Phenotypic Investigation and RNA-seq of KN1 Involved in Leaf Angle Formation in Maize (Zea mays L.).

Leaf angle (LA) is one of the core agronomic traits of maize, which controls maize yield by affecting planting density. Previous studies have shown that the KN1 gene is closely related to the formation of maize LA, but its specific mechanism has not been fully studied. In this study, phenotype investigation and transcriptomic sequencing were combined to explore the mechanism of LA changes in wild type maize B73 and mutant kn1 under exogenous auxin (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. The results showed that the effect of exogenous phytohormones had a greater impact on the LA of kn1 compared to B73. Transcriptome sequencing showed that genes involved in IAA, gibberellins (GAs) and brassinosteroids (BRs) showed different differential expression patterns in kn1 and B73. This study provides new insights into the mechanism of KN1 involved in the formation of maize LA, and provides a theoretical basis for breeding maize varieties with suitable LA.

Ternary Organic Solar Cells with Power Conversion Efficiency Approaching 15% by Fine-Selecting the Third Component.

Nonfullerene acceptors with mediate bandgap play a crucial role in ternary devices as the third component, further boosting the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, three F-series acceptors (F-H, F-Cl, and F-2Cl) with mediate bandgap are selected and introduced into the PM6:BDT-Br binary system as third component to find the detailed influence of end groups with chlorine (Cl) atom substitution on the performance of ternary organic solar cells. Due to the increased substitution of Cl atoms on the end groups, F-Cl and F-2Cl as guest acceptors reveal a superior ability to regulate the morphology of blend films, contributing to the ordered packing properties and high crystallinity. As a result, F-Cl and F-2Cl based ternary OSCs achieve significantly improved PCEs of 13.89% and 14.67%, respectively, compared with the binary devices (12.70%). On the contrary, F-H without Cl atom displays a poor compatibility with the host system, resulting in an inferior ternary device with a low PCE of 10.79%. This work indicates that F-series acceptors with mediate bandgap are a promising class of third component for high-performance ternary OSCs. And introducing more Cl atoms substitution on the end groups, especially F-2Cl, will own a broad applicability for other binary devices.

Corrigendum: Morphological characterization and transcriptome analysis of leaf angle mutant bhlh112 in maize [Zea mays L.].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.995815.].

Brassinosteroids induced drought resistance of contrasting drought-responsive genotypes of maize at physiological and transcriptomic levels.

The present study investigated the brassinosteroid-induced drought resistance of contrasting drought-responsive maize genotypes at physiological and transcriptomic levels. The brassinosteroid (BR) contents along with different morphology characteristics, viz., plant height (PH), shoot dry weight (SDW), root dry weight (RDW), number of leaves (NL), the specific mass of the fourth leaf, and antioxidant activities, were investigated in two maize lines that differed in their degree of drought tolerance. In response to either control, drought, or brassinosteroid treatments, the KEGG enrichment analysis showed that plant hormonal signal transduction and starch and sucrose metabolism were augmented in both lines. In contrast, the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis was augmented in lines H21L0R1 and 478. Our results demonstrate drought-responsive molecular mechanisms and provide valuable information regarding candidate gene resources for drought improvement in maize crop. The differences observed for BR content among the maize lines were correlated with their degree of drought tolerance, as the highly tolerant genotype showed higher BR content under drought stress.

Morphological characterization and transcriptome analysis of leaf angle mutant bhlh112 in maize [Zea mays L.].

