Search

User experience can change with time, and achieving a positive long-term user experience is an important goal in a successful product design. The long-term user experience of the interactive loading screen in Honor of Kings was studied by using two evaluation methods, UX Curve and QUIS questionnaire. The experiment included valid responses from a total of 23 participants. The results show that an interactive human-computer interface can achieve a good long-term waiting experience. It is also necessary to make changes to the UI or functions of the interactive screen after a period of time to ensure a good user experience. A toolbox including the QUIS questionnaire and UX Curve was proven effective in measuring the temporal aspects of user experience of the computer interface. The findings obtained in the experiments help understand the long-term user experience of human-computer interfaces. They may also provide a reference for developing different long-term user experience evaluation methods in different product contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used broad-spectrum insecticides in agriculture. Given its potential toxicity and residue in food (e.g., tea), establishing a rapid and reliable method for the determination of chlorpyrifos residue is crucial. In this study, a strategy combining surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and intelligent variable selection models for detecting chlorpyrifos residue in tea was established. First, gold nanostars were fabricated as a SERS sensor for measuring the SERS spectra. Second, the raw SERS spectra were preprocessed to facilitate the quantitative analysis. Third, a partial least squares model and four outstanding intelligent variable selection models, Monte Carlo-based uninformative variable elimination, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, iteratively retaining informative variables, and variable iterative space shrinkage approach, were developed for detecting chlorpyrifos residue in a comparative study. The repeatability and reproducibility tests demonstrated the excellent stability of the proposed strategy. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the proposed strategy was assessed by estimating limit of detection values of the various models. Finally, two-tailed paired t-tests confirmed that the accuracy of the proposed strategy was equivalent to that of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Hence, the proposed method provides a promising strategy for detecting chlorpyrifos residue in tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the GoPGS gene's role in regulating pigment gland size in cotton plants and its connection to biotic stress tolerance. Researchers discovered that suppressing the GoPGS gene resulted in larger pigment glands and increased resistance to pests and pathogens. They also found that the GoPGS gene is controlled by the GoPGF gene and is involved in the jasmonic acid pathway. These findings offer insights into the development of cotton pigment glands and their role in defending against biotic stress. Manipulating the GoPGS gene's activity may be a potential method for enhancing cotton plants' resistance to biotic stresses. [Extracted from the article]

Mutations in the Cockayne Syndrome group B (CSB) gene cause cancer in mice, but premature aging and severe neurodevelopmental defects in humans. CSB, a member of the SWI/SNF family of chromatin remodelers, plays diverse roles in regulating gene expression and transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER); however, these functions do not explain the distinct phenotypic differences observed between CSB-deficient mice and humans. During investigating Cockayne Syndrome-associated genome instability, we uncover an intrinsic mechanism that involves elongating RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) undergoing transient pauses at internal T-runs where CSB is required to propel RNAPII forward. Consequently, CSB deficiency retards RNAPII elongation in these regions, and when coupled with G-rich sequences upstream, exacerbates genome instability by promoting R-loop formation. These R-loop prone motifs are notably abundant in relatively long genes related to neuronal functions in the human genome, but less prevalent in the mouse genome. These findings provide mechanistic insights into differential impacts of CSB deficiency on mice versus humans and suggest that the manifestation of the Cockayne Syndrome phenotype in humans results from the progressive evolution of mammalian genomes. CSB deficiency is associated with induction of R-loops and genome instability, impacting long genes linked to neuronal functions in humans. Here the authors provide mechanistic understanding on how mutations in the CSB gene affects RNAPII elongation and genome instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loading screen is unavoidable to smartphone users, and the waiting experience influences the success of a mobile application. Providing visual feedback during waiting time is an effective way to increase the waiting experience. This study is the first to examine the effects of interactive loading screens on the waiting experience compared to a passive loading screen on mobile phones across varying waiting times. The rotating ring, which has been used in loading screens widely, was chosen in our experiments. Participants compared a passive animation with grey-scale and colour-changed interactive animations. The results indicated that the duration of waiting time has a significant impact on the selection of the loading screen type. The studies also demonstrate that colour can act as an essential design factor to improve the waiting experience when designing the interactive loading screen. Furthermore, it was found that perceived time was shorter when an interactive loading screen was used, leading to higher user satisfaction compared to a passive loading screen, especially for the long waiting time. The findings obtained in the experiments provide a reference and guidelines for loading screen design to improve users' waiting experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to employ plasma proteomics to investigate the molecular changes, pathway alterations, and potential novel biochemical markers associated with balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Methods: Pre- and post-BPA plasma samples from five CTEPH patients in the PRACTICE study were analyzed to identify differentially expressed proteins. Proteomic and bioinformatics analyses were conducted, and the identified proteins were further validated using ELISA assays in a separate cohort of the same study. Correlation and multivariate regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations between these differentially expressed proteins and clinical