The mature cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber is a single cell with a typically thickened secondary cell wall. The aim of this research was to use molecular, spectroscopic and chemical techniques to investigate th...The mature cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber is a single cell with a typically thickened secondary cell wall. The aim of this research was to use molecular, spectroscopic and chemical techniques to investigate the possible occurrence of previously overlooked accumulation of phenolics during secondary cell wall formation in cotton fibers. Relative quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that GhCAD6 and GhCAD1 were predominantly expressed among seven gene homologs, only GhCAD6 was up-regulated during secondary wall formation in cotton fibers. Phylogenic analysis revealed that GhCAD6 belonged to Class I and was proposed to have a major role in monolignol biosynthesis, and GhCAD1 belonged to Class III and was proposed to have a compensatory mechanism for monolignol biosynthesis. Amino acid sequence comparison showed that the cofactor binding sites of GhCADs were highly conserved with high similarity and identity to bona fide cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases. The substrate binding site of GhCAD1 is different from GhCAD6. This difference was confirmed by the different catalytic activities observed with the enzymes. Cell wall auto-fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and chemical analyses confirmed that phenolic compounds were bound to the cell walls of mature cotton fibers. Our findings may suggest a potential for genetic manipulation of cotton fiber properties, which are of central importance to agricultural, cotton processing and textile industries.展开更多
Soft computing techniques are becoming even more popular and particularly amenable to model the complex behaviors of most geotechnical engineering systems since they have demonstrated superior predictive capacity,comp...Soft computing techniques are becoming even more popular and particularly amenable to model the complex behaviors of most geotechnical engineering systems since they have demonstrated superior predictive capacity,compared to the traditional methods.This paper presents an overview of some soft computing techniques as well as their applications in underground excavations.A case study is adopted to compare the predictive performances of soft computing techniques including eXtreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost),Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines(MARS),Artificial Neural Networks(ANN),and Support Vector Machine(SVM) in estimating the maximum lateral wall deflection induced by braced excavation.This study also discusses the merits and the limitations of some soft computing techniques,compared with the conventional approaches available.展开更多
As a complex wall system in flowering plants, the pollen outer wall mainly contains aliphatic sporopollenin; however, the mechanism for synthesizing these lipidic precursors during pollen development remains less well...As a complex wall system in flowering plants, the pollen outer wall mainly contains aliphatic sporopollenin; however, the mechanism for synthesizing these lipidic precursors during pollen development remains less well understood. Here, we report on the function of the rice tapetum-expressing TDR (Tapetum Degeneration Retardation) gene in aliphatic metabolism and its regulatory role during rice pollen development. The observations of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses suggested that pollen wall formation was significantly altered in the tdr mutant. The contents of aliphatic compositions of anther were greatly changed in the tdr mutant revealed by GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) testing, particularly less accumulated in fatty acids, primary alcohols, alkanes and alkenes, and an abnormal increase in secondary alcohols with carbon lengths from C29 to C3S in tdr. Microarray data revealed that a group of genes putatively involved in lipid transport and metabolism were significantly altered in the tdr mutant, indicating the critical role of TDR in the formation of the pollen wall. Also, a wide range of genes (236 in total--154 up-regulated and 82 down-regulated) exhibited statistically significant expressional differences between wild-type and tdr. In addition to its function in promoting tapetum PCD, TDR possibly plays crucial regulatory roles in several basic biological processes during rice pollen development.展开更多
As the Wenchuan Earthquake was of high magnitude and shallow seismic focus, it caused great dam- age and serious geohazards. By the field investigation and the interpretation of remote-sensing infor- mation after the ...As the Wenchuan Earthquake was of high magnitude and shallow seismic focus, it caused great dam- age and serious geohazards. By the field investigation and the interpretation of remote-sensing infor- mation after the earthquake and by using means of GIS technology, the distribution of geohazards triggered by the earthquake are analyzed and the conclusions are as follows: (1) The earthquake geo- hazards showed the feature of zonal distribution along the earthquake fault zone and linear distribution along the rivers; (2) the distribution of earthquake geohazards had a marked hanging wall effect, for the development density of geohazards in the hanging wall of earthquake fault zone was obviously higher than that in the foot wall and the width of strong development zone in the hanging wall was about 10 km; (3) the topographical slope was a main factor which controlled the development of earthquake geo- hazards and a vast majority of hazards were distributed on the slopes of 20° to 50°; (4) the earthquake geohazards had a corresponding relationship with the elevation and micro-landform, for most hazards happened in the river valleys and canyon sections below the elevation of 1500 to 2000 m, particularly in the upper segment of canyon sections (namely, the turning point from the dale to the canyon). Thin ridge, isolated or full-face space mountains were most sensitive to the seismic wave, and had a striking amplifying effect. In these areas, collapses and landslides were most likely to develop; (5) the study also showed that different lithologies determined the types of geohazards, and usually, landslides oc- curred in soft rocks, while collapses occurred in hard rocks.展开更多
