Biological effects of low-energy C ion implantation on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Field cultivation experiments on white sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)seeds implanted with low-energy C ion showed that different dosages of C ion implantation produce different biological effects.Sesame plants in 6 different dosage groups with C ion density respectively at 1×1011,1×1012,1×1015,5×1015,1×1016,5×1016 ion/cm2 were superior to the control group in plant height,leaf number,stalk diameter and leaf size.Further,sesame plants in these groups flower and seed earlier than those in the control group,and single plant yield also increased.Of all the groups,the 5×1015 ion/cm2 dosage group yielded the best effect,whereas the 1×1017/cm2 dosage group showed an evident inhibitory effect of ion implantation on the germination and growth of the sesame seeds.     

Characterization of structural and optical properties of Mn2+-doped Zn2GeO4 nanorods as an efficient green phosphor for solid-state lighting

A series of Mn²⁺-doped zinc germinate ZGO:xMn²⁺ (x = 0–0.05) nanorods was synthesized successfully using a hydrothermal method. XRD revealed that crystal phases of the ZGO:xMn²⁺ were rhombohedral and in the R-3 space group. The Williamson–Hall equation was also used to explain the strain, nanocrystalline size, and stacking fault. Green LEDs were successfully fabricated by coating ZGO:Mn²⁺ nanorods onto UV-LED chips. For high color purity, CIE of the fabricated green LEDs were (0.2404, 0.5428), which made this material a promising candidate for fabrication of UV-based green LEDs.     

Effect of plaque compositions on fractional flow reserve in a fluid–structure interaction analysis

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - Coronary artery disease involves the reduction of blood flow to the myocardium due to atherosclerotic plaques. The findings of myocardial ischemia may...     

Role of bta-miR-204 in the regulation of adipocyte proliferation,differentiation, and apoptosis

Adipocyte growth and development are complex and precisely orchestrated processes. Several microRNAs have been identified as critical regulators of the adipocyte growth and development. Recently, bta-miR-204 was found to be involved in adipogenesis; however, the underlying molecular mechanism involved in bta-miR-204-mediated regulation of proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of adipocytes is not fully understood or elucidated. In this study, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Cell Counting Kit-8, EdU, flow cytometer, Oil Red O staining, and the western blot assays were used to assess the role of bta-miR-204 in adipocyte growth and development. Overexpression of bta-miR-204 had no significant effect on 3T3-L1 cell proliferation. The forced expression of bta-miR-204 promoted 3T3-L1 cell differentiation. Meanwhile, overexpression of bta-miR-204 upregulated the expression of Bax and downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 both at messenger RNA and protein levels, which suggested that bta-miR-204 can promote 3T3-L1 cell apoptosis. Using bioinformatic analysis, dual-luciferase reporter system and qRT-PCR, TGFBR2, and ELOVL6 were identified as the direct target genes of bta-miR-204. Therefore, our study provides a novel insight into the role of bta-miR-204 in the regulation of adipocyte growth and development, which may provide a novel therapeutic alternative against obesity.     

Retracted: CCR5 silencing reduces inflammatory response,inhibits viability,and promotes apoptosis of synovial cells in rat models of rheumatoid arthritis through the MAPK signaling pathway

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can, in severe cases, lead to disability. CC chemokine receptor (CCR), an integral membrane protein, has been suggested to play a key role in the RA developmentThis study is to explore the role of CCR5 silencing in inflammatory response, viability, and apoptosis of synovial cells in RA rats by inactivating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Microarray analysis was conducted to screen out differentially expressed genes from RA-related chips. The rat model was established by injection of siRNA-CCR5 and PD98059 (inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1) to evaluate the role of CCR5 silencing in RA, with the involvement of inflammatory response, synovial cell viability, apoptosis, and cycle. CCR5 was predicted to participate in RA by regulating the MARK pathway. In animal experiments, reduction was identified in arthritis index (AI), CCR5 positive expression rate, levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, and MMP-3 in serum of RA rats after CCR5 siRNA and PD98059 injections. RA rats treated with CCR5 siRNA, and PD98059 presented with inhibition in cell viability, promotion of apoptosis, increase in cell proportion in G0/G1 phase, and shortened the S phase. In addition, the treatment of CCR5 siRNA, and PD98059 resulted in downregulated JNK1, ERK1, p38, Cyclin D1, Cyclin E1, Cyclin B1, and Bcl-2 and upregulated Bax and Cas3. These findings reveal that CCR5 silencing suppresses inflammatory response, inhibits viability, and promotes apoptosis of synovial cells in RA rats by inhibiting MAPK pathway. Therefore, CCR5 silencing may provide a novel therapeutic target for RA.     

Comprehensive metabolomic,proteomic and physiological analyses of grain yield reduction in rice under abrupt drought–flood alternation stress

Abrupt drought–flood alternation (T1) is a meteorological disaster that frequently occurs during summer in southern China and the Yangtze river basin, often causing a significant loss of rice production. In this study, the response mechanism of yield decline under abrupt drought–flood alternation stress at the panicle differentiation stage was analyzed by looking at the metabolome, proteome as well as yield and physiological and biochemical indexes. The results showed that drought and flood stress caused a decrease in the yield of rice at the panicle differentiation stage, and abrupt drought–flood alternation stress created a synergistic effect for the reduction of yield. The main reason for the decrease of yield per plant under abrupt drought–flood alternation was the decrease of seed setting rate. Compared with CK0 (no drought and no flood), the net photosynthetic rate and soluble sugar content of T1 decreased significantly and its hydrogen peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase activity increased significantly. The identified differential metabolites and differentially expressed proteins indicated that photosynthesis metabolism, energy metabolism pathway and reactive oxygen species response have changed strongly under abrupt drought–flood alteration stress, which are factors that leads to the rice grain yield reduction.     

SAMD9 is a (epi-) genetically regulated anti-inflammatory factor activated in RA patients

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - The immune responses, involved in recognition of cancer-specific antigens, are of particular interest as this may provide major leads towards developing new...