Search

Introduction Legume crops are an important source of protein and oil for human health and in fixing atmospheric N2 for soil enrichment. With an objective to accelerate much-needed genetic analyses and breeding applications, draft genome assemblies were generated in several legume crops; many of them are not high quality because they are mainly based on short reads. However, the superior quality of genome assembly is crucial for a detailed understanding of genomic architecture, genome evolution, and crop improvement. Objectives Present study was undertaken with an objective of developing improved chromosome-length genome assemblies in six different legumes followed by their systematic investigation to unravel different aspects of genome organization and legume evolution. Methods We employed in situ Hi-C data to improve the existing draft genomes and performed different evolutionary and comparative analyses using improved genome assemblies. Results We have developed chromosome-length genome assemblies in chickpea, pigeonpea, soybean, subterranean clover, and two wild progenitor species of cultivated groundnut (A. duranensis and A. ipaensis). A comprehensive comparative analysis of these genome assemblies offered improved insights into various evolutionary events that shaped the present-day legume species. We highlighted the expansion of gene families contributing to unique traits such as nodulation in legumes, gravitropism in groundnut, and oil biosynthesis in oilseed legume crops such as groundnut and soybean. As examples, we have demonstrated the utility of improved genome assemblies for enhancing the resolution of “QTL-hotspot” identification for drought tolerance in chickpea and marker-trait associations for agronomic traits in pigeonpea through genome-wide association study. Genomic resources developed in this study are publicly available through an online repository, ‘Legumepedia’. Conclusion This study reports chromosome-length genome assemblies of six legume species and demonstrates the utility of these assemblies in crop improvement. The genomic resources developed here will have significant role in accelerating genetic improvement applications of legume crops.

Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) has been regarded as a promising technology for renewable hydrogen production. However, acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with long-term stability imposes a grand challenge in its large-scale industrialization. In this review, critical factors that may lead to catalyst's instability in couple with potential solutions are comprehensively discussed, including mechanical peeling, substrate corrosion, active-site over-oxidation/dissolution, reconstruction, oxide crystal structure collapse through the lattice oxygen-participated reaction pathway, etc. Last but not least, personal prospects are provided in terms of rigorous stability evaluation criteria, in situ/operando characterizations, economic feasibility and practical electrolyzer consideration, highlighting the ternary relationship of structure evolution, industrial-relevant activity and stability to serve as a roadmap towards the ultimate application of PEMWE.

Designing and synthesizing highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is important for realizing the hydrogen economy. Tuning the electronic structure of the electrocatalysts is essential to achieve optimal HER activity, and interfacial engineering is an effective strategy to induce electron transfer in a heterostructure interface to optimize HER kinetics. In this study, ultrafine RhP2 /Rh nanoparticles are synthesized with a well-defined semiconductor-metal heterointerface embedded in N,P co-doped graphene (RhP2 /Rh@NPG) via a one-step pyrolysis. RhP2 /Rh@NPG exhibits outstanding HER performances under all pH conditions. Electrochemical characterization and first principles density functional theory calculations reveal that the RhP2 /Rh heterointerface induces electron transfer from metallic Rh to semiconductive RhP2 , which increases the electron density on the Rh atoms in RhP2 and weakens the hydrogen adsorption on RhP2 , thereby accelerating the HER kinetics. Moreover, the interfacial electron transfer activates the dual-site synergistic effect of Rh and P of RhP2 in neutral and alkaline environments, thereby promoting reorganization of interfacial water molecules for faster HER kinetics. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Ministry of Education (MOE) This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22075195); Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 1: RG4/20 and RG2/21, Tier 2: MOET2EP10120-0002; Agency for Science, Technology and Research: AME IRG A20E5c0080; and the starting research fund of Suzhou University of Science and Technology for H.B.Y.

Simultaneous detection of hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC), and resorcinol (RS) is achieved by an electrochemical flexible strip constructed with single-atom cobalt using high-resolution electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing technique.

