Effect of acupuncture on quality of life in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. / é’ˆåˆºæ²»ç–—å¯¹æ ¢æ€§å‰åˆ—è ºç‚Ž/æ ¢æ€§ç›†è ”ç–¼ç—›ç»¼åˆå¾æ‚£è€ ç”Ÿæ´»è´¨é‡çš„å½±å“ï¼šéšæœºå¯¹ç §è¯•éªŒ.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effect and safety of acupuncture on quality of life, pain, and prostate symptoms in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). METHODS: Seventy patients with CP/CPPS were randomly divided into an acupuncture group (35 cases, 1 case was eliminated) and a sham acupuncture group (35 cases, 3 cases dropped out). The patients in the acupuncture group were treated with routine acupuncture at bilateral Zhongliao (BL 33), Huiyang (BL 35), Shenshu (BL 23) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6), while the patients in the sham acupuncture group were treated with shallow needling at non-meridian and non-acupoint points beside bilateral Zhongliao (BL 33), Huiyang (BL 35), Shenshu (BL 23) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6),without manipulation to induce arrival of qi (deqi). Both groups retained the needles for 30 min, with one session every other day, three times a week, for a total of 8 weeks (24 sessions). Before and after treatment, and at the follow-up of 24 weeks after treatment completion, the scores of MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36, including 8 dimensions of physical function [PF], role physical function [RP], bodily pain [BP], general health status [GH], vitality [VT], social function [SF], role emotional [RE], and mental health [MH], which can be summarized as physical component summary [PCS] and mental component summary [MCS]), pelvic pain visual analogue scale (VAS), National Institutes of Health chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI), and international prostate symptom score (IPSS) were evaluated, and safety of both groups was assessed. RESULTS: After treatment and at the follow-up, the scores of each dimension and PCS, MCS scores of SF-36 in the acupuncture group were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01); compared before treatment, the RP, BP, and SF scores and PCS score in the sham acupuncture group were increased after treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01). After treatment, the acupuncture group had higher scores in RP, BP, GH, MH and PCS, MCS than those in the sham acupuncture group (P<0.05, P<0.01); at the follow-up, except for PF and RE dimensions, the scores in each dimension and PCS, MCS scores in the acupuncture group were higher than those in the sham acupuncture group (P<0.05, P<0.01). After treatment and at the follow-up, pelvic pain VAS, NIH-CPSI, IPSS scores in the acupuncture group were lower than those before treatment (P<0.01); in the sham acupuncture group, pelvic pain VAS, NIH-CPSI scores were lower after treatment, and NIH-CPSI score at the follow-up was lower compared with those before treatment (P<0.01). After treatment and at the follow-up, pelvic pain VAS, NIH-CPSI, IPSS scores in the acupuncture group were lower than those in the sham acupuncture group (P<0.01, P<0.05). No significant adverse reactions were observed in both groups, and the incidence rates of adverse reactions had no significant difference (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture could effectively improve the quality of life, reduce pain levels, alleviate prostate symptoms, and shows favorable long-term efficacy in patients with CP/CPPS.

Low-grade wind-driven directional flow in anchored droplets.

Low-grade wind with airspeed Vwind < 5 m/s, while distributed far more abundantly, is still challenging to extract because current turbine-based technologies require particular geography (e.g., wide-open land or off-shore regions) with year-round Vwind > 5 m/s to effectively rotate the blades. Here, we report that low-speed airflow can sensitively enable directional flow within nanowire-anchored ionic liquid (IL) drops. Specifically, wind-induced air/liquid friction continuously raises directional leeward fluid transport in the upper portion, whereas three-phase contact line (TCL) pinning blocks further movement of IL. To remove excessive accumulation of IL near TCL, fluid dives, and headwind flow forms in the lower portion, as confirmed by microscope observation. Such stratified circulating flow within single drop can generate voltage output up to ~0.84 V, which we further scale up to ~60 V using drop "wind farms". Our results demonstrate a technology to tap the widespread low-grade wind as a reliable energy resource.

