Rice GA3ox1 modulates pollen starch granule accumulation and pollen wall development.

The rice GA biosynthetic gene OsGA3ox1 has been proposed to regulate pollen development through the gametophytic manner, but cellular characterization of its mutant pollen is lacking. In this study, three heterozygotic biallelic variants, "-3/-19", "-3/-2" and "-3/-10", each containing one null and one 3bp-deletion allele, were obtained by the CRISPR/Cas9 technique for the functional study of OsGA3ox1. The three homozygotes, "-19/-19", "-2/-2" and "-10/-10", derived from heterozygotic variants, did not affect the development of most vegetative and floral organs but showed a significant reduction in seed-setting rate and in pollen viability. Anatomic characterizations of these mutated osga3ox1 pollens revealed defects in starch granule accumulation and pollen wall development. Additional molecular characterization suggests that abnormal pollen development in the osga3ox1 mutants might be linked to the regulation of transcription factors OsGAMYB, OsTDR and OsbHLH142 during late pollen development. In brief, the rice GA3ox1 is a crucial gene that modulates pollen starch granule accumulation and pollen wall development at the gametophytic phase.

Sustained Response to Ruxolitinib of Eosinophilia-Associated Myeloproliferative Neoplasm with Translocation t(8;9)(p21;p24).

The translocation t(8;9) produces the fusion gene PCM1-JAK2, resulting in the continuous activation of the JAK2 tyrosine kinase. Myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms are the most common disease with t(8;9)/PCM1-JAK2. Individuals with this abnormality have similar features, and JAK2 kinase inhibitor (ruxolitinib) is an effective treatment of the condition. The long-term remission results of ruxolitinib are varied. It is important to determine the response to ruxolitinib. Here, we describe a patient who has been diagnosed with eosinophilia-associated myeloproliferative neoplasm with t(8;9)(p21;p24). This patient has achieved sustained response for >1 year since the administration of ruxolitinib.

APR-QKDN: A Quantum Key Distribution Network Routing Scheme Based on Application Priority Ranking.

As the foundation of quantum secure communication, the quantum key distribution (QKD) network is impossible to construct by using the operation mechanism of traditional networks. In the meantime, most of the existing QKD network routing schemes do not fit some specific quantum key practicality scenarios. Aiming at the special scenario of high concurrency and large differences in application requirements, we propose a new quantum key distribution network routing scheme based on application priority ranking (APR-QKDN). Firstly, the proposed APR-QKDN scheme comprehensively uses the application's priority, the total amount of key requirements, and the key update rate for prioritizing a large number of concurrent requests. The resource utilization and service efficiency of the network are improved by adjusting the processing order of requests. Secondly, the queuing strategy of the request comprehensively considers the current network resource situation. This means the same key request may adopt different evaluation strategies based on different network resource environments. Finally, the performance of the APR-QKDN routing scheme is compared with the existing schemes through simulation experiments. The results show that the success rate of application key requests of the APR-QKDN routing scheme is improved by at least 5% in the scenario of high concurrency.

The stress-induced metabolites changes in the flavor formation of oolong tea during enzymatic-catalyzed process: A case study of Zhangping Shuixian tea.

To interpret the environmental stresses induced dynamic changes of volatile and non-volatile constitutes in oolong tea leaves during enzymatic-catalyzed processes (ECP), metabolomic and proteomic studies were carried out using the processed leaf samples collected at the different stages of ECP for Zhangping Shuixian tea manufacture. Non-processed leaves were applied as control. Out of identified 980 non-volatiles and 157 volatiles, 40 non-volatiles and 8 volatiles were screened out as biomarkers, respectively. The integrated analysis on metabolites-proteins showed that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, and phenylalanine metabolism were significantly enriched and highly correlated to the dynamic changes of key metabolites during ECP stage. A biological pathway network was constructed to illuminate the enzymatic-catalyzed production of critical flavoring compounds, including carbohydrates, amino acids, flavonoids, and volatile phenylpropanoids/benzenoids. The electronic-sensory analyses indicated leaf dehydration and mechanical wounding occurred over the sun-withering and turning-over steps are indispensable to form characteristic flavor of Shuixian tea.

DDKA-QKDN: Dynamic On-Demand Key Allocation Scheme for Quantum Internet of Things Secured by QKD Network.