Leaf angle is an important agronomic trait in maize [Zea mays L.]. The compact plant phenotype, with a smaller leaf angle, is suited for high-density planting and thus for increasing crop yields. Here, we studied the ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)-induced mutant bhlh112. Leaf angle and plant height were significantly decreased in bhlh112 compared to the wild-type plants. After treatment of seedlings with exogenous IAA and ABA respectively, under the optimal concentration of exogenous hormones, the variation of leaf angle of the mutant was more obvious than that of the wild-type, which indicated that the mutant was more sensitive to exogenous hormones. Transcriptome analysis showed that the ZmbHLH112 gene was related to the biosynthesis of auxin and brassinosteroids, and involved in the activation of genes related to the auxin and brassinosteroid signal pathways as well as cell elongation. Among the GO enrichment terms, we found many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in the cell membrane and ribosomal biosynthesis, hormone biosynthesis and signaling pathways, and flavonoid biosynthesis, which could influence cell growth and the level of endogenous hormones affecting leaf angle. Therefore, ZmbHLH112 might regulate leaf angle development through the auxin signaling and the brassinosteroid biosynthesis pathways. 12 genes related to the development of leaf were screened by WGCNA; In GO enrichment and KEGG pathways, the genes were mainly enriched in rRNA binding, ribosome biogenesis, Structural constituent of ribosome; Arabidopsis ribosome RNA methyltransferase CMAL is involved in plant development, likely by modulating auxin derived signaling pathways; The free 60s ribosomes and polysomes in the functional defective mutant rice minute-like1 (rml1) were significantly reduced, resulting in plant phenotypic diminution, narrow leaves, and growth retardation; Hence, ribosomal subunits may play an important role in leaf development. These results provide a foundation for further elucidation of the molecular mechanism of the regulation of leaf angle in maize.

Enantioselective Nickel-Catalyzed C(sp3 )-H Activation of Formamides.

Enantioselective Ni-catalyzed C(sp3 )-H bond activation remains an elusive challenge. Herein, we used phosphine oxide-ligated Ni-Al bimetallic catalyst to realize enantioselective Ni-catalyzed aliphatic C(sp3 )-H activation of formamides, providing a series of chiral N-containing heterocycles in 40-95 % yield and 70-95 % ee.

LncRNA MIAT Inhibits MPP+-Induced Neuronal Damage Through Regulating the miR-132/SIRT1 Axis in PC12 Cells.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. LncRNA MIAT has been shown to be critical in Alzheimer's disease, but its role and mechanism in PD are still unknown. Differentiated PC12 cells were treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) to establish in vitro cell injury model of PD. MTT, Annexin V-PI double staining test and Western blot were used to detect cell viability and apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) kits were used to evaluate oxidative stress in cells. These results showed that LncRNA MIAT was down-regulated in MPP+-induced PC12 cells. Overexpression of LncRNA MIAT remarkably increased cell viability, inhibited cell apoptosis and oxidative stress in MPP+-treated cells. In addition, we proved that miR-132 is a target of LncRNA MIAT. Overexpression of miR-132 could reverse the positive effect of LncRNA MIAT overexpression on MPP+-induced cell oxidative stress injury. SIRT1 is a target of miR-132 and silencing of SIRT1 attunated the positive effect of LncRNA MIAT overexpression on oxidative stress injury in MPP+-induced PC12 cells. In conclusion, this study indicated that LncRNA MIAT suppressed MPP+-induced oxidative stress injury by regulating miR-132/SIRT1 axis in PC12 cells.

[Predictive factors of asymptomatic airway hyperresponsiveness in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps].

