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Sensing the lowering of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium (Ca2+), STIM1 mediates a ubiquitous Ca2+ influx process called the store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE). Dysregulated STIM1 function or abnormal SOCE is strongly associated with autoimmune disorders, atherosclerosis, and various forms of cancers. Therefore, uncovering the molecular intricacies of post-translational modifications, such as oxidation, on STIM1 function is of paramount importance. In a recent proteomic screening, we identified three protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs)—Prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit beta (P4HB), protein disulfide-isomerase A3 (PDIA3), and thioredoxin domain-containing protein 5 (TXNDC5)—as the ER-luminal interactors of STIM1. Here, we demonstrated that these PDIs dynamically associate with STIM1 and STIM2. The mutation of the two conserved cysteine residues of STIM1 (STIM1-2CA) decreased its Ca2+ affinity both in cellulo and in situ. Knockdown of PDIA3 or P4HB increased the Ca2+ affinity of wild-type STIM1 while showing no impact on the STIM1-2CA mutant, indicating that PDIA3 and P4HB regulate STIM1’s Ca2+ affinity by acting on ER-luminal cysteine residues. This modulation of STIM1’s Ca2+ sensitivity was further confirmed by Ca2+ imaging experiments, which showed that knockdown of these two PDIs does not affect STIM1-mediated SOCE upon full store depletion but leads to enhanced SOCE amplitudes upon partial store depletion. Thus, P4HB and PDIA3 dynamically modulate STIM1 activation by fine-tuning its Ca2+ binding affinity, adjusting the level of activated STIM1 in response to physiological cues. The coordination between STIM1-mediated Ca2+ signaling and redox responses reported herein may have implications for cell physiology and pathology.

Due to their immobility and possession of underground parts, plants have evolved various mechanisms to endure and adapt to abiotic stresses such as extreme temperatures, drought, and salinity. However, the contribution of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) to different abiotic stresses and distinct rice seedling parts remains largely uncharacterized beyond the protein-coding gene (PCG) layer. Using transcriptomics and bioinformatics methods, we systematically identified lncRNAs and characterized their expression patterns in the roots and shoots of wild type (WT) and ososca1.1 (reduced hyperosmolality-induced [Ca2+]i increase in rice) seedlings under hyperosmolarity and salt stresses. Here, 2937 candidate lncRNAs were identified in rice seedlings, with intergenic lncRNAs representing the largest category. Although the detectable sequence conservation of lncRNAs was low, we observed that lncRNAs had more orthologs within the Oryza. By comparing WT and ososca1.1, the transcription level of OsOSCA1.1-related lncRNAs in roots was greatly enhanced in the face of hyperosmolality stress. Regarding regulation mode, the co-expression network revealed connections between trans-regulated lncRNAs and their target PCGs related to OsOSCA1.1 and its mediation of hyperosmolality stress sensing. Interestingly, compared to PCGs, the expression of lncRNAs in roots was more sensitive to hyperosmolarity stress than to salt stress. Furthermore, OsOSCA1.1-related hyperosmolarity stress-responsive lncRNAs were enriched in roots, and their potential cis-regulated genes were associated with transcriptional regulation and signaling transduction. Not to be ignored, we identified a motif-conserved and hyperosmolarity stress-activated lncRNA gene (OSlncRNA), speculating on its origin and evolutionary history in Oryza. In summary, we provide a global perspective and a lncRNA resource to understand hyperosmolality stress sensing in rice roots, which helps to decode the complex molecular networks involved in plant sensing and adaptation to stressful environments.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA molecules longer than 200 nt, which lack the ability to encode proteins and are involved in multifarious growth, development, and regulatory processes in plants and mammals. However, the environmental-regulated expression profiles of lncRNAs in Orinus that may associated with their adaptation on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau (QTP) have never been characterized. Here, we utilized transcriptomic sequencing data of two Orinus species (O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus) to identify 1624 lncRNAs, including 1119 intergenic lncRNAs, 200 antisense lncRNAs, five intronic lncRNAs, and 300 sense lncRNAs. In addition, the evolutionary relationships of Orinus lncRNAs showed limited sequence conservation among 39 species, which implied that Orinus-specific lncRNAs contribute to speciation adaptation evolution. Furthermore, considering the cis-regulation mechanism, from 286 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and their nearby protein coding genes (PCGs) between O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus, 128 lncRNA-PCG pairs were obtained in O. thoroldii, whereas 92 lncRNA-PCG pairs were obtained in O. kokonoricus. In addition, a total of 19 lncRNA-PCG pairs in O. thoroldii and 14 lncRNA-PCG pairs in O. kokonoricus were found to participate in different biological processes, indicating that the different expression profiles of DElncRNAs between O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus were associated with their adaptation at different elevations on the QTP. We also found several pairs of DElncRNA nearby transcription factors (TFs), indicating that these DElncRNAs regulate the expression of TFs to aid O. thoroldii in adapting to the environment. Therefore, this work systematically identified a series of lncRNAs in Orinus, laying the groundwork for further exploration into the biological function of Orinus in environmental adaptation.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is relatively stable among ROS (reactive oxygen species) and could act as a signal in plant cells. In the present work, detached tomato leaves were treated with exogenous H2O2 at 10 mmol/L for 8 h to study the mechanism of how H2O2 regulates leaf senescence. The data indicated that H2O2 treatment significantly accelerated the degradation of chlorophyll and led to the upregulation of the expression of leaf senescence-related genes (NYC1, PAO, PPH, SGR1, SAG12 and SAG15) during leaf senescence. H2O2 treatment also induced the accumulation of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA), decreased POD and SOD enzyme activities and inhibited H2S production by reducing the expression of LCD1/2 and DCD1/2. A correlation analysis indicated that H2O2 was significantly and negatively correlated with chlorophyll, the expression of leaf senescence−related genes, and LCD1/2 and DCD1/2. The principal component analysis (PCA) results show that H2S showed the highest load value followed by O2•−, H2O2, DCD1, SAG15, etc. Therefore, these findings provide a basis for studying the role of H2O2 in regulating detached tomato leaf senescence and demonstrated that H2O2 plays a positive role in the senescence of detached leaves by repressing antioxidant enzymes and H2S production.

