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Agricultural environment monitoring is to track the residues and accumulation dynamics of pollutants in agricultural products to ensure the safety of agricultural products and human health, and to provide scientific basis for agricultural environment management. The development of network technology has enabled people to share agricultural information resources. However, the openness and sharing of agricultural information resources often brings about data security issues. In addition, the representative method of current monitoring image data is compressed sensing, which lacks effective security technology guarantee in the process of signal acquisition and transmission. Therefore, it is even more necessary to use encryption methods for optimization. Based on the diversity, complexity, and security of the image data, an adaptive algorithm was proposed in this study to realize the reconstruction optimization of compressed sensing technology and the processing of the detected image data. An image fusion algorithm was introduced to realize the differential processing of different frequency subbands. Blockchain technology was introduced into the sensing matrix to realize encryption processing and ensure the security of agricultural environment monitoring image data. The security application analysis of the proposed compressed sensing encryption algorithm showed that the average reconstruction probability of the proposed improved encryption algorithm was 84%, which was less affected by the number of measurements, and the overall fitness changed more smoothly. Moreover, the algorithm had a large signal-tonoise ratio in the reconstruction of agricultural environment images with different scale characteristics, and its scores in the five objective evaluation dimensions of image quality were better than other algorithms. The satisfaction of algorithm process encryption and image data security had reached 80.12% and 89.23%, respectively. This research enhanced and reconstructed the existing agricultural environment monitoring images to help agricultural environment monitoring and make up for the lack of security of agricultural environment monitoring images, which has a very important research value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene has received extensive attention due to its excellent properties, and is considered to have broad application prospects in the fields of material processing, energy, biomedicine and drug delivery. Recently, graphene and its composite materials have been gradually applied to wastewater treatment. Here, different graphene composites and their properties are outlined. The application of graphene and its composites as adsorbents and catalysts in typical wastewater treatment (such as dye wastewater, heavy-metal wastewater, oily wastewater, refractory organic wastewater) is reviewed. The treatment efficiency and treatment mechanism of different graphene composites are summarized and analyzed. Finally, reasonable comments and suggestions are raised about the existing problems in wastewater treatment applications. And the outlook for and the future development of graphene and its composites were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effects of Er:YAG laser on the attachment of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLFs) to denuded root surfaces simulating delayed replantation cases. Background data: Dental avulsion is one of the most severe dental traumas, which is often treated with replantation. In delayed replantation scenarios, poor prognosis, including root resorption, usually occurs due to poor root surface conditioning and nonviable hPDLF attachment. Methods: Thirty-six root fragments (5 x 5 x 2mm) were obtained from periodontium tissue-free premolar root surfaces. Specimens were randomly and equally assigned to the following: Group A, untreated control; Group B, 25 J/cm2 and 10 Hz of Er:YAG laser irradiation; and Group C, 50 J/cm² and 10Hz of Er:YAG laser irradiation. Some specimens in each group were then prepared for surface topography visualization under SEM, others were subjected to coculture with hPDLF suspension, and cell adhesion was further evaluated by SEM. Results: Group A presented homogenous smooth root surface, with fewer and round-shaped cells attached; Group B and C exhibited rather rough and irregular morphologies, and spindle-shaped fibroblasts were firmly attached by numerous lamellipodia and extensions. After a 3-day coculture, the number of fibroblasts attached in Group A was significantly lower compared with the other two laser-treated groups (p = 0.008 < 0.05). No significant alterations were observed between the two laser groups (p = 0.135 > 0.05). Conclusions: Er:YAG laser-treated root surfaces are compatible for the attachment of PDLFs, which suggests that Er:YAG laser irradiation may be used as a promising strategy for root surface conditioning in delayed replantation cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liquid-liquid equilibria of ionic liquid-based systems with water and/or acetic