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Local recurrence and distant metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) caused by immune escape is one of the root causes of treatment difficulties. We aim to investigate the mechanism of immune escape in NSCLC. NSCLC tissues were collected. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay. Cell migration and invasion ability was measured by Transwell assay. The expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and PD-L1 were detected by Western blot. NSCLC cells were co-cultured with CD8+ T cells to simulate tumor microenvironment in vitro. The proportion of CD8+ T cells and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed the targeting relationship of circDENND2D and STK11. The expressions of circDENND2D and STK1 were down-regulated, while miR-130b-3p expression was up-regulated in NSCLC tissues. Overexpression of circDENND2D or STK11 inhibited NSCLC cells proliferation, migration and invasion, and attenuated the immune escape of NSCLC cells. CircDENND2D targeted miR-130b-3p to competitively promote STK11 expression. STK11 knockdown or miR-130b-3p overexpression attenuated the function of circDENND2D overexpression on NSCLC cells. CircDENND2D inhibited metastasis and immune escape of NSCLC by regulating miR-130b-3p/STK11 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium dioxide (VO 2) is a promising material for energy-saving smart windows due to its reversible metal-to-insulator transition near room temperature, concomitantly with a structural phase transition between monoclinic VO 2 (M) phase and rutile VO 2 (R) phase. However, the fact that VO 2 has a complex crystalline phase makes its reliable synthesis an obstacle to its practical application. Machine learning (ML), a specific subset of artificial intelligence, can be utilized to generate virtual representations of experimental conditions and outcomes for the purpose of predicting experiments. Therefore, in the paper, four machine learning models were trained to perform optimization of the VO 2 hydrothermal synthesis. A random forest model achieved a classification accuracy of 87.27%. The synthetic parameter space was explored to filter combinations with a synthetic probability above 90%. Random forest models were used to guide the experimental synthesis, and the obtained products were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results showed that phase-pure VO 2 (B) and VO 2 (M) were successfully synthesized, demonstrating the effectiveness of machine learning in optimizing material synthesis, alleviating the stochasticity of material synthesis caused by the control of synthesis conditions, and promoting the application research of VO 2 materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer immune escape is associated with the metabolic reprogramming of the various infiltrating cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and combining metabolic targets with immunotherapy shows great promise for improving clinical outcomes. Among all metabolic processes, lipid metabolism, especially fatty acid metabolism (FAM), plays a major role in cancer cell survival, migration, and proliferation. However, the mechanisms and functions of FAM in the tumor immune microenvironment remain poorly understood. We screened 309 fatty acid metabolism-related genes (FMGs) for differential expression, identifying 121 differentially expressed genes. Univariate Cox regression models in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were then utilized to identify the 15 FMGs associated with overall survival. We systematically evaluated the correlation between FMGs' modification patterns and the TME, prognosis, and immunotherapy. The FMGsScore was constructed to quantify the FMG modification patterns using principal component analysis. Three clusters based on FMGs were demonstrated in breast cancer, with three patterns of distinct immune cell infiltration and biological behavior. An FMGsScore signature was constructed to reveal that patients with a low FMGsScore had higher immune checkpoint expression, higher immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) scores, increased immune microenvironment infiltration, better survival advantage, and were more sensitive to immunotherapy than those with a high FMGsScore. Finally, the expression and function of the signature key gene NDUFAB1 were examined by in vitro experiments. This study significantly demonstrates the substantial impact of FMGs on the immune microenvironment of breast cancer, and that FMGsScores can be used to guide the prediction of immunotherapy efficacy in breast cancer patients. In vitro experiments, knockdown of the NDUFAB1 gene resulted in reduced proliferation and migration of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At present, there are more than 300 million asthma patients in the world. Electronic cigarettes (e‐cigarettes) are considered as a new way of smoking and are loved by young people. The relationship between e‐cigarettes and asthma risk is still controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta‐analysis to explore the relationship between e‐cigarettes and asthma. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for research results published before august 2020. All data analysis was through R version 3.6.3. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots, Begg's rank correlation test, and Egger regression asymmetry tests. Most of the included studies were adjusted for potential confounding factors. Results: This meta found the association of e‐cigarette use with asthma, and the combined OR value was 1.27 (95% CI = 1.17–1.37). We found the significant association of current e‐cigarette usage with asthma (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.17–1.45), and the former use of e‐cigarettes also had an association with asthma (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.08–1.39). Then, when e‐cigarettes were used in combination with traditional cigarettes, the association odds with asthma was 1.47 (95% CI = 1.13–1.91), which was higher than that of users who used traditional cigarettes (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.19–1.49). In subgroup analysis, adult and female e‐cigarette users were more closely associated with asthma. Conclusion: In short, in this meta‐analysis, we found that current or former use of e‐cigarettes are associated with the prevalence of asthma. However, the specific relationship required more rigorous design for further verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, radiative cooling has garnered widespread attention due to its energy-independent and environmentally friendly nature. However, one major challenge in the field of radiative cooling faces is the lack of artificial control over the cooling effect, which not only impacts cooling comfort but also leads to unnecessary energy waste during heating in cold environments. In this paper, a novel approach to address this challenge is proposed by a radiative cooling device with a three-layer structure consisting of vanadium dioxide (VO 2), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silver. The transition of VO 2 between the metallic and insulating states results in the formation and disappearance of the Fabry-Pérot resonator, thereby facilitating the transition between different cooling modes. Additionally, the stretchability of the PDMS enables the device to achieve different radiative cooling power by applying varying levels of stress. In high-temperature environments, it achieves an average net radiative cooling power of 96.2 W/m2 throughout the day, highlighting its exceptional energy-saving capabilities. In low-temperature environments, the cooling effect can be suppressed to prevent excessive cooling, achieving a temperature reduction as low as 0.4 °C. This device offers controllable cooling power, and its diverse control modes in different environments contribute to its excellent environmental adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a layered transition metal-sulfur compound semiconductor that shows promising prospects for applications in optoelectronics and integrated circuits because of its low preparation cost, good stability and excellent physicochemical, biological and mechanical properties. MoS2 with high quality, large size and outstanding performance can be prepared via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, its preparation process is complex, and the area of MoS2 obtained is difficult to control. Machine learning (ML), as a powerful tool, has been widely applied in materials science. Based on this, in this paper, a ML Gaussian regression model was constructed