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The accurate phenotyping of the external quality attributes of potato tubers is important in potato breeding. Currently, the assessment of potato tuber shape, together with eye density and depth, are based on subjective naked eye visual evaluation. However, such a manual visual assessment makes it very difficult to reliably phenotype these and other important, more complicated, geometrical traits, such as shape uniformity. In this study, a 3D image analysis method has been developed for counting potato eyes and estimating eye depth based on an evaluation of the curvature of an acquired 3D point cloud. Six shape uniformity-related traits, together with their shape indices (SI), were measured for six potato varieties. These were collected from three field experiments designed initially to study the effects of variation in nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and compound fertilisers along with tuber mass, on all investigated external traits. We demonstrate that a 3D image analysis technique can estimate the number of potato eyes and their depth with a high degree of accuracy. In addition, three shape uniformity traits were identified as offering a better power discrimination between varieties. The preliminary experiment found potato tuber mass to significantly affect both the shape uniformity and eye count, while fertiliser treatments showed no effect on all traits except SI. However, further investigation with a larger sample size is required for confirmation. • 3D image analysis for external traits phenotyping of potato tuber. • Potato eye counting and depth estimation based on the curvature of point cloud. • Varieties shows significant difference for the shape uniformity-related traits. • Tuber size significantly impacts the shape-uniformity related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powdery mildew is an important disease of rubber trees worldwide. To assess the effects of temperature and leaf age on conidial germination and disease development, conidia were inoculated onto rubber tree seedlings with leaves at three phenological stages (copper bronze, colour‐changing, and light green) and then incubated at six constant temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°C). Leaf age did not affect conidial germination (p =.296) whilst temperature did (p <.0001), although conidia were able to germinate at all tested temperatures. The estimated optimal temperature for conidial germination was 23.2°C. Leaf age, temperature, and their interactions had significant effects on conidial infection and hypha number (p <.0001). At 10 and 35°C, more than 2 and 4 days were needed for infection to complete, respectively, compared to <2, 1, 0.5, and 0.5 days for 15, 20, 25, and 35°C, respectively. Sporulation and mildew symptoms were only observed on those inoculated leaves of all stages at 20 and 25°C, and at the copper bronze stage only at 15°C. The latent period on the copper bronze leaves at 15°C was longer (9 days) than at 20 and 25°C (4 days). The latent period at 20 and 25°C increased from 4 to 7 days as the leaf development stage increased from copper bronze to light green. Therefore, temperature affected germination and postgermination growth of rubber tree powdery mildew, whereas leaf age primarily affected postgermination growth of the pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurological diseases are a major threat to global public health and prosperity. The number of patients with neurological diseases is increasing due to the population aging and increasing life expectancy. Autophagy is one of the crucial mechanisms to maintain nerve cellular homeostasis. Numerous studies have demonstrated that autophagy plays a dual role in neurological diseases. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a vital class of noncoding RNAs with a length of more than 200 nucleotides and cannot encode proteins themselves but are expressed in most neurological diseases. An early phase, emerging knowledge has revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial in autophagy regulation. Furthermore, autophagy-associated lncRNAs can promote the development of neurological diseases or slow their progression. In this review, we introduce a general overview of lncRNA functional mechanisms and summarizes the recent progress of lncRNAs on autophagy regulation in neurological diseases to reveal possible novel therapeutic targets or useful biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and accurate biomass and yield estimation facilitates efficient plant phenotyping and site-specific crop management. A low altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to acquire RGB and hyperspectral imaging data for a potato crop canopy at two growth stages to estimate the above-ground biomass and predict crop yield. Field experiments included six cultivars and multiple treatments of nitrogen, potassium, and mixed compound fertilisers. Crop height was estimated using the difference between digital surface model and digital elevation models derived from RGB imagery. Combining with two narrow-band vegetation indices selected by the RReliefF feature selection algorithm. Random Forest regression models demonstrated high prediction accuracy for both fresh and dry above-ground biomass, with a coefficient of determination (r2) > 0.90. Crop yield was predicted using four narrow-band vegetation indices and crop height (r2 = 0.63) with imagery data obtained 90 days after planting. A Partial Least Squares regression model based on the full wavelength spectra demonstrated improved yield prediction (r2 = 0.81). This study demonstrated the merits of UAV-based RGB and hyperspectral imaging for estimating the above-ground biomass and yield of potato crops, which can be used to assist in site-specific crop management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wafer‐scale, single‐crystalline 2D semiconductors without grain boundaries and defects are needed for developing reliable next‐generation integrated 2D electronics. Unfortunately, few literature reports exist on the growth of 2D semiconductors with single‐crystalline structure at the wafer scale. It is shown that direct sulfurization of as‐deposited epitaxial MoO2 films (especially, with thicknesses more than ≈5 nm) produces textured MoS2 films. This texture is inherited from the high density of defects present in the as‐prepared epitaxial MoO2 film. In order to eliminate the texture of the converted MoS2 films, a new capping layer annealing process (CLAP) is introduced to improve the crystalline quality of as‐deposited MoO2 films and minimize its defects. It is demonstrated that sulfurization of the CLAP‐treated MoO2 films leads to the formation of single‐crystalline MoS2 films, instead of textured films. It is shown that the single‐crystalline MoS2 films exhibit field‐effect mobility of 6.3 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is 15 times higher than that of textured MoS2. These results can be attributed to the smaller concentration of defects in the single‐crystalline films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A model developed to predict equilibrium concentrations of species in Ca2+-(NH 4) 2 CO 3 -(NH 4) 2 WO 4 -NH 3 -H 2 O system. • Equilibrium WO 3 concentrations presented for the system at 298.15 K. • Measures clarified for adjusting CaWO 4 and CaCO 3 stable regions. • A theoretical guidance provided for preparing and purifying (NH 4) 2 WO 4 solutions. The Ca2+-(NH 4) 2 CO 3 -(NH 4) 2 WO 4 -NH 3 -H 2 O system is a typical system in tungsten extractive metallurgy used in the preparation and purification of ammonium tungstate solution. To determine an appropriate solution composition to optimize these processes, a thermodynamic model combined with the Pitzer activity equations was developed. This model allowed us to predict the dependence of the equilibrium WO 3 concentration on the compositions of the solution in the Ca2+-(NH 4) 2 CO 3 -(NH 4) 2 WO 4 -NH 3 -H 2 O system. Thermodynamic analyses clarified the stable regions of CaCO 3 and CaWO 4 in the Ca2+-(NH 4) 2 CO 3 -(NH 4) 2 WO 4 -NH 3 -H 2 O system and indicated that increasing both the total NH 3 and total CO 2 concentrations is beneficial for increasing the equilibrium WO 3 concentration. The experimental results confirm that the thermodynamic model offers a means of predicting the equilibrium concentrations of species in the system. Furthermore, the equilibrium WO 3 concentrations of the solution of the Ca2+-(NH 4) 2 CO 3 -(NH 4) 2 WO 4 -NH 3 -H 2 O system at 298.15 K have been predicted at different total CO 2 concentrations, as well as different total NH 3 to total CO 2 concentration ratios. Thus, the findings of this study will not only help determine the appropriate composition of the leaching system for preparing ammonium tungstate solutions, but also provide a reference for purifying ammonium tungstate solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There were no specific indicators for the early detection of pancreatic cancer. