Stereoselectivity of paclobutrazol enantiomers to oxidative stress in wheat

Chiral pesticides have the special chiral structures, so enantioselective biological effects are usually observed in living organisms. Current study used paclobutrazol as a case study and explored the enantioselective degradation and oxidative stress effect on wheat. The results demonstrated that the degradation of R-paclobutrazol was faster than S-paclobutrazol significantly and improved the content of MDA and O2 - in wheat plants, which proved that the R-paclobutrazol induced oxidative damage in wheat, showing selective biological effects, and S-paclobutrazol was friendly to wheat. This study provided a theoretical basis for the selective activity of chiral pesticides and the development of chiral pesticide monomers.

Influence of Different Harvesting Stages and Cereals-Legume Mixture on Forage Biomass Yield, Nutritional Compositions, and Quality under Loess Plateau Region

One of the main problems in the animal industries currently is the constant provision of forage in sufficient amounts with acceptable nutritional content for large and small ruminants, as livestock is a significant source of income for rural people in the Loess Plateau region. Cereals and legumes are essential forage crops because of their nutritional significance, particularly the protein concentration in legumes and the fiber content in cereals. Therefore, combining cereal and legume crops may be a practical solution to the problems of inadequate forage nutrition, an insufficient amount of forage, unsustainable agricultural methods, and declining soil fertility. The current study predicts that mixed cropping of cereals and legumes at the harvesting stage of the soft dough stage and maturity stage based on the cereal growth stage will have different effects on forage biomass output, forage quality index, and nutritional value of the forage. In this study, wheat (Triticum aestivum) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) are used as cereal crops and pea (Pisum sativum), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) are used as legume crops. Three sample replicates and a split-plot design with a randomized block design are used. The study is conducted in the 2020−2021 and 2021−2022 cropping seasons. The experimental results show that cereal−legume mixed cropping, particularly the cereal−alfalfa combination, has a positive impact on the biomass yield and nutritional composition of the forage. However, adding peas to cereal has a negative impact on biomass yield, nutritional composition, mineral composition, and forage quality index. Among the treatments, ryegrass−alfalfa mixed cropping was shown to have higher values of WSC%, CP%, EE%, CF%, and ash% in both growing seasons. The values are WSC (15.82%), CP (10.78%), EE (2.30%), CF (32.06%), and ash (10.68%) for the 2020−2021 cropping seasons and WSC (15.03%), CP (11.68%), EE (3.30%), CF (32.92%), and ash (11.07%) for the 2021−2022 cropping seasons, respectively. On the other hand, the current study finds that cereal−alfalfa mixed cropping had a detrimental impact on NDF and ADF concentrations. All nutritional indices, including CP, WSC, EE, CF, ash, NDF, and ADF, have favorable correlations with one another. Furthermore, in both growing seasons, RA, ryegrass−alfalfa mixed cropping, has higher mineral compositions and forage quality indicators. Furthermore, harvesting times have a significant impact on the fresh biomass yield, dry matter yield, nutritional compositions, mineral compositions, and forage quality parameters (p < 0.001), with the highest values being shown when harvesting at the soft dough stage. The current study concludes that, based on chemical composition and quality analysis, the soft dough stage is the greatest harvesting period, and that the cereal−alfalfa mixed cropping is the most preferable due to its maximized quality forage production and nutritional content in livestock feedstuff in the Loess Plateau region.

Past, present, and future perspectives of biodegradable films for soil: A 30-year systematic review

Based on the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database, the academic works published in the past 30 years on biodegradable films for soil were analyzed. In order to ensure the rigor of this experiment, this paper is based on the mathematical double matrix model VOS Viewer software and CiteSpace software. This work shows that publications of biodegradable films for soil are increasing year by year; polymer science is the hottest subject in the field of biodegradable films for soil; China and the United States are the countries with the most significant number of publications in this field, has an important position; Washington State University is the most published institution. This study further identifies and reveals the essential characteristics, research strength, knowledge structure, main research fields, and research hotspots in the late stage of the field of biodegradable films for soil and introduces the Activity Index (AI) and the Attractive Index (AAI), thereby assessing trends and performance in different countries. The paper also further illustrates the importance of biodegradable films by presenting field trials using biodegradable films on different plants. The research in the field of biodegradable films for soil is divided into four categories: “The research field of degradation,” “The effect of biodegradable film on soil,” “Performance and mechanism of the biodegradable film,” and “Effects of biodegradable film on crop growth and development.”. The study can be seen as a microcosm of the development of biodegradable films for soils, which will help researchers quickly identify their general patterns. Readers can better understand the changes and development trends in this field in the past 30 years and provide references for future research.

