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Scalable deposition of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is critical to accelerating their commercial applications. However, a significant number of defects are distributed at the buried interface of perovskite film fabricated by scalable deposition, exhibiting much negative influence on the efficiency and stability of PSCs. Herein, 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid potassium salt (MESK) is incorporated as the bridging layer between the tin oxide (SnO2) electron transport layer (ETL) and the perovskite film deposited via scalable two-step doctor blading. Both experiment and simulation results demonstrate that MESK can passivate the trap states of Sn suspension bonds, thereby enhancing the charge extraction and transport of the SnO2 ETL. Meanwhile, the strong interaction with uncoordinated Pb ions can modulate the crystal growth and crystallographic orientation of perovskite film and passivate buried defects. With employing MESK interface bridging, PSCs fabricated via scalable doctor blading in ambient condition achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.67%, which is one of the highest PCEs for doctor-bladed PSCs, and PSC modules with an active area of 11.35 cm2 achieve a PCE of 19.45%. Furthermore, PSCs exhibit excellent long-term stability, and the unpackaged target device with a storage of 1680 h in ambient condition (25 °C and humidity of 30% relative humidity (RH)) can maintain more than 90% of the initial PCE. The research provides a strategy for constructing a high-performance interface bridge between SnO2 ETL and perovskite film, and achieving efficient and stable large-area PSCs and modules fabricated via scalable doctor-blading process in ambient condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to resolve the key genes for weed control by Trichoderma polysporum at the genomic level, we extracted the genomic DNA and sequenced the whole genome of T. polysporum strain HZ-31 on the Illumina Hiseq platform. The raw data was cleaned up using Trimmomatic and checked for quality using FastQC. The sequencing data was assembled using SPAdes, and GeneMark was used to perform gene prediction on the assembly results. The results showed that the genome size of T. polysporum HZ-31 was 39,325,746 bp, with 48% GC content, and the number of genes encoded was 11,998. A total of 148 tRNAs and 45 rRNAs were predicted. A total of 782 genes were annotated in the Carbohydrase Database, 757 genes were annotated to the Pathogen-Host Interaction Database, and 67 gene clusters were identified. In addition, 1023 genes were predicted to be signal peptide proteins. The annotation and functional analysis of the whole genome sequence of T. polymorpha HZ-31 provide a basis for the in-depth study of the molecular mechanism of its herbicidal action and more effective utilization for weed control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenine base editors (ABEs), consisting of CRISPR Cas nickase and deaminase, can chemically convert the A:T base pair to G:C. ABE8e, an evolved variant of the base editor ABE7.10, contains eight directed evolution mutations in its deaminase TadA8e that significantly increase its base editing activity. However, the functional implications of these mutations remain unclear. Here, we combined molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental measurements to investigate the role of the directed-evolution mutations in the base editing catalysis. MD simulations showed that the DNA-binding affinity of TadA8e is higher than that of the original deaminase TadA7.10 in ABE7.10 and is mainly driven by electrostatic interactions. The directed-evolution mutations increase the positive charge density in the DNA-binding region, thereby enhancing the electrostatic attraction of TadA8e to DNA. We identified R111, N119 and N167 as the key mutations for the enhanced DNA binding and confirmed them by microscale thermophoresis (MST) and in vivo reversion mutation experiments. Unexpectedly, we also found that the directed mutations improved the thermal stability of TadA8e by ~ 12 °C (Tm, melting temperature) and that of ABE8e by ~ 9 °C, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the directed-evolution mutations improve the substrate-binding ability and protein stability of ABE8e, thus providing a rational basis for further editing optimisation of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to establish a rapid and sensitive LAMP visual detection method for Potato virus Y on-site, this study used the conserved fragment of PVY CP gene sequence as a template to design primers, and the rapid visual LAMP detection method of Potato virus Y was successfully established by optimizing the reaction system components (concentration ratio of internal and external primers, and concentrations of loop primers, Bst DNA, Mg2+, dNTP and betaine) and reaction conditions (temperature). The established rapid visual LAMP detection method for Potato virus Y can specifically identify Potato virus Y, providing complete visual detection within 40 min, and the detection limit can reach 4.34 pg μL−1 (cDNA) concentration, which is 100 times more sensitive than PCR. An analysis of 50 potato field samples showed that the results of rapid visualization LAMP and RT-PCR were basically the same. This method is suitable for the rapid detection of Potato virus Y on-site, and this study can also provide theoretical reference for the early diagnosis of other potato viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Weeds in farmland seriously threaten crop yield and cause huge economic losses. Due to the extensive use of chemical herbicides, a series