Differential susceptibility of BRL cells with/without insulin resistance and the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathway in response to acrylamide-exposure toxicity effects in vitro.

Acrylamide (ACR) is an endogenous food contaminant, high levels of ACR have been detected in a large number of foods, causing widespread concern. Since different organism states respond differently to the toxic effects of pollutants, this study establishes an insulin-resistant BRL cell model to explore the differential susceptibility of BRL cells with/without insulin resistance in response to acrylamide-exposure (0.0002, 0.02, or 1 mM) toxicity effects and its mechanism. The results showed that ACR exposure decreased glucose uptake and increased intracellular lipid levels by promoting the expression of fatty acid synthesis, transport, and gluconeogenesis genes and inhibiting the expression of fatty acid metabolism genes, thereby further exacerbating disorders of gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism in insulin-resistant BRL cells. Simultaneously, its exposure also exacerbated BRL cells with/without insulin-resistant damage. Meanwhile, insulin resistance significantly raised susceptibility to BRL cell response to ACR-induced toxicity. Furthermore, ACR exposure further activated the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) signaling pathway (promoting phosphorylation of PERK, eIF-2α, and IRE-1α) and the apoptosis signaling pathway (activating Caspase-3 and increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio) in BRL cells with insulin-resistant, which were also attenuated after ROS scavenging or ERS signaling pathway blockade. Overall results suggested that ACR evokes a severer toxicity effect on BRL cells with insulin resistance through the overactivation of the ERS signaling pathway.

Fas ligand regulate nerve injury and repair by affecting AKT, ß-catenin, and NF-κB pathways.

Objective: To investigate the regulatory effect of Fas-L on the repair and regeneration of peripheral extension injury in rats. Methods: This study aimed to explore the effects of Fas-L on apoptosis and axonal regeneration of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells in rat peripheral nerve repair and regeneration by using several relevant experimental techniques from the injured nerve animal model, cell biology, and molecular biology. Results: The expression level of Fas-L in DRG tissues was significantly down-regulated after sciatic nerve injury. Interference with Fas-L can significantly promote the regeneration of DRG neuronal axons and inhibit apoptosis, while the overexpression of Fas-L is contrary to it. Moreover, Fas-L may play a role in the regulation of DRG function and the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerves in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats by affecting several signaling pathways, such as p-AKT/AKT, ß-catenin, and NF-κB. Conclusion: Fas-L may have a certain effect on the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve injury in SD rats, which may provide an experimental basis and a new theoretical basis for the functional reconstruction of peripheral nerves. Significance statement: The expression level of Fas-L in DRG tissues was significantly down-regulated after sciatic nerve injury. Fas-L can significantly promote the regeneration of DRG neuronal axons and inhibit apoptosis. Fas-L may play a role in the regulation of DRG function and the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerves in SD rats by affecting several signaling pathways, such as p-AKT/AKT, ß-catenin, and NF-κB. Fas-L may have a certain effect on the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve injury in SD rats, which may provide an experimental basis and a new theoretical basis for the functional reconstruction of peripheral nerves.

Spatiotemporal evolution and mechanisms of tourism efficiency and its decomposition: Evidence from 63 counties in Zhejiang, China.

Although efficiency analysis could reflect the state and quality of tourism's economic development, no research has been conducted investigating the spatiotemporal evolution and mechanisms of county-level tourism efficiency. We quantified tourism efficiency and its decomposition in 63 counties of Zhejiang, employing the bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA), hot spot analysis, and quantile regression to explore the spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of tourism efficiency, and examine its driving and constraining mechanisms. The results uncovered obvious upward trends in the tourism efficiency of Zhejiang's counties, with the mean value increasing from 0.285 to 0.688. Compared with scale efficiency, the influence of technological efficiency on the growth of comprehensive efficiency increased remarkably. Significant differences were evident in the spatial distributions of the identified hot and cold spots of comprehensive efficiency, which were respectively distributed in northern and southern Zhejiang. The distributions of decomposition efficiency were found to be spatially dependent. The driving mechanism of tourism efficiency involve two driving influences and two constraining influences, including economy and resource driving, market and traffic driving, industry and traffic constraining, and market and industry constraining. The findings of this study contribute to understanding of tourism efficiency growth in regional destinations and provide insights for strategic policymaking in various counties of Zhejiang.

