SCFSAP controls organ size by targeting PPD proteins for degradation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Control of organ size by cell proliferation and growth is a fundamental process, but the mechanisms that determine the final size of organs are largely elusive in plants. We have previously revealed that the ubiquitin receptor DA1 regulates organ size by repressing cell proliferation in Arabidopsis. Here we report that a mutant allele of STERILE APETALA (SAP) suppresses the da1-1 mutant phenotype. We show that SAP is an F-box protein that forms part of a SKP1/Cullin/F-box E3 ubiquitin ligase complex and controls organ size by promoting the proliferation of meristemoid cells. Genetic analyses suggest that SAP may act in the same pathway with PEAPOD1 and PEAPOD2, which are negative regulators of meristemoid proliferation, to control organ size, but does so independently of DA1. Further results reveal that SAP physically associates with PEAPOD1 and PEAPOD2, and targets them for degradation. These findings define a molecular mechanism by which SAP and PEAPOD control organ size

Investigation on the changes of corneal curvature after non-phacoemulsification in small-incision cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation

AIM: To investigate the changes of corneal curvature after non-phacoemulsification in small-incision cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation and discuss the essence of iatrogenic astigmatism. <p>METHODS: In this study, the horizontal corneal curvature(HCC)and vertical corneal curvature(VCC)of 99 patients(116 eyes)were documented before and after cataract surgery,with the postoperative follow-up of 3d; 1, 2wk; 1, 3, 6mo; 1, 2, 3a. The difference value of the HCC and the VCC between preoperation and postoperation were calculated and statistically analyzed. <p>RESULTS: The VCC was deceased by 2.01D, while the HCC was increased by 1.62D on the 3d after surgery; the difference value of the HCC and VCC were both decreased acutely in the 3mo postoperationly(the difference value of the VCC was -0.52D and HCC was 0.46D); the difference value of the HCC and VCC both were decreased mildly after 3mo of postoperation, There was no significant difference between the difference value of HCC(0.29D)and VCC(-0.29D)at 6mo(<i>P</i>=0.801); VCC was still smaller than that of preoperation(-0.26D), and HCC was larger than that of preoperation(0.25D)at the 3a. Paired <i>t</i> test was performed in these curvature differences, which both decreased apparently from 3d to 6mo after surgery(<i>P</i><0.001), while they stayed still from 6mo to 3a postoperatively(VCC: <i>P</i>=0.284; HCC:<i>P</i>=1.000). <p>CONCLUSION: It remains astigmatism for a short time after small-incision cataract surgery and the treatment requires improvement so as to minimize the astigmatism as much as possible

Protective Effect of Danhong Injection on Acute Hepatic Failure Induced by Lipopolysaccharide and D-Galactosamine in Mice

Acute hepatic failure (AHF), which leads to an extremely high mortality rate, has become the focus of attention in clinic. In this study, Danhong injection (DHI) was investigated to evaluate the preventive and protective effect on AHF induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and D-galactosamine (GalN) in mice. For AHF induction, ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with D-GalN (700 mg/kg) and LPS (20 μg/kg). DHI was administrated twice, at 12 and 1 h, respectively, before D-GalN/LPS injection. After stimulation with D-GalN/LPS for 1 and 6 h, serum and livers were collected for analysis. We found that mice administrated with DHI displayed a higher survival rate, lower serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. DHI inhibited the elevations of hepatic lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), caspase-8 activity, and mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and interleukin-6) increased by D-GalN/LPS in the liver. Furthermore, liver histopathological analysis indicated that the DHI group showed markedly fewer apoptotic (TUNEL positive) cells and less pathological changes than those in the AHF model group. These results provide a novel insight into the pharmacological actions of DHI as a potential candidate for treating AHF

A brief review of neural networks based learning and control and their applications for robots

As an imitation of the biological nervous systems, neural networks (NN), which are characterized with powerful learning ability, have been employed in a wide range of applications, such as control of complex nonlinear systems, optimization, system identification and patterns recognition etc. This article aims to bring a brief review of the state-of-art NN for the complex nonlinear systems. Recent progresses of NNs in both theoretical developments and practical applications are investigated and surveyed. Specifically, NN based robot learning and control applications were further reviewed, including NN based robot manipulator control, NN based human robot interaction and NN based behavior recognition and generation

Seasonal variations and feedback from microplastics and cadmium on soil organisms in agricultural fields

Plastic film mulching is an important agricultural technology that plays a critical role in increasing crop yield and maintaining soil moisture. However, long-term coverage and untimely recovery lead to a large amount of plastic residues in soils. This decomposes into smaller plastics over time, which can reduce sowing quality, destroy the soil structure, and have adverse effects on soil organisms. In this study, the seasonal variations and correlations of microplastics and cadmium (Cd) in Wuxi farmland soils of Taihu Lake, China, were investigated in the spring and winter. The microplastics were mainly in the form of films, fibers, and debris and were mainly transparent and black in color. Microplastic abundance reached 890 particles/kg soil, with the majority of microplastics (>72.5%) being 0–500 μm. Polyethylene microplastics were the main polymers, accounting for >54.65%. In addition, the abundance of soil microplastics in the winter was significantly correlated with Cd, indicating that microplastics and heavy metals present a risk of coexposure to soil organisms. Furthermore, the response of in situ earthworms to microplastic–Cd pollution revealed that microplastics can be used as a vector to transfer heavy metals in the soil environment and may accumulate in the bodies of soil organisms. Multiomics techniques demonstrated bacterial community structure dysbiosis and metabolic changes of in situ earthworms under microplastic heavy metal-contaminated soils. The abundance of microplastics in earthworm casts and intestines was higher than that in the soil samples. These results reveal the potential risks from microplastics entering the soil environment and heavy metal pollution in soil ecosystems.publishedVersio