Multiple sclerosis(MS),the most common inflammatory condition of the central nervous system in young adults,is characterized by immunemediated demyelination and neurodegeneration that translate into heterogeneous clin...Multiple sclerosis(MS),the most common inflammatory condition of the central nervous system in young adults,is characterized by immunemediated demyelination and neurodegeneration that translate into heterogeneous clinical phenotypes and disease trajectories.展开更多
Surgical treatment of peripheral nerve injuries is still a major challenge in human clinic.Up to now,none of the well-developed microsurgical treatment options is able to guarantee a complete restoration of nerve func...Surgical treatment of peripheral nerve injuries is still a major challenge in human clinic.Up to now,none of the well-developed microsurgical treatment options is able to guarantee a complete restoration of nerve function.This restriction is also effective for novel clinically approved artificial nerve guides.In this review,we compare surgical repair techniques primarily for digital nerve injuries reported with relatively high prevalence to be valuable attempts in clinical digital nerve repair and point out their advantages and shortcomings.We furthermore discuss the use of artificial nerve grafts with a focus on chitosan-based nerve guides,for which our own studies contributed to their approval for clinical use.In the second part of this review,very recent future perspectives for the enhancement of tubular(commonly hollow)nerve guides are discussed in terms of their clinical translatability and ability to form three-dimensional constructs that biomimick the natural nerve structure.This includes materials that have already shown their beneficial potential in in vivo studies like fibrous intraluminal guidance structures,hydrogels,growth factors,and approaches of cell transplantation.Additionally,we highlight upcoming future perspectives comprising co-application of stem cell secretome.From our overview,we conclude that already simple attempts are highly effective to increase the regeneration supporting properties of nerve guides in experimental studies.But for bringing nerve repair with bioartificial nerve grafts to the next level,e.g.repair of defects>3 cm in human patients,more complex intraluminal guidance structures such as innovatively manufactured hydrogels and likely supplementation of stem cells or their secretome for therapeutic purposes may represent promising future perspectives.展开更多
To date there has been little research that describes the relation between the individual and their environment as the foundation for the coping process in advanced cancer patients. The aim of the study was to identif...To date there has been little research that describes the relation between the individual and their environment as the foundation for the coping process in advanced cancer patients. The aim of the study was to identify and describe, from a patient perspective, processes that are significant to coping with advanced cancer. We used the method Grounded Theory as described by Strauss and Corbin. Data were generated through qualitative interviews. A total of 18 interviews were conducted. The central theme was “The struggle to be a participant in one’s own life”. This theme involved three processes: prioritising, downplaying and self-preservation, each of which in different ways endeavours to either maintain or re-establish the feeling of being a participant. The awareness of the processes complement existing knowledge about coping in advanced cancer patients, by showing how patients make use of meaning-based coping efforts to increase their experience of being a participant in their own lives.展开更多
Background and Purpose -Ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries yiel ds several quantitative measures that may serve as intermediate phenotypes in ge netic studies. This study was undertaken to compare the heri...Background and Purpose -Ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries yiel ds several quantitative measures that may serve as intermediate phenotypes in ge netic studies. This study was undertaken to compare the heritabilities of 3 ultr asound measures: intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque score, and maximal steno sis. Methods -We studied 565 individuals from 154 families ascertained by an a ffected parent with carotid artery atherosclerosis. IMT, plaque score, and maxim al stenosis of the carotid arteries were examined by B-mode ultrasound and ana lyzed quantitatively. Heritability estimates were obtained by variance component analysis as implemented in the program SOLAR (sequential oligogenic linkage ana lysis routines). Covariates were age, sex, weight, height, body mass index (BMI) , arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, amount of nicotine consumed, and pla sma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HD L) cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], triglycerides, factor VII I, factor XIII, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor (vWF). Results -After ac counting for the covariables age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and Lp(a ), heritability of IMT was estimated as h2=0.61± 0.17 (P=0.001). Variation of p laque score was influenced by age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperch olesterolemia, amount of nicotine consumed, factor VIII, and vWF. When these wer e considered, no significant heritability could be detected. Heritability of ste nosis was estimated as h2=0.47± 0.07 (P=0.006), with age, sex, BMI, hypertensio n, diabetes mellitus, amount of nicotine consumed, and LDL/HDL ratio as covariat es. Conclusions -Among the 3 ultrasound measures studied, IMT had the highest heritability. IMT was strongly influenced by genetic determinants other than tho se influencing known risk factors. This makes MT a promising candidate for use a s an intermediate phenotype in genetic studies aiming to identify novel genes for atherosclerosis.展开更多
