Search

Relying on datasets covering 19 urban clusters in China, this study delves into the impact of the spatial functional division of labor in urban clusters (SFDL) on urban population size and its underlying mechanisms. In contrast to the prevailing focus of previous studies on individual city advantages to understand urban population size differences, this paper represents the first large-scale and cross-urban cluster empirical test, extending the research to consider SFDL. The results reveal a positive correlation between SFDL and urban population size. Mechanism analyses demonstrate that SFDL contributes to enlarging urban population size by increasing productivity. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effect of SFDL is more pronounced in central cities and large to medium-sized cities compared to peripheral and small cities, revealing a trend of population distribution centralization in urban clusters as SFDL deepens. Further discussion reaffirms the trend of population distribution centralization as SFDL deepens. Additionally, urban clusters with State Council-approved development plans exhibit a more significant positive impact of SFDL on urban population size than other urban clusters. These findings provide novel insights into optimizing population distribution from the perspective of urban clusters and offer policy guidance for design in urban cluster development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep within coal gangue hills, there is a substantial amount of wasted thermal energy. Prolonged accumulation of these hills leads to significant damage to the atmosphere and soil. Gravity heat pipes, as efficient heat transfer components, can safely, efficiently, and conveniently extract the accumulated heat in gangue hills to achieve effective thermal control. In this study, we first analyzed the optimal height of the heat dissipation fins through a single fin heat dissipation model. Then, we determined the optimum spacing between the heat dissipation fins through analysis with multiple fins. The results showed that when the height of the heat dissipation fins was 80 mm and the spacing between fins was 80 mm, the heat dissipation performance and economic costs were most reasonable. Through an engineering trial conducted for 143 days at the Maotergou coal mine gangue hill, it was found that the average heat dissipation rate of a single gravity heat pipe ranged from 243.52W to 494.32W. The total heat dissipation during the entire experimental process was 54.39 kJ, and the total heat dissipation at the elevation of 890 meters was 1087.71 kJ. This indicates that managing the internal temperature accumulation in coal gangue hills using gravity heat pipes is entirely feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several first order approximate methods to evaluate the posterior precision of weighted total least squares estimates have been developed but there is still some space for the methods of precision estimation. Therefore, a new second order approximate estimation method (SOA) is proposed which can consider the biases of the estimated parameters. The formulae of the new SOA are derived from the partial differential equation of objective function and the definition of variance covariance. And then, with the help of the second order Taylor expansion, the bias from the nonlinearity of EIV can be modified to improve the precision representation ability. Two simulated experiments are designed to verify the proposed SOA, and numerical results show that the proposed SOA is better and closer to the reference value than four selected competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous ignition induced by high-pressure hydrogen leakage has primarily been discussed qualitatively, focusing on factors such as release pressure, downstream tube size, and the rupture of the burst disk. However, quantitative investigations and prediction models remain limited and unclear. In this paper, we introduce the relative molecular mass M and delve into its influence on the critical pressure threshold for spontaneous ignition of high-pressure hydrogen leaks. Additionally, we introduce the mass flow rate Q , as a metric to quantify the impact of opening area and shape on the ignition process. By integrating six key factors, including tube diameter D , tube length L , atmospheric pressure P a , burst disk opening time t , gas mass flow rate Q , and gas relative molecular mass M , four dimensionless factors affecting the critical leakage pressure were determined by using similarity analysis. The correlation between the dimensionless numbers was verified by correlation analysis and calibrated to the experiments of this paper and other authors. Finally, a critical criterion for spontaneous ignition from leakage in high-pressure hydrogen tubes was established to provide a basis for safety evaluation and prevention techniques for high-pressure hydrogen. [Display omitted] • The effect of the relative molecular mass of gases in the high-pressure region on the spontaneous ignition of high-pressure hydrogen leakage is discussed. • The dimensionless parameter affecting the critical pressure for spontaneous ignition of high-pressure hydrogen leakage is investigated. • The critical pressure criterion for the spontaneous ignition of high-pressure hydrogen leakage is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the majority of classic formulae of weighted total least-squares (WTLS) solutions for errors-in-variables (EIV) model and classified them into six categories. Next, the existing approximate posterior precision estimation methods of the WTLS solution are categorized and summarized. Based on the criterion of the orders of Taylor expansion, the current posterior precision estimation methods can be divided into first-order approximate (FOA) and second-order approximate (SOA). From the perspective of formulae, the derivation, comparison, and analysis of FOAs are placed emphasis in theory. Except for the existing FOA methods, four FOA-typed methods from the major variants of WTLS formulations are derived based on error propagation law, which enriched the posterior precision evaluation method of the WTLS solution. Two experimental examples, namely straight-line fitting and three-dimensional (3D) affine transformation, are used to evaluate the cons and pros of these posterior precision estimation methods, and their representation capability are investigated and discussed, with some suggestions being offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) hold significant promise for in vivo bio-signal amplification due to their minimally invasive and seamless integration with biological tissues. However, their use in monitoring rapid physiological changes, such as electrophysiological signals, has been constrained by slow response time, arising from their extensive channel dimensions. Here, we introduce a novel fiber OECT designed with a micro-scale vertical channel (F-vOECT) that substantially reduces the response time by an order of magnitude to 12 ms and achieves a maximum transconductance of 16 mS at zero gate bias, marking a substantial improvement over previous fiber OECTs. This compact and flexible fiber device demonstrates robust performance under cyclic switching, dynamic deformation and exhibits excellent biocompatibility. When subcutaneously implanted in rats, the F-vOECT enables stable, continuous electrocardiogram monitoring for 7 days, successfully identifying episodes of atrioventricular block. These capabilities illustrate its potential for clinical electrophysiological diagnostics. The design strategy of F-vOECT opens new avenues for developing fast-responsive fiber bioelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laccase, a copper-containing oxidoreductase, has close links with secondary metabolite biosynthesis in plants. Its activity can affect the synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites, thereby influencing plant growth, development, and stress resistance. This study aims to identify the grape laccases (VviLAC) gene family members in grape (Vitis vinifera L.) and explore the transcriptional regulatory network in berry development. Here, 115 VviLACs were identified and divided into seven (Type I–VII) classes. These were distributed on 17 chromosomes and out of 47 VviLACs on chromosome 18, 34 (72.34%) were involved in tandem duplication events. VviLAC1, VviLAC2, VviLAC3, and VviLAC62 were highly expressed before fruit color development, while VviLAC4, VviLAC12, VviLAC16, VviLAC18, VviLAC20, VviLAC53, VviLAC60 and VviLAC105 were highly expressed after fruit color transformation. Notably, VviLAC105 showed a significant positive correlation with important metabolites including resveratrol, resveratrol dimer, and peonidin-3-glucoside. Analysis of the transcriptional regulatory network predicted that the 12 different transcription factors target VviLACs genes. Specifically, WRKY and ERF were identified as potential transcriptional regulatory factors for VviLAC105, while Dof and MYB were identified as potential transcriptional regulatory factors for VviLAC51. This study identifies and provides basic information on the grape LAC gene family members and, in combination with transcriptome and metabolome data, predicts the upstream transcriptional regulatory network of VviLACs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper systematically analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution trends and macroeconomic driving factors of farmland transfer at the provincial level in China since 2005, aiming to offer a new perspective for understanding the dynamic mechanisms of China's farmland transfer. Through the integrated use of kernel density estimation, the Markov model, and panel quantile regression methods, this study finds the following: (1) Farmland transfer rates across Chinese provinces show an overall upward trend, but regional differences exhibit a "U-shaped" evolution characterized by initially narrowing and then widening; (2) although provinces have relatively stable farmland transfer levels, there is potential for dynamic transitions; (3) factors such as per capita arable land, farmers' disposable income, the social security level, the urban‒rural income gap, the urbanization rate, government intervention, and the marketization level significantly promote farmland transfer, while inclusive finance inhibits transfer, and agricultural mechanization level and population aging have heterogeneous impacts. Therefore, to achieve convergence of low farmland transfer regions to medium levels while promoting medium-level regions to higher levels, it is recommended that the government increase support for agricultural mechanization, increase farmers' income and social security levels, and optimize marketization processes and government intervention strategies. The main contributions of this paper are (1) systematically revealing the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of China's farmland transfer and (2) employing panel quantile regression methods to explore the heterogeneous impacts of driving factors, providing more precise and detailed empirical support for the government's formulation of farmland transfer policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Periodic flooding profoundly influences the root adaptation strategies of riparian plants and their soil interactions, with root exudation playing a pivotal role. However, the differentiation of plant survival strategies, driven by the trait syndrome associated with root exudation and the phylogenetic signal, remains unknown under the altered man-made hydrological regime. Methods: We selected 19 common herbs in the drawdown zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) and comprehensively determined their root exudates and associated morphological and chemical traits in situ. Results: Root exudation emerged as a competitive trait in the root economics space of riparian plants, with minimal influence from phylogenetic signals on the trait syndrome. The root exudation rate of annuals was significantly higher than that of perennials. Annuals were characterized by high specific root length, high specific root area, and high root exudation rate, standing on the fast side of the root conservation gradient. In contrast, perennials were characterized by large root diameter, high root tissue density, low exudation rate, and positioned on the conservative side. Conclusions: Our findings reveal that root exudation is involved in, and likely facilitate, diverse adaptation strategies of different life history plants in the drawdown zone of the TGR. Stress resistance and efficient resource access were the two main dimensions of trait variation in perennials and annuals contributing to their coexistence. Such knowledge will provide important insights into the mechanisms of species coexistence driven by belowground ecological processes and ecosystem responses to heterogeneous environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal composite pollution, such as Cd–Pb, occurs commonly in agriculture soils around the world, potentially harming the ecological environment and human health via food chain/network migration. There are numerous strategies for treating and rehabilitating polluted farmland today, including the use of attractive plants for phytoremediation. However, it is unclear how to use attractive plants to properly treat and fully utilize Cd–Pb composite damaged farms. The combined Cd–Pb pollution of agriculture in Xieping village, Huixian county, Gansu province is increasingly prevalent. Therefore, based on the results of literature research and the actual situation of the study area, nine kinds of ornamental plants with Cd–Pb composite pollution remediation potential and comprehensive utilization value were first selected in this paper, and the greenhouse test was carried out in the Cd–Pb composite pollution farmland in the study area. Second, the bioconcentration factor (BCF), transfer coefficient (TF), and economic feasibility principle were utilized to select the best treatment plants, and a novel model of effective remediation and comprehensive exploitation of Cd–Pb composite damaged farmland was developed. The results showed that the nine tested plants grew well under the Cd–Pb combined pollution stress, and all of them showed certain tolerance. However, the biomass, Cd–Pb accumulation, enrichment and transport capacity of the different plants were significantly different. Among them, Paeonia suffruticosa Andr., Rumex acetosa L., Calendula officinalis L., Rose chinensis Jacq., Tagetes erecta L. and Impatiens balsamina L. show excellent restorative abilities. Combining the ornamental value, safety and economy of flowering plants, P. suffruticosa, R. chinensis, C. officinalis, T. erecta and I. balsamina were finally selected as the plants for the effective remediation and comprehensive utilisation of Cd–Pb composite pollution in farmland. In conclusion, this study proposes a new model for the effective remediation and comprehensive utilisation of heavy metal composite pollution in farmland by flowering plants with economic feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic transition metal–nitrogen–carbon electrocatalysts exhibit outstanding activity in various electrocatalytic reactions. The challenge lies in predicting the structure of the active center, which may undergo changes under applied potential and interact with reactants or intermediates. Advanced characterization techniques, particularly in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), provide crucial