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The plant height is an important trait in fruit tree. However, the molecular mechanism on dwarfism is still poorly understood. We found that colchicine-induced autotetraploid apple plants (Malus × domestica) exhibited a dwarf phenotype. The vertical length of cortical parenchyma cells was shorter in autotetraploids than in diploids, by observing paraffin sections. Hormone levels of indoleacetic acid (IAA) and brassinosteroid (BR) were significantly decreased in 3- and 5-year-old autotetraploid plants. Digital gene expression (DGE) analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in IAA and BR pathways. microRNA390 was significantly upregulated according to microarray analysis. Exogenous application of IAA and BR promoted stem elongation of both apple plants grown in medium. The results show that dwarfing in autotetraploid apple plants is most likely regulated by IAA and BR. The dwarf phenotype of autotetraploid apple plants could be due to accumulation of miR390 after genome doubling, leading to upregulation of apple trans-acting short-interfering RNA 3 (MdTAS3) expression, which in turn downregulates the expression of MdARF3. Overall, this leads to partial interruption of the IAA and BR signal transduction pathway. Our study provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying dwarfism in autopolyploid apple plants.

To develop a new kind of functional textile material, viscose fiber was prepared from natural and antibacterial pineapple leaf fiber and its structures and properties were explored with analyzing methods of sensory evaluation, SEM, FT-IR, TG, DTG and DSC. The results showed that the prepared pineapple leaf viscose fiber was white, shiny, fine, smooth, soft, and somewhat curly with even fineness. Its arrangement was verticall y parallel with some obvious grooves. Irregular zigzaging and the skin-core structure were observed in cross section. The fiber had characteristic groups of cellulose and absorption peaks at 1737.74, 1506.23 and 1431.82 cm-1 almost disappeared, and it showed high purity. The pyrogenation mechanism of pineapple leaf viscose fiber was similar to that of pineapple leaf fiber, but thermal stability of pineapple leaf viscose fiber was slightly lower than that of pineapple leaf fiber. Pineapple leaf viscose fiber belonged to cotton-type viscose staple fiber. The basic properties met the requirements of the first grade of viscose fiber. The mechanical properties reached top standard. It was a good kind of antibacterial textile material with strong bacteriostatic and bactericidal action against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.

Isoparametric B-spline wavelet functions can provide excellent approximation for smooth functions. In this paper, the response of composite laminated plate subjected to explosions is analyzed by using a double thick beam FEM mode based on the spline wavelet function. This mode, which can be considered in the distribution of normal stress and transverse shear stress simultaneously, is very important in the analysis of thick plate or blast-damage mechanism. The mode in analyzing underground structure and earth medium respond has the advantage of high precision and fast constringency and is easy to establish a element displacement function. The comparison between simulative and experimental results shows the effectiveness and precision of this method.

Narrow bandwidth is the major challenge to today’s vibration-based energy harvesters. Compared with other broadband approaches that involve moving parts and control electronics, a double-mass piezoelectric cantilever beam provides a simple and reliable solution to widen the effective bandwidth as a vibration energy harvester. In this article, a continuum model of a double-mass lead zirconate titanate cantilever subject to sinusoidal base excitation is presented. First, the undamped equation of motion along with boundary and transition conditions is derived from Hamilton’s principle, followed by modal analysis that determines the eigenfunctions and natural frequencies. Next, the coupled electromechanical equations for sinusoidal base excitation are obtained. The output voltage and relative displacement are solved analytically. The frequency response function and mode shapes predicted by the model are validated against experiments.

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential application of the combination of microemulsion as a topical delivery vehicle in enhancing the absorption and efficacy of tripterygium wilfordii multiglycoside (TWM). Various microemulsion formulations were developed and an optimal microemulsion (TWM-ME)，which presented spherical droplets and consisted of RH-40, IPM and water was 27: 3.3: 69.7 by weight. It possessd an average droplet size of 23.6 nm, a low viscosity of (3.56±0.12) mm2•s-1 Zeta electric potential was (–5.35±0.42) mV, refractive index was (1.3617±0.0051) nD20, conductivity was (97.6±3.6) μs/cm. Compared to the control solution, TWM-ME provided better skin permeability in vitro. Moreover, TWM-ME has noticeable anti-inflammatory and immune suppression effect. These results indicate that the combination of microemulsion represents an effective vehicle for topical delivery of TWM.

