174 research outputs found
Genome-wide identification and characterization of HSP gene superfamily in whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) and expression profiling analysis under temperature stress
Heat shock proteins (HSP) are essential molecular chaperones that play important roles in the stress stimulation of insects. Bemisia tabaci, a phloem feeder and
invasive species, can cause extensive crop damage through direct feeding and transmission
of plant viruses. Here we employed comprehensive genomics approaches to identity HSP
superfamily members in the Middle East Asia Minor 1 whitefly genome. In total, we identified 26 Hsp genes, including three Hsp90, 17 Hsp70, one Hsp60 and five sHSP (small
heat shock protein) genes. The HSP gene superfamily of whitefly is expanded compared
with the other five insects surveyed here. The gene structures among the same families
are relatively conserved. Meanwhile, the motif compositions and secondary structures of
BtHsp proteins were predicted. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the expression patterns of BtHsp gene superfamily were diverse across
different tissues of whiteflies. Most Hsp genes were induced or repressed by thermal stress
(40°C) and cold treatment (4°C) in whitefly. Silencing the expression of BtHsp70-6 significantly decreased the survival rate of whitefly under 45°C. All the results showed the
Hsps conferred thermo-tolerance or cold-tolerance to whiteflies that protect them from
being affected by detrimental temperature conditions. Our observations highlighted the
molecular evolutionary properties and the response mechanism to temperature assaults of
Hsp genes in whitefly
Possible rodent equivalent of the posterior cingulate cortex (area 23) interconnects with multimodal cortical and subcortical regions
Posterior cingulate cortex (area 23, A23) in human and monkeys is a critical component of the default mode network and is involved in many diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. However, A23 has not yet identified in rodents, and this makes modeling related circuits and diseases in rodents very difficult. Using a comparative approach, molecular markers and unique connectional patterns this study has uncovered the location and extent of possible rodent equivalent (A23~) of the primate A23. A23 ~ but not adjoining areas in the rodents displays strong reciprocal connections with anteromedial thalamic nucleus. Rodent A23 ~ reciprocally connects with the medial pulvinar and claustrum as well as with anterior cingulate, granular retrosplenial, medial orbitofrontal, postrhinal, and visual and auditory association cortices. Rodent A23 ~ projects to dorsal striatum, ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, zona incerta, pretectal nucleus, superior colliculus, periaqueductal gray, and brainstem. All these findings support the versatility of A23 in the integration and modulation of multimodal sensory information underlying spatial processing, episodic memory, self-reflection, attention, value assessment and many adaptive behaviors. Additionally, this study also suggests that the rodents could be used to model monkey and human A23 in future structural, functional, pathological, and neuromodulation studies
Comparative and functional genomics reveals genetic diversity and determinants of host specificity among reference strains and a large collection of Chinese isolates of the phytopathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris
Construction of a microarray based on the genome of Xanthomonas campestris pv.campestris (Xcc), and its use to analyse 18 other virulent Xcc strains, revealed insights into the genetic diversity and determinants of host specificity of Xcc strains
Rational design of Bi-doped rGO/Co3O4 nanohybrids for ethanol sensing
Gas sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors (MOSCs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for sensing of organic volatile compounds often suffer from high operation temperature, low responses, poor selectivity, or narrow detection range. Herein, we design and fabricate Bi-doped rGO/Co3O4 (BGCO) nanohybrids with a flower morphology, which have been applied as a sensing layer for an ethanol sensor. This BGCO sensor exhibits a maximum p-type response of 178.1 towards 500 ppm ethanol at an optimum working temperature of 120 °C. The sensor’s detection range for the ethanol concentration is from 500 ppb to 500 ppm, and the sensor has an excellent selectivity to ethanol compared to other types of organic volatile gases and oxidizing gas such as NO2. The enhanced ethanol sensing mechanism is attributed to the increased conductivity of Bi doped rGO/Co3O4 material. Additionally, incorporation of Bi dopant can promote the redox reaction, and the rGO/Co3O4 act as the catalyst
The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys
We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and
Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational
seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m
telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present
509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along
the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new
quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region
and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526
new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to
3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars
in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in
this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0
respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars
provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and
chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars
are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly
discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant
Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated
substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity
of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric
reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of
substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some
of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte
China–Africa cooperation initiatives in malaria control and elimination
Malaria has affected human health globally with a significant burden of disease, and
also has impeded social and economic development in the areas where it is present. In
Africa, many countries have faced serious challenges in controlling malaria, in part due
to major limitations in public health systems and primary health care infrastructure.
Although China is a developing country, a set of control strategies and measures in
different local settings have been implemented successfully by the National Malaria
Control Programme over the last 60 years, with a low cost of investment. It is expected
that Chinese experience may benefit malaria control in Africa. This review will address
the importance and possibility of China–Africa collaboration in control of malaria in
targeted African countries, as well as how to proceed toward the goal of elimination
where this is technically feasible.China UK Global Health Support Programme (grant no.GHSP-CS-OP1, OP2, OP3).http://www.elsevier.com/books/book-series/advances-in-parasitologyhb201
Proton-Boron Fusion Yield Increased by Orders of Magnitude with Foam Targets
A novel intense beam-driven scheme for high yield of the tri-alpha reaction
11B(p,{\alpha})2{\alpha} was investigated. We used a foam target made of
cellulose triacetate (TAC, C_9H_{16}O_8) doped with boron. It was then heated
volumetrically by soft X-ray radiation from a laser heated hohlraum and turned
into a homogenous, and long living plasma. We employed a picosecond laser pulse
to generate a high-intensity energetic proton beam via the well-known Target
Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. We observed up to 10^{10}/sr
{\alpha} particles per laser shot. This constitutes presently the highest yield
value normalized to the laser energy on target. The measured fusion yield per
proton exceeds the classical expectation of beam-target reactions by up to four
orders of magnitude under high proton intensities. This enhancement is
attributed to the strong electric fields and nonequilibrium thermonuclear
fusion reactions as a result of the new method. Our approach shows
opportunities to pursue ignition of aneutronic fusion
Loss of miR-133a expression associated with poor survival of breast cancer and restoration of miR-133a expression inhibited breast cancer cell growth and invasion
PMeS: Prediction of Methylation Sites Based on Enhanced Feature Encoding Scheme
Protein methylation is predominantly found on lysine and arginine residues, and carries many important biological functions, including gene regulation and signal transduction. Given their important involvement in gene expression, protein methylation and their regulatory enzymes are implicated in a variety of human disease states such as cancer, coronary heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, identification of methylation sites can be very helpful for the drug designs of various related diseases. In this study, we developed a method called PMeS to improve the prediction of protein methylation sites based on an enhanced feature encoding scheme and support vector machine. The enhanced feature encoding scheme was composed of the sparse property coding, normalized van der Waals volume, position weight amino acid composition and accessible surface area. The PMeS achieved a promising performance with a sensitivity of 92.45%, a specificity of 93.18%, an accuracy of 92.82% and a Matthew’s correlation coefficient of 85.69% for arginine as well as a sensitivity of 84.38%, a specificity of 93.94%, an accuracy of 89.16% and a Matthew’s correlation coefficient of 78.68% for lysine in 10-fold cross validation. Compared with other existing methods, the PMeS provides better predictive performance and greater robustness. It can be anticipated that the PMeS might be useful to guide future experiments needed to identify potential methylation sites in proteins of interest. The online service is available at http://bioinfo.ncu.edu.cn/inquiries_PMeS.aspx
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