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Objective Parathyroid hormone like hormone (PTHLH), as an essential factor for bone growth, is involved in a variety of physiological processes. The aim of this study was to explore the role of PTHLH gene in the growth of antlers. Methods The coding sequence (CDS) of PTHLH gene cDNA was obtained by cloning in sika deer (Cervus nippon), and the bioinformatics was analyzed. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the differences expression of PTHLH mRNA in different tissues of the antler tip at different growth periods (early period, EP; middle period, MP; late period, LP). Results The CDS of PTHLH gene was 534 bp in length and encoded 177 amino acids. Predictive analysis results revealed that the PTHLH protein was a hydrophilic protein without transmembrane structure, with its secondary structure consisting mainly of random coil. The PTHLH protein of sika deer had the identity of 98.31%, 96.82%, 96.05%, and 94.92% with Cervus canadensis, Bos mutus, Oryx dammah and Budorcas taxicolor, which were highly conserved among the artiodactyls. The qRT-PCR results showed that PTHLH mRNA had a unique spatio-temporal expression pattern in antlers. In the dermis, precartilage, and cartilage tissues, the expression of PTHLH mRNA was extremely significantly higher in MP than in EP, LP (p

Abstract Background Sika deer (Cervus nippon) holds significance among cervids, with three genomes recently published. However, these genomes still contain hundreds of gaps and display significant discrepancies in continuity and accuracy. This poses challenges to functional genomics research and the selection of an appropriate reference genome. Thus, obtaining a high-quality reference genome is imperative to delve into functional genomics effectively. Findings Here we report a high-quality consensus genome of male sika deer. All 34 chromosomes are assembled into single-contig pseudomolecules without any gaps, which is the most complete assembly. The genome size is 2.7G with 23,284 protein-coding genes. Comparative genomics analysis found that the genomes of sika deer and red deer are highly conserved, an approximately 2.4G collinear regions with up to 99% sequence similarity. Meanwhile, we observed the fusion of red deer's Chr23 and Chr4 during evolution, forming sika deer's Chr1. Additionally, we identified 607 transcription factors (TFs) that are involved in the regulation of antler development, including RUNX2, SOX6, SOX8, SOX9, PAX8, SIX2, SIX4, SIX6, SPI1, NFAC1, KLHL8, ZN710, JDP2, and TWST2, based on this consensus reference genome. Conclusions Our results indicated that we acquired a high-quality consensus reference genome. That provided valuable resources for understanding functional genomics. In addition, discovered the genetic basis of sika-red hybrid fertility and identified 607 significant TFs that impact antler development.

Abstract Bietti crystalline corneoretinal dystrophy is an inherited retinal disease caused by mutations in CYP4V2, which results in blindness in the working-age population, and there is currently no available treatment. Here, we report the results of the first-in-human clinical trial (NCT04722107) of gene therapy for Bietti crystalline corneoretinal dystrophy, including 12 participants who were followed up for 180–365 days. This open-label, single-arm exploratory trial aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of a recombinant adeno-associated-virus-serotype-2/8 vector encoding the human CYP4V2 protein (rAAV2/8-hCYP4V2). Participants received a single unilateral subretinal injection of 7.5 × 1010 vector genomes of rAAV2/8-hCYP4V2. Overall, 73 treatment-emergent adverse events were reported, with the majority (98.6%) being of mild or moderate intensity and considered to be procedure- or corticosteroid-related; no treatment-related serious adverse events or local/systemic immune toxicities were observed. Compared with that measured at baseline, 77.8% of the treated eyes showed improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) on day 180, with a mean ± standard deviation increase of 9.0 ± 10.8 letters in the 9 eyes analyzed (p = 0.021). By day 365, 80% of the treated eyes showed an increase in BCVA, with a mean increase of 11.0 ± 10.6 letters in the 5 eyes assessed (p = 0.125). Importantly, the patients’ improvement observed using multifocal electroretinogram, microperimetry, and Visual Function Questionnaire-25 further supported the beneficial effects of the treatment. We conclude that the favorable safety profile and visual improvements identified in this trial encourage the continued development of rAAV2/8-hCYP4V2 (named ZVS101e).

Abstract Background Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the most common and lethal subtype of lung cancer, continues to be a major health concern worldwide. Despite advances in targeted and immune therapies, only a minority of patients derive substantial benefits. As a result, the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies to improve lung cancer treatment outcomes remains undiminished. Methods In our study, we employed the TIMER database to scrutinize TNFSF11 expression across various cancer types. We further examined the differential expression of TNFSF11 in normal and tumor tissues utilizing the TCGA-LUAD dataset and tissue microarray, and probed the associations between TNFSF11 expression and clinicopathological parameters within the TCGA-LUAD dataset. We used the GSE31210 dataset for external validation. To identify genes strongly linked to TNFSF11, we engaged LinkedOmics and conducted a KEGG pathway enrichment analysis using the WEB-based Gene SeT AnaLysis Toolkit. Moreover, we investigated the function of TNFSF11 through gene knockdown or overexpression approaches and explore its function in tumor cells. The therapeutic impact of ferroptosis inducers in tumors overexpressing TNFSF11 were also investigated through in vivo and in vitro experiments. Through these extensive analyses, we shed light on the potential role of TNFSF11 in lung adenocarcinoma, underscoring potential therapeutic targets for this malignancy. Results This research uncovers the overexpression of TNFSF11 in LUAD patients and its inverse correlation with peroxisome-related enzymes. By utilizing gene knockdown or overexpression assays, we found that TNFSF11 was negatively associated with GPX4. Furthermore, cells with TNFSF11 overexpression were relatively more sensitive to the ferroptosis inducers. Conclusions Our research has provided valuable insights into the role of TNFSF11, revealing its negative regulation of GPX4, which could be influential in crafting therapeutic strategies. These findings set the stage for further exploration into the mechanisms underpinning the relationship between TNFSF11 and GPX4, potentially opening up new avenues for precision medicine in the treatment of LUAD.

Optoelectronic oscillators (OEOs), which have attracted extensive studies in the past decades, are high quality-factor optoelectronic feedback loops for generating various ultra-pure microwave signals. In essence, OEOs are also dissipative nonlinear systems with multiple timescale characteristics and abundant nonlinearities, which open the possibilities for exploring localized dissipative solitary waves. In this paper, we demonstrate a new-class temporal dissipative soliton, i.e., dissipative microwave photonic soliton molecule (DMPSM), in a dual-bandpass OEO. Both the numerical simulation and experiment are conducted to reveal the physical mechanism of DMPSM generation and to evaluate the characteristics of the generated DMPSM sequences. Unlike optical soliton molecules in mode-locked lasers, the formation of DMPSMs arises from the combined action of multiple timescale coupling, nonlinear bistability, and time-delayed feedback in the OEO cavity, where the soliton interval and number in a DMPSM can be well-controlled through varying the multiple timescale variables in the OEO cavity, and the repetition frequency of the DMPSMs can be tuned through changing that of the initially injected perturbation signal. Meanwhile, the generated DMPSM sequence performs with high stability and excellent coherence, which shows enormous application potentials in pulse radar detection, dense microwave comb generation, and neuromorphology.