insights into the structural evolution of the metal active center during the reaction. In this study, nitrate reduction to ammonia (NO3RR) was selected as a model reaction, and we introduced in-situ XAS to reveal the structural evolution during the catalytic process. A novel single atom catalyst of iron loaded on three-dimensional nitrogen-carbon nanonetwork (designated as Fe SAC/NC) was successfully synthesized. We unraveled the structural transformations occurring as pyrrole-N4-Fe transitions to pyrrole-N3-Fe throughout the NO3RR process. Notably, the Fe SAC/NC catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity, achieving a Faradaic efficiency of 98.2% and an ammonia generation rate of 22,515 µg·h−1·mgcat−1 at −0.8 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Theoretical calculations combined with in-situ spectroscopic characterization showed that pyrrole-N3-Fe reduced the energy barrier from *NO to *NHO and improved the selectivity of ammonia. This provides a robust reference for the design of efficient nitrate-to-ammonia synthesis catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A protocol has been developed for the synthesis of α‐aryl‐oxindoles from isatin and Grignard reagents in the presence of diphenyl phosphite for the first time. This reaction was conveniently carried out under mild conditions in a one‐pot fashion with moderate to excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible fiber electrodes offer new opportunities for bioelectronics and are reliable in vivo applications, high flexibility, high electrical conductivity, and satisfactory biocompatibility are typically required. Herein, we present an all-metal flexible and biocompatible fiber electrode based on a metal nanowire hybrid strategy, i.e., silver nanowires were assembled on a freestanding framework, and further to render them inert, they were plated with a gold nanoshell. Our fiber electrodes exhibited a low modulus of ∼75 MPa and electrical conductivity up to ∼4.8 × 106 S m−1. They can resist chemical erosion with negligible leakage of biotoxic silver ions in the physiological environment, thus ensuring satisfactory biocompatibility. Finally, we demonstrated the hybrid fiber as a neural electrode that stimulated the sciatic nerve of a mouse, proving its potential for applications in bioelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is one of the most important optical properties of aerosols that may affect the energy budgets of our Earth–atmosphere system significantly. Currently, while regional and even global AOD knowledge has been given by various satellites or models, these products are still fraught with uncertainties. In this study, one sophisticated satellite-derived AOD product from MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectral-radiometer) and two state-of-the-art model-based AOD products from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) and MERRA-2 (Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Application Version 2), based on AERONET measurements from 2000–2022, analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics of global AOD. Then using the Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test, the AOD changing trends revealed by the three products were also computed and analyzed. The accuracies of these products and the reliabilities of changing trends derived are discussed and concluded finally. Our study demonstrates that MODIS products have wider applicability, matching best with AERONET globally, while CAMS and MERRA-2 products are only reliable in North America, South America, and Europe. Through comparative analysis of the AOD trends, we found that MODIS, CAMS, and MERRA-2 AOD consistently exhibited decreasing trends in eastern Asia, Europe, and eastern North America. On the other hand, different products showed increasing trends in regions like West Asia, South Asia, and South Africa, suggesting their limited reliability. The reliability assessment shows that 41.45% of the areas have consistent trends among the three products, with approximately 3.2% showing significant and consistent results. When using site trend validation, the proportions of sites with consistent trends are highest at 64.56% and 46.84% respectively. The regions with the best reliability of global trend changes are mainly distributed in North America, Europe, Australia, eastern Asia, and Central South America. This study provides new insights for validating aerosol changes using remote sensing and has the potential to enhance future monitoring and evaluation methods of aerosol products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate if delta-radiomics features have the potential to predict the major pathological response (MPR) to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods: Two hundred six stage IIA-IIIB NSCLC patients from three institutions (Database1 = 164; Database2 = 21; Database3 = 21) who received neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy and surgery were included. Patients in Database1 were randomly assigned to the training dataset and test dataset, with a ratio of 0.7:0.3. Patients in Database2 and Database3 were used as two independent external validation datasets. Contrast-enhanced CT scans were obtained at baseline and before surgery. The delta-radiomics features were defined as the relative net change of radiomics features between baseline and preoperative. The delta-radiomics model and pre-treatment radiomics model were established. The performance of Immune-Related Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST) for predicting MPR was also evaluated. Results: Half of the patients (106/206, 51.5%) showed MPR after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. For predicting MPR, the delta-radiomics model achieved a satisfying area under the curves (AUCs) values of 0.768, 0.732, 0.833, and 0.716 in the training, test, and two external validation databases, respectively, which showed a superior predictive performance than the pre-treatment radiomics model (0.644, 0.616, 0.475, and 0.608). Compared with iRECIST criteria (0.624, 0.572, 0.650, and 0.466), a mixed model that combines delta-radiomics features and iRECIST had higher AUC values for MPR prediction of 0.777, 0.761, 0.850, and 0.670 in four sets. Conclusion: The delta-radiomics model demonstrated superior diagnostic performance compared to pre-treatment radiomics model and iRECIST criteria in predicting MPR preoperatively in neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for stage II-III NSCLC. Clinical relevance statement: Delta-radiomics features based on the relative net change of radiomics features between baseline and preoperative CT scans serve a vital support tool in accurately identifying responses to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy, which can help physicians make more appropriate treatment decisions. Key Points: • The performances of pre-treatment radiomics model and iRECIST model in predicting major pathological response of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy were unsatisfactory. • The delta-radiomics features based on relative net change of radiomics features between baseline and preoperative CT scans may be used as a noninvasive biomarker for predicting major pathological response of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. • Combining delta-radiomics features and iRECIST can further improve the predictive performance of responses to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses like salinity and improve crop yield. However, their effects are variable, and the underlying cause of such variation remains largely unknown. This study aimed to assess how drought modified the effect of AMF on plant resistance to high calcium-saline stress. A pot experiment was performed to examine