Genome-wide analysis of the B3 transcription factors reveals that RcABI3/VP1 subfamily plays important roles in seed development and oil storage in castor bean(Ricinus communis)

The B3 transcription factors(TFs)in plants play vital roles in numerous biological processes.Although B3 genes have been broadly identified in many plants,little is known about their potential functions in mediating seed development and material accumulation.Castor bean(Ricinus communis)is a non-edible oilseed crop considered an ideal model system for seed biology research.Here,we identified a total of 61 B3 genes in the castor bean genome,which can be classified into five subfamilies,including ABI3/VP1,HSI,ARF,RAV and REM.The expression profiles revealed that RcABI3/VP1 subfamily genes are significantly up-regulated in the middle and later stages of seed development,indicating that these genes may be associated with the accumulation of storage oils.Furthermore,through yeast one-hybrid and tobacco transient expression assays,we detected that ABI3/VP1 subfamily member RcLEC2 directly regulates the transcription of RcOleosin2,which encodes an oil-body structural protein.This finding suggests that RcLEC2,as a seed-specific TF,may be involved in the regulation of storage materials accumulation.This study provides novel insights into the potential roles and molecular basis of B3 family proteins in seed development and material accumulation.

Phase behavior of heavy oil-solvent mixture systems under reservoir conditions

A novel experimental procedure was proposed to investigate the phase behavior of a solvent mixture(SM)(64 mol%CH4,8 mol%CO2,and 28 mol%C3 H8)with heavy oil.Then,a theoretical methodology was employed to estimate the phase behavior of the heavy oil-solvent mixture(HO-SM)systems with various mole fractions of SM.The experimental results show that as the mole fraction of SM increases,the saturation pressures and swelling factors of the HO-SM systems considerably increase,and the viscosities and densities of the HO-SM systems decrease.The heavy oil is upgraded in situ via asphaltene precipitation and SM dissolution.Therefore,the solvent-enriched oil phase at the top layer of reservoirs can easily be produced from the reservoir.The aforementioned results indicate that the SM has promising application potential for enhanced heavy oil recovery via solvent-based processes.The theoretical methodology can accurately predict the saturation pressures,swelling factors,and densities of HO-SM systems with various mole fractions of SM,with average error percentages of1.77%for saturation pressures,0.07%for swelling factors,and 0.07%for densities.

Diffusion coefficients of natural gas in foamy oil systems under high pressures

The diffusion coefficient of natural gas in foamy oil is one of the key parameters to evaluate the feasibility of gas injection for enhanced oil recovery in foamy oil reservoirs. In this paper, a PVT cell was used to measure diffusion coefficients of natural gas in Venezuela foamy oil at high pressures, and a new method for deter- mining the diffusion coefficient in the foamy oil was de- veloped on the basis of experimental data. The effects of pressure and the types of the liquid phase on the diffusion coefficient of the natural gas were discussed. The results indicate that the diffusion coefficients of natural gas in foamy oil, saturated oil, and dead oil increase linearly with increasing pressure. The diffusion coefficient of natural gas in the foamy oil at 20 MPa was 2.93 times larger than that at 8.65 MPa. The diffusion coefficient of the natural gas in dead oil was 3.02 and 4.02 times than that of the natural gas in saturated oil and foamy oil when the pressure was 20 MPa. However, the gas content of foamy oil was 16.9 times higher than that of dead oil when the dissolution time and pressure were 20 MPa and 35.22 h, respectively.

Guizhi Fuling capsule can induce apoptosis of myeloma cells through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway

Objective To observe the effects of Guizhi Fuling capsule(GZFLC)on RPMI 8226 cells and explore the mechanisms.Methods Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8)assays and flow cytometry were used to detect the viability and apoptosis levels of RPMI 8226 cells.The effects on mitochondria were examined by ROS and JC-1 assays.Western blotting was used to detect the expression of B cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bax,cleaved caspase-3,and Apoptotic protease-activating factor 1(Apaf-1).Results GZFLC drug serum decreased the viability and increased the apoptosis of RPMI 8226 cells.In addition,this drug increased ROS levels and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP).Western blotting showed that the Bcl-2/Bax ratios were decreased in the GZFLC drug serum-treated groups,whereas the expression levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Apaf-1 were increased.Conclusion GZFLC promoted apoptosis of myeloma cells through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

Neural mechanisms of feature binding

An object is usually composed of different features(e.g.,color,orientation,and motion),which are processed by segregated visual pathways and represented by functionally specialized brain areas.However,we perceive an object as a coherent whole,rather than its isolated features.How we integrate those isolated features and achieve a precise perception of objects is a fundamental challenge for the visual system,which is referred to as the binding problem.