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Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins (FLAs) are a class of highly glycosylated glycoproteins that perform crucial functions in plant growth and development. This study was carried out to further explore their roles in pollen tube growth. The results showed that seven members (CoFLA1/2/3/4/7/8/17) of the CoFLAs family were identified by sequence characteristics, and they all possessed the fasciclin 1 (FAS1) domain and H1 and H2 conserved domains. They were all located on the plasma membranes of tobacco epidermal cells, and the GPI-anchor sequences of CoFLA1/2/3/4 determined the membrane localization. In flower tissues, CoFLA2 and CoFLA8 were not expressed in the pollen tube but were expressed in the unpollinated style and ovary; the others were all expressed in the pollen tube. In the pollination-compatible style and ovary, they exhibited different expression patterns. Furthermore, all CoFLAs promoted pollen germination in vitro, while only CoFLA7 significantly promoted pollen tube elongation, and the expression of CoFLA1/3/4/7/17 in pollen tubes was regulated by CoFLA proteins. The ABA and ABA synthetic inhibitor (sodium tungstate, ST) both inhibited pollen tube elongation; however, only ST downregulated the expression of CoFLA1/7/17 and upregulated the expression of CoFLA4. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CoFLAs may be significant in pollen tube growth in C. oleifera and that some CoFLAs may participate in the regulation of ABA signaling.

Tea oil obtained fromCamellia oleifera is a high-quality vegetable oil rich in squalene, a triterpenoid bioactive substance with several demonstrated health benefits. WRKY transcription factors in ...

We aimed to analyze the results of 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH-monitoring (MII-pH) of the laryngopharynx and esophagus in asymptomatic volunteers. Moreover, we also aimed to gain insight into and establish a baseline for laryngopharyngeal reflux in the healthy population by quantitatively and qualitatively comparing the reflux and pH distribution in both the laryngopharynx and the esophagus. Healthy volunteers were recruited and observed; they underwent 24-h ambulatory combined MII-pH monitoring. The proximal sensor (pH1) was positioned approximately 1 cm above the upper esophageal sphincter with the aid of a solid-state high-resolution esophageal manometer. Laryngopharyngeal reflux events were detected and characterized by the incidence and property of reflux both in the laryngopharynx and the esophagus. Thirty-eight asymptomatic volunteers who completed all the examinations were included in this study. The median pH detected by the proximal sensor was 6.6 (6.2, 7.0), with an average of 6.58 ± 0.74. A total of 814 laryngopharyngeal reflux events were detected, including 722 (89%) in the upright position and 92 (11%) in the supine position with incidence (0%) in the liquid state, 44 (5%) in the mixture, and 769 (95%) in the gaseous state. Furthermore, 5 incidences (1%) of acid reflux and 809 incidences of non-acid reflux (99%) were noted. A total of 5779 esophageal reflux events were detected, including 5020 (87%) in the upright position, 759 (13%) in the supine position, with 2051 (36%) in the liquid state, 2050 (35%) in the mixed condition, and 1678 (29%) in the gaseous state; adding up to 805 incidences (14%) of acid reflux and 4974 incidences (86%) of non-acid reflux. Non-acid reflux in the upright position is characteristic of laryngopharyngeal reflux. Acid reflux is almost undetectable in healthy subjects. Hence, the diagnostic indicators of gastroesophageal reflux disease are not suitable for laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.

The pathogenesis underlying alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which is often a result of alcohol abuse, currently remains unclear. Previous studies have reported that enteric dysbiosis serves an important role in the pathogenesis of ALD. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of glutamine and probiotics on a rat model of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups including control (C), alcohol (M), alcohol + Golden Bifido (T), alcohol + glutamine (G), alcohol + Medilac-S® (N) and alcohol + Golden Bifido + glutamine (L). Histology, body weight (BW), triglycerides (TG), serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), diamine oxidase (DAO), occludin, endotoxin and D-lactate levels were assessed whilst changes in the gut flora were evaluated and compared. Results determined that all probiotic and glutamine treatments elevated the abnormally decreased BW and occludin levels whilst the abnormal elevated serum AST, ALT, TG, IL-6, TNF-α, DAO, endotoxin and D-lactate levels were significantly reduced following chronic ethanol consumption. Histopathological observation of the liver demonstrated that probiotic and glutamine treatments attenuated liver damage induced by alcohol. Moreover, sequencing determined that there was a reduction in Firmicutes as well as an increase in Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Porphyromonadaceae abundance in the ALD group compared with the healthy controls. However, these changes were prevented by glutamine and probiotic therapy. In conclusion, the present results suggested that probiotics and glutamine ameliorated ALD by suppressing inflammation and regulating the gut microbiota. Therefore, probiotic and glutamine treatments can potentially serve as therapies for the prevention and treatment of ALD.