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the diagnostic and prognostic value of CA19-9 plus B7-H4 detection in preoperative serum or surgical tissues of patients with pancreatic cancer. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-eight patients with pancreatic cancer and 25 controls were recruited. Their preoperative serum CA19-9 level was detected chemiluminescently, and B7-H4 expression in pancreatic cancer tissues was assessed immunohistochemically. The diagnostic and prognostic utility of detecting CA19-9, B7-H4 and their combination was evaluated. RESULTS: CA19-9 and B7-H4 levels were significantly upregulated in patients with pancreatic cancer compared with those in controls. The diagnostic value of combined CA19-9 plus B7-H4 detection was markedly better than that achieved from their separate detection analyzed with receiver operating characteristic curve. Sensitivity and specificity of the combined detection in the pancreatic cancer group was significantly increased compared with single detection. B7-H4 detection showed better prognostic value than detection of CA19-9. However, CA19-9 had high sensitivity and low specificity, while B7-H4 showed the opposite. The sensitivity of the combined prognosis was not significantly different to B7-H4 alone. CONCLUSION: The combined detection of CA19-9 and B7-H4 could become a new method for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In (NH 4) 2 CO 3 solution, leaching Ca 3 WO 6 -bearing product converted from tungsten concentrate can directly obtain ammonium tungstate solution, and thus eliminates high-salinity wastewater discharge in ammonium paratungstate manufacture. Possible reactions of Ca 3 WO 6 leaching in aqueous ammoniacal ammonium carbonate solution under atmospheric pressure were investigated thermodynamically and experimentally. The results show that tungsten in Ca 3 WO 6 can be efficiently leached out by forming CaCO 3 (s) and (NH 4) 2 WO 4 (aq) in aqueous ammoniacal ammonium carbonate solution, while raising ratio of total ammonia to total carbon in solution and forming calcite are beneficial to increase the WO 3 leaching ratio. Whereas the secondary reactions of Ca 3 WO 6 with H 2 O and/or Ca (OH) 2 /CaCO 3 with (NH 4) 2 WO 4 may occur and thus CaWO 4 forms in the leaching, decreasing WO 3 leaching ratio especially in concentrated (NH 4) 2 WO 4 solution and in case of forming vaterite. In addition, a three-layer cover was observed on the unreacted Ca 3 WO 6 and hinders the leaching process. Through simultaneous grinding and leaching, both high WO 3 leaching ratio and high WO 3 concentration leachate can be achieved by increasing ratio of total ammonia to total carbon in NH 3 -(NH 4) 2 WO 4 - (NH 4) 2 CO 3 -H 2 O system. These results are helpful to optimize the leaching process of the converted product with Ca 3 WO 6 by roasting tungsten-containing materials. Highlights • Mechanism of secondary reactions of forming CaWO 4 were determined in leaching Ca 3 WO 6. • Measures for alleviating/suppressing the secondary reactions were proposed. • A three-layer cover on the unreacted Ca 3 WO 6 hinders Ca 3 WO 6 leaching. • Both high WO 3 leaching ratio and high WO 3 concentration leachate can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling has often been reported in different cancers, particularly colorectal cancer (CRC), and this signaling cascade is central to carcinogenesis. Approximately 80% of CRC cases harbor mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli gene, and half of the remaining cases feature mutations in the β-catenin gene that affect the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Unsurprisingly, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has potential value as a therapeutic target in the treatment of CRC. Several inhibitors of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway have been developed for CRC treatment, but so far no molecular therapeutic targeting this pathway has been incorporated into oncological practice. In this review, we discuss the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in CRC and its potential as a target of innovative therapeutic approaches for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flower-like CoO particles with three-dimensional structure have been achieved by inheriting the flower-like framework of β-Co(OH) particles fabricated by a facile solvothermal method without any surfactant. The obtained CoO microflower, which was composed of large amounts of self-assembled porous ultrathin nanosheets, exhibited excellent electrochemical performances in terms of high specific capacity and good cycle stability when being evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion battery. Specifically, a high reversible capacity of above 1100 mA h g was achieved after 50 cycles at the current density of 296 mA g. Hierarchical flower-like structure with mesoporous was considered as providing more active sites for Li insertion and paths for transport of Li, which led to faster lithium-ion diffusion. CoO porous flower-like nanostructures possessed significant potential application in energy storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microthruster has been playing significant role in micropropulsion system, of which micronozzle is the key component. In the present work, the geometric parameters of a typical micronozzle on a cold gas microthruster are first optimized using numerical univariate and orthogonal analysis combined with confirmation of thrust experiments. A 2 Dimension (2D) univariate numerical simulation, with only one geometric parameter varying within a large range during a simulation, is used to fully discuss the eight structural parameters of the proposed micronozzle. According to the effect of each parameter on the micronozzle performance, five critical factors, including half expansion angle θ , expansion ratio W / W , throat width W , throat radius of curvature R , Inlet width W and their corresponding proper levels range are selected. Then, a 2D orthogonal numerical simulation analysis is conducted utilizing an L (4) orthogonal table with the selected factors and levels. By analyzing the selected factors and levels simultaneously by range analysis method, the orders of significance of different factors are sorted and the optimum structural parameters are selected. The optimum result achieved in this study is identified as θ of 15°, W of 200 μm, W / W of 7, R of 20 μm and W of 4000 μm. Then, a 3 Dimension (3D) numerical simulation is conducted to predict and analyze the performance of the optimum microthruster when inlet pressure varies in three different values. When inlet pressure is 0.918 bar and temperature is 300 K, 3D simulation result shows that the microthruster using nitrogen as propellant can generate a thrust of 2.23 mN and efficiency of 72.14%. At last, an optimum cold gas microthruster adopting nitrogen gas as propellant is fabricated and tested. Experiment is conducted in three different inlet pressure. Results show that experimental values and simulation values are in agreement, which verifies the correctness of the simulation model. Under the inlet pressure of 0.918 bar and temperature of 300 K, the optimum microthruster can produce a thrust of 1.41 mN and efficiency of 52.84% when outlet pressure is set as 1000 Pa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-based PA56 is as matrix resin, maleic anhydride (MAH), and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) dual monomer grafted POE (POE-g-MAH/GMA) polyphenyl ether(PPO) are simultaneous as toughening agents. The PA56/POE-g-MAH-GMA/PPO ternary alloys containing 10 wt% POE-g-MAH-GMA with different PPO content prepared by the melt blending method through twin screw extruder. The structure and property of PA56/POE-g-MAH-GMA/PPO ternary alloys were studied. The results showed that the microscopic morphology of each alloy showed an obvious "sea-island" structure. PA56 is a continuous sea phase, and the island phase assumes the "core–shell structure," the etched POE-g-MAH-GMA particles are as the nucleus, and PPO are as the shell. When the PPO mass fraction is 30%, the relative crystallinity of the alloy is 11.56%, which is 1.68 times lower compared to the pure PA56, the alloy notch impact strength is 42.1 kJ/m2, and reaches 11.7 times of pure PA56; the water absorption rate of 1.22%, which is 3.22 times lower than pure PA56. