The role of indole derivative in the growth of plants: A review

Indole compounds with their unique properties of mimicking peptide structures and reversible binding to enzymes are of great exploitative value in the regulation of plant growth. They stimulate root and fruit formation and activate the plant’s immune system against biotic and abiotic factors harmful to the plant. Analysis of target recognition, receptor recognition, key activation sites and activation mechanisms of indoles in plant to enhance crop growth or disease resistance is a crucial step for further developing compounds as plant growth regulators and immune inducers. Therefore, this review focused on the mechanism of action of indoles in regulating plant growth and enhancing plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

Thermogravimetric study on devolatilization kinetics of Chinalco anodes during baking

The production of aluminum requires the use of carbon anodes which are manufactured from coke, pitch, and recycled butts and anodes. Pitch acts as a binder. Green anodes are produced by mixing all these ingredients and then forming them in a compactor. The final step is the baking of green anodes, which determines the final anode properties. During baking, volatiles evolve from the pitch which carbonizes and binds the particulate matter. Anode quality greatly influences the performance of electrolytic cells and has an impact on carbon consumption, energy use, green house gas emissions, and cost. In this project, the effects of the baking conditions on some of the anode properties (air permeability, air and CO2 reactivities) were studied, and the devolatilization kinetics was determined for different cases. The results indicate that the lower heating rates and higher baking temperatures improve the above properties. In this article, the experimental work and the methodology for the determination of the kinetic expressions for devolatilization are described, and the results are presented. The position of volatile evolution in the baking furnace can be determined via these expressions, and this could be effectively used in controlling the volatile combustion to improve the furnace performance

Genome-Wide Identification, Structural Characterization, and Gene Expression Analysis of BES1 Transcription Factor Family in Tartary Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum)

The transcription factor (TFs) BES1, which mediates brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, regulates plant growth and development. However, BES1 genes have not yet been reported in Tartary buckwheat. Here, ten FtBES1 genes were identified in the Tartary buckwheat genome, and they were named FtBES1-1 to FtBES1-10. These genes were divided into four groups according to the classification in Arabidopsis thaliana. Multiple sequence alignment indicated that all BES1 gene members contained the BES1_N structural domain. Phylogenetic relationship FtBES1 genes in the same group had similar gene structures and motifs. An analysis of cis-acting elements demonstrated that the BES1 TFs contains many light-responsive, hormonal, and abiotic stress-responsive elements, etc. The 10 FtBES1 genes were located on four chromosomes of Tartary buckwheat, and gene distribution and synteny analysis revealed that segmental duplications have played important roles in FtBES1 gene family expansion. Tissue specificity revealed that all of the ten FtBES1 members expressed highly in two periods, and relatively high expression levels were observed in mature leaves. Gene expression profiles under different hormone treatments demonstrated that FtBES1 gene family participated in the hormone stress response. This study enriches our knowledge of the Tartary buckwheat BES1 gene family and provides a theoretical basis for analyzing the biological functions and stress tolerance mechanisms of the Tartary buckwheat BES1 transcription factors

Design, Synthesis, and Bioactivity of Spiro Derivatives Containing a Pyridine Moiety

We designed and synthesized a series of pyridine spiro derivatives and evaluated their insecticidal and antiviral activities. Some compounds exhibited good insecticidal and antiviral activities. Notably, the E series of compounds displayed good insecticidal activity against Tetranychus urticae. Compounds E20 (EC50 = 63.68 mg/L) and F4 (EC50 = 47.81 mg/L) exhibited inactivation activities against the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), which were similar to that of Ningnanmycin (EC50 = 58.01 mg/L). Molecular docking showed that compounds E20 and F4 exhibited satisfactory affinities for the TMV coat protein (TMV-CP), with binding energies (−6.7 and −6.4 kcal/mol, respectively) slightly lower than that of Ningnanmycin (−6.3 kcal/mol). Further, molecular dynamics analysis revealed that compounds E20 and F4 exhibited better binding stability values than Ningnanmycin. Microscale thermophoresis showed that compounds E20 (Kd = 0.053 ± 0.016 μM) and F4 (Kd = 0.045 ± 0.022 μM) bound more strongly to TMV-CP than Ningnanmycin (Kd = 0.10 ± 0.029 μM). The results of transmission electron microscopy showed that these two compounds hindered the self-assembly and growth of TMV. In summary, we showed that these pyridine spiro derivatives could be used as a basis for the research and development of novel pesticides

