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To analysze the dynamic degradation and final residues of acephate and its metabolite methamidophos, field-experiments with pakchoi ( Brassica campestris L.) in open field and greenhouse were carried out in Beijing, China in 2004 and 2005. The degradation dynamics and final residues were determined by gas chromatography (GC) equipped with a pulsed flame photometric detector and GC coupled to mass spectrometry (MS)/MS after acephate was applied on open field and green house pakchoi ( B. campestris L.). The dynamic degradation results showed that the half-lives of acephate and methamidophos in open field pakchoi were 1.36 days with dynamic degradation equation C t = 133.01e − 0.5107 t, and 2.86 days with C t = 6.5753e − 0.2422 t, respectively. While the half-lives of acephate and methamidophos in the greenhouse were 1.07 days with C t = 59.134e − 0.4353 t and 0.79 days with C t = 0.2703e − 0.2595 t, respectively. The final residue analysis demonstrated that >50% of total methamidophos were resulted from the degradation of acephate 7 and 18 days after it was applied on the greenhouse pakchoi, respectively. While in the open-field pakchoi, >90% of total methamidophos was found to be the metabolite of acephate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R3239 --> Objectives: Lipocalin‐2 is a pro‐inflammatory adipokine up‐regulated in obese animals and human subjects. Mice without lipocalin‐2 (LKO) are protected from dietary or genetic obesity‐induced metabolic dysfunctions and vascular abnormalities. The present study aimed to investigate the role of lipocalin‐2 and the mechanisms underlying its actions in dietary obesity‐induced hypertension. Methods: Wild‐type (WT) and LKO, as well as mice with tissue‐specific deletion of lipocalin‐2 were subjected to 20‐weeks high‐fat diet treatment. Blood pressure was monitored with implantable radio telemetry. Wire myography was performed to evaluate the vascular responses in mesenteric arteries without or with the attached perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blotting and quantitative PCR were performed to measure the levels of angiotensin peptides and angiotensin‐converting enzymes. Results: Deletion of LCN2 alleles prevented the development of hypertension induced by dietary obesity. Lipocalin‐2 deficiency inhibited obesity‐associated arterial remodeling and promoted the anti‐contractile function of PVAT. The data demonstrated that lipocalin‐2 was involved in the local production of angiotensin peptides via modulating the expression of angiotensin‐converting enzymes. Conclusion: Lipocalin‐2 plays a causal role in blood pressure elevation. The source of the pathological form of lipocalin‐2 contributing to obesity‐induced hypertension needs to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R3208 --> Lipocalin‐2 is a proinflammatory adipokine implicated in metabolic, cardiovascular and renal diseases. This molecule exists as multiple variants in human biofluid and tissue samples. The present study evaluated the molecular features of different lipocalin‐2 variants, including hLcn2, C87A and R81E, and their application as biomarkers and drug targets for cardiovascular (CVD) or chronic kidney (CKD) diseases. The results demonstrate that in patients with CKD, the urine levels of C87A and R81E were higher and positively correlated with the tubular injury markers. With increasing severity of CKD, there was a progressive elevation of the urine R81E levels. In patients with CVD, the plasma levels of C87A were significantly increased and positively correlated with N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), neutrophil activation markers and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), independent of age, gender, smoking and body mass index (BMI). In mice subjected to a six‐week treatment with aldosterone and high salt after uninephrectomy, treatment with antibody against C87A significantly attenuated diastolic dysfunction and cardiac injuries, whereas treatment with antibody against R81E elicited more potent protective effects on renal injuries. In conclusion, simultaneouslyquantifying differentlipocalin‐2 variants is useful for risk assessment and management of patients with CKD and/or CVD. Targeting the pathological forms of lipocalin‐2 represents a novel and promising strategy for therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rhodococcus sp. HX-2 was found to be able to tolerate 1%–10 % NaCl. • HX-2 can produce intracellular compatible substances (betaine) to survive in high NaCl concentrations. • Exogenously added betaine increased the production of exopolysaccharides and was transported into HX-2 cells. • Genomic analysis identified the presence of betaine-producing and transport genes and their expression was induced by NaCl. Rhodococcus sp. HX-2 could degrade diesel oil in the presence of 1%–10 % NaCl. The compatible solute betaine accumulated in cells with increasing NaCl concentration, and this was found to be the main mechanism of resistance of HX-2 to high salt concentration. Exogenously added betaine can be transported into cells, which improved cell growth and the percentage degradation of diesel oil in the presence of high [NaCl] in solution and in soil. Scanning electron microscopy data suggested that addition of exogenous betaine facilitated salt tolerance by stimulating exopolysaccharide production. Fourier-transform infrared analysis suggested that surface hydroxyl, amide and phosphate groups may be related to tolerance of high-salt environments. Four betaine transporter-encoding genes (H0, H1, H3, H5) and the betaine producer gene betB were induced in Rhodococcus sp. HX-2 by NaCl stress. The maximal induction of H0, H1, H3 and H5 transcription depended on high salinity plus the presence of betaine. These results demonstrate that salt tolerance is mediated by accumulated betaine in Rhodococcus sp. HX-2 cells, and the potential of this strain for application in bioremediation of hydrocarbon pollution in saline environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-robot systems have many potential applications; however, the available