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In this work, the influence of Cu powders doping on the magnetic and mechanical properties of Sm2Co17 permanent magnets is systematically investigated. For high-energy-product Sm2Co17 (low initial Cu content), the intrinsic coercivity is significantly improved from 11.7 to 25.7 kOe with 1 wt.% Cu powders doping. The flux loss (soaking at 300 °C for 2 h) is reduced from 7.4% to 3.8%, and the average flexure strength is improved from 60.2 to 74.1 MPa. For high-temperature-resistant Sm2Co17 (high initial Cu content), the intrinsic coercivity is slightly reduced from 39.2 to 38.3 kOe with 1 wt.% Cu powders doping. The flux loss (soaking at 300 °C for 2 h) is increased from 1.4% to 3.4%, and the average flexure strength is improved from 86.7 to 93.2 MPa. The differences in magnetic properties change of these two Sm2Co17 permanent magnets are closely related with their initial Cu content. The doped Cu is prone to diffuse into intragranular cell boundaries in magnet with low initial Cu content. The increased Cu content in intragranular cell boundaries benefits the improvement of intrinsic coercivity, thus enhancing the thermal stability and reducing the flux loss. Doping Cu powders may increase the Cu-rich phase around ground boundaries, which will hinder the grain growth during heat treatment. The decrease of grain size will enhance the flexure strength, while it will increase the flux loss.

ABSTRACTNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most malignant tumors. The treatment of advanced NSCLC can be challenging due to drug resistance. The discovery of novel cancer-testis antigens to develop new strategies for advanced metastatic NSCLC is required. AKAP4 is an oncogene discovered in some malignant tumors, and its molecular function of AKAP4 in NSCLC is unknown. This study aimed to explore the potential function of AKAP4 in the development and progression of NSCLC. AKAP-4 was found to be significantly upregulated in both clinical NSCLC tissues and NSCLC cell lines. Cell viability and migration were suppressed, apoptosis was induced, and tube formation was inhibited by the knockdown of AKAP-4, accompanied by the downregulation of VEGF, N-cadherin, EphA2, and MMP-2, and upregulation of c-AMP, PKA, and E-cadherin. In vivoxenograft experiments revealed that tumor growth was inhibited by the knockdown of AKAP4, accompanied by the activation of c-AMP/PKA signaling and inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition progression. Our results show that AKAP4 might be an important target for treating NSCLC because of its function in promoting the migration and proliferation of NSCLC cells.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily manifests as progressive memory loss and cognitive impairment. Traditional herbal medicines may be helpful in the discovery of new anti-AD drugs. Studies have shown that Ferula assafoetidahas neuroprotective and memory-enhancing effects, which may be beneficial for the treatment of AD. However, the combination of active ingredients and their mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to identify potential active ingredients in F. assafoetidaand their mechanisms of action against AD by using network pharmacology.

Cauliflower is an important variety of Brassica oleraceaand is planted worldwide. Here, the high-quality genome sequence of cauliflower was reported. The assembled cauliflower genome was 584.60 Mb in size, with a contig N50 of 2.11 Mb, and contained 47,772 genes; 56.65% of the genome was composed of repetitive sequences. Among these sequences, long terminal repeats (LTRs) were the most abundant (32.71% of the genome), followed by transposable elements (TEs) (12.62%). Comparative genomic analysis confirmed that after an ancient paleohexaploidy (γ) event, cauliflower underwent two whole-genome duplication (WGD) events shared with Arabidopsisand an additional whole-genome triplication (WGT) event shared with other Brassicaspecies. The present cultivated cauliflower diverged from the ancestral B. oleraceaspecies ~3.0 million years ago (Mya). The speciation of cauliflower (~2.0 Mya) was later than that of B. oleraceaL. var. capitata(approximately 2.6 Mya) and other Brassicaspecies (over 2.0 Mya). Chromosome no. 03 of cauliflower shared the most syntenic blocks with the A, B, and C genomes of Brassicaspecies and its eight other chromosomes, implying that chromosome no. 03 might be the most ancient one in the cauliflower genome, which was consistent with the chromosome being inherited from the common ancestor of Brassicaspecies. In addition, 2,718 specific genes, 228 expanded genes, 2 contracted genes, and 1,065 positively selected genes in cauliflower were identified and functionally annotated. These findings provide new insights into the genomic diversity of Brassicaspecies and serve as a valuable reference for molecular breeding of cauliflower.

