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Summary: Carotenoids are indispensable to plants and critical components of the human diet. The carotenoid metabolic pathway is conserved across plant species, but our understanding of the genetic basis of carotenoid variation remains limited for the seeds of most cereal crops. To address this issue, we systematically performed linkage and association mapping for eight carotenoid traits using six recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations. Single linkage mapping (SLM) and joint linkage mapping (JLM) identified 77 unique additive QTLs and 104 pairs of epistatic QTLs. Among these QTLs, we identified 22 overlapping hotspots of additive and epistatic loci, highlighting the important contributions of some QTLs to carotenoid levels through additive or epistatic mechanisms. A genome‐wide association study based on all RILs detected 244 candidate genes significantly associated with carotenoid traits, 23 of which were annotated as carotenoid pathway genes. Effect comparisons suggested that a small number of loci linked to pathway genes have substantial effects on carotenoid variation in our tested populations, but many loci not associated with pathway genes also make important contributions to carotenoid variation. We identified ZmPTOX as the causal gene for a QTL hotspot (Q10/JLM10/GWAS019); this gene encodes a putative plastid terminal oxidase that produces plastoquinone‐9 used by two enzymes in the carotenoid pathway. Natural variants in the promoter and second exon of ZmPTOX were found to alter carotenoid levels. This comprehensive assessment of the genetic mechanisms underlying carotenoid variation establishes a foundation for rewiring carotenoid metabolism and accumulation for efficient carotenoid biofortification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: To investigate the protective effect of total flavonoids from Patrina villosa Juss (PJF) on the lung in an experimental rat model of acute lung injury (ALI), and to elucidate the potential mechanism. METHODS: The ALI rat model was established by instilling 5 mg/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the airway. Sixty male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control, LPS, LPS+low-dose PJF (receiving 100 mg/kg PJF one hour before ALI modeling) and LPS+high-dose PJF (receiving 300 mg/kg PJF one hour before ALI modeling). Each group consisted of 15 animals. Lung tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected from all groups 24 h after modeling. For assessment of lung tissue morphology, HE staining was performed. The wet/dry weight ratio of the lung tissue was determined using the wet/dry weighing method. Evans blue staining was conducted to assess epithelial barrier permeability in lung tissues. ELISA was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the BALF, as well as oxidative stress markers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxi-dase (MPO) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the lung tissue. The expression levels of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) in the lung tissue were analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the rats in LPS group exhibited a blurred alveolar structure with a significant infiltration of inflammatory cells. The ALI score and the wet/dry weight ratio of the lung tissue were increased (P<0. 05). Concurrently, the levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in the BALF, along with MDA content and MPO activity in the lung tissue, were elevated (P<0. 05). Additionally, the protein levels of CHOP, GRP78 and XBP1 were up-regulated in the lung tissue (P<0. 05), while the SOD and GSH-Px activity was significantly decreased (P<0. 05). Compared with LPS group, PJF intervention exerted beneficial effects on the lung tissue morphology with reduced ALI score and lower lung wet/dry weight ratio (P<0. 05). Moreover, the levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in BALF, as well as MDA content, MPO activity and the protein levels of CHOP, GRP78 and XBP1 in the lung tissue were all significantly decreased (P<0. 05), while the SOD and GSH-Px activity was significantly increased (P<0. 05). The efficacy in high-dose group exceeded that in low-dose group. CONCLUSION: The PJF have protective effect on the lungs of rats with ALI, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of inflammation, oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a multimodal genre analysis of crowdfunding proposals, an emerging web-based genre for raising funds from internet crowds for a project or venture. Based on an analysis of nine most-funded Kickstarter crowdfunding proposals, the authors describe the generic move structure using a semiotic approach and examine the role of visual images in constructing meaning within and across moves. The analysis shows that visual images facilitate potential backers' sense-making in basically two dimensions: rhetorically, functioning to persuade by establishing ethos, logos, and pathos, and compositionally, helping achieve cohesion within and between moves and facilitate move mixing, embedding, and positioning. This study also attests a case-based approach to examining multiple influences on genre emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the evolution of national research policy in China over the past three decades and its recent shift in emphasis from "import" to "import-export" oriented internationalization. Based on a policy review and interviews with three groups of academics--six journal editors in the humanities and social sciences, two directors from top-tier Chinese university Departments of Scientific Research Administration, and six scholars from different disciplines--the article investigates the impact of national research policy and its recent shift towards 'going out' on scholarly publishing in China. The paper reveals Chinese academia's quandary with regard to internationalization and discusses the link with larger debates about uni- and bi-directionality in academic knowledge exchange.

