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Nano‐confined synthesis of perovskite quantum dots (QDs) in solid matrix is emerging as a promising route to solve their long‐standing stability problem. Utilizing sol‐gel derived nanoporous glass as matrix that has high flexibility in chemical composition and pore size, a novel spatial and chemical dual nano‐confined strategy is presented for the synthesis of ultrastable perovskite QDs with tunable composition and bandgap in glass. The findings reveal that the Pb─O bonding is formed at perovskite QDs/glass interface during a nano‐confined chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reaction. In particular, the presence of interfacial chemical bonding is discovered to be critical for passivating surface traps and stabilizing the perovskite QDs during the final densification process (related photoluminescence intensity maintained ≈100% after immersed in aqueous solution for 30 days). Series optical spectroscopy unravels the exciton modulation (80 meV) of perovskite QDs in nanoporous and densified glass related to the unique combination of dual physical and chemistry nano‐confined effect. By shedding light on the nano‐confined growth of functional nanocrystals, the research offers the key paths for fabricating high‐performance perovskite devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the continuous advancement of remote sensing technology, remote sensing images have found widespread application in various fields. However, remote sensing images are often hindered by the presence of clouds, which can significantly reduce their usability. Removing clouds from remote sensing images has thus become an essential preprocessing step in remote sensing image analysis. While numerous models based on deep learning have produced impressive results in the domain of image denoising, there has been limited research on applying deep neural networks to tackle the issue of cloud removal in remote sensing images. This paper proposes a novel model, the Hybrid Attention Generative Adversarial Network (HyA-GAN), that blends the channel attention mechanism and the spatial attention mechanism and integrates it into a generative adversarial network. By incorporating both the channel attention mechanism and the spatial attention mechanism, HyA-GAN permits the network to prioritize regions that are vital for image processing. This feature leads to an improvement in the network's capacity to recover data and generate remote sensing images with superior cloud removal effects. When comparing HyA-GAN with other existing cloud removal models on the RICE dataset, it outperformed them in both peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM). The experiments demonstrate the high potential of HyA-GAN in addressing the challenge of removing clouds from remote sensing images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation and turnover of mitochondria is fundamental to Eukaryotes and is a key homeostatic mechanism for maintaining functional mitochondrial populations. Autophagy is an important pathway by which mitochondria are degraded, involving their sequestration into membrane‐bound autophagosomes and targeting to lytic endosomal compartments (the lysosome in animals, the vacuole in plants and yeast). Selective targeting of mitochondria for autophagy, also known as mitophagy, distinguishes mitochondria from other cell components for degradation and is necessary for the regulation of mitochondria‐specific cell processes. In mammals and yeast, mitophagy has been well characterised and is regulated by numerous pathways with diverse and important functions in the regulation of cell homeostasis, metabolism and responses to specific stresses. In contrast, we are only just beginning to understand the importance and functions of mitophagy in plants, chiefly as the proteins that target mitochondria for autophagy in plants are only recently emerging. Here, we discuss the current progress of our understanding of mitophagy in plants, the importance of mitophagy for plant life and the regulatory autophagy proteins involved in mitochondrial degradation. In particular, we will discuss the recent emergence of mitophagy receptor proteins that selectively target mitochondria for autophagy, and discuss the missing links in our knowledge of mitophagy‐regulatory proteins in plants compared to animals and yeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the real-time path planning requirements of intelligent vehicles in dynamic traffic scenarios, a path planning and evaluation method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, based on the B-spline algorithm and four-stage lane-changing theory, an obstacle avoidance path planning algorithm framework is constructed. Then, to obtain the optimal real-time path, a comprehensive real-time path evaluation mechanism that includes path safety, smoothness, and comfort is established. Finally, to verify the proposed approach, co-simulation and real vehicle testing are conducted. In the dynamic obstacle avoidance scenario simulation, the lateral acceleration, yaw angle, yaw rate, and roll angle fluctuation ranges of the ego-vehicle are ± 2.39 m/s2, ± 13.31°, ± 13.26°/s, and ± 0.938°, respectively. The results show that the proposed algorithm can generate real-time, available obstacle avoidance paths. And the proposed evaluation mechanism can find the optimal path for the current scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular dementia (VaD) is a prevalent cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell‐derived extracellular vesicles (hUCMSC‐Evs) are critical for VaD treatment. We explored the mechanism of hUCMSC‐Evs in VaD. VaD rat model was established by bilateral common carotid artery ligation and hUCMSC‐Evs were extracted. VaD rats were injected with Evs through the tail vein. Rat neurological scores, neural behaviors, memory and learning abilities, brain tissue pathological changes, and neurological impairment were evaluated by Zea‐Longa method, Morris water maze tests, HE staining, and ELISA (through acetylcholine [ACH] and dopamine [DA] assessment). Microglia M1/M2 polarization was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Pro‐/anti‐inflammatory factor levels in brain tissue homogenate, oxidative stress‐related indicators, and p‐PI3K, PI3K, p‐AKT, AKT, and Nrf2 protein levels were determined by ELISA, kits, and Western blot. VaD rats were jointly treated with PI3K phosphorylation inhibitor Ly294002 and hUCMSC‐Evs. VaD rats manifested increased neurological function injury scores, decreased cognitive function and learning ability, abnormal brain structure, obvious inflammatory infiltration, diminished ACH and DA levels, increased microglial cells and M1‐polarized cells, M1/M2 polarization ratio, inflammation, and oxidative stress. hUCMSC‐Evs alleviated the neurological damage of VaD rats, inhibited M1 polarization, inflammation, and oxidative stress of microglial cells in brain tissues of VaD rats, and activated the PI3K/AKT/Nrf2 pathway. Ly294002 partially averted the effects of hUCMSC‐Evs on microglial polarization, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Briefly, hUCMSC‐Evs activated the PI3K/AKT/Nrf2 pathway and inhibited microglial M1 polarization, inflammation, and oxidative stress, thus protecting VaD rat nerve functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common subtype of dementia, but the precise mechanism underlying VaD is not fully understood. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) can act as a key regulator in physiological and pathological processes, including neurological disorders, but whether it is correlated with VaD has not been elucidated. In this study, we established a mouse model of VaD by the transient bilateral common carotid artery occlusion surgery. As expected, the Morris water maze showed that VaD mice had significant deficits in spatial learning and memory. MALAT1 was elevated in the hippocampus of VaD mice. Additionally, we found that microRNA (miR)-9-3p was downregulated in the VaD hippocampus. By performing a dual-luciferase report assay, we verified the binding relationship between MALAT1 and miR-9-3p. Interestingly, synapse-associated protein-97 (SAP97), a well-known gene related to synaptic functions, was found upregulated in the hippocampus of VaD mice. In vitro experiments performed on hippocampal neurons demonstrated that miR-9-3p negatively regulated SAP97 expression. The downregulation of MALAT1 in hippocampal neurons increased miR-9-3p and reduced SAP97, whereas miR-9-3p inhibition rescued the MALAT1 downregulation-mediated SAP97 reduction. In conclusion, the present study reported the alterations in the expression levels of MALAT1, miR-9-3p, and SAP97 in the hippocampus of VaD mice, suggesting that MALAT1 targets miR-9-3p to upregulate SAP97 in the hippocampus of mice with VaD. This work will be helpful for understanding the molecular mechanisms of VaD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Functional regulation and structural maintenance of the different organelles in plants contribute directly to plant development, reproduction and stress responses. To ensure these activities take place effectively, cells have evolved an interconnected network amongst various subcellular compartments, regulating rapid signal transduction and the exchange of biomaterial. Many proteins that regulate membrane connections have recently been identified in plants, and this is the first step in elucidating both the mechanism and function of these connections. Amongst all organelles, the endoplasmic reticulum is the key structure, which likely links most of the different subcellular compartments through membrane contact sites (MCS) and the ER–PM contact sites (EPCS) have been the most intensely studied in plants. However, the molecular composition and function of plant MCS are being found to be different from other eukaryotic systems. In this article, we will summarise the most recent advances in this field and discuss the mechanism and biological relevance of these essential links in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Silurian Longmaxi (S1l) marine shale and Jurassic Dongyuemiao (J1d) lacustrine shale in the Sichuan Basin, West China have attracted considerable attention from the oil-and-gas industry in China. Currently, the differences in pore types and pore structures between them are poorly understood, which has limited shale-resource exploration in the Sichuan Basin. This paper systemically compares the pore characteristics of Longmaxi shale and Dongyuemiao shale and investigates their impact on shale-gas enrichment by integrating field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE–SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), low-pressure gas (CO2 and N2) adsorption and mercury-intrusion porosimetry, high-pressure sorption isotherms, gas-saturation measurement, molecular-dynamics simulation, etc. The results show that the S1l organic-rich marine shale and the J1d lacustrine shale have different pore types and pore structures. The S1l shale is dominated by organic pores, mainly micropores and mesopores with ink-bottle-like pore shapes, while the J1d shale is primarily composed of clay-mineral pores, mainly mesopores and macropores with slit- or plate-like pore shapes. Organic pores can provide considerable storage space for shale-gas enrichment in S1l marine shale, which also determines the adsorption capacity of shale reservoirs. Although organic pores are not the most prevalent in the Dongyuemiao lacustrine shale, they also play an important role in enhancing reservoir quality and absorbed-gas enrichment. Clay-mineral pores contribute weakly to the storage space of J1d-lacustrine-shale reservoirs. Mesopores are the most important form of storage space in both S1l shale and J1d shale, contributing significantly to shale-gas enrichment. Micropores are secondary in importance in S1l marine shale, while macropores are secondary contributors to pore volume in J1d lacustrine shale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Eukaryotes, organelle interactions occur at specialised contact sites between organelle membranes. Contact sites are regulated by specialised tethering proteins, which bring organelle membranes into close proximity, and facilitate functional crosstalk between compartments. While contact site proteins are well characterised in mammals and yeast, the regulators of plant contact site formation are only now beginning to emerge. Having unique subcellular structures, plants must also utilise unique mechanisms of organelle interaction to regulate plant‐specific functions. The recently characterised NETWORKED proteins are the first dedicated family of plant‐specific contact site proteins. Research into the NET proteins and their interacting partners continues to uncover plant‐specific mechanisms of organelle interaction and the importance of these organelle contacts to plant life. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly apparent that organelle interactions are fundamental to autophagy in plants. Here, we will present recent developments in our understanding of the mechanisms of plant organelle interactions, their functions, and emerging roles in autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of exhaust gas from large diesel engines is an important factor to affect environment. Because of its advantages in reaction efficiency and heat transfer efficiency, circulating fluidized bed (CFB) has shown great potential with regard to save energy and purify emissions from large diesel engines. This paper mainly investigated a three-dimensional modeling of the CFB, and a rolling function is applied to simulate its unsteady working conditions, which is called the rolling circulation fluidized bed (RCFB). Two-fluid model based on Euler-Euler approach is utilized to numerically simulate the gas-solid two phases flow within the RCFB. In order to give the comparable results between the present simulation and the previous experiment, the effect of Stokes number on particle phase distribution behaviors in the RCFB is investigated. By simulating the overall swing condition of the RCFB based on a dynamic grid, the effect of the swing condition on particle radial distribution uniformity in the riser is obtained. The reliability of quantitative modeling is verified based on the experimental results of the extant literature. Based on this simulation, the influence of the Stokes number on the radial distribution of particles as well as the relationship between the uniformity of the distribution and particle size is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the subcellular level, the cytoskeleton regulates cell structure, organelle movement, and cytoplasmic streaming. Autophagy is a process to remove unwanted biomaterials or damaged organelles through double membrane compartments known as autophagosomes. Autophagosome biogenesis requires vesicle trafficking between donor and acceptor compartments, membrane expansion, and fusion, which is very likely to be regulated by the cytoskeleton. Recent studies have demonstrated that by knocking out key actin-regulating proteins, autophagosome biogenesis is inhibited. However, the formation of ATG8 positive structures are not affected when the entire actin network is disrupted. Here, we discuss this paradox and propose the function of the actin cytoskeleton in plant autophagy. The actin network is regarded as the prevalent cytoskeleton system for subcellular membrane dynamics in plants. Autophagosome biogenesis involves vesicle trafficking and membrane fusion, both of which require a functional cytoskeleton network. In animal, yeast, and plant cells, actin and actin-associated proteins participate in the process of autophagosome formation at various stages. Recent studies in plants have shown that mutation in components of the actin nucleator, the ARP2/3 complex, and two of its activators, the SCAR/WAVE complex and AtEH/Pan1, significantly inhibit autophagosome formation and, as a consequence, mutant plants are more susceptible to stress conditions. However, chemically-induced actin network depolymerization does not affect autophagosome formation, suggesting that the actin network could be dispensable for bulk autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud service providers (CSPs) can offer infinite storage space with cheaper maintenance cost compared to the traditional storage mode. Users tend to store their data in geographical and diverse CSPs so as to avoid vendor lock-in. Static data placement has been widely studied in recent works. However, the data access pattern is often time-varying and users may pay more cost if static placement is adopted during the data lifetime. Therefore, it is a pending problem and challenge of how to dynamically store users' data under time-varying data access pattern. To this end, we propose ADPA, an adaptive data placement architecture that can adjust the data placement scheme based on the time-varying data access pattern and subject for minimizing the total cost and maximizing the data availability. The proposed architecture includes two main components: data retrieval frequency prediction module based on LSTM and data placement optimization