Inducing the surface enrichment of active noble metal can not only help to stabilize the catalyst but also modify the catalytic performance of the catalyst through electronic and geometric effects. Herein, we report the in situ surface enrichment of Ir on IrRu alloy during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The surface enrichment of Ir was probed by ex situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and electrochemical Cu stripping, leading to complementary characterizations of the dynamic reconstruction of the IrRu alloy during OER. Guided by the density functional theory (DFT), an IrRu alloy with low Ir content (20 wt%) was constructed, which displayed a low overpotential of only 230 mV to deliver an OER current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 0.1 M HClO4 solution and maintained stable performance for over 20 h. To investigate the practical application potential, a proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer using the IrRu alloy as the anode catalyst was assembled, which required a low cell voltage of only 1.48 V to generate a current density of 1 A cm-2. Ministry of Education (MOE) Published version This work was supported by the funds from the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 1: RG4/20, RG2/21, and Tier 2: MOET2EP10120-0002. J.L. and C.- Q.X. acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22033005 and 22103035) and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2020A1515110282). This work was partially sponsored by the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalysis (No. 2020B121201002). Computational resources were supported by Taizi high-performance supercomputer cluster of Center for Computational Science and Engineering of Southern University of Science and Technology, and high-performance supercomputer cluster of Department of Chemistry (CHEM-HPC) of Southern University of Science and Technology. All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Adsorption energy (AE) of reactive intermediate is currently the most important descriptor for electrochemical reactions (e.g., water electrolysis, hydrogen fuel cell, electrochemical nitrogen fixation, electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction, etc.), which can bridge the gap between catalyst's structure and activity. Tracing the history and evolution of AE can help to understand electrocatalysis and design optimal electrocatalysts. Focusing on oxygen electrocatalysis, this review aims to provide a comprehensive introduction on how AE is selected as the activity descriptor, the intrinsic and empirical relationships related to AE, how AE links the structure and electrocatalytic performance, the approaches to obtain AE, the strategies to improve catalytic activity by modulating AE, the extrinsic influences on AE from the environment, and the methods in circumventing linear scaling relations of AE. An outlook is provided at the end with emphasis on possible future investigation related to the obstacles existing between adsorption energy and electrocatalytic performance.

Two-electron oxygen photoreduction to hydrogen peroxide (H

Differing from the traditional chroma subsampling on the YUV image converted from a RGB full-color image, in this paper, we propose a novel and effective chroma subsampling and luma modification (CSLM) method. For each 2 × 2 YUV block, first, a newly reconstructed 2 × 2 RGB full-color blockdistortion model is proposed, and then we propose a multiple linear regression approach to tackle our CSLM method such that the reconstructed 2 × 2 RGB full-color block-distortion can be minimized, achieving significant quality improvement of the reconstructed RGB full-color image. Based on the Kodak and IMAX datasets, the comprehensive experimental results demonstrated that on the versatile video coding (VVC) platform VTM-8.0, our method achieves substantial quality and quality-bitrate tradeoff improvement of the reconstructed RGB full-color images relative to six traditional methods and the three state-of-the-art methods.

The electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) that converts renewable electricity into storable hydrogen, a sustainable and clean energy carrier, provides a promising method to mitigate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. In general, noble-metal-based nanomaterials (including Pt, Rh, Ru, Ir, etc.) have drawn tremendous research attention in the context of the HER because of their nearly optimal bindings to hydrogen, robust stability and tunable physical/chemical properties. Particularly, carbon as a substrate not only offers a stabilizing and conductive matrix, but also impacts the electronic structure of the supported metal by interfacial interaction, necessitating a detailed understanding. To speed up the sluggish kinetics of the HER, the design and construction of efficient electrocatalysts is of crucial importance. Herein, a comprehensive review of the recent advances in carbon-supported noble-metal electrocatalysts is presented, focusing on their synthetic strategies, structural analyses, and applications in HER electrocatalysis. Specifically, the correlation between the electronic structure and activity is discussed. Furthermore, a perspective is offered highlighting the challenges and opportunities for development of highly efficient HER electrocatalysts, with the aim for widespread utilization of practical water electrolyzers toward green hydrogen production. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Ministry of Education (MOE) This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22075195), Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 1: RG4/20, Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 1: RG2/21, Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 2: MOET2EP10120-0002, Agency for Science, Technology and Research: AME IRG A20E5c0080, interdisciplinary project of Yangzhou University (yzuxk202013), and the starting research fund of Suzhou University of Science and Technology for H.B.Y.

