Search

Background and Aims: The relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and ICD shock remains unclear. We analyzed the characteristics of patients received shocks after SARS-CoV-2 infection to explore causes of these shocks to provide information for subsequent treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from seven patients who hospitalized the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province between December 2022 and January 2023 after experiencing ICD shock or ventricular arrhythmias following SARS-CoV-2 infection. We collected baseline information i.e., age and sex, device type, arrhythmia type, comorbidities, etc to analyze the causes of electrical shocks. Results: All patients’ devices were implanted in our hospital. The patients’ mean age was 67±10 years. Four underwent implantation for primary prevention, and three for secondary prevention. These patients received 80 ICD shocks after SARS-CoV-2 infection, 71 (88.75%) nine (11.25%) of which were treatment for ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation, respectively. There were 54 antitachycardia pacing(ATP) treatments, which forty-eight arrhythmic events were terminated through antitachycardia pacing and six not. Laboratory tests conducted upon admission revealed that six patients had blood potassium levels below 4.0 mmol/L. Five patients had blood calcium levels below 2.11 mmol/L. Four of seven patients had elevated troponin concentrations (0.030–0.297 ng/mL). All patients had significantly elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels (608.8–25,758 pg/mL). Six patients had a QT interval of > 440 ms and a mean QT interval of 460±46 ms. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection may be associated with ICD shock. Clinicians should pay close attention to patients with implanted devices after SARS-CoV-2 infection and actively eliminate arrhythmogenic triggers to minimize the likelihood of ICD shock.

Exoproteome represents the proteome consisting of all secreted proteins and proteins derived from the cell surface and lysed cell. The exoproteome of the trypanosomatid parasite should interact with the host cells and the associated microbiota; however, the roles of infecting insect hosts are not yet understood. To uncover the functions of exoproteome, we identified the exoproteome of honey bee trypanosomatid parasite,Lotmaria passim, and found that approximately 28 % are shared with that common betweenLeishmaniaspp. It demonstrates a core exoproteome with conserved functions exists in the Leishmaniinae lineage. The bioinformatic characterization suggests thatL. passimexoproteome may interact with the host and its microbiota as well as their metabolites. Deletion of genes encoding two secretome proteins revealed that an aspartyl protease but not chitinase affects the development ofL. passimunder the culture condition and is necessary for the efficient infection in the honey bee gut. Our results demonstrate that the exoproteome represents a resource to uncover the mechanisms of trypanosomatid parasites to infect the insect host by interacting with the gut environment.

Chromosome karyotyping analysis is particularly useful in determining species relationships and the origin of polyploid species. Identification of individual chromosomes is the foundation for karyotype development. For Fragaria (strawberry) species, definitive identification of the individual chromosomes is extremely difficult because of their small size and similar shape. Here, we identified all chromosomes for 11 representative Fragaria species with different ploidy using a set of oligonucleotide-based probes developed in Fragaria vesca. Comprehensive molecular cytogenetic karyotypes were established based on the individually identified chromosomes. In addition, we used oligo probes to assign the 5S and 45S rDNA loci to specific chromosomes in 16 Fragaria species. We found that these Fragaria species maintained a remarkably conserved karyotype. No inter-chromosomal structural rearrangements at the cytological level were observed in any of the chromosomes among these species. Despite karyotypic stability and similarity, variations in the signal intensity of oligo probes were observed among the homologous chromosomes in several polyploid species. Moreover, most Fragaria species also showed differences in the distribution patterns of 45S and 5S rDNA. These data provide new insights into the origins of several polyploid Fragaria species.