Many plants have the capability to accumulate anthocyanins for coloration, and anthocyanins are advantageous to human health. In the case of hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum), investigation into the mechanism of anthocyanin formation is limited to the level of protein-coding genes (PCGs). Here, we conducted a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis to identify a total of 9414 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the seed coats of purple and white hulless barley along a developmental gradient. Transcriptome-wide profiles of lncRNAs documented several properties, including GC content fluctuation, uneven length, a diverse range of exon numbers, and a wide variety of transcript classifications. We found that certain lncRNAs in hulless barley possess detectable sequence conservation with Hordeum vulgare and other monocots. Furthermore, both differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and PCGs (DEPCGs) were concentrated in the later seed development stages. On the one hand, DElncRNAs could potentially cis-regulate DEPCGs associated with multiple metabolic pathways, including flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis in the late milk and soft dough stages. On the other hand, there was an opportunity for trans-regulated lncRNAs in the color-forming module to affect seed coat color by upregulating PCGs in the anthocyanin pathway. In addition, the interweaving of hulless barley lncRNAs and diverse TFs may function in seed coat coloration. Notably, we depicted a dynamic portrait of the anthocyanin synthesis pathway containing hulless barley lncRNAs. Therefore, this work provides valuable gene resources and more insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying anthocyanin accumulation in hulless barley from the perspective of lncRNAs, which facilitate the development of molecular design breeding in crops.

Privacy protection in data publishing is an extremely important issue that has been the focus of extensive research in recent years. However, the existing methods have a host of limitations, especially for high-dimensional data publishing. Aiming at the problem of poor availability of publishing results caused by “the curse of dimensionality” in high-dimensional data publishing, we present PPDP-PCAO (Privacy Preserving Data Publishing with Principal Component Analysis Optimization) method, which can better address the problem of the lower utility of release results because of the high noise introduced by the curse of dimensionality. PPDP-PCAO improves the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) algorithm by employing the attribute importance, and reduces the dimension of the data with the improved PCA, which reduces the time and space cost. PPDP-PCAO introduces the evaluation mechanism based on mutual-information into data release, which evaluates the data generated by setting the different quantities of principal components to determine the optimal quantities. PPDP-PCAO considers the existence of multi-sensitive attributes in high-dimensional data, while the traditional methods of allocating privacy budgets cannot satisfy the personalized privacy protection. PPDP-PCAO introduces the sensitivity preference, combines the optimal matching theory, and designs the sensitive attribute hierarchical protection strategy. Extensive experimental results on different real datasets demonstrate that PPDP-PCAO not only guarantees the privacy of published dataset, but also significantly improves the accuracy and data utility than other high-dimensional data publishing methods.