Abstract Background Patients with DNA mismatch repair‐proficient/microsatellite stable (pMMR/MSS) colorectal cancer (CRC), which accounts for 85% of all CRC cases, display a poor respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors (i.e., anti‐PD‐1 antibodies). pMMR/MSS CRC patients with locally advanced cancers need effective combined therapies. Methods In this pilot study, we administered six preoperative doses of each 2‐week cycle of the anti‐PD‐1 antibody sintilimab (at a fixed dose of 200 mg), oxaliplatin, and 5‐FU/CF (mFOLFOX6) combined with five doses of bevacizumab (the number of doses was reduced to prevent surgical delays) to patients with cT4NxM0 colon or upper rectal cancers. And radical surgery was performed approximately 2 weeks after the last dose of neoadjuvant therapy. The primary endpoint was a pathologic complete response (pCR). We also evaluated major pathologic response (MPR, ≤10% residual viable tumor), radiological and pathological regression, safety, and tumor mutation burden (TMB), and tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics. Results By the cutoff date (September 2023), 22 patients with cT4NxM0 pMMR/MSS colon or upper rectal cancers were enrolled and the median follow‐up was 24.7 months (IQR: 21.1–26.1). All patients underwent R0 surgical resection without treatment‐related surgical delays. pCR occurred in 12 of 22 resected tumors (54.5%) and MPR occurred in 18 of 22 (81.8%) patients. At the cutoff date, all patients were alive, and 21/22 were recurrence‐free. Treatment‐related adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred in of 2/22 (9.1%) patients. Among the pCR tumors, two were found to harbor POLE mutations. The degree of pathological regression was significantly greater than that of radiological regression (p = 1.35 × 10−8). The number of CD3+/CD4+ cells in the tumor and stroma in pretreated biopsied tissues was markedly lower in pCR tumors than in non‐pCR tumors (p = 0.038 and p = 0.015, respectively). Conclusions Neoadjuvant sintilimab combined with bevacizumab and mFOLFOX6 was associated with few side effects, did not delay surgery, and led to pCR and non‐pCR in 54.5% and 81.8% of the cases, respectively. Downregulation of CD3/CD4 expression in the tumor and stroma is related to pCR. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying PD‐1 blockade‐enhanced targeted chemotherapy require further investigation.

Abstract Chemotherapy resistance is the leading cause for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-induced death. Exploring resistance generation mechanism is an urgent need for HCC therapy. Here, we found STEAP4 was significantly downregulated in HCC patients with recurrence. Patients with low STEAP4 had poor outcome, suggesting STEAP4 might inhibit chemotherapy resistance. Cell viability assay, colony formation assay, apoptosis assay, soft agar growth assay, and tumor animal model showed STEAP4 inhibited cisplatin resistance. Mechanism analysis showed STEAP4 inhibited PI3K/AKT pathway through directly interacting with AKT. Double knockdown of STEP4 and AKT significantly inhibited cisplatin resistance. We also found STEAP4 expression was negatively correlated with PI3K/AKT pathway activity in clinic specimens. In summary, our findings suggested STEAP4 inhibited cisplatin resistance through suppressing PI3K/AKT pathway activity, providing a target for HCC therapy. Graphical Abstract

BackgroundAlthough malnutrition has been shown to influence the clinical outcomes of Stroke Patients with Bulbar Paralysis (SPBP), the prevalence and influencing factors have yet to be uncovered.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the current prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition in SPBP.MethodsA multicenter cross-sectional investigation was conducted among SPBP in China from 2019 to 2021. Information was collected on basic information, health condition, diagnosis, treatment, neurological function, activities of daily living, swallowing function, and nutritional status. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the factors that influenced nutritional status. ROC analysis was used to assess the predictive value of each independent influencing factor and the logit model.ResultsIn total, 774 SPBP were enrolled, and the prevalence of malnutrition was 60.59%. Pulmonary infection [aOR:2.849, 95%CI: (1.426, 5.691)], hemoglobin [aOR: 0.932, 95%CI: (0.875, 0.982)], serum albumin [aOR: 0.904, 95%CI: (0.871, 0.938)], total protein [aOR: 0.891, 95%CI: (0.819, 0.969)], prealbumin [aOR: 0.962, 95%CI: (0.932, 0.993)], and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores [aOR: 1.228, 95%CI: (1.054, 1.431)] were independent factors associated with malnutrition in SPBP. ROC analysis revealed that the logit model had the best predictive value [area under the curve: 0.874, 95% CI: (0.812, 0.936); specificity: 83.4%; sensitivity: 79.3%; p

Abstract Interlayer charge‐transfer (CT) in 2D atomically thin vertical stacks heterostructures offers an unparalleled new approach to regulation of device performance in optoelectronic and photonics applications. Despite the fact that the saturable absorption (SA) in 2D heterostructures involves highly efficient optical modulation in the space and time domain, the lack of explicit SA regulation mechanism at the nanoscale prevents this feature from realizing nanophotonic modulation. Here, the enhancement of SA response via CT in WS2/graphene vertical heterostructure is proposed and the related mechanism is demonstrated through simulations and experiments. Leveraging this mechanism, CT‐induced SA enhancement can be expanded to a wide range of nonlinear optical modulation applications for 2D materials. The results suggest that CT between 2D heterostructures enables efficient nonlinear optical response regulation.

BackgroundAlthough stroke-related dysphagia has been shown to influence quality of life (QOL), the underlying mechanisms have yet to be uncovered.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the mediating role of nutritional status and psychological disorders in the relationship between stroke-related dysphagia and QOL in stroke patients and explore the moderating effect of enteral nutrition mode.MethodsIn 2022, A questionnaire survey using stratified random sampling was conducted on 5,322 stroke patients with dysphagia, including Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), Swallowing Quality of Life Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) to assess dysphagia, QOL and psychological disorders, respectively, for each participant. Records of serum albumin, Hemoglobin, Total serum protein, serum prealbumin and Body mass index were enrolled to assess nutritional status.ResultsFOIS demonstrated a significant positive predictive effect on QOL. Nutritional status and psychological disorders (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) mediated the relationship between FOIS and QOL. Nutritional status-psychological disorders showed a chain mediation effect in the relationship between FOIS and QOL. The moderating effect of enteral nutrition mode was observed.ConclusionThe mediating role of nutritional status and psychological disorders with moderating effect of enteral nutrition mode in the relationship between dysphagia and QOL in stroke patients was found.

Abstract Ambient pollutants, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), pose significant risks to both public health and economic development. In recent years, PM2.5 concentration in China has decreased significantly, whereas that of O3 has increased rapidly, leading to considerable health risks. In this study, a generalized additive model was employed to establish the relationship of PM2.5 and O3 exposure with non-accidental mortality across 17 districts and counties in Jilin Province, China, over 2015–2016. The health burden and economic losses attributable to PM2.5 and O3 were assessed using high-resolution satellite and population data. According to the results, per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and O3 concentrations related to an overall relative risk (95% confidence interval) of 1.004 (1.001–1.007) and 1.009 (1.005–1.012), respectively. In general, the spatial distribution of mortality and economic losses was uneven. Throughout the study period, a total of 23,051.274 mortalities and 27,825.015 million Chinese Yuan (CNY) in economic losses were attributed to O3 exposure, which considerably surpassing the 5,450.716 mortalities and 6,553,780 million CNY in economic losses attributed to PM2.5 exposure. The O3-related health risks and economic losses increased by 3.75% and 9.3% from 2015 to 2016, while those linked to PM2.5 decreased by 23.33% and 18.7%. Sensitivity analysis results indicated that changes in pollutant concentrations were the major factors affecting mortality rather than baseline mortality and population.

