Multiomics comparison among populations of three plant sources of Amomi Fructus.

Amomi Fructus (Sharen, AF) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from three source species (or varieties), including Wurfbainia villosa var. villosa (WVV), W. villosa var. xanthioides (WVX), or W. longiligularis (WL). Among them, WVV has been transplanted from its top-geoherb region, Guangdong, to its current main production area, Yunnan, for >50 years in China. However, the genetic and transcriptomic differentiation among multiple AF source species (or varieties) and between the origin and transplanted populations of WVV is unknown. In our study, the observed overall higher expression of terpenoid biosynthesis genes in WVV than in WVX provided possible evidence for the better pharmacological effect of WVV. We also screened six candidate borneol dehydrogenases (BDHs) that potentially catalyzed borneol into camphor in WVV and functionally verified them. Highly expressed genes at the P2 stage of WVV, Wv05G1424 and Wv05G1438, were capable of catalyzing the formation of camphor from (+)-borneol, (-)-borneol and DL-isoborneol. Moreover, the BDH genes may experience independent evolution after acquiring the ancestral copies, and the following tandem duplications might account for the abundant camphor content in WVV. Furthermore, four populations of WVV, WVX, and WL are genetically differentiated, and the gene flow from WVX to WVV in Yunnan contributed to the greater genetic diversity in the introduced population (WVV-JH) than in its top-geoherb region (WVV-YC), which showed the lowest genetic diversity and might undergo genetic degradation. In addition, terpene synthesis (TPS) and BDH genes were selected among populations of multiple AF source species (or varieties) and between the top- and non-top-geoherb regions, which might explain the difference in metabolites between these populations. Our findings provide important guidance for the conservation, genetic improvement, and industrial development of the three source species (or varieties) and for identifying top-geoherbalism with molecular markers, and proper clinical application of AF.

Dynamic-Memory Event-Based Asynchronous Attack Detection Filtering for a Class Of Nonlinear Cyber-Physical Systems.

In this article, we endeavor to address the problem of asynchronous attack detection for a class of nonlinear cyber-physical system (CPS) under the dynamic-memory event-triggered transmission protocol (DMETP). Malicious attacks under consideration are composed of the parameter-dependent false data-injection (FDI) attacks and the multichannel deception attacks with the time delay. Meanwhile, we attempt to employ the T-S fuzzy singular Semi-Markov jump linear parameter-varying (SS-MJLPV) systems to describe the stochastic jump characteristics and nonlinear time-varying characteristics of CPSs. Then, the DMETP is proposed for the first time, which can not only relieve the bandwidth pressure but also obtain the key released packets at the crest or trough of the curve. By augmenting the states of the original system and the asynchronous attacks detection filter, the issue of attacks detection is converted into an auxiliary dissipative filtering for the CPS. Moreover, sufficient conditions for the existence of the attacks detection filter are obtained. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified via the networked truck-trailer reversing system.

Dynamic event-based sliding mode security control for singular Semi-Markov jump LPV systems against deception attacks.

In this paper, we preliminarily propose the dissipative sliding mode control (SMC) scheme for polyhedral singular semi-Markov jump linear parameter varying (SS-MJLPV) systems considering deception attacks between the sensor and controller. The main feature of this scheme is that a novel developed parameter dependent integral-type SMC law follows the changes of the system. Note that the mode of the sliding mode controller is not synchronized with the system mode, and the transition rates (TRs) of the system are assumed to be unknown. Moreover, we extend the previous work concerning the static event-triggered transmission protocol (ETP) to the dynamic one, in which the triggering threshold is dynamically updated via the internal-dynamic-variable. Finally, a DC-motor model is presented to illustrate the correctness of the developed results.

Allelopathic Effects of Amomum villosum Lour. Volatiles from Different Organs on Selected Plant Species and Soil Microbiota.

Amomum villosum Lour. is a perennial herb of the Zingiberaceae family, which is widely distributed in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Large amounts of volatile components contained in this plant enter the surrounding atmosphere and soil through volatilization, foliar leaching, root exudation, and residue decomposition. However, the ecological role of these compounds is currently unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the differences in the composition of volatile oils from stems, leaves, and young fruits of A. villosum, identify chemicals that had allelopathic effects, and explore the effects of the oil on the diversity and composition of soil microbiomes. Volatile oils were obtained by steam distillation and characterized by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry, and then were tested for allelopathic activity using seedlings of Lactuca sativa L. and Lolium perenne L. as test species. The results showed that the oils from stems and leaves were rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons, unlike the oxygenated monoterpenes which dominated oils from young fruits. Leaves > stems > young fruits: this was the order of the allelopathic effects of volatile oils from various A. villosum organs. Among the four main chemical components in the oils, only α-pinene, which is abundant in leaves, had a stronger allelopathic action than the crude oils, implying that it might be a potential allelochemical. Experiments on soil microorganisms indicated that 3.0 mg/mL oil had the greatest effect on the structure of the soil fungal community. It can be concluded that A. villosum is capable of releasing allelochemicals which affect the growth of other plant species and the diversity and community structure of soil microorganisms.

