Helical Polybissilsesquioxane Bundles Prepared Using a Self‐Templating Approach

Polybissilsesquioxanes with single‐handed helical morphologies attracted much attention during the last decade, which could be applied as asymmetric catalysts and chiral stationary phases. Herein, a pair of chiral biphenylene‐bridged bissilsesquioxanes were synthesized. They self‐assembled into helical bundles in ethanol, behavior that was confirmed in field emission scanning electron microscopy images. Circular dichroism analysis indicated that the biphenylene groups twisted in a single‐handed fashion. Single‐handed helical polybissilsesquioxane bundles were prepared via polycondensation of the bissilsesquioxanes, using a self‐templating approach. Because of the shrinkage that occurred during polycondensation, the helical pitches of the bundles were shorter than those of their corresponding organic self‐assemblies. The wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction pattern indicated that there were no π–π interactions among the diphenylene groups. The circular dichroism spectra indicated that the chirality was successfully transferred from the bissilsesquioxane self‐assemblies to the polybissilsesquioxane. The polybissilsesquioxanes displayed a capacity for the adsorption of nitrobenzene and had potential application for enantioseparation. Chirality 28:44–48, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Role of electroencephalogram and oxygen saturation in the induction mechanism of arousal for obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome patients

Arousal concomitant with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is known to result in sleep fragmentation and excessive daytime sleepiness. The cause of arousal is multifarious, and the mechanism is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to further research the induction mechanism of arousal by investigating the variation of electroencephalogram (EEG) and oxygen saturation (SaO₂). This study enrolled 20 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of OSAHS who underwent overnight polysomnography. Respiratory events and arousals were scored, and individuals with insufficient samples (<30) were excluded. Thus, 13 subjects mostly with severe OSAHS were analyzed in this study. The wavelet coefficients, spectral power of EEG (C4-M1 and C3-M2) before arousal or airway reopening, and the maximum desaturations of SaO₂ during respiratory events were analyzed. For most subjects, EEG (in stages N1 and N2) during respiratory events with arousals exhibited significantly lower values of wavelet coefficients and spectral power (p < 0.05). The maximum desaturations of SaO₂ during respiratory events with arousals are larger than those without among individual. In binary logistic regression analysis, the P values of EEG features and SaO₂ desaturation were both less than 0.001. Our results demonstrate that in light NREM stage, less activity in EEG during respiratory events and larger SaO₂ drop both independently were related to the occurrence of arousal. These significant differences come from major subjects based on the statistical analysis, and help supplement the induction mechanism of arousal.     

肉桂醛对增强辣椒疫霉病抗性的作用机制研究

该实验以辣椒疫霉菌(Phytophthora capsici)致病性菌株NJ01和‘苏椒5号’辣椒幼苗为研究对象,通过肉桂醛对辣椒疫霉菌的体外抑菌作用、室内侵染效果以及对辣椒幼苗防卫反应的调控作用,揭示肉桂醛对增强辣椒疫霉病抗性的作用机制。结果表明:(1)肉桂醛对实验所用致病性菌株NJ01的抑制中浓度(EC50)值为0.81mmol/L;肉桂醛处理可导致NJ01菌丝严重皱缩、畸形、断裂;PI染色显示NJ01菌丝出现明显的细胞死亡现象。(2)单独NJ01菌株接种的辣椒植株表现出明显病症(茎基部变黑褐色、干枯萎缩,植株倒伏,叶片脱落,生物量下降);而肉桂醛处理2h后接种NJ01菌株的辣椒植株长势良好,无明显病症,鲜重和叶绿素含量显著上升至对照水平。(3)与单独接种NJ01菌株处理相比,肉桂醛处理2h后接种NJ01菌株的辣椒植株体内抗氧化酶(CAT、SOD、POD)活性显著上升,抗氧化物质(GSH和ASA)含量显著增加。研究认为,肉桂醛可能通过抑制辣椒疫霉菌的生长及其对辣椒植株的侵染能力,同时调控辣椒植株防卫反应,进而提高辣椒对疫病抗性。     

The short-term responses of glutathione and phytochelation synthetic pathways genes to additional nitrogen under cadmium stress in poplar leaves

Earlier it was noticed that the supplementary nitrogen to nutritive solution of the cadmium stressed (Cd-stressed) plants can alleviate the toxic effects of this metal on the plants and improve plant growth performance. But the underlying mechanisms of such detoxification effect of nitrogen were not studied. In this study, a ten-day responses of related nitrogen-synthesized genes including γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCs), glutathione synthetase (ECGs) and phytochelatin synthase (PCs) involved in glutathione (ECG) and phytochelation (PC) synthetic pathways were examined. The plant growth performance and leaf chlorophyll content were examined at the final harvest. It was shown that the supplement of additional nitrogen to poplar plants under cadmium stress could significantly up-regulate the expression levels of γ-GCs, ECGs and PCs genes in plant leaves during the first 12 hours. Furthermore, cadmium stressed plants with additional nitrogen supplement showed significant enhancement in growth performance and increase in leaf chlorophyll content compared to sole cadmium stressed plants. Our results suggest that additional nitrogen could stimulate a short-term defense system in poplar plants through ECG and PC synthetic pathways. It is contribute to the alleviation of the toxic symptoms in polar plants caused by cadmium stress. This study provides a potential method to render harmless cadmium toxicity in stressed plants with nitrogen fertilization.     

Genome‐wide association study of callus induction variation to explore the callus formation mechanism of rice

Rice(Oryza sativa) is one of the most widely cultivated food crops, worldwide. Tissue culture is extensively used in rice breeding and functional genome research. The ability to induce callus determines whether a particular rice variety can be subjected to tissue culture and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Over the past two decades, many quantitative trait loci(QTLs)related to callus induction traits have been identified;however, individual genes associated with rice callus induction have not been reported. In this study, we characterized three callus-induction traits in a global collection of 510 rice accessions. A genome-wide association study of the rice population in its entirety as well as subpopulations revealed 21 significant loci located in rice callus induction QTLs. We identified three candidate callus induction genes, namely CRL1, Os BMM1, and Os SET1, which Rese are orthologs of Arabidopsis LBD17/LBD29, BBM, and SWN,respectively, which are known to affect callus formation.Furthermore, we predicted that 14 candidate genes might be involved in rice callus induction and showed that RNA interference(RNAi)-mediated disruption of Os IAA10 inhibited callus formation on tissue culture medium.Embryo growth in the Os IAA10 RNAi line was not inhibited by synthetic auxin(2,4-D) treatment, suggesting that Os IAA10 may perceive auxin and activate the expression of downstream genes, such as CRL1, to induce callus formation. The significant loci and candidate genes identified here may provide insight into the mechanism underlying callus formation in rice.