An-1 encodes a basic helix-loop-helix protein that regulates awn development, grain size, and grain number in rice.

Long awns are important for seed dispersal in wild rice (Oryza rufipogon), but are absent in cultivated rice (Oryza sativa). The genetic mechanism involved in loss-of-awn in cultivated rice remains unknown. We report here the molecular cloning of a major quantitative trait locus, An-1, which regulates long awn formation in O.

A novel polyrotaxane-based delivery system for scutellarin: preparation, characterization, and in vitro evaluation.

The safe and effective polyrotaxane-based drug delivery system could potentially increase the antiproliferative activity of antitumor medicine. A novel scutellarin-polyrotaxane (SCU-PR), in which scutellarin (SCU) was covalently bound to one of the hydroxyl groups of polyrotaxane (PR), was synthesized, and its characterization was further investigated by NMR, XRD, TG, DSC. The cytotoxicity of SCU-PR was assessed in vitro using human HCT116 and LOVO cell lines in results that the IC50 values of SCU-PR (1.

[Clinical effect of posterior atlanto axial vertebra internal fixation for treatment of instability of occipitocervical].

Objective: To explore radiographic results and clinical effects of posterior atlanto axial vertebra internal fixation in treating instability of occipitocervical.

Methods: The clinical data of 155 patients with instability of occipitocervical treated by posterior atlanto axial vertebra internal fixation were respectively analyzed from September 2005 to January 2011. There were 68 males and 87 females, ranging in age from 6 to 75 years old with an average of 45.

Proteome analysis of hemolymph changes during the larval to pupal development stages of honeybee workers (Apis mellifera ligustica).

Hemolymph is vital for the flow and transportation of nutrients, ions, and hormones in the honey bee and plays role in innate immune defense. The proteome of the hemolymph changes over the life of a honey bee, but many of these changes are not well characterized, including changes during the life cycle transition from the larval to pupal stages of workers. We used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, and Western blot to analyze the proteome changes of the honeybee hemolymph during the transition from newly hatched larvae to five-day-old pupae.

Arabidopsis HY1 confers cadmium tolerance by decreasing nitric oxide production and improving iron homeostasis.

Up-regulation of the gene that encodes intracellular heme oxygenase 1 (HO1) benefits plants under cadmium (Cd(2+)) stress; however, the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we elucidate the role of Arabidopsis HY1 (AtHO1) in Cd(2+) tolerance by using genetic and molecular approaches. Analysis of two HY1 null mutants, three HY1 overexpression lines, HO double or triple mutants, as well as phyA and phyB mutants revealed the specific hypersensitivity of hy1 to Cd(2+) stress.

Combined use of WEPS and Models-3/CMAQ for simulating wind erosion source emission and its environmental impact.

The wind erosion source is the greatest contributor of PM₁₀ in Tianjin, China. It is difficult to establish a PM₁₀ emission inventory for the wind erosion source because of the complicated conditions affecting PM₁₀ emissions from wind erosion. In this study, a novel method is developed to establish a PM₁₀ emission inventory for the wind erosion source by using the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) model with 1 × 1 km spatial resolution.

The rice OsLTP6 gene promoter directs anther-specific expression by a combination of positive and negative regulatory elements.

Characterization of tissue-specific plant gene promoters will benefit genetic improvement in crops. Here, we isolated a novel rice anther-specific plant lipid transfer protein (OsLTP6) gene through high through-put expressional profiling. The promoter of OsLTP6 was introduced to the upstream of the uidA gene, which encodes β-glucuronidase (GUS), and transformed into rice plants for functional analysis.

A haplotype map of genomic variations and genome-wide association studies of agronomic traits in foxtail millet (Setaria italica).

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important grain crop that is grown in arid regions. Here we sequenced 916 diverse foxtail millet varieties, identified 2.58 million SNPs and used 0.

Health risk assessment for vehicle inspection workers exposed to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in their work place.

Inhalatory and dermal exposures of on-duty vehicle inspection workers to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Beijing were investigated from April 18 to May 17, 2011. Exposure levels to particulate PAHs for the vehicle inspection workers at gasoline, bus and diesel lines were found to be 56.07 ng m(-3), 111.

13C and 15N spectral editing inside histidine imidazole ring through solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Histidine usually exists in three different forms (including biprotonated species, neutral τ and π tautomers) at physiological pH in biological systems. The different protonation and tautomerization states of histidine can be characteristically determined by (13)C and (15)N chemical shifts of imidazole ring. In this work, solid-state NMR techniques were developed for spectral editing of (13)C and (15)N sites in histidine imidazole ring, which provides a benchmark to distinguish the existing forms of histidine.

Novel aspects of understanding molecular working mechanisms of salivary glands of worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) investigated by proteomics and phosphoproteomics.

Unlabelled: Honeybee salivary glands (SGs) are important exocrine glands. However, the molecular basis of how SGs fulfill their biological duty is still elusive. Proteomics and phosphoproteomics of cephalic SG (HSG) and thoracic SG (TSG) were compared between normal and single-cohort honeybee colonies.

Expression and biological roles of SATB1 in human bladder cancer.

Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein-1 (SATB1) has been recently reported to be overexpressed in various cancers and associate with the malignant behavior of cancer cells. However, the expression and potential roles of SATB1 in bladder cancer remains unclear. In the present study, SATB1 expression was analyzed in 85 archived bladder cancer specimens using immunohistochemistry and the correlations between SATB1 expression and clinicopathological parameters were evaluated.

Mutations in adenosine deaminase-like (ADAL) protein confer resistance to the antiproliferative agents N6-cyclopropyl-PMEDAP and GS-9219.

