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Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important crops in the world. Since the completion of rice reference genome sequences, tremendous progress has been achieved in understanding the molecular mechanisms on various rice traits and dissecting the underlying regulatory networks. In this review, we summarize the research progress of rice biology over past decades, including omics, genome-wide association study, phytohormone action, nutrient use, biotic and abiotic responses, photoperiodic flowering, and reproductive development (fertility and sterility). For the roads ahead, cutting-edge technologies such as new genomics methods, high-throughput phenotyping platforms, precise genome-editing tools, environmental microbiome optimization, and synthetic methods will further extend our understanding of unsolved molecular biology questions in rice, and facilitate integrations of the knowledge for agricultural applications.

In this study, a basic organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is introduced in an air separation process for waste heat recovery. Conventional and advanced exergy analyses are adopted to investigate the thermodynamic properties of components in the ORC. A comprehensive thermodynamic model is constructed to improve the advanced exergy analysis in the ORC, thereby encompassing real, theoretical, unavoidable, and hybrid cycles. Nine organic working fluids are introduced to investigate the influence on the ORC performance. (1) The conventional exergy analysis reveals the following: (a) The expander constantly demonstrates the maximum exergy efficiency except when R227ea is used. (b) The evaporator constantly exhibits the maximum exergy destruction regardless of the working fluid used. (c) The maximum product exergy is obtained when R114 is used. (d) Key components must focus on the condenser and evaporator to improve the ORC performance. (2) The advanced exergy analysis reveals that the expander demonstrates maximum potential for improvement because its endogenous avoidable exergy destruction accounts for approximately 90% of its real exergy destruction for all working fluids. The expander must be improved to achieve the optimal ORC performance. The advanced exergy analysis can distinguish the source of exergy destruction and the magnitude for possible improvement via the proposed thermodynamic model in this study. The comprehensive thermodynamic model can promote the investigation of the advanced exergy analysis in the ORC. Applying conventional and advanced exergy analyses to investigate the thermodynamic performance of a system or its components is highly recommended.

As sessile organisms, crops must deal with and adapt to environmental abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and extreme temperature during the growth and development for achieving better fitness. With the rapid development of molecular genetics, numerous key genes and extraordinary haplotypes involved in responding and adapting to abiotic stresses have been revealed and characterized, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of their function have also been deciphered. Moreover, a multi-level complex molecular network has been gradually formed to comprehensively understand how plants adapt and confer the tolerance to abiotic stresses. In particular, China has made seminal progresses with respect to the staple crops responding to drought, salinity and temperature stresses. Here we tentatively summarize these cutting-edge progresses and analyze the potential development trend, the bottlenecks and constraining factors in this research area. We also list out the prospective suggestions for the mid- and long-term development layout to promote the transition to the intelligent breeding based on environmental adaptability, which will be important to ensure the continuous and stable crop yield.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a cold-sensitive species that often faces chilling stress, which adversely affects growth and reproduction. However, the genetic basis of low-temperature adaptation in maize remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that natural variation in the type-A Response Regulator 1 (ZmRR1) gene leads to differences in chilling tolerance among maize inbred lines. Association analysis reveals that InDel-35 of ZmRR1, encoding a protein harboring a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MPK) phosphorylation residue, is strongly associated with chilling tolerance. ZmMPK8, a negative regulator of chilling tolerance, interacts with and phosphorylates ZmRR1 at Ser15. The deletion of a 45-bp region of ZmRR1 harboring Ser15 inhibits its degradation via the 26 S proteasome pathway by preventing its phosphorylation by ZmMPK8. Transcriptome analysis indicates that ZmRR1 positively regulates the expression of ZmDREB1 and Cellulose synthase (CesA) genes to enhance chilling tolerance. Our findings thus provide a potential genetic resource for improving chilling tolerance in maize., The genetic basis of low-temperature tolerance in maize is unclear. Here, the authors show that the type-A Response Regulator 1 (ZmRR1) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MPK8) are positive and negative regulators of maize chilling tolerance, and ZmRR1 is phosphorylated by ZmMPK8 during cold treatment.

