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Objective: Aberrant glucolipid metabolism in the heart is a characteristic factor in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DbCM). Super-enhancers-driven noncoding RNAs (seRNAs) are emerging as powerful regulators in the progression of cardiac diseases. However, the functions of seRNAs in DbCM have not been fully elucidated. Methods: Super enhancers and their associated seRNAs were screened and identified by H3K27ac ChIP-seq data in the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) dataset. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to analyze the function of super-enhancers on the transcription of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α-related seRNA (PPARα-seRNA). A DbCM mouse model was established using db/db leptin receptor-deficient mice. Adeno-associated virus serotype 9-seRNA (AAV9-seRNA) was injected via the tail vein to evaluate the role of seRNA in DbCM. The underlying mechanism was explored through RNA pull-down, RNA and chromatin immunoprecipitation, and chromatin isolation by RNA purification. Results: PPARα-seRNA was regulated by super-enhancers and its levels were increased in response to high glucose and palmitic acid stimulation in cardiomyocytes. Functionally, PPARα-seRNA overexpression aggravated lipid deposition, reduced glucose uptake, and repressed energy production. In contrast, PPARα-seRNA knockdown ameliorated metabolic disorder in vitro. In vivo, overexpression of PPARα-seRNA exacerbated cardiac metabolic disorder and deteriorated cardiac dysfunction, myocardial fibrosis, and hypertrophy in DbCM. Mechanistically, PPARα-seRNA bound to the histone demethylase KDM4B (Lysine-specific demethylase 4B) and decreased H3K9me3 levels in the promoter region of PPARα, ultimately enhancing its transcription. Conclusions: Our study revealed the pivotal function of a super-enhancer-driven long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), PPARα-seRNA, in the deterioration of cardiac function and the exacerbation of metabolic abnormalities in diabetic cardiomyopathy, which recruited KDM4B to the promoter region of PPARα and repression of its transcription. This suggests a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of DbCM.

Abstract Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a critical complication that poses a significant threat to the health of patients with diabetes. The intricate pathological mechanisms of DCM cause diastolic dysfunction, followed by impaired systolic function in the late stages. Accumulating researches have revealed the association between DCM and various epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, non-coding RNAs, and other epigenetic molecules. Recently, a profound understanding of epigenetics in the pathophysiology of DCM has been broadened owing to advanced high-throughput technologies, which assist in developing potential therapeutic strategies. In this review, we briefly introduce the epigenetics regulation and update the relevant progress in DCM. We propose the role of epigenetic factors and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) as potential biomarkers and drugs in DCM diagnosis and treatment, providing a new perspective and understanding of epigenomics in DCM.

Cardiovascular diseases pose a significant public health challenge globally, necessitating the development of effective treatments to mitigate the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of non-coding RNAs, have been recognized for their role in cardiovascular disease. Aberrant expression of circRNAs is closely linked with changes in various cellular and pathophysiological processes within the cardiovascular system, including metabolism, proliferation, stress response, and cell death. Functionally, circRNAs serve multiple roles, such as acting as a microRNA sponge, providing scaffolds for proteins, and participating in protein translation. Owing to their unique properties, circRNAs may represent a promising biomarker for predicting disease progression and a potential target for cardiovascular drug development. This review comprehensively examines the properties, biogenesis, and potential mechanisms of circRNAs, enhancing understanding of their role in the pathophysiological processes impacting cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the prospective clinical applications of circRNAs in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease are addressed.

Soil disinfestation has been widely used as an effective strategy to improve soil health and crop yield by suppression of soil-borne plant pathogens, but its effect on soil organic carbon (SOC), a crucial factor linked to climate change, remains unknown. A microcosm trial was conducted to evaluate microbial residue carbon (MRC) and its contribution to SOC under chemical soil disinfestation (CSD) with quicklime (QL) and chloropicrin (CP), as well as anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) with maize straw (MASD) and soybean straw (SASD). The SOC concentrations were increased by both CSD and ASD. Also, total SOC-normalized MRC concentration was enhanced, with a considerable increase in soil bacterial and fungal MRC, particularly evident under CP and SASD treatment. Due to broad-spectrum biocidal activities, decreased SOC-normalized microbial biomass carbon (MBC) was consistent with the reductions in bacterial and fungal phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), consequently increasing MRC accumulation under CSD. Similarly, ASD decreased fungal PLFAs while shifting bacterial PLFAs from aerobic to anaerobic taxa or from gram-negative to -positive taxa, both of which contributed to both MBC and MRC buildup. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that ASD can efficiently increase SOC concentration, with distinct mechanisms underlying MRC generation when compared to traditional CSD.

