Abscisic acid-responsive element binding protein (AREB1) is a basic domain/leucine zipper transcription factor that binds to the abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive element motif in the promoter region of ...ABA-inducible genes. Because AREB1 is not sufficient to direct the expression of downstream genes under non-stress conditions, an activated form of AREB1 (AREB1ΔQT) was created. Several reports claim that plants overexpressing AREB1 or AREB1ΔQT show improved drought tolerance. In our studies, soybean plants overexpressing AREB1ΔQT were characterized molecularly, and the phenotype and drought response of three lines were accessed under greenhouse conditions. Under conditions of water deficit, the transformed plants presented a higher survival rate (100%) than those of their isoline, cultivar BR 16 (40%). Moreover, the transformed plants displayed better water use efficiency and had a higher number of leaves than their isoline. Because the transgenic plants had higher stomatal conductance than its isoline under well-watered conditions, it was suggested that the enhanced drought response of AREB1ΔQT soybean plants might not be associated with altered transpiration rates mediated by ABA-dependent stomatal closure. However, it is possible that the smaller leaf area of the transgenic plants reduced their transpiration and water use, causing delayed stress onset. The difference in the degree of wilting and percentage of survival between the 35S-AREB1ΔQT and wildtype plants may also be related to the regulation of genes that protect against dehydration because metabolic impairment of photosynthesis, deduced by an increasing internal CO2 concentration, was not observed in the transgenic plants.
We evaluated the molecular, anatomical and physiological properties of a soybean line transformed to improve drought tolerance with an rd29A:AtDREB1A construct. This construct expressed dehydration- ...responsive element binding protein DREB1A from the stress-inducible rd29A promoter. The greenhouse growth test included four randomized blocks of soybean plants, with each treatment performed in triplicate. Seeds from the non-transformed soybean cultivar BR16 and from the genetically modified soybean P58 line (T(2) generation) were grown at 15% gravimetric humidity for 31 days. To induce water deficit, the humidity was reduced to 5% gravimetric humidity (moderate stress) for 29 days and then to 2.5% gravimetric humidity (severe stress). AtDREB1A gene expression was higher in the genetically modified P58 plants during water deficit, demonstrating transgene stability in T(2) generations and induction of the rd29A promoter. Drought-response genes, including GmPI-PLC, GmSTP, GmGRP, and GmLEA14, were highly expressed in plants submitted to severe stress. Genetically modified plants had higher stomatal conductance and consequently higher photosynthetic and transpiration rates. In addition, they had more chlorophyll. Overexpression of AtDREB1A may contribute to a decrease in leaf thickness; however, a thicker abaxial epidermis was observed. Overexpression of AtDREB1A in soybean appears to enhance drought tolerance.
The differential cross sections for small-angle proton elastic scattering on the
6,8,9,11Li nuclei at energies near 700 MeV/nucleon were measured in inverse kinematics using secondary nuclear beams ...at GSI Darmstadt. The hydrogen-filled ionization chamber IKAR was employed as target and recoil proton detector. For determining the nuclear matter radii and radial matter distributions, the measured cross sections have been analysed with the aid of the Glauber multiple-scattering theory. The nuclear matter distribution deduced for
11Li exhibits a very pronounced halo structure, the matter radius of
11Li being significantly larger than those of the
6,8,9Li isotopes. The data on
8,9Li are consistent with the existence of sizable neutron skins in these nuclei. The obtained data allow for a test of various theoretical model calculations of the structure of the studied neutron-rich nuclei.
We describe a spectrometer consisting of a vector network analyzer, a gas absorption cell, and a quasi-optical bench that acquires terahertz spectra of gaseous substances and mixtures. We tested ...volatile organic compounds that are medical biomarkers or chemicals which can be found on the US Environment Protection Agency list of harmful substances. Absorption spectra at gas pressures between 10 Pa and 5000 Pa were recorded. A subsequent multivariate data analysis demonstrated excellent qualitative and quantitative identification of pure substances and complex mixtures. The applied multivariate algorithms are principal components analysis, partial least square regression and soft independent modelling of class analogy.
