Grain number is the only yield component that is directly associated with increased grain yield in important cereal crops like wheat. Historical yield studies show that increases in grain yield are ...always accompanied by an increase in grain number. Adverse weather conditions can cause severe fluctuations in grain yield and substantial yield losses in cereal crops. The problem is global and despite its impact on world food production breeding and selection approaches have only met with limited success. A specific period during early reproductive development, the young microspore stage of pollen development, is extremely vulnerable to abiotic stress in self-fertilising cereals (wheat, rice, barley, sorghum). A better understanding of the physiological and molecular processes that lead to stress-induced pollen abortion may provide us with the key to finding solutions for maintaining grain number under abiotic stress conditions. Due to the complexity of the problem, stress-proofing our main cereal crops will be a challenging task and will require joint input from different research disciplines.
To investigate the influence of surface morphology on the electrochromic (EC) properties of indium oxynitride (InON), thin films were deposited on indium-doped tin oxide substrates using direct ...current (DC) magnetron sputtering. A systematic assessment was conducted by varying the substrate temperature and bias voltage to evaluate their respective impacts on the surface morphology and EC properties of InON. It was observed that as the substrate temperature gradually increased, the optical modulation showed a trend of initial increase followed by a gradual decrease. This nuanced behavior highlights the sensitivity of InON films to variations in deposition conditions. Additionally, the application of bias voltage induced significant alterations in the film's surface morphology, particularly noticeable when a negative bias voltage was employed. This resulted in a decrease in the transmittance, revealing the profound impact of bias voltage on the EC behavior of InON films. The wavelength range of InON electrochromism was also intricately linked to surface morphology. Optimal EC performance was consistently achieved when the surface exhibited minimal roughness, uniform particle distribution, and uniform film growth. These findings emphasize the importance of meticulous control over deposition parameters to attain better EC properties in InON films. More importantly, the study establishes that the EC phenomenon in InON films is primarily driven by ion migration through voids caused by alternate surface adsorption. This mechanism is similar to the observed behavior in InN films, providing valuable insights into the underlying processes governing electrochromism in InON films. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing EC behavior in InON films and pave the way for enhanced applications in EC devices.
Drought stress at the reproductive stage causes pollen sterility and grain loss in wheat (Triticum aestivum). Drought stress induces abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis genes in anthers and ABA ...accumulation in spikes of drought-sensitive wheat varieties. In contrast, drought-tolerant wheat accumulates lower ABA levels, which correlates with lower ABA biosynthesis and higher ABA catabolic gene expression (ABA 8'-hydroxylase). Wheat TaABA8' OH1 deletion lines accumulate higher spike ABA levels and are more drought sensitive. ABA treatment of the spike mimics the effect of drought, causing high levels of sterility. ABA treatment represses the anther cell wall invertase gene TalVR1, and drought-tolerant lines appeared to be more sensitive to the effect of ABA. Drought-induced sterility shows similarity to cold-induced sterility in rice (Oryza sativa). In coldstressed rice, the rate of ABA accumulation was similar in cold-sensitive and cold-tolerant lines during the first 8 h of cold treatment, but in the tolerant line, ABA catabolism reduced ABA levels between 8 and 16 h of cold treatment. The ABA biosynthesis gene encoding 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase in anthers is mainly expressed in parenchyma cells surrounding the vascular bundle of the anther. Transgenic rice lines expressing the wheat TaABA8' OH1 gene under the control of the OsG6B tapetum-specific promoter resulted in reduced anther ABA levels under cold conditions. The transgenic lines showed that anther sink strength (OsINV4) was maintained under cold conditions and that this correlated with improved cold stress tolerance. Our data indicate that ABA and ABA 8'-hydroxylase play an important role in controlling anther ABA homeostasis and reproductive stage abiotic stress tolerance in cereals.
Increasing researches have focused on cancer metastasis and development. The ectonucleotidase CD73 is one of the most common cell surface enzymes that are involved in immunosuppression. In this ...study, the recombinant plasmid pET28a-CD73 was constructed and the CD73 protein was overexpressed in
as an inclusion body that was then subjected to refolding. The anti-CD73 monoclonal antibody (3F7) was obtained by hybridoma technology. The antibody subtype was identified as IgG2a with an affinity constant of 5.75 nM. This antibody could be applied to immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. The results showed that the CD73 protein was not only located in the cytoplasm but also distributed on the surface of triple-negative breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468. Moreover, the level of CD73 protein was associated with the survival rate. Although the anti-CD73 antibody was not able to inhibit tumor cell growth, it could enhance the cytotoxic effect of Doxorubicin to triple-negative breast cancer cells. In vitro function assay results indicated that anti-CD73 mAb could inhibit cell migration and invasion in both human triple-negative breast cancer and mouse 4T1 cell lines. In this process, both the LC3I/LC3II ratio and p62 protein levels increased, which indicated that the blockage of CD73 could inhibit cell autophagy, and cell migration and invasion were restored by rapamycin. In vivo, anti-CD73 mAb could significantly inhibit lung metastasis of 4T1 cells in a mouse xenograft model. Taken together, this novel anti-CD73 antibody could be developed as an adjuvant drug for triple-negative breast cancer therapy and can be useful in tumor diagnosis.
