Identification of grain shape determining genes can facilitate breeding of rice cultivars with optimal grain shape and appearance quality. Here, we identify GS9 (Grain Shape Gene on Chromosome 9) ...gene by map-based cloning. The gs9 null mutant has slender grains, while overexpression GS9 results in round grains. GS9 encodes a protein without known conserved functional domain. It regulates grain shape by altering cell division. The interaction of GS9 and ovate family proteins OsOFP14 and OsOFP8 is modulated by OsGSK2 kinase, a key regulator of the brassinosteroids signaling pathway. Genetic interaction analysis reveals that GS9 functions independently from other previously identified grain size genes. Introducing the gs9 allele into elite rice cultivars significantly improves grain shape and appearance quality. It suggests potential application of gs9, alone or in combination with other grain size determining genes, in breeding of rice varieties with optimized grain shape.
Pollinating species are in decline globally, with land use an important driver. However, most of the evidence on which these claims are made is patchy, based on studies with low taxonomic and ...geographic representativeness. Here, we model the effect of land-use type and intensity on global pollinator biodiversity, using a local-scale database covering 303 studies, 12,170 sites, and 4502 pollinating species. Relative to a primary vegetation baseline, we show that low levels of intensity can have beneficial effects on pollinator biodiversity. Within most anthropogenic land-use types however, increasing intensity is associated with significant reductions, particularly in urban (43% richness and 62% abundance reduction compared to the least intensive urban sites), and pasture (75% abundance reduction) areas. We further show that on cropland, the strongly negative response to intensity is restricted to tropical areas, and that the direction and magnitude of response differs among taxonomic groups. Our findings confirm widespread effects of land-use intensity on pollinators, most significantly in the tropics, where land use is predicted to change rapidly.
Floral nectar production is central to plant pollination, and hence to human wellbeing. As floral nectar is essentially a solution in water of various sugars, it is likely a valuable plant resource, ...especially in terms of energy, with plants experiencing costs/trade-offs associated with its production or absorption and adopting mechanisms to regulate nectar in flowers. Possible costs of nectar production may also influence the evolution of nectar volume, concentration and composition, of pollination syndromes involving floral nectar, and the production of some crops. There has been frequent agreement that costs of floral nectar production are significant, but relevant evidence is scant and difficult to interpret. Convincing direct evidence comes from experimental studies that relate either enhanced nectar sugar production (through repeated nectar removal) to reduced ability to produce seeds, or increased sugar availability (through absorption of additional artificial nectar) to increased seed production. Proportions of available photosynthate allocated by plants to nectar production may also indicate nectar cost. However, such studies are rare, some do not include treatments of all (or almost all) flowers per plant, and all lack quantitative cost-benefit comparisons for nectar production. Additional circumstantial evidence of nectar cost is difficult to interpret and largely equivocal. Future research should repeat direct experimental approaches that relate reduced or enhanced nectar sugar availability for a plant with consequent ability to produce seeds. To avoid confounding effects of inter-flower resource transfer, each plant should experience a single treatment, with treatment of all or almost all flowers per plant. Resource allocation by plants, pathways used for resource transfer, and the locations of resource sources and sinks should also be investigated. Future research should also consider extension of nectar cost into other areas of biology. For example, evolutionary models of nectar production are rare but should be possible if plant fitness gains and costs associated with nectar production are expressed in the same currency, such as energy. It should then be possible to understand observed nectar production for different plant species and pollination syndromes involving floral nectar. In addition, potential economic benefits should be possible to assess if relationships between nectar production and crop value are evaluated.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
AbstractThis paper investigates complete recycling of waste concrete to produce new geopolymer concrete (GPC). Specifically, GPC was produced using waste concrete fines (WCF) and class-F fly ash (FA) ...together with mixed sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) solution as the geopolymer binder and waste concrete aggregates (both coarse and fine) as the aggregate. The effect of NaOH concentration, Na2SiO3 solution to NaOH solution mass ratio (SS/N), cement (WCF and FA) to aggregate ratio (C/A), water-to-cement ratio (W/C), and curing temperature on the initial setting time and the 7-day unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the GPC was systematically studied. For comparison, GPC using natural aggregate (NA) was also produced and studied at similar conditions. The results indicated that the GPC produced from recycled aggregate (RA) has higher UCS than the GPC from NA at both room (23°C) and 35°C curing temperatures. This is mainly due to the stronger interfacial transition zones (ITZs) in the RA-based GPC than in the NA-based GPC. Based on this study, it can be concluded that waste concrete can be completely recycled (both WCF and RA are reused and no NA is needed) to produce new structural geopolymer concrete with sufficiently high compressive strength.
Enriched PD-L1 expression in cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) contributes to CSC immune evasion. However, the mechanisms underlying PD-L1 enrichment in CSCs remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that ...epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) enriches PD-L1 in CSCs by the EMT/β-catenin/STT3/PD-L1 signaling axis, in which EMT transcriptionally induces N-glycosyltransferase STT3 through β-catenin, and subsequent STT3-dependent PD-L1 N-glycosylation stabilizes and upregulates PD-L1. The axis is also utilized by the general cancer cell population, but it has much more profound effect on CSCs as EMT induces more STT3 in CSCs than in non-CSCs. We further identify a non-canonical mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) activity of etoposide, which suppresses the EMT/β-catenin/STT3/PD-L1 axis through TOP2B degradation-dependent nuclear β-catenin reduction, leading to PD-L1 downregulation of CSCs and non-CSCs and sensitization of cancer cells to anti-Tim-3 therapy. Together, our results link MET to PD-L1 stabilization through glycosylation regulation and reveal it as a potential strategy to enhance cancer immunotherapy efficacy.
