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A design principle was proposed to break the linear scaling relationships of key intermediates in the NORR for promoted reaction thermodynamics via modifying the surface functionalization of MXenes.

Proteomic and lipidomics analyses of WT and GmDGAT1-2 transgenic soybeans showed that GmDGAT1-2 over-expression induced lipoxygenase down-regulatation and oleoin up-regulatation, which significantly changed the compositions and total fatty acid. The main goal of soybean breeding is to increase the oil content. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is a key rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid metabolism and may regulate oil content. Herein, 10 GmDGAT genes were isolated from soybean and transferred into wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis. The total fatty acid was 1.2 times higher in T3 GmDGAT1-2 transgenic Arabidopsis seeds than in WT. Therefore, GmDGAT1-2 was transferred into WT soybean (JACK), and four T3 transgenic soybean lines were obtained. The results of high-performance gas chromatography and Soxhlet extractor showed that, compared with those of JACK, oleic acid (18:1), and total fatty acid levels in transgenic soybean plants were much higher, but linoleic acid (18:2) was lower than WT. Palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), and linolenic acid (18:3) were not significantly different. For mechanistic studies, 436 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 180 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were identified between WT (JACK) and transgenic soybean pods using proteomic and lipidomics analyses. Four lipoxygenase proteins were down-regulated in linoleic acid metabolism while four oleosin proteins were up-regulated in the final oil formation. The results showed an increase in the total fatty acid and 18:1 composition, and a decrease in the 18:2 composition of fatty acid. Our study brings new insights into soybean genetic transformation and the deep study of molecular mechanism that changes the total fatty acid, 18:1, and 18:2 compositions in GmDGAT1-2 transgenic soybean.

Background Prevalent single-cell transcriptomic profiling (scRNA-seq) methods are mainly based on the synthesis and enrichment of full-length double-stranded complementary DNA. These approaches are challenging to generate accurate quantification of transcripts when their abundance is low or their full-length amplifications are difficult. Results Based on our previous finding that Tn5 transposase can directly cut-and-tag DNA/RNA hetero-duplexes, we present SHERRY2, a specifically optimized protocol for scRNA-seq without second-strand cDNA synthesis. SHERRY2 is free of pre-amplification and eliminates the sequence-dependent bias. In comparison with other widely used scRNA-seq methods, SHERRY2 exhibits significantly higher sensitivity and accuracy even for single nuclei. Besides, SHERRY2 is simple and robust and can be easily scaled up to high-throughput experiments. When testing single lymphocytes and neuron nuclei, SHERRY2 not only obtained accurate countings of transcription factors and long non-coding RNAs, but also provided bias-free results that enriched genes in specific cellular components or functions, which outperformed other protocols. With a few thousand cells sequenced by SHERRY2, we confirmed the expression and dynamics of Myc in different cell types of germinal centers, which were previously only revealed by gene-specific amplification methods. Conclusions SHERRY2 is able to provide high sensitivity, high accuracy, and high throughput for those applications that require a high number of genes identified in each cell. It can reveal the subtle transcriptomic difference between cells and facilitate important biological discoveries.

Cats infected with feline calicivirus (FCV) often display oral ulcers and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, which can lead to death in severe cases. Antiviral therapy is one of the most effective ways to control FCV infection. Natural compounds in Chinese herbal medicines and medicinal plants provide abundant resources for research on antiviral drugs. In this study, we found that icariin (ICA), formononetin (FMN) and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CPAE) show low cytotoxicity towards F81 cells, that the three natural compounds have apparent antiviral effects on FCV in vitro, and that they can inhibit different FCV strains. Then, we found that ICA and FMN mainly function in the early stage of FCV infection, while CAPE can function in both the early and late stages of FCV infection. Finally, we found that ICA has an antagonistic effect on FMN and CAPE in FCV infection, and FMN has a synergistic effect with CAPE against FCV infection. Our results showed that ICA, FMN and CAPE may be potential drug candidates for FCV-induced diseases.

