Search

For surface tension driven flow, interfacial heat transfer can alter the flow regime and its transition condition. This paper investigates the influence of interfacial heat transfer on critical transition and hydrothermal wave propagation of nanofluid thermocapillary convection for the first time, and three environment temperature conditions is considered, e.g. the cold-end temperature, the average temperature of the hot and cold-end, and a linear temperature distribution. The results indicate that, as nanoparticles volume fraction increases the critical Marangoni number decreases under various ambient temperature conditions, meanwhile, the fundamental frequency of the velocity oscillations exhibits a linear decrease, and the propagation angle and temperature fluctuation range of hydrothermal waves are decreased. Furthermore, for the three ambient temperature scenarios, the linear temperature distribution condition can amplify the propagation angle and temperature fluctuation range of hydrothermal waves. Consequently, the manipulation of both the nanoparticle volume fraction and ambient temperature condition provides a means to control the instability of nanofluid thermocapillary convection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phalaenopsis is an important ornamental plant that has great economic value in the world flower market as one of the most popular flower resources. Objective: To investigate the flower colour formation of Phalaenopsis at the transcription level, the genes involved in flower color formation were identified from RNA-seq in this study. Methods: In this study, white and purple petals of Phalaenopsis were collected and analyzed to obtained (1) differential expression genes (DEGs) between white and purple flower color and (2) the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) mutations and DEGs at the transcriptome level. Results: The results indicated that a total of 1,175 DEGs were identified, and 718 and 457 of them were up- and down-regulated genes, respectively. Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment showed that the biosynthesis of the secondary metabolites pathway was key to color formation, and the expression of 12 crucial genes (C4H, CCoAOMT, F3'H, UA3'5'GT, PAL, 4CL, CCR, CAD, CALDH, bglx, SGTase, and E1.11.17) that are involved in the regulation of flower color in Phalaenopsis. Conclusion: This study reported the association between the SNP mutations and DEGs for color formation at RNA level, and provides a new insight to further investigate the gene expression and its relationship with genetic variants from RNA-seq data in other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dean's flow and Dean's instability have always been important concepts in the inertial microfluidics. Curved channels are widely used for applications like mixing and sorting but are limited to Dean's flow only. This work first reports the Dean's instability flow in high aspect ratio channels on the deka-microns level for D e > 162 . A new channel geometry (the tortuous channel), which creates a rolled-up velocity profile, is presented and studied experimentally and numerically along with other three typical channel geometries at Dean's flow condition and Dean's instability condition. The tortuous channel generates a higher De environment at the same Re compared to the other channels and allows easier Dean's instability creation. We further demonstrate the use of multiple vortexes for mixing. The mixing efficiency is considered among different channel patterns and the tortuous channel outperforms the others. This work offers more understanding of the creation of Dean's instability at high aspect ratio channels and the effect of channel geometry on it. Ultimately, it demonstrates the potential for applications like mixing and cell sorting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of heat treatment on evolution of the phase composition and microhardness of orthorhombic alloy Ti – 22Al – 25Nb based upon a Ti2AlNb phase (O-phase) is studied. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electron back-scatter diffraction are used to study alloy phase composition after different treatments. It is shown that the alloy structure contains β/B2- and O-phases, the proportion of which changes on heat treatment. Microstructure and Vickers microhardness of alloy Ti – 22Al – 25Nb are shown to be interrelated in different states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adopted AI to identify the normal and abnormal vibration signals generated during robotic grinding. This study classified four fundamental factors affecting grinding into three levels to obtain a widely used result and designed an L 9 (3 4) orthogonal array for the grinding experiment. During experimentation, part of the grinding wheels was added weight to produce abnormal vibration signals, which an accelerometer would measure. The study transformed the collected vibration signals into recurrence plots and conducted model training with VGG16 CNN architecture. Finally, this study tested a model with 89.6% training accuracy. The results showed the model could identify whether the recurrence plots stand for normal or abnormal vibrations, with an accuracy of 85%. This means it could predict normal and abnormal grinding conditions and help avoid problems caused by abnormal vibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Pollen