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Rice yield reduction due to water limitation depends on its severity and duration and on the phenological stage of its occurrence. We exposed three contrasting rice genotypes, IR64, UPLRi7 and Apo (adapted to lowland, upland and aerobic conditions, respectively), to three water regimes (puddle, 100% and 60% field capacity) in pots during the vegetative (GSI), flowering (GSII) and grain filling (GSIII) stages. Stress at all the three stages significantly reduced yield especially in lowland genotype IR64. Effect of water limitation was more severe at GSII than at the other two stages. Stress at GSI stage reduced both source activity (leaf area and photosynthetic rate) and sink capacity (tiller number or panicle number per pot). When stress was imposed at GSII, spikelet fertility was most affected in all the three genotypes. In both GSII and GSIII, although leaf area was constant in all the three water regimes, estimated relative whole-plant photosynthesis was strongly associated with yield reduction. Reduced photosynthesis due to stress at any given stage was found to have direct impact on yield. Compared to the other genotypes, Apo had deeper roots and maintained a better water relation, thus, higher carbon gain and spikelet viability, and ultimately, higher biomass and productivity under water-limited conditions. Therefore, screening for these stage-dependent adaptive mechanisms is crucial in breeding for sustained rice production under water limitation.

Abstract Background Web blotch is one of the most important foliar diseases worldwide in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for peanut web blotch resistance represents the basis for gene mining and the application of molecular breeding technologies. Results In this study, a peanut recombinant inbred line (RIL) population was used to map QTLs for web blotch resistance based on high-throughput genome-wide sequencing. Frequency distributions of disease grade and disease index in five environments indicated wide phenotypic variations in response to web blotch among RILs. A high-density genetic map was constructed, containing 3634 bin markers distributed on 20 peanut linkage groups (LGs) with an average genetic distance of 0.5 cM. In total, eight QTLs were detected for peanut web blotch resistance in at least two environments, explaining from 2.8 to 15.1% of phenotypic variance. Two major QTLs qWBRA04 and qWBRA14 were detected in all five environments and were linked to 40 candidate genes encoding nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) or other proteins related to disease resistances. Conclusions The results of this study provide a basis for breeding peanut cultivars with web blotch resistance.

Abstract Background Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) is highly expressed in several cancers and can regulate cell epigenetic status and various cell metabolism pathways, such as ATP synthesis and cellular stress response. We reported in our previous papers that NNMT overexpression inhibits the apoptosis and enhances the chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer cells. This study aims to investigate the effect of NNMT on autophagy induced by oxidative stress in breast cancer cells, which might provide a novel therapeutic strategy for breast cancer treatment. Methods NNMT and LC3B II protein levels in the two cell models (SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-231) with NNMT overexpression or knockdown were detected by Western blotting and correlated with each other. Changes in cellular viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ATP levels were assessed after H2O2 treatment. Then, autophagosomes were imaged by transmission electron microscopy, and LC3 puncta were examined by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The LC3B II level and AMPK-ULK1 pathway activity were both detected by Western blotting to determine the role of NNMT in the H2O2-induced autophagy. Results NNMT expression was negatively correlated with LC3B II expression in both cell models (SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-231). Then, NNMT overexpression attenuated the autophagy induced by H2O2 in SK-BR-3 cells, whereas knockdown promoted autophagy induced by H2O2 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, mechanistic studies showed that NNMT suppressed the ROS increase, ATP decrease and AMPK-ULK1 pathway activation, resulting in the inhibition of H2O2-induced autophagy in breast cancer cells. Conclusions We conclude that NNMT inhibits the autophagy induced by oxidative stress through the ROS-mediated AMPK-ULK1 pathway in breast cancer cells and may protect breast cancer cells against oxidative stress through autophagy suppression.

