Hyperspectral plant sensing for differentiating glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-susceptible johnsongrass through machine learning algorithms.

BACKGROUND: Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) is one of the weeds that evolves resistance to glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine], the most widely used herbicide, and the weed may cause agronomic troublesome in the southern USA. This paper reports a study on developing a hyperspectral plant sensing approach to explore the spectral features of glyphosate-resistant (GR) and glyphosate-sensitive (GS) plants to evaluate this approach using machine learning algorithms to differentiate between GR and GS plants. RESULTS: On average, GR plants have higher spectral reflectance compared with GS plants. The sensitive spectral bands were optimally selected using the successive projections algorithm respectively wrapped with the machine learning algorithms of k-nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) with Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FLDA) to classify between GS and GS plants. At 3 weeks after transplanting (WAT) KNN and SVM could not acceptably classify the GR and GS plants but they improved significantly with the stages to have their overall accuracies reaching 73% and 77%, respectively, at 5 WAT. RF and FLDA had a better ability to classify the plants at 3 WAT but RF was low in accuracy at 2 WAT while FLDA dropped accuracy to 50% at 4 WAT from 57% at 3 WAT and raised it to 73% at 5 WAT. CONCLUSIONS: Previous studies were conducted developing the hyperspectral imaging approach to differentiate GR Palmer amaranth from GS Palmer amaranth and GR Italian ryegrass from GS Italian ryegrass with classification accuracies of 90% and 80%, respectively. This study demonstrated that the hyperspectral plant sensing approach could be developed to differentiate GR johnsongrass from glyphosate-sensitive GS johnsongrass with the highest classification accuracy of 77%. The comparison with our previous studies indicated that the similar hyperspectral approach could be used and transferred from classification across different GR and GS weed biotypes, such as Palmer amaranth, Italian ryegrass and johnsongrass, so it is highly possible for classification of more other GR and GS weed biotypes as well. On the basis of classic pattern recognition approaches the process of plant classification can be enhanced by modeling using machine learning algorithms. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Baicalein ameliorates ulcerative colitis by improving intestinal epithelial barrier via AhR/IL-22 pathway in ILC3s.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which is closely related to gut barrier dysfunction. Emerging evidence shows that interleukin-22 (IL-22) derived from group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) confers benefits on intestinal barrier, and IL-22 expression is controlled by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Previous studies show that baicalein protects the colon from inflammatory damage. In this study we elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effect of baicalein on intestinal barrier function in colitis mice. Mice were administered baicalein (10, 20, 40 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.g.) for 10 days; the mice freely drank 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) on D1-D7 to induce colitis. We showed that baicalein administration simultaneously ameliorated gut inflammation, decreased intestinal permeability, restored tight junctions of colons possibly via promoting AhR/IL-22 pathway. Co-administration of AhR antagonist CH223191 (10 mg/kg, i.p.) partially blocked the therapeutic effects of baicalein in colitis mice, whereas AhR agonist FICZ (1 µg, i.p.) ameliorated symptoms and gut barrier function in colitis mice. In a murine lymphocyte line MNK-3, baicalein (5-20 µM) dose-dependently increased the expression of AhR downstream target protein CYP1A1, and enhanced IL-22 production through facilitating AhR nuclear translocation, these effects were greatly diminished in shAhR-MNK3 cells, suggesting that baicalein induced IL-22 production in AhR-dependent manner. To further clarify that, we constructed an in vitro system consisting of MNK-3 and Caco-2 cells, in which MNK-3 cell supernatant treated with baicalein could decrease FITC-dextran permeability and promoted the expression of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occluding in Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that baicalein ameliorates colitis by improving intestinal epithelial barrier via AhR/IL-22 pathway in ILC3s, thus providing a potential therapy for UC.

Engineering a novel microcapsule of Cu9S5 core and SnS2 quantum dot/carbon nanotube shell as a Li-ion battery anode.

A novel microcapsule composed of Cu9S5 and SnS2 quantum dots (QDs)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) prepared through a microfluidic approach was developed for a Li-ion battery anode. CNTs enhance the conductivity, while pores in the shell facilitate electrolyte penetration, and void in the microcapsule buffers the volume change. The microcapsule-based anode displayed stable capacity, a Coulombic efficiency of 99.9%, and reversible rate-performance at temperatures of -10 °C and 45 °C, which are significant for developing high-performance energy-storage materials and battery systems.

Oroxindin inhibits macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome activation in DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice via suppressing TXNIP-dependent NF-κB pathway.