In the era of the interconnection of all things, the security of the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a new challenge. The theoretical basis of unconditional security can be guaranteed by using quantum keys, which can form a QKD network-based security protection system of quantum Internet of Things (Q-IoT). However, due to the low generation rate of the quantum keys, the lack of a reasonable key allocation scheme can reduce the overall service quality. Therefore, this paper proposes a dynamic on-demand key allocation scheme, named DDKA-QKDN, to better meet the requirements of lightweight in the application scenario of Q-IoT and make efficient use of quantum key resources. Taking the two processes of the quantum key pool (QKP) key allocation and the QKP key supplement into account, the scheme dynamically allocates quantum keys and supplements the QKP on demand, which quantitatively weighs the quantum key quantity and security requirements of key requests in proportion. The simulation results show that the system efficiency and the ability of QKP to provide key request services are significantly improved by this scheme.

Dynamic Robustness of Open-Source Project Knowledge Collaborative Network Based on Opinion Leader Identification.

A large amount of semantic content is generated during designer collaboration in open-source projects (OSPs). Based on the characteristics of knowledge collaboration behavior in OSPs, we constructed a directed, weighted, semantic-based knowledge collaborative network. Four social network analysis indexes were created to identify the key opinion leader nodes in the network using the entropy weight and TOPSIS method. Further, three degradation modes were designed for (1) the collaborative behavior of opinion leaders, (2) main knowledge dissemination behavior, and (3) main knowledge contribution behavior. Regarding the degradation model of the collaborative behavior of opinion leaders, we considered the propagation characteristics of opinion leaders to other nodes, and we created a susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) propagation model of the influence of opinion leaders' behaviors. Finally, based on empirical data from the Local Motors open-source vehicle design community, a dynamic robustness analysis experiment was carried out. The results showed that the robustness of our constructed network varied for different degradation modes: the degradation of the opinion leaders' collaborative behavior had the lowest robustness; this was followed by the main knowledge dissemination behavior and the main knowledge contribution behavior; the degradation of random behavior had the highest robustness. Our method revealed the influence of the degradation of collaborative behavior of different types of nodes on the robustness of the network. This could be used to formulate the management strategy of the open-source design community, thus promoting the stable development of OSPs.

Comparisons within the Rice GA 2-Oxidase Gene Family Revealed Three Dominant Paralogs and a Functional Attenuated Gene that Led to the Identification of Four Amino Acid Variants Associated with GA Deactivation Capability.

BACKGROUND: GA 2-oxidases (GA2oxs) are involved in regulating GA homeostasis in plants by inactivating bioactive GAs through 2ß-hydroxylation. Rice GA2oxs are encoded by a family of 10 genes; some of them have been characterized, but no comprehensive comparisons for all these genes have been conducted. RESULTS: Rice plants with nine functional GA2oxs were demonstrated in the present study, and these genes not only were differentially expressed but also revealed various capabilities for GA deactivation based on their height-reducing effects in transgenic plants. Compared to that of wild-type plants, the relative plant height (RPH) of transgenic plants was scored to estimate their reducing effects, and 8.3% to 59.5% RPH was observed. Phylogenetic analysis of class I GA2ox genes revealed two functionally distinct clades in the Poaceae. The OsGA2ox3, 4, and 8 genes belonging to clade A showed the most severe effect (8.3% to 8.7% RPH) on plant height reduction, whereas the OsGA2ox7 gene belonging to clade B showed the least severe effect (59.5% RPH). The clade A OsGA2ox3 gene contained two conserved C186/C194 amino acids that were crucial for enzymatic activity. In the present study, these amino acids were replaced with OsGA2ox7-conserved arginine (C186R) and proline (C194P), respectively, or simultaneously (C186R/C194P) to demonstrate their importance in planta. Another two amino acids, Q220 and Y274, conserved in OsGA2ox3 were substituted with glutamic acid (E) and phenylalanine (F), respectively, or simultaneously to show their significance in planta. In addition, through sequence divergence, RNA expression profile and GA deactivation capability analyses, we proposed that OsGA2ox1, OsGA2ox3 and OsGA2ox6 function as the predominant paralogs in each of their respective classes. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates rice has nine functional GA2oxs and the class I GA2ox genes are divided into two functionally distinct clades. Among them, the OsGA2ox7 of clade B is a functional attenuated gene and the OsGA2ox1, OsGA2ox3 and OsGA2ox6 are the three predominant paralogs in the family.

Decision-Making in People With Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Narrative Review of Decision-Making Tools.