Abstract Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activating mutations play crucial roles in the tumorigenesis of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The mechanism regarding how EGFR signaling regulates myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (Mcl-1) protein stability and ubiquitination remains undefined. Methods MTS assay was used for natural product library screening. The effect of formononetin (Formo) on NSCLC cells was determined by MTS assay and soft agar assay. Molecular modeling was performed to analyze the potential different binding modes between Formo and EGFR WT or mutants. Mcl-1 protein level and the inhibitory effect of Formo on EGFR signaling were examined by immunoblot, in vitro kinase assay, in vitro pulldown and ATP competition assays, co-immunoprecipitation assay, ubiquitination analysis, in vivo xenograft model, and immunohistochemical staining. Results Formo was identified as an EGFR inhibitor by a 98 commercially available natural product screening. Formo suppresses WT and mutant EGFR kinases activity in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. Molecular modeling indicates that Formo docks into the ATP-binding pocket of both WT and mutant EGFR. Formo inhibits EGFR-Akt signaling, which in turn activates GSK3β and promotes Mcl-1 phosphorylation in NSCLC cells. Treatment with Formo enhances the interaction between Mcl-1 and SCFFbw7, which eventually promotes Mcl-1 ubiquitination and degradation. Depletion of either GSK3β or SCFFbw7 compromised Formo-induced Mcl-1 downregulation. Finally, Formo inhibits the in vivo tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of promoting ubiquitination-dependent Mcl-1 turnover might be an alternative strategy to enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of EGFR-TKI.

Objective The epidemiological characteristics and patterns of foodborne disease events in Nanping City were analyzed to provide a basis for formulating prevention and control strategies of foodborne disease. Methods Foodborne disease incidents reported from all over Nanping City during 1998 and 2017 were collected, and a retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted. Results A total of 184 foodborne disease incidents were reported in Nanping, with 2 871 cases and 40 deaths, with an annual average incidence of 5.12/100 000 and a case fatality rate of 1.39%. The peak season for foodborne illness was the third quarter, with the highest number of incidents and deaths in August. The number of incidents and patients with the largest number were pathogenic microbial events, accounting for 43.48% (80/184) and 64.86% (1 862/2 871) respectively. Toxic plant accounted for 35.87% (66/184) and 10.80% (310/2 871). The most common pathogenic factor was the accidental eating of poisonous mushrooms, accounting for 29.89% (55/184). Vibrio parahaemolyticus was the second factor, accounting for 12.50% (23/184). The most fatal cases were from mushroom, accounting for 87.50% (35/40). Family were the most occurred site, accounted for 39.13% (72/184), and 66.67% (48/72) were caused by toxic plants. Hotels and restaurants accounted for 22.28% (41/184) and 80.49% (33/41) were pathogenic microorganisms. Conclusion The control strategy of foodborne disease events in Nanping should focus on reducing wild mushroom poisoning and changing bad eating habits, carrying out a wide range of food safety education in vulnerable seasons, months and regions, establishing an effective early warning, monitoring and government supervision mechanism, and reducing the occurrence of foodborne disease.

In this article, a delayed phytoplankton-zooplankton system with Allee effect and linear harvesting is proposed, where phytoplankton species protects themselves from zooplankton by producing toxin and taking shelter. First, the existence and stability of the possible equilibria of system are explored. Next, the existence of Hopf bifurcation is investigated when the system has no time delay. What's more, the stability of limit cycle is demonstrated by calculating the first Lyapunov number. Then, the condition that Hopf bifurcation occurs is obtained by taking the time delay describing the maturation period of zooplankton species as a bifurcation parameter. Furthermore, based on the normal form theory and the central manifold theorem, we derive the direction of Hopf bifurcation and the stability of bifurcating periodic solutions. In addition, by regarding the harvesting effort as control variable and employing the Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, the optimal harvesting strategy of the system is obtained. Finally, in order to verify the validity of the theoretical results, some numerical simulations are carried out.

Food intake can be attenuated by visceral aversive stimuli in pathological conditions. Here the authors identify a unilateral neural circuit from the CamKII-positive neurons in the anterior insular cortex to the vGluT2-positive neurons in the lateral hypothalamus that controls feeding responses to visceral aversive stimuli.

