Transcriptional profiling of Petunia seedlings reveals candidate regulators of the cold stress response

Petunias are important ornamentals with the capacity for cold acclimation. So far, there is limited information concerning gene regulation and signaling pathways related to the cold stress response in petunias. A custom-designed petunia microarray representing 24816 genes was used to perform transcriptome profiling in petunia seedlings subjected to cold at 2°C for 0.5 h, 2 h, 24 h and 5 d. A total of 2071 transcripts displayed differential expression patterns under cold stress, of which 1149 were up-regulated and 922 were down-regulated. Gene ontology enrichment analysis demarcated related biological processes, suggesting a possible link between flavonoid metabolism and plant adaptation to low temperatures. Many novel stress-responsive regulators were revealed, suggesting that diverse regulatory pathways may exist in petunias in addition to the well-characterized CBF pathway. The expression changes of selected genes under cold and other abiotic stress conditions were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis divided the petunia genes on the array into 65 modules that showed high co-expression and identified stress-specific hub genes with high connectivity. Our identification of these transcriptional responses and groups of differentially expressed regulators will facilitate the functional dissection of the molecular mechanism in petunias responding to environment stresses and extend our ability to improve cold tolerance in plants

Synthesis and Biological Activity of Trolox Amide Derivatives

A series of Trolox amide derivatives were synthesized by modifying the carboxyl groups of Trolox. Thirty target compounds were obtained and characterized through nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. Trolox derivatives were employed to explore the potential structure-antioxidant activity relationships. The antioxidant activities of these compounds were evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and hydroxyl radical assays. DPPH scavenging activity test results illustrated that compounds exhibited scavenging activities similar to L-ascorbic acid and Trolox, with compounds 14a, 18a, 24a and 26a in particular exhibiting higher scavenging activities than L-ascorbic acid. The results demonstrated that compounds displayed ABTS scavenging activities similar to L-ascorbic acid and Trolox, with compounds 26a and 29a in particular having potency twofold higher. FRAP assay results indicated that compounds 11a, 19a, 25a, 29a and 30a had activity similar to Trolox. The results revealed that compounds 6a and 19a had similarly high hydroxyl radical-scavenging activities as Trolox. The results of α-glucosidase experiments uncovered that compounds 10a, 25a, 28a and 29a had excellent inhibitory activity, which was similar to that of acarbose and different from Trolox. The results of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase experiments demonstrated that some compounds had weak anticholinesterase activities. 26a and 29a are important Trolox derivatives with better biological activity profiles and deserve further study

Current treatment strategies targeting histone deacetylase inhibitors in acute lymphocytic leukemia: a systematic review

Acute lymphocytic leukemia is a hematological malignancy that primarily affects children. Long-term chemotherapy is effective, but always causes different toxic side effects. With the application of a chemotherapy-free treatment strategy, we intend to demonstrate the most recent results of using one type of epigenetic drug, histone deacetylase inhibitors, in ALL and to provide preclinical evidence for further clinical trials. In this review, we found that panobinostat (LBH589) showed positive outcomes as a monotherapy, whereas vorinostat (SAHA) was a better choice for combinatorial use. Preclinical research has identified chidamide as a potential agent for investigation in more clinical trials in the future. In conclusion, histone deacetylase inhibitors play a significant role in the chemotherapy-free landscape in cancer treatment, particularly in acute lymphocytic leukemia

Experimental saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers using automated image analysis: Applications to homogeneous aquifers

This paper presents the applications of a novel methodology to quantify saltwater intrusion parameters in laboratory-scale experiments. The methodology uses an automated image analysis procedure, minimizing manual inputs and the subsequent systematic errors that can be introduced. This allowed the quantification of the width of the mixing zone which is difficult to measure in experimental methods that are based on visual observations. Glass beads of different grain sizes were tested for both steady-state and transient conditions. The transient results showed good correlation between experimental and numerical intrusion rates. The experimental intrusion rates revealed that the saltwater wedge reached a steady state condition sooner while receding than advancing. The hydrodynamics of the experimental mixing zone exhibited similar traits; a greater increase in the width of the mixing zone was observed in the receding saltwater wedge, which indicates faster fluid velocities and higher dispersion. The angle of intrusion analysis revealed the formation of a volume of diluted saltwater at the toe position when the saltwater wedge is prompted to recede. In addition, results of different physical repeats of the experiment produced an average coefficient of variation less than 0.18 of the measured toe length and width of the mixing zone.Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) in Northern Ireland and Queen’s University Belfas