A Novel F-Box Protein CaF-Box Is Involved in Responses to Plant Hormones and Abiotic Stress in

Abstract: The F-box protein family is characterized by an F-box motif that has been shown to play an important role in regulating various developmental processes and stress responses. In this study, a novel F-box-containing gene was isolated from leaves of pepper cultivar P70 (Capsicum annuum L.) and designated CaF-box. The full-length cDNA is 2088 bp and contains an open reading frame of 1914 bp encoding a putative polypeptide of 638 amino acids with a mass of 67.8 kDa. CaF-box was expressed predominantly in stems and seeds, and the transcript was markedly upregulated in response to cold stress, abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) treatment, and downregulated under osmotic and heavy metal stress. CaF-box expression was dramatically affected by salt stress, and was rapidly increased for the first hour, then sharply decreased thereafter. In order to further assess the role of CaF-box in the defense response to abiotic stress, a loss-of-function experiment in pepper plants was performed using a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique. Measurement of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and electrolyte leakage revealed stronger lipid peroxidation and cell death in the CaF-box-silenced plants than inInt. J. Mol. Sci. 2014, 15 2414 control plants, suggesting CaF-box plays an important role in regulating the defens

STUDY OF INHERENT FREQUENCY OF HELMHOLTZ RESONATOR

ABSTRACT Self-resonating water jet has been the subject of interest for researchers. The inherent frequency of Helmholtz Resonator is one of the important parameters for design of self-resonating water jet nozzle device. A new parametric model for prediction of the inherent frequency of Helmholtz resonator used in the field of water jet technology was proposed in this paper. Development of the model was based on the assumptions that the length and the diameter of Helmholtz resonating chamber and the length of the straight pipe segment of water jet nozzle are in the same order of magnitude. In comparison with the existing parametric model, the assumptions are more reasonable and the physical model on which the new parametric model was developed is in good agreement with the real configuration of Helmholtz resonator found in self-resonating water jet. As a result, the new model was expected to be more accurate in prediction of the inherent frequency of Helmholtz resonator. Organized and Sponsored by the Water Jet Technology Associatio

Experimental Investigation of Laws during Deformation of Circular Roadway in 10° Inclined Layered Rock

In order to analyze the deformation characteristics and mechanisms caused by high tectonic stress in gentle dip strata, a physical modeling with circular tunnel was designed. The model was constructed by the so-called “Physically Finite Elemental Slab Assemblage (PFESA)” to bring about the structural effect of the deep strata. The gravity was fixed while the lateral pressure increased step by step to mimic high tectonic stress. In order to observe the displacement in different area, the sketches of monitoring points and frame in the model surface were drawn down through video pictures in different periods and to be compared. For the sake of analyzing the deformation and failure mechanism of layers, rock structural mechanics models were set up for the left side and right side in the same stratum, respectively. For verifying the experimental phenomenon and its mechanism, infrared images were utilized based on the temperature variation mechanisms of material. Through systematic study, this paper enriches the research methods of model test and can provide a certain reference for practical engineering of similar conditions

Tubeimoside 1 Acts as a Chemotherapeutic Synergist via Stimulating Macropinocytosis

Macropinocytosis is a highly conserved endocytic process which characterizes the engulfment of extracellular fluid and its contents into cells via large, heterogeneous vacuoles known as macropinosomes. Tubeimoside-1 (TBM1) is a low toxic triterpenoid saponin extracted from a traditional Chinese herb Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim.). TBM1 stimulates a quick accumulation of numerous phase-lucent cytoplasmic vacuoles in multiple colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines. These vacuoles can be termed as macropinosomes that efficiently engulf lucifer yellow. These vesicles are not overlaps with endocytic organelle tracers, such as ERTracker, LysoTracker and mitoTracker. These vacuoles induced by TBM1 partially incorporate into lysosomes. Transmission electron microscope indicates membrane ruffling to form lamellipodia. Protrusions collapse onto and then fuse back with the plasma membrane to generate these large endocytic vacuoles. Notably, TBM1 efficiently trafficks dextrans into heterotopic xenografts in vivo, thus provide consolidated evidence that the vacuolization can be mainly defined as macropinocytosis. TBM1 downregulates cell viability and increases PI-positive, but not highlighted Hoechst 33342-positive cells. TBM1 induced cell death can be ascribed as methuosis by hyperstimulation of macropinocytosis which can be compromised by amiloride derivative 5-(Nethyl-N-isopropyl). Light chain 3 II is recruited to these vesicles to stimulate macropinocytosis. The cell death and vacuoles can be significantly neutralized by chloroquine, but can not be the inhibited by 3-methyladenine. TBM1 can coordinate with 5-FU to exert toxicity reducing and efficacy enhancing effects in vivo by increasing the uptake of the latter without hepatic injury. In conclusion, TBM1 effectively induces in vitro and in vivo macropinocytosis which can traffick small molecules into CRC cells. It is an attractive drug transporter and can be harnessed as a chemotherapeutic synergist with translational potential