Global Trends in Natural Biopolymers in the 21st Century: A Scientometric Review

Since the 21st century, natural biopolymers have played an indispensable role in long-term global development strategies, and their research has shown a positive growth trend. However, these substantive scientific results are not conducive to our quick grasp of hotspots and insight into future directions and to understanding which local changes have occurred and which trend areas deserve more attention. Therefore, this study provides a new data-driven bibliometric analysis strategy and framework for mining the core content of massive bibliographic data, based on mathematical models VOS Viewer and CiteSpace software, aiming to understand the research prospects and opportunities of natural biopolymers. The United States is reported to be the most important contributor to research in this field, with numerous publications and active institutions; polymer science is the most popular subject category, but the further emphasis should be placed on interdisciplinary teamwork; mainstream research in this field is divided into five clusters of knowledge structures; since the explosion in the number of articles in 2018, researchers are mainly engaged in three fields: “medical field,” “biochemistry field,” and “food science fields.” Through an in-depth analysis of natural biopolymer research, this article provides a better understanding of trends emerging in the field over the past 22 years and can also serve as a reference for future research.

Optimization of Alfalfa-Based Mixed Cropping with Winter Wheat and Ryegrass in Terms of Forage Yield and Quality Traits

Forage has a significant association with animal nutrition because it is an essential part of milk and meat production in the livestock industry. Thus, for the production of high-quality forage, cereal–legume mixed cropping is an efficient method for meat and milk production in the livestock sector. In a two-year experiment between 2020 and 2021, the forage yield, nutritional compositions, amino acid profile, and forage quality were evaluated in the mixed cropping of winter wheat and ryegrass with alfalfa. In this study, a split-plot design with a randomized block design was employed with three sampling replicates. Cultivars were harvested at three maturity stages, namely, flowering, milk, and soft dough, depending on the wheat growth stage. The experimental results show that wheat 2 (Baomai 9)–alfalfa and ryegrass–alfalfa mixed cropping produced higher fresh biomass output than mono-cropping of wheat and ryegrass harvested at the flowering stage. Furthermore, the dry matter (DM) percentage range increased from 20.18% to 36.39%. By contrast, crude protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber were higher at the flowering stage than at other harvesting stages with DM values of 14.28%, 34.12%, 55.06%, and 32.55%, respectively. Ryegrass–alfalfa mixing yielded higher values of mineral compositions, and T5 (Baomai 9–alfalfa) generally achieved more extraordinary amino acid compositions. The results demonstrate that wheat and ryegrass with alfalfa mixed cropping, and harvesting at the flowering period produces high-quality forage. Additionally, mixed cropping with alfalfa remarkably affected forage quality parameters, while mixed cropping of wheat cultivar 2 (Baomai 9) and alfalfa obtained the highest dry matter intake, digestible dry matter, relative feed value, total digestible nutrient, relative forage quality, and quality index values of 2.56, 68.54, 136.49, 60.50, 127.41, and 1.69, respectively. Thus, the mixed-cropping of wheat and ryegrass with alfalfa forage is recommended for its maximized quality forage production and nutritional values in livestock feedstuff.

