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This article discusses the role of the transcription factor TaMYB72 in promoting heading and enhancing grain yield traits in wheat. The researchers used CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing to create knockout mutants of TaMYB72 and found that these mutants displayed later heading dates and increased grain yield traits compared to the wild-type plants. The study also revealed that TaMYB72 directly activates the expression of TaFT, a gene involved in flowering and spikelet development, to regulate the height and yield traits of wheat. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic basis of grain yield traits and heading date in wheat, and suggest TaMYB72 as a potential target gene for increasing grain yield in breeding programs. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the use of dermoscopy, a diagnostic tool, to evaluate the efficacy of treatment for facial port-wine stains (PWS). The study included 61 patients with untreated facial PWS who underwent photodynamic therapy. The researchers used dermoscopy to quantify the efficacy of the treatment by analyzing vessel density and color improvement. They found that vessel density positively correlated with the color of PWS, and changes in vessel density could be used to reflect changes in PWS color. The accuracy and reliability of dermoscopy assessment were compared to visual and colorimeter assessments, and dermoscopy assessment was found to be more consistent with visual assessment, suggesting it may be more suitable for people of East Asian descent. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: Plant height and grain size are two important agronomic traits that are closely related to crop yield. Numerous dwarf and grain‐shape mutants have been studied to identify genes that can be used to increase crop yield and improve breeding programs.In this study, we characterized a dominant mutant, dwarf and round grain 1 (drg1‐D), in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). drg1‐D plants exhibit multiple phenotypic changes, including dwarfism, round grains, and insensitivity to brassinosteroids (BR). Cell structure observation in drg1‐D mutant plants showed that the reduced organ size is due to irregular cell shape.Using map‐based cloning and verification in transgenic plants, we found that a Glu209Lys substitution in the DRG1 protein is responsible for the irregular cell size and arrangement in the drg1‐D mutant. DRG1/TaACT7 encodes an actin family protein that is essential for polymerization stability and microfilament (MF) formation. In addition, the BR response and vesicular transport were altered by the abnormal actin cytoskeleton in drg1‐D mutant plants.Our study demonstrates that DRG1/TaACT7 plays an important role in wheat cell shape determination by modulating actin organization and intracellular material transport, which could in the longer term provide tools to better understand the polymerization of actin and its assembly into filaments and arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the poor corrosion resistance of titanium matrix composites treatment vessels for nuclear fuel reprocessing in HF solution at room temperature and high concentration of HCl/HNO3 solutions at high temperature, hierarchical micro‐/nanostructure surfaces with adjustable superhydrophobicity are prepared on Ti6Al4V‐based composites by laser microengraving followed by fluorosilane modification. The effect of topography and composition of the surface on wettability is investigated. More importantly, the anticorrosion mechanism of the as‐prepared surface in the earlier corrosive solutions that can destroy the anticorrosion inert oxide film of the composite easily is investigated and elucidated for the first time. The results indicate that the surface is composed of regular parallel linear peak‐like microscale structures and radiating flocculent nanostructures. It shows excellent and stable superhydrophobicity (contact angle of 158.4°, sliding angle of 4.7°). Due to the unique solid–air–liquid interface induced by the micro‐/nanostructures and high charge transfer resistance induced by the fluorosilane film, the impedance modulus of the superhydrophobic surface can be one order of magnitude higher than that of the bare surface. The composite can be corroded hardly when immersed in 5% HCl/HNO3 solutions at 80 °C for more than 10 days and 4% HF solution at room temperature for 3 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested whether VRN1 is a substrate of GSK3 phosphorylation by performing I in vitro i VRN1 phosphorylation assays using equivalent amounts of GSK3 or gsk3 proteins. To further test whether GSK3 regulates VRN1 protein abundance, we performed a cell-free protein degradation assay to monitor the contents of GST-VRN1 in the absence or presence of the 26S proteasome inhibitor MG132. GLYCOGEN SYNTHASE KINASE 3 physically interacts with VRN1 and regulates its accumulation to mediate flowering in wheat. [Extracted from the article]

