Analysis of sleep for the diagnosis of sleep disorders such as Type-1 Narcolepsy (T1N) currently requires visual inspection of polysomnography records by trained scoring technicians. Here, we used ...neural networks in approximately 3,000 normal and abnormal sleep recordings to automate sleep stage scoring, producing a hypnodensity graph-a probability distribution conveying more information than classical hypnograms. Accuracy of sleep stage scoring was validated in 70 subjects assessed by six scorers. The best model performed better than any individual scorer (87% versus consensus). It also reliably scores sleep down to 5 s instead of 30 s scoring epochs. A T1N marker based on unusual sleep stage overlaps achieved a specificity of 96% and a sensitivity of 91%, validated in independent datasets. Addition of HLA-DQB1*06:02 typing increased specificity to 99%. Our method can reduce time spent in sleep clinics and automates T1N diagnosis. It also opens the possibility of diagnosing T1N using home sleep studies.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous regulators of a broad range of physiological processes and act by either degrading mRNA or blocking its translation. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is one of the most ...important crops in China, Europe and other Asian countries with publicly available expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and genomic survey sequence (GSS) databases, but little is known about its miRNAs and their targets. To date, only 46 miRNAs have been identified in B. napus.
Forty-one conserved and 62 brassica-specific candidate B. napus miRNAs, including 20 miRNA* sequences, were identified using Solexa sequencing technology. Furthermore, 33 non-redundant mRNA targets of conserved brassica miRNAs and 19 new non-redundant mRNA targets of novel brassica-specific miRNAs were identified by genome-scale sequencing of mRNA degradome.
This study describes large scale cloning and characterization of B. napus miRNAs and their potential targets, providing the foundation for further characterization of miRNA function in the regulation of diverse physiological processes in B. napus.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Spotted leaf (spl) mutant is a type of leaf lesion mimic mutants in plants. We obtained some lesion mimic mutants from ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar ...Guomai 301 (wild type, WT), and one of them was named as white stripe leaf (wsl) mutant because of the white stripes on its leaves. Here we report the heredity and gene mapping of this novel wheat mutant wsl. There are many small scattered white stripes on the leaves of wsl throughout its whole growth period. As the plants grew, the white stripes became more severe and the necrotic area expanded. The mutant wsl grew only weakly before the jointing stage and gradually recovered after jointing. The length and width of the flag leaf, spike number per plant and thousand-grain weight of wsl were significantly lower than those of the WT. Genetic analysis indicated that the trait of white stripe leaf was controlled by a recessive gene locus, named as wsl, which was mapped on the short arm of chromosome 6B by SSR marker assay. Four SSR markers in the F2 population of wsl×CS were linked to wsl in the order of Xgpw1079-Xwmc104-Xgwm508-wsl-Xgpw7651 at 7.1, 5.2, 8.7, and 4.4 cM, respectively and three SSR markers in the F2 population of wsl×Jimai 22 were linked to wsl in the order of Xgwm508-Xwmc494-Xgwm518-wsl at 3.5, 1.6 and 8.2 cM, respectively. In comparison to the reference genome sequence of Chinese Spring (CS), wsl is located in a 91-Mb region from 88 Mb (Xgwm518) to 179 Mb (Xgpw7651) on chromosome 6BS. Mutant wsl is a novel germplasm for studying the molecular mechanism of wheat leaf development.
The Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter (SWEET) gene family, identified as sugar transporters, has been demonstrated to play key roles in phloem loading, grain filling, pollen nutrition, ...and plant-pathogen interactions. To date, the study of SWEET genes in response to abiotic stress is very limited. In this study, we performed a genome-wide identification of the SWEET gene family in wheat and examined their expression profiles under mutiple abiotic stresses. We identified a total of 105 wheat SWEET genes, and phylogenic analysis revealed that they fall into five clades, with clade V specific to wheat and its closely related species. Of the 105 wheat SWEET genes, 59% exhibited significant expression changes after stress treatments, including drought, heat, heat combined with drought, and salt stresses, and more up-regulated genes were found in response to drought and salt stresses. Further hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that SWEET genes exhibited differential expression patterns in response to different stress treatments or in different wheat cultivars. Moreover, different phylogenetic clades also showed distinct response to abiotic stress treatments. Finally, we found that homoeologous SWEET genes from different wheat subgenomes exhibited differential expression patterns in response to different abiotic stress treatments. The genome-wide analysis revealed the great expansion of SWEET gene family in wheat and their wide participation in abiotic stress response. The expression partitioning of SWEET homoeologs under abiotic stress conditions may confer greater flexibility for hexaploid wheat to adapt to ever changing environments.
