Molecular systematics of medusae in the genus Craspedacusta (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Limnomedusae) in China with the reference to the identity of species

The objective of this study was to illustrate the phylogenetic relationship of the species in the genus Craspedacusta in China. The medusae samples were collected at 28 localities in China representing seven described species with their entire ITS region (the contiguous sequences of ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 rDNA) rDNA sequences cloned. Among the 28 samples, the range of sequence variation in the complete ITS and 5.8S region was between 0 and 36.2%. Three main clades were revealed by both maximum likelihood and neighbour-joining trees, with sequence difference of 0-0.9, 0-3.7 and 0.1-1.5% in the three clades. The nesting of C. xinyangensis representatives within C. sowerbii, C. brevinema within C. sinensis and C. sichuanensis within C. kiatingi is strongly supported, with interspecific sequence divergence of 0-0.9, 0.1-1.4 and 0.0-0.4%, respectively. Thus, it is suggested that C. xinyangensis should be the synonym of C. sowerbii, C. sichuanensis the synonym of C. kiatingi and C. brevinema the synonym of C. sinensis. However, the taxonomic status of C. ziguiensis is still uncertain. According to the tree topology, C. kiatingi was closer to C. sowerbii than to C. sinensis. Craspedacusta sinensis was the most genetically distinct from distance matrix values, and located at the base of the phylogenetic trees, so it can be speculated that the C. sinensis may be the ancestral form in the genus Craspedacusta.

A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes

Eco-innovations, eco-efficiency and corporate social responsibility practices define much of the current industrial sustainability agenda. While important, they are insufficient in themselves to deliver the holistic changes necessary to achieve long-term social and environmental sustainability. How can we encourage corporate innovation that significantly changes the way companies operate to ensure greater sustainability? Sustainable business models (SBM) incorporate a triple bottom line approach and consider a wide range of stakeholder interests, including environment and society. They are important in driving and implementing corporate innovation for sustainability, can help embed sustainability into business purpose and processes, and serve as a key driver of competitive advantage. Many innovative approaches may contribute to delivering sustainability through business models, but have not been collated under a unifying theme of business model innovation. The literature and business practice review has identified a wide range of examples of mechanisms and solutions that can contribute to business model innovation for sustainability. The examples were collated and analysed to identify defining patterns and attributes that might facilitate categorisation. Sustainable business model archetypes are introduced to describe groupings of mechanisms and solutions that may contribute to building up the business model for sustainability. The aim of these archetypes is to develop a common language that can be used to accelerate the development of sustainable business models in research and practice. The archetypes are: Maximise material and energy efficiency; Create value from 'waste'; Substitute with renewables and natural processes; Deliver functionality rather than ownership; Adopt a stewardship role; Encourage sufficiency; Re-purpose the business for society/environment; and Develop scale-up solutions. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Construction of cytoplasmic molecular markers distinguishing Danio rerio from Gobiocypris rarus at high identity domains based on MP-PCR strategy and Sybr Green I detection

To distinguish the cytoplasm of Danio rerio from that of Gobiocypris rarus, we cloned G. rarus COXI and constructed cytoplasmic molecular markers at the high identity domains of COXI by mutated primer PCR (MP-PCR for short). Then Sybr Green I was used to detect the single amplicon. As a result, we succeeded in getting the cytoplasmic molecular markers, G.M COXI and Z.M COXI, by MP-PCR strategy. They were used to detect the sperm-derived mtDNA in the sexual hybrid embryos (D. rerio female x G. rarus male) before the sphere stage. In the present study, all results demonstrate that MP-PCR approach and Sybr Green I detection are feasible to construct the molecular markers to identify genes that shared high identity.

Heavy metals in plants and phytoremediation - A state-of-the-art report with special reference to literature published in Chinese journals

