Search

Seed endophytes are microorganisms that exist in the internal tissues of seeds and do not cause any obvious tissue damage or adverse effects on the host. Most of them are passed down from generation to generation by vertical transmission and become the first microorganisms of the plant and then as the basis to establish the plant endophyte community. Various kinds of plant species have been investigated for seed endophytes, and the results showed that the diversity of seed endophytes is lower than that of leaves, stems, and roots. However, it was found that some core endophytes are kept in the seed. They can promote host plant growth by phytohormone production, nitrogen fixation, potassium and phosphorus dissolving, etc., or through improving other nutrient absorption. Particularly, they can enhance host plant stress resistance by producing active metabolites or/and regulating a host plant’s antioxidant system and related resistance genes. There are so many kinds of seed endophytes that have been reported, and among them, the most common endophytic bacteria are Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes, and Bacteroidetes, while the most common endophytic fungi are Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. The present paper reviews the diversity of seed endophytes and their role in host plant stress resistance, and some problems in their applications in agricultural production are discussed.

ABSTRACTThe oncogenic role of actin filament-associated protein 1 antisense RNA 1 (AFAP1-AS1) has been reported in retinoblastoma (RB). However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting were performed to analyze the expression of AFAP1-AS1, microRNA miR-545-3p, or G protein subunit beta 1 (GNB1). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell migration assays were used to detect cell proliferation and migration. In addition, caspase-3 activity was monitored by caspase-3 activity assay. Luciferase reporter assays combined with RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and pull-down assays were performed to elucidate the target relationship between miR-545-3p and AFAP1-AS1 or GNB1. Xenograft tumor experiments were performed to evaluate RB cell growth in vivo. Increased AFAP1-AS1 and GNB1 expression in RB tissues and cells was confirmed by RT-qPCR; conversely, miR-545-3p was found to be downregulated in RB tissues and cells. AFAP1-AS1 overexpression resulted in increased proliferation and migration of RB cells, whereas AFAP1-AS1 silencing resulted in decreased proliferation and migration of RB cells. Moreover, AFAP1-AS1 was found to target miR-545-3p. The anti-miR-545-3p treatment phenocopied the effect of AFAP1-AS1 overexpression and promoted RB cell growth in vivo. miR-545-3p was found to directly target GNB1. GNB1 silencing resulted in reduced proliferation and migration of RB cells and attenuated the oncogenic effect of the miR-545-3p inhibitor. Thus, in this study, a novel ceRNA regulation network of AFAP1-AS1 in RB was identified, where AFAP1-AS1 regulated GNB1 expression by targeting miR-545-3p, ultimately driving RB progression.

Considering the important applications in the military and the civilian domain, ship detection and classification based on optical remote sensing images raise considerable attention in the sea surface remote sensing filed. This article collects the methods of ship detection and classification for practically testing in optical remote sensing images, and provides their corresponding feature extraction strategies and statistical data. Basic feature extraction strategies and algorithms are analyzed associated with their performance and application in ship detection and classification. Furthermore, publicly available datasets that can be applied as the benchmarks to verify the effectiveness and the objectiveness of ship detection and classification methods are summarized in this paper. Based on the analysis, the remaining problems and future development trends are provided for ship detection and classification methods based on optical remote sensing images.