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a serious and common complication of sepsis. To study the ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of SAE and demonstrate the protection effect of ferroptosis resistance, cognitive function, neurological deficits, blood-brain barrier integrity and neuroinflammation were detected. SAE model was established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice and an in vitro model was created by introducing LPS to HT22 cells. Ferroptosis inducer Fe-citrate (Fe) and ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) was post-treated in the models, respectively. SAE caused ferroptosis, as evidenced by an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), iron content and malondialdehyde (MDA) and a decrease in glutathione (GSH) level, as well as changes in the expression of ferroptosis-related proteins as acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4), glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and cystine-glutamate antiporter (SLC7A11), and harmed mitochondrial function. In contrast, inhibiting ferroptosis with Fer-1 attenuated ferroptosis. Meanwhile, Fer-1 attenuated neurologic severity score, learning and memory impairment, Fluoro-Jade C (FJC) staining, and decreased Evans Blue (EB) extravasation, microglia activation and TNF-α and IL-1β production following SAE. The benefit of Fer-1 was diminished by ferroptosis inducer Fe. In addition, Fer-1 up-regulated the nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/ heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) signaling axis both in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, our study revealed that Fer-1 might inhibit feroptosis in neurons by triggering the Nrf2/OH-1 pathway, thereby providing a therapeutic solution for SAE.

Exposure to cold triggers a spike in cytosolic calcium (Ca 2+ ) that often leads to transcriptional reprogramming in plants. However, how this Ca 2+ signal is perceived and relayed to the downstream cold signaling pathway remains unknown. Here, we show that the CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE 28 (CPK28) initiates a phosphorylation cascade to specify transcriptional reprogramming downstream of cold-induced Ca 2+ signal. Plasma membrane (PM)–localized CPK28 is activated rapidly upon cold shock within 10 seconds in a Ca 2+ -dependent manner. CPK28 then phosphorylates and promotes the nuclear translocation of NIN-LIKE PROTEIN 7 (NLP7), a transcription factor that specifies the transcriptional reprogramming of cold-responsive gene sets in response to Ca 2+ , thereby positively regulating plant response to cold stress. This study elucidates a previously unidentified mechanism by which the CPK28-NLP7 regulatory module integrates cold-evoked Ca 2+ signal and transcriptome and thus uncovers a key strategy for the rapid perception and transduction of cold signals from the PM to the nucleus.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of OA, but the precise target cells and response mechanisms are not well characterised. In this study, first, we found that intra-articular injection of human umbilical cord MSC (UCMSC)-derived sEVs (U-sEVs) significantly alleviated mouse OA. Then, U-sEVs were taken up rapidly and preferentially by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) in a mouse model. Furthermore, significant increase in miR-27b-3p in FLSs after U-sEV treatment were found by miRNA sequencing, identifying miR-27b-3p as a key cargo of U-sEVs. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter found that leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is the target gene of miR-27b-3p, and single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and RNA-sequencing revealed that LIF could directly induce synovitis, possibly by promoting proinflammatory cytokine and MMPs expression. Lastly, both miR-27b-3p and miR-27b-3p-overexpressing U-sEVs inhibit the expression of LIF in FLSs, and accordingly exhibited stronger effects in mitigating synovitis and OA progression compared to control U-sEVs. In conclusion, our results revealed that the main recipient cell of U-sEVs in the joints are FLSs. Mechanistically, miR-27b-3p in U-sEVs inhibited LIF expression of FLSs, and thus inhibited synovitis and delayed OA.

The unshrouded impeller is widely used in industrial centrifugal compressors and normally operates at high tip speed and large volume flow. However, this type of impeller can be very sensitive to flow excitations such as IGV wake, and hence encounters the challenge of high dynamic stress. Due to the lack of experimental vibration data, this paper aims to enhance the understanding of the IGV preswirl effect. The real operating representative data from strain gauges is acquired during the experiment. The blade transient and quasi-steady response due to upstream IGV wake under different configurations are investigated and quantified. Results show that the blade response increases with larger positive regulation. And under specific operating conditions, the vibration of the blade is quite large, which is comparable with synchronize resonance. This increment is attributed to the aerodynamic loading change due to enhanced distortion of the inlet flow. Based on the current findings, accurate numerical prediction of the blade forced vibration for a large shift of inlet flow condition is also needed for more reliable operating of the impeller.