Distinct roles of theta and alpha oscillations in the process of contingent attentional capture.

Introduction: Visual spatial attention can be captured by a salient color singleton that is contingent on the target feature. A previous study reported that theta (4-7 Hz) and alpha (8-14 Hz) oscillations were related to contingent attentional capture, but the corresponding attentional mechanisms of these oscillations remain unclear. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the electroencephalogram data of our previous study to investigate the roles of capture-related theta and alpha oscillation activities. Different from the previous study that used color-changed placeholders as irrelevant cues, the present study adopted abrupt onsets of color singleton cues which tend to elicit phase-locked neural activities. In Experiment 1, participants completed a peripheral visual search task in which spatially uninformative color singleton cues were inside the spatial attentional window and a central rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task in which the same cues were outside the spatial attentional window. In Experiment 2, participants completed a color RSVP task and a size RSVP task in which the peripheral color singleton cues were contingent and not contingent on target feature, respectively. Results: In Experiment 1, spatially uninformative color singleton cues elicited lateralized theta activities when they were contingent on target feature, irrespective of whether they were inside or outside the spatial attentional window. In contrast, the same color singleton cues elicited alpha lateralization only when they were inside the spatial attentional window. In Experiment 2, we further found that theta lateralization vanished if the color singleton cues were not contingent on target feature. Discussion: These results suggest distinct roles of theta and alpha oscillations in the process of contingent attentional capture initiated by abrupt onsets of singleton cues. Theta activities may reflect global enhancement of target feature, while alpha activities may be related to attentional engagement to spatially relevant singleton cues. These lateralized neural oscillations, together with the distractor-elicited N2pc component, might consist of multiple stages of attentional processes during contingent attentional capture.

Bioinspired Near-Full Transmittance MgF2 Window for Infrared Detection in Extremely Complex Environments.

Due to the extreme complexity of the anti-reflective subwavelength structure (ASS) parameters and the drastic limitation of Gaussian beam manufacturing accuracy, it remains a great challenge to manufacture ASS with ultrahigh transmittance on the surface of infrared window materials (such as magnesium fluoride (MgF2)) directly by femtosecond laser. Here, a design, manufacturing, and characterization method that can produce an ultrahigh-performance infrared window by femtosecond laser Bessel beam is proposed. Inspired by the excellent anti-reflective and hydrophobic properties of the special structure of dragonfly wings, a similar structural pattern with grid-distributed truncated cones is designed and optimized for its corresponding parameters to achieve near-full transmittance. The desired submicron structures are successfully fabricated by a Bessel beam after effectively shaping the beam. As a practical application, the bioinspired ASS is manufactured on the surface of MgF2, achieving an ultrahigh transmittance of 99.896% in the broadband of 3-5 µm, ultrawide angle of incidence (over 70% at 75° incidence), and good hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 99.805°. Results from infrared thermal imaging experiments show that the ultrahigh-transmittance MgF2 window has superior image acquisition and anti-interference performance (3.9-8.6% image contrast enhancement and more accurate image edge recognition) in an environment with multiple interfering factors, which may play a significant role in facilitating applications of infrared thermal imaging technologies in extremely complex environments.

Oriented High Thermal Conductivity Solid-Solid Phase Change Materials for Mid-Temperature Solar-Thermal Energy Storage.