Mitochondria are the power source of living cells and implicated in the oxidative metabolism. However, the effect of mitochondria on breeding is usually ignored in conventional research. In this study, the effect of mitochondria on Ganoderma lucidum morphology, yield, and main primary bioactive components was analyzed via structuring and comparing isonuclear alloplasmic strains. The crucial biological pathways were then explored based on the transcriptome. The results showed that isonuclear alloplasmic exhibited difference in mycelial growth rate in potato dextrose agar medium (PDA), basidiospore yield, and polysaccharide and triterpenoid content. Otherwise, mitochondria did not change colony and fruit body morphology, mushroom yield, or mycelial growth rate in solid-state fermentation cultivation material. The transcriptome data of two significant isonuclear alloplasmic strains S1 and S5 revealed that the involvement of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was mainly in pentose and glucuronate interconversions, starch and sucrose metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis. The result was further confirmed by the other isonuclear alloplasmic strains. The above results further proved that mitochondria could affect the active components of G. lucidum. Our results provide information which will contribute to understanding of mitochondria and will be helpful for breeding improved varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective. To explore the clinical effect of auxiliary comprehensive management combined with growth patch in the treatment of childhood idiopathic short stature (ISS). Methods. From September 2017 to December 2019, 120 children with ISS who met the selection criteria were collected. Random number table method divided them into 2 groups: one group was given auxiliary comprehensive management and recorded as the routine group (n = 60), and the other group was given auxiliary comprehensive management and combined growth patch treatment and recorded as the combination group (n = 60). The course of treatment was 12 months. The effects of the two methods on children's height, bone age, body weight, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 levels were compared. Results. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in baseline height, genetic height, baseline bone age, baseline body weight, and body weight before and after treatment (P > 0.05). After treatment, the heights of the two groups were higher than before for the same group, the height growth values and predicted adult height of the combination group were higher than those of the routine group, and the predicted adult height of the combination group was higher than the genetic height of the same group P < 0.001 . There was no statistical difference in IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels before treatment between the two groups (P > 0.05). The levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 after treatment in the two groups were higher than those in the same group before treatment, and the combination group was higher than that in the routine group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. On the basis of auxiliary comprehensive management, combined with growth patch for the treatment of children with ISS, it can effectively increase the height of the children, improve the levels of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, and have significant clinical effects, which is beneficial to the healthy growth of the children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine grasslands are a common feature on the extensive (2.6 million km2) Qinghai–Tibet plateau in western and southwestern China. These grasslands are characterized by their ability to thrive at high altitudes and in areas with short growing seasons and low humidity. Alpine steppe and alpine meadow are the principal plant Formations supporting a rich species mix of grass and forb species, many of them endemic. Alpine grasslands are the mainstay of pastoralism where yaks and hardy Tibetan sheep and Bactrian camels are the favored livestock in the cold arid region. It is not only their importance to local semi nomadic herders, but their role as headwaters of nine major rivers that provide water to more than one billion people in China and in neighboring countries in south and south-east Asia and beyond. Grasslands in this region were heavily utilized in recent decades and are facing accelerated land degradation. Government and herder responses, although quite different, are being implemented as climate change and the transition to the market economy proceeds apace. Problems and prospects for alpine grasslands and the management regimes being imposed (including sedentarization, resettlement and global warming are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The nutritional traits of maize kernels are important for human and animal nutrition, and these traits have undergone selection to meet the diverse nutritional needs of humans. However, our knowledge of the genetic basis of selecting for kernel nutritional traits is limited. Here, we identified both single and epistatic quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that contributed to the differences of oil and carotenoid traits between maize and teosinte. Over half of teosinte alleles of single QTLs increased the values of the detected oil and carotenoid traits. Based on the pleiotropism or linkage information of the identified single QTLs, we constructed a trait–locus network to help clarify the genetic basis of correlations among oil and carotenoid traits. Furthermore, the selection features and evolutionary trajectories of the genes or loci underlying variations in oil and carotenoid traits revealed that these nutritional traits produced diverse selection events during maize domestication and improvement. To