Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the Starch Synthase Gene Family in Sweet Potato and Two of Its Closely Related Species.

The starch synthase (SS) plays important roles in regulating plant growth and development and responding to adversity stresses. Although the family has been studied in many crops, it has not been fully identified in sweet potato and its two related species. In the present study, eight were identified from (), (), and (), respectively.

Advances in the structural characterization of complexes of therapeutic antibodies with PD-1 or PD-L1.

Antibody-based immune checkpoint blockade (ICB)-based therapeutics have become effective clinical applications for cancers. Applications of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to de-activate the PD-1-PD-L1 pathway could effectively reverse the phenotype of depleted activated thymocytes (T cells) to recover their anti-tumoral activities. High-resolution structures of the complexes of the therapeutic monoclonal antibodies with PD-1 or PD-L1 have revealed the key inter-molecular interactions and provided valuable insights into the fundamental mechanisms by which these antibodies inhibit PD-L1-PD-1 binding.

miR-421 is a diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with osteosarcoma.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for many cancers. Recent studies have shown that miRNAs are highly stable in plasma/serum. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-421 in osteosarcoma.

Study of landscape patterns of variation and optimization based on non-point source pollution control in an estuary.

Appropriate increases in the "sink" of a landscape can reduce the risk of non-point source pollution (NPSP) to the sea at relatively lower costs and at a higher efficiency. Based on high-resolution remote sensing image data taken between 2003 and 2008, we analyzed the "source" and "sink" landscape pattern variations of nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants in the Jiulongjiang estuary region. The contribution to the sea and distribution of each pollutant in the region was calculated using the LCI and mGLCI models.

A method to analyze "source-sink" structure of non-point source pollution based on remote sensing technology.

With the purpose of providing scientific basis for environmental planning about non-point source pollution prevention and control, and improving the pollution regulating efficiency, this paper established the Grid Landscape Contrast Index based on Location-weighted Landscape Contrast Index according to the "source-sink" theory. The spatial distribution of non-point source pollution caused by Jiulongjiang Estuary could be worked out by utilizing high resolution remote sensing images. The results showed that, the area of "source" of nitrogen and phosphorus in Jiulongjiang Estuary was 534.