parameters. Results: Significantly higher serum levels of asialoglycoprotein receptor 2 (ASGR2) were detected in 5 CTEPH patients compared to those in healthy individuals but decreased significantly after successful BPA procedures. The decrease in serum levels of ASGR2 after the completion of BPA procedures was further validated in a separate cohort of 48 patients with CTEPH [0.70 (0.51, 1.11) ng/mL vs. 0.38 (0.27, 0.59) ng/mL, P < 0.001]. Significant associations were found between the pre-BPA ASGR2 level and clinical parameters, including neutrophil percentage (R = 0.285, P < 0.05), platelet (PLT) count (R = 0.386, P < 0.05), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) before BPA (R = -0.285, P < 0.05). Significant associations were detected between post-BPA serum ASGR2 levels and lymphocyte percentage (LYM%) (R = 0.306, P < 0.05), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (R = -0.294, P < 0.05), and pulmonary vascular resistance after BPA (R = -0.35, P < 0.05). Multivariate stepwise regression analysis revealed that pre-BPA ASGR2 levels were associated with HDL-C and PLT count (both P < 0.001), while post-BPA ASGR2 levels were associated with LYM% (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Serum levels of ASGR2 may be a biomarker for the effectiveness of BPA treatment in CTEPH patients. The pre-BPA serum level of ASGR2 in CTEPH patients was associated with HDL-C and the PLT count. The post-BPA serum level of ASGR2 was correlated with the LYM%, which may reflect aspects of immune and inflammatory status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deterministic inversion based on deep learning has been widely utilized in model parameters estimation. Constrained by logging data, seismic data, wavelet and modeling operator, deterministic inversion based on deep learning can establish nonlinear relationships between seismic data and model parameters. However, seismic data lacks low-frequency and contains noise, which increases the non-uniqueness of the solutions. The conventional inversion method based on deep learning can only establish the deterministic relationship between seismic data and parameters, and cannot quantify the uncertainty of inversion. In order to quickly quantify the uncertainty, a physics-guided deep mixture density network (PG-DMDN) is established by combining the mixture density network (MDN) with the deep neural network (DNN). Compared with Bayesian neural network (BNN) and network dropout, PG-DMDN has lower computing cost and shorter training time. A low-frequency model is introduced in the training process of the network to help the network learn the nonlinear relationship between narrowband seismic data and low-frequency impedance. In addition, the block constraints are added to the PG-DMDN framework to improve the horizontal continuity of the inversion results. To illustrate the benefits of proposed method, the PG-DMDN is compared with existing semi-supervised inversion method. Four synthetic data examples of Marmousi II model are utilized to quantify the influence of forward modeling part, low-frequency model, noise and the pseudo-wells number on inversion results, and prove the feasibility and stability of the proposed method. In addition, the robustness and generality of the proposed method are verified by the field seismic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A Bayesian linkage disequilibrium-based multiple-locus mixed model identified QTLs for fibre, seed and oil traits and predicted breeding worthiness of test lines, enabling their simultaneous improvement in cotton. Improving cotton seed and oil yields has become increasingly important while continuing to breed for higher lint yield. In this study, a novel Bayesian linkage disequilibrium-based multiple-locus mixed model was developed for QTL identification and genomic prediction (GP). A multi-parent population consisting of 256 recombinant inbred lines, derived from four elite cultivars with distinct combinations of traits, was used in the analysis of QTLs for lint percentage, seed index, lint index and seed oil content and their interrelations. All four traits were moderately heritable and correlated but with no large influence of genotype × environment interactions across multiple seasons. Seven to ten major QTLs were identified for each trait with many being adjacent or overlapping for different trait pairs. A fivefold cross-validation of the model indicated prediction accuracies of 0.46–0.62. GP results based on any two-season phenotypes were strongly correlated with phenotypic means of a pooled analysis of three-season experiments (r = 0.83–0.92). When used for selection of improvement in lint, seed and oil yields, GP captured 40–100% of individuals with comparable lint yields of those selected based on the three-season phenotypic results. Thus, this quantitative genomics-enabled approach can not only decipher the genomic variation underlying lint, seed and seed oil traits and their interrelations, but can provide predictions for their simultaneous improvement. We discuss future breeding strategies in cotton that will enhance the entire value of the crop, not just its fibre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Understanding and optimizing the process of grain filling helps the quest to maximize rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed yield and quality, yet the intricate mechanisms at play remain fragmented. Transcription factors (TFs) are major players in the gene networks underlying the grain filling process. Here, we employed grain incomplete filling (OsGIF1)/cell wall invertase 2, a key gene involved in grain filling, to explore its upstream TFs and identified a bZIP family TF, OsbZIP10, to be a transcriptional activator of OsGIF1. Rice grains of the knockouts of OsbZIP10 showed increased white‐core rates but lower amylose content (AC), leading to better eating and cooking qualities in all genetic backgrounds investigated, though the impact of mutations in OsbZIP10 on grain weight depended on genetic background. Multi‐omics analyses suggested that, in addition to OsGIF1, multiple genes involved in different biological processes contributing to grain filling were targeted by OsbZIP10, including OsAGPS1, a gene encoding the ADP‐Glc pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) small subunit, and genes contributing to homeostasis of reactive oxygen species. Distinct genetic make‐up was observed in OsbZIP10 between japonica and indica rice varieties, with the majority varieties of each subspecies belonging to two different haplotypes that were closely associated with AC. Overexpressing the haplotype linked to high‐AC in the low‐AC genetic background increased AC. Overall, this study sheds crucial light on the significance of the OsbZIP10–OsGIF1 module in the determination of rice grain quality, offering a potential avenue for genetic engineering of rice to produce seeds with tailored attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Securing agricultural supplies for the increasing population without negative impacts on environment demands new crop varieties with higher yields, better quality, and stronger stress resilience. But breeding such super crop varieties is restrained by growth–defense (G–D) trade‐off. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are versatile regulators of plant growth and immune responses, with several being demonstrated to simultaneously regulate crop growth and defense against biotic stresses and to balance G–D trade‐off. Increasing evidence also links miRNAs to the metabolism and signaling of phytohormones, another type of master regulator of plant growth and defense. Here, we synthesize the reported functions of miRNAs in crop growth, development, and responses to bio‐stressors, summarize the regulatory scenarios of miRNAs based on their relationship with target(s), and discuss how miRNAs, particularly those involved in crosstalk with phytohormones, can be applied in balancing G–D trade‐off in crops. We also propose several open questions to be addressed for adopting miRNAs in balancing crop G–D trade‐off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this research is to explore the phytochemical constituents and the potential anti-inflammatory properties of the herb Oxytropis aciphylla. Materials and Methods: From the ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions derived from the 70% ethanol extract of O. aciphylla, a total of 17 distinct chemical entities were extracted and subsequently identified. Utilizing network pharmacology, the study predicted the possible anti-inflammatory targets and mechanisms of action of O. aciphylla. The study assessed the anti-inflammatory impact of O. aciphylla extract on RAW 264.7 (a murine macrophage cell line) cells induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by quantifying the concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results: The isolated compounds included 12 flavonoids, two triterpenoids, one fatty acid, and two sterols. These specifically comprise apigenin, luteolin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, naringenin, eriodictyol, dihydrokaempferol, butein, 7,4'-homoisoflavanone, apigenin-7- O - β -D-glucopyranoside, isorhamnetin-3- O - β -D-gentiobioside, rutin, azukisapogenol, 3- O -[ β -D-glucopyranosyl(1↓2)- β -D-glucuronopyranosyl] azukisapogenol methyl ester, tetracosanoic acid, daucosterol, and β -sitosterol. Network pharmacology analysis suggested that O. aciphylla may exert its anti-inflammatory effects through multiple components, targets, and pathways, such as kaempferol, apigenin, luteolin, AKT1, SRC, TNF, PTGS2, EGFR, MAPK, PI3K-Akt, VEGF, HIF-1, and TNF signaling pathways. The extract of O. aciphylla was found to markedly reduce the levels of NO, TNF- α, and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 cells that were stimulated with LPS, demonstrating a correlation with the dosage administered. Conclusion: The investigation uncovered, for the first time, the phytochemical constituents and the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of O. aciphylla. These findings lay the groundwork for the scientific development and application of this botanical species as a natural remedy for inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has emerged as a promising approach in clinical oncology. For brain metastases, the presence of the robust blood-brain barrier (BBB) and potential immune-related adverse events (irAEs) pose significant challenges. Here, a multistage-responsive antibody-delivery strategy is developed for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) brain metastases, with the ultra-pH sensitivity borate bonds. The antibody-delivery nanoformulation (MB-aPDL1) is able to maintain the "silent state" in health tissue, cross the BBB/BTB by the GLUT1-mediated transcytosis, release the functionalized aPDL1 responsively, and promote the aPDL1 tumor-anchoring. In the in vivo tumor region, the MB-aPDL1 rapidly releases the activated BPA6-aPDL1, which successfully anchors to the tumor cells and improves the efficiency of ICB therapy. The two in vivo ICB therapy studies show a significant tumor growth inhibition from the MB-aPDL1 with an encouraging cure rate of 20% for the NSCLC brain metastases, due to enhanced immune response in tumor, commendably with less behavioral adverse reactions and liver damage. Taken together, this antibody-delivery strategy holds substantial potential for application in clinical treatment of brain metastases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we describe a strategy for the copper-catalyzed asymmetric heteroarylation of yne-thiophene carbonates with indoles via remote substitution. The key to the success of this strategy lies in the design of the alkynyl group at the ortho-position of the heterocycle thiophene, enabling the formation of a triarylmethane moiety via very remote substitution. Thus, the concept of remote copper-catalyzed asymmetric transformation extends not only to yne-allylic esters but also to yne-aryl esters. The reaction readily provides a diverse array of chiral triarylmethanes with high efficiency, enantioselectivity, and excellent functional group compatibility. Moreover, facile follow-up transformations underscore their potential utility in the synthesis of various enantioenriched building blocks. Preliminary mechanistic studies support the plausibility of the remote substitution pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data, data centers with high energy consumption, interconnectivity, and load flexibility have developed rapidly. However, due to data privacy issues, the traditional power-system operational reliability assessment (ORA) struggles to precisely consider the load flexibility of data centers, leading to inaccurate evaluation. To this end, this article proposes an ORA method considering the load flexibility of data centers via the energy consumption elastic space. By transforming the inner operation constraints of data centers into an equivalent elastic space, the ORA does not require any private data to complete the evaluation. Specifically, the energy consumption model of data centers is established to accurately describe the load flexibility. Then, based on multi-parametric programming techniques, the energy consumption elastic space of data centers is characterized by data centers' power demand constraints, which do not involve privacy data, and no privacy concerns exist. Finally, the ORA model and the evaluation method based on the energy consumption elastic space can be constructed. With a lot of data center operation constraints being replaced by power demand