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The Hainan muntjac (Muntiacus nigripes) is a wild animal endemic to Hainan, China. Its species distribution and the diversity of muntjac karyotypes have attracted much attention. Although genomic resources have increased in recent years, relevant genome assembly data of Hainan muntjac are still lacking. Meanwhile, molecular evidence for the taxonomic units of this species remains lacking. In this study, we successfully assembled the Hainan muntjac haplotype genome at the chromosome level using Pacbio long read and long sequencing technologies and Hi-C data. The final assembly size was 2.66 Gb, with allele and scaffold N50 values of 29.27 and 700.27 Mb, respectively, and we scaffolded the genome sequence onto three chromosomes. The genome contains a total of 21,451 genes and 10,056 gene families. Phylogenetic analysis using single-copy gene families revealed that Hainan muntjac is most closely related to red muntjac, with a divergence time of 8–11 Ma. This new genomic resource of Hainan muntjac will be crucial for future comparative genomic analyses and genetic evolutionary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High-quality goatskins are valuable byproducts usually produced by indigenous goat breeds with poorer production performance in Asia and Africa. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms underpinning goatskin's biomechanical properties (e.g., tensile strength) remain elusive. Mechanistic exploration of these traits could greatly aid the genetic improvement and genetic resource conservation of native breeds in these regions. To fulfill this purpose, we collected skin tissues from three goat breeds: Huai goat (HG), a Chinese native variety producing high-quality goatskins; Yudong meat goat (YDMG), a crossbreed of HG and Boer goat; Henan dairy goat (HNDG), a dairy goat breed. Results: Scanning electronic microscopy analysis of skin tissues found that the collagen fiber diameters, collagen fibril diameters, and crimps significantly differed among the three goat breeds; however, collagen fibril diameters are similar in HG and HNDG. A sum of 230, 775, and 86 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from YDMG versus HNDG, HG versus HNDG, and YDMG versus HG, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that signaling pathways involved in fatty acid, retinol, steroid metabolisms, and GO items related to the physical properties of the skin (e.g., collagen-containing extracellular matrix) are significantly overrepresented in DEGs identified from meat versus dairy goats. Furthermore, 106 DEGs (e.g., COL1A1, COL1A2, and SPARC) showed specific expression patterns in HG and YDMG versus HNDG. Items about biophysical features of skin (e.g., extracellular matrix organization and ECM proteoglycans) are markedly enriched. Protein-protein interaction analysis suggested that two growth factors (IGF1 and PDGFD) are latent collagen and other ECM protein expression modulators. Conclusion: Ultrastructural analysis of goat skin tissues suggested that collagen fibril diameter is not a major factor affecting goatskin quality. Transcriptomic profiles unveiled core genes and associated biological processes potentially involved in regulating goatskin quality. These discoveries shined new light on deeper understanding the mechanisms of hide-related traits in goat and other livestock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of IoT devices has penetrated our daily life while posing new challenges in user authentication. Today's solutions, e.g., passwords, fingerprints, and FaceIDs, primarily rely on specialized sensors or user interfaces to collect user's identification information, which may not universally exist on heterogeneous IoT devices. In this paper, we propose a novel user authentication method that exploits the Electromagnetic (EM) emanations radiated from IoT devices. Our design is motivated by the observation that human touches on the IoT device can lead to time-varying coupling between these two. Consequently, it impacts the device's EM emanations that can be picked up by its inertial ADC (analog-to-digital converter) interfaces. We ask the user to tap on the device rhythmically following a self-determined melody, such that the human-coupled EM emanations vary accordingly. We thus extract the rhythm pattern as the user's secure password named EM-Rhythm. To examine its effectiveness, EM-Rhythm is implemented on a wide range of IoT devices. We show that our scheme achieves authentication accuracy as high as 98.67% with less than three login attempts. Besides, it is robust against various types of attacks and maintains stable performances under various settings. EM-Rhythm also exhibits satisfactory usability in terms of memorability and time consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin and soft-tissue infections require significant consideration because of their prolonged treatment duration and propensity to rapidly progress, resulting in severe complications. The primary challenge in their treatment stems from the involvement of drug-resistant microorganisms that can form impermeable biofilms, as well as the possibility of infection extending deep into tissues, thereby complicating drug delivery. Dissolving microneedle patches are an innovative transdermal drug-delivery system that effectively enhances drug penetration through the stratum corneum barrier, thereby increasing drug concentration at the site of infection. They offer highly efficient, safe, and patient-friendly alternatives to conventional topical formulations. This comprehensive review focuses on recent advances and emerging trends in dissolving-microneedle technology for antimicrobial skin-infection therapy. Conventional antibiotic microneedles are compared with those based on emerging antimicrobial agents, such as quorum-sensing inhibitors, antimicrobial peptides, and antimicrobial-matrix materials. The review also highlights the potential of innovative microneedles incorporating chemodynamic, nanoenzyme antimicrobial, photodynamic, and photothermal antibacterial therapies. This review explores the advantages