tube (PT) growth towards the micropyle is critical for successful double fertilization. However, the mechanism of micropyle-directed PT growth is still unclear in Brassica napus. In this study, two aspartate proteases, BnaAP36s and BnaAP39s, were identified in B. napus. BnaAP36s and BnaAP39s were localized to the plasma membrane. The homologues of BnaAP36 and BnaAP39 were highly expressed in flower organs, especially in the anther. Sextuple and double mutants of BnaAP36s and BnaAP39s were then generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Compared to WT, the seed-set of cr-bnaap36 and cr-bnaap39 mutants was reduced by 50% and 60%, respectively. The reduction in seed-set was also found when cr-bnaap36 and cr-bnaap39 were used as the female parent in a reciprocal cross assay. Like WT, cr-bnaap36 and cr-bnaap39 pollen were able to germinate and the relative PTs were able to elongate in style. Approximately 36% and 33% of cr-bnaap36 and cr-bnaap39 PTs, respectively, failed to grow towards the micropyle, indicating that BnaAP36s and BnaAP39s are essential for micropyle-directed PT growth. Furthermore, Alexander's staining showed that 10% of cr-bnaap39 pollen grains were aborted, but not cr-bnaap36, suggesting that BnaAP39s may also affect microspore development. These results suggest that BnaAP36s and BnaAP39s play a critical role in the growth of micropyle-directed PTs in B. napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of chiral sulfinyl imine–thioether ligands are prepared via dehydration condensation of substituted benzaldehyde and chiral sulfinamide. The activity of these ligands in Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation reaction is studied, and the results indicate that the structure of sulfinamide motifs has an obvious effect on the e.r. value and yield. The chiral p-tolylsulfinamide derived ligands can promote the reaction efficiently, while the ligands with tert-butyl group fail to catalyze the reaction. Then, the substrate scope is also investigated under the optimal reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of pre-metastatic niche is a key step in the metastatic burden. The pluripotent factor Lin28B is frequently expressed in breast tumors and is particularly upregulated in the triple negative breast cancer subtype. Here, we demonstrate that Lin28B promotes lung metastasis of breast cancer by building an immune-suppressive pre-metastatic niche. Lin28B enables neutrophil recruitment and N2 conversion. The N2 neutrophils are then essential for immune suppression in pre-metastatic lung by PD-L2 up-regulation and a dysregulated cytokine milieu. We also identify that breast cancer-released exosomes with low let-7s are a prerequisite for Lin28B-induced immune suppression. Moreover, Lin28B-induced breast cancer stem cells are the main sources of low-let-7s exosomes. Clinical data further verify that high Lin28B and low let-7s in tumors are both indicators for poor prognosis and lung metastasis in breast cancer patients. Together, these data reveal a mechanism by which Lin28B directs the formation of an immune-suppressive pre-metastatic niche. The establishment of a pre-metastatic niche is a key step preceding metastasis formation. Here the authors show that tumor-intrinsic Lin28B, a RNA-binding protein, has an essential role in the formation of an immune-suppressive pre-metastatic niche, promoting lung metastasis of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important progresses have been made in the field of artificial intelligence in recent years, and facial expression recognition (FER), which could greatly facilitate the development of human-computer interaction, has been becoming a significant research hotspot. In this paper, a novel nonnegative tensor factorization method is proposed based on low-rank subspace (NTF−LRS) for FER. Firstly, in order to find the high order correlations underlying multi-dimensional data, a data tensor model is constructed, which could represent different dimensional features ingeniously. And then, the low-rank subspace model is adopted to reconstruct the original tensor model, reduce the redundancy of the learned new tensor, and improve the discriminant abilities of inter-class information. Finally, the reconstructed tensor is decomposed to get factor matrices by nonnegative tensor factorization, where all factor matrices are used to extract subspace features. To verify the effectiveness of our proposal, two well-known facial expression datasets named as "JAFFE" and "CK+" are utilized for evaluation, and the experimental results show that the tensor-based method preserves the original structure of whole samples, which avoids the case of dimension curse because of vectorization. In addition, this method uses Laplacian graph to impose regularization on low-rank subspace model, which keeps the local relationship between sample neighbors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brassica napus L. is a vital oil crop in China. As auxiliary tools for rapeseed breeding, transgenic technologies play a considerable role in heterosis, variety improvement, and pest resistance. Research on transgenic detection technologies is of great significance for the introduction, supervision, and development of transgenic rapeseed in China. However, the transgenic detection methods currently in use are complex and time-consuming, with low output. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip can effectively overcome such limitations. In the present study, we collected 40 transgenic elements and designed 291 probes. The probe sequences were submitted to Illumina Company, and the Infinium chip technology was used to prepare SNP chips. In the present Brassica napus transgenic detection experiment, 84 high-quality probes of 17 transgenic elements were preliminarily screened, and genotyping effect was optimised for the probe signal value. Ultimately, a transgenic detection system for B. napus was developed. The developed system has the advantages of simple operation, minimal technical errors, and stable detection outcomes. A transgenic detection sensitivity test revealed that the probe designed could accurately detect 1% of transgenic samples and had high detection sensitivity. In addition, in repeatability tests, the CaMV35S promoter coefficient of variation was approximately 3.58%. Therefore, the SNP chip had suitable repeatability in transgene detection. The SNP chip developed could be used to construct transgenic detection systems for B. napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brassica napus L. is a vital oil crop in China. As auxiliary tools for rapeseed breeding, transgenic technologies play a considerable role in heterosis, variety improvement, and pest resistance. Research on transgenic detection technologies is of great significance for the introduction, supervision, and development of transgenic rapeseed in China. However, the transgenic detection methods currently in use are complex and time-consuming, with low output. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip can effectively overcome such limitations. In the present study, we collected 40 transgenic elements and designed 291 probes. The probe sequences were submitted to Illumina Company, and the Infinium chip technology was used to prepare SNP chips. In the present Brassica napus transgenic detection experiment, 84 high-quality probes of 17 transgenic elements were preliminarily screened, and genotyping effect was optimised for the probe signal value. Ultimately, a transgenic detection system for B. napus was developed. The developed system has the advantages of simple operation, minimal technical errors, and stable detection outcomes. A transgenic detection sensitivity test revealed that the probe designed could accurately detect 1% of transgenic samples and had high detection sensitivity. In addition, in repeatability tests, the CaMV35S promoter coefficient of variation was approximately 3.58%. Therefore, the SNP chip had suitable repeatability in transgene detection. The SNP chip developed could be used to construct transgenic detection systems for B. napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The mutations BnA1.CER4 and BnC1.CER4 produce disordered wax crystals types and alter the composition of epidermal wax, causing increased cuticular permeability and sclerotium resistance. The aerial surfaces of land plants are coated with a cuticle, comprised of cutin and wax, which is a hydrophobic barrier for preventing uncontrolled water loss and environmental damage. However, the mechanisms by which cuticle components are formed are still unknown in Brassica napus L. and were therefore assessed here. BnA1.CER4 and BnC1.CER4, encoding fatty acyl-coenzyme A reductases localizing to the endoplasmic reticulum and highly expressed in leaves, were identified and functionally characterized. Expression of BnA1.CER4 and BnC1.CER4 cDNA in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) induced the accumulation of primary alcohols with chain lengths of 26 carbons. The mutant line Nilla glossy2 exhibited reduced wax crystal types, and wax composition analysis showed that the levels of branched primary alcohols were decreased, whereas those of the other branched components were increased. Further analysis showed that the mutant had reduced water retention but enhanced resistance to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Collectively, our study reports that BnA1.CER4 and BnC1.CER4 are fatty acyl-coenzyme A reductase genes in B. napus with a preference for branched substrates that participate in the biosynthesis of anteiso-primary alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart materials with a combination of tough solid-like properties, fast self-healing and optical responsiveness are of interests for the development of new soft machines and wearable electronics. In this work, tough physically cross-linked elastomers that show high mechanical strength, intriguing temperature-adaptable self-healing and fluorochromic response properties are designed using aluminum (Al) and fluorescent europium (Eu) ions as cross-linkers. The ionic Al-COOH binding is incorporated to construct the strong polymer network which mainly contributes to the mechanical robustness of the elastomer consisting of two interpenetrated networks. The Eu-iminodiacetate (IDA) coordination is mainly used to build the weaker but more dynamic network which dominate the elasticity, self-healing and luminescence of the elastomer. Moderate Eu3+ and Al3+ contents give these supramolecular elastomers high toughness. The temperature-sensitive Eu-IDA coordination enables tunable self-healing rate and efficiency along with fast Eu-centered "ON/OFF" switchable red emission. The