Primary diffuse large B cell lymphoma of the central nervous system (CNS DLBCL) is a rare malignancy with a distinct genetic profile. The clinicopathological significance of the mutation patterns remains unknown. Forty cases of primary CNS DLBCL were subjected to targeted exome sequencing covering 413 genes, including MYD88, CD79B and PIM1. Mutational analysis recognized two groups. The CDP (including CD79B and/or PIM1mutations) group was identified in 27 cases (67.5%), and the non-CDP (without CD79B and PIM1 mutations) group was identified in 13 cases 32.5%). The CDP group tended to occur in older patients (median age 57.0 vs. 48.4 years, p=0.015). Patients in the CDP group had a significantly longer 2-year overall survival (OS) (76% and 40%, p=0.0372) than those in the non-CDP group. Multivariate analysis revealed that age less than 60 years, no MYC and BCL2 double expression, and CDP group were three independent risk factors indicating favorable OS. PyClone analysis revealed the subcloning heterogeneity between the groups. In addition, transcriptional sequencing was successfully performed in 8 cases. A total of 131 genes were significantly differentially expressed between these two groups. The major categories of biological processes that were significantly altered between these two groups related to intracellular metabolism mechanisms. We developed a new molecular classification to divide CNS DLBCL into CDP and non-CDP groups based on CD79B and PIM1 mutational status. Patients with PIM1 and/or CD79B mutations had favorable long-term survival after high-dose methotrexate-based polychemotherapy.

Abstract Elevated CO2 concentration has been reported to decrease grain nutrient concentrations and thus worsen nutritional deficiency and hidden hunger. One nutritional aspect is mineral content, yet mineral bioavailability can be limited by the presence of phytic acid. Given that future climate scenarios predict elevated global temperature driven by elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, we used Temperature by Free‐Air CO2 Enrichment (T‐FACE) field experiments to investigate whether elevated temperature alters the effects of elevated CO2 on grain mineral concentrations, grain mineral yields, and their bioavailability in a range of wheat and rice genotypes. We found that the negative effects of elevated CO2 were compensated for by positive effects of elevated temperature. As a result, the combined elevated CO2 and elevated temperature increased concentrations of some minerals by up to ~15% in both rice and wheat relative to control conditions. Moreover, the combined elevated CO2 and elevated temperature did not significantly change total yields of some minerals despite lower grain yields. The combined CO2 and temperature elevation increased phytic acid concentration in rice by 18.1% but decreased it in wheat by 3.5%. The mineral bioavailability, estimated as the mole ratio of phytic acid to minerals in rice and wheat grains, was limited by the combined CO2 and temperature elevation in only a few cases. Our results indicate that under future climate conditions of elevated temperature and CO2, the nutritional quality of rice and wheat with respect to minerals may remain unchanged.

Pod size is an important yield-influencing trait in peanuts. It is affected by plant hormones and identifying the genes related to these hormones may contribute to pod-related trait improvements in peanut breeding programs. However, there is limited information on the molecular mechanisms of plant hormones that regulate pod size in peanuts. We identified a mutant with an extremely small pod (spm) from Yuanza 9102 (WT) by 60Co γ-radiation mutagenesis. The length and width of the natural mature pod in spm were only 71.34% and 73.36% of those in WT, respectively. We performed comparative analyses for morphological characteristics, anatomy, physiology, and global transcriptome between spm and WT pods. Samples were collected at 10, 20, and 30 days after peg elongation into the soil, representing stages S1, S2, and S3, respectively. The differences in pod size between WT and spm were seen at stage S1 and became even more striking at stages S2 and S3. The cell sizes of the pods were significantly smaller in spm than in WT at stages S1, S2, and S3. These results suggested that reduced cell size may be one of the important contributors for the small pod in spm. The contents of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellin (GA), and brassinosteroid (BR) were also significantly lower in spm pods than those in WT pods at all three stages. RNA-Seq analyses showed that 1,373, 8,053, and 3,358 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were identified at stages S1, S2, and S3, respectively. Functional analyses revealed that a set of DEGs was related to plant hormone biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction pathway, and cell wall biosynthesis and metabolism. Furthermore, several hub genes associated with plant hormone biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways were identified through weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Our results revealed that IAA, GA, and BR may be important regulators in controlling pod size by regulating cell size in peanuts. This study provides helpful information for the understanding of the complex mechanisms of plant hormones in controlling pod size by regulating the cell size in peanuts and will facilitate the improvement of peanut breeding.