acid have been studied at 293.15 K and atmospheric pressure. One hydrophilic ionic liquid and a series of hydrophobic ionic liquids were investigated in order to examine their effect on the separation of water and acetic acid mixtures. The ionic liquids studied were [P666,14]Cl, [P666,14][NTf2], [C4mmim][NTf2], [Cnmim][NTf2] (n = 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10), [C4mpyrr][NTf2], [N1114][NTf2], and [C2mim][EtSO4]. [C2mim][EtSO4] is totally miscible with water and acetic acid in all compositions. Comparing [P666,14]Cl with [P666,14][NTf2], the former showed higher extraction selectivities; however, due to the larger viscosity of [P666,14]Cl, the [NTf2]- based ionic liquids offer a better solvent choice for the liquid extraction processes. As expected, as the solubility of water decreases with increasing the chain length of ionic liquids, this in turn leads to [C10mim][NTf2] showing greater acetic efficiency than [C2mim][NTf2] for the separation of water and acetic acid. The experimental data obtained for ternary systems containing the [C4mmim][NTf2] demonstrated that the modification of the C(2) position on the imidazolium ring does not significantly affect the selectivity compared with [C4mim][NTf2]. Tetraalkyl ammonium and N-alkyl pyrrolidinium based ionic liquids were also studied with the [NTf2]- anion with the results for the system containing the [C4mpyrr][NTf2] demonstrating a higher selectivity for the separation of water and acetic acid than the other [NTf2]- based systems studied. All experimental data were then correlated using the UNIQUAC model within an accuracy close to 1.6%. Finally, the ionic liquids were also compared with standard molecular extraction solvent, for example, methyl tert-butyl ether and methyl isobutyl ketone. The organic solvents showed an advantage over the [Cnmim][NTf2]-based ionic liquids but only over a narrow composition range. In all ionic liquid systems, the selectivity remains high at low acetic acid concentration compared with that found in the organic solvents, which is important for practical operation and demonstrates the advantages of using an ionic liquid for the extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cascading pattern is a sequential pattern characterized by an item following another item in order. Recent research has investigated a challenge of dealing with cascading patterns, namely, the exponential time dependence of database scanning with respect to the number of items involved. We propose a normalized-mutual-information-based mining method for cascading patterns (M³Cap) to address this challenge. M³Cap embeds mutual information to reduce database-scanning time. First, M³Cap calculates the asymmetrical mutual information between items with one database scan and extracts pair-wise related items according to a user-specified information threshold. Second, a one-level cascading pattern is generated by scanning the database once for each pair-wise related item at the quantitative level. Third, a recursive linking-pruning-generating loop generates an (m + 1)-level-candidate cascading pattern from m-dimensional patterns on the basis of antimonotonicity and non-additivity, repeating this step until no further candidate cascading patterns are generated. Fourth, meaningful cascading patterns are generated according to user-specified minimum evaluation indicators. Finally, experiments with remote sensing image datasets covering the Pacific Ocean demonstrate that the computation time of recursive linking and pruning is significantly less than that of database scanning; thus, M³Cap improves performance by reducing database scanning while increasing intensive computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterojunctions of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and Bi2MoO6 were solvothermally synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM. The photocatalytic degradation activity of the g-C3N4/Bi2MoO6 composites for Rhodamine B was examined under visible light irradiation. The heterojunction composites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure g-C3N4 or Bi2MoO6. The photocatalytic activity of the composites increased then decreased with increasing Bi2MoO6 content. The g-C3N4/Bi2MoO6 heterojunction with a Bi2MoO6 content of 16.1 wt.% exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, and its photocatalytic efficiency was more than three times those of pure g-C3N4 or Bi2MoO6. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the g-C3N4/Bi2MoO6 heterostructure photocatalyst was attributed predominantly to the efficient separation of photoinduced electrons and holes. The g-C3N4/Bi2MoO6 heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited excellent stability and reusability. A detailed mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic activity is discussed. Superoxide radicals were the major active species. This study provides a visible light responsive photocatalyst with potential in environmental remediation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to determine the potential toxicities of organic pollutants in the river water of Chongqing City (China), chemicals were extracted from surface water of the Yangtze River and Jialing River between August 2004 and January 2005. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis showed that the main compounds detected were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and phthalate acid esters (PAE). The ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) test showed that the toxic equivalency (TEQ) values of the samples ranged from 0.9 to 13.3 × 10-4 pg 2,3,7,8-TCDD/L river water. Incubation of H4IIE cells with organic extracts produced a time-dependent induction of cytochrome P-450 1A1 (CYP1A1) mRNA expression as determined by (1) reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), (2) positive binding to aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), and (3) activation of xenobiotic response element (XRE) by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Data indicated that organic extracts from the river water of Chongqing City induced CYP1A1 activity in hepatocytes in vitro. A possible mechanism underlying toxicity might involve the AhR signal pathway, but further studies are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme wildfires threaten human lives, air quality, and ecosystems. Meteorology plays a vital role in wildfire behaviors, and the links between wildfires and climate have been widely studied. However, it is not fully clear how fire-weather feedback affects short-term wildfire variability, which undermines our ability to mitigate fire disasters. Here, we show the primacy of synoptic-scale feedback in driving extreme fires in Mediterranean and monsoon climate regimes in the West Coast of the United States and Southeastern Asia. We found that radiative effects of smoke aerosols can modify near-surface wind, air dryness, and rainfall and thus worsen air pollution by enhancing fire emissions and weakening dispersion. The intricate interactions among wildfires, smoke, and weather form a positive feedback loop that substantially increases air pollution exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes Impatiens yingjingensis X.Q. Song, B.N. Song & Biao Yang, sp. nov., a new species collected from the Yingjing area of the Giant Panda National Park. This new species is distributed at an altitude of 1400-2100 m, with a plant height of 30-130 cm. The flowers are purple-red or light purple red, with 3-9 flowers on each inflorescence and the dorsal auricle of the lateral united petals is thread-like and about 2 cm long, differing significantly from other species of Impatiens. Furthermore, molecular data, as well as micro-morphological evidence under SEM (of pollens), also support the establishment of the new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuronal mitochondria dysfunction and neuroinflammation are two prominent pathological features increasingly realized as important pathogenic mechanisms for neurodegenerative diseases. However, little attempt has been taken to investigate the likely interactions between them. Mitofusin2 (Mfn2) is a mitochondrial outer membrane protein regulating mitochondrial fusion, a dynamic process essential for mitochondrial function. To explore the significance of neuronal mitochondria in the regulation of neuroinflammation, male and female transgenic mice with forced overexpression of Mfn2 specifically in neurons were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a widely used approach to model neurodegeneration-associated neuroinflammation. Remarkably, LPS-induced lethality was almost completely abrogated in neuronal Mfn2 overexpression mice. Compared with nontransgenic wild-type mice, mice with neuronal Mfn2 overexpression also exhibited alleviated bodyweight loss, behavioral sickness, and myocardial dysfunction. LPS-induced release of IL-1/3 but not TNF-a was further found greatly inhibited in the CNS of mice with neuronal Mfn2 overexpression, whereas peripheral inflammatory responses in the blood, heart, lung, and spleen remained unchanged. At the cellular and molecular levels, neuronal Mfh2 suppressed the activation of microglia, prevented LPS-induced mitochondrial fragmentation in neurons, and importantly, upregulated the expression of CX3CL1, a unique chemokine constitutively produced by neurons to suppress microglial activation. Together, these results reveal an unrecognized possible role of neuronal mitochondria in the regulation of microglial activation, and propose neuronal Mfn2 as a likely mechanistic linker between neuronal mitochondria dysfunction and neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroptera (lacewings) is one of the ancient holometabolous insect groups, but some extant species stand as important natural enemies for biological control. As the capital city of China, Beijing has a rich fauna of Neuroptera, previously with 47 species recorded and sorted in 32 genera of seven families. In this study, DNA barcoding based on sequences of COI gene fragments is used to discriminate lacewing species from Beijing. 