Probing NaCl hydrate formation from aqueous solutions by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

The cooling-induced formation of hydrate in aqueous NaCl solutions was probed using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). It was found that the NaCl hydrate formation is accompanied with emergence of four new absorption peaks at 1.60, 2.43, 3.34 and 3.78 THz. Combining the X-ray diffraction measurement with the solid-state based density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we assign the observed terahertz absorption peaks to the vibrational modes of the formed NaCl⋅2H2O hydrate during cooling. This work dedicates THz-TDS based analysis great potential in studying ionic hydrate and the newly revealed collective vibrational modes could be the sensitive indicators to achieve quantitative analysis in phase transitions and lattice dynamics

Development Trends of White Matter Connectivity in the First Years of Life

The human brain is organized into a collection of interacting networks with specialized functions to support various cognitive functions. Recent research has reached a consensus that the brain manifests small-world topology, which implicates both global and local efficiency at minimal wiring costs, and also modular organization, which indicates functional segregation and specialization. However, the important questions of how and when the small-world topology and modular organization come into existence remain largely unanswered. Taking a graph theoretic approach, we attempt to shed light on this matter by an in vivo study, using diffusion tensor imaging based fiber tractography, on 39 healthy pediatric subjects with longitudinal data collected at average ages of 2 weeks, 1 year, and 2 years. Our results indicate that the small-world architecture exists at birth with efficiency that increases in later stages of development. In addition, we found that the networks are broad scale in nature, signifying the existence of pivotal connection hubs and resilience of the brain network to random and targeted attacks. We also observed, with development, that the brain network seems to evolve progressively from a local, predominantly proximity based, connectivity pattern to a more distributed, predominantly functional based, connectivity pattern. These observations suggest that the brain in the early years of life has relatively efficient systems that may solve similar information processing problems, but in divergent ways

Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) Polymorphisms Affect mRNA Splicing, HDL Levels, and Sex-Dependent Cardiovascular Risk

Polymorphisms in and around the Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) gene have been associated with HDL levels, risk for coronary artery disease (CAD), and response to therapy. The mechanism of action of these polymorphisms has yet to be defined. We used mRNA allelic expression and splice isoform measurements in human liver tissues to identify the genetic variants affecting CETP levels. Allelic CETP mRNA expression ratios in 56 human livers were strongly associated with several variants 2.5–7 kb upstream of the transcription start site (e.g., rs247616 p = 6.4×10−5, allele frequency 33%). In addition, a common alternatively spliced CETP isoform lacking exon 9 (Δ9), has been shown to prevent CETP secretion in a dominant-negative manner. The Δ 9 expression ranged from 10 to 48% of total CETP mRNA in 94 livers. Increased formation of this isoform was exclusively associated with an exon 9 polymorphism rs5883-C>T (p = 6.8×10−10) and intron 8 polymorphism rs9930761-T>C (5.6×10−8) (in high linkage disequilibrium with allele frequencies 6–7%). rs9930761 changes a key splicing branch point nucleotide in intron 8, while rs5883 alters an exonic splicing enhancer sequence in exon 9

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies five modifier loci of lung disease severity in cystic fibrosis

The identification of small molecules that target specific CFTR variants has ushered in a new era of treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF), yet optimal, individualized treatment of CF will require identification and targeting of disease modifiers. Here we use genome-wide association analysis to identify genetic modifiers of CF lung disease, the primary cause of mortality. Meta-analysis of 6,365 CF patients identifies five loci that display significant association with variation in lung disease. Regions on chr3q29 (MUC4/MUC20; P=3.3 × 10−11), chr5p15.3 (SLC9A3; P=6.8 × 10−12), chr6p21.3 (HLA Class II; P=1.2 × 10−8) and chrXq22-q23 (AGTR2/SLC6A14; P=1.8 × 10−9) contain genes of high biological relevance to CF pathophysiology. The fifth locus, on chr11p12-p13 (EHF/APIP; P=1.9 × 10−10), was previously shown to be associated with lung disease. These results provide new insights into potential targets for modulating lung disease severity in CF