Cultivated sweetpotato [ Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] from the family Convolvulaceae is a hexaploid species with 2 n = 6 x = 90 and has been controversial regarding its nature as an autopolyploid arising within a species or an allopolyploid forming between species. Here, we developed oligonucleotide-based painting probes for two chromosomes of I. nil, a model diploid Ipomoea species. Using these probes, we revealed the pairing behavior of homoeologous chromosomes in I. batatas and its two possible polyploid ancestral species, tetraploid I. tabascana (2 n = 4 x = 60) and hexaploid I. trifida (2 n = 6 x = 90). Chromosome painting analysis revealed a high percentage of quadrivalent formation in zygotene–pachytene cells of I. tabascana, which supported that I. tabascana was an autotetraploid likely derived by doubling of structurally similar and homologous genomes rather than a hybrid between I. batatas and I. trifida (2 x). A high frequency of hexavalent/bivalent and tetravalent pairing was observed in I. trifida (6 x) and I. batatas. However, the percentage of hexavalent pairing in I. trifida (6 x) was far higher than that in I. batatas. Thus, the present results tend to support that I. trifida (6 x) is an autohexaploid, while I. batatas is more likely to be a segmental allohexaploid.

Polar Regions, which generally refer to Antarctica and the Arctic, play a key role in global change and are optimal locations for space observation. The expansion of polar exploration and research regarding global climate issues and development of future environmental policies has become important and debated worldwide. China has been conducting research in Polar Regions since 1980 and has accomplished a series of scientific achievements. However, China’s polar investigations began somewhat later that those of Europe and the United States, with insufficient observational data and limited diversity of detection platforms. To solve the problem, high-altitude scientific balloons have been used as an important means to help China rapidly to advance exploration in Polar Regions. High-altitude balloons offer many advantages, such as stable flight for several months, strong carrying capacity, flexibility with experiments, low cost, and fast recovery. For many years, the United States, Japan, Europe, and other developed countries have used high-altitude scientific balloons to conduct polar scientific experiments. Polar Regions are ideal for long-term scientific exploration using high-altitude balloons due to polar vortices (atmospheric circulation), continuous solar radiation (summer polar days), and especially because there are no airspace restrictions in Antarctica. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has carried out multiple space exploration projects using high-altitude balloons at Xianghe Station since 1978 and has conducted a series of experiments using high-altitude balloons at the ice-laden “Third Pole” in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in collaboration with the Aerospace Information Research Institute. Sixteen high-altitude balloon flight tests were successfully deployed in 2019. Within the field of high-altitude balloons for near-space exploration, China has an excellent scientific research team and technical foundation that is at par with those of other countries. However, scientific exploration based on high-altitude balloon platforms in Polar Regions remains challenging. To serve the relevant national strategies, it is needed to define major scientific questions in polar exploration and conduct research in a timely manner. Owing to the unique advantages of polar regions, China can carry out polar exploration using high-altitude balloon platforms for a variety of tasks (e.g., in-situ measurement, dropsonde sounding, astronomical observation, and remote sensing) from different scientific disciplines, such as environmental science, atmospheric science, space weather, planetary observation, solar physics, and biological research). Based on China’s current balloon exploration capabilities, relevant work will be carried out step by step from earth observation, sky monitoring to near-space detection, aiming at an integrated capability. The specific research subjects include: (1) Polar ice sheet change; (2) polar geological environment studies; (3) polar habitat monitoring; (4) polar space environment monitoring; (5) polar atmosphere detection; (6) polar near-space biological research; (7) planetary science; and (8) astronomical observation. High-altitude balloons will also play an important role in future studies involving in-situ measurement and dropsonde sounding, astronomical observation, and remote sensing, which will further enhance China’s scientific research in the Polar Regions. This will enhance China’s status and legitimacy in the peaceful use and development of Polar Regions and would give China more clout internationally in polar affairs.

