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The application of resting state functional MRI (RS-fMRI) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) was widely performed using standard statistical tests, however, the machine learning (ML) approach has not yet been investigated in PD using RS-fMRI. In current study, we utilized the mean regional amplitude values as the features in patients with PD (n = 72) and in healthy controls (HC, n = 89). The t-test and linear support vector machine were employed to select the features and make prediction, respectively. Three frequency bins (Slow-5: 0.0107–0.0286 Hz; Slow-4: 0.0286–0.0821 Hz; conventional: 0.01–0.08 Hz) were analyzed. Our results showed that the Slow-4 may provide important information than Slow-5 in PD, and it had almost identical classification performance compared with the Combined (Slow-5 and Slow-4) and conventional frequency bands. Similar with previous neuroimaging studies in PD, the discriminative regions were mainly included the disrupted motor system, aberrant visual cortex, dysfunction of paralimbic/limbic and basal ganglia networks. The lateral parietal lobe, such as right inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and supramarginal gyrus (SMG), was detected as the discriminative features exclusively in Slow-4. Our findings, at the first time, indicated that the ML approach is a promising choice for detecting abnormal regions in PD, and a multi-frequency scheme would provide us more specific information.

Sugarcane is an important sugar and energy crop worldwide. It utilises highly efficient C4 photosynthesis and accumulates sucrose in its culms. The sucrose content in sugarcane culms is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes. The regulatory mechanism underlying the maximum sucrose level in sugarcane culms remains unclear. We used transcriptome sequences to identify the potential regulatory genes involved in sucrose accumulation in Saccarum officinarum L. cv. Badila. The sucrose accumulating internodes at the elongation and mature growth stage and the immature internodes with low sucrose content at the mature stage were used for RNA sequencing. The obtained differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to sucrose accumulation were analysed. Results showed that the transcripts encoding invertase (beta-fructofuranosidase, EC: 3.2.1.26) which catalyses sucrose hydrolysis and 6-phosphofructokinase (PFK, EC: 2.7.1.11), a key glycolysis regulatory enzyme, were downregulated in the high sucrose accumulation internodes. The transcripts encoding key enzymes for ABA, gibberellin and ethylene synthesis were also downregulated during sucrose accumulation. Furthermore, regulated protein kinase, transcription factor and sugar transporter genes were also obtained. This research can clarify the molecular regulation network of sucrose accumulation in sugarcane.

Summary The construction of synthetic two-dimensional (2D) materials designates a pathway to the versatile chemical functionality by spatial control. However, current 2D materials with intelligence of stimuli-responsibility and adaptiveness have been unfledged. The approach reported here uses a supramolecular strategy to achieve the dynamic non-covalent self-assembly of a rationally designed small molecule monomer, producing large-area, ultra-thin, porous 2D supramolecular assemblies, which are solution-processable in aqueous solution. Importantly, the 2D supramolecular assemblies exhibit distinct adaptive capability to automatically regulate their network density and pore diameters in response to environmental temperature change, which could be developed into an "on-demand" filtration application for nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the 2D supramolecular assemblies can also perform reversible degradation/reformation by photo-irradiation. Our results not only show the simplicity, reliability, and effectiveness of supramolecular strategies in the construction of 2D materials with practical sizes, but also push the dynamic alterability and adaptation features from supramolecular assemblies toward 2D materials., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • 2D supramolecular assemblies combine large area, nano-thickness and water solubility • The 2D assemblies can perform reversible expansion/contraction to tune pore sizes • The 2D material can be used for on-demand nanoparticles filtration, Supramolecular Materials; Materials Synthesis; Materials Characterization

A new type of photo-induced supramolecular polymer was fabricated by host-guest interaction from a phototrigger containing building block. A dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) macrocycle and dibenzylammonium (DBA) site containing linear monomer was designed and synthesized. The coumarin, as a photocleavable protector, was introduced to the terminal of the monomer. When exposed to the UV light, the coumarin unit would be cleavaged and the monomer without terminal coumarin can self-assemble into supramolecular polymers via the host-guest interaction between DB24C8 moieties and DBA units. Increasing the concentration of the monomer, the supramolecular polymers will convert to supramolecular organogel by cross-linking with each other.

Phosphodiesterase 7 (PDE7), one of the 11 phosphodiesterase (PDE) families, specifically hydrolyzes cyclic 3', 5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). PDE7 is involved in many important functional processes in physiology and pathology by regulating intracellular cAMP signaling. Studies have demonstrated that PDE7 is widely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) and potentially related to pathogenesis of many CNS diseases. Here, we summarized the classification and distribution of PDE7 in the brain and its functional roles in the mediation of CNS diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), and schizophrenia. It is expected that the findings collected here will not only lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms by which PDE7 mediates CNS function and diseases, but also aid in the development of novel drugs targeting PDE7 for treatment of CNS diseases.

