Association of TaD14-4D,a Gene Involved in Strigolactone Signaling,with Yield Contributing Traits in Wheat

Tillering is a crucial agronomic trait of wheat; it determines yield and plant architecture. Strigolactones (SLs) have been reported to inhibit plant branching. D14, a receptor of SLs, has been described to affect tillering in rice, yet it has seldomly been studied in wheat. In this study, three TaD14 homoeologous genes, TaD14-4A, TaD14-4B, and TaD14-4D, were identified. TaD14-4A, TaD14-4B, and TaD14-4D were constitutively expressed, and TaD14-4D had a higher expression level in most tissues. TaD14 proteins were localized in both cytoplasm and nucleus. An SNP and a 22 bp insertion/deletion (Indel) at the exon regions of TaD14-4D were detected, forming three haplotypes, namely 4D-HapI, 4D-HapII, and 4D-HapIII. Due to the frameshift mutation in the coding region of 4D-HapII, the interaction of 4D-HapII with TaMAX2 and TaD53 was blocked, which led to the blocking of SL signal transduction. Based on the two variation sites, two molecular markers, namely dCAPS-250 and Indel-747, were developed. Association analysis suggested that haplotypes of TaD14-4D were associated with effective tillering number (ETN) and thousand kernel weight (TKW) simultaneously in four environments. The favorable haplotype 4D-HapIII underwent positive selection in global wheat breeding. This study provides insights into understanding the function of natural variations of TaD14-4D and develops two useful molecular markers for wheat breeding.     

Genetic diversity by AFLP analysis within Jatropha curcas L. populations in the State of São Paulo,Brazil

The genetic diversity of 5 populations of Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae), a species cultivated in tropical countries and used in biodiesel production, was analyzed by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Plants from distinct populations found in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, had their genetic diversity characterized by using three primer combinations. The number of polymorphic bands obtained reached 184 and the base pair length of bands ranged from 75 to 350, with average PIC values of 0.418. Accessions from the Aguas de Santa Barbara population presented the highest percentage of polymorphic loci (89.76%), followed by the populations of Catanduva (84.24%), Jales (80.98%), Jurucê (78.80%) and Taquaritinga (70.65%). Plants collected from the populations of Taquaritinga and Jales presented the smallest and highest genetic diversities, respectively, measured by using both Nei's genetic variability index (h = 0.2242 and 0.2973) and Shannon's index (I = 0.3359 and 0.4319). The results obtained indicated that 73.1% of genetic variability corresponds to intrapopulational variation and 26.8% to variation among populations. The clustering dendrogram using Jacquard showed four clusters. Three clusters with low genetic diversity grouped most of individuals collected in distinct regions (63.3% JU, 47.0% JA and 82.5% TA) and the fourth with the higher genetic diversity was composed with basically individuals collected in CA and AS, but it also had samples collected in JU, JA and TA, where it is possible to select individuals to be included in breeding programs.     

利用非糖物质快速鉴别单花蜂蜜

本文利用非糖物质快速鉴别四种常见的单花蜂蜜(枸杞蜂蜜、荆条蜂蜜、枣花蜂蜜和洋槐蜂蜜)。利用固相萃取除糖提取蜂蜜非糖物质,并用高效液相色谱(HPLC)结合化学计量学进行蜂蜜花源的判定。发现了四种单花蜂蜜的非糖特征标志物。芦丁、丁香酸甲酯、阿魏酸的含量在四种蜂蜜中差异最大。对羟基苯甲酸和脱落酸在枸杞蜂蜜中平均含量分别为0.59μg/g和0.42μg/g,可作为枸杞蜂蜜的花源标志物;对香豆酸和肉桂酸在荆条蜂蜜中平均含量为0.08μg/g和0.05μg/g,可作为荆条蜂蜜的潜在花源标志物;阿魏酸、异阿魏酸是枣花蜂蜜的特征标志物,平均含量分别为0.40μg/g和0.76μg/g;洋槐蜂蜜的特征标志物是芦丁和丁香酸甲酯,平均含量为0.08μg/g和0.14μg/g。利用高效液相色谱指纹图谱结合化学计量学方法(主成分分析和判别分析),四种单花蜂蜜依据其花源被成功区分。本研究对蜂蜜真实性判定有重要参考价值,为后续蜂蜜真伪鉴别奠定基础。     