FtbZIP12 Positively Regulates Responses to Osmotic Stress in Tartary Buckwheat

ABFs play a key role in regulating plant osmotic stress. However, in Tartary buckwheat, data on the role of ABF genes in osmotic stress remain limited and its associated mechanism in osmoregulation remain nebulous. Herein, a novel ABF family in Tartary buckwheat, FtbZIP12, was cloned and characterized. FtbZIP12 is a transcriptional activator located in the nucleus; its expression is induced by NaCl, mannitol, and abscisic acid (ABA). Atopic expression of FtbZIP12 in Arabidopsis promoted seed germination, reduced damage to primary roots, and improved the tolerance of seedlings to osmotic stress. The quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) results showed that the expressions of the typical genes related to stress, the SOS pathway, and the proline synthesis pathway in Arabidopsis were significantly (p FtbZIP12 improved the osmotic pressure resistance by reducing the damage caused by reactive oxygen species to plants and maintained plant homeostasis by upregulating the expression of genes related to stress, osmotic regulation, and ion homeostasis. This study identified a key candidate gene for understanding the mechanism underlying osmotic-stress-regulated function in Tartary buckwheat, thereby providing a theoretical basis for improving its yield and quality

Influence of ventilation on airborne fungi in greenhouses: A case study of tomato greenhouses

With the rapid development of greenhouses, the indoor air quality, particularly airborne microorganisms, is closely related to the health of farmers and needs more attention. In this study, the concentrations of airborne fungi at seedling, fruiting and harvesting stages in typical tomatoes greenhouses were tested. Temperature, relative humidity and the microbial concentrations were analysed. It was found that the dominant fungal genera are Aspergillus and Cladosporium, no matter it was in which growth stage. Ventilation is an effective way to reduce the concentrations of airborne fungi through dilution and decrease the relative humidity

Melatonin Rescued Reactive Oxygen Species-Impaired Osteogenesis of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Presence of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha

Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can be induced by inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), can significantly inhibit the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). This process can contribute to the imbalance of bone remodeling, which ultimately leads to osteoporosis. Therefore, reducing the ROS generation during osteogenesis of BMSCs may be an effective way to reverse the impairment of osteogenesis. Melatonin (MLT) has been reported to act as an antioxidant during cell proliferation and differentiation, but its antioxidant effect and mechanism of action during osteogenesis of MSCs in the inflammatory microenvironment, especially in the presence of TNF-α, remain unknown and need further study. In our study, we demonstrate that melatonin can counteract the generation of ROS and the inhibitory osteogenesis of BMSCs induced by TNF-α, by upregulating the expression of antioxidases and downregulating the expression of oxidases. Meanwhile, MLT can inhibit the phosphorylation of p65 protein and block the degradation of IκBα protein, thus decreasing the activity of the NF-κB pathway. This study confirmed that melatonin can inhibit the generation of ROS during osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs and reverse the inhibition of osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro, suggesting that melatonin can antagonize TNF-α-induced ROS generation and promote the great effect of osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Accordingly, these findings provide more evidence that melatonin can be used as a candidate drug for the treatment of osteoporosis

Exploration of Human Activity Recognition Using a Single Sensor for Stroke Survivors and Able-Bodied People

Commonly used sensors like accelerometers, gyroscopes, surface electromyography sensors, etc., which provide a convenient and practical solution for human activity recognition (HAR), have gained extensive attention. However, which kind of sensor can provide adequate information in achieving a satisfactory performance, or whether the position of a single sensor would play a significant effect on the performance in HAR are sparsely studied. In this paper, a comparative study to fully investigate the performance of the aforementioned sensors for classifying four activities (walking, tooth brushing, face washing, drinking) is explored. Sensors are spatially distributed over the human body, and subjects are categorized into three groups (able-bodied people, stroke survivors, and the union of both). Performances of using accelerometer, gyroscope, sEMG, and their combination in each group are evaluated by adopting the Support Vector Machine classifier with the Leave-One-Subject-Out Cross-Validation technique, and the optimal sensor position for each kind of sensor is presented based on the accuracy. Experimental results show that using the accelerometer could obtain the best performance in each group. The highest accuracy of HAR involving stroke survivors was 95.84 ± 1.75% (mean ± standard error), achieved by the accelerometer attached to the extensor carpi ulnaris. Furthermore, taking the practical application of HAR into consideration, a novel approach to distinguish various activities of stroke survivors based on a pre-trained HAR model built on healthy subjects is proposed, the highest accuracy of which is 77.89 ± 4.81% (mean ± standard error) with the accelerometer attached to the extensor carpi ulnaris