of problems have been arisen, such as environmental pollution, soil degradation and pesticide residues. To assess the herbicidal activity, crop safety, taxonomic identity and infection process of strain HZ-011, the methods of inoculation on detached leaves in vitro and pot plants in vivo, as well as scanning electron microscopy, were used in this study. Results: The results indicated that strain HZ-011 had pathogenic effects on detached leaves of four weeds, including Amaranthus retroflexus Linn., Elsholtzia densa Benth., Malva crispa Linn. and Chenopodium album Linn. in vitro. Strain HZ-011 also showed high pathogenicity to C. album and A. retroflexus in vivo, in which the pathogenicity rates were 100%, meaning all plants died after 7 days in the pot test, while the pathogenicity rates for E. splendens and M. crispa were 60.00 and 29.60%, respectively. This strain was safe for local crops, including Vicia faba Linn., Pisum sativum Linn., Brassica napus Linn., Hordeum vulgare Linn. and Triticum aestivum Linn. Strain HZ-011 was identified as the fungus Botrytis euroamericana based on its morphology, molecular biology and a constructed phylogenetic tree. The infection process of B. euroamericana HZ-011 in C. album was studied by plant histopathological observations after pathogen infection. This procedure showed that the mycelium of strain HZ-011 invaded C. album tissues from the stomata, infected and propagated within the tissues, and the spores produced further damage in the C. album tissues and lesions occurred on the surfaces of C. album leaves. Conclusion: These tests provide a basis for fungus B. euroamericana HZ-011 as a potential microbial herbicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, magnetic Barkhausen noise (MBN) and tangential magnetic field (TMF) are employed to quantitatively predict the hardness of bearing steel GCr15. In order to solve the problems that MBN and TMF signals are susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and sensor vibration during the inspection process, which lead to the decrease of the hardness prediction accuracy, a feature-based abnormal signal elimination algorithm is proposed. The features of MBN and TMF signals are used to determine whether the signals are affected by EMI or sensor vibration. To verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, the multiple linear regression (MLR) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) hardness prediction model are developed based on MBN and TMF features. After removing abnormal signals, the hardness prediction error of MLR model is reduced from 21.39 to 1.25% and the hardness prediction error of MLP model is reduced from 7.75 to 0.13%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spermatogenesis is an extremely complex process, and any obstruction can cause male infertility. RhoGDIα has been identified as a risk of male sterility. In this study, we generate RhoGDIα knockout mice, and find that the males have severely low fertility. The testes from RhoGDIα−/− mice are smaller than that in WT mice. The numbers of spermatogonia and spermatocytes are decreased in RhoGDIα−/− testis. Spermatogenesis is compromised, and spermatocyte meiosis is arrested at zygotene stage in RhoGDIα−/− mice. Acrosome dysplasia is also observed in sperms of the mutant mice. At the molecular level, RhoGDIα deficiency activate the LIMK/cofilin signaling pathway, inhibiting F-actin depolymerization, impairing testis and inducing low fertility in mouse. In addition, the treatment of RhoGDIα−/− mice with Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 alleviate testis injury and improve sperm quality by inhibiting the LIMK/cofilin/F-actin pathway during spermatogenesis. Together, these findings reveal a previously unrecognized RhoGDIα/Rac1/F-actin-dependent mechanism involved in spermatogenesis and male fertility. RhoGDIα knockout mice show low male fertility and compromised spermatogenesis, with an underlying defect in F-actin cytoskeleton depolymerisation, which can be alleviated by inhibiting Rac1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoderma polysporum was a pathogenic fungi which showed strong pathogenicity to Avena fatua L. in recent study. The stress response of A. fatua to T. polysporum is mediated by the regulation of gene expression. Quantification of the expression of genes requires normalizing RT-qPCR data using reference genes with stable expression in the system studied as internal standards. To construct a RT-qPCR system suitable for response of A. fatua to T. polysporum, and screen stable internal reference genes, GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and RefFinde were used to perform SYBR Green-based RT-qPCR analysis on eight candidate internal reference genes (18S, 28S, TUA, UBC, ACT, GAPDH, TBP and EF-1α) in A. fatua samples after inoculation of T. polysporum Strain HZ-31. The results showed that TBP, 18S and UBC were the most stable internal reference genes, TBP and TUA, TBP and GAPDH, 18S and TBP, UBC and 18S were the most suitable combination of the two internal reference genes, which could be used as internal reference genes for functional gene expression analysis during the interaction between T. polysporum and A. fatua. This is the first study describing a set of reference genes with a stable expression under fungi stress in A. fatua. These genes are also candidate reference genes of choice for studies seeking to identify stress-responsive genes in A. fatua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This network meta-analysis aimed at comparing the efficacy of local control strategies after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with Ewing sarcoma. Design: Network