Genome-wide detection of Ty1-copia and Ty3-gypsy group retrotransposons in Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.)

The conserved domains of reverse transcriptase (RT) genes of approximately 260 bp for Ty1-copia and 430 bp for Ty3-gypsy groups of long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons were amplified fromJapanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) using degenerate oligonucleotide primers. Sequence analysis showed that 32.3% of Ty1-copia and 27.5% of Ty3-gypsy RT sequences possessed stop codons and/or frameshifts, and all sequences were AT-rich. Ty1-copia retrotransposon has higher heterogeneity than Ty3-gypsy retrotransposon, but the latter has a higher copy number revealed bysouthern dot blot hybridization. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that some of the clones were more closely related to the representative elements present in other plant species than to other clones of Japanese apricot. Transcription was not detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction amplification for either Ty1-copia or Ty3-gypsy retrotransposons in young leaves of plants treated with UV light and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid either individually or in both combinations, even though the ratios of dN/dS of the open reading frames among members of each subgroup of both group retrotransposons were less than 1. This is the first report on the presence of RT sequences of Ty1-copia and Ty3-gypsy group retrotransposons in Japanese apricot genome.Keywords: Prunus mume, retrotransposon, heterogeneity, copy number, transcriptional activit

Biophysical controls on light response of net CO<inf>2</inf>exchange in a winter wheat field in the North China Plain

To investigate the impacts of biophysical factors on light response of net ecosystem exchange (NEE), CO2 flux was measured using the eddy covariance technique in a winter wheat field in the North China Plain from 2003 to 2006. A rectangular hyperbolic function was used to describe NEE light response. Maximum photosynthetic capacity (Pmax) was 46.6±4.0 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1 and initial light use efficiency (α) 0.059±0.006 μmol μmol-1 in April-May, two or three times as high as those in March. Stepwise multiple linear regressions showed that Pmax increased with the increase in leaf area index (LAI), canopy conductance (gc) and air temperature (Ta) but declined with increasing vapor pressure deficit (VPD) (P25°C or VPD>1.1-1.3 kPa, NEE residual increased with the increase in Ta and VPD (P<0.001), indicating that temperature and water stress occurred. When gc was more than 14 mm s-1 in March and May and 26 mm s-1 in April, the NEE residuals decline disappeared, or even turned into an increase in gc(P<0.01), implying shifts from stomatal limitation to non-stomatal limitation on NEE. Although the differences between sunny and cloudy sky conditions were unremarkable for light response parameters, simulated net CO2 uptake under the same radiation intensity averaged 18% higher in cloudy days than in sunny days during the year 2003-2006. It is necessary to include these effects in relevant carbon cycle models to improve our estimation of carbon balance at regional and global scales. © 2014 Tong et al

Functional Electrical Stimulation mediated by Iterative Learning Control and 3D robotics reduces motor impairment in chronic stroke

Background: Novel stroke rehabilitation techniques that employ electrical stimulation (ES) and robotic technologies are effective in reducing upper limb impairments. ES is most effective when it is applied to support the patients’ voluntary effort; however, current systems fail to fully exploit this connection. This study builds on previous work using advanced ES controllers, and aims to investigate the feasibility of Stimulation Assistance through Iterative Learning (SAIL), a novel upper limb stroke rehabilitation system which utilises robotic support, ES, and voluntary effort. Methods: Five hemiparetic, chronic stroke participants with impaired upper limb function attended 18, 1 hour intervention sessions. Participants completed virtual reality tracking tasks whereby they moved their impaired arm to follow a slowly moving sphere along a specified trajectory. To do this, the participants’ arm was supported by a robot. ES, mediated by advanced iterative learning control (ILC) algorithms, was applied to the triceps and anterior deltoid muscles. Each movement was repeated 6 times and ILC adjusted the amount of stimulation applied on each trial to improve accuracy and maximise voluntary effort. Participants completed clinical assessments (Fugl-Meyer, Action Research Arm Test) at baseline and post-intervention, as well as unassisted tracking tasks at the beginning and end of each intervention session. Data were analysed using t-tests and linear regression. Results: From baseline to post-intervention, Fugl-Meyer scores improved, assisted and unassisted tracking performance improved, and the amount of ES required to assist tracking reduced. Conclusions: The concept of minimising support from ES using ILC algorithms was demonstrated. The positive results are promising with respect to reducing upper limb impairments following stroke, however, a larger study is required to confirm this

Structural and molecular basis of the assembly of the TRPP2/PKD1 complex

Mutations in PKD1 and TRPP2 account for nearly all cases of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). These 2 proteins form a receptor/ion channel complex on the cell surface. Using a combination of biochemistry, crystallography, and a single-molecule method to determine the subunit composition of proteins in the plasma membrane of live cells, we find that this complex contains 3 TRPP2 and 1 PKD1. A newly identified coiled-coil domain in the C terminus of TRPP2 is critical for the formation of this complex. This coiled-coil domain forms a homotrimer, in both solution and crystal structure, and binds to a single coiled-coil domain in the C terminus of PKD1. Mutations that disrupt the TRPP2 coiled-coil domain trimer abolish the assembly of both the full-length TRPP2 trimer and the TRPP2/PKD1 complex and diminish the surface expression of both proteins. These results have significant implications for the assembly, regulation, and function of the TRPP2/PKD1 complex and the pathogenic mechanism of some ADPKD-producing mutations

Volterra-type inner derivations on Hardy spaces

A classical result of Calkin [Ann. of Math. (2) 42 (1941), pp. 839-873] says that an inner derivation $S\mapsto [T,S] = TS-ST$ maps the algebra of bounded operators on a Hilbert space into the ideal of compact operators if and only if $T$ is a compact perturbation of the multiplication by a scalar. In general, an analogous statement fails for operators on Banach spaces. To complement Calkin's result, we characterize Volterra-type inner derivations on Hardy spaces using generalized area operators and compact intertwining relations for Volterra and composition operators. Further, we characterize the compact intertwining relations for multiplication and composition operators between Hardy and Bergman spaces

Optical Evaluation on Delamination Buckling of Composite Laminate with Impact Damage

The delamination buckling and growth behaviors of a cross-ply composite laminate with damage induced by low velocity impact are investigated optically using three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) method. For the 3D deformation measurement, the 3D-DIC setup comprised of two CCD cameras was adopted. The rectangle specimen was impacted under the impact energy of 7.0 J using a drop-weight testing machine, and the impact damage was detected by means of X-ray nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique. The 3D deformation field measured with the optical system clearly reveals that the delamination buckling characteristic of the specimen mainly appears local deformation mode under compression after impact test. Moreover, the behavior of delamination growth evaluated by the 3D-DIC optical method reasonably agrees with the NDE observed damage result after compression

The observation of a positive magnetoresistance and close correlation among lattice, spin and charge around TC in antipervoskite SnCMn3

The temperature dependences of magnetization, electrical transport, and thermal transport properties of antiperovskite compound SnCMn3 have been investigated systematically. A positive magnetoresistance (~11%) is observed around the ferrimagnetic-paramagnetic transition (TC ~ 280 K) in the field of 50 kOe, which can be attributed to the field-induced magnetic phase transition. The abnormalities of resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, normal Hall effect and thermal conductivity near TC are suggested to be associated with an abrupt reconstruction of electronic structure. Further, our results indicate an essential interaction among lattice, spin and charge degrees of freedom around TC. Such an interaction among various degrees of freedom associated with sudden phase transition is suggested to be characteristic of Mn-based antiperovskite compounds.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure