. In the period of sex differentiation, the expression of Sox9a was first going up and then going down and Foxl2 was higher expressed at 37 dph. The highest expressions of Sox9a and Foxl2 genes occurred in nine-month and 12-month old gonad tissues, respectively. Sox9a gene was considered to have inevitable links with sex reversal, sex differentiation and cell differentiation of embryos and formation of spermatogenic ceils. Foxl2 was considered to play a role in sex differentiation, cell differentiation of embryos but not to be necessary for sex determination and sex reversal.

Development and characterization of a cell line from the embryos of half smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

A new cell line, CSEC, has been successfully established from embryos at gastrula stage of a cultured marine fish, half smooth tongue sole （Cynoglossus sernilaevis）. CSEC cells grow actively and stably more than 50 passages for over 200 d in DMEM medium supplemented with 15% FBS （fetal bovine serum）, 2.5 ng/cm^3 bFGF （basic fibroblast growth factor）, 1 ng/cm^3 LIF （leukemia inhibitory factor） and 50 mmol/dm^3 2-ME （2-mecaptoethanol）. The cells grew well in the temperature range of 24-30 ℃ and the optimal growth temperature was 24 ℃. FBS and bFGF concentrations are the two key components for CSEC cells proliferation. Chromosome analysis reveals that CSEC cells have a normal diploid karyotype with 2n=42t. The significant fluorescent signals were observed in CSEC after transfection with the GFP reporter gene, suggesting that the CSEC cell line can be used as a useful tool for transgenic and genetic manipulation studies. CSEC cells showed the cytopathic effect （CPE） after infection with lymphosystis disease virus （LCDV） in 2 d. Moreover, the LCDV particles can be observed in the cytoplasm of virus-infected cells by electron microscopy. It suggests that CSEC could be potentially used for the study of aquatic virus.

Analysis of DNA Methylation Level by Methylation-Sensitive Amplification Polymorphism in Half Smooth Tongue Sole(Cynoglossus semilaevis)Subjected to Salinity Stress

Increasingly arisen environmental constraints may contribute to heritable phenotypic variation including methylation changes,which can help the animals with development,growth and survival.In this study,we assessed the DNA methylation levels in three tissues(gonad,kidney and gill) of half smooth tongue sole under the salinity stress.The methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism(MSAP) technique was applied to illustrate the regulation of epigenetic mechanism in environmental stimuli.Fish were subjected to 15 salinity treatment for 7 and 60 days,respectively.A total of 11259 fragments were amplified with 8 pairs of selective primers.The levels of methylated DNA in different tissues of females and males without salinity stress were analyzed,which were 32.76% and 47.32% in gonad;38.13% and 37.69% in kidney;37.58% and 34.96% in gill,respectively.In addition,the significant difference was observed in gonad between females and males,indicating that discrepant regulation in gonadal development and differentiation may involve sex-related genes.Further analysis showed that total and hemi-methylation were significantly decreased under 15 salinity for 7 days,probably resulting in up-regulating salt-tolerance genes expression to adjust salt changing.With the adjustment for 60 days,total and hemi-methylation prominently went back to its normal levels to obtain equilibrium.Particularly,full methylation levels were steady along with salinity stress to maintain the stability of gene expression.Additionally,the data showed that gonads in females and gills in males were superior in adaptability.As a result,DNA methylation regulates tissue-specific epiloci,and may respond to salinity stress by regulating gene expression to maintain animal survival and activity.

Nitrogen uptake and transfer in broad bean and garlic strip intercropping systems

Utilization and transfer of nitrogen （N）in a strip intercropping system of garlic （Allium safivum L.） and broad bean （Vicia faba L.） have been investigated rarely. The objectives of this study were to quantify N uptake and utilization by intercropped broad bean and garlic and determine the magnitude of N transfer from broad bean to garlic. Field and pot trials were carried out in the Erhai Lake Basin in China using ^15N tracer applied to the soil or injected into broad bean plants. Strip intercropping of garlic and broad bean increased N absorption （47.2%） compared with sole crop broad bean （31.9%） or sole crop garlic （40.7%） and reduced soil residual N. Nearly 15% of 15N injected into petioles of broad bean intercropped with garlic was recovered in garlic at harvest, suggesting that N could be transferred from broad bean to strip intercropped garlic. The findings provide a basis for evaluating legumes＇ role in optimizing N fertilization when intercropped with non-legumes.

