Multiband Carrierless Amplitude Phase Modulation for High Capacity Optical Data Links

Short range optical data links are experiencing bandwidth limitations making it very challenging to cope with the growing data transmission capacity demands. Parallel optics appears as a valid short-term solution. It is, however, not a viable solution in the long-term because of its complex optical packaging. Therefore, increasing effort is now put into the possibility of exploiting higher order modulation formats with increased spectral efficiency and reduced optical transceiver complexity. As these type of links are based on intensity modulation and direct detection, modulation formats relying on optical coherent detection can not be straight forwardly employed. As an alternative and more viable solution, this paper proposes the use of carrierless amplitude phase (CAP) in a novel multiband approach (MultiCAP) that achieves record spectral efficiency, increases tolerance towards dispersion and bandwidth limitations and reduces the complexity of the transceiver. We report on numerical simulations and experimental demonstrations with capacity beyond 100 Gb/s transmission using a single externally modulated laser (EML). In addition, an extensive comparison with conventional CAP is also provided. The reported experiment uses MultiCAP to achieve 102.4 Gb/s transmission, corresponding to a data payload of 95.2 Gb/s error free transmission by using a 7% forward error correction (FEC) code. The signal is successfully recovered after 15 km of standard single mode fiber (SSMF) in a system limited by a 3 dB bandwidth of 14 GHz

Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Development of Recurrent Major Depression in Chinese Women

Background Our prior study in Han Chinese women has shown that women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at increased risk for developing major depression (MD). Would this relationship be found in our whole data set? Method Three levels of CSA (non-genital, genital, and intercourse) were assessed by self-report in two groups of Han Chinese women: 6017 clinically ascertained with recurrent MD and 5983 matched controls. Diagnostic and other risk factor information was assessed at personal interview. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression. Results We confirmed earlier results by replicating prior analyses in 3,950 new recurrent MD cases. There were no significant differences between the two data sets. Any form of CSA was significantly associated with recurrent MD (OR 4.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) [3.19–5.24]). This association strengthened with increasing CSA severity: non-genital (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.58–3.15), genital (OR 5.24, 95% CI 3.52–8.15) and intercourse (OR 10.65, 95% CI 5.56–23.71). Among the depressed women, those with CSA had an earlier age of onset, longer depressive episodes. Recurrent MD patients those with CSA had an increased risk for dysthymia (OR 1.60, 95%CI 1.11–2.27) and phobia (OR 1.41, 95%CI 1.09–1.80). Any form of CSA was significantly associated with suicidal ideation or attempt (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.20–1.89) and feelings of worthlessness or guilt (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.02–2.02). Intercourse (OR 3.47, 95%CI 1.66–8.22), use of force and threats (OR 1.95, 95%CI 1.05–3.82) and how strongly the victims were affected at the time (OR 1.39, 95%CI 1.20–1.64) were significantly associated with recurrent MD

Associations of Educational Attainment, Occupation, Social Class and Major Depressive Disorder among Han Chinese Women

Background The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is higher in those with low levels of educational attainment, the unemployed and those with low social status. However the extent to which these factors cause MDD is unclear. Most of the available data comes from studies in developed countries, and these findings may not extrapolate to developing countries. Examining the relationship between MDD and socio economic status in China is likely to add to the debate because of the radical economic and social changes occurring in China over the last 30 years. Principal findings We report results from 3,639 Chinese women with recurrent MDD and 3,800 controls. Highly significant odds ratios (ORs) were observed between MDD and full time employment (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.25–0.46, logP = 78), social status (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.77–0.87, logP = 13.3) and education attainment (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.86–0.90, logP = 6.8). We found a monotonic relationship between increasing age and increasing levels of educational attainment. Those with only primary school education have significantly more episodes of MDD (mean 6.5, P-value = 0.009) and have a clinically more severe disorder, while those with higher educational attainment are likely to manifest more comorbid anxiety disorders. Conclusions In China lower socioeconomic position is associated with increased rates of MDD, as it is elsewhere in the world. Significantly more episodes of MDD occur among those with lower educational attainment (rather than longer episodes of disease), consistent with the hypothesis that the lower socioeconomic position increases the likelihood of developing MDD. The phenomenology of MDD varies according to the degree of educational attainment: higher educational attainment not only appears to protect against MDD but alters its presentation, to a more anxious phenotype

An Analysis on Leaf Traits of 22 Helianthus tuberosus Germplasm Resources Introduced from Abroad

