Identification of Yeast Cell Cycle Regulated Genes Based on Genomic Features

Background: Time-course microarray experiments have been widely used to identify cell cycle regulated genes. However, the method is not effective for lowly expressed genes and is sensitive to experimental conditions. To complement microarray experiments, we propose a computational method to predict cell cycle regulated genes based on their genomic features – transcription factor binding and motif profiles. Results: Through integrating gene-expression data with ChIP-chip binding and putative binding sites of transcription factors, our method shows high accuracy in discriminating yeast cell cycle regulated genes from non-cell cycle regulated ones. We predict 211 novel cell cycle regulated genes. Our model rediscovers the main cell cycle transcription factors and provides new insights into the regulatory mechanisms. The model also reveals a regulatory circuit mediated by a number of key cell cycle regulators. Conclusions: Our model suggests that the periodical pattern of cell cycle genes is largely coded in their promoter regions, which can be captured by motif and transcription factor binding data. Cell cycle is controlled by a relatively small number of master transcription factors. The concept of genomic feature based method can be readily extended to human cell cycle process and other transcriptionally regulated processes, such as tissue-specific expression

Heavy Metals in Soil and Crops of an Intensively Farmed Area: A Case Study in Yucheng City, Shandong Province, China

Yucheng City is located in northwestern Shandong Province, China, and is situated on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, the largest alluvial plain in China. In this study, 86 surface soil samples were collected in Yucheng City and analyzed for cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOM), pH, available phosphorus (avail. P), phosphorus (P), aluminum (Al), and iron (Fe). These soils were also analyzed for ‘total’ chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb), together with 92 wheat samples and 37 corn samples. There was no obvious heavy metal contamination in the soil and irrigation water. But the long-term accumulation of heavy metals in soil has lead to an increase of Ni, As, Hg and Pb concentrations in some of wheat and corn samples and Cd in wheat samples. Because of the numerous sources of soil heavy metals and the lower level of heavy metal in irrigation water, there is no significant relation between soil heavy metal concentrations and irrigation water concentrations. Cr, Ni were mainly from the indigenous clay minerals according to multivariate analysis. Little contribution to soil heavy metal contents from agricultural fertilizer use was found and the local anomalies of As, Cd, Hg, Pb in wheat and corn grain are attributed to the interactive effects of irrigation and fertilizer used. Aerial Hg, however may also be the source of Hg for soil, wheat and corn

C-Type Lectin in Chlamys farreri (CfLec-1) Mediating Immune Recognition and Opsonization

Background: C-type lectins are a superfamily of Ca 2+ dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins that play significant diverse roles in nonself-recognition and clearance of invaders. Though they are well characterized in vertebrates, the study of the potential function and mechanism of C-type lectins in invertebrate immunity is still in its infancy. Methodology: A C-type lectin (CfLec-1) from scallop Chlamys farreri, a dominant cultured mollusk species in China, was selected to investigate its mRNA expression, localization and the possible functions in innate immunity in the present study. After scallop was stimulated by three typical PAMPs, the mRNA expression of CfLec-1 in hemocytes was poles apart. It was significantly up-regulated (p,0.01) after scallops were stimulated by LPS or b-glucan, but significantly down-regulated (p,0.01) after PGN stimulation. The binding ability of recombinant CfLec-1 (designated as rCfLec-1) towards eight PAMPs was investigated subsequently by PAMPs microarray, which revealed rCfLec-1 could bind LPS, PGN and mannan in vitro, indicating CfLec-1 served as a PRR involved in the pathogen recognition. Immunofluorescence assay with polyclonal antibody specific for CfLec-1 revealed that CfLec-1 was mainly located in the mantle and gill of the scallop. CfLec-1 could bind to the surface of scallop hemocytes and recruited hemocytes to enhance their encapsulation in vitro, and this process could be specifically blocked by anti-rCfLec-1 antibody. Meanwhile, rCfLec-1 could also enhance the phagocytic activity of scallop hemocytes against Escherichia coli

Application analysis of nanomaterials in energy storage and sand treatment

In view of the problems of nanomaterials in the field of energy storage and pollution removal, energy storage composite nanomaterials were proposed in the study, including Fe3O4 Fe3O4@C (MFC), Fe3O4@PANI, Fe3O4@C @PANI core–shell nanomaterials. The experimental design includes the preparation of electrode in energy storage, characterization of electrode materials, electrode cyclic voltammetry test, electrode charge discharge test, and the preparation of catalyst, catalyst characterization, and factors affecting the removal effect in the soil pollutant removal experiment. The preparation process of catalyst for pollution removal was given, including nano ferric oxide and Pd loaded composite. The energy storage performance analysis shows that the four Fe3O4 nanocomposites all contain Fe3O4, and the corresponding diffraction peaks appear at six positions of 30.2°, 35.5°, 43.1°, 53.8°, 57.3° and 62.9° respectively. The electrochemical test results show that Fe3O4 Fe3O4@C (MFC), Fe3O4@PANI, Fe3O4@C @PANI has high electrochemical performance basis and high capacitance. The removal effect analysis shows that the optimal value of the reaction rate constant is 2.1635, the optimal current value is 40 mA, and the optimal pH value is 3.0. The experimental results verify that the composite nano materials with FeCl3.6H2O as the iron source can be used as better capacitor materials and have excellent application prospects. At the same time, the pollution removal results show that Pd-Fe3O4 has incomparable advantages compared with other materials, and has high reliability and effectiveness

