Adaptive Mechanism Research Articles

Study on the estradiol degradation gene expression and resistance mechanism of Rhodococcus R-001 under low-temperature stress

Estradiol (E2), an endocrine disruptor, acts by mimicking or interfering with the normal physiological functions of natural hormones within organisms, leading to issues such as endocrine system disruption. Notably, seasonal fluctuations in environmental temperature may influence the degradation speed of estradiol (E2) in the natural environment , intensifying its potential health and ecological risks. Therefore, this study aims to explore how bacteria can degrade E2 under low-temperature conditions, unveiling their resistance mechanisms, with the goal of developing new strategies to mitigate the threat of E2 to health and ecological safety. In this paper, we found that Rhodococcus equi DSSKP-R-001 (R-001) can efficiently degrade E2 at 30°C and 10°C. Six genes in R-001 were shown to be involved in E2 degradation by heterologous expression at 30°C. Among them, 17β-HSD, KstD2, and KstD3, were also involved in E2 degradation at 10°C; KstD was not previously known to degrade E2. RNA-seq was used to characterize differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to explore the stress response of R-001 to low-temperature environments to elucidate the strain’s adaptation mechanism. At the low temperature, R-001 cells changed from a round spherical shape to a long rod or irregular shape with elevated unsaturated fatty acids and were consistent with the corresponding genetic changes. Many differentially expressed genes linked to the cold stress response were observed. R-001 was found to upregulate genes encoding cold shock proteins, fatty acid metabolism proteins, the ABC transport system, DNA damage repair, energy metabolism and transcriptional regulators. In this study, we demonstrated six E2 degradation genes in R-001 and found for the first time that E2 degradation genes have different expression characteristics at 30°C and 10°C. Linking R-001 to cold acclimation provides new insights and a mechanistic basis for the simultaneous degradation of E2 under cold stress in Rhodococcus adaptation.

The reproductive biology of Fagaceae acorns in the current and future climate

Fagaceae is an iconic plant family with 1000+ species distributed predominantly in the northern hemisphere. The reproductive ecology of the Fagaceae species is highly complex, and in the past three centuries, understanding the fruit masting strategies, dispersal, pathogen pressure, and storage has enjoyed steady research interest. However, the interrelationship between these factors is surprisingly less explored, undermining how acorns survive the post-dispersal period. The ability of fruits (acorns, nuts) to survive post-dispersal conditions starts during the maturation drying stage. Successful fruit production depends on the maternal environment, with a ‘good fruit production year’ occurring every few years. This phenomenon might out-maneuver predators by providing sufficient numbers to be consumed but still leaving enough for germination. Because most Fagaceae species have desiccation-sensitive (DS) fruits, survival after dispersal is challenging due to frequent dry spells. Fruit size is not phylogenetically conserved within the genus, with the average fruit mass of Castanea being 50 times higher than the desiccation-tolerant genus Fagus. Larger fruit size may be an adaptation in dry areas because prolonged drying continuously desiccates large-sized cotyledons before desiccating embryos. For species adapted to dry environments, synchronizing dispersal with the growing season could be beneficial, but exceptions exist. Many consumers, such as rodents, aid in the dispersal of fruits, but some fruits are killed in the process, especially those predated late. Upon settling on a site, the pericarp protects the embryo to a certain extent; if drying occurs, the cotyledons become the first site of water loss. However, under extreme drying, survival depends on sporadic rainfall, i.e., wet-dry cycle, which aids in maintaining the critical moisture content required by the fruits for survival. Nonetheless, these adaptive mechanisms are challenged by climate change, which affects the maturation, persistence, and seedling establishment of numerous Fagaceae species.