This study aimed to improve the nutritional quality of Harbin dry sausages using natural plant-based Jerusalem artichoke powder (JAP) and olive oil as animal fat replacers. Low-fat Harbin dry sausages were manufactured with 2 different formulations containing JAP and olive oil as pork fat replacers. The texture, rheological properties, microstructure, water holding capacity, muscle protein structure, physicochemical indices, microbiological characteristics, and sensory evaluation of the sausages were analyzed. The result showed that Harbin dry sausages with JAP and olive oil were healthier than control sausages based on the lower fat content and improved fatty acid composition. Scanning electron microscopy showed gel network formation in sausages with a high JAP content. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance illustrated that the water-holding capacity of the modified sausages was improved, suggesting that the replacers enhanced protein gel formation by changes in C–H stretching and bending vibrations, a reduction in α-helixes, and increases in β-sheets and random coils accompanying the exposure of reactive groups and microenvironment of the tertiary structure. Dynamic rheological and texture tests indicated that the replacers improved the elasticity of sausages. The reduction of fat and addition of replacers significantly enhanced lipid oxidative resistance. Overall, JAP and olive oil improved the fatty acid composition, gel structure, lipid oxidative resistance, and sensory quality of the sausages. These results may contribute to the development of healthy meat products to further reduce animal fat.

Hydrogen concentrations in minerals of peridotite xenoliths in alkali basaltic rocks from Quaternary volcanoes in northwest Spitsbergen were measured using polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to trace the effects of geologic processes on hydrogen distribution in the continental lithospheric mantle. The mineral grains show hydrogen profiles with lower concentrations at rims suggesting diffusive hydrogen loss during the entrapment and transport of the xenoliths in magma. However, hydrogen concentrations in the centers of the grains are uniform and appear to represent hydrogen abundances in the Spitsbergen upper mantle. The olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene contain 1–10, 130–290, and 350–560 ppm H2O, respectively. Hydrogen abundances away from metasomatic melt conduits recorded by Type 1 xenoliths are correlated with the concentrations of incompatible trace elements, indicating that hydrogen distribution is related to mantle metasomatism. By contrast, hydrogen near the melt conduits, recorded by Type 2 xenoliths, shows no regular correlations with incompatible trace elements (except Nb in clinopyroxene) and may be affected by fractional crystallization of amphibole in the conduits. Hydrogen contents decrease away from the melt conduits and are controlled by the interaction between the depleted host mantle and percolating metasomatic melts. Therefore, the metasomatic melt could have variably hydrated the Spitsbergen upper mantle via different processes. The H2O/Ce ratios of the melt in equilibrium with clinopyroxene near the metasomatic melt conduits range from 93 to 218, i.e., within the oceanic island basalt (OIB) range. This is consistent with that the metasomatic melt could have been derived from OIB-type sources evidenced by the Sr-Nd isotope compositions of the xenoliths.

The protein corona (PC), which defines the biological identity of nanoparticles in the blood, is well-known, but no comprehensive and systematic study has been conducted yet on the formation of PCs in the gastrointestinal environment. Thus, this study aimed to explore the interaction between model polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) of 50–100 nm and three digestive enzymes, namely, pepsin, α-amylase, and trypsin. Results showed that the thicknesses of the PCs formed by α-amylase and trypsin were 25–100 and 50–100 nm, respectively. The zeta-potential values of PS-NPs after incubation significantly increased. The fluorescence quenching and ultraviolet–visible-absorption spectra suggested that interactions between the nanoparticles and the enzymes occurred. Synchronous fluorescence spectra showed that the PS-NPs could induce microenvironmental changes in digestive enzymes. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that the interaction was mainly driven by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces.

Tumor microwave thermal therapy (MWTT) has attracted more attention because of the minimal damage to body function, convenient manipulation and low complications. Herein, a novel polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticle loading ionic liquids (ILs/PDA) as microwave susceptible agent is introduced for enhancing the selectivity and targeting of MWTT. ILs/PDA nanocomposites have an excellent microwave heating efficiency under an ultralow microwave power irradiation. Encouraging antitumor effect was observed when tumor bearing mice received ILs/PDA nanoparticles by intravenous injection and only single microwave irradiation. PDA nanoparticles with gold nanoparticles in core were constructed for tumor targeting study by ICP-MS and about 15% PDA nanoparticles were founded in tumor. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity and acute toxicity study in vivo of PDA showed the excellent biocompatibility of ILs/PDA nanocomposites. In addition, the degradation of ILs/PDA nanocomposites in simulated body fluid illustrated the low potential hazard when they entered the blood. The emergence of PDA as a novel and feasible platform for cancer thermal therapy will promote the rapid development of microwave therapy in clinics.