As the global energy crisis intensifies, the development of solar energy has become a vital area of focus for many nations. The utilization of phase change materials (PCMs) for photothermal energy storage in the medium temperature range holds great potential for various applications, but their conventional forms face several challenges. For instance, the longitudinal thermal conductivity of photothermal PCMs is inadequate for effective heat storage on the photothermal conversion surface, and there is a risk of leakage due to repeated solid-liquid phase transitions. Here, we report a solid-solid phase change material, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS), which has a phase change temperature of 132 °C in the medium temperature range, enabling high-grade and stable solar energy storage. To overcome the low thermal conductivity problem, we propose a large-scale production of oriented high thermal conductivity composites by compressing a mixture of TRIS and expanded graphite (EG) using the pressure induction method to create in-plane highly thermally conductive channels. Remarkably, the resulting phase change composites (PCCs) exhibit a directional thermal conductivity of 21.3 W/(m·K). Furthermore, the high phase change temperature (132 °C) and large phase change entropy (213.47 J/g) enable a large-capacity high-grade thermal energy to be used. The developed PCCs, when combined with selected photo-absorbers, exhibit efficient integration of solar-thermal conversion and storage. Additionally, we also demonstrated a solar-thermoelectric generator device with an energy output of 93.1 W/m2, which is close to the power of photovoltaic systems. Overall, this work provides a technological route to the large-scale fabrication of mid-temperature solar energy storage materials with high thermal conductivity, high phase change enthalpy, and no risk of leakage, and also offers a potential alternative to photovoltaic technology.

Insight into the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of nanoparticles-induced arsenic tolerance in bamboo.

Introduction: Arsenic (As) contamination in soil, sediments, and water poses a significant threat to the growth of bamboo plants. However, nanoparticles with high metal absorbance capacity can play a key role in the reduction of heavy metals toxicity in plants as well as maintaining their growth under toxicity. Methods: Hence, an in vitro experiment was conducted to determine the influence of three types of nanoparticles: 150 µM silicon nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs), 150 µM titanium nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), and 150 µM zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on As (150 µM and 250 µM) tolerance enhancement of a one-year-old bamboo species (Pleioblastus pygmaeus). Results and discussion: The results showed that while As at 150 µM and 250 µM significantly disrupted the plant growth by excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) components, and inducing cell membrane peroxidation, the addition of NPs increased both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities, upregulated glyoxalase defense system, and improved gas exchange parameters and photosynthetic pigments content, leading to the enhanced plant shoot and root dry weight. These were achieved by lowering levels of ROS, electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the superoxide radical ( O 2 • - ), as well as decreasing As accumulation in the plant organs. Thus, it might be concluded that ZnO NPs, SiO2NPs, and TiO2NPS alone or in combination can significantly increase the bamboo plant tolerance to As toxicity via key mechanisms, including induction of various antioxidants and glyoxalase defense systems, scavenging of ROS and methylglyoxal (MG), increasing phytochelatins production, reduction of As accumulation and translocation, and improving photosynthetic pigments under As toxicity. Additionally, the results showed that the combined application of 150 µM ZnO NPs, SiO2 NPs, and TiO2 NPs had the greatest effect on enhancing the plant tolerance to As at 150 µM and 250 µM.

Application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology in the characterization of microstructure and moisture content of young Moso bamboo.

Bamboo nodes play a key role in the hollow structure and the rapid growth of bamboo culm. Studying on the anatomical structure of bamboo is helpful to understand its growth mechanism. Taking the noninvasive, high-resolution and accurate technical advantages of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we conducted cross-sectional high-resolution MRI scanning on the tip of young Moso bamboo culm (removed shoot sheath) and extracted the gray value of the MRIs by using MATLAB software to explore the differences of water distribution in nodes, proximal nodes, and internodes. The results showed that numerous vascular bundles were repeatedly twisted and rotated horizontally at the nodal diaphragms and inner wall near the nodal diaphragms of the young bamboo, forming an intricate and highly connected network. The structure protected important tissues from mechanical stress by allocating axial loads, and enabled to laterally transport water and nutrients, which was an important basis for the rapid growth of Moso bamboo in relatively short term. The signal value (also known as brightness value) of MRIs indicated that water content of vascular bundles in young bamboo culm was much higher than that of surrounding parenchyma tissues. The mean value and standard deviation of water content between pixels of internodes were significantly higher than that of nodes, and the values of that in the proximal nodes were intermediate. The development of MRI would play a significant role in the studies of bamboo anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry.

Sodium Nitroprusside Improves Bamboo Resistance under Mn and Cr Toxicity with Stimulation of Antioxidants Activity, Relative Water Content, and Metal Translocation and Accumulation.

Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), as a single minuscule signaling molecule, has been employed to alleviate plant stress in recent years. This approach has a beneficial effect on the biological and physiological processes of plants. As a result, an in vitro tissue culture experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of high and low levels of SNP on the amelioration of manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) toxicity in a one-year-old bamboo plant, namely Pleioblastus pygmaea L. Five different concentrations of SNP were utilized as a nitric oxide (NO) donor (0, 50, 80, 150, 250, and 400 µM) in four replications of 150 µM Mn and 150 µM Cr. The results revealed that while 150 µM Mn and 150 µM Cr induced an over-generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) compounds, enhancing plant membrane injury, electrolyte leakage (EL), and oxidation in bamboo species, the varying levels of SNP significantly increased antioxidant and non-antioxidant activities, proline (Pro), glutathione (GSH), and glycine betaine (GB) content, photosynthesis, and plant growth parameters, while also reducing heavy metal accumulation and translocation in the shoot and stem. This resulted in an increase in the plant's tolerance to Mn and Cr toxicity. Hence, it is inferred that NO-induced mechanisms boosted plant resistance to toxicity by increasing antioxidant capacity, inhibiting heavy metal accumulation in the aerial part of the plant, restricting heavy metal translocation from root to leaves, and enhancing the relative water content of leaves.

Is a new feature learned behind a newly efficient color-orientation conjunction search?

It is well known that feature search is efficient, whereas conjunction search is usually inefficient. However, prior studies have shown that some conjunction search could become very efficient through perceptual learning, behaving like a traditional feature search. An unanswered question is whether a new feature is learned when an inefficient conjunction search become efficient after extensive training. A popular view is that the trained conjunction has been successfully unitized into a new feature and thus could pop out from neighboring distractors. Here, by using stimulus specificity and transfer of perceptual learning as an approach, we investigate whether a new feature is learned when an initially inefficient conjunction search becomes highly efficient after extensive training. In two experiments, we consistently found that long-term perceptual learning over days could induce an inefficient-to-efficient pattern change in a color-orientation conjunction search. Moreover, the learning effect of the conjunction target could partly transfer to a new target that shared a same color or a same orientation with the trained target. Remarkably, the total amount of the learning effect was approximately equal to the sum of the transfer effects of individual features. Such additive learning pattern could last for at least several months, although the learning of separate features showed different patterns of persistence. These results do not support that the trained conjunction is unitized into a new and inseparable feature after learning. Instead, our findings point to a feature-based attention enhancement mechanism underlying long-term perceptual learning and its persistence of color-orientation conjunction search.

Benzylaminopurine and Abscisic Acid Mitigates Cadmium and Copper Toxicity by Boosting Plant Growth, Antioxidant Capacity, Reducing Metal Accumulation and Translocation in Bamboo [Pleioblastus pygmaeus (Miq.)] Plants.

An in vitro experiment was conducted to determine the influence of phytohormones on the enhancement of bamboo resistance to heavy metal exposure (Cd and Cu). To this end, one-year-old bamboo plants (Pleioblastus pygmaeus (Miq.) Nakai.) contaminated by 100 µM Cd and 100 µM Cu both individually and in combination were treated with 10 µM, 6-benzylaminopurine and 10 µM abscisic acid. The results revealed that while 100 µM Cd and 100 µM Cu accelerated plant cell death and decreased plant growth and development, 10 µM 6-benzylaminopurine and 10 µM abscisic acid, both individually and in combination, increased plant growth by boosting antioxidant activities, non-antioxidants indices, tyrosine ammonia-lyase activity (TAL), as well as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity (PAL). Moreover, this combination enhanced protein thiol, total thiol, non-protein, glycine betaine (GB), the content of proline (Pro), glutathione (GSH), photosynthetic pigments (Chlorophyll and Carotenoids), fluorescence parameters, dry weight in shoot and root, as well as length of the shoot. It was then concluded that 6-benzyl amino purine and abscisic acid, both individually and in combination, enhanced plant tolerance under Cd and Cu through several key mechanisms, including increased antioxidant activity, improved photosynthesis properties, and decreased metals accumulation and metal translocation from root to shoot.

