Transgenic maize plants expressing dsRNA targeting western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) v‐ATPase subunit C mRNA for RNAi provided significant root protection from WCR ...larval feeding damage in greenhouse assays compared to negative controls. Transcribed hairpin dsRNA in WCR‐resistant maize plants was present as both intact hairpin‐derived dsRNA and plant‐processed siRNA. Therefore, the ability of dsRNA and siRNA targeting Dv v‐ATPase CmRNA to cause an RNAi response was studied in both WCR larvae and adults. In 9‐day diet‐based feeding assays, dsRNA of at least 60 bp in length resulted in high levels of larval mortality. In contrast, 15‐, 25‐ or 27‐bp dsRNAs or pooled 21‐bp siRNAs did not cause mortality of exposed larvae. When larvae were fed with diet overlaid with siRNAs, Dv v‐ATPase C transcript levels did not change. Conversely, when WCR larvae were fed with diet overlaid with 184‐bp dsRNA, the mRNA level was reduced by >20‐fold relative to yfp dsRNA negative control. Similarly, 184‐bp dsRNA caused 100% mortality of WCR adults, whereas the mortality of adults fed on diet treated with siRNAs was similar to the negative control. Feeding adults with siRNAs on diet did not affect the level of Dv v‐ATPase CmRNA transcripts, whereas adults fed with the 184‐bp dsRNA showed approximately 35‐fold reduction in the target mRNA level. Similar results were obtained with the WCR adults injected with 184‐bp dsRNA or 21‐bp siRNA. These results suggest that only long dsRNA or hairpin‐derived dsRNA is effective in causing lethal knock‐down of Dv v‐ATPase CmRNA. These results have implications for efficacious plant‐delivered dsRNA for the protection of transgenic maize from WCR feeding damage and for the risk assessment of transgenic maize expressing insecticidal dsRNA.
Birth cohort studies of developmental defects of enamel (DDE) and early childhood caries (ECC) in very low birthweight (VLBW) and normal birthweight (NBW) infants are rare. In this birth cohort of ...234 VLBW and 234 NBW infants, we report the incidence of ECC and DDE at 8 and 18-20 mos of corrected age. Infant medical and maternal socio-demographic data were abstracted from medical records at birth. Dental assessments for ECC and DDE (enamel hypoplasia, demarcated and diffuse opacities) were completed at 8 and 18-20 mos. The incidence of hypoplasia was significantly higher in VLBW compared with NBW infants (8 mos, 19% vs. 2%; 18 mos, 31% vs. 8%). The incidence of ECC (International Caries Detection and Assessment System: ICDAS ≥ 2) was 1.4% (8 mos) and 12% (18-20 mos) and was similar between the VLBW and NBW groups. At both ages, using a beta-binomial regression model to control for potential confounders (maternal and infant characteristics), we found increased risk for enamel hypoplasia among the VLBW infants compared with the NBW infants. African Americans had a lower risk for enamel hypoplasia at 18-20 mos. The VLBW infants should be monitored for ECC due to the presence of enamel hypoplasia.
Grain orientation and deformation strain rate have impact on mechanical behaviors of magnesium alloys through their effect on the deformation modes. In this paper, uniaxial tensile tests were ...conducted at room temperature under various strain rates, from 2.8×10−5s−1 to 1.1×10−1s−1, on two kinds of AZ31B magnesium alloy samples which possess fiber texture and spread texture, respectively. It was found that the flow stress–strain curves of the samples with the fiber texture show a concave down shape and a yielding stress higher than that of the samples with the spread texture. The samples with the spread texture present a linear shaped true stress–strain flow curve. A “quasi horizontal step” appears on the stress–strain curves at the high strain rates, related mainly to {10-12} tension twinning that becomes an important deformation mode of grains. It was believed that the difference of stress–strain responses between the two kinds of tensile samples results from the difference of the slip modes, the contribution of the slips to plastic strain decreases with the increment of strain rate.
Elymus nutans
is an important alpine perennial forage of the
Pooideae
subfamily, which can survive subzero temperatures. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance in
E. nutans
..., we performed the transcriptional analysis by RNA-Seq in two genotypes, the tolerant Damxung (DX) and the sensitive Gannan (GN), under cold stress. The new
E. nutans
transcriptomes comprised 200 520/200 836 and 181 331/211 973 transcripts in leaves/crowns of DX and GN, respectively. More cold-stress-related genes were identified in leaves than in crowns of both genotypes throughout the whole cold stress. The most prominent functional category in leaves of both genotypes at 3 h of stress was transcriptional regulation. Brassinosteroid and jasmonic acid mediated signalling pathways played central roles in regulating downstream protective responses in DX after 24 h of cold stress. Prolonged cold stress caused more severe transcriptome responses in crowns and leaves of DX compared to GN. The most significant transcriptomic changes in both genotypes were associated with the response to abiotic stresses and the oxidation-reduction processes, implying reprogramming of the cellular metabolism as an adaptation to cold stress. This study reveals mechanisms of genotype- and organ-specific cold stress response in
E. nutans
and thus provides a basis for future breeding strategies aimed at improving the tolerance of cold-sensitive plants.