217 DNA barcode sequences belonging to 49 species were successfully obtained. The COI barcode data worked well for identification of almost all lacewing species herein examined except Pseudomallada prasinus (Burmeister), in which cryptic species may exist. Twenty species of Neuroptera are newly recorded from Beijing. Besides, Nothochrysinae is first recorded from Beijing. Chrysopidia ciliata (Wesmael) and Drepanepteryx algida (Erichson) are first recorded from China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus that causes a fatal disease in pigs, posing a threat to the global pig industry. Whereas some ASFV proteins have been found to play important roles in ASFV-host interaction, the functional roles of many proteins are still largely unknown. In this study, we identified I73R, an early viral gene in the replication cycle of ASFV, as a key virulence factor. Our findings demonstrate that pI73R suppresses the host innate immune response by broadly inhibiting the synthesis of host proteins, including antiviral proteins. Crystallization and structural characterization results suggest that pI73R is a nucleic-acid-binding protein containing a Zα domain. It localizes in the nucleus and inhibits host protein synthesis by suppressing the nuclear export of cellular messenger RNA (mRNAs). While pI73R promotes viral replication, the deletion of the gene showed that it is a nonessential gene for virus replication. In vivo safety and immunogenicity evaluation results demonstrate that the deletion mutant ASFV-GZΔI73R is completely nonpathogenic and provides effective protection to pigs against wild-type ASFV. These results reveal I73R as a virulence-related gene critical for ASFV pathogenesis and suggest that it is a potential target for virus attenuation. Accordingly, the deletion mutant ASFV-GZΔI73R can be a potent live-attenuated vaccine candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postoperative adhesions occur widely in various tissues, bringing the risk of secondary surgery and increased medical burden. Hydrogel barriers with Janus-adhesive ability can achieve physical isolation of adjacent tissues and are therefore considered an ideal solution. However, integrating endoscopic delivery convenience and viscoelastic Janus hydrogel formation remains a great challenge. Here, we present a report of the in situ formation of Janus-adhesive hydrogel barrier using a sprayable fast-Janus-gelation (FJG) powder. We first methacrylate the polysaccharide macromolecules to break the intermolecular hydrogen bonds and impart the ability of rapid hydration. FJG powder can rapidly absorb interfacial water and crosslink through borate ester bonds, forming a toughly adhesive viscoelastic hydrogel. The Janus barrier can be simply formed by further hydrating the upper powder with cationic solution. We construct rat models to demonstrate the antiadhesions efficiency of viscoelastic FJG hydrogels in organs with different motion modalities (e.g., intestine, heart, liver). We also developed a low-cost delivery device with a standardized surgical procedure and further validated the feasibility and effectiveness of FJG powder in minimally invasive surgery using a preclinical translational porcine model. Considering the advantages in terms of therapeutic efficacy, clinical convenience, and commercialization, our results reveal the great potential of Janus-gelation powder materials as a next-generation antiadhesions barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycosylation determines the complexity and diversity of plant natural products. To characterize fruit ripeningrelated UDP-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) functionally in strawberry, we mined the publicly available Fragaria vesca genome sequence and found 199 putative UGT genes. Candidate UGTs whose expression levels were strongly up-regulated during fruit ripening were cloned from F.×ananassa and six were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and biochemically characterized. UGT75T1 showed very strict substrate specificity and glucosylated only galangin out of 33 compounds. The other recombinant enzymes exhibited broad substrate tolerance, accepting numerous flavonoids, hydroxycoumarins, naphthols and the plant hormone, (+)-S-abscisic acid (ABA). UGT71W2 showed the highest activity towards 1-naphthol, while UGT71A33, UGT71A34a/b and UGT71A35 preferred 3- hydroxycoumarin and formed 3- and 7-O-glucosides as well as a diglucoside from flavonols. Screening of a strawberry physiological aglycone library identified kaempferol, quercetin, ABA and three unknown natural compounds as putative in planta substrates of UGT71A33, UGT71A34a and UGT71W2. Metabolite analyses of RNA interference (RNAi)- mediated silenced fruits demonstrated that UGT71W2 contributes to the glycosylation of flavonols, xenobiotics and, to a minor extent, of ABA, in planta. The study showed that both specialist and generalist UGTs were expressed during strawberry fruit ripening and the latter were probably not restricted to only one function in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) matrix composites were prepared by powder blending and a