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Detection of biomarkers was extremely important for the early diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy optimization of diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in serum metabolites between patients with heart failure (HF) and healthy control (HC) and to diagnose HF qualitatively. In this study, serum samples from 83 patients with HF and 35 HCs were used as the research subjects for untargeted metabolomic analysis using ultraperformance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole‐time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC‐QTOF/MS) technology. Potential biomarkers were screened and validated using the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA), random forest (RF), binary logistic regression (BLR), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The results indicated that a total of 43 metabolites were considered as differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs). Among these DEMs, glycodeoxycholate was identified as a specific biomarker of HF. A ROC curve analysis for HC versus HF discrimination showed an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.9853 (95% CI: 0.9859–1.0000), a sensitivity of 95%, and a specificity of 100%. Hence, glycodeoxycholate might serve as a potential biomarker for HF. Furthermore, the amino acid metabolism was screened as the most significantly altered pathway in patients with HF. By identifying serum biomarkers and analyzing metabolic pathways, our study provided opportunities to enhance the understanding of the pathogenesis and early diagnosis of HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotational speed measurement is important for many applications. Here, a noncontact rotational speed test method based on the detection of the periodically perturbed near-field microwave of an open-ended waveguide is proposed. Both simulations and experiments were conducted to verify the near-field microwave rotational speed sensor. The constructed rotation speed sensing system was composed of a standard open-ended WR-42 waveguide (in our measurements, a waveguide-to-coaxial adapter was used to represent an open-ended waveguide) working at ~18 GHz, a radio frequency (RF) circulator, a signal generator, a, RF detector and an oscilloscope. A rotating fan to be measured was placed close to the waveguide's mouth and, thus, the waveguide's reflection coefficient was periodically modulated by the rotating fan blades. Then, the RF detector converted this varying reflection coefficient into a direct current (DC) voltage, namely, a periodical waveform. Finally, the rotational speed of the fan could be extracted from this waveform. Measurements using both the proposed near-field microwave method and conventional optical transmission/reflection methods were conducted for verification. The effect of the rotating fan's location relative to the waveguide's mouth was also studied. The results show the following: 1. The proposed method works well with a rotational speed of up to ~5000 RPM (rounds per minute), and an accuracy of 1.7% can be achieved. 2. Metallic or non-metallic fan blades are all suitable for this method. Compared with the existing radar method, the proposed method may be advantageous for rotation detection in a constrained space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring winter wheat Soil–Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) values using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is an effective and non-destructive method. However, predicting SPAD values during the booting stage is less accurate than other growth stages. Existing research on UAV-based SPAD value prediction has mainly focused on low-altitude flights of 10–30 m, neglecting the potential benefits of higher-altitude flights. The study evaluates predictions of winter wheat SPAD values during the booting stage using Vegetation Indices (VIs) from UAV images at five different altitudes (i.e., 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 m, respectively, using a DJI P4-Multispectral UAV as an example, with a resolution from 1.06 to 6.35 cm/pixel). Additionally, we compare the predictive performance using various predictor variables (VIs, Texture Indices (TIs), Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT)) individually and in combination. Four machine learning algorithms (Ridge, Random Forest, Support Vector Regression, and Back Propagation Neural Network) are employed. The results demonstrate a comparable prediction performance between using UAV images at 120 m (with a resolution of 6.35 cm/pixel) and using the images at 20 m (with a resolution of 1.06 cm/pixel). This finding significantly improves the efficiency of UAV monitoring since flying UAVs at higher altitudes results in greater coverage, thus reducing the time needed for scouting when using the same heading overlap and side overlap rates. The overall trend in prediction accuracy is as follows: VIs + TIs + DWT > VIs + TIs > VIs + DWT > TIs + DWT > TIs > VIs > DWT. The VIs + TIs + DWT set obtains frequency information (DWT), compensating for the limitations of the VIs + TIs set. This study enhances the effectiveness of using UAVs in agricultural research and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Bric-a-Brac/Tramtrack/Broad Complex (BTB) gene family plays essential roles in various biological processes in plants. These genes encode proteins that contain a conserved BTB domain, which is involved in protein-protein interactions and regulation of gene expression. However, there is no systematic reports on the BTB gene family in G.max. Results: In total, 122 soybean BTB genes were identified, which were classified into four groups based on the phylogenetic analysis. Gene structures analysis indicated that the number of exon–intron in GmBTBs ranges from 0 to18. Cis-element analysis revealed that most GmBTB genes contained cis-elements related to an abiotic stress response. In addition, qRT-PCR analyses indicated that most GmBTBs are significantly up-regulated under salinity, drought, and nitrate stresses. They suggested their potential for targeted improvement of soybean response to multiple abiotic stresses and nitrate availability. Conclusion: These results provide valuable information for identifying the members of the GmBTB gene family in soybean and could provide a functional characterization of GmBTB genes in further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress is one of the most severe natural disasters in terms of its frequency, length, impact intensity, and associated losses, making it a significant threat to agricultural productivity. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), a C4 plant, shows a wide range of morphological, physiological, and biochemical adaptations in response to drought stress, paving the way for it to endure harsh environments. In arid environments, sorghum exhibits enhanced water uptake and reduced dissipation through its morphological activity, allowing it to withstand drought stress. Sorghum exhibits physiological and biochemical resistance to drought, primarily by adjusting its osmotic potential, scavenging reactive oxygen species, and changing the activities of its antioxidant enzymes. In addition, certain sorghum genes exhibit downregulation capabilities in response to drought stress. Therefore, in the current review, we explore drought tolerance in sorghum, encompassing its morphological characteristics and physiological mechanisms and the identification and selection of its functional genes. The use of modern biotechnological and molecular biological approaches to improving sorghum resistance is critical for selecting and breeding drought-tolerant sorghum varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase (GOGAT), and nitrate reductase (NR) are key enzymes involved in nitrogen assimilation and metabolism in plants. However, the systematic analysis of these gene families lacked reports in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), one of the most important crops worldwide. Methods: In this study, we performed genome-wide identification and characterization of GS, GOGAT, and NR genes in soybean under abiotic and nitrogen stress conditions. Results: We identified a total of 10 GS genes, six GOGAT genes, and four NR genes in the soybean genome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of multiple isoforms for each gene family, indicating their functional diversification. The distribution of these genes on soybean chromosomes was uneven, with segmental duplication events contributing to their expansion. Within the nitrogen assimilation genes (NAGs) group, there was uniformity in the exon-intron structure and the presence of conserved motifs in NAGs. Furthermore, analysis of cis-elements in NAG promoters indicated complex regulation of their expression. RT-qPCR analysis of seven soybean NAGs under various abiotic stresses, including nitrogen deficiency, drought-nitrogen, and salinity, revealed distinct regulatory patterns. Most NAGs exhibited up-regulation under nitrogen stress, while diverse expression patterns were observed under salt and drought-nitrogen stress, indicating their crucial role in nitrogen assimilation and abiotic stress tolerance. These findings offer valuable insights into the genomic organization and expression profiles of GS, GOGAT, and NR genes in soybean under nitrogen and abiotic stress conditions. The results have potential applications in the development of stress-resistant soybean varieties through genetic engineering and breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is one of the major constraints to crop production. Rice is a main staple food and is highly sensitive to salinity. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of salt stress on physiological and agronomic traits of rice genotypes with contrasting salt tolerance. Six contrasting rice genotypes (DJWJ, JFX, NSIC, HKN, XD2H and HHZ), including three salt-tolerant and three salt-sensitive rice genotypes, were grown under two different salt concentrations (0 and 100 mmol L−1 NaCl solution). The results showed that growth, physiological and yield-related traits of both salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant rice were significantly affected by salt stress. In general, plant height, tiller number, dry weight and relative growth rate showed 15.7%, 11.2%, 25.2% and 24.6% more reduction in salt-sensitive rice than in salt-tolerant rice, respectively. On the contrary, antioxidant enzyme activity (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase), osmotic adjustment substances (proline, soluble protein, malondialdehyde (MDA)) and Na+ content were significantly increased under salt stress, and the increase was far higher in salt-tolerant rice except for MDA. Furthermore, grain yield and yield components significantly decreased under salt stress. Overall, the salt-sensitive rice genotypes showed a 15.3% greater reduction in grain yield, 5.1% reduction in spikelets per panicle, 7.4% reduction in grain-filling percentage and 6.1% reduction in grain weight compared to salt-tolerant genotypes under salt stress. However, a modest gap showed a decline in panicles (22.2% vs. 22.8%) and total spikelets (45.4% vs. 42.1%) between salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant rice under salinity conditions. This study revealed that the yield advantage of salt-tolerant rice was partially caused by more biomass accumulation, growth rate, strong antioxidant capacity and osmotic adjustment ability under salt stress, which contributed to more spikelets per panicle, high grain-filling percentage and grain weight. The results of this study could be helpful in understanding the physiological mechanism of contrasting rice genotypes' responses to salt stress and to the breeding of salt-tolerant rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperatures (HT) and drought are two major factors restricting wheat growth in the early growth stages. This study investigated the role of glutathione (GSH) amendment (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mM) to soil in mitigating the adverse effect of HT (33 °C, with 25 °C as a control), water regimes (60% of field capacity and control), and their combinations. HT decreased the length, project area, surface area, volume, and forks of the root, while drought had the reverse effect. Shoot length, leaf area, leaf relative water content, and shoot and root dry matter were significantly decreased by HT and drought, and their combined impact was more noticeable. GSH significantly promoted the root system, shoot growth, and leaf relative water content. The combined treatment reduced chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll. However, 0.5 mM GSH raised chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll by 28.6%, 41.4%, and 32.5%, respectively, relative to 0.0 mM GSH. At combined treatment, 0.5 mM GSH decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) by 29.5% and increased soluble protein content by 24.1%. GSH meaningfully enhanced the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxide in different treatments. This study suggested that GSH could protect wheat seedlings from the adverse effects of HT and/or drought stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization has become one of the major abiotic stresses limiting agricultural production globally. The full utilization of coastal saline-alkali land is of great significance for agricultural development. Among them, fertilizer management and planting density are crucial for promoting crop growth and productivity in saline soils. Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of different nitrogen application rates and planting densities on the growth, yield, and quality of alfalfa. Using alfalfa variety WL919 as the experimental material, three seeding rates of 15.0 kg·ha−1 (D1), 30.0 kg·ha−1 (D2), and 45.0 kg·ha−1 (D3) as well as three nitrogen application rates of 150.0 kg·ha−1 (N1), 225.0 kg·ha−1 (N2), and 300.0 kg·ha−1 (N3) were set. The results showed that under the same density, different nitrogen application rates had a positive impact on the agronomic traits and yield of alfalfa on saline-alkali land. Physiological and biochemical properties (chlorophyll and sucrose) increased with increasing nitrogen application, and (starch) increased initially and then decreased with increasing nitrogen application. Forage quality attributes (crude protein and crude ash) had a significant impact, while crude fat had no significant effect. Under the same nitrogen application, the yield of alfalfa increased with increasing density but then decreased after reaching a peak, while other traits initially increased and then decreased. In conclusion, the nitrogen fertilizer was superior in promoting alfalfa growth, biomass yield, and forage yield, while planting density was more suitable at D2. Although both D2N2 and D2N3 treatments were superior to others, considering economic benefits and environmental factors, it is recommended to use D2N2 as the appropriate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton growth and yield are severely affected by abiotic stress worldwide. Mepiquate chloride (MC) and melatonin (MT) enhance crop growth and yield by reducing the negative effects of abiotic stress on various crops. Numerous studies have shown the pivotal role of MC and MT in regulating agricultural growth and yield. Nevertheless, an in-depth review of the prominent performance of these two hormones in controlling plant morpho-physiological activity and yield in cotton under abiotic stress still needs to be documented. This review highlights the effects of MC and MT on cotton morpho-physiological and biochemical activities; their biosynthetic, signaling, and transduction pathways; and yield under abiotic stress. Furthermore, we also describe some genes whose expressions are affected by these hormones when cotton plants are exposed to abiotic stress. The present review demonstrates that MC and MT alleviate the negative effects of abiotic stress in cotton and increase yield by improving its morpho-physiological and biochemical activities, such as cell enlargement; net photosynthesis activity; cytokinin contents; and the expression of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. MT delays the expression of NCED1 and NCED2 genes involved in leaf senescence by decreasing the expression of ABA-biosynthesis genes and increasing the expression of the GhYUC5, GhGA3ox2, and GhIPT2 genes involved in indole-3-acetic acid, gibberellin, and cytokinin biosynthesis. Likewise, MC promotes lateral root formation by activating GA20x genes involved in gibberellin catabolism. Overall, MC and MT improve cotton's physiological activity and antioxidant capacity and, as a result, improve the ability of the plant to resist abiotic stress. The main purpose of this review is to present an in-depth analysis of the performance of MC and MT under abiotic stress, which might help to better understand how these two hormones regulate cotton growth and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a fundamental indicator of plant growth status in agronomy and environmental research. With the rapid development of drone technology, the estimation of crop LAI based on drone imagery and vegetation indices is becoming increasingly popular. However, there is still a lack of detailed research on the feasibility of using image texture to estimate LAI and the impact of combining texture indices with vegetation indices on LAI estimation accuracy. In this study, two key growth stages of winter wheat (i.e., the stages of green-up and jointing) were selected, and LAI was calculated using digital hemispherical photography. The feasibility of predicting winter wheat LAI was explored under three conditions: vegetation index, texture index, and a combination of vegetation index and texture index, at flight heights of 20 m and 40 m. Two feature selection methods (Lasso and recursive feature elimination) were combined with four machine learning regression models (multiple linear regression, random forest, support vector machine, and backpropagation neural