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Nowadays, the Russian-Ukrainian war has been a hotly topic, and the war has shaken the global economy, especially in the international crude oil market. Also, as a popular financial instrument, the investors like to see Bitcoin as a hedging tool, but the problem of whether cryptocurrencies can hedge the volatility of commodity markets lacks a unified explanation. Therefore, the paper wants to find the relationship between Bitcoin and crude oil during the Russian-Ukrainian war. This paper uses data from Bitcoin, crude oil WTI futures, and crude oil Brent futures, and constructs the VAR model and ARMA-GARCH model based on these data. Ultimately, the article finds that the volatility of the international crude oil market only has little impact on Bitcoin. Thus, the investors do not need to worry about the high crude oil price caused by the war will affect Bitcoin’s yield and volatility, so Bitcoin seems like a great hedging instrument against the shock of the international crude oil market.

Background Reduced survival of red blood cells (RBCs) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is thought to contribute to renal anaemia. Although renal anaemia improved greatly because of the wide use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) and the advancement of dialysis techniques, RBC longevity seems not to be obviously ameliorated. Methods In this single-centre, single-arm trial, patients who had been undergoing haemodialysis and ESA therapy with epoetin alfa for at least 12 weeks changed their anti-anaemia drugs from epoetin alfa to oral roxadustat three times per week for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was the change in RBC lifespan from baseline at week 24. The change in the circulating percentage of eryptotic RBCs, RBC deformability and RBC oxygen transport ability were also assessed. Results A total of 27 patients were enrolled, with 26 completing the full course of intervention. At baseline, the average RBC lifespan was 60.1 days [standard deviation (SD) 14.4; n = 27]. At the end of the study period, 26 patients had an RBC lifespan measurement (83.9 days on average; SD 21.9). The RBC lifespan increased by 22.8 days on average [95% confidence interval (CI) 15.5–30.0, P Conclusion Roxadustat prolonged RBC lifespan in patients with long-term haemodialysis.

Mobile genetic elements such as phages and plasmids have evolved anti-CRISPR proteins (Acrs) to suppress CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems. Recently, several phage and non-phage derived Acrs including AcrIIA17 and AcrIIA18 have been reported to inhibit Cas9 through modulation of sgRNA. Here, we show that AcrIIA17 and AcrIIA18 inactivate Cas9 through distinct mechanisms. AcrIIA17 inhibits Cas9 activity through interference with Cas9-sgRNA binary complex formation. In contrast, AcrIIA18 induces the truncation of sgRNA in a Cas9-dependent manner, generating a shortened sgRNA incapable of triggering Cas9 activity. The crystal structure of AcrIIA18, combined with mutagenesis studies, reveals a crucial role of the N-terminal β-hairpin in AcrIIA18 for sgRNA cleavage. The enzymatic inhibition mechanism of AcrIIA18 is different from those of the other reported type II Acrs. Our results add new insights into the mechanistic understanding of CRISPR-Cas9 inhibition by Acrs, and also provide valuable information in the designs of tools for conditional manipulation of CRISPR-Cas9.

The use of two inhibitors of Mek1/2 and Gsk3β (2i) promotes the generation of mouse diploid and haploid embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from the inner cell mass of biparental and uniparental blastocysts, respectively. However, a system enabling long-term maintenance of imprints in ESCs has proven challenging. Here, we report that the use of a two-step a2i (alternative two inhibitors of Src and Gsk3β, TSa2i) derivation/culture protocol results in the establishment of androgenetic haploid ESCs (AG-haESCs) with stable DNA methylation at paternal DMRs (differentially DNA methylated regions) up to passage 60 that can efficiently support generating mice upon oocyte injection. We also show coexistence of H3K9me3 marks and ZFP57 bindings with intact DMR methylations. Furthermore, we demonstrate that TSa2i-treated AG-haESCs are a heterogeneous cell population regarding paternal DMR methylation. Strikingly, AG-haESCs with late passages display increased paternal-DMR methylations and improved developmental potential compared to early-passage cells, in part through the enhanced proliferation of H19-DMR hypermethylated cells. Together, we establish AG-haESCs that can long-term maintain paternal imprints. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13238-021-00890-3.