Quantized Feedback Stabilization for Nonlinear Hybrid Stochastic Time-Delay Systems With Discrete-Time Observation.

The quantized feedback stabilization problem is investigated for nonlinear hybrid stochastic time-delay systems with discrete-time observation in this article. A quantized discrete-time observation feedback controller is designed. The designed controller can make the H∞ stability and mean-square sense of the controlled system. Particularly, this note is the first to develop the stability criteria, which is not only related to the duration between two successive observations but also links to time lag of the system. By utilizing the Lyapunov method and inequality scaling techniques, the estimates for the duration and the time delay of the system are gained, respectively. Some case simulations are also provided to testify the proposed method and demonstrate its power.

The complete chloroplast genome of Wurfbainia neoaurantiaca (Zingiberaceae: Zingiberea) from Yunnan Province, China.

Wurfbainia neoaurantiaca is a medicinal plant endemic to Yunnan Province, China. In this study, its complete chloroplast genome was assembled and characterized. The total genome size of W. neoaurantiaca was 158,484 bp in length, consisting of a large single-copy region (LSC), a small single-copy region (SSC) and two inverted repeat regions (IRs) with 88,605 bp, 15,285 bp and 29,822 bp, respectively. Its GC content was 36.08%. The chloroplast genome encoded 113 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding, 30 tRNA, and four rRNA genes. The result of the phylogenetic analysis indicated that W. neoaurantiaca was related to W. villosa var. xanthioides and supported de Boer's classification that W. compacta, W. longiligularis, W. neoaurantiaca, W. villosa, W. villosa var. xanthioides and Amomum krervanh belonged to the Wurfbainia Clade.

FISH-Based Karyotype Analyses of Four Dracaena Species.

The genus Dracaena is the main source of dragon's blood, which is a plant resin and has been used as traditional medicine since ancient times in different civilizations. However, the chromosome numbers and karyotypes present in this genus remain poorly understood. In this study, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using oligonucleotide probes for ribosomal DNAs (5S and 45S rDNA) and telomeric repeats (TTTAGGG)3 was applied to analyze 4 related species: Dracaena terniflora Roxb., Dracaena cambodiana Pierre ex Gagnep., Aizong (Dracaena sp.), and Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S.C. Chen. In all 4 species, both 5S and 45S rDNA showed hybridization signals in the paracentromeric region of a pair of chromosomes; the sizes of the 45S rDNA signals were larger than those of the 5S rDNA. Importantly, the telomeric repeat signals were located in the telomeric regions of almost all chromosomes. The results indicated that the chromosome number of all 4 Dracaena species is 2n = 40, and the lengths of the mitotic metaphase chromosomes range from 0.99 to 2.98 µm. Our results provide useful cytogenetic information, which will be beneficial to future studies in genome structure of the genus Dracaena.

Event-based asynchronous and resilient filtering for Markov jump singularly perturbed systems against deception attacks.

The dynamic event-based asynchronous and resilient dissipative filter design for Markov jump singularly perturbed systems (MJSPSs) against stochastic deception attacks is discussed in this paper. Firstly, a novel dynamic event-based transmission protocol is provided to further decrease the proportion of sampled data into network. The effect of deception attacks is formulated as a random variable satisfying the Bernoulli distribution. And an asynchronous filter is delicately constructed. Based on the technique of linear matrix inequality (LMI), efficient criteria of stochastically stable for the filtering error systems with a predetermined dissipative performance are obtained. An effective method of jointly design the proposed dynamic event-triggered transmission protocol and the non-synchronous filter is offered. Lastly, a numerical instance and a resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit system are provided to display the effectiveness and the benefit of the developed method.

Long non-coding RNA TUG1 recruits miR­29c­3p from its target gene RGS1 to promote proliferation and metastasis of melanoma cells.

Melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer, characterized by high mortality rates worldwide. Therefore, the identification of new diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for melanoma is imperative. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in tumor initiation and progression. It was recently reported that the expression of lncRNA taurine upregulated 1 (TUG1) was relatively higher in cancer compared with that in normal cells, and that TUG1 promoted the progression of various cancers. However, the pattern of expression and mechanism of action of TUG1 in melanoma remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether TUG1 expression is relatively higher in melanoma tissues and whether this expression is correlated with poor overall survival. Knockdown of TUG1 was found to suppress melanoma cell growth and metastasis and induce cell apoptosis. By contrast, the overexpression of TUG1 promoted the growth and metastasis of melanoma cells, and inhibited their apoptosis. In addition, the results of the present study indicated that TUG1 sequestered endogenous miR­29c­3p and that it was able to suppress its expression. Furthermore, it was observed that miR­29c­3p could reverse the promoting effect of TUG1 on melanoma progression, which may be associated with the positive regulation of regulator of G-protein signaling 1 (RGS1), a target gene of miR­29c­3p. Taken together, the data of the present study demonstrated that TUG1 promoted proliferation and invasion and suppressed apoptosis in melanoma cells by regulating miR­29c­3p and its target gene, RGS1. Therefore, lncRNA TUG1 appears to be a promising diagnostic marker for melanoma patients.

Reliable mixed H∞ and passive control for networked control systems under adaptive event-triggered scheme with actuator faults and randomly occurring nonlinear perturbations.

In this paper, the problem of reliable mixed H∞ and passive control for a class of nonlinear networked control systems under the adaptive event-triggered scheme with actuator faults and randomly occurring nonlinear perturbations is studied. Firstly, a series of independent stochastic variables with certain probabilistic distribution are presented to formulate the phenomena of actuator faults. Then, different from the traditional event-triggered scheme, the threshold of adaptive event-triggered scheme is determined by an online adaptive control law instead of the preset constant value. Further, based on a novel Lyapunov functional by taking the adaptive control law into account, sufficient conditions for asymptotically stable with mixed H∞ and passive performance are obtained in terms of a set of LMIs. If these LMIs are feasible, the reliable mixed H∞ and passive control gain and the weight parameter of adaptive event-triggered scheme can be gained simultaneously. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the developed technique.

Enhanced nanochannel translocation and localization of genomic DNA molecules using three-dimensional nanofunnels.

The ability to precisely control the transport of single DNA molecules through a nanoscale channel is critical to DNA sequencing and mapping technologies that are currently under development. Here we show how the electrokinetically driven introduction of DNA molecules into a nanochannel is facilitated by incorporating a three-dimensional nanofunnel at the nanochannel entrance. Individual DNA molecules are imaged as they attempt to overcome the entropic barrier to nanochannel entry through nanofunnels with various shapes. Theoretical modeling of this behavior reveals the pushing and pulling forces that result in up to a 30-fold reduction in the threshold electric field needed to initiate nanochannel entry. In some cases, DNA molecules are stably trapped and axially positioned within a nanofunnel at sub-threshold electric field strengths, suggesting the utility of nanofunnels as force spectroscopy tools. These applications illustrate the benefit of finely tuning nanoscale conduit geometries, which can be designed using the theoretical model developed here.Forcing a DNA molecule into a nanoscale channel requires overcoming the free energy barrier associated with confinement. Here, the authors show that DNA injected through a funnel-shaped entrance more efficiently enters the nanochannel, thanks to facilitating forces generated by the nanofunnel geometry.

Effect of intranigral injection of GDNF and EGF on the survival and possible differentiation fate of progenitors and immature neurons in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats.

We investigated the survival and the possible differentiation fate of the progenitors and immature neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNc) by intranigral injection of a glial cell line-derived neurotropic factor (GDNF) or glial cell line-derived neurotropic factor plus epidermal growth factor (EGF + GDNF) in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rats. First, we performed behavioral tests by postural asymmetry and forelimb akinesia on the rats injected with 6-OHDA in striatumat day 7, and selected the qualified model according to the results. Then, intranigral GDNF or EGF + GDNF treatment was administered in the qualified PD model rats. On day 21, behavioral tests were performed with these rats; and then the rats were sacrificed for analyses of ß-tubulin isotype-III (Tuj1), nestin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. The results indicated that GDNF could promote the survival of the progenitor cells and immature neurons in rat SNc following 6-OHDA lesion. Moreover, EGF is capable of enhancing the survival effect of GDNF on the progenitor cells and immature neurons in SNc. On day 21, rapid functional recovery from the lesion-induced behavioral asymmetries was observed in the GDNF or EGF + GDNF treated rats, and the numbers of TH-positive neurons increased in SNc, suggesting that the rats might generate new dopaminergic neurons. Thus, our study provides the new insight that the progenitors and immature neurons in SNc of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats might be able to differentiate toward the dopaminergic neurons fate subsequent to treatment with GDNF or EGF + GDNF.