results for coordination were based on qualitative information. Fuzzy logic reasoning has a feature of human being thinking, so a novel coordinated algorithm is proposed. The algorithm utilizes sharing sensing information of rooms and semantic robots to coordinating robots in a structured environment exploration. The approach divides all teammate robots into two classes according to robot exploration performance, and divides rooms into large, medium and small ones according to estimations of the individual areas. On the purpose of minimizing exploration time of the system, the reasoning coordination assigns large room to good performance robot, and vice versa. A parameter update law is introduced for fuzzy membership functions. Finally, the results are validated by computer simulations for a structured environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations in the polycystins cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Here we show that transmembrane protein 33 (TMEM33) interacts with the ion channel polycystin-2 (PC2) at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, enhancing its opening over the whole physiological calcium range in ER liposomes fused to planar bilayers. Consequently, TMEM33 reduces intracellular calcium content in a PC2-dependent manner, impairs lysosomal calcium refilling, causes cathepsins translocation, inhibition of autophagic flux upon ER stress, as well as sensitization to apoptosis. Invalidation of TMEM33 in the mouse exerts a potent protection against renal ER stress. By contrast, TMEM33 does not influence pkd2-dependent renal cystogenesis in the zebrafish. Together, our results identify a key role for TMEM33 in the regulation of intracellular calcium homeostasis of renal proximal convoluted tubule cells and establish a causal link between TMEM33 and acute kidney injury. Polycystin-2 (PC2) is an ion channel commonly found mutated in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Here Arhatte et al. identify transmembrane protein 33 (TMEM33) as a regulator of PC2 function at the endoplasmic reticulum, and find that deletion of TMEM33 protects mice from acute kidney injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previously, we demonstrated that pollen chamber formation (PCF) in G. biloba ovules was a process of programmed cell death (PCD) within the nucellar cells at the micropylar end. However, the signal triggering the cascades of the programmed events in these nucellar cells remains unexplored. Results: A transcriptomic strategy was employed to unravel the mechanism underlying the nucellar PCD via the comparative profiles of RNA-seq between pre-PCF and post-PCF ovules. A total of 5599 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with significance was identified from G. biloba ovules and classified into three main categories of GO annotation, including 17 biological processes, 15 cellular components and 17 molecular functions. KEGG analysis showed that 72 DEGs were enriched in "Plant hormone signal transduction". Furthermore, 99 DEGs were found to be associated with the PCD process, including the genes involved in ethylene signaling pathway, PCD initiation, and PCD execution. Moreover, calcium-cytochemical localization indicated that calcium could play a role in regulating PCD events within the nucellar cells during pollen chamber formation in G. biloba ovules. Conclusions: A putative working model, consisting of three overlapping processes, is proposed for the nucellar PCD: at the stage of PCD preparation, ethylene signaling pathway is activated for transcriptional regulation of the downstream targets; subsequently, at the stage of PCD initiation, the upregulated expression of several transcription factors, i.e., NAC, bHLH, MADS-box, and MYB, further promotes the corresponding transcript levels of CYTOCHROME C and CALMODULINs, thereby, leads to the PCD initiation via the calcium-dependent signaling cascade; finally, at the stage of PCD execution, some proteases like metacaspases and vacuolar processing enzyme for hydrolysis, together with the process of autophagy, play roles in the clearance of cellular components. Afterwards, a pollen chamber is generated from the removal of specific nucellar cells in the developing ovule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless communication with no range and bandwidth limitations is desired for coordination and information sharing among multiple robots. However, the perfect communication is not available for a few of reasons. This paper proposed a simple yet effective scheme for correcting odometer errors existed in each robot of a multi-robot system. A contribution is that additional communication bandwidth is needed only if a rendezvous for two robots happened. Implementation of the error correction scheme is addressed in detail. Moreover, rendezvous is formulated by a set of predicate logic reasoning implications for each robot at upper level of soft architecture. The proposed approach was validated by computer simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matricaria recutita L. has been known as an important medicinal plant for centuries. The main active components are sesquiterpenes. Squalene synthase (SQS) is an enzyme that plays an important role in regulation of isoprenoid biosynthesis. In this study, the full-length cDNA of the M. recutita SQS gene was cloned and analyzed for the first time. The clone, designated MrSQS (Matricaria recutita L. squalene synthase gene), consisted of 1580 bp, including a 1230-bp-coding sequence for a predicted protein of 409 amino acids with 46.8 kDa molecular weight. MrSQS shows higher homology to the SQS from Artemisia annua than to SQSs from other plants based on its amino acid sequence. Recombinant MrSQS, produced in a bacterial expression system, showed squalene synthase activity in vitro. In M. recutita, the expression level of MrSQS is determined by real-time quantitative PCR that was highest in disk florets and lowest in stems. These results provide basis and foundation for the study and development of regulation of valuable products from M. recutita L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome computational expensive problem in coordination of multi-robot systems (MRS) for unknown environment explorations, an integrated coordinated algorithm is proposed in this paper. The algorithm integrated predicate based reasoning and reactive behaviors to realize coordination and obstacle avoidance. An MRS partitioning strategy is proposed to reduce the scale of problem. Then, an initialization strategy realizes dispersion of robots over the environment, and task assignments at the beginning. When a robot has finished its task, predicate based reasoning is used to assign task and to realize cooperative exploration among robots. Robots explore the unknown environment through a series of zigzag trajectories. To deal with obstacle avoidance, a few of reactive behaviors are defined. Supervisors are resident in middle level of a hierarchical architecture for each robot. The results are validated by computer simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whether a reputable online retailer and a mom-and-pop offline store have the incentives to cooperate based on the wholesale model. The conventional view is that the online retailer may improve its profit by collaborating with an unknown offline store that expects to use the online retailer’s brand. However, authorizing the online retailer’s brand to the offline store diverts the online retailer’s loyal consumers so that there may result in an intensified competition between the two parties. To examine this trade-off, we develop a theoretical economic model that includes loyal consumers. The results show that whether the two parties have the incentive to cooperate depends on the fixed payment fee of using the brand and the number of loyal consumers. Particularly, the two parties can charge higher prices under the case of cooperation only when the number of loyal consumers is lower than a threshold. Our results also show that cooperation increases overall consumer welfare if and only if the number of loyal consumers is high. A win–win–win region exists among the online retailer, the offline store, and consumers in some cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide identification of the EIN3 / EIL gene family in Ginkgo biloba and functional study of a GbEIL in the ethylene signaling pathway. [Display omitted] • Five GbEIL s are differentially expressed with high, low, and moderate levels. • A GbEIL (Gb_03292) modulates the expression of a GbERF by binding to its promoter. • Gb_03292 rescues the defect of triple response to ethylene in ein3eil1 Arabidopsis. • Gb_03292 has the evolutionary conservation in ethylene signaling. ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE3 (EIN3) or EIN3-Like (EIL) proteins, play critical roles in integrating ethylene signaling and physiological regulation in plants by modulating the expression of various downstream genes, such as ethylene-response factors (ERFs). However, little is known about the characteristics of EIN3/EILs in the gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba. In the present study, a genome-wide comparative analysis of Ginkgo EIN3 / EIL gene family was performed with those from an array of species, including bryophytes (Physcomitrella patens), gymnosperms (Cycas panzhihuaensis), and angiosperms (Arabidopsis thaliana , Gossypium raimondii , Gossypium hirsutum , Oryza sativa , and Brachypodium distachyon). Within the constructed phylogenetic tree for the 53 EIN3/EILs identified, 5 GbEILs from G. biloba , 2 PpEILs from P. patens , and 3 CpEILs from C. panzhihuaensis were assigned to one cluster, suggesting that their derivation occurred after the split of their ancestors and angiosperms. Although considerable divergence accumulated in amino acid sequences along with the evolutionary process, the specific EIN3_DNA-binding domains were evolutionarily conserved among the 53 EIN3/EILs. Collinearity analysis indicated that whole-genome or segmental duplication and subsequent purifying selection might have prompted the generation and evolution of EIN3 / EIL multigene families. Based on the expression patterns of five GbEIL s at the four developmental stages of Ginkgo ovules, one GbEIL gene (Gb_03292) was further investigated for its role in mediating ethylene signaling. The functional activity of Gb_03292 was closely related to ethylene signaling, as it complemented the triple response via ectopic expression in ein3eil1 double mutant Arabidopsis. Additionally, GbEIL likely modulates the expression of a Ginkgo ERF (Gb_15517) by directly binding to its promoter. These results demonstrated that the GbEIL gene could have participated in mediating ethylene signal transduction during ovule development in G. biloba. The present study also provides insights into the conservation of ethylene signaling across the gymnosperm G. biloba and angiosperm species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital game platforms have provided “pay-to-play” (P2P) games for players to purchase and play on platforms for many years. Recently, platforms have adopted the hybrid bundling (HB) strategy that provides a bundled service of digital games in addition to P2P games. This strategy has the potential to facilitate the growth of digital games and address efficient decarbonization of physical copies of games. This study develops a theoretic model to explore whether the platform should adopt HB and, if so, what are the optimal value and price of the bundled service. We find that HB benefits profits when the usage cost of the bundled service is lower than that of P2P games, the unit price of P2P games is relatively high, and the spillover effect is low. Under such circumstances, the platform decides to provide a low-value and high-price bundled service to supplement P2P games. Moreover, when the usage cost of the bundled service is higher, HB benefits market size which also promotes digital games and reduces carbon emissions. Under such circumstances, when the unit price of P2P games is high, the platform provides a high-value and low-price service; otherwise, a low-value and low-price service. Interestingly, HB cannot simultaneously benefit both profits and market size. We find that a win–win–win