Young and Old Leaves Physiological and Metabolite Profiles Analysis on Amino Acids and Organic Acids in Wild Soybean Seedlings Under Nitrogen Deficiency

Background As an important germplasm resource, wild soybean has good tolerance to complex stress environment stress. This study described the differences of physiological and metabolomic changes between common wild soybean (GS1) and the barren tolerance wild soybean (GS2) under low nitrogen (LN) stress. Results The result showed the barren tolerance wild soybean young leaves can maintain relatively stable chlorophyll content and increased the contents of Car;Photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate decreased significantly in in the barren tolerance wild soybean old leaves, but there was no significant change in young leaves; the barren tolerance wild soybean enhanced the enrichment of beneficial ion pairs such as zinc, calcium and phosphorus. The metabolism of amino acids and organic acids in the barren tolerance wild soybean old leaves was vigorous, a large number of beneficial amino acids such as GABA, asparagine and proline were enriched, and the metabolites related to TCA cycle were significantly increased. Conclusion the barren tolerance wild soybean can ensure the nitrogen supply of young leaves by inhibiting the photosynthetic response of old leaves; the relatively stable growth of young leaves also benefits from the effective transport and reuse of beneficial ions from old leaves; More importantly, the enhanced metabolism of specific amino acids and organic acids in GS2 old leaves seemed to play an important role in resisting LN stress. GABA and Asparagine played substantial roles in N storage, C/N balance, antioxidant defense and act as signaling molecule to help GS2 to resist LN stress. Difference organic acids in the old leaves of GS2 increased which could improve the utilization rate of N in the soil. In addition, the strength of fatty acids catabolism and TCA cycle in GS2 old leaves provided energy base for substance transport. The analysis of physiological and metabolite may provide a new perspective for revealing the importance of substance transport and reuse in different plant parts to resist abiotic stress.

SST Image Processing for Mesoscale Patterns Identification

Understanding the marine environment dynamics to accordingly design computational predictive tools, represents a factor of paramount relevance to implement suitable policy plans. In this framework, mesoscale marine events are important to study and understand since human related activities, such as commercial fishery, strongly depend on this type of phenomena. Indeed, the dynamics of water masses affect the local habitats due to nutrient and organic substance transport, interfering with the fauna and flora development processes. Mesoscale events can be classified based on the presence of specific hydrodynamics features, such as water filaments, counter-currents or meanders originating from upwelling wind action stress. In this paper, a novel method to study these phenomena is proposed, based on the analysis of Sea Surface Temperature imagery captured by satellite missions (METOP, MODIS Terra/Aqua). Dedicated algorithms are presented, with the goal to detect and identify different observed scenarios based on the extraction and analysis of discriminating quantitative features. Promising results returned by the application of the proposed method to data captured within the maritime region in front of the southwestern Iberian coasts are presented.

Identification of Key Functional Gene Signatures Indicative of Dedifferentiation in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Background: Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. Many of them can relapse to dedifferentiated thyroid cancer (DDTC) and exhibit different gene expression profiles. The underlying mechanism of dedifferentiation and the involved genes or pathways remained to be investigated.Methods: A discovery cohort obtained from patients who received surgical resection in the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC) and two validation cohorts derived from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were used to screen out differentially expressed genes in the dedifferentiation process. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was constructed to identify modules highly related to differentiation. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to identify pathways related to differentiation, and all differentially expressed genes were grouped by function based on the GSEA and literature reviewing data. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to control the number of variables in each group. Next, we used logistic regression to build a gene signature in each group to indicate differentiation status, and we computed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the indicative performance of each signature.Results: A total of 307 upregulated and 313 downregulated genes in poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC) compared with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and normal thyroid (NT) were screened out in FUSCC cohort and validated in two GEO cohorts. WGCNA of 620 differential genes yielded the seven core genes with the highest correlation with thyroid differentiation score (TDS). Furthermore, 395 genes significantly correlated with TDS in univariate logistic regression analysis were divided into 11 groups. The areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) of the gene signature of group transcription and epigenetic modification, signal and substance transport, extracellular matrix (ECM), and metabolism in the training set [The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort] and validation set (combined GEO cohort) were both >0.75. The gene signature based on group transcription and epigenetic modification, cilia formation and movement, and proliferation can reflect the patient's disease recurrence state.Conclusion: The dedifferentiation of DTC is affected by a variety of mechanisms including many genes. The gene signature of group transcription and epigenetic modification, signal and substance transport, ECM, and metabolism can be used as biomarkers for DDTC.