An attractive method to response the current energy crisis and produce sustainable nonpolluting power source is harvesting energy from our living environment. However, the energy in our living ...environment always exists in low-frequency form, which is very difficult to be utilized directly. Here, we demonstrated a novel sandwich-shape triboelectric nanogenerator to convert low-frequency mechanical energy to electric energy with double frequency. An aluminum film was placed between two polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes to realize frequency multiplication by twice contact electrifications within one cycle of external force. The working mechanism was studied by finite element simulation. Additionally, the well-designed micro/nano dual-scale structures (i.e., pyramids and V-shape grooves) fabricated atop PDMS surface was employed to enhance the device performance. The output peak voltage, current density, and energy volume density achieved 465 V, 13.4 μA/cm2, and 53.4 mW/cm3, respectively. This novel nanogenerator was systematically investigated and also demonstrated as a reliable power source, which can be directly used to not only lighten five commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) but also drive an implantable 3-D microelectrode array for neural prosthesis without any energy storage unit or rectification circuit. This is the first demonstration of the nanogenerator for directly driving biomedical microsystems, which extends the application fields of the nanogenerator and drives it closer to practical applications.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
•First review paper focused on transmissibility-based system identification.•Fundamental concepts of transmissibility and its basic properties are summarized.•The literature review categorizes ...transmissibility functions as local and global.•Application of transmissibility function in modal analysis, damage detection and model updating are reviewed.•Gaps requiring additional work and possible future trends are highlighted.
The difficulty of achieving controlled input has led to the development of new output-only structural health monitoring (SHM) approaches. Without measuring the input or assuming a specific input model, a transmissibility function (TF) as a mathematical representation of the output-to-output relationship has proven to be an attractive tool in SHM. The state of the art and challenges to TF analysis that cast SHM in the context of a system identification (SI) paradigm are reviewed and discussed in this study. This review starts with an overview of the fundamentals of TFs by illustrating its categories, connections with frequency response functions (FRFs), and basic properties. By categorizing TFs as local and global, this literature review limits the practice of various methodologies to the following key aspects: modal analysis, damage detection, and model updating. A brief treatment of the basic ideas is presented while a comprehensive and critical explanation of their contents is not attempted. Based on the review, existing studies are discussed, highlighting gaps requiring additional work and possible future trends for TF-based system identification.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Marine tetrapods quickly diversified and were established as marine top predators after the end-Permian Mass extinction (EPME). Ichthyosaurs were the forerunner of this rapid radiation but the main ...drivers of the diversification are poorly understood. Cartorhynchus lenticarpus is a basal ichthyosauriform with the least degree of aquatic adaptation, holding a key to identifying such a driver. The unique specimen appeared edentulous based on what was exposed but a CT scanning revealed that the species indeed had rounded teeth that are nearly perpendicular to the jaw rami, and thus completely concealed in lateral view. There are three dental rows per jaw ramus, and the root lacks infoldings of the dentine typical of ichthyopterygians. The well-developed and worn molariform dentition with three tooth rows supports the previous inference that the specimen is not of a juvenile. The premaxilla and the corresponding part of the dentary are edentulous. Molariform dentition evolved three to five times independently within Ichthyosauriformes in the Early and Middle Triassic. Convergent exploitation of hard-shelled invertebrates by different subclades of ichthyosauriforms likely fueled the rapid taxonomic diversification of the group after EPME.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Ferroptosis in Neurological Diseases Ren, Jia-Xin; Sun, Xin; Yan, Xiu-Li ...
Frontiers in cellular neuroscience,
07/2020, Volume:
14
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Ferroptosis is mechanism for non-apoptotic, iron-dependent, oxidative cell death that is characterized by glutathione consumption and lipid peroxides accumulation. Ferroptosis is crucially involved ...in neurological diseases, including neurodegeneration, stroke and neurotrauma. This review provides detailed discussions of the ferroptosis mechanisms in these neurological diseases. Moreover, it summarizes recent drugs that target ferroptosis for neurological disease treatment. Furthermore, it compares the differences and relationships among the various cell death mechanisms involved in neurological diseases. Elucidating the ferroptosis role in the brain can improve the understanding of neurological disease mechanism and provide potential prevention and treatment interventions for acute and chronic neurological diseases.
Over 60 years of spacecraft exploration has revealed that the Earth's Moon is characterized by a lunar crust
dominated by the mineral plagioclase, overlying a more mafic (richer in iron and ...magnesium) mantle of uncertain composition. Both crust and mantle formed during the earliest stages of lunar evolution when late-stage accretional energy caused a molten rock (magma) ocean, flotation of the light plagioclase, sinking of the denser iron-rich minerals, such as olivine and pyroxene, and eventually solidification
. Very large impact craters can potentially penetrate through the crust and sample the lunar mantle. The largest of these craters is the approximately 2,500-kilometre-diameter South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin
on the lunar far side. Evidence obtained from orbiting spacecraft shows that the floor of the SPA basin is rich in mafic minerals
, but their mantle origin is controversial and their in situ geologic settings are poorly known. China's Chang'E-4 lunar far-side lander recently touched down in the Von Kármán crater
to explore the floor of the huge SPA basin and deployed its rover, Yutu-2. Here we report on the initial spectral observations of the Visible and Near Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS)
onboard Yutu-2, which we interpret to represent the presence of low-calcium (ortho)pyroxene and olivine, materials that may originate from the lunar mantle. Geological context
suggests that these materials were excavated from below the SPA floor by the nearby 72-km-diameter Finsen impact crater event, and transported to the landing site. Continued exploration by Yutu-2 will target these materials on the floor of the Von Kármán crater to understand their geologic context, origin and abundance, and to assess the possibility of sample-return scenarios.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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