In 2009, the FDA approved bevacizumab for the treatment of adult patients diagnosed with recurrent glioblastoma. However, the poor permeability of the macromolecules across the blood–brain barrier, ...determined by multifactorial anatomical and physiological milieu, restricts the clinical therapeutic effect of bevacizumab. The low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 (LRP1) is highly expressed in the endothelial cells of the brain capillary and the glioma cells. Angiopep-2 (ANG) is a 19-aa oligopeptide that can bind to LRP1 and penetrate the blood–brain barrier by receptor-mediated transport. Therefore, ANG can be used as a dual-targeting drug delivery carrier into the brain and the glioma sites. In this study, ANG gene was fused with the C-terminal domain of single-chain antigen binding fragment (scFab) of the anti-VEGF antibody and recombinant scFab-ANG protein was expressed and purified using Rosatte (DE3) strain. We confirmed that ANG could carry anti-VEGF-scFab, penetrate a three-dimensional model of the brain tumor, and cross the hCMEC/D3 monolayer in the in vitro blood–brain barrier model. The animal experiments demonstrated that 3 h after the tail intravenous protein injection, the fluorescent signals in the brains of the mice in the scFab-ANG group were stronger than that in the scFab group. Furthermore, the study of the in situ rat glioma model shows that scFab-ANG could target glioma while anti-VEGF-scFab could not. These findings indicate that scFab-ANG had stronger transepithelial permeability and glioma targeting capacity. Thus, it can be a potential candidate drug for glioblastoma therapy.
Coagulation is a process affected by multiple variables, nonlinear mapping and multiple perturbations. In order to realize the precise dosage of flocculants, polyaluminum chloride (PAC) was taken as ...the research object to explore the effects of temperature, water turbidity, pH and CODMn on the dosage of PAC and coagulation effect. A response surface methodology (RSM) experiment was carried out based on a single-factor experiment. The turbidity, pH and dosage of a single parameter, as well as the interaction term and secondary term, all have significant influence on coagulation effect. The optimal reaction conditions were calculated using Design-Expert software: pH, 7.48; turbidity, 14.59 NTU; dosage, 24.01 mg/L; and the error between the experimental value and the predicted value, 4.08%. Establishing a model with residual turbidity as a consideration index can help to calculate the optimal dosage of PAC, which is conducive to a reasonable and accurate control of the dosage of PAC in the coagulation process, so as to achieve the goal of low turbidity of effluent and low production cost.
The role of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, family history of cancer and the interaction of cigarettes and family history in the etiology of Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in general and within each ...histologic type are unclear. We conducted a case‐control study among 1,044 Han Chinese patients with NPC and 1,095 Han Chinese cancer‐free control subjects. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between histologic type of NPC and cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and family history. The results indicated that NPC was significantly associated with cigarette smoking adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.97, 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.38–3.70, and the association exhibited a dose‐response relationship for intensity, duration, and cumulative consumption of cigarettes (ptrend < 0.0001 for intensity, duration and cumulative consumption of cigarettes). Positive family history of cancer led to a significant 12‐fold elevated risk of NPC (adjusted OR = 12.95, 95% CI, 7.12–23.54) and acted jointly with cigarettes in contributing to NPC risk (adjusted OR = 56.68, 95% CI, 17.25–186.19). The association of NPC risk with cigarettes was stronger for nonkeratinizing carcinoma than for keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (KSCC), whereas family history was more closely associated with KSCC. NPC risk was not associated with alcohol consumption. Our study demonstrated that cigarette smoking and family history of cancer could serve independently and jointly as risk factors for etiology of NPC and might affect the risk of histology‐specific NPC differently. This knowledge may help facilitate comprehension of NPC etiology in general as well as within each histologic type, and thereby improve prevention efforts.
The development of drug resistance in malignant tumors leads to disease progression, creating a bottleneck in treatment. Bevacizumab is widely used clinically, and acts by inhibiting angiogenesis to ..."starve" tumors. Continuous treatment can readily induce rebound proliferation of tumor blood vessels, leading to drug resistance. Previously, we found that the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of bevacizumab cooperates with the Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) ligand to induce M2b polarization in macrophages and secrete tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), which promotes immunosuppression, tumor metastasis, and angiogenesis. However, the downstream mechanism underlying TNFα-mediated bevacizumab resistance requires further investigation. Our RNA-Seq analysis results revealed that the expression of endothelial cell specific molecule-1 (ESM1) increased significantly in drug-resistant tumors and promoted metastasis and angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, TNFα induced the upregulation of ESM1, which promotes metastasis and angiogenesis and regulates matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP9), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and delta-like ligand-4 molecules (DLL4). Accordingly, the curative effect of bevacizumab improved by neutralizing ESM1 with high-affinity anti-ESM1 monoclonal antibody 1-2B7 in bevacizumab-resistant mice. This study provides important insights regarding the molecular mechanism by which TNFα-induced ESM1 expression promotes angiogenesis, which is significant for elucidating the mechanism of bevacizumab drug resistance and possibly identifying appropriate biosimilar molecules.
Slow sand filters (SSFs) have been widely used in the construction of water plants in rural areas. It is necessary to find river sand of suitable particle size to improve SSF treatment of ...micro-polluted water so as to ensure the effective and long-term operation of these plants. In this study, SSF1# (particle size of 0.1–0.5 mm), SSF2# (particle size of 0.5–1 mm), and SSF3# (particle size of 1–1.5 mm) were selected. The physical absorption, CODMn and NH4+-N removal effect, and microbial community were analyzed. According to Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption model fitting, the smaller the particle size of the river sand, the more pollutants are adsorbed under the same conditions. SSF1# has the shortest membrane-forming time, highest CODMn and NH4+-N removal rate, and highest Shannon estimator, indicating that there are more abundant microbial species in the biofilm. Mesorhizobium, Pannonibacter, Pseudoxanthomonas, Aquabacterium, Devosia, and other bacteria have different proportions in each system, each forming its own stable biological chain system. The effluent quality of the three SSFs can meet drinking water standards. However, river sand with a particle size range of 0.1–0.5 mm is easily blocked, and thus the recommended size range for SSF is 0.5–1 mm.
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