Aim To uncover the underlying pathogenesis of thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) and explore potential biomarkers of this disease. Methods The expression profile GSE9340, which was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database, included 18 specimens from 10 TAO patients and 8 hyperthyroidism patients without ophthalmopathy. The platform was HumanRef-8 v2 Expression BeadChip. Raw data were normalized using preprocess. Core package and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on t-test with limma package of R. Functional enrichment analyses were performed recruiting the DAVID tool. Based on STRING database, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, from which a module was extracted. The functional enrichment for genes in the module was performed by the BinGO plugin. Results In total, 861 DEGs (433 up-regulated and 428 down-regulated) between TAO patients and hyperthyroidism patients without ophthalmopathy were identified. Crucial nodes in the PPI network included TPX2, CDCA5, PRC1, KIF23 and MKI67, which were also remarkable in the module and all enriched in cell cycle process. Additionally, MKI67 was highly correlated with TAO. Besides, the DEGs of GTF2F1, SMC3, USF1 and ZNF263 were predicted as transcription factors (TFs). Conclusion Several crucial genes are identified such as TPX2, CDCA5, PRC1 and KIF23, which all might play significant roles in TAO via the regulation of cell cycle process. Regulatory relationships between TPX2 and CDCA5 as well as between PRC1 and KIF23 may exist. Additionally, MKI67 may be a potent biomarker of TAO, and SMC3 and ZNF263 may exert their roles as TFs in TAO progression.

AIM: To analyze the curative effect and safety in early stage primary open angle glaucoma(POAG)between simple Ex-PRESS shunt implantation and its combination with biological amniotic membrane implantation. METHODS: The clinical data of 53 cases for POAG treated with simple EX-PRESS shunt implantation(22 cases, 34 eyes)as control group and its combination with biological amniotic membrane implantation(31 cases, 38 eyes)as experimental group were retrospectively analyzed. Intraocular pressure(IOP)preoperatively and postoperatively were statistically evaluated. Filtering bleb and incidences of postoperative complications were observed in our hospital during the period of January of 2015 to April of 2017. RESULTS: At each time point after the operation, the mean IOP of the experimental group and the control group decreased distinctly respectively, the difference was statistically significant(PPPPPCONCLUSION: EX-PRESS shunt combined with biological amniotic membrane implantation can effectively and safely reduce intraocular pressure, and improve the condition of filtering bleb after operation, and has long-term effect on IOP.

Groundwater is a significant component of the hydrological cycle in arid and semi-arid areas. Its evapotranspiration is an important part of the water budget because many plants are groundwater-dependent. To restore the degraded ecosystems, the need is pressing to further our understanding of the groundwater evapotranspiration (ETg) in arid and semi-arid areas. This study employed the White method to estimate ETg at four sites in the Mu Us Sandy Land in northern China, and the four sites are covered by Salix psammophila (SP site), Artemisia ordosica (AO site), Poplar alba (PA site), and Carex enervis (CE site), respectively. The depth of groundwater table and the duration of drainage were taken into account in calculating the specific yield (Sy) to improve the accuracy of the ETg estimats. Our results showed that from late May to early November 2013 the ETg were 361.87 (SP site), 372.53 (AO site), 597.86 (PA site) and 700.76 mm (CE site), respectively. The estimated ETg rate was also species-dependent and the descending order of the ETg rate for the four vegetation was: C. enervis, P. alba, A. ordosica, and S. psammophila. In addition, the depth of groundwater table has an obvious effect on the ETg rate and the effect varied with the vegetation types. Furthermore, the evapotranspiration for the vegetation solely relying on the water supply from unsaturated layers above the groundwater table was much less than that for the vegetation heavily relying on the water supply from shallow aquifers.

Designing effective electrocatalysts for the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO

Cyclins are central engines of cell cycle progression in conjunction with cyclin‐dependent kinases (CDKs). Among the different cyclins controlling cell cycle progression, cyclin F does not partner with a CDK, but instead forms via its F‐box domain an SCF (Skp1‐Cul1‐F‐box)‐type E3 ubiquitin ligase module. Although various substrates of cyclin F have been identified, the vulnerabilities of cells lacking cyclin F are not known. Thus, we assessed viability of cells lacking cyclin F upon challenging them with more than 180 different kinase inhibitors. The screen revealed a striking synthetic lethality between Chk1 inhibition and cyclin F loss. Chk1 inhibition in cells lacking cyclin F leads to DNA replication catastrophe. Replication catastrophe depends on accumulation of the transcription factor E2F1 in cyclin F‐depleted cells. We find that SCF‐cyclin F controls E2F1 ubiquitylation and degradation during the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and upon challenging cells with Chk1 inhibitors. Thus, Cyclin F restricts E2F1 activity during the cell cycle and upon checkpoint inhibition to prevent DNA replication stress. Our findings pave the way for patient selection in the clinical use of checkpoint inhibitors.

