Genome-wide association studies in apple reveal loci of large effect controlling apple polyphenols

Apples are a nutritious food source with significant amounts of polyphenols that contribute to human health and wellbeing,primarily as dietary antioxidants.Although numerous pre-and post-harvest factors can affect the composition of polyphenols in apples,genetics is presumed to play a major role because polyphenol concentration varies dramatically among apple cultivars.Here we investigated the genetic architecture of apple polyphenols by combining high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)data with~100,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)from two diverse apple populations.We found that polyphenols can vary in concentration by up to two orders of magnitude across cultivars,and that this dramatic variation was often predictable using genetic markers and frequently controlled by a small number of large effect genetic loci.Using GWAS,we identified candidate genes for the production of quercitrin,epicatechin,catechin,chlorogenic acid,4-O-caffeoylquinic acid and procyanidins B1,B2,and C1.Our observation that a relatively simple genetic architecture underlies the dramatic variation of key polyphenols in apples suggests that breeders may be able to improve the nutritional value of apples through markerassisted breeding or gene editing.

Proteome changes in banana fruit peel tissue in response to ethylene and high-temperature treatments

Banana(Musa AAA group)is one of the most consumed fruits in the world due to its flavor and nutritional value.As a typical climacteric fruit,banana responds to ethylene treatment,which induces rapid changes of color,flavor(aroma and taste),sweetness and nutritional composition.It has also been reported that ripening bananas at temperatures above 24℃ inhibits chlorophyll breakdown and color formation but increases the rate of senescence.To gain fundamental knowledge about the effects of high temperature and ethylene on banana ripening,a quantitative proteomic study employing multiplex peptide stable isotope dimethyl labeling was conducted.In this study,green(immature)untreated banana fruit were subjected to treatment with 10μL L^(−1) of ethylene for 24 h.After ethylene treatment,treated and untreated fruit were stored at 20 or 30℃ for 24 h.Fruit peel tissues were then sampled after 0 and 1 day of storage,and peel color and chlorophyll fluorescence were evaluated.Quantitative proteomic analysis was conducted on the fruit peels after 1 day of storage.In total,413 common proteins were identified and quantified from two biological replicates.Among these proteins,91 changed significantly in response to ethylene and high-temperature treatments.Cluster analysis on these 91 proteins identified 7 groups of changed proteins.Ethylene treatment and storage at 20℃ induced 40 proteins that are correlated with pathogen resistance,cell wall metabolism,ethylene biosynthesis,allergens and ribosomal proteins,and it repressed 36 proteins that are associated with fatty acid and lipid metabolism,redox–oxidative responses,and protein biosynthesis and modification.Ethylene treatment and storage at 30℃ induced 32 proteins,which were mainly similar to those in group 1 but also included 8 proteins in group 3(identified as chitinase,cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1,cysteine synthase,villin-2,leucine-transfer RNA ligase,CP47 protein and calmodulin)and repressed 43 proteins in 4 groups(groups 4–7),of which 6 were associated with photosynthesis II oxygen-evolving protein,the photosynthesis I reaction center,sugar metabolism,the redox–oxidative system and fatty acid metabolism.Differences in the response to ethylene and holding temperature at 30℃ were also revealed and have been discussed.The identities and quantities of the proteins found were linked with quality changes.This study demonstrates that ethylene and high temperature influence banana fruit ripening and senescence at the proteomic level and reveals the mechanisms by which high temperature accelerates banana fruit ripening.

Mg alloy cardio-/cerebrovascular scaffolds: Developments and prospects

Vascular scaffolds are one of the important application fields of biodegradable Mg alloys, and related research has been carried out for more than 20 years. In recent years, the application expansion of Mg alloy vascular scaffolds has brought new challenges to the research of related fields. This review focuses on the relevant advances in the field of Mg alloys for both cardio-/cerebrovascular scaffolds. The frequently investigated alloy series for vascular scaffolds were reviewed. The bottleneck of processing of Mg alloy minitubes was elucidated.The idea of functionalized surface modification was also pointed out in this review, and the authors put forward guidelines based on research experience in terms of scaffold structural design and degradation behavior evaluation. Finally, suggestions for further research directions of Mg alloy vascular scaffolds were provided.

MDCT Angiography Imaging Presentation of ALCAPA in Adults

Objective: To make a pictorial presentation of the anomalous origin of left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) appearances in adults on MDCT angiography. Methods: A retrospective evaluation was performed between 2005 and 2011 by ECG-gated coronary MDCT angiography. Total 8 patients included (9-51 years, mean age 29 years, 7 female). Image quality was evaluated firstly. Multi planar reformations (MPRs), maximum intensity projections (MIPs) and 3D volume-rendering techniques were used to evaluate image features. In addition, right and left coronary artery orifices were measured for each case. Results: Total 8/70,000 cases diagnosed ALCAPA by MDCT exam, all image qualities were acceptable. As the diagnose key point, all left coronary artery origin were clearly described, and indirect signs such as dilated and tortuous right/left arteries and collateral vessels between them, enlarged left ventricle were also well showed, the dilated degree of both the RCA and the LCA were marked with ages, the diameter of RCA for each case were a mild wider than that of left one. Other combined signs like papillary muscle calcification, bronchial arteries from aorta to the cardiac and coronary artery degeneration change were also included by MDCT angiography findings in a single data acquisition. No combined inter cardiac malformations in our group. Conclusion: ECG-gated MDCT an-giography plays an important role as a first-line modality in assessment of ALCAPA.

