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An improved multi-swarm migrating birds optimization (IMMBO) algorithm is proposed for hybrid flow shop scheduling with sequence-dependent setup times (HFS-SDST), to minimize the total maximum completion time (i.e., makespan). Permutation-based encoding is adopted to substitute the individual. The modified Nawaz-Enscore-Ham (MNEH) algorithm is employed to generate initial population which are assigned to each sub-swarm according to the makespan. For each sub-swarm, the neighborhood individuals of the leader and followers are generated respectively by performing serial and parallel neighborhood strategies. If the follower is better than the leader according to their makespan, they are exchanged to ensure the information interaction of individuals within the sub-swarm. Moreover, the discrete whale optimization strategy is embedded in IMMBO to optimize the leaders of all sub-swarms to enhance the interaction among them. Furthermore, the local search is designed for the optimal individual to further improve the local search ability of the algorithm. Meanwhile, to avoid algorithm premature convergence, the control strategy for population diversification is designed to the leader of each sub-swarm. Finally, based on adjusting the algorithm parameters experimentally, simulation experiments are conducted on four variants of IMMBO to verify the function of each part by testing an adaptation dataset of Ta. Moreover, the IMMBO is compared with three existing algorithms by testing an adaptation dataset of Ta, and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the IMMBO algorithm to solve the hybrid flow shop scheduling problem.

Fiber quality improvement is a primary goal in cotton breeding. Identification of fiber quality-related genes and understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms are essential prerequisites. Previously, studies determined that silencing the gene GhWRKY40 resulted in longer cotton fibers; however, both the underlying mechanisms and whether this transcription factor is additionally involved in the regulation of cotton fiber strength/fineness are unknown. In the current study, we verified that GhWRKY40 influences the fiber strength, fiber fineness, and fiber surface structure by using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Potential proteins that may interact with the nucleus-localized GhWRKY40 were screened in a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) nuclear-system cDNA library constructed from fibers at 0, 10, and 25 days post-anthesis (DPA) in two near-isogenic lines differing in fiber length and strength. An aspartyl protease/asparaginase-related protein, GhAPD6, was identified and confirmed by Y2H and split-luciferase complementation assays. The expression of GhAPD6 was approximately 30-fold higher in the GhWRKY40-VIGS lines at 10 DPA and aspartyl protease activity was significantly upregulated in the GhWRKY40-VIGS lines at 10–20 DPA. This study suggested that GhWRKY40 may interact with GhAPD6 to regulate fiber development in cotton. The results provide a theoretical reference for the selection and breeding of high-quality cotton fibers assisted by molecular technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: GhAP genes were identified as the candidates involved in cotton fiber length under the scope of fine mapping a stable fiber length QTL, qFLD05. Moreover, the transcription factor GhWRKY40 positively regulated GhAP3 to decrease fiber length. Fiber length (FL) is an economically important fiber quality trait. Although several genes controlling cotton fiber development have been identified, our understanding of this process remains limited. In this study, an FL QTL (qFLD05) was fine-mapped to a 216.9-kb interval using a secondary F2:3 population derived from the upland hybrid cultivar Ji1518. This mapped genomic segment included 15 coding genes, four of which were annotated as aspartyl proteases (GhAP1-GhAP4). GhAPs were identified as candidates for qFLD05 as the sequence variations in GhAPs were associated with FL deviations in the mapping population, and functional validation of GhAP3 and GhAP4 indicated a longer FL following decreases in their expression levels through virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Subsequently, the potential involvement of GhWRKY40 in the regulatory network was revealed: GhWRKY40 positively regulated GhAP3’s expression according to transcriptional profiling, VIGS, yeast one-hybrid assays and dual-luciferase experiments. Furthermore, alterations in the expression of the eight previously reported cotton FL-responsive genes from the above three VIGS lines (GhAP3, GhAP4 and GhWRKY40) implied that MYB5_A12 was involved in the GhWRKY40-GhAP network. In short, we unveiled the unprecedented FL regulation roles of GhAPs in