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Key message: Extensive and comprehensive phenotypic data from a maize RIL population under both low- and normal-Pi treatments were used to conduct QTL mapping. Additionally, we integrated parental resequencing data from the RIL population, GWAS results, and transcriptome data to identify candidate genes associated with low-Pi stress in maize. Phosphorus (Pi) is one of the essential nutrients that greatly affect the maize yield. However, the genes underlying the QTL controlling maize low-Pi response remain largely unknown. In this study, a total of 38 traits at both seedling and maturity stages were evaluated under low- and normal-Pi conditions using a RIL population constructed from X178 (tolerant) and 9782 (sensitive), and most traits varied significantly between low- and normal-Pi treatments. Twenty-nine QTLs specific to low-Pi conditions were identified after excluding those with common intervals under both low- and normal-Pi conditions. Furthermore, 45 additional QTLs were identified based on the index value ((Trait_under_LowPi–Trait_under_NormalPi)/Trait_under_NormalPi) of each trait. These 74 QTLs collectively were classified as Pi-dependent QTLs. Additionally, 39 Pi-dependent QTLs were clustered in nine HotspotQTLs. The Pi-dependent QTL interval contained 19,613 unique genes, 6,999 of which exhibited sequence differences with non-synonymous mutation sites between X178 and 9782. Combined with in silico GWAS results, 277 consistent candidate genes were identified, with 124 genes located within the HotspotQTL intervals. The transcriptome analysis revealed that 21 genes, including the Pi transporter ZmPT7 and the strigolactones pathway-related gene ZmPDR1, exhibited consistent low-Pi stress response patterns across various maize inbred lines or tissues. It is noteworthy that ZmPDR1 in maize roots can be sharply up-regulated by low-Pi stress, suggesting its potential importance as a candidate gene for responding to low-Pi stress through the strigolactones pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for plant growth, and its deficiency can cause decreased crop yield. This study systematically evaluated the low-phosphate (Pi) response traits in a large population at maturity and seedling stages, and explored candidate genes and their interrelationships with specific traits. The results revealed a greater sensitivity of seedling maize to low-Pi stress compared to that at maturity stage. The phenotypic response patterns to low-Pi stress at different stages were independent. Chlorophyll content was found to be a potential indicator for screening low-Pi-tolerant materials in the field. A total of 2900 and 1446 significantly associated genes at the maturity and seedling stages were identified, respectively. Among these genes, 972 were uniquely associated with maturity traits, while 330 were specifically detected at the seedling stage under low-Pi stress. Moreover, 768 and 733 genes were specifically associated with index values (low-Pi trait/normal-Pi trait) at maturity and seedling stage, respectively. Genetic network diagrams showed that the low-Pi response gene Zm00001d022226 was specifically associated with multiple primary P-related traits under low-Pi conditions. A total of 963 out of 2966 genes specifically associated with traits under low-Pi conditions or index values were found to be induced by low-Pi stress. Notably, ZmSPX4.1 and ZmSPX2 were sharply up-regulated in response to low-Pi stress across different lines or tissues. These findings advance our understanding of maize’s response to low-Pi stress at different developmental stages, shedding light on the genes and pathways implicated in this response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the connection between P and starch-related signals can help elucidate the balance between nutrients and yield. This study utilized 307 diverse maize inbred lines to conduct multi-year and multi-plot trials, aiming to explore the relationship among P content, starch content, and 100-kernel weight (HKW) of mature grains. A significant negative correlation was found between P content and both starch content and HKW, while starch content showed a positive correlation with HKW. The starch granules in grains with high-P and low-starch content (HPLS) were significantly smaller compared to grains with low-P high-starch content (LPHS). Additionally, mian04185-4 (HPLS) exhibited irregular and loosely packed starch granules. A significant decrease in ZmPHOs genes expression was detected in the HPLS line ZNC442 as compared to the LPHS line SCML0849, while no expression difference was observed in AGPase encoding genes between these two lines. The down-regulated genes in ZNC442 grains were enriched in nucleotide sugar and fatty acid anabolic pathways, while up-regulated genes were enriched in the ABC transporters pathway. An accelerated breakdown of fat as the P content increased was also observed. This implied that HPLS was resulted from elevated lipid decomposition and inadequate carbon sources. The GWAS analysis identified 514 significantly associated genes, out of which 248 were differentially expressed. Zm00001d052392 was found to be significantly associated with P content/HKW, exhibiting high expression in SCML0849 but almost no expression in ZNC442. Overall, these findings suggested new approaches for achieving a P-yield balance through the manipulation of lipid metabolic pathways in grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Chromatin in eukaryotes folds into a complex three‐dimensional (3D) structure that is essential for controlling gene expression and cellular function and is dynamically regulated in biological processes. Studies on plant phosphorus signaling have concentrated on single genes and gene interactions. It is critical to expand the existing signaling pathway in terms of its 3D structure. In this study, low‐Pi treatment led to greater chromatin volume. Furthermore, low‐Pi stress increased the insulation score and the number of TAD‐like domains, but the effects on the A/B compartment were not obvious. The methylation levels of target sites (hereafter as RdDM levels) peaked at specific TAD‐like boundaries, whereas RdDM peak levels at conserved TAD‐like boundaries shifted and decreased sharply. The distribution pattern of RdDM sites originating from the Helitron transposons matched that of genome‐wide RdDM sites near TAD‐like boundaries. RdDM pathway genes were upregulated in the middle or early stages and downregulated in the later stages under low‐Pi conditions. The RdDM pathway mutant ddm1a showed increased tolerance to low‐Pi stress, with shortened and thickened roots contributing to higher Pi uptake from the shallow soil layer. ChIP‐seq results revealed that ZmDDM1A could bind to Pi‐ and root development‐related genes. Strong associations were found between interacting genes in significantly different chromatin‐interaction regions and root traits. These findings not only expand the mechanisms by which plants respond to low‐Pi stress through the RdDM pathway but also offer a crucial framework for the analysis of biological issues using 3D genomics. Significance Statement: This study is a pioneering study in the field of plant nutrient utilization. For the