ZmWAK02 encoding an RD-WAK protein confers maize resistance against gray leaf spot.

Gray leaf spot (GLS) caused by Cercospora zeina or C. zeae-maydis is a major maize disease throughout the world. Although more than 100 QTLs resistant against GLS have been identified, very few of them have been cloned. Here, we identified a major resistance QTL against GLS, qRglsSB, explaining 58.42% phenotypic variation in SB12×SA101 BC1 F1 population. By fine-mapping, it was narrowed down into a 928 kb region. By using transgenic lines, mutants and complementation lines, it was confirmed that the ZmWAK02 gene, encoding an RD wall-associated kinase, is the responsible gene in qRglsSB resistant against GLS. The introgression of the ZmWAK02 gene into hybrid lines significantly improves their grain yield in the presence of GLS pressure and does not reduce their grain yield in the absence of GLS. In summary, we cloned a gene, ZmWAK02, conferring large effect of GLS resistance and confirmed its great value in maize breeding.

Inner leaflet cationic lipid increases nucleic acid loading independently of outer leaflet lipid charge in asymmetric liposomes.

Use of cationic lipid vesicles (liposomes) can yield large amounts of nucleic acid entrapped inside the vesicles and/or bound to the external surface of the vesicles. To show a method to prepare asymmetric lipid vesicles (liposomes) with high amounts of entrapped nucleic acid is possible, symmetric and asymmetric lipid vesicles composed of mixtures of neutral (zwitterionic), anionic, and/or cationic phospholipids were formed in the presence of oligo DNA. For symmetric large unilamellar vesicles nucleic acid association with vesicles was roughly 100 times greater for vesicles with a net cationic charge than for vesicles having a net neutral or anionic net charge. A high degree of association between nucleic acid and lipid was also achieved using asymmetric large unilamellar vesicles with a net cationic charge in their inner leaflet, even when they had an anionic charge in their outer leaflet. In contrast, asymmetric vesicles in which only the outer leaflet had a net cationic charge had only low amounts of vesicle-associated nucleic acid, similar in amount to the amount of nucleic acid associated with asymmetric vesicles with an outer leaflet having a net anionic charge. These results indicate that in asymmetric vesicles with cationic lipid enriched inner leaflets nucleic acid is largely entrapped inside the vesicle lumen rather than bound to their external surface, and that asymmetric vesicles can be used to trap high amounts of nucleic acid even when using a lipid composition in the outer leaflet of a lipid vesicle that does not associate with nucleic acids. Such asymmetrically charged vesicles should have applications in studies of membrane protein-nucleic acid interactions as well as in studies of how membrane charge asymmetry can influence membrane protein structure, orientation, and function.

ZmAGO18b negatively regulates maize resistance against southern leaf blight.

KEY MESSAGE: Here, we report that ZmAGO18b encoding an argonaute protein is a negative regulator of maize resistance against southern leaf blight. Southern leaf blight caused by fungal pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus is a destructive disease on maize throughout the world. Argonaute (AGO) proteins, key regulators in small RNA pathway, play important roles in plant defense. But whether they have function in maize resistance against C. heterostrophus is unknown. Association analysis between the nucleic variation of 18 ZmAGO loci with disease phenotype against C. heterostrophus was performed, and the ZmAGO18b locus was identified to be associated with resistance against C. heterostrophus. Overexpression of ZmAGO18b gene suppresses maize resistance against C. heterostrophus, and mutation of ZmAGO18b enhances maize resistance against C. heterostrophus. Further, we identified the resistant haplotype of ZmAGO18b by association analysis of natural variation in ZmAGO18b genomic DNA sequences with seedling resistance phenotypes against C. heterostrophus and confirmed the resistant haplotype is co-segregated with resistance phenotypes against C. heterostrophus in two F2 populations. In sum, this study reports that ZmAGO18b negatively regulates maize resistance against C. heterostrophus.

