Endocytosis unplugged： multiple ways to enter the cell

Endocytosis occurs at the cell surface and involves internalization of the plasma membrane （PM） along with its constituent membrane proteins and lipids. Endocytosis is involved in sampling of the extracellular milieu and also serves to regulate various processes initiated at the cell surface. These include nutrient uptake, signaling from cell- surface receptors, and many other processes essential for cell and tissue functioning in metazoans. It is also central to the maintenance of PM lipid and protein homeostasis. There are multiple means of internalization that operate concurrently, at the cell surface. With advancement in high-resolution visualization techniques, it is now possible to track multiple endocytic cargo at the same time, revealing a remarkable diversity of endocytic processes in a single cell. A combination of live cell imaging and efficient genetic manipulations has also aided in understanding the functional hierarchy of molecular players in these mechanisms of internalization. Here we provide an account of various endocytic routes, their mechanisms of operation and occurrence across phyla.

CRACK DETECTION OF STRUCTURE FOR PLANE PROBLEM WITH SPATIAL WAVELETS

The structure damage detection with spatial wavelets was approached. First, a plane stress problem, a rectangular plate containing a short crack under a distributed loading on the edge, was investigated. The displacement response data along the parallel and perpendicular lines at different positions from the crack were analyzed with the Haar wavelet. The peak in the spatial variations of the wavelets indicates the direction of the crack. In addition, a transverse crack in a cantilever beam was also investigated in the same ways. For these problems, the different crack positions were also simulated to testify the effectiveness of the technique. All the above numerical simulations were processed by the finite element analysis code, ABACUS. The results show that the spatial wavelet is a powerful tool for damage detection, and this new technique sees wide application fields with broad prospects. (Edited author abstract) 14 Refs.

Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of a Commercial Naphtha Catalytic Reforming Process

A first principles-based dynamic model for a continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR) platforming process, the UOP commercial naphtha catalytic reforming process, is developed in this paper. The lumping details of the naphtha feed and reaction scheme of the reaction model are given. The process model is composed of the reforming reaction model with catalyst deactivation, the furnace model and the separator model, which is capable of capturing the major dynamics that occurs in this process system. Dynamic simulations are performed based on Gear numerical algorithm and method of lines (MOL), a numerical technique dealing with partial differential equations (PDEs). The results of simulation are also presented. Dynamic responses caused by disturbances in the process system can be correctly predicted through simulations.

Dairy sheep production research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,USA-a review

Commercial milking of sheep is a new agricultural industry in the United States starting approximately 30 yr ago. The industry is still small, but it is growing. The majority of the sheep milk is used in the production of specialty cheeses. The United States is the major importer of sheep milk cheeses with 50 to 60% of annual world exports coming to the United States during the past 20 yr. Therefore, there is considerable growth potential for the industry in the United States. The only dairy sheep research flock in North America is located at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The research program started in 1993 and has been multifaceted; dealing with several areas important to commercial dairy sheep farmers. The East Friesian and Lacaune dairy breeds were compared and introduced to the industry through the research program. Both dairy breeds produced significantly more milk than traditional meat-wool breeds found in the U.S., but the two breeds differed in their production traits. East Friesian-cross ewes produced more lambs and slightly more milk than Lacaune-cross ewes whereas Lacaune-cross ewes produced milk with a higher percentage of fat and protein than East Friesian-cross ewes. Lactation physiology studies have shown that ewes with active corpora lutea have increased milk yields, oxytocin release during milking is required to obtain normal fat percentages in the milk, large udder cisterns of dairy ewes can allow for increased milking intervals, and short daylengths during late pregnancy results in increased milk yield. In the nutrition area, legume-grass pastures and forages with a higher percentage of legume will result in increased milk production. Grazing ewes respond to additional supplementation with increased milk yield, but it is important to match the supplement to the quality of the grazing. Ewes on high quality legume-grass pastures that are high in rumen degradable protein respond with increased milk production to supplements high in energy and/or high in rumen undegraded protein.