The conserved domains of reverse transcriptase (RT) genes of Ty1-copia and Ty3-gypsy groups of long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons were isolated from the Malus domestica genome using degenerate oligonucleotide primers. Sequence analysis showed that 45% of Ty1-copia and 63% of Ty3-gypsy RT sequences contained premature stop codons and/or indels disrupting the reading frame. High heterogeneity among RT sequences of both Ty1-copia and Ty3-gypsy group retrotransposons was observed, but Ty3-gypsy group retrotransposons in the apple genome are less heterogeneous than Ty1-copia elements. Retrotransposon copy number was estimated by dot blot hybridizations for Ty1-copia (approximately 5,000) and Ty3-gypsy (approximately 26,000). All elements of the two types of LTR retrotransposons comprise approximately 38% of the M. domestica genome, with the Ty3-gypsy group contribution being higher (33.5%) than the Ty1-copia one (4.6%). Transcription was not detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for either Ty1-copia or Ty3-gypsy retrotransposons in the leaves of plants in vitro or in leaf explants cultured on medium supplemented with high concentration benzylaminopurine. This research reveals the differences in heterogeneity and copy number between Ty1-copia and Ty3-gypsy retrotransposons in the apple genome. Ty1-copia retrotransposon has higher heterogeneity than Ty3-gypsy retrotransposon, but the latter has a higher copy number, which implies that Ty3-gypsy retrotransposons may play a more important role in the apple genome evolution.

N2 -fixing bacteria belonging to the genus Raoultella of the family Enterobacteriaceae are widely associated with plants. Raoultella sp. strain L03 was isolated from surface-sterilized sugarcane roots. In this study, we inoculated the strain L03 to microbe-free micropropagated plantlets of the main sugarcane cultivar ROC22 grown in Guangxi, China and determined N2 -fixation and association between strain L03 and sugarcane plants. Inoculation of strain L03 increased plant biomass, total N, N concentration and chlorophyll, and relieved N-deficiency symptoms of plants under an N-limiting condition. An (15) N isotope dilution assay revealed (15) N isotope dilution in the inoculated sugarcane plants and incorporation of the fixed (14) N from air into chlorophyll. Moreover, a gfp-tagged and antibiotic-resistant L03 strain was reisolated from surface-sterilized sugarcane plants and was detected in plant tissues by fluorescent microscopy. This study for the first time demonstrates that a Raoultella bacterium is able to fix N2 in association with the plant host.

This study aims to evaluate the role of dynamic change in total bilirubin after portal vein embolization (PVE) in predicting major complications and 30-day mortality in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA).Retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained data of 64 HCCA patients who underwent PVE before hepatectomy in our institution was used. Total bilirubin and other parameters were measured daily in peri-PVE period. The difference between them and the baseline value from days 0-5 to day -1 (∆D1) and days 5-14 to day -1 (∆D2) were calculated. The relationship between ∆D1 and ∆D2 of total bilirubin and major complications as well as 30-day mortality was analyzed.Out of 64 patients, 10 developed major complications (15.6 %) and 6 patients (9.3 %) had died within 30 days after surgery. The ∆D2 of total bilirubin after PVE was most significantly associated with major complications (P 0.001) and 30-day mortality (P = 0.002). In addition, it was found to be an independent predictor of major complications after PVE (odds ratio (OR) = 1.050; 95 % CI 1.017-1.084). ASA3 (OR = 12.048; 95 % CI 1.019-143.321), ∆D2 of total bilirubin (OR = 1.058; 95 % CI 1.007-1.112), and ∆D2 of prealbumin (OR = 0.975; 95 % CI 0.952-0.999) were associated with higher risk of 30-day mortality after PVE. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that ∆D2 of total bilirubin were better predictors than ∆D1 for major complications (AUC (∆D2) 0.817; P = 0.002 vs. AUC (∆D1) 0.769; P = 0.007) and 30-day mortality (ACU(∆D2) 0.868; P = 0.003 vs. AUC(∆D1) 0.721;P = 0.076).Patients with increased total bilirubin in 5-14 days after PVE may indicate a higher risk of major complications and 30-day mortality if the major hepatectomy were performed.

