Analysis of Chemical Constituents Changing in Physical Process and Nutritional Components of Malus halliana

This study aimed to establish a HPLC method for simultaneous determination of the changing of quercitrin, 3-hydroxyphloridzin, and phloridzin in physical process of M. halliana tea. Meanwhile, the nutritional compositions were determined, using anthrone-sulfuric acid colorimetry and direct titration determination of total sugar and reducing sugar, respectively, in order to provide theoretical basis for quality control and tea production. The results showed that the regression equations for quercitrin, 3-hydroxyphloridzin, and phloridzin were linear in the range of 0.0972–12.15 μg (r=0.999 8), 0.0932~11.65 μg (r=0.999 1), and 0.9~112.5 μg (r=0.999 6), respectively. The average recoveries ranged from 98.19% to 99.35%. The contents of crude protein and the crude fat were measured by spectrophotometric detection and soxhlet extraction detection, respectively. The contents of total sugar, reducing sugar, the fat, and protein were 6.8 g/100 g, 8.5 mg/100 g, 2.399 g/100 g, and 4.362 g/100 g, respectively, in M. halliana tea

Genome-wide association analysis identifies resistance loci for bacterial blight in a diverse collection of indica rice germplasm

Bacterial blight, which is caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is one of the most devastating rice diseases worldwide. The development and use of disease-resistant cultivars have been the most effective strategy to control bacterial blight. Identifying the genes mediating bacterial blight resistance is a prerequisite for breeding cultivars with broad-spectrum and durable resistance. We herein describe a genome-wide association study involving 172 diverse Oryza sativa ssp. indica accessions to identify loci influencing the resistance to representative strains of six Xoo races. Twelve resistance loci containing 121 significantly associated signals were identified using 317,894 single nucleotide polymorphisms, which explained 13.3–59.9% of the variability in lesion length caused by Xoo races P1, P6, and P9a. Two hotspot regions (L11 and L12) were located within or nearby two cloned R genes (xa25 and Xa26) and one fine-mapped R gene (Xa4). Our results confirmed the relatively high resolution of genome-wide association studies. Moreover, we detected novel significant associations on chromosomes 2, 3, and 6–10. Haplotype analyses of xa25, the Xa26 paralog (MRKc; LOC_Os11g47290), and a Xa4 candidate gene (LOC_11g46870) revealed differences in bacterial blight resistance among indica subgroups. These differences were responsible for the observed variations in lesion lengths resulting from infections by Xoo races P1 and P9a. Our findings may be relevant for future studies involving bacterial blight resistance gene cloning, and provide insights into the genetic basis for bacterial blight resistance in indica rice, which may be useful for knowledge-based crop improvement. (Résumé d'auteur

Quantitative imaging of bilirubin by photoacoustic microscopy

Noninvasive detection of both bilirubin concentration and its distribution is important for disease diagnosis. Here we implemented photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) to detect bilirubin distribution. We first demonstrate that our PAM system can measure the absorption spectra of bilirubin and blood. We also image bilirubin distributions in tissue-mimicking samples, both without and with blood mixed. Our results show that PAM has the potential to quantitatively image bilirubin in vivo for clinical applications

High resolution thermal microscopy

Journal ArticleA new high resolution thermal microscope has been demonstrated capable of imaging thermal fields with sub 1000 angstom resolution. It is based upon a non-contacting near field thermal probe. The thermal probe consists of a thermocouple sensor on the end of a tip with sub 1000 angstrom dimensions. The probe tip is scanned in close proximity to a solid or liquid surface and the local temperature is mapped with a resolution determined by the size of the tip. Material independent surface profiling has also been demonstrated with the thermal probe, providing a lateral resolution of approximately 300 angstroms. Temperature mapping and surface profiling results are presented on both electronic and biological materials

Divergent DNA Methylation Provides Insights into the Evolution of Duplicate Genes in Zebrafish

The evolutionary mechanism, fate and function of duplicate genes in various taxa have been widely studied; however, the mechanism underlying the maintenance and divergence of duplicate genes in Danio rerio remains largely unexplored. Whether and how the divergence of DNA methylation between duplicate pairs is associated with gene expression and evolutionary time are poorly understood. In this study, by analyzing bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq) and RNA-seq datasets from public data, we demonstrated that DNA methylation played a critical role in duplicate gene evolution in zebrafish. Initially, we found promoter methylation of duplicate genes generally decreased with evolutionary time as measured by synonymous substitution rate between paralogous duplicates (Ks). Importantly, promoter methylation of duplicate genes was negatively correlated with gene expression. Interestingly, for 665 duplicate gene pairs, one gene was consistently promoter methylated, while the other was unmethylated across nine different datasets we studied. Moreover, one motif enriched in promoter methylated duplicate genes tended to be bound by the transcription repression factor FOXD3, whereas a motif enriched in the promoter unmethylated sequences interacted with the transcription activator Sp1, indicating a complex interaction between the genomic environment and epigenome. Besides, body-methylated genes showed longer length than body-unmethylated genes. Overall, our results suggest that DNA methylation is highly important in the differential expression and evolution of duplicate genes in zebrafish.</p

Application on small incision extracapsular cataract extraction in large-scale vision recovery action in Shaanxi Province

AIM: To investigate the characteristics of scale cataract operations and the effects and experiences of small incision extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens(IOL)implantation in large-scale vision recovery action. <p>METHODS: Four thousand eight hundred ninety-two cases(4 892 eyes)of cataract were treated by small incision non-phacoemulcification cataract extraction from March 2010 to November 2011 in our hospital(Fuming No.1 surgery car of Shaanxi Province)which were retrospectively analyzed. Visual acuity, intraoperative and postoperative complications, the recovery of postoperative inflammation were observed. <p>RESULTS: Visual acuity reached 0.3 or more in 4 521 eyes(92.42%)at 1d after the operation, at 3d after the operation in 4 571 eyes(93.44%), there were 4 887 eyes with IOL implantation, implantation rate was 99.90%. All the cases had lesser intraoperative and postoperative complications, and the postoperative inflammation recovered quickly. <p>CONCLUSION: Small incision extracapsular cataract extraction with IOL implantation is simple, effective, economical, safe and adapting for large-scale vision recovery action