The effect of salt stress on the chlorophyll level of the main sand-binding plants in the shelterbelt along the Tarim Desert Highway

Based on the fact that only high saline water irrigated to the shelterbelt along the Tarim Desert Highway, the experiment about three species with six degree of salinity was carried out to analyze the relation between chlorophyll content and salt stress. The results show that: (1) the chlorophyll content of tree species decreases with aggravating the salt stress, which explains that salt stress can affect chlorophyll accumulation of three plants; (2) from chlorophyll content with different salinity, the chlorophyll content of three shrubs also has twice obvious decrease, which indicates that some plants adapt to salt stress. We divided salt resistance of the plant into three grades, namely the slight salt resistance, the heavy salt resistance and the extreme salt resistance; and (3) according to the experimental results, the salt stress of each plant was divided, which can provide theoretical guidance for constructing the shelterbelt along the Tarim Desert Highway

The salt accumulation at the shifting aeolian sandy soil surface with high salinity groundwater drip irrigation in the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert

The EC analysis and water serial sampling was performed in the Tarim Desert Highway shelterbelt to explore the water and salt dynamics of the shallow aeolian sandy soil (0-30cm) under high salinity groundwater drip irrigation. It was found that in one irrigation cycle, the EC of the shallow shifting aeolian sandy soil (0-30cm) increased while the water content decreased. The EC of the surface aeolian sandy soil at the wetting front was far greater than that of the wetting area or the outside of the wetting area. During the irrigation cycle, the EC of the wetting front and the wetting area changed at a significant magnitude, whereas the EC of the outside of the wetting area remained largely steady. The horizontal influence distance of drip irrigation on the salt accumulation at the soil surface was about 100 cm, and the vertical influence depth was 5 cm. The three most abundant ions in the accumulated salt at the aeolian sandy soil surface were Na+, Cl- and SO42-. The salt accumulation at the soil surface was influenced by air temperature, wind speed, mineralization of irrigation water, sand burial thickness, soil texture, and litter content

The dynamics variation of soil moisture of shelterbelts along the Tarim Desert Highway

We studied the variation of soil moisture as well as its regularity over the irrigation cycle at shelterbelts along the Tarim Desert Highway at different site types and different planting years. The results show that: (1) There is an obvious temporal variation of soil moisture within a typical irrigation period in shelterbelts along the Tarim Desert Highway, and the soil water storage varied linearly with the number of days after irrigation. Along the direction perpendicular to the soil top, the soil profile can be divided into four layers and each shows different dynamics of soil moisture variation, including the quickly changing layer (0-20 cm), the active layer (20-60 cm), the weakly layer (60-100 cm), and the regulated layer (under 100 cm). (2) Both the soil moisture and soil water content decreased gradually with the number of planting year, while the soil water deficit increased. It indicates that shelterbelts along the Tarim Desert Highway can retain the water accumulated from previous years. (3) The soil water storage of harden sand is the maximum among all types of sites. Specifically, it is about 1.58 times higher than that of longitudinal dune, 1.15 times higher than clay, and 1.43 times higher than flat sand. Its soil water deficit was over 900 mm

Monodisperse Hollow Tricolor Pigment Particles for Electronic Paper

A general approach has been designed to blue, green, and red pigments by metal ions doping hollow TiO 2. The reaction involves initial formation of PS at TiO2 core–shell nanoparticles via a mixed-solvent method, and then mixing with metal ions solution containing PEG, followed calcining in the atmosphere. The as-prepared hollow pigments exhibit uniform size, bright color, and tunable density, which are fit for electronic paper display

Reduction of Orc6 Expression Sensitizes Human Colon Cancer Cells to 5-Fluorouracil and Cisplatin

Previous studies from our group have shown that the expression levels of Orc6 were highly elevated in colorectal cancer patient specimens and the induction of Orc6 was associated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. The goal of this study was to investigate the molecular and cellular impact of Orc6 in colon cancer. In this study, we use HCT116 (wt-p53) and HCT116 (null-p53) colon cancer cell lines as a model system to investigate the impact of Orc6 on cell proliferation, chemosensitivity and pathways involved with Orc6. We demonstrated that the down regulation of Orc6 sensitizes colon cancer cells to both 5-FU and cisplatin (cis-pt) treatment. Decreased Orc6 expression in HCT-116 (wt-p53) cells by RNA interference triggered cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Prolonged inhibition of Orc6 expression resulted in multinucleated cells in HCT-116 (wt-p53) cell line. Western immunoblot analysis showed that down regulation of Orc6 induced p21 expression in HCT-116 (wt-p53) cells. The induction of p21 was mediated by increased level of phosphorylated p53 at ser-15. By contrast, there is no elevated expression of p21 in HCT-116 (null-p53) cells. Orc6 down regulation also increased the expression of DNA damaging repair protein GADD45β and reduced the expression level of JNK1. Orc6 may be a potential novel target for future anti cancer therapeutic development in colon cancer

