SoySNP618K array: A high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism platform as a valuable genomic resource for soybean genetics and breeding.

Innovations in genomics have enabled the development of low-cost, high-resolution, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays that accelerate breeding progress and support basic research in crop science. Here, we developed and validated the SoySNP618K array (618,888 SNPs) for the important crop soybean. The SNPs were selected from whole-genome resequencing data containing 2,214 diverse soybean accessions; 29.34% of the SNPs mapped to genic regions representing 86.85% of the 56,044 annotated high-confidence genes. Identity-by-state analyses of 318 soybeans revealed 17 redundant accessions, highlighting the potential of the SoySNP618K array in supporting gene bank management. The patterns of population stratification and genomic regions enriched through domestication were highly consistent with previous findings based on resequencing data, suggesting that the ascertainment bias in the SoySNP618K array was largely compensated for. Genome-wide association mapping in combination with reported quantitative trait loci enabled fine-mapping of genes known to influence flowering time, E2 and GmPRR3b, and of a new candidate gene, GmVIP5. Moreover, genomic prediction of flowering and maturity time in 502 recombinant inbred lines was highly accurate (>0.65). Thus, the SoySNP618K array is a valuable genomic tool that can be used to address many questions in applied breeding, germplasm management, and basic crop research.

AMPK alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress by inducing the ER-chaperone ORP150 via FOXO1 to protect human bronchial cells from apoptosis.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is characterized by inflammation of airways accompanied by a progressive destruction of lung parenchyma. This process is initiated in most cases by cigarette smoking. In this study we investigated the role of AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) in cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced airway epithelial cell apoptosis as a consequence of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress). Exposure of human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEpC) to CSE resulted in apoptosis as detected using Annexin V-PI flow cytometry. However, co-treatment with N1-(ß-d-ribofuranosyl)-5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide (AICAR), a pharmacological activator of AMPK, significantly increased cell protection against ER stress-induced apoptosis by upregulating the 150 kDa oxygen-regulated protein (ORP150), which functions as an ER-associated chaperone, with concomitant elevation of FOXO1, a critical transcription factor regulating ORP150 expression. Lentiviral silencing of AMPK or FOXO1 using short hairpin (sh) RNA resulted in a significant decrease of ORP150 and an elevation of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-homologous protein (CHOP) resulting in ER stress and apoptosis of HBEpC. Together, our results strongly suggest that AMPK can activate ORP150 through FOXO1 pathway and confer protection against ER stress-induced apoptosis of airway epithelial cells following exposure to CSE. Thus, AMPK may serve as a likely therapeutic target for clinical and sub-clinical interventions in COPD.

[Discriminate the Rape Sclerotinia at Early Stage Based on Confocal Raman Spectroscopy].

Oilseed rape(Brassica napus L. ) is a principal source of edible oil for human consumption and it feeds livestock as a by product with high energy and protein. However, oilseed plants often suffer from the invasion of various diseases, which could affect the yield and quality of the rapeseeds. Rape sclerotinia rot caused by the fungus sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib. ) de Bary may severely affect the growth of oilseed rape. Therefore, searching non-invasive detection methods of detection plant disease at early stage is crucial for monitoring growing conditions of crops. Confocal Raman spectroscopy in the region of 500～2 000 cm(-1) coupled with chemometrics methods were employed to discriminate the rape sclerotinia disease at early stage on the oilseed rape leaves. A total of 60 samples(30 healthy plant leaves and 30 infected leaves) were used to acquire the Raman spectra and wavelet transform was applied to remove the fluorescence background. Regression coefficients of the partial least squares-discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) were used to select the 8 characteristic peaks based on the whole Raman spectra. 983，1 001, 1 205, 1 521, 1 527, 1 658, 1 670 and 1 758 cm(-1) were employed to establish PLS-DA discriminate models and recognition accuracy was 100%. The results showed Raman spectra combined with chemometrics method is promising for detecting rape sclerotinia infection in the oilseed rape leaves at early stage. This study provided a theoretical reference for researching the interaction between the fungus and plants and early detecting of disease infection.