OBJECTIVES: This review summarized the applicability of various decision-making tools for helping people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and their families make decisions. DESIGN: This study was a narrative literature review. The protocol of this review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO ID: CRD42020182259). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: People with dementia or MCI and their families were included in this study. METHODS: This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Chinese Electronic Periodical Services databases from inception to May 2021. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists for a variety of study designs were used. RESULTS: Topics related to decision-making were categorized as everyday activity decisions or medical treatment decisions. Various types of decision-making tools were identified, and we observed that decision aids can be modified and used for both everyday activity decisions and medical treatment decisions. In addition to highlighting decision aids for specific decisional issues and topics, we also elucidated other validated tools that can be used to facilitate the decision-making process. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study highlighted the topics involved in decision-making and using decision-making tools. The current review provides information that can help individuals and health care professionals choose optimal decision-making tools. On the basis of our findings, future studies can determine the most appropriate tools for intervention or outcome measures.

Recurrent convolutional neural kernel model for stock price movement prediction.

Stock price movement prediction plays important roles in decision making for investors. It was usually regarded as a binary classification task. In this paper, a recurrent convolutional neural kernel (RCNK) model was proposed, which learned complementary features from different sources of data, namely, historical price data and text data in the message board, to predict the stock price movement. It integrated the advantage of technical analysis and sentiment analysis. Different from previous studies, the text data was treated as sequential data and utilized the RCNK model to train sentiment embeddings with the temporal features. Besides, in the classification section of the model, the explicit kernel mapping layer was used to replace several full-connected layers. This operation reduced the parameters of the model and the risk of overfitting. In order to test the impact of treating the sentiment data as sequential data, the effectiveness of explicit kernel mapping layer and the usefulness integrating the technical analysis and sentiment analysis, the proposed model was compared with the other two deep learning models (recurrent convolutional neural network model and convolutional neural kernel model) and the models with only one source of data as input. The result showed that the proposed model outperformed the other models.

Phalaenopsis orchid miniaturization by overexpression of OsGA2ox6, a rice GA2-oxidase gene.

BACKGROUND: Phalaenopsis orchids are one of the most common potted orchids sold worldwide. Most Phalaenopsis cultivars have long inflorescences that cause shipping problems and increase handling costs. Miniaturization of Phalaenopsis orchids not only reduces overall production costs but also can expand the appeal of the orchids to a different group of consumers who prefer to keep flowers on desks or tabletops. Although some miniature Phalaenopsis plants can be obtained via hybridization or mutation, they are unpredictable and limited in variety. We therefore used the transgenic approach of overexpressing gibberellin 2-oxidase 6 (OsGA2ox6), a rice GA deactivation gene, to investigate its functional effect in miniaturizing Phalaenopsis and to create a stable miniaturization platform to facilitate a supply for the potential demands of the miniature flower market. RESULTS: A commercial moth orchid, Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian 'SPM313', was transformed with the plasmid vector Ubi:OsGA2ox6 and successfully overexpressed the OsGA2ox6 gene in planta. The transgenic lines displayed darker-green, shorter, and wider leaves, thicker roots and much shorter flower spikes (10 cm vs 33 cm) than the nontransgenic line with a normal flower size and blooming ability and are therefore an ideal miniaturized form of Phalaenopsis orchids. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the ectopic expression of OsGA2ox6 can miniaturize Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian 'SPM313' while preserving its blooming ability, providing an alternative, useful method for miniaturizing Phalaenopsis species. This miniaturization by a transgenic approach can be further expanded by using GA2ox genes from different plant species or different gene variants, thereby expanding the technical platform for miniaturizing Phalaenopsis species to meet the potential demands of the miniature Phalaenopsis flower market.

Compressive sensing-based topology identification of multilayer networks.

Recovering network topologies is of great significance in the study of complex networks. In this paper, a method for identifying structures of multilayer networks is proposed via compressive sensing and Taylor expansion. By using this method, the topologies of multilayer networks with unknown node dynamical functions can be identified from a relatively small number of observations. Numerical experiments are provided to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the method on different types of multilayer networks, where the intralayer topology and the interlayer topology of a multilayer network can be identified simultaneously. In particular, the topology of one layer can be identified even when nodes of the other layer are unobservable.

A Novel Role for Pyruvate Kinase M2 as a Corepressor for P53 during the DNA Damage Response in Human Tumor Cells.