Effect of acupressure in nausea and vomiting treatment during pregnancy: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Many women experience nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Regardless of the disease severity, it affects the work and life of pregnant women. However, drug treatment may potentially impact the foetus; thus, alternative safe and effective measures are essential. We aimed to evaluate the effect of acupressure, a non-drug treatment for nausea and vomiting, during pregnancy. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP, and Wanfang databases were searched using 'pregnancy', 'nausea', 'vomiting', and 'acupressure' as keywords. The search period was from database inception to 30 November 2022. Two researchers independently screened articles, extracted data, and used RevMan 5.4 software for statistical analysis. RESULTS: We included 33 trials and 3 390 patients in this meta-analysis. Acupressure was effective for women with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (odds ratio (OR)= 4.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) [3.47, 6.68]; p<0.0001); it significantly reduced the nausea score of the Rhodes index (mean square deviation (MD): -3.21, 95% CI [-4.85, -1.57], Z = 3.83, p = 0.0001), modified Pregnancy Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea score (MD: -2.18, 95% CI [-3.21, -1.15], Z = 4.15, p<0.0001), and hospital stay (OR=-3.27, 95% CI [-6.18, -0.36]; p = 0.03) and improved quality of life (MD: -14.06,95% CI [- 17.31, -10.18], Z = 8.48, p<0.00001). However, no significant difference was observed in nursing satisfaction and anxiety scores (OR=4.13, 95% CI [0.89, 19.15]; p = 0.07) (MD: -13.26,95% CI [-32.04,5.53], Z = 1.38, p = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provides evidence of a non-drug intervention for women with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy; acupressure effectively reduces nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Role of Long Non-coding RNA in Nerve Regeneration.

Nerve injury can be caused by a variety of factors. It often takes a long time to repair a nerve injury and severe nerve injury is even difficult to heal. Therefore, increasing attention has focused on nerve injury and repair. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a newly discovered non-coding RNA with a wide range of biological activities. Numerous studies have shown that a variety of lncRNAs undergo changes in expression after nerve injury, indicating that lncRNAs may be involved in various biological processes of nerve repair and regeneration. Herein, we summarize the biological roles of lncRNAs in neurons, glial cells and other cells during nerve injury and regeneration, which will help lncRNAs to be better applied in nerve injury and regeneration in the future.

SpectralMAE: Spectral Masked Autoencoder for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Image Reconstruction.

Accurate hyperspectral remote sensing information is essential for feature identification and detection. Nevertheless, the hyperspectral imaging mechanism poses challenges in balancing the trade-off between spatial and spectral resolution. Hardware improvements are cost-intensive and depend on strict environmental conditions and extra equipment. Recent spectral imaging methods have attempted to directly reconstruct hyperspectral information from widely available multispectral images. However, fixed mapping approaches used in previous spectral reconstruction models limit their reconstruction quality and generalizability, especially dealing with missing or contaminated bands. Moreover, data-hungry issues plague increasingly complex data-driven spectral reconstruction methods. This paper proposes SpectralMAE, a novel spectral reconstruction model that can take arbitrary combinations of bands as input and improve the utilization of data sources. In contrast to previous spectral reconstruction techniques, SpectralMAE explores the application of a self-supervised learning paradigm and proposes a masked autoencoder architecture for spectral dimensions. To further enhance the performance for specific sensor inputs, we propose a training strategy by combining random masking pre-training and fixed masking fine-tuning. Empirical evaluations on five remote sensing datasets demonstrate that SpectralMAE outperforms state-of-the-art methods in both qualitative and quantitative metrics.

Gallium nitride-based resonant cavity light-emitting diode with single-longitudinal-mode emission.