Significant genotypic difference in response to arsenate toxicity in rice (Oryza sativa) was investigated in root elongation, arsenate uptake kinetics, physiological and biochemical response and ...arsenic (As) speciation. Uptake kinetics data showed that P-deprived genotype 94D-54 had a little higher As uptake than P-deprived 94D-64, but the difference was not large enough to cause acute toxicity in P-deprived 94D-54. There was no difference in tissue P concentrations between the two genotypes under P deficient conditions. In addition, arsenic speciation in plant tissues (using high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) was not different between P pretreatments and between genotypes. P-deprived genotype 94D-54 suffered much higher stress induced by arsenate toxicity than P-deprived genotype 94D-64, in terms of lipid peroxidation, tissue H₂O₂ concentrations and exosmosis of K, P and As. However, P-deprived 94D-54 also had higher overproduction of enzymatic antioxidants (with higher GPX, SOD, CAT) and NPT (non-protein thiols) than P-deprived 94D-64. It appeared that, the higher sensitivity of P-deprived 94D-54 to arsenate toxicity might cause the overproduction of NPT, thus leading to the depletion of GSH and to the accumulation of H₂O₂. The differential sensitivity of the two genotypes has major implications for breeding rice for As affected paddy soil.
Circulating ghrelin concentrations could potentially be used as a predictor of production traits in cattle. This study aimed to clarify the correlations between circulating total ghrelin ...concentrations and growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality indices in finishing bulls fed high-concentrate diets. Fifty-seven Simmental × Luxi F1 crossbred bulls (approximately 24 month of age, mean body weight ± SD: 514 ± 27 kg) were used for 112-days finishing experiment. Circulating total ghrelin concentrations and relevant indices of growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality were measured during or after finishing trial. The results indicated that the total ghrelin concentrations were positively correlated with dry matter intake (DMI) (r = 0.278, P = 0.046) and were not correlated to other growth indices including initial body weight (BW), final body weight, average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (feed : gain) (P > 0.05). The total ghrelin concentrations were positively correlated with meat-bone ratio (r = 0.269, P = 0.045) and tended to be positively correlated to highrib weight (r = 0.234, P = 0.083). Moreover, total ghrelin concentrations were not correlated to other carcass traits indices such as hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, Longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) area and 12th rib fat thickness (P > 0.05). Total ghrelin concentrations tended to be negatively correlated to the shear force of beef (r = - 0.299, P = 0.064), and were not correlated to other meat quality indices such as moisture, pH, drip loss, cooking loss, meat color conventional chemical composition and fatty acid composition (P > 0.05). In conclusion, circulating total ghrelin concentrations were associated with DMI, meat-bone ratio and beef tenderness in finishing bulls fed high concentrated diet, and it could be used as a potential biomarker for evaluation of animal production traits such as DMI and beef tenderness in finishing bulls fed high concentrate diets.
The global prevalence of PASC is estimated to be present in 0·43 and based on the WHO estimation of 470 million worldwide COVID-19 infections, corresponds to around 200 million people experiencing ...long COVID symptoms. Despite this, its clinical features are not well-defined.
We collected retrospective data from 140 patients with PASC in a post-COVID-19 clinic on demographics, risk factors, illness severity (graded as one-mild to five-severe), functional status, and 29 symptoms and principal component symptoms cluster analysis. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2015 criteria were used to determine the Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) phenotype.
The median age was 47 years, 59.0% were female; 49.3% White, 17.2% Hispanic, 14.9% Asian, and 6.7% Black. Only 12.7% required hospitalization. Seventy-two (53.5%) patients had no known comorbid conditions. Forty-five (33.9%) were significantly debilitated. The median duration of symptoms was 285.5 days, and the number of symptoms was 12. The most common symptoms were fatigue (86.5%), post-exertional malaise (82.8%), brain fog (81.2%), unrefreshing sleep (76.7%), and lethargy (74.6%). Forty-three percent fit the criteria for ME/CFS, majority were female, and obesity (BMI > 30 Kg/m
) (
= 0.00377895) and worse functional status (
= 0.0110474) were significantly associated with ME/CFS.
Most PASC patients evaluated at our clinic had no comorbid condition and were not hospitalized for acute COVID-19. One-third of patients experienced a severe decline in their functional status. About 43% had the ME/CFS subtype.
For specific application, direct deposition of high quality VO2 films on common glass substrates is potentially promising and the work for controllable preparation of VO2 films with different ...polymorphs is desirable. This work reports controllable preparation of VO2 films with different polymorphs (B and M) optimizing physical and thermochromic properties of VO2 thin films on amorphous glass via controlling the substrate temperature. By adjusting the substrate temperature, B-VO2 films which can be formed at a relatively low temperature (400 °C) possesses a comfortable sheet resistance and the value of temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) is about 2.4%/K; M − VO2 thin films are successfully prepared when the substrate temperature is higher than 400 °C. It is found that the optimized VO2 (M) thin film grown at 500 °C has a favorable property such as ∼3 orders of magnitude change in sheet resistance during phase transition, high luminous transmittance of more than 62%, a solar switching efficiency of ∼7.5% and a Near-Infrared-Region switching efficiency of 52.4%. Our experimental results can provide technical supports for the practical application of VO2 thin films.
•VO2 films with different polymorphs (B and M) were obtained on amorphous glass via controlling the substrate temperature.•Dependence of substrate temperature on the structure and photoelectric properties of the VO2 films were discussed.•The M-VO2 films with impressive photoelectric properties was obtained.
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