Comparative transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of the symbiotic germination of Paphiopedilum barbigerum with Epulorhiza sp. FQXY019

IntroductionPaphiopedilum barbigerum is currently the rarest and most endangered species of orchids in China and has significant ornamental value. The mature seeds of P. barbigerum are difficult to germinate owing to the absence of an endosperm and are highly dependent on mycorrhizal fungi for germination and subsequent development. However, little is known about the regulation mechanisms of symbiosis and symbiotic germination of P. barbigerum seeds.MethodsHerein, transcriptomics and proteomics were used to explore the changes in the P. barbigerum seeds after inoculation with (FQXY019 treatment group) or without (control group) Epulorhiza sp. FQXY019 at 90 days after germination.ResultsTranscriptome sequencing revealed that a total of 10,961 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 2,599 upregulated and 8,402 downregulated) were identified in the control and FQXY019 treatment groups. These DEGs were mainly involved in carbohydrate, fatty acid, and amino acid metabolism. Furthermore, the expression levels of candidate DEGs related to nodulin, Ca2+ signaling, and plant lectins were significantly affected in P. barbigerum in the FQXY019 treatment groups. Subsequently, tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomics was performed to recognize the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and a total of 537 DEPs (220 upregulated and 317 downregulated) were identified that were enriched in processes including photosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna proteins, and fatty acid biosynthesis and metabolism.DiscussionThis study provides novel insight on the mechanisms underlying the in vitro seed germination and protocorm development of P. barbigerum by using a compatible fungal symbiont and will benefit the reintroduction and mycorrhizal symbiotic germination of endangered orchids

Finite Element Analysis of the Limit Load of Straight Pipes with Local Wall-Thinning Defects under Complex Loads

Local wall thinning is a common defect on the surface of pipelines, which can cause damage to the pipeline under complex pipeline loads. Based on the study on the limit load of straight pipes with defects, the nonlinear finite element method was used to analyze the limit load of straight pipes with local wall-thinning defects under internal pressure, bending moment, torque, axial force, and their combinations, and the empirical limit-load equations of straight pipes with local wall-thinning defects under single and complex loads were fitted. Based on the allowable load on the equipment nozzles, the influences of torque and axial force on the load-bearing capacity of straight pipes with local wall-thinning defects were quantitatively analyzed. For medium and low-pressure equipment, the load-bearing capacity was reduced by 0.59~1.44% under the influence of torque, and by 0.83~1.80% under the influence of axial force. For high-pressure equipment, the load-bearing capacity was reduced by 10.07~20.90% under the influence of torque, and by 2.01~12.40% under the influence of axial force

Role of ligands in accumulation and fractionation of rare earth elements in plants: examples of phosphate and citrate

Few studies have been carried out on the effects of ligands on rare earth element (REE) bioaccumulation processes. In this study, the effects of phosphate (Pi, an inorganic ligand) and citrate (an organic ligand) on accumulation and fractionation of REEs in wheat were investigated using aqueous culture with extraneous mixed REEs (MRE). The results show that initial Pi solution culture at various levels followed by exposure to a fixed-MRE solution did not significantly change the total concentrations of REEs (FREE) in roots, whereas the FREE in leaves dramatically decreased with increasing levels of Pi applied. Simultaneous culture of wheat with mixture of MRE and citrate solutions caused obvious decreases of the FREE in both roots and leaves. Compared with MRE, significant fractionations of -REEs were found in wheat organs when no ligand was applied. Notable middle REE (MREE) enrichment and M-type tetrad effect were observed in the roots, and heavy REE (HREE) enrichment and W-type tetrad effect existed in the leaves. Pi treatments did not significantly affect the fractionations of REEs in the roots, but enrichment of HREEs in the leaves slightly increased at the highest level of Pi applied. Fractionations of REEs in both roots and leaves decreased with increasing levels of citrate applied; at higher levels of citrate (>= 150 M), no above fractionation features were observed in wheat, but light REE (LREE) enrichment existed in the roots and leaves. The results indicate that ligands might play important roles in accumulation and fractionation of REEs during bioaccumulation processes

Role of Ligands in Accumulation and Fractionation of Rare Earth Elements in Plants: Examples of Phosphate and Citrate