situation exists for the platform, players, and social welfare when HB is profitable for the platform. When HB expands market size, it is always beneficial to players but may hurt social welfare. Finally, the bundled service may lead to social inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) play important roles in plant development, programmed cell death, and the responsiveness to biotic and abiotic stresses. To characterize the VPEs in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), the VPE gene family within four Gossypium species, consisting of G. hirsutum, G. barbadense, G. arboreum, and G. raimondii, together with Arabidopsis thaliana, was comparatively analyzed at the genome-wide level. As a result, a total of 43 VPEs were identified, including 13 GhVPEs, 12 GbVPEs, 7 GaVPEs, and 7 GrVPEs, which are evenly distributed with one gene on a chromosome from four Gossypium species, respectively. The phylogenetic tree showed that the identified VPEs within the four Gossypium species could be categorized into β-type, δ-type, and γ-type VPE clades. Collinearity analysis presented 36 of intraspecies VPE-pairs and 152 of interspecies VPE-pairs, respectively, which are included in synteny blocks on chromosome. These results indicate that VPE duplication events have accorded well with the whole genome duplication. And expression profiles of GhVPEs in G. hirsutum seedlings demonstrated that the GhVPEs from the same clade are not necessarily identical in the pattern of transcriptional expression. Upon abiotic stresses (i.e., waterlogging and salt treatments), three GhVPEs (i.e., Ghir_A05G004610, Ghir_A09G011870, and Ghir_D09G011410) were significantly upregulated in their expression amounts, respectively. The GhVPE genes that presented inducible expression under some abiotic stresses may be applied to the improvement of resilience to abiotic stresses for the cultivated cottons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change has readjusted a global-scale precipitation distribution in magnitude and timing. In mountainous areas, meteorological stations and observation data are very limited, making it difficult to accurately understand the response of precipitation to global climate change. Based on ECMWF Reanalysis v5 precipitation products, Berkeley Earth global temperature, and typical atmospheric circulation indexes, we integrated a gradient descent-nonlinear regression downscaling model, cross wavelet transform, and wavelet correlation method to analyze the precipitation response in Tianshan to global climate change. This study provides a high-resolution (90 m × 90 m) precipitation dataset in Tianshan and confirms that global warming, the North Pacific Pattern (NP), the Western Hemisphere Warm Pool (WHWP), and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) are related to the humidification of Tianshan over the past 40 years. The precipitation in Tianshan and global temperature have a resonance period of 8–15 months, and the correlation coefficient is above 0.9. In Tianshan, spring precipitation is determined mainly by AMO, North Tropical Atlantic Sea Level Temperature, Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation (PDO), Tropical North Atlantic Index, WHWP, NP, summer by NP, North Atlantic Oscillation, and PDO, autumn by AMO, and winter by Arctic Oscillation. This research can serve the precipitation forecast of Tianshan and help in the understanding of the regional response to global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Vegetation expanded in lower elevation bands but deteriorated in higher bands. • Vegetation in lower bands increased more significantly after Dam operation. • High-flow events are destructive for vegetation in Dish-shaped Wetland. • Low-flow events positively affected vegetation in other kinds of wetlands. Wetland vegetation dynamics are vital but difficult to understand due to complex impact factors and their spatial heterogeneities. Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, is well-known for its ecological importance as a floodplain wetland. However, heterogeneity in vegetation extent and its response to water regimes across different geomorphic units of Poyang Lake remain unclear to date. To address this gap, Landsat images acquired during dry seasons from 1987 to 2018 were selected to explore vegetation extent and its response to water level fluctuations across multiple elevation bands and four wetland types, namely Riparian Wetland (RW), Delta Wetland (DW), Dish-shaped Wetland (DSW), and Fan-shaped wetland (FSW). Results show that vegetation extent in lower elevation bands of the four wetland types increased remarkably with an average increase rate of 0.53 km2/year between 2003 and 2018 compared to −0.17 km2/year−1 during 1987 to 2002. Hydrological variables indicating high-flow events negatively affected vegetation extent in DSW while variables indicating low-flow events appear to be positive for vegetation extent in RW, DW, and FSW. Over-long floods as happened in 2016 has caused fatal damage to vegetation extent in DSW. In addition, extreme droughts in recent years caused by the Three Gorges Dam promoted significant (p < 0.05) vegetation expansion in lower elevation bands of RW, DW, and FSW, but a deterioration of vegetation extent in higher elevation bands, making Poyang Lake at risk of shrinkage and degradation. Human impacts on the evolution Poyang Lake system have caused wide concern, which also contribute to the proposal of Poyang Lake water control structure. Heterogeneity in vegetation extent and their response to water regimes across Poyang Lake provide precise spatial information for restoration efforts of the wetland ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important plant hormone that plays multiple roles in regulating growth and development as well as in stress responses in plants. The NCED gene family includes key genes involved in the process of ABA synthesis. This gene family has been found in many species; however, the function of the NCED gene family in cotton is unclear. Here, a total of 23 NCED genes (designated as GhNCED1 to GhNCED23) were identified in cotton. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the identified NCED proteins from cotton and Arabidopsis could be classified into 4 subgroups. Conserved motif analysis revealed that the gene structure and motif distribution of proteins within each subgroup were highly conserved. qRT-PCR and ABA content analyses indicated that NCED genes exhibited stage-specific expression patterns at tissue development stages. GhNCED5, GhNCED6 and GhNCED13 expression was similar to the change in ABA content, suggesting that this gene family plays a role in ABA synthesis. These results provide a better understanding of the potential functions of GhNCED genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• tDCS over mPFC is used to examine the third-party's inclination to take the endowment from the rich and give it to the poor. • Only the anodal stimulation significantly reduced income reallocation. • The anodal stimulation made participants to redistribute less from the rich to the poor. • The anodal stimulation also made participants less frequently to transfer fixed sums from the rich to the poor. • The effect of the anodal stimulation was not modulated by the degree of initial inequality between the rich and the poor. One cause of the persistence of income inequality may be rooted in people's resistance to change the existing income distribution. Prior studies have shown that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) may be associated with the decision making that influences income distribution. However, it is unclear whether the mPFC is involved in income redistribution tasks when third-party decision makers are unaffected by the outcome of the decision. In this study, we elucidate the neural mechanism underlying the tolerance of income inequality and the decision making that is related to income redistribution. By applying the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the mPFC, we investigate whether the change in the activation of the mPFC can influence a subject's inclination to expropriate a rich person's endowment and transfer it to a poor person. The main finding is that the anodal stimulation significantly reduced the subject's inclination to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, and lowered the rate of accepting options for redistribution. However, the willingness of income redistribution did not change following the cathodal stimulation compared with the sham condition. The effect of the anodal stimulation was constant across three types of initial inequality. The stimulation effect is likely caused by the subject's enhanced loss aversion or desire to reinforce social hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) is a key enzyme in the phenylpropanoid pathway in plants and is involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as lignin and flavonoids. However, the function of C4H in pear plants (Pyrus bretschneideri) has not yet been fully elucidated. By searching pear genome databases, we identified three C4H genes (PbC4H1 , PbC4H2 and PbC4H3) encoding proteins that share higher identity with bonafide C4Hs from several species with typical cytochrome P450 domains, suggesting that all three PbC4Hs are also bonafide C4Hs that have close evolutionary relationships with C4Hs from other land plants. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results indicated that the three PbC4H s were specifically expressed in one or more tissues. The expression levels of PbC4H1 and PbC4H3 first increased and then decreased during pear fruit development. Treatment with exogenous hormones (ABA, MeJA, and SA) altered the expression of the three PbC4H s to varying degrees. The expression levels of the PbC4H s were first induced and then decreased under ABA treatment, while MeJA treatment significantly increased the expression levels of the PbC4H s. Following treatment with SA, expression levels of PbC4H1 and PbC4H2 increased, while expression levels of PbC4H3 decreased. Enzymatic analysis of the recombinant proteins expressed in yeast indicated that PbC4H1 and PbC4H3 catalysed the conversion of trans -cinnamic acid to p -coumaric acid. Moreover, the expression of PbC4H1 and PbC4H3 in Arabidopsis resulted in an increase in both the lignin content and the thickness of cell walls for intervascular fibres and xylem cells. Taken together, the results of our study not only revealed the potential role of PbC4H1 and PbC4H3 in lignin biosynthesis but also established a foundation for future investigations of the regulation of lignin synthesis and stone cell development in pear fruit by molecular biological techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that the climate in northwest China has turned to warm-wet in recent decades. Does this mean that the entire northwest of China has become wet in the last few decades? In the context of the climate transition in northwest China, this paper investigates whether the Bosten Lake Basin (BLB) located in southern Xinjiang has been dry or wet in the last 30 years. We used the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and Temperature Vegetation Drought Index (TVDI) to investigate these changes. The results show that although the dry-wet changes indicated by the SPEI and TVDI exhibited slight spatiotemporal differences, the entire BLB reflected a tendency to be dry. That is, the BLB has not become wet during the climate transition in northwest China, but is developing a trend toward aridification. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) The SPEI indicated a drying trend in seasonal and interannual variations in plains; in mountains, except in spring and summer it has a drying trend, too. (2) The TVDI showed that although the drying trend in summer and winter was weaker than that in spring and autumn in the BLB, where some regions represented a significant tendency toward wetness owing to seasonal or annual changes, the entire study area has still become more dry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GDSL-type esterase/lipase (GELP) is mainly characterized by a conserved GDSL domain at N terminus, and is widely found in all living species, both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. GELP gene family consists of a wide range of members playing important roles in plant physiological processes, such as development, stress responses, and functional divergences. In our study, 597 GELP genes were identified from six Rosaceae genomes (i.e., Fragaria vesca, Prunus persica, Prunus avium, Prunus mume, Pyrus bretschneideri, and Malus domestica) by a comprehensive analysis. All GELP genes were further divided into ten subfamilies based on phylogenetic tree analysis. Subfamily D and subfamily E are the two largest subfamilies. Microcollinearity analysis suggested that WGD/segmental events contribute to the expansion of the GELP gene family in M. domestica and P. bretschneideri compared to F. vesca, P. persica, P. avium, and P. mume. Some PbGELPs were expressed during the fruit development of P. bretschneideri and pollen tubes, indicating their activity in these tissues. The expression divergence of PbGELP duplication gene pairs suggests that many mutations were allowed during evolution, although the structure of GELP genes was highly conserved. The current study results provided the feasibility to understand the expansion and evolution patterns of GELP in Rosaceae genomes, and highlight the function during P. bretschneideri fruits and pollen tubes development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PHD-finger proteins, which belongs to the type of zinc finger family, and that play an important role in the regulation of both transcription and the chromatin state in eukaryotes. Currently, PHD-finger proteins have been well studied in animals, while few studies have been carried out on their function in plants. In the present study, 129 non-redundant PHD-finger genes were identified from 5 Rosaceae species (pear, apple, strawberry, mei, and peach); among them, 31 genes were identified in pear. Subsequently, we carried out a bioinformatics analysis of the PHD-finger genes. Thirty-one PbPHD genes were divided into 7 subfamilies based on the phylogenetic analysis, which are consistent with the intron-exon and conserved motif analyses. In addition, we identified five segmental duplication events, implying that the segmental duplications might be a crucial role in the expansion of the PHD-finger gene family in pear. The microsynteny analysis of five Rosaceae species showed that there were independent duplication events in addition to the genome-wide duplication of the pear genome. Subsequently, ten expressed PHD-finger genes of pear fruit were identified using qRT-PCR, and one of these genes, PbPHD10, was identified as an important candidate gene for the regulation of lignin synthesis. Our research provides useful information for the further analysis of the function of PHD-finger gene family in pear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial distribution of coastal wetlands affects their ecological functions. Wetland classification is a challenging task for remote sensing research due to the similarity of different wetlands. In this study, a synergetic classification method developed by fusing the 10 m Zhuhai-1 Constellation Orbita Hyperspectral Satellite (OHS) imagery with 8 m C-band Gaofen-3 (GF-3) full-polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery was proposed to offer an updated and reliable quantitative description of the spatial distribution for the entire Yellow River Delta coastal wetlands. Three classical machine learning algorithms, namely, the maximum likelihood (ML), Mahalanobis distance (MD), and support vector machine (SVM), were used for the synergetic classification of 18 spectral, index, polarization, and texture features. The results showed that the overall synergetic classification accuracy of 97% is significantly higher than that of single GF-3 or OHS classification, proving the performance of the fusion of full-polarization SAR data and hyperspectral data in wetland mapping. The synergy of polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) and hyperspectral imagery enables high-resolution classification of wetlands by capturing images throughout the year, regardless of cloud cover. The proposed method has the potential to provide wetland classification results with high accuracy and better temporal resolution in different regions. Detailed and reliable wetland classification results would provide important wetlands information for better understanding the habitat area of species, migration corridors, and the habitat change caused by natural and anthropogenic disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aniline and crude oil are common environmental pollutants that present a significant risk to both the ecological and human health environments. The implementation of efficacious bioremediation strategies is imperative for the elimination of these contaminants. In this study, a bacterial strain designated DH-2 was isolated from soil contaminated with aniline. The strain was identified as belonging to the genus Rhodococcus . The optimal conditions for the growth and aniline degradation by strain DH-2 were determined to be pH 8.0 and 35 °C, respectively. Under these conditions, the degradation rate of aniline at a concentration of 1000 mg/L exceeded 90% within 36 h. Even in the presence of 4% NaCl, the degradation rate remained above 60%. HPLC-MS analysis revealed that the aniline degradation pathway of strain DH-2 follows the catechol pathway. Additionally, strain DH-2 is capable of utilizing crude oil as the sole carbon source, achieving a degradation rate of 91.0% for 2% crude oil concentration within 4 days. In soil modeling experiments, strain DH-2 was observed to degrade aniline and crude oil under triple stress conditions, including 1000 mg/L aniline, 2% crude oil, and 20 mg/L Fe(II) or Pb(II). Complete degradation of aniline and crude oil was achieved after 3 days and 12 days, respectively. The addition of Fe(II) or Pb(II) ions was found to enhance the degradation ability of DH-2. These results demonstrate that strain DH-2 is an extremely effective biodegradable strain, with potential applications in the remediation of environments contaminated with aniline and crude oil, even in the presence of heavy metals.