Soil Respiration of Paddy Soils Were Stimulated by Semiconductor Minerals

Large quantities of semiconductor minerals on soil surfaces have a sensitive photoelectric response. These semiconductor minerals generate photo-electrons and photo-hole pairs that can stimulate soil oxidation-reduction reactions when exposed to sunlight. We speculated that the photocatalysis of semiconductor minerals would affect soil carbon cycles. As the main component of the carbon cycle, soil respiration from paddy soil is often ignored. Five rice cropping areas in China were chosen for soil sampling. Semiconductor minerals were measured, and three main semiconductor minerals including hematile, rutile, and manganosite were identified in the paddy soils. The identified semiconductor minerals consisted of iron, manganese, and titanium oxides. Content of Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, and MnO in the sampled soil was between 4.21-14%, 0.91-2.72%, and 0.02-0.22%, respectively. Most abundant semiconductor mineral was found in the DBDJ rice cropping area in Jilin province, with the highest content of Fe₂O₃ of 14%. Soils from the five main rice cropping areas were also identified as having strong photoelectric response characteristics. The highest photoelectric response was found in the DBDJ rice cropping area in Jilin province with a maximum photocurrent density of 0.48 μA/cm². Soil respiration was monitored under both dark and light (3,000 lux light density) conditions. Soil respiration rates in the five regions were (from highest to lowest): DBDJ > XNDJ > XBDJ > HZSJ > HNSJ. Soil respiration was positively correlated with semiconductor mineral content, and soil respiration was higher under the light treatment than the dark treatment in every rice cropping area. This result suggested that soil respiration was stimulated by semiconductor mineral photocatalysis. This analysis provided indirect evidence of the effect semiconductor mineral photocatalysis has on the carbon cycle within paddy soils, while exploring carbon conversion mechanisms that could provide a new perspective on the soil carbon cycle.

Comparison of Trihelix transcription factors between wheat and Brachypodium distachyon at genome-wide

BACKGROUND

Plant Trihelix transcription factors, specifically bind to GT elements and play important roles in plant physiology and development. Wheat is a main cereal crop. Brachypodium distachyon is a close relative of wheat and has been described as a new model species for studying of grass functional genomics. Presently, little is known about wheat and B. distachyon Trihelix genes.

RESULTS

In 51 species, 2387 Trihelix genes were identified, including 80 wheat Trihelix genes and 27 B. distachyon Trihelix genes. Consistent with the results of previous studies, these genes were classified into five subfamilies: GT-1, GT-2, SIP1, GTγ, and SH4. Members of the same subfamily shared similar gene structures and common motifs. Most TaGT and BdGT genes contained many kinds of cis-elements, such as development-, stress-, and phytohormone-related cis-acting elements. Additionally, 21 randomly selected TaGT genes were mainly expressed in the roots and flowers, while the expression of 19 selected BdGT genes was constitutive. These results indicate that the roles of Trihelix genes in wheat and B. distachyon might have diversified during the evolutionary process. The expression of the most selected TaGT and BdGT genes was down-regulated when exposed to low temperatures, NaCl, ABA, and PEG, implying that TaGT and BdGT genes negatively respond to abiotic stress. On the contrary, the expression of some genes was up-regulated under heat stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Trihelix genes exist extensively in plants and have many functions. During the evolutionary process, this gene family expanded and their functions diversified. As a result, the expression pattern and functions of members of the same family might be different. This study lays a foundation for further functional analyses of TaGT and BdGT genes.

[The role of hexokinase 2 in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells]

Objective: To investigate the regulatory role of HK2 in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The protein expressions of HK2 in 73 HCC tumor tissues and paired adjacent non-tumor tissues were evaluated by using immunohistochemical analysis. The scratch wound healing assay and Transwell assay had been used to analyze the migration and invasion of HCC cells with HK2 knockdown. Expressions of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)markers, such as E-cadherin, ZO-1, N-cadherin and vimentin, in HCC cells with HK2 knockdown were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Results: The expression levels of HK2 in tumor tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were 5.39±3.40 and 2.16±1.55, respectively. The protein expression of HK2 was significantly higher in tumor tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues of HCC (P<0.05). Knockdown of HK2 in HCC cells decreased the cell motility from 1.00±0.54 to 0.56±0.09 (P<0.05), andknockdown of HK2 in HCC cells decreased the number of invaded cells form 345±42 to 215±34 (P<0.05). The expression of epithelial markers ZO-1 and E-cadherin were up-regulated, while mesenchymal markers vimentin and N-cadherin were down-regulated in HCC cells when HK2 was knockeddown. Conclusions: HK2 is up-regulated in HCC and promotes cell motility by stimulating EMT.