Abstract Aims Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR‐CA) has been realized as an important cause of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We aim to provide insights into its prevalence in Chinese HFpEF patients, which is not known to date, using increased wall thickness (IWT) score by echocardiography. Methods Consecutive patients with HFpEF (EF ≥ 40%) and IWT (≥12 mm) were prospectively screened. Echocardiography was performed, and the IWT score incorporated relative wall thickness, E/e′ ratio, longitudinal strains, and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, and septal apical‐to‐base ratio was calculated. ATTR‐CA was defined as score ≥8 in the absence of serum and urine free light chain. Results Six hundred twenty‐four HFpEF patients from January 2019 to December 2021 were enrolled, of which 65.2% were males and the median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 66 (IQR 57, 73) years. Thirty‐three patients (5.3%, 95% CI 3.5–7.0%) were with score ≥8, and 33.3% were females. They were younger (58 vs. 69 years, P

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the use of U-Net and its improvement. It is one of the classic semantic segmentation networks with an encoder-decoder architecture and is widely used in medical image segmentation. In the series versions of U-Net, U-Net++ has been developed as an improved U-Net by designing an architecture with nested and dense skip connections, and U-Net 3+ has been developed as an improved U-Net++ by taking advantage of full-scale skip connections and deep supervision on full-scale aggregated feature maps. Each network architecture has its own advantages in the use of the encoder and decoder. In this paper, we propose an efficient and lightweight U-Net (ELU-Net) with deep skip connections. The deep skip connections include same- and large-scale skip connections from the encoder to fully extract the features of the encoder. In addition, the proposed ELU-Net with different loss functions is discussed to improve the effect of brain tumor learning including WT (whole tumor), TC (tumor core) and ET (enhance tumor) and a new loss function DFK is designed. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated for a brain tumor dataset used in the BraTS 2018 Challenge and liver dataset used in the ISBI LiTS 2017 Challenge.

Hypertension has developed into an escalating serious global public health problem with multiple and unclear pathophysiological mechanisms. Recent studies have identified intestinal microbiota as a key perpetrator of hypertension through a variety of mechanisms. In this review, we highlight the potential roles of the intestinal microbiota and its metabolites in the development of hypertension, as well as the therapeutic potential for targeting intestinal microbiomes. We also shed light on the main limitations and challenges of the current research and suggest directions for future investigations. Finally, we discuss the development of accurate and personalized preventive and therapeutic strategies for hypotension by the modulation of intestinal microbes and metabolites.

Background and aimsAortic dissection (AD) is a cardiovascular emergency with degeneration of the aortic media. Mounting evidence indicates obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as an independent risk factor for AD development with unknown mechanisms. This study aims to establish a stable murine model of OSA-related AD (OSA-AD) and uncover the potential changes in gene transcripts in OSA-AD.Materials and methodsApoE–/– mice were exposed to the chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) system combined with Ang II administration to establish the OSA-AD model. Pathological staining was performed to exhibit the physiological structure of the mouse aorta. The SBC mouse ceRNA microarray was used to identify significantly differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, DE long-non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs), and DE circular RNAs (DEcircRNAs) in OSA-AD tissues. Subsequently, bioinformatics analysis, including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG), and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analyses, were performed to evaluate the function of the significantly differentially expressed transcripts (DETs). The hub genes were confirmed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).ResultsApoE–/– mice exposed to CIH and Ang II showed a high ratio of aortic accident (73.33%) and significant aortic diameter dilatation (1.96 ± 0.175 mm). A total of 1,742 mRNAs, 2,625 lncRNAs, and 537 circRNAs were identified as DETs (LogFC ≥ 1.5 or ≤ –1.5, P < 0.05). GO and KEGG analyses demonstrated that the differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) were most enriched in cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, inflammation, and hypoxia-related terms, which are closely related to aortic structural homeostasis. The PPI network contained 609 nodes and 934 connections, the hub genes were highlighted with the CytoHubba plugin and confirmed by qRT-PCR in AD tissues. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the cis-regulated genes of DElncRNAs and circRNAs-host genes were enriched in aortic structural homeostasis-related pathways.ConclusionOur findings help establish a de novo OSA-AD animal model using ApoE–/– mice. Many DEmRNAs, DElncRNAs, and DEcircRNAs were screened for the first time in OSA-AD tissues. Our findings provide useful bioinformatics data for understanding the molecular mechanism of OSA-AD and developing potential therapeutic strategies for OSA-AD.