to explore the growth mechanism of MoS2 material prepared with the CVD method. The parameters of the regression model were evaluated by combining the four indicators of goodness of fit (r2), mean squared error (MSE), Pearson correlation coefficient (p) and p-value (p_val) of Pearson's correlation coefficient. After comprehensive comparison, it was found that the performance of the model was optimal when the number of iterations was 15. Additionally, feature importance analysis was conducted on the growth parameters using the established model. The results showed that the carrier gas flow rate (Fr), molybdenum sulfur ratio (R) and reaction temperature (T) had a crucial impact on the CVD growth of MoS2 materials. The optimal model was used to predict the size of molybdenum disulfide synthesis under 185,900 experimental conditions in the simulation dataset so as to select the optimal range for the synthesis of large-size molybdenum disulfide. Furthermore, the model prediction results were verified through literature and experimental results. It was found that the relative error between the prediction results and the literature and experimental results was small. These findings provide an effective solution to the preparation of MoS2 materials with a reduction in the time and cost of trial and error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent successes in the control of dental caries, the mechanism of caries development remains unclear. To investigate the causes of dental decay, especially in early childhood caries, the supragingival microflora composition of 20 twins with discordant caries phenotypes were analyzed using high-throughput pyrosequencing. In addition, the parents completed a lifestyle questionnaire. A total of 228,789 sequencing reads revealed 10 phyla, 84 genera, and 155 species of microflora, the relative abundances of these strains varied dramatically among the children, Comparative analysis between groups revealed that Veillonella, Corynebacterium and Actinomyces were presumed to be caries-related genera, Fusobacterium, Kingella and Leptotrichia were presumed to be healthy-related genus, yet this six genera were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Moreover, a cluster analysis revealed that the microbial composition of samples in the same group was often dissimilar but that the microbial composition observed in twins was usually similar. Although the genetic and environmental factors that strongly influence the microbial composition of dental caries remains unknown, we speculate that genetic factors primarily influence the individual's susceptibility to dental caries and that environmental factors primarily regulate the microbial composition of the dental plaque and the progression to caries. By using improved twins models and increased sample sizes, our study can be extended to analyze the specific genetic and environmental factors that affect the development of caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient and economical disposal of urea wastewater for promoting wastewater reuse, are still tough obstacles for the sustainable development of urea industry. In order to explore newly efficient and economical alternative for urea wastewater treatment, a novel one-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal reactor (submerged aerated biological filter, SABF) simultaneously combining with urea hydrolysis, partial nitritation (PN) and anammox was carried out and stably operated for 126 days. The SABF reactor not only presented excellent urea removal efficiency (˃ 99.5%) with average effluent urea concentration of 0.83 mg/L to meet reuse standard, but also achieved high nitrogen removal loading, ammonium removal efficiency and total nitrogen removal efficiency as 1.5 kg N/(m3·d), 89.46% and 77.09%, respectively. The urea removal mechanism was proven as the intracellular urea hydrolysis, which was conducive to accomplish the persistent free ammonia (FA) inhibition on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria for stable PN and guaranteed total nitrogen removal by anammox. High-throughput sequencing analysis results revealed that Nitrosomonas accounting for 15.92% should be responsible for excellent urea hydrolysis and PN performance and Candidatus_Brocadia with relative abundance of 1.63% was the main anammox bacteria for further nitrogen removal in the SABF reactor. The proposed process showed significant advantages of extremely low operational cost and high removal efficiency with recyclable effluent for urea wastewater treatment. This study provided a novel and superior alternative for the cleaner production of urea manufacturing enterprises, which can well alleviate the stress of urea wastewater treatment and further benefit the sustainable development of urea industry in the future. [Display omitted] • A novel one-stage nitrogen removal process for urea wastewater was developed. • Intracellular urea hydrolysis, partial nitritation, anammox were integrated in SABF. • A high N removal rate of 1.5 kg N/(m3·d) was achieved at 30 °C. • Effluent urea concentration was stably lower than 1 mg/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the sake of high efficiency and saving operational cost for high-concentration urea wastewater treatment, a novel two-stage partial nitritation (PN)-anammox process containing simultaneous urea hydrolysis and PN in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was investigated. Although the influent urea concentration increased from 500 to 1200 mg/L, the SBR simultaneously achieved urea removal efficiency higher than 98% and stable PN with effluent NO 2 −-N/NH 4 +-N ratio of 1.0–1.3 without any extra alkalinity addition. The intracellular hydrolysis was the dominant mechanism for urea removal and persistent free ammonia inhibition on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria was the main reason for nitrite accumulation of 97.92% in SBR. The subsequent anammox reactor showed efficient nitrogen removal performance with average ammonium removal efficiency, nitrogen removal efficiency and maximum nitrogen removal loading rate of 98.08%, 81.45% and 1.05 kg N·m−3·d−1 respectively. High-throughput sequencing results indicated Gemmatimonadetes became the most abundant bacterial phylum related to potential intracellular urea hydrolysis and displayed obvious ammonium-oxidizing bacteria enrichment and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria inhibition in SBR, and the dominant anammox bacteria (Candidatus_Kuenenia) in anammox reactor. The proposed process was proven to be promising for high-concentration urea wastewater treatment, facilitating the sustainable development of the urea industry in the future. [Display omitted] • A novel biological nitrogen removal process for urea wastewater was investigated. • Autotrophic N removal with no alkalinity added was achieved for urea wastewater. • Intracellular urea hydrolysis and stable partial nitritation was integrated in SBR. • 81.45% of total N was removed by anammox with N removal rate of 1.05 kg N·m−3·d−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost-effective nitrogen removal from iron oxide wastewater is a limitation in the sustainable development of the iron oxide manufacturing industry. Two processes, namely, complete nitritation (in a sequencing batch reactor with zeolite powder, ZSBR) combined with traditional denitrification and partial nitritation (in the same ZSBR) combined with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), were successfully developed and then compared for long-term nitrogen removal from iron oxide wastewater. Stable and complete nitritation with nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) > 95.1% was achieved in the ZSBR. Nitrogen removal rates (NRRs) of up to 4.083 ± 0.727 kg N/m3/d were obtained subsequently in a denitrifying upflow sludge blanket reactor at an influent chemical oxygen demand/total nitrogen ratio of 2.5. Efficient partial nitritation was also achieved with effluent NO 2 −–N/NH 4 +–N ratios of 1.1–1.5 and NAR > 92.0% in the ZSBR, with a final NRR of 1.175 kg N/m3/d in the subsequent anammox reactor. The addition of zeolite achieved persistent free ammonia inhibition on nitrite oxidizing bacteria in the ZSBR and resulted in efficient and controllable nitrite accumulation. The total chemical cost in the complete nitritation–denitrification process was 3.32 USD/kg NH 4 +–N, which was 1.14 times higher than that in the partial nitritation–anammox process. Both processes were effective and reliable in achieving nitrogen removal from iron oxide wastewater for the sustainable development of the iron oxide manufacturing industry. [Display omitted] • Two novel nitrogen removal processes were compared for iron oxide wastewater. • Both complete nitritation and partial nitritation (PN) were effectively achieved. • Free ammonia inhibition on nitrite oxidizing bacteria was crucial for nitritation. • Nitritation-denitrification consumed 2.14 times the chemical cost of PN-anammox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulked segregant CGT-Seq-facilitated map-based cloning of a powdery mildew resistance gene originating from wild emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccoides) In this study, we cloned the powdery mildew resistance allele I MlWE18 i ( I NLR SP WE18 sp i ) whose locus is not present in the wheat reference genomes using a combined BSA and CGT-seq strategies. Most of the cloned wheat disease resistance genes are NLRs that tend to be PAVs between the resistance and susceptible genotypes, especially the genes derived from wild relatives (Li I et al i ., 2020; Walkowiak I et al i ., 2020). Keywords: BSA; ChIP-Seq; NLR; PAV EN BSA ChIP-Seq NLR PAV 1288 1290 3 07/28/21 20210701 NES 210701 Powdery mildew, caused by I Blumeria graminis i f. sp. I tritici i ( I Bgt i ), is a widely occurring foliar disease of wheat worldwide. [Extracted from the article]