first time, this study discovered that the plant's low‐Pi response was closely linked to the RdDM pathway and chromatin spatial structure, and the low‐Pi response was validated by a mutant of chromatin remodeling gene ZmDDM1a (RdDM pathway gene). In addition, the results of ChIP‐seq and multi‐point GWAS for 2 years revealed the interaction of a large number of candidate genes related to Pi and roots with ZmDDM1A. We believe that the results presented in this article will have a great influence in this field and will be concerned and cited by many researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At this stage, brain health can be directly expressed in the human hand posture estimation. Therefore, model estimation of healthy human hand posture can also be used as a criterion for brain health. The recognition algorithm of healthy human hand gesture based on global feature extraction of depth map sequence is not enough to analyze the motion correlation of healthy human hand posture, which leads to the need to improve the accuracy of human body hand gesture description and the change of movement speed of robustness. After analyzing the characteristics of healthy human hand movement in detail, this paper proposes a hand posture decomposition algorithm based on depth map sequence. The goal is to find information that plays a key role in hand gesture recognition in the depth map sequence. The algorithm can remove redundant information and improve the robustness of the recognition algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Nanodiamond-based sp2/sp3 hybrid nanostructure is synthesized. • Atomic Cu is dispersed on ND-900. • Cu on ND-900 displays a main appearance of Cu(0)/Cu(I) state. • Cu/ND-900 displays an improved activity during its catalyzation. Abstract In this work, a nanodiamond-based sp2/sp3 hybrid nanostructure composed of a nanodiamond (ND) core and sp2 surfaces was fabricated for supporting Cu single atoms as a catalyst for selective hydrogenation of phenylacetylene. Cu supported on ND after annealing at 900 °C (Cu/ND-900) showed improved activity in comparison to the catalyst of Cu supported on pristine ND (Cu/PND). Surface analyses reveal that Cu single atoms display a high dispersion and an appearance of Cu(0)/Cu(I) surface state when supported on ND-900. Our work indicates a possibility of utilizing hybrid carbon structures with tunable sp2/sp3 ratios for approaching improved-performance catalyst system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Inorganic phosphorus (Pi) is an essential element in numerous metabolic reactions and signaling pathways, but the molecular details of these pathways remain largely unknown. In this study, metabolite profiles of maize (Zea mays L.) leaves and roots were compared between six low‐Pi‐sensitive lines and six low‐Pi‐tolerant lines under Pi‐sufficient and Pi‐deficient conditions to identify pathways and genes associated with the low‐Pi stress response. Results showed that under Pi deprivation the concentrations of nucleic acids, organic acids and sugars were increased, but that the concentrations of phosphorylated metabolites, certain amino acids, lipid metabolites and nitrogenous compounds were decreased. The levels of secondary metabolites involved in plant immune reactions, including benzoxazinoids and flavonoids, were significantly different in plants grown under Pi‐deficient conditions. Among them, the 11 most stable metabolites showed significant differences under low‐ and normal‐Pi conditions based on the coefficient of variation (CV). Isoleucine and alanine were the most stable metabolites for the identification of Pi‐sensitive and Pi‐resistant maize inbred lines. With the significant correlation between morphological traits and metabolites, five low‐Pi‐responding consensus genes associated with morphological traits and simultaneously involved in metabolic pathways were mined by combining metabolites profiles and genome‐wide association study (GWAS). The consensus genes induced by Pi deficiency in maize seedlings were also validated by reverse‐transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). Moreover, these genes were further validated in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, in which the glucose‐6‐phosphate‐1‐epimerase encoding gene mediated yield and correlated traits to phosphorus availability. Together, our results provide a framework for understanding the metabolic processes underlying Pi‐deficient responses and give multiple insights into improving the efficiency of Pi use in maize. Significance statement: Metabolite profiling and GWAS were applied to reveal maize low‐Pi response mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel photochemical method coupled with microfluidic technology was proposed. • Highly dispersed Ru/TiO 2 catalyst enabled to be obtained within only 1 min. • An enhanced mass transfer can be achieved during the preparation process. • A strong interaction between Ru and TiO 2 resulted in more spillover hydrogen. • Hydrocarbon content in lignin-oil increased from 6.7% to 69.5% after HDO. An ultrafast preparation method that coupled the photochemical method with the microfluidic technology to synthesize the highly dispersed Ru/TiO 2 catalyst within only 1 min was proposed. This method had an enhanced electron excitation and a high electron transfer efficiency during the preparation process due to the small dimension of the microchannel, which enabled to shorten the preparation time greatly. Much higher metal reduction efficiency was obtained than that of the single photochemical method, and a high Ru metal dispersion on the TiO 2 surface can be achieved. Moreover, a strong interaction between the metal site and the support was formed, resulting in more spillover hydrogen. This Ru/TiO 2 catalyst presented a high activity on the HDO of phenolic compounds. Guaiacol was converted into cyclohexane with 97.6 % selectivity at 260 °C. The raw lignin-oil also can be upgraded efficiently, with the hydrocarbon content increased from 6.7 % to 69.4 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is the most important macronutrient for plant growth and development. Hence, understanding genetic architectures and functional genes involved in the response to N deficiency can greatly facilitate the development of low-N-tolerant cultivars. In this study, we collected 212 quantitative trait loci (QTL) of agronomically important traits under low-N stress conditions in maize. We then identified 21 consensus QTL (cQTL) strongly induced for low-N tolerance after excluding overlapping cQTL containing QTL simultaneously identified in meta-analyses of studies performed under other environmental conditions. Among the 21 cQTL, 30 candidate maize genes were identified from maize large-scale differential expression data derived from analyses of low-N stress, and the 12 most important maize orthologs were identified using homologous BLAST analyses of genes with known functions in N use efficiency in model plants. Furthermore, maize orthologs associated with low-N tolerance and metabolism were also predicted using large-scale expression data from other model plants. The present genetic loci and candidate genes indicate the molecular mechanisms of low-N tolerance in maize and may provide information for QTL fine mapping and molecular marker-assisted selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ru/C-HPW catalyst was employed in HDO of lignin-derived compounds. • A higher reaction rate and a good recyclability were exhibited. • Synergistic effect of active metal–acid sites resulted in a high catalytic activity. • Phenolic monomers and dimers were converted into hydrocarbons under mild condition. • Hydrocarbon content in lignin-oil increased from 5.5% to 78.9% after HDO. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is an indispensable reaction in the field of fuel and chemical production, and the synergistic effect of metal–acid sites in the catalyst makes great influence to it. Herein, a bifunctional catalyst of Ru/C combined with phosphotungstic acid (HPW) was employed for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived compounds to make full use of the synergistic effect of active metal–acid sites. HPW possessed a temperature-controlled phase-transfer behavior, which made it dispersed well on the surface of Ru/C catalyst and resulted in a close integration of acid site with metal site. Ru/C-HPW catalyst also owned the advantage of high reaction rate and good recyclability, which exhibited no obvious catalytic activity loss after 5 runs. Lignin-derived phenolic compounds including monomers and dimers enabled to obtain an efficient transformation to cycloalkanes at the temperature of 200 °C. Moreover, a high HDO reaction efficiency of raw lignin-oil was also observed in this study, with the increasing hydrocarbon content from 5.5% to 78.9%. This novel catalytic system can achieve a high HDO efficiency under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar is a promising support to prepare metal-based catalysts due to its large surface area and special porous structure. This work proposed a novel Ru-based biochar catalyst by using KCl and melamine as templates to produce micro-mesoporous structure and realize N-doping at the same time. The prepared Ru/NMC catalyst showed a good hydrogenolysis performance of cornstalk lignin in supercritical ethanol. A series of catalyst characterizations were carried out to reveal the effects of micro-mesoporous structure and N-doping on the lignin hydrogenolysis. The micro-mesoporous structure led to a large surface area, which favored the dispersion of metal site and facilitated the mass transfer and diffusion during lignin hydrogenolysis, while the N-doping formed abundant edge N atoms, which promoted the interaction and the electron transfer between the loaded Ru and the support. These two crucial factors synergistically improved the lignin hydrogenolysis, with 31.2 wt% monomer yield at the reaction temperature of 260 °C. • A novel Ru-based biochar catalyst was prepared with KCl and melamine templates. • Ru/NMC catalyst showed a good hydrogenolysis performance of cornstalk lignin. • Ru/NMC catalyst obtained a high yield of phenolic monomer products. • The effect of micro-mesoporous structure and N-doping was the crucial factor. • The electron transfer between Ru and support can activate the metal site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of sensor technology and artificial intelligence, the video gesture recognition technology under the background of big data makes human‐computer interaction more natural and flexible, bringing richer interactive experience to teaching, on‐board control, electronic games, etc. In order to perform robust recognition under the conditions of illumination change, background clutter, rapid movement, partial occlusion, an algorithm based on multi‐level feature fusion of two‐stream convolutional neural network is proposed, which includes three main steps. Firstly, the Kinect sensor obtains RGB‐D images to establish a gesture database. At the same time, data enhancement is performed on training and test sets. Then, a model of multi‐level feature fusion of two‐stream convolutional neural network is established and trained. Experiments result show that the proposed network model can robustly track and recognize gestures, and compared with the single‐channel model, the average detection accuracy is improved by 1.08%, and mean average precision (mAP) is improved by 3.56%. The average recognition rate of gestures under occlusion and different light intensity was 93.98%. Finally, in the ASL dataset, LaRED dataset, and 1‐miohand dataset, recognition accuracy shows satisfactory performances compared to the other method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We theoretically propose a novel scheme to implement two types of optical differentiators using all-optical phase modulation and linear filtering. Differences between the two differentiators rely on whether the differentiated signals are formed on the optical intensity or optical field of the output signal, which in turns depends on the relative shift between the probe wavelength and the closest notches of a linear filter. A proof-of-concept experiment is carried out using a semiconductor optical amplifier and a fiber-based delay interferometer (DI). Both differentiators are obtained for periodical Gaussian pulses and pseudo random non-return-to-zero signals at various data rates. Defined as the mean absolute deviation of the measured waveform from the ideal one, total average errors of less than 18% are observed in all cases. The impact of probe wavelength on the total average errors is investigated. Due to periodical feature of the DI spectrum, we also demonstrate the capability of multi-channel differentiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] Vaccine administration by subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is the most commonly prescribed route for inoculation, however, it is often associated with some deficiencies such as low compliance, high professionalism, and risk of infection. Therefore, the application of microneedles for vaccine delivery has gained widespread interests in the past few years due to its high compliance, minimal invasiveness, and convenience. This review focuses on recent advances in the development and application of microneedles for vaccination based on different delivery strategies, and introduces the current status of microneedle-mediated vaccination in clinical translation. The prospects for its application including opportunities and challenges are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A binary catalyst of H 2 WO 4 and Ru/C was used in HDO of phenolic compounds. • A temperature-controlled phase-transfer behavior of H 2 WO 4 was showed. • A high reaction efficiency and exceptional recyclability were achieved. • The catalyst also exhibited an efficient HDO performance of raw lignin-oil. • Hydrocarbon content in lignin-oil increased to 99.3% from 7.1% after upgrade. An effective binary catalyst by using tungstic acid (H 2 WO 4) and Ru/C was employed for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenolic compounds and raw lignin-oil. H 2 WO 4 was presented as solid at ambient temperature, but it dissolved at high temperature above 100 °C and therefore functioned as an active homogeneous catalyst. This phenomenon resulted in a temperature-controlled phase-transfer behavior in the HDO of phenolic compounds. An efficient HDO performance and an exceptional reusability for guaiacol HDO were presented by this bifunctional catalyst, which can be reused more than 10 times with guaiacol conversion and cyclohexane selectivity over 90%. The comparison of traditional liquid organic and mineral acids, as well as solid acids, with H 2 WO 4 confirmed the outstanding catalytic performance of H 2 WO 4 and highlighted the advantages of H 2 WO 4 as a homogeneous catalyst. Besides guaiacol, other phenolic compounds including various monomers and dimers all exhibited good HDO results, with 100% conversion and cycloalkanes selectivity. Moreover, the raw lignin-oil can be efficiently deoxygenated under the catalysis of this bifunctional catalyst. 