constraints, the proposed method can complete an evaluation faster without accuracy loss. Its effectiveness is validated through simulations using the IEEE RTS 24-bus system and a provincial 661-bus system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidence suggests a significant correlation between depressive disorders and neurodegenerative conditions, encompassing Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Depression represents a substantial non-motor manifestation frequently identified in individuals with PD, posing a significant threat to patients’ overall well-being and necessitating the implementation of effective management strategies. Despite its high prevalence, impacting over 40% of PD patients, the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying depression and its relationship to dopaminergic system degeneration remain largely ambiguous. In this study, we presented our findings demonstrating distinct characteristics of cortical astrocytes in PD patients compared to reactivated glial cells in the substantia nigra. We identified a subset of differentially expressed genes associated with depressive disorders from PD-associated cortical astrocytes. Furthermore, we uncovered the potential involvement of the hypoxia signaling in driving cortical astrocytic dysfunctions. Through a comprehensive investigation utilizing transcriptome and chromatin accessibility analyses on cultured human astrocytes, we revealed that hypoxic treatment could induce similar expression changes observed in cortex from PD patients. Additionally, we provided evidence that activation of the HIF-1 signaling pathway suppressed the expression of key components of mitochondrial ribosomes and electron transport chain proteins COX2 and CYTB, resulting in abnormal mitochondrial membrane potential. Our results underscore the potential impact of glial metabolic abnormalities on the development of depressive disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verticillium wilt (VW) is an important and widespread disease of cotton and once established is long-lived and difficult to manage. In Australia, the non-defoliating pathotype of Verticillium dahliae is the most common, and extremely virulent. Breeding cotton varieties with increased VW resistance is the most economical and effective method of controlling this disease and is greatly aided by understanding the genetics of resistance. This study aimed to investigate VW resistance in 240 F7 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from a cross between MCU-5, which has good resistance, and Siokra 1–4, which is susceptible. Using a controlled environment bioassay, we found that resistance based on plant survival or shoot biomass was complex but with major contributions from chromosomes D03 and D09, with genomic prediction analysis estimating a prediction accuracy of 0.73 based on survival scores compared to 0.36 for shoot biomass. Transcriptome analysis of MCU-5 and Siokra 1–4 roots uninfected or infected with V. dahliae revealed that the two cultivars displayed very different root transcriptomes and responded differently to V. dahliae infection. Ninety-nine differentially expressed genes were located in the two mapped resistance regions and so are potential candidates for further identifying the genes responsible for VW resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous epilepsy‐related genes have been identified in recent decades by unbiased genome‐wide screens. However, the available druggable targets for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) remain limited. Furthermore, a substantial pool of candidate genes potentially applicable to TLE therapy awaits further validation. In this study, we reveal the significant role of KCNQ2 and KCNQ3, two M‐type potassium channel genes, in the onset of seizures in TLE. Our investigation began with a quantitative analysis of two publicly available TLE patient databases to establish a correlation between seizure onset and the downregulated expression of KCNQ2/3. We then replicated these pathological changes in a pilocarpine seizure mouse model and observed a decrease in spike frequency adaptation due to the affected M‐currents in dentate gyrus granule neurons. In addition, we performed a small‐scale simulation of the dentate gyrus network and confirmed that the impaired spike frequency adaptation of granule cells facilitated epileptiform activity throughout the network. This, in turn, resulted in prolonged seizure duration and reduced interictal intervals. Our findings shed light on an underlying mechanism contributing to ictogenesis in the TLE hippocampus and suggest a promising target for the development of antiepileptic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purification of ethylene (C2H4) as the most extensive and output chemical, from complex multi-components is of great significance but highly challenging. Herein we demonstrate that precise pore structure tuning by controlling the network hydrogen bonds in two highly-related porous coordination networks can shift the efficient C2H4 separation function from C2H2/C2H4/C2H6 ternary mixture to CO2/C2H2/C2H4/C2H6 quaternary mixture system. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that the different amino groups on the triazolate ligands resulted in the change of the hydrogen bonding in the host network, which led to changes in the pore shape and pore chemistry. Gas adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics and gas-loaded crystal structure analysis indicated that the coordination network Zn-fa-atz (2) weakened the affinity for three C2 hydrocarbons synchronously including C2H4 but enhanced the CO2 adsorption due to the optimized CO2-host interaction and the faster CO2 diffusion, leading to effective C2H4 production from the CO2/C2H2/C2H4/C2H6 mixture in one step based on the experimental and simulated breakthrough data. Moreover, it can be shaped into spherical pellets with maintained porosity and separation performance. C2H4 is one of the most important chemical raw materials. Here, the authors report that tuning of pore structure shifts the multi-component gas separation function, enabling one-step production of high-purity C2H4 in the quaternary mixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The vibration isolation performance of a novel graded wave-impeding block (WIB) was studied under various train loads. Methods: Large-scale indoor model tests were conducted to simulate the train motion vibration, and the vibration isolation performance between a novel graded WIB and an ordinary homogeneous WIB was measured and compared. The novel graded WIB was primarily composed of three layers of media with different physical and mechanical properties, and a concrete canvas was used as an interlayer between each layer. Results: By simulating different