mechanical, self-healing and luminescence properties of these elastomers can be adjusted by tuning the ratio of the two types of metal ions. This elastomer is potentially applicable for biosensors, wearable optoelectronics and anticounterfeiting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A mitochondria-localized pentatricopeptide repeat protein was identified by positional cloning and transferred into the hau CMS line, where it successfully restored fertility Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that can be controlled by restorer-of-fertility (Rf) genes present in the nucleus. The hau CMS was identified as a new form of CMS associated with the mitochondrial transcript orf288; however, a lack of a restorer gene has limited its utilization in Brassica crops. Here, the combination of Brassica 60 K array with bulk segregant analysis and map-based cloning was used to delimit the Rfh locus to an 82.2-kb region on chromosome A09. A candidate gene encoding a mitochondria-localized pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein was identified and transferred into the hau CMS line, where it successfully restored the fertility of the hau CMS plants. Furthermore, the expression analysis showed that Rfh was highly expressed in the flower buds, and the sequence analysis results implied that functional divergence between RFH and rfh could be due to 59 amino acid residue differences in the deduced protein sequences. In addition, a co-separated molecular marker was developed based on the divergent sequences between the dominant and recessive alleles. These results will help enable the heterosis of Brassica crops in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gram-negative bacteria can cause serious infections and are well known problems in biomedical practices. Biofilms of gram-negative bacteria are notorious for their frequently encountered resistance toward antibiotics. We demonstrate that α/β chimeric polypeptide molecular brush (α/β CPMB) exerts potent activities against antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. MTT viability assay, bacterial colony counting, and live/dead staining all indicate that α/β CPMB not only inhibits biofilm formation of gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, but also effectively disrupts mature biofilms that are highly resistant to one of the most active antibiotics—colistin. The superior antibacterial performance of the α/β CPMB implies its potential topical applications in treating biofilms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of the rapid development of urban rail transit in China, the development demand of urban underground space has also greatly increased especially in the rail transit station areas. In this paper, taking the high-speed railway station area of Xuzhou Metro Line 1 as an example, the underground space development demand evaluation is conducted by considering the principle of urban underground space stock planning, the local underground space development conditions, as well as the special planning of the local urban constructions. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a specific weight indicator scale is employed after the rationality of different weight indicator scales being compared. And then the weight indicator of different function types, i.e., commercial, parking, road, etc., are calculated and laterly utilized to forecast the recent development demand of underground space in the station area. Moreover, the steps to forecast the underground space development demand in rail transit station area are proposed, which can provide a reference for the forecasting of underground space development demand in the urban rail transit station areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Identification and characterization of a semi-dwarfing gene ds-3 encoding a mutant DELLA protein regulating plant height through gibberellin signaling pathway. Abstract: Lodging is one of the most important factors causing severe yield loss in oilseed rape. Utilization of semi-dwarf varieties has been proved the most effective way to increase lodging resistance and yield in many crops. To develop semi-dwarf germplasm in oilseed rape, we identified a semi-dwarf mutant ds-3 which showed a reduced response to phytohormones gibberellins (GAs). Genetic analysis indicated the dwarfism was controlled by a single semi-dominant gene, ds-3. The DS-3 gene was mapped to a genomic region on chromosome C07, which is syntenic to the region of a previously identified semi-dwarf gene ds-1 ( BnaA06.RGA). In this region, DS-3 ( BnaC07.RGA) gene was identified to encode a DELLA protein that functions as a repressor in GA signaling pathway. A substitution of proline to leucine was identified in ds-3 in the conserved VHYNP motif, which is essential for GA-dependent interaction between gibberellin receptor GID1 and DELLA proteins. Segregation analysis in the F population derived from the cross between ds-1 and ds-3 demonstrated that BnaA06.RGA displayed a stronger effect on plant height than BnaC07.RGA, indicating that different RGA genes may play different roles in stem elongation. In addition to BnaA06.RGA and BnaC07.RGA, two more RGA genes ( BnaA09.RGA and BnaC09.RGA) were identified in the Brassica napus ( B. napus) genome. