Three endo-β-mannanase genes expressed in the micropylar endosperm and in the radicle influence germination of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds

Mannans are hemicellulosic polysaccharides in the plant primary cell wall (CW). Mature seeds, specially their endosperm cells, have CWs rich in mannan-based polymers that confer a strong mechanical resistance for the radicle protrusion upon germination. The rupture of the seed coat and endosperm are two sequential events during the germination of Arabidopsis thaliana. Endo-β-mannanases (MAN; EC. 3.2.1.78) are hydrolytic enzymes that catalyze cleavage of β1 → 4 bonds in the mannan-polymer. In the genome of Arabidopsis, the endo-β-mannanase (MAN) family is represented by eight members. The expression of these eight MAN genes has been systematically explored in different organs of this plant and only four of them (AtMAN7, AtMAN6, AtMAN2 and AtMAN5) are expressed in the germinating seeds. Moreover, in situ hybridization analysis shows that their transcript accumulation is restricted to the micropylar endosperm and to the radicle and this expression disappears soon after radicle emergence. T-DNA insertion mutants in these genes (K.O. MAN7, K.O. MAN6, K.O. MAN5), except that corresponding to AtMAN2 (K.O. MAN2), germinate later than the wild type (Wt). K.O. MAN6 is the most affected in the germination time course with a t 50 almost double than that of the Wt. These data suggest that AtMAN7, AtMAN5 and specially AtMAN6 are important for the germination of A. thaliana seeds by facilitating the hydrolysis of the mannan-rich endosperm cell walls

Liquid marble-derived solid-liquid hybrid superparticles for CO2 capture.

The design of effective CO2 capture materials is an ongoing challenge. Here we report a concept to overcome current limitations associated with both liquid and solid CO2 capture materials by exploiting a solid-liquid hybrid superparticle (SLHSP). The fabrication of SLHSP involves assembly of hydrophobic silica nanoparticles on the liquid marble surface, and co-assembly of hydrophilic silica nanoparticles and tetraethylenepentamine within the interior of the liquid marble. The strong interfacial adsorption force and the strong interactions between amine and silica are identified to be key elements for high robustness. The developed SLHSPs exhibit excellent CO2 sorption capacity, high sorption rate, long-term stability and reduced amine loss in industrially preferred fixed bed setups. The outstanding performances are attributed to the unique structure which hierarchically organizes the liquid and solid at microscales

Essential versus accessory aspects of cell death: recommendations of the NCCD 2015

Cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical stimuli die in an uncontrollable manner, as a result of their immediate structural breakdown. Such an unavoidable variant of cellular demise is generally referred to as ‘accidental cell death’ (ACD). In most settings, however, cell death is initiated by a genetically encoded apparatus, correlating with the fact that its course can be altered by pharmacologic or genetic interventions. ‘Regulated cell death’ (RCD) can occur as part of physiologic programs or can be activated once adaptive responses to perturbations of the extracellular or intracellular microenvironment fail. The biochemical phenomena that accompany RCD may be harnessed to classify it into a few subtypes, which often (but not always) exhibit stereotyped morphologic features. Nonetheless, efficiently inhibiting the processes that are commonly thought to cause RCD, such as the activation of executioner caspases in the course of apoptosis, does not exert true cytoprotective effects in the mammalian system, but simply alters the kinetics of cellular demise as it shifts its morphologic and biochemical correlates. Conversely, bona fide cytoprotection can be achieved by inhibiting the transduction of lethal signals in the early phases of the process, when adaptive responses are still operational. Thus, the mechanisms that truly execute RCD may be less understood, less inhibitable and perhaps more homogeneous than previously thought. Here, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death formulates a set of recommendations to help scientists and researchers to discriminate between essential and accessory aspects of cell death

Early Prediction Model for Osteoporotic Fracture in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Nomogram Approach Based on a Single-Center Retrospective Study