The coupled combustion of biomass and coal can utilize large amounts of renewable biomass and reduce the emission of pollutants during power generation. In this study, the coal combustion characteristics were analyzed at different heating value-based biomass blending ratios and temperatures in the coupled combustion of bio-syngas and coal. The kinetic reaction mechanism of coal combustion was investigated by Micro-fluidized Bed Reaction Analyzer (MFBRA). The results indicated that the reaction time decreased with increasing the heating value-based biomass blending ratio and temperature in the coupled combustion process of bio-syngas and coal. The major conversion process of coal combustion usually took 15 s at 1273 K and the maximum reaction rate was usually below 0.14 at 873 K to 1273 K and decreased with increasing reaction temperature. The nucleation and growth model offered a most reasonable description of the coal combustion process. The activation energy was about 121.04 kJ/mol and the pre-exponential factor was of the order of 5.01 × 104 s−1 in the combustion of coal. These data are important to the understanding of the coupled combustion mechanism of bio-syngas and coal, which is beneficial for improving combustion efficiency as well as operating a combustion furnace.

Cytokinins play a central role in delaying senescence, reducing oxidative damage and maintaining plant growth during drought. This study showed that the ectopic expression of ProRE-deleted MdIPT5b, a key enzyme involved in cytokinin metabolism, increased the drought tolerance of transgenic Malus domestica (apple) callus and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) seedlings by maintaining cytokinin homeostasis, and thus maintaining redox balance. Under restricted watering regimes, the yields of transgenic tomato plants were enhanced. Heterodimers of C/S1 bZIP are involved in the cytokinin-mediated drought response. The heterodimers bind the ProRE of MdIPT5b promoter, thus directly suppressing gene transcription. Single C/S1 bZIP members could not independently function as suppressors. However, specific paired members (heterodimers of MdbZIP80 with MdbZIP2 or with MdbZIP39) effectively suppressed transcription. The α-helical structure is essential for the heterodimerization of C/S1 bZIP members and for synergistic transcriptional suppression. As negative regulators of drought tolerance, suppressing either MdbZIP2 or MdbZIP39 alone does not improve the expression of MdIPT5b and did not increase the drought tolerance of transgenic apple callus. However, this could be achieved when they were co-suppressed. The suppression of MdbZIP80 alone could improve MdIPT5b expression and increase the drought tolerance of transgenic apple callus. However, these effects were reversed in response to the cosuppression of MdbZIP80 and MdIPT5b. Similar results were also observed during delayed dark-induced senescence in apple leaves. In conclusion, the apple C/S1 bZIP network (involving MdbZIP2, MdbZIP39 and MdbZIP80) directly suppressed the expression of MdIPT5b, thus negatively modulating drought tolerance and dark-induced senescence in a functionally redundant manner.

Understanding of the fluid–structure interaction phenomena in centrifugal compressors is essential for the impeller structural integrity design. To enhance the understanding of blade vibration in a realistic flow environment, a single-stage centrifugal compressor representative of industrial architecture has been investigated experimentally. For deterministic synchronous vibrations, the response amplitudes at different operating lines are measured and compared. The fundamental relations between flow excitation and rotor modal resonance are established by pairwise strain gages from experimental perspective. Compared with the third mode, the impeller first bending mode shows traveling wave response characteristic only within the frequency band where two adjacent blades have the same resonant frequency. Besides, the impeller encounters unexpected nonsynchronous vibrations when operating near the flow instability boundary. Speed ramp tests show that the stall cell propagating speed increases along with the rotor rotational speed without changing the cell count. Response amplification is further measured when throttling the compressor into stall. Experimental findings point toward vaned diffuser rotating stall and the corresponding propagating pressure waves in circumference leads to the impeller vibration. The aerodynamic asymmetry of stall cells increases the possibility of aeroelastic coupling with the blade modes. These results contribute to an in-depth understanding of the aeroelastic phenomena in industrial centrifugal compressors. The observed nonsynchronous vibration is important for the aeroelastic design and also of great interest for numerical predictions near stall.

Maize (Zea mays) originated in tropical areas and is thus susceptible to low temperatures, which pose a major threat to maize production. Our understanding of the molecular basis of cold tolerance in maize is limited. Here, we identified bZIP68, a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor, as a negative regulator of cold tolerance in maize. Transcriptome analysis revealed that bZIP68 represses the cold-induced expression of DREB1 transcription factor genes. The stability and transcriptional activity of bZIP68 are controlled by its phosphorylation at the conserved Ser250 residue under cold stress. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the bZIP68 locus was a target of selection during early domestication. A 358-bp insertion/deletion (Indel-972) polymorphism in the bZIP68 promoter has a significant effect on the differential expression of bZIP68 between maize and its wild ancestor teosinte. This study thus uncovers an evolutionary cis-regulatory variant that could be used to improve cold tolerance in maize.

