| 1. |
- Zhang, Zhifei, et al.
(author)
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An encrusting kleptoparasite-host interaction from the early Cambrian
- 2020
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Parasite–host systems are pervasive in nature but are extremely difficult to convincingly identify in the fossil record. Here we report quantitative evidence of parasitism in the form of a unique, enduring life association between tube-dwelling organisms encrusted to densely clustered shells of a monospecific organophosphatic brachiopod assemblage from the lower Cambrian (Stage 4) of South China. Brachiopods with encrusting tubes have decreased biomass (indicating reduced fitness) compared to individuals without tubes. The encrusting tubes orient tightly in vectors matching the laminar feeding currents of the host, suggesting kleptoparasitism. With no convincing parasite–host interactions known from the Ediacaran, this widespread sessile association reveals intimate parasite–host animal systems arose in early Cambrian benthic communities and their emergence may have played a key role in driving the evolutionary and ecological innovations associated with the Cambrian radiation.
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| 2. |
- Zhang, Zhiliang, et al.
(author)
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Go large or go conical : allometric trajectory of an early Cambrian acrotretide brachiopod
- 2021
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In: Palaeontology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0031-0239 .- 1475-4983. ; 64:5, s. 727-741
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Acrotretides are extinct micromorphic brachiopods that exhibited considerable morphological variation during their rapid evolution in the early Palaeozoic. The plano-conical shells of acrotretides are distinct in comparison to other brachiopod groups and despite their diversity and abundance in early Palaeozoic communities, their origins, early evolution, life history and phylogeny are poorly understood. Here, we employ advanced geometric morphometrics to quantitatively investigate ontogenetic variation and allometry in the ventral valve of the oldest known acrotretide species from the early Cambrian of South China. Our results identify substantial shape variation for Eohadrotreta zhenbaensis, along with a parabolic morphological trajectory through ontogeny, demonstrating a remarkable reversal to PC1 values equivalent to those obtained for juveniles, during later ontogenetic stages. The evolutionary novel body plan (diminutive and plano-conical) of Acrotretida was established gradually during two phases of allometry, formed initially during the final stage of the Cambrian evolutionary radiation from an ancestral low, equivalved lingulide body plan. The development of a conical shaped valve seems to have resulted in an overall smaller body size, when compared with non-conical forms. The heterochronic processes responsible for generating these ontogenetic modifications at different allometric phases may have facilitated the evolutionary diversification of acrotretide brachiopods during the early Palaeozoic.
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| 3. |
- Zhang, Zhiliang, et al.
(author)
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The oldest Cambrian trilobite - brachiopod association in South China
- 2021
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In: Gondwana Research. - : Elsevier. - 1342-937X .- 1878-0571. ; 89, s. 147-167
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Limestones of the Xihaoping Member of the Dengying Formation in the Xiaoyangba section, South China, yield the oldest known Cambrian brachiopod-trilobite association. In this member, the trilobite Parabadiella cf. huoi co-occurs with the new brachiopod species Eoobolus incipiens sp. nov. The association provides potential for correlation of lower Cambrian successions and gives novel insights into the origin, palaeobiogeographic distribution and early evolution of linguliform brachiopods. Parabadiella occurs in shallow marine clastic and carbonate rocks in South China, demonstrating a broad distribution for this taxon. The new discovery indicates an early Chiungchussuan age (Parabadiella trilobite Zone, Cambrian Age 3) for the longstanding problematic Xihaoping Member. Furthermore, this earliest Parabadiella-Eoobolus association helps to establish close links with the oldest knowntrilobite-brachiopod assemblage from the upper Micrina etheridgei Zone (Parabadiella huoi trilobite Zone) in Australia. Eoobolus incipiens represents one of the earliest known linguliform brachiopods, with a distinctive mixture of characters shared with both problematic tommotiids, as well as paterinide, lingulide and acrotretide brachiopods, indicating that these features may be plesiomorphic for the Linguliformea. An age-constrained dispersal mode for early lingulate brachiopods is proposed, indicating that the Subphylum Linguliformea may have originated in East Gondwana and South China during Cambrian Age 3, and only subsequently dispersed to other major Cambrian palaeocontinents (e.g. Siberia, Laurentia, Antarctica, Baltica, Avalonia, West Gondwana, North China) during the late stage of the Cambrian evolutionary radiation of animals. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of International Association for Gondwana Research.
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| 4. |
- Chen, Zhiliang, et al.
