A 48-bp deletion upstream of LIGULELESS 1 alters rice panicle architecture

Panicle architecture is an agronomic determinant of crop yield and a target for cereal crop improvement.To investigate its molecular mechanisms in rice,we performed map-based cloning and characterization of OPEN PANICLE 1(OP1),a gain-of-function allele of LIGULELESS 1(LG1),controlling the spread-panicle phenotype.This allele results from a 48-bp deletion in the LG1 upstream region and promotes pulvinus development at the base of the primary branch.Increased OP1 expression and altered panicle phenotype in chimeric transgenic plants and upstream-region knockout mutants indicated that the deletion regulates spread-panicle architecture in the mutant spread panicle 1(sp1).Knocking out BRASSINOSTEROID UPREGULATED1(BU1)gene in the background of OP1 complementary plants resulted in compact panicles,suggesting OP1 may regulate inflorescence architecture via the brassinosteroid signaling pathway.We regard that manipulating the upstream regulatory region of OP1 or genes involved in BR signal pathway could be an efficient way to improve rice inflorescence architecture.

Variation Characteristics of Main Climate Factors in the Upstream of Wei River in Recent 39 Years

Wei River is an important river which affects the industrial and agricultural production,people's life in Guanzhong district of Shaanxi and the east of Gansu.To study the variation characteristics of main climate factors in recent 39 years in the upstream of Wei River,we analyzed the variation characteristics of climate factors by using the data in 11 meteorological stations in the upstream basin of Wei River during 1971-2009.The results showed that the precipitation presented the decline trend in the basin,and the temperature rose in 0.3 ℃/10 a trend.The temperature increase trend was 0.4 ℃/10 a in winter,spring and wasn't obvious in summer,autumn.The potential evapotranspiration presented the yearly increase trend in recent years.The precipitation decreased,and the temperature rose.Moreover,the potential evapotranspiration strengthened.It wasn't favorable for the healthy run of ecological system in the upstream,downstream basins and aggravated the shortage degree of water resources.

Torrent risk zonation in the Upstream Red River Basin based on GIS

This paper explores the methodology for compiling the torrent hazard and risk zonation map by means of GIS technique for the Red River Basin in Yunnan province of China, where is prone to torrent. Based on a 1：250,000 scale digital map, six factors including slope angle, rainstorm days, buffer of river channels, maximum runoff discharge of standard area, debris flow distribution density and flood disaster history were analyzed and superimposed to create the torrent risk evaluation map. Population density, farmland percentage, house property, and GDP as indexes accounting for torrent hazards were analyzed in terms of vulnerability mapping. Torrent risk zonation by means of GIS was overlaid on the two data layers of hazard and vulnerability. Then each grid unit with a resolution of 500 m- 500 m was divided into four categories of the risk： extremely high, high, moderate and low. Finally the same level risk was combined into a confirmed zone, which represents torrent risk of the study area. The risk evaluation result in the upper Red River Basin shows that the extremely high risk area of 13,150 km^2 takes up 17.9% of the total inundated area, the high risk area of 33,783 km^2 is 45.9%, the moderate risk area of 18,563 km^2 is 25.2% and the low risk area of 8115 km^2 is 11.0%.

Analysis and forecasts of investment scale and structure in upstream sector for oil companies based on system dynamics

Oil and gas exploration and production is the most important and key segment in the whole business chain of the petroleum industry.Therefore,oil companies always put much emphasis on making scientific and reasonable decisions about investment scale and structure in the upstream sector,so that they can minimise business risks and obtain high returns.According to the system dynamics theories and methods and based on the actual results from an oil company＇s practice in China,a system dynamics model is built in this paper for analyzing and forecasting the upstream investment scale and structure for an oil company.This model was used to analyze the investment effect of a large oil company in China, and the results showed that the total upstream investment scale will decline slowly in a short period and the investment proportion of different parts should be adjusted if some influencing factors are taken into account.This application practice was compared with the actual data and indicated that the system dynamics（SD） model presented in this paper is a useful tool for analyzing and forecasting of upstream investment scale and structure of oil companies in their investment decisions.