As a result of its high photosynthetic efficiency, the tung tree (Vernicia fordii) is a fast-growing heliophile, yielding fruit within 3 years. In addition, tung oil extracted from the fruit seeds is an environmentally friendly paint used widely in China. However, mutual shading inside a tung tree canopy leads to a low yield of fruit because of weak or dead lower branches. In this project, a pot experiment was conducted to understand the growth, physiological, anatomical structure, and biochemical responses of tung trees under various shading levels. Tung tree seedlings were subjected to different light intensities—100% sunlight (no cover), L100; 75% sunlight (25% shading), L75; 50% sunlight (50% shading), L50; and 20% sunlight (80% shading), L20—from June to August. Results indicate that the L75 treatment reduced significantly the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gS), transpiration rate (E), total aboveground and root dry weight (DW), maximum net photosynthetic rate (Amax), and maximum rate of electron transport at saturating irradiance (Jmax) compared with the control, although plant height and leaf area (LA) were not reduced. Lower light intensities (L50 and L20) and longer duration of treatment led to greater reduction in growth, leaf thickness, and photosynthetic potential (Amax and Jmax). Chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), and total chlorophyll content were increased in the L50 and L20 treatments compared with L100 and L75. There was no significant reduction in the enzyme activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEPC) of the seedlings using the L75 treatment; however, lower light intensities (L50 and L20) and longer duration of shade treatment resulted in a significant reduction in enzyme activity. In summary, the results suggest that tung trees have greater photosynthetic activity under high light intensity. Shading, even at 20%, especially for the longer term, reduced photosynthetic efficiency and growth. To prevent growth reduction, tung trees should be grown under full sun with a daily light integral (DLI) of ≈46 mol·m‒2·d‒1, and mutual shading should be avoided by proper spacing and pruning.

Summary The red coloration of pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) results from anthocyanin accumulation in the fruit peel. Light is required for anthocyanin biosynthesis in pear. A pear homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana BBX22, PpBBX16, was differentially expressed after fruits were removed from bags and may be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Here, the expression and function of PpBBX16 were analysed. PpBBX16's expression was highly induced by white‐light irradiation, as was anthocyanin accumulation. PpBBX16's ectopic expression in Arabidopsis increased anthocyanin biosynthesis in the hypocotyls and tops of flower stalks. PpBBX16 was localized in the nucleus and showed trans‐activity in yeast cells. Although PpBBX16 could not directly bind to the promoter of PpMYB10 or PpCHS in yeast one‐hybrid assays, the complex of PpBBX16/PpHY5 strongly trans‐activated anthocyanin pathway genes in tobacco. PpBBX16's overexpression in pear calli enhanced the red coloration during light treatments. Additionally, PpBBX16's transient overexpression in pear peel increased anthocyanin accumulation, while virus‐induced gene silencing of PpBBX16 decreased anthocyanin accumulation. The expression patterns of pear BBX family members were analysed, and six additional BBX genes, which were differentially expressed during light‐induced anthocyanin biosynthesis, were identified. Thus, PpBBX16 is a positive regulator of light‐induced anthocyanin accumulation, but it could not directly induce the expression of the anthocyanin biosynthesis‐related genes by itself but needed PpHY5 to gain full function. Our work uncovered regulatory modes for PpBBX16 and suggested the potential functions of other pear BBX genes in the regulation of anthocyanin accumulation, thereby providing target genes for further studies on anthocyanin biosynthesis.

Mass content will be produced at the age of information expansion. Cache mechanism is seen as a promising technology in wireless networks to alleviate the traffic congestion. Hence, in device-to-device (D2D) enabled cellular network, user equipment and base stations are qualified to cache content and communicate with each other to enhance the quality of service (QoS). Due to the unknown popularity distribution of content files, it is crucial and challenging to design an effective caching algorithm for users to access content. In this paper, we investigate caching strategies in D2D-enabled cellular network with limited storage capacity. In order to optimize this problem, we propose a cache replacement strategy for heuristic algorithm. The simulation results show that the algorithm outperforms other benchmark strategies in improving the hit rate under different conditions.