Waterlogging stress alters the structure of sugar beet rhizosphere microbial community structure and recruiting potentially beneficial bacterial.

Waterlogging has been shown to have a significant inhibitory effect on plant growth. However, the response mechanisms of the soil environment of sugar beet seedlings under waterlogging conditions still need to be fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of waterlogging treatments on the content of effective nutrients and the microbial communities in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere using high-throughput sequencing. We set up waterlogging and non-waterlogging treatments, sampled sugar beet seedlings after 10 days of waterlogging, determined the effective soil nutrients in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere of the plants, and analyzed the differences in microbial diversity at ten days of waterlogging. The results showed that waterlogging significantly affected available potassium (AK) content. The Ak content of waterlogged soil was significantly higher than that of non-waterlogged soil. Waterlogging caused no significant difference in available nitrogen (AN) content and pH. Moreover, the plant growth-promoting bacteria Pseudomonas was significantly enriched in sugar beet waterlogged rhizospheres compared with the non-waterlogged ones. Similarly, the harmful fungi Gibellulopsis and Alternaria were enriched in sugar beet non-waterlogged rhizosphere. The network analysis revealed that waterlogging built a less complex root-microbial network than non-waterlogging. These findings implied that sugar beets subjected to waterlogging stress were enriched with beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere, potentially alleviating the stress.

FMCW lidar multitarget detection based on skeleton tree waveform matching.

Frequency-modulated continuous-wave lidar realizes 4D (three-dimensional space and velocity) imaging of the scene by emitting positive and negative frequency sweep laser signals. The premise of it is to identify the frequency points corresponding to the same target in the positive and negative sweep echo signals. For dechirp receiving, there is usually one peak in the frequency spectrum of the positive and negative sweep signals, respectively. Therefore, it is easy to identify and match the peaks. But in a complex environment, the laser beam will irradiate multiple targets at the same time. In addition, beam scanning and target motion cause the echo spectrum to broaden. The above reasons make it extremely difficult to identify and match peaks in practice. To solve this problem, the waveform-matching algorithm based on the skeleton tree is first applied to multitarget echo pairing. The basic idea of the algorithm is to quantify the target echo hierarchically to generate a skeleton tree. The generation of nodes is based on the relative amplitude of waveform peaks and reflects the characteristics of wave crests nesting. Then the similarity of the signal is determined by comparing the distance between the two signal waveform feature trees. Finally, the waveforms are matched in terms of similarity. To further substantiate the role of the proposed algorithm, imaging experiments and related comparative data for different targets have been completed. The results show that the accuracy of matching processed by the algorithm exceeds 90%, which is improved by about 50% compared with not using the algorithm for the target whose overlapping part accounts for a large proportion of itself.

Preparation and Drug Entrapment Properties of Asymmetric Liposomes Containing Cationic and Anionic Lipids.

We have developed cyclodextrin-catalyzed lipid exchange methods to prepare large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) with asymmetric charge distributions, i.e., with different net charges on the lipids in the inner and outer leaflets. LUVs contained a mixture of a zwitterionic lipid (phosphatidylcholine), cholesterol, and various cationic lipids (O-ethyl phosphatidylcholine or dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium propane) or anionic lipids (phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylserine, or phosphatidic acid). Symmetric and asymmetric LUVs with a wide variety of lipid combinations were prepared. The asymmetric LUVs contained cationic or anionic outer leaflets and inner leaflets that had either the opposite charge or were uncharged. The behavior of symmetric LUVs prepared with zwitterionic, anionic, or cationic leaflets was compared to those of asymmetric LUVs. Lipid exchange was confirmed by quantitative thin-layer chromatography, and lipid asymmetry by a novel assay measuring binding of a cationic fluorescent probe to the LUV outer leaflet. For both symmetric and asymmetric LUVs, the level of entrapment of the cationic drug doxorubicin was controlled by the charge on the inner leaflet, with the greatest entrapment and slowest leakage in vesicles with an anionic inner leaflet. This shows that it is possible to choose inner leaflet lipids to maximize liposomal loading of charged drugs independently of the identity of outer-leaflet lipids. This implies that it should also be possible to independently vary outer-leaflet lipids to, for example, impart favorable bioavailability and biodistribution properties to lipid vesicles.

