Abstract. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important ozone-depleting greenhouse gas produced and consumed by microbially mediated nitrification and denitrification pathways. Estuaries are intensive N2O emission regions in marine ecosystems. However, the potential contributions of nitrifiers and denitrifiers to N2O sources and sinks in China's estuarine and coastal areas are poorly understood. The abundance and transcription of six key microbial functional genes involved in nitrification and denitrification, as well as the clade II-type nosZ gene-bearing community composition of N2O reducers, were investigated in four estuaries spanning the Chinese coastline. The results showed that the ammonia-oxidizing archaeal amoA genes and transcripts were more dominant in the northern Bohai Sea (BS) and Yangtze River estuaries, which had low nitrogen concentrations, while the denitrifier nirS genes and transcripts were more dominant in the southern Jiulong River (JRE) and Pearl River estuaries, which had high levels of terrestrial nitrogen input. Notably, the nosZ clade II gene was more abundant than the clade I-type throughout the estuaries except for in the JRE and a few sites of the BS, while the opposite transcript distribution pattern was observed in these two estuaries. The gene and transcript distributions were significantly constrained by nitrogen and oxygen concentrations as well as by salinity, temperature, and pH. The nosZ clade II gene-bearing community composition along China's coastline had a high level of diversity and was distinctly different from that in the soil and in marine oxygen-minimum-zone waters. By comparing the gene distribution patterns across the estuaries with the distribution patterns of the N2O concentration and flux, we found that denitrification may principally control the N2O emissions pattern.

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ObjectiveBased on the clinical manifestations of a hearing loss patient, the POU3F4 gene was tested for diagnosis of etiology.MethodsA comprehensive physical examination was performed on the proband to exclude abnormalities of other organs, and detailed audiological testing and temporal bone CT scan were also performed. Genomic DNA was extracted using the proband's peripheral blood leukocytes. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were performed in the coding sequence of the POU3F4 gene. Direct DNA sequencing was subsequently applied to screen the entire coding region of the POU3F4 gene.ResultsThe proband had severe sensorineural hearing loss. Temporal CT showed bilateral cochlear incomplete partition, vestibule dysplasia, internal auditory canal fundus expansion, and cochlear interlink with the internal auditory canal fundus. A novel mutation (c.530C > A (p.S177X)) in the POU3F4 gene was found in this patient, creating an new stop codon and was predicted to result in a truncated protein lacking normal POU3F4 transcription factor function.ConclusionThrough analysis of the POU3F4 gene and clinical manifestations in the patient, we conclude that a novel mutation may have resulted in a premature stop codon, contributing to the mutation of POU3F4 gene.

(1) Bland Altman showed all plots were inside the 95% confidence interval, indicating that there was no difference between the two methods for NH subjects. (2) The two methods had a high correlation (Pearson's coefficient =0.872 > 0.6, p < .05) in assessing hearing threshold in the operating room. (3) Satterth waite t'-test showed the ossicular chain malfunction enlarged the deviation of threshold by the two methods (.01 < p < .025).

Hearing loss is a condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Conductive hearing loss (CHL) is mainly caused by middle ear diseases. The low frequency area is the pivotal part of speech frequencies and most frequently impaired in patients with CHL. Among various treatments of CHL, middle ear surgery is efficient to improve hearing. However, variable success rates and possible needs for prolonged revision surgery still frustrate both surgeons and patients. Nowadays, increasing numbers of researchers explore various methods to monitor the efficacy of ossicular reconstruction intraoperatively, including electrocochleography (ECochG), auditory brainstem response (ABR), auditory steady state response (ASSR), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), subjective whisper test, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Here, we illustrate several methods used clinically by reviewing the literature.