It has always been a common demand to stay away from the harsh environment with narrow space, numerous devices, complex operation process, and hidden hazards, and realize intelligent unmanned mining in the coal industry. To achieve this goal, it is very necessary for us to develop an effective theory of vision computing for underground coalmine applications. Its main task is to build effective models or frameworks for perceiving, describing, recognizing and understanding the environment of underground coalmine, and let intelligent equipment get 3D environment information in coalmine from images or videos. To effectively develop this theory and make it better for intelligent development of coalmine, this paper first analyzed the similarities and differences about computer vision and visual computing in coalmine, and proposed its composition architecture. And then, this paper introduced in detail the key technologies involved in visual computing in coalmine including visual perception and light field computing, feature extraction and feature description, semantic learning and vision understanding, 3D vision reconstruction, and sense computing integration and edge intelligence, which is followed by typical application cases of visual computing in coalmines. Finally, the development trend and prospect of underground visual computing in coalmine was given. In this section, this paper focused on concluding the key challenges and introducing two valuable applications including coalmine Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality and parallel intelligent mining. With the breakthrough of underground vision computing, it will play a more and more important role in the intelligent development of coal mines.

The objective of this study was to explore the effects of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment on the biological behavior of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) cultured on the surface of high-transparency zirconia. Two types of zirconia, 3Y-ZTP and 4Y-PSZ, were subjected to a CAP treatment for various treatment durations. Analyses of the physical and chemical properties of 3Y-ZTP and 4Y-PSZ were conducted using scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, both before and after CAP treatment. The biological responses of HGFs on both surfaces were assessed using CCK-8 assay, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and real-time PCR. Initially, the oxygen and hydroxyl contents on the surface of 4Y-PSZ exceeded those on 3Y-ZTP. CAP treatment enhanced the surface hydrophilicity and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content of 4Y-PSZ, while not altering the surface morphology. After CAP treatment, HGFs’ adhesion on 4Y-PSZ was superior, with more pronounced effects compared to 3Y-ZTP. Notably, HGFs counts and the expression of adhesion-related genes on 4Y-PSZ peaked following the CAP exposures for 30 s and 60 s. Consequently, this study demonstrates that, following identical CAP treatments, 4Y-PSZ is more effective in promoting HGFs adhesion compared to traditional 3Y-ZTP zirconia.

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that Family with sequence similarity 134 member B (FAM134B) was involved in the occurrence and development of malignancy, however, the function and molecular mechanism of FAM134B in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) radiotherapy resistance remain unclear. Therefore, it may clinical effective to clarify the molecular mechanism and identify novel biomarker to overcome radiotherapy resistance in HCC. Methods The protein and mRNA expression of FAM134B were determined using Real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. IHC assay was performed to investigate the association between FAM134B expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of 132 HCC patients. Functional assays, such as in situ model, colon formation, FACS, and Tunel assay were used to determine the oncogenic role of FAM134B in human HCC progression. Furthermore, western blotting and luciferase assay were used to determine the mechanism of FAM134B promotes radiation-sensitive in HCC cells. Results We noted that FAM134B was downregulated in HCC, which was correlated with the radiation resistance in patients with HCC. Overexpression of FAM134B contribute to radiation sensitive in HCC; however, inhibition of FAM134B confers HCC cell lines to radiation resistance both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we found that FAM134B interacts with FMS related receptor tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) and downregulation of FAM134B activated JAK/Stat3 signaling pathway. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of JAK/Stat3 signaling pathway significantly counteracted downregulation of FAM134B-induced radiation resistance and enhanced radiation therapeutic efficacy in HCC. Conclusions Our findings suggest that FAM134B may be a potential therapeutic biomarker for the treatment of HCC patients with radiotherapy tolerance.

Despite the scientific and medicinal importance of diploid sika deer (Cervus nippon), its genome resources are limited and haplotype-resolved chromosome-scale assembly is urgently needed. To explore mechanisms underlying the expression patterns of the allele-specific genes in antlers and the chromosome evolution in Cervidae, we report, for the first time, a high-quality haplotype-resolved chromosome-scale genome of sika deer by integrating multiple sequencing strategies, which was anchored to 32 homologous groups with a pair of sex chromosomes (XY). Several expanded genes (RET, PPP2R1A, PPP2R1B, YWHAB, YWHAZ, and RPS6) and positively selected genes (eIF4E, Wnt8A, Wnt9B, BMP4, and TP53) were identified, which could contribute to rapid antler growth without carcinogenesis. A comprehensive and systematic genome-wide analysis of allele expression patterns revealed that most alleles were functionally equivalent in regulating rapid antler growth and inhibiting oncogenesis. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that chromosome fission might occur during the divergence of sika deer and red deer (Cervus elaphus), and the olfactory sensation of sika deer might be more powerful than that of red deer. Obvious inversion regions containing olfactory receptor genes were also identified, which arose since the divergence. In conclusion, the high-quality allele-aware reference genome provides valuable resources for further illustration of the unique biological characteristics of antler, chromosome evolution, and multi-omics research of cervid animals.

Abstract The origin of homochirality in nature is an important but open question. Here, we demonstrate a simple organizational chiral system constructed by achiral carbon monoxide (CO) molecules adsorbed on an achiral Au(111) substrate. Combining scanning tunneling microscope (STM) measurements with density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations, two dissymmetric cluster phases consisting of chiral CO heptamers are revealed. By applied high bias voltage, the stable racemic cluster phase can be transformed into a metastable uniform phase consisting of CO monomers. Further, during the recondensation of a cluster phase after lowering down bias voltage, an enantiomeric excess and its chiral amplification occur, resulting in a homochirality. Such asymmetry amplification is found to be both kinetically feasible and thermodynamically favorable. Our observations provide insight into the physicochemical origin of homochirality through surface adsorption and suggest a general phenomenon that can influence enantioselective chemical processes such as chiral separations and heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis.

Earth’s inner core is heterogeneous and anisotropic. A new study based on computational simulation reveals the presence of ionic hydrogen flux in iron crystals, driven by the dipole geomagnetic field, which promotes the formation of observed inner core structure.

Abstract Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) frequently harbor defects in DNA double-strand break repair through homologous recombination (HR), such as BRCA1 dysfunction. However, less than 15% of TNBC patients were found to carry BRCA1 mutation, indicating that there are other mechanisms regulating BRCA1-deficient in TNBC. In the current study, we shown that overexpression of TRIM47 correlates with progression and poor prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer. Moreover, we demonstrated that TRIM47 directly interacts with BRCA1 and induces ubiquitin-ligase-mediated proteasome turnover of BRCA1, subsequently leads to a decrease of BRCA1 protein levels in TNBC. Moreover, the downstream gene expression of BRCA1, such as p53, p27, p21 was significantly reduced in the overexpression of TRIM47 cell lines but increased in TRIM47-deleted cells. Functionally, we found that overexpression of TRIM47 in TNBC cells confers an exquisite sensitivity to olaparib, an inhibitor of poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP), but TRIM47 inhibition significantly confers TNBC cells resistance to olaparib both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we showed that overexpression of BRCA1 significant increase the olaparib resistance in TRIM47-overexpression-induced PARP inhibitions sensitivity. Taken together, our results uncover a novel mechanism for BRCA1-deficient in TNBC and targeting TRIM47/BRCA1 axis may be a promising prognostic factor and a valuable therapeutic target for TNBC.