Luoyang No.1 is a Qing Dynasty (1644–1902) inland river ancient wooden shipwreck discovered in September 2013. It adds significantly to the study of Grand Canal transport history and Luoyang’s economic history. The wood characteristics of Luoyang No.1 were investigated in this study using chemical compositions, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nano-indentation (NI), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the holocellulose content was only 32.84–37.69%, indicating that the cellulose and hemicellulose had been seriously degraded. Based on the XRD pattern, the degree of crystallinity of cellulose in wood ranged from 19.82 to 22.83%. The nano-indentation demonstrated that compared with the undegraded contemporary wood, the elastic modulus and hardness of the ancient ship wood decreased by 45.5% and 32.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the FTIR spectra revealed that the biological deterioration of ancient wood was indicated by a decrease in the peaks related to cellulose and hemicellulose, but the change in lignin was insignificant. The results could provide knowledge for appropriate dewatering, strengthening, restoration strategies and regulation of the museum environment.

Huaguangjiao I refers to the ancient Chinese wooden shipwreck of the South Song Dynasty (1127–1279 AD) discovered in the South China Sea in 1996. From 2008 to 2017, the archaeological waterlogged wood was desalted using deionized water combined with ultrasonic treatment, and desalted using EDTA-2Na, EDTAHO, and NaH2PO4·2H2O solutions. In this paper, the degree of degradation of the modified waterlogged archaeological wood and the moisture and content of the main components were determined. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nanoindentation (NI), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to investigate the state of wood degradation after desalination and desulfurization. The results showed that the water content of the wood was as high as 532~1149%, while the basic density was only 0.14~0.18 g/cm3, indicating that the wood had been seriously degraded. The holocellulose content was only 36–40%. Based on the XRD patterns, the degree of cellulose crystallinity in the modified wood was 14.08%. The elastic modulus and hardness of the ancient shipwreck wood after desalination and desulfurization were 1.28–4.31 and 0.10–0.28 GPa, respectively, according to nanoindentation. In addition, the FTIR spectra revealed that the biological deterioration of the modified wood caused cellulose and hemicellulose degradation, but no apparent lignin alteration occurred. The results could provide knowledge for appropriate dewatering, strengthening, and restoration strategies.

Low temperature is the most common abiotic stress factor in peanut cultivation. Chitooligosaccharide (COS) plays an important role in the low-temperature resistance in plants, however, the role of COS in regulating the cold tolerance in peanuts is not clear. This research investigated the effects of exogenous COS on peanut seedlings in response to low temperatures. The results showed that exogenous COS can significantly alleviate the cooling symptoms of seedlings by reducing the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) under simulated low-temperature conditions (8 °C). These reductions may be related to the elevation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activities and the increased contents of osmotic substances such as soluble sugars (SS), soluble protein (SP), proline (Pro), and total phenols (TP) compared with those in untreated seedlings. Meanwhile, the contents of chlorophyll a and b in a peanut leaf also increased, as well as the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), resulted in an increased plant height, a heavier fresh weight, and an increased dry weight. Notably, the treatment of 100 mg·L−1 COS had maximum gain effects compared with those of other treatments. In summary, this study revealed the usage of COS for chilling stress alleviation, and 100 mg L−1 foliar spraying is recommended.