Cylas formicarius is one of the most important pests of sweet potato worldwide, causing considerable ecological and economic damage. To improve the effect of comprehensive management and understanding of genetic mechanisms, the genetic functions of C. formicarius have been the subject of intensive study. Using Illumina and PacBio sequencing, we obtained a chromosome-level genome assembly of adult weevils from lines inbred for 15 generations. The high-quality assembly obtained had a size of 338.84 Mb, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 14.97 Mb and 34.23 Mb, respectively. In total, 157.51 Mb of repeat sequences and 11,907 protein-coding genes were predicted. A total of 337.06 Mb of genomic sequences was located on the 11 chromosomes, and the sequence length that could be used to determine the sequence and direction accounted for 99.03% of the total length of the associated chromosome. Comparative genomic analysis showed that C. formicarius was sister to Dendroctonus ponderosae, and C. formicarius diverged from D. ponderosae approximately 138.89 million years ago (Mya). Many important gene families that were expanded in the C. formicarius genome were involved in the chemosensory system. In an in-depth study, the binding assay results indicated that CforOBP4-6 had strong binding affinities for sex pheromones and other ligands. Overall, the high-quality C. formicarius genome provides a valuable resource to reveal the molecular ecological basis, genetic mechanism and evolutionary process of major agricultural pests, deepen the understanding of environmental adaptability and apparent plasticity, and provide new ideas and new technologies for ecologically sustainable pest control.

Oncogenic insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II) is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study aimed to analyze the dynamic alteration of IGF-II CpG site methylation status and its molecular mechanism in HCC progression.IGF-II alterations were observed in rat hepatocarcinogenesis models induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene. Liver IGF-II expression was compared by immunohistochemistry or tissue IGF-II specific concentration (nmol/mg protein). Status of human IGF-II promoter 3 (P3) or rat IGF-II P2 CpG site methylation was amplified by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). Serum IGF-II levels were quantitatively detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The levels of hepatic IGF-II expression were significantly elevated in the HCC group (P 0.001). The unmethylation rate of IGF-II P3 CpG sites was 100% in the HCC-, 52.5% in the paracancerous-, and none (0%) in the distal noncancerous-tissues. Abnormal IGF-II expression was related to differentiation degree, tumor invasion, and positive HBV-DNA (all P 0.001), with a negative correlation between P3 methylation degree and IGF-II expression. There was a positive correlation between liver IGF-II specific concentration and circulating IGF-II level (r = 0.97, P 0.001). Significantly negative correlation was found between IGF-II P2 CpG site methylation and circulating IGF-II (rThe increase of serum IGF-II and the alteration of oncogenic gene IGF-II methylation may be biomarkers for HCC diagnosis and DNA methylation may be the therapeutic target of HCC.

Sweet potato is one of the most important crops worldwide; however, basic research in this crop is limited. In this study, we aimed to construct a detailed karyotype of six species of Ipomoea (hexaploid Ipomoea batatas and five related species, namely, one tetraploid, I. tabascana and four diploids, I. splendor-sylvae, I. trifida, I. tenuissima, and I. × leucantha) and understand the relationship among these species. Two satellite repeats (viz., Itf_1 and Itf_2) were identified from the diploid I. trifida genome sequence using RepeatExplorer on Galaxy. Together with the ribosomal DNA (rDNA), although without distinguishable chromosomes, a detailed karyotype was constructed for the six species. Our results showed a similar karyotype between I. tenuissima and I. × leucantha, indicating their close relationship. The signal distribution pattern of Itf_1, 45S rDNA combination, detected only in I. trifida, I. tabascana, and I. batatas, implied their close relationships. The chromosomes carrying 5S rDNA could be conserved among the six species as they always carried the Itf_2 signals, which generated a similar signal distribution pattern. The results enabled a detailed comparative cytogenetic analysis, providing valuable information to understand the relationship among these species and help assemble the genome sequence of the six species of Ipomoea.

Low sensitivity to H2O2 of PM K+-permeable channels in the meristem root zone and high sensitivity of PM Ca2+-permeable channels in the elongation and mature root zones are correlated with ploidy-dependent K+ retention and Na+ exclusion under salt stress., Polyploids generally possess superior K+/Na+ homeostasis under saline conditions compared with their diploid progenitors. In this study, we identified the physiological mechanisms involved in the ploidy-related mediation of K+/Na+ homeostasis in the roots of diploid (2x) and hexaploid (6x; autohexaploid) Ipomoea trifida, which is the closest relative of cultivated sweet potato. Results showed that 6x I. trifida retained more K+ and accumulated less Na+ in the root and leaf tissues under salt stress than 2x I. trifida. Compared with its 2x ancestor, 6x I. trifida efficiently prevents K+ efflux from the meristem root zone under salt stress through its plasma membrane (PM) K+-permeable channels, which have low sensitivity to H2O2. Moreover, 6x I. trifida efficiently excludes Na+ from the elongation and mature root zones under salt stress because of the high sensitivity of PM Ca2+-permeable channels to H2O2. Our results suggest the root-zone-specific sensitivity to H2O2 of PM K+- and Ca2+-permeable channels in the co-ordinated control of K+/Na+ homeostasis in salinized 2x and 6x I. trifida. This work provides new insights into the improved maintenance of K+/Na+ homeostasis of polyploids under salt stress.