Promoting human embryonic stem cell renewal or differentiation by modulating Wnt signal and culture conditions

We previously showed that Wnt3a could stimulate human embryonic stem （hES） cell proliferation and affect cell fate determination. In the absence of feeder cell--derived factors, hES cells cultured under a feeder-free condition survived and proliferated poorly. Adding recombinant Wnt3a in the absence of feeder cell derived-factors stimulated hES cell proliferation but also differentiation. In the present study, we further extended our analysis to other Wnt ligands such as Wntl and Wnt5a. While Wntl displayed a similar effect on hES cells as Wnt3a, Wnt5a had little effect in this system. Wnt3a and Wntl enhanced proliferation of undifferentiated hES cells when feeder-derived self-renewal factors and bFGF are also present. To explore the possibility to promote the proliferation of undifferentiated hES cells by activating the Wnt signaling, we overexpressed Wnt3a or Wntl gene in immortalized human adult fibroblast （HAFi） cells that are superior in supporting long-term growth of undifferentiated hES cells than primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. HAFi cells with or without a Wnt tmnsgene can be propagated indefinitely. Over-expression of the Wnt3a gene significantly enhanced the ability of HAFi feeder cells to support the undifferentiated growth of 3 different hES cell lines we tested. Co-expression of three commonly-used drug selection genes in Wnt3a-overpressing HAFi cells further enabled us to select rare hES clones after stable transfection or transduction. These immortalized engineered feeder cells （W3R） that co-express growth-promoting genes such as Wnt3a and three drug selection genes should empower us to efficiently make genetic modified hES cell lines for basic and translational research.

Genetic Behaviour of Bacterial Wilt Resistance in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) in Tropics of Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India

Brinjal or eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is severely affected by bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanecearum in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Resistant varieties are most suitable option to reduce crop losses from bacterial wilt but knowledge of resistance mechanism and its inheritance is important to develop resistant varieties. Further, majority of germplasm from mainland India showed susceptible reaction under Andaman conditions. Thus, the present study was done during 2010-2012 to understand the genetic behaviour of bacterial wilt resistance in brinjal “CARI-B-1” (R) × “Pusa Purple Long” (S) in hot humid tropical climate of Andaman Islands. For this, the population from single F1 fruit was advanced to F2 and F3 and recorded the reaction of segregating population in the sick plots. The results revealed that there is preponderance of recessive gene family wherein more than one gene acts in additive mode. Another cross between S. torvum (R) × Diglipur local collection (S) also showed the recessive gene action for resistance as observed in F2 generation. Besides, the study also advocated that mechanisms of resistance, escape with early resistance and progressive escape have been found to be operating in individuals of segregating population.

Characterization of the Receptor-binding Domain of Ebola Glycoprotein in Viral Entry

Ebola virus infection causes severe hemorrhagic fever in human and non-human primates with high mortality. Viral entry/infection is initiated by binding of glycoprotein GP protein on Ebola virion to host cells, followed by fusion of virus-cell membrane also mediated by GP. Using an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-based pseudotyping system, the roles of 41 Ebola GP1 residues in the receptor-binding domain in viral entry were studied by alanine scanning substitutions. We identified that four residues appear to be involved in protein folding/structure and four residues are important for viral entry. An improved entry interference assay was developed and used to study the role of these residues that are important for viral entry. It was found that R64 and K95 are involved in receptor binding. In contrast, some residues such as I170 are important for viral entry, but do not play a major role in receptor binding as indicated by entry interference assay and/or protein binding data, suggesting that these residues are involved in post-binding steps of viral entry. Furthermore, our results also suggested that Ebola and Marburg viruses share a common cellular molecule for entry.

Clusterin: a multifaceted protein in the brain

Late-onset Alzheimer 's disease(LOAD), the most common cause of dementia, currently affects 5.6 million Americans ages 65 and older.LOAD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss in synaptic function, notable bioenergetic decline, increased neuronal death and brain atrophy, and significant cognitive impairment.Because the etiology of LOAD remains unknown, a treatment for LOAD has not yet been formulated, a fact that is clearly demonstrated by the more than 200 failed clinical trials.

Properties of Polysaccharides in Several Seaweeds from Atlantic Canada and Their Potential Anti-Influenza Viral Activities

To explore the polysaccharides from selected seaweeds of Atlantic Canada and to evaluate their potential anti-influenza virus activities, polysaccharides were isolated from several Atlantic Canadian seaweeds, including three red algae (Polysiphonia lanosa, Furcellaria lumbricalis, and Palmaria palmata), two brown algae (Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosus), and one green alga (Ulva lactuca) by sequential extraction with cold water, hot water, and alkali solutions. These polysaccharides were ana-lyzed for monosaccharide composition and other general chemical properties, and they were evaluated for anti-influenza virus activities. Total sugar contents in these polysaccharides ranged from 15.4% (in U. lactuca) to 91.4% (in F. lumbricalis); sulfation level was as high as 17.6% in a polysaccharide from U. lactuca, whereas it could not be detected in an alikali-extract from P. palmaria. For polysaccharides from red seaweeds, the main sugar units were sulfated galactans (agar or carrageenan) for P. lanosa, F. lumbricalis, and xylans for P. palmata. In brown seaweeds, the polysaccharides largely contained sulfated fucans, whereas the polysaccharides in green seaweed were mainly composed of heteroglycuronans. Screening for antiviral activity against influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus revealed that brown algal polysaccharides were particularly effective. Seaweeds from Atlantic Canada are a good source of marine polysaccharides with potential antiviral properties.