Oroxindin is a flavonoid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Huang-Qin, which has shown various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, etc. Thus far, the effect of oroxindin on colonic inflammation and the underlying mechanism remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the tissue distribution of oroxindin and its therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis (UC) as well as the underlying mechanisms. UC model was established in mice by administrating dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water for 7 d. We first showed that oroxindin was largely absorbed by the colon as an active ingredient after normal mice received Huang-Qin-Tang, a traditional Chinese medicine decoction. UC mice were then treated with oroxindin (12.5, 25, 50 mg ·kg-1 ·d-1, i.g.) for 10 d. We found that oroxindin treatment greatly suppressed massive macrophages infiltration and attenuated pathological changes in colonic tissue. Furthermore, oroxindin treatment significantly inhibited the generation of IL-1ß and IL-18 in the colon via inhibiting the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome formation and activation. In cultured macrophages, LPS induced NLRP3 inflammasome formation and caspase-1 activation, which were suppressed by oroxindin (12.5-50 µM). In LPS-treated macrophages, oroxindin dose-dependently restored the expression of TXNIP protein, leading to suppressing TXNIP-dependent NF-κB activation. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that oroxindin could be absorbed by the colon and attenuate inflammatory responses via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome formation and activation, which is related to the inhibitory effect on TXNIP-dependent NF-κB-signaling pathway. Hence, oroxindin has the potential of becoming an effective drug for treating UC.

Transcriptional Aneuploidy Responses of Brassica rapa-oleracea Monosomic Alien Addition Lines (MAALs) Derived From Natural Allopolyploid B. napus.

Establishing the whole set of aneuploids, for one naturally evolved allopolyploid species, provides a unique opportunity to elucidate the transcriptomic response of the constituent subgenomes to serial aneuploidy. Previously, the whole set of monosomic alien addition lines (MAALs, C1-C9) with each of the nine C subgenome chromosomes, added to the extracted A subgenome, was developed in the context of the allotetraploid Brassica napus donor "Oro," after the restitution of the ancestral B. rapa (RBR Oro) was realized. Herein, transcriptomic analysis using high-throughput technology was conducted to detect gene expression alterations in these MAALs and RBR. Compared to diploid RBR, the genes of all of the MAALs showed various degrees of dysregulated expressions that resulted from cis effects and more prevailing trans effects. In addition, the trans-effect on gene expression in MAALs increased with higher levels of homology between the recipient A subgenome and additional C subgenome chromosomes, instead of gene numbers of extra chromosomes. A total of 10 trans-effect dysregulated genes, among all pairwise comparisons, were mainly involved in the function of transporter activity. Furthermore, highly expressed genes were more prone to downregulation and vice-versa, suggesting a common trend for transcriptional pattern responses to aneuploidy. These results provided a comprehensive insight of the impact of gene expression of individual chromosomes, in one subgenome, on another intact subgenome for one allopolyploid with a long evolutionary history.

In situ atomic force microscopy study of nano-micro sodium deposition in ester-based electrolytes.

We report an in situ analysis of nano-micro sodium deposition in an ester-based electrolyte using atomic force microscopy. It is found that sodium dendrites are effectively suppressed by adding fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) as an electrolyte additive. The decomposition of FEC provides a NaF-containing solid electrolyte interphase with homogenous morphology and high modulus, leading to stable sodium deposition and high Coulombic efficiency (88% over 50 cycles) of the sodium metal anode.

Porphyrin-Based Symmetric Redox-Flow Batteries towards Cold-Climate Energy Storage.

Electrochemical energy storage with redox-flow batteries (RFBs) under subzero temperature is of great significance for the use of renewable energy in cold regions. However, RFBs are generally used above 10 °C. Herein we present non-aqueous organic RFBs based on 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (H2 TPP) as a bipolar redox-active material (anode: [H2 TPP]2- /H2 TPP, cathode: H2 TPP/[H2 TPP]2+ ) and a Y-zeolite-poly(vinylidene fluoride) (Y-PVDF) ion-selective membrane with high ionic conductivity as a separator. The constructed RFBs exhibit a high volumetric capacity of 8.72 Ah L-1 with a high voltage of 2.83 V and excellent cycling stability (capacity retention exceeding 99.98 % per cycle) in the temperature range between 20 and -40 °C. Our study highlights principles for the design of RFBs that operate at low temperatures, thus offering a promising approach to electrochemical energy storage under cold-climate conditions.