Nowadays, mining user profiles from web log, and then recommending interested items becomes a research hot. In the meantime, user's behavior habits can be learned to improve the usage experience. However, current web frameworks are separated with the front-end and the back-end parts, and then the web logs are jumbled together. Always a single user's action can generate multiple logs, which makes it particularly difficult to recover user's behavior and analyse his habits. To overcome above difficulties, a sequence pattern mining method based on PrefixSpan is designed to extract the common sequence pattern of user's log as their operation behaviors. Further more, W-Kmeans is used to cluster their operation behaviors and summarize their habits. Finally, we design a multi-dimensional user profile label system to depict the user's features from multiple perspectives, and use the WordCloud to draw the profiles.

Background: In recent years, purple-fleshed sweet potato has been paid more and more attention because of its high nutritional value. However, the current studies on purple-fleshed sweet potato were still focused on the research and production of the related products. The research on its cytogenetics is relatively lagging behind, which cannot satisfy the study of genetic diversity of purple-fleshed sweet potato. Therefore, we carried out cytogenetic analysis on 76 purple-fleshed sweet potato cultivars, aim to analyze the chromosome structure and distribution of 45S rDNA and 5S rDNA in 76 purple-fleshed sweet potato cultivars.Results: We have found that only 62 purple-fleshed sweet potato cultivars with 90 chromosomes, and the others were aneuploid with 88, 89, 91, 92 chromosomes. The number of 45S rDNA in 76 purple-fleshed sweet potato cultivars varies from 16 to 21, with different signal sizes and intendities, and localized at the terminal or satellite of chromosomes. The number of 5S rDNA were relatively stable, 74 of the varieties investigated contained 6 sites, located at the terminal of chromosomes and near centromere. Only the Quanzishu 96 has 7 5S rDNA sites, and Yuzixiang 10 has 5 5S rDNA sites. In addition, rDNA analysis was also performed on two parents of Quanzishu 96. Both the two parents had 18 45S rDNA sites and 6 5S rDNA sites, which were different from the results of Quanzishu 96.Conclusions: For hexaploid sweet potato cultivars, there is genetic instability between purple-fleshed sweet potato cultivars. The 45S rDNA sites showed numerical variation, whereas conserved number of 5S rDNA sites were observed.

Background: The phylogenetic relationships for Ipomoeeae species are incongruence in previous studies. Comparative chromosome painting (CCP) can provide valuable information for phylogenetic relationships among species. Results: In this study, 31 Ipomoea species were analyzed by oligo-based chromosome painting (CP) technique to better understand their phylogenetic relationships. The results indicated that the distribution patterns of oligo probes in three species with 28 chromosomes were significantly different from the other species with 30 chromosomes. Therefore, we proposed that the difference of chromosome number should be foremost factor in determining the phylogenetic relationships among species and the previous division of two large clades in Ipomoeeae wasn’t supported. The division of smaller clades within the Astripomoeinae in Ipomoeeae was generally supported with a few exceptions, whereas the division of smaller clades within Argyreiinae wasn’t resolved by our CP results. In addition, species relationship for the species belonging to same smaller clade with same CP pattern was further resolved by physical mapping of the 5S and 45S rDNA using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique. Conclusions: This study is the first phylogenetic analysis of Ipomoea species based on CP technique. Our results provide intuitive and reliable resolution of phylogenetic relationships for 31 Ipomoea species and demonstrate the validity of oligo-based CCP analysis in phylogenetic study.

