Our era has witnessed tremendous advances in plant genomics, characterized by an explosion of high-throughput techniques to identify multi-dimensional genome-wide molecular phenotypes at low costs. ...More importantly, genomics is not merely acquiring molecular phenotypes, but also leveraging powerful data mining tools to predict and explain them. In recent years, deep learning has been found extremely effective in these tasks. This review highlights two prominent questions at the intersection of genomics and deep learning: 1) how can the flow of information from genomic DNA sequences to molecular phenotypes be modeled; 2) how can we identify functional variants in natural populations using deep learning models? Additionally, we discuss the possibility of unleashing the power of deep learning in synthetic biology to create novel genomic elements with desirable functions. Taken together, we propose a central role of deep learning in future plant genomics research and crop genetic improvement.
<正>The control of Leishmania infection relies primarily on chemotherapy till date.Resistance to pentavalent antimonials,which have been the recommended drugs to treat cutaneous and visceral ...leishmaniasis,is now widespread in Indian subcontinents.New drug formulations like amphotericin B,its lipid formulations,and miltefosine have shown great efGcacy to treat leishmaniasis but their high cost and therapeutic complications limit their usefulness.In addition, irregular and inappropriate uses of these second line drugs in endemic regions like state of Bihar, India threaten resistance development in the parasite.In context to the limited drug options and unavailability of either preventive or prophylactic candidates,there is a pressing need to develop true antileishmanial drugs to reduce the disease burden of this debilitating endemic disease.Notwithstanding significant progress of leishmanial research during last few decades, identification and characterization of novel drugs and drug targets are far from satisfactory.This review will initially describe current drug regimens and later will provide an overview on few important biochemical and enzymatic machineries that could be utilized as putative drug targets for generation of true antileishmanial drugs.
Nanoplastics (NPs) are one of the most dangerous fractions of plastics because of their possible eco-toxicological impacts. NP stability and transport are highly influenced by various environmental ...factors, which warrants the necessity to understand their fate in ambient water systems. This study investigates the polystyrene (PS) NP stability under the effect of varying ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter (DOM), inorganic soil colloids and heavy metal salts using the dynamic light scattering technique. Controlled studies were used to examine the aggregation of NPs in the presence of natural river water (RW), groundwater (GW), and seawater (SW). Results highlight that, at all studied temperatures, divalent cations had a greater influence on the aggregation rate of NPs as compared to monovalent cations whereas for the same salt, a drop in temperature tended to increase the stability. A rise in critical coagulation concentration (CCC) by 1.6 and 2.4 times for NaCl and CaCl
2
was observed, respectively, at 15 °C as compared to 35 °C. Steric repulsion produced by DOM stabilizes NPs shifting the CCC value to a higher salt concentration for NaCl. However, faster aggregation with CaCl
2
due to complexation was notable. The clay colloids participate in heteroaggregation with NPs under the influence of salts; this was confirmed using cryo-TEM. Heavy metal salts such as ZnCl
2
and CdCl
2
had interactions with PS NPs similar to that presented by CaCl
2
but showed independent behaviour in the presence of HgCl
2
, due to metal speciation under different redox conditions. The concentration of salts and organic substances in the complex matrix of natural water results in the least stable NPs in SW > RW > GW. The results of this study contribute to the fundamental understanding of the fate of NPs in complex aquatic environments.
Impact of environmental factors such as temperature, dissolved organic matter, ionic strength and clay colloids on the stability of nanoplastics.
Plants are confronted with a variety of environmenmtal stresses resulting in enhanced production of ROS. Plants require a threshold level of ROS for vital functions and any change in their ...concentration alters the entire physiology of plant. Delicate balance of ROS is maintained by an efficient functioning of intriguing indigenous defence system called antioxidant system comprising enzymatic and non enzymatic components. Down regulation of antioxidant system leads to ROS induced oxidative stress causing damage to important cellular structures and hence anomalies in metabolism. Proper mineral nutrition, in addition to other agricultural practices, forms an important part for growth and hence the yield. Potassium (K) is a key macro-element regulating growth and development through alterations in physiological and biochemical attributes. K has been reported to result into accumulation of osmolytes and augmentation of antioxidant components in the plants exposed to water and salt stress. In the present review an effort has been made to revisit the old findings and the current advances in research regarding the role of optimal, suboptimal and deficient K soil status on growth under normal and stressful conditions. Effect of K deficiency and sufficiency is discussed and the information about the K mediated antioxidant regulation and plant response is highlighted.
► Reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR analysis shows the presence of transcripts corresponding to T2R4, T2R107 and T2R38 in different regions of the rat brain. ► Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and ...double-labeling IHC experiments demonstrate localization of T2R4 in the neuronal cells of the rat brain stem. ► Functional studies on cultured cells of the rat brain show an increase in intracellular calcium levels after the application of denatonium benzoate and quinine suggesting that T2R4 expressed in these cells is functional.