Goal, Scope and Background. In some cases, soil, water and food are heavily polluted by heavy metals in China. To use plants to remediate heavy metal pollution would be an effective technique in pollution control. The accumulation of heavy metals in plants and the role of plants in removing pollutants should be understood in order to implement phytoremediation, which makes use of plants to extract, transfer and stabilize heavy metals from soil and water. Methods. The information has been compiled from Chinese publications stemming mostly from the last decade, to show the research results on heavy metals in plants and the role of plants in controlling heavy metal pollution, and to provide a general outlook of phytoremediation in China. Related references from scientific journals and university journals are searched and summarized in sections concerning the accumulation of heavy metals in plants, plants for heavy metal purification and phytoremediation techniques. Results and Discussion. Plants can take up heavy metals by their roots, or even via their stems and leaves, and accumulate them in their organs. Plants take up elements selectively. Accumulation and distribution of heavy metals in the plant depends on the plant species, element species, chemical and bioavailiability, redox, pH, cation exchange capacity, dissolved oxygen, temperature and secretion of roots. Plants are employed in the decontamination of heavy metals from polluted water and have demonstrated high performances in treating mineral tailing water and industrial effluents. The purification capacity of heavy metals by plants are affected by several factors, such as the concentration of the heavy metals, species of elements, plant species, exposure duration, temperature and pH. Conclusions. Phytoremediation, which makes use of vegetation to remove, detoxify, or stabilize persistent pollutants, is a green and environmentally-friendly tool for cleaning polluted soil and water. The advantage of high biomass productive and easy disposal makes plants most useful to remediate heavy metals on site. Recommendations and Outlook. Based on knowledge of the heavy metal accumulation in plants, it is possible to select those species of crops and pasturage herbs, which accumulate fewer heavy metals, for food cultivation and fodder for animals; and to select those hyperaccumulation species for extracting heavy metals from soil and water. Studies on the mechanisms and application of hyperaccumulation are necessary in China for developing phytoremediation.

identity based threshold proxy signature

IEEE Computer Society

BRST quantization and canonical Ward identity of the supersymmetric electromagnetic interaction system

According to the method of path integral quantization for the canonical constrained system in Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin scheme, the supersymmetric electromagnetic interaction system was quantized. Both the Hamiltonian of the supersymmetric electromagnetic interaction system in phase space and the quantization procedure were simplified. The BRST generator was constructed, and the BRST transformations of supersymmetric fields were gotten; the effective action was calculated, and the generating functional for the Green function was achieved; also, the gauge generator was constructed, and the gauge transformation of the system was obtained. Finally, the Ward-Takahashi identities based on the canonical Noether theorem were calculated, and two relations between proper vertices and propagators were obtained.

Structure and identity of 4,4 '-thiobisbenzenethiol self-assembled monolayers

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4,4'-thiobisbenzenethiol (TBBT) can be formed on Au surface spontaneously. The structural characteristics and adsorption behavior of TBBT SAMs on Au have been investigated by surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV), ac impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is demonstrated that TBBT adsorbed on Au by losing a H atom, forming one Au-S bond, and the other mercapto group is free at the surface of the monolayer owing to the presence of the nu(S-H) at 2513 cm(-1) and the delta(C-S-H) at 910 cm(-1) in SERS. The enhancement of the vibration of C-S (1064 cm(-1)), the aromatic C-H vibration (3044 cm(-1)), and the absence of the vibration of S-S illustrate TBBT adsorbed on Au forming a monolayer with one benzene ring tilted with respect to the Au surface. The interpretation of the observed frequencies is aided by ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations at the HF/6-31G* level of theory. Electrochemical CV and EIS indicate TBBT monolayers can passivate the Au effectively for its low ratio of pinhole defects (theta = 99.6%). AFM studies give details about the surface morphology. The applications of TBBT SAMs have been extensively investigated by exposure of Cu2+ ion to TBBT SAMs on Au and covalent adsorption of metal nanoparticles.

Assessing genetic identity of sporophytic offspring of the brown alga Undaria pinnatifida derived from mono-crossing of gametophyte clones by use of amplified fragment length polymorphism and microsatellite markers

The haploid stage of gametophytes of the subtidal brown alga Undaria pinnatifida can be vegetatively propagated under favorable conditions. This unique characteristic makes it possible to establish independent gametophyte cell lines that are zoospore-derived. Sporophytic offspring can be generated through hybridizing the male and female gametophytes, which are derived from different cell lines. Accumulated experiences in this and other species in Laminariales demonstrated the applicability of this novel way to breed desired strains for open-sea cultivation. Sporophytic offspring originated from mono-crossing of male and female gametophyte clones were shown to have similar morphological characteristics under identical ambient conditions. However, there has been no report to relate this similarity on molecular levels. In this report, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and microsatellite markers were used to analyze the genetic identity of sporophytic offspring of U. pinnatifida originated from two mono-crossing lines (M1 and M2), two self-breeding lines (S1 and S2) and one wild population (W). Totally 318 AFLP loci were revealed by use of 11 primer sets, of which 4.7%, 0.3%, 17.9%, 16.4% and 36.5% were polymorphic in M1, M2, S1, S2 and W, respectively. The pairwise genetic identity among the individuals of the same line was assessed. It was shown that offspring from mono-crossing lines had a higher degree of identity (95.6-100%) than self-breeding lines (87.7-98.4%) and the wild population (81.5-92.1%). Analysis by use of six microsatellite loci also revealed a higher genetic identity among individuals of the mono-crossing line, further confirming the results of AFLP analysis. Results from this investigation support, on molecular levels, the novel way to produce and maintain strains in U. pinnatifida by use of different gametophyte cell lines.