The synthesis of 4,7-disubstituted-2H-benzo[b][1,4]-oxazin-3(4H)-ones using Smiles rearrangement and their in vitro evaluation as platelet aggregation inhibitors.

A series of novel benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-one derivatives were synthesized as platelet aggregation inhibitors for structure-activity relationships (SAR) analysis. The synthetic pattern, involved Smiles rearrangement for the preparation of benzoxazine, was proven to be more efficient than the conventional methods. Biological evaluation demonstrated that among all the synthesized compounds, compound 9u (IC50=9.20µM) exhibited the most potent inhibition activity compared with aspirin, the positive control (IC50=7.07µM). Molecular docking revealed that these set of compounds could be the GPIIb/IIIa antagonist for that they could be situated in the binding site of GPIIb/IIIa receptor quite well.

miR­195 promotes LPS­mediated intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis via targeting SIRT1/eIF2a.

A microarray analysis of an animal model with experimental sepsis induced by caecal ligation and puncture revealed that the level of microRNA­195 (miR­195) was upregulated. However, to the best of our knowledge, the role of miR­195 in sepsis remains unknown. The present study investigated the effect of miR­195 on apoptosis in sepsis and investigated the underlying mechanism. The level of miR­195 was measured in human intestinal epithelial cells following exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cell viability and apoptosis were detected using Cell Counting kit­8 and flow cytometry assays. The expression levels of apoptosis­associated proteins were determined using western blot analysis. In addition, a dual­luciferase reporter assay was employed to verify the association between miR­195 and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Furthermore, the SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 was applied to further confirm the regulatory network of miR­195/SIRT1 in LPS­induced apoptosis. It was demonstrated that LPS significantly inhibited cell viability and promoted cell apoptosis in NCM460 cells in a dose­dependent manner. In addition, miR­195 was significantly upregulated following LPS treatment. The present results revealed that silencing miR­195 prevented apoptosis and alleviated cell injury in LPS­induced NCM460 cells. Further investigation demonstrated that miR­195 bound directly to and negatively regulated SIRT1. Inhibition of SIRT1 reversed the protective effects of miR­195­silencing on the apoptosis and viability of NCM460 cells. Furthermore, silencing miR­195 prevented endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress­induced apoptosis via a downregulation of SIRT1 and its downstream effectors, including activating transcription factor 4, C/EBP homologous protein, glucose­regulated protein 78 and growth arrest and DNA­damage protein 34, as well as the phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2A. In conclusion, the present study revealed a novel mechanism by which miR­195 regulates SIRT1­mediated downstream effectors in ER stress­induced apoptosis in sepsis.

Clinical observation on treatment of depression by electro-acupuncture combined with Paroxetine.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of Paroxetine combined with electro-acupuncture (EA) in treating depression. METHODS: Forty-two patients with depression were randomly assigned to the observation group (22 patients) treated with EA combined with Paroxetine, and the control group (20 patients) treated with Paroxetine alone, and the therapeutic course for both groups was 6 weeks. The therapeutic efficacy and adverse reactions were evaluated with scores by Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) and treatment emergent symptoms scale (TESS), respectively. RESULTS: HAMD scores determined at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th week of the treatment course were significantly lower in the observation group than those in the control group (P<0.05). The significant improvement rate evaluated at the end of the 6-week treatment was remarkably higher in the observation group than that in the control group (72.7% vs 40.0%). No significant difference of TESS scores was found between the two groups. CONCLUSION: EA combined with Paroxetine has better clinical efficacy than that of Paroxetine alone, with milder adverse reaction and quicker initiation of effect.

UV spectroscopic studies and charge transfer properties of azobenzene-containing cyclopentadienyliron complexes of arenes: a combined experimental and density functional theoretical study.