Silicon-based materials with designed morphology and composite structure have received increasing interest in recent years due to the potential wide application for energy storage devices. However, these Si-based nanocomposites were usually synthesized and functionalized with other materials at a high temperature. Herein, one flocculent carbon network-twined C/Si/SiC nanocomposites were synthesized by a novel in-situ laser irradiation method using SiC targets as both a template and the source of C and Si. The fragmentation, decomposition and reshaping processes of bulk SiC to flocculent C/Si/SiC are simultaneously accomplished in one step, which can provide a more stable structure between epitaxial Si layer and C layer. What is more, due to the distinct laser-induced loose microstructure and flocculated carbon nanosheets, such nanocomposites exhibit a high specific surface area and hierarchically porous structure.

Hollow spherical and hierarchical structures of ammonium tungsten bronze ((NH4)xWO3) were prepared via a two-step hydrothermal method. It was found that the (NH4)xWO3 hollow spherical structure without adding citric acid, while the (NH4)xWO3 hierarchical structure formed when adding citric acid at the second hydrothermal step. Both structures consist of nanorods and nanoparticles with connected frames. The possible formation mechanism of these two (NH4)xWO3 structures was proposed and discussed. The current approach is simple, and can also be applied for the synthesis of other tungsten bronze materials with novel structures.

Protein kinases are major players in various signal transduction pathways. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses has become critical for developing and breeding climate-resilient crops. In this review, we summarize recent progress on understanding plant drought, salt, and cold stress responses, with a focus on signal perception and transduction by different protein kinases, especially sucrose nonfermenting1 (SNF1)-related protein kinases (SnRKs), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs/CPKs), and receptor-like kinases (RLKs). We also discuss future challenges in these research fields.

Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) are hybrid energy storage devices with a capacitor-type cathode and battery-type anode, which bridge the gap between conventional high-energy lithium-ion batteries and...

An unplanned breakdown in power generation or chemical plant due to the component failure of turbomachines often results in a huge loss of property and productivity as well as a significant increase in maintenance costs. It has become of paramount importance to predict component damage in a turbomachine using instrumented data. Most existing models, however, are obtained from multiple assumptions, resulting in a high false detection ratio due to various data uncertainties. In this article, we present a novel model-free probabilistic methodology for damage detection to resolve the drawbacks of the classical methods. The proposed method adeptly integrates Bayesian inference, wavelets signal processing, probabilistic principal components analysis, and entropy information theory. Bayesian inference is developed for denoising raw data by integrating with multiscale discrete wavelet packets transform and reducing multivariate dimension by combining with principal components analysis. The entropy information theory has been proposed to extract the feature from principal components as a precursor of the event. A multimetric hierarchical alerting strategy is proposed to predict component damage to enhance the accuracy. The feasibility of the presented novel pattern recognition methodology is demonstrated with the detection of blade damage events in a real-world steam turbine using sensor data.

Plants adapt to their ever-changing environment via positive and negative signals induced by environmental stimuli. Drought stress, for instance, induces accumulation of the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), triggering ABA signal transduction. However, the molecular mechanisms for switching between plant growth promotion and stress response remain poorly understood. Here we report that RAF (rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma)-LIKE MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE KINASE KINASE 22 (RAF22) in Arabidopsis thaliana physically interacts with ABA INSENSITIVE 1 (ABI1) and phosphorylates ABI1 at Ser416 residue to enhance its phosphatase activity. Interestingly, ABI1 can also enhance the activity of RAF22 through dephosphorylation, reciprocally inhibiting ABA signaling and promoting the maintenance of plant growth under normal conditions. Under drought stress, however, the ABA-activated OPEN STOMATA1 (OST1) phosphorylates the Ser81 residue of RAF22 and inhibits its kinase activity, restraining its enhancement of ABI1 activity. Taken together, our study reveals that RAF22, ABI1, and OST1 form a dynamic regulatory network that plays crucial roles in optimizing plant growth and environmental adaptation under drought stress.