99.3% content of hydrocarbons was obtained in the upgraded lignin-oil, which was promising to be used as fuel directly. This catalytic system has great potential for the industrial application of lignin-oil upgrade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery and characterization of the opaque endosperm gene provide ideas and resources for the production and application of maize. We found an o213 mutant whose phenotype was opaque and shrunken endosperm with semi-dwarf plant height. The protein, lipid, and starch contents in the o213 endosperm were significantly decreased, while the free amino acid content in the o213 endosperm significantly increased. The aspartic acid, asparagine, and lysine contents were raised in the o213 endosperm by 6.5-, 8.5-, and 1.7-fold, respectively. Genetic analysis showed that this o213 mutant is a recessive single-gene mutation. The position mapping indicated that o213 is located in a 468-kb region that contains 11 protein-encoding genes on the long arm of chromosome 5. The coding sequence analysis of candidate genes between the WT and o213 showed that ZmYSL2 had only a single-base substitution (A–G) in the fifth exon, which caused methionine substitution to valine. Sequence analysis and the allelic test showed that o213 is a new mutant allele of ZmYSL2. The qRT-PCR results indicated that o213 is highly expressed in the stalks and anthers. Subcellular localization studies showed that o213 is a membrane transporter. In the variation analysis of o213, the amplification of 65 inbred lines in GWAS showed that this 3-bp deletion of the first exon of o213 was found only in temperate inbred lines, implying that the gene was artificially affected in the selection process. Our results suggest that o213 is an important endosperm development gene and may serve as a genetic resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the realm of dental material innovation, this study pioneers the incorporation of tung oil into polyurea coatings, setting a new precedent for enhancing self-healing functionality and durability. Originating from an ancient practice, tung oil is distinguished by its outstanding water resistance and microbial barrier efficacy. By synergizing it with polyurea, we developed coatings that unite mechanical strength with biological compatibility. The study notably quantifies self-healing efficiency, highlighting the coatings' exceptional capacity to mend physical damages and thwart microbial incursions. Findings confirm that tung oil markedly enhances the self-repair capabilities of polyurea, leading to improved wear resistance and the inhibition of microbial growth, particularly against Streptococcus mutans, a principal dental caries pathogen. These advancements not only signify a leap forward in dental material science but also suggest a potential redefinition of dental restorative practices aimed at prolonging the lifespan of restorations and optimizing patient outcomes. Although this study lays a substantial foundation for the utilization of natural oils in the development of medical-grade materials, it also identifies the critical need for comprehensive cytotoxicity assays. Such evaluations are essential to thoroughly assess the biocompatibility and the safety profile of these innovative materials for clinical application. Future research will concentrate on this aspect, ensuring that the safety and efficacy of the materials align with clinical expectations for dental restorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in essential biological processes. However, our understanding of lncRNAs as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and their responses to nitrogen stress is still limited. Results: Here, we surveyed the lncRNAs and miRNAs in maize inbred line P178 leaves and roots at the seedling stage under high-nitrogen (HN) and low-nitrogen (LN) conditions using lncRNA-Seq and small RNA-Seq. A total of 894 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 38 different miRNAs were identified. Co-expression analysis found that two lncRNAs and four lncRNA-targets could competitively combine with ZmmiR159 and ZmmiR164, respectively. To dissect the genetic regulatory by which lncRNAs might enable adaptation to limited nitrogen availability, an association mapping panel containing a high-density single–nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array (56,110 SNPs) combined with variable LN tolerant-related phenotypes obtained from hydroponics was used for a genome-wide association study (GWAS). By combining GWAS and RNA-Seq, 170 differently expressed lncRNAs within the range of significant markers were screened. Moreover, 40 consistently LN-responsive genes including those involved in glutamine biosynthesis and nitrogen acquisition in root were identified. Transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated that LNC_002923 could inhabit ZmmiR159-guided cleavage of Zm00001d015521. Conclusions: These lncRNAs containing trait-associated significant SNPs could consider to be related to root development and nutrient utilization. Taken together, the results of our study can provide new insights into the potential regulatory roles of lncRNAs in response to LN stress, and give valuable information for further screening of candidates as well as the improvement of maize resistance to LN stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of sensor technology and artificial intelligence, the video gesture recognition technology under the background of big data makes human–computer interaction more natural and flexible, bringing the richer interactive experience to teaching, on‐board control, electronic games etc. To perform robust recognition under the conditions of illumination change, background clutter, rapid movement, and partial occlusion, an algorithm based on multi‐level feature fusion of two‐stream convolutional neural network is proposed, which includes three main steps. Firstly, the Kinect sensor obtains red–green–blue‐depth (RGB‐D) images to establish a gesture database. At the same time, data enhancement is performed on the training set and test set. Then, a model of multi‐level feature fusion of a two‐stream convolutional neural network is established and trained. Experiments show that the proposed network model can robustly track and recognise gestures under complex backgrounds (such as similar complexion, illumination changes, and occlusion), and compared with the single‐channel model, the average detection accuracy is improved by 1.08%, and mean average precision is improved by 