Physiological and biochemical responses of roadside trees grown under different urban environmental conditions in Seoul

The present study revealed that Ginkgo biloba and Platanus occidentalis, the most abundant roadside trees in Seoul, grown under polluted environmental conditions, displayed lower contents of total chlorophyll (Chl), carotenoids (Car), and ascorbic acid (AsA) compared to the trees grown under clean conditions. The reduction in Chl, Car, and AsA contents was 59, 53, and 50%, respectively, in G. biloba, contrary to 26, 23, and 24%, respectively, in P. occidentalis. Furthermore, relative ion leakage and leaf temperature was higher in the trees grown under polluted conditions than in those grown under clean conditions. The increase in relative ion leakage and leaf temperature was 58 and 3% for G. biloba and 17 and 4% for P. occidentalis, respectively. Our results, therefore, highlighted the negative impact of urban environmental pollution on the physiological and biochemical parameters in roadside trees.     

The effects of Chamaecyparis obtusa essential oil on pain-related behavior and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in carrageenan-induced arthritis in rats

Chamaecyparis obtusa essential oil (COE) has been widely used to treat allergic diseases and was suggested to exert anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects. This study evaluated the effects of COE on pain-related behavior and pro-inflammatory cytokines in rats with carrageenan (CGN)-induced arthritis. Reduced dynamic weight load on inflamed joint in voluntarily walking rats was used as the behavior test for arthritic pain; 10% COE-treated group was significantly attenuated pain (6–8 h post-CGN injection) compared to VEH (mineral oil)-treated group. In addition, the protein levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6 (6–8 h), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 (8 h) within the synovial membrane, as well as IL-1β, COX-2 (6–8 h), and IL-6 (5–7 h) within the meniscus, of 10% COE-treated group were significantly reduced. The current results implicate that COE has anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects on arthritis in rats.     

Efficient blue organic light‐emitting diodes using N2,N2,N11,N11,5,6,7,8‐octaphenyltriphenylene‐2,11‐diamine derivatives

In this study, we have synthesized phenyl‐substituted triphenylene derivatives, using the Diels–Alder reaction and the Buchwald–Hartwig reaction. To investigate electroluminescence properties of these materials, multilayer organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) devices were fabricated with a structure of indium–tin–oxide (ITO) (180 nm)/4,4′‐bis(N‐(1‐naphthyl)‐N‐phenylamino)biphenyl (NPB) (50 nm)/blue‐emitting materials (1–3) (30 nm)/bathophenanthroline (Bphen) (35 nm)/lithium quinolate (Liq) (2 nm)/Al (100 nm). A device using N²,N²,N¹¹,N¹¹,5,6,7‐heptaphenyltriphenylene‐2,11‐diamine (2) exhibited efficient blue emission with luminous, power, and external quantum efficiencies of 0.92 cd/A, 0.67 lm/W, and 1.17% at 20 mA/cm², respectively. The Commission International de L'Éclairage coordinates of this device were (x = 0.15, y = 0.09) at 6.0 V. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative analyses of ubiquitin-like ATG8 and cysteine protease ATG4 autophagy genes in the plant lineage and cross-kingdom processing of ATG8 by ATG4

Autophagy is important for degradation and recycling of intracellular components. In a diversity of genera and species, orthologs and paralogs of the yeast Atg4 and Atg8 proteins are crucial in the biogenesis of double-membrane autophagosomes that carry the cellular cargoes to vacuoles and lysosomes. Although many plant genome sequences are available, the ATG4 and ATG8 sequence analysis is limited to some model plants. We identified 28 ATG4 and 116 ATG8 genes from the available 18 different plant genome sequences. Gene structures and protein domain sequences of ATG4 and ATG8 are conserved in plant lineages. Phylogenetic analyses classified ATG8s into 3 subgroups suggesting divergence from the common ancestor. The ATG8 expansion in plants might be attributed to whole genome duplication, segmental and dispersed duplication, and purifying selection. Our results revealed that the yeast Atg4 processes Arabidopsis ATG8 but not human LC3A (HsLC3A). In contrast, HsATG4B can process yeast and plant ATG8s in vitro but yeast and plant ATG4s cannot process HsLC3A. Interestingly, in Nicotiana benthamiana plants the yeast Atg8 is processed compared to HsLC3A. However, HsLC3A is processed when coexpressed with HsATG4B in plants. Molecular modeling indicates that lack of processing of HsLC3A by plant and yeast ATG4 is not due to lack of interaction with HsLC3A. Our in-depth analyses of ATG4 and ATG8 in the plant lineage combined with results of cross-kingdom ATG8 processing by ATG4 further support the evolutionarily conserved maturation of ATG8. Broad ATG8 processing by HsATG4B and lack of processing of HsLC3A by yeast and plant ATG4s suggest that the cross-kingdom ATG8 processing is determined by ATG8 sequence rather than ATG4.