Genome-wide characterization of heavy metal-associated isoprenylated plant protein gene family from Citrus sinensis in response to huanglongbing

IntroductionHeavy metal-associated isoprenylated plant proteins (HIPPs) play vital roles in maintaining heavy metal balance and responding to both biotic and abiotic stresses in vascular plants. However, the role of HIPPs in the response to Huanglongbing (HLB), a harmful disease of citrus caused by the phloem-colonizing bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), has not been examined.Methods and resultsIn this study, a total of 26 HIPP genes were identified in Citrus sinensis, and they were grouped into 5 clades. The CsHIPP genes are distributed on 8 chromosomes and exhibited considerable synteny with HIPPs found in Arabidopsis thaliana. Additionally, we analyzed the gene structure, conserved motifs and domains of the CsHIPPs. Various cis-acting elements related to plant hormones and stress responses were identified in the promoters of CsHIPPs. Public transcriptome data and RT-qPCR analysis showed that the expression level of CsHIPP03 was significantly reduced in samples infected by CLas and Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri (Xcc). Furthermore, silencing the homologous gene of CsHIPP03 in Nicotiana benthamiana increased the disease resistance of plants to bacteria.DiscussionOur results provide a basis for functional studies of HIPP gene family in C. sinensis, highlighting their functions in bacterial resistance, and improve our understanding to the susceptibility mechanism of HLB

A Novel Prognostic Biomarker of Luminal Breast Cancer: High CD39 Expression Is Related to Poor Survival

BackgroundCD39 is one of the functional surface markers for T regulatory cells, the prognostic role and immune-related effects of CD39 in luminal breast cancer (BC) patients has not been evaluated yet. The aim of the current study was to explore the association between CD39 expression and clinic pathological characteristics and the prognosis in luminal BC patients.MethodsClinical information and RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) expression data were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Patients were divided into a high or low CD39 expression group by the optimal cutoff value (4.18) identified from the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The relationships between CD39 expression and clinic pathological features were evaluated by the corresponding statistical tests. Survival analyses were applied to evaluate the overall survival between the high and low CD39 expression groups in luminal BC. Furthermore, Gene Expression Omnibus datasets were used for external data validation. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was also performed, and CIBERSORT was used to analyze the immune cell populations.ResultsAnalysis of 439 cases of tumor data showed that CD39 was overexpressed in luminal BC. The multivariable analysis suggested that CD39 expression was an independent prognostic factor for luminal BC patients. GSEA suggested that CD39 might play an important role in luminal BC progression through immune regulation. Analysis of immune cell patterns revealed high CD39 expression correlated to a higher proportion of CD8+ T cells and M2 macrophages.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that CD39 expression correlates with the prognosis of luminal BC through TCGA database mining. Further studies are warranted further to elucidate this potential novel therapeutic strategy for BC

Study on the Purity of Gold Leaf in a SO2 Atmosphere at Ambient Temperature

Gold leaf samples of different purities were corroded in a SO2 atmosphere at three different relative humidities (30%, 60%, 90%) at ambient temperature, and the effects on color, gloss, and morphology were studied. Results showed that a corrosion rate of 0.0898 g/cm2 could be attained after 6 weeks at high humidity. Color changes also occurred during the gold leaf corrosion process, and many thin pits formed on the surfaces, as shown by SEM. EDX results showed that these pits contained C, O, and S compounds. By comparing the results of different gold purity samples and different relative humidity conditions, it could be concluded that both gold content and humidity play an important role in SO2 atmosphere corrosion. These conclusions are helpful for the conservation of gold leaf decorative cultural relics

Fast 3D Stylized Gaussian Portrait Generation From a Single Image With Style Aligned Sampling Loss

Creating stylized 3D avatars and portraits from just a single image input is an emerging challenge in augmented and virtual reality. While prior work has explored 2D stylization or 3D avatar generation, achieving high-fidelity 3D stylized portraits with text control remains an open problem. In this paper, we present an efficient approach for generating high-quality 3D stylized portraits directly from a single input image. Our core representations are based on 3D Gaussian Splatting for efficient rendering, along with a surface-guided splitting and cloning strategy to reduce noise. To achieve high-fidelity stylized results, we introduce a Stylized Generation Module with a Style-Aligned Sampling Loss that injects the input image’s identity information into the diffusion model while stabilizing the stylization process. Furthermore, we incorporate a multi-view diffusion model to enforce 3D consistency by generating multiple viewpoints. Extensive experimentation demonstrates that our approach outperforms existing methods in terms of stylization quality, 3D consistency, and user preference ratings. Our framework enables casual users to easily generate stylized 3D portraits through simple image or text inputs, facilitating engaging experiences in AR/VR applications

