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Introduction: Methamphetamine (METH) abuse by pregnant drug addicts causes toxic effects on fetal neurodevelopment; however, the mechanism underlying such effect of METH is poorly understood. Methods: In the present study, we applied three-dimensional (3D) neurospheres derived from the embryonic rat hippocampal tissue to investigate the effect of METH on neurodevelopment. Through the combination of whole genome transcriptional analyses, the involved cell signalings were identified and investigated. Results: We found that METH treatment for 24 h significantly and concentration dependently reduced the size of neurospheres. Analyses of genome-wide transcriptomic profiles found that those down-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) upon METH exposure were remarkably enriched in the cell cycle progression. By measuring the cell cycle and the expression of cell cycle-related checkpoint proteins, we found that METH exposure significantly elevated the percentage of G0/G1 phase and decreased the levels of the proteins involved in the G1/S transition, indicating G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, during the early neurodevelopment stage of neurospheres, METH caused aberrant cell differentiation both in the neurons and astrocytes, and attenuated migration ability of neurospheres accompanied by increased oxidative stress and apoptosis. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that METH induces an aberrant cell cycle arrest and neuronal differentiation, impairing the coordination of migration and differentiation of neurospheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to studying the existence of periodic solutions to a new class of forced damped vibration systems by the variational method. The advantage of this kind of system is that the coefficient of its second order term is a symmetric N N matrix valued function rather than the identity matrix previously studied. The variational principle of this problem is obtained by using two methods: the direct method of the calculus of variations and the semi-inverse method. New existence conditions of periodic solutions are created through several auxiliary functions so that two existence theorems of periodic solutions of the forced damped vibration systems are obtained by using the least action principle and the saddle point theorem in the critical point theory. Our results improve and extend many previously known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exogenous melatonin (MT) is widely used in fruit preservation, and can increase the storage time and delay the quality deterioration. Firstly, it was found that 150 μMMT was the optimal concentration to treat 'Xinli No.7' under storage at 4 ℃ for 60 days. MT could significantly improve oxidase activity and inhibit the reduction of physiological indexes, including pulp hardness, weight loss, titratable acid and soluble solid content. MT could also reduce ethylene release and limit the reduction of fruit aroma. The average content of fruit aroma substance increased by 43.53%. A relevant RNA-Seq database was built to further explore the regulation mechanism of MT. A total of 2,761 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. DEGs were enriched in 64 functional groups and 191 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. DEGs were mainly enriched in alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and plant hormone signal transduction pathway. The gene pycom09g05270 belonging to long chain acyl-CoA synthetase family and participating in fatty acid metabolism pathway was identified, and its expression level was consistent with fragments per kilobase per million mapped reads (FPKM) values, implying that pycom09g05270 might play a vital role in maintaining quality during the storage process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the development process and research status of orchard fertilization technology, introduces many kinds of fertilization methods, such as soil testing and fertilizer recommendation method, and nutrition diagnosis method, probes into the main problems existing in orchard fertilization, and puts forward some suggestions for solving them. The development of orchard fertilization technology in China is also projected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] This sludy was conducted to investigate the effects of different types of potassium fertilizers on the flavor and quality of pear fruit. [Methods] With 'Xinliqiliao' as a research object, such three treatments as potassium sulfate (T1,), potassium nitrate (T2) and potassium chloride (T3) were set up, with no application of potassium fertilizer as control ( CK). All the fertilizers were applied into soil in the growing season. [ Results] Hie total sugir content of ' Xinliqiliao * was significantly higher in the potassium fertilizer treatments than that of the control. The total sugar content of T2, ( the potassium sulfate treatment) was the Inkiest, which was 34. 55% higher than that of the control, sequentially followed by T3( the potassium nitrate treatment) and T, ( the jbotassium chloride treatment). llie contents of fructose, glucose and sucrose in the potassium sulfate treatment were all the highest, which were 15. 96%, 27. 32% and 52. 81% higher than those of the potassium chloride treatment, respectively, and 11.36%, 27. 75% and 20.45% higher than the potassium nitrate treatment, respectively. The total acid content of 'Xinliqiliao' fruit treated with different types of potassium fertilizers was higher than that of the control. The total acid content of the potassium nitrate treatment was the highest, which was 103. 