Deep learning is currently an extremely active research area in machine learning and pattern recognition society. It has gained huge successes in a broad area of applications such as speech ...recognition, computer vision, and natural language processing. With the sheer size of data available today, big data brings big opportunities and transformative potential for various sectors; on the other hand, it also presents unprecedented challenges to harnessing data and information. As the data keeps getting bigger, deep learning is coming to play a key role in providing big data predictive analytics solutions. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of deep learning, and highlight current research efforts and the challenges to big data, as well as the future trends.
Although proteins in the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family are universal transcription factors in eukaryotes, the biological roles of most bHLH family members are not well understood in plants.
...The Arabidopsis thaliana bHLH122 transcripts were strongly induced by drought, NaCl and osmotic stresses, but not by ABA treatment. Promoter::GUS analysis showed that bHLH122 was highly expressed in vascular tissues and guard cells. Compared with wild-type (WT) plants, transgenic plants overexpressing bHLH122 displayed greater resistance to drought, NaCl and osmotic stresses. In contrast, the bhlh122 loss-of-function mutant was more sensitive to NaCl and osmotic stresses than were WT plants.
Microarray analysis indicated that bHLH122 was important for the expression of a number of abiotic stress-responsive genes. In electrophoretic mobility shift assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, bHLH122 could bind directly to the G-box/E-box cis-elements in the CYP707A3 promoter, and repress its expression. Further, up-regulation of bHLH122 substantially increased cellular ABA levels.
These results suggest that bHLH122 functions as a positive regulator of drought, NaCl and osmotic signaling.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Arranging ionic liquids (ILs) with long‐range order can not only enhance their performance in a desired application, but can also help elucidate the vital between structure and properties. However, ...this is still a challenge and no example has been reported to date. Herein, we report a feasible strategy to achieve a crystalline IL via coordination self‐assembly based reticular chemistry. IL1MOF, was prepared by designing an IL bridging ligand and then connecting them with metal clusters. IL1MOF has a unique structure, where the IL ligands are arranged on a long‐range ordered framework but have a labile ionic center. This structure enables IL1MOF to break through the typical limitation where the solid ILs have lower proton conductivity than their counterpart bulk ILs. IL1MOF shows 2–4 orders of magnitude higher proton conductivity than its counterpart IL monomer across a wide temperature range. Moreover, by confining the IL within ultramicropores (<1 nm), IL1MOF suppresses the liquid–solid phase transition temperatures to lower than −150 °C, allowing it to function with high conductivity in a subzero temperature range.
A reticular chemistry based strategy opens a facile toolbox for designing liquid molecules with long‐rang‐ordered framework of MOF. IL1MOF is the first crystalline ionic liquid (IL) combining a balance of good mechanical properties and high conductivity. It expands the use of IL electrolytes to an low temperature region.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Recent studies on nitrate transporters (NRTs) have greatly increased our knowledge of the mechanisms regulating nitrogen (N) homeostasis in plants. However, an understanding of how these NRTs are ...regulated is still lacking.
The nitrogen limitation adaptation (nla) mutant is hypersensitive to N limitation. In the nla mutant, 15N-nitrate spotted on old leaves preferentially accumulated in the youngest leaves. Analysis of leaf cross-sections indicated that NLA expression was expressed in the sieve element and companion cell system. The results of bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), split-ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP) assays demonstrated that NLA interacts with NRT1.7 in the plasma membrane.
The following findings suggest that NLA directs the ubiquitination of NRT1.7: the down-regulation of NRT1.7 protein abundance in 35S::NLA/35S::Myc-NRT1.7 double transgenic plants compared with 35S::Myc-NRT1.7 transgenic plants; the up-regulation of NRT1.7 protein abundance in the nla mutant compared with wild-type plants; and the direct degradation of truncated NRT1.7 recombinant protein by NLA. Furthermore, analysis of NLA and NRT1.7 protein abundance in mirna827 knock-out plants showed that N deficiency-guided translational repression of NLA depends on miRNA827.