Changes of Soil Microbiological Characteristics After Solidago canadensis L. Invasion

The relationship between Solidago canadensis L. invasion and soil microbial communities was studied across the invasive gradients varying from 0 to 40, 80, and 100% coverage of S. canadensis. The results showed both soil microbial biomass C （Cmic） and N （Nmic） increased as the coverage of S. canadensis increased. Soil microbial quotient Cmic/Corg （microbial biomass C/organic C） tended to increase linearly with the coverage of S. canadensis. Soil basal respiration （BR） also showed a similar trend. The soil respiratory quotient qCO2 decreased with S. canadensis invasion, and remained at quite a constantly low level in the invasive soils. Sole carbon source utilization profiles analyses indicated that S. canadensis invasion tended to result in higher microbial functional diversity in the soil. Average utilization of specific substrate guilds was highest in the soil with S. canadensis monoculture. Principle component analysis of sole carbon source utilization profiles further indicated that microbial functional diversity in the soil with S. canadensis monoculture was distinctly separated from those soils in the native area and the ecotones. In conclusion, S. canadensis invasion improved soil microbial biomass, respiration and utilization of carbon sources, and decreased qCO2, thus created better soil conditions, which in turn were more conducive to the growth of S. canadensis.

Geochronological constraints on the metamorphic sole of the Semail ophiolite in the United Arab Emirates

The Semail ophiolite of Oman and the United Arab Emirates （UAE） provides the best preserved large slice of oceanic lithosphere exposed on the continental crust, and offers unique opportunities to study processes of ocean crust formation, subduction initiation and obduction. Metamorphic rocks exposed in the eastern UAE have traditionally been interpreted as a metamorphic sole to the Semail ophiolite. However, there has been some debate over the possibility that the exposures contain components of older Arabian continental crust. To help answer this question, presented here are new zircon and futile U-Pb geochronological data from various units of the metamorphic rocks. Zircon was absent in most samples. Those that yielded zircon and futile provide dominant single age populations that are 95-93 Ma, partially overlapping with the known age of oceanic crust formation （96.5-94.5 Ma）, and partially overlapping with cooling ages of the metamorphic rocks （95 90 Ma）. The data are interpreted as dating high-grade metamorphism during subduction burial of the sediments into hot mantle lithosphere, and rapid cooling during their subsequent exhumation. A few discordant zircon ages, interpreted as late Neoproterozoic and younger, represent minor detrital input from the continent. No evidence is found in favour of the existence of older Arabian continental crust within the metamorphic rocks of the UAE.

Phenotypic and genetic parameter estimation of juvenile growth and bottom color traits in half-smooth tongue sole,Cynoglossus semilaevis

Half-smooth tongue sole（Cynoglossus semilaevis） is a commercially important fish species. There were no reports about accurate genetic parameters of growth traits in C. semilaevis, despite efforts aimed at the culture of this species. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to estimate the parameters for the early growth traits（total length, body depth and body weight） of C. semilaevis based on the data obtained from 80 families. The trait of fish with pure white bottom or not（named as the trait of bottom color） was also analyzed. All the heritabilities estimated for the traits were medium, which varied from 0.210 to 0.362. Genetic correlations among growth traits were highly positive, varying from 0.913 to 0.959, indicating that selection of one of the three traits would result in correlated increase in the others. Also, genetic correlations between bottom color and growth traits were positive and varying from 0.241 to 0.353, suggesting that selection for the bottom color can be utilized to enhance the selection of growth traits. In addition, fish from the top performing 16 full-sib families were selected as broodstock, based on the above analysis and the comparison of family breeding value. This research provides an important basic material to implement selective breeding in C. semilaevis.

Establishment and characterization of an astroglial cell line derived from the brain of half-smooth tongue sole(Cynoglossus semilaevis)

An astroglial cell line was established from the brain of half smooth tongue sole （Cynoglossus semilaevis） and was designated as CSAC. CSAC shows the morphological homogeneity of epithelial cells. The cell identity was tested by the presence of glial fibrillary acidic protein （GFAP）, which was revealed by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. The cell line was optimally maintained at 24 ℃ in minimum essential medium supplemented with HEPES, antibiotics, 20% fetal bovine serum, 2- Mercaptoethanol （2-Me） and basic fibroblast growth factor. Chromosome analysis revealed that the CSAC cells maintained a normal diploid chromosome number （2n=42）. The fluorescent signals were observed in CSAC after the cells were transfected with green fluorescent protein （GFP） reporter plasmids. The CSAC cell line may serve as a valuable tool for studies on the potential functions of fish astroglial cells.