3.56%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of sensor technology and artificial intelligence, the video gesture recognition technology under the background of big data makes human–computer interaction more natural and flexible, bringing the richer interactive experience to teaching, on-board control, electronic games etc. To perform robust recognition under the conditions of illumination change, background clutter, rapid movement, and partial occlusion, an algorithm based on multi-level feature fusion of two-stream convolutional neural network is proposed, which includes three main steps. Firstly, the Kinect sensor obtains red–green–blue-depth (RGB-D) images to establish a gesture database. At the same time, data enhancement is performed on the training set and test set. Then, a model of multi-level feature fusion of a two-stream convolutional neural network is established and trained. Experiments show that the proposed network model can robustly track and recognise gestures under complex backgrounds (such as similar complexion, illumination changes, and occlusion), and compared with the single-channel model, the average detection accuracy is improved by 1.08%, and mean average precision is improved by 3.56%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Mining for Low-Nitrogen Tolerance Genes by Integrating Meta-Analysis and Large-Scale Gene Expression Data From Maize" by Bowen Luo et al. that was published in a 2015 issue is presented.

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to identify sterility-related variants in a Chinese pedigree with male infertility and to reveal the different phenotypes and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes of the affected members. Methods: Physical examinations were performed on male patients. G-band karyotype analysis, copy number variation sequencing, and quantitative fluorescent PCR were conducted to detect common chromosomal disorders in the probands. Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were applied to identify the pathogenic genes and the protein expression changes caused by the very mutation were identified by Western Blot in vitro. Results: A novel nonsense mutation (c.908C > G: p.S303*) in the ADGRG2 was identified in all infertile male patients of the pedigree, which was inherited from their mothers. This variant was absent from the human genome databases. This mutation was also unexpectedly found in a male member with normal reproductive capability. Members with the mutation had different genitalia phenotypes, ranging from normal to dilated phenotypes of the vas deferens, spermatic veins and epididymis. There was a truncated ADGRG2 protein in vitro after mutation. Of the three patients' wives treated with ICSI, only one successfully gave birth. Conclusions: Our study is the first to report the c.908C > G: p.S303* mutation in the ADGRG2 in an X-linked azoospermia pedigree and is the first to report normal fertility in a member with this mutation, expanding the mutation spectrum and phenotype spectrum of this gene. In our study, ISCI had a success rate of only one-third in couples including men with azoospermia with this mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Non-noble bimetallic NiCo catalyst was proposed to conduct lignin hydrogenolysis. • 20.8 wt% yield of monomer products and 94.6% lignin liquefaction were obtained. • The catalytic performance of NiCo/C was much better than those of Ni/C and Co/C. • Synergetic effect between Ni and Co species promoted the catalytic activity. • NiCo/C had a superior hydrogen transformation ability and hydrogenolysis activity. Bimetallic catalyst gets increasing attention for the lignin valorization due to its outstanding catalytic activity. Herein, the non-noble bimetallic catalyst NiCo/C was proposed to conduct the hydrogenolysis of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin. 20.8 wt% yield of monomer products and 94.6% lignin liquefaction degree were obtained at the temperature of 260 °C, which was superior to the catalytic performances of Ni/C and Co/C catalysts. A series of catalyst characterizations were conducted to reveal the mechanism of bimetallic catalysis, including BET, XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and H 2 -TPD methods. Results showed that the synergistic effect between Ni and Co species was the main reason for its high catalytic activity, which resulted in a superior hydrogen transformation ability and hydrogenolysis activity. GC–MS, GPC, elemental analysis and FT-IR measurements were also used to investigate the hydrogenolysis products and the results also confirmed the superiority of bimetallic NiCo catalyst resulted from synergistic effect of Ni and Co. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymatic hydrolysis lignin is a kind of byproduct from the biorefinery process, and hydrogenolysis is a promising approach to valorize the lignin waste. This work proposed an efficient hydrogenolysis of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin over in situ prepared RuNi/C bimetallic catalyst. RuNi/C catalyst exhibited a much higher catalytic activity than Ru/C catalyst with the addition of Ni species. A series of characterizations were carried out to reveal the synergistic effect of the bimetallic catalyst. The results indicated that the interaction between Ru and Ni formed an electron transfer from Ru to Ni and resulted in intensified hydrogen adsorption, which was the crucial factor for the enhanced hydrogenolysis performance. The reaction condition of lignin hydrogenolysis was optimized, and 20.4 wt% monomer product yield was achieved at the temperature of 280 °C. This catalytic system is easy to realize and promising to be employed in the field of lignin utilization. • RuNi/C bimetallic catalyst was prepared during in situ hydrogenolysis process. • RuNi/C exhibited an efficient hydrogenolysis of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin. • 20.4 wt% monomer product yield enabled to achieve at the temperature of 280 °C. • The interaction between Ru and Ni formed an electron transfer from Ru to Ni. • The synergistic effect of RuNi resulted in intensified hydrogen adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphenol-protein complexes delivery systems are gaining attention for their potential health benefits and food industry development. However, creating an ideal delivery system requires extensive wet-lab experimentation. To address this, we collected 525 ligand-protein interaction data pairs and established an interaction prediction model using Bilinear Attention Networks. We utilized 10-fold cross validation to address potential overfitting issues in the model, resulting in showed higher average AUROC (0.8443), AUPRC (0.7872), and F1 (0.8164). The optimal threshold (0.3739) was selected for the model to be used for subsequent analysis. Based on the model prediction results and optimal threshold, by verifying experimental analysis, the interaction of paeonol with the following proteins was obtained, including bovine serum albumin (lgK a = 6.2759), bovine β-lactoglobulin (lgK a = 6.7479), egg ovalbumin (lgK a = 5.1806), zein (lgK a = 6.0122), bovine α-lactalbumin (lgK a = 3.9170), bovine lactoferrin (lgK a = 4.5380), the first four proteins are consistent with the predicted