Objective: To discuss the feasibility and clinical value of high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HRMR VWI) for intracranial arterial stenosis. Date Sources: We retrieved information from PubMed ...Objective: To discuss the feasibility and clinical value of high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HRMR VWI) for intracranial arterial stenosis. Date Sources: We retrieved information from PubMed database up to December 2015, using various search terms including vessel wall imaging (VWI), high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, intracranial arterial stenosis, black blood, and intracranial atherosclerosis. Study Selection: We reviewed peer-reviewed articles printed in English on imaging technique of VWI and characteristic findings of various intracranial vasculopathies on VWI. We organized this data to explain the value of VWI in clinical application. Results: VWI with black blood technique could provide high-quality images with submillimeter voxel size, and display both the vessel wall and lumen of intracranial artery simultaneously. Various intracranial vasculopathies (atherosclerotic or nonatherosclerotic) had differentiating features including pattern of wall thickening, enhancement, and vessel remodeling on VWI. This technique could be used for determining causes of stenosis, identification of stroke mechanism, risk-stratifying patients, and directing therapeutic management in clinical practice. In addition, a new morphological classification based on VWI could be established for predicting the efficacy of endovascular therapy. Conclusions: This review highlights the value of HRMR VWI for discrimination of different intracranial vasculopathies and directing therapeutic management.展开更多
Plant cell walls are complex structures composed of high-molecular-weight polysaccharides, proteins, and lignins. Among the wall polysaccharides, cellulose, a hydrogen-bonded β-1,4-1inked glucan microfibril, is the m...Plant cell walls are complex structures composed of high-molecular-weight polysaccharides, proteins, and lignins. Among the wall polysaccharides, cellulose, a hydrogen-bonded β-1,4-1inked glucan microfibril, is the main load-bearing wall component and a key precursor for industrial applications. Cellulose is synthesized by large multi-meric cellulose synthase (CesA) complexes, tracking along cortical microtubules at the plasma membrane. The only known components of these complexes are the cellulose synthase proteins. Recent studies have identified tentative interaction partners for the CesAs and shown that the migratory patterns of the CesA complexes depend on phosphorylation status. These advances may become good platforms for expanding our knowledge about cellulose synthesis in the near future. In addition, our current understanding of cellulose chain polymerization in the context of the CesA complex is discussed.展开更多
Ultrastructural changes in secondary wall formation of Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel fiber were investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Fiber developed initially with the elongation of cells containing...Ultrastructural changes in secondary wall formation of Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel fiber were investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Fiber developed initially with the elongation of cells containing ribosomes, mitochondria and Golgi bodies in the dense cytoplasm. During the wall thickening, the number of rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies increased apparently. There were two kinds of Golgi vesicles, together with the ones from endoplasmic reticulum formed transport vesicles. Many microtubules were arranged parallel to the long axis of the cell adjacent to the plasmalemma. Along with the further development of fiber, polylamellate structure of the secondary wall appeared, with concurrent agglutination of chromatin in the nucleus, swelling and disintegration of organelles, while cortical microtubules were still arranged neatly against the inner side of plasmalemma. Lomasomes could be observed between the wall and plasmalemma. The results indicated that the organelles, such as Golgi bodies together with small vesicles, rough endoplasmic reticulum and lomasomes, played the key role in the thickening and lignification of the secondary wall of bamboo fiber, though cortical microtubules were correlative with the process as well.展开更多
The cable net supported glass curtain wallas the most advanced technique in dot point supported glass curtain wall, is widely used in China. Because of its large deflection and high nonlinearity under wind load, the d...The cable net supported glass curtain wallas the most advanced technique in dot point supported glass curtain wall, is widely used in China. Because of its large deflection and high nonlinearity under wind load, the dynamic performance of the cable net is greatly different from that of the conventional linear structures. The continuous membrane theory is used to construct the nonlinear vibration differential equation of the cable net, and the harmonic balance method is used to solve the analytic formula of the nonlinear frequency. In order to verify the accuracy of the above analytic formula, the results of the formula and the nonlinear FEM time-history method are compared and found to be in good agreement. Furthermore, the nonlinear vibration differential equation and the nonlinear frequency obtained in this paper are the basis for the wind-induced response analysis of a cable net under fluctuating wind load.展开更多
Secondary cell walls provide plants with rigidity and strength to support their body weight and ensure water and nutrient transport. They also provide textiles, timber, and potentially second-generation biofuels for h...Secondary cell walls provide plants with rigidity and strength to support their body weight and ensure water and nutrient transport. They also provide textiles, timber, and potentially second-generation biofuels for human use. Genes responsible for synthesis of the different cell wall components, namely cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, are coordinately expressed and under transcriptional regulation. In the past several years, cell wall-related NAC and MYB transcription factors have been intensively investigated in different species and shown to be master switches of secondary cell wall biosynthesis. Positive and negative regulators, which function upstream of NAC master switches, have also been identified in different plant tissues. Further elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms of cell wall synthesis will facilitate the engineering of plant feedstocks suitable for biofuel production.展开更多