Metabolome and transcriptome reveal high abundance of bioactive substances in albino jujube fruit as potential function food

Little is known about the fruit quality of albino mutants, due to generally exhibited lethal phenotypes caused by restrained photosynthesis and energy metabolism. In this study, a non-lethal bud mutant of jujube that could bear fruit with higher nutrient content after leaf albinism was described. Compared to normal mature fruit, the albino fruit contained lower soluble sugar and titratable acid, as well as higher ascorbic acid, phenols and flavonoids contents. Through metabolome and transcriptome analyses, 109, 117, and 126 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) and 1169, 797, and 3059 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the young, white-ripened, and mature stages of albino and normal fruits, respectively. KEGG annotation indicated that DEGs and DAMs were mainly enriched in phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, and α-linolenic acid metabolism. Moreover, ADH, GST17, and POD16 were identified as hub genes that play major roles in high abundance of chalcone, (−)-epigallocatechin, GSH, and total ascorbate. The alteration of bioactive substance content in albino fruits was an adaptive molecular mechanism that responded to adverse mutations, and reflected a higher antioxidant capacity. These findings provide new insights into bioactive compounds accumulation in albino mutants, and provide experimental evidence for albino fruit as a potential nutraceutical or functional food.

Error-based Implicit Learning in Language: The Effect of Sentence Context and Constraint in a Repetition Paradigm.

Prediction errors drive implicit learning in language, but the specific mechanisms underlying these effects remain debated. This issue was addressed in an EEG study manipulating the context of a repeated unpredictable word (repetition of the complete sentence or repetition of the word in a new sentence context) and sentence constraint. For the manipulation of sentence constraint, unexpected words were presented either in high-constraint (eliciting a precise prediction) or low-constraint sentences (not eliciting any specific prediction). Repetition-induced reduction of N400 amplitudes and of power in the alpha/beta frequency band was larger for words repeated with their sentence context as compared with words repeated in a new low-constraint context, suggesting that implicit learning happens not only at the level of individual items but additionally improves sentence-based predictions. These processing benefits for repeated sentences did not differ between constraint conditions, suggesting that sentence-based prediction update might be proportional to the amount of unpredicted semantic information, rather than to the precision of the prediction that was violated. In addition, the consequences of high-constraint prediction violations, as reflected in a frontal positivity and increased theta band power, were reduced with repetition. Overall, our findings suggest a powerful and specific adaptation mechanism that allows the language system to quickly adapt its predictions when unexpected semantic information is processed, irrespective of sentence constraint, and to reduce potential costs of strong predictions that were violated.

Optimal Prescription for Superior Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis of Inter-Individual Variability in Adaptations to Small-Sided Games and Short Sprint Interval Training in Young Basketball Players

This study compared the inter-individual variability in adaptive responses to six weeks of small-sided games (SSG) and short sprint interval training (sSIT) in young basketball players. Thirty well-trained young athletes (age: 16.4 ± 0.6 years; stature: 190 ± 8.4 cm; weight: 84.1 ± 8.2 kg) voluntarily participated and were randomly assigned to SSG (3 sets of 5 min 3v3 on full length (28 m) and half-width (7.5 m) court, with 2 minutes of passive recovery in-between), sSIT (3 sets of 12 × 5 s sprinting with 20 s recovery between efforts and 2 min of rest between sets), or CON (routine basketball-specific technical and tactical drills) groups, each of ten. Before and after the training period, participants underwent a series of laboratory- and field-based measurements to evaluate their maximum oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), first and second ventilatory threshold (VT1 and VT2), oxygen pulse, peak and average power output (PPO and APO), linear speed, change of direction (COD), countermovement jump (CMJ), and vertical jump (VJ). Both SSG and sSIT sufficiently stimulated adaptive mechanisms involved in enhancement of the mentioned variables (p < 0.05). However, sSIT resulted in lower residuals in percent changes in V̇O2max (p = 0.02), O2pulse (p = 0.005), VT1 (p = 0.001), PPO (p = 0.03), and linear speed (p = 0.01) across athletes compared to the SSG. Moreover, sSIT resulted in more responders than SSG in V̇O2max (p = 0.02, φ = 0.500), O2pulse (p = 0.003, φ = 0.655), VT1 (p = 0.003, φ = 0.655), VT2 (p = 0.05, φ = 0.436), and linear speed (p = 0.05, φ = 0.420). Our results indicate that sSIT creates a more consistent level of mechanical and physiological stimulus than SSG, potentially leading to more similar adaptations across team members.