68% higher than that of the control, sequentially followed by the potassium sulfate treatment and the ptassi-um chloride treatment. Both the control and potassium treatments of 'Xinliqiliao' had the liighest malic acid content, and except the potassium chloride Irealineul with the lowest fumarie acid content, other treatments all had the lowest tartaric acid content. Differenl Ivpes of potassium fertilizer Irealmeiils had dillerenl ellecls on the organic acid content of ' Xinliqiliao' fruit. Hie types and contents of volatile aroma substances in the fruit of ' Xinliqiliao' treated with potassium fertilizers were significantly liigher tlian the control, tlie aroma sulbstances in 'Xinliqiliao' differed among different potassium fertilizer treatments. Specific-ally, 78 kinds of aroma substances were detected in the potassium chloride treatment, and the total content of aroma components was the highest at 746.609 ng/g in the fruit of the potassium sulfate treatment. [Conclusions] The potassium fertilizer treatments improved the flavor and quality of * Xinliqiliao' pear fruit, and the potassium sulfate treatment exhibited the best effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biocatalyzed artificial photosynthesis system (APS) based on porphyrin/SiO2/Cp*Rh(bpy)Cl hybrid nanoparticles (TCPP/SiO2/Rh HNPs) to mimic chloroplasts in green plant is reported. The TCPP/SiO2/Rh HNPs are fabricated via sol-gel reaction of silica precursors functionalized with photosensitizer (porphyrin, TCPP) and electron mediator (Cp*Rh(bpy)Cl, M); while the integration of enzyme and coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)(H), on the outer surface of the HNPs is achieved through electrostatic- interaction-driven assembling under the entanglement of a negatively charged polyelectrolyte. The chloroplast-mimicking, highly integrated APS exhibits remarkably superior performance over a free system such that the regeneration of NADH is improved from 11% to 75%, and the synthesis of formic acid from CO2 increased from 15 to 100 μmol. Based on the detailed investigations into the photochemical and electrochemical properties, it is speculated that the covalent linking of the photosensitizer and electron mediator via silicon hydride bonds, and the formed SiO2 network through sol-gel reaction, may form intramolecular and intermolecular electron transfer chains to direct more efficient electron transfer from TCPP to M. Such intramolecular and intermolecular electrons and energy transfer, cooperated with the integrated biocatalytic process, lead to the significantly enhanced overall reaction efficiency. Moreover, the integrated APS also allows facile recycling of expensive M, enzymes, and cofactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study reasonable tree structure parameters of Y-shaped pea orchards in natural conditions and at management technical level of Tai'an area, the tree structure and population structure of high-quality and high-yielding Y-shaped pear orchards were investigated. The results showed that when the yield of Y-shaped 'Oshu' was 2 550 kg/667 m2 in the early fully fruiting period, the quantity of the branches per 667 m2 was about 54 000 , and the number of short branches was the largest, accounting for 80.1% of total number of branches, followed by middle branches, long branches and developmental branches. As the yield of Y-shaped 'Qiuyue ' was 2 875 kg/667 m2 in the early fully fruiting period , the quantity of the branches per 667 m2 was 51 000 , and the number of short branches was the largest, accounting for 75. 6% of total number of branches, followed by middle branches, long branches and developmental branches. When the yield of Y-shaped 'Niitaka' was 3 000 kg/667 m2 in the early fully fruiting period, the quantity of the branches per 667 m2 was 43 000 , and the number of short branches was the largest, accounting for 82.0% of total number of branches, followed by long branches, middle branches and developmental branches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the effect of dwarfing inter stock on the structure of pear trees, investigations were made to the tree and group structure of the 4-year-old spindle-shaped 'Huangguan' pear grafted with vigorous stock (Pyrus betulaefolia stock) and that grafted with the dwarfing inter stock 'Zhong ai 1 hao' (P. betulaefolia rootstock). The results showed that the 4-year-old 'Huangguan' pear trees grafted with the dwarfing inter stock 'Zhong a 1 hao' were 2.87 m high on average, with 70.70% of short braches, converted into 21 016.0 branches per 667 m², 840.64 m² of leaf area per 667 m² with the leaf area coefficient of 1.75. On the other hand, for the 'Huangguan' trees grafted with vigorous stocks, the average tree height was 3.17 m, and the short branch proportion was 63.20%, converted into 15 806.4 branches per 667 m², 719.28 m² of leaf area per 667 m² with the leaf area coefficient of 1.55. Therefore, the use of dwarfing inter stock 'Zhong a 1 hao' had significant dwarfing effect on 'Huangguan' pear trees, which a so showed significant yield increasing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agricultural Science & Technology is the property of Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We investigate the statistical properties of maximum entropy density estimation, both for the complete data case and the incomplete data case. We show that under certain assumptions, the generalization error can be bounded in terms of the complexity of the underlying feature functions. This allows us to establish the universal consistency of maximum entropy density estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's iLab project has developed a distributed software toolkit and middleware service infrastructure to support Internetaccessible laboratories and promote their sharing among schools and universities on a worldwide scale. The project starts with the assumption that the faculty teaching with online labs and the faculty or academic departments that provide those labs are acting in two roles with different goals and concerns. The iLab architecture focuses on fast platform-independent lab development, scalable access for students, and efficient management for lab providers while preserving the autonomy of the faculty actually teaching the students. Over the past two years, the iLab architecture has been adopted by an increasing number of partner universities in Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the United States. The iLab project has demonstrated that online laboratory use can scale to thousands of students dispersed on several continents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant gaseous hormone ethylene regulates many aspects of plant growth, development and responses to the environment. ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3 (EIN3) is a transcription factor involved in the ethylene signal transduction pathway in Arabidopsis. To gain a better understanding of the ethylene signal transduction pathway in rice, six EIN3-like genes (designated OsEIL1–6) were identified. OsEIL1, which showed highest similarity with EIN3, was isolated and functionally characterized. Ectopic expression of OsEIL1 in Arabidopsis can partially complement the ein3-1 mutant. The transgenic rice plants with overexpression of OsEIL1 exhibit short root, coiled primary root and slightly short shoot phenotype and elevated response to exogenous ethylene. OsEBP89, an ethylene responsive element binding protein (EREBP) and OsACO1, an ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) oxidase gene were enhanced in the OsEIL1 overexpressing transgenic plants. These results indicate that OsEIL1 is involved in ethylene signal transduction pathway and acts as a positive regulator of ethylene response in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycosylation is a posttranslational modification occurring in many secreted and membrane-associated proteins in eukaryotes. It plays important roles in both physiological and pathological processes. Most of these protein modifications depend on UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. In this study, a T-DNA insertional rice (Oryza sativa) mutant exhibiting a temperature-sensitive defect in root elongation was isolated. Genetic and molecular analysis indicated that the mutated phenotype was caused by loss of function of a gene encoding a glucosamine-6-P acetyltransferase (designated OsGNA1), which is involved in de novo UDP-N-acetylglucosamine biosynthesis. The aberrant root morphology of the gna1 mutant includes shortening of roots, disruption of microtubules, and shrinkage of cells in the root elongation zone. Our observations support the idea that protein glycosylation plays a key role in cell metabolism, microtubule stabilization, and cell shape in rice roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the condition of conditional symmetry fractional Fourier transforms become fractional Hankel transforms. The relationships between the fractional Hankel transform and the diffraction of a misaligned optical system are established in this paper. By settling and discussing the diffraction integral formulae of a misaligned ABCD optical system, the fractional Hankel transform of an input function can he obtained by selecting a suitable reference plane under given conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strain controlled uniaxial tensile and compressive tests of rolled compacted concrete (RCC) are conducted to establish the constitutive relationship of RCC. Complete stress-strain constitutive curves including strain-softening behavior of the material have been obtained. To satisfy the test requirements for obtaining the strain-softening behavior of the material, the stability conditions on specimen parameters and machine rigidity are described based on the concept of strain localization. By using test results of RCC, a 200-m high RCC gravity dam, Longtan Dam, is analyzed for earthquake resistance using the procedure of nonlinear fracture mechanics and the compression-shear failure mechanism for concrete. A safety evaluation of the dam’s ability to resist the design earthquake under different reservoir elevations is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the use of fractional Fourier transform for analyzing the diffraction of misaligned optical systems. Adaptations to the mathematical expression of Fresnel diffraction; Description of the diffraction of any misaligned optical system; Analysis of cases for the spatial domain.

A set of matrix methods treating decentred optical systems in the paraxial approximation is reviewed. Misalignment phenomena of optical systems can generally be described by an augmented 4×4 matrix; propagation of optical rays in an asymmetric, inhomogeneous medium by a 3×3 matrix. In order to simplify the operations with these matrices, ray transfer flow graphs are introduced. A lot of optical problems can be solved in a clear and simple manner, including optical arrays. Some examples are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Il Nuovo Cimento della Societa Italiana di Fisica: D is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

[Objectives] This study was conducted to provide basic information for the utilization, quality control and deep processing of ' Xintai Tianhong' hav thorn fruit resources. [Methods] The contents of sugar and acid components in ' Xintai Tianhong hawthorn fniit were determined hv high performance liquid chn matography (HILC). Results] ' Xintai Tianhong' hawthorn fruit contained such four kinds of sugir components as fructose, sorbitol, glucose and sucrose, an such six kinds of organic acid components as oxalic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, acetic acid, citric acid and succinic acid. The fruit had the highest sucrose cot tent, accounting for 70.53% of the total sugar content, followed by fructose, glucose and sorbitol. For the organic acid components, the content of succinic aci was the higfiest, accounting for47. 32% of the total acid content, followed by citric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid and tartaric acid, and acetic acid had the lowe content. [Conclusions] 'Xintai Tianhong' hawthorn sliould be a succinic acid-type hawthorn variety, which can be used as a parent in genetic research an breeding practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reasonable tree and population structure parameters of various cylindrical pear orchards were studied. The results showed that for 3-year-old 'Xinli No. 7', the tree height was 3.48 m, and the trunk height was 63 cm; there were 63 branches per plant, which was equivalent to 19971 branches per 667 m2; the leaf area index was 1.62. For the 3-year-old 'Xueqing', the tree height was 3.03 m, and the trunk height was 74 cm; the number of branches per plant was 57, which was equivalent to 18 069 branches per 667 m2; the leaf area index was 1.73. The cylindrical trees of the two varieties had the following characteristics: the canopy structure was tight; the branches were equally distributed, and the number of medium branches and short branches accounted for more than 60% of the total number of branches of the whole plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Analysis of Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance in Lower Respiratory Tract Bacterial Infection," by Ying Liu and colleagues is presented.