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of azole resistance in fungal pathogens presents a major challenge in both crop production and human health. Apple orchards across the world are faced with the emergence of azole fungicide resistance in the apple scab pathogen Venturia inaequalis. Target site point mutations observed in this fungus to date cannot fully explain the reduction in sensitivity to azole fungicides. Here, polygenic resistance to tebuconazole was studied across a population of V. inaequalis. Genotyping by sequencing allowed Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) mapping to identify the genetic components controlling this fungicide resistance. Dose-dependent genetic resistance was identified, with distinct genetic components contributing to fungicide resistance at different exposure levels. A QTL within linkage group seven explained 65% of the variation in the effective dose required to reduce growth by 50% (ED50). This locus was also involved in resistance at lower fungicide doses (ED10). A second QTL in linkage group one was associated with dose-dependent resistance, explaining 34% of variation at low fungicide doses (ED10), but did not contribute to resistance at higher doses (ED50 and ED90). Within QTL regions, non-synonymous mutations were observed in several ATP-Binding Cassette and Major Facilitator SuperFamily transporter genes. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms of fungicide resistance that have evolved in horticultural pathogens. Identification of resistance gene candidates supports the development of molecular diagnostics to inform management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of unleachable scheelite (CaWO 4 ) to readily soluble Ca 3 WO 6 in aqueous ammonium carbonate solution by roasting is crucial to the development of a green manufacturing technique for ammonium paratungstate. To better understand the influences of gangue minerals on the conversion of CaWO 4 to Ca 3 WO 6 , the reaction behaviors of gangue minerals in the scheelite concentrate such as quartz (SiO 2 ), apatite (Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F), cassiterite (SnO 2 ), pyrite (FeS 2 ), molybdenite (MoS 2 ), and arsenopyrite (FeAsS) in the roasting process were investigated systematically in this work. Thermodynamic analyses and experimental results show that the gangue minerals except Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F can react with CaCO 3 or Ca 3 WO 6 to form corresponding calcium-containing compounds in roasting. There are Ca 3 Fe 2 WO 9 , CaMoO 4 , CaSO 4 , and Ca 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 , etc. observed in the products when roasting in an oxidizing atmosphere, and Ca 2 FeWO 6 , CaS in a neutral or weakly reducing atmosphere, while the formations of Ca 2 SiO 4 , Ca 4 Si 2 O 7 F 2 , Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F, CaSnO 3 , and Ca 2 SnO 4 , etc. are independent of roasting atmosphere. The results suggest that these gangue minerals consume calcium and thus affect the conversion of CaWO 4 to Ca 3 WO 6 in the roasting process, which can help determine the appropriate composition dosage for the complete conversion of CaWO 4 to Ca 3 WO 6 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of tungsten-containing materials to a readily soluble substance in ammoniacal solution is significant in the development of a cleaning process for manufacturing ammonium paratungstate. In this work, Ca 3 − x (Fe, Mn) x WO 6 (0 < x ≤ 1) was prepared by roasting a mixture of tungsten-containing materials and calcium carbonate. The leachability of the roasted products in aqueous ammonium carbonate solution was then tested. Thermodynamic analyses and experimental results showed that Ca 2 FeWO 6 and Ca 2 MnWO 6 can be obtained by roasting the mixture with appropriate ingredients in neutral or weakly reducing atmosphere, and Fe(II) in Ca 2 FeWO 6 can be substituted by Ca to form Ca 3 − x Fe x WO 6 (0 < x < 1) with an excess of calcium carbonate. With increased roasting temperature and carbon addition, Fe 3 W 3 C and Mn 3 W 3 C can be generated. Additionally, leaching results showed that Ca 3 − x (Fe, Mn) x WO 6 had excellent leachability in aqueous ammonium carbonate solution with 99% WO 3 recovery. The results presented can be used to exploit a novel technique with recycling solutions for ammonium paratungstate production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flower-like Co 3 O 4 assembled with nano-leaves could be obtained through annealing the cobalt hydroxide carbonate precursor, which was first synthesized via one-pot hydrothermal route. X-ray diffraction and TEM analysis demonstrated the transition from the precursor of amorphous state to Co 3 O 4 with cubic phase structure. XRD results indicated the increase in the calcination temperature from 300 to 400 °C for the precursor would bring about the increase in the crystallinity degree and ferromagnetic property of the products. The TG analysis demonstrated that as prepared Co 3 O 4 samples for different calcination temperature had significant effect on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. And the decomposition temperature region of ammonium perchlorate could be decreased from 303–454 °C to 256–356 °C by the catalysis of Co 3 O 4 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsphere, micro-net-sphere, hexagon plate and sandwich-like cobalt particle were successfully synthesized via a facile, environmentally friendly and one-step solvothermal method. Subtle control over the reaction conditions could easily achieve these different morphologies with certain crystal structures. Solvothermal method utilized here is pollution free, without surface-active agent and facile to perform. The effects of alkali and Co 2+ content as well as the reaction temperature on the size, morphology and microstructure were investigated individually. Moreover, the catalytic properties concerning the catalytic thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) and magnetic properties of these selected samples were evaluated. It finds that the alteration trend of related properties correspond well with the variation of these samples’ microstructure and morphology. In addition, comparing with the other morphology, Co particles with the morphology of hexagon sheet exhibits outstanding catalytic performance, implying significant practical application in the development of energy-efficient rocket solid propellant recipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China rose-like structured β-Co(OH)2 was fabricated by a facile and surfactant free solvothermal method. The self-assembly process of the 3D flower-like structure was preliminarily explored via time-dependent observation. The chemical transformation achieved by thermal treatment from brucite-like β-Co(OH)2 to spinel Co3O4 was investigated in detail, while the original flower-like framework of the precursor was preserved during the entire process. With increase in the temperature of heat treatment, the specific surface area decreased correspondingly. Meanwhile, propagation of cracks and the following cavitation progress were realized on petal-like flakelets. Topotactic nucleation and crystallization in the [111] direction of spinel-structured Co3O4 inheriting the [0001] direction of hexagonal structured β-Co(OH)2 were analyzed in detail. The catalytic performance of the obtained Co3O4 materials on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) was analyzed. It was fortunately found that samples annealed at 280 °C could lower the thermal decomposition temperature of AP from 450 °C to 245 °C, when the obtained Co3O4 made up 4% w/w of the mixture. This excellent performance is of great practical significance in the development of solid rocket fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little information on the effect of temperature, relative humidity (RH) and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) on the viable populations of two commercial biocontrol strains, Bacillus subtilis QST 713 (recently classified as B. velezensis) and Gliocladium catenulatum J1446 (syn. Clonostachys rosea). The PMAxx‐qPCR molecular assay was used to quantify the viable biocontrol agent (BCA) populations on fully extended lettuce and strawberry leaves under a range of temperature and RH combinations. Overall, there was a small decline in the population size of viable cells for the two biocontrol organisms on strawberry and lettuce leaves within 10 days of application. However, for most experimental runs, which contained general UK agronomy climates, such a decline was not statistically significant. Moreover, for a few runs, the viable populations increased significantly in optimal BCA growth temperatures with high RH. Only temperature (ambient) and dew point significantly affected the rate of temporal changes in the viable biocontrol population size. Thus, an increasing temperature led to decreased daily mortality. It should be noted that much of the variability in the estimated daily mortality rates remains