Application of Terahertz Technology for Neuroscience

Brain is the most complex organ of human beings. The complete understanding of human brains＇ functions is an ongoing challenge for neuroscience. Although there are many techniques used for brain research, neuroscientists, physicists, and engineers are still exploring other access of research for applications. Terahertz （THz） spectroscopy and imaging may create such a space for brain research. THz spectroscopic technique, which is a novel medical imaging modality, attracts attention of biomedical applications due to its unique features including non-invasive, non-ionizing, and high sensitivity to biomolecules and tissues. In this article, we introduce our recent investigations on neuroscience using THz techniques, meanwhile, introduce other＇s work in this field. Our and others＇ investigations indicate that the THz spectroscopy and imaging technique can be useful for diagnosing brain tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. THz spectroscopy and imaging has the potential to become real-time in vivo diagnostic methods.

Expression Level of a Transcription Factor Gene Mdhd-Zip Up-regulated during Apple Fruit Senescence

[Objective] This study aimed to explore the role of one apple transcription factor of homeodomain-leucine zipper(MdHD-Zip) during apple fruit senescence.[Method] Postharvest Red Fuji fruits(Malus domestica Borkh ‘Red Fuji') were stored at room temperature(18 ℃-20 ℃) and cold condition(0 ± 1 ℃) separately.Fruit firmness and ethylene production during storage process were analyzed.Transcript level of Md HD-Zip was detected by real-time quantitative PCR during apple fruit storage under room temperature and cold condition.[Result] Expression level of Md HD-Zip was found up-regulated in later stage of apple fruit senescence at room temperature,while it showed a peak level after one month of cold storage.[Conclusion] The results of the present study suggest that Md HD-Zip may play a role in regulating apple fruit senescence.

Structural design and characterization of a new chalcone molecular derivative crystal DMNC with high second-order nonlinear coefficient

1.Text In recent years,new organic second-order nonlinear optical materials have been widely used in optical imaging,data storage,information processing and communication,etc.[1].Therefore,designing and growing crystalline materials with strong second-order nonlinear effects is one of the current research hotspots[2].

A host E3 ubiquitin ligase regulates Salmonella virulence by targeting an SPI-2 effector involved in SIF biogenesis

Salmonella Typhimurium creates an intracellular niche for its replication by utilizing a large cohort of effectors,including several that function to interfere with host ubiquitin signaling.Although the mechanism of action of many such effectors has been elucidated,how the interplay between the host ubiquitin network and bacterial virulence factors dictates the outcome of infection largely remains undefined.In this study,we found that the SPI‐2 effector SseK3 inhibits SNARE pairing to promote the formation of a Salmonella‐induced filament by Arg‐GlcNAcylation of SNARE proteins,including SNAP25,VAMP8,and Syntaxin.Further study reveals that host cells counteract the activity of SseK3 by inducing the expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM32,which catalyzes K48‐linked ubiquitination on SseK3 and targets its membrane‐associated portion for degradation.Hence,TRIM32 antagonizes SNAP25 Arg‐GlcNAcylation induced by SseK3 to restrict Salmonella‐induced filament biogenesis and Salmonella replication.Our study reveals a mechanism by which host cells inhibit bacterial replication by eliminating specific virulence factors.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum FRT4 attenuates high-energy low-protein dietinduced fatty liver hemorrhage syndrome in laying hens through regulating gut-liver axis

Background Fatty liver hemorrhage syndrome(FLHS)becomes one of the most major factors resulting in the laying hen death for caged egg production.This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Lactiplantibacillus plan-tarum(Lp.plantarum)FRT4 on FLHS model in laying hen with a focus on liver lipid metabolism,and gut microbiota.Results The FLHS model of laying hens was established by feeding a high-energy low-protein(HELP)diet,and the treatment groups were fed a HELP diet supplemented with differential proportions of Lp.plantarum FRT4.The results indicated that Lp.plantarum FRT4 increased laying rate,and reduced the liver lipid accumulation by regulating lipid metabolism(lipid synthesis and transport)and improving the gut microbiota composition.Moreover,Lp.plan-tarum FRT4 regulated the liver glycerophospholipid metabolism.Meanwhile,“gut-liver”axis analysis showed that there was a correlation between gut microbiota and lipid metabolites.Conclusions The results indicated that Lp.plantarum FRT4 improved the laying performance and alleviated FLHS in HELP diet-induced laying hens through regulating“gut-liver”axis.Our findings reveal that glycerophospholipid metabolism could be the underlying mechanism for the anti-FLHS effect of Lp.plantarum FRT4 and for future use of Lp.plantarum FRT4 as an excellent additive for the prevention and mitigation of FLHS in laying hens.