Peng Fei Liu,1 Yan Xin Ren,1 Peng Wang,2 Xiu Mei Ma,3 Kang Geng4,5 1China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation 731 hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Chengdu First People’s Hospital, Chengdu Integrated TCM and Western Medicine Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study of Sichuan Province and Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Plastic and Burns Surgery, National Key Clinical Construction Specialty, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 5Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, Sichuan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Kang Geng, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: To address the high disability and mortality rates of osteoporotic fracture (OPF), a common complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), this study seeks to create an early OPF risk prediction model for T2DM patients.Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted on 868 T2DM patients using Multi-dimensional data. The dataset was split into training and validation sets at an 8:2 ratio. Through logistic regression analyses, key predictive factors were pinpointed and incorporated into a Nomogram prediction model. The model’s reliability, validity, and generalizability were assessed using various statistical methods, including the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and decision curve analysis. The validation set was used to test the model.Results: Female gender (OR 2.681, 95% CI 1.046– 6.803, P=0.04), age (OR 1.068, 95% CI 1.023– 1.115, P=0.003), body mass index (BMI) (OR 0.912, 95% CI 0.851– 0.979, P=0.010), blood lactic acid level (OR 0.747, 95% CI 0.597– 0.935, P=0.011), lumbar T-score (OR 0.644, 95% CI 0.499– 0.833, P=0.001), and femoral neck T-score (OR 0.412, 95% CI 0.292– 0.602, P< 0.001) were identified as independent factors predicting OPF in T2DM patients. Based on these factors, a Nomogram model was constructed. The model showed a high degree of agreement with actual data (Hosmer-Lemeshow test, P=0.406), with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.831. It demonstrated good clinical benefits across different thresholds and excellent generalization ability on the validation set.Conclusion: This study integrated key factors such as gender, age, BMI, lactic acid, lumbar spine, and femoral neck T-values to construct a Nomogram for predicting the risk of OPF in T2DM patients. This model can assist doctors in accurately assessing the risk of OPF in T2DM patients, facilitating early detection and timely treatment. It has significant clinical practical value.Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, bone fracture, nomogram, risk predictio

Lithium chloride therapy fails to improve motor function in a transgenic mouse model of Machado-Joseph disease

The accumulation of misfolded proteins in neurons, leading to the formation of cytoplasmic and nuclear aggregates, is a common theme in age-related neurodegenerative diseases, possibly due to disturbances of the proteostasis and insufficient activity of cellular protein clearance pathways. Lithium is a well-known autophagy inducer that exerts neuroprotective effects in different conditions and has been proposed as a promising therapeutic agent for several neurodegenerative diseases. We tested the efficacy of chronic lithium 10.4 mg/kg) treatment in a transgenic mouse model of Machado-Joseph disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disease, caused by an expansion of a polyglutamine tract within the protein ataxin-3. A battery of behavioral tests was used to assess disease progression. In spite of activating autophagy, as suggested by the increased levels of Beclin-1, Atg7, and LC3II, and a reduction in the p62 protein levels, lithium administration showed no overall beneficial effects in this model concerning motor performance, showing a positive impact only in the reduction of tremors at 24 weeks of age. Our results do not support lithiumchronic treatment as a promising strategy for the treatment of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD).FCT -Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(SFRH/BD/51059/2010

Multi-wavelength fiber source using a reflection Mach-Zehnder filter and double-pass backward configuration

A new spectrum sliced multi-wavelength fiber source (MWFS) with no power loss is presented in this paper. The source is composed by a reflection Mach-Zehnder filter (RMZF) with double-pass backward superfluorescent fiber source (DPB SFS) configuration. The RMZF not only provides spectrum filtering but also provides the double-pass function. Multi-wavelength source with extinction ratios larger than 15 dB can easily be obtained over the total conventional band gain region with appropriate erbium-doped fiber (EDF) length and pump power. There is no power loss with the MWFS as compared to the original DPB SFS owning to the RMZF also provides the double-pass function. More than 50 channels of 0.57nm wavelength spacing between 1530nm-1560nm are obtained