An enhanced sparrow search swarm optimizer via multi-strategies for high-dimensional optimization problems

With the development of science and technology, high-dimensional global optimization problems have become increasingly prevalent for scientific research and engineering, such as gene recognition, vehicle routing, job scheduling, and network topology. These problems are typically characterized by enormous and complex search spaces and numerous local minima, making it challenging to find the global optimal solution with limited computing resources. This paper introduces an enhanced sparrow search swarm optimizer (ESSSO) based on a bio-mimetic method. The ESSSO employs an adaptive sinusoidal walk strategy based on the von Mises distribution, a learning strategy utilizing roulette wheel selection, a two-stage evolution strategy, and a selection mutation strategy to address these issues. The proposed sinusoidal walk strategy, grounded in the von Mises distribution, supports a balanced evolutionary search. This mechanism disperses the individuals in a swarm in various directions based on a circular normal distribution. It then leads the search and adaptively adjusts their step sizes according to the size of the search domain during each generation of evolution. The learning strategy, based on roulette wheel selection, enhances the diversity of the population and improves the global search capability of the algorithm during the initial iterations. The two-stage evolution strategy involves a sine-learning mechanism based on the von Mises distribution and an adaptive mutation mechanism. The former is designed to boost the convergence speed of ESSSO, while the latter prevents ESSSO from getting trapped in a local optimum. Additionally, the selection mutation strategy further enhances convergence speed while maintaining population diversity. These strategies promote exploration in the early stages of evolution and exploitation in the later stages, enabling a well-balanced search for optimal solutions. We conducted comprehensive experiments two standard benchmark sets (i.e., CEC2010 and CEC2013), antenna array optimization, feature selection, and four engineering design problems. The results indicate that ESSSO outperforms ten comparison algorithms, especially in scenarios with smaller population sizes. This confirms its effectiveness in high-dimensional global optimization tasks and demonstrates that it can achieve better results with less computational resource consumption.

Is Defense a Way of Coping?

Over the years, the concept of psychological adaptability has stirred the field of psychology. Researchers from personality psychology, clinical psychology, and other interrelated areas of psychology have taken a special interest in understanding the adaptive functioning within the individual that may help in healthy adjustment. One of such adaptive mechanisms was first described by Sigmund Freud under the label of defense, which had been through a lot of revisions over the years. Another concept, though stemming from a different conceptual framework, could be equally important to understand the adjustment process, which was labeled as coping. The present article aims to shed light on the various similarities and differences between both concepts despite their conceptual distancing.

Evolutionary dynamics of chromatin structure and duplicate gene expression in diploid and allopolyploid cotton.

Polyploidy is a prominent mechanism of plant speciation and adaptation, yet the mechanistic understandings of duplicated gene regulation remain elusive. Chromatin structure dynamics are suggested to govern gene regulatory control. Here we characterized genome-wide nucleosome organization and chromatin accessibility in allotetraploid cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (AADD, 2n=4X=52), relative to its two diploid parents (AA or DD genome) and their synthetic diploid hybrid (AD), using DNS-seq. The larger A-genome exhibited wider average nucleosome spacing in diploids, and this inter-genomic difference diminished in the allopolyploid but not hybrid. Allopolyploidization also exhibited increased accessibility at promoters genome-wide and synchronized cis-regulatory motifs between subgenomes. A prominent cis-acting control was inferred for chromatin dynamics and demonstrated by transposable element removal from promoters. Linking accessibility to gene expression patterns, we found distinct regulatory effects for hybridization and later allopolyploid stages, including nuanced establishment of homoeolog expression bias and expression level dominance. Histone gene expression and nucleosome organization are coordinated through chromatin accessibility. Our study demonstrates the capability to track high resolution chromatin structure dynamics and reveals their role in the evolution of cis-regulatory landscapes and duplicate gene expression in polyploids, illuminating regulatory ties to subgenomic asymmetry and dominance.