Genome-Wide Analysis of SQUAMOSA-Promoter-Binding Protein-like Family in Flowering Pleioblastus pygmaeus.

SQUAMOSA Promoter-Binding Protein-Like (SPL) family is well-known for playing an important role in plant growth and development, specifically in the reproductive process. Bamboo plants have special reproductive characteristics with a prolonged vegetative phase and uncertain flowering time. However, the underlying functions of SPL genes in reproductive growth are undisclosed in bamboo plants. In the study, a total of 28 SPLs were screened from an ornamental dwarf bamboo species, Pleioblastus pygmaeus. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that 183 SPLs from eight plant species can be classified into nine subfamilies, and the 28 PpSPLs are distributed among eight subfamilies. Homologous analysis shows that as many as 32 pairs of homologous genes were found between P. pygmaeus and rice, and 83 pairs were found between P. pygmaeus and Moso bamboo, whose Ka/Ks values are all <1. MiRNA target prediction reveals that 13 out of the 28 PpSPLs have recognition sites complementary to miRNA156. To screen the SPLs involved in the reproductive growth of bamboo plants, the mRNA abundance of the 28 PpSPLs was profiled in the different tissues of flowering P. pygmaeus and non-flowering plants by RNA-Seq. Moreover, the relative expression level of eight PpSPLs is significantly higher in flowering P. pygmaeus than that in non-flowering plants, which was also validated by RT-qPCR. Combined with phylogenetic analysis and homologous analysis, the eight significant, differentially expressed PpSPLs were identified to be associated with the reproductive process and flower organ development. Among them, there are four potential miRNA156-targeting PpSPLs involved in the flowering process. Of significant interest in the study is the identification of 28 SPLs and the exploration of four key flowering-related SPLs from P. pygmaeus, which provides a theoretic basis for revealing the underlying functions of SPLs in the reproductive growth of bamboo plants.

Comparative phylogenomic analyses and co-expression gene network reveal insights in flowering time and aborted meiosis in woody bamboo, Bambusa oldhamii 'Xia Zao' ZSX.

Woody bamboos have peculiar flowering characteristics with intervals ranging from several years to more than 100 years. Elucidating flowering time and reproductive development in bamboo could be beneficial for both humans and wildlife. To identity the mechanisms responsible for flowering time and embryo abortion in Bambusa oldhamii 'Xia Zao' ZSX, a transcriptome sequencing project was initiated to characterize the genes involved in developing flowers in this bamboo species. Morphological studies showed that pollen abortion in this bamboo species was mainly caused by a delay in tapetum degradation and abnormal meiotic process. Differential expression (DE) and optimized hierarchical clustering analyses identified three of nine gene expression clusters with decreasing expression at the meiosis of flowering stages. Together with enriched Gene Ontology Biological Process terms for meiosis, this suggests that their expression pattern may be associated with aborted meiosis in B. oldhamii 'Xia Zao'. Moreover, our large-scale phylogenomic analyses comparing meiosis-related transcripts of B. oldhamii 'Xia Zao' with well annotated genes in 22 representative angiosperms and sequence evolution analyses reveal two core meiotic genes NO EXINE FORMATION 1 (NFE1) and PMS1 with nonsense mutations in their coding regions, likely providing another line of evidence supporting embryo abortion in B. oldhamii 'Xia Zao'. Similar analyses, however, reveal conserved sequence evolution in flowering pathways such as LEAFY (LFY) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT). Seventeen orthogroups associated with flowering were identified by DE analyses between nonflowering and flowering culm buds. Six regulators found primarily in several connected network nodes of the photoperiod pathway were confirmed by mapping to the flowering time network in rice, such as Heading date (Hd3a) and Rice FT-like 1 (RFT1) which integrate upstream signaling into the downstream effectors. This suggests the existence of an intact photoperiod pathway is likely the key regulators that switch on/off flowering in B. oldhamii 'Xia Zao'.

