Actinopterygii, members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of skin supported by radially extended thin bony spines called lepidotrichia, as opposed to the bulkier, fleshy lobed fins of the sister class Sarcopterygii. Resembling folding fans, the actinopterygian fins can easily change shape and wetted area, providing superior thrust-to-weight ratios per movement compared to sarcopterygian and chondrichthyian fins. The fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the articulation between these fins and the internal skeleton.
The giant panda, also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is rotund; adult individuals weigh 100 to 115 kg and are typically 1.2 to 1.9 m long. It is sexually dimorphic, with males being typically 10 to 20% larger than females. A thumb is visible on its forepaw, which helps in holding bamboo in place for feeding. It has large molar teeth and expanded temporal fossa to meet its dietary requirements. It can digest starch and is mostly herbivorous with a diet consisting almost entirely of bamboo and bamboo shoots.
Pompanos are marine fish in the genus Trachinotus in the family Carangidae. Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of the Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is of deep-bodied fishes, exhibiting strong lateral compression, with a rounded face and pronounced curve to the anterior portion of their dorsal profile. Their ventral profile is noticeably less curved by comparison, while their anterior profile is straight-edged, tapering sharply to a narrow caudal peduncle. Their dorsal and anal fins are typically sickle-shaped, with very long anterior rays and a succession of much shorter rays behind, with a similarly long & curved, deeply forked tail which has a narrow base. They are typically overall silvery in color, sometimes with dark or yellowish fins, and one or a few black markings on the side of their body. They are toothless and are relatively large fish, up to about 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long, although most species reach no more than half or two-thirds of that size. They are found worldwide in warmer seas, sometimes also entering brackish waters.
Oreonectes is a genus of fish in the family Nemacheilidae found in the rivers and caves of Asia. Many of these species are troglobitic.
The white-collared blackbird is a species of bird in the family Turdidae.
Tetrandrine, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, is a calcium channel blocker. It is isolated from the plant Stephania tetrandra, and other Chinese and Japanese herbs.
An alliance is an informal grouping used in biological taxonomy. The term "alliance" is not a taxonomic rank defined in any of the nomenclature codes. It is used for any group of species, genera or tribes to which authors wish to refer, that have at some time provisionally been considered to be closely related.
SOAP is a suite of bioinformatics software tools from the BGI Bioinformatics department enabling the assembly, alignment, and analysis of next generation DNA sequencing data. It is particularly suited to short read sequencing data.
Kadsura longipedunculata, also known as the Chinese kadsura vine, is a fruit bearing monoecious wild evergreen climbing shrub, that is native to Eastern Asia, Western China and Southern China.This rare and unknown flower is often used for its medicinal properties in Asia.
Wumengosaurus is an extinct aquatic reptile from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation of Guizhou, southwestern China. It was originally described as a basal eosauropterygian and usually is recovered as such by phylogenetic analyses, although one phylogeny has placed it as the sister taxon to Ichthyosauromorpha while refraining from a formal re-positioning. It was a relatively small reptile, measuring 95.5–130.5 cm (3.13–4.28 ft) in total body length.
Justice Bao is a Chinese TV series starring producer Jin Chao-chun as the Song dynasty official Bao Zheng. The series ran for 3 seasons from 2010 to 2012. In addition to Jin, Kenny Ho, Fan Hung-hsuan and Lung Lung again reprise their iconic roles from the 1993 Taiwanese hit Justice Pao and the 2008 Chinese series Justice Bao.
Orchideae is a tribe of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae. Historically, it was divided into 2 subtribes, Orchidinae and Habenariinae. The subtribe Orchidinae alone contains about 1,800 species. However, although some phylogenetic studies have established the monophyly of the subtribes, the generic boundaries are unclear, with many genera as traditionally circumscribed being paraphyletic or even polyphyletic. Species of genera such as Habenaria and Platanthera have been placed into both subtribes. A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study found that both subtribes did form clades, but did not formally recognize Habenariinae, because of missing genera and uncertainty over generic boundaries. The Asian species of Orchideae, in particular, have been subject to repeated changes of generic placement from 2012 onwards.
Sinotaia quadrata is a species of a freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae. It is widely distributed and common species in China and in northern Vietnam inhabiting various shallow freshwater habitats, where it can reach high densities. It is a keystone species in its habitat and can significantly affect water quality and phytoplankton communities. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
The Heart of Woman, also known as Women, is a Taiwanese Hokkien television series that began airing on SET Taiwan in Taiwan on 21 November 2012, from Mondays to Fridays, and ends on 21 November 2013, lasting one year with a total of 262 episodes.
Civet SARS-CoV is a coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which infected humans and caused SARS events from 2002 to 2003. It infected the masked palm civet. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is highly similar, with a genome sequence similarity of about 99.8%. Because several patients infected at the early stage of the epidemic had contact with fruit-eating Japanese raccoon dog in the market, tanuki may be a direct source of human SARS coronavirus. At the end of 2003, four more people in Guangzhou, China, were infected with the disease. Sequence analysis found that the similarity with the tanuki virus reached 99.9%, and the SARS coronavirus was also caused by cases of tanuki transmission.
Selenogallates are chemical compounds which contain anionic units of selenium connected to gallium. They can be considered as gallates where selenium substitutes for oxygen. Similar compounds include the thiogallates and selenostannates. They are in the category of chalcogenotrielates or more broadly chalcogenometallates.
Sulfidogermanates or thiogermanates are chemical compounds containing anions with sulfur atoms bound to germanium. They are in the class of chalcogenidotetrelates. Related compounds include thiosilicates, thiostannates, selenidogermanates, telluridogermanates and selenidostannates.
Cynoglossus semilaevis, commonly known as the Chinese tongue sole, is a popular aquaculture flatfish species. They are native to China's northern coast but have experienced overfishing these past three decades. Tongue sole farming began in 2003 and they have since become a popular, expensive seafood. However, tongue soles have created issues for farmers due to their pathogen susceptibility and uneven sex ratio.
Famitinib is a tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor developed by Jiangsu Hengrui for a variety of cancers.
Rice polyculture is the cultivation of rice and another crop simultaneously on the same land. The practice exploits the mutual benefit between rice and organisms such as fish and ducks: the rice supports pests which serve as food for the fish and ducks, while the animals' excrement serves as fertilizer for the rice. The result is an additional crop, with reduced need for inputs of fertilizer and pesticides. In addition, the reduction of pests such as mosquito larvae and snails may reduce mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, and snail-born parasites such as the trematodes which cause schistosomiasis. The reduction in chemical inputs may reduce environmental harms caused by their release into the environment. The increased biodiversity may reduce methane emissions from rice fields.