Abstract A weak codon usage bias was found in Dendrobium catenatum (D. officiale) antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), after the analysis of relative synonymous codon usage, GC contents, and the effective number of codons. The codon usage preference was mainly influenced by natural selection pressure. The self‐optimized prediction method and SWISS‐MODEL were applied for peptide structural and domain analyses, and some typical antimicrobial domains were found in D. officinale AMP amino sequences, such as knot1 domain, gibberellins‐stimulated domain, cupin_1 domain, defensin_like domain, and SLR1‐BP (S locus‐related glycoprotein 1 binding pollen coat protein) domain. To investigate the AMPs gene expression pattern, abiotic stresses, such as salt stress, drought stress, salicylic acid (SA), and methyl jasmonate (JA), were applied and the gene expression levels were detected by the real‐time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results showed that, even though the basic AMPs gene expressions were low, some AMPs can still be induced by salt dress, while the drought dress did not show the same impact. The SA and JA signaling pathways might be involved in most of the AMPs expressions. The natural selection of the D. officinale AMPs and thus forming diverse types of AMPs enhanced the plant's innate immunity and disease resistance capability, which would lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism for D. officinale adapting to the environment. The finding that salt stress, SA, and JA signaling pathways can induce AMP expression lays a foundation for the further development and functional verification of D. officinale AMPs.

This work aims at exploring the irradiation resistance of oxide-dispersion-strengthened reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic (ODS-RAFM) steel prepared by a rapid and cost-efficient method, wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). WAAM ODS-RAFM steel and RAFM steel were prepared using flux cored wires with and without addition of Y2O3, respectively. Both specimens were irradiated with 2.5 MeV Fe ions at 450 °C to a fluence of 1.84 × 1016 ions cm−2, corresponding to a peak damage dose of 20 dpa. The microstructure, hardness and defect structure of WAAM ODS-RAFM steel before and after irradiation were investigated and compared with RAFM steel. It is found that nano-Y2Ti2O7 particles with a high number density (∼10 nm, 1022/m3) are formed in WAAM ODS-RAFM steel, which pin grain boundary and dislocations motion, thus rendering a stable matrix structure after irradiation. The particle size of the stable nano-Y2Ti2O7 slightly increases to ∼ 15 nm while its number density is still high (1022/m3) after irradiation. The grain boundaries, dislocations and nano-Y2Ti2O7 interfaces act as defect sinks to absorb irradiation-induced defects such as self-interstitial atoms and vacancies. Therefore, small dislocation loops (3.6 nm) are found to be the main irradiation defects while no voids are observed. As a result of the inhibited formation and growth of defects, the irradiation hardening is insignificant (ΔH0 = 0.16 GPa), showing great promises of WAAM ODS-RAFM steel as structural components in future fusion reactors.

The theoretical azimuth resolution of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is half the antenna length, presenting conflicting requirements on the antenna for SAR high-resolution and long-distance imaging. In this paper, a method for antenna array coding synthetic aperture imaging is proposed. By dividing long antennas into subarrays to work together, the space energy utilization rate can be improved, a high resolution of the small antennas of the subarrays and a high gain of the long antennas of the whole array are achieved, and the problem that it is difficult to balance high-resolution and far-distance imaging is solved. On the basis of introducing the basic concept of array coding, the imaging model and processing flow of array coding radar are given, and the system performance metrics, such as resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF), and range-azimuth ambiguity, are theoretically analyzed and discussed. In a flight test experiment, a 0.5 m antenna is divided into four sub-arrays, and a strip-map image with a resolution of 0.1 m and a swath width of 8 km is obtained, which breaks the restriction of small-area imaging when traditional SAR adopts the spotlight mode to achieve high resolution. This new method effectively solves the limitations of traditional SAR and extends the signal dimension, providing a technical basis for enhancing radar system capability. Theoretical analysis and experimental results verify the considerable advantages and engineering implementation feasibility of the proposed method.

Abstract Emission sources and meteorological conditions are key factors affecting the intensity and duration of air pollution events. In the current study, using the daily concentrations of PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) and the water-soluble ions thereof in Lanzhou from March 1, 2021, to May 31, 2021, we investigated the contributions of emission sources and locations of potential sources through positive matrix factorization and potential source contribution function analysis. In addition, synoptic weather patterns affecting pollution were typed using T-model principal component analysis. The results revealed that the average concentrations of PM2.5 for the entire spring, dust storm days, and normal days were 54.3, 158.1 and 33.0 μg/m3, respectively. During dust storm days, sulfate produced from primary emissions was mainly present in the form of K2SO4, Na2SO4, MgSO4, and CaSO4, and nitrate was mainly produced through secondary conversion and took the form of NH4NO3. Dust, industrial entities, biomass combustion, metal smelting, secondary aerosol, and sea salt contributed to 32.0, 29.8, 13.4, 11.2, 10.8 and 2.7% of the spring PM2.5, respectively, in Lanzhou. The main potential sources of PM2.5 during the normal days were in the western parts of Lanzhou. Dust storms entered Lanzhou through the Hexi Corridor from several dust sources: southeastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Kurbantungut Desert, and the Badain Jaran Desert. The northwest high-pressure; northern strong high-pressure and southwest low-pressure; northwest high-pressure and southwest high-pressure synoptic weather circulation types were prone to dust storms. Our results may provide a basis for local environmental governance.

Soliton explosions are among the most striking soliton phenomena in nonlinear dissipative systems. In this regime, quasi-stable solitons suffer abrupt structural collapses and then recover to their original state. Here, we report on the first experimental observation of soliton explosions triggered by vector dissipative soliton collisions in a polarization-multiplexed ultrafast fiber laser. The fiber laser simultaneously generates two orthogonally polarized pulse trains with different repetition rates, which enables periodic soliton collisions in the cavity. Based on the dispersive Fourier transform technique, the spectral dynamics of collision-induced soliton explosions are identified in real time. The corresponding time-domain measurements demonstrate opposite temporal shifts in the two output pulse trains. Numerical simulations validate the experimental observations and give more insights into the physical mechanism for soliton explosions. Our findings can shed new light on the dynamics of soliton explosions.

Abstract Purpose With the improvement of people’s life expectancy, the incidence of stroke is high in the world. Post-stroke Dysphagia seriously affects people’s quality of life, among which malnutrition and pulmonary infection are the most common complications of post-stroke Dysphagia. At this point, it is very important to choose the right enteral and parenteral feeding mode. Current nutrition methods commonly used in patients with dysphagia after stroke include Intermittent oral to esophageal tube feeding (IOE), Nasogastric tube (NG), Nasal Jejunal feeding tubes (NJ), Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).The purpose of this meta-analysis was to study the prognosis of patients with dysphagia after stroke who chose different nutritional methods. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTS) to examine the effects of different nutritional modalities on outcomes in patients with post-stroke dysphagia. We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Medline, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and the VIP database. The search period is from the library's establishment to December 31, 2021.At least 2 reviewers independently assessed eligibility criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. Standardized mean difference (SMD), relative risk (RR), and odds ratio (OR) were calculated using a random-effects model. Results Fourteen studies were identified across six databases that met the inclusion criteria, The results of meta-analysis showed that Intermittent oral to esophageal tube feeding (IOE) could improve the nutritional levels of patients better than nasogastric tube (NG) (MD 1.95, 95%CI 1.22–2.67, P

Abstract Hydrogen isotope permeation through structural materials is a key issue for developing nuclear fusion energy, which will cause fuel loss and radioactive pollution. Developing ceramic coatings with high thermal shock and hydrogen resistance is an effective strategy to solve this issue. In this work, a layer-structured Cr/Cr x N coating was successfully fabricated by a facile electroplating-based nitridation technique, which is easy, facile, and applicable to coating complex-shaped substrates. The Cr/Cr x N coating, composed of a bottom Fe/Cr interdiffusion zone, a middle Cr layer, and a top Cr x N layer, exhibits high bonding strength, high anti-thermal-shock ability, and high deuterium permeation resistance. Its bonding strength achieves 43.6 MPa. The Cr/Cr x N coating remains intact even after suffering 300 thermal shock cycles under a 600 °C-water condition. Through optimizing the nitridation temperature, the Cr/Cr x N coating achieves a deuterium permeation reduction factor (PRF) as high as 3599 at 500 °C. Considering its scalable fabrication technique and considerable properties, the developed Cr/Cr x N coating may serve as a novel high-performance hydrogen permeation barrier in various fields.