A novel, to the best of our knowledge, gallium nitride (GaN)-based resonant cavity light-emitting diode (RCLED) with single-longitudinal-mode light emission was demonstrated. A Ta2O5/SiO2 dielectric distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) with a filter-film structure was adopted as the top mirror. In contrast to the flat-topped reflectivity spectrum of the conventional high-reflective-structure DBR, for this filter-film-structure DBR, there is a light-transmitting concave band on the reflectivity spectrum. Owing to the modulation effect of this band on the output light, a single-longitudinal-mode light emission with a full width at half maximum as low as 0.63 nm was realized. Furthermore, the novel RCLED exhibited better wavelength stability. With an increase in the injection current from 50 to 500 mA, the redshift of the emission peak was only 0.2 nm. This novel RCLED with ultra-narrowband emission has a high potential for application in optical communication systems and optical fiber sensing applications.

KT2 alleviates ulcerative colitis by reducing Th17 cell differentiation through the miR-302c-5p/STAT3 axis.

BACKGROUND: The abnormal differentiation of Th17 cells aggravates ulcerative colitis (UC). Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exert pivotal protection functions against UC. KT2 is a cationic AMP that mediates colon cancer development. However, KT2's function in UC remains unclear. METHODS: The UC mouse model was induced by administering 2.5% dextran sulfate sodium, and the mice were given an enema of KT2. KT2's function in UC and Th17 cell differentiation in vivo was evaluated through various molecular experiments. The KT2's function in Th17 cell differentiation in vitro was evaluated by the proportion of CD4+ IL-17+ T cells, IL-17 levels, and RORγt expression levels. Meanwhile, the mechanism was assessed through quantitative real-time PCR, various loss-of-function assays, and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: KT2 restrained Th17 cell differentiation in both in vivo and in vitro UC models and slowed the UC process. KT2 elevated miR-302c-5p expression, as well as restrained Th17 cell differentiation by increasing miR-302c-5p. Meanwhile, miR-302c-5p interacted with the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and negatively regulated its expression. Furthermore, our data revealed that KT2 restrained the activation of STAT3 by elevating miR-302c-5p, thereby inhibiting Th17 cell differentiation. CONCLUSION: KT2 alleviates UC by repressing Th17 cell differentiation through the miR-302c-5p/STAT3 axis.

Lithium Fluoride Coated Silicon Nanocolumns as Anodes for Lithium Ion Batteries.

Silicon (Si) films are promising anode materials in thin-film lithium batteries due to their high capacity of 3578 mAh g-1, but the huge volume expansion of lithiated Li15Si4 and the unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) preclude their practical application. Here lithium fluoride (LiF) coated Si nanocolumns are fabricated by glancing angle evaporation to address the obstacle. The LiF coating can elevate the lithium ion diffusion coefficient (LDC) of Si electrodes upon the alloying reaction and reduce the LDC upon the SEI formation. The composition evolution of the outer SEI layer in the LiF/Si electrodes is studied by ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The modified surface and mitigated volume expansion enable the LiF/Si nanocolumns to exhibit superior rate capability and higher cycling stability compared with the pristine Si nanocolumns. This work demonstrates the positive effect of LiF coating for reducing the polarization and forming a robust SEI film on Si anodes.

A "time-frozen" technique in microchannel used for the thermodynamic studies of DNA origami.

The emergence of DNA origami greatly accelerated the development of DNA nanotechnology. A thorough understanding of origami thermodynamics is very important for both fundamental studies and practical applications. These thermodynamic transitions usually take place in several seconds or even less, and are very difficult to monitor by conventional methods. Numerous tests are required to characterize the origami molecule's behaviors at different temperatures, which is very labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this paper, an axially distributed temperature gradient along a capillary was formed in a spatially varying temperature field. In such a temperature gradient, the origami molecule's thermodynamic processes occur and remain stable at every position along the capillary's microchannel. It looks like the time of the thermodynamic process is frozen along the microchannel. With this method, the origami molecule's thermodynamic characteristics at different temperatures can be obtained in a single experiment, and rapid processes can be monitored with ease by conventional methods for an adequate time period at low cost. In order to show its potential abilities, this method has been demonstrated in applications which the origami's assembly, denaturation and strand displacement are carry out in a flowing or stationary solution.

