Morphology, photosynthetic physiology and biochemistry of nine herbaceous plants under water stress

Global climate warming and shifts in rainfall patterns are expected to trigger increases in the frequency and magnitude of drought and/or waterlogging stress in plants. To cope with water stress, plants develop diverse tactics. However, the adoption capability and mechanism vary depending upon the plant species identity as well as stress duration and intensity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the species-dependent responses of alpine herbaceous species to water stress. Nine herbaceous species were subjected to different water stresses (including moderate drought and moderate waterlogging) in pot culture using a randomized complete block design with three replications for each treatment. We hypothesized that water stress would negatively impact plant growth and metabolism. We found considerable interspecies differences in morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses when plants were exposed to the same water regime. In addition, we observed pronounced interactive effects of water regime and plant species identity on plant height, root length, root/shoot ratio, biomass, and contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll (a+b), carotenoids, malondialdehyde, soluble sugar, betaine, soluble protein and proline, implying that plants respond to water regime differently. Our findings may cast new light on the ecological restoration of grasslands and wetlands in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau by helping to select stress-tolerant plant species

ArControl: An Arduino-Based Comprehensive Behavioral Platform with Real-Time Performance

Studying animal behavior in the lab requires reliable delivering stimulations and monitoring responses. We constructed a comprehensive behavioral platform (ArControl: Arduino Control Platform) that was an affordable, easy-to-use, high-performance solution combined software and hardware components. The hardware component was consisted of an Arduino UNO board and a simple drive circuit. As for software, the ArControl provided a stand-alone and intuitive GUI (graphical user interface) application that did not require users to master scripts. The experiment data were automatically recorded with the built in DAQ (data acquisition) function. The ArControl also allowed the behavioral schedule to be entirely stored in and operated on the Arduino chip. This made the ArControl a genuine, real-time system with high temporal resolution (<1 ms). We tested the ArControl, based on strict performance measurements and two mice behavioral experiments. The results showed that the ArControl was an adaptive and reliable system suitable for behavioral research

Host-Guest Synergy of CH3NH3PbBr3@Ln-MOFs Enabling Tunable Green Luminescence and Switchable Memory

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) contain ordered pores capable of encapsulating varied types of guests and provide a platform to expand the flexibility and versatility of the host-guest composites. Herein, by encapsulating CH3NH3PbBr3 NPS into Ln-MOFs (Ln=La, Nd, Pr, Sm), four CH3NH3PbBr3@Ln-MOFs host-guest composites were fabricated and served as a bifunctional platform. The temperature-dependent luminescence properties of the CH3NH3PbBr3@Ln-MOFs were explored and the results revealed their tuneable green luminescence performance. In particular, the CH3NH3PbBr3@Sm-MOF exhibits a variety of colours from green to blue to purple and an excellent quantum yield of 0.98. The photocurrent responses and theoretical calculations reveal the enhancement mechanism of CH3NH3PbBr3 on charge-hole separation owing to its unique host-guest synergy. Moreover, the CH3NH3PbBr3@Sm-MOF exhibits the excellent electrical bi-stability with a high ON/OFF ratio of 104. Hence, the CH3NH3PbBr3@Ln-MOFs host-guest composites are promising candidates for a new generation of photovoltaic, light-emitting, and switching memories devices

A Peptide HEPFYGNEGALR from Apostichopus japonicus Alleviates Acute Alcoholic Liver Injury by Enhancing Antioxidant Response in Male C57BL/6J Mice

Liver-related disease caused by alcohol is a frequent disorder of the hepatic tract. Heavy consumption of alcohol in a short period causes oxidative damage to the liver. Sea cucumber is abundant in nutrients and its various extracts have been studied for antioxidant properties. One peptide was isolated and identified from Apostichopus japonicus in our recent study. We investigated the benefits of the peptide in a model of acute ethanol-induced male C57BL/6J mice. Dietary intake of the peptide could attenuate hepatomegaly, hepatitis and the accumulation of lipid droplets, and increase antioxidant enzyme activities in mice with acute alcoholic liver injury. The results indicated that a 20 mg/kg peptide supplement could activate the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and block the nuclear translocation of NF-κB to alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation. In addition, the preventive effects of peptide supplementation may be related to autophagy. This study suggests that dietary supplementation with a sea cucumber-derived peptide is one of the potential candidates to alleviate acute alcoholic liver injury

A 0.044-mm2 0.5-to-7-GHz resistor-plus-source-follower-feedback noise-cancelling LNA achieving a flat NF of 3.3±0.45 dB

A wideband noise-cancelling low-noise amplifier (LNA) combining resistor feedback and source-follower feedback (SFF) is proposed. The SFF facilitates upsizing of the feedback resistor to improve the gain and noise figure (NF), without compromising the input-impedance matching. Another benefit is that the noise contributions of both the feedback resistor and noise-cancelling transistors are significantly reduced. Fabricated in 65-nm CMOS, the LNA exhibits a voltage gain of 16.8 dB, and a flat NF of 3.3 ± 0.45 dB over a −3-dB bandwidth of 0.5 to 7 GHz. The power consumption is 11.3 mW at 1.2 V, and the die area is 0.044 mm2MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore)Accepted versio