Cellular differentiation, hormonal gradient, and molecular alternation between the division zone and the elongation zone of bamboo internodes.

Bamboo differentiates a cell division zone (DZ) and a cell elongation zone (EZ) to promote internode elongation during rapid growth. However, the biological mechanisms underlying this sectioned growth behavior are still unknown. Using histological, physiological, and genomic data, we found that the cell wall and other subcellular organelles such as chloroplasts are more developed in the EZ. Abundant hydrogen peroxide accumulated in the pith cells of the EZ, and stomata formed completely in the EZ. In contrast, most cells in the DZ were in an undifferentiated state with wrinkled cell walls and dense cytoplasm. Hormone detection revealed that the levels of gibberellin, auxin, cytokinin, and brassinosteroid were higher in the DZ than in the EZ. However, the levels of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid were higher in the EZ than in the DZ. Transcriptome analysis with qRT-PCR quantification revealed that the transcripts for cell division and primary metabolism had higher expression in the DZ, whereas the genes for photosynthesis, cell wall growth, and secondary metabolism were dramatically upregulated in the EZ. Overexpression of a MYB transcription factor, BmMYB83, promotes cell wall lignification in transgenic plants. BmMYB83 is specifically expressed in cells that may have lignin deposits, such as protoxylem vessels and fiber cells. Our results indicate that hormone gradient and transcriptome reprogramming, as well as specific expression of key genes such as BmMYB83, may lead to differentiation of cell growth in the bamboo internode.

Micropropagation, encapsulation, physiological, and genetic homogeneity assessment in Casuarina equisetifolia.

Casuarina equisetifolia is an important tree of the forest, cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, providing fuelwood, land reclamation, dune stabilization, paper production, and nitrogen fixation. We have developed a systematic in vitro propagation protocol in C. equisetifolia using nodal segments (NS). Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium augmented with BA (5.0 µM) and NAA (0.5 µM) gave rise to a maximum of 32.00 ± 0.31 shoots per explant (S/E) with shoot length (SL) of 3.94 ± 0.02 cm, and a maximum of 70% regeneration potential (RP) was recorded after 8 weeks of post inoculation. For root induction, in vitro derived shoots were transferred to the nutrient medium consisting of a half-strength (½) MS medium augmented with 2.5 µM NAA, which produced a maximum of 12.68 ± 0.33 roots/shoot (R/S) with 3.04 ± 0.50 cm root length (RL) in 60% of culture after 6 weeks. Micropropagated plants with healthy shoots and roots were successfully acclimatized in vermicompost + garden soil + sand (1:2:1) and a maximum survival percentage of 95.1% was recorded. NS was taken from a 6-weeks-old in vitro derived plant of C. equisetifolia for synthetic seed production, and it was reported that CaCl2 · 2H2O (100 mM) + Na2-alginate (4%) resulted in clear and uniform beads. Furthermore, the maximum conversion of synthetic seeds into plantlets occurred over a period of 4 weeks of storage at 4°C. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed the formation of direct shoot buds without any intermediate callus formation. In addition, the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of the direct regenerated and mother plant were compared. Similarly, RAPD and ISSR primers were used for genetic homogeneity assessment of the direct regenerated plants, where a total of 18 and 19, respectively, clear and reproducible bands with 100% monomorphism were recorded. The developed micropropagation protocol can certainly be used for large-scale multiplication and germplasm preservation of C. equisetifolia. It will also help in meeting the growing demands of C. equisetifolia in the forest industry.