Application of an Explicit Upstream FEM in Estuary Study

The Explicit Upstream FEM (EU-FEM) proposed in this paper not only possesses the advantages of saving memory and CPU time for FDM, but also fits boundary easily, arranges nodal points flexibly and makes local grids fine down conveniently. The software package, which consists of EU-FEM models and pre/post-processing skills, has been widely used to estuary, near-shore, bay, lake and complex waters with many islands and channels. In addition to flow field, this model can be used to calculate the distribution fields of pollutants, temperature, salinity, sediment, and oil spill, and can be used to case study of estuary regulation projects. Some practical applications are presented and some problems discussed.

Institutional preparation for relaxation of control over the upstream petroleum industry in China

Relaxation of control over the upstream business of the petroleum industry in China is discussed. The authors suggest that a basic institutional preparation should be made before relaxing control over the upstream business, and that the institutional preparation includes at least four parts： 1） setting up the admission standards, 2） perfecting the management system of mining rights, 3） reforming the royalty and taxation system for oil and gas resources, and 4） improving the supervision and management system. Stressing the institutional preparation before relaxation of control does not mean that China could not relax control over the upstream business until the management systems are perfected, but the authors suggest that China could establish a necessary system for relaxation of control and to improve it with future practice.

PbEIL1 acts upstream of PbCysp1 to regulate ovule senescence in seedless pear

Numerous environmental and endogenous signals control the highly orchestrated and intricate process of plant senescence.Ethylene,a well-known inducer of senescence,has long been considered a key endogenous regulator of leaf and flower senescence,but the molecular mechanism of ethylene-induced ovule senescence has not yet been elucidated.In this study,we found that blockage of fertilization caused ovule abortion in the pear cultivar‘1913’.According to transcriptome and phytohormone content data,ethylene biosynthesis was activated by pollination.At the same time,ethylene overaccumulated in ovules,where cells were sensitive to ethylene signals in the absence of fertilization.We identified a transcription factor in the ethylene signal response,ethylene-insensitive 3-like(EIL1),as a likely participant in ovule senescence.Overexpression of PbEIL1 in tomato caused precocious onset of ovule senescence.We further found that EIL1 could directly bind to the promoter of the SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED CYSTEINE PROTEINASE 1(PbCysp1)gene and act upstream of senescence.Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays revealed the interaction of the transcription factor and the promoter DNA sequence and demonstrated that PbEIL1 enhanced the action of PbCysp1.Collectively,our results provide new insights into how ethylene promotes the progression of unfertilized ovule senescence.

Study of temperature and precipitation change in upstream mountain area of the Hexi inland river basin since 1960s

All rivers in the Hexi inland region of Gansu Province, China, originate from the northern slope of the Qilian Mountains. They are located in the southern portion of the region and respectively belong to the three large river systems from east to west, the Shiyang, Heihe and Shule river basins. These rivers are supplied by precipitation, snowmelt and ice-melt runoff from the Qilian Mountain area. Therefore, changes of precipitation and temperature in the upstream watersheds of these rivers have an important effect on changes of mountainous runoff and reasonable utilization of water resources in this region. For this reason, the Qilian Mountain area, upstream watersheds and runoff forming areas of these rivers are chosen as the study area. The change characteristics and variation trend of temperature and precipitation in this area under the backdrop of global warming axe analyzed based on observa- tional data of relational weather and hydrologic stations in the area. Results show that temperatures in the upriver mountain areas of these three large river basins have been increasing, although the increasing degree is differentially affected by global warming. The rising extent of annual and seasonal temperatures in the upstream mountain area of the Shule river basin located in the west- em Qilian Mountains, were all largest over the past 50 years. Precipitation in the upstream mountain areas of Hexi region＇ three river basins located respectively in the western, middle and eastern Qilian Mountains have been presenting an increasing trend to varying degrees as a whole for more than 50 years. This means that climate in the upstream mountain areas of Hexi region＇ three river basins are becoming increasingly warmer and moister over the past 50 years, which will be very good for the ecological en- vironment and agricultural production in the region.

Aspects of the upstream region in a plasma jet with dielectric barrier discharge configurations

A plasma column with a length of about 65 cm is generated in the upstream region of a plasma jet using dielectric barrier discharge configurations. The effects of experimental parameters such as the amplitude of the applied voltage and the driving frequency are investigated in aspects of the plasma column by the optical method. Results show that both the plasma length and the propagating velocity, as well as the discharge current, increase with the increase in the applied voltage or its frequency. The discharge mechanism is analysed qualitatively based on streamer theory, where photo-ionization is important. Furthermore, optical emission spectroscopy is used to investigate the electric field intensity of the upstream region.