Background: The study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of probiotic therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 with diarrhea. Methods: The following electronic bibliographic databases will be searched to identify relevant studies from December 2019 to December 2020: MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Technical Periodicals, Wan-fang data, Chinese Biological Medicine Database, and other databases. The search results will not be restricted by language, all included articles were randomized controlled trial. Two independent researchers will conduct article retrieval, de-duplication, filtering, quality assessment, and data analysis through the Review Manager (V.5.3). Meta-analysis, subgroup analysis and/or descriptive analysis were performed on the included data. Results: High-quality synthesis and/or descriptive analysis of current evidence will be provided from outcomes. Conclusion: This study will provide the evidence of whether probiotics is an effective and safe intervention for coronavirus disease 2019 with diarrhea. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020192657.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the differences in esophageal pressure at different ages, and to analyze the possible age inflection points of the physiological degeneration of esophageal motility, and to further evaluate whether the degeneration of esophageal kinetics with age is the only risk factor for the occurrence of throat reflux disease (LPRD). METHODS: A solid-state high-resolution esophageal pressure measurement was performed on 41 volunteers without throat symptoms. The Chicago classification data were compared with the manometry results of all volunteers. In addition, the esophageal manometry results were compared among groups with pre-set age inflection point. RESULTS: Most of the volunteers' esophageal pressure measurements were in line with Chicago standards. When the inflection point of age was 55 years, no significant difference was found between the two groups. However, when the inflection point of age was 65 years, a significant difference in the length of the upper esophageal sphincter and the contractile front velocity was found between the two groups(P = 0.021 and 0.046 respectively). CONCLUSION: Esophageal dynamics was weakened with increasing age in the volunteers without laryngopharyngeal symptoms, which was more obvious after the age of 65, but still within the normal range. The degeneration of esophageal motility is not the only risk factor for LPRD.

TAS2R14 is of great potential as a therapeutic target against asthma, and the discovery of TAS2R14 agonists can be very valuable for treating this disease. Herein, we developed a strategy using virtual screening and affinity screening based on a fabricated biosensor combined with UPLC-MS analysis to screen TAS2R14 agonists from Platycodon grandiflorum. By ligand-based virtual screening, 16 best-fit candidates were yielded. A novel TAS2R14-functionalized high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) sensor was applied to detect and fish out the potential TAS2R14 agonists from P. grandiflorum extracts. Those components captured by the immobilized TAS2R14 were eluted and characterized on UPLC-QTOF MS. As a result, six potential TAS2R14 agonists were screened out and identified. Among them, platycodin L was confirmed to be a special agonist of TAS2R14 for the first time and had an EC50 of 15.03 ± 1.15 μM via intracellular calcium mobilization assay ( n = 6). The results indicated that the proposed strategy was efficient to discover TAS2R14 agonists from the herb directly.

Tung tree (Vernicia fordii) is an economically important woody oil plant that produces tung oil containing a high proportion of eleostearic acid (∼80%). Here we report a high-quality, chromosome-scale tung tree genome sequence of 1.12 Gb with 28,422 predicted genes and over 73% repeat sequences. Tung tree genome was assembled by combining Illumina short reads, PacBio single-molecule real-time long reads and Hi-C sequencing data. Insertion time analysis revealed that the repeat-driven tung tree genome expansion might be due to long standing long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon bursts and lack of efficient DNA deletion mechanisms. An electronic fluorescent pictographic (eFP) browser was generated based on genomic and RNA-seq data from 17 various tissues and developmental stages. We identified 88 nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-encoding resistance genes, of which 17 genes may help the tung tree resist the Fusarium wilt shortly after infection. A total of 651 oil-related genes were identified and 88 of them were predicted to be directly involved in tung oil biosynthesis. The fewer phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPC) genes, and synergistic effects between transcription factors and oil biosynthesis-related genes may contribute to high oil content in tung seeds. The tung tree genome should provide valuable resources for molecular breeding and genetic improvement.

In recent years, with the vigorous development of the video business market, the competition among service providers has become increasingly fierce. The key to winning the competition depends on the Quality of Experience (QoE). Faced with the increasing video traffic, how to use the limited infrastructure resources to ensure the good user experience is a difficult problem. Recent studies unilaterally focus on guaranteeing QoE, which may lead to sub-optimal resource utilization. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a QoE-centric routing algorithm based on Yen K-shortest paths (YenKSP), which pays attention to the utilization of limited resources while guaranteeing the quality of user experience.