hot-pressing process with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) as a toughening agent and bagasse as a reinforcing agent. The effects of different contents of PBAT and bagasse on the mechanical properties, the thermal properties, and the section morphology of the composites were studied. By comparing the powder blending process with the conventional twin-screw melt extrusion blending process, it was found that the composites prepared by the powder blending process had better appearance and mechanical properties. With the increase of the PBAT content, the mechanical strength and modulus of the PHBV/PBAT composites decreased, but the flexibility increased. The addition of PBAT also caused the crystallinity of the composites to decrease and the thermal stability to increase. Based on the mass ratio of 60% PHBV and 40% PBAT, different contents of bagasse were added. It was found that the mechanical strengths of the composites were lower than that of the composites without bagasse, but the modulus was greatly improved. The crystallization properties of the composites improved, and the thermal stability decreased. This indicated that the addition of bagasse could reduce the material cost and improve the properties of PHBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study on sleeping patterns of preschool-age children with developmental delay (DD), typical development, and autism (AUT). The children's sleeping patterns were examined using a multimethod approach that assessed the quality and quantity of sleep. It also compares parent perceptions, actigraphy, and structured questionnaires. Overviews of such tests's results were offered. The research provides objective evidence that sleep patterns are different across the categories of typical development, AUT, or DD in preschool children.

The association of preceding antithrombotic therapy with outcomes of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has not been well clarified. We investigated the characteristics and associations of prior antithrombotic therapy (oral anticoagulants, antiplatelet therapy or both) in outcomes of in-hospital patients with ICH. Data were derived from the Chinese Stroke Center Alliance (CSCA) database. Enrolled patients were categorized by the different types of preceding antithrombotic therapy: antiplatelet therapy (APT), oral coagulants (OAs), both OAs and APT use and no-antithrombotic therapy (no-ATT). Among 85705 patients enrolled, 4969 (5.8%), 720 (0.8%), 905 (1.1%) and 79111 (92.3%) patients were on APT, OAs, both OAs and APT, and non-ATT respectively prior to their admission. Crude in-hospital death was 149(3.0%), 41(5.7%), 46(5.1%) and 1781(2.3%) in APT, OAs, both OAs and APT, and non-ATT groups, respectively (P<0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that patients in prior OAs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-3.21; P=0.0091) and both OAs and APT groups (aOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.17-3.15, P=0.0094) were associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality compared with the non-ATT group, but not in those who were on APT (aOR 1.12, 95% 0.93-1.36, P=0.2372). In the subgroup analysis, a stronger association between prior OAs and in-hospital death was found among patients who were older = 65 years (P for interaction is 0.0382). In this nationwide prospective study, prior OAs and concomitant use of OAs and APT but not prior ATP were associated with increased odds of in-hospital mortality compared with ICH patients who were on no-ATT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transmembrane Protein 230 (TMEM230) is a newly identified protein associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) found in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites of patients with PD or dementia with Lewy body disease. However, TMEM230 has not yet been investigated in the most common neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we demonstrate that the expression of TMEM230 is specifically increased in neurons in AD patients. Importantly, both granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) and dystrophic neurites (DNs), two prominent characteristic pathological structures associated with AD, contain TMEM230 aggregates. TMEM230 immunoreactivity can be detected in neurofibrillary tangles-containing neurons and hyperphosphorylated tau positive DNs. TMEM230 accumulation is also noted around senile plaques. These findings identifying TMEM230 as a component of GVD and DNs suggest TMEM230 dysregulation as a likely mechanism playing an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historic maps are important primary documents and increasingly digital technology is helping researchers gain insights to the past. This project evaluated the accuracy of five maps made in Bermuda's first hundred years of settlement and the benefits of open source software. GIS and GRI's Map Comparator tool was used to georectify, digitize, and measure displacement angles and lengths from the historic maps to the current coastline of Bermuda. The results demonstrate