LFR is functionally associated with AS2 to mediate leaf development in Arabidopsis.

Leaves are essential organs for plants. We previously identified a functional gene possibly encoding a component of the SWI/SNF complex named Leaf and Flower Related (LFR) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Loss-of-function mutants of LFR displayed obvious defects in leaf morphogenesis, indicating its vital role in leaf development. Here an allelic null mutant of ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2), as2-6, was isolated as an enhancer of lfr-1 in petiole length, vasculature pattern and leaf margin development. The lfr as2 double-mutants showed enhanced ectopic expression of BREVIPEDICELLUS (BP) compared with each of the single-mutants, which is consistent with their synergistic genetic enhancement in multiple BP-dependent development processes. Moreover, LFR and several putative subunits of the SWI/SNF complex interacted physically with AS2. LFR associated with BP chromatin in an AS1-AS2-dependent manner to promote the nucleosome occupancy for appropriate BP repression in leaves. Taken together, our findings reveal that LFR and the SWI/SNF complex play roles in leaf development at least partly by repressing BP transcription as interacting factors of AS2, which expounds our understanding of BP repression at the chromatin structure level in leaf development.

Melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells are relatively resistant to excitotoxicity induced by N-methyl-d-aspartate.

Excitotoxicity plays an important role in neuronal loss in glaucoma. Previous studies indicate melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are more injury-resistant. However, whether melanopsin-expressing ipRGCs are resistant to N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) induced excitotoxicity is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of NMDA-induced excitotoxicity in conventional retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and melanopsin-expressing ipRGCs in adult mice. The loss of RGCs and the reduction of the thickness of inner plexiform layer (IPL) were studied by histology, immunofluorescence, TUNEL assay and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The remaining conventional RGCs and ipRGCs were quantified on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 21st day after NMDA injection using immunofluorescence. NMDA mediated acute and severe damage of conventional RGCs damage in a time-dependent manner, and approximately 85% of the conventional RGCs were lost on the 21st days. Furthermore, a significant reduction of the IPL thickness was observed. Moreover, compared to the PBS-injected eyes, the density of total melanopsin-positive RGCs decreased by 25% on the 1st day after NMDA injection, and then the density was constant at other time points. Our results suggest that melanopsin-expressing ipRGCs are relatively resistant to excitotoxicity induced by NMDA.

Directed transdifferentiation of Müller glial cells to photoreceptors using the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway agonist purmorphamine.

Specification of distinct cell types from Müller glial cells is key to the potential application of endogenous repair in retinal regeneration. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) has been established as a potent mitogen for rat Müller glial cells, which also induces Müller glial cells to dedifferentiate and adopt the phenotype of rod photoreceptors. The present study investigated the effects of purmorphamine, a small molecule that activates the SHH­pathway, in the proliferation, dedifferentiation and transdifferentiation of Müller glial cells, as determined by several methods including immunofluorescence, polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. It was demonstrated that it may be able to replace SHH for the regeneration of retinal neurons. Purmorphamine was revealed to stimulate the proliferation of Müller glial cells by increasing the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin D3. In addition, purmorphamine­treated Müller glial cells were induced to dedifferentiate by inducing the expression of progenitor­specific markers; subsequently differentiating into rod­like photoreceptors. Intraocular injection of purmorphamine promoted the activation of Müller glial cells, and in turn, the production of rod­like photoreceptors in acute damaged retina. These results suggested that the endogenous neurogenic capacity of retinal Müller glial cells may be enhanced by this small molecular agonist of the SHH signaling pathway.

High-Q Wafer Level Package Based on Modified Tri-Layer Anodic Bonding and High Performance Getter and Its Evaluation for Micro Resonant Pressure Sensor.

