Involvement of a Response Regulator VdSsk1 in Stress Response, Melanin Biosynthesis and Full Virulence in Verticillium dahliae

Verticillium dahliae causes vascular wilt disease on over 200 plant species worldwide. This fungus forms melanized microsclerotia which help it to survive under adverse conditions and these structures are vital to the disease spread. Here, we identified and characterized a V. dahliae homolog to of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ssk1, a response regulator of the two-component system. Herein, we demonstrated that the VdSsk1 deletion strains were more sensitive to various stresses, including oxidative stress conferred by H2O2 and sodium nitroprusside dihydrate, while the mutants confered higher resistance to fungicides such as fludioxonil and iprodione. Furthermore, disruption of VdSsk1 resulted in significant downregulation of melanin biosynthesis-related genes but did not affect microsclerotial development. Phosphorylation of VdHog1 was not detected in the VdSsk1 deletion strains under the treatment of sorbitol, indicating that phosphorylation of VdHog1 is dependent on VdSsk1. Finally, we demonstrated that VdSsk1 is required for full virulence. Taken together, this study suggests that VdSsk1 modulates stress response, melanin biosynthesis and virulence of V. dahliae

Late-life depression: Epidemiology, phenotype, pathogenesis and treatment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Late-life depression (LLD) is one of the most common mental disorders among the older adults. Population aging, social stress, and the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly affected the emotional health of older adults, resulting in a worldwide prevalence of LLD. The clinical phenotypes between LLD and adult depression differ in terms of symptoms, comorbid physical diseases, and coexisting cognitive impairments. Many pathological factors such as the imbalance of neurotransmitters, a decrease in neurotrophic factors, an increase in β-amyloid production, dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and changes in the gut microbiota, are allegedly associated with the onset of LLD. However, the exact pathogenic mechanism underlying LLD remains unclear. Traditional selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor therapy results in poor responsiveness and side effects during LLD treatment. Neuromodulation therapies and complementary and integrative therapies have been proven safe and effective for the treatment of LLD. Importantly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, modern digital health intervention technologies, including socially assistive robots and app-based interventions, have proven to be advantageous in providing personal services to patients with LLD

Quality Control Strategy and Evaluation Algorithm for Noncontact Instrument Testing

The test quality of noncontact instruments is an important issue that has aroused social concern at present, which is also widely used in the power quality management of telecommunication systems. The fuzzy logic algorithm can be used in power quality testing to analyze the power quality of electrical equipment. Based on the advantage of the fuzzy logic algorithm, this paper studied the quality control strategy and evaluation algorithm of noncontact instrument testing and drew a conclusion. In terms of the investigation on the safety of power quality measurement, it was concluded that the method of noncontact instrument testing power quality improved the safety of voltage quality, current quality, power supply quality, and power consumption quality. In the investigation of the accuracy of the power quality measurement, it was concluded that the noncontact instrument was used to measure power quality, which greatly improved the accuracy of measurement. In terms of the investigation on the rapidity of the power quality measurement, it was concluded that the use of the noncontact instrument to test power quality could greatly improve the rapidity of current quality measurement and that the rapidity of the power quality measurement could be improved by more than 70%. In the aspect of economic investigation of the power quality measurement, it was concluded that the use of the noncontact instrument to test power quality could greatly improve the economic efficiency of the power quality measurement. In the aspect of fuzzy logic evaluation in power quality management, it was concluded that most of the power quality grades of the selected research objects were excellent. Therefore, the fuzzy logic method was very meaningful for power quality evaluation

Vibrational tests of preloaded rubber vibration isolators : A cam controlled displacement excitation

Vibrations are very common phenomenon. It influences structures and generates acoustic noise which might be harmful to human beings. The vibration isolator was invented to reduce the effect from vibrations. However, the behavior of rubber material, which many vibration isolators are made of, is hard to predict. Consequently, vibration tests are needed to obtain the dynamic properties of rubber isolator.In this case, a six-year old LORD 2204-5 rubber isolator provided by Atlas Copco was tested. The aim of this paper is to obtain the FRF (Frequency Response Function) diagram which can describe the property of the rubber material. Moreover, the influence of aging of rubber material on the dynamic properties was studied.As the vibration test should simulate the working environment of the isolators that are both a static load from the structure and a dynamic force from the engine, a new excitation method was designed. The camshaft with the shape of an epitrochoid induced the sinusoidal signal of the isolator and the frame transferred the static load from the hydraulic machine. The artificial aging was performed in a hot air oven in 90°C for 42 hours, which according to Arrhenius equation should be equivalent to six years of natural aging. The vibration isolator was tested again after being aged.The obtained data showed that the aging process decreased the stiffness of the material. The results were corresponding with other studies regarding aging of rubber

Improvement and optimization of a Computer Cabinet

This degree project was given by company Eventus Design AB. This project is related to optimizing a computer cabinet that produced by this company. It is unnecessary big for current computer monitor so the company desired to reduce the size to make more profit. This project begins with defining the problem and the planning of the whole project. After that, the functional requirements were defined to make the product function clearer. The conceptual design was made after that and the finally concept was selected. The embodiment design was based on the requirements from the company and the manufacturing cost was calculated in this step. An analytical prototyping was made to show the optimized product and finally the design was verified, as well