Vanadium dioxide (VO 2) is a key material for thermochromic smart windows that can respond to environmental temperature to regulate near-infrared transmittance automatically. To date, VO 2 -based smart windows have made great progress, but practical applications still remain restricted by two tough challenges, i.e., low solar regulation ability and unpopular color. In view of the above two challenges, in this paper, novel warm/cool-tone switchable VO 2 -based composite films were designed and prepared. The novel composite films demonstrate outstanding optical properties: Δ T sol = 18.92% and T lum,l = 48.70%. The high solar modulation efficiency is attributed to the modulation of the thermochromic microcapsules in visible light waveband and VO 2 in near-infrared region. Meanwhile changes in color of the composite films at different temperatures were also studied in order to develop high-performance warm/cool-tone switchable thermochromic smart windows. These promising results will benefit to promote the popularization and application of smart windows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astrocytoma is a common brain tumor that can occur in any part of the central nervous system. This tumor is extremely harmful to patients, and there are no clear studies on the risk factors for astrocytoma of the brain. This study was conducted based on the SEER database to determine the risk factors affecting the survival of patients with astrocytoma of the brain. Patients diagnosed with brain astrocytoma in the SEER database from 2004 to 2015 were screened by inclusion exclusion criteria. Final screened brain astrocytoma patients were classified into low grade and high grade according to WHO classification. The risk factors affecting the survival of patients with low-grade and high-grade brain astrocytoma were analyzed by univariate Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank tests, individually. Secondly, the data were randomly divided into training set and validation set according to the ratio of 7:3, and the training set data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression, and the risk factors affecting the survival of patients were screened and nomogram was established to predict the survival rates of patients at 3 years and 5 years. The area under the ROC curve (AUC value), C-index, and Calibration curve are used to evaluate the sensitivity and calibration of the model. Univariate Kaplan–Meier survival curve and log-rank test showed that the risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with low-grade astrocytoma included Age, Primary site, Tumor histological type, Grade, Tumor size, Extension, Surgery, Radiation, Chemotherapy and Tumor number; risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with high-grade astrocytoma include Age, Primary site, Tumor histological type, Tumor size, Extension, Laterality, Surgery, Radiation, Chemotherapy and Tumor number. Through Cox regression, independent risk factors of patients with two grades were screened separately, and nomograms of risk factors for low-grade and high-grade astrocytoma were successfully established to predict the survival rate of patients at 3 and 5 years. The AUC values of low-grade astrocytoma training set patients were 0.829 and 0.801, and the C-index was 0.818 (95% CI 0.779, 0.857). The AUC values of patients in the validation set were 0.902, 0.829, and the C-index was 0.774 (95% CI 0.758, 0.790), respectively. The AUC values of high-grade astrocytoma training set patients were 0.814 and 0.806, the C-index was 0.774 (95% CI 0.758, 0.790), the AUC values of patients in the validation set were 0.802 and 0.823, and the C-index was 0.766 (95% CI 0.752, 0.780), respectively, and the calibration curves of the two levels of training set and validation set were well fitted. This study used data from the SEER database to identify risk factors affecting the survival prognosis of patients with brain astrocytoma, which can provide some guidance for clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the effects of mineral salt supplement on enteric methane emissions, ruminal fermentation and methanogen community of dairy cows over a whole lactation period. Ten Holstein cows fed a total mixed ration (TMR) diet were randomly allocated into two groups, one supplied with mineral salts as the treatment group and the other as the control group. The methane measurement showed that the ingestion of mineral salts lowered enteric methane emissions significantly ( P < 0.05), with an average of 10.5% reduction over the whole lactation period. Ruminal fermentation analysis showed the mineral salt intake could significantly decrease the acetate : propionate ratio ( P < 0.05). Real-time PCR assay showed that rumen methanogen abundance significantly reduced in the treatment group ( P < 0.05) but was not significantly influenced by mineral salt intake over the whole lactation period. Intergroup methanogen community composition was influenced slightly by mineral salt intake; however, significantly different intragroup profiles were apparent throughout the whole lactation period, according to denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis. In conclusion, these results suggested that the effective mitigation of enteric methane emissions by mineral salt intake could be attributed to decreased density of methanogenic archaea and that fluctuations in methane emission over the lactation period might be related to Methanobrevibacter diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Although some nucleotide binding, leucine‐rich repeat immune receptor (NLR) proteins conferring resistance to specific viruses have been identified in dicot plants, NLR proteins involved in viral resistance have not been described in monocots.We have used map‐based cloning to isolate the CC‐NB‐LRR (CNL) Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) resistance gene barley stripe resistance 1 (BSR1) from Brachypodium distachyon Bd3‐1 inbred line. Stable BSR1 transgenic Brachypodium line Bd21‐3, barley (Golden Promise) and wheat (Kenong 199) plants developed resistance against BSMV ND18 strain. Allelic variation analyses indicated that BSR1 is present in several Brachypodium accessions collected from countries in the Middle East.Protein domain swaps revealed that the intact LRR domain and the C‐terminus of BSR1 are required for resistance. BSR1 interacts with the BSMV ND18 TGB1 protein in planta and shows temperature‐sensitive antiviral resistance. The R390 and T392 residues of TGB1ND (ND18 strain) and the G196 and K197 residues within the BSR1 P‐loop motif are key amino acids required for immune activation.BSR1 is the first cloned virus resistance gene encoding a typical CNL protein in monocots, highlighting the utility of the Brachypodium model for isolation and analysis of agronomically important genes for crop improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermochromic smart windows are optical devices that can regulate their optical properties actively in response to external temperature changes. Due to their simple structures and as they do not require other additional energy supply devices, they have great potential in building energy-saving. However, conventional thermochromic smart windows generally have problems with high response temperatures and low response rates. Owing to their great effect in photothermal conversion, photothermal materials are often used in smart windows to assist