Meso-scale Discovery Assay Detects the Changes of Plasma Cytokine Levels in Mice after Low or High LET Ionizing Irradiation

Objective To obtain precise data on the changes in the levels of 29 cytokines in mice after high or low linear energy transfer(LET)irradiation and to develop an accurate model of radiation exposure based on the cytokine levels after irradiation.Methods Plasma samples harvested from mice at different time points after carbon-ion or X-ray irradiation were analyzed using meso-scale discovery(MSD),a high-throughput and sensitive electrochemiluminescence measurement technique.Dose estimation equations were set up using multiple linear regression analysis.Results The relative levels of IL-6 at 1 h,IL-5 and IL-6 at 24 h,and IL-5,IL-6 and IL-15 at 7 d after irradiation with two intensities increased dose-dependently.The minimum measured levels of IL-5,IL-6 and IL-15 were up to 4.0076 pg/mL,16.4538 pg/mL and 0.4150 pg/mL,respectively.In addition,dose estimation models were established and verified.Conclusions The MSD assay can provide more accurate data regarding the changes in the levels of the cytokines IL-5,IL-6 and IL-15.These cytokines could meet the essential criteria for radiosensitive biomarkers and can be used as radiation indicators.Our prediction models can conveniently and accurately estimate the exposure dose in irradiated organism.

Microstructure evolution of T91 steel after heavy ion irradiation at 550℃

Fe-Cr ferritic/martensitic(F/M)steels have been proposed as one of the candidate materials for the Generation IV nuclear technologies.In this study,a widely-used ferritic/martensitic steel,T91 steel,was irradiated by 196-MeV Kr^(+)ions at 550℃.To reveal the irradiation mechanism,the microstructure evolution of irradiated T91 steel was studied in details by transmission electron microscope(TEM).With increasing dose,the defects gradually changed from black dots to dislocation loops,and further to form dislocation walls near grain boundaries due to the production of a large number of dislocations.When many dislocation loops of primary a0/2<111>type with high migration interacted with other defects or carbon atoms,it led to the production of dislocation segments and other dislocation loops of a0<100>type.Lots of defects accumulated near grain boundaries in the irradiated area,especially in the high-dose area.The grain boundaries of martensite laths acted as important sinks of irradiation defects in T91.Elevated temperature facilitated the migration of defects,leading to the accumulation of defects near the grain boundaries of martensite laths.

Aligned Elongation of Ag Nanoparticles Embedded in Silica Irradiated with High Energy Ni Ions

Metallic nanoparticle （NP） shapes have a significant influence on the property of composite embedded with metallic NPs. Swift heavy ion irradiation is an effective way to modify shapes of metallic NPs embedded in an amorphous matrix. We investigate the shape deformation of Ag NPs with irradiation fluence, and 357 MeV Ni ions are used to irradiate the silica containing Ag NPs, which are prepared by ion implantation and vacuum annealing. The UV-vis results show that the surface plasmon resonance （SPR） peak from Ag NPs shifts from 400 to 377nm. The SPR peak has a significant shift at fluence lower than 1 × 10^14 ions/cm2 and shows less shift at fluence higher than 1 × 10^14 ions/cm2. The TEM results reveal that the shapes of Ag NPs also show significant deformation at fluence lower than 1 × 10^14 ions/cm2 and show less deformation at fluence higher than 1 × 10^14 ions/cm2. The blue shift of the SPR peak is considered to be the consequence of defect production and Ag NP shape deformation, Based on the thermal spike model calculation, the temperature of the silica surrounding Ag particles first increases rapidly, then the region of Ag NPs close to the interface of Ag/silica is gradually heated. Therefore, the driven force of Ag NPs deformation is considered as the volume expansion of the first heated silica layer surrounding Ag NPs.

Modes of Action of Phytochromes in Establishing Different Phototropic Responsiveness of Maize Coleoptiles

Previous studies have examined the effects of red light (R) on phototropism of maize ( Zea mays L. cv. Royaldent Hit 85) coleoptiles. The R effect on time-dependent phototropism (TDP) was further studied by characterizing its fluence-response relationship. The results showed the R effect was a low-fluence-response, unlike those on pulse-induced phototropisms that show a very-low-fluence-response mode. A subsequent pulse of far-red light (FR) could reverse the R effect. TDP responsiveness, however, recovered as the following FR was extended, The FR-dependent increase in TDP responsiveness was obtained even coleoptiles were pretreated only with FR. It suggested that TDP responsiveness could also be established in response to a FR signal. The fluence-response relationship for the effect of FR was then investigated. The effect of FR depended on the time of irradiation and required high photon fluences. Because reciprocity was invalid at the higher fluence range, the effect of FR would be a high-irradiance-response mode. Relation between phytochrome action modes and possible multiple pathways for phototropic signal transduction was analyzed based on the experiment results.