module based on Q-learning. The performance of ADPA is evaluated through several experimental scenarios using NASA-HTTP workload and cloud providers information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudoginsenoside-F11 (PF11), an ocotillol-type saponin, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory properties, but the effects of PF11 on acute lung inflammation were unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects and potential mechanisms of PF11 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in male BALB/c mice. After being treated with PF11 (3, 10, and 30 mg/kg, intravenous) once a day for 3 consecutive days, the mice were challenged by intratracheal instillation of LPS, and then their lung tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected for further analysis. The results showed that PF11 attenuated LPS-induced ALI, with alleviated histopathological damage, decreased lung wet/dry weight ratio, and reduced protein concentration and inflammatory cells number in BALF. Moreover, PF11 reversed the LPS-induced increases of mRNA expression and protein levels of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β. Meanwhile, PF11 decreased LPS-induced myeloperoxidase activity and neutrophil infiltration in lung tissue by reducing the expression of macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1, as well as enhanced neutrophil clearance by accelerating neutrophils apoptosis and their phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages. In conclusion, these results indicated that PF11 significantly attenuated LPS-induced ALI through suppressing neutrophil infiltration and accelerating neutrophil clearance, suggesting its potential in the treatment of ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleo-oil reservoir is of great importance to understand hydrocarbon enrichment mechanism and hydrocarbon exploration potential, but is yet poorly investigated in Kuqa Depression. The occurrence of the paleo-oil reservoir in Dabei area was proved by quantitative grain fluorescence (QGF) and fluid inclusion petrography. Development history of the paleo-oil reservoir was reconstructed through: (1) oil-source correlation; (2) time coupling of source rock maturation, porosity evolution and migration pathways. The impact of paleo-oil reservoir on tight-gas accumulation was consequently discussed. Results suggest that considerable oil was accumulated in the K1bs reservoir with paleo oil-water contact in Dabei 2 Well and Dabei 201 Well at 5 800 and 6 040 m, respectively. Crude oil was primarily sourced from Triassic source rocks with Jurassic source rocks of secondary importance, which was at oil generation window (0.7%–1.1% Ro) during 9–6 and 7.5–5 Ma, respectively. The occurrence of K1bs tight reservoir (porosity < 12%) was about 25 Ma, while faults and associated fractures at Kelasue structural belt were developed approximately from 8 to 3.5 Ma. Therefore, the tight oil accumulation was formed during 8–5 Ma. The paleo-oil reservoir in Dabei 1 gas field was destroyed by the evaporation fractionation in later stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stroke is a group of diseases resulting from cerebral vascular rupture or obstruction and subsequent brain blood circulation disorder, leading to rapid neurological deficits. Ischemic stroke accounts for the majority of all stroke cases. The current treatments for ischemic stroke mainly include t-PA thrombolytic therapy and surgical thrombectomy. However, these interventions aimed at recanalizing cerebral vessels can paradoxically lead to ischemia-reperfusion injury, which exacerbates the severity of brain damage. Minocycline, a semi-synthetic tetracycline antibiotic, has been shown to possess a wide range of neuroprotective effects independent of its antibacterial activity. Here we summarize the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of minocycline against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury based on the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, including its modulation of oxidative stress, inflammatory response, excitotoxicity, programmed cell death and blood-brain barrier injury, and also introduce the role of minocycline in alleviating stroke-related complications, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of minocycline in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bexarotene, a retinoid X receptor (RXR) agonist, is approved by FDA to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. However, it has also demonstrated promising therapeutic potential for neurological diseases such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, and particularly Alzheimer's disease(AD). In AD, bexarotene inhibits the production and aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ), activates Liver X Receptor/RXR heterodimers to increase lipidated apolipoprotein E to remove Aβ, mitigates the negative impact of Aβ, regulates neuroinflammation, and ultimately improves cognitive function. For other neurological diseases, its mechanisms of action include inhibiting inflammatory responses, up-regulating microglial phagocytosis, and reducing misfolded protein aggregation, all of which aid in alleviating neurological damage. Here, we briefly discuss the characteristics, applications, and adverse effects of bexarotene, summarize its pharmacological mechanisms and therapeutic results in various neurological diseases, and elaborate on the problems encountered in preclinical research, with the aim of providing help for the further application of bexarotene in central nervous system diseases. • The molecular mechanism of bexarotene, a RXR agonist, is elaborated in detail. • Bexarotene may relieve the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease mainly by removing the monomer and oligomer of Aβ 42. • Bexarotene exhibits potential benefits in stroke through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms. • Bexarotene controls protein quality by improving phagocytosis, which is helpful to some neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent gas exploration in West China demonstrated that formation conditions of tight‐sandstone gas are distinct from typical ones in North America. One remarkable difference is that complicated tectonic conditions in the foreland basin of West China, especially the Himalayan tectonic movement, resulted in widely developed fractures in tight‐sand reservoirs. Thus, this work employed dual media to characterize tight‐sand reservoir system and explain the impact of dual media on tight‐sand gas reservoir by: (a) describing the feature of fractures and properties of Yinan 2 tight‐sand reservoir; (b) characterizing dual media with mercury intrusion porosimetry, full diameter and conventional core analysis; (c) discussing gas charging and accumulating in dual media based on the difference between dual media and tight‐sand rocks. Observation from cores, FMI images and thin sections suggested that macro‐ and micro‐fractures are widely distributed in Lower Jurassic Ahe Formation (J1a) tight sandstones, with dip angle of 70° to 80°. These fractures are strongly scale‐dependent with length of several centimetres to a few tens of centimetres and apertures of several hundreds to several thousands of microns. J1a tight‐sand reservoir is characterized by poor porosity, with an average value of 7.7%, whereas measured permeability varies from 0.01–100 mD. Intrusion and extrusion curves of dual media and tight‐sand rocks are significantly different from each other, while displacement pressure and medium saturation pressure of dual media are lower than tight‐sand rocks. Importantly, maximum pore throats of dual media are 1.75–32.22 times larger than juxtaposed tight‐sand rocks. The ratio of permeability between dual media and tight sandstone is up to 1,000, whereas the ratio of porosities only ranges from 1 to 1.5. Thus, dual media in tight‐sand reservoir represents high permeability system and matrix pores are primarily storage system. The impact of dual media on tight‐sand gas reservoir involves its position, temporal coupling of gas charging and growth. In terms of fracture growth prior to gas charge, multi‐force can work together as a driving force, and fractures as a flow system and matrix pores as a storage system linked by fractures; buoyancy is the primary driving force in fractures. In terms of gas charge prior to fracture growth, dual media can also exert a positive impact on gas charging when occurring in the inner part of tight‐sand reservoir defined by the critical throat threshold. However, dual media can also destroy the "inverted gas–water" and shrink tight‐sand gas reservoir when occurring at the original critical throat threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are progressive disorders that cause the degeneration of neurons. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a common symptom in NDs and plays a crucial role in neuronal loss. Mitochondrial abnormalities can be observed in the early stages of NDs and evolve throughout disease progression. Visualizing mitochondrial abnormalities can help understand ND progression and develop new therapeutic strategies. Fluorescence microscopy is a powerful tool for dynamically imaging mitochondria due to its high sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution. This review discusses the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and ND progression, potential biomarkers for imaging dysfunctional mitochondria, advances in fluorescence microscopy for detecting organelles, the performance of fluorescence probes in visualizing ND-associated mitochondria, and the challenges and opportunities for developing new generations of fluorescence imaging platforms for monitoring mitochondria in NDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question retrieval, which aims to find similar versions of a given question, is playing a pivotal role in various question answering (QA) systems. This task is quite challenging, mainly in regard to five aspects: synonymy, polysemy, word order, question length, and data sparsity. In this article, we propose a unified framework to simultaneously handle these five problems. We use the word combined with corresponding concept information to handle the synonymy problem and the polysemous problem. Concept embedding and word embedding are learned at the same time from both the context-dependent and context-independent views. To handle the word-order problem, we propose a high-level feature-embedded convolutional semantic model to learn question embedding by inputting concept embedding and word embedding. Due to the fact that the lengths of some questions are long, we propose a value-based convolutional attentional method to enhance the proposed high-level feature-embedded convolutional semantic model in learning the key parts of the question and the answer. The proposed high-level feature-embedded convolutional semantic model nicely represents the hierarchical structures of word information and concept information in sentences with their layer-by-layer convolution and pooling. Finally, to resolve data sparsity, we propose using the multi-view learning method to train the attention-based convolutional semantic model on question&#x02013;answer pairs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose simultaneously handling the above five problems in question retrieval using one framework. Experiments on three real question-answering datasets show that the proposed framework significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plants, the actin cytoskeleton plays a major role in organelle movement, cargo transport, maintaining cell polarity and controlling the morphogenesis of endomembrane systems. All of these events require a direct connection between membrane structures and the cytoskeleton. Our knowledge in this field has been greatly advanced by a few recent discoveries including the identification of the plant specific NETWORKED family of proteins, which can mediate such linkages. Other proteins that are known to regulate actin nucleation and polymerization are also likely to be involved, but many key questions still remain unanswered. In this paper, we will focus on recent research on the interfaces between the actin cytoskeleton and membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum, the vacuole and autophagosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic extraction of large-scale and accurate drug-disease pairs from the medical literature plays an important role for drug repurposing. However, many existing extraction methods are mainly in a supervised manner. It is costly and time-consuming to manually label drug-disease pairs datasets. There are many drug-disease pairs buried in free text. In this work, we first leverage a pattern-based method to automatically extract drug-disease pairs with treatment and inducement relationships from free text. Then, to reflect a drug-disease relation, a network embedding algorithm is proposed to calculate the degree of correlation of a drug-disease pair. In the experiments, we use the method to extract treatment and inducement drug-disease pairs from 27 million medical abstracts and titles available on PubMed. We extract 138,318 unique treatment pairs and 75,396 unique inducement pairs. Our algorithm achieves a precision of 0.912 and a recall of 0.898 in extracting the frequent treatment drug-disease pairs, and a precision of 0.923 and a recall of 0.833 in extracting the frequent inducement drug-disease pairs. Besides, our proposed information network embedding algorithm can efficiently reflect the degree of correlation of drug-disease pairs. Our algorithm can achieve a precision of 0.802, a recall of 0.783 in the fine-grained evaluation of extracting frequent pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mn 2 O 3 -Na 2 WO 4 /SiO 2 catalyst is the most promising one among the enormous catalysts for the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) but only at above 800 °C. No doubt that lowering temperature of the OCM process is at the forefront of this catalysis field. A promising low-temperature active and selective TiO 2 -doped Mn 2 O 3 Na 2 WO 4 /SiO 2 catalyst, consisting of 6 wt% TiO 2 , 6 wt% Mn 2 O 3 , 10 wt% Na 2 WO 4 and SiO 2 in balance, is developed by solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method. This catalyst is capable of converting 20% CH 4 with 70% selectivity to C 2 -C 3 hydrocarbons even at 700 °C (catalyst bed temperature) and is stable for at least 250 h without deactivation sign, for a feed gas of 50% CH 4 in air using a gas hourly space velocity of 8000 mL g cat. −1 h −1 . In contrast, the non-TiO 2 -doped SCS catalyst is almost inactive at 700 °C whereas it can achieve reactivity (∼24% CH 4 conversion and ∼74% C 2 -C 3 selectivity) comparable to the TiO 2 -doped one at 800 °C. XRD and Raman results evidently reveal that the formation of MnTiO 3 during the OCM process appears to be important for the low-temperature OCM activity improvement by TiO 2 -doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-helix point spread function (DH-PSF) microscopy has been developed for three-dimensional (3D) localization and imaging at super-resolution but usually in environments with no or weak scattering. To date, super-resolution imaging through turbid media has not been reported. We aim to explore the potential of DH-PSF microscopy in the imaging and localization of targets in scattering environments for improved 3D localization accuracy and imaging quality. The conventional DH-PSF method was modified to accommodate the scanning strategy combined with a deconvolution algorithm. The localization of a fluorescent microsphere is determined by the center of the corresponding double spot, and the image is reconstructed from the scanned data by deconvoluting the DH-PSF. The resolution, i.e., the localization accuracy, was calibrated to 13 nm in the transverse plane and 51 nm in the axial direction. Penetration thickness could reach an optical thickness (OT) of 5. Proof-of-concept imaging and the 3D localization of fluorescent microspheres through an eggshell membrane and an inner epidermal membrane of an onion are presented to demonstrate the super-resolution and optical sectioning capabilities. Modified DH-PSF microscopy can image and localize targets buried in scattering media using super-resolution. Combining fluorescent dyes, nanoparticles, and quantum dots, among other fluorescent probes, the proposed method may provide a simple solution for visualizing deeper and clearer in/through scattering media, making in situ super-resolution microscopy possible for various demanding applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists therapies have been recommended for pulmonary arterial hypertension in many countries. We aimed to evaluate the specific impact of non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists on pulmonary hypertension and to explore the influence of study characteristics on results. PubMed, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov were systematically searched from inception to July 12, 2022. Randomized controlled trials comparing non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists administration with