This paper establishes a data-driven Neural Network (NN) framework. The contact resistance of T2 copper blocks with different roughnesses is predicted by deep learning at room temperature and cyclic loading. The contact resistance problem can be regarded as a regression problem of mapping the high-dimensional array space of multiple variables to the contact resistance. This paper measures the contact resistance of copper blocks with different surface roughnesses under loading and unloading states and obtains the original dataset required by the algorithm. The data characteristics include three surface topography parameters, number of cyclic loads, loading and unloading conditions, and load magnitude, with the data labeled contact resistance. This paper compares the results of the NN model and Holm model results to verify the NN model’s effectiveness. The comparison results show that the prediction results of the NN are consistent with the predictions of the Holm model. After training and debugging, the root mean square error of the multiple hidden layers neural network test set is 6.81%, showing a good prediction effect. In conclusion, the deep learning algorithm provides a new way for fast and accurate prediction of the relationship between T2 copper blocks and contact resistance under cyclic loading times and unloading states.

BackgroundCoarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a common congenital cardiovascular malformation with aortic narrowing in the region of the ligamentum arteriosum. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a primary cardiomyopathy that is characterized by left ventricular wall thickening and likely left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. They are two irrelevant diseases, and their coexistence has not been reported before. Here, we described a young female patient who concurrently has CoA and HCM.Case PresentationThe patient has had hypertension since 18-years old and complained of chest discomfort on effort and fatigue thereafter. Initially, she was diagnosed as having hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and primary hypertension. The presence of CoA was not found until she was 35 years old when she had an onset of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and presented with syncope. Failure of the ablation procedure via the femoral artery revealed the possibility of CoA and PDA that was confirmed by aortic CTA and angiography. CoA was then treated successfully with a covered stent, and the symptoms of the patient improved remarkably. Additionally, the patient had typical imaging features of HCM, and two novel HCM-causing heterozygous mutations were identified by genetic testing, DSP-encoding desmoplakin, and MYBPC3-encoding myosin-binding protein C. The HCM was suspected to be contributing to the clinical presentations of the patient and challenged the timely diagnosis of CoA. The 8-year follow-up on aortic CTA and angiography revealed no stent graft-related complications. Moreover, no changes in HCM-related imaging features were found in the follow-up echocardiography 8 years after the correction of aortic coarctation, which strengthened the diagnosis of HCM.ConclusionHere, we reported the diagnostic challenges, management, and 8-yeasr follow-up findings in a rare case of CoA combined with HCM. The case highlighted the importance for physicians to exclude CoA in young hypertensive patients, and proved the efficacy of stent repair in treating CoA in older patients.