Stomatal opening is largely promoted by light-activated plasma membrane-localized proton ATPases (PM H+-ATPases), while their closure is mainly modulated by abscisic acid (ABA) signaling during drought stress. It is unknown whether PM H+-ATPases participate in ABA-induced stomatal closure. We established that BRI1-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE 1 (BAK1) interacts with, phosphorylates and activates the major PM Arabidopsis H+-ATPase isoform 2 (AHA2). Detached leaves from aha2-6 single mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants lost as much water as bak1-4 single and aha2-6 bak1-4 double mutants, with all three mutants losing more water than the wild-type (Columbia-0 [Col-0]). In agreement with these observations, aha2-6, bak1-4, and aha2-6 bak1-4 mutants were less sensitive to ABA-induced stomatal closure than Col-0, whereas the aha2-6 mutation did not affect ABA-inhibited stomatal opening under light conditions. ABA-activated BAK1 phosphorylated AHA2 at Ser-944 in its C-terminus and activated AHA2, leading to rapid H+ efflux, cytoplasmic alkalinization, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, to initiate ABA signal transduction and stomatal closure. The phosphorylation-mimicking mutation AHA2S944D driven by its own promoter could largely compensate for the defective phenotypes of water loss, cytoplasmic alkalinization, and ROS accumulation in both aha2-6 and bak1-4 mutants. Our results uncover a crucial role of AHA2 in cytoplasmic alkalinization and ABA-induced stomatal closure during the plant’s response to drought stress.

Background/objectives Articular cartilage erosion probably plays a substantial role in osteoarthritis (OA) initiation and development. Studies demonstrated that umbilical cord–derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) could delay chondrocytes apoptosis and ameliorate OA progression in patients, but the detailed mechanisms are largely uncharacterised. In this study, we aimed to study the effects of UCMSCs on monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)–induced rat OA model, and explore the cellular mechanism of this effect. Methods Intra-articular injection of 0.3 ​mg MIA in 50 ​μL saline was performed on the left knee of the 200 ​g weight male Sprague-Dawley rat to induce rat knee OA. A single dose of 2.5 ​× ​105 undifferentiated UCMSCs one day after MIA or three-time intra-articular injection of 2.5 ​× ​105 UCMSCs on Days 1, 7 ​and 14 were given, respectively. Four weeks after MIA, joints were harvested and processed for paraffin sections. Safranine-O staining, haematoxylin and eosin staining ​and immunohistochemistry of MMP-13, ADAMTS-5, Col-2, CD68 ​and CD4 were performed to observe cartilage erosion and synovium. For in vitro ​studies, migration ability of cartilage superficial layer cells (SFCs) by UCMSCs were accessed by transwell assay. Furthermore, catabolism change of MIA-induced SFCs by UCMSCs was performed by real-rime polymerase chain reaction of Col-X and BCL-2 genes. CCK-8 assay was performed to check proliferation ability of SFCs by UCMSCs-conditioned media. Result In this study, we locally injected human UCMSCs, which is highly proliferative and noninvasively collectible, into MIA-induced rat knee OA. An important finding is on obviously ameliorated cartilage erosion and decreased OA Mankin score by repeated UCMSCs injection after MIA injection compared with single injection, both of which attenuated OA progression compared with vehicle. Interestingly, we observed significantly increased number of SFCs on the articular cartilage surface, probably related to elevated proliferation, mobilisation and inhibited catabolism marker: Col-X and BCL-2 gene expression of cultured SFCs by UCMSCs-conditioned media treatment in vitro. In addition to the change of unique SFCs, catabolism markers of ADAMTS-5 and MMP-13 were substantially upregulated in the whole cartilage layer chondrocytes as well. Strikingly, MIA-induced inflammatory cells infiltration, on both CD4+ Th cells and CD68+ macrophages, and hyperplasia of the synovium, which was alleviated by repeated UCMSCs injection. Conclusion Our study demonstrated a critical role of repeated UCMSCs dosing on preserving SFCs function, cartilage structure and inhibiting synovitis during OA progression, and thus provided mechanistic proof of evidence for the use of UCMSCs on OA patients in the future. The translational potential of this article UCMSCs are a relatively “young” stem cell, and noninvasively collectible. In our study, we clearly demonstrated that it could effectively delay OA progression, possibly through reserving SFCs function and inhibiting synovitis. Therefore, it could be a new promising therapeutic cell source for OA after further clinical trials.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were identified as a vital part in the development and progression of cancer in recent years. Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE), a lncRNA, functions as an oncogene in some malignant neoplasias, but its role in the progression of osteosarcoma (OS) is still poorly understood. To dissect the difference in the expression of CRNDE, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was utilized to evaluate it in OS tissues and cell lines (U2OS, MG63, and MNNG/HOS) compared with that in the adjacent normal tissues/osteoblast cells (hFOB1.19). The role of CRNDE in OS lines was assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling staining, flow cytometry, Transwell assays, and Western blot, respectively. The results demonstrated that the expression of CRNDE was high in OS tissues and cell lines, and partly induced by SP1. CRNDE knockdown attenuated OS cell proliferation and invasion and induced apoptosis and G0/G1 arrest. Moreover, the expression of mesenchymal markers N-cadherin, Vimentin and Snail were downregulated, while the expression of epithelial markers E-cadherin and ZO-1 were conversely upregulated due to CRNDE knockdown. The mechanistic investigations showed that CRNDE promoted glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation to activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The results suggested that lncRNA CRNDE indeed contributed to OS proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, working as an oncogene, demonstrating that lncRNA CRNDE may be a valid therapeutic target for the OS.