In order to achieve and maintain a high quality factor (high-Q) for the micro resonant pressure sensor, this paper presents a new wafer level package by adopting cross-layer anodic bonding technique of the glass/silicon/silica (GSS) stackable structure and integrated Ti getter. A double-layer structure similar to a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer is formed after the resonant layer and the pressure-sensitive layer are bonded by silicon direct bonding (SDB). In order to form good bonding quality between the pressure-sensitive layer and the glass cap layer, the cross-layer anodic bonding technique is proposed for vacuum package by sputtering Aluminum (Al) on the combination wafer of the pressure-sensitive layer and the resonant layer to achieve electrical interconnection. The model and the bonding effect of this technique are discussed. In addition, in order to enhance the performance of titanium (Ti) getter, the prepared and activation parameters of Ti getter under different sputtering conditions are optimized and discussed. Based on the optimized results, the Ti getter (thickness of 300 nm to 500 nm) is also deposited on the inside of the glass groove by magnetron sputtering to maintain stable quality factor (Q). The Q test of the built testing system shows that the number of resonators with a Q value of more than 10,000 accounts for more than 73% of the total. With an interval of 1.5 years, the Q value of the samples remains almost constant. It proves the proposed cross-layer anodic bonding and getter technique can realize high-Q resonant structure for long-term stable operation.

New medium used in the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to retinal cells is comparable to fetal human eye tissue.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have the potential to differentiate along the retinal lineage. However, most induction systems are dependent on multiple small molecular compounds such as Dkk-1, Lefty-A, and retinoic acid. In the present study, we efficiently differentiated hPSCs into retinal cells using a retinal differentiation medium (RDM) without the use of small molecular compounds. This novel differentiation system recapitulates retinal morphogenesis in humans, i.e. hPSCs gradually differentiate into optic vesicle-shaped spheres, followed by optic cup-shaped spheres and, lastly, retinal progenitor cells. Furthermore, at different stages, hPSC-derived retinal cells mirror the transcription factor expression profiles seen in their counterparts during human embryogenesis. Most importantly, hinge epithelium was found between the hPSC-derived neural retina (NR) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). These data suggest that our culture system provides a new method for generating hPSC-derived retinal cells that, for the first time, might be used in human transplantation.

Effect of plastic film mulching on the grain filling and hormonal changes of maize under different irrigation conditions.

Plastic film mulching (PM) is widely utilized for maize production in China. However, the effect of PM on the grain yield of crops has not been established, and the biochemical mechanism underlying the increase or decrease in grain yield under PM is not yet understood. Grain filling markedly affects the grain yield. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of PM on maize grain filling under different irrigation levels and the relationship of such effects with hormonal changes. In the present study, PM was compared with traditional nonmulching management (TN) under 220 mm, 270 mm and 320 mm irrigation amount, and the grain filling characters of the grains located in various parts of the ear and the hormonal changes in the grains were measured. The results indicated that at 220 mm irrigation, PM significantly increased the grain filling rate of the middle and basal grains and decreased the grain filling rate of the upper grains. At 270 mm irrigation, the PM significantly increased the grain filling rate of the all grains. At 320 mm irrigation, the PM only significantly increased the grain filling rate of the upper grains. The IAA, Z+ZR and ABA content in the grains was positively correlated with the grain weight and grain-filling rates; however, the ETH evolution rate of the grains was negatively correlated with the grain weight and grain-filling rates. These results show that the effect of PM on maize grain filling is related to the irrigation amount and that the grain position on the ear and the grain filling of the upper grains was more sensitive to PM and irrigation than were the other grains. In addition, the PM and irrigation regulated the balance of hormones rather than the content of individual hormones to affect the maize grain filling.

Developmental origin of the posterior pigmented epithelium of iris.

