Activity

No significant difference was observed in the viabilities of the DPSCs with and without S. mukorossi seed oil, respectively. However, under osteogenic and odontogenic induction, S. mukorossi seed oil increased the secretion of mineralized nodules and the ALP activity of the DPSCs (p less then 0.05). The ALP gene expression of the differentiation-induced DPSCs was also enhanced. Finally, a greater secretion of extracellular matrix vesicles was detected in the DPSCs following odontogenic induction complemented with S. mukorossi seed oil. Overall, the present results show that S. PROTAC tubulin-Degrader-1 mw mukorossi seed oil promotes the osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation and matrix vesicle secretion of DPSCs.RNA methylation and demethylation, which is mediated by RNA methyltransferases (referred to as “writers”) and demethylases (referred to as “erasers”), respectively, are emerging as a key regulatory process in plant development and stress responses. Although several studies have shown that AlkB homolog (ALKBH) proteins are potential RNA demethylases, the function of most ALKBHs is yet to be determined. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome contains thirteen genes encoding ALKBH proteins, the functions of which are largely unknown. In this study, we characterized the function of a potential eraser protein, ALKBH6 (At4g20350), during seed germination and seedling growth in Arabidopsis under abiotic stresses. The seeds of T-DNA insertion alkbh6 knockdown mutants germinated faster than the wild-type seeds under cold, salt, or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment conditions but not under dehydration stress conditions. Although no differences in seedling and root growth were observed between the alkbh6 mutant and wild-type under normal conditions, the alkbh6 mutant showed a much lower survival rate than the wild-type under salt, drought, or heat stress. Cotyledon greening of the alkbh6 mutants was much higher than that of the wild-type upon ABA application. Moreover, the transcript levels of ABA signaling-related genes, including ABI3 and ABI4, were down-regulated in the alkbh6 mutant compared to wild-type plants. Importantly, the ALKBH6 protein had an ability to bind to both m6A-labeled and m5C-labeled RNAs. Collectively, these results indicate that the potential eraser ALKBH6 plays important roles in seed germination, seedling growth, and survival of Arabidopsis under abiotic stresses.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), equipped with a variety of sensors, are being used to provide actionable information to augment first responders’ situational awareness in disaster areas for urban search and rescue (SaR) operations. However, existing aerial robots are unable to sense the occluded spaces in collapsed structures, and voids buried in disaster rubble that may contain victims. In this study, we developed a framework, AiRobSim, to simulate an aerial robot to acquire both aboveground and underground information for post-disaster SaR. The integration of UAV, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and other sensors, such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS), inertial measurement unit (IMU), and cameras, enables the aerial robot to provide a holistic view of the complex urban disaster areas. The robot-collected data can help locate critical spaces under the rubble to save trapped victims. The simulation framework can serve as a virtual training platform for novice users to control and operate the robot before actual deployment. Data streams provided by the platform, which include maneuver commands, robot states and environmental information, have potential to facilitate the understanding of the decision-making process in urban SaR and the training of future intelligent SaR robots.It is crucial to remove heavy metals and dyes before discharging industrial effluents. Gauze substrate was surface-modified by coating with a polymeric adsorbent and a spray coating of BiOBr photocatalyst to develop a novel dual-functional membrane, polymer/BiOBr-modified gauze, for water remediation. The polymeric adsorbent was crosslinked to prevent the dissolving of the adsorbent during operation in contaminated water. The morphology and surface chemistry of the modified gauze were characterized before and after the adsorption of Ni2+. The surface wettability, isotherms, and kinetics of Ni2+ adsorption were studied. We also studied the effect of pH, initial Ni2+ concentration, monomer molar ratio, and monomer chemical structure on the Ni2+ adsorption capacity. To achieve a high Ni2+ adsorption capacity and good photocatalytic decolorization activity, the amount of decorated BiOBr was tuned by changing the spray-coating time to optimize the exposed BiOBr and polymer on the surface. The optimized dual-functional membrane PB20 possesses excellent adsorption capacity (650 mg g-1) for Ni2+ ions and photocatalytic decolorization activity (100% degradation of RhB within 7 min). Decorating the optimized amount of BiOBr on the surface can introduce photocatalytic decolorization activity without sacrificing the adsorption capacity for Ni2+.Fatty liver syndrome is an emerging health problem in the world, due to the high prevalence of obesity and alcohol use disorder. Given the nature of the disease’s advancement to cirrhosis and liver-related complications, it is important to assess the severity of the disease, which is typically done via a liver biopsy. Due to the limitations and risks of liver biopsy, the role of noninvasive tests is essential and evolving to stratify the stage of the liver disease, predict the outcomes, and/or monitor the treatment response. This review is focused on noninvasive tests, including the use of serum-based biomarkers, ultrasound-based shear wave elastography, transient elastography, and magnetic resonance elastography in both clinical and research settings.Withering syndrome (WS), an infectious disease caused by intracellular bacteria Candidatus Xenohaliotis californiensis, has provoked significant economic losses in abalone aquaculture. The pathogen infects gastroenteric epithelia, including digestive gland, disrupting the digestive system and causing a progressive wilting in abalone. Nonetheless, our knowledge about WS implications in digestive gland microbiota, and its role in diseases progress remains largely unknown. This study aims to determine whether digestive gland-associated microbiota differs between healthy red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) and red abalone affected with WS. Using high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, our results revealed differences in microbiota between groups. Bacterial genera, including Mycoplasma, Lactobacillus, Cocleimonas and Tateyamaria were significantly more abundant in healthy abalones, whilst Candidatus Xenohaliotis californiensis and Marinomonas were more abundant in WS-affected abalones. Whilst Mycoplasma was the dominant genus in the healthy group, Candidatus Xenohaliotis californiensis was dominant in the WS group.