Impacts of water and soil erosion in upstream watershed of Nenjiang River

Making a brief analysis of the water and soil loss present situation in Daxing＇anling area which locates to the upstream region of Nenjiang River, and giving the water and soil loss of this area that have been made near 20 years, as well as the factors of the water and soil loss. According to the factors corresponding prevention measure and forecast model have been put forward, make a brief introduction to this model in this article. It is helpful to improve the local soil conservation and sustainable development.

Upstream Operations in the Oil Industry： Rigorous Modeling ofan Electrostatic Coalescer

This paper deals with a first-principle mathematical model that describes the electrostatic coalescer unitsdevoted to the separation of water from oil in water-in-oil emulsions, which are typical of the upstreamoperations in oil fields. The main phenomena governing the behavior of the electrostatic coalescer are denscribed, starting from fundamental laws. In addition, the gradual coalescence of the emulsion droplets isconsidered in the mathematical modeling in a dynamic fashion, as the phenomenon is identified as a keystep in the overall yield of the unit operation. The resulting differential system with boundary conditionsis then integrated via performing numerical libraries, and the simulation results confirm the available lit-erature and the industrial data. A sensitivity analysis is provided with respect to the main parameters. Themathematical model results in a flexible tool that is useful for the purposes of design, unit behavior predic-tion. performance rnoniroring, and ontimization.

A study on zooplankton distribution patterns and indicator species in Kuroshio upstream area and adjacent East China Sea

On the basis of the data of zooplankton biomass and three major taxa—— Copepoda, Chaetognatha andSiphonophora of May-June 1986, July-August and December 1987, the distributional patterns and the indicator species of zooplankton in the Kuroshio and adjacent waters of the East China Sea are preliminarily studied. The results are as follows:The horizontal distribution of zooplankton biomass and the abundance of copepods, chaetognaths and siphonophores arecurred in the continent area northwest of Taiwan and the south-centre section of the East China Sea continent, which are the mix front of different waters. Zooplankton in the water area inside of Ryukyu Islands presented low abundance and high diversity. There are clear seasonal variations in zooplankton biomass and abundance in the study area. The strength or weakness of different water masses and fronts is the basic reason for the variations of zooplankton biomass and abundance.The species composition of zooplankton in the study area is complex and varies, however, the tropic oceanic species predominates overwhelmingly. The distribution of different ecotype species evidences the distribution of different water masses and the state of mixture. The indicator species of each water mass are listed in the paper so as to provide grounds for the variation of currents in the Kuroshio area.The temperature and salinity of sea water are important factors affecting zooplankton distribution, composition and diversity , however the role of salinity is major. With the replacement of one season by another, the correlative levels of temperature and salinity to various zooplankton taxa are more or less significant.

Functional characterization of a Δ6 fatty acid desaturase gene and its 5′-upstream region cloned from the arachidonic acid-rich microalga Myrmecia incisa Reisigl(Chlorophyta)

It is suggested that Δ6 fatty acid desaturase(FAD) plays a critical role in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids in plants and microalgae. But why does it adapt to the changed environments such as nitrogen starvation is seldom understood. One Δ6 FAD gene( MiD6 fad) from an arachidonic acidrich microalga M yrmecia incisa Reisigl(Chlorophyta) was first heterologously expressed in S accharomyces cerevisiae for the identification of function. The fatty acid profile of transgenic yeast detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry illustrated that the enzyme MiD6 FAD could convert linoleic and ?-linolenic acids to γ-linolenic and stearidonic acids, respectively, demonstrating that M iD6 fad encoded a Δ6 FAD. A 1 965-bp fragment of the cloned 2 347-bp 5′-upstream region of M iD6 fad was next subcloned and fused upstream with green fluorescent protein(GFP) gene to replace the GAL1 promoter of the vector pYES2. The generated construct was transformed into S. cerevisiae for function determination. Confocal microscopic images of the transformed line illustrated that this inserted fragment could drive GFP expression, which was further verified by fluorescence intensity quantification and Western blot analysis using antiGFP antibody. The conversion efficiency(approximately 2%-3%) of MiD6 FAD was much lower than the reported ? 3 FAD and Δ6 elongase in this microalga, suggesting that MiD6 FAD catalysed the possible ratelimiting step for ArA biosynthesis. The presence of several putative c is-acting regulatory elements in this identified promoter sheds new light on the regulation mechanism research of Δ6 FAD transcription for the ArA production in M. incisa in changing environmental factors.