The Dark Energy Properties of the Dirac–Born–Infeld Action

Introducing a new potential, we deduce a general Lagrangian for Dirac–Born– Infeld (DBI) inflation, in which the determinant of the induced metric naturally includes the kinetic energy and the potential energy. In particular, the potential energy and kinetic energy can convert into each other at any same order, which is in agreement with the limit of classical physics. We also present a general sound speed in the evolutions of the universe, and the exact expressions of energy-momentum tensor, pressure and density. Furthermore, from the results we obtain the new equation of states. The analytic form of the action that is consistent with data turns out to be surprisingly simple and easy to categorize. Finally, we examine properties of the dark energy and introduce a novel mechanism for realizing either quintessence or phantom dark energy dominated phases within a string theoretical context

Study on the Wood Characteristics of the Chinese Ancient Ship Luoyang I

Luoyang No.1 is a Qing Dynasty (1644–1902) inland river ancient wooden shipwreck discovered in September 2013. It adds significantly to the study of Grand Canal transport history and Luoyang’s economic history. The wood characteristics of Luoyang No.1 were investigated in this study using chemical compositions, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nano-indentation (NI), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the holocellulose content was only 32.84–37.69%, indicating that the cellulose and hemicellulose had been seriously degraded. Based on the XRD pattern, the degree of crystallinity of cellulose in wood ranged from 19.82 to 22.83%. The nano-indentation demonstrated that compared with the undegraded contemporary wood, the elastic modulus and hardness of the ancient ship wood decreased by 45.5% and 32.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the FTIR spectra revealed that the biological deterioration of ancient wood was indicated by a decrease in the peaks related to cellulose and hemicellulose, but the change in lignin was insignificant. The results could provide knowledge for appropriate dewatering, strengthening, restoration strategies and regulation of the museum environment

Comparative Study on Slow Pyrolysis Products of Abandoned Furniture Materials

Pyrolysis is an effective way to use abandoned furniture materials. This work dealt with solid wood, particle board, and medium density board obtained from dismantling discarded furniture as experimental materials. Slow pyrolysis was performed at a heating rate of 150 °C/h and pyrolysis temperatures of 400, 500, and 600 °C, and the products were analyzed. With the increase of pyrolysis temperature, the yield of solid products gradually decreased, while the yield of liquid products and non-condensing gases gradually increased. The carbon content in solid products reached 63.6 to 94.4%. The pyrolysis solution was acidic to weakly alkaline due to the different types and contents of adhesives in the three pyrolysis materials. Understanding the yield and characteristics of the pyrolysis products of waste furniture can provide more research directions for the recycling and utilization of these materials

Table_3_Analysis of huanglongbing-associated RNA-seq data reveals disturbances in biological processes within Citrus spp. triggered by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus infection.xlsx

IntroductionHuanglongbing (HLB), a disease that’s ubiquitous worldwide, wreaks havoc on the citrus industry. The primary culprit of HLB is the gram-negative bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) that infects the phloem, but its damaging mechanism is yet to be fully understood.Methods and resultsIn this study, a multitude of tools including weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA), protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and gene expression profiling are employed to unravel the intricacies of its pathogenesis. The investigation pinpoints various central genes, such as the ethylene-responsive transcription factor 9 (ERF9) and thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1), that are associated with CLas invasion and resultant disturbances in numerous biological operations. Additionally, the study uncovers a range of responses through the detection of differential expressed genes (DEGs) across different experiments. The discovery of core DEGs leads to the identification of pivotal genes such as the sieve element occlusion (SEO) and the wall-associated receptor kinase-like 15 (WAKL15). PPI network analysis highlights potential vital proteins, while GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis illustrate a significant impact on multiple defensive and metabolic pathways. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) indicates significant alterations in biological processes such as leaf senescence and response to biotic stimuli.DiscussionThis all-encompassing approach extends valuable understanding into the pathogenesis of CLas, potentially aiding future research and therapeutic strategies for HLB.</p