how AMF inoculation affects the growth, photosynthetic activity, nutrient uptake and carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometric ratio (C:N:P) of maize under high calcium stress and contrasting water conditions. The results showed that high calcium stress significantly reduced mycorrhizal colonization, biomass accumulation, C assimilation rate and C:N stoichiometric ratio in plant tissues. Besides, the adverse effects of calcium stress on photosynthesis were exacerbated under drought. AMF inoculation profoundly alleviated such reductions under drought and saline stress. However, it barely affected maize performance when subjected to calcium stress under well-watered conditions. Moreover, watering changed AMF impact on nutrient allocation in plant tissues. Under well-watered conditions, AMF stimulated P accumulation in roots and plant growth, but did not induce leaf P accumulation proportional to C and N, resulting in increased leaf C:P and N:P ratios under high calcium stress. In contrast, AMF decreased N content and the N:P ratio in leaves under drought. Overall, AMF inoculation improved maize resistance to calcium-salt stress through enhanced photosynthesis and modulation of nutrient stoichiometry, particularly under water deficit conditions. These results highlighted the regulatory role of AMF in carbon assimilation and nutrient homeostasis under compound stresses, and provide significant guidance on the improvement of crop yield in saline and arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic transition-metal-nitrogen-carbon electrocatalysts hold great promise as alternatives to benchmark Pt in the oxygen reduction reaction. The pristine metal centers with quasi square-planar D4h configuration, however, still suffer from unfavorable energetics and thereby strong activity/selectivity trade-off during the catalytic process. Here we present a ligand-field engineering of single-atom Ni-N-C catalysts to boost the sluggish kinetics via rationally constructing prototypical asymmetrically ligated Ni-N3O1 sites. The as-obtained Ni-supported multi-walled carbon nanotubes with molten salt-treated (defined as Ni/CNS) catalyst delivered an excellent H2O2 selectivity (> 90%) within a wide potential window (0.2–0.7 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)) and robust stability (for 10 h) in alkaline medium. Combined electron paramagnetic resonance and theoretical analysis rationalize this finding and demonstrate that the broken symmetry facilitates the electron transfer of a σ* to O-O orbital as compared to the Ni-N4 counterpart, playing an indispensable role in efficient O2 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the cause is crucial for recognizing the risks associated with potentially harmful substances found in soil, such as toxic elements. These substances can have adverse effects on both the ecological environment and human health, as they can migrate and transform within food chain networks. Therefore, it is imperative to address and prioritize the risks associated with these elements. Dongdagou, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, is a typical area of potentially toxic element pollution in farmland soil, which has attracted much attention and urgently needs to be controlled. Therefore, the main objective of this investigation is to analyze the concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Cu, and Zn in the agricultural soil found in Dongdagou. Using statistical analysis, ecological and human health risk, principal component analysis, and the PMF model, we found that (1) there are varying degrees of accumulation in the soil in the study area, with Cu being the main component. (2) The soil in the study area has high and extremely high concentrations of Cd, posing significant risks. On the other hand, Hg presents mild and medium risks. However, there are no risks associated with As, Pb, Cu, and Zn. Overall, the ecological risks in the study area's soil due to potentially toxic elements are predominantly extremely high (49.65%) and high (38.25%). A small proportion of the soil exhibits low risks (2.76%) and medium risks (9.33%). (3) As has a moderate acceptable carcinogenic risk for local residents, Cd has a moderate acceptable carcinogenic risk for local children, and other potentially toxic elements do not have carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic risks. (4) The source analysis shows that Cd in the soil in the study area mainly comes from agricultural activities and sewage irrigation, As mainly comes from industrial production, and Zn, Cu, Pb, and Hg are multiple sources. We recommend adopting targeted and differentiated safety utilization and control measures based on the pollution level and potential risks of potentially toxic elements in the research area, combined with the sources of potentially toxic elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The signal-in-space range error (SISRE) has a direct impact on the performance of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). It is an important indicator of navigation satellite space server performance. The new B-CNAV navigation messages (B-CNAV1 and B-CNAV2) are broadcast on the satellites of the Beidou Global Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3), and they are different from D1 navigation messages in satellite orbit parameters. The orbit accuracy of B-CNAV navigation messages lacks analyses and comparisons with D1. The accuracy and stability of the new hydrogen and rubidium clocks on BDS-3 satellites need annual analyses of long time series, which will affect the service quality of this system. Based on precise ephemeris products from the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (COD), the orbit error, clock error, and SISRE of 24 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite D1 and B-CNAV navigation messages of BDS-3 were computed, analyzed, and compared. Their annual evolution processes for the entire year of 2022 were studied. Thanks to the use of inter-satellite links (ISLs) adopted by BDS-3 MEO satellites, the ages of the ephemeris are accurate and the percent of ages of data, ephemerides (AODEs), and ages of data and clocks (AODCs) shorter than 12 h were 99.95% and 99.96%, respectively. In addition, the broadcast orbit performance was also improved by ISLs. The root mean square (RMS) values of the BDS-3 MEO broadcast ephemeris orbit error were 0.067 m, 0.273 m, and 0.297 m in the radial, cross, and along directions, respectively. Moreover, the 3D RMS value was 0.450 m. Thanks to the use of new orbit parameters in the B-CNAV navigation messages of BDS-3 MEO, its satellite orbit accuracy was obviously better than that of D1 in the radial direction. Its improved accuracy can reach up to about 1.2 cm, and the percentage of its accuracy improvement was about 19.06%. With respect to clock errors, the timescale differences between the two clock products were eliminated to assess the accuracy of broadcasting ephemeris clock errors. A standard deviation value of 0.256 m shows good performances as a result of the use of the two new types of atomic clocks, although the RMS value was 0.541 m due to a nonzero mean bias. Overall, the accuracy of atomic clocks was good. For the new hydrogen and rubidium atomic clocks, their RMS and standard deviation were 0.563 m and 0.231 m and 0.519 m and 0.281 m, respectively. The stability of the former was better than that of the latter. However, due to the nonzero mean bias the latter was better than the former in accuracy. The RMS value of the SISRE of BDS-3 MEO's broadcast ephemeris was 0.556 m, and the value was 0.920 m when it had a 95% confidence level. In contrast, after deducting the influence of the clock error, the value of SISRE_ORB was 0.092 m. Since the satellite clock error was