phase transition so that they can quickly achieve the dual regulation of light and heat at room temperature. Based on this, research progress on the phase transition of photothermal material-assisted thermochromic smart windows is summarized. In this paper, the phase transition mechanisms of several thermochromic materials (VO2, liquid crystals, and hydrogels) commonly used in the field of smart windows are introduced. Additionally, the applications of carbon-based nanomaterials, noble metal nanoparticles, and semiconductor (metal oxygen/sulfide) nanomaterials in thermochromic smart windows are summarized. The current challenges and solutions are further indicated and future research directions are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home quarantine due to the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on children. Lifestyle changes have led to an increase in precocious puberty (PP) among girls, and the underlying risk factors for this remain unclear. Thus, we aimed to assess the influence of environmental, genetic, nutritional, and other lifestyle factors on the risk of PP in girls. We evaluated the incidence of new-onset PP in girls during home quarantine for COVID-19 and analyzed the potential risk factors. This was a retrospective questionnaire and medical record-based study involving 22 representative medical units from 13 cities in Henan Province, China. Girls with new-onset PP (central precocious puberty, 58; premature thelarche, 58; age, 5–9 years) between February 2020 and May 2020 were included, along with 124 healthy, age-matched controls. The number of new-onset PP cases reported during the study period was compared with that reported between February and May in 2018 and 2019. Patients' families completed a questionnaire to assess potential risk factors. There was a 5.01- and 3.14-fold increase in the number of new-onset PP cases from 2018 to 2020 and from 2019 to 2020, respectively; the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.01). High-risk factors for PP included longer time spent using electronic devices, decreased exercise time, higher body mass index, vitamin D deficiency, young age (<12 years) of mother during menarche, consumption of fried food and processed meat, residence in rural areas, and consumption of off-season fruits. Thus, we found that lifestyle changes caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in PP in girls. Management of the risk factors identified in this study may help in PP prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthesis of carbohydrates is the primary source of grain yield in wheat. Photosynthetic organs, especially flag leaves and awns play important roles in wheat growth and development. Genetic analysis of flag leaf posture, size and shape and presence/absence of awns was conducted using a set of 269 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from Yanda1817 × Beinong6. Six agronomic traits comprising flag leaf angle (FLAN), flag leaf width (FLW), flag leaf length (FLL), the ratio of length/width of flag leaf (FLR), flag leaf area (FLA) and presence/absence of awns were evaluated in Shijiazhuang (2011, 2012 and 2013) and Beijing (2012). Using the available high-density single nucleotide polymorphism and simple sequence repeats (SSR) genetic linkage map, a total of 61 putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) for FLAN, FLW, FLL, FLR and FLA were detected on 16 of the 21 wheat chromosomes excluding 1D, 4B, 5D, 6A and 7A, with single QTL in different environments explaining 2.49-42.41 % of the phenotypic variation. Among the identified QTL, 17 were for FLAN, 11 for FLW, seven for FLL, 13 for FLR and 13 for FLA. Twenty-five (41 %) QTL were detected in at least two environments, while four QTL for FLW were detected in all environments. Thirty QTL were associated with higher number of flag leaf traits originated from Yanda1817 alleles, whereas the remaining 31 QTL were derived from Beinong6. In addition, pleiotropic effects were detected for QTL on chromosomes 2D, 3B, 4A, 4D, 5A, 5B, 6B, 6D and 7D that could serve as target regions for fine mapping and marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding programs. Genetic analysis revealed that the presence/absence of awns in the RIL population is controlled by the awn-inhibitor gene B1 linked to SSR marker Xgwm291 on the long arm of chromosome 5A. Our results also suggest that physiological traits FLL, FLW and FLA were significantly and positively correlated to spike length (SL), grain weight per spike and grain number per spike. FLR was significantly and positively related to SL but negatively related to grain width and grain thickness (GT). In addition, the awn trait was strongly and positively correlated to thousand grain weight, grain length and GT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodegradation of microplastics (MPs) in the environment has attracted widespread attention. In this review, the influencing factors, degradation mechanisms, and possible risks to ecology and environment of MPs photodegradation are explored. The differences in the photodegradation mechanisms of aromatic and aliphatic MPs are innovatively summarized. In addition, the possibility of MPs photodegradation process occurring under different light source conditions, including natural and simulated light, is evaluated. Concurrently, the impact of photodegradation on the physicochemical properties of MPs is discussed. This review underscores the research gaps in MPs photodegradation and provides guidance for future investigations into the photoaging of MPs. • Photodegradation mechanism of aromatic and aliphatic MPs is first summarized. • The impact of external and internal factors on MPs photodegradation is analyzed. • Photodegradation process and property changes of MPs are reviewed. • Environmental and ecological risks of MPs photoaging are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abovementioned results imply that the silent genetic loci like I Pm41b i are a valuable resource of genetic variation in the wheat genome and therefore could be potentially utilized to enrich the genetic diversity in wheat breeding. Keywords: Pm41; allelic variation; genetic diversity; transposon; gene silencing EN Pm41 allelic variation genetic diversity transposon gene silencing 2039 2041 3 11/01/22 20221101 NES 221101 Common wheat ( I Triticum aestivum i . [Extracted from the article]

The UniProt knowledgebase is a public database for protein sequence and function, covering the tree of life and over 220 million protein entries. Now, the whole community can use a new crowdsourcing annotation system to help scale up UniProt curation and receive proper attribution for their biocuration work. The UniProt Knowledgebase is a public database for protein sequence and function, covering the tree of life. This Community Page article present a community submission system to harness timely scientific knowledge via crowdsourcing of the literature, creating a research ecosystem where researchers play an active role in scaling up UniProt curation, while receiving proper attribution for their biocuration work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To summarize the relationship between different MMUT gene mutations and the response to vitamin B12 in MMA. Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with mut‐type MMA. All patients with mut‐type MMA were tested for responsiveness to vitamin B12. Results: There were 81, 27, and 158 patients in the completely responsive, partially responsive, and nonresponsive groups, respectively, and the proportions of symptom occurrence were 30/81 (37.0%), 21/27 (77.8%), and 131/158 (82.9%), respectively (p <.001). The median levels of posttreatment propionyl carnitine (C3), C3/acetyl carnitine (C2) ratio in the blood, and methylmalonic acid in the urine were all lower than pretreatment, and the median level of C3/C2 ratio in the completely responsive group was within the normal range. In 266 patients, 144 different mutations in the MMUT gene were identified. Patients with the mutations of c.1663G>A, c.2080C>T, c.1880A>G, c.1208G>A, etc. were completely responsive and with the mutations of c.1741C>T, c.1630_1631GG>TA, c.599T>C, etc. were partially responsive. The proportions of healthy/developmental delay outcomes in the three groups were 63.0%/23.5%, 33.3%/40.7%, and 13.3%/60.1%, respectively (p <.001). Conclusion: Different mutations in the MMUT gene are associated with the effect of vitamin B12 treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methylmalonic aciduria (MMA) combined with homocystinuria, cobalamin(cbl)C deficiency type (OMIM 277400), is the most common autosomal recessive inherited disorder of intracellular cobalamin metabolism caused by mutations in the MMACHC gene (OMIM 609831), of which more than 100 mutations have been identified to date. In this study, we only identified a coding mutation in one allele at the MMACHC gene locus, and no large fragments deletion or duplication were found. Up to now, only three epimutation cblC cases were reported. We hypothesized whether the MMACHC was hypermethylated. Methods: To address this hypothesis, the entire coding region and adjacent splice sites of the panel genes involved in metabolic diseases were sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq X platform, followed by confirmation via Sanger sequencing in their parents and brothers. Methylation analysis of the MMACHC was performed using an EpiTect Bisulfite Kit and methylation‐specific PCR (MSP) to investigate the role of epimutations in cblC disease. Results: We identified a clearly pathogenic single heterozygous c.658_660del, p. (K220del) mutation, which was also identified in the mother. Analysis of the MMACHC indicated a heterozygous epimutation consisting of 34 hypermethylated CpG sites in a CpG island encompassing the promoter and first exon of the MMACHC, which was also identified in the father. Furthermore, we identified a single heterozygous c.