placebo for treating pulmonary hypertension were included. Two researchers independently selected eligible studies, assessed the bias risk and extracted related data. RevMan5.1 was used for performing the statistical analysis and the assessment of bias risk of the enrolled studies. PROSPERO registered number CRD42022304172. Seven trials involving 1727 patients were included. Pooled analyses indicated non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists significantly reduced clinical worsening events (risk ratio [RR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 0.74), increased 6-min walk distance (mean difference [MD], 10 m; 95% CI, 3–17 m), decreased pulmonary vascular resistance (MD, −121 dyn s/cm5; 95% CI, −172 to −69 dyn s/cm5) and increased cardiac index (MD, 0.38 L/min/m2; 95% CI, 0.26–0.50 L/min/m2) compared with the control. No significant differences in all-cause mortality (RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.26 to 2.78), NYHA/WHO functional class (RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.61 to 2.18), mean pulmonary artery pressure (MD, −0.88 mmHg; 95% CI, −2.20 to 0.44 mmHg), right atrial pressure (MD, 0.66 mmHg; 95% CI, −0.59 to 1.90 mmHg) and total adverse events (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.10) were found between non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists group and control group. Non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists treatment exerted benefits on clinical worsening, pulmonary vascular resistance, and cardiac index in pulmonary hypertension patients, without increasing the incidence of total adverse events. • Non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists significantly reduce clinical worsening events. • Non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists significantly increase cardiac index and decrease PVR. • Non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonists are safe and well-tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adsorption properties of Cu, Ag, Zn, and Cd-modified SnP3 monolayers for H2S have been studied using density functional theory (DFT). Based on phonon spectrum calculations, a structurally stable intrinsic SnP3 monolayer was obtained, based on which four metal-modified SnP3 monolayers were constructed, and the band gaps of the modified SnP3 monolayers were significantly reduced. The adsorption capacity of Cu, Zn-modified SnP3 was better than that of Ag, Cd-modified SnP3. The adsorption energies of Cu-modified SnP3 and Zn-modified SnP3 for H2S were −0.749 eV and −0.639 eV, respectively. In addition, Cu-modified SnP3 exhibited chemisorption for H2S, while Zn-modified SnP3 exhibited strong physisorption, indicating that it can be used as a sensor substrate. Co-adsorption studies showed that ambient gases such as N2, O2, and H2O had little effect on H2S. The band gap change rate of Zn-modified SnP3 after adsorption of H2S was as high as −28.52%. Recovery time studies based on Zn-modified SnP3 showed that the desorption time of H2S was 0.064 s at 298 K. Therefore, Zn-modified SnP3 can be used as a promising sensor substrate for H2S due to its good selectivity, sensitivity, and fast recovery time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) acts as a superhighway with multiple sideroads that connects the different membrane compartments including the ER to the plasma membrane (PM). ER–PM contact sites (EPCSs) are a common feature in eukaryotic organisms, but have not been studied well in plants owing to the lack of molecular markers and to the difficulty in resolving the EPCS structure using conventional microscopy. Recently, however, plant protein complexes required for linking the ER and PM have been identified. This is a further step towards understanding the structure and function of plant EPCSs. We highlight some recent studies in this field and suggest several hypotheses that relate to the possible function of EPCSs in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plants movement of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is dependent on the actin cytoskeleton. However little is known about proteins that link the ER membrane and the actin cytoskeleton. Here we identified a novel protein, NETWORKED 3B (NET3B), which is associated with the ER and actin cytoskeleton in vivo. NET3B belongs to a superfamily of plant specific actin binding proteins, the NETWORKED family. NET3B associates with the actin cytoskeleton in vivo through an N-terminal NET actin binding (NAB) domain, which has been well-characterized in other members of the NET family. A three amino acid insertion, Val-Glu-Asp, in the NAB domain of NET3B appears to lower its ability to localize to the actin cytoskeleton compared with NET1A, the founding member of the NET family. The C-terminal domain of NET3B links the protein to the ER. Overexpression of NET3B enhanced the association between the ER and the actin cytoskeleton, and the extent of this association was dependent on the amount of NET3B available. Another effect of NET3B overexpression was a reduction in ER membrane diffusion. In conclusion, our results revealed that NET3B modulates ER and actin cytoskeleton interactions in higher plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doxycycline can coordinate with europium (III) to form europium (III)-doxycycline complex, which can emit the fluorescence characteristic peak of europium (III) at 617 nm in alkaline solution, and the experiment proved that the fluorescence intensity could be further enhanced in the presence of silver nanoparticles and surfactant alkylphenols polyoxyethylene. So this method was applied to detect doxycycline content in duck meat in this research. First, 390 and 617 nm were selected as the optimum excitation wavelength and optimum emission wavelength by three-dimensional fluorescence spectrometry, respectively. Second, the experimental conditions were optimized through single factor experiment. Lastly, the samples of doxycycline concentration range of 0.05–12 mg/L were analyzed under the optimum experimental conditions. A good linear relationship between the doxycycline concentration and the fluorescence intensity was obtained, and the determination coefficient and the root mean squared error of prediction were 0.9982 and 0.4363 mg/L, respectively. This research showed that it was feasible to achieve the rapid detection of doxycycline content in duck meat by using silver nanoparticles and alkylphenols polyoxyethylene enhanced the fluorescence of europium complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The SCAR/WAVE complex is required for ARP2/3-mediated actin nucleation, and these complexes are highly conserved in plants and animals [ 1, 2 ]. Proteins from the SCAR/WAVE complex have been found to be membrane associated in plants [ 3 ]. Using fluorescent protein fusions, we have found that NAP1 [ 4 ], a component of the SCAR/WAVE complex, locates to vesicles or puncta that appear upon applied pressure. These NAP1 vesicles can be endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated, can co-align with the cytoskeleton, and fuse to each other homotypically. More interestingly, the majority co-localizes with the autophagosome marker ATG8, and anti-NAP1 identifies autophagosomes in immuno-TEM. Macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) is enhanced under certain stress conditions such as nitrogen starvation and salt stress. We show that fewer autophagosomes are generated in the NAP1 knockout mutant during starvation stress. The nap1 mutant (and KO mutants of other components of the SCAR/WAVE and ARP2/3 complexes) is more susceptible to nitrogen starvation and is less salt tolerant, indicating defective autophagy. In conclusion, our data show that NAP1 has another function in plant cells, and that is as a regulator of autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endoplasmic reticulum ( ER) is connected to the plasma membrane ( PM) through the plant-specific NETWORKED protein, NET3C, and phylogenetically conserved vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated proteins ( VAPs)., Ten VAP homologues ( VAP27-1 to 27-10) can be identified in the Arabidopsis genome and can be divided into three clades. Representative members from each clade were tagged with fluorescent protein and expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana., Proteins from clades I and III localized to the ER as well as to ER/ PM contact sites ( EPCSs), whereas proteins from clade II were found only at the PM. Some of the VAP27-labelled EPCSs localized to plasmodesmata, and we show that the mobility of VAP27 at EPCSs