substantially larger than the orbit radial error, the SISRE was mainly affected by the clock error, and their annual evolutions were consistent. Because of the improvement to the B-CNAV's navigation message with respect to orbit radial accuracy, SISRE_ORB has improved in accuracy. Compared to D1, it had a significant effect on improving the accuracy of SISRE_ORB, and the percentage of the accuracy improvement was 8.40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil heavy metal pollution, especially compound pollution, has been widely concerned and studied at home and abroad. However, the analysis of heavy metal accumulation levels and their health risks in soils that have not yet reached the polluted level is relatively lacking. Nearly 20 years ago, an incident of human lead poisoning caused by heavy metals occurred in Hui County, Gansu Province, China. However, the degree of heavy metal accumulation and health risks in farmland soil in the area are still unclear. Thus, 361 surface soil samples and 86 crop samples of arable land were comprehensively and systematically collected from Hui County. The accumulation degree of heavy metals in arable land and crops was characterized by the geoaccumulation index and bioconcentration factor, respectively. The carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity risk were analyzed with the human health risk model put forward by the US EPA. The influencing factors of heavy metal accumulation were analyzed by the geographic detectors. The results showed that the geoaccumulation index of heavy metals in the soil of the study area was in the order of Hg>Cd>Pb>As>Cr, among which As and Cr did not accumulate, and one-third of the sampling sites had a moderate accumulation of Hg and Cd; Meanwhile, Cd and Hg were highly enriched in crops. Local residents do not have a non-carcinogenic risk when consuming a single heavy metal element through crops, but there is a non-carcinogenic risk when consuming multiple heavy metal elements. At the same time, the intake of Cd, Cr, and As had significant carcinogenic risks, as order of Cd>Cr>As, and higher in children than in adults. The spatial differentiation of heavy metal accumulation in the study area was significantly affected by factors such as DEM, average temperature and average precipitation during the sampling season, and distance from the railway. Furthermore, the interaction of topography, climate, and anthropogenic factors had a more significant effect on the spatial differentiation of heavy metal accumulation in the study area. This research could provide a scientific basis for precise prevention and control of soil heavy metal pollution and human health protection in the study area and the same situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we theoretically simulate the dynamic evolution of plasma from the interaction between a nanosecond pulsed laser and aluminum targets. The self-luminous image of the plasma plume during the laser loading process was experimentally obtained using high-speed photography. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrated that the plasma shielding effect and plasma lateral expansion have a significant effect on the plasma plume. It will affect laser–target coupling and further affect the evolution of plasma plumes. The detonation wave contained in the early stage of the laser-induced plasma plume directly affects the subsequent shock wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of cyanoximes to aromatic nitriles is reported for the first time, via N‐centered anions from the reductive cleavage of N−ΘΘΘΘΘΘO bond in cyanoximes promoted by SmI2. A mild, safe, and efficient method for the synthesis of aromatic nitriles in a one‐pot fashion with excellent yields was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides information on the synthesis of oxindoles, which are aromatic heterocyclic compounds with diverse biological activities. The authors explore different synthetic methods for preparing oxindoles, focusing on the reduction of 2-nitrophenylacetic acids using samarium diiodide (SmI2) under neutral conditions. They conducted experiments to optimize the reaction conditions and found that 6.5 equivalents of SmI2 at 60°C yielded the best results. The article also includes detailed procedures for the preparation of 2-nitrophenylacetic acids, which are used as starting materials in the synthesis. Additionally, the document provides a detailed account of the synthesis and characterization of various 1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-one derivatives, including specific information about yields, melting points, and spectral data for each compound. Finally, the text presents chemical data for various compounds, including their NMR spectra, HRMS data, and purification methods, which can be useful for researchers studying these compounds. [Extracted from the article]

Two-stage remote sensing image captioning (RSIC) methods have achieved promising results by incorporating additional pre-trained remote sensing tasks to extract supplementary information and improve caption quality. However, these methods face limitations in semantic comprehension, as pre-trained detectors/classifiers are constrained by predefined labels, leading to an oversight of the intricate and diverse details present in remote sensing images (RSIs). Additionally, the handling of auxiliary remote sensing tasks separately can introduce challenges in ensuring seamless integration and alignment with the captioning process. To address these problems, we propose a novel cross-modal retrieval and semantic refinement (CRSR) RSIC method. Specifically, we employ a cross-modal retrieval model to retrieve relevant sentences of each image. The words in these retrieved sentences are then considered as primary semantic information, providing valuable supplementary information for the captioning process. To further enhance the quality of the captions, we introduce a semantic refinement module that refines the primary semantic information, which helps to filter out misleading information and emphasize visually salient semantic information. A Transformer Mapper network is introduced to expand the representation of image features beyond the retrieved supplementary information with learnable queries. Both the refined semantic tokens and visual features are integrated and fed into a cross-modal decoder for caption generation. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate the superiority of our CRSR method over existing state-of-the-art approaches on the RSICD, the UCM-Captions, and the Sydney-Captions datasets [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After completion of the reaction, aq Na SB 2 sb S SB 2 sb O SB 3 sb (1 mL/mmol) was added and the aqueous phase was extracted with DCM. 2-Chloro- N -arylacetamides 2m-r; 17 General Procedure At rt, chloroacetyl chloride (1.47 g, 13 mmol, 1.3 equiv) was slowly added into a mixture of the respective aromatic amine (10 mmol) and K SB 2 sb CO SB 3 sb (1.80 g, 13 mmol, 1.3 equiv) in DCM and the mixture was stirred for 15 min, and then refluxed for 4 h. Keywords: copper; cross-coupling; ligand-free; Ullmann reaction; 2 H -1,4-benzoxazin-3-(4 H)-ones EN copper cross-coupling ligand-free Ullmann reaction 2 H -1,4-benzoxazin-3-(4 H)-ones 3179 3185 7 09/11/23 20231004 NES 231004 Graph Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, in the form of biologically active drugs or agents, play a crucial role in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors. Other common copper salts were then investigated, the best yield was obtained when CuSO SB 4 sb -5H SB 2 sb O (84%) was used, compared with CuBr, CuBr SB 2 sb , Cu SB 2 sb O, and Cu(OAc) SB 2 sb -H SB 2 sb O (entries 3-7). [Extracted from the article]