Our findings reveal that plants regulate source-to-sink remobilization of nitrate by the ubiquitin-mediated post-translational regulatory pathway.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to serious motor and sensory dysfunction of the limbs below the injured segment. SCI not only results in physical and psychological harm to patients but can also ...cause a huge economic burden on their families and society. As there is no effective treatment method, the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with SCI have become urgent problems to be solved. In recent years, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted more attention in the treatment of SCI. Although MSC therapy can reduce injured volume and promote axonal regeneration, its application is limited by tumorigenicity, a low survival rate, and immune rejection. Accumulating literature shows that exosomes have great potential in the treatment of SCI. In this review, we summarize the existing MSC-derived exosome studies on SCI and discuss the advantages and challenges of treating SCI based on exosomes derived from MSCs.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
Quercus dentata Thunb., a dominant forest tree species in northern China, has significant ecological and ornamental value due to its adaptability and beautiful autumn coloration, with color ...changes from green to yellow into red resulting from the autumnal shifts in leaf pigmentation. However, the key genes and molecular regulatory mechanisms for leaf color transition remain to be investigated.
First, we presented a high‐quality chromosome‐scale assembly for Q. dentata. This 893.54 Mb sized genome (contig N50 = 4.21 Mb, scaffold N50 = 75.55 Mb; 2n = 24) harbors 31 584 protein‐coding genes. Second, our metabolome analyses uncovered pelargonidin‐3‐O‐glucoside, cyanidin‐3‐O‐arabinoside, and cyanidin‐3‐O‐glucoside as the main pigments involved in leaf color transition. Third, gene co‐expression further identified the MYB‐bHLH‐WD40 (MBW) transcription activation complex as central to anthocyanin biosynthesis regulation.
Notably, transcription factor (TF) QdNAC (QD08G038820) was highly co‐expressed with this MBW complex and may regulate anthocyanin accumulation and chlorophyll degradation during leaf senescence through direct interaction with another TF, QdMYB (QD01G020890), as revealed by our further protein–protein and DNA–protein interaction assays.
Our high‐quality genome assembly, metabolome, and transcriptome resources further enrich Quercus genomics and will facilitate upcoming exploration of ornamental values and environmental adaptability in this important genus.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a common clinical degenerative disease of the spine. A series of factors, such as inflammation, oxidative stress and mechanical stress, promote degradation ...of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the intervertebral discs (IVD), leading to dysfunction and structural destruction of the IVD. Nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) transcription factor has long been regarded as a pathogenic factor of IDD. Therefore, NF‐κB may be an ideal therapeutic target for IDD. As NF‐κB is a multifunctional functional transcription factor with roles in a variety of biological processes, a comprehensive understanding of the function and regulatory mechanism of NF‐κB in IDD pathology will be useful for the development of targeted therapeutic strategies for IDD, which can prevent the progression of IDD and reduce potential risks. This review discusses the role of the NF‐κB signalling pathway in the nucleus pulposus (NP) in the process of IDD to understand pathological NP degeneration further and provide potential therapeutic targets that may interfere with NF‐κB signalling for IDD therapy.
Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a common clinical degenerative disease of the spine. A series of factors, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and mechanical stress, promote degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the intervertebral discs (IVD), leading to dysfunction and structural destruction of the IVD. Nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) transcription factor has long been regarded as the pathogenic factor of IDD. Therefore, NF‐κB may be an ideal therapeutic target for IDD. As NF‐κB is a multifunctional functional transcription factor with roles in a variety of biological processes, a comprehensive understanding of the function and regulatory mechanism of NF‐κB in IDD pathology will be useful for the development of targeted therapeutic strategies for IDD, which can prevent the progression of IDD and reduce potential risks. This review discusses the role of the NF‐κB signalling pathway in the nucleus pulposus (NP) in the process of IDD to understand pathological NP degeneration further and provide potential therapeutic targets that may interfere with NF‐κB signalling for IDD therapy.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases has become one of the leading concerns in public health.1,2 Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and ...tissues in the body, leading to chronic inflammation, tissue damage, and organ dysfunction.1 As more people are diagnosed with autoimmune disease, the burden on health-care systems, families, and communities grows.2 Adequate public health and service delivery planning requires reliable information about contemporary population-level disease incidence; however, there is a poor understanding about the estimates of autoimmune diseases and their temporal trends in many countries.3 Little is known about the similarities and differences between these diseases concerning the incidence, prevalence, and co-occurrence.4 Nathalie Conrad and colleagues5 report a large-scale, evidence-based epidemiology study that contains data retrieved from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Research using CPRD data has informed drug safety guidance and clinical practice.6 The authors provided a comprehensive update of autoimmune disorders in public health because they considered multiple covariates (eg, sex, socioeconomic status, region, and seasonal variations) for the present study. ...although CPRD data has been used in over 200 studies with an average positive predictive value of approximately 90% for a broad range of conditions this does not fully exclude the possibility of miscoding because the database uses routinely collected health records data.6 The study by Conrad and colleagues5 is insightful in unveiling important information on the overall burden of autoimmune diseases and clues into disease pathogenesis.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A vaccine to protect against COVID-19 is urgently needed. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 (Ad5) vectored COVID-19 vaccine expressing ...the spike glycoprotein of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strain.