Objective Precancerous lesion, a well-established histopathologically premalignant tissue with the highest risk for tumourigenesis, develops preferentially from activation of DNA damage checkpoint and persistent inflammation. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which precancerous lesions are initiated and their physiological significance. Design Laser capture microdissection was used to acquire matched normal liver, precancerous lesion and tumour tissues. miR-484 −/− , Ifnar1 −/− and Tgfbr2 △hep mice were employed to determine the critical role of the interferon (IFN)–microRNA pathway in precancerous lesion formation and tumourigenesis. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), pull-down and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were applied to explore the underlying mechanisms. Results miR-484 is highly expressed in over 88% liver samples clinically. DEN-induced precancerous lesions and hepatocellular carcinoma were dramatically impaired in miR-484 −/− mice. Mechanistically, ectopic expression of miR-484 initiates tumourigenesis and cell malignant transformation through synergistic activation of the transforming growth factor-β/Gli and nuclear factor-κB/type I IFN pathways . Specific acetylation of H3K27 is indispensable for basal IFN-induced continuous transcription of miR-484 and cell transformation. Convincingly, formation of precancerous lesions were significantly attenuated in both Tgfbr2 △hep and Ifnar1 −/− mice. Conclusions These findings demonstrate a new protumourigenic axis involving type I IFN–microRNA signalling, providing a potential therapeutic strategy to manipulate or reverse liver precancerous lesions and tumourigenesis.

Seven new carbazole alkaloids, clauemarazoles A-G, together with 19 known analogues were isolated from the stems of Clausena emarginata. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analyses, and the absolute configurations of compounds 1a, 1b, 5a, and 5b were confirmed by their ECD spectroscopy. Compounds 4, 13, 15, and 17 exhibited inhibitory abilities on LPS-induced NO production. Compounds 10-12, 20, 22, and 24 displayed hepatoprotective effects against DL-galactosamine-induced damage in WB-F344 cells.

Interleukin (IL)-2 is a pharmacologically important cytokine secreted by T-lymphocytes. Recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2) has been modified and produced in many systems. Mass production of rIL-2 is the prerequisite for its wide application. Using a site-directed mutagenesis strategy, we first generated a gene coding for a new type of mutant of human IL-2 (MhIL-2), in which we replaced the cysteine-125 in human IL-2 with alanine, the leucine-18 with methionine, and the leucine-19 with serine. Then we investigated the possibility of its production of MhIL-2 in a Pichia pastoris system. High-level secreted expression of MhIL-2 was achieved by methanol induction. When purified with ultrafiltration, cation-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G100 gel filtration, about 100 mg of MhIL-2 with high purity was obtained from 1 L of ferment supernatant. Biologic activity assay revealed that the purified recombinant protein displayed increased activity on proliferation of IL-2-dependent CTLL-2 cells. These results suggest that MhIL-2 is an improved IL-2 mutant that might hold great promise for clinical use, and that P. pastoris is an excellent system for the mass production of biologically active hIL-2.

PurposeThe aims of the study are to analyze the features of a socially self‐contained society; to analyze the features of an environmentally sustainable society; and to generate a discussion on an indigenous approach towards the sustainable design of communities, particularly through the study of the round village for its unique form and performance in terms of sustainable construction.Design/methodology/approachResearchers from an international group undertook a field study of a number of specimen round and square shape Hakka villages in December 2004. They discussed their preliminary findings with local academics regarding significant attributes for sustainable design principles, and summarized lessons by means of spatial and construction studies that inform contemporary urban designers' knowledge and practice of sustainability through indigenous architecture.FindingsThrough reinterpretation of Feng‐shui theory, various observations made were easily and naturally correlated to basic laws of sustainability. The biggest message that comes from Fujian round architecture is that a genuine practitioner of environmental and social sustainability relies on a simplicity of approach – a respect for nature.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is confined primarily to observations by a team of architects and engineers.Practical implicationsField study of vernacular architecture provides useful information and first‐hand data for researchers on rammed earth structures.Originality/valueThe study of rammed earth structures in remote areas of China, in both coastal and earthquake active zones, offers fresh insight into the integrity and ingenuity of early settlers in sustainable construction. The research provides preliminary findings regarding environmental and construction practice in age‐old Hakka round houses.

