Assembly and phylogenomic analysis of cotton mitochondrial genomes provide insights into the history of cotton evolution

Cotton is a major crop that provides the most important renewable textile fibers in the world.Studies of the taxonomy and evolution of cotton species have received wide attentions,not only due to cotton’s economic value but also due to the fact that Gossypium is an ideal model system to study the origin,evolution,and cultivation of polyploid species.Previous studies suggested the involvement of mitochondrial genome editing sites and copy number as well as mitochondrial functions in cotton fiber elongation.Whereas,with only a few mitogenomes assembled in the cotton genus Gossypium,our knowledge about their roles in cotton evolution and speciation is still scarce.To close this gap,here we assembled 20 mitogenomes from 15 cotton species spanning all the cotton clades(A–G,K,and AD genomes)and 5 cotton relatives using short and long sequencing reads.Systematic analyses uncovered a high level of mitochondrial gene sequence conservation,abundant sequence repeats and many insertions of foreign sequences,as well as extensive structural variations in cotton mitogenomes.The sequence repeats and foreign sequences caused significant mitogenome size inflation in Gossypium and its close relative Kokia in general,while there is no significant difference between the lint and fuzz cotton mitogenomes in terms of gene content,RNA editing,and gene expression level.Interestingly,we further revealed the specific presence and expression of two novel mitochondrial open reading frames(ORFs)in lint-fiber cotton species.Finally,these structural features and novel ORFs help us gain valuable insights into the history of cotton evolution and polyploidization and the origin of species producing long lint fibers from a mitogenomic perspective.

Solitary Langerhans cell histiocytosis of frontal lobe: a case report and literature review

The brain parenchymal Langerhans cell histiocytosis （LCH） without systemic disease or lytic skull lesions is extremely rare. We report a 23-year-old male presenting with new onset 1 hour seizure with loss of consciousness 20 days prior to admission, and recurrent seizure 2 weeks later. Brain magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） showed an irregularly mass with enhancement involving the right frontal lobe. Microscopically, the lesion was characterized by sheets of Langerhans cells in addition to reactive inflammatory elements. Immunohistochemically, Langerhans cells were positive for Langerin, CDla and S-100 protein. The patient received no chemotherapy or radiotherapy after surgery. After 24 months of follow-up, no recurrence or other systemic lesions were observed. Although there is no standard treatment for solitary cerebral LCH, the prognosis generally appears to be good.

Case studies of earthquake-induced effects on concrete channels

Case studies are presented for two concrete lined channels shaken by strong ground motions during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the high speed channel （HSC） and bypass channel （BC）, on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power＇s Van Norman Complex. Performances of these two channels as they pass through different subsurface materials identify several important seismic aspects and the critical role of geotechnical earthquake engineering in assessing channel behaviors. Preliminary evaluations using detailed mapping of channel cracks, permanent ground movements, subsurface profiles, and nearby strong ground motion recordings from the 1994 earthquake show that the channel liners may have been damaged from both transient motions and permanent ground movements. Damage from permanent ground deformations is obvious by observation; therefore simplified analyses are presented only for transient movements. Site specific transient response analyses are performed to provide an initial assessment of the differing effects from transient and permanent ground movements on HSC and BC liner damage. These case studies are helpful for introducing the potential for lifeline damage from transient movements within zones of permanent ground movement, a concept not well understood in the earthquake engineering community

Screening Test of Maize Varieties in Mountainous Arid Areas

Drought and water shortage are the biggest limiting factors of dry farming,and variety plays an important role in an increase in the yield of dryland maize.Screening high-yield maize varieties is helpful to the continuous increase and stable yield of dryland grain.In this experiment,the growth period,characters and yield of 12 maize varieties were analyzed.The results show that the yield of Ganyu series was low,while the yield of Lianda 169 was the highest(8 080.93 kg/ha),which was 31.40% higher than Jinsui 4.The yield of Dunyu 16 was6 621.06 kg/ha,7.64% higher than Jinsui 4.The two varieties had good comprehensive characters,so they could be popularized and planted in dry farming areas of Lanzhou City.

