Genetic analysis of phytoene synthase 1 (Psy1) gene function and regulation in common wheat

Transcriptome details for three transgenic lines with the most significantly reduced YPC and non-transformed controls. (DOCX 18 kb

Research progress on and molecular mechanism of vacuum sealing drainage in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are common chronic wounds and a common complication of diabetes. The foot is the main site of diabetic ulcers, which involve small and medium-sized arteries, peripheral nerves, and microcirculation, among others. DFUs are prone to coinfections and affect many diabetic patients. In recent years, interdisciplinary research combining medicine and material science has been increasing and has achieved significant clinical therapeutic effects, and the application of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in the treatment of DFUs is a typical representative of this progress, but the mechanism of action remains unclear. In this review, we integrated bioinformatics and literature and found that ferroptosis is an important signaling pathway through which VSD promotes the healing of DFUs and that System Xc-GSH-GPX4 and NAD(P)H-CoQ10-FSP1 are important axes in this signaling pathway, and we speculate that VSD is most likely to inhibit ferroptosis to promote DFU healing through the above axes. In addition, we found that some classical pathways, such as the TNF, NF-κB, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, are also involved in the VSD-mediated promotion of DFU healing. We also compiled and reviewed the progress from clinical studies on VSD, and this information provides a reference for the study of VSD in the treatment of DFUs

Analysis of three-intensity decoy-state phase-matching quantum key distribution

Phase-matching quantum key distribution (PM-QKD) protocol has been widely researched since it was proposed. This scheme is proven to beat the linear bound. In this paper, the performance of three-intensity decoy-state PM-QKD is discussed. The effects of various parameters on the performance of transmission system with statistical fluctuation and source error are analyzed by numerical simulation. The results show that the protocol has good performance. The effects of signal state intensity and decoy-state intensity on key rate are analyzed, and the optimal key rate and the intensity of signal and decoy states are given

Fully distributed adaptive consensus control of a class of high-order nonlinear systems with a directed topology and unknown control directions

In this paper, we investigate the adaptive consensus control for a class of high-order nonlinear systems with different unknown control directions where communications among the agents are represented by a directed graph. Based on backstepping technique, a fully distributed adaptive control approach is proposed without using global information of the topology. Meanwhile, a novel Nussbaum-type function is proposed to address the consensus control with unknown control directions. It is proved that boundedness of all closed-loop signals and asymptotically consensus tracking for all the agents' outputs are ensured. In simulation studies, a numerical example is illustrated to show the effectiveness of the control scheme

Lack of Association Between CYP17 Mspa1 Polymorphism and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis of 14 494 Cases and 15 971 Controls

Background and Objective. A T-to-C polymorphism that creates a recognition site for the MspA1 restriction enzyme in the 5’ promoter region of CYP17 has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer. To date, many studies have evaluated associations between the CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism and prostate cancer risk; however, the results were controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to investigate the association between the CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer. Material and Methods. By searching the Pubmed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EBSCO databases, 36 studies including 14 494 cases and 15 971 controls were collected. Odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association. Results. The overall results showed no significant association between the CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.92–1.25 for A2/A2 vs. A1/A1; OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.92–1.12 for A1/A2 vs. A1/A1; OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.94–1.22 for A2/A2 vs. A1/A2+A1/A1; OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.93–1.14 for A1/A2+A2/A2 vs. A1/A1). In the stratified analysis according to ethnicity, no significant associations were observed in Asian, European, and African populations in all genetic models. In the stratified analysis by the source of controls and inpatients were found to have an increased risk of prostate cancer in all genetic models. Conclusions. The meta-analysis suggests that the CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism is unlikely to increase the risk of prostate cancer in a wide population

Quantitative prediction of the oil-bearing height of Tertiary stratigraphic reservoirs in Jiyang Depression