train speeds and loads, the subgrade settlement, vertical vibration velocity, frequency, and displacement were compared and analysed under various working conditions. Moreover, the vibration response of the subgrade soil was analysed using the vibration control equation. Conclusions: The experimental results showed that the novel graded WIB had a better vibration isolation effect compared with the homogeneous WIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing 3D molecules with high binding affinity for specific protein targets is crucial in drug design. One challenge is that the atomic interaction between molecules and proteins in 3D space has to be taken into account. However, the existing target-aware methods solely model the joint distribution between the molecules and proteins, disregarding the binding affinities between them, which leads to limited performance. In this paper, we propose an explainable diffusion model to generate molecules that can be bound to a given protein target with high affinity. Our method explicitly incorporates the chemical knowledge of protein–ligand binding affinity into the diffusion model, and uses the knowledge to guide the denoising process towards the direction of high binding affinity. Specifically, an SE(3)-invariant expert network is developed to fit the Vina scoring functions and jointly trained with the denoising network, while the domain knowledge is distilled and conveyed from Vina functions to the expert network. An effective guidance is proposed on both continuous atom coordinates and discrete atom types by taking advantages of the gradient of the expert network. Experiments on the benchmark CrossDocked2020 demonstrate the superiority of our method. Additionally, an atom-level explanation of the generated molecules is provided, and the connections with the domain knowledge are established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verticillum dahliae is a soil-borne phytopathogenic fungus causing destructive Verticillium wilt disease. We previously found a trehalase-encoding gene (VdPT1) in V. dahliae being significantly up-regulated after sensing root exudates from a susceptible cotton variety. In this study, we characterized the function of VdPT1 in the growth and virulence of V. dahliae using its deletion-mutant strains. The VdPT1 deletion mutants (ΔVdPT1) displayed slow colony expansion and mycelial growth, reduced conidial production and germination rate, and decreased mycelial penetration ability and virulence on cotton, but exhibited enhanced stress resistance, suggesting that VdPT1 is involved in the growth, pathogenesis, and stress resistance of V. dahliae. Host-induced silencing of VdPT1 in cotton reduced fungal biomass and enhanced cotton resistance against V. dahliae. Comparative transcriptome analysis between wild-type and mutant identified 1480 up-regulated and 1650 down-regulated genes in the ΔVdPT1 strain. Several down-regulated genes encode plant cell wall-degrading enzymes required for full virulence of V. dahliae to cotton, and down-regulated genes related to carbon metabolism, DNA replication, and amino acid biosynthesis seemed to be responsible for the decreased growth of the ΔVdPT1 strain. In contrast, up-regulation of several genes related to glycerophospholipid metabolism in the ΔVdPT1 strain enhanced the stress resistance of the mutated strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on impression management and principal‐agent theory, this article considers Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2014 to 2020 to explore whether vertical interlocking promotes the sustainable development of enterprises from the perspective of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report greenwashing. The results show that vertical interlocking increases ESG report greenwashing and hides negative ESG information; these results remained valid through a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis shows that the purpose of ESG report greenwashing by vertically interlocked executives is to hollow out minority shareholders rather than to cover up earnings management to conceal actual ESG information. The vertical interlocking of executives more significantly promotes ESG report greenwashing when the property is state‐owned, has poor internal supervision mechanisms, has a large executive team and has no senior executives with green experience. This study furthers the relevant research on the factors affecting the sustainable development of enterprises and enriches and expands studies of the role of the vertical interlock from the perspective of information concealing, providing a more in‐depth reference for promoting the sustainable development of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of underground space in Shanghai has entered a period of rapid development since the 1990s, and the construction of sponge cities in Shanghai has also been steadily advancing in recent years. However, there is a lack of relevant research on how to embody the concept of sponge city in underground space development and systematically promote sponge city. Based on the strategic system of water ecology, water environment, and water safety in the concept of sponge city, the problems of rainwater infiltration process, groundwater protection, and guidance of underground drainage facilities in the development of underground space are analyzed. A preliminary development and utilization model of underground space in Shanghai based on the concept of sponge city is proposed. Meanwhile, suggestions are put forward to improve the technical system of underground space development and utilization and practice the concept of ecological civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel quantum materials have broad application prospects in spintronic devices and low‐power‐consumption devices. The kagome‐type lattice has special corner‐sharing triangle geometry, providing a rich platform to investigate the relationship of novel correlated topological states, geometry, and strong electron interactions. However, the orbital hybridization in the presence of flat band that originated from the electron localization due to the unique kagome lattice configuration is still unclear. Resonant‐angle‐resolved photoemission spectroscopy is utilized to study the valence band structures of a new vanadium‐based kagome material GdV6Sn6, combined with density functional theory calculation. Herein, a significant hybridization between V 3d and Sn 5p electrons, which paves the way to understand the formation of long‐range magnetic ordering of GdV6Sn6 and other kagome materials at low temperature, is unambiguously revealed in the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning (ML) is one of the core driving forces for the next breeding stage, and Breeding 4.0. Genotype matrix