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Rape (Brassica napus) is an important oilseed crop widely cultivated worldwide. Due to its relatively short evolutionary and domestication history, its intra-species genetic diversity is limited. Radish (Raphanus sativus), belonging to a different genus but the same family as B. nupus, possesses an abundance of excellent gene resources. It is commonly used for B. nupus germplasm improvement and genetic basis expansion, making it one of the most important close relatives for distant hybridization. In the present study, a novel method for detecting alien chromosome fragments, called Anchor Mapping of Alien Chromosome (AMAC) was used to identify radish chromosome segments in the progeny of rape–radish interspecific hybrids. Based on the AMAC method, 126,861 pairs of IP (Intron Polymorphism) and 76,764 pairs of SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) primers were developed using the radish Rs1.0 reference genome. A total of 44,176 markers (23,816 pairs of IP and 20,360 pairs of SSR markers) were predicted to be radish genome specific-single-locus (SSL) markers through electronic PCR analysis among four R. sativus, one B. napus, one B. rapa, one B. juncea, and one B. juncea reference genome. Among them, 626 randomly synthesized SSL markers (478 SSL IP markers and 148 SSL SSR markers) were used to amplify the genome of 24 radish samples (R. sativus), 18 rape (B. napus), 2 Chinese cabbage (B. rapa), 2 kale (B. oleracea), and 2 mustard (B. juncea) samples, respectively. Then, 333 SSL markers of the radish genome were identified, which only amplified in the radish genome and not in any Brassica species genome, including 192 IP markers and 141 SSR markers. Furthermore, these validated SSL markers were used to identify alien chromosome fragments in Ogura-CMS restorer line 16C, Ogura-CMS sterile line 81A, and their hybrid-Yunyouza15. In 16C, one marker, Rs1.0025823_intron_3, had an amplification product designated as anchor marker for the alien chromosome fragment of 16C. Afterwards, four novel radish genome-specific IP markers were found to be flanking the anchor marker, and it was determined that the alien chromosome segment in 16C originated from the region 8.4807–11.7798 Mb on radish chromosome R9, and it was approximately 3.2991 Mb in size. These results demonstrate that the AMAC method developed in this study is efficient, convenient, and cost-effective for identifying excellent alien chromosome fragments/genes in distant hybrid progeny, and it can be applied to the molecular marker-assisted breeding and hybrid identification of radish and Brassica crop species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative Air Ions (NAIs), essential for environmental and human health, facilitate air purification and offer antimicrobial benefits. Our study achieves hourly estimations of NAIs using a machine learning framework, developed from a multi‐layer selection pipeline of over 200 variables, to identify the key determinants critical for adapting to high‐resolution NAIs dynamics. Addressing site sparsity and NAIs volatility, we introduced a hybrid stacking incorporating pseudo sites generated from Kriging Spatiotemporal Augmentation (KSTA) to mitigate spatial overfitting. Our approach, validated in Zhejiang, China, demonstrates exceptional accuracy, achieving R2 values of 0.90 (sample‐based), 0.85 (temporal‐based), and 0.79 (site‐based). This work not only sheds light on NAIs behavior in relation to diurnal shifts, land use, and environmental events, but also integrates a health grading system, enhancing public health strategies through precise air quality assessment. Plain Language Summary: Our study advances the environmental science by developing a machine‐learning model capable of estimation the hourly concentrations of negative air ions (NAIs) across Zhejiang Province, China. NAIs, vital for air purification and human health, are significantly related to environmental conditions. Taking advantage of a novel approach that reduces errors commonly seen in similar models, we provide a highly accurate, hour‐by‐hour analysis of air quality. Our research goes beyond mere prediction; it investigates how various factors like vegetation, soil type, and weather events influence NAI levels. The insights gained offer a comprehensive view of how NAI distribution changes over time and across different landscapes, informing environmental policy and public health strategies with precise air quality assessments. This study contributes significantly to the field by introducing an essential tool for continuous environmental monitoring, thereby facilitating more effective decision‐making in environmental and public health sectors. Key Points: A hybrid stacking machine learning framework shows superior accuracy (R2 = 0.90), combing a filter pipeline dealing with more than 200 variablesKriging Spatiotemporal Augmentation (KSTA) as a pseudo‐label strategy to resolve spatial overfitting due to sparse sitesAn hourly estimate of NAIs reveals NAIs dynamics correlations with environmental factors and land use, supporting public health policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thraustochytrids are eukaryotes and obligate marine protists. They are increasingly considered to be a promising feed additive because of their superior and sustainable application in the production of health-benefiting bioactive compounds, such as fatty acids, carotenoids, and sterols. Moreover, the increasing demand makes it critical to rationally design the targeted products by engineering industrial strains. In this review, bioactive compounds accumulated in thraustochytrids were comprehensively evaluated according to their chemical structure, properties, and physiological function. Metabolic networks and biosynthetic pathways of fatty acids, carotenoids, and sterols were methodically summarized. Further, stress-based strategies used in thraustochytrids were reviewed to explore the potential methodologies for enhancing specific product yields. There are internal relationships between the biosynthesis of fatty acids, carotenoids, and sterols in thraustochytrids since they share some branches of the synthetic routes with some intermediate substrates in common. Although there are classic synthesis pathways presented in the previous research, the metabolic flow of how these compounds are being synthesized in thraustochytrids still remains uncovered. Further, combined with omics technologies to deeply understand the mechanism and effects of different stresses is necessary, which could provide guidance for genetic engineering. While gene-editing technology has allowed targeted gene knock-in and knock-outs in thraustochytrids, efficient gene editing is still required. This critical review will provide comprehensive information to benefit boosting the commercial productivity of specific bioactive substances by thraustochytrids. Thraustochytrids are considered a promising and sustainable nutrient source for long-chain unsa turated fatty acids, carotenoids, and sterols production with impressive biosynthetic capacity. The interactive relationships between the biosynthesis and metabolism flows of fatty acids, carotenoids, and sterols are summarized. The comprehensive information of multi-omics including genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolism for various species of Thraustochytrids has also been concluded. Potential gene-engineering methodologies for enhancing bioactive substance yields are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women, and exhibits high metastasis, recurrence and fatality rates. Novel therapies for breast cancer are constantly emerging, such as targeted therapy, oncolytic virotherapy, and immunotherapy. Despite their potential, these new therapies are still in their infancy, and chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for breast cancer. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop safe and efficient treatment drugs or adjuvants for breast cancer treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long clinical history in China, in which Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi exhibits favorable antibreast cancer activities. We therefore conducted a systematic review of the available literature to better understand the molecular mechanisms of S. baicalensis in breast cancer treatment. S. baicalensis and its active components (baicalein, baicalin, wogonin, wogonoside, oroxylin A and scutellarin) exhibited promising antibreast cancer activity through proliferation inhibition, apoptosis induction, invasion and metastasis blockading, and drug-resistance and non-coding RNA regulation. Additionally, senescence, autophagy, angiogenesis, and glycolysis mechanisms were observed to play a role in their antibreast cancer activity. Furthermore, multiple signaling pathways contributed to the antitumor effects of S. baicalensi, such as the NF- κ B, Wnt/ β -catenin, SATB1, Bcl2 family proteins, Caspase, PI3K/Akt, mTOR, ERK, p38-MAPK, TGF- β /Smad, and Hippo/YAP pathways. This review provides valuable insights into the role of S. baicalensis as a breast cancer treatment and acts as a foundation for further investigations in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel non-gallate near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescence Mg2−xZnxSnO4:Cr3+ phosphors were synthesized, and their structure and luminescence properties were investigated systematically. Under 448 nm blue light excitation, all the phosphors exhibit a broad emission band centered at 730 nm and a shoulder peak at 708 nm, which are attributed to the 4T2(4F) → 4A2 and 2E → 4A2 transitions of Cr3+, respectively. The excitation spectra of the samples clearly show the characteristic excitation of Cr3+ in the octahedral crystal field, with three obvious peaks at 324, 448 and 620 nm respectively. The phosphor with a composition of Mg1.4Zn0.6SnO4:0.03Cr3+ shows the strongest photoluminescence intensity which is 2.87 times and 3.09 times that of Mg2SnO4:0.03Cr3+ and Zn2SnO4:0.03Cr3+, respectively. Besides, all the samples show intense near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescence. For the optimized sample Mg1.4Zn0.6SnO4:0.005Cr3+, its phosphorescence can still be observed with a night vision instrument 18 h after removing the 365 nm UV light source. Finally, a feasible phosphorescence mechanism of the Mg1.4Zn0.6SnO4:Cr3+ phosphor was proposed and discussed. This study may provide a new method for developing novel near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescence phosphors through crystal structure modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the drought tolerance of Brassica juncea, quality of 150 local varieties of B. juncea was investigated in Yunnan Province. The aboveground and underground parts of the plants were studied under drought stress with different degrees. Results showed that B. juncea was tolerant to drought, and had wide range of quality variations. The variation coefficient of oleic acid and erucic acid was more than 1, and the varieties tested were roughly grouped into 3 categories according to quality characteristics. The medium and severe drought could significantly affect growth of shoot and root system, especially the root system. Under medium drought, drought tolerance had significant positive correlations with oil content and extremely long fatty acids (erucic acid and arachidonic acid), but had significant negative correlation with 5 long-chain fatty acids (stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid). Under severe drought condition, drought tolerance had no relevance with quality traits. Meanwhile, drought resistance of the same variety was different under different degree of drought. Oil content had extremely significant positive correlation with long chain fatty acids. The oil content was negatively correlated with the content of long chain fatty acids and protein. The very long chain fatty acids had a significant negative correlation with long chain fatty acids. Eight varieties with strong comprehensive drought resistance were screened out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-persistent phosphors can be used in diverse fields, such as emergency instruction, information storage and in vivo bioimaging. Currently, progress in research and development of white long-persistent phosphors is slow, although there is growing demand for applications in certain conditions. In this work, a novel white long-persistent phosphor Ba2Ga2GeO7:Pr3+ was synthesized and systematically investigated through its structural information, photoluminescence and phosphorescence properties. Under ultraviolet light excitation, this phosphor gives white emission containing greenish-blue and red components stemming from 3P0 and 1D2 multiplet electron transitions in the 4f level of Pr3+. The luminescent color of the phosphors is relatively stable at different temperatures and Pr3+ concentrations. Bright white afterglow can be observed by the naked eye in the dark for 3 hours after removal of the excitation source. Finally, a feasible afterglow mechanism of Ba2Ga2GeO7:Pr3+ with a trap–detrap scenario was proposed to clarify the generation of the white afterglow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the significant impact of color centers on the physical and chemical properties of materials, studies on the origin of such color centers are needed. In this article, detailed crystal structure analysis and compositional characterization of CeAlO3 was carried out by applying XRD, XPS, HRTEM, STEM-EDS and ICP-OES techniques. The results revealed that crystal defects may be the main cause of color centers. The existence of oxygen and aluminum vacancy was proved and confirmed by the application of XPS, ICP-OES and STEM-EDS characterization methods. Overall, it unlikely that a single crystal defect would generate the yellow-green color of CeAlO3 crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]