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The enzyme tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5 (TRAP5) performs an important biological function in immune defense. In the present study, the TRAP5 of Trachinotus ovatus (golden pompano, TroTRAP5) was cloned to assess its biological function. The open reading frame of TroTRAP5 was 990 bp in length and its mature peptide encoded a 34.775-kDa protein that contained a metallophosphatase superfamily domain. Homology sequence alignment revealed that the similarity among teleost fish was 57.66 %–75.99 %. Meanwhile, phylogenetic tree analysis showed that TroTRAP5 was clustered into one branch with teleost TRAP5. TroTRAP5 expression was the most abundant in immune organs (liver, spleen, head kidney, and gills) and up-regulated during bacterial infection. Of note, purified recombinant TroTRAP5 (rTroTRAP5) exhibited phosphatase activity, and the optimal pH and temperature for its activity were 6.0 and 50 ℃. In vivo experiments indicated that TroTRAP5 overexpression in T. ovatus significantly reduced bacterial infection in fish tissues, whereas TroTRAP5 knockdown increased bacterial dissemination and colonization in fish tissues. In summary, the present study results suggest that TroTRAP5 participates in the antibacterial immune response.

Abstract Emerging studies underscore the promising capabilities of large language model-based chatbots in conducting basic bioinformatics data analyses. The recent feature of accepting image inputs by ChatGPT, also known as GPT-4V(ision), motivated us to explore its efficacy in deciphering bioinformatics scientific figures. Our evaluation with examples in cancer research, including sequencing data analysis, multimodal network-based drug repositioning, and tumor clonal evolution, revealed that ChatGPT can proficiently explain different plot types and apply biological knowledge to enrich interpretations. However, it struggled to provide accurate interpretations when color perception and quantitative analysis of visual elements were involved. Furthermore, while the chatbot can draft figure legends and summarize findings from the figures, stringent proofreading is imperative to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the content.

The invasive morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea (Convolvulaceae), poses a mounting challenge in vineyards by hindering grape harvest and as a secondary host of disease pathogens, necessitating advanced detection and control strategies. This study introduces a novel automated image analysis framework using aerial images obtained from a small fixed-wing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and an RGB camera for the large-scale detection of I. purpurea flowers. This study aimed to assess the sampling fidelity of aerial detection in comparison with the actual infestation measured by ground validation surveys. The UAS was systematically operated over 16 vineyard plots infested with I. purpurea and another 16 plots without I. purpurea infestation. We used a semi-supervised segmentation model incorporating a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) with the Expectation-Maximization algorithm to detect and count I. purpurea flowers. The flower detectability of the GMM was compared with that of conventional K-means methods. The results of this study showed that the GMM detected the presence of I. purpurea flowers in all 16 infested plots with 0% for both type I and type II errors, while the K-means method had 0% and 6.3% for type I and type II errors, respectively. The GMM and K-means methods detected 76% and 65% of the flowers, respectively. These results underscore the effectiveness of the GMM-based segmentation model in accurately detecting and quantifying I. purpurea flowers compared with a conventional approach. This study demonstrated the efficiency of a fixed-wing UAS coupled with automated image analysis for I. purpurea flower detection in vineyards, achieving success without relying on data-driven deep-learning models.