based on single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is often used in ML for genome‐to‐phenotype prediction. Genotype matrix has an inherent defect, as the feature spaces it generates across different individuals or groups are inconsistent, and this hinders the application of ML. To overcome the challenge, a genome descriptor, Genic SNPs Composition Tool (GSCtool) is developed, which counts the number of SNPs in each gene of the genome so the dimension of the feature vectors equals the number of annotated genes in a species. Compared to using the genotype matrix, using GSCtool significantly decreases the model training time and has a higher accuracy of phenotype prediction. GSCtool also achieves good performance in variety identification, which is useful in crop variety protection. In general, GSCtool will help facilitate the application and study of genomic ML. The source code and test data of GSCtool are freely available at https://github.com/SZJhacker/GSCtool and https://gitee.com/shenzijie/GSCtool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simultaneous attainment of long cycle life and high energy in Si anodes remains challenging. Herein, we introduce the concept of primary building units as organizing units to construct durable and conductive electrode architectures, which helps to facilitate the coalescence of Si nanoparticles with conductive pathways and prevent nanoparticle aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision measurements on the hydrogen molecule are of fundamental importance in understanding molecular theory. Comparison of accurate experimental data and theoretical results are used to test the quantum electrodynamics theory and determine physical constants used in the calculation. We review recent advances and perspectives in the precision spectroscopy of molecular hydrogen, representing state-of-the-art molecular spectroscopy methods and cutting-edge high-precision calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning-based methods have made remarkable progress in the field of fault diagnosis for rotating machinery. However, convolutional neural networks are not suitable for industrial applications due to their large model size and high computational complexity. To address this limitation, this paper proposes the Antisym module and constructs AntisymNet, which is combined with dimension expansion algorithms for fault diagnosis of rotating machinery. To begin with, the original vibration signal of the rolling machinery is subjected to time-frequency transformations using the discrete Fourier transform and discrete wavelet transform. Subsequently, each transformed time-frequency signal is expanded in dimensions, resulting in two-dimensional matrix single channel images. These single channel images are then fused into RGB images to enhance the sample features. Finally, the proposed AntisymNet is utilized for recognizing and classifying the expanded signals. To evaluate the performance of AntisymNet, the MiniImageNet image dataset is employed as a benchmark, and a comparison is made with other state-of-the-art lightweight convolutional neural networks. Additionally, the effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis model is validated using the CWRU bearing dataset, Ottawa bearing dataset, and the hob dataset. The model achieves an impressive accuracy rate of 99.70% in the CWRU dataset, 99.26% in the Ottawa dataset, and an error rate of only 0.66% in the hob dataset. These results demonstrate the strong performance of the proposed fault diagnosis model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key immune cell in the brain, microglia are essential for protecting the central nervous system (CNS) from viral infections, including HIV. Microglia possess functional Toll‐like receptor 3 (TLR3), a key viral sensor for activating interferon (IFN) signaling pathway‐mediated antiviral immunity. We, therefore, studied the effect of poly (I:C), a synthetic ligand of TLR3, on the activation of the intracellular innate immunity against HIV in human iPSC‐derived microglia (iMg). We found that poly (I:C) treatment of iMg effectively inhibits HIV infection/replication at both mRNA and protein levels. Investigations of the mechanisms revealed that TLR3 activation of iMg by poly (I:C) induced the expression of both type I and type III IFNs. Compared with untreated cells, the poly (I:C)‐treated iMg expressed significantly higher levels of IFN‐stimulated genes (ISGs) with known anti‐HIV activities (ISG15, MxB, Viperin, MxA, and OAS‐1). In addition, TLR3 activation elicited the expression of the HIV entry coreceptor CCR5 ligands (CC chemokines) in iMg. Furthermore, the transcriptional profile analysis showed that poly (I:C)‐treated cells had the upregulated IFN signaling genes (ISG15, ISG20, IFITM1, IFITM2, IFITM3, IFITM10, APOBEC3A, OAS‐2, MxA, and MxB) and the increased CC chemokine signaling genes (CCL1, CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, and CCL15). These observations indicate that TLR3 is a potential therapy target for activating the intracellular innate immunity against HIV infection/replication in human microglial cells. Therefore, further studies with animal models and clinical specimens are necessary to determine the role of TLR3 activation‐driven antiviral response in the control and elimination of HIV in infected host cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of waste tire rubber in the concrete industry is one of the most effective and environmentally friendly ways to solve the problem of so-called black pollution. However, the application of rubber particles (RP) in the concrete industry is hindered by their low stiffness and poor bonding performance with the cement matrix. In this paper, a novel modification method of polydopamine (PDA) modification was used to enhance the hydrophilicity of the RP surface. The surface morphology, element content, and hydrophilicity of RP treated with PDA and KMnO4 were analyzed through scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and sedimentation methods. The unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), compressive strength, compressive toughness, toughness index, and flexural strength were taken to determine the mechanical properties of ultrahigh-performance rubber concrete (RUHPC). The results showed that the adhesion between paste and RP and the sedimentation rate of RP with PDA or KMnO4 treatment methods exhibited a remarkable improvement. Compared with unmodified RUHPC, the basic mechanical properties of KMnO4 -modified RUHPC were improved slightly, and its toughness index was improved greatly. SEM and EDS results confirmed that PDA was deposited on the surface of RP, eliminating the gap of interface transition zone and significantly enhancing UPV, compressive strength, and flexural strength