network). The results showed that during the vegetative growth stage of winter wheat, the model combining texture information with vegetation indices performed better than the models using vegetation indices alone or texture information alone. Among them, the best prediction result based on vegetation index was RFECV-MLR at a flight height of 40 m (R2 = 0.8943, RMSE = 0.4139, RRMSE = 0.1304, RPD = 3.0763); the best prediction result based on texture index was RFECV-RF at a flight height of 40 m (R2 = 0.8894, RMSE = 0.4236, RRMSE = 0.1335, RPD = 3.0063); and the best prediction result combining texture and index was RFECV-RF at a flight height of 40 m (R2 = 0.9210, RMSE = 0.3579, RRMSE = 0.1128, RPD = 3.5575). The results of this study demonstrate that combining vegetation indices and texture from multispectral drone imagery can improve the accuracy of LAI estimation during the vegetative growth stage of winter wheat. In addition, selecting a flight height of 40 m can improve efficiency in large-scale agricultural field monitoring, as this study showed that drone data at flight heights of 20 m and 40 m did not significantly affect model accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silage maize is cultivated due to its high nutritional value as a forage. China's recent agricultural policy promotes the popularization and cultivation of silage maize. The production of silage maize is affected by planting density and nitrogen application. Based on investigating the planting habits of local farmers, we adjusted the planting density and nitrogen application rate to optimize the growth of silage maize. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of planting density (65,000 plant ha−1 (D1), 80,000 plant ha−1 (D2), and 95,000 plant ha−1 (D3)) and nitrogen rate (150 kg ha−1 (N1), 230 kg ha−1 (N2), and 310 kg ha−1 (N3)) on growth, yield, and quality of silage maize using a two-factor random block design. Planting density and nitrogen fertilizer significantly affected plant height, stem diameter, leaf area index, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and starch of silage maize. In summary, the combination of a planting density of 80,000 plants ha−1 and a nitrogen application rate of 310 kg ha−1 produced a higher crude protein and starch yield and better palatability and quality; this result can aid silage maize growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China's second-largest wheat-producing region, the mid-lower Yangtze River area, cold stress impacts winter wheat production during the pre-heading growth stage. Previous research focused on specific growth stages, lacking a comprehensive approach. This study utilizes Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery to monitor Soil-Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) values throughout the pre-heading stage, assessing crop stress resilience. Vegetation Indices (VIs) and Texture Indices (TIs) are extracted from UAV imagery. Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) is applied to VIs, TIs, and fused variables (VIs + TIs), and six machine learning algorithms are employed for SPAD value estimation. The fused VIs and TIs model, based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), achieves the highest accuracy (R2 = 0.8576, RMSE = 2.9352, RRMSE = 0.0644, RPD = 2.6677), demonstrating robust generalization across wheat varieties and nitrogen management practices. This research aids in mitigating winter wheat frost risks and increasing yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation process of starch in the grain is influenced by both genetic characteristics and environmental factors, which can affect starch quality. Waxy wheat Yangnuo1 (YN1) and non-waxy wheat Yangmai15 (YM15) were subjected to heat stress at the early, medium, and late grain-filling stages using artificial intelligence temperature control. Heat stress increased the short-chain content of amylopectin in both cultivars and decreased their amylose contents. The effect of heat stress on the wheat amylopectin structure was most pronounced 16–20 days after anthesis (DAA). The crystallinity and enthalpy of starch decreased, as did the swelling potential, solubility, and transmittance, but the retrogradation degree showed an opposite trend after heat stress. Compared with YM15, YN1 exhibited superior physical and chemical properties as well as anti-aging properties of starch and consequently had greater thermal stability under heat stress due to its higher degree of branching. The most sensitive stage to heat stress for yield was 6–10 DAA, which resulted in significant decreases in grain number and 1000-grain weight, followed by 16–20 DAA, which resulted in a significant decrease only in 1000-grain weight. Our study indicated that heat stress during the early stage of grain filling resulted in a decrease in both grain weight and yield, whereas during the middle stage of grain filling, it led to a decline in starch quality, especially in non-waxy wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery has been applied in the remote sensing of wheat SPAD (Soil and Plant Analyzer Development) values. However, existing research has yet to consider the influence of different growth stages and UAV flight altitudes on the accuracy of SPAD estimation. This study aims to optimize UAV flight strategies and incorporate multiple feature selection techniques and machine learning algorithms to enhance the accuracy of the SPAD value estimation of different wheat varieties across growth stages. This study sets two flight altitudes (20 and 40 m). Multispectral images were collected for four winter wheat varieties during the green-up and jointing stages. Three feature selection methods (Pearson, recursive feature elimination (RFE), and correlation-based feature selection (CFS)) and four machine learning regression models (elastic net, random forest (RF), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)) were combined to construct SPAD value estimation models for individual growth stages as well as across growth stages. The CFS-RF (40 m) model achieved satisfactory results (green-up stage: R2 = 0.7270, RPD = 2.0672, RMSE = 1.1835, RRMSE = 0.0259; jointing stage: R2 = 0.8092, RPD = 2.3698, RMSE = 2.3650, RRMSE = 0.0487). For cross-growth stage modeling, the optimal prediction results for SPAD values were achieved at a flight altitude of 40 m using the Pearson-XGBoost model (R2 = 0.8069, RPD = 2.3135, RMSE = 2.0911, RRMSE = 0.0442). These demonstrate that the flight altitude of UAVs significantly impacts the estimation accuracy, and the flight altitude of 40 m (with a spatial resolution of 2.12 cm) achieves better SPAD value estimation than that of 20 m (with a spatial resolution of 1.06 cm). This study also showed that the optimal combination of feature selection methods and machine learning algorithms can more accurately estimate winter wheat SPAD values. In addition, this study includes multiple winter wheat varieties, enhancing the generalizability of the research results and facilitating future real-time and rapid monitoring of winter wheat growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melatonin (MT) is a growth regulator and antioxidant that can resist peroxidation damage on plants caused by environmental stresses. In this study, the alleviation effects of melatonin on alfalfa under salt stress were investigated in terms of photosynthesis, antioxidant enzymes, and osmoregulation. The alfalfa seedlings were cultured in 200 mM NaCl Hoagland solution. Five levels of MT (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 mM) were applied as a foliar spray. Generally, the foliar spray of MT increased root length, root surface area, height, leaf length and width, aerial and root biomass, SPAD readings, the content of proline and soluble protein, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT). Malonaldehyde (MDA) content was decreased by MT foliar spray. The beneficial effects of MT on alfalfa under salt stress were dosage-dependent, and excessive MT levels inhibited alfalfa growth. The alleviating effects of MT on salt stress were more pronounced at 0.3 mM MT. This study suggested that exogenous MT foliar spray at appropriate levels can ameliorate the adverse effects of salt stress on alfalfa seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous improvement of living standards, the preferences of consumers are shifting to rice varieties with high eating and cooking quality (ECQ). Milled rice is mainly composed of starch, protein, and oil, which constitute the physicochemical basis of rice taste quality. This review summarizes the relationship between rice ECQ and its intrinsic ingredients, and also briefly introduces the effects of nitrogen fertilizer management on rice ECQ. Rice varieties with higher AC usually have more long branches of amylopectin, which leach less when cooking, leading to higher hardness, lower stickinesss, and less panelist preference. High PC impedes starch pasting, and it may be hard for heat and moisture to enter the rice interior, ultimately resulting in worse rice eating quality. Rice