of various antimicrobial therapies and emphasizes the potential of their combined application to improve the efficacy of microneedles. Finally, this review analyzes the druggability of different antimicrobial microneedles and discusses possible future developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Plasma-assisted phosphorization has been used to prepare defect-rich metal phosphides. The p-NiCoP/NCF@CC shows high activities and excellent stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction. The p-NiCoP/NCF@CC shows great potential for overall water splitting. This work reports the use of defect engineering and carbon supporting to achieve metal-doped phosphides with high activities and stabilities for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. Specifically, the nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber-supported Ni-doped CoP3 with rich P defects (Pv·) on the carbon cloth (p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC) is synthesized through a plasma-assisted phosphorization method. The p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC is an efficient and stable catalyst for the HER and the OER. It only needs overpotentials of 107 and 306 mV to drive 100 mA cm−2 for the HER and the OER, respectively. Its catalytic activities are higher than those of other catalysts reported recently. The high activities of the p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC mainly arise from its peculiar structural features. The density functional theory calculation indicates that the Pv· richness, the Ni doping, and the carbon supporting can optimize the adsorption of the H atoms at the catalyst surface and promote the strong electronic couplings between the carbon nanofiber-supported p-NiCoP with the surface oxide layer formed during the OER process. This gives the p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC with the high activities for the HER and the OER. When used in alkaline water electrolyzers, the p-NiCoP/NCFs@CC shows the superior activity and excellent stability for overall water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanotube (CNT) films, as two-dimensional assemblies of CNT, have attracted much interest and are widely used in many fields due to their unique structures and excellent performance. However, the preparation of high-strength and multiply recyclable CNT films remains a challenge in the sustainable development of traditional disposable CNT materials with permanent cross-links. Here, we prepare end-thiol hyperbranched polymers (BTHP-n, n = 6, 12, 24) to modify CNT film via thiol–ene click reaction. BTHP not only increases simultaneously the tensile strength, electrical conductivity, modulus, toughness by 1690, 257, 1867, and 2316%, respectively, but also remarkably improves the wettability and recyclability of CNT film. The enhancement mechanism is the combined effect of cross-linking structure between CNTs, rigid benzene and hexahydro-s-triazine rings, hyperbranched topological structure, and hydrogen bond interactions between polymer molecules. The detailed analysis of the degradation of the polymer in the modified CNT film (BTCNT) is attributed to the cleavage of the C–N and amide bonds. The close-loop recycled CNT film (100%) and monomer (72.15%) are reused to realize the cycles of BTCNT, which has good cycle performance with above 90 and 87% maintenance rate in tensile strength and electrical conductivity, respectively. This paper is hopeful to bring an applicable approach to solve the difficulty of recycling CNT films in traditional materials with permanent cross-links, while promoting the widespread application and sustainable development of CNT films in the field of flexible wearable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Copy number variation (CNV) is a critical component of genome structural variation and has garnered significant attention. High-throughput screening of the KCNJ15 gene has revealed a correlation between the CNV region and the growth traits of goats. We aimed to identify the CNV of the KCNJ15 gene in five goat breeds and analyze its association with growth characteristics. (2) Methods: We utilized 706 goats from five breeds: Guizhou black goat (GZB), Guizhou white goat (GZW), Bohuai goat (BH), Huai goat (HH), and Taihang goat (TH). To evaluate the number of copies of the KCNJ15 gene using qPCR, we analyzed the correlation between the CNV and growth characteristics and then used a universal linear model. The findings revealed variations in the distribution of different copy number types among the different goat breeds. (3) Results: Association analysis revealed a positive influence of the CNV in the KCNJ15 gene on goat growth. In GZB, individuals with duplication types exhibited superior performance in terms of cannon bone circumference (p < 0.05). In HH, individuals with duplication types exhibited superior performance in terms of body slanting length (p < 0.05). Conversely, normal TH demonstrated better body height and body weight (p < 0.05), while in GZW, when CN = 3, it performed better than other types in terms of body weight and chest circumference (p < 0.05). However, in BH, it had no significant effect on growth traits. (4) Conclusions: We confirmed that the CNV in the KCNJ15 gene significantly influences the growth characteristics of four distinct goat breeds. The correlation between KCNJ15 gene CNVs and goat growth traits offers valuable insights to breeders, enabling them to employ precise and efficient breeding methods that enhance livestock welfare, productivity, and overall economic benefits in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CNVs (copy number variations) are the novel and common structural variants that could cover entire genes found in plenty of species. CNV may influence economically important traits or disease susceptibility in livestock species. Based on the whole genome resequencing results, we found that there was a CNV region on the LRRFIP1 gene. Then we used qPCR to detect the copy number type distribution in 553 individuals of four sheep breeds and used them for association analysis. The results