Ethylene insensitive 2 （EIN2）, an integral membrane protein of the ER network, has been identified as the central regulator of the ethylene signaling pathway. Still, the mechanism by which the ethylene signal is tra...Ethylene insensitive 2 （EIN2）, an integral membrane protein of the ER network, has been identified as the central regulator of the ethylene signaling pathway. Still, the mechanism by which the ethylene signal is transferred from the receptors to EIN2 has not been solved yet. Here, we show that protein phosphorylation is a key mechanism to control the interaction of EIN2 and the receptors. In vivo and in vitro fluorescence studies reveal that the kinase domain of the receptors is essential for the interaction. Cyanide, an ethylene agonist, which is known to reduce auto-phosphorylation of the ethylene receptor ethylene resistant 1 （ETR1） or a mutation in the kinase domain of ETR1 that prevents autophosphorylation （H353A）, increases the affinity of the receptors for EIN2. On the other hand, mimicking permanent auto-phosphorylation of ETR1 as in the mutant H353E releases the EiN2-ETR1 interaction from the control by the plant hormone. Based on our data, we propose a novel model on the integration of EIN2 in the ethylene signaling cascade.展开更多
Rice sheath blight disease （ShB）, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, gives rise to significant grain yield losses. The present study evaluated the efficacy of Integral, the commercial liquid formulation of Bacillus subti...Rice sheath blight disease （ShB）, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, gives rise to significant grain yield losses. The present study evaluated the efficacy of Integral, the commercial liquid formulation of Bacillus subtilis strain MBI 600, against rice ShB and for plant growth promotion. In greenhouse studies, four log concentrations of Integral （from 2.2×10^6 to 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL） were used as seed treatment （ST）. After 25 d, seedlings were dipped （SD） into Integral prior to transplanting. At 30 d after transplanting （DAT）, leaf sheaths were inoculated with immature sclerotia of the pathogen. At 45 DAT, a foliar spray （FS） with Integral was applied to some treatments. The fungicide control was 50% carbendazim at 1.0 g/L, and a nontreated control was also included. Overall, there were 10 treatments, each with five replications. ShB severity was rated at 52 DAT, and seedling height and number of tillers per plant were rated at 60 DAT. In 2009, two field trials evaluated Integral at 2.2×10^8 and 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL. Integral was applied as ST, and seedlings were produced in a nursery bed. After 32 d, seedlings were treated with Integral as SD and transplanted into 10 m^2 blocks. Foliar sprays were given at 45 and 60 DAT. There were seven treatments, each with eight replications arranged as a factorial randomized complete block design. At 20 DAT, the plots were broadcast inoculated with R. solani produced on rice grains. Seedling height before transplanting, ShB severity at 90 DAT, and grain yield at harvest were recorded. Integral at 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL provided significant increase of seedling heights over other treatments under greenhouse conditions. The Integral treatments of ST ＋ SD ＋ FS at 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL significantly suppressed ShB over other treatments. In field studies, Integral provided significant increase of seedling height in nursery, and number of tillers per plant, compared with the control. ShB severity was significantly suppressed with higher concentrations of Integral compared t展开更多
One of the key goals of the FAIR guiding principles is defined by its final principle-to optimize data sets for reuse by both humans and machines.To do so,data providers need to implement and support consistent machin...One of the key goals of the FAIR guiding principles is defined by its final principle-to optimize data sets for reuse by both humans and machines.To do so,data providers need to implement and support consistent machine readable metadata to describe their data sets.This can seem like a daunting task for data providers,whether it is determining what level of detail should be provided in the provenance metadata or figuring out what common shared vocabularies should be used.Additionally,for existing data sets it is often unclear what steps should be taken to enable maximal,appropriate reuse.Data citation already plays an important role in making data findable and accessible,providing persistent and unique identifiers plus metadata on over 16 million data sets.In this paper,we discuss how data citation and its underlying infrastructures,in particular associated metadata,provide an important pathway for enabling FAIR data reuse.展开更多
Perception of the phytohormone ethylene is accomplished by a small family of integral membrane receptors. In Arabidopsis, five ethylene receptor proteins are known, including ethylene resistant I （ETR1）. The hydroph...Perception of the phytohormone ethylene is accomplished by a small family of integral membrane receptors. In Arabidopsis, five ethylene receptor proteins are known, including ethylene resistant I （ETR1）. The hydrophobic aminoterminal domain of these receptors contains the ethylene-binding site while the carboxyl-terminal part consists of a histidine kinase domain and a response regulator domain, which are well known elements found in bacterial two-component signaling. The soluble membrane-extrinsic carboxyl-terminal part of the receptor, which is likely to play an important role in signal transduction, showed intrinsic kinase activity when expressed and purified on its own. However, a correlation between signal input and autokinase activity was not established in these studies, as receptors were missing the trans- membrane amino-terminal sensor domain. Thus, it is still unclear whether autophosphorylation occurs in response to perception of the ethylene signal. Here, we report on autophosphorylation studies of purified full-length ETR1. Autoki- nase activity of the purified receptor is controlled by ethylene or by ethylene agonists like the π-acceptor compound cyanide. In fact, both signal molecules were able to completely turn off the intrinsic kinase activity, Furthermore, the observed inhibition of autophosphorylation in ETR1 by both molecules could be prevented when the ethylene antagonist 1-methyl-cyclopropene （MOP） was applied.展开更多
Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a filament based rapid prototyping system which offers the possibility of introducing new composite material for the FDM process as long as the new material can be made in feedstock...Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a filament based rapid prototyping system which offers the possibility of introducing new composite material for the FDM process as long as the new material can be made in feedstock filament form. Swinburne has been undertaking extensive research in development of new composite materials involving acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and other materials including metals. In order to predict the behaviour of new ABS based composite materials in the course of FDM process, it is necessary to investigate the flow of the composite material in liquefier head. No such study is available considering the geometry of the liquefier head. This paper presents 2-D and 3-D numerical analysis of melt flow behaviour of a representative ABS-iron composite through the 90-degree bent tube of the liquefier head of the fused deposition modelling process using ANSYS FLOTRAN and CFX finite element packages. Main flow parameters including temperature, velocity, and pressure drop have been investigated. Filaments of the filled ABS have been fabricated and characterized to verify the possibility of prototyping using the new material on the current FDM machine. Results provide promising information in developing the melt flow modelling of metal-plastic composites and in optimising the FDM parameters for better part quality with such composites.展开更多
The gaseous plant hormone ethylene regulates many processes of high agronomic relevance throughout the life span of plants. A central element in ethylene signaling is the endoplasmic reticulum （ER）-Iocalized membran...The gaseous plant hormone ethylene regulates many processes of high agronomic relevance throughout the life span of plants. A central element in ethylene signaling is the endoplasmic reticulum （ER）-Iocalized membrane protein ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 （EIN2）. Recent studies indicate that in response to ethylene, the extra-membranous C-terminal end of EIN2 is proteolytically processed and translocated from the ER to the nucleus. Here, we report that the conserved nuclear localization signal （NLS） mediating nuclear import of the EIN2 C-terminus provides an important domain for complex formation with ethylene receptor ETHYLENE RESPONSE1 （ETR1）. EIN2 lacking the NLS domain shows strongly reduced affinity for the receptor. Interaction of EIN2 and ETR1 is also blocked by a synthetic peptide of the NLS motif. The corre- sponding peptide substantially reduces ethylene responses in planta. Our results uncover a novel mecha- nism and type of inhibitor interfering with ethylene signal transduction and ethylene responses in plants. Disruption of essential protein-protein interactions in the ethylene signaling pathway as shown in our study for the EIN2-ETR1 complex has the potential to guide the development of innovative ethylene antagonists for modern agriculture and horticulture.展开更多
Geospatial data are fundamental in most global-change and sustainability-related domains.However,readily accessible information on data quality and provenance is often missing or hardly accessible for users due to tec...Geospatial data are fundamental in most global-change and sustainability-related domains.However,readily accessible information on data quality and provenance is often missing or hardly accessible for users due to technical or perceptual barriers,for example,due to unstructured metadata information or missing references.Within an interdisciplinary process encompassing perspectives of data users,data producers,and software developers,we identified major needs to facilitate effectivefitness-for-use assessments by data users and developed approaches to address these.We provided a stylized analysis of large-scale land use data to showcase selected approaches.To support data users,interoperable quality and provenance information need to be meaningfully represented.Data producers need efficient workflows and tools supporting them in creating high-quality,structured and detailed quality and provenance information.Our newly developed approaches to increase the availability of structured metadata synthesize new and existing tools to extract metadata or to generate provenance data during processing.Within our approaches to improve interoperability and accessibility we present novel tools to support(i)the creation of curated and linked registers of data quality indicators and thematic terms,and(ii)linked visualization of data quality and provenance information.Following our approaches increases transparency,facilitatesfitness-for-use assessments,and ultimately improves research quality.展开更多