A meta‐analysis investigation was executed to measure the influence of multiple arterial grafts (MAGs) compared with single arterial graft (SAG) for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on sternal wound complications (SWCs). A comprehensive literature inspection till February 2023 was applied and 1048 interrelated investigations were reviewed. The seven chosen investigations enclosed 11 201 individuals with CABG in the chosen investigations' starting point, 4870 of them were using MAGs, and 6331 were using SAG. Odds ratio (OR) in addition to 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilised to compute the value of the effect of the MAGs compared with SAG for CABG on SWCs by the dichotomous approaches and a fixed or random model. MAGs had significantly higher SWC (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.10–1.73, P =.005) compared with those with SAG in CABG. MAGs had significantly higher SWC compared with those with SAG in CABG. However, care must be exercised when dealing with its values because of the low number of selected investigations for the meta‐analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an efficient heat exchange component, the gravity heat pipe can effectively control the accumulated temperature inside gangue dumps and enable reuse of transferred heat. This study establishes a similar simulation experimental platform for gravity heat pipes to control gangue dumps and thermoelectric generation. The influence of wind speed on the start-up performance and isothermal performance of gravity heat pipes is analyzed, along with the impact of wind speed on their thermoelectric generation performance. Initially, the optimal working fluid height and heating height are determined, followed by a comparison and analysis of the isothermal performance, start-up performance, and thermoelectric generation performance of the gravity heat pipe under different wind speeds. The results indicate that at a wind speed of 1.0 m/s, the gravity heat pipe exhibits better start-up and isothermal performance. At a wind speed of 2.0 m/s, the thermoelectric power generation reaches its peak. In the range of 1.0~2.0 m/s wind speeds, the curve of thermoelectric generation exhibits the most fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the nature of single‐atom catalytic sites and identifying their spectroscopic fingerprints are essential prerequisites for the rational design of target catalysts. Here, we apply correlated in situ X‐ray absorption and infrared spectroscopy to probe the edge‐site‐specific chemistry of Co−N−C electrocatalyst during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) operation. The unique edge‐hosted architecture affords single‐atom Co site remarkable structural flexibility with adapted dynamic oxo adsorption and valence state shuttling between Co(2−δ)+ and Co2+, in contrast to the rigid in‐plane embedded Co1−Nx counterpart. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the synergistic interplay of in situ reconstructed Co1−N2‐oxo with peripheral oxygen groups gives a rise to the near‐optimal adsorption of *OOH intermediate and substantially increases the activation barrier for its dissociation, accounting for a robust acidic ORR activity and 2e− selectivity for H2O2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Producing functional soft fibers via existing spinning methods is environmentally and economically costly due to the complexity of spinning equipment, involvement of copious solvents, intensive consumption of energy, and multi-step pre-/post-spinning treatments. We report a nonsolvent vapor-induced phase separation spinning approach under ambient conditions, which resembles the native spider silk fibrillation. It is enabled by the optimal rheological properties of dopes via engineering silver-coordinated molecular chain interactions and autonomous phase transition due to the nonsolvent vapor-induced phase separation effect. Fiber fibrillation under ambient conditions using a polyacrylonitrile-silver ion dope is demonstrated, along with detailed elucidations on tuning dope spinnability through rheological analysis. The obtained fibers are mechanically soft, stretchable, and electrically conductive, benefiting from elastic molecular chain networks via silver-based coordination complexes and in-situ reduced silver nanoparticles. Particularly, these fibers can be configured as wearable electronics for self-sensing and self-powering applications. Our ambient-conditions spinning approach provides a platform to create functional soft fibers with unified mechanical and electrical properties at a two-to-three order of magnitude less energy cost under ambient conditions. Producing functional soft fibers via existing spinning methods is environmentally and economically costly due to the complexity of spinning equipment, involvement of copious solvents, intensive consumption of energy. Here, the authors report a nonsolvent vapor-induced phase separation spinning approach under ambient conditions, which resembles the native spider silk fibrillation'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal‐nitrogen‐carbon catalysts, as promising alternative to platinum‐based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), are still highly expected to achieve better performance by modulating the composition and spatial structure of active site. Herein, we constructed the non‐planar nest‐like [Fe2S2] cluster sites in N‐doped carbon plane. Adjacent double Fe atoms effectively weaken the O−O bond by forming a peroxide bridge‐like adsorption configuration, and the introduction of S atoms breaks the planar coordination of Fe resulting in greater structural deformation tension, lower spin state, and downward shifted Fe d‐band center, which together facilitate the release of OH* intermediate. Hence, the non‐planar [Fe2S2] cluster catalyst, with a half‐wave potential of 0.92 V, displays superior ORR activity than that of planar [FeN4] or [Fe2N6]. This work provides insights into the co‐regulation of atomic composition and spatial configuration for efficient oxygen reduction catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VLFSs (Very Large Floating Structures) are often assembled by multiple modules through connectors where the connector structure is prone to stress concentration. Therefore, the loads at the connectors have become a significant focus in VLFS design. In this paper, the FMFC (Flexible Module Flexible Connector) method, which can account for the elastic deformation of each module and the connector, is established in order to predict the coupling response of the connector and the platform. The finite element model of a dual-module transfer platform with a hinged connector is established and the modal shape characteristics of the entire structure are analyzed. The accuracy of the method is verified through a model test, where the model was scaled as 1:50. Furthermore, the RAOs (Response Amplitude Operators) of connector loads were calculated. It was found that the horizontal loads (along the x and y directions) were more sensitive to the wave direction. Furthermore, the wave direction where the maximum short-term significant value appears was not consistent with the direction of the maximum RAO. The loads response law of the VLFS with a hinged connector is summarized in this paper and provides a reference for the design of connectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage to adobe constructions might occur due to a long wall and a lack of effective restraint in the middle of the wall, causing it to collapse under an earthquake. Aiming at these problems, a technology for improving the seismic performance of a modified adobe-brick-masonry composite wall with a wooden-construction center column is proposed. It uses modified mud, a wooden center column, steel-wire