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Color centers, arising from zero-dimensional defects, exploit quantum confinement to access internal electron quantum degrees of freedom, holding potential for quantum technologies. Despite intensive research, the structural origin of many color centers remains elusive. In this study, we employ in-situ cathodoluminescence scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with integrated differential phase contrast imaging to examine how defect configuration in tungsten sulfide determines color-center emission. Using an 80-kV accelerated electron beam, defects were deliberately produced, visualized, excited in situ and characterized in real time in monolayer WS2 within hBN|WS2 | hBN heterostructures at 100 K. These color centers were simultaneously measured by cathodoluminescence microscopy and differentiated by machine learning. Supported by DFT calculations, our results identified a crucial sulfur vacancy configuration organized into featured vacancy pairs, generating stable and bright luminescence at 660 nm. These findings elucidate the atomic-level structure-exciton relationship of color centers, advancing our understanding and quantum applications of defects in 2D materials. The controlled fabrication and microscopic understanding of quantum emitters in 2D materials remain challenging. Here, the authors report the production and characterization of defects in monolayer WS2 via cathodoluminescence electron microscopy, identifying sulfur vacancy pairs as bright and stable emitters at 660 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the neglect of reactor features which can substantially influence results, there are divergences on whether the decompression step of steam explosion pretreatment affects biomass saccharification and subsequent bioethanol production. An original innovative reactor is presented, which adopts new-designed pilot-operated pneumatic (POP) mode to maximize the effect of decompression, to settle divergences. Based on the reactor, three series of experiments set at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 MPa pressure with 0- and 10-min residence times were conducted with wheat straw as feedstock, compositional/structural adaptation, and enzymatic digestibility as targets. Results show that decompression alone improved the porosity of feedstock and led to a maximum increase of 17% in specific surface area (SSA). However, no decompression effects could be confirmed on chemical depolymerization and cellulose crystalline destruction, which were mainly attributed to the hydrothermal autohydrolysis and highly correlated with the severity factor (logR0). According to the enzymatic hydrolysis test, decompression promoted the reducing sugar yield of wheat straw by 6–11% due to the modification of porosity, but autohydrolysis still played the definitive role and an appropriate severity (logR0 = 3.36) is necessary to sufficiently exploit the function of decompression. This paper provides more integral information for further optimization of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of "dry chemical thermomechanical pretreatment" by combining dry explosion with acid-spraying was carried out for Hybrid Pennisetum (HP) to improve energy efficiency and reduce the negative environmental impact. The physicochemical and pyrolysis properties of HP treated by acid-spraying, dry explosion (DE), and acid dry explosion (ADE) methods were analyzed. The results showed that the DE process can efficiently disrupt the complex biomass structure through the removal of hemicellulose, the dissolution and relocation of lignin, and the dissolution of amorphous cellulose. Moreover, the reaction intensity of the DE pretreatment was significantly enhanced with acid-spraying. The higher heating value of HP treated by ADE 210 °C increased from 17.85 to 21.23 MJ/kg, while the pyrolysis activation energy declined from 48.31 to 38.79 kJ/mol. The ADE pretreatment improved fuel properties and pyrolysis characteristics of HP with the bond conversion of C–O to C–C/C = C. This research supplied an effective and eco-friendly method of dry explosion combined with acid-spraying for improving the fuel and pyrolysis properties of lignocellulose biomass for thermochemical applications. This method can resolve the problem of high energy consumption and waste liquid production for industrial application process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure of proper ventricular trabeculation is often associated with congenital heart disease. Support from endocardial cells, including the secretion of extracellular matrix and growth factors is critical for trabeculation. However, it is poorly understood how the secretion of extracellular matrix and growth factors is initiated and regulated by endocardial cells. We find that genetic knockout of histone deacetylase 3 in the endocardium in mice results in early embryo lethality and ventricular hypotrabeculation. Single cell RNA sequencing identifies significant downregulation of extracellular matrix components in histone deacetylase 3 knockout endocardial cells. Secretome from cultured histone deacetylase 3 knockout mouse cardiac endothelial cells lacks transforming growth factor ß3 and shows significantly reduced capacity in stimulating cultured cardiomyocyte proliferation, which is remarkably rescued by transforming growth factor ß3 supplementation. Mechanistically, we identify that histone deacetylase 3 knockout induces transforming growth factor ß3 expression through repressing microRNA-129-5p. Our findings provide insights into the pathogenesis of congenital heart disease and conceptual strategies to promote myocardial regeneration. Lack of trabeculation compromises heart structure and function. How myocardial trabeculation is regulated by nonmyocytes is poorly understood. Researchers found that histone deacetylase 3 in the developing endocardial cells guides myocardial trabeculation by inducing growth signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA from organelles called mitochondria is not inherited from the father. But mitochondrial RNAs that sense paternal diet and mitochondrial quality are delivered from sperm to egg, affecting offspring metabolism.Small mitochondrial RNAs in sperm sense paternal obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry explosion (DE), a thermal–mechanical method based on explosive power, was introduced for pretreatment of biomass material. The effects of different dehydration combined with DE pretreatments (120, 140, and 160 °C) on color, pore characteristics, crystallinity, and enzymatic hydrolysis of hybrid Pennisetum (HP) were analyzed. The results showed that dewatering press (PD) removed more soluble substrate in HP than oven drying dehydration (OD). The instantaneous explosive decompression of the DE process significantly increased the explosion power density with the increasing