Phytochromes are red (R) and far-red (FR) light photoreceptors in plants, and PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) are a group of basic helix-loop-helix family transcription factors that play central roles in repressing photomorphogenesis. Here, we report that MYB30, an R2R3-MYB family transcription factor, acts as a negative regulator of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We show that MYB30 preferentially interacts with the Pfr (active) forms of the phytochrome A (phyA) and phytochrome B (phyB) holoproteins and that MYB30 levels are induced by phyA and phyB in the light. It was previously shown that phytochromes induce rapid phosphorylation and degradation of PIFs upon R light exposure. Our current data indicate that MYB30 promotes PIF4 and PIF5 protein reaccumulation under prolonged R light irradiation by directly binding to their promoters to induce their expression and by inhibiting the interaction of PIF4 and PIF5 with the Pfr form of phyB. In addition, our data indicate that MYB30 interacts with PIFs and that they act additively to repress photomorphogenesis. In summary, our study demonstrates that MYB30 negatively regulates Arabidopsis photomorphogenic development by acting to promote PIF4 and PIF5 protein accumulation under prolonged R light irradiation, thus providing new insights into the complicated but delicate control of PIFs in the responses of plants to their dynamic light environment.

Abiotic stresses and soil nutrient limitations are major environmental conditions that reduce plant growth, productivity and quality. Plants have evolved mechanisms to perceive these environmental challenges, transmit the stress signals within cells as well as between cells and tissues, and make appropriate adjustments in their growth and development in order to survive and reproduce. In recent years, significant progress has been made on many fronts of the stress signaling research, particularly in understanding the downstream signaling events that culminate at the activation of stress- and nutrient limitation-responsive genes, cellular ion homeostasis, and growth adjustment. However, the revelation of the early events of stress signaling, particularly the identification of primary stress sensors, still lags behind. In this review, we summarize recent work on the genetic and molecular mechanisms of plant abiotic stress and nutrient limitation sensing and signaling and discuss new directions for future studies.