(author)
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Synergistic Catalysis by “Polymeric Microzymes and Inorganic Nanozymes” : The 1+1>2 Effect for Intramolecular Cyclization of Peptides
- 2017
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In: Frontiers in Chemistry. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-2646. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, we developed an efficient “molecularly imprinted polymer microzymes and inorganic magnetic nanozymes” synergistic catalysis strategy for the formation of disulfide bonds in peptides. The polymeric microzymes showed excellent selectivity toward the template peptide as well as the main reactant (linear peptide), and the Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) nanozymes inhibited the intermolecular reaction during the formation of disulfide bonds in peptides. As a result, the integration of the two different artificial enzymes in one process facilitates the intramolecular cyclization in high product yields (59.3%) with excellent selectivity. Mechanism study indicates the synergistic effect was occurred by using a “reversed solid phase synthesis” strategy with an enhanced shift of reaction balance to product generation. We believe the synergistic catalysis by “polymeric microzymes and inorganic nanozymes” presented in the present work may open new opportunities in creation of multifunctional enzyme mimics for sensing, imaging, and drug delivery.
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| 5. |
- Niu, Dong, et al.
(author)
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Novel brominated flame retardants in house dust from Shanghai, China : levels, temporal variation, and human exposure
- 2019
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In: Environmental Sciences Europe. - : Springer London. - 2190-4707 .- 2190-4715. ; 31:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) have been increasingly used as alternatives to legacy BFRs (e.g., PBDEs and HBCDs) in consumer products, but are liable to emigrate and contaminate indoor dust. In this study, a total of 154 house dust samples including floor dust (FD) and elevated surface dust (ESD) were collected in the biggest metropolitan area (Shanghai) of East China in 2016. Limited information about temporal variation of NBFRs indoors is available, while the period of sampling is influential in human exposure estimates. Levels, temporal variation, and human exposure of seven target NBFRs such as decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), 2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EHTBB), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (BEHTEBP) were investigated in indoor house dust.Results: Concentrations of Sigma(7)NBFRs ranged from 19.11 to 3099ng/g with a geomean of 295.1ng/g in FD, and from 34.74 to 404.6ng/g with a geomean of 117.9ng/g in ESD. The geomeans of DBDPE were 219.6ng/g in FD and 76.89ng/g in ESD, accounting for 90.5% and 80.5% of Sigma(7)NBFRs. Levels of EHTBB, BTBPE, and DBDPE in FD exceeded significantly those in ESD. The temporal variation in Sigma(7)NBFRs in FD was ranked as summer>winter>autumn>spring. The daily exposure doses (DEDs) of Sigma(7)NBFRs via dust ingestion decreased as: infants>toddlers>children>teenagers>adults. Infants showed the highest DED in FD, 9.1ng/kg bw/day.Conclusions: DBDPE clearly dominated the NBFRs in both FD and ESD, but the concentrations of DBDPE in this study were generally moderate compared with the other international studies. Dust ingestion was the major pathway of human exposure to NBFRs indoors. About eightfold difference in exposure estimates between infants and adults showed that infants faced elevated exposure risks in FD. This study highlighted the necessity to estimate human exposure of NBFRs for different age groups using FD and ESD, respectively.
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| 6. |
- Qin, Yajie, et al.
(author)
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A highly linear 1.2 V 12bit 5-45 MS/s CMOS pipelined ADC with CM-sensing-and-input-interchanged OTA sharing
- 2012
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In: Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0925-1030 .- 1573-1979. ; 72:1, s. 237-241
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A 1.2 V 12bit programmable pipelined ADC is presented and implemented in 0.13 mu m CMOS technology. A common-mode-sensing-and-input-interchanged OTA-sharing technique is proposed to address the non-resetting and successive-stage crosstalk issues in conventional OTA-sharing technique. Speed options of 5-45 MS/s are available with scalable power obtained by adjusting the bias currents for OTAs, comparators, and reference buffers, etc., or the global bias current. The measured signal-to-distortion-and-noise ratio is in range of 62.5-69.2 dB, and the peak spurious free dynamic range is 80.7 dB for all speed options, while the figure-of-merit is in the range of 0.26-0.49 pJ/conversion. The core area is 1.5 mm(2).
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| 7. |
- Wu, Yan, et al.
(author)
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Occurrence and risk assessment of trace metals and metalloids in sediments and benthic invertebrates from Dianshan Lake, China
- 2017
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 24:17, s. 14847-14856
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present study measured concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, and Pb in surface sediments and two benthic invertebrate species (Anodonta woodiana and Bellamya aeruginosa) collected from Dianshan Lake, located in the Yangtze River Delta. The Dianshan Lake acts as one of the most important drinking water sources to Shanghai, the biggest city in China. Concentrations of trace metals and metalloids ranged from 0.04 mg/kg for Cd to 288.0 mg/kg for Zn. Substantial bioaccumulation in invertebrates was observed for Zn and Cu based on the biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) measurements. The results revealed that concentrations of metals and metalloids in sediments from Dianshan Lake were at the lower end of the range of levels found in other regions of China. The assessment of three significantly inter-related evaluation indices, including the geo-accumulation Index (I-geo), potential ecological risk factor (Er-i), and mean probable effect concentration quotients (Q(m-PEC)), suggested that sediment-associated trace elements exhibited no considerable ecological risks in the studied watershed. However, the target hazard quotient and hazard index analysis suggested that selected elements (particularly As) accumulation in edible tissues of benthic invertebrates could pose potential health risks to local populations, especially fishermen. Given that wild aquatic organisms (e.g., fish and bivalves) constitute the diet of local populations as popular food/protein choices, further investigations are needed to better elucidate human health risks from metal and metalloid exposure via edible freshwater organisms.