Prevalent Shortwave downward radiation (SWDR) estimates assume a flat surface, neglecting topographic effects and leading to significant errors in mountainous regions. We introduce SWDR topography correction coefficients (TCCs), based on the mountain radiative transfer model tailored for the Pan-Third Pole region. This dataset effectively bridges the disparities between flat-surface SWDR and rugged-surface SWDR, forming part of the Long-term Earth System spatiotemporally Seamless Radiation budget dataset (LessRad). Validation results using a three-dimensional radiative transfer model demonstrate the efficacy of this method in correcting solar direct radiation, sky diffuse radiation, and SWDR under diverse conditions. At a spatial resolution of 2.5 arc-minutes, the correction accuracy for solar direct radiation is characterized by a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.998, a relative root mean square error (rRMSE) of 2.4%, and a relative bias (rbias) of 0.8%. For sky diffused radiation, an R² of 0.965, a rRMSE of 1.2%, and a rbias of -0.8%. SWDR corrections under clear and cloudy skies also show high accuracy, demonstrating the robustness of the TCCs approach., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

With the continuous growth of the human population, the demand for fiber is also rising sharply. As one of the main fiber plants available globally, cotton fiber yield ( Gossypium hirsutum ) is affected by boll abscission, which is related to the formation of the abscission layer. Therefore, we explored the formation of the abscission layer in cotton. The formation of the abscission layer in the cotton boll stalk was promoted by exogenous ethylene. It was found that both the number of the Golgi apparatus and the number of stacking layers increased in the dissociated cells. The GhArfGAP gene family in cotton was screened by the bioinformatics method, and the species and evolutionary relationship of the GhArfGAP gene family were analyzed. qRT-PCR showed that GhArfGAP13 , GhArfGAP15 , GhArfGAP25 , and GhArfGAP34 in cotton had spatiotemporal-specific expression patterns. Subcellular localization suggested that GhArfGAP25 played a role in the Golgi apparatus. The expression of GhArfGAP25 in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana is increased in the roots, stems, and leaves. Finally, we found that ethylene could induce the formation of the abscission layer in cotton. GhArfGAP13, GhArfGAP15, GhArfGAP25 , and GhArfGAP34 might regulate the changes in the Golgi apparatus in the abscission layer. Taken together, the findings provide new ideas for the study of the formation of cotton abscission., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chen, Liu, Guo, Jiang, Luo, Gao, Li, Ye and Guo.)

Calmodulins (CAMs) and calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs) can participate in the regulation of various physiological processes via sensing and decoding Ca 2+ signals. To reveal the characteristics of the CAM/CML family in Ginkgo biloba , a comprehensive analysis was performed at the genome-wide level. A total of 26 CAMs/CML s, consisting of 5 GbCAM s and 21 GbCML s, was identified on 11 out of 12 chromosomes in G. biloba . They displayed a certain degree of multiplicity in their sequences, albeit with conserved EF hands. Collinearity analysis suggested that tandem rather than segmental or whole-genome duplications were likely to play roles in the evolution of the Ginkgo CAM/CML family. Furthermore, GbCAMs/GbCML s were grouped into higher, lower, and moderate expression in magnitude. The cis-acting regulatory elements involved in phytohormone-responsiveness within GbCAM/GbCML promotors may explain their varied expression profiles. The ectopic expression of a GbCML gene ( Gb&#95;30819 ) in transgenic Arabidopsis led to phenotypes with significantly shortened root length and seedling height, and decreased yields of both pods and seeds. Moreover, an electrophoresis mobility shift assay demonstrated the Ca 2+ -binding activity of Gb&#95;30819 in vitro. Altogether, these results contribute to insights into the characteristics of the evolution and expression of GbCAMs/GbCML s, as well as evidence for Ca 2+ -CAM/CML pathways functioning within the ancient gymnosperm G. biloba .

Objectives: To investigate the serum, plasma and urine levels of lipocalin-2 (LCN2) variants in healthy humans and their associations with risk factors for cardiometabolic (CMD) and chronic kidney (CKD) diseases., Methods: Fifty-nine males and 41 females participated in the study. Blood and urine were collected following an overnight fasting. LCN2 variants were analyzed using validated in-house ELISA kits. Heart rate, blood pressure, lipids profile, glucose, adiponectin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), creatinine, cystatin C, and biomarkers for kidney function were assessed., Results: The levels of hLcn2, C87A and R81E in serum and urine, but not plasma, were significantly higher in men than women. Increased levels of LCN2 variants, as well as their relative ratios, in serum and plasma were positively associated with body mass index, blood pressure, triglyceride and hsCRP ( P <0.05). No significant correlations were found between these measures and hLcn2, C87A or R81E in urine. However, LCN2 variants in urine, but not plasma or serum, were correlated with biomarkers of kidney function ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: Both the serum and plasma levels of LCN2 variants, as well as their ratios are associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, whereas those in urine are correlated with renal dysfunction. LCN2 variants represent promising biomarkers for CMD and CKD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Li, Li, Bauer, Hu, Lewis, Xu, Levinger and Wang.)