Aim: To establish a cell-based assay to screen human dopamine D1 and D5 receptor agonists against compounds from a natural product compound library. Methods: Synthetic responsive elements 6timescAMP response elements (CRE) and a mini promoter containing a TATA box were inserted into the pGL3 basic vector to generate the reporter gene construct pCRE/TA/Luci. CHO cells were co-transfected with the reporter gene construct and human D1 or D5 receptor cDNA in mammalian expression vectors. Stable cell lines were established for agonist screening. A natural product compound library from over 300 herbs has been established. The extracts from these herbs were used for human D1 and D5 receptor agonist screenings. Results: A number of extracts were identified that activated both D1 and D5 receptors. One of the herb extracts, SBG492, demonstrated distinct pharmacological characteristics with human D1 and D5 receptors. The EC 50 values of SBG492 were 342.7 mug/mL for the D1 receptor and 31.7 mug/mL for the D5 receptor. Conclusion: We have established a cell-based assay for high-throughput drug screening to identify D1-like receptor agonists from natural products. Several extracts that can active D1-like receptors were discovered. These compounds could be useful tools for studies on the functions of these receptors in the brain and could potentially be developed into therapeutic drugs for the treatment of central nervous system diseases.

In recent years satellite communication develops rapidly, it has been widely used in many fields. The introduction of ATC (Ancillary Terrestrial Component) spectrum license promotes the integration of the satellite network and the ground ATC network, and also promotes the development of satellite-terrestrial integrated system. The characteristic of this system is that the ground ATC network works in the satellite frequency, thus it will cause interferences between satellite network and ground network, which affects the performance of the system, such as system capacity, throughput rate and so on. Based on MSS/ATC integrated system architecture, this paper analyzes the mutual interferences of satellite-terrestrial integrated system, and then gives the simulation result.

Background Neuropathic pain is a major pathology of the central nervous system associated with neuroinflammation. Ryk (receptor-like tyrosine kinase) receptors act as repulsive axon-guidance molecules during development of central nervous system and neural injury. Increasing evidence suggests the potential involvement of Wnt/Ryk (wingless and Int) signaling in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. However, its underlying mechanism remains unknown. Results The expression and location of Ryk receptor as well as its ligand Wnt1 were detected by qPCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. We found that Ryk, a specific Wnt receptor, was expressed in IB4+ (Isolectin B4) and CGRP+ (calcitonin gene-related peptide) dorsal root ganglia neurons and their ascending unmyelinated fibers in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Ryk was upregulated after spinal nerve ligation surgery. Wnt1 was also increased in activated astrocytes in the dorsal horn after spinal nerve ligation. The presynaptic mechanism of Ryk in regulation of neuropathic pain was determined by electrophysiology in spinal slice. Spinal nerve ligation model was established, and the therapeutic potential of inhibiting Ryk receptor was determined. Spine-specific blocking of the Wnt/Ryk receptor signaling attenuated the spinal nerve ligation-induced mechanical allodynia but not thermal hyperalgesia. Further, it also blocked Ca2+-dependent signals including CaMKII and PKCγ, subsequent release of CCL2 (CCR-like protein) in the dorsal horn. An in vitro study showed that inactivating Ryk receptors with anti-Ryk antibodies or lentiviral Ryk shRNA led to the inactivation of Wnt1 for excitatory synaptic transmission in spinal slices and subsequent decrease in CCL2 expression in the dorsal root ganglia neurons. Conclusion These studies demonstrate the existence of critical crosstalk between astrocytes and unmyelinated fibers, which indicate the presynaptic mechanism of Ryk in cytokine transmission of neuropathic pain and the therapeutic potential for Wnt/Ryk signaling pathway in the treatment of neuropathic pain.