Advanced Cu-Cr alloys with high strength and thermal conductivity are promising heat dissipation materials but their applications are restricted to low and medium temperatures (

Remote sensing excels in estimating regional evapotranspiration (ET). However, most remote sensing energy balance models require researchers to subjectively extract the characteristic parameters of the dry and wet limits of the underlying surfaces. The regional ET accuracy is affected by wrong determined ideal pixels. This study used Landsat images and the METRIC model to evaluate the effects of different dry and wet pixel combinations on the ET in the typical steppe areas. The ET spatiotemporal changes of the different land cover types were discussed. The results show that the surface temperature and leaf area index could determine the dry and wet limits recognition schemes in grassland areas. The water vapor flux data of an eddy covariance system verified that the relative error between the ETd,METRIC and ETd,GES of eight DOYs (day of the year) was 18.8% on average. The ETMETRIC values of the crop growth season and the ETIMS of eight silage maize irrigation monitoring stations were found to have a relative error of 11.1% on average. The spatial distribution of the ET of the different land cover types in the study area was as follows: ETwater > ETarable land > ETforest land > ETunutilized land > ETgrassland > ETurban land. HIGHLIGHTS Landsat images and the METRIC model estimating regional ET had obtained reliable and accurate results in typical steppe areas.; The water vapor flux data of an eddy covariance system conducted the verification.; The surface temperature and leaf area index could determine the dry and wet limits recognition schemes in grassland areas.;

The influence of the residual pulse chirp and the spectrum shape from a cavity-less optical pulse source on the sampling performance is theoretically analyzed. According to the theoretical analysis, an optimization method for enlarging the operation bandwidth of a photonic sampling system based on a cavity-less ultra-short pulse source is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Through biasing the Mach-Zehnder modulator in the cavity-less optical pulse source below its quadrature point, the output spectrum flatness can be greatly improved, which is beneficial for optimizing the photonic sampling frequency response introduced by the ultrashort optical pulse train. In the experiment, the 3-dB bandwidth of the photonic sampling frequency response is increased from less than 10 GHz to more than 35 GHz by using the proposed method without sacrificing the output signal-to-noise ratio.

Abstract Biothiols play important roles in various physiological and biological processes, which closely related to many diseases. Hydrazine is widely used in the chemical industry, but it is harmful to humans and animals. Therefore, it is very important to develop a fluorescent probe that can simultaneously detect biological thiols and hydrazine. In this work, a new fluorescent probe (2E,4Z)-2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-5-chloro-5-(7-(diethylamino)-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)penta-2,4-dienenitrile (BCD) was synthesized by integrating coumarin and benzothiazole acetonitrile. Featured with four binding sites and different bonding mechanism between probe with biothiols and hydrazine, this probe exhibited fluorescent turn-on for distinguishing Cys, Hcy, GSH and hydrazine with 760-, 8-, 6- and 637-fold fluorescent intensity increase at 502, 479, 476 and 458 nm, respectively, through different excitation wavelengths. Research on the effect of pH on the fluorescent performance of BCD shows that the probe exhibits superior stability in a weakly alkaline to weakly acidic environment, which will facilitate the detection of biological thiols or hydrazine hydrate by BCD. Selectivity studies have shown that the probe has high specificity to biological thiols and hydrazine, which is of great significance to the application of BCD.

Abstract Background Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is considered one of the most common complications of thoracic radiation. Recent studies have focused on stem cell properties to obtain ideal therapeutic effects, and Sox9 has been reported to be involved in stem cell induction and differentiation. However, whether Sox9-expressing cells play a role in radiation repair and regeneration remains unknown. Methods We successfully obtained Sox9 CreER, Rosa tdTomato and Rosa DTA mice and identified Sox9-expressing cells through lineage tracing. Then, we evaluated the effects of the ablation of Sox9-expressing cells in vivo. Furthermore, we investigated the underlying mechanism of Sox9-expressing cells during lung regeneration via an online single-cell RNA-seq dataset. Results In our study, we demonstrated that Sox9-expressing cells promote the regeneration of lung tissues and that ablation of Sox9-expressing cells leads to severe phenotypes after radiation damage. In addition, analysis of an online scRNA-Seq dataset revealed that the PI3K/AKT pathway is enriched in Sox9-expressing cells during lung epithelium regeneration. Finally, the AKT inhibitor perifosine suppressed the regenerative effects of Sox9-expressing cells and the AKT pathway agonist promotes proliferation and differentiation. Conclusions Taken together, the findings of our study suggest that Sox9-expressing cells may serve as a therapeutic target in lung tissue after RILI.

Rice is one of the most important staple foods in the world, feeding more than 50% of the global population. However, rice is also a significant emitter of greenhouse gases and plays a role in global climate change. As a result, quickly and accurately obtaining the rice mapping is crucial for ensuring global food security and mitigating global warming. In this study, we proposed an automated rice mapping method called automated rice mapping using V-shaped phenological features of rice (Auto-RMVPF) based on the time-series Sentinel-1A images, which are composed of four main steps. First, the dynamic threshold method automatically extracts abundant rice samples by flooding signals. Second, the second-order difference method automatically extracts the phenological period of rice based on the scattering feature of rice samples. Then, the key “V” feature of the VH backscatter time series, which rises before and after rice transplanting due to flooding, is used for rice mapping. Finally, the farmland mask is extracted to avoid interference from non-farmland features on the rice map, and the median filter is applied to remove noise from the rice map and obtain the final spatial distribution of rice. The results show that the Auto-RMVPF method not only can automatically obtain abundant rice samples but also can extract the accurate phenological period of rice. At the same time, the accuracy of rice mapping is also satisfactory, with an overall accuracy is more than 95% and an F1 score of over 0.91. The overall accuracy of the Auto-RMVPF method is improved by 2.8–12.2% compared with support vector machine (SVM) with an overall accuracy of 89.9% (25 training samples) and 92.2% (124 training samples), random forest (RF) with an overall accuracy of 82.8% (25 training samples) and 88.3% (124 training samples), and automated rice mapping using synthetic aperture radar flooding signals (ARM-SARFS) with an overall accuracy of 89.9%. Altogether, these experimental results suggest that the Auto-RMVPF method has broad prospects for automatic rice mapping, especially for mountainous regions where ground samples are often not easily accessible.