In this work, a p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN hybrid anode diode (HAD) temperature sensor was fabricated by using hydrogen plasma treatment. The zero-temperature coefficient (ZTC) is about 0.7 V from the ${I}$ – ${V}$ characteristics measured at various temperatures. At the forward region below the ZTC bias point, the anode voltage ( ${V}_{{\mathrm {A}}}$ ) at a specific anode current density ( ${I}_{{\mathrm {A}}}$ ) decreases linearly with the increase of temperature, resulting in a sensitivity ranging from 1.64 mV/K (10−5 mA/mm) to 0.69 mV/K (10−2 mA/mm). The leakage current at the reverse bias also presents a temperature-dependent behavior with a sensitivity ranging from 16.76 mA/K (−100 V) to 27.94 mA/K (−5 V). The experimental results can be interpreted well by the two-dimensional variable range hopping model.

Plant-associated bacteria play important regulatory roles in modulating plant hormone auxin levels, affecting the growth and yields of crops. A conserved auxin-degradation (adg) operon was recently identified in theVariovoraxgenomes, which is responsible for root growth inhibition (RGI) reversion, promoting rhizosphere colonization and root growth. However, the molecular mechanism underlying auxin degradation byVariovoraxremains unclear. Here, we systematically screenedVariovoraxadg operon products and identified two proteins, AdgB and AdgI, that directly associate with auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Further biochemical and structural studies revealed that AdgB is a highly IAA-specific ABC transporter solute binding protein, likely involved in IAA uptake. AdgI interacts with AdgH to form a functional Rieske non-heme dioxygenase, which works in concert with a FMN-type reductase encoded by geneadgJto transform IAA into the biologically inactive 2-oxindole-3-acetic acid (oxIAA), representing a new bacterial pathway for IAA inactivation/degradation. Importantly, incorporation of a minimum set ofadgH/I/Jgenes could enable IAA degradation byE. coli, suggesting a promising strategy for repurposing the adg operon for IAA regulation. Together, our study identifies the key components and underlying mechanisms involved in IAA transformation byVariovoraxand brings new insights into the bacterial turnover of plant hormones, which would provide the basis for potential applications in rhizosphere optimization and ecological agriculture.

Four ionic liquids, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM][OAc]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([BMIM][OAc]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([HMIM][OAc]), and 1-octyl-3-methylimid...

The E3 ligase TRIM7 has emerged as a critical player in viral infection and pathogenesis. However, the mechanism governing the TRIM7-substrate association remains to be defined. Here we report the crystal structures of TRIM7 in complex with 2C peptides of human enterovirus. Structure-guided studies reveal the C-terminal glutamine residue of 2C as the primary determinant for TRIM7 binding. Leveraged by this finding, we identify norovirus and SARS-CoV-2 proteins, and physiological proteins, as new TRIM7 substrates. Crystal structures of TRIM7 in complex with multiple peptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 proteins display the same glutamine-end recognition mode. Furthermore, TRIM7 could trigger the ubiquitination and degradation of these substrates, possibly representing a new Gln/C-degron pathway. Together, these findings unveil a common recognition mode by TRIM7, providing the foundation for further mechanistic characterization of antiviral and cellular functions of TRIM7.

