Activity

Maize (Zea mays L.) production in Northeast China is vulnerable to climate change. Thus, exploring future adaptation measures for maize is crucial to developing sustainable agriculture to ensure food security. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the impacts of climate change on maize yield and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) and explore potential adaptation strategies in Northeast China. The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model was calibrated and validated using the measurements from nine maize experiments. DSSAT performed well in simulating maize yield, biomass and N uptake for both calibration and validation periods (normalized root mean square error (nRMSE)  0.8). Compared to the baseline (1980-2010), the average maize yields and PFPN would decrease by 7.6-32.1% and 3.6-14.0 kg N kg-1 respectively under future climate scenarios (2041-2070 and 2071-2100) without adaptation. Optimizing N application rate and timing, establishing rotation system with legumes, adjusting planting dates and breeding long-season cultivars could be effective adaptation strategies to climate change. Ruxolitinib in vitro This study demonstrated that optimizing agronomic crop management practices would assist to make policy development on mitigating the negative impacts of future climate change on maize production.In this study we used the Illumina Infinium Methylation array to investigate in a cohort of matched archival human tissue samples (n = 32) from 14 individuals with soft tissue sarcomas if genome-wide methylation changes occur during metastatic and recurrent (Met/Rec) disease. A range of sarcoma types were selected for this study leiomyosarcoma (LMS), myxofibrosarcoma (MFS), rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and synovial sarcoma (SS). We identified differential methylation in all Met/Rec matched samples, demonstrating that epigenomic differences develop during the clonal evolution of sarcomas. Differentially methylated regions and genes were detected, not been previously implicated in sarcoma progression, including at PTPRN2 and DAXX in LMS, WT1-AS and TNXB in SS, VENTX and NTRK3 in pleomorphic RMS and MEST and the C14MC / miR-379/miR-656 in MFS. Our overall findings indicate the presence of objective epigenetic differences across primary and Met/Rec human tissue samples not previously reported.We have fabricated a high quality magnetic Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrite powder/polymer composite sheet consisting of common and environmentally friendly elements only. The sheet was then tested for its dynamic permeability by irradiating with electromagnetic waves with frequencies up to 50 GHz. Two different originally developed methods were used for the high-frequency permeability measurements, a short-circuited microstrip line method and a microstrip line-probe method. It is challenging to measure the dynamic permeability of magnetic thin films/sheets beyond 10 GHz because of the low response signal from these materials. However, the two methods produced essentially equivalent results. In the frequency dependent permeability profile, the maximum position of the profile, [Formula see text], shifted towards higher frequencies upon increasing an applied (strong) static external magnetic field, [Formula see text]. A linear relationship between [Formula see text] and [Formula see text] for the entire range of [Formula see text] was observed even at small [Formula see text]. In general, the spinel-structured Ni-based ferrites exhibit low magnetic anisotropy, but the present sample showed a uniaxial-anisotropic behavior in the parallel direction of the sheet. Our Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 powder/polymer composite sheet thus exhibits high performance at GHz frequencies, and should be applicable e.g. as an anisotropic electromagnetic wave-interference material.Whether the lipid profile in diabetic patients is associated with diabetic neuropathy (DN) development remains ambiguous, as does the predictive value of serum lipid levels in the risk of DN. Here, we performed the first meta-analysis designed to investigate the relationship between DN and the serum levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Candidate studies were comprehensively identified by searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases up to May 2020. Observational methodological meta-analysis was conducted to assess the relationships of TG, TC, HDL, and LDL levels with DN. Changes in blood lipids were used to estimate the effect size. The results were pooled using a random-effects or fixed-effects model. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analysis. Various outcomes were included, and statistical analyses were performed using STATA (Version 12.0). Mean dif-0.96, I2 = 72.6%), while TC levels made no significant difference with the risk of DN (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04, I2 = 84.7%). This meta-analysis indicated that serum lipid profile changes are among the biological characteristics of DN. Lipid levels should be explored as routine laboratory markers for predicting the risk of DN, as they will help clinicians choose appropriate therapies, and thus optimize the use of available resources.Fagonia indica (L.) is an important medicinal plant with multitude of therapeutic potentials. Such application has been attributed to the presence of various pharmacological important phytochemicals. However, the inadequate biosynthesis of such metabolites in intact plants has hampered scalable production. Thus, herein, we have established an in vitro based elicitation strategy to enhance such metabolites in callus culture of F. indica. Cultures were exposed to various doses of UV radiation (UV-C) and grown in different photoperiod regimes and their impact was evaluated on biomass accumulation, biosynthesis of phytochemicals along antioxidant expression. Cultures grown under photoperiod (16L/8D h) after exposure to UV-C (5.4 kJ/m2) accumulated optimal biomass (438.3 g/L FW; 16.4 g/L DW), phenolics contents (TPC 11.8 μgGAE/mg) and flavonoids contents (TFC 4.05 μgQE/mg). Similarly, HPLC quantification revealed that total production (6.967 μg/mg DW) of phytochemicals wherein kaempferol (1.377 μg/mg DW), apigenin (1.