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays suggest that both BnaA09.RGA and BnaC09.RGA are transcribed in leaves and stems and can mediate GA signaling in vivo. These genes represent potential targets for screening ideal semi-dwarfing alleles for oilseed rape breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve genetic diversity of wheat and produce chromosome translocation lines with chromatin from Agropyron cristatum, this study screened progenies of a wheat line SM2-244 known to carry a reciprocal wheat- A. cristatum 5A. 6P chromosome translocation with increased fertile tiller number and grain number per spike. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) showed that these progenies contained four new types of translocation chromosomes, labeled as TC-A, TC-L, TC-S and TC-T. The long arm of chromosome 6P originally present in the 5A. 6P translocation was subdivided into three segments between relative arm length points 0-0.32, 0.32-0.69, 0.69-1 on the centromere to telomere axis. Screening with 6P-specific EST markers allocated 24, 30, 20 and 56 EST markers to segments C-6PL-0.32, 6PL-0.32-0.69, 6PL-0.69-1, and 6PS, respectively, and markers specific to individual arms were also identified. This study provides experimental resources and tools for mining of desirable genes on the A. cristatum chromosome 6P that can be exploited in wheat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, scanning electron microscope, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscope have been used to investigate the microstructure evolution of Cu–0.2Mg alloy during continuous extrusion in mass production. The continuous extrusion could change the size and orientation of as-cast crystallite grains of the alloy. Hardness increased gently in upsetting zone and dropped sharply in adhesion zone. Hardness reached the maximum value in right-angle bending zone; and it decreased rapidly in extending extrusion zone. Upsetting zone was mainly composed of cell blocks and microbands, and adhesion zone mainly consisted of discontinuous recrystallize grain. Shear band and subgrains were formed in right-angle bending zone due to polygonization during shear deformation. In extending extrusion zone and extrusion rod zone, recrystallize microstructures were predominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appressorium is an infection structure of the phytopathogenic fungus Magnaporthe grisea. Analysis of gene expression profiles of appressorium development provides insight into the molecular basis of pathogenicity and control of this fungal plant disease. A cDNA array representing 2927 unique genes based on a large EST (expressed sequence tag) database of M. grisea strain Y34 was constructed and used to profile the gene expression patterns at mycelium and appressorium maturation stages. Compared with mycelia, 55 up-regulated and 22 down-regulated genes were identified in mature appressoria. Among 77 genes, 16 genes showed no similarity to the genome sequences of M. grisea. A novel homologue of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase was found to be expressed at low-level in mature appressoria of M. grisea. The results indicated that the genes such as pyruvate carboxylase, phospholipid metabolism-related protein and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase involved in gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism and glycolysis, showed differential expression in mature appressoria. Furthermore, genes such as PTH11, beta subunit of G protein and SGT1 involved in cell signalling, were expressed differentially in mature appressoria. Northern blot analysis was used to confirm the cDNA array results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient real time data exchange over the Internet plays a crucial role in the successful application of web-based systems. In this paper, a data transfer mechanism over the Internet is proposed for real time web based applications. The mechanism incorporates the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) to provide a flexible and efficient data format. Heterogeneous transfer data is classified into light and heavy data, which are stored using XML and HDF respectively; the HDF data format is then mapped to Java Document Object Model (JDOM) objects in XML in the Java environment. These JDOM data objects are sent across computer networks with the support of the Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) data transfer infrastructure. Client’s defined data priority levels are implemented in RMI, which guides a server to transfer data objects at different priorities. A remote monitoring system for an industrial reactor process simulator is used as a case study to illustrate the proposed data transfer mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1979, the authors have performed five types of microsurgical flap (including myocutaneous flap) graft to treat 40 patients with disorders of leg and foot. In the treatment of inflammatory diseases, good results were obtained owing to the following important points: 1) the operation was performed with inflammation well controlled or localized, particularly in chronic osteomyelitis; 2) indication for each type of microsurgical flap was made carefully; 3) isolation of flap was carried out gently, bleedings were thoroughly stopped by ligation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our experiments, a 'tendon bridge' or a 'tendon tunnel' was used as a conduit