Apomixis for no bacteria-induced thelytoky in Diglyphus wani (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

In Hymenoptera species, the reproductive mode is usually arrhenotoky, where haploid males arise from unfertilized eggs and diploid females from fertilized eggs. In addition, a few species reproduce by thelytoky, where diploid females arise from unfertilized eggs. Diploid females can be derived through various cytological mechanisms in thelytokous Hymenoptera species. Hitherto, these mechanisms were revealed mainly in endosymbiont-induced thelytokous Hymenoptera species. In contrast, thelytokous Hymenoptera species in which a reproductive manipulator has not been verified or several common endosymbionts have been excluded were paid less attention in their cytological mechanisms, for instance, Diglyphus wani (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Here, we investigated the cytological mechanism of D. wani using cytological methods and genetic markers. Our observations indicated that the diploid karyotypes of two strains of D. wani consist of four pairs of relatively large metacentric chromosomes and one pair of short submetacentric chromosomes (2n = 10). The arrhenotokous strains could complete normal meiosis, whereas the thelytokous strain lacked meiosis and did not expulse any polar bodies. This reproductive type of lacking meiosis is classified as apomictic thelytoky. Moreover, a total of 636 microsatellite sequences were obtained from thelytokous D. wani, dominated by dinucleotide repeats. Genetic markers results showed all three generations of offspring from thelytokous strain maintained the same genotype as their parents. Our results revealed that D. wani is the first eulophid parasitoid wasp in Hymenoptera whose thelytoky was not induced by bacteria to form an apomictic thelytoky. These findings provide a baseline for future inner molecular genetic studies of ameiotic thelytoky

Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease with depression as the first symptom: a case report with literature review

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease, and patients with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (onset age < 65 years) often have atypical symptoms, which are easily misdiagnosed and missed. Multimodality neuroimaging has become an important diagnostic and follow-up method for AD with its non-invasive and quantitative advantages.Case presentationWe report a case of a 59-year-old female with a diagnosis of depression at the age of 50 after a 46-year-old onset and a 9-year follow-up observation, who developed cognitive dysfunction manifested by memory loss and disorientation at the age of 53, and eventually developed dementia. Combined with neuropsychological scales (MMSE and MOCA scores decreased year by year and finally reached the dementia criteria) and the application of multimodal imaging. MRI showed that the hippocampus atrophied year by year and the cerebral cortex was extensively atrophied. 18F-FDG PET image showed hypometabolism in right parietal lobes, bilateral frontal lobes, bilateral joint parieto-temporal areas, and bilateral posterior cingulate glucose metabolism. The 18F-AV45 PET image showed the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease was confirmed by the presence of Aβ deposits in the cerebral cortex.ConclusionEarly-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which starts with depression, often has atypical symptoms and is prone to misdiagnosis. The combination of neuropsychological scales and neuroimaging examinations are good screening tools that can better assist in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.Graphical Abstrac

Impaired Magnesium Protoporphyrin IX Methyltransferase (ChlM) Impedes Chlorophyll Synthesis and Plant Growth in Rice

Magnesium protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase (ChlM) catalyzes the formation of magnesium protoporphyrin IX monomethylester (MgPME) from magnesium protoporphyrin IX (MgP) in the chlorophyll synthesis pathway. However, no ChlM gene has yet been identified and studied in monocotyledonous plants. In this study, a spontaneous mutant, yellow-green leaf 18 (ygl18), was isolated from rice (Oryza sativa). This mutant showed yellow-green leaves, decreased chlorophyll level, and climate-dependent growth differences. Map-based cloning of this mutant identified the YGL18 gene LOC_Os06g04150. YGL18 is expressed in green tissues, especially in leaf organs, where it functions in chloroplasts. YGL18 showed an amino-acid sequence similarity to that of ChlM from different photosynthetic organisms. In vitro enzymatic assays demonstrated that YGL18 performed ChlM enzymatic activity, but ygl18 had nearly lost all ChlM activity. Correspondingly, the substrate MgP was largely accumulated while the product MgPME was reduced in ygl18 leaves. YGL18 is required for light-dependent and photoperiod-regulated chlorophyll synthesis. The retarded growth of ygl18 mutant plants was caused by the high light intensity. Moreover, the higher light intensity and longer exposure in high light intensity even made the ygl18 plants be more susceptible to death. Based on these results, it is suggested that YGL18 plays essential roles in light-related chlorophyll synthesis and light intensity–involved plant growth

Molecular characterization and clinical relevance of metabolic expression subtypes in human cancers.