Psychological ownership critically entails the need for home (a place in which to dwell or a place of belongingness). However, the question of how an individual's need for belongingness within an organization affects their psychological ownership of organization-linked objects remains unexplored. We first conducted a behavioral study to determine whether psychological ownership of object can be elicited by marking the object with the name of the subjects' organization. The participants in this behavioral study reported a higher level of psychological ownership when objects were marked with their own organization's name (i.e., in-organization objects) compared with objects marked with another organization's name (i.e., out-organization objects). Importantly, this effect was more pronounced among subjects who experienced a stronger sense of organizational belongingness. We subsequently conducted a second study to explore its underlying neural mechanism. Our findings indicated that participants with a higher level of perceived organizational belongingness exhibited a significantly larger amplitude of the P300 component of event-related potential in response to in-organization objects compared with their response to out-organization objects. However, no significant difference in the P300 component was found for participants who lacked a sense of organizational belongingness., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wang, Pierce, Li, Wang, Li and Niu.)

White adipose tissue (WAT) expansion in obesity occurs through enlargement of preexisting adipocytes (hypertrophy) and through formation of new adipocytes (adipogenesis). Adipogenesis results in WAT hyperplasia, smaller adipocytes and a metabolically more favourable form of obesity. How obesogenic WAT hyperplasia is induced remains, however, poorly understood. Here, we show that the mechanosensitive cationic channel Piezo1 mediates diet-induced adipogenesis. Mice lacking Piezo1 in mature adipocytes demonstrated defective differentiation of preadipocyte into mature adipocytes when fed a high fat diet (HFD) resulting in larger adipocytes, increased WAT inflammation and reduced insulin sensitivity. Opening of Piezo1 in mature adipocytes causes the release of the adipogenic fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), which induces adipocyte precursor differentiation through activation of the FGF-receptor-1. These data identify a central feed-back mechanism by which mature adipocytes control adipogenesis during the development of obesity and suggest Piezo1-mediated adipocyte mechano-signalling as a mechanism to modulate obesity and its metabolic consequences.

In the present study, an exopolysaccharide (EPS) producer Rhodococcus erythropolis HX-2 was isolated from Xinjiang oil field, China. The HX-2 EPS (name HPS) production reached 8.957 g/L by RSM in MSM medium. The HPS was purified by ethanol precipitation and fractionation by DEAE-Cellulose and Sepharose column, the yield of HPS was 3.736 g/L. HPS composed by glucose, galactose, fucose, mannose and glucuronic acid. FT-IR spectroscopy indicated the presence of a large amount of hydroxyl groups. NMR spectroscopy indicated the existence of both α and β-configuration for sugar moieties present in HPS. The degradation temperature (255.4 °C) of the HPS was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). A reticular structure of HPS was observed by SEM and the AFM analysis of the HPS revealed straight chains line. Meanwhile, the WSI and WHC of HPS were 92.15 ± 3.05% and 189.45 ± 5.65%, respectively. Finally, In vitro anticancer activity purified EPS was evaluated on L929 normal cells, A549 cancer cells, SMMC-7721 liver cancer cells and Hela cervical cancer cell. HPS inhibited the growth of cancer cells in a certain concentration without damage to normal cells. These characteristics indicate that its potential application value in food, industry and pharmaceutical application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declared that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Endosulfan is one of the few organochlorine insecticides still in use in China for protecting crops from a variety of insects. Endosulfan is toxic in fishes and rodents in the in vivo assays, but its genotoxicity in mammalian cells has not been well tested. In this work, a genotoxic testing system has been developed based on the induction of a HepG2/GADD153-GFP reporter gene expression in response to the DNA-damaging agents. Methyl methanesulfonate, a known carcinogenic and genotoxic agent, was used to test the effects of damage dose and post-treatment incubation time on GADD153-GFP expression. Subsequently, the system was applied to the genotoxicity evaluation of endosulfan. Endosulfan was able to cause the increase of GADD153-GFP expression at a sublethal dose (0.02-20 mg/L). In particular, it induced a maximum green fluorescent protein expression at the tested concentration of 0.2 mg/L, with 4.07-fold inflorescence relative to untreated cells. The results suggest that endosulfan has the potential genotoxicity for HepG2 cell line by inducing DNA damage. The study also confirms that the induced GADD153-GFP expression system is an appropriate and sensitive method for the assessment of genotoxicity from a broad range of pesticides with the DNA-damaging potential.