Unusual conservation of mitochondrial gene order in Crassostrea oysters: evidence for recent speciation in Asia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oysters are morphologically plastic and hence difficult subjects for taxonomic and evolutionary studies. It is long been suspected, based on the extraordinary species diversity observed, that Asia Pacific is the epicenter of oyster speciation. To understand the species diversity and its evolutionary history, we collected five <it>Crassostrea </it>species from Asia and sequenced their complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes in addition to two newly released Asian oysters (<it>C. iredalei </it>and <it>Saccostrea mordax</it>) for a comprehensive analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The six Asian <it>Crassostrea </it>mt genomes ranged from 18,226 to 22,446 bp in size, and all coded for 39 genes (12 proteins, 2 rRNAs and 25 tRNAs) on the same strand. Their genomes contained a split of the <it>rrnL </it>gene and duplication of <it>trnM</it>, <it>trnK </it>and <it>trnQ </it>genes. They shared the same gene order that differed from an Atlantic sister species by as many as nine tRNA changes (6 transpositions and 3 duplications) and even differed significantly from <it>S. mordax </it>in protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the six Asian <it>Crassostrea </it>species emerged between 3 and 43 Myr ago, while the Atlantic species evolved 83 Myr ago.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The complete conservation of gene order in the six Asian <it>Crassostrea </it>species over 43 Myr is highly unusual given the remarkable rate of rearrangements in their sister species and other bivalves. It provides strong evidence for the recent speciation of the six <it>Crassostrea </it>species in Asia. It further indicates that changes in mt gene order may not be strictly a function of time but subject to other constraints that are presently not well understood.</p

Initial potential effect on the dissociative adsorption of methanol on a roughened platinum electrode in acidic solution

In situ Raman spectroscopic and voltammetric studies indicate that dissociative adsorption of methanol on the rough platinum electrode occurs in the hydrogen ad/desorption potential range, and the dissociative extent depends on the initial potential of the electrode before contacting methanol, in addition to the contacting time. As the dissociative product, carbon monoxide competes the site of strongly bound hydrogen preferentially, and shifts the ad/desorption potentials of weakly bound hydrogen towards more positive ones gradually with the increase of CO coverage. Whereas, formaldehyde dissociates more easily by far and completely suppresses H-adsorption. The confocal Raman spectroscopy developed on transition metals shows some intriguing advantages in investigating electrocatalytic oxidation of small organic molecules

Effect of bainite layer by LSMCIT on wear resistance of medium-carbon bainite steel at different temperatures

In this work, bainite layer was prepared by Laser surface melting combined with isothermal treatment (LSMCIT) at 250ºC. The microstructures of the samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Their wear resistances at 20ºC, 100ºC and 200ºC were measured using reciprocating tribometer. After the wear test, the confocal laser scanning microscope and SEM were used to characterize the topography of all abrasion surfaces, and the phase transformations occurred on the contact surfaces were analyzed by XRD. The results show that the microstructure of the LSMCIT sample has been refined to nanoscale. The wear volume reduction ratio of LSMCIT sample is 40.9% at 20ºC. The wear resistances of the samples are decreased with increasing of the temperature, however, the decrease in amplitude of the bainite is relatively small. The harder surface of the LSMCIT sample can provides higher mechanical support, and the white-etching layer on surface are difficult to remove by the reciprocating friction. The wear resistances of the LSMCIT samples at 20ºC, 100ºC and 200ºC are excellent, which shows the wide temperature ranges in wear applications

Back-incident SiGe-Si multiple quantum-well resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetectors for 13-mu m operation

A back-incident Si-0.65 Ge-0.35/Si multiple quantum-well resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetector operating near 1.3 mum is demonstrated on a separation-by-implantation-oxygen substrate. The resonant cavity is composed of an electron-beam evaporated SiO2-Si distributed Bragg reflector as a top mirror and the interface between the buried SiO2 and the Si substrate as a bottom mirror. We have obtained the responsivity as high as 31 mA/WI at 1.305 mum and the full width at half maximum of 14 nm