Schistosomiasis is an important, neglected tropical disease. Schistosoma japonicum can evade host attacks by regulating the host's immunity, causing continuous infection. However, interactions between the host's immune system and S. japonicum are unclear. Our previous research found that the Sj16 protein isolated from S. japonicum has an anti‐inflammatory effect in the host. However, the role of Sj16 in the regulation of host immunity in S. japonicum infection is not clear. Here, we applied the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to knockout Sj16 in S. japonicum eggs and investigated the effect of Sj16 in regulating host immunity. We found egg viability decreased after Sj16 knockout. In addition, we found granulomatous inflammation increased, the T‐cell immune response enhanced and the immune microenvironment changed in mice model injected with Sj16‐knockout eggs by tail vein. These findings suggested that S. japonicum could regulate host immunity through Sj16 to evade the host immune attack and cause continuous infection. In addition, we confirmed the application of CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated gene reprogramming for functional genomics in S. japonicum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Rapid‐onset Obesity with Hypothalamic Dysfunction, Hypoventilation and Autonomic Dysregulation (ROHHAD), is a severe pediatric disorder of uncertain etiology resulting in hypothalamic dysfunction and frequent sudden death. Frequent co‐occurrence of neuroblastic tumors have fueled suspicion of an autoimmune paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS); however, specific anti‐neural autoantibodies, a hallmark of PNS, have not been identified. Our objective is to determine if an autoimmune paraneoplastic etiology underlies ROHHAD. Methods: Immunoglobulin G (IgG) from pediatric ROHHAD patients (n = 9), non‐inflammatory individuals (n = 100) and relevant pediatric controls (n = 25) was screened using a programmable phage display of the human peptidome (PhIP‐Seq). Putative ROHHAD‐specific autoantibodies were orthogonally validated using radioactive ligand binding and cell‐based assays. Expression of autoantibody targets in ROHHAD tumor and healthy brain tissue was assessed with immunohistochemistry and mass spectrometry, respectively. Results: Autoantibodies to ZSCAN1 were detected in ROHHAD patients by PhIP‐Seq and orthogonally validated in 7/9 ROHHAD patients and 0/125 controls using radioactive ligand binding and cell‐based assays. Expression of ZSCAN1 in ROHHAD tumor and healthy human brain tissue was confirmed. Interpretation: Our results support the notion that tumor‐associated ROHHAD syndrome is a pediatric PNS, potentially initiated by an immune response to peripheral neuroblastic tumor. ZSCAN1 autoantibodies may aid in earlier, accurate diagnosis of ROHHAD syndrome, thus providing a means toward early detection and treatment. This work warrants follow‐up studies to test sensitivity and specificity of a novel diagnostic test. Last, given the absence of the ZSCAN1 gene in rodents, our study highlights the value of human‐based approaches for detecting novel PNS subtypes. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:279–291 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correlation filters with convolutional neural network (CNN) features have been successfully applied to visual tracking owing to their impressive combined capability for object representation. Unfortunately, further performance improvement is limited due to unwanted boundary effects of the circular structure. In this work, through an in‐depth study of the features' characteristics, the authors propose a novel tracking strategy to achieve simultaneous filter matching and regularization with CNN features when tracking is on the fly. With a feature decomposed transform matrix, a spatial semantic regularization is generated to reduce the boundary effect effectively during filter optimization. Before each output, the regularized filter is then back performed to match with the extracted features of a search region to find the optimum candidate. Specifically, the most important advantage of the proposed spatial semantic map is to initialize only in the first frame as all the other tracking strategies. Besides, the authors design a novel updating strategy to tackle the cases where the object is occluded or disappeared in the scene. At this time, the maximum of the map is small, even negative. A substantial experiment has been carried out on the popular benchmark tracking datasets; the reliable results have demonstrated that the authors' method is able to outperform most of the state‐of‐the‐art tracking works in both accuracy and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is beneficial to understand deeply the permeability properties of coal and rock for the stability control of mining engineering, underground engineering, oil and gas engineering, nuclear waste storage engineering, and so on. Therefore, new insights for the permeability properties of bedded coal and rock are summarized and proposed. (1) "Five guarantees" coring technology is worth for vigorous promotion and application. (2) The internal spatial fabric has the significant effect on the mechanical behavior evolution law of (bedded) coal and rock, but the effect is not dominant. (3) The permeability‐energy evolution models of (bedded) coal and rock should be constructed considering the idea of initial high in situ stress reduction, which is helpful for the energy visualization characterization of (bedded) coal and rock. Meanwhile, it can be combined with the structural evolution theory for in‐depth characterization and disclosure. (4) Researches on the permeability properties of (bedded) coal and rock under multi‐field or multi‐phase or phase‐field coupling conditions should be strengthened based on considering the initial damage produced and the distribution characteristics of in situ stress under the coring environment. (5) More accurate and scientific permeability evolution models of (bedded) coal and rock should be vigorously constructed based on the above insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Tillering is an important parameter of plant architecture in cereal crops. In this study, we identified the PHYTOCHROME‐INTERACTING FACTOR‐LIKE (PIL) family transcription factors as new repressors of tillering in cereal crops.Using biochemical and genetic approaches, we explore the roles of TaPIL1 in regulating wheat plant architecture. We found that the PIL protein TaPIL1 controls tiller number in wheat.Overexpression of TaPIL1 reduces wheat tiller number; additionally, overexpression of TaPIL1‐SUPERMAN repression domain increases wheat tiller number. Furthermore, we show that TaPIL1 activates the transcriptional expression of wheat TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 (TaTB1); moreover, TaPIL1 physically interacts with wheat SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN‐LIKE (TaSPL)3/17, which are activators of TaTB1 transcription. In rice, overexpression and loss‐of‐function mutations of OsPIL11 reduce or increase tiller number by regulating the expression of OsTB1. In Arabidopsis, we demonstrate that PHYTOCHROME‐INTERACTING FACTOR 4 interacts with SPL9 to inhibit shoot branching.This study reveals that PIL family transcription factors directly interact with SPLs and play an important role in repressing tillering/branching in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stimuli response of nanomaterials represents a highly appealing characteristic, whereas the practical applications (in catalysis, biosensing etc.) are largely restricted by the limited understanding on the recognition mechanism. Herein, we report a pH‐regulated size evolution from atomically precise Au nanoclusters (NCs) to plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs). The spectral monitoring demonstrates a three‐stage aggregative growth pathway. First, the non‐covalent interactions among the exterior oligopeptide ligands are gradually enhanced with the increased alkalinity, and then the Au−S bonding is partially disrupted, with the exposed Au atoms aggregating to form relatively larger, polydisperse clusters under weak alkaline conditions. Finally, size‐redistribution occurs slowly under strong alkaline conditions to form the plasmonic particles. The controllable transition sheds light on the transition characteristics from molecular state to metallic state of Au nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemoporfin‐mediated photodynamic therapy (HMME‐PDT) is a vascular‐targeted treatment for port‐wine stains (PWS). However, the efficacy of this has varied and is difficult to predict. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of influential factors associated with HMME‐PDT and provide a suitable method for predicting the efficacy. Patients with facial PWS who underwent HMME‐PDT were retrospective analyzed. A total of 212 patients (93 males) with mean age of 13.01 ± 12.67 years (range, 1–51) years were included. There were 143 cases with red, 56 cases with purple, and 13 cases with hypertrophic‐type PWS. The number of HMME‐PDT sessions ranged 1–6. The excellent response rate after 1–4 PDT sessions was 9.4%, 17.6%, 32.7%, and 42.9%, respectively. The number of PDT treatments is associated with efficacy, and patients who underwent treatment with more than three sessions had response better than those who underwent treatment with less than three sessions (p = 0.003). Response to HMME‐PDT in patients of different ages, previous treatment history, lip involvement, and vessels morphology showed significant differences after two treatment sessions (p = 0.001, 0.03, 0.014, and 0.001, respectively), while patients of different sex, subtype, lesion size, location (medial, lateral, or mixed), or non‐vascular morphology showed no significant differences. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that the patients with lip hypertrophy (p = 0.002), history of more than five times prior treatment (p = 0.003), fewer PDT sessions (<3) (p = 0.000002), linear vessels (p = 0.007), and reticular vessels (p = 0.0003) showed association with poor response of HMME‐PDT. In conclusion, HMME‐PDT is an effective treatment for PWS. Patients who had underwent treatment for more than five times prior, lip hypertrophy, and linear vessels or reticular vessels under dermoscope showed association with poor efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) is recognized as a highly precise analytical instrument for analyzing the constituent elements of matter in the fields of physics, chemistry, aerospace, and so on. With the emergence and development of miniaturized and portable devices in numerous scientific and technological fields, there has been an urgent need for on‐chip FTSs due to their benefits of small size, portability, low energy consumption, and robustness. However, the small size of on‐chip FTSs hinders the acquisition of a large optical path difference, resulting in a low resolution of the spectrometer. In addition, the sampler spacing is not sufficiently small to satisfy Nyquist's sampling theorem, directly influencing the bandwidth of the spectrometer. Therefore, studies have been performed to investigate the trade‐off between the reduced size and performance of spectrometers. This paper aims to systematically review the progress in on‐chip FTSs, especially in on‐chip static FTSs, including spatially modulated, temporally modulated, and space‐time comodulated FTSs, from the aspects of theories, implementations, and performance indicators. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion of the challenges and a view of the prospective development of this exciting field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are unable to maintain a lifelong remission. Developing a novel therapeutic strategy is urgently needed. In this study, we adopt a new strategy to attenuate colitis using the Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 probiotic strain to express a schistosome immunoregulatory protein (Sj16) in the gastrointestinal tract. The genetically engineered Nissle 1917 (EcN‐Sj16) highly expressed Sj16 in the gastrointestinal tracts of dextran sulfate sodium‐induced colitis mice and significantly attenuated the clinical activity of colitis mice. Mechanistically, EcN‐Sj16 increased the intestinal microbiota diversity and selectively promoted the growth of Ruminococcaceae and therefore enhanced the butyrate production. Butyrate induced the expression of retinoic acid, which further attenuated the clinical activity of colitis mice by increasing Treg cells and decreasing Th17. Strikingly, retinoic acid inhibitor inhibited the therapeutic effects of EcN‐Sj16 in colitis mice. These findings suggest that EcN‐Sj16 represents a novel engineered probiotic that may be used to treat IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Port‐wine stains (PWS) occur in 0.3–0.5% of the population. However, the dermoscopic features of PWS have not been systematically studied. Methods: Dermoscopic images of 264 cases with PWS were retrospectively analysed. Results: Linear vessels were the most frequent dermoscopic features of PWS (42.0%). Other dermoscopic features were reticular vessels (28.0%), sausage‐like vessels (13.6%), dots or globules vessels (9.1%) and mixed vessels (7.2%). Nonvascular morphology comprised white circles (13.6%) and whitish veil (38.3%). Sausage‐like vessels and whitish veil were mainly present in the thickened type and in those with PWS aged ≥18 years; mixed vessels were mainly present in purple type of PWS. Dermoscopic features showed no significant difference between lesions located on different facial areas (V1, V2 and V3). Dots or globular vessels were more common in non‐facial lesions (P < 0.0001). White circles were only found in the facial lesions, and the frequency of white circles and whitish veil was higher in the treated group than in the untreated group (P = 0.004 and P = 0.04, respectively). The frequency of white circles was significantly higher in the prior treated group than in the untreated group (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: There are various of dermoscopic features of PWS. The dermoscopic features of patients with PWS may correlate with age, subtype, location, prior treatment history and pulsed dye laser (PDL) resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The domestication gene Q is largely responsible for the widespread cultivation of wheat because it confers multiple domestication traits. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of how Q regulates these domestication traits remain unclear.In this study, we identify a Q‐interacting protein TaLAX1, a basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor, through yeast two‐hybrid assays. Using biochemical and genetic approaches, we explore the roles of TaLAX1 in regulating wheat domestication traits.Overexpression of TaLAX1 produces phenotypes, reminiscent of the q allele; loss‐of‐function Talax1 mutations confer compact spikes, largely similar to the Q‐overexpression wheat lines. The two transcription factors TaLAX1 and Q disturb each other's activity to antagonistically regulate the expression of the lignin biosynthesis‐related gene TaKNAT7‐4D. More interestingly, a natural variation (InDel, +/− TATA), which occurs in the promoter of TaLAX1, is associated with the promoter activity difference between the D subgenome of bread wheat and its ancestor Aegilops tauschii accession T093.This study reveals that the transcription factor TaLAX1 physically interacts with Q to antagonistically regulate wheat domestication traits and a natural variation (InDel, +/− TATA) is associated with the diversification of TaLAX1 promoter activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schistosomiasis is characterized by liver fibrosis, and studies have indicated that Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) eggs can limit the progression of liver fibrosis. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms are yet unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain a selection of miRNAs for long-distance exchange of information and act as an important pathway for host-parasite communication. This study aimed to explore the potential role of S. japonicum egg-derived EVs and its key miRNA in liver fibrosis. Herein, we found that S. japonicum egg-derived EVs can inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells, which is mediated via the high expression of Sja-miR-71a. Sja-miR-71a in EVs attenuates the pathological progression and liver fibrosis in S. japonicum infection. Sja-miR-71a inhibiting TGF-β1/SMAD and interleukin (IL)-13/STAT6 pathways via directly targeting semaphorin 4D (Sema4D). In addition, Sja-miR-71a can also suppress liver fibrosis by regulating Th1/Th2/Th17 and Treg balance. This study contributes to further understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying Schistosoma-host interactions, and Sema4D may be a potential target for schistosomiasis liver fibrosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A metamaterial absorber is proposed that functions in the medium‐ (3–5 µm) and long‐wavelength (8–12 µm) infrared (medium‐wavelength infrared, MWIR, and long‐wavelength infrared, LWIR, respectively) regions. The proposed design, which consists of periodic cells, can be tuned to achieve single‐band or dual‐band light absorption by changing the periodicity of the structure. Each cell forming the metamaterial absorber consists of a bottom metal plate (Al), a top metal disk (Ti), and an intermediate dielectric medium (Si or ZnS) in which a metal disk (Ti) is embedded. For a period of 0.85 µm, the absorber achieves broadband absorption in the LWIR region, with an average absorption of 92.1%. Further, the absorber shows acceptable tolerance to irradiation at oblique incidence. For a period of 2 µm, a peak absorption of 99.05% is achieved in the MWIR region, thereby providing dual‐band absorption. Tuning the periodicity of the structure enhances the localized surface plasmon resonance, with the absorption mechanism explained by establishing an equivalent parallel LC circuit. The absorption properties demonstrated by the proposed metamaterial absorber are promising for thermal imaging and infrared spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the basic components, nutrient composition, and processing characteristics of cassava flour were determined. In addition, the effects of xanthan gum and inulin on the pasting properties, microstructure, and thermal properties of cassava flour were studied. Biscuits were prepared using cassava flour as the main raw material and the optimal technology and formula for the biscuits were determined by single‐factor and orthogonal tests. The effects of xanthan gum and inulin on the quality of cassava flour short biscuits were also investigated, and volatile components in the biscuits were determined using electronic nose technique. The addition of xanthan gum improved the pasting properties and microstructure of cassava flour, and improved the taste and increased hardness and brittleness of the biscuits, making their quality similar to that of commercially available short biscuits. The addition of inulin inhibited the setback of starch and improved starch gelatinization. However, inulin was not suitable for processing of cassava flour biscuits as it decreased their hardness, brittleness, and taste. The optimal formula and baking conditions of cassava flour short biscuits were as follows: cassava flour 100 g, water 24 g, shortening 25 g, sugar 30 g, baking powder 0.6 g, salt 1 g, and egg 25 g; the surface fire and primer fire temperatures were 180°C, and the baking time was 9 min. In addition, although the main aroma volatile components present in cassava flour and low gluten wheat flour short biscuits were similar, the proportions of each component were different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of questioned documents printed with monochromatic toner has been a great challenge to document examiners. Banding artifacts, which are often perceived in the outputs of laser printers, could be a solution to the identification of printers. In this study, sources other than the gear transmission errors were discovered for some primary banding frequency components. By detecting the angular velocity variation of photosensitive drums and other rotating parts of the tested printers and comparing them with the banding signals extracted from the printouts, the authors located the sources of banding frequency components. It was shown that the sources of some primary and persistent banding signals, which were previously unknown, were traced to the periodic velocity variations of the motors or the timing belts. As inherent signatures, banding artifacts could be promising features for discriminating documents printed by individual laser printers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ripening in climacteric fruit requires the gaseous phytohormone ethylene. Although ethylene signaling has been well studied, knowledge of the transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthesis is still limited. Here we show that an apple ( Malus domestica) ethylene response factor, Md ERF2, negatively affects ethylene biosynthesis and fruit ripening by suppressing the transcription of Md ACS1, a gene that is critical for biosynthesis of ripening-related ethylene. Expression of Md ERF2 was suppressed by ethylene during ripening of apple fruit, and we observed that Md ERF2 bound to the promoter of Md ACS1 and directly suppressed its transcription. Moreover, Md ERF2 suppressed the activity of the promoter of Md ERF3, a transcription factor that we found to bind to the Md ACS1 promoter, thereby increasing Md ACS1 transcription. We determined that the Md ERF2 and Md ERF3 proteins directly interact, and