MiR171 plays pleiotropic roles in the growth and development of several plant species. However, the mechanism underlying the miR171-mediated regulation of organ development in broccoli remains unknown. In this study, bol-miR171b was characterized and found to be differentially expressed in various broccoli organs. The ectopic overexpression of bol-miR171b in Arabidopsisaffected the leaf and silique development of transgenic lines. In particular, the chlorophyll content of leaves from overexpressed bol-miR171b transgenic Arabidopsiswas higher than that of the vector controls. The fertility and seed yield of Arabidopsiswith overexpressed bol-miR171b were markedly lower than those of the vector controls. Similarly, overexpressed bol-miR171b transgenic broccoli exhibited dark green leaves with high chlorophyll content, and nearly all of the flowers were sterile. These results demonstrated that overexpression of bol-miR171b could increase the chlorophyll content of transgenic plants. Degradome sequencing was conducted to identify the targets of bol-miR171b. Two members of the GRAS gene family, BolSCL6and BolSCL27, were cleaved by bol-miR171b-3p in broccoli. In addition to the genes targeted by bol-miR171b-3p, adenylylsulfate reductase 3 (APSR3), which played important roles in plant sulfate assimilation and reduction, was speculated to be cleaved by bol-miR171b-5p, suggesting that the star sequence of bol-miR171b may also have functions in broccoli. Comparative transcriptome analysis further revealed that the genes involved in chloroplast development and sulfate homeostasis should participate in the bol-miR171b-mediated regulatory network. Taken together, these findings provided new insights into the function and regulation of bol-miR171b in broccoli and indicated the potential of bol-miR171b as a small RNA molecule that increased leaf chlorophyll in plants by genetic engineering.

Yiqi HuoxueDecoction (YQHX) has been widely used for clinical treatment of ischemic heart disease. While oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease, the function and molecular mechanism underlying antioxidative protective effects of YQHX on H9c2 cardiomyocytes against ischemia/hypoxia (I/H) have yet to be well clarified.

Larix kaempferiis widely cultivated because of its significant ecological and economic values. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the growth and development of Larix kaempferiremains largely unknown because of its long growth cycle and highly complex genetic background. In this study, global transcriptome sequencing of Larix kaempferiwas conducted via Solexa sequencing. In total, 15.49 million clean reads were assembled into 20,395 unigenes and then annotated. The study found hundreds of highly expressed unigenes involved in growth and development (e.g. plant hormone regulation pathways or starch and sucrose metabolic pathways), of which 25 unigenes with full-length coding regions interested us the most. In addition, two gene families containing the zinc finger and nucleotide-binding site (NBS) domains were further explored. A total of 48 C3H-type zinc finger genes, most containing a conversed C-X7–10-C-X5-C-X3-H motif, were identified and divided into eight distinct subfamilies through phylogenetic analysis. Twenty-one genes containing the NBS domain represented four subfamilies. These findings provided new insights into the transcriptome characteristics of Larix kaempferiand abundant sequence information to elucidate the roles of the functional genes in Larix kaempferi.

To explore the effect and mechanism of action of the Wenjing Zhitong recipe (WZR) in primary dysmenorrhea (PD) treatment.

Triploidy is a widespread phenomenon in cultivated and natural breeding plants and it can confer some growth advantages. Here, we analyzed genome-wide gene expression in triploid Populus euramericana (black poplar) using the Affymetrix poplar microarray to detect any possible correlation between triploid vigor and a unique gene expression profile. Among the 38,400 transcripts that were detected in triploid poplar, 1,564 and 2,015 genes were up- or downregulated, respectively, compared with the diploid. The majority of the upregulated genes in the triploid were associated with carbon and nitrogen metabolism, especially lignin and secondary metabolism. Other genes upregulated in the triploid included genes involved in sugar transport, and brassinosteroid (BR) and auxin metabolism. Downregulated genes were mostly related to the assembly and biosynthesis of ribosomes and the nucleosome macromolecular complex. The results suggested that BR and auxin levels were crucial in controlling sugar transport, photosynthesis and cell wall biosynthesis. Downregulated genes were associated with chromatin regulation in the triploid. The information from this analysis could provide an insight into the vigor of triploid poplar.

The majority of verified plant disease resistance genes (R genes) isolated to date was of the nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat (NBS-LRR) class. The conservation between different NBS-LRR R genes opens the avenue for the use of PCR based strategies in isolating and cloning other R gene family members or analogs (resistance gene analogue, RGA) using degenerate primers for these conserved regions. In this study, to better understand the R gene in European aspen (Populus tremula), a perennial tree, we used degenerate primers to amplify RGA sequences from European aspen. Cloning and sequence characterization identified 37 European aspen RGAs, which could be phylogenetically classified into seven subfamilies. Deduced amino acid sequences of European aspen RGAs showed strong identity, ranging from 30.41 to 46.63%, to toll interleukin receptor (TIR) R gene subfamily. BLAST searches with reference to the genomic sequence of P. trichocarpa found 209 highly homologous regions distributed in 28 genomic loci, suggesting the abundance and divergence of NBS-encoding R genes in European aspen genome. Although, numerous studies have reported that plant R genes are under diversifying selection for specificity to evolving pathogens, non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution (dN/dS) ratio were <1 for NBS domains of European aspen RGA, showing the evidence of purifying selection in this perennial tree. In further analysis, many intergenic exchanges were also detected among these RGAs, indicating a probable role in homogenising NBS domains. The present study permits insights into the origin, diversification, evolution and function of NBS-LRR R genes in perennial species like European aspen and will be useful for further R gene isolation and exploitation.