To solve the problems associated with micron-sized aluminum (Al), including sintering, agglomeration, and slag deposition during the combustion of aluminized propellants, aluminum–lithium (Al-Li) alloy, prepared by introducing a small amount of Li (1.0 wt.%) into Al, was used in place of Al. Then, the ignition and combustion characteristics of single micron-sized Al-Li alloy particles were investigated in detail using a self-built experimental apparatus and multiple characterization methods. The ignition probability, ignition delay time, flame propagation rate, burn time, combustion temperature, flame radiation spectra, and microexplosion characteristics were obtained. The TG-DSC results demonstrated that, as compared to the counterpart Al, the Al-Li alloy had a lower ignition temperature. The emission lines of AlO revealed the gas-phase combustion of the Al-Li alloy, and thus the Al-Li alloy exhibited a mixed combustion mode, including surface combustion and gas-phase combustion. Moreover, during combustion, a microexplosion occurred, which increased the combustion rate and reduced the burn lifetime. The ambient pressure had a significant effect on the ignition and combustion characteristics of the Al-Li alloy, and the ignition delay time and burn time exponentially decreased as the ambient pressure enhanced. The combustion temperature of the Al-Li alloy at atmospheric pressure was slightly higher than those at elevated pressures. The Al-Li alloy burned in N2, but no microexplosion was observed. Finally, the ignition and combustion mechanism of the Al-Li alloy in air was demonstrated by combining SEM, EDS, and XRD analyses of the material and residues. The results suggest that the addition of Li promoted the combustion performance of Al by changing the surface structure of the oxide film and the combustion mode.

Abstract Ozone is widely used in daily life, but studies have shown that O3 can damage human trachea and lungs, leading to diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop a simple and efficient detection method for monitoring O3 in living cells. In this study, 3-(but-3-en-1-yl)-2-(7-(but-3-en-1-yloxy)-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)benzo[d]thiazol-3-ium (BCT) as a new type of water-soluble fluorescent probe was synthesized by substitution reaction of 4-bromo-1-butene and hydroxycoumarin-benzothiazole derivatives, which can specifically detect ozone in aqueous solution. The interaction of ozone on the probe can be completed within 20 min, the fluorescence intensity is significantly enhanced, and it has the advantages of high sensitivity (detection limit LOD = 43 nM). The influence of pH on the fluorescent performance of BCT shows that the probe with super stability under weak alkali and acidic environment, which provides the necessary conditions for its detection of ozone in physiological system detection. Therefore, BCT is expected to become an effective tool for detecting ozone in cellular organisms.

Thermal diffusivity (D) and thermal conductivity (κ) of harzburgite and dunite from Luobusha ophiolite were simultaneously measured up to 3 ​GPa and 823 ​K using the transient plane-source method in a multi anvil apparatus. The results show that the values of D and κ of both samples systematically decrease with increasing temperature and increase with increasing pressure. By combination of the thermal physical data of rocks and minerals and geophysical constraints, we performed numerical simulation on the thermal evolution of Tibet vary over depth, distance and geologic ages. The present results provide new constraints on occurrence of partial melting and its geophysical significance beneath Tibetan crust.

The high-pressure structural, vibrational and electrical properties for realgar were investigated by in-situ Raman scattering and electrical conductivity experiments combined with first-principle calculations up to ~30.8 ​GPa. It was verified that realgar underwent an isostructural phase transition at ~6.3 ​GPa and a metallization at a higher pressure of ~23.5 ​GPa. The isostructural phase transition was well evidenced by the obvious variations of Raman peaks, electrical conductivity, crystal parameters and the As–S bond length. The phase transition of metallization was in closely associated with the closure of bandgap rather than caused by the structural phase transition. And furthermore, the metallic realgar exhibited a relatively low compressibility with the unit cell volume V0 ​= ​718.1.4 ​Å3 and bulk modulus B0 ​= ​36.1 ​GPa.

It has been demonstrated that the matters in the earth’s interior are subjected to isotropic hydrostatic pressure and are also extensively superimposed by the differential stress. The differential stress contributes significantly to the free energy of matters and it is the determining factor controlling the composition, structure, configuration, properties, and interaction processes of the matter system. Hence, the differential stress is one of the most fundamental thermodynamic variables governing the earth’s interior system along with the temperature and the hydrostatic pressure. Nevertheless, due to the limitations of high-temperature and high-pressure (HT-HP) setup and in situ measurement techniques as well as limited understanding of the differential stress, previous HT-HP experiments of the earth’s interior didn’t cover the role of the differential stress except for some special stress-strain mechanics experiments and piezolysis and kinetic metamorphism experiments. This makes many of the knowledge about the earth’s interior obtained from HT-HP experiments generally questionable. Currently, HT-HP experimental apparatus that can be used to simulate the temperature, hydrostatic pressure, and differential stress in the earth’s interior includes the Griggs press, the Paterson rheometer, the D-DIA press, the RDA press, and the torsional diamond anvil cell. The maximum hydrostatic pressure that can be simulated in the Griggs press at high temperatures is only about 2 GPa and there is large uncertainty in the calibration of the differential stress. The Paterson rheometer provides too low confining pressure. The D-DIA press and RDA press can simulate a wide range of temperature and pressure but the D-DIA press can achieve very small strain variables and the RDA press has very heterogeneous sample stresses. The torsional diamond anvil cell can only accept a small sample size and it is difficult to calibrate the differential stress. Also, these existing HT-HP experimental apparatus with the differential stress are not easily interfaced with in situ measurement systems for investigating the physical properties such as electrical, ultrasonic, and thermophysical properties. Hence, scholars need to invest more efforts in the research and development of HT-HP apparatus with the differential stress in the future to properly understand the composition, structure, configuration, properties, and interactions of the matter in the earth’s interior.

The CTC1-STN1-TEN1 (CST) complex plays a crucial role in telomere replication and genome stability. However, the detailed mechanisms of CST regulation in cancer remain largely unknown. Here, we perform a comprehensive analysis of CST across 33 cancer types using multi-omic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. In the genomic landscape, we identify CTC1/STN1 deletion and mutation and TEN1 amplification as the dominant alteration events. Expressions of CTC1 and STN1 are decreased in tumors compared to those in adjacent normal tissues. Clustering analysis based on CST expression reveals three cancer clusters displaying differences in survival, telomerase activity, cell proliferation, and genome stability. Interestingly, we find that CTC1 and STN1, but not TEN1, are co-expressed and associated with better survival. CTC1-STN1 is positively correlated with CD8 T cells and B cells and predicts a better response to immune checkpoint blockade in external datasets of cancer immunotherapy. Pathway analysis shows that MYC targets are negatively correlated with CTC1-STN1. We experimentally validated that knockout of CTC1 increased the mRNA level of c-MYC. Furthermore, CTC1 and STN1 are repressed by miRNAs and lncRNAs. Finally, by mining the connective map database, we discover a number of potential drugs that may target CST. In sum, this study illustrates CTC1-STN1 as a protective factor and provides broad molecular signatures for further functional and therapeutic studies of CST in cancer.

MYB proto-oncogene-like 1 (MYBL1) has been reported to be a strong activator of transcription and plays an important role in the development of cancer. However, the precise biological function and molecular mechanism of MYBL1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remain unclear. In the present study, we found that the expression of MYBL1 was markedly overexpressed in HCC cell lines and HCC samples, respectively. Moreover, MYBL1 expression positively correlated with tumor progression and inversely correlated with patient survival in 368 human HCC tissue samples. Overexpression of MYBL1 induced, whereas knockdown of MYBL1 reduced, HCC proliferation and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrated that HCC patients with high MYBL1 expression had significantly shorter overall and poorer disease-free survival than those with low MYBL1 expression. MYBL1 transcriptionally upregulated TWIST1 expression by directly targeting the TWIST1 promoter. More importantly, the in vitro analysis was consistent with the significant correlation between MYBL1 and TWIST1 expression observed in a large cohort of human HCC specimens. Taken together, our results demonstrate that MYBL1 plays an important role in HCC growth and metastasis and reveal a plausible mechanism for upregulation of TWIST1 in HCC.