is influenced by the cell wall. EPCSs closely associate with the cytoskeleton, but their structure is unaffected when the cytoskeleton is removed., VAP27-labelled EPCSs are found in most cell types in Arabidopsis, with the exception of cells in early trichome development. Arabidopsis plants expressing VAP27- GFP fusions exhibit pleiotropic phenotypes, including defects in root hair morphogenesis. A similar effect is also observed in plants expressing VAP27 RNAi. Taken together, these data indicate that VAP27 proteins used at EPCSs are essential for normal ER-cytoskeleton interaction and for plant development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, graphene plasmons with an excellent tenability by doping or gating have been drawing increasing interest. In this work, we designed graphene-based superlens to achieve subwavelength optical imaging. We systematically investigated the imaging property in monolayer and multi-layer graphene structures and discussed in detail the effects of possible physical quantities. We found that the image resolution of the graphene-based superlens could be better than λ/50, since graphene plasmons could significantly amplify evanescent waves carrying the high spatial frequency information of the object, and restore them at the image plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wiretap model of secure communication, Alice is connected to Bob over a noisy channel that is eavesdropped by Eve. The goal is to provide (asymptotic) reliability and perfect secrecy assuming that the Eve has unlimited computational power. The model has attracted considerable attention in recent years because it provides a natural model for passive eavesdropping in wireless communication. We consider a wiretap model with active adversaries, and define adversarial wiretap (AWTP) channels using a (\rho r , \rho w) wiretap adversary who can read a fraction \rho r , and modify a fraction \rho w of a sent codeword. The code components that are read and/or modified can be chosen adaptively, and the subsets of read and modified components could be different. AWTP codes provide secrecy and reliability for communication over AWTP channels. We define the security and reliability of AWTP channels and use these definitions to evaluate the security and reliability of codes for these channels. This paper has two main contributions. First, we prove an upper bound on the rate of AWTP codes for (\rho r , \rho w) -AWTP channels. Second, we give an explicit construction of a perfectly secure AWTP code family with efficient decoding that achieves the bound and, hence, obtain the secrecy capacity of AWTP channels for large alphabets. AWTP model is a natural extension of Wyner’s wiretap models, and somewhat surprisingly, it is also closely related to a seemingly unrelated cryptographic primitive, secure message transmission (SMT). This relation results in a new (and the only known) bound on the transmission rate of 1-round $(\epsilon , \delta )$ -SMT protocols. We discuss our results, give their relations to other works, and propose directions for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of total organic carbon (TOC) is essential in unconventional shale resource play evaluation. Indirect method, such as petrophysical approach, can provide a fast, convenient and cost efffective means for TOC estimation from well logs. Among the publically available approaches, the ΔlogR method is a popular one in conventional source rock evaluation and has been applied to unconventional resource play evaluation by many practitioners. Careful examination of the method finds that improvements can be made for a better TOC estimation with relaxed limitations. This study proposes the following revisions on the original ΔlogR method: 1) allowing estimation of petrophysical parameters from the targeted source rock rather an assumed linear approximation, 2) using additional logs to improve TOC prediction, and 3) replacing LOM (level of organic metamorphism unit) with a more commonly used thermal indicator Tmax for convenience. Depending on data or preference, the choice of using different porosity logs (density versus sonic) and parameter estimation methods (cross-plot method versus data-driven approaches) makes the revised method flexible for application. We present the revisions along with application examples from the Devonian Duvernay Shale in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin to demonstrate the application of the improved ΔlogR method in shale gas evaluation. Comparison of the results from the revised method and the original one reveals that the revised models provide better and unbiased estimates of TOC with a higher correlation coefficient and bell-shaped residues centered at zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) network in plants is a highly dynamic structure, and it contacts the plasma membrane (PM) at ER-PM anchor/contact sites. These sites are known to be essential for communication between the ER and PM for lipid transport, calcium influx, and ER morphology in mammalian and fungal cells. The nature of these contact sites is unknown in plants [1, 2], and here, we have identified a complex that forms this bridge. This complex includes (1) NET3C, which belongs to a plant-specific superfamily (NET) of actin-binding proteins [3], (2) VAP27, a plant homolog of the yeast Scs2 ER-PM contact site protein [4, 5], and (3) the actin and microtubule networks. We demonstrate that NET3C and VAP27 localize to puncta at the PM and that NET3C and VAP27 form homodimers/oligomers and together form complexes with actin and microtubules. We show that F-actin modulates the turnover of NET3C at these puncta and microtubules regulate the exchange of VAP27 at the same sites. Based on these data, we propose a model for the structure of the plant ER-PM contact sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of value-added services by automatic composition of existing ones is gaining significant momentum as the potential silver bullet in service-oriented computing. A large number of composition methods have been proposed, and most of them are based on the matching of input and output parameters of services only. However, most services in the real world are not universally applicable, and some applicable conditions or restrictions are imposed on them by their providers. Such constraints have a great impact on service composition, but have been largely ignored by the existing methods. In this paper, they are discussed and defined, and a simple formal expression is adopted to describe them. Two novel concepts, called service intension and service extension, are presented, which allow one to divide the basic elements of a web service definition into two parts. Consequently, their use allows us to propose a constraint-aware service composition method in which service constraints are well taken care. The proposed solution includes a graph search-based algorithm and two novel preprocessing methods. A publicly available test set from ICEBE05 is used to evaluate and analyze the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ex situ sputtered AlN buffer and GaN epilayer grown on top of it by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition were studied comprehensively by a variety of techniques including atomic force microscope, high resolution x-ray diffraction, Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations. It exhibited that the AlN buffer deposited by using sputtering technique could be oxidized with exposure in atmosphere. Such oxidation phenomenon significantly influences the characteristics of GaN epilayer, for example leading to poor surface morphology, high dislocation density, and large compressive stress. This study demonstrated the effect of oxygen impurities on GaN growth and has an important guiding significance for the growth of high-quality III-nitride related materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ex situ sputtered AlN buffer and GaN epilayer grown on top of it by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition were studied comprehensively by a variety of techniques including atomic force microscope, high resolution x-ray diffraction, Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations. It exhibited that the AlN buffer deposited by using sputtering technique could be oxidized with exposure in atmosphere. Such oxidation phenomenon significantly influences the characteristics of GaN epilayer, for example leading to poor surface morphology, high dislocation density, and large compressive stress. This study demonstrated the effect of oxygen impurities on GaN growth and