A new optimized approach is introduced by the exponential response of recuperating value of GM (1, 1) model, which has been strictly proved to have the white exponential superposition and the white coefficient superposition in theory. The normal exponential series and a practical example are also given to show that the new model has the very high simulation and prediction precisionn.

To evaluate the Digital Subtract Arteriography (DSA) characteristics of lower limb arterial diseases in patients with diabetic feet and to explore the correlation between DSA and Ankle-brachial index (ABI).Fifty-two patients with diabetic feet were recruited in this study. ABI and DSA of bilateral lower extremities were examined to assess the severity of vasculopathy. The relationship between ABI and DSA was analyzed.ABI values for 91 lower extremities were obtained, with a mean of 0.73 +/- 10.43 (0.15-1.97), among which 19.8% ranged from 0.9 to 1.3, 69.2% were less than 0.9, and 11% were more than 1.3. Based on the integrated angiographic images, the arteries withor = 50% degree of stenosis, 50%-99% degree of stenosis and occlusion comprised 49.5%, 22%, and 28.5% for femoral artery; 79.1%, 14.3%, and 6.6% for popliteal artery; 25.3%, 8.8%, and 65.9% for anterior tibial artery; 29.7%, 14.3%, and 56% for posterior tibial artery; 25.3%, 20.9%, and 53.8% for peroneal artery; and 54.9%, 14.3%, and 30.8% for dorsal pedis artery. Forty (50.5%) limbs had three or more above-mentioned arteries occluded simultaneously. The average vascular score was 8.5 +/- 4.3 with a range between 0 and 18. The spearman correlation analysis showed that ABI inversely correlated with artery stenosis score (r = -0. 588, P0.05).Arterial diseases of lower extremities in patients with diabetic feet are wide-spread, ranging from femoral artery to the dorsal pedis artery. Multiple segments of arteries are involved. Severe stenosis and occlusion are more common in anterior and posterial tibial arteries, and peroneal artery.

This paper proposes a new method called TravRes for accurate reconstruction of high-resolution (e.g. 500m*60sec) time-space speeds on the basis of sampled low-resolution floating car data. The new method is superior to naive methods, methods which reconstruct time-space speeds by simply dividing travel distance by travel time between consecutive FCD samples. The new method uses an iterative trajectory reconstruction technique and data consistency approach, and as a result improves estimation accuracy by up to 90% relative to the naive method, particularly at low speeds. In terms of estimated travel times (from these reconstructed speeds), TravRes can improve the accuracy by up to 5 times.

The primary motivation to build a flight dynamics model was for dead reckoning of unmanned aerial vehicle, a process of estimating the aircraft's motions from the last known state during the interval of losing GPS signals. When a wind model was added to the flight simulation, it had the ability to either load wind data externally, or to produce random turbulence internally, from light to severe. This additional feature gave the simulation a more realistic flight environment. As a result, it can be used to predict the stability and flying characteristics of UAVs. Likewise, autopilot controllers can be tested in extreme conditions before they are implemented. The modified generic flight model permits modelling of completely arbitrary vehicle configurations, from miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to transonic fighters. Building the model in Matlab Simulink allowed rapid development of new aircraft models, and has provided a very flexible platform for users to tailor their flight models.

To study the relationship between CYP1A1 genetic polymorphism and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) in Chengdu of China.MspI and Ile/Val genotypes of CYP1A1 gene were detected with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and allele-specific amplification-PCR (ASA-PCR) in a case-control study, including 100 cases of ICP and 100 controls.There was no significant correlation between MspI polymorphism and ICP susceptibility (P0.05). However, the Ile/Val+Val/Val genotypes of CYP1A1 significantly increased the risk of ICP (P=0.047, OR=1.768).The Ile/Val polymorphism in exon 7 of CYP1A1 may be associated with the susceptibility of ICP in Chengdu. The MspI polymorphism of CYP1A1 is not associated with the risk of ICP in Chengdu.

