Ku80 cooperates with CBP to promote COX-2 expression and tumor growth.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays an important role in lung cancer development and progression. Using streptavidin-agarose pulldown and proteomics assay, we identified and validated Ku80, a dimer of Ku participating in the repair of broken DNA double strands, as a new binding protein of the COX-2 gene promoter. Overexpression of Ku80 up-regulated COX-2 promoter activation and COX-2 expression in lung cancer cells. Silencing of Ku80 by siRNA down-regulated COX-2 expression and inhibited tumor cell growth in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model. Ku80 knockdown suppressed phosphorylation of ERK, resulting in an inactivation of the MAPK pathway. Moreover, CBP, a transcription co-activator, interacted with and acetylated Ku80 to co-regulate the activation of COX-2 promoter. Overexpression of CBP increased Ku80 acetylation, thereby promoting COX-2 expression and cell growth. Suppression of CBP by a CBP-specific inhibitor or siRNA inhibited COX-2 expression as well as tumor cell growth. Tissue microarray immunohistochemical analysis of lung adenocarcinomas revealed a strong positive correlation between levels of Ku80 and COX-2 and clinicopathologic variables. Overexpression of Ku80 was associated with poor prognosis in patients with lung cancers. We conclude that Ku80 promotes COX-2 expression and tumor growth and is a potential therapeutic target in lung cancer

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Correlation between End-of-Day Far Red Light and Chilling Stress in <i>Setaria viridis</i>

Low temperature and end-of-day far-red (EOD-FR) light signaling are two key factors limiting plant production and geographical location worldwide. However, the transcriptional dynamics of EOD-FR light conditions during chilling stress remain poorly understood. Here, we performed a comparative RNA-Seq-based approach to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to EOD-FR and chilling stress in Setaria viridis. A total of 7911, 324, and 13431 DEGs that responded to low temperature, EOD-FR and these two stresses were detected, respectively. Further DEGs analysis revealed that EOD-FR may enhance cold tolerance in plants by regulating the expression of genes related to cold tolerance. The result of weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) using 13431 nonredundant DEGs exhibited 15 different gene network modules. Interestingly, a CO-like transcription factor named BBX2 was highly expressed under EOD-FR or chilling conditions. Furthermore, we could detect more expression levels when EOD-FR and chilling stress co-existed. Our dataset provides a valuable resource for the regulatory network involved in EOD-FR signaling and chilling tolerance in C4 plants

Evaluation of hardening behaviors in ion-irradiated Fe–9Cr and Fe–20Cr alloys by nanoindentation technique

The ion irradiation hardening behaviors of Fee9 wt% Cr and Fee20 wt% Cr model alloys were investigatedby nanoindentation technique. The specimens were irradiated with 3 MeV Fe11\ufe ions at roomtemperature up to 1 and 5 dpa for Fee9Cr alloy and 1 and 2.5 for Fee20Cr alloy. The ratio of averagehardness in the same depth of irradiated and unirradiated (Hirr. av/Hunirr. av) was used to determine thecritical indentation depth hcrit to eliminate the softer substrate effect. The NixeGao model was used toexplain the indentation size effect. Irradiation hardening is clearly observed in both Fee9Cr alloy and Fee20Cr alloy after ion irradiation. The differences of ISE and irradiation hardening behaviors between Fee9Cr and Fee20Cr alloys are considered to be due to their different microstructures and microstructuralevolution under ion irradiation

LoRa Communication Quality Optimization on Agriculture Based on the PHY Anti-Frame Loss Mechanism

Agricultural environments are usually characterized by height differences and tree shading, which pose challenges for communication in smart agriculture. This study focuses on optimizing the packet loss rate and power consumption of LoRa’s practical communication quality. The research includes the investigation of the PHY anti-frame loss mechanism, encompassing PHY frame loss detection and the response mechanism between gateways and nodes. By implementing a closed loop for transmission and reception, the study enhances the communication network’s resistance to interference and security. Theoretical performance calculations for the SX1278 radio frequency chip were conducted under different parameters to determine the optimal energy efficiency, reducing unnecessary energy waste. An experimental assessment of the packet loss rate was conducted to validate the practical efficacy of the research findings. The results show that the LoRa communication with the anti-frame loss mechanism and the optimal energy ratio parameter exhibits an adequate performance. In the presence of strong and weak interferences, the reception rates are maximally improved by 37.8% and 53.4%, with effective distances of 250 m and 600 m, corresponding to enhancements of 100 m and 400 m, respectively. This research effectively reduces LoRa energy consumption, mitigates packet loss, and extends communication distances, providing insights for wireless transmission in agricultural contexts

The Study of Hydrogeochemical Environments and Microbial Communities along a Groundwater Salinity Gradient in the Pearl River Delta, China

The salinization of groundwater is an issue in coastal areas because it causes the deterioration of freshwater resources, significantly impacting human livelihoods and ecosystems. This study integrated isotopic geochemical measurements with high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons to evaluate the source of groundwater salinity and the influence of hydrogeochemical variations on microbial communities under different salinity gradients in the Pearl River Delta of China. Results showed that the groundwater salinity in this area varied from fresh water in the inland area to brackish water, and then to saline water close to the southeast shoreline. The major ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl&#8722;, NO3&#8722;, SO42&#8722;, and HCO3&#8722;) and isotope analyses (2H, 3H, 18O, and 14C) indicated that the groundwater in the confined aquifer was recharged by local precipitation and seawater. A further 14C analysis showed that the salinity of the groundwater was likely attributed to the Holocene transgression. Analysis of the microbial community showed that &#947;-proteobacteria were frequently observed in all the groundwater samples, while the other main microbial community at class level varied greatly, from &#946;-proteobacteria in the freshwater wells to &#949;-proteobacteria in the brackish wells and to Bacilli in the saline wells. Exiguobacterium and Acinetobacter were dominant in saline water and the brackish water sample of Q144, while Sulfuricurvum dominated in the brackish water sample of Q143. Aeromonas, no rank Gallionellaceae, no rank Methylophilaceae, Acidovorax, and Comamonas unevenly thrived in the freshwater samples collected from different locations. Therefore, the distribution of microbial communities reflected the salinity and hydrogeochemical characteristics of a groundwater aquifer, and can be regarded as a potential environmental indicator in the groundwater