severity factor and reached 45.50 MW·m−3 at 160 °C. Moreover, dehydration combined with DE pretreatment broke the pore structure and destructed cellulose crystallization of HP. Also, it improved the cellulose accessibility and the surface exposure of cellulose, which enhanced the enzymatic hydrolysis yield. PD combined with 160 °C DE promoted the reducing sugar yield of HP to 443.0 mg/g and enzymatic hydrolysis to 70.2%. The correlation analysis showed that reducing sugar yield was significantly correlated with color L* and b* values, surface area, and crystal size. All in all, DE pretreatment is a green and effective method for biomass saccharification utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, antiviral drugs (AVDs) were heavily excreted into wastewater and subsequently enriched in sewage sludge due to their widespread use. The potential ecological risks of AVDs have attracted increasing attention, but information on the effects of AVDs on sludge anaerobic digestion (AD) is limited. In this study, two typical AVDs (lamivudine and ritonavir) were selected to investigate the responses of AD to AVDs by biochemical methane potential tests. The results indicated that the effects of AVDs on methane production from sludge AD were dose- and type-dependent. The increased ritonavir concentration (0.05–50 mg/kg TS) contributed to an 11.27–49.43% increase in methane production compared with the control. However, methane production was significantly decreased at high lamivudine doses (50 mg/kg TS). Correspondingly, bacteria related to acidification were affected when exposed to lamivudine and ritonavir. Acetoclastic and hydrotropic methanogens were inhibited at a high lamivudine dose, while ritonavir enriched methylotrophic and hydrotropic methanogens. Based on the analysis of intermediate metabolites, the inhibition of lamivudine and the promotion of ritonavir on acidification and methanation were confirmed. In addition, the existence of AVDs could affect sludge properties. Sludge solubilization was inhibited when exposed to lamivudine and enhanced by ritonavir, perhaps caused by their different structures and physicochemical properties. Moreover, lamivudine and ritonavir could be partially degraded by AD, but 50.2–68.8% of AVDs remained in digested sludge, implying environmental risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium iron hexacyanoferrate (FeHCF), as Prussian blue, is a promising cathode for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) on account of its open framework structure. Here, FeHCF nanocubes anchored on carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays (FeHCF/CNTs-CC) as integrated electrodes for SIBs have been synthesized via the combination of chemical vapor deposition, immersion–oxidation, and single-iron-source methods. CNT arrays loaded on carbon cloth link FeHCF nanocubes and provide abundant pathways for electrons, as well as a large surface area for sodium ion exchange at the surface of the electrode and electrolyte to facilitate electrochemical kinetics. With the assistance of CNT arrays, FeHCF/CNTs-CC display outstanding high-rate capabilities (135 mA h g−1/0.1 A g−1 and 90 mA h g−1/2 A g−1), and good cycling stability with a capacity retention of 85% after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic technology is a green technology using solar energy, which plays an important role in environmental protection. Bismuth compound BiOX (X = Cl, Br) is an excellent wide band gap semiconductor photocatalytic material but a greatly limited absorption of visible light. Silver bromide has strong photosensitivity but poor photocatalytic performance due to the serious recombination of photoelectron-hole pairs and the potential reaction between photoelectrons and silver ions. In this work, a series of BiOBr/BiOCl/AgBr ternary composite photocatalysts with excellent photocatalytic performance is synthesized by coprecipitation, and its photodegradation property in catalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RHB) dye under visible light irradiation is investigated. The results show that BiOBr/BiOCl/AgBr ternary heterojunction is successfully prepared experimentally, and the BiOBr/BiOCl/AgBr nanocomposites with 20 % molar fraction of AgBr (molar ratio of BiOBr/BiOCl =1:1) exhibits the best photocatalytic performance, its rate is 3.6 times of BiOCl, 3.1 times of BiOBr, and 55.9 times of AgBr. The formation of S-scheme heterojunction effectively reduces the recombination of photoelectron-hole pairs, resulting in a significant improvement in the photocatalytic performance of the ternary composite catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is likely to introduce new mobility experiences for travelers. In particular, AVs would allow travelers to get off at the destinations and then drive themselves elsewhere to park rather than cruise for parking or park at a location with a high parking fee. The self-parking capability is likely to increase the utility of private-owned AVs (PAVs) and make this mobility option more attractive than human-driven vehicles. The present study investigates the dynamics of travelers shifting to PAVs from other transport modes and its negative impact on road traffic congestion. To this end, we propose an agent-based demand model which considers different travel cost components depending on crucial travel attributes such as trip purpose and activity duration. The estimated demand is then fed into a mesoscopic traffic simulation model to examine the resulting road traffic conditions. As charging private vehicles for the congestion they cause is an effective tool for demand management and congestion alleviation, we also integrate a distance-based pricing scheme into the overall modeling framework to investigate its impact on mode choice and transport network performance. A case study is conducted in Melbourne, Australia to demonstrate the proposed methodology. The results indicate that the distance-based pricing scheme can effectively limit the usage of PAVs and reduce traffic congestion, especially in the city center and peripheral suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT), a common complication of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), remains the bottleneck of the treatments. Liver cancer cells potentially experienced multi-steps during PVTT process, including cancer cells leave from cancer nest, migrate in extracellular matrix, invade the vascular barrier, and colonize in the portal vein. Accumulated evidences have revealed numerous of molecular mechanisms including genetic and epigenetic regulation, cancer stem cells, immunosuppressive microenvironment, hypoxia, et al. contributed to the PVTT formation. In this review, we discuss state-of-the-art PVTT research on the potential molecular mechanisms and experimental models. In addition, we summarize PVTT-associated clinical trials and current treatments for PVTT and suppose perspectives exploring the molecular mechanisms and improving PVTT-related treatment for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the treatment of early-stage rectal cancer, a growing number of studies have shown that transanal endoscopic microsurgery is one of the alternatives to radical surgery adhering to total mesorectal excision that can reduce the incidence of adverse events without compromising treatment outcomes. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to compare the safety and treatment effect of transanal endoscopic microsurgery and radical surgery adhering to total mesorectal excision to provide a basis for clinical treatment selections. Method: We searched the literatures of four major databases, PubMed, Embase, Web of science, and Cochrane Library, without limitation of time. The literatures included randomized controlled studies and cohort studies comparing two surgical procedures of transanal endoscopic microsurgery and radical surgery adhering to total mesorectal excision. Treatment effectiveness and safety results of transanal endoscopic microsurgery and radical surgery were extracted from the included literatures and statistically analyzed using RevMan5.4 and stata17. Result: Ultimately, 13 papers were included in the study including 5 randomized controlled studies and 8 cohort studies. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the treatment effect and safety of both transanal endoscopic microsurgery and radical surgery in distant metastasis (RR, 0.59 (0.34, 1.02), P > 0.05), overall recurrence (RR, 1.49 (0.96, 2.31), P > 0.05), disease-specific-survival (RR, 0.74 (0.09, 1.57), P > 0.05), dehiscence of the sutureline or anastomosis leakage (RR, 0.57 (0.30, 1.06), P > 0.05), postoperative bleeding (RR, 0.47 (0.22, 0.99), P > 0.05), and pneumonia (RR, 0.37, (0.10, 1.40), P > 0.05) were not significantly different. However, they differ significantly in perioperative mortality (RR, 0.26 (0.07, 0.93, P < 0.05)), local recurrence (RR, 2.51 (1.53, 4.21), P < 0.05),_overall survival_ (RR, 0.88 (0.74, 1.00), P < 0.05), disease-free-survival (RR, 1.08 (0.97, 1.19), P < 0.05), temporary stoma (RR, 0.05 (0.01, 0.20), P < 0.05), permanent stoma (RR, 0.16 (0.08, 0.33), P < 0.05), postoperative complications (RR, 0.35 (0.21, 0.59), P < 0.05), rectal pain (RR, 1.47 (1.11, 1.95), P < 0.05), operation time (RR, −97.14 (−115.81, −78.47), P < 0.05), blood loss (RR, −315.52 (−472.47, −158.57), P < 0.05), and time of hospitalization (RR, −8.82 (−10.38, −7.26), P < 0.05). Conclusion: Transanal endoscopic microsurgery seems to be one of the alternatives to radical surgery for early-stage rectal cancer, but more high-quality clinical studies are needed to provide a reliable basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of high-capacity anode materials is extremely vital for the progress of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). SnSe2 is of great interest, on account of its low cost and high theoretical specific capacity, when used as the anode of LIBs. SnSe2 exhibits drastic capacity decay at high rates, due to its inherent low electrical conductivity, as well as its sluggish kinetics and huge volume expansion during charging and discharging. In this work, flexible Sn-based nanofibers were synthesized by electrostatic spinning, followed by high-temperature calcination and selenization to obtain the final SnSe2@NCNFs. The SnSe2 nanoparticles were encapsuled in carbon nanofibers with good ductility after annealing at 600°C. The carbon nanofibers not only act as self-supporting substrates but also improve the conductivity of the composite and retard volume expansion of SnSe2. With the above advantages, the integrated SnSe2@NCNFs is able to provide good stability, with 144.3 mA h g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 1000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical techniques for visualization and quantification of chemical and biological analytes are always highly desirable. Here we show a hyperspectral surface plasmon resonance microscopy (HSPRM) system that uses a hyperspectral microscope to analyze the selected area of SPR image produced by a prism-based spectral SPR sensor. The HSPRM system enables monochromatic and polychromatic SPR imaging and single-pixel spectral SPR sensing, as well as two-dimensional quantification of thin films with the measured resonance-wavelength images. We performed pixel-by-pixel calibration of the incident angle to remove pixel-to-pixel differences in SPR sensitivity, and demonstrated the HSPRM's capabilities by using it to quantify monolayer graphene thickness distribution, inhomogeneous protein adsorption and single-cell adhesion. The HSPRM system has a wide spectral range from 400 nm to 1000 nm, an optional field of view from 0.884 mm2 to 0.003 mm2 and a high lateral resolution of 1.2 μm, demonstrating an innovative breakthrough in SPR sensor technology. The authors developed a pristine hyperspectral SPR microscopy that enables monochromatic and polychromatic SPR imaging with flexible field-of-view option, single-pixel spectral SPR sensing and 2D quantification of thin films with resonant wavelength images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the earliest-diverging lineage of the megadiverse beetle suborder Polyphaga, marsh beetles (Scirtidae) are crucial for reconstructing the ancestor of all polyphagan beetles and the ecomorphological underpinnings of their remarkable evolutionary success. The phylogeny of marsh beetles has nonetheless remained challenging to infer, not least because of their fragmentary Mesozoic fossil record. Here we describe a new scirtid beetle genus and species, Varcalium lawrencei gen. et sp. nov., preserving internal tissue, from Albian–Cenomanian Kachin amber (ca 99 Ma), representing the second member of this family known from the deposit. Based on a formal morphological phylogenetic analysis, Varcalium is recovered within the crown-group of Scirtinae, forming a clade with other genera that possess subocular carinae. The finding suggests that the crown-group of Scirtinae has already diversified by the mid-Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to visualize and compare the cavitation effect and fluid dynamics induced by photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS) using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) with different concentrations as irrigant. Methods: Forty artificial root canals were prepared using MTWO Niti file up to size #25/.06. The canals were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10/group). High-speed camera was used to visualize and compare the cavitation effect induced by PIPS in the artificial root canals containing saline or NaOCl. Fluid velocity and Reynolds number of saline, 1%-, 2.5%- and 5.25% NaOCl irrigants induced by PIPS in the apical region were calculated using TEMA 2D software while the fluid motions were recorded. Results: Visualization profile revealed that NaOCl presented a stronger cavitation effect and fluid dynamics than saline during PIPS activation. In the apical region, 1% NaOCl group presented the highest average velocity of 3.868 m/s, followed by 2.5% NaOCl group (3.685 m/s), 5.25% NaOCl group (2.353 m/s) and saline group (1.268 m/s), corresponding to Reynolds number of 1653.173, 1572.196, 995.503 and 477.692. Statistically higher fluid velocity was calculated in 1% and 2.5% NaOCl groups compared to saline group, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The application of NaOCl and its concentration significantly influence the cavitation effect and fluid dynamics during PIPS activation. 