The Tertiary stratigraphic reservoirs in Jiyang Depression are characterized by small buried-depth, long distance of trap from source, low oil-bearing height and poor oil physical property. Oil-bearing height is mainly determined by four factors: expulsion rate of source rock, migration distance, dip angle of carrier bed and capillary resistance force. Of these four factors, the expulsion rate can be expressed by the pressure factor gradient of source rock, the migration distance can be expressed by the horizontal and vertical distances between trap and source, and the capillary resistance force in carrier beds can be expressed by the capillary pressure in trap reservoirs. From the statistics of 62 stratigraphic reservoirs, oil-bearing height is in positive correlation with pressure factor gradient and dip angle of carrier bed and in negative correlation with horizontal and vertical distances between trap and source and capillary resistance force. On the basis of relations analysis between oil-bearing height and single factors, the multi-parameter match expression for the stratigraphic reservoir oil-bearing height has been established through multiple regressions. The application results show that the predicted value from match expression matches well with the true value. The expression can be used for the prediction of oil-bearing height of Tertiary stratigraphic reservoirs in Jiyang Depression. 摘要: 济阳坳陷第三系油藏总体上具有埋藏浅、圈源距离远、含油高度低、原油物性较差等特点。油藏含油高度主要受控于烃源岩排烃量、运移距离、输导层倾角、输导层毛细管阻力等4大因素。其中, 烃源岩排烃量可用烃源岩压力系数梯度、运移距离可用圈源平面距离和圈源埋深差、输导层毛细管阻力可用圈闭储集层毛细管压力等参数进行表征。从62个地层油藏统计结果来看, 含油高度与烃源岩压力系数梯度、输导层倾角呈较好正相关关系, 而与圈源平面距离、圈源埋深差、储集层毛细管压力等呈较明显负相关关系。在含油高度与单因素关系分析基础上, 通过多元回归, 建立起了地层油藏含油高度多参数拟合关系式。应用结果表明, 该拟合关系式预测值与实际值吻合度较高, 可用来对济阳坳陷第三系油藏含油高度进行定量预测。 Key words: stratigraphic reservoir, oil-bearing height, control factor, quantitative prediction, Jiyang Depressio

Postnatal calpeptin treatment causes hippocampal neurodevelopmental defects in neonatal rats

Our previous studies showed that the early use of calpain inhibitors reduces calpain activity in multiple brain regions, and that postnatal treatment with calpeptin may lead to cerebellar motor dysfunction. However, it remains unclear whether postnatal calpeptin application affects hippocampus-related behaviors. In this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were purchased from the Animal Center of Anhui Medical University of China. For the experiments in the adult stage, rats were intraperitoneally injected with calpeptin, 2 mg/kg, once a day, on postnatal days 7–14. Then on postnatal day 60, the Morris water maze test was used to evaluate spatial learning and memory abilities. The open field test was carried out to assess anxiety-like activities. Phalloidin staining was performed to observe synaptic morphology in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemistry was used to count the number of NeuN-positive cells in the hippocampal CA1 region. DiI was applied to label dendritic spines. Calpeptin administration impaired spatial memory, caused anxiety-like behavior in adulthood, reduced the number and area of apical dendritic spines, and decreased actin polymerization in the hippocampus, but did not affect the number of NeuN-positive cells in the hippocampal CA1 region. For the neonatal experiments, neonatal rats were intraperitoneally injected with calpeptin, 2 mg/kg, on postnatal days 7 and 8. Western blot assay was performed to analyze the protein levels of Akt, Erk, p-Akt, p-Erk1/2, Erk1/2, SCOP, PTEN, mTOR, p-mTOR, CREB and p-CREB in the hippocampus. SCOP expression was increased, and the phosphorylation levels of Akt, mTOR and CREB were reduced in the hippocampus. These findings show that calpeptin administration after birth affects synaptic development in neonatal rats by inhibiting the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby perturbing hippocampal function. Therefore, calpeptin administration after birth is a risk factor for neurodevelopmental defects