Intravascular large B cell lymphoma of thyroid gland and review of literature / 临床与实验病理学杂志

Purpose To investigate the clinical-pathological characteristics of the primary thyroid intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (PT-IVLBCL). Methods The clinical-patho-logical data of the PT-IVLBCL were analyzed retrospective. A comprehensive analysis of the literature on IVLBCL published between 1991-2017 in China were performed. Results A thy-roid mass was identified in a physical examination of a 68-year-old male who initially presented with dyspnea accompanied by intermittent headache for about 1 month. Pathological results showed that large atypical lymphoma-like cells filled the small vessel capillaries in the lesion area. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the lymphoma-like cells were positive for CD20, Pax-5, BCL-2 and MUM1. The Ki-67 index was estimated to be approximately 85％. Conclusion IVLBCL is a rare and aggressive disease that is easy to be misdiagnosed or missed, because it's clinical presentations are non-specific. The correct diagnosis depends on pathology. IVLBCL is known for its rapid progression and poor prognosis, but timely diagnosis and treatment with chemotherapy can improve patients survival.

A Sulfur Heterocyclic Quinone Cathode and a Multifunctional Binder for a High-Performance Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery.

UNLABELLED: We report a rational design of a sulfur heterocyclic quinone (dibenzo[b,i]thianthrene-5,7,12,14-tetraone=DTT) used as a cathode (uptake of four lithium ions to form Li4 DTT) and a conductive polymer [poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)= PEDOT: PSS) used as a binder for a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Because of the reduced energy level of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) caused by the introduced S atoms, the initial Li-ion intercalation potential of DTT is 2.89 V, which is 0.3 V higher than that of its carbon analog. Meanwhile, there is a noncovalent interaction between DTT and PEDOT: PSS, which remarkably suppressed the dissolution and enhanced the conductivity of DTT, thus leading to the great improvement of the electrochemical performance. The DTT cathode with the PEDOT: PSS binder displays a long-term cycling stability (292 mAh g(-1) for the first cycle, 266 mAh g(-1) after 200 cycles at 0.1 C) and a high rate capability (220 mAh g(-1) at 1 C). This design strategy based on a noncovalent interaction is very effective for the application of small organic molecules as the cathode of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

High Full-Electrode Basis Capacity Template-Free 3D Nanocomposite Secondary Battery Anodes.

A high full-electrode basis capacity secondary battery anode consisting of a template-free 3D nanostructured Fe3O4/C composite is presented. On a full electrode basis, the nanocomposite exhibits attractive electrochemical performance including a volumetric capacity of 1064 mAh cm(-3), which significantly exceeds both the practical (≈300 mAh cm(-3)) and theoretical (837 mAh cm(-3)) capacity of a commercial graphite-based anode.

Mechanically and chemically robust sandwich-structured C@Si@C nanotube array Li-ion battery anodes.

Stability and high energy densities are essential qualities for emerging battery electrodes. Because of its high specific capacity, silicon has been considered a promising anode candidate. However, the several-fold volume changes during lithiation and delithiation leads to fractures and continuous formation of an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, resulting in rapid capacity decay. Here, we present a carbon-silicon-carbon (C@Si@C) nanotube sandwich structure that addresses the mechanical and chemical stability issues commonly associated with Si anodes. The C@Si@C nanotube array exhibits a capacity of ∼2200 mAh g(-1) (∼750 mAh cm(-3)), which significantly exceeds that of a commercial graphite anode, and a nearly constant Coulombic efficiency of ∼98% over 60 cycles. In addition, the C@Si@C nanotube array gives much better capacity and structure stability compared to the Si nanotubes without carbon coatings, the ZnO@C@Si@C nanorods, a Si thin film on Ni foam, and C@Si and Si@C nanotubes. In situ SEM during cycling shows that the tubes expand both inward and outward upon lithiation, as well as elongate, and then revert back to their initial size and shape after delithiation, suggesting stability during volume changes. The mechanical modeling indicates the overall plastic strain in a nanotube is much less than in a nanorod, which may significantly reduce low-cycle fatigue. The sandwich-structured nanotube design is quite general, and may serve as a guide for many emerging anode and cathode systems.

Fabrication of 3D photonic crystals from chitosan that are responsive to organic solvents.