To improve the efficiency of detecting abnormal traffic incidents on the road network and reduce the false alarm rate, a real-time traffic anomaly detection framework based on a graph spatiotemporal pattern learning (GSTPL) network is proposed. In this framework, a traffic pattern search algorithm based on a fluctuation similarity measure is designed to screen traffic flow data with the same traffic pattern, and a traffic pattern graph tuple is constructed as the input of the network model to avoid the sample imbalance problem and the effect of single-sample randomness for traffic pattern learning. Then the GSTPL network is designed to extract, unsupervised, the traffic spatiotemporal pattern features and make a reasonable prediction of future traffic parameters as the basis for anomaly evaluation. To further restrain the effect of random fluctuations in traffic flow parameters, an abnormal state evaluation method is designed to calculate the anomaly state likelihood by prediction error distribution learning. The overall detection framework realizes stable prediction of network key node traffic parameters by using spatiotemporal pattern features to construct the traffic pattern graph tuple, and gives incident evaluation results in real time by combination with the detection data. The experiment uses I90 and I405 highway traffic data in Seattle, WA, from 2015. Through comparative analysis, the proposed incident detection method based on GSTPL has a higher detection rate and lower false alarm rate, can adaptively learn dynamic changes of the traffic pattern, and has strong adaptability and stability to different traffic environments.

The beveled mesa structure of β-Ga2O3 has attracted wide attention because it can significantly weaken the peak electric field and increase the breakdown voltage. In this study, β-Ga2O3 beveled mesa has been modulated via inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching with the etching precursors of BCl3 and Ar. And the morphology of the sidewall has been investigated by properly adjusting the etching parameters, realizing different beveled angles owing to the different ratios of chemical etching and physical etching. The effect of ICP etching on the sidewall morphology of the β-Ga2O3 beveled mesa was also studied. This study provides important guidance for the realization of higher-power devices based on β-Ga2O3.

Background Air pollution may induce or reinforce nasal inflammation regardless of allergy status. There is limited direct clinical evidence informing the treatment of airborne pollution-related rhinitis. Objective To assess the effectiveness of intranasal budesonide in adults with self-reported rhinitis symptoms triggered/worsened by airborne pollution. Methods Adults in northern China with self-reported rhinitis symptoms triggered or worsened by airborne pollution were randomized to budesonide 256 µg/day or placebo for 10 days in pollution season (October 2019 to February 2020). The primary endpoint was the mean change from baseline in 24-h reflective total nasal symptom score (rTNSS) averaged over 10 days. The secondary endpoints were subject-assessed Global Impression of Change (SGIC), mean change from baseline in individual nasal symptom severity, and mean change from baseline in individual non-nasal symptoms of cough and postnasal drip severity. One-sided P Results After an interruption by COVID-19, an interim analysis showed that the study could be ended for efficacy with n = 206 participants (103/group) since the primary efficacy endpoint demonstrated significant results. The final efficacy results showed that the 10-day-averaged rTNSS change in the budesonide group was greater than with placebo (− 2.20 vs − 1.72, P = 0.0107). Budesonide also significantly improved 10-day-averaged itching/sneezing change (− 0.75 vs − 0.51, P = 0.0009). Results for SGIC and all other individual symptoms did not show significant differences between the two groups. Conclusions Intranasal budesonide 256 µg once daily improved the total nasal symptoms and itching/sneezing over 10 days in adults with rhinitis triggered/worsened by airborne pollution.

Multisystem manifestations in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) may be due to dosage reduction in multiple genes induced by aberrant expansion of CTG repeats in DMPK, including DMPK, its neighboring genes (SIX5 or DMWD) and downstream MBNL1. However, direct evidence is lacking. Here, we develop a new strategy to generate mice carrying multigene heterozygous mutations to mimic dosage reduction in one step by injection of haploid embryonic stem cells with mutant Dmpk, Six5 and Mbnl1 into oocytes. The triple heterozygous mutant mice exhibit adult-onset DM1 phenotypes. With the additional mutation in Dmwd, the quadruple heterozygous mutant mice recapitulate many major manifestations in congenital DM1. Moreover, muscle stem cells in both models display reduced stemness, providing a unique model for screening small molecules for treatment of DM1. Our results suggest that the complex symptoms of DM1 result from the reduced dosage of multiple genes.