Atomic absorption spectrophotometry, sulfuric acid and potassium dichromate oxidation method and ultraviolet spectrophotometry, were used to determine mineral elements, fiber, the content of chlorogenic acid and flavones in leaves of 24 Helianthus tuberosus Linn. resources, and the characteristics of the leaf introduced from abroad were evaluated. The results showed that the highest water content of 22 species was F12 (27.58%), and the lowest was F16 (19.02%). The difference in mean water content between the species from Denmark and France was small, but it was lower than that of Qingyu 3 and Qingyu 4. There were 3 orbicular leaves, 1 long oval-shaped leaf and 18 oval leaves. The highest K content in the leaves was F19 (30.62 mg/g), which was 2.5 times than Qingyu 3. The highest Mg content was D8 (14.17 mg/g). The Fe content had little difference, ranging from 0.09 mg•g−1 to 0.19 mg/g. The highest Ca content was D8 (26.87 mg/g). The highest level of chlorogenic acid and flavones was F7, 2.55% and 1.24 g/100 g respectively. The highest fiber content was F9 (16.7%), and the lowest was F19 (7.36%). Through the analysis of the main component and the clustering analysis, when the genetic distance was 0.65, the 24 resources can be divided into three major categories. The first category of leaves were mainly oval and orbicular; the second category of leaves were long oval-shaped; the third category of leaves were oval. There was a difference between the various indexes in the leaf of different kinds of Helianthus tuberosus Linn. resources. Finally, F19, D8, F9, F7, D14 and D11, 6 specific species (F19, D8, F9, F7, D14 and D11) were screened out for further studies in the future

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) root is the main raw material used for inulin production, and chicory leaf represents an important forage resource. This is the first reported sequence for a chloroplast genome of the chicory family Compositae. The length of the intact chicory chloroplast genome was 152,975 bp, consisting of one reverse repeat region (IRs, 50,038 bp), one small single-copy region (SSC, 18,561 bp), and one large single-copy region (LSC, 84,376 bp). The chicory chloroplast genome contains 127 functional genes, including 74 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and 24 rRNA genes. An analysis of the phylogenetic relationship of chicory to other species revealed that chicory is closely related to the Chrysanthemum and Artemisia groups. Together these results serve to lay a foundation for the ongoing evolutionary and ecological study of Cichorium

Screening and Verification of Reference Genes for Analysis of Gene Expression in Garlic (<i>Allium sativum</i> L.) under Cold and Drought Stress

The principal objective of this study was to screen and verify reference genes appropriate for gene expression evaluation during plant growth and development under distinct growth conditions. Nine candidate reference genes were screened based on garlic transcriptome sequence data. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of the aforementioned reference genes in specific tissues under drought and cold stress. Then, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and ReFinder were used to consider the consistency of the expression levels of candidate reference genes. Finally, the stress-responsive gene expression of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was quantitatively evaluated to confirm the chosen reference genes. Our results indicated that there were variations in the abundance and stability of nine reference gene transcripts underneath cold and drought stress, among which ACT and UBC-E2 had the highest transcript abundance, and 18S rRNA and HIS3 had the lowest transcript abundance. UBC and UBC-E2 were the most stably expressed genes throughout all samples; UBC and UBC-E2 were the most stably expressed genes during cold stress, and ACT and UBC were the most stably expressed genes under drought stress. The most stably expressed genes in roots, pseudostems, leaves, and cloves were EF1, ACT, HIS3, UBC, and UBC-E2, respectively, while GAPDH was the most unstable gene during drought and cold stress conditions and in exclusive tissues. Taking the steady reference genes UBC-E2, UBC, and ACT as references during drought and cold stress, the reliability of the expression levels was further demonstrated by detecting the expression of AsAPX. Our work thereby offers a theoretical reference for the evaluation of gene expression in garlic in various tissues and under stress conditions

Screening and Verification of Reference Genes for Analysis of Gene Expression in Garlic (Allium sativum L.) under Cold and Drought Stress

