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A shift in our understanding of macrophage biology has come about as a result of recent discoveries in the area of metabolic reprogramming of macrophages. The NLRP3 inflammasome drives the activation of caspase-1, leading to the production of IL-1β, IL-18, and a type of cell death termed pyroptosis. The NLRP3 inflammasome has been shown to sense metabolites such as palmitate, uric acid, and cholesterol crystals and is inhibited by ketone bodies produced during metabolic flux. The NLRP3 inflammasome has also been shown to be regulated by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and components of glycolysis, such as Hexokinase. Here, we review these findings and discuss their importance for inflammation and furthermore discuss potential therapeutic benefits of targeting NLRP3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon underpins microelectronics but lacks the photonic capability needed for next-generation systems and currently relies on a highly undesirable hybridization of separate discrete devices using direct band gap semiconductors. Rare-earth (RE) implantation is a promising approach to bestow photonic capability to silicon but is limited to internal RE transition wavelengths. Reported here is the first observation of direct optical transitions from the silicon band edge to internal f-levels of implanted REs (Ce, Eu, and Yb); this overturns previously held assumptions about the alignment of RE levels to the silicon band gap. The photoluminescence lines are massively redshifted to several technologically useful wavelengths and modeling of their splitting indicates that they must originate from the REs. Eu-implanted silicon devices display a greatly enhanced electroluminescence efficiency of 8%. Also observed is the first crystal field splitting in Ce luminescence. Mid-IR silicon photodetectors with specific detectivities comparable to existing state-of-the-art mid-IR detectors are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

* Premise of the study: One third of the species-rich Philippine flora is endemic, and most of the islands in the archipelago have never been connected to a continental region. We currently lack any well-sampled angiosperm phylogenies that span the archipelago, prohibiting the formation of informed hypotheses as to the evolution of this rich and highly endemic flora. * Methods: We produced time-calibrated phylogenetic trees from both nuclear (ITS) and chloroplast (ndhA intron, ndhF-rpl32 spacer, rpl32-trnL spacer, trnC-trnD spacer) regions of 41 species of Begonia sect. Baryandra, all except one endemic to the Philippines. Historical biogeography was reconstructed across the chloroplast phylogeny using a Bayesian binary method of character optimization. Comparison of phylogenies from the two genomes permitted insight into the prevalence of hybridization in the group. * Key results: The Philippine archipelago was colonized by Begonia sect. Baryandra in the late Miocene, via long-distance dispersal from western Malesia and a point of entry likely to be in the northwestern region of the archipelago. Palawan, Luzon, and Panay all bear early-branching lineages from this initial colonization. There have been Plio-Pleistocene dispersals from these islands into Borneo and Mindanao. Hybridization was common between species as evidenced by haplotype sharing and phylogenetic incongruence. * Conclusions: The phylogenies show a high degree of geographic structure, which millions of years of exposure to typhoons have not blurred, showing long-term species and population stability. The recent dispersals to Mindanao are congruent with the geologically recent arrival of the island at its current latitude in the southern Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human‐modified tropical landscapes are often invaded by exotic plant species, but relatively few species are able to colonise remnant areas of rainforest embedded within such landscapes. The functional traits of successful invaders of natural versus anthropogenic habitats are poorly known, especially in tropical regions, and identifying such traits provides insight into the mechanisms that drive invasion. Here, we examine the invasion of tropical rainforest remnants along a disturbance gradient, within a human‐modified agricultural landscape, and determine whether exotic species that invade these forests are selected according to particular traits.We surveyed the occurrence of 18 exotic species along 100‐m transects in four habitats—oil palm road, forest‐oil palm edges and disturbed and intact forest within rainforest remnants—at 21 sites across Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We collated data on four functional traits relevant to the barriers plants encounter when colonising new environments (e.g. dispersal and persistence) and tested whether trait filtering occurs during invasion of rainforest remnants.Exotic species richness declined significantly from oil palm (mean 9.2 species per transect) to forest edge (7.8 species) to inside rainforest remnants (3.1 species in disturbed forest), and only one species, Clidemia hirta, invaded intact forest. Exotic communities within rainforest remnants had long‐distance (vertebrate) dispersal, were woodier and had taller maximum heights, compared to those found in oil palm. For each trait, the community‐weighted mean for the forest edge community was intermediate between oil palm and disturbed forest, suggesting trait filtering during the invasion of rainforest remnants.Our study provides strong evidence that trait filtering occurs during invasion from human‐modified agricultural habitats into previously disturbed forests via the forest edge. Successful invasion of rainforest remnants requires relatively long‐distance dispersal, in particular by vertebrates, as well as traits that are more similar to those of native forest species (i.e. tall and woody), making these exotic species more able to compete and persist in that environment. Our results show that disturbed tropical rainforests with open canopies are susceptible to invasion and highlight the traits of exotic species which can invade rainforest habitats, and which may pose a threat to regenerating tropical rainforests. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: Research and publication of the planet's remaining plant and fungal species as yet unknown to science is essential if we are to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 "Life on Land" which includes the protection of terrestrial ecosystems and halting of biodiversity loss. If species are not known to science, they cannot be assessed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and so the possibility to protect them from extinction is reduced. Furthermore, until species are known to science they cannot be fully scientifically evaluated for their potential as new foods, medicines, and products which would help address SDGs 1,2,3, and 8. Summary: Scientific discovery, including naming new taxa, is important because without a scientific name, a species is invisible to science and the possibilities of researching its ecology, applications and threats, and conserving it, are greatly reduced. We review new scientific discoveries in the plant and fungal kingdoms, based largely on new names of taxa published in 2019 and indexed in the International Plant Names Index and Index Fungorum. Numbers of new species in both kingdoms were similar with 1942 new species of plant published and 1882 species of fungi. However, while >50% of plant species have likely been discovered, >90% of fungi remain unknown. This gulf likely explains the greater number of higher order taxa for fungi published in 2019: three classes, 18 orders, 48 families and 214 genera versus one new family and 87 new genera for plants. We compare the kingdoms in terms of rates of scientific discovery, globally and in different taxonomic groups and geographic areas, and with regard to the use of DNA in discovery. We review species new to science, especially those of interest to humanity as new products, and also by life‐form. We consider where future such discoveries can be expected. We recommend an urgent increase in investment in scientific discovery of plant and fungal species, while they still survive. Priorities include more investment in training taxonomists, in building and equipping collections‐based research centers for them, especially in species‐rich, income‐poor countries where the bulk of species as yet unknown to science are thought to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using high‐performance polymers to replace the weak points in wood may be an efficient approach to overcoming certain drawbacks while improving the properties of wood. This study investigated the feasibility of easily replacing part of the wood matrix in poplar wood with renewable poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA). The wood was first treated with an alkali solution and was then immersed in a furfuryl alcohol (FA) solution followed by in situ polymerization. After delignification, a large part of hemicelluloses and lignin were removed. In addition, wood porosity increased and more PFA was polymerized in the wood cell walls, resulting in increased weight percent gain and efficient bulking. The thermogravimetric analysis results indicated that the reformation strongly affected the wood thermal stability. A transformation with 30% FA maintained the porous structure of the wood and resulted in the highest maximum degradation temperature. The dynamic mechanical analysis results also indicated that reformation allowed for greater stress transfer at the interface and resulted in a lower damping peak and a higher storage modulus. Our approach, therefore, could provide a promising method to enhance the performance of wood by reforming the wood components and structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The origin of Neotropical hyperdiversity is one of the most intriguing questions in modern biogeography and is best answered through the investigation of large, pantropically distributed genera, allowing the comparison of closely related clades in different regions. We produced a dated phylogeny and reconstructed ancestral ranges of the megadiverse, Andean-centred genus Begonia to discern its dispersal history throughout the Neotropics and correlates of range evolution. Neotropical and Palaeotropical diversification rates were estimated. Location Neotropics: Central America, South America, West Indies and Mexico. Methods Plastid DNA sequence data from species representing the full geographical range and majority of sections of Neotropical Begonia were analysed with a secondarily calibrated relaxed molecular clock in order to estimate the age of crown groups and divergence times within Neotropical Begonia. Ancestral areas were reconstructed with a Bayesian approach to dispersal-vicariance analysis, a likelihood framework under a dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis model, and a Bayesian binary method. Diversification rates were estimated under a Bayesian framework. Results Biogeographical reconstruction indicated two independent trans-Atlantic colonizations of the Neotropics from Africa. Early-diverging lineages of both clades are reconstructed as having diversified in the mid-Miocene, with multiple dispersal events between the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest and the Andes, and single radiations within the West Indies and Central America plus Mexico. Main conclusions Begonia displays numerous radiations within regions, punctuated by long-distance dispersal. Successful colonization and diversification is predicted by the presence of upland habitat. Recognizing the role of chance dispersal events between available habitats is vital for understanding the formation of current biogeographical patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]