Dual functions of the ZmCCT-associated quantitative trait locus in flowering and stress responses under long-day conditions

Gene ontology enrichment of differentially expressed genes in HZ4 and HZ4-NIL in three development stages. (XLS 21 kb

Optimization of Performance Parameter Design and Energy Use Prediction for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

Optimizing key parameters with energy consumption as the control target can minimize the heating and cooling needs of buildings. In this paper we focus on the optimization of performance parameters design and the prediction of energy consumption for nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB). The optimal combination of various performance parameters and the Energy Saving Ratio (ESR)are studied by using a large volume of simulation data. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are applied for the prediction of annual electrical energy consumption in a nearly Zero Energy Building designs located in Shenyang (China). The data of the energy demand for our test is obtained by using building simulation techniques. The results demonstrate that the heating energy demand for our test nearly Zero Energy Building is 17.42 KW·h/(m2·a). The Energy Saving Ratio of window-to-wall ratios optimization is the most obvious, followed by thermal performance parameters of the window, and finally the insulation thickness. The maximum relative error of building energy consumption prediction is 6.46% when using the artificial neural network model to predict energy consumption. The establishment of this prediction method enables architects to easily and accurately obtain the energy consumption of buildings during the design phase

Identification of the CNGC Gene Family in Rice and Mining of Alleles for Application in Rice Improvement

Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel (CNGC) gene regulation plays important roles in plant immune and abiotic stress response. Here, we identified 16 CNGC genes in rice (Oryza sativa). Then, we analyzed their chromosomal location, physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, gene functional interaction network, cis-acting elements, phylogenetic relationships, collinearity, expression in tissues under normal conditions and abiotic stresses, and geng-cds-haplotype (gcHap) diversity in 3010 gcHaps. As a result, OsCNGC3 (Os06g0527300) was identified as a gene different from previous report, and OsCNGC genes were found to play important roles in rice population differentiation and rice improvement. Our results revealed their very strong differentiation between subspecies and populations, important roles in response to abiotic stresses, as well as strong genetic bottleneck effects and artificial selection of gcHap diversity in the modern breeding process of Xian (indica) and Geng (japonica) populations. The results also suggested that natural variations in most rice CNGC loci are potentially valuable for improving rice productivity and tolerance to abiotic stresses. The favorable alleles at the CNGC loci should be explored to facilitate their application in future rice improvement

Optimal starting age of endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer in China: A multicenter prospective cohort study

Abstract Background Although endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer has been performed in high‐risk areas in China for decades, there is limited and inconsistent evidence regarding the starting age for individuals participating in screening. The aim of this study is to investigate the optimal starting age of esophageal cancer screening. Methods This study is based on a multicenter prospective cohort consisting 338,017 permanent residents aged 40–69 years in six high‐risk areas of esophageal cancer in China. The participation rate, detection rate, hazard ratios (HRs), cumulative incidence and mortality and number needed to screen (NNS) were calculated in each age group. Screening burden, benefit and risk were compared among screening strategies with different initiation ages to explore the optimal starting age for population‐based screening in high‐risk areas. Results Individuals aged 50–69 had a higher participation rate, a higher detection rate and improved screening effectiveness than those aged 40–49. The endoscopic screening had no significant effect on reducing the incidence of esophageal cancer in individuals under 55 and mortality in individuals under 45. Increasing the starting age to 50 years reduced the screening demand and NNS by 40% and 55%, and resulted in 12% of detectable positive cases, 16% of preventable incident cases, and 14% of preventable deaths being missed. Conclusions Postponing the starting age of endoscopic screening to 50 years might yield a more‐favorable balance between screening benefit and burden in high‐ risk areas with limited resources

Current apparent treatment‐resistant hypertension in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis: A multi‐center cross‐sectional study

Abstract Apparent treatment‐resistant hypertension (aTRH) is the most commonly used term to report resistant hypertension (RH) and is considered as a common problem in dialysis population. However, few reports have focused on peritoneal dialysis (PD) hypertensive patients. The authors conducted a multi‐center cross‐sectional study involving 1789 PD patients from nine centers in Guangdong, China. The prevalence of aTRH was estimated by home blood pressure (BP) monitoring. Evaluating drug adherence through Eight‐item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS‐8) and pill counting was performed to assess RH in one PD center. Related factors of aTRH were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of aTRH in PD patients was estimated at 42.2% (755 out of 1789 hypertensive patients) based on home BP. Of those, 91.4% patients were classified as uncontrolled RH, 2.0% as controlled RH, and 6.6% as refractory hypertension. The prevalence of RH was 40.6% and 41.9% among those with medium/high adherence based on the MMAS‐8 scores and the pill counting rate, respectively. PD patients who were younger, with higher body mass index, with lower serum albumin and poorer dialysis adequacy were significantly associated with higher aTRH incident. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates a high prevalence of aTRH in PD population, which occurs in about two in five treated hypertensive patients. Nutritional status and dialysis adequacy might tightly associate with aTRH