Humans are capable of sensing five basic tastes which are sweet, sour, salt, umami and bitter. Of these, bitter taste perception provides protection against ingestion of potentially toxic substances. Bitter taste is sensed by bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) that belong to the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) superfamily. Humans have 25 T2Rs that are expressed in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine cells and airway cells. Electrophysiological studies of the brain neurons show that the neurons are able to respond to different tastants. However, the presence of bitter taste receptors in brain cells has not been elucidated. In this report using RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry analysis we show that T2Rs are expressed in multiple regions of the rat brain. RT-PCR analysis revealed the presence of T2R4, T2R107 and T2R38 transcripts in the brain stem, cerebellum, cortex and nucleus accumbens. The bitter receptor T2R4 was selected for further analysis at the transcript level by quantitative real time PCR and at the protein level by immunohistochemistry. To elucidate if the T2R4 expressed in these cells is functional, assays involving G-protein mediated calcium signaling were carried out. The functional assays showed an increase in intracellular calcium levels after the application of exogenous ligands for T2R4, denatonium benzoate and quinine to these cultured cells, suggesting that endogenous T2R4 expressed in these cells is functional. We discuss our results in terms of the physiological relevance of bitter receptor expression in the brain.
The growing incidence of parasitic resistance against generic pentavalent antimonials, specifically for visceral disease in Indian subcontinent, is a serious issue in Leishmania control. ...Notwithstanding the two treatment alternatives, that is amphotericin B and miltefosine are being effectively used but their high cost and therapeutic complications limit their use in endemic areas. In the absence of a vaccine candidate, identification, and characterization of novel drugs and targets is a major requirement of leishmanial research. This review describes current drug regimens, putative drug targets, numerous natural products that have shown promising antileishmanial activity alongwith some key issues and strategies for future research to control leishmaniasis worldwide.
Co-occurrence of nanoplastics (NPs) with metal oxide nanoparticles (nMOx) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been widely reported. However, there is a scarcity of information on their ...interactions and combined toxic effects. In this study, we used two different sized NPs 55 nm (NP1) and 100 nm (NP2) to understand the effect of nMOx (nCuO and nZnO) and PAHs chrysene (Chr) and fluoranthene (Flu) on NPs’ stability and toxicity to zebrafish. Results revealed that increasing the concentration of nMOx, zeta-potential increased, and charge reversal was observed in NPs suspension while PAH produced no major changes. Aggregation kinetics performed with nMOx exhibited higher aggregation of NPs in presence of NaCl that alleviated critical coagulation concentration. NP1 stabilized the size of otherwise unstable nMOx suspension in the tap-water for a longer period, whereas, aggregation was observed with NP2. The in vivo comet assay results showed that NP1 was more genotoxic than NP2 owing to their lower size. Interestingly the DNA damage was highest in NPs+nMOx followed by nMOx and NPs. Unlike nMOx, Chr/Flu+NPs showed reduced DNA damage as compared to NPs or PAH alone. Alteration in catalase activity and lipid peroxidation value indicated oxidative stress in all exposure groups.
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•Metal oxide nanoparticles (nMOx) and PAH alter the stability of nanoplastics (NPs).•nMOx reduces critical coagulation concentration of NPs.•NPs remain stable in presence of PAH.•Combined exposure of NPs with nMOx/PAH induces oxidative stress & DNA damage in zebrafish.
Buses are one of the important parts of public transport system. To provide accurate information about bus arrival and departure times at bus stops is one of the main parameters of good quality ...public transport. Accurate arrival and departure times information is important for a public transport mode since it enhances ridership as well as satisfaction of travelers. With accurate arrival‐time and departure time information, travelers can make informed decisions about their journey. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) based methods/algorithms to predict the bus arrival time (BAT) is reviewed in detail. Systematic survey of existing research conducted by various researchers by applying the different branches of AI has been done. Prediction models have been segregated and are accumulated under respective branches of AI. Thorough discussion is presented to elaborate different branches of AI that have been applied for several aspects of BAT prediction. Research gaps and possible future directions for further research work are summarized.
This article is categorized under:
Application Areas > Science and Technology
Technologies > Artificial Intelligence
Technologies > Prediction
Graphical representation of review on bus arrival time prediction using AI
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Developing highly efficient biocatalyst is a pertinent requirement for biofuels production, in particularly biodiesel/bioethanol. To circumvent the minimal efficiency of ...conventionally used biocatalysts, nanotechnology paves a way by indulging nanoparticles as carriers of biocatalysts. The nanobiocatalysts so formed are applied as a tool for utilizing wide set of biomass related molecules into biofuels. The disadvantages of conventional biocatalysts such as catalyst deactivation, mass transfer, poisoning, and long reaction time can be outstripped by novel nanobiocatalysts. Nanobiocatalyst increases the catalytic activity; and this higher activity is because of the increased surface to volume ratio and hence it can act as a deoxygenation catalyst too. In recent years, exploiting modern tools for nanoparticles synthesis and characterization yielded high quality optimized and conditioned nanocatalyst systems such as metal oxide nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, and carbon nanotubes to increase the biofuel productivity. Nanomaterial immobilized lipases and cellulases are predictably innovative catalysts having remarkable properties. The present article is critically discussed various nanomaterial immobilized enzyme development and its influence over production of biofuel. Continuous research and development and novel nanobiocatalyst engineering is essential for stabilization of biofuel producing companies.
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