that the interactive web browser tool is ideally suited for a range of users, and along with GIS, provided quantitative measurements to determine that Europeans had great surveying and mapping skills, as displayed in Norwood's 1622 map. No significant changes in accuracy occur for the next 100 years. Future maps added details to the coastline and recognized a few more individual islands, but mapped no additional information to the surrounding coral reefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its relationships with marine environmental parameters comprise a very complicated and interrelated system. Traditional spatiotemporal techniques face great challenges in dealing with which, how, and where the marine environmental parameters in different zones help to drive, and respond to, ENSO events. Remote sensing products covering a 15-year period from 1998 to 2012 were used to quantitatively explore these patterns in the Pacific Ocean (PO) by a prevail quantitative association rule mining algorithm, that is, a priori, within a mining framework. The marine environmental parameters considered were monthly anomaly of sea surface chlorophyll-a (CHLA), monthly anomaly of sea surface temperature (SSTA), monthly anomaly of sea level anomaly (SLAA), monthly anomaly of sea surface precipitation (SSPA), and monthly anomaly of sea surface wind speed (WSA). Four significant discoveries are found, namely: (1) Association patterns among marine environmental parameters and ENSO events were found primarily in five sub-regions of the PO: the western PO, the central and eastern tropical PO, the middle of the northern subtropical PO, offshore of the California coast, and the southern PO; (2) In the western and the middle and east of the equatorial PO, the association patterns are more complicated than other regions; (3) The following factors were found to be predicators of and responses to La Niña events: abnormal decrease of SLAA and WSA in the east of the equatorial PO, abnormal decrease of SSPA and WSA in the middle of the equatorial PO, abnormal decrease of SSTA in the eastern and central tropical PO, and abnormal increase of SLAA in the western PO; (4) Only abnormal decrease of CHLA in the middle of the equatorial PO was found to be a predicator of and response to El Niño events. These findings will help to improve our abilities to identify the marine association patterns in factors relating to ENSO events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strawberries emit hundreds of different volatiles, but only a dozen, including the key compound HDMF [4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone] contribute to the flavor of the fruit. However, during ripening, a considerable amount of HDMF is metabolized to the flavorless HDMF β-d-glucoside. Here, we functionally characterize nine ripening-related UGTs (UDP-glucosyltransferases) in Fragaria that function in the glucosylation of volatile metabolites by comprehensive biochemical analyses. Some UGTs showed a rather broad substrate tolerance and glucosylated a range of aroma compounds in vitro, whereas others had a more limited substrate spectrum. The allelic UGT71K3a and b proteins and to a lesser extent UGT73B24, UGT71W2, and UGT73B23 catalyzed the glucosylation of HDMF and its structural homolog 2(or 5)-ethyl-4-hydroxy-5(or 2)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone. Site-directed mutagenesis to introduce single K458R, D445E, D343E, and V383A mutations and a double G433A/I434V mutation led to enhanced HDMF glucosylation activity compared to the wild-type enzymes. In contrast, a single mutation in the center of the plant secondary product glycosyltransferase box (A389V) reduced the enzymatic activity. Down-regulation of UGT71K3 transcript expression in strawberry receptacles led to a significant reduction in the level of HDMF-glucoside and a smaller decline in HDMF-glucoside-malonate compared with the level in control fruits. These results provide the foundation for improvement of strawberry flavor and the biotechnological production of HDMF-glucoside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly reported a new type of ceramic composite armor with a back laminate of Ti6Al4V/UHMWPE/Ti6Al4V against the 12.7 mm armor piercing projectile at a velocity of 818 m/s. The mechanism of the whole ceramic composite armor against the projectile, and the function of each layer in the back laminates were systematically investigated around the experiments and numerical simulations. The results indicated that the outermost Ti6Al4V layer provided support for the UHMWPE layer, leading to the UHMWPE layer displaying the extremely high buffer performance during the impact process. Meanwhile, the middle UHMWPE layer also had an energy balance function between the first and outermost Ti6Al4V layers to cause small damage in the back laminate layers. Thus, this configuration contributed to absorb or dissipate the more energy of the impact projectile, successfully preventing the perforation of the projectile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GPRC5A is a G-protein--coupled