Cannabis has been used as a source of nutrition, medicine, and fiber. However, lack of genomic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers had limited the genetic research on Cannabis species. In the present study, 92,409 motifs were identified, and 63,707 complementary SSR primer pairs were developed. The most abundant SSR motifs had six repeat units (36.60%). The most abundant type of motif was dinucleotides (70.90%), followed by trinucleotides, tetranucleotides, and pentanucleotides. We randomly selected 80 pairs of genomic SSR markers, of which 69 (86.25%) were amplified successfully; 59 (73.75%) of these were polymorphic. Genetic diversity and population structure were estimated using the 59 (72 loci) validated polymorphic SSRs and three phenotypic markers. Three hundred ten alleles were identified, and the major allele frequency ranged from 0.26 to 0.85 (average: 0.56), Nei’s genetic diversity ranged from 0.28 to 0.82 (average: 0.56), and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.28 to 0.81 (average: 0.56). The polymorphism information content ranged from 0.25 to 0.79 (average: 0.50), the observed number of alleles ranged from 2 to 8 (average: 4.13), and the effective number of alleles ranged from 0.28 to 0.81 (average: 0.5). The Cannabis population did not show mutation-drift equilibrium following analysis via the infinite allele model. A cluster analysis was performed using the unweighted pair group method using arithmetic means based on genetic distances. Population structure analysis was used to divide the germplasms into two subgroups. These results provide guidance for the molecular breeding and further investigation of Cannabis.

Cytochrome P450 epoxygenase 2J2 (CYP2J2) metabolizes arachidonic acids to form epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which possess various beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. However, whether increasing EETs production by CYP2J2 overexpression in vivo could prevent abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains unknown. Here we investigated the effects of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-mediated CYP2J2 overexpression on angiotensin (Ang) II-induced AAA in apoE-deficient mice. rAAV-CYP2J2 delivery led to an abundant aortic CYP2J2 expression and increased EETs generation. It was shown that CYP2J2 overexpression attenuated matrix metalloproteinase expression and activity, elastin degradation, and AAA formation, which was associated with reduced aortic inflammation and macrophage infiltration. In cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), rAAV-mediated CYP2J2 overexpression and EETs markedly suppressed Ang II-induced inflammatory cytokine expression. Moreover, overexpressed CYP2J2 and EETs inhibited Ang II-induced macrophage migration in a VSMC-macrophage coculture system. We further indicated that these protective effects were mediated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ activation. Taken together, these results provide evidence that rAAV-mediated CYP2J2 overexpression prevents AAA development which is likely via PPARγ activation and anti-inflammatory action, suggesting that increasing EETs levels could be considered as a potential strategy to prevent and treat AAA.

BACKGROUND:Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially lethal disease with extremely poor survival rates once the aneurysm ruptures. Statins may exert beneficial effects on the progression of AAA. However, the underlying mechanism is still not known. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether statin could inhibit AAA formation by inhibiting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signal pathway. METHODS:A clinically relevant AAA model was induced in Apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice, which were infused with angiotensin II (Ang II) for 28 days. These mice were randomly divided into following 4 groups: saline infusion alone; Ang II infusion alone; Ang II infusion plus Atorvastatin (20mg/kg/d); and Ang II infusion plus Atorvastatin (30mg/kg/d). Besides, another AAA model was induced in C57 mice with extraluminal CaCl2, which were divided into 3 groups: sham group, CaCl2-induced AAA group, and CaCl2-induced AAA plus atorvastatin (20mg/kg/d) group. Then, aortic tissue was excised for further examinations, respectively. In vitro studies, Ang II with or without simvastatin treatment were applied to the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCS) and Raw 264.7 cells. The ER stress signal pathway, apoptosis and inflammatory response were evaluated by in vivo and in vitro assays. RESULTS:We found that higher dose of atorvastatin can effectively suppress the development and progression of AAA induced by Ang II or CaCl2. Mechanistically, the activation of ER stress and inflammatory response were found involved in Ang II-induced AAA formation. The atorvastatin infusion significantly reduced ER stress signaling proteins, the number of apoptotic cells, and the activation of Caspase12 and Bax in the Ang II-induced ApoE-/- mice, compared with mice treated by Ang II alone. Furthermore, proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β were all remarkably inhibited after atorvastatin treatment. In vitro, the inhibitory effect of simvastatin on the ER stress signal pathway could be observed in both vascular smooth muscle cells and macrophages, and these inhibitory effects of statin were in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, apoptosis was induced with Ang II treatment. The maximal inhibitory effect of simvastatin on apoptosis was observed at 10 μmol/l. CONCLUSIONS:We conclude that higher dose of statin can effectively suppress the development of AAA, and reduce ER stress, ER stress-associated apoptosis signaling pathways, and inflammatory response. These findings reveal a new mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of statin on AAA formation/progression.