Purpose To evaluate intraoperative and early postoperative clinical outcomes using the Nice knot as an auxiliary reduction technique in displaced comminuted patellar fractures. Methods Thirty-nine patients with unilateral closed displaced comminuted patellar fractures received open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), utilizing either Nice knot (the NK group, 24 patients) or traditional reduction (the TR group, 23 patients) techniques, were retrospectively reviewed in this study. Intra-operative surgical time and peri-operative hemoglobin were recorded. Post-operative clinical outcomes were measured using visual analgesic score, range of motion of the knee joint and the Bostman scales, and radiographic outcomes were used to evaluate fracture healing. Complications including infection, bone non-union, implant loosening, fragment displacement and painful hardware were also assessed. Results In-hospital records indicated significantly shorter surgical duration (32.6 min) in the NK group than in the TR group (63.9 min). Intraoperative blood loss was also significantly decreased in the NK group (64.7 ml) compared to the TR group (189.1 ml). Patients in the NK and TR groups were followed for mean of 12.9 months and 12.5 months respectively. The union rate was 100% (24/24) in the NK group and 91.3% (21/23) in the TR group. In the TR group, there were two non-unions, including one infected non-union. There was no difference in the visual analgesic score, the range of motion of the knee joint or the Bostman scale at last follow-up between the two groups. Conclusion The sliding, self-stabilizing Nice knot was associated with reduced surgical time, decreased intraoperative blood loss, and satisfactory postoperative outcomes in the treatment of displaced patellar fractures. Future studies are needed to ensure the generalizability of these findings to additional patient populations at other institutions.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) and the Polycomb group proteins have key roles in regulating plant growth and development; however, their interplay and underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we identified an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) nodulin homeobox (AtNDX) protein as a negative regulator in the ABA signaling pathway. AtNDX mutants are hypersensitive to ABA, as measured by inhibition of seed germination and root growth, and the expression of AtNDX is downregulated by ABA. AtNDX interacts with the Polycomb Repressive Complex1 (PRC1) core components AtRING1A and AtRING1B in vitro and in vivo, and together, they negatively regulate the expression levels of some ABA-responsive genes. We identified ABA-INSENSITIVE (ABI4) as a direct target of AtNDX. AtNDX directly binds the downstream region of ABI4 and deleting this region increases the ABA sensitivity of primary root growth. Furthermore, ABI4 mutations rescue the ABA-hypersensitive phenotypes of ndx mutants and ABI4-overexpressing plants are hypersensitive to ABA in primary root growth. Thus, our work reveals the critical functions of AtNDX and PRC1 in some ABA-mediated processes and their regulation of ABI4.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the antitumor potential of IU1 (a pharmacological compound), which was mediated by selective inhibition of proteasome-associated deubiquitinase ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. It has been well established that mdm2 (Murine double minute 2) gene was amplified and/or overexpressed in a variety of human neoplasms, including cervical cancer. Furthermore, MDM2 is critical to cervical cancer development and progression. Relatively studies have reported that USP15 and USP7 stabilized MDM2 protein levels by removing its ubiquitin chain. In the current study, we studied the cell proliferation status after IU1 treatment and the USP14-MDM2 protein interaction in cervical cancer cells. This study experimentally revealed that IU1 treatment reduced MDM2 protein expression in HeLa cervical cancer cells, along with the activation of autophagy-lysosomal protein degradation and promotion of ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) function, thereby blocked G0/G1 to S phase transition, decreased cell growth and triggered cell apoptosis. Thus, these results indicate that IU1 treatment simultaneously targets two major intracellular protein degradation systems, ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy-lysosome systems, which leads to MDM2 degradation and contributes to the antitumor effect of IU1.

Invasive group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains a leading cause of illness and death among infants globally. We conducted prospective and retrospective laboratory-based surveillance of GBS-positive cultures from infants

Liaoyu white cattle (LYWC) is a local breed in Liaoning Province, China. It has the advantages of grow quickly, high slaughter ratew, high meat quality and strong anti-stress ability. N6 methyladenosine (m6A) is a methylation modification of N6 position of RNA adenine, which is an important modification mechanism affecting physiological phenomena. In this study, we used the longissimus dorsi muscle of LYWC and SIMC for m6A-seq and RNA-seq high-throughput sequencing, and identified the key genes involved in muscle growth and m6A modification development by bioinformatics analysis. There were 31532 m6A peaks in the whole genome of LYWC and 47217 m6A peaks in the whole genome of SIMC. Compared with Simmental cattle group, LYWC group had 17,351 differentially expressed genes: 10,697 genes were up-regulated, 6,654 genes were down regulated, 620 differentially expressed genes were significant, while 16,731 differentially expressed genes were not significant. Among the 620 significantly differentially expressed genes, 295 genes were up-regulated and 325 genes were down regulated. In order to explore the relationship between m6A and mRNA expression in the muscles of LYWC and SIMC, the combined analysis of MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq revealed that 316 genes were m6A modified with mRNA expression. To identify differentially methylated genes related to muscle growth, four related genes were selected for quantitative verification in LYWC and SIMC. GO enrichment and KEGG analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes modified by m6A are mainly involved in skeletal muscle contraction, steroid biosynthesis process, redox process, PPAR pathway and fatty acid metabolism, and galactose metabolism. These results provide a theoretical basis for further research on the role of m6A in muscle growth and development.

In this work, a one-step hydrothermal route is developed to prepare WO

As rice originated in tropical or subtropical areas, it is generally sensitive to cold stress. Understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying rice responses to cold stress can provide new power for engineering cold-tolerant and high-yielding rice varieties.