results of the model, with lgK a >5. The established model can accurately and rapidly predict the interaction of polyphenol-protein complexes. This study is the first to combine open ligand-protein interaction experiments with Deep Learning algorithms in the food industry, greatly improving research efficiency and providing a novel perspective for future complex delivery system construction. [Display omitted] • The first database specifically used to predict the interaction of polyphenol-protein was established. • The proposed prediction method has higher predictive performance than classical ML and DL models, predicting the interaction of polyphenol-protein, and some combinations have been experimentally validated. • The use of Bilinear Attention Networks provided a new perspective for the study of food-grade complexes delivery systems in silico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the demand for improving freeze-drying (FD) process efficiency and protecting product characteristics, intelligent and robust analysis of process parameters for drawing effective FD curves has become the development direction of modern FD process. In this study, a prompt and applicable prediction model of FD parameters was designed by FTIR associated with chemometrics. By using spectral preprocessing and principal component analysis, 34 feature wavenumbers were extracted as input variables for modeling to quantify FD parameters. Among the 18 parameter prediction models, artificial neural network was adopted as the optimum model for the temperature and time of pre-freezing and desorption stages (R2 = 0.91, 0.83, 0.92, 0.84, RMSE = 0.12, 0.13, 0.08, 0.10), and random forest was confirmed as the best model for the parameters of sublimation stage (R2 = 0.88, 0.77, RMSE = 0.13, 0.16). According to the model prediction, random samples were selected for verification that the experimental results were close to 96% agreement with the model output. • Machine-Learning-Driven FTIR Spectroscopy rapidly predicted freeze-drying curve. • The proposed key wavenumbers can be utilized to effectively characterize samples. • The combination of ANN and RF model had good prediction power in our study. • The proposed method can achieve more efficient and stable freeze-drying production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We propose and experimentally demonstrate a microwave photonic filter based on an electro-optic phase modulator (EOPM) and a Fabry–Pérot semiconductor optical amplifier (FP-SOA). A microwave photonic filter with a single passband between 0 and 40GHz is obtained. The center frequency, the −3dB bandwidth and the −30dB bandwidth of the microwave photonic filter are 18.3, 3.184 and 4.005GHz respectively. Correspondingly, the shape factor, which is defined as the ratio of the −30dB bandwidth to the −3dB bandwidth, is 1.26, and the Q factor, which is defined as the ratio of center frequency to the −3dB bandwidth of the microwave passband, is 5.75. The achieved microwave passband can be fitted by an 8th order super-Gaussian shape. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanism of seaweed polysaccharide (SWP) on intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction induced by E. coli in an IPEC‐J2 model. A preliminary study was done to screen optimum SWP concentrations by cell viability, cytotoxicity, apoptosis and proliferation evaluation. The regular study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of SWP against E. coli challenge via the analysis of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), tight junction proteins, NF‐κB signalling pathway, proinflammatory cytokines and the E. coli adhesion and invasion. Our results show that 4 h E. coli challenge down‐regulated tight junction proteins expression, decreased TEER, activated NF‐κB signalling pathway and increased proinflammatory response, which indicates that the E. coli infection model was well‐established. Pre‐treatment with 240 μg/ml SWP for 24 h alleviated the 4 h E. coli ‐induced intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction, as evidenced by the up‐regulated expression of Occludin, Claudin‐1 and ZO‐1 at both mRNA and protein level and the increased TEER of IPEC‐J2 cells. Pre‐incubation with 240 μg/ml SWP for 24 h inhibited the activation of the NF‐κB signalling pathway by 4 h E. coli challenge, including the decreased mRNA expression of TLR‐4, MyD88, IκBα, p‐65, as well as the reduced ratio of protein expression of p‐p65/p65. Also, pre‐treatment with 240 μg/ml SWP for 24 h decreased proinflammatory response (IL‐6 and TNF‐α) induced by 4 h E. coli challenge and decreased the E. coli adhesion and invasion. In conclusion, SWP mitigated intestinal barrier dysfunction caused by E. coli through NF‐κB pathway in IPEC‐J2 cells and 240 μg/ml SWP exhibited better effect. Our results also provide a fundamental basis for SWP in reducing post‐weaning diarrhoea of weaned piglets, especially under E. coli ‐infected or in‐feed antibiotic‐free conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Non-noble NiCu/C catalysts significantly enhanced the catalytic activity in lignin hydrogenolysis. • NiCu/C catalyst yields aromatic monomers and oligomers with an impressive 17.7 wt% and 74.7% respectively. • A synergy between Ni and Cu species in catalyst-enhanced H 2 adsorption, resulted in its remarkable catalytic performance. Bimetallic catalysts are widely favored for catalytic reactions due to their superior performance and cost-effectiveness. This study delves into the utilization of a non-noble bimetallic catalyst, NiCu/C, in the hydrogenolysis of lignin to yield valuable aromatic monomers. Under optimized temperature, this catalyst achieves an impressive 92.4% conversion of lignin into liquid products, yielding 17.7 wt% of monomers. These results outperform the performance of the monometallic catalysts (Ni/C and Cu/C). To gain insight into the detailed catalytic reaction mechanism, the catalysts underwent advanced characterization techniques such as N 2 physisorption, XRD, XPS, H 2 -TPR, and TEM, which provided information on their textural properties, structure, oxidation states, and more. The findings clearly highlight the significant role played by the synergistic interaction between Ni and Cu metallic species in bolstering the H 2 adsorption capacity, thereby resulting in elevated catalytic hydrogenolysis activity. Characterization of the lignin hydrogenolysis products was also conducted to understand the effects of bimetallic and monometallic catalysts. These findings align with the catalyst characterizations and lend further support to the significant enhancement in catalytic hydrogenolysis attributed to the synergistic impact of the NiCu/C catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus deficiency is one of the major factors limiting plant growth and grain yield. Improving plant tolerance to Pi deficiency through genetic mechanism is an important source to increase grain yield. In this study, bioinformatics analysis, expression, and natural variation in ZmNAC134 gene with low Pi tolerant traits were analyzed under low Pi conditions. A total of 177 diverse heterotic groups of maize inbreds were used to identify the nucleotide diversity and alleles of ZmNAC134, which plays a vital role