Objective To explore the role of angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) in the development of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) and its possible mechanism. Methods The TAA patients who underwent open ...surgical repair in Beijing Anzhen Hospital were selected as the experimental group (n=6), and the aortic tissue in the control group was obtained from a heart transplant donor (n=6). Another 30 3-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control (control) and β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN)-induced TAA model groups (n=15 per group). The aortic tissue was taken 4 weeks later. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of ANGPTL3 in human thoracic aortic aneurysm tissue, immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of ANGPTL3, IL-6, MMP2, and MMP9 in mouse aortic tissue, and TUNEL method was used to detect apoptosis. Immunofluorescence co-localization was used to detect the localization of ANGPTL3 in vascular tissues. Transfect human aortic smooth muscle cells with ANGPTL3 siRNA. O
To establish the stable and reliable analytical methods and the enterprise internal control quality standard for no-carrier-added lutetium ［177Lu］ chloride solution which is a key material of ...therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, the radiochemical purity, radionuclidic purity, radioactivity concentration, element impurities, endotoxin, etc. of lutetium ［177Lu］ chloride solution were tested, and these analytical methods were verified. Three batches of lutetium ［177Lu］ chloride solution were tested, and the results met the requirements. The radiochemical purity were greater than 99%, 176Yb and other γ impurities were not detected in radionuclidic purity test, the contents of impurity elements met the corresponding requirement, bacterial endotoxin was less than 2.00 EU/mL, the main γ energy peaks of 177Lu were presented at 0.113 MeV and 0.208 MeV, and the radioactivity concentration was 90.0%-110.0% of the concentration declared on the label. The internal control quality standard was established based on the develop
The laser quenching treatment of 42CrMo steel surface was carried out with a RFL - C3300 fiber laser, and the relations between the microstructure, hardness, depth, wear resistance of the hardened ...layer and the laser process parameters were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, optical microscope, stereomicroscope, vickers hardness tester and vertical universal friction and wear tester. Results showed that after laser quenching, the surface microstructure of the sample was refined, and the surface hardness and wear resistance were improved. When the laser power was 2 200 W, the scanning speed was 20 mm/s and the spot size was 12 mm × 2 mm, the surface microstructure of the sample was composed of fine martensites, a small amount of retained austenites and dispersed fine carbides. The average surface hardness reached 660 HV2 N, which was about 2.6 times that of the matrix. The friction coefficient stabilized at 0.4～0.6, which was about 25% lower than that of the matrix. The wear amount was 0.5 mg, which was
An effectively mild solvent solution containing NaOH/PEG was employed to dissolve the cellulose extracted from the wheat straw. With further combined regeneration process and freeze-drying, the ...cellulose aerogel was successfully obtained. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller were used to characterize this cellulose aerogel of low density (about 40 mg·cm -3) and three-dimensional network with large specific surface area (about 101 m 2·g -1). Additionally, with a hydrophobic modification by trimethylchlorosilane, the cellulose aerogel showed a strong absorptive capacity for oil and dye solutions.
Plant WRKY transcription factors are involved in various physiological processes, including biotic and abiotic stress responses, as well as developmental processes. In this study, the expression ...patterns of the WRKY68 protein during interactions between rice 4021 containing the bacterial blight resistance gene Xa21 and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae（Xoo） were investigated. A possible modified form of the WRKY68 protein appeared in the Xa21-mediated disease resistance response, and its expression levels were similar in compatible and incompatible responses, but differed significantly from that of the mock control treatment, suggesting that WRKY68 may be involved in the bacterial blight response in rice. To further understand WRKY68＇s roles in the resistance signaling pathway, WRKY68 recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and a microscale thermophoresis analysis was performed to investigate the interactions between WRKY68 and cis-elements in crucial pathogenesis-related（PR） genes. The results showed that the WRKY68 protein binds to W-boxes in the PR1 b promoter region, with an apparent dissociation constant of 25 nmol L–1, while the binding between WRKY68 and PR10 a was W-box independent. The results suggested that a possible modified form of the WRKY68 protein was induced during the interaction between rice and Xoo, which then regulated the activity of the downstream PR genes by binding with the W-boxes in the PR1 b gene＇s promoter region. Moreover, the constitutive transcription of the WRKY68 gene in dozens of rice tissues and the expression of the WRKY68 protein in leaves during all growth stages suggests that WRKY68 plays important roles in rice during normal growth processes.
Evidence continues to grow on potential health risks associated with Ginkgo biloba and its constituents. While biflavonoid is a subclass of the flavonoid family in Ginkgo biloba with a plenty of ...pharmacological properties, the potential toxicological effects of biflavonoids remains largely unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo toxicological effects of the biflavonoids from Ginkgo biloba (i.e., amentoflavone, sciadopitysin, ginkgetin, isoginkgetin, and bilobetin). In the in vitro cytotoxicity test, the five biflavonoids all reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner in human renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) and human normal hepatocytes (L-02), indicating they might have potential liver and kidney toxicity. In the in vivo experiments, after intragastrical administration of these biflavonoids at 20 mg·kg−1·d−1 for 7 days, serum biochemical analysis and histopathological examinations were performed. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was significantly increased after all the biflavonoid administrations and widespread hydropic degeneration of hepatocytes was observed in ginkgetin or bilobetin-treated mice. Moreover, the five biflavonoids all induced acute kidney injury in treated mice and the main pathological lesions were confirmed to the tubule, glomeruli, and interstitium injuries. As the in vitro and in vivo results suggested that these biflavonoids may be more toxic to the kidney than the liver, we further detected the mechanism of biflavonoids-induced nephrotoxicity. The increased TUNEL-positive cells were detected in kidney tissues of biflavonoids-treated mice, accompanied by elevated expression of proapoptotic protein BAX and unchanged levels of antiapoptotic protein BCL-2, indicating apoptosis was involved in biflavonoids-induced nephrotoxicity. Taken together, our results suggested that the five biflavonoids from Ginkgo biloba may have potential hepatic and renal toxicity and more attentions should be paid to ensure Ginkgo biloba preparations safety.
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