showed that: (1) In the CKS, the sheep with gain type had a larger heart girth (p = 0.049). (2) For the HS, the CNV could significantly affect rump breadth (p = 0.037) and circumference of the cannon (p = 0.035). And the sheep with median type showed better performance in rump breadth and circumference of cannon. (3) At the STHS, the CNV was significantly correlated with chest width (p = 0.000) with loss type as the most favorable CNV type. Meanwhile, the best was the loss type, and the lowest was the median. (4) This CNV had no significant effect on the LTHS. So, the CNV of LRRFIP1 was related to the growth traits of these three sheep breeds and it may be used as a molecular marker for sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast and precise pressure control for an electropneumatic brake system is essential for ensuring the safe operation of trains. However, the nonlinearity and uncertainties of the system make controller design challenging. This paper proposes a prescribed performance control method integrating an extended state observer to address this issue. A thermodynamical model of the brake cylinder is first built based on the pneumatic characteristics of the braking system, considering multiple modes, coupling effects, and input saturation. Then, an extended state observer is designed to estimate model uncertainty due to temperature variation and disturbances and to achieve online compensation of the model. A feedback control law with a specified prescribed performance function is developed based on the updated thermodynamic model to guarantee the transient and steady-state performance of the pressure control. A parameter adaptive method is also utilized to handle input saturation. The observer's bounded convergence and stability analysis of the closed-loop control system is given using the Lyapunov theory. Compared experimental results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardinality estimation, which aims at accurately estimating the result size of queries, is a fundamental task in database query processing and optimization. One of the most recent and effective solutions to this problem is the use of deep autoregressive models to obtain joint probability distributions through unsupervised learning. However, due to the data sparsity, it is difficult for the estimator to accurately capture the actual distribution, which affects the accuracy of the cardinality estimation. In addition, autoregressive estimators' progressive sampling characteristics are prone to error propagation, which is more evident in high-dimensional data. To reduce the autoregressive cardinality estimation error and to obtain a better trade-off between estimate accuracy and latency, we propose a random smoothing autoregressive cardinality estimation model (SAM-CE), which uses a random smoothing technique combined with a deep autoregressive model to simplify the learning of joint probability distributions. A smooth progressive sampling method that is suitable for range queries is designed to improve the estimator accuracy by improving the sample quality. We conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed SAM-CE. The results show that SAM-CE achieves the state of the art effectiveness of cardinality estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightweighting of automotives is crucial for the decrease of fuel and energy consumption, as well as CO2 emission and environmental pollution. Polymer composites, especially the high strength glass fiber/polyamide (GF/PA) composites, have great potential in lightweight; however, they have not been universally accepted due to their insufficient performance. Here, a stearate‐ended hyperbranched polyester (HBP‐12‐n) is designed and high‐performance GF/PA6 composites with high GF content are prepared. The flowability of the composites can be further increased by combining carboxyl‐ended hyperbranched polymer (HyPer C181) with HBP‐12‐n. Compared with unmodified GF/PA6 composites, the melt flow index (MFI) can be increased remarkably to 587% by adding a 0.7 wt% mixture of HBP‐12‐75 and HyPer C181, and the strength and toughness remain competitive. The simultaneous improvement in MFI and impact strength of GF/PA6 composites is the first discovery of this kind, and a synergistic mechanism of amphiphilic bridging‐deformation slipping‐interfacial strengthening of hyperbranched polymers is proposed to account for this phenomenon. This work provides a simple strategy to fabricate GF/PA6 composites with the extensive application for automotive parts and has great prospects in making automotives lightweight and reduction of CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Coiled-coil serine-rich protein 1 (CCSER1) gene is reported to be related to economic traits in livestock, and become a hotspot. In our study, we detected CCSER1 gene CNV in 693 goats from six breeds (GZB, GZW, AN, BH, HG, TH) by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and the association analysis between the types of CNV and growth traits. Then, CCSER1 gene expression pattern was discovered in seven tissues from NB goats. Our results showed that the CCSER1 gene copy numbers were distributed differently in the aforementioned six breeds. The type of CCSER1 gene CNV was significantly associated with body weight and heart girth traits in GZW goat, in which individuals with deletion type were dominant in body weight trait (P < 0.05), while the normal type individuals were more advantageous in heart girth trait (P < 0.01); and there was a significant association with heart girth in TH goat (P < 0.05), which normal type was the dominant one. The expression profile revealed that CCSER1 gene has the highest level in the lung, followed by the small intestine and heart. In conclusion, our result is dedicated to an in-depth study of the novel CCSER1 gene CNV site and to provide essential information for Chinese goats molecular selective breeding in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variant (CNV), a common genetic polymorphism, is closely related to the phenotypic variation traits of organisms. Vesicle-associated membrane protein 7 gene (VAMP7) codes a protein, which is a member of the SNARE proteins family and plays an important role in the process of intracellular vesicle transport. In this study, a total of four cattle breeds (Yunling cattle, Xianan cattle, Pinan cattle, Jiaxian red cattle) were used to investigate the copy numbers, and we found an association relationship between CNV of VAMP7 gene and growth traits of cattle by SPSS 20.0 software. The results showed that the CNV type of VAMP7 gene in four cattle breeds had the same distribution, Duplication type occupies a dominant position among the four varieties. In Yunling cattle, the Duplication type of VAMP7 is significantly related to the height at the hip cross (p < 0.05), Individuals with Duplication type commonly have less performance on growth and development, which indicates that the Duplication type of the VAMP7 gene may have a negative effect on cattle growth. Individuals with the other two CNV types may become the breeding direction of the VAMP7 gene. This study provided a new perspective and basic material for the molecular genetics of the CNV of the VAMP7 gene, and also promoted the breeding progress of Chinese local cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in the pathogenicity of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), the agent causing Newcastle disease, are associated with variants of different virulence. A few studies have characterized the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in NDV-infected avian cells. Here, the expression of miRNAs in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) infected with Herts/33 and LaSota NDV strains (highly virulent and nonvirulent, respectively) was determined using RNA sequencing. miRNAs involved in NDV infection included 562 previously documented and 184 novel miRNAs. miRNA target genes involved transcription factors, cell apoptosis, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum. Potential target genes associated with autophagy were verified by qRT-PCR. No studies have documented the miRNA profiles of CEFs infected with NDVs variants. This study adds to our knowledge of the cellular miRNAs involved in NDV infection and the complex molecular mechanisms mediating virus-host interactions. The results of this study will aid the development of strategies against the chicken virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are particularly important for tumor cell growth and migration, and recurrence and drug resistance, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The purpose of this study was to explore stemness-related lncRNAs (SRlncRNAs) that could be used for prognosis of patients with HNSCC. HNSCC RNA sequencing data and matched clinical data were obtained from TCGA database, and stem cell characteristic genes related to HNSCC mRNAsi were obtained from the online database by WGCNA analysis, respectively. Further, SRlncRNAs were obtained. Then, the prognostic model was constructed to forecast patient survival through univariate Cox regression and LASSO-Cox method based on SRlncRNAs. Kaplan–Meier, ROC and AUC were used to evaluate the predictive ability of the model. Moreover, we probed the underlying biological functions, signalling pathways and immune status hidden within differences in prognosis of patients. We explored whether the model could guide personalized treatments included immunotherapy and chemotherapy for HNSCC patients. At last, RT‐qPCR was performed to analyze the expressions levels of SRlncRNAs in HNSCC cell lines. A SRlncRNAs signature was identified based on 5 SRlncRNAs (AC004943.2, AL022328.1, MIR9-3HG, AC015878.1 and FOXD2-AS1) in HNSCC. Also, risk scores were correlated with the abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, whereas HNSCC-nominated chemotherapy drugs were considerably different from one another. The final finding was that these SRlncRNAs were abnormally expressed in HNSCCCS according to the results of RT-qPCR. These 5 SRlncRNAs signature, as a potential prognostic biomarker, can be utilized for personalized medicine in HNSCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cross breeding is an important way to improve livestock performance. As an important livestock and poultry resource in Henan Province of China, Bohuai goat was formed by crossing Boer goat and Huai goat. After more than 20 years of breeding, BoHuai goats showed many advantages, such as fast growth, good reproductive performance, and high meat yield. In order to better develop and protect Bohuai goats, we sequenced the whole genomes of 30 BoHuai goats and 5 Huai goats to analyze the genetic diversity, population structure and genomic regions under selection of BoHuai goat. Furthermore, we used 126 published genomes of world-wide goat to characterize the genomic variation of BoHuai goat. Results: The results showed that the nucleotide diversity of BoHuai goats was lower and the degree of linkage imbalance was higher than that of other breeds. The analysis of population structure showed that BoHuai goats have obvious differences from other goat breeds. In addition, the BoHuai goat is more closely related to the Boer goat than the Huai goat and is highly similar to the Boer goat. Group by selection signal in the BoHuai goat study, we found that one region on chromosome 7 shows a very strong selection signal, which suggests that it could well be the segment region under the intense artificial selection results. Through selective sweeps, we detected some genes related to important traits such as lipid metabolism (LDLR, STAR, ANGPTL8), fertility (STAR), and disease resistance (CD274, DHPS, PDCD1LG2). Conclusion: In this paper, we elucidated the genomic variation, ancestry composition, and selective signals related to important economic traits in BoHuai goats. Our studies on the genome of BoHuai goats will not only help to understand the characteristics of the crossbred but also provide a basis for the improvement of cross-breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNA393 (miR393) has been shown to regulate plant water stress tolerance through an auxin signaling pathway. However, its role