The dipeptide dl-methionyl-dl-methionine (Met-Met) has extremely low water solubility and better absorption than other methionine sources (such as dl-methionine and l-methionine) available in the market. Therefore, six diets (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6) containing 0, 0·07, 0·15, 0·21, 0·28 and 0·38 % Met-Met were formulated to investigate the effects of Met-Met in juvenile Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (17 g initial body weight). The results indicated that percentage weight gain and specific growth rate of fish fed with D2 and D3 diets were higher than those fed with D1, D4–D6 diets. The levels of total essential amino acid in whole body of fish fed with D3 and D4 diets were significantly higher than those fed the D1 diet. Superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde content have no significant difference in fish fed the diet with or without Met-Met supplementation. Majority of reads derived from the fish intestine belonged to members of Fusobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Diversity of intestinal microbiota and total antioxidant capacity in fish fed with D3 diet was significantly higher than that of other groups. Based on the growth results, the authors conclude that the optimal level of Met is 0·61 % Met with the addition of 0·15 % Met-Met for grower-phase O. niloticus.

Novel composite materials with wide pores were synthesized by an in situ technique using kaolin, palygorskite and pseudoboehmite as raw materials. The characterization results indicated that the synthesis components and conditions influenced the micro-, meso- and macro-porosity of the composite materials. The composites contained 53.5% zeolite Y and had much larger specific surface areas and pore volumes as well as significant hydrothermal stability. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts were prepared based on the composite materials. The results indicated that the as-prepared catalysts possessed a unique pore structure which assisted in diffusion-controlled reactions. In addition, the attrition resistance, activity and hydrothermal stability of the catalyst studied were superior to those of a reference catalyst. The catalyst studied also exhibited excellent nickel and vanadium passivation performance, strong ‘bottoms upgrading’ selectivity and better gasoline and coke selectivity.

The volatile compounds of crofton weed infested by cotton aphids and sprayed with MeJA were collected and analyzed by the TCT-GC/MS technique. The healthy weeds were controls. Seventeen volatiles identified from crofton weed included green leaf odors, monoterpenes and sequiterpenes, and oxo-compounds. Camphene, 2-carene, α-phellandrene, ρ-cymene, and caryophyllene were the major volatiles and constituted about 77% of the total volatile emissions from the control. In the aphid-infested weeds, no new induced component was found. Among the terpenes, ρ-cymene increased markedly in the infested weeds compared with the control, whereas all sesquiterpenes decreased markedly. Levels of endogenous JA in leaves and young stems of the aphid-infested weeds were markedly higher than in the control, whereas both endogenous SA level and ABA level were not significantly different. MeJA sprayed on crofton weed with the aphid infestation had a similar effect on volatile emissions. It is suggested that JA was one of the most important signals in crofton weed and could regulate the emission of volatile compounds.

Few studies have explored the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Evidence from non-Western areas is particularly lacking. In the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of GDM in a Chinese population. A total of 3063 pregnant Chinese women from an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. Data on dietary intake were collected using a FFQ at 24–27 weeks of gestation. GDM was diagnosed using a 75 g, 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. Dietary patterns were determined by principal components factor analysis. A log-binomial regression model was used to examine the associations between dietary pattern and the risk of GDM. The analysis identified four dietary patterns: vegetable pattern; protein-rich pattern; prudent pattern; sweets and seafood pattern. Multivariate analysis showed that the highest tertile of the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM (relative risk (RR) 0·79, 95 % CI 0·64, 0·97), compared with the lowest tertile, whereas the highest tertile of the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM (RR 1·23, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·49). No significant association was found for either the protein-rich or the prudent pattern. The protective effect of a high vegetable pattern score was more evident among women who had a family history of diabetes (P for interaction = 0·022). These findings suggest that the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM, while the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM. These findings may be useful in dietary counselling during pregnancy.