1% and 2.5% NaOCl groups presented a more violent fluid motion in the apical region when activated by PIPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methanogenesis is the last step in anaerobic digestion, which is usually a rate-limiting step in the biological treatment of organic waste. The low methanogenesis efficiency (low methane production rate, low methane yield, low methane content) substantially limits the development of anaerobic digestion technology. Traditional pretreatment methods and bio-stimulation strategies have impacts on the entire anaerobic system and cannot directly enhance methanogenesis in a targeted manner, which was defined as “broad-acting” strategies in this perspective. Further, we discussed our opinion of methanogenesis process with insights from the electron transfer system of syntrophic partners and provided potential targeted enhancing strategy for high-efficiency electron transfer system. These “precise-acting” strategies are expected to achieve an efficient methanogenesis process and enhance the bio-energy recovery of organic waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High entropy alloys (HEAs) are an important material class in the development of next-generation structural materials, but the astronomically large composition space cannot be efficiently explored by experiments or first-principles calculations. Machine learning (ML) methods might address this challenge, but ML of HEAs has been hindered by the scarcity of HEA property data. In this work, the EMTO-CPA method was used to generate a large HEA dataset (spanning a composition space of 14 elements) containing 7086 cubic HEA structures with structural properties, 1911 of which have the complete elastic tensor calculated. The elastic property dataset was used to train a ML model with the Deep Sets architecture. The Deep Sets model has better predictive performance and generalizability compared to other ML models. Association rule mining was applied to the model predictions to describe the compositional dependence of HEA elastic properties and to demonstrate the potential for data-driven alloy design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organs consist of the parenchyma and stroma, the latter of which coordinates the generation of organotypic structures. Despite recent advances in organoid technology, induction of organ-specific stroma and recapitulation of complex organ configurations from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have remained challenging. By elucidating the in vivo molecular features of the renal stromal lineage at a single-cell resolution level, we herein establish an in vitro induction protocol for stromal progenitors (SPs) from mouse PSCs. When the induced SPs are assembled with two differentially induced parenchymal progenitors (nephron progenitors and ureteric buds), the completely PSC-derived organoids reproduce the complex kidney structure, with multiple types of stromal cells distributed along differentiating nephrons and branching ureteric buds. Thus, integration of PSC-derived lineage-specific stroma into parenchymal organoids will pave the way toward recapitulation of the organotypic architecture and functions. Organs consist of parenchyma and stroma. Nishinakamura and colleagues induce renal stromal progenitors from mouse pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), and generate completely PSC-derived organoids that reproduce complex kidney structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apocephalus borealis is a parasitoid of hymenopterans native to North America that also attacks introduced honey bees (Apis mellifera). Parasitism by this species has been associated with infested bees absconding the hive and dying outside. The flies can also harbour viral infections and nosematosis. Recently, nucleotide sequences identical to A. borealis were reported from bulk screenings of honey bees from Belgium and South Korea, although no adult flies have been collected. To predict the potential invasion risk of A. borealis across the world, we constructed a MaxEnt species distribution model based on occurrence data from North America submitted to the citizen science project ZomBee Watch (zombeewatch.org) and from museum specimens. The results have shown that extensive parts of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Asia Minor, southern Africa, eastern Asia, Australasia, and North and South America have high degrees of climatic suitability for invasion, suggesting that the fly could establish in these regions. The potential invasion range is expected to stay similar under different climate change scenarios. We discuss the status of A. borealis as an invasive species and measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of its introduction outside of North America. Our results highlight A. borealis as a potential threat to honey bee health worldwide that requires urgent attention of international veterinary bodies to prevent its spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poles of the heart and branchiomeric muscles of the face and neck are formed from the cardiopharyngeal mesoderm within the pharyngeal apparatus. They are disrupted in patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, due to haploinsufficiency of TBX1, encoding a T-box transcription factor. Here, using single cell RNA-sequencing, we now identify a multilineage primed population within the cardiopharyngeal mesoderm, marked by Tbx1, which has bipotent properties to form cardiac and branchiomeric muscle cells. The multilineage primed cells are localized within the nascent mesoderm of the caudal lateral pharyngeal apparatus and provide a continuous source of cardiopharyngeal mesoderm progenitors. Tbx1 regulates the maturation of multilineage primed progenitor cells to cardiopharyngeal mesoderm derivatives while restricting ectopic non-mesodermal gene expression. We further show that TBX1 confers this balance of gene expression by direct and indirect regulation of enriched genes in multilineage primed progenitors and downstream pathways, partly through altering chromatin accessibility, the perturbation of which can lead to congenital defects