to repair the defect of a peripheral nerve in rabbits. A gap of about 1 cm was made on the deep peroneal nerve in each animal. In group 1, the tendon of anterior tibial muscle was isolated near the severed nerve, and a segment of half cross section of tendon was removed in ladder-shaped reversed fashion. The proximal and distal nerve stump were sutured respectively to the tendon by 11/0 atraumatic sutures under surgical microscope. In group 2, the nerve stumps were sutured to the tendon of anterior tibial muscle without cutting the tendon, but the tendon was dissected free and turned to form a tunnel wrapping the gap in between the nerve stumps. The results showed that a gap of 1 cm of the deep peroneal nerve might be repaired by both methods, but the results of using 'tendon tunnel' in group 2 were much better than those of using 'tendon bridge' in group 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reported 15 cases, in which skin and fascia forearm island flap with posterior interosseous artery pedicle was applied. It was found that this flap has the advantages of stable vessels, abundance in blood supply and good circulation, without sacrificing the main arteries of the forearm. As a result, it is an ideal method for repair and reconstruction of the hand and forearm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is an important oil crop that supplies a considerable amount of global vegetable oil production. Genetic transformation system is important to gene functional analysis and molecular breeding. Here, an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol using hypocotyl of rapeseed as explants is described. To develop this protocol, we compared several essential factors that would affect the transformation efficiency, such as Agrobacterium strains, selection marker genes, and genotypes of rapeseed. Comparison of different Agrobacterium strains showed that the GV3101 had higher transformation efficiency than that of C58C1 and EHA105. HPTII, NPTII, and RePAT were used as selection marker genes in tissue culture. The results showed that the transformation efficiency was 3.7–4.8%, 2.2–22.5%, and 1.6–5.9% when the hypocotyl of Westar was infected by GV3101 and screened under hygromycin, kanamycin, and basta, respectively. The transformation efficiency of Westar was the highest and ZS11 was the lowest when five different genotypes of rapeseed (Westar, ZS9, ZS11, GY284, and WH3417) were infected by GV3101. Using this protocol, it will take 8–10 weeks to obtain transgenic plants. This protocol has been used to study gene function in several genotypes of rapeseed in our laboratory. These results indicate that it is efficient to obtain transgenic plant of rapeseed using this protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field experiment of a rice–wheat rotation system was conducted on a coastal reclaimed farmland with different application rates of biogas slurry from a large-scale standardized hoggery. Crop yield, grain quality, and soil properties were examined to determine the appropriate application rate. At the slurry application rates of 480 m3 ha−1 for rice and 9.00–11.25 m3 ha−1 for wheat, grain yields of rice and wheat were 8.9 and 15.7% higher than those under conventional fertilization, respectively. When 840 m3 ha−1 biogas slurry was applied to the rice field, the grain amino acid content was significantly higher than that of conventionally fertilized rice. In the rice–wheat rotation system, under biogas slurry treatments, soil pH and EC did not significantly increase; the contents of soil Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn were within allowable limits; the contents of soil alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen were greatly increased and significantly higher than those under conventional fertilization treatment; and the content of soil organic matter had no significant difference with that under no fertilization treatment. Therefore, the recommended application rate of biogas slurry on coastal reclaimed farmland should be 480 and 9.00–11.25 m3 ha−1 for rice and wheat, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (Wwox) expression has been observed in breast cancer (BC). However, its regulatory effects are largely unknown, especially in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Herein, gene expression profiling revealed that JAK/STAT3 pathway was one of the most differentially modulated pathways in basal-like BC cells. The lower expression of Wwox was significantly correlated with high activation of STAT3 in basal-like cells and TNBC tissues. Overexpression of Wwox markedly inhibited proliferation and metastasis of BC cells by suppressing STAT3 activation, which is to interact with JAK2 to inhibit JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation. Furthermore, Wwox limited STAT3 binding to the interleukin-6 promoter, repressing expression of the IL-6 cytokine. Altogether, our data established that Wwox suppresses BC cell metastasis and proliferation by JAK2/STAT3 pathway. Targeting of Wwox with STAT3 could offer a promising therapeutic strategy for TNBC. In breast cancer, the loss of expression of WW domain-containing oxireductase (Wwox) has been observed. Here, the authors illustrate that in triple negative breast cancer models Wwox suppresses metastasis and proliferation via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]