Transcriptional regulation of IL-3-dependent survival responses

As one of the most characterized cytokines, interleukin 3 (IL-3) is well known for its survival effect on both progenitors and mature blood cells. Although with the extensive studies, the signaling pathways and underlying mechanism leading to survival responses of IL-3 still are not completely understood. Recently, an apoptotic genetic pathway of C. elegans was suggested to be evolutionally conserved in that controls the cytokine-dependent anti-apoptotic responses in mammalian hematopoietic cell lineages. Among this pathway, Ces-2 is known to be the first death specification gene in the C. elegans pathway and encodes a bZIP family transcriptional factor that shares the same DNA recognition sequence with an oncoprotein,

Dietary plant extracts modulate gene expression profiles in alveolar macrophages of pigs experimentally infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Background: Our previous study showed that 3 plant extracts enhanced the immune responses and growth efficiency of weaned pigs infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus(PRRSV), which is one of the most economically important disease in swine industry. However, each plant extract differently effected on growth efficiency and immune responses. Therefore, the objective of this study was conducted to characterize the effects and investigate the potential underlying mechanisms of 3 plant extracts on gene expression of alveolar macrophages in weaned pigs experimentally infected with PRRSV.Results: PRRSV infection altered(P < 0.05) the expression of 1,352 genes in pigs fed the control(CON;755 up, 597 down). Compared with the infected CON, feeding capsicum(CAP), garlic botanical(GAR), or turmeric oleoresin(TUR) altered the expression of 46 genes(24 up, 22 down), 134 genes(59 up, 75 down), or 98 genes(55 up, 43 down) in alveolar macrophages of PRRSV-infected pigs, respectively. PRRSV infection up-regulated(P < 0.05) the expression of genes related to cell apoptosis, immune system process, and response to stimulus, but downregulated(P < 0.05) the expression of genes involved in signaling transduction and innate immune response.Compared with the infected CON, feeding TUR or GAR reduced(P < 0.05) the expression of genes associated with antigen processing and presentation, feeding CAP up-regulated(P < 0.05) the expression of genes involved in antigen processing and presentation. Supplementation of CAP, GAR, or TUR also enhanced(P < 0.05) the expression of several genes related to amino acid metabolism, steroid hormone synthesis, or RNA degradation, respectively.Conclusions: The results suggest that 3 plant extracts differently regulated the expression of genes in alveolar macrophages of PRRSV-infected pigs, especially altering genes involved in immunity.

MonkeyTrail:A scalable video-based method for tracking macaque movement trajectory in daily living cages

Behavioral analysis of macaques provides important experimental evidence in the field of neuroscience.In recent years,video-based automatic animal behavior analysis has received widespread attention.However,methods capable of extracting and analyzing daily movement trajectories of macaques in their daily living cages remain underdeveloped,with previous approaches usually requiring specific environments to reduce interference from occlusion or environmental change.Here,we introduce a novel method,called MonkeyTrail,which satisfies the above requirements by frequently generating virtual empty backgrounds and using background subtraction to accurately obtain the foreground of moving animals.The empty background is generated by combining the frame difference method(FDM)and deep learning-based model(YOLOv5).The entire setup can be operated with low-cost hardware and can be applied to the daily living environments of individually caged macaques.To test MonkeyTrail performance,we labeled a dataset containing>8000 video frames with the bounding boxes of macaques under various conditions as ground-truth.Results showed that the tracking accuracy and stability of MonkeyTrail exceeded that of two deep learningbased methods(YOLOv5 and Single-Shot MultiBox Detector),traditional frame difference method,and na?ve background subtraction method.Using MonkeyTrail to analyze long-term surveillance video recordings,we successfully assessed changes in animal behavior in terms of movement amount and spatial preference.Thus,these findings demonstrate that MonkeyTrail enables low-cost,large-scale daily behavioral analysis of macaques.

