QTL analysis for yield-related traits under different water regimes in maize

Drought is one of the most essential factors influencing maize yield. Improving maize varieties with drought tolerance by using marker-assisted or genomic selection requires more understanding of the genetic basis of yield-related traits under different water regimes. In the present study, 213 F2:3 families of the cross of H082183 (drought-tolerant) × Lv28 (drought susceptible) were phenotyped with five yield-related traits under four well-watered and six drought environments for two years. Quantitative trait loci analysis identified 133 significant QTLs (94 QTLs for ear traits and 39 QTLs for kernel traits) based on single environment analysis. The joint-environment analysis detected 25 QTLs under well-watered environments (eight QTLs for ear length, eight for ear diameter, one for ear weight, two for kernel weight per ear, and six for 100-kernel weight), and nine QTLs under water-stressed environments (two QTLs for ear length, three for ear diameter, one for ear weight, one for kernel weight, and two for 100-kernel weight). Among these joint-environment QTLs, one common QTL (qEL5) was stably identified at both of the water regimes. Meanwhile, two main-effect QTLs were detected in the well-watered environments, i.e. qEL10 for ear length and qHKW2 for 100-kernel weight. Also, qED8, qEW8, and qKW8 were found to be located in the same interval of Chr. 8. Similarly, qEL4s and qKW4s were found to be located in the same interval under water-stressed environments. These genomic regions could be candidate targets for further fine mapping and marker-assisted breeding in maize

Off-label use of Baricitinib improves moderate and severe atopic dermatitis in China through inhibiting MAPK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway via targeting JAK-STAT signaling of CD4+ cells

As an inflammatory disease with a disrupted immune system, cytokine disorders in atopic dermatitis (AD) are closely related to the abnormal activation of JAK-STAT signal pathway. The critical relevance of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway to the pathogenesis of AD provides a strong rationale for JAK inhibitor research. Baricitinib, a small-molecule oral JAK inhibitor, has been proven to inhibit JAK-STAT signaling in a variety of diseases, including AD. It is currently available in China for off-label use. However, its efficacy in China and its mechanism are rarely reported. In our study, we found that the immune status of patients with moderate and severe AD was hyperactive. Among the 49 known immunotherapy targets, JAK1 and JAK2 genes on lymphocytes of AD patients were significantly upregulated, which was closely related to the symptom severity in moderate and severe AD patients. Baricitinib can improve immune hyperresponsiveness and clinical symptoms in moderate and severe AD by inhibiting the activation of Th2 cell subsets and the secretion of Th2-type cytokines through MAPK, mTOR and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, providing an important theoretical basis for clinical off-label use of Baricitinib to treat moderate and severe AD

Direct observational evidence of the multi-scale, dynamical mass accretion toward a high-mass star forming hub-filament system

There is growing evidence that high-mass star formation and hub-filament systems (HFS) are intricately linked. The gas kinematics along the filaments and the forming high-mass star(s) in the central hub are in excellent agreement with the new generation of global hierarchical high-mass star formation models. In this paper, we present an observational investigation of a typical HFS cloud, G310.142+0.758 (G310 hereafter) which reveals unambiguous evidence of mass inflow from the cloud scale via the filaments onto the forming protostar(s) at the hub conforming with the model predictions. Continuum and molecular line data from the ATOMS and MALT90 surveys are used that cover different spatial scales. Three filaments (with total mass $5.7\pm1.1\times 10^3~M_{\odot}$) are identified converging toward the central hub region where several signposts of high-mass star formation have been observed. The hub region contains a massive clump ($1280\pm260~M_{\odot}$) harbouring a central massive core. Additionally, five outflow lobes are associated with the central massive core implying a forming cluster. The observed large-scale, smooth and coherent velocity gradients from the cloud down to the core scale, and the signatures of infall motion seen in the central massive clump and core, clearly unveil a nearly-continuous, multi-scale mass accretion/transfer process at a similar mass infall rate of $\sim 10^{-3}~M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}$ over all scales, feeding the central forming high-mass protostar(s) in the G310 HFS cloud.Comment: Accepted to publish in ApJ. 10 pages with 6 figures and 2 table

Mechanical properties, microstructure and crystallographic texture of magnesium AZ91-D alloy welded by Friction Stir Welding (FSW)

The objective of the study was to characterize the properties of a magnesium alloy welded by friction stir welding (FSW). The results led to a better understanding of the relationship between this process and the microstructure and anisotropic properties of alloy materials. Welding principally leads to a large reduction in grain size in welded zones due to the phenomenon of dynamic recrystallization. The most remarkable observation was that crystallographic textures appeared from a base metal without texture in two zones: the thermo-mechanically affected and stir welded zones. The latter zone has the peculiarity of possessing a marked texture with two components on the basal plane and the pyramidal plane. These characteristics disappeared in the TMAZ, which had only one component following the basal plane. These modifications have been explained by the nature of the plastic deformation in these zones, which occurs at a moderate temperature in the TMAZ and high temperature in the SWZ

