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In space vehicles, the typical configurations for the Solar Array Power Regulators in charge of managing power transfer from the solar array to the power bus are quite different from the corresponding devices in use for terrestrial applications. A thorough analysis is reported for the most popular approaches, namely Sequential Switching Shunt Regulation and parallel-input Pulse Width Modulated converters with Maximum Power Point Tracking. Their performance is compared with reference to a typical mission in low Earth orbit, highlighting the respective strengths and weaknesses. A novel solar array managing technique, the Sequential Maximum Power Tracking, is also introduced in the trade-off and was demonstrated able to boost energy harvesting, especially in the presence of mismatching in the solar array. It also can achieve top levels of reliability using a rather simple control hardware. Its operation was verified both by a Matlab–Simulink model and by an experimental breadboard.

Background Lignin is one of the main components of the cell wall and is directly associated with plant development and defence mechanisms in plants, especially in response to Fusarium graminearum (Fg) infection. Caffeoyl-coenzyme A O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) is the main regulator determining the efficiency of lignin synthesis and composition. Although it has been characterized in many plants, to date, the importance of the CCoAOMT family in wheat is not well understood. Results Here, a total of 21 wheat CCoAOMT genes ( TaCCoAOMT ) were identified through an in silico genome search method and they were classified into four groups based on phylogenetic analysis, with the members of the same group sharing similar gene structures and conserved motif compositions. Furthermore, the expression patterns and co-expression network in which TaCCoAOMT is involved were comprehensively investigated using 48 RNA-seq samples from Fg infected and mock samples of 4 wheat genotypes. Combined with qRT-PCR validation of 11 Fg -responsive TaCCoAOMT genes, potential candidates involved in the FHB response and their regulation modules were preliminarily suggested. Additionally, we investigated the genetic diversity and main haplotypes of these CCoAOMT genes in bread wheat and its relative populations based on resequencing data. Conclusions This study identified and characterized the CCoAOMT family in wheat, which not only provided potential targets for further functional analysis, but also contributed to uncovering the mechanism of lignin biosynthesis and its role in FHB tolerance in wheat and beyond.

Background Patients with depression struggle with significant emotion regulation difficulties, which adversely affect their psychological well-being and hinder recovery. Traditional therapeutic approaches often fail to adequately address these challenges, leading to a persistent gap in effective mental health care. This research seeks to address this gap by investigating the impact of emotion regulation skills training on patients with depression. Aim To assess the difficulties in emotion regulation among patients with depression and evaluate the impact of an emotion regulation skills training intervention on those with higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties, specifically focusing on increasing the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies and reducing the use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. Method A quasi-experimental research design was utilized, using three tools: a socio-demographic and Clinical Data structured interview schedule, Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale, and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Eighty patients with depression were recruited to assess those with higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties; out of those with greater difficulties, 30 patients were chosen to participate in the emotion regulation skills training intervention. Result The 80 studied subjects' emotion regulation difficulties scores ranged from 158 to 169 (164.5 ± 3.21), and they indicated less use of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and more use of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (56.07 ± 2.67). Regarding the intervention group, the overall mean score of the 30 patients’ emotion regulation difficulties decreased from 167.35 ± 2.21 pre-intervention to 105.85 ± 3.33 post-intervention ( p  < 0.0001). Cognitive emotion regulation total scores improved markedly from 54.07 ± 1.66 to 35.2 ± 3.46 ( p  < 0.01). Implication Healthcare providers should routinely assess emotion regulation difficulties in patients with depression and integrate personalized treatment plans that target individual emotion regulation difficulties. Conclusion The findings suggest that the emotion regulation intervention has the potential to improve emotion regulation difficulties and cognitive emotion regulation strategies among patients with depression.

Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox), a well-known fragrant flowering shrub, is extensively planted for ornamental purpose and production of floral essential oil. Although the tepal color of wintersweet varieties exhibits the most remarkable diversity, variations in the floral scent traits are also noticeable across different cultivars. In this study, the floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in three wintersweet cultivars, ‘Yanlingsuxin’, ‘Yuxiang’, and ‘Hongyun’ were detected via GC–MS coupled with OAV. The distinct floral aromas of the three cultivars were primarily attributed to benzyl alcohol (abundant in ‘Yuxiang’), linalool (abundant in ‘Yanlingsuxin’), (−)-γ-cadinene and eugenol (abundant in ‘Hongyun’). Integrated analyses of metabolome and transcriptome showed that an R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene, CpODO1, potentially have a crucial regulatory function in controlling the production of multiple aroma compounds. Overexpression of CpODO1 can enhance the production of benzyl alcohol in transgenic tobacco flowers. Analysis of DAP-seq data, EMSA and dual-luciferase assay revealed that CpODO1 predominantly regulate the expression of CpCYP71, a cytochrome P450 gene encoding a key enzyme in the production of benzyl alcohol, and the transcriptional regulation of CpODO1 is driven by CpEOBII. The identification of polymorphisms in the MYB binding cis-motifs of CpCYP71 and CpODO1 promoters revealed the regulatory mechanism underlying the varied synthesis of benzyl alcohol in three wintersweet cultivars. This study provides new anchor points for floral scent quality improvement breeding of wintersweet, and the profusion of wintersweet germplasm can serve as a material basis for developing various aroma products.

The presence of stone cells in pear fruit, caused by lignified secondary cell walls (SCWs), leads to a grainy texture in the fruit flesh, thereby compromising its overall quality. Lignification is influenced by various environmental signals, including light, however the underlying mechanism are poorly understood. This study reveals that SCW thickening and lignin accumulation in stone cells were regulated by a blue light signal, mediated through the activation of PbNSC by PbbHLH195 . The results revealed that the stone cell formation was prompted by supplementary with blue light, with lignin accumulation linked to the upregulation of the NAC STONE CELL PROMOTING FACTOR ( PbNSC ). PbbHLH195 was identified as a novel molecular hub connecting lignification to blue light signal through its physical interaction with PbCRY1a. The biochemical and functional analysis indicates that PbbHLH195 contributes to stone cell lignification by activating the promoter of PbNSC . Our findings offer novel insights into the mechanisms of lignin biosynthesis in response to blue light, identifying valuable genetic targets for enhancing the fruit quality of pear.

It is traditionally difficult to implement fast and accurate position regulation on an industrial robot in the presence of uncertainties. The uncertain factors can be attributed either to the industrial robot itself (e.g., a mismatch of dynamics, mechanical defects such as backlash, etc.) or to the external environment (e.g., calibration errors, misalignment or perturbations of a workpiece, etc.). This paper proposes a systematic approach to implement high-performance position regulation under uncertainties on a general industrial robot (referred to as the main robot) with minimal or no manual teaching. The method is based on a coarse-to-fine strategy that involves configuring an add-on module for the main robot’s end effector. The add-on module consists of a 1000 Hz vision sensor and a high-speed actuator to compensate for accumulated uncertainties. The main robot only focuses on fast and coarse motion, with its trajectories automatically planned by image information from a static low-cost camera. Fast and accurate peg-and-hole alignment in one dimension was implemented as an application scenario by using a commercial parallel-link robot and an add-on compensation module with one degree of freedom (DoF). Experimental results yielded an almost 100% success rate for fast peg-in-hole manipulation (with regulation accuracy at about 0.1 mm) when the workpiece was randomly placed.

An improved Fourier analysis and wavelet transform revealed a large-scale periodicity in the locations of sites with a characteristic local AT–GC composition in the nucleotide sequences of Drosophila early developmental genes. A localization of periodic locus sections indicated that they predominantly occur in transcription regulation modules (enhancers). The period lengths observed in ranges of 80–85, 165–180, and 330–400 nt agree well with the lengths typical of the nucleosomal level of chromatin organization. The harmonic periods in a range of 600–750 nt are approximately four nucleosomal repeats and are close to the minimum enhancer length typical of the Drosophila genome.

