Although studies on the balance between yield and quality of japonica soft super rice are limited, they are crucial for super rice cultivation. In order to investigate the effects of nitrogen ...application rate on grain yield and rice quality, two japonica soft super rice varieties, Nanjing 9108 （NJ 9108） and Nanjing 5055 （NJ 5055）, were used under seven N levels with the application rates of 0, 150, 187.5,225, 262.5, 300, and 337.5 kg ha^-1. With the increasing nitrogen application level, grain yield of both varieties first increased and then decreased. The highest yield was obtained at 300 kg ha^-1. The milling quality and protein content increased, while the appearance quality, amylose content, gel consistency, cooking/eating quality, and rice flour viscosity decreased. Milling was significantly negatively related with the eating/cooking quality whereas the appearance was significantly positively related with cooking/eating quality. These results suggest that nitrogen level significantly affects the yield and rice quality of japonica soft super rice. We conclude that the suitable nitrogen application rate for japonica soft super rice, NJ 9108 and NJ 5055, is 270 kg ha^-1, under which they obtain high yield as well as superior eating/cooking quality.
Statins: a repurposed drug to fight cancer Jiang, Wen; Hu, Jin-Wei; He, Xu-Ran ...
Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research,
07/2021, Letnik:
40, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
As competitive HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) inhibitors, statins not only reduce cholesterol and improve cardiovascular risk, but also exhibit pleiotropic effects that are independent of their ...lipid-lowering effects. Among them, the anti-cancer properties of statins have attracted much attention and indicated the potential of statins as repurposed drugs for the treatment of cancer. A large number of clinical and epidemiological studies have described the anticancer properties of statins, but the evidence for anticancer effectiveness of statins is inconsistent. It may be that certain molecular subtypes of cancer are more vulnerable to statin therapy than others. Whether statins have clinical anticancer effects is still an active area of research. Statins appear to enhance the efficacy and address the shortcomings associated with conventional cancer treatments, suggesting that statins should be considered in the context of combined therapies for cancer. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the potential of statins in anti-cancer treatments. We discuss the current understanding of the mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer properties of statins and their effects on different malignancies. We also provide recommendations for the design of future well-designed clinical trials of the anti-cancer efficacy of statins.
Understanding the differences in yield traits of rice among pothole seedling of mechanical transplanting （PSMT）, carpet seedling of mechanical transplanting （CSMT） and mechanical direct seeding （MDS） ...is of great importance not only for rice scientists but also for rice farmers to develop a high-yield production system under mechanical conditions in a rice-wheat rotation system. However, such traits are yet to be studied among rice varieties ofjaponica-indica hybrid rice （JIHR）,japonica conventional rice （JCR） and indica hybrid rice （IHR）. Field experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015, where six cultivars of the three rice types JIHR, JCR and IHR were grown individually with PSMT, CSMT and MDS methods, under respective managements for each method to achieve the maximum attainable yield. Results showed that （i） the PSMT significantly increased grain yield of JIHR by 22.0 and 7.1%, of JCR by 15.6 and 3.7% and of I HR by 22.5 and 7.4%, compared to MDS and CSMT on average across the two years, respectively. The highest yield was produced by the combination of JIHR and PSMT; （ii） high yield under PSMT was mainly attributed to large sink capacity and high-efficient dry matter accumulation. With sufficient panicles per hectare, the increase of spikelet number per panicle, especially the increase in spikelet number of the secondary rachis-branches was determined to be the optimal approach for developing a large sink capacity for rice under PSMT. The optimal tillers development, large leaf area index at heading stage, and high leaf area duration, crop growth rate and net assimilation rate during grain-filling phase could be the cause of sufficient dry matter accumulation for rice under PSMT; （iii） moreover, the PSMT favored plant growth as well as enriched the stems plus sheaths during grain-filling phase, as compared with CSMT and MDS. These results suggest that PSMT may be an alternative approach to increasing grain yield in a rice-wheat rotation system in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.
Background
Doxorubicin is a first‐line chemotherapy agent on human myelogenous leukemia clinical treatment, but the development of chemoresistance has largely limited curative effect. In this study, ...we aimed to evaluate the biological function and molecular mechanisms of CrkL to Doxorubicin resistance.
Methods
Quantitative reverse transcription‐PCR (qRT‐PCR) assay was performed to examine the expression of CrkL in K562 and K562/ADR cells. The expression of CrkL was silenced through RNA interference technology. MTT assay and flow cytometry were performed to detect the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis rate after CrkL siRNA transfection. The protein expression changes of PI3K/AKT/MRP1 pathway induced by CrkL siRNA were observed by Western Blot assay. Xenograft tumor model was carried out to observe tumor growth in vivo.