Eight new stilbene dimer xylosides (1–8) and one new flavanol (9), along with seven known ones (10–16) were isolated from the roots of Lysidice rhodostegia. Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data (IR, UV, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR), ECD calculations and acid hydrolysis. Compounds 1–16 were evaluated for their antioxidant activities using DPPH radical-scavenging assay. Especially, compounds 9 and 10 exhibited stronger antioxidant effects than the positive control (vitamin E), with IC50 values of 9.57 ± 1.30 and 13.60 ± 1.47 μM, respectively.

Soil potassium (K) spatial heterogeneity was general in tea gardens. Yet, rhizosphere processes of tea plants under soil K spatial heterogeneity is unclear. K heterogeneity was simulated by multi-layer split-root system as follows: both sides had K fertilizer (K+/K+), both sides had no K fertilizer (K0/K0), one side had K fertilizer (K+/K0–K+) and the other side had no K fertilizer (K+/K0–K0). Under K spatial heterogeneity, the differences in rhizosphere processes between the two tea plants (low-K tolerant genotype “1511” and low-K sensitive genotype “1601”) were compared. “1511” could maintain relatively stable fine root proportions under different treatments. For “1511” and “1601”, the strongest soil K activation abilities of root exudates appeared in K+/K0–K0 and K+/K0–K+, respectively. The available K and slowly available K of the rhizosphere soils in K+/K0–K+ was 14% and 8% less than those in K+/K+ for “1511”, but the above form K of the rhizosphere soils in K+/K0–K+ was 8% and 10% higher than those in K+/K+ for “1601”. In conclusion, under the spatial K heterogeneity, low-K tolerant tea plant could achieve high K efficiency mainly through the following ways: (1) maintaining good fine root developments; (2) improving the soil K activation in K+/K0–K0 through the secretion of organic acids; (3) promoting the utilization of soil K in K+/K0–K+. Our findings may contribute to the improvement of tea planting patterns and quality in low K tea gardens, and that to understand the interactions between roots and soil of the low K-tolerant genotype tea plants under the condition of K spatial heterogeneity.

Electrospun polypropylene fibrous (PPF) membrane was selected as a substrate to graft ionic liquids (ILs) and avoid tedious ILs separation and recovery. A catalytic membrane, BILs-g-PPF, was prepared by long-distance and dynamic low-temperature Ar plasma flow activation and subsequent grafting with dual -SO3H imidazole Bronsted acidic ILs (BILs), [(CH2)3SO3HVIm]HSO4. A novel multistage membrane series reactor was first developed by employing the BILs-g-PPF membrane to catalyze esterification of acetic acid with ethyl alcohol. The BILs, which supplied strong active H+ and benefited to overcome the chemical equilibrium due to its high hydrophilic groups, was chosen as a catalyst. The three-dimensional porous network architecture of PPF membrane provided a high specific surface area to graft considerable BILs and enhanced mass transfer in membrane. The optimization of reaction conditions was studied and the results were as followed: BILs grafting degree of 213.5 mol/m3, reaction temperature 70 °C, molar ratio of acid to alcohol 1:5, membrane flux of 21.36 L/(m2·h). In single-stage catalytic membrane system, the acid conversion achieved 66.24% in 8 h. The multistage membrane series reactor can improve the reaction conversion efficiency. For the used membrane which lost some anions, its catalytic properties could be largely restored by soaking activation using a dilute sulfuric acid aqueous solution with a mass concentration of 10%. The proposed reaction kinetic models which related the feed volume and membrane structure parameters predict the esterification process well at different conditions.

LHON is one of the most common and primary causes of acute blindness in young male adults. Over 95% of LHON cases are caused by one of the three primary mutations (m.11778G>A, m.14484T>C, and m.3460G>A). In contrast to these genetically diagnosed LHON patients, there are many patients with clinical features of LHON but without the three primary mutations, and these patients have been insufficiently analyzed. We reported 10 suspected Chinese LHON families without the three primary mutations. The overall penetrance (53.4%) in these families is significantly higher than in those families with m.11778G>A (33.3%) or m.3460G>A (25.6%). Complete mtDNA genome sequencing of the 10 families showed that they belonged to different haplogroups and all identified variants (excluding m.12332A>G in mt-tRNA(Leu)) were previously reported. Eight of 12 private non-synonymous variants in the probands are located in the MT-ND1 and MT-ND5 genes, which is substantially higher than that of individuals from general Chinese populations. Comparison of the private variants in the 10 families and in 10 randomly selected mtDNAs from general Chinese populations using resampling simulation strategy further confirmed this pattern. Our results suggest that the MT-ND1 and MT-ND5 genes are mutational hotspots for Chinese families with suspected LHON lacking the common primary mutations. Variants m.3736G>A (p.V144I) in family Le1235 and m.10680G>A (p.A71T) in Le1107 can be the pathogenic mutations for LHON.