*2C>T mutation in the sixth exon of the PRDX1 (OMIM 176763) in patients and their fathers, which was the only sequence variation that segregated with the MMACHC methylation. Neither c.658_660del and epimutation in MMACHC nor c.*2C>T in PRDX1 was discovered in her brother. Conclusion: We report compound heterozygotes in MMACHC for a genetic mutation and an epimutation in cblC cases. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of two cblC cases from China caused by compound heterozygous mutations with a coding mutation in one allele and an epimutation in the other at the MMACHC locus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafiltration (UF) can effectively remove large particles, suspended solids, and colloidal substances from anaerobic digestate. However, membrane fouling is a technical challenge in the purification of the digestate by UF. In this study, polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with four pore sizes (50.0, 20.0, 10.0 and 5.0 kDa) were employed to filter anaerobic digestate from swine manure. The effects of temperature, transmembrane pressure (TMP), and cross-flow velocity (CFV) on flux were investigated. The purification effects and fouling characteristics of the four membranes were analyzed. The results revealed that the increase of temperature and CFV can effectively promote UF separation efficiency, but as the TMP exceeded 3.0 bar, the flux increase rates of the four membranes were almost zero. The larger membrane pore size caused the faster flux increase with the increase in pressure. During the batch experiment, the 20.0 kDa membrane showed the lowest flux maintenance ability, while the 5.0 kDa showed the highest ability due to the smaller pore size. All four membranes can effectively remove tetracyclines residues. Elements C, O, and S were the major membrane foulant elements. The dominant bacteria orders of membrane fouling were Pseudomonadales, Xanthomonadales and Burkholderiales. Compared with tap water and citric acid, the membrane cleaning by NaOH and NaClO showed higher flux recovery rates. The 50.0 kDa membrane achieved the best cleaning effects under all cleaning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methylmalonic acidemia is an inherited organic acid metabolic disease. It involves multiple physiological systems and has variable manifestations. The primary causative gene MMUT carries wide range of mutations, and one of them, c.1663G > A (p.A555T), is considered to be a rare type, which is seen more frequently in Asian than other populations. So far, little is known about the clinical features of patients carrying this mutation. In the present study, we aimed to define the clinical and biochemical features of the patients with this genotype.Methods: Among 328 mut type methylmalonic acidemia patients from multiple hospitals in China, we collected 30 compound heterozygous patients sharing the mutation c.1663G > A (p.A555T) in the MMUT gene. Their clinical characteristics and biochemical index were described in detail and compared with methylmalonic acidemia patients without this variant.Results: Most of these patients were diagnosed via newborn screening (26/30), treated in a timely manner, and kept healthy (24/30). Disease onset occurred in 7 patients. Developmental delay or intellectual impairment occurred in 4 patients. 100% of these patients (29/29) were responsive to Vitamin B12 administration. The blood propionylcarnitine, blood propionylcarnitine/acetylcarnitine ratio, urinary methylmalonic acid, urinary methylcitric acid before and after treatment in c.1663G > A (p.A555T) carrying patients were much lower than those in non-c.1663G > A (p.A555T) carrying patients.Conclusion: Compared to patients with other mutations in the MMUT gene, patients with the c.1663G > A (p.A555T) mutation showed later onset, milder clinical phenotype, lighter biochemical abnormalities, better vitamin B12 responsiveness, lower morbidity, easier metabolic control, and thereby better prognosis. Newborn screening project plays an important role in early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Powdery mildew, a fungal disease caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), has a serious impact on wheat production. Loss of resistance in cultivars prompts a continuing search for new sources of resistance.Wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides, WEW), the progenitor of both modern tetraploid and hexaploid wheats, harbors many powdery mildew resistance genes. We report here the positional cloning and functional characterization of Pm41, a powdery mildew resistance gene derived from WEW, which encodes a coiled‐coil, nucleotide‐binding site and leucine‐rich repeat protein (CNL). Mutagenesis and stable genetic transformation confirmed the function of Pm41 against Bgt infection in wheat.We demonstrated that Pm41 was present at a very low frequency (1.81%) only in southern WEW populations. It was absent in other WEW populations, domesticated emmer, durum, and common wheat, suggesting that the ancestral Pm41 was restricted to its place of origin and was not incorporated into domesticated wheat.Our findings emphasize the importance of conservation and exploitation of the primary WEW gene pool, as a valuable resource for discovery of resistance genes for improvement of modern wheat cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Powdery mildew poses severe threats to wheat production. The most sustainable way to control this disease is through planting resistant cultivars.We report the map‐based cloning of the powdery mildew resistance allele Pm5e from a Chinese wheat landrace. We applied a two‐step bulked segregant RNA sequencing (BSR‐Seq) approach in developing tightly linked or co‐segregating markers to Pm5e. The first BSR‐Seq used phenotypically contrasting bulks of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) to identify Pm5e‐linked markers. The second BSR‐Seq utilized bulks of genetic recombinants screened from a fine‐mapping population to precisely quantify the associated genomic variation in the mapping interval, and identified the Pm5e candidate genes.The function of Pm5e was validated by transgenic assay, loss‐of‐function mutants and haplotype association analysis. Pm5e encodes a nucleotide‐binding domain leucine‐rich‐repeat‐containing (NLR) protein. A rare nonsynonymous single nucleotide variant (SNV) within the C‐terminal leucine rich repeat (LRR) domain is responsible for the gain of powdery mildew resistance function of Pm5e, an allele endemic to wheat landraces of Shaanxi province of China.Results from this study demonstrate the value of landraces in discovering useful genes for modern wheat breeding. The key SNV associated with powdery mildew resistance will be useful for marker‐assisted selection of Pm5e in wheat breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cobalamin C deficiency (cblC) caused by the MMACHC mutations is the most common type of the disorders of intracellular cobalamin metabolism. While the c.609G > A mutation is most frequent in Chinese cblC patients, its correlation with phenotype has not been delineated. Here we aim to investigate the factors affecting variable phenotypes and outcomes associated with the MMACHC c.609G > A homologous mutation in 149 Chinese cases to have implications for treatment and prevention.Methods: We assessed 149 cblC patients caused by MMACHC c.609G > A homozygous