Quantitative Analysis of Fecal Hemoglobin Concentration in Colorectal Cancer Patients-The Values in the Screening and Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer

Objective:To use immunochemical detection of fecal hemoglobin amount as a technical method,to perform a fecal immunochemical test(FIT)on the fecal specimens of research subjects who were going to undergo colonoscopy.The recorded results are compared and analyzed,and the sensitivity and specificity of the detection method in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer were evaluated.Methods:Three hundred of individuals who were going to undergo colonoscopy were tested for GFOBT and FIT in feces in advance,and 20μg/g was used as the threshold for determining positive FIT result.The results were analyzed and compared with the results of colonoscopy.Results:The sensitivity of FIT to the diagnosis of colorectal cancer was 80.95%,and the specificity was 86.54%.The positive predictive values of FIT test in colorectal cancer screening were 53.1%and 81.77%,respectively.Conclusion:FIT is more sensitive and specific for detecting colorectal cancer and adenoma.The fecal occult blood test(FOBT)is stronger,and FIT test detection is more valuable in colon cancer screening.

施工临时用电计算及电气设备选用

文章结合工程实际所用设备进行用电计算和电气设备、导线的选用。可指导临电电气工程师如何选取各种计算系数,如何正确选用电气开关、导线的型号、规格。

接地与接零的正确做法

文章结合施工现场实际,介绍了TN-S接零保护系统的接地与接零的正确做法,可供施工现场安全管理人员借鉴。

Impact of acute heat stress on mitochondrial function, ultrastructure and cardiolipin distribution in Arabidopsis

Besides providing energy to sustain life,mitochondria also play crucial roles in stress response and programmed cell death.The mitochondrial hallmark lipid,cardiolipin(CL),is essential to the maintenance of mitochondrial structure and function.However,how mitochondria and CL are involved in stress response is not as well defined in plants as in animal and yeast cells.We previously revealed a role for CL in mitochondrial fission and in heat stress response in Arabidopsis.To further determine the involvement of mitochondria and CL in plant heat response,here we treated Arabidopsis seedlings with varied lengths of acute heat stress.These treatments resulted in decreases in mitochondrial membrane potential,disruption of mitochondrial ultrastructure,accumulation of mitochondrial reactive-oxygen species(ROS),and redistribution of CL to the outer mitochondrial membrane and to a novel type of vesicle.The level of the observed changes correlated with the severeness of the heat stress,indicating the strong relevance of these processes to stress response.Our findings provide the basis for studying mechanisms underpinning the role of mitochondria and CL in plant stress response.

Stabilization or degradation?Post-translational modifications of JAZ proteins in plants

Jasmonates(JAs)are essential hormones that regulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses and are involved in various developmental processes,including flowering time control,floral organ development,and fertility of male and female gametes(Howe et al.,2018).However,our understanding of the mechanisms by which JAs integrate multiple signals to regulate diverse physiological processes remains limited.In the canonical JA signaling pathway,activated JAs are perceived by the F-box protein receptor CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1(COl1),which induces the interaction between COl1 and the Jas domain of the repressor proteins JASMONATE-ZIM DOMAIN PROTEINs(JAZs),leading to the ubiquitination and degradation of JAZ proteins.The proteolytic destruction of the JAZ repressors is a crucial step that releases the inhibition of JAZs on the JA response transcription factor MYC2,allowing MYC2 to activate the expression of downstream genes(Howe et al.,2018).Therefore,the stability and specific spatiotemporal expression pattern of the JAZ proteins are critical for the regulation of JA signaling output,as they determine the activation and repression of JA responses.