Unsustainable Land-Based Source Pollution in a Climate of Change: A Roadblock to the Conservation and Recovery of Elkhorn Coral <i>Acropora palmata</i>(Lamarck 1816)

Chronic eutrophication and turbidity are critical detrimental factors impacting coral reef ecosystems, adversely affecting their ecological functions, services, benefits, and resilience across multiple spatial scales and over prolonged periods of time. Inadequate land use practices and lack of appropriate sewage treatment can adversely contribute to increase land-based source pollution (LBSP) impacts in coastal waters and to magnify impacts by sea surface warming trends associated to climate change. Fringing coral reefs off Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, support extensive remnant patches of Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck 1816), which was listed in 2006 as a threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act. Chronic impacts by LBSP have significantly affected local downstream fringing reefs. We characterized the spatial extent of a water quality stress gradient across 12 reefs along the Vega Baja coast through monthly measurements of multiple physico-chemical parameters. Most parameters, particularly PO4, , chlorophyll-a, and the concentration of optical brighteners (OABs), showed a statistically significant increase (PERMANOVA, p < 0.05) in waters close to the main pollution sources, but also in waters adjacent to Cibuco River effluents. Dissolved oxygen also declined and turbidity increased on polluted sites. PO4, , and chlorophyll-a, exceeded recommended concentrations for coral reef ecosystems by factors of 7 - 50 times, 600 - 1240 times, and 17 - 83 times, respectively, depending on the source of the effluents and the distance from sewage pollution sources. Also, water turbidity exceeded 4 - 10 times the recommended value for pristine coral reefs. Coral reefs showed significant decline in close proximity to the polluted zone, showing a significantly different benthic community structure (PERMANOVA, p < 0.0001) dominated by non-reef building taxa (i.e., macroalgae, algal turf) and bare substrate. Percent coral cover and abundance of A. palmata, showed a significant increase with distance. Coral species richness, species diversity index, and the variance in taxonomic distinctness were very low on reef patches adjacent to the polluted zone, increased at a moderate distance with increasing coral cover and co-existence of multiple species, and declined far from the pollution source due to dominance exerted by A. palmata. This study suggests that chronic LBSP resulted in a major decline of one of the largest and most dense remnant stands of A. palmata across the northeastern Caribbean and that nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentrations were unsustainable for coral reefs. This situation requires immediate solution to prevent further damage to these unprecedented resources. It further suggests that chronic LBSP may synergistically magnify sea-surface warming impacts driving corals to an increased state of risk in face of forecasted climate change impacts. Actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts on coral reefs must require a priori controls of LBSP to be effective.

AN OBJECT-ORIENTED EXPERT SYSTEM FOR TROUBLESHOOTING REFINERY DISTILLATION COLUMNS

An object-oriented prototype expert system ORDEES for off-line trouble-shooting of refinery distillation columns is developed. It is found that highly modular knowledge base can be designed, and different types of data (e.g., graphs, numberical data, and algorithms) may be manipulated, by using object-oriented knowledge representation. In addition, a method termed Object-Oriented Multifunction Switcher is proposed for building multifunction expert systems. The results of the study are expected to be useful for designing multifunction expert systems for complex petroleum refining and petro-chemical processes with many kinds of equipment.

Nicotinic acetylcholine signaling is required for motor learning but not for rehabilitation from spinal cord injury

Therapeutic intervention for spinal cord injury is limited,with many approaches relying on strengthening the remaining substrate and driving recovery through rehabilitative training.As compared with learning novel compensatory strategies,rehabilitation focuses on resto ring movements lost to injury.Whether rehabilitation of previously learned movements after spinal cord injury requires the molecular mechanisms of motor learning,or if it engages previously trained motor circuits without requiring novel learning remains an open question.In this study,mice we re randomly assigned to receive intrape ritoneal injection with the pan-nicotinic,non-competitive antagonist mecamylamine and the nicotinicα7 subunit selective antagonist methyllycaconitine citrate salt or vehicle(normal saline)prior to motor learning assays,then randomly reassigned after motor learning for rehabilitation study post-injury.Ce rvical spinal co rd dorsal column lesion was used as a model of in complete injury.Results of this study showed that nicotinic acetylcholine signaling was required for motor learning of the single pellet-reaching task but it was dispensable for the rehabilitation of the same task after injury.Our findings indicate that critical diffe rences exist between the molecular mechanisms supporting compensatory motor learning strategies and the restoration of behavior lost to spinal cord injury.