of RUHPC by 4.1%–5.8%, 17%–20%, and 6.1%–9.8%, respectively. In addition, the compressive toughness of unmodified and KMnO4 -modified RUHPC decreased, whereas that of PDA-modified RUHPC increased significantly. It can be concluded that the mechanical properties of RUHPC with treated RP have improved significantly and the application of RP in ultrahigh-performance composites (UHPC) offers more opportunities for recycling RP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low temperature enamel (LTE) coating is a new type of inorganic coating developed for metal surface corrosion protection. Understanding melting behavior of LTE coating during sintering process assist in the control of sintering technology, and produce a fully covering and smooth coating. Mass and heat changes of LTE coating powder during sintering process were investigated using synchronous thermal analyzer. Glass transition temperature and thermal expansion coefficient of LTE coating cyclinder sample were measured using thermal mechanical analyzer. Under different heating rates, changes of viscosity, height, volume with contact angle of LTE coating cyclinder sample were studied using self-made hot-stage microscope. Results show that with the increase of heating rate, sintering temperature, softening temperature, and spherical temperature of LTE coating cyclinder sample decrease. The viscosity is also reduced, which is benefical for coating leveling, suggesting that the 20 °/min heating rate is optimum. Height and contact angle of LTE coating cylinder sample begin to enter plateau at the temperature range of 530 ~ 550 °C, indicating that this temperature range should be chosen as the sintering temperature of LTE coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronary artery ectasia is defined as a local or diffuse dilatation of the coronary artery more than 1.5 times the diameter of the adjacent normal segment. The etiology of coronary artery ectasia is diverse, and rarely complicated with immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-related disease). A limited number of cases have been reported, with insidious onset, slow progression but poor prognosis. Case presentation: we report a patient with coronary artery ectasia combined with IgG4-related disease. He has been diagnosed with IgG4-related disease 5 years after his first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Despite routine treatment with steroids, he develops a large coronary aneurysm and eventually died. Conclusions: It is suggested that a thorough evaluation should be performed when coronary artery ectasia is diagnosed. The factors such as manifestations of coronary artery thickening, typical imaging features, other aortas involvement, increased serum IgG4 level, etc. should be considered for early diagnosis of key etiologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second neurodegenerative disease in the world. The pathological characteristics of PD are degeneration, loss and death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. At present, most scholars believe that the main pathogenesis of PD is a-synuclein aggregation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammatory reaction. More and more studies have demonstrated that ferroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of PD. Ferroptosis is a new type of cell death that is significantly different from traditional apoptosis, scorching and necrosis. Its main feature is iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Some studies have found that the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of PD may be related to the regulation of ferroptosis. Therefore, this study mainly discusses the occurrence and development mechanism of ferroptosis and its role in PD, and the possible mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of PD dopaminergic neurons, so as to provide theoretical basis for acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I defect (CPS1D) is a rare disease with clinical case reports mainly in early neonates or adults, with few reports of first onset in late neonatal to childhood. We studied the clinical and genotypic characteristics of children with childhood onset CPS1D caused by two loci mutations (one of these is a rarely reported non-frame shift mutation) in the CPS1. Case presentation: We present a rare case of adolescent-onset CPS1D that had been misdiagnosed due to atypical clinical features, and further investigations revealed severe hyperammonemia (287µmol/L; reference range 11.2 ~ 48.2umol/L). MRI of the brain showed diffuse white matter lesions. Blood genetic metabolic screening showed elevated blood alanine (757.06umol/L; reference range 148.8 ~ 739.74umol/L) and decreased blood citrulline (4.26umol/L; reference range 5.45 ~ 36.77umol/L). Urine metabolic screening showed normal whey acids and uracil. Whole-exome sequencing revealed compound heterozygous mutations in the CPS1, a missense mutation (c.1145 C > T) and an unreported de novo non-frame shift mutation (c.4080_c.4091delAGGCATCCTGAT), respectively, which provided a clinical diagnosis. Conclusion: A comprehensive description of the clinical and genetic features of this patient, who has a rare age of onset and a relatively atypical clinical presentation, will facilitate the early diagnosis and management of this type of late onset CPS1D and reduce misdiagnosis, thus helping to reduce mortality and improve prognosis. It also provides a preliminary understanding of the relationship between genotype and phenotype, based on a summary of previous studies, which reminds us that it may help to explore the pathogenesis of the disease and contribute to genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Protein lysine acetylation is an important post‐translational modification mechanism involved in cellular regulation in eukaryotes. Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitous Ca2+ sensor in eukaryotes and is crucial for plant immunity, but it is so far unclear whether acetylation is involved in CaM‐mediated plant immunity. Here, we found that GhCaM7 is acetylated upon Verticillium dahliae (V. dahliae) infection and a positive regulator of V. dahliae resistance. Overexpressing GhCaM7 in cotton and Arabidopsis enhances V. dahliae resistance and knocking‐down GhCaM7 makes cotton more susceptible to V. dahliae. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing GhCaM7 with mutation at the acetylation site are more susceptible to V. dahliae than transgenics overexpressing the wild‐type GhCaM7, implying the importance of the acetylated GhCaM7 in response to V. dahliae infection. Yeast two‐hybrid, bimolecular fluorescent complementation, luciferase complementation imaging, and coimmunoprecipitation assays demonstrated interaction between GhCaM7 and an osmotin protein GhOSM34 that was shown to have a positive role in V. dahliae resistance. GhCaM7 and GhOSM34 are co‐localized in the cell membrane. Upon V. dahliae infection, the Ca2+ content reduces almost instantly in plants with downregulated GhCaM7 or GhOSM34. Down regulating GhOSM34 enhances accumulation of Na+ and increases cell osmotic pressure. Comparative transcriptomic analyses between cotton plants with an increased or reduced expression level of GhCaM7 and wild‐type plants indicate the involvement of jasmonic acid signaling pathways and reactive oxygen species in GhCaM7‐enabled disease resistance. Together, these results demonstrate the involvement of CaM protein in the interaction between cotton and V. dahliae, and more importantly, the involvement of the acetylated CaM in the interaction. Significance Statement: GhCaM7 positively regulator cotton defense responses to Verticillium dahliae by acetylation and interacting with osmotin protein GhOSM34, leading to activation of Ca2+, jasmonic acid, and reactive oxygen species signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S8a, BAF155 overexpression resulted in increased expression of PARP1, whereas BAF155 silencing remarkably downregulated the expression of PARP1 (Supplementary Fig. To identify the potential target of BAF155, cardiac tissues from Ang II-treated I BAF155 i -cWT, I BAF155 i -cKO, I BAF155 i -WT, and I BAF155 i -TG mice were collected for quantitative proteomic analysis (Fig. We further examined the regulation of PARP1 by BAF155 in the established mouse model of Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. [Extracted from the article]

A programme of centrifuge model tests (100 g) was conducted to examine the vertical and lateral bearing behaviour of open caissons in clay. The dimensions of the model caisson were 0.52 m in length, 0.43 m in width and 0.28 m in height, and the soil was referred to as Malaysian kaolin clay. Soil and pore pressure cells were installed on the caisson skirt to enable detailed inspection into the soil-structure behaviour in addition to the load-displacement response. The normalised vertical penetration resistance on the model caisson during installation demonstrated satisfactory agreement with the data collected from parallel tests conducted in the field. Explicit equations were developed to quantify the soil plug coefficient, thus facilitating reliable assessment of the penetration resistance. The historical cyclic loading was found to have a significant enhancing effect on the lateral bearing behaviour of open caissons, which was demonstrated by the load-displacement response as well as the development of soil and pore pressures. After a resting period of about 14 days in prototype, the stiffness of the open caisson foundation was about four times that prior to previous lateral cyclic loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive utilization of cottonseeds is limited by the presence of pigment glands and its inclusion gossypol. The ideal cotton has glandless seeds but a glanded plant, a trait found in only a few Australian wild cotton species, including Gossypium bickii. Introgression of this trait into cultivated species has proved to be difficult. Understanding the biological processes toward pigment gland morphogenesis and the associated underlying molecular mechanisms will facilitate breeding of cultivated cotton varieties with the trait of glandless seeds and glanded plant. In this study, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed on 12 222 protoplasts isolated from cotyledons of germinating G. bickii seeds 48 h after imbibition. Clustered into 14 distinct clusters unsupervisedly, these cells could be grouped into eight cell populations with the assistance of known cell marker genes. The pigment gland cells were well separated from others and could be separated into pigment gland parenchyma cells, secretory cells, and apoptotic cells. By integrating the pigment gland cell developmental trajectory, transcription factor regulatory networks, and core transcription factor functional validation, we established a model for pigment gland formation. In this model, light and gibberellin were verified to promote the formation of pigment glands. In addition, three novel genes, GbiERF114 (ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 114), GbiZAT11 (ZINC FINGER OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA 11), and GbiNTL9 (NAC TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR-LIKE 9), were found to affect pigment gland formation. Collectively, these findings provide new insights into pigment gland morphogenesis and lay the cornerstone for future cotton scRNA-seq investigations. Gossypium bickii possesses the ideal traits of pigment glands, which could contribute to the comprehensive utilization of cottonseeds and resistance to pests and diseases. Using the cotyledon of G. bickii and scRNA-seq technology, this study uncovers the developmental trajectory and transcriptional regulatory networks of cotton pigment glands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the potential mechanisms responsible for the different manifestations of bronchiectasis in patients with pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria (pNTM) infection. We found that the necroptosis level increased significantly after NTM infection. Further, the 31 pNTM-infected patients were classified into two subtypes based on necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) by unsupervised cluster analysis. After that, we compared the differences in clinical parameters, immune cell infiltration, and gene expression between the two subtypes. We observed that the high-necroptosis subtype possessed higher CT scores for bronchiectasis extent (P = 0.008) and severity (P = 0.023). And, more neutrophil infiltration in the high-necroptosis subtype was demonstrated both by the CIBERSORT algorithm and by blood neutrophil count (P = 0.001). Next, 688 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two subtypes were identified. To explore the portion in DEGs that might contribute to bronchiectasis, we intersected the DEGs with two gene modules. These two gene modules were identified as the most associated with CT scores for bronchiectasis extent and severity by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Ninety-three intersection genes were obtained. Finally, 7 hub genes including ACSL1, ANXA3, DYSF, HK3, SLC11A1, STX11, and TLR4 were further screened out by machine learning algorithms and protein–protein interaction network analysis. These results suggested that the differential levels of necroptosis in pNTM patients might lead to differential extent and severity of bronchiectasis on radiographic imaging. This process might be associated with neutrophil infiltration and the involvement of seven hub genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]