BACKGROUND： Peroral cholangioscopy facilitates diagnosis and therapy of biliary disorders. This study prospectively evaluated a new short access cholangioscopy. METHODS： Consecutive patients were included as follows...BACKGROUND： Peroral cholangioscopy facilitates diagnosis and therapy of biliary disorders. This study prospectively evaluated a new short access cholangioscopy. METHODS： Consecutive patients were included as follows： difficult stones （group 1） underwent cholangioscopy with electrohydraulic lithotripsy and indeterminate biliary strictures （group 2） were evaluated with macroscopic assessment and cholangioscopy guided biopsy sampling. We evaluated the complete stone clearance rate （group 1） and diagnostic accu- racy （group 2）. Follow-up was performed over a median of 13 and I6 months, respectively. RESULTS： Group 1 （n=21）： complete stone clearance defined as lack of stones in cholangiography and stone removal dur- ing cholangioscopy was achieved in 15 （71.4%） patients. Clini- cal stone clearance defined as lack of symptoms, laboratory abnormalities and hospital visits during follow-up, irrespec- tive of stone clearance was evident in 17 （81.0%） patients. One serious adverse event occurred （bile duct perforation）. Group 2 （n=28）： malignancy was confirmed in 15 patients. Sensitiv- ity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of cholangioscopy were 85.7%, 75.0% and 80.7%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of biopsies were 54.5%, 100.0% and 72.2%, respectively. No serious adverse events occurred, and one patient was lost to follow-up.CONCLUSIONS： The novel system enabled complex stone treatment and biliary stricture diagnosis. Cholangioscopy outperformed direct biopsy regarding characterization of in- determinate strictures.展开更多
A high degree of virulence diversity has been maintained in the population of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici （Pgt） in northwestern United States. Although Berberis vulgaris is present in the region and Pgt has bee...A high degree of virulence diversity has been maintained in the population of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici （Pgt） in northwestern United States. Although Berberis vulgaris is present in the region and Pgt has been isolated from aecial infections on B. vulgaris, the population is too diverse to be explained by the limited presence of B. vulgaris alone. Since 2008, we have isolated P. graminis from aecial infections on fruits of Mahonia repens and Mahonia aquifolium from northwestern United States. These two native woody shrub species, widely distributed in western North America, were once classified as resistant to P. graminis based on artificial inoculations. By isolating P. graminis from aecia, we established that M. repens and M. aquifolium along with B. vulgaris （albeit infrequent） serve as the alternate hosts ofP. graminis in the region. The isolates of P. graminis from Mahonia of North America had diverse virulence patterns and most of the isolates could be differentiated on Morocco, Line E, Chinese Spring, Little Club, LMPG-6, Rusty, and other genotypes that are considered to be universally susceptible to most Pgt isolates. This discovery explained the persistence of virulence diversity of Pgt observed in isolates derived from uredinia on cereal crops in the region. In addition to cereal crops, uredinial stage of the P. graminis population is sustained by wild grasses, especially Elymus glaucus, a native grass sharing the same habitat with the rusted Mahonia spp. Although virulence to some important stem rust resistance genes was observed in some isolates derived from Mahonia of North America when tested against single stem rust resistance gene stocks, the overall virulence is very limited in these isolates. This is likely a result of limited selection pressure on the rust population. In contrast to northwestern United Sates, the Pgt population in east of the Rocky Mountains of North America has declined steadily with a single race, QFCSC, being predominant in the last decade. This decline is lik展开更多
AIM To compare the aspiration needle(AN) and core biopsy needle(PC) in endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration(EUS-FNA) of abdominal masses.METHODS Consecutive patients referred for EUS-FNA were included i...AIM To compare the aspiration needle(AN) and core biopsy needle(PC) in endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration(EUS-FNA) of abdominal masses.METHODS Consecutive patients referred for EUS-FNA were included in this prospective single-center trial. Each patient underwent a puncture of the lesion with both standard 22-gauge(G) AN(Echo Tip Ultra; Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana, United States) and the novel 22 G PC(Echo Tip Pro Core; Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana, United States) in a randomized fashion; histology was attempted in the PC group only. The main study endpoint was the overall diagnostic accuracy, including the contribution of histology to the final diagnosis. Secondary outcome measures included material adequacy, number of needle passes, and complications.RESULTS Fifty six consecutive patients(29 men; mean age 68 years) with pancreatic lesions(n = 38), lymphadenopathy(n = 13), submucosal tumors(n = 4), or others lesions(n = 1) underwent EUS-FNA using both of the needles in a randomized order. AN and PC reached similar overall results for diagnostic accuracy(AN: 88.9 vs PC: 96.1, P = 0.25), specimen adequacy(AN: 96.4% vs PC: 91.1%, P = 0.38), mean number of passes(AN: 1.5 vs PC: 1.7, P = 0.14), mean cellularity score(AN: 1.7 vs PC: 1.1, P = 0.058), and complications(none). A diagnosis on the basis of histology was achieved in the PC group in 36(64.3%) patients, and in 2 of those as the sole modality. In patients with available histology the mean cellularity score was higher for AN(AN: 1.7 vs PC: 1.0, P = 0.034); no other differences were of statistical significance.CONCLUSION Both needles achieved high overall diagnostic yields and similar performance characteristics for cytological diagnosis; histological analysis was only possible in 2/3 of cases with the new needle.展开更多
基金supported by the German Research Foundation(DFG)-SFB-TR-128the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds BIF-03the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy“Nicolae Testemitanu”(project codes 20.80009.8007.40 and 21.80013.8007.2B)。
文摘Multiple sclerosis(MS),the most common inflammatory condition of the central nervous system in young adults,is characterized by immunemediated demyelination and neurodegeneration that translate into heterogeneous clinical phenotypes and disease trajectories.
