Using proteomic analysis to investigate uniconazole-induced phytohormone variation and starch accumulation in duckweed (Landoltia punctata)

KEGG pathway analysis of the annotated proteins. The pathway, number of annotated proteins, and pathway ID were listed in the table. (XLSX 15 kb

Ligand and structure-based approaches for the exploration of structure–activity relationships of fusidic acid derivatives as antibacterial agents

Introduction: Fusidic acid (FA) has been widely applied in the clinical prevention and treatment of bacterial infections. Nonetheless, its clinical application has been limited due to its narrow antimicrobial spectrum and some side effects.Purpose: Therefore, it is necessary to explore the structure–activity relationships of FA derivatives as antibacterial agents to develop novel ones possessing a broad antimicrobial spectrum.Methods and result: First, a pharmacophore model was established on the nineteen FA derivatives with remarkable antibacterial activities reported in previous studies. The common structural characteristics of the pharmacophore emerging from the FA derivatives were determined as those of six hydrophobic centers, two atom centers of the hydrogen bond acceptor, and a negative electron center around the C-21 field. Then, seven FA derivatives have been designed according to the reported structure–activity relationships and the pharmacophore characteristics. The designed FA derivatives were mapped on the pharmacophore model, and the Qfit values of all FA derivatives were over 50 and FA-8 possessed the highest value of 82.66. The molecular docking studies of the partial target compounds were conducted with the elongation factor G (EF-G) of S. aureus. Furthermore, the designed FA derivatives have been prepared and their antibacterial activities were evaluated by the inhibition zone test and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. The derivative FA-7 with a chlorine group as the substituent group at C-25 of FA displayed the best antibacterial property with an MIC of 3.125 µM. Subsequently, 3D-QSAR was carried on all the derivatives by using the CoMSIA mode of SYBYL-X 2.0.Conclusion: Hence, a computer-aided drug design model was developed for FA, which can be further used to optimize FA derivatives as highly potent antibacterial agents

SPOP point mutations regulate substrate preference and affect its function

Abstract The adaptor SPOP recruits substrates to CUL3 E3 ligase for ubiquitination and degradation. Structurally, SPOP harbors a MATH domain for substrate recognition, and a BTB domain responsible for binding CUL3. Reported point mutations always occur in SPOP’s MATH domain and are through to disrupt affinities of SPOP to substrates, thereby leading to tumorigenesis. In this study, we identify the tumor suppressor IRF2BP2 as a novel substrate of SPOP. SPOP enables to attenuate IRF2BP2-inhibited cell proliferation and metastasis in HCC cells. However, overexpression of wild-type SPOP alone suppresses HCC cell proliferation and metastasis. In addition, a HCC-derived mutant, SPOP-M35L, shows an increased affinity to IRF2BP2 in comparison with wild-type SPOP. SPOP-M35L promotes HCC cell proliferation and metastasis, suggesting that M35L mutation possibly reprograms SPOP from a tumor suppressor to an oncoprotein. Taken together, this study uncovers mutations in SPOP’s MATH lead to distinct functional consequences in context-dependent manners, rather than simply disrupting its interactions with substrates, raising a noteworthy concern that we should be prudent to select SPOP as therapeutic target for cancers

Research on the Allocation of Flood Drainage Rights of the Sunan Canal Based on a Bi-level Multi-Objective Programming Model

To reduce flood disasters and optimize of the comprehensive benefit of the water basin, the allocation of regional flood drainage rights is of great significance. Using the “top-down” allocation mode, we consider the influence of the social, economic, and ecological environments, flood drainage demand and efficiency, and other factors on the allocation of flood drainage rights. A bi-level multi-objective programming model from the perspective of fairness and efficiency is established for the allocation. The Sunan Canal is taken as a typical case study. The model is solved by the multi-objective optimal allocation method and the master–slave hierarchical interactive iteration algorithm. After three iterations of the initial solution, the allocation of flood drainage rights in six flood control regions finally reach an effective state. The results of the model were compared with results based on historical allocation principles, showing that the bi-level multi-objective programming model, based on the principles of fairness and efficiency, is more in line with the current social and economic development of the canal. In view of the institutional background of water resources management in China and the flood drainage pressure faced by various regions, the allocation of flood drainage rights should be comprehensively considered in combination with various factors, and the market mechanism should be utilized to optimize the allocation

A Pricing Model for Groundwater Rights in Ningxia, China Based on the Fuzzy Mathematical Model

To reduce groundwater overexploitation and alleviate water shortages, market mechanisms are introduced to allocate water rights. Scientific and reasonable pricing of groundwater rights is key to ensuring the effectiveness of the groundwater market. Because of the complexity and uncertainty of water resources, this study calculates the price of groundwater rights based on the value of water resources with an evaluation indicator system. The system includes 14 indicators developed with a fuzzy mathematics model addressing three dimensions: environment, society, and economy. The weights of the indicators are determined through the analytic network process (ANP) and the entropy method. The results show that the price of groundwater rights in Ningxia, China increased from 5.11 yuan/m3 to 5.73 yuan/m3 between 2013 and 2017; this means the price was basically stable, with a slight increase. The ratio of residents’ water fee expenditures to real disposable income also remained essentially stable, fluctuating around 0.37%, far below the normal level. These data demonstrated that the current regional water price policy does not reflect the true value of groundwater resources; there is room to increase urban water prices. Local governments need speed up water price system reforms and adopt water rights systems to optimize water resource allocations

Additional file 2: of Using proteomic analysis to investigate uniconazole-induced phytohormone variation and starch accumulation in duckweed (Landoltia punctata)

Down-regulated proteins after application of uniconazole. The down-regulated proteins with <0.8-fold change and p-value less than 0.05 and their ratios among all comparative groups listed in the table. (XLSX 46 kb