基金Supported by the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China(2006AA10Z184)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30660088)+1 种基金the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of Xinjiang,China (200611101)Postdoctoral Foundation of Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences
文摘The mature cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber is a single cell with a typically thickened secondary cell wall. The aim of this research was to use molecular, spectroscopic and chemical techniques to investigate the possible occurrence of previously overlooked accumulation of phenolics during secondary cell wall formation in cotton fibers. Relative quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that GhCAD6 and GhCAD1 were predominantly expressed among seven gene homologs, only GhCAD6 was up-regulated during secondary wall formation in cotton fibers. Phylogenic analysis revealed that GhCAD6 belonged to Class I and was proposed to have a major role in monolignol biosynthesis, and GhCAD1 belonged to Class III and was proposed to have a compensatory mechanism for monolignol biosynthesis. Amino acid sequence comparison showed that the cofactor binding sites of GhCADs were highly conserved with high similarity and identity to bona fide cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases. The substrate binding site of GhCAD1 is different from GhCAD6. This difference was confirmed by the different catalytic activities observed with the enzymes. Cell wall auto-fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and chemical analyses confirmed that phenolic compounds were bound to the cell walls of mature cotton fibers. Our findings may suggest a potential for genetic manipulation of cotton fiber properties, which are of central importance to agricultural, cotton processing and textile industries.
基金supported by High-end Foreign Expert Introduction program (No.G20190022002)Chongqing Construction Science and Technology Plan Project (2019-0045)
文摘Soft computing techniques are becoming even more popular and particularly amenable to model the complex behaviors of most geotechnical engineering systems since they have demonstrated superior predictive capacity,compared to the traditional methods.This paper presents an overview of some soft computing techniques as well as their applications in underground excavations.A case study is adopted to compare the predictive performances of soft computing techniques including eXtreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost),Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines(MARS),Artificial Neural Networks(ANN),and Support Vector Machine(SVM) in estimating the maximum lateral wall deflection induced by braced excavation.This study also discusses the merits and the limitations of some soft computing techniques,compared with the conventional approaches available.
文摘As a complex wall system in flowering plants, the pollen outer wall mainly contains aliphatic sporopollenin; however, the mechanism for synthesizing these lipidic precursors during pollen development remains less well understood. Here, we report on the function of the rice tapetum-expressing TDR (Tapetum Degeneration Retardation) gene in aliphatic metabolism and its regulatory role during rice pollen development. The observations of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses suggested that pollen wall formation was significantly altered in the tdr mutant. The contents of aliphatic compositions of anther were greatly changed in the tdr mutant revealed by GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) testing, particularly less accumulated in fatty acids, primary alcohols, alkanes and alkenes, and an abnormal increase in secondary alcohols with carbon lengths from C29 to C3S in tdr. Microarray data revealed that a group of genes putatively involved in lipid transport and metabolism were significantly altered in the tdr mutant, indicating the critical role of TDR in the formation of the pollen wall. Also, a wide range of genes (236 in total--154 up-regulated and 82 down-regulated) exhibited statistically significant expressional differences between wild-type and tdr. In addition to its function in promoting tapetum PCD, TDR possibly plays crucial regulatory roles in several basic biological processes during rice pollen development.
基金Supported by the Key Basic Research Program of the Ministry of Science and Tech-nology of China (Grant No. 2008CB425800)
文摘As the Wenchuan Earthquake was of high magnitude and shallow seismic focus, it caused great dam- age and serious geohazards. By the field investigation and the interpretation of remote-sensing infor- mation after the earthquake and by using means of GIS technology, the distribution of geohazards triggered by the earthquake are analyzed and the conclusions are as follows: (1) The earthquake geo- hazards showed the feature of zonal distribution along the earthquake fault zone and linear distribution along the rivers; (2) the distribution of earthquake geohazards had a marked hanging wall effect, for the development density of geohazards in the hanging wall of earthquake fault zone was obviously higher than that in the foot wall and the width of strong development zone in the hanging wall was about 10 km; (3) the topographical slope was a main factor which controlled the development of earthquake geo- hazards and a vast majority of hazards were distributed on the slopes of 20° to 50°; (4) the earthquake geohazards had a corresponding relationship with the elevation and micro-landform, for most hazards happened in the river valleys and canyon sections below the elevation of 1500 to 2000 m, particularly in the upper segment of canyon sections (namely, the turning point from the dale to the canyon). Thin ridge, isolated or full-face space mountains were most sensitive to the seismic wave, and had a striking amplifying effect. In these areas, collapses and landslides were most likely to develop; (5) the study also showed that different lithologies determined the types of geohazards, and usually, landslides oc- curred in soft rocks, while collapses occurred in hard rocks.