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| 8. |
- Zhang, Zhiliang, et al.
(author)
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Fossil evidence unveils an early Cambrian origin for Bryozoa
- 2021
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 599:7884, s. 251-255
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bryozoans (also known as ectoprocts or moss animals) are aquatic, dominantly sessile, filter-feeding lophophorates that construct an organic or calcareous modular colonial (clonal) exoskeleton. The presence of six major orders of bryozoans with advanced polymorphisms in lower Ordovician rocks strongly suggests a Cambrian origin for the largest and most diverse lophophorate phylum. However, a lack of convincing bryozoan fossils from the Cambrian period has hampered resolution of the true origins and character assembly of the earliest members of the group. Here we interpret the millimetric, erect, bilaminate, secondarily phosphatized fossil Protomelission gatehousei from the early Cambrian of Australia and South China as a potential stem-group bryozoan. The monomorphic zooid capsules, modular construction, organic composition and simple linear budding growth geometry represent a mixture of organic Gymnolaemata and biomineralized Stenolaemata character traits, with phylogenetic analyses identifying P. gatehousei as a stem-group bryozoan. This aligns the origin of phylum Bryozoa with all other skeletonized phyla in Cambrian Age 3, pushing back its first occurrence by approximately 35 million years. It also reconciles the fossil record with molecular clock estimations of an early Cambrian origination and subsequent Ordovician radiation of Bryozoa following the acquisition of a carbonate skeleton.
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| 9. |
- Zhang, Zhiliang, et al.
(author)
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Post-metamorphic allometry in the earliest acrotretoid brachiopods from the lower Cambrian (Series 2) of South China, and its implications
- 2018
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In: Palaeontology. - : Wiley. - 0031-0239 .- 1475-4983. ; 61:2, s. 183-207
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The earliest growth of post-metamorphic (post-larval) shells in two species of Eohadrotreta is described from the Cambrian Shuijingtuo Formation of South China. Two different growth patterns can be observed by quantifying developmental variations in size and shape of successive stages of post-metamorphic shell growth (including the pedicle foramen forming stage, pedicle foramen enclosing stage and intertrough increasing stage) of Eohadrotreta zhenbaensis and Eohadrotreta? zhujiahensis. The pedicle foramen is never enclosed within the metamorphic shell of E. zhenbaensis, while the enclosed pedicle foramen of E.? zhujiahensis is located directly outside the metamorphic shell after the pedicle foramen enclosing stage. A strongly allometric growth pattern of E. zhenbaensis is demonstrated by the early enclosure of the pedicle foramen; an accelerated lengthening of the ventral intertrough is associated with the development of a more complex dorsal median septum during the intertrough increasing stage. By contrast, E.? zhujiahensis demonstrates possible paedomorphic development by delayed enclosure of pedicle foramen and an associated decreased lengthening of ventral intertrough during the intertrough increasing stage. This ontogenetic developmental sequence represents the marginal accretionary formation and growth of the pedicle foramen, which resembles that of linguloid brachiopods. Furthermore, the developmental process of the pedicle foramen of Eohadrotreta seems to recapitulate the likely evolutionary transition from the Botsfordiidae, with open delthyrium, to the Acrotheloidea, with an enclosed foramen. This study provides a unique opportunity to obtain a complete understanding of the ontogenetic development of the earliest acrotretoids, and casts new light on the phylogeny of lingulate brachiopods.
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| 10. |
- Zhou, Yihui, et al.
(author)
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Occurrence and trophic magnification of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their methoxylated derivatives in freshwater fish from Dianshan Lake, Shanghai, China
- 2016
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In: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 219, s. 932-938
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) were analyzed in eleven freshwater fish species from Dianshan Lake, Shanghai, China. The highest concentrations of PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs were found in snakehead, with mean values of 38 ng g(-1) lw and 4.2 ng g(-1) lw, respectively. BDE-47 was the predominant congener of PBDEs, followed by BDE-154. Congener pattern variation of PBDEs was observed among different fish species, implying differences in biotransformation potential among fish. Yellow catfish showed highest concentrations of BDE-99, -153 and -183, suggesting that it is more resistant to debromination than any other fish analyzed in the present study. Trophic magnification factors were in the range of 1.35-1.81 for all the PBDE congeners, but not for 2'-MeO-BDE-68. Negative relationship was observed between PBDEs concentration and sample size (length and weight), indicating fish size dilution effect.
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