Vertical metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is essential to the future application of ultrawide bandgap β-Ga2O3. In this work, we demonstrated an enhancement-mode β-Ga2O3 U-shaped gate trench vertical metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor (UMOSFET) featuring a current blocking layer (CBL). The CBL was realized by high-temperature annealing under oxygen ambient, which provided electrical isolation between the source and drain electrodes. The CBL thicknesses of different annealing temperatures were derived from C–V measurements and the Fermi level position of the sample surfaces of different annealing temperature was characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, indicating good process controllability. Furthermore, photoluminescence spectra were measured to study the effect of oxygen annealing. The fabricated UMOSFET showed normally off with a Vth of 11.5 V, an on-state resistance of 1.48 Ω cm2, a maximum on-state current of 11 A/cm2, an on–off ratio of 6 × 104, and a three-terminal breakdown voltage over 100 V. This work paves a way to form a CBL and broadens the design space for high-power β-Ga2O3 vertical transistors.

Variations in the red blood cell (RBC) lifespan can affect glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test values, but there is still a lack of evidence regarding how and to what degree the RBC lifespan influences HbA1c in the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) population owing to the restriction of traditional RBC lifespan detection means. In this study, we monitored 464 T2DM patients and 231 healthy control finger blood glucose levels at seven time points for three consecutive months. The HbA1c levels were assessed at the end of the third month as well as the RBC lifespan was measured through the CO breath test. T2DM patients were stratified into four quartile groups according to their RBC lifespans. There was no statistical significance in HbA1c among these four groups. However, the average blood glucose in the Q1 group was significantly higher than those in the other groups. Additionally, the contribution of RBC lifespan to HbA1c test value in the Q1 group was 14.07%, which was significantly higher than those in the other groups. Finally, we used multiple linear regression models to construct a mathematical formula to correct the HbA1c test value in the Q1 group, which would benefit the management of T2DM.

Herein, self‐powered spectrally distinctive UV photodetectors (PDs) based on nanoporous epitaxial Ga2O3/GaN heterojunctions grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are reported. The nanoporous structures are formed by a novel self‐reactive etching (SRE) method, which significantly enhances the device performance. PDs with different porosities are fabricated and compared. In the self‐powered mode, the PD with the highest nanopore porosity exhibits the best performance, with an ultralow dark current of 0.04 nA, a fast photoresponse speed, and a high responsivity of 43.9 mA W−1 (35.8 mA W−1) under 254 nm (365 nm) illumination, which is 800% higher than that of the reference device without the porous structure. Furthermore, opposite current polarities are observed in the PDs under different illumination spectra, the mechanism of which is explained by the carrier transportation using the device band diagrams. This phenomenon can be used to distinguish different incident spectra, opening the door to more new applications. This work represents one of the first spectrally distinctive self‐powered UV PDs based on nanoporous Ga2O3/GaN heterojunctions and significantly benefits the development of multifunctional UV PDs.

The red blood cell (RBC) lifespan is an important physiological indicator of clear significance in clinical research, used for the differential diagnosis of various diseases such as anemia, compensatory phase hemolysis, and polycythemia. The

A novel etching technique with negligible etching damage for $\beta-\text{Ga}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}$ has been proposed in this paper. With employment of this process called self-reactive etching (SRE), the fabricated $\beta-\text{Ga}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}$ trench Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) possess a high-quality surface and show excellent electric characteristics. Attributing to the low negative interface charges at the sidewall depletion of the $\beta-$ Ga 2 O 3 fin-channels, an ideality factor of 1.41 and a low interface states density of 2.9x1011 cm−2 eV−1 were realized.

Broadband ultraviolet (BUV) photodetectors are widely used in military and civil fields. In this paper, a high performance BUV photodetector based on GaN/β-Ga2O3 pn-heterojunction with graphene is proposed, where the graphene was employed as a transparent electrode. The fabricated photodetector exhibits a series of excellent performance, including extremely low dark current (14nA), a broad response band from 212 nm to 372 nm with responsivity exceeding 1 A/W at -5 V bias voltage and a peak responsivity of 6.64 A/W at 252 nm. These excellent performances can be attributed to the internal gain mechanism of the GaN/β-Ga2O3 pn-heterojunction and the optical properties of graphene. The transient response of the device to 254 nm and 365 nm LED illumination at -5 V bias is found to be less than 100 ms. Our work provides an effective method to realize a high-performance BUV photodetector for photoelectric applications.