Feature extraction algorithm of precession target based on image length and Doppler broadening.

In space defense, utilizing the micromotion features to distinguish real targets from interfering targets and decoys is effective. Due to the imaging of the high-speed precession target by microwave radar consisting of isolated scattering centers, there are many difficulties in using inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) images for feature extraction. On the other hand, the inverse synthetic aperture ladar (ISAL) image is relatively continuous because of the short wavelength of laser, and the image sequence contains information about the variation in image length and Doppler width caused by target precession, which can be used for inverse motion parameters. By establishing an observation model of the precession target and performing image processing on the obtained ISAL image at different times, the image length sequence and Doppler width sequence can be obtained. Using the ellipse fitting method to process the obtained sequence, the precession parameters of the target can be obtained. The algorithm does not require prior information such as the radius and speed of the target motion, effectively improving the practicability of the algorithm. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by experimental results, and the error is controlled within 2%.

Separation, synthesis, and cytotoxicity of a series of mogrol derivatives.

Four metabolites of mogrol were separated, identified and characterized. Their antitumor activity was evaluated, and the results showed side chain modification would probably enhance the cytotoxicity. Therefore, three types of amines, alcohols and rigid planar derivatives were synthesized. Compounds 20 and 21 containing a tetrahydro-ß-carboline structure at the end of the side chain exhibited IC50 values around 2-9 µM against A549 and CNE1 cell comparing with 80-90 µM of mogrol. Structure analysis suggested that the perhydrocyclopentanophenanthrene moiety and the tetrahydro-ß-carboline moiety could probably enhance the activity through an intramolecular synergistic effect.[Formula: see text].

Inverse synthetic aperture ladar autofocus imaging algorithm for micro-vibrating satellites based on two prominent points.

As an important imaging method for long-range satellite targets, inverse synthetic aperture ladar (ISAL) has the characteristics of high-resolution imaging and competitive detectability. Since the working wavelength of the ISAL is comparable to the micro-vibrations generated by mechanical moving components of satellites, which will cause image defocusing, motion compensation is of great significance. In this paper, an autofocus algorithm is proposed for estimating and compensating the phase error relating to both translational and rotational micro-vibrations. Comparing with non-parametric algorithms like phase gradient autofocus and parametric algorithms like contrast-based autofocus and entropy-based autofocus, the proposed one, which is based on two prominent points, is especially effective for the rotational phase error oscillating numbers of cycles. Simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm.

Ultrasensitive microRNA-21 detection based on DNA hybridization chain reaction and SYBR Green dye.

It is extremely important for quantifying trace microRNAs in the biomedical applications. In this study, an ultrasensitive, rapid and efficient label-free fluorescence method was proposed and applied for detecting microRNA-21 in serum of gastric cancer patients based on DNA hybridization chain reaction (HCR). DNA H1 and DNA H2 were designed and used as hairpin probes, the HCR was proceeded in the presence of target microRNAs. Amounts of SYBR Green І dyes were used as signal molecules to intercalate long DNA concatemers from HCR, which guaranteed the model of label-free fluorescence and strong fluorescence density. The detection method showed a wide linear region from 1 fM to 105 fM, and the limit of detection was 0.2554 fM (at S/N = 3) for microRNAs. The results showed that this method had an excellent specificity and reproducibility. Furthermore, the label-free fluorescence strategy exhibited a sensitive response to microRNA-21 in real serum samples of gastric cancer patients and the results obtained were in accordance with reference method (R2 = 0.994). Overall, the proposed strategy could be satisfactory for rapid, ultrasensitive and efficient detection of microRNA-21, and held great potentials in clinic diagnosis of gastric cancer.