illustrate more, a mutator distance–relative transposable element (TE) in intron 1 of DXS2, which encoded a rate‐limiting enzyme in the methylerythritol phosphate pathway, was identified to increase carotenoid biosynthesis by enhancing DXS2 expression. This TE occurs in the grass teosinte, and has been found to have undergone selection during maize domestication and improvement, and is almost fixed in yellow maize. Our findings not only provide important insights into evolutionary changes in nutritional traits, but also highlight the feasibility of reintroducing back into commercial agricultural germplasm those nutritionally important genes hidden in wild relatives. Significance Statement: The identification and selection‐feature characterization of genetic loci contributing to nutritional trait variation between maize and teosinte is of fundamental importance in understanding the evolutionary interface between plant and human. Most favorable alleles associated with nutritional traits exist in teosinte and are not fixed in modern maize, underscoring the potential benefit of introducing teosinte alleles during maize breeding regimens to yield hybrids with desirable nutritional traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The structure of PPI became more disordered after multiple F-T cycles. • F-T cycles could effectively improve the emulsification property of PPI. • The changes of PPI structure and functional properties depended on F-T cycles times. This study investigated changes of the structure and emulsifying properties of peanut protein isolate (PPI) during multiple freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles. According to the Fourier transform infrared spectrum, the F-T treatment to PPI reduced the content of protein ordered structure significantly. The result of fluorescence spectrum revealed that the polarity of PPI surroundings first increased and then decreased. Similarly, the free sulfhydryl content and surface hydrophobicity of PPI increased firstly and decreased. However, the carbonyl content and particle size of PPI increased continuously after F-T treatment. The emulsification performance of PPI after F-T treatment was significantly improved. The emulsion prepared by PPI after 3 F-T cycles had the smallest mean particle size, the highest absolute value of zeta-potential and the most uniform microstructure distribution, showed the best performance of emulsifying ability. Therefore, it can be known that F-T cycles treatment could effectively change protein structure and improve protein emulsifying properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on protein structure and emulsion properties of glycosylated black bean protein isolate (BBPI-G) were studied and compared to native black bean protein isolate (BBPI). The binding affinity of BBPI and BBPI-G with EGCG belonged to non-covalent interaction, which was determined by fluorescence quenching. EGCG attachment caused more disordered protein conformation, leading to a higher emulsification property. Among the different EGCG concentrations (0.10, 0.25, 0.50 mg/mL), the result revealed that the highest level of the emulsification property was obtained with 0.25 mg/mL EGCG. Therefore, the BBPI-EGCG and BBPI-G-EGCG prepared by 0.25 mg/mL EGCG were selected to fabricate oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. After the addition of EGCG, the mean particle size of emulsions decreased with the increasing absolute value of zeta-potential, and more compact interfacial film was formed due to the higher percentage of interfacial protein adsorption (AP%). Meanwhile, EGCG also significantly reduced the lipid oxidation of emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conjugates of black bean protein isolate (BBPI) and glucose (G) were prepared via the wet heating Maillard reaction with ultrasound pretreatment. The physicochemical properties of UBBPI-G conjugates prepared by ultrasound pretreatment Maillard reaction had been compared with classical Maillard reaction (BBPI-G). The reaction rate between BBPI and glucose was speeded up by ultrasound pretreatment. A degree of glycation (DG) of 20.49 was achieved by 2 h treatment for UBBPI-G, whereas 5 h was required using the classical heating. SDS-PAGE patterns revealed that the BBPI-G conjugates with higher molecular weight were formed after glycosylation. The results of secondary structure analysis suggested that the α-helix and β-sheet content of UBBPI-G were lower than that of BBPI-G. In addition, UBBPI-G conjugates had exhibited bathochromic shift compared with BBPI by fluorescence spectroscopy analysis. Finally, UBBPI-G achieved higher level of surface hydrophobicity, solubility, emulsification property and antioxidant activity than BBPI and BBPI-G (classical Maillard reaction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the variation of molecular functional properties of peanut protein isolate (PPI) over the storage process and reveal the correlation between the PPI secondary structure and properties in the storage procedure. After storage, the molecular properties of PPI changed significantly (p < 0.05). Extending storage time resulted in a decrease in free sulfhydryl content, fluorescence intensity, surface hydrophobicity and emulsifying properties, which was accompanied by an increase in protein particle size. The results of infrared spectroscopy suggested the content decline of α-helix and β-sheet, and the content rise of β-turn and random coil. Based on bivariate correlation analysis, it was revealed that surface hydrophobicity and emulsifying activity of PPI was significantly affected by α-helix and by β-turn (p < 0.05), respectively. This research supplied more information for the relationship between the peanut protein's secondary structure and functional properties over the stored process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]