Nanotechnological Interventions in Agriculture.

Agriculture is an important sector that plays an important role in providing food to both humans and animals. In addition, this sector plays an important role in the world economy. Changes in climatic conditions and biotic and abiotic stresses cause significant damage to agricultural production around the world. Therefore, the development of sustainable agricultural techniques is becoming increasingly important keeping in view the growing population and its demands. Nanotechnology provides important tools to different industrial sectors, and nowadays, the use of nanotechnology is focused on achieving a sustainable agricultural system. Great attention has been given to the development and optimization of nanomaterials and their application in the agriculture sector to improve plant growth and development, plant health and protection and overall performance in terms of morphological and physiological activities. The present communication provides up-to-date information on nanotechnological interventions in the agriculture sector. The present review deals with nanoparticles, their types and the role of nanotechnology in plant growth, development, pathogen detection and crop protection, its role in the delivery of genetic material, plant growth regulators and agrochemicals and its role in genetic engineering. Moreover, the role of nanotechnology in stress management is also discussed. Our aim in this review is to aid researchers to learn quickly how to use plant nanotechnology for improving agricultural production.

Design and Implementation of Real-Time Localization System (RTLS) Based on UWB and TDoA Algorithm.

Nowadays, accurate localization plays an essential role in many fields, such as target tracking and path planning. The challenges of indoor localization include inadequate localization accuracy, unreasonable anchor deployment in complex scenarios, lack of stability, and the high cost. So, the universal positioning technologies cannot meet the real application requirements scarcely. To overcome these shortcomings, a comprehensive ultra wide-band (UWB)-based real-time localization system (RTLS) is presented in this paper. We introduce the architecture of a real-time localization system, then propose a new wireless clock synchronization (WCS) scheme, and finally discuss the time difference of arrival (TDoA) algorithm. We define the time-base selection strategy for the TDoA algorithm, and we analyze the relationship between anchor deployment and positioning accuracy. The extended Kalman filter (EKF) method is presented for non-linear dynamic localization estimation, and it performs well in terms of stability and accuracy on moving targets.

Anatomical Characteristics and Variation Mechanisms on the Thick-Walled and Dwarfed Culm of Shidu Bamboo (Phyllostachys nidularia f. farcta).

Stable culm variants are valuable and important material for the study of culm development in bamboo plants. However, to date, there are few reports on the mechanism of variation of these bamboo variants. Phyllostachys nidularia f. farcta (Shidu bamboo) is a bamboo variant with stable phenotypes such as a dwarf culm with a thickened wall. In this study, we systematically investigated the cytological characteristics and underlying mechanism of morphological variation in culms of this variant using anatomical, mathematical statistical, physiological, and genomic methods. The anatomical observation and statistical results showed that the lateral increase of ground tissue in the inner layer of culm wall and the enlargement of vascular bundles are the anatomical essence of the wall thickening of Shidu bamboo; the limited elongation of fiber cells and the decrease in the number of parenchyma cells longitudinally are probably the main causes of the shortening of its internodes. A number of genes involved in the gibberellin synthesis pathway and in the synthesis of cell wall components are differentially expressed between the variant and its prototype, Ph. nidularia, and may play an important role in determining the phenotype of internode shortening in Shidu bamboo. The decrease in gibberellin content and the content of the major chemical components of the cell wall of Shidu bamboo confirmed the results of the above transcriptome. In addition, the variation in culm morphology in Shidu bamboo had little effect on the volume of the culm wall of individual internodes, suggesting that the decrease in the total number of internodes and the decrease in dry matter content (lignin, cellulose, etc.) may be the main factor for the sharp decline in culm biomass of Shidu bamboo.

Rapid growth of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis): Cellular roadmaps, transcriptome dynamics, and environmental factors.