地下燃气管道电子标识及智能化管理系统研究

分析了北京地下燃气管网在实际运行维护中出现的问题,论述了地下燃气管道电子标识及智能化管理系统的组成、流程、功能以及该系统在实际工程中的实施情况。     

Identification of Apolipoprotein C-I as a Potential Wilms’ Tumor Marker after Excluding Inflammatory Factors

Wilms’ tumor is one of the most common malignant tumors observed in children, and its early diagnosis is important for late-stage treatment and prognosis. We previously screened and identified protein markers for Wilms’ tumor; however, these markers lacked specificity, and some were associated with inflammation. In the current study, serum samples from children with Wilms’ tumors were compared with those of healthy controls and patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). After exclusion of factors associated with inflammation, specific protein markers for Wilms’ tumors were identified. After comparing the protein peak values obtained from all three groups, a protein with a m/z of 6438 Da was specified. Purification and identification of the target protein using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and two-dimensional liquid chromatography-linearion trap mass spectrometry(2D-LC-LTQ-MS) mass spectrometry, respectively, revealed that it was apolipoprotein C-I (APO C-I). Thus, APO C-I is a specific protein marker for Wilms’ tumor.     

Synthesis and characterisation of fluorescent pyrene‐end‐capped polylactide fibres

Fluorescent markers are critical for tracking the position and movement of molecules both in vivo and in vitro. Conventionally, synthetic dyes are non‐covalently added to polymers for fluorescent tracking, but often diffuse away. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, a facile method for the synthesis of fluorescent poly(lactic acid) nano‐/microfibres for biomedical applications using solution spin blowing. Pyrene‐end‐capped poly(l ‐lactide) (PLLA) derivatives were synthesised using the ring‐opening polymerisation of l ‐lactide and they were characterised using spectroscopic and thermal analyses. Submicrometre‐sized fluorescent fibres were produced from these PLLA derivatives using solution blow spinning techniques generating polymer blends and core–shell fibres. Such system could be further exploited to incorporate electrically conductive carbon allotropes via the pyrene aromaticity, producing fluorescent and electrically active fibres for in vitro monitoring and electrical stimulation. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Data-driven modeling of mesoscale solids stress closures for filtered two-fluid model in gas–particle flows

This study performs data-driven modeling of mesoscale solids stress closures for filtered two-fluid model (fTFM) in gas–particle flows via an artificial neural network (ANN) based machine learning method. The data used for developing the ANN-based predictive data-driven modeling framework is systematically filtered from fine-grid simulations. The loss function optimization result reveals that coupling two loss functions promotes more accurate predictions of the mesoscale solids stresses than using a single loss function. Further comprehensive assessments of closure markers demonstrate a systematic dependence of the mesoscale solids stresses on the filtered particle velocity and its gradient as additional anisotropic markers, instead of using the conventional isotropic filtered rate of solid phase deformation as a closure marker. An optimal three-marker mesoscale closure is thus proposed. Comparative analysis of the conventional filtered model and present three-marker model shows that the data-driven model can substantially enhance the prediction accuracy.     

The Significance of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition for Circulating Tumor Cells

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process involved in embryonic development, but it also plays a role in remote metastasis formation in tumor diseases. During this process cells lose their epithelial features and adopt characteristics of mesenchymal cells. Thereby single tumor cells, which dissolve from the primary tumor, are enabled to invade the blood vessels and travel throughout the body as so called “circulating tumor cells” (CTCs). After leaving the blood stream the reverse process of EMT, the mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) helps the cells to seed in different tissues, thereby generating the bud of metastasis formation. As metastasis is the main reason for tumor-associated death, CTCs and the EMT process are in the focus of research in recent years. This review summarizes what was already found out about the molecular mechanisms driving EMT, the consequences of EMT for tumor cell detection, and suitable markers for the detection of CTCs which underwent EMT. The research work done in this field could open new roads towards combating cancer.