Characterization of Playa Basins on the High Plains of Texas by

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Settlement Control Techniques for Urban Rail Transit Station Entry/Exit Large Profile Pipe Jacking Engineering through Urban Roads

Objective To ensure the smooth implementation of urban rail transit station entry/exit pipe jacking construction project, it is essential to study the impact of ground settlement and explore settlement control measures for its engineering through urban roads. Method With reference to the long-distance bus station entry/exit pipe jacking engineering on Jinan Rail Transit R2 Line , and based on the description of project geological conditions and key difficulties, a 3D numerical calculation model for large profile pipe jacking engineering through urban roads with dense underground pipelines is established. Land subsidence curves at different distances from the excavation face and settlement curves at different depths of the soil layer are obtained. A comparison is made between the simulated vertical displacement values of land monitoring points above the pipe central axis and the field-measured values changing with excavation distances. Corresponding construction optimization measures are proposed, and the optimization effects are analyzed and verified based on field-measured data. Result & Conclusion During the jacking process, as the distance from pipe central axis increases, the land subsidence gradually decreases. With increasing depth, the deep layer displacement of the soil layer gradually increases, and the settlement curve gradually transitions from ′stout and short′ to ′slender and tall′. Factors such as significant fluctuations in soil chamber pressure and frictional disturbance between the pipe and the stratum on-site lead to an outcome of the maximum simulated settlement, which is slightly less than the maximum field-measured settlement, posing certain discrepancy. By adopting measures such as controlling excavation speed and rational grouting for reducing friction, the subsequent construction settlement control effect is evident, with a maximum land subsidence of 18.18 mm, and the deformation is within construction allowable range

Integrating coaxial electrospinning and 3D printing technologies for the development of biphasic porous scaffolds enabling spatiotemporal control in tumor ablation and osteochondral regeneration

The osteochondral defects (OCDs) resulting from the treatment of giant cell tumors of bone (GCTB) often present two challenges for clinicians: tumor residue leading to local recurrence and non-healing of OCDs. Therefore, this study focuses on developing a double-layer PGPC-PGPH scaffold using shell-core structure nanofibers to achieve “spatiotemporal control” for treating OCDs caused by GCTB. It addresses two key challenges: eliminating tumor residue after local excision and stimulating osteochondral regeneration in non-healing OCD cases. With a shell layer of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX)/gelatin (GT) and inner cores containing chondroitin sulfate (CS)/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) or hydroxyapatite (HA)/PLGA, coaxial electrospinning technology was used to create shell-core structured PpIX/GT-CS/PLGA and PpIX/GT-HA/PLGA nanofibers. These nanofibers were shattered into nano-scaled short fibers, and then combined with polyethylene oxide and hyaluronan to formulate distinct 3D printing inks. The upper layer consists of PpIX/GT-CS/PLGA ink, and the lower layer is made from PpIX/GT-HA/PLGA ink, allowing for the creation of a double-layer PGPC-PGPH scaffold using 3D printing technique. After GCTB lesion removal, the PGPC-PGPH scaffold is surgically implanted into the OCDs. The sonosensitizer PpIX in the shell layer undergoes sonodynamic therapy to selectively damage GCTB tissue, effectively eradicating residual tumors. Subsequently, the thermal effect of sonodynamic therapy accelerates the shell degradation and release of CS and HA within the core layer, promoting stem cell differentiation into cartilage and bone tissues at the OCD site in the correct anatomical position. This innovative scaffold provides temporal control for anti-tumor treatment followed by tissue repair and spatial control for precise osteochondral regeneration

Screening of Applicable SSR Molecular Markers Linked to Creeping Trait in Crape Myrtle