unaccounted for, thus unless under extreme conditions, the biocontrol efficacy in practice is less likely to be affected by the survival of biocontrol microbes but more likely by other factors that influence the density of biocontrol cells in the phyllosphere, especially dilution due to rapid host leaf expansion, spray coverage and rain wash‐off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple rootstock genotypes confer different levels of tolerance to apple replant disease (ARD) and vigour to a newly replanted apple tree. A hybrid management system of rotating the rootstock genotype planted between successive generations and inter-row planting in the alleyways of orchards may minimise the severity of ARD symptoms. High-throughput sequencing of the fungal ITS and bacterial 16S rDNA regions was used to investigate the diversity, and differential taxa present in soils displaying symptoms of ARD. Candidate pathogens and beneficial microorganisms were correlated with the above-ground establishment of each rootstock genotype in a UK cider orchard. Our results suggest that the same rootstock or rootstock with closely related parentage to the previous rootstock had more severe ARD symptoms. Planting in the alleyway appeared an effective strategy to minimise the severity of symptoms irrespective of rootstock genotype. The planting location effect had a higher contribution to the variation in the rhizosphere microbiome than that of the rootstock genotype. No predicted causal agents for ARD could be identified to a taxonomic level to predict their function but two species associated with mycorrhizae, Pteridiospora spinosispora and Paraglomus laccatum were identified as inversely correlated with ARD severity and could be candidate beneficial species for apple, warranting further investigation and research. Our findings suggest that planting in the alleyways and planting rootstocks genetically dissimilar to the previously planted rootstock can be beneficial for tree establishment. We have also identified species inversely associated with ARD severity, making candidates for future research to test the antagonistic effect of the species against ARD pathogens in apple roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming to develop a novel technique to alleviate the environmental stresses caused by waste-water in the prevalent ammonium paratungstate manufacture process, preparation process of tricalcium tungstate (Ca 3 WO 6 ) from tungsten-containing materials by roasting was studied systematically in this paper. Thermodynamic analyses and experimental results show that Ca 3 WO 6 could be formed by reactions of CaWO 4 /Fe(Mn)WO 4 with CaO, Ca(OH) 2 or CaCO 3 in air. Increasing roasting temperature not only accelerates the conversion of CaWO 4 to Ca 3 WO 6 but also eliminates the dependence of the conversion on calcium compound types. Moreover, additive CaF 2 can greatly reduce roasting temperature for complete conversion of tungsten-containing minerals in mixed concentrate of scheelite and wolframite to Ca 3 WO 6 . Additionally, Ca 3 WO 6 clinker prepared by mixed concentrate has good leachability in aqueous ammonium carbonate solution with WO 3 recovery of 98.4%. The work presented is favorable for developing a promising technique with recycling both auxiliary materials and solutions for cleaner production of ammonium paratungstate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the leakage current of power LDMOS (laterally diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor) transistors with deep poly sinker, and the leakage shows a certain wafer map distribution with most of the failed dies located at the center area. It is found that the leakage current is mainly caused by the stress-induced dislocations close to the deep poly sinker. The relationship between the stress-induced dislocation (SID) and the wafer warpage is studied. Experimental results show the dislocation and the resulting leakage current can be effectively eliminated, by either modifying the device layout or optimizing the fabrication process of the poly sinker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-Q-factor and small-occupying-area inductors are prerequisite for monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit applications. This paper presents a novel multipath crossover-interconnection octagon stacked spiral inductor which is fabricated with the 0.13- \mu\m SiGe BiCMOS process. The metal wire of the spiral inductor is divided into multiple paths according to the process rule and the depth of the skin effects at the response frequency. The width of a single path is typically less than or equal to the skin depth. This so-called multipath technique effectively depresses the proximity and skin effects, therefore contributing to the high Q-factor of the inductors and reducing the occupying area. The crossover-interconnection method can make the total path lengths approximately equal to each other. This connected way lowers the current-crowding effect, which also enhances the Q-factor. Using the proposed technique, we have observed up to 63.8% improvement in the Q-peak (2.3 GHz) as compared to conventional stacked inductors (1.5 GHz) and about 44% improvement in the occupying area as compared to conventional single inductors fabricated on silicon substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal management is one of the critical challenges in 3-D integration. The intermediate bonding interfaces between two chips, such as silicon dioxide and polymer adhesives, are the major source of internal thermal resistance in 3-D integrated circuits, leading to thermal issues such as high temperature spots and larger temperature gradients. This paper reports an approach to reduce the thermal resistance of a common bonding adhesive benzocyclobutene (BCB) by loading carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to improve the thermal conductivity. By exploiting the aromatic property of BCB, an ultrasonication-assisted noncovalent dispersion method is developed to disseminate CNTs with different concentrations into BCB. Thanks to the high thermal conduction ability of CNTs, the thermal conductivity of BCB is improved as much as 20% by loading 1.5 wt% CNTs. The surface temperature of bonded chips during heating are measured to evaluate the dynamic heat transfer ability, and a 13% improvement is achieved for BCB–CNT composites. The bonding strength of pure BCB and BCB–CNT composites are tested and the results show that CNTs is beneficial to improving the bonding strength. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Grey mould, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is one of the most important diseases of strawberry and raspberry. In the UK, the majority of raspberry and strawberry production has recently switched to cropping under polythene tunnels. Although the risk of grey mould is greatly reduced under protection, a similar strategy is still adopted to manage grey mould on these crops. We first reviewed published studies on the epidemiology of grey mould on raspberry and strawberry, most of which are for crops grown in open field: (1) inoculum source comprises sclerotia on plant debris, plant organs and weeds, and resting mycelia on plant tissues. (2) Infection of flowers and the establishment of quiescent mycelium in floral parts is one of the main avenues for the rotting of ripe fruits. Thus, control of grey mould in open-field crops relies heavily on the scheduled application of fungicides during the flowering and early fruiting periods. (3) Recent research suggested possibility of B. cinerea as an endophyte. We carried out studies to understand the infection of flowers and fruit by B. cinerea on raspberry and strawberry crops grown under protection in order to assess whether management strategies developed for open crops are appropriate for crops grown under protections. Our main findings are: (1) covering crops early in the season did not significantly affect the incidence of raspberry fruit with latent infection by B. cinerea at harvest but reduced latent infection in strawberry. (2) Models developed for strawberry crops grown in the open did not give reliable predictions of flower infections on both strawberry and raspberry grown under protection. It was not possible to develop a predictive model for flower infection on raspberry grown under protection. (3) The level of ripe fruit with visual symptoms at harvest was low, usually close to zero. (4) Nearly all fruits from both sprayed and unsprayed crops were colonised by several fungi, including B. cinerea, within 7 days of harvest when stored at room temperatures. Based on these results, we question the value of scheduled fungicide applications to flowers and fruit for grey mould control under protection, and suggest that post-harvest fruit management, e.g. rapid cooling, is