Image compression usually includes two important operations: compression and decompression. The compression process includes the operation of discarding information, while the decompression process is to retrieve the lost information. In order to make the decompressed image more similar to the original image, the classic compression methods generally adopt the process of approximately reversible compression and decompression. Inspired by the symmetric structure in classic compression methods, we propose a new symmetrical lattice generating adversarial network (SLGAN) for the remote sensing images (RSIs) compression in this paper. Several pairs of symmetrical encoder-decoder lattices are constructed to build a generator to first generate deep representative codes of images and then decode them. For each pair of encoded lattice and decoded lattice, one discriminator is constructed to perform adversarial learning with the generator. When multiple discriminators are used for all the lattices, a cooperative learning algorithm is proposed to train jointly pairs of symmetric lattices in the generator. Moreover, to enhance edges, contours, and textures in the decomposed RSIs, an enhanced Laplacian of gaussian (ELoG) loss is designed as a regularizer to train the SLGAN. Experimental results on the panchromatic images from GF2 satellite show that SLGAN outperforms other existing state-of-the-art methods.

Background Soybean (Glycine max) is a major protein and vegetable oil source. In plants, diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) can exert strong flux control, which is rate-limiting for triacylglycerol biosynthesis in seed oil formation. Methods Here, we identified soybean DGAT genes via a bioinformatics method, thereby laying a solid foundation for further research on their function. Based on our bioinformatics analyses, including gene structure, protein domain characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis, 26 DGAT putative gene family members unevenly distributed on 12 of the 20 soybean chromosomes were identified and divided into the following four groups: DGAT1, DGAT2, WS/DGAT, and cytoplasmic DGAT. Results The Ka/Ks ratio of most of these genes indicated a significant positive selection pressure. DGAT genes exhibited characteristic expression patterns in soybean tissues. The differences in the structure and expression of soybean DGAT genes revealed the diversity of their functions and the complexity of soybean fatty acid metabolism. Our findings provide important information for research on the fatty acid metabolism pathway in soybean. Furthermore, our results will help identify candidate genes for potential fatty acid-profile modifications to improve soybean seed oil content. Conclusions This is the first time that in silico studies have been used to report the genomic and proteomic characteristics of DGAT in soybean and the effect of its specific expression on organs, age, and stages.

Ingenious microstructure design and appropriate multicomponent strategies are still challenging for advanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with excellent shielding effectiveness (SE) and reliable mechanical properties in harsh environments and low filling levels. In this study, nickel@multiwalled carbon nanotubes/alumina (Ni@CNTs/Al

Interspecific hybridization of rapeseed is an important way to innovate breeding resources. This research used

Prevalent single cell transcriptomic profiling (scRNA-seq) mechods are mainly based on synthesis and enrichment of full-length double-stranded complementary DNA. These approaches are challenging to generate accurate quantification of transcripts when their abundance is low or their full-length amplifications are difficult. Based on our previous finding that Tn5 transposase can directly cut-and-tag DNA/RNA hetero-duplexes, we present SHERRY2, a specifically optimized protocol for scRNA-seq without second strand cDNA synthesis. SHERRY2 is free of pre-amplification and eliminates the sequence-dependent bias. In comparison with other widely-used scRNA-seq methods, SHERRY2 exhibits significantly higher sensitivity and accuracy even for single nuclei. Besides, SHERRY2 is simple and robust, and can be easily scaled up to high-throughput experiments. When testing single lymphocytes and neuron nuclei, SHERRY2 not only obtained accurate countings of transcription factors and long non-coding RNAs, but also provided bias-free results that enriched genes in specific cellular components or functions, which outperformed other protocols. With a few thousand cells sequenced by SHERRY2, we confirmed expression and dynamics of Myc in different cell types of germinal centers, which were previously only revealed by gene-specific amplification methods. SHERRY2 is able to provide high sensitivity, high accuracy, and high throughput for those applications that require high number of genes identified in each cell. It can reveal the subtle transcriptomic difference between cells and facilitate important biological discoveries.