文摘Surgical treatment of peripheral nerve injuries is still a major challenge in human clinic.Up to now,none of the well-developed microsurgical treatment options is able to guarantee a complete restoration of nerve function.This restriction is also effective for novel clinically approved artificial nerve guides.In this review,we compare surgical repair techniques primarily for digital nerve injuries reported with relatively high prevalence to be valuable attempts in clinical digital nerve repair and point out their advantages and shortcomings.We furthermore discuss the use of artificial nerve grafts with a focus on chitosan-based nerve guides,for which our own studies contributed to their approval for clinical use.In the second part of this review,very recent future perspectives for the enhancement of tubular(commonly hollow)nerve guides are discussed in terms of their clinical translatability and ability to form three-dimensional constructs that biomimick the natural nerve structure.This includes materials that have already shown their beneficial potential in in vivo studies like fibrous intraluminal guidance structures,hydrogels,growth factors,and approaches of cell transplantation.Additionally,we highlight upcoming future perspectives comprising co-application of stem cell secretome.From our overview,we conclude that already simple attempts are highly effective to increase the regeneration supporting properties of nerve guides in experimental studies.But for bringing nerve repair with bioartificial nerve grafts to the next level,e.g.repair of defects>3 cm in human patients,more complex intraluminal guidance structures such as innovatively manufactured hydrogels and likely supplementation of stem cells or their secretome for therapeutic purposes may represent promising future perspectives.
文摘To date there has been little research that describes the relation between the individual and their environment as the foundation for the coping process in advanced cancer patients. The aim of the study was to identify and describe, from a patient perspective, processes that are significant to coping with advanced cancer. We used the method Grounded Theory as described by Strauss and Corbin. Data were generated through qualitative interviews. A total of 18 interviews were conducted. The central theme was “The struggle to be a participant in one’s own life”. This theme involved three processes: prioritising, downplaying and self-preservation, each of which in different ways endeavours to either maintain or re-establish the feeling of being a participant. The awareness of the processes complement existing knowledge about coping in advanced cancer patients, by showing how patients make use of meaning-based coping efforts to increase their experience of being a participant in their own lives.
文摘Background and Purpose -Ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries yiel ds several quantitative measures that may serve as intermediate phenotypes in ge netic studies. This study was undertaken to compare the heritabilities of 3 ultr asound measures: intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque score, and maximal steno sis. Methods -We studied 565 individuals from 154 families ascertained by an a ffected parent with carotid artery atherosclerosis. IMT, plaque score, and maxim al stenosis of the carotid arteries were examined by B-mode ultrasound and ana lyzed quantitatively. Heritability estimates were obtained by variance component analysis as implemented in the program SOLAR (sequential oligogenic linkage ana lysis routines). Covariates were age, sex, weight, height, body mass index (BMI) , arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, amount of nicotine consumed, and pla sma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HD L) cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], triglycerides, factor VII I, factor XIII, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor (vWF). Results -After ac counting for the covariables age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and Lp(a ), heritability of IMT was estimated as h2=0.61± 0.17 (P=0.001). Variation of p laque score was influenced by age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperch olesterolemia, amount of nicotine consumed, factor VIII, and vWF. When these wer e considered, no significant heritability could be detected. Heritability of ste nosis was estimated as h2=0.47± 0.07 (P=0.006), with age, sex, BMI, hypertensio n, diabetes mellitus, amount of nicotine consumed, and LDL/HDL ratio as covariat es. Conclusions -Among the 3 ultrasound measures studied, IMT had the highest heritability. IMT was strongly influenced by genetic determinants other than tho se influencing known risk factors. This makes MT a promising candidate for use a s an intermediate phenotype in genetic studies aiming to identify novel genes for atherosclerosis.