with higher lipid content had a brighter luster and better eating quality, and starch lipids in rice have a greater impact on rice eating quality than non-starch lipids. The application of nitrogen fertilizer can enhance rice yield, but it also decreases the ECQ of rice. CRNF has been widely used in cereal crops such as maize, wheat, and rice as a novel, environmentally friendly, and effective fertilizer, and could increase rice quality to a certain extent compared with conventional urea. This review shows a benefit to finding more reasonable nitrogen fertilizer management that can be used to regulate the physical and chemical indicators of rice grains in production and to improve the taste quality of rice without affecting yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phyto-melatonin improves crop yield by mitigating the negative effects of abiotic stresses on plant growth. Numerous studies are currently being conducted to investigate the significant performance of melatonin in crops in regulating agricultural growth and productivity. However, a comprehensive review of the pivotal performance of phyto-melatonin in regulating plant morpho-physiological and biochemical activities under abiotic stresses needs to be clarified. This review focused on the research on morpho-physiological activities, plant growth regulation, redox status, and signal transduction in plants under abiotic stresses. Furthermore, it also highlighted the role of phyto-melatonin in plant defense systems and as biostimulants under abiotic stress conditions. The study revealed that phyto-melatonin enhances some leaf senescence proteins, and that protein further interacts with the plant's photosynthesis activity, macromolecules, and changes in redox and response to abiotic stress. Our goal is to thoroughly evaluate phyto-melatonin performance under abiotic stress, which will help us better understand the mechanism by which phyto-melatonin regulates crop growth and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertilizer management is one of the easiest and most practical ways of combating salt stress. This study was done to evaluate the alleviative effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on the growth and salt tolerance of salt-affected sorghum. A controlled study organized in a randomized block design with three replications was conducted, testing three nitrogen rates (N0: 0 kg ha−1, N1: 180 kg ha−1, N2: 360 N kg ha−1) and phosphorus rates (P0: 0 P2O5 kg ha−1, P1: 60 P2O5 kg ha−1, P2: 120 P2O5 kg ha−1). Nitrogen and phosphorus application had positive effects on morphological indexes (plant height, stem diameter), some physiological and biochemical attributes (the content of proline and soluble protein, and the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase), and aerial biomass (fresh and dry weight) of sorghum grown in saline soils. Reactive oxygen species accumulation and cell membrane damage were decreased with the application of nitrogen and phosphorus. Compared with sole fertilizer, the combined application of nitrogen and phosphorus showed better performance in alleviating salt damage on sorghum. Despite the fact that the maximum of most of the measured parameters and the minimum of reactive oxygen species accumulation and cell membrane damage were generally obtained at N1P1 and N2P2 treatment, N1P1 was recommended to be the suitable treatment considering economic benefits and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant growth often encounters diverse abiotic stresses. As a global resource-based ecological problem, salinity is widely distributed and one of the major abiotic stresses affecting crop yields worldwide. Sorghum, a cereal crop with medium salt tolerance and great value for the development and utilization of salted soils, is an important source of food, brewing, energy, and forage production. However, in soils with high salt concentrations, sorghum experiences low emergence and suppressed metabolism. It has been demonstrated that the effects of salt stress on germination and seedling growth can be effectively mitigated to a certain extent by the exogenous amendment of hormonal gibberellin (GA). At present, most of the studies on sorghum salt tolerance at home and abroad focus on morphological and physiological levels, including the transcriptome analysis of the exogenous hormone on sorghum salt stress tolerance, the salt tolerance metabolism pathway, and the mining of key salt tolerance regulation genes. The high-throughput sequencing technology is increasingly widely used in the study of crop resistance, which is of great significance to the study of plant resistance gene excavation and mechanism. In this study, we aimed to review the effects of the exogenous hormone GA on leaf morphological traits of sorghum seedlings and further analyze the physiological response of sorghum seedling leaves and the regulation of sorghum growth and development. This review not only focuses on the role of GA but also explores the signal transduction pathways of GA and the performance of their responsive genes under salt stress, thus helping to further clarify the mechanism of regulating growth and production under salt stress. This will serve as a reference for the molecular discovery of key genes related to salt stress and the development of new sorghum varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which mainly comprises ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), is a common chronic intestinal inflammatory disease that affects the ileum, rectum, and colon. Currently, the diagnosis of IBD is based on clinical history, physical examination and complementary diagnostic tests. It is challenging for physicians to make a definitive diagnosis. This study aimed to analyze the variation in amino acid metabolites in IBD serum and to identify potential predictive biomarkers of IBD diagnosis and progression. Serum samples were collected from 158 UC patients, 130 CD patients and 138 healthy controls (HCs). The 37 amino acids in serum were determined by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer. A panel of three-amino-acid metabolites (taurine, homocitrulline and kynurenine) was identified as a specific biomarker panel of IBD. Receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC) showed that the panel had a sensitivity of 88.4% with a specificity of 84.6% for discriminating CD patients from UC patients. The biomarkers identified are increased in CD compared to UC. Our approach demonstrated a strong relationship between serum amino acid levels and IBD. We successfully identified serum amino acid biomarkers associated with CD and UC. The biomarker panel has potential in clinical practice for IBD diagnosis and will provide new insights into IBD pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat production is dramatically influenced by temperature. Low-temperature stress that frequently occurs seriously hampers the growth and development of wheat seedlings. In order to alleviate the damage of low temperature to wheat plant growth, remedial nitrogen was applied prior to or post low-temperature stress at seedling stage using controlled-temperature incubators to explore the difference in wheat morphology and nitrogen absorption and utilization efficiency. Nitrogen amendment significantly increased the leaf area, seedling height, tiller number and dry matter weight of wheat plants as compared with the treatment without nitrogen amendment under temperature stress. Remedial nitrogen applied prior to low-temperature stress (N-LT) was more conducive to increase the above parameters than that applied post low-temperature stress (LT-N). In addition, N-LT enhanced the ability of roots to absorb remedial 15N urea, promoted the growth and development of wheat plants under low-temperature stress, resulting in higher leaf SPAD readings, more new tillers, as well as increased dry weight of roots and above-ground organs. This study suggested that remedial nitrogen should be applied prior to low-temperature stress because it is more effective in restoring the growth of wheat plants under low-temperature stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorghum ("Jitian 3") is a salt-tolerant seed cultivar used regularly in marginal lands, such as those with saline soils. Herein, we examined the potential of employing gibberellic acid (GA3) as an inducer of sorghum development during salt stress. Thus far, there have been no reports on the signaling network involved in the GA3-mediated regulation of sorghum development. In this study, we demonstrated that the stimulating properties of 50 mg/L GA3 on sorghum development was far superior to other GA3 concentrations under a 150 mM NaCl salinity condition. Furthermore, using methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq), we established an m6A methylation (m6A-M) profile in sorghum following exposure to 50 mg/L GA3. Overall, 23,363 m6A peaks and 16,200 m6A genes were screened among the GA3-treated and control leaves. These identified peaks were shown to be primarily enriched in the coding, as were the 3′- and 