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Enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) is a frequently occurring inner ear malformation that associates with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), with SLC26A4 being the responsible gene. Based on multiplex PCR enrichment and sequencing of the exonic and flanking regions of the SLC26A4 gene, we developed a panel specifically for EVA and found that up to 95% of EVA patients in our Chinese cohorts carried biallelic SLC26A4 pathogenic variants (M2). In this study, we tried to investigate the genetic etiology of 13 previously undiagnosed EVA patients with monoallelic (M1) or none (M0) SLC26A4 variant using a stepwise approach, including copy number variation (CNV) analysis of multiplex PCR enrichment and next‐generation sequencing data, single‐molecule real‐time (SMRT) sequencing of the whole SLC26A4 gene, whole exome sequencing (WES), and whole genome sequencing (WGS). CNV analysis revealed deletions in Exons 1–3, Exons 5–6, and Exons 9–10 of the SLC26A4 gene in seven patients, and SMRT sequencing identified the same heterozygous deep intronic variant (NM_000441.2:c.304+941C>T) in two patients, resulting in a final diagnosis in 9/13 patients. Notably, the variants of Exons 9–10 deletion and c.304+941C>T have not been reported previously. We further showed that the variant c.304+941C>T led to the exonization of partial AluSz6 element (126 bp) where the variant is located through sequencing of the mRNA extracted from the blood of a heterozygous variant carrier. In conclusion, our stepwise approach improved the diagnosis rate of EVA, expanded the mutational spectrum of the SLC26A4 gene, and highlighted the contribution of exonic deletions and deep intronic variants to EVA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shoaling and breaking of internal waves (IWs) are critical processes in the ocean's energy cascade and mixing. Using seismic data, we observed high-frequency internal waves (HIWs), which were primarily distributed in the depth range of 79–184 m. Their amplitude scale is O (10 m), with half-height widths ranging from 154 to 240 m. The shoaling thermocline and gentle slope with a low internal Iribarren number suggest that observed high-frequency internal waves are likely a result of fission. The remote sensing data support this point. Instability estimations showed that, due to the strong vertical shear, the Richardson number (Ri) in the range of 20–30 km was less than 0.25, and Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) billows can be found in the seismic transect, suggesting that these waves were unstable and might dissipate rapidly. We used the seismic data to estimate diapycnal mixing, and we found that the HIWs can enhance diapycnal mixing, averaging 10-4 m2s-1. The maximum mixing value is up to 10-3 m2s-1 , and it is associated with the breaking of IWs caused by the strong shear. The results show a new energy cascade route from shoaling internal solitary waves (ISWs) to turbulence, i.e., the fission of ISWs into HIWs, which improves our knowledge of ISW energy dissipation and their roles in improved mixing in the northern South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IV–VI semiconductors have attracted widespread attention in basic research and practical applications, because of their electrical and optoelectronic properties comparable to graphene. Herein, an optical modulator based on SnSSe with strong nonlinearity is prepared by chemical vapor transfer method. The modulation depth of proposed SnSSe saturable absorber (SA) is up to 57.5%. By incorporating SnSSe SA into the laser, the Q-switched pulses as short as 547.8 ns are achieved at 1530.07 nm. As far as we know, this is the first successful application of SnSSe in Q-switched lasers. Our investigation not only prove the optical nonlinearity of SnSSe, but also reveal the potential of SnSSe SA in ultrafast photonics.

Yttrium oxide (Y2O3) has been widely used in metal-reinforced composites, microelectronics, waveguide lasers, and high-temperature protective coatings because of its good physical and photoelectric properties. However, few studies have been done on the nonlinear optical applications of Y2O3 as saturable absorbers (SAs) in fiber lasers so far. Here, a passively Q-switched near-infrared fiber laser using Y2O3 as a Q-switching device is demonstrated. The optical nonlinear properties of the Y2O3 SA prepared by the magnetron sputtering method were measured by the twin-detector measurement technique, and the modulation depth of the proposed Y2O3 SA was found to be 46.43%. The achieved Q-switched laser delivers an average output power of 26 mW at 1530 nm with a pulse duration of 592.7 ns. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the optical nonlinearity of Y2O3 as a Q-switcher for the near-infrared fiber laser, which may deepen the understanding of the optical nonlinear properties of Y2O3 and make inroads into the potential market of optical modulation and optoelectronic devices.