It is well known that high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) infection is strongly associated with cervical cancer and E7 was identified as one of the key initiators in HPV-mediated carcinogenesis. Here we show that lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) preferably locates in the nucleus in HPV16-positive cervical tumors due to E7-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Surprisingly, nuclear LDHA gains a non-canonical enzyme activity to produce α-hydroxybutyrate and triggers DOT1L (disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like)-mediated histone H3K79 hypermethylation, resulting in the activation of antioxidant responses and Wnt signaling pathway. Furthermore, HPV16 E7 knocking-out reduces LDHA nuclear translocation and H3K79 tri-methylation in K14-HPV16 transgenic mouse model. HPV16 E7 level is significantly positively correlated with nuclear LDHA and H3K79 tri-methylation in cervical cancer. Collectively, our findings uncover a non-canonical enzyme activity of nuclear LDHA to epigenetically control cellular redox balance and cell proliferation facilitating HPV-induced cervical cancer development., High-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) infection is strongly associated with cervical cancer and current evidences link E7 to HPV-associated carcinogenesis. Here the authors propose a model in which the infection of epithelial cells with high risk HPV results in a burst of reactive oxygen species, translocation of LDHA to the nucleus and activation of a gene profile that supports the growth of cervical cancer.

Cullin 3 (CUL3) serves as a scaffold protein and assembles a large number of ubiquitin ligase complexes. It is involved in multiple cellular processes and plays a potential role in tumor development and progression. In this study, we demonstrate that CUL3 targets methionine adenosyltransferase IIα (MAT IIα) and promotes its proteasomal degradation through the ubiquitylation-mediated pathway. MAT IIα is a key enzyme in methionine metabolism and is associated with uncontrolled cell proliferation in cancer. We presently found that CUL3 down-regulation could rescue folate deprivation-induced MAT IIα exhaustion and growth arrest in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Further results from human CRC samples display an inverse correlation between CUL3 and MAT IIα protein levels. Our observations reveal a novel role of CUL3 in regulating cell proliferation by controlling the stability of MAT IIα.

This study aimed to investigate the mechanical properties of concrete containing solid–liquid phase-change material (PCM) and focused on two key factors. First, a systematic study on the mechanical performance of PCM-modified concretes was conducted, including compressive, elastic modulus, and shrinkage tests. Second, because PCM provides high latent heat during the solid–liquid phase change, the effects of the solid phase and liquid phase on the mechanical properties of concrete were also explored. Results of this study showed that the solid–liquid phase of PCM affected the mechanical properties of concrete. For example, the compressive strength of 10% PCM concrete in solid phase (23 °C) and liquid phase (40 °C) at 28 days was 29.30 and 19.57 MPa, respectively. In addition, with increasing PCM content, the mechanical properties were degraded. For example, 10, 20, and 30% of PCM content lowered the compressive strength by 35.4, 58.4, and 74.3%, respectively. Therefore, concrete with PCM may not be...

Aberrant centrosome organisation with ensuing alterations of microtubule nucleation capacity enables tumour cells to proliferate and invade despite increased genomic instability. CEP192 is a key factor in the initiation process of centrosome duplication and in the control of centrosome microtubule nucleation. However, regulatory means of CEP192 have remained unknown. Here, we report that FBXL13, a binding determinant of SCF (SKP1‐CUL1‐F‐box)‐family E3 ubiquitin ligases, is enriched at centrosomes and interacts with the centrosomal proteins Centrin‐2, Centrin‐3, CEP152 and CEP192. Among these, CEP192 is specifically targeted for proteasomal degradation by FBXL13. Accordingly, induced FBXL13 expression downregulates centrosomal γ‐tubulin and disrupts centrosomal microtubule arrays. In addition, depletion of FBXL13 induces high levels of CEP192 and γ‐tubulin at the centrosomes with the consequence of defects in cell motility. Together, we characterise FBXL13 as a novel regulator of microtubule nucleation activity and highlight a role in promoting cell motility with potential tumour‐promoting implications.

AIM: To investigate the clinical effect of vitamin B12 eye drops for vision fatigue caused by visual display terminals(VDT). METHODS: Totally 50 patients(100 eyes)with vision fatigue caused by VDT were averagely divided into two groups. The control group were treated with normal saline,the treatment group were treated with vitamin B12 eye drops,3 times per day, one drop each time, continuous for 60d. Accommodative parameters and Schirmer Ⅰtest were measured and analyzed before and after treatment. RESULTS:After treatment, the results of Schirmer Ⅰtest, accommodative amplitude and accommodative facility of the treatment group were higher than those of the control group(all PPCONCLUSION: Vitamin B12 eye drops can lessen symptoms of dry eye, improve accommodative function and treat vision fatigue caused by VDT.