A number of technology and workload trends motivate us to consider the appropriate resource allocation mechanisms and policies for streaming media services in shared cluster environments. We present MediaGuard– a model-based infrastructure for building streaming media services – that can efficiently determine the fraction of server resources required to support a particular client request over its expected lifetime. The proposed solution is based on a unified costfunction that uses a single value to reflect overall resource requirements such as the CPU, disk, memory, and bandwidth necessary to support a particular media stream based on its bit rate and whether it is likely to be served from memory or disk. We design a novel, time-segment-based memory modelof a media server to efficiently determine in linear time whether a request will incur memory or disk access when given the history of previous accesses and the behavior of the server's main memory file buffer cache. Using the MediaGuardframework, we design two media services: (1) an efficient and accurate admission control service for streaming media servers that accounts for the impact of the server's main memory file buffer cache, and (2) a shared streaming media hosting service that can efficiently allocate the predefined shares of server resources to the hosted media services, while providing performance isolation and QoS guarantees among the hosted services. Our evaluation shows that, relative to a pessimistic admission control policy that assumes that all content must be served from disk, MediaGuard(as well as services that are built using it) deliver a factor of two improvement in server throughput.A number of technology and workload trends motivate us to consider the appropriate resource allocation mechanisms and policies for streaming media services in shared cluster environments. We present MediaGuard– a model-based infrastructure for building streaming media services – that can efficiently determine the fraction of server resources required to support a particular client request over its expected lifetime. The proposed solution is based on a unified costfunction that uses a single value to reflect overall resource requirements such as the CPU, disk, memory, and bandwidth necessary to support a particular media stream based on its bit rate and whether it is likely to be served from memory or disk. We design a novel, time-segment-based memory modelof a media server to efficiently determine in linear time whether a request will incur memory or disk access when given the history of previous accesses and the behavior of the server's main memory file buffer cache. Using the MediaGuardframework, we design two media services: (1) an efficient and accurate admission control service for streaming media servers that accounts for the impact of the server's main memory file buffer cache, and (2) a shared streaming media hosting service that can efficiently allocate the predefined shares of server resources to the hosted media services, while providing performance isolation and QoS guarantees among the hosted services. Our evaluation shows that, relative to a pessimistic admission control policy that assumes that all content must be served from disk, MediaGuard(as well as services that are built using it) deliver a factor of two improvement in server throughput.

Particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure is reported to have deleterious effects on health. Maternal PM2.5 exposure has been confirmed to damage the growth of somatic cells and enhance the incidence of chronic respiratory diseases in children. Here we aim to investigate the impact of in utero PM2.5 exposure on early birth weight and postnatal lung development. Pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats were administered PM2.5 (0.1, 0.5, 2.5, or 7.5 mg/kg) intraperitoneally every 3 days until birth. Maternal and birth outcomes and somatic growth were monitored. Lungs were collected on PND1 (where PND = postnatal day) and PND28; the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio (W/D) was analyzed, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured. Expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and NF-κB were evaluated by Western blotting and quantitative RT-PCR. There were no significant intergroup differences for maternal outcomes; however, offspring exposed in utero to 2.5 and 7.5 mg/kg PM2.5 were significantly smaller in litter weight than the controls. In utero exposure to 2.5 and 7.5 mg/kg PM2.5 led to lower body weight after birth and disrupted lung development during infancy. ROS levels were significantly increased in the 7.5 mg/kg PM2.5 group. PM2.5-treated rats showed upregulated pulmonary expression of TLR4 and NF-κB. Maternal PM2.5 exposure enhances the risk of low birth weight and affects lung alveolar development. The underlying molecular mechanisms may involve TLR4/NF-κB signaling.