Atomic-scale understanding of HfO2 ferroelectricity is important to help address many challenges in developing reliable and high-performance ferroelectric HfO2 (fe-HfO2) based devices. Though investigated from different angles, a factor that is real device-relevant and clearly deserves more attention has largely been overlooked by previous research, namely, the fe-HfO2/dielectric interface. Here, we investigate the electronic structures of several typical interfaces formed between ultrathin fe-HfO2 and oxide dielectrics in the sub-3-nm region. We find that interface formation introduces strong depolarizing fields in fe-HfO2, which is detrimental for ferroelectric polarization but can be a merit if tamed for tunneling devices, as recently demonstrated. Asymmetric oxygen distribution-induced polarity, intertwined with ferroelectric polarization or not, is also investigated as a relevant interfacial effect in real device. Though considered detrimental from certain aspects, such as inducing build-in field (independent of ferroelectric polarization) and exacerbating depolarization (intertwined with ferroelectric polarization), it can be partly balanced out by other effects, such as annealing (extrinsic) and polarity-induced defect formation (intrinsic). This work provides insights into ferroelectric-HfO2/dielectric interfaces and some useful implications for the development of devices.

Autophagy maintains homeostasis and is induced upon stress. Yet, its mechanistic interaction with oncogenic signaling remains elusive. Here, we show that in BRAFV600E-melanoma, autophagy is induced by BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi), as part of a transcriptional program coordinating lysosome biogenesis/function, mediated by the TFEB transcription factor. TFEB is phosphorylated and thus inactivated by BRAFV600E via its downstream ERK independently of mTORC1. BRAFi disrupts TFEB phosphorylation, allowing its nuclear translocation, which is synergized by increased phosphorylation/inactivation of the ZKSCAN3 transcriptional repressor by JNK2/p38-MAPK. Blockade of BRAFi-induced transcriptional activation of autophagy-lysosomal function in melanoma xenografts causes enhanced tumor progression, EMT-transdifferentiation, metastatic dissemination, and chemoresistance, which is associated with elevated TGF-β levels and enhanced TGF-β signaling. Inhibition of TGF-β signaling restores tumor differentiation and drug responsiveness in melanoma cells. Thus, the “BRAF-TFEB-autophagy-lysosome” axis represents an intrinsic regulatory pathway in BRAF-mutant melanoma, coupling BRAF signaling with TGF-β signaling to drive tumor progression and chemoresistance., The relationship between autophagy and BRAF signalling is unclear. Here, the authors describe that BRAF inhibition induces the autophagy-lysosomal function in BRAF-mutant melanomas via modulation of the TFEB and ZKSCAN3 transcriptome, which downregulates TGF-β and suppresses melanoma progression.

With the rapid development of hyperspectral remote sensing technology, the spatial resolution and spectral resolution of hyperspectral images are continually increasing, resulting in a continual increase in the scale of hyperspectral data. At present, hyperspectral lossless compression technology has reached a bottleneck. Simultaneously, the rise of deep learning has provided us with new ideas. Therefore, this paper examines the use of deep learning for the lossless compression of hyperspectral images. In view of the differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) method being insufficient for predicting spectral band information, the proposed method, called C-DPCM-RNN, uses a deep recurrent neural network (RNN) to improve the traditional DPCM method and improve the generalization ability and prediction accuracy of the model. The final experimental result shows that C-DPCM-RNN achieves better compression on a set of calibrated AVIRIS test images provided by the Multispectral and Hyperspectral Data Compression Working Group of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems in 2006. C-DPCM-RNN overcomes the limits of traditional methods in its performance on uncalibrated AVIRIS test images.

Existing learned-based image compression methods have shown impressive performance. However, they rely mostly on the consistent distribution between training and test images, which reduces the robustness of the training model. In this paper, we propose a novel compression method called sparse flow adversarial model (SFAM). SFAM employs a deep generative framework to learn a reversible and stable mapping between image distributions, thus it can work in varied scenes for robust compression. The mapping explores the sparsity of the image by combining linear and nonlinear transformations, rather than extracting the features of a particular dataset as is the case with other learning-based methods. Moreover, a sparse adversarial map is introduced into SFAM, to constrain the SFAM to generate sparser features for efficient compression. Extensive experiments are performed on different datasets, in which the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method are verified. Meanwhile, SFAM is trained only once and it can work well on three different datasets, which also prove the robustness of the proposed SFAM.

