SummaryThidiazuron (TDZ) is a substituted phenylurea which has been shown to be an efficacious regulator of in vitro morphogenesis of many dicot plant species. However, information regarding the effect of TDZ on in vitro regeneration of monocot species is limited. We investigated the effects of TDZ on in vitro regeneration of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and found that it promoted shoot regeneration from callus in these two important cereal species. Plant regeneration from calluses derived from immature embryo culture of barley and wheat was observed in regeneration media with a wide range of TDZ concentrations (0.045-45 mM). Shoot regeneration from barley calluses was the highest (38.3% for cv. Golden Promise) at 4.5 mM (1 mg l Ϫ1) TDZ, while the optimal TDZ level for wheat regeneration seemed to be 0.9 mM (0.2 mg l Ϫ1 ) (87% for cv. Bob White and 49.4% for cv. Hi-Line). Roots developed normally when the regenerated wheat and barley shoots from TDZ-containing media were transferred to the rooting medium. Comparison with other plant growth regulators commonly used in wheat and barley regeneration media suggested that TDZ was among the best for in vitro regeneration of wheat and barley.

Duroc pigs are famous for their high growth rate, feed conversion efficiency, and lean meat percentage. Given that they have been subjected to artificial selection and breeding in multiple countries, various lines with obvious differences in production performance have formed. In this study, we genotyped 3,770 American Duroc (AD) pigs and 2,098 Canadian Duroc (CD) pigs using the GeneSeek Porcine SNP50 Beadchip to dissect the genetic differences and potential selection genes of growth traits in these two Duroc pig lines. Population structure detection showed that there were significant genetic differences between the two Duroc pig lines. Hence, we performed FST and cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) analyses between the two lines. As a result, we identified 38 annotated genes that were significantly enriched in the gland development pathway in the AD line, and 61 annotated genes that were significantly enriched in the immune-related pathway in the CD line. For three growth traits including backfat thickness (BFT), loin muscle depth (LMD), and loin muscle area (LMA), we then performed selection signature detection at 5 and 10% levels within the line and identified different selected regions and a series of candidate genes that are involved in lipid metabolism and skeletal muscle development or repair, such as IRX3, EBF2, WNT10B, TLR2, PITX3, and SGCD. The differences in selected regions and genes between the two lines may be the cause of the differences in growth traits. Our study suggests significant genetic differences between the AD and CD lines, which provide a theoretical basis for selecting different Duroc lines as sires for different needs.

Gelsemium elegans (GE) is a kind of well-known toxic plant. It can be detoxified by Mussaenda pubescens (MP), but the detoxification mechanism is still unclear. Thus, a detoxification herbal formula (GM) comprising GE and MP was derived. The Caco-2 cells monolayer model was used to evaluate GM effects on transporting six kinds of indole alkaloids of GE. The bidirectional transport studies demonstrated that absorbance percentage of indole alkaloids in GE increased linearly over time. But in GM, Papp (AP→BL) values of the most toxic members, gelsenicine, humantenidine, and gelsevirine, were lower than that of Papp (BL→AP) (P < 0.05). The prominent analgesic effect members, gelsemine and koumine, were approximately 1.00 in γ values. Nowhere was this increasing efflux more pronounced than in the case of indole alkaloids with N-O structure. In the presence of verapamil, the γ values of humantenidine, gelsenicine, gelsevirine, and humantenine were decreased by 43.69, 41.42, 36.00, and 8.90 percent, respectively. The γ values in presence of ciclosporin were homologous with a decrease of 42.32, 40.59, 34.00, and 15.07 percent. It suggested that the efflux transport was affected by transporters. Taken together, due to the efflux transporters participation, the increasing efflux of indole alkaloids from GM was found in Caco-2 cells.

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In this paper, we proposed a reflective metasurface which controls the phase delay of the electromagnetic (EM) wave through geometric phase manipulation. By coding the metasurface unit cells in different orientation angles, an orbital angular momentum (OAM) wave can be obtained through the metasurface reflection. A broadband reflective OAM wave with mode l = −1 was demonstrated which was experimentally observed from 8.3 GHz to 11.6 GHz. The mode spectrum of OAM wave was analyzed and the spectrum weight was about 0.82 through numerical calculation and about 0.47 through experimental measurement for the mode l = −1. The realization of this broadband OAM wave has the potential application to improve the OAM wave based communication capacity.

Glandular trichomes of plants produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites which are considered as major defensive chemicals. The capitate glandular trichomes of Oenothera glazioviana (Onagraceae) were collected with laser microdissection and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The volatile compound 4-hydroxy-4-methylpentan-2-one (1) was identified. We found that compound 1 displays antimicrobial, insecticidal, and phytotoxic activities. These results suggest that compound 1 might function as a defensive compound in the capitate glandular trichomes of O. glazioviana against pathogens, insect herbivores, and presumably competitive plants as well.

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