Metabolic reprogramming provides critical information for clinical oncology. Using molecular data of 9,125 patient samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we identified tumor subtypes in 33 cancer types based on mRNA expression patterns of seven major metabolic processes and assessed their clinical relevance. Our metabolic expression subtypes correlated extensively with clinical outcome: subtypes with upregulated carbohydrate, nucleotide, and vitamin/cofactor metabolism most consistently correlated with worse prognosis, whereas subtypes with upregulated lipid metabolism showed the opposite. Metabolic subtypes correlated with diverse somatic drivers but exhibited effects convergent on cancer hallmark pathways and were modulated by highly recurrent master regulators across cancer types. As a proof-of-concept example, we demonstrated that knockdown of SNAI1 or RUNX1—master regulators of carbohydrate metabolic subtypes-modulates metabolic activity and drug sensitivity. Our study provides a system-level view of metabolic heterogeneity within and across cancer types and identifies pathway cross-talk, suggesting related prognostic, therapeutic, and predictive utility

The calcium sensor OsCBL1 modulates nitrate signaling to regulate seedling growth in rice.

Nitrate signaling integrates and coordinates gene expression and plant growth; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Our previous study revealed that rice calcineurin B-like protein 1 (OsCBL1) modulates lateral root elongation by affecting auxin biosynthesis. Here, we report that OsCBL1 also modulates nitrate signaling to regulate rice seedlings growth. Compared with wild-type seedlings, seedlings of OsCBL1-knockdown (OsCBL1-KD) plants showed a suppressed growth phenotype, which included reduced root and shoot fresh weights and shorter radicles, crown roots, and lateral roots, when grown in nitrogen-free conditions. Although the growth defects of OsCBL1-KD plants could be partially rescued by the addition of nitrate to the growth conditions, the nitrate uptake capability of the OsCBL1-KD plants did not differ from that of wild-type plants as assessed via nitrate content and 15NO3- influx experiments. The nitrate-regulated expression of nitrate signal sentinel genes (OsNRT2.1 and OsNRT2.2) was affected in the OsCBL1-KD plants under both long- and short-term nitrate treatments. Overall, our results showed a novel role for OsCBL1 in the regulation of nitrate signaling and nitrate-mediated rice growth

Surf. Coat. Technol.

To improve the wear resistance of the cylinder liner of the engines operating in desert area, the tungsten carbide-based cermet coating (WC-12wt.%Co) was produced using the supersonic plasma spraying technique. The microstructure and phase composition of the as-sprayed coating were evaluated. The effect of sand size in lubricant on the friction and wear behavior of the coating under the lubrication of oil containing sand was investigated on a ball-on-disk tribometer. Characterization of the coating shows that the coating possesses dense microstructure with low level of porosity. The decarburization of WC is limited for the high particle velocity of the supersonic plasma spraying and only a few of W2C phases are observed in the coating. With the higher hardness and the good adhesion with the substrate the sprayed coating exhibits a better wear resistance compared with the gray casting iron used in the current cylinder liner. Micro-structural examination shows that the wear of coating is dominated by micro-cutting, WC particles pull-out and sub-surface indentation-induced sub-surface cracking, while the main wear mechanism of the gray casting iron is micro-cutting and plastic deformation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.To improve the wear resistance of the cylinder liner of the engines operating in desert area, the tungsten carbide-based cermet coating (WC-12wt.%Co) was produced using the supersonic plasma spraying technique. The microstructure and phase composition of the as-sprayed coating were evaluated. The effect of sand size in lubricant on the friction and wear behavior of the coating under the lubrication of oil containing sand was investigated on a ball-on-disk tribometer. Characterization of the coating shows that the coating possesses dense microstructure with low level of porosity. The decarburization of WC is limited for the high particle velocity of the supersonic plasma spraying and only a few of W2C phases are observed in the coating. With the higher hardness and the good adhesion with the substrate the sprayed coating exhibits a better wear resistance compared with the gray casting iron used in the current cylinder liner. Micro-structural examination shows that the wear of coating is dominated by micro-cutting, WC particles pull-out and sub-surface indentation-induced sub-surface cracking, while the main wear mechanism of the gray casting iron is micro-cutting and plastic deformation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Slow Scintillation Suppression in Yttrium Doped BaF_2 Crystals