the key to prevent fruit from developing fungal rots before consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Thermal management is one of the critical challenges in three-dimensional (3D) integration. As the polymer bonding adhesive is the major source of the internal thermal resistance in 3D integration, this paper reports an approach to increase the thermal conductivity of the bonding adhesive benzocyclobutene (BCB) by loading carbon nanotubes (CNTs). By exploiting the aromatic property of BCB, an ultrasonication and mechanical stirring assisted non-covalent dispersion method is developed to disseminate CNTs with concentrations ranging from 0.25% to 2% to form BCB–CNT composites. The effects of ultrasonication and mechanical stirring on CNT dispersion are experimentally investigated, and the electrical properties, the thermal diffusivity, and the bonding strength of BCB–CNT composites are characterized. The results show that ultrasonication in conjunction with mechanical stirring can significantly improves the CNT dispersion results, and an 80% improvement in the thermal conductivity is achieved for BCB by loading CNTs. The bonding strength of BCB–CNT composites, though varies with CNT concentrations, are improved compared with pure BCB for CNT concentrations less than 1.75%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Small-size, directed networks are relevant for many biological applications, from meta-populations to food webs, from transport flows to evolutionary trees, from epidemics within households to outbreaks of emerging plant pathogens (e.g. Phytophthora ramorum). However, little attention has been paid to dynamic processes in these networks. In the horticultural trade, structural change in hierarchical categories, i.e. the proportion of producers, wholesalers and retailers, can influence the likelihood that plant epidemics will take place in such systems, but it is unclear how. We model disease spread and establishment in directed networks of 100 nodes at four connectance levels in six network structures [local, small-world, random, and scale-free (SF) networks with positive, no, and negative correlation between in- and out-degree (number of incoming and outgoing links)], and study the role of hierarchical categories. For non-SF networks, the correlation coefficient between number of incoming and outgoing links is negatively correlated with the proportion of producers and retailers, and positively correlated with the proportion of wholesalers. Given the previously reported negative correlation between the in-out degree correlation coefficient and the epidemic threshold, adding producers/retailers and removing wholesalers can contribute to making epidemics more difficult in non-SF networks. For SF networks these associations are not generally present, as in these structures epidemic development is driven by the presence of hubs, rather than the features of the majority of the nodes. Synthesis and applications. despite the importance of trade movements of plants for plant epidemics and the emergence of new plant pathogens, little is known about the current contact structure of horticultural networks within and among nations, and about how this is changing. Such information is important for risk assessment and management in plant health regulation. This study thus calls for the long-term collection of data on the number and degree distribution of plant producers, wholesalers and retailers. Our results suggest that plant disease management should focus on the middle-tier of the nursery hierarchy. This result is likely to pertain also to other biological applications of small-size directed networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a stochastic simulation model incorporating most processes likely to be important in the spread of Phytophthora ramorum and similar diseases across the British landscape (covering Rhododendron ponticum in woodland and nurseries, and Vaccinium myrtillus in heathland). The simulation allows for movements of diseased plants within a realistically modelled trade network and long-distance natural dispersal. A series of simulation experiments were run with the model, representing an experiment varying the epidemic pressure and linkage between natural vegetation and horticultural trade, with or without disease spread in commercial trade, and with or without inspections-with-eradication, to give a 2×2×2×2 factorial started at 10 arbitrary locations spread across England. Fifty replicate simulations were made at each set of parameter values. Individual epidemics varied dramatically in size due to stochastic effects throughout the model. Across a range of epidemic pressures, the size of the epidemic was 5–13 times larger when commercial movement of plants was included. A key unknown factor in the system is the area of susceptible habitat outside the nursery system. Inspections, with a probability of detection and efficiency of infected-plant removal of 80% and made at 90-day intervals, reduced the size of epidemics by about 60% across the three sectors with a density of 1% susceptible plants in broadleaf woodland and heathland. Reducing this density to 0.1% largely isolated the trade network, so that inspections reduced the final epidemic size by over 90%, and most epidemics ended without escape into nature. Even in this case, however, major wild epidemics developed in a few percent of cases. Provided the number of new introductions remains low, the current inspection policy will control most epidemics. However, as the rate of introduction increases, it can overwhelm any reasonable inspection regime, largely due to spread prior to detection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Published research on the effects of fungal interaction on disease development and subsequent mycotoxin accumulation was reviewed, focusing on pathogens related to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB). Almost all published studies showed that competitive interactions are the rule when fungal/disease development is considered. The fungi with the competitive advantage did not usually colonise significantly more than when inoculated alone, i.e. there was no advantage gained by the dominant pathogen from the presence of other weaker competing fungi. However, the effects of fungal interactions on mycotoxin accumulation were generally more complicated. Total mycotoxin production in mixed inoculation may decrease, increase or remain at a similar level compared with single-isolate inoculation, depending on the fungal species concerned and environmental conditions. However, the lack of accurate quantification of each competing fungal component in mixed inoculations in many studies prevented an accurate estimation of mycotoxin productivity per unit fungal biomass. A few recent studies, where each individual fungal component was quantified using molecular methods, suggested that mycotoxin productivity in mixed inoculations generally increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The nonlinear Schrödinger type equations are of tremendous interest in both theory and applications. Various regimes of pulse propagation in optical fibers are modeled by some form of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.In this paper we introduce parallel split-step Fourier methods for the numerical simulations of the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation that describes the propagation of two orthogonally polarized pulses in a monomode birefringent fibers. These methods are implemented on the Origin 2000 multiprocessor computer. Our numerical experiments have shown that these methods give accurate results and considerable speedup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances continue to be made by plant pathologists on topics in plant health, environmental protection and food security. Many advances have been made for individual crops, pathogens and diseases that in many cases have led to their successful management. A wider impact of research depends on recognition of the multifaceted challenges posed by plant diseases and the need to integrate studies in a systems level approach. The adoption of high‐throughput sequencing for diagnosis and detection is widespread but impact depends upon the agricultural and ecological context combined with improved surveillance. Deployment of host resistance in the field needs to be aligned with a greater appreciation of plant genetic diversity and the complementary contribution made by tolerance of disease. Epidemiological understanding of the spatiotemporal spread of plant diseases has improved through population dynamic and genetic analyses. Research emphasis on the plant microbiome has invigorated soil microbial studies, especially for disease complexes and declines, but the challenge is to move to interventions that benefit plant health. Analysis of the impacts of climate change has been made for single‐crop disease studies, but seldom have these been placed in the context of pathogen adaptation, new crops, wild plants, vectors and soil microbes. Advances in informatic analysis illustrate not only the global impacts of plant disease introductions, but also the challenges inherent in marshalling and integrating information. Advances have been made in applying artificial intelligence technologies across many areas of plant pathology but have yet to be integrated within any coordinated research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and is highly prevalent in China. To better understand the epidemiological characteristics of hepatitis B in China and develop effective disease control strategies, we employed temporal and spatial statistical methods. Methods: We obtained HBV incidence data from the Public Health Science Data Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the years 2006 to 2018. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and SaTScan scanning technology, we conducted spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatiotemporal scan analysis to create a map and visualize the distribution of hepatitis B incidence. Results: While hepatitis B incidence rebounded in 2011 and 2017, the overall incidence in China decreased.In the trend analysis by item, the incidence varies from high to low. The global spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed a clustered distribution, and the Moran index analysis of spatial autocorrelation within local regions identified five provinces as H-H clusters (hot spots), while one province was an L-L cluster (cold spot). Spatial scan analysis identified 11 significant spatial clusters. Conclusions: We found significant clustering in the spatial distribution of hepatitis B incidence and positive spatial correlation of hepatitis B incidence in China. We also identified high-risk times and regional clusters of hepatitis B incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of the transition between endodormancy and ecodormancy remains uncertain. However, with advancements in phenology modelling, we can now fit models which allow for variable transitions between chilling and forcing models. Previous studies have primarily focused on single-cultivar parameterisation, and few have explored multi-cultivar comparative modelling. In this paper, we address this gap by evaluating three parameterisation approaches based on the recently developed PhenoFlex framework using a large flowering time dataset of twenty-six apple cultivars collected at the same location in England. The three parameterisation approaches were: cultivar-specific, group-specific with the groups derived using the K-means algorithm on mean bloom and variation of bloom dates, and a common model (for all twenty-six cultivars). The three PhenoFlex models fitted to each of three groups of cultivars based on their flowering time and the common model fitted to all cultivars achieved similar predictive performance, better than predictions using the average bloom date of each cultivar. The best approach to apply would depend on the amount of data present. The common model works best with large number of cultivars with small datasets (∼10 years), the mean flowering date grouped works best with medium numbers of datasets (∼20 years) and the cultivar-specific model should only be used when each cultivar has at least 30 years of data, however, it is more biased, so it is likely to predict bloom dates later than the observed bloom dates. Finally, the PhenoFlex model was shown to perform better than the StepChill model, where no overlapping is allowed between chilling and heat models. The result of this study indicates that the PhenoFlex model can be used to determine apple flowering time at the species level. [Display omitted] • The PhenoFlex model reports lower apple chill (25.36) and heat (286.01) thresholds. • Multi-cultivar parameterisation can outperform individual cultivar parametrisation. • Cultivar-specific parameterisation results in inconsistent and bias predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the brittle-ductile transition of poly(ethylene-co-octene) (POE) toughened high density polyethylene (HDPE) was studied in terms of HDPE molecular weight, elastomer content and temperature. The relation among HDPE molecular weight, critical elastomer content and temperature, the relation among critical interparticle distance ( ID c ), HDPE molecular weight and temperature at critical brittle-ductile transition point were given. From these relations, the high impact HDPE blends with the lowest elastomer content, i.e. with the lowest rigidity loss, could be obtained. The results show that the lowest modulus loss for high impact HDPE/POE blend reduces markedly with the increase of HDPE molecule weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the extent of heritability of a plant-associated microbiome (phytobiome) is critically important for exploitation of phytobiomes in agriculture. Two crosses were made between pairs of cotton cultivars (Z2 and J11, L1 and Z49) with differential resistance to Verticillium wilt. F2 plants were grown in a field, together with the four parents to study the heritability of cotton rhizosphere microbiome. Amplicon sequencing was used to profile bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere. F2 offspring plants of both crosses had higher average alpha diversity indices than the two parents; parents differed significantly from F2 offspring in Bray–Curtis beta diversity indices as well. Two types of data were used to study the heritability of rhizosphere microbiome: principal components (PCs) and individual top microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs). For the L1 × Z49 cross, the variance among the F2 progeny genotypes (namely, genetic variance, VT) was significantly greater than the random variability (VE) for 12 and 34 out of top 100 fungal and bacterial PCs, respectively. For the Z2 × J11 cross, the corresponding values were 10 and 20 PCs. For 29 fungal OTUs and 10 bacterial OTUs out of the most abundant 100 OTUs, genetic variance (VT) was significantly greater than VE for the L1 × Z49 cross; the corresponding values for the Z2 × J11 cross were 24 and one. The estimated heritability was mostly in the range of 40% to 60%. These results suggested the existence of genetic control of polygenic nature for specific components of rhizosphere microbiome in cotton. Key points: • F2offspring cotton plants differed significantly from parents in rhizosphere microbial diversity. • Specific rhizosphere components are likely to be genetically controlled by plants. • Common PCs and specific microbial groups are significant genetic components between the two crosses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: 2D Optoelectronics: High-Performance Monolayer MoS2 Films at the Wafer Scale by Two-Step Growth (Adv. Funct. In article number 1901070, Husam N. Alshareef and co-workers successfully develop an epitaxial phase conversion process to make continuous and homogeneous monolayer MoS SB 2 sb films at the wafer scale. Transistors, excitons, wafer scale, monolayer MoS2, two-step process.

To realize multifunctional devices at the wafer scale, the growth process of monolayer (ML) 2D semiconductors must meet two key requirements: 1) growth of continuous and homogeneous ML film at the wafer scale and 2) controllable tuning of the properties of the ML film. However, there is still no growth method available that fulfills both of these criteria. Here, the first report is presented on the preparation of continuous and uniform ML MoS2 films through a two‐step process at the wafer scale. Unlike in previous ML MoS2 film growth processes, the ML MoS2 film can be uniformly modulated across the wafer in terms of material structure and composition, exciton state, and electronic transport performance. A significant result is that the high‐quality wafer‐scale ML MoS2 films realize superior electronic performance compared to reported two‐step‐grown films, and it even matches or exceeds reported ML MoS2 films prepared by other processes. The transistor performance of the optimized ML film achieves a field effect mobility of 10 to 30 cm2 V−1 s−1, an on/off current ratio of about 107, and hysteresis as low as 0.4 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Crop emergence and canopy cover are important physiological traits for potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar evaluation and nutrients management. They play important roles in variety screening, field management and yield prediction. Traditional manual assessment of these traits is not only laborious but often subjective. Results: In this study, semi-automated image analysis software was developed to estimate