Camellia oleifera Abel. is one of four major woody oil plants in the world. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of different plant growth regulators (PGRs) and concentrations on direct organogenesis using cotyledonary nodes, hypocotyls, and radicle explants. High induction frequency of adventitious shoots were obtained from cotyledonary nodes, hypocotyls, and radicle explants (85.2%, 73.6%, and 41.0%, respectively) when cultured on half-strength Murashige and Skoog (1/2 MS) medium containing 2.0 mg·L−1 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 0.1 mg·L−1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Microshoots from cotyledonary nodes, hypocotyls, and radicle explants were then transferred to 1/2 MS medium containing 2.0 mg·L−1 BA and 0.05 mg·L−1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for shoot multiplication, resulting in 6.9 shoots per explant. The shoots were transferred to Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with various α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and gibberellic acid (GA3) for shoot elongation. The mean length of shoots and the number of leaves per shoot were 3.7 and 6.6 cm, respectively, in WPM supplemented with 0.5 mg·L−1 NAA and 3.0 mg·L−1 GA3. The highest rooting of shoots (90.2%) or the number of roots per shoot (7.2) was obtained when elongated microshoots were transferred to 1/2 MS medium supplemented with 3.5% perlite, 1.0 mg·L−1 IBA and 2.0 mg·L−1 NAA. The rooted plantlets were successfully acclimatized in the greenhouse with a survival rate of 90.0%. The in vitro plant regeneration procedure described in this study is beneficial for mass propagation and improvement of C. oleifera through genetic engineering.

Computationally intensive and latency sensitive applications put forward strict requirements on mobile user equipments (UEs) to provide the required computation capacity and delay. Mobile edge computing (MEC) in ultra-dense network (UDN) is considered as a promising solution that can reduce the computation limitations of UEs and extend their battery life by computation offloading. But the dense deployment of UEs, and the limited resources of small cell base stations (SBSs), which imposes more delays on computation offloading in MEC environment. In this paper, using the characteristics of UDN, we study the computation offloading management scheme based on the weighted sum of task completion time and energy consumption in MEC system. Then, we propose a computation offloading framework and formulate joint task offloading and resource allocation problem in UDNs to minimize overall cost consumption. Based on Genetic algorithm (GA) and Whale optimization algorithm (WOA), we adopt a heuristic algorithm named as GAWOA to solve this problem. Numerical results show that the algorithm has a fast convergence speed and better performance than other benchmark algorithms.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a new type of coronavirus, first reported in Wuhan, China at the end of December 2019. As a result of the worldwide outbreak, the number of patients continues to increase. With multiple therapeutic interventions, more and more patients are recovering. Fire needle is used as an alternative therapy. At present, there are no relevant articles for systematic review and meta-analysis, so this study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of fire needle in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods The following electronic bibliographic databases will be searched to identify relevant studies from December 2019 to December 2020: MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP), Wan-fang data, Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBM), and other databases. All included articles were randomized controlled trial without any language restrictions. Two reviewers will independently conduct cations retrieval, de-duplication, filtering, quality assessment, and data analysis by the Review Manager (V.5.3). Meta-analysis, subgroup analysis and/or descriptive analysis were performed on the included data. Discussion This study will investigate the application of fire needle in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19, and provide a high-quality synthesis to evaluate whether fire needle is an effective and safe intervention for COVID-19. Systematic review registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD 42020193703.

Thirty-four strains of bacteria were isolated from Phellodendron amurense. Using Nectria haematococca as an indicator strain, the best strain, B18, was obtained by the growth rate method. The morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of strain B18 and its 16S DNA gene sequence were identified, and the biocontrol effect of strain B18 was assessed in pot and field tests, as well as in a field-control test. Drilling methods were used to determine the antibacterial activity of metabolites from strain B18 and their effects on the growth of pathogen mycelia and spores. The best bacteriostatic rate was 85.4%. B18 can hydrolyse starch and oxidize glucose but does not produce gas; a positive result was obtained in a gelatine liquefaction test. According to 16S DNA gene sequencing, strain B18 is Bacillus methylotrophicus (GenBank accession number: MG457759). The results of pot and field-control trials showed 98% disease control when inoculating 108 cfu/ml of the strain. The disease control effect of the B18 culture liquid (concentrations of 108, 2 × 106, 106, 5 × 105 and 2.5 × 105 cfu/ml) in the field-control test was higher than 80%, and the cure rate of the original delivery solution was 96%. Therefore, in the practical forestry production, a 2.5 × 105 cfu/ml culture liquidshould be applied in advance to achieve good control effects.

