We report gene targeting via homologous recombination in zebrafish. We co-injected fertilized eggs with transcription activator-like effector nuclease mRNAs and a donor vector with long homologous arms targeting the tyrosine hydroxylase (th) locus, and we observed effective gene modification that was transmitted through the germ line. We also successfully targeted two additional genes. Homologous recombination in zebrafish with a dsDNA donor expands the utility of this model organism.

Since China's economic reform in the late 1970s, Shanghai, the country's largest and most modern city, has experienced rapid expansion and urbanization. Here, we explore its land‐use and land‐cover changes, focusing on the impacts of the urbanization process on air and water quality, local climate, and biodiversity. Over the past 30 years, Shanghai's urban area and green land (eg urban parks, street trees, lawns) have increased dramatically, at the expense of cropland. Concentrations of major air pollutants (eg SO2, NOx, and total suspended particles) were higher in urban areas than in suburban and rural areas. Overall, however, concentrations have decreased (with the exception of NOx), due primarily to a decline in coal consumption by industry and in private households. Increased NOx pollution was mainly attributed to the huge increase in the number of vehicles on the roads. Water quality changes showed a pattern similar to that of air quality, with the most severe pollution occurring in urban areas. Differences in mean air temperatures between urban and rural areas also increased, in line with the rapid pace of urban expansion, indicating an accelerating “urban heat island” effect. Urban expansion also led to a decrease in native plant species. Despite its severe environmental problems, Shanghai has also seen major economic development. Managing the tradeoffs between urbanization and environmental protection will be a major challenge for Chinese policy makers.

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1 The effects of paeoniflorin (PF), a compound isolated from Paeony radix, on neurological impairment and histologically measured infarction volume following transient and permanent focal ischemia were examined in Sprague-Dawley rats.2 In transient ischemia model, rats were subjected to a 1.5-h occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). The administration of PF (2.5 and 5 mg kg À1 , s.c.) produced a dose-dependent decrease in both neurological impairment and the histologically measured infarction volume. Similar results were also obtained when PF (2.5, 5, and 10 mg kg À1 , s.c.) was given in permanent ischemia model. 3 The neuroprotective effect of PF (10 mg kg À1 , s.c.) was abolished by pretreatment of DPCPX (0.25 mg kg À1, s.c.), a selective adenosine A 1 receptor (A 1 R) antagonist. 4 PF (10, 40, and 160 mg kg À1 , i.v.) had no effect on mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rates (HR) in the conscious rat. Additionally, PF (10 À3 mol l À1) had no effect on noradrenaline-(NA-) or high K þ concentration-induced contractions of isolated rabbit primary artery. 6 The results demonstrated that activation of A 1 R might be involved in PF-induced neuroprotection in cerebral ischemia in rat. However, PF had no 'well-known' cardiovascular side effects of classical A 1 R agonists. The results suggest that PF might have the potential therapeutic value as an anti-stroke drug.