Abstract Background In research to improve the quality of transgenic crops, it is often necessary to introduce multiple functionally related genes into recipient plants simultaneously to improve crop genetic traits effectively. Compared with unidirectional promoters, bidirectional promoters simultaneously regulate the expression of multiple genes and improve the efficiency of biotechnology. Therefore, in this study, bidirectional gene pairs were systematically analyzed in Gossypium hirsutum TM-1, and the structure, function and evolutionary relationships of the bidirectional genes were analyzed. The endogenous bidirectional promoters of cotton were mined, and their specific regulatory elements and biological functions were explored to provide useful promoter resources and a theoretical basis for cultivating new cotton germplasms with excellent fiber quality. Results Using an improved search model, a total of 1,383 bidirectional transcript pairs were identified in the Gossypium hirsutum TM-1 genome, and their gene structure and functional annotations were systematically analyzed. Thirty bidirectional intergenic sequences were randomly screened for promoter activity analysis via a transient expression system, and 25 intergenic sequences were found to have bidirectional promoter activity. Comparative analysis of the bidirectional gene profiles of the four cotton subspecies revealed that these subspecies presented abundant bidirectional gene pairs with high homology and that the bidirectional genes in the cotton subspecies were more similar in terms of their molecular functions, cellular components and biological processes. In addition, parallel analysis of bidirectional genes in dicotyledons and monocotyledons revealed that abundant bidirectional gene pairs exist in different species. Although the total number of orthologous bidirectional genes was similar, there was a significant difference in the number of orthologous bidirectional gene pairs between dicotyledons and monocotyledons. This evolutionary analysis of the function and structure of homologous bidirectional gene pairs in different varieties and different subspecies of the same species revealed potential pathways by which these gene pairs originated, which may be necessary for the evolution of a new species. Conclusion In this study, many bidirectional gene pairs in Gossypium hirsutum TM-1 were identified using computer programming, and systematic analysis was conducted to explore their functions and evolutionary relationships. In addition, the promoter activity of the bidirectional intergenic sequences was verified. The combination of computer programming screening, experimental validation and other methods is expected to provide preferred bidirectional promoters for transgenic breeding work via multigene cotransformation methods, and this information is valuable for genetic engineering research and applications.

Permanent magnet homopolar inductor machine (PMHIM) has attracted much attention in the field of flywheel energy storage system (FESS) due to its merits of simple structure, brushless excitation, and rotor flywheel integration. However, the air-gap flux generated by the PM cannot be adjusted, which would cause large electromagnetic losses in the standby operation state of FESS. To solve this problem, a novel mechanically adjusted variable flux permanent magnet homopolar inductor machine with rotating magnetic poles (RMP-PMHIM) is proposed in this paper. The permanent magnet poles are rotated by an auxiliary rotating device and the purpose of changing the air-gap flux is achieved. First, the structure and operation principle of the proposed RMP-PMHIM are explained. Second, the flux weakening principle of the RMP-PMHIM is analyzed and the equivalent magnetic circuit models under different flux weakening states are built. Third, the parameters of the PM and its fixed structure are optimized to obtain the good electromagnetic performance. Fourth, the electromagnetic performance, including the air-gap flux density, back-EMF, flux weakening ability, loss, etc. of the proposed RMP-PMHIM are investigated and compared. Compared with the non-rotating state of the PM of RPM-PMHIM, the air-gap flux density amplitude can be weakened by 99.95% when the PM rotation angle is 90 degrees, and the no-load core loss can be suppressed by 99.98%, which shows that the proposed RPM-PMHIM is a good candidate for the application of FESS.