in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) has not yet been reported. Here, we examined the expression pattern of miR393 family members and their target gene GmTIR1 in water-stressed roots. Subsequently, we analyzed the functions of miR393 in the regulation of water stress tolerance and its relationship with GmTIR1 and abscisic acid (ABA) using a transgenic hairy root assay. Under water stress, miR393 family genes exhibited diverse expression patterns. Overexpression and knockdown analysis demonstrated that miR393a reduced water stress tolerance as measured by root vigor, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), and relative water content (RWC). Moreover, miR393a also caused down-regulation of GmTIR1A and GmTIR1B expression, an early decrease in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels, early and late declines in ABA content and antioxidant activities, and a late elevation of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in stressed hairy roots. However, overexpression and RNAi analyses showed that GmTIR1A and GmTIR1B triggered an early increase in H2O2, a rise in antioxidant activities during the early and late stages, a late decline in H2O2 and MDA contents, and a rise in root vigor, Pn, and RWC under water stress. Similarly, exogenously supplied ABA caused early H2O2 accumulation, early and late increases in antioxidant capacity, and a late decrease in oxidative damage in stressed miR393a-overexpressing roots. Therefore, our study presents a valuable model in which miR393a prevents early GmTIR1- and ABA-dependent increases in H2O2 and thus triggers a rise in antioxidant capacity, root vigor, RWC, and Pn, consequently decreasing water stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High oxidative stress injury and bacterial infection are the main challenges that impair wound healing in diabetic patients. Therefore, a hydrogel with enhanced antimicrobial and antioxidant properties was developed for rapid healing of diabetic wounds. In this study, chitosan methacrylate-gallic acid (CSMA-GA) polymer with antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, and ultraviolet (UV)-triggered gelling properties was developed as a hydrogel precursor. Meanwhile, amphiphilic Pluronic F127 molecules were used to load hydrophobic chlorhexidine drug molecules to obtain F127/chlorhexidine nanoparticle (NP) with strong antibacterial activity. Subsequently, F127/chlorhexidine NPs were encapsulated in CSMA-GA hydrogel to further enhance its antibacterial activity. The hybrid hydrogel platform (CSMA-GA/F127/chlorhexidine (CMGFC)) exhibited high antibacterial efficiency (> 99.9%) and strong reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability (> 80.0%), which effectively protected cells from external oxidative stress (upregulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione/oxidized glutathione disulfide (GSH/GSSG) levels and downregulated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels). Moreover, in vivo results proved that the CMGFC hydrogel significantly reduced inflammatory responses (downregulated interleukin-6 (IL-6) and upregulated interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels), promoted angiogenesis (upregulated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD 31) levels), and wound healing (enhanced collagen deposition and tissue remodelling). Overall, the CMGFC hydrogel with enhanced antimicrobial and antioxidant properties demonstrated significant potential to enhance diabetic wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced diabetic wound repair remained a global challenge. Herein, we reported a novel hydrogel with glucose-responsive hyperglycemia regulation and antioxidant activity for enhanced diabetic wound repair. In this study, gallic acid (GA) with strong antioxidant activity was grafted onto chitosan (CS) chains by one-step synthesis, and then incorporated into poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA) hydrogel matrix to obtain a novel antioxidant hybrid hydrogel (PEG-DA/CS-GA). Meanwhile, polyethyleneimine (PEI) was modified with a unique glucose-sensitive phenylboronic acid (PBA) molecule to load insulin (PEI-PBA/insulin nano-particles, PEI-PBA/insulin NPs), which could be immobilized in the PEG-DA/CS-GA hybrid hydrogel by the formation of dynamic borate bond between the phenylboronic acid groups on the PEI-PBA and the polyphenol groups on the CS-GA. The results indicated that the PEG-DA/PEI-PBA/insulin/CS-GA (PPIC) hydrogel platform not only had remarkable biocompatibility, but also displayed extraordinary antioxidant properties (DPPH scavenging rate > 95.0%), and effectively protected cells from oxidative damage (decreased MDA levels, increased Superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and stable GSH/GSSG levels). Meanwhile, the PPIC hydrogel also exhibited unique glucose-responsive insulin release characteristics, and effectively regulated the blood glucose level. The in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that our PPIC hydrogel could promoted angiogenesis (increased VEGF and CD 31 expression), reshaped the inflammatory microenvironment (decreased IL-6 and increased IL-10 level), and achieved wound closure within 20 days. All these results strongly indicated that the PPIC hydrogel represented a tough and efficient platform for diabetic wound treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balanced clustering, which generates clusters of similar sizes, can be useful in a variety of applications. However, existing clustering algorithms either cannot guarantee balanced clustering results or require relatively high time complexities for balanced clustering. In this work, we propose a constrained balanced clustering method, which is referred to as τ-balanced clustering, to generate clusters with a controllable balance degree. The proposed method constrains the cluster sizes in the cluster assignment phase based on an established cluster bound size and an established bound for the number of largest clusters. Second, we optimize the basic τ-balanced clustering method by reducing some unnecessary calculations with two-level