Many weighted scale-free networks are known to have a power-law correlation between strength and degree of nodes, which, however, has not been well explicated. We investigate the dynamic behaviors of resource/traffic flow on scale-free networks. The dynamical system will evolve to a kinetic equilibrium state, where the strength, defined by the amount of resource or traffic load, is correlated with the degree in a power-law form with tunable exponent. The analytical results agree with simulations well., 6 pages, and 8 figures

In this paper, inspired by the idea that the hub nodes of a highly heterogeneous network are not only the bottlenecks, but also effective controllers in the network synchronizing process, we bring forward an asymmetrical coupling method where the coupling strength of each node depends on its neighbors' degrees. Compared with the uniform coupled method and the recently proposed Motter-Zhou-Kurth method, the synchronizability of scale-free networks can be remarkably enhanced by using the present coupled method., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures; to be published in EPJB

To establish a cell-based assay to screen human dopamine D1 and D5 receptor agonists against compounds from a natural product compound library.Synthetic responsive elements 6 cAMP response elements (CRE) and a mini promoter containing a TATA box were inserted into the pGL3 basic vector to generate the reporter gene construct pCRE/TA/Luci. CHO cells were co-transfected with the reporter gene construct and human D1 or D5 receptor cDNA in mammalian expression vectors. Stable cell lines were established for agonist screening. A natural product compound library from over 300 herbs has been established. The extracts from these herbs were used for human D1 and D5 receptor agonist screenings.A number of extracts were identified that activated both D1 and D5 receptors. One of the herb extracts, SBG492, demonstrated distinct pharmacological characteristics with human D1 and D5 receptors. The EC(50) values of SBG492 were 342.7 microg/mL for the D1 receptor and 31.7 microg/mL for the D5 receptor.We have established a cell-based assay for high-throughput drug screening to identify D1-like receptor agonists from natural products. Several extracts that can active D1-like receptors were discovered. These compounds could be useful tools for studies on the functions of these receptors in the brain and could potentially be developed into therapeutic drugs for the treatment of central nervous system diseases.

To explore a way of determining the weights of variables in synthetic evaluation.Based on the attribute synthetic evaluation system, similarity weight was used to cluster and rank the atmospheric quality on 11 large cities.Realized the classification and ranking for the atmospheric quality of the cities given, the results were almost comparable to that achieved by Topsis evaluation.The method of comprehensive assessment using similarity weight in the attribute synthetic evaluation system seemed to be objective and rational. Not only it embodied the weights of variables involved, but also exploiting the information presented by the sample.

For most technical networks, the interplay of dynamics, traffic and topology is assumed crucial to their evolution. In this paper, we propose a traffic-driven evolution model of weighted technological networks. By introducing a general strength-coupling mechanism under which the traffic and topology mutually interact, the model gives power-law distributions of degree, weight and strength, as confirmed in many real networks. Particularly, depending on a parameter W that controls the total weight growth of the system, the nontrivial clustering coefficient C, degree assortativity coefficient r and degree-strength correlation are all in consistence with empirical evidences., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Advanced closed chamber system was used to study the fate of phenanthrene (3-rings PAHs) in the presence of linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS). The results showed mineralization and metabolism of phenanthrene are fast in the "culture solution-lava-plant-air" model ecological system. The distribution proportions of applied 14C-activity in this simulative ecological system were 41%-45%, 14% to 10% and 1% in plant, lava and culture solution respectively, and 18% to 29%, 11% to 8% recovered in the forms of VOCs and CO2. Main parts of the applied 14C-activity exist in two forms, one is polar metabolites (25%) which mainly distribute in the root (23%), the other is unextractable part (23%) which have been constructed into plant root (8.98%), shoot (0.53%) or bonded to lava (13.2%). The main metabolites of phenanthrene were polar compounds (25% of applied 14C-activity), and small portion of 14C-activity was identified as non-polar metabolites (6% of applied 14C-activity) and apparent phenanthrene (1.91% of applied 14C-activity). Phenanthrene and its metabolites can be taken up through plant roots and translocated to plant shoots. The presence of LAS significantly increased the the concentration of 14C-activity in the plant and production of VOCs, at the same time it decreased the phenanthrene level in the plant and the production of CO2 at the concentration of 200 mg/L.