(001) β-Ga2O3 homoepitaxy on commercially available large-size (001) β-Ga2O3 substrates remains a significant challenge for the wide bandgap semiconductor community. In this Letter, high-quality homoepitaxial (001) β-Ga2O3 films were grown via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with the assistance of an in situ indium surfactant, where the growth modes and mechanisms were also elucidated. During the growth of β-Ga2O3, an etching process occurred by the desorption of the suboxide Ga2O, resulting in rough surface morphology with streaky grooves oriented along the [010] direction. It is postulated that the parallel grooves were associated with the surface desorption and anisotropic diffusion characteristics of β-Ga2O3. To suppress the desorption, indium surfactant was introduced into the growth environment. A 2D-like growth feature was prompted subsequently by the coadsorption of In and Ga atoms, accompanied by relatively smooth surface morphology. The crystal quality had no degradation despite the incorporation of indium in the epitaxial film. The O II peak of the β-Ga2O3 film shifted ∼0.5 eV toward higher binding energy due to an increasing number of oxygen vacancies originating from the indium incorporation. This work provides a systemic investigation on the growth of high-quality (001) β-Ga2O3 homoepitaxial films by MOCVD, which is critical for the development of β-Ga2O3 electronic devices for future power switching and RF applications.

The demand for improved gasoline product quality has helped make molecular-level models become more preferred for the modern refinery. Building the molecular compositional model is an essential first step for this quantitative molecular management of gasoline streams. Gas chromatography equipped with flame ion detection (GC-FID) is commonly used in the gasoline detailed hydrocarbon analysis (DHA). The combination of GC-FID analysis and molecular-level modeling is thus very attractive. In the present study, we developed a gasoline compositional model based solely on GC-FID as input. To suppress the negative influence of peak coelution, we developed a statistics-based peak tuning algorithm to obtain individual compound resolution at higher carbon number range. Using the tuned result as input, the molecular-level gasoline compositional model was built by estimating the quantitative percentages of the species in a predefined molecular library (573 molecules). The molecular-level compositional model has good e...

The β-Ga2O3 ultraviolet (UV) detectors work in the solar-blind (UV) band due to the ultra-wide bandgap of β-Ga2O3. In this paper, a solar-blind ultraviolet detector based on an ordered nanoporous β-Ga2O3 (ONP-β-Ga2O3) film is proposed and implemented. The local enhancement effect of the ordered nanopores on light is simulated by finite-difference time-domain method, and the period and diameter of the nanopores are optimized. Graphene is transferred on the ONP-β-Ga2O3 film and prepared as interdigital electrodes of the solar-blind ultraviolet detectors. The optimal detector has a photo-to-dark current ratio of about 4.64 × 103 at a 5 V bias, a peak response of 2.43 A W−1 at 254 nm, and a UV/visible rejection ratio of about 1081. We demonstrate that the ordered nanoporous structure can localize optical field effectively, which results in enhancement of light absorption as well as improvement of key detector parameters.

An effective and biodegradable polygonatum fructan (PF) from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua was studied as an eco-friendly corrosion inhibitor for mild steel protection in 1 M HCl, whose inhibition performance was studied by weight loss tests, electrochemical techniques, and surface analysis techniques (SECM, FTIR). The experimental results showed that PF has outstanding inhibition performance for mild steel in hydrochloric acid, and the inhibition efficiency increased with the increase of its concentration and temperature. Polarization studies indicated that PF is a mixed-type corrosion inhibitor, and its adsorption mode conforms to Langmuir isotherm, mainly chemisorption. An adsorption-related protective inhibitor film formed on the surface of mild steel was verified and investigated based on its surface analysis and characterization. Quantum chemical analysis showed that the adsorption of PF on the surface of mild steel has obvious chemical properties.