Objective:To explore the predictive factors for asymptomatic airway hyperresponsiveness（AAHR） in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps（CRSwNP）. Methods:A total of 76 CRSwNP patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Fenyang Hospital affiliated to Shanxi Medical University from May 2016 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 40 patients in AAHR group and 36 patients in non-airway hyperresponsiveness（non-airway hyperresponsiveness, NAHR） group. The clinical symptoms, CT score of paranasal sinuses, eosinophil（EOS） count in peripheral blood and nasal polyp tissue were compared and analyzed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of AAHR, and receiver operating characteristics curve was used to judge the predictive value of the parameters. Results:Compared with NAHR group, AAHR group had more symptoms of mouth breathing and postnasal drip, higher total score of CT in ethmoid sinus, sphenoid sinus, olfactory cleft, and more EOS count in peripheral blood and nasal polyp tissue. The differences were statistically significant. There was a positive correlation between EOS count in peripheral blood and in nasal polyp tissue（r=0.324, P<0.01）. Postnasal drip, high posterior ethmoid sinus（PE） score and nasal polyp tissue EOS count were risk factors for AAHR. The predictive value of nasal polyp tissue EOS count was higher than that of PE score（AUC=0.786 and 0.685, respectively）. When the PE score was ≥1.5, the sensitivity was 80.0% and the specificity was 55.6%. When the nasal polyp tissue EOS count was ≥5.67/HPF, the sensitivity was 82.5% and the specificity was 66.7%. Conclusion:The occurrence of AAHR in patients with CRSwNP was related to clinical symptoms, paranasal sinus CT score, peripheral and nasal polyp tissue EOS count. PE score and nasal polyp tissue EOS count can be used to predict AAHR, however nasal polyp tissue EOS has higher predictive value.

Induction of NEDD8-conjugating enzyme E2 UBE2F by platinum protects lung cancer cells from apoptosis and confers to platinum-insensitivity.

Platinum is a widely used first-line chemotherapy in treating non-small cell lung cancer of adenocarcinoma. Unfortunately, platinum resistance leads to relapse and therapeutic failure, enabling the development of platinum-sensitization strategies to be of great clinical significance. Here, we report that the upregulation of the NEDD8-conjugating enzyme UBE2F is an important way for lung cancer cells to escape platinum-induced cell apoptosis, which confers to insensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy. Mechanistically, platinum treatment impairs the complex formation for proteasome-mediated UBE2F degradation, evidenced by the weaker association between UBE2F and Ring-box protein 1 (RBX1), an essential component of Cullin-Ring E3 ligases (CRLs), thus leading to the accumulation of UBE2F. The accumulated UBE2F promotes the neddylation levels and activity of Cullin5, in accord with the lower expression of pro-apoptotic protein NOXA, a well-known substrate of Cullin-Ring E3 ligase 5 (CRL5). Additionally, knockout of UBE2F significantly sensitizes lung cancer cells to platinum treatment by enhancing the protein levels of NOXA and subsequently promoting cell apoptosis. Our observations uncover a previously unknown regulatory mechanism of UBE2F stability upon platinum chemotherapy and suggest that UBE2F might be a novel therapy target for sensitizing lung cancer cells to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Ligand-Enabled Ni-Al Bimetallic Catalysis for Nonchelated Dual C-H Annulation of Arylformamides and Alkynes.

A bifunctional secondary phosphine oxide (SPO) ligand-controlled method was developed for Ni-Al-catalyzed nonchelated dual C-H annulation of arylformamides with alkynes, providing a series of substituted amide-containing heterocycles in ≤97% yield. The SPO-bound bimetallic catalysis proved to be critical to the reaction efficiency.

Enantioselective Twofold C-H Annulation of Formamides and Alkynes without Built-in Chelating Groups.

Twofold C-H annulation of readily available formamides and alkynes without built-in chelating groups was achieved. Ni-Al bimetallic catalysis enabled by a bulky BINOL-derived chiral secondary phosphine oxide (SPO) ligand proved to be critical for high reactivity and high selectivity. This reaction uses readily available formamides as starting materials and provides a concise synthetic pathway to a broad range of chiral ferrocenes in 40-98 % yield and 93-99 % ee.

Role of Oxycodone Hydrochloride in Treating Radiotherapy-Related Pain.

Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat cancer patients. Besides the curable effect, radiotherapy also could relieve the pain of cancer patients. However, cancer pain is gradually alleviated about two weeks after radiotherapy. In addition, cancer patients who receive radiotherapy may also suffer from pain flare or radiotherapy-induced side effects such as radiation esophagitis, enteritis, and mucositis. Pain control is reported to be inadequate during the whole course of radiotherapy (before, during, and after radiotherapy), and quality of life is seriously affected. Hence, radiotherapy is suggested to be combined with analgesic drugs in clinical guidelines. Previous studies have shown that radiotherapy combined with oxycodone hydrochloride can effectively alleviate cancer pain. In this review, we firstly presented the necessity of analgesia during the whole course of radiotherapy. We also sketched the role of oxycodone hydrochloride in radiotherapy of bone metastases and radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis. Finally, we concluded that oxycodone hydrochloride shows good efficacy and tolerance and could be used for pain management before, during, and after radiotherapy.

