Mechanisms of autophagy function and regulation in plant growth,development,and response to abiotic stress

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved degradation pathway of lysosomes(in mammals)and vacuoles(in yeasts and plants)from lower yeasts to higher mammals.It wraps unwanted organelles and damaged proteins in a double-membrane structure to transport them to vacuoles for degradation and recycling.In plants,autophagy functions in adaptation to the environment and maintenance of growth and development.This review systematically describes the autophagy process,biological functions,and regulatory mechanisms occurring during plant growth and development and in response to abiotic stresses.It provides a basis for further theoretical research and guidance of agricultural production.

Whole exome sequencing identifies an AMBN missense mutation causing severe autosomal-dominant amelogenesis imperfecta and dentin disorders

Tooth development is a complex process that involves precise and time-dependent orchestration of multiple genetic, molecular,and cellular interactions. Ameloblastin(AMBN, also named "amelin" or "sheathlin") is the second most abundant enamel matrix protein known to have a key role in amelogenesis. Amelogenesis imperfecta(AI [MIM: 104500]) refers to a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by inherited developmental enamel defects. The hereditary dentin disorders comprise a variety of autosomal-dominant genetic symptoms characterized by abnormal dentin structure affecting either the primary or both the primary and secondary teeth. The vital role of Ambn in amelogenesis has been confirmed experimentally using mouse models. Only two cases have been reported of mutations of AMBN associated with non-syndromic human AI. However, no AMBN missense mutations have been reported to be associated with both human AI and dentin disorders.We recruited one kindred with autosomal-dominant amelogenesis imperfecta(ADAI) and dentinogenesis imperfecta/dysplasia characterized by generalized severe enamel and dentin defects. Whole exome sequencing of the proband identified a novel heterozygous C-T point mutation at nucleotide position 1069 of the AMBN gene, causing a Pro to Ser mutation at the conserved amino acid position 357 of the protein. Exfoliated third molar teeth from the affected family members were found to have enamel and dentin of lower mineral density than control teeth, with thinner and easily fractured enamel, short and thick roots, and pulp obliteration. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that an AMBN missense mutation causes non-syndromic human AI and dentin disorders.

Lessons learned:Symbiotic autonomous robot ecosystem for nuclear environments

Nuclear facilities have a regulatory requirement to measure radiation levels within Post Operational Clean Out(POCO)around nuclear facilities each year,resulting in a trend towards robotic deployments to gain an improved understanding during nuclear decommissioning phases.The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority supports the view that human-in-the-loop(HITL)robotic deployments are a solution to improve procedures and reduce risks within radiation characterisation of nuclear sites.The authors present a novel implementation of a Cyber-Physical System(CPS)deployed in an analogue nuclear environment,comprised of a multi-robot(MR)team coordinated by a HITL operator through a digital twin interface.The development of the CPS created efficient partnerships across systems including robots,digital systems and human.This was presented as a multi-staged mission within an inspection scenario for the hetero-geneous Symbiotic Multi-Robot Fleet(SMuRF).Symbiotic interactions were achieved across the SMuRF where robots utilised automated collaborative governance to work together,where a single robot would face challenges in full characterisation of radiation.Key contributions include the demonstration of symbiotic autonomy and query-based learning of an autonomous mission supporting scalable autonomy and autonomy as a service.The coordination of the CPS was a success and displayed further challenges and improvements related to future MR fleets.

HSV-1 H129-Derived Anterograde Neural Circuit Tracers:Improvements, Production, and Applications

Anterograde viral tracers are powerful and essential tools for dissecting the output targets of a brain region of interest. They have been developed from herpes simplex virus 1(HSV-1) strain H129(H129), and have been successfully applied to map diverse neural circuits.Initially, the anterograde polysynaptic tracer H129-G4 was used by many groups. We then developed the first monosynaptic tracer, H129-dTK-tdT, which was highly successful, yet improvements are needed. Now, by inserting another tdTomato expression cassette into the H129-dTK-tdT genome, we have created H129-dTK-T2, an updated version of H129-dTK-tdT that has improved labeling intensity. To help scientists produce and apply our H129-derived viral tracers, here we provide the protocol describing our detailed and standardized procedures. Commonly-encountered technical problems and their solutions are also discussed in detail. Broadly, the dissemination of this protocol will greatly support scientists to apply these viral tracers on a large scale.

Fisheries resources of Bangladesh:Present status and future direction

Bangladesh is considered one of the most suitable regions for fisheries in the world,with the world's largest flooded wetland and the third largest aquatic biodiversity in Asia after China and India.This paper reviews the performance of fisheries in Bangladesh using data collected from the Bangladesh Department of Fisheries,and related un-published grey literatures.The findings within describe recent growth within Bangladeshi inland fisheries,primarily in the inland aquaculture sector(2014e2015).This increase in the aquaculture production has been made possible with the implementation of scientific and technological modernization.From 2000 and 2016,aquaculture production increased from 712,640 and 2,060,408 metric t,a much larger quantity than wild capture production(1.023 million t)in 2016.There has also been a recent increase in the value of fishery exports,with more than US$34.08 billion in 2010 rising to more than US$46.60 billion in 2015.However,fisheries production is well below production targets despite the large gains seen in the aquaculture sector.

Numerical simulation of the soliton solutions for a complex modified Korteweg—de Vries equation by a finite difference method

In this paper,a Crank-Nicolson-type finite difference method is proposed for computing the soliton solutions of a complex modifed Korteweg de Vries(MKdV)equation(which is equivalent to the Sasa-Satsuma equation)with the vanishing boundary condition.It is proved that such a numerical scheme has the second order accuracy both in space and time,and conserves the mass in the discrete level.Meanwhile,the resuling scheme is shown to be unconditionally stable via the von Nuemann analysis.In addition,an iterative method and the Thomas algorithm are used together to enhance the computational efficiency.In numerical experiments,this method is used to simulate the single-soliton propagation and two-soliton collisions in the complex MKdV equation.The numerical accuracy,mass conservation and linear stability are tested to assess the scheme's performance.