has an important guiding significance for the growth of high-quality III-nitride related materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate recognition of pedestrian crossing intentions is essential for the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on urban roads. However, the current pedestrian crossing intention recognition model has the problems of relatively low recognition accuracy and short recognition advance time. Based on the above problems, this paper carried out a study on the recognition model of pedestrian crossing intention. Firstly, the pedestrian and vehicle crossing data were collected through laser radar and a high-definition monitor, and 1980 groups of valid samples were selected. Secondly, the pedestrian crossing intention characterization parameter set was determined through statistical analysis. Finally, this paper proposes a pedestrian crossing intention recognition model based on stacking ensemble learning. The ensemble learning framework integrates random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), long short-term memory network (LSTM), an attention mechanism, and bidirectional LSTM (AT-Bi-LSTM). Compared with traditional machine learning methods, the proposed method shows greater advantages in recognition accuracy. The model recognition accuracy reaches 95.36% when the model is recognized at 0.5 s before crossing the zebra crossing, and the model recognition accuracy is 89.27% when the model is recognized at 1s before crossing the zebra crossing. The research in this paper is of great significance for building a more intelligent pedestrian-vehicle collaboration and promoting the industrial application of the autonomous vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Auxin is a major growth hormone in plants, and recent studies have elucidated many of the molecular mechanisms underlying its action, including transport, perception and signal transduction. However, major gaps remain in our knowledge of auxin biosynthetic control, partly due to the complexity and probable redundancy of multiple pathways that involve the YUCCA family of flavin-dependent mono-oxygenases. This study reveals the differential localization of YUCCA4 alternative splice variants to the endoplasmic reticulum and the cytosol, which depends on tissue-specific splicing. One isoform is restricted to flowers, and is anchored to the cytosolic face of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane via a hydrophobic C-terminal transmembrane domain. The other isoform is present in all tissues and is distributed throughout the cytosol. These findings are consistent with previous observations of yucca4 phenotypes in flowers, and suggest a role for intracellular compartmentation in auxin biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), measuring Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent (BOLD), is a widely used tool to reveal spatiotemporal pattern of neural activity in human brain. Standard analysis of fMRI data relies on a general linear model and the model is constructed by convolving the task stimuli with a hypothesized hemodynamic response function (HRF). To capture possible phase shifts in the observed BOLD response, the informed basis functions including canonical HRF and its temporal derivative, have been proposed to extend the hypothesized hemodynamic response in order to obtain a good fitting model. Different t contrasts are constructed from the estimated model parameters for detecting the neural activity between different task conditions. However, the estimated model parameters corresponding to the orthogonal basis functions have different physical meanings. It remains unclear how to combine the neural features detected by the two basis functions and construct t contrasts for further analyses. In this paper, we have proposed a novel method for representing multiple basis functions in complex domain to model the task-driven fMRI data. Using this method, we can treat each pair of model parameters, corresponding respectively to canonical HRF and its temporal derivative, as one complex number for each task condition. Using the specific rule we have defined, we can conveniently perform arithmetical operations on the estimated model parameters and generate different t contrasts. We validate this method using the fMRI data acquired from twenty-two healthy participants who underwent an auditory stimulation task. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have identified two endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated Arabidopsis proteins, KMS1 and KMS2, which are conserved among most species. Fluorescent protein fusions of KMS1 localised to the ER in plant cells, and over-expression induced the formation of a membrane structure, identified as ER whorls by electron microscopy. Hydrophobicity analysis suggested that KMS1 and KMS2 are integral membrane proteins bearing six transmembrane domains. Membrane protein topology was assessed by a redox-based topology assay (ReTA) with redox-sensitive GFP and confirmed by a protease protection assay. A major loop domain between transmembrane domains 2 and 3, plus the N- and C-termini were found on the cytosolic side of the ER. A C-terminal di(tri)-lysine motif is involved in retrieval of KMS1 and deletion led to a reduction of the GFP-KMS1 signal in the ER. Over-expression of KMS1/KMS2 truncations perturbed ER and Golgi morphology and similar effects were also seen when KMS1/KMS2 were knocked-down by RNA interference. Microscopy and biochemical experiments suggested that expression of KMS1/KMS2 truncations inhibited ER to Golgi protein transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, an affordable strategy was developed to form Pd@SiO2 nanostructure assembled onto monolithic AlOOH/Al nanoarrays from nano- to macro-scale by a one-step reaction process. (3-Aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) was employed as a dual-role reagent for the bidirectional bridging between Pd2+ and AlOOH/Al, as well as the formation of SiO2 matrix and mesopores. The effects of one-step organization conditions on the preparation process, catalyst structure, and catalytic performance were all studied. High hydroxyl contents in Al-based nanoarrays promoted the silanization reaction of APTMS deposition, resulting in a well-formed SiO2 shell and abundant mesopores during the thermal decomposition of APTMS. APTMS amount was not only related to SiO2 loading and encapsulation effect of the core–shell structure, but also affected Pd accessibility. Such proposed APTMS-assisted protocol for the in-situ organization of monolithic Pd@SiO2 catalysts can effectively prevent the growth and aggregation of Pd NPs, thereby favoring low-temperature activity and stability for CH4 combustion. Monolithic Pd@SiO2 catalysts supported on AlOOH/Al nanoarrays were successfully fabricated from nano- to macro-scale in one step for improved thermal stability of CH4 combustion. The cost-effective coupling agent (APTMS) acted as the bidirectional bridging between –NH2 of APTMS and Pd2+ through preferential chelation, as well as a silanization reaction between methoxy groups of APTMS and surface –OH groups on AlOOH nanoarrays to form Al–O–Si bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium graminearum, as the causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB), not only causes yield loss, but also contaminates the quality of wheat by producing mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON). The plasma membrane H+‐ATPases play important roles in many growth stages in plants and yeasts, but their functions and regulation in phytopathogenic fungi remain largely unknown. Here we characterized two plasma membrane H+‐ATPases: FgPMA1 and FgPMA2 in F. graminearum. The FgPMA1 deletion mutant (∆FgPMA1), but not FgPMA2 deletion mutant (∆FgPMA2), was impaired in vegetative growth, pathogenicity, and sexual and asexual development. FgPMA1 was localized to the plasma membrane, and ∆FgPMA1 displayed reduced integrity of plasma membrane. ∆FgPMA1 not only impaired the formation of the toxisome, which is a compartment where DON is produced, but also suppressed the expression level of DON biosynthetic enzymes, decreased DON production, and decreased the amount of mycelial invasion, leading to impaired pathogenicity by exclusively developing disease on inoculation sites of wheat ears and coleoptiles. ∆FgPMA1 exhibited decreased sensitivity to some osmotic stresses, a cell wall‐damaging agent (Congo red), a cell membrane‐damaging agent (sodium dodecyl sulphate), and heat shock stress. FgMyo‐5 is the target of phenamacril used for controlling FHB. We