The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) may play a pathological role in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, the conclusions of published reports on the relationship between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and PCOS risk remain controversial. To derive a more precise estimation we performed a metaanalysis based on 22 studies that together included 2405 cases and 2419 controls. PubMed, EMBASE, WanFang and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were used to retrieve articles up to up to October 28, 2019. The crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated to evaluate the association. Metaanalysis results showed a significant association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and PCOS risk in 3 genetic models (allele model: OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.27–1.53; dominant model: OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.17–1.85); homozygous model: OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.55–2.32). Moreover, significant associations were observed when stratified by ethnicity, source of controls, etiology, and genotype methods. This metaanalysis suggests that the T-allele of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of PCOS, especially in Asians further studies with larger population sizes are needed to confirm these results.

Among primary cardiac tumors, hemangiomas are relatively rare, with a reported incidence of 2.8%. To date, less than 100 cases have been reported in literature. We report the case of a 61-year-old woman who complained from chest discomfort since 3 years and in whom transthoracic echocardiography revealed a pedunculated tumor in the left ventricle. The tumor was successfully resected and its histopathological examination revealed a capillary hemangioma. The patient had an uneventful recovery without any complication. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 42:53–56, 2014

The crystalline mesoporous MgO–ZrO 2 solid solutions have been fabricated by a simple evaporation induced self assembly procedure with zirconyl chloride octahydrate (ZrOCl 2 ·8H 2 O) and magnesium nitrate tetrahydrate (Mg(NO 3 ) 2 ·4H 2 O) as metal precursors and triblock co-polymer of Pluronic P123 as templating agent. Small-angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that ordered mesoporous structure and worm-like mesoporous structure were obtained under different calcine temperatures. Wide angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) indicated that the formation of homogeneous solid solutions were responsible for the stable tetragonal phase. All MgO–ZrO 2 solid solutions were endowed with strong basicity (H_ = 9.3–12.2) and high water resistance. The Mg 2+ doped into zirconia lattice could stabilize the tetragonal phase and prevent zirconia crystals from excessive growth. This kind of structure could also inhibit basic sites dissolve in water in the reaction and effectively improve the thermal stability of products.

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) catalyzes the reverse cleavage of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and 3-phosphate glyceraldehyde (G-3-P). DHAP acts as a precursor for the synthesis of glycerol, an important osmotically compatible solute under salt stress. Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends, the complete sequence of FBA1 cDNA was obtained from Camellia oleifera, a tree originated from China and notable as an important source of edible oil obtained from its seeds. Camellia oleifera FBA1 (CoFBA1) cDNA has a total length of 1,697-bp with 1,179-bp ORF, flanked by 250-bp 5′-UTR and 246-bp 3′-UTR. It was predicted to encode a 392 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 42.72 kDa and theoretical pI of 8.39. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that the CoFBA1 gene was strongly expressed in stems, weakly in roots, and induced under salt stress to a threshold before dropping at high salt concentrations (12 g L−1 NaCl). Over-expression of recombinant CoFBA1 resulted in increased tolerance to salinity in transgenic Brassica napus plants, which grew better at low salt concentrations than on media without NaCl. At all salt concentrations, the transgenic plants showed improved growth parameters (stem and root lengths and germination rates) in comparison with wild-type plants. These findings suggest that CoFBA1 plays very important roles in salt stress response, improving the survival ability of C. oleifera under salt stress conditions.