Natural rubber, an important industrial raw material with wide applications, is harvested in the form of latex (cytoplasm of rubber-producing laticifers) from Hevea brasiliensis (para rubber tree) by the way of tapping. Conspicuous stimulation on latex production is observed for the first few tappings conducted on virgin (untapped before) or resting (tapped before but no tapping for a period) rubber trees. To understand the underlying mechanisms, an integrative analysis of the latex transcriptome and proteome was conducted on virgin or resting Hevea trees for the first five tappings. A total of 505 non-redundant differentially expressed (DE) transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) were identified by silver-staining cDNA-AFLP, with 217 exhibiting patterns of upregulated, 180 downregulated and 108 irregularly-regulated. Meanwhile, 117 two dimensional gel electrophoresis DE-protein spots were isolated and subjected to mass spectrometry analysis, with 89 and 57 being successfully identified by MALDI-TOF and MALDI-TOF/TOF, respectively. About 72.5% DE-TDFs and 76.1% DE-proteins were functionally annotated and categorized. Noteworthily, most of the DE-TDFs implicated in sugar transport and metabolism as well as rubber biosynthesis were upregulated by the tapping treatment. The importance of sugar metabolism in harvesting-induced latex production was reinforced by the identification of abundant relevant DE-protein spots. About 83.8% of the randomly selected DE-TDFs were validated for expression patterns by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and an 89.7% consistency for the 29 latex regeneration-related DE-TDFs examined by quantitative RT-PCR analysis. In brief, our results reveal extensive physiological and molecular changes in Hevea laticifers incurred by the tapping treatment, and the vast number of DE genes and proteins identified here contribute to unraveling the gene regulatory network of tapping-stimulated latex production.

In this study, methods for the pressure calibration of 6–8 static high-pressure apparatus were investigated. The relationship between the pressure of DS 6 × 1,400 t pressing oil and the chamber pressure was calibrated using water, ZnTe, ZnS, and GaAs at room temperature. Also, the relationship between the pressure of the DS 6 × 1,400 t pressing oil and the chamber pressure was calibrated by the phase transition experiments using KCl, LiCl, KCl + LiCl, and quartz-coesite at high temperatures. We found a linear relationship between the chamber pressure and the oil pressure at room temperature. However, when the temperature and pressure increased to certain values, the chamber pressure and the oil pressure deviated from the linear relationship.

A hot-pressure technique was used to sinter block-shaped, malleable, and compact arsenopyrite, based on the purified natural material. The results show that 500 °C and 1.0 GPa are the optimum temperature and pressure conditions, while at temperatures below 500 °C the product would become powdery or present visible cracks. Electron probe analysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman tests confirmed the purity of the samples with a molecular formula of Fe1.00As1.02S1.03. The calculated density was 6.2185 ± 0.0132 g/cm3, close to the unit cell density of 6.2389 g/cm3. The sample can easily be machined in a circular truncated cone shape, and used as an autoclave stopper at 440 °C and above 40 MPa for 35 h. Sintering results provide a possibility for further research on the electrochemical corrosion of sulfide minerals at high temperature and pressure. The hot-pressure procedure developed here provides a reference and inspiration for sintering other similar samples in this field.

Abstract Background Sucrose (Suc), as the precursor molecule for rubber biosynthesis in Hevea brasiliensis, is transported via phloem-mediated long-distance transport from leaves to laticifers in trunk bark, where latex (cytoplasm of laticifers) is tapped for rubber. In our previous report, six Suc transporter (SUT) genes have been cloned in Hevea tree, among which HbSUT3 is verified to play an active role in Suc loading to the laticifers. In this study, another latex-abundant SUT isoform, HbSUT5, with expressions only inferior to HbSUT3 was characterized especially for its roles in latex production. Results Both phylogenetic analysis and subcellular localization identify HbSUT5 as a tonoplast-localized SUT protein under the SUT4-clade (=type III). Suc uptake assay in baker’s yeast reveals HbSUT5 to be a typical Suc-H+ symporter, but its high affinity for Suc (Km = 2.03 mM at pH 5.5) and the similar efficiency in transporting both Suc and maltose making it a peculiar SUT under the SUT4-clade. At the transcript level, HbSUT5 is abundantly and preferentially expressed in Hevea barks. The transcripts of HbSUT5 are conspicuously decreased both in Hevea latex and bark by two yield-stimulating treatments of tapping and ethephon, the patterns of which are contrary to HbSUT3. Under the ethephon treatment, the Suc level in latex cytosol decreases significantly, but that in latex lutoids (polydispersed vacuoles) changes little, suggesting a role of the decreased HbSUT5 expression in Suc compartmentalization in the lutoids and thus enhancing the Suc sink strength in laticifers. Conclusions Our findings provide insights into the roles of a vacuolar sucrose transporter, HbSUT5, in Suc exchange between lutoids and cytosol in rubber-producing laticifers.

Chromite, a crucial high-conductivity mineral phase of peridotite in ophiolite suites, has a significant effect on the electrical structure of subduction zones. The electrical conductivities of sintered polycrystalline olivine containing various volume percents of chromite (0, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 100 vol.%) were measured using a complex impedance spectroscopic technique in the frequency range of 10−1–106 Hz under the conditions of 1.0–3.0 GPa and 873–1223 K. The relationship between the conductivities of the chromite-bearing olivine aggregates and temperatures conformed to the Arrhenius equation. The positive effect of pressure on the conductivities of the olivine–chromite systems was much weaker than that of temperature. The chromite content had an important effect on the conductivities of the olivine–chromite systems, and the bulk conductivities increased with increasing volume fraction of chromite to a certain extent. The inclusion of 16 vol.% chromites dramatically enhanced the bulk conductivity, implying that the percolation threshold of interconnectivity of chromite in the olivine–chromite systems is ~16 vol.%. The fitted activation enthalpies for pure polycrystalline olivine, polycrystalline olivine with isolated chromite, polycrystalline olivine with interconnected chromites, and pure polycrystalline chromite were 1.25, 0.78–0.87, 0.48–0.54, and 0.47 eV, respectively. Based on the chemical compositions and activation enthalpies, small polaron conduction was proposed to be the dominant conduction mechanism for polycrystalline olivine with various chromite contents. Furthermore, the conductivities of polycrystalline olivine with interconnected chromite (10–1.5–100.5 S/m) provides a reasonable explanation for the high conductivity anomalies in subduction-related tectonic environments.

A new non-uniform photonic sampling (NPS) strategy and its special signal reconstruction algorithm are proposed to achieve digital acquisition of broadband periodic signals at a low sampling rate. Compared with the existing schemes, the NPS strategy can largely reduce the sampling number to acquire identical signal information as that obtained by using its equivalent high-speed uniform photonic sampling, which is beneficial for reducing the sampling time and the data volume of the NPS-based analog-to-digital converter (ADC). In addition, the calculation time of the proposed algorithm is millions of times lower than that of the digital alias-free signal processing (DASP) algorithm used before, which benefits from the fast Fourier transform calculation of a one-dimensional data array instead of a two-dimensional data array calculation in the DASP algorithm. A simulation is performed to validate the feasibility of the proposed scheme. In the simulation, a single-channel NPS-based ADC with an average sampling rate of 1 GSa/s is demonstrated by using the proposed NPS strategy and signal reconstruction algorithm. The results indicate the reconstructed signal information for a single-tone microwave signal at 9.9 GHz and a linear frequency modulation signal in the frequency range of 1 GHz to 9 GHz are identical to those obtained by using its equivalent high-speed uniform photonic sampling-based ADC with a sampling rate of 20 GSa/s.