Youth labour markets in the Southern European Union, 2009-2021: deciphering trajectories of resilience through a decade of consecutive crises

ABSTRACT This paper adopts a Geographical Political Economy perspective to critically investigate how successive economic crises occurring from 2009 onwards (including the COVID-19 pandemic) affected youth labour markets in Greece, Italy, and Spain. To do so, it first calculates a Resilience Index for three youth employment types (total, part-time, and temporary employment). It then employs Shift-Share Analysis to quantify the effect of national trends, sectoral dynamism, and local characteristics upon total youth employment changes. After identifying those regions that have exhibited resilience or lack thereof and the underlying reasons for their trajectories, the paper outlines a typology of regional youth labour markets’ resilience and examines their dynamics. Specifically, the paper examines the effect of path dependencies, structural deficiencies, and labour polarization on resilience outcomes, concluding that each has steered in different ways the regional youth labour markets examined towards either bouncing back shortly after recessive shocks or developing mechanisms of adaptation amidst recession. Closing, the paper discusses the role of work flexibilization in shaping resilience, finding that whilst it may contribute to coping/adaptation capacities under certain conditions it does not guarantee them.

Water deficit differentially modulates leaf photosynthesis and transpiration of fungus-tolerant Muscadinia x Vitis hybrids

Screening for drought performance among novel fungi-tolerant grapevine genotypes is a key point to consider in semiarid regions where water scarcity is a common problem during fruit ripening period. It is therefore important to evaluate the genotypes’ responses at the level of carbon metabolism and water demand, under water deficit conditions. This study aimed to characterize leaf and plant water use efficiency (respectively named WUEi and WUEpl) of novel INRAE fungi-tolerant genotypes (including LowSugarBerry (LSB) genotypes), under mild and high-water deficit (WD) and to decipher the photosynthetic parameters leading to higher WUEi. For this purpose, experiments were conducted on potted plants during one season using a phenotyping platform. Two stabilized soil moisture capacity (SMC) conditions, corresponding to mild (SMC 0.6) and high (SMC 0.3) WD, were imposed from the onset of berry ripening until the physiological ripeness stage, which was defined as the point at which fruits reach their maximum solutes and water content. At the whole plant level, all genotypes increased WUEpl under high WD. The highest WUEpl was reached for 3176N, which displayed both a high rate of non-structural carbon accumulation in fruits due to high fruit-to-leaf ratio and low plant transpiration because of low total leaf area. However, when normalizing the fruit-to-leaf ratio among the genotypes, G14 reached the highest normalized WUEpl_n under high WD. At the leaf level, WUEi also increased under high WD, with the highest value attained for G14 and 3176N and the lowest value for Syrah. The higher WUEi values for all genotypes compared to Syrah were associated to higher levels of photosynthesis and changes in light-harvesting efficiency parameters (ΦCO2, qP and qN), while no clear trend was apparent when considering the photosynthetic biochemical parameters (Vcmax, Jmax). Finally, a positive correlation between leaf and plant WUE was observed regardless of genotypes. This study allowed us to classify grapevine genotypes based on their grapes primary metabolite accumulation and water consumption during the critical sugar-loading period. Additionally, the study highlighted the potential drought adaptation mechanism of the LSB genotypes.

The genes mgtE and spoVG are involved in zinc tolerance of Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen causing tremendous public health burden and high mortality in invasive infections. Treatment is becoming increasingly difficult due to antimicrobial resistances. The use of metals in animal husbandry and aquaculture to reduce bacterial growth and subsequent acquisition of metal resistances has been shown to co-select for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, understanding adaptive mechanisms that help S. aureus to survive metal exposure is essential. Using a screening approach, we were able to identify two genes encoding the transporter MgtE and the transcriptional regulator SpoVG, which conferred increased tolerance to specific metals such as zinc when inactivated. Further testing showed that the deletion of mgtE leads to reduced intracellular zinc levels, suggesting a role in zinc uptake. The accumulation of mutations in these genes when exposed to other metals suggests that inactivation of these genes could be a common mechanism for intrinsic tolerance to certain metals.