文摘Ethylene insensitive 2 （EIN2）, an integral membrane protein of the ER network, has been identified as the central regulator of the ethylene signaling pathway. Still, the mechanism by which the ethylene signal is transferred from the receptors to EIN2 has not been solved yet. Here, we show that protein phosphorylation is a key mechanism to control the interaction of EIN2 and the receptors. In vivo and in vitro fluorescence studies reveal that the kinase domain of the receptors is essential for the interaction. Cyanide, an ethylene agonist, which is known to reduce auto-phosphorylation of the ethylene receptor ethylene resistant 1 （ETR1） or a mutation in the kinase domain of ETR1 that prevents autophosphorylation （H353A）, increases the affinity of the receptors for EIN2. On the other hand, mimicking permanent auto-phosphorylation of ETR1 as in the mutant H353E releases the EiN2-ETR1 interaction from the control by the plant hormone. Based on our data, we propose a novel model on the integration of EIN2 in the ethylene signaling cascade.
文摘Rice sheath blight disease （ShB）, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, gives rise to significant grain yield losses. The present study evaluated the efficacy of Integral, the commercial liquid formulation of Bacillus subtilis strain MBI 600, against rice ShB and for plant growth promotion. In greenhouse studies, four log concentrations of Integral （from 2.2×10^6 to 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL） were used as seed treatment （ST）. After 25 d, seedlings were dipped （SD） into Integral prior to transplanting. At 30 d after transplanting （DAT）, leaf sheaths were inoculated with immature sclerotia of the pathogen. At 45 DAT, a foliar spray （FS） with Integral was applied to some treatments. The fungicide control was 50% carbendazim at 1.0 g/L, and a nontreated control was also included. Overall, there were 10 treatments, each with five replications. ShB severity was rated at 52 DAT, and seedling height and number of tillers per plant were rated at 60 DAT. In 2009, two field trials evaluated Integral at 2.2×10^8 and 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL. Integral was applied as ST, and seedlings were produced in a nursery bed. After 32 d, seedlings were treated with Integral as SD and transplanted into 10 m^2 blocks. Foliar sprays were given at 45 and 60 DAT. There were seven treatments, each with eight replications arranged as a factorial randomized complete block design. At 20 DAT, the plots were broadcast inoculated with R. solani produced on rice grains. Seedling height before transplanting, ShB severity at 90 DAT, and grain yield at harvest were recorded. Integral at 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL provided significant increase of seedling heights over other treatments under greenhouse conditions. The Integral treatments of ST ＋ SD ＋ FS at 2.2×10^9 cfu/mL significantly suppressed ShB over other treatments. In field studies, Integral provided significant increase of seedling height in nursery, and number of tillers per plant, compared with the control. ShB severity was significantly suppressed with higher concentrations of Integral compared t
基金This work was partially supported by Horizon 2020,INFRADEV-4-2014-2015,654248,CORBEL,Coordinated Research Infrastructures Building Enduring Life-science services.
文摘One of the key goals of the FAIR guiding principles is defined by its final principle-to optimize data sets for reuse by both humans and machines.To do so,data providers need to implement and support consistent machine readable metadata to describe their data sets.This can seem like a daunting task for data providers,whether it is determining what level of detail should be provided in the provenance metadata or figuring out what common shared vocabularies should be used.Additionally,for existing data sets it is often unclear what steps should be taken to enable maximal,appropriate reuse.Data citation already plays an important role in making data findable and accessible,providing persistent and unique identifiers plus metadata on over 16 million data sets.In this paper,we discuss how data citation and its underlying infrastructures,in particular associated metadata,provide an important pathway for enabling FAIR data reuse.