Thermal evolution of an ancient subduction interface revealed by Lue Hf garnet geochronology, Halilba■? Complex(Anatolia)

The thermal structure of subduction zones exerts a major influence on deep-seated mechanical and chemical processes controlling arc magmatism, seismicity, and global element cycles. Accretionary complexes exposed inland may comprise tectonic blocks with contrasting pressureetemperature(Pe T)histories, making it possible to investigate the dynamics and thermal evolution of former subduction interfaces. With this aim, we present new Lue Hf geochronological results for mafic rocks of the Halilbag?Complex(Anatolia) that evolved along different thermal gradients. Samples include a lawsoniteeepidote blueschist, a lawsoniteeepidote eclogite, and an epidote eclogite(all with counter-clockwise Pe T paths),a prograde lawsonite blueschist with a "hairpin"-type Pe T path, and a garnet amphibolite from the overlying sub-ophiolitic metamorphic sole. Equilibrium phase diagrams suggest that the garnet amphibolite formed at w0.6 -0.7 GPa and 800 -850℃, whereas the prograde lawsonite blueschist records burial from 2.1 GPa and 420℃ to 2.6 GPa and 520℃. Well-defined Lue Hf isochrons were obtained for the epidote eclogite(92.38 ± 0.22 Ma) and the lawsoniteeepidote blueschist(90.19 ± 0.54 Ma),suggesting rapid garnet growth. The lawsoniteeepidote eclogite(87.30 ± 0.39 Ma) and the prograde lawsonite blueschist(ca. 86 Ma) are younger, whereas the garnet amphibolite(104.5 ± 3.5 Ma) is older.Our data reveal a consistent trend of progressively decreasing geothermal gradient from granulite-facies conditions at ~104 Ma to the epidote-eclogite facies around 92 Ma, and the lawsonite blueschist-facies between 90 Ma and 86 Ma. Three Lue Hf garnet dates(between 92 Ma and 87 Ma) weighted toward the growth of post-peak rims(as indicated by Lu distribution in garnet) suggest that the HP/LT rocks were exhumed continuously and not episodically. We infer that HP/LT metamorphic rocks within the Halilbag?Complex were subjected to continuous return flow, with "warm" rocks being exhumed during the tectonic burial of "cold" ones. Our results, combined with regional geological constraints, allow us to speculate that subduction started at a transform fault near a mid-oceanic spreading centre. Following its formation, this ancient subduction interface evolved thermally over more than 15 Myr, most likely as a result of heat dissipation rather than crustal underplating.

Adding body load modifies the vibratory sensation of the foot sole and affects the postural control

Background: Heavy backpacks are often used by soldiers and firefighters. Weight carrying could reduce the speed and efficiency in task completion by altering the foot sole sensitivity and postural control.Methods: In fifteen healthy subjects, we measured the changes in sensitivity to vibrations applied to the foot sole when standing upright or walking after load carrying(30% body weight). The participants were asked to judge different vibration amplitudes applied on the 2 nd or 5 th metatarsal head and the heel at two frequencies(25 and 150 Hz) to determine the vibration threshold and the global perceptual representation(Ψ)of the vibration amplitude(Φ)given by the Stevens power function(Ψ=k×Φ~n). Any increase in negative k value indicated a reduction in sensitivity to the lowest loads. Pedobarographic measurements, with computation of the center of pressure(COP) and its deviations, were performed during weight carrying.Results: The 25-Hz vibration threshold significantly increased after weight carrying when standing upright or walking.After standing with the added loads, the absolute negative k value increased for the 25 Hz frequency. After walking with the added loads, the k coefficient increased for the two vibration frequencies. Weight carrying significantly increased both the CoP surface and CoP lateral deviation.Conclusions: Our data show that weight carrying reduces the sensory pathways from the foot sole and accentuates the center of pressure deviations.