crop emergence from high-resolution RGB ortho-images captured from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Potato plant objects were extracted from bare soil using Excess Green Index and Otsu thresholding methods. Six morphological features were calculated from the images to be variables of a Random Forest classifier for estimating the number of potato plants at emergence stage. The outputs were then used to estimate crop emergence in three field experiments that were designed to investigate the effects of cultivars, levels of potassium (K) fertiliser input, and new compound fertilisers on potato growth. The results indicated that RGB UAV image analysis can accurately estimate potato crop emergence rate in comparison to manual assessment, with correlation coefficient ( r 2 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$ r^{2} $$\end{document}) of 0.96 and provide an efficient tool to evaluate emergence uniformity. Conclusions: The proposed UAV image analysis method is a promising tool for use as a high throughput phenotyping method for assessing potato crop development at emergence stage. It can also facilitate future studies on optimizing fertiliser management and improving emergence consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing high‐performance nanofluidic fibers with synergetic ionic and electric conductivities is promising for human–machine interface interaction. In such a scenario, inter‐ and intra‐forces in constituent flakes are recognized as crucial factors in determining the derived nanofluidic fiber performance. In this work, the rheological properties of Ti3C2Tx MXene solution are systematically optimized by regulating the electrostatic interaction via introducing multivalent metal cations. As a result, such multivalent cations trigger ionic crosslinking and remarkably strengthen the interaction force between nanosheets, which even forms into a tight fiber‐shaped gel network. A series of cations, such as K+, Na+, Mg2+, Zn2+, and Al3+, are introduced to enhance the ionic cross‐linking between interconnected flakes. The thus‐prepared Zn2+‐Ti3C2Tx fiber exhibits a remarkable electrical conductivity of 11 200 S cm−1, a tensile strength of 252 MPa, and an ionic conductivity of 2.51 × 10−3 S cm−1. This multivalent cation crosslinking strategy could offer some insights into developing functional nanofluidic fibers for wearable or healthcare applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raspberry production is under threat from the emerging fungal pathogenic genus Cladosporium. We used amplicon‐sequencing, coupled with qPCR, to investigate how fruit age, fruit location within a polytunnel, polytunnel location and sampling date affected the fruit epiphytic microbiome. Fruit age was the most important factor impacting the fungal microbiome, followed by sampling date and polytunnel location. In contrast, polytunnel location and fruit age were important factors impacting the bacterial microbiome composition, followed by the sampling date. The within‐tunnel location had a small significant effect on the fungal microbiome and no effect on the bacterial microbiome. As fruit ripened, fungal diversity increased and the bacterial diversity decreased. Cladosporium was the most abundant fungus of the fruit epiphytic microbiome, accounting for nearly 44% of all fungal sequences. Rotorod air samplers were used to study how the concentration of airborne Cladosporium inoculum (quantified by qPCR) varied between location (inside and outside the polytunnel) and time (daytime vs. nighttime). Quantified Cladosporium DNA was significantly higher during the day than the night and inside the polytunnel than the outside. This study demonstrated the dynamic nature of epiphytic raspberry fruit microbiomes and airborne Cladosporium inoculum within polytunnels, which will impact disease risks on raspberry fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feruloyl esterase (ferulic acid esterase, FAE) is an essential component of many biological processes in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. This research aimed to investigate the role of FAE and its regulation mechanism in plant immunity. We identified a secreted feruloyl esterase VdFAE from the hemibiotrophic plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae. VdFAE acted as an important virulence factor during V. dahliae infection, and triggered plant defence responses, including cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana. Deletion of VdFAE led to a decrease in the degradation of ethyl ferulate. VdFAE interacted with Gossypium hirsutum protein dihydroflavanol 4‐reductase (GhDFR), a positive regulator in plant innate immunity, and promoted the degradation of GhDFR. Furthermore, silencing of GhDFR led to reduced resistance of cotton plants against V. dahliae. The results suggested a fungal virulence strategy in which a fungal pathogen secretes FAE to interact with host DFR and interfere with plant immunity, thereby promoting infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonectria ditissima infects apple trees through wounds, causing European canker. In the UK, the most important entry site for N. ditissima is leaf scar. Specific apple endophytes may contribute to cultivar resistance/tolerance to the pathogen. We assessed the relative effect of location, sampling time (season), and rootstock/scion genotype on bacterial and fungal endophyte communities in the apple leaf scar tissues of current‐season extension shoots and identified Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) with differential abundance between canker resistant and susceptible scions, and between rootstocks. Leaf scar tissues were sampled from two orchards at three times (10/2018, 06/2019 and 10/2019) for eight scion cultivars, each grafted onto two rootstocks, for profiling 16S and ITS rRNA regions. Endophyte composition was primarily affected by season (autumn vs. spring) and location (sites and blocks within site). There was a significant reduction in the community size in the spring, particularly for fungi, and species turnover between autumn and spring. This seasonal dynamics suggest that to protect leaf scars from N. ditissima infection in the autumn specific endophytes suppressing canker may have to be augmented annually around the leaf‐fall time. Scion and rootstock genotypes had limited effects on the endophyte community. A group of resistant cultivars differed from a group of susceptible ones in the relative abundance of many bacterial and fungal OTUs, most of which had low reads numbers. Nevertheless, several OTUs with high reads numbers differed in their relative abundance between resistant and susceptible scions, including OTUs from Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, Vishniacozyma and Rhodotorula babjevae, and warrant further investigation for their potential role in host resistance/tolerance against N. ditissima. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Haemoglobin H (Hb H) disease (intermediate status of α‐thalassemia) shows marked phenotypic variability from asymptomatic to severe anaemia. Apart from the combined β‐thalassemia allele ameliorating clinical severity, reports of genetic modifier genes affecting the phenotype of Hb H disease are scarce which bring inconvenience to precise diagnosis and genetic counselling of the patients. Here, we present a novel mutation (c.948C>A, p.S316R) in the PIP4K2A gene in a female Hb H disease patient who displayed moderate anaemia and a relatively high Hb H level. Haematological analysis in her family members revealed that individuals carrying this mutation have upregulated β‐globin expression, leading to a more imbalanced β/α‐globin ratio and more Hb H inclusion bodies in peripheral red blood cells. According to functional experiments, the mutant PIP4K2A protein exhibits enhanced protein stability, increased kinase activity and a stronger regulatory effect on downstream proteins, suggesting a gain‐of‐function mutation. Moreover, introduction of the S316R mutation into HUDEP‐2 cells increased expression of β‐globin, further inhibiting erythroid differentiation and terminal enucleation. Thus, the S316R mutation is a novel genetic factor associated with β‐globin expression, and the PIP4K2A gene is a new potential modifier gene affecting the α‐thalassemia phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although considerable progress has been made in the molecular biology of Colorectal cancer (CRC), novel approaches are still required to uncover the detailed molecular mechanism of CRC. We aim to explore the potential negatively regulated miRNA-mRNA pairs and investigate their regulatory roles so as to elaborate the potential roles of the critical proteins in the signaling pathways enriched by the differential target genes of negatively regulated miRNA in CRC. Firstly, the