The ubiquity of microplastics in the environment has caused great influence to ecosystems and seriously threatened human health. To better understand the variation in microplastics in different seasons in an inland freshwater environment and determine the sources of microplastic pollution and its migration features, this study investigated the characteristics of microplastic pollution during dry (April) and wet (July) seasons in surface water of the Manas River Basin, China. The size, color, shape, area distribution and compound composition of microplastics were studied. Moreover, the risk of microplastic contamination was explored based on risk assessment models. The results demonstrated that the degree of pollution caused by microplastic abundance was minor in this study area. The average abundance of microplastics in April (17 ± 4 items/L) was higher than that in July (14 ± 2 items/L). The range in the abundance of microplastics in April and July were 22 ± 5–14 ± 3 items/L and 19 ± 2–10 ± 1 items/L, respectively. Highly hazardous polymers such as Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polycarbonate (PC) have a significant impact on the results of the evaluation of the presence of microplastics. This study is an important reference for understanding the characteristics of the seasonal variation in microplastics in inland freshwater environments and has practical significance, as it will allow relevant agencies to accurately assess the pollution level of microplastics in different seasons. It is of practical significance to understand the sources and sinks of microplastics in inland freshwater environment.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a novel gasotransmitter in both mammals and plants, plays important roles in plant development and stress responses. Leaf senescence represents the final stage of leaf development. The role of H2S-producing enzyme L-cysteine desulfhydrase in regulating tomato leaf senescence is still unknown. In the present study, the effect of an L-cysteine desulfhydrase LCD1 on leaf senescence in tomato was explored by physiological analysis. LCD1 mutation caused earlier leaf senescence, whereas LCD1 overexpression significantly delayed leaf senescence compared with the wild type in 10-week tomato seedlings. Moreover, LCD1 overexpression was found to delay dark-induced senescence in detached tomato leaves, and the lcd1 mutant showed accelerated senescence. An increasing trend of H2S production was observed in leaves during storage in darkness, while LCD1 deletion reduced H2S production and LCD1 overexpression produced more H2S compared with the wild-type control. Further investigations showed that LCD1 overexpression delayed dark-triggered chlorophyll degradation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in detached tomato leaves, and the increase in the expression of chlorophyll degradation genes NYC1, PAO, PPH, SGR1, and senescence-associated genes (SAGs) during senescence was attenuated by LCD1 overexpression, whereas lcd1 mutants showed enhanced senescence-related parameters. Moreover, a correlation analysis indicated that chlorophyll content was negatively correlated with H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and also negatively correlated with the expression of chlorophyll degradation-related genes and SAGs. Therefore, these findings increase our understanding of the physiological functions of the H2S-generating enzyme LCD1 in regulating leaf senescence in tomato.

The pathogenic fungus Candida albicans switches from yeast growth to filamentous growth in response to genotoxic stresses, in which phosphoregulation of the checkpoint kinase Rad53 plays a crucial role. Here we report that the Pph3/Psy2 phosphatase complex, known to be involved in Rad53 dephosphorylation, is required for cellular responses to the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) but not the DNA replication inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU) in C. albicans. Deletion of either PPH3 or PSY2 resulted in enhanced filamentous growth during MMS treatment and continuous filamentous growth even after MMS removal. Moreover, during this growth, Rad53 remained hyperphosphorylated, MBF-regulated genes were downregulated, and hypha-specific genes were upregulated. We have also identified S461 and S545 on Rad53 as potential dephosphorylation sites of Pph3/Psy2 that are specifically involved in cellular responses to MMS. Therefore, our studies have identified a novel molecular mechanism mediating DNA damage response to MMS in C. albicans.