Abstract Background The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) regulates critical processes, including lipid synthesis, which are affected by transmembrane proteins localized in the ER membrane. One such protein, transmembrane protein 147 (TMEM147), has recently been implicated for its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis; however, the mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the role of TMEM147 in HCC and the underlying mechanisms. Methods TMEM147 expression was examined in human HCC cells and adjacent non-tumorous tissues using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to investigate the impact of TMEM147 on the progression of HCC. Proteins interacting with TMEM147 were identified via RNA-seq, immunoprecipitation, and mass spectrometry analyses. Lipidomic analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were employed to determine and analyze cholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC) contents. Extensive experimental techniques were used to study ferroptosis in HCC cells. The fatty acid content of macrophages affected by TMEM147 was quantified using ELISA. Macrophage phenotypes were determined using immunofluorescence assay and flow cytometric analysis. Results TMEM147 mRNA and protein levels were increased in HCC cells, and the increased TMEM147 expression was associated with a poor survival. TMEM147 promoted tumor cell proliferation and metastases in vitro and in vivo. The protein was found to interact with the key enzyme 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7), which affected cellular cholesterol homeostasis and increased the extracellular levels of 27HC in HCC cells. TMEM147 also promoted the expression of DHCR7 by enhancing the activity of signal transducer and activator of transcription 2. 27HC expression upregulated glutathione peroxidase 4 in HCC, leading to ferroptosis resistance and promotion of HCC proliferation. HCC cell-derived 27HC expression increased the lipid metabolism in macrophages and activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ signaling, thereby activating M2 macrophage polarization and promoting HCC cell invasion and migration. Conclusions Our results indicate that TMEM147 confers ferroptosis resistance and M2 macrophage polarization, which are primarily dependent on the upregulation of cellular cholesterol homeostasis and 27HC secretion, leading to cancer growth and metastasis. These findings suggest that the TMEM147/STAT2/DHCR7/27HC axis in the tumor microenvironment may serve as a promising therapeutic target for HCC. Graphical Abstract

IntroductionTranspiration is the driving force of water transport, which plays a crucial role in the rapid growth of bamboo shoots. Nonetheless, the transpiration changes that occur in the shoot sheath of Moso bamboo during the leafless stage and the physiological processes involved in water transport from the mother bamboo to bamboo shoots are not completely understood.MethodsThis study investigated the temporal dynamics of the transpiration rate (Tr) and stomatal conductance (gs) of the sheaths from bamboo shoots to culms and diurnal variations in Tr and gs as well as the spatial dynamics of Tr and gs in various parts of the shoot sheaths. Water distribution patterns in bamboo shoots were analyzed using the isotope tracer method, and the water transportation path in bamboo shoots was determined by soaking the shoots in fuchsine dye solution.ResultsWe observed that the Tr was higher in bamboo shoots at heights of 4 and 7 m compared to that at 0.5, 1, 2, and 13 m, with rates ranging from 6.8 mmol/m2/s1 to 8.3 mmol/m2/s. Additionally, the Tr and gs of the shoot sheath were lower at noon, but higher in the morning and evening. The Tr in the lower parts of the culm sheath was higher than that that in the upper part (height: 0.5–4 m). However, when injected into the mother bamboo, D2O was not immediately transported to the shoots via the mother culms but was transported upward through the vascular bundle, with a larger vascular bundle near the pulp cavity transporting high volumes of water.DiscussionThese findings provide the foundation for further studies on the rapid growth of Moso bamboo and establish a theoretical basis for water management during its shoot developmental period.

The commercial soy protein isolate (SPI) was used as raw material to prepare soy protein nanoparticles (SPNPs) through either single enzymatic treatment or homogenization assisted with enzymatic treatment. The structural characteristics of particle size, polydispersity index, morphology, Fourier transform infrared and endogenous fluorescence spectra of SPNPs, as well as the physicochemical properties of the pattern of intra-particle interactive forces, surface hydrophobicity, Zeta-potential, amphipathy, emulsifying, and foaming properties of SPNPs were comparably analyzed. It was found that the SPI with large particle size (230.00 nm), the SPNPs prepared by either enzymatic or homogenization assisted with enzymatic treatment at low degree (3%) of hydrolysis (DH) were spherical and showed smaller size distributions with z-average size from 64.20 to 144.80 nm. The analysis of secondary structure implied that SPNPs prepared by homogenization assisted with enzymatic treatment showed an increased ratio of α-helix/β-sheet to a narrow range of around 45%. Compared with SPNPs prepared by single enzymatic treatment, the SPNPs showed a stronger negative charge (−33 mV) under neutral conditions and higher H0, suggesting better emulsifying and foaming properties of the present SPNPs. Meanwhile, the results of the interactive force indicated that the hydrophobic interactions mainly dominated the structure formation of SPNPs, along with hydrogen bonds and disulfide bonds mainly stabilizing the external and internal structure of nanoparticles, respectively. The above results indicated that homogenization assisted with enzymatic treatment provided new solutions for the green preparation of multifunctional protein nanoparticles.