in the regulation of root architecture in response to Pi deficiency evolutionary results showed that ZmNAC134 has 3 homologous genes and these genes have one exon and conserved domain. The phenotypic traits showed significant difference for each of the 22 traits under deficient and sufficient Pi conditions. A total of 27 SNPs were identified in the coding region of ZmNAC134 and no InDels among 177 inbred lines. Among 27 SNPs, a total of 8 sites were highly significantly associated with multiple traits of low Pi tolerant trait index at − log10 P = 3.43. Although, 7 sites under Pi normal and 9 sites under Pi deficient conditions, of which four synonymous sites (position S24, S82, S164, and S1037) were associated with diverse number of traits in low Pi and normal Pi conditions and LD was not tight among these sites. Furthermore, the expression pattern was compared between Pi tolerant 178 and Pi sensitive 9782 inbred lines. ZmNAC134 was highly up-regulated in the roots and leaves of Pi tolerant 178 inbred line at 3 days, 7 days, and 9 days in roots and 7 days and 12 days in leaves while down-regulated in roots and leaves of Pi sensitive 9782 inbred line. In addition, protein encoded by ZmNAC134 was located in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Our findings provide the new insight of ZmNAC134 gene involved in low Pi stress and responsible against low Pi condition and the significant association of polymorphic loci with traits could be helpful to find out the molecular marker for genetic resources for further molecular maize breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapies are commonly used to target remaining tumor niches after surgery of solid tumors but are restricted due to therapeutic resistance. Several pathways of radioresistance have been reported in various cancers. This study investigates the pivotal role of Nuclear factor-erythroid 2–related factor 2 (NRF2) in the activation of DNA damage repair in lung cancer cells after x-rays exposure. To explore the NRF2 activation after ionizing irradiations, this study uses a knockdown of NRF2, which shows potential DNA damage after x-rays irradiation in lung cancers. This work further shows that NRF2 knockdown disrupts damaged DNA repair by inhibiting DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit. At the same time, NRF2 knockdown by shRNA considerably disparate homologous recombination by interfering with Rad51 expression. Further investigation of the associated pathway reveals that NRF2 activation mediates DNA damage response via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway as the knockout of NRF2 directly enhances intracellular MAPK phosphorylation. Similarly, both N-acetylcysteineand constitutive knockout of NRF2 disrupt DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, while NRF2 knockout failed to upregulate Rad51 expression after irradiation in-vivo. Taken together, these findings advocate NRF2 plays a critical role in the development of radioresistance by upregulating DNA damage response via the MAPK pathway, which can be of great significance. • This study investigates the role of X-rays exposure derived NRF2 activation and radioresistance cancer. • To investigate hypothesis, knockdown of NRF2 is developed and ionizing radiation induced DNA damage is explored. • NRF2 transcription regulate DNA damage repair pathway via Rad51 in radioresistant carcinoma. • NRF2 Knockdown by ShRNA decreases Rad51 and hinders homologous recombination. • NRF2 activation mediates DNA damage repair through the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Highly dispersed RuFe catalyst is prepared by a facile and mild ethylene glycol reduction method. • Removal of methoxyl groups by hydrogenolysis is facilitated with the help of Fe promoter. • Ru-Fe 2 O 3 interaction improves the cyclohexanol selectivity in selective HDO reaction. Selective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenolic compounds derived from the pyrolysis lignin-oil to desired products is a promising route in the high-value utilization of biomass-derived products. Cyclohexanol, as one of the important chemical materials, is an intermediate of catalytic HDO of guaiacol. Controllable selective HDO is conducted to improve the cyclohexanol selectivity over RuFe bimetallic catalyst prepared by ethylene glycol reduction method in this work. 99.99% guaiacol conversion and 81.35% cyclohexanol selectivity are obtained over optimized 2Ru2.5Fe/Al 2 O 3 -EG catalyst, which is better than those over 2Ru/Al 2 O 3 -EG catalyst. The mild catalyst preparation method gives it a high dispersion and uniform distribution of Ru and Fe species on the support. Various characterizations have proved that the intimate contact between Ru and Fe 2 O 3 species contributes to the improvement of cyclohexanol selectivity. Partial blockage of Ru sites by Fe 2 O 3 species slightly reduces the hydrogen adsorption capacity while the addition of Fe helps enhancing the hydrogenolysis of C-OMe bond. The reciprocal effect facilitates the removal of methoxyl groups and hinders the dehydroxylation of cyclohexanol to cyclohexane. Besides, other phenolic compounds and pyrolysis lignin-oil as substrates also show good selective HDO reactivity to corresponding alkyl cyclohexanols, implying potential application in the transformation from lignin-oil to high-value products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, Pd nanoparticles supported on either holey graphene sheets incorporating boron oxides (Pd/BG) or unmodified holey graphene sheets (Pd/G) are prepared through a heat treatment and impregnation method. The synthesized Pd/BG and Pd/G are characterized by Raman, XRD, TEM, XPS and tested as electrocatalysts for formic acid electrooxidation. Pd/G shows sluggish activity towards HCOOH oxidation while Pd/BG shows obviously enhanced catalytic activity and stability. We propose that the smaller Pd particle size and electron transfer caused by incorporation of boron oxides B x O y in the graphene sheets contributes to the improved electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop genetic markers associated with tolerance to low phosphorus, we identified candidate phosphate starvation responsive ( PSR) genes and developed their intron length polymorphism ( ILP) markers in maize on a genome-wide scale. Based on the known plant PSR genes, 161 candidate PSR genes were identified. Of these genes, 138 genes contained at least one intron and were then used to develop 606 PSR- ILP markers by designing PCR primers to the intron-flanking exonic regions. PCR evaluation was performed on 43 randomly selected PSR- ILP markers in 30 maize inbred lines. Of the primers, 88.4% amplified stable and pure products in all maize inbred lines, and 53.5% of the markers showed ILP, with PIC values ranging from 0.06 to 0.80. The result of clustering analysis of the 30 maize inbred lines, based on the polymorphism of 23 ILP markers, suggests that the ILP markers developed in this study are not only efficient for genetic diversity analysis but also potentially useful for marker assisted selection for tolerance to low phosphorus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel approach to generating ultra-wideband (UWB) impulses based on a Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) and