An increasing body of research suggests cancer-induced cardiovascular diseases, leading to the appearance of an interdisciplinary study known as onco-cardiology. Lung cancer has the highest incidence and mortality. Cardiac dysfunction constitutes a major cause of death in lung cancer patients. However, its mechanism has not been elucidated because suitable animal models that adequately mimic clinical features are lacking. Here, we established a novel chemically induced lung cancer mouse model using benzo[a]pyrene and urethane to recapitulate the general characteristics of cardiac dysfunction caused by lung cancer, the cardiac disorders in the context of the progression of lung cancer were evaluated using echocardiographic and histological approaches. The pathological changes included myocardial ischaemia, pericarditis, cardiac pre-cachexia, and pulmonary artery hypertension. We performed sequencing to detect the tRNA-derived fragments and tRNA-derived stress-induced RNAs (tRFs/tiRNAs) expressions in mouse heart tissue. 22 upregulated and 16 downregulated tRFs/tiRNAs were identified. Subsequently, the top 10 significant results of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were presented. The in vitro model was established by exposing neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and myocardial fibroblasts to lung tumour cell-conditioned medium, respectively. Western blotting revealed significant changes in cardiac failure markers (atrial natriuretic peptide and α-myosin heavy chain) and cardiac fibrosis markers (Collagen-1 and Collagen-3). Our model adequately reflects the pathological features of lung cancer-induced cardiac dysfunction. Furthermore, the altered tRF/tiRNA profiles showed great promise as novel targets for therapies. These results might pave the way for research on therapeutic targets in onco-cardiology.

Hypertension is an increasingly pressing public health concern across the globe. It can be triggered by a variety of factors such as age and diet, as well as the stress of modern life. The traditional treatment of hypertension includes calcium ion blockers, angiotensin II receptor inhibitors and β-receptor blockers, but these drugs have at least some side effects. Recent studies have revealed that intestinal flora plays a vital role in maintaining and promoting human health. This is due to the type and amount of probiotics present in the flora. Probiotics can reduce hypertension symptoms through four mechanisms: regulating vascular oxidative stress, producing short-chain fatty acids, restoring endothelial cell function, and reducing inflammation. It has been reported that certain functional foods, using probiotics as their raw material, can modify the composition of intestinal flora, thus regulating hypertension symptoms. Consequently, utilizing the probiotic function of probiotics in conjunction with the properties of functional foods to treat hypertension is a novel, side-effect-free treatment method. This study seeks to summarize the various factors that contribute to hypertension, the mechanism of probiotics in mitigating hypertension, and the fermented functional foods with probiotic strains, in order to provide a basis for the development of functional foods which utilize probiotics as their raw material and may have the potential to reduce hypertension.

Dietary high soybean oil (SO) inclusion leads to excessive hepatic lipid accumulation and metabolism disorder in fish species. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of adenosine 5’-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway activation by acadesine (AICAR) on hepatic histology and metabolism-related gene expression of juvenile large yellow croakers (Larimichthys crocea) fed with SO-based diet. In this study, fish (initial body weight 3.89 ± 0.02 g) were fed fish oil (FO)-based, SO, or SOA (SO diet supplemented with 100 mg kg−1 AICAR) diets with three replicates of each treatment for 70 days. In general, the replacement of dietary FO with SO led to excessive hepatic lipid accumulation and a glucose metabolism disorder. Histological sections and biochemical analysis of hepatic tissue consistently revealed that AICAR supplementation could partly ameliorate SO-induced excessive hepatic lipid accumulation, probably by suppressing the expression of genes related to fatty acid uptake and lipogenesis while enhancing the expression of lipolysis-related genes. Nevertheless, AICAR regulated lipid metabolism in muscle tissue in an inverse pattern to that in hepatic tissue, indicating that muscle tissue could attempt to mitigate lipid accumulation by improving lipolysis in response to the dietary inclusion of SO. Dietary AICAR partly improved glucose metabolism by reducing the expression of genes related to gluconeogenesis in hepatic tissue while increasing the expression of genes related to glucose uptake and glycolysis in muscle tissue. Collectively, dietary AICAR mitigated excessive hepatic lipid accumulation and glucose metabolism disorder. The amelioration of hepatic lipid accumulation by AICAR is likely caused by increasing lipid catabolism and decreasing lipid anabolism. The improved glucose metabolism by AICAR may be ascribed to decreased hepatic gluconeogenesis, as well as increased muscle glucose uptake and utilization.