High-quality (100)-oriented β-Ga2O3 films were successfully grown on (110) TiO2 substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for the first time. Crystal structure, chemical composition, and surface morphology of the epitaxial β-Ga2O3 films were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM). The epitaxial relationship between the β-Ga2O3 film and the TiO2 substrate was identified as β-Ga2O3 (100)//TiO2 (110) with β-Ga2O3 [001]//TiO2 [ 1 1 ‾ 0 ] and β-Ga2O3 [010]//TiO2 [001]. These material characterizations confirmed that the β-Ga2O3 film grown at 950 °C exhibited the highest crystalline quality and the smoothest surface. Furthermore, these β-Ga2O3 films were then used to fabricate solar-blind photodetectors (PDs) based on a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structure. Due to the β-Ga2O3 film's best material and surface morphology grown at 950 °C, the β-Ga2O3 PDs showed the best performance with a large photocurrent of 85.3 μA, a responsivity of 2.56 A W−1, and a detectivity of 5 × 1011 Jones. This work explores a new TiO2 substrate for the heterogeneous epitaxy of β-Ga2O3 films, and opens the door for the development of β-Ga2O3 photonics and electronics on cost-effective mass-producible substrates.

β-Ga2O3 thin films were heteroepitaxially grown on c-plane sapphire substrates with different off-axis angles toward 1 ‾ 00> direction by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), where the crystal quality of the films and the deep-ultraviolet photodetectors (PDs) fabricated on these films were characterized. The effect of sapphire substrates with different off-axis angles on the β-Ga2O3 thin films and the optical performance of β-Ga2O3 PDs are investigated for the first time. ( 2 ‾ 01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 thin films were grown on sapphire substrates with off-axis angles of 0°, 1.5°, 4°, and 6°. The full width at half maxima (FWHM) of rocking curves decreased significantly with the increase of off-axis angles. The β-Ga2O3 thin films grown on the 6° off-axis angle substrate showed a FWHM of 0.55°, indicating excellent crystal quality. Substrate off-axis angles play a critical role in the nucleation process in the growth of β-Ga2O3 thin films. The step edge on the off-axis substrates serves as the preferential incorporation sites for Ga adatoms. The step terrace width is controlled by the off-axis angle and influences the growth modes depending on the relative magnitude of the step terrace width compared with the Ga adatom diffusion length. In addition, β-Ga2O3 photodetectors with a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structure have been fabricated using these β-Ga2O3 thin films. The β-Ga2O3 PDs fabricated on 6° off-axis sapphire substrate showed excellent optical performance with a large photocurrent of 61 μA, an outstanding photo/dark current ratio of 2.3 × 103, and peak responsivity of 74.6 mA/W. These results can provide important guidance on heterogeneous epitaxy of β-Ga2O3 thin films and photodetectors on cost-effective mass-producible sapphire substrates by MOCVD.

Lateral epitaxial growth in vertical β-Ga2O3 nanowires was studied on sapphire substrates via metal organic chemical vapor deposition by controlling growth temperature and O2 flow rate. The lateral epitaxial growth rate of β-Ga2O3 rise up with increasing growth temperature and decreasing O2 flow rate, which are related to reaction kinetics and parasitic reaction, respectively. In addition, a growth model is proposed to explain the morphology of nanowires when growth condition changes. These results can provide important guidance on addressing slow coalescence rate of β-Ga2O3 nuclear islands on heterogeneous substrates and open new doors to β-Ga2O3 optoelectronic and electronic devices on cost-effective foreign substrates.

To overcome the obstacle of triangular prism-like MoO3 nanorods (MoO3) gas sensor including low response, poor selectivity and a heavy influence of humidity to Triethylamine (TEA), heterostructured tin sulfide (SnS) composited with MoO3 hollow nanotubes (SnS@MoO3) were synthesised by a facilely hydrothermal method. Its morphology and structure were charactered through different technologies. The result indicated that the sensor based on SnS@MoO3 exhibited higher response (73.46%), shorter response/recovery time (8.1/4.5 s), excellently selectivity and anti-humidity properties than MoO3 to 50 ppm TEA at 250 °C. Thus, the SnS@MoO3 is a promising material for detecting TEA.