Barium fluoride (BaF_2) crystal has a fast scintillation light peaked at 195 and 220 nm with a sub-ns decay time. This ultrafast scintillation promises a wide application in an area where extreme fast timing is important, such as future high-energy physics experiments, gigahertz hard X-ray imaging, and time-of-flight positron emission tomography. BaF_2 crystal, however, has also a slow scintillation component peaked at 310 nm with a decay time of about 600 ns, which causes pileup. Suppression of the slow scintillation component by selective doping, such as Ce, La, Tm, and Y, was discussed 20 years ago. In this paper, we report suppression of the slow component in BaF_2 crystals by yttrium doping. Single crystals with 1 at% Y doping were grown by vacuum Bridgman technique at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. Their radioluminescence, optical transmittance, light output, fast/slow ratio, decay kinetics, and light response uniformity were measured. The results show that 1 at% Y doping suppresses the slow scintillation component in BaF 2crystals by a factor of 6, while the fast component remains unaffected

Slow Scintillation Suppression in Yttrium Doped BaF_2 Crystals

Barium fluoride (BaF_2) crystal has a fast scintillation light peaked at 195 and 220 nm with a sub-ns decay time. This ultrafast scintillation promises a wide application in an area where extreme fast timing is important, such as future high-energy physics experiments, gigahertz hard X-ray imaging, and time-of-flight positron emission tomography. BaF_2 crystal, however, has also a slow scintillation component peaked at 310 nm with a decay time of about 600 ns, which causes pileup. Suppression of the slow scintillation component by selective doping, such as Ce, La, Tm, and Y, was discussed 20 years ago. In this paper, we report suppression of the slow component in BaF_2 crystals by yttrium doping. Single crystals with 1 at% Y doping were grown by vacuum Bridgman technique at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. Their radioluminescence, optical transmittance, light output, fast/slow ratio, decay kinetics, and light response uniformity were measured. The results show that 1 at% Y doping suppresses the slow scintillation component in BaF 2crystals by a factor of 6, while the fast component remains unaffected

Використання алмазного порошку, синтезованого в системі Mg-Zn-B-C, для тонкого шліфування сапфіру

Background: Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), which is sometimes associated with severe central nervous system disease in children. There is currently no specific medication for EV71 infection. Quercetin, one of the most widely distributed flavonoids in plants, has been demonstrated to inhibit various viral infections. However, investigation of the anti-EV71 mechanism has not been reported to date. Methods: The anti-EV71 activity of quercetin was evaluated by phenotype screening, determining the cytopathic effect (CPE) and EV71-induced cells apoptosis. The effects on EV71 replication were evaluated further by determining virus yield, viral RNA synthesis and protein expression, respectively. The mechanism of action against EV71 was determined from the effective stage and time-of-addition assays. The possible inhibitory functions of quercetin via viral 2Apro, 3Cpro or 3Dpol were tested. The interaction between EV71 3Cpro and quercetin was predicted and calculated by molecular docking. Results: Quercetin inhibited EV71-mediated cytopathogenic effects, reduced EV71 progeny yields, and prevented EV71-induced apoptosis with low cytotoxicity. Investigation of the underlying mechanism of action revealed that quercetin exhibited a preventive effect against EV71 infection and inhibited viral adsorption. Moreover, quercetin mediated its powerful therapeutic effects primarily by blocking the early post-attachment stage of viral infection. Further experiments demonstrated that quercetin potently inhibited the activity of the EV71 protease, 3Cpro, blocking viral replication, but not the activity of the protease, 2Apro, or the RNA polymerase, 3Dpol. Modeling of the molecular binding of the 3Cpro-quercetin complex revealed that quercetin was predicted to insert into the substrate-binding pocket of EV71 3Cpro, blocking substrate recognition and thereby inhibiting EV71 3Cpro activity. Conclusions: Quercetin can effectively prevent EV71-induced cell injury with low toxicity to host cells. Quercetin may act in more than one way to deter viral infection, exhibiting some preventive and a powerful therapeutic effect against EV71. Further, quercetin potently inhibits EV71 3Cpro activity, thereby blocking EV71 replication