The hysteretic behavior of CFST frame with diaphragm-through connections was investigated experimentally and numerically in this paper. Three frame specimens were designed and tested under reserved cyclic load. The steel tube in the panel zone were weakened by declining the thickness of two specimens. Variable failure modes were observed during the test such as concave of web in the panel zone, convex of flange of column bottom, and weld fracture at the stress-concentrated location. Based on the experimentally-validated FE models, parametric analysis was carried out focusing on the thickness of steel tube in panel zone, axial compression ratio n, the addition of concrete, the thickness of diaphragm-through, the section area of column and the grade of concrete strength. The numerical results reflected that for frames with weak-designed panel zone, the thickness of steel tube in panel zone made a great contribution to the load-carrying capacity and initial stiffness, specifically, while for frames with a balanced or strong-designed panel zone, the variation of the thickness of the steel tube had limited influence, adding the concrete merely into the panel zone could strengthen the panel zone and avoid the shear failure of the panel zone. When the thickness was lower than 8 mm, the load-carrying capacity would sharply decline.

The seismic performance of H-shaped steel upper column-RC beam-SRC lower column joint (S-RC-SRC composite joint) was investigated experimentally and numerically. The axial compression ratio n and size of H-shaped steel was studied in the test. The low-frequency cyclic loading tests were performed on four S-RC-SRC composite joints. The test results showed that the concrete in the connection zone was severely damaged. On basis of strain analysis and experimental observations, the flexural failure mode at the oblique section in connection zone was proposed. The relatively plump but pinched hysteretic curves indicated that S-RC-SRC composite joint possessed considerable energy dissipation capacity, with peak h eq of 0.192–0.208 and asymmetrical ductility coefficient ( μ + ‾ = 7.08 and μ − ‾ = 3.03). The strength and stiffness degradation were significant and asymmetrical in different loading directions. Experimentally-validated finite element method was applied to simulate the S-RC-SRC composite joint via ABAQUS. The parameter study showed that: the impact of axial compression ratio should be considered in two stages (low and high), under the low axial compression (0.2–0.35) hardly affected the hysteretic behavior but high axial compression (0.6–0.8) would cause distinguished failure mode; the enlargement of steel size could reduce the ultimate bearing capacity slightly. A theoretical method for evaluating the flexural bearing capacity S-RC-SRC composite joint was proposed and proved to be applicable with the maximum deviation of 3.5%.

Hepatic Golgi protein-73 (GP73) expression is related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic expression of GP73 mRNA and protein during hepatocytes malignant transformation.Human GP73 expressions in 88 HCC tissues and their self-control surrounding tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry, and survival time of HCC patients was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. HCC model of Sprague-Dawley rats was made by diet containing 2-fluorenylacetamide. The rats were divided into the control, hepatocyte degeneration, precanceration, and HCC groups to observe GP73 protein and mRNA alterations during hepatocytes malignant transformation.The GP73 expression was significantly higher in the cancerous tissues than that in the surrounding tissues, with shorter survival time, and the positive rates of GP73 protein in human HCC tissues were 53.3% at stage I, 84.0% at stage II, 84.6% at stage III, and 60.0% at stage IV, respectively. The positive rates of hepatic GP73 protein and mRNA in the rat models were none in the control group, 66.7% and 44.4% in the hepatocytes degeneration group, 88.9% and 77.8% in the hepatocytes precanceration group, and 100% in the HCC group, respectively. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.91, P0.01) between hepatic GP73 and serum GP73 during rat hepatocytes malignant transformation.Abnormal GP73 expression may be a sensitive and valuable biomarker in hepatocarcinogensis.