Biological fish exhibit a remarkably broad-spectrum visual perception capability. Inspired by the eye arrangement of biological fish, we design a fish-like binocular vision system, thereby endowing underwater bionic robots with an exceptionally broad visual perception capacity. Firstly, based on the design principles of binocular visual field overlap and tangency to streamlined shapes, a fish-like vision system is developed for underwater robots, enabling wide-field underwater perception without a waterproof cover. Secondly, addressing the significant distortion and parallax of the vision system, a visual field stitching algorithm is proposed to merge the binocular fields of view and obtain a complete perception image. Thirdly, an orientation alignment method is proposed that draws scales for yaw and pitch angles in the stitched images to provide a reference for the orientation of objects of interest within the field of view. Finally, underwater experiments evaluate the perception capabilities of the fish-like vision system, confirming the effectiveness of the visual field stitching algorithm and the orientation alignment method. The results show that the constructed vision system, when used underwater, achieves a horizontal field of view of 306.56°. The conducted work advances the visual perception capabilities of underwater robots and presents a novel approach to and insight for fish-inspired visual systems.

A deep neural network that was trained to identify celebrity faces can be used to model primate face recognition, and reveals the importance of identity-selective neural units in face recognition.

Pulsed electrocatalysis is emerging as a promising strategy for the improvement of electrocatalytic performance. Herein, the 2-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2eORR) for H2O2 synthesis was taken as a model reaction to explore the effects of pulsed parameters on electrocatalysis. Firstly, the key parameters of a square wave pulse were determined by theoretical analysis and electrochemical testing. Secondly, we found that the pulsed period of the square wave pulse should be neither too short nor too long due to the opposing effects of non-Faradaic and diffusion processes. The lower duty ratio was more favorable for 2eORR. Finally, the effects of the pulsed waveform were explored. We found that the enhanced effects on 2eORR under the rapid sweep potential of a triangular or sine wave were similar to those for a square wave with a short period. Under a sine wave pulse with a frequency of 0.2 Hz, the H2O2 production rate and Faradaic efficiency of 2eORR were increased by 1.4 times and 3.62 times, respectively, compared with the results obtained under constant potential, and the energy consumption was reduced by 75 %. The enhanced effects described above could be attributed to the diffusion layer becoming thinner while the pulsed potential was applied. The reaction rate was increased by the diffusion of reactants (i.e., O2, H+) to the electrode surface and the intrinsic selectivity of 2eORR was increased by the oxygen-rich environment. In addition, the ineffective electroreduction of H2O2 was also reduced by the diffusion of H2O2 toward the bulk solution. This work provides new insights into the determination of parameters, waveform effects and the mechanism of pulsed electrocatalysis.

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a gastrointestinal malignancy originating from either the colon or the rectum. A growing number of researches prove that the unfolded protein response (UPR) is closely related to the occurrence and progression of colorectal cancer. The UPR has three canonical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transmembrane protein sensors: inositol requiring kinase 1 (IRE1), pancreatic ER eIF2α kinase (PERK), and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6). Each of the three pathways is closely associated with CRC development. The three pathways are relatively independent as well as interrelated. Under ER stress, the activated UPR boosts the protein folding capacity to maximize cell adaptation and survival, whereas sustained or excessive ER triggers cell apoptosis conversely. The UPR involves different stages of CRC pathogenesis, promotes or hinders the progression of CRC, and will pave the way for novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches. Meanwhile, the correlation between different signal branches in UPR and the switch between the adaptation and apoptosis pathways still need to be further investigated in the future.

In order to analyze the influence of key parameters on the contact and lubrication performance of the inner meshing worm gear of the roller envelop， the mathematical model of the new worm drive is built. And the lubrication angle and the induced normal curvature equation are constructed by the meshing equation. Then the influence of the key parameters on the lubrication and contact performance of worm drive are analyzed by the numerical calculation method. These key parameters include the center distance，the transmission ratio，roller radius and the worm-wheel rotational deflection. The analysis shows that in these key parameters，the deflection angle of the worm wheel has a great influence on the contact and lubrication performance of the inner meshing worm gearing of the roller envelope. It is suggested that the deviation angle of the worm wheel is the best in the range of 0°to 40°. And the corresponding parameters are selected for 3D modeling analysis to verify the validity of the analysis parameters. The study provides a reference for further research on the roller enveloping internal worm drive.