Maghemite nanoparticles coated with human serum albumin: combining targeting by the iron-acquisition pathway and potential in photothermal therapies

Human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant plasma protein in human blood, is a natural transport vehicle with multiple ligand binding sites. It, therefore, constitutes an attractive candidate for drug delivery. Targeting may occur via the most known interaction of the protein with the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). Here, we investigate another HSA delivery path, involving the transferrin receptor, and we elaborate a maghemite-HSA nanohybrid, opening up new opportunities for medical applications. Fluorescence spectrophotometric titration and size-exclusion chromatography were used to substantiate, in cell-free assays, an interaction between HSA and the transferrin receptor R1. This occurs with a dissociation constant, K_D of 6.7 nM. This interaction was confirmed in HeLa cell culture where, by confocal microscopy, rhodamine-labeled HSA is shown to be internalized. HSA was then covalently conjugated onto maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) to give a NP-HSA nanohybrid. The therapeutic potential of this hybrid was demonstrated through its heating capacity in magnetic hyperthermia (MH) and near-infrared (NIR) photothermia (PT). In particular, the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) in the PT Therapy (PTT) mode, using a 808 nm NIR-LASER (1 W cm^-2) and at iron concentration as low as 2.5 mM, was found to be very high, equal to 1870 W g^-1 with a temperature increment of 9.2 °C. The nanohybrids incubated with HeLa cells were mainly localized at the cell surface. When the PTT mode was applied under the same conditions as in vitro, mortality was higher in HeLa cells than in fibroblasts (non-malignant cells). Cytotoxicity was checked in both cell lines without the PTT mode; the nanohybrids do not seem to affect cell viability. These results make the nanohybrids very promising agents for NIR-PT and for targeting in cancer therapy, since non-malignant cells were not damaged.

Conserved Function of ACYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN DESATURASE 5 on Seed Oil and Oleic Acid Biosynthesis between Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus

Previous studies have shown that several ACYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN DESATURASE (AtAAD) members in Arabidopsis thaliana are responsible for oleic acid (C18:1) biosynthesis. Limited research has been conducted on another member, AtAAD5, and its paralog BnAAD5 in the closely related and commercially important plant, Brassica napus. Here, we found that AtAAD5 was predominantly and exclusively expressed in developing embryos at the whole seed developmental stages. The aad5 mutation caused a significant decrease in the amounts of oil and C18:1, and a considerable increase in the content of stearic acid (C18:0) in mature seeds, suggesting that AtAAD5 functioned as an important facilitator of seed oil biosynthesis. We also cloned the full-length coding sequence of BnAAD5-1 from the A3 subgenome of the B. napus inbred line L111. We showed that ectopic expression of BnAAD5-1 in the A. thaliana aad5-2 mutant fully complemented the phenotypes of the mutant, such as lower oil content and altered contents of C18:0 and C18:1. These results help us to better understand the functions of AAD members in A. thaliana and B. napus and provide a promising target for genetic manipulation of B. napus.

MYB76 Inhibits Seed Fatty Acid Accumulation in Arabidopsis

The MYB family of transcription factors is important in regulatory networks controlling development, metabolism and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses in Arabidopsis. However, their role in regulating fatty acid accumulation in seeds is still largely unclear. Here, we found that MYB76, localized in the nucleus, was predominantly expressed in developing seeds during maturation. The myb76 mutation caused a significant increase in the amounts of total fatty acids and several major fatty acid compositions in mature seeds, suggesting that MYB76 functioned as an important repressor during seed oil biosynthesis. RNA sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed remarkable alteration of numerous genes involved in photosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, modification, and degradation, and oil body formation in myb76 seeds at 12 days after pollination. These results help us to understand the novel function of MYB76 and provide new insights into the regulatory network of MYB transcriptional factors controlling seed oil accumulation in Arabidopsis.