Results
We observed that silencing of CrkL could effectively increase apoptosis rate induced by doxorubicin and dramatically reversed doxorubicin resistance in K562/ADR cells. Further studies revealed knockdown CrkL expression suppressed PI3K/Akt/MRP1 signaling, which indicated CrkL siRNA reversed doxorubicin effect through regulating PI3K/Akt/MRP1 pathway. In addition, overexpression of MRP1 could evidently reduce apoptosis rate and reversed the inhibitory effects of doxorubicin resistance caused by CrkL siRNA on K562/ADR cells. Finally, in vivo experiments revealed that CrkL silencing acted a tumor‐suppressing role in myelogenous leukemia via regulating PI3K/Akt/MRP1 signaling.
Conclusion
Together, we indicated that CrkL is up‐regulated in myelogenous leukemia cells and silencing of CrkL could reverse Doxorubicin resistance effectively. These results show a potential novel strategy for intervention chemoresistance in myelogenous leukemia during chemotherapy.
Doxorubicin is a first‐line chemotherapy agent on human myelogenous leukemia clinical treatment, but the development of chemoresistance has largely limited curative effect. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the biological function and molecular mechanisms of CrkL to Doxorubicin resistance. We observed that silencing of CrkL could effectively increase apoptosis rate induced by doxorubicin and dramatically reversed doxorubicin resistance in K562/ADR cells. Further studies revealed knockdown CrkL expression suppressed PI3K/Akt/MRP1 signaling, which indicated CrkL siRNA reversed doxorubicin effect through regulating PI3K/Akt/MRP1 signaling. In addition, overexpression of MRP1 could evidently reduce apoptosis rate and reversed the inhibitory effects of doxorubicin resistance caused by CrkL siRNA on K562/ADR cells. In vivo experiments revealed that CrkL silencing suppressed tumor growth of K562/ADR through regulating PI3K/AKT/MRP1 signaling.Together, we indicated that CrkL is up‐regulated in myelogenous leukemia cells and silencing of CrkL could reversed Doxorubicin resistance effectively. These results show a potential novel strategy for intervention chemoresistance in myelogenous leukemia during chemotherapy.
Human infections with zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, have raised great public health concern ...globally. Here, we report a novel bat-origin CoV causing severe and fatal pneumonia in humans.
We collected clinical data and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens from five patients with severe pneumonia from Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Hubei province, China. Nucleic acids of the BAL were extracted and subjected to next-generation sequencing. Virus isolation was carried out, and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees were constructed.
Five patients hospitalized from December 18 to December 29, 2019 presented with fever, cough, and dyspnea accompanied by complications of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Chest radiography revealed diffuse opacities and consolidation. One of these patients died. Sequence results revealed the presence of a previously unknown β-CoV strain in all five patients, with 99.8% to 99.9% nucleotide identities among the isolates. These isolates showed 79.0% nucleotide identity with the sequence of SARS-CoV (GenBank NC_004718) and 51.8% identity with the sequence of MERS-CoV (GenBank NC_019843). The virus is phylogenetically closest to a bat SARS-like CoV (SL-ZC45, GenBank MG772933) with 87.6% to 87.7% nucleotide identity, but is in a separate clade. Moreover, these viruses have a single intact open reading frame gene 8, as a further indicator of bat-origin CoVs. However, the amino acid sequence of the tentative receptor-binding domain resembles that of SARS-CoV, indicating that these viruses might use the same receptor.
A novel bat-borne CoV was identified that is associated with severe and fatal respiratory disease in humans.
Lithium metal has shown great promise as an anode material for high‐energy rechargeable batteries. However, interfacial instability caused by an unstable solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) and ...dendrite growth has impeded the realization of Li anodes for practical applications. Recently, we reported a potentiostatic stripping−galvanostatic plating electrochemical polishing method to simultaneously create atomically flat Li and a molecularly smooth SEI, leading to a near‐perfect Li anodes that exhibit much enhanced electrochemical performance. In this paper, key factors including anodic stripping potentials, cathodic plating current densities, and types of salt and solvent systems are further investigated in detail based on the understanding of electrode reactions taking place during polishing. In particular, the importance of considerations on the mutual constrains between electropolishing and SEI formation and, thus, the necessity of fine control of potential and/or current is elucidated, which serves as a general rule for the successful application of electrochemical polishing of Li as well as other metals that involve the formation of SEIs.
Electrochemical polishing of Li: Key factors for the successful electrochemical polishing of Li as well as other metal surfaces that demand the formation of desirable solid‐electrolyte interphases (SEIs) are investigated based on an understanding of the fundamental electrochemistry of the systems (see picture).