Background/aim: GS 9219 is a double prodrug of antiproliferative nucleotide analog 9-(2-Phosphonylmethoxyethyl)guanine (PMEG), with potent in vivo efficacy against various hematological malignancies. This study investigates the role of adenosine deaminase-like (ADAL) protein in the intracellular activation of GS-9219.

Materials And Methods: A cell line resistant to 9-(2-Phosphonylmethoxyethyl)-N(6)-cyclopropyl-2,6-diaminopurine (cPrPMEDAP), an intermediate metabolite of GS-9219, was generated and characterized.

Sequencing-based genome-wide association study in rice.

Rice, which has a modest genome size, is a wonderful model crop that has been comprehensively studied in functional genomics. With vast germplasm resources and reduced sequencing cost, genome-wide association study (GWAS) has been feasible to explore the allelic variation underlying agronomic traits in rice. In this review, we firstly summarize the work on constructing GWAS platforms in human genetics and in Arabidopsis and maize, from which we have a lot to learn.

Systematic validation of candidate reference genes for qRT-PCR normalization under iron deficiency in Arabidopsis.

A reliable result obtained by qRT-PCR highly depends on accurate transcript normalization using stably expressed reference genes. However, the transcript levels of traditional reference genes are not always stable. Also, the inaccurate normalization could easily lead to the false conclusions.

The draft genome of the fast-growing non-timber forest species moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla).

Bamboo represents the only major lineage of grasses that is native to forests and is one of the most important non-timber forest products in the world. However, no species in the Bambusoideae subfamily has been sequenced. Here, we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of moso bamboo (P.

Microbiota associated with the migration and transformation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons in groundwater.

Pollution of groundwater with chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) is a serious environmental problem which is threatening human health. Microorganisms are the major participants in degrading these contaminants. Here, groundwater contaminated for a decade with CAHs was investigated.

An integrated proteomics reveals pathological mechanism of honeybee (Apis cerena) sacbrood disease.

Viral diseases of honeybees are a major challenge for the global beekeeping industry. Chinese indigenous honeybee (Apis cerana cerana, Acc) is one of the major Asian honeybee species and has a dominant population with more than 3 million colonies. However, Acc is frequently threatened by a viral disease caused by Chinese sacbrood virus (CSBV), which leads to fatal infections and eventually loss of the entire colony.

X-ray acoustic computed tomography with pulsed x-ray beam from a medical linear accelerator.

Purpose: The feasibility of medical imaging using a medical linear accelerator to generate acoustic waves is investigated. This modality, x-ray acoustic computed tomography (XACT), has the potential to enable deeper tissue penetration in tissue than photoacoustic tomography via laser excitation.

Methods: Short pulsed (μs-range) 10 MV x-ray beams with dose-rate of approximately 30 Gy∕min were generated from a medical linear accelerator.

Resequencing rice genomes: an emerging new era of rice genomics.

Rice is a model system for crop genomics studies. Much of the early work on rice genomics focused on analyzing genome-wide genetic variation to further understand rice gene functions in agronomic traits and to generate data and resources for rice research. The advent of next-generation high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies and the completion of high-quality reference genome sequences have enabled the development of sequencing-based genotyping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that have significantly advanced rice genetics research.

Fidelity of dose delivery at high dose rate of volumetric modulated arc therapy in a truebeam linac with flattening filter free beams.

The purpose of this study is to assess fidelity of radiation delivery between high and low dose rates of the flattening filter free (FFF) modes of a new all-digital design medical linear accelerator (Varian TrueBeam™), particularly for plans optimized for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Measurements were made for the two energies of flattening filter free photon beams with a Varian TrueBeam™ linac: 6 MV (6 XFFF) at 400 and 1400 MU/min, and 10 MV (10 XFFF) at 400 and 2400 MU/min. Data acquisition and analysis was performed with both ionization chambers and diode detector system Delta(4), for square radiation fields and for 8 VMAT treatment plans optimized for SBRT treatment of lung tumors.

Strand-specific RNA-seq reveals widespread occurrence of novel cis-natural antisense transcripts in rice.

Background: Cis-natural antisense transcripts (cis-NATs) are RNAs transcribed from the antisense strand of a gene locus, and are complementary to the RNA transcribed from the sense strand. Common techniques including microarray approach and analysis of transcriptome databases are the major ways to globally identify cis-NATs in various eukaryotic organisms. Genome-wide in silico analysis has identified a large number of cis-NATs that may generate endogenous short interfering RNAs (nat-siRNAs), which participate in important biogenesis mechanisms for transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation in rice.

A WUSCHEL-like homeobox gene, OsWOX3B responses to NUDA/GL-1 locus in rice.

Background: Most of the rice varieties are pubescent. However, the presence of trichomes is an undesirable characteristic in rice production because trichomes can cause atmospheric pollution. The use of glabrous rice varieties represents a solution to this problem.

Proteomic analysis of the phenotype of the scaleless wings mutant in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

A scaleless wing mutant of silkworm, Bombyx mori, has much fewer scales than wild type (WT). The scaleless phenotype was associated with tracheal system developmental deficiency and excessive apoptosis of scale cells. In this study, the wing discs proteins of WT and scaleless during pupation were studied using 2-DE and mass spectrometry.

Hydrogen gas acts as a novel bioactive molecule in enhancing plant tolerance to paraquat-induced oxidative stress via the modulation of heme oxygenase-1 signalling system.

Hydrogen gas (H2) was recently proposed as a novel antioxidant and signalling molecule in animals. However, the physiological roles of H2 in plants are less clear. Here, we showed that exposure of alfalfa seedlings to paraquat stress increased endogenous H2 production.