果胶甲酯酶的结构与功能研究进展

果胶甲酯酶(PME)是一种重要的果胶酶,其水解果胶中的甲酯基从而释放甲醇并降低果胶的甲酯化程度。目前在食品加工、茶饮料、造纸等生产工艺中有着广泛的应用前景。随着对PME的深入研究,已报道了几种不同来源的酶晶体结构,对这些已获得的晶体结构进行分析发现,PME属于右手平行β-螺旋结构,其催化残基为2个保守的天冬氨酸和1个谷氨酰胺残基,并且在催化过程中分别起到了一般酸碱、亲核试剂以及稳定中间体的作用。同时对其底物特异性进行分析,初步了解其底物与活性位点的识别机制。文中针对这几个相关方面进行了系统的综述。

A Transgenic Study on Affecting Potato Tuber Yield by Expressing the Rice Sucrose Transporter Genes OsSUT5Z and OsSUT2M

In many plants, sucrose transporters are essential for both sucrose exports from sources and imports into sinks, indicating a function in assimilate partitioning. To investigate whether sucrose transporters can improve the yield of starch plant, potato plants （Solanum tuberosum L. cv. D^siree） were transformed with cDNAs of the rice sucrose transporter genes OsSUT5Z and OsSUT2M under the control of a tuber- specific, class-I patatin promoter. Compared to the controls, the average fructose content of OsSUTSZ transgenic tubers significantly increased. However, the content of the sugars and starch in the OsSUT2M transgenic potato tubers showed no obvious difference. Correspondingly, the average tuber yield, average number of tubers per plant and average weight of single tuber showed no significant difference in OsSUT2M transgenic tubers with controls. In the OsSUTSZ transgenic lines, the average tuber yield per plant was 1.9-fold higher than the controls, and the average number of tubers per plant increased by more than 10 tubers on average, whereas the average weight of a single tuber did not increase significantly. These results suggested that the average number of tubers per plant showed more contribution than the average weight of a single tuber to the tuber yield per plant.

Cloning and Expression Analysis of Rice Sucrose Transporter Genes OsSUT2M and OsSUT5Z

Two sucrose transporter （SUT） cDNAs, OsSUT2M and OsSUT5Z, were isolated from rice （Oryza sativa L.） by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. Sequencing results indicate they are 1 531 bp and 1 635 bp in length including complete open reading frame 1 506bp and 1 608 bp, which encode 502 amino acids and 536 amino acids, respectively. The TopPred program suggested that both sucrose transporter proteins, OsSUT2M and OsSUT5Z, consist of potentially 12 transmembrane domains. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to investigate the gene expression patterns of OsSUT2M and OsSUT5Z. In vegetative organs, transcripts of OsSUT2M were higher in source leaf blades than in other organs at the same development stage, whereas transcripts of OsSUT5Z were less traceable in all organs investigated. In reproductive organs, both transcripts of these two genes were high in panicles from the booting stage to 7 days after flowering （DAF） and then sharply declined. The potential physiology functions of these two sucrose transporters are discussed.