Mediator of IRF3 activation (MITA, also known as stimulator of interferon genes, STING) senses the second messenger cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) which is synthesized upon DNA virus infection and activates ...innate antiviral immune response. It has been demonstrated that the activity of MITA is delicately regulated by various post-translational modifications including polyubiquitination. In this study, we identified the deubiquitinating enzyme USP44 as a positive regulator of MITA. USP44 is recruited to MITA following DNA virus infection and removes K48-linked polyubiquitin moieties from MITA at K236, therefore prevents MITA from proteasome mediated degradation. USP44-deficiency results in acceleration of HSV-1-induced degradation of MITA and reduced induction of type I interferons (IFNs) and proinflammatory cytokines. Consistently, Usp44-/- mice are more susceptible to HSV-1 infection as indicated by higher tissue viral titers, greater tissue damage and lower survival rate. These findings suggest that USP44 plays a specific and critical role in the regulation of innate immune response against DNA viruses.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
We report the results of a multiyear spectroscopic and photometric monitoring campaign of two luminous quasars, PG 0923+201 and PG 1001+291, both located at the high-luminosity end of the ...broad-line region (BLR) size–luminosity relation with optical luminosities above 10
45
erg s
−1
. PG 0923+201 is monitored for the first time, while PG 1001+291 was previously monitored but our campaign has a much longer temporal baseline. We detect time lags of variations of the broad H
β
, H
γ
, and Fe
ii
lines with respect to those of the 5100 Å continuum. The velocity-resolved delay map of H
β
in PG 0923+201 indicates a complicated structure with a mix of Keplerian disk-like motion and outflow, and the map of H
β
in PG 1001+291 shows a signature of Keplerian disk-like motion. Assuming a virial factor of
f
BLR
= 1 and FWHM line widths, we measure the black hole mass to be
118
−
16
+
11
×
10
7
M
⊙
for PG 0923+201 and
3.33
−
0.54
+
0.62
×
10
7
M
⊙
for PG 1001+291. Their respective accretion rates are estimated to be
0.21
−
0.07
+
0.06
×
L
Edd
c
−
2
and
679
−
227
+
259
×
L
Edd
c
−
2
, indicating that PG 0923+201 is a sub-Eddington accretor and PG 1001+291 is a super-Eddington accretor. While the H
β
time lag of PG 0923+201 agrees with the size–luminosity relation, the time lag of PG 1001+291 shows a significant deviation, confirming that in high-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the BLR size depends on both luminosity and Eddington ratio. Black hole mass estimates from single-AGN spectra will be overestimated at high luminosities and redshifts if this effect is not taken into account.
The catalytic activity of metal clusters is closely related with the support; however, knowledge on the influence of the support on the catalytic activity is scarce. We demonstrate that Pt ...nanoclusters (NCs) anchored on porous TiO2 nanosheets with rich oxygen vacancies (VO‐rich Pt/TiO2) and deficient oxygen vacancies (VO‐deficient Pt/TiO2), display significantly different catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), in which VO‐rich Pt/TiO2 shows a mass activity of 45.28 A mgPt−1 at −0.1 V vs. RHE, which is 16.7 and 58.8 times higher than those of VO‐deficient Pt/TiO2 and commercial Pt/C, respectively. DFT calculations and in situ Raman spectra suggest that porous TiO2 with rich oxygen vacancies can simultaneously achieve reversed charge transfer (electrons transfer from TiO2 to Pt NCs) and enhanced hydrogen spillover from Pt NCs to the TiO2 support, which leads to electron‐rich Pt NCs being amenable to proton reduction of absorbed H*, as well as the acceleration of hydrogen desorption at Pt catalytic sites—both promoting the HER. Our work provides a new strategy for rational design of highly efficient HER catalysts.
The formation of oxygen vacancies in VO‐rich Pt/TiO2 optimizes the Gibbs free energy for hydrogen intermediate adsorption on Pt clusters, and promotes the hydrogen spillover effect from Pt clusters to the TiO2 support, which boosts the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction.
A novel SARS-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has recently emerged as a serious pathogen that causes high morbidity and substantial mortality. However, the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 evades host ...immunity remain poorly understood. Here, we identified SARS-CoV-2 membrane glycoprotein M as a negative regulator of the innate immune response. We found that the M protein interacted with the central adaptor protein MAVS in the innate immune response pathways. This interaction impaired MAVS aggregation and its recruitment of downstream TRAF3, TBK1, and IRF3, leading to attenuation of the innate antiviral response. Our findings reveal a mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 evades the innate immune response and suggest that the M protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a potential target for the development of SARS-CoV-2 interventions.
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