mutation. The clinical manifestations, complications, treatment, and outcomes were evaluated; 120 patients were followed-up till December 2019.Results: Two patients (1.3%) were prenatally diagnosed, treated after birth and consequently showed normal development. In 15 patients (10.1%) detected by newborn screening, 10 were treated at the age of 2 weeks and showed normal development, while the other 5 were treated after onset and showed neurologic disorders. All 132 clinically diagnosed patients (88.6%) developed symptoms at age from few minutes after birth to 72 months. Among them, 101 (76.5%) had early-onset (before the age of 12 months) and 31 (23.5%) had late-onset (after the age of 12 months). Totally 5 patients died and 24 were lost to follow-up. Of the 132 clinical diagnosed patients, 92 (69.7%) presented with developmental delay, 65 (49.2%) had seizures, 37 (28.0%) had anemia, 24 (18.2%) had feeding difficulty, 23 (17.4%) had ocular problems, and 22 (16.7%) had hydrocephalus. Compared with the non-developmental delay group, the onset age, the age at treatment initiation and the time from onset to treatment initiation were later in the developmental delay group. Seizure group showed significantly higher urinary methylmalonic acid concentration. During long-term follow-up, plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels were significantly higher in patients in the uncontrolled group than those in the seizure-free group.Conclusions: Most cblC patients caused by MMACHC c.609G > A homozygous mutation showed early-onset. The clinically diagnosed patients usually showed the presence of irreversible brain disorders. Patients treated from the pre-symptomatic stage showed favorable outcomes. Therefore, newborn screening, prenatal diagnosis and early treatment are crucial and the c.609G > A mutant allele should be listed in the pre-pregnancy carrier screening panel in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Grain weight is an important yield component. Selection of advanced lines with heavy grains show high grain sink potentials and strong sink activity, which is an increasingly important objective in wheat breeding programs. Rice OsGS3 has been identified as a major quantitative trait locus for both grain weight and grain size. However, allelic variation of GS3 has not been characterized previously in hexaploid wheat. Results: We cloned 2445, 2393, and 2409 bp sequences of the homologs TaGS3-4A, TaGS3-7A, and TaGS3-7D in wheat 'Changzhi 6406', a cultivar that shows high grain weight. The TaGS3 genes each contained five exons and four introns, and encoded a deduced protein of 170, 169, and 169 amino acids, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of plant GS3 protein sequences revealed GS3 to be a monocotyledon-specific gene and the GS3 proteins were resolved into three classes. The length of the atypical Gγ domain and the cysteine-rich region was conserved within each class and not conserved between classes. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the fifth exon (at position 1907) of TaGS3-7A leads to an amino acid change (ALA/THR) and showed different frequencies in two pools of Chinese wheat accessions representing extremes in grain weight. Association analysis indicated that the TaGS3-7A-A allele was associated with higher grain weight in the natural population. The TaGS3-7A-A allele was favoured in global modern wheat cultivars but the allelic frequency varied among different wheat-production regions of China, which indicated that this allele is of potential utility to improve wheat grain weight in certain wheat-production areas of China. Conclusions: The novel molecular information on wheat GS3 homologs and the KASP functional marker designed in this study may be useful in marker-assisted breeding for genetic improvement of wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current remote collaborative systems in manufacturing are mainly based on video-conferencing technology. Their primary aim is to transmit manufacturing process knowledge between remote experts and local workers. However, it does not provide the experts with the same hands-on experience as when synergistically working on site in person. The mixed reality (MR) and increasing networking performances have the capacity to enhance the experience and communication between collaborators in geographically distributed locations. In this paper, therefore, we propose a new gesture-based remote collaborative platform using MR technology that enables a remote expert to collaborate with local workers on physical tasks. Besides, we concentrate on collaborative remote assembly as an illustrative use case. The key advantage compared to other remote collaborative MR interfaces is that it projects the remote expert's gestures into the real worksite to improve the performance, co-presence awareness, and user collaboration experience. We aim to study the effects of sharing the remote expert's gestures in remote collaboration using a projector-based MR system in manufacturing. Furthermore, we show the capabilities of our framework on a prototype consisting of a VR HMD, Leap Motion, and a projector. The prototype system was evaluated with a pilot study comparing with the POINTER (adding AR annotations on the task space view through the mouse), which is the most popular method used to augment remote collaboration at present. The assessment adopts the following aspects: the performance, user's satisfaction, and the user-perceived collaboration quality in terms of the interaction and cooperation. Our results demonstrate a clear difference between the POINTER and 2.5DHANDS interface in the performance time. Additionally, the 2.5DHANDS interface was statistically significantly higher than the POINTER interface in terms of the awareness of user's attention, manipulation, self-confidence, and co-presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the shortage of phosphorus resources, the concept of phosphorus recovery from wastewater is generally proposed. Recently, phosphorus recovery from wastewater in the form of vivianite has been widely reported, which could be used as a slow-release fertilizer as well as the production of lithium iron phosphate for Li-ion batteries. In this study, chemical precipitation thermodynamic modeling was applied to evaluate the effect of solution factors on vivianite crystallization with actual phosphorus containing industrial wastewater. The modeling results showed that the solution pH influences the concentration of diverse ions, and the initial Fe2+ concentration affects the formation area of vivianite. The saturation index (SI) of vivianite increased with the initial Fe2+ concentration and Fe:P molar ratio. pH 7.0, initial Fe2+ concentration 500 mg/L and Fe:P molar ratio 1.50 were the optimal conditions for phosphorus recovery. Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) accurately determined the purity of vivianite was 24.13%, indicating the feasibility of recovering vivianite from industrial wastewater. In addition, the cost analysis showed that the cost of recovering phosphorus by the vivianite process was 0.925 USD/kg P, which can produce high-value vivianite products and realize "turn waste into treasure". [Display omitted] • Modeling effectively predicted the vivianite optimum crystallization conditions. • LMA was rarely used to accurately determine the content of vivianite. • Provide new ideas for phosphorus recovery from industrial wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To investigate the hospital-based incidence of FT1D in Chinese children and compare the clinical feature with classical T1DM. Methods. A cross-sectional study with sixteen hospitals involved. We obtained 23 FT1D cases as group 1, acute-onset T1DM as group 2, and typical T1DM as group 3. Results. The incidence of FT1D was 1.56% in 16 participating hospitals. The mean age at the onset of group 1 was 2.00 (1.08, 6.51) years old, much younger than that of group 2 (6.11 (3.92, 9.50)) and group 3 (6.92 (4.17, 10.03)). In addition, significant differences were found between three groups: mean BMI and flu-like symptoms with fever and abdominal pain. Follow-up comparison of three groups from Beijing Children’s Hospital for at least one year showed that there is no significant difference between the three groups in terms of mean HbA1c levels and insulin injection dosages. Conclusion. FT1D onset age is much younger than that of classical T1D patients. The hospital-based incidence of FT1D in Chinese children was 1.56% in all new-onset T1DM. For the diagnosis, making FT1D alone into a subtype within type 1 diabetes may be meaningful. However, for the treatment and prognosis, such classification