A THz-spectrometer based on a VNA, an absorption cell and PCA-/PLS-/SIMCA-analysis demonstrates a VOC-gas-mixture identification with 2% accuracy.
We report on a new experimental setup for the investigation of proton induced reactions on exotic nuclei in inverse kinematics. It was installed and successfully used in the scattering study of ...intermediate-energy protons (
∼
700
MeV
/
u
) on neutron-rich nuclei
6,8He produced with the FRagment Separator (FRS) at the GSI facility, Darmstadt. A new pure liquid-hydrogen target was successfully adapted allowing to obtain low-background data as compared to commonly used (CH
2)
n
targets.
Absolute differential cross-sections for elastic (p,
6,8He) scattering were obtained at angles corresponding to
0.05
⩽
|
t
|
⩽
0.125
(GeV/
c)
2 of the four-momentum transfer squared (−
t) leading to the first diffraction minimum and spanning more than two orders of magnitude. They complement an earlier measurement at smaller angles
0.0025
⩽
|
t
|
⩽
0.05
(GeV/
c)
2 performed at the same energy with an active target. Both data sets agree well in the overlap region
t
≈
0.05
(GeV/
c)
2 and enable a refined and comparative study of the radial distribution of the nuclear matter density.
Rodents engage in social communication through a rich repertoire of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Recording and analysis of USVs has broad utility during diverse behavioral tests and can be ...performed noninvasively in almost any rodent behavioral model to provide rich insights into the emotional state and motor function of the test animal. Despite strong evidence that USVs serve an array of communicative functions, technical and financial limitations have been barriers for most laboratories to adopt vocalization analysis. Recently, deep learning has revolutionized the field of machine hearing and vision, by allowing computers to perform human-like activities including seeing, listening, and speaking. Such systems are constructed from biomimetic, "deep", artificial neural networks. Here, we present DeepSqueak, a USV detection and analysis software suite that can perform human quality USV detection and classification automatically, rapidly, and reliably using cutting-edge regional convolutional neural network architecture (Faster-RCNN). DeepSqueak was engineered to allow non-experts easy entry into USV detection and analysis yet is flexible and adaptable with a graphical user interface and offers access to numerous input and analysis features. Compared to other modern programs and manual analysis, DeepSqueak was able to reduce false positives, increase detection recall, dramatically reduce analysis time, optimize automatic syllable classification, and perform automatic syntax analysis on arbitrarily large numbers of syllables, all while maintaining manual selection review and supervised classification. DeepSqueak allows USV recording and analysis to be added easily to existing rodent behavioral procedures, hopefully revealing a wide range of innate responses to provide another dimension of insights into behavior when combined with conventional outcome measures.
Abstract We have recently shown that estrogen decreases anxiety and increases expression of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2), the rate-limiting enzyme for 5-HT synthesis. However, the effects of ...estrogen on 5-HT release and reuptake may also affect the overall availability of 5-HT in the forebrain. Estrogen has been previously shown to have no effect on the inhibitory 5-HT 1A autoreceptor (5-HT1A ) in the rat dorsal raphe nuclei (DRN); however the regulation of the inhibitory 5-HT 1B autoreceptor (5-HT1B ) in the midbrain raphe by estrogen has not yet been investigated. Therefore, we examined the effects of estrogen on 5-HT1B mRNA in the rat DRN, focusing on specific subregions, and whether 5-HT1B mRNA levels correlated with TPH2 mRNA levels and with anxiety-like behavior. Ovariectomized rats were treated for 2 weeks with estrogen or placebo, exposed to the open field test, and 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B mRNA was quantified by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Estrogen had no effect on 5HT1A mRNA in any of the DRN subregions examined, confirming a previous report. In contrast, estrogen selectively decreased 5-HT1B mRNA in the mid-ventromedial subregion of the DRN, where 5-HT1B mRNA was associated with higher anxiety-like behavior and inversely correlated with TPH2 mRNA levels. These results suggest that estrogen may reduce 5-HT1B autoreceptor and increase TPH2 synthesis in a coordinated fashion, thereby increasing the capacity for 5-HT synthesis and release in distinct forebrain regions that modulate specific components of anxiety behavior.
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