Phase II Trial of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate in Acute Radiation-Induced Esophagitis for Esophagus Cancer.

Acute radiation-induced esophagitis (ARIE) is among the most serious form of toxicities associated with definitive radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy used for treatment of patients with esophageal cancer. Our preliminary phase I and II trials of lung cancer patients who received radiotherapy indicated epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) as a promising therapeutic option against ARIE. Therefore, we conducted a prospective phase II study to validate the efficacy and safety of EGCG in the treatment of ARIE. The patients who received chemoradiotherapy or definitive radiotherapy for treatment of esophageal cancer in the Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute in China were enrolled for the present study. EGCG (440 µM) was administered with first onset of ARIE and then at weeks after final radiotherapy. The patients were monitored every week for dysphagia, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) score, and esophagitis-related pain. Moreover, tumor response and the effect on survival following the treatment were also evaluated. Comparison of the RTOG score in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth week after EGCG prescription and the first and second week after radiotherapy with baseline indicates a significant reduction. The tumor response rate was 86.3%. The overall survival rate in 1, 2, and 3 years was found to be 74.5%, 58%, and 40.5%. Oral administration of EGCG solution seems to be feasible for treating ARIE in patients with esophageal cancer who receive radiation therapy. EGCG might be an ARIE-reliever without compromising the efficacy of radiation therapy. A randomized study with a control group is needed for further evaluation.

Enantioselective Ni-Al Bimetallic Catalyzed exo-Selective C-H Cyclization of Imidazoles with Alkenes.

A Ni-Al bimetallic catalyzed enantioselective C-H exo-selective cyclization of imidazoles with alkenes has been developed. A series of bi- or polycyclic imidazoles with ß-stereocenter were obtained in up to 98% yield and >99% ee. The bifunctional SPO ligand-promoted bimetallic catalysis proved to be critical to this challenging stereocontrol.

Large Magnetovolume Effect Induced by Embedding Ferromagnetic Clusters into Antiferromagnetic Matrix of Cobaltite Perovskite.

Materials that show negative thermal expansion (NTE) have significant industrial merit because they can be used to fabricate composites whose dimensions remain invariant upon heating. In some materials, NTE is concomitant with the spontaneous magnetization due to the magnetovolume effect (MVE). Here the authors report a new class of MVE material; namely, a layered perovskite PrBaCo2 O5.5+x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.41), in which strong NTE [ß ≈ -3.6 × 10-5 K-1 (90-110 K) at x = 0.24] is triggered by embedding ferromagnetic (F) clusters into the antiferromagnetic (AF) matrix. The strongest MVE is found near the boundary between F and AF phases in the phase diagram, indicating the essential role of competition between the F-clusters and the AF-matrix. Furthermore, the MVE is not limited to the PrBaCo2 O5.5+x but is also observed in the NdBaCo2 O5.5+x . The present study provides a new approach to obtaining MVE and offers a path to the design of NTE materials.

Ligand-Accelerated Direct C-H Arylation of BINOL: A Rapid One-Step Synthesis of Racemic 3,3'-Diaryl BINOLs.

An ortho-selective rhodium-catalyzed direct C-H arylation of 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL), to deliver the widely used but not easily available 3,3'-diaryl BINOL, has been developed. This highly efficient one-step synthetic approach is the shortest route to date and is greatly facilitated by the newly developed ligand system comprising tBu2 PCl, Ph2 -cod, and Cy3 P⋅HBF4 . In addition, the same procedure can facilitate the challenging syntheses of 3-bulkyaryl BINOLs in good to excellent yields.