should not be helpful to the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nitrogen pollution control of liquid-ammonia mercerization wastewater (LMWW) is one of the typical obstacle restricting the sustainability of textile industry. In this study, a 500 kg N/day two-stage partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process containing PN reactor filled with zeolite and biofilm anammox reactors was successfully started up in 45 days and operated stably with high shock resistance over one year for LMWW treatment. The large-scale process achieved an average ammonium removal efficiency (94.3 ± 2.3%), total nitrogen removal efficiency (89.4 ± 2.7%) and nitrogen removal rate (1.003 ± 0.386 kg N/m3/day) during one year engineering operation. Simultaneous denitrification was revealed by the contribution of 5.2% total nitrogen removed. High-throughput sequencing results showed that Nitrosomonas was the most dominant genus in PN reactor, and Ca. Anammoxoglobus and Ca. Kuenenia were the functional bacteria for nitrogen removal in anammox reactors. Compared to traditional nitrification-denitrification process, the large-scale process reduced a total operational cost of 46.03 CNY/kg N for LMWW. This study revealed the proposed process was quite reliable with fast start-up and high impact resistance to overcome the obstacle of nitrogen pollution control for LMWW economically and conducive to the sustainable development for textile industry. • 500 kg N/day two-stage partial nitritation/anammox process was initiated in 45 days. • 89.4 ± 2.7% TN removal was achieved at N removal rate of 1.003 ± 0.386 kg N/m3/day. • The process showed high shock resistance facing NH 4 +-N ranging at 1000-500 mg/L. • The large-scale process reduced a total operational cost of 46.03 CNY/kg N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupled process of thiosulfate-driven denitrification (NO 3 −→NO 2 −) and Anammox (TDDA) was a promising process for the treatment of wastewater containing NH 4 +-N and NO 3 −-N. However, the high concentration of SO 4 2− production limited its application, which needs to be alleviated by an economical and effective way to promote the application of TDDA process. In this study, TDDA process was started in a relatively short time by stepwise replacing nitrite with nitrate and operated continuously for 146 days. Results presented that the average total nitrogen removal efficiency of 82.18% can be acquired at a high loading rate of 1.98 kg N/(m3·d) with maximum nitrogen removal efficiency up to 87.04%. It was observed that the increase of S/N ratio improved the denitrification efficiency and slightly inhibit the Anammox process. Batch tests showed that Sulfammox process appeared in TDDA process under certain conditions, further contributing 2.59% nitrogen removal and 10.46% sulfur removal (14.42 mg/L NH 4 +-N and 37.68 mg/L SO 4 2--S were removed). This finding was mainly attributed to the reduction of sulfate in TDDA system to elemental S0 or HS−, which subsequently was used as an electron donor to realize the recycling of sulfate (SO 4 2--S) pollutants and promote the sulfur-nitrogen (S–N) cycle. High-throughput analysis displayed that Anammox bacteria (Candidatus_Kuenenia), Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus) with relatively high abundance of 5.37%, 7.74%, respectively, guaranteeing the excellent nitrogen and sulfate removal performance in the reactor. The enrichment of phyla Chloroflexi (31.79%), Proteobacteria (31.82%), class Ignavibacteriales (10.55%), genus Planctomycetes (13.57%) further verified the exitence of Sulfammox process in the TDDA reactor. This study provides a new perspective for the practical application of TDDA in terms of reducing the production of high concentration SO 4 2− and saving operational cost and strengthening deeply nitrogen removal. • The TDDA was started in a short time via stepwise replacing nitrite with nitrate. • The Highest TN removal (87.04%) was acquired at the NLR of 1.98 kg N/(m3·d) in TDDA. • Sulfammox process appeared in TDDA process which accelerated S–N cycle of system. • The contributions of various nitrogen and sulfur removal pathways were investigated. • The enrichment of Ignavibacteriales (10.55%) verified the exitence of Sulfammox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupled process of thiosulfate-driven denitrification (NO 3 −→NO 2 −) and Anammox (TDDA) was a promising process for the treatment of wastewater containing NH 4 +-N and NO 3 −-N. However, the high concentration of SO 4 2− production limited its application, which needs to be alleviated by an economical and effective way to promote the application of TDDA process. In this study, TDDA process was started in a relatively short time by stepwise replacing nitrite with nitrate and operated continuously for 146 days. Results presented that the average total nitrogen removal efficiency of 82.18% can be acquired at a high loading rate of 1.98 kg N/(m3·d) with maximum nitrogen removal efficiency up to 87.04%. It was observed that the increase of S/N ratio improved the denitrification efficiency and slightly inhibit the Anammox process. Batch tests showed that Sulfammox process appeared in TDDA process under certain conditions, further contributing 2.59% nitrogen removal and 10.46% sulfur removal (14.42 mg/L NH 4 +-N and 37.68 mg/L SO 4 2--S were removed). This finding was mainly attributed to the reduction of sulfate in TDDA system to elemental S0 or HS−, which subsequently was used as an electron donor to realize the recycling of sulfate (SO 4 2--S) pollutants and promote the sulfur-nitrogen (S–N) cycle. High-throughput analysis displayed that Anammox bacteria (Candidatus_Kuenenia), Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus) with relatively high abundance of 5.37%, 7.74%, respectively, guaranteeing the excellent nitrogen and sulfate removal performance in the reactor. The enrichment of phyla Chloroflexi (31.79%), Proteobacteria (31.82%), class Ignavibacteriales (10.55%), genus Planctomycetes (13.57%) further verified the exitence of Sulfammox process in the TDDA reactor. This study provides a new perspective for the practical application of TDDA in terms of reducing the production of high concentration SO 4 2− and saving operational cost and strengthening deeply nitrogen removal. • The TDDA was started in a short time via stepwise replacing nitrite with nitrate. • The Highest TN removal (87.04%) was acquired at the NLR of 1.98 kg N/(m3·d) in TDDA. • Sulfammox process appeared in TDDA process which accelerated S–N cycle of system. • The contributions of various nitrogen and sulfur removal pathways were investigated. • The enrichment of Ignavibacteriales (10.55%) verified the exitence of Sulfammox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Swine manure storage is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study was conducted to quantify CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from swine manure stored at different stack heights using dynamic emission vessels. Stack heights of 10, 20, and 40cm to cover the typical range of manure stack heights, were examined at 25°C with a ventilation rate of 20air changes/h with each regimen replicated thrice. Results show that the GHG emissions increased on the 2nd to 3rd day of manure storage then decreased to became stable after 10d of storage. Manure stack height affected GHG emissions from stored swine manure, with the lower stack height having higher CO2 and N2O, but lower CH4, emissions/kg of initial manure weight. On the basis of 100yr global warming potential for CH4 and N2O, cumulative emissions were 7.5±1.11, 6.8±1.32 and 10.8±1.23g CO2-eqv/kg initial manure, respectively, for the 10, 20, and 40cm stacks over the 6wk storage period. Results suggest that 20cm stack height produced the least GHG emissions. This paper is part of the special issue entitled: Greenhouse Gases in Animal Agriculture – Finding a Balance between Food and Emissions, Guest Edited by T.A. McAllister, Section Guest Editors: K.A. Beauchemin, X. Hao, S. McGinn and Editor for Animal Feed Science and Technology, P.H. Robinson. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The adsorption process for low concentration phosphorus wastewater treatment has advantages of simple convenience, stable performance and less sludge, while most of current adsorbents fail to be separated for reuse. Meanwhile, few people pay attention to the removal of low concentration phosphorus from tail water by adsorbents. In this study, a newly efficient Fe–Mg–Zr layered double hydroxide beads were prepared by simple in-situ crosslinking method and applied for low concentration phosphorus adsorption from real tail water. The maximum adsorption capacity of Fe–Mg–Zr beads was 21.61 mg/g, showing more practical application value for phosphorus removal. Fixed bed experiments showed that 5.0 g adsorbent could removed 2.12 mg phosphorus from tail wastewater containing 1.03 mg/L phosphorus. The beads adsorbent can be reused with excellent adsorption performance even after five cycles of adsorption-desorption operation. After detailed analyses, it was found that ligand exchange and ion exchange were the dominant mechanisms for phosphorus adsorption by this beads. Overall, the material has the advantages of simple preparation, good adsorption performance, easy separation and recycle, indicating a great potential for low concentration phosphorus wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] • Fe–Mg–Zr layered hydroxide beads was prepared for efficient low P adsorption. • The beads could be easily separated and reused for real low P wastewater. • P removal mechanisms by the beads were ligand exchange and ion exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case study unveils the likely mechanism of a novel stop-loss DAX1 variant preceding the prolonged precocious puberty in the adrenal hypoplasia congenital (AHC) boy. A boy aged five years and nine months initially examined for the primary adrenal insufficiency symptoms. Next-generation sequencing confirmed the X-linked inheritance of a novel stop-loss DAX1 variant: c.1411T>C/p.Ter471Gln associated with AHC in the patient. The patient was subjected to a brief clinical follow-up from 11 to 15.1 years of age. The effect of the mutant-DAX1 variant (p.Ter471Gln) on DAX1-steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) (protein-protein) interaction was studied by protein-protein docking using the ClusPro-online tool. At 5.9 yrs of age, the patient exhibited precocious puberty with the secondary sexual characteristics of Tanner 2 stage (of 9–14 yrs of age). The patient showed primary adrenal insufficiency with diminished cortisol concentrations at blood serum (25 ng/ml) and urine (3.55 μg/24 h) levels. Upon steroidal exposure, the patient showed normalized serum cortisol levels of 45–61 ng/ml. However, the precocious puberty got prolonged with the increased penis length of 8.5 cm and the bone age of 18 yrs old during the follow-up. The patient showed increased basal serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (110->2000 pg/ml) and follicle-stimulating hormone (18.4–22.3 mIU/ml) concentrations. Following an elevated hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity witnessed upon gonarellin stimulation. Protein-protein docking confirmed a weaker interaction between the mutant-DAX1 (p.Ter471Gln) protein and the wild-SF1 protein. Overall, we hypothesize the weakened mutant-DAX1-SF1 (protein-protein) interaction could govern the prolonged precocious puberty augmented with the elevated hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal/adrenal axis responses via SF1-induced neuronal nitric oxide synthetase activation in the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to assess the performance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bioreactors, it is necessary to study the stoichiometry of the anammox reaction and pH. This study focused on the effect of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the effluent pH in anammox-upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactors. Anammox-UASB bioreactors with and without a recirculation system were used to investigate the effluent pH and bioreactor performance. It was concluded that under varying HRT conditions, the decrease in effluent pH did not indicate the deterioration of nitrogen removal, but did indicate that the nitrogen removal efficiency was reduced owing to a sudden increase in the nitrogen loading rate resulting from the decrease in HRT. Moreover, the results showed that the HRT directly affected the concentration of OH−, which affected the increase/decrease in effluent pH. This study demonstrated that effluent pH is a more powerful tool than previous techniques used to assess bioreactor performance. We suggest that the effluent pH could be used for preliminary assessment. • The decrease in effluent pH does not always indicate the deterioration of nitrogen removal. • The clear decrease in the effluent pH showed that the NRE decreased. • The change in the effluent pH was related to the NRE rather than the NRR. • Two UASB reactors with and without recirculation were used for effluent pH and NRE investigation. • The effect of the HRT on the effluent pH was investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ecological environments shape plant architecture and alter the growing season, which provides the basis for wheat genetic improvement. Therefore, understanding the genetic basis of grain yield and yield-related traits in specific ecological environments is important. Results: A structured panel of 96 elite wheat cultivars grown in the High-yield zone of Henan province in China was genotyped using an Illumina iSelect 90 K SNP assay. Selection pressure derived from ecological environments of mountain front and plain region provided the initial impetus for population divergence. This determined the dominant traits in two subpopulations (spike number and spike percentage were dominance in subpopulation 2:1; thousand-kernel weight, grain filling rate (GFR), maturity date (MD), and fertility period (FP) were dominance in subpopulation 2:2), which was also consistent with their inheritance from the donor parents. Genome wide association studies identified 107 significant SNPs for 12 yield-related traits and 10 regions were pleiotropic to multiple traits. Especially, GY was co-located with MD/FP, GFR and HD at QTL-ple5A, QTL-ple7A.1 and QTL-ple7B.1 region. Further selective sweep analysis revealled that regions under selection were around QTLs for these traits. Especially, grain yield (GY) is positively correlated with MD/FP and they were co-located at the VRN-1A locus. Besides, a selective sweep signal was detected at VRN-1B locus which was only significance to MD/FP. Conclusions: The results indicated that extensive differential in allele frequency driven by ecological selection has shaped plant architecture and growing season during yield improvement. The QTLs for yield and yield components detected in this study probably be selectively applied in molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock manure is one of the major sources of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions; however, characteristics of VOCs emitted from biogas digestate (BD) storage, which is a common manure practice, remain unclear. The objective of this study was to characterize VOC emissions during BD storage through the dynamic emission vessel method, to identify the VOC emissions that have potential odor and/or toxic effects. The results revealed the detection of 49 VOCs with seven classes, whose total concentration varied from 171.35 to 523.71 μg m−3. The key classes of the 49 VOCs included Oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs), olefins and halogenated hydrocarbons. The top four compositions, accounting for 74.38% of total VOCs (TVOCs), included ethanol, propylene, acetone and 2-butanone. The top four odorous VOCs, accounting for only 5.15% of the TVOCs, were toluene, carbon disulfide, ethyl acetate and methyl sulfide, with the concentration ranging from 13.25 to 18.06 μg m−3. Finally, 11 main hazardous air pollutant VOCs, accounting for 32.77% of the TVOCs, were propylene, 2-butanone, toluene, methyl methacrylate, etc., with the concentration ranging from 81.05 to 116.96 μg m−3. Results could contribute to filling the knowledge gaps in the characteristics of VOC emissions from biogas digestate (BD), and provide a basis for exploring mitigation strategies on odor and hazardous air pollutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Identifier (ID) mapping establishes links between various biological databases and is an essential first step for molecular data integration and functional annotation. ID mapping allows diverse molecular data on genes and proteins to be combined and mapped to functional pathways and ontologies. We have developed comprehensive protein-centric ID mapping services providing mappings for 90 IDs derived from databases on genes, proteins, pathways, diseases, structures, protein families, protein interaction, literature, ontologies, etc. The services are widely used and have been regularly updated since 2006.Availability: www.uniprot.org/mappingandproteininformation-resource.org/pirwww/search/idmapping.shtmlContact: huang@dbi.udel.edu [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]