ABSTRACT Introduction: A weak venous wall is one of the major reasons contributing to vein graft failure after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We investigated whether adventitial collagen cross-linking by glutaraldehyde reinforces venous wall, preserving the endothelium of veins during high-pressure distention. Methods: Human saphenous veins (SVs) were collected from 40 patients undergoing CABG, and adventitia cross-linking was performed with 0.3% glutaraldehyde for five minutes. The cross-linked SVs were accessed by biodegradation assay, immunofluorescent staining, and tensile test. Native SVs and cross-linked SVs from another 20 patients received the 200 mmHg pressure distention for two minutes. Pressure-induced injury of SVs were accessed by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Results: Time to digestion was 97±13 minutes for native SVs and 720±0 minutes for cross-linked SVs (P<0.05). After adventitial cross-linking, the collagen I fibres of the vein remarkably presented with compact and nonporous arrangement. In the high-stretch region (stretch ratio 1.4-1.8), the Young’s elastic modulus of stress-stretch ratio curve in cross-linked SVs was larger than that in native SVs (13.88 vs. 5.83, P<0.05). The cross-linked SVs had a lower extent of endothelial denudation without fibre fracture during high-pressure distension than native SVs. Comparing with the non-cross-linked SVs, the percentage of endothelial nitric oxide synthase staining length on the endothelium of cross-linked SVs was significantly preserved after high-pressure distension (85.2% vs. 64.7%, P<0.05). Conclusion: Adventitial collagen cross-linking by glutaraldehyde reinforced venous wall by increasing stiffness and decreasing extensibility of SVs and mitigated the endothelial damage under high-pressure distension. Introduction CABG. CABG . (CABG) crosslinking cross linking highpressure high Methods (SVs 4 03 0 3 0.3 crosslinked linked assay test 2 Pressureinduced Pressure induced microscopy Results 9713 97 13 97±1 7200 720 720± P<0.05. P005 P P<0.05 05 (P<0.05) crosslinking, linking, arrangement highstretch stretch 1.41.8, 1418 1.4 1.8 , 1 8 1.4-1.8) Youngs Young s stressstretch stress 13.88 1388 88 (13.8 vs 583 5 83 5.83 P<0.05) noncrosslinked non 85.2% 852 85 (85.2 647 64 7 64.7% Conclusion (CABG 0. 971 9 97± 72 P00 P<0.0 (P<0.05 41 1.41.8 141 14 1. 18 1.4-1.8 13.8 138 (13. 58 5.8 85.2 (85. 6 64.7 P0 P<0. (P<0.0 1.41. 1.4-1. 13. (13 5. 85. (85 64. P<0 (P<0. 1.41 1.4-1 (1 (8 P< (P<0 1.4- ( (P< (P

Abstract At present, the phenomenon of elastoplastic coupling isn’t considered in establishing the mechanics model of the milled mixture of sugar cane. In order to describe elastoplastic coupling and yield characteristics, based on uniaxial confined compression tests and direct shear tests, the evolution of the elastic parameters of the solid fiber with void ratio and the plastic deformation, and the plastic mechanics behavior of the solid fiber is described by Modified Drucker-Prager Cap model, the expressions of the parameters of the plastic mechanics model are derived and the corresponding parameters are calculated; and the elastoplastic coupling mechanics model is established. The evolution of the parameters of the model is achieved by the custom subroutine written in Fortran, the numerical simulation of the elastoplastic coupling model is realized by ABAQUS. The results of uniaxial confined compression tests and finite element simulation show that the elastoplastic coupling mechanics model is more accurate than the non-elastoplastic coupling mechanics model to predict the axial pressure. The results provide an important reference for the analysis and understanding of the milling process of sugar cane and the establishment of an accurate mathematical model of the milled mixture of sugar cane.

Abstract The plant genes encoding ABCGs that have been identified to date play a role in suberin formation in response to abiotic and biotic stress. In the present study, 80 ABCG genes were identified in ‘Dangshansuli’ Chinese white pear and designated as PbABCGs. Based on the structural characteristics and phylogenetic analysis, the PbABCG family genes could be classified into seven main groups: classes A-G. Segmental and dispersed duplications were the primary forces underlying the PbABCG gene family expansion in ‘Dangshansuli’ pear. Most of the PbABCG duplicated gene pairs date to the recent whole-genome duplication that occurred 30~45 million years ago. Purifying selection has also played a critical role in the evolution of the ABCG genes. Ten PbABCG genes screened in the transcriptome of ‘Dangshansuli’ pear and its russet mutant ‘Xiusu’ were validated, and the expression levels of the PbABCG genes exhibited significant differences at different stages. The results presented here will undoubtedly be useful for better understanding of the complexity of the PbABCG gene family and will facilitate the functional characterization of suberin formation in the russet mutant.