The main goal of soybean breeding is to increase the oil content. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is a key rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid metabolism, and may regulate oil content. Herein, 10 GmDGAT genes were isolated from soybean and transferred into wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis. The total fatty acid was 1.2 times higher in T3 GmDGAT1-2 transgenic Arabidopsis seeds than in WT. Therefore, GmDGAT1-2 was transferred into WT soybean (JACK), and four T3 transgenic soybean lines were obtained. The results of High performance gas chromatography and Soxhlet extractor showed that, compared with those of JACK, oleic acid (18:1), and total fatty acid levels in transgenic soybean plants were much higher, but linoleic acid (18:2) was lower than WT. Palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), and linolenic acid (18:3) were not significantly different. For mechanistic studies, 436 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 180 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were identified between WT (JACK) and transgenic soybean pods using proteomic and lipidomics analyses. Four lipoxygenase proteins were down-regulated in linoleic acid metabolism while four oleosin proteins were up-regulated in the final oil formation. The results showed an increase in the total fatty acid and 18:1 composition, and a decrease in the 18:2 composition of fatty acid. Our study brings new insights into soybean genetic transformation and the deep study of molecular mechanism that changes the total fatty acid, 18:1, and 18:2 compositions in GmDGAT1-2 transgenic soybean.

Interspecific hybridization of rapeseed is an important way to innovate breeding resources. This research used Brassica napus and Brassica rapa for artificial synthesis interspecific hybridization of F1. The F1 self-fruiting rate was particularly low. By comparing the fertilization rate and seed setting rate of nine crosses and selfing combinations of interspecific hybrid progeny F1 and control B. napus, the results proved that the genetic stability of egg cells was greater than that of sperm cells, so the F1 could get seed by artificial pollination with other normal pollen. Based on these results, interspecific maternal inbred offspring (induced F1) from egg cells was obtained by emasculation and pollination with the pollen of DH inducer Y3380. It was found through morphological analysis, flow cytometry identification, and meiotic observation of induced F1, the plants had most normal fertile tetraploid and the meiosis was normal. The FISH results showed that the induced F1 were B. napus (2n = 4x = 38, AACC), 20 A and 19 C chromosomes. The results of SNP chip detection and genetic cluster analysis found that the genetic variation between interspecies could be preserved or broadened in the induced F1. The use of DH inducer created special breeding resources for interspecific hybridization and distant hybridization of rapeseed while shortening time, improving efficiency, and providing a new insight into innovate breeding resources.

Background Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common and highly prevalent pathogen causing upper respiratory diseases in kittens and felines in recent years. Due to the substantial genetic variability of the viral genes, existing vaccines cannot provide complete protection. Therefore, research on FCV antiviral drugs has received much attention. Results In this study, we found that copper chloride had dose-dependent antiviral effects on FCV in F81 cells. We also found that the combination of copper chloride and ribavirin had a synergistic protective effect against FCV in F81 cells. In contrast, the combination of copper chloride and horse anti-FCV immunoglobulin F (ab’)2 showed an antagonistic effect, likely because copper chloride has an effect on F (ab’)2 immunoglobulin; however, further research is needed to clarify this supposition. Conclusions In summary, we found that copper chloride had low cytotoxicity and significant antiviral effects on FCV in F81 cells, providing a new drug candidate for the prevention and treatment of FCV infection.

The issue of suicide rate has become increasingly rigorous and has received extensive attention in the contemporary society. In order to explore the pattern of suicide rate variation and intrinsic incentive for suicide, the research was conducted to analyze the data involved multifaceted factors since the suicide is rarely caused by only one factor. Establishing statistical models like “Generalized Additive Model” provides a conceptual framework for the study and is instrumental in predicting the suicide rate in 2017. Based on the past data from year 1985 to 2016, the prediction of suicide rate in 2017 is presented specifically. Multiple invisible results are revealed including the negative linear relationship between GDP and suicide rate, the positive correlation with age and the uneven distribution worldwide. These results presented with functions and graphs show how financial, cultural or regional factors might affect the suicide rate in different areas. The prediction are still affected by factors difficult to estimate, such as socio-economic relations. However, the results are sufficient to help understand the suicide issue by analyzing it's origin and distribution.