receptor expressed in lung tissue but repressed in most human lung cancers. Studies in Gprc5a-/- mice have established its role as a tumor-suppressor function in this setting, but the basis for its role has been obscure. Here, we report that GPRC5A functions as a negative modulator of EGFR signaling. Mouse tracheal epithelial cells (MTEC) from Gprc5a-/- mice exhibited a relative increase in EGFR and downstream STAT3 signaling, whereas GPRC5A expression inhibited EGFR and STAT3 signaling. GPRC5A physically interacted with EGFR through its transmembrane domain, which was required for its EGFR inhibitory activity. Gprc5a-/- MTEC were much more susceptible to EGFR inhibitors than wild-type MTEC, suggesting their dependence on EGFR signaling for proliferation and survival. Dysregulated EGFR and STAT3 were identified in the normal epithelia of small and terminal bronchioles as well as tumors of Gprc5a-/- mouse lungs. Moreover, in these lungs EGFR inhibitor treatment inhibited EGFR and STAT3 activation along with cell proliferation. Finally, overexpression of ectopic GPRC5A in human non--small cell lung carcinoma cells inhibited both EGF-induced and constitutively activated EGFR signaling. Taken together, our results show how GPRC5A deficiency leads to dysregulated EGFR and STAT3 signaling and lung tumorigenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: GPRC5A is a retinoic acid inducible gene that is preferentially expressed in lung tissue. Gprc5a- knockout mice develop spontaneous lung cancer, indicating Gprc5a is a lung tumor suppressor gene. GPRC5A expression is frequently suppressed in majority of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), however, elevated GPRC5A is still observed in a small portion of NSCLC cell lines and tumors, suggesting that the tumor suppressive function of GPRC5A is inhibited in these tumors by an unknown mechanism. Methods: In this study, we examined EGF receptor (EGFR)-mediated interaction and tyrosine phosphorylation of GPRC5A by immunoprecipitation (IP)-Westernblot. Tyrosine phosphorylation of GPRC5A by EGFR was systematically identified by site-directed mutagenesis. Cell proliferation, migration, and anchorage-independent growth of NSCLC cell lines stably transfected with wild-type GPRC5A and mutants defective in tyrosine phosphorylation were assayed. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining analysis with specific antibodies was performed to measure the total and phosphorylated GPRC5A in both normal lung and lung tumor tissues. Result: We found that EGFR interacted with GPRC5A and phosphorylated it in two conserved double-tyrosine motifs, Y317/Y320 and Y347/ Y350, at the C-terminal tail of GPRC5A. EGF induced phosphorylation of GPRC5A, which disrupted GPRC5A-mediated suppression on anchorage-independent growth of NSCLC cells. On contrary, GPRC5A-4 F, in which the four tyrosine residues have been replaced with phenylalanine, was resistant to EGF-induced phosphorylation and maintained tumor suppressive activities. Importantly, IHC analysis with anti-Y317/Y320-P sites showed that GPRC5A was non-phosphorylated in normal lung tissue whereas it was highly tyrosine-phosphorylated in NSCLC tissues. Conclusion: GPRC5A can be inactivated by receptor tyrosine kinase via tyrosine phosphorylation. Thus, targeting EGFR can restore the tumor suppressive functions of GPRC5A in lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma levels of adiponectin (APN) are significantly increased in patients with renal dysfunction and are inversely related to the risk of cardiovascular mortality. The present study was designed to determine the role of APN in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) injury in mice with renal failure and delineate the underlying mechanisms. Renal failure was induced by subtotal nephrectomy (SN). Human recombinant globular domain of adiponectin (gAd) or full-length adiponectin (fAd) was administered via intraperitoneal injection once daily for 7 consecutive days after SN, and in vivo MI/R was introduced 3 wk later. Both plasma and urinary levels of APN increased significantly in SN mice. Compared with sham-operated mice, cardiac function was significantly depressed, and myocardial infarct size and apoptosis increased in SN mice following MI/R. The aggravated MI/R injury was further intensified in APN-knockout mice and markedly ameliorated by treatment with gAd but not fAd. Moreover, SN increased myocardial NO metabolites, superoxide, and their cytotoxic reaction product peroxynitrite, upregulated inducible NO synthase expression, and decreased endothelial NOS phosphorylation. In addition, SN mice also exhibited reduced APN receptor-1 (AdipoR1) expression and AMPK activation. All these changes were further amplified in the absence of APN but reversed by gAd treatment. The present study demonstrates that renal dysfunction increases cardiac susceptibility to ischemic-reperfusion injury, which is associated with downregulated APN/AdipoR1/AMPK signaling and increased oxidative/nitrative stress in local myocardium, and provides the first evidence for the protective