Search Results
You are looking at 21 - 27 of 27 items for
- Author or Editor: M. Wei x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
We report on the room temperature ferromagnetism observed in heat treated nanocrystalline diamonds. By systematic annealing of nanocrystalline diamond, graphitic nanoclusters having finite magnetization with well-defined hysteresis and coercivity, and a Curie temperature (TC) well above 400 K (estimated TC ~ 590 K), were synthesized. Using detailed analysis of the structural modification at various annealing stages, with Raman Spectroscopy and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, we show that the carbon bonding configuration has important consequence to the observed magnetism in these samples. These findings could lead to controlled fabrication of metal free magnetic carbon system.
Patrinia scabra Bunge has long been used in clinic as a traditional Chinese medicine for treating leukemia and cancer and regulating host immune response. Despite their wide use in China, no report on system analysis on their chemical constituents is available so far. The current study was designed to profile the fingerprint of ethyl acetate extract of it, and in addition, to characterize the major fingerprint peaks and determine their quantity. Therefore, a detailed gradient high-performance liquid chromatography was described to separate more than 30 compounds with satisfactory resolution in P. scabra Bunge. Based on the chromatograms of 10 batches samples, a typical high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) fingerprint was established with 23 chromatographic peaks being assigned as common fingerprint peaks. Furthermore, a quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF/MS) was coupled for the characterization of major compound. As (+)-nortrachelogenin was the most predominant compound in P. scabra Bunge, the quantification on it was also carried out with the method being validated. As a result, (+)-nortrachelogenin was found to be from 1.33 to 2.21 mg g−1 in this plant material. This rapid and effective analytical method could be employed for quality assessment of P. scabra Bunge, as well as pharmaceutical products containing this herbal material.
Aegilops sharonensis (Sharon goatgrass) is a valuable source of novel high molecular weight glutenin subunits, resistance to wheat rust, powdery mildew, and insect pests. In this study, we successfully hybridized Ae. sharonensis as the pollen parent to common wheat and obtained backcross derivatives. F1 intergeneric hybrids were verified using morphological observation and cytological and molecular analyses. The phenotypes of the hybrid plants were intermediate between Ae. sharonensis and common wheat. Observations of mitosis in root tip cells and meiosis in pollen mother cells revealed that the F1 hybrids possessed 28 chromosomes. Chromosome pairing at metaphase I of the pollen mother cells in the F1 hybrid plants was low, and the meiotic configuration was 25.94 I + 1.03 II (rod). Two pairs of primers were screened out from 150 simple sequence repeat markers, and primer WMC634 was used to identified the presence of the genome of Ae. sharonensis. Sequencing results showed that the F1 hybrids contained the Ssh genome of Ae. sharonensis. The sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profile showed that the alien high molecular weight glutenin subunits of Ae. sharonensis were transferred into the F1 and backcross derivatives. The new wheat-Ae. sharonensis derivatives that we have produced will be valuable for increasing resistance to various diseases of wheat and for improving the quality of bread wheat.
Among 20 awnless Tibetan wheat cultivars analyzed by SDS-PAGE, the migration rate of an HMW-GS in XM001584 and XM001593, named 1BX23*. was shown to be slightly faster than 1Bx6. and slower than Bx7. Its nucleotide sequence was isolated based on homology clones. In a phylogenetic tree of 1Bx genes, 1Bx23* was apparently clustered with 1Bx23. Compared with 1Bx23. eight single nucleotide replacements caused four single amino acid replacements in 1Bx23*. The deletion of “G” at base pair 1463 and insertion of “A” at 1509 bps induced a 42-nucleotide frame shift. “GQRQQAGQWQRPGQ” was replaced by “DKGNRQDNGNDRDK”. The new segment cannot be found in other HMW-GSs, and it is very similar to a segment found in collagen. Moreover, an 18-nucleotide deletion made 1Bx23* six amino acids shorter than 1Bx23. The cultivar XM001593 had 28 chromosomes, which signifies that it was tetraploid wheat, and that the new HMW-GS 1Bx23* cannot be used directly for breeding in common wheat.
To study the development of starch granules in polyploid wheats, we investigated the expression of starch synthetic genes between the synthetic hexaploid wheat SHW-L1, its parents T. turgidum AS2255 and diploid Ae. tauschii AS60. The synthetic hexaploid wheat SHW-L1 showed significantly higher starch content and grain weight than its parents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that SHW-L1 rapidly developed starch granules than AS2255 and AS60. The amount of B-type granule in AS60 was less than that in SHW-L1 and AS2255. RT-qPCR result showed that the starch synthetic genes AGPLSU1, AGPLSU2, AGPSSU1, AGPSSU2, GBSSI, SSIII, PHO1 and PHO2 expressed at earlier stages with larger quantity in SHW-L1 than in its parents during wheat grain development. The expression of the above mentioned genes in AS60 was slower than in SHW-L1 and AS2255. The expression pattern of starch synthase genes was also associated with the grain weight and starch content in all three genotypes. The results suggested that the synthetic hexaploid wheat inherited the pattern of starch granule development and starch synthase gene expression from tetraploid parent. The results suggest that tetraploid wheat could plays more important role for starch quality improvement in hexaploid wheat.
Online gaming has greatly increased in popularity in recent years, and with this has come a multiplicity of problems due to excessive involvement in gaming. Gaming disorder, both online and offline, has been defined for the first time in the draft of 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). National surveys have shown prevalence rates of gaming disorder/addiction of 10%–15% among young people in several Asian countries and of 1%–10% in their counterparts in some Western countries. Several diseases related to excessive gaming are now recognized, and clinics are being established to respond to individual, family, and community concerns, but many cases remain hidden. Gaming disorder shares many features with addictions due to psychoactive substances and with gambling disorder, and functional neuroimaging shows that similar areas of the brain are activated. Governments and health agencies worldwide are seeking for the effects of online gaming to be addressed, and for preventive approaches to be developed. Central to this effort is a need to delineate the nature of the problem, which is the purpose of the definitions in the draft of ICD-11.
Including gaming disorder in the ICD-11: The need to do so from a clinical and public health perspective
Commentary on: A weak scientific basis for gaming disorder: Let us err on the side of caution (van Rooij et al., 2018)
The proposed introduction of gaming disorder (GD) in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) has led to a lively debate over the past year. Besides the broad support for the decision in the academic press, a recent publication by van Rooij et al. (2018) repeated the criticism raised against the inclusion of GD in ICD-11 by Aarseth et al. (2017). We argue that this group of researchers fails to recognize the clinical and public health considerations, which support the WHO perspective. It is important to recognize a range of biases that may influence this debate; in particular, the gaming industry may wish to diminish its responsibility by claiming that GD is not a public health problem, a position which maybe supported by arguments from scholars based in media psychology, computer games research, communication science, and related disciplines. However, just as with any other disease or disorder in the ICD-11, the decision whether or not to include GD is based on clinical evidence and public health needs. Therefore, we reiterate our conclusion that including GD reflects the essence of the ICD and will facilitate treatment and prevention for those who need it.