Epitranscriptome insights into Riccia fluitans L. (Marchantiophyta) aquatic transition using nanopore direct RNA sequencing

BackgroundRiccia fluitans, an amphibious liverwort, exhibits a fascinating adaptation mechanism to transition between terrestrial and aquatic environments. Utilizing nanopore direct RNA sequencing, we try to capture the complex epitranscriptomic changes undergone in response to land-water transition.ResultsA significant finding is the identification of 45 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with a split of 33 downregulated in terrestrial forms and 12 upregulated in aquatic forms, indicating a robust transcriptional response to environmental changes. Analysis of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications revealed 173 m6A sites in aquatic and only 27 sites in the terrestrial forms, indicating a significant increase in methylation in the former, which could facilitate rapid adaptation to changing environments. The aquatic form showed a global elongation bias in poly(A) tails, which is associated with increased mRNA stability and efficient translation, enhancing the plant’s resilience to water stress. Significant differences in polyadenylation signals were observed between the two forms, with nine transcripts showing notable changes in tail length, suggesting an adaptive mechanism to modulate mRNA stability and translational efficiency in response to environmental conditions. This differential methylation and polyadenylation underline a sophisticated layer of post-transcriptional regulation, enabling Riccia fluitans to fine-tune gene expression in response to its living conditions.ConclusionsThese insights into transcriptome dynamics offer a deeper understanding of plant adaptation strategies at the molecular level, contributing to the broader knowledge of plant biology and evolution. These findings underscore the sophisticated post-transcriptional regulatory strategies Riccia fluitans employs to navigate the challenges of aquatic versus terrestrial living, highlighting the plant’s dynamic adaptation to environmental stresses and its utility as a model for studying adaptation mechanisms in amphibious plants.

Temporal Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Dynamic Changes in Gene Expression of Giant Freshwater Prawn upon Acute Saline-Alkaline Stresses.

Bicarbonate and sulfate are among two primary ion constituents of saline-alkaline water, with excessive levels potentially causing metabolic disorders in crustaceans, affecting their molting and interrupting development. As an economically important crustacean species, the molecular adaptive mechanism of giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii in response to the stress of bicarbonate and sulfate remains unexplored. To investigate the mechanism underlying NaHCO3, Na2SO4, and mixed NaHCO3, Na2SO4 stresses, M. rosenbergii larvae were exposed to the above three stress conditions, followed by total RNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing at eight distinct time points (0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96h). Subsequent analysis revealed 13, 16, and 13 consistently identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across eight time points under three stress conditions. These consistently identified DEGs were significantly involved in the Gene Ontology (GO) terms of chitin-based cuticle development, protein-carbohydrate complex, structural constituent of cuticle, carnitine biosynthetic process, extracellular matrix, and polysaccharide catabolic process, indicating that alkaline stresses might potentially impact the energy metabolism, growth, and molting of M. rosenbergii larvae. Particularly, the transcriptome data revealed that DEGs associated with energy metabolism, immunity, and amino acid metabolism were enriched across multiple time points under three stress conditions. These DEGs are linked to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, including glycolysis/glucogenesis, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and lysine degradation. Consistent enrichment findings across the three stress conditions support conclusions above. Together, these insights are instrumental in enhancing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the alkaline response in M. rosenbergii larvae. Additionally, they offer valuable perspectives on the regulatory mechanisms of freshwater crustaceans amid saline-alkaline water development.