Background Ipomoea is the largest genus in the family Convolvulaceae. The species in this genus have been widely used in many fields, such as agriculture, nutrition, and medicine. With the development of next-generation sequencing, more than 50 chloroplast genomes of Ipomoea species have been sequenced. However, the repeats and divergence regions in Ipomoea have not been well investigated. In the present study, we sequenced and assembled eight chloroplast genomes from sweet potato’s close wild relatives. By combining these with 32 published chloroplast genomes, we conducted a detailed comparative analysis of a broad range of Ipomoea species. Methods Eight chloroplast genomes were assembled using short DNA sequences generated by next-generation sequencing technology. By combining these chloroplast genomes with 32 other published Ipomoea chloroplast genomes downloaded from GenBank and the Oxford Research Archive, we conducted a comparative analysis of the repeat sequences and divergence regions across the Ipomoea genus. In addition, separate analyses of the Batatas group and Quamoclit group were also performed. Results The eight newly sequenced chloroplast genomes ranged from 161,225 to 161,721 bp in length and displayed the typical circular quadripartite structure, consisting of a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (30,798–30,910 bp each) separated by a large single copy (LSC) region (87,575–88,004 bp) and a small single copy (SSC) region (12,018–12,051 bp). The average guanine-cytosine (GC) content was approximately 40.5% in the IR region, 36.1% in the LSC region, 32.2% in the SSC regions, and 37.5% in complete sequence for all the generated plastomes. The eight chloroplast genome sequences from this study included 80 protein-coding genes, four rRNAs (rrn23, rrn16, rrn5, and rrn4.5), and 37 tRNAs. The boundaries of single copy regions and IR regions were highly conserved in the eight chloroplast genomes. In Ipomoea, 57–89 pairs of repetitive sequences and 39–64 simple sequence repeats were found. By conducting a sliding window analysis, we found six relatively high variable regions (ndhA intron, ndhH-ndhF, ndhF-rpl32, rpl32-trnL, rps16-trnQ, and ndhF) in the Ipomoea genus, eight (trnG, rpl32-trnL, ndhA intron, ndhF-rpl32, ndhH-ndhF, ccsA-ndhD, trnG-trnR, and pasA-ycf3) in the Batatas group, and eight (ndhA intron, petN-psbM, rpl32-trnL, trnG-trnR, trnK-rps16, ndhC-trnV, rps16-trnQ, and trnG) in the Quamoclit group. Our maximum-likelihood tree based on whole chloroplast genomes confirmed the phylogenetic topology reported in previous studies. Conclusions The chloroplast genome sequence and structure were highly conserved in the eight newly-sequenced Ipomoea species. Our comparative analysis included a broad range of Ipomoea chloroplast genomes, providing valuable information for Ipomoea species identification and enhancing the understanding of Ipomoea genetic resources.

Sweet potato is one of the most important crops worldwide; however, basic research in this crop is limited. In this study, we aimed to construct a detailed karyotype of six species of

Breast surgery infection is one of the most common malignancies in women around the world. Breast cellulitis is a severe bacterial infection that affects the skin of the breast. This condition can occur from the broken skin, resulting from surgery and cancer treatment's most common complications. Breast implant infection is related to cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of significant complications. The existing method prevents and detects infectious diseases in general intensive, time-consuming, and use resources (primarily human). The proposed Random Decision Tree (RDT) algorithm is to detect breast surgery infection to resolve this problem. The determination of the embedded medical system is based on the increasingly quantitative data. The medical system's contact from the current patient's contact will record their entire medical history electronically. Whether the patient or ward is in the operating room, technological advances, and convenient stool and medical-related health indicators can be reliably measured to guide all efforts' safety and provide the best clinical outcome. The proposed RDT algorithm classifies breast surgery infection or not infection, and the proposed algorithm offers high performance compared to other existing methods.

The 5S and 45S rDNA sites are useful chromosome landmarks and can provide valuable information about karyotype evolution and species interrelationships. In this study, we employed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the number and chromosomal location of 5S and 45S rDNA loci in 8 diploid Cucumis species. Two oligonucleotide painting probes specific for the rDNA-bearing chromosomes in C. melo were hybridized to other Cucumis species in order to investigate the homeologies among the rDNA-carrying chromosomes in Cucumis species. The analyzed diploid species showed 3 types of rDNA distribution patterns, which provided clear cytogenetic evidence on the divergence between C. melo and wild diploid African Cucumis species. The present results not only show species interrelationships in the genus Cucumis, but the rDNA FISH patterns can also be used as cytological markers for the discrimination of closely related species. The data will be helpful for breeders to choose the most suitable species from various wild species for improvement of cultivated melon.