Pc-Si and c-Si Cell Studies at Transient and Steady State Conditions in Various Illumination Levels

A set of experiments was designed to study the power performance of a c-Si and a pc-Si cell when exposed to various levels of high illumination. The light concentration ratio, C, ranges from C 〈 1, up to C ≈ 26. An experimental set up was built for the purposes of this project. PV cell modeling is outlined in this paper for isc, Voc and the PV cell temperature, Tc, which predicts those quantities. There the behaviour of the two PV-cells at both transient out steady state conditions is studied. Predicted values are compared against measured ones. A comparison of the experimental values against the theoretically predicted ones is performed for the range C 〈 1 to C ≈ 26. Power recovery is tried through heat removal from both sides of the PV-cells by air forced flow. Experiments show recovery whose degree is close to 100% for low C values. On the other hand, as C grows higher, P~ starts decreasing too. PV cell temperatures reached up to 136 ℃ for C = 25. This is a challenge as reduction of temperature delivers a good amount of heat, in the cogeneration effect, while it has a positive impact to power recovery of the PV cell.

PVA/PEG Hybrid Hydrogels Prepared by Freeze-thawing and High Energy Electron Beam Irradiation

In this paper, poly（vinyl alcohol）（PVA） and PVA/poly（ethylene glycol）（PEG） hybrid hydrogels were synthesized by freeze-thawing or freeze-thawing followed by high energy electron beam irradiation. The influence of PEG molecular weight, mass ratios of PVA to PEG, thawing temperature and number of freeze-thawing（FT） cycles on the mechanical strength of PVA/PEG hydrogel was investigated. Also, the thermal behaviors were examined by differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and the microstructttres were observed with scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. The results suggest that the addition of PEG improves the mechanical strength of PVA hydrogel and the irradiation reduces both the strength of PVA/PEG hydrogel slightly and the degree of crystallinity. The improved properties suggest that PVA/PEG hydrogel can be a good candidate for the application in the biomedical.

Calcium contributes to photoprotection and repair of photosystem II in peanut leaves during heat and high irradiance

In this study, we investigated the effects of exogenous calcium nitrate on photoinhibition and thylakoid protein level in peanut plants under heat （40 ℃） and high irradiance （HI） （1,200 mmol/m2 per s） stress. Compared with control seedlings （cultivated in 0 mmol/L Ca（NO3）2 medium）, the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II （PSII） in Ca2t‐treated plants showed a slight decrease after 5 h stress, accompanied by lower degree of PSII closure （1‐qP）, higher non‐photochemical quenching, and lower level of membrane damage. Ca2t inhibitors were used to analyze the varieties of antioxidant enzymes activity and PSII proteins. These results indicated that Ca2t could protect the subunits of PSII reaction centers from photoinhibition by reducing the generation of reactive oxygen species. In the presence of both ethyleneglycol‐bis（2‐aminoethylether）‐tetraacetic acid and ascorbic acid （AsA）, the net degradation of the damaged D1 protein was faster than that only treated with AsA. Our previous study showed that either the transcriptional or the translational level of calmodulin was obviously higher in Ca2t‐treated plants. These results suggested that, under＆amp;nbsp;heat and HI stress, the Ca2t signal transduction pathway can al eviate the photoinhibition through regulating the protein repair process besides an enhanced capacity for scavenging reactive oxygen species.