Method for the navigation line recognition of the ridge without crops via machine vision

Some agriculture machinery like the transplanter,needs to operate by following the crop-free ridges.In order to improve working efficiency and quality,some autonomous navigation systems were developed and applied to ridge-following machinery.At present,agricultural navigation systems are mainly the satellite navigation system and the machine vision system.The satellite navigation system is difficult to apply to the machinery that needs to work by following the ridge because it cannot distinguish the shape of the navigated ridge and guide the machinery working along the ridge.In this study,697 cloudy ridge images and 235 sunny ridge images were taken in the field,and these images were used as the dataset.Moreover,a machine vision navigation method based on the color of ridges was proposed.Firstly,the regions of interest(ROI)in the ridge image were extracted according to the reaction time and the forward speed of the machine.Then,a gray reconstruction method was used to enlarge the color difference between the ridge and the furrow.The optimal threshold for the gray image segmenting was calculated real-timely by using the threshold segmentation method.Then,based on the contour detection method,the ridge contour which was not surrounded by holes was extracted.Finally,the approximate quadrilateral method was proposed to recognize the ridge center line as the navigation line.The method proposed in this study was verified by four types of ridges with different colors and textures.The experimental results showed that the recognition success rates of the light ridge,the dark ridge,the film-covered ridge,and the sunny ridge were 100%,97.5%,100%,and 98.7%,respectively.The recognition success rate of the proposed method was at least 8%higher than that of the existing ridge-furrow recognition methods.The results indicate that this method can effectively realize navigation line recognition.This method can provide technical support for the autonomous navigation of agricultural machinery,such as transplanters,seeders,etc.,operating on the ridge without crops.

Protein ubiquitination in plant peroxisomes

Protein ubiquitination regulates diverse cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms,from growth and development to stress response.Proteins subjected to ubiquitination can be found in virtually all subcellular locations and organelles,including peroxisomes,singlemembrane and highly dynamic organelles ubiquitous in eukaryotes.Peroxisomes contain metabolic functions essential to plants and animals such as lipid catabolism,detoxification of reactive oxygen species(ROS),biosynthesis of vital hormones and cofactors,and photorespiration.Plant peroxisomes possess a complex proteome with functions varying among different tissue types and developmental stages,and during plant response to distinct environmental cues.However,how these diverse functions are regulated at the post-translational level is poorly understood,especially in plants.In this review,we summarized current knowledge of the involvement of protein ubiquitination in peroxisome protein import,remodeling,pexophagy,and metabolism,focusing on plants,and referencing discoveries from other eukaryotic systems when relevant.Based on previous ubiquitinomics studies,we compiled a list of 56 ubiquitinated Arabidopsis peroxisomal proteins whose functions are associated with all the major plant peroxisomal metabolic pathways.This discovery suggests a broad impact of protein ubiquitination on plant peroxisome functions,therefore substantiating the need to investigate this significant regulatory mechanism in peroxisomes at more depths.

Proteome analysis of peroxisomes from dark-treated senescent Arabidopsis leaves

Peroxisomes compartmentalize a dynamic suite of biochemical reactions and play a central role in plant metabolism, such as the degradation of hydrogen peroxide, metabolism of fatty acids, photorespiration, and the biosyn- thesis of plant hormones. Plant peroxisomes have been traditionally classified into three major subtypes, and in-depth mass spectrometry （MS）-based proteomics has been per- formed to explore the proteome of the two major subtypes present in green leaves and etiolated seedlings. Here, we carried out a comprehensive proteome analysis of perox- isomes from Arabidopsis leaves given a 48-h dark treatment. Our goal was to determine the proteome of the third major subtype of plant peroxisomes from senescent leaves, and further catalog the plant peroxisomal proteome. We identified a total of 111 peroxisomal proteins and verified the peroxisomal localization for six new proteins with potential roles in fatty acid metabolism and stress response by in vivo targeting analysis. Metabolic pathways compartmentalized in the three major subtypes of peroxisomes were also compared, which revealed a higher number of proteins involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species in peroxisomes from senescent leaves. Our study takes an important step towards mapping the full function of plant peroxisomes.