in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Perturbations of the cardiopharyngeal mesoderm can lead to congenital defects in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Here the authors use single cell RNA-sequencing to identify a multilineage primed population within the mesoderm, marked by Tbx1, which has bipotent properties to form cardiac and branchiomeric muscle cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Though superficially similar to some soft-bodied archostematans, Anoeuma could be firmly placed in the polyphagan superfamily Elateroidea based on the hind wing venation. Detailed morphological comparisons between extant elateroids and the Cretaceous fossils suggest that the unique character combination does not fit with confidence into any existing soft-bodied elateroid group, although some characters indicate possible relationships between Anoeuma and Omalisinae. Our discovery of this new lineage further demonstrates the past diversity and morphological disparity of soft-bodied elateroids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative allylic C–H functionalization is a powerful tool to streamline organic synthesis as it minimizes the need for functional group activation and generates alkenyl-substituted products amenable to further chemical modifications. The intramolecular variants can be used to construct functionalized ring structures but remain limited in scope and by their frequent requirement for noble metal catalysts and stoichiometric chemical oxidants. Here we report an oxidant-free, electrocatalytic approach to achieve intramolecular oxidative allylic C–H amination and alkylation by employing tailored cobalt-salen complexes as catalysts. These reactions proceed through a radical mechanism and display broad tolerance of functional groups and alkene substitution patterns, allowing efficient coupling of di-, tri- and even tetrasubstituted alkenes with N- and C-nucleophiles to furnish high-value heterocyclic and carbocyclic structures. Oxidative allylic C–H functionalizations minimise the need for functional group activation and generate alkenyl-substituted products amenable to further chemical modifications. Here the authors report an oxidant-free, electrocatalytic approach to achieve intramolecular oxidative allylic C–H amination and alkylation by employing tailored cobalt-salen complexes as catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The RNA-binding protein QKI belongs to the hnRNP K-homology domain protein family, a well-known regulator of pre-mRNA alternative splicing and is associated with several neurodevelopmental disorders. Qki is found highly expressed in developing and adult hearts. By employing the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) to cardiomyocyte differentiation system and generating QKI-deficient hESCs (hESCs-QKIdel) using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, we analyze the physiological role of QKI in cardiomyocyte differentiation, maturation, and contractile function. hESCs-QKIdel largely maintain normal pluripotency and normal differentiation potential for the generation of early cardiogenic progenitors, but they fail to transition into functional cardiomyocytes. In this work, by using a series of transcriptomic, cell and biochemical analyses, and the Qki-deficient mouse model, we demonstrate that QKI is indispensable to cardiac sarcomerogenesis and cardiac function through its regulation of alternative splicing in genes involved in Z-disc formation and contractile physiology, suggesting that QKI is associated with the pathogenesis of certain forms of cardiomyopathies. RNA binding protein Quaking (QKI) is known for its broad function in pre-mRNA splicing and modification and its association with several neurodevelopmental disorders. Here the authors reveal that QKI-mediated regulation of RNA splicing is indispensable to cardiac development and contractile physiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1,2-diamine motif is widely present in natural products, pharmaceutical compounds, and catalysts used in asymmetric synthesis. The simultaneous introduction of two amino groups across an alkene feedstock is an appealing yet challenging approach for the synthesis of 1,2-diamines, primarily due to the inhibitory effect of the diamine products to transition metal catalysts and the difficulty in controlling reaction diastereoselectivity and regioselectivity. Herein we report a scalable electrocatalytic 1,2-diamination reaction that can be used to convert stable, easily available aryl alkenes and sulfamides to 1,2-diamines with excellent diastereoselectivity. Monosubstituted sulfamides react in a regioselective manner to afford 1,2-diamines bearing different substituents on the two amino groups. The combination of an organic redox catalyst and electricity not only obviates the use of any transition metal catalyst and oxidizing reagent, but also ensures broad reaction compatibility with a variety of electronically and sterically diverse substrates. Methods to prepare 1,2-diamines are desirable due the importance of these compounds as drug scaffolds and organic ligands for metals. Here, the authors report an electrochemical metal-free 1,2- diamination of aryl alkenes with sulfamides to 1,2-diamines with excellent diastereoselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous growth in traffic demand has led to a decrease in the air quality in various urban areas. More than ever, local authorities for environmental protection and urban planners are interested in performing detailed investigations using traffic and air pollution simulations for testing various urban scenarios and raising citizen awareness where necessary. This article is focused on the traffic and air pollution in the eco-neighbourhood "Nancy Grand Cœur", located in a medium-size city from north-eastern France. The main objective of this work is to build an integrated simulation model which would predict and visualize various environmental changes inside the neighbourhood such as: air pollution, traffic flow or meteorological information. Firstly, we conduct a data profiling analysis on the received data sets together with a discussion on the daily and hourly traffic patterns, average nitrogen dioxide concentrations and the regional background concentrations recorded in the eco-neighbourhood for the study period. Secondly, we build the 3D mesoscopic traffic simulation model using real data sets from the local traffic management centre. Thirdly, by using reliable data sets from the local air-quality management centre, we build a regression model to predict the evolution of nitrogen dioxide concentrations, as a function of the simulated traffic flow and meteorological data. We then validate the estimated results through comparisons with real data sets, with the purpose of supporting the traffic engineering decision-making and the smart city sustainability. The