BackgroundTotal hip arthroplasty (THA) causes a great medical burden globally, and the same-day discharge (SDD) method has previously been considered to be cost saving. However, a standard cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is needed to evaluated the benefits of SDD when performing THA from the perspective of both economic and clinical outcomes.MethodsEighty-four participants undergoing primary THA were randomized to either the SDD group or the inpatient group. Outcomes were assessed by an independent orthopedist who was not in the surgical team, using the Oxford Hip Score (OHS), EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D), SF-36 scores and the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). All the cost information was also collected.ResultsThe mean stay of patients in the SDD group was 21.70 ± 3.45 h, while the inpatient group was 78.15 ± 26.36 h. This trial did not detect any significant differences in OHS and QALYs. The total cost in the SDD group was significantly lower than that in the inpatient group (¥69,771.27 ± 6,608.00 vs. ¥80,666.17 ± 8,421.96, p < 0.001). From the perspective of total cost, when measuring OHS, the incremental effect was −0.12 and the incremental cost was –¥10,894.90. The mean incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was 90,790.83. When measuring QALYs, the incremental effect was 0.02, and the ICER was negative. Sensitivity analysis produced similar results.ConclusionsSDD has an acceptable likelihood of being more cost-effective than the traditional inpatient option. After conducting cost–utility analysis, SDD resulted in better QALYs, while significantly reducing the total cost.

Rubus corchorifolius (‘Shanmei’ or mountain berry, 2n =14) is widely distributed in China, and its fruit has high nutritional and medicinal values. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale genome assembly of Shanmei, with a size of 215.69 Mb and encompassing 26,696 genes. Genome comparisons among Rosaceae species show that Shanmei and Fupenzi (Rubus chingii Hu) are most closely related, and then is blackberry (Rubus occidentalis). Further resequencing of 101 samples of Shanmei collected from four regions in provinces of Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan in South China reveals that the Hunan population of Shanmei possesses the highest diversity and may represent the relatively more ancestral population. Moreover, the Yunnan population undergoes strong selection based on nucleotide diversity, linkage disequilibrium, and the historical effective population size analyses. Furthermore, genes from candidate genomic regions that show strong divergence are significantly enriched in flavonoid biosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction, indicating the genetic basis of adaptation of Shanmei to the local environments. The high-quality genome sequences and the variome dataset of Shanmei provide valuable resources for breeding applications and for elucidating the genome evolution and ecological adaptation of Rubus species.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of a novel CT-based patient-specific femoral alignment guide (PSG) as compared with conventional pre-operative planning during THA.From March 2020 to September 2020, patients receiving unilateral primary THA were enrolled and randomly allocated to the conventional pre-operative planning group and the PSG group. Primary outcomes were radiographic measurements including lower limb length, femoral offset, femoral anteversion and stem varus/valgus angle, and post-operative perception of leg length discrepancy (LLD). Secondary outcomes were surgical time, intra-operative blood loss, total blood loss, visual analogue scale (VAS), and Harris Hip Score (HHS). The occurrence of post-operative complications was also recorded.Of the 104 patients screened, 80 cases were enrolled for analysis. The demographics of the two groups were similar. The PSG group illustrated significant improvements (p 0.001) in lower limb length, femoral offset, femoral anteversion, and stem varus/valgus angle. Patients in the PSG group showed more favourable HHS (p 0.001) at seven day, four week, andthree month (p = 0.003) follow-up. Perception of LLD was found significantly lower in the PSG group at three tmonth (p = 0.043), six month (p = 0.025), and 12-month (p = 0.048) follow-up. Utilization of the PSG had no significant increase in operative time, intra-operative blood loss, total blood loss, or VAS. No complication was noted in either group.Relative to conventional pre-operative planning, the application with the PSG could potentially provide a simple and reliable solution for improving femoral prosthesis orientation in THA with high accessibility and low healthcare costs. TRN: ChiCTR2000031043 Date of registration: 2020/3/21.

Rubus corchorifolius ("Shanmei" or mountain berry, 2n = 14) is widely distributed in China, and its fruit has high nutritional and medicinal value. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale genome assembly of Shanmei, with a size of 215.69 Mb and encompassing 26,696 genes. Genome comparisons among Rosaceae species showed that Shanmei and Fupenzi (Rubus chingii Hu) were most closely related, followed by blackberry (Rubus occidentalis), and that environmental adaptation-related genes were significantly expanded in the Shanmei genome. Further resequencing of 101 samples of Shanmei collected from four regions in the provinces of Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan in China revealed that the Hunan population of Shanmei possessed the highest diversity and represented the more ancestral population. Moreover, the Yunnan population underwent strong selection based on nucleotide diversity, linkage disequilibrium, and the historical effective population size analyses. Furthermore, genes from candidate genomic regions that showed strong divergence were significantly enriched in flavonoid biosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction, indicating the genetic basis of adaptation of Shanmei to the local environment. The high-quality genome sequences and the variome dataset of Shanmei provide valuable resources for breeding applications and for elucidating the genome evolution and ecological adaptation of Rubus species.