Examination of the effects of GGA on levels of antioxidant and oxidant products.

<p>(A) The activity of SOD was determined at 500 nm and the values are expressed as U/mg protein. (B) MDA levels were measured at 532 nm and the results are represented as nmol/mg protein. (C) GSH activity was detected at 420 nm and the data are expressed as mg/g protein. Three independent experiments were performed; * p<0.05 and ** p<0.01; ns indicates no significant difference.</p

A General Strategy for Biocompatible, High-Effective Upconversion Nanocapsules Based on Triplet–Triplet Annihilation

A general strategy for constructing high-effective upconversion nanocapsules based on triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA) was developed by loading both sensitizer and annihilator into BSA–dextran stabilized oil droplets. This strategy can maintain high translational mobility of the chromophores, avoid luminescence quenching of chromophore by aggregation, and decrease the O₂-induced quenching of TTA-based upconversion emission. Pt­(II)-tetraphenyl-tetrabenzoporphyrin (PtTPBP) and BODIPY dyes (BDP-G and BDP-Y with the maximal fluorescence emission at 528 and 546 nm, respectively) were chosen as sensitizer/annihilator couples to fabricate green and yellow upconversion luminescent emissive nanocapsules, named UCNC-G and UCNC-Y, respectively. In water under the atmospheric environment, interestingly, UCNC-G and UCNC-Y exhibit intense upconversion luminescence (UCL) emission (λ_ex = 635 nm) with the quantum efficiencies (Φ_UCL) of 1.7% and 4.8%, respectively, whereas very weak UCL emission (Φ_UCL < 0.1%) was observed for the corresponding previous reported SiO₂-coating nanosystems because of aggregation-induced fluorescence quenching of annihilators. Furthermore, application of theses upconversion nanocapsules for high-contrast UCL bioimaging <i>in vivo</i> of living mice without removing the skin was demonstrated under 635-nm excitation with low power density of 12.5 mW cm^–2

Effect of GGA on Hsp70 expression profiles.

<p>Hsp70 mRNA expression (A) and protein expression (B) in cardiomyocytes were analyzed by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. (C) The protein expression was analyzed using Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software and normalized to GAPDH. RT/Vehicle, mice pretreated with vehicle and kept at room temperature acted as controls; RT/GGA, mice pretreated with GGA and kept at room temperature; HHS/Vehicle, mice pretreated with vehicle and treated with HHS; HHS/GGA, mice pretreated with GGA and treated with HHS. *p<0.05 and **p<0.01.</p

Effect of GGA on the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway.

<p>(A) Western blot analysis to examine the protein levels of Bcl-2, and cytochrome c in the cytosol and mitochondria in cardiomyocytes. The protein expression of Bcl-2 (B), cytochrome c in the cytosol (C), and mitochondria (D) was analyzed using Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software and normalized to GAPDH, α-tubulin, and VDAC, respectively. (E) Effect of GGA on caspase-3 activity. A total of 20 mg protein lysate of cardiomyocytes was examined by incubation with Ac-DEVD-MCA for 5 min at 37°C. The release of 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin was measured using a spectrofluorometer. * p<0.05 and ** p<0.01.</p

Analysis of apoptotic cells by TUNEL staining.

<p>Mean numbers of TUNEL-positive cells in a field of 500 × 500 μm. ** p<0.01.</p

A General Strategy for Biocompatible, High-Effective Upconversion Nanocapsules Based on Triplet–Triplet Annihilation

A general strategy for constructing high-effective upconversion nanocapsules based on triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA) was developed by loading both sensitizer and annihilator into BSA–dextran stabilized oil droplets. This strategy can maintain high translational mobility of the chromophores, avoid luminescence quenching of chromophore by aggregation, and decrease the O₂-induced quenching of TTA-based upconversion emission. Pt­(II)-tetraphenyl-tetrabenzoporphyrin (PtTPBP) and BODIPY dyes (BDP-G and BDP-Y with the maximal fluorescence emission at 528 and 546 nm, respectively) were chosen as sensitizer/annihilator couples to fabricate green and yellow upconversion luminescent emissive nanocapsules, named UCNC-G and UCNC-Y, respectively. In water under the atmospheric environment, interestingly, UCNC-G and UCNC-Y exhibit intense upconversion luminescence (UCL) emission (λ_ex = 635 nm) with the quantum efficiencies (Φ_UCL) of 1.7% and 4.8%, respectively, whereas very weak UCL emission (Φ_UCL < 0.1%) was observed for the corresponding previous reported SiO₂-coating nanosystems because of aggregation-induced fluorescence quenching of annihilators. Furthermore, application of theses upconversion nanocapsules for high-contrast UCL bioimaging <i>in vivo</i> of living mice without removing the skin was demonstrated under 635-nm excitation with low power density of 12.5 mW cm^–2

Transcriptome Profiling of Watermelon Root in Response to Short-Term Osmotic Stress

<div><p>Osmotic stress adversely affects the growth, fruit quality and yield of watermelon (<i>Citrullus lanatus</i> (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai). Increasing the tolerance of watermelon to osmotic stress caused by factors such as high salt and water deficit is an effective way to improve crop survival in osmotic stress environments. Roots are important organs in water absorption and are involved in the initial response to osmosis stress; however, few studies have examined the underlying mechanism of tolerance to osmotic stress in watermelon roots. For better understanding of this mechanism, the inbred watermelon accession M08, which exhibits relatively high tolerance to water deficits, was treated with 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000. The root samples were harvested at 6 h after PEG treatment and untreated samples were used as controls. Transcriptome analyses were carried out by Illumina RNA sequencing. A total of 5246 differentially expressed genes were identified. Gene ontology enrichment and biochemical pathway analyses of these 5246 genes showed that short-term osmotic stress affected osmotic adjustment, signal transduction, hormone responses, cell division, cell cycle and ribosome, and M08 may repress root growth to adapt osmotic stress. The results of this study describe the watermelon root transcriptome under osmotic stress and propose new insight into watermelon root responses to osmotic stress at the transcriptome level. Accordingly, these results allow us to better understand the molecular mechanisms of watermelon in response to drought stress and will facilitate watermelon breeding projects to improve drought tolerance.</p></div

Confirming of transcriptome sequencing data by qRT-PCR.

<p>(A) Comparison of gene expression ratios of eighteen genes between transcriptome sequencing and qRT-PCR. (B) Correlation analysis between data of RNA-seq (x axis) and qRT-PCR (y axis).</p

GO Classification.

<p>The DEGs were assigned into biological process, cellular components and molecular function. The x-axis represents the categories of GO, the left y-axis represents the percentages of the DEGs in each category and the right y-axis represents the number of DEGs in each category.</p

Overview of DEGs under osmotic stress in watermelon root tissue.

<p>Numbers in parentheses represent relative DEGs. Up-regulated DEGs are shown as upward arrows and down-regulated DEGs are shown as downward arrows.</p