THE DRIVING FORCES OF LAND USE/COVER CHANGE INTHE UPSTREAM AREA OF THE NENJIANG RIVER

ABSTRACT: Based on the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 TM images, the land use/cover change was detected in the upstream area of the Nenjiang River between 1995 and 2000. With the spatial analysis techniques of GIS, the maps of land use degree and its change within this period were produced. To identify the causes of changes, elevation and slope were regarded as the main natural influencing factors and were transformed from coverage format to grid format within GIS. The Thiesson polygon method was used to the spatial allocation of socio-economic factors including human population, livestock numbers, mechanizing power of farming and the nearest distance from the changed pixel to the trunk stream and to main settlements, thereby the spatial relationship between land use degree change and socio-economic factor variation was analyzed. According to results of the spatial correlation, the determinants of changes in land use/cover, i. e. elevation, slope, population density change, livestock increase were extracted quantitatively in this area. At last, the spatial multi-linear regression model of land use degree change was developed as follows: △ La = 11. 037-4. 512 * eleva-tion-0. 298 * slope + 0. 292 *△ population + 2. 596 *△ livestock.

Polymorphism in the upstream regulatory region of human papilloma virus type 16 from the cervical cancer biopsies in Xinjiang Uygur women

To investigate the mutations in the upstream regulatory region (URR) of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) from the cervical cancer biopsies in Xinjiang Uygur women and its relationship to the high incidence of cervical cancer in the southern Xinjiang, the tissue DNA was extracted from the cervical cancer biopsies, and the URR segment of HPV-16 DNA was amplified, sequenced and analyzed. Thereafter, the polymorphism of URR in HPV-16 was then analyzed. It was demonstrated that the positive rate detected for the presence of URR in HPV-16 was 89.47% (17/19). Compared with the previously published sequence in URR of prototype HPV-16, some mutations were detected in the sequence of URR. The mutations in 17 URR fragments of HPV-16 could be divided into 11 patterns (XJU-1 to XJU-11) at nucleic acid level, in which each of XJU-1 and XJU-4 accounted for 23.53% (4/17), and other patterns of mutation accounted for 5.88% (1/17) . In comparison with the URR of prototype HPV-16, the DNA identity of these patterns was 98.50%-99.68% . In these 17 URR fragments, two point mutations occurred at position 7192 (G to T) and position 7520 (G to A) and they appeared to be constant in Xinjiang area. These two mutations were ubiquitous in the Asia-American type and conferred strong infection activity and carcinogenicity of this virus. In addition, the mutations at position 7729 (A to C), position 7843 (A to G) and position 7792 (C to T) could enhance its transcription activity considerably. It is concluded that some mutations occur in URR gene of HPV-16 in the cervical cancer biopsies taken from Uygur women in Xinjiang area, suggesting that certain relationship exists among the mutations in URR of HPV-16, the phylogeny of HPV-16 and the high incidence of cervical cancer in southern part of Xinjiang area.

Bacterial Community Structure of Sediment in Upstream Ecological Wetland of Guanting Reservoir under the Action of Different Plants in Winter

In order to study the effect of reed and cattail on the bacterial community structure of surface sediments of wetland in winter,highthroughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the bacterial composition. The results showed that 134 228 high-quality gene sequences were obtained by high-throughput sequencing in sediments of natural wetland in winter,and there were 13 866 OTUs,in which the number of OUT in sediments of reed wetland and cattail wetland was 6 677 and 7 189 respectively. The richness and diversity of bacterial communities in sediments of cattail wetland in winter were higher than those in sediments of reed wetland. Relative abundance of Proteobacteria in sediments of reed wetland and cattail wetland was 0. 54 and 0. 52,respectively. The dominant classes of bacteria were Betaproteobacteria,Deltaproteobacteria,Gammaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria,which belonged to gram-negative bacteria,indicating that the rhizosphere of wetland was easier to enrich gram-negative bacteria. Under the genus level,the dominant bacteria in the sediments were not obvious.