Ephemeral gullies are widely distributed in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau and play a unique role in the slope gully erosion system. Rapid and accurate identification of ephemeral gullies impacts the distribution law and development trend of soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. Deep learning algorithms can quickly and accurately process large data samples that recognize ephemeral gullies from remote sensing images. Here, we investigated ephemeral gullies in the Zhoutungou watershed in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau in China using satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle images and combined a deep learning image semantic segmentation model to realize automatic recognition and feature extraction. Using Accuracy, Precision, Recall, F1value, and AUC, we compared the ephemeral gully recognition results and accuracy evaluation of U-Net, R2U-Net, and SegNet image semantic segmentation models. The SegNet model was ranked first, followed by the R2U-Net and U-Net models, for ephemeral gully recognition in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau. The ephemeral gully length and width between predicted and measured values had RMSE values of 6.78 m and 0.50 m, respectively, indicating that the model has an excellent recognition effect. This study identified a fast and accurate method for ephemeral gully recognition in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau based on remote sensing images to provide an academic reference and practical guidance for soil erosion monitoring and slope and gully management in the Loess Plateau region.

Hypoxia may cause abnormal proliferation and migration of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from the media to the intima. This contributes to vessel narrowing and accelerates the process of atherosclerosis. The association of the aberrant expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with the development and progression of atherosclerosis is well known; however, it is not well investigated in hypoxic VSMCs. Using a microarray approach, we identified 1056 and 2804 differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs, respectively, in hypoxic and normoxic mouse aorta smooth muscle (MOVAS) cells. Of them, we randomly chose several lncRNAs and validated the microarray data using the quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay. Advanced bioinformatics analyses indicated that the up-regulated mRNAs were mainly involved in inflammatory responses, lipid metabolism, clearance of amyloid-ß peptide, citrate cycle (TCA cycle), TGF-ß signaling, and chemokine signaling. The down-regulated mRNAs were mainly involved in the apoptosis pathway, glycerolipid metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. The constructed coexpression network indicated interactions between 87 lncRNAs and ten mRNAs. In addition, we demonstrated that the silence of lncRNA NONMMUT002434 expression could abrogate the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells dramatically. Our data provide comprehensive evidence on the differential expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs in hypoxic MOVAS cells, which may be valuable biomarkers for atherosclerotic diseases, and thereby facilitating diagnosis of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CRISPR-Cas9 is a common tool for gene editing, and appropriate sgRNAs are the key factor for successful editing. In this study, the effect of sgRNA length and number on editing efficiency was analyzed in rice using CYP81A6 as the target gene. A series of CRISPR-Cas9 plant expression vectors containing single sgRNAs with different lengths (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 nt) or two sgRNAs were constructed and introduced into rice cultivar Zhonghua11 by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Analysis of the editing status of 1283 transgenic rice plants showed that 371 were successfully edited with base preference. Single A or T insertions were the most frequent among the six edited types. The editing efficiency of transgenic rice with two sgRNAs was higher than that with a single sgRNA. Editing efficiency and sgRNA length showed a normal distribution with 20 nt sgRNA (25%) being the most efficient. The editing efficiency decreased slightly with decreases of 1–2 bases (19 nt 20%, 18 nt 21%), but decreased significantly with a decrease of 3 bases (17 nt 4.5%). Editing efficiency was significantly reduced by adding 1 to 3 bases (21 nt 16.8%, 22 nt 13%, 23 nt 13%) to the sgRNA. These results provide data for successful gene editing or rice by CRISPR-Cas9.

Abstract Cotton is an important natural fiber crop and economic crop worldwide. The quality of cotton fiber directly determines the quality of cotton textiles. Identifying cotton fiber development-related genes and exploring their biological functions will not only help to better understand the elongation and development mechanisms of cotton fibers but also provide a theoretical basis for the cultivation of new cotton varieties with excellent fiber quality. In this study, RNA sequencing technology was used to construct transcriptome databases for different nonfiber tissues (root, leaf, anther and stigma) and fiber developmental stages (7 days post-anthesis (DPA), 14 DPA, and 26 DPA) of upland cotton Coker 312. The sizes of the seven transcriptome databases constructed ranged from 4.43 to 5.20 Gb, corresponding to approximately twice the genome size of Gossypium hirsutum (2.5 Gb). Among the obtained clean reads, 83.32% to 88.22% could be compared to the upland cotton TM-1 reference genome. By analyzing the differential gene expression profiles of the transcriptome libraries of fiber and nonfiber tissues, we obtained 1205, 1135 and 937 genes with significantly upregulated expression at 7 DPA, 14 DPA and 26 DPA, respectively, and 124, 179 and 213 genes with significantly downregulated expression. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathway analyses were performed, which revealed that these genes were mainly involved in catalytic activity, carbohydrate metabolism, the cell membrane and organelles, signal transduction and other functions and metabolic pathways. Through gene annotation analysis, many transcription factors and genes related to fiber development were screened. Thirty-six genes were randomly selected from the significantly upregulated genes in fiber, and expression profile analysis was performed using qRT-PCR. The results were highly consistent with the gene expression profile analyzed by RNA-seq, and all of the genes were specifically or predominantly expressed in fiber. Therefore, our RNA sequencing-based comparative transcriptome analysis will lay a foundation for future research to provide new genetic resources for the genetic engineering of improved cotton fiber quality and for cultivating new transgenic cotton germplasms for fiber quality improvement.

