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Plant nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content regulate productivity and carbon (C) sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. Estimates of the allocation of N and P content in plant tissues and the relationship between nutrient content and photosynthetic capacity are critical to predicting future ecosystem C sequestration under global change. In this study, by investigating the nutrient concentrations of plant leaves, stems, and roots across China's terrestrial biomes, we document large-scale patterns of community-level concentrations of C, N, and P. We also examine the possible correlation between nutrient content and plant production as indicated by vegetation gross primary productivity (GPP). The nationally averaged community concentrations of C, N, and P were 436.8, 14.14, and 1.11 mg·g for leaves; 448.3, 3.04 and 0.31 mg·g for stems; and 418.2, 4.85, and 0.47 mg·g for roots, respectively. The nationally averaged leaf N and P productivity was 249.5 g C GPP·g N·y and 3,157.9 g C GPP·g P·y, respectively. The N and P concentrations in stems and roots were generally more sensitive to the abiotic environment than those in leaves. There were strong power-law relationships between N (or P) content in different tissues for all biomes, which were closely coupled with vegetation GPP. These findings not only provide key parameters to develop empirical models to scale the responses of plants to global change from a single tissue to the whole community but also offer large-scale evidence of biome-dependent regulation of C sequestration by nutrients.

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Body mass is fundamental for understanding growth, health, and aspects of life history but records of body mass are rarely available for wild primates. We documented the body mass of all individuals in a group of wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) at annual intervals for seven consecutive years. Sexual dimorphism in body mass was more pronounced than reported in the literature for adults in this genus: females in our sample were relatively light (average 2.1 kg), while males had average body mass (3.5 kg). Three other notable differences between males and females were evident. First, males grew more rapidly and for a longer period than females. We estimate that males attained full body mass at 9.8 years of age and females at 7.5 years. Second, males showed greater inter-individual variability than females in growth rates and adult mass. Third, males gained about 20% above their baseline body mass upon becoming alpha, and lost that amount when they lost that status, but body mass in females was unrelated to social status. We also report preliminary data on mass and age of natal males at dispersal and mass and age at first reproduction for one female. The pattern of sexual dimorphism in ontogeny and inter-individual variability in body mass in bearded capuchins suggests different competitive risks in the two sexes commensurate with a mating system characterized by female choice of mates in multi-male, multi-female groups. Am. J. Primatol. 78:473-484, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Grapes are widely used in the wine and juice industries, which can lead to massive amounts of waste, mostly grape peels and seeds. The antioxidant capacities, total phenolic and flavonoid contents and phenolic profiles of peels and seeds from 30 grape varieties were systemically assessed. The antioxidant activities of fat-soluble, water-soluble and insoluble-bound fractions of grape peels and seeds were evaluated using ferric-reducing antioxidant power and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assays, and their total phenolic contents and total flavonoid contents were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and AlCl3 colorimetry, respectively. It was found that the antioxidant capacities were diverse among different grape peels and seeds. Moreover, several phenolic compounds were identified and quantified, including gallic acid, cyanidin-3-glucoside, epicatechin, catechin gallate, ferulaic acid, rutin and resveratrol, which could contribute to the antioxidant capacities of these grape peels and seeds. Several grape wastes with strong antioxidant activity could be abundant sources of natural bioactive compounds, and have the potential for development into functional foods, food additives and pharmaceuticals.

To investigated the role of microRNA (miRNA) let-7 and its regulation on high mobility group A2 (HMGA2) protein expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Let-7 expressions were detected in esophageal cancer cell line Eca109, and 45 paired of fresh ESCC and normal adjacent tissues (NAT) by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). To evaluate the role of let-7 and HMGA2, cell proliferations were analyzed with synthetic let-7 mimics- or its inhibitor-transfected cells. Moreover, expressions of HMGA2 were performed by western blotting and further confirmed by 150 paired of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embeded (FFPE) ESCC and NAT by immunohistochemistry (IHC). In Eca109, when transfected with let-7 mimics, accumulation of let-7 was obviously suppressed cell proliferation with approximately 14%. Conversely, when Eca109 transfected with let-7 inhibitor, expression of let-7 was declined, which promoted cell proliferation with approximately 16%. Both of them had no effect on the level of HMGA2 mRNA. The transcription of let-7 inversely correlated with HMGA2 protein. Compared with the NAT, expression of let-7 was significantly lower in ESCC tissues (P < 0.05), and there was a significant correlation between low expression of let-7 and lymph node metastasis in ESCC (P < 0.05). Moreover, the protein expression of HMGA2 was significantly higher in ESCC compared with NAT (P < 0.05). However, mRNA expression of HMGA2 had no obvious significance between them. The present results demonstrated that let-7 and HMGA2 involved in ESCC carcinogenesis. Let-7 could inhibit cell proliferation and lower expressed in ESCC, and there was a correlation between let-7 lower expression and lymph node metastasis in ESCC patients. As well as, HMGA2 protein expression was significantly higher in ESCC than that in NAT, and HMGA2 may negatively regulated by let-7 at the post- transcriptional level in ESCC.

The Objective is to identify candidate biomarkers for Squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in three ethnics in Xinjiang as well as reveal molecular mechanism. Proteins from 15 pairs of ESCC and matching adjacent normal esophageal tissues (five pairs in each ethnic of Kazakh, Uygur and Han) were separated by 2-DE and differentially proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS. After identified by Mascot database, some of interesting proteins were confirmed in the other 175 pairs of ESCC by immuno histochemistry. Comparison of patterns revealed 20 proteins significantly changed, of which 12 protein with concordantly increased, such as ACTB protein, COMT protein, Syntaxin binding protein Pyruvate Kinase (PKM2), Cathepsin D, Chromosome 1 open reading frame 8, Heat shock protein 27, Cdc42, Proteosome, LLDBP, Immunoglobulin, TNF receptor associated factor 7; and eight protein spots with concordantly decreased intensity in ESCC, such as Adenylate kinase 1, General transcription factor II H, Smooth muscle protein, Trangelin, Early endosome antigen 1, Annexin A2, Fibrin beta, Tropomyosin. There were a significant difference in protein overexpression of PKM2 (74.9%) and Cathepsin D (85.1%) in ESCC compared to adjacent tissues (P < 0.05) by immunohistochemistry. Further, overexpression of Cathepsin D was obvious difference in Hazakh ESCC (94.7%) than that in Uygur (78.6%) (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the overexpression of Cathepsin D was reversely associated with ESCC differentiation (P < 0.05). Twenty proteins differentially-expressed between ESCC and normal tissues were identified. Cathepsin D and PKM2 were for the first time observed to be dysregulated in Kazakh's ESCC. Moreover, Cathepsin D may play a complicated role both in carcinogenesis and cell-differentiation of ESCC.