One-step, ultrasensitive, and electrochemical assay of microRNAs based on T7 exonuclease assisted cyclic enzymatic amplification.

Taking advantage of the special exodeoxyribonuclease activity of T7 exonuclease, a simple, sensitive, selective, and label-free microRNA biosensor based on the cyclic enzymatic amplification method (CEAM) has been proposed. First, thiol functionalized DNA probes were assembled onto a gold nanoparticles modified gold electrode surface through a Au-S bond, followed by hybridizing with target miRNA. Subsequently, DNA in RNA/DNA duplexes was digested by T7 exonuclease, which can release the microRNA molecules from the electrode surface and return into the buffer solution. Meanwhile, the released microRNA can further hybridize with the unhybridized DNA probes on the modified electrode surface. On the basis of it, an isothermal amplification cycle is realized. The T7 exonuclease-assisted CEAM achieved a low detection limit of 0.17 fM. Moreover, this assay presents excellent specificity with discriminating only a single-base mismatched microRNA sequence. Furthermore, this work can also be applied to detect avian leukemia based on the decreased expression level of microRNA-21.

Uncovering the mechanisms of how corn steep liquor and microbial communities minimize cadmium translocation in Chinese cabbage.

Corn steep liquor-assisted microbial remediation has been proposed as a promising strategy to remediate cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil. In this study, we determined Bacillus subtilis (K2) with a high cadmium (Cd) accumulation ability and Cd resistance. However, studies on this strategy used in the Cd uptake of Chinese cabbage are lacking, and the effect of the combined incorporation of corn steep liquor and K2 on the functions and microbial interactions of soil microbiomes is unclear. Here, we study the Cd uptake and transportation in Chinese cabbage by the combination of K2 and corn steep liquor (K2 + C7) in a Cd-contaminated soil and corresponding microbial regulation mechanisms. Results showed that compared to inoculant K2 treatment alone, a reduction of Cd concentration in the shoots by 14.4% and the dry weight biomass of the shoots and the roots in Chinese cabbage increased by 21.6% and 30.8%, respectively, under K2 + C7 treatment. Meanwhile, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were decreased by enhancing POD and SOD activity, thereby reversing Cd-induced oxidative damage. Importantly, inoculation of K2 would decrease the diversity of the microbial community while enhancing the abundance of dominant species. These findings provide a promising strategy for reducing the Cd accumulation in Chinese cabbage and recovering soil ecological functions.

A double-stranded RNA binding protein enhances drought resistance via protein phase separation in rice.

Drought stress significantly impacts global rice production, highlighting the critical need to understand the genetic basis of drought resistance in rice. Here, through a genome-wide association study, we reveal that natural variations in DROUGHT RESISTANCE GENE 9 (DRG9), encoding a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding protein, contribute to drought resistance. Under drought stress, DRG9 condenses into stress granules (SGs) through liquid-liquid phase separation via a crucial α-helix. DRG9 recruits the mRNAs of OsNCED4, a key gene for the biosynthesis of abscisic acid, into SGs and protects them from degradation. In drought-resistant DRG9 allele, natural variations in the coding region, causing an amino acid substitution (G267F) within the zinc finger domain, increase DRG9's binding ability to OsNCED4 mRNA and enhance drought resistance. Introgression of the drought-resistant DRG9 allele into the elite rice Huanghuazhan significantly improves its drought resistance. Thus, our study underscores the role of a dsRNA-binding protein in drought resistance and its promising value in breeding drought-resistant rice.

Case Study on Prestressed CFRP Plates Applied for Strengthening Hollow-Section Beam Removed from an Old Bridge.