Inspired by photonic nanostructures in nature, such as the hair-like chaetae on the body of sea mice, inverse opal photonic crystals films were fabricated with chitosan, a kind of biomacromolecule found in nature. First, monodispersed polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystal templates with different particle sizes were prepared. The inverse opal films (IOFs) were fabricated through in situ cross-linking of the PS templates. The IOFs contain periodically ordered interconnecting pores that endow the films with photonic stop bands and structural colors, which are visible to the naked eye. The IOFs exhibit rapid reversible changes in their structural colors and reflectance peaks in response to alcohols and phenols. Possible mechanisms for the shifts in the IOF's reflectance peaks are proposed. The changes in the IOFs in response to alcohols and phenols provide a potential way to visually detect these organic solvents.

Molecularly imprinted photonic crystals for the direct label-free distinguishing of L-proline and D-proline.

Novel molecularly imprinted photonic crystals (IPCs) for the highly sensitive label-free detection of L-proline and for the chiral recognition of L/D-proline were reported. A series of L-proline imprinted polyacrylamide photonic crystals (PAM-LPIPCs) and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) photonic crystals (PAM-co-AA-LPIPCs) were fabricated via the in situ polymerization of polystyrene opal. The PAM-LPIPCs exhibit good molecular response in L-proline solutions and can be visualized by the naked eye much like a pH test paper. The concentration of imprinted molecules (L-proline) in aqueous solution can be detected by the chromatic signal (structural color) or the optical signal (λmax). Furthermore, the responsivity and sensitivity of the PAM-co-AA-LPIPCs can be improved by increasing the amount of the imprinted content or the proportion of AA, or by decreasing the ratio of the cross-linking agent. When all these factors were balanced, a PAM2-co-AA0.4-LP0.5 IPC with good strength, high responsivity, high sensitivity and specific molecular recognition was obtained. It is found that the presented crystals can show obvious response to L-proline solution even at a low concentration of 1%. The PAM2-co-AA0.4-LP0.5 IPC not only very selectively distinguishes between L-proline and nicotinic acid, but it is also good at chiral recognition between L-proline and D-proline. What is more, the response is rapid and reversible and the IPC is recyclable.

Current progression in effects of matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases on agerelated macular degeneration / 中华实验眼科杂志

Age-related maculadegeneration (AMD) ione of majoretinal diseaseleading to central vision loss.Apresent,the pathogenesiof AMD ibelow understood.Ovethe pasdecade years,dysmetabolism of extracellulamatrix (ECM) regulated by matrix metalloproteinase(MMPs) and tissue inhibitoof metalloproteinase(TIMPs) system play an importanrole in the pathogenesiof AMD.The imbalance of MMPand TIMPleadto differenpathological changeof Bruch 'membrane,which involvein drusen formation and regulatechoroidal neovascularization (CNV).The level of elastin-derived peptides(EDPs) reflectthe level and activity of M MPs,and the elevated level of EDPincreasethe risk of early AMD to advance neovasculaAMD.Thiarticle reviewthe research progression of MMPs,TIMPand the elastin-derived peptideand in AMD.

Extracavitary KSHV-associated large B-Cell lymphoma: a distinct entity or a subtype of primary effusion lymphoma? Study of 9 cases and review of an additional 43 cases.

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare form of aggressive B-cell lymphoma in HIV patients, which typically presents with lymphomatous effusions in the body cavities without forming mass lesions. PEL is associated with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) (also called human herpesvirus-8) with distinct clinical and pathologic features. Rare cases of KSHV-associated large B-cell lymphoma (KSHV-LBL) have been observed in the lymph nodes or extranodal sites without lymphomatous effusions during the course of disease. KSHV-LBL is generally similar to classic PEL on the basis of the clinical presentation (HIV(+) male), morphology (immunoblastic, plasmablastic, or anaplastic), immunophenotype (CD45(+), CD20(-), CD79a(-), CD30(+), CD138(+), and EMA(+)), presence of Epstein-Barr virus infection, and clonal immunoglobulin gene rearrangements. However, it is not clear whether KSHV-LBL is a distinct entity or represents part of the spectrum of classic PEL; in particular, there is no consensus diagnostic term for KSHV-LBL. In this study, we investigated the clinicopathologic features of 9 cases of KSHV-LBL from our files. An additional 43 such cases and 84 cases of classic PEL from the English literature were reviewed and compared with each other. In contrast to the classic PEL, KSHV-LBL had a very significant lower expression of CD45 (74% vs. 94%, P=0.004) but significant higher expression of CD20 (17% vs. 5%, P=0.04) and CD138 (70% vs. 38%, P=0.05). KSHV-LBL also had slightly higher positivity of CD79a (23% vs. 5%, P=0.13) and immunoglobulin light chain expression, although the difference was not statistically significant [κ chain (12% vs. 0%) and λ chain (31% vs. 21%)]. The expressions of EMA and CD30 were slightly lower in KSHV-LBL compared with those observed in PEL (57% vs. 75% and 63% vs. 76%, respectively). Interestingly, 29% (10/34) of cases of KSHV-LBL revealed aberrant CD3 expression, which may mislead to a diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma, particularly anaplastic large cell lymphoma in combination with the anaplastic morphology and expression of CD30 and EMA. Although KSHV-LBL shows different clinical presentations and some variations in immunophenotype from classic PEL, it is still uncertain, on the basis of our findings, whether it is justifiable to separate them as 2 distinct entities. Nevertheless, we feel it is necessary to have a consensus diagnostic term, and we recommend a tentative one as "KSHV-associated large B-cell lymphoma (KSHV-LBL)" to replace many different names previously used.