In recent years, the diversity of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has made them occupy the essential status in the exploration of saturable absorbing materials. WTe2, also an important member of TMDs not only exhibits narrower band gap than MoS2 or WS2, but also has fast relaxation time, thus it has advantages in the realization of broadband absorption and ultrashort pulses. In this work, a WTe2 saturable absorber (SA) fabricated by magnetron sputtering technology features nonlinear absorption coefficient of −3.78 × 10−5 cm/W and modulation depth of 37.95%. After integrating this WTe2 SA into the ring cavity, a 164 fs mode-locked laser is achieved at 1557.71 nm. The laser remains stable about 8 h with an output power of 36.7 mW. The results show the favorable saturable absorption properties of WTe2, and further demonstrate the potential of WTe2 in the realization of ultrashort pulses, which indicates that WTe2 can be regarded as a possible candidate for future ultrafast lasers.

Abiotic stresses pose a major increasing problem for the cultivation of maize. Autophagy plays a vital role in recycling and re-utilizing nutrients and adapting to stress. However, the role of autophagy in the response to abiotic stress in maize has not yet been investigated. Here, ZmATG3, which is essential for ATG8-PE conjugation, was isolated from the maize inbred line B73. The ATG3 sequence was conserved, including the C-terminal domains with HPC and FLKF motifs and the catalytic domain in different species. The promoter of the ZmATG3 gene contained a number of elements involved in responses to environmental stresses or hormones. Heterologous expression of ZmATG3 in yeast promoted the growth of strain under salt, mannitol, and low-nitrogen stress. The expression of ZmATG3 could be altered by various types of abiotic stress (200 mM NaCl, 200 mM mannitol, low N) and exogenous hormones (500 µM ABA). GUS staining analysis of ZmATG3-GUS transgenic Arabidopsis revealed that GUS gene activity increased after abiotic treatment. ZmATG3-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants had higher osmotic and salinity stress tolerance than wild-type plants. Overexpression of ZmATG3 up-regulated the expression of other AtATGs (AtATG3, AtATG5, and AtATG8b) under NaCl, mannitol and LN stress. These findings demonstrate that overexpression of ZmATG3 can improve tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting green development has emerged as a pivotal approach to optimizing the ecological and economic structure, thereby fostering sustainable development. Whether the implementation of environmental regulations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), an important economic corridor in China, has increased the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of cities remains to be investigated. This paper uses Chinese city panel data from 2007 to 2019 to calculate the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 107 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt using the super-efficiency SBM (Slacks-Based Measure) model and the GML (Global Malmquist–Luenberger) index and measures the intensity of environmental regulations through textual analysis. Through empirical analyses, this paper finds that environmental regulation has an inverted U-shaped effect on green total factor productivity (GTFP), which is first promoted and then suppressed, and the inflection point of the inverted U-shaped curve is about 0.51. Mechanism analyses show that environmental regulation in the Yangtze River Economic Belt promotes the growth of GTFP by facilitating green technological innovation but does not improve GTFP by enhancing the level of industrial structure. Heterogeneity analyses show that the effect of environmental regulation on GTFP is more significant in the city clusters in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and in cities outside the city clusters. Therefore, when formulating environmental regulation policies, the relationship between economic development and environmental protection should be balanced, while focusing on regional heterogeneity and adapting to local conditions, to coordinate the environment and economic development of the whole Yangtze River basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts are essential for sustainable clean energy conversion. However, catalytic materials followed the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) with the inherent scaling relationship between key oxygen intermediates *OOH and *OH, or the lattice-oxygen-mediated mechanism (LOM) with the possible lattice oxygen migration and structural reconstruction, which are not favorable to the balance between high activity and stability. Herein, we propose an unconventional Co-Fe dual-site segmentally synergistic mechanism (DSSM) for single-domain ferromagnetic catalyst CoFeSx nanoclusters on carbon nanotubes (CNT) (CFS-ACs/CNT), which can effectively break the scaling relationship without sacrificing stability. Co3+ (L.S, t2g6eg0) supplies the strongest OH* adsorption energy, while Fe3+ (M.S, t2g4eg1) exposes strong O* adsorption. These dual-sites synergistically produce of Co-O-O-Fe intermediates, thereby accelerating the release of triplet-state oxygen (↑ O = O ↑). As predicted, the prepared CFS-ACs/CNT catalyst exhibits less overpotential than that of commercial IrO2, as well as approximately 633 h of stability without significant potential loss. Efficient oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts are essential for sustainable clean energy conversion. Here, the authors propose a Co-Fe dual-site to facilitate the ferromagnetic O-O bond coupling to achieve a great balance between activity and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]