At present, with the accelerated development of the global biotechnology industry, novel transgenic technologies represented by gene editing are developing rapidly. A large number of gene-edited products featuring one or a few base indels have been commercialized. These have led to great challenges in the use of traditional nucleic acid detection technology and in safety regulation for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In this study, we developed a portable clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins 12a-based (CRISPR/Cas12a-based) biosensing platform named Cas12aFVD (fast visual detection) that can be coupled with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) for on-site detection of mutants in gene-edited rice in one tube. The detection procedure can be accomplished in 40 min with a visible result, which can be observed by the naked eye under blue light (470–490 nm). By accurate recognition of targets based on Cas12a/CRISPR RNA (crRNA), Cas12aFVD exhibits excellent performance for the detection of two- and three-base deletions, one-base substitution, and one-base insertion mutants with a limit of detection (LOD) of 12 copies/μl showing great potential for mutant detection, especially single-base mutants. The Cas12aFVD biosensing platform is independent of laboratory conditions, making it a promising and pioneering platform for the detection of gene-edited products.

Axial-flux permanent magnet synchronous machine (AFPMSM) enjoys the merits of high torque density and high efficiency, which make it one good candidate in the direct-drive application. The AFPMSM is usually analyzed based on the three-dimensional finite element method (3D FEM) due to its three-dimensional magnetic field distribution. However, the 3D FEM suffers large amount of calculation, time-consuming and is not suitable for the optimization of AFPMSM. Addressing this issue, a multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model of the AFPMSM is investigated in this paper, which could take the end leakage into consideration. Firstly, the multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model of the AFPMSM with single stator and single rotor is derived in details, including the equivalent processes and conversions of structure dimensions, motion conditions and electromagnetic parameters. Then, to consider the influence of end leakage on the performance, a correction factor is introduced in the multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model. Finally, the proposed multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model is verified by the 3D FEM based on an AFPMSM under different structure parameters. It demonstrates that the errors of flux linkage and average torque obtained by the multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model and 3D FEM are only around 2% although the structure parameters of the AFPMSM are varied. Besides, the computation time of one case based on the multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model is only 6 min, which is much less than that of the 3D FEM, 1.8 h, under the same conditions. Thus, the proposed multi-layer quasi three-dimensional equivalent model could be used to optimize the AFPMSM and much time could be saved by this method compared with the 3D FEM.

Abstract Background The safety assessment and control of stacked transgenic crops is increasingly important due to continuous crop development and is urgently needed in China. The genetic stability of foreign genes and unintended effects are the primary problems encountered in safety assessment. Omics techniques are useful for addressing these problems. The stacked transgenic maize variety 12–5 × IE034, which has insect-resistant and glyphosate-tolerant traits, was developed via a breeding stack using 12–5 and IE034 as parents. Using 12–5 × IE034, its parents (12–5 and IE034), and different maize varieties as materials, we performed proteomic profiling, molecular characterization and a genetic stability analysis. Results Our results showed that the copy number of foreign genes in 12–5 × IE034 is identical to that of its parents 12–5 and IE034. Foreign genes can be stably inherited over different generations. Proteomic profiling analysis found no newly expressed proteins in 12–5 × IE034, and the differences in protein expression between 12 and 5 × IE034 and its parents were within the range of variation of conventional maize varieties. The expression levels of key enzymes participating in the shikimic acid pathway which is related to glyphosate tolerance of 12–5 × IE034 were not significantly different from those of its parents or five conventional maize varieties, which indicated that without selective pressure by glyphosate, the introduced EPSPS synthase is not has a pronounced impact on the synthesis of aromatic amino acids in maize. Conclusions Stacked-trait development via conventional breeding did not have an impact on the genetic stability of T-DNA, and the impact of stacked breeding on the maize proteome was less significant than that of genotypic differences. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the development of a safety assessment approach for stacked-trait transgenic crops in China.