R497K polymorphism in epidermal growth factor receptor gene is associated with the risk of acute coronary syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies suggested that genetic polymorphisms in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene had been implicated in the susceptibility to some tumors and inflammatory diseases. EGFR has been recently implicated in vascular pathophysiological processes associated with excessive remodeling and atherosclerosis. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a clinical manifestation of preceding atherosclerosis. Our purpose was to investigate the association of the EGFR polymorphism with the risk of ACS. In this context, we analyzed the HER-1 R497K and EGFR intron 1 (CA)_nrepeat polymorphisms in 191 patients with ACS and 210 age- and sex-matched controls in a Chinese population, using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) strategy and direct sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were significant differences in the genotype and allele distribution of R497K polymorphism of the EGFR gene between cases and controls. The <it>Lys </it>allele had a significantly increased risk of ACS compared with the <it>Arg </it>allele (adjusted OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.12–1.98, adjusted <it>P </it>= 0.006). However, no significant relationship between the number of (CA)_nrepeats of EGFR intron 1 (both alleles < 20 or any allele ≥ 20) and the risk of ACS was observed (adjusted OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.58–1.64, adjusted <it>P </it>= 0.911). Considering these two polymorphisms together, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>R497K polymorphism of the EGFR gene is significantly associated with the risk of ACS. Our data suggests that R497K polymorphism may be used as a genetic susceptibility marker of the ACS.</p

Breast cancer stroma frequently recruits fetal derived cells during pregnancy

Breast carcinomas associated with pregnancy display a high frequency of inflammatory types, multifocal lesions and lymph node metastasis. Because pregnancy results in transfer to mothers of foetal stem cells that can migrate and differentiate into various tissues, we addressed the issue of whether such cells are present in breast carcinoma associated with pregnancy

Transcriptome Analysis of the Oriental Fruit Fly (Bactrocera dorsalis)

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is one of the most economically important pests in the world, causing serious damage to fruit production. However, lack of genetic information on this organism is an obstacle to understanding the mechanisms behind its development and its ability to resist insecticides. Analysis of the B. dorsalis transcriptome and its expression profile data is essential to extending the genetic information resources on this species, providing a shortcut that will support studies on B. dorsalis.We performed de novo assembly of a transcriptome using short read sequencing technology (Illumina). The results generated 484,628 contigs, 70,640 scaffolds, and 49,804 unigenes. Of those unigenes, 27,455 (55.13%) matched known proteins in the NCBI database, as determined by BLAST search. Clusters of orthologous groups (COG), gene orthology (GO), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotations were performed to better understand the functions of these unigenes. Genes related to insecticide resistance were analyzed in additional detail. Digital gene expression (DGE) libraries showed differences in gene expression profiles at different developmental stages (eggs, third-instar larvae, pupae, and adults). To confirm the DGE results, the expression profiles of six randomly selected genes were analyzed.This transcriptome greatly improves our genetic understanding of B. dorsalis and makes a huge number of gene sequences available for further study, including both genes of known importance and genes of unknown function. The DGE data provide comprehensive insight into gene expression profiles at different developmental stages. This facilitates the study of the role of each gene in the developmental process and in insecticide resistance

A sequence-based genetic linkage map as a reference for Brassica rapa pseudochromosome assembly

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Brassica rapa </it>is an economically important crop and a model plant for studies concerning polyploidization and the evolution of extreme morphology. The multinational <it>B. rapa </it>Genome Sequencing Project (BrGSP) was launched in 2003. In 2008, next generation sequencing technology was used to sequence the <it>B. rapa </it>genome. Several maps concerning <it>B. rapa </it>pseudochromosome assembly have been published but their coverage of the genome is incomplete, anchoring approximately 73.6% of the scaffolds on to chromosomes. Therefore, a new genetic map to aid pseudochromosome assembly is required.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study concerns the construction of a reference genetic linkage map for <it>Brassica rapa</it>, forming the backbone for anchoring sequence scaffolds of the <it>B. rapa </it>genome resulting from recent sequencing efforts. One hundred and nineteen doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from microspore cultures of an F1 cross between a Chinese cabbage (<it>B. rapa </it>ssp. <it>pekinensis</it>) DH line (Z16) and a rapid cycling inbred line (L144) were used to construct the linkage map. PCR-based insertion/deletion (InDel) markers were developed by re-sequencing the two parental lines. The map comprises a total of 507 markers including 415 InDels and 92 SSRs. Alignment and orientation using SSR markers in common with existing <it>B. rapa </it>linkage maps allowed ten linkage groups to be identified, designated A01-A10. The total length of the linkage map was 1234.2 cM, with an average distance of 2.43 cM between adjacent marker loci. The lengths of linkage groups ranged from 71.5 cM to 188.5 cM for A08 and A09, respectively. Using the developed linkage map, 152 scaffolds were anchored on to the chromosomes, encompassing more than 82.9% of the <it>B. rapa </it>genome. Taken together with the previously available linkage maps, 183 scaffolds were anchored on to the chromosomes and the total coverage of the genome was 88.9%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The development of this linkage map is vital for the integration of genome sequences and genetic information, and provides a useful resource for the international <it>Brassica </it>research community.</p