Iron-Catalyzed Regioselective Transfer Hydrogenative Couplings of Unactivated Aldehydes with Simple Alkenes.

An FeBr3 -catalyzed reductive coupling of various aldehydes with alkenes that proceeds through a direct hydride transfer pathway has been developed. With (i) PrOH as the hydrogen donor under mild conditions, previously challenging coupling reactions of unactivated alkyl and aryl aldehydes with simple alkenes, such as styrene derivatives and α-olefins, proceeded smoothly to furnish a diverse range of functionalized alcohols with complete linear regioselectivity.

Islet amyloid polypeptide acts on glucose- stimulated beta cells to reduce voltage-gated calcium channel activation, intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, and insulin secretion.

OBJECTIVE: the mechanism by which islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) inhibits insulin release is unclear. We hypothesized that reduced voltage-gated calcium channel activity and intracellular Ca(2+) concentration might contribute to IAPP-mediated inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin release. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: rat islet beta cells were cultured and treated with various extracellular concentrations of IAPP, and insulin release was stimulated via addition of glucose. Activation voltage, high voltage-gated calcium channel currents, intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, and insulin secretion were detected by patch clamp electrophysiology, fluorescent digital imaging microscopy using calcium-sensitive fluorescent dye, and radioimmunoassay, respectively. RESULTS: high voltage-gated calcium channel currents, intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, and insulin secretion increased in a dose-dependent manner when rat beta cells were exposed to glucose. After short-term IAPP treatment (5 or 10 µM), these parameters decreased significantly in glucose-stimulated beta cells. However, no significant changes were observed with lower doses of IAPP. CONCLUSIONS: glucose-stimulated islet beta-cell high voltage-gated calcium channels were activated in conjunction with insulin secretion, while high extracellular concentrations of IAPP inhibited beta-cell high voltage-gated calcium channel activation and insulin secretion in a dose-dependent manner.

[The effects of amylin on the islet beta-cells voltage-gated L-calcium channels in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of amylin on the islet beta-cells voltage-gated L-calcium channels in rats. METHOD: Patch clamp technique was employed in the observation of the features and changes of electric current of islet beta-cells voltage-gated L-calcium channels before and after using amylin. RESULTS: In the glucose environment of 5.5 mmol/L, the electric current of rat islet beta-cells voltage-gated L-calcium channels was activated at -40 mV and reached the peak at about +20 mV, with a peak value of about -120 pA and the insulin secretion level was (0.76 +/- 0.12) microg/L. Under the stimulation of glucose of 16.7 mmol/L, the peak current voltage moved to the left and increased up to - 140 pA and the level of insulin secretion measured (1.78 +/- 0.13) microg/L. Hatch islet beta-cells in amylin at the concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0 micromol/L, respectively. It was observed that in the 0.5 micromol/L and 1.0 micromol/L groups, there was no remarkable change in the peak potential activation voltage, current, and insulin secretion volume in comparison with the control group. However, in the environment of 5.5 mmol/L glucose, the increase of activation voltage of the 5.0 and 10.0 micromol/L groups was - 30 mV, with the peak current reduced to approximately -80 pA and -60 pA and the insulin secretion decreased to (0.49 +/- 0.11) microg/L and (0.36 +/- 0.12) microg/L respectively. Under the concentration of 16.7 mmol/L glucose, the activation voltage increased from -40 mV up to -30 mV and the peak current reduced to -80 pA and -40 pA. In the meantime, the insulin secretion decreased respectively to (1.20 +/- 0.13) microg/L and (0.89 +/- 0.14) microg/L, which is of significance. CONCLUSION: The secretion of insulin is synchronized with the opening of the islet beta-cells voltage-gated L-calcium channels at the stimulation of glucose. The amylin inhibition of the insulin secretion is also synchronized with the opening of islet beta-cells voltage-gated L-calcium channels and it's in a positive concentration-dependent manner.