meta-analysis was used to synthesize direct and indirect evidence in a network of trials that compare multiple interventions and has the potential to rank the competing treatments according to the studied outcome. Setting: There are three treatment options for local Ewing's sarcoma after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, namely surgery, radiotherapy and surgery plus radiotherapy (SR). Participants: Records of 2540 patients from 11 studies were analyzed. Main outcome measures: Potentially relevant studies were retrieved from PubMed and Embase, and screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Hazard ratios and the associated 95% confidence intervals were used to describe the efficacy of different interventions on 5-year local recurrence rate and 5-year event-free survival rate. Surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was calculated for ranking probabilities of different treatment. Results: Compared with radiotherapy, surgery had better efficacy [local recurrence, OR (95% CI) 0.48 (0.33–0.87)] and SR had a similar effect as surgery [local recurrence, OR (95% CI) 0.50 (0.29–0.82)]. There were no statistically significant differences between three different local control strategies in 5-year local recurrence rate. SUCRA values suggested that surgery was better than SR for 5-year local recurrence rate (0.79 vs 0.70) and 5-year event free survival rate (0.67 vs 0.50), respectively. Conclusions: Both surgery and SR were superior to radiotherapy in reducing 5-yer local recurrence of patients with Ewing sarcoma after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Surgery had higher efficacy than SR on improving the prognosis of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effects of electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and explore the associated neuro-vascular coupling and neuropsychological deficits. 19 ESES patients were recruited to undergo real-time transcranial doppler ultrasonography (TCD) and video-EEG monitoring (vEEG). Patients were grouped based on their cognitive functions or their EEG patterns. The mean cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFVm) of the unilateral middle cerebral artery was measured using TCD and was used to calculate various relevant parameters. The 19 patients participated in a total of 54 effective TCD–vEEG monitoring sessions. We found a significant effect of clinical severity for the following measurements: spike wave index (SWI), peak and average deep sleep stage (N3) CBFVm, peak, average and minimum deep sleep and awake CBFVm, and CBFVm oscillations during deep sleep. Nevertheless, CBFVm oscillations were not related to SWI. Furthermore, CBFVm oscillations revealed a statistically significant difference between the near-ESES and asymmetric-ESES groups. CBFVm oscillations may reflect the neuro-vascular coupling process associated with ESES disfunction. Understanding the relationship between CBFVm oscillations and epileptic activity will be important for assessing the neuropsychological damage associated with ESES and for developing treatment options for this and other diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familial amyloid polyneuropathies (FAPs) are life-threatening, autosomal dominant diseases resulting, in most instances, from transthyretin gene (TTR) variants. A small number of TTR variants lead to leptomeningeal amyloidosis (LA), which is a rare FAP subtype with late-onset central nervous system (CNS) impairment symptoms. Previous studies suggest that LA's CNS selectivity was due to complete endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of highly destabilized mutants in peripheral tissues. LA's later age at onset (AAO) was due to lower choroid plexus secretory efficacy. This study reports on a family with LA, including six symptomatic and three presymptomatic members. The LA diagnosis was confirmed by leptomeningeal enhancement on contrast MRI, elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein levels, and positive Congo red staining. The predominant symptoms included headaches, dizziness, vomiting, hallucinations, and cognitive impairments which associated with obstructive hydrocephalus. The TTR p.D38G variant with the lowest secretory efficacy was identified as the genetic cause by whole exome sequencing. The family had a statistically significantly earlier mean AAO of 31.3 ± 7.4 (p = 0.001). These uncommon phenotypes indicate unknown factors influencing the progress of CNS impairment via TTR mutants. Medical imaging examinations suggest the potential early diagnosis value of contrast MRI and the importance of ependyma involvement in LA. LA genetic and clinical data were reviewed and summarized. These findings expand the FAPs' phenotypic spectrum and are valuable in FAP diagnosis, treatment, and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient air particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) contains many harmful components that can enter the circulatory system and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in body. Oxidative stress and DNA damage induced by ROS may affect any cellular macromolecule and lead to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Flavonoids, widely distributed in some herbs and berries, have been proved having anti-oxidative or anti-cancer efficacy. In this study, we investigated whether Flavone, a kind of flavonoids, can protect human bronchial epithelial cells (HBE) from DSBs caused by PM2.5 and how this function is probably implemented. We found that cells exposed to PM2.5 obviously induced viability inhibition, DNA damage and part of apoptosis. However, Flavone treatment prior to PM2.5 apparently improved cell viability, and