Tea oil tree (Camellia oleifera, Co) provides a fine edible oil source in China. Tea oil from the seeds is very beneficial to human health. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) hydrolyzes fructose-1,6-bisphosphate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, two critical metabolites for oil biosynthesis. The objectives of this study were to identify FBA genes and investigate the relationship between FBA gene expression and oil content in developing seeds of tea oil tree. In this paper, four developmentally up-regulated CoFBA genes were identified in Camellia oleifera seeds based on the transcriptome from two seed developmental stages corresponding to the initiation and peak stages of lipid biosynthesis. The expression of CoFBA genes, along with three key oil biosynthesis genes CoACP, CoFAD2 and CoSAD were analyzed in seeds from eight developmental stages by real-time quantitative PCR. The oil content and fatty acid composition were also analyzed. The results showed that CoFBA and CoSAD mRNA levels were well-correlated with oil content whereas CoFAD2 gene expression levels were correlated with fatty acid composition in Camellia seeds. We propose that CoFBA and CoSAD are two important factors for determining tea oil yield because CoFBA gene controls the flux of key intermediates for oil biosynthesis and CoSAD gene controls the synthesis of oleic acid, which accounts for 80% of fatty acids in tea oil. These findings suggest that tea oil yield could be improved by enhanced expression of CoFBA and CoSAD genes in transgenic plants.

Many flowering plants exhibit an important intraspecific reproductive barrier phenomenon, that is, self-incompatibility (SI), in whichS-RNasegenes play a significant role. To clarify the specific function ofS-RNasegenes in Chinese pears, the full length cDNA ofPbS26-RNasewas isolated by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology from Chinese white pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) cultivar “Hongpisu.” The cDNA sequence forPbS26-RNasewas deposited in GenBank under accession number EU081888. At the amino acid level, thePbS26-RNasedisplayed the highest similarity (96.9%) with PcSa-RNase ofP. communis, and only seven amino acid differences were present in the two S-RNases. Phylogenetic analysis of rosaceous S-RNases indicated that thePbS26-RNaseclustered with maloideous S-RNases, forming a subfamily-specific not a species-specific group. ThePbS26-RNasegene was specifically expressed in the style but not other tissues/organs. The expression level of thePbS26-RNasegene rapidly increased at bell balloon stage (BBS), and then it dropped after pollination. However, the abundance of thePbS26-RNasegene transcript in the style was greater after cross-pollination than after self-pollination. In addition, a method for rapidly detecting thePbS26-RNasegene was developed via allele-specific primers design. The present study could provide a scientific basis for fully clarifying the mechanism of pear SI at the molecular level.

Among primary cardiac tumors, hemangiomas are relatively rare, with a reported incidence of 2.8%. To date, less than 100 cases have been reported in literature. We report the case of a 61-year-old woman who complained from chest discomfort since 3 years and in whom transthoracic echocardiography revealed a pedunculated tumor in the left ventricle. The tumor was successfully resected and its histopathological examination revealed a capillary hemangioma. The patient had an uneventful recovery without any complication.

As a high stress resistance psammophyte with the characteristic of sand fixation and winterfat, Ceratoides lanata had been successfully introduced into many countries in recent years. The leaves and twigs of Ceratoides lanata in room temperature were used as the Driver and those treated by cold stress were used as Tester. Tester and Driver ds cDNA were prepared from their high quality mRNA which were purified from their total RNA. Tester and Driver cDNA were separately digested to obtain shorter, blunt-ended molecules by RasI. Then two Tester populations are created with different adaptors, while Driver cDNA has no adaptors. Differentially expressed genes were equalized and enriched by two round subtractive hybridizations using excess Driver population as compared with Tester population. The differentially expressed cDNAs were exponentially amplified by first round suppression PCR using the diluted hybridization product as template, and then the secondary PCR was performed using the first PCR product as template by nested primers to finally enrich the differentially expressed cDNAs, which consists of the SSH library of Ceratoides lanata. These cDNAs were inserted into vectors and 362 cDNA clones were obtained. The sequencing results showed that some cDNAs of cold-stressed Ceratoides lanata SSH library have relatively high homology with known stress resistance-related genes or proteins, and other cDNAs are new genes which are firstly reported here. Our result lays a foundation for the cDNA cloning of valuable genes including antifreeze genes, heat-resistant genes, drought-tolerant genes, alkali-salt-tolerant genes from Ceratoides lanata, and their transgenic application

The full-length cDNA of a new S-RNase ( S 34 -RNase) (GenBank accession No.DQ414813) was successfully cloned from pistils of Chinese pear by RT-PCR and RACE methods. The S 34 -RNase shows a complete CDS of 687 nucleotides for putative 229 amino acids. The theoretical three-dimension structure of S 34 -RNase was predicted by homology modeling method and its structural characteristic was analyzed. Aligning of S 34 -RNase with other 39 S -RNases of pears revealed the question about unifying naming system.