The global transmission of COVID-19 has caused considerable health burdens, and epidemiological studies have proven that temperature and humidity play an important role in the transmission of infectious respiratory diseases. This effect may not be immediate and can be delayed by days to weeks. In this study, the comprehensive effect of temperature and humidity on COVID-19 was evaluated using the discomfort index (DI). We analyzed the lag effect of the DI on COVID-19 from 21 January to 29 February 2020 in 11 Chinese cities by designing a generalized additive model (GAM). We classified the 11 Chinese cities into southern cities and northern cities to compare the potential effects in these two types of cities. The results reveal that the DI had the same negative correlation and different lag effects on daily COVID-19 cases. There was a significant negative correlation between the DI and daily COVID-19 cases (p < 0.05), except in Wuhan. The lag effect was stronger in the cities located further north. In northern cities, each unit decrease in the DI increased the COVID-19 risk from 7 to 13 lag days. In southern China, each unit decrease in the DI increased the COVID-19 risk from 0 to 7 lag days, especially in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

As a biocompatible biomaterial, bagasse xylan (BX) has been widely used in the biomedical field. The low biological activity of andrographolide (AD) restricts its development, so AD with certain anticancer activity is introduced. We use chemical modification methods such as grafting and esterification to improve the biological activity and make a novel anticancer nanomaterial. On the basis of the esterification of a mixture of BX and AD with folic acid (FA), a novel anticancer nanoderivative of bagasse xylan/andrographolide folate-g-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA)/diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA) nanoparticles (FA-BX/AD-g-DMAEMA/DEGDMA NPs) was synthesized by introducing DMAEMA and DEGDMA monomers through a graft copolymerization and nanoprecipitation method. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, the initiator concentration and the mass ratio of FA-BX/AD to mixed monomers on the grafting rate (GR) were investigated. The structure of the obtained product was characterized by FTIR, SEM, XRD and DTG. Further, molecular docking and MTT assays were performed to understand the possible docking sites with the target proteins and the anticancer activity of the product. The results showed that the GR of the obtained product was 79% under the conditions of the initiator concentration 55 mmol/L, m (FA-BX/AD):m (mixed monomer) = 1:2, reaction temperature 50 °C and reaction time 5 h. The inhibition rate of FA-BX/AD-g-DMAEMA/DEGDMA NPs on human lung cancer cells (NCI-H460) can reach 39.77 ± 5.62%, which is about 7.6 times higher than that of BX. Therefore, this material may have potential applications in the development of anticancer drug or carriers and functional materials.

In the in-depth research that has been conducted on nanometer biomaterials, how to use the biomass resources with high activity and low toxicity to prepare nanomaterials for biomedical applications has attracted much attention. To realize efficient and comprehensive utilization of biomass, bagasse xylan/andrographolide (BX/AD) was ued as a raw material and glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) as an esterification agent to synthesize bagasse xylan/andrographolide esterified derivative (GA-BX/AD). Then, the bagasse xylan/andrographolide grafted and esterified derivative (GA-BX/AD-g-IA) was synthesized by the graft crosslinking reactions using itaconic acid (IA) as graft monomer. The better synthesis conditions were optimized by single factor experiments, the degree of esterification substitution (DS) was 0.43, and the grafting rate (G) of the product reached 42%. The structure and properties of the product were characterized by FTIR, XRD, DTG, SEM, and 1H NMR. The results showed that the product morphology was significantly changed, and the nanoparticles were spherical with a particle size of about 100 nm. The anti-cancer activity of the product was measured. The molecular docking simulations revealed that the product had good docking activity with human glucocorticoid protein (6CFN) with a binding free energy of 14.38 kcal/mol. The MTT assay showed that the product had a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of human liver cancer cells (BEL-7407) and gastric cancer cells (MGC80-3), with inhibition ratio of 38.41 ± 5.32% and 32.69 ± 4.87%. Therefore, this nanomaterial is expected to be applied to the development and utilization of drug carriers and functional materials.

Crop classification is an important part of crop management and yield estimation. In recent years, neural networks have made great progress in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) crop classification. However, the insufficient number of labeled samples limits the classification performance of neural networks. In order to solve this problem, a new crop classification method combining geodesic distance spectral similarity measurement and a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (GDSSM-CNN) is proposed in this study. The method consisted of: (1) the geodesic distance spectral similarity method (GDSSM) for obtaining similarity and (2) the one-dimensional convolutional neural network model for crop classification. Thereinto, a large number of training data are extracted by GDSSM and the generalized volume scattering model which is based on radar vegetation index (GRVI), and then classified by 1D-CNN. In order to prove the effectiveness of the GDSSM-CNN method, the GDSSM method and 1D-CNN method are compared in the case of a limited sample. In terms of evaluation and verification of methods, the GDSSM-CNN method has the highest accuracy, with an accuracy rate of 91.2%, which is 19.94% and 23.91% higher than the GDSSM method and the 1D-CNN method, respectively. In general, the GDSSM-CNN method uses a small number of ground measurement samples, and it uses the rich polarity information in multi-temporal fully polarized SAR data to obtain a large number of training samples, which can quickly improve the accuracy of classification in a short time, which has more new inspiration for crop classification.

Optical solitons in ultrafast fiber lasers, as a result of dual balances between dispersion and nonlinearity as well as gain and loss, enable various soliton interactions. Soliton collisions are among the most intriguing soliton interactions, which fuel the understanding for particle-like properties of solitons. Here, we experimentally investigate the transient dynamics of collisions between a two-soliton molecule and a soliton singlet in a mode-locked fiber laser. By means of the dispersive Fourier transform technique, the evolving spectral interferograms of different collision scenarios are measured in real time. In particular, the “quasi-elastic” collision is observed, which shows that the soliton-molecule state remains unaltered after the collision and the group-velocity difference between the soliton molecule and the singlet is changed. It is directly demonstrated that a bond exchange occurs between the colliding solitons. By tuning the intra-cavity polarization controller, the dynamic processes of other collision outcomes, including the annihilation of a soliton in the soliton molecule as well as the formation of a stable unequally spaced soliton triplet, are also revealed. Our work facilitates a deeper understanding of soliton collision dynamics in ultrafast fiber lasers.

A flat optical frequency comb (OFC) is generated by using a monolithic integrated electro-optic intensity and phase modulator fabricated on lithium niobite on insulator (LNOI) platform. The LNOI-based modulation chip consists of a push–pull Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) and a U-shaped phase modulator (PM) connected by a curved optical waveguide. Microwave and optical packaging are implemented for the modulation chip, where the input and output pigtails of the packaged modulation device are polarization-maintaining fibers, with a core diameter of 6.5 μm. The packaged LNOI-based modulation device is featured by a fiber-to-fiber insertion loss as low as 6.97 dB. The half-wave voltages of the MZM and the PM are measured to be 3.6 V and 3.4 V at 5 GHz, respectively. By using the modulation device, an OFC with a tooth spacing of 5 GHz is generated, and the 13 comb teeth in the generated OFC are with a power flatness of 2.4 dB. The measured results of this device indicate that the tooth spacing of the generated OFC can be extended to tens of gigahertz by using a microwave source with a higher output frequency. In addition, the number of the comb teeth can be enhanced beyond 20 by increasing the power of the radio-frequency signal applied to the PM or by further reducing the half-wave voltage of the PM.