filtering. Third, we also design a parallel version for the basic τ-balanced clustering method and the optimized method on GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), to enhance the execution efficiency with high parallelism. Finally, we conduct a series of experiments on nine benchmark datasets to verify the proposed methods. The experimental results show that our methods successfully outperform the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paspaline‐derived indole diterpenes (IDTs) are structurally complex mycotoxins with unique tremorgenic activity. Reported are asymmetric total syntheses of three paspaline‐derived IDTs paspalicine, paspalinine and paspalinine‐13‐ene. Our synthesis features a green Achmatowicz rearrangement/bicycloketalization for the efficient construction of FG rings (75 % yield) and a cascade ring‐closing metathesis of dienyne for highly regioselective formation of CD rings (72 % yield). Other highlights include four palladium‐mediated reactions (Stille, aza‐Wacker, Suzuki, and Heck) to forge the BE rings and the installation of two continuous all‐carbon quaternary stereocenters via reductive ring‐opening of cyclopropane and α‐methylation of the conjugate ester. Our new synthetic strategy is expected to be applicable to the chemical synthesis of other paspaline‐derived IDTs and will facilitate the bioactivity studies of these agriculturally and pharmacologically important IDTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paspaline‐derived indole diterpenes (IDTs) are structurally complex mycotoxins with unique tremorgenic activity. Reported are asymmetric total syntheses of three paspaline‐derived IDTs paspalicine, paspalinine and paspalinine‐13‐ene. Our synthesis features a green Achmatowicz rearrangement/bicycloketalization for the efficient construction of FG rings (75 % yield) and a cascade ring‐closing metathesis of dienyne for highly regioselective formation of CD rings (72 % yield). Other highlights include four palladium‐mediated reactions (Stille, aza‐Wacker, Suzuki, and Heck) to forge the BE rings and the installation of two continuous all‐carbon quaternary stereocenters via reductive ring‐opening of cyclopropane and α‐methylation of the conjugate ester. Our new synthetic strategy is expected to be applicable to the chemical synthesis of other paspaline‐derived IDTs and will facilitate the bioactivity studies of these agriculturally and pharmacologically important IDTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variation (CNV) has been used as an important source of phenotypic and genetic diversity in recent years. Nicastrin (NCSTN) gene is usually attached to human diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and Acne inversa. However, there are no essays about the NCSTN gene combining with cattle breeds. In our study, we discovered different distributions of NCSTN gene copy number and associated it with phenotypic traits in four Chinese yellow cattle breeds (XN, PN, QC and YL). The result turned out that the CNV of the NCSTN gene was associated with several growth traits, such as cannon circumference, chest girth and rump length (p < 0.05). In general, we revealed the eminence over CNV of NCSTN gene and economic traits, suggesting that the CNV of the NCSTN gene can be considered to be a promising molecular breeding marker of Chinese beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Native cattle breeds are an important source of genetic variation because they might carry alleles that enable them to adapt to local environment and tough feeding conditions. Jiaxian Red, a Chinese native cattle breed, is reported to have originated from crossbreeding between taurine and indicine cattle; their history as a draft and meat animal dates back at least 30 years. Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data of 30 animals from the core breeding farm, we investigated the genetic diversity, population structure and genomic regions under selection of Jiaxian Red cattle. Furthermore, we used 131 published genomes of world-wide cattle to characterize the genomic variation of Jiaxian Red cattle. Results: The population structure analysis revealed that Jiaxian Red cattle harboured the ancestry with East Asian taurine (0.493), Chinese indicine (0.379), European taurine (0.095) and Indian indicine (0.033). Three methods (nucleotide diversity, linkage disequilibrium decay and runs of homozygosity) implied the relatively high genomic diversity in Jiaxian Red cattle. We used θπ, CLR, FST and XP-EHH methods to look for the candidate signatures of positive selection in Jiaxian Red cattle. A total number of 171 (θπ and CLR) and 17 (FST and XP-EHH) shared genes were identified using different detection strategies. Functional annotation analysis revealed that these genes are potentially responsible for growth and feed efficiency (CCSER1), meat quality traits (ROCK2, PPP1R12A, CYB5R4, EYA3, PHACTR1), fertility (RFX4, SRD5A2) and immune system response (SLAMF1, CD84 and SLAMF6). Conclusion: We provide a comprehensive overview of sequence variations in Jiaxian Red cattle genomes. Selection signatures were detected in genomic regions that are possibly related to economically important traits in Jiaxian Red cattle. We observed a high level of genomic diversity and low inbreeding in Jiaxian Red cattle. These results provide a basis for further resource protection and breeding improvement of this breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report a facile method to prepare P, N co‐doped porous carbon (PNPC) by the carbonization of covalent organic polymer (COP) used as efficient metal‐free electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Overpotential is only 150 mV for the PNPC electrocatalyst to reach 10 mA cm−2 in the acidic medium due to the heteroatom dopants in the carbon matrix; meanwhile, stable HER activity is recorded during 5000 potential cycles. Additionally, overpotential is 343 mV for PNPC electrocatalyst to drive OER catalysis with 10 mA cm−2, which is comparable to the benchmarked IrO2 (320 mV). Similarly, PNPC electrocatalyst can achieve a Pt‐like ORR catalytic activity. The power