Weed Ecology: Insights for Successful Management Strategies: A Review

In crop ecosystems, the primary challenge in establishing a long-term weed management strategy arise from a lack of understanding regarding the nature of weediness and the factors that contribute to species dominance. To address this, farmers and researchers often rely on quick and efficient, yet temporary weed control methods, which can lead to long-term issues. To develop a more effective and sustainable weed management approach, it is crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding of both the biological characteristics and ecological behaviours of weeds. This can be achieved by incorporating preventive techniques, scientific knowledge and management skills, with the goal of enhancing crop production and benefiting farmers. While further information is needed in all aspects of weed management, the primary objective of weed science is to increase our knowledge of weed biology and ecology, thus fostering a better understanding of weediness. This understanding will facilitate the adoption of appropriate management strategies instead of relying solely on short-term solutions that may create or exacerbate long-term problems. The successful growth and reproduction of any species depend on a variety of conditions. In a given ecosystem, the species that can thrive more efficiently under the specific set of environmental conditions will produce the most viable offspring and become the most abundant organisms. Weed ecology, which examines the adaptive mechanisms that enable weeds to thrive in highly disturbed soil conditions, provides essential insights into the distribution and abundance of weeds in both natural and managed systems. The occurrence of a weed in a particular area is influenced by multiple factors, with climatic, soil-related (edaphic) and biotic factors being the most significant among them.

Seasonal Variability and Water Scarcity Adaptations in Buea Urban, South West Region, Cameroon

Nowadays water scarcity in developing countries has remained disturbing and creates various impacts especially on the urban areas at best average economic conditions. This seems to be amplified by growing urbanization, climate change and seasonality. Although located in a mountainous area with abundant rainfall received over the years, Buea has been significantly stressed by water scarcity driven by seasonal changes. This study aims at identifying the seasonal variability in water supply and various adaptation mechanisms to water scarcity in Buea. Making use of mixed research design, the study used the systematic random sampling technique. 200 questionnaires were distributed to the sampled populations in the Molyko, Buea Town, Federal Quarters and the Great Soppo neighbourhoods in Buea. Field observations and interviews were used in the study in order to assess the water supply and seasonal variability as well as the various water scarcity adaptations that have been put in place by the sampled population. Linear regression was used to identify variability in the trends of climatic parameters of temperature and rainfall in Buea. The chi-square test was used to verify the assertion that the water scarcity adaptation measures put in place are a function of seasonal variability in Buea. The findings revealed that drilling of boreholes, fetching of water from neighbouring streams and springs in the municipality, rainwater harvesting among others were revealed by this study to be some of the water scarcity adaptations that have been put in place. Results also revealed that the various water scarcity adaptations put in place is not a function of seasonal changes in Buea. Income was seen to be one of the key determinants of the choice as well as the type of water scarcity adaptation put in place. Concerning the challenges faced, the study revealed that limitations to water scarcity adaptions are very significant across the different sampled localities in the Buea. Financial difficulty (32.5%) was the greatest challenge faced poor water development of water supply infrastructure (21%) as well as limited knowledge on water scarcity adaptation were identified.

Transcriptome analysis reveals the molecular mechanisms underlying the enhancement of salt-tolerance in Melia azedarach under salinity stress

Melia azedarach demonstrates strong salt tolerance and thrives in harsh saline soil conditions, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed gene expression under low, medium, and high salinity conditions to gain a deeper understanding of adaptation mechanisms of M. azedarach under salt stress. The GO (gene ontology) analysis unveiled a prominent trend: as salt stress intensified, a greater number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) became enriched in categories related to metabolic processes, catalytic activities, and membrane components. Through the analysis of the category GO:0009651 (response to salt stress), we identified four key candidate genes (CBL7, SAPK10, EDL3, and AKT1) that play a pivotal role in salt stress responses. Furthermore, the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were significantly enriched in the plant hormone signaling pathways and starch and sucrose metabolism under both medium and high salt exposure in comparison to low salt conditions. Notably, genes involved in JAZ and MYC2 in the jasmonic acid (JA) metabolic pathway were markedly upregulated in response to high salt stress. This study offers valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying M. azedarach salt tolerance and identifies potential candidate genes for enhancing salt tolerance in M. azedarach.