Xanthophyll Cycle and Inactivation of Photosystem Ⅱ Reaction Centers Alleviating Reducing Pressure to Photosystem Ⅰ in Morning Glory Leaves under Short-term High Irradiance

Under 30-min high irradiance （1500μmol m^-2 s^-1）, the roles of the xanthophyll cycle and D1 protein turnover were investigated through chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in morning glory （Ipomoea setosa） leaves, which were dipped into water, dithiothreitol （DTT） and lincomycin （LM）, respectively. During the stress, both the xanthophyll cycle and D1 protein turnover could protect PSI from photoinhibition. In DTT leaves, non-photochemical quenching （NPQ） was inhibited greatly and the oxidation level of P700 （P700^＋） was the lowest one. However, the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII （Fv/Fm） in DTT leaves was higher than that of LM leaves and was lower than that of control leaves. These results suggested that PSI was more sensitive to the loss of the xanthophyll cycle than PSII under high irradiance. In LM leaves, NPQ was partly inhibited, Fv/Fm was the lowest one among three treatments under high irradiance and P700^＋ was at a similar level as that of control leaves. These results implied that inactivation of PSII reaction centers could protect PSI from further photoinhibition. Additionally, the lowest of the number of active reaction centers to one inactive reaction center for a PSII cross-section （RC/CSo）, maximal trapping rate in a PSll cross-section （TRo/CSo）, electron transport in a PSll cross-section （ETo/CSo） and the highest of 1-qP in LM leaves further indicated that severe photoinhibition of PSII in LM leaves was mainly induced by inactivation of PSII reaction centers, which limited electrons transporting to PSh However, relative to the LM leaves the higher level of RC/CSo, TRo/CSo, Fv/Fm and the lower level of 1-qP in DTT leaves indicated that PSI photoinhibition was mainly induced by the electron accumulation at the PSI acceptor side, which induced the decrease of P700^＋ under high irradiance.

Enhancement of hydroxyapatite dissolution through structure modification by Krypton ion irradiation

Hydroxyapatite(HA)synthesized by a wet chemical route was subjected to heavy ion irradiation,using4 Me V Krypton ion(Kr17+)with ion fluence ranging from 1×1013 to 1×1015 ions/cm2.Glancing incidence X-ray diffraction(GIXRD)results confirmed the phase purity of irradiated HA with a moderate contraction in lattice parameters,and further indicated the irradiation-induced structural disorder,evidenced by broadening of the diffraction peaks.High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM)observations indicated that the applied Kr irradiation induced significant damage in the hydroxyapatite lattice.Specifically,cavities were observed with their diameter and density varying with the irradiation fluences,while a radiation-induced crystalline-to-amorphous transition with increasing ion dose was identified.Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)analysis further indicated the presence of irradiationinduced defects.Ion release from pristine and irradiated materials following immersion in Tris(p H 7.4,37?)buffer showed that dissolution in vitro was enhanced by irradiation,reaching a peak at 0.1 dpa.We examined the effects of irradiation on the early stages of the mouse osteoblast-like cells(MC3 T3-E)response.A cell counting kit-8 assay(CCK-8 test)was carried out to investigate the cytotoxicity of samples,and viable cells can be observed on the irradiated materials.

The origin and evolution of salicylic acid signaling and biosynthesis in plants

Salicylic acid(SA)plays a pivotal role in plant response to biotic and abiotic stress.Several core SA signaling regulators and key proteins in SA biosynthesis have been well characterized.However,much remains unknown about the origin,evolution,and early diversification of core elements in plant SA signaling and biosynthesis.In this study,we identified 10 core protein families in SA signaling and biosynthesis across green plant lineages.We found that the key SA signaling receptors,the nonexpresser of pathogenesis-related(NPR)proteins,originated in the most recent common ancestor(MRCA)of land plants and formed divergent groups in the ancestor of seed plants.However,key transcription factors for SA signaling,TGACG motif-binding proteins(TGAs),originated in the MRCA of streptophytes,arguing for the stepwise evolution of core SA signaling in plants.Different from the assembly of the core SA signaling pathway in the ancestor of seed plants,SA exists extensively in green plants,including chlorophytes and streptophyte algae.However,the full isochorismate synthase(ICS)-based SA synthesis pathway was first assembled in the MRCA of land plants.We further revealed that the ancient abnormal inflorescence meristem 1(AIM1)-basedβ-oxidation pathway is crucial for the biosynthesis of SA in chlorophyte algae,and this biosynthesis pathway may have facilitated the adaptation of early-diverging green algae to the high-light-intensity environment on land.Taken together,our findings provide significant insights into the early evolution and diversification of plant SA signaling and biosynthesis pathways,highlighting a crucial role of SA in stress tolerance during plant terrestrialization.