The phylogenetic relationships for Ipomoea species are incongruent in previous studies. Comparative karyotype analysis can provide valuable information for phylogenetic relationships among species. A reliable and efficient system for chromosome identification is the foundation for karyotype analysis. However, for the Ipomoea species, individual chromosomes were not identified in all previous reported karyotypes due to their small size, high number and similar morphology. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using oligonucleotides (oligos) as probes is a new strategy for chromosome identification and karyotype analysis. Here, we developed the first set of oligo-based probes based on the reference genome of Ipomoea nil, a model species in the genus Ipomoea. In all, we developed four oligo-FISH probes. By a combined use of four oligo probes, sequential FISH analysis were conducted on the same metaphase cells with each round including two probes, which permitted simultaneous identification of all I. nil chromosomes and anchoring 15 pseudochromosomes to individual cytological chromosomes. Moreover, 45S and 5S rDNA were mapped to specific chromosomes. A karyotype based on individually identified chromosomes was established, which was the first FISH-based molecular cytogenetic karyotype of I. nil. Our study has created the basis for studying chromosome variation and evolution in genus Ipomoea by comparative karyotype analysis using this set of oligo probes.

Gene expression analysis is one of the most common and important studies in biology and biomedicine. No matter for traditional blotting analysis or currently commonly used PCR strategy, all need a stable reference gene for normalizing the gene expression. To screen and select housekeeping genes as the most stable reference genes, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed to analyze the expression of sixteen commonly used reference genes (IbelF, Ibα-tubulin, IbHIS, IbCOX, IbGAPDH, IbH2B1, IbARF, IbCYC, Ibβ-tubulin, IbACT, IbEFl-a, IbG14, IbPLD, IbRPL2, IbUBQ, IbUBI) in five different tissues under two different temperature stresses in sweet potato. Data analysis by the Delta CT, geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper programs revealed that IbelF is the most stable gene and IbUBI is the least stable gene as reference. Our study also shows that combination of two or more genes as reference is a better choice, rendering more substantiated expression data for comparison. This study provides evidence for selecting reference genes in sweet potato gene expression analysis.

microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles of gastric cancer (GC) and adjacent healthy gastric mucosa tissue were used to search for differentially expressed miRNAs, identifying downregulated miRNA-490-3p in GC. The present study aimed to investigate the cellular function of miRNA-490-3p and its underlying mechanism in the occurrence and progression of GC. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure miRNA-490-3p expression levels in GC tissue and adjacent healthy tissue samples. The regulatory effect of miRNA-490-3p on the proliferation and apoptosis of GC cells was detected by cell counting kit-8, colony formation assay and flow cytometry. Bioinformatic methods were used to predict AKT1 as the target of miRNA-490-3p and this was verified by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, western blot analysis was used to measure protein expression of AKT1 in GC cells following overexpression or knockdown of miRNA-490-3p. The present study demonstrated that miRNA-490-3p expression was downregulated in GC tissue, compared with adjacent healthy tissue. In particular, miRNA-490-3p expression levels were significantly decreased in GC tissue samples from patients with advanced cancer (stage III+IV) compared with samples from patients with early-stage (stage I+II) cancer. Additionally, miRNA-490-3p expression levels were significantly decreased in GC tissue samples from patients whose tumor size was >3 cm, compared with those

Imaging spectrometers can supply spatial data in abundant narrow and continuous wavelength bands. However, the huge data volume produced encounters the difficulty in storage and transmission. On the other hand, these hyperspectral data sets contain high redundancy, which offers an opportunity to reduce the number of spectral measurements and recover the full spectrum from limited samples without losing principal spectral information. This paper addresses the application of compressed sensing (CS) theory to hyperspectral data reconstruction. An important question involved is how to know a spectrum is sparse enough so that CS can be applied effectively. We provide a quantitative answer and develop a strategy to measure the degree of sparsity of a spectrum based on the generalized Gaussian distribution (GGD) model. The novelty includes the derivation of the sharpness of the GGD and how to estimate the sharpness of a spectral signal. The proposed strategy was tested using the spectral data from USGS database and an AVIRIS-HSI data set. The results demonstrate that it is important to introduce the sparsity measure, as CS offers a high reconstruction rate and low relative errors compared with the existing methods for sparse signals only.