Structural basis for activity regulation of MLL family methyltransferases

The mixed lineage leukaemia (MLL) family of proteins (including MLL1-MLL4, SET1A and SET1B) specifically methylate histone 3 Lys4, and have pivotal roles in the transcriptional regulation of genes involved in haematopoiesis and development. The methyltransferase activity of MLL1, by itself severely compromised, is stimulated by the three conserved factors WDR5, RBBP5 and ASH2L, which are shared by all MLL family complexes. However, the molecular mechanism of how these factors regulate the activity of MLL proteins still remains poorly understood. Here we show that a minimized human RBBP5-ASH2L heterodimer is the structural unit that interacts with and activates all MLL family histone methyltransferases. Our structural, biochemical and computational analyses reveal a two-step activation mechanism of MLL family proteins. These findings provide unprecedented insights into the common theme and functional plasticity in complex assembly and activity regulation of MLL family methyltransferases, and also suggest a universal regulation mechanism for most histone methyltransferases

Additional file 3: Figure S1. of Dual functions of the ZmCCT-associated quantitative trait locus in flowering and stress responses under long-day conditions

Phenotypic responses to Fusarium graminearum and shoot apical meristem (SAM) morphologies of HZ4 and HZ4-NIL from the 3- to 7-fully expanded leaf stages under long-day conditions. (a) Phenotypes after artificial inoculation with F. graminearum. Red and blue arrows indicate HZ4 and HZ4-NIL plants, respectively. (b) SAM morphologies of HZ4 and HZ4-NIL plants in the 3- to 7-fully expanded leaf stages under long-day conditions. Figure S2. Summary of reads analysis. Results of Illumina transcriptome sequence data (a, b) and quality control (c, d) for leaves and shoot apices of HZ4 and HZ4-NIL. Figure S3. Sample clusters according to the gene expression profiles of HZ4 and HZ4-NIL leaves and shoot apices. Figure S4. Comparison of leaf and shoot apex gene expression patterns between HZ4 and HZ4-NIL. (a) Venn diagram of expressed genes identified in the leaves and shoot apices of HZ4 and HZ4-NIL. (b) Number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified in HZ4 and HZ4-NIL in different developmental stages. (c) Venn diagram of up- and downregulated DEGs in the leaves and shoot apical meristems of HZ4-NIL relative to the levels in HZ4 at all leaf stages under long-day conditions. Figure S5. Gene Ontology classification of common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in different organs. The DEGs are grouped under three hierarchically structured GO terms: biological process, cellular component, and molecular function. The y-axis indicates the number and percentage of proteins in each GO term. (PPTX 2130 kb

Additional file 6: Figure S6. of Dual functions of the ZmCCT-associated quantitative trait locus in flowering and stress responses under long-day conditions

Validation of the RNA-seq data for some differentially expressed genes identified in HZ4-NIL compared with HZ4 by qPCR. (DOCX 101 kb

Socio-demographic Characteristics of YMSM cohort participants in Baseline and Follow-up.

<p>Socio-demographic Characteristics of YMSM cohort participants in Baseline and Follow-up.</p

Factors associated with HIV Seroconversions in 12-month follow-up study among YMSM in Cox regression analysis.

<p>*Denotes significance at <i>P</i><0.10 level.</p>a<p>Dichotomous variables: Age: 0 = 21∼25 years, 1 = 18∼20 years; Married: 0 = no, 1 = yes; Local resident: 0 = yes, 1 = no; Student: 0 = yes, 1 = no; Homosexual: 0 = yes, 1 = no; HIV/AIDS knowledge: 0 = know, 1 = unacquaintance (know: scores of HIV/AIDS knowledge = 6–8, unacquaintance: scores of HIV/AIDS knowledge = 0–5); Had anal sex with men: 0 = no, 1 = yes; Male sexual partners for more than 2: 0 = no, 1 = yes; Consistent condom use with male sex partners: 0 = yes, 1 = no; Being paid by a man for sex: 0 = no, 1 = yes; Consistent condom use when paid for sex: 0 = no, 1 = yes; Had specific symptoms of STD infections in the past 12 months: 0 = no, 1 = yes; Syphilis infection: 0 = no, 1 = yes.</p