文摘Objective: To discuss the feasibility and clinical value of high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HRMR VWI) for intracranial arterial stenosis. Date Sources: We retrieved information from PubMed database up to December 2015, using various search terms including vessel wall imaging (VWI), high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, intracranial arterial stenosis, black blood, and intracranial atherosclerosis. Study Selection: We reviewed peer-reviewed articles printed in English on imaging technique of VWI and characteristic findings of various intracranial vasculopathies on VWI. We organized this data to explain the value of VWI in clinical application. Results: VWI with black blood technique could provide high-quality images with submillimeter voxel size, and display both the vessel wall and lumen of intracranial artery simultaneously. Various intracranial vasculopathies (atherosclerotic or nonatherosclerotic) had differentiating features including pattern of wall thickening, enhancement, and vessel remodeling on VWI. This technique could be used for determining causes of stenosis, identification of stroke mechanism, risk-stratifying patients, and directing therapeutic management in clinical practice. In addition, a new morphological classification based on VWI could be established for predicting the efficacy of endovascular therapy. Conclusions: This review highlights the value of HRMR VWI for discrimination of different intracranial vasculopathies and directing therapeutic management.
文摘Plant cell walls are complex structures composed of high-molecular-weight polysaccharides, proteins, and lignins. Among the wall polysaccharides, cellulose, a hydrogen-bonded β-1,4-1inked glucan microfibril, is the main load-bearing wall component and a key precursor for industrial applications. Cellulose is synthesized by large multi-meric cellulose synthase (CesA) complexes, tracking along cortical microtubules at the plasma membrane. The only known components of these complexes are the cellulose synthase proteins. Recent studies have identified tentative interaction partners for the CesAs and shown that the migratory patterns of the CesA complexes depend on phosphorylation status. These advances may become good platforms for expanding our knowledge about cellulose synthesis in the near future. In addition, our current understanding of cellulose chain polymerization in the context of the CesA complex is discussed.
文摘Ultrastructural changes in secondary wall formation of Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel fiber were investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Fiber developed initially with the elongation of cells containing ribosomes, mitochondria and Golgi bodies in the dense cytoplasm. During the wall thickening, the number of rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies increased apparently. There were two kinds of Golgi vesicles, together with the ones from endoplasmic reticulum formed transport vesicles. Many microtubules were arranged parallel to the long axis of the cell adjacent to the plasmalemma. Along with the further development of fiber, polylamellate structure of the secondary wall appeared, with concurrent agglutination of chromatin in the nucleus, swelling and disintegration of organelles, while cortical microtubules were still arranged neatly against the inner side of plasmalemma. Lomasomes could be observed between the wall and plasmalemma. The results indicated that the organelles, such as Golgi bodies together with small vesicles, rough endoplasmic reticulum and lomasomes, played the key role in the thickening and lignification of the secondary wall of bamboo fiber, though cortical microtubules were correlative with the process as well.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 50478028).
文摘The cable net supported glass curtain wallas the most advanced technique in dot point supported glass curtain wall, is widely used in China. Because of its large deflection and high nonlinearity under wind load, the dynamic performance of the cable net is greatly different from that of the conventional linear structures. The continuous membrane theory is used to construct the nonlinear vibration differential equation of the cable net, and the harmonic balance method is used to solve the analytic formula of the nonlinear frequency. In order to verify the accuracy of the above analytic formula, the results of the formula and the nonlinear FEM time-history method are compared and found to be in good agreement. Furthermore, the nonlinear vibration differential equation and the nonlinear frequency obtained in this paper are the basis for the wind-induced response analysis of a cable net under fluctuating wind load.
文摘Secondary cell walls provide plants with rigidity and strength to support their body weight and ensure water and nutrient transport. They also provide textiles, timber, and potentially second-generation biofuels for human use. Genes responsible for synthesis of the different cell wall components, namely cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, are coordinately expressed and under transcriptional regulation. In the past several years, cell wall-related NAC and MYB transcription factors have been intensively investigated in different species and shown to be master switches of secondary cell wall biosynthesis. Positive and negative regulators, which function upstream of NAC master switches, have also been identified in different plant tissues. Further elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms of cell wall synthesis will facilitate the engineering of plant feedstocks suitable for biofuel production.