Iris epithelium is a double-layered pigmented cuboidal epithelium. According to the current model, the neural retina and the posterior iris pigment epithelium (IPE) are derived from the inner wall of the optic cup, while the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and the anterior IPE are derived from the outer wall of the optic cup during development. Our current study shows evidence, contradicting this model of fetal iris development. We demonstrate that human fetal iris expression patterns of Otx2 and Mitf transcription factors are similar, while the expressions of Otx2 and Sox2 are complementary. Furthermore, IPE and RPE exhibit identical morphologic development during the early embryonic period. Our results suggest that the outer layer of the optic cup forms two layers of the iris epithelium, and the posterior IPE is the inward-curling anterior rim of the outer layer of the optic cup. These findings provide a reasonable explanation of how IPE cells can be used as an appropriate substitute for RPE cells.

[Preparation of Sodium Aescinat micro-emulsion for injection].

OBJECTIVE: To prepare and optimize the conditions of Sodium Aescinat micro-emulsion for injection. METHODS: Sodium Aescinat O/W micro-emulsion (soybean phospholipids + HS15/glycerin/medium chain triglycerides/water) was formulated guided by the pseudo-titration ternary phase diagram. RESULTS: Stable Sodium Aescinat micro-emulsion was obtained with medium chain triglycerides as oil, soybean phospholipids + HS15 (1:2) as emulsifier, glycerin as co-emulsifier, and a ratio of emulsifier and co-emulsifier (Km) between 2.00-3.75. CONCLUSION: Stable Sodium Aescinat micro-emulsion can be prepared with conditions described in this study.

Liposomes formulated with fMLP-modified cholesterol for enhancing drug concentration at inflammatory sites.

Improving efficacy of inflammation treatment by increasing drug delivery to the inflammatory sites is a challenging endeavor. N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), the first discovered leukocyte chemotaxis peptide, is composed of formyl methionine, leucine and phenylalanine. It conjugates with formyl peptide receptors on the target cells with high receptor expression on the surface such as macrophages. With this in mind, we developed a novel fMLP-modified liposome (fMLP-LIP) for enhancing drug delivery to the inflammatory sites and resolving the systemic reaction issue with conventional anti-inflammatory drugs. Being a more stable and cheaper liposomal component than phospholipids, cholesterol (CHO) has been thoroughly investigated as an alternative anchor. In this study, fMLP was covalently conjugated with CHO with polyethylene glycol link to prepare the liposomes, cellular uptake of liposomes by differentiated human U937 cells was examined and cellular uptake experiment in vitro was employed to optimize fMLP-LIP prescription and investigate the uptake mechanism. An in vivo inflammatory model was established to evaluate the targeting performance of fMLP-LIP to inflammatory site. The in vitro and in vivo findings indicate that the fMLP ligands playing an important role in increasing drug delivery to inflammatory sites and fMLP-LIP as a promising anti-inflammatory drug carrier.

The relationship between polyamines and hormones in the regulation of wheat grain filling.

The grain weight of wheat is strongly influenced by filling. Polyamines (PA) are involved in regulating plant growth. However, the effects of PA on wheat grain filling and its mechanism of action are unclear. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between PAs and hormones in the regulation of wheat grain filling. Three PAs, spermidine (Spd), spermine (Spm), and putrescine (Put), were exogenously applied, and the grain filling characteristics and changes in endogenous PA and hormones, i.e., indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), zeatin (Z) + zeatin riboside (ZR), abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ETH) and gibberellin 1+4 (GAs), were quantified during wheat grain filling. Exogenous applications of Spd and Spm significantly increased the grain filling rate and weight, but exogenous Put had no significant effects on these measures. Exogenous Spd and Spm significantly increased the endogenous Spd, Spm, Z+ZR, ABA, and IAA contents and significantly decreased ETH evolution in grains. The endogenous Spd, Spm and Z+ZR contents were positively and significantly correlated with the grain filling rate and weight of wheat, and the endogenous ETH evolution was negatively and significantly correlated with the wheat grain filling rate and weight. Based upon these results, we concluded that PAs were involved in the balance of hormones that regulated the grain filling of wheat.