mesh, and nylon ropes to reinforce the wall. On this basis, four specimens of composite wall and one specimen of modified adobe wall were subjected to proposed quasistatic, cyclic in-plane loading tests to study their failure modes and seismic performance indicators. The results show that the failure modes of all walls were shear failure. The difference is that the modified adobe wall had horizontal cracks in the middle, whereas the composite walls were largely intact. Moreover, the composite walls relied on the modified mud to improve the seismic bearing capacity of each wall. They relied on the center column and the tie materials to form a second line of defense that would increase the wall ductility and collapse residual area. As a result, the phenomenon that caused wall damage and stiffness degradation was lessened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breathable, flexible, and highly sensitive pressure sensors have drawn increasing attention due to their potential in wearable electronics for body‐motion monitoring, human‐machine interfaces, etc. However, current pressure sensors are usually assembled with polymer substrates or encapsulation layers, thus causing discomfort during wearing (i.e., low air/vapor permeability, mechanical mismatch) and restricting their applications. A breathable and flexible pressure sensor is reported with nonwoven fabrics as both the electrode (printed with MXene interdigitated electrode) and sensing (coated with MXene/silver nanowires) layers via a scalable screen‐printing approach. Benefiting from the multi‐layered porous structure, the sensor demonstrates good air permeability with high sensitivity (770.86–1434.89 kPa−1), a wide sensing range (0–100 kPa), fast response/recovery time (70/81 ms), and low detection limit (≈1 Pa). Particularly, this sensor can detect full‐scale human motion (i.e., small‐scale pulse beating and large‐scale walking/running) with high sensitivity, excellent cycling stability, and puncture resistance. Additionally, the sensing layer of the pressure sensor also displays superior sensitivity to humidity changes, which is verified by successfully monitoring human breathing and spoken words while wearing a sensor‐embedded mask. Given the outstanding features, this breathable sensor shows promise in the wearable electronic field for body health monitoring, sports activity detection, and disease diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs) are among the promising energy sources in the future low‐carbon economy. A key challenge hindering their scale‐up and commercialization is the lack of efficient electrocatalysts for anodic formic acid oxidation (FAO). Very recently, the FAO performance of palladium hydrides (PdHx) has been found to be superior to the pristine Pd that is well known for its high intrinsic FAO activity. However, there is enormous space for the controlled synthesis and electrocatalytic behaviors of PdHx‐based nanomaterials awaiting to be explored. Herein, the hydrogen intercalation‐induced crystallization of PdNiP alloy nanoparticles is reported, and the obtained PdNiP‐H nanoparticles exhibit excellent FAO performance. Of particular note, the FAO stability of PdNiP‐H is much better than that of pristine Pd‐H. Furthermore, the PdNiP‐H nanoparticles are used as the anode catalyst in a prototype DFAFC, which demonstrate much higher power density than commercial Pd/C. Density functional theory calculations show that the synergistic effect of alloying Ni and P endows the PdNiP‐H with a higher preference toward FAO via the direct pathway and better anti‐CO* poisoning capability. This work shines new light on the development of PdHx‐based nanoalloys with good activity and stability for DFAFC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination complexes are widely used to tune the mechanical behaviors of polymer materials, including tensile strength, stretchability, self‐healing, and toughness. However, integrating multivalent functions into one material system via solely coordination complexes is challenging, even using combinations of metal ions and polymer ligands. Herein, a single‐step process is described using silver‐based coordination complexes as cross‐linkers to enable high compressibility (>85%). The resultant organogel displays a high compressive strength (>1 MPa) with a low energy loss coefficient (<0.1 at 50% strain). Remarkably, it demonstrates an instant self‐recovery at room temperature with a speed >1200 mm s−1, potentially being utilized for designing high‐frequency‐responsive soft materials (>100 Hz). Importantly, in situ silver nanoparticles are formed, effectively endowing the organogel with high conductivity (550 S cm−1). Given the synthetic simplification to achieve multi‐valued properties in a single material system using metal‐based coordination complexes, such organogels hold significant potential for wearable electronics, tissue‐device interfaces, and soft robot applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The six northwestern provinces are much of the Chinese section of the "Silk Road Economic Belt", and the ecological environment is relatively fragile, with serious soil erosion, which, together with rapid economic and social development, may lead to changes in land use patterns and inadequate supply of ecosystem services, impacting China's regional ecological protection as well as the "Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral" goals. This paper is designed to address the issue of land use change and inadequate supply of ecosystem services in six provinces in Northwest China. To this end, this paper has constructed three different levels of ecological security patterns in the study area based on the spatial–temporal pattern changes of land use and cold hotspot changes of ecological service value (ESV) in six provinces and regions in Northwest China. The results show that from 2000 to 2018, there is a significant increase around urban and rural construction land (66.06%) and a small decrease around grassland and water bodies (−1.72% and −13.53%) in the study area, with a large-scale interconversion of all categories. The ecological service value cold hotspot distribution is relatively stable in space and has little change in time. The ecological source areas of low, medium, and high ecological safety patterns are 9,889,930, 13,444,520 and 40,067,460 hm2, respectively, and the number of ecological corridors is 987, 1051 and 1063, with lengths of 5295.57 km, 5729.49 km, and 6566.69 km, respectively. The construction of ecological security pattern based on ecological service value can provide a reference for regional ecological protection and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the abuse of antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC) poses a serious threat to the environment and human health, it is of great importance to develop sensitive fluorescent probes for its rapid and in situ detection. Herein, a dual fluorescence response probe based on an aluminum-incorporated metal–organic framework (MOF) was presented for OTC assay. Unlike internal references that demonstrate an independent and stable fluorescence signal intensity in traditional dual-emissive probes, the fluorescence of rhodamine B immobilized in a prepared probe was gradually enhanced at a 585 nm emission wavelength with increasing concentrations of OTC under 405 nm excitation, while OTC also experienced an obvious fluorescence enhancement at a 521 nm emission wavelength due to a molecular conformation transition from the twisted to the extended state, realizing a molecular conformational transition-induced dual fluorescence enhancement for OTC detection under a single excitation wavelength. In addition to the mechanism exploration and double linear range for OTC quantification with