Iron overload induced death of osteoblasts in vitro: involvement of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway

Background Iron overload is recognized as a new pathogenfor osteoporosis. Various studies demonstrated that iron overload could induce apoptosis in osteoblasts and osteoporosis in vivo. However, the exact molecular mechanisms involved in the iron overload-mediated induction of apoptosis in osteoblasts has not been explored. Purpose In this study, we attempted to determine whether the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway is involved in iron-induced osteoblastic cell death and to investigate the beneficial effect of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) in iron-induced cytotoxicity. Methods The MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cell line was treated with various concentrations of ferric ion in the absence or presence of NAC, and intracellular iron, cell viability, reactive oxygen species, functionand morphology changes of mitochondria and mitochondrial apoptosis related key indicators were detected by commercial kits. In addition, to further explain potential mechanisms underlying iron overload-related osteoporosis, we also assessed cell viability, apoptosis, and osteogenic differentiation potential in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stemcells(MSCs) by commercial kits. Results Ferric ion demonstrated concentration-dependent cytotoxic effects on osteoblasts. After incubation with iron, an elevation of intracelluar labile iron levels and a concomitant over-generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by flow cytometry in osteoblasts. Nox4 (NADPH oxidase 4), an important ROS producer, was also evaluated by western blot. Apoptosis, which was evaluated by Annexin V/propidium iodide staining, Hoechst 33258 staining, and the activation of caspase-3, was detected after exposure to iron. Iron contributed to the permeabilizatio of mitochondria, leading to the release of cytochrome C (cyto C), which, in turn, induced mitochondrial apoptosis in osteoblasts via activation of Caspase-3, up-regulation of Bax, and down-regulation of Bcl-2. NAC could reverse iron-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and blocked the apoptotic events through inhibit the generation of ROS. In addition, iron could significantly promote apoptosis and suppress osteogenic differentiation and mineralization in bone marrow-derived MSCs. Conclusions These findings firstly demonstrate that the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway involved in iron-induced osteoblast apoptosis. NAC could relieved the oxidative stress and shielded osteoblasts from apoptosis casused by iron-overload. We also reveal that iron overload in bone marrow-derived MSCs results in increased apoptosis and the impairment of osteogenesis and mineralization

Retina-Inspired Organic Heterojunction-Based Optoelectronic Synapses for Artificial Visual Systems

For the realization of retina-inspired neuromorphic visual systems which simulate basic functions of human visual systems, optoelectronic synapses capable of combining perceiving, processing, and memorizing in a single device have attracted immense interests. Here, optoelectronic synaptic transistors based on tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium (Ir(ppy)3) and poly(3,3-didodecylquarterthiophene) (PQT-12) heterojunction structure are presented. The organic heterojunction serves as a basis for distinctive synaptic characteristics under different wavelengths of light. Furthermore, synaptic transistor arrays are fabricated to demonstrate their optical perception efficiency and color recognition capability under multiple illuminating conditions. The wavelength-tunability of synaptic behaviors further enables the mimicry of mood-modulated visual learning and memorizing processes of humans. More significantly, the computational dynamics of neurons of synaptic outputs including associated learning and optical logic functions can be successfully demonstrated on the presented devices. This work may locate the stage for future studies on optoelectronic synaptic devices toward the implementation of artificial visual systems

Citrus Disease Image Generation and Classification Based on Improved FastGAN and EfficientNet-B5

The rapid and accurate identification of citrus leaf diseases is crucial for the sustainable development of the citrus industry. Because citrus leaf disease samples are small, unevenly distributed, and difficult to collect, we redesigned the generator structure of FastGAN and added small batch standard deviations to the discriminator to produce an enhanced model called FastGAN2, which was used for generating citrus disease and nutritional deficiency (zinc and magnesium deficiency) images. The performance of the existing model degrades significantly when the training and test data exhibit large differences in appearance or originate from different regions. To solve this problem, we propose an EfficientNet-B5 network incorporating adaptive angular margin (Arcface) loss with the adversarial weight perturbation mechanism, and we call it EfficientNet-B5-pro. The FastGAN2 network can be trained using only 50 images. The Fréchet Inception Distance (FID) and Kernel Inception Distance (KID) are improved by 31.8% and 59.86%, respectively, compared to the original FastGAN network; 8000 images were generated using the FastGAN2 network (2000 black star disease, 2000 canker disease, 2000 healthy, 2000 deficiency). Only images generated by the FastGAN2 network were used as the training set to train the ten classification networks. Real images, which were not used to train the FastGAN2 network, were used as the test set. The average accuracy rates of the ten classification networks exceeded 93%. The accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores achieved by EfficientNet-B5-pro were 97.04%, 97.32%, 96.96%, and 97.09%, respectively, and they were 2.26%, 1.19%, 1.98%, and 1.86% higher than those of EfficientNet-B5, respectively. The classification network model can be successfully trained using only the images generated by FastGAN2, and EfficientNet-B5-pro has good generalization and robustness. The method used in this study can be an effective tool for citrus disease and nutritional deficiency image classification using a small number of samples