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) shows remarkably rapid growth (114.5 cm/day), but the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. After examining more than 12,750 internodes from more than 510 culms from 17 Moso populations, we identified internode 18 as a representative internode for rapid growth. This internode includes a 2-cm cell division zone (DZ), a cell elongation zone up to 12 cm, and a secondary cell wall (SCW) thickening zone. These zones elongated 11.8 cm, produced approximately 570,000,000 cells, and deposited ∼28 mg g-1 dry weight (DW) lignin and ∼44 mg g-1 DW cellulose daily, far exceeding vegetative growth observed in other plants. We used anatomical, mathematical, physiological, and genomic data to characterize development and transcriptional networks during rapid growth in internode 18. Our results suggest that (1) gibberellin may directly trigger the rapid growth of Moso shoots, (2) decreased cytokinin and increased auxin accumulation may trigger cell DZ elongation, and (3) abscisic acid and mechanical pressure may stimulate rapid SCW thickening via MYB83L. We conclude that internode length involves a possible tradeoff mediated by mechanical pressure caused by rapid growth, possibly influenced by environmental temperature and regulated by genes related to cell division and elongation. Our results provide insight into the rapid growth of Moso bamboo.

High-pressure carbon dioxide-hydrothermal enhance yield and methylene blue adsorption performance of banana pseudo-stem activated carbon.

In order to reduce environmental risks and fungus disease spread of banana waste, the high-pressure CO2-hydrothermal treatment was developed to produce hydrochar as a precursor of activated carbon from banana pseudo-stem(BP). SEM, BET, XRD, Raman and FTIR was used to investigate the influence mechanism of the high-pressure CO2-hydrothermal pretreatment on the yield and methylene blue(MB) adsorption capacities of the activated carbon. The results show that although the adsorption capacities of BP after high-pressure CO2-hydrothermal pretreatment(BPx) is decrease due to decrease of oxygen-containing functional group and flatter spatial structure, that of BPx after KOH activation(BPx-A) significantly increase and is higher than that of BP by direct KOH activation(BP-A). Because BP-A presents honeycomb porous microstructures and has a higher mesoporous structure(138-472 m2/g), plentiful active sites and rich the abundant influential adsorption group of MB adsorption. In addition, compared to BP-A(0.68%), the total yield of BPx-A(2.42-9.11%) is 356-1340%.

Co-Application of 24-Epibrassinolide and Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles Promotes Pleioblastus pygmaeus Plant Tolerance to Cu and Cd Toxicity by Increasing Antioxidant Activity and Photosynthetic Capacity and Reducing Heavy Metal Accumulation and Translocation.

The integrated application of nanoparticles and phytohormones was explored in this study as a potentially eco-friendly remediation strategy to mitigate heavy metal toxicity in a bamboo species (Pleioblastus pygmaeus) by utilizing titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL). Hence, an in vitro experiment was performed to evaluate the role of 100 µM TiO2 NPs and 10-8 M 24-epibrassinolide individually and in combination under 100 µM Cu and Cd in a completely randomized design using four replicates. Whereas 100 µM of Cu and Cd reduced antioxidant activity, photosynthetic capacity, plant tolerance, and ultimately plant growth, the co-application of 100 µM TiO2 NPs and 10-8 M EBL+ heavy metals (Cu and Cd) resulted in a significant increase in plant antioxidant activity (85%), nonenzymatic antioxidant activities (47%), photosynthetic pigments (43%), fluorescence parameters (68%), plant growth (39%), and plant tolerance (41%) and a significant reduction in the contents of malondialdehyde (45%), hydrogen peroxide (36%), superoxide radical (62%), and soluble protein (28%), as well as the percentage of electrolyte leakage (49%), relative to the control. Moreover, heavy metal accumulation and translocation were reduced by TiO2 NPs and EBL individually and in combination, which could improve bamboo plant tolerance.