last section of the paper is reserved for further regression studies applied to other air pollutants monitored in the eco-neighbourhood, such as sulphur dioxide and particulate matter and a detailed discussion on benefit and challenges to conduct such studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water cycle at subduction zones remains poorly understood, although subduction is the only mechanism for water transport deep into Earth. Previous estimates of water flux1-3 exhibit large variations in the amount of water that is subducted deeper than 100 kilometres. The main source of uncertainty in these calculations is the initial water content of the subducting uppermost mantle. Previous active-source seismic studies suggest that the subducting slab may be pervasively hydrated in the plate-bending region near the oceanic trench4-7. However, these studies do not constrain the depth extent of hydration and most investigate young incoming plates, leaving subduction-zone water budgets for old subducting plates uncertain. Here we present seismic images of the crust and uppermost mantle around the central Mariana trench derived from Rayleigh-wave analysis of broadband ocean-bottom seismic data. These images show that the low mantle velocities that result from mantle hydration extend roughly 24 kilometres beneath the Moho discontinuity. Combined with estimates of subducting crustal water, these results indicate that at least 4.3 times more water subducts than previously calculated for this region3. If other old, cold subducting slabs contain correspondingly thick layers of hydrous mantle, as suggested by the similarity of incoming plate faulting across old, cold subducting slabs, then estimates of the global water flux into the mantle at depths greater than 100 kilometres must be increased by a factor of about three compared to previous estimates3. Because a long-term net influx of water to the deep interior of Earth is inconsistent with the geological record8, estimates of water expelled at volcanic arcs and backarc basins probably also need to be revised upwards9. Seismic images of Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle around the Mariana trench show widespread serpentinization, suggesting that much more water is subducted than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eukaryotic genomes are generally organized in multiple chromosomes. Here we have created a functional single-chromosome yeast from a Saccharomyces cerevisiae haploid cell containing sixteen linear chromosomes, by successive end-to-end chromosome fusions and centromere deletions. The fusion of sixteen native linear chromosomes into a single chromosome results in marked changes to the global three-dimensional structure of the chromosome due to the loss of all centromere-associated inter-chromosomal interactions, most telomere-associated inter-chromosomal interactions and 67.4% of intra-chromosomal interactions. However, the single-chromosome and wild-type yeast cells have nearly identical transcriptome and similar phenome profiles. The giant single chromosome can support cell life, although this strain shows reduced growth across environments, competitiveness, gamete production and viability. This synthetic biology study demonstrates an approach to exploration of eukaryote evolution with respect to chromosome structure and function. Successive fusion of yeast chromosomes is used to produce a single-chromosome strain that is viable, albeit with slightly reduced fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization as dry mycelial fertilizer (DMF) produced from penicillin fermentation fungi mycelium (PFFM) with an acid-heating pretreatment is a potential way. To study the transformation and stability of water-extractable organic matter in DMF-amended soil via fluorescence regional integration (FRI) of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM), a soil experiment in pot was carried out. The results showed that residual penicillin (about 32 mg/kg) was almost degraded in the first 5 days, indicating that the drug pollution was in control. The pH value, DOC, DON, and DOC/DON presented a classical profile, but germination index (GI) leveled off about 0.13 till day 13 in DMF-12% treatment due to the severe phytotoxicity. The addition of DMF significantly increased the soil microbial populations in contrast to the CON treatment. The EEM showed that the protein-like and microbial byproduct-like matters vanished on the 25th and 33rd days, whereas the fulvic-like substances appeared on the 7th day. The humic-like substances existed in original samples but their content greatly enhanced finally. The FRI results showed that P / P reached the highest value of 1.84 on the 25th day, suggesting that DMF maintained stable in amended soil. Because of its consistency with the results of GI and DOC/DON, the EEM-FRI has a potential to evaluate the stability of DMF in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconventional emergencies usually have the characteristics of complexity, dynamic, and unpredictability, which greatly enhances the difficulty of emergency decision-making. Aiming at the multi-stage large group emergency decision-making problem featuring unknown stage weight and preference information expressed as interval numbers, we propose a new decision-making method. First, we present a similarity measurement formula for interval numbers. Each stage's preference information is clustered using this similarity. To minimize the conflict of preferences, we derived two relative entropy optimization models to calculate the aggregation and stage weights. Next, we rank the alternatives based on the comprehensive group preference information. Finally, we present an illustrative example to verify the validity and practicability of this approach, and discuss several advantages of this method for managing emergency decision-making problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advanced oxidization process has proven to be an effective conditioning technique for the improvement of sludge dewaterability. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) is often used as the catalyst of the oxidization process. This study applied ZVI with different particle sizes to the ZVI- peroxydisulfate reactions, and investigated their effects on the improvement of sludge dewaterability. It was found that ZVI particles with smaller sizes (100 and 400 meshes) led to slightly higher enhancement of sludge dewaterability (69.1%-72%) than the larger size particles (20-40 meshes) with the reduction rate of CST by 64%. However, after the treatment, the recycle rate of larger size ZVI particles was obviously higher than the small sizes ZVI particles: 98.3% vs. 87.6-89.7%. Different surface areas of the ZVI particles with different sizes might contribute to the phenomenon. For the small ZVI particles with the sizes of 100 and 400 meshes, no obvious differences of oxidization effects and the improvements of sludge dewaterability were found between them, which might be because an oxide layer could have been formed on the surface of fine ZVI particles and led to agglomeration. According to the economical analysis, the small particles (100 and 400 meshes) of ZVI were more economically favorable for the oxidative conditioning process with ZVI-peroxydisulfate than large ZVI particles (20-40 meshes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotaxis is a type of oriented movement of cells in response to the concentration gradient of chemical substances in their environment. We consider local existence and stability of nontrivial steady states of a logistic type of chemotaxis. We carry out the bifurcation theory to obtain the local existence of the steady state and apply the expansion method on the chemotaxis to investigate the bifurcation direction. Moreover, by applying the bifurcation direction, we obtain the bifurcating steady state is stable when the bifurcation curve turns to right under certain conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Correction to: World J Urol (2016) 34:561-567 b https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-015-1656-7 The authors Dr. Rabinowitz and Dr. Olson informed that the mentioned affiliations are wrong in the original publication of the article. Their correct affiliation should be as given below: DICAT Biomedical Computation Centre, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5A6, Canada The email address of the corresponding author Dr. Rabinowitz should be yaron.rabinowitz@dicat.ca. Correction: Tim-3 expression represents dysfunctional tumor infiltrating T cells in renal cell carcinoma. [Extracted from the article]

The correct version of the legend now states 'Tamoxifen was injected at E11.5 and the mice were analyzed at E15.5' The HTML has been updated to include a corrected version of the Supplementary Information. Correction to: I Nature Communications i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28226-7, published online 01 February 2022 The original version of the Supplementary Information associated with this Article contained an error in the legend of Supplementary Fig. [Extracted from the article]

The dry mycelium fertilizer (DMF) was produced from penicillin fermentation fungi mycelium (PFFM) following an acid-heating pretreatment to degrade the residual penicillin. In this study, it was applied into soil as fertilizer to investigate its effects on soil properties, phytotoxicity, microbial community composition, enzyme activities, and growth of snap bean in greenhouse. As the results show, pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and organic matter of soil with DMF treatments were generally higher than CON treatment. In addition, the applied DMF did not cause heavy metal and residual drug pollution of the modified soil. The lowest GI values (<0.3) were recorded at DMF8 (36 kg DMF/plat) on the first days after applying the fertilizer, indicating that severe phytotoxicity appeared in the DMF8-modified soil. Results of microbial population and enzyme activities illustrated that DMF was rapidly decomposed and the decomposition process significantly affected microbial growth and enzyme activities. The DMF-modified soil phytotoxicity decreased at the late fertilization time. DMF1 was considered as the optimum amount of DMF dose based on principal component analysis scores. Plant height and plant yield of snap bean were remarkably enhanced with the optimum DMF dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal cell carcinoma is among the leading causes of cancer-related death and was found to induce IL-10. We started by focusing on IL-10-secreting cells in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in renal cell carcinoma patients and observed that both CD3 T cells and CD19 B cells contributed to an elevated IL-10 expression. We then focused on IL-10-expressing B cells, and found that compared to non-IL-10-producing B cells, the IL-10-expressing B cells had significantly lower levels of CD19 and CD20 expression, a lack of IgM and IgD expression, while the level of CD27 was elevated. Moreover, culturing under unstimulated conditions resulted in higher antibody production by these IL-10-producing B cells than their peripheral blood counterparts, which strongly suggested that they are plasmablast-differentiating cells. Both IgA and IgG subtypes were found but IgA had a higher relative abundance in the tumor-infiltrating fraction. We then observed inverse correlations between the frequency of IL-10-producing B cells and pro-inflammatory cytokine-producing T cells and T cell proliferation. The expression of T cell exhaustion marker Tim-3, however, was upregulated in patients with high frequencies of IL-10-producing B cells. Moreover, supernatant from tumor B cells suppressed T cell inflammation. In addition, frequencies of IL-10-producing tumor-infiltrating B cells were inversely correlated with resected tumor size, and were higher in later stage tumors. Together, our data demonstrated that IL-10-producing B cells had plasmablast-differentiating phenotype, and could contribute to T cell immunosuppression in renal cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common cancer of kidney. Evidences have shown that RCC is sensitive to various immunotherapies. Tim-3 plays a role in suppressing Th1-mediated immune responses. However, no study has yet examined the effect of Tim-3 on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in RCC. Methods: We investigated the expression and function of Tim-3 on TIL CD4+ T cells and TIL CD8+ T cells from 30 RCC patients. Results: Levels of Tim-3 were significantly increased on both TIL CD4+ T cells and TIL CD8+ T cells and were associated with higher stages of the cancer. Also, GATA-3 and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were down-regulated, whereas T-bet was up-regulated in TIL Tim-3+ T cells, indicating that Tim-3 expression defined a population of dysfunctional TIL Th1/Tc1 cells. Mechanism analyses showed that TIL Tim-3-expressing CD8+ T cells exhibited impaired Stat5 and p38 signaling pathway. Blocking the Tim-3 pathway restored cell proliferation and increased IFN-γ production in TIL CD4+ and CD8+ T cells of RCC. Conclusions: These results suggest that Tim-3 may be used as a novel target for increasing immune responses in RCC tumor microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-stage transition upon crossing the glass transition of polystyrene with increasing temperature was precisely determined and interpreted by using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR), H-H dipolar couplings based double quantum-filtered (DQF) and dipolar filter (DF) experiments and C chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) based centerband-only detection of exchange (CODEX) experiment are used to fully characterize the