this interaction suppresses the binding of Md ERF3 to the Md ACS1 promoter. Moreover, apple fruit with transiently downregulated Md ERF2 expression showed higher ethylene production and faster ripening. Our results indicate that Md ERF2 negatively affects ethylene biosynthesis and fruit ripening in apple by suppressing the transcription of Md ACS1 via multiple mechanisms, thereby acting as an antagonist of positive ripening regulators. Our findings offer a deep understanding of the transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthesis during climacteric fruit ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Through large-scale transformation analyses, TaMYB72 was identified as a flowering time regulator in wheat. TaMYB72 is a MYB family transcription factor localized to the nucleus. Three TaMYB72 homologs, TaMYB72-A, TaMYB72-B and TaMYB72-D, cloned from hexaploid wheat were mapped to the short arm of the group 6 chromosomes. Under the long-day conditions, over-expression of the TaMYB72 in rice shortened the flowering time by approximately 12 d. Expression analyses suggest that TaMYB72 may function through up-regulation of florigen genes Hd3a and RFT1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RATIONALE: Paired Lys-N and Lys-C proteases produce peptides of identical mass and similar retention time, but different tandem mass spectra. Data from these parallel experiments provide constraints that are applied before data analysis. With this approach, we can find matched spectra before analysis, distinguish ion type, and determine residue level confidence. METHODS: Aliquots are digested separately by Lys-N and Lys-C peptidases, and analyzed by reversed-phase nano-flow liquid chromatography, collision-induced dissociation, and 14.5 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Matched pairs of fragmentation spectra with equal precursor mass and similar retention times from each digestion are compared, leveraging single-residue transposed information with independent interferences to confidently identify fragment ion type, residues, and peptides. The paired spectra are solved together as a single de novo sequencing problem. RESULTS: Two pairs of spectra of a de novo sequenced 18-mer are presented. In one example, the 18-mer has coverage of all residues except the N- and C- terminal lysines and their adjacent residues. The confidence level is high due to six pairs of transposed ions. In the other example, the coverage is incomplete. Nonetheless, nine pairs of transposed ions facilitate identification of two trimer sequence tags with high confidence, one with medium confidence, and additional sequence information with residue-by-residue confidence, thus demonstrating the value of residue-by-residue confidence. CONCLUSIONS: Sequence identity and variability, such as post-translational modifications (PTMs), are essential to understanding biological function and disease. The present method facilitates discovery of new peptides with multiple levels of confidence, promises potential characterization of PTMs, and validates peptides from databases. Independent validation may be of interest for a number of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rht-D1c ( Rht10) carried by Chinese wheat ( Triticum aestivum) line Aibian 1 is an allele at the Rht-D1 locus. Among the Rht-1 alleles, little is known about Rht-D1c although it determines an extreme dwarf phenotype in wheat., Here, we cloned and functionally characterized Rht-D1c using a combination of Southern blotting, target region sequencing, gene expression analysis and transgenic experiments., We found that the Rht-D1c allele was generated through a tandem segmental duplication (TSD) of a > 1 Mb region, resulting in two copies of the Rht-D1b. Two copies of Rht-D1b in the TSD were three-fold more effective in reducing plant height than a single copy, and transformation with a segment containing the tandemly duplicated copy of Rht-D1b resulted in the same level of reduction of plant height as the original copy in Aibian 1., Our results suggest that changes in gene copy number are one of the important sources of genetic diversity and some of these changes could be directly associated with important traits in crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronavirus (CoV) is the single stranded sense RNA virus that has been known so far with the largest genomic capacity and plenty of natural hosts. In the past dozens of years, SARS-CoV under the branch of the new evolutionary tree has threatens greatly global public health and the severe acute respiratory syndrome new coronavirus (COVID-19) reported in China could cause fatal pathological lesions. Especially in areas with poor medical care, neglect of indirect transmission can cause more serious consequences.Methods: First of all, with reference to SARS-CoV and other relevant studies, the possibility of virus residues on the surface of multiple media is discussed. Further, it is found that the surface residue of this substance may be an important factor in iatrogenic infection.Results: This correspondence could point out the direction to study the pathomechanism of COVID-19 infecting human beings.Conclusions: Mucosa exposure and inappropriate treatment of medical and non-medical articles used by the patients all could increase the risks of COVID-19 transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]