Astragali Radix (AR) is a common Chinese medicine and food. This article aims to reveal the active role of AR in treating Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its renal protective mechanism. The hypoglycemic active fraction was screened by α-glucosidase and identified by UPLC-QE-Orbitrap-MS spectrometry. The targets and KEGG pathway were determined through the application of network pharmacology methodology. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation technology were used for virtual verification. Subsequently, a mouse model of T2DM was established, and the blood glucose and renal function indexes of the mice after administration were analyzed to further prove the pharmacodynamic effect and mechanism of AR in the treatment of T2DM. HA was determined as the best hypoglycemic active fraction by the α-glucosidase method, with a total of 23 compounds identified. The main active components, such as calycoside-7-O-β-D-glucoside, methylnisoline, and formononetin, were revealed by network pharmacology. In addition, the core targets and the pathway have also been determined. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation techniques have verified that components and targets can be well combined. In vivo studies have shown that AR can reduce blood sugar levels in model mice, enhance the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of kidney tissue, and alleviate kidney damage in mice. And it also has regulatory effects on proteins such as RAGE, PI3K, and AKT. AR has a good therapeutic effect on T2DM and can repair disease-induced renal injury by regulating the RAGE/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. This study provides ideas for the development of new drugs or dietary interventions for the treatment of T2DM.

It is usually difficult to obtain the radial levitation force of the radial-type superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) due to the massive numerical calculations and the sophisticated experimental measurements. This study presents a method for fast calculating the radial levitation force of radial-type SMB, which is based on the infinitesimal method and the 2D finite-element method. During the modelling, the radial-type SMB is assumed to be composed circumferentially of infinite superconductorpermanent magnet (SC-PM) infinitesimals with shape of rectangular thin slice. The dependence of levitation force for the SCPM infinitesimal on the air-gap length between the SC stator and the PM rotor can be obtained using the 2D finite-element model established in Cartesian coordinate system. Moreover, a simplified analytical model of calculating radial levitation force is developed based on the infinitesimal method and the circumferential distribution formula of non-uniform air-gap when the PM rotor exhibits radial eccentricity. The results of theoretical calculation and experimental measurement of radial levitation force show a good agreement, which verifies the feasibility of the proposed method. It has the advantages of fastness and easiness, and can be used as a theoretical tool for the design, optimisation and performance prediction of the radial-type SMB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For stable and safe operation of high-temperature superconducting flywheel energy storage system, adequate levitation force and stiffness of the high-temperature superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) are necessary. In order to validate the design and research the levitation characteristics further, a threedimensional measurement system for high-temperature SMB is developed in our laboratory. The measurement system consists of experiment system, motor drivers, data acquisition and processing, automatic control, and auxiliary devices. The measurement system has the following characteristics: high measurement precision and sensitivity, measurement suitable for both axial-type and radial-type SMB with different diameter and height, measurement of the axial and radial levitation forces, stiffness, and time relaxation, and measurement of force with precise displacement in three-dimensional space. The maximal axial and radial levitation forces that the measurement system can measure are 3000 and 2000 N with the precision of 1.5‰. The measurement precision is calibrated and the test results for high-temperature SMB are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are some disadvantages in conventional cryogenic liquid pumps (CLPs) with mechanical bearings, such as difficult lubrication and short working life. In this paper, we propose a new structure of CLP-submerged cryogenic disk motor-pump with superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB). The impeller and the rotor of the disk motor are combined as the suspension rotor of the disk motor-pump. The suspension rotor which is supported by SMB system, rotates frictionlessly with self-stabilized. The SMB system includes a radial-type SMB, an axial-type permanent magnet bearing, and an axial flux disk motor. Theoretical calculations and experimental measurements of levitation forces in the SMB system are carried out. The levitation force of radial-type SMB is calculated by using H-formulation finite-element model in COMSOL. The kinetic model of the suspension rotor is established to ensure the force balance and torque balance. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed submerged cryogenic disk motor-pump with SMB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetism of substrate has significant influence on the transport loss in high temperature superconducting (HTS) coated conductors (CCs). Taking three types of substrates (i.e., nonmagnetic, weakly magnetic, and strongly magnetic) into account, a study on the frequency dependence (in the range of 10-1000 Hz) of transport loss in HTS CCs with these substrates is performed numerically and experimentally. Different loss components and magnetic field profile are calculated individually to clarify the effect of substrate magnetism. Results show that HTS CCs with magnetic substrate exhibit higher transport loss than CCs with nonmagnetic substrate. Both hysteresis loss in HTS layer and eddy current loss in conventional metal increase with the enhancement of substrate magnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural models, agricultural artificial intelligent, and data analysis technology, etc., exist in whole processes of information perceiving, transmission, processing and control for smart agriculture， thus they are the core technology of smart agriculture. To furtherly make the substances and functions of agricultural models clear, facilitate its further research and application, drive smart agriculture development with healthy, steady, and sustainable, methods of systematic analysis, comparison, and chart for relationship, etc. were used in this research. The definition, classification, functions of the agricultural models were theoretically analyzed. The relationships between the agricultural models and the elements and processes of the smart agriculture were expounded, which made the functions of agricultural models clear, provided some agricultural models examples applied in the smart agriculture. The important studies and application progresses of agricultural models were reviewed. The comparison results of agricultural models showed that the 4 levels of agricultural biological elements, 6 scales of agricultural environmental elements, 6 administrative levels of agricultural technological and economic elements, and the relevant approaches for modeling agricultural system need to be considered. The research and application of multi-space scales on environment elements in the agricultural models would have the larger potential. The combination of agricultural models with molecular genetics, perceiving, and artificial intelligence, the collaboration among public and private researchers, and food security challenges have been an important power for further development of agricultural models, linking agricultural models with various agricultural system modeling, databases, harmonious and open data, and decision-making support systems (DSS) would be focus on. The research and application of the agricultural models in China have formed crop model series with Chinese characteristics, joined in the world trends of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP), the smart agriculture, and so on. They should be speedy graspe chances and accelerate development. The agricultural models is a quantitative express of relationships within or among the agricultural system elements. An important method with epistemological values of quantifying and synthesizing agricultural sciences, and will play an indispensible role in data achieving and processing for the smart agriculture combining perceiving techniques, and become a significant bridge and bond.