time scale of molecular motions during the glass transition. While differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and CODEX experiment predicted the first stage of glass transiton, DQF and DF experiments provided the evidence for the second stage transition during which the time scale of molecular motions changed from very slow ( t > ms) to very fast ( t < µs). The first stage of glass transition begins with the occurrence of remarkable slow re-orientation motions of the polymer backbone segments and ends when the degree of slow motion reaches maximum. The onset and endpoint of the conventional calorimetric glass transition of polystyrene can be quantitatively determined at the molecular level by SSNMR. In the second stage, a subsequent dramatic transition associated with the melting of the glassy components was observed. In this stage liquid-like NMR signals appeared and rapidly increased in intensity after a characteristic temperature T (~1.1 T). The signals associated with the glassy components completely disappeared at another characteristic temperature T (~1.2 T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

None of the authors have responded to any correspondence from the editor/publisher about this editorial expression of concern. B Editorial Expression of Concern: World J Urol (2016) 34:561-567 b https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-015-1656-7 The Editors-in-Chief are issuing an expression of concern for this article. Editorial Expression of Concern: Tim-3 expression represents dysfunctional tumor infiltrating T cells in renal cell carcinoma. [Extracted from the article]

Both multi-class and one-class discrimination analyses (DAs) have been widely used for tracing the geographical origins of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) foods. However, due to the complexity of potential non-PDO frauds, both methods have encountered some problems. Because multi-class DA tries to classify two or more predefined classes, its classification results will be unreliable when it is used to predict a new object from an untrained class. One-class DA is developed using only the information concerning one-class objects, so they cannot necessarily ensure the model specificity for detection of various food frauds. In this work, a new chemometric strategy was proposed by fusion of multi-class and one-class DA to trace the geographical origin of a Chinese dried shiitake mushroom with PDO. The PDO shiitake objects ( n = 161) and non-PDO objects ( n = 264) from five other main producing areas were analyzed using near-infrared spectroscopy. The classification performance of multi-class DA, one-class DA, and model fusion was compared. With second-order derivative (D2) spectra, model fusion obtained a high sensitivity (0.944) and specificity (0.968). Model comparison indicates that fusion of multi-class and one-class DA can enhance the specificity for detecting various non-PDO foods with little loss of model sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatlands are widely developed in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but little is known about carbon budgets for these alpine peatland ecosystems. In this study, we used an automatic chamber system to measure ecosystem respiration in the Hongyuan peatland, which is located in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Annual ecosystem respiration measurements showed a typical seasonal pattern, with the peak appearing in June. The highest respiration was 10.43 μmol CO/m/s, and the lowest was 0.20 μmol CO/m/s. The annual average ecosystem respiration was 2.06 μmol CO/m/s. The total annual respiration was 599.98 g C/m, and respiration during the growing season (from May to September) accounted for 78 % of the annual sum. Nonlinear regression revealed that ecosystem respiration has a significant exponential correlation with soil temperature at 10-cm depth ( R = 0.98). The Q value was 3.90, which is far higher than the average Q value of terrestrial ecosystems. Ecosystem respiration had an apparent diurnal variation pattern in growing season, with peaks and valleys appearing at approximately 14:00 and 10:00, respectively, which could be explained by soil temperature and soil water content variation at 10-cm depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, according to the characteristics of floods, the closeness centrality of complex network is improved to analyze the evolution of flood disaster social stability risks. Based on the investigation conducted on the flood occurred in Hunan Province in August 2013, and related papers, the topology map for the evolution of flood social stability risk is analyzed and constructed by means of the improved closeness centrality. On this basis, the evolution of social stability risks incurred in floods is divided into three grades, in which such risks as house collapse, crops ruining, looting shopping, social panic etc. produce the maximum impacts on the entire evolution system. So, during the disaster relief, priority should be given to resolve the difficulties in meeting the basic necessities that are closely associated with people's life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-damo) is a newly discovered biological process that couples anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) to nitrite reduction. In this study, three different inocula, methanogenic sludge, paddy soil, and freshwater sediment were used to enrich n-damo bacteria in three sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), and three n-damo enrichment cultures, C1, C2 and C3, were obtained, respectively. After 500 days of incubation, Methylomirabilis oxyfera-like bacteria and n-damo activities were observed in cultures C1, C2, and C3, and the specific activities were 0.8 ± 0.1, 1.4 ± 0.1, and 1.0 ± 0.1 μmol CH h g VSS, respectively. The copy numbers of 16S rRNA genes from cultures C1, C2, and C3 were 5.0 ± 0.4 × 10, 6.1 ± 0.1 × 10, and 1.0 ± 0.2 × 10 copies g dry weight, respectively. The results indicated that paddy soil is an excellent inoculum for n-damo bacterial enrichment. This work expanded the alternative source of n-damo inoculum and benefited the further research of n-damo process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The staphylinid subfamily Micropeplinae includes small strongly sclerotized beetles with truncate elytra leaving the most part of abdomen exposed. Fossil micropeplines are rare and confined to Cenozoic representatives of extant genera. Here, we describe the oldest micropepline, Protopeplus cretaceus gen. and sp. n., from the Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Fluorescence microscope and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were both used to reveal diagnostic features of Micropeplinae and some primitive traits that place Protopeplus very basally within Micropeplinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]