Few studies have been carried out on the effects of ligands on rare earth element (REE) bioaccumulation processes. In this study, the effects of phosphate (Pi, an inorganic ligand) and citrate (an organic ligand) on accumulation and fractionation of REEs in wheat were investigated using aqueous culture with extraneous mixed REEs (MRE). The results show that initial Pi solution culture at various levels followed by exposure to a fixed-MRE solution did not significantly change the total concentrations of REEs (FREE) in roots, whereas the FREE in leaves dramatically decreased with increasing levels of Pi applied. Simultaneous culture of wheat with mixture of MRE and citrate solutions caused obvious decreases of the FREE in both roots and leaves. Compared with MRE, significant fractionations of -REEs were found in wheat organs when no ligand was applied. Notable middle REE (MREE) enrichment and M-type tetrad effect were observed in the roots, and heavy REE (HREE) enrichment and W-type tetrad effect existed in the leaves. Pi treatments did not significantly affect the fractionations of REEs in the roots, but enrichment of HREEs in the leaves slightly increased at the highest level of Pi applied. Fractionations of REEs in both roots and leaves decreased with increasing levels of citrate applied; at higher levels of citrate (>= 150 M), no above fractionation features were observed in wheat, but light REE (LREE) enrichment existed in the roots and leaves. The results indicate that ligands might play important roles in accumulation and fractionation of REEs during bioaccumulation processes

Towards-Person Vocalization Effect on Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Context of Frustration

The purpose of this study is to investigate the vocalization characteristics of infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the context of frustration. The duration and frequency of vocalization in 48 infants with ASD and 65 infants with typical development (TD) were followed up to 24 months later for subsequent diagnosis. The typical vocalizations of infants with ASD were retrospectively analyzed, such as speech-like vocalizations, nonspeech vocalizations, vocalizations towards the person and non-social vocalizations. The results showed that, compared with the TD group, vocalizations of infants with ASD during the still-face period had lower typical vocalizations and characteristics associated with social intention, and that these characteristics were closely related to the clinical symptoms of ASD, among which vocalizations towards the person accompanied by social intention had discriminative efficacy

Safety, pharmacokinetics, and food effect of sudapyridine (WX‐081), a novel anti‐tuberculosis candidate in healthy Chinese subjects

Abstract This study aimed to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and food impact on sudapyridine (WX‐081), a novel drug designed to inhibit mycobacterium ATP synthase, with clinical applications for drug‐resistant tuberculosis (TB) treatment. The research comprised two arms: a single ascending dose (SAD) arm (30 to 600 mg, N = 52) and a multiple ascending dose (MAD) arm (200 to 400 mg, N = 30). The influence of food was evaluated using a 400 mg dose within an SAD cohort. Plasma concentrations of WX‐081 and M3 (main metabolite of WX‐081) were analyzed using a validated liquid‐chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method. In the SAD arm, mean residence time (MRT0‐t), terminal half‐life, and clearance of WX‐081 ranged from 18.87 to 52.8 h, 31.39 to 236.57 h, and 6.4 to 80.34 L/h, respectively. The area under the curve from time zero to the last measurable timepoint (AUC0‐t) of WX‐081 showed dose‐proportional increases in the SAD arm. The disparity between fasted and fed states of WX‐081 was significant (p < 0.05), with fed dosing resulting in a 984.07% higher AUC0‐t and 961.55% higher maximum plasma concentration. In both the SAD and MAD arms, one case each exhibited a 1 degree atrioventricular block. No QTc elongation was observed, and adverse events were not dose‐dependent. Favorable exposure, tolerability, safety, and an extended MRT0‐t suggest that WX‐081 holds promise as a phase II development candidate for drug‐resistant TB treatment

Nanoprobe-Enhanced, Split Aptamer-Based Electrochemical Sandwich Assay for Ultrasensitive Detection of Small Molecules

It is quite challenging to improve the binding affinity of antismall molecule aptamers. We report that the binding affinity of anticocaine split aptamer pairs improved by up to 66-fold by gold nanoparticles (AuNP)-attached aptamers due to the substantially increased local concentration of aptamers and multiple and simultaneous ligand interactions. The significantly improved binding affinity enables the detection of small molecule targets with unprecedented sensitivity, as demonstrated in nanoprobe-enhanced split aptamer-based electrochemical sandwich assays (NE-SAESA). NE-SAESA replaces the traditional molecular reporter probe with AuNPs conjugated to multiple reporter probes. The increased binding affinity allowed us to use 1,000-fold lower reporter probe concentrations relative to those employed in SAESA. We show that the near-elimination of background in NE-SAESA effectively improves assay sensitivity by ∼1,000–100,000-fold for ATP and cocaine detection, relative to equivalent SAESA. With the ongoing development of new strategies for the selection of aptamers, we anticipate that our sensor platform should offer a generalizable approach for the high-sensitivity detection of diverse targets. More importantly, we believe that NE-SAESA represents a novel strategy to improve the binding affinity between a small molecule and its aptamer and potentially can be extended to other detection platforms