Upstream ion wave excitation in an ion-beam–plasma system

Plasma normal modes in ion-beam–plasma systems were experimentally investigated previously only for the waves propagating in the downstream(along the beam)direction.In this paper,the ion wave excitation and propagation in the upstream(against the beam)direction in an ion-beam–plasma system were experimentally studied in a double plasma device.The waves were launched by applying a ramp voltage to a negatively biased excitation grid.Two kinds of wave signals were detected,one is a particle signal composed of burst ions and the other is an ion-acoustic signal arising from the background plasma.These signals were identified by the dependence of the signal velocities on the characteristics of the ramp voltage.The velocity of the burst ion signal increases with the decrease of the rise time and the increase of the peak-to-peak amplitude of the applied ramp voltage while that of the ion-acoustic signal is independent of these parameters.By adjusting these parameters such that the burst ion velocity approaches to the ion-acoustic velocity,the wave–particle interaction can be observed.

Panhandle PCR strategy to amplify the upstream unknown sequence of the Pr1 gene of pythium guiyangense

Objective： Based on a partialsubtilisin-like protease, Prl genomic sequence ofPythium guiyangense which has been cloned before, Panhandle PCR strategy was used to amplify the upstream flanking sequence adjacent to the known sequence of the Prl gene. Methods： The genomic DNA was firstly digested with BamH I and then treated with calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase（CIAP）. Next, a 5＇ phosphorylated oligonucleotide was ligated to the 5＇ ends of BamH I -digested DNA. After denaturation, intmstrand annealing and polymemse extension, a pan with a handle was formed,and lastly the nested PCR was performed. Results： A 864 bp product was amplified,which was adjacent to the known sequence of Prl gene.The gene has been accessed by GenBank （Accession：JQ975036）. Conclusion： Panhandle PCR is a quick and convenient approach for amplifying and identifying unknown partner genes,which facilitates cloning full-length Prl gene

Upstream-downstream cooperation approach in Guanting Reservoir watershed

A case study is introduced and discussed concerning water dispute of misuse and pollution between up\| and down\|stream parts. The relations between water usage and local industrial structures are analyzed. Results show it is important to change industrial structures of the target region along with controlling water pollution by technical and engineering methods. Three manners of upstream-downstream cooperation are presented and discussed based on the actual conditions of Guangting Reservoir watershed. Two typical scenarios are supposed and studied along with the local plan on water resources development. The best solution for this cooperation presents a good way to help the upstream developing in a new pattern of eco-economy.

Assessing and Forecasting Saline Intrusion in theVietnamese Mekong Delta Under the Impact of Upstreamflow and Sea Level Rise

Saline intrusion is a hot issue and has always been of concern in the VMD(Vietnamese Mekong Delta),especially in the context of many changes of impact factors such as upstream flows and SLR(Sea Levels Rise).Vulnerability to changes in the upstream flows and SLR ismust-have reasons for updated and interpreted information.This information is used for exploiting of soil and water resources.MIKE 11 model was successfully applied to assess the saline intrusion.The study provided the picture of the saline intrusion in the dry season from January to May in the VMD in the existing situation(2015 and 2016)and the future(2030 and 2050)under the impact of flow at Kratie in various frequencies of 18%,50%and 85%based on the time series of 2001-2016,and SLR according to RCP(Representative Concentration Pathway)4.5 scenario of MONRE(Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment)of Vietnam issued in 2016.The results show that in the year 2015 the ASI(Saline Intrusion Area)in the VMD was relatively low due to moderate tidal level and high Kratie discharge(P=18%).The scenario like the situation in 2016 and in the future ASI increased significantly compared to the 2015 baseline scenario which shows that the VMD is very vulnerable to saline intrusion.Based on multivariate regression analysis,the study also presented the formulas for the relationship between the ASI of 0.25 g/L,2.5 g/L and 4.0 g/L thresholds and the impact factors such as the average discharge at Kratie and the maximum daily tidal level in East Coast during the dry season from January to May.With an adjusted R2 at 0.913-0.974,these formulas are believed to be reliable for predicting ASIs based on the Kratie flow and the East Coast tidal level.