Due to the fact that intelligent algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Differential Evolution (DE) are susceptible to local optima and the efficiency of solving an optimal solution is low when solving the optimal trajectory, this paper uses the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) algorithm for the optimal trajectory planning of a hydraulic robotic excavator. To achieve high efficiency and stationarity during the operation of the hydraulic robotic excavator, the trade-off between the time and jerk is considered. Cubic splines were used to interpolate in joint space, and the optimal time-jerk trajectory was obtained using the SQP with joint angular velocity, angular acceleration, and jerk as constraints. The optimal angle curves of each joint were obtained, and the optimal time-jerk trajectory planning of the excavator was realized. Experimental results show that the SQP method under the same weight is more efficient in solving the optimal solution and the optimal excavating trajectory is smoother, and each joint can reach the target point with smaller angular velocity, and acceleration change, which avoids the impact of each joint during operation and conserves working time. Finally, the excavator autonomous operation becomes more stable and efficient.

The article examines a genome wide association of chromosome 9p21 in coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic stroke among Chinese Han population. The method involves a shared control study using 15 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms and 2 previously reported susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms spanning 58 kb of chromosome 9p21. Results of the study suggests that 9p21 in this population is a shared susceptibility locus, strongly for CAD and weakly for ischemic stroke.

With the widespread cultivation of transgenic crops, there is increasing concern about unintended effects of these crops on soil environmental quality. In this study, we used the Biolog method and ELISA to evaluate the possible effects of OsrHSA transgenic rice on soil microbial utilization of carbon substrates under field conditions. There were no significant differences in average well-color development (AWCD) values, Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H), Simpson dominance indices (D) and Shannon–Wiener evenness indices (E) of microbial communities in rhizosphere soils at eight samplings between OsrHSA transgenic rice and its non-transgenic counterpart. The main carbon sources utilized by soil microbes were carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, amino acids and polymers. The types, capacities and patterns of carbon source utilization by microbial communities in rhizosphere soils were similar throughout the detection period. We detected no OsrHSA protein in the roots of OsrHSA transgenic rice. We concluded that OsrHSA transgenic rice and the rHSA protein it produced did not alter the functional diversity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere.

Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, due to its broad spectrum, low cost, low toxicity, high efficiency, and non-selective characteristics. Rice farmers rarely use glyphosate as a herbicide, because the crop is sensitive to this chemical. The development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant rice could greatly improve the economics of rice production. Here, we transformed the Pseudomonas fluorescens G2 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene G2-EPSPS, which conferred tolerance to glyphosate herbicide into a widely used japonica rice cultivar, Zhonghua 11 (ZH11), to develop two highly glyphosate-tolerant transgenic rice lines, G2-6 and G2-7, with one exogenous gene integration. Seed germination tests and glyphosate-tolerance assays of plants grown in a greenhouse showed that the two transgenic lines could greatly improve glyphosate-tolerance compared with the wild-type; The glyphosate-tolerance field test indicated that both transgenic lines could grow at concentrations of 20,000 ppm glyphosate, which is more than 20-times the recommended concentration in the field. Isolation of the flanking sequence of transgenic rice G2-6 indicated that the 5′-terminal of T-DNA was inserted into chromosome 8 of the rice genome. An event-specific PCR test system was established and the limit of detection of the primers reached five copies. Overall, the G2-EPSPS gene significantly improved glyphosate-tolerance in transgenic rice; furthermore, it is a useful candidate gene for the future development of commercial transgenic rice.