Creeping plants have unique ornamental value because they have more branches and flowers and the creeping trait is rare in crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica L.). In this study, the first filial generation (F1) population was derived from Lagerstroemia fauriei Koehne (standard) and L. indica “Creole” (creeping) and the backcross1 (BC1) population was derived from the backcross of F1 individual S82 (creeping) and L. fauriei. The segregation of the creeping trait was analyzed for 174 seedlings of the BC1 population to examine the linkage relationship between simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers and the creeping trait. Creeping genes were screened using bulked segregant analysis combined with 322 SSR primers, which were detected with good polymorphism. The results show that two SSR markers (S364 and LYS12) were detected, with genetic distances of 23.49 centimorgan (cM) and 25.86 cM from the loci controlling the plant opening angle trait and the branching angle trait, respectively. The accuracy rate for phenotypic verification using S364 and LYS12 was 76.51% and 74.14%, respectively. Our results provide basic information for the molecular marker-assisted selective breeding and cloning of the creeping gene to improve architecture diversity in the breeding of crape myrtle

Selection of Reference Genes for Gene Expression Studies in Siberian Apricot (<i>Prunus sibirica</i> L.) Germplasm Using Quantitative Real-Time PCR

<div><p>Quantitative real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction has been applied in a vast range of studies of gene expression analysis. However, real-time PCR data must be normalized with one or more reference genes. In this study, eleven putative consistently expressed genes (<i>ACT</i>, <i>TUA</i>, <i>TUB</i>, <i>CYP</i>, <i>DNAj</i>, <i>ELFA</i>, <i>F-box27</i>, <i>RPL12</i>, <i>GAPDH</i>, <i>UBC</i> and <i>UBQ</i>) in nine Siberian Apricot Germplasms (including much variability) were evaluated for their potential as references for the normalization of gene expression by NormFinder and geNorm programs. From our studies, <i>ACT</i>, <i>UBC</i>, <i>CYP</i>, <i>UBQ</i> and <i>RPL12</i> as suitable for normalization were identified by geNorm, while <i>UBC</i> and <i>CYP</i> as the best pair by NormFinder. Moreover, <i>UBC</i> was selected as the most stably expressed gene by both algorithms in different Siberian Apricot seed samples. We also detected that a set of three genes (<i>ACT</i>, <i>CYP</i> and <i>UBC</i>) by geNorm as control for normalization could lead to accurate results. Furthermore, the expression levels of oleosin gene were analyzed to validate the suitability of the selected reference genes. These obtained experimental results could make an important contribution to normalize real-time PCR data for gene expression analysis in Siberian Apricot Germplasm.</p></div

Description of Siberian Apricot candidate reference genes.

a<p>A<i>CT</i>, <i>TUA</i>, <i>TUB</i>, <i>CYP</i>, <i>DNAj</i>, <i>ELFA</i> and <i>UBQ</i> were ESTs based on the other species reference gene sequence determined via BLASTN.</p>b<p>The prediction of exon, the previous digits indicated the site of primer forward and the back correspond to primer reverse. N/F meaning no intron or limited ESTs could not conjecture the intron.</p

Expression profiles of oleosin gene in different Siberian Apricot Germplasms.

<p>Expression ratios of oleosin for the experimental calculated using (1) <i>CYP</i> and <i>UBC</i> for NormFinder; (2) <i>CYP</i>, <i>UBC</i> and <i>ACT</i> for geNorm; (3) <i>ACT</i>, <i>UBC</i>, <i>CYP</i>, <i>UBQ</i> and <i>RPL12</i> for geNorm; (4) the stable reference gene <i>UBC</i>; (5) the unsatisfactory reference gene <i>F-box27</i>.</p

Pairwise variation analysis of normalization factors to determine the optimal number of reference genes.

<p>The cut-off value of 0.15, below which the inclusion of an additional reference gene is not required, is indicated by a discontinuous line.</p

Performance of the amplification primers.

<p>Amplicons obtained by real-time PCR using cDNA (up) and gDNA (down) as template and electrophoresis using agarose gel (1.5%). The amplification primers from left to right are <i>ACT</i>, <i>TUA</i>, <i>TUB</i>, <i>CYP</i>, <i>DNAj</i>, <i>ELFA</i>, <i>F-box27</i>, <i>RPL12</i>, <i>GAPDH</i>, <i>UBC</i> and <i>UBQ</i>.</p