TOPSIS Based Assessment of Sustainable Water Resources Utilization

Based on water resources conditions, social development, social economy and ecological conditions, the Indicators system for sustainability assessment of water resources use (ISSAWRU) was established for Yinchuan City. Using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), the sustainable development and utilization plan of water resources was assessed for Yinchuan City during 2010-2014. In 2010-2014, there were no significant changes in the natural conditions of water resources in Yinchuan City; however, with the promulgation of national water resources related policies, Yinchuan City realized gradual increase in the water resources utilization rate, gradual improvement in the ecological environment, and gradual optimization of water resources sustainable utilization situation at the same time of ensuring rapid economic growth

Gene variation and population structure of Pampus chinensis in the China coast revealed by mitochondrial control region sequences

Pampus chinensis is a commercially important fishery species in the Indo-West Pacific region. In the present study, the genetic variation of P. chinensis among 10 sampling localities along the China coast and one from the Indonesia region was evaluated using mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. As a result, a total of 30 variable sites were detected in the 458 bp segment of the control region among 330 individuals from 11 localities, and 41 haplotypes were defined. Samples in the China coast present a high level of genetic diversity, with the values of haplotype diversity ranged from 0.674 to 0.860, and nucleotide diversity from 0.820% to 1.502%. Pairwise FST statistics showed a moderate genetic divergence (−0.027 to 0.384) among samples from different geographical locations. Median-joining network analysis revealed a similar pattern of phylogeographic structure in samples from Ningbo and Dongxing although they were far apart. Therefore, joint influences of dispersal capability, spatial distance, ocean current and geographic segregation on the formation of the present population structure in P. chinensis was proposed. The results of the present study would be helpful for the sustainable utilization and management of this species

Numerical Study on Fish Collection and Transportation Facility with Water Temperature Compensation

Fish collection and transportation facilities have been widely constructed as man-made passages that allow fish to bypass dams. These facilities usually provide proper conditions that attract and gather fish inside, and then transport them upstream over the dam. A novel design that includes water temperature compensation was presented, and the velocity, temperature distribution, and turbulent kinetic energy inside the fish collecting channel were studied using numerical tools. The facility mixes the warm cooling water from the electrical transformer with the tailwater in order to reduce the negative ecological effect of the low-temperature discharge. It can operate under a 2 m water level range in the tailrace channel. The numerical results show that the temperature inside the fish collecting channel increased by about 2 °C and settled within the suitable range of the target fish species. The water body maintained a relatively uniform and steady temperature. The velocity and the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) field near the fish entrance were distinct from those of the background and were beneficial for fish migration. This study could potentially motivate ecological engineers to mitigate the negative impacts of low-temperature tailwater from hydropower plants when designing fish collection and transportation facilities

Cisplatin-resistant HepG2 cell-derived exosomes transfer cisplatin resistance to cisplatin-sensitive cells in HCC

Backgrounds Cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy drugs such as Gemcitabine, Oxaliplatin, Cisplatin, Doxorubicin, and 5-fluorouracil account for the main reason of chemotherapy failure for HCC patients, especially for those with advanced HCC or metastasis patients. This emerging resistance limits the effectiveness and clinical application of these chemotherapy drugs. Previous studies reported that drug-resistant tumor cell-derived exosomes could transfer their resistance property to tumor sensitive cells in some cancer, including lung and gastric cancer. This study sought to explore whether HepG2/DDP cell-derived exosomes transmit cisplatin (DDP) resistance to HepG2 and other HCC sensitive cells, and provide considerable guidance for HCC nursing with Cisplatin DDP clinically. Methods The HepG2 DDP-resistant cell line (HepG2/DDP) was established, and the exosomes from both HepG2/DDP and HepG2 cells were isolated and named ES-2, ES-1, respectively. HepG2 or SMMC-7721 or Huh7 cells were treated with DDP or DDP + ES-2, and HepG2/DDP cells were treated with ES-1. Then, the activation of drug resistance via HepG2/DDP exosomes transfer to HepG2, SMMC-7721 and Huh7 cells were assessed by cell viability assay and ROS formation. Moreover, the relative expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was measured by western blot analysis. Results HepG2/DDP cell-derived exosomes were successfully isolated from cisplatin-resistant HepG2 cells, and named ES-2. Cell viability of HepG2 or SMMC-7721 or Huh7 cells treated with DDP + ES-2 was enhanced compared with that of DDP treatment group. Also, the concentration of ROS generated in cells under DDP or DDP + ES-2 treatment was strongly increased compared with that of control, although the concentration of ROS was clearly smaller in DDP + ES-2 treatment group compared with DDP treatment. At the same time, the expression of P-gp was upregulated on the ES-2 surface. Conclusion The results mentioned above clarified that HepG2/DDP cell-derived exosomes conferred cisplatin resistance to HepG2 and other HCC cell lines, and provided a new significance for improving the effectiveness of DDP in treating HCC