The electro-catalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) to produce ammonia is a significant and challenging mission in chemistry, in which metal-free NRR catalysts with high activity, stability and selectivity are still highly desired. Here, we have systematically investigated the properties of pristine and carbon doped hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) for efficient nitrogen capture and reduction. Our results suggest that BNNRs exhibit excellent N2 capture abilities, which are demonstrated to be originated from the edge lone pair electrons. Then we highlight that doping carbon can significantly enhance the NRR catalytic performance of BNNRs by reducing the NRR reaction overpotential from 1.14 to 0.39 V. Further analysis unravels that doping C can selectively modulate the adsorption free energy of NRR intermediates without influencing the excellent activation ability of pristine BNNRs, which has been confirmed to arise from the charge redistribution of edge boron atoms. Our findings pave the way of h-BN for N2 capture and pioneer the application of carbon doped BNNR as a novel NRR catalyst.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a highly contagious pathogen that causes acute upper respiratory infections and oral disease in cats, thus seriously endangering feline health. Recently, there have been outbreaks of particularly virulent variant strains of FCV, which can cause both acute symptoms and fatal systemic disease. The discovery of effective antiviral agents to treat FCV infection is, therefore, gradually assuming increased importance. In this study, we showed that both nitazoxanide and mizoribine had antiviral activity in F81 cells infected with different strains of FCV and also demonstrated a synergistic effect between the two drugs. Experiments in cats challenged with FCV showed that nitazoxanide significantly reduced the clinical symptoms of FCV infection, reduced viral load in the trachea and lungs, and reduced viral shedding. Our results showed that nitazoxanide and mizoribine could potentially be used as therapeutic agents to treat FCV infection., Highlights • Mizoribine had antiviral activity against FCV. • Nitazoxanide and mizoribine had synergistic anti-FCV effects. • Nitazoxanide alleviated clinical symptoms in FCV-infected kittens. • Nitazoxanide significantly reduced viral titers in lungs and trachea of kittens infected with FCV.

Significance Skin pigmentation provides first-line protection against UV radiation (UVR) that increases the risk of skin cancers. However, mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood. Here, we identified the autophagic tumor suppressor UVRAG as a bona fide player in melanosome biogenesis by targeting biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex 1 (BLOC-1) independently of autophagy. UVRAG maintains the localization and stability of BLOC-1 to facilitate the sorting/delivery of melanogenic cargoes. Reduced levels of UVRAG rendered cells unresponsive to UVR–α-MSH–MITF signaling and defective melanocyte development in vivo. Moreover, UVRAG-mediated melanogenesis and tanning response were impaired in oncogene-driven melanoma. This study represents a description of a noncanonical role of autophagy factor in melanogenic remodeling and also provides mechanistic insights into UVRAG in pigmentation disorder and UV-associated cancer.

Distribution network usually refers to the rated voltage of 110KV and below, and the function of direct power supply to users in the power system. The reliability of distribution network power supply directly affects the safety and economy of electricity use. In recent years, with the development of the national economy, the power load has greatly increased. In some areas, the construction of distribution networks cannot keep up with the increase in power load, resulting in power outages and frequent power failures in some regions. At the same time, users are increasingly demanding power quality. Whether the dispatcher or the user is eager to quantify the safety and economic analysis of the distribution network, the accuracy and level of the decision making of the intelligent distribution network dispatcher are improved. Studying the short-circuit fault and single-phase-to-ground fault fast fault location scheme is of great significance to improving the reliability of the distribution network operation. Self-healing is one of the main functions for the safe and reliable operation of smart grids. Reliable detection is the basis for realizing the self-healing function. The probability of a single-phase earth fault in a distribution network is very high because I mostly use it for neutral point grounding in medium-voltage distribution networks and use arc-suppression coils for grounding. When single-phase earthed, it is difficult to find point failures. At present, the small current ground fault line selection technology has been basically mature, and the small current ground fault location technology has achieved good results in the field of transient signals. Based on the transient characteristics of transient components, the single-phase ground fault location technology of power distribution network and the transient characteristics of single-phase grounded neutral distribution network are studied. At the same time, single-phase ground fault detection and cross-section based on parameter identification and current abrupt change are explained. Positioning method, implementation technology of single-phase earth fault feature detection function of distribution automation terminal, and architecture, interface mode and implementation method of single-phase positioning application software for distribution network.