a Fabry–Pérot semiconductor optical amplifier (FP-SOA) is proposed and demonstrated. Both the carrier dynamic behavior of SOA and the feedback of FP cavity are exploited to generate a pair of polarity-reversed doublet-like impulses. Simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the UWB generation. In the experiment, the fractional bandwidths of the negative-doublet-like and the positive-doublet-like impulses are 100% and 108%, respectively. The bit error rate (BER) performance of the UWB before and after a span of 19-km standard single mode fiber (SSMF) transmission is also investigated and error-free performance can be achieved for each condition. Finally the UWB wireless transmission over a span of 10cm is investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the primary factors limiting crop production in acid soils worldwide. The cell wall is the major target of Al toxicity owing to the presence of many Al binding sites. Previous studies have found that XTH , encoding xyloglucan endohydrolase (XEH) and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET), could participate in cell wall extension and affect the binding ability of the cell wall to Al by impeding the activities of these two enzymes. In this study, we found that ZmXTH , an XTH gene in maize, was involved in Al detoxification. The Al-induced up-regulation of ZmXTH occurred in the roots, prominently in the root tips. Additionally, the expression of ZmXTH was specifically induced by Al3+ but no other divalent or trivalent cations. Compared with the wild-type Arabidopsis , ZmXTH overexpressing plants grew more healthy and had decreased Al content in their root and root cell wall after Al stress. Overall, the results suggest that ZmXTH could confer the Al tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis plants by reducing the Al accumulation in their roots and cell walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ZmMATE6 gene from maize was cloned and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana. • Overexpression of ZmMATE6 in Arabidopsis resulted in enhancing the resistance to Al. • Transgenic Arabidopsis exhibited increased citrate exudation and decreased Al accumulation in roots. • The loss of function caused by the substitution of the fifth residue of CEM domain may also be related to other factors. The yields of cereal crops grown on acidic soils are often reduced by aluminum (Al) toxicity because the prevalence of toxic Al3+ cations increases as pH falls below 5.0. The Al-dependent release of citrate from resistant lines of maize is controlled by ZmMATE1 which encodes a multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) transporter protein. ZmMATE6 is another member of this family in maize whose expression is also increased by Al treatment. We investigated the function of this gene in more detail to determine whether it also contributes to Al resistance. Quantitative RT-PCR measurements found that ZmMATE6 was expressed in the roots and leaves of Al-resistant and sensitive inbred lines. Treatment with Al induced ZmMATE6 expression in all tissues but several other divalent or trivalent cations tested had no effect on expression. This expression pattern and the induction by Al treatment was confirmed in ZmMATE6 promoter–β-glucuronidase fusion lines. Heterogeneous expression of ZmMATE6 displayed a greater Al-activated release of citrate from the roots and was significantly resistant to Al toxicity than controls. This was associated with reduced accumulation of Al in the root tissues. Our results demonstrated that ZmMATE6 expression is induced by Al and functions as a citrate transporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High dispersed Ru/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalyst was prepared by polyol reduction method. • Ru/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 exhibited an efficient HDO performance of pyrolysis lignin-oil. • Hydrocarbon content in lignin-oil increased to 86.1% from 16.2% after upgrade. • High Ru dispersion and strong acid sites resulted in high catalytic HDO activity. • Synergetic catalysis of Ru and acid sites also promoted the occurrence of HDO. Metal particle size and metal dispersion significantly influence the catalyst activity, and an efficient catalytic upgrade of bio-oil to high-quality liquid fuel is always difficult. Herein, a high dispersed Ru/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalyst was prepared by polyol reduction method, which exhibited a high catalytic activity on hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of the phenolic compounds and pyrolysis lignin-oil. As a model compound, guaiacol had a conversion of 99.9% and a cyclohexane selectivity of 96.7% at the temperature of 240 °C. This polyol Ru/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalyst had a good recyclability in the guaiacol HDO. No significant decrease on the catalytic activity was presented after continuous 5 runs, and the conversion kept close to 100% and the selectivity of cyclohexane kept above 88%. Several common phenolic compounds also enabled to be turned into corresponding cycloalkanes efficiently. The high Ru dispersion and the large amount of strong acid sites in the polyol Ru/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 are the main reasons for the good catalytic performances. The synergetic effects between high dispersed metal site and strong acid site lead to a promoted efficiency in the HDO process to form the cycloalkanes. This active catalyst was also applicable to the upgrade of pyrolysis lignin-oil. After reaction, the content of hydrocarbons in the lignin-oil increased from 16.2% to 86.1%, and guaiacols and other oxygenated compounds were almost disappeared. The upgraded lignin-oil has potential to be used as high-quality fuels directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is required for numerous developmental processes, such as flowering and reproduction, in maize (Zea mays L.). It is also an essential nutrient in fertilizers to sustain high yields in farmlands with insufficient available phosphate, particularly in acid soils in China. Flowering time is a key factor influencing the adaptation of maize to the local environment and is associated with high yields. However, few studies have focused on the genetic characteristics of flowering time under low phosphate conditions. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between X178 and 9782 was evaluated for three flowering time traits under two phosphates (Pi) levels at four locations. We found that low phosphate significantly delayed the flowering stage of maize and proposed the hypothesis of "Phosphorus Accumulation Effect". Mixed-model-based composite interval mapping was used to dissect the genetic basis of the flowering time traits. A total of 41 quantitative trait loci (QTL) was identified for the three flowering time traits through four procedures. Among these 41 QTL, 38 focused on four hot regions, including bin 2.02, bin 2.03, bin 5.04, and bin 6.01. These regions and linked markers should be the targets for fine mapping, map-based cloning, and marker-assisted selection of flowering time and phosphate utilization efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]