In this paper, we introduce the Boston matrix which is a simple, visual way to examine the likely financial performance of the product or business portfolio to set up a scientific research funds analysis model. And we redefine the coordinates and quadrants of the matrix, according to the actuality of research management in CAS. At last, we use Oracle business intelligence analysis tools –Oracle BIEE to develop all the functions corresponding to the design of analysis model and make the analysis results visualization based on the data of ARP which is a large scale scientific research management information system. With the work and research, we try to put forward some useful advices for decision making and build a decision support system at last.

With the rapid development of remote sensing imaging technology, the micro satellite, one kind of tiny spacecraft, appears during the past few years. A good many studies contribute to dwarfing satellites for imaging purpose. Generally speaking, micro satellites weigh less than 100 kilograms, even less than 50 kilograms, which are slightly larger or smaller than the common miniature refrigerators. However, the optical system design is hard to be perfect due to the satellite room and weight limitation. In most cases, the unprocessed data captured by the imager on the microsatellite cannot meet the application need. Spatial resolution is the key problem. As for remote sensing applications, the higher spatial resolution of images we gain, the wider fields we can apply them. Consequently, how to utilize super resolution (SR) and image fusion to enhance the quality of imagery deserves studying. Our team, the Key Laboratory of Computational Optical Imaging Technology, Academy Opto-Electronics, is devoted to designing high-performance microsat-borne imagers and high-efficiency image processing algorithms. This paper addresses a multispectral image enhancement framework for space-borne imagery, jointing the pan-sharpening and super resolution techniques to deal with the spatial resolution shortcoming of microsatellites. We test the remote sensing images acquired by CX6-02 satellite and give the SR performance. The experiments illustrate the proposed approach provides high-quality images.

The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of direct inoculation of seeds with the rhizobacteria Pseudomonas sp. SB on the growth of tall fescue and phytodegradation efficiency in an oily-sludge-contaminated soil. SB isolated from rhizosphere soil of tall fescue was evaluated for their plant-growth-promoting characters and ability to produce biosurfactant. A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of inoculation of SB on phytoremediation. SB reduced the surface tension of culture media and produced indole acetic acid, siderophores, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase. Inoculation of SB increased shoot and root dry weights of tall fescue in oily-sludge-contaminated soil by 28 % and 19 %, respectively. Over 120 days, the content of total petroleum hydrocarbon in soil decreased by 33.9 %, 68.0 %, and 84.5 %, and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by 32.9 %, 40.9 %, and 46.2 %, respectively, in the no-plant control, tall fescue, and tall fescue + SB treatments. Inoculation of SB also increased the activity and biodiversity of soil microbial communities in the planted treatments. SB could produce biosurfactant and exhibited a number of characters of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Inoculation of SB to tall fescue led to more effective remediation of oily-sludge-contaminated soils.

The 5S and 45S rDNA sites are useful chromosome landmarks and can provide valuable information about karyotype evolution and species interrelationships. In this study, we employed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the number and chromosomal location of 5S and 45S rDNA loci in 8 diploid Cucumis species. Two oligonucleotide painting probes specific for the rDNA-bearing chromosomes in C. melo were hybridized to other Cucumis species in order to investigate the homeologies among the rDNA-carrying chromosomes in Cucumis species. The analyzed diploid species showed 3 types of rDNA distribution patterns, which provided clear cytogenetic evidence on the divergence between C. melo and wild diploid African Cucumis species. The present results not only show species interrelationships in the genus Cucumis, but the rDNA FISH patterns can also be used as cytological markers for the discrimination of closely related species. The data will be helpful for breeders to choose the most suitable species from various wild species for improvement of cultivated melon.