MTORC1 regulates cell survival under glucose starvation through 4EBP1/2-mediated translational reprogramming of fatty acid metabolism

Energetic stress compels cells to evolve adaptive mechanisms to adjust their metabolism. Inhibition of mTOR kinase complex 1 (mTORC1) is essential for cell survival during glucose starvation. How mTORC1 controls cell viability during glucose starvation is not well understood. Here we show that the mTORC1 effectors eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding proteins 1/2 (4EBP1/2) confer protection to mammalian cells and budding yeast under glucose starvation. Mechanistically, 4EBP1/2 promote NADPH homeostasis by preventing NADPH-consuming fatty acid synthesis via translational repression of Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase 1 (ACC1), thereby mitigating oxidative stress. This has important relevance for cancer, as oncogene-transformed cells and glioma cells exploit the 4EBP1/2 regulation of ACC1 expression and redox balance to combat energetic stress, thereby supporting transformation and tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, high EIF4EBP1 expression is associated with poor outcomes in several cancer types. Our data reveal that the mTORC1-4EBP1/2 axis provokes a metabolic switch essential for survival during glucose starvation which is exploited by transformed and tumor cells.

Features of the gas transport function of blood in hyperpigmentations of the skin

BACKGROUND: Acquired hyperpigmentation is widespread in the population and significantly affects the quality of life of the patients. It is known that one of the clinical signs of skin hyperpigmentation is localized hyperkeratosis in the lesion associated with a high level of cell proliferation and cell saturation with melanin. Cellular proliferation and hyperkeratosis are associated with increased local metabolism rates. AIM: Study of erythrocyte gas transport function in women with skin hyperpigmentation compared to the control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To achieve the objective, the concentrations of lactic acid, pyruvic acid and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate levels in venous blood erythrocytes were investigated. RESULTS: The phenomenon of skin hyperpigmentation is accompanied by a restructuring of blood cell metabolism aimed at preserving oxygen and energy homeostasis of skin structures. The obtained data indicate redistribution of oxygen in cellular structures and tissues, which is accompanied by a significant increase in lactate concentration and formation of local tissue hypoxia. CONCLUSION: The formation of skin pigmentation is considered as a physiological mechanism in response to inflammation, mainly associated with ultraviolet radiation. The general strategy of the course of the inflammatory process under normal regulation or dysregulation has similar features, but there are also differences. It seems necessary to further study systemic adaptation mechanisms in dysregulation and formation of skin hyperpigmentation.

A Hierarchical Adaptive Selection Neural Network for Dynamic Impact Localization of Wind Turbine Blades

Abstract This paper focuses on the localization problem of dynamic impacts that can lead to significant damages on wind turbine blades (WTBs). Localization of dynamic impacts on WTBs is essential for wind turbines (WTs) due to their vulnerability to dynamic impacts such as birds, stones, hails. The proposed deep learning methodology contributes to accurately locate the impacted blade and specific position using the measuremnts from a limited number of sensors. In particular, a novel hierarchical adaptive selection neural network (HASNN) is proposed, which integrates a classification subnetwork and a regression subnetwork. Specifically, an adaptive blade selection mechanism (ABSM) is designed to determine the impacted blade for classification while an adaptive window selection mechanism (AWSM) is developed to highlight the representative time period for regression. By deploying a limited number of sensors to acquire measured vibration data, the proposed method can accurately identify the collision locations of transient impacts loaded on WTBs. In both simulated and real-world experiments, the proposed method achieves the mean absolute error of 0.189 centimeter and 1.088 centimeter for impact localization. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed model in comparison with the existing methods for localizing impulsive loads on WTBs.

Adaptive display white point under various ambient conditions

AbstractDisplay technologies have been developed to adjust the display brightness and color under different viewing conditions, providing better viewing experiences to users. Solutions have been proposed to adjust the display white point according to the ambient light condition, which roots into the underlying chromatic adaptation mechanism in the human visual system. This study was carefully designed to reveal the necessity to consider the ambient light level and display luminance together, which affects the viewing mode, when adjusting the adaptive display white point. The results clearly suggested that when the display luminance was greater than the ambient light diffuse white luminance, the display was viewed in the self‐luminous mode and the display white point was not significantly affected by the ambient light chromaticities. In contrast, when the display luminance was lower than the ambient light diffuse white luminance, the display was viewed in the surface mode and the ambient light chromaticities had a significant effect on the display white point, especially when the surround ratio was high.