Interspecies alignment of homologous nucleotide sequences at gene loci controlling the early development of Drosophila has resulted in identification of conserved domains that range in length from 30 to 70 nucleotides and are, in this respect, intermediate between transcription factor binding sites (usually about 7–10 nt) and nucleosome repeat units (165–210 nt). These domains are located mainly in the region of known functional elements ( cis -regulatory modules) of the locus (enhancers, the proximal promoter, and the coding segment). Taken together, they occupy no more than half of total enhancer length but contain the absolute majority of annotated binding sites for transcription factors. Their distribution has a quasi-periodic pattern that agrees well with the pattern of experimental localization of nucleosomes. The distance between neighboring domains is about 84 nt, which is equivalent to the pitch of the nucleosomal DNA superhelix. This regularity allows the identified conserved domains to be regarded as “cophased blocks” that are spatially converged due to location in the neighboring coils of the nucleosome DNA superhelix.

The organization of eukaryotic genomes can be divided primarily into two regions, those areas that are transcribed and those that regulate transcription. This thesis focuses on improving our understanding of cis-regulatory modules and how they direct transcription. To address this issue we used the Drosophila melanogaster yan gene as our model. The yan gene encodes a general inhibitor of differentiation and proliferation and is expressed dynamically throughout Drosophila development including oogenesis, embryogenesis and the larval central nervous system (CNS) and eye imaginal disc. We were interested in identifying module elements required for these various stages of expression. In this work we describe analysis of a 20 Kb genomic region surrounding the first exon of the yan gene. We show that discrete parts of this genomic region are responsible for specific subportions of the Yan protein expression pattern. In particular, we isolated a 122 by fragment that is sufficient to specify yan expression within the developing eye. In this eye-specific enhancer we identified a number of elements critical to directing yan expression including a boundary element associated with insulator activity. One such regulatory element requires Su(H), a component of the Notch pathway, for gene transcription. Experimental data also demonstrated that this activation by the Notch pathway can be negatively modulated by receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling. Pointed, a nuclear target of the RTK pathway, is able to directly bind to the yan enhancer and compete with Su(H) for DNA binding. This is one of the first instances where these two pathways have been shown to interact directly in an antagonistic manner. In summary, this work not only describes the various genomic components necessary for Yan expression throughout development but also provides a mechanism for regulation of yan transcription during eye development.

Summary Stalk rot caused by Fusarium verticillioides (Fv) is one of the most destructive diseases in maize production. The defence response of root system to Fv invasion is important for plant growth and development. Dissection of root cell type‐specific response to Fv infection and its underlying transcription regulatory networks will aid in understanding the defence mechanism of maize roots to Fv invasion. Here, we reported the transcriptomes of 29 217 single cells derived from root tips of two maize inbred lines inoculated with Fv and mock condition, and identified seven major cell types with 21 transcriptionally distinct cell clusters. Through the weighted gene co‐expression network analysis, we identified 12 Fv‐responsive regulatory modules from 4049 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were activated or repressed by Fv infection in these seven cell types. Using a machining‐learning approach, we constructed six cell type‐specific immune regulatory networks by integrating Fv‐induced DEGs from the cell type‐specific transcriptomes, 16 known maize disease‐resistant genes, five experimentally validated genes (ZmWOX5b, ZmPIN1a, ZmPAL6, ZmCCoAOMT2, and ZmCOMT), and 42 QTL or QTN predicted genes that are associated with Fv resistance. Taken together, this study provides not only a global view of maize cell fate determination during root development but also insights into the immune regulatory networks in major cell types of maize root tips at single‐cell resolution, thus laying the foundation for dissecting molecular mechanisms underlying disease resistance in maize.