Chiral Separation, Configuration Confirmation and Bioactivity Determination of the Stereoisomers of Hesperidin and Narirutin in <i>Citrus reticulata</i> Blanco

Hesperidin and narirutin are a class of flavanone glycosides, which are the main active constituents in Citrus reticulata Blanco. In the present study, a chiral HPLC-UV method with amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) as a stationary phase under a normal-phase mode was used to achieve the stereoselective separation of the C-2 diastereomers of hesperidin and narirutin simultaneously. The single epimer was then successfully prepared by applying semi-preparative chromatography, whose absolute configuration (R/S) was characterized by combining the experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) detection with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. The epimer composition of these two chiral flavanone glycosides in Citrus reticulata Blanco was then determined, which was found to be slightly different in the herbs from different production regions. The anti-inflammatory activity of each prepared single epimer was further evaluated, and some differences between one pair of epimers of hesperidin and narirutin were observed, which suggested that the presence of different epimers should be considered in the quality evaluation and control of natural medicine

Ultrasound treatment of herbal extraction residue to enhance enzymatic saccharification

The utilization of herbal extraction residues (HERs) for production of valuable products has gained significant momentum in recent years. In this study, Lianhua Qingwen residue (LQR) was selected as a representative HER for enzymatic saccharification. By subjecting starch-containing raw unpretreated LQR to direct hydrolysis using a combination of cellulolytic and amylolytic enzyme, a glucan conversion of around 60 % was achieved within 48 h. To further enhance the hydrolysis rate and yield, ultrasound treatment of LQR samples was conducted. Investigation into the effect of ultrasound treatment on subsequent enzymatic saccharification revealed a noteworthy acceleration in the saccharification rate of LQR, exceeding 20 % within 10 h of hydrolysis time. Notably, this enhancement was achieved even when the substrate concentration was high at 10 % under optimized conditions of 5 min of sonication at a power intensity of 1.20 kW/cm2 and a temperature of 50 °C. The improvement in efficiency can be attributed to the disruptive effect of ultrasound treatment on the structure of LQR, leading to a reduction in particle size. Consequently, the LQR particles exhibited better contact with the enzyme, promoting a more efficient saccharification process. These findings suggest that ultrasound technology holds considerable potential for enhancing the enzymatic saccharification of HERs

Automatic Illumination Control Method for Indoor Luminaires Based on Multichromatic Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes

Energy saving and visual comfort are two main considerations in designing of automatic illumination control systems. However, energy-saving-oriented illumination control always causes optical spectra drifting in light-conversion-material-based white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs), which are conventionally used as artificial luminaires in indoor areas. In this study, we propose a method for InP quantum dot (QD)-based WLEDs to minimize optical energy consumption by considering the influence caused by the outdoor environment and neighboring WLED units. Factors of (a) dimensions of room window and WLED matrix, (b) distance between WLED units, lighting height, species of InP QDs, and (c) user distribution are taken into consideration in calculation. Parameters of correlated color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (Ra) of the WLED matrix are optimized according to the lighting environment to improve user visual comfort level. By dynamically controlling the light ingredients and optical power of WLEDs, we optimize the received illuminance distribution of table tops, improve the lighting homogeneity of all users, and guarantee the lowest energy consumption of the WLED matrix. The proposed approach can be flexibly applied in large-scale WLED intelligent controlling systems for industrial workshops and office buildings

Insights into the Genetic Determination of the Autotetraploid Potato Plant Height

Plant height is an important characteristic, the modification of which can improve the ability of stress adaptation as well as the yield. In this study, genome-wide association analysis was performed for plant height traits in 370 potato cultivars using the tetraploid potato genome as a reference. A total of 92 significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci for plant height were obtained, which were particularly significant in haplotypes A3 and A4 on chromosome 1 and A1, A2, and A4 on chromosome 5. Thirty-five candidate genes were identified that were mainly involved in the gibberellin and brassinolide signal transduction pathways, including the FAR1 gene, methyltransferase, ethylene response factor, and ubiquitin protein ligase. Among them, PIF3 and GID1a were only present on chromosome 1, with PIF3 in all four haplotypes and GID1a in haplotype A3. This could lead to more effective genetic loci for molecular marker-assisted selection breeding as well as more precise localization and cloning of genes for plant height traits in potatoes

Study on Bibliometric Visualization of Sustainable City Based on VOSviewer (2008-2021)

In order to clarify the co-research, research hotspots and knowledge evolution in the field of sustainable city, a visualization analysis of 1816 articles about sustainable city in the Web of Science was conducted by using bibliometrics method based on VOSviewer. The conclusions are listed as follows. (1) The citable documents of sustainable city have shown a rapid upward trend, with increasing attention and rising research hot spot, year by year, since 2015. (2) Scholars should strengthen the construction of global academic community, and China should be more extensive and in-depth cooperation with and scientific research institutions in European and American countries or regions. (3) The research dimension of sustainable city has been greatly expanding under the continuous development of complex algorithm, data science and artificial intelligence, Hence, the interdisciplinary characteristics of this research field, such as intersections, comprehensiveness and systematicness, are becoming increasingly prominent