Pickles: Independent Biology Practicum Diffusion and Material Osmosis On the Concept of Substance Transport during the Pandemic Period

Teachers had difficulty developing Science Process Skills in biology subjects during the Pandemic at SMA Negeri 1 Sambit Ponorogo. This study aims to 1) analyze the Science Process Skills of class XI IPS 1 student at SMA Negeri 1 Sambit Ponorogo in Biology learning through pickle making practicum, 2) describe the involvement of parents in biology learning during distance learning. The research design used One-Shot Case Study. The research subjects were 27 people from class XI IPS 1 SMA Negeri 1 Sambit Ponorogo. The research instrument used a Science Process Skills observation sheet, an independent practicum assessment sheet, and an online questionnaire for parents & students. The analysis was carried out by descriptive quantitative. Based on the implementation results, it is known that Science Process Skills are categorized as good in independent practicum activities, where the ability to apply is 89.91%, concludes 78.70%, proposes 90.74% hypotheses, predicts 77.78%, and observes 92.59%. While 62.59% of parents are less involved in helping students while learning from home, this affects the success of distance learning. The conclusion of this research is; 1) Practicum making events can be used in applying Science Process skills of Class XI IPS 1 student at SMA Negeri 1 Sambit Ponorogo, 2) Parental involvement in biology learning during distance learning in Class XI IPS 1 SMA Negeri 1 Sambit Ponorogo needs to be improved, because of involvement parents are still very low during distance learning in class XI IPS 1 SMA Negeri 1 Sambit Ponorogo.

Pull-Down Assay-Guided Insights into the Effects of Latroeggtoxin-VI on Nerve Cells

Latroeggtoxin-VI (LETX-VI) is a peptide neurotoxin newly found from the eggs of spider L. tredecimguttatus. To explore the mechanism of action of the LETX-VI on nerve cells, the effects of LETX-VI on PC12 cells, a commonly used neuron model, were analyzed using a pull-down assay-guided strategy. LETX-VI was shown to interact with 164 PC12 cell proteins that have diverse molecular functions such as binding, catalysis, regulation, structural activity, etc., thereby extensively affecting the biological processes in the PC12 cells, particularly protein metabolism, response to stimulus, substance transport, and nucleic acid metabolism, with 56.71%, 42.07%, 29.88% and 28.66% of the identified proteins being involved in these biological processes, respectively. By interacting with the relevant proteins, LETX-VI enhanced the synthesis of dopamine; positively regulated cell division and proliferation; and negatively regulated cell cycle arrest, cell death, and apoptotic processes, and therefore has limited cytotoxicity against the PC12 cells, which were further experimentally confirmed. In general, the effects of LETX-VI on PC12 cells are more regulatory than cytotoxic. These findings have deepened our understanding of the action mechanism of LETX-VI on nerve cells and provided valuable clues for further related researches including those on Parkinson’s disease.

Pt Nanoparticles with High Oxidase-Like Activity and Reusability for Detection of Ascorbic Acid

Noble metal nanoenzymes such as Pt, Au, Pd, etc. exhibit magnificent activity. However, due to the scarce reserves and expensive prices of precious metals, it is essential to investigate their enzyme-like activity and explore the possibility of their reuse. In this work, the oxidase-like activity and reusability of several Pt nanoparticles with different morphologies were detected. We compared the Pt nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of about 30 nm self-assembled by 5 nm Pt nanoparticles and Pt nanoparticles (Pt-0 HCl) with a diameter of about 5 nm, and found that their Michaelis−Menten constants (Km) were close and their initial performance similar, but the Pt NPs had better reusability. This was probably attributed to the stacked structure of Pt NPs, which was conducive to the substance transport and sufficient contact. At the same time, it was found that the size, dispersion, and organic substances adsorbed on the surface of Pt nanoparticles would have a significant impact on their reusability. A colorimetric detection method was designed using the oxidase-like activity of Pt NPs to detect ascorbic acid in triplicate. The limits of detection were 131 ± 15, 144 ± 14, and 152 ± 9 nM, with little difference. This research not only showed that the morphology of the catalyst could be changed and its catalytic performance could be controlled by a simple liquid phase synthesis method, but also that it had great significance for the reuse of Pt nanoenzymes in the field of bioanalysis.

Evaluation and Proteomic Analysis of Lead Adsorption by Lactic Acid Bacteria

Heavy metals are a growing threat to human health due to the resulting damage to the ecology; the removal of heavy metals by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been a focus of many studies. In this study, 10 LAB strains were evaluated for their ability to absorb and tolerate lead. Lactobacillus plantarum YW11 was found to possess the strongest ability of lead absorbing and tolerance, with the rate of absorption as high as 99.9% and the minimum inhibitory concentration of lead on YW11 higher than 1000 mg/L. Based on the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomics analysis of YW11, a total of 2009 proteins were identified both in the lead-treated strain and the control without the lead treatment. Among these proteins, 44 different proteins were identified. The abundance of 25 proteins increased significantly, and 19 proteins decreased significantly in the treatment group. These significantly differential abundant proteins are involved in the biological processes of amino acid and lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, cell wall biosynthesis, and substance transport. This study contributed further understanding of the molecular mechanism of L. plantarum in the binding and removal of lead to explore its potential application in counteracting heavy metal pollution of environment, food, and other fields.