BackgroundUnfolded protein response (UPR)-mediated tumor-promoting functions have been identified in multiple cancers, and this study focused on investigating the role and molecular mechanisms of UPR in modulating gastric cancer (GC) pathogenesis.MethodsThe bioinformatics analysis was performed to examine the expression status of cancer associated genes in patients with stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) and predict the targeting sites of miR-224-5p with LncRNA MIR503HG and TUSC3. Genes expressions were quantified by Real-Time qPCR, Western Blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cell proliferation, viability, apoptosis and mobility were evaluated by MTT assay, trypan blue staining assay, flow cytometer and transwell assay, respectively. The binding sites were validated by dual-luciferase reporter gene system assay.ResultsLncRNA MIR503HG and TUSC3 were downregulated, but miR-224-5p was upregulated in GC tissues and cells, in contrast with their normal counterparts. Further gain- and loss-of-function experiments validated that the malignant phenotypes in GC cells, including cell proliferation, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumorigenesis, were negatively regulated by LncRNA MIR503HG. Mechanistically, LncRNA MIR503HG upregulated TUSC3 in GC cells through sponging miR-224-5p, resulting in the repression of GC progression. Finally, we validated that knock-down of ATF6, but not other two branches of UPR (PERK1 and IRE1), partially rescued cell proliferation and EMT in the GC cells with LncRNA MIR503HG overexpression.ConclusionsTargeting the LncRNA MIR503HG/miR-224-5p/TUSC3 signaling cascade suppressed ATF6-mediated UPR, resulting in the blockage of GC development.

The mechanical behavior of loess is highly predicated on variation in its moisture content. While the impacts of the water content on the shearing behavior and collapsibility of loess have been extensively studied, its effect on tensile characteristics has received relatively little attention. In this study, a series of tensile tests were conducted on remolded specimens of a clayey loess that were collected from Ili Valley in China. Two sets of loess specimens with varying water contents were prepared separately using wetting and drying methods. The influence of the water content on the tensile stress–strain response, failure mode and tensile strength was investigated by combining the tensile test results and particle image velocimetry (PIV) analysis. On this basis, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations were implemented in order to assist with the interpretation of the underlying mechanism. The test results indicate that the tensile failure process and the variation of tensile strength with varying water contents differ for specimens that are prepared with wetting and drying methods; a finding which arises from the differences in the soil microstructure, clay–water interaction and the distribution of capillary and adsorbed water. This research has shown that the tensile strength of clayey loess is essentially dominated by the clay’s hydration/cementation and the development of capillary and adsorption suction as well as the microstructural evolution that occurs with the change in the water content. Based on the experimental observations, a conceptual model is proposed in order to interpret the effect of water content on loess’ tensile behavior.

Hybridization is a core element in modern rice breeding as beneficial combinations of two parental genomes often result in the expression of heterosis. On the contrary, genetic incompatibility between parents can manifest as hybrid necrosis, which leads to tissue necrosis accompanied by compromised growth and/or reduced reproductive success. Genetic and molecular studies of hybrid necrosis in numerous plant species revealed that such self-destructing symptoms in most cases are attributed to autoimmunity: plant immune responses are inadvertently activated in the absence of pathogenic invasion. Autoimmunity in hybrids predominantly occurs due to a conflict involving a member of the major plant immune receptor family, the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing protein (NLR; formerly known as NBS-LRR). NLR genes are associated with disease resistance traits, and recent population datasets reveal tremendous diversity in this class of immune receptors. Cases of hybrid necrosis involving highly polymorphic NLRs as major causes suggest that diversified R gene repertoires found in different lineages would require a compatible immune match for hybridization, which is a prerequisite to ensure increased fitness in the resulting hybrids. In this review, we overview recent genetic and molecular findings on hybrid necrosis in multiple plant species to provide an insight on how the trade-off between growth and immunity is equilibrated to affect hybrid performances. We also revisit the cases of hybrid weakness in which immune system components are found or implicated to play a causative role. Based on our understanding on the trade-off, we propose that the immune system incompatibility in plants might play an opposite force to restrict the expression of heterosis in hybrids. The antagonism is illustrated under the plant fitness equilibrium, in which the two extremes lead to either hybrid necrosis or heterosis. Practical proposition from the equilibrium model is that breeding efforts for combining enhanced disease resistance and high yield shall be achieved by balancing the two forces. Reverse breeding toward utilizing genomic data centered on immune components is proposed as a strategy to generate elite hybrids with balanced immunity and growth.

