Role of abscisic acid in modulating drought acclimation, agronomic characteristics and β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) accumulation in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.).

Background: β-N-oxalyl-l-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) is a physiological indicator in response to drying soil. However, how abscisic acid (ABA) modulates β-ODAP accumulation and its related agronomic characteristics in drought stressed grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) continue to be unclear.

Genotypic Variation in the Concentration of β-N-Oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic Acid (β-ODAP) in Grass Pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) Seeds Is Associated with an Accumulation of Leaf and Pod β-ODAP during Vegetative and Reproductive Stages at Three Levels of Water Stress.

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) cultivation is limited because of the presence in seeds and tissues of the nonprotein amino acid β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), a neurotoxin that can cause lathyrism in humans. Seven grass pea genotypes differing in seed β-ODAP concentration were grown in pots at three levels of water availability to follow changes in the concentration and amount of β-ODAP in leaves and pods and seeds.

Dryland wheat domestication changed the development of aboveground architecture for a well-structured canopy.

We examined three different-ploidy wheat species to elucidate the development of aboveground architecture and its domesticated mechanism under environment-controlled field conditions. Architecture parameters including leaf, stem, spike and canopy morphology were measured together with biomass allocation, leaf net photosynthetic rate and instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE(i)). Canopy biomass density was decreased from diploid to tetraploid wheat, but increased to maximum in hexaploid wheat.

[Ecological function and application of toxin beta-ODAP in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus)].

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) is a legume with various adverse adaptability and rich nutrition. However, it can lead to the human and animal neurotoxicity after long-term consumption due to its neurotoxin, beta-N-oxalyl-L-alpha, beta-diaminopropionic acid (beta-ODAP), limiting its utilization. This paper summarized the influences of beta-ODAP on osmotic adjustment and growth regulation in grass pea under drought stress, the research progress in analysis methods, toxicological mechanisms and practical utility of beta-ODAP, and the breeding strategies for low- and zero-beta-ODAP.

Variational iteration method for Bratu-like equation arising in electrospinning.

This paper points out that the so called enhanced variational iteration method (Colantoni & Boubaker, 2014) for a nonlinear equation arising in electrospinning and vibration-electrospinning process is the standard variational iteration method. An effective algorithm using the variational iteration algorithm-II is suggested for Bratu-like equation arising in electrospinning. A suitable choice of initial guess results in a relatively accurate solution by one or few iteration.

Differential expression and regulation of prohibitin during curcumin-induced apoptosis of immortalized human epidermal HaCaT cells.

Prohibitin (PHB), also known as inhibin, is important in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. This protein localizes to the inner membrane of mitochondria, where it acts as a chaperone protein, and is also found in the nucleus, where it negatively regulates transcription. The tumor-suppressive role of PHB in cell proliferation appears to be contradictory.

[The 1st International Youth Ecologist Forum in China, 2009: a review].

To promote the communication and cooperation between Chinese and overseas youth ecologists, a conference entitled "The 1st International Young Ecologist Forum" was held at Lanzhou University in June 29-30, 2009. This conference was organized by outstanding overseas ecologists and hosted by Lanzhou University. The presentations covered broad areas of ecology, including plant-soil interactions, structure and function of regional ecosystems, ecological security and ecological planning, global change ecology, and environmental sustainability, demonstrating that the development of China ecology is gradually from traditional basic research transforming into applied research.

Aberrant expression and localization of hnRNP-A2/B1 is a common event in human gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background And Aim: Nuclear-matrix proteins can be proteomic markers for cancer lesions. The present study aimed to determine the roles of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins--A2 and B1 (hnRNP-A2/B1) in human gastric carcinogenesis.

Methods: Human gastric cancer and non-cancerous tissues were collected for immunohistochemical analysis.

Localization of prohibitin in the nuclear matrix and alteration of its expression during differentiation of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells induced by retinoic acid.

The nuclear matrix-intermediate filament system of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells before and after retinoic acid (RA) treatment was selectively extracted and the distribution of prohibitin (PHB) in the nuclear matrix, as well as its colocalization with related genes, was observed. Results of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), mass spectrometry (MS) identification, and protein immunoblotting all confirm that PHB was present in the components of SK-N-SH nuclear matrix proteins and was down-regulated after RA treatment. Immunofluorescence microscopy observations show that PHB was localized in the nuclear matrix and its distribution was altered due to RA treatment.

Polymorphism of MTHFR C677T, serum vitamin levels and cognition in subjects with hyperhomocysteinemia in China.

Relationships between hyperhomocysteinemia (HHE) and neurodegenerative diseases have been widely studied. However, the impact of serum total homocysteine (tHcy) levels on cognitive function has not been confirmed. C677T polymorphisms in the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene have impacts on tHcy level; it is suspected to influence cognitive function, but only few investigations have assessed its effects on non-dementia adults and the results have been controversial.

Aberrant expression of nuclear matrix proteins during HMBA-induced differentiation of gastric cancer cells.

Aim: To investigate the aberrant expression of nuclear matrix proteins in human gastric cancer cells before and after hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) treatment.

Methods: Proteomics analysis of differential nuclear matrix proteins was performed by two dimensional electrophoresis polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The expression levels of three nuclear matrix proteins were further confirmed by Western blotting and their locations in nuclear matrix filament were observed by quantum dots-based immunofluorescence.