The copolymer P(AM-DMC), one kind of cationic polyacrylamide, was synthesized by using acrylamide (AM) and methacryloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) as monomers with ultraviolet initiation. The copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The composition of the copolymer was determined from the chlorine content by silver nitrate titration. The effects of monomer feed ratio and conversion on the composition of copolymer were discussed. Reactivity ratios were determined by the Fineman-Ross, Kelen-Tudos and Yezrielev-Brokhina-Roskin methods, indicating that their positive order calculation results were very different with those of reverse order, when the reactivity ratios were determined by Fineman-Ross. However, their positive order and reverse order calculation results were similar when the reactivity ratios were determined by the Kelen-Tudos and Yezrielev-Brokhina-Roskin methods. Therefore, the reactivity ratios were determined using the average results of the Kelen-Tudos and Yezrielev-Brokhina-Roskin methods. The reactivity ratios of AM and DMC were 2.3398 and 0.2285, respectively. This result showed that the copolymerization of AM and DMC was a non-ideal random copolymerization. Furthermore, the content of AM segments decreased with the increase of AM feed content, but the content of DMC segments increased. Moreover, the sequence length distribution was irregular and narrow, because AM was prone to homopolymerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurofibrillary tangles are the main pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease. Insoluble tau protein is the major component of neurofibrillary tangles. Defects in the tau protein degradation pathway in neurons can lead to the accumulation of tau and its subsequent aggregation. Currently, contradictory results on the tau degradation pathway have been reported by different groups. This discrepancy is most likely due to different cell lines and methods used in those studies. In this study, we found that cycloheximide treatment induced mild activation of a ZVAD-sensitive protease in Drosophila Kc cells, resulting in cleavage of tau at its C-terminus; this cleavage could generate misleading tau protein degradation pattern results depending on the antibodies used in the assay. Because cycloheximide is a broadly used chemical reagent for the study of protein degradation, the unexpected artificial effect we observed here indicates that cycloheximide is not suitable for the study of tau degradation. Other methods, such as inducible expression systems and pulse-chase assays, may be more appropriate for studying tau degradation under physiological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, traceability systems have been developed as effective tools for improving the transparency of supply chains, thereby guaranteeing the quality and safety of food products. In this study, we proposed a cattle/beef supply chain traceability model and a traceability system based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and the EPCglobal network. First of all, the transformations of traceability units were defined and analyzed throughout the cattle/beef chain. Secondly, we described the internal and external traceability information acquisition, transformation, and transmission processes throughout the beef supply chain in detail, and explained a methodology for modeling traceability information using the electronic product code information service (EPCIS) framework. Then, the traceability system was implemented based on Fosstrak and FreePastry software packages, and animal ear tag code and electronic product code (EPC) were employed to identify traceability units. Finally, a cattle/beef supply chain included breeding business, slaughter and processing business, distribution business and sales outlet was used as a case study to evaluate the beef supply chain traceability system. The results demonstrated that the major advantages of the traceability system are the effective sharing of information among business and the gapless traceability of the cattle/beef supply chain.