This paper presents a model for estimating the moisture of loess from an image grayscale value. A series of well-controlled air-dry tests were performed on saturated Malan loess, and the moisture content of the loess sample during the desiccation process was automatically recorded while the soil images were continually captured using a photogrammetric device equipped with a CMOS image sensor. By converting the red, green, and blue (RGB) image into a grayscale one, the relationship between the water content and grayscale value, referred to as the water content–gray value characteristic curve (WGCC), was obtained; the impacts of dry density, particle size distribution, and illuminance on WGCC were investigated. It is shown that the grayscale value increases as the water content decreases; based on the rate of increase of grayscale value, the WGCC can be segmented into three stages: slow-rise, rapid-rise, and asymptotically stable stages. The influences that dry density and particle size distribution have on WGCC are dependent on light reflection and transmission, and this dependence is closely related to soil water types and their relative proportion. Besides, the WGCC for a given soil sample is unique if normalized with illuminance. The mechanism behind the three stages of WGCC is discussed in terms of visible light reflection. A mathematical model was proposed to describe WGCC, and the physical meaning of the model parameters was interpreted. The proposed model is validated independently using another six different types of loess samples and is shown to match well the experimental data. The results of this study can provide a reference for the development of non-contact soil moisture monitoring methods as well as relevant sensors and instruments.

Eliminating the negative effect of gear backlash on transmission precision so as to achieve precise motion transformation remains a problem to be solved in the field of precision transmission. To date, optimization of manufacturing process, new transmission structure and control system are mainly used to solve the above scientific problem, however, the new transmission structure is undoubtedly the best method compared with the methods above based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages for various methods. In doing so, this paper originally proposes a type of transmission, an anti-backlash end face engagement worm gearing, with certain advantages of no-backlash, high precision and high operating efficiency over other gears and gear systems.

The crown worm drive is a new type of worm drive, it is consisting of an internal gear and a crown worm generating by the internal gear surface, and it is characterized with small size yet high-loading capacity. To satisfy the high precision requirement of crown worm tooth surface, a grinding method based on virtual center distance manufacturing principle is proposed and a grinding machine is reformed. A mathematical model was derived to calculate the theoretical probe center surface, and a measuring method is proposed to check the accuracy of crown worm tooth surface. A crown worm sample is manufactured and measured, the results show that the accuracy is 0.079mm on the upside tooth surface and 0.082mm on the underside tooth surface. The study is expected to provide the experimental foundation for the future application of the crown worm drive.

In recent years, hundreds of Earth observation satellites have been launched to collect massive amounts of remote sensing images. However, the considerable cost and time to process the significant amount of data have become the greatest obstacle between data and knowledge. In order to accelerate the transformation from remote sensing images to urban thematic maps, a strategy to map the bare land automatically from Landsat imagery was developed and assessed in this study. First, a normalized difference bare land index (NBLI) was presented to maximally differentiate bare land from other land types in Wuhan City, China. Then, an unsupervised classifier was employed to extract the bare land from the NBLI image without training samples or self-assigned thresholds. Experimental results showed good performance on overall accuracy (92%), kappa coefficient (0.84), area ratio (1.1321), and match rate (83.96%), respectively. Results in multiple years disclosed that bare lands in the study site gradually moved from inner loops to the outer loops since 2007, in two main directions. This study demonstrated that the proposed method was an accurate and reliable option to extract the bare land, which led to a promising approach to mapping urban land use/land cover (LULC) automatically with simple indices.