This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of celastrol, a natural compound with multiple bioactivities, on multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis in rat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). EAE was induced in Sprague Dawley rats using myelin basic protein, and the animals received daily intraperitoneal injections of celastrol or vehicle for 13 days. The EAE rats showed abnormal neurobehavior and inflammatory infiltration and demyelination in the spinal cord. Significantly upregulated mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ and interleukin-17 and downregulated anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-4 were found in the spinal cord of EAE rats. In the study of optic neuritis, severely inflammatory responses like in the spinal cord were also seen in the optic nerve, as well as obvious microgliosis. Furthermore, activation of nuclear factor kappa-B and upregulated inducible nitric oxide synthase was observed in the optic nerve. In addition, apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells and dysregulation of apoptotic-associated proteins in the optic nerve were found in EAE rats. Treatment of celastrol potently restored these changes. In most of the indexes, the effects of high dose of celastrol were better than the low dose. Our data conclude that administration of celastrol attenuates multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis in EAE via anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. These findings provide new pre-clinical evidence for the use of celastrol in treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Dysregulation of hormone metabolism is implicated in human breast cancer. 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 4 (HSD17B4) catalyzes the conversion of estradiol (E2) to estrone (E1), and is associated with the pathogenesis and development of various cancers. Here we show that E1 upregulates HSD17B4 acetylation at lysine 669 (K669) and thereby promotes HSD17B4 degradation via chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), while a single mutation at K669 reverses the degradation and confers migratory and invasive properties to MCF7 cells upon E1 treatment. CREBBP and SIRT3 dynamically control K669 acetylation level of HSD17B4 in response to E1. More importantly, K669 acetylation is inversely correlated with HSD17B4 in human breast cancer tissues. Our study reveals a crosstalk between acetylation and CMA degradation in HSD17B4 regulation, and a critical role of the regulation in the malignant progression of breast cancer.

Ref. [ based on the analysis of internal tooth plate in the process of locating method, on the basis of the author thinks that the positioning adjustment of internal tooth plate Angle is not easy to measure in actual processing, the positioning adjustment Angle is not easy to guarantee the positioning, a direct impact on the accuracy of phase difference between tooth plate. If the difference accuracy of inner teeth cannot guarantee, cause vibration and noise, impact of three-ring gear reducer will intensify, temperature increase, reduce the service life, even can't assembly. Through the analysis of the principle of three-ring gear reducer, the paper puts forward the inner tooth plate treatment positioning adjustment Angle is 120°, measurement is simple and convenient location, is advantageous to the guarantee of phase difference accuracy of inner teeth. Using UG NX7.0 platform, with a new positioning method to establish model of inner rack, and then using UG stretch command on the establishment of good internal tooth plate model of cutting out the tooth shape, and motion simulation. The results show that the new Angle of inner gear plate positioning adjustment feasible, and fast and convenient, has important significance to the development of three-ring gear reducer.

In this paper I make use of the gridding function of ANSYS establish spiral bevel gear mesh model firstly.Then I transform the date of the meshing model and input then into the ANSYS. After assembly and structural expansion, I use the model to do the contact stress analysis of the spiral bevel gear.Through this,I obtain the distribution and changes of its contact stress.

The research was the character of the urban sludge burning with coal by using the elemental anaylsis, component analysis, proximate analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. There is a big different elemental composition between the urban sludge and coal. For example, the carbon content (20.64%) in the sludge is only 31.3% of the coal. SiO2 in sludge incineration ash contain up to 15%, the same as SiO2 in Siliceous clinker. The sludge ash content (56.46%) is 2 times of in coal ash, anSubscript textd the volatile of sludge (34.6377%)is higher than the volatile of coal (25.089%), the sludge incineration can be divided into three stages: moisture volatilizing stage (30°C to 160°C), devolatilization combustion stage (160°C to 500°C) and fixed carbon and residual combustibles burning stage (510°C to 950°C). The heating rate increased, the volatiles volatilized advance about 50°C. Therefore, the sludge is a high value fuel, which can be used in the burning with coal or building materials.