miR-26b promotes granulosa cell apoptosis by targeting ATM during follicular atresia in porcine ovary.

More than 99% of ovarian follicles undergo atresia in mammals, but the mechanism of follicular atresia remains to be elucidated. In this study, we explored microRNA (miRNA) regulation of follicular atresia in porcine ovary. A miRNA expression profile was constructed for healthy, early atretic, and progressively atretic follicles, and the differentially expressed miRNAs were selected and analyzed. We found that miR-26b, which was upregulated during follicular atresia, increased the number of DNA breaks and promoted granulosa cell apoptosis by targeting the ataxia telangiectasia mutated gene directly in vitro.

Hydrogel photonic sensor for the detection of 3-pyridinecarboxamide.

Molecular imprinting is recognized as a powerful technique for preparing polymeric structures that contains tailor-made recognition sites for certain molecules. By combining a responsive hydrogel photonic crystal and molecular imprinting of 3-pyridinecarboxamide, polyacrylamide (PAM) imprinted photonic crystals (IPCs) with an inverse opal structure were prepared. They showed a rapid, recoverable, and selective response to 3-pyridinecarboxamide, which was detected by measuring the diffraction peak. The position of the diffraction peak could be tuned by copolymerizing acrylamide (AM) with acrylic acid (AA), by changing the ratio of AM to AA, by adding N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide to the monomers, or by imprinting molecules to monomers. More interestingly, the change in the Bragg diffraction of the IPCs can be directly converted into a readable optical signal that is visible to the naked eye without any labeling treatment.

Numerical and experimental study of radial support capacity of intravascular stent / 中国医疗器械杂志

The radial support capacity of intravascular stent is usually evaluated by the planar compression or the radial compression methods. Based on FEM simulation, the planer and radial compression methods are compared, and the agreement of the evaluation for the radial support capacity between these two methods is found. Moreover, the planer compression method is used to study the geometric parameters' effect on the radial support capacity by numerical simulations and experiments. Results show that, at the beginning of the compression process, the radial support capacity is mainly influenced by the metal-to-artery surface ratio; at large compression rate, the radial support capacity will decrease sharply with the increment of post-expansion diameter and decrement of the thickness and metal-to-artery surface ratio. The results provide guidance to the design and test of stents.

[Reviews in comparative genomic research based on orthologs].

The orthologs have similar or even identical functions in different species, share the anological regulatory pathways, and play the close or even same role among species. Furthermore, the vast majority of the biological core functions were assumed to a considerable number of orthologous genes in organisms. Orthologs was the most reliable choices for functional annotation and analysis of genomic sequences, whose unique biological characteristics demonstrated that comparative genomics research based on orthologs will certainly provide clues for detecting the origin, expression, and loss of important functional genes during the biological evolution in different organisms. In this review, the fundamental characteristics of orthologous genes and the relationship between the orthologs and comparison genomics were recounted. The corresponding approaches and the current status in comparative genomic research based on the orthologs were summarized.

[Biochemical methods for the analysis of DNA-protein interactions].

Investigation of DNA-protein interactions is fundamental to understand the mechanism underlying a variety of life processes. In this article, various types of biochemical methods in DNA-protein interaction study in vivo and in vitro at the level of DNA, protein, and the complex, respectively were briefly reviewed. Traditional assays including Nitrocellulose filter-binding assay, Footprinting, EMSA, and Southwestern blotting were summarized. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation techniques including nChIP, xChIP, and ChIP-on-chip, which were widely used in epigenetics, were particularly introduced.