With the wide application of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) plate, used for strengthening existed concrete structures, the prestressing technology of CFRP plate is becoming a hot topic, in order to sufficiently develop its high-strength peculiarity. In this paper, a full-scale hollow-section beam with length of 16 m taken from an old bridge which was in service for about 20 years was first examined for existed cracks and repaired by filling epoxy adhesive, and then the beam was strengthened with prestressed CFRP plates. The CFRP plates were tensioned and fixed with flat-plate anchorages at ends and bonded with adhesive on the bottom surface of the beam. The strengthened beam was experimentally studied using a four-point test to measure the concrete strain along the height of the mid-span section and the mid-span deflection. The finite element model of the strengthened beam was verified by the comparison of test results and used for an extending study of parametric analysis considering the effect of the length and amount of CFRP plates. Results indicated that with an increase in the length and amount of CFRP plates, the mid-span deflection of the beam decreases with the increased cracking resistance and bearing capacity, while the ultimate failure mode transfers from the under-reinforcement to the over-reinforcement.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Shielding Gas Behaviors in Laser Welding of TC4 Alloy.

Gas protection is a crucial part of quality control in laser welding, especially for titanium alloy, which oxidizes easily at high temperatures. Substantial experiments concerning shielding gas characteristics in the welding process have been implemented. However, the common analysis conducted is simplistic and lacks a theoretical basis. This paper presented an investigation of the shielding gas behaviors based on numerical simulation and a titanium alloy laser welding experiment. The numerical model was established and validated by experiment. Subsequently, the temperature field and gas flow fields were calculated. By combining the two fields, the threshold temperature of gas protection was determined, and the influence of shielding gas parameters on the protection effect was examined. The results revealed that the protection of the high-temperature zone was primarily influenced by the nozzle height, nozzle inner diameter, and nozzle angle, while the plasma suppression effect was mainly correlated with the nozzle inner diameter and gas flow rate. These initial findings provide scientific guidance for the better quality production of laser beam welded components made of not only titanium alloy but also other metallic materials.

Dual-drug loaded polysaccharide-based self-healing hydrogels with multifunctionality for promoting diabetic wound healing.

Diabetic chronic wound healing still faces huge clinical challenge. The arrangement and coordination of healing processes are disordered in diabetic wound caused by the persistent inflammatory response, microbial infection, impaired angiogenesis, resulting in the delayed and even non-healing wounds. Here, the dual-drug loaded nanocomposite polysaccharide-based self-healing hydrogels (OCM@P) with multifunctionality were developed to promote diabetic wound healing. Curcumin (Cur) loaded mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles (MPDA@Cur NPs) and metformin (Met) were introduced into the polymer matrix formed by the dynamic imine bonds and electrostatic interactions between carboxymethyl chitosan and oxidized hyaluronic acid to fabricate OCM@P hydrogels. OCM@P hydrogels show homogeneous and interconnected porous microstructure, which possess good tissue adhesiveness, enhanced compression strength, great anti-fatigue behavior, excellent self-recovery capacity, low cytotoxicity, rapid hemostatic ability and robust broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Interestingly, OCM@P hydrogels exhibit rapid release of Met and long-term sustained release of Cur, thereby to effectively scavenge extracellular and intracellular free radicals. Significantly, OCM@P hydrogels remarkably promote re-epithelization, granulation tissue formation, collagen deposition and arrangement, angiogenesis as well as wound contraction in diabetic wound healing. Overall, the multifunctional synergy of OCM@P hydrogels greatly contributes to accelerating diabetic wound healing, which demonstrate promising application as scaffolds in regenerative medicine.

New snakeflies of the genus Mongoloraphidia H. Aspck amp; U. Aspck, 1968 (Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae) from Xinjiang, China.

The raphidiopteran fauna of Xinjiang in northwestern China is poorly known, although it is near Central Asia where the diversity of this group is high. Herein we report a new species and a new Chinese record of the raphidiid genus Mongoloraphidia H. Aspck U. Aspck, 1968 from Xinjiang, namely Mongoloraphidia xinjiangana sp. nov. and Mongoloraphidia (Mongoloraphidia) kaszabi (H. Aspck U. Aspck, 1967), respectively. A key to the identification of the Mongoloraphidia species from China is provided.