The Chehugou granite-hosted molybdenum deposit is typical of the Xilamulun metallogenic belt, which is an important Mo–Ag–Pb–Zn producer in China. A combination of major and trace element, Sr and Nd isotope, and zircon U–Pb isotopic data are reported for the Chehugou batholith to constrain its petrogenesis and Mo mineralization. The zircon SIMS U–Pb dating yields mean ages of 384.7 ± 4.0 Ma and 373.1 ± 5.9 Ma for monzogranite and syenogranite and 265.6 ± 3.5 Ma and 245.1 ± 4.4 Ma for syenogranite porphyry and granite porphyry, respectively. The Devonian granites are calc-alkaline with K2O/Na2O ratios of 0.44–0.52, the Permian granites are alkali-calcic with K2O/Na2O ratios of 1.13–1.25, and the Triassic granites are calc-alkaline and alkali-calcic rocks with K2O/Na2O ratios of 0.78–1.63. They are all enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and depleted in high-field-strength elements (HFSEs) with negative Nb and Ta anomalies in primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagrams. They have relatively high Sr (189–1256 ppm) and low Y (3.87–5.43 ppm) concentrations. The Devonian granites have relatively high initial Sr isotope ratios of 0.7100–0.7126, negative ɛNd(t) values of −12.3 to −12.4 and 206Pb/204Pb ratios of 16.46–17.50. In contrast, the Permian and Triassic granitoids have relatively low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7048–0.7074), negative ɛNd(t) values of −10.1 to −13.1 and 206Pb/204Pb ratios of 17.23–17.51. These geochemical features suggest that the Devonian, Permian and Triassic Chehugou granitoids were derived from ancient, garnet-bearing crustal rocks related to subduction of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean and subsequent continent–continent collision between the North China and Siberian plates.

There is increasing evidence to show that 2-cell stage mouse blastomeres have differing developmental properties. Additionally, it has been suggested that such a difference might be due to their distribution of mRNA and/or protein asymmetry. However, to date, the exact genes that are involved in the orientation and order of blastomere division are not known. In this study, some differentially expressed transcripts were identified. Axin1, cell division cycle 25 homolog C (Cdc25c) and cyclin-dependent inhibitor 2D (Cdkn2d) were selected for validation by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on published data. Our real-time PCR results demonstrated that Axin1, Cdc25c and Cdkn2d genes had different levels of expression among blastomeres of the mouse 2-cell embryo i.e. the level of Axin1 mRNA was significantly higher in one blastomere when compared with the other blastomeres of the 2-cell embryo (p < 0.05). The variation in Cdc25c (p < 0.05) and Cdkn2d (p < 0.01) mRNA expression followed a similar trend to that of Axin1. In addition, the highest levels of expression of these three genes were detected in the same blastomere in the 2-cell embryo. We confirmed that there was an asymmetrical distribution pattern for Axin1, Cdc25c and Cdkn2d transcripts in 2-cell embryos. In conclusion, this study demonstrated clearly that there is embryonic asymmetry at the 2-cell stage and that these differentially expressed genes may result in differentiation in expression in embryo development.

To increase our understanding of the relationships of trunk fat mass (FMtrunk) and four anthropometric indices in Chinese males, 1090 males aged 20–40 years were randomly recruited from the city of Changsha, China. Waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured using standardized equipment, and three other anthropometric indices of BMI, waist:hip ratio (WHR) and conicity index (CoI) were calculated using weight, height, HC and WC. FMtrunk (in kg) was measured using a Hologic QDR 4500 W dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanner. There was an increasing trend of FMtrunk, %FMtrunk (percentage of FMtrunk) and BMI, WC, WHR, CoI in successively older age groups (e.g. the mean FMtrunk values were 4·63 (sd 2·58), 5·39 (sd 2·74), 5·93 (sd 2·82), 6·57 (sd 2·94) in four 5-year age groups, respectively). FMtrunk and %FMtrunk were significantly correlated with four anthropometric indices with the Pearson's correlation coefficients ranging from 0·25 to 0·86. Principal component analysis was performed to form three principal components that interpreted over 99·5% of the total variation of four related anthropometric indices in all age groups, with over 65% of the total variation accounted by principal component 1. Multiple regression analyses showed that three principal components explained a greater variance (R2 70·0–80·1%) in FMtrunk than did BMI or WC alone (R2 57·8–74·1%). The present results suggest that there is an increasing trend of FMtrunk and four anthropometric indices in successively older age groups; that age has important effects on the relationships of FMtrunk and studied anthropometric indices; and that the accuracy of predicting FMtrunk using four anthropometric indices is higher than using BMI or WC alone.

A facile, surfactant-assisted, hydrothermal approach has been developed to synthesize lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods with smooth surface, uniform diameter, and good crystallinity. The surfactant Pluronic P123 was found to play a crucial role on the uniform morphology of lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods. Photoluminescence spectra of the lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods show that these nanowires/nanorods have strong photoluminescent emissions in the ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared regions. The present work is a preliminary and significant step toward the potential luminescent and catalytic applications of lanthanide compound based one-dimensional nanostructures.