nM level detection limits in solution, a paper-based portable test strip was successfully fabricated by loading the probe on glass fiber filter paper with an obvious fluorescence color change from orange to yellow upon increasing the addition of OTC. We expect that the proposed probe in this work would provide an example for the design of organic fluorophore-based sensors exhibiting multiple fluorescence responses under a single excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the world's most widely cultivated and economically important fruit crops. Seedless fruits are particularly desired for table grapes, with seedlessness resulting from stenospermocarpy being an important goal for cultivar improvement. The establishment of an RNA in situ hybridisation (ISH) system for grape berries and ovules is, therefore, important for understanding the molecular mechanisms of ovule abortion in stenospermocarpic seedless cultivars. We improved RNA in situ hybridisation procedures for developing berries and ovules by targeting two transcription factor genes, VvHB63 and VvTAU, using two seeded varieties, 'Red Globe' and 'Pinot Noir', and two seedless cultivars, 'Flame Seedless' and 'Thompson Seedless'. Optimisation focused on the time of proteinase K treatment, probe length, probe concentration, hybridisation temperature and post-hybridisation washing conditions. The objectives were to maximise hybridisation signals and minimise background interference, while still preserving tissue integrity. For the target genes and samples tested, the best results were obtained with a pre-hybridisation proteinase K treatment of 30 min, probe length of 150 bp and concentration of 100 ng/mL, hybridisation temperature of 50 °C, three washes with 0.2× saline sodium citrate (SSC) solution and blocking with 1% blocking reagent for 45 min during the subsequent hybridisation. The improved ISH system was used to study the spatiotemporal expression patterns of genes related to ovule development at a microscopic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of quinolin‐2(1H)‐ones to 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroquinolines promoted by SmI2/ H2O/ Et3N is reported for the first time. This reaction involving the reduction of the amides proceeds through C−O bond cleavage. A new method for the synthesis of 1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroquinolines in mild conditions is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new strategy for the synthesis of pyrrole through intramolecular cyclization of γ-alkynyl oximes promoted by SmI2 is reported for the first time. In contrast to the prior methods, the selection of oxime instead of oxime ether or ester as substrate makes the synthetic method without accompaniment of organic waste (ArCO2 H, AcOH, or ROH) because the hydroxyl group in oxime acts as the leaving group and is finally removed in the form of water molecule in the reaction. From a synthetic point of view, a series of pyrroles were obtained in this one-pot reaction with a broad scope of substrates and feasible reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sparsity regularization based on the L1 norm can significantly stabilize the solution of the ill-posed sparsity inversion problem, e.g., azimuth super-resolution of radar forward-looking imaging, which can effectively suppress the noise and reduce the blurry effect of the convolution kernel. In practice, the total variation (TV) and TV-sparsity (TVS) regularizations based on the L1 norm are widely adopted in solving the ill-posed problem. Generally, however, the existence of bias is ignored, which is incomplete in theory. This paper places emphasis on analyzing the partially biased property of the L1 norm. On this basis, we derive the partially bias-corrected solution of TVS and TV, which improves the rigor of the theory. Lastly, two groups of experimental results reflect that the proposed methods with partial bias correction can preserve higher quality than those without bias correction. The proposed methods not only distinguish the adjacent targets, suppress the noise, and preserve the shape and size of targets in visual terms. Its improvement of Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Structure-Similarity, and Sum-Squared-Errors assessment indexes are overall 2.15%, 1.88%, and 4.14%, respectively. As such, we confirm the theoretical rigor and practical feasibility of the partially bias-corrected solution with sparsity regularization based on the L1 norm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Seedlessness is one of the most important breeding goals for table grapes; thus, understanding the molecular genetic regulation of seed development and abortion is critical for the development of seedless cultivars. In the present study, we characterized VvMADS39, a class E MADS‐box gene of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) orthologous to Arabidopsis SEP2. Heterologous overexpression of VvMADS39 in tomato reduced the fruit and seed size and seed number. Targeted mutagenesis of the homologous SlMADS39 in tomato induced various floral and fruit defects. It could reasonable to suppose that active VvMADS39 expression in "Thompson Seedless" may restrict cellular expansion, resulting in the development of smaller fruits and seeds, VvMADS39 may play a role in the regulation of ovule development in grapevine and contributes to seedless fruit formation. In contrast, VvMADS39 suppression in "Red Globe" was associated with enhanced histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation in the promoter region of VvMADS39, allowing normal ovule and fruit development; Meanwhile, VvMADS39 interacts with VvAGAMOUS, and the activity of the VvMADS39–VvAGAMOUS dimer to induce integument development requires the activation and maintenance of VvINO expression. The synergistic cooperation between VvMADS39 and related proteins plays an important role in maintaining floral meristem characteristics, and fruit and ovule development. Significance Statement: In 'Thompson Seedless', maintenance of active VvMADS39 expression inhibits integument development, which may be related to ovule abortion. Conversely, in 'Red Globe', reduced VvMADS39 expression in the ovule was associated with H3K27me3 enrichment, allowing normal ovule development. Collectively, the results of our expression, protein interaction, and functional analyses elucidate the potential regulatory mechanism of VvMADS39 involved in flower and ovule development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural killer (NK) cells mediate antibody dependent cytotoxic killing of cancer cells via cross-linking FcγR on NK cells with IgG-Fc. Studies have shown that the single-hinge cleaved IgGs (scIgGs) have dysfunctional Fc and failed engagement with FcγRs on immune cells. However, little is known about how scIgGs impact on antitumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment. In this study, we revealed a significant association of tumor scIgGs with tumor progression and poor outcomes of breast cancer patients (n = 547). Using multiple mouse tumor models, we demonstrated that tumor scIgGs reduced NK cell cytotoxic activities and resulted in aggressive tumor progression. We further showed that an anti-hinge specific monoclonal antibody (AHA) rescued the dysfunctional Fc in scIgGs by providing a functional Fc and restored NK cell cytotoxic activity. These findings point to a novel immunotherapeutic strategy to enhance Fc engagement with FcγRs for activation of anticancer immunity. Single-hinge cleaved antibodies (scIgGs) in tumors damped NK cell cytotoxic activities and resulted in more aggressive tumor progression, which can be rescued by targeting the neoepitope in scIgGs with an anti-hinge antibody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]