This study investigates the UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence emission of newly synthesized (η(6)-4-(4-nitrophenylazo) phenoxyl benzene) (η(5)-cyclopentadienyl) iron hexafluorophosphate (Fc-azo). Quantum chemical calculations of the orbital energy, geometrical structure, absorption spectra, and first hyperpolarizability (ß) values of the Fc-azo were carried out using density functional (DFT/B3LYP and TD-DFT) methods. Comparisons between hydroxyl azobenzene compound and Fc-azo were made. Results showed that the observed spectra were in good agreement with the calculated values. The positive solvatochromism of the UV-Vis absorption of Fc-azo upon the increase in solvent polarity from the experiment and the calculated HOMO and LUMO energies showed that charge transfer occurred within the molecule. Moreover, the change in electron distribution led to the improved ß for Fc-azo.

[Preparation of polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds and study on its biodegradation behaviors in vivo and in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To fabricate polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds owning the similar physiological structure of ECM, and to observe its biodegradation behavior in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: (1) The PVA nanofibrous scaffold and PVA/chitosan hybrid nanofibrous scaffold were fabricated by electrospinning technique, and then they were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde vapor method. The morphology of both scaffolds was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). (2) Biodegradation experiment in vitro: the samples of two scaffolds with size of 2 cm x 2 cm were placed into phosphate-buffer saline (PBS) fluid under 37.0 degrees C water for incubation, and then they were dried to observe morphologic changes under SEM on post incubation day (PID) 3, 7, and 14. (3) Biodegradation experiment in vivo: 48 Wistar rats were divided into PVA group and PVA/chitosan group according to the random number table, with 24 rats in each group. PVA or PVA/chitosan nanofibrous scaffold was implanted into subcutaneous tissue on both sides of back in rats of both groups, with 4 scaffolds in each rat. The scaffold samples were harvested to observe morphologic changes with HE staining on post operation day (POD) 3, 7, 14, and 28. RESULTS: (1) After crosslinking, the surface of fibers in PVA and PVA/chitosan hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds were smooth, and the diameters of fibers were similar, ranging from 200 to 300 nm, with high porosity. (2) Biodegradation experiment in vitro showed that the morphologic changes in fiber was respectively swelling, dissolution, fusion in PVA nanofibrous scaffold on PID 3, 7, 14, and that in PVA/chitosan hybrid nanofibrous scaffold was respectively swelling, dissolution and fragmentation, and disappearance. (3) Biodegradation experiment in vivo showed that the morphologic changes in scaffold structure was respectively loosening, fuzziness of edges, degradation, and disappearance in PVA group and PVA/chitosan group on POD 3, 7, 14, 28. CONCLUSIONS: PVA/chitosan hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds can be prepared with electrospinning technique, and it has an appropriate biodegradation rate compatible with tissue reconstruction after crosslinking.

[Effects of exogenous tetracycline on rape soil enzyme activity and rape quality].

This paper studied the effects of applying different concentration (0, 0.30, 0.60, and 0.90 mg x kg(-1)) tetracycline on the soil enzyme activities and rape quality. The results showed that soil urease activity after applied 0.30, 0.60, and 0.90 mg x kg(-1) of tetracycline and soil suerase activity after applied 0.90 mg x kg(-1) of tetracycline were inhibited in the whole cultivating period, while the soil sucrase activity after applied 0.30 and 0.60 mg x kg(-1) of tetracycline showed a trend of activation-inhibition-activation. Soil proteinase activity showed a trend of inhibition-activation, and the extent and duration of the inhibition and activation had significant positive correlations with tetracycline concentration (r = 0.950 * *). Soil catalase activity showed activation first and turned to irregular then. The action duration of tetracycline on the activities of soil urease, catalase, sucrase and proteinase were 7 weeks, 6-8 weeks, 7 weeks, and 6-7 weeks, respectively. At harvest time, the soluble sugar contents in rape leaves after applying 0.30, 0.60, and 0.90 mg x kg(-1) of tetracycline decreased dramatically by 91.99%, 87.92%, 90.12%, while the soluble protein content increased by 26.47%, 28.13%, and 23.22%, respectively, compared to the control.