density of the assembled rechargeable zinc‐air battery (ZAB) is 1.8 times higher than that of the commercial system (Pt/C−IrO2) and charge‐discharge voltage gap is well maintained during 20 h test, implying the high stability of the formed PNPC electrocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of a degradable high-performing thermoset without using organic solvents is critical for the understanding and sustainable development of homogeneous structures with simultaneous reinforcement and toughening functions. Here, we report a novel degradable and recyclable thermoset hyperbranched epoxy resin (EFTH-n) synthesized from bio-based 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). EFTH-n showed excellent performance on common diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) with simultaneous improvements in the impact strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, storage modulus and elongation by up to 181.84%, 60.22%, 24.08%, 32% and 58.0%, respectively. The homogeneous microstructure of EFTH-n/DGEBA composites was systematically analyzed using in situ Raman imaging, AFM, SEM, DMA, dynamic light scattering and the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, which enabled us to attribute the improvements to the synergistic effect of the crosslinking density, free volume, intermolecular cavity, hyperbranched topological structure and good compatibility between the components, which was explained by an in situ reinforcing and toughening mechanism. We concluded that EFTH-n could significantly facilitate the degradation of the cured composites under mild conditions without using organic solvents together with a FDCA recycling yield of 56.8 wt%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV) has caused significant economic losses in China since 2010. However, there is still a lack of effective methods to diagnose the disease caused by this virus, and especially to differentiate infection from vaccination. In this study, we established a novel indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) and performed a retrospective serological survey for DTMUV in Anhui province, China. Our results show that the iELISA displayed high specificity sensitivity, and with no serological cross-reaction with other duck pathogens. These findings indicate that the newly developed iELISA could be a useful screening tool for large-scale monitoring of the epidemiology of DTMUV infection in ducks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maturity group (MG) system is widely used to group soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] varieties based on their growth periods and photothermal responses. However, there is still no universal standard or quantifiable methodology for MG classification. In this study, phenological traits of 107 Chinese, 4 Far East Russian representative soybean varieties, and 113 North American reference varieties covering 13 MGs were evaluated at eight locations (ranging from 30 to 50° N) in four ecoregions of China for two consecutive years (2014 and 2015). Relative maturity groups (RMGs) were attributed to all the varieties based on the linear regression models. To decimalize the RMG values of the early‐maturing varieties belonging to MGs below 0, negative values were defined for MGs 00, 000, and 0000. The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model was used to screen 185 standard candidate varieties for MGs 0000 to VIII. This study provided a systematic and quantifiable methodology for RMG identification in soybeans. The methodology is expected to be widely adopted by soybean regionalization and germplasm exchanges throughout the world and will be helpful for characterizing the photothermal sensitivity and adaptability of the given soybean varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial shape differences are one of the most significant phenotypes in humans. It is affected largely by skull shape. However, research into the genetic basis of the craniofacial morphology has rarely been reported. The present study aimed to identify genetic variants influencing craniofacial morphology in northern Han Chinese through whole-exome sequencing (WES). Phenotypic data of the volunteers' faces and skulls were obtained through three-dimensional CT scan of the skull. A total of 48 phenotypes (35 facial and 13 cranial phenotypes) were used for the bioinformatics analysis. Four genetic loci were identified affecting the craniofacial shapes. The four candidate genes are RGPD3, IGSF3, SLC28A3, and USP40. Four single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site mutations in RGPD3, IGSF3, and USP40 were significantly associated with the skull shape (p < 1×10−6), and three SNP site mutations in RGPD3, IGSF3, and SLC28A3 were significantly associated with the facial shape (p < 1×10−6). The rs62152530 site mutation in the RGPD3 gene may be closely associated with the nasal length, ear length, and alar width. The rs647711 site mutation in the IGSF3 gene may be closely associated with the nasal length, mandibular width, and width between the mental foramina. The rs10868138 site mutation in the SLC28A3 gene may be associated with the nasal length, alar width, width between tragus, and width between the mental foramina. The rs1048603 and rs838543 site mutations in the USP40 gene may be closely associated with the pyriform aperture width. Our findings provide useful genetic information for the determination of face morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalyst layer is essential for fuel cell performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) since electrochemical reactions occur and triple phase boundary forms in catalyst layer. Here, we report a self‐humidified platinum (Pt) electrocatalyst, in which the Pt nanoparticles were coated by 2,7‐bis(3,4‐dihydroxyphenethyl)benzo[lmn][3,8]phenanthroline‐1,3,6,8‐tetraone (NPDA) and the surfaces of Pt nanoparticles are tuned to be hydrophilic, which could adsorb the generated water and enhanced the fuel cell performance under non‐humidified operation condition. Due to the hydrophilic surfaces of Pt nanoparticles, power