Nitrogen, one of the essential elements, is a key determinant for improving peanut growth and yield. GATA zinc finger transcription factors have been found to be involved in regulation of nitrogen metabolism. However, a systematic characterization of the GATA gene family and patterns of their expression under different nitrogen levels remains elusive. In this study, a total of 45 GATA genes distributed among 17 chromosomes were identified in the peanut genome and classified into three subfamilies I, II and III with 26, 13 and 6 members, respectively, whose physicochemical characteristics, gene structures and conserved motifs were also analyzed. Furthermore, the optimal level of nitrogen fertilizer on the growth of peanut cultivar Yuhua 23 was determined by pod yield and value cost ratio from 2020 to 2022, and the results revealed that 150 kg hm−2 nitrogen was the best for cultivation of peanut Yuhua 23 because of its highest pod yield and relatively higher VCR of more than four. In addition, expression patterns of peanut GATA genes under different nitrogen levels were detected by real-time quantitative PCR and several GATA genes were significantly changed under a nitrogen level of 150 kg hm−2. Overall, the above results would be helpful for further understanding biological functions of the GATA gene family in cultivated peanut.

Hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), also known as highland barley, contains nutritional compounds, such as β-glucan and polyphenol, which can be added to wheat flour to improve the dough nutritional quality. In this study, different formulated dough samples were obtained by individually adding four hulless barley flours into flour of a wheat variety (Jimai 44, designated as JM) which has very strong gluten. The effects of hulless barley supplementation on gluten structure, dough rheological properties, bread-making properties, and starch digestibility were assessed. The results showed that compared with JM dough, substitution of hulless barley flour to wheat flour at levels ranging from 10 to 40% negatively affected gluten micro-structure and dough mixing behavior, because the cross-links of gluten network were partially broken and the dough development time and stability time were shortened. For the hulless barley-supplemented bread, specific volume was significantly (P < 0.05) increased while springiness was not greatly changed. Furthermore, the hydrolysed starch rate in hulless barley-supplemented bread was decreased, compared with that in JM bread. Importantly, the contents of β-glucan, polyphenols and flavonoids in hulless barley-supplemented bread were 132.61–160.87%, 5.71–48.57%, and 25–293.75% higher than those in JM bread, respectively. Taken together, the hulless barley-supplemented bread has been fortified with enhanced nutritional components, more desirable bread-making quality, and improved starch hydrolytic properties, which shows a great potential to use hulless barley as a health supplement.

Industrialization and rapid development surged the energy demands and landfill usage required to cater to for the increase in waste disposal. Organic wastes valorization can alleviate the adverse impacts on the environment and can convert wastes to value-added products. Organic waste varies in availability and composition, which can be generalized to carbon-rich and/or nitrogen-rich. The carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio is one of the significant factors for biomethane production and must be considered during system design. This research proposed a numerical framework for targeting waste-to-energy system taking into consideration the inconsistency of daily organic wastes availability (C/N ratio), volatile solid percentage (VS%), and total solid percentage (TS%). The methodology from previously established Electric System Cascade Analysis (ESCA) was adopted and applied to design the waste and product storage. The developed methodology implemented in a case study comprises of 50 houses with a total energy demand range from 1,095 to 1,290 kWh/d. A 49.01 m3 biogas storage was equipped into a biomethane energy system with 115.93 m3 CH4 daily production to satisfy the energy demand. The identified organic wastes storages capacity was 2,695.17 m3 for swine manure and 416.17 m3 for rice straw.

Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) offer numerous healthy benefits, and the production of peanuts has a prominent role in global food security. As a result, it is in the interest of society to improve the productivity and quality of peanuts with transgenic means. However, the lack of a robust phylogeny of cultivated and wild peanut species has limited the utilization of genetic resources in peanut molecular breeding. In this study, a total of 33 complete peanut plastomes were sequenced, analyzed and used for phylogenetic analyses. Our results suggest that sect. Arachis can be subdivided into two lineages. All the cultivated species are contained in Lineage I with AABB and AA are the two predominant genome types present, while species in Lineage II possess diverse genome types, including BB, KK, GG, etc. Phylogenetic studies also indicate that all allotetraploid cultivated peanut species have been derived from a possible maternal hybridization event with one of the diploid Arachis duranensis accessions being a potential AA sub-genome ancestor. In addition, Arachis monticola, a tetraploid wild species, is placed in the same group with all the cultivated peanuts, and it may represent a transitional species, which has been through the recent hybridization event. This research could facilitate a better understanding of the taxonomic status of various Arachis species/accessions and the evolutionary relationship among them, and assists in the correct and efficient use of germplasm resources in breeding efforts to improve peanuts for the benefit of human beings.