ON VORTEX ALIGNMENT AND THE BOUNDEDNESS OF THE Lq-NORM OF VORTICITY IN INCOMPRESSIBLE VISCOUS FLUIDS

We show that the spatial L q-norm(q>5/3)of the vorticity of an incompressible viscous fluid in R^3 remains bounded uniformly in time,provided that the direction of vorticity is Hölder continuous in space,and that the space-time L q-norm of vorticity is finite.The Hölder index depends only on q.This serves as a variant of the classical result by Constantin-Fefferman(Direction of vorticity and the problem of global regularity for the Navier-Stokes equations,Indiana Univ.J.Math.42(1993),775-789),and the related work by Grujić-Ruzmaikina(Interpolation between algebraic and geometric conditions for smoothness of the vorticity in the 3D NSE,Indiana Univ.J.Math.53(2004),1073-1080).

Photocatalytic activity of metal nanoparticle-decorated titanium dioxide for simultaneous H_(2) production and biodiesel wastewater remediation

A set of metal nanoparticle-decorated titanium dioxide(Mx/TiO_(2);where x is the percent by mass,%)photocatalysts was prepared via the sol-immobilization in order to enhance the simultaneous hydrogen(H_(2))production and pollutant reduction from real biodiesel wastewater.Effect of the metal nanoparticle(NP)type(M=Ni,Au,Pt or Pd)and,for Pd,the amount(1%–4%)decorated on the surface of thermal treated commercial TiO_(2)(T_(400))was evaluated.The obtained results demonstrated that both the type and amount of decorated metal NPs did not significantly affect the pollutant reduction,measured in terms of the reduction of chemical oxygen demand(COD),biological oxygen demand(BOD)and oil&grease levels,but they affected the H_(2) production rate from both deionized water and biodiesel wastewater,which can be ranked in the order of Pt_(1)/T_(400)>Pd_(1)/T_(400)>Au_(1)/T_(400)>Ni_(1)/T_(400).This was attributed to the high difference in work function between Pt and the parent T400.However,the difference between Pt1/T400 and Pd1/T400 was not great and so from an economic consideration,Pd/TiO_(2) was selected as appropriate for further evaluation.Among the four different Pdx/TiO_(2) photocatalysts,the Pd3/TiO_(2) demonstrated the highest activity and gave a high rate of H_(2) production(up to 135 mmol·h−1)with a COD,BOD and oil&grease reduction of 30.3%,73.7%and 58.0%,respectively.

A CLASS OF TRUST REGION METHODS FOR LINEAR INEQUALITY CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION AND ITS THEORY ANALYSIS:I.ALGORITHM AND GLOBAL CONVERGENCEXIU NAIHUA

A class of trust region methods for solving linear inequality constrained problems is proposed in this paper. It is shown that the algorithm is of global convergence.The algorithm uses a version of the two-sided projection and the strategy of the unconstrained trust region methods. It keeps the good convergence properties of the unconstrained case and has the merits of the projection method. In some sense, our algorithm can be regarded as an extension and improvement of the projected type algorithm.

NAVIER-STOKES ANALYSIS OF A CIRCULATION CONTROL AIRFOIL

The two-dimensional, compressible, mass-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are used to investigate hows about a typical circulation control airfoil. The governing equations are solved using the implicit approximate-factorization algorithm of Beam-Warming with a modified algebraic eddy viscosity model. Results are compared with experimental data, and excellent agreement is obtained. The effects of different jet momentum coefficients and angles of attack on the how are studied. The mechanism of genenating large lift by circulation control is discussed.

Vegetables, Herbs and Spices: The Importance of Family and Tasting

Objective: To explore why and how consumers utilize vegetables, herbs and spices. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with adult participants (n = 54) to determine attitudes, self-efficacy, and behaviors related to liking and usage of vegetables, herbs and spices as well as strategies to increase vegetable intake. Results: Seasonal availability, and family-centered memories and practices were motivation for vegetable intake. A diverse number of vegetables (n = 39) were listed as favorites based on taste and versatility, but seasonings were not commonly included in responses regarding preparation. Participants felt that vegetable dish names should reflect ingredients explicitly;that seasonings enhanced vegetable flavors;and that salt and pepper were most commonly used seasonings. The preferred strategy to increase vegetable consumption was through tasting or sampling opportunities;seasoning use was not mentioned. However, participants perceived that suggestions or demonstrations on how to prepare vegetables at home would be helpful. Personal gardens were mentioned frequently, but were not connected to strategies for increasing intake. Conclusions and Implications: Vegetable intake has a family focus that should be emphasized to increase intake. Efforts to increase intake could emphasize flavor and versatile preparation methods through tasting opportunities or educational demonstrations.