5′-untranslated regions. In addition, we employed m6A and transcript expression cross-analysis to identify 70 genes with differential transcript expression and simultaneous m6A-M. Intriguingly, the principal gene, LOC8066282, which is associated with LOC8084853, was shown to be intricately linked to the phosphatidylinositol signaling, which in turn regulates sorghum development and response to salt stress. This investigation presents a novel RNA m6A-M profile in sorghum, which may facilitate new insights into the underlying signaling behind salt stress resistance. This work will also benefit future investigations on foreign GA3 administration of sorghum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop yield is the ultimate manifestation of all physiological changes of crops and external environmental influence. A controlled study was conducted to investigate the effects of exogenous gibberellin on the morphological and physiological characteristics and yield formation of sesbania pea grown in saline soils. Seeds were presoaked with four levels of Gibberellin (GA3) solutions (0, 202.1, 404.2 and 606.3 µM) for 6 h, and then manually direct-sown with a seeding rate of 45 kg ha−1. The morphological parameters (plant height, root length, dry weight), photosynthesis (chlorophyll a and b content), the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD); peroxidase (POD); catalase (CAT)), the contents of soluble protein and NSC (non-structural carbohydrates), and seed yield increased with the application of exogenous gibberellin, especially at the level of 404.2 µM GA3. But GA3 had no significant effects on 1000-seed weight. Our study suggested that the appropriate application of exogenous gibberellin could improve the yield of sesbania pea grown in saline soils by increasing photosynthesis and antioxidative defense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of phyto-hormones in plants at relatively low concentrations plays an indispensable role in regulating crop growth and yield. Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting cotton production. It has been reported that exogenous phyto-hormones are involved in various plant defense systems against salt stress. Recently, different studies revealed the pivotal performance of hormones in regulating cotton growth and yield. However, a comprehensive understanding of these exogenous hormones, which regulate cotton growth and yield under salt stress, is lacking. In this review, we focused on new advances in elucidating the roles of exogenous hormones (gibberellin (GA) and salicylic acid (SA)) and their signaling and transduction pathways and the cross-talk between GA and SA in regulating crop growth and development under salt stress. In this review, we not only focused on the role of phyto-hormones but also identified the roles of GA and SA responsive genes to salt stress. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive review of the performance of GA and SA and their responsive genes under salt stress, assisting in the further elucidation of the mechanism that plant hormones use to regulate growth and yield under salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study aimed to characterize the systemic lipid profile of patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (HUA) and gout using lipidomics, and to find potential underlying pathological mechanisms therefrom. Methods Sera were collected from Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine as centre 1 (discovery and internal validation sets) and Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine as centre 2 (external validation set), including 88 normal subjects, 157 HUA and 183 gout patients. Lipidomics was performed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography plus Q-Exactive mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q Exactive MS). Differential metabolites were identifed by both variable importance in the projection ≥1 in orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis mode and false discovery rate adjusted P ≤ 0.05. Biomarkers were found by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results In the discovery set, a total of 245 and 150 metabolites, respectively, were found for normal subjects vs HUA and normal subjects vs gout. The disturbed metabolites included diacylglycerol, triacylglycerol (TAG), phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, etc. We also found 116 differential metabolites for HUA vs gout. Among them, the biomarker panel of TAG 18:1-20:0-22:1 and TAG 14:0-16:0-16:1 could differentiate well between HUA and gout. The area under the receiver operating characteristic ROC curve was 0.8288, the sensitivity was 82% and the specificity was 78%, at a 95% CI 0.747, 0.9106. In the internal validation set, the predictive accuracy of TAG 18:1-20:0-22:1 and TAG 14:0-16:0-16:1 panel for differentiation of HUA and gout reached 74.38%, while it was 84.03% in external validation set. Conclusion We identified serum biomarkers panel that have the potential to predict and diagnose HUA and gout patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed priming is regarded as a beneficial and effective method enhancing performance of plants grown under stress conditions. This study illustrated the effect of four seed priming agents (2% H2O2, 52 mM NaCl, 50 mM KCl, 250 mM MgSO4) on two sorghum cultivars (Canada sorghum CFSH-30 and sorghum '1230') grown in saline soils. Sorghum growth characteristics and biochemical parameters were investigated. Seed priming treatments alleviated the adverse effects of salt stress by decreasing MDA content and enhancing antioxidant enzymes (CAT, POD and SOD) activities and proline content, and hence increased sorghum fresh and dry weight. In terms of various parameters, sorghum '1230' was more suitable to be grown in saline soil, and 52 mM NaCl and 50 mM KCl were the optimum priming agents to improve the performance of salt-stressed sorghum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microbial communities are affected by environmental factors. Contamination with heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) can decrease soil microbial species richness and substantially alter soil microbial species composition. Investigations of the microbial communities in Cd-contaminated soils are necessary to obtain data for soil bioremediation efforts. However, depth-associated variations in microbial community composition and structure in Cd-contaminated paddy soils are not well understood. Here, the effects of various degrees of long-term Cd pollution on soil microorganisms were investigated at different soil depths within the plough layer using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found that, in Cd-polluted soils, microbial communities were more similar between the surface soil and the underlying soil. In addition, microbial community richness and/or diversity were significantly reduced in the Cd-polluted underlying soil as compared with the non-polluted underlying soil. However, species richness in the surface layer was significantly greater in the mildly and severely Cd-polluted soils. The soil microbial communities in the same soil layer differed significantly between the non-polluted and polluted soils. Furthermore, Cd contamination affected the microbial communities of different soil layers differently. Soil pH had a synergistic effect on microbial community abundance and composition. The potential functions of the soil microbiota were mainly related to environmental processing, genetic processing, and metabolic pathways. Notably, our identification of the phyla that were differently abundant among sites with different levels of Cd pollution will provide experimental guidance for further explorations of the effects of Cd on soil microbes in natural environments. Our results not only demonstrate that long-term Cd pollution leads to a marked reduction in microbial richness and diversity in the underlying soil layer, but they also help to clarify how long-term heavy metal contamination affects the soil bacterial community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For revealing the effects of NaCl and NaHCO3 stress at different pH levels on the absorption and accumulation of main ions in roots, stems and leaves, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants were cultivated in a nutrient solution system. After NaCl and Na2HCO3 imposition, the contents of main ions in roots, stems, leaves and xylem bleeding sap were determined. Under NaCl and Na2HCO3 stresses with the same Na+ concentration, Na2HCO3 stress showed severer inhibitory effects on alfalfa growth in contrast to NaCl stress at different pH levels. Under NaCl stresses at different pH levels, alfalfa plants showed much lower Na+ accumulation and Na+ delivery rate in root bleeding sap than that under NaHCO3 stress. The plants of NaHCO3 stress showed a severer inhibition in K+ accumulation, lower K+ delivery rate, but higher Na+/K+ ratios than the plants of NaCl stress. NaHCO3 stress increased Ca2+ and Mg2+ accumulation in alfalfa roots, decreased Ca2+ and Mg2+ delivery rates