Molecular Genetic Features of Polyploidization and Aneuploidization Reveal Unique Patterns for Genome Duplication in Diploid Malus

Polyploidization results in genome duplication and is an important step in evolution and speciation. The Malus genome confirmed that this genus was derived through auto-polyploidization, yet the genetic and meiotic mechanisms for polyploidization, particularly for aneuploidization, are unclear in this genus or other woody perennials. In fact the contribution of aneuploidization remains poorly understood throughout Plantae. We add to this knowledge by characterization of eupolyploidization and aneuploidization in 27,542 F1 seedlings from seven diploid Malus populations using cytology and microsatellite markers. We provide the first evidence that aneuploidy exceeds eupolyploidy in the diploid crosses, suggesting aneuploidization is a leading cause of genome duplication. Gametes from diploid Malus had a unique combinational pattern; ova preserved euploidy exclusively, while spermatozoa presented both euploidy and aneuploidy. All non-reduced gametes were genetically heterozygous, indicating first-division restitution was the exclusive mode for Malus eupolyploidization and aneuploidization. Chromosome segregation pattern among aneuploids was non-uniform, however, certain chromosomes were associated for aneuploidization. This study is the first to provide molecular evidence for the contribution of heterozygous non-reduced gametes to fitness in polyploids and aneuploids. Aneuploidization can increase, while eupolyploidization may decrease genetic diversity in their newly established populations. Auto-triploidization is important for speciation in the extant Malus. The features of Malus polyploidization confer genetic stability and diversity, and present heterozygosity, heterosis and adaptability for evolutionary selection. A protocol using co-dominant markers was proposed for accelerating apple triploid breeding program. A path was postulated for evolution of numerically odd basic chromosomes. The model for Malus derivation was considerably revised. Impacts of aneuploidization on speciation and evolution, and potential applications of aneuploids and polyploids in breeding and genetics for other species were evaluated in depth. This study greatly improves our understanding of evolution, speciation, and adaptation of the Malus genus, and provides strategies to exploit polyploidization in other species

The Relationship between Environmental Information Disclosure and Profitability: A Comparison between Different Disclosure Styles

Combined with the existing research gap, this paper divides firms’ environmental information disclosure styles into two types: Substantive style and symbolic style. This paper elaborates on the relationship between environmental information disclosure and firms’ profitability of these two disclosure types and tests this relationship using the data from 676 firms employed from the heave-polluting industry. Considering the endogenous and heteroscedasticity problems, 2-stage least squares method and weighted least square method were adopted. The results showed that (1) positive relationships exist between environmental information disclosure and profitability for both types; and (2) the contribution of symbolic-style disclosure to profitability is larger than that of substantive-style disclosure. These findings are important for corporate managers and highlight some policy implications in developing countries

Improving Maximum k-plex Solver via Second-Order Reduction and Graph Color Bounding

In a graph, a k-plex is a vertex set in which every vertex is not adjacent to at most k vertices of this set. The maximum k-plex problem, which asks for the largest k-plex from the given graph, is a key primitive in a variety of real-world applications like community detection and so on. In the paper, we develop an exact algorithm, Maplex, for solving this problem in real world graphs practically. Based on the existing first-order and the novel second-order reduction rules, we design a powerful preprocessing method which efficiently removes redundant vertices and edges for Maplex. Also, the graph color heuristic is widely used for overestimating the maximum clique of a graph. For the first time, we generalize this technique for bounding the size of maximum k-plex in Maplex. Experiments are carried out to compare our algorithm with other state-of-the-art solvers on a wide range of publicly available graphs. Maplex outperforms all other algorithms on large real world graphs and is competitive with existing solvers on artificial dense graphs. Finally, we shed light on the effectiveness of each key component of Maplex

The legacy effects of electromagnetic fields on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell self-renewal and multiple differentiation potential