Spaceflight and simulated microgravity suppresses macrophage development via altered RAS/ERK/NFκB and metabolic pathways

Spaceflight-associated immune system weakening ultimately limits the ability of humans to expand their presence beyond the earth's orbit. A mechanistic study of microgravity-regulated immune cell function is necessary to overcome this challenge. Here, we demonstrate that both spaceflight (real) and simulated microgravity significantly reduce macrophage differentiation, decrease macrophage quantity and functional polarization, and lead to metabolic reprogramming, as demonstrated by changes in gene expression profiles. Moreover, we identified RAS/ERK/NFκB as a major microgravity-regulated pathway. Exogenous ERK and NFκB activators significantly counteracted the effect of microgravity on macrophage differentiation. In addition, microgravity also affects the p53 pathway, which we verified by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Collectively, our data reveal a new mechanism for the effects of microgravity on macrophage development and provide potential molecular targets for the prevention or treatment of macrophage differentiation deficiency in spaceflight.

Experimental research on the influence of temperature on the discharge signal of void defects in GIS

Temperature is an important environmental factor during the operation of gas‐insulated switchgear(GIS),affecting the evaluation results of the GIS equipment to increase the risk of the power system.However,the influence of temperature on the partial discharge detection signal of GIS is still unclear.Aimed at the common void defects in GIS,the law of change on the number of ultrahigh‐frequency(UHF)pulses,the UHF amplitude,the characteristic value of the UHF map,and the maximum apparent charge of a single pulse with temperature are obtained using the UHF method and IEC60270,and corresponding theoretical analysis is carried out.The results show that an increase in temperature leads to a decrease in the void discharge delay time,causing an increase in UHF pulses and a decrease in the apparent charge of a single discharge pulse in the experiment.The in-crease of temperature makes the void discharge current rise quickly so that the induced UHF amplitude increases.In the range of 40-70℃,the maximum pulse amplitude in-creases by approximately 30%for every 10℃ increase,and the average pulse amplitude increases by approximately 12%.The result of UHF signals affected by temperature obtained in this study has research significance for the realisation of a comprehensive evaluation of the insulation state of GIS equipment considering temperature.

Wip1 inhibits neutrophil extracellular traps to promote abscess formation in mice by directly dephosphorylating Coronin-1a

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) participate in the rapid inhibition and clearance of pathogens during infection;however, the molecular regulation of NET formation remains poorly understood. In the current study, we found that inhibition of the wild-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) significantly suppressed the activity of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and accelerated abscess healing in S. aureus-induced abscess model mice by enhancing NET formation. A Wip1 inhibitor significantly enhanced NET formation in mouse and human neutrophils in vitro. High-resolution mass spectrometry and biochemical assays demonstrated that Coro1a is a substrate of Wip1. Further experiments also revealed that Wip1 preferentially and directly interacts with phosphorylated Coro1a than compared to unphosphorylated inactivated Coro1a. The phosphorylated Ser426 site of Coro1a and the 28–90 aa domain of Wip1 are essential for the direct interaction of Coro1a and Wip1 and for Wip1 dephosphorylation of p-Coro1a Ser426. Wip1 deletion or inhibition in neutrophils significantly upregulated the phosphorylation of Coro1a-Ser426, which activated phospholipase C and subsequently the calcium pathway, the latter of which promoted NET formation after infection or lipopolysaccharide stimulation. This study revealed Coro1a to be a novel substrate of Wip1 and showed that Wip1 is a negative regulator of NET formation during infection. These results support the potential application of Wip1 inhibitors to treat bacterial infections.

Optimised trajectory tracking control for quadrotors based on an improved beetle antennae search algorithm

This paper focuses on the trajectory tracking of quadrotors under bounded external disturbances.An optimised robust controller is proposed to drive the position and attitude ofa quadrotor converge to their references quickly. At first, nonsingular fast terminal slidingmode control is developed, which can guarantee not only the stability but also finite-timeconvergence of the closed-loop system. As the parameters of the designed controllers playa vital role for control performance, an improved beetle antennae search algorithm is proposedto optimise them. By employing the historical information of the beetle’s antennaeand dynamically updating the step size as well as the range of its searching, the optimisingis accelerated considerably to ensure the efficiency of the quadrotor control. The superiorityof the proposed control scheme is demonstrated by simulation experiments, from whichone can see that both the error and the overshooting of the trajectory tracking are reducedeffectively.