MYC2, MYC3, and MYC4 function redundantly in seed storage protein accumulation in Arabidopsis

Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors (TFs), namely MYC2, MYC3, and MYC4, interact with Jasmonate Zim-domain proteins and are their direct targets. These TFs have been shown to function synergistically to control Arabidopsis growth and development. Our results showed similar MYC2, MYC3, and MYC4 expression patterns during Arabidopsis seed development, which remained relatively high during seed mid-maturation. MYC2, MYC3, and MYC4 acted redundantly in seed size, weight control, and in regulating seed storage protein accumulation. Triple mutants produced the largest seeds and single and double mutants' seeds were much larger than those of wild type. The weight of triple mutants' seeds was significantly higher than that of wild-type seeds, which was accompanied by an increase in seed storage protein contents. Triple mutants' seeds presented a marked decrease in 2S amounts relative to those in wild-type seeds. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectra sequencing results indicated that both the relative abundance and the peptide number of CRA1 and CRU3 were greatly increased in triple mutants compared to wild type. The expression of 2S1-2S5 decreased and that of CRA1 and CRU3 increased in triple mutants relative to those in wild types during seed development, which might have contributed to the low 2S and high 12S contents in triple mutants. Our results contribute to understanding the function of MYC2, MYC3, and MYC4 on seed development, and provide promising targets for genetic manipulations of protein-producing crops to improve the quantity and quality of seed storage proteins.

Assessment of cognitive function in adult patients with hemorrhagic moyamoya disease who received no surgical revascularization

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Due to controversial surgical treatment for hemorrhagic moyamoya disease (MMD), a large proportion of these patients chose conservative treatment. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive function in adult patients with hemorrhagic MMD who received no surgical revascularization.

METHODS

Twenty-six adult hemorrhagic MMD patients with only intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) confirmed by positive computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scan, 20 patients with spontaneous IVH whose digital subtraction angiography results were negative, and 30 healthy controls were identified and matched for age, gender, education background and living area. Cognitive function was evaluated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The non-parametric test was used for comparisons among the three groups.

RESULTS

No patient was confirmed cognitive dysfunction at the initial screening. Twenty-four (92%) cases presented mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after 1 year. All the cases demonstrated MCI after 2 years. The difference between cases and healthy controls was statistically significant at the second screening (P = 0.000) and the third screening (P = 0.000), as was that between cases and patients with spontaneous IVH at the second screening (P = 0.000) and the third screening (P = 0.000). In addition, there were significant decreases in all MoCA subscores (P = 0.000) with special regards to delayed recall, visual space and executive function in cases compared with the other two groups. Moreover, significant differences were found in the subgroups of smoking (P = 0.021) and Suzuki angiographic classification of MMD (P = 0.030).

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive impairment is a long-term complication for adult hemorrhagic MMD patients who underwent conservative treatment.

Image-guided radiosurgery for the spine and pancreas

A robotic image-guided radiosurgical system has been modified to treat extra-cranial sites using implanted fiducials and skeletal landmarks to locate the treatment targets. The system has been used to treat an artero-venous malformation in the cervical spine, a recurrent schwannoma of the thoracic spine, a metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lumbar spine, and three pancreatic cancers. During each treatment, the image guidance system monitored the position of the target site and relayed the target coordinates to the beam-pointing system at discrete intervals. The pointing system then dynamically aligned the therapy beam with the lesion, automatically compensating for shifts in target position. Breathing-related motion of the pancreas lesions was managed by coordinating beam gating with breath-holding by the patient. The system maintained alignment with the spine lesions to within +/- 0.2 mm on average, and to within +/- 1 mm for the pancreatic tumors. This experience has demonstrated the feasibility of using image-guided robotic radiosurgery outside the cranium.

[Supercritical-CO2 fluid extraction in extracting volatile constituents from Juniperus formosana]

Volatile oils from the leaves of Juniperus formosana Hayata were extracted by supercritical-CO2 fluid. These constituents were analysed by GC-MS. The result showed that the oils from CO2-SFE contain 29 components, 21 of the them were identified, which are first obtained from the plant.