文摘Perception of the phytohormone ethylene is accomplished by a small family of integral membrane receptors. In Arabidopsis, five ethylene receptor proteins are known, including ethylene resistant I （ETR1）. The hydrophobic aminoterminal domain of these receptors contains the ethylene-binding site while the carboxyl-terminal part consists of a histidine kinase domain and a response regulator domain, which are well known elements found in bacterial two-component signaling. The soluble membrane-extrinsic carboxyl-terminal part of the receptor, which is likely to play an important role in signal transduction, showed intrinsic kinase activity when expressed and purified on its own. However, a correlation between signal input and autokinase activity was not established in these studies, as receptors were missing the trans- membrane amino-terminal sensor domain. Thus, it is still unclear whether autophosphorylation occurs in response to perception of the ethylene signal. Here, we report on autophosphorylation studies of purified full-length ETR1. Autoki- nase activity of the purified receptor is controlled by ethylene or by ethylene agonists like the π-acceptor compound cyanide. In fact, both signal molecules were able to completely turn off the intrinsic kinase activity, Furthermore, the observed inhibition of autophosphorylation in ETR1 by both molecules could be prevented when the ethylene antagonist 1-methyl-cyclopropene （MOP） was applied.
文摘Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a filament based rapid prototyping system which offers the possibility of introducing new composite material for the FDM process as long as the new material can be made in feedstock filament form. Swinburne has been undertaking extensive research in development of new composite materials involving acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and other materials including metals. In order to predict the behaviour of new ABS based composite materials in the course of FDM process, it is necessary to investigate the flow of the composite material in liquefier head. No such study is available considering the geometry of the liquefier head. This paper presents 2-D and 3-D numerical analysis of melt flow behaviour of a representative ABS-iron composite through the 90-degree bent tube of the liquefier head of the fused deposition modelling process using ANSYS FLOTRAN and CFX finite element packages. Main flow parameters including temperature, velocity, and pressure drop have been investigated. Filaments of the filled ABS have been fabricated and characterized to verify the possibility of prototyping using the new material on the current FDM machine. Results provide promising information in developing the melt flow modelling of metal-plastic composites and in optimising the FDM parameters for better part quality with such composites.
文摘The gaseous plant hormone ethylene regulates many processes of high agronomic relevance throughout the life span of plants. A central element in ethylene signaling is the endoplasmic reticulum （ER）-Iocalized membrane protein ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 （EIN2）. Recent studies indicate that in response to ethylene, the extra-membranous C-terminal end of EIN2 is proteolytically processed and translocated from the ER to the nucleus. Here, we report that the conserved nuclear localization signal （NLS） mediating nuclear import of the EIN2 C-terminus provides an important domain for complex formation with ethylene receptor ETHYLENE RESPONSE1 （ETR1）. EIN2 lacking the NLS domain shows strongly reduced affinity for the receptor. Interaction of EIN2 and ETR1 is also blocked by a synthetic peptide of the NLS motif. The corre- sponding peptide substantially reduces ethylene responses in planta. Our results uncover a novel mecha- nism and type of inhibitor interfering with ethylene signal transduction and ethylene responses in plants. Disruption of essential protein-protein interactions in the ethylene signaling pathway as shown in our study for the EIN2-ETR1 complex has the potential to guide the development of innovative ethylene antagonists for modern agriculture and horticulture.
基金funding GeoKur under grant numbers 16QK04A,16QK04B,and 16QK04C.
文摘Geospatial data are fundamental in most global-change and sustainability-related domains.However,readily accessible information on data quality and provenance is often missing or hardly accessible for users due to technical or perceptual barriers,for example,due to unstructured metadata information or missing references.Within an interdisciplinary process encompassing perspectives of data users,data producers,and software developers,we identified major needs to facilitate effectivefitness-for-use assessments by data users and developed approaches to address these.We provided a stylized analysis of large-scale land use data to showcase selected approaches.To support data users,interoperable quality and provenance information need to be meaningfully represented.Data producers need efficient workflows and tools supporting them in creating high-quality,structured and detailed quality and provenance information.Our newly developed approaches to increase the availability of structured metadata synthesize new and existing tools to extract metadata or to generate provenance data during processing.Within our approaches to improve interoperability and accessibility we present novel tools to support(i)the creation of curated and linked registers of data quality indicators and thematic terms,and(ii)linked visualization of data quality and provenance information.Following our approaches increases transparency,facilitatesfitness-for-use assessments,and ultimately improves research quality.