We did a dose-escalation, single-centre, open-label, non-randomised, phase 1 trial of an Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine in Wuhan, China. Healthy adults aged between 18 and 60 years were sequentially enrolled and allocated to one of three dose groups (5 × 1010, 1 × 1011, and 1·5 × 1011 viral particles) to receive an intramuscular injection of vaccine. The primary outcome was adverse events in the 7 days post-vaccination. Safety was assessed over 28 days post-vaccination. Specific antibodies were measured with ELISA, and the neutralising antibody responses induced by vaccination were detected with SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralisation and pseudovirus neutralisation tests. T-cell responses were assessed by enzyme-linked immunospot and flow-cytometry assays. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04313127.
Between March 16 and March 27, 2020, we screened 195 individuals for eligibility. Of them, 108 participants (51% male, 49% female; mean age 36·3 years) were recruited and received the low dose (n=36), middle dose (n=36), or high dose (n=36) of the vaccine. All enrolled participants were included in the analysis. At least one adverse reaction within the first 7 days after the vaccination was reported in 30 (83%) participants in the low dose group, 30 (83%) participants in the middle dose group, and 27 (75%) participants in the high dose group. The most common injection site adverse reaction was pain, which was reported in 58 (54%) vaccine recipients, and the most commonly reported systematic adverse reactions were fever (50 46%), fatigue (47 44%), headache (42 39%), and muscle pain (18 17%. Most adverse reactions that were reported in all dose groups were mild or moderate in severity. No serious adverse event was noted within 28 days post-vaccination. ELISA antibodies and neutralising antibodies increased significantly at day 14, and peaked 28 days post-vaccination. Specific T-cell response peaked at day 14 post-vaccination.
The Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine is tolerable and immunogenic at 28 days post-vaccination. Humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 peaked at day 28 post-vaccination in healthy adults, and rapid specific T-cell responses were noted from day 14 post-vaccination. Our findings suggest that the Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine warrants further investigation.
National Key R&D Program of China, National Science and Technology Major Project, and CanSino Biologics.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The class imbalance problem is encountered in real-world applications of machine learning and results in a classifier's suboptimal performance. Researchers have rigorously studied the resampling, ...algorithms, and feature selection approaches to this problem. No systematic studies have been conducted to understand how well these methods combat the class imbalance problem and which of these methods best manage the different challenges posed by imbalanced data sets. In particular, feature selection has rarely been studied outside of text classification problems. Additionally, no studies have looked at the additional problem of learning from small samples. This paper presents a first systematic comparison of the three types of methods developed for imbalanced data classification problems and of seven feature selection metrics evaluated on small sample data sets from different applications. We evaluated the performance of these metrics using area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) and area under the precision-recall curve (PRC). We compared each metric on the average performance across all problems and on the likelihood of a metric yielding the best performance on a specific problem. We examined the performance of these metrics inside each problem domain. Finally, we evaluated the efficacy of these metrics to see which perform best across algorithms. Our results showed that signal-to-noise correlation coefficient (S2N) and Feature Assessment by Sliding Thresholds (FAST) are great candidates for feature selection in most applications, especially when selecting very small numbers of features.
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