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The classical Brauer–Ostrowski Theorem and the Ostrowski Theorem give spectral enclosures of matrices by a union of Cassini ovals and a union of some disks, respectively. In this paper, we obtain the corresponding results for operator matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an important legume forage, which is widely distributed in cool-season regions. Therefore, cold stress is a major environmental factor limiting its growth and production, while little is known about the its cold tolerance at molecular level. In the present study, we performed time-course RNA-seq analysis under cold stress. RNA-seq results suggested that genes associated with "oxidoreductase activity" and "transcription regulator activity" are more likely related to the response of white clover to cold stress. To identify the specific gene modules and the hub genes of white clover in response to cold stress, we applied weighted gene co-expression network analyses (WGCNA) to transcriptome data. We also found that gene modules that focus on protein kinase activity, DNA-binding transcription factor activity and oxidoreductase activity, are more likely to be involved in the response of white clover to cold stress. Especially, we identified several AP2/ERF TF genes and CDPK genes as pivotal genes in white clover in response to cold stress, which would provide helpful insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the response of white clover to cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the highest-value vegetable crops worldwide, but tomato planting can be easily affected by leaf mold. Tomato leaf mold disease is caused by Cladosporium fulvum, and plants carrying the Cf genes have effective resistance to C. fulvum. To identify leaf mold resistant varieties and screen for specific cDNA amplified fragment length polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) molecular markers, tomato plants harbouring genes Cf-5, Cf-11, Cf-19, and the moneymaker (MM) tomato line (without Cf gene) were used as plant materials. The changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and antioxidant activities of plant leaves after inoculation of C. fulvum were measured. Ethylene (ETH), abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) contents were also determined. The results revealed that the ROS levels in Cf-19 tomato were the most sensitive to C. fulvum inoculation, while in MM they were the least. The antioxidant enzymes of Cf-carrying plants exhibited different activities as compared to those of MM. In the cDNA-AFLP analysis data, the expression of ERF109, sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase), L-ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO) and Thioredoxin H2 (TRX2) were different between Cf-gene carriers and MM plants. In summary, in the process of leaf–mold interaction, the outbreak of ROS and development of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) are tightly combined with antioxidant enzymes, including thioredoxin. Tomato plants carrying the Cf-19 gene appear to have stronger C. fulvum resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) data from the Duolong ore district. The corresponding AFT and AHe ages provide insights into the uplift and exhumation history of the Duolong ore district, revealing rapid exhumation with an erosional exhumation rate of 0.067 km/Ma between 65 and 35 Ma, and slow exhumation with an erosional exhumation rate of 0.023 km/Ma since 35 Ma. The new data in this study, along with previous low-temperature thermochronology data, show that samples with ages from 130 to 83 Ma are distributed close to Shuanghu in the central Qiangtang, samples with ages from 65 to 45 Ma are distributed evenly across the whole Qiangtang terrane, and several samples with ages from 20 to 7 Ma are distributed at the edge of the Qiangtang terrane. The Qiangtang terrane experienced heterogeneous surface uplift. The central Qiangtang was initially uplifted during the Early Cretaceous, and the weathered paleosoil dated between 120 and 110 Ma in the Duolong ore district is consistent with the exhumation during this period. Large-scale uplift and exhumation of the Qiangtang terrane between the Palaeocene and Eocene is consistent with the rapid exhumation of the Duolong ore district between 65 and 35 Ma; finally, the uplift and exhumation at the edge of the Qiangtang terrane since the Eocene caused the Duolong ore district to be uplifted to its present elevation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daylily (Hemerocallis citrina Borani), a widespread ornamental plant around the world, has been considered as an ideal model to study flower development recently. To initiate the research to comprehensively investigate the molecular mechanism of the flower development of daylily, we performed a transcriptome sequencing study to establish the transcriptional profiles of this plant at different flower developmental stages. Briefly, we divided the flower development of daylily into six stages, and performed transcriptome sequencing for the samples collected from each stage. A total of 56,598 unique transcripts were obtained, of which 35,424 ones (about 62.6%) encode proteins with known functions based on homology searches against well-studied model plants. The expression profiles of these genes showed that 7,395 genes were differentially expressed during flower development. Further functional enrichment analysis for these differentially expressed genes revealed that they are enriched in the processes of translation, oxidation-reduction, and cell wall metabolism, suggesting the critical roles of these processes in daylily flower development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate effects of combination use of leflunomide and benazepril on diabetic nephropathy (DN) both in vivo and in vitro. Methods: The streptozotocin (STZ) induced Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with leflunomide (15 mg/kg/d), benazepril (15 mg/kg/d) or both the two drugs. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and renal function indexes including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), and proteinuria and kidney/body weight ratio (KW/BW) were measured. HE staining was used for histological analysis. The rat glomerular mesangial cells (RMCs) were treated with high-glucose (150 mg/ml) and the leflunomide and benazepril with both concentrations of 50 μmol/l were used to treat the high-glucose induced cells. TUNEL assay was used for measurement of cell apoptosis. Western blotting was conducted to determine expression of nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-κB), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6). Results: The body weight was significantly lower and all indexes of FBG, BUN, Scr, proteinuria and KW/BW ratio, GFR, as well as inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly increased in the DN group after STZ treatment for 4 weeks. The treatment with leflunomide, benazepril or the both dramatically reduced the above effects induced by STZ, and the alteration was the most significant in the combination group. Treatment of leflunomide and benazepril significantly reduced expression levels of NF-κB, TGF-β and TRPC6 in renal tissues of DN rats as well as in high-glucose induced RMCs. It was also observed leflunomide and benazepril reduced high-glucose induced cell apoptosis of RMCs. Conclusion: The combination use of leflunomide and benazepril could improve the renal function and reduce the renal injury of DN rats and could reduce the levels of NF-κb, TGF-β and TRPC6 in both DN rats and high-glucose induced RMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibroblast growth factor-16 (FGF16) is a member of FGF9 subfamily, which plays key role in promoting mitosis and cell survival, and also involved in embryonic development, cell growth, tissue repair, morphogenesis, tumor growth, and invasion. However, the successful high-yield purification of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-16 (rhFGF16) protein has not been reported. In addition, lung cancer is a major cause of cancer-related deaths, which threats people’s lives and its incidence has continued to rise. Learning pathways or proteins, which involved in lung tumor progression will contribute to the development of early diagnosis and targeted therapy. FGF16 promoted proliferation and invasion behavior of SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells, whose function may be similar in lung cancer. The hFGF16 was cloned into pET-3d and expressed inEscherichia coliBL21 (DE3) pLysS. Finally, obtained two forms of FGF16 that exhibited remarkable biological activity and the purity is over 95%, meanwhile, the yield of soluble 130 mg/100 g and insoluble 240 mg/100 g. Experiments demonstrated FGF16 could promote proliferation of NCL-H460 cells by activating Akt, Erk1/2, and p38 MAPK signaling, whereas JNK had no significant effect. In total, this optimized expression strategy enables significant quantity and activity of rhFGF16, thereby meeting its further pharmacological and clinical usages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]