基金supported by a grant from Karl Storz GmbH,Tuttlingen,Germany
文摘BACKGROUND： Peroral cholangioscopy facilitates diagnosis and therapy of biliary disorders. This study prospectively evaluated a new short access cholangioscopy. METHODS： Consecutive patients were included as follows： difficult stones （group 1） underwent cholangioscopy with electrohydraulic lithotripsy and indeterminate biliary strictures （group 2） were evaluated with macroscopic assessment and cholangioscopy guided biopsy sampling. We evaluated the complete stone clearance rate （group 1） and diagnostic accu- racy （group 2）. Follow-up was performed over a median of 13 and I6 months, respectively. RESULTS： Group 1 （n=21）： complete stone clearance defined as lack of stones in cholangiography and stone removal dur- ing cholangioscopy was achieved in 15 （71.4%） patients. Clini- cal stone clearance defined as lack of symptoms, laboratory abnormalities and hospital visits during follow-up, irrespec- tive of stone clearance was evident in 17 （81.0%） patients. One serious adverse event occurred （bile duct perforation）. Group 2 （n=28）： malignancy was confirmed in 15 patients. Sensitiv- ity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of cholangioscopy were 85.7%, 75.0% and 80.7%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of biopsies were 54.5%, 100.0% and 72.2%, respectively. No serious adverse events occurred, and one patient was lost to follow-up.CONCLUSIONS： The novel system enabled complex stone treatment and biliary stricture diagnosis. Cholangioscopy outperformed direct biopsy regarding characterization of in- determinate strictures.
文摘A high degree of virulence diversity has been maintained in the population of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici （Pgt） in northwestern United States. Although Berberis vulgaris is present in the region and Pgt has been isolated from aecial infections on B. vulgaris, the population is too diverse to be explained by the limited presence of B. vulgaris alone. Since 2008, we have isolated P. graminis from aecial infections on fruits of Mahonia repens and Mahonia aquifolium from northwestern United States. These two native woody shrub species, widely distributed in western North America, were once classified as resistant to P. graminis based on artificial inoculations. By isolating P. graminis from aecia, we established that M. repens and M. aquifolium along with B. vulgaris （albeit infrequent） serve as the alternate hosts ofP. graminis in the region. The isolates of P. graminis from Mahonia of North America had diverse virulence patterns and most of the isolates could be differentiated on Morocco, Line E, Chinese Spring, Little Club, LMPG-6, Rusty, and other genotypes that are considered to be universally susceptible to most Pgt isolates. This discovery explained the persistence of virulence diversity of Pgt observed in isolates derived from uredinia on cereal crops in the region. In addition to cereal crops, uredinial stage of the P. graminis population is sustained by wild grasses, especially Elymus glaucus, a native grass sharing the same habitat with the rusted Mahonia spp. Although virulence to some important stem rust resistance genes was observed in some isolates derived from Mahonia of North America when tested against single stem rust resistance gene stocks, the overall virulence is very limited in these isolates. This is likely a result of limited selection pressure on the rust population. In contrast to northwestern United Sates, the Pgt population in east of the Rocky Mountains of North America has declined steadily with a single race, QFCSC, being predominant in the last decade. This decline is lik
文摘AIM To compare the aspiration needle(AN) and core biopsy needle(PC) in endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration(EUS-FNA) of abdominal masses.METHODS Consecutive patients referred for EUS-FNA were included in this prospective single-center trial. Each patient underwent a puncture of the lesion with both standard 22-gauge(G) AN(Echo Tip Ultra; Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana, United States) and the novel 22 G PC(Echo Tip Pro Core; Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana, United States) in a randomized fashion; histology was attempted in the PC group only. The main study endpoint was the overall diagnostic accuracy, including the contribution of histology to the final diagnosis. Secondary outcome measures included material adequacy, number of needle passes, and complications.RESULTS Fifty six consecutive patients(29 men; mean age 68 years) with pancreatic lesions(n = 38), lymphadenopathy(n = 13), submucosal tumors(n = 4), or others lesions(n = 1) underwent EUS-FNA using both of the needles in a randomized order. AN and PC reached similar overall results for diagnostic accuracy(AN: 88.9 vs PC: 96.1, P = 0.25), specimen adequacy(AN: 96.4% vs PC: 91.1%, P = 0.38), mean number of passes(AN: 1.5 vs PC: 1.7, P = 0.14), mean cellularity score(AN: 1.7 vs PC: 1.1, P = 0.058), and complications(none). A diagnosis on the basis of histology was achieved in the PC group in 36(64.3%) patients, and in 2 of those as the sole modality. In patients with available histology the mean cellularity score was higher for AN(AN: 1.7 vs PC: 1.0, P = 0.034); no other differences were of statistical significance.CONCLUSION Both needles achieved high overall diagnostic yields and similar performance characteristics for cytological diagnosis; histological analysis was only possible in 2/3 of cases with the new needle.