found FgPMA1 interacted with FgMyo‐5, and ∆FgPMA1 showed an increased expression level of FgMyo‐5, resulting in increased sensitivity to phenamacril, but not to other fungicides. Furthermore, co‐immunoprecipitation confirmed that FgPMA1, FgMyo‐5, and FgBmh2 (a 14‐3‐3 protein) form a complex to regulate the sensitivity to phenamacril and biological functions. Collectively, this study identified a novel regulating mechanism of FgPMA1 in pathogenicity and phenamacril sensitivity of F. graminearum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Influence of soil dispersity on splash erosion was first investigated. • High soil dispersity resulted in a small mass of splashed soils. • High soil dispersity resulted in small depth and volume of craters. • Splash crown shape was relevant to splash erosion process and crater shape. • Splash erosion of dispersive soil would increase the risk in subsequent erosion. Dispersive soil is a common problematic soil that segregates in water, resulting in instability of slopes and posing significant threats to the safety of earth structures. However, there is a limited amount of research on the hydraulic erosion of dispersive soil. Splash erosion is the initial stage of hydraulic erosion. A clear understanding of splash erosion is crucial for investigating dispersive soil hydraulic erosion. This study explored the influence of soil dispersity and rainfall intensity on the characteristics of splash erosion by conducting consecutive single-drop rainfall tests on artificially prepared non-dispersive and dispersive soil samples with varying sodium carbonate content. High-speed cameras and single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras were used to capture the variations of the splash crown, splash pan, and splash crater. Results showed that the content of sodium carbonate significantly affected splash erosion. High soil dispersity resulted in smaller masses of splashed soil material and infiltration water, but a larger mass of splashed water. It also led to a smaller volume and depth of the splash crater. The critical value of the content of sodium carbonate for soil dispersity discrimination was 0.15 %, the same as the threshold for the splash process to stop significant changes. The shape of the splash crown also helped analyze the process of splash erosion and was relevant to the splash crater shape. Increasing soil dispersity diminished the impact of rainfall intensity on splash erosion. These findings provide new comprehension of the mechanism of splash erosion of dispersive soil and lay a foundation for the systematic study of hydraulic erosion of dispersive soil in engineering slopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After harvest, the pumpkin fruit has strong respiration and metabolic activities, which easily induce quality deterioration, shortening the storage period and shelf life, which affects the farmers' income. To understand the quality change mechanisms of pumpkins and extend the storage period, the fruit cell wall components, related enzyme activities, and fruit texture of Baimi No. 2, Baimi No. 3, Baimi No. 5, Baimi No. 10 and 2020-X1 pumpkin varieties (lines) were monitored during storage at 18 ± 2 °C after harvest.The pumpkin fruit texture was analyzed via the texture profile analysis (TPA) method, and the cell structure changes in peel and pulp cells were monitored using paraffin sections. The results revealed that the hardness, brittleness, viscosity, and elasticity of the five pumpkin fruits were decreased, while the adhesiveness, cohesion, recovery, and chewiness were first increased before decreasing with the prolongation of storage time. In addition, the protopectin, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents were decreased, while the soluble pectin content was increased. In addition, the polygalacturonase activity was increased, and the β-galactosidase, Cx cellulase, and pectinesterase activities were decreased. The cell wall components and enzymatic activities in Baimi No. 10 had minor changes, implying it is storage resistant. In addition, its peel and pulp cells were small and tightly arranged, with minor cellular changes. The peel cells were nearly square, and the pulp cells nearly round, rendering this variety more storable. Baimi No. 5 pulp cells were large and loosely arranged, with large intercellular spaces, rendering this variety short-lived. • The pumpkin fruit texture was measured using the TPA method during storage. • There are minor changes in the cell wall components of storage-resistant pumpkins. • The cells of storage-resistant pumpkin are tightly arranged, with minor changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiport robots are now widely used for total gastrectomy for gastric cancer, while there is almost a void of research on whether single‐port (SP) robots can be used for total gastrectomy. Here, we report a case of a 75‐year‐old female patient who was diagnosed with gastric cardia adenocarcinoma by gastroscopy and underwent total gastrectomy assisted by the SHURUI SP robot. We successfully accomplished total gastrectomy and D2 lymph node dissection using the novel SP robotic platform. The patient was discharged from the hospital successfully with no complications during or after the surgery. Pathologic diagnosis showed adenocarcinoma of the gastric mucosa with partial signet‐ring cell carcinoma, and no metastasis was found in the 29 cleared lymph nodes. The use of the SHURUI SP robot for total gastrectomy in treating gastric cancer is both technically feasible and safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microtubule-associated proteins MAP65-1 and SUN18 function additively in fruit shape regulation by modulating cell division patterns but not changing cell morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstacle avoidance systems for autonomous driving vehicles have significant effects on driving safety. The performance of an obstacle avoidance system is affected by the obstacle avoidance path planning approach. To design an obstacle avoidance path planning method, firstly, by analyzing the obstacle avoidance behavior of a human driver, a safety model of obstacle avoidance is constructed. Then, based on the safety model, the artificial potential field method is improved and the repulsive field range of obstacles are rebuilt. Finally, based on the improved artificial potential field, a collision-free path for autonomous driving vehicles is generated. To verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, co-simulation and real vehicle tests are carried out. Results show that the generated path satisfies the constraints of roads, dynamics, and kinematics. The real time performance, effectiveness, and feasibility of the proposed path planning approach for obstacle avoidance scenarios are also verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petals of the hydrophytic daisy, as a typical conical lamellar organ, enable the air trapping by forming a cavity‐like structure during times of flooding for protecting their genetic materials, which serves as an essential strategy to resist the harsh environment. Inspired by the air capturing of hydrophobic petals, a series of hydrophilic flexible conical polyethylene lamellae (FCL‐PE) with different apex angles are developed for controllable liquid manipulation: the smaller apex angle, the higher efficiency, and stability for liquid manipulation. Specifically, the FCL‐PE system could manipulate over 19 times its own mass of liquid when the apex angle is ≈14°, which remains rather stable even under external pressure. The highly efficient liquid manipulation of the FCL‐PE is attributable to the synergistic effects of the Laplace pressure difference generated by the topological asymmetric conical structure and the capillary–induced liquid spreading by the precursor film on the planar lamella. In addition, the wrinkle‐like nanostructures on the surface of FCL‐PE are helpful for the pinning of three–phase contact line when interacting with liquid. Here, an alternative open system of FCL‐PE is provided for the controllable liquid manipulation, which will shed new light on the designing of open systems for liquid transfer and collecting. Inspired by the air capturing of hydrophobic petals, a series of hydrophilic flexible conical polyethylene lamellae with different apex angles are developed for realizing controllable liquid manipulation. The smaller the apex angle, the higher the efficiency, and stability for liquid manipulation provides an alternative open system for the controllable liquid manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]