Plant Copper Amine Oxidases: Key Players in Hormone Signaling Leading to Stress-Induced Phenotypic Plasticity

Polyamines are ubiquitous, low-molecular-weight aliphatic compounds, present in living organisms and essential for cell growth and differentiation. Copper amine oxidases (CuAOs) oxidize polyamines to aminoaldehydes releasing ammonium and hydrogen peroxide, which participates in the complex network of reactive oxygen species acting as signaling molecules involved in responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. CuAOs have been identified and characterized in different plant species, but the most extensive study on a CuAO gene family has been carried out in Arabidopsis thaliana. Growing attention has been devoted in the last years to the investigation of the CuAO expression pattern during development and in response to an array of stress and stress-related hormones, events in which recent studies have highlighted CuAOs to play a key role by modulation of a multilevel phenotypic plasticity expression. In this review, the attention will be focused on the involvement of different AtCuAOs in the IAA/JA/ABA signal transduction pathways which mediate stress-induced phenotypic plasticity events.     

Functional Coupling of Slack Channels and P2X3 Receptors Contributes to Neuropathic Pain Processing

The sodium-activated potassium channel Slack (K_Na1.1, Slo2.2, or Kcnt1) is highly expressed in populations of sensory neurons, where it mediates the sodium-activated potassium current (I_KNa) and modulates neuronal activity. Previous studies suggest that Slack is involved in the processing of neuropathic pain. However, mechanisms underlying the regulation of Slack activity in this context are poorly understood. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings we found that Slack-mediated I_KNa in sensory neurons of mice is reduced after peripheral nerve injury, thereby contributing to neuropathic pain hypersensitivity. Interestingly, Slack is closely associated with ATP-sensitive P2X3 receptors in a population of sensory neurons. In vitro experiments revealed that Slack-mediated I_KNa may be bidirectionally modulated in response to P2X3 activation. Moreover, mice lacking Slack show altered nocifensive responses to P2X3 stimulation. Our study identifies P2X3/Slack signaling as a mechanism contributing to hypersensitivity after peripheral nerve injury and proposes a potential novel strategy for treatment of neuropathic pain.     

Deterministic and probabilistic ship pitch prediction using a multi-predictor integration model based on hybrid data preprocessing,reinforcement learning and improved QRNN

The deterministic and probabilistic prediction of ship motion is important for safe navigation and stable real-time operational control of ships at sea. However, the volatility and randomness of ship motion, the non-adaptive nature of single predictors and the poor coverage of quantile regression pose serious challenges to uncertainty prediction, making research in this field limited. In this paper, a multi-predictor integration model based on hybrid data preprocessing, reinforcement learning and improved quantile regression neural network (QRNN) is proposed to explore the deterministic and probabilistic prediction of ship pitch motion. To validate the performance of the proposed multi-predictor integrated prediction model, an experimental study is conducted with three sets of actual ship longitudinal motions during sea trials in the South China Sea. The experimental results indicate that the root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the proposed model of deterministic prediction are 0.0254°, 0.0359°, and 0.0188°, respectively. Taking series #2 as an example, the prediction interval coverage probabilities (PICPs) of the proposed model of probability predictions at 90%, 95%, and 99% confidence levels (CLs) are 0.9400, 0.9800, and 1.0000, respectively. This study signifies that the proposed model can provide trusted deterministic predictions and can effectively quantify the uncertainty of ship pitch motion, which has the potential to provide practical support for ship early warning systems.     

滚齿工艺对齿根粗糙度的影响

针对国内外风电和工业齿轮箱轻量化的设计趋势,较低的安全系数对齿轮齿根弯曲强度提出了更为严格的要求。研究表明,在材料技术和齿形设计难以再优化的情况下,滚齿加工的粗糙度,尤其是齿根部位的粗糙度对齿轮弯曲强度的影响尤为敏感。针对滚齿工艺过程,从滚齿加工参数、刀具前刀面粗糙度和刀具刃口圆角三方面进行分析,验证其对齿根粗糙度的影响。     

The vibration and pull-in mechanism of two coupled elastically restrained beams assembly subjected to electrostatic force

ABSTRACT

The novel model of the coupled beam-type electrodes with elastic roots, subjected to the AC and DC voltages is constructed. The exact critical pull-in voltage of the two coupled elastically restrained beams with size effect is presented. The analytical method of the general system subjected to the AC and DC voltages simultaneously is presented. The characteristic mechanism of coupled vibration is investigated.     

A generalized negative imaginary lemma and Riccati-based static state-feedback negative imaginary synthesis

In this paper, we present a generalized negative imaginary lemma based on a generalized negative imaginary system definition. Then, an algebraic Riccati equation method is given to determine if a system is negative imaginary. Also, a state feedback control procedure is presented that stabilizes an uncertain system and leads to the satisfaction of the negative imaginary property. The controller synthesis procedure is based on the proposed negative imaginary lemma. Using this procedure, the closed-loop system can be guaranteed to be robustly stable against any strict negative imaginary uncertainty, such as in the case of unmodeled spill-over dynamics in a lightly damped flexible structure. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the usefulness of the results.     

Influence of low-vacuum helium cold plasma pre-treatment on the rooting and root growth of zoysiagrass (Zoysia Willd.) stolon cuttings

The influence of low-vacuum helium cold plasma treatment on the rooting percentage, root growth and physiochemical properties of zoysiagrass stolon cuttings was studied. Zoysiagrass stolon cuttings were pre-treated with 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 W of cold plasma for 15 s. The cold plasma positively stimulated rooting and improved the root growth of the zoysiagrass stolon cuttings, and the 300 W treatment produced the best effect. The rooting percentage and root growth parameters, including the root length, total root surface area, total root volume, average root diameter, and root dry weight, significantly improved in response to the cold plasma treatment. In addition, the water uptake and relative conductivity of the stolon cuttings increased significantly in response to the cold plasma treatment. The results revealed that cold plasma-stimulated rooting and root growth appear to be a consequence of the improvement in permeability and water absorbing capacity of zoysiagrass stolon cuttings. The results of the present study will provide inspiration and support for the application of cold plasma in the vegetative propagation of plants.