cotton, which was possibly further regulated by GhWRKY40. These findings will reveal the genetic basis of FL development associated with qFLD05 and be beneficial for the marker-assisted selection of long-staple cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A discrete whale optimization algorithm (DWOA) is presented to solve the no-wait flow shop scheduling problem (NWFSSP) with the optimization objective makespan. An effective combination of nearest neighbor (NN) and standard deviation heuristics (SDH) is used to acquire initial solutions of the population. After that, three crossover operators, the two-point crossover (TPX), multiple-point crossover (MPX) and job-based crossover (JBX) operators, are designed to mimics the humpback whales hunting process. Moreover, the dynamic transform mechanism of search process is designed to better balance the exploration and exploitation ability of DWOA. In order to further improve the optimization effect of DWOA, the parallel neighborhood search (PNS) and the serial neighborhood search (SNS) are selected to execute the local search and promoting global search scheme, respectively. Finally, to test the performance of DWOA, extensive experiments are conducted on benchmarks designed by Reeves and Taillard, which contain parameters tuning, effectiveness of the improvement strategies in the DWOA and comparison with several existing algorithms. From the experimental results, it is validated that the effectiveness of the improved mechanisms and the performance of the DWOA which can find better makespan values compared with other algorithms for solving NWFSSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the progress of Chinese deep space exploration step, since 2006 we started a Mars mission, Yinghuo-1, by join in the Phobos-Grunt mission of Russia. A satellite bus platform and onboard payloads as well as an innovative open-loop radio tracking system have been developed by mission team. Also, together with Russian and German colleagues, we developed a kind of in-beam tracking method for measuring the rotation and nutation of Phobos, and developed the 1st Phobos global gravity field for the mission. We are promoting the Chinese new mission for Mars exploration. Although the joint YH-1 & Phobos-Grunt mission failed, the new techniques and knowledge developed by mission teams may benifit the future missions. In fact, the open-loop technique have been applied into lunar and other planetary missions, and the method in developing Phobos global gravity field will be used in the study of Rosetta mission and future Chinese mission for small body. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Endothelial dysfunction is a key event in the onset and progression of atherosclerosis associated with diabetes. Increasing cell apoptosis may lead to endothelial dysfunction and contribute to vascular complications. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the possible role and mechanism of ibrolipim in preventing endothelial dysfunction induced by high glucose., Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured respectively under normal glucose level (5.5mM), high glucose level (33mM), and high glucose level with ibrolipim treatment. Endothelial dysfunction was identified by the expression of ET-1 and vWF through reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). HUVECs apoptosis was assessed by fluorescent staining with Hoechst 33258. Akt activity was analyzed by western blot., Results: High glucose condition significantly increased the rate of apoptotic cells, weakened cell viability, and decreased the expression of ET-1 and vWF. Ibrolipim treatment significantly attenuated these alterations of endothelial dysfunction. The lower concentrations (2, 4, 8 microM) of ibrolipim inhibited apoptosis of cultured HUVECs, improved cell viability, down-regulated the mRNA levels of ET-1, vWF, and attenuated the cytotoxicity; however, higher concentration (16, 32 microM) of ibrolipim aggravated the damage of HUVECs cultured under high glucose level. Meanwhile, high glucose induced a decrease of Akt activity which led to apoptosis, and ibrolipim prevented the decrease and attenuated apoptotic effect induced by high glucose. Furthermore, the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 significantly abolished the anti-apoptotic effect of ibrolipim, and decreased Akt phosphorylation. Although, the expression of Akt mRNA and total protein were not altered in cultured HUVECs., Conclusion: Ibrolipim at lower concentrations can inhibit high glucose-induced apoptosis in cultured HUVECs, which might be related to the alternation of Akt activity. Ibrolipim has the potential to attenuate endothelial dysfunction and lower the risk of diabetes-associated vascular diseases. And it might be a therapeutic agent for diabetic vascular complications.