differential miRNA-mRNA pairs were selected, followed by pairs of miRNA and their target genes. The obtained relationships were subjected to do functional enrichment analysis and those enriched in CRC pathways were chose to further construct a protein interaction network. Finally, we analyzed the regulatory roles of these relationships and constructed a regulatory network of negatively regulated miRNA and mRNA relationships. A total of 372 pairs of miRNA-mRNA were found and 108 target genes of miRNA were obtained. Three miRNAs including hsa-mir-23b, hsa-mir-365-1 and hsa-mir-365-2 showed significant influence on prognosis of CRC patients. To conclude, the miRNA/mRNA deregulations pairs identified in this study have high potentials to be further applied in diagnosis and treatment of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method without assisted of external magnetic field or surfactant soft templates was utilized to fabricate ultra-long cobalt chains. The formation mechanism was investigated by time dependent experiment, and it was considered that the link of adjacent spherical particles were through dipolar interaction. Due to the preferred orientation and shape anisotropy of the chain structure, the coercively ( H c ) value was about 84.5 Oe and saturation magnetization value was up to 149 emu/g at room temperature. To develop its further practical application, the products with regard to accelerate the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate revealed that it exhibited an outstanding performance of reducing the thermal decomposition temperature. This excellent performance has great practical significance on the development of solid rocket fuels. The mechanism of the excellent performance probably ascribed to the synergistic effect of cobalt and cobalt oxide was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease worldwide on cultivated cereals, caused by several Fusarium species. FHB can cause not only yield reduction but also accumulation of mycotoxins in the grain contaminating the food supply. Much of the earlier research has focused on Fusarium pathogenesis, conditions required for disease development and toxin accumulation, and FHB management. However, the Fusarium community composition within the micro‐habitat of a single diseased wheat head in the field has had limited investigation. Similarly, the relationship between the Fusarium community structure and mycotoxin accumulation within diseased heads remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the Fusarium community in diseased heads sampled from different geographical sites in China. Several sites in Shandong province formed a transitional region which contained highly variable profiles of Fusarium OTUs, where a single diseased head could contain more than 10 Fusarium OTUs. Mycotoxin accumulation was independent of geographical properties, however, deoxynivalenol, 15‐acetyldeoxynivalenol and zearalenone concentrations showed a significant negative correlation with Fusarium diversity on diseased heads while a significant positive correlation between nivalenol concentration and Fusarium diversity was observed. Taken together, the Fusarium OTU diversity within diseased heads in the field significantly influences mycotoxin accumulation, providing an important point to consider in FHB disease management and mycotoxin research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to quantitatively study the effect of the modulus ratio of matrix polymer to toughening modifier on the brittle-ductile transition (BDT) of the blends, the modulus ratio of polypropylene (PP) to impact modifier at various temperatures was obtained from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results. The modulus ratio changed continuously from nearly 1 to more than 100 by increasing temperature from − 100 to 50 °C. Accordingly, the impact property of the PP/POE blends within a wide composition range was studied at various temperatures by notched impact strength test. The variations of the notched impact strength with the modulus ratio were thereby obtained for various PP/POE blends. The result shows that a clear sharp BDT appeared with increasing the modulus ratio and the critical modulus ratio is 10, that is, the modulus of impact modifier must be one tenth of that of polymer matrix in order to be effective. In addition, the effect of the microstructure on the BDT of PP/POE blends was also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the increasingly wide application of intelligent electronics, triboelectric nanogenerator [TENG], as a promising sustainable micro-power source has attracted considerable attention recently. However, most of the reported research focuses on negative triboelectric materials, while research on alternative positive tribo-layers is still limited. In this study, a new highly fluorinated covalent organic framework [COF] Tp-TFAB is successfully synthesized and utilized as positive triboelectric materials for high-performance TENGs. Unusually, compared with the non-fluorinated Tp-TAPB COF, both the pristine Tp-TFAB COF and corresponding hybrid films with polyvinyl alcohol [PVA] based TENGs demonstrate much higher triboelectric performance. Especially, a PVC-PVA/FTC TENG composed of polyvinyl chloride [PVC] and hybrid PVA/Tp-TFAB [PVA/FTC] films reveal much superior triboelectric performance with a short-circuit current density of26.34 mA m-2, a transferred charge density of 148.5 μC m-2, and a maximum peak power density of 8.24 W m-2, nearly six times higher than that of the PVC-PVA TENG. Detailed investigations revealed that the fluorinated Tp-TFAB COF has enhanced electron donating ability, which significantly boosts the triboelectric output of TENGs. This study provides an effective strategy of chemically designing and synthesizing new alternative triboelectric materials, which will pave the way to significantly enhance the triboelectric performance of TENGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We assessed the effect of exposing apple orchard soil to different temperatures and CO2 levels on the resident microbiome of soils from a conventionally managed and an organically managed apple orchard. The key difference between these two orchards was that synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are routinely used in the former one. Methods and results To investigate the effect of CO2 and temperature, soil samples from each site at two depths were exposed to either elevated temperature (29°C) at either 5000 or 10 000 ppm for five weeks or control conditions (25°C + 400 ppm). Both bacterial and fungal communities were profiled with amplicon-sequencing. The differences between the two orchards were the most significant factor affecting the bacterial and fungal communities, contributing to 53.7–14.0% of the variance in Bray–Curtis β diversity, respectively. Elevated CO2 concentration and increased temperature affected organic orchard microbial diversity more than the conventionally managed orchard. A number of candidate beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms had differential abundances when temperature and CO2 were elevated, but their effect on the plant is unclear. Conclusions This study has highlighted that microbial communities in bulk soils are most significantly influenced by crop management practices compared to the climate conditions used in the study. The studied climate conditions had a more limited effect on microbial community diversity in conventionally managed soil samples than in organically managed soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiO nanorods and microflowers were successfully achieved via a hydrothermal reaction without any surfactant and then a post heat treatment process. Characterization methods, such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, were employed to systematically investigate the mechanism for the morphology evolution, as well as the transformation of phase structure. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of NiO with different morphologies were also examined and it was found that these properties were pretty sensitive to the morphology. Compared with the nanorods, the flower-like NiO nanostructures showed a great enhancement of the ferromagnetic properties. The catalytic activities of NiO with different morphologies were investigated through the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP). AP exhibited relatively low decomposition temperature and fast reaction rate in the catalyzed formations making NiO with microflower structure an effective catalyst. This study provided a facile way to control the morphology of NiO nanostructures, which also indicates the potential application of the nanostructures, with the modified magnetic properties, in modern science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]