Bond-Slip Monitoring of Concrete Structures Using Smart Sensors—A Review

Concrete structures with various reinforcements, such as steel bars, composite material tendons, and recently steel plates, are commonly used in civil infrastructures. When an external force overcomes the strength of the bond between the reinforcement and the concrete, bond-slip will occur, resulting in a relative displacement between the reinforcing materials and the concrete. Monitoring bond health plays an important role in guaranteeing structural safety. Recently, researchers have recognized the importance of bond-slip monitoring and performed many related investigations. In this paper, a state-of-the-art review on various smart sensors based on piezoelectric effect and fiber optic technology, as well as corresponding techniques for bond-slip monitoring is presented. Since piezoelectric sensors and fiber-optic sensors are widely used in bond-slip monitoring, their principles and relevant monitoring methods are also introduced in this paper. Particularly, the piezoelectric-based bond-slip monitoring methods including the active sensing method, the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) method and the passive sensing using acoustic emission (AE) method, and the fiber-optic-based bond-slip detecting approaches including the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and the distributed fiber optic sensing are highlighted. This paper provides guidance for practical applications and future development of bond-slip monitoring

RCCT-ASPPNet: Dual-Encoder Remote Image Segmentation Based on Transformer and ASPP

Remote image semantic segmentation technology is one of the core research elements in the field of computer vision and has a wide range of applications in production life. Most remote image semantic segmentation methods are based on CNN. Recently, Transformer provided a view of long-distance dependencies in images. In this paper, we propose RCCT-ASPPNet, which includes the dual-encoder structure of Residual Multiscale Channel Cross-Fusion with Transformer (RCCT) and Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling (ASPP). RCCT uses Transformer to cross fuse global multiscale semantic information; the residual structure is then used to connect the inputs and outputs. ASPP based on CNN extracts contextual information of high-level semantics from different perspectives and uses Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) to extract spatial and channel information, which will further improve the model segmentation ability. The experimental results show that the mIoU of our method is 94.14% and 61.30% on the datasets Farmland and AeroScapes, respectively, and that the mPA is 97.12% and 84.36%, respectively, both outperforming DeepLabV3+ and UCTransNet

A Discussion of Stability and Engineering Verification of Thin Immediate Roof under Uniform Load of the Rectangular Coal Roadway

Roadway roof is a key factor in roadway stability. At present, the analysis of roof stability is mainly based on numerical calculations and field measurements with a relatively weak theoretical basis and inadequate research studies on the loading mechanism of the roof. In this paper, a mechanical calculation model of immediate direct roof under uniform load of rectangular coal roadway is established. The stress distribution and roof subsidence in the roof are calculated theoretically and verified by the numerical calculation, physical tests, and engineering applications. Based on the classical beam solution theory, the stress distribution and sinking of the thin immediate roof under uniform load are obtained and verified by numerical calculations. The results are highly consistent. Two types of thin direct roof failure under uniform load are analyzed: the failure of the normal cross section caused by the bottom tensile stress and the failure of the inclined section caused by the combined effect of the tensile stress in the abdominal area and compressive stress. The stability of thin immediate roof under uniform load of the rectangular coal roadway was tested in 1905s mining roadway of Great Wall Number #3 coal excavation field. This research can further fill in blanks of the loading mechanism of the roadway roof and provide theoretical and pragmatic values to control the roadway pressure and rock stratum as well as the scientific references to the design of the anchor bolt supporting system

Synergistic flame retardancy of ZnO with piperazine pyrophosphate/melamine polyphosphate in PP

Common ZnO particles was used to improve the flame retardancy of piperazine pyrophosphate/melamine polyphosphate (PPAP/MPP) in PP composites. 0.5 wt% ZnO exhibited an exceptional synergism by analyzing LOI determination, UL-94 test, and CCT. The LOI increased from 29.9% (no ZnO) to 32.3%. The corresponding flame-retardant rating was improved from UL-94 V-2 to V-0. Additionally, ZnO significantly inhibited the formation of the smoke and CO during the combustion process. The TGA, the component and the structure of the heated FRPP and CCT residues were studied by FTIR, EDS, SEM, Raman spectra and 31P Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, revealing that PPAP/MPP was dominant in the flame retardant process by condensed phase actions. Furthermore, ZnO obviously promoted the formation of the char layer and increased its graphitization degree. Thus, the thermal stability and the strength of the intumescent char layer were improved and then to reinforce the flame retardancy of flame retardant PP (FRPP)