density of self‐humidified Pt electrocatalyst rapidly reached the maximum power density (700 mW cm−2) without any humidification; in contrast, with hydrophobic surface, power density was only (525 mW cm−2). Meanwhile, the fabricated electrocatalyst exhibits higher durability and could work under real fuel cell operation condition for 18,000 h with only 9 % decay in electrochemical surface area. A self‐humidified electrocatalyst is formed by coating with hydrophilic molecules and power density is stable with the decrement in relative humidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid advance of mobile devices, the mobile social networks (MSNs) have emerged to provide mobile social users with diverse content services. However, due to the ever increasing number of mobile social users, the evolution and topological features of MSNs should be studied for optimization. Therefore, based on the realistic trace data this paper studies the evolution and topological features of the MSNs. Firstly, the evolution feature of the MSN when time changes is discussed. Then, the topological features such as degree distribution, node distance, node closeness, and betweenness are studied. In addition, experiment results show how the MSN changes over time and prove that the MSN is a scale-free network with strong small-world features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A range of qinghaosu (artemisinin) analogues were synthesized from modified dihydroqinghao acid/aldehyde using dark singlet oxygen to trigger off the key step of the trioxane formation. The newly accessed 1,2,4-trioxanes featured a side chain extended from the carbon corresponding to the lactone carbonyl group of qinghaosu through a stable carbon-carbon single bond instead of an acetal oxygen-carbon bond in most similar analogues in the literature. Biotin and various amines were also connected to the qinghaosu core, respectively, through such a linear tether in efforts to develop hybrids and potentially useful probes in search of the in vivo targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid development of mobile communication technologies, the design of the next generation mobile social networks based on content centric architecture has been promising. However, in the content centric based mobile social networks, a huge number of interest packets needs to be forwarded. Besides, the selection of forwarding node and relay node are important to deliver the content to the destination. Therefore, in this paper, we at first present the detailed methods to select the agent node and the relay node. Then, the priorities are defined to forward the interest packets and provide the corresponding data packets, respectively. Finally, we propose the scheme to deliver the mobile social content by using the selective agent and relay nodes. The simulation experiments prove that the proposal can reduce the delay to obtain content more efficiently than other conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several multi-functional chiral building blocks derived from D-mannose are developed, which may find diverse utilities as sources of 1-hydroxy-3-methyl structural units in enantioselective synthesis of many natural products. A formal synthesis of natural dubiusamine-C is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent increase in the use of mobile devices, mobile crowd sensing (MCS) has attracted more and more attention, where mobile individuals are encouraged to collect and contribute data for common interests for different applications. However, in the real world, some of mobile individuals may not be willing to share information with others due to selfishness. So how to make the analysis of selfish behavior to encourage participants for cooperation becomes an important issue. In this paper, we firstly divide selfishness into two new types: weak selfishness and extreme selfishness. Then we develop an analytical model to evaluate the influence of selfish behavior on the information dissemination process. Numerical results demonstrate the effects of weak selfishness and extreme selfishness, respectively. In addition, the results also show the relationship among the selfish behavior, information dissemination and users' mobility pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single crystal of M-4-B was obtained by attaching the boron of BH3 to the amine linker between a tetraphenylethylene (TPE) unit and rhodamine B. M-4-B showed a novel sequential tricolor switching from dark blue to bluish-green and to a reddish color upon grinding. The boron atom played a key role in developing the single crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single crystal of M-4-B was obtained by attaching the boron of BH3 to the amine linker between a tetraphenylethylene (TPE) unit and rhodamine B. M-4-B showed a novel sequential tricolor switching from dark blue to bluish-green and to a reddish color upon grinding. The boron atom played a key role in developing the single crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust biodegradable hydrogel is constructed from two components containing G4.0 PAMAM and DOPA, which displays excellent interconnected porous 3D networks, higher mechanical strength, low and stable swelling and good biocompatibility. A mouse CSD model in vivo evidences that moderate bone-like tissue and extensive bony tissue are observed when the hydrogel is implanted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two recently identified natural phenolic homobenzyl esters, isolated from Phragmipedium calurum (an orchid) and Eupatorium fortunei TURCZ (a perennial herb in the Asteraceae family), respectively, were synthesized in enantiopure forms. By comparison of the optical rotations for the synthetic and the natural samples, the absolute configurations for the natural products were reliably assigned. The synthesis also enables establishment of the absolute configuration of a closely related natural homobenzyl alcohol and provided for the first time complete physical and spectroscopic data for two other natural homobenzyl esters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]