Cell-wall Invertases from Rice are Differentially Expressed in Caryopsis during the Grain Filling Stage

Cell-wall invertase plays an important role in sucrose partitioning between source and sink organs in higher plants. To investigate the role of cell-wall invertases for seed development in rice （Oryza sativa L.）, cDNAs of three putative cell- wall invertase genes OsCIN1, OsCIN2 and OsCIN3 were isolated. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed different expression patterns of the three genes in various rice tissues/organs. In developing caryopses, they exhibited similar temporal expression patterns, expressed highly at the early and middle grain filling stages and gradually declined to low levels afterward. However, the spatial expression patterns of them were very different, with OsCIN1 primarily expressed in the caryopsis coat, OsCIN2 in embryo and endosperm, and OsCIN3 in embryo. Further RNA in situ hybridization analysis revealed that a strong signal of OsCIN2 mRNA was detected in the vascular parenchyma surrounding the xylem of the chalazal vein and the aleurone layer, whereas OsCIN3 transcript was strongly detected in the vascular parenchyma surrounding the phloem of the chalazal vein, cross-cells, the aleurone layer and the nuceUar tissue. These data indicate that the three cell-wall invertase genes play complementary/synergetic roles in assimilate unloading during the grain filling stage. In addition, the cell type-specific expression patterns of OsCIN3 in source leaf blades and anthers were also investigated, and its corresponding physiological roles were discussed.

Electricity Services Based Dependability Model of Power Grid Communication Networking

The technology of Ultra-High Voltage （UHV） transmission requires higher dependability for electric power grid. Power Grid Communication Networking （PGCN）, the fundamental information infrastructure, severs data transmission including control signal, protection signal, and common data services. Dependability is the necessary requirement to ensure services timely and accurately. Dependability analysis aims to predicate operation status and provide suitable strategies getting rid of the potential dangers. Due to the dependability of PGCN may be affected by external environment, devices quality, implementation strategies, and so on, the scale explosion and the structure complexity make the PGCN＇s dependability much challenging. In this paper, with the observation of interdependency between power grid and PGCN, we propose an electricity services based dependability analysis model of PGCN. The model includes methods of analyzing its dependability and procedures of designing the dependable strategies. We respectively discuss the deterministic analysis method based on matrix analysis and stochastic analysis model based on stochastic Petri nets.

Effects of parental empathy and emotion regulation on social competence and emotional/behavioral problems of school‐age children

Importance Parents take the lead in parent–child interactions and their emotion regulation ability and empathy during parenting may be associated with children’s emotional/behavioral problems.However,the specific mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear.Objective The present study aimed to explore the effect of parental empathy and emotional regulation on social competence and emotional/behavioral problems in school‐age children.Methods A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted with 274 parents of 8–11‐year‐old children using Achenbach’s Child Behavior Checklist,the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire,and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy.Results Children with emotional/behavioral problems(n=37)had relatively lower social competence than children in a matched control group(n=37).Compared with the parents of children in the control group,parents of children with emotional/behavioral problems had significantly lower cognitive empathy scores,mainly manifested by low perspective‐taking and online simulation abilities.Mediation analysis showed that parental cognitive empathy had an indirect effect on children’s emotional/behavioral problems through children’s social competence.Interpretation Parental empathy may have a subtle influence on the social competence of school‐aged children,which further affects the severity of children’s emotional/behavioral problems.

Chinese Compilation of Physical Activities in healthy adults aged 18-64:Categories and metabolic intensities

A Chinese Compilation of Physical Activities was compiled to estimate the energy costs of physical activities(PAs)using data on adults aged 18–64.Data were obtained from published articles and laboratory measurements.Databases,including PubMed,Embase,Scopus,Ebsco,Web of Science,Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure,Wan Fang Data,National Science and Technology Report Service,Public Health Scientific Data were searched to collect data from inception to January 2022,on energy expenditure associated with PA in the healthy Chinese population.Two reviewers independently screened the literature and extracted,classified,and summarized data.Data were measured for 36 PAs using indirect calorimetry.Detailed descriptions of specific activities and metabolic equivalent values were provided by summarizing 241 physical activities in 13 categories.The first edition of the Chinese Compilation of PAs in Healthy Adults Aged 18–64(CCPA)was created.It provides valuable resources for people who regularly engage in physical exercise,researchers,educators,fitness professionals,and health or commercial sectors to quickly obtain various PA MET intensities.In the future,the energy expenditure of various PAs of different ages within the Chinese population can be measured based on the CCPA.