and increased leaf Na+/Ca2+ ratio and Na+/Mg2+ ratio. Both NaCl and NaHCO3 stresses decreased the contents of Fe3+ and Mn2+ in roots, but increased the contents of Cu2+ in roots, stems and leaves, the content of Mn2+ in stems and leaf Zn2+ content in alfalfa plants. However, the contents of Fe3+ and Mn2+ in roots and stem Mn2+ content in the NaHCO3 treatments were much lower than those in the NaCl treatments. In conclusion, NaHCO3 stress produced severer injury and induced severer Na+ toxicity to alfalfa plants than NaCl stress. The effects of NaHCO3 stress and NaCl stress on the absorption and accumulation of trophic ions were different. Under NaCl stress, the increased pH did not alter Na+ absorption and accumulation in plants, but altered the distribution of some nutrient ions in roots, stems and leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Exogenous glutathione protected wheat seedling from high temperature and water deficit damages" published in Scientific Reports. The correction addresses an incomplete Acknowledgments section in the original article. The corrected version now includes additional funding sources from the China National Key R & D Program, Jiangsu Provincial Fund for Realizing Carbon Emission Peaking and Neutralization, and the "Belt and Road" innovation talent exchange for foreign experts program of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The correction was made by the authors Mohamed Eltyeb Suliman Suliman, Safiya Babiker Mustafa Elradi, Guisheng Zhou, Tianyao Meng, Guanglong Zhu, Yunji Xu, Nimir Eltyb Ahmed Nimir, Aboagla Mohammed Ibrahim Elsiddig, Atef Hemaida Mohammed Awdelseid, Adam Yousif Adam Ali, Xiaoqian Guo, and Irshad Ahmad. [Extracted from the article]

Salinity one of environmental factor that limits the growth and productivity of crops. This research was done to investigate whether GA3 (0, 144.3, 288.7 and 577.5 μM) and nitrogen fertilizer (0, 90 and 135 kg N ha−1) could mitigate the negative impacts of NaCl (0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl) on emergence percentage, seedling growth and some biochemical parameters. The results showed that high salinity level decreased emergence percentage, seedling growth, relative water content, chlorophyll content (SPAD reading), catalase (CAT) and peroxide (POD), but increased soluble protein content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The SOD activity was decreased by nitrogen. However, the other measurements were increased by nitrogen. The interactive impact between nitrogen and salinity was significant in most parameters except EP, CAT and POD. The seedling length, dry weight, fresh weight, emergence percentage, POD, soluble protein and chlorophyll content were significantly affected by the interaction between GA3 and salinity. The GA3 and nitrogen application was successful mitigating the adverse effects of salinity. The level of 144.3 and 288.7 μm GA3 and the rate of 90 and 135 kg N ha−1 were most effective on many of the attributes studied. Our study suggested that GA3 and nitrogen could efficiently protect early seedlings growth from salinity damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop disease remains a major problem to global food production. Excess use of pesticides through chemical disease control measures is a serious problem for sustainable agriculture as we struggle for higher crop productivity. The use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a proven environment friendly way of controlling plant disease and increasing crop yield. PGPR suppress diseases by directly synthesizing pathogen-antagonizing compounds, as well as by triggering plant immune responses. It is possible to identify and develop PGPR that both suppress plant disease and more directly stimulate plant growth, bringing dual benefit. A number of PGPR have been registered for commercial use under greenhouse and field conditions and a large number of strains have been identified and proved as effective biocontrol agents (BCAs) under environmentally controlled conditions. However, there are still a number of challenges before registration, large-scale application, and adoption of PGPR for the pest and disease management. Successful BCAs provide strong theoretical and practical support for application of PGPR in greenhouse production, which ensures the feasibility and efficacy of PGPR for commercial horticulture production. This could be pave the way for widespread use of BCAs in agriculture, including under field conditions, to assist with both disease management and climate change conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of changes associated with the progression of growth‐related characteristics in rice plant is essential to make strategies for future breeding and crop management. However, thus far, little attention has been given to the identification of temporal changes of the traits concomitant with the year of release in rice genetic breeding. The objective of this study was to explore genetic gain for yield accrued in association with evolution of the growth phenotypes in a 2‐year field experiment conducted on the Yangtze River Basin of China. Fifteen rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars, including 5 super high‐yielding rice, bred or widely cultivated from 1936 to 2005, were grown in irrigated field conditions with appropriate doses of commercial fertilizers during the rice‐growing season from May to October in 2013 and 2014. In both years, SPAD reading was high during vegetative and early grain filling stages, but it declined sharply at maturity. In general, SPAD reading increased with the progression in year of release of the cultivars and it correlated with yield benefit accrued. Similar to SPAD, the evolutionary trend also accounted for significant increases in LAI (leaf area index) and SLW (specific leaf weight), CGR (crop growth rate), LAD (leaf area duration), S/LA (spikelets/leaf area), and NAR (net assimilation rate). All growth parameters, except NAR, correlated positively with grain yield. Conversely, K (extinction coefficient) exhibited significant decline along with year of release, meaning more erect canopies. Gain of SLW in the newer cultivars enabled better light energy interception probably with higher RUE, which associated with increased SPAD amounting to low K values. It was opined that the reduced K improved light distribution across the leaves, which contributed to a grain yield advantage through increase of sink size (S/LA) over the 70‐year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the areas where the soils are polluted by cadmium (Cd), farmers cannot afford to use their lands for remediation due to high demand for soybean (Glycine max L.) production. In order to provide information for safe soybean production and achieve the phytoremediation using the root at the meantime, four soybean cultivars (mentioned as Cd excluder and Cd includer) differing in seed Cd accumulation were grown in a mixed growing media treated with different Cd concentrations (0 and 0.35 mg kg−1) in a growth cabinet. The biomass and Cd concentration in roots, stems, leaves, pods, and seeds were measured at the beginning of seed development (R5) and maturity (R8) stages; accumulation coefficient and translocation coefficient of Cd in different organs were calculated. Cadmium concentration in seeds was positively correlated with the Cd concentration in stem, leaf, and pod. Cadmium concentration in the roots of the Cd excluder was significantly higher than that in the Cd includer at the R5 and R8 stages; however, the Cd concentration in the seeds of the Cd includer was higher than that in the Cd excluder. Compared with the Cd excluder, more Cd was transported from the root to the aboveground organs of Cd includer. This suggests that Cd excluder with high cadmium accumulation in the root and low accumulation in the seed could provide a possible way to develop Cd‐safe cultivars with high phytoremediation capacity when grown on Cd‐polluted lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity limits germination and plant growth and development in 45 million ha worldwide. Techniques to overcome this problem are needed. This project investigated the effects of jasmonic acid (JA) (0, 5, and 10 mM JA) and humic acid (HA) (0, 3, and 6 g HA kg−1 soil) on growth and physiological parameters of forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) under different NaCl salinity levels (0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl, with an equivalent electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.12 dSm−1 as control treatment, 3.22, and 5.78 dSm−1, respectively). NaCl salinity reduced emergence percentage, emergence rate, salt tolerance index and seedling vigor index, all seedling growth parameters, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll content. Proline content and soluble protein content were increased with salinity. At the 200 mM salinity level, seeds treated with 10 mM JA had a positive effect on emergence percentage, emergence rate, shoot length, total fresh weight, salt tolerance index, seedling vigor index, chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll content. At 200 mM NaCl salinity level, seeds treated with 6 g HA kg−1 soil had increased root length, total dry weight, salt tolerance index, seedling vigor index, shoot length, protein content, APX, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll in seedlings. The application of 5 mM JA combined with 6 g HA kg−1 soil was most effective in minimizing salinity stress. Our study suggested that the appropriate combined application of HA and JA could efficiently protect early seedlings from salt stress damage and alleviate abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is a growing problem worldwide, and techniques are needed to mitigate this problem. This study was conducted to determine if biochar (BC) can alleviate the adverse impacts of salinity stress on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) seedling growth. Sorghum variety Kambal was sown in salinized soils at levels of 1.2, 3.1, and 7.3 dS m−1. The saline soils were treated with four BC rates of 0, 2, 4, and 8% (w/w). The test was a factorial design arranged as a completely randomized design with three replications. Seedling emergence percentage; root and shoot length; root and shoot dry weight; relative water content (RWC); and the activity of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were affected by the interaction between salinity and BC. At the 7.3 dS m−1 salinity level, 2% BC increased seedling emergence percentage by 25.0% (P =.012). At the 7.3 dS m−1 salinity level, 4% BC level increased root and shoot length (P =.009) and RWC by 46.0, 28.0, and 19.8% respectively. At the 7.3 dS m−1 salinity level, 8% biochar decreased CAT by 50.6%. At the high salinity level, 4% BC decreased POD and SOD by 24.9 and 23.4%, respectively. Biochar amendment proved to be more useful to alleviate the effects of salinity on the seedling growth stage. These findings suggest that using BC in suitable amounts could mitigate the adverse effects of salinity, but excess BC application may have negative influences on seedling growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mafic granulite, garnet peridotite, and garnet pyroxenite occurred as slices or lenses within dominant felsic granulite, and they together constitute a high‐pressure metamorphic terrane in the Bashiwake unit, South Altyn Tagh, Northern Tibet, China. Previous studies focused on the metamorphic evolution, and geothermobarometry results indicated that the mafic granulite has experienced high pressure/(ultra‐)high temperature (HP/(U)HT) metamorphism, followed by a medium pressure (MP) granulite‐facies overprint. However, the nature and petrogenesis of the mafic granulite in the dominant felsic granulite are poorly known. Combining the previous geothermobarometry results with the petrographic observations, mineral chemistry, and pseudosection modelling in this study, at least four stages were suggested for the metamorphic evolution of the mafic granulites in the South Altyn Tagh, including the eclogite‐facies stage (3–4 GPa, 910–1000°C), high pressure–ultrahigh temperature (HP–UHT) metamorphism, an isothermal decompression, and subsequent MP granulite‐facies overprint. The U–Pb dating of zircons yielded two age clusters: one age cluster at ca. 500 Ma, representing the retrograde age of HP–UHT metamorphism after the eclogite‐facies stage, and another age cluster of ca. 900 Ma that represented the age of the protolith for the mafic granulite. This indicated that the protolith of the mafic granulite was formed in the early Neoproterozoic and then was taken to extreme temperatures and pressures during the early Palaeozoic orogenic event. The elemental abundances of the mafic granulites in the Bashiwake area clearly indicated that they were higher in FeO and TiO2, but were significantly lower in MgO, Cr, and Ni than those of associated garnet peridotites/pyroxenites, and they showed LREE‐enriched patterns with slightly positive Eu anomalies. Sr–Nd isotopic data suggested a basaltic magmatic origin with crust contamination for the protolith of the mafic granulite. Integrating these results together with previous studies, we suggest that the mafic granulites were derived from the basaltic magma intrusion in the continental crust during the Neoproterozoic and subsequently suffered a common HP/UHT metamorphism with felsic crust rocks in the early Palaeozoic (ca. 500 Ma) after the eclogite‐facies metamorphism related to the continental collision (>500 Ma). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is a major abiotic stress limiting crop growth and reducing grain yield. In recent years, little progress was made in salt‐tolerant cultivation techniques. Therefore, a controlled experiment was conducted to study the effects of nitrogen management (NM) on growth, antioxidant ability, and yield performance of salt‐tolerant rice (Oryza sativa L.) under salinity stress. Three salinity levels (0‰ as control; 0.75‰, 4.3 dS m−1; and 1.5‰, 7.7 dS m−1) and four levels of NM (tillering fertilizer/panicle initiation fertilizer = 7:3, 6:4, 5:5, and 4:6) were arranged in this study. Under salinity stress, plant height, tiller number, fresh weight, grain yield, panicle, spikelets per panicle, grain weight, and soluble sugar content in stem were significantly decreased. In contrast, antioxidant parameters of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase were significantly increased. Grain filling percentage and sucrose content were slightly changed. Compared to the control, grain yield was reduced by 45.6%, 34.8%, 60.4%, and 46.7% at the ratio of 7:3, 6:4, 5:5, and 4:6 NM at 0.75‰ salinity level, and 73.5%, 59.7%, 74.8%, and 61.7% at 1.5‰ salinity level, respectively. The highest yield was generated by 6:4 NM at both the 0.75‰ and 1.5‰ salinity level, and the lowest by 4:6 and 5:5. However, NM could obviously alleviate the inhibition effects of salinity stress and improve antioxidant ability of rice. Among them, 6:4 NM performed the best alleviation effects, followed by 7:3 and 5:5 NM. This study suggests that the appropriate NM can effectively alleviate salinity stress and increase grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core Ideas: The response of some wheat varieties to gibberellic acid (GA3) hormone under salinity stress was evaluated.Use of GA3 was successful for alleviating the adverse effects of salinity.Genetic element plays a vital role in the variations among the varieties. Salinity is one of the primary abiotic stresses, especially in arid and semiarid regions. An experiment was conducted in a controlled condition at Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China, to determine whether the gibberellic acid (GA3) might be alleviating the harmful effects of NaCl on germination and early seedling growth attributes. In this investigation, four varieties (Argin, Imam, Xumai 30, and Yang 11‐10), four salinity levels (0, 100, 200, and 300 mM NaCl), and three concentrations of GA3 (0, 0.29, and 0.58 mM) were tested. Germination rate, germination percentage, shoot length, root length, dry weight, STI (salt tolerance index), and SVI (seedling vigor index) were affected by the interactions between variety and salinity and by interactions between salinity and GA3. Water uptake, germination percentage, and root length were affected by the interactions between variety and GA3. At the 300 mM salinity level, 0.58 GA3 increased water uptake by 33.9% and Argin had the highest germination rate (35.6), shoot length (0.64 cm), dry weight (3.7 mg plant −1), STI (22.2), and SVI (0.75). Moreover, among all hormone levels used in this study, 0.58 mM was most effective on most parameters that measured. These results suggest that soaking the seeds in GA3 solutions can reduce the influence of growing salinity problems worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The granulitized eclogites from the Luliangshan terrane of the North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt occur as lenses within pelitic gneisses and orthogneisses. Combined petrologic data and phase equilibrium modeling indicate a multi-stage metamorphic history of the granulitized eclogites: (1) an earlier eclogite facies metamorphism (P>18.5 kbar, T> 830 °C) is deduced from omphacite relics in the matrix and rare omphacite inclusions within garnet. The possible assemblage is garnet+omphacite+rutile+ quartz; (2) the early stage of high pressure granulite facies assemblages (garnet+clinopyroxene+ plagioclase+rutile+quartz+liquid) developed in the early decompression process has a P-T regime of 17.5 kbar and 852–858 °C, constrained by plagioclase and clinopyroxene inclusions in garnet. The late stage of high pressure granulite assemblages (garnet+clinopyroxene+amphibole+plagioclase+rutile+quartz+liquid) records an isothermal decompression process with the pressure successively declining from 17.5 to 14.7 kbar and to 11.3 kbar at 858 °C; (3) the later medium pressure granulite facies assemblage (garnet+ orthopyroxene+ clinopyroxene+amphibole+plagioclase+ilmenite+liquid+quartz) indicates a drop in pressure and rise in