Abstract Background The effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on bone nonunion have been reported for many years. Many studies and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that EMF exhibited benefits in curing delayed union and nonunion of long bone fractures. Most of them focused on the immediate effects, while the legacy effects of EMF remain poorly investigated. Methods In this study, rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were treated with EMF, and after a period of time the BMSC proliferation and differentiation were detected. Additionally, BMSC sheets with or without EMF treatment were transplanted into the rat tibia fracture nonunion models. The bone formation was evaluated after 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Results Our results showed that the proliferation capacity of BMSCs was heightened after EMF pretreatment. Over a period of time of EMF pretreatment, the capacities of osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation were enhanced, while adipogenic differentiation was weakened. BMSC sheets pretreated with EMF could better promote the healing of tibia fracture in rats, compared to BMSC sheets alone. Furthermore, significantly higher values of radiographic grading scores were observed in the EMF group. Conclusions EMF has lasting effects on the proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs, and together with cell sheet technology can provide a new method for the treatment of fracture nonunion

The Judgment of Beef Marble Texture Based on the MATLAB Image Processing Technology

International audienceThe beef texture as marble is one of the important quality indexes of beef. Since the grading of beef marbling is largely determined by the subjective experience of the graders, there are inconsistencies and errors in judgment. Therefore, how to find objective and quantitative measure of the marbling abundance degree according to the grade standard of beef marbling has been one new study in the world meat science fields. We can use image analysis tools of Matlab to preprocess the image of beef marbling. Through data analysis, the percentage of image content marbled has been obtained, the detection model can be established through the construction of neural network, so it can lay the foundation for the prediction grade of the unknown kinds of beef marbling in the future

Research on the Accurate Measurement and Analysis of Carbon Emissions by Carbon Real Measurement

The practice of carbon emission accurate measurement system application scenario of carbon electricity coupling and carbon real measurement is carried out, based on the carbon constraint background, the whole process of carbon production and emission is accurately pictured, and the carbon measurement real measurement and carbon electricity factor measurement model adapted to multiple industries is constructed in this way. The carbon measurement is carried out by collecting data from power plants in the field and automatically matching various carbon emission parameters with the calculation model to calculate the carbon emissions of the group in real time. Carbon electricity factor measurement for energy data that cannot be directly obtained, build an industry-wide carbon emission measurement and monitoring mechanism driven by electricity ties, and combine with third-party accounting agencies to certify the measurement results to indirectly display carbon emission data by electricity

Plasma Asprosin Levels Are Associated with Glucose Metabolism, Lipid, and Sex Hormone Profiles in Females with Metabolic-Related Diseases

Asprosin is a white adipose tissue-derived hormone that increases abnormally in mammals with insulin resistance. However, the role of asprosin in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a disease partly characterized by insulin resistance, and its potential connection with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and PCOS has not been thoroughly elucidated to date. To investigate the association of asprosin with metabolic profiles, sex-related hormones, or inflammation in females with T2DM or PCOS, plasma asprosin and metabolic indicators were measured in 66 healthy females, 53 female patients with T2DM, and 41 patients with PCOS. Spearman’s correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis models were used. Plasma asprosin was significantly higher in T2DM females than in healthy subjects (P<0.001) and was positively correlated with fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and HOMA-IR (P<0.05). Asprosin in PCOS subjects was also higher than in healthy subjects (P<0.001) but lower than in T2DM subjects (P<0.05), and it was positively correlated with FBG, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, LDL-c, APOB, APOE, and testosterone (P<0.05). The BMI-categorized subgroups of PCOS subjects also showed correlations of asprosin with metabolic profiles and sex-related hormones. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that plasma asprosin level acted as an independent risk factor for T2DM or PCOS. These findings suggest the correlation of plasma asprosin level with glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, sex-related hormones, and inflammation in females, supporting asprosin as a potential predictive factor for females with metabolic-related diseases. This trial is registered with ChiCTR-ROC-17010719

Average percentage (%) of individual chromosome contributing to aneuploids in the seven diploid <i>Malus</i> crosses.

a<p>The percentage was calculated based on the summary data in the <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0029449#pone-0029449-t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>; Six aneuploid seedlings with cytotype of 2<i>n</i>−1 were found in the seven crosses, and among them two seedlings were affected by the LG02 (See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0029449#pone-0029449-t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>), thus the percentage of LG02 was approximately estimated 33.333% as contributors to 2<i>n</i>−1 cytotype.</p