The pyruvate kinase (PK) is a rate-limiting glycolytic enzyme catalyzing the dephosphorylation of phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate, yielding one molecule of ATP. The M2 isoform of PK (PKM2) is predominantly expressed in normal proliferating cells and tumors, and both metabolic and non-metabolic activities for the enzyme in promoting tumor cell proliferation have been identified. However, the exact roles of PKM2 in tumor initiation, growth and maintenance are not yet fully understood. Using immunoprecipitation-coupled LC-MS/MS in MCF7 cells exposed to DNA-damaging agent, we report that the nuclear PKM2 interacts directly with P53 protein, a critical safeguard for genome stability. Specifically, PKM2 inhibits P53-dependent transactivation of the P21 gene by preventing P53 binding to the P21 promoter, leading to a nonstop G1 phase. As a result, PKM2 expression provides a growth advantage for tumor cells in the presence of a DNA damage stimulus. In addition, PKM2 interferes with phosphorylation of P53 at serine 15, known to stimulate P53 activity by the ATM serine/threonine kinase. These findings reveal a new role for PKM2 in modulating the DNA damage response and illustrate a novel mechanism of PKM2 participating in tumorigenesis.

[Effects of grafting on root polyamine metabolism of cucumber seedlings under copper stress].

By the method of hydroponic culture, and taking Cucurbita ficifolia B. as rootstock, this paper studied the effects of grafting on the root polyamine metabolism of cucumber seedlings under copper stress. The results showed that under copper stress, the root activities of cucumber seedlings were inhibited, and electrolyte leakage increased, with these changes being significantly lower for grafted than for ungrafted cucumber seedlings. In addition, the contents of free spermidine and spermine, and of conjugated and bound polyamines were significantly higher in grafted than in ungrafted seedling roots, while the free putrescine content and the ratio of free putrescine to polyamines were on the contrary. Comparing with those in ungrafted cucumber seedlings, the root arginine decarboxylase (ADC), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) activities in grafted cucumber seedlings were higher, while the diamine oxidase and polyamine oxidase activities were significantly lower. All of these indicated that under copper stress, the synthesis of polyamine in grafted seedling roots was increased, while the degradation of polyamine was decreased, resulting in a higher accumulation of polyamine in the roots, and the increase of the tolerance of cucumber seedlings to copper stress.

[Effects of grafting on cucumber rhizospheric soil microbial characteristics and enzyme activities under copper stress].

A pot experiment with cucumber (taking Cucurbita ficifoblia B. as the rootstock) was conducted to study the effects of grafting on the microbial population, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in rhizospheric soil under copper stress. Under the stress of copper, the microbial biomass C and N in grafted and self-rooted cucumber rhizospheric soils all decreased significantly, while the basal respiration and metabolic quotient were in adverse. In grafted cucumber rhizospheric soil, the microbial biomass C and N were significantly higher than those in self-rooted cucumber rhiaospheric soil, whereas the basal respiration and metabolic quotient were significantly lower. Under copper stress, the quantities of actinomyces and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in rhizospheric soils decreased and that of fungi increased significantly, whereas the quantity of bacteria had less change. In grafted cucumber rhizospheric soil, the quantities of bacteria, actinomyces, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria were significantly higher than those in self-rooted cucumber rhizospheric soil, but the quantity of fungi was in opposite. The urease, phosphatase, sucrase, and catalase activities were significantly higher in grafted than in self-rooted cucumber rhizospheric soil. All the results suggested that grafting could mitigate the impact of copper stress on the microbial micro-environment and enzyme activities in cucumber rhizospheric soil, and as a result, improve the adaptability of cucumber to copper stress.

[Microflora on mucosa under different pontics of fixed partial bridge].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of three pontic types on alveolar ridge mucosal microecosystem. METHODS: Sixty patients ready to accept three unit metal ceramic bridges were selected. The bacterial type and the cultivable flora were counted and the proportions of bacteria detected on the top of alveolar ridge mucosal contact area before tooth preparation and three months after bridge insertion. RESULTS: Type and CFU of bacteria on the alveolar ridge mucosa under modified base-type pontics and modified ridge lap pontics increased significantly (P < 0.05); while there was no significant change under the ovata pontics (P > 0.05). Before tooth preparation and 3 months after fixed prosthesis insertion, the percentages of oral Streptococci and Neisseriae changed significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The ovata pontic had less influence on mucosal microecosystem than the other two pontics and is the appropriate pontic design for clinical dentist.