The Relationships among “STAY-GREEN” Trait,Post-Anthesis Assimilate Remobilization,and Grain Yield in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The mobilization and translocation of carbohydrates and mineral nutrients from vegetative plant parts to grains are pivotal for grain filling, often involving a whole plant senescence process. Loss of greenness is a hallmark of leaf senescence. However, the relationship between crop yield and senescence has been controversial for many years. Here, in this study, the overexpression and RNA interference lines of gene of OsNYC3 (Non-Yellow Coloring 3), a chlorophyll catabolism gene, were investigated. Furthermore, exogenous phytohormones were applied, and a treatment of alternate wetting and moderate drying (AWMD) was introduced to regulate the processes of leaf senescence. The results indicated that the delayed senescence of the “STAY-GREEN” trait of rice is undesirable for the process of grain filling, and it would cause a lower ratio of grain filling and lower grain weight of inferior grains, because of unused assimilates in the stems and leaves. Through the overexpression of OsNYC3, application of exogenous chemicals of abscisic acid (ABA), and water management of AWMD, leaf photosynthesis was less influenced, a high ratio of carbohydrate assimilates was partitioned to grains other than leaves and stems as labeled by ¹³C, grain filling was improved, especially for inferior spikelets, and activities of starch-synthesizing enzymes were enhanced. However, application of ethephon not only accelerated leaf senescence, but also caused seed abortion and grain weight reduction. Thus, plant senescence needs to be finely adjusted in order to make a contribution to crop productivity.     

基于改进BiSeNet的室内场景语义分割方法

室内场景的语义分割一直是深度学习语义分割领域的一个重要方向.室内语义分割主要存在的问题有语义类别多、很多物体类会有相互遮挡、某些类之间相似性较高等.针对这些问题,提出了一种用于室内场景语义分割的方法.该方法在BiSeNet(bilateral segmentation network)的网络结构基础上,引入了一个空洞金...     

CD73-Mediated Formation of Extracellular Adenosine Is Responsible for Adenosine A2A Receptor-Mediated Control of Fear Memory and Amygdala Plasticity

Adenosine A_2A receptors (A_2AR) control fear memory and the underlying processes of synaptic plasticity in the amygdala. In other brain regions, A_2AR activation is ensured by ATP-derived extracellular adenosine formed by ecto-5′-nucleotidase or CD73. We now tested whether CD73 is also responsible to provide for the activation of A_2AR in controlling fear memory and amygdala long-term potentiation (LTP). The bilateral intracerebroventricular injection of the CD73 inhibitor αβ-methylene ADP (AOPCP, 1 nmol/ventricle/day) phenocopied the effect of the A_2AR blockade by decreasing the expression of fear memory, an effect disappearing in CD73-knockout (KO) mice and in forebrain neuronal A_2AR-KO mice. In the presence of PPADS (20 μM) to eliminate any modification of ATP/ADP-mediated P2 receptor effects, both AOPCP (100 μM) and the A_2AR antagonist, {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SCH58261","term_id":"1052882304","term_text":"SCH58261"}}SCH58261 (50 nM), decreased LTP magnitude in synapses of projection from the external capsula into the lateral amygdala, an effect eliminated in slices from both forebrain neuronal A_2AR-KO mice and CD73-KO mice. These data indicate a key role of CD73 in the process of A_2AR-mediated control of fear memory and underlying synaptic plasticity processes in the amygdala, paving the way to envisage CD73 as a new therapeutic target to interfere with abnormal fear-like emotional processing.     

Circulating miR-200 Family and CTCs in Metastatic Breast Cancer before,during, and after a New Line of Systemic Treatment

The extracellular circulating microRNA (miR)-200 regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition and, thus, plays an essential role in the metastatic cascade and has shown itself to be a promising prognostic and predictive biomarker in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Expression levels of the plasma miR-200 family were analyzed in relationship to systemic treatment, circulating tumor cells (CTC) count, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Expression of miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-141, and miR-429, and CTC status (CTC-positive ≥ 5 CTC/7.5 mL) was assessed in 47 patients at baseline (BL), after the first completed cycle of a new line of systemic therapy (1C), and upon the progression of disease (PD). MiR-200a, miR-200b, and miR-141 expression was reduced at 1C compared to BL. Upon PD, all miR-200s were upregulated compared to 1C. At all timepoints, the levels of miR-200s were elevated in CTC-positive versus CTC-negative patients. Further, heightened miR-200s expression and positive CTC status were associated with poorer OS at BL and 1C. In MBC patients, circulating miR-200 family members decreased after one cycle of a new line of systemic therapy, were elevated during PD, and were indicative of CTC status. Notably, increased levels of miR-200s and elevated CTC count correlated with poorer OS and PFS. As such, both are promising biomarkers for optimizing the clinical management of MBC.     

Function-Related Asymmetry of the Interactions between Matrix Loops and Conserved Sequence Motifs in the Mitochondrial ADP/ATP Carrier

The ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) plays a central role in oxidative metabolism by exchanging ATP and ADP across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Previous experiments have shown the involvement of the matrix loops of AAC in its function, yet potential mechanisms remain largely elusive. One obstacle is the limited information on the structural dynamics of the matrix loops. In the current work, unbiased all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out on c-state wild-type AAC and mutants. Our results reveal that: (1) two ends of a matrix loop are tethered through interactions between the residue of triplet 38 (Q38, D143 and Q240) located at the C-end of the odd-numbered helix and residues of the [YF]xG motif located before the N-end of the short matrix helix in the same domain; (2) the initial progression direction of a matrix loop is determined by interactions between the negatively charged residue of the [DE]G motif located at the C-end of the short matrix helix and the capping arginine (R30, R139 and R236) in the previous domain; (3) the two chemically similar residues D and E in the highly conserved [DE]G motif are actually quite different; (4) the N-end of the M3 loop is clamped by the [DE]G motif and the capping arginine of domain 2 from the two sides, which strengthens interactions between domain 2 and domain 3; and (5) a highly asymmetric stable core exists within domains 2 and 3 at the m-gate level. Moreover, our results help explain almost all extremely conserved residues within the matrix loops of the ADP/ATP carriers from a structural point of view. Taken together, the current work highlights asymmetry in the three matrix loops and implies a close relationship between asymmetry and ADP/ATP transport.