Arabidopsis RING Peroxins are E3 Ubiquitin Ligases that Interact with Two Homologous Ubiquitin Receptor Proteins

Peroxisomes are essential eukaryotic organelles that mediate various metabolic processes. Peroxisome import depends on a group of peroxisome biogenesis factors called peroxins, many of which are evolutionarily conserved. PEX2, PEX10, and PEX12 are three RING-finger-domain-containing integral membrane peroxins crucial for protein import. In yeast （Saccharomyces cerevisae）, RING peroxins act as E3 ligases, facilitating the recycling of the peroxisome import receptor protein PEX5 through ubiquitination. In plants, RING peroxins are essential to plant vitality. To elucidate the mode of action of the plant RING peroxins, we employed in vitro assays to show that the Arabidopsis RING peroxins also have E3 ligase activities. We also identified a PEX2-interacting protein, DSK2b, which is a member of the ubiquitin receptor family known to function as shuttle factors ferrying polyubiquitinated substrates to the proteasome for degradation. DSK2b and its tandem duplicate DSK2a are localized in the cytosol and the nucleus, and both interact with the RING domain of PEX2 and PEX12. DSK2 artificial microRNA lines did not display obvious defects in plant growth or peroxisomal processes, indicating functional redundancies among Arabidopsis ubiquitin receptor proteins. Our results suggest that Arabidopsis RING peroxins can function as E3 ligases and act together with the ubiquitin receptor protein DSK2 in the peroxisomal membrane-associated protein degradation system.

Plant peroxisomes:Small organelles with versatility and complexity

Peroxisomes are small,highly dynamic,and multifunctional organelles in eukaryotes.Essential to plant survival,peroxisomes house various crucial metabolic activities,such as degradation of hydrogen peroxide(H2O2),lipid metabolism,photorespiration,and hormone biosynthesis and catabolism,and remodel their proteome in response to developmental and environmental changes(Hu et al.2012;Pan and Hu 2018).The four reviews and three research articles in this special issue on plant peroxisomes provide new insights into the diverse roles and dynamics of these structurally simple but functionally complicated organelles,raising exciting new questions for future investigations.

New loci for refractive errors and ocular biometric parameters in young Chinese Han adults

Myopia has become a major public health issue with an increasing prevalence.There are still individuals who experience similar environmental risk factors and,yet,remain non-myopic.Thus,there might be genetic factors protecting people from myopia.Considering the opposite ocular characteristics of primary angle closure glaucoma(PACG)to myopia and possible common pathway between them,we propose that certain risk genes for PACG might act as a protective factor for myopia.In this study,2,678 young adults were genotyped for 37 targeted single nucleotide polymorphisms.Compared with emmetropia,rs1401999(allele C:OR=0.795,P=0.03;genotype in dominant model:OR=0.759,P=0.02)and rs1258267(allele A:OR=0.824,P=0.03;genotype in dominant model:OR=0.603,P=0.01)were associated with low to moderate myopia and high myopia,respectively.Genotype under recessive model of rs11024102 was correlated with myopia(OR=1.456,P=0.01),low to moderate myopia(OR=1.443,P=0.02)and high myopia(OR=1.453,P=0.02).However,these associations did not survive Bonferroni correction.Moreover,rs1401999,rs1258267,and rs11024102 showed associations with certain ocular biometric parameters in different groups.Our study suggests that ABCC5,CHAT and PLEKHA7 might be associated with refractive errors by contributing to the regulation of ocular biometry,in terms of uncorrected results and their biological functions.

Peroxisomes in plant reproduction and seed-related development

Peroxisomes are small multi-functional organelles essential for plant development and growth.Plant peroxisomes play various physiological roles,including phytohormone biosynthesis,lipid catabolism,reactive oxygen species metabolism and many others.Mutant an alysis dem on strated key roles for peroxisomes in plant reproduction,seed development and germination and post-germinative seedling establishment;however,the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated.This review summarizes fin dings that reveal the importance and complexity of the role of peroxisomes in the pertinent processes.Theβ-oxidation pathway plays a central role,whereas other peroxisomal pathways are also involved.Understanding the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of these peroxisomal functions will be instrumental to the improvement of crop plants.