mitigated the formation of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, the expression of DNA damage-relative protein and cell apoptosis. Our studies demonstrated that PM2.5 induced oxidative DSBs while Flavone ameliorated the DNA damage and increased cell viability probably through influencing DNA repair mechanism of cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Greater Khingan Mountains (Daxinganling) are China's important ecological protective screen and also the region most sensitive to climate changes. To gain an in-depth understanding and reveal the climate change characteristic in this high-latitude, cold and data-insufficient region is of great importance to maintaining ecological safety and corresponding to global climate changes. In this article, the annual average temperature, precipitation and sunshine duration series were firstly constructed using tree-ring data and the meteorological observation data. Then, using the climate tendency rate method, moving-t-testing method, Yamamoto method and wavelet analysis method, we have investigated the climate changes in the region during the past 307 years. Results indicate that, since 1707, the annual average temperature increased significantly, the precipitation increased slightly and the sunshine duration decreased, with the tendency rates of 0.06°C/10a, 0.79 mm/10a and −5.15 h/10a, respectively ( P≤0.01). Since the 21st century, the period with the greatest increase of the annual average temperature (also with the greatest increase of precipitation) corresponds to the period with greatest decrease of sunshine duration. Three sudden changes of the annual average temperature and sunshine duration occurred in this period while two sudden changes of precipitation occurred. The strong sudden-change years of precipitation and sunshine duration are basically consistent with the sudden-change years of annual average temperature, suggesting that in the mid-1860s, the climatic sudden change or transition really existed in this region. In the time domain, the climatic series of this region exhibit obvious local variation characteristics. The annual average temperature and sunshine duration exhibit the periodic variations of 25 years while the precipitation exhibits a periodic variation of 20 years. Based on these periodic characteristics, one can infer that in the period from 2013 to 2030, the temperature will be at a high-temperature stage, the precipitation will be at an abundant-precipitation stage and the sunshine duration will be at an less-sunshine stage. In terms of spatial distribution, the leading distribution type of the annual average temperature in this region shows integrity, i.e., it is easily higher or lower in the whole region; and the second distribution type is more (or less) in the southwest parts and less (or more) in the northeast parts. Precipitation and sunshine duration exhibit complex spatial distribution and include four spatial distribution types. The present study can provide scientific basis for the security investigation of homeland, ecological and water resources as well as economic development programming in China's northern borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zygophiala qianensis is described as a new fungal species associated with the cuticle of apple fruit sampled from an orchard in Shaanxi Province, China. Conidiophores were separate, arising from superficial hyphae, erect, scattered, subcylindrical, irregularly flexuous, consisting of four parts: a hyaline supporting cell that gives rise to a smooth, dark brown stipe, terminating in a finely verruculose, medium brown apical cell that gives rise to (1–)2(–3) medium brown, finely verruculose, doliiform to ellipsoidal, polyblastic conidiogenous cells, with 1–2 prominent scars, apical and lateral, darkened, thickened. Conidia were solitary, fusiform to obclavate, hyaline, smooth and thick-walled, transversely (0–)1(–7)-septate, mostly 1–2-septate, prominently constricted at the septum; apex obtuse, base subtruncate, with a darkened, thickened hilum. Zygophiala qianensis is compared morphologically to other species of Zygophiala, and a phylogenetic analysis of their DNA sequence data is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous genome-wide miRNA microarray study revealed that miR-107 was upregulated in gastric cancer (GC). In this study we aimed to explore its biological role in the pathogenesis of GC. Integrating in silico prediction algorithms with western blotting assays revealed that miR-107 inhibition enhanced NF1 (neurofibromin 1) mRNA and protein levels, suggesting that NF1 is one of miR-107 targets in GC. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-107 suppressed NF1 expression by binding to the first potential binding site within the 3′-UTR of NF1 mRNA. mRNA stable assay indicated this binding could result in NF1 mRNA instability, which might contribute to its abnormal protein expression. Functional analyses such as cell growth, transwell migration and invasion assays were used to investigate the role of interaction between miR-107 and its target on GC development and progression. Moreover, We investigated the association between the clinical phenotype and the status of miR-107 expression in 55 GC tissues, and found the high expression contributed to the tumor size and depth of invasion. The results exhibited that down regulation of miR-107 opposed cell growth, migration, and invasion, whereas NF1 repression promoted these phenotypes. Our findings provide a mechanism by which miR-107 regulates NF1 in GC, as well as highlight the importance of interaction between miR-107 and NF1 in GC development and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]