Computational identification of transcription factor binding sites is an important research area of computational biology. Positional weight matrix (PWM) is a model to describe the sequence pattern of binding sites. Usually, transcription factor binding sites prediction methods based on PWMs require user-defined thresholds. The arbitrary threshold and also the relatively low specificity of the algorithm prevent the result of such an analysis from being properly interpreted. In this study, a method was developed to identify over-represented cis-elements with PWM-based similarity scores. Three sets of closely related promoters were analyzed, and only over- represented motifs with high PWM similarity scores were reported. The thresholds to evaluate the similarity scores to the PWMs of putative transcription factors binding sites can also be automatically determined during the analysis, which can also be used in further research with the same PWMs. The online program is available on the website: http://www.bioinfo.tsinghua.edu.cn/- zhengjsh/OTFBS/.

Summary Solar thermal power generation technology has great significance to alleviate global energy shortage and improve the environment. Solar energy must be stored to provide a continuous supply because of the intermittent and instability nature of solar energy. Thermochemical storage (TCS) is very attractive for high‐temperature heat storage in the solar power generation because of its high energy density and negligible heat loss. To further understand and develop TCS systems, comprehensive analyses and studies are very necessary. The basic principle and main components of a solar TCS system are described in this paper. Besides, recent progress and existing problems of several promising reaction systems are introduced. Further research directions are pointed out considering the technical, economic, and environmental issues that existed in the wide application of TCS. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ZnO thin films with various thicknesses were prepared onto glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The crystallinity, microstructure and surface morphology of ZnO thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). As the thickness of the films increased, the grain size and the surface roughness increased as well the tensile stress decreased. Also, to study the optical-electrical properties of the films, we tested the carrier concentration, mobility, resistivity, impedance spectroscopy and optical transmission spectra. The results showed that the carrier concentration gradually increased as the thickness increased from 20 to 106 nm, thereafter decreased as the thickness further increased to 216 nm. The main contribution to the conduction of the films with thickness from 20 to 106 nm gradually converted from grain boundaries to grains, and converted into grain boundaries again for the films with a thickness of 216 nm. As the thickness of the films decreased, it was found that the blue shift of absorption edge of optical transmission spectra. Effects of the thicknesses on the optical and electrical properties for ZnO films were related to their grain size, stress and carrier concentration.

Cancer as a large group of complex diseases is believed to result from the interactions of numerous genetic and environmental factors but may develop in people without any known genetic or environmental risks, suggesting the existence of other powerful factors to influence the carcinogenesis process. Much attention has been focused recently on particular members of the intestinal microbiota for their potential roles in promoting carcinogenesis. Here we report the identification and characterization of intestinal bacteria that exhibited potent anti-malignancy activities on a broad range of solid cancers and leukemia. We collected fecal specimens from healthy individuals of different age groups (preschool children and university students), inspected their effects on cancer cells, and obtained bacteria with potent anti-malignancy activities. The bacteria mostly belonged to Actinobacteria but also included lineages of other phyla such as Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. In animal cancer models, sterile culture supernatant from the bacteria highly effectively inhibited tumor growth. Remarkably, intra-tumor administration of the bacterial products prevented metastasis and even cleared cancer cells at remote locations from the tumor site. This work demonstrates the prevalent existence of potent malignancy-killers in the human intestinal microbiota, which may routinely clear malignant cells from the body before they form cancers.

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Background Dairy cows utilize human-inedible, low-value plant biomass to produce milk, a low-cost product with rich nutrients and high proteins. This process largely relies on rumen microbes that ferment lignocellulose and cellulose to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The VFAs are absorbed and partly metabolized by the stratified squamous rumen epithelium, which is mediated by diverse cell types. Here, we applied a metagenomic binning approach to explore the individual microbes involved in fiber digestion and performed single-cell RNA sequencing on rumen epithelial cells to investigate the cell subtypes contributing to VFA absorption and metabolism. Results The 52 mid-lactating dairy cows in our study (parity = 2.62 ± 0.91) had milk yield of 33.10 ± 6.72 kg. We determined the fiber digestion and fermentation capacities of 186 bacterial genomes using metagenomic binning and identified specific bacterial genomes with strong cellulose/xylan/pectin degradation capabilities that were highly associated with the biosynthesis of VFAs. Furthermore, we constructed a rumen epithelial single-cell map consisting of 18 rumen epithelial cell subtypes based on the transcriptome of 20,728 individual epithelial cells. A systematic survey of the expression profiles of genes encoding candidates for VFA transporters revealed that IGFBP5+ cg-like spinous cells uniquely highly expressed SLC16A1 and SLC4A9, suggesting that this cell type may play important roles in VFA absorption. Potential cross-talk between the microbiome and host cells and their roles in modulating the expression of key genes in the key rumen epithelial cell subtypes were also identified. Conclusions We discovered the key individual microbial genomes and epithelial cell subtypes involved in fiber digestion, VFA uptake and metabolism, respectively, in the rumen. The integration of these data enables us to link microbial genomes and epithelial single cells to the trophic system.

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The objective of current study was to investigate the effect of N-acetyl-l-methionine (NALM) supplementation on lactation performance and plasma variables in mid-lactating dairy cows. Forty-eight multiparous cows were blocked into 12 groups based on parity, days in milk, and milk production and were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 treatments: 0, 15, 30, or 60 g/d of NALM per cow to supplement the basal diet. The experiment was conducted over a 13-wk period, with the first week as adaptation. The yields of milk, fat-corrected milk, and milk lactose were increased quadratically, and energy-corrected milk yield tended to increase with increased NALM supplementation in a quadratic manner. The dry matter intake, milk protein yield, milk fat yield, contents of milk composition (protein, fat, lactose, total solids, and milk urea nitrogen), feed efficiency, and body weight change were not affected by NALM supplementation. In addition, plasma methionine concentration was increased quadratically, and proline, total nonessential AA, and total AA concentrations were significantly higher in the 30 g/d group compared with that of the control group. However, other AA and total essential AA concentrations were not affected with supplementation of NALM. Adding NALM increased concentrations of total protein and globulin in plasma, but decreased plasma urea nitrogen concentration in a quadratic manner. Meanwhile, plasma malonaldehyde concentration decreased linearly as doses of NALM addition increased. Our results suggested that the supplementation of NALM improved milk yield and protein synthesis in the liver, and lowered lipid peroxidation in mid-lactating dairy cows.