Arabidopsis Forkhead-Associated Domain Protein 3 negatively regulates peroxisome division

Peroxisomes are ubiquitous and dynamic eukaryotic organelles capable of altering their abun- dance in response to environmental and developmental cues, yet the regulatory mechanism of plant peroxisome division/proliferation is unclear. To identify transcriptional regulators of the peroxisome division factor gene PEX 11b, we performed a nuclear pull-clown experiment and identified Arabidopsis Forkhead- Associated Domain Protein 3 （FHA3） as a novel protein that binds to the promoter of PEX 11b. Our data supported the conclusion that, in contrast to the previously identified HY5 HOMOLOG （HYH） protein that promotes the transcription of PEX 11b, FHA3 is a negative regulator of PEX 11b expression and peroxisome division.

Plant Peroxisome Multiplication:Highly Regulated and Still Enigmatic

Plant peroxisomes play a key role in numerous physiological processes and are able to adapt to environmental changes by altering their content, morphology, and abundance. Peroxisomes can multiply through elongation, constriction, and fission; this process requires the action of conserved, as well as species-specific proteins. Genetic and morphological analyses have been used with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to determine at the mechanistic level how plant peroxisomes increase their abundance. The five-member PEXll family promotes early steps of peroxisome multiplication with an unknown mechanism and some subfamily specificities. The dynamin-related protein （DRP）3 subfamily of dynaminrelated large guanosine triphosphatases mediates late steps of both peroxisomal and mitochondrial multiplication. New genetic and biochemical tools will be needed to identify additional, especially plant-specific, constituents of the peroxisome multiplication pathways.

Least-squares images for edge-preserving smoothing

In this paper, we propose least-squares images(LS-images) as a basis for a novel edgepreserving image smoothing method. The LS-image requires the value of each pixel to be a convex linear combination of its neighbors, i.e., to have zero Laplacian, and to approximate the original image in a least-squares sense. The edge-preserving property inherits from the edge-aware weights for constructing the linear combination. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high quality results compared to previous state-of-theart works. We also show diverse applications of LSimages, such as detail manipulation, edge enhancement,and clip-art JPEG artifact removal.

Magnetic field distribution simulation and performance experiment of a magnetic seed-metering device based on the combined magnetic system

The magnetic seed-metering method is one of the universal approaches for plug tray seeding.Conventional electromagnetic and permanent-magnetic seed-metering devices either cannot supply a desirable magnitude of magnetic force or need a seed-clearing mechanism.Thus the objective of this research was to develop a combined magnetic system(CMS)seed-metering device for generating higher magnetic forces than the electromagnetic ones without using any auxiliary seed-clearing mechanisms.Firstly,the CMS component was designed and its magnetic field distributions in both attractive and clearing states were obtained by finite element method simulations.Secondly,based on the CMS components,a magnetic seed-metering device was developed and validated by a prototype experiment.The simulation results displayed that along the axial direction of the magnetic head,the maximum magnetic flux density in the clearing state was 21.03%of that in the attractive state.In addition,along the radial direction,the proportion was 24.16%.Concerning the spatial magnetic flux density distribution,the magnetic flux density on the seeding planes of CMS components(approximately 60 mT)was higher than that of transitional space between two CMS components(nearly 0 mT).As for the seeding performance experiment,when the rotational speed of the roller was 21 r/min and the exciting current was 0.15 A,the highest single rate was acquired(90.20%).In the same condition,the reseeding rate was 5.88%and the miss-seeding rate was 3.92%.The results suggest that the magnetic field distribution and seeding performance of the developed magnetic seed-metering device are acceptable.Therefore,the developed magnetic seed-metering device can be used in practical plug tray seeding processes.