temperature at P-T conditions of 7.6–7.7 kbar and 878–883 °C; (4) retrogressive amphibolite facies stage, which is represented by amphibole+plagioclase kelyphitic rims around garnet, formed under conditions of <5 kbar and <650 °C. The preservation of medium pressure granulite facies assemblage and the garnet composition feature constrain a following isobaric cooling path during late exhumation. This process suggests a clockwise P-T path and indicates that the granulitized eclogites record a high grade "Barrovian" metamorphic overprint at the middle-lower crust during exhumation. The present data show that the Luliangshan terrane is a "hot" HP-UHP terrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Carboxylesterase and UDP‐glucuronosyltransferase‐mediated metabolism of irinotecan (CPT‐11) has long been proposed to be responsible for its anti‐tumor activity and toxicity, like delayed‐onset diarrhea. However, recent studies failed to gain more comprehensive in vivo and in vitro pharmacokinetic profiles of irinotecan. Herein, we use rat plasma, human liver microsomes and immortalized HepG2 cell as experimental subjects to describe a sensitive and versatile UHPLC–MS/MS method for simultaneously quantifying CPT‐11 and its metabolites, including SN‐38 and SN‐38G. The method was applied to investigate the pharmacokinetic and metabolic behavior of CPT‐11 in the biological samples. Calibration curves for all bio‐matrices showed acceptable linearity (r2 > 0.99). The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (RSD, %) were within 15% and the excellent accuracy (RE) was between 2.96 and 14.12%. In addition, the specificity, matrix effect and extraction recovery all met the requirements of biological sample analysis. We successfully applied this method to investigate the pharmacokinetics of irinotecan in various biological samples, mediated by carboxylesterase and UDP‐glucuronosyltransferase. This method could be employed in monitoring the metabolic status and clinical efficacy of irinotecan in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the process of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) followed by macroporous resin purification was successfully developed to achieve maximal recovery of functional components (flavonoids and ginkgolides) with minimal contents of toxic components (alkylphenols) from Ginkgo biloba leaves. Three effective extracted factors including HAc%, EtOH%, and UAE power were screened by Plackett–Burman design (PBD). The important variables were further optimized by rotatable central composite design (RCCD). By combination of PBD and RCCD, the resulting optimal UAE conditions were as follows: HAc% of 1.8%, EtOH% of 63%, ultrasound power of 303 W, G. biloba leaves powder amount of 1.0 g (solvent-to-solid ratio 40 mL/g), particle size of 60 mesh, extraction time of 40 min, and extraction temperature of 45°C. Under the optimum conditions, the yield of flavonoids was 25.1 ± 0.81 mg/g, ginkgolides was 10.6 ± 0.57 mg/g, and alkylphenols was 3.96 ± 0.31 mg/g. Moreover, the further enriching the functional components and removing toxic components from the obtained extracts of G. biloba leaves using the above optimum UAE condition was successfully achieved by macroporous resin DA-201. After column adsorption and desorption on DA-201, the content of total flavonoids was 36.51 ± 1.53%, ginkgolides was 13.24 ± 0.85%, and alkylphenols was 7.0 ± 1.0 μg/g from the obtained dry extracts (drug to extract ratio of 45-50:1) of G. biloba leaves which were complied with Chinese pharmacopoeias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat lodging significantly reduce the grain yield and quality. Mapping wheat lodging timely and accurately can help farmers get full compensatory damages in time. Therefore, the objective of this study was to employ a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) carrying a Red-Green-Blue camera to discriminate lodged from non-lodged wheat effectively. Low-cost UAV is easier to be accepted by Chinese farmers most of whom manage small-scale farms. After comparing a variety of colour features as well as their texture features, this study found that the texture feature of mean ofG/B(digital number ratio of the green band to the blue band) derived from occurrence measures was the optimum discriminator of lodged and non-lodged wheat. This discriminator was still effective although the spatial spectral variations in the study area were much more complex than that in previous studies. With an unsupervised method based on the discriminator, the UAV system was able to discriminate lodged wheat from non-lodged wheat. The resultant of overall accuracy was 89.55% and Kappa coefficient was 0.76. The producer’s accuracies were 81.23% and 93.62%, whereas the user’s accuracies were 86.15% and 91.08% for lodged and non-lodged wheat, respectively. The retrieved wheat lodging distribution map showed a substantial agreement with ground reference data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Remote sensing has special advantages to monitor drug production that causes serious problems to global society. The widely used high spatial resolution images are too costly to make the full coverage of the opium poppy fields in a large area. Although the hyperspectral imagery acquired by Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion that is free with medium spatial resolution has been employed, the used unsupervised multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA)-based method is time-consuming for a large area. The present study used an unsupervised mixture-tuned matched filtering (MTMF)-based method to detect poppy fields from a Hyperion image covering a study area in Helmand, Afghanistan, and it achieved the producer’s, user’s and overall accuracies of 61%, 73% and 76%, as well as the kappa coefficient of 0.48. This method worked over 10 times faster than the MESMA-based method with similar detection accuracies. This MTMF-based method provides a potential alternative for the United Nations and the Afghanistan government to monitor opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A rapid and sensitive hydrophilic interaction ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry method was validated for the simultaneous determination of 20 nucleobases, nucleosides, and nucleotides (within 3.5 min), and then was employed to test the functional food of Luo-Han-Guo samples. The analysis showed that the Luo-Han-Guo was rich in guanosine and uridine, but contained trace levels of the other target compounds. Chemometrics methods were employed to identify 40 batches of Luo-Han-Guo samples from different cultivated forms, regions and varieties. Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were used to classify Luo-Han-Guo samples based on the level of the 20 target compounds, and the supervised learning method of counter propagation artificial neural network was utilized to further separate clusters and validate the established model. As a result, the samples could be clustered into three primary groups, in which correlation with cultivated varieties was observed. The present strategy could be applied to the investigation of other edible plants containing nucleobases, nucleosides, or nucleotides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a new strategy based on chemical analysis and chemometrics methods was proposed for the comprehensive analysis and profiling of underivatized free amino acids (FAAs) and small peptides among various Luo- Han- Guo (LHG) samples. Firstly, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) parameters were optimized using Plackett-Burman (PB) screening and Box-Behnken designs (BBD), and the following optimal UAE conditions were obtained: ultrasound power of 280 W, extraction time of 43 min, and the solid-liquid ratio of 302 mL/g. Secondly, a rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed for simultaneous quantification of 24 FAAs and 3 active small peptides in LHG at trace levels using hydrophilic interaction ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-UHPLC-QTRAP/MS). The analytical method was validated by matrix effects, linearity, LODs, LOQs, precision, repeatability, stability, and recovery. Thirdly, the proposed optimal UAE conditions and analytical methods were applied to measurement of LHG samples. It was shown that LHG was rich in essential amino acids, which were beneficial nutrient substances for human health. Finally, based on the contents of the 27 analytes, the chemometrics methods of unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) and supervised counter propagation artificial neural network (CP-ANN) were applied to differentiate and classify the 40 batches of LHG samples from different cultivated forms, regions, and varieties. As a result, these samples were mainly clustered into three clusters, which illustrated the cultivating disparity among the samples. In summary, the presented strategy had potential for the investigation of edible plants and agricultural products containing FAAs and small peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]