The principal objective of this study was to screen and verify reference genes appropriate for gene expression evaluation during plant growth and development under distinct growth conditions. Nine candidate reference genes were screened based on garlic transcriptome sequence data. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of the aforementioned reference genes in specific tissues under drought and cold stress. Then, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and ReFinder were used to consider the consistency of the expression levels of candidate reference genes. Finally, the stress-responsive gene expression of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was quantitatively evaluated to confirm the chosen reference genes. Our results indicated that there were variations in the abundance and stability of nine reference gene transcripts underneath cold and drought stress, among which ACT and UBC-E2 had the highest transcript abundance, and 18S rRNA and HIS3 had the lowest transcript abundance. UBC and UBC-E2 were the most stably expressed genes throughout all samples; UBC and UBC-E2 were the most stably expressed genes during cold stress, and ACT and UBC were the most stably expressed genes under drought stress. The most stably expressed genes in roots, pseudostems, leaves, and cloves were EF1, ACT, HIS3, UBC, and UBC-E2, respectively, while GAPDH was the most unstable gene during drought and cold stress conditions and in exclusive tissues. Taking the steady reference genes UBC-E2, UBC, and ACT as references during drought and cold stress, the reliability of the expression levels was further demonstrated by detecting the expression of AsAPX. Our work thereby offers a theoretical reference for the evaluation of gene expression in garlic in various tissues and under stress conditions

Pepino (Solanum muricatum) Metabolic Profiles and Soil Nutrient Association Analysis in Three Growing Sites on the Loess Plateau of Northwestern China

Different soil nutrients affect the accumulation characteristics of plant metabolites. To investigate the differences among the metabolites of pepino grown in greenhouses on the Loess Plateau in northwest China, we investigated the main soil nutrients and their correlation with metabolites. A total of 269 pepino metabolites were identified using UPLC-QTOF-MS to detect metabolites in fruits from three major pepino growing regions and analyze their differential distribution characteristics. A total of 99 of these substances differed among pepino fruits from the three areas, and the main classes of the differential metabolites were, in order of number: amino acids and derivatives, nucleotides and derivatives, organic acids, alkaloids, vitamins, saccharides and alcohols, phenolic acids, lipids and others. An environmental factor analysis identified soil nutrients as the most significant differentiator. Five soil nutrient indicators: TN (total nitrogen), TP (total phosphorus), AP (available phosphorus), AK (available potassium), and OM (organic matter), exhibited significant differences in three growing sites. Metabolite and soil nutrient association analysis using redundancy analysis (RDA) and the Mantel test indicated that TN and OM contributed to the accumulation of amino acids and derivatives, nucleotides and derivatives, and alkaloids while inhibiting organic acids, vitamins coagulation biosynthesis. Moreover, AP and TP were associated with the highest accumulation of saccharides and, alcohols, phenolic acids. Consequently, differences in soil nutrients were reflected in pepino metabolite variability. This study clarified the metabolite variability and the relationship between pepino and soil nutrients in the main planting areas of northwest China. It provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent development of Pepino&rsquo;s nutritional value and cultivation management

Systematic Investigation of TCP Gene Family: Genome-Wide Identification and Light-Regulated Gene Expression Analysis in Pepino (<i>Solanum Muricatum</i>)

Plant-specific transcription factors such as the TCP family play crucial roles in light responses and lateral branching. The commercial development of S. muricatum has been influenced by the ease with which its lateral branches can be germinated, especially under greenhouse cultivation during the winter with supplemented LED light. The present study examined the TCP family genes in S. muricatum using bioinformatics analysis (whole-genome sequencing and RNA-seq) to explore the response of this family to different light treatments. Forty-one TCP genes were identified through a genome-wide search; phylogenetic analysis revealed that the CYC/TB1, CIN and Class I subclusters contained 16 SmTCP, 11 SmTCP and 14 SmTCP proteins, respectively. Structural and conserved sequence analysis of SmTCPs indicated that the motifs in the same subcluster were highly similar in structure and the gene structure of SmTCPs was simpler than that in Arabidopsis thaliana; 40 of the 41 SmTCPs were localized to 12 chromosomes. In S. muricatum, 17 tandem repeat sequences and 17 pairs of SmTCP genes were found. We identified eight TCPs that were significantly differentially expressed (DETCPs) under blue light (B) and red light (R), using RNA-seq. The regulatory network of eight DETCPs was preliminarily constructed. All three subclusters responded to red and blue light treatment. To explore the implications of regulatory TCPs in different light treatments for each species, the TCP regulatory gene networks and GO annotations for A. thaliana and S. muricatum were compared. The regulatory mechanisms suggest that the signaling pathways downstream of the TCPs may be partially conserved between the two species. In addition to the response to light, functional regulation was mostly enriched with auxin response, hypocotyl elongation, and lateral branch genesis. In summary, our findings provide a basis for further analysis of the TCP gene family in other crops and broaden the functional insights into TCP genes regarding light responses