The Niukutou Pb-Zn deposit is typical of skarn deposits in the Qimantagh metallogenic belt (QMB) in the East Kunlun Mountains. In this study, based on detailed petrographical observations, electron microprobe analyses (EMPAs), and laser-ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses, we report the major and trace element compositions of the typical skarn mineral assemblages (garnet, pyroxene, ilvaite, epidote, and chlorite) in this deposit. Three hydrothermal mineralization stages with different mineral assemblages of the prograde metamorphic phase were determined, which were distributed from the inside to the outside of the ore-forming rock mass. Grt1+Px1 (Stage 1), Grt2+Px2 (Stage 2), and Px3 (Stage 3) were distinguished in the Niukutou deposit. Furthermore, the ilvaites in the retrograde metamorphic phase can be divided into three stages, namely Ilv1, Ilv2, and Ilv3. The ore-forming fluid in Stage 1 exhibited high ∑REE, U, and Nd concentrations and δEu, δCe, and LREE/HREE values, which were likely derived from a magmatic–hydrothermal source and formed at high temperatures, high fO2 values, and mildly acidic pH conditions, and probably experienced diffusive metasomatism in a closed system with low water/rock ratios. In Stages 2 and 3, the ore-forming exhibited lower ∑REE, U, and Nd concentrations and δEu, δCe, and LREE/HREE values, with high Mn content that had likely experienced infiltrative metasomatism in an open system with high water/rock ratios. From Ilv1 to Ilv3, the δEu and U contents decreased, whereas the Mn content increased, indicating that the oxygen fugacity of mineralization was in decline. The ore-forming fluid evolution of the Niukutou deposit can be characterized as follows: from Stage 1 to Stage 3, the hydrothermal fluid migrated from the deep plutons to the shallow skarn and marble; the environment altered from the high fO2 and temperature conditions to low fO2 and temperature values, and the pH and Mn contents increased. The fluids contained considerable metal ore-forming materials that were favorable for the enrichment and precipitation of the Fe content. In the retrograde metamorphic phase, with the decrease in oxygen fugacity (from Ilv1 to Ilv3), the temperature and oxygen fugacity of the theore-forming fluid environment decreased, ultimately becoming conducive to the dissolution and precipitation of Pb and Zn elements.

High oleic acid peanut (HOAP) is extensively embraced in China because of its high nutritional value and enhanced oxidative stability. However, its dissemination has been severely constrained in high altitude and high latitude areas due to chilling stress during sowing, resulting in significant yield loss in these regions. Despite the lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying low temperature germination (LTG) in HOAP, discovering the quantitative trait loci (QTL) that confer this trait will undoubtedly benefit breeding efforts. In the present study, we identified putative genomic regions and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that govern LTG tolerance of HOAP in an F2 population derived from the cross of chilling-tolerant YH65 and chilling-sensitive FL14 using bulk segregant analysis (BSA). Analysis of ΔSNP-index and Euclidean distance (ED) value association pinpointed the overlapped region to a 2.29 Mb interval on chromosome A05. The candidate interval showed that 122 genes were significantly related to response to abiotic stress and plant–pathogen interaction. Furthermore, an SNP site associated with LTG tolerance was discovered. The SNP site was employed as a Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) marker and validated in a universal peanut panel. These findings may provide valuable insight into the molecular mechanism underpinning LTG tolerance and facilitate marker-assisted selective breeding in HOAP.