role of exogenous supplement of gAd on MI/R outcomes in renal failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a largely genetically determined autoimmune disease. JMY has recently been found to be associated with susceptibility to AS in patients of western European descent. We aimed to examine the influence of JMY polymorphisms on the severity of AS in the Chinese ethnic majority Han population. Blood samples were drawn from 396 Chinese Han AS patients whose duration of disease was about 9-12 years. Four tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) in JMY were selected and genotyped. Frequencies of different genotypes and clinical indexes about the severity of AS were analyzed. The rs2607142, rs16876619, and rs4704556 SNPs are related to BASFI. The rs2607142, rs4704556, and rs16876657 SNPs are related to BADAI. The rs4704556 and rs16876657 SNPs are related to mSASSS. JMY is related to the severity of AS in Chinese Han patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and thioredoxin (Trx) play opposing roles in diabetic myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) injury. We recently demonstrated nitrative modification of Trx leads to its inactivation and loss of cardioprotection. The present study is to determine the relationship between augmented RAGE expression and diminished Trx activity pertaining to exacerbated MI/R injury in the diabetic heart. The diabetic state was induced in mice by multiple intraperitoneal low-dose streptozotocin injections. RAGE small-interfering RNA (siRNA) or soluble RAGE (sRAGE, a RAGE decoy) was via intramyocardial and intraperitoneal injection before MI/R, respectively. Mice were subjected to 30 min of myocardial infarction followed by 3 or 24 h of reperfusion. At 10 min before reperfusion, diabetic mice were randomized to receive EUK134 (peroxynitrite scavenger), recombinant hTrx-1, nitrated Trx-1, apocynin (a NADPH oxidase inhibitor), or 1400W [an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor] administration. The diabetic heart manifested increased RAGE expression and Nε-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML, major advanced glycation end product subtype) content, reduced Trx-1 activity, and increased Trx nitration after MI/R. RAGE siRNA or administration of sRAGE in diabetic mice decreased MI/R-induced iNOS and gp91phox expression, reduced Trx nitration, preserved Trx activity, and decreased infarct size. Apocynin or 1400W significantly decreased nitrotyrosine production and restored Trx activity. Conversely, administration of either EUK134 or reduced hTrx, but not nitrated hTrx, attenuated MI/R-induced superoxide production, RAGE expression, and CML content and decreased cardiomyocyte apoptosis in diabetic mice. Collectively, we demonstrate that RAGE modulates the MI/R injury in a Trx nitrative inactivation fashion. Conversely, nitrative modification of Trx blocked its inhibitory effect upon RAGE expression in the diabetic heart. This is the first direct evidence demonstrating the alternative cross talk between RAGE overexpression and nitrative Trx inactivation, suggesting that interventions interfering with their interaction may be novel means of mitigating diabetic MI/R injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study on the sleep problems among children aged 2 to 5 years with an autistic disorder in the U.S. The study measured children's sleep through parent report and through actigraphy at three times for 6 months. It is found that nighttime sleep problems were most prominent in the nonautistic group with developmental delays, while the autistic group napped less during the day.

The excited states of the 70Ge nucleus in radioactive decay of 70As were investigated. Four new transitions with 1036.99, 1196.66, 1539.29 and 2531.7 keV have been found. The placement of 2219.34 keV transition has been reassigned, three γ-rays with 496.74, 1295.24 and 1417.24 keV have been placed in the decay scheme for the first time, and the placements of 1881.67, 2325.42 and 2424.41 keV γ-rays are confirmed in the present work. Two new levels at 4243.10 and 5265.81 keV excitation energy, respectively, are proposed. The level scheme was established and for a number of levels spin-parity assignments are suggested on the basis of log ft values and γ-branching ratios. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gamma-rays from the [sup 83]Sr(β[sup +] + EC)[sup 83]Rb decay have been investigated with Compton suppressed HpGe detectors. The activity was produced via. the [sup 85]Rb(p, 3n) reaction at 27.1 MeV beam energy. Singles in multispectra, mode and γ-γ coincidence experiments were performed. Approximately 190 transitions including 94 new transitions and 19 new levels were assigned to [sup 83]Rb, based on their measured half-life and/or observation in coincidence with well-known lines. A decay scheme has been constructed consisting of 41 excited states and 180 transitions in [sup 83]Rb. Additional new information has been obtained on γ-ray branching ratios, logft values, spins and parities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]