Multi-Scale Effects of Meteorological Conditions and Anthropogenic Emissions on PM2.5 Concentrations over Major Cities of the Yellow River Basin.

The mechanism behind PM2.5 pollution is complex, and its performance at multi-scales is still unclear. Based on PM2.5 monitoring data collected from 2015 to 2021, we used the GeoDetector model to assess the multi-scale effects of meteorological conditions and anthropogenic emissions, as well as their interactions with PM2.5 concentrations in major cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Our study confirms that PM2.5 concentrations in the YRB from 2015 to 2021 show an inter-annual and inter-season decreasing trend and that PM2.5 concentrations varied more significantly in winter. The inter-month variation of PM2.5 concentrations shows a sinusoidal pattern from 2015 to 2021, with the highest concentrations in January and December and the lowest from June to August. The PM2.5 concentrations for major cities in the middle and downstream regions of the YRB are higher than in the upper areas, with high spatial distribution in the east and low spatial distribution in the west. Anthropogenic emissions and meteorological conditions have similar inter-annual effects, while air pressure and temperature are the two main drivers across the whole basin. At the sub-basin scale, meteorological conditions have stronger inter-annual effects on PM2.5 concentrations, of which temperature is the dominant impact factor. Wind speed has a significant effect on PM2.5 concentrations across the four seasons in the downstream region and has the strongest effect in winter. Primary PM2.5 and ammonia are the two main emission factors. Interactions between the factors significantly enhanced the PM2.5 concentrations. The interaction between ammonia and other emissions plays a dominant role at the whole and sub-basin scales in summer, while the interaction between meteorological factors plays a dominant role at the whole-basin scale in winter. Our study not only provides cases and references for the development of PM2.5 pollution prevention and control policies in YRB but can also shed light on similar regions in China as well as in other regions of the world.

Preparation and utility of asymmetric lipid vesicles for studies of perfringolysin O-lipid interactions.

Studying the interaction of pore-forming toxins, including perfringolysin O (PFO), with lipid is crucial to understanding how they insert into membranes, assemble, and associate with membrane domains. In almost all past studies, symmetric lipid bilayers, i.e., bilayers having the same lipid composition in each monolayer (leaflet), have been used to study this process. However, practical methods to make asymmetric lipid vesicles have now been developed. These involve a cyclodextrin-catalyzed lipid exchange process in which the outer leaflet lipids are switched between two lipid vesicle populations with different lipid compositions. By use of alpha class cyclodextrins, it is practical to include a wide range of sterol concentrations in asymmetric vesicles. In this article, protocols for preparing asymmetric lipid vesicles are described, and to illustrate how they may be applied to studies of pore-forming toxin behavior, we summarize what has been learned about PFO conformation and its lipid interaction in symmetric and in asymmetric artificial lipid vesicles.

Efficacy and safety of Tian Meng oral liquid for the treatment of insomnia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of insomnia is very high and seriously affects the lives of its patients. Long-term insomnia can induce other diseases and even cause sudden death. Tian Meng oral liquid is a type of Chinese patent medicine that has been used in the clinical treatment of insomnia and has certain clinical effects. However, its wide application is limited by the lack of evidence-based medical evaluation. METHODS: Using retrieval strategies, randomized controlled trials on Tian Meng oral liquid for insomnia were obtained from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, Chinese Scientific Journals Database PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, regardless of publication date or language. Studies were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and STATA 14.2 software. Ultimately, the evidentiary grade for the results will be evaluated. RESULTS: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tian Meng oral liquid in the treatment of insomnia and to provide a more reasonable option for clinical medication. CONCLUSION: Our findings will provide a strong basis for the effectiveness and safety of Tian Meng oral liquid in the treatment of insomnia.