Exploration of Human Activity Recognition Using a Single Sensor for Stroke Survivors and Able-Bodied People

Commonly used sensors like accelerometers, gyroscopes, surface electromyography sensors, etc., which provide a convenient and practical solution for human activity recognition (HAR), have gained extensive attention. However, which kind of sensor can provide adequate information in achieving a satisfactory performance, or whether the position of a single sensor would play a significant effect on the performance in HAR are sparsely studied. In this paper, a comparative study to fully investigate the performance of the aforementioned sensors for classifying four activities (walking, tooth brushing, face washing, drinking) is explored. Sensors are spatially distributed over the human body, and subjects are categorized into three groups (able-bodied people, stroke survivors, and the union of both). Performances of using accelerometer, gyroscope, sEMG, and their combination in each group are evaluated by adopting the Support Vector Machine classifier with the Leave-One-Subject-Out Cross-Validation technique, and the optimal sensor position for each kind of sensor is presented based on the accuracy. Experimental results show that using the accelerometer could obtain the best performance in each group. The highest accuracy of HAR involving stroke survivors was 95.84 ± 1.75% (mean ± standard error), achieved by the accelerometer attached to the extensor carpi ulnaris. Furthermore, taking the practical application of HAR into consideration, a novel approach to distinguish various activities of stroke survivors based on a pre-trained HAR model built on healthy subjects is proposed, the highest accuracy of which is 77.89 ± 4.81% (mean ± standard error) with the accelerometer attached to the extensor carpi ulnaris

Response of soil fungal communities and their co-occurrence patterns to grazing exclusion in different grassland types

Overgrazing and climate change are the main causes of grassland degradation, and grazing exclusion is one of the most common measures for restoring degraded grasslands worldwide. Soil fungi can respond rapidly to environmental stresses, but the response of different grassland types to grazing control has not been uniformly determined. Three grassland types (temperate desert, temperate steppe grassland, and mountain meadow) that were closed for grazing exclusion for 9 years were used to study the effects of grazing exclusion on soil nutrients as well as fungal community structure in the three grassland types. The results showed that (1) in the 0–5 cm soil layer, grazing exclusion significantly affected the soil water content of the three grassland types (P < 0.05), and the pH, total phosphorous (TP), and nitrogen-to-phosphorous ratio (N/P) changed significantly in all three grassland types (P < 0.05). Significant changes in soil nutrients in the 5–10 cm soil layer after grazing exclusion occurred in the mountain meadow grasslands (P < 0.05), but not in the temperate desert and temperate steppe grasslands. (2) For the different grassland types, Archaeorhizomycetes was most abundant in the montane meadows, and Dothideomycetes was most abundant in the temperate desert grasslands and was significantly more abundant than in the remaining two grassland types (P < 0.05). Grazing exclusion led to insignificant changes in the dominant soil fungal phyla and α diversity, but significant changes in the β diversity of soil fungi (P < 0.05). (3) Grazing exclusion areas have higher mean clustering coefficients and modularity classes than grazing areas. In particular, the highest modularity class is found in temperate steppe grassland grazing exclusion areas. (4) We also found that pH is the main driving factor affecting soil fungal community structure, that plant coverage is a key environmental factor affecting soil community composition, and that grazing exclusion indirectly affects soil fungal communities by affecting soil nutrients. The above results suggest that grazing exclusion may regulate microbial ecological processes by changing the soil fungal β diversity in the three grassland types. Grazing exclusion is not conducive to the recovery of soil nutrients in areas with mountain grassland but improves the stability of soil fungi in temperate steppe grassland. Therefore, the type of degraded grassland should be considered when formulating suitable restoration programmes when grazing exclusion measures are implemented. The results of this study provide new insights into the response of soil fungal communities to grazing exclusion, providing a theoretical basis for the management of degraded grassland restoration